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BEFORE HE CHEATS-THE REDNECK TRAILER TRASH VERSION

 

Carrie Underwood released a catchy song last year called, "Before He Cheats." She sang the Nashville prima donna version. I rewrote the lyrics for the more realistic redneck trailer trash version.

Before He Cheats

Right now he's probably making meth with a bleach blonde tramp,
and she's probably getting frisky...
Right now, he's probably making his move cause she feels it's getting risky...
Right now, he's probably behind her with a batch, showing her how to cook safely...

And he don't know...
That I cut the throat with my kitchen knife
Of his favorite dog named Barney Fife
Neutered him with just my bare teeth
I took a Zippo lighter to his double-wide
Threw kerosene on all four sides
Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats.

Right now, she's probably cooking up some meth
With some ephedrine and ammonia
Right now, she's probably saying "I'm done"
And he's a thinking that he's gonna make some money
Right now, he's probably been up for a week cause he don't need sleeping

And he don't know...
That I cut the throat with my kitchen knife
Of his favorite dog named Barney Fife
Neutered him with just my bare teeth
I took a Zippo lighter to his double-wide
Threw kerosene on all four sides
Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats.

I might've saved a little trouble for the next girl,
Cause the next time that he cheats...
Oh, you know it won't be on me!
Ohh... not on me...

Cause I cut the throat with my kitchen knife
Of his favorite dog named Barney Fife
Neutered him with just my bare teeth
I took a Zippo lighter to his double-wide
Threw kerosene on all four sides
Maybe next time he think before he cheats

Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats.
Ohh.. Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats...
Ohh... before he cheats...

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NORTH CAROLINA NORTH CARLOLINA                   MEMPHIS MEMPHIS
PLAY IN GAME   NORTH CAROLINA               MEMPHIS   TEXAS-ARLINGTON
INDIANA INDIANA                   OREGON MISSISSIPPI STATE
ARKANSAS     NORTH CAROLINA           MEMPHIS     OREGON
NOTRE DAME NOTRE DAME                   MICHIGAN STATE MICHIGAN STATE
GEORGE MASON   NORTH CAROLINA               MICHIGAN STATE   TEMPLE
WASHINGTON STATE NORTH CAROLINA                   PITTSBURGH PITTSBURGH
WINTHROP    
EAST
NORTH CAROLINA       SOUTH SOUTH     ORAL ROBERTS
OKLAHOMA NORTH CAROLINA                   KENTUCKY MARQUETTE
SAINT JOSEPH   NORTH CAROLINA               KENTUCKY   KENTUCKY
LOUISVILLE NORTH CAROLINA                   STANFORD STANFORD
BOISE STATE     AMERICA           HEAT     CORNELL
BUTLER BUTLER                   HEAT MIAMI
SOUTH ALABAMA   AMERICA               HEAT   SAINT MARY
TENNESSEE AMERICA                   TEXAS TEXAS
AMERICAN                       AUSTIN PEAY
      FINAL FOUR SAN ANTONIO

NORTH CAROLINA CHAMPIONS SPURS FINAL FOUR SAN ANTONIO FINAL FOUR SAN ANTONIO      
KANSAS KANSAS        
SPURS
        LAKERS UCLA
PORTLAND STATE   KANSAS               LAKERS   MISSISSIPPI VALLEY ST
UNLV UNLV                   TEXAS BYU
KENT STATE     KANSAS           LAKERS    

TEXAS A&M

CLEMSON VILLANOVA                   DUKE DRAKE
VILLANOVA   VANDERBILT               DUKE   WESTERN KENTUCKY
VANDERBILT VANDERBILT                   CONNECTICUT CONNECTICUT
SIENA    

MIDWEST

KANSAS       LAKERS WEST     SAN DIEGO
USC KANSAS                   PURDUE PURDUE
KANSAS STATE   KANSAS               GEORGIA   BAYLOR
WISCONSIN WISCONSIN                   GEORGIA XAVIER
CAL ST FULLERTON     KANSAS           DUKE     GEORGIA
GONZAGA GONZAGA                   ARIZONA WEST VIRGINIA
DAVIDSON   GONZAGA               DUKE   ARIZONA
GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWNN                   DUKE DUKE
UMBC                       BELMONT

 

The University of North Carolina Men's Basketball Team got together and filled out an NCAA bracket.

Team spokesman junior Tyler Hansbrough said,

"Hey,we're good, but don't expect us to beat the Spurs on their home court."

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Feedback can be sent to "engineer at somethingaintright dot com"

 

OLDER STUFF:

Airline Travel Stereotypes

Dentists Hate You and They are Probably Aliens

THE DESERT ISLAND QUESTION

The Devil's Dictionary

Government Workers' Olympic Games

HOW TO FRY A TURKEY

An Optimist Says that the Glass is Half Empty

Some Real Deep Thoughts

THE TALK RADIO PARTY OF AMERICA

20THINGS THAT MAKE BRETT FAVRE CRY

The US Needs to Invade Norway in Order to Win a Nobel Peace Prize

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20 THINGS THAT MAKE BRETT FAVRE CRY

Brett Favre had a press conference last week to announce his retirement from the Green Bay Packers. He cried and cried and cried. It was pure agony to sit through. How can a man lose all his dignity like that? Just when manhood was starting to rebound out of the era of the sensitive male, and the era of the girlie Hollywood leading man (Leo DiCaprio, Orlando Bloom, Heath Ledger, etc,), Brett managed to single-handedly set us back.

Brett is arguably one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. But he just rubs me the wrong way. Even though he has the reputation as being one of the most physically tough players in football, he is also known as the quarterback that wears his emotions on his sleeve. It seems like the now totally chickified ESPN Sportcenter was interviewing him monthly to get his thoughts about his former drug addiction, his wife's cancer, his father's death, and the damage Hurricane Katrina did to his boyhood home.

Two parts of his retirement speech really got to me. No, not to the point of crying. I have more dignity than he does. These two things just didn't sound right. One of the things he said was that he hadn't played all those years for the money. Oh really, Brett? I noticed that your $10,000,000 a year contract was a little bit higher than the NFL minimum of $500,000. You could have signed for a lot less and allowed the team to use the balance of that money to sign some more talent. He also said that he wasn't in it for the records. Well I'm sure your coaches would have agreed. I'm sure they would have preferred if you hadn't set the career interception record. The 15-20 interceptions a year were killing your team and costing you a lot of victories.

Anyway, here is the list of things that make Brett Favre cry:

1. Menstrual cramps
2. When he has to parallel park
3. Movies on the Lifetime Movie Network
4. Romance novels
5. When Hillary Clinton cries
6. Brokeback Mountain
7. Spiders
8. Michael Bolton songs
9. A pretty wedding dress
10. Retiring
11. Mean people
12. Global Warming
13. Long walks on a beach
14. When Britney Spears is in trouble
15. A bouquet of roses
16. When he is going out and can't find the right outfit to wear
17. Barack Obama speeches
18. Split ends
19. Golden Retriever Puppies
20. When someone hurts his feelings

Since Brett will be leaving football he will be moving on to his next career. I don't think he will be in the announcer's booth. Crying during games is generally considered to be bad form. He will undoubtedly be making various speaking engagements for piles of money. He can even charge extra if they want him to cry.

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HOW TO FRY A TURKEY

 

Turkey frying has become popular. I've been doing it for 5 years. The meat is extremely moist (but not greasy), the skin is crispy (like fried chicken), there is no basting, and the turkey cooks quickly (3-3.5 minutes per pound- A 16 lb turkey in under an hour!). Once you go oil, you'll stay loyal. I know this post should have come out before Thanksgiving but plenty of folks cook turkey for Christmas and New Years too.

 

Disclaimer

This is merely friendly advice. Turkey frying can be risky. I am not responsible for injuries or skin graphs, structure fires, salmonella, singed pets, or any other unfortunate result.


History of frying turkeys

Turkeys were fried for the very first Thanksgiving held by the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock in 1621. Their Indian friend Squanto, from the Propane Indian Tribe, showed the Pilgrims how to do it.


Where I started

I was in the Army and stationed in Louisiana for 6 years. I first tried fried turkey when I won one in a raffle, and I was hooked. Turkey frying is very popular in Louisiana. They would not let me move out of the state until I passed the turkey fry test.


Danger Will Robinson

1. Turkey frying is an outdoor activity. Find a safe place in the middle of your backyard to do it. Do not do it on your porch or deck, and burn down your double wide. Do not do it in your garage or barn. Bubbling oil splashes everywhere, you really do not want to be next to any kind of structure.

2. Do not use a frozen or partially frozen bird. The hot oil will react with fierce resistance.

3. Your bird needs to be empty. Remove the neck and guts. Do not add stuffing.

4. Maintain a cooking oil temperature of 325-350 degrees. The oil must completely cover the bird.

5. Wear gloves and long sleeves. The oil will bubble up when you first lower the bird in. Lower it very slowly. If it is bubbling too much, you can raise it a little way out of the oil, and then re-dip it.

6. Keep children and pets away. Your dog will be attracted to the smell.

7. Do not leave the boiling oil unattended

8. Make sure the oil has completely cooled before pouring it back into the container

9. Do not be drink and fry. You need to be completely sober.


What you MUST have

1. A turkey frying kit (I think they go for about $50-$75) that includes
- A stand with burner and propane gas hose
-A large pot with a lid
-A skewer or perforated basket with hook to lower the turkey into the oil.
-A thermometer for the oil

2. Peanut Oil. You must use peanut oil. It is expensive, but it has one of the highest smoke points for cooking oil. I made the mistake one year of buying "frying oil with peanut oil," and had a very dark bird. You need about 4-5 gallons.

3. A propane tank like the one on your barbecue grill

4. Gloves and a long sleeve shirt

5. A completely thawed turkey

6. Paper towel to pat dry your turkey. A wet bird does not mix well with hot oil.

7. A timer. 3-3.5 minutes per pound.

8. A turkey. I prefer medium sized birds from 14-16 pounds

Handy things to have/tips

1. If the lid of the cooking pot does not have a hole in it to insert the oil thermometer, make a hole with a nail.

2. If your oil thermometer has a glass window, water will condense inside of it, and the outside of the glass will become dirty. Etch a mark on your thermometer at the 350 degree mark so you can read it when the glass becomes too dirty.

3. A spare propane tank. If you run out of propane, you can't finish cooking it in the oven.

4. A meat thermometer to test the meat after cooking. Most sources say it has to be 180 degrees, but I believe the new wisdom states it can be as low as 165 degrees

5. Cardboard to place underneath and around the cooker. This prevents a large oil slick on your grass.

6. An injector and marinade to flavor the meat. This is optional. The meat will be flavorful enough. If you do use a marinade, inject it following the instructions on the kid about 15 minutes before cooking.

7. A spice rub for inside and outside the bird. This is also optional. There are plenty of recipes on the internet. Rub the spice onto the turkey about 24-hours ahead of time. Be generous with the spice, it is really hard to over do it since you will be boiling your turkey in oil. Most spice rubs will make the outside of the turkey dark, but don't worry about it.

8. The night before I cook the turkey and after I spice it up, I place the bird into a brown paper shopping bag before putting it back into the fridge. This helps to soak up any remaining water.

9. A funnel to pour the cooled oil back into the container when you are finished

10. A strainer to skim the top of the cooled oil, before you pour it back into the container.


How to do it

1. The day before: Fill your pot about halfway with WATER. Drop the bird into the water and adjust the water level until it covers the bird. Remove the bird and make a mark on the pot at the water level. This will show you how much oil to use the next day.
If you are cooking more than one bird, measure the water using the heaviest bird. The heaviest bird will use the least amount of oil because it displaces more oil when you lower it into the pot. You can add oil, if necessary, for the next bird.
Pat dry your bird and apply a dry spice rub (if desired). Put it into the fridge.

2. Cooking day: Pour the oil into the pot and light your burner. It will take about 30 minutes to warm the oil up to the cooking temperature (325-350 degrees)

3. If you are cooking more than one bird, cook the larger bird first.

4. Dip the bird in slowly.

5. The temperature of the oil will start to drop after you put the bird in, turn up the gas until the temperature starts to go back up.

6. Continue to monitor the oil temperature, and adjust the gas as necessary.

7. When the bird is done, lift it out and let the excess oil run off. Bring it in the kitchen, cover it with aluminum foil and let it sit for 10-20 minutes to let it finish cooking and to let the juices circulate into place. Carve your turkey.

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The Talk Radio Party of America

 

 

 

In response to recent congressional threats made to the open airwaves and opinions of conservative talk radio, we announce, today, the formation of a new American political party. The Talk Radio Party of America will form to counter the bullying made by esteemed members of Congress such as Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich (Fairness Doctrine), and Republican Senator Trent Lott ("Talk radio is running America. We have to deal with that problem."). The Talk Radio Party will be a home for conservatives who were abandoned by the Republican Party. The symbol for the new party will be the American eagle.

The Talk Radio Party will formally announce their presidential ticket for 2008 on July 4th. Inside the beltway rumor control is betting on:

Rush Limbaugh- President
Laura Ingraham- Vice-president

 

In a new era of transparency in American politics, the Talk Radio Party will also be the only political party that will announce ahead of time, their plan to fill the various appointees needed to help run the Executive branch. The Cabinet and other appointees will include talk radio commentators, right wing bloggers and other political pundits.

The Talk Radio Party Dream Team

Secretary of State - Ann Coulter
Secretary of the Treasury - Neal Boortz
Secretary of Defense - G Gordon Liddy
Attorney General - Hugh Hewitt
Secretary of the Interior - Michael Medved
Secretary of Agriculture - Michael Savage
Secretary of Commerce - Thomas Sowell
Secretary of Labor - Bill O'Reilly
Secretary of Health and Human Services - Dr. Laura Schlesinger
Secretary of Housing and Human Development - Star Parker
Secretary of Transportation - Michael Reagan
Secretary of Energy - Dennis Prager
Secretary of Education - Bill Bennett
Secretary of Veterans Affairs - Glenn Beck
Secretary of Homeland Security - Oliver North

White House Chief of Staff - Michelle Malkin
Director of the Office of Management and Budget - Walter E Williams
Director of National Intelligence - Kim Komando
United States Ambassador to the United Nations - Sean Hannity
White House Press Secretary - Paul Harvey

As you can see we have a diverse Executive Branch that is made up of former Washington insiders, newcomers, Ivy Leaguers, and mainstream Americans.


In addition, in order to garner some of the kook votes on both of the party's fringes, we will propose adding another Cabinet level post

Secretary of Government Conspiracy Investigations - Art Bell

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THE DESERT ISLAND QUESTION

 

Recently the 2008 Presidential candidates were asked a question. "If you were to be stranded on a desert island, what would you bring with you?

 

DEMOCRATS:

Delaware Sen. Joe Biden: "An Indian to make me Dunkin Donuts, and an articulate, bright, clean and nice-looking African American"

New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton: "A good book, The Communist Manifesto, or Das Kapital."

Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd: "A waitress and Ted Kennedy."

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards: "My blow-dryer and a mirror."

Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich: "Sand."

Illinois Sen. Barack Hussein Obama : "A new middle name."

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson: "That little monkey Kim Jong-Il. I'd straighten him out."

Former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel: "I would be fine, all alone, these people scare me. All by myself, I could have a direct democracy, a fair tax, no nuclear weapons and my own pot farm."

Former Vice-President Al Gore- "That's a trick question. There are no islands left due to global warming and rising sea levels"


REPUBLICANS:

Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback: "Some conservative credentials. Ha, Ha, that was a joke. I'm the only one here who is a real conservative. Just give me the Bible and a copy of the Constitution."

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani: "My next girlfriend."

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee: "FOOD! Lots of FOOOOOD! Gosh I miss food."

California Rep. Duncan Hunter: "Nothing, I'm a Marine, I wouldn't need anything to survive."

Arizona Sen. John McCain :
"Osama bin Laden. I'd have him there all by myself, with my bare hands."

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney: "I wouldn't need much, I would work with what I had. Within a few years I would have a successful multi-million dollar business and then host the Olympic Games."

Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo: "A fence to keep all the illegals out."

Texas Congressman Ron Paul- "My tinfoil hat. Don't think the Trilateral Commission and Committee on Foreign Relations wouldn't be monitoring me there."

Former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson: "It wouldn't matter, just as long as the island isn't in the Mediterranean, like near Israel."

Former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore: "Some name recognition."

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THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY

I recently finished "The Devil's Dictionary" by Ambrose Bierce. Bierce was an American journalist and cynic of the late 19th century. Here are some of the more amusing entrees in his dictionary:


Academy- A modern school where football is taught

Age- That period of life which we compound for the vices that we still cherish by reviling those that we no longer the enterprise to commit

Alliance- In international politics, the union of two thieves who have their hands so deeply inserted in each other's pockets that they cannot separately plunder a third.

Amazon- One of an ancient race who do not appear to have been much concerned about woman's rights and the equality of sexes.

Belladonna- In Italian a beautiful lady; in English a deadly poison. A Striking example of the essential identity of the two tongues.

Bigot- One who is obstinately and zealously attached to an opinion that you do not entertain.

Christian- One who believes that the New Testament is a divinely inspired book admirably suited to the spiritual needs of his neighbor. One who follows the teachings of Christ in so far as they are not inconsistent with a life of sin.

Conceit- Self-respect in one whom we dislike

Confession- A place where the priest sits to forgive the big sins for the pleasure of hearing the little ones.

Confidant- One entrusted by A with the secrets of B, confided by him to C.

Congratulation- The civility of envy.

Conservative- A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others.

Cynic- A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be.

Destiny- A tyrant's authority for crime and a fool's excuse for failure.

Diplomacy- The patriotic art of lying for one's country.

Economy- Purchasing the barrel of whisky that you do not need for the price of the cow that you cannot afford.

Egotist-A person of low taste, more interested in himself than in me.

Eulogy- Praise of a person who has either the advantage of wealth and power, or the consideration to be dead.

Hammer- An instrument for smashing the human thumb.

Hatred- A sentiment appropriate to the occasion of another's superiority.

Hearse- Death's baby carriage.

Humanitarian- A person who believes the Savior was human and himself is divine.

Idiot- A member of a large and powerful tribe whose influence in human affairs has always been dominant and controlling. The Idiot's activity is not confined to any special field of thought or action, but pervades and regulates the whole.

Lecturer- One with his hand in your pocket, his tongue in your ear, and his faith in your patience.

Logic- The art of thinking and reasoning in strict accordance with the limitations and incapacities of the human misunderstanding.

Love- A temporary insanity curable by marriage or by removal of the patient from the influences under which he incurred the disorder.

Mad- Affected with a high degree of intellectual independence; not conforming to standards of thought, speech and action derived by the conformants from study of themselves; at odds with the majority; in short, unusual. It is noteworthy that persons are pronounced mad by officials destitute of evidence that themselves are sane.

Motive- A mental wolf in moral clothing.

Mouse- An animal which strews its path with fainting woman.

Nectar-A drink served at banquets of the Olympian deities. The secret of its preparation is lost, but the modern Kentuckians believe that they come pretty to a knowledge of its chief ingredient.

Neighbor- One whom we are commanded to love as ourselves, and who does all he knows to make us disobedient.

Nihilist- A Russian who denies the existence of anything but Tolstoy.

Non-combatant- A dead Quaker.

Overdose- A fatal dose of medicine when administered by any other than the physician.

Politeness-The most acceptable hypocrisy.

Positive- Mistaken at the top of one's voice.

Selfish- Devoid of consideration for the selfishness of others.

Senate- A body of elderly gentlemen charged with high duties and misdemeanors.

 

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LITTLE KNOWN PRESIDENTIAL FACTS

 

George Washington (1789-1797) - Washington was the first president to have a vice-president.

John Adams (1797-1801) - Adams, a founding father who was historically overshadowed by Jefferson and Madison, has seen his reputation arise of late after the discovery of historical documents proving that he taught his cousin Samuel how to brew beer.

Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)- Jefferson agreed to finance the Lewis and Clark expedition through the Louisiana Territory merely in hopes of finding proof of the Native American legend known as Sasquatch.

James Madison (1809-1817) - Madison stood at 5'4" and weighed 100 pounds. He modeled women's underwear in order to pay his way through college. This was not uncommon for smaller men in those days since semi-nude women were not allowed on the catwalk.

James Monroe (1817-1825) - Monroe was a noted academic who helped to establish the University of Virginia after he left office. He also tried to establish a college of library science for former slaves repatriated back to the newly formed African country of Libraria. This school would have provided an endless source of librarians for the University of Virginia.

John Quincy Adams (1825-1829) - JQ Adams was the first president born with a middle name.

Andrew Jackson (1829-1837) - Jackson was the only US President to be a former prisoner of war. He was a courier for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and was taken prisoner at the age of 13. He was shipped to the north and held in the infamous British POW camp in Canada known as the Halifax Hilton.

Martin Van Buren (1837-1841) - Van Buren is the first name that Americans forget when attempting to name the presidents in order.

William Henry Harrison (1841) - Harrison served the shortest time in office of 31 days. In fact, he started dying, along with his audience, during his inaugural address.

John Tyler (1841-1845) - Tyler is the only US president to conquer another country without using force. Tyler conquered the wimpy Republic of Texas in 1845.

James K. Polk (1845-1849) - Polk tried to give Texas back to Mexico and this started the Mexican War.

Zachary Taylor (1849-1850) - Taylor was the first president to be elected after having held no previous elected office. Yeah, just like George W. Bush who was named President by the Supreme Court in 2000 after he was handed the office of the Governor of Texas when his daddy sold his soul to Halliburton and the oil companies. IMPEACH BUSH NOW! IMPEACH BUSH NOW!

Millard Fillmore (1850-1853) - Fillmore was the last member of the Whig Party to serve as President, assuming the office from the Vice-Presidency after the death of Taylor. Fillmore served the rest of Taylor's term and was not selected by the Whigs to run for reelection in 1852. In 1856 Fillmore made an unsuccessful attempt at the presidency as a candidate of the "Know Nothing Party," which eventually became known as the Democratic Party.

Franklin Pierce (1853-1857) - The handsome Pierce was our first photogenic President who was selected solely for his good looks during the early age of photography. He manipulated this new medium and got elected with his good looks despite not having many real previous accomplishments and having a dysfunctional family life. Much like Kennedy did a century later with the new medium of television.

James Buchanan (1857-1861) - Buchanan was our only bachelor president leading some historians to speculate on his sexuality. Historians these days have nothing better to do than explore the sexuality of historical figures. He was also the last former Secretary of State to be elected president. Hmmm...Condi Rice, our current Secretary of State, is a bachelorette of ambiguous sexuality…hmmm…

Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865) - Lincoln was our first Republican President and the Democrats naturally protested his election. They cried, "Voter disenfranchisement!" They demanded a lawsuit and a recount since Lincoln was declared President after only winning 18 states, 39% of the popular vote, and 180 electoral votes.

Andrew Johnson (1865-1869) - Johnson, a southerner from Tennessee, bought Alaska from the Russians in the hopes of replacing newly freed black slaves with Eskimos.

Ulysses S. Grant- (1869-1877) - Grant earned a reputation for exceptional bravery during the Mexican War. His superiors motivated him with tequila.

Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881) - Despite no military training, Hayes entered service during the War of Southern Secession at the rank of Major. Showing a knack for military leadership and strategy, he quickly rose to the rank of Field Marshall. He did such a bad job as President, that the rank of Field Marshall was never used again in the US Army.

James A. Garfield (1881) - Garfield was only in office for four months before assassin Charles Guiteau shot him down. He lingered for two months after the shooting and managed to make one Supreme Court appointment. Justice William Rehnquist served until 2005.

Chester A. Arthur (1881-1885) - Arthur forced his daughter and grandchildren to work up to 14 hours a day in the coal mines and garment factories in order to support the industrialists and robber barons.

Grover Cleveland (1885-1889, 1893-1897)- Cleveland was a noted practical joker and opponent to Women's Rights. A bachelor when he first entered office, he married the Statue of Liberty in a public ceremony just to spite the leading suffragists of the time.

Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893) - Absolutely nothing happened during Benjamin Harrison's presidency. In fact, there is some doubt among historians that Harrison was actually the president, or that we even had a president during that time frame. It is just assumed that someone was President in between Cleveland's two non-consecutive terms.

William McKinley (1897-1901) - McKinley was the only President other than Andrew Johnson who did not sport facial hair during the "Pushbroom" era of American politics (1861-1913). "Pushbroom" was slang for some of the more elaborate mustache and beard combinations of the era. By the way, McKinley was assassinated and Johnson was impeached. 19th century Americans took their facial hair seriously.

Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) - Truly our most manly president. Roosevelt was an adventurer, soldier, author, rancher, safari hunter, policeman, Nobel Peace Prize and Congressional Medal of Honor winner, who in his spare time; helped Einstein develop his theory of relativity, helped Binet develop his IQ test, helped invent the first Harley-Davidson motorcycle and Model T Ford, helped the Red Sox win the very first World Series, and responded to the very first SOS distress signal by swimming out into the Atlantic Ocean to rescue a distressed ocean liner.

William Howard Taft (1909-1913) - Our heaviest president at 326 pounds ate his Vice-President.

Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921) - The 6'4" Wilson was the inspiration for Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Tarzan of the Apes."

Warren G. Harding (1921-1923) - Harding was the last of an incredible string of seven Ohioans out of a run of 12 presidents (including Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Harrison, McKinley, and Taft). Harding helped pass the Willis Campbell Act, aka the "Anti-beer Bill," closing a loophole in the 18th Amendment (Prohibition). Harding later mysteriously dies in office from food poisoning and no other Ohioan is ever elected to the presidency again.

Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929) - Coolidge was truly a man of his times. Though often called, "Silent Cal" for his stoicism and reserve, Coolidge was the life of the party and often found his entertainment with flappers in speakeasies. Coolidge was known as the "big cheese snugglepup" at all of the petting parties he attended, and often spoke using the colorful slang of the era with such terms as "cat's pajamas" and "bee's knees."

Herbert Hoover (1929-1933) - The 1928 presidential election between Hoover and Al Smith was a tie in both the popular and electoral vote. Unsure of how to handle this dilemma, the Supreme Court asked the two candidates for a recommendation. Smith, a Catholic, suggested that the Pope be given special American citizenship and given the deciding vote. Hoover, a Quaker, recommended a duel. The anti-Catholic court decided on the duel. Witnesses said that Smith, the consummate gentleman, fired first and purposely missed. Hoover, a bloodthirsty Quaker, took careful aim, emitted an evil laughter, and shot Smith between the eyes. Dueling was later outlawed by the Roosevelt administration.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) - Roosevelt, a noted philanderer in his younger years, had a wife named Eleanor who overlooked his infidelity in order to stay married to a man who was obviously on a meteoric rise to the top of the political world. Years later, another wife of a famously adulterous politician also chose to stay married in order to stay hitched to his wagon which was on the way to the presidency. Hillary Clinton has even stated that she has had "conversations" with the long dead Eleanor.

Harry Truman (1945-1953) - Truman, using the stage name of Henry Travers, co-starred in the Frank Capra movie "It's a Wonderful Life." He played the role of Clarence the angel who helps a distraught George Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart.

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961) - Ike created the Mickey Mouse Club in order to use the new medium of television and subliminal messages to try to defeat communism during the Cold War. The show, produced by Walt Disney, followed the exploits of several children on the "Red" (communist) team as Jimmie Dodd, the American who always made the right moral choice, helped them through life's adventures. Dodd's character represented the US, Annette-Albania, Bobby-Bulgaria, Cheryl-Czechoslovakia, Cubby-Cuba, Darlene-Hungary, Doreen-East Germany, Karen-North Korea, Lonnie-Poland, Sharon-Soviet Union, and Tommy-Romania. The plan failed due to the unavailability of television sets in the Warsaw Pact countries.

John F. Kennedy (1961-1963) - Jackie Kennedy tried bravely to save her husband when disaster struck their car in Dallas. Her brother-in-law Ted showed little courage toward his passenger when disaster struck his car at Chappaquiddick.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1968) - LBJ presided over the Vietnam War, the "Great Society" and the "War on Wealth." Although he did work hard to pass Civil Rights Acts in 1964 and 1965, he will always be remembered for the biggest black mark of his career, the signing of legislation that led to the creation of the PBS television network.

Richard M. Nixon (1968-1973) - Nixon took illegal campaign contributions from China, bombed Serbia, got involved with a phony investment scheme called Whitewater, and used federal agencies to harass political opponents. No wait, that was Clinton. Nixon took illegal campaign contributions from George Steinbrenner, bombed Cambodia, was involved in Watergate, and used federal agencies to harass political opponents.

Gerald R. Ford (1973-1976) - Ford was the only President to have been an Eagle Scout. In the 1930s the Boy Scout standards were much higher than today. Ford, the University of Michigan football star, had to take on the entire NFL Chicago Bears by himself in an exhibition football game for his Eagle Scout Project.

Jimmy Carter (1977-1981) - Many presidents were known for their great foreign policy at the expense of their domestic policy. Many presidents were known for their great domestic policy at the expense of their foreign policy. Few presidents managed to pull it all together with a great foreign policy and great domestic policy. Some presidents had mediocre careers and were known for greatness after leaving office. Carter was not one of these. He was perhaps the only president to fail miserably at foreign policy, domestic policy, and post-presidency personal behavior.

Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) - Reagan was the last president to own a slave. He sent this slave out at night to taunt the homeless AIDS victims on the streets of Washington DC.

George H. Bush (1989-1993) - Bush the Elder is the most mysterious president we have ever elected. He is the former head of the CIA and current member of The Trilateral Commission, the Project for the New American Century, the New World Order, and Skull and Bones. He is rumored to be a member of the Freemasons, Rosicrucians, Knights Templar, John Birch Society, Priory of Sion, and the Crips. Sure, he appears to be mild-mannered and warm on the outside, but on the inside he is a seething psychopath who shot JFK, poisoned Marilyn Monroe, and financed the Reagan assassination attempt. Do you think I am paranoid? Noriega knew about him and look what happened. Saddam was so fearful of him he even tried to assassinate him after he left office in 1993. My life is in danger just by posting this blog entry. But the truth must be told.

William Clinton (1993-2001) - While serving as Governor of Arkansas, Clinton authorized his wife Hillary to conduct medical experiments on Cuban refugees from the Muriel boatlift that were detained at Fort Chaffee.

George W. Bush (2001-present) - While in college, Bush the Younger taught Bobby Fischer how to play chess.

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GYM STEREOTYPES

It has been over 6 months since I stepped inside of a gym. I assume the same stereotypes still hang out there. Let's review some of them:

The Ambiguously Gay Aerobics Instructor- Aerobics is not a man's activity; there are natural laws against it. Like boys playing hopscotch, it's just unnatural. If your young son is playing hopscotch with the neighborhood girls, run outside with some boxing gloves and get him off the sidewalk and into the grass. Start some boxing matches. This will stop him from one day becoming an ambiguously gay aerobics instructor.

The Old Guy- This guy has been in gyms since the invention of the medicine ball and dumb bell. He wears an item of clothing from each decade. He has Chuck Connors on his feet, knee high tube socks with wide stripes on the top, Larry Bird short shorts (over his sweatpants), sweatbands on his head and wrists, a Led Zeppelin t-shirt cut off to show his flabby stomach, and a personal stereo with cassette player.

The Gadget Chick- She has a belt with a built in purse. It has a cell phone, IPOD, Blackberry, pager, and PDA. Batman looks at her utility belt with envy. Honey, the purpose of the gym is to leave all this stuff behind for an hour or two.

The Hot Flirty Chick- She never really works out. She just wears the latest fashions and talks to all the guys.

The Hot, Emotionally Detached Chick- She works out hard, never talks, never looks at you, and wears "don't mess with me outfits." Has all the warmth and charm of Hillary Clinton.

Atom Ant Man- He stands 5'4" and has been overcompensating all of his life. He has a 48-inch barrel chest, no neck, six-pack abs, a v-back, cannon biceps, Popeye forearms, and stick legs. He never works on his legs. I once tried to slide a 45 lb weight on one of these guys' legs once when he was doing crunches. I thought his leg was a bar.

The Thick Lesbian- Easy enough to spot. If she is white she has a mullet. If she is black she has a crew cut. She lifts more weight and does more aerobic activities than anybody in the gym and maintains an amorphous body. She prefers to play basketball and softball with the guys.

The Gang's All Here-A group of three guys (always three) who tie up the equipment because one guy is sitting on it and the three of them are just talking.

The B.O. Guy- Hey, this is a gym, you don't expect everybody to smell like a freshly changed baby. And I understand that some people will smell sweaty but this guy kills you. He walks by and you are immediately wrapped in a blanket of tear gas. It lingers in every room he walks in. You can see it.

The Sweat Hog- This guy could work up a sweat lying down in a cool, dark morgue. He leaves pools of sweat on every piece of equipment and doesn't wipe it off.

The Spandex Abusers- The first type of spandex abuser is the overweight. They usually wear red spandex for some reason. Each of their legs has the shape of those red plastic covered smoked sausage logs that are for sale around the holidays for $15 and then go on sale for $2.99 on January 2d. The guys are in denial. The man who wears this will also wear a short t-shirt for some reason. The women who wear this spandex wear a large t-shirt over it. It will be something like a size 8XXXL t-shirt that could be used to cover the infield at Fenway Park or maybe Ted Kennedy.

The second type of spandex abuser is the thin chick. She thinks she looks good because she is thin, but her butt and legs are just not shaped right and don't belong in spandex.

The Perfectly Sculptured Dude Who Never Seems to do Much Working Out. He just sort of hangs out at the gym and occasionally does a few curls or bench presses. He loves the gym because it has almost as many mirrors as his house. Those of us who work out 2-3 hours a day and don't see any results are the natural born enemies of the Perfectly Sculptured Dude.

The Screaming Rage Roid Guy- This guy will grunt whether he is bench pressing 350 lbs. or doing a wrist curl with 15 lbs.

The Monopolizer- This guy thinks he can monopolize 2-3 machines without anybody having the nerve to interrupt him. Even if the machines are in different rooms.

The Day Dreamer- He gets to a piece of equipment right before you do. It is the last machine of the day for you. You know what's coming. He does one set, and stares off into space for 5 minutes. Does another set, rests and stares again. Repeat. You ask him how many more sets he has and he says, "4 more." He doesn't get the hint that you are waiting.

The Creepy Uncle. Hey all the guys love to catch glimpses of the good-looking chicks, but this guy stares a hole through them and makes them feel uncomfortable.

The Over the Hill Chick. You can tell that she was probably hot once, but Mother Nature is now playing cruel tricks on her. But in her mind she is still hot and she is staring down guys thirty years younger than her.

Olive Oyl- She is 5'10" and weighs maybe 110 lbs. But she is on the treadmill for three hours a day trying to sweat off the two-ounces of lettuce and one-gram of fat free salad dressing she had for lunch.

The out of shape guy who doesn't go enough and makes excuses for being out of shape. Whoa, that is hitting too close to home.

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BRAVE SIR BAKER

-A tribute to James Baker and his Iraq Study Group

Sung to the tune "Brave Sir Robin," from The Holy Grail
With apologies to Monty Python

Bravely bold Sir Baker rode forth from the White House.
He was not afraid to die,
O brave Sir Baker.
He was not at all afraid to be killed in nasty ways,
Brave, brave, brave, brave Sir baker.

He was not in the least bit scared to be burned in a plane crash,
Or to have his hands cut off and his elbows broken,
To have his throat slit and his body burned away
And all his limbs all hacked and mangled, brave Sir Baker!

His head cut off and his heart cut out
And his liver removed by an IED
And our daughters raped and honor killed
And his pen... (That's enough music for now lads. Look there's dirty work afoot.)

Bravely Baker ran away, (No!)
Bravely ran away, away. (I didn't)

When Islam reared its ugly head,
He bravely turned his tail and fled. (No!)
Yes, brave Sir Baker turned about (I didn't)
And gallantly, he chickened out

Bravely taking to his feet, (I never did!)
He beat a very brave retreat, (Oh lie!)
Bravest of the brave, Sir Baker. (I never)

 
 
 

 

 

 

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AN OPTIMIST SAYS THAT THE GLASS IS HALF EMPTY

Something always bugged me about the adage, "the glass is half full." I did not agree with the conventional wisdom, but I could not explain why. Now for some strange reason, after reading (actually struggling through) G.K. Chesterton's "Orthodoxy," I believe I can organize my thoughts into words.

A glass is a tool designed to be filled. If you need more water you find a bigger glass. If you need less water you either find a smaller glass or half-fill your glass. So if your glass is half-empty, that means one of two things happened. Either you have already drunk from the glass and quenched your thirst, or you only needed half a glass to begin with. Either way, that is good news. When asked if the glass is half full or half empty the optimistic answer is therefore, "half empty." The half empty glass reveals a tool that was either used properly or it is a sign of abundance and excess.

The pessimist's glass is half-full. The half-filled glass is a sign that the pessimist does not have enough. The pessimist is self-serving and always complaining that he does not have enough.

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AIRLINE TRAVEL STEREOTYPES

I am coming to the end of my current employment which allowed me to travel across the country 4-6 times a year. Here are some airline passenger/crew stereotypes I noticed along the way.

The airliner know-it-all passenger-This guy (always a male) comes in two types. The first type is the guy that has a rudimentary understanding of the airline industry because he was a terminal janitor or something similar. The second type is the guy who has had two pilot lessons and thinks he is now a fighter ace. Whatever his background, this guy will give you an unprompted running commentary on everything that is happening inside the plane, outside the plane, in the cockpit, and in the control tower from the time you get on the plane until the time you get off. He is also deaf because he tends to speak loud enough so that everyone within three rows can hear him. Do not make eye contact with him if you want any peace.

The talker passenger-This is usually a female. She will share everything with you. Family, her illnesses, travel, her cat, current events from People Magazine, anything that crosses her mind. Your initial warm, polite smile is her green light to engage her mouth which can move faster than the jet turbines. You are polite at first, but then she beats you down until you end up completely ignoring her but this doesn't stop her. Now I try to be polite and cordial to everyone on an airplane because traveling sucks for everybody. And if you are an interesting person, I would love to have a TWO-WAY conversation with you. But please, if you are a boor and the other person has stopped listening, just shut up.

The unclean passenger. My law of plane travel: The greater the body odor of a passenger x the length of the flight = the seat closest to you. One of the drawbacks of affordable airline travel is that the unclean masses have moved off the Greyhound and onto the seat next to you on the airplane. Is it too much to shower, wash your hair, brush your teeth, and put on fresh clothes before you board an airplane? There is already a shortage of oxygen in that airplane because the airline know-it-all and the talker are filling the pressurized cabin with carbon dioxide. If you add bad breath and body odor to this mix it becomes unbearable. You can't open a window. All the air you breath in there is recycled.

The nervous Nelly passenger. She does not like to fly and her tenseness is enough to rub off on you. Reassure her by informing her that if the plane crashes she won't die of smoke and flames. She will die from the effects of sheer terror.

The overweight passenger- There should be a size requirement before boarding the plane. You should not be allowed to take over part of my seat. Some airliners have a little box near the gate the measures the size of carry-ons. Maybe we can do the same for people.

The lost passenger- This is the passenger that gets on the plane with no idea of where their seat is. They stop and block the aisle and desperately search their pockets and 3 carry-ons for their ticket. Did they think there would be a sign over their seat with their name on it? Or the airliners have enough money to hire a hostess who knows you by sight and can take you to your seat?

The carry-on violation passenger- The rules state that you are allowed one carry-on and a personal item (purse sized). Well this guy has a carry on the size of a Volkswagen that is actually two pieces, plus his laptop. If your carry-on has wheels, IT IS NOT A CARRY-ON. Stop hogging all of the overhead storage. I know it is the fault of the airline for not stopping you at the gate, but when you travel it would be a lot nicer if you were a little more considerate of those around you.

Children- I understand that babies and infants cry, but is it too much to ask you to make your older children behave? They should not be yelling and screaming, running up and down the aisles, throwing things, kicking your chair, etc. You need to discipline them and show them what acceptable behavior on an airplane consists of. You should also bring something for them to do.

The gay male flight attendant- If your flight attendant is a guy you know he is probably gay. This guy is our first line of defense against a hijacking and he is barely strong enough to pop the top off of his can of Tab.

The overweight female flight attendant. Look, I know it is not the 1970s and the stewardesses are no longer bound by hot pants standards but the flight attendant ought to be able to walk down the aisle without having to turn sideways. That's like a fire hazard. If we crash in the ocean I am going to swim to her and cling on. At least she can pin the 150-lb Arab terrorist that just bitch slapped the gay male flight attendant.


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BULLETS ON SOME REAL DEEP THOUGHTS

 

I saw a 13- year old boy with a baby doll from his high school home economics (or whatever they call it these days) class. The doll replicates a real infant that needs feeding, burping, changing, hugging, sleeping, etc. 24/7. The idea is to have a teen take the baby home and learn about parental responsibilities so that they won't make babies while still in high school. But is this really a real life application? Most parents today don't even take care of their own babies. They go off to work each day and find a daycare and put the baby in storage. The only lesson this baby doll program really teaches is preparing the teen for a career in day care.

What if the whales that are beaching themselves are trying to get to dry land? They are supposed to be super intelligent. Maybe they want to communicate with us or maybe they are running from something. Should we keep dragging them back into the water? What if we are interfering with evolution? Perhaps they are trying to get ashore, grow legs, and become our overlords.

I walked into a Seattle bookstore last year. The store was a liberal library of how-to guides on protesting, rioting, environmentalism, anti-republicanism, anti-capitalism, drug use, hippie stuff, tattoos, etc. I picked up a book that was anti-capitalist. I asked the clerk if I could have the book for free. She politely declined, only half-acknowledging my presence. Then I asked her if I could pay her a reduced price, say the price that she paid for it, so she would not profit and exploit me. I think that grabbed a piece of her limited attention span because I saw her facial expression change as her mind started to engage. But all she could do was say no again. She muttered something to herself as she went back to what she was doing. I don't think she understood what I was trying to do.

I'm not convinced that the people I work with who like to put in 12-14 hour days, five or six days a week, are doing it so that their children will have a better life. How can the child have a better life if they have absentee parents? And I know how much work they need to do. They don't need to be there. They create work for themselves. I am convinced that they are working hard because they don't like being at home acting like a parent.

There are two reasons why men won't break up a catfight. 1. It is always interesting to watch two people fight who don't know how to fight. 2. There is always hope that a shirt will be torn off.

A while back there was an e-mail virus going around. The e-mail discussed Michael Jackson's suicide. The attachment (which was a virus) was supposedly his suicide note. If your life is that desperate that you would be remotely interested in reading Michael's suicide note, you deserve to get a virus. You deserve to get the plague.

Some liberals are so silly that it is impossible to satirize them. They do it to themselves. Self-satirization. I'm sure there is a word for that somewhere. Maybe some German phrase. Germans come up with good terms to describe the self. They are too inwardly focused. That is why Marx and Freud are goofy.

Do you call the police if your magician daughter comes up missing?

How do you protest against picketing?

If you want to observe the absolute worse stereotyping of black culture just watch BET

Is pole vaulting a sport? You use a big stick to see how high you can jump. Is it much different than using a ladder?

Anybody who plays air guitar in public is an idiot and deserves to be hit with a rake.

We don't root for the underdog because we care about the little guy. We root for the underdog because we want to see the big guy fall. We are envious.

Do you ever feel uncomfortable when you find yourself looking at a handicapped person and they look at you and catch you staring? Do you feel the same way if their handicap is blindness?

People are basically the same wherever you go. If someone makes a blanket statement about the tendencies of people in a particular area, you are learning more about that person than you are learning about the group of people they are describing.

If someone is ravenously trying to make a point to you, they might say, "I heard some experts discussing it." That means one expert. Or they will say that they heard many experts. That usually means two.

When asked to describe your friends, think of your best qualities. When asked to describe your enemies, think of your worst qualities. Our enemies are the mirrors of our worst traits and we don't like looking at that mirror. That is why we don't like our enemies.

Movies and television- If you receive most of your history lessons from Hollywood instead of books then don't take yourself too seriously. I know your pony-tailed high school history teacher thought it was a great idea to take your 11th grade class to the movie theatre to see "Schindler's List," but that doesn't make you a holocaust scholar. He just wanted the day off. If you think George C. Scott is a better General Patton than George S, Jr. is, or that Colonel Kurtz and Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore had some cool lines in "Apocalypse Now," and that makes you an expert on Viet Nam, you need to spend more time in the library.

The various Star Trek television series were unforgettable because of all of the memorable characters and actors. I especially enjoyed the three actors who showed no emotions when they played their character. Brent Spiner (Data), Leonid Nimoy (Mr. Spock), and William Shatner (CPT Kirk).

What is the time zone used on the North and South Poles?

"We must take it to the next level!" Where is the next level? Will we ever get there? Isn't there always another level

Why do ghosts have clothes? Most people who recount their visions of ghosts usually describe them as wearing some type of period clothing. As they describe events and reenact it on television for us you always see the ghosts as an image of a Civil War soldier in uniform or the Victorian widow in her dress. Something ain't right. Where do the ghosts get these clothes? Your trousers don't have a spirit that follows you into the afterlife. If the ghosts are wearing the original clothes wouldn't they be rags by now? If they are not real clothes, they must be ghost clothes. Where do ghosts buy ghost clothes?

So often, when we speak passionately about a subject we are not trying to convince others, we are trying to convince ourselves.

Nobody who uses a credit card, or advocates the use of credit cards (your local public radio station) should ever voice a negative opinion on the debt of the US government. Or even those who have a car payment or a mortgage.

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GOVERNMENT WORKERS' OLYMPIC GAMES


The Olympic games have become less and less interesting since the fall of the Soviet Empire, our only true international competitor in both athletics and war (The Cold War). Though we are currently at war with terrorists, your average diminutive Muslim is a real girly-man who doesn't offer much in the line of athletic competition. In a one-on-one unarmed street fight, our male figure skaters could probably beat them up. Until the International Olympic Committee opens up new competition such as team beheadings, suicide bombings, team rioting and the Molotov cocktail throw; I don't see Islamic terrorists ever becoming true competitors to the US.

After the Soviet Empire fell we tried to keep the Olympics interesting. The most obvious attempt was the authorized participation of professional athletes in the games. The best example of this was the 1992 US Olympic basketball "Dream Team." But that move bombed after the novelty wore off and we started seeing how spoiled and childish most of those athletes were. Another failed attempt at holding our interest was the re-scheduling of the games. Instead of seeing the winter and summer games every 4 years, we now get one or the other every two years. But that move hasn't seemed to gain much traction either.

As the athletic competition became less and less interesting, the television networks gave us more and more behind the scenes reporting about scandals or the ubiquitous tragic human-interest story about one of our athletes. Each of these athletes seemed to have a life that would rival a Sophoclean play. Though that does make sense when you think about it. A world-class athlete has to have motivation. They are either running from an overwhelming event in their life, or they are over-compensating for something that is missing.

Until China steps up to be our true international rival and makes the games interesting again, we have to come up with an alternative. I am recommending we have the International Olympic Games of Government Workers. Government workers are universally mediocre and that should give us some good competition. Capitalists, socialists, and communists would be on equal footing.

The inaugural games will be held in Germany at the newly built Max Weber Olympic facility. This will take place in 2020, the hundredth anniversary of the death of Weber, the father of modern bureaucracy. This will give our governments 14 years to get organized. This is plenty of time for the bureaucrats to call a meeting and think about making a decision. All of the games will be indoors. Bureaucrats don't like to go outside. Fans can be kept outside waiting in long lines for tickets. Just like when you go to the Post Office or city clerk.

I still need an Olympic symbol, Olympic torch, and good ideas for the opening ceremony. I do have a list of medal events for the games. The events represent all the aspects of a good bureaucracy. The darker side of bureaucracies; nepotism, corruption, bribery, and waste, fraud and abuse will not be included in the medal events. Those activities hit too close to home for the International Olympic Committee.

Medal events will include

Individual competition

Staring out the window
Small talk at the copy machine
Carrying documents around just to look busy
Overall time wasting

Desktop solitaire
Desktop minesweeper
Desktop free cell
Overall desktop games

Rigid adherence to the rules
Finding the most arcane rules
Finding the smallest procedural error to deny your application
Overall rule bound

Impersonal service
Unfriendly service
Slow service
Closing at 5 pm sharp
Overall contempt for the customer

Mediocrity
Lowest productivity
Incompetence
Overall ineptitude

Getting personal work done on company time
Internet surfing
E-mailing office jokes
Personal use of government car
Abuse of expense account
Overall misuse of government assets

Over-specialization
Inadaptability
That's not my job
Overall avoiding responsibility

Most creative workman's compensation
Using lawsuits to avoid being fired
Equal Opportunity abuse
Americans with Disabilities Act abuse
Overall job security abuse

Risk avoidance
Avoiding anything that is out of the ordinary
Avoiding decision-making
Overall inertia

Doublespeak
Acronym use
Buzz terms
Overall bureauspeak


Team competition

Turf wars
Most meetings in a day
Group-think
Most vertical hierarchy
Most confusing automated phone menu
Creation of contradictory rules


Human interest stories for the television networks will include; dealing with the mental anguish of boredom, second and third generation bureaucrat families, overcoming career threatening injuries like paper cuts and carpel tunnel, and scary stories from the cafeteria.

Instead of using blood and urine tests to check our athletes for illegal steroids, we will use personality tests to check our bureaucrats for illegal leadership. We will not have to worry about the amateur vs. professional controversy. There are no professionals in government work. And unlike the traditional Olympics, these games will not necessarily be for the young athletes. The old, entrenched bureaucrat who has outstayed his usefulness and is just clinging on until retirement will probably have the experience needed to medal. But we might have to offer some additional motivation to earn a gold or silver medal. The government worker will always think that bronze is good enough.

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DENTISTS HATE YOU AND THEY ARE PROBABLY ALIENS

 

Dentists hate you. But I suppose it's okay to have an attitude if your entire profession revolved around pain, radiation, tooth decay, gingivitis, bad breath, blood and drool.


You dread the visit to the dentist all day long. You park your car and walk into the dentist's office 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment time in order to sit in their waiting room for an hour and a half. They teach the receptionist how to arrange such a schedule in Dental Receptionist College. In Dental Receptionist College all students are required to minor in How to Create Major Inconveniences for your Patients. They know that we might complain about the wait, but we are trapped there and have no choice. Our complaints are taped by secret microphones and played back during office parties.


Once you are there you get to sit down in the well-heated and stuffy waiting room. You can even watch TV, but you are not allowed to touch it. You have to watch whatever the dental receptionist wants to watch; game shows, soap operas and Oprah. This is the beginning of their sensory deprivation process that makes it easier for them to perform alien experiments on your body. If you don't feel like watching TV they have a selection of 2-3 year old magazines for you. They know that old news will help calm you. If you still have any wherewithal left after thumbing through the magazines, your eyes will be hypnotized by the apathetic fish in the aquarium. Listen to the bubbling aquarium filter. Feeling sleepy? Listen to the alien music playing on the intercom. It is Celine Dion. She is the only alien to ever crack the top forty pop music market.


In the back of your now dulled state of mind you hear a voice calling. It is the hygienist. All of a sudden, after waiting 90 minutes, your appointment has a sense of urgency to it. They want to finish you up and go home. Now lie down in the comfortable chair. That chair has special alien gravity powers that hold you down without straps. Have you ever tried to get up quickly from the dental chair?


Let the blood pool in your head as you stare into the bright light. The more blood in your head, the more calm you are and the more blood they can take from you and use for evil. Notice the sterile room you are in. Doesn't it resemble the spaceship operating room that is often described by hypnotized alien abductees? Now put on the safety goggles so that bone chips and broken drill bits do not fly out of your mouth and lodge in your eyeball. Look at the hygienist. She has a mask and goggles. Is it the same person who led you into the room? Maybe she is a victim of alien body snatching. Now gargle with the mystery fluid. It kills the germs in your mouth that may infect the alien population.


Dental professionals prefer to talk to you when they have tools and fingers in your mouth. The odd sounds that you make is actually the alien's native language. You don't realize that you are speaking alien and you soon get frustrated at the apparent lack of communication. Then you resort to just nodding at whatever they are saying. This is okay too because they have alien mind reading powers.


The hygienist now goes to work on you. They do not let you see the tools that they are sticking in your mouth. They take magician and gambling courses in dental school and are deft at the sleight-of-hand. There's a reason they don't want you to see the tools. You would expect alien tools to be space-aged equipment. But they aren't. The aliens are sadistic and want to inflict pain on you. They have been using the same dental surgery tools since the Civil War. If you attempt to fight their gravity chair and peek at the tool table, they will shock your exposed nerves with a blast of cold water or cold air.


How sadistic are dental professionals? Did you know that the US Army Reserve unit that got into trouble for abusing prisoners at Abu Graib was a dental unit? There was a snafu at the assignment office and this reserve dental unit from West Virginia was mistakenly sent to relieve a departing military police company at the prison. These dental professionals were just doing what they were taught to do. Torturing and humiliating people.


Once the hygienist is done scraping every exposed nerve in your jaw she calls for the dentist. He likes the drill. The drill hurts but there are worse things. He was drilling on one of my teeth one day and we fell into a routine together. He would drill a little. Stop. Tears would well up in my eyes. Drill, stop, tears. Drill, stop, tears. This cycle repeated itself about 4 more times when he finally asked, "Why do you wince and tear-up when I stop drilling?" I said, "Doc, it's that music! Every time you stop I can hear Celine Dion playing! Please keep drilling!"


The dentist is good at using euphemisms. "You are going to feel a little pressure," means, "It is going to feel like a yellow jacket stung you on your tonsil." "You are going to feel a pinch" means, "It will feel like this needle pierced the roof of your mouth and penetrated your eyeball."


They speak in a secret code to the hygienist too. "Suction," means, "Get rid of that quart of blood that is pooling in the back of his throat." They even assign a secret numbering system to the dental tools. "Give me a # 3, or a # 4, or a # 8," is shorthand for "the gum eviscerator, "the raw dangling nerve pincer," and "the bone pulverizer."


Now it is time for an x-ray. There is nothing more unearthly than radiation. Do you really think that a human invented the x-ray machine in the 1890s? That was quite a leap in medical science going from barber-surgeons and bloodletting to x-ray machines. Whoever invented the x-ray machine had some alien help. I really can't explain what this machine does to you. They jam something into your mouth (a GPS?), immobilize you with a lead blanket, and then shoot strange rays at you.


Before you leave they tell you to floss. They want you to take a nylon wire and rub it in between your teeth until your gums bleed. This is the same principle as taking a linoleum knife and running it back and forth in between your toes. The last thing they tell you before you leave is not to eat or drink anything for the next 96 hours.
As you exit the building and walk out to your car in the parking lot you sense a weird feeling. Though you spent the entire afternoon at the dentist office it has only felt like five minutes since you first arrived and got out of your car. This is called "lost time" or "missing time" and it is the same phenomenon that alien abductees experience. Coincidence?

 

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THE UNITED STATES MILITARY NEEDS TO INVADE NORWAY IN ORDER TO BE AWARDED A NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.


Background:

The 2005 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the IAEA. Don't know who they are? They are the International Atomic Energy Agency. What did they accomplish? I don't know. Did they prevent the proliferation of atomic weapons in North Korea or Iraq? No. But they meant to and that is usually good enough for the Nobel Committee. These Norwegians (the Peace Center is in Oslo, Norway, not Stockholm Sweden) are idealists, intentions go a long way with them.

Let's review some of their other stunning awardees.

2004- Wangari Muta Maathai. Already forget who she was? That was just last year. She is an AIDS activist and environmentalist. No, she did not get the prize for medicine or chemistry. She received the prize for peace. Despite many advanced college degrees, she is an AIDS conspiracy nut who thinks that the virus was created by the western governments to destroy Africans. She was supposedly selected because she drew attention to political oppression in her fights with her home government of Kenya. Drew attention? Did she accomplish anything?

2002- Jimmy Carter. Really? For his work, where? North Korea? Haiti? Has anything really improved in those two countries since his visits? Maybe former president Carter and the Nobel Peace Committee should move to either Haiti or North Korea. Do you prefer to live in Haiti and put up with roving gangs? Or is North Korea and their internal security forces better for you. Human rights? Whatever.

2001- The UN. Where have they ever gone anywhere and made a difference without the US backing them up? But they have good intentions.

1994- Yassar Arafat. The father of modern day terrorism who became a multi-millionaire by stealing international aid money from his own people.

1990- Mikhail Gorbachev. He thought that he could reform communism and make it stronger by giving his people a little freedom. He never understood the events that unfolded. You can't give the people a little bit of freedom.

1988- UN Peacekeepers. An ad-hoc group of soldiers who usually just stand by and watch events such as genocide unfold around them. They will do nothing without the military backing of the US. In fact, they tend to sit around and get bored a lot. So they bide their time with some favorite activities that include looting, rape and child prostitution.

1985- International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. Now that is a noble calling. One problem. This organization was a KGB puppet that was organized to try to curb US nuclear power. It was chaired by Yevgeny Chazov, a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Now that was a pleasant group of peace loving people.

Ronald Reagan. Oh no, I'm sorry, my bad. They didn't give one to him in 1985/86 when he refused to back down to the Soviets with his SDI. Or in 1987, when he gave his "Mr. Gorbachev Tear Down this Wall" speech. These two events led to the end of World War III, aka, the Cold War. Conservatives are not allowed to win the prize, even if they do get results.

What about the US military? Have they ever been honored? Let's review what they have done.

1. They almost single-handily defeated the empire of Japan in WW II while simultaneously helping the Soviet Union defeat Nazi Germany.
2. Their presence in Europe after the war maintained peace in Europe for 45 years. Has Europe ever seen 45 years of peace?
3. They were the bulwark of NATO forces that protected Europe (that includes Norway) from Soviet invasion for 45 years.
4. They have kept the peace on the Korean peninsula for the last 50 years.
5. They ended the Cold War and communist hegemony over Eastern Europe.
6. They are currently almost single-handily fighting the international war on Islamofascism.
7. They are routinely dispatched to extinguish small brush fire sized wars throughout the world.
8. They are routinely dispatched to feed starving countries and respond to natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis.
9. They are the only peacekeepers nobody messes with. They actually keep the peace.
10. They keep international sea lanes open to trade.

That's only ten. I'm sure there are many more. So here is my plan. In order to give the United States' military a Nobel Prize, we are going to have to invade the Peace Center and appoint our own committee members. Then we can declare the US military the winner of a Peace Prize.

We can probably do this without hurting anybody. I think Norway is the only country in Europe that surrendered faster than France in 1940. When we arrive on the beaches of Norway all those Quislings will probably lie down and surrender.

If we have to threaten the use of force we can use this opportunity to test our new F-22 Raptors and drop some bombs in their fjords. They will surrender before we kill all of their lutefisk. Christmas is almost here and that is lutefisk season.

Besides, what have the Norwegians done for anybody except send Vikings out to loot, pillage, and burn villages and monasteries? And they don't like America. They never have. They sailed here before anyone else and then turned around and settled Greenland because they thought that was a nicer place to live.