Creative Endeavors

Growing up as a child, I would often hear the expression “The American Dream” over and over, like some patriotic mantra for the country.  Some invisible goal for every under-achiever who dreamed of a better life, it was a benchmark, a milepost to aspire to. 

Wonder what ever happened to it, this elusive dream of people, who now just barely eek out a living, payday to payday, month after month?

Sadly the American consumer, the average Joe, has just about hit the end of his string, he has gone about as far as he can go.  He’s low on fuel and out of steam, running on a half-tank most of the time, one mark off of empty.

I saw a guy fill up twice yesterday.  Why? 

Because the pump only allows $75 max on a fill up (when you use plastic) and I assume he didn’t get it full, so had to move to another pump in order to top it off (new reading on the card).  A lot of people are now maxed out on the plastic and their homes in serious danger of foreclosure.  Debt to rate payment ratio’s in this day and age are upside down.  Savings account balances in serious decline.

Prices at the store are not exempt, they are increasing faster than most of can keep up with, and there seems to be no relief in sight.  With wages for the most part not meeting these costs, it seems that we are all on some kind of vicious merry-go-round in life.  There are no demands, serious demands, for American products anymore.  Most folks are just hangin’ on hoping against all odds that they will still have a job tomorrow, next week.

You ever notice all those trucks out on the highway, with the trailer doors decorated with a bumper sticker that reads … America Moves By Truck.  They are all delivering goods to “us” the consumer.  They are not headed to some port for export; they are hauling the groceries, the trinkets, the widgets that we as a nation feel we have to have, in order to get by.

72% of our gross domestic product in this country is our consumerism; we are the people buying this crap.  The American consumer has participated willingly on a buying passion that by most standards is obscene.  He has been seduced by Sony, Dell, Verizon, Sharper Image, Cingular, Harley Davidson, Motorola, GM, Ford, Cox Cable, The Dish Network just to name a few.  And at the same time he was cunningly, almost systematically enabled by MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover, Merrill Lynch and the recently defunct, Bear Stearns and Lehhman, who were bolstered with troves of cash conveniently supplied by the Fed’s.

Our rising tide of mediocrity in political leadership, the education of our young, has lifted our boats, to take us where.  No where. 

A full 30% of our kids no longer graduate from school, we lag behind other countries in literacy, numeric education and key scholastic and scientific skills.  We are sadly rated something like 24^th in the world on health care.  We are mired down in conflicts around the globe (troops in 144 locations), conflicts that drain our lifeblood away in terms of our youth and our wealth. 

A fabricated affluence at this point, which seems to be mostly non-existent. 

Recently Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Co. made a valiant rally to lift up the spirit and call America back into the fold.  They ran a full page ad in USA Today that said:  “Over the last 105 years in the saddle, we’ve seen wars, conflicts, depression, recession, resistance, and revolutions.  We’ve watched a thousand hand-wringing pundits disappear in our rear-view mirror.  But every time, this country has come out stronger than before.  Because chrome and asphalt put distance between you and whatever the world can throw at you.  Freedom and wind outlast hard times.  And the rumble on an engine drowns out all the spin of the evening news.  If 105 years have proved one thing, it’s that fear sucks and it doesn’t last long.”

It would be nice to assume, that I could grow me a beard, get an ear-ring, put a snot-rag on my head, jump on my hog and ride off into a new era, to allow my un-muffled exhaust blow the cobwebs out of my mind, and forgot about all this. 

This is of course misdirected fantasy.

Now the reality, the world didn’t throw this at us, we did it to ourselves.  It is a well written missive; unfortunately it seems to be absurdly non-apocalyptic in its nature.  It also comes from a company that just sent 15% of its workforce to the house, because no one is buying their products.  Some of us (non Harley Owners) believe we are in serious trouble economically speaking

Coincidentally, just in time, another survey. 

A recently survey of American Voters states that:  “48% of American voters are now saying that America’s best days are past, 38% say they are still to come.” I guess that other 15% are the one’s Harley-Davidson sent to the house, they are so pi**sed off they don’t even want to talk about it. 

Kind of like that old time Gospel song … “The world didn’t give it to me … And the world cannot take it away.”  It would be nice to believe that the “world did this to us” but it didn’t. Now it is time to pay for the band, we check our pockets, and we don’t have the cash.  At the same time … The rest of the world refuses to cash our check.

It is good for Harley-Davidson, that you can fill one up and you don’t have to worry about moving over to the next pump.

Hammer Down Boys … Hammer Down.

000

Related: Illegals are feeling the pinch. USA Today ad Get Out And Ride

The Iraq war is the first U.S. war that has been financed entirely on credit.  When the war started, the Bush administration said it would cost no more than $60 billion.  (Read My Lips … No New Taxes … Something sound Familiar here?)  At that time (the start of the war) the U.S. was in budget deficit, so the administration had to borrow to finance the invasion.

About 40% of this money was borrowed from China and other international investors (War is good business, invest your son or daughter), the first time since the Revolutionary War.  At the same time, the administration and Congress did another “stupid thing” they lowered taxes. 

Which I am not complaining about here, I do hate taxes in any way shape, form or manner.  Hell, it is downright “Un-American” to not hate taxes, everyone knows that.  But going to war on a deficit and borrowing and then lowering the taxes, well that just isn’t the way to do it. 

Wait, it gets even better, rates go down!  Much to the glee of the Average American the Fed also lowered the prime interest rates, which encouraged Middle Class Americans to go on a consumption binge, that was mainly fueled by credit cards.  Now things are not so rosy, some of these very same people are now living in empty appliance cartons, or under bridges in the greater L.A. Basin. 

Nearly half the sub prime mortgage loans written in 2005 have ended in foreclosure.  Cleveland has the highest rates in the nation, another thing they will have to live down.  Southwest Airlines just borrowed $600 million to buy jet fuel, things are not going well in River City.  I can no longer afford a visit to Starbucks on Thursday afternoon.

Just to put this in perspective, the federal government borrows 600 billion each year to make up what they don’t bring in tax revenues.  That doesn’t show up in the deficit as it is easily manipulated.  The difference is in things like the wars that we fund “off budget” that makes it appear the deficit is shrinking …or was … until this year. 

Last I heard, our government is collecting something like 2 trillion dollars from us in taxes this year.  There are a thousand billon in a trillion, and a thousand million in a billion.  Two trillion has 12 zeroes.  It looks like this:  $2,000,000,000,000.00.  Dog gone, the first thing you know, we will be talking about some REAL money here folks.

My pet peeve, when GWB’s first budget took effect on Oct. 1, 2001 the national debt stood at 5.806 trillion dollars.  On Friday, the debt stood at 9.364 trillion.  That’s a difference of 3.558 trillion dollars in a little over 6 1/2 years.  Divided the 3.558 by 5.806 and you will see that it is a 61 % increase in the national debt during that time.  Or, put another way, if you divide the 3.558 by the total debt of 9.364 you will find that about 38 cents of EVERY dollar owed by the federal government was borrowed under GWB’s budgets beginning on 10/1/2001.  Not a sustainable financial position. 

That’s why the dollar is fried and soon only things like gold and silver…..or a beast system currency will be the only thing of value. There is no such thing as a “free war” the United States and the rest of the world will be paying the price of this massive boon-doggle for years, possibly decades, to come.

It is high time that we figure it out.  It is pretty simple really.  We (The United States of America) are not all powerful and we ought to get used to it.  We are slowly degrading ourselves to the status of a third rate debt ridden country (if we haven’t already) and it is time to step down off our high horse.  It is no longer possible for us to impose our idea of how people ought to govern themselves in a Muslim country, and/or a oil based economy in the Persian Gulf or any other place in the world.

Establish a bogus Democracy in the sand.

Adopt and feed an entire country while they sit back and put billions in the bank.

Stop the Chinese and the Soviets from developing their oil fields.

Mission Accomplished …. That’s Priceless.

000

Not long ago, I wrote a piece called “Shock & Awe” that proved to be very popular (April 10th). It concerned men and the stupid things that they do. Unlike the Oil Companies, who in their malafide manner, fabricate oil shortages, there are NO shortages of stupid men, or the acts that they often perform that are considered not so swift.

I should know, I am a charter dues-paying member of the stupid things that men do club.

Today’s science lesson, or rather, “Why men should not be allowed in the kitchen.” I am noticing that my coffee is tasting a little bit rank here lately. More so, that usual, so I decide to clean out Mr. Coffee Maker. I go to the cabinet, locate the vinegar and pour in the water into the coffee maker reservoir. At this time, I add about two cups of the vinegar to the water mix.

I run one cycle thru the appliance and then decide, if one is good, two ought to be better. So I now refill the chamber with the extremely hot liquid (the vinegar/water mix), which I now believe, was my first mistake in the process. Again, figuring that vinegar is a good cleaning agent, I decide to do a very stoopid thing.

I decide in my infinite wisdom, that “baking soda” would in fact, make this appliance and the beverager it brews, a lot sweeter, so I decide to add about a half-cup of Arm & Hammer baking soda to this very hot, caustic mix of water and vinegar, which unknown to me has been magically transformed into basically a dangerous, caustic form of home-made acid.

BAD MOVE. I mean, REALLY BAD MOVE.

Whoosh! The entire mix is now (because of this previously inexperienced phenomenon) all over the counter. The Vinegar and the Baking Soda do NOT like each other. Please remember this, it may save you considerable embarrasment in the future.

Water + Heat + Vinegar + Baking Soda = Terrific Whoosh!  This concludes today’s Science Lesson. (I know some of you are disappointed because this did not include serious pain to the lower genital area’s, but it was still pretty messy)

Moving on … Stupid things that men do. Some guy in Fort Worth, Texas, this week, tried to cash a check for the amount of $360 billion dollars. Charles Ray Fuller, 21, tried to cash the check at a Chase Bank. The check was made out to “Fulla Comp and Entertainment,” the record company Fuller wanted to start with the bogus check.

When his paternal grandmother Sharon Laird heard about the deal she replied, “Do What? Is he crazy? We were just in awe.” She also added “that if she did have $360 billion, I wouldn’t be sitting here. I’d be somewhere drinking margaritas. It’s five O’clock somewhere.”

Thus, giving even more credence to the age old adage of …….. The acorn don’t fall too far from the tree. (You ever notice how those Texas folks like that word … Awe?)

Gasoline is up another .31 cents this week. With prices now approaching $3.75 per gallon in the area, many people are in a bind, and pawnshops are reporting a brisk business as people pawn off their stuff in order to pay for necessities. In order to say afloat and fill up her car with gas, one resident is resorting to selling her personal items on Craigslist.com. The struggling driver is selling her flat iron for $18 because she said she has no other way to get the money to fill the tank before payday. Anyone interested in some old lottery tickets, only been used one time.

I remember when Bush was talking with Barbara Walters about “the legacy of his Presidency. And what did he think about how he (or it) would be remembered?” Looks like it will go down in the history books as the Chapter 11 or Chapter 13 Administration to me.

UPS/FedEx are re-routing all of their respective delivery routes to make right-hand turns only, saying they will save millions in the next year, not having to wait on left turns at stoplights. Pretty crafty thinking. I always wondered, if these two companies were to merge, would they name them Fed-UP?

Not long ago, me and the Miss’us flew out to Lost Wages, Nevada. Recently experiencing a longing to visit my money, I went out to the airport to pick up my ticket for a new adventure in Sin City. I looked at the Airlines Rep and said, “I want a roundtrip ticket to Las Vegas, Nevada, and send my luggage to Phoenix.” She got a funny look on her face and said, “Why would you want to do that?” And I said, “well hell, that is the way you did it to me last time!”

I won’t say who it was, but it was an AMERICAN air carrier.

To save on fuel, a number of airlines are doing what a lot of driver’s are doing, slowing down. Cutting back on the throttle. Southworst began two months ago. It’s projecting that by extending each flight by one to three minutes, it will save $42 million on fuel this year alone. Northwest airlines added eight minutes to a Paris-Minneapolis flight earlier this week, saving 162 gallons of fuel and $535. JetBlue’s director of flight operations said “it’s not a dramatic change,” but his airline saves about $13.6 million a year on fuel by adding an average of less than two minutes to each flight. United has invested in flight planning software that helps pilots choose the best routes and speeds. The airline said it’s trying to fly at more “consistent speeds” and expects to save an estimated $20 million dollars. So you are going to be flying a little bit slower, but getting there.

As for your luggage making the trip with you? Well, they are gonna work on that. Does the “Paris to Minneapolis” flight strike you as strange? I mean, I have been to Minneapolis/St Paul and Paris it is not.

I will leave you with this and then I am outta here.

A German man is asking for his marriage to be annulled after finding out that his wife is a man. Yeah, I know, you think I am making this up. Farmer Wolfgang Zober, 55, says he fell in love with Randy Victoria, 38, over the Internet. And that “he was delighted when he met her and realized she was as lovely as her photographs.” It was only on the couples “wedding night” says Zober, that “she told me she had male equipment and that her real name was Ralf.”

(Insert vision of Gomer Pyle here ……. Surprise …. Surprise ……… Soooooooooooprise! Galll-lee!)

Zober said that “he was devastated, not least because “Randy” seemed genuinely interested in his work. I didn’t realize that was because she used to be a farmer herself.”

Strangers in the night, exchanging glances, strangers in the night, what were the chances ……. I told you men are capable of some pretty stupid stuff.

I leave you with that vivid picture of the German Love Nest, I am gonna go make me some coffee, or a fresh batch of rocket fuel, whatever comes first.

***

Tonight on the local news, they said that schools were going to start teaching “common decency” to our children. Finally. A step in the right direction or as my mother would say, “It’s about time!” Might be appropriate to provide a chair next to the child for Mom or Dad to sit on while we are at it.

Sometimes I often feel that we have gotten so busy trying to make a living, that we have forgotten how it is to live. Sitting in our recliners, within easy view of our most precious possessions (our children) we have allowed sex and violence to permeate the television and worse yet, sat idly by, as they were saturated with it. We never stopped to change the channel, we just blew it off ….. “Oh don’t worry, it is not real.” And we let them (our kids) gorge themselves on the soup of demons and monsters, that we practically invited into our homes.

Then we expect them to be good.

People stand in lines for hours, to plop down the almighty dollar to watch violence in movies, video, and other forms of media. Chat rooms are set up on a daily basis on the Internet to discuss things so vile it boggles the mind. Common place, ordinary fare, pass me the menu, I am sitting at the table of the enemy and we are going to share lunch.

We are taxed or coerced into paying dues to a Internet System that remains basically unregulated by “anyone” in our libraries (Oklahoma City libraries are filtered), and we sit back as our children are attacked mentally and sometimes, even physically (pedophiles on the net). Our kids slink off into their rooms and learn how to build bombs. Or they tap into pornography of any nature that the sick, twisted minds of depraved men can create.

Ever listen to wrap music?
Case closed.

Kids listen to CD’s with lyrics of murder, sex, suicide, hopelessness, and even anarchy. Right now, somewhere, plugged in and walking around, a kid fantasizes about secretly carrying out the forms of evil that fill his/her mind from television, music CD’s, movies or the Internet. Bet your last dollar on that.

The flag is no longer a sacred thing, it is usually seen worn as a headband or a shirt or some piece of clothing. No respect. Hell, we have a man running for the presidency of this country, that will not even salute it or place his hand over his heart when it comes by in review.

When you see your brother wrapped up in one and sent home, it carries a totally different meaning. Respect bought and paid for at a very high price.

Our freedoms which we enjoy were paid for by the blood of brave men and women, but today, this same flag has become a banner of filth. You can set in on fire in the name of free speech for cryin’ out loud, according to some old relic, appointed for life, sitting on the bench of the Supreme Court.

I think it is a good deal, that social mores, values, common decency are being passed onto the next generation in school. If the parents won’t do it, or do not have the time to do it, then it is a good idea that someone is willing to step up to the plate and take a stand for America.

Bring it on.

***

I swear to God, all this is driving me insane! This Email came to me out of Nevada 5-1-08

Mexican State Angry at Influx of Mexicans returning to Mexico

Can you believe the nerve of these people? Nine state legislators from the Mexican state of Sonora traveled to Tucson to complain about Arizona’s new employer crackdown on illegals from Mexico. It seems many Mexican illegals are now returning to their hometowns and the officials in the Sonora state government are ticked: A delegation of nine state legislators from Sonora was in Tucson on Tuesday to say Arizona’s new employer sanctions law will have a devastating effect on the Mexican state.

At a news conference, the legislators said Sonora - Arizona’s southern neighbor, made up of mostly small towns - cannot handle the demand for housing, jobs and schools it will face as illegal Mexican workers here return to their hometowns without jobs or money. The law, which took effect Jan.1, punishes employers who knowingly hire individuals who don’t have valid legal documents to work in the United States. Penalties include suspension or loss of a business license.

They’re pi**ed off because their own citizens are returning to their hometowns, placing a huge burden on their state government. This lady has some serious issues: They want to tell them how the law will affect Mexican families on both sides of the border ‘How can they pass a law like this?’ asked Mexican Rep. Leticia Amparano- Gamez, who represents Nogales. “There is not one person living in Sonora who does not have a friend or relative working in Arizona,” she said in Spanish.

“Mexico is not prepared for this, for the tremendous problems, it will face as more and more Mexicans working in Arizona and sending money to their families return to hometowns in Sonora without jobs,” she said. “We are one family, socially and economically,” she said of the people of Sonora and Arizona.

Wrong. 

Welcome to OUR world, you come here take advantage of everything that is free, then have the audacity to complain?  The United States is a sovereign nation and its states and its citizens are not responsible for the welfare of Mexico’s citizens. It’s time for the Mexican government to stop parasitically feeding off of the United States and start taking care of its own citizens. If these people cannot accept that, then let’s buy them a can of spray paint, and let them write OUR elected officials in Washington DC.

The Email went on to say, “Too bad all the states don’t pass a law just like it.”

Well Bucko, there is good news on the horizon.

Oklahoma recently passed this very thing, last I heard, it was NOT being enforced. Why enforce it, when you can DEBATE IT. Maybe it is time that the individual states step up and show some national backbone, as those gutless twerps in Congress don’t seem to have any.

Day after day, it never seems to get resolved. It is enough to get a guy down. I was so depressed last night, I called Life-Line and got a call center in Pakistan. I told them that our open border, immigration mess and the elections had me down, that I was suicidal.

They got all excited and asked if I could drive a truck.

***

Nuts!  I neglected to run down to the Root N Scoot and purchase my lottery ticket for the game tonight.  I am now not going to rich, I am devastated, shocked beyond belief.  What will I tell all those people that are depending on me, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Sears and Target.  (By the way, Home Depot is shutting down 15 stores nationwide, Congress made them do it).

The average man is always waiting for something to happen to him instead of setting to work to make things happen.  For every one person who dreams of making $50,000, a hundred people dream of being left $50,000.  It is the new American Vision, the old one (The American Dream of your Ma & Pa) was cremated by the Bush Administration a long time ago.

The wife looks over at me and she sez …. “You actually think you are going to be rich someday?” and I just smile, my best toothy smile, and I reply … “I don’t think I am ever gonna be stinkin’ rich, but I sure wouldn’t mind smelling bad.”

It’s a frame of mind thing.

The golden opportunity most people are seeing is in themselves.  It is not in your environment, it is not in luck or chance, or the help of others.  As the world would lead you to believe, which isn’t necessarily so.  Helping others in itself is a reward, the help of others in your life, is a blessing.

But sadly, going it on your own, often just will not get it done.

Really not sure what the exact key to happiness in life might be.  A lot of folks out there, seem to think they have it nailed.  I do however know what the key to unhappiness is.  Trying to please everybody.  So I plug along, each day, I do the best I know how, the very best I am capable of; and I mean to keep on doing this to the bitter end.

If the end bears me out all right, what is said against me will not amount to anything … If the end brings me out wrong, then a thousand Angels swearing in Heaven I was right would make no difference at all.  The sum total of a man’s life isn’t all that much when you weigh it against eternity.  I would like to assume that I am smart enough, strong enough, savvy enough, and capable enough to do it all on my own. 

But I am not … I need the Lord … People need the Lord. 

No shortage of folks who have it all figured out.  Dr. Phil has made millions off of garbage like this, Oprah has cleaned house, both of them expressing concisely this type of rhetoric that is basically useless (in my opinion).  So I weigh it all, make my own conclusions and come up with my own plans.

Find more ammo for my gun without having to register my name and address.

Learn how to save power and live off the grid.

Find and recognize edible plants in the wild

(but this one has to be close to the house, I can not afford the gas)

Undoubtedly, the biggest falsehood of my generation is the assumption that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.  That one quick set of numbers on a Saturday Nite or Wednesday, will solve everything.  With virtually unlimited discretionary income, all the ill’s of the world will completely disappear. 

I-don’t-think-so.com

Don’t really see it happening, not in my neck of the woods anyway.   The first number is twenty-three, the second, forty-one …. Here is another number … YOU DON”T HAVE … Thirty-six.

000

Wonder when the new Rand McNally is going to print up the revised Atlas with the picture of where our country USED to be? The new El Grande Mexico (Big Mexico) the land of the Almighty Amero?

Not long ago Texas announced that they were building a by-pass around Austin, using Texas Taxpayer money to fund the project, which is being constructed by a Mexican company. Certainly nothing new, the fence on the border is being built with Mexican labor. I now understand that this so called “Super Highway” is now coming up into the Dallas area. On or about the same time, I read where President Bush is holding clandestine meetings with The Mexican President in Louisiana.

That the press was NOT being allowed to attend the meetings.
That the agenda of the meetings was NOT being discussed.
That members of the U.S. Congress do NOT know what is going on or are privy to any of the information.

What is going on?

It seems that there is some kind of wholesale effort being made to just erase this country from the face of the earth. Dysfunctional government run amuck seems to be the order of the day. Why are our personal freedom’s at the very core of our essence, seemingly being eroded on a daily basis. By those we entrusted to keep our best interests at heart.

Most importantly, why is this entire process taking place, secretly and covertly, behind closed doors. Could it be that Mexico and Canada have weapons of Mass Destruction that are not listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.

I just received an email today, and from other multiple sources, that Rep. Shane Jett (R-Tecumseh) helped sneak a rider onto SB 1507, which would allow the North American NAFTA Super-Highway (part of the North American Union strategy engineered by President Bush and then Mexican President Vincente Fox) to be built through Oklahoma.

In the Oklahoma State Senate, a rider or amendment doesn’t have to be germane to the original bill. That means its content doesn’t have to be related to the content of the original bill at all. Basically, SB 1507 was passed by both the Oklahoma Senate and House, nearly UNANIMOUSLY, without too many legislators reading it or being aware of it, and is now headed to Gov. Brad Henry’s desk for signature.

If you’re not familiar with this issue, Google “NAFTA Super-Highway” and “North American Union” and read about this grand plan in detail–it’ll curl your hair!!

According to the OK Conservative Political Action Committee, Jett’s amendment facilitates multi-modal transportation corridors for rail, utilities, pipe lines and even a inland “smart” port. These are all components for the NAFTA Superhighway and is an important step toward creating a North American Union, eventually eliminating economic and possibly physical borders between Mexico, Canada and the U.S–even to the extent of establishing a common currency known as the “Amero“.

As the dollar continues to shrink against the Euro, it would seem that the big push is now on (albeit what appears to be in secret) to possibly merge the three economies of North America to compete with the already merged countries of Europe. Shades of George Dubyas Daddys’ masterful plan …. One World Government … Come to mind? (Anyone, anyone?)

If you read more on this issue, you’ll find plans for an eight-lane commercial-only highway and railroad coming through the Durant area of Oklahoma, to continue northward to a proposed Kansas City hub and from there northwest to Canada. Large tracts of land in Oklahoma and Texas are already being bought up for this purpose. The plan calls for security enforcement of this highway to be provided by the Mexican Military–on American Soil! Also the provision for “Islands of Security” (Rest Areas) for Mexican’s truckers that we will not allowed to use.

Maybe I am just thick, and just don’t get it. “A commercial-only highway” being built with U.S. Dollars but we are NOT allowed to use it. What is wrong with this picture boys & girls?

I suggest one thing …. Make the call. More and more, I am beginning to feel like the canary in the coal mine on a lot of this. Where it is all going and what it all means, is anyone’s guess. There truly is an ill wind blowing across America these days.

One person wrote: “This odious legislation got by our patriotic lawmakers until today, when it was sent to Gov. Henry for signature. It is imperative, let me say it again, it is vital that everyone contact the Governor IMMEDIATELY and tell him you want him to VETO this legislation. The phone numbers for his office are: (405) 521-2342 or 1-800-865-6490 and 1-800-522-8502. His OKC fax is (405) 521-3353 and the Tulsa fax is 918-581-2835. If you want to send him an e-mail, that’s fine, but please, the more important communication method is by phone or FAX, and as soon as possible. Please leave a message that you are opposed to this legislation and strongly urge the Governor to VETO it!”

I whole heartedly agree. I know some might consider that they (legislators) might be doing this with our best interests at heart, but our National Sovereignty and Identity could very well be at stake. It is even possible, that some reading this, on the east or west coast(s) of America think “So what? What do I care if a bunch of hillbillies in Texas and Oklahoma take it in the shorts?”

Stick around; they will get to you, after they are done with us. Rule of the jungle.

Now I have to go, I am late for my Spanish Lesson.

***

My vagabond soul is stretching the limits of my sanity. Ravaging my spirit and tempting me beyond belief, the urge to move on is tugging on the heartstrings of my soul. I am thinking of different places, smells and sights.

I am thinking this morning of the mountains.

Seem to be experiencing this longing to go to Denver again. Lord, is this going to happen; am I to make a trip to Denver this year? I sure would like to go; it would be so nice to get out of here, if only for a short trip and a little while.

Can this even be possible given the economic conditions in this country right now? Just to get out on the highway for awhile and watch the plains roll by the window, and smell the country air, that would be such a kick or boost for my tired old spirit. Better than Prozac or Valium, a natural boost to clear my mind, fifth gear and seventy-five, high-ballin in overdrive..

One more river to cross, one more mountain to climb, one more valley I gotta go thru, leaving my troubles behind. One more battle with the devil over my sin, I am going to walk with Jesus, and I am going to share my life with Him. Turn up the radio, roll down the window and allow the wind to rush across my face, give me a moment or two, the opportunity to get out of this place.

I long for a two lane highway, after five in the afternoon, they are just about all mine. The farmers and the truckers have settled in for the day, and they leave it all to me. Even the plains of Kansas, endless and mostly devoid of trees, can be a welcome thing to a tired and ragged soul, looking for a watering hole for his spirit. Denver after a trip across the wheat lands and prairies of Kansas shines like a jewel on the horizon. It calls to me like a lost lover in the dark after a summer dance …

Spring time on the plains, wake up and smell the roses.

Nice weather is just around the corner, soon the youngin’s will be frolicking in the sprinkler, and you will be putting some meat on the grill. Time to break out the weed-whacker, the old lawnmower, weeding, planting, and mowing to improve the appearance of the homestead will soon be the order of the day. Reducing your stress and deflating the spare tire you developed sitting around watching the Discovery Channel during the winter months and whiling away the days.

One more river to cross, one more mountain to climb, one more valley I gotta go thru, leaving my troubles behind. One more battle with the devil over my sin, I am going to walk with Jesus, and I am going to share my life with Him. Turn up the radio, roll down the window and allow the wind to rush across my face, give me a moment or two, the opportunity to get out of this place.

***

Okay, I load up in the family truckster and I go down to BestBuy and I find a computer expert that doesn’t have any pimples on his face, and he explains everything to me and I make a major decision and buy the thing.

Pre-Loaded with EVERYTHING THAT I NEED, yes I believe that was the exact quote, “pre-loaded with everything that I need.” I pay for it, load it in the truck, come home and really get into the assembly process and fire that sucker up! What a testosterone rush I get, everything works and on the first time. Like they say in ‘Vegas, “the boy is on a roll!”

My apparent exuberance is short lived. This is the point that I note that “some of it is there, and some of it is not.” Everything that I needed is woefully short a few items, it turns out that it was “partially” pre-loaded, I am now informed that if I want ALL OF IT I am required to purchase the whole program for an additional $105.00. This kind of hacks me off … As a matter of fact, “it really smacks of bait and switch” advertising. It should be illegal, but instead, it is or has turned into “standard operating practice in this country.”

Still not convinced?

How about this one. Latest wrinkle in the fabric of modern day business that seems to be unraveling with increasing frequency in a store or mall near you (check your Yellow Pages). I buy a cell phone, this modern marvel is supposed to do it all. I am an AT&T (Cingular) customer for EIGHT YEARS in good standing, and I am still required to sign a two year contract, in order to get a good price on this technological advanced piece of … well …. Never mind. (You spread it on your flowers and it makes them grow well)

It does it all. (sound familiar?) Text, Web Access, Photo’s at the touch, plays MP3, I can even download a recipe from Rachael Raye for cyrin’ out loud! I am tickled pink, a little light in the wallet, but still, I can do it all …….

Then I discover if I want to store or hold more than say “a hand-full of pictures” then it needs a bigger memory chip. I rush over to Staples, rustle up a salesman (which in this day and age is pretty easy, no one else in the store but employee’s and myself) and he directs me to memory chips. Another $26.

Stepping outside in the glorious sunshine, I breathe deep and think to myself …. I love life! Take a couple of quick shots of my truck in the parking lot, my only possession in life, I do not owe any payments on, it is a fifty-five model. Go home to download the pictures into the computer, and there is no USB cable provided with the phone. Frantically I check the box, I re-check the box, surely this is a mistake?

Back to Staples for a USB cable. $14 for this handy-dandy set up. That was easy.

Get back to the house, find the USB port, hook up the camera-slash-phone-slash coffee maker and nothing. I need a driver! Like the fool I am, I check the box looking for the disc with the driver on it. No soap. I locate a driver, $44

The phone works swell, the camera if you are outside, is practically useless; too much sunlight and you cannot see the screen. So like the fool I am, I run back to Best Buy and check out digital cameras, find one. Locked in, I am on a mission folks, and this is a target rich environment. It is $155 and some change, but I discover that I can get it at Sam’s $10 cheaper. I go to Sam’s. Pick up the _______ camera. Guess what? It only holds “4” pictures, it needs, are you ready? A NEW MEMORY CHIP in order to store a “decent amount of pictures.”

Ka-Ching! $30 and some change.

Perhaps it is ozone depletion or second-hand smoke, but I just don’t get it. Why can’t you buy something in this country, ANYTHING that works the way it is supposed to work, without having to buy two or three additional items in order to get the device to function in the fashion it is advertised?

Not to be deterred, I forge on. I go to save this document and I discover my thumb drive is full, I need a new one. Staples has been open for over twenty-five minutes, this is my lucky day! I load up in my old truck, which I recently filled up, and thus, doubled the apparent resell value of by oh I dunno … big bucks, and head on out.

I am sitting at the stop sign which is by the grade school in my neighborhood, and I watched more than twenty kids cross the street in front of my old truck. And they looked so good, so innocent, but I couldn’t help wondering which of those twenty kids would be the one who ended up standing in an AT&T or Best Buy store in the future screaming ……. “I don’t understand! Why doesn’t it do what it is supposed to do? It was so friendly at the store!”

And we wonder why our plants are closing and everyone around the globe is kickin’ our collective butts. Welcome to Retail America there Spanky, please have your expiration date and credit card number handy.

One of these days, one of my seven distinct personalities is going to venture into a store and purchase something that works just the way it is theoretically designed to work and I won’t have to buy several additional items for it to do this. I am going to get lucky, I mean, even a blind hog can find an acorn every now and then.

If and when this occurs, I will let you know, stand by.

****

My favorite guy was on television today explaining the “slow down” for me. Nothing new, I know how to play that game Dubya … Here is one for you …. “Almost Pregnant.” One popular television jingle for tourism down south is “Texas, it’s like a whole nother country, Ya’ll” and now we realize why.

I had it all wrong evidently. Now I will be able to tell all those Con Edison folks in New York, that are 45 days behind on their electric bills, that everything is just swell. I don’t know what your problem might be.

Con Edison is currently turning off 600-650 accounts each month because of non-payment, 3,500 GM workers went to the house yesterday as GM shut down five plants that build pickups and SUV’s. It is about $6,000 to fill up a Lear Jet with fuel these days ($5.21 per gallon).

I suppose Kellog’s in Battle Creek Michigan will be changing Tony The Tiger’s ….. They’re Great! … To a new slogan …. Sure Is Slow Nowadays huh?

The U.S. economy lost 80,000 jobs in the month of March and the numbers are expected to get worse according to those “outside the White House.” Some economists predict that as many as 2 million people could lose their jobs by early next year, when the jobless rate is expected to peak at about 6 percent. Show me the rainbow in that.

The credit card folks have come up with a new wrinkle, the government didn’t bail them out, so they are raising the interest on selected cards. Discover I understand is going to 31% and some cards, across the board, 100% increase. All of the sudden the tree house in Costa Rica is looking better and better, as long as the current price for banana’s holds up, check with me tomorrow.

People in Hood River Oregon might have the answer? Some people there are interested in making Eastern Oregon its own state. Citizens feel they don’t get their fare share from the state government. If a complicated and lengthy process of separation ever played out, the new state line would stretch from east to the Cascade Mountains to the Idaho Border.

The state of Missouri has issued millions of new license plates containing a grammatical error, but officials say they won’t be correcting it. The new plates proclaim Missouri the “Show Me State.” Since this nickname contains a compound modifier before a noun it should read “Show-Me State.” A Missouri spokesman says the design and wording on the new plate was approved by motorists in an online poll.

“If the people want it that way,” he said, “that’s what we’re going to deliver to the people.”

Hot on the heels of his explanation for why he no longer wears a flag pin, presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama was forced to explain why he doesn’ follow protocol when the National Anthem is played.

According to the United States Code, Title 36, Chapter 10, Sec. 171. During rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform are expected to stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart.

Obamma has reportedly quoted as saying, “As I’ve said about the flag pin, I don’t want to be perceived as taking sides,” Obama then said. “There are a lot of people in the world to whom the American flag is a symbol of oppression. And the anthem itself conveys a war-like message. You know, the bombs bursting in air and all. It should be swapped for something less parochial and less bellicose. I like the song … ‘I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing.’ If that were our anthem, then I might salute it.”

Are you kidding me? I don’t know what he and his preacher are smoking, but I would like a bag of it for the weekend.

Perhaps it is time to throw in the towel … If these two are the best we have. Pull the stars and stripes down the pole, turn it upside down, and fly it in that manner. (International Sign for Distress) Everything else seems to be unraveling around here.

After watching this debacle on all the channels this day, it is apparent that the only people who know how to run this country are those driving the cabs or cutting hair. The rest of us appear to have a bright future in delivering pizza’s to each other, not withstanding, very slowly.

The Democrats claim they got the gas, and the Republicans are hitting the brakes, the rest of us are just bumps in the road I guess. The only possible relief we may get from all of this is for Quail Season to come early this year, and hope Dick Cheney takes Dubya with him.

I’ll vote for that.

***