WHO HAS MY MONEY?

I checked on the values of my various IRA and 401K plans. It appears I am a victim of the Wall Street mess to the tune of a near six figure loss. My question is, who got my money? I sure would like to have it back. The government chose to bail out the big banks using the rational they are too large to fail. What about guys like me who are too small to survive?

Some politicians are tossing around the idea of letting us little guys withdraw up to $10K from our IRA/401K's without a penalty to cover mortgages and other financial losses. The trick here is they failed to mention you still have to pay taxes on the withdrawal. On the average, the government will get $2800 of my $10,000. I guess they will use that to cover the 700 billion dollar loan to keep the wealthy bankers from loosing any of the their money. Thanks again, pal.

The Financial Mess

I ran across this while reading the Washington Post this morning. It was in the comment section of an article describing how Bush has lost the respect of the American people. The commentor did not give his name, but I thought it summed up how I feel about Bush and Congress.

Bush the Criminal President said:
"I recognize this is a difficult vote for members of Congress. Many of them don't like the fact that our economy has reached this point, and I understand that. But the reality is that we are in an urgent situation, and the consequences will grow worse each day if we do not act."

TRANSLATION:
"I know you Republicans who have supported every criminal action I asked you to support will probably be voted out of office in a few weeks. I know that you are upset because you were not able to grab as much cash for yourselves as we were able to push through to our corporate supporters and war profiteers. But the reality is that we have gone as far a we can in keeping this financial house of cards afloat on the taxpayers back and we are in an urgent situation. The consequences of inaction will be that our good old boy supporters on Wall Street who are starting to see their multi-million dollar bonus dry up before the year end need our help. Otherwise there will be no more cash filled envelopes or behind the scene political action committees, which will result in our inability to buy elections. This will grow worse each day if we do not act and commit to cover the billion dollar life styles of our rich friends. They have lived well off the savings of the little people (aka American Tax Payers) which is our administration's way of life, but it seems like the little people want some of their money back, and those kooks overseas who brought up all those bad loans that their companies bundled and sold as "High Paying Investments", (He-He-He that was so unbelievable) now want some of their money back. Our friends on Wall Street certainly don't want to dig into their own pockets to try and fix the mess they made while taking millions out of their own companies. They certainly don't want to give anything back. They want to skate with the billions they got while the pickings were good, and leave us holding the empty bags! We can not allow this to happen. It will mean no last minute campaign slush funds just 6 weeks before the election which we will probably loose. So we must act now while we still have the power to keep using tax payer's money to support and protect our self interests. We've already hocked them into debt that their grandchildren will still be trying to pay off. Let's take one more bite of the pie and hock their great-great-grand children, but we must act now before they find out what we are really doing! So, keep doing what you do best. Don't ask questions. Dont read the fine print. Just rubber stamp my proclamation and let me get on with our Conservative agenda. (He-He-He!)"

OWO MIA no more!

I apologize to readers. Two hurricanes, a business trip and a operations review at work totally consumed the month of September for me. Now that all this is behind me, I hope to get back to regular posting.

Charlie WIlson's War

I do not want to make this a movie review, but I watched the 2007 movie Charlie Wilson's War. It is a true story about the CIA's covert involvement leading to Afghanistan repealing the Soviet Union's long standing war to take over the that country. The defeat ultimately led to collapse of the Soviet Empire. Even though the Soviet Union was our bitter cold war enemy, the Regan Administration had shown little interest in defending a non-Christian nation for fear of upsetting Israel. At some point, a liberal Congressman, Charlie Wilson, from East Texas and known for his immoral behavior became involved in the cause of the Afghanistan people. He was drawn after visiting a refugee camp and hearing horrible stories of the Soviets near genocidal attacks on civilians. Wilson, through his Congressional Committee positions, was able to covertly fund weapon supplies to Afghanistan and we all know the rest of the story. What is not widely known is something I believe significant to our recent history. Following the end of the Soviet/Afghanistan war, Charlie Wilson warned his fellow Congressmen that we needed to fund the rebuilding of Afghanistan or it stood to be taken over by Islamic fundamentalists. Congress turned down this request because they had little interest in assisting a non-Christian country and could care less about Islamic fundamentalists - what a mistake that turned out to be. Afghanistan was left to fend for itself. Because everything was covert, the Afghans believed that America did nothing for them in their fight with the Soviets. Many of the men armed by the CIA went on to become the Taliban's enforcers and Osama bin Laden's protectors.

I am all about keeping our money home, but I have to think we missed the boat on this one. Had we provided more assistance to Afghanistan following the soviet war, we might have prevented the 9/11 attacks. Think of the money spent and human lives lost since 9/11 and our war on terror. A little money spent in foreign aid might have saved us that expense. We need to think about this next time we criticize money being allocated for foreign aid.

In the movie, the CIA agent who worked with Wilson told him a parable of the Zen master.

In a village, a boy got a pony, and all the villagers said, “That’s good.” The Zen master said, “We’ll see.” A couple of years later, the boy fell off the pony and broke his leg. All the villagers said, “That’s too bad.” The Zen master said, “We’ll see.” Then a war came and all the other young men went to war, but the boy couldn’t because of his leg. All the villagers said, “That’s good.” The Zen master said, “We’ll see.”

So it is with Afghanistan. As we look back, we see that the victory over the Soviets was not the end of the story.

The movie credits began with this quote:

“These things really happened. We changed the world, then we [blew] the end game.”

Yes we did.

Ask Old Wise One

Back on August 10th, I suggested an "Ask Me" article and asked for questions. Several readers responded.

James in Hot Springs asked: "How do I determine who is the best person to vote for?"

OWO: That's an important question James. My short answer would be to look at all the issues and choose the candidate whom you agree with the most. Never let a single issue determine your vote. As it gets closer to the fall election date I am going to do an article on this topic, so stay tuned. Thanks for asking.

Jacob in New Orleans asked: "I am a Tulane student. All my friends have student loans. Should I borrow money for my education."
OWO: I don't think it is a good idea to start out your independent life in the hole, especially when you have no idea what your future annual income will be. It is easy to run up a ton of money in loans which payment is deferred until you leave school. Let's say your borrowed money brings a monthly payment of $750 when you get out of school. You will have to earn $750 before have a single dollar for yourself. That could smart on most beginning salaries and cause you to drive a clunker, live in a dump and have nothing left over to charm your little lady or support a family. Work your way through school as much as possible. Thanks for asking.

Married Girl in Ms asked: "Is is OK to fake orgasms?"
OWO: Two thoughts. 1) I hope this isn't my wife concealing her identity and 2) I really didn't want this blog to go in this direction. However, in the interest of a readers sanity I will take a stab at this one. I would say no. While your husband is bragging to his golf buddies about being a real Casanova, you are going to live a life disappointment and frustration. I say force him to perform to your needs. You might find some better advice by tuning to the Sex Talk show on the Oxygen Channel on Sunday nights. That little old lady offers some great advice. She even has gadgets to demonstrate her answers. At least that is what I hear from others. Thanks for asking.

That's all I have for now. I hope these answers have helped. Keep the questions coming.

Antivirus XP 2008, Not Your Friend

Well I guess Tropical Storm Fay saved me from having a REALLY lousy day. I suppose it could have been worse had it been a pretty day. While Fay was dumping buckets of water on us, someone figured I had nothing better to do to than spend the day ridding my computer of a vicious Malware. I did manage to make it to Mass and Walmart. At Mass I learned that the average person commits 7 confessional sins a day. Between my computer problem and the trip to Walmart, I am sure I am way over the average.

It seems that while I was doing "research" a rogue program loaded itself onto my computer. Once it did its thing, it sent me a message that spyware was on my computer and I should click to let Antivirus XP 2008 repair my system - for a fee of course. It also didn't give me any options to decline or close the window. It then hijacked my control panel, hid access to my C drive, bombarded me with popups, and changed my wallpaper to constantly remind me Antivirus XP 2008 could repair my spyware problem. It also removed the tabs that allow the screens wallpaper and background to be changed. If that was not enough my computer slowed to a crawl or nothing at all.

I did a little research. Antivirus XP 2008 is a malware, a bogus antivirus application that mimics Microsoft Windows and other legitimate alerts. It is downloaded automatically by redirecting users internet browser to its predefined website to purchase its licensed software to clean up the mess it just dumped on your computer. If that is not bad enough, it never actually fixes its mess and has a history of repeated billing your credit card. Sounds like extortion to me.

Lets put what just happened in perspective. A rogue pest control company breaks into your house and releases roaches, termites, and rats. He sits back and waits for you to return home. As you arrive home and become stunned by the utter chaos, the pest control villain knocks at your door and announces he just happened to be in area looking for new customers. Just sign a contract and your pest will go away, only they never do really go away despite the money you paid him.

The assholes operating Antivirus XP 2008 have been traced to Singapore and Russia. Complaints have been filed with government agencies, but no action has been taken. (I guess they are too busy reading all of our email.) While billions have been spent converting our society into a police state to prevent another unpreventable attack by a handful of neo-medieval wackos, the problem of spam, spyware, malware and serious computer viruses has gone unchecked. Granted these problems are nothing compared to the mass death caused by terrorist, but I would wager the losses causes by attacks on computers is in the billions. The present administration probably considers those billions as money pumped back into the economy.

I'd like to thank precisesecurity.com for posting some great free advice on fixing this problem. They recommended this free malware remover which did the trick - I hope.

Russia, Our Friend?

A decade or two ago Americans witnessed the fall of the Soviet Union. Our number one enemy collapsed and was broken up into Russia and number of smaller countries it had gobbled up during it's rise. The world could rest easy. Russia was now militarily inept and was forced to become our friend, a democracy, and develop free enterprise. President Bush pronounced, then president and now Prime Minister, President Vladimir Putin "a good man."

Out of sight out of mind, right? Russia has taken advantage of America's war on terror and the Bush Administrations failed foreign policy to quietly rearm themselves. A year or so ago, Russia resumed flying their Bear Bomber missions which tease US defenses and force us to scramble our Air Force fighters to intercept and shoo them away from our boundaries.

While the world was visiting our "other friend," China, to focus on the 2008 Olympics, Russia boldly invaded Georgia. When the world leaders threw their arms up and cried foul, Russia said they stopped their attack. However, it soon became apparent this was a lie as news reports showed Russian troops advancing further into Georgia. Two days ago after another agreed upon cease fire, Russia blew up a key railroad bridge. This not only cut off Georgia's ability to supply themselves, but it was also a vital link for supplies and commerce to several other breakaway Soviet states. In the coming months we will see if this was a slapping of one state or an all out offensive to a return of world leadership by force.

How did we figure Putin would let his country become a lap dog? Putin is too proud of a man to settle for ineptness. The timing makes sense. The rise comes at the gap between the end of a US presidency of lousy foreign policy and the beginning of an uncertain new president. America's military is bogged down in two conflicts, flirting with a third (Iran), and therefore unable to respond to Russian aggressions. After invading Iraq against the will of the rest of the world, it is kind of difficult for us to tell Russia to stop their aggressions. It is the perfect time for Russia to use its weaker military. How did we miss this?

Here's a word from a couple GOP experts on the subject. (Their CD can be purchased from Itunes, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and various retail outlets)

China, Our Friend. Wink! Wink!

For the last two weeks, the world has been watching a Chinese fairy tale. China is a country with a horrible reputation of civil rights, environmental issues, stymieing free speech and censoring communications. It beats the hell out of me how the International Olympic Committee would choose China other than the fact it owns the world.

Because of their use of slave labor and 1960 environmental technology, China has been able give the Western World what it wants. Cheap products. This has allowed China to become one the wealthiest nations in the world. They are more than happy to loan their money to the Western World.

When China was chosen to host the 2008 Olympics, it assured the world it would relax it's tough visa restrictions to ensure that all Olympic fans could attend. However, just weeks before the games began many found their visa request was denied by Chinese officials for unexplained reasons. Press members were promised unrestricted internet access, then at the last minute they were informed all internet use would be censored. Then there is the issue of the Chinese gymnasts teams questionable ages. I am starting to think if a Chinese officials lips are moving, he is lying. But, then what is new?

A few weeks ago I received this warning for international travelers. It is fairly obvious it is aimed at American's going to China for the Olympics.

The U.S. Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive (NCIX) issued a strongly-worded advisory for travelers warning them to take special precautions when traveling overseas with portable electronic devices. The warning appears to be aimed specifically toward those travelling to China for the Summer Olympics. Security services in China are capable of tracking an individual’s location through mobile phones and PDAs, and activating microphones in devices without a user’s knowledge. Therefore, to limit these activities from happening, users are urged to remove batteries from their devices when they are not being used.

Travelers should not take electronic devices with them unless they are absolutely necessary. They should assume that if the devices are examined by foreign officials or their hotel rooms are searched, the contents of the devices have been copied. Travelers should also change all passwords frequently during their travels and again as soon as they return home. All information sent electronically while in foreign countries can be intercepted.

We as American's should not have to put up with this foolishness. The problem is that China holds a tremendous amount of our debt. If they were to call our debt, our country would collapse overnight. China knows this, our leaders know this, and the world knows this. America is becoming China's whore.

Girls Gone Wild!

Wow! Did you catch the USA Women's Beach Volleyball match last night? I forgot who they were playing, but the May - Walsh team was awsome. 104 wins in a row. What can you say about that? I think they may be the greatest athletes ever! I looked forward all day to this matchup. I heard that yesterday, the USA Women's Gymnast Team watched The Miracle prior to their performance to help them get motivated. Well I figured if it works for them it can work for me - so tonight I watched Girls Gone Wild - Spring Break 2008 prior the Beach Volleyball match. It really worked, the USA won big time! Here is the part I don't understand. Following the Men's Synchronized Diving event (is that really a sport?), NBC showed the athletes showering. How come we didn't get to see May and Walsh showering after their match?

Katrina and Politics

In months preceding Hurricane Katrina divisive politics between the GOP's President Bush and Senator Vitter and Democrats Governor Blanco and Senator Landrieu set the stage for America's largest natural disaster. In addition to numerous partisanship press releases from both sides, Blanco had publicly defied President Bush by 1) refusing to greet the President upon his arrival in Baton Rouge to deliver a commencement address at LSU and 2) traveling to Cuba and meeting with Cuban officials concerning trade talks despite President Bush specifically asked Governor Blanco to cancel this trip. A last minute schedule change to dine with Fidel Castro was seen as a kick in the groin message to Bush. It was apparent that Gov. Blanco and Sen. Landrieu were setting the groundwork to give ammo to the Hillary Clinton campaign. This could have worked well for the democrats assuming, Gov. Blanco was re-elected, Clinton received the Democratic nomination and more importantly for all, Katrina did not destroy New Orleans. Gov. Blanco and Sen. Landrieu also miscalculated the ruthlessness of the GOP's Karl Rove. It is uncertain what gave Gov. Blanco such a euphoric sense of political power, but she later found herself way out of her league. Gov. Blanco and Sen. Landrieu were betting they could make the GOP look bad and would not need any federal assistance during President Bush's tenure.

As news reports began covering the worst natural disaster in US history, President Bush was on one of his extended "working vacations" at his Texas ranch. As Louisiana officials were begging for federal assistance, President Bush left his Texas ranch to deliver a speech in one of the western states. One might wonder why he did not immediately involve himself in the disaster relief. Upon reviewing press conferences something interesting has been found. Sen. Vitter announced in his first press conference that he had been speaking with Karl Rove. Say what? New Orleans is drowning. Why the hell are you talking to the GOP political advisor? Shouldn't you be talking to the President or generals? Days later a press conference was held at the site of the levee break. In the background, hordes of workers and heavy machinery was busily working to patch the levee break. The next day, Senator Landrieu was flying with reporter George Stephanopoulos recording for his weekly TV show. As they flew over the previously mentioned site, Landrieu looked down and saw nothing, but a single piece of machinery working to patch the levee. At that point she broke down crying. She realized the coverage the previous day was a set up. Karl Rove had put one over on the Democrats, there would be no serious aid for New Orleans.

Georgia Conflict

Last weekend, while visiting China, President Bush was briefed about the conflict between Russia and Georgia. As the advisers were briefing Bush about the fight around the town of Gori, the President interrupted them and asked, "just how far is Gori from Atlanta?" As the advisers sat dumbfounded, Dick "Wild Shot" Cheney, who was was listening in via teleconference came the President's aid. Cheney suggested the President allow him to monitor the situation so Bush could continue to coach the American athletes during the Olympics. Bush replied that was a good idea because he felt his support was very important to the athletes. Bush asked Cheney to let him know if it appeared the fighting would spread into neighboring Florida because he would need to warn his brother.

Seriously - someone let me know how we can expect Russia to listen to our request that they not invade another country when we invaded Iraq?

Manresa on the Mississippi

I recently had the good fortune of attending my annual silent retreat at Manresa on the Mississippi. For those of you who don't know it is run by the Catholic Jesuits. Participants are relegated to silence from Thursday evening to just after noon on Sunday. The only talking aloud by a participant is through private visitations with the retreat master or one of the staff Jesuit priest. Through a series of eleven instruction sessions and accompanying prayers , the retreat master takes the retreatants through four phases known as the Spiritual Exercises.

Above is view of the main building. As you can tell it is colonial style and built in the 1700's as Jefferson College.

Participants are encouraged to wonder around the vast campus and reflect on the exercises. As you can see from the above pictures, Manresa's beauty makes a perfect setting for silence.

How do 114 men eat without talking? Well you quickly learn to point to what you need on the table. Meals are placed on each table in platters. Each man serves himself and passes the plater on to the next. Lunch is served with beer and supper is served with wine. The above picture is known as the dining hall which in on the first floor. The second floor is where the Jesuits live.

Ask Old Wise One

I have been snooping around other blogs for ideas to keep my blog interesting. Several bloggers did "ask me" type post. I thought that might be neat idea, so ask away.

You can either email your questions at old_wise_one@cox.net (you can link directly through my profile or through the comment box) or simply post your question in the comment section. For those of you who don't have blogs the bottom two choices in the comment box work best. Ask your question anonymously, screen name or your real name.

F*&^ing Crotch Rockets

I started writing a blog entry about my peaceful retreat at Manresa, but time prevented me from completing the blog. Today I was minding my own business traveling home on I-12 after a hectic day at the office and doing a couple miles of cardio exercise at the YMCA. I was tuned into Pink Floyd. All of the sudden out of nowhere two idiots on crotch rockets blew past me. From my years of running radar, I am certain they were doing excess of 100 MPH. I never saw them in my rear view, so they really startled me as they blew paste me. The car in front of me of was attempting to change into their lane. By some stroke of luck he saw them and corrected to avoid entering their lane. I am certain if he had not taken evasive action they would have collided and the bikers would probably still by airborne as I type this.

This same thing happened to me a few months ago. About a year ago two of these scofflaws passed me on I-10 doing wheelies in excess of 80 MPH. For the life of me, I can not imagine the need for motorcycle manufacturers to make street legal bikes capable of doing speeds 170 MPH. Someone help me understand this! Especially those who want to ban the ownership of assault rifles. Tell me the difference!

Law Enforcement officers are pretty much helpless in apprehended these bikes. I have proposed an idea. These bikes have on board computers. Why not program them to when the bike exceeds a speed of 80 MPH the fuel pump shuts down for 20 minutes. Call it a time out. The bastard can sit on the side of the road and watch all those law abiding citizens pass by him. On the third time instead of the fuel pump, the oil pump shuts down and the bike is ruined. Call it OWO's version of three strikes and you are out.

Out of Service

I will not be posting for a couple days while I attend a retreat at Manresa. Stay tuned.

Answer this before you drill in ANWR

If President Bush is really sincere about his statement that drilling for oil will lower gas prices he should send out an olive branch. I know hell would freeze over sooner than W offering a compromise. The olive branch I suggest is to fully disclose all reports regarding Dick "Wild Shot" Cheney's National Energy Policy Development Group (NEPDG). The group started in the early months of 2001, right after Bush's presidency began. At that time oil was $20 a barrel. NEPDG was made up of world energy executives and producers. We will never know all that was discussed or decided by this group because Wild Shot had the record sealed. The sealing was challenged all the way to Supreme Court. The Supreme Court narrowly ruled in favor of Cheney. Some say the decision was made when Cheney took his pal Justice Scalia on a duck hunting trip at a exclusive oil company lodge in South Louisiana. No one knows exactly why the record needed to be sealed, but I am a little suspicious of the findings especially since the members of the group have done quite well. Oil has risen to $140 a barrel following the adjournment of the group. Well, one key member of the group didn't do to well - that would be former Enron CEO Kenneth Lay. He is really former now. Now are you suspicious of this group? You should be! Go ahead W, let us see what your self serving oil executives came up with during the NEPDG! Give us citizens the answer and drill away.

Tuesday Humor - Red State Update

From my buddies who were sucked into the GOP by the Wealthy Conspirators.

What Others Are Saying About Louisiana

I found this comment in the Los Angeles Times yesterday.

An evolved form of creationism

Just in case you thought this country had finally decided to teach science according to the precepts of science, here comes Louisiana with another stab at wedging creationism/intelligent design/teachers' own random thoughts into the mix.

According to Education Week, Gov. Bobby Jindal signed the misnamed Louisiana Science Education Act, which says that teachers must use the material from standard science textbooks — but should feel free, at the same time, to "supplement" those with self-chosen materials that examine scientific theories "in an objective manner," objective meaning something like, "Here's what's wrong with evolution." The law, by not mandating the instruction of creationism, might prove more difficult to challenge in court, at least until some teacher's idea of objective supplemental material clashes with a parent's demand for straight, unadulterated science instruction.

Considering Louisiana schools' low performance on national tests, which makes California look not so bad by comparison, you'd think legislators would be worrying about getting these kids ready for jobs and college instead of monkeying around with science instruction.

Posted by Karin Klein on July 24, 2008 in Schools | Permalink

A Well Respected Oilman Says More Drilling Will Not Help

One of President Bush's key supporters in the 2004 campaign is saying Bush and McCain's plan to drill our way to lower gas prices is foolish. T. Boone Pickens, the man who played a key roll in derailing John Kerry's presidential bid, says it will not work. Pickens is the multi billionaire who made his fortune as an independent oilman in Texas. He also is man who helped his oil pal George Bush by paying for the Swift Boat ads against John Kerry. Now he has turned against his pals and vowed to spend $58 million of his own money to prove the Republican plan to drill our way to lower prices is phony and misleading. Pickens' ads contradict a McCain ad saying Obama's failure to vote for coastal and ANWR drilling is the cause of $4 per gallon gas.

Pickens' answer is to invest $10 billion dollars into the worlds largest wind turbine farm in Texas. He believes there is enough harnessable wind energy in the US to eliminate the need of natural gas in generating electricity. His plan would then be to convert the unused natural gas in liquid form to be used in transportation. This would greatly reduce our dependency on foreign oil. THE PLAN

I do find it odd that an oilman is running away from the product the built his fortune and pushing a developing alternative energy program. Is he sincere or is some type of ploy? Comment on your thoughts. We shall see how this develops.

Here is one of Pickens' ads.

Tuesday Humor

One of my favorite fast foods is a Whopper. However, I rarely go to Burger King because the service is so poor. I feel as if I need to thank the order taker for bothering to take my order. Then I pray they get it right. I found this skit on YouTube.

They'll Take Money From Anyone

In past writings I have been critical of several individuals from which McCain has sought support. One of my goals of this blog has been fair and accurate reporting. Today I point out a potential problem for the Obama campaign.

Yesterday, Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean was in town garnering support for Obama. The event which was covered by The Advocate, Baton Rouge's local paper. Today's front page shows a picture of Dean taking a contribution from George Eames, Jr. Eames is the former NAACP leader who was very divisive. He was known for giving damaging and inaccurate press releases then leaving others to fight the battle. Eames has no credibility in this community. Eames is also a convicted sex offender. He was convicted of a sex offense involving inappropriate conduct with a minor in his van at a Baton Rouge park. Does the Obama campaign really want to be seen taking money from this guy?

Global Economy Is Part Of Gas Price Culprit

American businesses helped create the energy shortage when they started outsourcing services and manufacturing goods abroad. Within the last decade, China and India have seen a boom to their middle class. It was created when their citizens started earning money from jobs that once belonged to Americans. Chinese and Indian citizens are now taking that money and buying cars. Accordingly, these two countries importation of oil has greatly increased. In essence, oil resources that Americans relied on are now being diverted to other countries. This creates a deficit of oil and deficits cause the prices to go up. Just as one can not borrow his way out of debt, we can not drill our way to lower prices.

I am not opposed to drilling in ANWR or along coastlines. However, I warn my readers not to expect this to solve our high fuel cost problem. It takes five to ten years to bring an area into production, so their is no immediate relief by opening these areas up. Furthermore, I don't want to hear any proponents of this "great idea" bitching about an oil rig blocking the view from their million dollar condo. Americans standing up and refusing to do business with companies who outsource and consuming less gas in the US would be a quicker relief.

The quickest relief to high prices is to not pay them. It's a tough pill to swallow, but Americans need to change their habits. Stop making unnecessary trips such as a family with multiple cars going to the same event in separate vehicles. Gas prices are effected by inventories of gasoline. Parked cars help in two ways. They keep gasoline in inventory and money in owners pockets.

Gas Saving Tips

Here’s to you Mr. Hair Salon Bikini Wax Technician.

As promised in yesterday's article, I found a copy. Several years ago, I proposed this as part of the Bud Light Real Men of Genius ads.

Here’s to you Mr. Hair Salon Bikini Wax Technician.

You’re the envy of all straight men.

You see more different trim in day than most men see in a lifetime.

{Background guy: He is so damned lucky }

It’s baffling as to why women who insist on having sex in the dark would spread themselves in front of you Mr. Bikini Wax Technician.

{Background guy: You can touch, just don't penetrate}

Men all over wonder why one pulled pubic hair can put the skids on intercourse, but you get to pull all of her pubic hairs with not so much a scream.

{Background guy: I know if she is a true blond}

Your motto is “crop it straight” as no hair should be left to peak as she flaunts her stuff on the beach.

{Background guy:She can spread those legs on the beach towel}

Not every man gets to spread hot gooey liquid on the crotches of 32 different women each day, so this Bud’s for you Mr. Bikini Wax Technician.

{Background guy: He's talking about wax}

By OWO
January 16, 2004

America's Beer Falls Victim to the Global Economy

I guess most of you have heard the big news in business this week, Anheuser-Busch has been purchased by InBev, a Belgium beer giant. Yep, America's #1 beer, Budweiser, is now owned by a foreign brewery. On hearing the news I must say I was pissed. Why hasn't President Bush and Congress stepped up to stop this non-sense? Foreigners brewing our Budweiser is worse than when the company which managed all of our ports was going to be sold to terrorist. I was going to show their butts and stop drinking my Bud Lites and those new BL Limes my brother in law just got me hooked on. I wasn't sure whether I would switch to Coors or Miller, but one thing I knew was that the Mockler family could kiss their revenues of my 12 pack every few weeks good-bye. I am also in a dilemma as whether or not to delete the 80 versions of Bud Lite's Real Men of Genius radio ads on my Ipod.

Then I did some research. I found out Budweiser was just another beer until they got into aggressive marketing. In the old days they would pay for a bar's liquor license if they sold Budweiser on tap. In the 1950's, they were the first to market their product by sponsoring prime time shows like the Jackie Gleason Show. They even payed Frank Sinatra $750,000 to sponsor his TV show. Then beginning in the 70's, they aggressively entered the sports arena's. That is said to have taken them to the top.

According to an article on Salon.com by Edward McClellend, Budweiser originally was not that good of a beer when compared to others.

"Adolphus Busch, the dynasty's founder, called his beer 'dot schlop' and drank wine instead. During taste tests, St. Louis drinkers spat it back over the bar. But if the Busches didn't believe in their product, they believed in their business plan."

This aggressive marketing put a number of small American beer companies out of business or if they were lucky forced them to sell to Budweiser or rivals Miller and Coors.

Maybe I should not be so upset. I must have become caught up in the marketing as I grew older because I recall it was Miller Pony's and Schlitz Malt Liquor that got through the stress of 11th grade math. Also, I just realized I now mostly drink imported red wine. I prefer Chianti (Italian) Crianza (Spanish) red and if I am broke, Yellow Tail (Australian). I reallly don't care that much for American wines.

Furthermore, I wrote a version of Real Men of Genius, but Budweiser did not accept it. Now I really don't care about the sale of America's beer.

PS - If I can dig up a copy of Mr. Bikini Wax Technician, I will post it so you can decide if it should have been turned into a radio spot. Perhaps I should resubmit it to InBev.

Bush on Crazy Gas Prices

Democrats Need to Clean House

It appears the Democratic Party has better chance of winning the White House this election than in last two elections. Party leaders could increase their chances by doing some housecleaning within the party. Housecleaning would go a long ways in winning the votes of the undecided and moderate voters. The party would also show credibility at a time when the GOP is divided and loosing credibility.

The Democratic Party should no longer allow the Rev. Jesse Jackson to have any role in Democratic Party functions. Rev. Jackson is divisive and has a reputation of running his mouth and leaving others the cleanup his mess. The party has done a good job of keeping a muzzle on Jackson - at least until last week when he proved he needs to be permanently muzzled. On July 9th, Jackson was commenting off mic (or at least he thought) about Obama's faith based program while appearing at a Fox News Studio. In a whispered conversion to another guest regarding Obama Jackson stated that he would "like to cut his nuts off" because Jackson felt Obama talked down to black people. In researching this article, I found a press release from Jackson's own son, Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr., concerning his dad's remark.

"I'm deeply outraged and disappointed in Reverend Jackson's reckless statements about Senator Barack Obama. His divisive and demeaning comments about the presumptive Democratic nominee -- and I believe the next president of the United States -- contradict his inspiring and courageous career.

"Instead of tearing others down, Barack Obama wants to build the country up and bring people together so that we can move forward, together -- as one nation. The remarks like those uttered on Fox by Revered [sic] Jackson do not advance the campaign's cause of building a more perfect Union.

"Revered [sic] Jackson is my dad and I'll always love him. He should know how hard that I've worked for the last year and a half as a national co-chair of Barack Obama's presidential campaign. So, I thoroughly reject and repudiate his ugly rhetoric. He should keep hope alive and any personal attacks and insults to himself."

Is he a reverend or a revered?

Below is a video clip from a MSNBC news report of the off mic comment.



Remember, a number of years ago, Jackson referred to Jews as "Hymies" during his own presidential campaign. There is no room for this type of talk from a person of Jackson's political standing let alone a preacher. I find it hard to understand why the Democrats continue to give credibility to Jackson.

The Democratic Party leaders should also disown Congressman William Jefferson of New Orleans. I do note (and believe) a person is innocent until proven guilty. However, Jefferson is under indictment and a damning amount of information has been released concerning the allegations. How many of my law abiding readers keep $10,000 cash in their freezer? Don't forget the questionable act involved at least $10,000 cash. A member of Congress should be held to a higher standard. Most public officials are suspended or asked to step down once the are indicted. The Democratic leadership could gain a tremendous amount of credibility by forcing Jefferson to step down or resign from the Party.

Simple Rules of Happyness

One day a farmer left the corral gate open and his donkey wandered out and fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.

Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.

Free your mind from worries - Most never happen.

Live simply and appreciate what you have.

Give more.

Expect less

NOW .......

Enough of that crap. The donkey later came back, and bit the farmer who had tried to bury him.
The gash from the bite got infected and the farmer eventually died in agony from septic shock.

MORAL FROM TODAY'S LESSON:

When you do something wrong, and try to cover your ass, it always comes back to bite you.

Author Unknown

RED STATE UPDATE

Here's what a couple GOP faithfulls have to say about the olympics. At least someone shares my enthusiasm about the womens beach volleyball team. Do you think these "good ole boys" have been paying attention to OWO?

Big Apple Bound

Myself and Thinks He's Wise are off to New York City today to take in some baseball and a little father son bonding. It'll be a one day trip. We will catch an afternoon game in Yankee Stadium, then a Mets game in the evening. I am hoping to get in some free sightseeing by asking the pilot to make a couple low level passes of the city. Same goes for our connecting flight in Washington, DC. Perhaps I can get him to buzz the Whitehouse. We will see how that goes.

I soooo can't wait for the 2008 Olympics

Talk about one hot chic! Ummm! Dara Torres is sure to be a winner. Swimming may have passed up beach volleyball as my favorite summer Olympic sport.

The New Colossus

It thought this writing would be appropriate on the weekend holiday for the Fourth of July. However, I must give my Priest credit for planting the idea for this posting. He mentioned it in his Homily this morning. The New Colossus is inscribed on a plaque inside the Statute of Liberty.

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

As I reflected on these words, I wondered if Americans have forgotten these words when we condemn those who enter our country in hopes of earning a living by doing chores that no Americans are willing to do. It seems everyone condemns them, but is willing to make an exception when their labors result in a savings to themselves. Condemn them if you like, but I am certain these are the very people Jesus would be associated with.

Call me an evil liberal if you like. I sang patriotic songs and enjoyed Bar-b-que every meal of the long weekend. I am proud to be an American.

Jindal's Gun Problem

Jindal has been caught a second time speaking out of both sides of his mouth. This one is going to cost him. In May, he received a top award from the NRA for his gun owner rights initiatives. In keeping with Jindal's campaign promises to observe gun owners rights, the Louisiana Legislators passed a law prohibiting companies from banning employees from having guns in their locked cars parked in company parking lots. You must remember Louisiana is known as sportsman's paradise. We like to hunt before or after work. What can be so wrong with loading up the car for a weekend of hunting and leaving from work for the camp? Well a host of business and chemical lobby groups is worried our hunters are going to go wacko and shoot up the plant. They are pressuring the Boy Wonder to veto the law. Now Jindal has got himself in another predicament. Go a against a campaign promise to the people and sign the law into effect or go with the big money supporters and veto the bill.

In OWO's opinion, Jindal should sign the law into existence. Business and industry should let their employees keep guns locked up in their cars in the parking lot. Business and Industry groups are trying to save money by regulating law abiding citizens. After all, law abiders are the cheapest to regulate. Chemical plants have armed (or should be armed) security at the gate who search employees for copper and other items, so you think they could prevent guns from coming into the workplace. Another option would be to quit treating employees like shit and have less worry about a wacko employee.

Jindal sided with the voters in the Legislator pay raise issue. Let's see who the Boy Wonder sides with here.

Declaration of Independence

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation,

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Hey "W" take a look at this!

Bill of Rights

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Amendment VII

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. Amendment X The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

Breaking News!!!! Please Help!!

Louisiana political pundit CB Forgotson has started a special fundraiser for our legislators who have just had their ability to support their families pulled out from under them by the swish of Gov. Jindal's veto pen. If you would like to help with the special fundraiser called Feed the Lawmakers watch the video.

The Chinese Torture Test

Yesterday the New York Times reported:

The military trainers who came to Guantanamo Bay in December 2002 based an entire interrogation class on a chart showing the effects of “coercive management techniques” for possible use on prisoners, including “sleep deprivation,” “prolonged constraint,” and “exposure.”

What the trainers did not say, and may not have known, was that their chart had been copied verbatim from a 1957 Air Force study of Chinese Communist techniques used during the Korean War to obtain confessions, many of them false, from American prisoners.

Link to Article

So we are using almost 50 year old communist techniques that were determined to produce false confessions? I wonder how many of those terror alerts and warnings that have caused fear and stress were based on false confessions? During those 50 years, Americans were appalled and angered by the Chinese torture techniques that were used against our soldiers. Are these once condemned acts now American policy?

It appears that we have gone from a nation respected for its protection of human rights to a country that practices torture and rendition. Bush has chosen to defend our country with methods that are ineffective and evil, instead of holding our country to high the principles that make it worth defending. This comes from an administration whose campaign was based on moral Christian beliefs. I doubt Jesus would approve of these tactics.

Next week when I go through the TSA airport security gauntlet, I will wonder if humiliating passengers is really necessary to fight terrorism or is it a method of putting fear into voters?

We passed 100 hits yesterday

Yesterday was a milestone. We passed 100 views on the hit meter - in less than a month. Thank you to all who have taken time to view the site. It is a work in progress. I added a subscription link, but am not sure how well it works. Let me know if you subscribed, but have not been getting email alerts. I may need to fire that service and find another one. I am debating adding advertising to the site, it would be nice to have someone provide income - or at least offset the expenses. I am researching to make sure I sign up with a legitimate advertising site. We need some comments to move me into Googles recommended blogs spots. My site meter shows a number of hits from cities which I do not know anyone. My first inclination is that Google is sending searchers of "Great Political Writings" or "Hot Sexy Man" to my site. What do you think? I suppose the unknown hits could also be from agencies Internal Affairs section. So in case my days are numbered, thanks to all of you who have visited my site.

I am starting to get excited about the 2008 Summer Olympics

Highway Deaths and Cash Cows

Recently an acquaintance of ours was killed in traffic accident. A trailer being towed by a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction broke loose, crossed the center median and struck her vehicle. My understanding is she was killed instantly. The tragedy was worsened by the fact her young children witnessed the accident as they were following her in another vehicle.

Although the accident happened in Mississippi, it happens all too often in Louisiana. Several states have taken the issue in hand by installing a cable fence designed to prevent an out of control vehicle from crossing the median into the oncoming traffic. I first saw one of these while driving through Alabama and thought it was good idea. I think natural barriers such as trees and heavy landscaping would also work. In addition to lives saved, a money savings would occur by not having to mow the area. The trees could help the environment and slow the climate change.

I suspect our legislators will be slow in appropriating money for the highway department to construct these barriers. After all, several legislators have made a lot of money filing lawsuits against the state for failing to correct hazardous or neglectful situations. Go figure, a state senator creates his own personal cash cow by not funding state agencies so he can turn around and file a lawsuit against the state in his private law practice. Stopping legislators from filing law suits against the state should be priority in Governor Jindal's ethics reform package and also save lives.

Koodos to the Supremes

June has been a good month for those who favor civil rights. Twice now, the Supreme Court has sent the government the consistent messages: civil liberties, fairness, and, freedom will not be over ridden by political agendas.

The lastest ruling has told local governments they can not outright prohibit the ownership of handguns in a citizen's home. Gun control advocates argue that the writers intended for 2nd Amendment to refer to government militias and not citizens. If that were the case, I suppose the 1st Amendment would only apply to the press. However, Courts have consistently ruled citizens have the right to free speech. Remember, the amendment authors were a bunch of radicals who had just overthrown their British oppressors. I find it hard to believe they would tolerate any arrangement where our government held a monopoly on instruments of deadly force. In World War II, the Germans and Japanese knew all to well that an attack on American soil would be fruitless because of armed citizens. During the cold war, the former USSR officials were aware of the same. For the same reason, it would be very difficult for our citizens to become oppressed by own government. A nation armed to the teeth can never readily be invaded or defeated.

There will always be a readily available black market in guns within our country, ban or no ban. Therefore the honest law abiding citizen should have the right to bear arms to protect ourselves. It is virtually impossible for the police to protect us against an active criminal. Under the best case scenario a victim is on his own for the first five or so minutes, assuming a call was made to 911. The victims best hope for survival during this time is for himself to have ready access to a weapon or an off-duty officer or competent gun carrying citizen to happen into the event. More armed citizens lessons the chance of a violent encounter. After all, most of these thugs or sick individuals seek an opportunity where he has the less chance of retaliation. I have always said if every passenger on airplanes were armed, there would never be a hijacking and 9/11 would still be just a date in September.

Those in disagreement with the gun ruling argue suicides, thefts and accidental shootings will increase. A depressed person hell bent on suicide will find a method. The ruling did not prevent legislation requiring unattended handguns from being locked up. I support such legislation. Most are unaware that all federal law enforcement officers are required to secure their weapons by lock if not wearing the weapon.

Most polls show the majority of voters support the right to own handguns. For this reason, the Republican Party has taken pro gun stance in their campaigns. The Democratic Party should reconsider there agenda on gun control if they wish to retrieve their grassroot supporters who favor gun ownership. Gun control advocates haven't prevented a single gunshot death in the US, but by opening the door to tyrants like Bush, they have caused hundreds of thousands of gunshot deaths abroad.

Perfect Sense Part 2

Roger Waters, former song writer and musician for Pink Floyd, voices his disillusion with the Western World politics and shenanigans in the two part song, Perfect Sense. The monkey in the beginning of Part 1 represents the common person trying to make sense of the world. The song begins with a fade in from "2001 a Space Odyssey." As you may recall that movie began with an ape scene. Roger's distrust of government and authority is a recurring theme in his song writings.


Perfect Sense Part 2

Can't you see
It all makes perfect sense
Expressed in dollars and cents
Pounds shillings and pence
Can't you see
It all makes perfect sense
Little black soul departs in perfect focus
Prime time fodder for the News at Nine
Darling is the child warm in the bed tonight
Hi everybody I'm Marv Albert
And welcome to our telecast
Coming to you live from Memorial Stadium
It's a beautiful day
And today we except a sensational matchup
Bur first our global anthem
Can't you see
It all makes perfect sense
Expressed in dollars and cents
Pounds shillings and pence
Can't you see
It all makes perfect sense
And here come the players
As I speak to you now the captain
Has he cross hairs zeroed on the oil rig
It looks to me like he's going to attack
By the way did you know that a submarine
Captain earns 200,000 dollars a year
Oh that's less tax Marv less tax
Uh thank you Emery you're welcome
Now back to the game he fires one yes
There goes two both fish are running
The rig is going into a prevent defense
Will they make it I don't think so
Can't you see
It all makes perfect sense
Expressed in dollars and cents
Pounds shillings and pence
Can't you see
It all makes perfect sense

Perfect Sense Part 1

The monkey sat on a pile of stones
And he stared at the broken bone in his hand
And the strains Viennese quartet
Rang out across the land
The monkey looked up at the stars
And he thought to himself
Memory is a stranger
History is for fools
And he cleaned his hands
In a pool of holy writing
Turned his back on the garden
And set out for the nearest town
Hold on hold on soldier
When you add it all up
The tears and marrowbone
There's an ounce of gold
And an ounce of pride in each ledger
And the Germans killed the Jews
And the Jews killed the Arabs
And Arabs killed the hostages
And that is the news
And is it any wonder
That the monkey's confused
He said Mama Mama
The President's a fool
Why do I have to keep reading
These technical manuals
And the joint chiefs of staff
And the brokers on Wall Street said
Don't make us laugh
You're smart kid
Time is linear
Memory's a stranger
History's for fools
Man is a tool in the hands
Of the great God Almighty
And they gave him command
Of a nuclear submarine
And sent him back in search of
The Garden of Eden

Written by Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) 1992

Did Walmart Violate My Rights?

Last night, I was once again hassled by a Walmart cashier. Anyone that knows OWO is aware I like my wine. OK, times are getting tough with rising gas and food prices so I had to stoop to buying my wine at Walmart. I am not yet down to Sam's Choice wine, but close. It was a couple bottles of that Yellow Kangaroo Wine. Anyway, I was checking out my wine and other groceries when the girl held up the wine and said, "can I see your ID?" I looked at her with that WTF(?) look and said, "I am more than double 21 and you know it." The last two cashiers that tried that lost the argument when I refused to show my ID. They settled on taking a chance the OWO really was pushing 50 than restocking my buggy of groceries. Well, I must have felt sorry for the cashier last night because I cut her some slack when she said she was new and her supervisor told her she would be fired if she did not card everyone under forty. Maybe it was the fact that she was hot, at least on Walmart standards and she told me, "I was handsome and carried my age well."

Why do I have to prove I am obeying the law when I buy liquor at Walmart? Is this not a violation of my rights? I struggle to understand why Walmart will not allow their employees to display a little common sense. I respect their effort to keep alcohol away from minors, but they should not force someone they know damn well is over 21 to prove they are of age. It is time Americans stop allowing themselves to be force to prove their innocence.

Same Song, Different Verse

If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break,
When The Levee Breaks I'll have no place to stay.

Mean old levee taught me to weep and moan,
Got what it takes to make a mountain man leave his home,
Oh, well, oh, well, oh, well...

Cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good,
Now, cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good,
When the levee breaks, mama, you got to move. Led Zeppelin

"When the Levee Breaks" was written as a Blue's song following the Great Flood of 1927. Rock star Robert Plant re-worded the song and his rock group Led Zeppelin made the song a hit on their fourth album.

This years song verse comes from Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois. Three years ago the verse came from New Orleans. Fifteen years ago it was Missouri and Illinois. And so on. Why do levees keep breaking? The title of an article in today's New York Times sums it up well. Call for Change Ignored, Levees Remain Patchy brings out two important issues. 1) Politicians continue to ignore scientists and engineers and 2) one flood control project can save the funding area but be detrimental to other areas.

Levees cost the politicians a lot of their money. Following a flood, levee projects get lots of attention and funding. Unfortunately levee projects take years to build. Levees provide flood protection which is rarely needed, albeit damn well worth every penny when they are needed. The problem is when they are not needed, they are forgotten. Traffic jams and other infrastructural problems happen continuously and the need for flood control is put aside for the "more pressing issues." Politicians take money from levee projects and put into highways, betting another flood will not happen during their tenure. Call it political roulette with George Bush, Kathleen Blanco and now Midwest officials being the latest losers.

Following every flood, we hear the same rhetoric regarding levee failure from scientist and engineers such as levees were poorly constructed and no central control. When polled, most voters believe the Army Corps of Engineers has control. This could not be farther from the truth. Although the Corps has some control of major levees, most are controlled by various local and state agencies. Some are even controlled by land owners. It has long been known some materials are better than others for building levees. In times of haste or waste, who cares?

Take for instance a local farmer who tires of having his bean field flooded out every so often. The farmer decides on his own to build a levee around his land and uses whatever fill materials are close and cheap. This sets the stage in time for two problems. First, the water that no longer floods his land has to go somewhere. Now a lower levee which was once adequate is no longer protecting the folks on the other side. Try filling a saucer to the point it overflows. Now tip one side a little higher. You will notice now higher side no longer floods, but water rushes over the other sides. A second problem may later occur due to the substandard materials used in construction. Lets say fifteen years later, developers buy out the farmer and turn the once large bean field into a mixed residential development. A few years after the land is fully developed, one of those now frequent "500 year floods" occurs. The fact the levee was built un-engineered and with substandard materials was unbeknown to the new residents. The flood waters breach through the substandard materials and cause loss of life and millions of dollars of damage to what was formally a bean field.

At some point in time, hopefully sooner than later, the politicians will quit playing roulette and adequately fund levee construction, then properly manage them. This might not happen, because, sadly, disasters tend to be good for the economy as money is poured into rebuilding into the same area to await the next disaster. Despite the fact lives are lost and individuals finances are ruined politicians like a good economy. Just ask South Louisiana officials how is the economy following Katrina. Then ask flooded New Orleans residents how much of their life savings was lost.

Look for different verses of this song to continue.

On Rendition and Torture

Rendition involves secretly taking persons suspected of terrorist activities to a foreign country where torture is practiced. Instead of staining American soil with blood of potentially innocent parties, you do so on foreign land where such tactics are accepted interrogation techniques. Think of it as imprisonment without trial, no rights, and no due process. Then add torture to the process. What better way to do protect your human rights record than by giving the nod for another country to use whatever means necessary in the name of protecting more lives.

One's first thought is it might not be so bad for a savage terrorist. Then ask yourself - how are we sure this person is not innocent? Remember they have not been given any due process. It seems to me that Americans are above savage treatment. How can someone who approves of torture go to church every Sunday? You can not tell me Jesus would approve of torturing another human being. I remember the torture scene in The Deer Hunter where the North Vietnamese tortured an American POW. The scene made me furious - like I wanted to drop a nuke on North Vietnam. Well what kind of leader allows us stoop to that level?

It has been said that for every person tortured one hundred people rise up to perform acts of vengeance. You get an ever increasing cycle of violence. There is little evidence that torture actually provides useful information. There is no way two wrongs can make a right. I guess this stance makes me a bleeding heart liberal to those who shut their minds to the facts that this does happen.

Americans have prided ourselves on being world leaders and a society governed by the rule of law. Part of that was innocent until proven guilty. It was also based on the principles laid out in the Geneva Convention. The Clinton administration actually approved renditions. However, the presidency of El Supremo (Bush) and his band of party loyalist, have taken renditions to a higher lever. This administration thinks people have no rights when accused of anything. That’s quite ironic for an administration whose party platform was based on family values, morality and religion. (Personally I think he duped the voters.) Americans remain oblivious to these actions because they think it doesn’t effect them. As our rights are eroded away, it will slowly become easier for a future and smarter El Supremo to seize all of rights. At that point we will be powerless to stop them. At that point, the government starts accusing everyone and society turns into complete chaos. Torturing and killing people, guilty or not leads to anarchy.

Those who claim that rendition, torture and the abuse of basic human rights are necessary to protect our way of life are as wrong as the terrorists and suicide bombers.