2.22.2009

Sometimes ya get it right


Some times ya don't.
My apologies to the mighty Ishmael over at the KoKon. In hopes of shedding light and inspiring debate, I completely re-wrote history.
I thank Ish for his graciousness and the history lesson. I will admit that parts of my past are a little fuzzy. I blame that on many blows to head, followed with beer instead of aspirins. Back then I was chasing around the planet looking for bad guys and doing what the current president ordered. Things were busy and tend to get a little blurry at that pace.
President Clinton did in fact bomb parts of Iraq, but only after much consideration and patience. He did in fact investigate Iraq and terrorist ties, and did make the top ten list for presidents.
There I have eaten my well deserved slice and will move on.
Hat's off to Prez Obama for shutting down the Transportation Secretaries crazy and Orwellian tax plan. They really are looking into this "Big Brother" plan on state levels and most citizen's are in an uproar.
I am glad the prez stopped this one, but it proves that this administration bears watching. Well they all do, but when a group is this popular, then can get away with a lot before the nation wakes up. Doubt it? Think about some of the shenanigans from the past eight years.
My point is this. Do not get caught up in the wave of change. It will assume Tsunami like proportions and can destroy more than it created. Then in a typical two-party democratic attempt to fix things we will pull the handle and change the water. Thus we will create the new next wave of change, when in reality all we seem to accomplish is adding to the septic system.
That's all I got folks.
Do the right thing today, and do it for somebody else.
Peace
Griff

2.14.2009

VD


Valentines Day that is, so have a happy one. I am hoping that maybe this, greeting card company generated, holiday will inspire our new national administration. Then they will "step out of the box" with new and exciting solutions to our nations financial dilemma.
Think about it folks. New holidays to help fix our problems.
Hmmm... maybe a national fix your own neighborhood's road day. Millions of people will storm the do-it-your self store, generating millions in sales, spawning massive retail rehires, and fixing the roads at the same time!
How about National write to your politician day? If everyone one of us wrote e letter to our congressmen and senators, and mailed them on the same day, stamp sales rise dramatically. This one action alone could save our postal system, thus ensuring employment for thousands of postal workers! Take it one more step and cut another executive order that forces our politicians to read each and every letter personally, and we might actually see some responsible choices made.
Seem a little crazy to expect one person to read all that mail. Might not when you consider that president Obama kinda expected the same thing when he dropped a third of the Amazon rain forest down on the congress and senate and then pushed for the vote in a week or two. Yup, the trimmed down stimulus package is 1070 pages long.
Reality is that most of the folks, if not all, voting on this package, will not have read it all. Obama seems kind of like that car salesman that wants you to commit to that used car before it warms up and reveals all the little problem it really has.
How about this solution? Lets make Valentines Day a national holiday! Then every one can go home, with government encouragement, get all romantic with your significant other and maybe start an annual baby boom. This will eventually swell the ranks of tax payers, so that they can help pay for this fantastical program. in other words our grandchildren can pay for our mistakes and apathy. Oops, they already will.
Maybe the President can follow Guv Ahhnold's lead and just send everyone home, without pay. Then take away our tax returns and let us contemplate how this must be our fault and seek ways to make fat cat politicians happier and more comfortable.
I would have a lot more sympathy for the new prez if he had not surrounded himself with people that were part of the problem to begin with. So what will he do? How do you cross party lines when all your backers and administrators are hard core party liners?
Will you become Peggy or Viola? Happy with one hard earned and deserved valentine gaining a reputation to be proud of? Or will you sell your ideals and scoop all the those pretty "we love you" cards, thus earning your place next to Peggy and the majority of most professional politicians.
Watching this would be more fun than going to Vegas, if the consequences weren't so harsh for Joe & Josephine citizen.
Ask hard questions folks and expect real answers.
Peace ya'll

2.01.2009

Brass monkey weather ?


Ok so maybe we don't get as cold as the mainlanders, but hell that's part of the reason I live here. When I step outside and I can feel every bone I ever broke, and every piece of metal installed in me; then it is freakin' cold!
Nuff' about me. Here's a little chunk of Nautical trivia to teach the kiddies.
From back when men were made of steel and ships were made of wood.
On the old warships it was necessary to keep a good supply of cannon balls near the cannon. How to prevent them from rolling about the deck
was the problem. The best storage method devised was to stack them as
a square based pyramid, with one ball on top, resting on four, resting
on nine, which rested on sixteen. Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls
could be stacked in a small area right next to the cannon.
There was only one problem; how to prevent the bottom layer from
sliding/rolling from under the others.
The solution was a metal plate with 16 round indentations, called, for
reasons unknown, a Monkey. But if this plate were made of iron, the
iron balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting
problem was to make them of brass - hence, Brass Monkeys.
Now realize that brass contracts much more and much faster than iron when chilled.
Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass
indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannon balls would
come right off the monkey.
Thus, it was quite literally, cold enough to freeze the balls off a
brass monkey.
Have a great SuperBowl Sunday folks!
Peace