Girl "Lovers" Have A Symbol

The sexual abuse of children (and ANY sex involving children is abuse) is one of the ugliest stains on this planet. Now these people are trying for legitimacy. And they have a symbol which is a symbol of "Girl Love" or more properly "Lust for Little Girls".

Courtesy of a posting in Absolute Zero I was linked to a page where you could get "Girl Love" merchandise. Wonderful isn't it?

Here is the chosen symbol of "adults" who "love" little girls.

I think I am getting ill.

It's Fake and Wouldn't Matter if it was Real.

Uber-blogger Michelle Malkin has been the victim of an internet hoax involving photoshopped pictures of her. Someone thought they would be nasty and paste her face on a bikini clad young woman. The pictures are so obviously fake that they would laughable yet a couple of people apparently are pushing them real.

What if they were real?

Is it a crime, or a betrayal of conservative principles for an attractive woman to wear a bikini? What do they expect her to wear to the beach? A burkha? I am sure there are probably genuine pictures of conservative women in bathing attire. (Some guys would probably wait in line for one of Ann Coulter.) No big deal.

What is a big deal is that the pictures are obviously fake and yet some people will still not admit the pictures were fake. Now the equally obviously fake pictures of her and young woman, er fooling around, are a bigger deal. Posting pictures in parody and acknowledging the picture were altered is one thing, but passing them as real is a crime.

Memories -- Forgotten TV Shows

Over my nearly half-century of life, scary thought, I have seen a lot of TV shows come and go, and many are gone, gone, gone. Some original and witty ideas failed to survive. We can still watch old shows like Combat, Bonanza or Gunsmoke or by watching some of the cable networks you can still catch old style comedies like I Dream of Jeannie, Mr Ed, My Three Sons, Gilligan's Island etc. Other shows have become part of our collective psyche like Star Trek, MASH and The Brady Bunch. To be honest, I enjoyed every show I've listed and my list could go on and on and on. Most of us are at least somewhat familiar withe every one of the shows I've listed.

I want to talk about TV shows that I remember but have disappeared from TVland, seemingly forever. (There were many much better shows, but most of them live on in syndication -- these are shows that, to my knowledge, are not seen anymore, and perhaps it is better that way.)

Two shows involved people in the wrong time period.
There was It's About Time about the crew of a Gemini (!?) space capsule that went throught the time barrier and found themselves living with cavemen and surrounded by dinosaurs. Halfway through the show's single season they returned, with the cavemen, to the twentieth century. I was 9 or so when this show aired and one thing that I can clearly remember was after they returned to the present, the patriarch of the cave family, Gronk, decided to go hunting and carried a spear into a zoo. Of course there was a scene of Gronk taking his club to a car as well (much like the relatively recent movie Just Visiting)

There was also The Second Hundred Years which involved a man frozen in a glacier in 1900 and thawed out alive in 1967, who moved in with his son and his grandson (who was identical to him and played by the same actor.) It concentrated on the absurdities of modern life and what we have lost. I remember episodes where our hero discovered that making moonshine is now illegal, that the government paid farmers not grow stuff and also discovered (and liked) miniskirts.

Tim Conway once had a personalized license plate that read "13 WKS" because every show he tried lasted that long. Only one really stands out in my memory and that was Rango, where he played an inept Texas Ranger with an Indian sidekick named Pink Cloud. Even though I loved it, the series did so poorly that very little is available even on the net. I can best describe it as The Pink Panther meets The Lone Ranger. Like Inspector Clouseau, Rango always got his man, by accident, usually trying to arrest someone else.

There were also a couple of spoofs on superheros. There was Mr. Terrific , (also here) who was a gas station attendant who got superpowers, such as flight and great strength by taking a special pill "that made the world's strongest men quite ill." I don't really remember episodes, but burned into my mind is him with his goggles and jacket, flying by flapping his arms like a bird. I also remember, both the show and some episodes of Captain Nice. He was a police chemist, who like Mr. Terrific, depended on a drug for his powers. In spite of his powers, he was an inept hero whose father (a cop) usually caught the bad guy. One thing that now bothers me about these two series is that the hero depends on drugs, and considering the time frame of these shows, I kind of wonder if it was really all that innocent or if they were glorifying drug use.

Of course all of these shows failed, and perhaps they could even be called stupid, but most TV is stupid and I was a young kid when I enjoyed these shows. I groan in disbelief about them now but at one time I loved them.

80% Conservative

I took the quiz to see how conservative or liberal I was and I come out 80% Conservative and 20% liberal. The problem with this quiz is that it interpets genuine concern for others as liberalism, overlooking the fact that there are many very self-centered liberals and many generous conservatives.

H/T Things that run through my mind

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 80% Conservative, 20% Liberal

Social Issues: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal

Ethics: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

"Our Country. Our Truck"

Chevy trucks has announced their new add campaign for the 2007 Silverado and I must say I like it.

The ad, with original music by John Mellencamp, centers on an American truck made by Americans for Americans pointing to patriotic icons and the realities of America today.

I favor buying American-made products whenever possible (and actively avoid Chinese made products as far as it is reasonably possible). It would benefit a lot of Americans if others would as well, but I DO NOT believe that anyone should be legally compelled to buy or limited to American made products.

The way to do it is not to ban foreign products but to encourage Americans to buy American products by positive means. That includes quality products at a reasonable price. That means making Americans aware of the economic consequences of buying non-American goods. That means presenting American-made products in a very positive light.

Where the unions and I part is this; I do not believe it should be legally mandatory.

On a side note, Walmart bashers list the number of Chinese made products being sold there in their litany of complaints. I was at Meijers (a regional chain in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin) which is a union shop, and I noticed a lot of made in China there as well but the unions don't complain about that as much. They are also everywhere at the local TrueValue hardware store and our local K-Mart. Yet only Walmart is taken to task on it.

An Example of What I said Yesterday.

Yesterday I commented that one of organized labors biggest self-inflicted wounds came from their corruption, which from where I sit appears to be beyond any possibility of exaggeration.

Now two senior officials in the Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights, union chief Ralph Mabry and former carpenters union Executive Director-President Anthony Michael, were sentenced to prison and fines for seeking illegal discounts in building a house for Mr. Mabry. His exact crimes were conspiracy to solicit and receive prohibited payments and solicitation and receipt of prohibited payments by a labor union official.

A couple of things jump out at me.

First of all a Union head is supposed to be a working class person looking out for other workers, and not a greedy businessman looking for wealth. Seems that this clown got quite a load if he could afford a $900,000+ (before the discount) house.

It's also noteworthy that his attorney, James Robinson, is offering the following defense: the statute of limitations had expired on all but one of the counts. If only one of the counts still stands after excluding the other two, it is still a conviction. Also a person who gets off on the statute of limitations is still morally guilty even if they can't be punished.

Finally I see the names of people pushing for a conviction. I see former governor James Blanchard and Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, along with union people. These are people who would normally side with a Union Chief unless the believed he was truly guilty.

Update: I misread the final paragraph, and was corrected by an annonymous comment. I double checked and see that Blanchard and Kilpatrick opposed the conviction. Oh well.

Hell Has Frozen Over -- Again

First the Detroit Tigers clinch a playoff spot -- astonishing enough

But then the real shocker.

With the Big 3 automakers losing tens of thousands of jobs, the UAW has come to a realization. These companies need to survive in order for there to be any jobs and the generous pay and benefit packages of the past are no longer possible.

I wonder where they got their first clue.

"Unionization is down, and the legal climate faced by unions in terms of organizing and bargaining is very unfavorable for them," said James Piazza, an assistant professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. "They have no choice but to compromise and hope the company stays afloat."

Actually the worst wounds the unions have suffered are self-inflicted. They don't know when to say enough (but then who does?) The upper echelons have become disconnected from the workers. They have become a puppet of the Democratic Party rather than trying to get the best deal from both parties. Many of them have been thoroughly corrupted by organized crime. other unions have embraced the folly of Socialism. Cronyism and favoritism is rampant in many unions.

In spite of this they have come up with a common sense plan:

So, armed with the benefit of hindsight, the union has pledged to borrow a page from the steelworkers' playbook, collaborating with Ford and other American manufacturers to cuts costs, improve the bottom line and save as many jobs as they can

I would call that a a good start for a new direction.

They also note that there is hope for displaced auto workers as other industries in other areas are booming. That is good as far as it goes, but not everyone can just pack up and move to another state.

So many union jobs have disappeared that, in order to keep the unions alive, they are doing stuff like unionizing pizza delivery services. What a world we live in.

Why The Left Won't Face The Truth

The Jihadists intend to create a worldwide Caliphate. The left is in denial about this inspite of constant affirmations from the mouths of the Jihadists themselves.

A few believe they will never succeed because they don't have the capacity. To these people I say that they will keep trying until they succeed or are sent scurrying with their tails between their legs. It is only a matter of time before they pull off something many times worse than 9-11 unless we stop them.

The others are functioning on a couple of assumptions.

Some believe that America and Capitalism are so evil that anything, even sharia law is preferable. Or they delude themselves into thinking that they and the Jihadists will be partners once America is out of the way. They are sadly deluded.

The other group is finds the war so terrifying that they have to go into denial or displacement to avoid facing the reality that is confronting them. If they ignore the Jihad it will go away. Sadly it won't.

One group is treasonous and the other groups are cowards.

They are both part of the problem.

They have been planning and preparing for this for decades and now we have no choices except for fight or surrender. I for one would rather die as a Christian than live as either a Muslim or a Dhimmi.

Made My Day

Tomorrow is my mother's 70th birthday, but we were going to celebrate today. I got a call to pick up some carry-out from a local restaurant and I did and was headed to Mom and Dad's house which is about 11 miles from where I live. They live in a small hamlet of about 150-175 people.

I was about 3 miles from their place, headed down a country road at about 55-60 mph, when suddenly a deer came out of ditch and slammed into the side of my car and (literally) flew over it. Needless to say, it shook me up a little. I stopped, got out, and looked around but didn't see any sign of the deer. I then went to a nearby house so that the County Sheriff's Office could be called but no one was home. I drove on to my Mom and Dad's and called the Sheriff from there and found out I only needed to if I wanted an accident report.

My Nephew went to the site to see if he could find the deer and claim it (which you can in Michigan if you go through proper channels and as the one who hit it I would have first dibs), but it was gone. He said people in a nearby house were watching him nervously and were obviously doing something in their garage so he thinks they found it and took it. No big deal.

I took maybe a half-a-pound chunk of deer-flesh out from between my car door and the fender, and had to wash deer blood and (ahem) other organic residue off my car door and fender but I was very lucky. If that I had been 2 feet further down the road when that deer hit me I could have been badly injured or killed because it would have hit my driver side window. As it is I have to replace a headlight, a headlight bracket, and either have my fender bumped out or replaced. Maybe 200-300 dollars. It could have been a lot worse.

Yet Another Good Euro-Blog

From out of the Netherlands comes Klein Verzet A small voice in the cacophony, a little finger in an increasingly soggy dyke. I can't say I agree with every word he says but he calls it like he sees it. Some of his stuff is in Dutch so you might need Babel Fish, but he is worth reading.

He proudly proclaims: Allah does not exist, Muhammad was not his prophet, and the Koran is not a holy book.

I do believe in God of course, but otherwise I agree with that statement, and like this blogger, I am not afraid to say so.

I Thought I Just Posted on this

A few days ago I did a post on my concern about fraudulent voting, which I consider the largest internal threat to a true representative government -- far larger than the supposed voting machine manipulation.

Now the Senate is working on legislation to require photo ID's for all voters in federal elections. A very good idea and long overdue!!

Harry Reid's thoughts on this: "Worst of all, this bill recalls a dark era in our nation when individuals were required to pay a poll tax to cast their ballot and has been termed a 21st century poll tax," Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and three other Democrats wrote in a letter to Frist, a Tennessee Republican.

This is not a poll tax but an attempt to keep voting honest. Things can be done to ensure that the poor can get IDs. They probably already have them as you need them for state and federal assistance and if they work, they probably need them to get their paychecks cashed. Very few people do not have photo IDs and getting them for these people is not a problem.

I also think we should copy what the Afghans and Iraqis did and dip our thumbs in ink when we vote to cut back on fraudulent voting.

I wonder why Harry Reid is so unconcerned about fraudulent voting.

The Title Tells More Than the Story.

On Tuesday the 19th, The Detroit News carried a story on the 3rd page whose title caught my eye immediately.

Al-Qaida to pope: Islam will rule

What caught my eye was the sudden honesty in the headline and an acknowledgement that these people plan on ruling the world. Up till now it has been largely, though not entirely, trying to excuse them.

Catholic officials are trying to get the Muslims to see the Pope's point of view. That is not going to happen because they don't care about his point of view.

Muslims are now burning effigies of the Pope. I wonder how long it is before we see lynchings of effigies of Bin Laden or even Mohammed? The Muslims won't like that one bit but it is probably going to start happening.

Like I said, I was pleased to see one major newspaper acknowledge what these fanatics really want. Now if we can get more of the media to do it.

Memories -- Black Light Posters

The graphics for the posters were taken from the Hippy Shop where you can still purchase them on line. Go there and take a look around. I may be conservative but there some hippy things I love, and blacklights are at the top of list.

When I was a young teen-ager, I went into a gift and was just looking around and noticed a dark booth that was semi-curtained off with the words BLACKLIGHTS on the sign. I was curious so I went in and looked and was fascinated. The posters were attractive and the way the blacklight made them seem to glow fascinated me.

That year I got a blacklight and several posters for Christmas. This one was my favorite. It was called Peace Ship and was the first one that I got.

I of course got more of them and even as I got older I used to enjoy going into Spencer's Gift Shops in the Malls, and occasionally record shops as well, just to admire the black light posters.


As the years went by the posters were replaced by pictures of bands, album covers, and of course Cheesecake and Beefcake (scantily clad women and men for those who don't know those terms.) The attractive art of the black light poster has faded but is not completely gone. You still see blacklights for sale but posters are not as common as they used to be. Still a couple of years ago I purchased this blacklight poster called The Garden of Eden and it currently hangs in my bedroom.

Here are some others that I really liked. There are so many cool ones that I had to narrow it way down.

This one is called Ice Ship

There are number of others that I really liked, but once again blogger seems to think I am posting too many pictures and won't let me add any others. Sigh!!!

I used to love how the blacklight made these pictures glow in the dark. You can still get florescent paints and crayons that glow under the blacklight (in fact Crayola's 96 crayon pack has them in it) but you just don't see the artwork you used to.

A Small Relief

Last week I said that the UAW was trying to get a strike going at my plant, which is in serious but not dire straits. I said that a strike right now would destroy the company.

We voted yesterday. According to the UAW Constitution it requires a 2/3 majority to authorize a strike and they did not even get a majority. Now the union officers are mad and saying we will vote on the contract and damned well better not complain about how bad it is. They were going to hold another strike vote immediately after a union meeting in which the union leadership would explain why we need the strike vote but I guess the higher-ups in the Union nixed that, saying we had voted "No" on the strike vote.

We get a raise, though not a major one, and about 1/4 of my initial raise will go to the increase in my health coverage. Union is furious about it, but most of the workers recognize reality. Our boss simply cannot afford it right now . . . end of story.

Now we just need to survive.

Was This Anticipated 60 Years Ago?

Thanks to a comment posted by oppinionsarefree at Captain's Quarters, I was able to read an analyis of the situation in the Middle East that, specifically the Muslim world, that was written in 1946, apparently by the US Department of War.

The general description of the Middle East is still valid today.
With few exceptions, the states which it includes are marked by poverty, ignorance, and stagnation. It is full of discontent and frustration, yet alive with consciousness of its inferiority and with determination to achieve some kind of general betterment.

The fact that this line was written 1946 floored me.
Two basic urges meet head-on in this area, and conflict is inherent in this collision of interests. These urges reveal themselves in daily news accounts of killings and terrorism, of pressure groups in opposition, and of raw nationalism and naked expansionism masquerading as diplomatic maneuvers.

Seems that some things never change.

Some things have changed from the time of this article. There is a greater degree of unity within Islam today though it is far from complete. The struggle between Shia and Sunni has gotten much worse in the last couple of decades, and them fighting each other may ultimately hold the key to defeating them (IMHO).

Also worthy of note is that these concerns existed before Israel did! If Israel did not exist, the ME would be basically the same as it is today, but the Jihadists would have a different excuse. Even before Israel, there was an Islamic Brotherhood and Wahibism, both hostile to Europe, Christians, and Jews.

Indeed, the last couple of sentences of article are perhaps more appropriate today than they were 60 years ago:

If the Moslem states were strong and stable, their behavior would be more predictable. They are, however, weak and torn by internal stresses; furthermore, their peoples are insufficiently educated to appraise propaganda or to understand the motives of those who promise a new Heaven and a new Earth.

Because of the strategic position of the Moslem world and the relentlessness of its peoples, the Moslem states constitute a potential threat to world peace. There cannot be permanent world stability, when one-seventh of the earth's population exists under the economic and political conditions that are imposed upon the Moslems.

One thing I would strongly suggest perhaps be worded differently is that the conditions are today being imposed upon Moslems by Moslems.

Also note that they being strong would not be good thing in view of their current mind set. The last thing in the world you want is for a bully to be truly strong.

Uplifted

I have been feeling, shall we say "less than thrilled" for the last few days and needed something to lift my spirit. I decided to watch the movie Joshua and I am glad I did. It did lift my spirits. For those who do not know of this movie, a stranger named Joshua moves into a mid-sized American town and starts transforming lives and awakening faith, seemingly without effort and eventually performs a couple of major miracles. Eventually a couple of people realize that Joshua is Jesus living amongst them, though He never makes the claim himself, and course they are some who just wish He would go away. It is of little doctrinal value but it is a wonderful vision of Who Jesus is and what He wants from us. It ends with Joshua/Jesus going to the Vatican, subtley telling the Pope that He is Jesus and then giving the Pope a simple bit of instruction, that if followed could change the world.

Election Fraud

Some people are concerned that there is going to be problems, both technical and ethical, with the upcoming election. I too am concerned but not for the same things.

I wonder

A.) How many dead people are going to vote?

B.) How many people are going to fill out an absentee ballot in one state and vote in person in another?

C.) How many times will Peter Pan and Mary Poppins vote in Cleveland?

D.) How many non-citizens will be allowed to vote?

These are at least as large of problems, possibly larger in some areas, than the questions that the Washington Post article asks. A lot of the technical problems and training problems should have been discovered during the primary votes and most of them should be corrected by the election.

Regardless of the fears of disenfranchising people, we need to require picture ID's of every voter, and if they need to be provided free of charge, so be it. However, we need to thoroughly check every application for a voter ID, and constantly compare voter rolls to other sources, including obituaries, address changes at the Post Office, etc in order to prevent fraudulent voting. I believe that fraudulent voting is the largest single problem in our elections. Everyone who can legally vote should to be allowed to vote --- ONCE. We must be vigilant against all forms of fraudulent voting and have zero tolerance for it.

Not At All Suprising

So ol' Willie Nelson has been busted for marijuana possession.

Suprise! Suprise! Suprise!

He'll write a song about it and make a fortune.

Actually that overgrown juvenile delinquent needs to grow up.

Hail to the Victors

Hail to the Victors valiant!
Hail to the conquering heros!
Hail! Hail! to Michigan!
The Leaders and Best!

Hail to the Victors valiant!
Hail to the conquering heros!
Hail! Hail! to Michigan!
The Champions of the West!



Laugh Laugh at poor Notre Dame!
All of her children share in her shame!
Send a howl of glee on high!
Knock all the egos from the sky!
Though the foes be great or small
Notre Dame is lowest of all
As her hapless sons are headed forward to ignomy!

My Question is "Why is He Doing It?"

A High School Senior, Brian Wendt, from Swartz Creek Michigan is having a little conflict with his school board right now. He flew two Confederate Flags from his pick up truck while on school grounds and when he failed to take them down the school confiscated them. Now he is fighting for "his right" to fly the Confederate Flag.

My problem is why is he so concerned about that flag. What does it mean to him. It means different things to different people.

I see the Confederate Flag as a symbol of limiting federal power over the state governments and allowing the states to manage their own affairs. In the flags in my blog I almost included it as a symbol of limiting the power of the federal government (as I do believe very strongly that the states are sovereign over their internal affairs -- a Constitutional concept - the 10th amendment -- that has been ignored for too long.) However, I knew it would misunderstood by some so I chose not to include it. The thing is I made this choice willingly but no one should be forced to.

Some see the Confederate flag as a symbol of southern culture and a way of life distinct from the northern states.

Others see it as a symbol of white supremacy. Sadly the courts have allowed this interpretation to trump all others, and they should not be allowed to.

So far I have seen no hint of why young Mr. Wendt is so enamoured of that flag. If he loves for benign reasons then people need to understand that. If he is flying it for racist reasons then he needs to be dealt with as a racist. The school district needs to find out and understand just what that flag means to him. What if he had ancestors who died under that flag? Does he have the right to honor his own ancestors -- if that is the case?

People need to understand that the Confederate Flag means different things to different people. Seeing it only as a symbol of racism and failing to see its racial significance are equal but opposite errors and are equal examples of political tunnel vision. People on both sides need to broaden their minds a little bit.

I once knew a man who was far to the left on the political spectrum and he told me that the Civil War was fought only to encourage northern domination over the southern economy and slavery had nothing to do with it, but Lincoln freed the slaves to create economic chaos in the south. He felt this way because it fit his worldview that no white man ever helped a black man. I asked him that if that was the case, why did he consider the Confederate Flag racist and he replied "That's what it means today, not what it meant 120 years ago". (the conversation took place @ 1980)

A Proper Apology

Jesus was telling the truth when people found the truth to be offensive. He did not apologize but died willingly (and we know how that turned out).

Pope Benedict told the truth about Islam and they are angry at him. They are angry at him for the same reason the Sadduccees were angry at Jesus and crucified Him. They are angry at him for telling the truth. Nothing is going to mullify this rabble as they demand that we bow to their demands and not be allowed an inch ourselves. I do not believe for one second that God ever sent one word of the Koran to earth. I believe that I would insult God if I denied His Son or as the Apostle John said Who is the liar except he that denies that Jesus is the Christ? This one is the Anti Christ, who denies the Father and the Son. (I John 2: 22)

Should I apologize for that? I will apologize in exactly the same manner that Pope Benedict should apologize.

I am sorry that you find the truth so offensive.

Memories -- Forgotten Songs

One of the things that made me feel old was hearing songs that I loved in High School and College being played on "Golden Oldie Stations". I hear alot of songs from my day on them and some of them are really great, but there are some songs that from my teens and military years that have been completely forgotten.

I would have never dreamed that the melancholy beauty of Seasons in the Sun by Terry Jacks would have been forgotten. The first time I really listened to it I was 16 years old and home from school with a flu. As I listened and realized that the singer in the song was dying and saying good-bye to everyone he loved, it truly occured to me, possibly for the first time in my life, that the day was coming that I was going to die. I was depressed for the rest of the day thanks to that song, yet I still loved it. I have it on 1970s' compilation of hits CD and still listen to it from time to time.

If you want to complain about the sexual content of today's music then you are overlooking a lot of songs from 25 to 35 years ago. Some of them were raunchy and yet others were kind of pleasant to listen to; two married couples who called themselves The Starland Vocal Band had a couple of minor hits and one biggie -- Afternoon Delight -- a song of love in the afternoon. While it was overtly sexual, it was also two married couples singing of their love and it was also quite a pleasant melody and decent arrangement. I have it on a couple of compilation CDs and still enjoy hearing it.

I was one of probably millions of people who first thought that Beach Baby by the apparent one-hit-wonder First Class was a song by the Beach Boys as it is definitely in their style and something they could have done. It is one of my favorite songs ever. I love its energy and harmony. Again thanks to compilations I can still listen to it today.

Most of us are familiar with the "Archies" single Suger Sugar which is now part of our superculture but less known, but still fairly well known, is that the song was written and partly sung by a guy named Andy Kim, who was actually quite young when he sang it. A few years later he had a top 40 hit under his own name named Rock Me Gently. While not as well known as Sugar Sugar, I believe it is a far superior song to his better known hit. Again it is difficult to find this song under anything but compilations. (Sadly the link to this song does not have the music).

I guess I could go on and on and on. We all have songs we loved in the past that seem to be forgotten. Maybe other oldies stations carry some of these songs, but I never hear them on our local oldies stations.

I am Surrounded by ?

I really want don't to call my co-workers bad names but I am very unhappy with some of them right now.

6 months ago the survival of the company I work for was in serious doubt. In the last few weeks it has shifted from seriously in trouble to probably going to pull through. We are now working steadily and probably will for the forseeable future.

However there is very little cash reserve and we are frequently doing without things as we are financially functioning week to week yet.

The moronic union fanatics have called for a strike vote. Why? Because contract negotiations are going too slow to suit them.

If we go on strike we can kiss our jobs good bye. We need to protect our jobs by keeping our employer in business and a strike right now would be just plain reckless.

Actually I am hoping it is just a bluff, as only one union committee person is a total idiot. (And even the other committee people would agree with that assessment of this person -- who also the most fanatic union person in the plant.)

If we strike, we go out of business. The UAW has to know that. Why would they call a strike that would put a company out of business, unless they have something to gain from it? I did the math and our entire company pays less than $9000 a year in dues which is pocket change to the union. I wonder if they see us as expendable for some larger purpose.

I am not a happy camper right now.

I Want to Scream Out

The very name of this "Convergence" of nations is a lie. An absolute, bold-faced lie!

They call themselves the "Non-aligned Movement"

Non-Aligned!?!

I want to scream obscenities at these so-called Non-aligned Nations

Let's look at the list:

Cuba?

Iran?

N Korea?

Admittedly India and some other countries are non-aligned but the above countries belong in a non-aligned movement the way I belong in Islamic Jihad -- Not at all.

It is total and absolute Hypocrisy for Cuba, Iran and North Korea to claim to be non-aligned. The mere presence of these nations in this meeting should be a source of endless embarrassment to the nations that are truly trying to remain aloof from other nations' conflicts.

Unless being aligned against freedom, democracy and rule of law means being non-aligned.

Court Order? Ignore it?

When left-wing organizations win lawsuits and get court orders to go their way it's the voice from on high. "God has spoken". The courts authority is final and there is no appeal.

If the left-wing organizations (such as unions) lose it is a travesty of justice and they must "do the right thing" and ignore the court order.

The Detroit Teachers met yesterday, read the court order, adjourned and it appears that teachers are not going to listen to the court order.

What happened to Roy Moore when he ignored a court order?

Why do teachers think they are immune to these? If they disregard one why can't I if it becomes inconvenient to me? Do they honestly think that court orders matter only when they go their way? It is a dangerous precedent to obey only laws and court decisions that you agree with and these people are doing just that.

They must NOT get away with simply ignoring a court order.

Let's Not Forget

September 11, 2001 would have, and should have, just been another day. We were working, and I was not in my booth for some reason when the radio announced that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center. That was all that was said at that point and I had it all wrong in my head. I was picturing some imbecile in a single engine plane flying too close to the building and accidentally hitting it and was concerned about falling debris from the plane hitting pedestrians below. At that point we had no idea what had really happened. A few minutes later I had to go into my paint booth and started painting car parts.

About an hour and a half later I was relieved for break and my relief painter asked if I had heard the World Trade Center. I said that some guy in a plane had hit it and he said that they had both been hit, they had both collapsed, a building in Washington had been hit and planes were "falling out of the sky". Seeing my stunned disbelief he then added "We're being attacked!" I went out onto the floor and work was being done without any enthusiasm as shocked co-workers (management and hourly) were glued to the radio.

I understood then how my grandparents and great-grandparents felt when they had learned of Pearl Harbor. This would be another day that would live forever in infamy. But who was the enemy? My first suspicion was the Palestinians (who, according to radio reports that day, were celebrating the destruction); like most Americans at that time, I had never heard of al-Qaida. That would soon change.

Rumors were flying, and at that point we had no count of the number of dead and some radio commentators were saying it could be 10,000 or more. I went home that afternoon and noticed a long line at the local Shell Mart and gas had jumped a little bit, though there was no local gouging in my community. I got home and called my parents to see how they were doing.

A few days later we knew alot more and a tentative list of the dead and missing was made available. I scanned it looking for people I knew who lived in New York and Boston - where some of the flights originated - (mostly college friends and one old flame) and was relieved that no one that I knew was killed.

Inspite of the horror there were things to be grateful for. Had the buildings been hit just a couple hours later the death toll would have been much worse.

Now they are promising more mischief and we must remain vigilant. If we do not act then mere memory is wasted. We did not start this war but we cannot afford to lose it.

A Strike Cut Short

The teachers in the Detroit school system went on strike over a 5.5% paycut. The school needs to cut expenses and the cuts need to come from just about everywhere. It is unfortunate but it also a fact of life. Reality trumps politics (or at least it should) and sadly it also trumps human needs.

Yesterday (Friday) Circuit Judge Susan D. Borman ordered the teachers back to the classroom. She based the ruling on a 1994 law that limited the rights of teachers to strike when doing so would harm the students.

The union says it will follow the injunction but I think we need to wait and see on what will happen.

What bugs me though is that the teachers know that the school district has serious financial problems, and neither the city nor state can afford to bail them out, yet they strike anyway. They are not striking against the school board; they are striking against reality. Somehow reality always wins.

They say their chief concern is for the children, yet when it comes down to it, they talk only about themselves.

To Keep Our Trust

There are many Muslims who are furious with the Jihadists and feel that they are unfairly under suspicion for the crimes of others. I can sympathize with them even if I don't agree with their beliefs and feel that if they are good citizens they should be treated as such. They need to understand where the fear is coming from and how they can help alleviate it.

If a Muslim were to ask me how to end the suspicion I would tell them this.

1. Speak out, not against those who are suspicious of you, but against those who, by their conduct and words, are creating and reinforcing that suspicion. Call the terrorists within Islam terrorists and openly condemn them.

2. Police yourselves. If a Christian minister calls for violence against others, he is quickly rebuked by the Church at large; witness how quickly we told Pat Robertson that he was out of line when he called for the assissination of the President of Venezuela. The Church at large publicly condemns the hateful behavior of the "Reverend" Fred Phelps. You need to do the same; when an Imam calls for the deaths of infidels you need to publicly rebuke him and reject, not necessarily him, but that idea of his. If a Muslim is planning something against "infidels" and you learn of it, turn him over to authorities.

3. I am very convinced that the Christianity of the New Testament is the true religion and all others are false (except Judaism which true but incomplete) but I also recognize that there are very good and honorable people in other religions and I respect their right to practice their religion and the "sanctity" of their shrines and holy objects even though I believe they are wrong. I have the right to say they are wrong but I do not have the right to interfere with their activities. You can believe we are "wrong" without hating us, and many of you do. You need to loudly say that hate, even toward infidels, is wrong.

Admittedly a few Muslims have done this, but more need to. If they feel that they are doing this and it's not being noticed, then they need to do it a little more loudly.

Thank You Mallard

Actually, Mel Gibson might well be a little Anti-Semitic, and that is definitely a moral problem if it is true, however he is only one man and speaks only for himself if he is. The UN speaks, supposedly, for the entire world and effects how world operates and acts. One man being foolishly Anti-Semitic is bad, but not nearly as bad as a world wide organization like the UN being Anti-Semitic.

Memory Lane -- Funny Books

Last week I talked about some fad foods that existed when I was a kid.

It seems to me, that except for Archie Comics, I rarely see humorous comic books anymore. They are all about superheros, which is fine in its own way. Superheros have been around almost as long as comic books have, but now that's all there is.

I want to remember some old comic titles that existed when I was a kid, and they really were funny books. Let's talk about Harvey Comics that existed when I was a child. Some of the characters from these books are still part of our culture such as Casper the Friendly Ghost (one of the world's most recognized icons), Wendy the Good Little Witch (who was played by Hilary Duff when she was a still a little girl in the movie Casper and Wendy) or Richie Rich (who was also the subject of a movie). These ones are still part of our popular culture, but others have been forgotten, some deservedly so and others sadly so.

Remember the worlds largest (and dumbest baby) -- Baby Huey! My mother used to say in disgust that she hated that particular comic whenever he showed up in any fashion or form (a comic book or cartoon on TV). He was probably my least favorite as well. Oddly, I can still remember several stories that he was involved in, perhaps more than the comics that I actually liked better.







Then of course there was Casper's pugnacious friend Spooky the tough little ghost. His pushy, tough-guy persona is etched into my memory but I cannot recall any actual stories of him.








Little Audrey was just a little girl who found a lot of strange adventures in her life. There was her friend Little Dot, a girl obsessed with dots. There was Little Lotta who was a BIG girl and the stories centered on her weight, appetite and prodigious strength.









There was also Hot Stuff who was a little demon and of course, my favorite, an inept army private named Sad Sack, who was almost a prototype of Beetle Baily. I was going to post pictures of all of them but Blogger is not letting me. Further information and pictures of them can be seen at Harveyville Fun Times, which is where I found these pictures.

Of course many other titles existed, and there were other companys printing real funny books in the days when comic books did not necessarily mean super heros. Do remember, and did you enjoy these when you were younger?

When Do You Stop Driving?

A number of years ago I was in a small shop on Main Street in my hometown going over a possible purchase when I heard some screams and a series of crashing sounds outside the door. The shop owner and I both went outside and could see that a car had driven a small ways down the sidewalk, taking out parking meters. The car was being driven by an elderly woman. Since she had been driving between the buildings and diagonally parked cars on the street, she had damaged other cars and damaged her own car by scraping against buildings.

As the police arrived we learned that she was fleeing from a hit and run just a few blocks away. The next day our local papers carried the story of course and added a little bit I didn't know. Her driver's license had been denied two years before because she could not see well enough to drive and she was uninsured because she had no license to drive. I don't know what was done about her but it was sad on several levels. An elderly woman, who was used to being independent, could no longer be independent and her refusal to accept this caused problems for a lot of people.

Sadly, this is not a rare or uncommon problem. A Detroit area academic was recently hit by an elderly driver while crossing a street on foot. Here is how she described the event.

As I lay on the street, a chrome bumper inches from my head, a fashionably attired elderly woman jumped out, yelling loudly, "I had a stroke. I can't see good. What are you doing here?"

For months, the woman's words echoed. I escaped with scrapes and bruises, but she could have killed me. How can a responsible person say, "I had a stroke. I can't see good," and still drive?

According to her, and I am unable to verify her statistics, people over 75 are 37% more likely to have an accident under identical driving conditions than younger people. She also points out that they may lie about blackouts etc that also cause accidents.

I don't know what exactly should be done about this but we need to start testing people more thoroughly and frequently as they age. They need to be checked for eyesight, hearing, reflexes and likelihood of a stroke or blackout while driving. It would be sad to do this to people who are used to be independent, but it just cannot be helped. I really don't want to see them kill or injure anyone, or be killed themselves.

Killed by What He Loved

I used to enjoy watching Steve Erwin, The Crocodile Hunter, and love his movie by the same title but I always thought he was a little crazy and feared that one day his willingness to handle the most dangerous of animals would be the death of him.

It was.

He will be missed.

Blogger Nation

The Detroit News, last Thursday (running a bit behind here), had an article on blogging that I kind of liked, but it also had me rolling my eyes a little.

It gives some statistics that are pretty much available anywhere. The average blogger is under 30 (I'm not) and suburban (I am small town) and white (finally). There are also 75,000 new blogs created daily. That's quite a few.

A big question they ask is why do people blog and you know, I don't know if I could really answer if I was asked why I created my blog. I guess there are several reasons, including most of the offered answers (creative outlet, make opinions known, cut down on e-mails etc.)

Companies large and small are creating blogs to connect them to clients and customers.

Politicians are relying on them more and more.

And the MSM and Academia?

Some sociologists caution that tools like blogs -- that give people the power to choose what information they are exposed to -- will whittle away at our grounds for common conversation.

"The news, which has served to be a conversation starter, won't be the same for everyone," said Jim Witte, a Clemson University professor of sociology who chairs a section of the American Sociological Society about communication information technology. In other words, the days when everyone heard what Walter Cronkite had to say are over.

They must miss the day when they decided what we knew and could control our available information. Thanks to blogging the modern day Walter Cronkites have competition. I say "Thank God!" and thanks to blogging.

Just How Much of You is Out There?

I just got an e-mail from my sister-in-law that is somewhat annoying.

If you go to Zabasearch and type in your full name and home state, they will offer you a lot of information, and for about $50.00 you can learn alot about anyone or they can learn it about you.

Most of this is public record, but does it have to be so easy? You know their name, you now have their address and phone number, and for some money they know even more, your friends and associates, employment history, criminal record, credit record etc.

It's all public knowledge, but shouldn't it be available on a need-to-know basis?

By the way, this had nothing to do with the Patriot Act. It would be available if Gore had won too.

Beyond Despicable

With the constant drumbeat coming from some quarters that our military is a bunch of "baby killers" comes real consequences.

A young military man was attacked by 5 [expletive deleted]s because he was in the military.

Gawfer has the story.

I cannot think of a horrendous enough thing to do to someone who would attack one of our own, on our own soil. I suggest they be targets at a military firing range but that would be two quick. Maybe they could be practice dummies for martial arts training.

Or maybe one of our real heros in Iraq needs an organ transplant and they are a perfect match. That would be the ticket.