2006 - A Turning Point?

It's a new year. So what is everyone going to do with it? Me, I figured that I would try to work harder, be more caring towards others, and try to stay away from politics. It seems that in the blogosphere one can quickly get a name for themselves, either as a good or a bad person. I myself have been labeled by some as a bad man. Why? Because I cannot stand George Bush nor anyone in Washington weather they are Republican or Democrat. I feel that the Republican party has been hi- jacked, and America is on a downword sprial to a third wold status. Iraq, Iran, China, Russia, Gasoline prices, North Korea, Karl Rove, Bushgate, all of these and more have dominated the net during the past year. What I want to see in 2006 is for someone like John McCain to step up and out of his shell, to lead the Republican party in 2008. Am I asking too much? Is McCain just another shill for the real people in control? I hope not. Now for the real things that concern me. One is the passing of my ex Father In Law, Grandpop to my two daughters. He died on December 31st, around 5:00 pm. My younger daughter Natalie called me.(Her 20th Birthday was 1/2/06). She and her Sisters, Mom, etc are devastated. I cannot even bring myself to call, because I should be there in person to try and comfort them. As I get older it seems that things get more complicated and you need more time to do the things you want. It's late so I'll leave it at that.

One Year Ago Today: The Indian Ocean Tsuami

One year ago today The Indian Ocean Tsuami (Video) swept away entire villages in Aceh and Sri Lanka. Overall it killed over 200,000 people in 12 countries and displaced millions. Some say that it was a "man made" event, being that a certain military installation was warned hours before. So what did cause the Indian Ocean Tsuami? I find it hard to believe that no plausable explanation has been reached. I don't buy the "Man Made" thing though. In any case, Petra Nemcova, a Czech born model, soon became the main attraction as her story of holding on for dear life for eight hours spread throughout the MSM. One thing is for sure: If something happens once, it surely can happen again. Could this happen to the east coast of our country? Some say it can and will. Bottom line is if it did there would at best be 2-3 hours of time to warn and evacuate millions. Makes you think the next time your down the shore, eh?

Merry Christmas

I just wanted to wish everyone a very happy, safe and joyous holiday. Merry Christmas! :)

Handgun Versus Woman

A little something I stole from Kate while she was away at her new job. The Top Ten Reasons Why a Handgun Is Better Than a Woman 10. You can trade an old .44 for two new .22s 9. You can keep one handgun at home and have another for when you're on the road. 8. If you admire a friend's handgun, and tell him so, he will probably let you try it out a few times. 7. Your primary handgun doesn't mind if you have a backup. 6. Your handgun will stay with you even if you're out of ammo. 5. A handgun doesn't take up a lot of closet space. 4. Handguns function normally every day of the month. 3. A handgun doesn't ask "Do these new grips make me look fat?" 2. A handgun doesn't mind if you go to sleep after you use it. AND.....THE NUMBER ONE REASON WHY A HANDGUN IS BETTER THAN A WOMAN.... 1. You can buy a silencer for a handgun.

Big Box Companies...oye...

---caution: long post--- Start Scene 1:00pm - pick up phone - dial Lowes of N. Wilmington, DE (wait on hold) 'how can I help you' "flooring please" (wait on hold) 'hello how can I help you' "hi how are you doing this morning" *yes I usually do start with this. Damn nice guy syndrome or something* 'good and you' "I have a little issue, I signed a contract and paid for flooring and haven't heard anything. I know it takes like 2 weeks for the carpet to come in and after it comes your contractor has 48hrs to call me but I haven't heard anything from anyone and its beyond the 2 weeks" 'oh well I'm not at a computer right now, I'm actually standing watch at a forklift, can I take your name/number and call you back' "I'd rather not, can you transfer me to someone who can answer my question" *seriously, why pick up the phone if you can't help. and no, I will not leave my name/number. I have never ever ever had anyone from any company ever call me back when they said they would. yeah I do know why, minimizing on hold time is probably some company priority but its worse if I do talk to someone who can't answer the question* (noise, people talking, I obviously wasn't getting transfered and instead was on 'active hold' while she just stood there) 'are you still there?' *where was I gonna go?* "yes I'm here" *blahblahblah its crazy busy I don't care I'm annoyed that you answered the phone though you were obviously incapable of helping at the time since you were elsewhere, which is fine just don't answer the phone then* 'ok this shows your carpet came in Wednesday, let me transfer you to the install department and you'll work it out with them' "whatever needs to happen, thanks" (wait on hold) (hear, BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP really loud) "yeah that's not fun, let's not do that" 'oh your still there? hang on' "Install" (insert spheal) 'ok I will contact the contractor and get him to schedule an install date with you' "So I signed a contract that you didn't follow (e.g. me getting called within 48hrs) and all that happens is you call the contractor?" 'yes, let me contact him and get him to call you' "is there a manager around' 'Hang on...wait he left his phone here, hang on...wait he's in a meeting, no wait there he is' *what the!?* 'can I help you?' (insert spheal) "ok let us call the contractor so he can call you and schedule an install" 'yeah but, I didn't get called within the 48hrs as in the contract and nothing happens?' "we'll call the contractor and get you set up" *he just wasn't taking the hint* 'so you didn't follow the contract and nothing happens' "I'm not trying to argue with you I just want to get you schedule" 'I signed a contract to get flooring and part of that was being informed within a certain timeframe which didn't happen and I get no compensation that you didn't follow the contract' *either he was annoyed that I stated basically that same thing again OR because I inserted the word compensation. I'm going with compensation* (louder annoyed voice) 'let us call the contractor and then we can discuss compensation' "ok, thank you" End Scene Start Scene 1:40pm (receiving phone call) 'can I speak with ?' *40 minutes turn around time. not too bad considering he's probably on the job. I KNEW I was goign to get a call pretty soon. I also was pretty sure it would be a waist of time call...see below* "speaking" 'yeah his this is Lowe's said you want your carpet installed?' *no I want it to sit in a warehouse. I paid for it up front and signed a contract to get it installed which included you coming over and doing measurements and a detailed estimate only for me to use it as compost.* "yes" 'I have nothing available up until christmas but I'm not in the office right now I'm on a job so I can't schedule anything until I get back to the office' *don't call me and waist my time! I know why you called me, because lowe's called you and said they're some crazy guy all pissed off (though I'm more annoyed than pissed off) so they asked that you call me right away to lessen my pissed-off-ness though all it did was increase it because you waisted my time* "ok just call me later" End Scene Start Scene 5:57pm (receiving phone call) 'hi can I speak with ' *yes. we only own cell phones. we do not have a home phone number. if anyone answers this particular phone number you have it will 99.9% of the time be the person you want to speak with* "speaking" 'hi this is I just got a cancellation on the 22nd' "um, let me get my calendar (fumble to get out MobilePro)...um, yeah ok 22nd is fine" *22nd actually kinda stinks but given the way the day went screw it, I'll take another day off to get this done. Plus it will hopefully be done off-gassing while we're away* 'ok, um, are you taking the carpet off yourself' "yes I am, so what are the logistics of this? What's the timeframe" 'well since your taking the existing carpet up yourself just one day' "what time will you be showing up" 'probably 9/9:30' *LOVE the specifics!* "speaking of tearing up the carpet, do you need me to remove the doors?* 'um, no we can do that, that's not a big deal' "ok, see you on the 22nd" End Scene I'm convinced there was no 'cancellation' and that it was either Lowe's giving him shit or Lowe's sweatening the pot for him. That depends on if the contractor was ever informed that my carpet came in. Whatever happened between the big box and their contractor is between them, my contract is with Lowes and THEY are to perform. If they get a contractor that's their perogative. Why do I even care? Well all I know is if the roles were reversed, if the little guy screwed up the big box company would have no problem screwing me over. That's why. What do I want? Heck give me a freaking lowe's gift card with 10% or even 5% of my purchase price on it. Ensures my business with you isn't impacted by your screw-up. I mean, there is a home depot a hell of a lot closer to my house. If they don't give me anything I know I can't do anything about it, but, I might as well try. I'm more annoyed that things didn't happen like big box company should ensure they do. I hate that I have to keep constant watch over anything I'm involved in and things just don't work they way they should. I shouldn't have to deal with this, THEY should be dealing with it. Why do I pay money? I mean I could've just bought the material, hauled it home, picked some carpet install guy from the yellow pages and had NONE of this. I went with this due to NOT having to deal with issues but what am I doing? Dealing with issues. I owe it to all the little guy's people out there to try to get something out of this.

Bush In Philly - A New Stratergy For The War In Iraq

I am reading the Daily Times and see that President Bush is in town this morning, to "Articulate" a plan for winning the war in Iraq, according to William Bender, a Times reporter. He is going to address about 600 local people of the World Affairs Council. From their web site:

"Established in 1949 as a forum for discussing differing points of view, the Council does not endorse candidates for public office or lobby for policies. Membership is open to all who share its principles. The Council currently serves over 120 corporate members and their CEOs, and more than 4,000 other executives and individual members."

Would have been nice if I was invited, better yet, Bush can come over my house and we can knock back some Budweisers and in no time at all I could maybe get some real answers from him. Cheers.

Airline passenger who made threat killed

Well now...I guess the idiot should have taken his medication, eh? In this day and age, we can ill afford to take any chances. Kudos to the fed air marshal.

Your thoughts? Inquirer.com JOHN PAIN Associated Press MIAMI - A passenger who claimed to have a bomb in a carry-on bag was shot and killed by a federal air marshal Wednesday on a jetway to an American Airlines plane that had arrived from Colombia, officials said. Authorities did not immediately say whether any bomb was found. Homeland Security Department spokesman Brian Doyle said the dead man was a 44-year-old U.S. citizen. It was the first time since the Sept. 11 attacks that an air marshal had shot at anyone, he said. According to a witness, the man frantically ran down the aisle of the Boeing 757 and his wife explained that he was mentally ill and had not taken his medication. The passenger indicated there was a bomb in his bag and was confronted by air marshals but ran off the aircraft, Doyle said. The marshals went after him and ordered him to get on the ground, but he did not comply and was shot when he apparently reached into the bag, Doyle said. Afterward, investigators put all the baggage on the tarmac and let bomb-sniffing dogs examine it in an effort to establish whether there were explosives aboard. Passenger Mary Gardner told WTVJ-TV in Miami that the man ran down the aisle from the rear of the plane. "He was frantic, his arms flailing in the air," she said. She said a woman followed, shouting, "My husband! My husband!" Gardner said she heard the woman say her husband was bipolar - a mental illness also known as manic-depression - and had not had his medication. The plane, Flight 924, had arrived from Medellin, Colombia, at 12:16 p.m. and was scheduled to leavet two hours later for Orlando, American Airlines spokesman Tim Wagner said. "I don't know yet if the passenger had been on the plane and was getting off, or was starting to board the aircraft," he said. The shooting happened shortly after 2 p.m., suggesting the plane was getting ready to take off, he said. About 105 passengers scheduled to fly to Orlando, he said. Martin Gonzalez, spokesman for Colombia's civil aviation agency, said the flight "left normally with no problems." There were only 32 air marshals at the time of the Sept. 11 attacks. The Bush administration hired thousands more afterward, but the exact number is classified.

Remembering Daniel Faulkner

 This Friday marks the 24 year anniversary of Philadelphia police officer Daniel J. Faulkner's murder by Wesley Cook, better known as Mumia Abu-Jamal. Several web sites are all for Mumia's release, not happy enough that the scumbag's death sentence has been put on hold. Mumia Abu-Jamal is a big cause for various Actors, Musicians and other "Anti death penalty" supporters. He even claims he is a political prisoner! Make one thing clear. The evidence against Mumia is mountainous. The man was convicted in a court of law. He deserves to die for his heinous crime of shooting a man point blank in the face after first shooting him in the back!

Here's a quote from Maureen Faulkner, Danny's Widow."After listening to six weeks of ballistics, the evidence, the eyewitness testimony, there was absolutely no doubt in my mind that it was Mumia Abu-Jamal murdered my husband." I heard several stories about people threatening Maureen, all because she took a stand against the "Free Mumia" fanatics. Some even called for phyicial harm! On a personal note, I was very good friends with Danny's brother Kenny, who just recently passed away. Kenny tended bar years ago at Pops Barrel Inn, not too far from my old stomping grounds. Every time something would come up on TV about "Free Mumia" etc, he would just shake his head. The stress that the Faulkner family has had to endure all these years must be overwhelming, and in my eyes, contributed to Ken's death.

So what has Mumia been doing all these years? Well let's see. He's still alive. He has managed to write a few books, gain the support of misled people, become an honory Parisian, and is a poster boy for every liberal minded, extreme cause you can think of. Mumia is not the Angel he is made out to be. He was one of the founding members of the Black Panther Party in Philly who were affiliated with the ones who killed Officer Frank Von Colin in 70' BTW, I was close enough to hear the shots that night, as I grew up in Cobbs Creek. Later he became a Move member and a "Radio Personality". I say he grew up a radical moron with a chip on his shoulders. I will not go any further at the risk of being labeled a "Racist" by you bleeding hearts. Just read the facts and you"ll see that Mumia is guilty of cold blooded murder, and deserves the same fate.

The ACLU's Holiday Season poem

In keeping with the CHRISTMAS theme that Living in Delaware County posted, I wanted to add this poem that I found at Is this Life, by TrekMedic, who resides in Philadelphia. Twas the night before December 25th and Santa's a wreck... How to live in a world that's politically correct? His workers no longer would answer to "Elves". "Vertically Challenged" they were calling themselves. And labor conditions at the north pole Were alleged by the union to stifle the soul. The runners had been removed from his sleigh; The ruts were termed dangerous by the E.P.A. And people had started to call for the cops When they heard sled noises on their roof-tops. Second-hand smoke from his pipe had his workers quite frightened. His fur trimmed red suit was called "Unenlightened." And to show you the strangeness of life's ebbs and flows, Rudolf was suing over unauthorized use of his nose And had gone on Geraldo, in front of the nation, Demanding millions in over-due compensation. So, half of the reindeer were gone; and his wife, Who suddenly said she'd enough of this life, Joined a self-help group, packed, and left in a whiz, Demanding from now on her title was Ms. And as for the gifts, why, he'd ne'er had a notion That making a choice could cause so much commotion. Nothing of leather, nothing of fur, Which meant nothing for him. And nothing for her.Nothing that might be construed to pollute. Nothing to aim. Nothing to shoot. Nothing that clamored or made lots of noise. Nothing for just girls. Or just for the boys. Nothing that claimed to be gender specific. Nothing that's warlike or non-pacific. No candy or sweets...they were bad for the tooth. Nothing that seemed to embellish a truth. And fairy tales, while not yet forbidden, Were like Ken and Barbie, better off hidden. For they raised the hackles of those psychological Who claimed the only good gift was one ecological. No baseball, no football...someone could get hurt; Besides, playing sports exposed kids to dirt. Dolls were said to be sexist, and should be passe; And Nintendo would rot your entire brain away. So Santa just stood there, disheveled, perplexed; He just could not figure out what to do next. He tried to be merry, tried to be gay, But you've got to be careful with that word today. His sack was quite empty, limp to the ground; Nothing fully acceptable was to be found. Something special was needed, a gift that he might Give to all without angering the left or the right. A gift that would satisfy, with no indecision, Each group of people, every religion; Every ethnicity, every hue, Everyone, everywhere...even you. So here is that gift, it's price beyond worth... "May you and your loved ones enjoy peace on earth.

It's called CHRISTMAS You Minority!

I agree with this 100 percent. Does that make me a Conservative? No, It's called being an AMERICAN Christian! Christmas Trees Are Christmas Trees "What Other Holiday Uses A Tree?" By Ken Hughes Nov. 30, 2005 We don’t celebrate the 4th of July with a tree, or Easter, or New Years. We celebrate Christmas with a tree so it isn’t a holiday tree after all, so says Dennis Hastert Majority leader of the House of Representatives. Christmas has become a merchant’s holiday, therefore if we were to accept a new definition of the traditional Christmas tree it would be more appropriate to call it a, “Merchants Tree” rather than the “Holiday Tree” either has little to do with religion. It’s a time of year when everyone is supposed to feel good about themselves and their neighbors, It may not always work out that way but that’s the way it should be. 75% of the population of this country claims to be Christian the rest are of other faiths or no faith at all. How can 75% of the population be expected to sacrifice a life long tradition just so they won’t offend 25% who probably celebrate Christmas along with the Christians. If they don’t celebrate they certainly take the day off work. Christmas, Hanukkah, Ramadan, and Kwanzaa have nothing in common. Hanukkah is the festival of lights celebrating the victory by the Jews over the Syrian in the first century BC. Ramadan is a dedication of faith by fasting, expressing an atonement to Allah. Kwanzaa is a harvest festival held by African Tribes in late October. There’s no reason to connect these holidays together, they have no common association. This is simply a way for the politically correct “I Hate Everything American Crowd” to screw up one more tradition that is American. There’re those who give minorities more rights than the majority. It’s acceptable to give everyone equal rights, It should end at equal, it doesn’t. When one group’s given rights beyond the majority, it becomes discrimination. Discrimination is a highway with many lanes running in many directions and going nowhere. It isn’t any particular group who abject to the name Christmas, African Americans are some of the most enthusiastic supporters of Christmas. Come to my neighborhood and I’ll show you dozens of Little fat Rabbis in red suits with bushy white beards sitting on lawns. Hanukkah trees have become a tradition in America. There aren’t enough people in this country truly offended by Christmas to fill a child’s wading pool. It’s Atheists and the Media who’re encouraging this attack on Christmas. The media for fun and profit, Atheists just because they can. There’s an old adage in the media,” Good News doesn’t sell, blood and guts do.” When it applies to anything negative, the media’s usually out front. According to Time’s 2006 Almanac only 3.7 % of the population would fall in the category of those having a cause to appose Christmas decorations on religious grounds. That leaves 96.3% who want a traditional Christmas or don’t care one-way or the other. More than anything, I believe the assault on Christmas is little more than small groups and individuals creating situations for them to get publicity they would otherwise never get, “Their 15 Minutes of Fame” as it were. There’re people who crave attention but do nothing outstanding to attract attention. They often turn to bizarre behavior as a substitute for achievement. If the media were to act as the fourth estate and report good news along with the bad and the ugly with equal fervor these people wouldn’t stand a chance of expressing their opposition to the trivial. There’s enough out there in the world for the media not to feel compelled to challenge the value of all of our traditions. Many blame the lack of quality of reporting news to the need by the new expanded 24/7 need for product. I say balderdash, there are only so many silk purses in a Sows ear. It’s a lack of commitment to honesty and a poor introduction to gathering facts that guides the media. Thank God, this country’s moving away from the absurdity of Liberal Politics. The public is finally realizing they’ve been had politically for the past 25 years. Some of the good old days will return with the sanity of a constitutional inspired congress. What I have been gathering now for many years is that a few "minority" groups have been trying to get rid of Jesus in America. Well I say to all Americans, "especially to the mg's" and to the rest of the world, Have a Merry, Joyious and Peaceful CHRISTMAS Season! Cheers!