A tale of two authors - Caroline Kennedy & Al Franken

This morning I was listening to Mark Simone on WABC. Mark's topic for the segment was Caroline Kennedy's qualifications to be Senator for the State of New York.

(First of all, let me apologize to the rest of America for having to listen to this argument ad infinitum. If you're getting sick-and-tired of listening to and about NYState (liberal) politics, just CLICK off this item. I won't mind. DON'T WORRY, it'll all be over in a few weeks, when NY's ultra-Liberal Governor, will announce his choice for the most ultra-Liberal appointment in one of America's ultra-Liberal states. )

As far as Caroline Kennedy's qualifications for the position are concerned - the page is blank - period!

• She received a degree in law - and NEVER practiced law.
• She co-authored a couple of books - well, so has Al Franken.
• She has a history of serving - IS THIS STARTING TO SOUND LIKE "SOMEBODY ELSE'S" LAUDED QUALIFICATIONS TO YOU?
• She hasn't voted in nearly half of recent elections.
• I don't know about you - but if I hear that she's for "change & hope" ... that'll surely ice it for me!!!

This morning Simone asked a Kennedy supporter to rank Caroline Kennedy's qualifications. The caller said, "She's much more intelligent than Sarah Palin." (There's an 'on-topic' remark!) When Mark challenged him, he said. "Well, she's done so much more than Sarah Palin." (Ooyyy! my head hurts). Again Mark challenged him asking for proof of what she's done, he finally said, "Mark, she has it in her jeans."

What????????????????

Think heavily on that last line......."She has it in her jeans." Liberals - who are always screaming against "the Bush royal family" and "stop nepotism and cronyism in Washington" - see nothing wrong with perpetuating the Kennedy Machine in national politics! (Do you really want me to publish that ...."legacy of pride?")

"She has it in her jeans." This is almost as ludicrous as Moynahan's daughter saying, "Caroline has the grace and style necessary to fill that seat." (Oh pleeeeeese! Are we crowning someone here? I thought "Lord Obama the most Merciful" was this year's coronation!)

What a load of Liberal hypocrisy - and CRAPOLA!

DUM SPIRO SPERO!!!!!

Caroline Kennedy goes to Washington?? Nah....

I remember when John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate.
By the next morning there was a You Tube video by doofus "P Ditty" ridiculing McCain's choice and warning him that..."we're not going to let you win this election....."

What struck me most, wasn't hiz warning - (because this cretin and his ilk are all about gaining "props" by throwing their rap profits around, while knowing almost nothing about almost everything) - what struck me was that I overheard 2 groups of h.s. aged girlz talking about it at the mall the next day! For me, I knew then that Obama was going to win.

Obama managed to win the election because he completely GOT IT! He used email, web casting, blogging, texting and all the other "new age" technologies to gain the votes of all those millions of folks who basically can't go anywhere or do anything without their cell phones attached to their lobes.

Here comes the hypocrisy of da left. All election cycle the Obamites have been screaming that "we don't want any more elitists in Washington," "we've had enough of Bush & Clinton family politics!"

Now they want yet another Kennedy selected to go to Washington. They SCREAM at anyone voicing concern over Caroline Kennedy having ZIPPITY-DO-DA experience. BUT - they of course were right when they said Sarah Palin being the Governor of Alaska - DIDN'T COUNT! What a bunch of fat ass Hypocrites! I even heard the daughter of Patrick Moynahan say that "Caroline Kennedy has the style and grace needed to be our New York Senator." What a load of crap!

Since when is one of the requirements of being a New York Senator - style and/or grace?
Oh, yeah - that's right - style and grace go hand-in-hand with our President elect's major accomplishments being......

hope & change.

Lord give me strength! DUM SPIRO SPERO!!!

OBAMA WINS!!! (Fun with the REAL numbers)

Ever since election day on November 4th., my LIBERAL friends have been needling me because of Barack Hussein Obama's election over John McCain.

Fact is....They deserve to gloat! With very few exceptions....Our Presidential candidate and the GOP slate in general got our collective asses kicked - across the country! (To this day, we STILL haven't beaten a washed up, never funny, former comedian from Saturday Night Live, Al -no talent- Franken!) It's simply amazing, that as a party, we could have done this badly.

But before I watch my hippie-socialist-leaning-buddies go romping through the fields of flowers extolling the virtues of spreading MY wealth around to others....I figured I better give them a small mental enema & depress them just a little. (Believe me this should be depressing for all Americans - note that I said it should be.) Unfortunately what I'm about to tell you won't make one bit of difference to many of you, because most Americans have already forgotten about the election and are "back at the Mall" as George Carlin used to say!

So, before all you Liberal pinko Democratz start slapping yourselves on the back because "NOW WE HAVE A MANDATE!" You had better take a look at the numbers and reign in your collective enthusiasms........

• As of July 2008, the population of the United States was 303,000,000 people.
• Nearly 218,000,000 (71.9%) are over the age of 18 and eligible to vote in elections.
• Less than 60% (59.4%) of eligible voters, voted. (129,400,000 voted of 218,000,000 eligible)
• That's only 42.7% of the total American population!
• A President of the United States was elected by LESS THAN HALF of the American Population.
• A President of the United States was elected by LESS THAN A THIRD of all eligible voters.

Barack Hussein Obama received votes from 69,500,000 Americans - or 22.9% of the American population - 31.9% of all eligible voters - 53.7% of those Americans who voted.

John McCain received votes from 59,900,000 Americans - or 19.8% of the American population - 27.5% of all eligible voters - 46.2% of those Americans who voted.

As a country ... as a people, we should be ASHAMED that more than 88 million 600 thousand of our friends and neighbors eligible to vote in this election, DIDN'T VOTE!!!

It's simply UNFATHOMABLE to me, that so many Americans find something else - more important than participating in the system THAT HAS GIVEN THEM EVERYTHING!

Can't you just for one day understand that there is something more important than you.

DUM SPIRO SPERO!

How much doesn't HE know??

I'm starting to worry about our President Elect..........

He didn't know about this - he didn't know about that - he never heard his Reverend "spew" anti-American hatred in 20 years of church going. He never talked to - nor wondered about how the Governor of his own state was dealing with his own Senate seat.......Huh? Are you kidding me?

Now, he says he's confident that no one in his campaign spoke to the Illinois Governor about his senate seat. Really???

Well, does the new Presidential Chief of Staff count? What about Rahm Emanuel? He's on recorded conversations the FBI has, talking to the Illinois Governor about who would be acceptable to President elect Obama as his Senate replacement. Ya mean Rahm and good pal Barry never talked about Rahm maybe giving the Gov. a call just to make sure all the "usual suspects" were being considered?

Just so everyone understands this correctly........that's conversationssssss - plural - meaning more than one conversation - Rahm had with Gov. Rod, regarding who Obama would find acceptable.

Dear President-elect Obama:
Sir. With the same measure of due respect you and your Party gave President Bush.....
Asking intelligent Americans to believe that a savvy politician such as yourself - brought up as part of Chicago-style "machine politics" .......

a) had no input on who was being considered for your Senate seat;
b) no interest in how it was done;
c) no awareness of conversations Rahm Emanuel was having with the Governor on your behalf

........is like asking the American people (to use Senator Clinton's quote/insult to General Petraus) to apply a "willful suspension of disbelief!" We're not that stupid Sir - regardless of what the media Networks tell you about us!

The next President of the United States should not begin prevaricating to the American population a month before the Inauguration.

Respectfully submitted,
Kenneth A. Johnson
11 Arbor Way
Long Valley, NJ 07853
Email: bigeasy@comcast.net
BlogSpot: http://avenue-of-rememberance.blogspot.com/

DUM SPIRO SPERO!!

Bailouts and the American "Work Ethic"

Used to be that the United States rewarded success. The "hero's" in this country were held up as examples to the rest of the world as innovators & visionaries - people who had changed the lives of all mankind. "Titans of Industry" they were called. I'm talking about men like Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Orville and Wilbur Wright, John Moses Browning, and more recently pc creator Bill Gates. When I was a boy growing up, my Swedish immigrant parents preached to me constantly, that "in America you can achieve anything as long as you're willing to work hard and never give up!"

For all of these men and countless other men and women who did something that no one else had previously done, failure was a closer "friend" to them than success was! Which one of any American boy or girl hasn't learned the following rhyme before they were 6 years old? "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!"

• Edison is said to have tried more than 4000 times before successfully "inventing" the light bulb.
• Henry Ford went bankrupt 5 times before succeeding.
• The Coca-Cola Bottling Company sold less than 500 bottles of Coke the entire first year in production.

I keep thinking that the work ethic my Mom & Dad preached to me and my sister about, has been replaced by a "hand out ethic." What I mean is, when folks today make a bad decision and fail, many times they go running to someone they hope will solve the problem for them - many times this comes in the form of holding out their hand so someone can put some money in it!

Back in the late 20's, 30's and 40's when families went on Public Assistance...i.e.: "welfare and/or unemployment," many people PAID IT BACK after they returned to work! Do ya think that would ever happen today? During the depression years, company owners and their workers alike who had lost their jobs - took jobs sweeping their local streets and sidewalks for a few dollars a week, or dug ditches shoulder to shoulder - in order to put a little food on their family tables. Can you see this happening today?

When this years first bailout occurred a month or so ago, I worried that Pandora's Box had been opened! Then came the auto industry exec's with their hands out. (The MOST unbelievable aside to the auto industry fiasco, is that the Unions won't budge and don't recognize their culpability in the demise of the industry! UNBELIEVABLE!) And just the other day I heard that a number of States are making noises that they need a bailout from Washington! Where will it end?

Either on Election Day or the day before, I heard a radio interview with a "woman on the street" segment. I don't remember how old the woman was, what city she lived in, or what her employment status was, but when asked who she thought she was going to vote for she said, "Well if Barack Obama is going to pay my mortgage, make my car payment, and pay off my student loans, who do you think I'm going to vote for!" Once again..."hand out ethic" rather than "work ethic."

Seems to me that the definition of "bailing out" anything, is the act of trying to save something that's failing. The easiest example I can think of is bailing out a boat as it sinks around you. You may succeed - but would you be stupid enough to get back in the boat without proof that it's been repaired first? In that regard, bailing out the auto industry, or a State, or AIG, or Fannie Mae, or an individual mortgage holder equates to rewarding failure! One could argue that there might never have been an auto industry, or a light bulb, or the pc if their respective inventors hadn't failed numerous times before succeeding! Would Edison have even attempted the 2000th experiment if he had gotten compensated for 1,999 failures? Maybe he would have figured it was just easier to give up!

What Congress is asking us to believe is that we have to bail out these institutions - or individuals. Nonsense! Company's and people recover from bankruptcy. Is it easy? NO! It's not supposed to be EASY! It's supposed to change organizations and people so that failing again DOESN'T HAPPEN. Furthermore, if you would save them without first gaining assurances that they would never get in that situation again, you are only perpetuating the "hand-out ethic" in both company's and individuals.

Is that what we've become? Is that what we want?

Dum Spiro Spero!

"A Few Of My Favorite Things"

Why is this "stuff" so easy to me? (Don't get me wrong - I am NOT a Saint, nor do I even consider myself that good a human being!) But why I wonder, are the answers to so many controversial issues these days - easy for me to decide upon?

Maybe it's because when I was taught "right from wrong" in my childhood, I was also taught that ... if you do do something wrong - big or small - there are consequences! And I think that's the difference! That whole notion of having to "pay the consequences" was very real to me.

All of which brings me to my first "favorite thing." Plaxico Burris shooting himself in the thigh with a concealed handgun while at a dance club.

"Dear Plaxico: It is AGAINST THE LAW to carry a concealed weapon in public - even moreso an illegal weapon. PERIOD! GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL!! FORFEIT YOUR $35,000,000 GIANT CONTRACT!!!

The LAW does not allow "a special exemption" for highly paid celebrity NFL receivers - out after midnight - who wear their baseball cap crook-ed, and carry an illegal pistol in their sweatpants! When you heard the gun go off, you should have also realized that your CONTRACT and your CAREER were going with it. Enjoy your time in the "BIG HOUSE" with those other "thuggees" OJ Simpson & Michael Vick. See what happens when you think you're "something special?" And who wears sweatpants out to a dance club? Whaz zup wit dat???

Next "thing" (and I mean it) "thing." Chris Dodd, Senator from Connecticut.....is all of a sudden worried about saving Connecticut auto dealerships and the U.S. auto industry. When asked yesterday about the "bailout" for the big-three auto makers, Dodd said, "Inaction is unacceptable. We would be indicted by history if that's what we did."

"Dear Senator Dodd: I am puzzled why you would be worried about inaction regarding the auto industry bailout- NOW? Especially since your statements during the last two years - (along with those of another un-indicted Representative, Barney Frank) - almost assuredly caused the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac! Both you and Senator Frank assured the American public that those two lending organizations were in perfect health and didn't need any increased overview or further regulation. Your inaction during the last two years should be cause for both you and Congressperson Frank to be indicted by a Court and sent to prison for lying to the American people and causing the financial collapse of the mortgage industry. Had you been truthful, many thousands of American families could have avoided loosing their homes!

Last issue on my list. Democrats rushing to "enshrine" Caroline Kennedy into Hillary Clinton's vacant Senate seat!

Let's mark this one "way up there" on the "List of Most Hypocritical Senatorial Appointment EVER!" For two reasons. First reason.... if the elected Governor of the largest State in our country isn't considered experienced enough to be a Vice-Presidential candidate, then "the crowning" of the ABSOLUTELY TOTALLY INEXPERIENCED Caroline Kennedy should be viewed as equally ludicrous! Second reason...... Liberals have been "calling for" the elimination of the American Ruling Class for years! "We don't want to have ruling families like Clinton or Bush anymore," has been their cry. I'd submit to all Americans that there is no better example of a "political dynasty" in this country than the Kennedy Clan. There is perhaps no greater an example of ill-gotten gains, machine & party politics at its worst - than the Kennedy Clan. If Liberals want to do away with an American Ruling Class, the Kennedy family MUST be added to the list with the Clintons and the Bushes.

Dum Spiro Spero!!

Regarding Bailouts for the Auto Industry, and other industries that have failed us.

This week - especially today - the Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dumb, and Tweedle Dumber of what used to be the U.S. auto industry, will be appearing before a Congressional committee that holds their respective company's futures in their hands................Pardon me, but isn't this like the Three Stooges pleading their case before the Keystone Cops?? And if I hear one screaming Lib say we have to do this because this is "a hand up - instead of a handout," I think I'll blow lunch! To quote Steve Martin, "Puuuull-lleeeesssseeee!"

You're going to be giving my tax dollars to someone else, because they aren't smart enough to run their business profitably - - that's a handout!! Does Congress think we're still that stupid? What hurts worse is that Congress is couching it as "loans." What guarantee is there that any of these "three blind mice of auto-stupidity" will ever be able to pay back one penny?

And what hurts the most is that Congress thinks nothing of "BETTING" your and my tax dollars (a.k.a. my retirement dollars) that this will be the saving grace our auto industry needs - just this one last time -this time they'll really change - (just like the last time with Iacocca and Chrysler "taught" them so much).

It's like listening to a drug addict tell you s/he's going to kick the habit this time (as they're looking out the window across the street to where the pusher just walked up to the corner! OR, it's like listening to Congress tell us during election time that Washington has to change - and they're just the candidates to do it!!!!

(Let's see....what's that definition of "insanity" again? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.)

Personally, I'm all for letting the three of them go into bankruptcy. This is the only way the American people can be sure they'll change. Because they'll be forced to. For me, bankruptcy brings with it the added benefit of giving each of the three the ability to break the UAW "strangle-hold" on the industry. Don't get me wrong, I know the UAW has been important in the lives of it's members, but lets face it, in the past companies having bargaining unit employees in the UAW (and other unions) have had to close because the Unions made the "cost of doing business" too high.

I know this personally, because I was the chief labor negotiator for one of those company's during the early '90's. And even though we flat out told the UAW (and the IBEW) that unless they lowered their wage and benefit demands the company would be forced to leave New Jersey, they didn't care. They kept demanding higher hourly wages and a dollar more per employee into the union "war chest." Then they screamed with "righteous anger" when we announced the plant closing, packed up and left for Florida!

What happened? Well, most importantly 600 great New Jersey employees lost the jobs many of them had worked hard at for 8 - 15 years. The company restructured, and moved to the Gulf Coast of Florida into a brand new facility. I trained & hired 500 part-time "sno-bird" employees who only wanted to work 20 hrs a week, paid them about half of the $18-20 per hour the New Jersey employees were making.....and the UAW lost yet another bargaining unit.

You see, there are two things UNIONS never tell their bargaining unit members.

First, as a union employee you can no longer walk into a managers office and talk to them about your job or your efforts. Conversely, management can't come out to you and say, "man what a great job you're doing, here's $50." As part of the bargaining unit, the "individual" goes away.

Second, and most importantly...no union can ever force a company to stay open. If "the Union" makes it too expensive for a company to continue producing product....the company can call it quits. PERIOD.

A few weeks ago when I heard the head of the UAW take the hard line and say on television....No concessions! I thought, gee - there's a gauntlet being thrown down. I wonder how this is going to end? I guess we'll have to see.

I'd love to see no $$$$ go to any company - the Insurance industry, the finance industry, or Detroit. This is NOT what government is for. However, in the same vein - neither is government to be a bottomless tax collector, nor should government strive ONLY to get bigger. At some point.... and based upon Mr. Obama's campaign promises this may be the perfect starting point...... both the U.S. auto industry and the U.S. government MUST change.

For this American tax payer, "change" is spelled "S H R I N K."
(Is that too harsh?)

Dum Spiro Spero!!

I can hear music! Sweet sweet music!

Both the O'Jays, the Beach Boys, and a number of other bands had hits with songs containing these lyrics.

By-and-large that's the way I feel, I LOVE music. Think of it this way, I've got 12 - 14 hours every day listening to it on SIRIUS in my truck, so I better like a lot of different "flavors" of music. Rock 'n Roll, R&B, Jazz, Classical....the big band era, Sinatra, 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, hard rock, soft rock, Andrea Bocelli, Luciano Pavarotti, or easy listening - to me "it's all good" as Kristopher used to say.

In fact, there's only two kinds of music I don't like.

• COUNTRY and
• WESTERN

Now, as an example, I'm sure that D-wight Yoakam and Randy Travis are wonderful people....but when I hear nasally twanged treble voices.....geez, to me it sounds like somebody strangling cats! Don't get me wrong, there are some songs that have been made famous by country singers that I can tolerate - for example, Patsy Cline could sing just about anything and make it sound great.

But most C&W singers I can think of - to me - sound like they're trying to make a three syllable word out of "cat." Here's a direct example using the afore-mentioned Dwight Yoakam. On the new Don Imus Ranch record, Mr. Yoakam sings a song entitled, "Give back the Key to My Heart." Listen to the 'cut' sometime when you have a chance. There's a line in the song that goes, "Take my picture off the wall." Well, my un-countrified ear hears ...wa - ao - all. 3 syllables. And the whole damn record is so "twangy" it sounds like someone making fun of country singers!

But those are the only two types of music I don't like...............Hold it - Wait a second.

If I'm being entirely truthful I have to add "hip-hop" to that list. And since I don't know if they're separate forms of music, (is music even the proper word?), "rap" goes onto the list as well. Seriously, is this stuff even music? I mean, do kids today actually sing this "stuff" to their "love interests" while holding them close in a long embrace?

When I research the terms on the internet there's a great timeline at the following link, http://digitaldreamdoor.nutsie.com/pages/best_rap-timeline1.html. But I have to admit - I don't get it. Most of the aficionado's of hip/hop tell me that it grew out of the "funk" music genre and the inner city cultures. Really??? I love R&B, most Soul, and especially funk. And rap/hip hop doesn't sound like any kind of Parliament or Rufus funk I listen too! Rap sounds like what I used to want to avoid when I put one of my lp's on the turntable - scccraaatching & screaming!

And visually...oyyy! A lot of guys and gals jumping around on stage screaming into mic's held too close to their mouths trying to rhyme words that don't rhyme without taking a breath all the time waving their free arm in air while holding their crotches as their oversized pants are falling off and their gold "Mr. T" starter kits are jangling around!!!

Geez folks! Take a freakin breath once and a while, and oh yeah ..... baseball caps worn in any way other than straight forward or completely backward .... just make you look as intelligent as a bag of hammers! Word up!!

Here's the main reason why I don't get rap & hip-hop. 6 letters. M-E-L-O-D-Y. There's little if any melody. There's a heavy base line, and a rhythm....but there's no music. It's like if I read Dr. Seuss or Robert Frost in a staccato rhythm, accompanied by a heavy base line while someone else was scratching a record, and I sprinkled in a few "vulgarities" while wearing a cock-ed baseball cap, jeans falling off my ass, and a big freakin' gold clock on a chain!

Now that's something - but it's NOT music!

"I love music, any kind of music.
I love music, just as long as it's groovin."

Dum Spiro Spero ... baby!!!