ENOUGH

When is it going to be enough? I am old enough to remember when a TV was considered a piece of furniture, and the astronomical dimensions of a 21" inch screen were unbelievable. Now I need the fingers and toes of friends to calculate the new dimensions of the wide-screens. We have even built rooms to house the shrines. Rock bands are jealous of the speakers and amplifiers we have hooked up to this god as an offering.

At one time the only major debt people had was the purchase of a home. Now, monster sized vehicles take their places behind the homes, and people quickly go into endless debt including paying for these electronic gadgets. I even remember when you could purchase said gadgets, carry them out and place them in your vehicle for the journey home. Now, flat bed 18 wheelers, or at least your monstor-sized vehicles with all the attachments , are needed to form convoys in order to transport the icons to their shrines.

Once, four channels sufficed. Then we thought we died and went to heaven when UHF hit the scene. Now there are hundreds of channels to choose from, and a new word hit the TV vocabulary as we surf the program guide: when asked "anything good on?" the new refrain is "NOTHING" (That is of course, unless you want to watch ME TV & all the shows that were made when when we only had four channels!).

HIGH PRICE OF OIL

It used to be that a few dollars kept the political machine well oiled and running like a fine Swiss Watch. A simple hand shake completed a transaction and things were quickly done even for the ordinary citizenry.

Things quickly changed, and the hand shake was replaced by the heavy laden envelope. Then the bane of our society, attorneys, seeing a golden opportunity, intervened, with well hidden portfolios and blind trusts. Now the machine that needed a few drops to work efficiently was consuming barrels of oil daily.

The over consuming machine, no longer functions for those who helped build and maintain it. Only those who can afford to drive the filled tankers, are given easy access, to this ever hungry guzzler, whose appetite is insatiable.

The early consumption of this oil was done discreetly, and even behind closed doors, and it was a bit more efficient as it stretched out and greased a few more machines with those precious drops. And they were accessible to everyone.

Now these machines can only be fed at five star restaurants, and private golf clubs around the globe, and must be fed separately, for nary a drop for any other machine.

And we wonder why the price of oil is so high and not as efficient as it once was?

GREED

After reviewing my latest credit card bill, I was in total shock. Supposedly I was one day late with my payment and the late fee was $39 plus interest. Five or ten dollars could have sufficed, but this was outright highway robbery. Even the mob wasn't as greedy when they were in the loan business. Stories of people paying fifteen thousand on an original purchase of three thousand are not uncommon. Naturally I called and had this removed from my bill. But how many fools , just pay and pay.

I don't begrudge anyone from making a profit, but let's not get carried away. Drinking emporiums are filled with people forking over ten dollars and more for a mar tine, which the establishment would make a hefty profit at half the price. And don't get me started what they charge for a fifty cent beer.

A personal loan is needed to purchase a coffee and muffin at Starbucks, yet there is one on every corner, and the fools stand in line to part with their hard earned money.

I have a friend, whom I shall refer to as Dennis to protect the innocent, and he and I golf occasionally. He whacks the hell out of the ball as it travels quite a bit further then mine. He hasn't fallen to all the new technology and purchased the new three hundred dollar drivers, each and every year, but sticks with his vintage clubs that he may have purchased at a Sam Snead garage sale.

Ten dollar wooden bats have given way to four hundred dollar aluminum bats , and people are happy to pay.

What are the profits? Why are these CEO's making such huge salaries? Why are there so many fools so willing to part with their money? Get your head out of your ass and stop this insanity.

GETTING BACK ON TRACK

We could get this country back on the right track with one simple thing. Get rid of all the TV cameras. Ever since the dawn of the multiple 24 hour a day news and sports channels, we have progressed backwards instead of forward.

The politicians would no longer be prancing around and showboating in front of the cameras. They could actually be doing real work on our behalf. It would even help global warming since all that hot air they are always spouting off would be eliminated.

Professional athletes would start playing their respective sports as they were meant to be played and not just waiting to make the highlight reel. Everything from dress to speech is done for the cameras. No more dances, no more antics. If I wanted to see that, I would watch pro wrestling.

We can't do anything without holding a news conference. Trials would be shortened, since we wouldn't need fodder for the daily speeches for the cameras. People would be found and rescued sooner, were it not for those hourly updates.

American Idol, Dancing With The Stars, and reality shows would soon start to disappear. As they did, life would once more come back to normal, as people weened themselves away from those electronic home drive in sized screens and learned there is a life waiting to be lived rather than staring at others all day long.

JUST LIKE SPOILED KIDS ON A PLAYGROUND

Just like spoiled kids on the playground, political beliefs are no longer debatable, but rather the old dig in your heels, and fight, no matter the cost. Now it's either my way, or no way at all. No wonder nothing of value is accomplished in Washington.

Just like World War I, lines have been drawn and trenches dug. Now, as the fierce fighting goes on, nothing is accomplished and a stalemate occurs. They view each other as the evil empire that must be defeated; not the problems that face out country.

So grow up, start thinking, and surprise the advisers and strategists. No longer should they be able to predict your way of thinking. No longer should they be able to program the candidates with robotic lines.We need to be able to see them in their true colors, with their original thoughts and ideas.

If we took the time to study all the candidates, we would quickly find out that no matter what the party affiliation, some of them are middle of the roadies in their views and it wouldn't be a mortal sin to cross over party lines to vote for the better candidate. But the strategists know that the majority of voters will stick to party affiliation and will vote the straight ticket. And we wonder why all the idiots in congress!

Independants might enter the contests, knowing they have a chance to win rather then being spoilers. The quality and quantity would improve and we would all benefit.

RIDDLE ME THIS, BATMAN..............

A simple solution to terrorism, is to get a copy of a NON SEQUITOR cartoon published in the Chicago Tribune on Thursday 3 May 07 and have it translated into Arabic, and then printed up as leaflets and plastered on walls, dropped from planes and such.

The riddle is, WHY JIHADIST RALLIES DON"T HAVE Q AND A SESSIONS

The answer, UM, IF BEING A MARTYR IS SO GREAT, WHY DON'T YOU EVER VOLUNTEER?

The question is being asked by a member of a crowd being addressed by a mullah.

It would be niece to see their reaction to this cartoon. Maybe they might start to question on why they have to die so young, while the leaders lead long, healthy, and wealthy lives.

IMPEACH THEM ALL

All this impeachment talk and other rhetoric coming from Washington is a smoke screen for business as usual.

CEO pay rose by a measly 37%, while the average worker saw his rise at a hefty 3%. Job cuts and shipping them overseas, under the guise of saving money, and this savings is for the corporate pocket and not ours.

Trade inbalance is rising by leaps and bounds. Cargo ships loaded to the brim on the way here, and nearly empty on the way back. Yes there are jobs galore, that is if you like to greet people at the big box stores at minimum wage.

As a nation we are falling behind the rest of the world in education. Coaches are given carte blanche and multi million dollar contracts, while teachers can barely scrape buy on their salaries, and have to dip into their own pockets for supplies.

A feeding frenzy is going on at the public trough. As local and federal elected officials stuff their pockets, and clamor for more, as services which were once paid for with tax dollars, are now laden with high fees.

The only thing we are getting cheap from our elected officials is talk. The medicine peddlers of old would be jealous at how easily people fall prey to all this talk. They would have made millions, if they talked as much as our politicians.

I say impeach them all and let's get a bunch in that are camera shy and will role up their sleeves and do the job they were elected to do. No speeches, or fancy promises, just work, and if they worked as hard as they talked, maybe we could fix a few of the problems ailing this nation.

STICKS AND STONES

There are more things to worry about and report on the news, then somebody saying something. The deluge of comments and stories that filled the papers and airways over a rap song a recent football draftee (Chicago Bears)made during his freshman year at college was unbelievable. The indignation by reporters was unbelievable. One would think his transgression surpassed that of the Virginia Tech incident.

At one time or another each one of us has butchered a joke, or said something inappropriate. Those around us understood it for what it was, a simple mistake, and life went on. A simple apology won't do now, for they will become Super Bowl events, attended by thousands and televised world wide.

Like vultures, in a feeding frenzy,You Tube is visited by millions to feast at someones mistake. Still hungry they turn to the papers and news channels, where news casters and their endless list of experts from every field devour the story to the bone.

Now various ethnic groups have taken common words and declared them for their private use only. At the rate we are going, a new dictionary will have to be printed denoting who may use which words and when.

A new industry will flourish, as word advisers take their place in rank with the thousand and one other advisers that we can't seem to live without these days. And local and federal government officials will burden tax payers, as they create agencies to police word usage.

My God they are only words, not sticks and stones. Ignore them and get over it. We have a right in this country and it is called "free speech" and we are trying to give it away.

A BIG WISH

Here is a big wish that La Sirena has a wonderful day, for it is her birthday, and I do wish her the best that life can offer.
For this special occasion I may just go to the cabinet and retrieve a bottle of an imported distilled beverage and toast her.