Sunday, April 22, 2007

Earth Day

I did my part for Earth Day. I got up early and put on my Earth Sandals. (They're the ones that raise your toes and lower your heel and are suppose to make your posture better. Most folks say I look grumpier.)

I took out the garbage in my recycled Wal-Mart plastic bags. I know, paper would be better but Wal-Mart doesn't offer paper bags. I don't think there are a lot of trees in China.

My day was all walking--no biking but all walking so I saved a ton of gas. That was the easy part since I don't have a car.

Which brings me to sacrifice. My Earth Day was better than most but let's face it, I didn't sacrifice much. It's not like Uncle Bill giving the war effort the 1928 Cadillac for the scrap metal drive. It's not like gas rationing. It's not like the Manhattan project. It's not sacrifice. We don't sacrifice today. Americans are "why on Earth are you so fat?"

Fat we are and we act like it. Every person has a car. We still drive everywhere for everything. It doesn't matter how much gas costs.

Now I am not going to jump into the pollution argument. Let the talking heads do that. But I will jump into something else.

Maybe we should try some of the old solutions. Maybe we should try gas rationing. Maybe we should try a new Manhattan Project to create power sources never seen before. Maybe we should invade the caribou in ANWR. Is a caribou more important than one of our 20 something kids slugging it out in Iraq?

I am sure of one thing. We are putting way too much of our precious Earth over the flag-covered caskets of some of our beloved, brightest, and best talent and until we can take care of our own energy needs, we will continue to do that.

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Friday, April 20, 2007

What's in your burka?

Muqtada al-Sadr, I suppose I should call him the "fiery Shiite cleric" since that is his media tag, is a dunce. There, I have said it and for all I know, I may have said it on a Muslim holy day. Bring on the be-headers.

None the less, dunceo isn't thinking through what he could really get done it he were to play along with the US in Iraq. I have a suggestion. Perhaps he could consider it while he sits on some dirt floor and chomps on some goat eyes.

You should become a banker. You should open up a division called, let's see, MuslimOne. You should offer credit cards to every Iraqi who can prove he is getting paid by the US reconstruction. You should advertise on car bombs before they blow up...MuslimOne...What's in your burka?

Once you get all of those followers signed up, then you should start charging them ridiculous fees that can run their cards over the limit and then charge over limit fees and over limit fees. If the government of Iraq is like the government of the US, you won't have to worry. They won't do anything about it.

Before you know it, you will not only be the most powerful goat herder in the Middle East, you will be the richest. Just think about it--tile floors and steak!

Pretty cool idea, huh.

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She won!


I was on the way to the bus when I came across something that made me stop, smile, and dig into my pack and pull out my new digital camera. It was a beautiful spring day outside and the day care center had put full t-shirts on all of the little daycarettes. They were on a mission.

Across the street from them is a new development under construction. Like all developments, God's idea of landscaping is never good enough so we humans have to move his nice earth somewhere else. In this case, the dirt moved to a lowly pile at the end of the new street. A creative teacher at the daycare couldn't resist. (I must say, as a former big-league, go beyond the sandbox guy, it was very tempting for me.) None the less, full t-shirts, hand in hand, stop and looks for cars before crossing, she lead the little tribe of mother-challenged kids to the dirt pile.

And they played King on the Mountain. Take a look at innocence. She won!

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Enough

I admit, I am a news junkie. I watch a lot of FOX except for Hannity and Combs, Greta whatever, and that goofball Nancy Grace. Is she on Fox? Anyway,last night, I finally turned the TV off. Enough of this creature. I won't call him a human being because no one could do what that beast did.

I am sorry for all of that lost potential. I am sorry for those families who must deal with this. I am even sorry for the gun dealer who did things right but still has a gaggle of cameras out in front of his business. Frankly, I wish one of those kids had a gun in his backpack and could have ended this mess right on the spot. Don't kid yourself, this stuff is just warming up. Al-Quida is watching. Hamas is watching. And somewhere in this country,some really screwed-up soul is watching.

But not me. I turned it off. I don't want to hear the creep. I don't want to see the creep. And, I don't want to listen to the creeps who are giving him so much face time and calling that news.

You are just as sick as the creep was.

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Friday, April 13, 2007

Delivering the envelope

I remember the early morning rush to work back in my Remington days in Bridgeport, CT. There was an unusual place along the way where five streets came together not far from the office. One light controlled everything and people were not always the most patient if you lolly-gagged when it was your time to blast though and pick a lane. This was the land of the "horn of plenty."

There was one memorable time where the traffic was backed up as usual, and the light went through one entire cycle without anyone going postal. Nobody honked! There was a reason. Don Imus was telling a joke.

He was the can't miss rage of morning radio. I know because I was listening to him and when he finished, I was howling and so was every other driver I could see. He was the water cooler king in those days.

Frankly, I was amazed with all of the latest. I thought he had moved on to wherever big mouths retire. Becka has taken notice on KFAB and I imagine every "shock-jock" in the country see numbered days ahead.

That was a sad comment about some kids that came out of nowhere and made it to the top of female basketball. Good for them! It's a shame the memory will carry this baggage with it.

It's a shame the black community will move on and take its baggage with it. There, I said it. Take note Snoop. I doubt you would give a *____*. That's the only thing we have it common, pal.

The black community always defends the right to call others in the black community degrading names. When you watch interviews with folks like Snoop, it becomes clear that when he says *N________* and *H__* and *YO B_____* it means something totally different that when Imus says it or any white person says it. Well Snoop and the gang, here is a word we can all use...hypocrite. That one works in any culture. I can't imagine any black dad who loves his daughter not wanting to punch some of these money-grubbing rappers in their loud mouths.

The Rev. Al Sharpton says he is going after them. 'Bout time Al. Hip Hop might be entertaining to some but it's exploitative to most. The streets are full of kids with baggy clothes in expensive sneakers trying to look "hard" as they take their walks to nowhere.

Imus may have accomplished something here that may be the crown jewel of his long shock-jock career. This time, he didn't push the envelope, he may have delivered it. He may have put the spotlight of change on the ugly, degrading mouth regardless of what color it is.

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Sunday, April 01, 2007

What ever happened to the FTC?

I can still remember Jack Mitchell's face when he found out about the FTC action against Du Pont over an anti-freeze commercial.

As a rookie Remington Arms Company advertising man, anything that happened to Du Pont, happened to us. Du Pont owned us.

The Federal Trade Commission brought an action against Du Pont because "we" forgot to tell a customer in very large print, that before they put in our anti-freeze, they had to put out their old anti-freeze. If they didn't, crystals could form in the engine and block coolant flow. That would eventually make the engine terminal.

The instructions were on the package but this product was being sold to guys. Guys read small instructions? Not in the FTC's lifetime. After challenging that claim, the lawyers started to challenge every claim.

"I am allegedly Jack Mitchell and I am here to make a point, not in writing, but a point none the less, that all claims must be submitted to the lawyers before we can publish anything!" It was hell for a while but finally, the issue was settled and things moved on.

That doesn't happen anymore. The FTC has gotten old like most of us and has beat most of us in the aging war. It has become toothless. You can tell by what's going on in the banking industry. If you are late on your credit card payment, all credit cards are going to charge you a higher rate. It's there in the fine print and it is called Universal Default. What? I thought when all companies decided to take the same pricing action, that was called price fixing? Pass the mush to the FTC.

Let's not forget, the banking industry has exercised moral oversight of the American checkbook for years. Little by little, they have raised the price for that service. Write a bad check and you pay the bank $35. (They get away with charging these high extortion fees because they know most folks will be to embarrased to raise a stink.) How much did the bank pay us for the bad checks they wrote in 1929; the South American Loan Crisis; the Saving and Loan Crisis; and the mortgage crisis now in the works? Not a cent.

Americans have put up with these well dressed thieves for too long. They have bought our politicians. They have bought the FTC and other similar organizations at the state level.

Maybe it is time for a refund...say a class action suit? They are not any more entitled to collect "morality" fees than Jim and Tammy Baker. Any lawyers out there willing to raise a stink with these thieves?