PRETTY GOOD MONEY

Ok this one brought me out of retirement. It seems that one of our city council members feels that our city police officers, firefighters, etc., make "Pretty Good Money." He remembers when city employees made a couple of thousand dollars a year. Yeah, he also remembers when a pack of gum was a nickel, and you could pay the doctor with some turnips from the garden and a couple of chickens. Excuse me sir, ask Officer George Strain if he was making pretty good money as he was being run over. Ask other officers if they were making pretty good money as they were being trasported to the hospital after their bones were broken and their heads concussed from fighting with a steroided up lunatic. May I invite you to stand for thirty minutes in the middle of the night in a three thousand degree oven. That is what you ask your firefighters to do when your citizen's house is on fire. Hey I will give you one officer's salary for a year if you would be willing to drive around eight hours a day for a month, in which time I will randomly assault you or shoot at you without any warning just because you are wearing the uniform. Have we got a deal? Didn't think so. Did you know that it is a proven fact that stress causes health problems? Oh yeah, and water is wet if you didn't know that either. I wonder how officer Strain's wife's health was affected as she worried for her husband's health. And, what about the other wives and children who worry about their husbands and fathers? How is their health affected. I challenge you sir to give up one terms salary and benefits for being a council member and use that money to pay for one officer's insurance. I mean really, it isn't like they are risking their lives or anything is it? Oh, and by the way........ well maybe later.

A Diversion by Subversion

Well many things have been going on in my life lately and I apologize for not writing as often but I felt I needed a diversion from everything tonight so here I am with a little Diversion by Subversion.

You probably wonder what that means. Well I have been called subversive. Yes little ole me is basically a traitor. I have given away secrets to the enemy. What secrets you ask? Knowledge. Who is the enemy? You are.

Now first let me apologize for something. I coined a new word several weeks ago and it has ruffled some feathers. I invented the acronym LERG, for League of Extraordinarily Rich Gentlemen. It has ruffled a few feathers. I will explain.

I have received complaints that not everyone who is for the tax is rich. Gotcha

I have received complaints that not everyone who is for the tax is male. Point taken.

 I will get back to this in a moment.

I must say I am disappointed in our local paper for their obvious lack of ethical reporting. They too have swayed to the advertisers which are the people who want the tax more than anyone else. Banks, etc. etc., of course that is obvious so I'm not telling you anything you can't figure out, just look at the advertisements. 

So now back to the League. 

I was told by my Honors English teacher many years ago that your ability to recognize sarcasm is a direct reflection of your intelligence. I believe that statement. Many others do too. So I wonder what it says when the people who will be spending your money can't recognize it when it slaps them in the face. What does that say to me? It says to me that the rich and poor, male and female, people who cannot recognize sarcasm are spending your money.

Now to the Mayors letter to the editor. It states that we should listen to the paper and no one else for information on the tax. The problem is that if people really read the paper and believe them the tax will not pass. The newspaper shows that money has been spent on day to day operations and expenses and not on really improving anything. Way to prove my point Advance, and thank you again.

I find it interesting that the pro tax crowd have not picked on the facts of my posts. I know very well that the letter to the editor from the Mayor was talking about me when he said "other sources", but no one can come up with one specific instance when I was untruthful or inaccurate in my statements. Heck, the newspaper has done a wonderful job of showing how poorly your money was spent. It also shows how much money is going to entities of the city that have the same job. Why are we funding the MEDC and the Chamber of Commerce and their jobs are basically the same thing. How is it that we gave 45,000 dollars to the animal shelter and every week they are asking for donations of food and houses and selling televisions to finance their operation? The newspaper is proving many points for me.

So to the men and women, the poor and the rich that have a problem with the acronym LERG. Build a bridge and get over it. But I must in the interest of fairness come up with an acronym that includes everyone. So here are the choices I will let my readers choose.

1. Pro-taxers no factsers.

2. League of Extraordinarily Middle to Upper Class Gentlepersons.

3. League of Non Sarcasm Recognizing Economic Class Encompassing Gender Non Specific    Social Upstarts.

Do not call me subversive because I ask questions. Do not ever tell me I don't love Monticello, you upper class Donald Trump wannabe's, just because you have built your castle's on the sand and are slowly watching them slide into the sink hole that is your own lack of fiscal responsibility.  If you love Monticello so much how can you not listen to it's residents. I live here, I will pay the tax if it passes, why am I not allowed to speak about it? And YES THIS IS A NEW TAX!!!!!!!! I don't care what anyone else says including the Mayor. If the old tax runs out, and another takes its place, that replacement is a NEW TAX. If I run out of bread and go get more is it the same bread? Just because you strategically replace the word "old" with "existing" so as to avoid the old/new designation does not change anything. If my "EXISTING" loaf of bread runs out I will go to the store and buy a "NEW" loaf of freaking bread. You must think we are all idiots.

 Oh, by the way, One reason I have not been blogging is because I was giving the pro-tax crowd the opportunity to take me up on my challenge. I challenged any Pro-taxer to debate me one on one in private or otherwise and convince me the tax was a good thing without fear of it being mentioned here. To date--------no takers. I find it interesting that the pro taxers feel that this site is enough of a threat to tell you not to listen to me, but when the opportunity was given to sway my opinion and use this site to push their issue........ silence. 

In closing, the funniest part of all of this. I never went in to this thinking the tax would not pass. I never thought I could affect it in any way. I am still not sure that I have. I went into this for three reasons.

1. To expose who really runs things around here.

2. Because I truly believe what I have been saying and the questions I have been asking deserve to be heard.

3. Because not only is it my right, it is my duty as a citizen of this community to ask these questions and make these statements.

Well I have accomplished all three. Want to know who runs things. Look where the signs are posted for the tax, and who paid for the advertisements in the newspaper pushing the tax.

I still believe these questions should be addressed but they never have and never will be. (people are to busy pouting and getting red in the face)

And I believe I have done my duty.

Oh and one more reason I did this....... for fun. I don't care if this thing passes or not.

I accomplished my goals, have you?

The Chicken, The Egg, and The Garden of Eden

I mentioned my whole theory about the first person to see an egg fall out of a chicken and wonder "can I eat that?" a few weeks ago and have follow up requests to explain my theory so here we go.

When God first turned control of the garden of Eden over to Adam the Bible states that God walked with Adam through the garden regularly. Here in lies my theory. Adam and God were walking through the garden one day when they happened upon a chicken just as it laid an egg. God looked at Adam and said "you know you can eat those." and Adam said "yeah right your not going to get me with that one." So God pulled out a frying pan, where did he get a frying pan you ask, he is God if he wants a frying pan he gets a frying pan. So he whips out the skillet whips up some fire and fries up the egg. Adam tries it and wow isn't that tasty. So God goes back to heaven leaving Adam with his new discovery. The next day God returns to find Adam, a frying pan, a fire, three frogs two turtles a basketball and a large rock. God realizes very quickly that he cannot be there all the time and this Adam guy is gonna end up killing himself trying to eat stuff just lying around so he wonders what to do. After some thinking he comes up with an idea, he tells Adam that you can't eat everything and to help him figure out what you can and can't eat he is going to provide him with a mate and call her Eve. Here begins the problem.

This Is The Whole Thing..... This Right Here.

I am unsure really how to begin this post but I am feeling rather misunderstood. 

I am being told that I hate Monticello. That my opinions are dangerous, subversive, and who knows what else. It is time to set some things straight.

I do not believe that the leaders of the "pro tax" stance are bad people. I do however believe they have a bad idea. Let me give you an example.

I will walk into a local bank at nine a.m. tomorrow. I will walk directly to the nearest loan officer and introduce myself. I will the tell that loan officer that I would like he or she to loan me lets say 1 million dollars. When he or she asks me what I want the loan for, I will tell her or him, that I really don't have a plan for the money, I just think I may need it someday. What are my chances? I would say my chances are few.

Tomorrow, a small rural fire department will send a grant proposal to our representatives in the capitol. On the line stating what the grant will be used for they write that they have no specific plan for the money, but someday they may want to improve something. What are their chances?

It is that simple. Those simple examples explain everything. These are the same people that are asking you to give them millions of dollars and then are getting angry when someone asks what it will be used for. What plan is there to make things better?

I AM NOT AGAINST A TAX!!!!!!! I am against the bad ideas of a few, that could cause suffering of the many. Notice that I did not say "will cause" but "could cause". The question you must ask yourself is that are you willing to take that chance?

The amazing thing is the personal attacks against me and others who do not agree with the tax. I received a comment today in which I was called an idiot, fat, aggressive, and it was implied that I was unemployed. A note to the "pro-tax" people. It only takes one person reading comments like are being left on my site and others, and that one person realizing that the last ditch effort in any argument is for the side that feels it is losing, or feels that it cannot defend its position on an issue, is to get personal and you are done. They will assume you are desperate and grasping for straws and you will get nowhere. Educate and control your people. If the only argument that you can come up with this early in the game is that I am a fat, aggressive, idiot..... your chances of pulling off a win here are slim.

This is an open invitation to any leader from the "pro-tax" viewpoint, change my mind. Come to my home, you are welcome. We will discuss this issue. Come as a group, feel free. I would post my address but then the "LOBC" (league of belligerent commentors) would beat you here. I am not hard to find, and many of you know who to ask. Now, this invitation does not apply to belligerent nut-jobs, just real people with real discussions. If you see me out and about please feel free to stop and talk. I don't dislike you, I dislike your idea, and that's the long and short of it. Change my mind. Also, let me state for the record, that if you do stop by or we do talk, it will not be spoken about on this site or any other, it will be between us. If you honestly can convince me that the "no-plan" idea is a good one, I will dedicate this site to passing the tax. 

There it is, in writing, my opinions, my true feelings. I am sure for some of you this cleared up many things. I am sure for some of you it did nothing but enrage you more. And by the way, can you think of a better way to help make things better for everyone than allowing open and healthy discussion on an important issue such as this? The only problem is that I am having a hard time finding the "open" or "healthy" part in these discussions. Of course I am an idiot, so what do I know anyway.

P.S. All comments are welcome. All will be posted, the only editing will be for vulgar or abusive language towards others. Abuse me all you want, I am used to it.

 

Well, What do you know about that.

PARENTAL ADVISORY: THIS POST CONTAINS TRUTH, WHICH MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO SOME READERS: VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

An individual recently left a comment on a fellow blogger's site railing on my post on whether Monticello will get what it needs from a tax.

HERE I will link to my post that got all of this started in the first place so that you may easily compare what I said to what he says I said. I will link to his comment here

Now lets begin at the beginning which is always a good place to start.

First learn the difference between a news site and an opinion site.

I stated the old tax was for ten years in everything I can find in that post.

Second point is that he is basically telling you that you will not get better streets to drive on if you pass this tax because no matter how much money you give the city they won't be able to afford it which just shows bad budgeting skills to begin with.

His comment on municipal sales tax is true, we are in the median, but I do not see this as an excuse to jump to the next level up without better planning and communication.

What are the real reasons that industry has not located here. Please enlighten us. We have a building, labor force with skills in place, housing, food, water, good schools, decent medical facilities, what are the real reasons? Is it because the few people that actually run this town, and I am not talking about the MEDC, Mayor, city council, or Chamber of Commerce, DON'T WANT ANOTHER INDUSTRY COMPETING FOR THEIR LABOR FORCE. Is it that we are unwilling to give tax breaks to new industry? Is this one of the incentives you speak of? Is it because that the people that don't want other industry competing for their labor force have conveniently bought up over 80 percent of the property in Monticello that is appropriate for industry to locate on? I just don't know.

Are you telling us that years and years of experience achieved by our fine citizens at Burlington, Chase Bag, Exopac, Dura Craft, Monark, and others was wasted? I know people that are driving to Dumas, Crossett, Arkansas City, and Pine Bluff, to make good money with those "useless" skills of which you speak. If you are going to win the hearts and minds of those voters you seek so desperately, please don't tell them their hard work was wasted and their skills are useless.

No comment on fire station? Police station?

The spec building. Oh my. So what this commenter is saying is that the MEDC has a budget for paying interest on loans that it took out to build the empty building and pay for the land. Loans that are probably at local banks owned by members of "LERG", who I am sure would rather see the building sold and occupied than continue to receive those interest payments. Yeah and Harry Potter is a real boy, pigs fly, and I am a six foot six 140 pound Latin male supermodel.

Now the only comment that truly angered me. The fact that I even remotely suggested that Monticello was "bad-off". I never stated that. If you read my post again paying closer attention to the end this time you will see that I stated the opposite. I will link to my post here

and let you be the judge. If anything the "pro-tax" group is saying that Monticello is so "bad-off" we need this tax or it is going to get even worse.

Now so far there has been no argument to the "if I pass the tax can you assure me that the cost of municipal services won't increase" question.

As far as population, what does that have to do with the issue at hand? If I had stated that Monticello was a bad place or "bad-off" then an argument could be had, but I did not so no argument needed. But, if I must comment, I already stated why in my original post. Because people in Monticello can drive a short distance and make money with the skills that they learned right here at home. Those same skills that you consider useless. There is no need to uproot family members and homesteads. I know one person that drives every day to Crossett to work for the City Housing authority. Another that drives to Dumas to work at a factory as a maintenance supervisor. If I know two people and I never go anywhere, how many are there really?

Now as far as the public slaughter of city officials and the MEDC specifically. Give me a moment to read my post again................. okay I am back, the MEDC is never mentioned in my post, and as far as the slaughter of city officials, is it slaughter to ask them to explain themselves and their decisions to the people who elected them? Is it slaughter to ask them what our money is being used for? I have always been told that if your cause is just and true you will defend it with honor, humility, and dedication to fact, and that fighting "taxation without representation" is how this country began. I have not been approached to explain my point of view, I have not been approached to discuss my point of view. I have been approached and asked to change my point of view. I have even been "told" to change my point of view. But instead I will give you questions to ask, the answers they will give, and the follow up questions you should ask.

What will the tax dollars be used for? Their answer, Infrastructure, community development, and economic development. Follow up: What specifically is infrastructure? Their Answer: It could be anything from street improvement, city service enhancement, or general improvements to make this a better place to live. Follow up: Yes, but what specifically are you wanting to enhance or improve? This is where the conversation will end. Then they will hand you one of their shiny new pro-tax buttons and there you go. (They had three hundred of them made they have to do something with them.)

Let me state this for the record: I AM NOT AGAINST A TAX IF THE USE OF THE MONEY IS PLANNED, PUBLIC, AND APPROPRIATE TO THE GOOD OF ALL. Come to me with a plan on how to specifically make Monticello better and I will shout it from the mountaintops. Come to me telling me how this tax "could" make Monticello better if that is what we decide to use the money for and sorry folks I can't help you. Remember, if there is no specific plan there is no accountability. No accountability..... no motivation to do the right thing.

In conclusion let me state again. I love Monticello, but it is in trouble. Not a bad place, but in trouble. You tell people to do their homework before choosing sides, I suggest that you side with people that have done theirs. You say that Monticello needs the tax, tell me why. Don't just say we need it, tell me why we need it. I can only surmise by the rather scripted comment you left that the "LERG" has gotten to you. I will make you a deal right now. You pass this tax for unspecified needs, and a few months from now when the county comes to you asking you to dip into your wallet again for a tax "specifically" for a new Library and "specifically" for hospital improvements you be as vocal in your support.

That is how you stop that....

Anyone have that annoying older aunt or uncle that at every wedding comes up and pokes you and says "your next". Irritating isn't it. Well, next time you are both at a funeral, do the same to them.

More stupid stuff I think about......

1. Can you cry under water?

2. How important do I have to be to get assassinated and not murdered?

3. If the professor on Gilligan's Island could make a radio out of a coconut, why couldn't he fix the hole in the boat?

4. Why do people go up in tall buildings and then put money in binoculars too see things on the ground?

5. Where does corn oil come from... where does vegetable oil come from.... where does baby oil come from?

6. What disease did cured ham have?

7. Why is bra singular and panties plural?

8. Why does a dog get mad when you blow in its face but hang its head out the window when riding in a car?

9. How did we put a man on the moon before wheels on luggage?

10. If electricity comes from electrons then morality comes from.......... Morons?

11. Round pizza, square box.

12. Threw, through, thru, three words three meanings. Bob, bob, bob. What the heck?

13. We drink Soy milk, but have you ever seen a soy teet.

14. For those of you who don't believe in bigfoot.... why don't you? Because you have never seen him. Ever seen a baby pigeon?

15. Why do we call a device that allows us to roam freely around the world and still stay in touch a "cell" phone?

16. What does a fire-drill in China really look like?

17. What idiot saw an egg fall out of a chicken's butt and wondered "can I eat that?" ( I have a whole adam and eve garden of eden theory on that one, let me know if you are interested and I will post it.)

18. Person who fights fires-firefighter. Person who fights bulls-bullfighter. Person who fights other Person-Boxer.

19. Figured out the third bob yet?

20. Why do people complain about how a baby keeps them up all night and then when they finally do get some rest the say they "slept like a baby"?

What Does Monticello Need? (and will a tax get it)

What does Monticello need? It is a good question actually. Here is a rundown of a few of the most important things that we need in Monticello and how we go about getting them.

Jobs. Probably the key to all other things we need. Will a tax get them? No

Industry. Of course it is easy to see that securing new industry will get you new jobs. Will a tax get that? No. Most industries consider the bottom line profit very important. If they are going to have to pay higher taxes to do business here when they could locate thirty miles away and still get our labor force because we will drive the thirty miles for a good paying wage they will.

Medical. We have decent health facilities here. But, they could be much better. Will a tax get you that? No. It should but it won't you know it and I know it.

Skilled Labor Force. Interestingly, we already have one of those somewhat. Many people worked at industries that have now closed for a large portion of their lives. They are skilled in many aspects of industrial mechanics, engineering, and production. Why could we not focus our efforts on bringing industry here that needs the type of skills that our residents are already trained to provide? Doesn't sound like rocket science to me. But, maybe that is just me. Will a tax get you skilled labor? Doesn't need too.

Street Improvements. Will a tax get you that? It should, but it won't. Let me defend that statement. The tax that will be ending has already been in effect for ten years. Now answer this honestly. Is the street you live on any better than it was ten years ago? Are any of the streets you drive on better? What do you have to show for ten years of being a loyal taxpayer? Your city owns W.C. Whaley School. An empty building in an empty industrial park. A sports complex that could be used as a pool and a pool that will never pay for itself and is falling apart already three weeks after renovation. And by the way, that's pretty much it.

Police and Fire Station. Will a tax get that. It should, the jury is still out on whether it will or not.

Now the proliferators of the "tax is good" stance will be coming out in force soon. Their battle plan is laid out and it is quite crafty (I know because I have it). You are going to be bombarded by radio, television, newspaper, and personal visits. Now they will not be able to tell you specifically what the money is going to be used for, because they don't know. Heck, they can't even account for the last ten years worth of money. Now to some they are going to promise that Jordan Park is going to be renovated. It's not going to happen. To some they are going to use fear tactics like an increase in price for city services like water and trash pick up. Ask them if the tax passes can they assure you that there will be no increase in cost for those services in the next fifteen years anyway. They won't be able to. I doubt in the last ten years that we have already been paying a tax there has been no increase in water, sewer, or trash pickup rates.

Now I have noticed lately that our Mayor has been rather tight lipped concerning the tax. It seems that since the idea of a community center was over-ruled he has been less than supportive of a tax. When you are approached, when you have the opportunity, ask one of these proliferators of "tax" why when the list was made of people that would be good to interview for a "pro tax" message for radio, t.v., and newspaper....... why the Mayor of our fine city's name was not on that list. Then go one step further, go ask the Mayor why his name is not on the list.

The folks who want this tax who will from now be known as the "League of Extraordinarily Rich Gentleman" or the "LERG" for short, will use many tactics to sway your opinion. They will tell you this tax is what Monticello needs to grow. Folks it is not about growing anymore. Monticello needs to survive. Growing can come later. If Monticello does not survive it will never grow. How many dead plants have you seen bloom? And folks, our fine city is on life support right now and the "LERG" is standing in line to pull the plug.

Ladies and gentleman, please listen to me very carefully right now, and take me very seriously. I have lived in this city all of my life. I was born here, grew up here, made big mistakes here, had great success here. I love Monticello, you will find no one that loves it more than I do. Many of you know me and know that I am no dummy. Many of you that read this don't know me at all. This is my home, it is the place I will always call home. And it is in trouble. A tax will not save it. the "LERG" aren't trying to save it by passing a tax that has no designated purpose, that is easy to figure out. The only ones that can save it are you and I. How do we do that, by demanding better for our home. By not standing silent any longer and only asking among ourselves "why?". It is time to take a stand. Time to stand up for something that cannot stand for itself. It is time to take a stand for our home. To stand one and all for Monticello.

You know I noticed something the other day. If you stand in the middle of the town square and look around you it is easy to see what is worth fighting for. But if you stand on the first tee at the country club........ you can't see Monticello at all.

Toys..

I was thinking this evening, for no particular reason, about toys. Interestingly I told someone special tonight that I had nothing to write about and then boom here this comes. So here we go with "Toys I Remember.

Shrinky Dinks

Rubik's Cube. I remember when they came out)

Armatron.  I know where one of these is and I may end up buying it just for nostalgia's sake.

Atari 2600 game console. Love me some "River Raid". I actually have it for the Playstation 2.

Radio Shack TRS-80 model three computer. It had a cassette player that plugged into it and that was where the programs were stored. Yes, an actual cassette like you would use in a car stereo. For those of you born after say.... the late 80's look up cassette on Google. 

Stupid Things I Think About.

The 8 facts post gave me what I think is a great idea. Post some of the stupid things I think about. So here we go.

1. Is there a such thing as a dead-end one-way street?

2. Why is it illegal to possess drugs but not to consume them?

3. How long did it take before the inventor of the paper clip finally "got it right"?

4. Has everything good already been done?

5. Did Oswald act alone. A former boss and myself flew to Dallas on a whim one evening to try to find out. One of my readers may remember that?

6. Why does a duck's opinion of me depend so highly on whether or not I have bread in my possession?

7. Who heard a dog bark and decided it sounded like bow-wow?

8. Why does my car only fail to start when I am leaving to do something I "want" to do not "have" to do, and why should I be surprised? 

9. If two plus two always equals four..... what good is it?

10. If Jeff Noble leaves going north to a city council meeting and I leave going south to the same meeting and Jeff receives two calls on his new I-phone while en-route, what is the probability that he will not answer either one and that upon arriving we will discover that our elected officials are still idiots?

11. Why do I want a stack of pancakes so badly for breakfast but then am so quickly sick of them once I begin eating.

12. If your dog could talk would he bother?

13. How do they know nine out of ten dentists prefer the taste of Colgate? Are there only ten dentists?

14. If I took my "area rug" out onto the porch would it then become a mat? And could I then get the new one I need cheaper?

15. Floor mats? Are there any other kind?

16. If I put peanut butter and jelly between two pieces of bread is not a sandwich just because it doesn't have the tangy taste of Miracle Whip?

17. Is Maury's favorite singer still Peter Cetera (In your eyes playing on itunes made me think of that)

18. What is that cat thinking?

19. Why can't we all just get along?

And finally

20. Aren't you glad God does not believe in the old saying "You never get a second chance to make a first impression"? 

CRAP!!!!

Well I have prided myself on being slightly mysterious. In fact I think only one fellow blogger actually knows who I am, but K.T. over at momma-tude has figured out a way to get me to open up a bit more. And, being that the blogger code, unlike the pirate code, is more than just a set of guidelines, here we go with 8 facts about me.

1. I am a certified Jeweler. I worked at a local jewelry store for ten years as a goldsmith and stone setter as well as a jewelry designer.

2. I am a certified firefighter.

3. I used to be a local radio Disc Jockey.

4. I am lonely all of the time. (and I don't know how to fix it.)

5. I wonder about stupid things. (why does a store that is open 24hrs a day have locks on the front doors? I mean really have you ever gone to E-Z mart and it be closed?

6. I live on one of the streets K.T. mentioned when she talked about flooding.

7. I suffer from a condition called Agoraphobia.

8. I honestly believe no one reads my blog and have been seriously considering not writing it anymore, but it seems to make me feel better when I do write on it. 

They Better Be Glad They're Not In China

China announced today that it executed the head of the Chinese Food and Drug Administration for taking bribes. One shot to the back of the head. I wonder how many of our local leaders read this article and realized how lucky they are. Can you imagine, one of our leaders does something we don't like, maybe passing a useless, unwarranted, and seemingly economically dangerous tax and POW!!!! to the moon Alice. Nothing like the sentence for stupidity being death to give someone a moment of pause. Don't you think?

Be Prepared...

Be prepared people of Monticello. Shenanigans are about to begin. A tax is soon to be proposed to you. For what you say? Verily I say unto thee, no one is sure quite yet. Not even those who are going to propose it to you. The troops are massing on the borders of "common sense" and "your wallet", and the troops will soon be spilling over in a full on frontal attack. The country of "your wallet" is in danger and not nearly as secure as you had hoped. You will not know the real reason they are invading. You will not know the real reason they are here. They come not for your lands, not because of your religious beliefs. they come to enslave your immortal soul for the next ten to fifteen years. Be prepared Monticello. Take up arms and fight the aggressors. Fear not for there are those who will fight with you. Those who will stand beside you. Paint thy faces in the colors of your family and join in the lines of battle. Fight like warrior poets, and win your freedom. 

Where Do You Blog?

I wonder sometimes where everyone does their blogging. Maybe I wonder too much. Pretty much all of my blogging, whether good or bad, is done here on the couch.....

On Love And Loss.

What do you do when the one you love, for whatever their reasons, tells you they don't want to talk to you anymore? What if they tell you it isn't because they don't love you?  And worse, you know that is true. Does it make it hurt any less? No, I think, from what I am experiencing now, that it is much worse.

Yes, I will be alone.

Alone..... by myself.

I will exist in a place,

Where no one will want to see me

No one will want to hear me

Where no one will want to touch me

I will be alone with my thoughts of loss

My mind will exist in a state of confusion

Confused with dreams and ideals

Yet... lacking in reality

I know not where this place is.

I will be apart from the living and not living

But, I will be there

and, I will be there alone. 

Word Of The Day.

Moron: The difference in the way your city officials spend money on idiotic projects compared to useful projects. They spend moron idiotic projects.

How Many Times Do I Have To Tell You?

This is a question that I used to ask for other reasons but now, it seems fitting to ask it to the people of Monticello. Now that we have come full circle and the vice-president is no longer a member of the executive branch of government, we must turn our attention solely to the matters of local politics. Being that national politics are so messed up that Jefferson, and Franklin themselves could not rescue us from the abyss in which we are about to propel ourselves. What can we do you ask? Good question. And...there is a simple answer. Get up off of the couch and go ask questions. Our local leaders can ignore your phone calls. Our local leaders cannot ignore you if you are standing in their office, or place of business. Go to the Mayor and ask questions, then be prepared for the pouting to begin. Once you realize that your city is being run by Stewie Griffin, then you will understand why things are the way they are. There is always a diabolical doomsday plan in the works to take over the world, there is always another motive to every move that is made. Whether it is to lull you into a feeling that everything is alright, or to appease you with some small trinket or colored piece of cloth when you protest. There is always another motive. Admittedly, there is a motive to what I am writing here. It probably isn't what you think it is. It is to amuse you while at the same time injecting into your psyche, just a tidbit of knowledge and common sense. Now as long as everything is going to plan, the world is a wonderful place, champagne falls from the heavens and velvet ropes part at will. When things are not going to plan meaning when "people are asking questions", faces are red instead of the ropes, and I am not even going to mention what falls from the sky. Listen, if you ask your civic leaders a simple question like "Where did all of our money go?" and they look at you like a monkey doing a math problem, then you know things are going badly. So, go ask your leaders where millions of dollars have been spent over the past ten years.......OH, be sure to bring bananas.

Return Of A Blogger

Well, where do I start? Where have I been? I have been around. Now that we have all that out of the way, let us begin. Well the mayor has removed the community center from the tax proposal. Interestingly enough he did not use the extra space that he obtained to inject fiscal responsibility. Where has the money from the tax of the past ten years gone. I know, you should know, I would tell you but then you wouldn't "learn nuthin." But, if you think the salaries of the public officials, city employees, and other needs for the city have been coming from tax revenue, you haven't "learned nuthin." I know someone who asked over a month ago for some accounting of where the tax money has been spent, and as far as I know, no one knows. Not even the people who have been spending the money.Now, say you went to the bank and there was say 20 million dollars missing from your account and no one at the bank could tell you where it went, would you get upset? Well, then why aren't you upset? Millions of your dollars are gone and no one can tell you where it went. But you aren't upset. Tell you what, just bring me all of your money. I can spend it and not tell you on what or with who just as well as they can. And your not going to say anything about it anyway so why not? Let me "splain" something to you, tax money is like a big community account, you pay it in so that you can use it later. For roads, police, fire, garbage pick up, and so on. So you put the money in and someone comes and withdraws it and puts it in a big pile and sets it aflame, and you are fine with it. Like I said, bring it to me I have matches and lighter fluid.

STUPID PEOPLE

This is a post that I have been preparing for a few days now. The backstory begins with me sitting comfortably at Dad's Place Coffee, enjoying my new MACBOOK, and a double shot sweet Swamp Water. Enter from stage right a stupid person. Now it was not apparent from her just entering the establishment that she was stupid. But, then she spoke. And, she kept speaking. Now here lies the problem. I firmly believe that when a stupid person begins speaking it creates an invisible vortex in the area that draws in all intelligent thought around it. The more she spoke the larger the vortex became. Suddenly I found myself unable to read, type, or add two and two together. My eyes began to water and a strange smell fell upon the room like fog on the coast. That cold winter fog that is half fog half ice. It was affecting everyone in the room. Customers forgot their names and why they were there. I could not remember the name of my own blog. Someone across the room passed out because they forgot how to breathe. In conclusion, if you are a stupid person, please speak as little as possible. If not for yourself for the safety of the rest of us. Because, I have come to the conclusion that you are too stupid to know that you are killing the rest of us.

We Are Not Alone

After reading the article on monticello live, it seems to me that we who want information before making decisions are not alone. I just had a thought. Instead of spending ten million on a community center, let's spend 3 million on a community center and seven million on new facilities for our police and fire departments. Does that make sense to anyone else? Or, better yet, lets spend 5 million on new facilities for our police and fire departments, a couple of million turning the W.C. Whaley property into a public park and call it a day. I am a long time monticello resident, and I cannot see the need for a community center. Someone made a statement to me today that in summary says that kids in this town need something to do. I agree, the question is will they use this facility? Will there parents be willing to bring them there, pay the fee on the chance that they may not use it, or, will this be a community center for those within walking distance. Now as far as the police and fire department facilities go I have some experience in this area. My father was a firefighter here for many years, and a police officer for many more. I used to stay at the fire station with him on the weekends when he would be on call. It needed to be condemned then, and that was twenty or more years ago. I cannot forsee that the conditions have gotten any better. Common sense is being reborn by all evidence, now it is time to take the next step. What is the next step you ask? We will talk more about that later.

Recycled Title: The Rebirth of Common Sense

I believe that the people of Monticello have, without even noticing, witnessed a rebirth of common sense. It seems to me that some of our leaders have finally decided that they will not go like sheep to the slaughter. They have requested what we call "information" before they make a decision concerning extending the tax issue. I must say, good for them. It is nice to know that I am not the only who worries about spending money on something when I don't even know what it is going to look like and no one can show me or tell me. Interestingly enough, no one is really sure how much it will cost either. Some say ten million, some say twelve. It doesn't matter what they say now because we are in wartime. Prices during wartime have a tendancy to rise and then rise some more. You don't build in wartime unless you are homeless. The price of steel is through the roof, lumber and other building materials as well. Copper is on the moon, and you need copper to make the wire to bring electricity through the building. Now, I will admit that an end to the war is not in sight, I don't care what anyone says, so maybe we need to just pull back on the reigns a bit and show some restraint. If we don't get industry and jobs here, and I don't mean Subway and Pizza Hut, real paying jobs and industry, who will be able to afford to pay a membership fee? First thing is first, Monticello is already on it's way to being a fifty fast food joint ghost town, lets secure our people opportunities and assure that they have a desire to stay here before we give them more to pay for. I mean maybe it is just me. Who knows?

Workers, Lurkers, and Televised Blogs....

I have discussed with several people on several occasions how to get more comments on my blog. Interestingly I find that I am not the only one who is frustrated by those who visit the site but stay for so short a time that they cannot see how wonderful it is(shameless plug) read it, or even understand what it is about. Then there are those who stay on for a few hours, reading and learning about who I am or who I want to be, but leave no comment. Those individuals are called “lurkers”.

It was requested that I somehow address those “lurkers”. I was unsure of how to do so. But I think I have come up with the perfect answer.... Televised Blogs. Madness you say. Voodoo you exclaim, but alas, hear me out.

How many of these “lurkers” scream loudly at the television when an umpire or referee makes a bad call in a baseball or basketball game? How many comment on the stupidity of whatever news story is on the television right now. Opinions are prevalent in today’s society. Some are educated, some are less than. But, most people who put their lives out there on the internet, their opinions out there on the internet in the form of “blogs” want to hear your opinion too. We are trying to learn. About our world, ourselves, and we want to learn from you. So, leave a comment now and then, we know you are out there, we see our hit counters going up and up, and still we are not learning. We value your opinion, it helps us keep an open mind about the world. And, who knows, maybe you will learn something too. Nothing wrong with that is there?

How the “WHY??” Generation Has Changed Mainstream News Media.

From The Book "Please Pass The Pork" Politics, Corruption, and Collusion In Small Town America by Terry G. Bernard.

Chapter 7
Don't Trust "Mainstream" Media

I remember the days of news when the purpose of the media was to report news. It seems that in the past ten years, the role, or more importantly, the role of the media as viewed by the public, has become to tell the public “why” and incident occurred and not “what” incident if any has occurred.

It is important to remember that the role of the media never has been or never will be to tell us “why”. Interestingly, the media does not know why. I reported news for many years before deciding to become an author and never during the investigation of a lead, follow up, or during any other part of the reporting process have ever found out why something happened. Do not sit back on your recliner or sofa and believe what televised media is telling you if they are telling you why something happened. It is important to note that whenever a so-called “expert” is professing his wealth of knowledge upon your senses he always at some point qualifies his statements by saying “of course we are merely speculating”. The press should never speculate. That is not their job.

The two most important factors to remember when considering news coverage are ambiguity and protection of rights. At any point where media starts to speculate on why an incident occurred or why someone did what they did all ambiguity is lost. If a member of the press is speculating on an incident with or without all of the facts he is injecting his opinion into the discussion. How can ambiguity exist with personal opinion involved? It is also important to remember that when protecting the rights of all involved the most important person to protect is not the public, the families of the injured, or even the victims. Where the press is concerned the most important person whose rights has to be protected is the suspect. Now, I know many of you are asking yourself “WHY?” Thank you for making my point for me. What if by some chance the individual at Virginia Tech had been misidentified. What if he had not committed both shootings? Before we even knew how many were dead, and if the rest were safe, the media was speculating “WHY?”. Please note that even after receiving the letters as well as the videos that the Virginia Tech shooter sent to NBC news, none of us nor any of them truly know why he did what he did. Even if he had not taken his own life, would we ever truly know why? Who, What, Where----that’s the news and should still be. Sadly this is not the case.

Remember always, especially when you are upset at a member of the media for not telling you “why” something happened, he does not know, and he never will. And more importantly remember that truly, by definition, it is not his job to tell you. If you want to know “WHAT” ask a real “newsman”. If you want to know “why”, ask Dr. Phil.

In closing of this chapter may I say that the media in today’s society is failing you miserably. They are failing you by giving you what you “want”, and losing sight of what they are responsible for. And please notice, that during the writing of this I never asked “why?” But without speculation, and with ambiguity you know why.

New Subtitle.

Please tell me what you think of the new blog subtitle. No more gloom agony and despair for your amusement.

The Rebirth of Common Sense???

Is the rebirth of common sense underway? Is Benton Arkansas the barometer for what is to come? A few days ago the voters of Benton went to the polls to vote on whether or not an extra one half cent in sales taxes to build a new city park. Now the first amazing thing is that the tax was defeated. The second is that it was defeated 87% against 13% for. The third amazing thing is the fact that of the registered voters that qualified to cast their ballot, 83 percent showed up to the polls. Now that sounds like a-lot, and it is, but here is just how "a-lot" it is. It is more voters than turned out to vote for a president nationwide in the last four elections "COMBINED!" Now a friend of mine and I were talking about this and his question was how did they get such a turnout? Maybe it is the rebirth of common sense. Maybe it was just that dramatically stupid. We may never know for sure, but the question must be asked. With the possibility of upcoming votes on local tax extensions, increases, or however they are being defined at this hour, is Benton The Barometer? Remember folks very few of us spend large sums of money on one item without planning it out. Why would we let "someone else" spend large sums of OUR money without a plan? What is the plan? Where are the goals? What is it going to look like? You don't know because neither does he.

Easter Bunny Goodness.....

Look what the Easter bunny brought me. Now I will never leave the house. 60 inches of HDTV Digital Picture 7.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound happiness. WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Home Sick....

Now the title is sort of misleading I will admit. I was in an accident many years ago and there was a good bit of damage done to my left leg. Henceforth, scar tissue and blood clots. My leg looks like a purple balloon. Oh well I guess I will get to catch up on my laying around doing nothing. I have been too busy lately to keep up with it anyway.

On Citizenship....

“Democracy is the worst form of government ever attempted in the world. The only exceptions to this are all of the other ones ever attempted.” This quote from Winston Churchill is a volume, a novel of citizenship wrapped into a single sentence. But what does it say?

It is lost on the citizen of today the importance and the value of what his responsibilities are. A Great example is Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin, and others before and after him, risked their very lives to give us what we have today. I speak not of soldiers, wars, and battles. What we are discussing here and now is the actual risk they took. Back in 1776 the very breath of splitting from England, was considered treason and punishable by death. Yes folks, DEATH. No trial, no appeal, no mercy. Now Benjamin Franklin, a patriot yes, a scholar yes, but not a citizen. Benjamin Franklin, and others, risked their lives in the mere hope of citizenship, the mere hope of building something that would live on past themselves and their namesakes. Now for himself and others to risk so much for something that they knew from the beginning was so horribly flawed is at the least remarkable. Democracy. Now as the reapers of the rewards of those risks, what are our responsibilities as citizens? There is only one. It is our duty, our responsibility, to question the leaders that we have chosen. Democracy is a form of government that allows us to put in place people to make decisions under our scrutiny and our direction. It is our duty. It is the building block of our system of government. Why don’t we? I think all citizens have lost the purpose for our elected officials. Our elected officials were never meant to be the leaders! Their sole responsibility as elected officials, is to be our voice in the dark. Their sole responsibility is to yell above the crowd, and say WE ARE CITIZENS AND WE SHALL BE HEARD!!!!! If you are not questioning your elected representatives, and I do not mean in your mind, or among yourselves. I mean walking directly to your officials and asking them WHY, then you are not a citizen. Your duties and responsibilities are few, and in the technological world of today with cars, telephones, computers, so on....these responsibilities are easy to full-fill. And remember something else very important. When you ask WHY it is those officials duty, and responsibility to tell you why. Do not be afraid. We are the leaders, they are our voice. It is time for all of us, to lead. It is time once again for our voices to speak for us.

Of Sheep and Men

Excerpt from the book: "Please Pass The Pork" Politics Collusion and Corruption in Small Town America by Terry G Bernard


What do sheep and humans have in common? Let us ponder this for a moment shall we. First we must discuss the icon of sheep. The shepherd. When you think of a shepherd, what is the first thing you think of? The hook of course. Now sheep do not recognize their owners necessarily but they do recognize the hook. This shepherd could be leading them to fertile pastures of green grass and cool mountain water to drink, a virtual paradise in the mind of sheep. Then, on the other hand, this shepherd could be leading them to a cliff, deep, dark, and fraught with peril and their complete destruction. They don’t know. Do you see a herd of sheep sending out other sheep to investigate whether or not they are embarked on a journey that will full-fill all of their dreams, or a journey that will end in their destruction. No, you do not. He leads, they follow and no one utters a word unless the sheep get out of line.

Now to humans. The interesting thing about humans is they have the ability to do what sheep don’t. Investigate. The problem with humans is that when they ask a question, they don’t really want to hear the truth. They want to hear whatever answer suits them best. There are humans out there that will go forth from the herd, investigate the destination, then report back to the herd. The problem is, if the herd doesn’t like what the others have discovered, it suddenly becomes fabrication, or worse the nature of humanity takes over, and the investigators find the cliff and report back that it is green grass and cool water. Humans also can choose their shepherd, which is a unique advantage. But, there in also lies the problem. Once humans choose their shepherd, they are pretty much done.

Now, where is the advantage that the sheep have. It is simple, they always recognize the hook. Humans rarely do. Humans see or more importantly “hear” the hook one time, and they follow the shepherd blindly to whatever end is in store.

So, to the original question. What do sheep and humans have in common? The answer is: They both will follow anyone with a hook no matter what the consequences.

Reading Is Fundamental

Excerpt from the book "Please Pass The Pork" Politics, Corruption, and Collusion in Small Town America by Terry G Bernard.

Small town America is not without its share of political corruption. The difference in big government and small town government is the fact that in small town government, there are more people with more intelligence closer to the source of the corruption. For example, in the small town where I grew up, the "good ole' boy" system of government is alive and well. The problem lies not with the numbers of people that know it exist, but with the numbers of people that care. In small town government there are many people in positions of power that were drawing their last breath when Strom Thurmond won his first election. These people have become comfortable with the "status quo", and could care less whether things ever change. Why make things better for others when you are still going to be nearly dead while they are out enjoying all the things you have given them. Then of course there is the money. Many elected officials in small town government are local business owners. Now whether or not these officials were successful business owners does not seem to be the issue, many failed and bankrupt businessmen feel that the only thing left for them to do once they have proven they they cannot manage their own money is to manage everyone else's. Of course managing the finances of an entire city must be much easier than managing your own because you have the advice of the local "special interest" groups to give you advice on how they can, excuse me you can spend those funds. Interestingly, access has much to do with expenditure. For example, for a lobbyist in Washington D.C. to request spending on whatever stupid venture he is lobbying for at the moment, he has to make appointments, and so on. In small town America, you just go down to the local eatery where everyone hangs out, and there always is one, buy one of the old geezers breakfast and BOOM your in. Now, common sense rarely is involved. Common sense in small town government is what many people in other cultures call "voodoo". It is sinful and should be avoided at all costs, and know this for certain, the costs can be astronomical. In the next chapter we will discuss and define "special interests" as it pertains to small town America.



It's amazing how small towns can be so much alike no matter which one you call home.

Your Doing What?

For those of you who know me you will understand exactly how big of a deal what I am about to say really is. For those of you who don't know me, ask someone who does and they will explain. I am going on a road trip to Atlanta Georgia. What did he say? Georgia? He can barely get out of the house without medication. Yes I will be embarking on a trip to Atlanta Georgia this weekend. I will be traveling in a big rig to deliver some items in Atlanta. I have my prescriptions filled and I am ready to rock and roll. I think. I hope. Well maybe I shouldn't go. Home is much safer. You know, bad things happen to people who go outside. You see it on the news all the time.

Shameless Yard Sale Post.

I have some items that I need to sell. So I thought I would attempt to sell them here. So here we go.


1. JVC super VHS Digital signal processing camcorder. 25x optical 1000x digital zoom. This means at one hundred yards you can read the date on a nickel. Also it is equipped with night vision three extra batteries and one high capacity battery chargers and carrying case. 100 dollars will get it. I have shot exactly 8 minutes of video since I bought it new. All the promotional stickers are still attached.

2. Blackberry 6280 smartphone for Cingular. Phone PDA and all. Pop in your SIM card and your ready to go. 30.00 gets it. Phone is working fine.

3. Sony Playstation 2. All the gadgets and bells. Remote controll, memory card, infared adapter, and several games. First 90.00 is the winner.

Items number two and three were brought in to my shop for repair and never picked up. All are working perfectly and you are welcome to test them before you purchase. Pictures of phone and camera are here for you to see. Did not photograph Playstation because it is in my bedroom and that is just creepy. If interested e-mail me at stuff-forsale@hotmail.com.

Ways To Secure A Position Within City Government.

Here is a short list of ways to assure yourself a position in city government.

1. Be fired by the outgoing Mayor.

2. Campaign heavily for the incoming Mayor.

3. Do not criticize your own personnel in public.

4. Say "pretty please"

How Not To Get Fired.

With the recent release of a city official I thought it prudent to list ways not to get fired if you are a city employee.

1. Do not sit in a public eating establishment and state that people died because the personnel you are in charge of are "too slow."

2. DON'T LET SOMEONE OVERHEAR YOU SAY IT!!!!!!

3. If said "total stranger" does hear you say it and you know that he heard you eliminate him with extreme prejudice before he has the opportunity to go back and tell the Mayor who may not like you very much already.

These are just a few tips that can make your life a little easier if you are employed by the city.

Now There Are Flowers.

In springtime, the only pretty ring time, birds sing a ding a ding a ding. Sweet lovers love.....the spring.

Gettin All Gussied Up....

My stepmother spent her day today building flower boxes to go in the front of the store and my place. She is getting the place all gussied up and "prettified". I will soon start planting my hanging gardens, like I usually do during the summer. Grape tomatoes, jalapeno peppers and the like. I just hope that once they get ripe that they will stay there long enough for me to enjoy them. Folks have a tendency to abscond with them once they have ripened, at least that is the way it was at my previous residence. I figure with the customers coming in and out things will pretty much be the same or worse maybe. Of course I was a known watermelon thief in my old neighborhood so there is little I can say.

The Germans Had Nothing To Do With It...

Why did I name this post as I did? Who knows, but the Germans had nothing to do with it. Why was the fire chief removed from his duties and someone else appointed that probably has less training than half of the current department members? Who knows, but the Germans had nothing to do with it. Why was a Mayor elected that is running the city like his own personal Roman Empire? Who knows, but the Germans had nothing to do with it. Why is it still illegal to "goose-step" in Belgium? Ok, the Germans had something to do with that one. How long will it be before we are marching in the streets of Monticello in uniform preceded by trucks pulling missiles under the watchful eye of Kim Jong Rogers? Who knows, but the Germans won't have anything to do with that either.

HEH HEH......She Said POO....

Now I will not call anyone out on this or name names. But there is someone out there right now reading the title to this and saying to themselves...I knew he wouldn't pass that up. After Church Services on Sunday I decided (while the pills were working) to go out to eat. Now I never do this. EVER!!!! So I tra la la'd down to ye ole Western Sizzlin. Or if your from the south Western Sizzler (because we are to stupid to realize that Western Sizzlin and the Sizzler are two totally different franchises.) Someone came in I knew with his family and his wife graciously invited me to dine with them. We were having wonderful conversation everything going smoothly and suddenly from across the table, and excuse me for not remembering the context or verbiage, the word POO!!!! Yes ladies and gentlemen POO!!!!!! If you have children you know what a moment like this means the first time your family is around someone new (that would be me). I think they were discussing the flavor of a cake recipe actually and she was weighing in on the intricacies of it's flavor and texture, but forgive me if I am mistaken. If this type of thing has happened to you as a parent....join the club, if not...where are you hiding? Are you one of those people that you only see at the county fair? You know those people. You never see them at Wal Mart, or Piggly Wiggly. Just at the county fair. Usually wearing cutoff dress slacks, black dress socks, sandals, and a "Where's The Beef" t-shirt as a topper. So thank you for an entertaining lunch little miss "name withheld for legal reasons" and thank you to the grown ups too, you were pretty interesting yourselves.

How Many...

It is one of the classic questions. How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop? How many _______________(fill in whatever here) does it take to screw in a light bulb? And, my newest favorite....How many ordinary southerners does it take to put a blade on a circular saw. The answer is three. You see only two mind you I know. The third, my father, is inside getting his glasses because that's what the problem is of course. Note his empty chair by the picnic table. I love every day stuff.

My Loyal Companion......

She is with me no matter what. She never judges me. She is always glad to see me when she gets to. And she chases a ball like nobody's business

I Wondered If I Still Had It.....

I was wondering this evening while working on a customer's computer if I still had the ability to what I call a "case up" system build. So after finishing with the customer's laptop, and by the way Jeff, it was a MAC, yes they do break down too, I thought I would give it a go. Empty case, boxes full of parts, fifty three minutes later, working computer. I still got it. Rarely in this area do you get the opportunity to build a system from "case up". here are some pictures I took during the testing phase and then of the monitor with software installed and connected to the internet. I love my job....

Yep.....He is there.

As may of you may know and most of you may not I posted the other day that I would be attending church today. Now a few of you know what that really means. For those of you who do not, I will not try to explain right now but just let me say that it is not an easy task. My concern was whether Jesus was there. I must say without a doubt YES he is there. It was a wonderful experience and I wonder if today's speaker knew I was coming or somehow knew the struggles I have been going through. I know he didn't which makes todays experience even more profound. I suggest that you attend Journey Church as soon as possible. There is something going on there that is powerful. I will return and Jeff, if your reading this THANK YOU for inviting me. I will return.

This Is...

This is the machine that makes what we think up in our heads into reality. We come up with a design, feed it into a computer and this machine makes it real. Basically a robot the size of a small car.

The View...

No it is not what you are thinking. This is the view I see every day while I am working......Wonderful I think.

Big Brother is Watching.....

IP Address		141.116.142.# (Army Information Systems Command-Pentagon)
ISP		Army Information Systems Command-Pentagon
Location		Continent : North America Country : United States (Facts) State : District of Columbia City : Washington Lat/Long : 38.8933, -77.0146 (Map) Distance : 766 miles
Language		English (United States) en-us
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Out Click
Time Zone		UTC-4:00
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You never know who is lurking..

The Struggle Continues....

As I sit here writing and reflecting on the events of the day with "Elton John" playing in the background I feel pretty good... considering I have been without sleep for several weeks now. When I say without sleep please understand I mean not one moment of sleep. Up for almost two weeks now. Last night I asked God to quiet my mind so that I may get some rest. I repeated it over and over and the next thing I know I am waking up this morning with the alarm clock blaring. I slept. I couldn't believe it. So I asked God tonight what I need to do. I have been in a "soul struggle" for several weeks now. And the first thing that popped into my mind after asking God what I should do was Jeff. Jeff is a friend and Pastor of a local church. So I emailed him for the Sunday Worship schedule. Since I received his reply suddenly I feel calm, my mind is not racing, obsessing, flying away on it's own. And, my heart doesn't hurt anymore. Now I don't mean actual physical pain. It just doesn't hurt anymore. It has hurt for along time, years now I would say. Now I am no angel. I have run course through most of the Commandments. But, my heart doesn't hurt anymore. Peter Gabriel (In Your Eyes) playing now. I asked another friend of mine who is a Pastor about attending a new church. He asked if they had Jesus. I said I didn't know. He told me if they did then they are doing just fine. I hope Jesus is there. I am ready to meet him, I think we will have lots to talk about.

More New Stuff

These are my friends Bill and Hillary. They live in a white house and fight constantly and are rather promiscuous when let out of the white house so I figured it was only fitting.

Something New..

I thought I would try something new with my brand new digital camera. Maybe let some of you in on aspects of my life that people rarely see. So here we go. This is where I do my work when I am at home. Pretty sad huh?

Understatement at the Least....

This is a news story I found a bit ago. Read through and then read through below with subliminal goodness added in parentheses.

CASCADE TOWNSHIP -- A Cascade Township couple made a disturbing discovery when two extra packages containing human body parts were delivered to their home.

Investigators with the Kent County Sheriff's Department say the packages originated in China and were supposed to be delivered to a laboratory in Traverse City. Instead, the driver from DHL accidentally thought the extra packages were part of the couple's order when he made the delivery on Thursday.

The couple opened the other packages and noticed the body parts.

The two extra packages are part of a much larger shipment. Investigators say three of the original five boxes shipped have been received. Of the two missing boxes, there could be up to 30 individually wrapped specimens that do not pose a health risk to the public.

Now a statewide alert has been sent to police agencies. Authorities say anyone who receives these packages by mistake, shipped by DHL, should contact police.

Now the subliminal goodness.....

CASCADE TOWNSHIP -- A Cascade Township couple made a disturbing discovery when two extra packages containing human body parts were delivered to their home.(Get the Door...It's Dahmer-noes)

Investigators with the Kent County Sheriff's Department(Frank and Earl) say the packages originated in China(cause they make body parts cheaper there) and were supposed to be delivered to a laboratory in Traverse City. Instead, the driver from DHL accidentally thought the extra packages were part of the couple's order(see this Ebay Seller's other items) when he made the delivery on Thursday.

The couple opened the other packages and noticed the body parts.(remove "noticed the body parts" insert "pooped their pants")

The two extra packages are part of a much larger shipment.(NO KIDDING) Investigators say three of the original five boxes shipped have been received.(by who exactly) Of the two missing boxes, there could be up to 30 individually wrapped specimens(like Hershey's Kisses) that do not pose a health risk to the public.(it's all funny till someone loses an eye..or finds one)

Now a statewide alert has been sent to police agencies.(attention all units..be on the look out for THING from the Addams Family) Authorities say anyone who receives these packages by mistake, shipped by DHL, should contact police.

A Quick Thought......

If two times two is always four.......What good is it????

An Apology Would Be Good.....

I read something interesting a bit ago. It seems that at the legislative update today one of our Senators opened his discussion with an apology. In the state of the world today I think every political leader should be compelled to do that. Just say "hello, my name is Senator so and so, and by the way....I am really sorry." Why do I say that you ask. Because they owe us an apology. They all do. Now I know this Senator personally. I know his wife. I was there when she won her city council seat by drawing a number from a hat. Yes thats right. The election was so close they held a run off and that was a tie so they drew numbers from a hat. She drew the number one. Now thats how you hold an election. Remember that game on the Price is Right where contestants drew numbers from a bag while avoiding the red tiles with the black letter X. I think we should elect presidents that way. First one to draw the tile with the Presidential seal wins. I mean there is no difference anyway. All politicians are the same. They are for or against whatever the hot topic at the time is and that is pretty much it. I think we should have elected John Kerry. So what if he was a "waffler", we all are. We want better education, schools and hospitals but no taxes. We want hamburgers and fries and the right to sue when they make us fat. We want politicians that will lie to get what we want as long as they don't lie to us. We want salvation but not religion,(and yes there is a difference). Yep, he should have been President. At least he was one of us. So ladies and gentleman living in the land of the free and the home of the fried Twinkie, don't you think it would be refreshing if at the next state of the union address, the President opened with "My Fellow Americans.......Man I'm really Sorry."

Word of The Day....

Fiscal Responsibility: The knowledge that you must make more money than you spend and that spending must be done on a carefully planned basis. Doctors believe that we have a gene that activates in our DNA somewhere around the age of seventeen that allows us to realize that we must have fiscal responsibility. Doctors at the Mayo Clinic recently discovered that this gene can only be removed by winning the lottery or being elected to public office in the small town of Monticello Arkansas.

Word Of The Day....

A new daily feature here will be the word of the day. I will give you a word and it's definition as it pertains specifically to Monticello and Drew County. Today's Word: "Industry" Definition: What local leaders are sworn from birth to prevent from ever wanting to locate here. See also "what keeps a town alive" see also "hey wouldn't that infusion of tax dollars be great"

New Features

You will notice new features. Replacing the things that make me laugh links to the right will now be links to blogs that I read and comment on regularly. When I find a blog that has creative, intelligent and pertinent posts they will be placed here. They have my personal thumbs up, and that just might mean something if you know me at all. Also the use of profanity will no longer be necessary (if it ever really was) after discussions with some people tonight it is time to make a difference. The gloves are off, I hope you can handle it.

I Just Don't Know Anymore

I have been thinking about the decline of our nation as a whole, and I can see some patterns that have developed that might explain some of it. When I was growing up if you messed up at a neighbor’s house you got your "rear end" tore up, then you got one from all the neighbors between the original infraction location and your home, and when you finally made it home your mother was on the porch with the phone with the 25 feet long curly cord and you could hear her talking to the neighbor at which you began this journey and she would be making plans for yet another "whipping". Now I did not get many of these when I was young but the few I did get I remember very well. When did spanking your child become abuse? When was it "OK " for your child to call social services after they received said "whipping" and turn you the parent in. When did we start having to give the school system permission to discipline children. I must have missed it. Was there a memo sent out that I was not told about. I remember the days when if you screwed up at school you were spanked with a board. It was renamed a "paddle" but basically it was a short boat oar. I remember the foreboding sound of the pop of the paddle outside of the class room because unless you were in the class where the infraction occurred you did not know it was coming until the first "pop." I remember how skilled some of the teachers had become by giving a little up angle to the "paddle" and hooking you right under the butt cheek where it would lift you up a little. What about the days when by the sound of the pop and speed between "licks" you could tell what teacher was administering the usually well deserved punishment. I read a story today about neighbor that disciplined a child for shooting her dog and blinding it. She gave the young man a few smacks to the rump and was shot twice by the boy’s mother less than an hour later. She was not seriously injured but yet the stupidity of it is beyond measure. I am not saying beat them, but for goodness sake. I see people in the store with children that are acting up, which has now been changed to "acting out", to allow for drug companies to charge you for pills to control your children so you do not have too, and hear other parents saying under their breath "I would tear {him or her} up." No you wouldn’t. I think I have spanked my oldest daughter once in her life, She can tell you what day it happened and why it happened, and it was many years ago, and henceforth both of my children are getting wonderful grades in school and have never been disciplined verbally or otherwise in school. But they know this, There are standing orders at their schools for discipline whether it be the paddle or otherwise. And interestingly enough, after a little and I mean a very little explanation, they understand why. Another thing is that everyone the history books teaches our children to respect lies to them and they know it. Presidents, political leaders, even religious leaders. In the information age it is easy for our children and ourselves to find truth. If their was television or internet when Franklin Roosevelt was running for president, would the people have elected a President in a wheelchair? Interestingly enough the modus operandi of the common Humanus Americanus(yeah I made that up) is to investigate after the fact. Try getting ahead of the game every once in a while. Open your eyes, close your mouth, and learn something now and then. They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. That is a good thing and a bad thing. The bad thing is that it is hard for us to change the way we do things. The good thing is that those who need to be scrutinized have a hard time changing the way they do things too.

I Just Don't Understand

I just left a comment on a post at monticellolive, and I have just got to say this. Have we come so dependent on whatever government we choose to believe is in control around here that we can not even prepare to save our own skins. Now I don't know much about anything, just ask anyone, but I do know that self-preservation is right up their on my "to-do" list. A comment was posted wondering why we do not have a warning system in Monticello for tornadoes. Now I do not know what happened to the siren that we used to have. I admit that, but this is a brave new world. For very little money you can purchase a small device that will scream "get under your house" if a storm is coming. I have one, you should too. Now my reason for having one is less desperate. Storms don't bother me. If you look in the top right corner you will see that. I do however remember the day when a tornado dropped a house on my sister........."insert vague Wizard of Oz what the heck is he talking about reference here--------->. Thanks by the way to the folks at Dad's Place for great coffee and company on Saturday. I really enjoyed it. Now back to what I was saying, it is not the responsibility of the fire department to provide you with fire extinguishers and smoke alarms, even though they do sometimes, and it is not their responsibility to change the battery for you every thirty days. You must......no let me rephrase......it is your responsibility as a citizen to take responsibility for yourself now and then. You will change the oil in your car, that costs more than one of these devices. You will go out to eat, that costs more, of course so does a gallon or two of gas these days. Some say if God wants me he will get me no matter what precaution I take. To you I leave this:

A man was caught in a flood. As the water got up to his porch a man came by in a boat and asked him to come with him. The trapped man said "the Lord will save me"
As the water got to the edge of the roof another boat came and once again the man said "the Lord will save me"
Soon the water was above the roof and the man was barely hanging on, a helicopter hovered overhead and the man screamed "THE LORD WILL SAVE ME"
After drowning the man went to heaven and asked the Lord why he didn't save him and the Lord said "I sent two boats and a helicopter"

In other words........well, you know the rest.

Ahh To Be Young.

I am sitting here watching a game of darts. Now I know you are saying to yourself, "why would anyone watch darts?" Believe it or not it is rather interesting even if I don't understand exactly what is going on. There are two lanes and four people and I can only assume they accumulate points between the two of members of the team. The interesting thing is that is good clean fun. That is something that you do not see very often anymore. People walk by outside and look in and they see good clean fun happening and they don't exactly know what to do or say. You can see it in their eyes. I am witnessing teenagers and adults playing darts with each other and having fun. Can it be possible. Is it voodoo. I must continue to investigate. After many years in the media I have become a student of everything around me. I watch people and their reactions to what is going on around them and how they react to different situations that they encounter. This is what I live for. For the record, I don't get out of the house much as many of you already know. I suppose this is my first adventure out in several weeks. Feels pretty good actually.