What do Plaxico and Israel have in common?

All Things Considered (NPR again) ran this story the other day. It's worth listening to since the small synopsis which accompanies the voice link only details the most outrageous of Hamas' claims and doesn't convey the full flavor of the madhouse that is the Hamas government.

They will have you believe that Israeli collaborators inside the Gaza strip are being paid by Israel to fire rockets into their towns and kill Israelis. This perfectly reflects arab thinking, showing the world that they would not quail at killing their own if it advanced their agenda of forced conversions and world domination. In practically the same breath, they cry about the death of their young murderers or future murderers. Crocodile tears! They couldn't care less about the loss of life of "innocent" (their characterization) people, only about the loss of good fighting power.

Have you ever noticed that any Israeli attack, no matter how minor, is claimed to have killed women and children and to have hit ambulances, schools and hospitals. These are mostly lies. Maybe now with this most preposterous of all arab claims, the world will see what mendacious and bloodthirsty savages they really are.

I'm not the first one to think this of them. During the riots in Palestine in 1929, the British High Commissioner of Palestine, who had been in England during the riots had this to say when he returned to the carnage:

I have returned from the United Kingdom to find to my distress the country in a state of disorder and a prey to unlawful violence. I have learned with horror of the atrocious acts committed by bodies of ruthless and blood-thirsty evil-doers, of savage murders perpetrated upon defenceless members of the Jewish population regardless of age or sex, accompanied as at Hebron, by acts of unspeakable savagery, of the burning of farms and houses in town and country and of the looting and destruction of property. These crimes have brought upon their authors the execration of all civilized peoples throughout the world.

These were the words of Sir John Herbert Chancellor who was later instrumental in supporting the Shaw commission's attempt to change the meaning of the Balfour declaration and to limit jewish immigration into mandated Palestine. All the more reason to believe him. So should we, execrate the foul seed of these original murderers.

What is truly galling is that the arabs, a small minority in New York City, have the effrontery to demonstrate in favor of a terrorist organization without fear of criminal penalties. I hope that Michael Bloomberg is as wise as an early predecessor who, while allowing a Nazi rally in Madison Square Garden, identified every attendee for use later when we were at war with the Germans.

We might need to know who these demonstrators are if we are again attacked as in 9/11.

Where have you gone, Ubbie?

It appears that the renown secret commenter, Dr. Uhberschnitzel has left the building. The once controversial writer of comments has disappeared from the blog.



The good Doctor had been a follower, and diligent commenter on all things bloggish, but the gauntlet was both thrown and accepted, and our friend the Extra Cut of Meat has given up the challenge.



Let me explain. There was much ado and hoopla as to who the mysterious doctor was, and accusations flew fast and furious, as did the denials and the turkey legs. However, like the Biblical Esther of old, Ubbie would not reveal himself, and a challenge was issued to this Doctor, and his sidekick, the Soupy one, to try and figure out who the sylph ( possibly both definitions applying) was.

The challenge accepted and the game afoot, Doc Ubbie continued to comment, but the comments were held to try and get a communique from him. This did not materialize, and in a fit of pique, the comments stopped and Sir Schnitzel removed him/herself from the followers list. I assume as revenge for the held comments, since it is, of course, a source of prestige for the blogger to have public followers.

So we say a fond farewell to the good Doctor Uhberschnitzel, it was nice to have you, even if the others did not get to see you comments, I did, and enjoyed them. Please remember you are always welcome to return, just say the word.

Your secret, should you choose to reveal yourself, shall remain with me, but your comments shall once again be shared with the world.

The Law of the Land

I recently vented my spleen a bit about the insanity of what I thought was the UN's Law of the Sea. Someone out there, CaitlynA, corrected me and let me know that the stupidity I was railing against was the product not of the UN but of the country, (in this case Germany) who let captured pirates go, allowing them to resume their nefarious depredations as soon as they could get new weapons and suitable transportation.

I stand corrected.

Being corrected, I now started a new search for the US law which governs piracy and disposal of captured pirates. I saw some information regarding the concept of universal jurisdiction but I have been unable to find what I am looking for. It is probably somewhere in the US Code.

So CaitlynA, since you seem quite knowledgeable about this issue and if you are still monitoring this blog, please let me know where, if anywhere, there is any federal statute regarding piracy on the high seas.

Home born into or picked

I have to give equal time. I am on my way to another celebration of the holidays, this time with Lovey's family. I feel it is only fair to discuss them a bit, specifically since one of her siblings has been sending me a steady stream of e-mails, that have been getting nastier and nastier, for weeks that I haven't mentioned her yet. So here it is.

Yo, nice party you had a few weeks back. You do a nice shindig, and you should be able to have many more. I am sure today's event will be up to snuff as well.

OK, enough aboiut her, now on to the rest of the bunch. They are a family that is laid back, (mostly) non-judgmental, giving and pleasant. And a whole HECK of a lot quieter than mine. People I am always happy to be around and equally proud to say I know them.

Hopefully, this will all be true reciprocally after the party today as well

There's no place like home

I am sitting here watching a family play, which is the culmination of a weekend spent with the family. All I can say is for all the petty fights and slights that can happen over the course of familial life, there still is nothing like getting together with family.

The play, which is a take on Amelia Bedilia, has some people playing in character and others acting. Either way, it is entertaining, and shows the creativity of the kids, which really are the natural offshoots of the parents.

Parents (and Grandparents) who are creative, artistic, interesting, opinionated, intelligent and funny.

I am proud to be part of this family, warts and all.

Piracy IV

I can't believe this. The German government doesn't want to get involved in prosecuting pirates, nor does any other government because of the arcane (colossally stupid in my opinion) rules that apply to pirates even when caught in the act of piracy. No one wants the hassle of a trial and jurisdictional disputes.

It may keep the world's armed forces busy, but the problem of piracy isn't going to be solved anytime soon until they start killing pirates on the spot. There is a need for a new Law of the Sea convention. If you were one of these pirates released by the Germans, would you decide to give it up?

I wouldn't.

City vs country

Wolfman - You city slickers would have to get out your car and go to the bronx zoo then hassle for a parking space there before you could view something like this

It's right out my door.

Mayor Moron, Please stop the madness

I had the lovely opportunity to see that skunk, Mayor Bloomberg's, city up close this morning and I feel that it is a microcosm of what is wrong with New York City.

I was driving west on 38th Street attempting to cross 3rd Avenue. The traffic was backed up from Lexington, causing spillback into 3rd. There were four cops (or faux cops, I'm not sure) standing on the southwest corner. Just waiting for some hapless rube to venture across under the mistaken theory that traffic actually moves in New York City. When they get stuck in the intersection, these bastions of law and order stroll over to the car and give them a $115 ticket for blocking the box.

Now I have a bunch of issues with this. First of all, the fact that a traffic agent has the authority to issue what used to be a moving violation is rife with the ability for fraud in that the brownies can just write down plate numbers and issue phantom tickets, something that isn't really that far-fetched given the caliber of these city employees ( and past history).

But what really annoys me is that if even one of these idiots had gone one block to direct traffic, there wouldn't be a spillback issue. But that is not the goal of Napoleon Mike. His goal is to squeeze as much money out of every already suffering New Yorker, and g-d forbid a tourist should be silly enough to think that he can drive or park in midtown Manhattan!

Everyone in the City is crying that the tourists aren't coming, and they are losing millions in tax revenue, but what do they expect, when they make being in the City inhospitable, inconvenient and expensive beyond belief.


Sometimes I'm glad to be a suburbanite

Back to basics

With the advent of the new administration, educational policy is again up for discussion and review.

Randi Weigarten, the new president of the American Federation of Teachers and long-time president of New York's United Federation of teachers recently spoke at the National Press Club and it was reported that "In light of serious budget constraints, Weingarten called for targeted investments and policies that challenge schools, provide them the tools they need and demand they do the very best for all children. 'No cutbacks are as harmful as cutting back on our children's futures,' "

Weingarten is an extreme left-wing self-proclaimed alternative lifestylist whose program has always been to protect her turf by advocating against any competition to public schools, and for teachers' rights to their own comfy fiddle at the expense of almost everyone else including, first and foremost, students.

It therefore seems a bit hypocritical of her to proclaim that budgetary constraints will result in "cutting back on our children's futures," None other than Jonathan Alter, Newsweek's leftest of leftist columnists, has written two columns in the past 6 months lambasting the teachers' union's resistance to proven techniques to improve education in the United States. If someone like that can take on one of liberalism' s most sacred cows, there is hope for America. Column 1 Column 2

I have some suggestions for advancing education even in times of government cutbacks.

1. Eliminate all political indoctrination courses such as black history, environmentalism, political correctness, gay tolerance and the like, subjects of very little educational value and a waste of students' and teachers' most precious possessions, time.

2. Concentrate on the important subjects. English language skills, math, sciences, history and government.

3. Do away with tenure. Tenure, which is unique to the education field, is the number one reason why our children don't learn.

4. Establish metrics in our school systems and use them as standards to promote or demote at all levels of the education system.

It took Richard Nixon to thaw the 25 year chill with China. Wouldn't it be ironic if Obama would preside over the excelling of American education simultaneously with the demise of American trade unions?

Look at me, I'm wonderful

Well, here I am again doing a night shift. (There is an irony here, see if you can spot it). But this time I have a different spin on the good deeds angle. Earlier this evening I was travelling on Maple Avenue when the car in front of me abruptly stopped to pick up a hitchhiker. Now this common problem of kids hitchhiking is for another time, and perhaps a different blog (that is or will be linked) but for now my point is this. Some dude feels that he is doing some good deed, so because of that, he feels that he is so important that common courtesy and the rules and etiquette of the road don't apply to him. No signal, no pulling over to the side, just stop, and the heck with the rest of the world, and everyone around me, I am doing a good deed. See me do the good deed and bask in my glory. .

It is dangerous, selfish and stupid to do that, and something - just don't get.

Please feel free to enlighten me (I'm sure someone will

Calling Border Control

About 2 months ago, I had the wonderful fortune of having to go across town on foot. In order to get there, I had to cut through a school. This school consisted of a couple of baseball fields, with a soccer field in between, then a slight hill after a service road past the back of the school that leads to another soccer field, then out into a dead end.

So often when I have to walk to the other side of town, this is my usual route. The only drawback are the geese. Canadian, to be specific, those winged rodents that seen to inhabit most of our open green spaces.

Well, on this particular Saturday morning, I was both struck by the basically belligerent posture of the geese, and frankly, a little frightened.

You see, as I went past the first set of fields, the geese decided that I was worth checking out, so some of them started moving towards my intended path, slowly & surreptitiously, not making eye contact, and with little quackling like noises. As I got closer, they got more of their friends involved, but again, just a bit.

I stared them down, singing g-d save the queen to pacify them a bit, and went up the hill, with just a small guard escorting me. As I looked over, I noticed a small gaggle of young geese behind the building, smoking with the ground littered with bottles of Labatts ale (They ARE Canadian, you know). I picked up the pace a bit, and thought I had lost them when I cleared the hill, only to find the scene repeated on the upper field as well.

Or the whole scenario could have been exacerbated by the three shots of liquid "fortification" I had to deal with the issue I was walking towards.

Either way, when I had the same. Unfortunate opportunity to go cross town again this past week, I noticed that...

THEY WERE GONE!!!!

Yup, the geese had left. After years of them happily staying put throughout the winter, this bunch finally decided to, I assume, head for warmer climes for the winter like all good geese do. Maybe it was the cold, the jump in the cigarette tax, or some do-gooder decided to get them all into a shelter and rehab/training center for wayward geese, but for now, I can cross the fields without fear of my ankles being pecked black and blue.

However, they did leave behind little green reminders.

Drop the other one, Stephen

Many of you remember Bernie Goetz and his season is coming up. In fact, the anniversary date of his ascent to fame is shortly coming up, December 22nd. For those of you who never heard of Bernie he was the Subway Vigilante who shot and injured four teen age thugs on a subway train in self defense. This was big and happy news in crime weary New York, and some members of my family declared a holiday in recognition of his feat.

The holiday had previously been established by the United States and was to have been officially celebrated a few weeks after the incident albeit for a different purpose. The local school board, in grudging compliance with the new vacation day, sent us a letter informing us that to their chagrin, there would be no bus service on January 15 since it was now a holiday. The sense of the communication was that (although the school board regularly cancelled bus service at the drop of a snowflake, especially when the public schools were not in session) they regretted the need to comply with government directives that required them to close the schools and cancel bus service on that day and we would have to find other means of getting our children to their private schools. I posted the letter on our refrigerator door and within a short time after posting, the name of the holiday had been crossed out and in its place the words "Bernie Goetz Hero Day" had been penciled in.

That was 24 years ago. Today, I am taking the liberty of proposing another name change for the holiday, " Stephen Millies Shoe Day." Much as the Iraqi public has come out onto the streets of Bagdad to make common cause with the reporter who threw his shoes at president Bush, I propose that we honor this american hero of the common man who had the courage to stand up to the gangsters liars and thugs who run the MTA and are bleeding the region dry in pursuit of their own enrichment.

Obviously, the incident in Iraq has already caused a change to our culture to include shoes and feet as weapons of mass contempt.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Today is the 238th birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven. For all the time that has passed since he was born, his music is still played, performed and listened to by a large coterie of devoted fans.

Music is intangible, but the pleasure it conveys is very real. Most people know only his grander works; his symphonies, especially the ninth and also the 5th as well as his piano concertos are staples among those who don't listen to a lot of orchestral music. They should try his cello sonatas, trios and string quartets - delicacies akin to truffle and cardamom - which are truly the essence of his genius.

So let's wish a Happy Birthday to Ludwig and hope for many returns of the day

What are they smoking?

The tendency of our government and perhaps all governments throughout history is to use a crisis to advance their agenda which would not fly in ordinary times. A few examples:

• In 1857 the Sepoy mutiny allowed the British government to establish its direct rule over all of India.

• The murder of Kirov (Mayor of Leningrad and rival of Stalin) brought on the communist terror in 1934.

• The assassination of Von Rath by Herschel Grenzspan in Paris in 1938 ushered in the officially sanctioned violence against the Jews in Germany.

The US government now in 2008 is on the brink of responding to another crisis in a similar, if not as drastic, way, complicated by the impending change of a government with one agenda, to another with a diametrically opposed one.

The US congress in a fit of self delusion has gotten it into their minds that if only the auto companies had made electric hybrid vehicles instead of SUV's their current problems would not exist. They also insist that the way to stimulate the economy is to pour public money into the development of pie-in-the-sky technologies geared to causing the extinction of carbon emissions. A noble goal perhaps, but one not calculated to doing much more than paying people to produce nothing. At least the New Deal, in its attempt to stimulate the economy, built Grand Coulee Dam and the Tennessee Valley projects thereby putting people to work while at the same time making cheap electricity available to rural communities. The current program is to make expensive electricity available to people who already have cheaper alternatives.

During the last recession, when unemployment became a problem, politicians called for more recycling of glass, plastic and paper residential trash which somehow would solve the nation's unemployment problems. The net benefit from this policy would have turned out to be an increase in sorter jobs, sorting plastic from glass and new paper from used paper, all minimum wage jobs. Create more garbage and we will put the nation to work hauling it away.

I fear that our latest economic crisis will be used to impose an environmentalist agenda upon the nation without creating any economic benefit. The agenda seeks, ultimately, to reverse the industrial progress we have made in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, which freed people worldwide from the drudgery of daily chores and increased their well being by providing an abundance of food, medicine and material goods. A reversal will serve to lower economic activity not increase it.

You shall not sacrifice our economy on the altar of tree huggers and animal rights!

Apocalypse Now

I am surprised by the seeming irrationality of the general public when it comes to the automobile industry bailout.

It is common knowledge that the US automobile companies account for a massive amount of concentrated power in the domestic economy. Millions of jobs are directly tied to their fortunes. Yet, the jealousy engendered by the previous successes of these companies is so irrational that most people outside the pale are willing to throw the baby out with the bathwater, or to paraphrase Samson, "Let me die with the auto companies!" Let them go bankrupt and the world and US economy will get its revenge on GM, Ford and Chrysler for manufacturing gas guzzling SUV's which made them a lot of money and made very many people happy.

An issue that has not even been mentioned in all the debate about the bailout is what happens to the auto companies' creditors when the they go bankrupt. There are many sizable companies whose sole customers are the auto manufacturers. (How this happens is a discussion for another blog) As soon as a petition for bankruptcy is filed, all payables are frozen and sometimes for years. That means that all first tier suppliers, which accounts for the bulk of the big 3's current liabilities will not be paid. Even if they had other customers, they would not be able to remain viable for very long without a source of cash. They would not be able to pay their suppliers (let's call them 2nd tier) and they in turn would not be able to pay their suppliers and so on. Bond holders will also not get paid giving another shock to the financial markets.

How much of this will we be able to sustain before we all succumb in one way or another?

I am not looking forward to such an Armageddon.

Bags, Bags, Everywhere, and Not an Ounce of Sense

I heard a blurb on the radio how some Rockland politician was holding a hearing on plastic bags. At first, I thought that this was to ban them, which actually was a hearing that this moron held last year, and this one was to impose ANOTHER fee on Rockland residents in the amount of twenty-five cents a bag. ( See the article here)



I live in Rockland, and I have to deal with the awful roads, terrible services, overcrowding because the local pols can't seem to ever say no, for whatever reason, and insane traffic because no one thought that if you add 10,000 families to the existing infrastructure without widening a single road, this might cause traffic.



Even more ridiculous is the the fact that for all the deficiencies in the services that we get or don't get in the county, we still have one of the highest Sales Tax rates, probably in the country, and if the voters have the audacity to say enough, and not approve some other ridiculous hike, they punish the citizens who are ALREADY paying by cutting services. ( Here I am talking about the reign of terror at the Finkelstein Public Library, but more on that at a later time.)

What this excuse for a human has proposed is a 25 cent tax on BOTH plastic AND paper bags, because of the facts that they fill up the landfills, even though paper has generally been deemed to be eco-friendly and bio-degradable. So that leads me to conclude a few things about this person, who had been entrusted with our environmental policy making.


Either :

1) She is a disingenuous politician who is trying to grandstand on one of the hot-button issues of the day, for personal and political gain.

or

2) She is a tree-hugging wacko, and does not care about the fact that people in the county are hurting financially, but is only concerned about the environment, to the absolute detriment of people.

or

3) She is a tax and spend liberal, looking to sneak another tax onto the poor Rockland constituency.



Whether you pick 1, 2 0r 3, it isn't good. I happened to hear about it ( again, listening with just half an ear) in passing on the news, and even then, had to look for the story afterwards. We need to be more vigilant about allowing these people to carry our their evil plans, dip into our pockets, or even to serve in office.

Otherwise they will legislate that the trees can vote, and there are even more of them than the ultra-orthodox.

Deadpan Alley

I listen to NPR. If you want to be informed and don't want to spend hours reading the newspapers, you can listen to NPR while driving to and from work and hear all you need to know about what's going on in the world. Other than that, I am not enamored of their editorial policy which manifests itself in 15 minutes of coverage to proponents of their point of view and about 10 seconds to the opposing side. They also choose to cover issues that appeal to left-wing political extremists with only the occasional story of interest to the right-wing.

Now I would have thought that my daughter-in-law who hails from just such a left-wing political background would love this station, especially "All Things Considered." Last summer I was driving her home and listening to NPR when she told me that the announcers and news readers had no inflection, showed no excitement or interest and she couldn't understand how I could keep listening to the station. I have become so used to this type of radio reporting that I didn't really understand what she was talking about and was surprised that she could talk in such a manner about the liberal holy of holies.

NPR has always had these little non-ads that are really ads in a format calculated to specifically skirt the ban on commercial advertisements broadcast on publicly funded radio. Public radio requires a specific format much like the "tombstone" ads that appear in the financial papers announcing a successful underwriting of a bond or stock which gets around the appearance of a solicitation by hewing to a set of standard rules. The radio format has the announcer saying that programming is supported by such and so who does this and that with more information at this phone number or that web site. Very straight laced. Every once in a while they manage to get a bit more information in than is strictly allowed and recently these extras have proliferated and the number of these adlets per hour have greatly increased.

I am guessing that the more the information contained in them increases, in order to stave off the possible accusation of commercializing these ads, the more they feel the need to announce them in the most deadpan inflection they can manage, making the regular news announcers seem frenetic by comparison.

Which leads me to the kicker. I have noticed that they now have one woman, with the most wooden aspect ever heard on broadcast radio, record all these ads. The ads are then played one after the other and have become more annoying than even the loudest most obnoxious window or car ads on commercial radio

Just one more reason to hate National Socialist Radio.

Blackberries for sale at ...... Pathmark???

I was sitting on Second Avenue this morning, as I was avoiding the parking lot that is the FDR ( purists, I KNOW its the HRD above 125th Street, get over it) and trying to shift and not get hit by a Sleepy's truck when I heard out of the corner of my ear the following part of a commercial

"... Blackberries, Blueberries and Cranberries.."

So this having caught my attention, I started listening, figuring that the Blackberry Phone Company ( again, purists, I KNOW that isn't the corporate name, just go with it) was putting out colored phones with different names. The ad continued..

" ... for $2.00..."

NOW my interest was really piqued, WOW, phones for 2 bucks! what a deal! Some Doorbuster, I wonder who is offering this deal ??? I started actively listening, while popping third gear and getting really close to that truck....

"... at Pathmark this week..."

of course, along with other wonderful deals on produce and sundry grocery items.


It just goes to show you how perception of every day items have been taken over with the digital age. Or that our reality is what we are thinking about. Or that we don't really pay attention to ads on the radio unless something grabs us, which is , of course, the basis of marketing.

NOT sent from my Blackberry, Blueberry, or Cranberry

Soupeater, we hardly know Ye

I am sitting at a dinner that I am somewhat obligated to attend through work. The way they conduct the program is, after a blowout shmorg, they serve a fish course on the table, then do the entire program, mostly by video, followed by glad handling and the main course, then you go home.

I tell you all this so you can understand how I have so much time to write this.

Now, I go to this dinner every year, so what, you might ask, is so special this year? And what's with the wacky title of this post??

I'll tell you.

I met a wife of a co-worker of Soupeater. She asked me if I saw his picture. I, of course, responded "what picture?". But before she could respond, another old friend of Soupeater asked me if I had seen the picture. Once again, same response from me.

Knowing the Soupy scribe as I do, I was sure he wasn't in the limelight as guest of honor. Not because he hadn't told me, that would not be out of character, but rather because being in the limelight would be out of character.

It turns out that he is part of the 50th year graduating class! Now, I knew that he attended the hallowed halls of the institution, had heard some stories about Brooklyn and the train rides there, but I never put it together in my mind that the school that is the focal point of my boss' efforts is the famous Soupeater's alma mater!

Just goes to show you how small the world is, and how little we really know about the people we (think) we know and love.

Well the lights are up now, so I gotta go be seen by my boss so I can go home.

It's the economy, stupid

I agree with SIL that the recent showing of the big 3 auto execs was a public relations disaster.

So now they have come back and done a 180 which, in my opinion, is still a disaster, not of arrogance but of meekness. I suppose the public is taken in, certainly enjoying, the grovelling of high persons brought low. They are receiving no compensation. They have abjured flying. They are driving "green" cars. The only cue they missed is that instead of staying 3 in a room at a suburban Red Roof Inn they are probably lodging in a luxury hotel. I wonder that the media haven't yet commented.

This is all window dressing and much of it, frankly, irrelevant. The automakers are not going to become profitable by making more "green" cars. There is little profit in them and they are harder to sell to the public because they are more expensive to make. The politicians love to hear this lip-service to environmentalism even though no one but bright eyed fanatics takes this seriously.

The bottom line is to avoid bankruptcy which would be an unmitigated disaster. As it is, high gas prices (which have mitigated somewhat) and the lack of credit have dealt the auto companies a double whammy. If they go bankrupt, it will add a third dimension to the problem in that no one will want to buy their cars. The resultant downward spiral is obvious: fewer cars built, fewer people have jobs, fewer people can afford cars, even fewer cars built, etc.

If the companies can get bailed out now, get their expenses under control, and negotiate with their unions, they have a chance that some day in the future people will again rush to buy trucks and SUV's. Even if that doesn't happen, a slow attrition will lessen the effects on the US economy. It's worth the risk to the taxpayer.

In the meantime, I'm offering either Waggoner, Mullaly, or Nardelli $10,000.00 a year to run my business.

Anonymous be gone!

Some quick housekeeping ( AGAIN???, Man, this guy must have the NEATEST house! Such a clean orderly person! Amazing!)


After discussions and upon the sound advice of SOUPEATER, the good Doctor has decided that henceforth, Anonymous comments will no longer be posted. The option will still be available, since I cannot delete just that portion of the comments without also cutting out the part to allow fake names. However, HENCEFORTH, ALL ANONYMOUS COMMENTS WILL BE REJECTED!!!!!


I'm sorry, but the feeling is that if you are not creative enough to at least come up with a fake name, then we are not interested is seeing what you have to say.

Now keep in mind, there have been stricter guidelines that were contemplated, but they were rejected at this point so as to protect the (not so) innocent. For a similar situation as this, see the current tortuous gyrations that the MTA is going through, as they do every few years.


First they say THE SKY IS FALLING!! THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT IS ENDING!! NO MORE TRAINS FOR YOU!!!
Then they propose insane cuts and rate hikes, only to "fall back" to a slightly less offensive policy, which they railroad ( nice metaphor, no?) through the legislature to put the screws to everyone, especially those who do not use the crappy system because it is neither convenient, reliable, nor cost efficient. But, as usual, I digress. Back to you people.

This is the policy that is going into effect now. If we feel that it is being further abused, then stricter guideline will be put into effect, which will force you dear readers to identify yourselves before allowing comments, and make you use just one fake name, so we know who you are and can find out where you live.

Feel free to comment on this, just pick a name, please.

Take That! So There!

I give up. If you read the earlier posts, you will see that my goal here was to be able to express thoughts without the abuse from family and friends that has been my lot in life. ( poor, poor me).

However, the abuse and sniping has reached crisis proportions, and I am not sure how much more I can take. I mean, I don't mind the comments on the blog for all to share, even the anonymous one (wimps!), However, when my e-mails start to come in fast and furious, when I am enjoying a dinner out, or trying to work, yelling at me for putting stuff on the blog, for not putting stuff on the blog, for mentioning people, for NOT mentioning people, ( you get the picture) it all becomes to much.

However, I believe that I shall persevere, since my overriding compulsion to write, along with my joy at seeing my words on the screen, shall be sufficient for me to tolerate all the attacks.

SO, I say to you, dear reader, commenter, complainer, sniper and kvetcher, ( hey, THERE'S an idea for a commenter name!) BRING IT ON!!!!

Just keep reading.

Would you buy a new car from Rick Waggoner, or maybe a plane?

The public outcry regarding the method of transportation selected by the big three auto executives to get to Washington two weeks ago, demonstrates the public's total cluelessness as to what the CEO of a supercorporation does.

I guess, given the current set of reduced circumstances among many members of the populace and the CEO's purpose in coming to Washington, it's understandable that some people would be upset. The spectacle of company executives begging the taxpayers to lend them $25 billion dollars because of their utter failure to keep their companies solvent while living the lifestyle of a sybarite is sure to increase feelings of enmity and jealousy. The proper thing for a beggar to do is to dampen his public display of luxury and leisure.

I ask you, what do you think when a collector drives up in a late model car and walks through your House of Worship with his hand out?

And yet, they are not begging for themselves. They have thousands of suppliers, tens of thousands of investors, hundreds of thousands of employees whose continued welfare depends on their ability to get bailed out by the government. They get paid large salaries but they have awesome responsibilities. They work many more hours a day than most workers and need that time to manage the vast empires for which they are responsible. If I were an investor in GM I certainly wouldn't want Rick Wagonner to waste precious hours sitting around an airport waiting to hop a plane that never arrives because of a traffic jam at DTW. A private jet would certainly save about 2 hours of his time which could be better spent running GM than sitting around and squirming.

One of my co-workers is convinced that CEO's do nothing for their pay. So why did Ford offer Alan Mullaly what they did to do nothing but sit around and play golf? The Ford family certainly didn't have any previous relationship with him that would justify such an arrangement. The obvious answer is that the job is a tough one and requires 24 hour dedication which sometimes isn't even enough.

Ah, but you say, "they're not doing a very good job, they made big SUV's and trucks and didn't make the little green cars that the whole world has been desperate to buy (not at current prices, though) for the last 6 months." True, right now everyone wants smaller cars. But the small cars aren't profitable and if the big three had made only small cars they would be in even worse shape than they are now. The trucks and SUV's were very profitable. No one could foresee the wild runup in oil prices. (The pundits are still predicting $200.00 oil like $1000 gold that has been predicted for the past quarter century.)

Many years ago, I heard a discussion which pointed out that the global auto industry would have overcapacity for many years in the future. Add to that
the big three's legacy costs their previous managements promised the unions, costs which the Japanese don't have, and you can see why they can't make money.

The country would have been better served had the news media not made such a stir about how these executives got to Washington, but at least the public got its schadenfreude.

So now they're all driving to Washington and working for $1 a year.

I wouldn't run a lemonade stand for $1 a year.

green friday II

I have received some grief for a throwaway line about the unfortunate behavior of some animals last Friday at a Walmart in Long Island. I personally no longer go shopping that early, partially because I do not wish to be associated with the type of insane shopper that would be so hell bent on getting into a store that they would trample someone, and partially because I think showing our children that shopping for a bargain is so important that it requires herculean activities to accomplish is the wrong message to send to my children.


To continue along with that thought, as previously stated, I enjoy the shopping experience of black Friday, along with getting the steal of a deal, and the camaraderie of fellow shoppers looking forward expectantly to the holiday season, and the concomitant good cheer. However, there is naturally a down side to the day as well, namely the greed, selfishness, and rudeness that led to the horrific event of last Friday.

On an economic note, although the news was reporting a 7% increase in sales, I suspect it is an indication that more people went to get the good deals instead of shopping later, and that the ultimate numbers will be lower, as will the future discounts as we go through the season. That's it for my prognosticating, for more, see what MBB or Soupeater have to say.



I have to go now and protect what I bought from being returned.

N Day

Today was N day. During my usual exercise walks in Englewood, I stop by the local Shop Rite most days to buy some lunch or whatever I need for the house. Today I ran across two of my nieces wheeling their babies and assorted comestibles in shopping carts down Shop Rite's aisles.

There are some people who have very little family and some, even with big families, whose close relatives live far away; in another state or even in another country. They don't have opportunities to see their kin by chance. It all has to be pre-arranged.

I count it as one of my blessings that wherever I go, I constantly meet up with either a sibling or a child or a grandchild or nephew or niece. It's a great feeling.

A RUSH TO DISASTER

Listening to the news points up the similarities between now and the period of the late twenties and early thirties. I don't want to extend this out further because if history repeats itself in gross outlines, the result is too terrible to contemplate.

Here is what is happening:

The stock market is a shadow of its former self and while some people can make money riding it up and down, there is nothing in the long term outlook that would indicate any reason for a return to former price levels. The economy, while not quite in the doldrums bodes no good for the future financial welfare of a great number of American citizens. Poverty and loss of domicile stares whole populations in the face.

Revolutionaries in Thailand have been effective in scaring the current government into doing nothing. At present, Bangkok airport is mobbed by 100,000 protesters who will not leave until their demand for the resignation of the government is met. The problem is that they have no program to replace it with another government, so the alternative is complete anarchy.

In Mumbai, hundreds of people have been killed in an orgy of random gunfire by a mere handful of gunmen whose only aim was to wound and kill. At least the Indian commandos have not been squeamish about killing the killers although it would have been helpful if they had been able to catch more than one gunman alive. Of course, given the state of the world's 21st century mentality, the one remaining killer will probably live longer than some of our healthy nonagenarians.

Off the coast of Somalia pirates are holding what now amounts to hundreds of hostages which makes it more and more difficult to put a stop to this egregious crime. Each new piracy protects the pirates even more as they increase their prisoners whose lives are the pirates' insurance policies. Just today, it was reported that the pirates have stated that they will never be stopped. How the entire armed might of the world can be brought to quail before the threats of neanderthal savages is an open miracle not having been duplicated since the splitting of the red sea.

The United States and the rest of the world is in the hands of homosexuals and lesbians.Every health and social issue is driven by their need to justify and promote their corrupt morality.

In a few weeks the US will hold its presidential inauguration ceremony. There is widespread fear in the security community, especially in light of the recent Mumbai attacks, that a similar, unanticipated attack will take place in Washington. The incoming president is a weak kneed amateur, completely out of his depths and clueless to what needs to be done who leads with smooth talk and whose primary concern is not the economy but the way we treat our prisoners who have fallen into our net by actively carrying out a program of terror and savagery. Unless our decent leaders realize that tough times require tough responses for the good of all humanity, the worst people will get power and use it to be tough for their own benefit. The leaders of Burma (Myanmar) control their country. They prove the rule.

All over the world there is a tendency toward chaos, uncertainty and anarchy. With the exception of George Bush, Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy the world's leaders are too timid to talk about getting tough, much less to do so.

The last time this happened? You guessed it: the late twenties and early thirties. The newly minted democracies of the time and the balkanization of Europe and the middle east, coupled with a disgust for large scale war and a stagnant shrunken economy led to near anarchy and street fighting which in turn led to a reaction against all forms of weak, hand wringing, representative governments and the strengthening of governments. You all know what happened then.

Unless we become as tough as our enemies, they will bring us all down. The scene is set for the world to become less tolerant because people will always choose reactionary dictatorship over lawlessness and anarchy. That is not to say that communism, fascism and nazism is lawful. A point in their favor is that they impose order on their nations. Even if the people on top are lawless, the majority of the people will be forced to become law abiding no matter how harsh the laws.

May G-d help us all.

Green Friday

Black Friday is one of my favorite days of the year.I eagerly wait for this day, ready to purchase all the things I have had my eye on since the last Black Friday. After (usually) collecting all my flyers, and studying and comparing them, I am ready to shop.

Walmart first, where I am happy to say the only thing that got trampled were any dreams of a Garmin
GPS for less than $100. Then a quick stop into Shoprite next door for some soda on sale. I have NEVER, and I mean never, not even at 3 in the morning type never, seen the store that empty. The parking lot was full, but no one was in Shoprite. 2 checkout lanes, and I was the only person in the store checking out.

After a stop at home to drop round 1 of the purchasesd
, it was on to the big leagues, the MALL.

I was working at a definite disadvantage this year in that I had not properly perused the various flyers. However after some scavengerring, I found the flyers I needed in Best Buy, but nothing struck my fancy. However, I scored a camera in Staples (the last one!) But the rest of the mall was a bust. Sears and Home Depot had both flyers and product, and the shopping day came to a successful, if expensive, end.

Now Lovey will retrace my route and return everything.

happy turkey day

So its thanksgiving and I am practicing for tomorrow by waiting on line with Lovey in the grocery store. I really should be helping her unload the cart, but I'll just tell her I am responding to a very important e-mail.


You know, the world at large is completely nuts with the way they treat the holiday meal. I was talking to a couple of people and asked them what they were doing for the holiday. One told me he was having six (WOW! SIX!!) adults and the other told me she was having seven adults AND one child (CAN YOU IMAGINE?????) They were both quite pleased with themselves at what appeared to be this outstanding number of people.

Then I heard on the radio that someone didn't have anyone so she put out a plea on the net, and now is having 30 people. That IS a lot of people, but what was surprising about this story was the amount of food she was making for 30 peeps. I think in was like 7 turkeys, some hams, too many sides, and two dozen pies. This is clearly someone who does not entertain very often.

Now, I'm my circles, 8 people for a holiday type meal is really no big deal, and can happen for a whole weekend. 30 people is a crowd, but each one doesn't need their own pie! Just goes to show you that people who don't entertain often have no concept of portion size, or that each food item is not mutually exclusive of every other item. (Although that may be a universal hostess mistake).

Well, I've just been asked to bag the groceries, enjoy the turkey, no matter how much you eat.

Here's the thing ( as promised)

I remembered. I had help though. In fact, the same reason why I thought of it in the first place.

Waffles

I shall explain.

I got out of the shower yesterday and the house smelled deliciously like waffles. Lovey had picked them up on sale, and was making them for the kids. That reminded me of breakfast by my grandmother. I used to stay overnight once a week with Oma when I was in high school in the City. Part of the allure of staying over with Oma was that she had a TV! with cable! But the real treats were her cooking. Anyone who know her knew she was a heckuva cook, and she knew how to feed you, like all good old-world grandmothers. And though her dinners were superb, for a kid, breakfast was really special.

The first reason was because she would make a "Floofy" Omelet. For those of you who may not know what this is, it is an omelet with the egg whites separated then beaten fluffy, the yolk folded back in, ( which was a sight to watch all by itself) and the egg fried covered. Amazing. However, an even bigger highlight were the insignificant frozen waffles. What made them special was that we didn't have them at home, it was a special treat reserved for visits to Oma, with syrup and butter.

As I got out of the shower and was transported back to my youth, High School , my Oma, and life, it was nostalgic. I immediately wanted to write about it, but forgot what it was until this morning, when our IcebergCarwash guest must have requested a repeat performance of breakfast from yesterday, and once again, the lovely smell of waffles pervaded the house.

(By the way, if you must have houseguests, I highly recommend this one. Quiet, polite, easy. They must be doing something right over there at the 'Wash in between posts.)

Amazing what unexpected benefits you can get out of 3 boxes for $5.00.

PIRACY III

It's gratifying to know that in our humane, progressive, civilized world piracy is no longer such a serious crime. Click here: piracy


This will give law enforcement and government the resources to go after the really dangerous criminals, like those who allow their cows to fart.>

And another thing...... (maybe)

This is a two parter, so keep reading until the end.



First of all, I have been getting significant grief over my choice of title for the little woman. Specifically from Mrs. Aufshnit, AKA Lady G. So I have decided to change the term of endearment from BAC to Lovey. Please make a note of it.



Now, on to the main point here.

I forgot my main point.

This has now happened to me twice. I had some extraordinary insight into our mundane lives to entertain you with and make you think outside the box, but when I went to write it, I could not remember what it was.

Rest assured, it was both brilliant and pithy, but now it is gone into the ether of my aging mind. I have tried all day to remember it, but it still eludes me.

The only reason why I remember the first part is because I wrote it down ( on the "berry, of course) before the thought could slip away, and because it is a thought that I have been percolating with for days. but I never got to the second part, and now the ravages of time have caught up with me.

So bear with me, dear readers, and it might come back in time. Until then, perhaps I should get some sleep.

Calling Walt Knirps, Private Eye

We have all been wondering over here what and/or who the elusive, but combatative and verbose (of late) Doctor Uhberschnitzel is.

At first, the conventional wisdom was that it was a relative of mine by marriage, but which one, no one was sure. As each relative by blood that picked those relatives by marriage denied vehemently that it was their respective spouse, two thoughts came out. (1) It is NOT a relative by marriage, or, (2) My siblings are lying to me.

Either way, the search continues, and as the suspicions are mounting, there is a desperate need to figure this out before disaster strikes at the upcoming family gathering for the holidays, in the form of accusations flying fast and furious, followed by pieces of animal, stuffing, cutlery, dishes, clothing, and possibly hanks of hair. ( OH, THE HUMANITY, HIDE THE CHILDREN!!!!)

So in order to prevent this horrible (except for the protagonist herein) scenario from playing itself out, I have decided to try to get into the psyche of this commenter, and I have done some research.

It hasn’t really yielded anything useful.

But here goes anyway.

Uhber, or the correct Eglishification ( homage to soupeater) of Uber is a cognate of both Latin super and Greek ύπερ (hyper), as well as English over (as in "overkill"). During the 2000s, über also became a synonym for super;

While a schnitzel is usually meant to refer to a veal cutlet, we know better that it means cutlet in general, German, from Middle High German snitzel, diminutive of sniz, slice, from snitzen, to carve, frequentative of sn den, to cut, from Old High German sn dan.]

( both cites from The Free Dictionary )

So this much we know.

( 1) the commenter is probably human
(2) Either male or female
(3) considers him or herself a superlative slice of something
(4) might be German,
(5) might have a relationship with someone German or of German extraction
(6) None of the foregoing ( 3 & 4, is still probably human)
(7) is playing on both the German food groups and professional aspects of the blog name, so has a sense of humor, or at least, of irony
(8) owns or has access to a computer
(9) can read and write.

So, based on my deductive powers of reasoning, brilliantly on display here for all of you to see, I have narrowed it down.

To at least 27,000,000 people.

Watch out Doctor Hyperslice, I am on to you.

the power of the pen

Spent the weekend at some friends let's call them the Aufshnits. Well actually, we had a function in their town, so we just slept there, however, we have spent time with them in the past.

Now, these are good friends, but we don't always agree on everything. Like blogging, or child rearing. For example. I don't think it is effective parenting to shout from the couch that you are going to kill the misbehaving child across the room without getting up. If you are going to threaten them, at least get up and make a show of it.

Even so, ultimately, we all want the same things, like our kids to be well adjusted and happy, so I guess we will just agree to disagree, and hopefully remain friends.

They must not mean me.... or do they

I'm laying down here in the ambulance garage doing a night shift, 12-3. I look up at the wall and someone has put up a sign that says "Remember! No good deed goes unpunished!".

Now, I've never subscribed to that theory, and in fact, I don't really understand or appreciate it, (although I have felt that way a time or two nonetheless), but to put it up in a volunteer room, I just don't get it. I mean, is someone trying to get people to stop volunteering? Do they know something I don't? Are they privy to the workings of a higher Authority and just wish to share it with the uninformed, unwashed masses? Or is someone just incredibly stupid and unthinking?

I have no idea, bit I'm gonna try to catch some shut-eye. Just something to think about, I guess.

I'll let you know how it turns out, stay tuned...

Redux Twice

I feel compelled to write so that all of you who have become used to witty repartee on the blogs ( this one and icebergcarwash) wont be starved for entertainment while the icees are limiting their posts.

So I went into the archives, and this one popped out. ( WHY do I have archives, when i have only been doing this for less than a month????? good question, packratisis, I guess. Again, for another time.)

I was listening to two comedians who currently have books out talk about the craft of writing humorously ( here he goes AGAIN, talking about the process, what is WRONG with this guy???). I found it both fascinating and elucidating, as I find myself in a similar position. I love the idea of putting forth my brilliant observations and thoughts, but I also feel tremendous pressure to maintain the level of funny that seems to be expected of me.

I find the craft of putting words on paper and either transporting someone to a fantasy world, provoking them to think, make them laugh, or just entertaining them, to be an incredible talent. Especially when one continues to think about what they read long after they put down the book ( or in today's world, got up from the computer, or closed their "berries).

It always amazes me that a good author can entertain you in any genre that they write in. Like a science fiction writer reminiscing about his past will still be well written and pull you in. I really should take lessons in the craft of writing on my way to my previously stated goal of the great American novel.


Now as much as I enjoy the comments, and the give and take, as well as driving up my CPP, ( see the icebergs for this one, but make sure you are awake and have time), I feel I must make a complete left turn here ,and once again address my myriad critics from yesterday's missive, Please Hold for the Next Available Operator and of course, its comments, as well as some housekeeping comments in general.

First of all, I am aware of how to get around the rules, but this is a public blog, so why would I write that I am doing something that can be considered wrong???? I am also well aware of the outsourcing issue, I WAS JUST COMMENTING ON MY EXPERIENCE, finally, I was also aware that there was probably a rule against using a coupon twice, as I stated, but felt it was silly. So read and read between the lines so your comments will remain incisive and on point.

Furthermore, although people are really creative with the names they use, that they are as good as anonymous, there are still those of you that post anonymously. I allow it, but would appreciate names, and the same ones for posts, so I can track you. ( heh heh, rubbing hands together) Also, if you are gonna sign your post, USE THAT AS YOUR NAME, and as long as I am on THAT topic, one doctor of food here is probably enough, and what is an Uhberschnitzel anyway???

Please hold for the next available operator

Well, it finally happened to me. I’ve been “customer serviced”. I now feel like a true American. Here’s what happened.

I have had a digital camera since 2005. In that time, my family has never refrained from taking pictures, but you wouldn’t know it from looking at the family albums. It appears that my entire family is frozen in 2004. No pictures, except for the kid’s blurry ones from the disposable cameras in camp. Lots of pictures of beds, and pimply kids.

So, BAC has been after me for a long time to get the pictures developed. Let’s go to Walmart, Costco, whatever. I wanted to save money and do it online. Finally, about two weeks ago, we got together and put 335 pictures on line. I went to print them out, and shipping was $16.00 on top of the cost. I figured I would wait for a free shipping special.

Sure enough, yesterday, I get the e-mail, free shipping. Then my entire family, who collectively think that I can’t get out of a room unless the door is marked EXIT, felt compelled to tell me that there was free shipping yesterday. I got the hint.

However, as my incompetence is apparently legendary and all pervasive, we decided that BAC would order the prints already uploaded to the site, and I would scour all my files for additional pictures.

Turns out, I found around 1,300 other pictures, which I whittled down to 850. I uploaded them, which took about 2 hours to run, and then the fun started.

First, either because the promotion was so successful, or because there were a lot of pictures, the website kept freezing my computer. After three shut downs, and removal of some programs ( “ what the heck is that for??”) I went to a different computer. Very slow, but it worked. I got to checkout, put in the coupon code, and…

No dice.

Apparently, you can only use a coupon once per account. Sounds a little silly to me, it’s the same day, same account, same address same info. So I figured that we are a service society, and happy customers are repeat customers, I"ll just call customer service, and they will graciously allow me to use the coupon.

So I call the service center, and a very cheery recording tells me that due to the successful nature of the promotion ( and I guess the complete incompetence of the internet using picture taking pubic) there is a one hour wait.

I then figure that I will just upload the pictures somewhere else while I wait. After ten minutes someone picks up the phone. However, my elation was immediately deflated by two things. One, the significant hiss in the background, and two, the accent of the fine gentleman who answered the phone. Suffice it to say that even though he gave his name as Bob, is was clearly more like Punwbrahamja so we will just call him Punjab.

Well, he was very very sorry for my inconvenience and would try to do everything he could to help me with my problem, and how are you today. (please use your best 7-11 accent for the previous sentence)

Well, the outcome was as I expected. “So sorry, we cannot do anything for you once you have used the code. “ But then he really threw me. He asked me if I would like to answer a short survey on the company. I was completely flabbergasted. They tell you to go to hell ( politely, of course), then they want your opinion! The disconnect of these people is mind boggling. I think I might have done better with an automated system using voice recognition, I certainly could not have done worse. And that would REALLY save the companies money, which they should look into, since the current customer service is gonna cost them all a lot more.

I just told the guy that I didn’t think it was the wisest thing for me to do since I had just been screwed.

Just like the “outsourced” American worker whose job Punjab now has.

Piracy II

Read this article all the way through, especially about the spanish thwarting of an attempted piracy and the pirate incident where a hole was ripped in the side of a ship causing a fuel leak.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,453030,00.html

Have the civilized nations of the world taken leave of their senses? Smoke canisters!?! Haven't they heard of bombs?

Piracy used to be a capital offense all over the world but now the world is worried about being sued for harming pirates in the commission of the crime of piracy. Never mind killing pirates, we are worried about environmental damage to the ocean from a few hundred gallons of fuel.

Insanity rules!

How do we clean up this mess?

I think the government is on the right track this time, not like the Hoover administration, who ignored the crash of 1929, subsequently allowing the economy to worsen.

The government needs to address the following issues:


Liquidity in the financial sector
Loan workouts to stop the epidemic of foreclosures
Preventing economic activity from going into a tailspin
Regulation

The federal government has already addressed the issue of financial liquidity by committing a large amount of money to keep credit flowing. Tactics, how and where to apply the allocated money, is still being debated within the administration.. The original idea was to buy up "toxic" assets, those loans that are underwater and collateralized mortgage obligations both of which cannot be rationally valued. For this reason the treasury just recently backed away from using the bailout money to buy them. Instead it would rather lend the money to the banks along the lines of the AIG takeover. If the loans get paid back, which the financial institutions promise they will be, it could be quite profitable for the taxpayers.

One very big fly in the ointment is the community of financial executives who are clueless and uncaring about the inpending disaster and refuse to admit that they are a defeated nation, much like the germans at the end of world war I. They continue to dance while the ballroom is on fire. This attitude will make it difficult for the public to agree to corporate charity even though, this time, the public is in even greater danger than the corporations.

The other shoe is the attempt to stop foreclosures, which destroys neighborhoods in addition to destroying mortgagers credit..An investor with little equity will walk away from the house regardless of means. Anyone with sizeable equity in a house, investor or owner occupier, is not likely to do so, and, if in trouble, is a candidate for a workout. So is the "american dream" owner who will try to hang on to his house regardless of the economics. The major difficulty with workouts is that the mortgagees cannot be easily identified. The only way to workout this type of loan is to pay it back and negotiate a new loan.With enough money, the government can do this and eventually eliminate a large portion of toxic loans. Of course some mortgagers just don't have enough money and foreclosure is inevitable. But mortgages are like a juggling act. As long as they keep paying, the value of the collateral is immaterial.

How do we keep the balls in the air so that everything doesn't come crashing down? Keep the consumer spending, but with all the media induced panic you can't blame anyone for being cautious even if the economy suffers further.

I've got two suggestions for regulation of the financial markets.

Credit default swaps: Make it illegal to buy a CDS unless you own the underlying security, and make it illegal to write a CDS unless you are a state licensed insurance company or can prove adequate reserves to be able to absorb a hit.

Short sales: Institute a permanent ban on naked short sales.

None of this is going to halt the economic deterioration that has already begun. Despite the the gloating by the Europeans, and Sarkozy in particular, about how they brought down the american laissez-faire juggernaut at the G20 meeting on Saturday, they have no real solution to solving the current crisis.

They've locked the barn, but the horse is already stolen.

Row, Row, Row your....... car

It's been over 1/2 a week, and nothing here at the good Doctor site, I feel that I have been remiss. However, things have indeed happened during that time that certainly NEED to be blogged about, but in order to (1) protect the innocent (2) avoid a potential lawsuit and (3) sleep in my own bed, I think that I cannot comment on the world about me.

All I CAN say is that I was on an emergency ambulance call this weekend with a couple of gentlemen who are studying to become paramedics. These guys happen to be friends of mine, so I felt I could get away with the following line as I walked in " Good to see that you have all of the attitude, and none of the ability."

It could be that you have to be "inside" to get that, but I feel that it nicely shows my ( better) improv skills that humor writing skills ( sotto voce -he's talking about his writing again, why does he keep DOING that?)

However, to keep you, my dear readers interested, I will tell you that I am working on pieces about socks and Canadian geese. ( AGAIN about the writing, sheesh) As of now they are two separate pieces, but you never know. If there is a topic you would like expanded upon, please let me know, and I will try to oblige.

Hey, if Seinfeld can make a career out of it.....

Doctor Greunkern welcomes SOUPEATER as a contributor in his own name!!!! Enjoy!!!!

Don't count those chickens just yet

The media is reporting that the stock market is being driven by fear and panic. I think that's right. The fear is certainly what I am feeling even though I haven't yet reached the panic stage. Maybe I won't because it's already too late to panic.

The comparisons with 1929 are eerie. I have been through several recessions, some of which we didn't see coming, and through a major stock market crash that did not greatly impact the rest of the economy. Major bank failures or near failures, the precipitous drop in commodity prices, the abrupt slowdown in consumer spending, even the prolonged freefall of the stock market and all other financial instrument markets, leads me to a feeling of dread for what may be coming. The great crash of 1929, while being the signature event of the depression, was only the beginning of a long decline which didn't end until the advent of the second world war.

The hot stock of the twenties, RCA, illustrates the decline. It had split 5 for 1 in 1929 and then went on to hit a high of 114-3/4 per share but by 1934 was down at about 3. It didn't recover to its 1929 price for about 25 years. I guess the buy and hold philosophy is effective in most cases but you have to live long enough to be able to make it work.

My main worry is that prices will continue to drop. Some people will consider the drop in prices a good thing when the economy is bad, but that's a case of the tail wagging the dog. Sure you can buy some things when they are cheaper but the real reason for the price drop is that money is becoming more precious and is worth more since there is less of it around. You may need less money to buy, say, a gallon of gas, but you have less of it than you previously had. People can only afford less and therefore the price has to drop in order to get the product sold.

For the time being, I would conserve every penny of cash that I have.and delay any sizable purchase for at least 6 months if not a year. If I am right, anything that looks like a bargain today will pale in comparison to what it will sell for in the near future.

I will address my take on what the government is doing regarding the economic situation and what I think they should be doing, in my next blog.

Those who can't, criticize

It has come to my attention that people are disappointed in this blog because the humor level is not up to expectations (BRING ON THE FUNNY, BUB!) and that the choice location for reading these well crafted missives is NOT the reading room at the New York Public Library. (Use your imagination for this one).

First of all, I take the first part of the comment as a compliment, people generally view me as funny, and are expecting the same here. It just so happens that (1) some people are funny in person , improv, if you will, which is where my skill lies, (I'd like to beleive) (2) some people are funny writers ( see MBB ) and (3) sometimes the reader or listener has no sense of humor, or fails to see the subtle brilliance in the humor.

In the case of the commenter herein, I vote for #3, as well as #1, of course. But keep coming back and reading, you never know, maybe I'll hit the funnybone or take lessons from my friends at IcebergCarwash.

Now, as to the reading of these fine words in places that don't really do them justice, remind me NOT to borrow your Blackberry.

OK, OK, I get it.

All right folks, simmer down. I feel that I must respond to all the comments on my last entry. First of all, I thank you for your kind words, those of you who expressed such. Now, on to the rest of you.

First of all, when I started this, I indicated that the reason for me to blog in the first place was to get stuff out without it being shot to pieces before I could get to the end of a thought. Now I still have to deal with everyone's opinions, but I least I get to moderate them. Gives me a wonderful feeling of power. So WATCH OUT, I AM THE KING OF THE COMMENTS!!! OFF WITH HIS HEAD!! ( or comment)

OK, now that I got that off my chest, I shall address the specifics. You may wish to review the comments to the "Yes Dear" post first. Go ahead, I'll wait....... Good. Now here goes.

The expression "little woman" is just that, an old expression with 737,000 sites on google. In fact, pursuant to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, it means wife. That's it. No offense.

Of course we were not alone the entire time, but there were no random children floating around. One of our regular afternoon visitors made an appearance and sat with us for a bit. I never expect complete privacy. if i did, I wouldn't be shouting " COME IN !!" at the door every ten minutes or so.

As far as those of you who felt compelled to defend BAC, let me tell you, she can do quite a good job on her own. Why do you think I feel compelled to pour out my life experiences to you??? at 11:00 at night in my office??? So calm down, folks.

Besides, I may end up having to sleep here sometimes.

Yes, Dear

I had a somewhat newly married relative couple over the other night. They seem to get along, but they bicker good naturedly like they have been married much longer. I find it odd that less than two years ago, the husband was single and hanging out with us, and now he is an old married man with a kid who sits at the kitchen table and belches (Really not a big deal in my family, though).

So I felt the need to compare their situation to my own. I have yet to mention the little woman, and I have to give her a blog reference name. I think I will go with BAC. It fits, trust me. I really could say whatever I want here since she refuses to read anything I write, but once again, that's for another time.

So BAC and I had a preview of empty nest syndrome this weekend. One is abroad, and the others were gone for the weekend. We were invited to an affair for lunch, but then came home to an quiet house, and if you know anything about my house, that is really really odd.
The kids didn't come home until much later, when we went and collected them (or they may never have come back) so for those few hours it was just BAC and me. It was nice, we managed to fill those hours with conversation and quiet companionship. I can't guarantee that we could maintain that, but as a preview, the main show looks good.

Now if only the kids would call once in a while....

Brother, can you spare a million dollars?

Today I needed to be in the city, so I took a quasi-private bus company to work. From stories I have heard, and from past experience, I thought for sure that this would generate something to comment on. Alas, if one takes a later bus, all the characters and situations that would normally cause something out of the ordinary have already passed, so it was a quiet, uneventful ride. But then I got on the subway.

One of the things about a subway car that has always amazed me is the tremendous diversity one finds on a New York City subway car, but that is for another time.

As I looked around, I noticed that I was sitting near (not directly next to, but one seat over from) a homeless dude. This seating arrangement seems to be the protocol for sitting near homeless people, get as close as the smell allows, but not right next to them.

So I looked the guy over and I was amazed at two things. Sure, he had on grubby clothes, including an all weather coat, was sleeping slumped over in the standard position, and was indeed wearing Eau de Homeless, but the first interesting thing was that he had on relatively new and clean New Balance sneakers, which go for a lot more than the Walmart specials that I wear, but even more amazing to me was the fact that the only accoutrement he had with him was AN UMBRELLA!!!

Now, I generally don't carry an umbrella in the city because the winds make it inconvenient, I'm not usually outside long enough to really need it, and I tend to lose them along the way, but they do come in handy if you absolutely need to be outside at a certain time and it's really raining hard.

However, my question is, if one is homeless, has no real place to go, and is riding the trains and stations for a livelihood, why would the one thing you need be an umbrella?? WHERE IS HE GOING? and what are his plans for this umbrella?

I mean, on the next train, the requisite homeless dude in that car had three coats and a bucket with two squeegees, that's enterprise and forward thinking, but what can you do to improve your station in life with just an umbrella?

Perhaps he was hoping to assist lost society ladies across the street so they wouldn't get wet "thank you dear Billy, here's $10,000 for you help", or he could sell it as an umbrella lost by a celebrity "umbrella left on the seat by Lindsay after a night out on the town, $5,000", but I think he is probably holding out for the big score, "Mayor Mike, its raining, take my umbrella" "thank you Billy here's a million dollars, and there's another mil in it for you if you vote for me again."

Ah, New York, city of dreams and opportunity.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry on the subway

Racism is dead, the funeral will be...

With the results of the election, and the historic election of a black man to the presidency, something inconceivable in the 60's, it is safe to say that racism in America is a thing of the past.

Just look at the facts. That a man, who's only valid credential was the fact that he is black, can convince America to elect him to the highest office in the land shows clearly that the color of a man's skin has no bearing on the idiotic choices that Americans make. His agenda, or lack thereof, his radical associates, and his non-experience would have doomed a white man long before the primaries had concluded, but now all is well. We have paid our societal debt to the black man, and they should be happy and enfranchised.

But what do you call a group of people who vote based solely on the color of the man's skin? Who riot every time someone looks at them askance? Whose leadership never has a word in support of internecine violence ? These people are the racists, not white Americans anymore, who voted blind to color.

However, I highly doubt that someone like Al will put away his hate industry and go quietly in the night. Like Yertle the Turtle, he will want more ( emperor of the world, perhaps?) and will hopefully end up with the same result, but I digress.

Racism against black people is dead. We should have a funeral for it. We can bury it next to the "N" word.

I can't think of an appropriate title, just read it

After I returned home last night I was feeling a bit better and then I got called out to help transport a cancer patient who was unresponsive to the hospital. As I entered the room and saw the ill person lying on the bed, although still traumatized by the election results, I realized that in the big picture of life, if we can all physically and economically survive the next ( hopefully only) four years, this to shall pass, life goes on, and there are bigger issues to deal with than who is sitting in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

So take heart, dear readers, there will be a light at the end of the tunnel, and I can finally criticize a president I didn't vote for. Should be fun, glad to have you along for the ride.

Peggy Noonan, write another book

SOUPEATER says...


In the past few days, I have been driving through Ohio, enjoying the extraordinarily warm weather for this time of year. This morning I was driving along a country road passing through some very small towns when I took notice of an interesting phenomenon which may explain the political results we all now know. I had been observing the political lawn signs and was surprised to see that there wasn't much difference between an Obama sign and a McCain sign. They both were the same colors and you had to
read the sign before you knew whom it was for. Closer to Cleveland, the signs were overwhelmingly for Obama but as I moved away from the big city, it became more even handed. In many neighborhoods in this battleground state, the signs were mixed; a few Obama signs followed by some McCain signs and so on.When I moved through the farming communities, the Obama signs completely disappeared and all you could see was McCain.
In one of the more mixed towns I passed through this morning the older houses along the main street exhibited the usual mix but as I got out of town there were some newer houses, very recently built from the look of them, and certainly large enough that they would not embarass their owners even in Monsey. One of these mcmansions placed far back from the road had an Obama sign along the road. I considered this significant. Crane Brinton, in his book "Anatomy of a Revolution," points out that among the necessary ingredients for a revolution to take place is the movement of some of the ruling class to the cause of the rebels. This was a classic case. Here was probably a member of the ruling class who had thrown in his lot with those, who, historically, were incapable of leading but were now challenging those in power. This was a revolution which would initially succeed.
But take heart, my friends. Almost all revolutions, as futher pointed out by Mr. Brinton, progress to a stage of excesses which eventually leads to a reaction and puts the original ruling class (what is left of them in the case of the French Revolution and Bolshevik revolution) back in power. Let's see how this plays out. I hope the excesses won't become dangerous to the personal safety and freedoms of the citizens and will be more like an excess of stealing, lying, sexual pecadillos and general venality and corruption. In four years the Republicans will be back.

If you are thinking of putting your money into the market, don't. We've had "irrational exuberance" and all out panic, both of which make some sense. But a drop of 200 points today and a rise of 350 points tomorrow is totally without reason and is more like the fluctuations of the Asian stock markets which defy reality.
I am more pessimistic than usual. The current economic disruptions - stock market crash, financial system breakdown, commodity price plunges - all point to a more than usually severe recession and has all the earmarks of a repeat of the great depression. Now don't get me wrong. Notwithstanding the constant barrage of news comments indicating that we are in the grip of a very severe economic slowdown, the general economy has only retrenched a little bit and doesn't even meet the criteria usually used to indicate the start of a recession which is two quarters of negative growth. We have had 7 percent unemployment before and, not to dismiss the hardships this causes, it does not in any way shape or form resemble the depression. If a repeat of the great depression is on the way, we are now in the very early stages of it and it can be controlled. Remember that Roosevelt who tried, unsuccessfully, to stem the tide, did so only three years after the start of the depression by which time it was an unstoppable downwards spiral. George Bush is not Herbert Hoover. He won't be involved as long as Hoover was. Our next president will have to work hard to keep us out of trouble.I predict he will fail as did other black politicians who wanted the job so badly that they were willing to take on an impossible situation and they failed miserably.

Who says the American electorate is stupid?

A New Day Dawning? or is it blackest before the Dawn?

I have just come from my house after watching the Networks gleefully call the election for Hussein Obama. Truly a sad day for Republicans everywhere. We have a new president-elect, a man who came out of nowhere to sweep away the old guard, and usher in a new chapter in our history. One of the most disturbing things about this election was the clapping that could be heard in the background at ABC news when the anchor announced, with great gravitas, that Mr. hussein had just been projected as the winner.

I went outside with a scotch and my pipe, to take it all in, and I was amazed that life went on, the night crickets chirped, and animals rustled about in my back yard.

So for the animals of the animal variety, life does indeed go on the way it has been before, but I am very wary of the changes that are a'comin' for all the hard working people of this great country, as the Democrats, giddy with what am sure they will consider a mandate, go about dismantling all that we have built over the last 28 years, since the debacle that was Jimmy Carter was swept out of office in a landslide.

I am very concerned that the government will now take away all our hard won success, and we will be once again seen as weak on the world stage. I hope it doesn't happen. We shall see.

I just threw up. I have to go to bed.

writing are hard

I'm waiting on line again (this time at e-z pass) and thinking that I really need to write something, since I can't let down my followers, but this can be tough. I'm reminded of the time I was listening to Don Imus who decided to show how ridiculous it is for sports reporters to ask ball players the same questions over and over. What he did was interview Mike Breen, his sports guy, after each report, to ask him how it went. The point was to show how these writers badger players over the whole season with the same questions.

However, as I have now joined the ranks of the writers, I see that the purpose was probably to find an angle to write about, since the pressure to be creative and write on a regular basis can be difficult.

Add to that the pressure of my adoring fans, who complain in one place that people put pressure on THEM to post by 12 PM, and then send me messages that I haven't posted yet! It can be a real weight on someone's mind. But then something will happen and the floodgates will open, but be released judiciously to the public so to keep a steady stream of witty dialogue and observations flowing.

All that being said, suffice it to say ( even further) that in the 1/2 a week I have been doing this, I have gained a real appreciation for

1. Professional writers

2. Editorialists and Humorists who publish in newspapers regularly, and

3. Bloggers ( see http://www.icebergcarwash.blogspot.com/ , and SOUPEATER)

Kudos to us. And I have written or writing. A neat little trick, no?

Barack Hilton would be more appropriate...

I was watching Paris Hilton on TV and I am convinced the girl is a genius. She has made a career out of being famous, all the while projecting a vapid, airheaded image. However, at this point she HAS made a career and business out of it, a singing career, TV and movie celebrity, a much written about social butterfly, as well as a businesswoman with perfumes and I assume, fashions. Not bad for someone with no appreciable skills or professional training! It just goes to show you what slick marketing and internet exposure can get you.

Which brings us, on the day of the election, to our "anointed by the press" next president. A man with no record, no accomplishments, and no skills other than the ability to read a teleprompter well and lie about things. Oh, and throw everyone from his past under the bus.
It is truly amazing to me what you can accomplish in this country with almost nothing, as long as you have an adoring lap dog like the press to tout your greatness. And it doesn't hurt to have the outspoken members of that most morally bankrupt industry, " The Arts" constantly shilling for you, or the moronic masses actually listening to them.

Well, if Hussein manages to win the election, at least I won't lack for things to rant about, so there is a silver lining in here somewhere.

VOTE FOR McCAIN

this post has not been approved by John McCain or the Republican party, but is solely the opinion of some poor soul hiding in a bunker somewhere