What's the old saying? "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem."

DOH!  Where's a good lightning bolt when you need one?

Is anybody besides me sick of the politicians going all nuclear over Brick O'bama's immigration "reform" executive order?  The Republicans won't address immigration, so Obama issues his order, right or wrong, and the Republicans run straight to court, whining what a dictator he's being.

You know the old political ploy of inventing a crisis/war/catastrophe to take attention off yourself when you're caught asleep at the wheel?  "No, don't look here.  Look over there."  That's what this amounts to.  If the Republicans don't like what Obama is doing regarding immigration, put a legitimate, DETAILED plan of their own on the table for discussion and schedule a vote.  

Hello?  Boner....Mitch?  Anyone?  Still waiting....

Here's my beef:  The Republicans have said for several years that they wouldn't tackle immigration reform until after the election.  Going unsaid was the fact that they wanted to pander for votes in all quarters.  They didn't want to take a stand on anything that might cost them any votes.  

In other words, they were more concerned about THEIR jobs than they were about the good of the country.  Shouldn't that itself disqualify them from holding public office?  

Don't get me wrong....the Dems are as self-centered as the Republicans.  They are all too willing to throw us under the bus, too, if they can keep their jobs (and all the graft that goes with it) for a couple more years.

IMO, unless we're willing to give the boot to Mitch and Boner and Nancy and Harry and all their respective "yes men" (and based on recent election results, we aren't) nothing in Washington will ever get any better.  America is as successful as it is IN SPITE of Washington, not because of it.  

I still have this crazy, nostalgic idea that leaders are paid to LEAD.  Silly me.

S

The mafia is watching and learning from the Tea Party

The mafia could learn much from the Tea Party extortionists in the House of Representatives.  

First the Tea Party campaigned explicitly on the promise they would shut down the government.  For two weeks they f__ked around making demands they KNEW would NEVER be acceptable to the opposition. 

Then they say it isn't them "....no siree, it's those damn Democrats....they won't negotiate in good faith".  Yuck yuck.  

They finally throw up their hands and say they're out, it's up to the Senate to put together some sort of compromise.  OK, fine.  Harry "Life of the Party" Reid and Mitch "Pull My Finger" McConnell, with the help of some bipartisan MODERATES, are on the verge of putting something together, and the Tea Party "Gang of Ninety" pull their heads out of their asses....

John "Boner" Boehner's "Glamour Shot"

....and announce that, no, they would put together a plan after all, scuttling everything the Senate was working on.  BASTARDS!

On second thought, the mafia is smarter than that.  (And their approval rating is higher, too.)

You want to know how to absolutely destroy a perfectly good political party?  Elect a small bunch of Tea Party bully's and let them goose-step their way into power.  In 6 months your party will be a flaming wreck.  Keep it up Tea Party, and you'll learn the meaning of "unintended consequences".

S

Big Tex rides again, just as the Tea Party fades into the sunset

The "Great State Fair of Texas" opens this weekend, and you know what that means....it's gonna rain!  That little squirrel in Pennsylvania has nothing on Big Tex's ability to predict the weather.  Lows in the 60's with a 90% chance of rain Saturday night.  I need the 60's, and we need the rain.  :)

To bring you up to speed, Big Tex was the huge talking statue that stood at the entry to the fair grounds for decades.  He was dressed up in western duds (I always thought it was rather cheesy) and was revered by many.  At last year's fair he caught fire, the motor that made his mouth move malfunctioning:

Looks like he had a rather serious crotch issue, too.

But all is right again.  More money was raised and now the new Big Tex has been unveiled:

Gotta keep the rednecks happy!

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I'm shocked!  Absolutely shocked.  New Jersey Senate candidate Corey Booker is in hot water because of Tweets he exchanged with a stripper at a vegan men's club.  

This just boggles my mind....imagine, a vegan strip joint!  

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I honestly believe the Tea Party Republicans have suicidal tendencies.  Yesterday their lackey, House Speaker John Boner, actually said, "We will refrain from deliberately sabotaging the global economy if President Obama:

1.  Allows more drilling on Federal lands.  (OK)

2.  Drops regulations on greenhouse gasses  (*GASP....WHEEZE*  sure, we need more greenhouse gasses, right?)

3.  Builds the Keystone XL pipeline.  (Surely we can find a way to do it safely)

4.  Stops paying for the Consumer Financial Protection Agency.  (All for screwing the public, raise your hand  *their Big Banker buddies really hate that one* ) 

5.  Makes it harder to sue for medical malpractice  (Fair enough)

and

6.  Halts health care reform for a year.  (Umm....why not just try reforming health care reform starting right now?)

This is an agenda for absolute disaster....for the Tea Party.  Hmm....come to think of it, go ahead.  Good riddance.

Happy weekend everyone.  :)

S

!! BREAKING NEWS !!

Kidding....this must be the most boring news day ever.  Did Beyonce lip-sync the Star Spangled Banner at O'Bama's inauguration?  Why would anyone care?

Michelle O'Bama rolled her eyes at something John "Boner" Boehner said at lunch.  The big deal is they won't tell us what he said.  Shouldn't there be some Freedom of Information Act rule that applies here?

Apache helicopter pilot Prince Harry (Capt. Wales if you're curious) is in trouble with the Taliban....shouldn't that be a mark of honor?....for saying popping terrorists is like playing a video game.  Take note Xbox....I've found your next celebrity spokesman.

All the world's big-name bankers are assembled in Davos, Switzerland trying to tell us they're really good guys and asking us to pleeeeease not regulate them any more.  Now that's an uphill PR battle.  "Listen to what I say, just don't watch what I do."  

One of the Williams sisters lost her match and destroyed her tennis racket in frustration.  Like that's never happened before.  Next they're gonna tell us some golfer got pissed and threw his clubs in the lake.

Hold the presses:  The AP headline reads "Foes of NYC Soda Size Limit Doubt Racial Fairness".  Huh?  

Airlines still have all their Boeing 787's parked due to the plane's insistence on smoking in the lavatory, and in the cockpit, and in the cargo hold, and in the avionics bay....

To try and make a few bucks off of them while they're just sitting there smoldering, how about this:  Open them up as kid's playgrounds.  I mean, are those cool slides or what?  :)

And finally, it's been leaked that this year's Super Bowl XLVII will be heavy with beer, car, and cola commercials.  Unlike the other XLVI Super Bowls that came before it. 

Y'all behave.

S

Where was this advice when we needed it?

Today would be a good day to be a wedding planner in China.  The BBC reports there is a wedding boom in China today because "4 January 2013" in Mandarin sounds similar to "I'll love you all my life."  

I think it might be advisable for anyone planning marriage to research which date sounds like "I'm gonna make your life a living hell!" and plan accordingly. 

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Heard on Duck Dynasty:  "It's OK to be creepy if you're old."

Finally.  I've waited my whole life for this!

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"Meggings".  Really?  Why?

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First our gubment outlawed further manufacture of old fashioned incandescent light bulbs, mandating compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL's) instead because they're more energy efficient. Now we learn that these CFL bulbs are dangerous, possibly causing skin cancer.  It seems they emit ultraviolet rays so strong they can burn skin and skin cells.

In every bulb scientists tested they found the protective coating around the light creating "phosphor" was cracked, allowing dangerous ultraviolet rays to escape.  They're advising us to stay at least two feet away from the bulbs when they're in use.  

Sheesh!  I go outside and I get skin cancer.  Now I stay inside and still get skin cancer.  I can't buy a break!

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I was sure that Speaker of the House John Boehner, aka "Boner" would not be re-elected to that post by the new House sworn in yesterday, but DOH!....he was, with just 5 votes to spare. This tepid support makes him pretty "toothless".  He's being likened to a cemetery superintendent....he has a lot of people under him, but no one is listening.  

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The December unemployment report is out and it showed 155,000 jobs were created last month.  Interestingly, the most active hiring sectors of the economy were in manufacturing and construction, two of the hardest hit by the recession.  Maybe the "Buy American" initiative is catching on.

It's Friday.  Out.  ;)

S

In Seattle latte's are out....Cheetos are now in.

It looks like Seattle has enthusiastically embraced the recent vote to legalize marijuana in Washington.  ;)

So today is 12.12.12, a "once in a lifetime" event.  Do you have anything planned to celebrate?  Fuzzy's is offering $1.20 tacos all day.  WooHoo!  Yeah, I know....kinda pitiful, huh?

I understand there are women having C-sections in order to deliver their babies on 12.12.12.  Isn't that kinda extreme?  Is it really that big deal?

I see that Ravi Shankar, the famous Indian sitarist, has passed away at age 92.  I never cared for that kind of music, but I surely do enjoy the music his daughter, Nora Jones, makes.

It's looking more and more like we're going over the fiscal cliff on January 1st.  Get out your wallet and prepare to fork over more taxes to The Gubment.  Now they're saying that even if Bronco Bama and John Boner can come to some sort of Grand Compromise, Boner can't deliver the votes from his ultra-ideologically conservative Tea Party faction.   Prepare to be thrown under the bus. 

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At our house we don't need no stinkin' "atomic clock".  We have Luke the Wonder Dog.  His internal body clock is uncanny.  Every day, 7-days a week, he wakes up at the exact same time and wants to go outside.  He eats at 6am.  If you're 5 minutes late he'll tell you about it in no uncertain words terms.

At 7:15am he wants to go outside again, not to take care of any bodily function, but just to take a stroll.  Before K goes to work he wants to play chase round the house.  That's a new one.  K did it a couple days in a row and now it's a part of his daily routine.

His other new one is at 7:15pm....that's ice cream time.  I'll often have a small (Weight Watchers) ice cream bar, and he gets to lick the stick when I'm finished.  He doesn't like to be told "no", but he's learning, much to his chagrin.  He's definitely a creature of habit.

Oh....gotta go.  Luke's calling.  ;)

Happy Hump Day.

S

This could be bad news....

There is an email going around that says a coup is underway to oust John Boehner as Speaker of the House and replace him with Paul Ryan.  (Hmmm...I actually thought it would be Eric Cantor who would lead the revolt.)  I'm no big fan of John Boehner, but I feel like he would be someone who could/would negotiate with the Democrats.  

Paul Ryan is a headline-grabbing "my way or the highway" kinda guy.   Bad move, Republicans!  The Tea Party-ers apparently didn't get the message:  The People have repudiated extreme politics.  They want our leaders to work together to get something done and not throw us all under the bus.  

My concern is that if this is true and Ryan (or Cantor) does become Speaker, we're going over the "fiscal cliff" next year.  Sequestration (across-the-board spending cuts) will automatically kick in, cutting not only fat from government (good) but meat, too (bad).  And we can ALL see our paychecks reduced when the "Bush tax cuts" expire and we go back to our previous tax rates.  Ouch!  Ryan has said, and I believe him, that he will NEVER allow taxes to go up on the wealthy.  

"If my friends can't get their tax cut, then none of you can, either."

Ryan says the wealthy are the "job creators", which is a half-truth at best.  While the wealthy might be "incubators" of new businesses, they depend on middle class consumers to actually buy whatever the new businesses are selling in order to succeed.  If the middle-class has their take-home pay reduced due to higher taxes, they'll buy less.  New businesses will stagnate or even fail, perhaps taking us into another recession.  How would that create any new jobs?

Whatever the two sides can negotiate regarding tax rates for the wealthy, so be it, but don't hold the middle class hostage in the process.  The election is over.  Now we need leaders, not ideologues.

S

Caption contest

Write a caption for this photo.  If you win you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you're a Class A Smartass.  (Which is actually something to be very proud of.  ;)  Good luck!


S