Friday Free-For-All

Yes, we are here again.  It is Friday.  It is the Free-For-All.  You know the drill, pick a topic (there are a lot of them).  Discuss.  Repeat.

Was the MJ memorial a concert or a service?  Seems there was a lot of makeup and hair being did around the Staples Arena.

And what is it with The Jacksons?  Was it really necessary to push MJ’s children to the microphone at the end?  Oh, that’s right, it is all about remaining relevant.  Once MJ is buried, the rest of the Jacksons (except Janet) will fall back to obscurity.

Speaking of burial, they STILL have not buried the man.

Was it me or has LaToya HIDEOUS?  Crawl back to the porn business, LaT.

Did Al “Race Pimp” Sharpton really say that because white folks liked MJ’s music that it lead to the election of a black President?

Headline:  “Dad fears ‘foul play’ in Jackson’s death”.  Yeah Joe, YOUR foul play.  Loser.

Although I think she is waste of space, I have to give credit where due.  Nancy “Moonbat” Pelosi will not put a resolution sponsored by a race-baiting representative from Texas honoring MJ on the floor for a vote.  MJ was an entertainer, not a President.  Now, watch for the calls of racism.

I was really pissed off about the LSM’s coverage of MJ’s “funeral”.  What about the military people who died that day?  Or the child who went hungry?  Or the fact that a security guard at a Federal building is running a porno site on his computer?  Did we really need wall-to-wall coverage for a celebrity?  This is the same media who took pleasure in lambasting this guy for his entire adult life.

Who is going to pay the City of Los Angeles the $3.5 million needed for crowd control, street detours, and the like for the MJ “funeral”.  Apparently the promoter was asked to contribute but they respectfully declined.  Where is the story on the LSM?

The GAO tests the security at four Federal buildings by trying to smuggle bomb-making materials through they succeed at all four buildings.  The GAO report mentions guards asleep at their posts, guards not at their assigned posts at all and includes one report of a guard using a government computer (on taxpayer time) to run a for-profit adult web site.  The union representing the guards blames it all on lack of training.  Training?  Really?  Try incompetence.  Time to rehire some of these positions.  And get rid of the union while your at it.

Obama goes to Russia to “reset” relations with the US and basically the Russians tell him to piss off.  I guess Obama is not used to people not believing the “change”.

The LSM is so stupid.  Sarah Palin quits the Governor’s office in Alaska and in usual fashion, the LSM is trying to WRITE a story where none exists.  She wanted to leave the Governor’s office to pursue new interests, watch over her family, fish.  Big deal.  Even if she runs in 2012, will anyone vote for her?  She has as about much political experience as Obama……what a minute….

Only 25% of the transportation stimulus money goes to urban areas where 66% of the US population lives.  Mmmmmm…four-lane roads to nowhere?  Calling GDOT, GDOT are you listening?

What happened to the Octomom?  Who cares?  Maybe she is still popular in Japan.  Obscure, table for one?  Obscure?

True Blood.  You MUST watch this show!  Sundays at 9 on HBO.

Can you believe that in about 30 days, I will be smoke-free for two years?  TWO YEARS?  One of my best accomplishments.

Cannot say it better.

I turn today’s post over to Dr. Anne Wortham, author of “The Other Side of Racism: A Philosophical Study of Black Race Consciousness”.  Dr. Wortham is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Illinois State University and continuing Visiting Scholar at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. She wrote the following letter on November 6th right after the election of Obama.  I welcome and in fact, encourage your comments on this.  Remember, she wrote it – not me.

Fellow Americans,

Please know: I am black; I grew up in the segregated South. I did not vote for Barack Obama; I wrote in Ron Paul’s name as my choice for president. Most importantly, I am not race conscious. I do not require a black president to know that I am a person of worth, and that life is worth living. I do not require a black president to love the ideal of America.

I cannot join you in your celebration. I feel no elation. There is no smile on my face. I am not jumping with joy. There are no tears of triumph in my eyes. For such emotions and behavior to come from me, I would have to deny all that I know about the requirements of human flourishing and survival – all that I know about the history of the United States of America, all that I know about American race relations, and all that I know about Barack Obama as a politician. I would have to deny the nature of the “change” that Obama asserts has come to America. Most importantly, I would have to abnegate my certain understanding that you have chosen to sprint down the road to serfdom that we have been on for over a century. I would have to pretend that individual liberty has no value for the success of a human life. I would have to evade your rejection of the slender reed of capitalism on which your success and mine depend. I would have to think it somehow rational that 94 percent of the 12 million blacks in this country voted for a man because he looks like them (that blacks are permitted to play the race card), and that they were joined by self-declared “progressive” whites who voted for him because he doesn’t look like them. I would have to be wipe my mind clean of all that I know about the kind of people who have advised and taught Barack Obama and will fill posts in his administration – political intellectuals like my former colleagues at the Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

I would have to believe that “fairness” is equivalent of justice. I would have to believe that man who asks me to “go forward in a new spirit of service, in a new service of sacrifice” is speaking in my interest. I would have to accept the premise of a man that economic prosperity comes from the “bottom up,” and who arrogantly believes that he can will it into existence by the use of government force. I would have to admire a man who thinks the standard of living of the masses can be improved by destroying the most productive and the generators of wealth.

Finally, Americans, I would have to erase from my consciousness the scene of 125,000 screaming, crying, cheering people in Grant Park, Chicago irrationally chanting “Yes We Can!” Finally, I would have to wipe all memory of all the times I have heard politicians, pundits, journalists, editorialists, bloggers and intellectuals declare that capitalism is dead – and no one, including especially Alan Greenspan, objected to their assumption that the particular version of the anti-capitalistic mentality that they want to replace with their own version of anti-capitalism is anything remotely equivalent to capitalism.

So you have made history, Americans. You and your children have elected a black man to the office of the president of the United States, the wounded giant of the world. The battle between John Wayne and Jane Fonda is over – and that Fonda won. Eugene McCarthy and George McGovern must be very happy men. Jimmie Carter, too. And the Kennedys have at last gotten their Kennedy look-a-like. The self-righteous welfare statists in the suburbs can feel warm moments of satisfaction for having elected a black person. So, toast yourselves: 60s countercultural radicals, 80s yuppies and 90s bourgeois bohemians. Toast yourselves, Black America. Shout your glee Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Duke, Stanford, and Berkeley. You have elected not an individual who is qualified to be president, but a black man who, like the pragmatist Franklin Roosevelt, promises to – Do Something! You now have someone who has picked up the baton of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society. But you have also foolishly traded your freedom and mine – what little there is left – for the chance to feel good. There is nothing in me that can share your happy obliviousness.

Amen.  Pass the plate.

Peachtree Road Race; MJ’s Funeral

What a great experience!  That is all I can say about the Peachtree Road Race on Saturday.  So what if we started in the 90000 group – the fact that Missus and I were out there running together in the crowd spending time together and enjoying the atmosphere of it all!  We finished at the 85 minute mark and I am so very happy and proud of Missus.  Despite a HUGE blister on her arch of one foot, she persevered and finished.  In fact, we were hand and hand crossing the line together.  A great experience that I not forget.  I cannot wait until the pictures to see how we looked.  And I cannot wait until next year – Missus has already said she wants to do it again!  And maybe we can include Sperm and dare I say?  Diva?  YEAH!  So, say hello to the 35,807th place finisher of the 2009 Peachtree Road Race!  It was a great day all the way around.  And I was not too sore afterwards – so a great bonus!

Now, switching gears to the MJ funeral tomorrow – what a mess.  Here we have a city having to host a memorial service for MJ at a cost approaching $2,000,000 when they are on the verge of bankruptcy.  Personally, I feel the MJ estate should pay some (if not all) of the costs.  I mean the police are saying 750,000 people could descend on the city tomorrow.  Great for hotel bookings but horrible for crowd control!  And Al “race pimp” Sharpton is saying the media is giving the death of MJ an unfair slant by focusing on the drug addiction (sorry, ALLEGED drug addiction) rather than the contributions to music.  Um, news flash Al, Heath Ledger – arguably a great actor who died of a drug overdose – was also the focus of drug-related stories in the media shortly after his death.  But as usual, Al needs to make it a “black” issue.  And I am STILL laughing outloud at the posturing and positioning Al and Jesse “BE SOMEBODY” Jackson are doing to “speak for the family”.  LOL!  I saw “Be Somebody” on Today this morning and he basically answered NONE of the questions posed to him.  What a pair of idiots.  I feel sorry that MJ’s legacy will include these two jokers who are only hanging around until the next racial-biased (or charged) even comes along.  Lay MJ to rest, watch out for the children, give his money to charity and let’s move on.

Thursday Free-For-All

Because of the Fourth of July holiday, I am moving up the Friday Free-For-All to Thursday!  So enjoy the second annual Thursday Free-For-All.  You know the drill.  Pick a topic, discuss, repeat.

At the time of this writing, Michael Jackson has been dead for a week yet, no one seems to be in a hurry to bury him.  Why?  Could it be all of the bottom-feeding members of his family (Joe Jackson) are trying to “claim” something?  Lay the man to rest.  It is the least we can do for him given the fact we sucked the life out of him.

Speaking of MJ, have you noticed Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are front and center trying to remain relevant effectively stealing MJ’s last spotlight?  I wish both of them would simply fade away to oblivion.  No one would miss them.

MJ’s will makes his mother and Diana Ross the guardians of his children and a trio of trusted friends as guardians of his estate.  Where was Joe Jackson, MJ’s father?  Kicked to the curb as he should be.  Leech.

And one last point about MJ:  I saw on Today yesterday that many people are camping out at Neverland Ranch for the supposed memorial service.  They interviewed this one woman who was camping and she went on about MJ’s contribution and how she wanted to honor it.  Well, that is fine, honey, but I hope you are taking personal time for it.  Does she not work for a living?  Go back and eat your granola and hug a tree you flip-flop wearing hippie.

Al Franken “wins” the Senate seat in Minnesota.  I was never a fan of his humor (it is kinda of stupid) but whatever.  He is not the only actor to serve in Congress.  In fact, there are 535 of them.  They all act like they give a damn about this country or us.

Here’s an idea to stimulate job growth AND allow the economy to recover virtually overnight – CUT TAXES!  Return all Federal taxes for one year.  What could you do with an extra $8000 in your pocket?  Save it?  Pay down debt?  BUY SOMETHING?  There’s a novel thought.

But no, we have to pay for stimulus and social programs like ObamaCare (where medicine will be decided for me) and cap and tax global warming climate change (FRAUD!) schemes that promise to increase gas costs by 75%, electricity costs by 90% and make nearly every manufactured good increase in price by 10-15%.  Thanks a lot.

Do not preach to me about “cutting my carbon footprint” unless you give me options.  I need a viable time-netural way to get to work if I cannot use my car; I need an affordable place to live that is safe, has good schools, and low taxes and is not 300 square feet.  Options!  Give me options!

In a sort of “told you so” moment, I am only slightly gloating about people who own property intown.  You know who you are – “the City is the only place to live; the suburbs are boring” and the like.  Well, you are about to see your property taxes go up 3 mils AND watch your water/sewer bills go up by about 40%.  But you’re close to MARTA, right?  Oooh, MARTA is running 30+ minute headways infrequently and is on the verge (again) of cutting service.  You know, there is plenty of room in Marietta for you guys.  C’mon out.  We won’t bite – hard.  The suburbs may be “boring” but they are a helluva a lot CHEAPER!  LOL! LOL!

If you are a left-lane hog, I hate you.

To the father who saw fit to bring your 4-year-old (named Noah) to the Gwinnett Braves game on Sunday and then proceeded for two innings to tell said child to be quiet, sit down, or some combination of the two in the 90+ degree heat, thanks for spilling soda on Missus.  Tell Noah I said hi.

Peachtree Road Race Saturday baby!  Shout out to Missus – it will ROCK!

Also this weekend:  The Championships Wimbledon and the Tour de France!  Finally some good sports again!  Baseball sucks.

I am really trying. Really.

As a self-described moderate, it was with some hesitation (and a lot of optimism) that I chose to pull the lever for Obama.  Yes, he was a little too far left for my personal taste, but I figured there would be a check and balance thing allowing him to not go too far left with the social agenda of this country.  Yet, here we are moving toward 200 days in office and like a good little liberal “paying back” all of his unionized friends, he is trying to fundamentally shift the entire country toward the liberal agenda.  As part of election rhetoric, he claimed he was against war in Afghanistan yet now our occupation is for “stabilization”.  He claimed he was for gay rights and same-sex marriage yet now he refuses to push a federal law for the same.  He preaches about the importance of balancing the budget yet runs up trillions of dollars of debt to fund social program after social program which have no hope for breaking even anytime soon.  He completely kicks free enterprise out the door while he takes control of private companies such as GM and then sets compensation rates for private company’s leadership all in the name of “economic stability”.  And his excuse for all of this:  “I inherited it.”  Um, bullshit, Barack.  And when anyone dares challenge him, his reply?  “I’m the President” or the even bully-sounding “We won.”  This is not a President who wanted to be bipartisan; it is a figurehead puppet to the Democratic leadership in this country.

Sadly, all he is really doing is making MORE of the population reliant on government for their basic needs.  I do not get it.  What happened to “change”?  All I see is the same Washington game played by a different player – or should I say “playa, dog”.

Add to that, he is a smoker.  Gross.

The LSM is giving Obama 30-60 minutes of primetime to further his agenda on health care and foreign policy (such that it is).  Am I the only one who sees that as unfair?  The hard left can try to shut down talk radio because it provides an alternative point of view yet networks like ABC or NBC give a massive amount of time to Obama.  Why the double-standard, liberals?

As we approach 2010 and the midterm elections, I see a similar situation playing out as did in 1994.  The country is going to “wake up” and realize they’ve been bamboozled and we’ll spend 2-6 years of nothing happening in Washington again.  Meanwhile, social security is bankrupt, transportation infrastructure is falling apart, airports are using 1970s technology, taxes are too high, and too many people are feeding at the government teat.

I am willing to follow along.  I am willing to wait until the hoped-for outcomes arrive.  I am willing to wait for the upswing.  I do not want to see failure.  But as I wait, I have to ask yet again, does a candidate exist that represents me?

Father of the Year….

I wish we would hand out Father of the Year awards more often.  I’d like to nominate Joe Jackson, father of the late Michael Jackson and the other Jackson siblings.  I have watched over the last few days as Michael’s death has set in as this man has become the next Al Sharpton – a media whore who drinks the sweet nectar of the camera’s attention and pretends to give one hot damn about Michael, his children, or the rest of his family.  Joe Jackson really has nothing more on his mind than how he plans to spend Michael’s estate before someone else does.

For 45 years, this man has been mooching off of his children like a leech on one’s ankle.  He has done nothing but look really tacky in overblown gawdy outfits with hideous jewelry showing up whenever he could get his ugly mug in front of the camera.  In the African-American community where fathers are such a precious commodity, it is a shame that this lecherous thing is conveying this wannabee father image.  I feel bad for Janet, Jermaine, and the rest of the Jackson clan.  There are times where not having a father around would be more ideal – I feel this is one of those times.  And where’s the mother in all of this?  Joe should have been turned out in the street LONG ago and been forced to get a J-O-B like the rest of us.  But instead, he weaseled his way into his children’s lives forcing them to do his bidding.  Michael tried to pull away and it killed him.

I know I know – they say it was drugs and stress that killed Michael but I bet if we pull back enough layers of the onion we’ll find Slimey Joe pulling the strings.  I saw him quoted at the BET awards last night stating he felt Michael should have been recognized more in life than now in death.  Um, newsflash Joe!  Michael is the “King of Pop”!  What is it Joe, Michael did not give you enough money?  Did he not buy you enough tacky New Jersey housewife clothes to wear?  By the way, your fake teeth look as hideous as you do.  Perhaps you should just gum your food from now on.

So there you have it – I would like to nominate Joe Jackson for Father of the Year.  His good deeds have made the rest of us fathers look pale in comparison.  (OK, so pale have not have been the best choice of words.)

Joe Jackson = Loser.

Friday Free-For-All

I’m baaaaccckkkk!  Yes, I know.  It has been forever.  Leave me a comment expressing your anger and frustration with the fact I have not been keeping up with the blog.  But give me a break – I am busy you know!

Here we go!  It is Friday.  You know the drill – pick a topic.  Discuss.

OMG!  I come in from a run last night and Michael Jackson is dead!  OMG!  While he was kinda creepy, I still feel bad for him.  Too many people trying to suckle from his teat (including his own slimey father) finally drained him.  RIP.

And how much does that suck for Farrah — she dies on the same day as Michael Jackson and she promptly gets pushed to the back of the bus in the news.  She deserves an equal amount of attention.  But of course the LSM won’t do it.

So could we be seeing the beginning of the end of the theocracy in Iran?  The student becomes the martyr.  Of course Obama doesn’t quite have the words to express the US position of the fraudulent election.  This should be Obama’s “tear down this wall” speech a la Reagan but I think he’ll lose the chance.  He is more focused on printing and spending more money.

Cap and trade, which should be called cap and tax.  Somehow paying MORE for power and gasoline to solve a questionable climate issue is concerning.  Climate change = FRAUD!

Note to the SC Governor:  “don’t cry for me Argentina”.  I look forward to his book about the affair – or maybe he could be on next season’s “Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here“.  Or maybe a TV movie on Lifetime.

This is funny as hell!  Enjoy!!!  Click here.  By the way, it concludes after about 2:02 – the rest is commercials and ads.

A Forsyth County woman leaves her 5-month-old in the car while she shops.  Revoke this woman’s cash cow parenting card.

I think Jim Wooten from the AJPuke needs to just go ahead and retire.  He suggests today that a private company should just come in and double-deck the Connector.  Er, no Jim.  We should CAP the Downtown Connector and restitch Midtown and Downtown together.  (Note to readers:  I had the idea to do this BEFORE former Governor Barnes.  That is my story and I am sticking to it!)

Am I coming in clear? I say Mom, am I coming in clear?

OK, so here I am.  For the first time since April 1st on the blog.  I’ve been busy – which is a good thing.

I’ve got a lot of little topics rolling around up in my mind so I will pull them out over the next few days and get this blog-thingie back up and running.

Keeping a blog is hard!

On the way in this morning, I realized I have not blogged in a while. In fact, a LONG while – well, if you do not count the Friday Free-For-Alls which are really nothing more than a couple of sound bites. So I sat down and started to make a list of potential topics to talk about in a new posting: the economy; the G-20 summit; my results with the half-marathon last weekend; Sperm and his dichotomous school things. All of these things are good topics and worthy of a good write up but just finding the time recently has been – well, impossible. And I guess that is a good thing. The new job – which is not so new anymore since I am in week 7 – is sailing along famously. I am constantly in the middle of something and it feels great! I do have to attend a rather large amount of meetings but generally speaking, my workload has not really suffered. I have made some good friends and already feel like one of the team. Now, I will not lie – the wearing of a tie everyday (except Friday) is not one of the things I like. But I am a “middle-manager” now – I need to dress the part, right?

I am truly lucky. I was able to find something so soon after getting the boot at the urs. As you, my faithful reader knows, I am not a deeply religious kinda guy. But there was something/someone looking over me during that drama. I still have several friends that are looking for employment of any sort. This economy has dried up nearly every lead. Maybe once the stimulus funding starts to flow that additional opportunities will present themselves. Or maybe they’ll retool their thinking to start something new. Meanwhile, I cannot watch the news anymore. It is always so depressing. Job loss, bailouts, blaming, banking, credit, toxic assets, housing bust, greed – you cannot watch 30 minutes of news without hearing one of these words.

Suffice it to say, I was lucky.

Friday Free-For-All

Yes, it is the Friday Free-For-All.  But before we dive in, I need to let you know why there was no Free-For-All last week.

My wonderful grandmother passed away on March 2 at 98.  Wife, mother of three, grandmother of four, great-grandmother of two, friend, confidant.  She lived a full, rewarding life and left the way she wanted to – in her sleep.  She is missed.  So, as you pick a topic and discuss today, think of my grandmother, this entry is dedicated to her.

In Memory of Laura Arrington Chovan, 1910-2009.

So this Madoff fellow goes directly to jail without passing GO.  Does this mean the Ponzi Scheme being run by the government should also be convicted and sent to jail?  I’m not sayin, I’m just sayin.

A woman jumps from the North Springs MARTA Station ramp over 400 yesterday and later dies.  Shame.

Palin’s daughter and her fiance break up.  And this is news why?

In just 50 days, Congress has voted to spend about $1.2 trillion between the Stimulus and the Omnibus.  To put that in perspective, that’s about $24 billion a day, or about $1 billion an hour.  Is it me or is that kinda scary?

Is it me or is the Obama Administration like a bunch of teenagers hanging out during summer recess in a field like in “Dazed and Confused” basically running the country from the back of an envelope.

Timothy Geithner is a tax cheat.  And he runs the IRS.  Talk about creditability issues.

Headline:  “Dealing with Obama regime ‘unbelievably hard’ says British Government”.  What about reaching out to world governments.  Hell, at least Bush would return a phone call.

And could the honeymoon finally be over?  Obama’s approval numbers are now that of Bush’s in the same time in Bush’s first term – before 9/11.  Hmmmmm.  Does this mean the polls are now racist too?

Did you see this:  http://www.buzzfeed.com/endswell/octomom-costume-creeps-me-out-3f2  Priceless!!!

So this guy goes around and kills 9 in a couple of towns in south Alabama.  Do not get me wrong here – I grieve for the father who lost his wife and child as well as the other victim’s families.  But let’s not try to “blame” what this loser did on something/someone else like the LSM is doing.  The fact is that he did not make any productive contribution to his society, community, church, school, or life.  He says his dreams went unfulfilled.  Well sir, those that sit waiting to win the lottery or have their ship come in will be waiting for a very long time.  I wish he would have lived.  And had a picture of that 18-month girl tattooed on the palm of his hand.

Headline:  “Joaquin Phoenix involved in a brawl while performing at a Miami night club.”  Pyscho.  Can someone say “Andy Kauffman?”  Here’s my prediction – he’ll be dead in a year.

Fulton County begins to inventory everything in the county government.  Um, good luck with that.  Maybe it’ll be done when Sperm has his first grandkid.

Have I mentioned I love my job?  No really.  I REALLY LOVE IT!