Once Again Stupidity Reigns Supreme at Education Center.

Now our school district wants to copy the city of San Diego and sell off school assets for a current fix of the budget. A number of years ago our city council sold off the Pueblo Lands to fix the budget and deprived future citizens of valuable parkland. Today we are paying the price for their stupidity and our School Board wants to copy them. People come and go from San Diego, but the aging population will soon die off and the new arrivals will have children who will need schools. The worst part of our actions at that time, was that they squandered the money, as they will do again if we let them. Probably spend it on salary increases that will eventually bankrupt us.

Celebrating Ramadan’s End.

The Muslims celebrated the Islamic holy month, when Muslims fast from dawn until sunset while they pray and purify their spirits. Too bad they don’t do this all year long, maybe then the Israelis could have some peace too.

In Syria they celebrated by killing protesters.

Both countries sound like places to avoid.

Sarah Palin

 

At the Iowa Caucus on August 11, 2011 Sarah Palin said; “Tell Congress to cut the crap

and balance the budget,”

While I agree with her and know she is correct, I will not hold my breath. The only cuts our congress ever makes, are phony or non-existing cuts. They put out a preliminary extravagant budget, make cuts to it and call them cuts to the budget. They know the only way they can be re-elected is to bring the gravy home to their constituents.

 

Throwing Rocks at Agents May be dangerous.

June 26, 2011

40 year old Jose Alfredo threw rocks at a Border Agent and was shot and killed by an agent, name not given. The ACLU protested. Maybe they felt the agent should have thrown rocks back.

WHERE DID ALL THE JOBS GO?

Under our present policies we have the highest level of unemployment since WWII, creating a great deal of uncertainty about our future. Businesses are sitting on cash and not expanding, because they have no idea where taxes are going and what will happen in the future. It is time that Congress and our President get realistic and do what they are paid to do. Maybe if they could get their juvenile minds off their female interns and start doing their work, we could all realize The American Dream.

HOW TO GET BACK ON TRACK

If we ever really want to see our country prosper we need to take some bold steps that will probably cause some grief for us in the short term, but will in the long run enhance our economy, create jobs, increase financial growth and make goods more affordable.

Abolish all tariffs and sign free trade agreements with all Pacific Rim countries including Canada, Mexico, all South American countries, Australia, Korea, Japan, China if they really mean it and any other country in the world that touches on the Pacific Rim. We could call it “PACRIMFTA” for Pacific Rim Free Trade Agreement.

Sounds much better than NAFTA.

Doves and Mocking Birds

When I went outside this morning and stood in our driveway waiting for Barbara, I could hear a dove calling and a mocking bird twilling and singing, what a great way to start ones day.

Summer is here, now all we need to do is to go to the beach.

BEN BERNANKE SAYS,

Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke has a brilliant idea. You might wonder how he could have figured this out';

“Some of the problems that are slowing the U S economy could persist into the next year.” Duh, what else could happen? Obama might resign, hardly, Obama might find a solution, just as unlikely, I have heard that Michelle has to help him tie his shoes, those pesky overhand knots.

Why We Don’t Have Wills

In a survey done by Lawyers.com the respondents gave the following answers as to why they do or don’t have an Estate Plan.

Only 51 percent of adults have Estate Planning Documents.

The 49% who didn’t have plans, gave the following reasons:

44% Time, need to focus on paying my bills.

30% Estate planning is not one of my concerns.

20% The children will get it automatically.

19% Lawyers are too expensive.

11% It isn’t required.

9% Takes too much time.

I’ll bet the respondents would have been very upset if the state had taken their parents estate, because they hadn’t planned ahead.

 

Fireworks

When I was a child we had fireworks stands every few blocks along Long Beach Blvd. in the city of Lynwood. They would be open for about two weeks before the 4th and you could buy fireworks anytime they were open. We would save our money and start collecting bottles early in the year to trade in for a few pennies, so we could buy fire crackers. For five cents you could get what they called Lady Fingers which was made up with many small firecrackers woven together. However, we would take them apart so that we could fire them one at a time, much more fun and lasted for a long time. Usually when you bought fireworks they would give you a punk and sometimes you could get several. We would light one end and it would smolder giving you source of flame. We would wait until dark before we started our fun and since it was summer we were allowed to stay out after dark.

Another thing we did during the summer was also great fun, my friend Dodo and I would collect tumbleweeds during the day and drag them home, then when it turned dark we would build a fire in the vacant lot and roast whatever we had, potatoes, carrots, onions, apples or anything we could get our hands on. Our main purpose was to have a fire and sit and talk and when our mothers started calling us to come in, we would burn a tumbleweed. The flames were spectacular and really quite frightening for they would shoot up into the sky and  bits of burning embers would drift towards the earth. Fortunately, we never created a fire we couldn’t put out and we did keep a hose close by in case we needed it.

Disaster Fascination

It seems to me that our media, newspapers, radio and television are overly fascinated with disaster. They frequently tell us, “Tune in at ten to hear the latest on whatever the current fascination is. Usually a murder, robbery or some terrible event, such as a storm, kidnapping, rape or you can only imagine. We usually go to bed.

The Federal Reserve Predicts Inflation is Temporary!

The new forecast from our Federal reserve is that the inflation we are seeing is a temporary circumstance that will soon change when they add it to the Stimulus. To them, it probably means “Print baby Print!”

You might ask to what good will this action have on anything? Nothing the government will do will change the situation, they have tried over and over again and never have they been successful. Most of the time we have come out of a depression is because of War, not through their other gyrations.

Rats and Other Thoughts

 

Rats can live longer than camels without water.

The average American eats in his lifetime the equivalent amount of pork as you will find in 28 pigs.

 

Sardines are not a species of fish, they are simply a small fish stuffed into a can with oil, water, spices and processed.

SOS was chosen for the simplicity of the message 3 dots 3 dashes 3 dots and does not mean Save Our Ship.

Fortune Cookies were invented by Charles Jung a Chinese Restaurant owner in 1918 for the amusement of his customers.

The French Poodle was created in Germany the name was Pudel, which might have meant splash as they were bred as water retrievers.

Spam was named from SP for spices and AM from ham.

My Disclaimer. If you believe any of this, you may be right or you could also be wrong. I just repeat what others have said, true or false.

Her is a fact I can verify. If you want a long and happy marriage, never go to bed angry.  Settle it, kiss and make up.

William F. Buckley

This could well be some advice for Obama. Any sign of weakness by the Free World will increase the appetite of the enemy for more attacks, conquests and war, as surely as the progressive revelations of the strip teaser increases the appetite of the lecher.

Graffiti

Recently the the UT has been running news stories about the “Surfing Madonna” that seem to elevate the graffiti into something of value. When anyone starts decorating public property without prior authorization it is, and should be considered, defacement of public property and must be treated as graffiti. Eradicate and charge the person who is responsible, all costs involved in removal, no matter how good it is. If you don’t, you will lose control.

Greed Wins Again.

Once again our Democrats are trying to sabotage our buying habits in order to keep their pets, the Unions happy.

Wal-Mart, Costco and any non-union big-box-store will not be able to open a store near you.

IS LIFE WORTH LIVING?

A man who is not with a woman, is a dead man.

REVERSE MORTGAGES ARE A FRAUD AND FOR FOOLS.

MetLife is pushing Reverse Mortgages. This was a header on a story about reverse mortgages. A Reverse Mortgage is a plan whereby you take out a second mortgage on a property where you have built up some equity and pay an exorbitant rate of interest. It is not only stupid to do this, but should be illegal.

If you are that desperate, try to sell it, if you can’t find a buyer, default and move in with friends or family or rent an apartment if you can. You can also sleep in your car, buy a mobile home and live in a trailer park or park it on the streets until you can recoup your loses. Not practical for you? Use the brains God gave you and find a solution, if that doesn’t work, go to a shelter or join the military. “For Every Problem There is a Solution!”

Famous saying of that Great Philosopher, Rod Jones

Long Life

One of the secrets to a long and happy life is so simple you may not believe it. Take a walk, enjoy the neighborhood smile and say hello to everyone you meet. If they want to talk, take the time, you might just make a friend. Above all else, enjoy the exercise and feel happy you are still alive. There is nothing as valuable to a person as finding happiness in life as you live it day by day. Be like Ferdinand the Bull, who could always find time to stop and sniff the flowers.You don’t actually have to sniff flowers, but take time to observe, savor and enjoy the moment you are in, it is great to look ahead and anticipate coming events, but it is equally rewarding to enjoy the present.

A tree for Christmas

I wrote this Christmas, but didn’t post it.

     We put up our tree today, but it isn’t complete as we have the ornaments waiting to be hung. It is one of those faux trees we bought. I can’t explain why we bought it after sixty two years of live trees, but it is a fake tree. It looks okay, but lacks character. I remember the years when we were very young and we would wait until almost the last minute so we could get our trees for fifty cents. They were always live trees and Barbara and I would lovingly adorn them with our ornaments. I remember once, maybe the last time we bought a live tree. I was trying to get a tree and the fellow told me he would rather burn it than sell it to me for fifty cents. However, he sold it to me anyway and for fifty cents.

      After that my sister Nancy had a Christmas Tree farm and she would let us cut one. Eric and Alice would go with me to pick the tree and it was always fun to do. The last one we got was from the top of one of her trees. It was okay, but nothing special and it reminded me of my youthful folly and made me feel bad to damage the tree. It did grow another top later, but it wasn’t the same. I cut the top off a tree and carried it down to my grandparents house to bring home to Lynwood. My parents were very upset with me that I would cut the top off of a tree and of course I was upset myself. I have always hated the memory of that tree and the poor tree was not to blame. They made me put it up unadorned, but I was very ashamed And really hated it. I suppose the good thing is that it did teach me something important.

     Another Christmas my father was sick and we couldn’t afford a tree as in those days they didn’t pay for sick leave. The PTA had a tree at the Junior High School for the students and on Christmas Eve they brought it to our house with lights and ornaments on it. I think it was one of the nicest trees we ever had. I don’t remember anything else about that Christmas,  but it has always been special for me, because my father survived a devastating heart attack.

Denmark

       I was running out of the Administration Building on the last day of school before Christmas vacation at the University of Redlands December 1948, I glanced at the bulletin board and saw a notice about schools abroad. When I got to Chino, where Barbara and I were living I kiddingly asked her if she wanted to go to Switzerland to school. To my great surprise, she said;  “I would love it, lets go.” I told her what I thought I had read and she told me to go back and get the details. It turned out that it wasn’t Switzerland, but instead it said “American School of Scandinavia, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. I wrote for information and found that Denmark was available. I applied and was accepted.

We went to Denmark in the Fall of 1949 and I attended classes in the University of Copenhagen for the first semester and then transferred to the newly built  University of Aarhus. While I was attending classes Barbara and one of our neighbors, Millie  attended art classes in the Art Museum. Aarhus University was really a dramatic change from Copenhagen as it had new buildings and a smaller enrollment. Another plus at Aarhus was that they took us on field trips nearly every weekend so we really got to know the country and pubs where we would stop for lunch. Since the wives were welcomed on these trips, Barbara would bring our lunch, usually Danish black bread with liver paste and pickled beets and another with spicy salami. It really was one of the most memorable school years a student could ever hope for.

 

The Options

Obama has stated that he has three options to deal with the oil crisis.

Do something,

Do nothing,

Watch and see what happens.

I would add a fourth that he has used many times before, blame the Republicans.

 

Do you Want to be an Astronaut

If you have a desire to become an Astronaut? You can, if you have $63,000,000.00.For this amount of money you can buy a round-trip flight ticket on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft and go to the International Space Station and back.

Marine Le Pen

Marine Le Pen the leader of France’s National Front visited the immigration detention center on the Italian island of Lampedusa to alert the French to the “waves of Immigration” flooding in from the Arab world. She told them “If I listened to only my heart, of course I would let you board my boat, but my boat will sink, Europe does not have the capacity to welcome these illegals.”

California politicians should listen to her good sense. Hear that Jerry Brown?

The Richest Man in the World!

Eighty percent of Mexico’s telephone and television industries are controlled by Telemex which is controlled by Carlos Slim, the wealthiest man in the world. Telcel the mobil telephone company is also under seventy percent of his control.

Emilio Azarraga a second division billionaire runs Televisa which controls seventy percent of the countries free-to-air-TV, most of the others are owned by TV Azteca run by Ricard Saninis the forth richest man in Mexico.

Who are the Good Guys?

I wonder if we know and even if we do, will we be correct this time?

Which side should be be on, Gadhafi or the rebels? Are the rebels anything other than Taliban? Personally, I think we should just get out of there and let NATO handle the problem. Then offer our help and see if they want it.

Buffalo Wings

One thing I am unable to understand, is how any sane person would think that a piece of chicken bone covered with skin and a smidgen of meat dipped into a spicy sauce and cooked is something special. All you are getting is something that should be tossed into a pot of water with celery, carrots, onions and the rest of the chicken carcass to make soup.

Food Stocks of Interest

Because we all like to eat and hopefully will for the rest of our lives, I appreciate food stocks and like to own shares in food companies. Here are five good companies. If you know of others that like, let me know. I am always looking for new ideas.

Nestle

Con Agra

General Mills

Sara Lee

Kraft Foods

Does Obama Have the Will?

The headlines said, “Israeli Jets Hit Hamas.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, “We will act aggressively, responsibly and wisely in order to preserve the quiet and security that endured the past two years.” He then acted by attacking several Hamas facilities in Gaza.

Wouldn’t it be great if our president acted in as a mature style as this, without first having to consult with the cabinet women or the UN, for approval?

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Do we really have any idea which one is the the real Hillary?

The mother

The Good Wife

The Injured wife

Stand by her man wife

Diplomatic wife

Senator from New York

Presidential candidate

Make a deal with Barack candidate

Secretary of State

Global traveler

Savior of the World

We have seen all of these and I imagine there will be more to come.

From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli.

I wonder if now that we are returning to the “Shores of Tripoli,” we will need to return to the “Halls of Montezuma.” I hope not.

Strength or Weakness?

One major problem our founding fathers didn’t have, or even think about, was being a “Career Politician.” They were men and women who were willing to sacrifice days, weeks, months or even a years to lead our communities, towns, cities, states and nation, whenever leadership was needed. Now the individuals who go into politics are all trough feeders who care little about anything other than making a living in politics. Sad isn’t it.

America’s Greatest Strength

The USA has many strengths, probably far more than you or I could ever imagine. However, here is what I believe is one of our number one strengths.

The best free public education in all of the world, kindergarten through at least two years of college for any child who wants it and has parents who also value it enough to see they go. Plus scholarships and public and/or private help for those that wish to continue even through advanced degrees.

Crisis!

President Obama stated he had three options in dealing with the oil crisis.

Do nothing.

Watch and see what happens.

Try to do something.

Do you know in which order he reacted?

Stocks

Ninety seven percent of stocks are up since their lows of 2009. Tell me why, I had to pick the three percent that are down?

Rubber Bands.

It is estimated that the Royal Mail in Great Britain used 2 million rubber bands in 2009

Little Italian, Little Italy.

It is estimated that only six percent of Little Italy’s residents in New York are of Italian decent.

The Strange World of the Politician.

It is rather an interesting world when a politician can run up a huge debt and call it “Record Earnings”, “Feds Earn $82 billion due to Stimulus Funding. 

The article goes on to say that the government borrows  money from the Feds to pay for the “Stimulus,” pays interest on the loan which then counts as earning record profits, and declare it as “Record Earnings.”

Quinoa

Sometimes we just can’t seem to get it right, can we?

Quinoa pronounced (keen-wah) is a chenopod, related to such species as beets and spinach. It has a balance of protein and amino acids unrivaled in the plant and animal world for its life sustaining nutrients. It has been a staple food for centuries in Bolivia, but mostly a curiosity in other counties. However, the world acceptance of it as a health food has driven up the price to the point that local people can’t afford to buy it. Since much of the population can no longer afford to buy Quinoa, they and are being pushed into buying more expensive and less nutritional food, which has led to widespread malnutrition.

Surprise Discovery

Our two illustrious Senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer have recently made a major discovery.We have two nuclear reactors in California, one in Diablo Canyon near SLO and the other at San Onofre. I wonder where they have been all these years. Barbara and I had a tour of the Diablo Canyon facility when Jen was at Cal Poly SLO, over twenty years ago.

It is wonderful to have such alert people as our leaders, I wonder if they have heard that it is now 2011, maybe I should send them an e-mail.

Racial and Ethnic Intermarriages For 2008

116,000 whites and Hispanics 53% white brides

43,1000 white and Asian 74% white groom

32,000 white and black 75% white bride

14,600 white and American Indian 62% white groom

12,600 black and Hispanic 73% Hispanic bride

6,700 Hispanic and Asian 58% Hispanic groom

3,700 black and Asian 80% black groom

There is really nothing significant or important in this report, but I thought it was interesting and probably just about what you would say if you were just guessing.

I don’t know why there weren’t any figures for Indian marriages with other groups, but none were cited.

Haunted House

Are you looking for a haunted home to live in? Try Louisville. “Old Louisville” has 48 acres of old homes that are considered to be potentially haunted.

Subway, World’s Biggest Fast-Food Chain.

McDonalds is bigger by sales and operates in more countries, but Subway overtook McDonalds to become the world’s largest fast-food chain with 33,749 eateries to McDonalds 32,737.

The True Prudential (Prudentials)

Are you a conservative or a liberal? I imagine many of us would claim to be somewhere in between if asked, because the other two options sound too divided. However, we are probably prudent in our political choices, which should make us prudential.

Maybe we should form a new party and call ourselves “Prudentials.”

Economist March 19, 2011

Has Barack Obama ever been brave? Perhaps more pertinently, will he ever be?        He has clung to the middle ground, cutting deals and side-stepping fights he judges he can’t win. He campaigned as a “Transformational” president, the “We can” president. Political courage may be hard to define, but we know it when we see it. Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act and lost the South in the next election.                                                                                                                      The younger George Bush showed true grit when he defied everyone and refused to leave Iraq in chaos.                                                                 Maybe Mr. Obama will step forward and show similar courage, while Libya and Bahrain burn.

Jerry Brown

Jerry Brown in his inauguration address described politics as a primordial battle between Modocians and Alamedans. Modoc refers to a rural Republican county and Alameda is a liberal enclave east of San Francisco.

Britain

Britain has 250,000 households in which no adult has ever held a formal job.

Jerusalem

Jerusalem is somewhat like Gaul was in that it is divided into parts, one difference was that Gaul was divided into three parts and Jerusalem has five parts.

Christian Jerusalem

Islamic Jerusalem

Israeli Jerusalem

Jewish Jerusalem

Palestinian Jerusalem

One interesting aspect to Jerusalem’s world relationships is that they are more dependent for support on the USA than any other country in the world, because of our Christian heritage in Jerusalem (Jesus.)

Japan

If you have a desire to write an “End of the World” novel, you need look no farther than the disaster in Japan as your starting point. While I do not think it is going to develop that way, it easily could.

A physical plot might follow the line that this was the beginning of a series of natural disasters, all related to one another by the Earth adjusting to the movement of the first plate, then the next and the next and so on until all of the plates are in movement. Somewhere during this series of events the Earth would begin to shake and tear apart throwing pieces out into space, until it finally ended in many small pieces or regained its equilibrium at some point as a smaller planet. However, by then, most, if not all, of mankind would have perished.

A  financial disaster plot is more likely to happen and we actually may be witnessing the beginning. Unless the World Economies realize the possible disaster facing us and act together to resurrect Japan’s economy, Japan might fail. Japan’s loss is our loss, they are one of our most trusted and dependable allies and our countries economies are so intertwined that we will lose a large part of the market for our products and a major part of our imports. They buy what we produce and we in turn buy from them. If we both topple, most of our other major trading partners will lose a great deal of their own markets and face economic disaster also.

Throw the Ball!

 

I never threw an illegal pitch. The only trouble is that once in a while I will throw a pitch never been seen by this generation. Satchel Page

Ninety percent of this game is half mental. Yogi Berra

If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant’s life, she will choose to save the infant’s life without even considering if there is a man on base. Dave Berry

The way to get a coach to think you are in shape during spring training is to get a tan. Whitey Ford.

Bob Gibson is the luckiest pitcher I ever did see. He always pitches when the other team doesn’t score any runs. Tim McCarver

I think I throw the ball as hard as anyone else, it just doesn’t get there as fast.

We know we are better than this, but we can’t prove it. Tony Gwinn

As a nation we are dedicated to getting physically fit-and parking as close as possible to the stadium. Bill Vaughan

Slump? I ain’t in no slump. I just ain’t hitting. Yogi Berra

The baseball mania has run its course. It has no future as a professional endeavor. Cincinnati Gazette, 1879

 

What is Murder?

If you kill someone are you a murderer? What if you kill yourself, is that murder?

If the punishment for murder is to be death by injection, do you inject the cadaver of the person who commits suicide?

WISDOM

A Laysan albatross named Wisdom is the oldest known living wild bird in the United States. She was first banded in 1956, she was estimated to be at least five years old, which would make her  about sixty years old today. She has probably given birth to 35 chicks in her life and flown 2 to 3 million miles.

 

Change for Russia

The earth’s magnetic pole is shifting from Canada towards Russia about 37 miles per year. If this rate continues the north pole will be in Russian later this century.

The Good Old Days?

I doubt that they were really the good old days, because now is really the best time of my life. Most mornings Barb and I get up with the thought that something great will happen today. It doesn’t often occur, but then that is what makes it so exciting, because tomorrow may be the day. Actually Thursday and Friday were two of those days for me. I finished my Income Taxes on Thursday and Jen came down on Friday and we took them to Scott, our tax man. What a relief that that they are actually done for an entire year.

I suppose it is obvious that I survive because of my firm belief in the Annie Philosophy, “Tomorrow! Tomorrow! just you wait and see.” It has served me well.

Last night Francis, Jane, Roy, Bernice, Barbara and I went to  Black Angus for dinner.We all had steak and I tried the sweet potato fries, mighty tasty. Jane had some coupons so we had shrimp cocktails and dessert as well as our meals.

Lorrie’s Birthday is coming next week, if you want to send her an e-mail I believe you will be able to find her e-mail on my blog.