Battle Of The Vice Presidents

I only read a little bit of what Joe Biden had to say about Dick Cheney and the whole issue about how we should handle terrorists and terrorist suspeects.

First, let me say, Dick Cheney sickens me like few human beings can. I would rather look at fresh dog squat than see Dick Cheney. So anything he has to say, I have an instant revulsion toward it.

Joe Biden is right. Whatever he says. Because Dick Cheney is automatically wrong. The man's a criminal. There's no trust, zero trust for a crook like him. He needs to wither up and blow away. The sooner the better.

Now, throw into the mix, the original vice presidential idiot, Dan Quayle. Dan Quayle is in the news again. I thought he had withered up and blown away. But apparently no such luck. He was in the news saying that the Founding Fathers never intended for the Senate to function in a democratic way, like with majority votes on things. Which is kind of strange, because I remember the Republicans arguing differently a few years ago, i.e., that the filibuster was "unconstitutional." So these things must fluctuate depending on the fortunes of the Republicans.

Dan Quayle, though. I took some pictures of him one time and met him, I guess. We surely met, since we were both right there. He gave me a blank look like he wondered what I was doing. Taking pictures. But I'll spare everyone the pictures, assuming I could still find them after all this time.

Republicans ARE To Blame

Link:

Grassley's office issued a statement saying that Reid's move "sends a message that he wants to go partisan and blame Republicans.

That's an easy one. The Republicans have been intransigent, obstructionist, and just plain turds. If anyone is to blame for the troubles in Congress -- and someone clearly is -- it has to be the Republicans, who have systematically and cynically opposed everything.

There's no doubt about it, who's to blame. The Republicans, clearly and without a shadow of doubt.

And Grassley, offering his statement, may as well look in the mirror. He's been among the worst of the worst. "Death panels," anyone?

A Dizzy, Strange Feeling For Me

I don't usually get sick, so I don't think I'm sick.

But I woke up today with a dizzy, unbalanced feeling, and it's only gotten half better as the day's gone on.

I didn't get to bed till close to 11 and I get up at 5:30, so I thought maybe it was just sleep deprivation and problems that could go with that. But I stayed up for an hour or so and went back to bed. When I woke up I wasn't any better.

Since then I've been up (mostly) doing things. Most of the severe feelings of dizziness and being about to fall over have dissipated, but I'm still left with a strange feeling in my head, like everything could start spinning if I turned just the wrong way.

I hope it goes away all by itself without too much effort from me, such as having to go to the doctor.

I don't know what may be wrong. I've been thinking about buying more life insurance. So maybe I should get going on that.

The Theory Of Gravity's Only Half True

The theory of gravity's only half true. And the way I believe, if something's only half true it's not true. If it's half false, it may as well be all false. So, unless someone can prove it to me beyond a shadow of a doubt, and I guarantee I won't listen, then I have no reason to believe it.

The same thing about all this so-called global warming. If it's cold out, that proves the theory of global warming is not true. And even if it's half true, see above, it's not true at all.

I keep hearing the self-appointed experts telling us there's a difference between climate and weather. That climate is the overall macro system and that weather is the micro, incidental, ever shifting phenomena of climate. To which I say, that's a lot of very big words, meant to confuse the issue. If you can't say it simple enough for a simple man like me to understand, then why waste so much hot air? I'm not listening!

OK, I hear you, what's this about gravity being only half true? Think about it. If I throw a ball up in the air, it's only falling half the time. Half the time it's going up. Proving that gravity is not a constant force. Therefore it could only be half true. Therefore it's not true at all.

Nature -- The Real Terrorist

I have a few snowdrifts in the yard I'd love to see sitting in jail. For trespassing. They're trespassing all over town, actually. And numerous 300 pound icicles are pulling the eaves down all over town, clogging up all our well designed waterways.

That's just me and my little town. Nationally, they're saying the snowstorm on the east coast is Snowocalypse and Snowmageddon. To which we might add Snowzilla, Snowkong, Snowqaeda, and Snowpublican. If we settle on Snowpublican, then we will have probably the best idea of the amount of damage, suffering, and misery the snow is able to bring.

Now, what's behind all this misery? Nature. The so-called benevolent force that makes up our environment and our very being. Meaning, if you really think about it, we have the seeds of the greatest terrorism in our very blood and being, because we're made of this terrible force called Nature. There really is nothing more insidious than Nature. Just think, you can't talk or even think about Nature without Nature itself, because it's what we are. If I try to peer around a corner to peek at Nature, Nature's right there over my shoulder looking with me! It's like trying to outrun your shadow. It can be done, if the sun's in the right place. But every time you look down, you notice it's caught up with you.

Now I read that New York has been shut down, essentially. And Washington, D.C. And they're not letting people into that field in Pennsylvania. The terrorist is laughing with glee, the terrorist called Nature.

Think about Al Qaeda. They're pipsqueaks compared to dreaded Nature. Yet if they put a firecracker in their underpants we think the world's coming to an end. Then Nature can cause untold death, misery, and expense -- running in the 100s of millions of dollars just to close down the government for a couple days -- and we take it in stride, saying "We can't do anything about it." Ho hum.

Somehow, someway, we need to retaliate. Like the Tea Party people say, I don't remember any attacks by Nature while Bush was president. Just sunshine and an occasional gentle rain.

What's Happening In Politics?

Good grief.

Am I about getting sick of seeing President Obama, day after day, pursuing the Republicans like a jilted lover who can never get the message? At this point I wouldn't doubt it if he's got a ladder up against their house at night, peeking in their windows. The guy cares more about what the Republicans think about him than he does us. It's getting ridiculous.

He needs to get the message. They are actively working for his failure, the failure of his agenda, and the frittering away of his power and legacy. Actively, Mr. President, as in you down for the count.

Just do something, steamroll them, get the best of them. See those things dangling between their legs? Cut them off! I thought the President of the United States was "the most powerful man in the world." But here we have the daily spectacle of all these Lilliputians tying him down and dancing a jig on his forehead. I'm getting downright sick of it.

Then in other news, speaking of nut jobs, we have Sarah Palin out there running for president. She actually said it'd be "absurd" for her not to be considering a run for the presidency. I too often think of the word "absurd" in relation to Sarah Palin as president.

It's funny, I heard a quote she gave, something to the effect of, if she were president, she vowed that she wouldn't know any more about any issue than the common person knows! I would guess that'd be true, but it's a heck of a vow to make. Just speaking for myself, I want the president to know more about policies, intelligence, and all the rest than I know. I mean, I'm not the dumbest guy in the world. But my access to top level briefings is just not there. They haven't given me one yet! That's a heck of a vow she made!

It was reported -- I heard the quote -- that she thinks we ought to go to war with Iran. Just like that. War. Someone please spare us such ignorance. Remember, I haven't had any briefings, but even I know the next legitimate step in our relations with Iran is something short of all-out war.

Jack Murtha Died

I hadn't really heard of Jack Murtha till he stood up against something about President Bush's policy in Iraq. Then he became something of a hero to the left.

Then in more recent years, he seemed like he was on the outs, because of something, I don't know what, some kind of shady deals or something.

He looked like a no nonsense kind of guy, that kind of craggy look that lets you know you're dealing with someone who knows his own mind and will do what he thinks best.

It's too bad he had to go and die on us. And only 77 years old, if I'm remembering right.

Sarah Palin's Handprompter

It bothers me to see people write notes on their hand. I know a guy who'll do that once in a while. You tell him a phone number and he's scribbling it on his hand. Maybe it goes back to when I was a kid. My mom always said you shouldn't write on yourself, that the ink will hurt you. Anyway, we didn't go in for tattoos or any kind of body enhancement or defacement.

Well, whatever my past is in regards to this, here's what Sarah Palin's present is, writing notes on her hand for interview answers.

They have the picture at this link. She had written on her hand the very tough concepts to memorize: "Energy, Budget (or Tax) Cuts, and Lift America's spirits." They even have a picture of her referring to this impressive list. Oh, that is so pathetic! And she just had a speech in which she reportedly mocked President Obama for using a teleprompter! Here's some advice to Sarah Palin: "TELL IT TO THE HAND!"

You've got to HAND it to her, she's definitely got some ideas. Except they're not in her HEAD, they're on her HAND. If you ever get to meet Sarah Palin, please don't shake her HAND until after the speech. If too many people did, it'd be a blur and she'd be up there going, "Blub, galug, potaky." Too many smudges!

If she goes to a palm reader, the lady would say, "Your lifeline says you want to 'Lift America's Spirits.' How about going home and taking care of your kids? We don't want you. That would lift our spirits immediately!"

This woman -- face it, idiots -- is the dumbest woman in America. The idea of her ever being president is ridiculous in so many ways, you'd think anyone who'd suggest it would be committed to the nearest funny farm. Do we still have funny farms? We'll need some if people suggest her for president. It's totally ludicrous.

But the bright side of Sarah being president would be the short speeches we could look forward to. Whatever she can cram on her HAND! Just hold it up, we'll read it, and save time.

By the way, wasn't she using a teleprompter at her big speech at the Republican convention? I don't remember seeing her reading her HAND. But that was a lengthier speech, probably would have to be continued on her LEG.

"And in conclusion, my fellow Republicans, Blub, galug, potaky. And God bless the United States of America."

Death Strikes Again

I had a sad experience today, hearing about a friend of mine who died.

He's a guy I see several times a week, and he seemed like he was always in pretty good health. I don't remember there ever being anything wrong with him.

But then, early this morning, in the 3-4 a.m. range, he apparently had a heart attack in his sleep and just died. No lingering, no hospital stay, no saying goodbye, nothing.

It's such a shocker to hear about it. It's so final. All those times I see him every week, he won't be showing up anymore. That'll be tough to get used to.

When I heard about the news, I was writing this post, a humor post about how "normal" I am. I mentioned it there when I resumed the writing. It turned out OK, I guess, but I had some good thoughts going. And the shock and the grief really changed it, no doubt.

A Bad Computer Malfunction

I had a bad computer malfunction today. One that can't be fixed easily, such as snapping the stupid thing back on. Good grief, what ever happened to simple functionality?

I have a laptop computer and the SHIFT key went bad, then went askew, then came off all together when I tried to straighten it. But it's a keyboard where the keys don't just pop on and off. They're on there with tiny little hooks that are obviously prone to disaster.

The shift key hasn't been working well for a few days. I push it and nothing happens. Before that it was the A key that wouldn't work. Then the shift key, which is just down from the A. So I thought maybe there was a piece of dirt under there. I spritzed it with the canned air and it seemed OK.

Then today the Shift key took in again with the problems, until the incident described above happened.

Now I have to get it fixed, which is not a simple matter ... especially if you have to send it in. That can take forever. And apparently they have to wipe the hard drive clean to its original factory specs. I don't want that! I worked like a dog to get this computer set up the way I want, with the programs I want on it.

So I'm going to call the computer shops and see what my other options are. This is insane.

It's an HP notebook computer. I'm not happy with them right now. And I won't forget this.

Palmer Cortlandt

I forgot to mention that James Mitchell died the other day, who played Palmer Cortlandt on "All My Children."

His actual name was Pete Cooney. I don't know how he got the name Palmer Cortlandt, unless he just adopted it when he left Pigeon Hollow. Dixie, his niece, was a Cooney as well.

I was glancing at a few websites and was reminded of a few of his story lines. One of the biggies was his interference in his daughter Nina's love life. She did get married to Cliff Warner. That's been a long time ago and I don't remember all the details. I know Nina had other love interests, such as a doctor, whose name I forget. I remember he pronounced "Sorry" as "Sore-y."

A couple of story lines I didn't see mentioned include these two (again, details are sketchy):

--Palmer had a treasure trove of art masterpieces in his basement or a secret room. He was a smuggler or bought them somehow on the black market. He essentially gave up Opal his wife over these pictures. Because he chose them over her.

--Palmer and Opal owned a restaurant called the "Chicken Shack." As I recall, Cortlandt (his electronics, computer company) was on the outs or was bought out, and so they started this little chicken restaurant. One of their employees was a relative's son, Del Hunkle. Also from Pigeon Hollow, and Dixie's half brother. She ended up giving him a kidney, which irked Palmer, to say the least. Del's father was named Seabone Hunkle. There were lots of comical bits with the "Chicken Shack." It was Palmer at his lowest, but also his funniest.

We always loved Palmer, such a devious, terrible guy!

John Edwards And Andrew Young

I watched Andrew Young's segment on "Hardball" tonight. It's kind of frightening how close John Edwards came to being president, or at least vice president.

Of course it would've been better if Kerry had beat Bush in 2004, which would've meant Edwards would've been veep. He would've been better than Cheney. Of course anyone would be!

The way Andrew Young described John Edwards, who was a dear friend for quite a while, is that he's someone with no ethics. So Bush, Cheney, Edwards... We could've done worse.

Still, it's definitely a good thing that he didn't get any farther in 2008 than he did, for many reasons.

The charges at the time didn't sound 100% credible and they didn't sound 100% incredible. I was guessing the truth was in the middle somewhere. But we, the common folk, were just sitting here in our homes. We couldn't figure it out until it was all exposed. Fortunately I was never a big Edwards fan, so I wasn't downcast to realize what a slime he was. I never gave him any money so I wasn't invested in him at all.

I met Edwards at a couple of events, one in 2003 and one in 2004. The first one was an intimate little setting -- not intimate in Edwards' terms, but intimate in the sense that there must've been less than 30 people in the room. He seemed very charming, but slick. He was very friendly, of course. In 2004 it was less intimate, because it was a packed place and a rousing speech. I really saw some old people fall in love with him at that, like they were under a spell. At the end of it, somehow I had gotten to the back of the room, right where he ended up coming toward, then would turn toward the door. By the time he got to me -- I believe we shook hands at that turn -- he looked like he was exhilarated by the whole thing. There was some real adulation. Then on to the next place!

By the time 2007 rolled around I had the chance to go see him, but I didn't want to. I'd already seen him in 2004, wasn't going to support him anyway, so what was the use? I drove by a place on my way to Walmart or to exercise or something and he was standing in the road, and it seems like he was doing an interview with a TV station. I should've gone to see him in '07, because that's where the real action was!

My opinion in 2007 was that he shouldn't be running for president, that he should be home enjoying his life with his wife, since she was so bad off. It seemed stupid to me for him to be running for president when he had bigger responsibilities with her. To me that fact alone showed he had some character problems. Little did I know what was really going on!

Andrew Young did a good job on "Hardball." Chris tried to trip him up once, calling him a "rat fink," but he still came out of it looking pretty good.

Country First?

Among the crazy findings in the Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll of Republicans, almost a quarter (23%) of Republicans think their state ought to secede from the union.

Wow. Every fourth Republican, give or take, wants to leave the United States of America behind!

What's this say about the Republicans' vaunted "patriotism"? Not much.

The highest percentage (33%) of Republicans who think this is in the south. So one in three southern Republicans want to leave the United States! I guess we can look forward to fewer chants of "USA! USA! USA!" coming out of their ignorant throats.

Tomorrow's Punxsutawney Phil's Big Day

It's just about rolled around again to Groundhog's Day, Punxsutawney Phil's big day in Pennsylvania.

Some guys in top hats will be hefting the groundhog high in the air, so he can check around for shadows, trying to determine and inform us about winter's remaining duration.

Then back in the cage. We'll catch you again next year.