My first New Year Resolution

Never once had I embraced the notion of a New Year resolution until I was a senior in high school. Okies never have such deliberate idealistic resolve. It’s been tough enough just keeping one’s hand me down faded blue jeans clean and knees patched up. Let alone toss out to your close friends, “I’ll never again spit on the sidewalk” and expect to keep the New Year resolution. Believe me, it wasn’t easy growing up Okie in East L A.

But as radio and TV became our major source of information and socialization, we Okies finally caught on to the current year-end trends. My first resolution was to stop cussing around girls. But I quickly discovered girls cuss more than boys. So, there goes my first resolution. Gone away in a blur of expletives from a small pack of fowl mouthed Amazon teens. “Resolve THIS,” as they stuck a finger in my face.

However, I was exposed do this New Year resolution thing by school peers. High school guys wanting to impress their girlfriends that they could easily stop smoking and start brushing their teeth. All done at the same time. All combined into one simple packaged resolution. Tossing aside one bad habit and taking on a new and better one. Two for the price of one. How cool.

So then, I decided to try another New Year resolution and see if it would possibly work. With some further thinking, I surmised it might be best to try something easier. Something I know I could do and continue to do for at least a week or two.

After taking an inventory of my bad habits, I concluded that taking a bath more than once a week could be the resolution I could handle. I got the idea from a Dial Soap commercial. The TV commercial would portray a man who just showered and got dress.

The Dial Shower man showed him being followed and pursued by Glamour magazine beauties. Remember, this was 1961 TV. Nonetheless, this is all after “Mr. Shower man” had earlier been told he had significant body odor. Certainly a bad habit. A habit I myself just might be able to stop with the same logic. Possibly by showering twice a week or more. “I know I could do this.” How much is a bar of Dial soap?

However, my next resolution was to get a job. Yes. Work for money. Gainfully employed. Working in retail at a store no less. All for the purpose of buying secret personal items. Deodorant, soap, and toothpaste. All to complete the bathing experience. Something not commonly practiced beyond once a week among we Okies.

I use to think bathing was a time waster. But as I grew to enjoy a good warm shower, I began to take longer and longer baths. For sure a time waster.

But anyway, since that one senior year I fell into a habit of bathing at least twice a week. It is most amazing how resolve and practice makes good habits. Happy bathing everyone!

P T Barnum would have been a great political stratigest

It is one thing to see tasteless political attack ads on TV. But it’s even a sadder thing to know there are clueless people out there who believe these reckless political advertisements. Who out there believes this stuff? Once again, “Viewer bewares.” There is no consumer agency in place to protect the naïve TV viewer.

Just as George W H Bush and George W Bush to their party opponents (Bob Dole and John McCain), Mit Romney is perpetrating the same on Newt Gingrich. Lies and exaggerations. I’m certainly not saying Newt doesn’t deserve everything he gets but to do this is almost immoral as well as unethical.

Law should forbid TV and radio attack ads. Just talk of your own accomplishments and attributes. Show the voter why they should vote for you. Come to think of it, some candidates have no attributes or reasonable resume. Just a slanderous monologue.

The federal government should require by law a disclaimer to be placed the beginning of every political ad. Just to lest the viewer or listener know that there just might be some over statement or under statement about an opponent. Here is an example to place as a disclaimer:

“The voice you hear and the person’s lips you see moving just might be redesigning the truth about his or her opponent.

Or:
“What you believe is what you get”

Anyway, good luck. Remember the “Grain of salt” rule. However, when it comes to cooking up an omelet, use plenty of salt and pepper. Whaaat!

Iowa? Where is it?

Gale Collins had a very interesting and head scratching Op-Ed in the NY Times today. She ass the question what about Iowa and why should we care. And she is talking about the Iowa Republican caucuses.

She points out there are about, on a good clear and sunny day, a hundred thousand caucus participants. A population less than Boise, Idaho. Mostly white. Mostly affluent. Mostly overly religious. Mostly old. A segment of the social spectrum that is quickly becoming a minority. Insignificant. Irrelevant. Unyielding and stodgy.

Will the African-American community care? Will the Hispanic community care? Will L A, New York, Houston, or Chicago care? No, no, no, and no.

So why are there thousands of TV, cable, and print news media hounds floating about and all those satellite trucks parked hither and yon all over Iowa? Well, just watch the nightly news. It sells ads. It fills in all the blank spaces in the news. It’s reality TV and it’s cheap to produce. Most of all millions of Americans have nothing better to do but watch mindless broadcast and cable news. And is better than Desperate Housewives.

Fifty years ago Iowa was billed as the first voter’s poll. Back then when a more moderate voter attended the caucuses. Sometimes giving a reasonable cross section of Middle America thinking. Not so anymore. It has not followed the sociological and ethnic trends. Thus rendering it out of touch. Caught in a political time warp. Meaningless and almost silly. Iowa! Get a life!

Saving your children's lives is a job killer

One could only conclude that the protectors of the old fashion incandescent light bulb personally must have lots to lose. Losing as in investments in the coal burning electric company. More like losses in coal and hydrocarbon types of dirty generated energy.

As most of us know, the old fashioned incandescent light bulb is to be phased out come January one. The Edison light bulb is to be replaced by a more efficient lesser electricity-consuming bulb. Consuming less energy at least by 25-percent.

However, the coal burning power companies and their Congressional representatives don’t want this to happen. It will cut into profits. Profits made by selling mega watts of electricity. Also cut into profits from the coalmines. All of which seriously pollute the air, water, and ground. Polluted smoke filled air saturated with mercury and other heavy toxic metal particulates.

And it seems that only the Republicans are the defenders of the old style bulb. The bulb, which is more heat than light. Thus drawing more electricity that a more efficient CFL or LED light.

And we can only conclude that the Republicans in Congress are receiving the lion’s share of coal burning power company lobby money. Right? Right!

Republicans have created legislation to stop the energy saving bulbs. Plus encouraging the usage of the old fashioned Edison energy draining bulb. All done by claiming the government is interfering in our lives. More like interfering with the profits of the coalmine and electricity company’s shareholder profits.

So what the Republicans are saying in actuality is they must pollute the air and risk your lives and the lives of your children in order to make a profit. Right? Right! How else could it be? “Inefficiency and Pollution trumps good health. Get over it.”

Your guess is as good as mine, maybe.

What a pathetic sight. The more these presidential hopefuls talk, the deeper they bury themselves in muck and mire. It’s like tossing sludge on a man sinking in a swamp when they have ill advised pronouncements. Down and down they go. Into a lagoon of manure. Holy cow!

There best hope is to just shut up. Say nothing and just smile. Or perhaps simply say I don’t know. Which by the way is the best response.

What single presidential nominee really knows what will happen if elected? All the promises in the world seldom become reality. Mostly wishful thinking. So, the best response to any policy question is to just say, “We’ll try our best.” Always there to thwart any good or reasonable proposal is US Congress. Congress and the judicial always have their two cents to toss in the pot. And as President Obama knows congress has a mind of it’s own. Recalcitrant, capricious, self-serving, contrary, vociferous, bellicose, bumptious, bloviating, and just thoughtless buffoons. How can any president work with people like that? They certainly don’t get much done.

But anyway, good luck to all the naïve Republican Presidential candidates. I’m sure we can find you a shovel. You’ll need it.

A rear end retrospection

Greetings All,

What a crazy and hectic year this certainly has been. Many delightful things and events have taken place with our family. More than I can write about in this brief annual Holiday newsletter.

So instead of boring you with countless splendid family events, I have chosen to focus on one or two captivating experiences. So, stay with me here.

It all begins with being thankful for Medicare. Medicare is a true blessing for my lovely spouse and me. Nonetheless, it surely has come in handy this past year.

Let’s quickly start the enthralling timeline. It all began with an unbearable lower stomach pain. A pain so severe, it almost brought me to tears. Possibly a muscular or intestinal pain. I wasn’t certain. All I knew is, it really hurt like heck. So, I called my doctor.

However, by the time I got to visit with my doctor (actually a physicians Assistant) the pain had subsided and mostly had gone away. Never the less, I had a very good Q and A with our PA. She was most helpful and I discovered she came from my neck of the woods. Southern California. We had a marvelous chat. Remember now, I now live in Oklahoma but enjoy talking to people who know what’s going on.

But anyway, after much discussion and speculation, and to be safe, she suggested a colonoscopy. So, after several calls to the colonoscopy factory (medical group) they agreed to take Medicare as total payment. Therefore an appointment was made.

This, my Holiday friends, is where the fun now begins. After numerous medical questions and more repeated medical questions, I received my colonoscopy appointment. Plus they gave me a box filled with bottles of powdered drink to take with further instructions. Stay with me here. The narrative gets better.

I was instructed that 24-hours before my appointment time to start the “cleansing” process. Now follow this:
My appointment time was 7:30AM. So, I was to start my “liquid diet” 7:30 the morning before. Okay? I could only drink clear juices. O J, lemonade, tea, etc. So far, doesn’t sound too radical. Right?

However, 12-hours before the appointment I was to start the powdered mixture. Powder plus water. Mixed in a half-gallon container. Instruction were to drink a cup every 15-minutes until container is empty. Then repeat the drinking process over again in six hours. Making the repeat at 3:30 AM. Wake up and drink again. Are you with me?

Now here is where it really gets interesting. The powdered mixture tasted something like a mix of Jet fuel and camel urine. And, please forgive me if I am misrepresenting the taste. But it is the best comparison I know. But, I will have to admit I have never drank either liquids. But if you can imagine this, my assessment might be pretty close.

Nonetheless, I almost gagged and coughed it up. Then I went to beg sympathy from my wife but she insisted I go back and drink it all down. Justifying by her saying she had done the same thing earlier this year. So, I must drink that horrid stuff.

So, by 7:00 Am I had drank a full gallon of that dragon venom. It was horrid. It was awful. It must had been life threatening. It was ruining my life. I knew I wouldn’t survive. I am toast.

All of this is not to mention what happened as a result of drinking this elephant whiz. So I won’t involve you with describing my bowel cleansing. Just use your imagination.

Now to finalize this Holiday story, after I arrived at the Colon camera shop and being interrogated even once more, I was placed on a gurney and all faded to black. Absolutely no recall of the procedure. Once the ‘look-see’ was finished, I can’t tell you how I got out of the surgical gown and into my street clothes. I have no idea how I got home. It was all a magical medical mystery. And, I am home and will never ever go back to that toxic torture tank again.

My oh my. It’s a wonderful life. Isn’t it?

I wish you the most pleasant holidays ever. Best wishes,

Chuck Ayers

Time to reflect and enjoy

The Holiday season is going well. So, why spoil it with politics. Plus let’s limit comments about computers, websites, and Geekdom in general.

Hopefully Mit, Newt, Rick, Michele, John and the other schmucks will stay out of the news. Perhaps give us some time to reflect on what is good about America. Americans who care about their neighbors. Americans, who take time to share a bit of food, candy and gifts with those who are struggling and out of work.

God bless us all everyone! Merry Christmas Mr. Scrooge. Happy New Year America.

Just breathe in that wonderful Ozone. Aah.

So for the Republican Party and its leadership, it is best to protect energy jobs than to bow to such radical organizations such as the American Lung Association. Who needs clean air anyway? Just breathe that carbon right into your lungs. Asthma is just an old wives tale. Isn’t it? Ozone is for real men! “Where’s my leaf blower?”

I’m sure it’s not in the Republican policy book but clean air is a job killer. Clean drinking water is a job killer. To stop mountain top exploding for coal mining is a job killer.

How about some mercury with your drinking water? Or maybe, some fracked gas? What say? Pretty good stuff. Don’t ya think?

So, who cares if your children get leukemia? No concern of mine. They shouldn’t be playing outside anyway.

Oh really?

Earthlink! You did it again.

One more time my web hosting service has failed me. Earthlink cannot seem to get it right. My main webs website will not update. A problem I have encountered many times. Many times I called the kids in India and every once in a while they momentarily fix the problem. However, it keeps coming back. “Won’t update.”

This has been going on since July of this year. Immediately after Earthlink revised their system in early July, things have been going quickly to hell in a hand basket. Earthlink can’t seem to get a handle on this reoccurring problem. Nonetheless, almost each time I call my buds in India they sometimes come up with a temporary fix. However, a few days later it crashes again. Won’t update.

So, what to do besides call India in the morning. A title for a lovely tune. Hmm. Why don’t they call me instead?

I knew Ronald reagan and quite frankly you are not Ronald Reagan.

If Ronald Reagan were to reincarnate himself and return to the office of the President, all the TEA partiers, libertarians, far right fundamentalist, and all extremists to the right would be horrified of Reagan’s moderate and compromising politics. They totally ignore Reagan’s tax increases he signed in the 1980s. The far right has ignored his compromises with congress.

My point here is I wish the Rightist would stop invoking the name of Reagan and stop using his name in vain. The far right fundamentalist Republicans has obviously not read Reagan’s history and politics. So, just stop-it! Your invocations of Reaganism as being parallel to your own are obscene and completely false. Just stop your vain comparison!

Just sign the stupid thing and go home.

It appears Wall Street is trading down this morning. One reason is Congress. Congress unable to compromise.

And, one of the chief compromisers is unwilling to compromise. John Boehner (pronounced Boner) won’t negotiate because the TEA party warlords won’t allow reasonable compromise. Bohner, Speaker of the House, is on a tight leash and refuses to compromise. Never mind the rest of America. America wanting to get this done and get the Congress struggles off the news headlines. Headlines most damaging and embarrassing to the Republican Party. Making House Speaker John Boehner look like a monkey on a string.

What is there not to negotiate? Why can’t this happen and all go home. The Senate has gone home and left with the House a bipartisan Senate Bill. What more could the House want? Surely we are not playing junior high games here are we? Come on guys. Compromise and go home. Your Lay-aways are waiting to be picked up.

They're firing inside the camp! Duck!

I thought the Republican Party was the original architect of the “Attack Ad.” Remember the Willie Horton ad President George H W Bush 41 aired on TV hour after hour, day after day in 1988? Yes, they started it. It appears it has now come full circle and is being used inside the Republican camp.

But now, friendly fire is being shot with dispatch against Newt Gingrich. Friendly fire within the same armed camp. An inside job. Mit Romney is doing the firing. Attacking Newt for his immigration policy ideas. Mit blasting with both barrels. Point blank. Aimed right at the target, Newt.

Of course Newt wants Mit to back off and only release “Positive” ads. Positive ads? Is there such a thing? Especially coming from the Republican Party? You’re kidding me?

Judge not less you be judged

Now this is interesting. Newt Gingrich wants the Supreme Court to be accountable to Congress. Maybe like a junior subsidiary. Sort of like a monkey on a string.

I thought all branches of government were equal under the constitutional law? Has Newt been smoking that stuff again? Something has certainly been impeding his rational thought processes again. Or, maybe he fell and hit his head and gray matter fell out. Especially the gunk that allows coherent thinking.

Nonetheless, Newt wants all the Justices, to explain their decisions before a select committee. “What were you thinking when adjudicating Brown Vs Board of Education? Oh, sorry. That was the Earl Warren court. But, weren’t some of you there? No? My mistake.”

However, the idea of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches was to be equal. Posing a check and balance. One possibly affirming the others or canceling out a bad law. Sort of a Troika kind of government but not really.

Anyway, Newt is some kind of guy. Isn’t he? More like some kind of jerk. Yeah.

My dearest friend Steve Jobs? No, not really.

I’m reading the Steve Jobs book. Certainly a man who came into this world with an attitude. Good or bad? Not really sure.

However, he certainly would not be counted among my friends had I known him. Growing up Okie in L A, I was very much put off by “Wise Asses.” Just did not want to be around them. Always thought they were just there to take advantage of any situation just to prove how smart they were. And, this is the impression I get from Jobs.

Certainly a guy with measurable intelligence but lacking compassion and understanding. Some might call him a jerk. I just might as well. Please excuse my lack of regard for the dead.

Anyway, I have a ways to go in reading his book. And, I must admit it’s a struggle. Nonetheless, I shall finish the book. Happy reading and Happy Holidays.

Boys will be boys is a crock

One way to stop abortion is to keep our boys from impregnating our girls. Plain and simple. Oh? You say Naïve?

We first take the notion of “Boys will be boys” and teach our boys to be moral. Responsible. Gentlemen.

Instead of legislating abortion, we must not only teach morals, we must be moral ourselves. Many ideas of impregnating a girl come from TV, Movies, and many video games. Turn it off. Shut it down. A naïve notion? Not really.

What are we adults afraid of when attempting to limit or “sensor” boy’s activities. We adults must come to a group consensus and an agreement to be consistent. Then we must provide boys meaningful activities to fill in the void. Mow the lawn. Clean up their rooms. Play sports. Work part-time. On and On. Plenty to do. All the while and as a collective, parents must watch out for all neighborhood kids. That means sharing questionable behavior with all parents.

On the other end of the spectrum, girls must be modest. Dress sensibly and not flaunting physical endowments. Keep it under wraps and loose fitting. Mom’s, this means you. Help your girls to keep a lid on it. They too need morals. Romance is a troublesome notion. Romance is a fantasy and not a good rule of thumb. Keep them busy as well. Sports, part-time work, volunteer, and there is plenty of activities to keep them busy as well. No kids should be idle. Read a book. Whatever.

Facebook has no meaningful purpose in life. Good hard work does. Moms and Dads should learn to be parents and not their Childs best friend. Parenting is more moral that being an enabling friend. We are not here to bail our kids out of trouble. We are here to teach our kids and grandkids how to stay out of trouble. Discipline is good. Looking the other way is bad. Time out can be a good teaching tool. Grounding, limiting, and a good talking can often help.

Dec the Halls

Back in the early 1950s, there was this huge vacant lot at the corner of Whittier Blvd and Goodrich. Traditionally a special events corner lot providing a unique seasonal experience. Experiences like traveling carnivals with sideshows, circuses with animal act and clowns, and more importantly and above all, a Christmas tree lot at Christmas.

So, each Christmas season this empty events lot would turn in to a Christmas tree open-air tree store. It was always surrounded by clear incandescent light bulbs hanging overhead from a drooping black electric cord going from pole to pole. An outside outlet selling trees of all sizes and colors. Green, white, pink, blue, and more green trees. Flocked and unflocked. One just right for you. Maybe.

Just so you will know where this was, it was in East L A. Just across the boulevard from Jim Clinton’s men’s clothes, which was next door to Vic Tanny’s gym. Sort of the gateway in to downtown East Los Angeles. You couldn’t miss it.

Nonetheless, we Okies would visit there about a week before Christmas to choose our special tree. Choosing was not easy. Certainly we Okie kids wanted tall, broad, and a thick green pine tree. Something that commands awe and grandeur. And my dad was thinking whatever we could buy for two bucks.

So, we bought our tree, put it in the trunk, took it home, set it upright, and our mom and we kids would commence adorning the tree with decorations. Decorations of one string of eight colored lights, hanged silver pencil, a homemade string of popcorn, a string of red berries from our berry tree by the driveway, and a half dozen hanging colored glass ornaments. All set up in our front window. On display for passersby to admire and appreciate. One outside could only notice such stunning beauty and have to stop. “My oh my. Just look at that would ya.”

However, when I had observed the tree from inside the front room, I could see through the spindly tree as if it was really not there. I could see all the way through the front window as if looking through a wilting potted plant. A tree Sort of puny and thin. But, being a short 9-year old, the tree certainly had height. A good five feet tall. Wow! Merry Christmas. “Look at that would ya mom.”

President Flip-flop? President Infidelity?

Newt? Mit? Mit Newt? Newt Mit? President Newt? President Mit? Hmm. No. No-no-no! Not now. Not ever! Never!

Guest Editorial

Editorial: All I Want for Xmas Is My Lost Drone Back. Dear Santa, This holiday I could ask for economic recovery, or a lifeline for the health care overhaul, or that old chestnut world peace. But what I really want for Christmas is my drone back. I've been a good boy. Oh sure, I know there are inherent risks in sending out a top-secret surveillance aircraft - look at what happened with that U-2 spy plane over the Soviet Union back in 1960. But this RQ-170 Sentinel drone has important stuff on it, and darn it, it's mine. I asked that mean Gen. Hossein Salami, deputy head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, to give it back. He won't play nice, saying things like "no one returns the symbol of aggression to the party that sought secret and vital intelligence related to the national security of a country. Now Iranian officials want me to say sorry first for flying it 140 miles into their airspace. No way. I recommend them for the Naughty List. Sure, I could order an airstrike and try to take out the drone before Iran figures out all the cool stuff in it and either puts it to use or sells it to China, but that might knock me off the Nice List. Not going there. So Santa, if there's room in your sled as you go over Tehran, could you pick up my drone and tuck it in? Please? Barack Obama This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers. .

To tell the truth and now

I have discovered the best solution to make terrorists talk. Force them to reveal secret information with little difficulty. Almost instantaneously to be sure. I am not sure why we overlooked this procedure.

It would make water boarding seem like playing with squirt guns. I’m not sure why the CIA and the military hadn’t thought of this before. It is a certain process to guarantee results.

Here it is. Have you ever been subjected to a colonoscapy? Do you remember the stuff you had to drink to clean out your bowels? A horrific and voluminous liquid one has to drink before surrendering to a colonoscapy test. A substance very much like drinking chalky jet fuel. Milk of Magnesia laced with dragon venom.

Terrorist would be brought to their knees if forced to swallow this drink from hell. A gagging and putrefying substance for sure.

Anyway, I found this truth serum the hard way. I recently had a colonoscapy. I just don’t know how I survived. A miracle for sure.

The banks and lenders weren't the only bad guys

You can’t say enough about the bad home loans the banks made in the recent past. Mortgages that sent millions into foreclosure. Millions losing their homes due to under water mortgages. Leaving homes worth less than the balance on the mortgage. Some call it upside down mortgages. Leaving mortgage holders unable to sell their homes in order to pay off the oversized balance. Thus leading America in to a deep recession. And, you know the rest of the story.

Well enough said about banks and mortgage lenders. They are just a part of the reckless mortgage lending. The other two parts are the more than eager housing builders and the Real Estate companies. Both pressuring and coercing the buyer to buy and build now. Ignoring the fact that many buyers really don’t qualify for a significant home loan. However, the lenders were more than willing to ease up on lending requirements while the building contractors and the real estate companies press vigorously to sell. And the end result here left the builders and real estate companies off the hook. Home Scott free.

Of course we can blame a bit on the myth that everybody should have a part of the American dream of owning a home. Under water or not. Yeah right.

If you show us the exit, we shall leave.

The only thing we should say to the Iraqi people upon our departure is, we apologize for messing up their country. Our former Egomaniacal president was wrong in intruding in your country. We had no business there. However, we could not convince President Bush to not pursue his wrong-headed intent. He was surrounded by warmongers and war material suppliers and they were compelled to do what they did. Jerks all of them.

Anyway, we are sorry to interrupt your lives and kill tens of thousands of your people. I hope this never happens again. Please excuse us and we shall go home now.

Congress is the ball and chain of progress.

While the rest of us are struggling with congress to pass meaningful legislation, a few champions of hot button issues, countermand our efforts. A few people, well meaning I’m sure, hold our entire efforts hostage. Held hostage by one maybe two self-serving issues. Issues like Don’t tax the rich” or “anti-immigration laws” or “Oil pipelines built across America” or any number of single issues that enable a few congressmen or special interest groups to roadblock meaningful laws. Laws that could benefit the greater population. Legislation that would enable the hiring of more teachers, more police or fire professional, or create beneficial public works jobs. Nonetheless, single issues that hold America and it’s needed progress at bay. Stopped. Shut down by misguided congressman and lobbyists. Bringing the entire government to its knees. Just for the sake of “Having it our way.” Never mind what is really needed in America. Health care, education, good roads and bridges, better mass transportation, better public safety, and the list of worthwhile projects are endless. All thwarted by egomaniacal creeps who only purpose is to facilitate the few and powerful. Big Oil. Big Banks. Big coal and gas. Bigheaded morons commandeering government. Hijacking our constitutional process. How do we stop this? Vote!

Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Wal-Mart off base?. Charles Hood, Tulsa. Despite our government's ever-increasing need to borrow from China, we continue to complain against China's inhumane treatment of its political prisoners and its manufacturing workforce. The political prisoners are jailed and deprived of all rights. And, although China's workers aren't "prisoners," they might as well be. They're forced to produce products while working extra-long hours in poor, unhealthy conditions - and they're paid just pennies per hour to do so. Despite being cautioned countless times to "be more considerate ... keep your criticisms to yourselves," our government continues to complain. Yet, one very greedy American sits on the sidelines and quietly - but gleefully - applauds these same working conditions. His name is "Uncle Sam" Walton. He supports these inhumane conditions, because these conditions support him and his 9,655 stores. Today, more than 90 percent of the goods Wal-Mart sells are "Made in China. How else could Wal-Mart sell its products at such cheap prices? These products lack quality, but what else can you expect from unhealthy, overworked and underpaid workers? What America fails to understand is that Wal-Mart's greed has forced untold numbers of U.S. retailers and manufacturers - and the jobs therein - to close their doors. After more than 20 years, the snowballing impact of Wal-Mart's greed has finally caused the demise of too much of America's production, the driving force behind a successful economy. It's a tragedy when America's largest retailer refuses to buy products "Made in America. Letters to the editor are encouraged. Send letters to letters@tulsaworld.com..

You read the news. You decide.

Let’s step back and look at the big picture. What are we doing to make America strong and benevolent? What is our government doing? What do we see is happening in our little town and in Washington?

While Washington is in boiling disparity and can’t seem to come to some kind of agreement, we citizens can’t to find reasonable leadership in DC as well. All we can observe is strutting politicians tossing about slams and gottchas. Making the Russian government looking better all the time. Well, maybe not but almost.

If you were to ask my own opinion, it is time to totally sweep out the entire of congress. Swish! Swept off the game board like Monopoly pieces. Cleared away. Gone.

The real question is, why do we keep reelecting the same old warthogs? Mental pigmies whose intent is to just keep on being reelected and nothing more. Indicating the problem lays with we the voters. Voting mindlessly as others tell us to do. Others like Talk Radio or Cable news. Two entities with questionable intent and glaring partisanship.

Go back to your newspapers. Newspapers with professional journalism. Mostly unbiased accounting of what is really happening in Washington and in our hometowns. Yes, it does take a little longer to read and decide. But it’s well worth it. You read. You decide. It’s that simple.

Editorial from Los Angeles Times

Coda: Code for a Trojan horse. Much of the electric car, pitched as an 'all American' green vehicle, is made in China. By Greg Autry and Peter Navarro, Greg Autry and Peter Navarro are the. authors of "Death By China: Confronting the Dragon -- A Global Call to. Action. They teach at UC Irvine's Paul Merage School of Business and blog on. the Huffington Post.. A Los Angeles firm has quietly assembled a Trojan horse electric car designed to carry the Chinese military-industrial complex deep into America's auto market. Detroit should be afraid, very afraid. And anyone in the U.S. unemployment line -- along with American taxpayers, who are subsidizing this sham -- should be outraged. The car is branded Coda and debuted at the L.A. Auto Show. While Coda Automotive salespeople were eager to portray it as "All American" -- we got one of them bragging about it on camera -- its entire chassis and battery system and most of the metal (apparently 65% of the car) come from China's factory floors, which are not known for their high labor standards. From a jobs perspective, the Coda's arrival means this: American electric carmakers such as California-based Fisker Automotive and Tesla Motors, along with the GM Volt and Ford's Focus Electric, will compete on home soil with a company benefiting from all of the unfair trade practices China has used to bury so many other American industries -- from toys, textiles and machine tools to electronic assemblers and, most recently, solar panels. These practices range from currency manipulation to reported illegal export subsidies, counterfeiting, pollution and widespread worker abuses. Taxpayers should be outraged because the Coda is eligible for the combined federal and state tax rebates on electric vehicles of $10,000 a vehicle, while China blatantly blocked the Volt from its Chinese green subsidy unless GM manufactured it in Shanghai and turned over design secrets. These economic considerations notwithstanding, a closer look at Coda's supply chain reveals a darker truth. The "new" Coda is actually an updated variation on the 6-year-old Saibao from China's state-owned Hafei Motor Co. Hafei is a division of Changan Automobile Group, which in turn is controlled by China Weaponry Equipment Group. This state-owned enterprise supplies China's aggressively expanding military, and its parent, China South Industries Group, owns half of arms dealer Norinco, which reportedly tried to smuggle guns to Libya during the last days of the Kadafi regime. Norinco's other bloody trade has included transferring missile technology to Iran, attempting to sell AK-47s to U.S. street gangs and selling nearly $70 million in arms to Zimbabwe's Mugabe regime. So, before considering a Coda as a means of going green, remember all the red blood shed by Coda's real backers. And speaking of backers, it is disquieting and disgusting that the Chinese government has been able to put so many prominent American faces on such a job-killing venture. Coda CEO Phil Murtaugh is the former head of GM's China division, and the company has raised more than $300 million from banks such as Morgan Stanley and well-connected private investors that include former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Mack McLarty and former Goldman Sachs CEO Henry Paulson. Paulson's role in saddling up the Coda Trojan horse is particularly galling. As Treasury secretary under President George W. Bush, he repeatedly refused to brand China a currency manipulator; this inaction contributed to the loss of tens of thousands of American factories and millions of American jobs. According to Nobel economist Paul Krugman, China's currency manipulation alone costs America up to 1.5% of its GDP every year, and Economic Policy Institute economist Robert Scott suggests this kills as many as 3 million U.S. jobs. Now, Paulson stands to personally profit from China's currency manipulation and other unfair trade practices as an investor in a venture that would worsen the U.S. trade deficit and swell U.S. unemployment lines. Finally, another Coda enterprise adds insult to injury: a planned Ohio battery factory to be built with more than half a billion in U.S. taxpayer stimulus bucks, including an Energy Department loan and incentives from the state of Ohio and the city of Columbus. Great, except that a Chinese-dominated joint venture with Tianjin Lishen Battery will really own it. That's an enormously expensive way to create "up to" 1,000 jobs, with potential millions in profits shipped back to China. When more than 20 million Americans can't find a decent job and millions more don't earn a decent wage, the last thing we need is China invading the U.S. auto market and getting U.S. subsidies under the false pretenses of helping Americans "go green and buy American.

Local Editorial

Global warming. World's Editorial Writers. In a video prepared for delivery to a United Nations climate change conference in Durban, South Africa, Oklahoma's Sen. Jim Inhofe declared victory in his efforts to debunk man-made global warming as a hoax. The global warming movement has collapsed and is being ignored by its biggest allies, he said. The senator's declaration of victory may be a bit premature. While he may have persuaded some people that there is no need to spend money to deal with the consequences of the increased burning of fossil fuels, the preponderance of scientific opinion is, as it has been, that Earth's climate is warming and fossil fuels use is the main culprit. To deny climate change is to ignore the evidence. Sea levels are rising and the oceans are warming. Global temperatures are rising. Glaciers are retreating and ice sheets in Greenland and the Antarctic are decreasing. All these things are happening at unprecedented rates. While there are scientists and politicians on both sides of the issue, those who see climate change as a genuine threat are mostly scientists and most of those who deny it are politicians. Even if Inhofe has "won" the debate, as he says, it is a dubious victory. The climatological consequences of global warming are already upon us. Weather extremes are becoming the norm. More intense hurricanes and resulting flooding, record-setting temperatures, drought and wildfires are all symptoms. According to the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, "Scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is unequivocal. Disbelieving or discounting the facts simply delays the time when the nations of the world will take the steps necessary to address the issue..

Ladies and Gentlemen of congress, please step aside, or else.

How long is it going to take the American citizen to realize that the Republican leadership in Congress is the firewall between big business and consumers? They are the obstacle preventing reasonable laws to protect we Americans from establishing fair business practices, clean air legislation, clean water regulations, and just reasonable environmental protection laws. They are the guys who get in the way of common sense.

It doesn’t take a scholarly writer of public policy to see that the Republican leadership in congress is the hired protectors of Wall Street, big banks, big oil, and hydrocarbon purveyors. You can easily read about what congress is perpetrating against the American citizen. Just read the daily newspaper. Read the weekly magazines. Watch the nightly news. It’s all there. It is easy to understand.

Congress does not like anyone or any organization that stands in the way of “Making Business.” Business at the expense of America and its human and natural resources. No matter if good laws benefit the health of American, such rules or regulations will be labeled as Job Killing and vigorously opposed by the Republican Congressional leadership. And if the truth be known, seldom if ever are such laws ever cause jobs to be lost. More like a smoke and mirror mantra from the leadership.

So, it is easy to see that the Republican leadership is bought and paid for by big business, big oil, and big banks. Republicans want the American consumer and citizen to keep their collective noses out of Washington legislation. Congress is the hired “security guards” to keep America at bay. Holding Americans from entering the decision process. Which if you think about it, is totally against the constitutional process. More like Anti-American. Democracy is dammed. Congress is not our friend.

Wake up Americans! Call your congressman or congresswoman and let them know if they can’t protect the general interest of the constituency, then it is the voters duty to get rid of him or her. It is your responsibility as a voter to find somebody else to represent the best interest of your district. Better yet, all of congress needs to be replaced. Swept out. Start afresh with someone who cares about you and your interests. God bless America.

A mad movie with madmen and woman

Did you ever see the blockbuster movie comedy “It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad World? Just a crazy wacky and most bazaar movie and first shown in the mid-1960s at exclusive showings. Starring Spencer Tracy, Jonathan Winters, Sid Caesar, Terry Thomas, Milton Berle, and many many other mad comedians. It kept me laughing until I cried and almost wet my pants.

A movie scenario it took several writers to write and eventually finished the plot. All about a gang of misfit comedians chasing after some hidden treasure. A movie filled with one liners, pratfalls, outrageous stunts, and incredible human misbehavior. Truly one of the best comedies ever filmed. You should download it from Netflix.

However, at this moment in time, there is a comedy of greater magnitude unfolding as we speak. A bazaar scenerio only Hollywood could ever write and cast but couldn’t. But, it’s most certainly not Hollywood and neither is it cast by Hollywood actors. The script is so far out and loopy, no Hollywood writer could ever come up with such a twisted plot. Insane, horrific, new invented language and a presentation filled with irony. A scenario that is more outrageous than any script Hollywood could ever dream of writing.

What is it and where can I see it? Well, it’s been unfolding as we speak almost on a weekly basis on network TV, cable, and on the Internet. It’s called the Republican Debates. Cast with the most mad Men and woman any casting service or director could ever come up with. You can’t write this kind of stuff and expect real people to believe it. You couldn’t find a more insane cast. This is by far the ultimate reality show. Millions and maybe billions of dollars couldn’t ever write and cast such a mad scenario and script.

No gathering of actors and writers has ever been assembled such as this. An event unequaled by anything Hollywood puts out. This is it! The Mad, Mad, Mad Republican Debates. Now showing on a TV or computer near you. Featuring Newt, Rick, Mit, Michele, Ron, John, and virtually a cast of thousands. All in living color and most unpredictable reality. And, to repeat, most Mad!

We must reform corrections. Or correct reform. Not sure.

I too along with a million others think rod blagojevich is a blazing idiot. Certainly he has committed his share of broken laws. Crimes against the state of Illinois. Yes, he should pay and pay dearly.

However, is it really necessary to send a man who has not harmed anyone or damaged personal or public property to a harsh prison sentence? He is neither threat to anybody nor a danger to himself. He just a blathering buffoon. A real obnoxious guy.

Nonetheless, I think a more humiliating sentence should be handed down to him instead of a lengthy prison term. Humiliating like driving a Chicago or Springfield city bus for five or six years. Or, driving and working a city trash truck. Perhaps do roadwork with the Department of Transportation. Something like flagman or steamroller driver. Anything where he could be seen and ridiculed or shamed. All, at no pay. Well, maybe a free lunch.

But, the idea is to receive benefit from his labors. Being in prison would just hide him from humiliation and shame. So put him out on the streets for all to view and point at. He should wear a bright yellow and orange jump suit that says, “Bad Boy Politician” emblazoned in front and back. What do you think?

http://www.prx.org/pieces/71210-untitled-december-7-2011/edit

http://www.prx.org/pieces/71210-untitled-december-7-2011/edit

Facebook won't hang on a string.

Now, I want you to stay with me on this because there is a point to be made. During Christmases past many years ago and during a different age, my Okie mom and dad would take an old thick cotton string and hang it high overhead across the living room in our old East L A home. It was strung like a clothe line and hung on it were the many colorful Christmas cards and suspended like fresh washed laundry. Cards actually received in the mail from friends and family. Once opened and read, it would create a banner of holiday greetings for all to gleefully observe after coming into our little adobe house.

You could see various cards depicting Christmas scenes from floating candy canes to the ubiquitous little house on the fluffy snow filled prairie. And several greeting cards showing the baby Jesus lying in the manger. Cards filled with holiday verse and actually hand written greetings by its senders. Some cards even filled with a recent family narrative also hand written. Some included a black and white photo or two of their family. Of course, I loved the wacky cards with cross-eyed reindeer with holly and lights strung up in their horns.

So, Years later and carrying on the tradition, my wife would Scotch tape cards hanging diagonally down across the top of the door facing. The door going from the living room in to the dining area. And the cards would also run down lower on the sides of the facing allowing smaller readers to observe the annual greetings. Creating a holiday gallery of greeting cards. Never the less, fun at Christmas for all our visitors.
“Hmm? What is this one with the hula girl in a grass skirt with a lei made of holly?”

Now here it is. My point. With the recent trend of “E-cards,” how does one easily string E-cards across on an old cotton string or taped to a door facing? Some cards are animated video and cannot be printed off. A few are graphic with text but would look funny printed off on eight and a half by eleven printer paper. How sad.

What I will do is print off a fact sheet referring all observers to my Facebook account. Tape that to the door facing for all to read. “FYI, Go to my Facebook page and see all my lovely cards from my 1792 friends. LOL. Or, you can easily follow me and my clever greetings on Twitter. How cool. How so today. Well. Not really. How so cold and impersonal. Yuck! Hopefully this too shall pass. Now, where’s that card with Santa stuck upside down in the chimney? I’ll sign it now. Take your Facebook and Unfriend it! Or, you can Tweet… THIS!

Nada senor. Congress has done nada. Zip zero!

So far, the current Congress is the biggest “Do Nothing Congress” since the Truman administration. This is according to the latest statistical research. Not much has been accomplished since 2010. Barely much has happened. Nothing. Zip. Zero. Nada. Blank. Just an empty space. Batting .000.

How did this happen? Or, should I say, how did this not happen? What went wrong? How is it that nil was accomplished? Or, unaccomplished? The congressional records only have two and a half pages in its logs. All the invocations, flag pledges, and break for lunch motions and seconds going back to Jan 2011. That’s it. Nothing else. Fade to black.

How could it be that four hundred plus U S Representatives couldn’t get anything done? Was there not a quorum? No House bills to debated and vote on? Could they have been all asleep? Maybe more like out to lunch? Drunk under their desks? What?!

There are no excuses. The zeros speak for themselves. You cannot deny numbers or the lack there of

I think we might have a good case here for an all-new congress. Empty out the house and hire a new batch of Reps. Start all over again from scratch. What do you think?

Was Charles Dickens actually writing about the future of America?

It seems to me the current social and financial infrastructure of America is slipping back into a moment in time where we were three hundred years ago. A historical time taken from old England of the sixteenth and seventeenth Century. Perhaps a feudal or Oligarchy system. A stratified societal structure often written about in a Charles Dickens novel. Ruled by the few and privileged. Leaving a small merchant middles class and a significantly large and poor working
Under class.

And we are talking about early American settlers escaping from a suppressive social system back in the motherland of old England. People trying to run away from brutal overlords whose only interest was to luxuriate in their posh counting houses and continue to enslave the poor. Making their selfish obscene gains on the backs of impoverished workers. Workers who had no education, no rights, no privileges, and living in the worse living conditions. Poor people in bad health with a very short life.

I am afraid that is where we could be headed now. It appears we middle class folk are now slipping down that slope once again. Repeating history. And, if we don’t pay close attention, we Americans will be right back where our ancestors started. Trying to escape a feudal system whose weight is on the back of the poor. Have we heard this scenario from times past? Is there another country to where we can escape? Or is this worry necessary? Can this too be stopped? Can we reform and change government? Most of all change congress? What do you think?

God help us and God bless us all, everyone.

Let's make the best of it.

Is there any way we can put this political campaign season on hold? Hold it until after Christmas and New years? It would really be enjoyable if we heard nothing from Newt, Mit, and Rick. Tell Michele, Ron, and John to just stifle. Go on vacation. Get lost.

Family during Christmas is too important to us to be bothered with whiney blathering politicians. And, who knows, maybe we can extend the holiday season on through the New Year. Perhaps even cancel the entire election season until 2014. How about that?

Anyway, hope all is well with you and family and hope you have a lovely holiday season. Merry Christmas and stay warm.

We need a candidate resume with ALL experiences listed.

If only there was someone capable to run for the Republicans. I really feel sorry for the Republican Party. No candidates worth a flip. Not a one in the bunch worth anything. All political dogs. Ill informed, far from main stream thinking, paid off by lobbyists, and mostly dim-witted. Not one reasonable Presidential Candidate in the Republican Party.

Isn’t there someone out there? Is there not one Republican with a reasonable I Q? Perhaps the Republican Party should recruit a qualified candidate from the Independents. Someone with a moderate approach. Someone both the Republicans and Democrats can warm up to.

A candidate with true American values. Someone who knows the U S Constitution and how it came about. Someone who has read the intellect of the founding fathers and what inspired the writings of the Declaration of Independence. What were the founders were thinking before the declaration was signed and acted on. Why did the writers and signers of the Declaration of Independence come to the conclusion America needed to be free from England? What was it that motivated the early resisters to the British Crown?

Perhaps we should go back and study what happened and capture the spirit of Independence. Experience what real Imperial suppression was. What freedom really means.

I just don’t see or know of anyone in the Republican Party that gives the impression he or she is knowledgeable and mature enough to be President of the United States. Leader of the free world. Champion of Life, Liberty, and a pursuant of happiness. A believer of the Constitution. A defender of justice and a keeper of the law. And, most of all beholding to no Corporation, no ideology, dogma, or shallow and self-serving pledges.

Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Not so super. Norm Rourke, Beggs. Did anyone really expect this group of isolated arrogant politicians to accomplish anything? They're only concerned about furthering their partisan agendas, and pointing fingers at the opposition. So why should we expect them to do anything to help our country and our people? Do they really care if our country suffers? Do they really care what Americans face every day with a failing economy? Do they care about anything except being re-elected and continuing to live well in Washington far away from those who put their faith in them through their vote? We all know the answer to these questions. Come November 2012, we can tell them what we care about: Getting rid of them! It's doubtful life as we know it would end if we threw these bums out. Maybe it's time for a viable third political party - a party that is committed to working for America and its people. So far none of the career politicians of either party is a stellar examples of this. Instead they have shown they are interested in only one thing: self-preservation. My 2012 campaign slogan: Throw all the bums out. Letters to the editor are encouraged. Send letters to letters@tulsaworld.com..