Greetings from the wet road in Van Horn, Texas (thunderstorms appear to sweep across scores of miles of landscape and probably do) where gasoline prices are pretty much stabilized between $2.99 and $3.09 per gallon.
Having gone more than 500 miles from Dallas, it offers a long opportunity to analyze the interstate system within the Lone Star State. And frankly, it sucks, and it’s ugly. In fact, they ought to recast the Texas state quarter and replace the map of Texas with its new endearing symbol – the orange and white highway cone (they’re everywhere and they make driving a chore!).
Texas is a special state because it encompasses all the major national topographies within its borders. There are hundreds of miles of coastline with Corpus Christi and South Padre Island considered being unique. East Texas contains the forests and swamps of the South, South Texas has rolling brush country, North Texas mirrors the flat plains of central U.S. and the Hill Country of Central Texas is the gateway to the mountains in deep West Texas.
So why doesn’t its highways reflect such diversity and beauty? Five major routes exist and nary one of them is worthy of long, languid drives. There is nothing uglier than going from Dallas to Galveston on I-45, only followed by the I-35 trek from Dallas to San Antonio and long sections of I-20 east of Abilene past Odessa.
The roadways, which once reflected much of Texas’ precious open space, now contains such eyesores as dilapidated homes and businesses, pre-fab housing sale lots, triple-x bookstores and so many empty, decaying billboards it’s painful to see.
The medians find weeds unattended for what appears to be months, if at all. Wildflowers might grace certain parts of Texas in the spring but weeds are hideous.
When such sights greet newcomers, what does it say to them about Texas? Frankly, the state should be using all the money, appropriated to erect greeting signs to promote its White House occupant native son, to clean up as many miles of highway as possible. It wouldn’t be the world’s worst thing to initiate a government-work program to have ongoing cleanup efforts on the interstates. After all, if the government is going to support people, why not do some good with it?
Imagine hiring evacuees from Katrina as a new workforce? It would solve several problems at once. Creative thinking often is what is needed for the betterment of all.
It’s dinnertime and Van Horn, frankly, offers little. The choice is between Chuy’s Mexican Kitchen or the Dairy Queen. What do you think?
But Van Horn is in Central Time while El Paso is in Mountain Time, which makes watching the hotel television weird. One of many adjustments to make manana.
Adios until then.
Monday, September 05, 2005
Friday, September 02, 2005
R.I.P. Wilmer-Hutchins students
The end has come for a troubled school district .... officially. It was an exercise in inner corruption and malfeasance condoned by the adults who lived there and perpetuated and tolerated by the very state officials that pulled the switch to put it out of its misery.
Troubled school district to be permanently closed
By the Associated Press
AUSTIN — The Texas Education Agency plans to permanently dissolve the troubled Wilmer-Hutchins school district and send its students to Dallas schools, Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley said today.
The move would be effective July 1, pending clearance by the U.S. Justice Department, Neeley said in a statement.
State law allows the Texas Education Agency to close a school district that, like Wilmer-Hutchins, has been rated academically unacceptable for two consecutive years.
Wilmer-Hutchins' roughly 2,700 students began attending Dallas schools last month after a state-appointed board of managers decided to shutter the impoverished district for a year to make sweeping changes.
"The districts problems have escalated from bad to worse over decades," Neeley said. "These students have spent their school years in a district racked by scandal and mismanagement.
"I cannot in good conscience allow any child to be educated in this inadequate system."
Rest in peace, Wilmer-Hutchins.
Troubled school district to be permanently closed
By the Associated Press
AUSTIN — The Texas Education Agency plans to permanently dissolve the troubled Wilmer-Hutchins school district and send its students to Dallas schools, Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley said today.
The move would be effective July 1, pending clearance by the U.S. Justice Department, Neeley said in a statement.
State law allows the Texas Education Agency to close a school district that, like Wilmer-Hutchins, has been rated academically unacceptable for two consecutive years.
Wilmer-Hutchins' roughly 2,700 students began attending Dallas schools last month after a state-appointed board of managers decided to shutter the impoverished district for a year to make sweeping changes.
"The districts problems have escalated from bad to worse over decades," Neeley said. "These students have spent their school years in a district racked by scandal and mismanagement.
"I cannot in good conscience allow any child to be educated in this inadequate system."
Rest in peace, Wilmer-Hutchins.
Katrina recovery thoughts
The U.S. government response, from local to federal, has been weak in trying to help victims in New Orleans of Hurricane Katrina. When results are inadequate, as clearly noted by President Bush today, then the execution is inadequate – pure and simple.
Part of the problem is also clear. FEMA, the agency created during the Carter Administration, to deal with natural disasters, is now part of the Department of Homeland Security, which is NOT a natural fit. The same cabinet-level agency that coordinate intelligence on terrorists should not be the one to respond to hurricane.
And the proof is on TV for all to see.
No one could have picked out Michael Cherthoff, Secretary of Homeland Security, if he were standing alone. He has been THAT invisible.
And where has the dear old Vice President been? We’ve seen the President, First Lady, all appropriate senators and governors. But Dick Cheney has been strangely incognito. Again, one of the problems has been the lack of a spokesperson for this crisis. When Al Haig yelled, “I’m in charge here” during Reagan’s assassination attempt in 1981, he MEANT it (although he technically should not have been in charge). Yet, he WAS the one stepping up and out front. No one did that in Washington or on the Gulf Coast.
They should have put the Superdome evacuees on large tankers and navy ships. and moved them up the Mississippi River and through the Gulf of Mexico to Houston or wherever. How many buses are needed to move 30,000 people at 100 people per bus? A convoy of 300 buses? From where and with what fuel???? How would they get to the Dome? At least the people could have walked to the riverfront and board those large ships.
If you want to make movie analogies, it could be "28 Days" crossed with "Mad Max." No one from Hollywood could make this stuff up. But New Orleans quickly became the vision from a different movie - "Escape from New York."
And to quote Clint Eastwood from "Heartbreak Ridge," "it's been one giant cluster fuck."
Sadly, amen to that.
Part of the problem is also clear. FEMA, the agency created during the Carter Administration, to deal with natural disasters, is now part of the Department of Homeland Security, which is NOT a natural fit. The same cabinet-level agency that coordinate intelligence on terrorists should not be the one to respond to hurricane.
And the proof is on TV for all to see.
No one could have picked out Michael Cherthoff, Secretary of Homeland Security, if he were standing alone. He has been THAT invisible.
And where has the dear old Vice President been? We’ve seen the President, First Lady, all appropriate senators and governors. But Dick Cheney has been strangely incognito. Again, one of the problems has been the lack of a spokesperson for this crisis. When Al Haig yelled, “I’m in charge here” during Reagan’s assassination attempt in 1981, he MEANT it (although he technically should not have been in charge). Yet, he WAS the one stepping up and out front. No one did that in Washington or on the Gulf Coast.
They should have put the Superdome evacuees on large tankers and navy ships. and moved them up the Mississippi River and through the Gulf of Mexico to Houston or wherever. How many buses are needed to move 30,000 people at 100 people per bus? A convoy of 300 buses? From where and with what fuel???? How would they get to the Dome? At least the people could have walked to the riverfront and board those large ships.
If you want to make movie analogies, it could be "28 Days" crossed with "Mad Max." No one from Hollywood could make this stuff up. But New Orleans quickly became the vision from a different movie - "Escape from New York."
And to quote Clint Eastwood from "Heartbreak Ridge," "it's been one giant cluster fuck."
Sadly, amen to that.
Open up your homes and your hearts
A personal story if you please. When I lived in a small town in South Texas as a newspaper owner, I would often pen effusive editorials about the problems and possible solutions, to certain city happenings. But other wise, usually older, men would tell me, “It don’t matter what you say, it’s what you do that counts. You want things to change? You have to get directly involved.”
I took that advice, ran and won a seat on the city council and spent two years trying (mostly unsuccessful) to implement my ideas into concrete policies. I tried because it was useless to speak in platitudes; one needed to take action.
I draw this analogy because it is time for people to become more involved in what’s happened (and still happening) along the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. It is a chance to do more than give (cash) money to relief agencies; it is an opportunity to get more personal about one’s ability to be charitable.
Open up your homes to needy families, not just your wallets. Find online networks or go through churches and social agencies to see if a family need a place to stay for an extended period of time. And then, open the door, extend a hand in friendship and say, “Mi casa es su casa.”
My wife and I are doing just that. We met this very nice family who barely left the city in time to avoid being stuck and swamped by Katrina. Well-educated, they were like many folks who had ridden out prior storms and just
“It was the final blunt warning from the mayor (Ray Nagin) and just how emphatic it was that convinced us we had to leave,” the father said. “I tossed my son a phone book and we began to call hotels out of town as we drove away.”
They slowly made it to Little Rock, Ark., and then to Dallas, where he has several clients in his consulting business. Being here will allow him the luxury of continuing to work while waiting for New Orleans to re-open for personal assessment.
It has been overwhelming for he, his wife, their two teenage children and family dog.
“It seems like yesterday when we left and it’s Thursday already,” he said sheepishly. “You just don’t imagine where the time goes. It’s all a kind of blur.”
Usually happens when you’re on the run.
I’ve personally seen this kind of uprooting devastation before, albeit on a smaller scale. The 1994 tornadoes that struck Lancaster destroyed hundreds upon hundreds of home and an equal amount of lives (as well as causing three fatalities). People whom just the afternoon before led normal, quiet, productive lives were left wandering and wondering what would happen next … and where they would go.
Help from across the region, state and country arrived; it was gratefully received and appreciated. But not everyone recovered. Lancaster lost much of its population base as people had to start over from nothing with nothing. While a recent housing boom has existed in that community, you can still drive through section where concrete slabs stand as unintentional memorials to that horrid Monday night – untouched, undeveloped and not remembered. The city’s Town Square never returned to its Main Street designation, received just 30 days before it was blown away.
Still, homes were opened to displaced families – in neighboring cities in south Dallas County and throughout the Metroplex. It was done because it was the right thing to do and no official – local, state or federal - had to tell these people to do that.
The recovery in New Orleans will take months to complete, if not years. Until simple things are handled, such as massive sanitation and cleanup of debris and disease causing materials, no one will be able to safely enter that city, let alone think about re-establishing residence. Families will need new homes for a while and most of them won’t the immediate financial and employment needs to accomplish that.
So this is where you step in! Show your complete compassion and heart by housing as many families as you can. Give them back a little sense of normalcy that exists inside a living home instead of a hotel room.
On the Dallas Morning News’ editorial group blog, their esteemed Louisiana native (Rod Dreher) suggested that people visit local hotels and inquire if there are any New Orleans evacuees registered. He asks people to pay for a night’s stay or two, as the evacuees’ resources will begin to run low.
I say to take it a step further. Invite them to stay in a home instead of a sterile hotel room. If you have room, or know of a situation (apartment/rent house) that is vacant, allow these families to stop suffering – emotionally and financially.
If you have a home, have a heart.
I took that advice, ran and won a seat on the city council and spent two years trying (mostly unsuccessful) to implement my ideas into concrete policies. I tried because it was useless to speak in platitudes; one needed to take action.
I draw this analogy because it is time for people to become more involved in what’s happened (and still happening) along the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. It is a chance to do more than give (cash) money to relief agencies; it is an opportunity to get more personal about one’s ability to be charitable.
Open up your homes to needy families, not just your wallets. Find online networks or go through churches and social agencies to see if a family need a place to stay for an extended period of time. And then, open the door, extend a hand in friendship and say, “Mi casa es su casa.”
My wife and I are doing just that. We met this very nice family who barely left the city in time to avoid being stuck and swamped by Katrina. Well-educated, they were like many folks who had ridden out prior storms and just
“It was the final blunt warning from the mayor (Ray Nagin) and just how emphatic it was that convinced us we had to leave,” the father said. “I tossed my son a phone book and we began to call hotels out of town as we drove away.”
They slowly made it to Little Rock, Ark., and then to Dallas, where he has several clients in his consulting business. Being here will allow him the luxury of continuing to work while waiting for New Orleans to re-open for personal assessment.
It has been overwhelming for he, his wife, their two teenage children and family dog.
“It seems like yesterday when we left and it’s Thursday already,” he said sheepishly. “You just don’t imagine where the time goes. It’s all a kind of blur.”
Usually happens when you’re on the run.
I’ve personally seen this kind of uprooting devastation before, albeit on a smaller scale. The 1994 tornadoes that struck Lancaster destroyed hundreds upon hundreds of home and an equal amount of lives (as well as causing three fatalities). People whom just the afternoon before led normal, quiet, productive lives were left wandering and wondering what would happen next … and where they would go.
Help from across the region, state and country arrived; it was gratefully received and appreciated. But not everyone recovered. Lancaster lost much of its population base as people had to start over from nothing with nothing. While a recent housing boom has existed in that community, you can still drive through section where concrete slabs stand as unintentional memorials to that horrid Monday night – untouched, undeveloped and not remembered. The city’s Town Square never returned to its Main Street designation, received just 30 days before it was blown away.
Still, homes were opened to displaced families – in neighboring cities in south Dallas County and throughout the Metroplex. It was done because it was the right thing to do and no official – local, state or federal - had to tell these people to do that.
The recovery in New Orleans will take months to complete, if not years. Until simple things are handled, such as massive sanitation and cleanup of debris and disease causing materials, no one will be able to safely enter that city, let alone think about re-establishing residence. Families will need new homes for a while and most of them won’t the immediate financial and employment needs to accomplish that.
So this is where you step in! Show your complete compassion and heart by housing as many families as you can. Give them back a little sense of normalcy that exists inside a living home instead of a hotel room.
On the Dallas Morning News’ editorial group blog, their esteemed Louisiana native (Rod Dreher) suggested that people visit local hotels and inquire if there are any New Orleans evacuees registered. He asks people to pay for a night’s stay or two, as the evacuees’ resources will begin to run low.
I say to take it a step further. Invite them to stay in a home instead of a sterile hotel room. If you have room, or know of a situation (apartment/rent house) that is vacant, allow these families to stop suffering – emotionally and financially.
If you have a home, have a heart.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Where is George W. Bush? Not at the site of the disaster, that's for sure!
Where is the President of the United States when his peopleneed him the most? Why wasn't he in a chopper Tuesday surveying the scene along the U.S. Gulf Coast?
Why is he in California comparing himself to FDR? What idiot advisor thought this would show him to be "Presidential?"
Shame on President Bush for giving the appearance that Iraq is more important than New Orleans, Gulfport or Biloxi. You'd think Daddy would have called to explain what happens when you are a no show to disaster.
It is a disgrace and there is no way around it but to call out the President on this. Sorry that his precious little vacation got cut short, but he should have told the folks in Coronado, "Sorry, gotta be where I'm needed." And that wasn't at some photo op political rally for some damn war. Hey, Mr. President, Mother Nature dropped a bomb on the Gulf Coast and it looks worse than Baghdad.
In truth, what's really more important? And who is really more important? It sure looks like he doesn't give a shit for these people ... because they ain't got no oil.
I must say it was pretty cheeky on the part of the President to compare his military action to World War II in his speech and his vision to that of FDR. That's awfully high cotton to be standing in.
Sadly, President Bush didn't quite study history enough. From his speech as reported by the AP, "He portrayed Roosevelt's vision as similar to his own - a commitment to spreading freedom even when U.S. allies were not convinced it was the best course."
Oops, history reveals that the U.S. was the last nation to enter the war in 1941, even after European allies begged us to get involved to stave off the Nazi assault across that continent.
And in 1941, we knew exactly which country comprised the enemy - Germany, Japan, Italy. You'd be hard-pressed to ID participating terrorist nations because, potentially, there are SO many. We attacked the one that contributed the LEAST to the 9/11 attack. Otherwsie, we'd be stomping all over ... Saudi Arabia and that ain't a happening thing.
All this chest-thumping at a time of real national tragedy in the Gulf states is quite unbecoming the office. And certainly it's NOT Presidential.
Yes, a caring President would have cancel the trip for one that demonstrates that he gives a damn. (Right, Mr. Rove? Bill Clinton would have been on the scene the next day).
And I guarantee you President Bush won't be at any memorial ceremony for the victims. No political points to be gained.
Only flag-waving, chest-thumping Fox News took time away from the only story America cares about right now to prop up the President and then spend two segments verbally whacking Jesse Jackson for meeting with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez. Hey, can't you guys give it a rest for one goddamn day?!?! (Nope, edict no. 4 at Fox - never pass a chance to bash a liberal ... even when scores of people are drowning under torrents of flood water).
A pox on the Fox house.
Again, God spare New Orleans from further harm. It's just too wonderful of a city to be obliterated like a modern-day Pompeii.
Why is he in California comparing himself to FDR? What idiot advisor thought this would show him to be "Presidential?"
Shame on President Bush for giving the appearance that Iraq is more important than New Orleans, Gulfport or Biloxi. You'd think Daddy would have called to explain what happens when you are a no show to disaster.
It is a disgrace and there is no way around it but to call out the President on this. Sorry that his precious little vacation got cut short, but he should have told the folks in Coronado, "Sorry, gotta be where I'm needed." And that wasn't at some photo op political rally for some damn war. Hey, Mr. President, Mother Nature dropped a bomb on the Gulf Coast and it looks worse than Baghdad.
In truth, what's really more important? And who is really more important? It sure looks like he doesn't give a shit for these people ... because they ain't got no oil.
I must say it was pretty cheeky on the part of the President to compare his military action to World War II in his speech and his vision to that of FDR. That's awfully high cotton to be standing in.
Sadly, President Bush didn't quite study history enough. From his speech as reported by the AP, "He portrayed Roosevelt's vision as similar to his own - a commitment to spreading freedom even when U.S. allies were not convinced it was the best course."
Oops, history reveals that the U.S. was the last nation to enter the war in 1941, even after European allies begged us to get involved to stave off the Nazi assault across that continent.
And in 1941, we knew exactly which country comprised the enemy - Germany, Japan, Italy. You'd be hard-pressed to ID participating terrorist nations because, potentially, there are SO many. We attacked the one that contributed the LEAST to the 9/11 attack. Otherwsie, we'd be stomping all over ... Saudi Arabia and that ain't a happening thing.
All this chest-thumping at a time of real national tragedy in the Gulf states is quite unbecoming the office. And certainly it's NOT Presidential.
Yes, a caring President would have cancel the trip for one that demonstrates that he gives a damn. (Right, Mr. Rove? Bill Clinton would have been on the scene the next day).
And I guarantee you President Bush won't be at any memorial ceremony for the victims. No political points to be gained.
Only flag-waving, chest-thumping Fox News took time away from the only story America cares about right now to prop up the President and then spend two segments verbally whacking Jesse Jackson for meeting with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez. Hey, can't you guys give it a rest for one goddamn day?!?! (Nope, edict no. 4 at Fox - never pass a chance to bash a liberal ... even when scores of people are drowning under torrents of flood water).
A pox on the Fox house.
Again, God spare New Orleans from further harm. It's just too wonderful of a city to be obliterated like a modern-day Pompeii.
God watch over the people on the Gulf Coast
Even for a news junkie like myself (and most of y'all), I just cannot watch anymore reports on CNN, MSNBC or Fox where cameras continue to show miles and miles of utter devastation along the Gulf Coast. It's just too much hardship to absorb and there's nothing new being reported.
I must say that I was totally moved last night watching CNN's "Newsnight" and the exchange between anchor Aaron Brown (one of the few smart enough to stay put in NYC) and reporter Jeanne Meserve. She broke down while talking with Brown and it was too genuine for even the most jaded of watchers. You felt her heartache for what she saw.
Which brings me to my main point - how many TV idiots are running around saying how New Orleans was "spared." I ask, "Compared to what???" Eighty percent of the city is under way, the levees have brown from Ponchartrain and are flooding the poorest of neighborhoods and no one knows how many deaths there have been because no one can reach these people.
If that is being "spared," I don't want it. However, the need for instant analysis cause such snap judgments to be made and it is a detriment to the rescuers, the victims and the survivors to hear such crap.
God watch over that area of the country. Those people surely need something good to happen.
I must say that I was totally moved last night watching CNN's "Newsnight" and the exchange between anchor Aaron Brown (one of the few smart enough to stay put in NYC) and reporter Jeanne Meserve. She broke down while talking with Brown and it was too genuine for even the most jaded of watchers. You felt her heartache for what she saw.
Which brings me to my main point - how many TV idiots are running around saying how New Orleans was "spared." I ask, "Compared to what???" Eighty percent of the city is under way, the levees have brown from Ponchartrain and are flooding the poorest of neighborhoods and no one knows how many deaths there have been because no one can reach these people.
If that is being "spared," I don't want it. However, the need for instant analysis cause such snap judgments to be made and it is a detriment to the rescuers, the victims and the survivors to hear such crap.
God watch over that area of the country. Those people surely need something good to happen.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Stop blaming the messengers when you actually hate the message
As a former publisher, newspaper owner and editor, I find that the general public has no clue about how a newspaper ends up on their front lawn every single day ... nor, all too often, do they care.
They complain about:
· not enough space for ALL the stories that each individual wants to read, or cares about (which would make the DMN the same size as War and Peace);
· too many ads for them to skip (although it represents 80 percent of a newspapers revenue source - 1 of 3 ways [subscription/single copy sales, advertising, classified and retail]. I always told people that ads were "paid news.");
· the amount of time it takes to actually process an event into a printed newspage (despite technological advances, it STILL takes time to get it done).
· limitations of staff (you can't be everywhere and cover EVERYTHING at once).
And to explain it all would mean a full journalism course that isn't taught anymore at schools like Texas A&M. It's too bad because if people knew more about the product they read, they would understand the difficulty and reason to publish a permanent record of history on a daily basis.
So I guess if everyone is complaining, then most newspapers are either doing something wrong or something right (the latter meaning people care enough to voice complaints). It is when they go silent from NOT caring that you HAVE to start to worry).
Still, why does everyone blame the press for what it reads (or hears) when most of the time, the media reports what people want to see or read. Emphasis on stories reflect the public’s interest. Most of the people would rather hear about celebrities, or focus on a single mother in Crawford than spend time on issues that would hurt one’s head through stimulated thought process. After all, if the President doesn’t go in depth, why should anyone else?
Reporting isn’ the problem; retention and attention are the problems. We remember little and have the focus ability of a dead cactus.
Just watch in 2006. All the incumbents will be re-elected; no Democrat will run in GOP-dominated areas and the same bunch of fools will be returned to Austin and DC. You can book it like seeing the sun rise each morning (through the pollution, of course).
They complain about:
· not enough space for ALL the stories that each individual wants to read, or cares about (which would make the DMN the same size as War and Peace);
· too many ads for them to skip (although it represents 80 percent of a newspapers revenue source - 1 of 3 ways [subscription/single copy sales, advertising, classified and retail]. I always told people that ads were "paid news.");
· the amount of time it takes to actually process an event into a printed newspage (despite technological advances, it STILL takes time to get it done).
· limitations of staff (you can't be everywhere and cover EVERYTHING at once).
And to explain it all would mean a full journalism course that isn't taught anymore at schools like Texas A&M. It's too bad because if people knew more about the product they read, they would understand the difficulty and reason to publish a permanent record of history on a daily basis.
So I guess if everyone is complaining, then most newspapers are either doing something wrong or something right (the latter meaning people care enough to voice complaints). It is when they go silent from NOT caring that you HAVE to start to worry).
Still, why does everyone blame the press for what it reads (or hears) when most of the time, the media reports what people want to see or read. Emphasis on stories reflect the public’s interest. Most of the people would rather hear about celebrities, or focus on a single mother in Crawford than spend time on issues that would hurt one’s head through stimulated thought process. After all, if the President doesn’t go in depth, why should anyone else?
Reporting isn’ the problem; retention and attention are the problems. We remember little and have the focus ability of a dead cactus.
Just watch in 2006. All the incumbents will be re-elected; no Democrat will run in GOP-dominated areas and the same bunch of fools will be returned to Austin and DC. You can book it like seeing the sun rise each morning (through the pollution, of course).
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Identity theft made far too easy
One of the worst feelings you can have is to suspect that someone – a stranger or even a family member – is screwing with you and has stolen YOUR identity in order to ruin your life. It's a silent attacker because you could be kept in the dark for days (or weeks) before unearthing something that's a crime being committed against you.
This type of theft can (and DOES) happen in dozens of ways – by stealing credit card information you openly provide, by stealing banking and credit files that should be better guarded by agencies and companies and by using many surreptitious methods that get publicized by the news media almost daily. A little vigilance on your part can stop many (but not all) efforts to have strangers take advantage of you.
It should not, however, happen with the full assistance of the federal government and one of its largest, and most public but fucked up, entities – the United States Postal Service. But that’s exactly what happened to my family and others need to be warned.
After three years of living in our home, my wife’s sister moved out to another community (thank God!). In doing so, she sent a change of address card to the local U.S. Postal Service center (Plano’s Coit Station for our zip code). The woman uses a hyphenated last name, employing her maiden name and married moniker; something apparently more prevalent these days than in the past.
On the change of address form, she mistakenly marked “Family Forward” instead of “Individual,” meaning, in postal terms, ANYONE with EITHER of those last names would have their mail forwarded to a new address effective at the prescribed date. Upon closer examination of the form, the boxes are printed in barely readable skin tones. It seems to be a far too easy of a mistake to make for something so important. If your son or daughter is headed, say, to Texas Tech and makes the same mistake, all your mail is going to go to Lubbock. Chew on THAT cud for a moment!
You can send this document to the postal service without benefit of identification or any legal documentation (driver’s license, etc.) stating you are who you say you are. A total stranger can forge any kind of signature and then have that person’s – or family’s – mail sent to a new (and undisclosed) location.
Our suspicion was only alerted when we failed to receive any kind of mail (first class, packages, junk) at our home for two consecutive days. When I first contacted USPS-Coit Station, I was told that there was nothing to indicate any interruption of service. It was just an anomaly and the supervisor would check with the carrier. The next day, mail arrived and we thought nothing of it.
Until we took a closer look. The mail was only addressed in my name; nothing was delivered to my wife, who still employs her family name – the same name that is included in the hyphenated name used by her sister. A second call to Coit Station offered the ugly truth – all mail with that name, regardless of who is was for – was being re-directed to a new address. It didn’t matter that it was wrong; the form for “Family Forward” had been submitted and accepted.
My wife was forced to complete a second form (Form 3546) that stops the forwarding process, but she was told it would be a week or so until the ship was righted. Until that time, she would not know which credit card bill, which package of prescription medication or which correspondence was floating aimlessly in the postal system, waiting for proper clearance to land. Oddly enough, no one at the Coit Station in Plano asked for her identification and she never signed that Form 3546 because none was required.
And that hasn’t solved the problem. Apparently Form 3546 never made it into the fucking USPS computer system and the incorrect status quo remains. Seems as if the form …. got lost in the mail. What assholes!
Can someone explain how this can happen to people? How can any schmuck off the street send a card – without proper identification – and steal your mail, fuck up your credit and your very life and yet it has the full blessing of the U.S. government and postal service?
The USPS can lamely apologize all its wants and make empty claims about long-standing regulations, but something needs to be done to prevent what happened to us from reoccurring again. No one - NO ONE - should be able to anonymously seek forwarding of mail without first producing legal identification – in person – to a postal official (sorry, your Sam’s Club card won’t do, putzhead). You can’t change your address of your driver’s license by mail; the same standard should apply for your mail.
And second, any forwarding of mail should be for individuals ONLY. Sorry for the inconvenience, but if you get mail for four or 40 family members, you need to send an individual change for each individual member. Simply permitting a blanket movement of mail by last name only fails to allow for the very situation I described.
It’s tough enough to fight all the dickheads out there doing their dead level best to scam you and I out of our hard-earned life.
We shouldn’t have to worry about the post office, too. Damn!
Chuck Bloom can be reached at chuckbloom@hotmail.com.
This type of theft can (and DOES) happen in dozens of ways – by stealing credit card information you openly provide, by stealing banking and credit files that should be better guarded by agencies and companies and by using many surreptitious methods that get publicized by the news media almost daily. A little vigilance on your part can stop many (but not all) efforts to have strangers take advantage of you.
It should not, however, happen with the full assistance of the federal government and one of its largest, and most public but fucked up, entities – the United States Postal Service. But that’s exactly what happened to my family and others need to be warned.
After three years of living in our home, my wife’s sister moved out to another community (thank God!). In doing so, she sent a change of address card to the local U.S. Postal Service center (Plano’s Coit Station for our zip code). The woman uses a hyphenated last name, employing her maiden name and married moniker; something apparently more prevalent these days than in the past.
On the change of address form, she mistakenly marked “Family Forward” instead of “Individual,” meaning, in postal terms, ANYONE with EITHER of those last names would have their mail forwarded to a new address effective at the prescribed date. Upon closer examination of the form, the boxes are printed in barely readable skin tones. It seems to be a far too easy of a mistake to make for something so important. If your son or daughter is headed, say, to Texas Tech and makes the same mistake, all your mail is going to go to Lubbock. Chew on THAT cud for a moment!
You can send this document to the postal service without benefit of identification or any legal documentation (driver’s license, etc.) stating you are who you say you are. A total stranger can forge any kind of signature and then have that person’s – or family’s – mail sent to a new (and undisclosed) location.
Our suspicion was only alerted when we failed to receive any kind of mail (first class, packages, junk) at our home for two consecutive days. When I first contacted USPS-Coit Station, I was told that there was nothing to indicate any interruption of service. It was just an anomaly and the supervisor would check with the carrier. The next day, mail arrived and we thought nothing of it.
Until we took a closer look. The mail was only addressed in my name; nothing was delivered to my wife, who still employs her family name – the same name that is included in the hyphenated name used by her sister. A second call to Coit Station offered the ugly truth – all mail with that name, regardless of who is was for – was being re-directed to a new address. It didn’t matter that it was wrong; the form for “Family Forward” had been submitted and accepted.
My wife was forced to complete a second form (Form 3546) that stops the forwarding process, but she was told it would be a week or so until the ship was righted. Until that time, she would not know which credit card bill, which package of prescription medication or which correspondence was floating aimlessly in the postal system, waiting for proper clearance to land. Oddly enough, no one at the Coit Station in Plano asked for her identification and she never signed that Form 3546 because none was required.
And that hasn’t solved the problem. Apparently Form 3546 never made it into the fucking USPS computer system and the incorrect status quo remains. Seems as if the form …. got lost in the mail. What assholes!
Can someone explain how this can happen to people? How can any schmuck off the street send a card – without proper identification – and steal your mail, fuck up your credit and your very life and yet it has the full blessing of the U.S. government and postal service?
The USPS can lamely apologize all its wants and make empty claims about long-standing regulations, but something needs to be done to prevent what happened to us from reoccurring again. No one - NO ONE - should be able to anonymously seek forwarding of mail without first producing legal identification – in person – to a postal official (sorry, your Sam’s Club card won’t do, putzhead). You can’t change your address of your driver’s license by mail; the same standard should apply for your mail.
And second, any forwarding of mail should be for individuals ONLY. Sorry for the inconvenience, but if you get mail for four or 40 family members, you need to send an individual change for each individual member. Simply permitting a blanket movement of mail by last name only fails to allow for the very situation I described.
It’s tough enough to fight all the dickheads out there doing their dead level best to scam you and I out of our hard-earned life.
We shouldn’t have to worry about the post office, too. Damn!
Chuck Bloom can be reached at chuckbloom@hotmail.com.
Sad sight in Gaza because Hamas still wants to kill
vAlthough I am no fan of continuing Jewish settlements in Gaza, and understand (better than this administration) that the Israelis and Palestinians need to live together in respectful and nonviolent fashion, I am greatly disturbed by the reaction of Hamas to the forced withdrawal from Gaza by the Israeli army.
These ... yahoos ... proclaim that violence on their part have driven the Jews out of Gaza and that Hamas will continue to employ the same strategy to keep up the fight until all Jews are gone from the Middle East. This is SO old-timey Gamal Nasser and does not portend well for the future of the region.
When an Israeli settler goes berserk and kills three Palestinians, it is a tragedy according to everyone. When a Palestinian suicide bomber blows him/her self up and kills scores of innocent Israelis, it is yet another "chapter" in the unending circle of violence.
I see NO action from the Bush Administration to halt the powderkeg that is this direct conflict. It has SO lowered expectations in this region (Iraq, Iran, Saudis included) as to become nothing more than spectators and a yet-to-be determined interest level.I agree with trading land for peace, but I don't see, and haven't heard, a single Palestinian official condemn what Hamas has said. It is for damn sure they won't do anything to stop them physically or militarily.
And, sadly, neither will be former Big Dog on the street because,as demonstrated in Iraq, the Big Dog doesn't have the same bark or bite as was once believed. And that's the dog's fault.
These ... yahoos ... proclaim that violence on their part have driven the Jews out of Gaza and that Hamas will continue to employ the same strategy to keep up the fight until all Jews are gone from the Middle East. This is SO old-timey Gamal Nasser and does not portend well for the future of the region.
When an Israeli settler goes berserk and kills three Palestinians, it is a tragedy according to everyone. When a Palestinian suicide bomber blows him/her self up and kills scores of innocent Israelis, it is yet another "chapter" in the unending circle of violence.
I see NO action from the Bush Administration to halt the powderkeg that is this direct conflict. It has SO lowered expectations in this region (Iraq, Iran, Saudis included) as to become nothing more than spectators and a yet-to-be determined interest level.I agree with trading land for peace, but I don't see, and haven't heard, a single Palestinian official condemn what Hamas has said. It is for damn sure they won't do anything to stop them physically or militarily.
And, sadly, neither will be former Big Dog on the street because,as demonstrated in Iraq, the Big Dog doesn't have the same bark or bite as was once believed. And that's the dog's fault.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
When the majority ain't the majority no mo'
So whites are no longer a majority in Texas, but they are STILL the super plurality. And, folks, white people are still in control of almost all major governmental offices and machinery.
Besides, aren't WHITE trash neighbors just as bad as Hispanic trash neighbors? Trash is trash, regardless of the background. What's worse? The drunken conjunto party or the freaked-out rock and roll meth lab in the bathroom?
When I lived in South Texas, populated by MORE than a few real-life Mexicans (pronounced MEZZ-i-kans), they separated themselves by WHERE they originated from. The ones from the urbans areas acted quite differently (and more civilized) than the rural Mexicans (which were called Indios because they were of Indian or Aztec descent). Those people were far more rough in attitude and deed, drinking excessively and showing a greater tendency toward criminal activity.
The two groups only shared a mutual country - and that was it.
The disclosure of the changing face of Texas will disturb some, but they have been disturbed for a long time. They feel the same about Vietnamese, African-Americans, Jewish-Americans and any other "furr-iners" they could name (well, the French don't count, do they?).
To quote David Crosby: "It's been a long time comin'; got to be a long time gone."
Actually we can solve the immigration problem in a non-militaristic manner:
Simply line up all the soldiers and civilians you want, arm to arm and lock hands, and yell "Red Rover! Red Rover! Let's (fill in the name Juan or Juanita) cover over!"
Then a candidate for immigration runs across the Rio Grande and into the American guard line. If he/she breaks through, they stay. If not, they go back and star in their own Right Guard deodorant commercial.
Alas, American ingenuity at work! Earn your way across!
Makes the same funny sense as Kinky Friedman's five Mexican generals proposal, which is logical in its owne twisted way. If this sounds stupid, compare it with current policy or proposed legislation.
You'll think twice.
Besides, aren't WHITE trash neighbors just as bad as Hispanic trash neighbors? Trash is trash, regardless of the background. What's worse? The drunken conjunto party or the freaked-out rock and roll meth lab in the bathroom?
When I lived in South Texas, populated by MORE than a few real-life Mexicans (pronounced MEZZ-i-kans), they separated themselves by WHERE they originated from. The ones from the urbans areas acted quite differently (and more civilized) than the rural Mexicans (which were called Indios because they were of Indian or Aztec descent). Those people were far more rough in attitude and deed, drinking excessively and showing a greater tendency toward criminal activity.
The two groups only shared a mutual country - and that was it.
The disclosure of the changing face of Texas will disturb some, but they have been disturbed for a long time. They feel the same about Vietnamese, African-Americans, Jewish-Americans and any other "furr-iners" they could name (well, the French don't count, do they?).
To quote David Crosby: "It's been a long time comin'; got to be a long time gone."
Actually we can solve the immigration problem in a non-militaristic manner:
Simply line up all the soldiers and civilians you want, arm to arm and lock hands, and yell "Red Rover! Red Rover! Let's (fill in the name Juan or Juanita) cover over!"
Then a candidate for immigration runs across the Rio Grande and into the American guard line. If he/she breaks through, they stay. If not, they go back and star in their own Right Guard deodorant commercial.
Alas, American ingenuity at work! Earn your way across!
Makes the same funny sense as Kinky Friedman's five Mexican generals proposal, which is logical in its owne twisted way. If this sounds stupid, compare it with current policy or proposed legislation.
You'll think twice.
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
A 'point' about Raffy
Baseball's Rafael Palmeiro, known to his fans as "Raffy" (as opposed to Israeli children's songster Raffi), sat in front of the TV cameras, Congress, and the world, pointed to those cynics in the room and flatly exclaimed that he did not then, before or ever use steroids as a player.
"Ever. Period." He emphasized his innocence with a pointed finger and all but challenged anyone to the Gary Hart test - catch me if you can.
Oops, Donna Rice has shown up in Raffy's life. She is the he that administers the drug tests in Major League Baseball. And the net has snared Palmeiro, with the announcement of the 10-game suspension immediately following Raffy's personal career achievement of 3,000 hits to go with more than 560 home runs.
Even now, Palmeiro states sheepishly that he has never "knowingly" use steroids and doesn't know how in the world the substance got into his body and those test tubes. Even a fan like George W. Bush believes that bit of fantasy (he publically stated that he believes Palmeiro's non-explanation) but we could go on about weapons of mass destruction and other tales of fantasies that the White House holds to be gospel.
Here's the problem. Palmeiro COULD be correct. He might NOT have knowingly taken a steroid but still ingested something that had ingredients with steroid-like qualities. This is making assumptions not yet in evidence. One of the major problems with "nutritional supplements" these days is the amount of non-disclosed additives that have steroid-like effects on the body. Almost all these ingredients are kept secret from the person using the product. Hence, you might THINK you are OK when in fact, it isn't.
The public and press keep thinking that steroids can only be injected. Not true anymore. When Jose Canseco, in his book, claimed to be shooting up half his teammates with the magic juice, that was in 1992, and this is 13 years later - a world of technological difference. It can now be ground into a powder, drank as a milk shake and marketed as a power builder to maintain strength.
Does this make you dumb? No. Does this make you feel stupid? Of course. Do this make you out to be a cheater? No. But do you have to pay a penalty? Yes.
Canseco is gaining credibility by the day and for a person who was fairly rotten to his coure, as selfish a player as ever donned a uniform, it would be a shame for him to come out as some sort of hero.
Of all those accused in that text, Palmeiro seemed the least likely because he didn't look like he was a user. No huge muscles, nothing special about him physically. Just a quality player with 20 years in MLB. His home runs weren't like those of Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa - moonshots that traveled half the distance to the sun. His were just home runs, over the fence because his swing (which steroids can do nothing about) got better over time.
The home run swing can be achieved by brute force and muscle or by speed, timing and perfect contact - much like seeing a 5-6 man outdrive a 6-4 player. Palmeiro refined his swing and changed it into more of an uppercut finish to add loft. Then, if you play long enough against lousy pitching in ballparks built for HR hitting, you can get to 500 for a lifetime.
It's been a strange year for baseball. This is just one more chapter. Stay tuned.
"Ever. Period." He emphasized his innocence with a pointed finger and all but challenged anyone to the Gary Hart test - catch me if you can.
Oops, Donna Rice has shown up in Raffy's life. She is the he that administers the drug tests in Major League Baseball. And the net has snared Palmeiro, with the announcement of the 10-game suspension immediately following Raffy's personal career achievement of 3,000 hits to go with more than 560 home runs.
Even now, Palmeiro states sheepishly that he has never "knowingly" use steroids and doesn't know how in the world the substance got into his body and those test tubes. Even a fan like George W. Bush believes that bit of fantasy (he publically stated that he believes Palmeiro's non-explanation) but we could go on about weapons of mass destruction and other tales of fantasies that the White House holds to be gospel.
Here's the problem. Palmeiro COULD be correct. He might NOT have knowingly taken a steroid but still ingested something that had ingredients with steroid-like qualities. This is making assumptions not yet in evidence. One of the major problems with "nutritional supplements" these days is the amount of non-disclosed additives that have steroid-like effects on the body. Almost all these ingredients are kept secret from the person using the product. Hence, you might THINK you are OK when in fact, it isn't.
The public and press keep thinking that steroids can only be injected. Not true anymore. When Jose Canseco, in his book, claimed to be shooting up half his teammates with the magic juice, that was in 1992, and this is 13 years later - a world of technological difference. It can now be ground into a powder, drank as a milk shake and marketed as a power builder to maintain strength.
Does this make you dumb? No. Does this make you feel stupid? Of course. Do this make you out to be a cheater? No. But do you have to pay a penalty? Yes.
Canseco is gaining credibility by the day and for a person who was fairly rotten to his coure, as selfish a player as ever donned a uniform, it would be a shame for him to come out as some sort of hero.
Of all those accused in that text, Palmeiro seemed the least likely because he didn't look like he was a user. No huge muscles, nothing special about him physically. Just a quality player with 20 years in MLB. His home runs weren't like those of Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa - moonshots that traveled half the distance to the sun. His were just home runs, over the fence because his swing (which steroids can do nothing about) got better over time.
The home run swing can be achieved by brute force and muscle or by speed, timing and perfect contact - much like seeing a 5-6 man outdrive a 6-4 player. Palmeiro refined his swing and changed it into more of an uppercut finish to add loft. Then, if you play long enough against lousy pitching in ballparks built for HR hitting, you can get to 500 for a lifetime.
It's been a strange year for baseball. This is just one more chapter. Stay tuned.
Monday, July 25, 2005
All hail Lance; glad it's over
All hail Lance Armstrong who can ride a specialized bicycle through France better than anyone in the summertime. At least for the last seven years.
I do not discount his courage for fighting and apparently beating cancer. I do not discount his athletic achievement in the face of all those who tried repeatedly to knock him down (figuratively and literally). I do not discount his sport, although it is one of those niche things you either like or dislike.
But, frankly, I'm glad it's over. I'm glad I won't have to hear how many minutes and seconds Lance leads by and pretend that I care. It's not a sport I give a hoot about and judging by any other three weeks period of the year, neither do most Americans. Bicycle riding is an activity to them, not a cutthroat sport.
Next year, no one in the U.S. will give a hoot about thde Tour de France because for the very reason they paid attetnion for the last six years - Lance Armstrong. He won't be there and no American will care if some Euro is battling for the yellow jersey. By the way, did you know they give away all sorts of colored jerseys at the end ... for this and that like Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and Batting Champ. Why yellow, often a sign of cowardice, is considered supreme is beyond me.
Now Lance can be what I want to be - young, rich, a man of leisure, retired and banging a rock star goddess, even if she is 10 years older than he. God what a life!!!!!
I do not discount his courage for fighting and apparently beating cancer. I do not discount his athletic achievement in the face of all those who tried repeatedly to knock him down (figuratively and literally). I do not discount his sport, although it is one of those niche things you either like or dislike.
But, frankly, I'm glad it's over. I'm glad I won't have to hear how many minutes and seconds Lance leads by and pretend that I care. It's not a sport I give a hoot about and judging by any other three weeks period of the year, neither do most Americans. Bicycle riding is an activity to them, not a cutthroat sport.
Next year, no one in the U.S. will give a hoot about thde Tour de France because for the very reason they paid attetnion for the last six years - Lance Armstrong. He won't be there and no American will care if some Euro is battling for the yellow jersey. By the way, did you know they give away all sorts of colored jerseys at the end ... for this and that like Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and Batting Champ. Why yellow, often a sign of cowardice, is considered supreme is beyond me.
Now Lance can be what I want to be - young, rich, a man of leisure, retired and banging a rock star goddess, even if she is 10 years older than he. God what a life!!!!!
Friday, July 22, 2005
Change of heart about Islam
After seeing today's story from London, and actually doing a little quiet contemplation on the entire affair, I have changed my mind and offer a different reason for all this crap in the world involving "extreme" Muslim jihadists.
I am now convinced that death and terror are NOT the real aim behind these attacks many others. The extremist leaders WANT to create an atmosphere of persecution around the globe. They want Islam to be the religion that people love to hate - because an increasing number of believers are so willing to kill people to advance their "cause." By striking at the heart of the Western/Chrisitan world, the aim could be to have those people strike back, causing an even larger rift between the two cultures. In many ways, that is how the U.S./British involvement in Iraq is viewed - not as liberation (the fundamentalists don't want to be liberated; they want subjugation) but as occupancy - Muslims living under the Judeo-Chrisitan thumb ... as it has been often throughout history in their eyes.
The more anger built up in the U.S. and Britain, the easier it is to create the role of oppressed people and makes it easier to recruit young people, stupidly willing to sacrifice their lives and others for a cause they know little about. It just sounds exciting and, besides, isn't 18 old enough to die?
Notice the elders NEVER do the sacrificing (not unlike other armies from other civilizations). Older Muslims in the West, who have grown accustomed to the face of prosperity, don't like upsetting the apple cart. But if THEY begin to think of themsevles as part of an oppressed religion, they will become more sympathetic to the bombers' cause. They won't actively join, but they won't help stop it.
Americans assume that only stupid people would do these things. No, gullible youth blow themselves up for men that are quite clever and intelligent in their planning, execution, intent, recruitment and drive. Our real question is how can we prevent this when flashing our "shining light of democracy" has proven to be totally worthless.
I'm still not sure that "Kill 'em all and let Allah sort them out" is a viable alternative. But whatever has taken place up til now, including Iraq, ain't working.
I am now convinced that death and terror are NOT the real aim behind these attacks many others. The extremist leaders WANT to create an atmosphere of persecution around the globe. They want Islam to be the religion that people love to hate - because an increasing number of believers are so willing to kill people to advance their "cause." By striking at the heart of the Western/Chrisitan world, the aim could be to have those people strike back, causing an even larger rift between the two cultures. In many ways, that is how the U.S./British involvement in Iraq is viewed - not as liberation (the fundamentalists don't want to be liberated; they want subjugation) but as occupancy - Muslims living under the Judeo-Chrisitan thumb ... as it has been often throughout history in their eyes.
The more anger built up in the U.S. and Britain, the easier it is to create the role of oppressed people and makes it easier to recruit young people, stupidly willing to sacrifice their lives and others for a cause they know little about. It just sounds exciting and, besides, isn't 18 old enough to die?
Notice the elders NEVER do the sacrificing (not unlike other armies from other civilizations). Older Muslims in the West, who have grown accustomed to the face of prosperity, don't like upsetting the apple cart. But if THEY begin to think of themsevles as part of an oppressed religion, they will become more sympathetic to the bombers' cause. They won't actively join, but they won't help stop it.
Americans assume that only stupid people would do these things. No, gullible youth blow themselves up for men that are quite clever and intelligent in their planning, execution, intent, recruitment and drive. Our real question is how can we prevent this when flashing our "shining light of democracy" has proven to be totally worthless.
I'm still not sure that "Kill 'em all and let Allah sort them out" is a viable alternative. But whatever has taken place up til now, including Iraq, ain't working.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Ten Simple Rules About Going to the Movies
Gosh, I love going to the movies. I studied the history and art of cinema in college. I read everything about the careers of James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart. I learned about Orson Welles’ camera techniques during “Citizen Kane” and how revolutionary they were.
I can tell you about how despicable and brilliant John Wayne’s performance was in John Ford’s “The Searchers.” I can almost recite every line of George Lucas’ “American Graffiti.” And I can debate, for hours, the best, worst and most underrated movies of the past century.
But the best part is going to see them in their natural habitat – with a large screen and superior sound system. I am not one who prefers to see them in letterbox form off some DVD while sitting in my easy chair. A movie experience was meant to be seen in a continuous motion; not with a pause button so Grandpa can go get salami on rye sandwich in mid-sentence.
Hence, I have formulated these 10 simple rules (to borrow someone else’s concept, sorry) about how to act inside a movie theater.
10) Know WHAT you are going to see. Don’t window shop; there are other people in line, you know …. waiting for you to make up your mind.
9) Arrive before the movie starts. You can read viewing times in the newspaper, online or get them by phone. So you have no excuse to be late and no right to complain (often far too loudly) when all the best seats are already taken. That’s YOUR fault for showing up late.
8) If you’ve already seen the movie, keep all the pertinent script surprises to yourself; unless it’s historical. While waiting for “Titanic” tickets, I remarked to a friend, “I wonder how they’ll handle the sinking of the ship.” Two girls in front of me then started screaming that I had ruined the whole movie for them. AT that moment, I wondered aloud about how much history was being taught in our schools. I decided the answer was “very little.”
7) Go to the bathroom before the feature begins. No one likes the down-the-aisle-in-the-dark interruption once the lights go down.
6) Tell theater management (and do it often) that you want to see fewer commercials … as in none … and more previews. If commercials must be shown, ask for one not already flooding the television every other minute.
5) Try eating a little more quietly. The rustling of papers and cellophane wrappers in other people’s ears is annoying. And stop buying those smelly sour dill pickles. They’re gross and there is no way to consume them without looking obscene. If you won’t buy them, they will disappear.
4) Do not bring toddlers or very young children to R-rated, violent films. To me, that’s a form of child abuse. They get exposed to the wrong images because Mom and Dad are too lazy to find someone to watch over the child for two hours. Sorry, it’s the price of parenthood.
I was at the local Dollar Theater recently, seeing a critically-acclaimed but very R-rated movie and had to endure a 2-year-old, not only a few seats away, but allowed to run free among the patrons by his “I-couldn’t-care-less” brain-dead mother. It was all I could do to resist slapping the shit out of her, or at least chew her up one side and down the other. And it happens more often than people realize.
3) Do not bring ANY infants to the theater! They cry in the dark and they scream at sudden noises. So why subject everyone to your laziness because you won’t obtain a babysitter? Again, it’s NOT a day care center (which might be a major attendance enticement if offered by the theater).
2) Turn off your cell phone! The screen alone is like a car dealer’s searchlight and is very distracting to everyone around you. No message is THAT important and if it is, what are you doing at a movie anyway? And for God sake’s, don’t hold a conversation inside the theater. That’s as rude as it gets, asshole!
1) Shut the fuck up! It’s a movie theater, not your living room. Show some common courtesy and keep quiet once the movie begins!
Finally, if Hollywood would like to know how to increase its revenue, do the simple thing – lower ticket prices. So-called “bargain” matinee prices are what used to pass for prime time charges just a year or two ago.
And if anyone doubts the positive affect such a move would have, just ask General Motors how its incentive plan worked to sell thousands of additional units.
Then follow these rules and everyone, including me, will enjoy themselves much more.
I can tell you about how despicable and brilliant John Wayne’s performance was in John Ford’s “The Searchers.” I can almost recite every line of George Lucas’ “American Graffiti.” And I can debate, for hours, the best, worst and most underrated movies of the past century.
But the best part is going to see them in their natural habitat – with a large screen and superior sound system. I am not one who prefers to see them in letterbox form off some DVD while sitting in my easy chair. A movie experience was meant to be seen in a continuous motion; not with a pause button so Grandpa can go get salami on rye sandwich in mid-sentence.
Hence, I have formulated these 10 simple rules (to borrow someone else’s concept, sorry) about how to act inside a movie theater.
10) Know WHAT you are going to see. Don’t window shop; there are other people in line, you know …. waiting for you to make up your mind.
9) Arrive before the movie starts. You can read viewing times in the newspaper, online or get them by phone. So you have no excuse to be late and no right to complain (often far too loudly) when all the best seats are already taken. That’s YOUR fault for showing up late.
8) If you’ve already seen the movie, keep all the pertinent script surprises to yourself; unless it’s historical. While waiting for “Titanic” tickets, I remarked to a friend, “I wonder how they’ll handle the sinking of the ship.” Two girls in front of me then started screaming that I had ruined the whole movie for them. AT that moment, I wondered aloud about how much history was being taught in our schools. I decided the answer was “very little.”
7) Go to the bathroom before the feature begins. No one likes the down-the-aisle-in-the-dark interruption once the lights go down.
6) Tell theater management (and do it often) that you want to see fewer commercials … as in none … and more previews. If commercials must be shown, ask for one not already flooding the television every other minute.
5) Try eating a little more quietly. The rustling of papers and cellophane wrappers in other people’s ears is annoying. And stop buying those smelly sour dill pickles. They’re gross and there is no way to consume them without looking obscene. If you won’t buy them, they will disappear.
4) Do not bring toddlers or very young children to R-rated, violent films. To me, that’s a form of child abuse. They get exposed to the wrong images because Mom and Dad are too lazy to find someone to watch over the child for two hours. Sorry, it’s the price of parenthood.
I was at the local Dollar Theater recently, seeing a critically-acclaimed but very R-rated movie and had to endure a 2-year-old, not only a few seats away, but allowed to run free among the patrons by his “I-couldn’t-care-less” brain-dead mother. It was all I could do to resist slapping the shit out of her, or at least chew her up one side and down the other. And it happens more often than people realize.
3) Do not bring ANY infants to the theater! They cry in the dark and they scream at sudden noises. So why subject everyone to your laziness because you won’t obtain a babysitter? Again, it’s NOT a day care center (which might be a major attendance enticement if offered by the theater).
2) Turn off your cell phone! The screen alone is like a car dealer’s searchlight and is very distracting to everyone around you. No message is THAT important and if it is, what are you doing at a movie anyway? And for God sake’s, don’t hold a conversation inside the theater. That’s as rude as it gets, asshole!
1) Shut the fuck up! It’s a movie theater, not your living room. Show some common courtesy and keep quiet once the movie begins!
Finally, if Hollywood would like to know how to increase its revenue, do the simple thing – lower ticket prices. So-called “bargain” matinee prices are what used to pass for prime time charges just a year or two ago.
And if anyone doubts the positive affect such a move would have, just ask General Motors how its incentive plan worked to sell thousands of additional units.
Then follow these rules and everyone, including me, will enjoy themselves much more.
Monday, July 11, 2005
Where was our wrath of God?
It has become more apparent to me that this country blew its true chance to put a lid on the kind of global terrorism that happens across the world - in places like Madrid, Bali, London, etc. The enemy is no longer deathly afraid of us because we have done nothing to produce that kind of paralyzing fear in anyone.
After Sept. 11, we got mad. And we swore to get even. So we took off and directed our wrath against the location (Afghanistan) when Al-Qiada was headquartered. By ALL admissions and intelligence, we had the head of the serpent (Osama Bin-Laden) trapped like a rat.
Suddenly, instead of finishing the job, we turned our military and monetary attention to the neighbor, Iraq, to appease some OTHER political agenda (regime change that was NOT successful in 1991 at the end of Desert Storm). We took our considerable boot off the terrorists' neck and looked away.
As a result, we have become bogged down in a dirty, desert war that we are NOT winning by the kind of verdict required for our extrication, we have created a site for new terrorist recruits to practice their "art" and the enemy has been given new life (as witnessed in London). Bin Laden is not captured, the serpent lives and possible thrives by gaining new converts and no one is safer (just because there have been no further attacks, it does not equate to safety).I am convinced that all the jihadists understand is blunt force trauma. Bringing the wrath of our God and their Allah on their heads and homes. Hell, if they were hiding in the mountains, we should have shown them how we destroy the mountains. They needed to see the blood in our eyes UP CLOSE and PERSONAL so the message would have been understood. Mess with us and THIS is what happens! We are slow to anger but you do NOT want to get us riled!
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman was correct in his Friday column that said this was an Islamic problems to purge these people from their ranks. But we could help the case by providing the example of the wrath that COULD take place.
The analogy to what has been happening is this: If surgeons are operating on a patient for brain cancer and have almost gotten the tumor cleanly, why suddenly would they begin blood letting around the leg; which was not the life threatening problem? Now the leg is a BIG problem and the cancer hasn't been removed.
The United States could have put its foot on the throat and squashed some of these roaches for good, but decided to operate elsewhere at a time when the second arena of action was not a threat to the nation.
And now, the operation will take so much longer than it should have.
After Sept. 11, we got mad. And we swore to get even. So we took off and directed our wrath against the location (Afghanistan) when Al-Qiada was headquartered. By ALL admissions and intelligence, we had the head of the serpent (Osama Bin-Laden) trapped like a rat.
Suddenly, instead of finishing the job, we turned our military and monetary attention to the neighbor, Iraq, to appease some OTHER political agenda (regime change that was NOT successful in 1991 at the end of Desert Storm). We took our considerable boot off the terrorists' neck and looked away.
As a result, we have become bogged down in a dirty, desert war that we are NOT winning by the kind of verdict required for our extrication, we have created a site for new terrorist recruits to practice their "art" and the enemy has been given new life (as witnessed in London). Bin Laden is not captured, the serpent lives and possible thrives by gaining new converts and no one is safer (just because there have been no further attacks, it does not equate to safety).I am convinced that all the jihadists understand is blunt force trauma. Bringing the wrath of our God and their Allah on their heads and homes. Hell, if they were hiding in the mountains, we should have shown them how we destroy the mountains. They needed to see the blood in our eyes UP CLOSE and PERSONAL so the message would have been understood. Mess with us and THIS is what happens! We are slow to anger but you do NOT want to get us riled!
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman was correct in his Friday column that said this was an Islamic problems to purge these people from their ranks. But we could help the case by providing the example of the wrath that COULD take place.
The analogy to what has been happening is this: If surgeons are operating on a patient for brain cancer and have almost gotten the tumor cleanly, why suddenly would they begin blood letting around the leg; which was not the life threatening problem? Now the leg is a BIG problem and the cancer hasn't been removed.
The United States could have put its foot on the throat and squashed some of these roaches for good, but decided to operate elsewhere at a time when the second arena of action was not a threat to the nation.
And now, the operation will take so much longer than it should have.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
London terrorist bombing
In light of the bombing attacks in London this morning, I refer all blog readers to the BBC-produced film, “Dirty War.” It has been shown often on HBO and other cable channels.
The story deals, in docudrama fashion, with the instances that lead to an explosion of a dirty bomb in central London, the British response to the incident and the police attempts to stop it from happening. And yes, the villains are Islamic jihadists - no sugar-coating about responsibility.
I have always hoped, as a human being, as an American and as a member of the Jewish faith, that these perpetrators were SO far out of the mainstream as to be dismissed. But the more life moves forward, the more it happens. Too many people are joining their side and think salvation is achieved through self-destruction with hundreds of explosives wrapped around their waists (or wastes as is the case).
Their ranks are growing and we, in the non-Islamic nations of the world, don’t know why. Even a cancer has a medical reason for spreading. This nation, and others such as Great Britain, has few clues as to why SO many people are gravitating toward such an anti-human way of thinking.
Here is our dilemma as I see it - meeting force with force builds more resentment among those willing to die for their beliefs. Yet permanent extraction (call it what you will) will be the only way to begin to rid the earth of such low-life animals.
The current question is how is this goal best achieved? Many of us think getting bogged down in Iraq is not the answer because the goal of the terrorists was to create the bog. We have no choice but to remain, hence diverting our resources and focus that should be directed to go after the active terrorists.
Here is one thing that few Americans have YET to grasp. People of Arabic/Islamic descent in the Middle East possess incredible patience. We think that means a few weeks; to them, it means several hundred years! They will tell you the desert changes little over such a length of time. They can wait; we normally won’t. When we leave, then conflicts that have existed for centuries will be played out.
This is all part of it, sad to say. We react in flashpoints like the actual bomb explosions. Fundamentalists (on any side) wait for the next time ... and the next time ... and the next time.
The story deals, in docudrama fashion, with the instances that lead to an explosion of a dirty bomb in central London, the British response to the incident and the police attempts to stop it from happening. And yes, the villains are Islamic jihadists - no sugar-coating about responsibility.
I have always hoped, as a human being, as an American and as a member of the Jewish faith, that these perpetrators were SO far out of the mainstream as to be dismissed. But the more life moves forward, the more it happens. Too many people are joining their side and think salvation is achieved through self-destruction with hundreds of explosives wrapped around their waists (or wastes as is the case).
Their ranks are growing and we, in the non-Islamic nations of the world, don’t know why. Even a cancer has a medical reason for spreading. This nation, and others such as Great Britain, has few clues as to why SO many people are gravitating toward such an anti-human way of thinking.
Here is our dilemma as I see it - meeting force with force builds more resentment among those willing to die for their beliefs. Yet permanent extraction (call it what you will) will be the only way to begin to rid the earth of such low-life animals.
The current question is how is this goal best achieved? Many of us think getting bogged down in Iraq is not the answer because the goal of the terrorists was to create the bog. We have no choice but to remain, hence diverting our resources and focus that should be directed to go after the active terrorists.
Here is one thing that few Americans have YET to grasp. People of Arabic/Islamic descent in the Middle East possess incredible patience. We think that means a few weeks; to them, it means several hundred years! They will tell you the desert changes little over such a length of time. They can wait; we normally won’t. When we leave, then conflicts that have existed for centuries will be played out.
This is all part of it, sad to say. We react in flashpoints like the actual bomb explosions. Fundamentalists (on any side) wait for the next time ... and the next time ... and the next time.
Saturday, June 25, 2005
The political axis of evil
Because I sit at a computer in a suburban Dallas home, I am not fully aware of just how interlinked and interlocked is the current political axis of evil into the system. There are many people in Washington, D.C. (which should stand for decadent capital) who are focused SOLELY on turning the UNITED States of America into a one-party, one-philosophy, one religion nation without any regards for those citizens who might have the audacity to disagree. Such people are merely worthy of being rounded up and shot ... politically.
To bark at Congressman Tom DeLay, the cockroach and former bugman (birds of a feather?), is a waste of breath. I looked up the word, "corruption," in my Webster's Dictionary and not only was there a picture of DeLay beside the term, a campaign brochure fell out.
But one must keep an eye on the other members of that axis - such as this invisible "tax expert" named Grover Norquist, who is in more politicians' pockets than cheap lint.
Now follow the linkage ... Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who has been shown to have been the Hank Aaron/Babe Ruth of corruption, is the former chairman of the College Republican National Committee (a major league recruiting arm of the GOP charged with poisoning young minds with concepts of easy money at the expense of taxpayers). Abramoff is attached to DeLay like a Siamese twin. That has been made SO crystal clear that Stevie Wonder can see it.
Norquist is this major patron (as they say in South Texas, a man who wields power but remains behind the scenes) who is president of Americans for Tax Reform (reverse Robin Hood, take from the poor and give to the rich).
But Norquist was also the individual who used to run the College Republican National Committee when Abramoff was the chairman!!!
And they all seem to report to Karl Rove, who said, in a speech to a group of sheep (sorry, GOP contributers), that "liberals" were weak in reaction to Sept. 11 terrorist attacks because they didn't rush out and start nuking all of the Middle East on Sept. 12 ... like Republicans seemed more than willing to do.
Such comments have been defended by the White House, DeLay and other GOP uppity-ups.
In a speech to the College Republican National Committee on Friday, Norquist lambasted three GOP senators for their compromise role on judicial filibusters (calling them "the two girls from Maine and the nut-job from Arizona"). He was obviously talking about Olympia Stowe and Susan Collins, who are probably older than Norquist, and John McCain.
Oh yea, McCain is chairing the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs investigating ... Abramoff for a scandalous affair in "representing" tribal casino interests and essentially, bilking them out of millions of dollars in fees while playing both sides of the street.
Lest anyone forget - John McCain is a genuine war hero, having spent years as a Vietnamese prisoner of war. Regardless of his politics, McCain should have been the GOP nominee in 2000 had it NOT been for Rove's indecent mud-slinging campaign about McCain's military record in the South Carolina primary. Had there been a mational primary in 2000, McCain would have been the people's choice.
McCain speaks his mind which earns the respect of this liberal. Norquist has to go through life named for a Muppet.
What do you think?
To bark at Congressman Tom DeLay, the cockroach and former bugman (birds of a feather?), is a waste of breath. I looked up the word, "corruption," in my Webster's Dictionary and not only was there a picture of DeLay beside the term, a campaign brochure fell out.
But one must keep an eye on the other members of that axis - such as this invisible "tax expert" named Grover Norquist, who is in more politicians' pockets than cheap lint.
Now follow the linkage ... Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who has been shown to have been the Hank Aaron/Babe Ruth of corruption, is the former chairman of the College Republican National Committee (a major league recruiting arm of the GOP charged with poisoning young minds with concepts of easy money at the expense of taxpayers). Abramoff is attached to DeLay like a Siamese twin. That has been made SO crystal clear that Stevie Wonder can see it.
Norquist is this major patron (as they say in South Texas, a man who wields power but remains behind the scenes) who is president of Americans for Tax Reform (reverse Robin Hood, take from the poor and give to the rich).
But Norquist was also the individual who used to run the College Republican National Committee when Abramoff was the chairman!!!
And they all seem to report to Karl Rove, who said, in a speech to a group of sheep (sorry, GOP contributers), that "liberals" were weak in reaction to Sept. 11 terrorist attacks because they didn't rush out and start nuking all of the Middle East on Sept. 12 ... like Republicans seemed more than willing to do.
Such comments have been defended by the White House, DeLay and other GOP uppity-ups.
In a speech to the College Republican National Committee on Friday, Norquist lambasted three GOP senators for their compromise role on judicial filibusters (calling them "the two girls from Maine and the nut-job from Arizona"). He was obviously talking about Olympia Stowe and Susan Collins, who are probably older than Norquist, and John McCain.
Oh yea, McCain is chairing the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs investigating ... Abramoff for a scandalous affair in "representing" tribal casino interests and essentially, bilking them out of millions of dollars in fees while playing both sides of the street.
Lest anyone forget - John McCain is a genuine war hero, having spent years as a Vietnamese prisoner of war. Regardless of his politics, McCain should have been the GOP nominee in 2000 had it NOT been for Rove's indecent mud-slinging campaign about McCain's military record in the South Carolina primary. Had there been a mational primary in 2000, McCain would have been the people's choice.
McCain speaks his mind which earns the respect of this liberal. Norquist has to go through life named for a Muppet.
What do you think?
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
The death of a school district
This blog segment is for readers in the Dallas area:
Thanks to dictatorial powers granted to the Texas Education Agency commissioner by the Legislature, a snap of the finger can remove, obliterate and destroy a longtime school district from the face of the earth.
On Monday night, the specially-installed Wilmer-Hutchins school board, led by a superintendent from neighboring Lancaster ISD, announced its plans to dissolve the district immediately and sent its students to the LISD for future education. The W-H ISD would exist for tax collection purposes for one year in order to eliminate its debt and then be nothing more than a memory.
So many questions are raised by this turn of events:
1) Since when did one person get such powers and why didn’t Commissioner Shirley Neeley use them sooner to keep from this “take it to the brink’ situation? The voters will have nothing to say about this since a forced annexation is not subject to public vote. Why did she allow this to go on for such a long time when it was clear to a blind man that the board and its administration were corrupt and bankrupting the district?
2) How will the residents of the W-H ISD have elected representation? That will have to be approved by Justice Department since single member districts are currently involved in Lancaster, but an at-large system is employed for W-H ISD. When will it happen and how will it happen? My best educated guess (from years of residence and employment) is that the old W-H ISD would get two of the current seven seats on the LISD board of trustees.
3) Test scores for LISD were not good this past year – the second worst in the Metroplex.. Now the plan is to add the students with the WORST scores in the area. If the Legislature intends to tie funding to test performance, LISD will be behind the eight-ball, nine-ball and wrecking ball if that effort. How will that be of benefit to anyone?
4) It took a decade to pass a bond package in the Lancaster ISD just to BEGIN fixing what’s wrong with its current facilities. The buildings in Wilmer-Hutchins need TWICE as much help but no one has stated where the money is going to come from to do all that. At some point, LISD will have to absorb the property value of W-H ISD, which is the lowest in the area. That means LISD will be absorbing an instant debt. So the question is this: Where will the state funds come to actually offset the varied cost of adding these students (more buses, food services, liability, split athletic schedules, facility maintenance, etc.).
5) With two communities that possess a history of rivalry and distrust, is such a move a good idea? If you ask most of the W-H people, they’d want to go with Dallas (which actively sought to have these students join its district). W-H people distrust and dislike Lancaster folks and have for a long time. There will be resentment about being under someone else’s thumb.
6) W-H ISD has been, for the longest time, the only minority-majority district and had been held as a standard for such board makeup. Hence, the African-Americans (the minority in question) kept the district as at-large status, freezing out another minority group (Hispanics). How will this unbalance be resolved? Neeley can’t just snap her fingers and wiggle her nose like Samantha Stevens to make things right.
As I wrote before, the blame falls to the voters who kept the same corrupt board members in place who, in turn, kept the same corrupt administration in place. It also falls to the TEA commissioner who acted too damn late until the horse has not only left the barn, but left the state.
I felt sorry for the curriculum boss lady from W-H ISD who broke down in tears when hearing that she was among the staff to blame for the district’s demise. Way to go, board and supt., making grown women cry without handling it in a more genteel manner. I can’t blame the staff; they weren’t given the tools to get the job done because the district was too broke and too corrupt to function. Fish rots from the head down.
And now that fish is being moved to LISD’s refrigerator.
Thanks to dictatorial powers granted to the Texas Education Agency commissioner by the Legislature, a snap of the finger can remove, obliterate and destroy a longtime school district from the face of the earth.
On Monday night, the specially-installed Wilmer-Hutchins school board, led by a superintendent from neighboring Lancaster ISD, announced its plans to dissolve the district immediately and sent its students to the LISD for future education. The W-H ISD would exist for tax collection purposes for one year in order to eliminate its debt and then be nothing more than a memory.
So many questions are raised by this turn of events:
1) Since when did one person get such powers and why didn’t Commissioner Shirley Neeley use them sooner to keep from this “take it to the brink’ situation? The voters will have nothing to say about this since a forced annexation is not subject to public vote. Why did she allow this to go on for such a long time when it was clear to a blind man that the board and its administration were corrupt and bankrupting the district?
2) How will the residents of the W-H ISD have elected representation? That will have to be approved by Justice Department since single member districts are currently involved in Lancaster, but an at-large system is employed for W-H ISD. When will it happen and how will it happen? My best educated guess (from years of residence and employment) is that the old W-H ISD would get two of the current seven seats on the LISD board of trustees.
3) Test scores for LISD were not good this past year – the second worst in the Metroplex.. Now the plan is to add the students with the WORST scores in the area. If the Legislature intends to tie funding to test performance, LISD will be behind the eight-ball, nine-ball and wrecking ball if that effort. How will that be of benefit to anyone?
4) It took a decade to pass a bond package in the Lancaster ISD just to BEGIN fixing what’s wrong with its current facilities. The buildings in Wilmer-Hutchins need TWICE as much help but no one has stated where the money is going to come from to do all that. At some point, LISD will have to absorb the property value of W-H ISD, which is the lowest in the area. That means LISD will be absorbing an instant debt. So the question is this: Where will the state funds come to actually offset the varied cost of adding these students (more buses, food services, liability, split athletic schedules, facility maintenance, etc.).
5) With two communities that possess a history of rivalry and distrust, is such a move a good idea? If you ask most of the W-H people, they’d want to go with Dallas (which actively sought to have these students join its district). W-H people distrust and dislike Lancaster folks and have for a long time. There will be resentment about being under someone else’s thumb.
6) W-H ISD has been, for the longest time, the only minority-majority district and had been held as a standard for such board makeup. Hence, the African-Americans (the minority in question) kept the district as at-large status, freezing out another minority group (Hispanics). How will this unbalance be resolved? Neeley can’t just snap her fingers and wiggle her nose like Samantha Stevens to make things right.
As I wrote before, the blame falls to the voters who kept the same corrupt board members in place who, in turn, kept the same corrupt administration in place. It also falls to the TEA commissioner who acted too damn late until the horse has not only left the barn, but left the state.
I felt sorry for the curriculum boss lady from W-H ISD who broke down in tears when hearing that she was among the staff to blame for the district’s demise. Way to go, board and supt., making grown women cry without handling it in a more genteel manner. I can’t blame the staff; they weren’t given the tools to get the job done because the district was too broke and too corrupt to function. Fish rots from the head down.
And now that fish is being moved to LISD’s refrigerator.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
You can’t pick your neighbors
There are times, more than I can to admit, where I feel sorry for President George W. Bush. I might not have voted for him (twice), I have a personal reason for my distaste of the man (it involves my son at 10) and I disagree with almost everything in the political arena that he preaches.
But … I have plenty of empathy for him in different areas.
I can understand if there are times when he just sits and shakes his head uncontrollably about the actions of his twin daughters, one of who is extremely … “precocious.” As the father of two teenage girls myself, I find the stories I hear about what they’ve done, what they want to do and what they think is reality in the world today forces my head to spin like little Linda Blair in the original “The Exorcist.”
Green pea soup and all.
I can also sympathize with President Bush on the home front … literally the HOME front. When he was running for President, and with a small inkling that he would need a little more space to talk walks hand-in-hand with billionaire Saudi princes, the Bush family bought a ranch near the central Texas town of Crawford, just outside of Waco.
Lyndon B. Johnson held conferences and important meetings at his Stonewall ranch (where Lady Bird still resides to this day) and W.’s dad, faked a residence in the Houstonian complex in Houston while the real “second” home was in Kennebunkport, Maine.
Bush II wants to retire to Texas, where his lukewarm financial fortune and his astonishing political fortune was made. The Crawford ranch will be where the President writes his memoirs, schedules his lectures and worries about those twins on a daily basis.
Alas, not all is sweet fortune. In life, you cannot pick the family to which you are born into and you really can’t choose your neighbors. Such is the case in Crawford, Texas for President George W. Bush.
Two years ago, after the Bush purchase, along comes one Theodore “Ted” Nugent, a refugee from southeastern Michigan and aficionado of rock and roll. To say that Mr. Nugent is less than the normal neighbor would be akin to saying Michael Jackson’s definition of “sleepover” is slightly askew. He is, in his own words, a “madman.”
“The Nuge” has been playing high voltage rock and roll guitar since the mid-1960s with a legendary Detroit group, the Amboy Dukes, whose lone hit was the drug-addled “Journey to the Center of Your Mind.” As a young boy growing up in the Motor City, that was one of the defining tunes of summertime in southern Michigan.
Subsequent hits have included “Cat Scratch Fever” (which was NOT about felines), “Stranglehold” (which was NOT about pro wrestling) and “Wango Tango” (which was NOT about Spanish dancing). They were about Nugent’s favorite subject – sex. He claims not to have done drugs or alcohol, but he made and lost a fortune to one thing – women. Lots of them. As in addicted to them. Any of them.
Not sure these hits are programmed into Bush’s workout Ipod.
Nugent made a mild comeback in the 1990s with the group, “Damn Yankees,” which included Tommy Shaw (ex-Styx) and Jack Blades (ex-Night Ranger). Their big hit was “Can You Take Me Higher,” and in concert, Nugent had this funny habit of shooting a flaming arrow from the stage to the back of the participating arenas. Luckily, he was good enough with the apparatus so that no one was hurt during his William Tell moments.
A total rebel who looked like a old hippie, hunted form game that he ate on his southeastern Michigan ranch and espoused right-wing political viewpoints, Nugent has kept his name in front of the public hawking cookbooks and spewing anything that crossed his mind to buddies like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. Why THIS entertainer was SO enlightened compared to other, more educated, people is obvious. It was the message, not the messenger.
So it must have been curious last month when Nugent, of all people, appeared in Houston, at the National Rifle Association convention, walking onto the stage with assault rifles in each hand, with these nuggets of wisdom for the audience:
“No one is allowed at our barbecues unless they are an NRA member.”
“The whole world suck, but America sucks less, and we can eliminate that sucking sound altogether if we would actually be hardcore, radical extremists, hardcore radical extremists, demanding the right to self-defense.”
“Remember the Alamo! Shoot ‘em! To show you how radical I am, I want carjackers dead. I want rapists dead. I want burglars dead. I want child molesters dead. I want the bad guys dead. No court case. No parole. No early release. I want ‘em dead. Get a gun and when they attack you, shoot ‘em.”
I’m sure that might strikes a friendly chord out there until you ask yourselves, “Who elected THIS confessed sex fiend to be our universal sheriff, judge and jury?”
Answer? Not you, not I and not the President. Because you just can’t choose your neighbors these days.
Chuck Bloom can also be reached at chuckbloom2003@yahoo.com.
But … I have plenty of empathy for him in different areas.
I can understand if there are times when he just sits and shakes his head uncontrollably about the actions of his twin daughters, one of who is extremely … “precocious.” As the father of two teenage girls myself, I find the stories I hear about what they’ve done, what they want to do and what they think is reality in the world today forces my head to spin like little Linda Blair in the original “The Exorcist.”
Green pea soup and all.
I can also sympathize with President Bush on the home front … literally the HOME front. When he was running for President, and with a small inkling that he would need a little more space to talk walks hand-in-hand with billionaire Saudi princes, the Bush family bought a ranch near the central Texas town of Crawford, just outside of Waco.
Lyndon B. Johnson held conferences and important meetings at his Stonewall ranch (where Lady Bird still resides to this day) and W.’s dad, faked a residence in the Houstonian complex in Houston while the real “second” home was in Kennebunkport, Maine.
Bush II wants to retire to Texas, where his lukewarm financial fortune and his astonishing political fortune was made. The Crawford ranch will be where the President writes his memoirs, schedules his lectures and worries about those twins on a daily basis.
Alas, not all is sweet fortune. In life, you cannot pick the family to which you are born into and you really can’t choose your neighbors. Such is the case in Crawford, Texas for President George W. Bush.
Two years ago, after the Bush purchase, along comes one Theodore “Ted” Nugent, a refugee from southeastern Michigan and aficionado of rock and roll. To say that Mr. Nugent is less than the normal neighbor would be akin to saying Michael Jackson’s definition of “sleepover” is slightly askew. He is, in his own words, a “madman.”
“The Nuge” has been playing high voltage rock and roll guitar since the mid-1960s with a legendary Detroit group, the Amboy Dukes, whose lone hit was the drug-addled “Journey to the Center of Your Mind.” As a young boy growing up in the Motor City, that was one of the defining tunes of summertime in southern Michigan.
Subsequent hits have included “Cat Scratch Fever” (which was NOT about felines), “Stranglehold” (which was NOT about pro wrestling) and “Wango Tango” (which was NOT about Spanish dancing). They were about Nugent’s favorite subject – sex. He claims not to have done drugs or alcohol, but he made and lost a fortune to one thing – women. Lots of them. As in addicted to them. Any of them.
Not sure these hits are programmed into Bush’s workout Ipod.
Nugent made a mild comeback in the 1990s with the group, “Damn Yankees,” which included Tommy Shaw (ex-Styx) and Jack Blades (ex-Night Ranger). Their big hit was “Can You Take Me Higher,” and in concert, Nugent had this funny habit of shooting a flaming arrow from the stage to the back of the participating arenas. Luckily, he was good enough with the apparatus so that no one was hurt during his William Tell moments.
A total rebel who looked like a old hippie, hunted form game that he ate on his southeastern Michigan ranch and espoused right-wing political viewpoints, Nugent has kept his name in front of the public hawking cookbooks and spewing anything that crossed his mind to buddies like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. Why THIS entertainer was SO enlightened compared to other, more educated, people is obvious. It was the message, not the messenger.
So it must have been curious last month when Nugent, of all people, appeared in Houston, at the National Rifle Association convention, walking onto the stage with assault rifles in each hand, with these nuggets of wisdom for the audience:
“No one is allowed at our barbecues unless they are an NRA member.”
“The whole world suck, but America sucks less, and we can eliminate that sucking sound altogether if we would actually be hardcore, radical extremists, hardcore radical extremists, demanding the right to self-defense.”
“Remember the Alamo! Shoot ‘em! To show you how radical I am, I want carjackers dead. I want rapists dead. I want burglars dead. I want child molesters dead. I want the bad guys dead. No court case. No parole. No early release. I want ‘em dead. Get a gun and when they attack you, shoot ‘em.”
I’m sure that might strikes a friendly chord out there until you ask yourselves, “Who elected THIS confessed sex fiend to be our universal sheriff, judge and jury?”
Answer? Not you, not I and not the President. Because you just can’t choose your neighbors these days.
Chuck Bloom can also be reached at chuckbloom2003@yahoo.com.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Discrimination should NEVER stand … regardless
From the June 2, 2005 edition of the Collin County Opinions in the Dallas Morning News
Just when you think it’s safe to go back to the governing waters that is the city of Plano, a fin appears in the viewfinder, the “Jaws” theme begins to play and it’s time to run, not walk, out of danger. This is what happens on an all-too-regular basis with the City Council and its latest example of “discriminatory elitism,” propped up by an uninformed vote of city citizens.
If someone needed further proof of such improper thinking, it is the decision by the council to “uphold” a part of the city charter allowing only property owners to serve on boards and commissions. Mind you, an earlier court challenge already washed away the same requirement to be elected or appointed to the council. However, on May 7, an attempt to scrub the city charter clean of such discrimination was inexplicably rejected by an uninformed public. Had the issue been given one iota of the attention of the arts hall funding or alcohol sales proposition by a single city leader, explaining why it was necessary to erase such a stain on the charter, the issue would probably have passed.
Unless, of course, the vote was to endorse discrimination in Plano, which is a whole other issue to be discussed.
I was amused to read young Justin Nichols’ piece in yesterday’s Collin County Opinion Pages (“The Volunteer Tax”) and I had to chuckle at his naïve take on the council’s reaffirmation of the people’s voice. Obviously, a certain amount of historical perspective was missing because, sadly, that part of American or Texas history isn’t mentioned too often here in the 21st century.
This is an example of a latent (and abhorrent) Jim Crow law, the kind of law that was designed to circumvent voting rights laws across the South during a time when one group of citizens attempted to retain total power and control over communities. Back in the day (and the day wasn’t that long ago), only property owners could go to the ballot box, keeping thousands of Hispanics and African-Americans from any American’s basic freedom – to exercise the constitutional right to vote.
This charter provision is no different. Being a legally registered voter in Plano - that, and only that, should be the main requirement to serve on a commission or board. End of story. There can be no defending such a charter provision; in fact, the real question is why, in 2005, it even breathes any kind of life.
Simply put, the percentage of white property owners (versus minorities and poorer people) is higher than the actual ethnic demographics of Plano. It is reasonable to assume that people of lesser economic means and minorities would be those most likely to inhabit multifamily dwellings.
As young Mr. Nichols correctly notes, renters indirectly pay property tax through their monthly rent. They are just NOT on the county tax rolls. But neither are people who lease expensive homes in west Plano. Neither are those children who live in houses owned (on the county rolls) by their parents. And if you take it a step further, neither are many spouses who live in homes without their names on the title.
Where does it stop? How far should such discrimination go? And don’t give me any hooey about the “voter’s will.” Once upon a time, slavery was the “voter’s will” and the Constitution valued an African-American’s life to be worth 3/5 of an Anglo. Wrong IS wrong!
It is bad enough that so many wealthier local residents publicly oppose the state’s collegiate admission 10 percent rule because so many of their children have had their places at the University of Texas bumped by minority students.
It is worse that the city they call home believes that only one “class” of citizen can officially be part of the process that governs everyone! Until this stain is permanently erased, until the council stands up to such practices and declares that it will not allow them to exist, no resident of Plano can honestly speak about how “diversity” exists in this community.
Instead, there should be a cloak of embarrassment over the mere mention of it.
Chuck Bloom is an award-winning former columnist and editor and can be reached at chuckbloom@hotmail.com.
Just when you think it’s safe to go back to the governing waters that is the city of Plano, a fin appears in the viewfinder, the “Jaws” theme begins to play and it’s time to run, not walk, out of danger. This is what happens on an all-too-regular basis with the City Council and its latest example of “discriminatory elitism,” propped up by an uninformed vote of city citizens.
If someone needed further proof of such improper thinking, it is the decision by the council to “uphold” a part of the city charter allowing only property owners to serve on boards and commissions. Mind you, an earlier court challenge already washed away the same requirement to be elected or appointed to the council. However, on May 7, an attempt to scrub the city charter clean of such discrimination was inexplicably rejected by an uninformed public. Had the issue been given one iota of the attention of the arts hall funding or alcohol sales proposition by a single city leader, explaining why it was necessary to erase such a stain on the charter, the issue would probably have passed.
Unless, of course, the vote was to endorse discrimination in Plano, which is a whole other issue to be discussed.
I was amused to read young Justin Nichols’ piece in yesterday’s Collin County Opinion Pages (“The Volunteer Tax”) and I had to chuckle at his naïve take on the council’s reaffirmation of the people’s voice. Obviously, a certain amount of historical perspective was missing because, sadly, that part of American or Texas history isn’t mentioned too often here in the 21st century.
This is an example of a latent (and abhorrent) Jim Crow law, the kind of law that was designed to circumvent voting rights laws across the South during a time when one group of citizens attempted to retain total power and control over communities. Back in the day (and the day wasn’t that long ago), only property owners could go to the ballot box, keeping thousands of Hispanics and African-Americans from any American’s basic freedom – to exercise the constitutional right to vote.
This charter provision is no different. Being a legally registered voter in Plano - that, and only that, should be the main requirement to serve on a commission or board. End of story. There can be no defending such a charter provision; in fact, the real question is why, in 2005, it even breathes any kind of life.
Simply put, the percentage of white property owners (versus minorities and poorer people) is higher than the actual ethnic demographics of Plano. It is reasonable to assume that people of lesser economic means and minorities would be those most likely to inhabit multifamily dwellings.
As young Mr. Nichols correctly notes, renters indirectly pay property tax through their monthly rent. They are just NOT on the county tax rolls. But neither are people who lease expensive homes in west Plano. Neither are those children who live in houses owned (on the county rolls) by their parents. And if you take it a step further, neither are many spouses who live in homes without their names on the title.
Where does it stop? How far should such discrimination go? And don’t give me any hooey about the “voter’s will.” Once upon a time, slavery was the “voter’s will” and the Constitution valued an African-American’s life to be worth 3/5 of an Anglo. Wrong IS wrong!
It is bad enough that so many wealthier local residents publicly oppose the state’s collegiate admission 10 percent rule because so many of their children have had their places at the University of Texas bumped by minority students.
It is worse that the city they call home believes that only one “class” of citizen can officially be part of the process that governs everyone! Until this stain is permanently erased, until the council stands up to such practices and declares that it will not allow them to exist, no resident of Plano can honestly speak about how “diversity” exists in this community.
Instead, there should be a cloak of embarrassment over the mere mention of it.
Chuck Bloom is an award-winning former columnist and editor and can be reached at chuckbloom@hotmail.com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
