I don't know about you but one thing that just frosts my derriere is being passed by a policeman on the highway.
I'm going the speed limit (usually)...he's, obviously, not.
What gives? And don't tell me he's rushing to get a doughnut while it's warm.
He's speeding because he can. "I'm a cop and you're not. Nah nah nah nah nah...!"
Ok...if he's going to the scene of a crime or going to help someone...it's understandable. Rock on officer...pedal to the metal...I'm all over it.
But just because his Crown Vic is set up to do 120 and he's got flashing lights and a shotgun and the power to pull me over for no apparent reason shouldn't give him the privilege of driving as fast as he wants and as fast as we would if we could. ("Cop didn't see it...I didn't do it - George Carlin")
Can you say "Citizen's Arrest?" Hah!!
Just not fair...
And while I'm at it...another thing that is irritating is the fact that construction zones have policemen guarding them. What the hell is that about? They put up an orange sign the size of your house. They put orange barrels up a mile away. They have flashing yellow lights and Jersey barriers. Why in God's name do they have to have a cop? He's often not doing anything useful. He's chatting with the workers (one reason why the projects take two or three light years to complete) or he's in his car on the phone or the computer or drinking coffee.
Society complains that there are not enough police to patrol neighborhoods or prevent crime.
Why then, are these highly trained, expensive and much needed and valuable public servants sitting in expensive cruisers at construction sites?
If it's to have a "presence" then just put an older cruiser there with the lights flashing and a dummy in the front seat. (and no, I am not suggesting, through some funny turn of a phrase, that cops are dummies. I have a lot of respect for the police. I really meant a dummy as in a mannequin...really.)
Nothing makes a driver slow down and obey the traffic laws more effectively than seeing a police car on the side of the road in front of them. Nothing.
Well almost nothing. Possibly the sight of a police car in the rear view mirror.
...coming up on their tail at 90mph lights a-flashing...
...on a doughnut run.
Jeez...!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
Wisdom
The meaning of the name Sonia is "wisdom."
Sonia Sotomayor is poised to be the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court.
Her name means "wisdom."
Just exactly right for the highest court in the land.
And she's a woman to boot. Good for us as a country and a culture.
And it's about time that the men in government have an opportunity to let those who have been underrepresented have a voice.
It is amazing how the pontificators in and out of Congress have attempted to malign Sotomayor.
Maybe she's not perfect and maybe she has said some things she might not have and maybe some of her judicial decisions can be argued with.
But for the past 100 billion years or so white men have run things and have done a fairly poor job of it. War, pollution, genocide, slavery, robbery...you name it and the white men are probably responsible for most of it (I know, Aileen Wuornos and Queen Mary I...and Leona Helmsley and Glenn Close's character in "Fatal Attraction"...)
But, really, the boys are afraid that the little brown girl will take away their toys and make them clean up their rooms.
Just grow up fellas. She'll be fine. She'll be cool. She'll, maybe, turn a few things around in this country that may, in the long run, save the Republic and your fat asses...too much Conservative shenanigans and the natives might become restless (remember the French Revolution and the Russian Revolution and the American Revolution and the former USSR and Lech Walesa and Romania and...I guess not...) and chain you all to an oar.
But then crew is the sport of the privileged class so the bullies in Washington might be at home...
"Stroke...!"
Sonia Sotomayor is poised to be the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court.
Her name means "wisdom."
Just exactly right for the highest court in the land.
And she's a woman to boot. Good for us as a country and a culture.
And it's about time that the men in government have an opportunity to let those who have been underrepresented have a voice.
It is amazing how the pontificators in and out of Congress have attempted to malign Sotomayor.
Maybe she's not perfect and maybe she has said some things she might not have and maybe some of her judicial decisions can be argued with.
But for the past 100 billion years or so white men have run things and have done a fairly poor job of it. War, pollution, genocide, slavery, robbery...you name it and the white men are probably responsible for most of it (I know, Aileen Wuornos and Queen Mary I...and Leona Helmsley and Glenn Close's character in "Fatal Attraction"...)
But, really, the boys are afraid that the little brown girl will take away their toys and make them clean up their rooms.
Just grow up fellas. She'll be fine. She'll be cool. She'll, maybe, turn a few things around in this country that may, in the long run, save the Republic and your fat asses...too much Conservative shenanigans and the natives might become restless (remember the French Revolution and the Russian Revolution and the American Revolution and the former USSR and Lech Walesa and Romania and...I guess not...) and chain you all to an oar.
But then crew is the sport of the privileged class so the bullies in Washington might be at home...
"Stroke...!"
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Your Call is Very Important to Us...
No...
...it's not.
What is important, apparently, is saving money by automating everything.
I will go on record here and now as being one who absolutely hates the telephone response systems that so many corporations and government agencies employ to "streamline" their operations.
SCREW YOU!!!
First you dial the number. Then you have to listen to some aggravating and incredibly annoying voice tell you that you have choices:
"If you want sales, press one"
"If you want tech support, press two"
"If you know your party's extension press it now or for a company directory press three (an entirely different set of annoyances...)
"If you want to commit suicide press the trigger...NOW!!!"
And if you think you are too cool and you have outwitted the computer on the other end of the phone you press "O" and you think you'll get an operator...a real human...in Bangladesh or Mumbai or Bakersfield...
But NOOOO!!
You get:
"You have made an invalid choice...if you want sales press one"...etc., ad nauseum!
I want to talk to a person!
I have an issue...nay, a problem...and I am already irritated with my grievance or question and by the time I get Tiffany or Todd or Ahmed...I AM REALLY PISSED OFF NOW!!!!!!!!
Please God...revert to the good old days. Staff your stupid company or agency with real people, however inept they inevitably are. Real people in real locations like Sioux Falls or Omaha or Lubbock. Well, maybe not Lubbock...the accent is too reminiscient of Ol' What's His Name...the former Decider in Chief...
I don't really care where they are or ultimately what they know which is usually nothing but the script in front of them requiring you to ask for a supervisor named Sherry or Richard.
Then maybe you get satisfaction...or not...but at least you could have the conversation with another human being...
...even if it's being monitored for "quality assurance purposes..."
My ASS...!
Or as Tony Soprano said to Dr, Melfi, "If my call is so important to you why don't you pick up the F***in' phone...!"
Thank you for listening.
Now press six to return to the main menu.
...it's not.
What is important, apparently, is saving money by automating everything.
I will go on record here and now as being one who absolutely hates the telephone response systems that so many corporations and government agencies employ to "streamline" their operations.
SCREW YOU!!!
First you dial the number. Then you have to listen to some aggravating and incredibly annoying voice tell you that you have choices:
"If you want sales, press one"
"If you want tech support, press two"
"If you know your party's extension press it now or for a company directory press three (an entirely different set of annoyances...)
"If you want to commit suicide press the trigger...NOW!!!"
And if you think you are too cool and you have outwitted the computer on the other end of the phone you press "O" and you think you'll get an operator...a real human...in Bangladesh or Mumbai or Bakersfield...
But NOOOO!!
You get:
"You have made an invalid choice...if you want sales press one"...etc., ad nauseum!
I want to talk to a person!
I have an issue...nay, a problem...and I am already irritated with my grievance or question and by the time I get Tiffany or Todd or Ahmed...I AM REALLY PISSED OFF NOW!!!!!!!!
Please God...revert to the good old days. Staff your stupid company or agency with real people, however inept they inevitably are. Real people in real locations like Sioux Falls or Omaha or Lubbock. Well, maybe not Lubbock...the accent is too reminiscient of Ol' What's His Name...the former Decider in Chief...
I don't really care where they are or ultimately what they know which is usually nothing but the script in front of them requiring you to ask for a supervisor named Sherry or Richard.
Then maybe you get satisfaction...or not...but at least you could have the conversation with another human being...
...even if it's being monitored for "quality assurance purposes..."
My ASS...!
Or as Tony Soprano said to Dr, Melfi, "If my call is so important to you why don't you pick up the F***in' phone...!"
Thank you for listening.
Now press six to return to the main menu.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
I Confess!!
I confess...I am in love...
...with Washington, D.C.
Well, not actually the city itself but its' noble (no bull...) inhabitants.
WHAT A BUNCH OF LYING A-HOLES!
Are you kidding me?
And why is it always the ones who pontificate so loudly who do EXACTLY the thing that they rant about...and then use the formula apology when caught; "My behavior was reprehensible...blah, blah, blah...I love my wife (yeah, right)...I love my kids (not so sure about the 'brown one') ?"
Don't do drugs!...Congressman So-and-So gets caught in a DEA sting.
Don't patronize hookers!...Senator What's-his-Name gets caught with his pants down...literally.
Gays are BAD!!...Congressman Whoseit...is...GAY!
On and on and on and almost never women mind you...almost always the men...the bellicose, hypocritical, tyrannical blowhards to whom we give so damned much power (we elect them remember...our choice you know...) who seem to live in a "Do as I say, not as I do" world. The most the women get caught doing is hiring illegal nannies. At least they are doing something about unemployment as they actually care for their children...well they're not really doing the caring themselves...but, you know what I mean.
I just LOVE the fact that Senator Nelson had an affair. And it is characterized as having been with a good friend's wife. Hmmmmmm....how good?
He, apparently, has resigned his "leadership" post, whatever that is. He has called upon others to resign in the past, yet he will most assuredly, try to hold on to his seat.
And well he should...we don't care about morality...we don't care about accountability...we don't care about responsibility...the 24 hour news cycle will be overtaken by the next big deal...what's that you say...there's war in Iraq and Afghanistan...the economy is on life support...the Earth is dying...what...Paris Hilton said what...?
We only care about who won American Idol, or the Super Bowl or The U.S. Open, or Powerball.
We don't care that we are governed by a bunch of scumbags who took the Hypocritic Oath of Office when they arrived in The Nation's Capitol.
Well, not all of them are scumbags.
Some are patriots.
Oliver North. John Poindexter. Bud McFarlane. Dan Rostenkowski. Wilbur Mills. Tom Foley. Larry Craig. "Scooter" (what a cute little sobriquet...) Libby. David Vitter. John Edwards.
Can't you just see a July 4th parade with all of those guys marching with a banner? What would it say? "USA all the Way!!" (United Scumbags of America...?)
"Oh Say Can You See...?"
Yup...I can see.
Have a nice day.
...with Washington, D.C.
Well, not actually the city itself but its' noble (no bull...) inhabitants.
WHAT A BUNCH OF LYING A-HOLES!
Are you kidding me?
And why is it always the ones who pontificate so loudly who do EXACTLY the thing that they rant about...and then use the formula apology when caught; "My behavior was reprehensible...blah, blah, blah...I love my wife (yeah, right)...I love my kids (not so sure about the 'brown one') ?"
Don't do drugs!...Congressman So-and-So gets caught in a DEA sting.
Don't patronize hookers!...Senator What's-his-Name gets caught with his pants down...literally.
Gays are BAD!!...Congressman Whoseit...is...GAY!
On and on and on and almost never women mind you...almost always the men...the bellicose, hypocritical, tyrannical blowhards to whom we give so damned much power (we elect them remember...our choice you know...) who seem to live in a "Do as I say, not as I do" world. The most the women get caught doing is hiring illegal nannies. At least they are doing something about unemployment as they actually care for their children...well they're not really doing the caring themselves...but, you know what I mean.
I just LOVE the fact that Senator Nelson had an affair. And it is characterized as having been with a good friend's wife. Hmmmmmm....how good?
He, apparently, has resigned his "leadership" post, whatever that is. He has called upon others to resign in the past, yet he will most assuredly, try to hold on to his seat.
And well he should...we don't care about morality...we don't care about accountability...we don't care about responsibility...the 24 hour news cycle will be overtaken by the next big deal...what's that you say...there's war in Iraq and Afghanistan...the economy is on life support...the Earth is dying...what...Paris Hilton said what...?
We only care about who won American Idol, or the Super Bowl or The U.S. Open, or Powerball.
We don't care that we are governed by a bunch of scumbags who took the Hypocritic Oath of Office when they arrived in The Nation's Capitol.
Well, not all of them are scumbags.
Some are patriots.
Oliver North. John Poindexter. Bud McFarlane. Dan Rostenkowski. Wilbur Mills. Tom Foley. Larry Craig. "Scooter" (what a cute little sobriquet...) Libby. David Vitter. John Edwards.
Can't you just see a July 4th parade with all of those guys marching with a banner? What would it say? "USA all the Way!!" (United Scumbags of America...?)
"Oh Say Can You See...?"
Yup...I can see.
Have a nice day.
Friday, June 12, 2009
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to The Election
Prediction:
Sarah Palin wins the presidency in 2012.
Why does she win you ask, awakened from your Cannes induced slumber?
Because we can't stop talking about her. It's like the proverbial train wreck...you want to look away but can't stop looking either.
The woman is an icon of the hard far right wing of the nearly defunct Republican Party.
I say nearly defunct because it is not totally defunct...yet.
We keep it alive by actually engaging with it about issues of governance...about which it has demonstrated very little aptitude.
If Sarah Palin wants to rant about David Letterman...let her. When a child carries on about the deprivation of a toy or too few cookies we don't engage...we adults ignore. Soon the brat chills and we get back to the business at hand...whatever that is...ironing, cooking, kissing, arguing, taking out the trash...whatever.
Just ignore the woman and maybe she'll go away....maybe.
But NOOOO...we can't do that...she's too powerful...she's a governor...she's a hockey mom...she's a moose lover and a Todd lover and an advocate for disabled kids and a supporter of the troops...
Wait a minute...
Maybe she ain't so bad after all...
Maybe Letterman is a horse's arse...
Maybe the Republicans are right...
Maybe...
NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!
Prediction #2:
Sarah Palin assumes the presidency on January 20, 2013.
Can you say "Ex-Pat...?"
Sarah Palin wins the presidency in 2012.
Why does she win you ask, awakened from your Cannes induced slumber?
Because we can't stop talking about her. It's like the proverbial train wreck...you want to look away but can't stop looking either.
The woman is an icon of the hard far right wing of the nearly defunct Republican Party.
I say nearly defunct because it is not totally defunct...yet.
We keep it alive by actually engaging with it about issues of governance...about which it has demonstrated very little aptitude.
If Sarah Palin wants to rant about David Letterman...let her. When a child carries on about the deprivation of a toy or too few cookies we don't engage...we adults ignore. Soon the brat chills and we get back to the business at hand...whatever that is...ironing, cooking, kissing, arguing, taking out the trash...whatever.
Just ignore the woman and maybe she'll go away....maybe.
But NOOOO...we can't do that...she's too powerful...she's a governor...she's a hockey mom...she's a moose lover and a Todd lover and an advocate for disabled kids and a supporter of the troops...
Wait a minute...
Maybe she ain't so bad after all...
Maybe Letterman is a horse's arse...
Maybe the Republicans are right...
Maybe...
NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!
Prediction #2:
Sarah Palin assumes the presidency on January 20, 2013.
Can you say "Ex-Pat...?"
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