Friday, February 20, 2009

Past Philosophers

The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.
--Plato (428/427 BC– 348/347 BC)

Why is it that the citizens of this Great Nation are so full of Apathy today. Plato as quoted above was well aware of this over two thousand years ago. Do we not learn anything from past events?

We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office--Aesop (~550 BC)

How many crooked politicians can you think of. The more things change the more they stay the same. Are all politicians crooks or are all crooks politicians?

Never trust the advice of a man in difficulties.--Aesop (620-560 BC
How many politicians in difficulties are running our great nation today? When the fox is in the hen house….

If we really knew the answers to all these questions we could not sleep at night.

Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the Kings Horses and all the kings men could not put humpty together again.

Greed overpowers righteousness.

Until next time.
Norm

Monday, February 16, 2009

Hedge Trimming

A friend of mine asked me to trim his hedges. His wife really does not think it is necessary. He finally talked her into it and I am part of the equation. Wanting to do a good job and please her (this is important) I looked to the internet for guidance.
I looked at two different sites for information regarding the trimming of hedges. It looked easy; a couple of stakes, string, lopper (pruning shears with long handles) and an electric trimmer and were in business.
I get on site, drive the stakes, run the string, and grab the trimmer; hey wait a minute this hedge is different. Now what do I do? Improvise. I start trimming the top, leaving the sides until last. My friend’s wife comes outside and says “oh you run stakes and string, that’s how you do it?” With an aura of confidence I say “uh huh”. With that she left me to my work.
Three and a half hours later I have a third of the hedge trimmed. Tomorrow my friend (this means his wife) and I will discuss how the job is progressing. I may add ex-hedge trimmer to my resume. Until next time.
Norm

Thursday, February 12, 2009

My Southern Gal

Around nine o’clock this morning my Southern Gal came over for a visit. She is beautiful, black, and has the most adorable brown eyes I have ever seen. I have to admit, it was love at first sight. I think she loves me too. I guess the past few months I have grown on her.
Really she belongs to the neighbor lady but my home is her second home, just ask the neighbor lady. My Southern Gal is a Cocker Spaniel. When she leaves her owners home she heads to mine. I feed her, make over her, and play with her. In fact her mom has a hard time getting her to come home.
Today she broke her collar, so her visit has been all day. I talked to the neighbor earlier and she said she would replace her collar and come get her. We have had a nice day but Molly is ready to go home. Too much of a good thing I guess. Until next time.
Norm

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Stray Cat

I now have a Stray Cat. Maybe I should say I have always had a Stray Cat. You see this cat has been hanging around for the past four years. I have taken pity on it through the years and thrown tidbits to it now and then.
This year I decided to feed it on a daily basis. I went to town and bought some dry cat food. My wife decided on her own to give it milk a couple times a day too. The cat is in heaven. I thought it was hungry all the time but the neighbor told me she has been feeding Stray Cat for years.
Oh well, I know how it is to be the only cat on the street. Strangers and friends have thrown me tidbits through the years. Stray Cat is feeling good and so am I. Feed a stray and feel good too. Until next time.
Norm

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Crowd Psychology

What is really going on in our Government? We have two parties consisting of people having different but similar ideas of what is good for the people. For as long as I can remember they have fought among themselves and wasted billions of dollars on Pork Barrel spending.
They throw a few million dollars at the people while squandering billions overseas on senseless wars and other projects that do not benefit America. We deserve better from Congress and the Senate than the little piecemeal that is thrown our way.
It appears they are caught up in a form of Crowd Psychology that will not let them breakout of their way of thinking. What we as a people need to do is limit the terms of office to three or four years. This will bring in new ideas and no one person will have a hold on anyone else.
The Stimulus Package the President is trying to push through at this very moment is full of Pork Barrel spending. The Republicans are not happy because it does not include any of their ideas. I bet if we look closer this would equal their Pork Barrel projects. Why can not our Government just spend the money we need to get back on our feet and forget the Pork barrel spending?
Again I say they are caught in their own way of thinking and cannot see the forest for the trees. Until next time.
Norm

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Army Suicides at 3-Decade High

Around twenty suicides per one hundred thousand soldiers have been reported by officials. Even though the army has increased training, prevention programs and psychiatric staff suicides continue.
Individual cases have revealed the most common factors for suicides were soldiers suffering problems with their personal relationships, legal or financial issues and problems on the job.
The military spends millions of dollars a year on munitions. If I was a betting man I would put my money on the fact that just a fraction of that amount is spent on mental health.
There are many reasons why our military members are killing themselves. I want you to know through first hand experience that going to mental health for help puts a flag on your career. I would have shot myself before going to mental health and I am not joking.
The military spends millions of dollars and probably more teaching us how to kill but spends very little on teaching us to manage our personal affairs and to reconcile our belief systems.
You cannot get any satisfactory answers. You have no where to turn. Do not tell us to turn to God because obviously for 20 out of 100,000 of us it does not work.
So we go out and womanize, drink, drug, write bad checks, and fight anyone around us. This causes problems at home, with the legal system, and on the job. The training we receive in the above areas are minimal and of a generic nature. Even if we are not deployed to a war zone we can still have these problems because we are human. Some of us finally figure it out and can live with our past. Others turn to pills, guns, and automobile accidents. What ever it takes to end it all.
Unfortunately the world outside the military is no smarter. There are people that think they no. They tell you what to do and collect thousands of dollars but there still are no answers. How can someone that has never experienced what the troops have experienced help them? I have no answers either I am still working through my own demons. Until next time.
Norm

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Citigroup

ABC News reported that Citigroup planned to purchase a fifty million dollar jet from France. Last year our government handed Citigroup 45 billion dollars to rescue it. When talking to some members of Congress they were outraged but not enough to take action. There were some comments about not wanting to appear like socialist.
If Congress does not want to appear like socialist then I suggest they let the businesses fail and let someone buy them that will succeed. Making Citigroup account for the 45 billion dollars of the taxpayer’s money is not being socialist; it is just good business sense. However just look at our economy; has the government ever showed any business sense? Why did President Obama have to make the call and tell Citigroup to fix it? It appears that the president has been running things the last eight years. Maybe it is time for Congress to return to their homes and stay there. It would save the taxpayers millions of dollars and maybe the President can get our country back on track. Until next time.
Norm

Monday, January 26, 2009

Sheriff of Nottingham

Yahoo News reported Sunday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she is open to additional government rescue money for banks and financial institutions. But she is demanding that taxpayers get an ownership stake in return.
The Sheriff’s of Nottingham are at it again, stealing from the poor and giving to the rich. They have already given $350 billion to the banks with no accountability. Now they have another $350 billion in hand wanting to give more to the banks.
The last thing this country needs is the government giving money to the banks and using it as an excuse to nationalize the banking system. What needs to be done is let the banks and financial institutions fail and have responsible and honest businessmen or women buy them.
The banks and financial institutions that are in trouble have already proven they are incapable of managing themselves. Why pour more money into a sinking ship.
It does not take a brain surgeon or a math major to figure this out.
I see it clearly the government does not want to do what is right. They want to do what is convenient. Until next time.
Norm

Sunday, January 25, 2009

It is a Global War

The news reported this week that a detainee that was released from Guantanamo Bay joined Al Qaeda in Yemen. Of course he went back to his organization. What do we expect? Their war is a global war and will be fought the rest of their and our lives. After being released they do not go home and plant gardens and live their lives.
As a prisoner of war your captors do not use you right. They abuse you and use you like a dog. This just strengthens your resolve to go back home and do anything you can do to punish your persecutors and their country men.
Where is the fairness in throwing combatants in prison for eight years without a trial and no hope for freedom? These men are soldiers fighting for a cause they believe in. They are no different than I during the wars and trouble spots around the world I was involved in. Is it fair to lock them up and throw away the key just because our government does not recognize them as soldiers? What about human rights?
Our government preaches to the world about human rights violations but keeps men locked up for years around the world. What about these men’s rights. Hum, I wonder why they want to re-arm once released and continue the fight. Until next time.
Norm

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Just Another Charade

We all know that the Senate will approve President Obama’s nomination for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and his nomination for Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Why the dog and pony show? This seems to be the theme in our government. They think they are fooling the people with illusions like this. What are the hearings purposes anyway? I believe it is a rite of passage or an initiation into their elite society.
In our government are there not two honest people that can fill these positions. Why do the people have to settle for a person whose husband has collected millions of dollars from countries all over the world? How can a person do an honest job of protecting our interests when her husband is indebted to these same countries? How can we trust a man that did not pay his taxes? What other mistakes will he make at our expense? Again, I ask is there not two honest people in our government that could do these jobs. Until next time.
Norm

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Nothing Will Change

Our Government has an agenda, and it is bigger than the President is. We no longer have a government by the people for the people. Unfortunately, the people that truly run the world will continue to do exactly what they have to, to establish a New World Order. The government does not need our help. Our leaders do exist without our help and will exist if we are here or not. The government wants us to believe we need them to show us the way.
If getting us involved in two needless wars and putting us trillions of dollars in debt is guiding us, then no thank you I will guide myself. If throwing billions of dollars at banks and automobile companies that mismanage themselves is the best they can do, no thank you I will guide myself.
If putting people in positions of power that accepts bribes and gifts from foreign countries, no thank you I will guide myself. If putting people in positions of power that do not pay their taxes, hire illegal aliens, cheat, lie, and steal, then no thank you I will guide myself.
I for one am not going to stand by and say hoorah, hoorah, hoorah, for the continuing corrupt government that runs this country. I am not going to turn my eyes away and pretend everything is all right when it is not.
It is not the hard working American Man or Woman that has caused the recession. It is the way our leaders and big business have handled the affairs of this country. Do not forget it is every man, woman and child in this country that is and will pay for their folly. Look for guidance from our leaders bite my tongue. Until next time.
Norm

Monday, January 19, 2009

This Old House

My wife and I purchased a house in South Carolina in 2005. Many people spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on their homes. These homes have quiet floors, insulated windows, and the latest technology in insulating their homes from the environment and the noise outside.
The house we bought is fifty fears old. The floors creak when we walk from room to room. The windows are drafty at times and there is no insulation in the walls. The old floor furnace groans and moans when it gets hot and when it cools down. We hear the neighbors coming home or going away.
A house of this caliber has character; it is built right into it. It is comforting to walk from room to room and listen to our home. Lying in bed I hear the furnace saying “hey it is ok, I am taking care of you”. If it gets a little drafty we throw another shirt or coat on and put another log in the fireplace.
As a child growing up in Michigan I spent quite a few years in a house similar to this one. It was two story but the noises were familiar. It is no mystery why my wife and I like an older home. It brings back memories of times past. Of homes we remember as children. You remember; times when we all felt safe and secure while in our parents care. Until next time.
Norm

Friday, January 16, 2009

Just a Little Hiccup

Timothy Geithner the New York Federal Reserve chief that President-elect Barack Obama choose for treasury secretary failed to pay $34,000 in taxes. In addition he employed a housekeeper without proper immigration papers.
The democrats claimed failing to pay his taxes was a small hiccup. Part of his job as treasury secretary is to oversee the Internal Revenue Service. Yahoo News reported Senate Democratic leaders and Obama transition officials immediately voiced confidence in Geithner and called for his quick confirmation once Obama is sworn in and is able to formally nominate him — citing the important role Geithner will play in dealing with one of the nation's severest recessions in decades.
Do we really trust a man that does not pay his taxes as treasury secretary?
Are not employers required by law to have their employees prove they are either American citizens or have the proper documentation to work in the United States?
How long are we/you going to allow the current people that are running this country to ignore the laws that we have to obey? I for one am tired of all their stealing and lies.
We have a large prison population in this country because of; let me think, oh yes a series of hiccups. Why should our friends and neighbors be in prison and the ruling class not.
Maybe I can make an honest mistake and not pay taxes this year. I need a good housekeeper; maybe Timothy Geithner can recommend one. Until next time.
Norm

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Slogans and Other Comments

I received an email today with quite a few Political slogans. Slogans are fine but they do not accomplish anything. We all agree with the message the person is conveying. However sending this information back and forth to each other accomplishes nothing. When you write your Congressman you normally receive a response back. They tell you they know better than you and thank you for your correspondence. The response usually comes from an Aid because the Congressman is too busy to read your letter. I have never heard of a March in the street that ever changed anything. We all know and have known for years that the leaders of our government are not doing right by the people. If you do not know this I am willing to fill you in. Passing slogans, writing your Congressmen, and Marching in the streets protesting has no effect on the way the government is run.
The only way to change what is happening is to change the face of government. Lets cut through all the illusions and get down to the nittty gritty. As long as you have Democrats and Republicans in charge of this country nothing will change. Where does that leave us?
We need to elect a person from a new Party that will work for the people instead of themselves. You may say that you can not do it alone. Your are right. But remember what you were taught in Kindergarten, together we can doing anything.
So let’s take all the energy we spend on Passing slogans, writing our Congressmen, and Marching in the streets and focus on starting up a new party that will work for the people. Until next time.
Norm

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

The Thought Process

I was just thinking. Imagine all the Thoughts you have in a day. If the Thought process is not the fastest thing in the world, it has to be close. Some days I get to Thinking and my mind just flies. Sometimes I believe more time has gone by than really has. The Mind is a wonderful thing. I cannot imagine destroying it with drugs. My Mind has taken me all over the world, back in time and into the future. What other Commodity do you know of that will do the same and cost less. My mind allows me to invent Stories for my pleasure and other people’s pleasure. It also keeps me up at Night every once in awhile. I will not complain because of the joy that it gives me on a daily basis. Have a nice trip. Until next time.
Norm

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Monday, January 12, 2009

Get Rich Quick

If you watch television, you can see all kinds of infomercials showing you how to get rich with no effort at all. Normally the only ones getting rich are the people behind the infomercial. If you really think about it, it must have taken some kind of effort to get the product from the idea phase to the infomercial. If we ponder further we realize it took quite a bit of capitol to finance the whole concept.
If you have a few thousand dollars extra and the ability to get down to the nitty gritty details you may succeed. If you are not afraid of putting in more hours a week than you have ever worked in your life, I am sure you will succeed.
In this time of financial problems in the world, the con men and women will do anything to rob you of the little money you have. There are good opportunities out there, just be cautious. Be sure to check out each opportunity carefully before investing. If you are not sure, have someone else help you. Remember if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. The bottom line is there is no easy money in the world. If that was the case, we would all be rich. Until next time.
Norm

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Reply-all e-mail storm hits State

In the News the past couple of days is a story about the State Dept. telling their people not to hit the Reply all button on their emails. As reported in Yahoo News, the cable a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press was sent in response to major interruption in departmental e-mail caused by numerous diplomats hitting "reply all" to an errant message inadvertently addressed and copied to several thousand recipients.
At the end of my Military career the internet and email was just getting started. Everyone from the Commander to the lowliest Airman had to have an email account. It did not take me long to realize that people, usually the higher ranking Non Commissioned Officers would not address their emails to the individuals the correspondence was aimed at. They just sent it to everyone. Needless to say I spent wasted time deleting emails that did not pertain to me.
Most people are lazy; they will take the easiest way out no matter what impact it has on other people. I did not complain to the Commander about this problem. It was obvious I was the only one that had a problem with this practice. When something like this happens someone finally does something about it. It could have been taken care of as soon as it was identified fifteen years ago. I am sure I am not the only one to recognize this problem through the years.
The password the Military give me consisted of at least ten characters and probably closer to fifteen. This was ridiculous. Then I spent valuable time deleting email that should not have been sent to me in the first place. I just threw the pass word away and never checked my Email again.
I really have to question the errant message inadvertently addressed and copied to several thousand recipients. In my experience as stated above this was standard practice. I do not think things have changed through the years. I can see through the illusion to what is. I know when some one is peeing on my boots and telling me it is raining outside. Until next time.

Norm.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

New Year Resolutions

I am thinking about making some resolutions for the New Year. Let me think about how to go about this endeavor. I suppose I should keep it simple and easy to accomplish. My first Resolution is; only help the people that help me. I am going to skip the people that only remember me when they want something. They do not remember me on Holidays or my Birthday. Resolution numbers two; I will change my diet slightly. I will eat more Fiber and food that will aid my health. I probably will still eat the things that are bad for me also. Resolution numbers three; I will exercise more. If I walk to town a little more this should satisfy this resolution. Three is enough.
My thinking is if I keep them simple, and low energy I may be able to keep my Resolutions this year. Oh yes I have stars in my eyes and big dreams about the Resolutions I would like to make. However, reality sets in and I know that you know I will never keep them. Therefore, this year I will try a new angle. Until next time.
Norm