Here’s another thing..

Well…there is another issue that I wanted to touch on today, and that is the controversy that has arisen over Verizon and Google’s vision for the future of the internet and the gutting of the way it runs now. The proposal from these two communications giants, is to change the way that the internet works now; that all the data packets that come to or from any website or computer are treated the same to one where the people or companies that are willing to pay a premium will have their data packets given preference to those that don’t. Why do I even have to tell you that this is just a really bad idea; that again, the rich will get richer and take control of one of the last egalitarian bastions of our society?

And, guess who is supporting the companies grab for higher profits and more control? Good guess, the repubs, as always. These same ones that scream about government control of anything are more than willing to hand control over to companies that don’t answer to anyone but their profits because they know it will benefit them. I hope they understand that if they do this the political winds can change and they may be on the other end of the stick? What happens to groups like the tea party or even the RNC when they have to pay extra to get their voices heard? I hope there are reasonable people out there that can recognize that what has made the internet great is the fact that an upstart muckraker like me gets the same access to the net as a billion dollar corporation and there is nothing that anyone can do to silence me or you. Geez…

Gonna keep saying it…

Well…when are we, as Americans, going to stop listening to the “right wing hooey” to quote Donaldl Fagen? First, let’s deal with the shameless use of the Constitution as a wedge issue that has been in the spotlight for a few months now. You know how the right has been screaming about following the constitution, that it is very clear what it means and you don’t need the judicial branch of the government to interpret it? In the next breath they are trying to push to change it as in their created controversy over the 14th amendment or they are saying, in so many words, that the first amendment protections only apply to Christians; and any Muslims should bow to the majority and stop building the mosque near the WTC site. Well, folks, and I am aiming this squarely at the righties: you can’t have it both ways…you can’t have an absolutist view of the 2nd amendment and then want the views of the majority to override the protections of the first amendment in regards to the mosque. Polls have shown that a majority of Americans want some form of gun control…so are you then willing to abide by the majority’s will? No, of course not. Should we have followed the majority’s will when segregation was ended and the majority still wanted it? Sometimes the majority is wrong or is manipulated by politicians that have an interest in stirring up hate and forment and that is especially the case with the unscrupulous and cynical leaders on the right.

I am so worn down by the blatant, outright lies that come from Gingrich, Palin, and the other spokespeople from the right and I fear for this country…I call this behavior un-American, these scorched earth win at all costs tactics that are gradually destroying what is good about America….but what can we do about it? Stop listening to these liars, these people that scream “death panels”, that invoke the images of Nazi’s to tar their opponents, and who poison the political discourse every time they open their mouths. I wish there were good things to write about, that someone had said enough and we could all see that we’re in this together….I would love my posts to be positive and I’m willing to try but it seems that no one listens to a reasonable person anymore; and this country is much worse off for it.

August 16th

Well…had a little bout with the manhattans last night and feel a little slow this morning…want to get back into the routine and get out to get the papers and coffee…I do have topic for later that is going to deal with the righties expected use of fear and divisivness to win the fall elections and their cynical approach to everything. But that is later, not now…going to get a haircut this morning since the head looks really weird with it this long and I don’t want to have to take care of it…yeah, that is the high point of my day but I am going to make a zucchini provencal for lunch since C loaded me up with veggies again Sat…the salsa I made last week came out good so I may as well keep trying new stuff….more later…

August 15th part two…

Well…I did go out to GH this morning…it is strange to be out on the sand before 9 in the morning and to have the weather be so nice that it was comfortable to go shirtless…well…comfortable for me, not the people who had to look at me…they don’t HAVE to look after all. I had forgotten how much fun the big waves are and was grinning like an idiot trying to body surf some of them…did get some good rides in but I am sore from using a bunch of new muscles. Was on the beach for 3 hours and I think I was in the water for two of them….I just love Lake Michigan and that’s where my ashes will be spread when I croak…at least that’s in the will.

After getting a little scorched, I took the bike off the back of the wreck and rode it into town (what there is of a town) to get a couple of Pronto Pups…fresh made corndogs they sell from this tiny little stand along the channel…used to take the kids there when they were little and they are just the best with a slather of mustard on one side….then back to the car to load up the bike and made a woman really happy giving her my parking spot at the little GH city park that is just a little south of the State park…got out of there at just the right time since the traffic had started to pick up and it’s a pain to slide the clutch in the stop and go getting out of town. I won’t bore you with the rest of the day…well, I’ve probably bored you already but that horse has left the barn…

A simple solution….

Well…have been reading a lot about the problems that Toyota has been having with unintended acceleration in many of their vehicles. The latest conclusions that have come from the investigations is that a majority of the incidents were caused by mis-application of the pedals…meaning that the people in some of the accidents were pressing on the wrong pedals..i.e. pressing on the accelerator when they thought they were stepping on the brake; similar to the problem that Audi had in the 80′s that almost killed the company. After some thought…well, not a lot I’ll admit, I just remembered they way that I leaned to drive automatic transmission cars….I use my left foot on the brake and my right foot on the accelerator. Instead of the billions of dollars that are being spent to idiot proof cars so people can’t make mistakes, why not just train people to use both of their feet to operate their cars? If the brake and gas were discrete operations that were done with different feet, the opportunity for people to press the wrong pedal would be reduced significantly. Yeah, I know..not earth shattering or politically astute but some times the simple things that pop into my head really do have some merit…to me, anyway….

August 15th

Well…just a short one this morning…loading up the bike again to go out to GH and lay in the sand and swim…haven’t read the paper yet so I really don’t have any other topics but I’ll be back around 1 to and may have something non-political…possibly about the trip…more later…

August 14th Wildlife alert..

Well…got out on the bike early today because the heat and humidity are going to be unbearable later and I like the way the light looks in the morning….have to pass on this wildlife alert that made me laugh…I don’t know if it’s mating season for frogs but there were a bunch of them out on the trail this morning around one of the retention ponds by the e-way and the little marsh that is further up the road. Have not seen any snakes this year yet which is odd; saw almost one a day last year and I wonder what has changed. Saw a huge group of wild turkeys with two adults and about 15 chicks by the woods in front of the church and another pair of adults sauntering across 60th street like they had not a care in the world. But the weirdest thing was the 10 inch smallmouth bass that was laying on the sidewalk by the old KW library…now, unless bass have leaned to walk, that is a strange place to find one….just another facet of the weirdness that is my life right now…

Might let some more crazy out later..so, come on back…

Can you tell I’m bored?

Well…don’t have anything to do today, as you can tell, or I wouldn’t be posting so much stuff today…that’s not really true, I do like to write this post every day and today is one of those days when the brain is working and the midwestern discipline has kicked in to keep me thinking about the things that are important to me and I hope to some of you out there. Or, you could just be looking at this to wait for the final meltdown to happen…are there bets happening on how large the explosion will be? That would be pretty cool but I’d like to get in on the action since I could use the money.

It’s spider alert again here at the old homestead…but I think I’ll leave them for a while to see just how many of them can co-exist in the tiny little space that is my bathroom….they are serving a purpose..had an infestation of those little black flying bugs that were drawn in by some really stinky garbage that I neglected to put out for a few days and their tiny little carcasses are now in every web the spiders have built. The good thing is that once they build those webs, they kind of stay put, and I don’t have to worry about them crawling over me in my sleep. That did happen once….and it still freaks me out.

This is turning into a stream of consciousness thing….and I’m just rambling around into the corners of the head…which is really weird since my head doesn’t have any corners…lumps, yes, but no corners….and very little hair, too. Oh, did try the Rogaine thing to try to grow the hair back but I guess I’m in the 15% of guys it doesn’t work for….and that is really weird considering that I have no trouble growing hair everywhere else..especially in places I don’t want it….and the problem is, most of those places are ones I can’t reach to shave it…and what’s the deal with arm hair and not leg hair going grey? Hmmm….that’s probably more than you wanted to hear so I’ll stop….come back again tomorrow and I’ll let some more of the crazy out…

Let’s talk about the Wings…

Well…yeah, I know, that last one was quite a downer but it was something I felt I had to say…but now, we’re going to move on to something that always makes me smile…talking about our Red Wings and the prospects for a good season. It’s not even that far away..just a little over a month for the preseason games to start. The addition of Mike Modano to center the third line between Hudler and Cleary is kind of exciting, and signing Ruslan Salei to help out Jonathan Ericsson on D could help him get back the form he showed a couple of years ago.

One other news item that I am excited about is that Cheli is retiring and coming to work for the Wings in player development, scouting, and other as yet undisclosed duties. I’ve always liked the way Cheli played and became part of the community here in Michigan and I welcome him back to the Wings family. I am also quite excited with Stevie Y’s start with Florida and wish him all the success with his new team…he will always be the Captain to me and lots of other Wings fans and it is great to see one of the “good guys” get the chance to spread the integrity he showed every day while with the Wings. Not much else right now…for the Wings that is…I still have that class warfare thing percolating so you may get another one today…