Friday, February 27, 2009

Writing

I've been trying to write for years. No money yet though. I cannot say whether I have been successful or not. It depends on how success is measured.

Some people write about stuff they really don't care about or actually have little personal knowledge about (hence research), so they can make a living at the writing trade. Others spend much more diligence on a story, rewrite, recheck, submit, get rejected, and go on writing. So, is it public acclamation or personal satisfaction that is the measure of success?

I wonder if any writer is satisfied with his work, particularly those who write stories of fiction. I remember when I first started, I thought some of my work was pretty good. Now, I look at it and realize that I had a long way to go. I look at my work now and realize I have a long way to go as well.

I have learned to tell a story and keep all the characters in character. Still, (as you can tell from my work) I do not care much for grammar check. It just seems to me that if I want to say something a certain way (in my style) why should I listen to a computer program that may or may not have been put together by a successful writer. Hence, my failure as a writer.

It seems to me that if a person does not love to write that they will probably get discouraged very early and quit. I have not yet been able to quit, so I either am a writer or too pig headed to know that I'm not.

In our day, editors and publishers are looking for a sure money maker. A rejection does not mean the work is not good, it just means they don't want it. Mark Twain is famous but I doubt he could get his work published nowadays. That goes for Edgar Allen Poe as well. I'm not in their class, just saying many people who read do not want to think while they do it, so publishers have to print what sells. Often, I think, it is nonsense with a well-known name on the cover. I must admit big names sell better than good writing. But what do I know?

Successful? Who knows. If you measure success in dollars, success may never come. If you measure success in the pleasure you get from telling a story, success may come when you finish the last chapter and your characters have become part of your life.

Three Parts of Government

It should be remembered that in our country we have three parts to our government. Although we elect a president to fix things, congress still has to approve a lot of what he does. Of course, the supreme court does what they do, quite badly, I must add. Anyway, a president does not get to do everything he says he will do while on the campaign trail (unless you have a congress that cannot think for themselves and just says 'me too'). He must abide by the constitution whether he wants to or not. It's the law. Also things look much different once he is in office. He must be careful about making rash statements. On the campaign trail, he can say the wrong thing, say whoops and go on about his business. Not as president. His words are action.

Of course, he can't just up and load everyone on a ship and leave Iraq. The departure must be orderly and must include security for the people there. The candidate may have thought he could but the actuality of the situation is much different.

As president, he is not just dealing with the hot button issue of the day, like on the campaign trail. He must look at American interest worldwide and try to do a balancing act that does not always work. He can't sit in Washington and say stuff that makes everyone nervous 'out there'. No matter who it is that sits in the chair, he either considers carefully or chaos will erupt.

So, we have three branches of government and I like it that way. If a president could do anything he wants on a moments notice, he would be a king and not a president. We went down that road long ago and decided against it.

Little tricks.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Our Neighbors to the South

I've often thought of the people in Central and South America. It seems we know more about people across the oceans than we do them. I am sure the language barrier has a lot to do with it but with computer translation programs it should not be so. I've watched my little gadgets on my other blog (Old Old Story) and there are very few hits from down that way. I guess Russia and China still block the Internet, they don't hit on my site either. I can't help but wonder why governments are afraid to let people communicate with each other. Perhaps they are afraid of loosing some tradition. Anyway, I just thought I'd mention it.

Their Little Trick

The way to get something over on the American people is to give it a name and keep calling that name over and over. It is like having a pretty basket. (Is it ok for men to say pretty?) You really like the design and the ease of handling but there is no telling what gets put in the basket. Such is the so-called stimulus gizmo. It all started out as a way to give the banks a lift so they could give the people a lift and get the economy going again. Now it is just another basket for our federal government and the new administration, to stuff their programs in. The basket has gotten so heavy it will take generations to move it from one place to another.

It is the same way they wrap other things like war. They put that in the patriotic basket whether the war is necessary or the right way to solve a particular problem. Of course, we will support the troops once they are in harms way but that does not make a particular war the correct way to handle a particular situation. Our problem with war is that we are excellent at getting into one but we are clueless on how to give the country back and get out. We do not have a rapid response program regardless of our fast moving aircraft and ships. We need to learn how to get out when the time comes.

I am not against standing up for ourselves. I am against being tricked into thinking something is this when in reality it is that.

Government



Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Standing in Front of the Fireplace

Standing in front of the fireplace was an adventure when we were children. Of course, the big kids always pushed me over to the edge. Most of the heat comes out in front. But when I could get in front, it felt so good after coming in from the farm work. We didn't have the fireplaces for beauty, they were our source of heat, except in the kitchen where the cook stove did the job.

You could stand in front of that fireplace and freeze everywhere except on the back of the legs. I stood there, trying to get warm, until my pants legs smelled like they were about to ignite. The back of the legs would feel all itchy and hot but the rest of the body was still shivering. Those were the good old days. :)

A pop meant you started looking to see where the hot coal went. We didn't have screens, most of the time there were enough kids to stop anything that popped out of the fireplace. But if you heard the pop, you looked. You did not want that hot coal in your pants leg cuff. We always had cuffs so we could wear the pants another year. At night, the pop meant you got up, if you slept in the living room, and grabbed the hot coal and tossed it back in the fireplace. It's a wonder we did not all burn up because I know not all the coals got tossed back, I've seen places on the floor where they burned themselves out.

No wonder we stayed outside all the time in the summer. It probably took the whole summer for us to get warm again and besides we could store up some heat for the next winter.

24

Hats off to Mister Sutherland for the show 24. He knows how to do television. It is really intense and pretty much clean. There is considerable violence but then that is really reality. Isn't it?

Digital Television

I am not sure how this is going to work out. Maybe I talked about it before. Who can remember things anymore? Maybe it is a blessing. Anyway, on this digital thing, I know they have their reasons and giving the voucher for the converter box was nice but they forgot about the antenna problem. Everyone doesn't live downtown or in the suburbs. Some of us live way out there (in more ways than one). I mean we are still getting Star Trek on the original run (well, I stretched that a little). Lassie came through my yard the other day looking for home (stretched that too, it was the neighbors dogs). Any way, it is the antenna that you got to have if you live in rural America. Most that I have seen in stores reach about 20 miles. That's like, downtown. I built an antenna but it reaches to the PBS tower on the mountain behind the house, nothing else. So I decided to hook up two monitors and watch my favorite shows on the computer. I did need some extra memory and probably need a video card but it works okay for many of the shows. I have rediscovered some old shows that are nice to watch. Most of the old shows leave out a lot of the back alley language we hear in most shows these days.

So, I think, regular television is going to have some problems with advertisement revenue because I think a lot of people will go to the computer rather than being blackmailed into signing up for cable or satellite. Who needs another monthly bill?

I did talk about this before. Oh well.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Washington Leadership and such...

You know...I don't know if this is going to work out. Having two sets of rules (one for us and one for them) just seems wrong to me. They have the best insurance, we have to scratch up what we can and loose it if the job goes down. They get new cars, planes while we are making do with something that was probably under water in Katrina. They get real serious (and critical) when it comes to the sacrifice citizens must make but it is a big joke if someone points out government waste.

Mister John McCain stood up to express his concern over the cost of the president's new helicopter and the president made a big joke out of this great man's concern. Hey, a billion dollars would sure help out in our neighborhood. But no, it is all funny when it is their stuff. I do not like it when it is hands off of their stuff and give away ours and our grandchildren...

Speaking of giving away, AIG is obviously a black hole parading as a Wall Street sunflower. If they can't get by with a few billion, let 'em sink. It is a big mess anyway, so why keep on stirring in the same ol' mudhole. So people will be out of work, at least if they quit putting money there and other places, there will be some money left for people to start new businesses and these people can go to work for an honest company or at least one that can manage itself.

Hillary is giving 900 million to Gaza (the ones who are sending rockets to Israel with bombs on them) and so is the government, not us, we don't support terrorist nations, well, I'm all confused. Where did she get that kind of money? She was broke and in debt after the campaign. Oh yea, she works for the government.

Two sets of rules: One set says the government goes on flying high while rule number two tells Americans to tighten the belts, it will be a sacrificial time for us. It ain't right but that has never stopped them before. It is overused lately but it is true, 'they just don't get it'. They have no clue what is really going on in real America. I mean do they know that the price of 'shower curtain liners' has gone up from a dollar to three times that amount since China had to shut down their shower curtain factory. I doubt it..do they know that we are still scared to eat peanut butter...the nuts have gone nuts. Do they know that crime is on the rise because of the economy mess, including white collar crime and the legal crime where we are overcharged and stuff. By the way, I found 50 lbs of potatoes for under $10 the other day. We got 'em stacked up and will have taters 10 different ways for some time to come.

I am not just down on the new president. He is just doing what the others do, sit down and enjoy the ride. The Washington machine will keep on grinding along.

Spring

Monday, February 23, 2009

Spring (not yet)

I picture a little person looking out the window wanting to go out and play. Daddy is in the yard. Mommy is in the kitchen. "Can I go out?" The little person called spring asked. "No. Not yet. Daddy is still busy." Daddy is winter. Mommy is Mrs Winter.

Well, we have to wait sometimes, but soon spring will get to go out to play and we will see a beautiful new world. Winter will get to spend some time out of sight.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Brown Paper Bag

Bag, poke, sack...you know, it's what you tote your lunch to school or work in. People who hyper-ventilate also use them to blow in when they have an attack. Perhaps it would be good to send a few to Wall Street and maybe even to Washington. They are for sure having a panic attack. Throw money at the fire, that will put it out for sure.

I've thought about Wall Street and it may be true what the old people said way back...that it was like gambling. We can kick it around to see. You take a working man who has enough money in his pocket to pay his bills and support his family. He remembers stories of a place where he could take his paycheck and double it maybe triple it, maybe even win the big one. Well, he didn't win and came home with empty pockets. The wife and children had a tough week ahead. He thought about it all week, no lunch money but he could handle it, he thought more. He was a pro now, last time the casino tricked him but he is old school now and come Friday, he'd show 'em. Tired and nervous, his wife begged him not to go, the children wanted to play ball that evening. ' You'll see, I got it figured out.'

Late in the night, he comes home. His pockets are empty, the gas tank is empty. Everyone wakes up sad. Monday, the power is turned off and he has to borrow money from his parents to get it turned back on.

Now take Wall Street and read the above scenario over again. Isn't it that even when people have enough, they still want to step up that ladder quicker than the normal will take them? Double-down, double-or-nothing...well, people are there waiting for people to prove they can beat the system. Most cannot!

bicycle story

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Speaking of Bicycles

Back in the day...most of the bicycles had fenders on them, just like cars. Where I lived the roads were clay, sticky, muddy, ungraveled dirt. When it was dry, the dust was an inch thick. When it was wet the mud was about a foot thick. After a few cars plowed their way down the road (they would all use the same tracks) you could ride a bicycle down the hard tracks which were like pavement. Cars meeting each other would try to find a driveway to turn into to let each other pass or use the ol' chicken routine to get the other guy to hit the foot deep clay mud. On a bicycle, you knew you would loose any game of chicken, so it was off to the side of the road and into the edge of the trees. Then the trouble started. My old bicycle (passed down from my olders) was too heavy for me to lift so I had to roll it to the side. Then was when the mud got under the fender. I'd scrape it, poke it with a stick or just try to ride it anyway. Mud would get so clogged in there that the bicycle would stop by itself if you stopped peddling. About the only way to get it cleaned out was to let it dry and bang the fenders with something. That machine stayed in the family for a long time, although no one wanted it after me. The brakes were gone and the only way to stop it was to run into something or coast for a while. Coasting was not always an option and sometimes those sudden stops were quite uncomfortable.
On the farm

Power of a Signature

With the stroke of an upside down hand and pen, Mister Obama opened the door wide for abortion rights. He rescinded an executive order by his predecessor which denied government funds to this practice. This, in effect, again makes the federal government the financial arm of planned parenthood, another name for the promotion of abortion or the killing of unborn babies or in some cases partially born babies. It seems a strange thing to me, given world conditions, that this issue to allow the practice was at the top of the new president's to-do list. How could a man with children of his own even condone much less support such a thing.

Drugs

Drugs seem to be the sub root of many of the world's problems. I say sub root because there is a reason why so many people turn to something that clouds reality. It could be fear, depression, a good time. I really do not know. The reason people sell drugs is obvious: money. The sellers want to live above their means and are willing to destroy who ever it takes to reach their desired lifestyle. They will destroy an individual, a family or a nation. We are all witnesses to this truth in our lifetime.

Many factors have made the world field a playground for illegal drug sellers. It is not just one generation either. The sellers of the 60's have either died out or gone into politics. Yet, there seems to be a never ending supply of people who are willing to take up arms against others including individuals, neighborhoods and nations. I am not bragging on them. They will get theirs.

One thing that has happened to our country is an individuals right and a parent's right to adequately defend themselves and others. While drug sellers shoot and run and the police find them illusive and seemingly uncatchable, the regular citizen who defends his children and property goes home and the police know exactly where to find him. He is not a coward, running and hiding. He is at home. Supposedly, we still have the right to defend. All you got to do is prove that that was what you were doing in court. 'Course, who can afford a lawyer. So, I think, many good people are taking up space in prison that should be filled by drug sellers.

Drug sellers know the system is all backwards. I'm not knocking the police. They try, most of them. Some are bought and paid for by the drug sellers. No. I don't know which ones. But drug sellers are counting on citizens just staying out of the way and letting them do their thing.

I am not pushing any kind of uprising, or street warfare. I do think the system is lopsided toward the drug sellers. An army of police cannot clean up the streets. It takes average citizens who will not let the drug sellers have their way on the streets and in the neighborhoods. It takes reporting crimes. It takes people sucking-it-up and quitting drugs so there will be no market. Using drugs is being party to all the killing. Yep! It is a conspiracy. Drug sellers shoot and kill and intimidate their way to the drug user so they can escape reality for a few minutes or days.

Mexico got me on this bandwagon. There is a war going on just south of our border. A country that was pulling itself into the 21st century is being pulled back into the dark ages by people who are killing to get drugs to the United States. We ought to be ashamed. The people who are dying are often men who have families that they wish to protect. We ought to be ashamed for being the number one market for drugs.

'Daddy can I have a new pair of shoes?' 'No. I got to buy dope.'

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Boot Camp

Forty-two years ago, a young man arrived at Parris Island on a greyhound bus. The bus was crowded and he had to stand up most of the way from Atlanta. The driver only made one comment 'You are about to meet the nicest man you ever met'. Shame on him. Smokey Bear hollered in his face for the next eight weeks. Yellow footprints were his friend for the first week. New names were assigned to him, many cannot be repeated. One name was house-mouse which meant he cleaned the drill instructors 'hut' (room). Lady, hog, mama's boy, ... you get the general idea. Those drill instructors looked alike to the young man for a long time, then their individual personalities emerged. None could hear good. They kept saying "I can't hear you." The senior DI, the meanest, was a black belt and featherweight boxer and a war hero for swimming a river and dragging his lieutenant with him. Both of them were wounded. The shortest seemed to always have a red face and always hollered at the top of his voice. The biggest was a little on the fat-belly side and liked coffee. The fourth seemed to think he was a little too dignified for the job. That one slapped the young man after he stepped forward to claim his Bible that went missing on the first day. The whole platoon leaned toward the incident and struggled to stay at attention. You could punch a guy all day and it was alright but slap a man for having a Bible crossed the line. The kid/man shot expert the first day on the range and won a little respect from DIs and jealousy from the squad leaders. The house-mouse left after graduation with the keys to the DIs hut in his pocket. Sweet revenge!

People say the young man changed after serving overseas and in various rather high profile jobs for an enlisted man, i.e. well places. How can war not change a person? What makes an old man still want to hit the dirt when the neighbor shots a gun? Why does he still lay awake at night, when everyone else sleeps, recounting and hoping and yes praying? Why does he fight back a tear when he sees the country he served change so much for the worse and people can't see the difference? Why is it so important that we stay who we are? The answer is our children and grandchildren deserve to see and enjoy the nation we had in our lifetime. Our men and women who serve, know, and hope (I think)that the country they serve to protect will be the same country they return to, to live out their lives.

We are in a time when it is 'what's in it for me'. We hear everyday how men have cheated the nation, citizens and each other. A building that has been eaten by termites from the inside is not a building that can stand much of a storm. We have to cut out the dead wood, repair damage and prevent future damage. Wrong is not right even in high circles of society.

It is not disrespect for our nation to question when it heads down the wrong road. It is love.

2008 Election Map and President's Travel

Just for the fun of it, let's track where the president goes on his trips to spread the stimulus around and compare the visits to those states which voted for him in the 2008 election.

So far, I've got Indiana, Colorado, Michigan...now where else, I forget. Maybe I'll get a list of the dollar amounts that were passed out and see how that compares...

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Visit a Government Website

Quite often, I go to government websites, just snooping around or actually looking for something which I usually don't find. There is so much information, it is hard to find it. Mostly, I am amazed at the duplication involved in government. It is like kudzu (creeping leguminous vine), it just grows and grows. With all that cyber-power, about the best they can do is send an auto-respond message thanking you for your message, opinion, insight and concern. 'We regret, however, due to the large volume of ....'

I'd like to see a little consolidation, how about it? You'd think they could put some of the operations together. You wouldn't believe the rivalry...it is like the playoffs to see who wins the budget payoff. Even the secretaries have secretaries and they have assistants.

They all have computers, buy printer paper, pens, toilet paper, towels, chairs, desks, break rooms, bathrooms, the floors have to be vacuumed, vacuum cleaners, or waxed, wax and mops and someone to operate them, cafeterias, day cares, cars, gas, tires, preventative maintenance, Wow, I'm out of breath! And offices all over the place. And few are authorized to talk about what they do and probably cannot help with a problem without consulting a lawyer or judge.

I ain't knocking the country. It is the red tape express that runs it that gets me all tore up.

While I'm on the bandwagon, how about building a bicycle or horse trail along the interstate highways or country roads so when gas goes up we can park the cars and while you are working put solar panels on them for roofs to produce electricity. I'd like to see a little innovation instead of the same old stuff. Plan ahead people!!

Digital Television

How is it going with the digital television transition at your house? We are not ready.

I have talked to the providers but they seemed, well, sorta 'I gotcha.' So, I did not sign up for dish or cable. The phone company I've been with for umteen years wants a credit card so that done me there. We do not use plastic. It is another story but I guess I am old fashion that way. We were raised that if you did not have the money to buy it do without it. Maybe the credit card thing is so they can sap ya for unforeseen charges then say oops when you catch them. I don't know. Cable likes to say 'for the first six months' but do you know how fast 6 months goes these days. Why just six months ago yesterday, I thought this day would never get here and still I am not ready for it. How much after six months will it be. I've heard stories...

I got instructions off the internet to build an antenna for DTV but have not got it to reach the 45 miles I need to get the usual stations. One fellow told me he use to use a bicycle rim but that was with analog so the neighbors kids bicycles are safe. Just kiddin', I did see a discarded one though. I bought a Phillips but it is a 20 miler and I don't have enough coax to set it up half way. Some one would probably run over the cable anyway.

Since half the stuff is unfit or a rerun anyway, I think the computer is the way to go. I'm thinking of getting a video card to take some of the strain off by CPU. Reckin' that would work? Yea, Hula works fine. Thanks my friend. Eventually, it will all be on computer anyway, just as soon as they figure out how to tax every program.

How are you dealing with this turn of events? Are you ready? By the way, who won the Daytonna race?

Stimulus

Well, if you happen by you should jump over to CNN and read Cafferty's edie on the stimilus package: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/17/cafferty.stimulus/index.html

Then tell your grandchildren that they can forget their allowance for the next 50 years!

Monday, February 16, 2009

Change

What has?

The first month of this administration may be a clue to the rest of the four years.

Let me see, the president went to the White House to have a meeting or two and get some pictures taken. He flew around in Air Force One for a while and I think went to Camp David and will soon be in Colorado.

Hillary is in Japan. Bill still trumps her on the tube.

We just can't find a commerce secretary that wants the job. The people who do want those high paying jobs forgot to pay their taxes. It was an oversight! but still....

The country just went further in debt than its ever been and their are two more spending packages to go. We are going to have to sell something to make ends meet. Maybe the corporate jet?

At no time in history, in no place in the world were more people rewarded so much for doing so many things wrong.

Rainy Days of the Farm

We had an old barn that sat low to the ground. You could get a load of hay in the hall but as barns go, it was small. It never saw a speck of paint. The roof was rusty and the boards weathered. A mule could get in if he bent his ears back. Now on the farm, the weather was everything. We needed sunny days and we needed rainy days. There wasn't much we could do about either except go to church and pray. We did some of that too. Mostly, we worked on sunny days and did inside stuff on the rainy days. What was there to do inside? Well, one thing you could scrap the mud off your shoes from going to slop the hogs or that other stuff from going to the pasture or barn. You could work on school work. Maybe, if the lightning wasn't too bad you could watch Dark Shadows or the Edge of Night.

Anyway, what I was going to get at was the barn and that tin roof. We had those pop-up showers (nowadays their pop-up stuff on your computer screen). I wouldn't have known about computers if there had been such a thing, I thought McDonald's was a farm until many years later when I found out they sold hamburgers. Oh yeah, the barn.... When I would see one of those showers coming, I'd take off to the barn. In our large family there was not much privacy, but if I could get to the barn just as it started to rain, no one else would venture out in the storm. We had a place in the loft where such things as cotton seed for the cattle was stored. Along with the hay and other feeds, it gave off a not unpleasant smell and made a good place to sit where critters were unlikely to climb so high. Up there I could listen to the rain and look out as it soaked the dry dirt. The air would get cool and it felt so good to be alone for a few minutes. Soon the storm was over and it was back to cutting wood or taking off my shoes and getting something out of the garden where I would sink into the mud almost to my knees sometimes. I'll never forget that old barn loft. While there alone in the peacefulness, I probably thought some profound thought but I can't remember it now.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Eatin' with a Family of Nine

I ain't saying we was poor growing up. We had each other and plenty of work to do. Didn't get paid for most of the work but a new pair of work shoes in the fall was pretty good compensation. I didn't know milk came from a store until I was on up in years, I always gave the cows I milked credit for that. I knew where sausage came from, it came out of that grinder bolted to the eatin' table when it was cold enough for hog killing. That was when us kids tried to store up enough fat to get us through the winter. I was a good eater but my bigger siblings were more crafty at it. I remember sitting in the middle on the little bench along one side of our long table. I never thought about it then but you know they always saved the chicken neck for me. It was my special piece of meat and they would not dare touch it. They had to settle for the breast, drumstick or something like that. I never could bite off a piece like they did, I had to sort of just munch on it until I got tired. Nothing like a chicken dinner. Our chickens were afraid to celebrate when they laid eggs. The roosters, if they crowed at all, would walk off away from the house to do it. I don't want to make you sick but my siblings always saved the squirrel brains for me too. I've read that they can cause brain damage so, there ye go. 'splains why my mind works like it does. I'll tell you, even when I laid out in the woods with the rifle for hours waiting for that squirrel and learned to peal off the fur without getting it on the meat, still they saved the...you know...for me. I think once I got the back but it was a challenge to get any meat off the back. Squirrels just don't store much there. I didn't much care, so long as the squirrel didn't look at me. Mama made sure that didn't happen. In some places, they mix them with scrambled eggs but looks to me like that would ruin the taste. For years, I liked to climb trees but it has worn off and I am scared of heights now. I won't describe in this post how the eatin' is done but I can tell you it is much like eatin' a raw egg out of a shell. Well, enough politicks for now. It is sort of nauseating, come to think of it. Did anybody ever hit your elbow when you had a spoon full of something on it? Now you know why I don't mind telling on my brothers and sisters. They are alright but I'd be careful eatin' with 'em.

Speakin' of Countin'

We had an old mule one time back on the farm. There wasn't much cotton picking or corn picking to do, we had already done that, so I was out in the woods with the mule trying to snake up some firewood. I must have been twelve or thirteen already and weighed at least seventy pounds so that old mule was no match for me. He probably wouldn't a pound over two thousand. I got the harness on him and hooked up the single-tree with the dogs (hooks for the logs) dragging on the ground and a hammer in my hand. I got him backed up to the log and started driving the dogs into the downed tree. It was my first time but I knew to put the dogs on three sides so the log would pull and not roll. Now my dad was a logger from way back and that old mule knew him. That old mule also knew how many times my dad swung the hammer to get the dogs in the log. I took too many swings and the mule lost his patience. He took off to the woodpile and stopped. 'Now what was that all about, he forgot the log.' I chased after him and we tried again. On the same number of swings, the mule headed for the woodpile. This time though the log was attached enough for him to drag it with him. It took me a while to figure it out but that old mule was counting my swings by the ping it made when I hit the dog with the hammer. A countin' mule, now that is something. Wall Street and Washington both could use an old mule like that.

Flying Around

You know Air Force One is a nice plane. I have thought about seeing if I could use it for a weekend. It is the people's property is it not. I think our new president likes the jet too. He has less than a month in office and already he is touring around telling the people he feels their pain. I think one of his stops probably cost a million dollars at least. I figured if he stayed home and sent the million to the town he is visiting, he could provide about $50,000 a year income for a whole neighborhood for several years. What failing business could not put people back to work with that much cash to grow their business. I was looking at some of the details of the so-called stimulus package, it starts out at around 800 billion and will result in anywhere between 400 dollars and up or down depending on whether the person stands on both feet and props one on the wall, has naturally colored hair or uses artificial color ... just kiddin', I think, but you get the idea. I could use some money to buy a freezer to put up some veggies this season. The guy working in the freezer factory could use the work it would generate. It seems pretty simple what they should do. But it will get all mixed up in red tape and overhead and by the time people get any help the crisis will be solved, not by government, but by the spirit of Americans who always hunker down and put their shoulder against the load. Government is not the cure, it is just another obstacle we have to overcome to get where we need to be. An example of how government hinders instead of helping is they raise taxes and fees to compensate for lost revenue when the economy takes a downturn. I know they talk about tax breaks but on the local level, government is playing their own game to keep their local government paychecks coming. Anyway, I was speaking of flying around. The government spends so much money and their wheels trying to fix a problem, there is no money left to fix the problem.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Trillions

A few years ago, someone was trying to impress on people the difference in a million dollars and a billion by stacking up things or measuring around the earth or to the moon and back. I forget the details but I have not heard them comparing a trillion with anything.

People got in trouble by borrowing more than they could pay back.
Banks got in trouble by making bad investments.
Wall Street got in trouble by borrowing against what was already borrowed.
Now the government is borrowing to bail out the whole bunch.

Maybe that is not exactly how it all happened. I do think when some of the rich folks saw that the game was about up and the bubble was going to burst that they squirrelled away what money there was in the country until all the dust clears.

It is not a free market system when the government is in charge of it. They should catch the crooks who abuse the system but it is not governments place to be the Board of Directors of the nation's businesses with the president as Chairman of the Board instead of the leader of the free world. The people, if anyone, who should be managing the money are those who can at least keep a ledger and know where the money is going, going, gone. It does no good if the government hands out money and some executive hides it away in a distant bank account until the storm is over.

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