My initial thought about this guide to politically correct soccer viewing in Liverpool, England is just wait until this comes to the United States.
Really, I can not believe that this is happening. Essentially the cutting off the testicles of the soccer fan to intimidate the other team, verbally, a time honored sports tradition.
So, here are some of the phrases that will get a reprimand at Anfield:
"Don't be a woman"
"Play like a girl"
"Man up"
"That's gay"
According to the article, there are more explicit words and or phrases that will be no-nos in the stands.
Gee, should the fans dress in tuxedos as well? Only clap and never, ever, jeer the other team?
I know that English soccer fans are, well I will be kind (overly kind) and say they are colorful. But take the drinking and hooliganism out of it and they are like any other sports fans in the world. Do they get over the top? Hell yes. I get over the top sometimes when I am watching my favorite team in action live at the stadium or arena.
But what is being done here is over the top.
There are risks to going to a sporting event.
In baseball, there is the real risk of being hit by a foul ball or a flying bat.
In hockey, there is the real risk of being hit by a flying puck.
The list goes on and on.
Part of this PCing of sports is trying to make sporting events more family-friendly. And while I am all for that, the reality is that taunting the other team in the strongest of words is all part of the fan experience.
I remember a long time ago reading a book on the history of the World Series. In the book was a photo from the very first one. What was striking is that it was overwhelmingly male. All the men were dressed up. Yet what I remember was why women were by and large absent. Because of the "earthiness" of the language. Eventually, women showed up to sporting events and became participants. Think that they don't taunt the other team? Go to a women's sporting event and trust me, they can make the drunken sailor blush for days.
Understand this as well. When the families are attending sporting events, usually at least one of the kids is a participant in said sport. So they already know the drill.
Except if they are in a PC league.
What is that you may ask?
It is a league in which they do not keep stats, no score is kept and everyone plays. Even kids that have no reason being there.
It is like watching lobotomized sports participants that probably wished they were someplace else.
PC kids sports leagues take out everything and especially the natural competitiveness that sports allows them to have. Yes, sportsmanship is important. Doing crappy and even illegal plays is not cool nor should it be ever tolerated. But competitiveness, it can not nor should not be confined.
What is happening today, and it has crept into sports, is the left-wing view of trying to change the basics of human nature.
Kill one's competitive drive. Make one feel bad for being better than someone else. Equalize everything and if not, do it any way.
And now, we are seeing it in the worst way with trying to ruin the fan's ability to be a part of the competition by taunting the other team.
Now in defense of one aspect of this PCing of the Liverpool soccer fans is racial abuse. Apparently, this does tend to be a problem and yes, I am all for trying to curb racial slurs at non-English or British Isle players.
But this, this is far more sweeping than trying to eliminate racial slurs.
It goes to the heart of the competitive nature of sports. And trust me my friends, this will be coming to the United States and sooner than you think.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
More From The Filthy Filner File
I tell you, it does not get any better than seeing the current Democrat mayor of San Diego, Filthy Bob Filner, asking the taxpayers of his city to pay his legal bills over his lawsuit for sexual harassment and getting a nice, big middle finger from the city council as reported here in the U-T San Diego.
I mean, the gall of this cretin to actually think that hey, the taxpayers should have to pay for my legal problems. After all, I am the mayor, right? So what if I just can't keep my hands off the gals, right? You, the citizens of San Diego did elect me after all, right?
But I do not think that the people of San Diego thought that they were electing this dude
I mean, the gall of this cretin to actually think that hey, the taxpayers should have to pay for my legal problems. After all, I am the mayor, right? So what if I just can't keep my hands off the gals, right? You, the citizens of San Diego did elect me after all, right?
But I do not think that the people of San Diego thought that they were electing this dude
to be groper-in-chief of their town. I think that this woman who spoke before the city council, Julie Adams, pretty much summed it up:
“Being a groper is not part of his duties, so I say no, hell no.”
Not only did the city council say no to Mayor Filthy Filner's request that the city pay all his legal bills stemming from the lawsuit by Irene McCormick Jackson for sexual harassment, but essentially sued him that they are not responsible for his actions.
Excellent!
See, I think that it is people like Mayor Filthy Filner that are the real threat to women. While he claims to be all for women's rights, whatever they are, he wants the right to have any woman, any time and any way that he sees fit.
I mean, what else can one gleam from this sordid tale?
One other thing is that the San Diego city council is majority Democrat. Meaning that they want this problem to go away. Meaning that Mayor Filthy Filner would be better off resigning now.
But he will not. At least not any time soon.
Deep down, I do not think that Mayor Filthy Filner gets it.
Dude, let me explain it quickly.
You don't grab gals in certain parts. You don't make unwanted advances to women. You especially do not tell gals NOT to wear panties to work. It is just common sense.
Any other job and Mayor Filthy Filner would be gone.
But you see, Mayor Filthy Filner wants to be the mayor of San Diego. He is a Democrat. He feels that he is entitled to this position. It is the sense that Democrats have to elected office. It does not matter if they are like him, a perv. After all, he is "right" on all the issues in Democratland. So he likes to cop a feel for the gals. Big deal, right? After all, he says that he thinks the gals should be equally paid as men. That gals have a right to kill their babies. That gals should serve in combat roles in the armed forces. All down with same-sex marriage. But again, so he likes to cop a feel for the gals. Maybe even more if he can. He is not married, right? Oh yeah, his fiancee, who was to be wife number three, dumped him when she found out that he was texting for dates with other women right under her nose.
And yet Mayor Filthy Filner has the gall to ask the taxpayers of San Diego to pay for his soon to be massive legal bills.
The city council is acting correctly by not only just saying no, but making sure that they are not liable in any of the mayor's legal troubles.
Will Mayor Filthy Filner resign?
At some point, yes. But not right away. Because that sense of entitlement and smugness has not escaped from him yet. Someone will have to drop an anvil on his head, figuratively, and tell him that it is time to go.
Until then, get that popcorn in the microwave ready and watch this perv, Filner, go on and on the road of self-destruction.
The Continuing Thuggery And Surfing Don't Mix
This past Sunday was the conclusion of the Vans U. S. Open of Surfing and champions were crowned as well as a lot of violence that seems to be the norm now at just about every event in the United States.
A sports team wins a championship? Why of course there is some kind of violence.
Reaction to a verdict in a criminal case? Why of course all out riots break out.
Whatever we like? Go out and commit violence.
Whatever we don't like? Go out and commit violence or an all out riot.
Why is this happening in the United States these days?
Well, lets focus on this latest event, the U. S. Open.
See, this is what people should be celebrating
A sports team wins a championship? Why of course there is some kind of violence.
Reaction to a verdict in a criminal case? Why of course all out riots break out.
Whatever we like? Go out and commit violence.
Whatever we don't like? Go out and commit violence or an all out riot.
Why is this happening in the United States these days?
Well, lets focus on this latest event, the U. S. Open.
See, this is what people should be celebrating
 |
| 2013 U. S. Open of Surfing Men's Champion, Alejo Muniz |
 |
2013 U. S. Open of Surfing Wonman's Champion, Carissa Moore
But instead of that being the highlight of the week-long surf, skate and BMX festival, this is what we have to be seeing and hearing about the whole time
Yep, someone decided that hey, I'm gonna take stop sign and ram it in the window of a business. For no apparent reason except because. Why not? Hey, maybe this dude was upset the Kolohe Andino did not win the men's championship? Well, whatever dude.
There were eight people arrested and a sucky end to what should have been a great week for some under-reported sports and elevating them to a new, higher level.
Now people in Huntington Beach, California, aka Surf City USA are wondering if it is worth having this event.
Some advice that I would like to offer Huntington Beach and other law enforcement.
If they want to know how to have an event go off and to be successful without this kind of stain, they should ask the people that put on the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, every year in which this kind of stuff rarely, if ever, happen.
But the larger question is where is this violence coming from? Why is it to celebrate something one feels that they have to resort. I do not know for sure. But the troubling aspect is that this is now accepted and by many shrugged off. I would like to ask those that want to shrug it off if they think it would be cool if these people came by their home and decided to trash it? Steal from it? Maybe even burn it down? The problem is the acceptance instead of the discouragement of such behavior. When enough of any society accepts anything that is disruptive such as this, it is a sign of weakness from within. Some of it I suppose is a feeling of haves vs. have nots. But really, a surf shop? A bike shop? Yeah, a real eeeeevvvvviiiiilllll business owner, right? Probably just like the rest of us. One thing that I would like to see is that the eight thugs that were arrested is to not be offered any deal. That they be fully prosecuted. Because without that, this becomes something acceptable. A festival and sporting event as the Vans U. S. Open of Surfing is suppose to be a highlight. An event to show the world skate, surf and BMX. An event that has attracted many from all over. And sadly, a thug element that brings the joy of it all down. Again, thuggery and surfing do not mix. |
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
A Visit With Abraham Lincoln And Ronald Reagan
Yesterday for my birthday, before you ask I turned 49 years old, Mrs. RVFTLC treated your humble blogger to a visit to the Reagan Library and we also took in the temporary exhibit on the 16th president, Abraham Lincoln.
FTR, I think that all presidential libraries are worth a visit no matter your politics. It is important to see the way that they saw the world during their tenure as president. As well as where they were from and how they eventually became president.
Of course I believe that Ronald Reagan was the best president of my lifetime. And it had been five years since the last visit I took at the Reagan Library.
Wisely, the powers that be have updated the touring area of the library. With the addition of the Air Force One plane that Mr. Reagan flew during his presidency, they updated and moved some of the displays around.
One thing that I highly recommend is to pay the extra $7 dollars for the audio/video guide cam. It is Mr. and Mrs. Reagan telling some of the events near and dear to them. But it is an iPod and you can take photos and videos of the visit. Once done, you take the iPod back to the visitor center and then you will get an e-mail of the photos of video within a day. We got ours by midnight last night.
What made the Lincoln exhibit was that it was full of historical artifacts, but blended some of the settings for the wildly successful Steven Spielberg movie Lincoln. What I realized is how Mr. Spielberg and those that worked under him took great care to be as accurate as possible in what sets looked like. But what was more amazing is the fact that, sadly, Abraham Lincoln would probably never be elected president in this modern age.
Let's face it, Mr. Lincoln was no looker. He was tall, six feet, four inches, lanky and a brooding looking fellow. That beard that is now iconic would be seen as making him look old. The fact that he was in the right on keeping the United States just that, united states, would probably not be seen in the best light. And emancipating the slaves? Well that was a huge cause of the War Between the States, also known as the Civil War. And there were those other ideas like Homesteading, allowing the railroads to build a link from the East coast to the West coast, having economic policies that would allow more people to rise up to a middle class, that would not be seen as good to many people.
But maybe it is projecting too much of 1860s America to 2013 America. It really is hard to take a leader of that time and figure out how he would be today.
Not the case with Mr. Reagan.
In the library is an interactive area in which there is a video of Mr. Reagan's breakout speech for then Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Barry M. Goldwater called A Time For Choosing. Here is The Speech, as it became known, from You Tube:
The irony of watching The Speech and seeing the interactive is how some of the issues, especially the size of government and the debilitating effects of the then burgeoning Welfare State, is no different from the debate that we are having today. One could replace the battle between the West and the Communist East with the West and Radical Islam and get to the same strongly similar analysis Mr. Reagan provided 49 years ago in 1964.
The Speech is was eventually catapulted Mr. Reagan to eventually become the governor of California and eventually President of the United States.
I think that there is one striking similarity between Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Reagan.
Both men spoke what seemed to be unpopular truths at their times and yet history has proven them to be right.
That is what makes going to presidential libraries so interesting. To see what things were like when those people were at the apex of their political power. To see all about the world in their time. Not just the politics but the popular culture, what was on the minds of the people then compared to today.
I would recommend taking in the Reagan Library and especially the Lincoln exhibit over the summer.
FTR, I think that all presidential libraries are worth a visit no matter your politics. It is important to see the way that they saw the world during their tenure as president. As well as where they were from and how they eventually became president.
Of course I believe that Ronald Reagan was the best president of my lifetime. And it had been five years since the last visit I took at the Reagan Library.
Wisely, the powers that be have updated the touring area of the library. With the addition of the Air Force One plane that Mr. Reagan flew during his presidency, they updated and moved some of the displays around.
One thing that I highly recommend is to pay the extra $7 dollars for the audio/video guide cam. It is Mr. and Mrs. Reagan telling some of the events near and dear to them. But it is an iPod and you can take photos and videos of the visit. Once done, you take the iPod back to the visitor center and then you will get an e-mail of the photos of video within a day. We got ours by midnight last night.
What made the Lincoln exhibit was that it was full of historical artifacts, but blended some of the settings for the wildly successful Steven Spielberg movie Lincoln. What I realized is how Mr. Spielberg and those that worked under him took great care to be as accurate as possible in what sets looked like. But what was more amazing is the fact that, sadly, Abraham Lincoln would probably never be elected president in this modern age.
Let's face it, Mr. Lincoln was no looker. He was tall, six feet, four inches, lanky and a brooding looking fellow. That beard that is now iconic would be seen as making him look old. The fact that he was in the right on keeping the United States just that, united states, would probably not be seen in the best light. And emancipating the slaves? Well that was a huge cause of the War Between the States, also known as the Civil War. And there were those other ideas like Homesteading, allowing the railroads to build a link from the East coast to the West coast, having economic policies that would allow more people to rise up to a middle class, that would not be seen as good to many people.
But maybe it is projecting too much of 1860s America to 2013 America. It really is hard to take a leader of that time and figure out how he would be today.
Not the case with Mr. Reagan.
In the library is an interactive area in which there is a video of Mr. Reagan's breakout speech for then Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Barry M. Goldwater called A Time For Choosing. Here is The Speech, as it became known, from You Tube:
The irony of watching The Speech and seeing the interactive is how some of the issues, especially the size of government and the debilitating effects of the then burgeoning Welfare State, is no different from the debate that we are having today. One could replace the battle between the West and the Communist East with the West and Radical Islam and get to the same strongly similar analysis Mr. Reagan provided 49 years ago in 1964.
The Speech is was eventually catapulted Mr. Reagan to eventually become the governor of California and eventually President of the United States.
I think that there is one striking similarity between Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Reagan.
Both men spoke what seemed to be unpopular truths at their times and yet history has proven them to be right.
That is what makes going to presidential libraries so interesting. To see what things were like when those people were at the apex of their political power. To see all about the world in their time. Not just the politics but the popular culture, what was on the minds of the people then compared to today.
I would recommend taking in the Reagan Library and especially the Lincoln exhibit over the summer.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Where Are The Liberal Democrat Women On Filner And Weiner?
Explain something to me my liberal Democrat friends.
How can anyone either defend and or not immediately demand that San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, picture here:
How can anyone either defend and or not immediately demand that San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, picture here:
resign from office immediately. Or demand that former New York Democrat congressman, Anthony Weiner, get out of the race for the Democrat nomination for New York City since not only is he a liar but a perpetual pervert.
Well, I think that the operative aspect is that they are both Democrats.
Never mind that Mayor Filner is now having women dropping like sea gull turd from the sky to tell their stories of hiz honor's groping and all around disparaging attitudes towards women.
And never mind that Mr. Weiner now has to keep having press conference after press conferences to talk about his latest sexting buddy.
Oh, almost forgot. Photo of Mr. Weiner here showing us maybe said size of his, well. . .
Yeah, I'm kind of thinking about right size.
But seriously, if these two were Republicans, the mayor would resign and the wannabe mayor would be gone.
But these are Democrats. So that is not going to happen anytime soon.
While these two Democrats will wail about some so-called War on Women, they have been doing all that on their own.
Mayor Filner is especially creepy because he is all touchy-feely with his abusees. As I noted, as of this writing, seven women have come forward to tell their stories about the joys of being around creepy Howdy Doody Filner. Again, look at the photo above.
Former Congressman Weiner is also creepy because while his original sexting led him to resign congress in 2011, it did not stop him from carrying on his shenanigans. He just kept doing it, and doing it. And yes, he has to keep telling of more that will come out of the woodwork.
For Mayor Filner, he was engaged to be married before all this became public. But said former fiancee Brownyn Ingram decided, uh maybe it's not cool to marry someone that is setting up dates for himself with other women. I guess she was not into an open marriage.
So what is Mayor Filner's plan since he won't resign?
Why go into some two-week "intensive" therapy program which he says will start August 5 and end August 19. And then, right back to work. Oh, my bad! Why he will be kept abreast of city business while undergoing "therapy".
Really?!
For a dude that has already two failed marriages, one would think that even if he cannot win back the once to be wife number three, he would truly want to become the better person that he claims he wants to be and resign from office. But no, Mayor Filner thinks two weeks of psycho-babble and he will be cured and he can be that Super mayor that he must think he is. Well, he should have thought long and hard about that before letting the perv in him take over.
But you know what is interesting?
Mr. Weiner took the two-week quickie therapy for his sexting problem. And it worked so well, why he could just not stop sexting.
Only now are Democrat leaders, especially the gals like House minority leader Nancy Pelosi and DNC chair Congressman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz calling for Mayor Filner to resign and Mr. Weiner to end his run for New York City mayor.
Before that, these two were running from the cauldron by suggesting that these are local concerns and they did not even want to make any comment on these two.
I wonder if both dudes were REPUBLICANS would they keep their usually big traps shut?
The reality is that the women that heretofore kept quiet are tired of being played and taking a stand.
They are saying that this is real and no way not just to treat a woman but anyone.
And I know, people will suggest that all of this is a personal matter and we should just leave them alone as long as they can do their jobs.
Sorry, that does not fly.
Mayor Filner and former Congressman Weiner have been serially doing their schticks for a while now. And in the case of Mayor Filner, he has done his actions as congressman and mayor. And for Mr. Weiner, I'm sorry but his little sexting barrages also happened while in office and out of office. And again, after he went for the two-week cure all therapy.
Now I know many will bring up now Congressman Mark Sanford as a double standard.
FTR, if I was in the South Carolina congressional district he was running in, I would NOT have voted for him in the primary. I would have been hard-pressed to even vote for him in the general election. But I would have. Congressman Sanford is now divorced from Jenny Sanford and engaged to the Argentine misstress that brought him down as South Carolina governor.
If either men cared a lick for their own dignity and their family members, they would resign and or quit a race for mayor.
Politics is not that important and never should be. Congressman Sanford should not have run for election for his old seat. Mayor Filner, he has a very serious problem with women. He knows no boundaries. Mr. Weiner needs to really get a hold of his sexting problem before thinking he can or should run for any office.
But remember this.
A Republican in these situations would more than likely get out. A Democrat does what these two are doing and hanging on because they are obsessed with power.
And Democrat women?
Crickets chirping for quite a while.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Well, Inevitable Happened As Detroit Files For Bankruptcy
Well, the inevitable finally happened and the once grand city of Detroit, Michigan, became the largest American city to ever declare bankruptcy as they filed for Chapter 9 protection last Thursday.
Now, to understand the reason this came about, here are two photos. One of the Detroit of old. One of when this city was on the rise.
Above is the Detroit Masonic Temple. Built in 1926 at the height of the Roaring Twenties, this was at a time when the city was on the rise with the burgeoning American auto industry. The good thing is that it is still being used and maintained by local Masons.
But here more of the image that we are used to of the Motor City.
And this is pretty much what around one-third of the city of Detroit looks like today.
One wonders how it took this long for Detroit to come to this inevitability.
It is a combination of a lot of things to be honest.
Sure it is easy to point out, accurately, that the city has been in steady decline since the race riots of 1967. Very true.
It has seen not only so-called White Flight out of the city and to the surrounding suburbs. But there has been Black Flight as well for before 1967, Detroit was a mecca for Black Americans. Even an unskilled Black could go from poverty to the middle class. And once they did, they saw a lot of bad things as a direct result of the 1967 riots and a slew of incompetent political "leadership". So they joined their fellow Whites and moved to the suburbs.
Say, do you remember city councilman JoAnn Watson that I wrote about here? Do watch the video for she basically said that just as former Democrat Mayor Coleman Young did, the current mayor, David Bing, should just go to Washington, D. C., hat in hand and "bring home the bacon".
In other words, you and I from all 50 states should fork out money to Detroit so that they can continue to "govern" the way that they wanted.
And let's look at this statistic.
Detroit was the United States' fourth largest city in 1950 with a population of 1,849,568. Today in 2013, the population (as of the 2010 census) is 713,777. In reality is it at this point hovering at 700,000. It went from the fourth largest city to the 18th in 60 years.
One huge problem is that Detroit depended on the auto industry and nothing else economically. During the boom times of Detroit, there were more than just the big three we know today as Chrysler, Ford and General Motors. There was American Motors, Packard. De Soto, Studebaker, and many more. Eventually, many went by the wayside for a variety of reasons. Which left Detroit with the big three. At some point because of the end and or contraction of many auto makers, the big three thought that they were invincible.
But they were not.
The Chrysler company is a great example of that non-invincibility.
Thanks to the gas shortages of the 1970s, Americans went looking for smaller, cheaper cars, that got better gas mileage. Thus people began buying Datsuns (now Nissan), Hondas and Toyotas. And leaving the big three in the dust. By 1979, the company was in financial free fall and went to the federal government for a loan guarantee of what now seems a paltry sum of $1,500,000,000. Congress approved the loan and yes, it did give the company new life. But by the late 1990s, Chrysler was merged with Daimler-Benz, the makers of the Mercedes-Benz. But they could not save the company and it was sold to an equity firm and they realized, THEY could not save the iconic brand. So in 2008, the federal government essentially merged Chrysler with the Fiat car company from Italy. The irony is that Fiat left the American market about 30 years ago. Now they are back, thanks to the federal government.
During this time, the writing was on the wall, yet the big three decided to keep giving into the demands of the United Auto Workers and salaries continued to rise, but not profitability. One of the reasons at one time or another the big three were on the brink. The big three did not have the fortitude to say no to the unions and, voila, eventually they became what they are today.
And during this time, the political leadership of Detroit did not one thing to diversify the economy of the city and the area. They kept counting on the auto industry to somehow ride in on the White Horse and save this city. The problem is that no one saved the auto industry from themselves. The UAW, the same thing.
This column by the National Journal's Ron Fournier is a good one. Because he states the obvious about the lack of vision to move from the the manufacturing to another kind of economy.
Imagine that if the city leaders had to plan to make Detroit a Great Lakes Silicon Valley, no one would be writing about this demise of Detroit. Or maybe to be a place for insurance companies to do business. Anything. yet nothing was done.
One thing that Mr. Fournier writes about I touched upon earlier and that is the so-called White Flight that created the population shift that made Detroit a majority Black city. What Mr. Fournier did not write about is that once Blacks became part of the middle class, they followed Whites out of the city. And what is left is, dare I write this, a lot of people that probably wished they could be some place else.
Because the political class has made the average Detroit citizen feel like they are victims of fill-in-the-blank grievance, the idiocy of people like Councilman Watson rules the roost of government. They have no problem creating a victim class and at the same time trying to buy allegiance of city workers with unsustainable union contracts in good times. They have focused not on rebuilding the city as a whole, but the left's wondrous plans of downtown revitalization. And in that, sure they have attracted some thrill-seeking White hipsters to downtown lofts and the like. But what about the rest of the city.
Another great column is this one in The New York Times by Charlie LeDuff. When you read it, it sounds like Detroit has become a third-world city within the United States. I want you to read this carefully because if this was almost any other American city, we would be up in arms:
If this were New York, these stories would have ricocheted around the world. But this is Detroit and, of course, nobody gives a damn. Even here people have been conditioned to accept these things as
normal, a nuisance, the buzz of a fly.
Mr. LeDuff is correct. I mean, remember the Robo-cop movies? Where did they take place? DETROIT! And this was in the 1980s when things were not nearly in the dire straits that they are today.
So yes, sorry you 30,000 pensioners, you are screwed. You will have to live on less. Have less health care than you are used to. And the rest of you that are on the city payroll, you are pretty much screwed too. You will see the wonderful union contracts renegotiated by default. You will see you future pension benefits reduced. Your salary reduced.
And for the rest of the citizens of Beirut on Lake Michigan? A time for a fresh start a time to force those people who put you in the position of living in America's worst big city out. Bring in people that actually give a damn for you and the city.
This is the rock bottom that Detroit should have been in years ago. I suppose better late than never.
Now, to understand the reason this came about, here are two photos. One of the Detroit of old. One of when this city was on the rise.
But here more of the image that we are used to of the Motor City.
One wonders how it took this long for Detroit to come to this inevitability.
It is a combination of a lot of things to be honest.
Sure it is easy to point out, accurately, that the city has been in steady decline since the race riots of 1967. Very true.
It has seen not only so-called White Flight out of the city and to the surrounding suburbs. But there has been Black Flight as well for before 1967, Detroit was a mecca for Black Americans. Even an unskilled Black could go from poverty to the middle class. And once they did, they saw a lot of bad things as a direct result of the 1967 riots and a slew of incompetent political "leadership". So they joined their fellow Whites and moved to the suburbs.
Say, do you remember city councilman JoAnn Watson that I wrote about here? Do watch the video for she basically said that just as former Democrat Mayor Coleman Young did, the current mayor, David Bing, should just go to Washington, D. C., hat in hand and "bring home the bacon".
In other words, you and I from all 50 states should fork out money to Detroit so that they can continue to "govern" the way that they wanted.
And let's look at this statistic.
Detroit was the United States' fourth largest city in 1950 with a population of 1,849,568. Today in 2013, the population (as of the 2010 census) is 713,777. In reality is it at this point hovering at 700,000. It went from the fourth largest city to the 18th in 60 years.
One huge problem is that Detroit depended on the auto industry and nothing else economically. During the boom times of Detroit, there were more than just the big three we know today as Chrysler, Ford and General Motors. There was American Motors, Packard. De Soto, Studebaker, and many more. Eventually, many went by the wayside for a variety of reasons. Which left Detroit with the big three. At some point because of the end and or contraction of many auto makers, the big three thought that they were invincible.
But they were not.
The Chrysler company is a great example of that non-invincibility.
Thanks to the gas shortages of the 1970s, Americans went looking for smaller, cheaper cars, that got better gas mileage. Thus people began buying Datsuns (now Nissan), Hondas and Toyotas. And leaving the big three in the dust. By 1979, the company was in financial free fall and went to the federal government for a loan guarantee of what now seems a paltry sum of $1,500,000,000. Congress approved the loan and yes, it did give the company new life. But by the late 1990s, Chrysler was merged with Daimler-Benz, the makers of the Mercedes-Benz. But they could not save the company and it was sold to an equity firm and they realized, THEY could not save the iconic brand. So in 2008, the federal government essentially merged Chrysler with the Fiat car company from Italy. The irony is that Fiat left the American market about 30 years ago. Now they are back, thanks to the federal government.
During this time, the writing was on the wall, yet the big three decided to keep giving into the demands of the United Auto Workers and salaries continued to rise, but not profitability. One of the reasons at one time or another the big three were on the brink. The big three did not have the fortitude to say no to the unions and, voila, eventually they became what they are today.
And during this time, the political leadership of Detroit did not one thing to diversify the economy of the city and the area. They kept counting on the auto industry to somehow ride in on the White Horse and save this city. The problem is that no one saved the auto industry from themselves. The UAW, the same thing.
This column by the National Journal's Ron Fournier is a good one. Because he states the obvious about the lack of vision to move from the the manufacturing to another kind of economy.
Imagine that if the city leaders had to plan to make Detroit a Great Lakes Silicon Valley, no one would be writing about this demise of Detroit. Or maybe to be a place for insurance companies to do business. Anything. yet nothing was done.
One thing that Mr. Fournier writes about I touched upon earlier and that is the so-called White Flight that created the population shift that made Detroit a majority Black city. What Mr. Fournier did not write about is that once Blacks became part of the middle class, they followed Whites out of the city. And what is left is, dare I write this, a lot of people that probably wished they could be some place else.
Because the political class has made the average Detroit citizen feel like they are victims of fill-in-the-blank grievance, the idiocy of people like Councilman Watson rules the roost of government. They have no problem creating a victim class and at the same time trying to buy allegiance of city workers with unsustainable union contracts in good times. They have focused not on rebuilding the city as a whole, but the left's wondrous plans of downtown revitalization. And in that, sure they have attracted some thrill-seeking White hipsters to downtown lofts and the like. But what about the rest of the city.
Another great column is this one in The New York Times by Charlie LeDuff. When you read it, it sounds like Detroit has become a third-world city within the United States. I want you to read this carefully because if this was almost any other American city, we would be up in arms:
If this were New York, these stories would have ricocheted around the world. But this is Detroit and, of course, nobody gives a damn. Even here people have been conditioned to accept these things as
normal, a nuisance, the buzz of a fly.
Mr. LeDuff is correct. I mean, remember the Robo-cop movies? Where did they take place? DETROIT! And this was in the 1980s when things were not nearly in the dire straits that they are today.
So yes, sorry you 30,000 pensioners, you are screwed. You will have to live on less. Have less health care than you are used to. And the rest of you that are on the city payroll, you are pretty much screwed too. You will see the wonderful union contracts renegotiated by default. You will see you future pension benefits reduced. Your salary reduced.
And for the rest of the citizens of Beirut on Lake Michigan? A time for a fresh start a time to force those people who put you in the position of living in America's worst big city out. Bring in people that actually give a damn for you and the city.
This is the rock bottom that Detroit should have been in years ago. I suppose better late than never.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
The Ryan Braun Saga IS All Bud Selig's Fault
Yesterday Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig suspended Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun for 65 games, essentially the rest of the baseball season, without pay as he finally had no choice but to come clean about his use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs).
All of that is well and good.
But here is the thing.
This whole saga lies at the feet of Mr. Selig himself and is a direct result of his seizure of Major League Baseball in the mid 1990s.
This all stems from the dispute with the owners and the players union and the strike that killed the 1994 season and made the 1995 season start late.
FTR, I had not and have no sympathy for either side, but slightly with the owners. While there are 30 major league teams, if what would happen of teams contracting and that number being reduced, a lot of players would be out of a job. So that does give an edge to the owners.
The owners wanted a tight salary cap. Of course, the players did not.
Which leads to Mr. Selig and the duplicity he and his fellow owners had at the time to rid MLB of an independent commissioner that would act in the best interests of the game and not owners and or the players.
The last semi-independent commissioner was Fay Vincent. He was forced to resign his position by the owners in September, 1992. And the owners decided that Mr. Selig, then owner of the Milwaukee Brewers, should be "acting" commissioner.
Can you say conflict of interest?
Sure, Mr Selig let his daughter, Wendy Selig, run the day-to-day affairs of the team, but clearly the owners message was no more independent commissioner. We are just going to put in our chief lackey.
And with that, Mr. Selig and some fellow owners took hard-line positions on the salary cap. And the players recoiled.
Oh, and note that the end result was that nothing changed and the players and owners played under the expired collective bargaining agreement.
But what changed was the image of MLB.
It was in tatters.
Mr. Selig showed that he was boss. He moved his Milwaukee Brewers from the American League to the National League. He diminished the differences between the American and National Leagues. Instead of baseballs made for use in each league and signed by their presidents, a M|LB ball was put in use. Umpires that once worked for each league were no more as they became MLB umpires. And the true abomination was the introduction of "inter league" baseball. No more that the two league champs would just meet in the World Series. No, no, no. An example is that the American League Anaheim Angels* and National League Los Angeles Dodgers would play each other. During the regular season.
Sure, eventually they got around to a collective bargaining agreement and there has been relative peace.
But the fans, they were not happy.
And some players, well they had their own personal solution to their problems.
Taking steroids to build up unnatural bulk and if one is a good hitter, an even better hitter.
And the owners and Mr. Selig were tacitly approving that because the increased hitting meant fans would come back to the ballparks.
Thus Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire became a symbol of what is wrong with MLB today.
All three and others were implicated in using PEDs as they are now called. And none will ever end up in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Sure, the homers that they hit during the late 1990s got the fans back in the seats. Watching baseball again. But even a casual fan had to realize, hmm, how did these and some average hitters seem to belt them out of the park in record numbers?
Only when there was public outcry did the commissioner, and by sheer coinkidink the former acting commissioner, Mr. Selig, make up some new guidelines and vow that it would never happen again.
Now, I want to be blunt.
None of this went away. Some were just sloppy about it. But players and especially hitters were still juicing up.
But Mr. Braun, he is a big name. He is being suspended for the season without pay. Nothing about whether Mr. Braun will come back next season. Sure, he will have to submit to more stringent testing and all, but hey, he ducked it once, right? Who is to say he would not again.
See, if Mr. Selig was serious about this issue, he would have the hardest of policies on the use of PEDs.
First time caught, suspended a year, no pay. Must go to a drug rehab. Second time, well that is one time too many. A player can be thrown out of baseball, all salary gone. The players union will cry, but Mr. Selig can suggest strongly that it is for the good of the game.
But that will not happen.
Because of the players union, there will be no real consequences for serious violation of MLB policies regarding PEDs. Just the lip service and some action as taken against Mr. Braun. But will he be banned for life if there is a next time? HA! Because as much as the players union is at fault, so are the owners. They looked the other way once and can and will do it again.
Had the owners let Mr. Vincent do his job as commissioner in the early 1990s and been an honest broker between the players and owners, they would not have used Mr. Selig as the Trojan Horse to essentially seize power and make the commissioner's office but an appendage of their cartel.
And a real problem is that people like myself love the game too much to do what needs to be done. Which if a pox on all of the above. Meaning not going to games. Not getting any of the MLB Extra Innings packages offered by cable and satellite companies. Not watching games on television. In other words, we the fans have to strike.
But we won't. And we will bewail the wickedness of all involved.
The latest chapter in this involving PEDs and Ryan Braun, this is all Bud Selig's fault.
*On this blog the Angels will NEVER be referred to as the "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. They left Los Angeles in 1966, became the California Angels and then the Anaheim Angels. They can't have the name "Los Angeles" IMHO.
All of that is well and good.
But here is the thing.
This whole saga lies at the feet of Mr. Selig himself and is a direct result of his seizure of Major League Baseball in the mid 1990s.
This all stems from the dispute with the owners and the players union and the strike that killed the 1994 season and made the 1995 season start late.
FTR, I had not and have no sympathy for either side, but slightly with the owners. While there are 30 major league teams, if what would happen of teams contracting and that number being reduced, a lot of players would be out of a job. So that does give an edge to the owners.
The owners wanted a tight salary cap. Of course, the players did not.
Which leads to Mr. Selig and the duplicity he and his fellow owners had at the time to rid MLB of an independent commissioner that would act in the best interests of the game and not owners and or the players.
The last semi-independent commissioner was Fay Vincent. He was forced to resign his position by the owners in September, 1992. And the owners decided that Mr. Selig, then owner of the Milwaukee Brewers, should be "acting" commissioner.
Can you say conflict of interest?
Sure, Mr Selig let his daughter, Wendy Selig, run the day-to-day affairs of the team, but clearly the owners message was no more independent commissioner. We are just going to put in our chief lackey.
And with that, Mr. Selig and some fellow owners took hard-line positions on the salary cap. And the players recoiled.
Oh, and note that the end result was that nothing changed and the players and owners played under the expired collective bargaining agreement.
But what changed was the image of MLB.
It was in tatters.
Mr. Selig showed that he was boss. He moved his Milwaukee Brewers from the American League to the National League. He diminished the differences between the American and National Leagues. Instead of baseballs made for use in each league and signed by their presidents, a M|LB ball was put in use. Umpires that once worked for each league were no more as they became MLB umpires. And the true abomination was the introduction of "inter league" baseball. No more that the two league champs would just meet in the World Series. No, no, no. An example is that the American League Anaheim Angels* and National League Los Angeles Dodgers would play each other. During the regular season.
Sure, eventually they got around to a collective bargaining agreement and there has been relative peace.
But the fans, they were not happy.
And some players, well they had their own personal solution to their problems.
Taking steroids to build up unnatural bulk and if one is a good hitter, an even better hitter.
And the owners and Mr. Selig were tacitly approving that because the increased hitting meant fans would come back to the ballparks.
Thus Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire became a symbol of what is wrong with MLB today.
All three and others were implicated in using PEDs as they are now called. And none will ever end up in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Sure, the homers that they hit during the late 1990s got the fans back in the seats. Watching baseball again. But even a casual fan had to realize, hmm, how did these and some average hitters seem to belt them out of the park in record numbers?
Only when there was public outcry did the commissioner, and by sheer coinkidink the former acting commissioner, Mr. Selig, make up some new guidelines and vow that it would never happen again.
Now, I want to be blunt.
None of this went away. Some were just sloppy about it. But players and especially hitters were still juicing up.
But Mr. Braun, he is a big name. He is being suspended for the season without pay. Nothing about whether Mr. Braun will come back next season. Sure, he will have to submit to more stringent testing and all, but hey, he ducked it once, right? Who is to say he would not again.
See, if Mr. Selig was serious about this issue, he would have the hardest of policies on the use of PEDs.
First time caught, suspended a year, no pay. Must go to a drug rehab. Second time, well that is one time too many. A player can be thrown out of baseball, all salary gone. The players union will cry, but Mr. Selig can suggest strongly that it is for the good of the game.
But that will not happen.
Because of the players union, there will be no real consequences for serious violation of MLB policies regarding PEDs. Just the lip service and some action as taken against Mr. Braun. But will he be banned for life if there is a next time? HA! Because as much as the players union is at fault, so are the owners. They looked the other way once and can and will do it again.
Had the owners let Mr. Vincent do his job as commissioner in the early 1990s and been an honest broker between the players and owners, they would not have used Mr. Selig as the Trojan Horse to essentially seize power and make the commissioner's office but an appendage of their cartel.
And a real problem is that people like myself love the game too much to do what needs to be done. Which if a pox on all of the above. Meaning not going to games. Not getting any of the MLB Extra Innings packages offered by cable and satellite companies. Not watching games on television. In other words, we the fans have to strike.
But we won't. And we will bewail the wickedness of all involved.
The latest chapter in this involving PEDs and Ryan Braun, this is all Bud Selig's fault.
*On this blog the Angels will NEVER be referred to as the "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. They left Los Angeles in 1966, became the California Angels and then the Anaheim Angels. They can't have the name "Los Angeles" IMHO.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Sen. John "F--- You McCain And The Politics Of Wilful Ignorance
It seems like EVERYONE has an opinion on the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case these days. I mean, I do but my liberal friends will not like it. But the point of this post is not about what I think.
It is once again our friend, Sen. John "F--- You" McCain and his take on the Zimmerman/Martin case.
Once again the denizen of the Sunday morning talk shows appeared on State of the Union with Candy Crowley on CNN.
When hasn't Sen. "F--- You" McCain been on a Sunday show in the last three months?
Anyhow, Miss Crowley asked theMENSA senator about his thoughts on the Zimmerman/Martin case and the outcome.
Well, in some defense of the senator, he is not a lawyer so I do not expect a lawyerly answer. But I do expect Sen. "F--- You" McCain to have some knowledge of the case.
Courtesy of Ed Morrissey over at Hotair.com, Sen. "F--- You" McCain suggested that the jury was not corrupt.
WTF?! Really?! The best that Sen. "F--- You" McCain could come up with is that the jury was not corrupt? Who even suggested that one? NO ONE, Sen. "F--- You" McCain. NO ONE!
But of course, Sen "F--- You" McCain did not fumble on rambling on about the so-called "Stand your Ground" laws and, surprise! Why the senior Solon agrees with the Dear Leader, President Obama and thinks that these laws enacted by states should be "reviewed", whatever that means. Regrettably, you must watch this pile of incoherence to realize that, as Mr. Morrissey notes in the link, it does not sound like he knows what he is talking about.
I'm sorry but you have to watch both to get the full flavor, a bitter one, of what Sen. "F--- You" McCain is saying here.
It's incoherent really because you know that Sen. "F--- You" McCain has no clue about the case because the simple, correct answer is that the prosecution filed charges. A trial was presented. The prosecution presented in evidence and case. The defense put holes in it. Thus, when the jury was given the case to deliberate and they did and came back with their verdict, the system did work. A much better thing to say than well, there is no evidence that the jury was somehow corrupted.
See, Sen. "F--- You" McCain may not realize that the jury was sequestered and thus had no outside influences. There is no way that they could have been corrupted to use his line unless every single one came to the case ready to pronounce a not guilty verdict. And from a couple of the jurors, the deliberation was very careful and going over all evidence as presented by the prosecution. And remember, the state, the prosecutor must, must prove the guilt. The defense is under no obligation like that.
But it is the douchebrainery of somehow mixing up the SYG law with this case. In fact, it was a consideration of the Zimmerman defense team to use that. But they realized that they did not need to. Thus it was NEVER part of the trial.
So why does Sen. "F--- You" McCain even bring that up?
Because it is an easy way out for a politician with no clue what the hell he is talking about to sound like he knows what he is talking about.
It is also buying the left-wing meme that if it were not for the SYG laws, this might not have happened. And another, back door attempt to resurrect the gun control debate.
Again, SYG had nothing to do with what happened in the Zimmerman/Martin case.
In fact, while the left is railing against the SYG law making Marissa Alexander their reason d'etre why the law is bad, very bad, they leave out a very important detail on that case.
While Miss Alexander tried to use the SYG defense, the problem is that she had time to go and get the gun in question and then proceed to fire a shot in the wall. No doubt a warning shot. But read this from Media Trackers if you think that I am making it up:
After Alexander exited the bathroom and re-entered the master bedroom, Gray left the bedroom and headed to the living room where his sons were located. At that point, Alexander left the master bedroom, passing Gray, his two children, and the unobstructed front and back doors of the house on her way to the garage. Once in the garage, she retrieved a handgun from her vehicle’s glove box and then went back into the kitchen, where she “pointed it in the direction of all three [v]ictims.” Although Gray put his hands in the air, Alexander fired the gun, “nearly missing [Gray's] head” and sending a bullet “through the kitchen wall and into the ceiling in the living room.”
That is very important. Miss Alexander had time and opportunity to simply leave the home and call 911, neither of she did and proceeded to do the deed that has landed her in prison. And she could have taken a deal in which she would be out of prison by now.
So, Sen. "F--- You" McCain, do you know anything about this case? Huh? I mean, you think that states that have this law should somehow "review" them for no reason other than, to remind you as you did Sen. John Cornyn in 2007 in reference to the then so-called "comprehensive immigration reform", f--- you! You don't know what you are talking about! I know more about this than you do!
Had Sen. "F--- You" McCain done a minimal amount of reading in a newspaper or on the internets, he could have and should have answered Miss Crowley's questions in a better manner. But this is why Sen. "F--- You" McCain is not president today. Because he does not do the homework to even discuss domestic policy and events. That is why he sounds like the doddering old fool he is fast becoming.
Some advice for Sen. John "F--- You" McCain.
Please senator, take next Sunday off the talk-show circuit and maybe spend it with your family. Go to the real church, not the Church of Meet the Press. The Temple of This Week. None of those. Can you do that Sen. McCain?
It is once again our friend, Sen. John "F--- You" McCain and his take on the Zimmerman/Martin case.
Once again the denizen of the Sunday morning talk shows appeared on State of the Union with Candy Crowley on CNN.
When hasn't Sen. "F--- You" McCain been on a Sunday show in the last three months?
Anyhow, Miss Crowley asked the
Well, in some defense of the senator, he is not a lawyer so I do not expect a lawyerly answer. But I do expect Sen. "F--- You" McCain to have some knowledge of the case.
Courtesy of Ed Morrissey over at Hotair.com, Sen. "F--- You" McCain suggested that the jury was not corrupt.
WTF?! Really?! The best that Sen. "F--- You" McCain could come up with is that the jury was not corrupt? Who even suggested that one? NO ONE, Sen. "F--- You" McCain. NO ONE!
But of course, Sen "F--- You" McCain did not fumble on rambling on about the so-called "Stand your Ground" laws and, surprise! Why the senior Solon agrees with the Dear Leader, President Obama and thinks that these laws enacted by states should be "reviewed", whatever that means. Regrettably, you must watch this pile of incoherence to realize that, as Mr. Morrissey notes in the link, it does not sound like he knows what he is talking about.
See, Sen. "F--- You" McCain may not realize that the jury was sequestered and thus had no outside influences. There is no way that they could have been corrupted to use his line unless every single one came to the case ready to pronounce a not guilty verdict. And from a couple of the jurors, the deliberation was very careful and going over all evidence as presented by the prosecution. And remember, the state, the prosecutor must, must prove the guilt. The defense is under no obligation like that.
But it is the douchebrainery of somehow mixing up the SYG law with this case. In fact, it was a consideration of the Zimmerman defense team to use that. But they realized that they did not need to. Thus it was NEVER part of the trial.
So why does Sen. "F--- You" McCain even bring that up?
Because it is an easy way out for a politician with no clue what the hell he is talking about to sound like he knows what he is talking about.
It is also buying the left-wing meme that if it were not for the SYG laws, this might not have happened. And another, back door attempt to resurrect the gun control debate.
Again, SYG had nothing to do with what happened in the Zimmerman/Martin case.
In fact, while the left is railing against the SYG law making Marissa Alexander their reason d'etre why the law is bad, very bad, they leave out a very important detail on that case.
While Miss Alexander tried to use the SYG defense, the problem is that she had time to go and get the gun in question and then proceed to fire a shot in the wall. No doubt a warning shot. But read this from Media Trackers if you think that I am making it up:
After Alexander exited the bathroom and re-entered the master bedroom, Gray left the bedroom and headed to the living room where his sons were located. At that point, Alexander left the master bedroom, passing Gray, his two children, and the unobstructed front and back doors of the house on her way to the garage. Once in the garage, she retrieved a handgun from her vehicle’s glove box and then went back into the kitchen, where she “pointed it in the direction of all three [v]ictims.” Although Gray put his hands in the air, Alexander fired the gun, “nearly missing [Gray's] head” and sending a bullet “through the kitchen wall and into the ceiling in the living room.”
That is very important. Miss Alexander had time and opportunity to simply leave the home and call 911, neither of she did and proceeded to do the deed that has landed her in prison. And she could have taken a deal in which she would be out of prison by now.
So, Sen. "F--- You" McCain, do you know anything about this case? Huh? I mean, you think that states that have this law should somehow "review" them for no reason other than, to remind you as you did Sen. John Cornyn in 2007 in reference to the then so-called "comprehensive immigration reform", f--- you! You don't know what you are talking about! I know more about this than you do!
Had Sen. "F--- You" McCain done a minimal amount of reading in a newspaper or on the internets, he could have and should have answered Miss Crowley's questions in a better manner. But this is why Sen. "F--- You" McCain is not president today. Because he does not do the homework to even discuss domestic policy and events. That is why he sounds like the doddering old fool he is fast becoming.
Some advice for Sen. John "F--- You" McCain.
Please senator, take next Sunday off the talk-show circuit and maybe spend it with your family. Go to the real church, not the Church of Meet the Press. The Temple of This Week. None of those. Can you do that Sen. McCain?
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Another Statistic In The Unemployment Parade
A sad fate awaited me on Wednesday morning that I did not particularly see coming.
Around 11:00 am, my boss calls me into her office and before we get in together, I ask very matter-of-factly, "I guess that I am next? I'm being laid-off?" And my boss, with a horribly pained look on her face said that yes, I was.
And like that, I became another figure of the national economic recovery. If you think that unemployment is the best barometer, well. . .
I feel that my knowledge of my fate made it easier for my boss to make that lovely conference call between our area manager, the inhuman resources "specialist", my boss and myself.
After all the corporate BS, I was asked if I had any questions.
Any questions?! You're laying me off because of cutbacks and asking me if I had any questions?! I mean, I would have loved to ask what ever happened to first hired, last fired. But my only question was regarding the tax benefits of taking my severance package over time or in a lump sum. The so-called inhuman resource specialist had no idea what I was talking about. And that pretty much summed-up that I decided to take the lump sum payout and be done with this company.
One thing that I was asked if I wanted to do was to work the rest of the week or pack up my things and call Wednesday my last day.
I surprised them and myself and said sure, I will work until Friday. I am sure that the suits, or in this case the pants suits figured that I would just bail. Well, it is not in my nature. The reason that I stayed was to make the transition easier on my co-workers. And I had no beef with my boss at all. She is in the ultimate rock and a hard place. The decision to eliminate my position was not in her hands at all.
The fact is that I worked for a large medical company and the division that I worked for performed medical exams for disability and life insurance applicants. It is but a cog in the big corporate wheel.
I saw my immediate supervisor meet the same fate as I did in March, 2012. He did not handle it so well. He packed his stuff and left very angry at all. One thing I made a mental note not to do that if I met that fate.
And I did meet that fate. Almost seven years I worked for this company. I worked for a competitor for eight years before working for this one. Thus almost 16 years in the same industry.
And what does it feel like now that I am no longer a part of it at all?
There is some liberation for now I feel I can determine my own future rather than staying complacent as so many do.
But I am pushing 50 years old. So there is a little trepidation on my part because I could be an asset for a company for my length of time in work history. Staying in the same industry for about 16 years. But then in this youth-obsessed culture, I may be over-the-hill age wise. That I will see as I begin the job search.
It does seem like a lot of bad things have been happening lately in RVFTLC land. And I will not bore you with those.
But as a Christian, I pray and do believe that God has something different for me on the horizon. I think that is why I wanted to show my co-workers that there is a dignity that one should show when meeting my fate.
One thing is for sure.
A lot more blogging will happen for the foreseeable time being!
Around 11:00 am, my boss calls me into her office and before we get in together, I ask very matter-of-factly, "I guess that I am next? I'm being laid-off?" And my boss, with a horribly pained look on her face said that yes, I was.
And like that, I became another figure of the national economic recovery. If you think that unemployment is the best barometer, well. . .
I feel that my knowledge of my fate made it easier for my boss to make that lovely conference call between our area manager, the inhuman resources "specialist", my boss and myself.
After all the corporate BS, I was asked if I had any questions.
Any questions?! You're laying me off because of cutbacks and asking me if I had any questions?! I mean, I would have loved to ask what ever happened to first hired, last fired. But my only question was regarding the tax benefits of taking my severance package over time or in a lump sum. The so-called inhuman resource specialist had no idea what I was talking about. And that pretty much summed-up that I decided to take the lump sum payout and be done with this company.
One thing that I was asked if I wanted to do was to work the rest of the week or pack up my things and call Wednesday my last day.
I surprised them and myself and said sure, I will work until Friday. I am sure that the suits, or in this case the pants suits figured that I would just bail. Well, it is not in my nature. The reason that I stayed was to make the transition easier on my co-workers. And I had no beef with my boss at all. She is in the ultimate rock and a hard place. The decision to eliminate my position was not in her hands at all.
The fact is that I worked for a large medical company and the division that I worked for performed medical exams for disability and life insurance applicants. It is but a cog in the big corporate wheel.
I saw my immediate supervisor meet the same fate as I did in March, 2012. He did not handle it so well. He packed his stuff and left very angry at all. One thing I made a mental note not to do that if I met that fate.
And I did meet that fate. Almost seven years I worked for this company. I worked for a competitor for eight years before working for this one. Thus almost 16 years in the same industry.
And what does it feel like now that I am no longer a part of it at all?
There is some liberation for now I feel I can determine my own future rather than staying complacent as so many do.
But I am pushing 50 years old. So there is a little trepidation on my part because I could be an asset for a company for my length of time in work history. Staying in the same industry for about 16 years. But then in this youth-obsessed culture, I may be over-the-hill age wise. That I will see as I begin the job search.
It does seem like a lot of bad things have been happening lately in RVFTLC land. And I will not bore you with those.
But as a Christian, I pray and do believe that God has something different for me on the horizon. I think that is why I wanted to show my co-workers that there is a dignity that one should show when meeting my fate.
One thing is for sure.
A lot more blogging will happen for the foreseeable time being!
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Scout The Wonder Dog, 1997-2013
Last Friday evening after work, Mrs. RVFTLC and I did quite honestly the hardest thing that we have ever had to do in our lives.
We had to help our baby, Scout the Wonder Dog over the Rainbow Bridge. Yes, we had to finally let her go from her severe ailments at the age of 16 years.
It was not an easy decision.
She was diagnosed in April with a degenerative spine. She had not really been herself since Christmas. But Mrs. RVFTLC is the one that forced the issue by taking her to the vet. The vet even suggested that she could be put to sleep then. But we were about to embark on the Yellowstone Adventure. And while we resigned ourselves it would be her last trip with us, we wanted her to go. So the vet put her on steroids and pain killers.
They helped her make the trip and the baton of road trip travel was being passed from Scout to Cashew, the Little Guy.
But they just put her on borrowed time. And last weekend it became apparent. The only thing left to do was to decide when to do it.
Now I will not torture you with details of that experience.
I really want to share some highlights of Scout with you.
She came to us in August, 1997 as I got then my fiancee Scout as a birthday gift. Yeah, yeah, I know. One should not get an animal as a gift. But we did everything one is supposed to do when adopting a pet. And on a Saturday afternoon, Scout came home from the Pasadena Humane Society.
Scout was about 4 months old when we adopted her. Here is a photo of her from October of 1997.
Don't you like how Miss Scout as she was also known, made herself comfy on her daddy's chair?
And it took us quite a while for us to figure out, but she was a Border Collie-Terrier mix. What kind of Terrier? Who knows and who cares.
From that time on began a wonderful 16 year journey of love, some interesting things, and eventually having to say the final good bye.
Scout was a dog with personality.
When we first had her, we noticed that she did something kind of odd when people would come over.
She would bear her teeth.
Yet she was jumping on people very happy and kissing them silly.
Mrs. RVFTLC got it right.
Scout was smiling at people. Because she was really, really happy to see people.
Her routine when the door knocked was this. A lot of sneezing, smiling, jumping and kissing. And it did take a bit of coaxing for her to stop.
BTW, did I mention that she was 'socially promoted' in obedience school? Sorry, it is true. The problem was it was a group class and Scout as a puppy just wanted to play with the other dogs. But no matter for that was just part of her personality.
Being a Border Collie-Terrier mix, one thing is that Scout was very focused on any and everything.
She was in her early years always trying to escape. Whether it was right through the front door or trying to dig a hole or trying to find a soft-spot in the back yard wooden fence, she was trying. Sometimes, yeah, she got out and ran down the street. Of course she was always caught. I think that she just wanted some space to run around. A back yard was not enough for her.
As she got older, Mrs. RVFTLC taught her to play catch with a tennis ball. And once she learned, she did not want to stop. She would catch and bring it back and one of us would throw it. Again. Again. Again. And if we did not do so right away, she would let us know. She would get that ball in her mouth and do this head-snout butt and keep doing it until we acknowledged her. And once we discovered the Pasadena Off Leash dog park in 2006, she ran herself beyond ragged. It was kind of annoying. Yet now I miss it terribly.
In 2007, we discovered that Miss Scout, yes she was named after the character in To Kill A Mockingbird, could no longer stay at the vet when we went on any vacation. For you see, while she was kind of sort of OK there, she would not poop. Not one bit. She would eat, she would pee on her walk, but no poop.
We came home from a long weekend trip on a Monday, went to pick her up literally right from the airport. When we got to the vet, if she could Scout would have jumped into my arms. I took her outside as Mrs. RVFTLC was paying the bill when she could not even make it to the patch of grass in front of the vet's office. She pooped. And pooped. Little did I know as we went back in because Mrs. RVFTLC was taking a while is that the vet almost called us to ask if they could use medicine to make her poop. When I said how much she went, that was it. Even the receptionist knew she was too nervous to do all her business.
Because of that we decided that any vacation, long or short, she had to go with us.
Thus we took a road trip to Mr. Rushmore later that year. A couple of years later, we went on our epic cross-country road-trip. One year for our anniversary, we went to Northern California and the town of Eureka. A road-trip to New Mexico. And a lot of overnighters in between. She became a great road-trip buddy.
Of course she had the hate for cats. Would want to chase and eat them. Same with the squirrels. It is amazing that they really think they are going to catch 'em.
And she had some medical problems.
Her anal glands had to be surgically removed. She developed an autoimmune condition that affected her eyes to the point that she had little if any eye sight left at the end. Because her condition flared up after visits to the dog park, eventually she could not go any more. And she had a skin condition as well.
In the end, it was her spine and it just was degenerating quickly. It is what happens to many people as they age and obviously a dog too.
But she lived a wonderful long life. Depending on if you believe that every year is either five or seven in dog years, she lived to 80 or a 112 in dog years. I'm going to go with 112.
I will end with this photo of Miss Scout, the Wonder Dog as she just turned 16 years old this past April. Our little family misses you Miss Scout. Even Cashew, the Little Guy misses you!
FTR, this took three tries before I could write this post. It is very hard to write about a dog that you love in such a short space and time.
We had to help our baby, Scout the Wonder Dog over the Rainbow Bridge. Yes, we had to finally let her go from her severe ailments at the age of 16 years.
It was not an easy decision.
She was diagnosed in April with a degenerative spine. She had not really been herself since Christmas. But Mrs. RVFTLC is the one that forced the issue by taking her to the vet. The vet even suggested that she could be put to sleep then. But we were about to embark on the Yellowstone Adventure. And while we resigned ourselves it would be her last trip with us, we wanted her to go. So the vet put her on steroids and pain killers.
They helped her make the trip and the baton of road trip travel was being passed from Scout to Cashew, the Little Guy.
But they just put her on borrowed time. And last weekend it became apparent. The only thing left to do was to decide when to do it.
Now I will not torture you with details of that experience.
I really want to share some highlights of Scout with you.
She came to us in August, 1997 as I got then my fiancee Scout as a birthday gift. Yeah, yeah, I know. One should not get an animal as a gift. But we did everything one is supposed to do when adopting a pet. And on a Saturday afternoon, Scout came home from the Pasadena Humane Society.
Scout was about 4 months old when we adopted her. Here is a photo of her from October of 1997.
And it took us quite a while for us to figure out, but she was a Border Collie-Terrier mix. What kind of Terrier? Who knows and who cares.
From that time on began a wonderful 16 year journey of love, some interesting things, and eventually having to say the final good bye.
Scout was a dog with personality.
When we first had her, we noticed that she did something kind of odd when people would come over.
She would bear her teeth.
Yet she was jumping on people very happy and kissing them silly.
Mrs. RVFTLC got it right.
Scout was smiling at people. Because she was really, really happy to see people.
Her routine when the door knocked was this. A lot of sneezing, smiling, jumping and kissing. And it did take a bit of coaxing for her to stop.
BTW, did I mention that she was 'socially promoted' in obedience school? Sorry, it is true. The problem was it was a group class and Scout as a puppy just wanted to play with the other dogs. But no matter for that was just part of her personality.
Being a Border Collie-Terrier mix, one thing is that Scout was very focused on any and everything.
She was in her early years always trying to escape. Whether it was right through the front door or trying to dig a hole or trying to find a soft-spot in the back yard wooden fence, she was trying. Sometimes, yeah, she got out and ran down the street. Of course she was always caught. I think that she just wanted some space to run around. A back yard was not enough for her.
As she got older, Mrs. RVFTLC taught her to play catch with a tennis ball. And once she learned, she did not want to stop. She would catch and bring it back and one of us would throw it. Again. Again. Again. And if we did not do so right away, she would let us know. She would get that ball in her mouth and do this head-snout butt and keep doing it until we acknowledged her. And once we discovered the Pasadena Off Leash dog park in 2006, she ran herself beyond ragged. It was kind of annoying. Yet now I miss it terribly.
In 2007, we discovered that Miss Scout, yes she was named after the character in To Kill A Mockingbird, could no longer stay at the vet when we went on any vacation. For you see, while she was kind of sort of OK there, she would not poop. Not one bit. She would eat, she would pee on her walk, but no poop.
We came home from a long weekend trip on a Monday, went to pick her up literally right from the airport. When we got to the vet, if she could Scout would have jumped into my arms. I took her outside as Mrs. RVFTLC was paying the bill when she could not even make it to the patch of grass in front of the vet's office. She pooped. And pooped. Little did I know as we went back in because Mrs. RVFTLC was taking a while is that the vet almost called us to ask if they could use medicine to make her poop. When I said how much she went, that was it. Even the receptionist knew she was too nervous to do all her business.
Because of that we decided that any vacation, long or short, she had to go with us.
Thus we took a road trip to Mr. Rushmore later that year. A couple of years later, we went on our epic cross-country road-trip. One year for our anniversary, we went to Northern California and the town of Eureka. A road-trip to New Mexico. And a lot of overnighters in between. She became a great road-trip buddy.
Of course she had the hate for cats. Would want to chase and eat them. Same with the squirrels. It is amazing that they really think they are going to catch 'em.
And she had some medical problems.
Her anal glands had to be surgically removed. She developed an autoimmune condition that affected her eyes to the point that she had little if any eye sight left at the end. Because her condition flared up after visits to the dog park, eventually she could not go any more. And she had a skin condition as well.
In the end, it was her spine and it just was degenerating quickly. It is what happens to many people as they age and obviously a dog too.
But she lived a wonderful long life. Depending on if you believe that every year is either five or seven in dog years, she lived to 80 or a 112 in dog years. I'm going to go with 112.
I will end with this photo of Miss Scout, the Wonder Dog as she just turned 16 years old this past April. Our little family misses you Miss Scout. Even Cashew, the Little Guy misses you!
FTR, this took three tries before I could write this post. It is very hard to write about a dog that you love in such a short space and time.
Tuesday, July 09, 2013
When Christians Are Attacked From The Inside And The Outside
This post was going to be limited to the attack on fellow Christians by a former president, but as I have pondered this, another assault on Christians from outside the faith has occurred and this is going to be a two-pronged post.
First, I would like to start off with the attack from within the faith from a former president known famously for lusting in his heart for other women.
That former president is one Jimmah Carter. Yeah, I know, JIMMY Carter, but I write as he has said it all these years.
This photo below has been floating around on Facebook and it is clearly a slam against Christians.
Now, I have two thoughts on this.
The first thought is that many Christians talk a good game, yet do not actually follow through on spreading the Gospel in any way. In and of itself, I would agree there are some that do not.
But let me extend this.
I think what the 39th president is referring to are the eeeeevvvvviiiiilllll, judgemental Christians.
You know the ones.
Like the Salvation Army and all the work they do in disaster situations. Like being the first relief for those in the after effect of Hurricane Katrina. Before the American Red Cross. Before anyone from the federal government. Must those bad Christians.
Or maybe the terrible folks from the Rev. Franklin Graham's Samaritan's Purse and all the work they are doing in Africa to help bring people up from abject poverty. Yeah, yeah. Has to be them.
If not, maybe the people at World Vision. I mean come on! These HAVE to be the evil ones, right?
Well, the second overriding point is no, not in the least.
For you see, Jimmah is saying nothing about these people and the millions that donate time and money. No, not at all. Read the quote again. See, to be a person that is a good Christian and has good Christian values, you HAVE to support high taxation and big government because THAT is the mark of a good Christian. How much one renders onto Caesar instead of taking that money and helping the same people in the name of and the power of Jesus Christ.
So, let me ask all of those that agree with Jimmah, is it the only way that one can be a good Christian, to have real Christian values if they just pay as much in taxes that the government wants on the notion that it is all to help the poor?
Sorry Jimmah and all of you folks, but it is NOT a Christian value to allow one's self to be taxed into oblivion. It is indeed a waste of money.
When Jesus commanded those who followed him to give all that they have if they had anything to the poor, he did not mean to give it to the government as the middle-men to dole it out as they see fit. See, I know that Jesus Christ would be happy to see his followers to be helping those less fortunate through their own churches. Their denominational bodies that are specific to helping those in need. And yes, to other groups like the Salvation Army, Samaritan's Purse and World Vision. And really, I just scracthed the surface in naming those Christian groups that do help those that are down and out for no reason at all or for a reason. See, they do not create a red-tape bureaucracy in helping people. What they do is help people in need and for many the services are life changing. Yes, some of those that they help have turned their life to Christ. Not because they were coerced, because they opened their minds, eyes and ears to the Gospel message.
FTR, I know this goes against the admonishment of Jesus Christ himself in the Gospel of Matthew, 6:1-4 and 5-8, but I have to let my readers know that Mrs. RVFTLC and I do practice what we believe. We of course give to our church financially. We are both on the board of the Transitional Housing ministry. It is, without a doubt, a thankless ministry to many because it is dealing mostly with men and women, fresh out of prison and dealing with drug, alcohol addiciton and mental illness. And we also support our outreach program to the poor in the city of El Monte, California.
So yeah, I do resent when Jimmah thinks that because we want to truly help people without the government somehow that is not Christian. It is not Christian to wrongly admonish people as Jimmah does.
Now on to the beating Christians are taking from the outside.
Recently the great baseball player, Stan Musial, died at the age on 92. Mr. Musial played his entire career for the St. Louis Cardinals. As an honor to Mr. Musial, the grounds crew etched a cross and Mr. Musial's number 6 on the back of the pitcher's mound at Busch Stadium, home of the Cardinals. Here it is.
Yes, plain as day. A Christian cross and the number 6.
Yet a supposed Cardinals fan decided that this display of honor for the devoutly Roman Catholic Mr. Musial was bad. Bad, I tell you. And guess what? Same "fan" not only did not like that cross, but said that the number 6 looked a lot like the Christian fish symbol, also known as icthys. Again, yes I see a cross. And a number 6. But no, I do not see a fish of any kind.
But that was enough for the general manager of the Cardinals, John Mozeliak, to direct the grounds crew, no more etchings on the pitcher's mound.
What a coward.
MrCoward Mozeliak said this speaking to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch regarding the horror of a cross and a number being etched on the pitcher's mound:
“It’s just not club policy to be putting religious symbols on the playing field or throughout the ballpark. I didn’t ask for the reason behind it. I just asked for it to stop.”
Uh, maybe Mr.Coward Mozeliak should have asked why it was being done. It might have changed his mind and he may have had grounds to explain why it was OK for a time and eventually, with no fanfare, phased it out.
OK, so why I am harsh on this dude?
Read his quote again.
Well this link will take you to the St. Louis Cardinals website and. . .details on their recent celebration of. . .wait for it. . .CHRISTIAN DAY!
CHRISTIAN DAY?!
Oh, I think that I see something here.
When it involves Christians doling out cash to the Cardinals, well that is OK. But have some members of the grounds crew memorializing one of the great players in Cardinal history and well, one complaint and that has to stop.
So I thought, is Busch Stadium owned by the city of St. Louis.
Not at all. The Cardinals own the stadium, but did get some government money to construct the ball park.
So again, why did the general manager stop such a terrible memorial to Mr. Musial? Oh, a memorial that he claims he knew nothing about until he read about it in the Post-Dispatch newspaper?
First, he may not be directly lying on anything but I am certain that he knew about it long before an article in the local fish wrap. And the least he could have done is ask the grounds crew about it before making an arbitrary decision.
Remember, one person complained. Did the same person complain about Christian Day? I would like to know that one.
Yes, one person whinnying like a baby about having to be exposed to a cross and the number 6 ended a heartfelt memorial done by people just not all that sophisticated about how terrible the cross is to some people.
Yes, people are so gun shy to take on the heathens that they cave like a dropped accordion.
I would love to see the grounds crew defy Mr. Coward Mozeliak and continue to etch the cross and number 6 on the pitcher's mound. What would Mr. Coward Mozeliak do, fire them all? Where are those Christians that participated in Christian Day at Busch Stadium? Time for their voices to be heard on this.
When Christians attack fellow Christians on political grounds, it truly affects in the most negative way the work that Jesus himself commanded in Matthew 28:19:
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
And when people attack people who find a way to pay tribute to a player and yes, for his Christian faith, it should unite all Christians to the reality that people, they just do not like us.
We Christians, we need to be together more than we are.
Those that are not Christian, don't be afraid of our symbols that they are somehow going to harm you.
First, I would like to start off with the attack from within the faith from a former president known famously for lusting in his heart for other women.
That former president is one Jimmah Carter. Yeah, I know, JIMMY Carter, but I write as he has said it all these years.
This photo below has been floating around on Facebook and it is clearly a slam against Christians.
Now, I have two thoughts on this.
The first thought is that many Christians talk a good game, yet do not actually follow through on spreading the Gospel in any way. In and of itself, I would agree there are some that do not.
But let me extend this.
I think what the 39th president is referring to are the eeeeevvvvviiiiilllll, judgemental Christians.
You know the ones.
Like the Salvation Army and all the work they do in disaster situations. Like being the first relief for those in the after effect of Hurricane Katrina. Before the American Red Cross. Before anyone from the federal government. Must those bad Christians.
Or maybe the terrible folks from the Rev. Franklin Graham's Samaritan's Purse and all the work they are doing in Africa to help bring people up from abject poverty. Yeah, yeah. Has to be them.
If not, maybe the people at World Vision. I mean come on! These HAVE to be the evil ones, right?
Well, the second overriding point is no, not in the least.
For you see, Jimmah is saying nothing about these people and the millions that donate time and money. No, not at all. Read the quote again. See, to be a person that is a good Christian and has good Christian values, you HAVE to support high taxation and big government because THAT is the mark of a good Christian. How much one renders onto Caesar instead of taking that money and helping the same people in the name of and the power of Jesus Christ.
So, let me ask all of those that agree with Jimmah, is it the only way that one can be a good Christian, to have real Christian values if they just pay as much in taxes that the government wants on the notion that it is all to help the poor?
Sorry Jimmah and all of you folks, but it is NOT a Christian value to allow one's self to be taxed into oblivion. It is indeed a waste of money.
When Jesus commanded those who followed him to give all that they have if they had anything to the poor, he did not mean to give it to the government as the middle-men to dole it out as they see fit. See, I know that Jesus Christ would be happy to see his followers to be helping those less fortunate through their own churches. Their denominational bodies that are specific to helping those in need. And yes, to other groups like the Salvation Army, Samaritan's Purse and World Vision. And really, I just scracthed the surface in naming those Christian groups that do help those that are down and out for no reason at all or for a reason. See, they do not create a red-tape bureaucracy in helping people. What they do is help people in need and for many the services are life changing. Yes, some of those that they help have turned their life to Christ. Not because they were coerced, because they opened their minds, eyes and ears to the Gospel message.
FTR, I know this goes against the admonishment of Jesus Christ himself in the Gospel of Matthew, 6:1-4 and 5-8, but I have to let my readers know that Mrs. RVFTLC and I do practice what we believe. We of course give to our church financially. We are both on the board of the Transitional Housing ministry. It is, without a doubt, a thankless ministry to many because it is dealing mostly with men and women, fresh out of prison and dealing with drug, alcohol addiciton and mental illness. And we also support our outreach program to the poor in the city of El Monte, California.
So yeah, I do resent when Jimmah thinks that because we want to truly help people without the government somehow that is not Christian. It is not Christian to wrongly admonish people as Jimmah does.
Now on to the beating Christians are taking from the outside.
Recently the great baseball player, Stan Musial, died at the age on 92. Mr. Musial played his entire career for the St. Louis Cardinals. As an honor to Mr. Musial, the grounds crew etched a cross and Mr. Musial's number 6 on the back of the pitcher's mound at Busch Stadium, home of the Cardinals. Here it is.
Yet a supposed Cardinals fan decided that this display of honor for the devoutly Roman Catholic Mr. Musial was bad. Bad, I tell you. And guess what? Same "fan" not only did not like that cross, but said that the number 6 looked a lot like the Christian fish symbol, also known as icthys. Again, yes I see a cross. And a number 6. But no, I do not see a fish of any kind.
But that was enough for the general manager of the Cardinals, John Mozeliak, to direct the grounds crew, no more etchings on the pitcher's mound.
What a coward.
Mr
“It’s just not club policy to be putting religious symbols on the playing field or throughout the ballpark. I didn’t ask for the reason behind it. I just asked for it to stop.”
Uh, maybe Mr.
OK, so why I am harsh on this dude?
Read his quote again.
Well this link will take you to the St. Louis Cardinals website and. . .details on their recent celebration of. . .wait for it. . .CHRISTIAN DAY!
CHRISTIAN DAY?!
Oh, I think that I see something here.
When it involves Christians doling out cash to the Cardinals, well that is OK. But have some members of the grounds crew memorializing one of the great players in Cardinal history and well, one complaint and that has to stop.
So I thought, is Busch Stadium owned by the city of St. Louis.
Not at all. The Cardinals own the stadium, but did get some government money to construct the ball park.
So again, why did the general manager stop such a terrible memorial to Mr. Musial? Oh, a memorial that he claims he knew nothing about until he read about it in the Post-Dispatch newspaper?
First, he may not be directly lying on anything but I am certain that he knew about it long before an article in the local fish wrap. And the least he could have done is ask the grounds crew about it before making an arbitrary decision.
Remember, one person complained. Did the same person complain about Christian Day? I would like to know that one.
Yes, one person whinnying like a baby about having to be exposed to a cross and the number 6 ended a heartfelt memorial done by people just not all that sophisticated about how terrible the cross is to some people.
Yes, people are so gun shy to take on the heathens that they cave like a dropped accordion.
I would love to see the grounds crew defy Mr. Coward Mozeliak and continue to etch the cross and number 6 on the pitcher's mound. What would Mr. Coward Mozeliak do, fire them all? Where are those Christians that participated in Christian Day at Busch Stadium? Time for their voices to be heard on this.
When Christians attack fellow Christians on political grounds, it truly affects in the most negative way the work that Jesus himself commanded in Matthew 28:19:
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
And when people attack people who find a way to pay tribute to a player and yes, for his Christian faith, it should unite all Christians to the reality that people, they just do not like us.
We Christians, we need to be together more than we are.
Those that are not Christian, don't be afraid of our symbols that they are somehow going to harm you.
Tuesday, July 02, 2013
The Abortchuary Industrial Complex Is In Trouble In Texas And The Left Is Crazy About It
Yep, like many other states in the Union, Texas is trying to take action to rein in the Abortchuary Industrial Complex in wake of the death machine that was the abortion practice of "Dr." Kermit Gosnell.
In fact, the Texas state legislature was just to pass one of the more restrictive laws in the nation in regards to late term abortions last week.
That is until one state senator named Wendy Davis temporarily derailed it by mounting an 10 filibuster in hopes of killing the bill.
Too bad that it is but a temporary win for the AIC.
For Gov. Rick Perry simply called another special session of the state legislature (a part-time legislature, one a Californian can only dream of!) that began yesterday. In fact, Sen. Davis has said that she will not mount another filibuster.
What is it that has the professional left and or abortion defenders panties in a bunch?
It is Senate Bill 5.
The bill does update abortion regulations that are needed. And yes, it does ban abortions after 20 weeks of gestation. Here it is in a nutshell courtesy of the Wikipedia link:
Texas Senate Bill 5 is a list of measures that would add and update abortion regulations in Texas. These measures include banning abortions past twenty weeks of gestation, mandate that a doctor who performs abortions have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital, and to require that clinics meet the same standards as other health-care facilities in the state.[1][2][3][4]
All of the main points are for the health of the mother and the one regarding no abortions after 20 weeks to protect the unborn baby.
Yes, since a baby at 20 weeks can feel pain and at 28 weeks, seven months, can very well live outside the womb, it is to protect a baby.
The abortchuary left cannot have any of that.
Why they will argue that the Gosnell case was aberration. That it is not the way abortion clinics work. That they do not need to be more regulated. In fact, some argue that there are too many regulations at abortion clinics. Unreal, but true.
One of the things that the left needs to do is never, ever refer to the baby as such. That is why they will call the baby a fetus. It is clinical. It takes the humanity out of what is inside the woman's belly. And that is the point.
Thus they do have a hard time admitting that many, many premature babies are viable human beings that can live a very productive life.
No matter. to the abortchuary crowd. I mean, take a look at this choice photo from "righteous" pro-abortion demonstrators today.
Yeah, so cute, aren't they?!
Yes, these gals are frightening because they probably really believe their signs. That they are truth telling.
Oh, and the Mainstream Media, why they have made Sen. Davis the poster gal for their narrative of how awful and mean the Republicans are. That they are taking away a "right" for a woman or young girl to kill their baby after 20 weeks. Because you know, it takes a while for a woman and or young girl to make such a decision. Not the decision to have sex, but you know, how and when to end the pregnancy.
And look, look at all the gals protesting around the state capitol in Austin, Texas yesterday.
WOW! How totally awesome. The crowd was estimated at about 5,000.
Oh, did anyone mention that many of these protesters were actually paid rabble-rousers? Probably not. But Katie Pavlich over at Townhall.com caught on really quick. So one wonders how many of these gals were actually from Texas in the first place? And how out of touch they are.
Most polling shows that roughly 60% of Texas voters favor the restrictions and protections proposed by the legislature and Gov. Perry.
The problem again is that science is actually hurting the pro-abortion cause. For as long as children under nine months have a viable chance at life, it gets harder and harder to suggest that they are but a blob of nothing. A fetus.
If this legislation passes and is signed by Gov. Perry as expected, it will be the biggest blow to the Abortchuary Industrial Complex anywhere in the United States.
But also, science and the people are coming to realize that maybe, it is a human life after all inside a woman and that is changing many minds on this issue.
In fact, the Texas state legislature was just to pass one of the more restrictive laws in the nation in regards to late term abortions last week.
That is until one state senator named Wendy Davis temporarily derailed it by mounting an 10 filibuster in hopes of killing the bill.
Too bad that it is but a temporary win for the AIC.
For Gov. Rick Perry simply called another special session of the state legislature (a part-time legislature, one a Californian can only dream of!) that began yesterday. In fact, Sen. Davis has said that she will not mount another filibuster.
What is it that has the professional left and or abortion defenders panties in a bunch?
It is Senate Bill 5.
The bill does update abortion regulations that are needed. And yes, it does ban abortions after 20 weeks of gestation. Here it is in a nutshell courtesy of the Wikipedia link:
Texas Senate Bill 5 is a list of measures that would add and update abortion regulations in Texas. These measures include banning abortions past twenty weeks of gestation, mandate that a doctor who performs abortions have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital, and to require that clinics meet the same standards as other health-care facilities in the state.[1][2][3][4]
All of the main points are for the health of the mother and the one regarding no abortions after 20 weeks to protect the unborn baby.
Yes, since a baby at 20 weeks can feel pain and at 28 weeks, seven months, can very well live outside the womb, it is to protect a baby.
The abortchuary left cannot have any of that.
Why they will argue that the Gosnell case was aberration. That it is not the way abortion clinics work. That they do not need to be more regulated. In fact, some argue that there are too many regulations at abortion clinics. Unreal, but true.
One of the things that the left needs to do is never, ever refer to the baby as such. That is why they will call the baby a fetus. It is clinical. It takes the humanity out of what is inside the woman's belly. And that is the point.
Thus they do have a hard time admitting that many, many premature babies are viable human beings that can live a very productive life.
No matter. to the abortchuary crowd. I mean, take a look at this choice photo from "righteous" pro-abortion demonstrators today.
Yeah, so cute, aren't they?!
Yes, these gals are frightening because they probably really believe their signs. That they are truth telling.
Oh, and the Mainstream Media, why they have made Sen. Davis the poster gal for their narrative of how awful and mean the Republicans are. That they are taking away a "right" for a woman or young girl to kill their baby after 20 weeks. Because you know, it takes a while for a woman and or young girl to make such a decision. Not the decision to have sex, but you know, how and when to end the pregnancy.
And look, look at all the gals protesting around the state capitol in Austin, Texas yesterday.
Oh, did anyone mention that many of these protesters were actually paid rabble-rousers? Probably not. But Katie Pavlich over at Townhall.com caught on really quick. So one wonders how many of these gals were actually from Texas in the first place? And how out of touch they are.
Most polling shows that roughly 60% of Texas voters favor the restrictions and protections proposed by the legislature and Gov. Perry.
The problem again is that science is actually hurting the pro-abortion cause. For as long as children under nine months have a viable chance at life, it gets harder and harder to suggest that they are but a blob of nothing. A fetus.
If this legislation passes and is signed by Gov. Perry as expected, it will be the biggest blow to the Abortchuary Industrial Complex anywhere in the United States.
But also, science and the people are coming to realize that maybe, it is a human life after all inside a woman and that is changing many minds on this issue.
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