View From The Cheap Seats

This just in:  It’s harder than you might think to put a positive spin on eating 10,000 calories worth of chocolate covered pretzels in one 20-minute sitting.

I’ve settled on “If no one actually sees you eat them…it doesn’t count.”

So here I sit “coughing” these delicious delicacies down by the fistful. I can actually feel the pounds melting away.

Of course, I am at the “free banana lounge” known as the United Club in Chicago’s O’Hare airport.  I’m going home for the weekend after a few days of saving the world in North Carolina.  This is a beautiful state with an uncanny ability to dump rain on you even when there isn’t a cloud in the sky.  They also have great BBQ and a compulsion to give you a side of hush puppies no matter what you are eating.  Last night I had the BBQ pork.  I finished it off with a bowl of vanilla pudding and a side of hush puppies.

You may have gleamed from today’s blog title that I intend to brag about my past predictions.  You are correct.  I have not missed a single prediction since I mistaking picked, sight-unseen, Cowboys V. Aliens to be a blockbuster.

Prediction 1:  This is more of a correct observation.  This Benghazi thing always struck me as “What scandal are you talking about?” type of thing.  When Obama said, “There is no there, there,” I thought “exactly.”  While there is still some “residual outrage” on the matter, I attribute this to it being easier to fool people than to convince then that they have been fooled.

Prediction 2: Austerity, the Republican’s answer to “If Obama spends a dime we’ll look bad” is a global failure.  Remember when Romney toted “studies” that proved cutting government spending during a recession was a good idea?  It turned out that he was talking about 4 progressive bloggers and a single study done by economists from Harvard.  A couple of weeks ago, that study was found to be so riddled with flaws that the actual results, once corrections were made, said the Republican economic plan of austerity was a bust.  If that were not enough, all of Europe agrees since they did what the Republicans are recommending and immediately went into recessions number 2 and number 3.

Prediction 3: AP scandal is as empty as Benghazi.  Only Fox is still outraged at this one.  Why?  Well first of all, it tries to blame Obama for something the Republicans made possible by filibustering a media protection bill in 2011.  This is a tried and true favorite of their base – Push the cookie jar off the shelf and point at Obama.  Secondly, the government subpoenaed these records in search of a person leaking national secrets and it turns out that person is one of Fox New’s chief news guys.

Prediction 4:  The IRS scandal is a bust.  This is an easy one.  The more congress digs, the more their hidden money tricks become exposed.  So they are all fussing now but are secretly looking for a way to make this go away.

Prediction 5: The GOP is actively looking for a distraction from the following facts: (1) they made up Benghazi and (2) they made up the AP scandal and (3) they made up the IRS scandal and (4) their economic plan has been given a GLOBAL thumbs down and (5) they can’t keep their extreme right from saying ridiculous things like a woman must give birth to a baby even if it has no brain.  So, they will either come up with another faux scandal or they will find a way to go to war.  Just today, the House Republicans approved a bill that will allow Israel to declare war on Iran for us.  I could go along with this as soon as Israel starts paying taxes.

Prediction 6: This new Pope is way better than the old Pope.  First of all, he doesn’t look like Simon Barsinister.  He is also in favor of helping the poor and now he is embracing atheists (although they are apparently still going to hell…alas…)  This “helping the poor” thing will be a true test of faith.  Who do you believe in: The Republicans that blame poverty on sloth or Jesus who saw only need and tended to it.

Time to refill my Cup-O-Salty Chocolate and then catch a flight.

Up, up and away…

Jim

This just in:  Sometime, in fact, often times…things work out pretty well.

People work hard.  They do the best they can with little complaint.  Today, I will pass out a few “gold stars” in recognition of those efforts.

Panera Bread:  We have had one of these in San Rafael for a while, but a new one opened up in Novato about 6 weeks ago.  The place is spotless, the food is cheap and extremely good.  The manager is always up and about making sure everything is just right. I go there every morning (when I am in town) and spend a quiet hour writing.  Coffee refills are free.

The Great Gatsby:  I went to this expecting to be disappointed.  I had managed to miss out on this story my entire life – mostly because it reeked of “chick flick.”  The reviews were mostly positive with some complaints about the non-contemporary music.  My review – Fabulous (as I fling my hands backwards over my shoulders and rock my head back).  This is an original telling of an overly told story.   I liked everything about it – especially the music.

A joint congressional committee on immigration reform:  This group, made up of people from both parties have come up with a plan.  Out of the spotlight of “Scandalous TV” it appears that some people are actually trying to get stuff done.

Elizabeth Warren: This rookie congresswoman from MA is not afraid of anything or anyone.  She’s smart.  She’s not afraid to ask the tough questions and most of all, she is demanding accountability. If she ran against Hillary…I might vote for her.

Iranian Firefighter:  This man gave his oxygen mask to a little girl to save her life.  In exchange, he gave up his.  He organs later went on to save another four people.

Bill Gates: The richest man in the world could do a lot of good or bad with his money.  He’s decided to try to save millions of people by curing diseases, mostly in countries where they are too poor to even begin to deal with this themselves.  (note: If this was opposite day I would be highlighting the Koch brothers).

Pope Francis:  He is calling on the world to not turn their backs on the poorest among us.  A refreshing change of priorities in my view.

Raha Moharrak: She became the first Saudi woman and the youngest Arab to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Researchers: In an underground mine in Canada, researchers have found water that has been isolated for 1 billion years.  Interestingly, it contains components necessary for the creation of life.  This is consistent with biblical lore if you consider that the earth is 6,000 years old, plus or minus a billion.

Animals: Someone dropped off an anonymous gift of $25,000 at an animal shelter in Canada.

Boston: My son was working a register at a local store.  He asks every other person if they want to donate money to help the victims of the Boston bombing.  Last week, a man said, “sure” and gave $10,000 on the spot.

Cop: I saw a video of a cop giving up a high-speed pursuit to help a family of ducks across the road.

This kind of stuff is all over the internet.  Unfortunately, it’s buried amidst a much, much bigger pile of bad news.

Find some good news and put it in your pocket.  Pull it out when you need it.  You will find it is not possible to be angry and happy at the same time.

Then save the world.

Up, up and away…

jim

This just in:  I can’t help but think of the Wizard of Oz when I watch Congress at work.

They spend a lot of time flapping their wings and breathing fire – all just to keep you from noticing that there is a man behind the green curtain with his arm elbow-deep in the cookie jar.

Benghazi was a bust.  In the end, it has been verified that the emails which made Obama look bad had been altered by Republicans.  Interestingly, I don’t see Issa, the Chief Republican in charge of “Getting to the bottom of things” doing anything to pursue those that sent him on this wild goose chase to begin with.

The IRS is a real scandal; just not the one that anyone in congress is interested in.  The Republicans want to act like Obama should be held responsible for the mis-conduct of a low-level IRS guy.  People think the IRS works for Obama when the truth is that there are only two political appointees there, both were put there by Bush.  So, if there is no Obama-gate, what are they doing?  They are “breathing fire and flapping their wings”.  It’s really quite a show.  But in the end, both parties in Congress want nothing to do with increasing the transparency of the IRS.  After all, hiding taxes is why they were financed by big business to begin with.  Keep the IRS workings muddled.  It’s easier to hide things in a swamp than in a swimming pool.

The AP thing has died quickly once it was discovered the real reason behind the ability of the AG to obtain the subpoenas.  It turns out that the GOP filibustered a bill that would have protected those records from the government.  Hopefully the lesson learned here is to read the bills BEFORE filibustering them instead of blocking them just because Obama likes them.

There are some things happening in the background.

• Our deficit is dropping quickly.
• The stock market seems to be hitting new highs almost every day.
• The unemployment rate is dropping.

We don’t hear about these things because we are distracted.  After all, I’d pay money to watch Mitch McConnell flap his wings and breathe fire all day long.

Here are a few ways to tell when someone is trying to distract you with falsehoods and fabricated scandals…

• If it sounds to good or bad to be true then it isn’t.
• If Mitch McConnell is talking about it, then it’s not important.
• If the economic plan includes cutting Social Security or replacing Medicare or lowering Taxes or “giving money to job creators” its pandering to the wishful thinking of those bad at math.
• If Michael Bachmann says anything – assume the opposite is true.
• If anyone invokes “God” or “Patriotism” or “Hard Working Americans” in any public speech, know that they are pandering to you.
• If anyone looks you in the eye and says Health Care should not be touched by the government, they are either (1) Tea Party members or (2) Small bus riders…as if there is not complete overlap between these two.
• If the NRA takes a position on anything, remember it is only to sell more guns.
• If the church takes a position on anything, remember it is only to increase membership through either guilt or fear.
• If you heard it on Fox News or MSNBC remember,  its more scripted than an episode of Leave it to Beaver (and about as factual).
• Finally, if someone blames the Blacks or the Illegals or the Muslims…tread lightly and step away.  Racists never think they are…racists.

I can feel that I am once again tiring of setting the world right when it comes to politics.  I am certain that I haven’t changed one…single….mind.  Not counting my own.

Today I watched videos of “soldiers reuniting with their dogs” and “instances of incredible sportsmanship.”  These stir something in my soul that is not outrage.  They stir something akin to love.  That is probably a better direction for me.  Still…I have to admit that the draw of the dark-side, the draw of feeling superior…is strong in this one.

Alas…

Sometimes I need help when saving the world.  It’s a bigger job that one might guess.

Up, up and away…

Jim

This just in: Our government has somehow morphed into an episode of Dallas.

We have become people who shoot our shotgun through the front door whenever someone knocks.  Only afterwards do we think to ask “Who’s there.”

Of course I am referring to The Big Three: Benghazi, AP press records and the IRS.

Simply put, there is nothing to these other than the faux outrage of people who don’t like the president.  The call him a socialist and don’t know why.  They complain about ObamaCare without every understanding what is in it.  They call for his impeachment and then, in the very next breath, praise Bush for invading Iraq “just in case there was something there.”

This is all a sideshow.  One that only exists because we insist on it.

Turn off Fox News.  Turn off MSNBC.  Turn off talk radio.  Turn it all off unless you like to roll around in the B.S. that we are being fed.  We’ve become the drug addict with an IV drip of nonsense feeding into our arms.  Cut off the supply and we panic.  We need another fix.

Quick! This just in…Micheal Obama broke wind in the rose garden and it “might” have smelled like a cheeseburger.  We need to hold an investigation to see if she lied to us all about salads.  If she did, then we really have something to impeach someone about.  It doesn’t matter who, so long as Rupert Murdock and the Koch brothers sign off on it.

So, if we were to go to Washington D.C. right now, at this very moment, we would find the Republican Party pointing fingers everywhere while the Democrat Party cowers under their desks texting “Help us…people are being mean to us.”

Neither of these is in their job description.

Congress is supposed to bring in money through taxation and then spend that money in a way the provides for Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Creating a scandal out of nothing might be in there somewhere but it can’t be the number one reason we sent them there.

I want to see debates on spending.  I don’t want to listen to a bureaucrat second guess SEAL Team six and the best use of an F-15.

I want Congress to say, “Why were we vulnerable in Benghazi (and the 13+ times during the Bush administration) and should we fix that or not.”

I want the IRS to be investigated so they know they are being held accountable.

I want congress to pass a jobs bill.

I want congress to pass and immigration bill.

I want congress to pass a budget.

I’m tired of the sideshow.  Judging from the buzz on the internet, so are a lot of other people.  I would guess that 60% of all people can see that this stuff is fabricated for their entertainment.  The consensus seems to be that it is a distraction.  “Look how busy we are looking into things”.  They hope we won’t notice that they are actually doing nothing.

Wait…I’m not being quite fair.  They did reach consensus on one thing.  100% agreed that it was okay for them to resume insider trading.

It’s time to fire them all.

That will be a good start towards, saving the world.

Up, up and away…

jIm

This just in:  Yesterday, I stated that Republicans were subject to “push” information.  By that I meant they were told what to think.  Then, Cub Reporter KPS came back with “Jim, maybe you are the one actually being “pushed.”

Good point!

Maybe I am.  So, I have decided to reveal my sources.  I will also state several opinions and welcome anyone that wants to change my mind.

Fox News: Not a source for me.  They are owned by Rupert Murdoch and are little more than a commercial for the Republican Party.  Research has shown that those who get their news from Fox are less knowledgeable about the world than those that watch no news at all. (I can provide sources if requested)

MSNBC: Not a source for me.  They are the Anti-Fox…sort of.  Fox makes stuff up and MSNBC is little more than a show that points this out to you.  Like Fox, it is highly opinionated with about 80% of what they put out being only an “opinion” which is almost universally anti-Republican and pro-Democrat.

CNN:  This is like watching mono-news.  They try to be very middle of the road.  In fact, Soledad O’Brien has been moved from her old position because, I believe, she wasn’t being nice to politicians that fed her B.S.  All they are now is “Story of the Day”  In the last month, this 24-hour news station has covered the Boston Bombing, the three women that were found in Cleveland and the trial of some woman who killed her boyfriend.  These three stories made up at least 90% of their programming.

All other television news:  I like local morning news because they often have traffic and weather.  Beyond that, if you are watching it on television, it’s too old to be of interest.

Talk Radio:  This is basically “popularity through extremism.”  No one will listen to a show that says nice things about anything.  They want controversy and that’s what they get.  There is ZERO important information on talk radio.

Online:  This is where the late-breaking stories are.  There is a rule of thumb here.  If it sounds to “evil” or “good” to be true, it probably is.  For example, I saw a headline that “Boehner admits the Republican Party is the Asylum being run by the lunatics.”  This was highly editorialized so I didn’t use it.  However, there is a ton of news online.  Studies are readily available on-line.  You can see who owns what or who is bribing who.  Sources are easy to track.

So, if there is so much information online, how can you tell what is true?

I use Reddit.com.  This site has millions of viewers.  Many of them are geeks who spend hours online and wait to pounce on an editorialized headline that tries to pass itself off as fact.  People can up-vote or down-vote articles.  They can only do this once per article so there is no “flooding” something with down votes.  Every article has comments.  Comments are basically mini-debates about the main article.  If you make it to the top of the heap on Reddit.com, then you have been fact-checked to death and deemed worthy.

So, that is where I get most of my stuff on politics.

Now, I promised a few opinions and I welcome someone, anyone, to give me evidence that I am wrong.  I want to be right so if I’m wrong, I want to put on the right path.

• Benghazi is nothing more than a Republican push to keep H. Clinton from being president in 2016.
• The GOP is intentionally holding back the economy to make Obama look bad.
• The Republican party is intentionally blocking everything Obama wants done, even if doing so makes life worse for the 350,000,000 Americans they are supposed to represent.
• If you think holding the Debt Ceiling hostage is a good idea, you don’t understand (1) how the economy works and (2) how little regard the Republican Party has for your intellect.
• Bush was the worse president in the history of the United States by a very, very large margin.
• God doesn’t care if you use birth control and neither does anyone else.  The Republicans act like they care because it fans the anger of their base.
• Austerity, the Republican economic plan is a failure in Europe.  There are ZERO studies that say it is good for the economy.  When their sole study supporting them was debunked, they came back with “It doesn’t matter.  We can’t keep spending money we don’t have.”  I wonder who they think they are arguing with.  No one as far as I can tell.
• The GOP likes to go to war.  It distracts us from what the man behind the curtain is up to.
• I think the gap between the rich and the poor in the United States is the biggest single threat to global peace.
• I think all politicians lie.  However, not all lies are equal.  There is a difference between trying to sell “tax cuts for job creators” as an economic policy when it actually just makes the rich richer and tailoring public information on Benghazi to keep from putting out bad information.  I think “Iraq has WMD’s and we must invade” is a lie without comparison.
• I think our national debt is due to Bush’s tax cuts and two wars where we invaded the wrong country twice.

If you think I am wrong on any of these, let me know and why.

In the mean time, there is a world to save.

Up, up and away…

Jim

This just in: I just saw a posting on Facebook where someone was praising Bush for invading Iraq (just in case) while calling for the impeachment of Obama because Fox News told them to.

I want to talk about what I see as the basic difference between our political parties; both the elected officials and the people who put them there.

In manufacturing, there is “push” and there is “pull”.  In the days of non-competition, companies would use “push” manufacturing.  They knew that people would buy their product so long as it was on the shelf.  Basically, a product is “pushed” towards you and you think “Hey, I didn’t know I needed that until now!” and you buy it.  This is a very inefficient means of scheduling production because if you are wrong, then you made a bunch of stuff no one is going to buy.

Today, manufacturing is done using the “pull” method.  This means if you buy something, it causes another one to be made, shipped and put back on the shelf.  In essence, you “pulled” it through the plant.

Today, no one uses “push” manufacturing.  This is why the Republican plan of giving money to job creators is a bust.  No job creator is going to create any job until there is a customer to “pull” the product off the shelf.

How does this apply to our political parties and those that subscribe to each?

Democrats are “pullers” while Republicans respond to “pushes”.

Let me explain…

A Democrat will say, “There seems to be some buzz on this Benghazi thing.  I will PULL in some data and other resources and make up my own mind.”

A Republican will turn on Fox news and wait to be told what to be pissed off about.    Fox is more than happy to “push” an attitude towards them.  The are told “Benghazi is a scandal and you need to be very, very angry.”  So they become angry.

Why weren’t they angry during the 55 times American interests were targeted during the Bush administration?  Simple: NO ONE TOLD THEM TO BE ANGRY.

Why do Republicans like the contents of ObamaCare so long as they don’t know its part of ObamaCare?  Simple: THEY HAVE BEEN TOLD TO DISLIKE OBAMACARE.

Why do Republicans want small government in spite of the fact that more Republicans are on the government dole than Democrats?  Simple: THEY HAVE BEEN TOLD BIG GOVERNMENT IS BAD.

Why do Republicans think Obama is a socialist when he is actually very much a centralist by any stretch of the imagination?  Simple: THEY HAVE BEEN TOLD HE IS A SOCIALIST.

In short, Republicans are told what to think, how to feel and what to do.  They turn on Fox news and the push begins.  They hear things like, “If Obama really did eat those babies, we should impeach them.”  The audience responds with “did you hear that Thelma?  Obama’s been eatin them babies again!”

Sadly, there is no cure for this; at least not one that will work.

Imagine there was a cure for cancer.  All you had to do was get a shot and you’d be cured.  If no one got the shot, then the cure might as well not exist.

The cure for being a Republican is knowledge.  They need to open a book or take a class.  They need to open their mind beyond what they are being told to know.

Now I know some will read this and think “Did he just call me stupid?”

No, I didn’t.  I’m calling you “Led.”

If Republicans don’t want to be led, then they need to get out of their rut and look around.

But they won’t.  The price they must pay is that they are not their own masters of thought.  There will always be people willing to tell you what to think and do and believe.  So long as you follow them, you will never realize your own infinite potential.

And you will never save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

This just in:  I make mistakes every single day.

I know, I know.  Most of you are thinking, “Jim!  Say it ain’t so!”

Alas…in spite of my cape, I’m as human as the next person.  I’m as human as the guy tallying my groceries, or the woman who cuts my hair or the guy sitting in the White House.

In this regard, it is my belief that we are all equal.

I bring this up because we’ve become a nation of “gotcha!”

Benghazi is a perfect example of this.  No one disputes that the four lives probably could not have been saved.  No one thinks Obama wanted them dead or lacks any sympathy for those affected by their deaths.  The ENTIRE issue is based on speculation.  It goes like this…

Republican: Since there is a presidential race going on, I am speculating that there is a coverup.

Committee that investigated: There was no coverup.

Republican: I am speculating that you should have said “terrorist” about 8 hours before you actually did.

Me: Maybe, but who cares?

Republican: I am speculating that if the marines had not been told to stand down, they may have made it there in time to save people (given that time travel applies).

The military: At that time, it was our judgement that they marines were more important staying where they were.

Republicans: If you think this isn’t important, then you are not an American.  By the way, ignore 9/11, the two wars we lied about so that we could fight as well as the 13 times embassies were attacked when we were in the White House and the 30,000+ people who die annually because we refuse to do absolutely anything that NRA does not allow us to do.  But those 4 lives…that’s the real measure of your patriotism.

I’m certain mistakes were made.  I am willing to believe that “spin” was involved although I have no idea where and to what extent.

However, we should be working together to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

Instead, the GOP prepares to repeal ObamaCare (without any replacement in mind) for the 38th time.  When not doing that, they are sitting in on Benghazi hearings.

The reason they do this is that there is no forgiveness.  There is no “Let’s learn and move on.”  There is only the GOTCHA.  Even if there is nothing to “gotcha” about.  Their base doesn’t care.  They eat this stuff up.  They ignore their party’s duplicity and outright hypocrisy in favor of Political Theater created to feed their own indignation.

I don’t blame Fox News.  I don’t blame the Republican Party.

Neither of those would exist if people just paid attention.

So I guess you know who I think is to blame…

As for me, I am not fooled by the “act.”

I am, however, amazed by people who are.

Up, up and away…

Jim