Merry Christmas

It's that wonderful time of the year again and as I know everyone is busy and they don't have time to read my blog, this would be a good time to take a little time off.

For your enjoyment, I am reposting a Christmas poem written by my son Tyler.


Merry Christmas

Christmas time is here, reindeer and yuletide cheer, the jolly atmosphere, is something near and dear, to people old and young, shopping and stockings hung, lip-locks and socks among, the box of rocks and rum. You hear a doorbell rung, the hum of carols sung, from every living lung, you become Santa stung. Its fun to run around, with pounds of presents bound, for door, the floor, the ground, escape without a sound. Under the Christmas tree, wrapped up so beautifully, they will remain until the day they can be opened and seen. You hear a choir sing, whistler's whistling, and it brings you such a feeling got you kneeling and reeling from the memories, of decorating trees and shopping sprees, and how you'd freeze on those late-night deliveries, cookies and Sees; can I please, just catch some Zzz's is what you plead but you've agreed, to get no sleep for a week-and you're weak from all the planning, in line standing, and winks. Gotta think of something clever but your levers on low, gonna mow over the rovers that all hover and Ho Ho Ho, their in your way and waving oh I don't know know know, if I can take it might not make it in snow snow snow, it's raining paining all the people that go go go, no stopping shopping dropping not till its 8 below. The flow of buyers and suppliers all show that dough; you grow and grow with every season such a seasonal pro. No rejuvenating waiting on those tired-out toes. You wrap up wrapping, mapping napping in the hustle and flow. You seize the reason for the freezing season's glimmer and glow. Show up to parties, bring Bacardi's, eat some smarties, n' tic-tac-toe to music playing, hips are swaying some doe-see-doe. It's getting late; you wait abruptly cupping a cup of Joe. See couples wed, eat gingerbread, fed green and red Oreos. Use milk for dipping sipping some of that hot cocoa. To fill the chill instilling in and around your bones, you're on a hill building abominable men of snow. You roam for dolls and deck the halls till daylight falls into moonlit glow. A very merry Christmas wish is what you bestow. I know you heard me when I sternly said ho ho ho and not ha ha ha, fa la la la la, so in awe of every jaw-jaw jacking that bah humbug, I eggnog chug and hug the pug that plops itself a-top a snuggly twelfth night rug. I've dug into the dishes with a violent and vicious giant appetite, every bite delicious and finished right, no sweat if not nutritious you're ambitious, diminish wish for anything light. Every night eat something heavy, have a beverage with Chevy chasing vacation sights. See the lights all shining bright; incite excitement hype in the neighborhood. All the real good girls and boys will relieve some grieve with toys from deliveries, delivered down the chimney with jiminy glee, under the tree for all to see, there will be racing, constant pacing, total anarchy; but the birth of Jesus Christ from his mother Mary, is the reason for the season's divinity, a holy night for you and for me. So you see, whether you're playing choo-choo trains chomping candy canes, or deciding who to show you have mistletoe, remember loudly yell singing jingle bells, and let your merry show saying ho ho ho. Lastly I will say on this holiday, a day to celebrate, be happy and gay, let's pray for peace on earth and goodwill towards men, and distribute all the loving love will let you lend.

Written by Tyler Wagner

Merry christmas to all my readers.

Ford Labeling

I'm sure by now you have all heard about the automobile bailout and you are wondering why Ford is doing better than the other two.

Well, it is no secret Ford has always had good business sense.

I thought I would share something Ford did in the early days that many of you may not be aware of.

Auto Air Conditioning, how it came to be.

The four Goldberg brothers, Lowell, Norman, Hiram, and Max, invented and developed the first automobile air-conditioner.

On July 17, 1946, the temperature in Detroit was 97 degrees.

The four brothers walked into old man Henry Ford's office and sweet-talked his secretary into telling him that four gentlemen were there with the most exciting innovation in the auto industry since the electric starter.

Henry was curious and invited them into his office. They refused and instead asked that he come out to the parking lot to their car.

They persuaded him to get into the car, which was about 130 degrees, turned on the air conditioner, and cooled the car off immediately.

The old man got very excited and invited them back to the office, where he offered them $3 million for the patent.

The brothers refused, saying they would settle for $2 million, but they wanted the recognition by having a label, 'The Goldberg Air-Conditioner, on the dashboard of each car in which it was installed.

Now old man Ford was more than just a little anti-Semitic, and there was no way he was going to put the Goldberg's name on two million Fords.

They haggled back and forth for about two hours, and finally agreed on $4 million and that just their first names would be shown.

And so to this day, all Ford air conditioners show Lo, Norm, Hi, and Max on the controls.

So, now you know the whole story. Don't you just love history.

Blizzard Conditions?

It is funny what a little snow in Las Vegas can cause.

How so? I'll tell you.

I attended school in southern Nevada as did both my sons, me making it through high school and both boys graduating from college.

When it comes to the ratings of schools, southern Nevada rates towards the bottom, which I have always disagreed with.

Today I opened my morning newspaper and I think I understand the ratings.

The headline reads, "Schools closed today."

You see, we had a little snow in Las Vegas on Wednesday and the weather people said we might see more on Thursday.

So what did the learned scholars who are responsible for providing an education to our children do?

They decided on Wednesday that on Thursday they would cancel school and have a snow day.

I talked to my son in Reno, told him about the snow day and after he quit laughing, he told me the temperature in Reno was hovering around 1 to 2 degrees with snow on the ground and added he had just passed a school bus stop that had kids there waiting for the bus.

Thursday the temperature here in Vegas hit around 50 degrees and guess what - no snow.

I guess that proves southern Nevada educators are behind the curve.

With all the sensationalizing the news media did about the snow, I hurried to Home Depot and Lowe's to try to buy a snow shovel in case we got snowed in.

They told me at the stores that due to global warming they no longer stocked snow shovels but they could make me a real deal on suntan lotion.

I have fired off an email to Al Gore to invite him to come to Vegas to get a first-hand experience of global warming Las Vegas style.

If and when he responds, I will let you know.

Snow Day?

Some things are just too funny to me.

Monday we had snow in Las Vegas and it was a fun day.

The majority of the snow fell in the north area of town and everyone was having a blast.

Wednesday, we had snow again and low and behold now we are having a snow day.

Let me explain.

When the north area was hit, people worked until quiting time, then drove home no problem, school continued til quiting time, the news TV media showed its viewers a few minutes of snow falling and basically everyone was in a great mood.

Wednesday the majority of snow fell in the south part of the valley and things were a little different.

Let me explain.

The City of Henderson closed and sent the workers home early, schools cancelled all their after school functions, the news media broke in on regular programming, stationed newscasters on street corners wearing yellow vests so cars didn't hit them (like that makes a difference), the news media tried to sensationalize the problem snow brings, so much so, one station had a newscaster in a car driving around (as if it was following the white Bronco that OJ was in) reporting on how traffic was moving slow, Southwest Airlines cancelled all flights the remainder of the night even if the weather clears.

There is talk of cancelling school today because of snow.

What a difference it makes where you live in Las Vegas as we in the northern areas of town embraced the snow while the people in the southern area of town can't function.

I wonder how areas of the country that have snow on a regular basis seem to survive?

I hope it continues to snow so I can kick back and say I can't do anything and I am not working because it is a snow day.

Walking In A Winter Wonderland

Welcome to Global Warming Las Vegas style.







What a great surprise on Monday. The snow came down from around 9 A.M. to about 4 P.M. and we had between 3" to 4" of snow.

Yes, right here in Las Vegas we had a picture postcard moment.

Too bad this winter wonderland did not wait a week until Christmas.

Oh wait, did I say Christmas?

Some say, "Oh, it's that wonderful time of year again, when we all gather round the tree to celebrate the date on the calendar for which we have marked to celebrate."

This season has evolved from the celebration of the birth of a baby---to the celebration of a time of year.

That's right---Happy Winter!

Some may say 'Happy Winter' or 'Happy Holidays,' but not here, friends. Here we say,

Merry Christmas.

Oh the weather outside is frightful,

But the fire is so delightful,

And since we've no place to go,

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow

It doesn't show signs of stopping,

And I brought some corn for popping;

The lights are turned way down low,

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Wag's Life Lesson

They say you are never too old to learn, and learn I have.

If the bad economy has taught me anything, it has taught me to appreciate things I really sometimes have taken for granted.

I appreciate the wife Vicki for not only putting up with me but for her support in these times.

Our world as we knew it has had a dramatic change and it is something neither of us in our lifetime has ever had to face.

With the stress and strain it puts on people, it has the potential to destroy a relationship. Ours is doing quite well - thank you Vicki.

I appreciate the two sons, Stacey and Tyler, who have grown into adulthood and understand the philosophy of hard work anytime and especially in hard times.

I appreciate their support and admire their loyalty to family.

I appreciate the dogs Zoe' and Chloe who have a knack of cheering you up when you are down.

I appreciate friends who are enduring their own hardships, but can still laugh and smile through it all and share their humor with me.

I appreciate the weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means I have been capable of working hard.


I appreciate the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means I'm alive.



Material things come and go, but family, pets, and friends are the important things in one's life.

So if I die tomorrow, do not feel sad. Rather, in honor of my memory, just grab a burger with fries, add lots of ketchup on the burger, slather the fries with ketchup as well, wash it all down with a tall glass of iced tea (no sugar, no lemon), smile and say to yourself, "Wag was a lucky and a happy guy."

Note to my readers: Today is another 7 A.M. to Midnight shift so there will not be a post on Tuesday.

A Little Bit Of Presidential Trivia.

How many of the following questions can you answer?

How many times has the candidate that lost the popular vote won the election?
Answer = 4

What is the lowest percentage of votes received by a winning president?
Answer = 32

What is the number of presidents who experienced at least one assassination attempt?
Answer = 6

How many presidents have died while in office?
Answer = 8

What was the length (in days) of the shortest presidency?
Answer = 32

What president served the shortest length (in days) as president?
Answer = William Henry Harrison

How many presidents were born British Subjects?
Answer = 8

The shortest inauguration speech contained how many words?
Answer = 133

What president gave the shortest inauguration speech?
Answer = George Washington

The longest inauguration speech contained how many words?
Answer = 8443

What president gave the longest inauguration speech?
Answer = William Henry Harrison

How many dollars were spent by Thomas Jefferson on wine during his term as president?
Answer = $11,000

What president fathered more children than any other president?
Answer = John Tyler

How many children did John Tyler father?
Answer = 15

What was the age of James Polk when he had gall bladder surgery while sedated only by brandy?
Answer = 17

What was the number of cigars smoked by Ulysses S Grant each day?
Answer = 20

What president was ambidextrous and could write two languages simultaneously?
Answer = James Garfield

What two languages could James Garfield write simultaneously?
Answer = Greek and Latin

What was the number of other presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt was related to either by blood or marriage?
Answer = 11

At what age did Andrew Johnson learn to write?
Answer = 17

How many plane crashes did George H.W. Bush survive during WWII?
Answer = 4

How many words can Jimmy Carter read per minute?
Answer = 2,000

How many months after meeting each other did George and Laura Bush wed?
Answer = 3

At least three presidents had it right: A woman, a little wine and then a fine cigar.

Consider yourself armed and dangerous with trivia questions for those Christmas parties.

Reality Test

Is it real or is it monopoly money?

We have heard the word Trillion used a lot lately.

Playing with trillions, did you know?

If you were counting right now, one, two, three, four, five, six -- it would take you 32 days to get to a million.

It would take you 32 years to count to a billion. It would take you 32,000 years to count to a trillion.

Grab the achy, itchy, sneezy, sniffly all-over medicine.

Where were all the global warming advertisements?

Did you notice it just mysteriously disappeared during the campaign?

Five years before Al Gore got his movie out. The warmest year on record was 1998.

We've been cooling now since 2000.

2008 May be the Coldest Year of the 21st Century news.bbc.co.uk — This year appears set to be the coolest globally this century.

Data from the UK Met Office shows that temperatures in the first half of the year have been more than 0.1 Celsius cooler than any year since 2000.

The principal reason is La Nina, part of the natural cycle that also includes El Nino, which cools the globe.

Cooling isn't evidence of warming slowing down. It's evidence of cooling.

It looks like the Earth doesn't even agree with global warming.



OK how does this work?

I saw a commercial for Lincoln. They claim to be offering “Employee Pricing Plus” which would allow potential buyers to pay the same price that employees pay–Approximately $5,000 plus an additional $6,000 cash back.

I went to the local Lincoln dealer and he confirmed that ad was correct.

So I asked him, "Do you have any employees that have purchased a car using this program?"

He proudly pointed to a salesman and said, "Joe over there bought a fully loaded Lincoln SUV identical to this one here on the showroom floor for $45,000 regularly priced at $56,000."

I asked him if he was sure it was identical to this vehicle and he assured me it was.

I told him I would take the one on the showroom floor and in keeping with their advertisement they had to sell it to me at the employee pricing of $45,000 less the additional $6,000 cash back bringing the total to $39,000.

He didn't understand it no matter how loudly I explained based on their own advertising they had to sell me the car at that price.

Did you know car dealerships have security officers? I didn't, but I do now.

I'll get back to you on how well my attorney is at negotiating.



Who tests the tester?

Blood alcohol tester charged in Nevada with DUI

CARSON CITY, Nev. -A contract worker for a Nevada sheriff's department is accused of driving drunk to a jail to test a suspect's blood alcohol content.

Fifty-three-year-old Kathleen Cherry told a Carson City sheriff's deputy who smelled alcohol on her breath that she had one margarita before driving Friday night.

She's accused of failing field sobriety tests and registering a blood alcohol content over the state's legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Cherry is a phlebotomist, trained to draw blood for lab tests. She was booked on a misdemeanor drunken driving charge, and her bail was set at more than $1,000. She declined to comment.

Follow Up To Our Loss Of Moral Fiber

Tuesday was one of my long days so unfortunately (yawn) I won't have much of a post up here today.

A lot of my readers might miss some of the comments that are made on some of my posts.

One of my loyal readers left this comment on yesterday's post which everyone needs to see as well. The comment:

"Maybe you did not go far enough. This morning I heard on TV that a children's school program that wanted to sing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer had to be canceled because some Mom complained that it was a religious song sung in honor on Christmas."

Gene.



Thank you for your comment and you are correct it appears I didn't go far enough. As I stated in my post, more needs to be said and done.


Do you all see my point on yesterday's post and now this is one mom who stops the whole school program.


Is it just me or does anyone else get it?


Are we no longer able to celebrate anything any more because someone may be offended?


The minority can stop any celebration and the majority can't have any celebrations. Is that the way it works?

I don't attend church, but I am speaking out as much and in some cases more than the religious majority.


I only have this blog as my forum. There are those that have a lot bigger forum and better access to the people than I do, yet they remain silent.


I remember when I was a kid in school there was one kid that was a bully.

We, the majority of other kids, feared him so no matter what the majority of us wanted, he the one kid, the minority, ruled.


One day I had had enough so I stood my ground and refused to do what he wanted me to.


A fight ensued and the end result was I got my butt kicked. But then the majority spoke up as if a sleeping giant had awakened, and the kid realized from that day on that the majority was going to rule the playground.

When is the sleeping giant in America going to wake up and take back the playground?

Wake up, the silence is deafening!!!!!!!

Chipping Away At Our Moral Fiber

How is it that when it comes time to elect a politician, to form a union, or even a group deciding what restaurant to eat at, the majority rules?

However, when it comes to religion, the majority does not rule. 85% of the people in the United States believe in God, but a minority of people keep chipping away and God is being taken away from the majority.

Anti-Christmas Message in Washington State Capitol Holiday Display

The State of Washington accepted an application from an atheist group, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, to place an anti-religion message as part of the state's official holiday display in the state capitol rotunda steps from a traditional nativity scene.

The atheist group's sign reads:

"At this season of the winter solstice, may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."

The Freedom From Religion Foundation's co-president, Dan Barker, defended the display's provocative message, calling it, "free speech." "Non-believers are a part of the fabric of America and we claim our place at the table to exercise free speech and freedom of religion, which includes freedom from religion," he said.

Well, you may have already read about that or have heard about it and you say well that is just Washington State not the United States. Wrong, totally wrong, continue on:

Friday I mentioned the new Capitol Building.

The Capitol Visitors Center finally opened. The 580,000 sq. ft. facility, located under the east lawn of Capitol Hill, features two "orientation" movie theaters, two gift shops, a museum, an auditorium, 26 public restrooms and the largest cafeteria in Washington.

Lawmakers will use the facility to hold press conferences, luncheons, and even to vote when the House or Senate needs renovating. The floors will be made of Tennessee marble, the walls of Pennsylvania sandstone and several doors of pure bronze.

The plaza above the center, paved with Virginia granite, will hold Presidential inaugurations and allow state funerals to proceed to the front of the Capitol rotunda.

The budgeted cost was $265 million and a completion date of 2004. But the cost came in around $680 million as it opened this week in 2008 and guess what has been left out.

The history of faith.

The phrase "In God We Trust" and the Pledge of Allegiance are missing.

There's a beautiful display of the speaker's chair in the House -- a replica of the House of Representatives there in the visitors center with the speaker's chair and the flags on both sides.

In the actual House, above the speaker's chair, carved in marble is "In God We Trust." The replica has everything except "In God We Trust" on it.

Even the photos of the actual speaker's chair were cropped where "In God We Trust" doesn't show.

Carved in marble in one of the columns was "Our national motto, E Pluribus Unum." The only problem with that is our national motto is "In God We Trust." It was passed by Congress. It's legally our motto.

Exhibits portray the federal government as the fulfillment of human ambition and the answer to all of society’s problems.

This is a clear departure from acknowledging that Americans’ rights ‘are endowed by their Creator’ and stem from ‘a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence.’

Instead, the CVC’s most prominent display proclaims faith not in God, but in government.

Visitors will enter reading a large engraving that states, ‘We have built no temple but the Capitol. We consult no common oracle but the Constitution.’

This is a misrepresentation of our nation’s real histories by refusing to honor America's God-given blessings.

The secularization of America is out of control and the problem with that is right on the heels of secularization comes socialism -- we've seen it in Europe -- and you can follow that through history. Socialism follows and then loss of a lot of our freedoms.

Our freedom is built on faith in God and when we lose that sense of history, we lose a whole lot more than just a little bit of history.

It's time for the leaders of all the churches, no matter the denomination, to band together as one voice. They all believe in God - they just have a different interpretation of the method to reach those beliefs.

The churches have not banned together with each other and raised their voices, rather they are independent and instead of shouting, their voice is just whispering.

It is time for the majority to get a backbone to speak and speak loudly before it is too late.

Maybe it's time for the churches to invite a layman to speak at the pulpit every once in a while to give them a reality check as to what may be missing from their sermons.

Or maybe at the very least it is time for the leaders of the Churches to read blogs like this one as a wake-up call.

Yawn

OK, Sunday I worked the late shift so there will be no great post today. I will be glad when the economy turns around so I can go back to my regular posting schedule.

I know you are disappointed there is no great wisdom on here today, however I encourage everyone to return here tomorrow.

Before I forget to ask, now that O.J. is in jail for a long time does this mean there will be no one to look for Nicole's killer?

I expected to hear OJ say to the judge when he made his leniency plea at sentencing, "I'm the Juice, you must turn me loose."

OJ is writing a new book and he even gave it a plug during his sentencing plea, it is called "How I Helped Friends' Kids With Their Book Reports."

He will have a lot of time to write so his second book will be "How I Sang To Mothers That Were Sick."

His third book could be called "If I Hadn't Done It In Nevada."

For all you Nevadans, be sure to order your personalized license plates early as there will be a rush on license plates hand made by a celebrity.



I have been called among other things shallow and also called deep.

I give you fair warning, tomorrow's post is deep.

Bad Turkey

So the day of eating turkey is long gone, and I know I gave you a Thanksgiving quiz but there is one question I left off the quiz.

Take your time and really think about the next question and see if you get the correct answer.

Question: what state has the distinction of raising the largest living turkey ever?

Oh come on, think about it.

Have you figured it out yet?

This is so easy I'll give you a hint, Elvis loved a city in the state.

Still don't know? I'll give you another hint, prostitution is legal in parts of this state.

Give up?

OK the answer is Nevada.

Nevada holds the record for the largest living turkey.

A lot of you would like that explained, so here you go.

It all started in a little mining town in Nevada called Searchlight. Yes that town produced none other than Harry Reid.

The following is the correlation of Harry Reid becoming the largest living turkey.

A few days ago they opened this big capital project called the Capitol Visitor Center.

From its inception, the Capitol Visitor Center has been conceived as an extension of the Capitol that welcomes visitors to the seat of American government. At nearly 580,000 square feet, the CVC is the largest project in the Capitol’s 215-year history and is approximately three quarters the size of the Capitol itself.

The entire facility is located underground on the east side of the Capitol so as not to detract from the appearance of the Capitol and of the grounds designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in 1874.

The planting of 85 new trees, the restoration of historic fountains, lanterns and seat walls, and the addition of skylights, water features and granite pavers across the East Front Plaza will all serve to revitalize the historic landscape.

What was it, like $680 million over budget and about four years behind schedule? But it's a beautiful place.

Well any spotlight available and good ole' Harry can't wait to run (gobble gobble) his mouth.

This is part of Harry Reid's speech at the opening of the new capitol center.

REID: My staff has always said don't say this, but I'm going to say it again because it's so descriptive because it's true: Leader Bingham mentioned that tourists lined up in summer and winter, long lines coming into the Capitol.

In the summertime because of the high humidity and how hot it gets here, you could literally smell the tourists coming into the Capitol. And that may be descriptive, but it's true. Well, that is no longer going to be necessary.

Isn't it interesting that Senator Reid has become so much of a Washington elitist snob that he criticizes the hard working American that paid for that building with their sweat that Harry can't stand the smell of?

Come to think of it, where does his salary and gold-plated retirement come from?

I would submit to my readers, the smell coming from the American citizens is not the smell of tourists, but the smell of stockholders in the capitol because isn't it, after all, their Capitol?

If not for the sweat of hard working Americans there would be no such buildings.

Could it be the foul smells in the air is the stench coming from elected officials like Harry Reid in Washington?

You know it is warm in Nevada. In fact, in the southern part of the state it is downright hot and a vast majority of the people are hard working and do actually sweat.

I wonder if, when Harry is campaigning across Nevada in two years, his sensitive nose will allow him to meet and greet the voters?

We here in Nevada who are tired of being embarrassed by Harry Reid need to wake up in two years when Harry is running for re-election and vote him out of office.

I don't know about the smell, but Harry the turkey has sure left a bad taste in my mouth.

Thanks Or No Thanks

OK OK so I took a little time off from the blog and it appears no one noticed.

Well as it turned out it was a good thing I did. I ended up working some additional hours that I had not planned on, but most of all I had a great but short visit with my boys.

That, my friends, is always good except for the part of my getting my butt kicked in Rummy which I hope to avenge on poker night during the Christmas holidays.

This Thanksgiving we actually celebrated it twice since son Tyler had to return to Reno as he had to work Thanksgiving. So we had one meal on Wednesday with him and another with son Stacey on Thursday.

As always, the wife Vicki knows how to do a turkey with all the fixins and as always I know how to shovel them into my mouth.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.


Speaking of part of the word Thanksgiving, that part being thanks, have any of you noticed as I have that fewer and fewer people say thanks?

I don't know how many times I hold a door for someone and they don't bother to even smile.

I guess after what Black Friday brought us I should not be be surprised that 'thank you' has been replaced by 'get out of my way.'

Some of our society seem to think it is OK to not only knock someone down while rushing into a store to buy a leader item that saves them a few dollars but also not to stop to help him.

The message that money is more important than a human life is frightening to me.

I think the stores should stop with the leaders that cause stampedes and take a page out of K - Mart's younger years and throughout the day have blue light specials.

That way shoppers that happen to be in the area where the blue light goes off are lucky enough to get the discount therefore giving all shoppers an equal chance at a deal.

Well here we are, the Christmas season has begun.

Speaking of Christmas, for those of you that are my normal readers and my new readers be sure and check out the new additions to the side border of my blog.

In closing, just to eliminate any doubt, this blog does say Merry Christmas.

A Christmas tree is a Christmas tree not a Holiday tree, and between now and Christmas you will hear the term Christmas used frequently.

Let the shopping begin. If you need my list of what I want from Santa, let me know.