Ignorant People

The British have a reputation of being a stuffy bunch, and this story I am going to share with you is about people in the U.K..

Speaking from personal experience, I must tell you the same complaints would happen right here in the United States.

Here is what is happening in the U.K.

Parents are so offended by the disability of a children's TV program host that the BBC has received nine formal complaints and hundreds of nasty messages on its Web site, some of which were so vicious they had to be removed.


The disturbing campaign of hate being directed at Cerrie Burnell, a host of the children's television show CBeebies, who was born missing the lower section of her right arm.

Some of the complaints:

"Is it just me, or does anyone else think the new woman presenter on CBeebies may scare the kids because of her disability?" wrote one adult on the CBeebies website.

Other adults claimed that their children were asking difficult questions as a result.

"I didn't want to let my children watch the filler bits on The Bedtime Hour last night because I know it would have played on my eldest daughter's mind and possibly caused sleep problems," said one message.

The BBC received nine other complaints by phone.

In fact, some of the comments were so disturbing, they had to be removed from the site.

Burnell responded recently, saying that the negative comments "are indicative of a wider problem of disabled representation in the media as a whole, which is why it's so important for there to be more disabled role models in every area of the media."

She is partially right, however the real problem exists with adults and their fear of actually sitting down with their children and having a meaningful conversation with them.

Kids do not need to be sheltered, rather they need to be exposed to the real world.

For way too long our society has placed so much emphasis on beauty, as defined by physical perfection, that this woman would be unpopular if she did have two hands, but a flat chest.

Children are born curious and as a parent it is our job to teach them about everything.

Should we not teach our children at a young age that there are people that have a handicap and it's not nice to stare at them, rather it is proper to accept them as they are?

I can speak from experience since I suffered a minor loss of limb as a child. Were my childhood peers cruel in some of their comments? Sure they were, but they did not lose sleep at night because of what they were seeing everyday.

Parents may be horrified at this but kids really don't have the same issues as adults. In fact they really have the understanding about differences if they are explained correctly.

Another prime example of adults being stupid happened when my son was in kindergarten and my wife had an in-home daycare.

My son had surgery which required a monk cut haircut (shaved bald front to just behind ears) after which during the healing process he had stitches from ear to ear across the top of his head and he also had two black eyes.

As parents, my wife Vicki and I had always taught our kids things like this happen and you keep moving forward.

Even though we knew the black eyes would soon disappear, the stitches would soon be gone, and the hair would also soon grow back, we felt the best thing would be for our son to return to school as if this was no big deal and to be with the other kids.

We had concerns that the teacher might be a little uncomfortable so we arranged a meeting with her including our son.

The teacher wanted our son back in class right away, informed us that it would be a great learning experience for the other children and thanked us for allowing her that opportunity.

I mentioned the daycare my wife had at the time because in that day care was a girl that was in our son's kindergarten class that my wife watched after school.

The parent of the little girl had not seen our son until she came to pick her up at the end of the day our son returned to school.

Not only had our son been at school all day with the girl but the two of them were at our house playing together for hours until her mom picked her up.

The lady called later that evening to inform my wife that her daycare services would no longer be required as she was afraid that our son's appearance would cause trauma for her daughter.

The scary thing is the parents' reaction to this. Rather than explaining to their children they choose to shelter them which in our case was funny because the girl continued going to school everyday and playing with our son.

In the case of this young lady kids are watching on T.V., when parents do not explain unusual things to their children so they can understand what is going on, rather than their imaginations running wild, ignorance will be what frightens them.

Congratulations to the BBC for having the foresight to hire this young lady for the host of the program.

To the parents that complained, you are pathetic and good luck explaining the commercials your kids watch for Viagra, Male Enhancement pills, tampons , douches etc.

The Dumbing Of Americans

California seems to be the one state full of people that believe they are a shining example of how the rest of the United States citizens should live and believe.

California is one of those cutting edge states that has one in five people on welfare, a spending budget that parallels that of the United States Government, and above all they have the group of the smartest people in the world all located in one area of the state in a place called Hollywood.

Being on the cutting edge and out of money because of all their entitlement programs that are spending money faster than the four working people out of five can share their wealth, they have come up with another brilliant idea.

Marijuana is a $14 billion industry in California, and rather than policing the problem, California wants to legalize it and tax it.

Their idea is to make it legal to grow and sell it thus allowing the government to tax it. The brilliant minds estimate they could collect $50.00 an ounce.

California's argument is if you can't control an illegal activity, you should legalize and tax it.

We all know all those honest growers and sellers would be happy to pay their taxes, don't we.

I don't live in California, so unlike a Californian, I am too stupid to know the answer, but wonder when things are legal don't prices come down thus the tax estimate becomes less?

You know the more I think about this new taxing idea, since crime is so rampant around the country, rather than arresting people for crime we tax all crime.

No jail time, just tax time.

So like if you rob a house, you should be taxed 28% of the depreciated value on the items you steal.

I'm not sure what the tax rate should be set at for, to name a few, pedophiles, spousal batterers, kidnappers, rapists and murders. I would assume those tax rates would be a lot higher.

If you are reading this and live in California, would you please enlighten my readers and me?

I am afraid of the direction our country is headed.



ARE YOU?

Ramblings

My short-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be.
Also, my short-term memory's not as sharp as it used to be.


If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?


Why do they put pictures of criminals up in the Post Office? What are we supposed to do, write to them? Why don't they just put their pictures on the postage stamps so the mailmen can look for them while they deliver the mail?


If you think there is good in everybody, you haven't met everybody.


Did you know?

You burn more calories sleeping

than you do watching television.

So the best thing you can do is take a nap while watching television.


Speaking of television, my wife and I were watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire while
we were in bed.

I turned to her and said, "Do you want to have sex?"

"No," she answered.

I then said, "Is that your final answer?"

She didn't even look at me this time, simply saying "Yes."

So I said, "Then I'd like to phone a friend."

I am having trouble seeing to type because I have two black eyes.



Why do croutons come in airtight packages? Aren't they just stale bread to begin with?


I think I know why I started smoking;



Remember this:

In just two days from now,tomorrow will be yesterday.


Reality is only an illusion that occurs due to a lack of alcohol.

Amazing Stuff

You hear a lot of bad stories about the kids today which leads everyone to believe all kids are bad because the stories of a few bad kids grab the head lines.

I wonder how many of you saw the following story?

Winning is "not a matter of life and death," according to the venerable sporting adage coined by former UCLA football coach Red Saunders, "it's more important than that."

The reality, of course, is the exact opposite, and that fact was vividly illustrated by the actions of the high school basketball players and coaches of DeKalb, Ill., and Milwaukee Madison earlier this month.

During the day of their match-up, Milwaukee's captain, Johntel Franklin


had the misfortune of being at his mother's bedside when she succumbed to a five-year battle with cervical cancer. Understandably, he decided to skip the game, but later Franklin changed his mind.

In the second quarter, he arrived late in what was a close game. Because Franklin was not scheduled to play, DeKalb was awarded two free throws for a technical foul.

DeKalb's Darius McNeal stepped to the line, and proceeded to purposely miss the shots, bouncing the ball several times on their way to the baseline.

McNeal's attempts were rewarded with a standing ovation from players and fans from both teams.

Franklin eventually scored 10 points as Milwaukee won comfortably. Afterwards, players from both teams went out for pizza together.

McNeal's take on his meaningful missed shots: "I did it for the guy who lost his mom ... it was the right thing to do."

How refreshing is it that a high school kid knows on his own it was the right thing to do.

There are several adults that need to take a lesson from this kid.



Well I had to cancel my trip to Ireland:

Waterford, makers of some of the world's most famous crystal (including the ball that drops on Times Square every New Year's Eve), closed its main factory in the town of Waterford, Ireland, on Jan. 30 -- apparently another victim of the global financial crisis.

The factory is one of Ireland's biggest tourist attractions, receiving 300,000 visitors last year alone.

I guess Ireland had bad mortgages which hurt their economy like our Government claims caused our problem.



Do you believe in miracles?


This is what really happened.

Due to the late shift tonight there will not be a new post tomorrow.

Check Your T.V. Listing For The Time

There are a lot of things that are good about Friday and one of them is a little-watched TV show called Friday Night Lights.


Hailed as one of the top ten shows of 2006 by Time magazine and Entertainment Weekly, the critically acclaimed drama "Friday Night Lights" also received 2006 honors from the American Film Institute (AFI) for Television Program of the Year and the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award.

And still people have not found this show. Why, I don't know, maybe they don't realize this is not a show just about football.

The show has, however, been a critical success and was featured on a number of critics' top ten lists following its first season as well as being identified twice by the American Film Institute as culturally significant.

It has been lauded by critics for its realistic portrayal of Middle America and deep personal exploration of its central characters.

This is a show about all sports and how people perceive a sport and winning to be the most important thing. It is also one of the best written shows on T.V.

Football is just the vehicle for the story line about kids growing up, sports boosters, parents, families, coaches and the pressures of winning.

It's a show about real people, not super humans, not perfect people, but real people.

It's about people who are smart one minute and then dumb the next.

It's about people who aren't necessarily the most beautiful actors, but are just like people that you know.

The series details events surrounding the Dillon Panthers, a high school football team based in fictional Dillon, Texas, with particular focus given to the team's coach, Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) and his family.

The show uses this small-town backdrop to address many issues facing contemporary Middle America.

If you have not watched it you should start, but keep in mind you need to watch it more than once to become familiar with the story line.

I would also recommend renting the first two seasons because what you have missed is quality viewing.

Trust me, you won't be sorry you did.

Some Of This Some Of That

KEEP THIS IN MIND AS YOU ARE DOING YOUR CLEANUP CHORES.

If you ever get the sudden urge to run around naked,
You should sniff some Windex first.
It'll keep you from streaking.


FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS!

Except that one where you're naked in church.



"Everyone is a hero if you catch us at the right time"

One year, a husband decided to buy his mother-in-law a cemetery plot as a Christmas gift.

The next year, he didn't buy her a gift.

When she asked him why, he replied, "Well, you still haven't used the gift I bought you last year!"


The coroner posted this ad:

If your name is Grady I have a deal for you:

Hmmmm, I wonder?

Father-son duo accused of gravestone robbing

COLONIE, N.Y. -Police are puzzling over what would motivate a father and son to haul off six tombstones from a monument company in suburban Albany. Town of Colonie Detective Lt. John Van Alstyne said he's not sure what kind of aftermarket there might be for the hefty granite grave-markers.

Police charged a 35-year-old man and his 19-year-old son with felony criminal possession of stolen property. They were sent to Albany County Jail without bail.

The men were arrested after police got a call around 1 a.m. Sunday about a suspicious truck at Stefanazzi & Spargo Granite Co. A traffic stop of the rented truck turned up the six monuments, which weigh 300 to 600 pounds each and are valued at $6,000.

There may be a few other names that can be added to the list.



We are closing in on time to do your taxes.

Did you ever notice: When you put the 2 words "The" and "IRS" together it spells "Theirs."

Tax time reminds me of something my dad told me: A penny saved is a government oversight.

Sometimes too much to drink isn't enough.



A hot dog at the game beats roast beef at the Ritz.
~ Humphrey Bogart

Short One

Well once again today's blog will be short.

We had some business that we had to take care of this afternoon;

Then we had to have dinner, the dogs had to have their play time and before you know it Jack was on.



24 was only OK, Jack didn't have any good kills tonight so I was a little disappointed.

Next week he better have several good kills to make up for last night.

As for tomorrows blog I will be working a late shift tonight so there will be no new post tomorrow.

Sadly Goodbye

24 THINGS ABOUT TO BECOME EXTINCT IN AMERICA



24. Yellow Pages
This year will be pivotal for the global Yellow Pages industry. Much like newspapers, print Yellow Pages will continue to bleed dollars to their various digital counterparts, from Internet Yellow Pages (IYPs), to local search engines and combination search/listing services like Reach Local and Yodel Factors like an acceleration of the print 'fade rate' and the looming recession will contribute to the onslaught. One research firm predicts the falloff in usage of newspapers and print Yellow Pages could even reach 10% this year -- much higher than the 2%-3% fade rate seen in past years.

23. Classified Ads
The Internet has made so many things obsolete that newspaper classified ads might sound like just another trivial item on a long list. But this is one of those harbingers of the future that could signal the end of civilization as we know it. The argument is that if newspaper classifieds are replaced by free online listings at sites like Craigslist.org and Google Base, then newspapers are not far behind them.

22. Movie Rental Stores
While Netflix is looking up at the moment, Blockbuster keeps closing store locations by the hundreds. It still has about 6,000 left across the world, but those keep dwindling and the stock is down considerably in 2008, especially since the company gave up a quest of Circuit City. Movie Gallery, which owned the Hollywood Video brand, closed up shop earlier this year. Countless small video chains and mom-and-pop stores have given up the ghost already.

21. Dial-up Internet Access
Dial-up connections have fallen from 40% in 2001 to 10% in 2008. The combination of an infrastructure to accommodate affordable high speed Internet connections and the disappearing home phone have all but pounded the final nail in the coffin of dial-up Internet access.

20. Phone Landlines
According to a survey from the National Center for Health Statistics, at the end of 2007, nearly one in six homes was cell-only and, of those homes that had landlines, one in eight only received calls on their cells.

19. Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs
Maryland's icon, the blue crab, has been fading away in Chesapeake Bay. Last year Maryland saw the lowest harvest (22 million pounds) since 1945. Just four decades ago the bay produced 96 million pounds. The population is down 70% since 1990, when they first did a formal count. There are only about 120 million crabs in the bay and they think they need 200 million for a sustainable population. Over-fishing, pollution, invasive species and global warming get the blame.

18. VCRs
For the better part of three decades, the VCR was a best-seller and staple in every American household until being completely decimated by the DVD, and now the Digital Video Recorder (DVR). In fact, the only remnants of the VHS age at your local Wal-Mart or Radio Shack are blank VHS tapes these days. Pre-recorded VHS tapes are largely gone and VHS decks are practically nowhere to be found. They served us so well.

17. Ash Trees
In the late 1990s, a pretty, iridescent green species of beetle, now known as the emerald ash borer, hitched a ride to North America with ash wood products imported from eastern Asia. In less than a decade, its larvae have killed millions of trees in the Midwest, and continue to spread. They've killed more than 30 million ash trees in southeastern Michigan alone, with tens of millions more lost in Ohio and Indiana. More than 7.5 billion ash trees are currently at risk.

16. Ham Radio
Amateur radio operators enjoy personal (and often worldwide) wireless communications with each other and are able to support their communities with emergency and disaster communications if necessary, while increasing their personal knowledge of electronics and radio theory. However, proliferation of the Internet and its popularity among youth has caused the decline of amateur radio. In the past five years alone, the number of people holding active ham radio licenses has dropped by 50,000, even though Morse Code is no longer a requirement.

15. The Swimming Hole
Thanks to our litigious society, swimming holes are becoming a thing of the past. '20/20' reports that swimming hole owners, like Robert Every in High Falls, NY, are shutting them down out of worry that if someone gets hurt they'll sue. And that's exactly what happened in Seattle. The city of Bellingham was sued by Katie Hofstetter who was paralyzed in a fall at a popular swimming hole in Whatcom Falls Park. As injuries occur and lawsuits follow, expect more swimming holes to post 'Keep out!' signs.

14. Answering Machines
The increasing disappearance of answering machines is directly tied to No 20 our list -- the decline of landlines. According to USA Today, the number of homes that only use cell phones jumped 159% between 2004 and 2007. It has been particularly bad in New York; since 2000, landline usage has dropped 55%. It's logical that as cell phones rise, many of them replacing traditional landlines, that there will be fewer answering machines.

13. Cameras That Use Film
It doesn't require a statistician to prove the rapid disappearance of the film camera in America. Just look to companies like Nikon, the professional's choice for quality camera equipment. In 2006, it announced that it would stop making film cameras, pointing to the shrinking market -- only 3% of its sales in 2005, compared to 75% of sales from digital cameras and equipment.

12. Incandescent Bulbs
Before a few years ago, the standard 60-watt (or, yikes, 100-watt) bulb was the mainstay of every U.S. home. With the green movement and all-things-sustaina ble-energy crowd, the Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb (CFL) is largely replacing the older, Edison-era incandescent bulb. The EPA reports that 2007 sales for Energy Star CFLs nearly doubled from 2006, and these sales accounted for approximately 20 percent of the U.S. light bulb market. And according to USA Today, a new energy bill plans to phase out incandescent bulbs in the next four to 12 years.

11. Stand-Alone Bowling Alleys
BowlingBalls. US claims there are still 60 million Americans who bowl at least once a year, but many are not bowling in stand-alone bowling alleys. Today most new bowling alleys are part of facilities for all types or recreation including laser tag, go-karts, bumper cars, video game arcades, climbing walls and glow miniature golf. Bowling lanes also have been added to many non-traditional venues such as adult communities, hotels and resorts, and gambling casinos.

10. The Milkman
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 1950, over half of the milk delivered was to the home in quart bottles, by 1963, it was about a third and by 2001, it represented only 0.4% percent. Nowadays most milk is sold through supermarkets in gallon jugs. The steady decline in home-delivered milk is blamed, of course, on the rise of the supermarket, better home refrigeration and longer-lasting milk. Although some milkmen still make the rounds in pockets of the U.S., they are certainly a dying breed.

9. Hand-Written Letters
In 2006, the Radicati Group estimated that, worldwide, 183 billion e-mails were sent each day. Two million each second. By November of 2007, an estimated 3.3 billion Earthlings owned cell phones, and 80% of the world's population had access to cell phone coverage. In 2004, half-a-trillion text messages were sent, and the number has no doubt increased exponentially since then. So where amongst this gorge of gabble is there room for the elegant, polite hand-written letter?

8. Wild Horses
It is estimated that 100 years ago, as many as two million horses were roaming free within the United States. In 2001, National Geographic News estimated that the wild horse population had decreased to about 50,000 head. Currently, the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory board states that there are 32,000 free roaming horses in ten Western states, with half of them residing in Nevada. The Bureau of Land Management is seeking to reduce the total number of free range horses to 27,000, possibly by selective euthanasia.

7. Personal Checks
According to an American Bankers Assoc. report, a net 23% of consumers plan to decrease their use of checks over the next two years, while a net 14% plan to increase their use of PIN debit. Bill payment remains the last stronghold of paper-based payments -- for the time being. Checks continue to be the most commonly used bill payment method, with 71% of consumers paying at least one recurring bill per month by writing a check. However, on a bill-by-bill basis, checks account for only 49% of consumers' recurring bill payments (down from 72% in 2001 and 60% in 2003).

6. Drive-in Theaters
During the peak in 1958, there were more than 4,000 drive-in theaters in this country, but in 2007 only 405 drive-ins were still operating. Exactly zero new drive-ins have been built since 2005. Only one reopened in 2005 and five reopened in 2006, so there isn't much of a movement toward reviving the closed ones.

5. Mumps & Measles
Despite what's been in the news lately, the measles and mumps actually, truly are disappearing from the United States. In 1964, 212,000 cases of mumps were reported in the U.S. By 1983, this figure had dropped to 3,000, thanks to a vigorous vaccination program. Prior to the introduction of the measles vaccine, approximately half a million cases of measles were reported in the U.S. annually, resulting in 450 deaths. In 2005, only 66 cases were recorded.

4. Honey Bees
Perhaps nothing on our list of disappearing America is so dire; plummeting so enormously; and so necessary to the survival of our food supply as the honey bee. Very scary. 'Colony Collapse Disorder,' or CCD, has spread throughout the U.S. and Europe over the past few years, wiping out 50% to 90% of the colonies of many beekeepers -- and along with it, their livelihood.

3. News Magazines and TV News
While the TV evening newscasts haven't gone anywhere over the last several decades, their audiences have. In 1984, in a story about the diminishing returns of the evening news, the New York Times reported that all three network evening-news programs combined had only 40.9 million viewers. Fast forward to 2008, and what they have today is half that.

2. Analog TV
According to the Consumer Electronics Association, 85% of homes in the U.S. get their television programming through cable or satellite providers. For the remaining 15% -- or 13 million individuals -- who are using rabbit ears or a large outdoor antenna to get their local stations, change is in the air. If you are one of these people you'll need to get a new TV or a converter box in order to get the new stations which will only be broadcast in digital.

1. The Family Farm
Since the 1930s, the number of family farms has been declining rapidly. According to the USDA, 5.3 million farms dotted the nation in 1950, but this number had declined to 2.1 million by the 2003 farm census (data from the 2007 census hasn't yet been published). Ninety-one percent of theU.S. FARMS are small Family Farms.

Both interesting and saddening, isn't it?

Oh No Friday The 13th

As if things are not bad enough, today we have to endure another Friday the 13th.


The sixth day of the week and the number 13 both have foreboding reputations said to date from ancient times, and their inevitable conjunction from one to three times a year (there happen to be three such occurrences in 2009, two of them right in a row) portends more misfortune than some credulous minds can bear.

Many cities do not have a 13th Street or a 13th Avenue. Many buildings don't have a 13th floor. If you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil's luck (Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and Albert De Salvo all have 13 letters in their names). There are 13 witches in a coven.

It has been proposed, for example, that fears surrounding the number 13 are as ancient as the act of counting. Primitive man had only his 10 fingers and two feet to represent units, this explanation goes, so he could count no higher than 12. What lay beyond that — 13 — was an impenetrable mystery to our prehistoric forebears, hence an object of superstition.

I am wondering, did primitive man not have toes?

LEGEND HAS IT:

If 13 people sit down to dinner together, one will die within the year.

And Loki makes thirteen. . .

Twelve gods were invited to a banquet at Valhalla. Loki, the Evil One, god of mischief, had been left off the guest list but crashed the party, bringing the total number of attendees to 13. True to character, Loki raised hell by inciting Hod, the blind god of winter, to attack Balder the Good, who was a favorite of the gods. Hod took a spear of mistletoe offered by Loki and obediently hurled it at Balder, killing him instantly. All Valhalla grieved.

As if to prove the point, the Bible tells us there were exactly 13 present at the Last Supper. One of the dinner guests — er, disciples — betrayed Jesus Christ, setting the stage for the Crucifixion.

Some say Friday's bad reputation goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. It was on a Friday, supposedly, that Eve tempted Adam with the forbidden fruit. Adam bit, and they were both ejected from Paradise. Tradition also holds that the Great Flood began on a Friday; God tongue-tied the builders of the Tower of Babel on a Friday; the Temple of Solomon was destroyed on a Friday; and, of course, Friday was the day of the week on which Christ was crucified.

LEGEND HAS IT: Never change your bed on Friday; it will bring bad dreams. Don't start a trip on Friday or you will have misfortune. If you cut your nails on Friday, you cut them for sorrow. Ships that set sail on a Friday will have bad luck – as in the tale of H.M.S. Friday ... One hundred years ago, the British government sought to quell once and for all the widespread superstition among seamen that setting sail on Fridays was unlucky. A special ship was commissioned, named "H.M.S. Friday." They laid her keel on a Friday, launched her on a Friday, selected her crew on a Friday and hired a man named Jim Friday to be her captain. To top it off, H.M.S. Friday embarked on her maiden voyage on a Friday, and was never seen or heard from again.

Just keep in mind be careful today Friday the 13th and do not break a mirror, walk under a ladder, spill the salt, and see a black cat crossing your path.

This may be a day, if there ever was one, best spent in the safety of one's own home with doors locked, shutters closed, and fingers crossed.

I would wish you all good luck today but I'm afraid there is no such thing as good luck on Friday the 13th.

Dear Netflix CEO

The CEO of Netflix, Reed Hastings, is apparently unhappy with his current tax rate, and would LOVE to pay more.

Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix has reached out to President Obama and asked him to raise the taxes of anyone that makes over a million dollars to 50% per year! But what Hastings may not know is that he can already pay more taxes.

Help him do so by printing out this handy sheet that instructs exactly where he can send that extra money he doesn't want, directly to the government!

Print and then cut-out the sheets below and include them when you send back your DVDs. Let him know he CAN pay as much as he wants!

Dear Mr. Hastings,

I am aware of your passionate desire to pay 50% in federal income tax. Luckily your dream has come true. You can even pay 100% if you want! Just send your additional cash to this address:

Gifts To The United States
US Department Of The Treasury
Credit Accounting Branch
3700 east-west Highway, Room 622D
Hyattsville, MD 20782

Thanks,

_____________________________________
A customer that would rather not have their taxes raised so they can pay for stuff like a Netflix membership.

Stimulus Or Wish List

I am not an economist, however, I think I know the stimulus bill as written will not stimulate the economy, rather it will stimulate the pet projects of the politicians.

I thought I would check in with the very people that teach economists how to be economists to see what they think, so please see the following.


"There is no disagreement that we need action by our government, a recovery plan that will help to jumpstart the economy."

— PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA, JANUARY 9 , 2009

With all due respect Mr. President, that is not true.

Notwithstanding reports that all economists are now Keynesians and that we all support a big increase in the burden of government, we do not believe that more government spending is a way to improve economic performance.

More government spending by Hoover and Roosevelt did not pull the United States economy out of the Great Depression in the 1930s.

More government spending did not solve Japan's "lost decade" in the 1990s. As such, it is a triumph of hope over experience to believe that more government spending will help the U.S. today.

To improve the economy, policy makers should focus on reforms that remove impediments to work, saving, investment and production.

Lower tax rates and a reduction in the burden of government are the best ways of using fiscal policy to boost growth.

Burton Abrams, Univ. of Delaware
Douglas Adie, Ohio University
Ryan Amacher, Univ. of Texas at Arlington
J.J. Arias, Georgia College & State University
Howard Baetjer, Jr., Towson University
Stacie Beck, Univ. of Delaware
Don Bellante, Univ. of South Florida
James Bennett, George Mason University
Bruce Benson, Florida State University
Sanjai Bhagat, Univ. of Colorado at Boulder
Mark Bils, Univ. of Rochester
Alberto Bisin, New York University
Walter Block, Loyola University New Orleans
Cecil Bohanon, Ball State University
Michele Boldrin, Washington University in St. Louis
Donald Booth, Chapman University
Michael Bordo, Rutgers University
Samuel Bostaph, Univ. of Dallas
Scott Bradford, Brigham Young University
Genevieve Briand, Eastern Washington University
George Brower, Moravian College
James Buchanan, Nobel laureate
Richard Burdekin, Claremont McKenna College
Henry Butler, Northwestern University
William Butos, Trinity College
Peter Calcagno, College of Charleston
Bryan Caplan, George Mason University
Art Carden, Rhodes College
James Cardon, Brigham Young University
Dustin Chambers, Salisbury University
Emily Chamlee-Wright, Beloit College
V.V. Chari, Univ. of Minnesota
Barry Chiswick, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago
Lawrence Cima, John Carroll University
J.R. Clark, Univ. of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Gian Luca Clementi, New York University
R. Morris Coats, Nicholls State University
John Cochran, Metropolitan State College
John Cochrane, Univ. of Chicago
John Cogan, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
John Coleman, Duke University
Boyd Collier, Tarleton State University
Robert Collinge, Univ. of Texas at San Antonio
Lee Coppock, Univ. of Virginia
Mario Crucini, Vanderbilt University
Christopher Culp, Univ. of Chicago
Kirby Cundiff, Northeastern State University
Antony Davies, Duquesne University
John Dawson, Appalachian State University
Clarence Deitsch, Ball State University
Arthur Diamond, Jr., Univ. of Nebraska at Omaha
John Dobra, Univ. of Nevada, Reno
James Dorn, Towson University
Christopher Douglas, Univ. of Michigan, Flint
Floyd Duncan, Virginia Military Institute
Francis Egan, Trinity College
John Egger, Towson University
Kenneth Elzinga, Univ. of Virginia
Paul Evans, Ohio State University
Eugene Fama, Univ. of Chicago
W. Ken Farr, Georgia College & State University
Hartmut Fischer, Univ. of San Francisco
Fred Foldvary, Santa Clara University
Murray Frank, Univ. of Minnesota
Peter Frank, Wingate University
Timothy Fuerst, Bowling Green State University
B. Delworth Gardner, Brigham Young University
John Garen, Univ. of Kentucky
Rick Geddes, Cornell University
Aaron Gellman, Northwestern University
William Gerdes, Clarke College
Michael Gibbs, Univ. of Chicago
Stephan Gohmann, Univ. of Louisville
Rodolfo Gonzalez, San Jose State University
Richard Gordon, Penn State University
Peter Gordon, Univ. of Southern California
Ernie Goss, Creighton University
Paul Gregory, Univ. of Houston
Earl Grinols, Baylor University
Daniel Gropper, Auburn University
R.W. Hafer, Southern Illinois
University, Edwardsville
Arthur Hall, Univ. of Kansas
Steve Hanke, Johns Hopkins
Stephen Happel, Arizona State University
Frank Hefner, College of Charleston
Ronald Heiner, George Mason University
David Henderson, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
Robert Herren, North Dakota State University
Gailen Hite, Columbia University
Steven Horwitz, St. Lawrence University
John Howe, Univ. of Missouri, Columbia
Jeffrey Hummel, San Jose State University
Bruce Hutchinson, Univ. of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Brian Jacobsen, Wisconsin Lutheran College
Jason Johnston, Univ. of Pennsylvania
Boyan Jovanovic, New York University
Jonathan Karpoff, Univ. of Washington
Barry Keating, Univ. of Notre Dame
Naveen Khanna, Michigan State University
Nicholas Kiefer, Cornell University
Daniel Klein, George Mason University
Paul Koch, Univ. of Kansas
Narayana Kocherlakota, Univ. of Minnesota
Marek Kolar, Delta College
Roger Koppl, Fairleigh Dickinson University
Kishore Kulkarni, Metropolitan State College of Denver
Deepak Lal, UCLA
George Langelett, South Dakota State University
James Larriviere, Spring Hill College
Robert Lawson, Auburn University
John Levendis, Loyola University New Orleans
David Levine, Washington University in St. Louis
Peter Lewin, Univ. of Texas at Dallas
Dean Lillard, Cornell University
Zheng Liu, Emory University
Alan Lockard, Binghampton University
Edward Lopez, San Jose State University
John Lunn, Hope College
Glenn MacDonald, Washington
University in St. Louis
Michael Marlow, California
Polytechnic State University
Deryl Martin, Tennessee Tech University
Dale Matcheck, Northwood University
Deirdre McCloskey, Univ. of Illinois, Chicago
John McDermott, Univ. of South Carolina
Joseph McGarrity, Univ. of Central Arkansas
Roger Meiners, Univ. of Texas at Arlington
Allan Meltzer, Carnegie Mellon University
John Merrifield, Univ. of Texas at San Antonio
James Miller III, George Mason University
Jeffrey Miron, Harvard University
Thomas Moeller, Texas Christian University
John Moorhouse, Wake Forest University
Andrea Moro, Vanderbilt University
Andrew Morriss, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Michael Munger, Duke University
Kevin Murphy, Univ. of Southern California
Richard Muth, Emory University
Charles Nelson, Univ. of Washington
Seth Norton, Wheaton College
Lee Ohanian, Univ. of California, Los Angeles
Lydia Ortega, San Jose State University
Evan Osborne, Wright State University
Randall Parker, East Carolina University
Donald Parsons, George Washington University
Sam Peltzman, Univ. of Chicago
Mark Perry, Univ. of Michigan, Flint
Christopher Phelan, Univ. of Minnesota
Gordon Phillips, Univ. of Maryland
Michael Pippenger, Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks
Tomasz Piskorski, Columbia University
Brennan Platt, Brigham Young University
Joseph Pomykala, Towson University
William Poole, Univ. of Delaware
Barry Poulson, Univ. of Colorado at Boulder
Benjamin Powell, Suffolk University
Edward Prescott, Nobel laureate
Gary Quinlivan, Saint Vincent College
Reza Ramazani, Saint Michael's College
Adriano Rampini, Duke University
Eric Rasmusen, Indiana University
Mario Rizzo, New York University
Richard Roll, Univ. of California, Los Angeles
Robert Rossana, Wayne State University
James Roumasset, Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa
John Rowe, Univ. of South Florida
Charles Rowley, George Mason University
Juan Rubio-Ramirez, Duke University
Roy Ruffin, Univ. of Houston
Kevin Salyer, Univ. of California, Davis
Pavel Savor, Univ. of Pennsylvania
Ronald Schmidt, Univ. of Rochester
Carlos Seiglie, Rutgers University
William Shughart II, Univ. of Mississippi
Charles Skipton, Univ. of Tampa
James Smith, Western Carolina University
Vernon Smith, Nobel laureate
Lawrence Southwick, Jr., Univ. at Buffalo
Dean Stansel, Florida Gulf Coast University
Houston Stokes, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago
Brian Strow, Western Kentucky University
Shirley Svorny, California State
University, Northridge
John Tatom, Indiana State University
Wade Thomas, State University of New York at Oneonta
Henry Thompson, Auburn University
Alex Tokarev, The King's College
Edward Tower, Duke University
Leo Troy, Rutgers University
David Tuerck, Suffolk University
Charlotte Twight, Boise State University
Kamal Upadhyaya, Univ. of New Haven
Charles Upton, Kent State University
T. Norman Van Cott, Ball State University
Richard Vedder, Ohio University
Richard Wagner, George Mason University
Douglas M. Walker, College of Charleston
Douglas O. Walker, Regent University
Christopher Westley, Jacksonville State University
Lawrence White, Univ. of Missouri at St. Louis
Walter Williams, George Mason University
Doug Wills, Univ. of Washington Tacoma
Dennis Wilson, Western Kentucky University
Gary Wolfram, Hillsdale College
Huizhong Zhou, Western Michigan University

Additional economists who have signed the statement

Lee Adkins, Oklahoma State University
William Albrecht, Univ. of Iowa
Donald Alexander, Western Michigan University
Geoffrey Andron, Austin Community College
Nathan Ashby, Univ. of Texas at El Paso
George Averitt, Purdue North Central University
Charles Baird, California State University, East Bay
Timothy Bastian, Creighton University
John Bethune, Barton College
Robert Bise, Orange Coast College
Karl Borden, University of Nebraska
Donald Boudreaux, George Mason University
Ivan Brick, Rutgers University
Phil Bryson, Brigham Young University
Richard Burkhauser, Cornell University
Edwin Burton, Univ. of Virginia
Jim Butkiewicz, Univ. of Delaware
Richard Cebula, Armstrong Atlantic State University
Don Chance, Louisiana State University
Robert Chatfield, Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas
Lloyd Cohen, George Mason University
Peter Colwell, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Michael Connolly, Univ. of Miami
Jim Couch, Univ. of North Alabama
Eleanor Craig, Univ. of Delaware
Michael Daniels, Columbus State University
A. Edward Day, Univ. of Texas at Dallas
Stephen Dempsey, Univ. of Vermont
Allan DeSerpa, Arizona State University
William Dewald, Ohio State University
Jeff Dorfman, Univ. of Georgia
Lanny Ebenstein, Univ. of California, Santa Barbara
Michael Erickson, The College of Idaho
Jack Estill, San Jose State University
Dorla Evans, Univ. of Alabama in Huntsville
Frank Falero, California State University, Bakersfield
Daniel Feenberg, National Bureau of Economic Research
Eric Fisher, California Polytechnic State University
Arthur Fleisher, Metropolitan State College of Denver
William Ford, Middle Tennessee State University
Ralph Frasca, Univ. of Dayton
Joseph Giacalone, St. John's University
Adam Gifford, California State Unviersity, Northridge
Otis Gilley, Louisiana Tech University
J. Edward Graham, University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Richard Grant, Lipscomb University
Gauri-Shankar Guha, Arkansas State University
Darren Gulla, Univ. of Kentucky
Dennis Halcoussis, California State University, Northridge
Richard Hart, Miami University
James Hartley, Mount Holyoke College
Thomas Hazlett, George Mason University
Scott Hein, Texas Tech University
Bradley Hobbs, Florida Gulf Coast University
John Hoehn, Michigan State University
Daniel Houser, George Mason University
Thomas Howard, University of Denver
Chris Hughen, Univ. of Denver
Marcus Ingram, Univ. of Tampa
Joseph Jadlow, Oklahoma State University
Sherry Jarrell, Wake Forest University
Carrie Kerekes, Florida Gulf Coast University
Robert Krol, California State University, Northridge
James Kurre, Penn State Erie
Tom Lehman, Indiana Wesleyan University
W. Cris Lewis, Utah State University
Stan Liebowitz, Univ. of Texas at Dallas
Anthony Losasso, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago
John Lott, Jr., Univ. of Maryland
Keith Malone, Univ. of North Alabama
Henry Manne, George Mason University
Richard Marcus, Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Timothy Mathews, Kennesaw State University
John Matsusaka, Univ. of Southern California
Thomas Mayor, Univ. of Houston
W. Douglas McMillin, Louisiana State University
Mario Miranda, The Ohio State University
Ed Miseta, Penn State Erie
James Moncur, Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa
Charles Moss, Univ. of Florida
Tim Muris, George Mason University
John Murray, Univ. of Toledo
David Mustard, Univ. of Georgia
Steven Myers, Univ. of Akron
Dhananjay Nanda, University of Miami
Stephen Parente, Univ. of Minnesota
Allen Parkman, Univ. of New Mexico
Douglas Patterson, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and University
Timothy Perri, Appalachian State University
Mark Pingle, Univ. of Nevada, Reno
Ivan Pongracic, Hillsdale College
Richard Rawlins, Missouri Southern State University
Thomas Rhee, California State University, Long Beach
Christine Ries, Georgia Institute of Technology
Nancy Roberts, Arizona State University
Larry Ross, Univ. of Alaska Anchorage
Timothy Roth, Univ. of Texas at El Paso
Atulya Sarin, Santa Clara University
Thomas Saving, Texas A&M University
Eric Schansberg, Indiana University Southeast
John Seater, North Carolina University
Alan Shapiro, Univ. of Southern California
Frank Spreng, McKendree University
Judith Staley Brenneke, John Carroll University
John E. Stapleford, Eastern University
Courtenay Stone, Ball State University
Avanidhar Subrahmanyam, UCLA
Scott Sumner, Bentley University
Clifford Thies, Shenandoah University
William Trumbull, West Virginia University
Gustavo Ventura, Univ. of Iowa
Marc Weidenmier, Claremont McKenna College
Robert Whaples, Wake Forest University
Gene Wunder, Washburn University
John Zdanowicz, Florida International University
Jerry Zimmerman, Univ. of Rochester
Joseph Zoric, Franciscan University of Steubenville

Just in case you are not sure of what Keynesians are:

( Keynes·ian·ism
Pronunciation: \ˈkān-zē-ə-ˌni-zəm\
Function: noun
Date: 1946
: the economic theories and programs ascribed to John M. Keynes and his followers ; specifically : the advocacy of monetary and fiscal programs by government to increase employment and spending )

Tarnished Gold

All too often we make excuses for the wrong things we do, and they are acceptable to people.

Something like, he/she didn't know what he/she was doing because he/she was drunk.

Or well he/she was too young to know any better or they were just being a kid.

Everyone makes a decision and if it is alcohol that caused it then they should have been responsible and not had that much to drink.

If they are 23, famous, go to a marijuana party and have a picture taken of them smoking pot, I don't think that is just being a kid, especially if they have just won 8 gold medals at the Olympics and have all kinds of endorsements that make them a role model for kids, let alone wealthy.

I for one am glad I can now eat my Frosted Flakes because I feel Kellogg's has done the right thing.

Kellogg to drop Phelps over pipe photo
Company says swimmer 'not consistent with the image of Kellogg'

Cereal and snack maker Kellogg Co. said it won’t renew its sponsorship contract with Olympic swimming star Michael Phelps because of a photo that showed him inhaling from a marijuana pipe.

The Battle Creek, Mich.-based company said Thursday that Phelps’s behavior — caught on camera and published Sunday in the British tabloid News of the World — is “not consistent with the image of Kellogg.”

The company put Phelps on boxes of its Frosted Flakes and Corn Flakes.

There are those that don't agree.

The 23-year-old swimmer, who won eight gold medals in Beijing, has kept the backing of many sponsors since the photo surfaced from a November house party at the University of South Carolina.

Among those standing by him, even if they don’t condone his behavior, are Visa Inc., Speedo, luxury Swiss watchmaker Omega and sports beverage PureSport’s maker Human Performance Labs.

I am disappointed in the sponsors that stayed.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Michael Phelps was suspended from competition for three months by USA Swimming, the latest fallout from a photo that showed the Olympic great inhaling from a marijuana pipe.

The sport’s national governing body also cut off its financial support to Phelps for the same three-month period, effective Thursday.

“This is not a situation where any anti-doping rule was violated, but we decided to send a strong message to Michael because he disappointed so many people, particularly the hundreds of thousands of USA Swimming member kids who look up to him as a role model and a hero,” the Colorado Springs-based federation said in a statement.

USA swimming did the right thing as well and their message rings true.

Superbowl, Super Day

Well, like football or not, Super bowl XLIII (no, that's not a shirt size - it is as us commoners call it Superbowl 43) was an interesting and exciting game.

I wonder when the game is televised in Rome if they use Roman numerals or the number 43?

Why do we use Roman numerals anyway since we don't even teach kids how to make change from a twenty dollar bill. So why do we teach them something they do in Rome?

Could it be our schools teach Roman numerals just so we all know which Superbowl we are watching?

I've never been to Rome, so if you have, maybe you can tell me how it works with their numbers.

If you want a Roman twenty dollar bill, do you enter the Bank of Rome and ask for an XX bill?

Oh well, that's my 2 cents worth which I don't know how to write it in Roman so I'll move along.

We were lucky enough to have a few friends watching the game with us which makes it more fun.

From their reaction everyone seemed to enjoy the game, though the biggest reaction was from the commercials.

Everyone enjoyed them and I especially loved the Budweiser commercials with the Clydesdales.

The commercial with the kids talking was good as well. I just can't believe kids that young can talk as well as they do and be that smart, not to mention having computer skills at that age.

The hate work commercial with the woman screaming took on a life of it's own and as it went on and on it drew you in so much so by the end we were quoting it.

The Ed Mc Mahon/MC Hammer commercial to some of us may be a little too close to reality.

The GoDaddy.com hearing commercial added a little eye candy for the male viewer as did the bus Doritos ad.

Another Doritos ad that made all the men flinch was the snow glob crystal ball commercial.

Denny's had a good ad as well and in case you missed it today from 6 A.M until 2 P.M. Denny's is giving a free Grand Slam breakfast to everyone.

Now that my friends is a real deal.

Speaking of food, did I mention we had great food to eat while we were watching the game?

Did I also mentioned we sat outside and watched the game? It's Vegas baby!!!

Just a heads up, I'll be taking off Wednesday and Thursday this week as I will be working a late shift.

Knowledge Test

With the economy such as it is, we are now seeing education targeted for budget cuts.

Based on all of the statistics I have seen, it appears to me there are areas within the system to cut the budget, but the education of kids is not one of them.

I will say though, even in the good times I think we have lost our way on how much kids actually learn.

This is an accumulation of what teachers and schools can and can't do any longer and how the lack of parenting has helped curb education.

Looking at another country, I wonder how many high school graduates could pass the Ireland college entrance exam.

In fact I wonder how many of my readers can pass the entrance exam.


If you thought the SAT's/ACT's were hard...

Irish College Entrance Exam

(Pay attention to the one minute time allowance!)



OK I hope no one cheated and used more than a minute to complete the test.

I find it interesting their test is so short.





Now is the time for the true test as we grade your answers.



Well how many of you aced that test?