Just Plain Sick!

This morning I read where an Austrian man was sentenced to life in a psychiatric institution for holding his daughter captive for 24 years. In the basement of his apartment building, he constructed a sound proof bunker, where he raped her and fathered multiple children with her. One of the children, a twin boy, ended up dying from complications as a result of the defendant's failure to get medical help. The daughter, now 42, appeared in court, nailing down the prosecution's case, and sending this monster away to stay. As I look out my window and admire the beautiful sunny day that awaits me, I get more ticked off that this creep had to put a damper in it!

Who's Up For A Date?

This morning I came across an article titled 'Why I Fear Sell Dates', which dealt with the sell by dates on food packaging. How many times have we all looked for a sell by date and found what seemed to be a Department of Defense code word that would only kill us if we knew what it was referring to? I have to admit that until I was working in a grocery store, I never paid too much mind to these dates, assuming that people who were responsible for putting the products on the shelf were watching them carefully and took them off when they expired. It turns out that many shoppers live and die by this date system, and sometimes finding the date alone becomes a real chore in itself. Dates appear in various ways such as 6 JUN 09, 06-06-09, 09-o6-06, well you get the idea. Yesterday it was announced that the originating country of certain products will now have to be put on all packaging. So, as I've been saying all along, why can't the expiration date be stamped on all things in a uniform way, such as Jun 06, 2009? The rule of thumb in our country should be that if it's going to be sold here, the sell by date should be displayed clearly and uniformly, period!

What's With These People?

OK, time to get irritated together. Just when you thought everyone pulls together in emergencies, you just might want to look a little closer. Oh, everyone pulls together alright, but at what expense? Yesterday the ferry boat company that transports people across the Hudson River to Manhattan has filed suit against US Airways attempting to charge the airline for rescuing the trapped passengers from the Hudson river crash. Pretty damn cheap I'd say!

Then there's those AIG people again, being sent more rescue money and using it to pay off employee bonuses. The company stated that these bonuses were written in each one of the executives' contracts and they are bound by law to pay them. Hey fellas, NOT WITH MY MONEY! Whatever happened to no profit = no bonus?

An Apropriate Name

Bernie Madoff pleaded guilty today in a Manhattan court to all the charges against him and was ordered by the judge to be taken immediately to jail. His formal sentencing will take place in three months. Until then, he is being held in a Manhattan correctional facility, where his closet size cell badly fails to meet the standards of his 7 million dollar townhouse in Manhattan. This man has caused more hardship and misery to countless people who entrusted him with their life savings. On their behalf, I proudly present to Bernard Madoff (with my funds) the Reservation In Hell Award, for which he is more than well deserving!

In Poor Taste!

With all the people in this nation that are economically strapped and experiencing what has to be the most difficult time in their lives, the last thing we need to read about in the news is that Congress is slated to get their automatic pay raises. I mean, can anything be more insulting to the citizens of the United States than their lawmakers fattening their wallets while they continue to struggle just to pay the bills?

Again, Too Much Ink!

I'm sure that all reading this have heard about the Alabama shootings where eleven people were killed. As is customary in my posts, I do not list the name of the perpetrator nor grant him/her any attention. I've always said that these nut jobs get too much publicity and that more attention should be given to the victims. The life story of this guy continues to make the front pages, and while I understand the magnitude of the crime, constantly writing about him only serves as an encouragement for any copycats out there.

A True American Patriot

Last night, while routinely watching The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, he made an announcement that was very moving. Monday nights are usually my favorite time to watch Leno, as this is the night he features my favorite portion, which is 'headlines'. Before going into it, Jay announced that he was going to put on a comedy show free of charge. The community of Auburn Hills, just outside of Detroit, has been hard hit by auto industry layoffs due to the economy. The Palace at Auburn Hills donated the venue and Pepsi-Cola the sponsorship for this event. Leno stated that he understood the economic hardship imposed on many people, and wanted to give them the opportunity for a night out on him. Now, in my book, that's an example of a true American Patriot.

Love How It Makes No Sense

March 8th and it's already 67 degrees at 7 in the morning; now that's an opening sentence I think anyone out there can live with. Trouble is that common sense dictates that another couple of days and it will most likely all become a wonderful memory. As I said in past posts, it's merely Mother Nature throwing us a bone, so to speak; a gentle reminder that better days are coming. We must not forget how the month of March can really be in it's sendoff to the winter season. And so when we finally get that last minute winter storm this month, we can fondly remember these few days of spring-like weather to help us get through it.

Tidbits

1. In the matter of Rhianna and her tough guy boyfriend Chris Brown I would just like to say that I believe that one's manhood can be measured by his ability to show a softer side. The tough guy macho image just doesn't cut it in today's society, thus the need to constantly impose violence on the weaker sex shows the true weakness in one's self. C'mon Chris, learn how to be a real man, get help now! 2. It has been learned that multi billionaire crook extraordinaire Bernie Madoff has apparently struck some sort of deal with the feds to cooperate with their investigation into his thefts from investors over the past few decades. Maybe this can lead to revelations of others who might have been possibly involved and result in their being brought to justice. There should be some way to seize all of the assets of these lawbreakers and distribute it among the victims. That's my idea of the true redistribution of assets. 3. And so the sad saga of the four men who went fishing in the Gulf of Mexico off the western Florida coast has come to a sad ending. When their overturned boat was found about 35 miles out at sea, only one man was found alive clinging to the craft. He had been there for two days, reporting that the other three had drifted away from the boat in the rough seas. Two of the missing men were NFL players while the others were former college stars themselves. The Coast Guard called off their search after two days of searching a 26000 square mile area without any results.

A Storm of Trouble In The Forecast

I just read that the Dallas Cowboys have released Terrel Owens after three years with the club. Apparently owner Jerry Jones, who by the way was a TO supporter initially, has finally started paying attention to the character issues that normally accompany this extremely talented player. The team is about to open their new billion dollar stadium in the upcoming season, and along with the release of often troubled Adam 'Pacman' Jones, it appears that they are making the 'changes' that Jerry Jones predicted at the end of last season. The question now is where will Terrel Owens land next? No matter where that might be, the accompanying storm of trouble will be right behind him!

I Know It's Coming.....

Hey, who's that guy sitting at court side downing that beer? If you ask me, looks just like the President; in fact, it is the President! Last Friday Barack Obama attended a Washington Wizards game and sat among some pretty surprised fans. He appeared to be thoroughly enjoying himself, conversing with fellow fans and at one point even trash talking with a young Wizard jersey wearing fan. The Prez (figured if he's cool enough to down one with the fans, it's probably safe enough to call him Prez) is an avid Chicago Bulls fan and they so happened to be the opponent in DC that night. I'm not up on the final score, but I do believe his team went home with a loss. Some criticized his having fun while people in the country were being economically challenged, but I have to strongly disagree with them. Even the President of the United States has to have some down time like anyone else. He could have chosen to go to dinner at a lavish restaurant, but instead decided to hang with other fans.

McCarthyism Reborn?

Now there are certain things I could do without in life, but Fox News is definitely not one of them. On my way to the grocery store this morning I heard a report that credit card companies are monitoring their customers very carefully during this economic crunch. They are also guilty of raising interest rates to those who's credit rating is not so good. Anyone shopping at discount or bargain type stores are an example of people who's rates tend to be higher, as opposed to those frequenting stores like Neiman Marcus.

Now I'm no financial genius but it seems to me that raising someones interest rates when they are having trouble keeping up with the payments is pretty damn stupid! Meanwhile, the rich keep getting richer by receiving the favorable treatment.

Today, I am establishing the 'Reservation In Hell Award' for people like these credit card companies. May they enjoy their accommodations!

The Baltimore Panic

It may be March second but today we woke up to a 6 to 8 inch blanket of the white stuff; the first significant snow of this winter. Of course schools were closed, many people stayed home and yesterday's rush for the snow storm essentials was evident at the grocery stores.

Since my arrival here in the Mid-Atlantic region of the country there has always stood out to me a practice by the locals that has kept me wondering why? It seems that when a major winter storm is forecast, people here flock to the stores to buy bread, eggs, and toilet paper. I've fondly labeled it as the great Baltimore panic.

Now having grown up in New England and experiencing my more than average share of storms, I can't remember these things being the most sought after items. It's important to remember that when you are snowed in as a result of a storm, it's always wise to have on hand items that won't spoil.

Of course, in my 30 plus years here, I can only remember being snowed in just one time, at which time we raided the pantry and survived nicely. The toilet paper, on the other hand, continues to be essential regardless of the weather.

Let's Finally Get It Right

Work: a small four letter word which could come in the form of a noun, or perhaps a verb, depending on how it may be utilized. With unemployment at a high level and climbing at what seems to be a steady pace, work becomes a valued commodity. Many people who have been employed for many years are falling upon hard times as victims of downsizing companies; a direct result of a riddled economy. Bearing this in mind, I'm reminded that I too, as well as many fellow workers have been involuntarily tossed into this mix. Considering all of the unemployed, we should be thankful that we have jobs.

The frightening thing is the old adage that history repeats itself, hopefully this won't apply to our current dilemma. Perhaps this could develop itself into a rebirth of some kind where we learn to slow down and appreciate what we have and discover living within our means. Credit put us in this mess, with bankers loaning out money that didn't exist to people who couldn't afford to pay it back! The stimulus package scares me, considering the fact that I will never live long enough to see it disappear, we can only hope that our children and their children can finally get it right.

The Beauty Of Silence

Did you ever just plain long for, let alone treasure the beauty of silence? Just plain old beautiful silence. Nothing special like mad at you so I'll give you the silent treatment type of thing. Silence benefits us in many ways in life, and that's what I'm finally leading up to. A headline on this morning's MSNBC.com page reads something like this 'Pats Trade No Reason To Get So Little'. Now I can think of about three readers of this post who now know exactly where I'm going with this. Remember, this is all opinion, but I think I know my team well enough to say that there probably still is a full load in the New England Patriots' bag of tricks. As usual, we're probably yet again witnessing Bellichick's silence paying off. Ahhhhhhhhh .........don't you just love the silence?