This & That & the Other

This:
Well here in beautiful Minnesota we are entering our fifth season. Floods.
Every year as it happens with large snowfall in the winter, the coming of spring brings flooding. Every year towns along the Red River, the Mn River & the Mississippi are decimated by rising water. There is a reason it's called a flood basin. While watching the local news the other day, all three networks featured the story about the concern of ice jams forming which caused early flooding in certain areas. Clearly a problem. I was amazed that no one has apparently seen a Hollywood "disaster" movie. The solution to this layman, seemed obvious. Dynamite. Why wait for Mother Nature to decide the fate of countless homes & businesses, when a few sticks of dynamite strategically placed, could break up these ice jams.
Granted, this won't solve the long term problem of the seasonal flooding, but it will slow down the immediate danger & give communities valuable time to prepare for the inevitable.
That:
Recently, the state of Maine was considering issuing health warning labels for cell phones. There is some concern that the cell phone's emission of electromagnetic radiation could cause brain cancer & tumors.
While other countries such as Finland, Israel & France have issued guidelines for cell phones, the good old USA has yet to act. Isn't it strange that the only "comprehensible" study of cell phones & their safe use, which found that no danger existed, was paid for by the cell phone industry.
With over 270 million users of cell phones in the USA, I wonder if there will be a time down the road, where generations with cancer riddled brains will find themselves connected to their cell phones & life support.
The Other:
Just recently I signed onto snagajob.com. Looking for work as I have been unemployed for 1 year. After finding a prospective employer, I spent over 1/2 hour entering my resume & other pertinent facts as requested by the website. No cut & paste here. Hey wake up & smell the 21st Century.
After clicking on the apply now button, I almost immediately received an email from snagajob, which in part read
"Unfortunately your application did not meet the requirements for this
position."
Now this position was for overnight stocking of merchandise at a major dept. store chain. No previous experience was needed. No high school diploma needed. Basically an entry level grunt job.
I am over qualified for this position, but after a year of being out of work, even this looked good.
My problem with snagajob was their decision to determine if I was right for the position. Am I that outdated that I think perhaps the employer should be the one making that choice? I truly believe that this website is not only a technological disaster, it is also detrimental to those looking for work & the prospective employer.
So that's all folks for now. Maybe next time I'll do a me & you & them rant.

With apologies to Merle Travis & Tennessee Ernie Ford, " Another "year" older & deeper in debt" Yeah Happy Birthday to me. Alotta crap has gone down in the last year. Still numbered amongst the unemployed. Starting to feel like a lyric from Brother Can You Spare a Dime ?

They used to tell me I was building a dream
With peace and glory ahead
Why should I be standing in line
Just waiting for bread?

Once I built a railroad, I made it run
Made it race against time
Once I built a railroad, now it's done
Brother, can you spare a dime?

Well It's not quite that bad for me...no bread line.
Yet, there are millions of hard working Americans who cannot find employment. We are having to face the reality that we are becoming forgotten by society i.e. Corporate America, government. No average working man might have started this economic mess. (Sure, some may have what is euphemistically termed, lived beyond their means, over extended themselves, whatever you want to call it, it's out there.) Like so many Pavlov's Dogs we have been taught, Job = money= the good life
( American Dream)
Bigger house, better car, buy a boat etc. Hard to be a nation of consumers when you don't consume. Decades of being told to buy & spend. It's good for America & America's economy.
It's tough when through no direct action of your own, it all comes crashing down.
Pure & simple, the cause is a result of corporate greed, (banks, Wall Street etc.) & government irresponsablity.
When the government is so broken & votes are bought & paid for by the very group that they are supposed to police what can you expect?
By getting in bed with these immoral greedy jackholes , the government has given birth to a bastard. And it's an ugly child, filled with resentment, hopelessness and bitter anger.
This country is angry & frustrated by the the lack of government"of the people, by the people, for the people. "Apparently in congress, by the people has become buy the people.
This country is locked & loaded. God help us if some day that gun goes off.
Enough of the moral & political philosophy.
It's my birthday, a time to celebrate the wonders of the world A time to celebrate family & friends. A time for the royal feast to begin. A time for fond memories & embarrassment.

You don't need to be Perry Mason

Well here's another thing stuck in my craw, i.e. it pisses me off.
A 17 times (dating back 30 years) "career offender" convicted felon with charges ranging from forgery, burglary, welfare fraud, repeated sex crimes, failure to register as a sex offender, failure to comply with probation, failure to avoid contact with minors & more, to numerous to jot down here. This creep is a real bag of excrement.
On June 20,2007, this turdbag was sentenced for depositing $35,000 in counterfeit checks into his bank account.
The district judge sentenced the felon to the maximum of 20 yrs due to his literal life of crime. That's 7 times recommended state guidelines for forgery. Alright judge. Book 'em Dano. Why was this space - wasting, breathing - my - air piece of shit out of the Gray Bar Hotel in the first place?

Now this is what pisses me off.
Upon appeal, a 3 judge panel of the Mn Court of Appeals ruled his prison term "unreasonable & excessive. they ordered the case sent back for resentencing.
The felon waived his rights to a Blakely hearing, which is a jury hearing to determine if defendants qualify for enhanced penalties. He rolled the dice & lost.
In my be responsible for your actions world, this guy got what was long overdue.
How dare these pussy judges overturn what was a legal by the book sentence.
In our local paper, it always publishes a photo of someone who is charged or later convicted of committing a crime.
Again, in my responsible world, these judges need to have their pictures published as well. In fact let's start to hold all the judges accountable for their sentencing policies. Example: If a felon is given probation for a crime & then proceeds to commit another crime while on probation, the original sentencing judge must make restitution to the victim. In other words... no probation ever. serve out your time. If a person awaiting trial for a serious crime while out on bail imposed by a lenient judge, commits murder, upon conviction, the original judge must serve a life in prison in the same cell as the murderer. If a repeat convicted felon continues to break the law after release from prison, at the very least, the sentencing should be doubled.
I'm tired of career criminals using the system of lenient judges to continue being career criminals. Hold the judges responsible.
That's my verdict. Courts adjourned.

Bat child has sex with tabloid reporter

I'm a codger. I read the newspaper. Yes, an actual hold it in your hands while eating breakfast, newspaper reading codger. Well, while doing that very thing today, I thought the carrier (remember when they were called paperboys?) delivered a supermarket tabloid by accident.
A couple of headlines jumped out. If you will allow me... these are real.
These were all on one page of the local section.

Partygoer dies after hotel fight: Cop say alcohol flowed; 5 arrested.

Woman convicted for role in murder: Brother's body found burned in fire pit.

Woman accused of drinking while behind the wheel: Her daughter, 10 was also in vehicle

What the hell?
I've realized for decades that the planet is headed south, but apparently I missed the part where a new subspecies of mutants was introduced into the general population.
In the first story, those arrested have "long criminal records" ranging from misdemeanors to assault (you think), domestic assault, drug possession & assault of a police officer. ( Can you say career criminals with either a really good lawyer or a pansy assed incompetent judge.)
The second story involves a conviction of premeditated 1st degree murder stemming from a simmering family dispute. The deceased was stabbed with an arrow, had head injuries, torched & dumped in a fire pit. ( There are some family members I don't always agree with, this might be a bit of an extreme measure to get your point across.)
Finally, in the third story, the accused while heading to a local casino was busted for DUI with her daughter in the car. When the cops asked if she had been drinking. The ever truthful accused said she had consumed one vodka drink. The accused then produced a glass from inside the vehicle that was estimated to 32 oz. in size. (Now we all know that we shouldn't drink & drive, but sweet Jesus, drinking while driving especially in this quantity with child on board is just a little too much. Unless your kid is of legal drinking age, then you can blame it on them.)
I guess the point of all this is just a reminder to self to cancel my subscription the The Enquirer, & The Star. I'll stick with my local paper. At least there's a chance I might actually know some of these mutants.

I Don't Get (part 2 of a continuing series)

Sarah Palin
Fox News ( closest thing we have to Fascism in the USA)
Sarah Palin
Chris Matthews ( abrasive interruptus)
Larry King (z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z)(soft ball)
Sarah Palin
Mark McGuire (shame, you spineless sack)
Right Wing Nuts (cuckoos)
Left Wing Nuts (looney tunes)
Sarah Palin (I've either developed a stutter , or I really don't get it)
Jay Leno (never was nor will be funny)
Gay marriage ban (let em suffer as do we heteros)
AMC, TV Land ( boy what crap these have become)
Congress (what ,or are you slackers thinking)
Evangelists ( may the good Lord take a liking to ya)
Sarah Palin
American Idol ( is it American Idle? get a effen life)
Barry Bonds (you make Mark McGuire look good)
Law & Order Marathons
Sarah Palin (it's so ironically funny)(definition:Almost all irony involves commentary which heightens the tension naturally involved in regarding the state and fate of a person (in the present, or the past) who badly needs to know a given fact which they could easily know, but which they do not.)
Sara Palin

Jocks Strapped

The gun toting/brandishing incident involving Gilbert Arenas & Javarias Crittenton astounds me almost to the point of disbelief.
Earlier today as I was channel flipping I came across a panel discussion on ESPN. One of the planalist called the NBA a "thug" league. Exception was immediately taken by Kevin Blackistone a regular on ESPN's "Around The Horn" His counter point was that the term thug was a euphemism for urban black man. Well Kevin, if the Nike fits, wear it. By everyone on the panels agreement, the NBA has adopted a "HIP HOP"culture.
Nowhere in professional sports is a players individuality more prominent then in the NBA, much to the detriment of said sport. Sorry, I haven't watched the NBA in four years.
I'm a geezer. I remember Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, Willis Reed, Elgin Baylor, Oscar Robertson & the fantastic Julius Irving. It was all about TEAM. The only time attitude was acceptable was when your team won the title.
These Hip Hop wannabes with their gun toting, thug activities just can't cut it anymore.
Arenas gets suspended. The verdict is out on Crittenton.
I hope a message is sent so loud & clear that it drowns out the Hip Hop bullshit.
Whatever happens to these millionaire assholes, I'm sure it will have major financial ramifications. Then you will see two, who at least moneywise, become Jocks Strapped.

Frozen Nuts

Current temperature is -12 Farenheit. Forecast is for a hell of a lot colder.
The first line in the U of M fight song is, Minnesota, hats off to thee!
That song was obviously not written in January. Take your hat off today & you'll be looking at frozen follicles. Now this may be the perfect name for a
new wave punk retro band from Minnesota. Ladies & germs... the Frozen Follicles. Opening act is Hunker Down.. That's the phrase being bandied about today. To hunker down is to settle in at a location for an extended period. That location better be inside for the next week or hypothermia will seem like a sunburn in August.
I don't know if we have an official state poet, but it should be Robert Frost.
Let's make Clarence Birdseye II an honoray state citizen..
It's one of those cold spells that takes on legendary status.
Every January for a long as this old man can remember we have one of these.
It becomes a hallmark of Minnesota winters. If we can survive this, the worst is over...Bullshit. It's still gonna be cold with snow, blowing snow, falling temps, subnormal temps for the next two months at least. It's so cold, you can sympathize if the dog starts pissing in the house.
Who or what in their right mind would voluntarily go outside to relieve themselves in this kind of weather?
If they did, the best case scenario could result in frozen nuts.
That what we who live here in winter are.. Frozen Nuts