Nuclear Option

There has been a lot of talk the last couple of weeks regarding the "nuclear option" as it pertains to the United States Senate.
Per Wikipedia's definition: "In U.S. politics, the nuclear option allows the United State Senate to reinterpret a procedural rule by invoking the constitutional requirement that the will of the majority be effective. This option allows a simple majority to override precedent and end a filibuster or other delaying tactic."
This would be used regarding the attempt to finalize President Obamas' health care bill.
The Republicans are all in a tizzy over the prospect that the Democrats would use this option to circumvent constitutional procedures. They are outraged. They would never use this option.
The effen hypocrites.
This maneuver was prominent in 2005 , when Bill Frist Tennessee Republican wanted to use it against the dems during George W. Bush's
second term.
Both parties have used this threat as a bargaining chip to stall the passage of bills or for cabinet & judicial nominations.
Either way you see it, both parties are involved in a pissing contest while nothing gets done to help America get back on its feet.
My solution would be a different type of "nuclear option" for congress if they continue to disregard the reasons they were elected into office. I believe that reason was to serve the people.
How about we drop the big one atop the congressional building.
Now that's a real "nuclear option." (sarcastically speaking)

The Buck Stops Here

Troy Alan Reinke plead guilty. The accused poacher plead guilty to three charges & was sentenced to 1 yr in the grey bar hotel, stripped of hunting privileges for 5 yrs, pay court costs & pay $2000 in fines.
This jackhole was accused of illegally possessing an eight point trophy buck along with two other deer. Plea bargained to lesser charges, (originally facing 16 counts of illegal hunting) he was allowed to cop a plea.
The head of the Mn Deer Hunters Assoc. called it "a slap on the wrist."
The street value of the eight point rack would have been valued at over $100,000.
Reinke still a says he didn't kill the buck, he found it . If true, he should have reported the "find" to the DNR instead of planning to sell the prized rack (apologies to the late Jayne Mansfield) to a local sporting goods store.
Originally claiming that he shot the buck with a bow & arrow, he changed his story. The deer was shot killed with a bullet out of season.
The manager of the state DNR said " the judicial system worked"
Hold on a second.
I'm not a hunter. Have no desire to. There are too many unbalanced people out there with guns as it is. (Them not me.)
Regarding losing his hunting privileges for 5 yrs. I'm quite sure that after serving his time, this upright citizen can be trusted not to hunt for the the 5 yrs. He sure has shown his high regard for the law so far.
If this rack is valued at $100,000, isn't this considered a gross misdemeanor? One freaking year for a high stakes crime.
Score one for the judicial system my backside.
Bambi & Thumper must be aghast at the travesty.
Hopefully, while in the slammer, someone will make Reinke their personal Bambi & go all Thumper up his ass for the duration.

King of the Wild Frontier

Fess Parker died This last Thursday At age 85. To millions of boomers & their parents, he was & ever will be "Davy Crockett"
Mr. Parker was the star in the 50's mini series produced by Walt Disney for his weekly TV show Disneyland. Used to promote Disney's new attraction Frontierland at his new theme park, it quickly transcended all if any expectations. Whether it was the cold war times that fit the need for an American hero, or just riding the crest of that new innovation called television, Davy Crockett became the first craze designed just for boomers.
I was one of the many that owned a coonskin cap (actually rabbit skin) & a Davy Crockett t-shirt. For Christmas I got a "Davy Crockett at The Alamo" playset. This was one of many tin litho sets manufactured by Marx Toys. Clothing, books, toy rifles & records (theme from Davy Crockett spent 6 weeks as #1 on the charts) were everywhere. I still have a Davy Crockett ceramic cup.If you haven't guessed by now, Davy Crockett was the "King of the Wild Frontier" & the king of merchandising.
My dad was hospitalized at this time for quite awhile & died from cancer soon after. Maybe it was being in a female dominated home or I needed a father figure type in my life, but at the time, Fess Parker in the persona of Davy Crockett filled the void for a 6 yr old. (Freud,table for one)
Another boomer "hero" has passed along with a little bit of gentler times.

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.