Dollar Hits All-Time Low Against Euro
The business pundits don't seem to be talking about this much, but the U.S. Dollar has been hitting historic lows for some time now, making travel anywhere outsite the U.S. near impossible for vacations on the cheap. But there are bigger concerns..
Mexican Dynamite Truck Explodes
Up to 37 reported dead as truck explodes in boarder town of Piedras Negras on the boarder with Texas.
We've heard all about the "Jenna 6" down in Louisiana, and we've heard about and watched the protests supporting poor Crystal Mangum, she of the fake rape charges against the white Duke Students, the poor dear.
But sadly, things like this don't make the mainstream media. I've done a search on both Google and Yahoo! to find national media stories, with videos of a white Norfolk, VA teen being beat to a pulp by a group of black teens last week; a crime which most admit was racially motivated. Think I found any? Sure, there are lots of local media stories, but you'd be hard-pressed to find it highlighted on CNN, MSNBC or even Fox News. Anybody care to explain that for me, because I don't understand.
Oh, and one of the black teens has finally been charged.....with a misdemeanor. Where's Al Sharpton on this one?
Get ready for more fascist-like arguments on why you, yes you, should be caring for someone else's kids...or as many in Congress would put it, 'why we must take care of "the children"'.
"The Children" have become a powerful rallying cry in recent years as the unchecked mommy culture lobby becomes stronger by the month, successfully pulling products from the market because of the risk to 'the children', forcing more stringent FCC laws for 'the children'. Even in my beloved New Orleans you've become second-class citizens at Mardi Gras if you don't have 'the children', the translation that you aren't allowed to be on the front line with a traditional ladder if there are children because, well, somehow Mardi Gras has become about them. And your own civil rights be damned.
Now comes proposed expansion of the government's health insurance to about 4 million children AND their parents, passed by the House of Representatives on Tuesday, but without the Republican support to overcome a promised veto by the President. Now before we damn Bush yet again on his heartless cruelty, you may want to pause and think about what the bill's supporters, mostly the spineless Nancy Pelosi and company, are trying to accomplish; forcing you, and me, to pay for yet another benefit and special privilege not afforded to us. We have Food Stamps and W.I.C and all kinds of government-sponsored assistance for needy moms and their children. When's the last time Congress passed a law assuring food and shelter for childless men? Anybody know? Now they take it a step further, but for 'the children'.
The measure, expected to be passed in the Senate this week has been called "the most ambitious effort to reduce the nation's 47 million uninsured people that Congress will consider before the 2008 election" by USA Today. Those 47 million people being mostly children. And at the high level, a noble and caring cause, until you dig deep. If you're thinking such a plan is going to help poor white kids in Tennessee or Louisiana, you're taking a big gamble. Like most Federal social programs designed to help 'the children', this too will likely be best implemented in the larger inner cities of the extreme east and west coasts, and often accessible primarily to minorities; And while I don't begrudge them of that, it's all too common that such things are aimed not really for minorities or poor people, but for African Americans in the inner cities, and poor Latino children in Texas or needy white kids in Omaha or sick Asian kids in Pensacola be damned.
That's not my only beef with the plan. The 10-year-old State Children's Health Insurance Program was passed in '97 by President Clinton and the then Republican-controlled Congress. The legislation on the table this week was originally designed to extend that program which expires in 5 days and Bush has asked Congress to send him a 'clean' extension. The program now assists 6.6 million participants including about 600,000 adults. But Pelosi and company didn't stop there when writing the extension; they've added another $35 billion over five years to the already $5 billion-a-year program, $30 billion more than Bush asked for.
Only five days remain before the program expires and in brow-beating his colleagues into passing it, Greasy Rep. Charles Rangel, D-NY (of course) asked: "When you go home, the question is going to be, 'Were you with the kids or were you not?'". And THAT'S the rallying cry we hear all too often. Fuck the details; make it about 'the children'. It's a typical 'Do you like beating your wife' kind of question for those who might dare oppose it. How many of us live our daily lives without the benefit of health insurance, men and women and most specifically men? And while I'd never want to see a child go without, how has it somehow become accepted behavior that we provide special rights and programs and privileges for people simply based on their young age when so many others go hungry and without? All men (and women) created equal, right?
Many in Congress want you to see needy inner city kids who need check-ups and meds for a runny nose. What I see is more oppressive, forced support of what I DON'T have access to for someone else, all while I have no right to marry and very limited protection of my civil liberties in most states of the union; yet I'm asked to fund insurance for other folks' kids.
I'll make you a deal, if your kids promise to care for me in my old age, I'll give them non-emergency health care. Until then, take care of your own house and stay out of my pockets.
Already we're beginning to hear the rumblings of many African American leaders where OJ is concerned and I can hardly wait for the obligatory Al Sharpton protests and Jesse Jackson hunger strikes aimed at freeing poor Mr. Simpson, once again an obvious victim of 'the man'.
As with animal rights poster punk Michael Vick, stay-tuned for a barrage of cutting comments from the likes of Whoopi Goldberg and Jamie Foxx, insisting on the racism in the American judicial system and how any black man accused of anything, including murder is automatically innocent as long as his skin is brown.
In recent days I've seen footage of the OJ murder verdict, the millions of African Americans who cheered and rallied in the streets at the miscarriage and treason committed by the mostly black jury who set him free 13 years ago. For many, it didn't matter if he was guilty; it was what they saw as a pay-back. The crime OJ committed wasn't that he murdered a white chick, it was that he dated one, a forgivable offense no doubt and one that was manufactured by the "racist" police and D.A. prosecutors, right?
Now, we brace for round two and I look forward to the good people of Nevada correcting the evil of that Los Angeles jury so many years ago, and Al Sharpton be damned.
I make it to the gym this morning and they're blasting an entire Barry Manilow album over the speakers; Which makes perfect sense because whenever I hear Barry Manilow, the first thing that comes to mind is weightlifting.
Since when did murder, or destruction of livelihood become perfectly legal as long as the excuse was good enough? The catch is claiming to be a woman scorned.
Next on Oprah's couch is Mary Winkler. You remember her, right? She's mentioned right here in the archives of BadBoyScout.com, the rural preachers wife who shot her sleeping husband, in the back, then took off for several days evading authorities. The reason for the ice-cold murder? Well, poor Mary says the husband forced her to wear hooker shoes during sexy time, and he complained she spent too much. No, he didn't beat her and wasn’t in the process of doing so when killed. And while Mary wasn't empowered enough to leave the man, she certainly had the iron nuts to blow him away..in his back...while he lay sleeping.
The punishment? Three months in jail and a turn on Oprah who, for my money, will likely and somewhat strategically portray her as a heroine, or at least something less than she really is; a murderer who got away with it.
Add that case to the growing number of teachers, mostly female, who walk away from prosecution and/or jail time after molesting their male students.
Right here in Massachusetts, barely more than a month ago, Dr. Ann Marie Gryboski avoided not only prosecution, but jail time and any charges for shooting and killing her husband. According to area media, all Gryboski needed do after the initial arrest was claim abuse. Neighbors who lived across the street from Gryboski and her husband, including a 30-year-long next door neighbor both said they'd never heard nor suspected any abuse in the marriage and that Gryboski had talked of leaving her husband prior to his murder. Apparently death benefits pay better than alimony.
The REAL scary thing here is that, according to neighbors and the media, local police as well as the prosecutor did not even speak to neighbors or friends. That's right folks, she simply SAID it was abuse and thereby, for some odd reason, felt there was a moral justification to blow the man away. No in-depth investigation, they took her word for it. Case closed.
The Ohio woman, Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby who left her child in a hot car to die for 8 hours only two weeks ago escaped prosecution and formal charges being filed as well. "She made a mistake" says the prosecutor. And how can you or anyone else forget Crystal Mangum, the woman in Raleigh-Durham, N.C. who merely pointed a finger and caused a nationally honored college lacrosse coach to lose his career along with six other college men who lost job offers and suffered expulsion in their senior year? The men have finally been proven innocent, the coach still hasn't won his job back but Crystal Mangum walks free today.
Can you imagine any of the above scenarios had they been committed by men? Of course justice periodically overlooks the evil of them as well, only not so frequently nor forgiving by the public. In a society where a woman can simply point a finger in accusation and destroy a life, or murder a human being and escape even the most routine investigations, is there any room left for mercy of those who really might be innocent? Why is this happening and why aren't Oprah, the national media or our elected officials talking about it? Something is seriously wrong here.
Kanye West is one of the few people I actually enjoy loathing. Since injecting his racism and politics into the live, televised telethon for Katrina victims a couple of years back, I have nothing but disdain and hope for failure for this mediocre song-writing, less-than-vocally talented bitch. So it was no surprise to learn that he's thrown yet another tantrum backstage at MTV's Video Music Awards Sunday night. The reason? He was shut-out. Zip, zilch nada.
Relax puss, it's just the VMAs. Or maybe, Kanye, we're just not that into you....
Mourners gathered for Mr. Pavarotti's funeral today. I own only one Pavarotti CD but have always been somewhat of a closet fan. A few years back a friend turned me on to his rendition of 'Oh Holy Night', sung in French as only Pavarotti could, of course. That and his Nessun Dorma is a standard I play in my dark, lonely times or even on long drives when I've felt particularly melancholy; his voice always making my chest full and my eyes wet.. One day, many will wonder what it was like to live in Pavarotti's time, the vocal equivalent to Michelangelo. Ciao, amico.
My first IT job was as a 'User Support Coordinator' with the University of Houston wherein I was the chief desktop support guy for the university's Development division. That was the early days of Apple's System 7, and if you're not into talking about Apple products or their crappy quality, stop reading now and come back tomorrow. I'm considering something on homeless puppies and I'm sure you'll like that.
Anyway, that was my last committed link to the world of Apple products and justly so. I'd never turn down a Mac PowerBook Pro if it were given to me and I admire Apple's ability at taking the colors white and silver and building an entire marketing strategy around them using less-than-new technology, and less-than-brilliant college students. Still, who DOESN'T love looking at a Mac and all the fancy slick stuff it does? Who doesn't have or doesn't want an iPod? Yeah, old technology and there are better portable music players out there; but there's just something about those hip white strings hanging from your ears that give you an extra spring in your step, encouraging you to jam to Maroon 5 even when you're not entirely sure what a Maroon 5 is. But that's where it ends with me.
I'm a clinical phoneopath, needing and craving the latest cell phone gizmo and gadget. I had the Razor before anyone else did. Likewise with the Palm Treo. I've had the Chocolate and the LG phone that plays iTunes which even included the little spin wheel. I'm currently on the Blackberry Pearl with the Curve in my crosshairs but I refuse on principal, even if I could justify the expense of buying-in to the iPhone hysteria. As a matter of fact, any curiosity I may have had toward it is about as dead as AOL's legitimacy. So it's with a wicked since of satisfaction I read this story early today; 'Apple Cuts iPhone Prices Ahead of Holidays'. Holidays? I don't think so. They're cutting the price because people are staying away by the billions. Imagine, all those poor schmucks who stood in line or paid desperate college kids to wait in lines in order to be among the first for the over-hyped toy phone. To be fair, Apple has since apologized and offered a few bucks for anyone who has purchased an iPhone in the last month...But didn't it come out a bit before that? Apple's sincerity is as shallow as their quality assurance efforts.
At an eye appointment yesterday I noticed the physician's assistant fiddling with his very own iPhone. As I do with everyone I come across with one I asked "hey, how do you like that so far?" And like 100% of the other respondents in my little poll, he grimaced and said "I like it but its really hypersensitive, like SO fragile. It hangs-up sometimes and the network REALLY sucks. But that's AT&T's fault." Translation: "It sucks. It was a bad buy and a piece of technological excrement. Please don't laugh at me."
I don't really blame the sheep who went after it though. I had my own cravings, though they've since passed in the cooling-off period. While I love a lot of what Apple offers, I loathe both the company as a whole and its business model, or lack thereof. In an effort to bring his company back from confirmed death and keep share prices up, Steve Jobs has sacrificed the testing and certification process which accompanies products from microwavable TV dinners to space station robotics. Apple however doesn't invest much, if anything into such a process. Quality Assurance? Jobs never heard of it, and if Apple history is to repeat, then we'll continue to hear more stories on the evening news of complaints en masse over iPhones and iPods and iMacs and all the other iproducts it pushes out the doors of Cupertino, CA to the rapid-fire, quality-void assembly lines of Chinese factories and into the squirming fingers of the American consumer, who's cravings for trend-over-quality are alive, well and growing more ravenous by the day.
Get ready for more fascist-like arguments on why you, yes you, should be caring for someone else's kids...or as many in Congress would put it, 'why we must take care of "the children"'.
Already we're beginning to hear the rumblings of many African American leaders where OJ is concerned and I can hardly wait for the obligatory Al Sharpton protests and Jesse Jackson hunger strikes aimed at freeing poor Mr. Simpson, once again an obvious victim of 'the man'.
I make it to the gym this morning and they're blasting an entire Barry Manilow album over the speakers; Which makes perfect sense because whenever I hear Barry Manilow, the first thing that comes to mind is weightlifting.
Kanye West is one of the few people I actually enjoy loathing. Since injecting his racism and politics into the live, televised telethon for Katrina victims a couple of years back, I have nothing but disdain and hope for failure for this mediocre song-writing, less-than-vocally talented bitch. So it was no surprise to learn that he's thrown 
My first IT job was as a 'User Support Coordinator' with the University of Houston wherein I was the chief desktop support guy for the university's Development division. That was the early days of Apple's System 7, and if you're not into talking about Apple products or their crappy quality, stop reading now and come back tomorrow. I'm considering something on homeless puppies and I'm sure you'll like that. 
