There Ought To Be A Law...
(Some reflections on what's wrong in our society)

As Fr. Frog gets older (and grumpier according to some folks) I find that there are an awful lot of things that get my flippers in a frazzle.  The following lists some of my hot buttons--things that I find really get my blood pressure up-- in no particular order.  Now I don't mean to imply that everyone is like the examples below, but there seem to be an awful lot of them out there.  More chlorine is needed in the gene pool.

"Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats." -- H. L. Mencken

Some horrific act occurs--a violent criminal steals a firearm and goes on a killing spree, terrorists kill scores of innocents, a drunk drives his car into a crowd,  a wild animal kills a jogger,  etc., etc.--and the bleeding hearts cry, "There ought to be a law...."  We now have so many laws that a whole industry thrives trying to interpret (and circumvent) them, and none of these laws have the slightest effect on stupid people or those who would do wrong.  (Did anyone ever stop to think that, by definition, criminals are those who make their living breaking laws and that only those who are honest feel bound by laws.  Hey!  We have laws against, murder, kidnapping, and rape, and they occur with alarming regularity.)  DUH!

A GI in the tension and stress of urban combat, after having his comrades killed by "wounded" terrorists shoots a "wounded" terrorist in front of a news reporter and the world reacts as if that soldier was Adolf Hitler incarnate, screaming about "rules of war," brutality, and "fairness."  Yet when a terrorist beheads an innocent person live on TV or blows up a bus full of school children no body seems to get really upset.  They are TERRORISTS!  I say kill 'em all on sight, and make sure they are really DRT (dead right there).

Maybe some of those haters of the soldiers should be stuck into urban combat for a while, right up front with the guy going through the door first. (And since most of them are anti-gun let 'em go through the door first unarmed singing happy songs.)

An actor puts a .44 magnum loaded with blanks in his ear,  pulls the trigger and blows his brains out, and his estate sues the gun manufacturer.  A man gets drunk and drives his $50,000 sports car into a bridge at 100 mph and his estate sues the beverage manufacturer, the car manufacturer, and probably the bridge builder.  A woman puts a hot cup of coffee between her thighs and drives off in her car burning herself and she sues the restaurant chain. A jogger, alone and unarmed in a wilderness area, is attacked by a wild animal and she sues the state government.  

Products ranging from airplanes to plastic bags now carry warnings that you risk death and dismemberment (or worse) if you do something incredibly stupid with them.  Cups of hot coffee now all carry warnings "Warning! Contents Hot."  Duh?  Plastic wrap and bags carry warnings not to put over your face. Sets of kitchen knives have "Danger! Sharp!" warnings advising the user not to put fingers under them.  There are even signs on computer keyboards warning of risk of injury by using them!  Could this be next?

Just recently, I saw the warning to top all warnings.  I know some people are allergic to peanuts, but come on now.  On a bag of peanuts distributed in-flight on America West Airlines was the following warning. "Warning!  Produced in a plant that processes peanut products."  Good grief!  No kidding?

It use to be that people actually had enough brains to know that firearms, knives, hammers, drills, automobiles, hot things, chemicals, and wild animals could do you serious injury if mishandled.  If they did something stupid they owned up to it, accepted the consequences,  got on with life, and didn't try to blame others for their stupidity.  Lawyers are getting rich suing companies because someone used a product in an obviously stupid manner and got hurt.  And we're paying for it with increased prices!

It's getting out of hand!  I recently got a new cell phone.  Twenty four (24!!!) pages of the137 page manual was nothing but "safety warnings" cautioning against such things as putting the phone in the microwave, listening at too high a volume, and not letting small children or furry little creatures to play with the phone.

Maybe there ought to be a law!  A law simply banning  S T U P I D I T Y !

Then there is the trend for government officials to protect us by passing laws banning certain firearms or other "things."  Firearms are banned because they "look" evil," have black plastic furniture, or have such things as flash hiders, vertical grips, or bayonet lugs, or folding or "pistol grip" stocks.  Bayonet lugs?  When was the last time you heard of a 7-11 being held up at bayonet point?  In some jurisdictions simply changing the configuration of the wood stock makes you a felon with the attendant loss of rights.  Large capacity magazines?  I felt so much safer when new magazines over 10 round capacity were banned. (NOT!)  

Consider this.  Someone is pointing a pistol with a magazine capacity of 15 rounds at you.  Then they remove10 rounds from the magazine and point the pistol at you.  There, don't you feel safer?  Wouldn't matter even with 2 rounds or a single shot.  As for sustained fire, with a modicum of training a person can learn to swap magazines in about 1 second.  Now (2004-09-13) that the stupid "assault weapon" ban has expired most folks generally don't have to worry about these things but there are still some jerks out there trying to blame all crime since the "big bang" on such things, in spite of the fact that there was no "blood in the streets" when the ban ended.  Yet some folks are now calling for the ban to be reinstated.  Why?  For what purpose other than to control the peons?

"Things" should not be regulated nor banned, only the misuse of them.  It doesn't matter if you own an 300 mph car, an "assault rifle," a .50 caliber rifle, a .50 caliber M2 machinegun, a flame thrower, a fighter jet, a tank, a hammer, a knife, a book, or anything else.  If you misuse them then you suffer the consequences, until then who cares.  Also saying that "you don't need xxxx" or "there is no legitimate use for "xxxx" is a stupid comment.  You don't need a 6,000 square foot house, million dollar diamond jewelry, a $90,000 car, a 70" TV, a cellar full of wine, a library full of old books, 15 pairs of sneakers, or a double-chocolate fudge cake either.

A "felony" used to be a very serious - usually violent - crime. Now the new trend is to make even minor and non violent offenses a "felony" or to treat them as a felony, and thus proscribe the person from ever owning a firearm or voting.  (Remember, it's not the sentence you actually get but rather the maximum sentence that could be imposed that counts.  More and more "crimes" have statutory sentences of 18 months or more (even if that sentence is never imposed).  In addition, states like NJ are violating ex post facto and passing laws that are retro-active, turning otherwise honest citizens into "felons" who then have their doors kicked in to "protect" the public.  The government is NOT interested in public safety and order; never has been and never will be.  Even if everyone lived by the Golden Rule the government would still find ways to make that a crime so that they could lord their power over the citizens and make the government employees superior to the ordinary people. Consider this...

"... There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one MAKES them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.  ......just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted -- and you create a nation of law-breakers -- and then you cash in on guilt. Now that's the system, Mr. Reardon, that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll be much easier to deal with." --  Atlas Shrugged, p.411, by Ayn Rand,  Signet Books, NY, 1957

And while we're on the topic.  There should at least be an easy and inexpensive process for non-violent "felons" to have their rights fully restored at the completion of their sentence.  Personally I'd feel safer living next door to a "felon" who had his rights restored and who owned  guns, than next to any government employee or agent of the state.

How about concealed weapons permit holders.  Folks with CCW permits undergo a tighter background check than law enforcement applicants in many cases (and frequently get better training), yet they can't carry in many places--because they can't be "trusted."  And those "gun free" school zones--which are better termed "Please kill us" zones.  Why not just hang out a sign that reads "If you want to rob or kill our kids feel free to do so in complete safety."  Of course someone with malice on their mind will simply ignore such laws (What!  You mean signs aren't magic talismans of protection?)  and know that no one will resist them as they go about their evil rounds..  Those idiots who actually think such laws make them safer tell people that when confronted by a bad person that all they have to do is dial "911."  "Don't resist!  You might get hurt!" they bleat.  Of course since it can take quite a while for the boys in blue to show up (assuming that you can actually call them), whatcha gonna do while you're waiting and the bad guy is coming toward you?  Bleed? Die?  Of course if YOU, an honest citizen ignores the signs and winds up saving a life because you had the forethought to be armed, you will be the one going to jail.

I recently had a salesman for a local alarm company knock on my door and try to sell me an alarm system.  Told him I wasn't interested.  He replied, "But what will you do if someone breaks into your home?"  My reply was, "The only problem that would cause would be whether my wife or I got the first shot."  He gave me a shocked expression and walked away.

Speaking of CCW (Conceal Carry of Weapons) "licenses."  First of all I don't like the sinister implication of the term "concealed."  It implies you are hiding something you shouldn't have.  "Discreet carry" is the term I prefer.  I do not believe that any "license" should be needed to go armed. It's a right and possibly a duty.  However, given that the government is license crazy I think they have the process backwards for "CCW."  Since discreet carry is just that, discreetly carrying out of general public view so the rabbit people won't freak out, if they simply have to license something it should be open carry as that is what could alarm the bleeding hearts and those with "delicate sensibilities."

Of course there is always the issue of political correctness.  You can actually be arrested and jailed in many places because you utter something about another person or their life style under your breath, or tell a joke that someone with too much time on their hands overhears.  (And the time may be upon us where criticizing the government my be added to that list.  They are already trying to close down conservative TV and radio programs that question the government's actions.)  Meanwhile the utter lack of morals, self control, and honesty among members of the socialist government and their agents is "OK."    If you disagree with someone's lifestyle, beliefs, or actions; or if you choose to associate with like minded people, then the socialists, the media,  and the so-called "minorities" call you a bigot or a phobic even though THEY can put down anyone they choose.  Try setting up a white college fund, a conservative white  caucus, or a German-American college fund,  and see what happens.  If someone says something that "offends" you, you have 3 options.  Put on your big-girl panties and deal with it; politely explain that you're upset; or punch their lights out.  Don't go whining to your lawyer or the press.  

By the way the PC term "homophobic" needs to be stricken from the language.  Phobic, from the Greek phobis means an abject paralyzing fear of something.  I know many people who are disgusted or revolted by such things but just because someone does not agree that homosexuality is a moral life style, or just because they prefer that their children not be influenced by it, does not mean they are paralyzed with fear by them.  Everyone does not have to agree with those of different views.  We just have to treat everyone with common courtesy.  The gay and PC crowd uses term like these to make it seem that anyone not in full agreement with them is an evil bigot.

And speaking of "correctness" why is it ok for Muslims, blacks, and  "minority groups" and their leaders to say anything vile, hateful, racist, or biased that they want to about other races (especially Caucasians, Christians, and Jews), to defame the icons of the Christian or the Jewish faith, or the founders of our country.  The media is silent with them, but when a Caucasian, Christian, or Jew says the slightest slur (real or imagined) about them, their beliefs, or their leaders, the resulting uproar is in the news for days.

Friends indeed. Another thing that really gets me is the shallowness of many "friendships" and number of people with the "What's in it for me," or the "It's about ME," attitudes these days.  People may claim to be a friend and turn to you when they need help, but the first time you find yourself in tough times or are in some need they are conveniently no where to be found.   Or, if it suits the occasion or they need to look good, they can speak ill of you to others yet smile to your face if you have what they want or need.  If they hear something bad about you suddenly they are gone--they don't even bother to ask you.. All they want is to take from you.  The old adage of  "a friend in need is a friend indeed" seem to be the mantra of people these days.  I have experienced this enough times personally and have had others speak of it enough that I truly believe that true friendships, honesty, integrity, and  morals are dying in our civilization. I see people manipulating "the system" and outright lying to get everything they can (even when not really entitled to it) and they think nothing of doing so.  Maybe it's the current culture of instant gratification and self-aggrandization that is the root cause, but it is very sad.  I treasure my circle of real friends.  And remember that this runs both ways.  Stick by your friends, keep your word, and do what is right.

Even traditional neighborhoods are having problems.  When we first moved here the neighbors on either side of us came over, welcomed us,  introduced themselves, and offered any assistance that we might need to get settled.  Several of these folks have since died or moved and the people who replaced them are very unfriendly.  When my wife went over and introduced herself to one new young couple to welcome them to the neighborhood she was very rudely rejected and they basically ignore everyone here.  Nowadays its seems like many people don't want to be bothered with anyone but themselves and I hear things like this from all over.  Won't be sharing my supplies with them when the SHTF.

What part of ILLEGAL alien don't you understand?  If they are here illegally or have overstayed their visas, round 'em up and send them back. No ifs, ands, buts, nor excuses.  If they can't stand their governments, may they should work for changes in their own countries rather than mooching off the US.  It's not our fault their country is screwed up. Don't come here and mooch off of my tax payments and the public welfare system, not pay taxes like the rest of us, and expect me to have to translate every stinking sign, document, and product's label, into your language because you are too lazy to learn the defacto language of this country, and then fly the flag of your former country.  Maybe we should give each illegal alien a rifle and 100 rounds of ammo and send 'em back to "reform" their own country.  And while we're at it lets nail those businesses that knowingly hire illegal aliens--especially those in communities with any unemployed US citizens.

I have friends in the UK and Europe who want to immigrate to the US but can't, because of quotas and visa restrictions.  They are successful, self-supporting businessmen and women who would be contributors to our society.  Yet some folks want illegal aliens to get all the social service benefits available, many of which are denied to hard working citizens.  Of course, hard working, successful people tend to vote conservatively while illegal aliens vote for whomever lets them stay here and get free benefits.  Maybe we need to introduce reciprocity and handle immigration violators the same way that their countries handle foreign citizens who violate their laws.  I wonder how certain countries would react if we enforced the same laws that they have against non-citizens.

Amnesty?  If they give ILLEGAL aliens, who are by law "criminals," blanket amnesty and rights then they must also give a blanket amnesty and restoration of  rights to all US citizen non-violent "criminals," (both those in jail and especially those who have completed their sentences) that the government has created through their stupid regulations.  (If I am not mistaken violation of immigration laws can get you sentenced to 18 moths or longer which "felonizes" the violation.) They talk about giving amnesty to  those foreigners who break our laws by coming here and living off the "system," yet a US citizen who accidentally checks the wrong box on a federal form or commits a non-violent "crime" can lose their rights and it is just about impossible these days to get them restored.  

And...  It use to be that immigrants came to America and became AMERICANS.  They had to (and wanted to) learn English and about our history and culture before they became citizens (and the wanted to become AMERICANS..  The illegals come here, live in enclaves, fly the flag of their former country, and expect US to adapt to them.  As Theodore Roosevelt once said

"In the first place we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the man's becoming in very fact an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag, which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

and

"In this country we have no place for hyphenated Americans. A hyphenated American is not an American at all. This is just as true of the man who puts 'Native' before the hyphen as of the man who puts German or Irish or French before the hyphen. Americanism is a matter of the spirit and of the soul. Our allegiance must be purely to the United States. We must unsparingly condemn any man who holds any other allegiance."

Ever have a question about, or problem with, a product and go to the company's or manufacturer's web site?  You dig through stuff and find the "contact us" page or their email address.  There in big bold print is a "click here to email us" button.  You click, fill out the form, or do an email, and send it, and then... NOTHING.  Even when your email is a query about making a purchase.  Same problem with government agencies, organizations, and many informational web sites.  Never a response.  If they don't answer, why do they have a "contact us" page?  Heck, some companies don't even respond to written requests sent with an SASE.  And, what about the sites which have ZERO contact information? Or, even "better" the sites which only have a customer (non)service telephone number at $35 a call?

Speaking of telephone customer support.  How about those help-lines where the person can barely speak English and where it is obvious that they are reading from a script and have no idea about trouble shooting. Some companies won't even talk to you without getting a credit card number to charge you an outrageous fee for crappy support.  I recently had a problem with a piece of electronic equipment which stopped working.  After going through 3 "technicians" who were progressively stupider and stupider I was told that I had to send it back for repair (at a flat rate cost of some $80--almost as much as the device cost).  Something didn't sound right to me and I did some Internet research and found out that the unit would sometime lose it's settings and freeze if unplugged while turned on.  By simply holding down one of the control buttons, plugging it in.  and then turning the unit on, the unit would reset itself and work again.  Not only did the "technicians" not know or reveal this fact, it isn't even in the manual.

I recently emailed a company about obtaining a replacement cover for my old UMAX 1220S document scanner.  Simple request, for a user replaceable part.  I was informed that I needed to call their tech support (at $35 per call) as my scanner "needed repair." Another 3 emails later (trying to get them to understand I didn't need a repair, just a part), they finally said that 1) the part is not available, and, 2) they do not sell parts to consumers because they need to be installed by qualified individuals.  Considering that the cover is identical to that on some of their current models (I know I checked) and the fact that when you buy the scanner you have to install the cover yourself they are full of horse pucky.  Duct tape works miracles and is still working after 3 years of heavy use, but I won't be buying their brand again.

Here's a good example of "support" submitted by George Grimmel.  

"There is a problem with the online billing forms used by BellSouth. Silly me decides to call the help line. After navigating the 4,391 layers of the automated response insanity the "problems with online billing" option gets me "for online billing problems see our website's online billing section" as a response then it hangs up.  Hey MORONS I'm having a PROBLEM with the ONLINE billing website, that's why I called.  Being the patient sort (not really) I call back, find (after a "few" attempts) an option that gets a HUMAN. This genius gives me the same response and switches me to the automated response that hangs me up. Call back the fourth or fifth time get a human and ask for a supervisor. FINALLY after a mere 45 minutes manage to get someone who can understand a question.  Still can't solve the problem.  Because THEIR software is screwed up. I (that'd be me) have to pay a $5 fee to do a telephone payment.  HUH?  Get supervisor's supervisor, this genius' first question - have you tried our online payment option?  Excuse me, are you looking at a problem screen?  Yes, sir! Okay, what does it say my problem is?  It says you are having a problem with our online billing software; so, have you tried our online payment option?  Aaaaarrrrggghh!"

And here's another.  I recently got a new Nikon digital camera and wanted a lens hood for the lens.  According to the manual the model I wanted was an HB-33.  However, according to all the stores it was either on long back order or discontinued. Contacted Nikon and they said "find an HB-33."  I asked if the HB-45 lens hood that is designated for a newer model of the same lens would fit.  "No!  Find and HB-33"  Hmmm! Dead in the water?  Then my stepdaughter who lives in NY and has the same lens checked with a camera store she passes and discovered that 1) the HB-33 was discontinued; and 2) that the HB-45 fits both lenses perfectly and the dimensions were the same as the old HB-33.  She sent an HB-45 to me and it is a perfect fit in all respects.  Contacted Nikon tech support again and informed them of the facts.  Received a reply that the HB-45 will not fit on the old model lens (in spite of the fact that I had one mounted on the lens in my hand).  DUH! [Update: To someone's credit I received an email from a different tech recently stating that he had actually checked and found that the new HB-45 will, in fact fit, on the old lenses and that it is the replacement for the HB-33.  He was going to get the word out to the rest of the support group.  At least someone still has brains.]

How about "thank yous?"  Now we shouldn't expect to get recognized and have our name in neon lights for everything we do, but what ever happened to the words "Thank you," and "Please?"  I half expect to see them missing in the dictionary soon.  A genuine kind word can go a long way.  And then there are the folks who simply do what they should be doing and think that because of that fact that the world owes them something more than a simple "Thank you."  

In addition to not saying "please" or "thank you," don’t you just love being addressed as "dog," "bro," "playa," "guys," yous guys," or something equally indicative of the quality of upbringing in play?  Here in NM, the common MO is to ask in the negative, such as "Yo, dog, you don’t got an extra cigarette?"  I initially thought this was a symptom of speaking Spanish as a primary language, but no longer think so.  The incorrect (in English) double negative is correct in Spanish and I, therefore, thought this to also be a symptom of Spanish language influence.  Not surprisingly, however, the double negative lives on without the influence of a foreign language.  The most impressive performance I’ve witnessed was a QUADRUPLE negative within the span of one sentence.  Much of this is symptomatic, of course, of a general trend in society to worship the blatantly immoral and/or antisocial.  ’ve never understood the idea of it being "cool" to be ignorant, impolite, disrespectful, offensive or sloppy.  It’s now admirable to be a thug, pimp, gangsta or any number of other criminal miscreant types.   I suppose that’s what we get for teaching self-esteem instead of morality. Now everyone is taught to feel really good about themselves even when doing something wrong.   Here in New Mexico there are a lot of Hispanics and, therefore, Catholics. What I see is so much un-Christian behavior. These knuckleheads have tattoos on their bodies and murals on their cars of religious icons for the world to see, but act in such a way that is an affront to even an atheist.

Thanks to Lee Murphy for that one.

Ever buy a package of some product in the food store and notice the legal disclaimer on the picture on the box, "Serving suggestion only?"  Do you really mean that some people think that the plate, the table setting, and the kids are actually in the box.  And then there are those disclaimers at the end of movies, "Any similarity between actual people and events and the story and characters portrayed is purely accidental."  Well maybe if the movie is based loosely on a real life event, but you mean to tell me that people actually believe that Star Trek, The Terminator, Shrek, and Roger Rabbit are real?  Some movie makers do have a sense of humor about this though.  Several years ago I watched a movie that had a great disclaimer at the end.  

"This movie was the product of several deranged minds and is based solely upon their hallucinations and fantasies.  No animals were harmed in the making of this movie, but the entire cast was either killed or injured so badly that we can't make a sequel."

How about the "Do not attempt. Trained professional on a closed course" on those automotive adds that show the new Mark 7 Super SUV jumping buildings and running through rock slides.  If people are stupid enough to try those stunts do you actually think they can read the warnings?  

My new favorite "box comment" comes from one of the new microwaveable "steamed" dishes which come in their own bowl, so you can eat right from the microwave.  On the box is the wonderful suggestion--"Meal can also be enjoyed  by placing steamed food on a plate and topping with sauce."  NO SHIT !!!  What will they think of next!  Why didn't I come up with that idea?

Ever go to a store or restaurant and run into a surly clerk or waiter?  Bet you have!  Don't you love it when they come up to the table and say, "Wadda yous guys want?"  Whatever happened to "service" and politeness in most business?  The really service and customer oriented businesses are so rare these day as to stand out like a day-glow orange sign. Luckily, living in a small town the majority of businesses here still care about their customers but the misfits are beginning to creep in.

And what is it with these telemarketers, waitresses and salespeople who don't know you from Adam, but feel they can call you by your first name? This gets me steamed in the worst way. I don't know about today's young adults, but I was raised better than to be so presumptuous and overly familiar. Grrrrrr!!

Thanks to Brian Simons for that one.

And how about, you pause for a breath and a bit of conversation in the restaurant and the server comes up and says, " Are you still working on that?"-- in reference to food still on the plate. Oh, that just chaps me to hear that. I'm not "working" on anything, I'm eating!  I guess they are so used to patrons coming in, eating, and leaving all in the space of 20 minutes, rather than enjoying the meal and the company. Whatever happened to, "May I take your plate, sir?"

Thanks to Matt Sanford for that one.

All of this also works in the other direction too.  There is no reason to berate or to be surly to a clerk or a waiter either, or for that matter any sales person.  I once got stranded in an airport when the airline cancelled all flights from that airport leaving two young lady ticket agents to deal with the public.  While it was a "very bad thing" it wasn't these ladies' fault.  Yet the display of foul language and bad manners by the passengers was disgusting.  When I finally got to the counter I made it a point to be calm and polite and acknowledge the fact that it wasn't their fault.  I just asked that if it was all possible that I get out of there by 7 pm and that I'd take any flight--even multi-hop "red-eye" ones.  She thanked me an said that she would do her best and call me.  About 45 minutes later I was called to the counter and given tickets for another airline and directed to go to a gate immediately.  Upon arriving at the gate I was ushered into a first class seat on a non-stop flight that would get in 2 hours before my original flight would have.  Politeness counts!

How about smiling?  Most folks seem to go around with a broom up their nether regions and look like they'll bite your face off if you say anything to them.  If you smile at them what you get in return is a dirty look.  If you are so unhappy either stay home and mope or get some professional help.
Hey!  I'm having a great day.  Too bad you're not. <BIG smile>  J

Here in AZ we have a real beauty.  Folks move here from crowded California and then try to turn us into what they left.  They get all in a tizzy when they see someone carrying a pistol, freak out when a wild critter shows up in their back yard (especially when it eats their poor little Fluffy that they let run loose to crap in someone else's yard), put up huge gated dense-pack developments on prime land, and waste water like there's no tomorrow.  And of course there's always their "get out of my way I'm in a hurry" attitude they display on the road and in stores.  I've also noticed that there is distinctly more roadside trash appearing.  I'm all for a competency test and proof of common sense before you can move here.

We moved to a new town ten years ago. It was a really polite, comfortable and apparently safe place to live and then the shopping carts started getting left in the parking lot and not returned to the cart corral.  Everything has changed, the loud booming cars, the trash scattered in the K-mart parking lot and all cars locked and missing the keys in the ignition.  Yes, at first you could go to the grocery store and see cars with the windows down and keys in them- no more.  We have been invaded by "the minorities."  Equal rights?  Where's my right to live in a crime free and clean environment?  Am I a bigot?  Probably. But I just want my town back the way it used to be.  I want to live with the people that put their carts back.  Until then I will practice my Second Amendment rights with responsibility and perseverance.  [I hear similar complaints from all over as of late. - Fr. Frog]

Thanks to Jim A. for sending me that one

Cell phones.  Sheese!  What did we do before they were invented?  I carry one too, but is anything so important that you have to drive while talking on them (I've come within inches of being hit by jerks on their cell phone while they were trying to turn a corner), walk around a store yelling into the phone, or carry on a loud, meaningless conversation in the middle of a restaurant?   Recently I was nearly hit by an idiot who was driving and talking on the cell phone and who failed to stop for a stop sign.  As he missed me by inches he took his other hand off the steering wheel and flipped me "the bird."  It's not like you are carrying the nuclear launch codes or the fate of the nation depends upon your phone call.   I even had one go off in the middle of a funeral I was conducting--and the jerk answered it and started talking! (Luckily, one of the ushers was very polite (and 6'4").  The individual did not come back in and I didn't ask the usher where he hid the body.

And in the movies!  There is a short clip shown in some theaters before the movies, of Indians sneaking up on herd of buffalo. Just as they are almost ready to attack a cell phone (in "the audience") goes off and the herd scatters. The Indians lament that the tribe will starve this winter because of such a lack of manners.  End of courtesy message.  Then the movie starts.  I bet you that within 10 minutes someone's cell phone will go off.  By the way why do they have to have those stupid and annoying long ring tones and have them at maximum volume?   Then they let them ring 3x before answering. Why can't they have them set on vibrate or "chirp" mode.  I'd love to distribute a self-destruct ring tone that would cause a cell phone left on in a inappropriate area to simply explode.  The resulting short "bang" would certainly be less annoying that "Dadingdadingdabringdedingdingtadadadingdabringdedingding. (repeat)"  

Thanks to Larry Minn for reminding me of the movie problem.

This past week I was sitting in my parked truck when an idiot woman backed into me while talking on her cell phone.   No damage to my truck but she had a nice crease in her trunk.  After ascertaining that I had no damage she then drives off still talking on her cell phone and turns into the path of an oncoming vehicle with the right of way.  Major damage to both vehicles.  I hung around and when the police showed up I mentioned that she had been talking on her cell phone when she had moments before backed into my parked truck and again when she had the second accident.  The cop rolled his eyes and looked over at the woman, who was still animatedly still talking on her cell phone.  He thanked me and as he started walking over to where she was, pulling out his citation book.  More chlorine in the gene pool please!

Litterers.  Don't you just hate it when you see all the trash on the roadside or in a wilderness area?  Hey!  Why can't they carry a small bag in the car and dump their trash when they stop.  I won't even go there about dirty diapers left in shopping center parking lots.  And then there are the idiots who toss their cigarette out the car windows.  Bad enough in town but when they do it in a dry wilderness area....  Should be a capital offense enforceable by anyone who catches someone littering.

"Sir.  Why did you shoot that woman 3 times?"
"She threw a dirty diaper into the parking lot."
"Oh!  Sorry for the inconvenience.  Have a nice day sir."

The follow comments were written by Deroy Murdock and published in the Federalist Digest.  

"The ongoing collapse of courtesy is no surprise in a nation with so many people who are as self-absorbed as black holes. Consider this T-shirt I've spotted. "It's all about me -- deal with it."

"Push in your seat when leaving tables in restaurants, libraries, and conference rooms. Abandoning your chair or barstool in the middle of a path obstructs those who walk by after you depart.  It remains civilized to hold open the door for someone who is walking a few steps behind you. Letting the door slam in his face is rude. When someone opens a door for you, say "thank you."  Muttering "Excuse me" makes a gracious person feel his thoughtfulness is abusive. Walking by and saying nothing, as if that lady or gentleman were your servant or simply invisible, is vulgar. "Please" and "thank you" are not vulgarities. Use them generously, especially around children. They need to learn two of the language's finest words, even if adults say them less than they should.

Trash cans are there for a reason.  Use them. A major airline's East Coast shuttle lounge in Washington, DC's Reagan National Airport -- gateway for learned attorneys, lobbyists, journalists, and members of Congress -- recently almost suffocated beneath whole sections and loose pages of various newspapers. They were strewn across the floor and on many seats. These literate adults apparently did not have their mommies on hand to locate the ubiquitous, neglected garbage bins. The point of all this is not necessarily to turn every American man and woman, respectively, into Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, though we could do worse. The idea is to encourage each of us -- every day, in tiny ways -- to subtract from, rather than add to, the worries of an impolite world."

One of the things I offer on this website is an archival research service that will locate and provide copies of articles from 63 years of back issues of the American Rifleman magazine.  Frequently an individual will request a copy of an old article without knowing the exact date or title.  It takes a lot of time to locate such articles.  When I reply to them that I have located the article(s) in question, I never hear back from them so I've wasted my time.  Grrrrrr!

How about "warm-body" voters.  I bet that a very large percentage of voters can't even recite (or come close to reciting) 4 of the 10 articles of the Bill of Rights as written, let alone tell you what the candidates really stand for.  With public education freely available for all (including ILLEGAL aliens), I'm all for competency tests for voters and positive ID.  What's wrong with required proof of citizenship and identity, and the ability to understand English,  to vote in this country?  How does that inconvenience the poor or non-driving public when someone can get an "official state ID for free or only a couple of dollars upon proof of citizenship.  For that matter how about requiring anyone running for public office to recite the Bill of Rights and to have served the country for a minimum of 2 years either in the military or some national service corps?

Don't you just hate this. You are watching a program and when it goes to commercial the sound becomes so loud it rattles your windows. Is that so you can hear it if you are in your kitchen getting a snack?  Well, what if you thought ahead and have all your goodies next to you. It's bad enough that commercials have all that fine print on the bottom or have fast talking people to tell you every side effect that might happen if you use their product. I'm all for requiring that  commercials should have an ID encoded in the video stream and all TVs should have the option to cut the sound for commercials. 

By the way, there should be a limit on the number of commercials allowed during a program.  Not long ago I taped a 1 hour program from a major network and when I played it back there were over 23 minutes of commercials during that "1 hour" show.

A correspondent reports - "Both times when I was in the Army stationed in Germany, I remember that one of the three German TV stations (ARD, ZDF, or BR) would broadcast a program that took roughly 38 minutes. This was followed by 20 minutes worth of commercials. No interruptions. What a novel approach!!!"

Ah, those "feed the children" of poor countries ads.  Chances are that the kid pictured in the commercial was staged and the child in question could now be your 29 year old neighbor. They should have a date posted on the bottom of the commercial to show exactly when the commercial was first made and a statement declaring what percent of the money collected actually goes to helping others. Better yet, don't send money to some other country when we have plenty of folks in need here.  Heck, that kid will probably grow up and demonstrate against those "evil Americans."

The Motor Voter Law.  A 15-year-old goes into the DMV to get a Learner's Permit and is given voter registration paperwork. Huh?  Later, the clerk asks specifically for that paperwork and when it's not returned filled out, the clerk wants to know why.  It happens again several months later when the now 16-year-old goes in to get a Driver's License.  These attempts have been  witnessed enough by many people that I've often wondered how many under-age and alien drivers get pressured into illegally registering to vote, or for that matter how many of those registrations are used by unscrupulous individuals to falsify votes, as that ACORN organization was caught doing.?

Meetings.  One of the big things that I don't miss since I retired from the rat race is meetings.  How many times have you sat in a long meeting that accomplished nothing of value, while you had import work to do?  How many thousands of hours are wasted each year doing nothing.  In 30 years of the rat race I attended exactly two (2!!!) meetings that actually accomplished something important in a timely manner.  Both meetings took under 10 minutes and everybody stood. (No doughnuts, either.)

Personal attire (or lack thereof).  Have you noticed the general decline in dress and personal pride.  Folks wander about and even travel looking like they just got out of bed (or looking like they want to take someone "to bed").  Men look like they need a haircut, shave, and a bath, or like they were working on their car.  Teachers dress like they are working in the garden.  Every day I see women and young girls out in public wearing(?) clothing that barely covers them with everything flapping in the breeze, and makeup that would do a professional hooker proud.  Now I'm not a prude and I enjoy the sight of an attractive female as much as any man.  However, belly buttons, bra straps, nipples, butt cracks, and the top of ones pubic hair showing while shopping or in a restaurant is NOT sexy, nor is constantly tugging on your super short skirt that has a hem line just below your butt cheek..  Of course if some scantily clad female notices you looking at her you're in danger of getting a sexual harassment suit thrown at you.  Hey! Try looking in the mirror before you go out in public and don't advertise if you don't like window shoppers!. (And just HOW do they get into those jeans?)  

And not to leave out the males, what about those boys (and even some adult(?) men) with those ill-fitting, dirty, baggy pants that look like they're about to fall off  with their underwear showing, and their heads (Oops! I mean hats) on backwards that seemingly can only use words that would make my old drill sergeant blush.

Why doesn't someone invent something to keep the sun out of my eye?

What's your degree in?  The current preoccupation with a person's "credentials"  or background rather than their abilities is at an all-time high.  The qualification for just about any major job nowadays requires the applicant to have a "degree" or some kind of  "professional certification," a major criminal and financial background check, and 87 references.   Seeing the level of intelligence and common sense (or lack thereof), the inability to write coherently, or to use proper grammar, that is coming out of many of our schools of "higher" learning," the hypocrisy of many "professional" certifying organizations, and the lack of a work ethic, I wonder how any real work gets done.  In 30 years of the rat race the smartest, most capable people I encountered were usually those without fancy degrees or credentialing.  When a problem arose or something needed to get done those were the folks who rose to the occasion.    

Now I don't begrudge those who seek higher learning as some people really invest a lot of time and effort and achieve great results, but that doesn't automatically make them "better," "smarter," or more qualified than someone else.  I've seen lots of Master's Thesis's that were poorly written, incomprehensible garbage, yet the person got a degree.  Judging from conversations I've had with folks another problem is that newly minted degree holders with zero real world experience frequently think they know more that the folks who have been in the field for many years.  My wife who has been an award winning teacher for 33 years with a Masters plus and supervisory credentials reports that the current crop of folks coming on board with education degrees seems to think that they are magically superior to everyone else even though they can't effectively teach without the latest high tech equipment and have no control over their classrooms.  Many of them can't spell or write a coherent sentence either.

Maybe what is really needed is a degree in common sense.  You have your MCmnS???  Yes?!  You're hired!

How about those busy-bodies.  No matter what someone does or no matter what someone's abilities or qualifications are, these idiots gossip and complain about everything that person does.  They obviously don't have a life so they have to try and run everyone else's.  I see this a lot in, of all places, the church.  Wonderful people who take their faith seriously and give freely of their time and talents to help others and to keep the church running smoothly, and then the pea-brained idiots sit on their butts and complain about what others do.  Would you believe that replacing a damaged chair  on the side of the altar that an acolyte fell off, resulted in 2 months of finger pointing and name calling.  In addition, if they personally don't like something someone has done, they will gossip, accuse,  and complain about that person behind their back, or will repeat someone else's unsubstantiated comments, complaints, or accusations as fact, but they will NEVER actually talk to the person involved or verify the truth of the gossip..  I find it REALLY hard to treat such people in a Christian manner some times. 

And lets not forget those lazy folks who take someone else's idea and try to take credit for it, and then get upset when they don't get all the laurels or when the real originator is acknowledged.

Loud music.  How about those folks who walk about or drive with their "music boxes" and radios turned up so loud that they rattle the widows and your intestines.  (Maybe that's where the research labs came up with those new "sound weapons.")  HEY YOU! Turn it down.  Not everyone has your taste in music(?).  Oh never mind. You're probably deaf.

Priority Shipping.  Don't you just love this one?  You order a product online or over the phone and request priority shipping at extra cost so you'll receive it quickly.  However, it takes the vendor 10 days just to process your order and prepare for shipping, so what good is priority handling.  Considering that most vendors, both online and brick & mortar, have computer based inventory handling, why can't your order be processed and shipped within 24 hours?  Also, considering that many medium and large sized items such as consumer electronics are shipped in the manufacturer's packing, with just a label slapped on, what's the delay?  I know it can be done because there are vendors I deal with who ship within 24 hours of getting my order.  I've actually placed an order by phone or over the Internet in the morning, received confirmation that it was shipped the same afternoon, and had it on my doorstep in 2 days.  I  recently ordered a VHS tape of an old program.  Cost me $20 for the tape and $2.98 for S&H.  The actual postage on the package was $2.25 and the padded envelope it came in runs 65 cents at a local business supply store when purchased in bulk--and it arrived 3 days after I ordered it..  A while back I ordered some electronics cables at 0600 hrs local time over the internet from a company in California and had it on my door step at 1630 hours THE SAME DAY!  When I called them about the super fast delivery the rep explained that it was their new quantum mechanics based shipping system that shipped what the customer wanted before they ordered it.  ;-)

And while we're on the subject, how about those shipping and handling fees?  You order a small item for say $15 and then find that the S&H is $10.95 on an 8 oz item.  I even found one company that offered "free" shipping but charged a value based "processing fee" that started at $6.  Processing fee?  You grab the item off the shelf, stuff it in a box and stick on a computer generated shipping label.  Just another rip off.  Hey folks!  

And even more.  In the Amazon Market Place you sometimes have a choice of vendors for an item each with a different selling price.  But guess what?  Their shipping charges vary so that your final delivered price is almost identical.  As an example a 4 MB SD memory card showed prices varying from $19.95 to $25 and shipping & handling running from $8.95 to $3.50.  If someone can ship for $3.50 why can't the others (especially when the item weighs under 2 ounces?

Considering that many small items will fit in Priority Mail packaging available free from the USPS and the fact that if you use their "Click n Ship" online labeling program (also free) you can generate an instant shipping label, and the online generated flat rate is $4.80 for anything that will fit in a 5.5 x 9 x 1.5 inch flat rate box.  Where is all the rest of the $$ going?  (Don't answer that!) Heck, many small items will fit in one of those padded envelopes which you can buy for under a dollar and First Class postage can be $1 or less.

Out of state sales taxes.  Ever order something online from a company in another state, and find that you have to pay your state's sales tax?  (Supposedly, if they have a "presence" in your state they can/have to do that.  But even then I wonder just how much, if any of it, actually goes to the "tax.")  I once asked a company for a copy of their authorization to collect taxes for my state because I could not find their "presence" in my state, and was refused.  In turn I refused to complete my order with them (and it was a substantial order).  Another company, that didn't charge sales tax,  got my business and I saved over $20.

Happy Holidays?  Season's Greetings?  No buddy, this is the C H R I S T M A S Season.  It is a Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.  If you can say Happy New Year or Happy Thanksgiving, or Happy Hanukah, you can say Merry Christmas.  I have Jewish, Hindu, Daoist, and Buddhist friends and they not only wish me a Merry Christmas, they are not offended when I wish them the same, or when I acknowledge their special days or celebrations.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all you good people of whatever faith.
May the joys and blessings of this season be upon you and your families

And what about Independence Day?  The proper name is I N D E P E N D E N C E  D A Y,  and not the "4th of July."   It celebrates our declaration of independence from England and the subsequent foundation of the United States.  Of course it wouldn't be politically correct to remember that we fought for our independence from another country's oppression, or that we should have pride in what we accomplished.

"It [Independence Day] ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty.  It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more." -- John Adams

Television sound tracks.  Have you ever listened to a television program or a DVD and were unable to make out the dialog because the background music overpowered the voices?  And, if you turn up the volume to the point that you can almost make out the voices, your neighbors complain about the loud music coming from your house.  Why do the producers do that?  Is the dialog so stupid the writers don't want you to hear it?

Bright exterior house lights.  Where I live we have a "dark skies" policy.  By general consensus folks don't have bright or ill directed lighting outside of their homes so all can enjoy the great night skies.  We recently had a someone move into the area who installed a very bright light by their driveway that isn't even on a motion detector.  It's on all night.  Really kills the night views.  When asked by neighbors to dim it or put it on a motion switch he claimed that his wife wants it on bright all the time to deter criminals.  Hey buddy.  First, B&E is almost unheard of around here, and second, the last time it happened in the neighborhood the perpetrator got lead poisoning.  Go back to California please and take your light with you.

Laugh tracks.  Don't you really hate the canned laughter on some TV shows.  Do they think people are too dumb to recognize humor or are they afraid their scripts are so bad that they have to tell you when they are funny? Ha, ha, ha, ha! (You can laugh now!)

Thanks to Mr. Dakota for reminding me of this one.

How about people who add you to their "jokes" E-mailing list.  Don't you hate those folks who send you all manner of forwarded (and forwarded and forwarded) jokes, chain letters, and silly pictures without you asking for them?  Not to mention those "virus warnings" that everyone knows are hoaxes.  It's bad enough if you are on a broadband connections but absolutely unconscionable for folks with slow dial-up connections.  Sometime I wish I could hit 'em with a 100 meg file full of junk just so they can see how annoying such things can be.

On a similar vein how about spammers?  Do they actually think people believe their adds and claims?  I guess there must be enough jerks out there to make a profit from as spam keeps increasing.  Personally, I think spammers should be horse whipped, tarred and feathered, disemboweled, and the consigned to the seventh circle of hell and their families sold into slavery--and that's for the first offense.

And let's not forget telephone solicitors.  I'm on the "Do Not Call" registry yet I still get annoying calls at all hours from "unknown caller" and several 800 numbers.  One number called every 10 minutes over a 2 hour period.  When the call goes to an answering machine every time you think they'd get the "message."  I even got a call from some idiot doing a "survey" who I told that I wasn't interested, and to remove me from his calling list.  I hung up.  Thirty seconds later he called again and told me I had no right to hang up on him.  I hung up on him again and reported the number to my phone company who blocked that number.

The news media.  With particular attention to today's headlines.  Isn't it amazing how much fuss everyone is making over some cartoons which some terrorists claim insults all of Islam?  Yet when Christians, Jews, and other religions have their beliefs, leaders, and icons "insulted," defamed, or desecrated by a Muslim or anyone else, or the followers of these faiths are persecuted, jailed, or murdered by Muslims the media takes no notice.  Then of course, all we ever hear on the nightly new is how bad things are going "over there" in the war on terrorism.  Meanwhile the tremendous successes and progress we have had and are having are ignored.  Same thing with violence in the news.  We hear about how some nut killed a bunch of people, but never hear about when a honest citizen stops a crime with their firearm. (And I have it on good authority from friends in the media and in the police business that this does happen with great regularity.)

Just whose side is the media on?  (Never mind. Don't answer that.)

"Press 99 for..."  Ah yes!  Those automated endless loop phone "response" systems.,   Ever spend 15 minutes wading through 50 layers of phone prompts that don't apply to you--and then get hung up on or wind up back at the main menu?.  Of course none of the prompts let you speak to a live human being who could (hopefully) answer your question in 30 seconds.  Perhaps they are used simply to prevent another human from responding to a question and earning a living by returning intelligent answers.  After all we wouldn't want a customer to actually learn something.  And by the way, why do I have to "Press 1" for English.  That's the official language of our country!

Thanks to Keith Hazelwood for reminding me of this one.

And in a similar vein.  Ring, ring.... "You have reached the desk of George Dumbass at International Galactic Associates.  I'm either on the other line or I've stepped out of my office.  Leave a message at the beep and I'll call you right back."  Actual translation, "You've reached George Dumbass who's the only person in this place.  I'm either sleeping, eating lunch, or I just don't wanna answer the phone.  If you're stupid enough to believe this message you can leave a message which I'll probably just delete without listening to it."

Graduated income taxes?  Just because you work harder and make more money why should you have to pay a greater proportion of your income for taxes?  (And then have to find all kinds of sneaky loop holes in the tax code to reduce your taxes.)  If we had an across the board flat rate tax on every person, business, or corporation, with few, if any, exemptions, life would be so much simpler AND we'd have more than enough money to run the government.  Let's say a flat 10 percent of your gross income--no deductions with the possible exception of up to 10 percent total of your gross to certified charitable or religious organizations, and  no tax for an inheritance to a family member.  Think of the money the government would save by downsizing the IRS to just a large enough staff to process the payments!.  Add up all your income from all sources, take 10%, and that's what your tax bill would be. That would be fair to everyone.

Hey! How did we ever survive growing up without the government mandated warning and nutritional labels on our food.  Do they think that the majority of people actually read those warning and nutritional labels.  Even bottles of WATER carry nutritional labels--0 carbs, 0 calories, 0 fiber.  0 intelligence???.  Good grief!  

Growing up, we drank WHOLE milk (not skim, 1% or 2%), ate bacon, hamburgers, red meat, real ice cream, drank soda, drank beer, and still managed to stay healthy and happy.  (It wouldn't be politically correct to talk about the fact that that the "family meal" is almost unheard of these days;  the fact that people have become gluttons, stuffing their faces far beyond the need for food; that kids use to play outside instead of sitting in front of the TV, video games, or the computer for hours; and the fact that people have no common sense when it comes to eating right--preferring to just "grab something."   Much easier to simply pass labeling laws.) 

And of course, it's the fault of fast food vendors when people stuff themselves or eat it all the time and get fat.  I like an occasional thick juicy bacon cheeseburger with onion rings but I don't eat them all the time.  What ever happened to good old fashion self-control?

And don't forget all those "organic" foods.  Guess what?  "Organic" actually  means a compound containing a carbon element.  "Organic" as related to food production is defined by several wildly varying government standards concerning the use of pesticides and fertilizers.. One of the standards allows a product to be called "organic" if  only 39% of the ingredients are, in fact, organic.  "O g Trans Fat" means actually "no more than .5g of trans fats per serving."  "Includes" actually excludes everything else.  Let's not forget that the evil carbon dioxide that the left continually heaps curses upon is organic so it should be good, right? After all, it's what those living "organic" organisms, called plants, require to breathe.

And then there are those diets. No carbs at all, all carbs, vegetarian, no wheat, no red meat, all fruits, no fats, lots of fats, the list goes on and on ad infinitum. And then there are all those "scientific" studies proving that each one of them is the best for you. <expletive deleted>  The diets that work best are the ones that encourage exercise, moderation and portion control, and a balanced diet (which in my opinion does not resemble the government food pyramid).  And as mentioned above, show some self control.  If you lead a sedentary life you need less food than if you are very physically active all the time.  Eat to live--not live to eat.

"Safety sealed for your protection."  Food stuffs, medicines, and various other products now come in "non-removable" packaging.  Medicines and food not only have a foil seal under the lid but the lid is then shrink wrapped to the bottle  and the bottle is then sealed in a "tamper evident" box.  I was recently given a DVD that came in a hard, injection molded clear over wrap that required heavy shears to cut through only to find the case shrink wrapped and sealed with 3(!!) tape seals under the shrink wrap.  It really says something about our society when products have to be double or triple sealed to prevent some jerk from tampering with them.   I was so tired and hungry after trying to open that package that I went out and stuffed myself with greasy fast food! (I couldn't help it.  The super-sized French fries made me do it.)

Animal Rights Activists.  Yup, animals have rights.  Right next to the mashed potatoes. The west wasn't won with salad.  These folks whine and complain about pets living a "subservient life" and want to stop the production and consumption or use of all meat and animal related products.  (Now don't get me wrong, I don't endorse cruelty or needless suffering-but these folks go far beyond that.)  A couple of years ago one activist got riled up when a bear that was attacking a child was shot and claimed the bear's rights were being violated!  In the mean time they want to be able to kill unborn children any time they want to.  I think their priorities are a bit out of whack here.

The other day I was standing near the meat section at a local store talking to a friend about elk and venison and how I had a bunch in the freezer.  A woman standing nearby overheard the conversation and remarked "Oh, you're one of those who kills defenseless animals.  PIG!"  Looking at the packages of steaks and pork chops in her shopping cart I remarked (in a rare moment of brilliance), "Oh, so your cow  and pig died of natural causes."  She stood there for a second wide eyed with her mouth open and flapping and then hurried away.  I though my friend was going to fall over he was laughing so hard.  Maybe HER meat came from the steak and pork chop factory.

Have you noticed "product shrinkage?"  Thirteen ounce "pound" cans of coffee, 1.75 quart and now 1.5 quart "half-gallons" of ice cream, fewer tissues in the box, smaller candy bars or fewer in the same sized package, smaller rolls and English muffins, and on and on.  My wife recently pointed out to me that toilet paper rolls have shrunk about 1/2 inch in width.  I have even noticed that the peanut butter, liquid soaps, and shampoos we buy seems to have a thinner consistencies.  Of course the price has remained the same or in many cases has actually risen.

How about the current rush to use politically correct gender neutral terminology in place of  traditional male terms and titles.  This is a real joke in my humble opinion.  If someone gets their undies in a wad because of the use of a historical male pronoun, they obviously have, a) too much free time on their hands; and b) a lot of unresolved self esteem issues.  Some of them want any word with "man" or "men" in it to be removed from the language.  Are you a "huperson??"  

And how about those politically correct  "under privileged," "under utilized," and the "undocumented guest workers."  I'm sure you can come up with more inane terms too like "man made disaster" instead of "terrorist attack."

Quality?  "When my wife and I got married 27 years ago, we bought all new appliances RCA TV, GE washer and dryer, etc. The RCA TV lasted 24 years. Last year we stupidly replaced rather than repair the GE dryer. The new one is already giving us problems. The GE washer finally needs a new clutch and the water pump is leaking, but we'll now gladly spend $150 to get it fixed rather than buy the junk they're selling nowadays. Our appliance guy said, starting last November, most new appliances are guaranteed for only 6 months.

"The problem with fixing the washer is that the replacement parts are going to be cheap overseas or Mexican made junk.. Maybe it's a wash after all. Pun, get it?  Too many people want features over quality.

"What intelligent people would choose to pay more for a greater quantity of an inferior product (32 oz modern Coke in a plastic bottle) over a superior product (6 oz original Coke in a glass bottle)? The answer should be, "None." "This is nasty. Give me more!'"

"Another sign this country is doomed. The vanes in the new dryer snag socks and underwear, holding them to the drum and preventing them from drying. Now, we've been making clothes dryers for some time now, and the 1970's era dryer never snagged stuff. So, how did we suddenly lose the ability to design and manufacture little blades that tumble rather than catch clothes?  Because we've become stupid, that's why. 

"You notice these new houses that have all the different pitches on the roof, the ones that funnel the rainwater off the roof directly over the front door? Good grief. Now, how long has man been making houses? Is that not sort of a basic thing to overlook?"

Thanks to Steve Cooper for the above rant.

A follow up to the above.  In my humble opinion one reason for the above rant and for many of the rants on this page is that we have lost our sense of "ought" as a society.  With our county's founding Judeo/Christian moral principles having been pretty much discarded by both the government and the populous, our sense of doing all things the best that we can has gone out the window.  Mediocrity is the buzz word of the day.  Just "good enough" is ok.  After all, if something or some one is demonstrateably better than something or someone else, there will be a loss of "self esteem" or worse--someone might be ashamed, and we can't have that.  BARF!

Lifetime "public assistance."  Why do some people think it's their right to live on the dole and take no responsibility for their own lives.  While there are some folks who because of medical problems or temporary hardship truly need some form of assistance (a.k.a. welfare) I believe the vast majority are freeloading.  When there is no requirement to actively seek a job, nor to attempt to make one's self marketable, nor to show self-control in the area of procreation, there is a big problem.  I see many people using public assistance, food stamps, or what have you in the store while talking on the latest variety of cell phone, dressed to the hilt in the latest fashions, and who then climb into fancy cars and drive off.  What's wrong with that picture?  Welfare should be a short term solution, not a lifetime source of free income!  (And by the way the government has NO Constitutional authority to give YOUR money to someone else under the guise of "helping" them.  This will only get worse with the recent election and the slippery slide to socialism in this country.

On the other hand there are some serious flaws in the system for people who truly try to get off of the welfare merry-go-round.  My wife once taught at a post-secondary secretarial school and there were many young single moms enrolled in a public assistance program to give them marketable skills.  It was quite successful.  While enrolled and doing well the students were given assistance for living expenses, housing, and child care, and were pre-placed in jobs with local businesses.  However, on the day the student graduated all assistance stopped since they now "had a job."  Yet it would be a week or two before they received their first paycheck so they were left with little to live on until they got their first check.  Many outstanding students couldn't make it.  If the "termination of assistance" was based upon the date of their first pay check there would have been a lot more success stories and more people off of welfare. My wife and I actually helped a couple of really good students until they got their first pay check just so they could succeed. All 4 of them eventually paid us back too, even though we did not expect them to.

Handicapped Parking Abuse. Ever watch as someone with a handicapped license plate or window tag, pulls into a handicapped parking spot and hustles into the store with about as much a handicap as an Olympic sprinter and comes out easily carrying heavy packages.  If the handicapped person is not in the vehicle why are they taking a spot that a truly handicapped or disabled person might need? Laziness?  Greed?  Stupidity?  Family members with no problems, seem to be the worse abuser of the privilege. Mental handicaps like laziness and stupidity are not approved for handicapped parking.  When I had my knee replaced my doctor gave me one of the temporary window tags, so I wouldn't have to walk too far right after surgery.  Though good for 6 months I used it one (1) time, after a rough therapy session when I couldn't find a close "regular" slot.  I figured that there might be someone out there who didn't have a leg that might need the spot more than I did.  

The cost of healthcare.  Our healthcare insurance recently sent us a statement of benefits for some tests my wife had.  The "billed amount" was $370.  This was "discounted" to $70 and that amount was accepted as payment in full from the insurance company for the visit by the doctor.  Same with my knee replacement with billed amounts running to 4 and 5 digits discounted 85 to 90 percent by the insurance and accepted by the doctor and hospital.  Hmmm!  If we didn't have insurance we would have had to foot the entire bill?  What's wrong with this picture?  Not to mention how it is effectively illegal to buy medicines at a lower price from Canada, even though the medicine was made by a US firm and shipped to Canada.  We're being protected from what?  Even stranger is that many drug plans no longer will pay for or even discount ED medications like Viagra, but they will pay for women's birth control.  Huh?

Speaking of healthcare insurance... Too many folks seem to equate "insurance" with a free ride.  The whole idea of any insurance policy is to cover unexpected major or catastrophic expenses.  

We have auto insurance but we don't get free maintenance and tires from it, and we have home owners insurance but we don't get a free paint job every year nor get free maintenance and cleaning do we?  We ALL need to be responsible for our own care to some realistic amount, say $750 - $1,000 yearly per person or some reasonable percentage of gross income of a family, say 3% to 5 % of gross income might be reasonable.  Of course reigning in the out of sight service and medication costs and runaway malpractice insurance costs would go a long way to helping things.  (Right now even some minor procedures or maintenance medications are close to "catastrophic" costs.)  Shortening the time frame when medications must be offered as a generic would help too.  As to "government provided healthcare," I get nauseous when I think about the mess that would cause.  A little known major down side to "government health care" is that they then have the final word on just what treatment you get and who is eligible for such care.  I have a friend in Europe whose mother was denied an operation because she was "too old" (78) and died a year later.  I also have a friend here in the US who's mother had the same condition and received the needed surgery through her private insurance at age 77 and who is still living and is now 84 and in good health.  Horror stories of people waiting years for needed treatment or medications, or who were denied treatment under socialized medicine abound.  No thank you!  Of course the members of the government will be exempt from any mandated insurance programs, just like they are exempt from participation in social security.  Let's simply clean up the existing system, manage costs, and in turn get the best medical care in the world.  

Useless software on PCs.  You buy a fancy new personal computer and when it arrives you find that it is loaded with crippled sample software you can't use and don't want, a gazzilion Internet service provider's software, and all manner of other useless stuff.  Why can't you buy a bare-bones PC with just the operating system and any software needed to support the hardware supplied?  Considering that PC vendors won't sell you a bare-bones box and the fact that they don't include an operating system install CD what's a person to do?  (The hidden "recovery software" simply restores the PC to the state it was when you bought it with all included garbage.)  The last PC I got, I built myself just to avoid all the garbage even though it cost me a bit more.  For some strange reason(!?!) it is much more reliable and stable than most of the commercial "loaded" PCs.

Product rebates--Oh yeah!  First of all why don't they simply discount the price by the rebate amount, rather than having you fill out forms, cut out labels, and copy invoices and then send them in?  It also seems to me that in this age of computers there is something wrong with having to wait 8 to 10 weeks for your rebate check to arrive.  Then, there are those shady companies that never even process your rebates and then claim they never got it.  I have a friend who sent in a rebate form for a $125 rebate.  Being a cautious type he sent it with a "return receipt"  and 2 months before the rebate program ended.  After 3 months with no rebate he inquired and was told it was never received--even though he was holding a signed receipt for the delivery.  When the company was informed of this they hemmed and hawed until he mentioned that he was turning this matter over to his state's attorney and notifying the company's home state attorney general and the postal inspector about mail fraud.  Amazingly, he had his rebate check in 5 days.  [As an aside, a friend in the marketing business told me that "rebates" are a marketing scam.  They boost sales revenues because less than 35 percent of rebates are ever claimed, (or the rebate is denied due to technicalities like not sending in all required paperwork), so the company makes more money than it would without the rebate program.  Mess 'em up! Claim your rebate.  Send in everything required, send it "return receipt requested" in time to get to the processor within the deadline, and keep copies of all papers.]

How about all those medical & health studies?  "A new report just out says that eating / drinking / doing XYZ is good / bad / will extend your life / will shorten your life."  Don't like the report?  Wait 6 months for a new study that will have a different recommendations.  If one gets some regular real exercise, and eats a balanced diet one can most likely survive all things in moderation.  However, sitting on a lard butt, getting no exercise, smoking packs of cigarettes, and stuffing ones self with junk can do you no good.  

There is a story that came out of the WWII era that I like.  After the war a medical team  studied a little village in Italy where the people were uniformly of quite old age but in excellent health, in spite of eating what the west would consider "bad" foods.  However, they otherwise did fairly strenuous physical labor, ate moderately, and lived in a low stress environment..  The medicos initiated a long term study of the townspeople.  During the study, that lasted many years, modern life came to that town and people left their fields and physical labor for modern employment in the town.  To the medicos' surprise people started dying of heart and circulatory problems at a young age.  There's a moral in there some place.

Lazy, self-absorbed "parents."  My wife, who currently teaches third grade at a local Christian school complains about this.  Parent's without any religious convictions will send their kids to a Christian school so they will receive a "good" education out of the "government school" sphere of influence. Then the kids come to school unprepared, homework not done, and are disruptive in class.  When the kids get a poor report card or the parents are called about a problem or potential problem, the parents blame the teacher or get hot because the teacher "doesn't appreciate" their little monster.  If teachers refuse to give in to the child the parents go nuts.  My wife had one little girl who had been a continual problem in previous grades and had been coddled by her parents and public school teachers.  My wife refused to give in to the kid and after the first marking period the child actually buckled down and started doing well.  However, the child's mother didn't like all the homework the child was doing and pulled her out of the school, and within a month the child reverted to her previous bad habits and the mother now complains to all who will listen what a hard time she is having with her daughter.

If you are not going to invest the time and effort to properly raise and care for them don't have children (or pets for that matter).

Speaking of parenting, what about those parents who let their kids use words that would make a drill instructor blush.  I have come across numerous examples of kids telling the parents to "shut the "F" up," or ""F" you"" in public and the parents show no reaction.  (Maybe they are afraid that the kids will report them to Child Protection Services if they attempt to discipline them.)  I do know one mom whose daughter threatened to do just that when told she couldn't go where she wanted to.  Her mom simply responded "Go ahead.  They'll take you out of our home, and either put you in a group home or dole you out to some foster parent whose only interest is the money they get from the state."  The girl shut up and has never threatened her parents again.

Choices, choices.  Is it necessary to have a twenty foot by six foot section (actually paced off) of shelves devoted to shampoo?  There are dozens of brands of all manner of color and scent. Some of them moisten dry hair. Some of them dry oily hair. Many of them smell like a compost pile. But not one of them states as its goal the one thing that I want a shampoo to do, clean my hair.  Same thing with toothpaste, pickles, soap, mouthwash, etc.  Do we really need 40 different tooth pastes?  (I recently compared all the different tooth paste offerings from one brand.  They varied in price by $1.50 but the ingredient labels were exactly the same and in the same order.  Fake products???)  Pain relievers are another one.  We have Tylenol for headache, backache, tension, stupidity, menstrual problems and extra strength.  Take a close look at the ingredients label.  They are all the same.  (And they actually think that people read the nutritional labels and warnings on food packages?)

Thanks to Greg Camp for reminding me of this.

Shoddy workmanship on expensive stuff.  Every day I hear from folks who have spent $1200 to $1700 or more on a "custom" pistol that arrived with a poor trigger, jammed out of the box, or had other major defects that should have never made it out the door.  The same thing holds true for appliances, cars, computers, software, and lots of other stuff that should work correctly "out of the box."  Then when you try to get things fixed right you get a runaround.  Not to mention that some of their "repair" services are often a joke.  I have one friend who had his new microwave go belly up after the first week.  He took it to the vendor for repair and after 3 weeks got it back.  Being a suspicious type he had put some clear nail polish over several of the case screws.  When he got the unit back the seals had not been broken, and guess what, the unit didn't work either.  He took the unit back again and pointed out the seals and was finally given a new unit off the shelf.  Had another friend with a expensive custom pistol that jammed with great regularity.  Sent it back to the maker several times with no effect.  He was about to get rid of it and for grins brought it over to me one day.  Inside of 5 minutes I found that the extractor was badly machined and had numerous rough edges and nicks.   Couple of minutes with a stone took care of the problems and we took it out to shoot.  400 rounds later it hadn't had a single malfunction but we replaced the extractor on general principals.  Why couldn't the manufacture find the problem?

The "Gadget Complex."  I love this one.  Folks are led to believe that if they have or use the new "Framitz" that they will automatically become better / sexier  / smarter / more desirable / etc.  You see a lot of this these days, especially in the shooting sports, photography, and "glamour" fields.  "Out there where the ranges are long and the game is tough you need the new Remingchesterby 8.431 Ultra Long Magnum and the Burkahlpold 22 x 95 super zoom scope," or "For pictures like a pro, you need the new Leicanikon SC30000 50 MP camera and the 18 - 500 mm UltraZoom lens."  No mention is made about acquiring marksmanship skills or an appreciation and skill for creating pictures.  Of course if you are a man and use the new Adonis body spray you'll have the chicks falling all over you, or for the women if you wear the new Bareass brand makeup with "Glamourglitz 5000"  you'll have the man of your dreams. Doesn't matter if you are a stupid schmuck with the personality of a cow flop.  This attitude has got to be due to the "someone else will take care of me" mentality so prevalent with the politically correct crowd.

Those "free" checks the credit card companies send you.  First of all if you read the fine print there is always a "catch" or a fee.  Second, if some bozo intercepts your mail or you stupidly don't destroy the checks before you trash them anyone can write a check against your account.  This happened to an elderly parishioner at my church to the tune of almost $3000 and it took her months to straighten the mess out and get her credit rating fixed.  Apparently someone at the assisted living unit where she lived was going through people's mail and taking the credit card checks.  While you can supposedly "opt out" of these offers, in practice getting them stopped is frequently not easy.

What about cable/satellite TV channels?  To paraphrase Carl Sagan, "Billions, and billions of channels"  most of which you don't want.  Why can't they simply offer an la carte channel selection.  That way you'd get want you really watch without all the useless fluff and not have to wade though the zillions of channel listing.  It's not difficult to do.  Our vendor boasts about their "hundreds of channels" but out of over 900 channels in the lineup we actually watch  maybe 25.

The "bait and ignore" scam.  We finally ditched cable TV for Direct TV satellite hook up.  The usual stuff with a special rate and HBO/Cinemax/etc. free for 3 months with payment via credit card.  Upon startup I told them that at the end of the 3 month period to cancel the HBO stuff and I was assured it was in my file.  On our first statement was a $9.95 charge for an optional maintenance plan which I did not request.  Called them up, had it removed, and a credit issued.  OK so far.  Thirty days before the free HBO period was up I called again and reminded them to cancel the package and was assured the instructions were in the file.  Get the statement and guess what--a $35 charge for the HBO package.  Called them up and was told there was no instructions received, nor in my file, about canceling so I was liable for the charge.  Asked for a stupidvisor and after 10 minutes of arguing with him I was finally issued a full credit for the $35 and was told the package was cancelled.  (I checked the next day and to my amazement, it had been cancelled.)  Other than the above idiocy the service and picture quality is great.  However, see the rant above about "billions, and billions of channels."

As a follow up, after the first year of service the rate increased almost $30 which I knew would happen.  I called them up and said that I couldn't afford the increase and would like to cancel. I was immediately transferred to another person who within 5 minutes reduced my rate back to the original one for an additional year.  Hmmmmm?

Those TV channel "logos.  Your favorite show comes on and there in the lower left or right corner of the picture is an annoying logo, and sometimes even an animated logo of a commercial message.  It isn't enough that they have 5 minutes of commercials every 10 minutes of program time, they also have to annoy you during the program.  There has got to be a special place in hell for the jerk who came up with the idea.                         

The general wimpification of society.  Just read that the Brits are using "non-lethal" means to fight piracy and will only use water canon and "sound canons" to fight off  folks armed with AKs and RPGs.  Don't want to hurt anyone ol chap.  The hue and cry is don't resist, don't fight back, give 'em what they want.  If they kill you or yours that's ok, but if you save your life by killing them YOU are the evil one and will probably be prosecuted.

I was standing in line at the post office the other day with a woman in front of me.  The space at the counter cleared but the woman didn't move (and she was staring right at the clerk).  Finally the clerk said in a loud voice, Well, are you coming up?  Can I help you?  The woman replied.  Oh, you didn't tell me I could come up to the counter."  DUH!  Baa! Baaa!  The sounds of the sheeple.  Don't do anything until your masters give you permission.  Just march into those rooms and take a shower.

Ah, the bleating of the sheeple.  The next person I hear whining about those who take responsibility for their own safety and who want us the call the "professionals" when confronted with an evil doer, may get hurt.  These wimpy, wussy, useless air consumers expect someone else to care for them all the time and are horror struck when it is suggested that they do something for themselves.  Many of them seem to actually be afraid of people who can and do take responsibility for themselves. When a disaster strikes they stand around with tears in their eyes bleating with high pitched voices about how terrible it is.  A friend of mine recently started using the term "castrati" for such people. Sounds like this description fits.

Historical note:  A castrato (Italian, plural: castrati) is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto voice produced by castration of the singer before puberty.  They suffered from well-documented personality disorders  which were a direct result of their disfigurement, as well as their inability to lead normal sex lives. They were neither man nor woman, but something in between. Castrati tended to be fat, volatile, conceited, and almost impossible to get along with.

Preoccupation with inconsequential increments or what Jeff Cooper use to refer to as "PII." (P-Double I)   People get all in a thither about hundredths of a second in timing in sporting events, hundredths of an inch in bullet trajectories, pennies in cost, and other tiny increments that have no effect in the real world.

The Crazy Years?  In some of Robert Heinlein's sci-fi stories he describe a period of time called "The Crazy years" where society had, as a whole, literally gone crazy, with extremely odd behaviors and actions, like electing a 5 year old as president and banning satellites from over flying a state,  being the norm.  Chalk it up to "global warming," the economic and political situation, pollutants, or whatever,  I an running into more and more people I know whose behavior has drastically changed.  One person I've worked with for almost 8 years and who was a kind, calm, and rational person has become totally unglued accusing me and apparently many others of having nefarious plans and evil intentions.  Folks are edgier, testier, more paranoid about things, blaming others for every problem they have and are in general more prone to faster blow ups over inconsequential things. Many others have told me they are witnessing the same things.  It's almost scary.

Taking out you frustrations on your friends and associates doesn't do anything except create more tension.  Lets all try to be kind, courteous, and thoughtful during these tough times.  We need to hang together or most assuredly we'll hang separately.  Peace be with you!

The "tactical" crazies.  Besides the fact that most articles in the gun magazines could be written using a form letter, and contain little real content, the latest trend seems to be that everyone in the photos is attired in tactical gear and body armor, looking like a high speed low drag special ops trooper.  Most also sport what some associates of mine call the "tactical grimace" (some of which would do a Haka proud).  Come on folks, do you think this really sells product?  If you need to pretend your an expert ninja you are beyond help.  Those that can, do it quietly.  Those that wanna be, dress up.

Failure to use or keep updated antivirus software.  Ninety-nine percent of spam and E-mail viruses could probably be eliminated if everyone installed antivirus software on their PCs and kept it updated.  There is no excuse not to have it as there are numerous very effective AND free packages available out there for the download.  (I recommend the freeware version of AVG available at http://free.avg.com/download-avg-anti-virus-free-edition  although I use the paid version for it's extra security features.

Remember, once your antivirus software is installed you need to keep it updated. AVG and many others do that automatically if you are online..  However, I know several people who cancel the update process of their antivirus software as a matter of course because they don't want to be bothered waiting.

"But I read it on the Internet."  Personally, I think the Internet can be a great information tool (especially this site).  Unfortunately, a lot of opinions posted on websites are just that, personal opinions or unprovable statements, since there is no peer review.  Even the so called "verification sites" like Snopes are suspect many  times as many have a liberal/socialist political slant.  You need to use common sense and investigate statements before spreading things far and wide. Many sites need to have a disclaimer on their pages:.  "Warning! May contain suppositions, personal ideas, simulations, or unproven statements.  May in fact be fact free!"  God gave you a brain!  Use it now and then.  If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.

"Standard" clothing sizes (NOT!) Why can't they make all clothing to a standard size?  Depending on who makes it my wife needs a 10, 12, or 14 size dress.  I nominally take a 16½-34 shirt according to the tape measure but again, depending on the manufacture, it can be a 16-34, 16-35 or a 15½ -36.  Same with shoe sizes and pants sizes.  Grrrrr! 

Bad grammar and spelling.  This seems to have gotten out of hand these days.  I see misspelled words all over the place, including University web sites, airline tickets, product catalogs, manuals, TV news bulletins, store signs, e-mails and newspapers. I realize that spell checking software doesn't catch everything but it is apparent that 99% of printed matter is never proof read, and never corrected.  

As for good grammar,  politicians, TV personalities, preachers, teachers, and the vast majority of the populace seem to have forgotten how to speak and write.  I'm not against some slang thrown in to a conversation now and then but using the wrong case, improper verbs, double negatives, and poor phrasing gets on my nerves.  Some people say who cares, but if you won't pay attention to the little details, you probably aren't going to pay attention to other things of importance.  I wouldn't hire anyone who didn't care to speak and write correctly for an important job, let alone put them in charge of something important.

Me and my bro's  rely due try two not half such errs on my web cite.  If in you find any bitchin ers pleese let me nos so me can make thing betterer

Patriotism. If you remember during the days after 9-11-01 you saw many, many, new American flags flying.  After a while there fewer and fewer flags being flown.  It became passé to be a patriot.  It was a fad.  After months of being left outside in the weather, many flags became tattered and torn and were never replaced.  If you are going to display our nation's flag, do so properly and do so with honor.  Whether a actual flag, a flag sticker, or a uniform patch if it gets worn, faded, or tattered replace it.  VFW posts will accept old flags and honorably dispose of them.

In addition, I see fewer and fewer people rendering proper respect to our flag.  At a local parade I only saw three people on the entire street stand and render honors to the flag as it passed in procession.  The mounted honor guard was so upset at this that they returned the salute to the three of us who rendered honors to the flag and said thank you as they passed.  To render honors to the flag in procession all persons should stand and come to attention. Those in uniform give the appropriate formal salute. US military veterans may now render a military hand salute if they desire. Citizens not who are not veterans or otherwise not in uniform salute by placing their right hand over the heart and men with head cover should remove it and hold it to left shoulder, hand over the heart.  Members of organizations in formation salute upon command of the person in charge.

For more on US Flag etiquette see www.usflag.org/

Thanks to Taylor Hayes for reminding me of this.

Interest rates.  With the economy in socialist shambles and banks paying out only infinitesimal interest rates on savings and checking accounts, I have noticed that banks are raising their interest rates charged on credit cards to cloud level heights of 20% and higher even for outstanding customers.  While we generally don't run a balance on our cards so it doesn't affect us much, the card interest rates are ridiculous.  The banks claim the higher rates are to make up for their "loses" and bad debt but it seem an awful lot like scalping to me.  (And just who got the banks into their predicaments anyway.)

Those TV military and weapons shows and their arrogant or otherwise idiotic "experts."  Just once I like to see a well done show on militaria or weaponry that actually presents the facts without the emotional hype, stupid comments, inaccuracies, and the other nonsensical garbage so prevalent on these shows.  Half of them don't know the difference between a "clip" and a "magazine."

Heroes.  Nowadays a "hero" seems to be anyone in the spotlight.  Just because someone makes it out of a tight situation  or wins a sports game doesn't make them a hero.  A hero is someone who voluntarily goes from a position of safety to a position of danger on someone else's behalf.   Military people, firefighters, and peace officers tend to dominate the examples, but you can find plenty more examples outside their ranks. Think of people who assisted runaway slaves, or hid Jews in occupied Europe at the risk of their lives.  Courage is the primary trait.

Besides heroes we have  what are called "role models."  These include the pilot who sets a crippled aircraft down in a river; the mountain climber who survives a catastrophic fall; the nurses and doctors who accomplish a difficult save. Competence rather than courage is the focus. This is where there's a place for sports figures. They're not heroes, but their abilities, and more importantly the hard work they put in to develop them, are certainly worthy of admiration and emulation (in most cases).  We could probably include folks of great mental achievements such as Archimedes, Einstein, Newton, and the like.

Thanks to Steve M. for reminding me of this.

Consequences (or lack there of).  These days it seems like anyone can pretty much get away with any behavior or attitude without worrying about consequences.  It use to be if you used foul or insulting language, did something incredibly stupid, or just simply wrong, stole from another, or disrespected your parents, that you suffered the "consequences."  Nowadays, it isn't politically correct to have to "suffer" for your misdeeds as that would cause you a "lack of self-esteem."  No wonder the idiots are running the asylum.

Airline reservation change fees.  What is with the airline reservation change fees?  Airlines are charging $150 or more to change a reservation.  Maybe if you totally cancel a flight and they lost business, but when you simply alter the date you are planning to return on it is criminal.  After all, they are not losing business just moving it to a different day, and it is all done by computer with a couple of key strokes.  I have a friend who had to change a return date on a flight and return before his wife did instead of with her.  For this privilege he paid $150 "change fee" plus a higher fare.  The flight he returned early on was only half full and his wife reported that the original flight was over-booked and 2 passengers were put on another later flight and given a credit.  Can you say grand theft airline?  The rip off must be to pay for all those delicious meals they serve you.  

Photo radar.  It's not about safety, it's about making money (and the photo radar company gets a cut.)  Some places have had them installed only to find out that the trip limit was set AT the speed limit to generate higher revenue.  Given the inherent errors in your dash board speedometer a ticket is guaranteed.  In addition the citations you get mailed to you say "your speed was "approximately" xx," and not the exact speed and are not an actual serving for a violation according to many attorneys.  They also make no allowance for traffic flow.  A friend got nailed while in between two cars in the right lane while getting passed by cars in the center lane.  Here in AZ there is an initiative on the fall ballot to have them banned.

Polls and their wording.  There is a poll by USA Today that has been circulating around the Internet for quite a while.  The question asked is

"Does the Second Amendment give individuals the right to bear arms?"

For the purposes of the poll the correct answer is "Yes."  However, the question itself is in error.  The Second Amendment (and the Bill of Rights as a whole) does not GIVE any rights but simply STATES what some of our unalienable rights are. Rights are NOT given by a government, to be limited or taken away at their whim--they are given by our creator and are inherent in our being.  They cannot be taken away no matter what a government thinks.  Polls like this are deliberately mis-worded like this to try and convey the idea to the uneducated masses that the government can "grant" them rights.

2010-03-21 A Day that will live in infamy.

I have voted Republican since I was old enough to participate in the process, but have also recognized the deterioration and compromise of the party's principles post-Reagan. Therefore, in the past, I have voted for the person that I felt best demonstrated a commitment to building and preserving what I viewed as American principles.  But after yesterday, I have this to say If you are a Democrat, or intend to continue supporting the Democratic party, or if you can even partially support what the Democrats have done and are doing to this country, you are the ENEMY. You are part of the problem.

The actions of the Democrats in congress over the past several years are an insult to our founding fathers. Those who condone their actions are either cowards or openly socialist. The Democrats (and those who tolerate or support them) are insulting to the generations of those that have since worked to build this country and those that have served and sometimes died to preserve what this country used to stand for. And their actions yesterday serve to rob my children and my grandchildren of the opportunity to ever understand what a great country used to look like and feel like.  I ashamed of what we, as American people have selected to "represent" us.  As the cryptic massages of WWII fame would say, "The chair is against the wall". My "line in the sand" has been drawn.

If you are not interested in taking this country back, then you are THE ENEMY. If you think what happed yesterday is okay, then you are THE ENEMY.  If you ever stand by and allow the continued deterioration of our God-given rights, or the bastardization of the Constitution, then you are THE ENEMY.  And no amount of rhetoric, appeal to "reach across the aisle", or smoke and mirrors will ever change that opinion.  

Nor will it sway me in my determination to do whatever it takes to defeat THE ENEMY.

The above was written by a friend of mine and posted here with his permission.  It echoes my sentiments exactly.

Idiot (and perhaps illiterate?) consumers.  I have a friend who runs a business that sells ballistics software and firearms pressure measuring equipment.  Both products come with an online user's manual and a bound, printed manual is available for a moderate fee.  The manuals are clearly written and explain the theory, setup, and use of the product, as well as troubleshooting.  Yet most of his day is spent on the phone answering questions whose answers are in the manuals.  Why do folks expect to run advanced software and hardware without first reading the manuals?

Mission statements.  Just about every organization has to have a mission statement these days defining, in lofty words, what they are (supposed to be) doing.  Perhaps it would be best to just get rid of the people that think a mission statement is necessary. Anybody worth having should already know the primary purpose of the enterprise. 

Cinco de Mayo?????  Officially, Cinco De Mayo (5th of May), is a Mexican holiday that commemorates the victory of the Mexican Militia over the French Army at The Battle Of Puebla in 1862.  Interestingly it is not a major Mexican holiday nor is much attention given to it in most of Mexico.  It was popularize in the US some years ago by several beer companies as an excuse to party and we are now having it shoved down our throats here in the US in the name of political correctness. The most important holiday in Mexico is the 16th of September, their Independence Day.  

Tax increases.  Here in AZ we are having tough times like the rest of the country.  With the citizenry having been terrified by the media into believing that the sky would fall and the world would end if Prop100, a "temporary," 3-year, 1% increase in the sales tax wasn't passed, they succumbed to the pressure and hype and passed the measure.  We are now all faced with having less money to live on, while nothing will actually happen to the budget deficit, and teachers are still being laid off. (Of course, few taxes once passed really ever get repealed.)

With ordinary folks loosing their jobs or being forced to take large pay cuts to stay employed how are we supposed to pay higher taxes, and with higher taxes what new businesses will want to relocate to Arizona. We, the little people, are just supposed to grin and bear it for the "common good" we are told.

However, it seems not everyone has to bear the hardships. One budget measure that apparently was never considered was for state and local government officials, and even the fat-cat federal government employees to take five to ten percent pay cut like many of the folks they supposedly serve are having to do.  If they really "feel our pain" let all state and local officials show it by tightening their personal purse strings and accepting a pay cut for the good of Arizona or the nation.  (Considering the recent federal congressional pay raises it's clear they really don't care.)  Maybe Governor Brewer should take the lead and return 10 percent of her salary to the state coffers. If salaries are a matter of a union contract then let the unions show solidarity with the rest of Arizona and voluntarily accept pay cuts.  I won't hold my breath though.

I don't care much about less "government services." I want less government--local, state, and federal.

The "Arizona Immigration Bill," AZSB1070.  If you listen to the liberal diatribe against this bill that was recently passed in AZ and that has a 75%+ approval rating of AZ residents, you'd think it mandates the rounding up, incarceration, and execution of ILLEGAL aliens.  Socker mommies have their little darlings out on picket line and the illegals carry signs "We demand or rights."  By their own admission none of them have actually read the bill and most of the socialists in congress admit the same thing.  (Maybe they simply can't read.)  All the bill does is to state that AZ's immigration laws will mirror existing (but uninforced) federal laws and that they WILL be enforced in AZ.  The illegals from Mexico cry profiling, yet we don't seem to have a problem with blond Swedish Lutherans crossing the Mexican border and besides given the number of activities one normally has to show some proof of identity for, IDing someone stopped for a traffuic offense or a possible crime is no big deal..  If you are here legally you don't have a problem.  If you are here illegally you have a problem.  Interestingly Washington has ordered the INS to stop releasing statistics on OTM (other than Mexican) illegals coming across the US/Mexican border.  I wonder why. (Not really.)

Of course no one is up in arms over the the most recent rancher killed by illegals on his ranch, nor of the rapes and robberies going on perpetrated by illegals.

Now the socialist mayor of the city of Los Angeles (a "sanctuary city") wants to boycott Arizona because we are enforcing federal laws and protecting our borders and our citizens, and the governments of Mexico and several Central and South American countries are DEMANDING that the law be rescinded. Considering that LA gets the majority of it's water and electricity from Arizona, and that the protesting countries are where the illegals are coming from, who are they to demand anything.  My only comment is ...

The new Arizona battle flag courtesy Morrigan Consulting

Aaaaaarrrrrgggghhh!
(Pant, pant!)

There!  I feel so much better.

RANT MODE OFF!

If you agree with me and have your own favorite "annoyance" send it to me and if you say "please," maybe I'll post it here.

Have a nice day! 

     Fr. Frog

Stress is the body's response when the mind overrides the natural inclination to choke the shit out of someone who desperately needs it.

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Disclaimer

"Any similarities between these comments and persons, animals, or any combination there-of, living, dead,  vegetative, unborn,
 or from the galaxy G487, or a parallel dimension, is purely accidental.  If anything resembles you don't bother writing me hate mail or calling your lawyer. 
 My lawyer is bigger than yours, his kid can beat up your kid, he shoots (very well), and we have some great places to hide bodies.

Updated 2010-07-23