Say It Isn't So!

After 40 blissful years, Al and Tipper Gore have decided to "split the blanket," as we say in the south. They say they have grown apart, and that there is no affair involved.

So, they have grown apart, have they? Al is gone all the time. They have developed different interests. Somehow, after 40 years, this doesn't seem like much of a reason to divorce, to me.

They are 63 years old, for heaven's sake. Whatever happened to spending their twilight years together - companionship, and all that jazz? Or, is it possible that the marriage wasn't all that strong, after all?

Whatever happened to the couple who were once one of the inspirations for "Love Story?" We'll have to wait and see what the real reason might be. I'm not buying the old "grown apart" excuse.

Maybe we ought to delete the "'til death do us part" words in the wedding ceremony, like we have deleted the word "obey." Maybe we should just go back to jumping over a broom handle to get married, and jumping back over it to divorce. Or, we could sign a contract that has to be renewed every few years.

Phooey!

Stay tuned.

Somebody Call the Gray Panthers!

According to an article I read the other day, someone in the Obama administration wants to freeze Social Security payments for the next two years. AND, at the same time, raise the Medicare premiums from $96 to $123!

It is possible that this is only a trial balloon, but if it is, it's full of lead. This smells like a Republican scheme to me. You know, they want to do away with Social Security altogether. The Democrats didn't accomplish a whole lot during the Bush years, but they did hold the line on Social Security "reform". But, just in case it's the warped idea of some delusional Democrat, we'd better tell the AARP to take a break from selling insurance and get busy mobilizing the seniors against this threat.

Social Security was set up as a self-sustaining entity, the theory being that workers would pay in a certain percentage of their earnings and by the time they were ready to retire, they would receive monthly payments to help out with their sunset years. This is the only social program ever devised that worked exactly as it was supposed to, until about the 60s, when various administrations started nibbling away at it to supplement other, not so successful programs.

Today, Social Security is said to be "in trouble" due to those same people who allowed it to be watered down. They're called Baby Boomers, and they are about to reap what they have sown. Of course, the rest of us will reap it, too.

But, I have a solution. I have a solution and/or opinion about most everything. It's called being opinionated. Something that is ok for men but not for women. But, that's another matter. Today, I'm ranting about Social Security.

President Obama has been busily bailing out the banks, the auto industry and the homeowners. So, why not throw a Billion or so at the Social Security coffers to shore them up? Then, he can decree that, henceforth, not one penny of it would be "borrowed" to use for any other program from now on. That infusion of cash would help Social Security remain afloat until future generations of workers pay in enough to sustain it.

The Republicans and the Media joined forces to make fun of many things that Al Gore said during his campaign for President. I guess nobody is laughing at his Social Security "lockbox" now.

Stay tuned.

Another Disjointed Rant

I stole this from Hrrmph! I think it about sums it up.



Looks as though the McCain folks are trying very, very hard to dump Sarah Palin. She may be more difficult to throw under the bus than they at first thought.

However, before they do, there is one thing I would very much like to know. Why is it that it has been 9 days since she told Brian Williams that she would release her medical records, and she is still stonewalling? I believe I predicted that this would happen. The woman is hiding something, and it's something that would be devastating for the campaign. You heard it here.

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Here's something scary for Hallowe'en. At a rally today, John McCain promised (threatened?) to take Joe the (not) Plumber to Washington when he wins. As what? The mind boggles.

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Seems the Center for Media and Public Affairs did a study, and reported that the media newscasts in the past 2 months have reflected positively on Obama. And, they also report that the first half of Fox News Channel's "Special Report" with Brit Hume showed more balance than any of the network broadcasters.

Read that last sentence and see if you can figure out which way the Center leans.

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Did you see Al Gore's speech in Florida? One of his comments really resonated with me. He said, " The Stone Age didn't end because we were running out of stones." He said, among other things, that it ended because change happened. And, the "Oil Age" won't end because we run out of oil. It will end because we will find ways to stop depending so heavily on it. But, change won't happen in a McCain Administration.

Every time I see Al Gore I think how different things could be today, and would have been for the past eight years if he had been President.

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Chris Matthews was talking about the "Undecided" voters, if any there be. He asked, "What do they want, breakfast in bed?" I don't always agree with him, but I do agree with that question. This late in the campaign, I tend to think that people probably aren't really undecided. They just don't want to state their preferences. That's good enough for me.

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The media people want to keep the suspense alive by talking about how close the race is becoming in many areas, but Obama is still polling way ahead in the number of electoral votes he has amassed, unless everybody is lying. I hope the polls are accurate.

Here's what I want to happen. Whether John McCain wins or loses, I want him to just shut up about his unfortunate incarceration in the Hanoi Hilton. He seems to think that he's the only person in the world who suffered in Vietnam. And, he thinks that it entitles him to be the President. He has dined out on that particular period in his life for his entire career. Has he done ANYTHING else noteworthy in his life?

He scoffs and calls Obama a Socialist and worse, while his whole life has been spent living off of the Government. Has he ever held down a real, honest job in the private sector? Does he have any idea what it's like to work at a job he hates but can't leave because he needs Health Insurance? Of course not. He has had free health insurance all of his life.

But, I am getting carried away, so I'd better do what I advised him to do - shut up.

There is one more thing I want, though. I want Obama to win with a large enough margin to amount to a complete repudiation of George W. Bush, John McCain, Sarah Palin, George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan and all their advisors who keep espousing the "Trickle Down" theory.
It doesn't work. Never has. Never will.

More later.

Can I Cal You Al?

I'm just so proud that Al Gore received the Nobel Peace Prize, you'd think I was his mama! Speaking of Al's mama, I'll bet she's prouder of him than Dubya's mama is of her son.

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Did you see what Condi Rice had to say about Putin? She thinks there is "too much concentration of power in the Kremlin." She says "There are questions about the independence of their judiciary. And, there are questions about the independence of the electronic media."

HUH?!? Can you say IRONY, boys and girls?

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That skank, Ann Coulter, got loose again the other day. She made the comment that "We Christians just want Jews to be perfected." Seems if she isn't the center of attention, she makes up something outrageous to say, and everybody in the media cooperates with her by airing her ignorant comments. Then, they turn around, self-righteously, and tsk, tsk, tsk, "Did you hear what Ann Coulter said about Jews?" If they don't want to encourage her, they shouldn't pay any attention to her.

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I've been seeing a lot of ads for health/prescription coverage by companies I've never heard of before. Have you? Most of them give us a lot of double talk, in the middle of which, they appear to be telling us that if we take their insurance, it won't cost us a red cent.

We do know that nothing in this life is free, don't we? So I can only conclude that this is the kind of scam that comes of the government allowing private insurance companies to cash in on Medicare Part D (Hence, the "donut hole."). It was predictable, so why didn't our elected officials, who are supposed to have our best interests in mind, see what would happen?

Maybe it's because all they can see is $$$$$$.

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News Flash! Scientists in California have discovered that some fish suffer from insomnia. Seems that many Zebra fish have a hard time getting to sleep.

Maybe it's because fish don't have eyelids.