Loose thoughts.....

Why is it that we choose a president from a field of two and we crown a Miss America from a field of 51?



You can't read a bible in a public school, but you can in prison?



The ten commandments cannot be displayed in a federal building, but your sworn testimony involves a bible?



Bumper sticker: If you can read this, thank a teacher. Since it's in English, thank a soldier.

National Guard Recruitment Down by 12%

It was announced on Monday, July 26th that the Army National Guard is behind by 12% of reaching their recruitment goal. Actually, I thought the number would be more than 12%. When you think of those who join the National Guard for free college, medical and dental or for a variety of other "wrong reasons," maybe the figure should be higher than 12%. If the "war" ended today, do you think these numbers would change?

Political Conventions! I'm on the edge of my seat!

How exciting! The Democratic Party is going to get together and nominate their candidates for President and Vice President! But, wait a minute....isn't that already taken care of? How can anyone get excited over the nomination when the nomination has already happened? Sure, it's a rally, of sorts. The Republican Convention will be even less productive. Is there any question that GW is going to try again? Spending millions on security for these worthless get-togethers seems wasteful, especially when I realize who is really paying for it. These conventions might actually be counter productive when we see our over zealous delegates acting like asses on national tv in the midst of historic amounts of high cost security. The rest of the world must be scratching their head. And if all the hype that comes with the national political conventions isn't enough, wait until you see the commercials! We are going to be flooded with them. It's almost as if the pollsters are working with the tv networks. The pollsters will say that the race is tight and if the election were held today, candidate X would win. This causes the other candidate to get nervous and throw more money into his tv ads. And here's something that you may not know. The tv networks must make commercial time available for political office seekers. They are forced by the FCC to "bump" normal advertisers so that political commercials may run. This includes your cable tv stations. Nature has the decency to space out the "locust cycle" by 17 years. We should be so lucky with politics.

"BE ALL THAT YOU CAN BE" HAS NEW MEANING

The U.S. Army has long lured recruits with the slogan “Be All You Can Be,” but now soldiers and their families can receive plastic surgery, including breast enlargements, on the taxpayers’ dime.

The New Yorker magazine reports in its July 26th edition that members of all four branches of the U.S. military can get face-lifts, breast enlargements, liposuction and nose jobs for free -- something the military says helps surgeons practice their skills.

Martha Stewart Sentenced

Are we picking on Martha Stewart? Or, is she getting off easy after being convicted of lying to Federal Agents? Here's what we do know: She owns 61% of her publically traded company. After her sentencing, her stock increased in value. No matter what she does, her net worth increases. How can anybody say that she's being defeated? Her company will survive. It's been running smoothly since she slowly backed away from the driver's seat. Depending on when she starts her sentence, she could be out by Christmas. She's planning an appeal. Apparently her pockets are deep enough to keep her legal team busy. Is there a moral to this story? Probably several:

1. Work hard and make a lot of money

2. Don't lie to the Feds

3. Public opinion has great value

4. Money can get you anything

5. People don't like people who think they are above the law

6. If you have enough money, does a felony conviction really matter? (See #4 or ask Larry King)

Ken Jennings.....Keeps Winning On Jeopardy

I think it was Einstein who said that everyone is totally ignorant on at least one topic. Jeopardy champ Ken Jennings seems to be the exception. But, then, think about it. Jeopardy changes the rules so that a champion does not have to "retire" after a limited amount of wins. The program still awards the same amount of money. One person becomes an unlikely star and the show gets more publicity than it could ever hope to purchase. Shrewd move on the part of the Jeopardy folks. Jeopardy is everywhere. And all this comes at a time when game shows are nowhere near as popular as they once were.

Marysol Moves To ABC

I've been watching Marysol Castro for a little over a year as she reported morning traffic for New York's WB 11. I always thought that she did a great job and apparently, so did the ABC Television Network. Her WB 11 contract expired in June and she signed with ABC to work on a new project, a weekend edition of Good Morning America. Oh, yeah, and she's not hard to look at...

Louie, Louie

Well, it's been 40 years since the Kingsmen came out with their hit song, "Louie, Louie." I've been searching for the official published lyrics to the song and I think I found them. It turns out that Louie is a bartender and the song is being sung by a lamenting sailor. It should be noted that the popularity of this song in 1964 launched an FBI investigation. As I recall, the FCC was interested in the matter too....all this, long before Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake entertained us at Superbowl Halftime.



Here are the lyrics:





Louie Louie, me gotta go.

Louie Louie, me gotta go.

A fine little girl, she wait for me.

Me catch the ship across the sea.

I sailed the ship all alone.

I never think I'll make it home.

Louie Louie, me gotta go .

Three nights and days we sailed the sea.

Me think of girl constantly.

On the ship, I dream she there.

I smell the rose in her hair.

Louie Louie, me gotta go.

Me see Jamaican moon above.

It won't be long me see me love.

Me take her in my arms and then I tell her I never leave again. Louie Louie, me gotta go."

(By Richard Berry. Copyright 1957-1963 by Limax Music Inc.)

First Post

This would be the first post for my new blog. All comments are welcome. Let's keep it tasteful!