Samuel Alito was sworn in as a U.S. Supreme Court justice today. We tend to pray to God during strife and uncertainty. Now it’s time to give thanks.
Thank you Lord!
31 January, 2006
And Justice for All
Samuel Alito was sworn in as a U.S. Supreme Court justice today. We tend to pray to God during strife and uncertainty. Now it’s time to give thanks.
Thank you Lord!
28 January, 2006
My Grandparents - 60 Years In Love
Well today marks the 60th wedding anniversary of my grandparents (mothers parents).
Sixty years in love with the same person, through ups and downs, through World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam War and the War in Iraq. Through the invention of the microwave, TV and Tivo.
The legacy of 60 years of being in love and loving the same person will be lasting and provide and example not only to me, but for generations to come.
Congratulations Grandma and Granpa H!
27 January, 2006
Imprimus- A Refreshing Read
Yesterday I received my first complimentary issue of Imprimus, the speech digest of Hillsdale College. I think it is their primary public relations tool. I can’t be sure, but if this is a gift of my Uncle D., then “thanks’ Uncle D!”
I am truly impressed by the contents. First of all, my family lived in Hillsdale for a short while back in the late 80’s during my first few years at WMU (Western Michigan University). During summers, I worked with my brother, Mike, at a McCall’s Lumber Yard just around the corner from Hillsdale College.
When I did live in Hillsdale, the college was very separate from the city. While the city itself was primarily red-neckian we all knew that just outside the city up on the hill was a nationally recognized, Ivy Leagueish college. I have always held Hillsdale College in high esteem. My sentiments have been formed primarily by the accolades of Paul Harvey and William Bennett, but also a first cousin went there.
Another impression I have of Hillsdale College is that it is very expensive, but that is pure rumor and I have no substantiation of what tuition rates actually are.
Anyway --- Imprimus.
What a great read! For those of you who don’t know – this is amazing. Did you know that Hillsdale College was founded in 1855, eighteen years after Thomas Jefferson’s death? It accepts NO FEDERAL FUNDING, has refused the governments Title IV compliance forms and is fiercely independent of federal dictums. The point is that Hillsdale College does not need Federal (liberal) policy such as Affirmative Action to comply with Constitutional guarantees.
The college charter is politically conservative, Constitutionally originalist and academically liberal (literal to the root meaning).
Its charter was the first in the nation to prohibit discrimination based on race, religion and sex. Hillsdale College admitted blacks, women and American Indians two decades prior to the Civil War!
The meat of this particular essay, “Hillsdale and America” by Larry P. Arnn, is quite interesting. The subject is that of academic independence, liberal biased professorships and the overall suppression of freely exchanged ideas on most university campi in America today.
The topic is especially timely as we conservatives engage in our next societal war – the war to get our educational system back. We are defeating the liberal media and the liberal courts – now its time to take back the schools.
Anyway, I highly recommend this free publication, available here. Hillsdale College would be on the top of my list to send any and all of my children to. Check it out.
I am truly impressed by the contents. First of all, my family lived in Hillsdale for a short while back in the late 80’s during my first few years at WMU (Western Michigan University). During summers, I worked with my brother, Mike, at a McCall’s Lumber Yard just around the corner from Hillsdale College.
When I did live in Hillsdale, the college was very separate from the city. While the city itself was primarily red-neckian we all knew that just outside the city up on the hill was a nationally recognized, Ivy Leagueish college. I have always held Hillsdale College in high esteem. My sentiments have been formed primarily by the accolades of Paul Harvey and William Bennett, but also a first cousin went there.
Another impression I have of Hillsdale College is that it is very expensive, but that is pure rumor and I have no substantiation of what tuition rates actually are.
Anyway --- Imprimus.
What a great read! For those of you who don’t know – this is amazing. Did you know that Hillsdale College was founded in 1855, eighteen years after Thomas Jefferson’s death? It accepts NO FEDERAL FUNDING, has refused the governments Title IV compliance forms and is fiercely independent of federal dictums. The point is that Hillsdale College does not need Federal (liberal) policy such as Affirmative Action to comply with Constitutional guarantees.
The college charter is politically conservative, Constitutionally originalist and academically liberal (literal to the root meaning).
Its charter was the first in the nation to prohibit discrimination based on race, religion and sex. Hillsdale College admitted blacks, women and American Indians two decades prior to the Civil War!
The meat of this particular essay, “Hillsdale and America” by Larry P. Arnn, is quite interesting. The subject is that of academic independence, liberal biased professorships and the overall suppression of freely exchanged ideas on most university campi in America today.
The topic is especially timely as we conservatives engage in our next societal war – the war to get our educational system back. We are defeating the liberal media and the liberal courts – now its time to take back the schools.
Anyway, I highly recommend this free publication, available here. Hillsdale College would be on the top of my list to send any and all of my children to. Check it out.
25 January, 2006
Pictorial Tribute to the UAW
Michigan Governor Grandholm 
Hahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
LOL
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
(crying) hahahahahahahaha
LOL
Hahahah aha ha a a ha
Tee hee ee ee ee eee e ahaha ahha ahahhhha ahhahh ahhhh
(now screaming) HahahahahahahahahaHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHH AHAHHA HAHHAH AH
Thank you Lord!
Hahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
LOL
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
(crying) hahahahahahahaha
LOL
Hahahah aha ha a a ha
Tee hee ee ee ee eee e ahaha ahha ahahhhha ahhahh ahhhh
(now screaming) HahahahahahahahahaHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHH AHAHHA HAHHAH AH
Thank you Lord!
Thank a Union
Headline Source: Reuters (Mon Jan 23, 2006 12:28 PM ET)
FORD TO CUT 25,000-30,000 JOBS
GM, Delphi and now Ford have laid off thousands upon thousands of workers, closed factories and destroyed communities. Thank a union!
How could I know at an instinctive, subconscious level, even back in high school that one day, the unions would destroy their employers, communities and themselves? How could a common-sense zit-faced boy in 1987 know this but the entire city of Detroit not? Huh?
I lived in Detroit (Redford) for only 5 years and saw the excess. I had to sell to union locals but had to park my Toyota Camry six lots away because “Foreign Cars Are Not Allowed On Our Lot”. Here is the sign they should have erected in the lot instead:
BUY OUR CRAPPY AUTOMOBLIES THAT BARELY MEET GOVERNMENT STANDARDS. WE KNOW YOU COULD BUY MUCH BETTER JAPANESE PRODUCTS, BUT SINCE YOU NEED TO SUPPORT OUR LIFESTYLE WITHIN THE SKEWED BUBBLE ECONOMY OF DETROIT, PLEASE DO NOT DRIVE YOUR FASTLY SUPERIOR TOYOTA ONTO OUR LOT THAT REMINDS US OF HOW LAZY WE ARE.
What do I know about the UAW?
Starting wages: Source: Detroit News 8/9/2005.
At major Detroit automakers, the hourly rate for an assembler is $25.57; a janitor starts at $24.98, and tool and die workers start at $30 an hour. Along with diamond studded benefits, retirement plans and golden parachutes, it is no wonder that the Big 3 cannot maintain the cost of production.
Worker Laziness
Not all but many workers for years have put in 8 hours on the clock, but not on the job. My dad drove a truck to deliver parts for the Big 3. If his truck was partially unloaded at break time, the workers would abandon my dad’s truck making him late for his other appointments. I’m sure many of you could tell much better stories than this.
Inefficiency
Many situations would go something like this:
My wife and I owned or drove the following vehicles:
1976 Chevy Vega – many great memories, but crap
1988 Dodge Colt - crap
1989 Pontiac Grand Am – crap, crap
1993 Mercury Villager - crap
1995 Ford Windstar – crap, crap
1998 Plymouth Grand Voyager - crap
NEVER, EVER will we again own a Big 3 vehicle. The materials, handling, look, reliability of these vehicles has been terrible. The workmanship of union hands is evident in all those cars. I would write our a repair and recall history of each union made vehicle, but there are not enough gigabytes on this computer to list them all.
We bought a new Toyota Camry in 1993 and it is still driving well past 230,000 miles. Over 9 times around the earth at the equator! That’s from the earth to the moon! Only if there was a road! Now we are happy owners of a 2005 Honda Odyssey which is marvelous beyond words.
Maybe the UAW will never get the message but I have. As long as the UAW hijacks the American automobile industry, people will continue to flock to superior made vehicles.
Ford should have changed their logo forty years ago. Here are some suggestions for what they SHOULD have made it:
“UAW Benefits are Job #1”
“We Meet Government Standards”
“Buy a Ford, Support a Democrat”
If Ford does survive the tapeworm effect of the UAW maybe someday they will aspire to quality being job #1.
FORD TO CUT 25,000-30,000 JOBS
GM, Delphi and now Ford have laid off thousands upon thousands of workers, closed factories and destroyed communities. Thank a union!
How could I know at an instinctive, subconscious level, even back in high school that one day, the unions would destroy their employers, communities and themselves? How could a common-sense zit-faced boy in 1987 know this but the entire city of Detroit not? Huh?
I lived in Detroit (Redford) for only 5 years and saw the excess. I had to sell to union locals but had to park my Toyota Camry six lots away because “Foreign Cars Are Not Allowed On Our Lot”. Here is the sign they should have erected in the lot instead:
BUY OUR CRAPPY AUTOMOBLIES THAT BARELY MEET GOVERNMENT STANDARDS. WE KNOW YOU COULD BUY MUCH BETTER JAPANESE PRODUCTS, BUT SINCE YOU NEED TO SUPPORT OUR LIFESTYLE WITHIN THE SKEWED BUBBLE ECONOMY OF DETROIT, PLEASE DO NOT DRIVE YOUR FASTLY SUPERIOR TOYOTA ONTO OUR LOT THAT REMINDS US OF HOW LAZY WE ARE.
What do I know about the UAW?
Starting wages: Source: Detroit News 8/9/2005.
At major Detroit automakers, the hourly rate for an assembler is $25.57; a janitor starts at $24.98, and tool and die workers start at $30 an hour. Along with diamond studded benefits, retirement plans and golden parachutes, it is no wonder that the Big 3 cannot maintain the cost of production.
Worker Laziness
Not all but many workers for years have put in 8 hours on the clock, but not on the job. My dad drove a truck to deliver parts for the Big 3. If his truck was partially unloaded at break time, the workers would abandon my dad’s truck making him late for his other appointments. I’m sure many of you could tell much better stories than this.
Inefficiency
Many situations would go something like this:
- Machine part breaks
- Knowledgeable employee standing there knows how to fix it quickly
- Knowledgeable employee is told “no”, the maintenance guy has to fix it and he won’t be in for 3 hours.
- Knowledgeable employee (and crew) gets to sit until part is repaired.
My wife and I owned or drove the following vehicles:
1976 Chevy Vega – many great memories, but crap
1988 Dodge Colt - crap
1989 Pontiac Grand Am – crap, crap
1993 Mercury Villager - crap
1995 Ford Windstar – crap, crap
1998 Plymouth Grand Voyager - crap
NEVER, EVER will we again own a Big 3 vehicle. The materials, handling, look, reliability of these vehicles has been terrible. The workmanship of union hands is evident in all those cars. I would write our a repair and recall history of each union made vehicle, but there are not enough gigabytes on this computer to list them all.
We bought a new Toyota Camry in 1993 and it is still driving well past 230,000 miles. Over 9 times around the earth at the equator! That’s from the earth to the moon! Only if there was a road! Now we are happy owners of a 2005 Honda Odyssey which is marvelous beyond words.
Maybe the UAW will never get the message but I have. As long as the UAW hijacks the American automobile industry, people will continue to flock to superior made vehicles.
Ford should have changed their logo forty years ago. Here are some suggestions for what they SHOULD have made it:
“UAW Benefits are Job #1”
“We Meet Government Standards”
“Buy a Ford, Support a Democrat”
If Ford does survive the tapeworm effect of the UAW maybe someday they will aspire to quality being job #1.
Preface to Thank a Union
Preface to “Thank a Union” Post
My hyperbole on being right most of the time, as is a previous post, though funny to some, I’m sure is irritating to most --which is what I strive for, frankly. If there is some way for me to extract humor out of sarcasm or someone’s discomfort, I am happy. That is why girly men cannot read my blog. LOL
This is not to say that I am not woefully insufficient myself. Au contraire. Most people know me to laugh at myself for many things including my pear shaped physique, bald head, Farleyesque sense of humor and quick admission to being “an idiot” when I screw up.
So for those of you who do not know Marcus – the man, please take my biting wit with a grain of salt. While I admire and love Ann Coulter, I’m not really sure if she has another side (something other than bitingly hostile to liberals).
OK- on to my post.
My hyperbole on being right most of the time, as is a previous post, though funny to some, I’m sure is irritating to most --which is what I strive for, frankly. If there is some way for me to extract humor out of sarcasm or someone’s discomfort, I am happy. That is why girly men cannot read my blog. LOL
This is not to say that I am not woefully insufficient myself. Au contraire. Most people know me to laugh at myself for many things including my pear shaped physique, bald head, Farleyesque sense of humor and quick admission to being “an idiot” when I screw up.
So for those of you who do not know Marcus – the man, please take my biting wit with a grain of salt. While I admire and love Ann Coulter, I’m not really sure if she has another side (something other than bitingly hostile to liberals).
OK- on to my post.
20 January, 2006
Lazy Day of Summer
Lazy Day of Summer
The winds doth blow around my head
To carry forth the bug and petal.
The crickets lay upon their bed
And to this peace they settle.
The sound of a lonely day gone by
The grass and trees hold testament.
Of those that here did laugh and cry
To dream of a world in betterment.
This poem was written in the summer of 2004 in Hillman, MI as I was sitting in my car down a lonely dirt road and parked underneath a giant oak. It was my lunch break in-between fundraiser launches at a nearby school. Since then until today, this poem has remained in my notepad portfolio. I decided to preserve it here before the paper gets destroyed.
The winds doth blow around my head
To carry forth the bug and petal.
The crickets lay upon their bed
And to this peace they settle.
The sound of a lonely day gone by
The grass and trees hold testament.
Of those that here did laugh and cry
To dream of a world in betterment.
This poem was written in the summer of 2004 in Hillman, MI as I was sitting in my car down a lonely dirt road and parked underneath a giant oak. It was my lunch break in-between fundraiser launches at a nearby school. Since then until today, this poem has remained in my notepad portfolio. I decided to preserve it here before the paper gets destroyed.
So Are We Going To Fight, Or What?
So Are We Going To Fight, Or What?
Maybe an analogy of America being the righteous nation naming its enemies would be that of the Israelites of the Old Testament. Israel was the nation led by God for His purpose against the wiles of evil nations.
After all we are a nation that stands for universal righteousness in the area of freedom and justice. We also believe that those things are universally true, “axioms” if you will. For us, tyranny, despotism and fascism are immoral, intolerable scourges as we see them in Iran, Syria and North Korea. But while the drumbeat of war against Iran gets louder, it does so with the pseudo apologies and nauseous explanations of the president.
When I turn to cable news or read the latest RSS feed on world headlines, I can’t read about the latest threat of Iran without the parenthetical “Islam is a peaceful religion” overtones. Even our own Secretary of State and President are looking over their shoulders for the thought police.
When will Americans get a backbone and unapologetically proclaim “freedom and justice FOR ALL?”
Islam is in a tough spot. Either it IS a religion of suicidal maniacs or it IS a religion hijacked by suicidal maniacs. Where are the peaceful Muslims? Where is their outcry? Where are their armies? Where are the peaceful Islamic governments?
The truth: they are not there. Islam is a false religion started by a false prophet. It is only tradition that keeps it living. Resentment against progress and industry is the result of a religion hell bent on keeping things the same as they have been for 2,500 years.
Back to my point- why can’t American officials act out of conviction instead political correctness? Why can’t George Bush just state the obvious?—
Declare war on Iran, destroy the country, convert them all the Buddhists, then send in the Christian missionaries.
Sounds like a plan to me.
Maybe an analogy of America being the righteous nation naming its enemies would be that of the Israelites of the Old Testament. Israel was the nation led by God for His purpose against the wiles of evil nations.
After all we are a nation that stands for universal righteousness in the area of freedom and justice. We also believe that those things are universally true, “axioms” if you will. For us, tyranny, despotism and fascism are immoral, intolerable scourges as we see them in Iran, Syria and North Korea. But while the drumbeat of war against Iran gets louder, it does so with the pseudo apologies and nauseous explanations of the president.
When I turn to cable news or read the latest RSS feed on world headlines, I can’t read about the latest threat of Iran without the parenthetical “Islam is a peaceful religion” overtones. Even our own Secretary of State and President are looking over their shoulders for the thought police.
When will Americans get a backbone and unapologetically proclaim “freedom and justice FOR ALL?”
Islam is in a tough spot. Either it IS a religion of suicidal maniacs or it IS a religion hijacked by suicidal maniacs. Where are the peaceful Muslims? Where is their outcry? Where are their armies? Where are the peaceful Islamic governments?
The truth: they are not there. Islam is a false religion started by a false prophet. It is only tradition that keeps it living. Resentment against progress and industry is the result of a religion hell bent on keeping things the same as they have been for 2,500 years.
Back to my point- why can’t American officials act out of conviction instead political correctness? Why can’t George Bush just state the obvious?—
Declare war on Iran, destroy the country, convert them all the Buddhists, then send in the Christian missionaries.
Sounds like a plan to me.
17 January, 2006
Al Gore's Kindergarten Speech
Al Gore’s Kindergarten Speech
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Vice President Al Gore called Monday for an independent investigation of President Bush's domestic spying program, contending the president "repeatedly and insistently" broke the law by eavesdropping on Americans without court approval.
By LARRY MARGASAK
Associated Press Writer
1/16/2006
To negate every theme in Al Gore’s speech yesterday would be to clean the posterior of a housefly after each bowel movement over its 25 day lifespan.
That’s the Christian way of saying something else. But since this blog is read by beloved relatives and otherwise puritan souls, I'll keep my thoughts vague but picturesque.
Suffice it to say, more intellectual matter is emitted in a gaseous state after a curry dinner than what was muttered by the “the Gore”.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Vice President Al Gore called Monday for an independent investigation of President Bush's domestic spying program, contending the president "repeatedly and insistently" broke the law by eavesdropping on Americans without court approval.
By LARRY MARGASAK
Associated Press Writer
1/16/2006
To negate every theme in Al Gore’s speech yesterday would be to clean the posterior of a housefly after each bowel movement over its 25 day lifespan.
That’s the Christian way of saying something else. But since this blog is read by beloved relatives and otherwise puritan souls, I'll keep my thoughts vague but picturesque.
Suffice it to say, more intellectual matter is emitted in a gaseous state after a curry dinner than what was muttered by the “the Gore”.
16 January, 2006
Ah, the Sun
Ah, the Sun
What a great week to get back on the road selling. How refreshing to get in front of new people, out on the road. How awesome to get new schools calling again. How rewarding to hear Kaylee (6) reading her devotions tonight.
My, how exhausted I am again. This is great!
What a great week to get back on the road selling. How refreshing to get in front of new people, out on the road. How awesome to get new schools calling again. How rewarding to hear Kaylee (6) reading her devotions tonight.
My, how exhausted I am again. This is great!
13 January, 2006
Girly Men In Conservative Clothing
Girly Men In Conservative Clothing
I am thankful for good close friends here. Some of the many characteristics that appeal to me in close friends are the following:
But something lately has been bothering me that I have absolutely no intention of revealing privately because it is really not that important in the grand scheme of things. But since this blog is essentially a diary, public though it may be, I feel the need to vent in this indirect fashion.
Some of these friends have a “namby-pamby” limp wrested approach to issues. For instance, take church praise songs. Is there such a thing? Some say “no”. Anything goes. The subtext here is fear of making a decision or taking a stand. To stand for something that others may find objectionable is too scary. Too “judgmental”. Too “narrow minded”. They wouldn’t be caught dead making a value judgment. These are akin to being a political moderate, looking for the position that will affect the least debate.
Another subject would be the inability of church leaders remedy situations of conflict within the church because they are fearful of ruffling feathers. They are fearful if they take a stand to fix something, they might be looked at as the “trouble maker.” So the problems go uncorrected and the plastic smiles perpetuate.
And finally, the people who are aghast that I would EVER drive over 70 MPH on the freeway or find out that I occasionally put my seat-belt on oh, 3 or 4 miles into my journey. These feminized males who look at me as though I have just violated a black handicapped Jewish gay female during Kwanza.
Sometimes I wonder about the sheltered life these grown men lead – their inability to experience anything outside of the cocoon their mommy and daddy built for them.
A truly good experience for any of these girly men would be to spend a little time in a 3rd world country for a few weeks. It probably wouldn’t produce a full conversion but would be a good start.
I am thankful for good close friends here. Some of the many characteristics that appeal to me in close friends are the following:
- Very wide and irreverent sense of humor
- Loyalty
- Similar socio-political values
But something lately has been bothering me that I have absolutely no intention of revealing privately because it is really not that important in the grand scheme of things. But since this blog is essentially a diary, public though it may be, I feel the need to vent in this indirect fashion.
Some of these friends have a “namby-pamby” limp wrested approach to issues. For instance, take church praise songs. Is there such a thing? Some say “no”. Anything goes. The subtext here is fear of making a decision or taking a stand. To stand for something that others may find objectionable is too scary. Too “judgmental”. Too “narrow minded”. They wouldn’t be caught dead making a value judgment. These are akin to being a political moderate, looking for the position that will affect the least debate.
Another subject would be the inability of church leaders remedy situations of conflict within the church because they are fearful of ruffling feathers. They are fearful if they take a stand to fix something, they might be looked at as the “trouble maker.” So the problems go uncorrected and the plastic smiles perpetuate.
And finally, the people who are aghast that I would EVER drive over 70 MPH on the freeway or find out that I occasionally put my seat-belt on oh, 3 or 4 miles into my journey. These feminized males who look at me as though I have just violated a black handicapped Jewish gay female during Kwanza.
Sometimes I wonder about the sheltered life these grown men lead – their inability to experience anything outside of the cocoon their mommy and daddy built for them.
A truly good experience for any of these girly men would be to spend a little time in a 3rd world country for a few weeks. It probably wouldn’t produce a full conversion but would be a good start.
10 January, 2006
NWA - #2
Well, I made it back home- barely. Northwest Airlines is the bottom of the barrel. When they gave me two $5 meal vouchers for my “inconvenience” in Traverse City (9 hour delay- that is) I expected to be able to use one on the trip to Dallas and one on the way back.
Nada.
In Detroit on the way back home, I took the 2nd voucher up to get a sandwich and was it was rejected due the fact that the voucher is only good for 24 hours. So I went to a NWA agent and asked for it to be redeemed for a new one. Nope.
These employees have no power to affect happy customers even when it means thinking outside of their little box. Most of these employees are good people I’m sure, but the airline is just the absolute worst service organization I have ever experienced.
Nada.
In Detroit on the way back home, I took the 2nd voucher up to get a sandwich and was it was rejected due the fact that the voucher is only good for 24 hours. So I went to a NWA agent and asked for it to be redeemed for a new one. Nope.
These employees have no power to affect happy customers even when it means thinking outside of their little box. Most of these employees are good people I’m sure, but the airline is just the absolute worst service organization I have ever experienced.
05 January, 2006
Dethawed and Overexaggerated
I listened to NPR news this morning on my way to the airport. The main topic at hand is the 12 coal miners that died yesterday (or very early this morning) in West Virginia. The big controversy is that at around midnight they were “found to be alive”, then when I woke up at 4:55 this morning they were all found to be dead.
The NPR man said that that original information had been “misconstrued” and miscommunicated. As I type this in Microsoft Word, these preceding two words have been underlined with a squiggly red line meaning that they are not in the dictionary.
Which is my point.
This coal miner story is an unspeakable tragedy but my topic at hand is of journalistic weakness and illiteracy.
This morning on Fox News, CNN and MSNBC (and NPR) all the talking heads spoke of a miscommunication. What is miscommunication?
It turns out that the miners were dead. The headlines at midnight were FALSE. Not “miscommunicated”. FALSE.
The networks broadcasted a lie – pure and simple. Notice I didn’t say “they lied”. The news had not corroborated with authorities or with the source of the “they are alive” proclamation. Just like the cheering crowds behind them, the news organizations swallowed the story whole.
The second issue is meaningless words. If there is only one profession left in our society that demands proper vocabulary and grammar, shouldn’t it be journalism?
Forget public schools, proper English education disappeared decades ago. I would hope there would be just one place left that could preserve the English language properly, somewhere besides the Jeopardy show.
I sincerely hope that my oFten (with the “f” sound) repeatedly overredundant phraseology is making a dent and that I am not overexaggerating my point. I shall now enter the airport terminal and dethaw from the terrible cold.
The NPR man said that that original information had been “misconstrued” and miscommunicated. As I type this in Microsoft Word, these preceding two words have been underlined with a squiggly red line meaning that they are not in the dictionary.
Which is my point.
This coal miner story is an unspeakable tragedy but my topic at hand is of journalistic weakness and illiteracy.
This morning on Fox News, CNN and MSNBC (and NPR) all the talking heads spoke of a miscommunication. What is miscommunication?
- An error in the material communicated?
- A technical interruption of the material being transmitted?
- A swear word?
- Information that one didn’t mean to say?
- A fact that was once true but later became false?
- A lie?
- An involuntary bodily sound?
It turns out that the miners were dead. The headlines at midnight were FALSE. Not “miscommunicated”. FALSE.
The networks broadcasted a lie – pure and simple. Notice I didn’t say “they lied”. The news had not corroborated with authorities or with the source of the “they are alive” proclamation. Just like the cheering crowds behind them, the news organizations swallowed the story whole.
The second issue is meaningless words. If there is only one profession left in our society that demands proper vocabulary and grammar, shouldn’t it be journalism?
Forget public schools, proper English education disappeared decades ago. I would hope there would be just one place left that could preserve the English language properly, somewhere besides the Jeopardy show.
I sincerely hope that my oFten (with the “f” sound) repeatedly overredundant phraseology is making a dent and that I am not overexaggerating my point. I shall now enter the airport terminal and dethaw from the terrible cold.
Northwest Airlines: A Comedy of Errors
This post is an example of restraint. I could throw a tantrum here at the Northwest counter as I see others doing. But me? I have a blog.
We can put a man on the moon, experience wireless internet and make hydrogen powered cars, but can we can start an airplane, heck no.
OK let me make this as simple as possible. My flight out of Traverse City was supposed to leave at 8AM. We were all on the plane (SAAB turbo prop) but the engine wouldn’t roll over. So according to FAA guidelines they had one more attempt to use up before calling up maintenance. The second attempt didn’t work. So we deplaned.
Then after sitting at the gate for 40 minutes we were told the flight was cancelled and to go back to the front check-in counter and find out what to do.
While in line at the check-in counter I heard another announcement that a new power cable to fix the generator was being flown in and the plane should be ready to board by 11:15. Being that my connecting flight in Detroit is at 12:15 maybe I could still make the Dallas connection to be on time for my 5PM meeting.
Well right now it is 11:21 and I am looking out of these great big windows here in the waiting area and down below is a bunch of maintenance guys talking to each other, drinking coffee and laughing. The new cable is laying there on the luggage belt still spooled and untouched.
Yes, I believe the NWA maintenance folks are on strike, which brings up my thoughts on unions expressed in a previous post.
In the meantime another NWA flight to Detroit scheduled to depart at 10AM has left. We are still here. Does this make any sense? The folks with a later flight are already gone and we are still sitting here. Why didn’t NWA put us on that flight and make the other folks wait so we could spread the misery a little more equally?
With the hassles this morning I could be bought off with a free ticket or something, but NWA will do no such thing. “Because their policy dictates bla bla bla”.
I used to have a modicum of respect for NWA but at this point, after years of hearing horror stories and now experiencing one, I am switching.
I plan to buy one more NWA ticket after this to get up to my 25,000 miles so that I can earn a free ticket.
Then I’m gone.
///
Update: I arrived in Dallas at 8PM. Seven hours late.
We can put a man on the moon, experience wireless internet and make hydrogen powered cars, but can we can start an airplane, heck no.
OK let me make this as simple as possible. My flight out of Traverse City was supposed to leave at 8AM. We were all on the plane (SAAB turbo prop) but the engine wouldn’t roll over. So according to FAA guidelines they had one more attempt to use up before calling up maintenance. The second attempt didn’t work. So we deplaned.
Then after sitting at the gate for 40 minutes we were told the flight was cancelled and to go back to the front check-in counter and find out what to do.
While in line at the check-in counter I heard another announcement that a new power cable to fix the generator was being flown in and the plane should be ready to board by 11:15. Being that my connecting flight in Detroit is at 12:15 maybe I could still make the Dallas connection to be on time for my 5PM meeting.
Well right now it is 11:21 and I am looking out of these great big windows here in the waiting area and down below is a bunch of maintenance guys talking to each other, drinking coffee and laughing. The new cable is laying there on the luggage belt still spooled and untouched.
Yes, I believe the NWA maintenance folks are on strike, which brings up my thoughts on unions expressed in a previous post.
In the meantime another NWA flight to Detroit scheduled to depart at 10AM has left. We are still here. Does this make any sense? The folks with a later flight are already gone and we are still sitting here. Why didn’t NWA put us on that flight and make the other folks wait so we could spread the misery a little more equally?
With the hassles this morning I could be bought off with a free ticket or something, but NWA will do no such thing. “Because their policy dictates bla bla bla”.
I used to have a modicum of respect for NWA but at this point, after years of hearing horror stories and now experiencing one, I am switching.
I plan to buy one more NWA ticket after this to get up to my 25,000 miles so that I can earn a free ticket.
Then I’m gone.
///
Update: I arrived in Dallas at 8PM. Seven hours late.
03 January, 2006
NFL Football
NFL Football
OK- here I go again. Another rant and this time I know that this will alienate almost everybody I know --even my own father and brother. So I am fully ready to be blasted. But this is my blog and as such I will move ahead.
I do not see what the fascination is with football in general and the NFL in particular. By nature I am competitive as in my career and other areas – but I do not understand the TIME many sports fans invest in watching games, keeping up with stats and endlessly talk about it. From what I see in many friends, it is a single-minded obsession.
I remember the 1987 Pistons and was tremendously excited about their streak of winning seasons. I watched every game of the semi-finals and of course, the finals. So in that respect I can get very excited about my home team or if there is an outstanding player that is just entertaining to watch (like Michael Jordan), I will tune in.
What I am referring to here is the time invested in the NFL’s regular season. Hours and hours of watching TV and Fantasy Football clubs – it’s crazy. I simply do not get it. I would rather do woodworking, play with my kids, swim, write, read, play music, hunt, fish… WHATEVER!
But that is our culture’s call. The NFL is the rallying cry around the water cooler. It’s second most popular conversation starter, after the weather.
I remember a class I took while in college, an introduction to cultural anthropology. I didn’t particularly enjoy the class or the professor but he did teach me two things which I remember all these years later. First, he taught me about the Namibian culture of southern Africa and secondly, about the intellectual futility of watching a group of men running around wooden floor for the sole purpose of getting a 12” ball of orange leather into a steel ring.
I mean think about it. How desperate and unfulfilled must one’s life be to obsess with watching an inflatable elliptical pig skin crossing an imaginary line on the ground.
People are dying in Somalia for crying out loud. At least go shovel the snow, mow the grass or do something useful for goodness sake!
Now I am not saying or implying that I do not have obsessions. On the contrary, my obsession right at this minute is writing a useless blog that no one reads. My personality demands that my obsessions move from one subject to another. Ten years ago I was obsessed with hi-fi gear, then I was obsessed with computers, then cameras, then slide scanning, then fishing, then something else. But they all had an end. It was time to move on.
The simple fact is that I just don’t get the obsession about the NFL. There have been many times that I had to question my masculinity with guys that were frothing over last night’s game. Politics, weather –please anything other than who beat who last night.
My contributions to such conversations usually fall along the lines of “man, Adrian Dantley was a great free-throw shooter, wasn’t he?” I get laughs, which is precisely how I deflect my ignorance.
The obsession with the NFL that I witness currently, concerns me in that it is all a break from reality – a total disconnect with real life. You can enter the fantasy world of football and forget your job, your problems, et al.
I’m sure you would say back to me – “that’s the point!” And to that I would have to admire you for being honest.
Maybe a better analogy would be to speak of my enjoyment of watching movies. I do enjoy good a good flick on the big screen downstairs as much as Siskel and Ebert – but I have no desire to look up the actors on the internet to get their bios, film credits, educational background – nor do I wish to join their fan clubs!
I get plugged in for the movie then unplug after it’s done. Isn’t that the way it should be done? Hmm- maybe I am missing something.
I also think there is a spiritual issue with obsessing. What is the difference between a subject of obsession and idolatry? You tell me.
I can see your hackles, but that’s the way I see it.
And what about this thing about watching every Lions game? How can anyone watch the Lions week in and week out and not get clinically depressed?
I don’t get it.
OK- here I go again. Another rant and this time I know that this will alienate almost everybody I know --even my own father and brother. So I am fully ready to be blasted. But this is my blog and as such I will move ahead.
I do not see what the fascination is with football in general and the NFL in particular. By nature I am competitive as in my career and other areas – but I do not understand the TIME many sports fans invest in watching games, keeping up with stats and endlessly talk about it. From what I see in many friends, it is a single-minded obsession.
I remember the 1987 Pistons and was tremendously excited about their streak of winning seasons. I watched every game of the semi-finals and of course, the finals. So in that respect I can get very excited about my home team or if there is an outstanding player that is just entertaining to watch (like Michael Jordan), I will tune in.
What I am referring to here is the time invested in the NFL’s regular season. Hours and hours of watching TV and Fantasy Football clubs – it’s crazy. I simply do not get it. I would rather do woodworking, play with my kids, swim, write, read, play music, hunt, fish… WHATEVER!
But that is our culture’s call. The NFL is the rallying cry around the water cooler. It’s second most popular conversation starter, after the weather.
I remember a class I took while in college, an introduction to cultural anthropology. I didn’t particularly enjoy the class or the professor but he did teach me two things which I remember all these years later. First, he taught me about the Namibian culture of southern Africa and secondly, about the intellectual futility of watching a group of men running around wooden floor for the sole purpose of getting a 12” ball of orange leather into a steel ring.
I mean think about it. How desperate and unfulfilled must one’s life be to obsess with watching an inflatable elliptical pig skin crossing an imaginary line on the ground.
People are dying in Somalia for crying out loud. At least go shovel the snow, mow the grass or do something useful for goodness sake!
Now I am not saying or implying that I do not have obsessions. On the contrary, my obsession right at this minute is writing a useless blog that no one reads. My personality demands that my obsessions move from one subject to another. Ten years ago I was obsessed with hi-fi gear, then I was obsessed with computers, then cameras, then slide scanning, then fishing, then something else. But they all had an end. It was time to move on.
The simple fact is that I just don’t get the obsession about the NFL. There have been many times that I had to question my masculinity with guys that were frothing over last night’s game. Politics, weather –please anything other than who beat who last night.
My contributions to such conversations usually fall along the lines of “man, Adrian Dantley was a great free-throw shooter, wasn’t he?” I get laughs, which is precisely how I deflect my ignorance.
The obsession with the NFL that I witness currently, concerns me in that it is all a break from reality – a total disconnect with real life. You can enter the fantasy world of football and forget your job, your problems, et al.
I’m sure you would say back to me – “that’s the point!” And to that I would have to admire you for being honest.
Maybe a better analogy would be to speak of my enjoyment of watching movies. I do enjoy good a good flick on the big screen downstairs as much as Siskel and Ebert – but I have no desire to look up the actors on the internet to get their bios, film credits, educational background – nor do I wish to join their fan clubs!
I get plugged in for the movie then unplug after it’s done. Isn’t that the way it should be done? Hmm- maybe I am missing something.
I also think there is a spiritual issue with obsessing. What is the difference between a subject of obsession and idolatry? You tell me.
I can see your hackles, but that’s the way I see it.
And what about this thing about watching every Lions game? How can anyone watch the Lions week in and week out and not get clinically depressed?
I don’t get it.
02 January, 2006
Blog Retrospective
In revising this blog, it has come to be self-evident that most of the subject matter I have approached has come from a position of ire and would make me out to be of an unpleasant disposition. Clearly, for someone who has not held my acquaintance personally this would be a logical conclusion.
So let me state for the record, that I am a jovial, fun loving unpretentious lad who seeks world harmony. I shall in the future take it upon myself to explore the levity to which I also aspire.
So let me state for the record, that I am a jovial, fun loving unpretentious lad who seeks world harmony. I shall in the future take it upon myself to explore the levity to which I also aspire.
Email Newbies
Once upon a time in a land far, far away there lived a woman named Mrs. Smith. She lived in a small house, in a small neighborhood, in a small town in the great big U.S.
Mrs. Smith was a baby boomer who one day decided that she needed to learn how to use a computer. So one evening while watching TV, Mrs. Smith saw a commercial on a video system to teach her how to use a computer. The man in the advertisement looked trustworthy and even promised to refund her shipping fee if she wasn’t satisfied.
So Mrs. Smith got her new computer and the local big box store and brought it home to set it up. After 13 hours on the phone with the support technician, she learned how to turn it on.
Lo and behold, there was this really neat thing called AOL on her desktop that was her ticket to the World Wide Web. WOW. Now Mrs. Smith could go explore the whole world at her fingertips.
Not too long later, Mrs. Smith heard the sound “You got mail” – which was really, really neat. It just sounded so personal, like someone was paying attention to her. Just the sound of “You got mail” seemed to give her significance. Every time it sounded it boosted her important self esteem just a little more.
It was so neat that people all over the world were sending her offers for quick college degrees, body enlargements, and chat partners genuinely interested in getting to know her. Wow – this was so neat!
But what was the neatest thing of all was that if an email that was really funny, or really cute, or seemingly significant– Mrs. Smith could send it to someone special with just the click of a button.
And not only one person- she could send it to EVERYONE in her address book!
Wow- now EVERYONE could experience the same joyous, ecstatic, revelational moment that Mrs. Smith had with just the click of a button.
But not only that! Mrs. Smith learned how to forward surveys and petitions to everyone. So now all could see how civically conscious she was.
There was the petition to:
But what Mrs. Smith REALLY loved was this brand new invention called the electronic greeting card.
No longer did she have to go down to the gift shop and actually spend money to buy a greeting card, actually WRITE in it then go through the hassle of mailing it.
Now she could just put someone’s email address on it – and SHAZAM- it was all done. These electronic greeting cards were so neat because they actually moved and looked SO CUTE.
Then Mrs. Smith sent EVERYONE an electronic greeting card which let them know how much she cared.
Well time passed, and soon all of Mrs. Smith’s friends were getting emails every day with some joke, thought of the day, greeting card or petition.
But Mrs. Smith didn’t realize that many of her friends were ones who had been using computers beginning in grade school.
These non-Baby Boomer friends, were not enamored of the concept of email. For them, it was a normal form of communication that can easily be used and potentially misused. After all, they understood that since people use their email every day for business and pleasure it was a tool to be used prudently.
Soon the recipients realized that it was rare if ever that they got a real and personal message from Mrs. Smith. So they decided for the sake of keeping their INBOX clean, to simply relegate Mrs. Smiths email address to the spam catcher and she was never heard from again.
Mrs. Smith was a baby boomer who one day decided that she needed to learn how to use a computer. So one evening while watching TV, Mrs. Smith saw a commercial on a video system to teach her how to use a computer. The man in the advertisement looked trustworthy and even promised to refund her shipping fee if she wasn’t satisfied.
So Mrs. Smith got her new computer and the local big box store and brought it home to set it up. After 13 hours on the phone with the support technician, she learned how to turn it on.
Lo and behold, there was this really neat thing called AOL on her desktop that was her ticket to the World Wide Web. WOW. Now Mrs. Smith could go explore the whole world at her fingertips.
Not too long later, Mrs. Smith heard the sound “You got mail” – which was really, really neat. It just sounded so personal, like someone was paying attention to her. Just the sound of “You got mail” seemed to give her significance. Every time it sounded it boosted her important self esteem just a little more.
It was so neat that people all over the world were sending her offers for quick college degrees, body enlargements, and chat partners genuinely interested in getting to know her. Wow – this was so neat!
But what was the neatest thing of all was that if an email that was really funny, or really cute, or seemingly significant– Mrs. Smith could send it to someone special with just the click of a button.
And not only one person- she could send it to EVERYONE in her address book!
Wow- now EVERYONE could experience the same joyous, ecstatic, revelational moment that Mrs. Smith had with just the click of a button.
But not only that! Mrs. Smith learned how to forward surveys and petitions to everyone. So now all could see how civically conscious she was.
There was the petition to:
- stop the genocide in Rwanda
- impeach Bill Clinton
- hug your teacher
- establish a new national holiday to honor Baby Boomers
- stop an internet tax
- pass a anti-spam law
- let every congressman in the Northern Hemisphere know your thought on abortion
- promote world peace
- eradicate AIDS
- cure cancer
- and stop global warming
But what Mrs. Smith REALLY loved was this brand new invention called the electronic greeting card.
No longer did she have to go down to the gift shop and actually spend money to buy a greeting card, actually WRITE in it then go through the hassle of mailing it.
Now she could just put someone’s email address on it – and SHAZAM- it was all done. These electronic greeting cards were so neat because they actually moved and looked SO CUTE.
Then Mrs. Smith sent EVERYONE an electronic greeting card which let them know how much she cared.
Well time passed, and soon all of Mrs. Smith’s friends were getting emails every day with some joke, thought of the day, greeting card or petition.
But Mrs. Smith didn’t realize that many of her friends were ones who had been using computers beginning in grade school.
These non-Baby Boomer friends, were not enamored of the concept of email. For them, it was a normal form of communication that can easily be used and potentially misused. After all, they understood that since people use their email every day for business and pleasure it was a tool to be used prudently.
Soon the recipients realized that it was rare if ever that they got a real and personal message from Mrs. Smith. So they decided for the sake of keeping their INBOX clean, to simply relegate Mrs. Smiths email address to the spam catcher and she was never heard from again.
The end.
If it’s not worth putting a stamp on—it’s not worth emailing!
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