Politics - As Usual

No one, and I mean NO ONE, has all the answers on how to lead our Nation. Each candidate has flaws; some more glaring than others. But remember your only choices are not the Democratic & Republican parties. When you step into the voting booth in November you'll see other candidates for the Presidency. Those will be the one who were not privy to the war chests of the aforementioned political juggernauts. 

Choose wisely - for yourself & your loved ones. And remember - Congress generally needs to approve whatever the President wants to do. So campaign promises can in reality be mere rhetoric, influencing both rabid, die-hard supporters & those more easily swayed by verbiage that's worth as much as the diatribe you're now reading. But hey, it's your vote. Whether you want to waste it on someone who needs a haircut, who wants to share what you've earned with those who sit on their a$$es all day or who lies for a living, go for it.

Personally, I haven't decided how I'll exercise my franchise yet, but there's always the write-in option, Of course, that's assuming I'm not overcome by the same euphoric mania that's infiltrated the minds of some folks I know, at which point I'll either feel the grate or make America burn again.

New NRA Lottery

You may know that Russian roulette is "the practice of loading a bullet into one chamber of a revolver, spinning the cylinder, and then pulling the trigger while pointing the gun at one's own head." But did you know we have own version of this deadly game here in the USA? It's called American Arcade. Common people congregate in shopping malls, movie theaters, universities, naval/army bases or churches. There's even a version for children where they gather in classrooms in schools. Once assembled, the innocents wait for an armed gunman to enter the premises and open fire with a variety of different weapons. 

Note tickets to these sordid events are only sold by one entity - the NRA. Their efforts have succeeded in allowing known terrorists to obtain guns and prohibiting the suing of gun manufacturers via campaign contributions to lackeys in Congress who dance to the tunes they play. Even as children die bleeding to death in a hallway, as a Mother and her daughter are killed in a car jacking, as a young husband is gunned down in a street robbery, the whirling dervishes that accept NRA money keep step to the heartrending dirges of death, destruction and mayhem.

And so, to make this a true capitalist endeavor, a national lottery-type game will be held for gun massacres. Instead of selecting random numbers, "Shoot for the Loot" game participants must choose the state, city, date, time and average age for the next gun massacre. Prizes include lifetime memberships to the NRA, gun cleaning kits and free passes to shooting ranges. 

If you'd rather refrain from supporting this deadly new game, take the high road & vote your elected official who may have been bought by the NRA out of office. Follow the accompanying hyperlink below to see if YOUR elected Congress person is on the NRA payroll.

Congress People Accepting NRA Bribes

Media Bias

"Propaganda must facilitate the displacement of aggression by specifying the targets for hatred." ~ Joseph Goebbels.

As the Reich Minister of Propaganda in Germany from 1933 - 1945, the personal perceptions of Goebbels became reality as he systematically primed the Nazi war machine with his biases. His inflammatory rhetoric included labeling Jews as sub-humans, lackeys & parasites. The subsequent deaths of over six million people in concentration camps are grim testimony to the success of his media brain-washing efforts.

More than seventy years later, the construct of Nazi propaganda is mimicked in editorials misconstrued or presented as objective news reporting. The euphoric effect of mainlining media bias results in an initial rush as less informed (a.k.a. dull normal) readers are assuaged by hyperbole into a stupor of self-aggrandizement.

But readership that hasn’t (or cannot due to a diminished intellectual capacity) developed a critical eye to determine fact from fiction eventually scavenges for another media high. The Internet and specifically articles posted onto Facebook serve some as viable news sources. And thus the problem is exacerbated.

Once this high is scored, a still woefully uninformed but erroneously self-confident reader might now consider him/herself an “expert” via their booster shot of editorial incontinence.

The following are a small sample of opinionated articles masquerading as news stories found on Facebook the week of 2/7/16. Any intelligent individual knows the difference between the two and can determine why they are labeled as such. If not, you are a mere board piece in the game of life subject the whim, fancy & vicissitudes of a media hell bent on inculcating its self-serving agenda on the gullible masses.

http://freakoutnation.com/2016/02/trumps-son-waterboarding-is-no-different-than-what-happens-in-frat-houses-every-day/

http://conservativetribune.com/black-sheriff-beyonce-show/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=TheNewResistance&utm_content=2016-02-09&utm_campaign=manualpost

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-new-hampshire_us_56b8fcc5e4b04f9b57dab13b?dl07ldi%3Futm_hp_ref=latino-voices&ir=Latino%2BVoices&section=latino-voices&ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000048

http://insider.foxnews.com/2016/02/10/donald-trump-responds-ny-daily-news-cover-slams-owner-after-new-hampshire-primary

http://usuncut.com/news/the-dnc-superdelegates-just-screwed-over-bernie-sanders-and-spit-in-the-faces-of-voters/

De-fund the NRA

The NRA buys members of Congress & has prevented ANY discussion of gun control. How else could one explain its rhetoric for allowing people on terrorist watch lists to buy guns?

So, how can we disarm the NRA? Click HERE and see if any of your Congressional representative have accepted any bribes (sorry; I meant political contributions) from the pro-gun lobbyists. You can filter your results by state. Then, simply vote for his/her opposition. Because if the NRA can't buy votes, they can't control Congress.

Type Amen and Please Share!

One of my FB friends shared a post with me the other day. It asked me to type "Amen" for an apparently sick child because each such affirmation was worth 1,000 prayers. 

But let's look a little more closely at this request for help. When exactly did acknowledging a sick child on social media become de rigueur? Who's running this prayer exchange? How is a lone "Amen" magically converted into an astounding 1,000 prayers? Why isn't an amen worth 500 prayers? Or 2,158 prayers? Who exactly is tallying up the aggregate prayers? If the child receives more than enough prayers for a cure are subsequent prayers reallocated to the aforementioned prayer exchange? 

The post additionally noted if I scrolled by I was considered "heartless." Why would I be heartless? Why can't we instead see this person's seeking as many likes or shares as possible on FB for their personal edification and is using the sick child as a disposable pawn in their selfish endeavor? (Besides, I heard that lighting candles in a Church after an obligatory donation can also garner miracles so why isn't a venue such as that recommended as an alternative option?) In case you're wondering, I scrolled by the post in question, never batting an eye or subsequently losing a moment's sleep over my blatant, callous disregard for human life.
And last time I checked, my heart was still beating.

A Fine Pickle

Established in Berchtesgaden, Germany in 1875, Ichtel, Brotten & Surgedorff (IBS) are purveyors of fine pickle, olive and relish products. Initially serving the Bavarian area, word of their product line quickly spread throughout the country and eventually Europe. Today, IBS has a devoted customer base around the world.

Last week Einrich Oberstrutgoff, president of IBS, spoke at his company's annual stockholder meeting. His line "sie wankelmütig nicht, versuchen sie einen IBS gurke" (don't be fickle, try an IBS pickle) was perhaps the most memorable of the evening, drawing rounds of applause from the assembly.
A possible successor to Herr Oberstrutgoff, who has raised both earnings per share and company awareness with his effervescent personality has yet to be made, causing no small angst among shareholders.

The Vicarious Superstar Syndrome

At some point in recent years, it became acceptable for giving trophies to kids for merely participating on a team.

Parents: Don't Lie to Your Kids About Their Athletic Ability

Not sure, but maybe awards were also dispensed for Cleanest Uniform, Waterboy/Girl with Quickest Dispensing Time and Most Compassionate Player. 

Except at the most rudimentary level, it's winning that counts in sports. League officials who award kids at season's end for mere participation are partly to blame. But parents bear culpability, too. If a child isn't consistently, for a protracted period of time, athletically ahead of his/her peers, Mom (and especially Dad) must cease to push little Timmy or Julie each week so they can one day share vicariously in being the laurel-crowned objects of opponents' ire, cheering crowds and homecoming festivities. 

So, to the 99.98% of parents whose kids will not make the pros, face the relative fact: you kid sucks. Get over it. Do your job as a responsible parent & steer him/her to an appropriate academic venue. If not academically inclined, a trade school might be appropriate. But for the sake of their future don't continue to coddle them into thinking there's a chance when in reality there's none.