Celebrities and Politicians are both a bunch of clueless folks

Celebrities, Politicians, big business Tycoons and Athletes are groups of people, in my opinion, who are so out of touch with what it is like to be a normal person scratching for living, trying to make a mortgage payment, raising children on not enough money, dealing with crap from big companies and general all around life itself, that it ain’t even funny. Yeah, I know. Pretty generalist and generally a bold statement to make and someone somewhere will say “You can make any kind of general statement and it fits because it is so general.”Yeah, I know that too. So what?

The news is full of all kinds of things being reported on that , to me, just indicate how out of touch these people really are. I’ll just give 4 examples even though there are literally hundreds more and dozens of goofy stories to consider. Let’s talk about Sean Penn, Dick Cheney, Bill Gates and Tiger Woods. I picked these names because they are topical , but you could really pick any one of hundreds of them and it would still apply. One is from Entertainment, one from Politics, one from Business, one from Sports and they are all so far out of touch with reality that it is comical. These people have no clue and haven’t had for a number of years how hard life really is.

· Sean Penn is a decent actor. I have watched most of his work, although I could care less about his politics, I have enjoyed some but not all of his acting. That’s normal I think. The thing that makes me lump him in this category of out of touch with normal is his ability to adopt a cause that has so called worldwide proportions to it, all the while ignoring what goes on in his own backyard. He has adopted a philanthropic strategy of helping the poor by taking direct action. Good for him. He delivered antibiotics to Haitian doctors to help with the sick and injured. Good for him. He helped rescue people in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, Good for him again. He has basically done nothing to help the poor , homeless and downtrodden where he lives at though. He lives in Marin county, across the Golden Gate from San Francisco in California. He played a great Harvey Milk in the movie, yet has basically done nothing to help people where he lives. Either it is not important enough because it doesn’t take a plane ride to do it, or maybe he is just unaware of the issues? Quite possibly , the PR value is not enough to drive across town and help where he lives. Who knows? When is the last time you read about him helping people anywhere in America though, that had nothing to do with natural tragedies or did not have an immense PR value? Don’t get me wrong, I am sure they appreciated the medicine in Haiti. I wonder though if the homeless in his own city would appreciate a meal just as much? If you are hungry in Haiti, he might help you, however starving in San Francisco is another story altogether.

· Dick Cheney is one old tough S.O.B. of a politician who runs off at the mouth and is an attack dog for the extreme right. If you are a liberal he is a right wing wacko nut job, If you are a conservative he is the voice of reason and the voice of what is the matter with America. Truth is he is just another politician, who is being used by one group as a mouthpiece to attack another group, and he carries no baggage for the Republicans because they can always say “Hey, we do not control Dick Cheney, he is retired for crying out loud.” The concept is called “plausible deniability”. You think he knows how much a gallon of milk costs? He has aides, secretaries, multiple offices, staff, secret service agents, handlers, publicists, and airplanes at his immediate disposal. When was the last time you think he wrote a check to pay for the mortgage on his home? How can you seriously think this guy and his opinions carry any weight for normal people when I’ll bet he hasn’t even taken the trash out in his own house for 35 years? The only people he is relevant to are other politicians. Not to you and me and certainly not to the average American.

Bill Gates made his money the old fashioned way. He printed it. The company he ran for 25 years , (you know who), has never released a single piece of software in their history that was fully finished , 100 % complete and was ready to go out of the box. What he did better than anybody else was get his stuff on the shelves and make killer deals to have his stuff as the one you would see on computers, first, before anybody else did. He never met a good idea he couldn’t copy, imitate, buy or steal. If you were a competitor he either imitated your work , bought your company and closed you down, or bought your company and renamed it after his brand. Now that he has a “zabagillion” dollars, he runs a foundation that is trying to help to solve some of the more weighty issues of our time. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation does wonderful work all over the World. I have no dispute with that. It does great work, is a wonderful idea and is about time somebody with the money spent it doing things like this for folks who otherwise would not be able to make it without his help. I wonder what they are doing outside his own household in King County Washington? According to endhomeless.org there are about 24,000 homeless people in the state, and more than 11 % of the population is below the Federal poverty level. Most of their work in the USA though is in helping schools and in funds for Libraries. I’m homeless and I’m hungry, but I can read, thanks to him? Seems ridiculous to me. Their office is in Seattle WA. I am sure they do great things, however do you think he tries to figure out how to get kids back and forth from daycare and be able to work enough to pay the light bill?

· And finally Tiger Woods. Great golfer, great athlete. Can’t keep it in his pants, and screws more than a hardware store full of screwdrivers, but has all kinds of good works going on too. I’ll not say too much about him except to say, I’ll watch him play golf, and at the same time, whatever his other issues are they are his problems, not mine, and he is not a role model for me or for anyone I know. He is just a professional golfer and nothing more. Athletes in general make more money than they should in my opinion and I have never tried to model my life after an image created by some schmuck in a PR firm have you? He’s trying to keep his marriage together? Boo frickin hoo. Try working two jobs, paying a mortgage, raising 5 kids and have your wife work like a maniac on a different shift than you do just to make sure the lights stay on. So stupid its funny and you want me to care about his love life?

Here is what I think they should have to do. Come and spend one week in my shoes, or your shoes. Call it a special service requirement in order to be a rich clueless moron. Let’s say if your net worth is more than 5 million dollars, you have to do this or you forfeit your entire fortune and we give it to somebody else. I’ll bet you anything if all these rich clowns had to see what it is really like, they would do more to help what is right in front of them instead of hiding behind a PR firm or a foundation or a political party or a bunch of lawyers. Leave behind the aides and cars and Black American Express cards and just come and hang out with real people facing real problems. In order to be called a celebrity or be voted in office, don’t let one of these guys or people like them say stupid things like “We should all volunteer to serve America” unless one of the putzs has spent some time lately (or yearly) with real people. See how real people deal with real problems in the real world, when there is no plane, no lawyer, no accountant, no checkbook and no servant to do all the work. Maybe then they would appreciate what it means to be alive anywhere in today’s’ society. If they did, I wouldn’t feel so blasé` about how meaningless their problems really are and they could go on helping people in lower Gryzbeckia solve their zinc deficiency or some other such nonsense.

It will never happen because it is too much to ask and is way too radical a thought to ask rich people to spend 5 days managing their own life, but hey, If I am supposed to worry about somebody shaving their hair off, or whether some guy with a butt load of money is spending it correctly or whether some rich athlete is banging a hooker every night, then they can see what it takes to sell enough candy and have enough carwashes in order for my kid to be able to be on the cheerleading squad.

Seems like fair requirement if you ask me.

Thankx for reading my rant !

bigmike

Visit my blog online at http://bigmikerant.blogspot.com/

I encourage you to leave your own comments or reactions to my rants (even if you don't agree with me) in the comments section on each post.

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Schools use Peeping Tom technology ? WTF ?

Lower Merion School District of Ardmore, Pa., has generated a lot of controversy lately with a story about the web cameras on school laptop computer being activated remotely, to in effect "spy" on unsuspecting students as they were using the laptops.

The laptops were issued by the school district and are the property of the school district. The main complaint it seems comes from a kid, whom was called into the assistant principals office and accused of drug use or sales, I am not sure which (maybe both), based on some still photographs. The kid says he was eating candy.

The story isn't clear what the actual complaint was other than saying the assistant principal accused the kid of "improper behavior in his home". Of course the parents are totally pissed off and pretty upset, they have retained counsel, filed motions, are either suing the school district or are contemplating a suit , I can't remember which.

The school district says the only time (42 times) they have activated the cameras was when the laptop was reported stolen, as it is part of some "security" software to help locate stolen laptops. They went on to further defend their actions saying that only two school employees had access to the software, that the assistant principal didn't actually turn the software on and the only thing he saw was a still snapshot taken of the behavior.

I think that about sums up the story as it is being reported today. Wow. I am stunned by the stupidity and think my dogs would make better decisions than these clueless losers are capable of making.

Peeping Tom Technology used to spy on students

My initial reaction is kind of like "WTF". "Are you all a bunch of morons?, Are you guys stupid ?, Were you high when you made this decision? I wonder whose bright idea this was? Were they smoking crack ?

Did no one in this school district do a worst case scenario assessment ?

Can you imagine this scenario ? A 13 year old girl leaves the laptop on her desk, lid up and laptop on. It is facing her closet. They turn on the camera, while coincidentally she is changing clothes and footage of her 13 year old naked body is taken and sent back to the school where someone reviews it to see what the footage contains. I know that is a little bit bizarre but it is entirely plausible don't you think?

Teenage girls (I've had three) change clothes about 12 times a day. They shut the doors to their rooms like they are guarding the Fort Knox gold. I'm not sure any of them would think twice about a laptop on their desk being capable of taking pictures of them without their knowledge though.

If this was my kid, I would be in jail right now. Somebody, maybe that assistant principal would have just gotten his butt kicked. He would have a hard time smiling for the next family photo because he would have had to do it without any friggin teeth.

Don't forget, these are the same kind of people whom are educating your kids. They suspend , discipline and expel children every day for drawing pictures of guns, for having a nail file because it could be a weapon, for having an asthma inhaler because it is a drug, for having Tylenol or Midol due to the cramps and for all other kinds of the goofiest crap you have ever heard of. One school system in Illinois tried to withhold diplomas a couple of years ago because at the graduation ceremonies, their families were too loud, by cheering for their children thereby causing a disruption. One of the kids was the valedictorian.

I hope this family cleans their clocks. These people had no right being in the home on camera, not to mention no legal standing to make any kind of accusation to begin with. What a bunch of arrogant idiots.I for one have had it with the stupidity exhibited by people with so much education that they are stupid.

Thankx for reading my rant !

bigmike

Visit my blog online at http://bigmikerant.blogspot.com/

I encourage you to leave your own comments or reactions to my rants (even if you don't agree with me) in the comments section on each post.

Join my facebook group "We are all tired of Bickering Politicians" at
http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=292482513888
We would love to have your voice added to the noise !!

Why the Health Insurance debate doesn't really make a lot of sense to me

My God.

You would have thought the earth was going to stand still in the last few months to hear our over the top politicians and their paid spokes-dogs going on and on about the health care debate.

Millions of people do not have jobs. Unemployment is at 10 % or better. Hundreds of thousands of people are losing their homes into bankruptcy and foreclosure and we are still fighting two wars in three countries (Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq). Some of our military is on their 6th deployments overseas. Hillary! Bill ! Obama ! Reid ! Pelosi ! (oh, that’s right, it is all the fault of the republicans isn’t it….I forgot).

Bernie Madoff and his ilk stole 50 Billion dollars. Enron cost the economy 100 Billion dollars. Retirement accounts are turning to dust everywhere and the stock market has plummeted to the tune of a loss in the trillions of dollars in the last 24 months.

Yep, now was exactly the time the American people were going to get behind a new debate on health care in this country.

We have over 36 million illegal , undocumented aliens in this country. Every county , state and parish has had to lay people off. The state of California, which by volume is the world’s 5^th largest economy, was some 23 BILLION dollars in the red on the next state budget. Teachers are being laid off left and right, schools are being closed all over and if you can find a Mall or a shopping center that isn’t at least 20 % unoccupied , you are very fortunate. Toyota’s and Honda’s are falling apart as you drive them. Whole brands of cars are just being discontinued. No more Pontiac, no more Saturn, poof all gone. Hundreds of dealerships are being closed all over America and now was the time to explain how we needed a mandatory cost for health care applied to those people who didn’t have health care.

Look, this is how stupid this debate is and how bad the timing is to pursue this right now.

I cannot drive a car legally in the USA without car insurance. If I do and I get caught, I will lose my license. If I have an accident, I’ll lose everything I have. In my state that is the law and they check it electronically and could care less if you have an Insurance card. Even though they are that insistent about it, some 36 million people drive everyday in this country without Car Insurance. They do it and you have to buy “Uninsured motorist” liability coverage to make sure your own car gets fixed if you have an accident with one of these goofs. I pay for car insurance for years and years and years without ever using it, and if I do have an accident , I am thinking of how to pay for the claim out of pocket because I don’t want my rates to go up. For a product I’ve owned for years, paid into with no claims, and to worry about my rates going up the one time I use it is the pinnacle of stupidity. There is no effective regulation barring this practice, not a real one anyway. The only people these laws benefit are those that can afford a $700 per hour lawyer to sue them if they break the law.

The same stupid logic applies to Health Insurance. Insurance companies have to be multi headed monsters in order to sell their products in the USA because there is no universal law which allows one set of USA regulations to cover the policies that are sold. Every State (and sometimes counties) have regulations that are different in every place they do business. So in order to maximize their take from the policies they sell, they write exclusions into policies that minimize their risk. 20 years old, out of school ? Sorry, your parents cannot cover you anymore (unless you are in school, in which case, never mind, unless you are older than 25 then, oh yeah No Insurance!). Go to work at a new job in another state 31 days after you left the old job ? Uh, you have to wait 90 days to join our insurance group, unless of course you just retired from the military or are age 55 or older in which case special regulations may apply to you. Unless you have any kind of drug conviction or have had any kind of surgery in the past 3 years. 40 million people can’t afford health insurance because of how stupidly these regulations have been allowed to become.

What is the difference between a 21 year old in college and a 21 year old not in college that makes them automatically uninsurable by their parents through their policy anyway? The answer? Nothing except CLAIMS FREQUENCY. Colleges have clinics that cost less and people not in college incur Billing that is the same as everyone else.

I don’t even want to get into groups, rate plans, experience allocation or pre-existing conditions, which is a whole bigger barrel of fish by itself.

It makes me think what we ought to do when we get sick enough to see a doctor and don’t have health insurance is to ask a Mexican if he can help us get some fake identity papers so we can lay the bill of on somebody else or maybe we should get sick, get in our cars, drive the car through the emergency rooms doors and then cough and say “What happened I must have passed out?”, when someone runs up to the car , so the friggin car insurance has to pay for it.

Its better insured than most people are anyway.

I created a group on Facebook called “We are all tired of Bickering Politicians” , click the link to see it and feel free to join up. I’d love for one of these do nothing politicians to get an earful of you too !

Thankx for reading my rant !

bigmike