Boomer explains Tool and Equipment Maintenance

 01/05/2025

Good Afternoon, ladies and gents,

Today's video explains why you should regularly repair and clean tools and perform all the simple maintenance required. The simple answer is that you like saving money.

Well, you don't, do you? 

Many people will not admit that they never considered the maintenance cost or the upkeep when they purchased it. I've seen people, only two years after they bought a brand-new lawnmower, throw it away, sell it for nothing, send it to the dump, or give it to someone because it didn't work anymore. I cannot tell you how many times I have bought a nonworking piece of equipment from someone in the last 20 years, and with a tiny bit of work, I have made it a functioning tool that has done its job again for many years.

A case in point is to look at weedeaters; I see a lot of weedeaters go to the junk yard. Two reasons for that. Usually, the first big reason is you don't know how to mix the oil with the gasoline, and you end up burning the rings out of the engine or motor, and it starts to consume oil and smoke, and pretty soon, it won't start or run. The next big thing is that nobody knows how to maintain them, so they just call them throwaway items. They paid $200 for the last two years, so they throw it away when it doesn't work, and I get a new one to get a replacement unit. To me, this seems dorky. And by dorky, I mean pointless, verging on stupid, because there's not much you have to do to a weedeater to winterize it for next year. 

I'm looking up on Google. Google is your best friend. You may use a different browser, or you may use Microsoft BING. I don't care. Search for "How do I winterize a weedeater?". The Almighty search engine will take you to someplace that basically just says to follow these steps,  For example: 1) Change the spark plug, 2) find some gasoline additive that stabilizes fuel (the big one is called Sta-Bil), and what it does is a teacher fuel from gumming up inside the little tiny carburetor that's on every weedeater and keeps it running. All you have to do is put the right amount of Sta-Bil inside your gas tank and then run the fuel for a few minutes to make sure that it went through the fuel line that got to the carburetor that went to the spark plug, etc., and then you can go put your weedeater up till next year. When you go to start the weedeater next year, it will begin because the carburetor is not gummed up with all your old oil and gasoline, and you also 3) put new filters in it, and maybe air filters or fuel filters if it has one. So, the only thing that passed was time.

The oil and the gas did not degrade; it did not turn into sludge in your gas tank, in your fuel lines, in your carburetor, or near your spark plug. The purpose of the additive is to keep your fuel in top condition and to keep it dry, to keep the water out of it. Maintaining a weedeater takes about 15 or 20 min. Total. From the last time you used it until the next time you used it, it takes about 20 minutes. To put it away right in my put away right, I mean to do the maintenance for next year. What do you do?

What is your plan for not buying a new weedeater every spring?

Thank you for reading this and, in advance, for watching my video.

BIGMIKE

Boomer Talks about Doing The Right thing

 How do you know that you are doing the right thing?

How do you know what the right thing is.

What kind of things should you think about?

What kind of things should you not think about?

Is doing the right thing situational?

What is the right thing?

Thanks for watching my video.
Big Mike

Boomer Talks about Speaking your mind and how to do it

 
Boomer Talks

about

How to Speak your mind

Boomer Talks about Buying Stocks

 Boomer Talks

About Buying Stocks

Boomer Talks about Basic Finances

 Boomer Talks 

about Basic Finances

As the Burger Turns part 4

Tuesday, June 30, 2020, at 5:00 a.m.Today my oldest Daughter is officially old. She is 40!

Here are the morning COVID numbers - straight from the google. All USA only. 

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/ 

 Cases of the virus 2,681,811 Cases with an Outcome                 1,245,960

 Deaths                     128,783 Recovered or Discharged (89%) 1,117,177

 Recovered 1,117,177         Deaths (11%)                                     128,783

Disclaimer: The title of this post is the start of my soap opera for old people called "As the Burger Turns" or it could be titled "Tales from the Grill" or maybe even "Flipping for posterity", not sure what to call it yet. Anyway, to make this clear right from the start, everything in this post is wholly created from my own recollections, which may be faulty because I am old, or because I choose to lie about it, take your pick. At any rate, everything I post here today belongs to me, the good the bad and the ugly, and is a product of my highly developed imagination. If I use a situation that you know about and it was actually different, then shaddup! , just read it and don't ruin a good story with a correction about some trivial things called facts. It's a story, stories are based on what people think and everybody knows that people lie. 

Today 40 years ago in about 3 hours I was driving like a madman from the Franklin Rd Steak `n Shake to the old St. Francis hospital complex in Beech Grove IN, where my wife at the time was giving birth to my oldest daughter Kelley Ann. At the time, she was known as Baby girl Jordan because we had not officially named her anything yet. All I remember about that day at work was giving someone my keys, telling them to call my boss (No cell phones back then), and taking off. I'm sure I left somebody in charge but don't ask me who. As I sit here and think about it, I remember seeing my daughter and holding her and listening to her scream and then watching her sleep, and that's all I can conjure up. It was a glorious day.

Anyway, when we last left our feckless hero, the clueless and now well dressed but blameless grill man, we were in the middle of a sales bonanza. As the less desirable elements of the staff were replaced (and I'm sure a lot of them were probably great people), the customers responded to being catered to and sales went through the roof. The proverbial chart with the upwards arrow that broke through the ceiling was broke out and we went through a period where doing it right led to the result we wanted and so much more. Back then there wasn't much in the way of competition in the area (unless you counted the Arby's and a Bonanza steak house) and soon after that, we had all the business we could handle. Or so we thought. 

At the time, we did not serve breakfast, we were not open 24 hours yet, and in this one store, we almost doubled the sales per week volume in about 6 months. We were not the only store like this, the was a couple of others that were stiff competition to us, the store on Stop 11 road and the one on West 38th street both had strong leaders and big staffs and had the same sort of sales explosion underway. These were unknown times with unknown limits and our leadership was intent on finding out just exactly how high we could go. I never worked so hard in my life. The funny thing was my primary job changed almost overnight even though I was a Manager in Training, I really became the defacto hands-on trainer for new hires. Unless they had prior experience no one worked the grill in this store, for a long time that I did not personally train. They had to be able to perform at a high level in a certain amount of time and could not be let loose on their own until they could demonstrate their abilities to John's satisfaction. 

You remember me telling you how non-verbal he was in the beginning? Well, that shit went away quickly. After a couple of days, he was in the middle of everything and all the time, non-stop sometimes. It didn't matter where you were in the store you could hear his voice sometimes telling somebody something. A lot of times he was telling them something and it was something very loud. I remember customers asking me at the front register if that was John in the back making all that noise? I would say yes it sounds like he is training somebody. They would chuckle and say things like "Yeah, training them not to screw up again! Everybody knew John. His name tag a lot of times was just an employee tag that said "John" on it. I remember asking him about that and he said, "What do I need to put my title on it for?? I know who I am." One concession he made to my question was to put his last name on it because as he put it "If they want to complain, I want them to get my name right." 

Everyone talked to John and there wasn't anyone he would not talk to you as you just could not intimidate the guy. Every single customer wanted to get to know John. I can't tell you how many times I had moms and dads come up to me and ask if they could speak to John about giving their kid a job because they needed someone like John to kick their ass and get them to straighten out a little bit. We had a lot of employees sourced like that. When report cards came out if you were in school and you wanted to keep your job you had to bring your report card in and show it to him. If you were failing you got your hours cut and if it was bad enough he would lay you off until your grades came back. The funny thing was I don't think anybody ever quit because of that, I might be wrong and I might just be adding to the myth that is him, but I don't think so. 

Sometimes you got special tutoring that he would arrange for you. You were not allowed to work there if you were in school and were flunking. We had employees on probation who had to deal with John and their probation officer to keep working. He just didn't tolerate failure because you couldn't get your head out of your own ass. He would put both of his feet on either side of your ass cheeks and pull your head out whether you liked it or not. If you were worth saving and would put forth the effort, John would help you, even if you didn't want his help or even know you needed it.  

We trained incessantly on all kinds of things that were never covered in any of the filmstrip videos. Things like where to stand, how to exactly use the spatula, how to exactly hold the grill fork, how to leverage your body, how to keep the spatula sharp without rounding off the edges and a lot more were some of the things I was in charge of teaching our rookies in addition to how to cook quality products. Cooking and cleaning was only a tiny bit of the equation. Soon there were a lot of grill operators that were almost as fast as I was or faster, and could produce at my level or better. I remember thinking at the time that I had heard John say on more than one occasion to someone to go "Train your replacement". 

I remember wondering if I was being replaced. It turned out I was. 

As time went on he taught me all kinds of things that made sense at the time, but I didn't even think about before. Ordinary seeming things like how to hire the right person, how to start conduct and end an interview especially if I wasn't interested in hiring the applicant, what real kinds of things I wanted to know in an interview, how to plan my work out in advance (Plan your work and then Work your Plan.) He also taught me how to think strategically, how to think ahead and have more than 1 plan in place at a time, how to deploy staff to make a point, how to have fun at work, how to begin your day, and most important;y how to protect your own ass against people who wanted nothing more than to see you fail. Believe it or not, he also taught me how to have compassion and how to make decisions under fire, how to keep my cool (I got pissed off easily sometimes), how to tell somebody what was on my mind and so much more that there is no way to remember it all nor document it here. Suffice it to say the only thing I didn't ever learn properly I think was how to negotiate the politics of a corporation. I think I never learned that one and it got in my way about a dozen times in the oncoming years.

We had math conversations that I didn't even realize were math conversations sometimes until I was heading home sometimes. He definitively proved to me that everyone was wrong whoever said those words in Algebra class that went something like "Why do I have to learn this stuff, putting letters in the place of numbers, I will never use this in real life." I enjoyed the discussions because I thought of myself as somewhat of a math wizard, well. he proved me right and wrong about that too. I was great at math when compared to my peers but didn't really know how to apply it in the real world. Most of my peers could not do basic computations in their heads and need paper and pencil or a calculator to compute most equations. Usually, I didn't because I could (and still do) just see the answers. John taught me to apply this skill in the real world. For example, if someone at another store called to borrow a product, most people would just go look to see if they had any on the shelves, and if they did, they would loan it out or if their boss was a tightass they were not allowed to loan anything out without express permission. 

John didn't believe in that theory, and he didn't want you to call him with stupid questions that you could answer on your own. So he taught us how to use estimated sales, the case average, or the usage per $1000 of that product to estimate how much of it we would need to have until the truck came in.  If they could pay the product back on their truck day and the math worked out then you could loan it out. You had to document your math and show your thought process on paper, but it was no problem. Unless you were wrong, then you could be driving to Bloomington IL to the distribution center if that is what it took to have the product in stock in our store. We were never allowed to be "OUT" of anything for any reason, ever. Yes, it was challenging, and yes it was hard but it was invaluable training to learn this as it prepared you for running your own unit. 

You see, he was training his replacement too.

Oh, The algebra thing? That was easy but maddeningly simple too. He wouldn't tell you the answer unless you were absolutely sure of yourself and couldn't think of a single way it was used by even the most basic simpleton who couldn't count to twenty-five without more fingers and toes. It was a suckers bet and I wasn't dumb enough to fall for that one. I saw others do it though and it was always a hoot. John would just say are you sure you don't use algebra? Inevitably somebody would be of the stubborn variety who hated the idea of it and would challenge him, somebody would suggest a bet and money would be wagered. It was never a lot, maybe $5 or so, but as soon as it was John would say to the person, "Have you ever been just about out of gas in your car?". When they said sure he would walk them through the X= Gallons of gas left, Y= Miles to the Gas station,  Z= What is your Miles per Gallon and then do the math on the board and they would just sit there and know there were beat. 

It was about teaching them to respect their brain and use the math though, I don't think I ever saw him take anyone money after he taught them how they were using Algebra in their lives. It was a simple example, but it made a believer out of a lot of people. As hard as he could be, he was a superb motivator and was the best coach I ever had. Yes, he was an autocrat, but it was the 70s, it was his kingdom and his word was enough for us at the time. 

I'm certain I would not be the man I am today without his influence.

Several years later after I was running my own stores and thinking about some of the experiences I had working for Mr. Fair. It took me a little while to develop my own style and to shake off the nickname of "John Fair Jr." that somebody had hung on me and I wore like a badge of honor. I remember going into my first post promotion store after I had graduated from manager training as a rookie 2nd  assistant manager, absolutely sure that I knew absolutely everything there was to know to be a  manager. I walked into my first assignment at a little store located at 5401 East 38th St In Indianapolis Indiana and introduced my self to the GM, who was a wizened old guy named Ken West. Mr. West just looked at me and said something like "Oh boy, I get stuck with Fair trained, know it all-rookie huh?".  

The first thing I was supposed to do as a new manager was attending a meeting here at this store so I was a little early. I had no training for this encounter, had no clue what to say, had no clue what to do and was a tad clueless when just about then Miss Willie took me by the arm, say me on the counter, and told me not to worry he acts like he hates everybody, you ain't special. She got me some coffee and kept me busy until the jitters went away. Welcome to the real world where people are idiots and your new boss actually wants you to die, or so it seemed. Later on, we had a better relationship but that first minute of that first day?

 Who doggies, what a mess my brain was. The new store, new job, insulted first thing and pissed off.

Then I met a guy named Bill. Actually, he was ex-Air Force Captain William H. Duncan Sr., the First assistant Manager at this store and soon to be the new GM at another unit. We had our meeting that day and I have NO IDEA what it was about. I knew I was an air force brat fresh out of training with really no experience in the real world, as I had lived most of my adult working life under the wings of a gorilla man named John. 

The first few shifts I worked at East 38th st were alongside Bill Duncan. I can still see Bill, with his long sharp nose looking over his glasses at me, smoking one of his long skinny cigarettes saying to me "You don't know shit about shit yet Michael and the sooner you realize that the better off you will be." It turns out he was right,  I didn't know shit, about shit.  Every time I would see someone doing something wrong, I wanted to jump up and change it, correct that person and get them doing it right. Bill told me "Yep, you know the book, Now you need to throw the book away before it gets you fired or worse." 

He really pissed me off with that crap and I wanted to argue with him because I didn't get him at first. The hierarchy was established however and I was low man on the totem pole, you couldn't get any lower than me as a matter of fact. As much as I wanted to listen to him I could also hear my mentor in my head saying "Do the right thing". I decided to give it a while and see what he was talking about.

Well, it turns out that Old Bill was right on target, as most of the people eventually would do things the right way and it turned out that a lot of them were testing me to see what kind of manager I was. Once I got to know the crew with Vergie and Angela and Miss Willie (Don't you worry me! Don't you worry me now!!), Clyde, Meridith, Freddie, and Harry-O-Russelleri the great and a few more, I found out three important things. 

One - The real-world demands that you pay attention to what's going on around you because in the real world disrespect and inattention can get you hurt. 

Two - Respect was earned and not given, I found that out quickly. 

and Three - It didn't matter that I was one of only 3 white employees in this store. If you treated the staff with respect and were fair and honest with them, they had your back. You were one of them, and they tolerated no one talking trash to their boss, especially if they knew the people and I didn't. My people came to my defense a slew of times where being white was a hindrance to running the business. They didn't care, as long as you were straight up with them and I kept that lesson in front of me for a good number of years afterward. It was a lesson I had learned nowhere else.

The other thing that store taught me was that Clyde was strong as shit, that he loved the fact that my Dad and brother shared his same name, that he could break your forearm arm wrestling with him and that Harold Russell (Harry-O-Russelleri the great) was the funniest man alive. He made my side hurt at least once a day.

I don't know whatever happened to Harry-O, but he could have been a world-class comedian. 

Stay tuned for more 

BigMike

Lessons from My Father

06/04/2020 at about 5:30 a.m. on a fine but dark and stormy Thursday morning

In the states of AL, MS, NC, and SC specifically, new coronavirus cases are way way up.
In West Hollywood, Boston, NYC, and San Francisco, the sites of some big riots and marches and looting, New Coronavirus cases are way way up. In the top protest and looting spots, there are at least 25 new or continuing Hot Spots for new coronavirus cases. Thought you should know.

First I want to write a letter to the year 2020,

Dear 2020, Wrong hole. Sincerely yours, Everybody.

Now to continue,

My Dad was quite the character in his own right. He was and rightfully so sometimes, criticized for the amount of beer and or alcohol he consumed on the weekends. Just about every weekend as far back as I can remember there was a case of beer bought for the weekend and he usually had a fifth of some rot-gut whiskey brand also. Something like Old Kesslers or Wild Turkey or some odd name like that. He also smoked a lot and smoked around all of his kids and his wife, my mother, who also smoked and sometimes drank beer right along with him. Nobody really knew any better although it was a nasty habit then and now there wasn't much said about it. TV commercials even had doctors smoking in them, so socially it was never presented as a health hazard until the 70s some time I think.

My Dad didn't hit us on any kind of a regular basis. If we lied or did something that deserved punishment, you can bet we got an ass beating but it was always with his hand, and that was bad enough trust me. You got two or three swats if you were really bad and that was it. I can't remember ever being disciplined any worse than that.

One thing you could not do and that I would defend to this day was to talk negatively about whether or not he was a good father or husband. He taught us important things that I still remember to this day and every time I am getting ready to do something, if it might be something stupid I an still hear his voice telling me not to be a dumbass. My Dad raised 5 boys after WWII after he came home from the war. He served in the Army in Patton's army during the war. Anyway, he and my mother raised 5 boys and I think he did a pretty damn good job if you ask me. I always knew I could ask my Dad questions, but he hated the game 20 questions, where you would just keep asking questions until Dad got flustered with you. Then you would get a chore than would send you off into the other room for a while so he could watch TV in peace and quiet. It was worth it as long as you didn't make him mad enough to yell at you. That was pretty rare really.

He worked every day, never laid off work even if he had to go to work with a hangover, and always was on time in uniform if need be and did his job, no question. He would be best remembered by those who knew him best for the things he stood for, as he never had a problem telling you where he stood. He was one of those guys where it was pretty clear that if you really didn't want to know what he thought about something, you shouldn't ask because he would tell you, even if he knew you wouldn't like the answer. He was just like that. He was a straight-ahead no-nonsense show no fear, face everything head-on with your head up kind of guy. That's just how he was built. My mother said he was like that before the war and when he came home from battle, he was even more like that. I loved him because of that style. You always knew if you were in trouble, there was never any doubt and he would always tell you what he was thinking and why. I still to this day struggle with people who won't just spit it out and say what the hell is on their mind.

My Dad had a few common precepts that he lived his life by and that he expected his family to abide by as well. When my older brother reads this he will probably call me laughing because we both know what it meant to be in violation of these principles. We laugh about Gibb's rules, well he didn't have anything on my Dad.

My father believed many things and had a lot of conceptual teachings and although I am sure he didn't know it then, he was way ahead off his time. Among others, for example, he would say that if you were going to be a ditch digger for a living you should be the best damn ditch digger there ever was, he said you always give a full day's work if you got a full days paycheck. No slacking off and there was no pretending like you were working either. He said you do not LIE. PERIOD. He always said it was much better to shut up than it was to lie. Always take responsibility for what you did, don't try to put it on somebody else. Be the person who tells on themself when you do something wrong, be accountable for your own actions, even if it hurt, even if it meant you were going to be fired for it, tell the truth. He said to always hold your head high, hold your chin up and face whatever was in front of you. He always told me not to take any crap from anyone, even if they were the boss, because if you take it once, they will cram it to you forever. Always defend your family. It is your number one job and will always be your first responsibility. Never bring a knife to a gunfight, pick your battles because there are some battles not worth fighting and others not worth winning. Judge people by what they do, then by what they say and never by the color of their skin.

He had one great love in his life, married one woman (my mother), fought in WWII, was deployed overseas to Spain in the 60s, and really hated being away from his family. He wasn't all that worried about how things would go however because he had a partner back home who took care of the family while he was away and pretty much saw things the way he did. He taught us to do the right thing because it was the right thing to do, not because someone was watching. Man, that day I stole the candy bar while he was gone and got caught was the worst day of my life at the time, just because I knew my mom would tell my Dad (who was still in Spain) and I knew he would be disappointed in me. All of my brothers let me have it too for being so stupid, and my next older brother reminded me that I had taken a check from Mom to the store to pay for something or another, so the guy knew where we lived. I was young and so stupid back then. Having to go back and apologize and pay the man and tell him I was sorry and face the music was pretty hard to do for a first-grader.

My Dad ever only said about maybe three things about his experience in the war, he didn't talk about it at all. He told me he was in Patton's Third Army (not sure maybe 5th?), that he carried a water-cooled submachine gun, and that walking in foot deep mud sucked real bad. He never - Not - One - Time - Ever, told war stories or talked about combat or glorified war. You could tell it deeply affected him, but he would not talk about it. At times I almost wished I had been a peer instead of his son because it was clear it bothered him very deeply and he probably could have used somebody to talk to that understood. His generation just did not talk about stuff like this out loud. It wasn't manly and it just wasn't done. He would also never sit around the house without a Tshirt on at least because his generation saw it the same as being naked. It just wasn't considered that someone could go through the horror of a war such as the one he went through and come through it on the other side unscathed. You were sort of expected to suck it up and deal with it like a man. He did and years later as a result of that and other things he died of a massive heart attack.

On the other hand, he always had lots to say about what he called "feather merchants", which was one of his beautiful phrases he created to please my mother who objected to crass cursing. It described more than one type of person and I noticed it was used on a whole class of folks he didn't care for. He didn't like bullies or liars, he didn't care for pushy people or mealy-mouthed politicians. Belligerent people who were just that way to get attention drew his ire as well. He didn't like it when anyone was judged without the facts. I didn't really learn until later in life that he was a fairly political person who followed the issues pretty closely. I just thought for some odd reason he hated all politicians, gee  I wonder why?

He was at his daddy best though when I saw him one-time raising hell talking about George Wallace. Boy now that man, whew !! I just knew if they were face to face my Dad would have beat that guy's ass without thinking about it. He HATED THAT GUY!! He also had no patience for segregationists and when we went through bussing under a federal order in the 70s I asked him what would happen If I got sent to a black school? He was indignant that I asked such a stupid question. He said something like "Whaddayamean? You'll learn stuff, you'll crack the books open at home, you'll take tests, you go to school, what do you think would happen dipshit?". Oops sorry, Dad wrong question. My bad.

I remember one time I screwed up my courage while we were learning about Dr. King and the civil rights movement, and I asked him what his views were about people that were of a different color than us, Like black people and Brown people and so forth. He looked me in the eyes and said "They die in foxholes fighting for this country like everybody else, we are all the same." He said he didn't know why you knew needed to know more than that.

It blew me away and has informed my thinking about the subject ever since.

Gen. Curtis LeMay was one crazy son of a gunfighter.

1. I spent some time yesterday cleaning weapons and accounting for ammunition. You never know when you may need it.
   
   
2. James Mattis - Former Marine Corps General and Former SecDef, has spoke out and warned President Trump against militarizing or federalizing our response to the protesting around the country. He said "Never did I ever dream that troops that took the oath that I did, would under any circumstance be ordered to violate the constitutional rights of their fellow citizens, much less to provide a bizarre photo-op to the elected Commander In Chief, with military leadership standing alongside him"
   
   He called the Photo-op and the actions taken "An abuse of executive authority."
   
   
3. A Butcher and restaurant owner in Upstate New York has installed a 24-hour meat vending machine. He says the customer response has been "Unbelievable". He said on the prior Saturday he had to stock it 4 or 5 times. Amazing.
   
   
4. All of the iPhones and iPads and the like that were looted from the apple stores over the last few days have been remotely bricked by apple, and have had a message that they were bricked and being tracked displayed on their screens.
   
   According to apple, these devices will never be allowed to be turned on and be operable.
   Hahaha!
   
   
5. AMC theatres have said it has substantial doubt that they will ever reopen after this current crisis. They said they are producing zero revenue right now and may be forced to liquidate as a consequence.
   
   Who do you show a $200 million dollar movie to if there is no $25 popcorn to eat it with?
   
   BigMike

You heard me, she said

Its Mother's day on May 10th, 2020 at 7:30 a.m. I slept in today !!

Good Morning and Happy Mother's Day to all you Mothers out there in the blogosphere,

This morning I read that J.C. Penney, the retailer has filed for bankruptcy. I knew this was coming however I am a little bit surprised it came so quickly because I was sure they would have to wait to have a clearance sale first to raise cash. According to all reports I read, they did not have the cash on hand that it takes to file because (surprise of all surprises), attorneys and courts don't let you file on the promise that you will pay them later. I wonder why that is?

Little Richard died yesterday. I think they said he was 87 years old. No more tutti-fruity, unless you want to hear it with John Wayne and maybe Johnny Cash in the audience.

Yay!! No More Booger McFarland on Monday Night Football. If we ever get to see football ever again, at least we won't have to see his mangled fingers anymore ( Pics of Boogers fingers) or listen to his insane commentary.

You know how you sometimes are not sure if you learned the lessons that your mother was trying to teach you all those years ago? I have a way that works for me, maybe it will work for you too. First a tiny back story. There is a restaurant in Indiana, I think it is called (or was?)  Gray Brother cafeteria. Its been a while since I ate there so I'm a little bit shady on the facts, however I'm pretty sure it is in Mooresville IN. ( Gray Brothers Cafeteria ) Anyway, I took the kids, my wife and I, and my mother to this restaurant one time for Sunday afternoon Lunch/Dinner.

We were all sitting at a big round table, my mother was on my left-hand side (and she was right-handed), having a fabulous meal and everybody was talking and having a blast, it was one hell of a good time, just sitting around telling jokes, making everybody laugh until suddenly out of the blue my head was ringing, my eyes were unfocused and I had a concussion I think,  tweety bird was flying and man, I was seeing stars just like in the Bugs Bunny cartoon! The next thing I hear is my mother sitting next to me saying "Don't ever let me hear you call your children stupid again." Apparently while joking I had told my son Michael that he was stupid although because of the concussion, I do not remember saying it, and the next thing I know I'm mumbling "Put me in coach, I can play."

The kids and my wife had that home alone look on their faces and my son Michael Jr. was laughing so hard he was spitting soda out of his nose. If you were not me, I am sure it was quite a funny scene. However, I was me and I actually didn't remember what I had so eloquently said and I said to my mother"What was that for? I didn't do nothin", in my best-aggrieved voice. Well that set off a new round of laughter. Apparently, there was something in what I had just said that was quite the funny statement, because not only were the children and my wife laughing but so was the server and the folks at the next table were too.

She just said all serious and Samuel L. Jackson like "You heard me."

Now, whenever I either am getting ready to do something that is probably not such a good idea or I am getting ready to say something that is the wrong thing to say, I look over my shoulder to see if she is standing there because (Did I tell you she played baseball?) It would be just like her to appear long enough to whack me upside the head for doing something stupid or for what I am just getting ready to say. Not only that but to this day I can hear her voice saying "You heard what I said." So if you ever want to know if you had any teaching in you that was instilled by your Mother, just close your eyes, say something stupid in your head, and see if she isn't right there, telling you to knock off your silly shit. That's how you know. I hear her all the time. She's always trying to guide me right and kill my buzz. Damn. I hear Dad too but his stuff is completely different.

Extra Extra Read all about it !!

1. There is one big reason the economy can't really reopen fully right now. There is not enough testing going on and I don't understand why not. How can you contain and understand where this SOB is in terms of its strength or direction unless you test enough to understand the direction? How can you contain it if you don't know where it is in the first place?
   
   The state of  (I think) Idaho or maybe Nebraska has proudly proclaimed that they "Have zero cases of the virus identified" in their prison system for example. They didn't bother to also say however that they have not tested a single prisoner or staff member.
   
   Since February 2020 before this disease even had a name and before the conspiracy nuts opened the flood gates on all the (curse word redacted) theories about where it came from, why it was unleashed, whether or not it is a hoax, almost 70,000 people have died from this monster. Unemployment is more than was seen at the peak of the Great Depression and our economy is in shambles. Only about 1/2 of Adult Americans who want jobs have them. To fix the economy we have to fix the Public Health Crisis. People are just afraid to leave the house. Surveys indicate that even if your state doesn't have a shelter in place order, the reason people are not going out is FEAR of becoming infected. Without testing (a lot more), to find out where the infections are and isolate those who are transmitting the disease to have a chance at containing this mess, we have a huge problem. What problem you say?
   
   Well, there is no national policy to increase testing or to coordinate a national response at all.
   I cannot for the life of me understand why or why not. It makes no sense.
   
   
2. A polar vortex is bringing snow to the eastern US this weekend in my opinion because chaos loves the company. That's gotta be what it is.
   
   
3. I'm sorry if you like it but is there a worse piece of crap on TV right now than this 90-day fiancee junk? My God! How can you watch this drivel and why on gods earth would you want to? There has to be something more productive to do with your time.
   
   
4. A 12-year-old boy/child has invented, made, 3D printed, and is selling online his solution to touching surfaces that may be infected with the COVID-19 virus. It's reportedly got a hook on it for opening doors and some sort of jabber for keying in ATM-like keys among other things. So far he has sold about 300 of them at $14.99 a pop.
   
   I think at 12 I was looking at my male junk in a mirror and trying to count the newly formed hairs so I could tell my buddies I was a man. We had a theory you weren't a man until you had over 50 pubic hairs. That was very heady important stuff back then because you couldn't hide it in gym class, everybody had to shower.
   
   He is inventing stuff, we counted pubes. Not the same planet I don't think.
   
   
5. The White House is infected. Mike Pence's press secretary and one of President Trump's personal Valets have tested positive for the virus. Apparently Mr. T-rump thinks he can distance himself from a pathogen by saying he didn't really know the man.
   
   
   Sometimes I just cannot help myself.
   Those pesky facts just keep getting all twisted up in me.
   
   BigMike

You are raising ADULTS

https://youtu.be/5Kph8lfOIT4

We have a problem. Here it is.

There is no Kid raising manual.

Everybody is winging it, your parents are still winging it.

You do not get to get a degree is poopy Butt !
You're not raising kids!

You ARE raising ADULTS !
Think about that.

Communication ! You're doing it wrong!

Communication is important. 

You're doing it wrong I'll bet.

C'mon you know I'm right...

Religious Scumbags and Pedophiles

I can't stand all these scumbags that hide behind their title and then hide behind their position within the organization in order to prey on little kids. Somehow to me, and maybe this is just rhetoric, but I don't know, but to me I don't think normal punishment is enough for these people. I don't care what causes their "condition". We ought to just shoot them.

Having sex with children is wrong, stupid, illegal ,immoral, ignorant and very criminal. Everyone involved with it should be punished. Everyone who hid them, or obscured who they were or their location should be punished. Everyone who obstructed justice by moving them all over Hell's half acre should be punished. Everyone who knew about it and did nothing to stop it should be punished. Everyone who was involved in any way should be punished. Anyone still in power that did not stop it and knew about it should first be removed from their position then they should be punished. I think if we had prosecuted everyone involved there would've been a whole lot more people going to jail than there ever has been publicly admitted. it is shameful, and it is not who we are as a society. We let these scumbags get off easy and no way should it have happened.

I think that taking advantage of your position within your organization (like for example if were are a Catholic priest), is bad enough. What makes it worse is that you were a pedophile for 30 years and your superiors knew about it. What did they do to solve the problem? They transferred you from parish in Brooklyn New York to a parish in Des Moines Idaho. They hid you. They knew you were one that was going to seek out little kids, molest them ,scar them and abuse them and they did nothing to stop it.

NOTHING at all.

Oh they may have sat in their offices and wrung their hands a little bit and said "Oh woe is me what are we ever going to do about these priests that pick on and have sex with little boys ?", but what did they do to protect the little boys? Nothing is what they did, nothing. They offered no solution and were in fact part of the problem.

They had various titles, they were bishops, they were archbishops, they were Cardinals, they were superior father I don't know and you know what, it doesn't matter what their titles were. They know who they are. They are lucky that one of those children were not one of my children, they would've made their peace with God a long time ago.

In my view anyone who sheltered a pedophile knowing full well that they were guilty of abusing little kids were just as guilty as the pedophile was himself. They were part of a conspiracy to deprive the victims protection under the law, they put the financial well-being of their church ahead of the spiritual well-being of their congregations, they put consideration for their own careers ahead of the well-being of what's now turning out to be thousands if not hundreds of thousands of young men for decades maybe centuries. it is repulsive, sickening and wrong.

We should not look at it any differently because the people involved were in involved in the Catholic (or any other) religion. If this had happened within a Little League organization there would've been a perp walk with 40 people in it, in front of five o'clock news ,being pelted by rocks, in front of the police station the next day.

Why would I call it a conspiracy well, a conspiracy is defined as "an evil, unlawful, treacherous, or surreptitious plan formulated in secret by two or more persons".  let's see the actions of the pedophile priests superiors meet the definition of conspiracy.

1. Was it evil? – What is more evil than allowing one human to prey on another human and that human be a child. Yes.
2. Was it unlawful? –  Sex with children is unlawful. Too easy. Yes
3. Is it treacherous? – I can think of not very many other things that could be defined as more treacherous than subverting the trust of a preteen child and then forcing him to have anal sex with a person that he is supposed to trust. Yes
4. Was it surreptitious? (Meaning was it conducted in secret) – one suppose it was I'd never seen any of the documents that said  " This is how we are going to hide the pedophilia priests". Yes
5. Were two or more people involved? – I am assuming that the superior and the priest had at least one conversation and when he told the guy he was being transferred to Idaho or Iowa or lower Podunk in the middle of nowhere he probably asked a question or two. I'm assuming there were questions about allegations, I'm assuming there is some reason for them to suspect him of pedophilia in the first place. I think all of those statements are fair assumptions. Yes

So we meet the definition of conspiracy pretty easily. So that I wonder why all of these people that made all these decisions about moving these pedophiles all over the place and hiding them from authority wonder why they didn't go to jail or were charged or why they were not indicted in greater numbers with conspiracies charges? Because you know why ? Because if they were exposed it would be found out that many of them are the same as the priest they were moving ,and it would be found at I think that there is more pedophilia that has not been exposed then there is pedophilia that has been exposed. It is called CYA.

I posted a fairly short video on the subject and a couple others on YouTube.

Click the link to follow it .

what my user name is BGBOS , Check out rant number seven , click like if you liked it.

look at Rant number 7


Thanks for reading this and also watching my rants on YouTube.

– big Mike

Just Five minutes is all

Hey, I'm not Nancy Grace or any of the talking heads that have been screaming for the head of Casey Anthony for the past 3 years. I don't get paid a big salary to sit around and think of cute phrases that will be used on my blog banner to describe this woman. Hell I've never came close to meeting her or any of her family and have only spoken with 2 or 3 celebrities in my life (Magic Johnson, Sam Kinnison, Vince Neil, a couple others), so I ain't nobody famous and I don't have any kind of vested interest in a book deal or movie rights or anything else.

I am sorta pissed off at everybody involved about this Casey Anthony crap though.

I just have a couple of questions? What a bunch of pathetic dumb asses. How do you lose a case like this?

1. How the hell do you take a woman , in this society, charged with this kind of crime, to trial without enough evidence to put her under the jail, for the rest of her miserable life ? How stupid were they ?
2. They still don't know 3 years later why it happened and never got to the point where they know what happened to the baby.
3. I'm sorry, you went to trial without a cause or manner of death? Are you frickin kidding me ? How could they have failed to obtain a conviction for something substantial.
4. If she didn't do it (and she might not have done it WHO KNOWS ?)  Then I have a couple of questions. Who did it? How did it happen? How did the duct tape get on her mouth? Who put her in the grave? WHY AINT YOU LOSING YOUR MIND WITH GRIEF ? WHAT KIND OF MONSTER ARE YOU?
5. Casey if you didn't do it, you cannot be retried for it You are forever free of charges related to her death. Tell us WHO KILLED YOUR BABY ? I could not just let it go and think that getting out of jail next week was the end of it.
6. If it was one of my kids and I didn't do it, I would have to know. WHY isnt she asking these questions? I would do life or take the needle for one of my kids. I just can't understand this loser.

See here is the thing.

I don't think they (every lawyer involved) were interested in knowing what happened. I think the lawyers were just interested in winning. Anymore, that's all they care about. File the most charges, get the most wins, get a bigger desk with a bigger job, bill more hours, buy a bigger house, enjoy life. That's the problem with attorneys. It is rarely about the truth anymore. Read one story about one trial without someone mentioning what it costs to conduct the trial. It just doesn't happen because that cost is also all about what an attorney is paid to bring or defend the action. How in the hell did anyone make the decision to bring her to triual on evidence this weak? I imagine the conversation was sorta like Boss- "Whelp, yeah the baby is gone, must have been the mother right?, Underling -Right. Boss - Well arrest her and charge her and we'll figure it out later. Underling - Duhh, Um Okay Boss. 



Put her in a locked room for 5 minutes with a couple of Marine Corps Drill Instructors or a couple of Navy Seals or a couple of Gangsters. We would know what happened to that baby. I'd beat her within an inch of her life to find out. No good lying piece of trash.

Me ? I couldn't care less what happens to her.I know that sounds cold hearted and cold blooded but as a father I cannot understand this , and do not want to.

It pisses me off. She is worthless and useless and the world be better off if she wasn't inhaling air.

The reason why is because of her actions.

Here is 5 reasons i think she knows what happened to her baby.

1. Did she yell and scream at the top of her lungs that her baby was missing, within minutes of discovering that she was?
2. Did you ever see her cry about her baby being gone? Ever? Especially in the first 30 days ? (Oh wait, thats right, she didn't let on the baby was missing for a month or so, I forgot)
3. Did she get a tattoo showing her love for her missing baby? ( or was it one that said "Glad that little paperweight is gone !")
4. Did anything she ever said about where the baby was make any sense at all to anyone? If she was innocent, then why make up the stories? Why change the details ? Why make up shit that had nothing to do with it ?
5. Does anything she said or did in the 3 years it took to get her through a trial look like the actions of someone that was totally innocent?

Thankx for reading my rant !


bigmike


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

I am really sick of this "No Child left Behind BS"

I am sick to death of listening to the politicians and the news reporters talk about this so called "No Child left Behind " crap. Its crap, its always been crap, it will always be crap. The name of it should have been the "More crap from the politicians act" or the "No child left behind except yours act".

Somehow these political PINHEADS think that by teaching a test or a series of tests, then by measuring various factors they can use some magical algorithm to say whether or not a school, a school system or a teacher is any good. What a load of stinky smelly useless crap.

It is drivel to the highest degree.

I would venture to say that this single act has done more harm than good and I would also say that I would be hard pressed to say anything good could ever come of it. How are you going to be doing things "better" by taking funds away and by not measuring the same things in every school system ?

Look, here are my concerns and this is not even everything that is wrong with this stupidity, not even 25 % of what is wrong with it.

First - There is no such thing as a standardized test. Not one state uses the exact same curriculum or test as any other. So if you don't use the same test, then how do you rank the results? The answer is you do it arbitrarily. You assign a value that projects how you think the test in one area measures over the test in another area. No value is given to what really matters , which is the rate of increase or decrease in knowledge gained by students. The only value that really counts is the rate of increase or decrease in your students versus my students. Anyone even competent with logic or math will tell you if the variables are not the same they are not directly comparable. Anyone with any sense will tell you that people who already have high test scores will have a much more difficult time raising their scores when measured against a school with already low scores. What are these idiots measuring ?

Second - This act was approved into law and signed by the President (GWB) and took affect a lot of years ago. The paperwork requirements to meet the stringent requirements of this law are staggering. Everything from accounting for each paper copy of each test to individual assessments of each student are required to be tracked by this law. There are hundreds of individual elements that all require attorneys to interpret and tons of manpower for each school district to be able to meet the onerous requirements of the act. So ? You ask? So what? Well one tiny detail wasn't attended to. Congress mandated the law and mandated the requirements, and then didn't actually fund the implementation. Each school district has to pay for this crap on their own basically. Where do you think the money came from to make this happen?

Third - As soon as this law went into effect guess what happened. Funding for all extra curricular activities dried up. To be a cheer leader your kid has to have a car wash or sell candy to pay for it. Teachers worried about losing their jobs started teaching the test, and that is the emphasis of their day. No more creativity, no more passion, only worry about pensions. School districts started seeing the writing on the wall and began to measure the variables. Guess what happened next ? That's right, schools actually for the first time in history started encouraging students to drop out of high school or were encouraged to switch to adult schools. Why ? Because the students that were encouraged to quit were those who have a lower chance of graduation (thereby hurting the graduation rates), had a greater chance of dropping out , without a school plan (and it doesn't count as a dropout if you checked the box that says "Going to Adult School"), and most importantly these kids were the ones scoring the lowest on the tests, thereby hurting the districts improvement rates. So if you eliminate the kids who are hurting your rate, you have increased your rate haven't you?

So do me and everybody else a favor and the next time you want to tell me about how great the "No Child left behind act" is , save it and just shut up. You are lying to me and everybody else if you think this piece of crap has done anything for our children except make teachers fearful of losing their jobs and drove our educational problems deep underground.

If you are dumb enough to think it has done one bit of good, then I feel pretty sorry for you.

I also think you probably have what it takes to be President.

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 face book 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 !!

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 !!

The Pirate Bay Trial

 

See this link :

 

http://government.zdnet.com/?p=4368

 

and search google for Pirate bay Trial if you don't know the subject.

 

First, before all the PB supporters start with the shut - ups, just admit it . You and I know that file sharing is not generally viewed as a legal activity. Just because you may not agree with the law or the facts doesn't mean you can change them or ignore them because you don't like them. True, there are many legal activities associated with file sharing in its various permutations , however I think any reasonable person would conclude that downloading a full length movie (for example) for free is probably not legal in any sense. I think anyone who uses any of the popular P2P clients  (like Lime wire for example) already know that and just decide to take their chances with the legality.

 

The question however is one strictly related to legal culpability. The question is really better framed as criminal facilitation of the illegal act. In a legal sense the Prosecution is asking, Is TPB legally culpable for the act of pointing someone towards the actual destination without ever hosting the actual content? This is where the case is pretty tricky, legally. Arguments are going to be made on both sides that point to intent and profitability. They are being called a continuing criminal enterprise because they had the intent of breaking the law and intended to profit from their actions. Logistically, this is the prosecutions case to prove.

 

So is it legal to be the facilitator?

 

What if I went to the mother ship of all search engines , the mighty Google.com, and searched for filetype:bittorrent? If I found any torrent files due to a google search , is Google then liable for the conduct of the searcher, who actually commits the illegal act of downloading the file?

 

As of this morning I got 605,000 google results using this simple query. If I accessed any of the results with the intent of using a torrent client to download the content , and in the act of downloading I was caught by the authorities, could Google be charged as my co-conspirator?

 

What is I used Google to find illegal drugs? Or Kiddie Porn? What if I used them to buy illegal weapons and then went on a killing spree? Did they criminally facilitate the killing? This is where the case gets absurd.

 

TPB is only criminally liable if you also believe that information you can get from a standard library, used criminally, is the responsibility of the library to regulate its use.

 

See here is the rub, they are using a shaky poorly framed argument and have no end game strategy which sets TPB apart from every other operation who provides search results . If the Pirate Bay is guilty then so is every other search engine who does not specialize in this one type of file.

 

Every search engine that provides results to file searches , and then allows the user to click link to the material has committed the same offense that TPB is accused of in a legal sense. They facilitated finding the material, they intended to profit from the search by accepting Advertising money using a structured corporate decision making model and they knew that the links could lead to illegal activity.

 

Is this enough to convict TPB ? It shouldn’t be.

 

There is no search for truth or justice here.

 

The prosecutor says this is about money. The defendants apparently don’t have any large sums of money.

 

The stupid companies signed on to this think it is about precedent. They are going to deter this type of behavior by prosecuting TPB.

 

How stupid is this?

 

The only thing this will accomplish even if they win and TPB is convicted is to give current and future operators of torrent sites a road map of how to evade prosecution.  They will never collect a dime of any judgment even if they win.

 

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.

Enough of this, Enough is enough is enough !

This is an open letter to any and all of our elected representatives in Washington D.C. (and here at home too if it applies).

 

I've listened to President Obama and every other politician from both sides of the aisle tell us countless things since before the election that kind of boils down to these three key points :

• That we (the people) have to sacrifice in this fiscal emergency, in order to fix this mess.
• That we (the politicians) have to do things differently in order to get things done, in order to fix this mess.
• That we (everyone) must approach things in a way that never has been done before in order to see real change, in order to fix this mess.

I am wondering that if all of those statements (or any of them) are true and plausible , then why is it that the answers to the problems no matter what they may be are always the same tired old thing? The same old tried and true political doublespeak comes from both parties. The same tired rhetoric from every one on Capitol Hill. The exact same answers that Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan used are being re-hashed and given a different name, but they are doing the same things. Everybody is busy diving for cover and blaming each other, with both sides saying the other is wrong. One or two old timers in both parties are telling everybody who will listen within earshot that the other side has it all wrong.

 

I say Enough. Enough is Enough is Enough. Baloney, Fooie and spit is what I say. 9 days into the Presidency that was supposed to change the world and the best we can do is to posture, change executive orders that we don't like and gripe because we are in the minority? He may be left handed but it sure seems like most everything else is just about where we left off in December. You want to help me? Fix Jobs now. You want to help me? Buy back 30 % of every mortgage that is overvalued and out of reach. Let millions of people keep their homes. Tell the banks you'll give them 20 cents on the dollar for every mortgage they modify down from the rip me off pricing and then give them my so called tax break. New growth industry overnight. Lawyers would go nuts over this one. You want to help me? Give the bankruptcy judge the power to modify an existing mortgage to a fair one in this economy that makes sense to the average American. If you want to give out tax breaks, don't try to give it at tax time to a family of four barely surviving on 50,000 dollars a year in a double income household. This may help the balance sheets of the treasury, but come payday it don't mean squat to me or to anyone else. You can call it billions of dollars in tax breaks if you want to , but the fact is an extra $2.62 every week don't excite me a bit. Factually you are giving me my own money back and it took you 15 months to do it after I earned it. How's that going to help me? 

 

Will one of you people please tell the truth for once? Can any one of you please do the job you were elected to do and stop looking for one minute at the next election? You were not elected to be right or to beat the other party. You were not elected to begin re-inventing your party so you don't lose next time. You were not elected so you could find cover from tough issues come election time, so you can deny you are part of the problem. You are not there to put off making decisions about today's problems until you are re-elected. You are not there to be a chairman of a committee. You are not there to be powerful. You are not there to go on trips abroad. You are not there to run special elections and run special investigations. You did not get elected to be able to charge thousands of dollars in 5 years giving speeches to half drunk nitwits at a convention and enrich yourself.

 

You are there to serve me and everybody like me. You are there to fix what is broken, not to ensure your continued re-election, cycle after cycle. You are there to make a difference and to make sure America is prosperous and survives with all our freedoms intact for the next 200 years. If that's not why you are there, then you need to go away and go away quick, back to your law practice.

 

You want to radically change the life of the average American you talk so loftily about? You want to make life easier and better in this country? Good, so do I. Here is a radical thought. If you want to give me a tax break, Get out of my paycheck. You guys have taxed and taxed and taxed and came up with new ways to collect taxes so many inventive ways that you are literally taxed from birth to death and beyond and it never stops, and new taxes are applied every day. The latest iteration of this goofy philosophy is that you want to give a tax break to only those people who can prove they have a right to work here because they have a social security number? Tax breaks are a stupid idea whose time is well past because you have to have enormous sums of money in the first place in order to see any benefit from them at tax time. They do absolutely no good. They may sound pretty in speeches but it has never been proven that a tax break helps the average American in any substantial way, once he has spent his tax check.

 

Here is a better idea. Make everybody pay taxes fairly and make certain that every income earned no matter how it was made, is subject to taxation. Make gang bangers who sell drugs pay taxes. Make illegal aliens pay taxes. Make people who get paid cash pay taxes. Tax our 40-45 % of all Americans who never pay a dime of income tax, yet somehow get a tax refund check anyway. Make criminals pay taxes. Tax the Mafia, the Russian gangsters and the Yakuza all at once. Make them pay their fair share. Tax every hooker, pimp, burglar, drug buyer and seller and every one who buys pervert pornography, and make them feel my pain. The way it is right now, virtually none of the examples I've cited pay income taxes, yet they can live lavish lifestyles and then guess who supports them, by paying their share of taxes and then paying for their incarcerations?

 

The average American everybody talks about, that's who, and I for one am sick of it.

 

The problem as I see it, is that fundamentally the tax and tax break equation is all wrong. It is backwards. Instead of applying a tax rate to income, then allowing exclusions and loopholes and tax breaks and enterprise zones to eat the heart out the tax rate and then thinking of complicated and insane ways to give me a tax break, just get to work and adopt a strategy that taxes spending instead of income.

 

If you tax spending, I decide what I spend my money on and you always get your cut from everybody. No one can escape paying taxes with this strategy. Criminals, Gangbangers and drug dealers and illegal aliens have to eat don't they ? Good, when they buy food or eat a lavish dinner collect a tax on that. When a rich guy has a big pool built, tax it. When a supermodel has plastic surgery , that's right, tax it. Even if I am here illegally and don't have a single piece of legal ID at all, I still buy groceries and electricity and gasoline and alcohol and toilet paper don't I? Tax the tax if you want to, but do it so that everyone is treated equally under the law and I am not tax discriminated against because I choose to be law abiding and pay my taxes owed. Tax every good and every service without exception at an equitable rate no matter what it is and we can stop having this idiotic argument about who is right, because our problem is not that I need a tax break, our problem is that not all of us pay taxes.

 

See the two issues at play here are really pretty simple. It goes like this.

 

First, income taxes were invented. No one person , not one law firm, CPA or accountant, and no single agency understands the entire tax code. Lawyers and legislators have made it so unwieldy and cumbersome that it no longer works. There are so many exceptions to the code that people make a great high dollar income out of small sections of it by helping other folks to not pay taxes. It is broken. Accept this and move forward.

 

Second, as soon as everybody figured out that taxation was going to based on the theory of tax collection on income, the underground economy took off, and by some accounts it is actually bigger than the reported economy, depending upon who you believe. Everyone who works for cash figured this out a long, long time ago. Ask any waitress or waiter. You think they declare all their tips, just so you can take it from them ? This process allows and encourages people to lie in order to save money, and only punishes those too ignorant to hide their income.

 

Its not that hard to say out loud and If I can figure it out, all those Ivy league lawyers in Washington DC ought to be able to do it too.

 

I doubt there is any political will to even think about this. They are all too worried about being re-elected next time.

 

President Obama, Yeah, we can, but sadly, No we won't.

 

 

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.

How can I help you?

 

How can I help you? You ever hear these words in a restaurant or C-Store? You walk up to the counter or you sit down in the restaurant or call someplace and the first thing they say to you is "....How can I help you?" Then, in the flash of an eye, you get put on hold or interrupted or told "I don't handle that". Next !

Wait a minute, did you want to help me or not? I haven't even finished explaining to you what it is I want yet and already you are yelling next ! Give a me the common courtesy of you undivided attention and try to figure out how to help me solve my friggin problem !

Why do people say things like this anyhow? It means no more than the usual "How are you?" greeting that you get from most folks when you first see them. If you answer this phrase as it is asked, they look at you like you just ran over their foot with their car. They don't really want to know, they just want to hear you say fine. Irks me to no end. You don't want to know , don't ask.

Here's another one. There are about 300 million people in the USA (estimate). Most of those people are born here, educated here, work here, vacation here, retire here and die here. Almost all of them speak English (in varying degrees). Yet, when you call some place, the automated menu says "To continue in English, press one". Like I need to know what language to speak in , in my own country?

I am not insensitive to non-English speakers. Whenever I can I try to learn conversational phrases in the language of the area in order to be able to communicate in the language of the people around me, or I take somebody who can translate for me. Why on gods earth then do I need the phone company to ask me if I want to continue in English?

Assume I want English, I live in America, ask If I want to communicate in another language. "To continue in Espanola, press dos". Seems pretty ignorant to ask the high 99 % majority of the people who call if they want to communicate in the predominate language in the country you are in. If I was in Japan, I wouldn't expect for the voice prompt to say, to continue in Japanese, press one, I would expect the message to be in Japanese, because I am in JAPAN !!! - duh!

You ask me , we have went too far to the left in our cultural sensitivity.

Oh I'm sorry, you don't speak English or you are deaf, don't worry, I'll talk louder !

Here is another stupid decision, where we are busy trying to be all things to all people and never to risk offending anyone with our products, goods or services.

I'll bet almost everyone in America has used a drive thru ATM. Most people have used them more than the inside of the bank. I am sure there is a segment in America who has never used anything but an ATM. The access to the keypad is designed so that you can use it from your car. The drivers side of the car is usually the side you transact your business from.

If all of that is true, then why pray tell are there Braille indicators on the keypads at a drive thru ATM? Who is ever going to use that particular function anyhow? Is this designed for the legally blind yet totally functional driver who will occasionally need to go to the ATM late one night who does not want to get out of the car because the seeing eye dog is afraid of the dark?

What the heck is this all about anyhow?

How did we become such a society of idiots anyhow?

 

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.