Sunday, February 1

Super Bowl Sunday. What could be finer than the Pittsburgh Steelers in Tampa, Florida for Super Bowl XLIII? Of course Pittsburgh will win the Super Bowl. Well, we will see, won't we? In any case, the Steelers really have nothing to prove. The have a great football history, that's a given. Whether they win or loose they will still be the greatest. I have a feeling that their track record has no bearing on this Super Bowl or any game the Steelers play. They are out to win, nothing less. They still have that fight instinct and competitive edge and they always will. Go Steelers.

Is President Obama becoming too accessible to the American people? That was a question brought up by one of the many media pundits. At first thought, I didn't think so. It sounds good to have a president who is open to the American people. It seems to me that a president who communicates often, sometimes 2 or more times a day, to the American people via the media is a good thing. However, it is true that President Obama is making the presidency a little too informal. I think the mystique or revered feeling of the presidency should be maintained. Currently, that feeling may be at risk. The president should be accountable to the American people, but the historic concept of the presidency must be respected, admired and and held in esteem. Both can be achieved, they are not mutually exclusive. The day to day operation of the presidency must be measured and controlled to an extent in order to be productive and successful. This necessitates a confidential manner in it's operation. There should be a strict separation of private vs. public activities and media reporting. I do want to be informed of the general operation of the people's business, but not on a daily basis. The weekly Saturday morning radio address is fine for me. Yes, in the event of a federal emergency, I think daily, or more frequent updates to the American people should be available. Let's keep the office of the president in the appropriate historic contest that it deserves. The president should be more of a leader and less of a friend in his relationship to the American people. The president is the leader of the free world, he should not be likened to the guy next door. The president must be in a position to protect and defend not only the American Constitution, but each and every American. The president of the United States is more than a citizen of America. He is the constitutional meaning of America in practice and his office must remain in historic esteem.

Saturday, February 7

Income tax time. Don't forget. It's high time you start. This tax year could be the most important one ever. Many people are having financial troubles. A big fat income tax refund would be nice, but have you prepared. First, collect all of your financial documentation - earnings (including dividends and interest), deductible expenses, in short all financial records from 2008. If you do your taxes yourself, then I would recommend buying software, i.e. TurboTax. I think TurboTax is the best. Don't believe the Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner concerning TurboTax. During his Senate hearings, Timothy Geithner blamed his tax omissions on using TurboTax. That seems highly questionably to me, but I wasn't there. He got confirmed anyway. If you follow the steps outlined by the TurboTax software, you will complete the process accurately and appropriately.  Don't make unnecessary mistakes. Don't violate the law. An error on your tax report, planned or accidental, will end up costing you highly in the future. Do what's right, follow the law and complete your taxes. If you feel that you are incompetent of preparing your tax report, then by all means take it to a professional service. Remember the fee you will pay is tax deductible. Don't request an extension. Do what you have to do. Be honest. Get it done.

Wednesday, February 18

And the time keeps going on... Sounds the old Sonny and Cher song, "And the beat goes on." What other option do we have? I choose keep going on. The stimulus package passed, signed by the President, the auto companies are getting a deal, the home foreclosure problem is being dealt with - where is the President getting this money? That bothers me. I think the bailout thing has been exhausted. We need to take care of ourselves, each of us in our own way. We need to stop throwing money to help people and start teaching the people to be responsible and solve their own financial problems. People, financial institutions, corporations, businesses and government have contributed to America's financial depression. All must take the responsibility to solve the economic problems. Help for the neediest, the poorest, is already in place. The stimulus that the government should offer is to grow jobs. Tax cuts and incentives for those entities that grow jobs should be increased. People need jobs not handouts. In the long term I feel that we are creating a public that relies too much on handouts and not enough on personal responsibility. Why should anyone be rewarded for poor judgment and bad decisions? That doesn't make sense to me. As the handouts continue more and more people, including public and private institutions will not only ask for but will expect and demand a similar handout. This is not the American way. The American way is to work hard and just do it without complaint. I have the feeling that the President is seeking to be a savior to the American people. While this may be an admirable inclination, in the long term it will be detrimental to the productivity and strength of the American people. Real leadership comes from the realization that each person must take the responsibility for his or her own financial situation. Financial strength will be realize when each part of this American democracy seizes the opportunity, comes to terms with their own situations and rebuilds their own personal economy. America is strong because her people are strong. Let's keep it that way.

Friday, February 27

Ash Wednesday was a couple of days ago. Lent has started and the big count down is on. No, not the 40 days of Lent. No, I'm not counting down the days till Easter Sunday. The count down is for the end of the "season" in South Florida. Easter week is the official end of the tourist season in Florida. The college kids are fine. It's good seeing young, motivated and inspiring young people around. The adult snow birds, now they are a different story. I can't wait till they go home. They clog our roads, invade our shopping, eating establishments and in general make life difficult. They don't understand or appreciate the fact that while they are on holiday here, we live here and in doing so have developed a particular way of living year round. Most of them romp around the area with no regard for anyone else. Most are loud, rude, insensitive to our lifestyle and totally oblivious to anything other than themselves. Again, I can't wait till they go back up north, back to Canada or back to South America. They are totally obnoxious and totally self absorbed. Coastal communities feel the invasion more severely than cities inland. What a difference 10 miles make in that regard. I am so tempted to move back west, away from the coastal invasion during the tourist season. I must confess they do have their good point (singular, point), they provide our tax base which adds to our economy. That's the one and only reason that I can come up with for any positive points concerning their yearly ritual visit. A few more weeks and peace once more, at least for 7 or 8 months.

Tuesday, February 3

I'm still in awe of the Steelers performance in Super Bowl XLIII. When they were ahead by almost two touchdowns, I thought that they had it wrapped up. Then Arizona took the lead and I thought a Steelers win could be in jeopardy. Although, there was something telling me that it wasn't over, yet. Coach Tomlin said it right, "Steeler Football is 60 Minutes!" Anything can happen in 60 minutes and it did. Congratulations to the Steelers and the entire Steeler Nation.

No Drama Obama? The President is keeping his cool, calm demeanor, but there's plenty of drama going on in the Obama administration. They make employment excuses for former lobbyists, the Secretary of Treasury errs on his income tax and former Senator Daschle is unaware that his job related car is treated as income for tax purposes... I could go on and on. It seems that it doesn't end. Is this change? No, it's business as usual. The only change with the Obama crew is the fact that they continue to say that they are change, but continue dubious governing. What a crock. I now feel that the proposed Stimulus plan is full of big spending and will not effectively stimulate the economy. President Obama appears to be a tax and spend Democrat. Too bad. Why is it that the Democrats feel that they must spend, spend and spend the taxpayers money. The economy needs help. That does not mean that the government should just throw money out the window on superfluous projects. Growing jobs should be the only priority in any stimulus measure. Anything else is nonessential and superfluous. The Republicans do have some good ideas about the stimulus bill. I sincerely hope that the Democratic Congress and the President realize this fact, meet the loyal opposition halfway to pass an appropriate stimulus bill that will generate jobs and help our sickening economy. 

Former President Bill Clinton was a breath of fresh air during the 1990's. Why was he and still is, so beloved and successful in his presidency? Because he was fiscally responsible while at the same time liberal on social matters. By social matters I mean civil rights, care of the elderly, health care, etc. In short, matters that dealt with the social factors in the lives of Americans. He knew how to negotiate and how to work with his own party and the loyal opposition. He was beloved by the middle class and hated by conservative right. He wasn't a perfect man, but who is. More importantly, he did his job successfully.

Take note President Obama. I hate to say it, but I see hints of the Carter administration possibly coming to fruition through the current Obama administration. I hope that I'm just sensing a bad thought and having flash backs of a terrible time in American History. However, the ball is in the Obama court. Don't take us down the road to failure. Rather, inspire us with words, lead us with action and enable us with a clear political conscience. In short, be a president of character.

Wednesday, February 11

The Grammy's were spectacular. I don't usually watch the Grammy's, but I did, off and on, Sunday night. The thing that I  was really impressed with was the pairing of "old" and "new". The Jonas Brothers with Stevie Wonder was great. Music is definitely the universal language. Too bad Rihanna and Chris Brown couldn't make it. Rihanna was recovering from alleged spousal abuse and Chris Brown was being questioned about the alleged spousal abuse. A little rain must fall. I did flip back and forth from the Grammy's to Desperate Housewives (once in awhile) and  Brothers and Sisters (for practically the entire show). The Walkers are simply needy people. Their dysfunctional family would be totally beyond repair if not for their true love and affection for one another. One thing I like about the series, it moves fast. There is always something happening and the happenings progress at warp speed. Sometimes I tire of the insistent complaining and hurtful teasing, but that's when I check the other channels and take a break. 

Michael Phelps taking a bong hit a few months ago and AROD, Alex Rodriquez finally admitting to using steroids in 2003. I'm not making excuses, but get over it. Neither should be getting the current media lashing. The media just loves when a celebrity does wrong. Yes, both events were wrong, but many in the media as well as the "grown ups" in society, business, government, etc. are saved from similar catastrophic happenings if only by the grace of God. Violations of the law should be dealt with and professional rules of conduct should be enforced, but finger pointing and gossip-like behavior should cease. Let the course of human events determine the outcomes. That's my take.

Saturday, February 21

I can not believe the arrogance of the Washington Republican law makers. Not one Republican representative voted for the stimulus bill. In the Senate only three Republican senators voted for the President's recovery bill. That's bad enough, but a number of Republican governors are considering not accepting their state's share of stimulus funds. However, the state legislatures could overturn the governors' decision. These governors and national legislators are refusing to support the recovery bill for one and only one reason - they are Republicans and oppose anything Democrats try to do. This is outrageous. The country is hurting. Barack Obama, a Democrat, is the president. However, all Americans regardless of party should be supporting President Obama in trying to solve our financial problem. This problem is a national emergency. It ranks with 9.11 in terms of national severity. The Democrats stood squarely with President Bush during the 9.11 emergency. The current economic emergency should illicit the same non-partisan support. Many of the conservative media are equally opposed to anything Democrats try to do to deal with the problem. Many have said so on air. This is a sin - a sin against national pride and a sin against the Americans who are hurting. Another sin that Republicans (and some Democrats) have committed is the sin of bigotry and discrimination. Those who share in this sin are more likely than not to be politically far right, conservatives. When discussing Bristol Palin's unwed mother situation Cal Thomas of FOXNews said that he couldn't believe how girls who have out of wedlock babies are so outspoken on the matter. He said that years ago girls would leave school and disappeared until the baby was born. He continued to say something to the effect that people of different lifestyles are so vocal and visible these days. The arrogance of the man. Lifestyle or social choice should not be necessarily held in secret or hidden. Law abiding people have the right to live their own life, make their own social choices and not be penalized for it. By the way, who is the person or the persons who determine the social correctness of living or acting? I don't think any human has that job. And no person has the right to criticize or withhold the civil rights of any other person or group of persons. This is still America and it will remain so. By the way, Bristle Palin said in an interview with Greta Van Susteren that teaching abstinence in sex ed should be primary, but abstinence is unrealistic. I give her credit for expressing her own views and being realistic about it. FoxNews? See, this liberal blogger is open minded. I do enjoy conservative opinions, if they are fair and balanced. 

Wednesday, February 4

Who should decide whether a mother has a baby or 14? I always thought that it was the choice of the parents, but maybe not. I'm sure you have heard about the lady who gave birth to 8 babies at one time, conceived by in vitro fertilization? By the way, she had 6 more at home all under 8 years of age conceived by the same method. First, let's get the facts straight. As was reported on Larry King Live Monday night, from a written statement by the lady's mother, the lady had 8 fertilized eggs frozen and didn't want to have them destroyed so she had all of  them implanted in her. All 8 zygotes developed and the resulting babies were born by caesarian section. The lady is unmarried. The exact status of the lady's financial, personal and lifestyle status was not clear. Think about it, 14 children all under 8 years of age and a single parent? Sounds bizarre to me. Is this a private matter or a public matter? I can imagine people's mouths dropping. I can almost hear the unsolicited hurtful comments being made by people who have no business in the matter. In my opinion, this is a personal and private matter. It is none of our business. So, stop all the gossiping and go about your business. A point that I feel obligated to make, she had the remaining 8 fertilized eggs implanted in her so they would not be destroyed. Sounds pro-life to me. But the in vitro fertilization part is contrary to the right to life principle. This may be an excellent example of the predicament caused by the right to life vs. the right to choose phenomenon. Also, it exemplifies the family and social problems of undefined practices in our quest to produce life - in or out of the lab. There are so many questions that must be answered before any human being including mothers and fathers as well as medical and governmental entities entertain the thought to play God. In any case, whatever your stand on this 21st century dilemma, be consistent. In other words, if you believe in right to life, then follow all the teachings of it's movement. And conversely, if you believe in choice, then follow implicitly it's  tenants. A combo here is not a good thing. True understanding of this challenging issue will exist only by complete, consistent and universal application by those on each side of the issue. In other words, take the whole thing or reject the whole thing. Anything less seems to be hypocritical to me. The bottom line in this situation, the single mother with 14 children under 8 years old, it's none of our business, unless of course we are one of the principles involved. I know it's none of my business, but my suggestion would be for the mother to put the 8 babies up for adoption. That would settle the problem. Life would be honored and the existing situation of the mother and her previous 6 children would be manageable. Easy for me to say. In any case, it is the decision of the mother.

Friday, February 13

Friday the 13th - It's always been a lucky day for me. Today was no exception. I woke up this morning believing it was my lucky day, then I read my horoscope, "This is not exactly your lucky day, so don't take risks." According to the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, today is not supposed to be my day. Quite contraire, my dear. I read my horoscope every day, just for fun. I don't take it seriously, I usually laugh it off. I do so whether it is of good fortune or not. I think that's my safeguard - not taking it seriously. If I believed the good predictions, then I would have to believe the not so good predictions. So, I discount everything. Anyway, today was a great day. Good things happened. I'm still laughing, not taking it seriously and halfheartedly thanking my lucky stars. Ordinarily, whenever I say everything is just fine, then something happens. I think sometimes we are in touch with the unknown and don't realize it. When "it" happens, if we would think about it, we might discover that we had a feeling about it. I don't know if I'm making any sense, but I don't take anything for granted when it comes to superstitions. I know that they are nonsensical. If anything they are coincidences, but I try not to kid about them and I would never tempt fate. My bottom line is the fact that I try to live in the here and now. In that here and now certain things will happen to me. Some of these things will be good and some won't be so good. In any case, in the end I will be O.K. no matter what. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Now I must go through my ritual for warding off bad luck. Where's that salt. No cracks. Watch the mirror and ladder. Now that wasn't a black cat, it had a white stripe on it's ears. And so on, and so on.

Sunday, February 22

Oscar Sunday, I'm so excited. I don't know quite why, but I am. For some reason I'm excited about the movies this year. I haven't seen very many of them. I don't think that I even saw one of the nominated movies, but I feel like I know them all. There has been so much media attention surrounding the Oscars, who isn't excited? I plan to watch the Barbara Walters Special. I believe she will be interviewing this year's Oscars host Hugh Jackman, among others, Anne Hathaway, Mickey Rourke and the Jonas Brothers. Should be excellent as only Barbara Walters can do. It seems like this year the Oscars, along with the other awards shows as well as just about any other special happening or ceremony taking place are becoming very important to us. The media hypes it up, the newspapers write about it and society in general is all a buzz about the self proclaimed holiday status like events. Could it be that we are trying to escape the realism of the current state of the economy? I think so. While many Americans are hurting and many more in fear for the state of the economy we all need a little respite from the suffering and uncertainties. If nothing else, we need to take a holiday from real life. Any extraordinary or special event becomes a reason to celebrate. I keep thinking about the Great Depression and the lives of the people who lived through it. The regular holidays and the regular scheduled, so to speak, special occasions still went on in spite of the financial condition of the country. It seems to me that this is our great depression. The Oscars provide a fleeting moment to escape the reality of America's financial problems in 2009.  This is all part of the coping mechanism involved in overcoming and surviving a catastrophe. I say enjoy.

Saturday, February 28

It's the last day of February. There are only 28 days in the month, 29 in leap year. A tip on how to remember the years that are leap years - the same years as presidential elections. That works for me because I'm so interested in politics, especially presidential politics. You may have to come up with a different method. I have that kind of mathematical mind. I need to remember things fast. I'm always looking for little tricks to help me out. I try to reason the connection. In fact that's how I live my life, with reason. I like to know the why. If I know the why, then I have a better chance of dealing with the situation or similar situations if they come up again. That's me, it may not be you.  An old maxim says that during leap year the female has the right to propose marriage to the male. "Has the right", a little sexist to me. And what happens in Gay situations?

CPAC, Conservative Political Action Conference, was held this week in Washington D.C. The Republicans shared their conservative agenda with one another. In my opinion, it was a few days of hatred, bigotry and liberal bashing. I really shouldn't assume that, but I have history on my side. I didn't watch any of the proceedings, just heard a little of the commentary by the media. Some interesting facts, Mitt Romney won the straw poll for the likely Republican candidate for president in 2012. Bobby Jindal came in second and Governor Sarah Palin and Rep. Ron Paul tied for 3rd place. I think Paul is out, doesn't have enough support or charisma. Jindal, well his less than inspiring rebuttal speech on Tuesday doesn't give him much pizzazz? I feel that Romney would be a descent president. He has the financial economic background and is more middle of the road and would negotiate on social issues. The problem with Romney was evident in the last Republican primary. He has too much baggage and many conservatives are skeptical of his alleged authentic conservatism. Republican conservative economic philosophy would be a strong attraction to me if and only if it was void of hatred, bigotry and lack of respect for the individual (all individuals). Paramount in importance to me in aligning my support with any political party is the belief by the party that all people regardless of any preconditioned factors are truly unique and of worth. Any political party or group of people who deny any human being of respect, dignity and the same civil rights as the majority is not worthy of my support. Also, I think the Republicans are making an irreversible mistake by attacking the President's economic plan due to party loyalty and old school politics. Governor Charlie Crist, among other independent minded Republicans are acting in good faith when confronted by the economic catastrophe. They are putting the interest and well being of the their constituents before party loyalty. They are to be commended for their evidenced leadership. Per President Obama, we are Americans first and foremost. 

Friday, February 6

Man is it cold. Bad weather all over the nation. Extreme weather conditions. Could it be associated with global warming? Who the heck knows, but it is dreadful. I think the extremes in weather conditions is the key. Something is happening, but what? I think the experts who say, if planet earth is warming and we are not sure if humankind is causing the earth to warm, then we as the inhabitants of mother earth should be doing our part to make sure that we are not adding to the problem. I believe that is the best plan of attack. We can no longer pretend that all is well with our earth. We must be proactive in our approach to the security and maintenance of our homeland, mother earth. But that doesn't solve my immediate concern - it's darn cold outside. I live in the alleged paradise, South Florida. Life is good. Of course, life would be considered good by me no matter where I lived, but that's another story. Weather is usually great in South Florida, but this winter we have experienced all-time lows and extremely cold weather conditions. Yes, it will pass. That's my philosophy. In fact I'm enjoying it, a little. What else can we do? One thing I like to do is observe how my fellow Floridians cope with the cold. Let me tell you, it's a real trip. As soon as the mercury dips into the 60's, people don sweaters, hats, coats, gloves, etc. They go around saying, "It's so cold today." I say, "Well enjoy it." "Make the best of it." The senior citizens are so funny. They gather around the pools in wintry attire and complain. Boy can they complain. Most of them have nothing else to do but complain. They complain about everything no matter what, despite the weather. But the weather is one of their favorite topics. Well, I just can't understand them. If it's cold, then why go to the pool or beach and freeze? Why don't they take part in indoor activities. It's a sad commentary on life at senior, over 55 years of age, communities when the only activity that interest some of those seniors is poolside gossip. I say, "Get a life." Seniors should get involved with a multitude of activities. Sometimes it seems to me that they make a life out of waiting. Waiting for something or other. Don't wait grandma, do something different. The sad part of all of this, there are so many things to do in South Florida. I think there are so many interesting things to do no matter where you live, but it starts with you. Don't be bored. Don't do the same old things. Don't feel that there is only one way to live. Do experience life. Take a chance. Live a little. I will say that there are many senior citizens who do have full, exciting and satisfying lives. Why? They do sometime about it. In short, they make it happen.

Sunday, February 15

I was going to post on Valentine's Day, but I didn't get a chance. I know what you're thinking. But no, it wasn't due to my valentine activity. Every day is Valentine's Day for me. Valentine's Day is for lovers. Yep, that's me. Lovers in the biblical sense as well as lovers of life. Enough about Valentine's Day. It's over already. More in 2010.

Let me tell you why I was so busy yesterday. I got home from my mid-day coffee break around 3:30 in the afternoon, brought the computer out of hibernation and then checked my email. I got an email from AT&T informing me that AT&T Internet Service had paired up with Yahoo to provide an new and improved email and web presence. So, I migrated my email and account page to AT&T powered by Yahoo. Of course that meant that I needed to reconfigure my email client and a lot of other B.S. I completed the task successfully, but, and there is always a but. I changed the settings on my Internet Securities software to reflect the configuration for the migration and that's when I encountered a problem. The anti-virus software wasn't able to secure the email program and it wasn't letting any email download. Anyway, I uninstalled the Internet Securities software on my primary computer and installed the anti-virus software that I had on my backup computer. The anti-virus software alone worked fine. It took time to uninstall, install, then uninstall from my backup computer and re-install... Later that night I decided to do some research about my problem. I don't recommend calling any support numbers. Those robots, the support staff, haven't helped my since 2000. They are usually completely insanely incompetent. I do recommend doing your own research. I usually do a search with Goggle and find my solutions. In this case, many other people had the same problem. A couple of configuration changes on the Internet Securities settings and voila, it worked. It really wasn't AT&T's mistake. As usual it involved conflicts using different programs. I really don't care, it works. I will caution inexperience technology users, be careful. You may do better calling Support. Or just study up on your computer and do it yourself. By all means, don't just do what you read on any search results. You must be knowledgeable and experienced when securing help from search results or any information coming from the Internet. Searcher beware. Maybe you should just call the support number and get your help from an alleged expert. At least then, you will not be responsible for any accidents or missteps, the support person will be. Back to the new and improved AT&T powered by Yahoo - big deal. The only change I can see is utilizing more of a community presence based on one's email accounts and personalized account home page. Forget it. I was so pissed with this change. I do not want a community presence. I don't want to "invite" others to "join" me. I don't want to share anything about my email, DSL account or account home page with anyone. If I did, I would look for other options. As a result, I disabled all of the "community" referenced options. Now I don't have any best buds or the like. That suits me fine. 

Monday, February 23

The Academy Awards were fabulous. Of course this is from one of those east coast liberals that the conservative talk radio hosts refer to when they are attacking the liberal view point. Rush complained about the new format of the Oscars. He said that there were few movie clips. Well, that is true. However, the movie clips of the nominees and eventual winners would mean absolutely nothing considering the brevity of the usual clips. I enjoyed seeing previous winners, hearing their descriptions of the nominees and the logistics involved. Bill O'Reilly was another conservative complainer. He explained the Academy's reasons for selecting certain winners. He said in respect to Milk, something to the effect, the gay marriage thing is so popular now and the Hollywood left wing crew is into it. With respect to the win for Penélope Cruz, he said something to the effect, the Academy wanted to appeal to the "international" audience. When describing Heath Ledger's win, he said that Ledger was the dead man. What an idiot. He had something to say about other winners and the format of the show, but most of his observations were cruel, insensitive and down right erroneous. Why is it that the conservative right can not respect the dignity of people, regardless of their circumstances? It's totally bewildering to me. Right or left in the political spectrum, we should not be attacking people, their lifestyle, their ethnic background or any other personal quality. Political entertainment should be of and only of people's political views, opinions and deeds. For me, I enjoyed the Oscars beyond all expectations. I thought Hugh Jackman was excellent and his skits were the epitome in highly talented entertainment. Beyonce, John Legend as well as the other performers were flawless. The show was fantastic in every aspect and beyond reproach.