Alec Baldwin Melt Down Telling

Rudy Giuliani was a guest on Piers Morgan's CNN show tonight. Alec Baldwin became a topic of conversation as the guy who was wrongfully removed from an American Airlines flight for reading his Kindle.

I assume Morgan struck this line of questioning with Giuliani for reasons of proximity to Baldwin's career and a posture of higher thinking on results attainable by hijackers of planes.

It breaks down like this: Baldwin, Giuliani and Morgan believe they are not harming anyone by using electronic devices on planes especially when they make specific selections on their electronic devices that disable Internet communication. I know none of them are airline pilots or affiliated in any way with the FAA, yet they have one large soapbox upon which to stand for poo-pooing FFA regs.

Never mind that we've all heard that 'motorboating' sound when a cell phone is too close to our speakers or microphones. These high falutin' celebrities are sure American Airlines is engaged in simple tyranny by not wanting ANYONE, not just Baldwin, activating electronic devices during certain segments of travel.

I think they know best, actually ... the FAA and American Airlines that is. I mean if Travolta was raising a stink about this I might be remotely interested in their argument that pilots of planes have no reason to fear technology in the fuselage. But I guarantee Giuliani was asked to turn off his Kindle, his Smart Phone and his pace maker for the interview inspiring my very words.

So my p0int is this: Do Americans really believe that airliners are simply interested in tyranny? Do we believe they just don't know which devices may or may not cause trouble so they say we can't have any of them on their flights? I suggest to you they know exactly what sort of trouble electronic devices can cause. They have their reasons for not wanting devices engaged during the flight. Maybe one of those reasons is that policing the 'disable' function on various technologies is far from reasonable for Airlines. They have far too many responsibilities for that (like serving Baldwin his favorite beverage all the while kissing his pompous ass), so a ban is the simplest solution. Yet Baldwin believes himself above all that. " Don't you know who I am? I'm Alec Fucking Baldwin!"


I ask of a laughing Giuliani who should be most aware: Do you now see a reason people shouldn't bring box cutters on board? I mean I have mine to clean my nails, but what about you Mr. Mayor? Why do you have yours and how do I know the safety catch isn't unhitched?

Furthermore Mr. Mayor, given you know planes can be hijacked with simple box cutters and no one had before considered them a threat, might you not suffer from a closed mind if you don't see that some folks on planes might say they've disengaged their laptops, but really haven't? Even I, a West Coaster who wasn't there that day can see that terrorists will use means we've not considered to achieve their ends. Does some dude with a laptop and seemingly kind intentions have to use his laptop to commandeer an airliner before you finally get it into your skull that the experts ought to be left alone to stay one step ahead of people who want to take control of flying buses full of Americans and crash land them into other Americans?

If there is one thing Giuliani should have learned from 9/11, it's the simplicity with which terrorist strikes can be initiated. Mr. Mayor, please, put some trust in the experts on this and stop calling for relaxed measures so your hero Baldwin can get his Twitter account back!

I am God - Alec Baldwin

Have You Earned Your Freedom?

During a paid 3 minute sermon on the radio a preacher posed the question, "What have you done to earn your freedom? Are you a taker? Think about it." He asked this after framing the signers of our Declaration of Independence as mostly people who sacrificed their lives or were ultimately arrested and tortured.

I say the Founding Fathers did not make such sacrifice so we would have to do it, too. They didn't give their lives so their children would do the same. They did it so we wouldn't have to.

On a similar note, while I respect our soldiers and appreciate the sacrifice some of them have made, some of them come home with chips on their shoulders. Some of them will ask similar questions of civilians, "What have you done to earn your freedom. I fought so you can have rights ..."

I endured such ridicule at the hands of a former friend who didn't agree with my line of reason on this topic. He had signed up for the military during a time of peace though he saw combat duty in Bosnia. He believes I as a civilian owe him something for that and that his status as a Combat Veteran trumps my right to free speech. Some how I should not even comment on Freedom since I did nothing directly to earn the right.

Well, he was paid for his service. He has his benefits. He was taught skills and all he had to do was sign up. He didn't have to interview or tryout for his position. He simply volunteered to be told exactly what to do and when to do it. He knew what he was signing up for. If he was signing up so to have a leg up on we lowly civilians, then he took that job for all the wrong reasons.

I will gladly thank soldiers for doing their jobs as I will do for construction workers and grocery clerks. I think it's time some on high horses found time to thank all productive Americans for sacrificing their time, for risking their lives during the commute if not directly on the job and for being part of the greatest economy the world has ever seen.

I will thank the Founding Fathers for my freedom and for the sacrifices they made so that I could be born with certain inalienable rights among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and I will not feel guilty for not 'earning' these rights as defined by certain elitists.

I'm Free - The Who

My Jerry Mcguire Moment

In construction there are fire codes. One method to contain out-of-control fire is to build a barrier so that the heat of a fire would take 1 or 2 hours to burn through. Another is to fully fire-sprinkler a building. Fire sprinklers have an outstanding track record for containing fire. Yet in a fully-sprinklered building, we still find compartmentalization defined by rated-walls.

If properly designed, installed and functioning fire sprinklers are as effective as I suggest, then why fire rated walls? The answer is simple. We must consider the possibility of water supply breakage or fire sprinkler malfunction. I say that is a reasonable concern.

But sometimes these rated walls are made out of glass. Fire-rated glass is VERY expensive, so architects and builders need an alternative. They need a way to make fragile and not-so-fire-resistant glass to maintain a 1 or 2 hour rating in certain applications. So what did they do you ask, almost rhetorically? I will tell you! They decided to use special-application fire-sprinklers to solve the problem. The codes that apply to this situation, the sprinklers involved and the volume of water intended to keep every square inch of the glass wet in case of out-of-control fire is also expensive and often aesthetically displeasing.

In short, we need rated walls in case the fire sprinkler system fails, yet in some cases we need to count on the fire sprinkler system to tally a certain rating for our fire-rated walls. If the sprinklers work, we don't need the rated walls ...

Yes, I earn a living in the fire-sprinkler industry and benefit from this sort of bureaucratic nonsense. But like Jerry Mcguire, I have an internal ethic that just doesn't know when to keep its mouth shut!

Breaking News

Broadcasters have lost touch with the words "Breaking News". I watch a lot of CNN. Since 9/11 I believe the words "Breaking News" have burned themselves into my Television Monitor. They're using the term loosely to grab your attention but the 'cry-wolf' syndrome and law of diminishing returns have to eventually kick in.

Before the turn of the century it seems to me news was broken down into Sports, Weather, Latest News, Developing Stories and Breaking News. Breaking News was rare.


Breaking News is not a story that developed a couple hours ago. Breaking News is something developing as we watch. It doesn't come with pre-packaged pieces edited with well-written commentary. There isn't time for that. What we see the likes of Anderson Cooper and Nancy Grace dubbing "Breaking News" is generally what ought to be considered "The Latest".

Someone employed by Rupert Murdock needs to pull the reins on the term before it is squeezed dry of all meaning. Go back to terms like "The Latest" so that when we see "Breaking News" we actually watch with the anticipation of old.

Of course, I recognize they use "Breaking News" as a sales pitch. I don't buy it anymore. Do you?

Our Amusing Trip to Lagoon

We've been planning a trip to Lagoon (Utah's answer to the amusement park scene) for weeks. We decided that the day before school starts would be a great way to wrap up the summer.

We prepared our picnic and sort of had fun mapping out what we'd do with our day once we got there. We checked the Lagoon website to determine what time they opened and got there a half-hour early anticipating having the park to ourselves on a weekday.

Driving up we noted the lack of activity and cars in the parking lot. As we got closer I started wondering where the employees parked. I started wondering, 'Don't the workers get here a little early to open up the park?'

We rolled up to the parking attendant booths noticing a couple driving away looking a bit miffed. In big letters the sign read, "Open Weekends Only for Remainder of Season".

It was my Clark Griswold moment. Tuesday was the second day of their new Fall schedule. Oh, the disappointment in the eyes of my 11 and 6-year-old was unbearable.

All was not lost. Quick thinking landed us at Boondock's (Typical Fun Park/bowling alley/mini-golf facility) for an 11 hour romp. I think we had more fun playing laser tag, bumper boats, go karts, mini-golf and video games than we could have had sweating it out at Lagoon and Tuesday was discount day for unlimited passes at Boondock's.

I guess our not-so-close reading of the Lagoon online-calendar yielded a serendipitous event that my children both remarked they'd never forget.

On Middle East Resettlement

Today's Rebels are tomorrow's Tyrants.

Vulgarity alert!

I want all American politicians, from the President of the USA on down, to stop fucking standing in front of cameras to tell me what you are TRYING to do and how you have fucking opponents who are trying to stop you.

GET IT FUCKING DONE! I don't have a vote in the immediate process so any time you spend soliciting 'my support' is a waste of YOUR fucking time and MY fucking time.

Do your fucking job, and we'll evaluate it next election!

FUCK!

Rapture

The end of the world is nigh. Or so they say. But who are they? Based on results, they are fools it seems.

Anyone who picks a date is a nut because no one has ever correctly proven a specific date for apocalypse. If someone ever gets it right, it might not really matter.

Seemingly universal belief among at least Christians, is that the end will come and there will be Rapture for the believers.

Who are the believers? Those who fear death now that the end cometh nigh? Those who Believe, now? Those who Repent for Sins, for Regrets?

Who are the real nuts? Everyone knows the difference. The real moon-howlers are they who believe not the end is nigh, but the end is upon us ... NOW!

This will reign true until the end of time!

And even then, those who live their lives true to themselves, true to their own souls ... those who don't need to die when everyone else dies, but who could die alone ... they will surely reap some reward not available to the rest.


Rapture - Blondie

Lyrics to Rapture

This just in: Being Born Alive Linked to Death

Hyrum - Recently released studies reveal that 100% of deaths of humans of any age have occurred after being born alive. While some nearly 7 billion cases of humans being born alive and not dying are claimed to exist, experts expect the number of humans dying after having been born to rise. These recent revelations have raised speculation as to cause.

Studies currently underway report evidence of correlations between recent medical applications of birthing and death. "The more advanced our medical technology becomes, the more examples of death after birth we are finding," says one professional of high ranking. "Take for instance, Addis Abbaba where only 37,500 people die per year compared to nearly 300,000 in the USA."

"It's clear that because of America's advanced technology more people are dying every year," said a well-respected member of America's leading research team. "In Addis Ababa, most people are born at home on dirt floors whereas in America most people are born in hospitals. We find this cause for concern. Hell, without AIDS, we believe it possible no one would die in Addis Ababa."

While the numbers mount, skeptics scramble for alternative explanations. "We attribute much of this to America's willy-nilly and obscene usage of vaccination," said one expert at a book-signing event the day after his book The Fight To Stay Alive, a Vaccination Nightmare was published.

Other scientifically founded explanations for this phenomena currently under exploration include 'the Narrow-Birth-Canal Theory', 'the First-Breath Theory', and 'the Separation-From-Placenta Theory'.

Scientists are baffled but hopeful for the currently living 7 billion cases of people having been previously born. "We don't want to raise panic," claims another leading researcher of high acclaim. "We believe there is hope that each of these 7 billion cases might result in a death attributable to something other than being born. We also expect as we continue our research we can end these needless deaths."


Researchers with high-IQ's claim limits to research techniques have made it difficult to reveal deaths of people of all ages who were never born. They remain confident that with future techniques as yet undiscovered, confirmations of people dying who were never born will be made.

CNN Hipocrisy

A few minutes ago while watching CNN, I became ashamed of myself for having that channel on my remote-control 'speed dial'.

During the John King show, a substitute for King at the helm, a story was told of an academy-award nominated, otherwise award-winning photojournalist's passing in Libya. She led the story with an accusation at the end of a wordy monologue that set this story as representation of all those who perish in the Middle East who go unsung. She asserted that perhaps those unsung remain so because maybe "... they don't look WHITE or WESTERN enough."

Her first guest dropped another name of a photographer who died in the attack that killed Britain's Tim Hetherington. His mentions fell on apparently deaf ears. This journalist who had just posed the theory that some are unsung for not being white enough carried on with her discussion about Hetherington even though other 'white westerners' died in THIS attack, nary a mention, even acknowledgment of the others.

Is it because she's racist? Of course not. Others unsung in this situation were white. What, then, might be the reason she continued a focus on Hetherington in the face of news spat right upon her nose?

Could it be that Hetherington is interesting for his award-winning popularity? Might it have NOTHING to do with race? Might setting this up with race simply represent the path that sells the most advertising? Of course it MIGHT and the level of hypocrisy represented in the CNN newsroom reeks of ignorance.

Yes CNN, the reason we see stories on only CERTAIN people who die ANYWHERE is because the likes of YOU choose what we see. Are you, CNN, going to sit back while you accuse yourself of outright racism?

Income Tax Solution

Paying too much to Uncle Sam?

A 50% tax on lottery winnings is in no way a deterrent to those who play. The fact that one might win $20 million but only collect $10 million seems acceptable. Maybe it's true that lotteries are no more than a tax on the stupid.

Nonetheless, the following truth holds:

If you don't want to pay $1 million in income tax next year don't make $2 million (which is actually an exaggeration, you'd have to earn much more or have a lousy accountant to pay that much). If you want to pay less of a percentage of your wage to Uncle Sam, earn less. If you only want to pay $10k in income tax, keep those earnings down around $50k. That's what most people do ... on purpose ...

Stupid rich people, they're being scammed!