no more monkeys rippin' off our heads".
If you follow the news you know that a chimpanzee recently attacked an individual in Stamford, Connecticut this week. This 200-lbs chip brutally mauled a 55-year old women, leaving the owner of the animal in a shocked state of confusion as she watched her friend bleed to death in front of her.
Why? What is about people that doesn't allow them to understand this fairly straightforward principle - wild animals can and probably will eat your face off when given the chance. That's it. No more explanation needed. It really is that simple. To think that someone believes a monkey, ape, or a chimpanzee, actually makes a sensible pet is mindboggling. Humans created and coined the term pet many years ago. However, just because we created this fantasy in our minds that animals should entertain, serve, protect, and provide hours of pleasure, doesn't mean that they will always agree with or fully comprehend the intricacies of the relationship. After all, they are A.N.I.M.A.L.S! Wild ones as a matter of fact. This wasn't a man eating goldfish or a poodle that attacked someone. No, it was an animal that happens to be most commonly found in jungles and zoos. You do the math.
I don't care how cute or cuddly an animal is, that does not mean it makes a good pet for your home. Chips and monkeys aren't the only animals that make poor pets either. You know another animal that shouldn't be domesticated? Circus bears. Why? Their mean and have razor sharp claws. You know another one? Twenty-foot long pythons. They can swallow you whole. Or how about Siberian Tigers? Ask the crazy magic guys from Las Vegas. I think I have another one for you. Elephants. They don't fit well in the backyard and they leave pooh the size of a small SUV around. Add giraffes to the list. To tall. Cheetahs. They can outrun you if you try to escape. Do you know another one that shouldn't be a pet? How about dinosaurs. Or maybe Yeti's.
It is crazy to think that you can walk into a pet shop and purchase an animal, a collar, some food, grooming supplies, a few toys; then come home and wait for your pet rhino to gore your children to death. What a great gift for the entire family. As Americans we think that everything and everyone has been made or created for our enjoyment. Of course that is just not true. Now and forever there will be things we have to share our space here on earth with and if we don't except that fact...then they may just tear us to pieces. Done.
After viewing a comment left by a reader on my last blog, I decided it was time to jump in the fray over the "Stimulus Package" debate now that it has finally passed and the numbers are in. I waited so long to provide my input because it almost seems as if everything that could be said about it from both sides has already been hashed over. I pride my commentaries on the fact that they are fresh and unique, so I wasn't sure I had a position on this issue that would fit the bill. That is why instead of a long diatribe on this issue, I thought I may show those who are uninformed what our federal dollars will be working to "stimulate" over the next four plus years and then you can decide the importance.
Keep in mind, some of these proposed numbers may have been cut in the Senate's version of the bill, but nonetheless they are still rather comical to highlight...
- 3-5 million for TSA employees to receive new uniforms (keep in mind the uniforms are manufactured in the U.S. but assembled in Mexico and Honduras)
- 345 million to the Department of Agriculture for computer upgrades (good...Dell gets a boost, but what about the other computer companies - they need stimulating too).
- 600 million to be spent on "green" cars for Government employees
- 8 billion for magnetic-levitation rail lines. Part of this project will be to connect Disneyland to Las Vegas via a train that travels 311-mph and covers the distance in 2 hours (you know who should pay for this project...private investors, say like from Disney or Vegas corporations not someone who lives in western Wyoming). Thanks Harry Reid.
- 870 million to the CDC to combat flu and 400 million to slow the speed of HIV/STDs.
- 75 million for smoking cessation
- 75 million for FBI salaries
- 200 million to Filipino WWII veterans for overdue compensation (it is reported that many of these individuals currently live overseas).
- 650 million for TV converter boxes (so my parents can get their third TV located in the kitchen up-to-speed, despite already having two other televisions hooked up to DirectTV).
- 246 million for tax breaks to Hollywood movie producers looking to buy films (???)
- 1 billion for the 2010 census because of a projected cost overrun of 3 billion dollars.
- 25 million for alcohol and substance abuse reduction (finally...something in this bill for me).
- 88 million to help move the Public Health Services department into a new building (the real winners in the stimulus package...movers).
- 125 million for Washington D.C. sewer system (not the only thing in D.C. that stinks)
- 850 million for Amtrak (yes...trains).
- 448 million to construct the Department of Homeland Security Headquarters
- 248 million to provide furniture for the Department of Homeland Security Headquarters (the real winners in the stimulus package...the Amish).
- 150 million for Smithsonian Museum facilities (have you been to the Louisville Science Center lately...come on...help a struggling city out - we have a Democrat Mayor).
- 5 dollars for the migraine I received researching all this crap.
My absolute favorite part of this whole thing is that we are spending darn near a billion dollars on revitalizing choo-choo trains, while at the same time investing in magnetic levitation rail lines. Really? No one besides Fox News finds this junk a tad bit offensive? Remember, at some point this is our money paying for all this nonsense.
Look, after trying to digest all this mess I have come up with a solution. If your a single male...run...get married...knock her up quick...sit back and collect an additional $400 that you would not have made prior because you were single, because it is the only thing your going to see from this bill unless you work in the Federal Government or happen to be in on the ground floor of this Jeston's project that involves floating to/from Sin City and the Happiest Place on Earth.
Despite most of my postings, I actually like the President. Despite the ticker in the right hand margin of the blog, I don't wish him a speedy exit - some of it is out of fun. But come on. People in government are getting new hybrid Denali's? When you said CHANGE, you were not kidding. Even George W(hacko) Bush didn't pander that much to the local crowd. I want to like the President, but the first weeks have been nothing but boneheaded moves. This should not surprise any of us if we actually listened before the election. Keep in mind this bill is not even his, rather it has the fingerprints of many others on it and Obama has sat back and watched it all unfold.
That is what I mean by 'not being surprised'. He has been notorious for sitting back and not getting involved. As a Illinois state Senator he had the reputation of voting "present" instead of taking a hard stand. His short stint in the US Senate he never wavered from voting with his peers in his own party. Now he is watching as the majority dump debt in the laps of unborn generation, so they can clean it up.
The bottom line for me is not my fear of this stimulus bill, because it is all Monopoly money anyways. I'm more concerned about what is coming next? My fear exists because I wonder why this president wants to place The White House in charge of the Census Bureau. And even more concerning, why does the media not care a single bit? My fear exists in the details of Tom Daschle's Centralized Healthcare proposal (Universal Healthcare) and even though he is no longer apart of the President's Criminal Cabinet, I'm sure his fingerprints will be all over the eventual plan.
People joke, though at times poignantly serious, that this President wants our country to move closer to a Socialist society. Though I am not that extreme a thinker, it does appear we are closer than many may want to admit. After all, where is all this borrowed money originating? Yep...China. Of course there are other countries as well, but I have heard it said that we are in the tank for 11 trillion dollars to China alone. If we owe a socialist country like China that much money, of which we have no clear plan to pay them back...there appears to be only one way we can describe our relationship with them...they are our economic pimps. Although that sounds crude or crass, the description fits.
When you borrow money from the bank to buy a house and you can't pay...who owns your house when things go south? Sure hope we can pay up so China doesn't own our Disneyland teleportation system anytime soon.
Apparently we have finally made it out of the economic cellar after months of anxious times and gloomy forecasts. Wow, I thought that was never gonna end. We have been hoarding our money and now it's time to P.A.R.T.Y. If you didn't see it, President Barack Obama recently overturned the executive order of our 43rd Commander and Chief, George W. Bush, to utilize United States Federal Tax dollars to fund organizations in foreign countries that promote and perform abortions. Now that we no longer have to worry about the struggling citizens in our own country facing 'the most difficult economy since the depression', we have a surplus of money to throw around at the tax payers expense and can spend it on all sorts of things....like abortions right?
The answer is of course rhetorical in nature and if your looking for a debate on Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice, this is not that article. However, since over the past 6-8 months we have been drilled every single day on how we are in the midst of a crisis that will soon consume us as a nation, I must ask...should we not conserve some of our own hard-earned tax payer dollars that were tolled for on this soil instead of shipping millions of it to other countries to perform frivolous abortions?
Evidence shows our economy is struggling and the signs are everywhere. Just this evening it was announced that giants such as IBM, Home Depot, and Ford are cutting even more jobs. However, instead of taking those dollars earmarked for overseas it seems to make sense now more than ever to put them back into the pockets of those who earned them in the first place. I would be willing to bet if you polled one million Americans that make under $100,000 as a house-hold if they would rather send that money overseas for abortions and fancy color pamphlets on the procedure OR continue to receive a tax break on their paychecks...the answer would be unanimous.
And in case you missed that last sentence, I did underline it because there is a hidden message for those astute enough to catch it. The hidden message is TAX BREAK, because since this policy was reversed from the last administration, that money must now come from somewhere - after all we didn't pay it in taxes the last eight years.
The bottom line is this...I don't like to see small third world countries suffer any more than most other compassionate Americans. I fully support aide to these countries for food, shelter, clean drinking water, technology, infrastructure, medical advancements, and overall care. I do realize that their populations are out of control and their children are starving. But abortions? Really?
The President tells us we are in a financial crisis every 6-8 hours when he is on television doing a press conference, then he goes and gives our money away and uses it specifically for one cause that represents an optional/elective surgical procedure. How are we supposed to take what he says seriously? Which is it? Are we in a crisis or can we afford the government to be generous to everyone else but those who made the money and are struggling too? Sorry, but it can't be both.
I am still a voting citizen that is willing to give our new President a chance, as I am with all civic leaders in our government irregardless what we may feel their motives are for seeking the position or if they wear a red tie or a blue tie. I think they all need our support and prayers until they give us a reason(s) to do otherwise. President Obama however, is quickly drawing ire...Guantanamo Bay closing although there is no plan for what to do next, Timothy Geithner is in charge of collecting my taxes but doesn't believe in paying taxes (wouldn't I have been in jail for what he did - yet he gets a promotion), and now the "Mexico City policy" as this article's issue is known. What a way to start your first week President Obama. Looks like I will have plenty to blog about in the future. Thanks in advance for the material.
Sorry Gretchen, this one wasn't funny. Maybe next time.
Apparently the New York Post is reporting that Mariah Carey did not attend last Tuesday's inauguration of Barack Obama, because she was upset at the seating arrangement which left her mingling with lesser celebrities such as Alicia Keys, Bon Jovi, and "The Boss" (that's Springsteen for those of you still clinging to The Carpenter's and your Peter, Paul, and Mary records). The alleged report states she felt as though she should have been seated closer to the First Family during the ceremony.
First of all, the secret service was probably a little leery of having Nick Cannon that close to Shasa and Malia - who knows what kind of influence he may have over those two impressionable little ones. Next, I assume she thought she would have the opportunity to actually sit on President Obama's lap during the ceremony, then when he got up to speak his open chair would be hers. She could just pretend to be the girls "stand-in" nanny.
On a more serious note, Mrs. Carey probably should have just been honored to be a witness to history, irregardless her site lines at the event or whether or not she was within arms length of her own private porta-pot. It sounds to me as if her and dozens of other regular Americans like you know....Sean Penn, Ashley Judd, Melissa Ethridge, Tom Hanks, and many others; should be thankful they were able to get such a ring-side seat to history, even if it was only 20-30 feet away instead of standing directly next to Supreme Court Justice John Roberts.
You know who should have gotten a better seat than Mariah.....anyone who attended Dr. Martin Luther King's march on August 28, 1963 in Washington D.C. overlooking the reflection pool. There his dream was spoken and last Tuesday in-part it was fulfilled. You know who else should have gotten a better seat....anyone that actually votes regularly in all elections. Because they do their civic duty every year whether a rock star is running for president or a bag lady is running for school board.
I can think of others as well....how about anyone who works for the government. Postal workers, CIA officials and the FBI, people who work for the Department of Labor, the people that print the money, stay-at-home mothers that run the PTO/PTA or whatever it is called nowadays, mayors, governor's, congressmen and congresswomen, members of the CDC and SEC, the people who pick up our trash and recycle bins, future cabinet members, Supreme Court Justices, Oprah (wait she only worked for the Obama campaign not the ENTIRE government...opps), and even the little old librarians that spend countless hours dusting off 60-year old bookshelves deserve a better seat than Mariah because they actual do something that makes a difference each day to civic service throughout our country.
You see, if Mariah and other celebrities were to actually sit where they SHOULD HAVE sat, she and her colleagues would have been watching the show through binoculars from Silver Springs, MD miles away. It never ceases to amaze me how some individuals make everything and every event about themselves, when it is clearly about someone or something else.
That is why I am proud to announce that Mariah Carey will be receiving the first installment of this blogs Elmo Awards. Congratulations Mariah on being the January 2009 recipient. I can't wait to see who wins in February.
It came to my attention a few days ago how much our society has in common with one of children's televisions biggest stars. On my son's first birthday his Uncle Scott lovingly purchased him an Elmo Live doll that sings, dances, and entertains young children along with annoying exhausted parents equally for hours on end.
I never noticed before, but it is clear now that Elmo constantly calls himself by his own name and puts himself first. Examples: "Elmo is here everybody, Elmo thinks it is time for a nap, Elmo loves this game, Elmo wants to tell you a story". You get the idea. I think that is a good metaphor for how many of us go throughout our day. Our growing society has gotten so used to things being done for us, that now we either expect it to be that way or we even demand it be done our way. I think that instills a sense of entitlement and therefore we never attempt to put others first.
I stand up and admit that is my way of thinking from time-to-time as well. I am not immune to those selfish thoughts either, although I like to think I am different or more like Ernie. Although annoying and with a questionable fashion sense, at least Ernie is concerned often about his buddy Bert and puts others before himself.
I won't draw this out any more than it needs to be, because you probably get the point and this isn't meant to be some deep philosophy - just a perspective I stumbled upon. Besides Uncle Scott is here - we are going to the Indiana/Minnesota basketball game. Finally, I love that little red monster as much as the next guy, but remember when you hear La La La La, La La La La...Elmo's World - make sure you work hard to put someone else FIRST so that we can all share this world together. This world doesn't belong to us anyway - we didn't make, so we can't claim it. Enjoy the free ride.
Steve's World
