About Me

My photo
Coon Rapids, MN, United States

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Once Again Real Life Got In The Way..

And I fell of a regular posting schedule. I'm sorry for the delay but our good friend Jim the Tin Man sent a response to my last entry and it bears comment.

Jim said...

Who is the corrupt government? We can't protect our citizens any better than the Haitian "officials" can. Why are most of our "leaders" criminals and or philanderers? Why is Blagojevich allowed to walk away from corruption charges and then be on Celebrity Apprentice? Is that positive reinforcement? Haiti is only different from us because they have less resources, not less corruption.

Tin Man Out

It is difficult to argue with Jim's points. Corruption is not the sole providence of Haiti. There is no shortage of corruption in our government.

However I submit that Haiti has suffered under the wrath of one totalitarian nightmare after another since gaining its Independence from France not long after our own was secured. The sheer awfulness of the Duvaliers, Both Papa Doc and Baby Doc can not be overstated and the ruinous condition, even before this latest disaster, that Haiti seems to live in in perpetuity was and is largely of their doing.

Our Nation is far different from Haiti. For over 200 years we have enjoyed freedoms and liberties unimaginable to men before this Great Experiment. We choose our leadership, it is not thrust upon us with an iron fist.We gave these people power over us to use and abuse as they please. Perhaps our situation is truly worse.



On a related note, I do not know who Dennis the Peasant is but his point perfectly illustrates how and why we are in the mess we are in:

You didn't want a candidate with a record of achievement (and failure). You didn't want a man already measured. You wanted a blank slate. A blank slate you could project all your hopes and dreams upon without having to worry about reality.

You got what you wanted.

At the time of his election to the presidency, Barack Obama had no meaningful experience or accomplishments in the field of politics. You knew nothing of his character or his capacity to lead. You didn't care. He looked the part and said the right things. Your imagination did the rest. Now that Obama is faced with real life, and his lack of experience and defects of character have been exposed in the most painful manner imaginable, you find yourself professing shock...

Really? What did you expect? Seriously. What did you expect?

You didn't want the sort of politician who could draw on experience and strength of character to get things done, you wanted the sort of politician you could give yourself a big hug for supporting. It was never about Barack Obama; it was about you. And if he's fucked it all up, it is in no small part because you fucked it all up, too. You got what you wanted. You wanted Barack Obama and you got him.

That's not Barack Obama's fault.

Signed,
Dennis the Peasant

Unless and until the electorate becomes better informed, does anyone see an end to the downward spiral this country is on???



Friday, January 15, 2010

I have nothing to say

We said good-bye to the Squirrel yesterday and sent her back to the UK. I know this trip was not all that she hoped and dreamed for, but maybe she can take back good memories and strong friendships. We WILL see her again. Count on it


Pray for the people of Haiti. not only to weather the storm of this horrible disaster but so they may establish a government that is not so horribly corrupt that fosters the kind of environment that makes a natural disaster of this kind so much worse.

One can only hope in this situation that the obviously severe devastation is severe enough that a new nation can rise from the ashes.

Friday, January 8, 2010

ELVIS IS 75!!!

Um..no he's not. Elvis Arron Presley died at age 42. He can't be 75.

"But Bob", you say, "If he hadn't died he would be 75." Let me tell you all about "if" by quoting my Father, a man even more "quote" down to earth than I could ever hope to be. His answer to any "if" statement was simply, "If the dog didn't stop to shit, he would have caught the rabbit."

Don't get me wrong here. Elvis was an important figure. An iconic figure. A music legend, Rock and Roll pioneer, all those things.

Its just that celebrating dead people's birthdays, especially dead celebrities' birthdays as if they had never passed away strikes me as just a little weird. Yes today may be the anniversary of Elvis' birth, go ahead and say that. But DO NOT run around telling me and everyone else that Elvis is 75. Elvis is NOT 75, Elvis is dead.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On a related note, If there IS a Rock and Roll heaven, do you think Elvis was waiting there for Micheal Jackson?...."UH...say boy..what exactly was you trying to do there with my little Lisa Marie???"" Food for thought.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well. the insanity of the Health Care bill is still dominating the news. I still pray it will be stopped but I hold little hope.
Understand this, no matter what your feelings are on whether there should be universal health coverage, This bill does not do that. It does however put in place a structure that will fundamentally change this nation...and not for the better. When this ultimately passes, it will be a sad day indeed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HEY! Dont forget. ASK GRASSMAN is now up and running. ASK ME ANYTHING!!
http://askgrassman.blogspot.com/..COME CHECK IT OUT

Thursday, January 7, 2010

I"m Back..."ASK GRASSMAN" debuts....

I know its been a long time..and most of you probably forgot that I even was running this blog page, but I'm back.

Part of the reason I left is the page was just becoming a rant against the Obama administration. While there was and continues to be more to rant about than anyone could ask for, there are enough better qualified, well connected and better informed people doing that job. I refer you to Michelle Malkin, Glenn Beck et al. And the constant negativity is really more than I can bear.

I mean, really, do you want to read what I think about using the CIA to monitor icebergs while we let people try to blow up our planes with their underwear? I don't need to play Captain Obvious.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
However this little tidbit came to my attention...

It is supposed to Illustrate why men should not write advice columns but it seems to me that the gentleman gave what seems to be very sound advice..
Thus I have decided that an advice column written by a man is not only overdue, but I am prepared to fill the void. So as of this moment the View From the Lawn will include "Ask Grassman!' and I will be fielding any and all questions.


This feature will not work without your input so please forward your questions to turfpundit@gmail.com and let's solve some problems.

This morning, from a cave somewhere in Pakistan , Taliban Minister of Migration Mohammed Omar warned the United States that if Military actions against Iraq and Afghanistan continue, Taliban authorities intend to cut off America 's supply of Convenience Store Managers and possibly Motel 6 & Super 8 Managers.

And, if this action does not yield sufficient results, cab drivers will be next, followed by DELL and AOL Customer Service Reps.

Finally, if all else fails, they have threatened to send us no more candidates for President of the United States !

Folks, it's gonna get ugly!