nobody asked…

… let me tell you how bad it could get: There’s a character in 1984, O’Brien, a member of the elite who runs the country and describes what he thinks the future will look like: “All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But always — do not forget this, Winston — always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless.”

Most of us get discouraged with our jobs occasionally, no matter how much we may love them on a normal basis. When the job blues hit me, I usually look around and quickly identify folks who have it worse than do I. You know, road paving crews in the middle of July, roofers in the middle of August when temperatures on the dark tar paper and shingles may hit 140, proctologists, etc. This past week I had such a day and got to thinking while listening to news and discussions on sport talk radio as I drove from one salt mine to the next gravel pit. Here’s my new list of the five worst jobs in America, based on current events:  Read more

If you have seen The Astronaut Farmer, you know what I mean. If you have not seen it, get on over to your local video store or shag it on your cable/satellite on-demand channel. This is one of the best performances by Billy Bob Thornton I have ever seen, in a very different kind of role for him. Virginia Madsen turns in a credible performance as the supportive wife of Billy Bob’s character. A wonderful cast of supporting actors and actresses finishes this into one big heart-warming story. While the storyline is highly implausible, the message it delivers is very real, and one we need a lot more of these days…

In recent weeks, the media has been full of scary reports of our pantries being stocked with tainted foodstuffs, much of it imported from China. Even if a product is produced within our shores, chances are it contains ingredients of Chinese origin. As it turns out, our friends over there that feed us and our pets, have little or no quality control. Chinese imports are commonly laced with high levels of bacteria, toxins of various types, insect and rodent parts, urine, and droppings. Their own people may not be aware of the dangers, or care, but we do.

Not to worry, right? We’ve got the FDA and the various port authorities who inspect and test to make sure we are safe. Right? Think again brothers and sisters. From the Washington Post:

For years, U.S. inspection records show, China has flooded the United States with foods unfit for human consumption. And for years, FDA inspectors have simply returned to Chinese importers the small portion of those products they caught — many of which turned up at U.S. borders again, making a second or third attempt at entry.

And from WorldNetDaily:

…the FDA found Chinese toothpaste contaminated with a chemical used in antifreeze – the same chemical that killed people in Panama last year when it turned up in cough syrup.

Google it yourself and you will be shocked to find hundreds of thousands of links to stories that will shock, anger, and scare the bejesus out of you. You might even run across this piece recently written and posted by Roomie on one of her several websites. She did extensive reading and research that is summarized in her article, including this:

…The FDA inspects one percent of all the food shipments that come into this country. Let me repeat—ONE PERCENT.

In short, we are completely at the mercy of the Chinese. Let us hope they are not yet ready to wipe us out. With everything else going on in our failing government, we didn’t need to worry about whether dinner tonight will be our Last Supper. Break out the bread and wine — and roll the dice.

• Have you noticed how others your age look so much older than you?
• I could survive indefinitely on coffee, chocolate, cheese, shrimp, and wine.
• There is nothing more pleasant than the smell of a pine forest after a nice rain.
• If I screw up, it’s a bad thing. So, if I screw down, is it a good thing?
• The bloggers we most enjoy are mostly the same ones that grace our portals.

Since being introduced to Elisson’s work a couple of years back, I have known that the self-described Jewish Cracker was brilliant. Now he elegantly proves it for all time with these four words, which pretty much sums up everything we know about everything:

Mechanical contrivances fuck up.

‘Nuf said…

…yeah, that’s it. Nigel Friggins. That’s the name I want in my next life as a Brit who creates accidental art and is in moderate demand as a free-lance writer of baudy stories. I just want average intelligence, extraordinary luck, pounds enough to maintain a two-room flat in Soho and to daily down a couple of pints in a pub where everybody knows my name. And to be perfectly happy with that…

Is it better to excel at something bad than to excel at nothing at all? You tell me…

According to a Dow Jones Newswire story reported in The Tennessean on July 23, 2007, Tennessee leads the country in bankruptcies.

In Tennessee, 5.8 residents out of every 1,000 file for bankruptcy on an annual basis, compared with the national average of 2.52 per 1,000. In Georgia and Alabama, the rates are 4.87 and 4.77, respectively.

The article discusses various possible reasons or causes for high bankruptcy rates, including low income levels, high divorce rates, proximity to legalized gambling, lack of social stigma, and my favorite, lawyers. Yeah, let’s blame it on the lawyers…

HOUSEHOLD BUDGETING: TENNESSEE STYLE

Alabama and Tennessee played leading roles in the development of Chapter 13 bankruptcy, which was widely encouraged by prominent state politicians. According to Southern bankruptcy lawyers, coaching clients to file for bankruptcy has been ingrained in the legal culture for decades.

Chapter 13 was established with the Chandler Act of 1938, which was named after Rep. Walter “Clift” Chandler, a former Memphis mayor and staunch bankruptcy advocate.

“It was viewed as a way to get bills paid,” said Ben Sissman, a Memphis bankruptcy attorney.

“Tennessee lawyers got interested, judges got interested, and bankruptcy became more practical for people.”

In a blatently obvious attempt to create distance between themselves and King George, both of our do-nothing Republican Senators, Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander, and all of the Republican Representatives, failed to show for Bush’s visit to Nashville last week. Desperate for someone to accompany the Prez, the White House invited Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper to take a daytrip on Air Force One. Cooper wisely declined, saying he wouldn’t be caught dead preferred to stay in Washington.

None of the Tennessee GOP party brass were on hand, nor was our leading actor and Presidential wannabe, Fred Thompson. And where, oh where, is Billy “The Knife” Frist, just when Bush needed him most? I’ve always heard it’s lonely at the top, but this…

[Sources: The City Paper, The Tennessean, and various media sources]

A letter to the editor in The Tennessean , Sunday, July 22, 2007, caught my attention, not because it was unique (it was not), not because I agree with it (I do), but because the writer had an efficiency of words that I have not found on the topics of Iraq, terrorists, and the war. Those who read here regularly know that when dealing with these subjects, or indeed, anything Bush related, my tendency is to go on an emotional rant with a long glide path. Here is the letter in its entirety:

Letter writers make a common error in equating opposition to the war in Iraq with opposition to the war against terrorism. What they fail to understand is that most of us believe that immersing U.S. forces in a power stuggle between religious/political sects diverts human, material, and enormous financial resources.

These resources could be used to develop meaningful security at home. Oh, and we could also deploy troops to destroy the real targets.

Think of what we might accomplish with 150,000 additional troops looking for Osama bin Laden in the mountains of Afghanistan. That’s a military action I, and a majority of the nation, could support.

Please don’t impugn my patriotism or my commitment to the safety of future generations.

Steve Entman
Nashville, 37205

What a great couple of concepts! (1) Spend on real security here at home to replace the joke and hassle that beefed up border patrols have become. So far these efforts have created problems primarily for law abiding U.S., Canadian, and Mexican citizens — families on vacation and people engaged in legitimate business. (2) And why didn’t somebody think of this before? Attack the enemy where he is. Wow! Quick, somebody tell the generals at the Pentagon…

After reading the earlier post, The Key To Mastering Windows… , my friend Dr. Stu Savory contributed this additional key which might make it easier for all of us to do our thang. Maybe Stu can let us know if keyboards with the Blog key are already available in Europe.

Play: Work that you enjoy doing for nothing. — Evan Esar

Yesterday, I was honored to meet and entertain Charles G. Hill. Many of you know him as the author of dustbury, which ranks among the very earliest settlers of the blog world. CG is somewhere past the halfway point of his World Tour 2007, which started and will end at his base in Oklahoma City. Nashville was a stopover point as he found his way out of the wilderness of North Carolina and sought the northward trail leading to Champagne-Urbana. We chowed down on some ribs and fixins at Calhouns and had no problem filling over three hours with conversation on everything from pro sports to the Gaylord empire to politics to an indepth analysis of comparative housing costs between Nashville and Oklahoma City. Oh, and we also talked a bit about blogging. Charles is every bit as engaging in person as he is on the screen.

Thank you Charles. Hope to see you by this way again. Next time it’s catfish, hushpuppies, and sweet tea…