I allow myself

I'm sorry, but as an American, I am offended that the 30-foot stone carving of Martin Luther King, Jr., that will be dedicated (as soon as weather permits) on the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC, was made in China by Lei Yixin, an artist who was paid by a stipend from the People's Republic. Whoever thought that was proper has earned my perpetual disrespect.

How is it possible that no American artist could be found to create a representation that will be prominently displayed in our nation's capitol? Why does everything nowadays have to be "Made in China?" First, we borrow trillions of dollars from them, and now this. When you look to see where practically everything you buy has been made, contemplate the mediocrity that infects our society, and please vow to DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

Soon.

They can ask, but. . .

Recently I returned a request for funds masquerading as a survey to the Republican National Committee. Naturally, because I have no use for partisan politics, I sent no money. I did respond to the politically loaded questions with most of the answers they expected, and although it is unlikely to be read, I sent it because they provided a postage-paid envelope. I have returned more useless requests from even less reputable groups marked with the words, "For suppository use only." That'll teach 'em to send me free postage.

Last year, the first time I ever became "politically active," I contributed $100 to my local member of Congress, Wally Herger, not because he is a Republican, but because he always seems to vote the way I would, and say the things I do. In one other instance of activism, I encouraged first born to display a sign on the property touting the re-election of our fine county district attorney, a good law-and-order man. He lost to the political hack he had earlier replaced.

Inasmuch as partisan politics resembles gambling, and our family almost never wins at that enterprise, the DA's loss was to be expected. Wally won, but the margin was one of the closest of his many elections. His publicity people have since sent me some poorly worded propaganda, and I probably won't be contributing again. Sometimes they can sound as mean as liberals.

Results

The pop group for which I voted, and the woman with the operatic voice for whom I would have voted if I had thought she had a chance have made it to the top ten. It is gratifying to learn that there are people out there who appreciate a fine voice and the hard work that created it. I should have voted for her.

Next week, we select the other five from some of my least favorites. Fortunately, there are four left from which I can choose. Good grief, I'm beginning to sound like I care.

Actually, my biggest concern is that my fantasy baseball team, which was moving up, has stalled. Very frustrating. . . like every other year.

The home stretch

We have arrived at the final 24 "talented" American acts, and my favorites are three singers and a comedienne. There are eight others that I can live with, so I suppose I have a 50-50 chance of being satisfied, if not pleased.

However, supposedly the final decision will be made entirely by the vote of "the people," so it's still possible that the jerk who foolishly risks injury by belly-flopping into a small pool could win. Sure, I'd go to Vegas and pay $50-100 to see that. . . NOT.

UPDATE: Rats! Of the 12 acts appearing last night, there were three from my top four, and three from my second four favorites. So, I'll be losing some, while next week, I'll have to select from 12 mostly mediocre acts.

Published in The Bee

The previous post was published today, clumsily edited as you can read below. Those parts in brackets were excised.

I was particularly gratified that the title they assigned to the letter was "Liberal meanness on display." Almost all the actions of liberal Democrats are motivated by meanness, and I am planning a dissertation proving the same. It will be a compilation of many of my earlier observations. . . with emphasis on fines and imprisonment.

With apologies to Charles Dickens. . .

"Molly Ivins was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. . . Molly Ivins was as dead as a door-nail."

She has indeed been dead for more than four years. Yet, [on Saturday, 8/13,] The Bee opinion section devoted a third of a page to examples of her vitriol and name-calling. Because in their liberal meanness, the editors apparently want to destroy the presidential candidacy of Rick Perry. Ivins couldn't discredit him the first time around, and little will be accomplished by this beating of the dead horse of her rude rhetoric.

[Speaking of horses, at the time of her death in 2007, I blogged, "We. . . have horses, and when I see them running with their tails held high, I recall the departure of Molly Ivins." Just goes to prove that anyone can be as insensitive as she was.]

. . . and the beat goes on

LOS ANGELES (AP) "Months after the death of the Mars rover Spirit, its surviving twin is poised to reach the rim of a vast crater. . . "

Wait a minute. What twin? When have we heard about that before? Out of whose ass did they pull that one? How inattentive do they think we are?

You young career seekers out there should consider becoming a government novelist.
Imagine scripting moon walks, the assassination of bin Laden, and now the sudden discovery of another Mars rover, not to mention the two moons and the solar-powered rocket to Jupiter. You could be the new Ray Bradbury, and start at GS-12, $60,274.

PUBLISHED TODAY: "Shared sacrifice" (see below) Of course, the readers of the E-R have probably written me off as an insensitive lout, so I won't read about how unfair of me it is to expect people to work for what they get. But then, anyone who might be offended is too busy sitting on his/her ass and drinking beer to read the paper. (Notice: That's four "asses" in one post. . . a record.)

. . . and I thought it was over

Those crazy scientists are still at it. With the help of millions of your dollars, those who weren't let go when we stopped shuttling or whatever are still drawing hundreds of thousands of dollars each to think up some more nonsense.

They sat around recently, and one of them suggested, "Let's tell them that we might once have had two moons. You know, trillions of years ago, so we don't have to prove it."

"Great idea, fellow scientist. That should assure funding for several more years. Meanwhile fellows, let's go out back and fire off an expensive rocket to Jupiter, as if that were possible."

"We'll tell them it will take five years to get there, and eventually they'll forget."

"Do you think it's possible?"

"Who cares? As long as we keep being paid. You wouldn't want to get a real job, would you?"

RECOMMENDATION: Mark your perpetual calendar for July 2016, but don't hold your breath.

Right again

My first choice was selected again, giving me a perfect score so far. Can I spot talent? Actually, I'm a sucker for comedy, and I loved the girl, pretty of course, who could challenge Rich Little.

Unfortunately, I was only right one other time last night. One group selected was cleverly acrobatic, but I preferred the singer. The other choice was perfect for the twitch and sweat crowd.

Now that sixteen have been chosen, the ratings are apparently so good that they're going to bring in twelve new contestants from YouTube. NBC will still be having summer in November. We should have chosen one of the pre-teen groups, because they'll be as old as Harry Potter before it's over.

REQUEST: If anyone saw the new scripted reality show, "Take the Money and Run," please tell me if it's as stupid as the one snippet I saw. First born's TV does not receive ABC, so I could not record it. I don't think I'll be sorry about that.

"Shared sacrifice"

Each time the President mentions "shared sacrifice," I grow more annoyed. I have lived my entire life on the cusp of poverty, and, in fact, since my "retirement," I have dipped down into that abyss.

As a public school teacher, my life included perpetual sacrifice. I can only remember two times when I owned something that was an overpriced and/or unnecessary extravagance, and one of those was a gift.

One Christmas in my youth, my parents bought me one of the first ballpoint pens. It was made of aluminum and was larger than any pen before or since. They invested $10-20 on a novelty which, except for socks and underwear, was probably my chief holiday present.

Later, before I was married, I squandered $50 on one of the first calculators. . . of the kind that, today, businesses and charities give away free to encourage our interest in their enterprises. It no longer works.

Otherwise, I don't remember buying anything that wasn't on sale and/or absolutely essential, like food, clothing, shelter and transportation. If I did spend some money on entertainment [be it records, tapes, CDs, movies or travel], my children might tell you it was probably because I fed them powdered milk and an ocean of beans and weinies. Thank goodness many parks and scenic attractions are free, or our sacrifice may have been interpreted as torture. We are not prepared to share any further forbearance with anyone else, especially the government.