TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN

REPOST FROM OCTOBER 25, 2009:
"HE WALKED THROUGH A VALLEY FILLED WITH DANGER. THOSE WHO WALKED BESIDE HIM CONSPIRED WITH THOSE WHO FOLLOWED CLOSELY BEHIND. WITH EVERY STEP THEY LONGED FOR THE PAST DAYS OF ROGUE LEADERS, AND OPPRESSIVE INSTITUTIONS; AT THE SAME TIME ACCUSING HIM OF THE DAMAGE DONE BY HIS PREDECESSOR. BUT HE WAS SMARTER THAN THEM ALL. DISPITE THEIR CONSTANT DISSENT AND OPPOSITION, HE LED THEM SAFELY THROUGH THE VALLEY AND INTO A LAND OF HOPE, PROMISE AND PROSPERITY. IT WAS AN UNFORGIVEABLE ACT, AND THEY HATED HIM FOR IT."

ALTHOUGH MANY ARE MORE INFORMED AND NOW TRUST PRESIDENT OBAMA WITH THE DIRECTION THAT HE IS TRYING TO TAKE THE COUNTRY, THE LEVEL OF HATE FROM THE OPPOSITION HAS ESCALATED BEYOND REASON. REPUBLICAN POLITICIANS HAVE OBSTRUCTED EVERY POLICY AND SEEDED THE HATE WITH RACIAL AND ECONOMIC DIVIDE FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF EXTENDING THEIR OWN CAREERS, AND LINING THEIR OWN POCKETS. PRESIDENT OBAMA'S SUCCESSES LIKE RIDDING THE PLANET OF NOTORIOUS TERRORIST, SECURING HEALTH CARE FOR MOST AMERICANS, ENDING THE WAR IN IRAQ, ENDING DADT, DEFENDING SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE FROM AN ALL OUT ASSAULT BY THE OPPOSITION, SAVING THE AUTO INDUSTRY, BEING ONE OF ONLY FIVE PRESIDENTS TO OVERSEE A 60% GAIN IN THE DOW JONES SINCE TAKING OFFICE, CREATED NEARLY 4 MILLION JOBS, DEFENDING WOMENS RIGHTS, ENDING INSURANCE COMPANY ABUSES, ETC. ETC. HAVE BEEN DISCOUNTED, AND COUNTLESS LIES HAVE BEEN PERPETUATED AGAINST PRESIDENT OBAMA. THE LEVEL OF DISRESPECT TOLERATED AGAINST THIS PRESIDENT HAS DAMAGED THIS COUNTRY GREATLY, AND OUR STANDING ACROSS THE GLOBE HAS BEEN DENIGRATED BY THE INSANE DIALOGUE INITIATED BY THE "TEA PARTY" AND TEA PARTY PROPONENTS. I HAVE LITTLE DOUBT THAT AMERICANS OF GOOD CONSCIENCE WILL NOT ELECT A NEWT GINGRICH OR A MITT ROMNEY TO SINK US FURTHER INTO THE ABYSS. THEIR RHETORIC AND POLICIES ARE THE SAME.

WHERE DID THEY HIDE THE QUIET?

I went to the local Barnes and Noble for the second time this month to research Home Designs in the many magazines published today on the subject. Its seems that every time i visit this particular store i'm barraged with a never ending cycle of disruptions by one entity or another. The last time i was there the chief protagonists were special needs children running amuck throughout the store. Before you think of me as an insensitive monster, know that I love the fact that a book store is on their visit list; i just believe that special needs or not they should be properly supervised to insure that they don't bother other patrons. The disruptions of the latest visit couldn't have been planned better by the most twisted of screen writers. I reveled in the fact that I got there early and that the place was only occupied by a few people, but that sense of elation was short lived. Immediately after gathering my magazines and sitting down at a table isolated from foot traffic, a woman made a B line directly towards me; pushing past countless empty tables before dropping her personal bags noisily onto the table next to mine. She then proceeded to side step the clear path to the seat on the other side of the table, and she stood directly in front of me with her fat miss-shapened ass 1' away from my face while she slowly removed her coat scarf and sweater. I kept my composure and only left after she sat down and pulled out her cell phone. I left the second table after a young girl of 8 or 9 began to pace around the adjacent table with what sounded like tap shoes on a wooded floor. The strange thing is she was wearing what looked like sneakers and the floor was carpeted. I believe that she was wearing one of the brilliant new inventions marketed for children these days (shoes that make noise and light up with each step), just what the world needs most. The third and final location really took the proverbial cake. The disruptions started with the restocking lady dragging her plastic footstool back and forth across the same 2 feet of floor as she re-racked magazines that were left in the isles by the lazy and the privileged. The situation quickly progressed when another worker started running a vacuum cleaner in symphony with her scrapping stool noises over a no larger area of carpet in the same vicinity. If you believe it stopped there you're sadly mistaken. A cloaked and hooded 20 something 'Y.O.' man sat down beside me with music seeping out of his earbuds as he grunted out incoherent rap lyrics. The final straw came when a woman sat next to me, pulled out her cell phone and proceeded to order what seemed to be a membership to AARP. She gave and spelt out her name, complete address, birthdate, phone number, and a barrage of other personal information. She then made it clear that she wanted to pay by money order. My guess is the last phone call of this nature that she made left her without Credit. All the while abrasive music play loudly on the overhead speakers. Remember the day when an older lady with horn rimmed glasses went around shushing anyone who dared to raised their voice above a whisper with threats of expulsion, how I long for those days. I really don't expect a completely quiet environment free from verbal interaction between people, or the occasional quick and quiet cell phone call; but loud and abrasive disruptions as afore mentioned should be unacceptable by anyones standards. Next time I'll try Borders.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

I Just watched a smiling Barack Obama energetically exit Air Force One, and give a slap handshake and a hearty half hug to one of his staff members. It immediately dawned on me that America has a Black President. For all of you who are wondering what rock I was hiding under for the last few years, I offer up my long winded explanation. I spent a good part of my time the last few years campaigning for Barrack Obama, disseminating misinformation, and attempting to quell the fears of White Friends and Co-workers who felt threatened by the possibility of a Black President. Even bigger challenges where the fears of success by many African Americans and other people of color. You would not believe the amount of people who didn't hesitate to say that they would not vote for him for fear of him being assassinated. Those fears where well understood and quickly preyed upon by the opposition, who floated it in the air during much of the primaries as well as in the general election. My walls are adorned with pictures of Barack Obama, his family, and his inauguration, so how could it just hit me that we have the First Black President of the United States.
Michelle Obama Once stated that 'for the fist time she was truly proud of her Country' in reference of her husband election, many took immediate offense and denounced her as unpatriotic. I knew immediately what she felt and what she truly meant by this statement. I'm a lifetime Civil Servant. I've served my Community, City, State, and Country from my Youth and will continue to do so as long as life permits. I see no greater service than that to the general public. There are many flaws in this great American Society that go unchecked even when challenged. I've seen a level of greed and lack of empathy that surpassed criminality and crossed into the realm of evil, but throughout my limited 50 years of existence I've never come to a point where hopelessness prevailed. No matter how discourage I became by the actions of any group or individual, it would not take long before I was inspired by another group or individual. Although I screamed loudly and protested often, I've always loved my Country and my goals were always to make it better. The Election of President Barack Obama is the pinnacle of individuals and groups coming together and inspiring a nation. People from all walks of life in the most diverse nation in the world selecting a new direction for a great country that was rapidly loosing it way. Seeing past race, not succumbing to fear mongers, and navigating their way through a sea of malicious misinformation. In America will still have a seemingly growing racial and religious intolerance, as well as a propensity to blame those who suffer instead of the system that causes (or at least allows) their suffering. We blame home owners instead of bankers, the unemployed instead of corporations, and the sickly instead of insurance companies. These facts make the election of a Black President with a Muslim name all the more a great testament to the ability of the American people to overcome their own demons. The election of President Barack Obama was not a panacea, The challenges for the future are great and the opposition strong. Although we must still contend with a mass media the feeds us what we tend to crave (sensationalism and controversy), as well as politicians and pundits that put their careers above the well being of the entire Country; the great majority of the American People are intelligent and will continue to strive for the best America possible. The election of President Barack Obama is a big step in the right direction and should bring pride to the entire nation.
We must not forget these great feelings of pride and accomplishment, and never take for granted these milestones in achievement. We cannot rest on laurels, there will always be opposition to the development of this great nation (both external and internal); so the struggle to educate them must continue as we continue to be progressive in our endeavors.

Steven Slater, Jet Blue Flight Attendant, Jumps Down Emergency Chute

What rock did some of these commentors come from under, this is not a story about rude people, and a guy who couldn't take it any more. Rude Obnoxious People come a dime a dozen and are encountered by every one of us every single day to some degree or another. This is a story of an unstable individual Who was in a position to activate that same emergency slide tens of thousands of feet in the air, with hundreds of lives at stake. I fly Jet Blue almost exclusively and I am now concerned with how they screen their employees and what measures are taken to check their emotional stability on a regular basis. This is not some humurous, harmless story. It could have been a very tragic event. This Unstable Moron should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and then some. Its remarkable that people are willing to allow full body scans, strip searches, willing to be limited to a certain amount of lotion or shampoo, and remove their shoes in the interest of airport security; yet they treat this story as one mans triumph against rudeness. WAKEUP!
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Do you know what you're telling me? and Why?

I Returned to my usual Laundry Spot this Morning. For the last Month or so I have been going to a closer spot to save time. After greeting one on the regulars and exchanging pleasantries, I went on with the business of getting my laundry done. I got everthing into the wash and went to a local 'Drunkin Donuts' for a small Black Hazelnut Coffee. I returned to the Laundry, sat down; and preceeded to drink my coffee and listen to music on my Iphone. Appearantly the local (an older woman in her 60's) decided to sit down next to me and strike up a conversation. She started by commenting on the two guys at the other end of the Laundry (approximately 150' away from us) holding a conversation loud enough to be heard on the next block, then she segued into her thoughts on the latest Tropical Disease Scare in America. After giving her thoughts on the comunicability of diseases such as Aids, Hepatitis and TB. She assured me that she had personal knowledge that these diseases could easily be spread without intimate contact. Before I could agree or disagree with her findings she began to regale me with tales of her youth, which included the story of how she took care of her ailing mother (who had a respiratory plroblem) for years; and how she herself was later diagnosed with having antibodies for the TB Virus. Upon hearing this news I repositioned myself in my chair to not directly face her, and made certain to keep my mouth shut while she spoke. It clearly wasn't apparent to her that I was now uncomfortable with her proximity, because she positioned herself closer and began to punctuate her points with pojected words and arm touching. I tried to reassure myself that unless she spat directly in my mouth all would be well, but her every comment was designed to prove to me that diseases such as the one that she claimed to have antibodies for was easily comunicable. My chest began to hurt; It was all Like some very Twisted and Evil Candid Camera episode. luckily my wash was done and her dryer had stopped. If I'm ever to return to this Laundry, I'll have to adjust my arrival time. People please Listen to what you say to others, and keep your eyes open to the subtle and not so subtle body Language of those around you

Share The Air, Spare My Ear.

While running errands, I made the improptu descision to have a quick bite at a Local Wendys Restaraunt. I rarely eat Franchised Fast food, despite the fact that this is the second post relaying my experience at them. Although the following activities can be and are occuring in just about every public place accross the Country, my encounter today was at Wendys. I chose to eat my Boneless Chipote Hot Wings in the store because there were only two of the twenty or so tables occupied. One by a 20 something Latina women with her 2 year old and an infant in a carriage; and one by two teenage Latina girls. Both seemed to have been there a while and seemed to be ready to depart at any moment. I brain-worked all of this because I know that I'm easily annoyed by loud abraisive people in public eviornments. I received my food and sat down just as the two teens were leaving (plan preceeding as scheduled). But as murphy would have it the young Mother stayed, and then she proceeded to pull out her cell phone (a major glitch in the plan). She spent the next 10 minutes unleashing a barrage of profanity, peppered with ghetto colloquialisms. She left the restaurant without missing a note. Just as I began to revel in the quiet, an employee on break sat down at a table nearby and began a long loud conversation on her cell phone. If you remember, I stated that there were some twenty odd tables at the establishment. Appearently, the one that I chose was in the center of a desired vortex. The employee seemed to have an endless break in which to carry on her endless conversation; but I was only a few bites away from freedom. Before I could take the last bite of my chipote, another Patron (black male 40ish)sat down at the next table, and positioned himself to face me directly. This angle obstructed his view of over 80 percent of the restaurant, but appearently the disired vortex was not only by physical proximity but also visual. When the last chipote was eaten, and the last ounce of Hi-C finished; I left the restaurant as if it was on fire. People if you must use your cell in public, please keep your sorted conversations clean, short and quiet; and follow the unwriiten Laws of personal space as dicated in America; not China. Business owners Please govern your unruly clients, before they become your only clients.

iPhone 4: Now with Price Gouging! (Courtesy of AT&T)

I use my iphone for just about everything in my Life, its time for Apple to open up to other Carriers for better Competition and lowwer service rates. Its insane that we still have long term locked contracts with penalties for earlier withdrawal. The very existance of these penalties say " We know that you will be unhappy with our services in the future, so we need leverage to deter you from ending the contract when it happens". The only leverage that any company need to keep customers, is good service at a reasonable price. What happened to the anti trust act? ATT will be the death of Apple if they dont re think their marketing stategy. As stated in the article, outside companies like Netflix will suffer because the bulk of possible customers will be priced out of participating.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost