2015 Was The Year Of The Expected

It's time for a year end review. But this year I will give my stupid opinions in a more general mode. That's because 2015 seemed to me to be a quiet year for much of the world, at least on a comparative basis to recent years. Instead of specific life altering events I think we had more of the general on-going things in 2015. This is probably good, in that it shows a degree of stability not found in recent years. Perhaps the terrorist attack on Paris is the lone exception to the rule. Yet, I think that terrorist craziness have become a kind of general insanity that are now a perverted norm. We now expect it and react with less outrage become of the expectation for it.

My year end review of the "Year of the Expected" probably begins with all things related to the alleged "Peaceful religion" (yes, that would be Islam). 2015 saw a further erosion of the Muslim faith into a cult of violence, hatred, bigotry and psychosis. Few mainstream Muslims made any attempt to fight to take back their religion from the nuts. In fact, there was an almost total silence by mainstream Muslims to the terrorist sects that now define the Islamic faith. Shame on them for being silently complacent. In 2015 most non Muslims are not buying the Muslims silence as just cowardice, rather they see it as an unwillingness by mainstream Muslims to resist terrorists on even the simplest levels.

A second general thread to this past year has been the continued rise of addiction to all things electronic. I suspect the word "app" is now more popular than the word "love", but then, so many people today love their apps more than their fellow humans, it is to be expected. This is the year both the oldies and the babies were now also addicted to those crazy machines, living their lives in the virtual rather than the real.  I wonder how shallow the addicted will become in future years. When will humans tire of living their lives through apps? I suspect it won't be any time in the near future.

2015 was also the year of the end of politics. In many nations world-wide, and in particular in the United States, politics is considered such an unpleasant enterprise that voters have ignored the political world and those greasy politicians in favor of trendy, silly or empty causes like "income inequality", "police violence", "climate change" and "diversity programs".  When it's storming outside, why not create fantasy games inside? I suspect the obsession with the virtual world has made it hard for many to see the world as it actual is, not as one wants it to be. Will people continue to run from reality and toward the newest app or electronic gadget?

Another troubling trend in 2015 was the unrestricted movement of people illegally from underdeveloped lands to the riches nations, in the name of forced relocation but in reality movement by the illegals to take advantage of the wealthy nation's social welfare system. Dumping the excess of poverty on rich countries and expecting those nations to flawlessly assimilate a largely uneducated, unskilled population that often refuses to assimilate culturally is a growing world problem. Any nation that refuses the invasions is considered to be "racist". So there is little push back against the invasions. Yet it has always been clear that any nation that does not have a legal immigration system that is enforced fairly to all is doomed to itself become irrelevant. Too, this displacement is hiding the world's biggest problem- overpopulation.

Some good general trends started in 2015 as well.  The rise in charitable work is one.  Not only do affected billionaires pose as humanitarians by giving away large fortunes to massage their egos, the little ones (that would be you and me) make even bigger and sincere sacrifices now in terms of time and money contributed to charitable causes. One might be impressed enough to say that the world is a kinder and more welcoming place that it was in 2014.

More good trends include, the slow but real decline of reality TV, the trend to examine and embrace the best of traditions and "old ways" far more than in recent years, and the continued rise in income and heath status of many people in underdeveloped lands. Food shortages were less this year in the poorest countries of the world. and medical assistance in poor countries has made infant mortality and early death less of a crisis there.
Oh, but one thing remained the same. I am still here, still ranting and still annoying. Some things ever change. Happy New Year!

Water, Anyone?

Something odd has been happening across the world in many areas where high tech farming draws its water from far below the land. The water table is being depleted at alarming rates. In short, many areas where those high yield farms have been producing record crops and supply much of the world with its food, are starting to run out of water from which to irrigate their farms. It leaves a question. Is overpopulation now a real problem, not tomorrow's nightmare? Water shortages already affects every continent and around 2.8 billion people around the world at least one month out of every year. More than 1.2 billion of the world's 7 billion people already lack access to clean drinking water.
 
The severe depletion of the water table is symptomatic of a larger crisis in the United States and many other parts of the world. It's the canary in the mine that we have to address water shortages created by an over use of an out of control growth in world population.

Measurements, for example, from more than 32,000 wells in the U.S. and found water levels falling in nearly two thirds of those wells, with heavy pumping causing major declines in many areas. Much more water is being pumped from the ground than can be naturally replenished, and groundwater levels are plummeting. It's happening all over the world as less water pours from wells, some farmers are adapting by switching to different crops. Others are shutting down their drained wells and trying to scratch out a living as dry land farmers, relying only on the rains, and that isn't going to produce the huge number of crops needed to feed the out of control and growing world population.

I remember as a kid the euphoria about the "green revolution", about how modern farm techniques were ensuring that world hungry was a thing of the past. Apparently not. While politicians and media hype so called "climate change" (or is it "global warming") as a threat to "the planet", the very real problem of too many people on the earth is ignored. No politicians will tell his constituents to stop having babies. There's no chance of reelection if so. Thus, as Rome burns we fiddle. Instead of talking about certain threats, we hear spin about climate being changed by humans.

The result of this obsession with theories of how humans are changing climate is that we will soon face a real  and unspoken threat to what the leftists call "the planet's survival". The United Nations says that about 80% of the world water supply is already threatened. By the end of the century, scientists predict billions of people will be without enough water for survival. The result will be world conflict over water and food shortages that make it impossible to feed the monolithic population growth we clue lessly continue to promote. Perhaps the hysteria of "climate change' should be replaced with a campaign to control the world population from growing even more out of hand. But I doubt we will see that.

Mixed Papal Message

Call it confliction.  Pope Francis gave his annual papal speech and said all the right things on Christmas Day, but somehow the good words are a bit empty. What did his papal message say? Pope Francis spoke of  the simplicity of Jesus' birth as he rebuked what he called societies' intoxication with consumerism, pleasure, abundance and wealth. Can't argue with that. We are even more addicted to things, particularly electronic ones, than ever before in the history of the world. But is not the Catholic Church that Francis heads equally or even more addicted to "stuff".  For that matter, aren't nearly all religions practicing the same conflicted message?

In the case of Pope Francis' church, the Vatican owns the most priceless art collections in the world.  Perhaps Pope Francis could sell it and donate that money to the poor of the world.  Denouncing "consumerism" while sitting on such a priceless art collection seems hypocritical to me. Since being elected pope in 2013, Francis has tried to shape the church into one marked more by loving mercy than the old threatening and judging church of absolutes. He insists that the needs of the poor and others, including refugees and migrants, be paramount.

I hear him, but I don't see the Catholic Church doing anything more than it has done in the past. That is, donating a great deal of money and helping many, but doing far less that the papal words ask the church members to do. In the past churches set the agenda by lading with action. Now with church attendance in a free fall and donations lessening proportionally, it seems that churches are in the talking game n more than the helping one.

But perhaps I am being too critical in expecting ideals to be turned into actions. What do you think?

A Precious Christmas Discovery

I just read a poignant story in my newspaper about a man who accidentally found a more than 100 year old heart wrenching treasure. It's a story about what Christmas should be, but rarely is in this age of consumerism and selfishness. Peter Mattaliano decided to redo the fireplace in his New York City apartment and with his brother, broke open the fireplace. Out fell unearthed letters written to Santa, signed by two children named Mary and Alfred in 1905.

"I want a drum and a hook and ladder," read Alfred's letter from 1905, while a 1907 letter from Mary was stuffed in an envelope tagged for Santa in "Raindeerland." "The letters were written in this room, and for 100 years, they were just sitting there, waiting," Mattaliano says. After poking around on genealogy web sites, Mattaliano found that Mary and Alfred were the kids of Irish immigrants Patrick and Esther McGann and the letters were written after Patrick died in 1904.

The letters presented a picture of a turn-of-the-century family that likely lived in poverty. Most striking was Mary's slightly singed letter, which read: "Dear Santa Claus ... My little brother would like you to bring him a wagon which I know you cannot afford. I will ask you to bring him whatever you think best. Please bring me something nice what you think best." After her signature, she added, "P.S. Please do not forget the poor."

Wow! Would many kids today be so selfless? Her words, "Don't forget the poor,'"  were touching. Monttaliano and his brother asked each other, "What did she think poor was?"  In today's world "poor" seems to often be the kid with only one I pad. The find is a reminder to not only be less selfish, but to go back into the past and see what lessons can be taught for us today.

The brothers found that Alfred had died in 1965, Mary in 1979, both in Queens, New York. The letters, which Mattaliano calls his "most treasured possessions," are now framed on his fireplace mantel, as are the doll and tiny wagon he added this year. "I wanted them to have a Christmas present, even if it was 100 years too late," Now that's a story that makes my Christmas a lot more meaningful this year.

Are Pancakes Free?

One of my favorite breakfast meals is the noble American pancake. That's the thick flour based pancake, not the egg based crepe which I detest. But when I dine in a restaurant for breakfast I always follow the common sense rules and pay for my pancakes with a smile. Too bad one Natasha West from Chicago doesn't do the same. Even though she is 27 years old, Natasha seems to not understand that pancakes are not free, even at one of those "all you can eat" breakfast places.

It seems that Natasha likes to share her pancakes with an entire table of other non paying cheapskates. Natasha flipped out at a Denny's restaurant after the waitress told her what any child or person with the least bit of ethical standards should know, that she could not share pancakes with an entire table of freeloaders. It was a$4 all you can eat, and cheap food attracts the refuse of the world more often than regular cost meals. After Natasha loaded several plates with stack of pancakes and was confronted by her waitress she became "irate" and started swearing and swinging her fists at the waitress.

None of the blows landed on the waitress, but it gave cover fro pancake thief Nastaha and her freeloaders to run out of the restaurant without paying, only to stop to kick the restaurant door several times (powerful nutrition in those pancakes, I guess) in an effort to show the restaurant that pancakes should be free. The restaurant manager called police, who tracked down West and her dinner crew in a car a short time later. They were taken back to the Denny's where restaurant employees positively identified them. One of West's friends paid for the food and, the good news is that Nasty Natasha was arrested and charged with assault. 

I mention this incident because it is becoming more and more common today. When people are given too much and too little is expected of the they turn into the Natasha's of the world. Let's hope the judge gives Natasha some jail time to learn about  right and wrong, and perhaps serve her nothing but pancakes while she is in the slammer.

Ugly Pet Christmas Sweaters

Anthropologists say that when a civilization becomes wealthy enough, it produces a great number of people who throw their money at the oddest of enterprises. Given the latest Christmas season frenzy over "ugly Christmas sweater parties....for dogs, I suspect we are about at that point. Yep! dogs are now being dressed in outrageous Christmas sweaters and competing to see which has the ugliest of doggies sweaters.

That's right. The news is that Ugly sweaters aren't just a Christmas tradition for people. Cats, dogs and even guinea pigs are joining the party. Don't ask me why, but I think it has something to do with the pet owners eccentricity. An ugly Christmas sweater party for the human is just a gathering at which everyone tries to wear the most over the top Christmas related sweater. Loud color, design, clever messages scrolled across the sweaters and attached objects are usually associated with the best of those.

I remember my daughter once asking me in late November (they sell out by mid December, an indication of their popularity) to go with her to a Goodwill or other thrift store to buy a donated ugly Christmas sweater. She had little trouble finding one (and it cost only a few dollars) that I though was already amazingly garish. Yet, she added her own touches to it and worse it to school several times, and the the Ugly Christmas party she was invited. I think she still has that sweater today.

But to the dog/cat version....PetSmart, the largest pet store chain in the United States, has  ugly sweaters for dogs and cats, and they are among the top five best selling holiday apparel items each Christmas season. The store even has ugly sweaters for guinea pigs. Again, don't ask me why. TV is what popularized the ugly Christmas sweater craze, beginning in the 1980s. But in recent years it has enjoyed a revival, starting with adults, who had parties just to celebrate the ugliness. Kids got in on the act and now pets have nosed their way in, giving owners laughs and plenty to photograph. I guess you have probably seen a cat or dog pictured in one somewhere on the internet.

Ugly sweater dog events across the country this month included an ugly sweater contest for dogs at a park in Anaheim, California; a dog friendly ugly sweater 5K run and walk in National Harbor, Maryland; and separate ugly sweater parties for big and little dogs hosted by Chicago Party Animals, one of the nation's largest canine clubs with 2,000 members. I wonder how the pets feel dressed in those sweaters? Maybe they should bite a few of their owners for forgetting that pets aren't human and see no amusement in the practice.

An ugly sweater has to celebrate Christmas. The bolder the colors, the brighter and the more stuff on it, the better  bring on the bows, snowmen, Santa's, trees, buttons, stars, sequins, rickrack, felt, glitter and cotton. Sleeves can be mismatched, misshapen or missing. But most pets would probably like to move around au naturel instead. the sweaters.  Enough of my comments about this.

Now for an expert's view. "Dog vision is different than human vision and because patterns are not particularly useful to their vision, dogs probably could care less what their sweater looks like," said Dr. Bonnie Beaver, executive director of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists and a professor at Texas A&M University's College of Veterinary Medicine. Most dogs and cats don't like wearing sweaters unless they got used to being dressed young. "Sometimes the putting on or taking off can cause static electricity, which would make the dog even more anxious the next time," Beaver said. If a dog has grown up wearing clothes or if a dog is small and short haired and it is cold, a sweater will be OK, but wearing one for a contest "is of no consequence to the dog, which will be focused on the scents around it and not on the real appearance of other dogs," Beaver said.

Well, the children of Ugly Dog Sweater dogs are probably glad that instead of themselves, Fido is the one to wear that sweater with Santa wrestling Rudolph the Red Nosed reindeer.

Observing At The Mall

I went, I saw, I suffered, but I survived....the mall that is. Should I say some novenas as a thankful offering? Anyway, as one who hates shopping malls and avoids them as much as possible, I do recognize that when entered and executed surgically they can be useful. The reason for my mall sojourn today was to buy gift certificates to send for the holidays. I succeeded according to plan with nary an injury, I think. Well, it was traumatic. But then I already am a little psychologically bruised from the vicissitudes of everyday life. I know. You already see that from my frequent odd remarks here.

I do have some observations about today's mall adventure. First, there are a whole lot of kids roaming the mall during school time. I wonder if the truancy people are aware. Those kids are mostly middle school aged, so I suspect they are merely taking an "unregistered" day off from school.  Few were accompanied by adults. Those kids tend to ride or hold on to skate boards (none were carrying books or reading), to have heads down poking their cell phones (the real world to them) and could be seen in hordes everywhere in the mall food court. I suspect the mall is their favorite social meeting place, and that few actually bought any of the goods that were being offered for sale.

The next group I noticed were the little ones, children not yet of school age. The parent to each was usually sitting or pushing a stroller, in the case of the under two year old set. Since many of the kiddies were playing in an area with kid play sets and jungle gyms, I suspect the parents were also not at the mall to shop. In particular, the moms there had expressions of faces that screamed, "Thank God! I am out of the house and my little hellion can scream and run all he wants".  It's sad, but for mom and dad the mall was a sanctuary from the insanity of staying home all day and night with a toddler.

Another large group were the oldies, people of retirement age. Many were walking back and forth through the mall also with no intention of shopping. The mall seems to be a safe and comfortable place for the oldster to exercise in order to delay the inevitable heart attack. But it was puzzling to see the oldies gorging on every sort of unhealthy food sold in the food court. Would this not tend to nullify the effects of the walking? Like the above two groups, the oldies bought little while at the mall. With all those non shoppers, I wondered how the mall sells enough to sustain itself.

But then I found the answer in the final group...the Shoppers. Shoppers come in all shapes, ages and sizes but more often tend to be female and between the ages of 25 and 60. They are the ones with a determined look on the face, a willingness to fight, no, to kill for that last pair of pajamas Uncle Harry will receive as his Christmas gift. The Shopper spends a lot of money (because the spouse is never with the Shopper when he or she spends), so a spendthrift like President Obama would be pleased to see the reckless Shopper tossing about of credit cards as fast as he gives away taxpayer money to special interest groups that vote for him. I suspect that less than half the inhabitants of the prison we call the mall actually bought good or services there. It's somewhat like the American taxpayer. One half the population pays all the taxes so the other half can freeload for benefits.

Malls really do reflect real life. Sigh, that's probably why I so hate them.

Will The Real Santa Please Stand Up

I'm a little confused theses days. You see, I thought that fat guy in the red suit (no, not me in my red pajamas, the other fat guy in red) we call Santa Claus was the one and only Christmas good guy.  But now I don't know whether to call the good Christmas gift giver Santa or Yuleman or Tomte or Belsnickel or Pere Noel or La Bafana or Krampas or Ded Moroz or Black Peter. Maybe I should just forget the Santa thing. After all, I already am skeptical of just about everything else.  This is confusing. It seems that in many countries there is an alter ego for Santa.
So, The tradition of children receiving gifts during the month of December is relatively the same no matter where you go in the world, but the character that brings the gifts can vary quite a bit from country to country. Of course, American culture is spread everywhere by Hollywood and the other infantile American cultural contaminants. Perhaps Santa will one day kill off all those other pretenders.

Consider this an education is alter Santa's because I will now relate a few things about those pretenders that I mentioned above. Don't you exit now or I will tell all of those Santa's  about your absence and you'll be in Christmas hell.  Let's start with the Yuleman guy. He is the Santa of Iceland..... or one of the The Yule lads Yulemen) They are a group of thirteen mischievous creatures that have largely taken the place of Santa and, frankly, are a little weird. Each of the thirteen Yulemen is known for playing a different, often weird, trick. Ketkrokur, for example, uses a long hook to steal meat, while Gluggagaegir spies into people's windows in order to find things to steal in the night. Stekkjastaur, a personal favorite, is said to walk on peg legs and harass sheep. Forget leaving cookies and milk for them Christmas Eve. Better to hide under the bed covers.

The Tomte are Scandinavia's version of Santa. Originally they were small, gnomish characters that kept watch over family farms. They were generally kind and looked out for people, but they had short fuses like Sam Kinneson. So they were quick to beat up or play tricks on those who weren't good stewards of the farmland.  Today, the American Santa has turned them into fat little men who both resemble Santa in appearance and bring Christmas gifts to kids.
Belsnickel is a legendary figure who accompanies Santa Claus in certain regions of Europe, particularly in Holland.

Like Santa he is a gift giver, but only by threat. He’s usually depicted as a mountain man-style figure with fur covering his body, and he occasionally wears a mask with a long tongue.  Belsnickel is generally a character to be feared, and in most regions he is employed as a sort of warning to coerce the brats....I mean the children, to behave. I think the Belsnickel is a paranoid kind of guy, something like a character Jack Nicholson plays in those odd movies he seems to make Pere Noel is the French Santa, so you know he has to be both pretentious and anti social.

Instead of using reindeer he rides a single donkey called Gui. I wonder if he is the French exception, you know someone in that country who actually bathes once in a while. The French also have a character called La Pere Fouettard (The Whipping Father). Like Belsnickel, he's a figure who is supposed to be feared by naughty kids, and based on his story, it's easy to see why. In the most popular version of it, it is said that in the 1100s La Pere Fouettard and his wife kidnapped and murdered three young men and then cooked them into a stew. I think even Santa will stay clear of that guy.

Befana is a witch-like character who has become a big part of yuletide celebrations in Italy. Yep! The Italians have a female Santa. But wait! It's not because they are progressive. Befana is portrayed as an old hag who rides a broomstick, and she typically wears a black shawl and carries a bag of gifts. She supposedly does not like to be seen, and is said to whack any child who her spies on her with her broomstick. That's pretty consistent of the Italian male view of women.

In the Bavarian part of Germany is Krampus, who has nothing in common with Santa. He is a monster, but then, didn't most of the Nazis also emerge from Bavaria too? People in Bavaria dress up as the Krampus and parade through the city streets scaring other people (No word yet on whether Krampus goose steps). There are some towns that hold festivals devoted to jokingly celebrating the history of the creature. Those Germans even have a jaded view of Christmas and Santa.

Ded Moroz is the traditional holiday gift giver of Russia and other  Slavic countries in Eastern Europe. Like Santa, Ded Moroz wears a red costume and sports a white beard, but he doesn't use reindeer or ride a sleigh. Instead, he drives a troika, which is a traditional Russian horse drawn sled. As the story goes, he was once an evil and vicious sorcerer who would kidnap children and demand presents as a ransom. Over time, he was reformed, and now he gives gifts to children in order to atone for his once wicked ways. Hmmmm, sort of like the politician caught having an affair with his 18 year old office intern.

In Holland, the Santa there (Sinterklaas) has not an elf, but Black Peter, a little boy who helps him hand out presents. There are many versions of how Black Peter came to work with Sinterklaas, some of them quite controversial. If Sinterklaas was the American Santa I think the left wing nuts here would probably accuse him of making Black Peter his sex slave. To avoid that embarrassing notion the Dutch have sanitized Black Peter's reputation and now often described as being a chimney sweep.

There you have it. Take your pick or simply ignore all those Santa types and put up a Ḥanukah Bush instead of a Christmas tree this year.

Christmas Stockings

While in my attic pulling out my Christmas decorations I cam across Jane's old Christmas stocking. You no doubt know the stocking routine at Christmas. The hanging of stockings by the fireplace mantle is a familiar Christmas custom here and in Europe. People with homes lacking fireplaces hang Christmas stockings from bedposts, doorknobs, windowsills, staircases and other areas. When Santa Claus arrives on Christmas Eve, he fills the stockings with small treats and gifts.

But where did that tradition start?  I have no answer except to refer you to a number of stocking traditions that claim the whole idea started there. The one I like most is that Saint Nicholas (that same guy on which much of modern Christmas is patterned) in the 3rd century put a bag of gold in a stocking and hung it on the fireplace mantle of a proud peasant, who Nicholas wanted to help without making an issue of it. And now every parent is a Saint Nicholas to his or her kids watch Christmas.

Even I got a stocking filled with "stuff'"as a kid. Santa must have told my parents to forgive me for all the mischievous behaviors that I displayed during the year. In those days the stockings were filled with little goodies- candy, small toys, socks (Horrors!), little puzzles etc. But over the years since, some Christmas stockings have some big items included.  For example, some people give their teenager kids or her first car by depositing its keys into the stocking. You may place any key of any car you have in mine if you wish.

Point is, the Christmas stocking is making a comeback. When as my mom knitted our stockings when I was a kid, now Macy's and other such places sell $75 elaborately embroidered Christmas stockings that can one-up the nosy neighbor who drops by  your house during the season.

In some countries, the contents of the Christmas stocking are the only gifts that a child receives at Christmas from Santa Claus, so they are a big deal. Unfortunately, Western Christmas tradition also says that a child who behaves badly during the year will not get a gift in their Christmas stocking and will receive a piece of coal instead. I suspect many politicians and reality TV stars get a lot of coal each Christmas.

Since my daughter is grown and gone from the households and I live alone I have no stockings at my home to fill anymore. The good news is that with no stockings hanging on my mantle there is a good possibility that I will finally escape the coal in a stocking routine than seems to fit me all to well.

May all your stockings be without holes and filled with gold this Christmas.

No Such Thing As Christmas

It used to be that some anti Christmas people didn't believe in Santa Claus. But a few years ago the politically correct advocates came into power and broadened the debate. Now, every December, there is a flock of non believers who say that Christmas itself doesn't exist. They prefer a new holiday carved from Christmas called "The Winter Holiday" as in "Happy Holidays", not "Merry Christmas". For them, Christmas is dead because Christ is dead, or a something like that. And they become very upset if any public institution celebrates Christmas.

The annual attempt by the Christmas nullifiers is happening everywhere in the United States. They insist that "Christmas" is not "inclusive enough", that because many people are not Christians the Christians have no right to have their own holiday. Bah Humbug! We hate it when anyone acknowledges Christmas, they mumble. Further they declare, if a government mentions the word Christmas or any religious variation that said government is abusing non Christians. That's why they deny Christmas and try to change the Christmas holiday into their own "inclusive" version. Don't they realize that the existence of the Christmas narrative is why there is any holiday at all on December 25th? It's silly, mean spirited and idiotic. But then, so are many politically correct types who want to create an imaginary world of their own liking. To follow their lead would be like banning the word "Mohammed' because using it is "not inclusive" to non Muslims.

So the latest PC police against Christmas is in Roselle Park, New Jersey. A New Jersey city council's decision to add the word "Christmas" to the name of its tree lighting ceremony prompted one council member to step down because it "turned it from a non religious event to a religious one," she said. Charlene Storey announced her decision just minutes after the Roselle Park council approved the change. Good riddance to her, I say. Charlene is a former Catholic, a self described as an atheist.  So Charlene resigned the other day saying that the town's decision to change the ceremony's name from "A Tree Lighting" to "A Christmas Tree Lighting" favors one religion and "cuts non Christians out of the loop."

Of course Christmas cuts them out of the loop. It's a celebration that was Christian in origin, though now seems to be as much secular and as popular among non Christians as with Christians. Roselle Park Mayor Carl Hokanson replied to Charlene's resignation with a dose of common sense, something most of the politically correct lack in great abundance. "It's not a street, it's not a building, it's a Christmas tree," Hokanson said.

I wonder if Charlene will forfeit her Christmas bonus.  Or if she refuses to observe the holiday recognized by the federal government we know as Christmas Day, and goes in to work that day. I suspect there is little chance of that. Charlene likes the perks of Christmas, but doesn't want it called what it is because the non perks "offend" her. I hope Santa puts plenty of Christmas coal in her "Holiday" stocking this year.

The irony of these idiotic protests against calling a holiday by its rightful name is that Christmas is not really about Jesus for most people. It's more about consumerism and black Friday sales and discounts and buying more stuff than they can fit in their attics and closets. It's about getting drunk at the Christmas party and kissing that sexy secretary so lusted over all year by so many or her co workers, it's about silly Christmas lights and decorations we all love to see and erect, about those Christmas movies, about people being nicer to each other (except Scroogess Charlene), about lovely Christmas movies and ugly Christmas sweaters, about all those Christmas  sweets grandma bakes and most of all it is about humans being more tolerant and loving toward each other. The latter is the part most missing from Charlene's politically correct brain. Merry Christmas, Charlene!

White Elephant Christmas party

Have you ever been to a White Elephant Party? It's a Christmas thing, so anyone who lives where Christmas traditions rule knows about White Elephants (the party, not what you see on New Year's Eve after your 8th scotch and water!) So the White Elephant gift exchange is a popular Christmas event where people vie to walk away with the best present. Uh, make that the funniest one. The more outrageous the gift the better. In most of those parties, often held at work or where people know each other well, but don't celebrate Christmas together, everyone brings his or her gift.

The gifts are put in a pile, and eventually people gather, draw numbered and pick based on the number held. That means you don't get to give the guy you hate an ugly Christmas sweater. It's instead, random foolishness. The good news is that swapping is allowed. So, for instance, if you are French guy and you get a Rosey O'Donnell bar of soap, something no Frenchman ever uses, you can swap that for something someone else hates equally.

That's the general idea, though there are many variations and even many other names for the White Elephant gift exchange. Many include heavy does of alcohol. Funny gifts make the biggest splash at the party, and weird artwork, clothing and gadgets are also big. Once I saw someone give a sandals with white sox slipper gift, but the person drawing the gift was a girl and she quickly gave it to the biggest nerd in the group (also of French heritage, since the French frequently can be seen wearing white sox and sandals). The nerd loved it! But then I like ugly Christmas t shirts and sweaters. Give me  some respect for wearing those in public. (but I never wear that when there's a Hell's Angel nearby).

Do you have the idea of this White Elephant party? You may one day get invited or be summoned and must go. Just in case, here are some actual White Elephant gifts you can take with you. I know they will be DEpreciated.... The toilet bowl coffee mug, the People of Wal mart desk calendar, pick your nose cups, the high heel tape dispenser, a bacon candy bar, a butt/face soap bar (the white is for your face, the dark side is for your butt), the Fanny Bank farting coin drop, an electronic yodeling pickle, Dashboard Jesus....I think I am getting sacrilegious. If you get invited to a White Elephant just be yourself. You'll fit right in.....

Almost Giving Thanks

It's the holiday season and that means we should reflect and evaluate our past year, give thanks for the good things in our lives. But wait! There's no fun in being that positive. Let Buddha reflect, not I. I am better at venting about things that I am not thankful for.  Hmmm Maybe I should meet the reflecting types half way and combine my no thanks with thanks. I'll try that....sort of.

One thing I give thanks for is that there were no new Kardashians to hit the airwaves. But then, Bruce Jenner changed sex and promoting him/herself all over the media this past year. That sort of kills the Kardashian elation I have. However, the Caitlin Jenner nonsense will surely flame out in the coming year. It's hard to spin  much positive from that confused Jenner guy/girl. I think he/she may become more pathetic than politically correct in 2106.

Thanks number two is that President Obama has become so annoyingly incompetent and partisan that he is no irrelevant to Americans and every world leader. They all have no respect for Obama, but then who could? We have to endure just one more year with the worst President in modern times. Uh, now the bad news. It appears that that pathological liar, that incompetent fool, the lady who envisions herself a Queen, one Hillary Clinton will take Obama's place on the presidential stage in 2016. The voters in the U.S. , being a largely uninformed, politically correct lot will no doubt show up and elect her as the new Obama.  I suspect after the first year of President Hillary even I may re write history and praise Obama.

Thank you number three is a hope more than a fact. I am hopeful that in 2016 some of the many phony politically correct issues ands groups will wear themselves thin and disappear (no doubt to be replaced by even more onerous ones). I am saying novenas, for example, that the racist 'Black Lives Matter' movement will stop hating Asian, Hispanics and Whites and look in the mirror for explanation why that minority group lives so much in despair, havoc violence and economic distress. One must clean one's own house before complaining about a ugly front porch of someone else's house.

I also give thanks that many more here are now seeing the 'War Against Women', 'Income Inequality', and endless other phony causes are losing traction (it takes time for some people to think and discover truth). I have a glimmer of hope that instead of a year of perception is reality, we will have just plain old reality. I also want the English language to return to the precision it used to have before the politically correct crazies changed it to fit their artificial agenda. Even the trendiest PC causes get stale. Many of 2015's already smell like fish.

So those are a few of my almost thanks.  But whether I am right or wrong about 2015, I am sure there will be a new set of irritants in 2016 to rant about. I know, you give your own "no thanks" to that!

Gay Ad Coming To You Soon

There's more proof that mass communication can change beliefs almost instantly. TV shows and commercial advertisements on them now almost routinely feature gay couples as the norm. Huge retail store Kohl's, for example, is putting us in the holiday spirit and in the mood for  gay Christmas with their latest commercial that shows a diverse family preparing a holiday meal together in a bustling kitchen. As they sit down to dinner, a gay couple, one black and the other white, share a toast of their love for the message of the holiday season and for each other.

The Kohl's ad advertisement comes the same week that Mattel featured a boy in a Barbie commercial for the first time ever.  While many on social media loved the idea of a small gay guy being seen as the new norm, others noted that the little boy was perpetuating “stereotypes” of gay men. And then there is a Campbell's Soup advertisement that features tow gay fathers. Click here to see that commercial     http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/one-million-moms-campbells_56181dc1e4b0dbb8000e9e79

What is the new reality was bound to be shown as such even on TV commercials.  For most people there's nothing wrong with that for most of us. but some, particularly members of religious groups that claim any gay activity is a "sin" the idea of gay as mainstream suggests that the company advertising is promoting that lifestyle. In fact, American TV shows have long had gay couples as the norm on TV series, some even in amount way larger than the actual gay population the ads showcase. But the new proliferation of them shows how modern communication devices have sped the changes in cultural norms. What used to take generations now can change in a matter of months because the platform for the "new norm" is so pervasive, and some say intimidating. 

Politicians, for example, all seem to embrace the gay lifestyle as normal because to do other wise would be politically incorrect and a vote loser in the next election. How many remember that just a few years ago, for instance, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama routinely affirmed their belief that gay marriage should be illegal.  And now they promote it as a "right" for gay couples.  Things change so fast today that one can't blink or he or she will miss the evolution.

Those who disapprove of the new world cultural view of gay coupling should acknowledge that in the last few years the gay community has gone from being invisible in mainstream advertising to an unprecedented inclusion today, as advertisers around the world have dramatically warmed to including gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people in their general marketing messages.  Good for the gay couples out there. But for me, I care not whether the couple in an ad is gay or straight. My decision to buy or not to buy will be based on how much I like the product.

Turkey Day

Thanksgiving is often called "Turkey Day" in the U.S. And it should be. I read recently that 88% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving Day.  Thanksgiving became a federal holiday in 1863 after a proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln, and the turkey got included in the tradition thereafter, even though the first "Thanksgiving Day" dinner that the American Indians and the European settlers in the early 1600's did not include turkey on the menu. It was probably a good thing, because cooking a turkey to proper doneness and moistness is not an easy thing. People try every cooking method possible with varying success. But when done right turkey is tasty. It's so good that there are three towns in the U.S. that are named after turkey: Turkey, Texas (population 465); Turkey Creek, Louisiana (population 363); and Turkey, North Carolina (population 270).

When astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin sat down to eat their first meal on the moon, their foil food packets contained roasted turkey and all of the trimmings. But when I was a little boy I so disliked turkey and complained about having to eat it on Thanksgiving Day, that my mother gave me my favored alternative- a bologna sandwich. Maybe that's why I am weird today. I am full of bologna. But I do like turkey now, and most of those traditional side dishes as well. The Pumpkin and Pecan pies that go with it never pass my lips. Other than that I will eat the entire Thanksgiving meal.

I do believe Americans like the concept of a day in which they overeat foods they rarely touch the other 364 days of the year.  Turkey Day is an excuse for family, friends and acquaintances to confirm that it's probably better that the group meets only one time a year. There are some odd characters in a typical family. Hearing the crazy aunt's stories about her hemorrhoids or cousin Fred's dirty, insulting jokes is a bit much to take more than once a year. But mixed in with the unpleasantness, Turkey Day does make one feel more tied to the family and traditions.

I also think Turkey Day is a link to the past for us, to our American history, which is the source of Turkey Day, and to our personal familial history. In a high tech future oriented world of  indifference and ignorance of the past it is soothing to gather the same way people have for centuries to eat too much and to talk about ourselves, our lives and whether the turkey will be dry for the feast or luckily cooked to perfection.  At each Turkey Day feast we also quietly warn everyone there to avoid the side dishes that no body wants to eat (though many moms usually make the kids eat them) that appear each year, the Jell-O salad or the mystery vegetable casserole that seems to be moving.

I guess Turkey Day is worth the trouble. William Shatner, Captain Kirk of Star Trek, says that one of his favorite meals is a simple turkey Burger. I wonder if the Kilingons also eat turkey.  Oh well, I had my Turkey Day dinner last week so maybe I should see if I can find some bologna to Eat Thanksgiving Day.

How Dare You Celebrate Christmas!

The annual politically correct anti Christmas wars have already started. And the first battlefields are at Target, Star bucks and Dunkin Donuts. It's all about our age of political correctness ruling reason. In this case it's the idea that some people are "offended" by the mention of the word Christmas or any reference to that holiday. In today's world non Christians see demonstrations of Christmas as offensive to them, since they do not believe in any pat of the Christmas narrative. Never mind for example, that Christians almost never complain about public expressions of non Christian holidays like Ramadan or Jewish holidays like Chanukah. "Diversity in the U.S. now means the minority is preferred to the core culture.

The first public business to be assaulted this year by Christmas haters for its stance on Christmas expression was Star bucks, who really seems more merry about its overpriced high profit merchandise, not about Christmas. It involved the annual Christmas decorated paper cup in which Star bucks puts its coffee. That's because in response to complaints by anti Christmas people this year Star bucks has no Christmas design or Christmas greetings on it's cups. Instead, it's selling it's coffee in plain red cups. Star bucks said the unadorned cup allows customers "to put their unique drawings and message on it", but most people say it's one more way that companies are stripping the Christmas message from the holiday season because they fear the few crazies who are "offended' will use social media to damage any Christmas thumbed business product, or its general sales for that matter, that they try to sell. Sigh, at the holiday season there always seems to be more people who can't wait to find something "offensive", who emerge from the shadows, and become Grinch-like and attempt to ruin the spirit of the holidays because Christmas "offends" them.

Target is also being called horrid names, because among its many annual Christmas sweater collection there is one in Christmas colors that jokingly says 'Obsessive Christmas Disorder' on the front. The politically correct rarely smile or laugh because they are constantly saddened by being offended. On social media some have criticized the shirt for trivializing the mental disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. 

That seems odd to me. The reference to OCD is much like the common figurative references everyone makes, even the politically correct crowd, to someone being "nuts". When a person calls someone nuts as in, "You're going to marry her! You must be nuts, Fred", I do not think that name caller is referring to the general idea of mental illness. It is merely a colloquial reference. While Target  says it "regrets" that some customers are offended by the sweater (nice politically correct apology, Target), there are no plans to remove the item for sale, according  a Target spokesman. I say, "Bravo, Merry Christmas and Up Yours" to the oversensitive politically correct Christmas hating bores out there.

But my favorite politically correct Christmas incident this year involves a response to the stupidity of the other two incidents. Dunkin’ Donuts just start a war against Star buck's being too politically correct about mentioning what is now that dirty word "Christmas". It has put out it's own seasonal coffee cup design in response to the idiotic controversy over Star bucks' plain red coffee cup. The Dunkin’ Donuts cup has a green and red holiday design and says "Joy" in red letters. While the cup doesn't explicitly say "Merry Christmas," (writing that that is considered a mortal sin for a business in the U.S. today) it's a least a beginning for businesses to take back the right to celebrate Christmas as they wish. On social media sites many questioned whether the "Christmas" design was a jab at Star bucks' plain red cup. It was. And to that I say, "Hallelujah and Merry Christmas".

Muslim Attack On Decency

It's November and I now have the excuse to locate my favorite Christmas music radio station, bookmark it and play it on my computer while I ponder concerns both small and mighty. Speaking of mighty, the attack on Paris by the demented "religious" Muslim terrorists is more than sad. A beautiful city in a nation that more often than not takes a slap rather than gives one, should affront any decent person. It does. Problem is, many Muslims extremists never will be decent people. Normality for them is perversion, so they brought to France a French version of 911. And the west twitters and sighs but does nothing to stop the madness.

I am not surprised at the action of those terrorists who attacked Paris. Ask Russia, who lost a plane filled with innocent travelers to those nuts. When Europe allowed the mass immigration of Muslims and Africans who really wanted to be there only because of the huge welfare state benefits offered, and not for the pronounced reasons of "freedom" and opportunity, it attempted suicide with its political correctness.  For more than twenty years Western Europe has opened its doors to many who don't want to assimilate and who regard their new nation as a replica of the old one from which they fled. They seek only to replicate their culture, traditions and laws in their new European nation, not to assimilate and become European.  It is a recipe for disaster when nations allow immigrants to "help them". An immigrant should be accepted only if he or she potentially will give back more to the new nation than he or she takes from it.

The worst kinds of immigrants are the poor and unskilled and the immigrant who transfers only for economic gain and not to become a member of the new nation.  It's not politically correct to write thus, but many of those Muslims who immigrate to Europe are lousy immigrants who take from their new home and give little, or who give discord and in some cases senseless intolerance or terrorism. And now that the word is out that anyone can simply walk into Europe and claim it as home, more than a million unvetted Muslims are storming the gates. Maybe we should hum a dirge for Europe.

The western liberalism model has been a failure for a long time, yet it is embraced even more today by the voting population and by liberals as a whole because of its generosity. Those who don't work, don't contribute to the nation or claim the largest welfare payments most love Europe (and the U.S.) and the welfare benefits it offers. Politicians are interested only in staying in power, so they welcome more and more immigrants who are unfit for movement and will never adapt to the culture of the new nation. It's a betrayal of both reason and the inhabitants of the European nations who deserve better.

The floodgates to Europe from the Mid East are open now. Massive immigration form Africa is evolving as well. I doubt the gates can be closed, and even if so, Europe already possesses many more future terrorists. More bombs, more killings more unspeakable violence, the kind which we today can't even fathom, will continue to occur not just in France, but in Western Europe at large. Forget it! I think I'll pretend as the liberals do that all people are loving and deserve whatever they wish to have. I'm going to turn up the volume of that Nat King Cole classic 'O Tannenbaum and keep my head in the clouds like the fools who created this mess still do. Better to pretend it will be better than watch too closely the carnage.

Not another "Climate Change Conference"

Get ready to duck and take cover. It's time for another of my "I hate the global warming hyperbole" rant. Oh wait, I almost forgot that those advocates of humans controlling temperature have changed the name of their theory to climate change, as they often change the language to make their position seem more logical.  The World Bank has just released a statement that climate change could push more than 100 million people into extreme poverty by 2030 by disrupting agriculture and fueling the spread of malaria and other diseases.



This was released  a few weeks ahead of another of those feel good  U.N. climate summits. The WB report highlighted how, in their opinion, the impact of global warming is borne unevenly, with the world's poor woefully unprepared to deal with climate shocks such as rising seas or severe droughts. "They have fewer resources and receive less support from family, community, the financial system, and even social safety nets to prevent, cope and adapt," the World Bank said. Those who say that rich countries aren't doing enough to help the poor said the report added demands for billions of dollars in so-called climate finance to developing countries.

Ah! There it is. It's another of those reasons for the wealthy nations to give away their money to the poorer ones. They seem to like doing that, because it's both politically correct and because bribing the third world with cash in the name of saving the planet keeps the poor masses quieter and less threatening to the west. Problem is that in many ways the climate alarmists are losing the debate on man caused global warming and climate change. The dire scenarios predicted by their computer modeling have failed to materialize. All of the glaring differences between their computer-modelled temperature predictions and empirically measured global temperature are becoming plain for everyone to see.

Nobel laureate in physics Richard Feynman once described science as "the belief in the ignorance of experts."  I like that because it does at least make some people think twice before blindly accepting what the "experts' push as sacred truth. The very first scientific society, The Royal Society, adopted the motto: "Take nobody's word for it." Questioning is the stock-in-trade of scientists. It is the way we discover new things and the way we keep science honest. But global warming fanatics do not like questioning of their theory. Without the ability to question conclusions, science degenerates into politics and pseudo religion. And that's a big part of the climate change hysteria today.

To take those climate change theories as the basis for giving away money to underdeveloped nations, who pollute more per capita than the developed ones, is idiotic. The climate change advocates  feel so much guilt about their mean spirited behavior toward the "planet" in the name of saving the world that they are becoming a cartoon of what was once a serious issue to be discussed and investigated.  A problem with climate science is that the data that should backup the alarming conclusions of the establishment, and that data is not there. In fact climate change data shows little link between man-made CO2 and global temperature.

Climate change believers who have been predicting far more warming than has been observed are on the defensive, because their failures are well documented.  So they hold more conferences to promote more theories and alleged facts, to scare more people, to make themselves and their believers feel better.  They have even asked President Obama to invoke the 'Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO)' act to prosecute as mobsters their fellow scientists who dare to disagree with them. I'm not kidding. If you are a scientist and you speak against the climate change spiel you might be prosecuted as a mobster. So much for science being about open minded discovery.

But do-gooders do have limits. What will make the save the planet politicians pause at that climate summit is the enormity of what they demand. They want to make enormous payments to developing nations and undertake an enormous curtailment of industrial activity in the developed world, further shifting it to those developing nations. The poor nations must be jumping for joy to see that the industrial world wants to give away both its money and industry to their nations.

None of this legitimately addresses any concerns about carbon dioxide, however misguided. It only shifts carbon emissions from one location to another, giving corrupt politicians and bureaucrats in the developed world a chance to claim success and cheers from their save the planet voting constituencies before people realize that they have been duped again by the pervasive propaganda, while the poor nation's politicians and dictators who receive their gifts will have more money to steal from their poor populations.

Fewer Tests, Please

Two new food studies have upset my stomach. It's because the food police have distorted (as they usually do) the results to conclude that eating either is dangerous, even fatal.  The first conducted by the World Health Organization has deemed that processed meats such as bacon, sausages and hot dogs can cause cancer. It also says that all red meats including beef, pork, veal and lamb are "probably carcinogenic" to people. A group of 22 scientists reviewed the evidence linking red meat and processed meat consumption to cancer, and concluded that eating processed meats regularly increases the risk of colorectal cancer. But only slightly.  And the study also says red meat provides benefits as well as tiny risk.

Problem is with these studies that the pervasive media looks for alarm and publishes, not the results but an interpretation of them that is way left of center. In the case of the meat report, media reports leave out the fact that one would have to eat a great deal of that stuff to have even a slightly higher cancer risk. For example, bottled water and the aloe vera we use so much in cosmetics and for dry skin are also listed as potentially cancerous. The fact is, most substances, even natural ones, have an elevated risk of cancer. That natural spring water humans think is best often has elevated levels of arsenic. Yet, one would have to drink a river to be affected by it.

I wish the media would stop claiming that the sky is falling every time a "study" suggests a slight risk increase. Life must be lived with risk or not enjoyed. To remove all cancer risk, for example, one would have to live in an enclosed space, away from people and would have to subsist on a limited diet of raw foods. Who wants that kind of life? Unless we scuba dive we won't know what is in the ocean deep below. If not driving our cars we won't get to destination as that greatly benefit us. You get the idea. A risk free life is an empty one.

The second study distorted by the food police is a University of Michigan study on cheese. The conclusion is that Cheese was among the most addictive foods. Pizza and cheese were at the top of the list, along with other processed and fatty foods. It turns out that cheese, like all milk products, contains something called casein, a protein that releases opiates. So some food crazies are claiming that cheese is similar to crack cocaine. I wonder what they are smoking. One vegetarian doctor who is president of a anti meat dairy organization calls cheese "Dairy crack. The problem is some people actually pay attention to such nonsense.

My strategy to crazy media reports about foods we love is simple. I shall head to a pizza parlor and order a double cheese sausage pizza. If I live to tell you it didn't kill me I'll let you know when I finish eating that "dangerous" food. how is your fall? We have an exceptional weather e

Thou Shalt Not Eat That

Two new food studies have upset my stomach. It's because the food police have distorted (as they usually do) the results to conclude that eating either is dangerous, even fatal.  The first conducted by the World Health Organization has deemed that processed meats such as bacon, sausages and hot dogs can cause cancer. It also says that all red meats including beef, pork, veal and lamb are "probably carcinogenic" to people. A group of 22 scientists reviewed the evidence linking red meat and processed meat consumption to cancer, and concluded that eating processed meats regularly increases the risk of colorectal cancer. But only slightly.  And the study also says red meat provides benefits as well as tiny risk.

Problem is with these studies that the pervasive media looks for alarm and publishes, not the results but an interpretation of them that is way left of center. In the case of the meat report, media reports leave out the fact that one would have to eat a great deal of that stuff to have even a slightly higher cancer risk. For example, bottled water and the aloe vera we use so much in cosmetics and for dry skin are also listed as potentially cancerous. The fact is, most substances, even natural ones, have an elevated risk of cancer. That natural spring water humans think is best often has elevated levels of arsenic. Yet, one would have to drink a river to be affected by it.

I wish the media would stop claiming that the sky is falling every time a "study" suggests a slight risk increase. Life must be lived with risk or not enjoyed. To remove all cancer risk, for example, one would have to live in an enclosed space, away from people and would have to subsist on a limited diet of raw foods. Who wants that kind of life? Unless we scuba dive we won't know what is in the ocean deep below. If not driving our cars we won't get to destination as that greatly benefit us. You get the idea. A risk free life is an empty one.

The second study distorted by the food police is a University of Michigan study on cheese. The conclusion is that Cheese was among the most addictive foods. Pizza and cheese were at the top of the list, along with other processed and fatty foods. It turns out that cheese, like all milk products, contains something called casein, a protein that releases opiates. So some food crazies are claiming that cheese is similar to crack cocaine. I wonder what they are smoking. One vegetarian doctor who is president of a anti meat dairy organization calls cheese "Dairy crack. The problem is some people actually pay attention to such nonsense.

My strategy to crazy media reports about foods we love is simple. I shall head to a pizza parlor and order a double cheese sausage pizza. If I live to tell you it didn't kill me I'll let you know when I finish eating that "dangerous" food.

ISIS Outrage

The Islamic State (ISIS) is at it again. The Islamic State executed three detainees in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra by strapping them to pillars and then blowing them up along with the antiquities that a civilized world is supposed to treasure. I wonder how this reflects on fanatics to a cause, the Mid East Region, on the whole world, and perhaps even on you and me. Barbaric behavior is not new to mankind. History is filled with it. But In this age,  are we not supposed to have limits to our cruelty? To blame the behavior of the ISIS nation on "mass insanity" is, I think, a charge not provable.

So why is that group behaving like the worst Biblical villains did so long ago. The Islamic State has consistently used the Internet and social media to publicize its brutality. I guess that's a terrorist's way of having good clean fun.  Need more concrete examples? Here are a few of the worst moments the past few months of ISIS's new ways of executing those it disagrees with in their attempt to terrorize us all.
-footage showed Islamic State militants executing a teenage Syrian soldier by running him over with a tank. Before being executed, the soldier is shown "confessing" to having used a tank himself to run over bodies of Islamic State soldiers.

- a series of videos showing the beheadings of western aide workers and journalists.
- a video showing a young boy executing prisoners the Islamic State called "spies."
- Earlier this month, the militants reportedly blew up Palmyra's Arch of Triumph.  No humans were attached this time, but the point was made that ISIS believes archaeological sites and statues promote idolatry.
- a few months earlier, beheading the Palmra's antiquities expert.
- ISIS militants raping and forcing children as young as 10 to "marry them".
- a routine policy of  torture and execution of prisoners of war, even after exacting "fines' for their crimes.
- children as young as ten years of age, being forced to fight for ISIS and even to be members of execution squads.

Those are a few of ISIS's proudest moments. Given that the fanatics believe in the cause there is no chance they will suddenly become human again and behave like human beings. So perhaps the atrocities alone should be enough for the world to stomp on, exterminate ISIS. But then, the biggest atrocity of all is that it won't. I wonder if we who sit by not outraged enough to stop it are in some ways as bad as the vermin who carry out the acts we pretend to not see.

Halloween Around The World

This Halloween thing that started in the British Isles but has been promoted so much in modern times by the U.S. (particularly by all those Halloween slasher films and kiddy films) that it's becoming a world holiday. This is mostly due to the fact that is is fun to pretend and because there are no definite expectations for celebrating or not celebrating Halloween (kids can be rough on cranky old men and old ladies who refuse to hand out treats on Halloween night). The fact that adults have stolen Halloween from the kids must mean something.  Now, other nations are changing the holiday to fit themselves.  Here are some of the places relatively new to Halloween, and the traditions followed in each. Most traditions involved remembering the dead.

-In Austria, some people will leave bread, water and a lighted lamp on the table before retiring on Halloween night. It doesn't sound like much fun, but then, when is the last time an Austrian had fun. When Hitler occupied Austria the fun bubble must have burst.
- In Belgium they light candles in memory of dead relatives. Most of us don't want to be reminded of crazy uncle Joe or Greta the aunt who used to always bring that awful Jell-O salad for Sunday dinners.
-In China, the Halloween festival is known as Teng Chieh. Food and water are placed in front of photographs of family members who have departed while bonfires and lanterns are lit in order to light the paths of the spirits as they travel the earth on Halloween night. Worshippers in Buddhist temples fashion "boats of the law" from paper, some of which are very large, which are then burned in the evening hours. The purpose of this custom is twofold: as a remembrance of the dead and in order to free the spirits of the "pretas" in order that they might ascend to heaven. 

-In Czechoslovakia, chairs are placed by the fireside on Halloween night. There is one chair for each living family member and one for each family member's spirit.
-In France, unlike most nations of the world, Halloween is not celebrated by the French in order to honor the dead and departed ancestors. It is regarded as an "American" holiday in France. And we all know those French Americans and all ideas foreign. I hope Dracula visits France this Halloween and sucks them all dry.
-In Germany, the people put away their knives on Halloween night. The reason for this is because they do not want to risk harm to or from the returning spirits. Hmmmm Maybe they are just hiding those old Nazi relics they seem to love so much.
-In Hong Kong Halloween is known as "Yue Lan" (Festival of the Hungry Ghosts) and is a time when it is believed that spirits roam the world for twenty four hours. Some people burn pictures of fruit or money at this time, believing these images would reach the spirit world and bring comfort to the ghosts. I wonder how they can afford to see all those Kung Fu movies if they burn their money
- Japan has no idea what Halloween is about. But being the masters of copy and improve, they imitate it to every degree, costumes, parties, trick or treat included. I suspect Halloween is most fun in Japan. This proves the old adage that those socialist Swedes will do anything for a day off.
-In Sweden, Halloween is known as "Alla Helgons Day" and is celebrated from October 31 until November 6. This All Hanons Day gives everyone a short working day on the 31st. I suspect this proves the old adage that those lazy socialist Swedes will do anything for a day off work.

May your Halloween be more exciting that it will be for people in these countries.

Pumpkin Pie

It's fall and people are eating pumpkin pie, one of those seasonal desserts that is rarely seen any other time of the year. I love the taste of pumpkin in my desserts, but pumpkin pie is one dessert I do not like. Uh, how can I saw this without appearing stupid as usual? Well, I don't like pumpkin pie because it has too much pumpkin taste in it. For me, eating so much pumpkin is like eating a stick of butter. A lot is sometimes too much when it come to pumpkin pie.

Since pumpkins are the symbol of fall, of harvest time and of Halloween, I understand the crazy for all things pumpkin and I participate in that. I made pumpkin bread the other day and a pumpkin smoothie last night. I prefer the lighter, but similar tasting sweet potato pie to pumpkin pie. So pumpkin pie never crosses my lips. Where did the hunger for pumpkin pie among other humans than I begin, I ask? It seems that pumpkin is a native American food and that it was unknown everywhere outside of North America until European explorers in the late 15th century "discovered" America. They sent pumpkin seeds when returning to Europe and those food mad French (or are the French just plain crazy mad) popularized pumpkin as a filling in various foods.

In America the British colonists loved pumpkin and starting making pumpkin pies. There are pumpkin pie recipes in 16th century English cookbooks, but the taste for pumpkin pies never seemed to emigrate outside of England, Canada and the United States.. This makes me wonder if the taste for pumpkin pie in places where it is eaten isn't more of a fall tradition than a taste preference. After all,  China hasn't found an interest in pumpkin pie, one of the few western products not copied or stolen by China from the west.

There are quite a few adages that use pumpkin pie, but I am not sure any is true nor do I know who started them. You may have heard a number of them, but the one most commonly used is something is "as easy as pumpkin pie". Bakers will say that, despite few recipe ingredients and simple technique, cooking a pumpkin pie is not easy at all. But the results when done well pleases quiet a few.  Long ago, he poet Whittier summed it best.

      The Pumpkin (John Greenlief Whittier 1850)

Ah! on Thanksday, when from East and from West,
>From North and from South comes the pilgrim and guest;
When the gray-haired New Englander sees round his board
The old broken links of affection restored;
When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more,
And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before;
What moistens the lip and what brightens the eye,
What calls back the past, like the rich Pumpkin pie?

Second Lives

Yogi Berra died recently. You may not know Yogi, but he was one of the New York Yankee baseball greats, and a part of my childhood as a result. When I was a boy baseball was the national sport in the U.S., so every male had a favorite team and player.  I played and watched baseball then. Yogi was a member of my favorite team, the New York Yankees. Why am I mentioning this? It's because Yogi's death made me think about people we know of, but never knew. It's the knew of versus knew juxtaposition.  Their lives often impact us more than some humans we have frequent contact with every day in person.  The "we know of" humans include celebrities we watched from afar and either admired or disliked.

Unlike we who live non public lives, I think that the people who have public lives are in a sense born twice, once when at the height of their fame and then at death after being forgotten by their admirers or haters but suddenly being confronted with at their death announcement. We actually continue to learn about those deceased public people, even things we didn't know when we followed their activities in their "first life".

For example, Yogi's obituary said he was one of the first soldiers to storm the beaches of Normandy in 1944's D Day invasion. It also said he received numerous medals for bravery and a purple heart in the war. Yogi was born anew to me in reading that because at no time did I previously know of his war time experiences. But then, people in Yogi's generation were taught that bragging about heroism was not good. I can't imagine many of the  publicity seeking baseball players of today hiding their good deeds from us.

Whenever I read of the death of someone I knew of, often I knew of from my childhood, it makes me reintroduce myself to them and to their exploits. Their death makes me feel the same age I was when they were first publicly born, and I recall not only their lives but the lives of people I knew personally when they were at their celebrity. I even recall my own life experiences when the deceased's life experiences are recalled in the obituary.  It makes me seek more information about them and reflect and appreciate or dislike them even more than I did when they were alive. This is good, yet their death is not. Perhaps that's why when being alerted of their death, I feel a little guilty about not having appreciating them when  they lived their famous first lives.

I wonder if the deceased realized the impact their public lives had on those who watched their exploits. Perhaps they didn't care Anyway, sorry you are gone, Yogi. You were good to me for so long.

Young Cell Phone Addicts Brains Turning To Mush

Those dopey electronic devices keep coming at us. Since I ignore almost all of them, particularly the cell phone and its ilk, I can't even identify them.  I am an adult and can say no to every new electronic device or update Microsoft, Apple and the rest of those annoying companies try to cell. But small children have not the capacity to evaluate the cell phone and other devices that are being thrown at us. Left to their own devices the kiddies would lock themselves in their rooms and live 24 hour virtual realities. Oh..wait....some already come close to doing that.

The most recent statistics show that today more than 30% of U.S. children first play with a mobile device when they still are in diapers, according to Common Sense Media. Furthermore, almost 75% of 13- to 17-year-olds have smart phones, and 24% admit using their phones almost constantly, according to the Pew Research Center. Their parents must know this, but then, the parents are also cell phone addicts and probably never think about the damage the cell phone, I pad and others do to their little darlings small brain.

But medical doctors  such as pediatricians and psychologists are noticing what is happening to the brain of babies who are exposed to too much electronics and not enough human face to face communication. Most common of the recommendations they make are guidelines that discourage “screen time” for children under age 2 and limit “screen time” to two hours a day for children over age 2.  My anecdotal evidence from observing the diaper set in public say the parents are not in agreement with those kinds of rules.

Among the damage a single cell phone use each day by a child under the age of two are: damage brain development by overexposing to the devices causing, attention deficits, cognitive delay, impaired learning, impulsive behavior, and a decreased ability to regulate one's own behavior; restricting movement of the child which causes developmental delays and learning disabilities; obesity, children with any of the devices in their bedrooms are on average 30% fatter than those without the devices; sleep deprivation; increases in a wide assortment of mental illness including, anxiety, attachment disorder, attention deficit, autism, bipolar disorder and psychosis; increased aggressive behavior; decreased concentration and memory; addictions, even an addiction by the parent to technology that separates the parent from the child (who then uses the technology as a substitute for the parent).

Wow! What are too many of today's parents doing to their kids?  fact is.....the ways in which children are raised and educated with technology are no longer sustainable. Children are supposed to be our future, but there is no future for children who overuse technology since many will have damaged their brains so much from their cells and other devices.

Playboy Cleans Its Act

Breaking news (mainly for the males, but interesting news for everyone) is that Playboy Magazine, the first popular magazine to show naked women in centerfolds and as features, has announced that it will no longer show female boobs, and T and A. I can remember as a boy how excited an adolescent became at even thinking of taking a peek at naked women in Playboy. But in this day of Internet porno any kid or adult for that matter can easily find nude men and women, and often free of charge. I suppose the raunchy Internet porno has made Playboy too tame to even bother looking. It's hard to compete with hard core porn if your magazine publishes soft core porn only.

Playboy says it will no longer publish images of fully nude women in its magazine beginning this spring, and  that the magazine and web site will now be nude free.  his will test the old refrain that men used to give. "I only read Playboy because of the articles." I never believed that one.  Playboy magazine circulation was 5.6 million copies in 1975 and has dropped to about 800,000 today. Hmmmm I guess the articles today aren't as "attractive"...or something. Uh, I know I can't remember a single article published in Playboy.

This is probably a futile attempt to save Playboy, given that most print magazines have seen steady declines in readership, with many ceasing publication altogether. But Playboy said in its announcement that it no longer publish unclothed women that it is doing well with non naked photos of beautiful women, for it articles, and content that emphasizes  humor, sex and culture. 

But what will Playboy's niche be? It used to be naked girls. And now it will be as a general interest magazine. I think many readers (mostly men) will become bored with the new Playboy and it may come to an end sooner rather than later. But then, in this age of short burst or non reading, it may have plenty of company in its grave.

Pumpkin Racing

Like it or not, to get you in the mood for Halloween, or at the very least for pumpkins, here is a weird event report right here from Oregon.   It's Tualatin's 12th annual West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta, in which some odd but fun loving people get together one day in mid October for four races around Lake Tualatin. No, not boat races. Instead, the racers kneel inside giant pumpkins that have been gutted out and made.....almost sea worthy.

To think I just found out about this event, and misses seeing it. Tualatin is only 20 minutes or so from my home in happy Valley, Oregon. Next year I will have to see it with my own eyes. Besides, even if it is silliness and pumpkins really drift more on their own than can be guided, the Pumpkin Regatta also has side events going on too. There's pumpkin bowling, pumpkin chucking, a biggest pumpkin weigh in contest and plenty of pumpkin foods to try. The biggest one this year was 1,794.5 pounds. (about 800 kilos)

Twenty-one giant pumpkins made it into the water this year, their tops carved out and guts scooped out. All of the participants reported that paddling around a lake inside a giant pumpkin is not easy, and that it is exhausting to try and control a huge pumpkin. Pumpkins aren't very aerodynamic in the water, so luck usually is the winner. And of course, just like people who enjoy seeing car racing only in anticipating a crash, the Pumpkin Regatta had it's crashes...err...sinkings too. Reports are that a man in the second race had to bail out of his pumpkin two minutes after starting because the vegetable started taking water. Oh well, bad luck but that's better than having to eat Aunt Bertha's dry pumpkin desserts at Thanksgiving.

In order to win the races participants had to gather balls from five baskets in the lake. Some simply exited the pumpkin and swam to each one and got the balls, pumpkin in tow. This sounds like a watching, rather than participation event. The Great Pumpkin must be smiling in pumpkin land at this human pumpkin foolishness.

Breeding Like Rabbits

Who would have imagined it? Humans have become rabbits, breeding their species into what may eventually be an overpopulated oblivion. It does seem to be a little crowded out there. With the world population already at 7.3 billion people, it is expected to add more than a million more in the next 15 years, and more than 2 billion more in the next 25 years. That 2 billion was about the population of the world when I was born. I swear that I am not responsible!

I'm going to point fingers at who is "at fault" because...we all love to blame the other guy. Take a bow Asia and Africa. Asia already has 60% of the world population, and Africa with the next biggest total, 16%, is projected to be the fastest growing region in the future. The rest of the world is small with negative birth rates, with the U.S. and Europe growing very slightly, and only because of the mass invasion of immigrants from the fastest growing regions (they have to live somewhere).

There seems to be a race for first between China and India. China currently has 1.38 billion people and India 1.31. However, India is expected pass China in total population by 2022. This is due to the one child policy instituted (great move) in China, and the resulting aging population there, and because India culturally embraces the "let's have another" child mentality.

So while the world pretends that something it calls "climate change" or "global warming" is the real problem, the overpopulation problem goes unrecognized because... well...it's not politically correct to tell those rapid breeding places to stop having so many babies. For the left it's more fun to pretend that your SUV is "killing the planet". But in real terms, the overpopulation boom is causing severe problems for the world in poverty, unemployment, pollution, deforestation, political instability and mass migration of those who are incapable of adapting to their new homes in the less populated developed world.

Hmmmm Maybe the world should steal and change that Nike motto of 'Just do it' , and morph it into 'Just don't do it" (have kids, that is). The future of the world may depend on it.

Presidents Avoiding The Press

Politics here is changing in many way. One way that I have noticed that began with the Obama presidency is the death of the politician interview by a newsperson/company and replacement of it with appearances on TV or internet entertainment sites.  This is not good for constituents who want their politicians grilled by news reporters instead of entertainers. Obama, a president who rarely gives interviews or puts himself in jeopardy of having to explain his policies or views in a potentially confrontational setting, has made an art of the trivial appearance on TV shows like 'The View', ' The David Letterman Show', 'The Ellen Show', 'John Stewart' and their likes.  For Obama, fluff over-rides substance because  it works.

Those non appearances guarantee that Obama will never be challenged by any questions, and instead will be glad handed with soft-ball and silly "questions" from the entertainer he actually does sit down with for an "interview". I give Obama credit for knowing how to hide from the voters, and for never having to personally justify his programs. Not since Ronald Reagan has a president been so elusive. President Obama has held the fewest press conferences of any president since Reagan's presidency. Among the leading newspapers in the United States, The Washington Post had its last on-the-record meeting with the president nearly four years ago, as did the Wall Street Journal. The New York Times last got to him in the fall of 2010. The Boston Globe has never had an interview while Obama was in office, nor has the Los Angeles Times. Even Obama's hometown papers, the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times, have never been allowed to interview him.

What Obama has also done is play ethnic broadcasters for all the support he can get, agreeing to "interviews" that are scripted to cheer lead and patronize the ethnic group's special interest topic Obama has pushed. He has mined votes at Spanish speaking TV networks Telemundo and Univision, for example. Instead of asking the President serious questions he was asked "If you had a super power, what would it be?" "What's your favorite song to work out to?" "Red or green (chili)?" "What's your favorite New Mexican food?" So much for accountability of politicians. Using important time to grant interviews with comedians John Stewart and Zack Galifiankis or with make-up diva Bethany Mota might be justified if had not consistently turned down serious interviews  because, as the president regularly declares, "I don't have time for interviews".

And now Hillary Clinton, the next anointed president has taken the Obama script even further and is campaigning for the presidency with virtually no contact between she and the mainstream serious media. Hillary trots out on a stage, promotes a phony politically correct topic, like 'The War on Women', and trots off stage having pleased her voting constituency to no end. Hmmm Welcome to a new political world in which the serious and accountable os replaced by he artificial and inane.

National Holidays Are With Us

Did you know that in this country we just had National Taco Day in the U.S.? Well, I live here and didn't know that until I just read about it after the fact. But then I am not crazy about Mexican food, tacos and the rest. Even if I had known, I probably instead would have eaten  a meatball and celebrated Italy instead, since I love Italian cuisine.  Hey! There might be a Meatball day. I shall research that immediately...hold on while I Goggle the subject.

I am back from Nationalcalendar.com  and guess what? It says that every  March 9th we are supposed  celebrate National Meatball Day. It says that it is not clear how this day got started, but I think many of those National Day events few are aware of have legitimate roots. Anyway, the site says that when celebrating the meatball day some restaurants give a free side order of meatballs, while others are donating money to homeless shelters.  That's nice. At least we aren't supposed to throw our meatballs at strangers.

In looking at the web site I decided to carefully check one month of holidays, just one month because there seems to be many hundreds of special days that I am supposed to honor. I just don't have that much time to celebrate. I picked October and here a few more of the National Days in the U.S. that I will not celebrate:  Cephalopod Awareness Day (I feel itchy???), National Walk Your Dog Day (One day a year Fido gets walked. Gee, he must really have to pee on that day),

Day of Bully Prevention (I guess you don't steal a weakling kid's lunch money on that day), Mad Hatter Day (You are supposed to be silly on MHD. But what will Mr. Bean do that day? Maybe be serious all day?),  National Depression Screening Day ( Sigh, I always feel too down that day and skip the screening), National Pro-Life Cupcake Day (It seems even the cupcakes worry about abortion rights), National Kick Butt Day (You slap someone around, I suppose), National Coming Out Day (Go ahead, announce you are gay and salute Richard Simmons), Free Thought Day (All other days of the year it cost a dollar a thought. No wonder nobody thinks for themselves anymore),  National No Bra Day (I hope that one is for only women under the age of 35), Be Bald and Free Day (Does this imply that bald people are imprisoned the rest of the year?),
National Grouch Day (I already celebrate that every day), Black Poets Day (White and Asian poets are forbidden to speak that day),  Want To Hear Something Gaudy Day (Read what I write and you'll get gaudy non stop, any day of the year),  World Menopause Day (Speaking for every male I plead for you NOT to tell me about your menopause).

It's all too much. One day, we will have a national day for all national days because we ran out of days of the year 
for national days. Oh., just so I won't forget.....Happy Menopause Day!

Thou Shalt Not Post The Ten Commandments

The entitled, politically correct nuts are at it again. This time they are "offended" by the Ten Commandments. This time the alleged offense is to Oklahoma residents. It seems that a granite monument of the Ten Commandments on the Oklahoma Capitol grounds was being removed and will be transported to a private conservative think tank for storage because....well... The Tern Commandments are dangerous for the public to see....I guess?

 According to a ruling by the Oklahoma Supreme Court's the Ten Commandment plaque violates a state constitutional prohibition on the use of public property to support "any sect, church, denomination or system of religion." Hmmmmm I always thought that, even though the Ten Commandments has a religious origin, they were simply rules of behavior that any sensible person would agree apply to every person who wants to behave well. The Commandments do not refer to any specific religious denomination.  Does the court mean that anything of a religious origin should not be displayed in Public?

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol had increased security around the monument earlier Monday, and barriers were erected to keep visitors from getting close to it.  I guess even the Ten Commandments are subject to terrorism. The state says that it removed the monument under the cover of darkness "to avoid disturbing workers at the Capitol and to keep protesters from demonstrating while heavy equipment was being used to detach the two ton monument from its base".  I also add, it's allot easier to act non sensibly under the cover of darkness.

The individual who instituted the lawsuit that brought about the court order to take the Commandments away is a Baptist preacher who says he loves the Commandments but thinks they should only be displayed on private property. But the real reason ay be that after the Ten Commandments were placed at the state Capital there were requests from several groups to have their own monuments installed, including a satanic church in New York that wanted to erect a 7-foot-tall statue that depicts Satan as Baphomet, a goat headed figure with horns, wings and a long beard. A Hindu leader in Nevada, an animal rights group and the satirical Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster also made requests.

I guess in a democracy all religious symbols have to be treated equally, even when some are crazy. I agree, but place the Satan monument and the others in the Capital restroom...right next to the urinals.

Killing Women

Here's one for those women claiming they want "equal rights". Convicted murder conspirator Kelly Renee Gissendaner was put to death in the state of Georgia by lethal injection Wednesday, September despite a flurry of last ditch efforts to stay the execution. There has only been one female in Georgia in he past 70 years execute for a crime. And even though Gissendaner brutally killed her husband, there is a different kind of outrage at executing a woman than executing a man.

I am against the death penalty in all cases, and fortunately, few state in the U.S. still execute criminals. But our legacy of 19th century wild west justice, the days when people were hanged in the public square, seems to have not totally evaporated. I don't advocate the state killing anyone, but in a perverse way, when it executes a female attention is focused on the entire issue of the death penalty. In an ironic way, that is a good thing.

Few other countries still kill criminals for the rimes they commit. I think they have it w right, but in the United States there is a pioneer culture of guns and violence that never completely disappeared from society as a whole. Strangely, when people in this country are asked if they approve of abortion, more than half say "No". But when the same people are asked if capital punishment is good well over half approve. So for them,  killing is good in one case but bad in another. Humans are inconsistent in their moral views.

Oregon's Big Pumpkin

Halloween is pumpkin season and here pumpkins are grown in some abundance in Oregon. Oregon isn't the largest pumpkin growing state The top pumpkin production state was Illinois, followed by California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Michigan.  Supposedly, 90 percent of the pumpkins grown in the United States are raised within a 90 mile radius of Peoria, Illinois. There is a city in that region called Morton that is  the self proclaimed Pumpkin Capital of the World. Morton where Libby’s pumpkin processing plant is and Libby's cans more than 85 percent of the world's pumpkin each year. I guess it feels like Halloween most of the year in Morton.

Anyway, Most pumpkins are not grown for decorative reasons at Halloween or during fall. Instead they are processed into canned pumpkin and canned pie mix. This is good because even most professional chefs say that canned pumpkin and fresh pumpkin that has been roasted and processed by a cook are indistinguishable. I roasted pumpkins in my over a few times and tried them in recipes, and I concur there is not difference in the taste when either canned or fresh pumpkin puree is used in a recipe.

Yesterday ny morning newspaper had a picture of the biggest pumpkin in Oregon this year. It is just about one kilo of weighing a ton and is said to be the 4th largest ever grown. The biggest last year was grown in the most unlikeliest of places- Switzerland and was about 140 kilos heavier than the Oregon pumpkin.. When the pumpkin farm show where the Oregon biggie is being displayed ends, the pumpkin's seeds will be harvested, and most of the pulp will be used as compost. It seems that the bigger the pumpkin the less value inside because when they get that big they are pretty much all water inside and have little food value. The seeds are highly desired by planters since they produce huge pumpkins when planted.

I've been to some of those October pumpkin festivals and they are fun. The weirdest part is what happens to the big pumpkins that are not big enough to win prizes for size. The losers are generally were raised by a crane to 100 feet and dropped either onto a junk car or into a pool of water. I guess the life of a pumpkin is mostly splash in the water.