United Air Says It Has Reformed

Remember that You tube video of the passenger who was bodily dragged from his seat, bloodied and screaming, because he refused to vacate the flight for United employees who were being sent to another city? We might have to send him a thank you note. It galvanized attention on how awful it is for the airline passenger today. As Rodney Dangerfield used to say, we "don't get no respect". Well, now United says it is giving us some respect. They just released new customer service policies that might give us peace of mind that no more passengers will be dragged off or abused in another of the many ways we passengers feel we have been. There is a web site for you to check to visit every lodged airline complaint. https://www.airlinecomplaints.org/  It's revealing.

According to United there will be 10 new customer service plies that are more warm and fuzzy than abusive. The top five are:

1) United will not ask law enforcement officers to remove customers from flights unless it is a matter of safety and security.
2) United will no longer require passengers who are already seated on the plane to "voluntarily" give up their seat un less there is a security or safety issue with the passenger.
3) United will increase passenger compensation amounts when the passenger voluntarily gives up a seat before boarding. The new policy gives a passenger as much as $10,000 if he or she gives up a seat. Wow! United can drag me off the plane for $10,000
4 )United will create a team to "proactively identify and provide gate agents with creative solutions" such as using nearby airports, other airlines or ground transportation to get customers and crews to their final destinations.

That's nice, a good start. But what about addressing some more often seen problems on United or any flight for that matter? I have five suggestions for the airlines to address to motivate them to make passengers feel human.
1) enforce the carry-on limit rules that are ignored- that means the man with two large suitcases, a computer, a oversized roll carry-on and a smelly pastrami sandwich will have to check in the bags or walk to his destination
2) more democratic boarding procedures- Why do kids get boarded first? Whenever the airlines make the announcement for "families with children" to board first the family of 20 heads for the plan and fills most of the over head space. If a child has to board, let one adult accompany him, not the entire city from which the kid comes.
3) normal seat sizes- I know smaller seats means more seats to sell, but the fat guy on my left and the woman with bad breath on my right are killing me.
4) hidden charges-  It's bad enough you have to rent a blanket when the airline AC goes nuts an freezes everyone. But the rumors of pay toilets better not be true.
5) reseating- When the airline changes craft and reseats passengers, the odds are the guy with the bad knee will be reseated in a middle seat. Ether reseat in another aisle seat or let him fly free.
Sigh...I wonder when the next train arrives.

Earth Day Hysterics

April is the time of year when things are green, birds and nature gives us melodious sounds that delight our ears. But it's also the month when a group of odd creatures in nature emerge with weird ideas they swear are sacred truths, this despite no evidence to support their phantasmal notions. Yes, April brings for the Earth day nuts that never stop growing. I do enjoy hearing their  claims of "climate change' that humans are engineering and that we are all o going to soon die because some of us drive SUV's. Some of man's greatest, most creative fiction emerges from the mouths of Earth Day attendees.

I looked at the Earth Day web site today and here is their  policy statement  "Climate change is caused by humans. Yet, ironically, humans are the only ones who have the power to do something about it and make a real difference. The time for real action and progress is now!" Really? Am I supposed to accept the drivel about humans being all powerful over nature, that we change nature by living our lives in ordinary ways? Anyway the site goes on to list its propaganda citing "facts" about climate change. Those facts are largely invented nonsense attributed to scientists who don't really endorse them, promoted to hysterical Earth Day worshippers who believe nothing except the almighty power of humans to control, and yes, change climate.

After a few minutes on that cite my brain was being "polluted" with "bad air" words from the environmental nuts who would like us al to live in caves. I had to exit and did. My problem with Earth day and other events that promote foolishness in the name of "saving the planet' is that they distract us from real earth issues. All sensible people are concerned about maintaining a clean environment. We want to enjoy clean air, land, and water and we like to think that future generations will live in an even better environment. These were the original objectives of Earth Day, but now it is the province of crazy or uninformed people out for a good time one day year. Most know little about what they speak. Earth Day, a great and innocent idea when it started in 1970, has now been kidnapped by the global warming nuts.

the Nongovernemntal International Panel On Climate Change shows rationale people that debate rages in the scientific community about the causes and consequences of climate change, and even debate whether there is any climate change at all. Scientists today cannot even agree on whether warming or cooling lies ahead, let alone the degree to which we affect it. Yet, Earth day and Climate change advocates repeat over and over  that ‘the science is settled.’ We know with certainty, they claim, that our carbon dioxide emissions will cause a planetary emergency unless we radically change our ways.

The truth is that many climate change protesters have little to do with science and everything to do with promoting a political or economic agenda Hey! Maybe those global warmers will come to their senses if the atmosphere heats up a little. Gee, I love global warming.....

Income Taxes Are Due

The final day to submit Federal Income taxes in the U.S. has passed.  But wait!  Many Americans need not worry, for in this age of fewer and fewer people required to pay any income tax at all (the "fleece the rich" left wing mentality has excused "the poor" and many others from any responsibility to pay income taxes). People here are taxed based on their income. If you don't work or your wage receipts are low you are excused and in most cases even given a check to "help you" because you don't pay taxes. The relative tax burdens borne by different income groups changes over time, due both to economic conditions and the constantly shifting provisions of tax law. But it used to be that most Americans, even the poor, were required to pay something, sometimes just a few dollars, in order to make them aware that government spending exists because citizens pay taxes. When all citizens pay taxes politicians have all eyes watching how the revenue from taxes is spent.

In a PEW research last year 64% of Americans say they thought that they paid "about the right amount" in income taxes. I suspect the 54% that said that, pay little or no income taxes at all. In America the wealthy are the ones who pay most of the income taxes in this country, this despite the dishonest portrayal of the wealth by the Democratic party leftist and by the socialists who love to spend money as long as its other people's money. In 2014 for example, people with incomes above $250,000 per year paid just over half (51.6%) of all individual income taxes collected, though they accounted for only 2.7% of all returns filed. It makes a lie of the Obama types who claim the rich don't pay enough.

On the other hand, the ones who scream "unfair" the most are paying little taxes at all. In 2014, people with incomes of less than $50,000 accounted for 62.3% of all individual income tax returns filed, but they paid just 5.7% of total taxes collected. Here's what makes those of us who pay taxes upset. The U.S. tax system as a whole is progressive. The top 0.1% of families pay the equivalent of 39.2%  of all income taxes and the bottom 20% of the population  have negative tax rates (that is, they get more money back from the government than they pay in taxes).  That is not a fair taxation system because it punishes those who produce wealth and rewards those who do not.

Everyone in the U.S. seems dissatisfied to some degree with the income tax. Income tax returns are the most imaginative fiction today because they are arbitrary and unequally applied. Yet, there never is the political will to abolish it for other more equal and understandable forms of taxation. The wealthy are cheated in the income tax assessment, but the wealthy cheat other Americans in low rates for other kinds of things (dividend and capital gains for example) on which Americans pay taxes.  Maybe we should all just spend what we have before they take it in taxes.

Daffy Duck And Company

This month is the anniversary of the first appearance on screen of Daffy Duck. For people over the age of 6o it is significant. I grew up with Saturday morning carton characters who were simple and fun. There were no space rangers, alien monsters and the generally violent cartoon creatures today's kids know.  I am thankful for that because our cartoon characters, like Daffy, were harmlessly fun and silly, innocent in an innocent era. Maybe today's cartoon are so violent and cruel because the age is that way and they reflect it.

My favorite cartoons were the warner Brothers characters like Daffy, Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Froghorn Leghorn etc. Strangely, each of them had an impediment, often a speech impediment, that the great voice of cartoon characters, Mel Blanc, exaggerated for humor. Today it would be politically incorrect, for instance, to introduce a new cartoon featuring a stutterer like Elmer Fudd.  This age is so insecure it can not laugh at human afflictions like stuttering because it is seen as cruel. But I never remember any stutterer complain about Elmer's affliction. It's probably because people then separated cartoons from reality. Today it's all a blur, given those cell phones make the unreal seem real and reality unreal.

That rant aside, who are your favorite cartoon characters? Are the modern ones better for you or do they disinterest you? I can't speak for others but some polls I have seen say Bugs Bunny is the all time favorite. Bugs is a street smart New York rabbit who speaks an awkward but effective English. Why he even gave us expressions from his own dialect disaster speak. "What's up Doc" is recognizable English not only in the United States, but among most non English speakers in most places world wide.

The often cited second most popular cartoon character of all time is Homer Simpson, a more modern creation who mimics human flaws. I am not often a TV watcher (since my early 20's it lost appeal to me) . I must confess that I have never seen that TV show, and thus, don't know Homer beyond what I have read about him. He does seem to be more real that the super hero cartoon characters that populate the tube today. I suspect that I would be more enlightened with time spent with homer than with some real characters that populate our culture today. Some other popular characters are Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Charley Brown, Fred Flintstone, Popeye, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Sponge bob Squarepants and on and on. Which is your favorite?

Anyway, Happy Birthday to Daffy Duck. May he live in popularity forever.

Chocolate Easter Bunnies

I wonder if I am paranoid. I am more and more seeing dark eyes staring at me, summoning me to them, actually asking me to eat them. Wait! Maybe I'm not crazy because those eyes are chocolate Easter bunny rabbit eyes. The annual Easter candy ritual in the U.S. used to be fun for me. There was no guilt then about gorging on chocolate rabbits and other candy. Today guilt rules and I have to pick my chocolate rabbit poison with restraint. My favorite is the hollow dark chocolate Easter Bunny.

The exact origins of the Easter bunny are somewhat a mystery. One theory is that the symbol of the rabbit stems from pagan tradition, specifically the festival of Eostre (a goddess of fertility whose animal symbol was a bunny). Rabbits, known for their energetic breeding, have traditionally symbolized fertility. The Germans are given credit or blame by many for bringing the Easter egg and later chocolate rabbit to the U.S. in the 19th century. In the end it doesn't matter who had the idea. It was a good one.

Those chocolate rabbits do seem to breed at my favorite grocery stores. Anyway, Easter chocolate is here to stay. I should say an Easter prayer to celebrate that. One is never too old or too fat to devour Easter Chocolate.  Even though milk chocolate consumption far outpaces dark chocolate sales my favorite is dark chocolate. Dark chocolate has more cocoa in it and fewer of those nasty additives so many milk chocolate rabbits have inside. I don't even notice when a milk chocolate bunny asks me to eat it. But those dark chocolate rabbits are impossible to resist. Those white "chocolate" rabbits contain no cocoa at al. I walk past them and don't even hear their summons.

There may be a personality style found in people who prefer dark to milk chocolate. I suspect that milk chocolate is favored more by traditional personality types. People who like milk chocolate seem "normal",  kind of mellow; they often go with the flow. Milk chocolate lovers  love to be the center of attention. They seem more sensuous and romantic. I suspect a milk chocolate fans are more reliable people.

We who prefer dark chocolate seem more picky (I like to call it sophisticated). They have strong opinions and tend to get dramatic, chocolate divas. Offer them milk chocolate and they might make a disgusted face and turn away. Dark chocolate lovers are energetic and decisive. They love people and have strong relationships but like controlling others in the relationship.

Then there are people like me who like to add coffee to the chocolate desserts they create. Chocolate brownies made with dark cocoa and a shot of coffee are the best. I guess the bitterness of dark chocolate merges well with the bitterness of coffee. I think I am making too much of all this. Forget all my rhetoric. I think I'll get a dark chocolate rabbit and bite off his head....

Put That Dog Meat Down!

These days it's getting harder and harder to find a good dog burger in some parts of Asia.  Taiwan has just banned the sale and consumption of cat and dog meat, a departure from most Asian country. Hmmmm Maybe Western culture is contaminating Asia to much. There are more than a few people barking at the new Taiwanese pooch policy. But Taiwan's legislature lifted its leg on those people and amended the Animal Protection Act to stop the eating of Fido. The new amendment imposes steeper fines and lengthier punishments for acts related to animal cruelty. These include a fine of  $1,600 to $8,000 for anyone caught selling or consuming cat and dog meat, or any other products that contain parts of the animals. The Taiwanese government will practice public shaming too by publicize the names and pictures of offenders.

Taiwan's president, Tsai Ing-wen, adopted three retired guide dogs in October  and also has two cats. But dog meat is still popular in places like China, Laos, South Korea, Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines and even in parts of India. China has a dog eating festival in the Yulin where thousands of dogs are slaughtered annually. But anyone who has been to Shanghai and seen the parade of small dogs, cutely groomed and pampered, knows that China has many dog lovers now. In recent years the Yulin festival has been bombarded with petitions and online campaigns against dog eating as being cruel.

In 2016, Chinese and international animal rights activists presented a petition with 11 million signatures to protest the dog meat festival. Protesters say many of the dogs were either stolen or found astray, crammed in small cages and beaten to death in slaughterhouses. Estimates are that China killed more than 10 million of the roughly 30 million dogs slaughtered every year worldwide, that according to Humane Society International. Four million cats are killed every year in the country. In South Korea, where dogs are farmed for human consumption, about 2 million are kept in about 17,000 facilities, and many are killed by electrocution, according to the organization. The government's attempts to put an end to it have been halfhearted.

But as western culture continues to be popular in Asia using dogs as food  has become  controversial and frowned on there. Dogs as pets are becoming the norm for many middle and upper class Chinese. There's other good news in Asia for Fido.  Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos struck a deal to stop the trafficking of dogs for their meat. Killing and selling dogs for meat has been banned in the capital, Manila, for more than 30 years.  In the Philippines a nationwide ban on eating dog meat was enacted in 1998.  Perhaps the ban in Taiwan will be the impetus to make Fido less tasty and more pet friendly. We in the west make distinctions from the chicken, beef, pork and lamb we munch on conscience free, and our pets. Dogs and cats are seen as more human like than as farm food.  That Asia is moving to that same perception shows the power of western culture to "consume" all others these days.

The Burden Of Aging

Most people think being over 65 years of age signals old age. But It's not a magical age for old age to appear. Some people are old at 35, some not until 75 years of age and so on. I think there is a combination of attitude, mental decline and physical decline that determines aging. Every thing in life becomes old and functions more poorly as a result of that decline. But humans are the only species that deny some or all of their old age related decline. Just think of cars and you'll see that always happens to us. Immortality is only in silly science fiction novels or films. My own physical being is about ready for the graveyard.

Anyway, I have been thinking about my own old age a little, which I believe started to appear obvious a couple of years ago when I began to have illnesses and see physical and mental decline. It happened instantly to me! Wow! I now understand why "old people" behave the way they do. Alas! I shall give you a few of my own old age onsets so you can live in fear of the same happening to you. (Haha Old people like to frighten young and old ones).

The first thing that happened to me was that sleep became dear, because when old one never really sleeps deeply enough to not be tired. The "he's asleep in the chair again" remarks become more frequent as the person snores at 1 pm while reading or watching TV in a favored chair. Ironically, we oldsters swear those chair naps are the best sleep we get every day. So I say, let us sleep without making us feel guilty about it. I sleep better in a chair or on the sofa than in a bed. In fact, some nights that's how I sleep. There are many other old timers who sleep like that.

Another sign of old age is those doctor's visits. Old people go to the doctor a lot, of their own volition and because medical offices summon them to show up (they don't want us to die in the chair before they bill us for office visits, tests and medications we don't really need). These days I get plenty of snail and E mail requests for medical services. Those "you have been selected for a free hearing test" letters, for example, drive me crazy because my hearing is perfect. Why do they assume every oldie is deaf?

Among the other "he needs this because he is old" services I don't want or need but get constantly are; medic alert bracelets with buzzers to summon help for when "you fall and can't get up"; ED prescriptions; stair elevators for riding instead of walking the stairway; motorized carts to ride instead of walking normally; dating sites for oldies (we old men still want hot young chicks....it's part of our mental decline to think so); Alzheimer and Dementia test referral kits; anti aging wrinkle creams and pills that promise a return to youth; funeral insurance ads (when I die it's not a problem for me for paying for burial. I'll be too dead to worry then);  reverse mortgages, investment accounts and every financial gimmick used to separate oldies from their money because....well...we are old and senile and will never notice anyway.

I better stop ranting about this. I am old and may have a heart attack if I continue. Hmmm maybe I should get one of those medic alert bracelets in case that happens.