So, what do you do?

I got three crazy-ass emails from the wife of an estranged friend today. We're estranged because of his wife's earlier crazy-ass emails that I find personally offensive. She can't understand why I haven't spoken to them in a year, she wants me to get in touch with them. Here is some of what she wrote:

Do us all a favor if all you have to reply is ugly, don't, but if you have a valid, factual, I would be interested in hearing your response. I don't know why you won't contact J*** even after I passed on his phone # and email address, and you always could have sent an note by "snail mail" but you don't. I never realized your friendship with him was not as important to you as it was to him. Too many people are too quick to toss away for not try to see another point of view meant only to enlighten and not attack, or think they are so rich in friends and family their hearts don't need another friend and can loose friends they had. Your world must be lonely. I pray for you and yours, no one should live life with a view that will not expand to hearing/reading another or to let a life long friendship go. Don't blame J*** for your distain for me.

All right, so she insults me and then asks why I don't jump in their laps like a damned puppy dog. This is a woman who has driven away her husband's family, his children, and how his former best friend. And you know what? She still doesn't get it.

Is receiving extreme right-wing hate mail a condition of their friendship? Must I be forced to hear the Rush Limbaugh/Bill O'Reilly/NRA line of propaganda?

And most importantly....doesn't this stupid woman have a spell check on her computer?

She reads his email before he does. She screens their phone calls. She most likely opens his mail. So any interaction with him has to go through her. She's built quite a little prison in their home.

So, what do you do? Tolerate their nut-case political bullcrap? Give it right back to them and have an adversarial relationship.

Or never call, never write and move on with my life?

I've got a bad feeling about this...

Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin was interviewed this evening on ABC World News by reporter Charlie Gibson. ABC aired the first of three segments this evening, so they could stretch out the boost in ratings, no doubt.

Did you notice how forceful she was? Especially when she obviously didn't know what she was talking about. Either she was told to be strong and assertive, or she is that way all the time. Abrasive.

Two things stood out in the interview today. First off, and I'll quote the Associated Press so I get it right:

Pressed about what insights into recent Russian actions she gained by living in Alaska, Palin answered: "They're our next door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska."

She knows about foreign policy vis-a-vis Russia because SHE CAN SEE THEM FROM AN ISLAND? Jesus H. Christ! I can see the local Chevy Dealer from my bedroom window, but that doesn't make me MR. GOODWRENCH!

Maybe next time, she should just say she stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

The other thing, and this is something that you'll find more disturbing if you ponder it:

Said she "didn't hesitate" when McCain asked her to be his running mate. "I answered him 'yes' because I have the confidence in that readiness and knowing that you can't blink, you have to be wired in a way of being so committed to the mission, the mission that we're on, reform of this country and victory in the war, you can't blink. So I didn't blink then even when asked to run as his running mate."

OK, most of you are focusing on the arrogance of saying she knew in a heartbeat that she was qualified to be Vice President or even President of the United States. But look what she actually said...she said:

"...the mission that we're on, reform of this country..."

She doesn't want to reform the government...SHE WANTS TO REFORM THE COUNTRY! What in God's green earth makes her think we are so bad and she is so good that she is qualified to reform us?? What nasty sins are we guilty of? What the hell does she think the role of government is???

People, this should scare the hell out of you. Just what this country needs is an arrogant, self-righteous, cock-sure leader who has minimal experience in government and is being manipulated by the religious right.

Sounds like George W. Bush, right? And we sure as hell don't want a repeat of the past eight years.

Community College President Knows How to Party On!

Doctor Robert Paxton, the 52 year old president of Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge, Iowa, certainly knows how to party.

In the photo above, taken on July 4th, 2008, Dr. Paxton is apparently pouring Coors Lite down the throat of a young woman while on a boating excursion. Another woman is pouring something from a vodka bottle into the mouth of someone. Dr. Paxton, apparently did not see anything wrong with a middle aged man drinking on a boat with his 19 year old son and a group of girls young enough to be his daughters. When asked about this by reporters, here are some of his comments:

"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"I was told not to speak."
"If you want to know the truth, the (keg) was broken. I never opened the tap on any keg."
"You know, if I was doing anything, I was grabbing it and trying to put it back down."
"I take the kids out water-skiing, stop for a few minutes - and they're not even kids. There was a 27- or 28-year-old on there, a 24-year-old on there, you know."
"It's my own private life."
"I mean, you could be in the same situation. Any one of us could."
"I wasn't misbehaving."
"I wasn't drinking. I didn't drink that day."
"I don't drink."
"I seldom drink, I should say."

Dr. Paxton is a fine role model, as his 19 year old son, shown in the above photo, was arrested for second offense OWI the following day. The legal drinking age in the state of Iowa is 21. Iowa law also makes it illegal to operate a boat or watercraft while under the influence.

Dr. Paxton has had other problems during his tenure at the small community college. Here is a quote from the Des Moines (Iowa) Register:

In 2002, Iowa Central Community College President Robert Paxton was indicted on charges of felonious misconduct in office, falsification of public records and tampering with public records. The charges grew out of an investigation into student athletes being awarded false grades.

Three of Paxton's colleagues at Iowa Central eventually pleaded guilty to charges they tampered with student records to benefit the athletes and to deceive others. All three men retained their jobs at the school. The charges against Paxton were deferred under an agreement in which he accepted responsibility for the transcript fraud.

Think of the message being sent by this behavior. Is it all right to cheat as long as your football team can play in the big game? Is underage drinking acceptable if you are hanging out with your son and his hot girlfriends? When confronted with an inconvenient truth like this, is it morally acceptable to lie, tell half-truths, evade, dance and attempt to wiggle out of taking responsibility for your actions?

If your child grew up to be like Doctor Robert Paxton, would you be proud?


(Photo and interview quotes from a copyrighted story in the Des Moines Register)

Explore Alberta...Oil Sand Capital of the World!!

Oil is at $140 a barrel, gasoline sells for over $4 a gallon. What's that smell? It's opportunity!!!!

The clever folks at ExploreAlberta are inviting tourists to "Come On Up" to vacation and explore the gigantic open pit oil sand mines. This is a win/win situation....vacation fun and our chance for energy independence! One barrel at a time!

I'm Voting Republican!

Increase your gas mileage for FREE! This really works!

OK, I would not have believed this if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. People in this part of the country are getting an additional 10 to 15 miles per gallon of gas by doing one thing....removing the back seat of their cars.

Unreal!!

If you walk through the mall parking lot in my town, take a look in the car windows and you will see that almost half of the cars have had their back seats removed. A guy at the local Kwik Star explained it best:

The back seat of a car weighs as much as 100 pounds. The more your car weighs, the more gas you burn. So if you make your car lighter by removing the rear seat, you get better gas mileage. And think about it...how many times does someone sit back there?

So there you have it...a way to improve your gas mileage without spending a dime. Remove your back seat...get more MPG. Amazing!

I guess it depends on what your definition of "is" is

Senator Hillary Clinton if fond of saying she "is ready to lead on Day One." And to tout her "35 years" of government service, she is fond of telling the story of visiting Bosnia while under sniper fire.

I guess if being shot at is a qualification for public office, there are several Kent State alumni who are also ready to serve.

But I digress.

Someone has gone back to the news archives and recovered a news report of Mrs. Clinton's harrowing visit, complete with video clips of a little girl reading a poem while everyone stood on the tarmac.

Take a look for yourself, and see why there is no need for lies, whispering campaigns and Swift Boating an opponent. Hell, the truth is damaging enough.