If you are considering attending the Summer Olympics in Athens and were wondering how you might get around this very crowded city, you might feel a little better after reading this.

Beware of the dangerous plastic bag.

Take a break from the daily dose of boring or madening news. Read The Onion and perhaps you might feel better.

Well, its over, finally.  What?  The DNC of course.  Many good speeches along the way but much drivel from commentators, regulars and guests too. Especially galling was one right wing commentator who followed Kerry's excellent speech by calling it "backwards".  Well, I guess the Republicans are only good at looking backwards themselves so anything that is different or good would also seem so.  Anyway, one letter writer in today's Chronicle said it very well as follows:
 
"Stop the corporate media spin on the speeches at the Democratic Convention! And do the same for the Republican Convention!

We've heard many meaningful oratories at the Democratic Convention. Unfortunately, these have been followed by "analysis" by corporate media experts that renders the speeches meaningless via biased opinion and speculation.

Let's stop the influence of corporate media. Let the people decide what is right. This is how a clean democracy works. We are not fools."

Oh, I hope I can get through the RNC and the campaign that will follow.  Bush will let his dogs out to do as much harm as possible without ever stating anything positive that will help the country and those in most need of help but you can be sure that Cheney and Halliburton will do well if he is re-elected or re-appointed.  The coup in 2000 was bloodless but I wonder if another one can be. 

Only five months left until Christmas...argghhhh.........
 
So how has your day been so far?  Mine got off to a good start when I read some of the answers to the question "Is Arnold's star starting to dim?" in this morning's Chronicle.  I liked the following answers:  "Arnold is the junk food of American politics.  After the rush comes the crash...";  "Arnold's star started to dim when he implied he would pay for his own campaign and then didn't...";  and my two favorites from those printed, "Let's hope he's seen for what he really is - a charismatic, ignorant front man for moneyed interests..."  and  "If you mean an inarticulate, misogynistic, fiery mass of ignorance, then no, I would say his star is shining quite brightly".  Those last two had me giggling all morning.
 
Our weather, while breezy today, is warm enough so the wind doesn't matter this time.  At least it does not feel like it is off the ocean although I can see the fog handing off the ocean from Nob Hill so it will probably be in rather thickly tonight.
 

 

 
 

Bush would like us to think that things are better under his administration and that tax cuts will or have helped the economy.  No so my friend.  Check out the story at Job Watch.  Me thinks that Bush & Co. manipulate figures to fit their own agenda but they will never admit to any wrongdoing.  The previous link is one of a number of excellent ones to be found at Our Future.

 

Now I see a report that indicates Bush is slightly ahead of Kerry in possible electoral votes.  That is scary and we really need to dump this antiquated electoral college system anyway.  Better yet, we need to go to a parliamentary system so that there can be more than two parties represented and so that there can be votes of "no confidence" against the prime minister and all that that entails. The current system does not work except to the benefit of big business interests.

 

Retirement is great and I am glad that I did this but sometimes there seems to be too much time on my hands.  Yes, I have a lot to do without cramming everything into one day or one week however I still get lazy and procrastinate.  When that happens I get bored and I can't afford that.  That is, when I get bored I want to travel but I cannot afford to go far right now however I have planned a mini-vacation to Reno soon.  That will have to do until I can afford a big one again and no, I am not expecting to win a big jackpot to help me pay for the next big one.  It is just a convenient way to get out of town for a short time.  Also, since I used to live there I know something of the city and since I have not been there in about four years, I decided it is time to return to take a look at what is new.  Big deal you say?  Yeah, I agree but what the heck.  You never know what will happen.

I'm not sure why people can't follow directions but too often I have seen people trying to flag down or board buses or trolleys in the middle of the block or when they are out of service.  Today I observed two women attempt to board an out of service F-line shuttle (Ferry Bldg. to Wharf) trolley near the Ferry Building.  To reach it they had to jay walk plus walk down the middle of the trolley tracks to reach it.  Next they jay walked back to catch an inbound trolley  just as he was to make a right turn off the Embarcadero tracks.  If I had been the operator I would not have stopped nor opened my doors at that location.  Anyway, they managed to get on at the corner which was not an authorized stop without getting hit by other vehicles or the trolley itself. 

 

Lots of nut cases wandering the streets today also.  Most perfectly harmless but there even one dressed in a suit who apparently did not like my looks who made some weird comments. 

 

Tonight the news on TV was so boring I switched to TMC channel and watched the original Frankenstein movie with Boris Karloff as the monster. 

 

The foggy weather continues with no sign of let up.  The weather inland may be fine but here along the coast it has been depressing especially since we could have had some very nice days if it had not been for the chilly wind blowing in off the ocean.  I am ready for warm weather no matter where I can find it.

It seems that the 2004 presidential primary might hinge on who is the best suited to be a strong president and keep this country safe from terrorists.  That sure is a red herring because neither Bush nor Kerry will be able to stop any future attacks.  That is now a fact of life as the genie is out of the bottle and until these evil people are either exterminated or see the errors of their way of life and learn to life with the rest of the people on this planet, no amount of security is going to stop attacks. Of course, the extermination of these people is a harsh and unrealistic option but it sometimes seems like that is the only viable option given their suicidal tactics.   As for who is best for the job of president, I don't think this country can afford the airhead Bush for another four years nor his gestapo like cronies.  Those people must be retired ASAP. 

 

Now there was a report on CNN tonight about a group of middle Eastern men on a Northwest Airlines flight from somewhere in the midwest to Los Angeles acting very strangely and upsetting crew and passengers.  It is apparently believed by some that this was a dry run to test systems currently in place.

 

Oh well, when the news gets depressing we can leave it to the world of science to come up with something new and interesting such as astrophysicist Stephen Hawking's latest theory on

blackholes.  He seems to have reversed his earlier position greatly on this matter. 

 

Some Republicans and others are trying to justify Arnie's crude remark ("girlie men") by saying that it was just a joke and that we should "get over it".  Sorry folks but that doesn't wash.  He is showing a lot of his faults with this remark and this only proves to me once again that many of the politicians in this state and in this country have no class.  The legislature is not "Saturday Night Live".  He, Gov. Schwarzenegger, must get over it, take the job seriously, and do his job, not call his opponents name of whatever type.  To do anything else would be to invite another recall and I for one will sign those petitions.

 

Then on the other side of the country we have a president who failed to find WMDs and is now looking into a possible al Queda/Iran connection that might have existed prior to 9/11. 

 

Will there be no end to this insanity?  I swear, the lunatics are running the asylum.

 

 

Not only do we have an asshole for president, we have one for governor here in California as well.  He won't apologize for his crude "girlie men" remark.  If he doesn't have the deceny to do that I think another recall election should be held.  This country really suffers from a dearth of smart, intelligent, upstanding and honest politicians. 

 

Now the Bush is tryng to find a pre-9/11 connection between al Queda and Iran.  I suppose he wants to invade that country now.  Where will this end?  How many more lives must be lost before this man is removed from office. 

 

Then we have the problem of the south, that is, the so-called Bible Belt which has been brain washed into thinking Bush is a white knight in shining armor who can do no wrong.  God, sometimes I think those states should have never been re-admitted to the union after the Civil War.  There is so much gross ignorance down there. 

 

Anyway, Bush & Co. are looking at ways to postpone the next election if "need" arises and he is looking at a possible al Queda connection which I am sure he will find if the "need" arises.

 

If he wins re-election I want to move out of this country and have no access to radio and TV for the next four years.  A few bottles of Merlot along the way might be nice too.

Recall Arnie

 

"Girlie Men" indeed!

Life is too serious and depressing lately. Do yourself a favor and go read The Onion.

Another major gripe

Why do Americans treat our National Anthem as A blues song, a rock song, or some popular song? Fantasia Barino is a good singer and I am glad that she won the American Idol contest but would this sort of singing be allowed with God Save the Queen or Le Marsellaise? Of course not, it is an ANTHEM dummies. Let's sing it as such. PLEASE!

I saw a headline in the SF Chronicle today that Bush has said that the war in Iraq has made us safer. How could anyone in their right mind make such an idiotic statement? How has it made us safer? We didn't get rid of Osama bin Laden, we didn't wipe out al Qaeda and we managed to push many moderates over the fence to a position of hating this country even more. How does that make us safer? We have only created additional enemies in the process of "liberating" Iraq.

I really think that man needs a complete psychiatric workup and that he should be impeached for unilaterally attacking a defenseless nation who presented no threat to us at all. Individuals present a threat and danger but they are everywhere. How do you invade individuals?

Some good points were raised by various writers of Letters to the Editor of local newspapers during the weekend. I would like to quote the points made:

In reference to John Edwards'...lack of experience...Edwards' five years of Senate experience far exceeds that of Bush's six years as governor of Texas.

Bush's experience as a baseball-club executive, where he traded Sammy Sosa for a has-been, and his experience of owning several failed oil companies, hardly qualify as having positive implications.

Bush's foreign-policy experience consisted of negotiating with his next-door neighbor Mexico. (Wow!)

Some in the media have started referring to Edwards as the "rookie" senator from North Carolina. In baseball rookie only refers to the first year players. If being a "first-term" senator qualifies in this regard, why isn't President Bush referred to as a "rookie president"?

Just wondering.

It is amazing how much the extreme right will distort things!

Oh great, if you can't win an election, postpone it. Ha! It is not exactly that but various people in government are giving in to fear apparently as they are now talking about delaying the November election in case of one or more attacks by terrorists. You can read the article here. Didn't one of the great presidents of the 20ty Century say "you have nothing to fear but fear itself"? Well, these ne-er-do-wells are giving into that fear it seems.

Dirty Politics

Talk about dirty politics, well, the Rebublicans are up to their wallets in it and Ralph Nader, who has disavowed such practices in the past is going along with it this time. Be sure to read this article for the latest dirt.

I see where Washington, DC will be the site of the nation's first "Homeless Depot". You can check it out at The Onion. I am surprised that the store is not located in San Francisco which needs to so desperately provide for the needs of the homeless but then people here don't like warehouses no matter what they do. Jeesh...

I seem to have gotten on a movie kick recently so today I went to see Spiderman-2. Well, the character is interesting, sort of a reluctant hero, but on a scale of one to ten I would only give it a five. People are saying that this movie was better than the first which I apparently did not see. That is just as well as I just managed to get through this without walking out. When I was a kid Superman and Batman & Robin (especially Robin!?!?) were my heroes. I do not know now nor do I care which comic books they appeared in but most comics I found to be rather weird, even at age ten.

Winter seems to have returned here in San Francisco. They say there is a cooling trend but there never really has been a warming trend. Is it because I am getting older or am I becoming like the Thai people and finding anything below 21 celsius as chilly? I do know that the wind is really bugging me. I am even tempted to turn the heat back on in the apartment but I will try to resist that and just wear a warmer shirt.

No much else going on here. The opera and symphony seasons are over however the Merola Opera program singers for this summer are presenting a concert in Yerba Buena Gardens this coming Sunday which I would like to attend. Then in August the Merola Grand Finale will be held on Saturday for the first time (the 21st) which I always try to attend.

My slide scanning is going well but reading is still a problem as I am procrastinating a lot there even though I have one book to finish and three to start. Oh, there aren't enough hours in a day.

I have heard some really strange comments about Michael Moore from Bush backers. One comment out of Florida (where else of course)is that those who would swallow up Michael Moore's movie would follow a Hitler type leader without question. Well, isn't that like the pot calling the kettle black? That is exactly what the Republicans are doing with Herr Bush. They don't question him at all. That is scary as he is leading this world to an unmitigated disaster. Yes, Saddam Hussein is an evil man but he harmed only his people. He was not a threat to us but no, Cheney and other oil people from Texas to Afghanistan to Saudi Arabia made sure that the bin Laden family wasn't touched (They were hustled out of the country by air even before the resumption of general aviation in Sept. 2001.) and instead they held up Hussein who became the red herring in this case.

Others, who have their head stuck in the sand or other places, think Bush is the greatest president ever (or maybe second behind Reagan) which is an outright insult to all other presidents this country has had.

The Bush tank is running on empty and now that Kerry has named John Edwards as his running mate there are those who decry his lack of experience. Well, to look at it one way, who needs a lot of experience to screw up the country? Bush was never a congressman...only his daddy was president and then only for one term. I don't think, however, that Senator Edwards lack of experience is any reason to think he would not make a good vice-president or even president. This is just a matter of the neocons knee jerk reaction to anything and everything. They have nothing positive to place before the public so they can only tear down the opponent by whatever means is available. It is disgusting! And let us not forget that George H. W. Bush picked a very young Dan Quayle for his vice-president. He didn't do badly as VP except for being unable to spell potato.

I guess on this Fourth of July we can try to forget our differences but that is not so easy especially with all the name calling going on in our national election campaign and in our local letters to the editors. I have felt that this country is polarized on the issues and that neither side is listening to the other. Apparently some other people feel that way too as exemplified by this CBS News Poll.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYONE

And in keeping with the holiday weekend, here is
Molly Ivins' column for the day.

Today I went to see Fahrenheit 9/11. It is a very moving bit of film making that everyone should see no matter what their opinion before seeing it. I congratulate Mr. Moore for making such a superb and much needed film to expose the corruption in Washington. I did not really learn anything new except for the close ties between the bin Laden family and the administration and some of its friends. Talk about snakes in the woodpile! Good grief! Primarily what it did was to help me focus more clearly on the rotten events that have taken place over the years, even before 9/11/01. If you desire more information you can check Michael Moore's website.