Some New Year’s travelin’ music from right here at home

ByteMe

December 31st, 2010
3:50 pm

Jay: A safe and happy New Year to you and your family.

Del

December 31st, 2010
4:01 pm

Everyone have an enjoyable and safe New Years eve and a wonderful New Year.

Scout

December 31st, 2010
4:17 pm

To all out there …………. difficult days lay ahead. When the time comes, I’ve got your back. I hope you will cover mine.

God bless …………………..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acxnmaVTlZA

N-GA

December 31st, 2010
4:44 pm

Truly an Atlanta treasure…I think she’s been out on the west coast (Seattle?) for a couple of years.

dudley

December 31st, 2010
4:49 pm

gonna be a great new year. first grandson is on the way. hopefully tonight

Jackie

December 31st, 2010
4:54 pm

To all, be safe and happy for the holidays and hope the New Year brings much prosperity and continued good health.

Paul

December 31st, 2010
4:57 pm

N-GA

HI!

How’s your daughter?

Paulo977

December 31st, 2010
6:28 pm

dudley… great way to start the new year .To be involved with the growth and development of a grand child is a joy!Bless you.

Normal

December 31st, 2010
7:14 pm

Congratulations Dudley! Your life will never be the same…but it will be better. One thing we all can agree on, Grandkids are GREAT!!!.. Heh, take it from me, I have 14 and two Great Grandkids…lovin’ life.

Normal

December 31st, 2010
7:18 pm

Scout,
Whatever it is, it can be handled. My sincerest best wishes to you, from Squid to Grunt.

Normal

December 31st, 2010
7:24 pm

Hey y’all,
This coming year, let’s build a bridge…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_a46WJ1viA

Mick

December 31st, 2010
7:46 pm

Good luck all – like scout said it could get rough…that’s the way…semper paratus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdWPkgtaOTw

Normal

December 31st, 2010
7:48 pm

Y’all,
Remember to…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixy5FBLnh7o

SOUTHERN ATL

December 31st, 2010
7:54 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfJUYlFRfFU&feature=related

Southern Comfort

December 31st, 2010
7:59 pm

One for the New Year’s because when the clock strikes twelve, this is what I’ll be doing…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=989mvwf5u7o
Early to bed, early to rise.

And, on the theme of homegrown talent, not a local group, but well known with GA roots.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Kb2×0D584c

Catch me if you can!!!

Check in with y’all next year!!!

Wishing everyone a safe and prosperous 2011.

gwtw

December 31st, 2010
8:26 pm

That’s some fine sweet music Jay, thanks for sharing. Happy 2011 everyone!

Chester Drawers

December 31st, 2010
8:36 pm

Nice call Jay! Love me some Francine!!!

Scout

December 31st, 2010
9:13 pm

Normal:

I hear you.

Corpsman up !!

Common Sense isn't very Common

December 31st, 2010
10:06 pm

Normal

December 31st, 2010
7:14 pm
——————–

We have so many grands because we are OLD my friend. I have 19 but no greats YET.
—————–

Scout – We may disagree BUT we are still Americans and will always have each others back.
BTW – my brother was a corpsman Danang ‘68
———————————–

Dudley – my first Grandson was born on the anniversary of my mommas death. He is my first and always has my heart. He will be 16 Jan 19th. How did HE get so old LOL. He wants to be a MARINE god help the US LOL. Godspeed and a happy New Year to All of us children here

Common Sense isn't very Common

December 31st, 2010
10:12 pm

Soco – can we close the border between Ga and Al – Lil’Barry is in Al this weekend so we need to have Customs and Immigration check for passports. If they can’t howsabout cavity searches LOL

Midori

December 31st, 2010
10:15 pm

Happy 2011, everyone

Common Sense isn't very Common

December 31st, 2010
10:29 pm

Josef – I took your advise from the other night and I am extremely sore LOL.

Let the others guess at the advise

Common Sense isn't very Common

December 31st, 2010
10:31 pm

Hi Midori
——————

Everyone is either partying and didn’t invite us

or is already trashed and asleep

Scout

December 31st, 2010
10:42 pm

Common Sense:

He may have given me my shots when I left country in May, 1968 ………………

j$

December 31st, 2010
10:56 pm

obama fills his first game of golf:)

Common Sense isn't very Common

December 31st, 2010
11:41 pm

Scout – one of the few stories he told of that time was on that day that he had to work late. He was heading to his bunk when the base came under attack. When he got to his bunk it had taken a hit (probably from a mortar attack). His upper bunk mate was in his bunk at the time(he only tells it when he is crocked). 5 minutes saved his life.

It was a different time even though I am a few years younger I still appreciate what others went through and that is why I will ALWAYS support OUR way of life. LET god sort out our differences thats why he is PAID the big bucks.

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 1st, 2011
12:00 am

count down.

Please kiss those near and dear to you.

And may god bless each and everyone one.

remember those who have passed from our mortal lives.

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 1st, 2011
1:09 am

Jay – you have had your break. Now back to work.

The numbers of employed may be misleading. I think you need to verify the TRUE numbers.

The employed for 2000 by salary range, thru 2009 . by age group 2000 thru 2009, and the overall effect on the economy (purchasing. income taxes paid, etc.)

I don’t know for sure but I feel that you will find that the overall numbers will show that the US is in a drastic decline of our ability to sustain the tax cuts that have been recently extended.

I don’t think we can be a SERVICE NATION any more , we need to create again. We have become a nation of innovation (to ship the plans offshore?). I am sorry if that makes me xenophobic (but I am really not). The US has been (for the most part) the leaders of the world now we create and send the plans offshore to be done CHEAPER. WHO benefits? The US doesn’t, nor do the taxpayers in the US.

Then as a population WE buy the products we created and were made offshore at a price decided by the companies that supposedly are based in the US. Strange eh?

Normal

January 1st, 2011
7:59 am

Happy 2011, one and all!

Normal

January 1st, 2011
8:02 am

Let’s make our resolution to make Congress to work togetther to get things done, like jobs and fixing out infrastructure. We can do it.

AmVet

January 1st, 2011
8:45 am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqeRwGnnVBo

TaxPayer

January 1st, 2011
8:54 am

Happy 1-1-11

Kamchak

January 1st, 2011
9:04 am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8gynGy8pSg

Normal

January 1st, 2011
10:23 am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fRHVc-aSMI&feature=related

Scout

January 1st, 2011
10:26 am

Alright, enough of the New Year’s “be nice to everyone/kissy-poo” stuff. Time to get back to business !

Jay, JAY !!

AJC Headline: “Base Bails on Dems in Droves” !

“Rebuilding to be tough as only a third of voters identify with party.”

“Leaders seek growth strategies in a GOP world.”

Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)

January 1st, 2011
10:27 am

Well, Happy New Year everybody. We made it to 2011. Just one more year till we can vote this Kenyan out of the White House.

Anyhow, I never made no New Year revolutions but the missus did. She’s going to loose 100 lbs., or so she says. I told her it won’t do no good to eat nothing but rice cakes if she eats 10 lbs. of them at a time. I plan to be away from home and at Billy Bob’s while she’s going on that diet. The missus is nobody you want to be around when she’s hungry.

I guess it’s PBR and football today. A shame about my Dawgs last night. It looks like they would loose to a pee wee team. We need to get a new coach that knows how to cheat legal-like. Old Vince had all those classes for dummys so he could bring great but dumb players. Maybe this Mark Richt would make a good missionary. It’s for sure he’s not our kind of coach.

Then I get the Sabbath off too and that means not doing much except going down to the Church of Holiness to listen to the Rev. Postlewaite jaw for awhile. The good news tho is I won’t be spending as much money at Ryans, seeing as how she’s on a diet.

Anyways, I hope everybody has a safe and happy New Year. Even the libruls.

Scout

January 1st, 2011
10:29 am

Has anyone ever noticed in almost all of the photos from Afghanistan/Iraq, etc. that the males in their nightgowns look so “Neanderthalish” ??

I read a good article the other day that said it’s basically due to Islamic law allowing one to marry their first cousin. It’s been going on for centuries now and alas ……….. you have the results of too much inbreeding.

Scout

January 1st, 2011
10:36 am

Headline: “Napolitano Meets With Karzai, Talks About Ways to Intercept IED Chemicals”

What the heck expertise does she have to do that when she can’t even stop the flood at our border?

Pathetic !!

Mick

January 1st, 2011
10:48 am

scout

Merry new year or whatever, this is for you-

CHANGES ARE COMING —-

Whether these changes are good or bad depends in part on how we adapt to them. But, ready or not, here they come

1. The Post Office. Get ready to imagine a world without the post office. They are so deeply in financial trouble that there is probably no way to sustain it long term. Email, Fed Ex, and UPS have just about wiped out the minimum revenue needed to keep the post office alive. Most of your mail every day is junk mail and bills.

2. The Check. Britain is already laying the groundwork to do away with checks by 2018. It costs the financial system billions of dollars a year to process checks. Plastic cards and online transactions will lead to the eventual demise of the check. This plays right into the death of the post office. If you never paid your bills by mail and never received them by mail, the post office would absolutely go out of business.

3. The Newspaper. The younger generation simply doesn’t read the newspaper. They certainly don’t subscribe to a daily delivered print edition. That may go the way of the milkman and the laundry man. As for reading the paper online, get ready to pay for it. The rise in mobile Internet devices and e-readers has caused all the newspaper and magazine publishers to form an alliance. They have met with Apple, Amazon, and the major cell phone companies to develop a model for paid subscription services.

4. The Book. You say you will never give up the physical book that you hold in your hand and turn the literal pages. I said the same thing about downloading music from iTunes. I wanted my hard copy CD. But I quickly changed my mind when I discovered that I could get albums for half the price without ever leaving home to get the latest music. The same thing will happen with books. You can browse a bookstore online and even read a preview chapter before you buy. And the price is less than half that of a real book. And think of the convenience! Once you start flicking your fingers on the screen instead of the book, you find that you are lost in the story, can’t wait to see what happens next, and you forget that you’re holding a gadget instead of a book.

5. The Land Line Telephone. Unless you have a large family and make a lot of local calls, you don’t need it anymore. Most people keep it simply because they’ve always had it. But you are paying double charges for that extra service. All the cell phone companies will let you call customers using the same cell provider for no charge against your minutes
.
6. Music. This is one of the saddest parts of the change story. The music industry is dying a slow death. Not just because of illegal downloading. It’s the lack of innovative new music being given a chance to get to the people who would like to hear it. Greed and corruption is the problem. The record labels and the radio conglomerates are simply self-destructing. Over 40% of the music purchased today is “catalog items,” meaning traditional music that the public is familiar with. Older established artists. This is also true on the live concert circuit. To explore this fascinating and disturbing topic further, check out the book, “Appetite for Self-Destruction” by Steve Knopper, and the video documentary, “Before the Music Dies.”

7. Television. Revenues to the networks are down dramatically. Not just because of the economy. People are watching TV and movies streamed from their computers. And they’re playing games and doing lots of other things that take up the time that used to be spent watching TV. Prime time shows have degenerated down to lower than the lowest common denominator. Cable rates are skyrocketing and commercials run about every 4 minutes and 30 seconds. I say good riddance to most of it. It’s time for the cable companies to be put out of our misery. Let the people choose what they want to watch online and through Netflix.

8. The “Things” That You Own. Many of the very possessions that we used to own are still in our lives, but we may not actually own them in the future. They may simply reside in “the cloud.” Today your computer has a hard drive and you store your pictures, music, movies, and documents. Your software is on a CD or DVD, and you can always re-install it if need be. But all of that is changing. Apple, Microsoft, and Google are all finishing up their latest “cloud services.” That means that when you turn on a computer, the Internet will be built into the operating system. So, Windows, Google, and the Mac OS will be tied straight into the Internet. If you click an icon, it will open something in the Internet cloud. If you save something, it will be saved to the cloud. And you may pay a monthly subscription fee to the cloud provider.
In this virtual world, you can access your music or your books, or your whatever from any laptop or handheld device. That’s the good news. But, will you actually own any of this “stuff” or will it all be able to disappear at any moment in a big “Poof?” Will most of the things in our lives be disposable and whimsical? It makes you want to run to the closet and pull out that photo album, grab a book from the shelf, or open up a CD case and pull out the insert.

9. Privacy. If there ever was a concept that we can look back on nostalgically, it would be privacy. That’s gone. It’s been gone for a long time anyway. There are cameras on the street, in most of the buildings, and even built into your computer and cell phone. But you can be sure that 24/7, “They” know who you are and where you are, right down to the GPS coordinates, and the Google Street View. If you buy something, your habit is put into a zillion profiles, and your ads will change to reflect those habits. And “They” will try to get you to buy something else. Again and again.

All we will have that can’t be changed are Memories.

19 Facts About The Deindustrialization Of America That Will Blow Your Mind

The United States is rapidly becoming the very first “post-industrial” nation on the globe. All great economic empires eventually become fat and lazy and squander the great wealth that their forefathers have left them, but the pace at which America is accomplishing this is absolutely amazing. It was America that was at the forefront of the industrial revolution. It was America that showed the world how to mass produce everything from automobiles to televisions to airplanes. It was the great American manufacturing base that crushed Germany and Japan in World War II.

But now we are witnessing the deindustrialization of America . Tens of thousands of factories have left the United States in the past decade alone. Millions upon millions of manufacturing jobs have been lost in the same time period. The United States has become a nation that consumes everything in sight and yet produces increasingly little. Do you know what our biggest export is today? Waste paper. Yes, trash is the number one thing that we ship out to the rest of the world as we voraciously blow our money on whatever the rest of the world wants to sell to us. The United States has become bloated and spoiled and our economy is now just a shadow of what it once was. Once upon a time America could literally out produce the rest of the world combined. Today that is no longer true, but Americans sure do consume more than anyone else in the world. If the deindustrialization of America continues at this current pace, what possible kind of a future are we going to be leaving to our children?

Any great nation throughout history has been great at making things. So if the United States continues to allow its manufacturing base to erode at a staggering pace how in the world can the U.S. continue to consider itself to be a great nation? We have created the biggest debt bubble in the history of the world in an effort to maintain a very high standard of living, but the current state of affairs is not anywhere close to sustainable. Every single month America does into more debt and every single month America gets poorer.

So what happens when the debt bubble pops?

The deindustrialization of the United States should be a top concern for every man, woman and child in the country. But sadly, most Americans do not have any idea what is going on around them.

For people like that, take this article and print it out and hand it to them. Perhaps what they will read below will shock them badly enough to awaken them from their slumber.

The following are 19 facts about the deindustrialization of America that will blow your mind….

#1 The United States has lost approximately 42,400 factories since 2001. About 75 percent of those factories employed over 500 people when they were still in operation.

#2 Dell Inc., one of Americaâ€™s largest manufacturers of computers, has announced plans to dramatically expand its operations in China with an investment of over $100 billion over the next decade.

#3 Dell has announced that it will be closing its last large U.S. manufacturing facility in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in November. Approximately 900 jobs will be lost.

#4 In 2008, 1.2 billion cell phones were sold worldwide. So how many of them were manufactured inside the United States? Zero.

#5 According to a new study conducted by the Economic Policy Institute, if the U.S. trade deficit with China continues to increase at its current rate, the U.S. economy will lose over half a million jobs this year alone.

#6 As of the end of July, the U.S. trade deficit with China had risen 18 percent compared to the same time period a year ago.

#7 The United States has lost a total of about 5.5 million manufacturing jobs since October 2000.

#8 According to Tax Notes, between 1999 and 2008 employment at the foreign affiliates of U.S. parent companies increased an astounding 30 percent to 10.1 million. During that exact same time period, U.S. employment at American multinational corporations declined 8 percent to 21.1 million.

#9 In 1959, manufacturing represented 28 percent of U.S. economic output. In 2008, it represented 11.5 percent.

#10 Ford Motor Company recently announced the closure of a factory that produces the Ford Ranger in St. Paul, Minnesota. Approximately 750 good paying middle class jobs are going to be lost because making Ford Rangers in Minnesota does not fit in with Ford’s new “global” manufacturing strategy.

#11 As of the end of 2009, less than 12 million Americans worked in manufacturing. The last time less than 12 million Americans were employed in manufacturing was in 1941.

#12 In the United States today, consumption accounts for 70 percent of GDP. Of this 70 percent, over half is spent on services.

#13 The United States has lost a whopping 32 percent of its manufacturing jobs since the year 2000.

#14 In 2001, the United States ranked fourth in the world in per capita broadband Internet use. Today it ranks 15th.

#15 Manufacturing employment in the U.S. computer industry is actually lower in 2010 than it was in 1975.

#16 Printed circuit boards are used in tens of thousands of different products. Asia now produces 84 percent of them worldwide.

#17 The United States spends approximately $3.90 on Chinese goods for every $1 that the Chinese spend on goods from the United States .

#18 One prominent economist is projecting that the Chinese economy will be three times larger than the U.S. economy by the year 2040.

#19 The U.S. Census Bureau says that 43.6 million Americans are now living in poverty and according to them that is the highest number of poor Americans in the 51 years that records have been kept.

So how many tens of thousands more factories do we need to lose before we do something about it?

How many millions more Americans are going to become unemployed before we all admit that we have a very, very serious problem on our hands?

How many more trillions of dollars are going to leave the country before we realize that we are losing wealth at a pace that is killing our economy?

How many once great manufacturing cities are going to become rotting war zones like Detroit before we understand that we are committing national economic suicide?

The deindustrialization of America is a national crisis. It needs to be treated like one.

If you disagree with this article, I have a direct challenge for you. If anyone can explain how a deindustrialized America has any kind of viable economic future, please do so below in the comments section.

America is in deep, deep trouble folks. It is time to wake up

Scout

January 1st, 2011
10:53 am

Mick:

Don’t know where that came from but it is pretty much “right on” !

Or another way of saying everthing above:

“Our soldiers are at war, our politicians are robbing us blind, our country is going down the tubes and our citizens are at the mall.”

Bud Wiser

January 1st, 2011
11:02 am

You left wing toadies are such pessimists, ..”the glass is half empty…” types.

I prefer the optimism that comes with the dethronement of the dimwits in the House, and a major closing of the gap in the Senate, not to mention the fact that those left standing will be gasping for air and expiring in just another two years.

Happy New Year!

Del

January 1st, 2011
11:20 am

Mick, Scout, Happy New Year!

Michael H. Smith

January 1st, 2011
11:22 am

Travelin’ music for the New Year ahead and predict soggy Jan 1 day

CCR ~ Who’ll Stop the Rain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaEEFBTtofc&feature=related

When interviewed by Rolling Stone magazine, John Fogerty was asked, “Does ‘Who’ll Stop The Rain’ contain lyrically specific meanings besides the symbolic dimension?” His response: “Certainly, I was talking about Washington when I wrote the song, but I remember bringing the master version of the song home and playing it. My son Josh was four years old at the time, and after he heard it, he said, ‘Daddy stop the rain.’ And my wife and I looked at each other and said, ‘Well, not quite.’”

Scout

January 1st, 2011
11:26 am

Del:

Sorry, but I broke the 24 hr. cease fire ………… just like the NVA.

Paulo977

January 1st, 2011
11:27 am

Wish you all a Happy 2011 . May more of us figure out that we derive our being and nature through mutual dependence
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phjBVqjYS98

Kamchak

January 1st, 2011
11:54 am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IJzYAda1wA&feature=fvst

Soothsayer

January 1st, 2011
12:17 pm

Mick @ 10:48 Great Post! Where can I find that article?

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 1st, 2011
12:45 pm

Mick – STOP doing Jays research for him LOL.

And I thought that i didn’t sleep enough geesh

To each and all a happy new year

As I was saying to friends and relatives last night. The 75% of us in the middle need to kick the SHYT out of the far far ones and take a stance that says youse guys are outta here.

We the people CARE about the USA and the politicians are screwing with our lives and OUR country

We the people have paid and do pay taxes every day. We are not being heard. The WH has a website. Send an email to them stating your views. PLEASE don’t send trash, I hate you etc.. Send an email that makes sense.

Hillbilly Deluxe

January 1st, 2011
12:49 pm

In reference to Mick’s 10:48

If a US company moves their manufacturing plant to another country and builds products to sell to us, why don’t we charge them an import duty, when they bring those products into our country?

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 1st, 2011
12:58 pm

HD – No SHYT. we have given away our resources to the corporations so that we can but them back at inflated rates. If a flippin flip phone costs $7 to make why do we pay $70 or more for it and who is profiting

Soothsayer

January 1st, 2011
1:13 pm

HD here’s one for you and the heathens on this blog. LOL. The Bluegrass world really misses John Duffey (in the white shirt) and that soaring tenor of his.

What a great song!

Hillbilly Deluxe

January 1st, 2011
1:28 pm

Sooth

I once saw John Duffey perform in shorts, flip flops and a Hawaiian shirt because the airlines had lost his luggage. Didn’t affect the music, though.

Soothsayer

January 1st, 2011
1:29 pm

HD: too bad he died of a heart attack in 1996. What a waste!

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 1st, 2011
1:30 pm

HD

that sounds like Jimmy Buffett on a good day

Soothsayer

January 1st, 2011
1:30 pm

HD: if you actually saw The Seldom Scene that’s really saying something! They didn’t play very many concerts–hence the name.

Hillbilly Deluxe

January 1st, 2011
1:35 pm

Sooth

I actually did see them, live and in the flesh. I think I saw them twice but don’t remember for sure.

Kamchak

January 1st, 2011
1:38 pm

Sooth

I had forgotten all about Seldom Scene, thanks for the reminder!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wigjZ7ng_tc&feature=related

Hillbilly Deluxe

January 1st, 2011
1:38 pm

Common Sense

I saw Buffet open up for the Marshall Tucker Band, before Margaritaville. Richie Furay was on the bill, too, and it only cost $5. That was in the Omni.

Soothsayer

January 1st, 2011
1:47 pm

Kamchak: That’s a great song! For many many years I thought that was Grateful Dead’s lead singer. (Before my Bluegrass days!) To my mind, the two sound very similar. Thanks for posting it. It’ll be going to my “favorites” for sure.

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 1st, 2011
1:51 pm

HD and All – how many remember the Great Southeast Music hall in Buckhead. Jiimy Buffett, Steve Martin and so many others.

Buckets of beer and waiting in the mens room line with the Acts LOL. Found ou that the other JB is short LOL

Hillbilly Deluxe

January 1st, 2011
2:30 pm

Common Sense

The Great Southeast Music Hall had the best acoustics of any place, that I’ve ever heard music. And the place was so small that everybody got heckled by somebody. Somebody even ran on the stage when I was listening to The Earl Scruggs Review play. Broadview Plaza isn’t there anymore, is it?

I was coming back from the bathroom there once and Alex Harvey (he wrote Delta Dawn, Reuben James, and others) was being hassled by some guy, who was trying to get him to hire his son, while he was trying to make his way to the stage, to go on.

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 1st, 2011
2:53 pm

HD – The Plaza is there but not the same as it once was.

When you saw ESR play I was probably there. I was the one drinking beer LOL.

Great place to see all the up and comers. I think it sat maybe 150 people. Thats why you could see the same people over and over. Uncomfortable seats but everybody was so close to the stage nobody GAS about it (might have been the beer LOL)

TnGelding

January 1st, 2011
3:41 pm

To those that came before:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwCPAo5e_F8

2011 could be one for the ages. Get bin Laden and get out!

$7 = $70 soon because of value added. Not to mention marketing, which is more than 50% on some products.

TnGelding

January 1st, 2011
3:43 pm

Old Ponce. The good old days! How many of us passed through on our way to fame and fortune?

Southern Comfort

January 1st, 2011
3:45 pm

If a US company moves their manufacturing plant to another country and builds products to sell to us, why don’t we charge them an import duty, when they bring those products into our country?

We can’t charge them import duty because they move to countries that have a “Free Trade” agreement with the US. Since South Korea just signed one, you can bet that is the next place where jobs will be shipped. Our politicians are selling us out to their corporate donors left and right.

TnGelding

January 1st, 2011
3:54 pm

We’re doing it to ourselves. Stop buying the imported junk. I was in a Ford dealership yesterday and the engine was made in Germany and the transmission in another foreign country on one of the vehicles. But that’s what you get in a global economy. We just have to do it better than anyone else. We can’t do it cheaper. Support your local businesses as well. The Walmart heirs are worth more than 100 billion. When is enough enough? Or too much?

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 1st, 2011
3:57 pm

hey SoCo , TnG. Happy to see you woke up today LOL.

SoCo – why aren’t you at the I-85 Ga-Al border waiting for L’il Barry?

I promised him you would personally do the cavity search (he wanted the MAN to do it) LMAO

Southern Comfort

January 1st, 2011
3:58 pm

When is enough enough? Or too much?

According to some, when you work hard, enough or too much does not exist. You are simply being rewarded for “working hard”.

Southern Comfort

January 1st, 2011
4:00 pm

NoCom

I literally felt like I was in the belly of the beast today. Usually, I’ll at least have a lunch break where I can peek my head in here to see what’s going on. Today was not such a day. It was balls to the wall from the time I stepped into the airport until I stepped back out. If this is any indication of what my year will be like, 2011 is going to be one hell of a rollercoaster ride….

TnGelding

January 1st, 2011
4:01 pm

Yeah, we fooled them and made it through another year and another nght. Greetings!

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 1st, 2011
4:01 pm

TnG – I agree to a point. Germany has laws that require that imported goods/services are taxed. We don’t have those tariffs/taxes in place. I don’t see a lot of people bashing Germanys economy here. They seem to think they have the same open border/trade concept as we do.

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 1st, 2011
4:04 pm

SoCo – so I should send more or less H1bs thru the airport?

According to some you should make more money the harder you work LOL.

Southern Comfort

January 1st, 2011
4:12 pm

NoCom

Fewer H1B’s means less work for me. Either that, or they’ll ramp up the number of L1’s and J1’s. On the issues of import tarriffs and taxes, just look at where our crap comes from vs who we have free trade agreements with. Bush was pushing hard for an agreement with Colombia. They don’t have much of a manufacturing industry right now. Had that agreement been signed, Colombia would probably be flushed with new jobs from companies fleeing the US.

TaxPayer

January 1st, 2011
4:34 pm

I hope y’all have your black-eyed peas and collard greens and corn bread under way so you will be set for a good new year.

Southern Comfort

January 1st, 2011
4:53 pm

Tax

Got a turkey being baptised in some hot peanut oil. Once the baptism is done, the greens and peas will be served.

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 1st, 2011
4:53 pm

SoCo – I thought we had an un-official trade agreement with Colombia already? LOL

One day I will relate to you a plan that someone I knew thought of.

Who the hell keeps negotiating those crap agreements anyway. The US always comes out as suckers.

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 1st, 2011
4:55 pm

Free the fowls

RW-(the original)

January 1st, 2011
5:00 pm

Glad to see the SEC starting to redeem itself. I was starting to think Auburn might not be nearly as good as they’ve looked and the conference just sucked.

Happy New Year everybody

Pogo

January 1st, 2011
5:02 pm

Mick. The article is right on. The Washington Times also has an excellent article today on the downfall of America. As with any great civilization, it seems our days are numbered. We are consuming ourselves into oblivion without producing anything that the rest of the world can’t produce cheaper. Without an industrial base in this country the vast majority of Americans quite simply will not have a means of survival because most of us aren’t Harvard scholars, professional atheletes, successful musical artists, Wall Street Bankers/Brokers, politicians or movie stars. Most of us are just “plain Joes and Janes” and “plain Joe’s and Jane’s” must eat to. We have lived in fantasy land way too long now. The private sector in this country cannot sustain what the government is spending and I fear that we do not have politicians, of any ilk, with enough guts and fortitude to do what is right (which is to cut the mindless spending). To save our country, we are all going to have to suffer and do without the things we were raised to believe that we deserved JUST because we were Americans and because our leaders told us we deserved them. We either do it to the benefit of this country or this country is going to die. We simply do not have the money to keep paying for everything that we as a people think that we deserve. There is a lot wrong with us and there are many, many people to blame for it. Our leaders only gave us what we demanded, which was the easy way out so ultimately we ourselves are to blame for our country’s present situation. Afterall, we elected these idiots.

Southern Comfort

January 1st, 2011
5:03 pm

NoCom

Colombia has that agreement with pretty much the entire world. I think the negotiations are done by those high up on the food chain in these megaconglomerates. Any way to boost profits and bonuses, regardless what it does to those on the front lines.

RW

Me too… I was beginning to worry about my beloved SEC.

Hillbilly Deluxe

January 1st, 2011
5:05 pm

Who the hell keeps negotiating those crap agreements anyway. The US always comes out as suckers.

It’s mostly us in the Great Unwashed that come out the suckers. The folks who negotiate the crap agreements are doing just fine.

Southern Comfort

January 1st, 2011
5:37 pm

The private sector in this country cannot sustain what the government is spending and I fear that we do not have politicians, of any ilk, with enough guts and fortitude to do what is right (which is to cut the mindless spending).

The mindless spending is but only a small part of our problem. The spending wouldn’t even be noticable had our politicians not sold out to corporate interests and allowed the wholesale loss of our manufacturing industry. People can cry all day about labor costs and such, but that is only a part of the issue.

Investors and speculators have caused our business leaders to go on a fool’s quest for the lost city of gold. Instead of looking at long term implications of their decisions, they’ve become beholden to quarterly profits. Nothing can continually profit without loss. Instead of being satisfied with meager profitability, the mentality is to maximize profits at any cost.

Well, the chickens have come home to roost. The idea to increase profits by lowering labor led to a mass exodus of jobs. There is no way to recoup those jobs without incurring losses, and businesses are not going to accept even a minor loss. Our country is FUBAR, and there is no forseeable remedy in the near future. It doesn’t matter about educational levels or anything. Without a major industry to provide for the masses, we’re fu*ked. The service industry does not have the financial ability to support this country.

Kamchak

January 1st, 2011
5:42 pm

Investors and speculators have caused our business leaders to go on a fool’s quest for the lost city of gold.

No…no…no…it was the evil unions.

Didn’t you get the memo?

Scout

January 1st, 2011
6:27 pm

josef Nix:

Well, well, well ………………. the last time Alabama, Mississippi and Florida boys faced Michigan and Pennsylvania boys on the same day was in September of 1864 on Missionary Ridge, Chattannoga, Tennessee.

Normal

January 1st, 2011
6:28 pm

For all football Fons everyone…and a tutorial for UGA fans…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z3XvZ-lh7I

Southern Comfort

January 1st, 2011
6:37 pm

Didn’t you get the memo?

Ooops… Forgot that point. Although I do hold unions responsible for the loss of jobs, but not for the same reasons as most do. When it was time to renegotiate contracts, they should have tried to leverage stock options as a part of their packages. Play the same game that the CEO’s play. When the company does well, we all win. That way, even if they get the shaft, they have some stocks to help out with finances.

Scout

The only difference is those Southern boys today completely whooped ass!!!!

Scout

January 1st, 2011
6:45 pm

There is a Santa Claus !!

Headlijne: “The Sun Sets on the Kennedy Era”

“For the first time in 64 years, there will be no Kennedy in Congress.”

Scout

January 1st, 2011
6:51 pm

I guess every NCAA college football team has the right to wear black jerseys ?

Kamchak

January 1st, 2011
6:51 pm

Southern Comfort

A whopping 7.2% of the labor force in the private sector belong to a union. Hard to imagine that such a small labor force can cower corporate America to off shore so much work.

As to the stock option thingie–the investor class started that kind of thing beginning in the early 80s when the traditional pension plan gave way to what I remember was called cafeteria investing where you cold allocate certain percentages of the company plan into stocks and bonds. Pretty soon that gave way to the 401k plans. As I see it, the only ones that were sure to make money off of retirement were the marketeers.

Scout

January 1st, 2011
6:52 pm

Southern:

You got that right ……… it was really kind of embarrassing ! It’s hard to believe there is that much of a gap in conferences.

Hillbilly Deluxe

January 1st, 2011
7:07 pm

Kamchak

I’ve posted this before but if you haven’t seen it, you might find it interesting. It’s about the history of the 401k.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/retirement/world/401k.html

josef nix

January 1st, 2011
7:20 pm

SCOUT
Yeah, too bad we couldn’t've just had a football game, eh? Oh, well, D-o Vendice!

SoCO
And you can bet your last Judah P that emancipation would’ve come a lot quicker, too!

Funny, though, this should come up…I was doing some research today on the last of the inter-tribal conflicts before Removal settled by a ball game…Creeks vs Choctaw…the Choctaw won (them’s some mean a33 stickball players for those of y’all who don’t follow the sport)…course 500 braves went to the Happy Hunting Grounds before it was over with…!!

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 1st, 2011
7:27 pm

It’s the Damned Northern Unions causing the trouble,

If those darnn NYC trash collectors would get rid of the snow all those wall streeters would be able to get the economy going again.

Damn those unions

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 1st, 2011
7:30 pm

Hey LITTLE joe(josef) has joined in. How is the brainache today LOL.

I still hurt and you are the cause

josef nix

January 1st, 2011
7:39 pm

Common Sense

I’m just fine and dandy, thakee-ye!

So, why am I at fault here?

And, yeah, I’ve been thinking of changing my monniker to Little Gay Jew Boy… Surely there’s nothing offensive about that, is there?

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 1st, 2011
7:46 pm

Josef – Your advice to do something other than IT that I enjoy.

I came up to East NC the other night. My stepson (youngest of my latest late wife’s) needed a helper for a remodeling job. Had to replace the floor in an apartment (the right way).

I told ya I am too old for that SHYT. I hurt like hell today. But then again he is much younger and is sore also LMAO

I saw that LITTLE post the other day and damn near laughed myself stupid

Little Gay Jew Boy

January 1st, 2011
7:55 pm

SCOUT
Yeah, too bad we couldn’t’ve just had a football game, eh? Oh, well, D-o Vendice!

SoCO
And you can bet your last Judah P that emancipation would’ve come a lot quicker, too!

Funny, though, this should come up…I was doing some research today on the last of the inter-tribal conflicts before Removal settled by a ball game…Creeks vs Choctaw…the Choctaw won (them’s some mean a33 stickball players for those of y’all who don’t follow the sport)…course 500 braves went to the Happy Hunting Grounds before it was over with…!!
—————————-

Nope, doesn’t work LOL

josef nix

January 1st, 2011
7:56 pm

Common

THAT! Heh, heh! Good to have a younster feeling that way, too, though, eh?

And that Little thingie…the more I think about it. It was a topic of discussion last p.m. around here and it was sort of surprizing who took the most “offense.”

I ran across a phrase today I had never heard which has gotten me intrigued…”diseased diversity.” Your opinion on the term,..?

josef nix

January 1st, 2011
7:57 pm

LGJB

“Nope, doesn’t work LOL”

Aw, why not?

Kamchak

January 1st, 2011
8:02 pm

Hillbilly Deluxe

Thanks. I haven’t seen that before now and it figures that FRONTLINE would dig into the numbers behind the 401k investing. From the link: In my experience, the old formal pension plan costs the average company somewhere between 6 and 8 percent of payroll. If you had a $100 million payroll and had a formal pension plan, … you were paying $6 million or $8 million a year. … That was the pension industry before 401(k).

And in 401(k)?

The company’s contribution generally was structured to be a match based on whatever the employee put in. They might say, “You put in a dollar, we’ll put in 50 cents.” Well, suddenly the company had a great deal to gain if not 100 percent of the people joined the 401(k) plan. Let’s say only half the people joined and put in 4 percent of pay. Well, the company matched 50 cents on the dollar, so the company would be putting in 2 percent of payroll for half the people. That’s 1 percent of payroll. …

So companies have been saving 6-7% a year for nearly thirty years.

OK. Good for them. Seems like that kind of savings could keep jobs here.

But here’s where it really gets interesting: Now, the financial system — the mutual fund system in this case — will take about two and a half percentage points out of that return, so you will have … a net return of 5.5 percent, and your $1,000 will grow to approximately $30,000. One hundred ten thousand dollars goes to the financial system and $30,000 to you, the investor. Think about that. That means the financial system put up zero percent of the capital and took zero percent of the risk and got almost 80 percent of the return, and you, the investor in this long time period, an investment lifetime, put up 100 percent of the capital, took 100 percent of the risk, and got only a little bit over 20 percent of the return.

On any given day, one or more people here will start whinging about how the government, through taxation, is stealing their hard earned money.

When it comes to Wall Street taking 80% of their retirement?

Crickets.

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 1st, 2011
8:02 pm

“diseased diversity” In what contect was it used?

LGJB if that is your PREFERRED name LOL

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 1st, 2011
8:03 pm

context geesh

josef nix

January 1st, 2011
8:04 pm

Hillbilly

In case you check in–I don’t know if you do Pandora or not, but I created a Bluegrass Gospel station and, man, whoever puts that one together knows what they’re doing!

josef nix

January 1st, 2011
8:09 pm

Common–
It was used in the context of using the call for diversity to exclude the unpopular groups from the big tent…

Think right now I’ll stick with the one I’ve been using already…pretty much everybody around here already knows I’m that Little Gay Jew Boy anyway..

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 1st, 2011
8:13 pm

Kam – the financial debacle caused a lot of people to rethink their retirements.

A friend from IBM (her husband also worked there) pretty much lost 1 mill when their 401k went down the tubes. Yhey had both been with IBM for 30 years. Now in their 50s they are having to make the adjustment to working until 67.
I know some will say SO, but IBM does have a way of working people into the ground. Most work weeks at IBM run 60+ very intense hours

Del

January 1st, 2011
8:21 pm

So far the Bowel games have turned out as I expected, except for Alabama and Michigan State. I expected the Tide to win but I thought it would be closer.

Kamchak

January 1st, 2011
8:24 pm

Common Sense isn’t very Common

Not being in the tech field myself, but I understood that prior to the 80s, Big Blue was one of the best companies to work for—a guaranteed job and great bennies.

I realize that 401k investing is one of those “your mileage may vary” kinda thing, but the only sure winners have been those that take their cut every time they make the market investment transactions.

Much hay has been made over the last thirty years or so about high interest rates during the 70s, but heck fire, I was making 5 – 5&3/4% interest on a pass-book savings account.

Hillbilly Deluxe

January 1st, 2011
8:27 pm

josef

I’m puttering around in Pandora; trying to figure it out.

Back when I was growing up and into the 70’s, banking was regulated. You had loan rates and savings interest rates that remained fairly stable. I think savings were about 5 1/4%. Then they deregulated all that and for a while, due to high inflation, it worked okay. Then things turned around. Right now a bank CD pays in the neighborhood of 1%, give or take. This trend has been going this way for quite a few years. So people who normally prefer a good safe investment, were basically forced to move to something more risky or get a rate, that was little more than putting the money in a Mason jar. This has obviously been a good thing for the financial sector but has it been a good thing for the average small inverstor? I don’t think so. Many were forced to do something they didn’t really want to do in the first place and now they’re told, “You knew the risk when you invested”. What choice did they really have?

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 1st, 2011
8:29 pm

I was speaking with my oldest friend last night (we have been friends for almost 50 years) he is a republican and he stated he longed for the days of Bill Clinton.(yes a Harvard MBA educated repub did better in the 90’s)

He has lost his business and is working as a contract employee for the first time in his life.

I guess what I am saying is that the Big Tent BS, is BS. There are straight, gay, repub, Dems, Indeps that I like and some I dislike. But to use a term like diseased? That makes me suspect the person using the term is a total moron and has no clue that all people are basically alike. good and/or bad.
Like I told a gay person that I worked with who said I didn’t like him because he was gay, Nope I don’t like you because you are a Dukshani

Dukshani are Dukshani whether they are gay or straight.

Now diversity. If I get the chance to work with a bunch of women. Thank you lord LOL

josef nix

January 1st, 2011
8:30 pm

Hillbilly

Pandora is really pretty simple once you get your “account” set up…are you completely new to it?

Hillbilly Deluxe

January 1st, 2011
8:33 pm

At the time, Hester admitted that there were about a half-dozen ethical breaches when directors should have recused themselves from voting on a loan. He also said the failed housing market left the bank and its borrowers with a number of unsold residential sites.

This is from this article, http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/archives/43001/

I wonder if anybody is investigating this to see if laws were violated? Wonder how many similar things have happened across the country?

josef nix

January 1st, 2011
8:36 pm

Common

The concept of diseased diversity was not that diversity is wrong, but that in promoting it we have allowed the bacillus of exclusion to creep in whenever the “majority” promoting diversity decide that this, that or the other identity is unacceptable…

You want to work with a bunch of women? Go into teaching! Somebody told me one time I must be having my period…no, I was having 75! Seriously, though, I would much rather work with women…with only rare exception I have gotten along well with them…

Hillbilly Deluxe

January 1st, 2011
8:38 pm

josef

I’m completely new to it but I think I’m getting the hang of it. Thanks.

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 1st, 2011
8:42 pm

Kam – I enjoyed my time with IBM but the stress the employees are under is horrible. I have seen so many burnout totally from it.

They change the pension plan occasionally to benefit IBM. Every time they do that they get sued and loose so they change it going forward.

Between that and them bringing H1bs and L1 visa holders to the US, lets just say it isn’t what it once was

josef nix

January 1st, 2011
8:42 pm

Hillbilly
On the banks…how do they decide who will take over?

On Pandora…the reason I asked, if you like it, there is a limited amount of “free” time, etc, but the subscription with unlimited is just plumb cheap…don’t know what it is now, but mine is $19.95…to me it’s about the neatest thing since sliced bread!

Kamchak

January 1st, 2011
8:47 pm

Common Sense isn’t very Common

I’ve worked construction since the late 70s, and while it wasn’t as formal as H1bs and L1 visa holders, I can relate to the “being replaced by immigrants” issue.

Scout

January 1st, 2011
8:48 pm

josef:

You may not have had a problem but most women hate working for another woman.

Hillbilly Deluxe

January 1st, 2011
8:48 pm

On the banks…how do they decide who will take over?

That’s a good question and one I don’t know the answer to. I know people who have gotten hurt by these sort of things. They bought stock in these banks, yes as an investment, but also as an attempt to help their communities. Their stock is now worthless and the money gone. Just don’t seem right to me.

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 1st, 2011
8:51 pm

Diversity is really allowing ALL in and letting the individuals deciding if THEY want to stay. (but not making them unwecome either)

OR I wouldn’t want to belong to a club that would have ME as a member.

josef nix

January 1st, 2011
8:51 pm

Scout
I hear that a lot. I think it may be that the little tricks that work with men don’t work with women…

josef nix

January 1st, 2011
8:55 pm

Common
The reason I was asking and the reason it caught my attention is this: as a Jew, hitched to an Indian and gay, I get the red carpet treatment among the diversity clique, but let me try and express something Southern White Male, and whoo, whee! There’s the tent flap, Pombo, and don’t let it hit you in the a33 on the way out…

josef nix

January 1st, 2011
8:57 pm

Hillbilly
Thanks. I thought it was just me. But I have the same approach that you do…I prefer to put my money where my mouth is and I am one who still is Jeffersonian enough to say that the first attention should be paid to the place you live and call home…

Del

January 1st, 2011
9:01 pm

I competed with IBM most of my career. I always emphasized competing with them because if you tried to compete against them you would lose. Competing with them, however, usually caused them to make some kind of a mistake and you could exploit it, as long as you didn’t try to go too far. The name of the game was to eat their lunch and not try to eat all three meals. Later I worked with them as a business partner and while they were a pain in the a$$ we leveraged the IBM name to our advantage.

Scout

January 1st, 2011
9:04 pm

josef:

That and the “Three V’s” :

Vicious
Venemous
Vendictive

Hillbilly Deluxe

January 1st, 2011
9:05 pm

josef

If somebody makes a bad investment, and loses, then that’s just the way it goes. Too often though, it seems to me that the game is rigged and the insiders manage to walk away whole, or nearly whole. The little guys, who are kept in the dark ’til the very end, are the ones who get hammered.

josef nix

January 1st, 2011
9:25 pm

Gotta run…g’night and the best of the New Year to one and all…

Southern Comfort

January 1st, 2011
9:27 pm

Kam

Not really like the 401k type sharing, but actual stock options in the company itself. I don’t think the unions were a major player in jobs being lost. I just think they could have tried to employ a little craftiness in negotiations in trying to keep jobs here.

Hillbilly Deluxe

January 1st, 2011
9:29 pm

“well, the rich man writes the book of laws,
the poor man must defend
but the highest laws are written
on the hearts of honest men”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRqGlxUMsjE

Del

January 1st, 2011
9:32 pm

I have a cousin who worked construction most of his career. When the hard times hit instead of whining about how a political party caused him pain he adapted, improvised and overcame by finding a market he was able to exploit. he’s now been doing quite well.

Southern Comfort

January 1st, 2011
9:32 pm

Time to hit the sack. HD, thanks for that pbs link again. This time I saved it in my favorites. I think everybody needs to read that one.

Later y’all..

Kamchak

January 1st, 2011
9:32 pm

Southern Comfort

OK, I understand how in theory that sounds reasonable, everybody working for the common good and all that, but I can’t help but think how bad a deal the UAW would have made as to stock options when GM basically trashed the old stock and re-issued a new and improved IPO.

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 1st, 2011
9:55 pm

A few years ago a factory in Fall River Mass. burned. The owner who was in his 70’s at the time had to make a decision whether to retire (and take the insurance) or rebuild.

He chose to rebuild FOR THE EMPLOYEES. He paid the employees wages while rebuilding the factory.
The employees when it was safe returned to the factory and removed and repaired all the necessary equipment. The women (some wives and some employees) were there every day feeding (at their own expense) the employees repairing the equipment.

When the owner finally decided to retire. Instead of giving the company to his children (who were against the rebuilding) he chose to sell it to those loyal employees who helped rebuild it.

Loyalty once was a 2 way street between employer and employee. When did that change?

Del

January 1st, 2011
10:02 pm

It changed when it became a three way street, employer, employee and government, The governments only loyalty is to itself, getting elected/reelected is their only loyalty.

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 1st, 2011
10:08 pm

Del – I understand about your cousin. But if a middle class office worker tries the same thing the chances are they will not be able to do the work,

If I physically had to work construction as a 40 hour a week job, I could not. You may say that is lazy but I know I am not. It is unfortunate that all are not capable of swinging a hammer or digging a ditch for a living.

I chose to work in the IT field because I loved the challenge of dealing with the companies on how and why to automate.

The sad thing is the IT people want to do the BEST job for the companies while the companies want the CHEAPEST way to compete with other companies

RW-(the original)

January 1st, 2011
10:27 pm

I chose to work in the IT field because I loved the challenge of dealing with the companies on how and why to automate.

CSivC,

That sounds like the IT folks were helping get rid of the other workers first.

In all seriousness though IT workers should have been some of the first to see the handwriting on the wall when they saw everything in IT becoming more idiot proof. There is a pretty big demand on the telecom side as IT and telephony merge so there are still ways to adapt and stay somewhat within your field.

Hillbilly Deluxe

January 1st, 2011
10:37 pm

For those who are into the space program and/or cool pics………

http://triggerpit.com/2010/11/22/incredible-pics-nasa-astronaut-wheelock/

Nite all.

Del

January 1st, 2011
10:39 pm

Common Sense- My cousin is in his 70’s, I’m younger and feel that for my age I’m in fairly good physical condition but if I had to climb the latter’s daily that he does, I don’t think I’d be able to. I’m from the I.T. field too, sales and marketing side. Worked many years for corporations and then took jobs with start ups for more money and more autonomy. My career strategy back then kind of backfired and I found myself seeking employment once again in corporate I.T. I discovered that I was too old even though I was only in my 40’s. I went out on my own forming my own business and did alright. I did so out of necessity and was fortunate. I fully understand that there are those who’re better than myself and through no fault of their own are having a very difficult time. My point is in many cases you need to try something even if it’s wrong and unfortunately our government (both parties) have created an environment unfavorable to individual business creativity. American companies in this so called global economy have needed to find cheaper labor and less regulation in order to survive and that has translated into lost jobs as well as lost American business leadership.

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 1st, 2011
10:44 pm

RW – I always have said that I want to work myself out of a job. Meaning designing and coding bulletproof systems.

The companies now only seem to want CHEAP (temporary) systems.

In the 80s and 90 systems were designed to last indefinitely. (and the computer languages used were not just the flavor of the day).

Now the systems are expendable as if they will only be used a for a short time. I guess that goes to the corporate mindset of short term profits are better than long term stability

RW-(the original)

January 1st, 2011
10:56 pm

The companies now only seem to want CHEAP (temporary) systems.

CSivC,

Part of that is because they’ve already been burned too many times by going for the top of the line products and finding them obsolete in a fraction of the time they thought they would be useful. The same thing happens on the telco side, but the customers can still operate with the older stuff there. Right now 90% of my business is nursing along companies trying to stretch a few years out of legacy products, but they can’t really do that on the IT side.

Del

January 1st, 2011
11:09 pm

For those who’ve been in applications development for many years and find themselves in a difficult employment circumstance remember that your strength in comparison to foreign I.T. professionals is your knowledge of systems. Foreign programmers particularly Asian Indians are extremely weak in understanding business systems flow. Business analysts with systems and applications development knowledge are in demand.

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 1st, 2011
11:11 pm

RW – I think it depends on the vp/director/manager as to how long the legacy systems last.

The design means the most but some want to try the new tech stuff vs what is currently working.

I have designed web interfaces for legacy systems that still retained stability. Also trained the English speaking users

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 1st, 2011
11:14 pm

Del – I agree that the demand is there But try to convince an INDIAN recruiter that you might be the better choice rather than his countryman

Del

January 1st, 2011
11:38 pm

Common Sense, it’s true that Asian Indians are really biased. I remember back in the 80’s these newly minted I.T. managers with Masters Degrees were all ga ga over the Indian software manufacturing concept. When I got into the professional services business in the 90’s and there were more jobs than professionals to fill them we recruited off shore. The Indians we brought in became personnel problems because of their caste system culture and then we discovered that because they were brought up in a heads down hard coding environment where they only coded small pieces they didn’t really understand complete business systems from an applications perspective. I guess its now Geo-Politics that have brought so many of them here and off shored I.T. jobs there.

Southern Comfort

January 2nd, 2011
9:11 am

Enter your comments here

Southern Comfort

January 2nd, 2011
9:13 am

I can’t help but think how bad a deal the UAW would have made as to stock options when GM basically trashed the old stock and re-issued a new and improved IPO.

Yeah, that would have been a bad one. If that’s part of a contract agreement, then there would need to be a clause that stipulates the workers remain investors at the same percentage with the new stock as they had with the old. It wouldn’t be a foolproof system, but I think it would be better than just letting jobs disappear forever.

TaxPayer

January 2nd, 2011
9:27 am

Well, it is a new year so it won’t be long now before the newly elected Republicans get to show us what they are going to do to make our lives less taxed. My prediction for the new year — the Republican constituency will be extremely disappointed in their newly elected ones.

TnGelding

January 2nd, 2011
9:41 am

Well, they can’t be any more disappointed thant the Dems apparently were.

But let’s look on the bright side. Maybe the two parties can work together to do what’s best for the country.

TaxPayer

January 2nd, 2011
9:50 am

Maybe the two parties can work together to do what’s best for the country.

Uh huh. Maybe we should hold our breath until they do.

Kamchak

January 2nd, 2011
9:59 am

Southern Comfort

Maybe it’s the wrong strategy in the long run, but I think it’s wise for unions to stay away from paper that can be manipulated by the company and just stick to pay and tangible benefits. My loyalty would be lost if I found out that the company was manipulating stock options in an effort to gain a monetary advantage over the union. Show me the money and health care benefits, and I will happily put in +100%.

Soothsayer

January 2nd, 2011
10:42 am

In the United States, 20% of all disposable personal income comes from the federal government, in the form of Social Security to the elderly, food stamps to the needy, unemployment benefits to those out of work, Medicare and Medicaid, and various subsidies such as housing allowances for those in foreclosure. This percentage is at least double what was in place before the 2008 depression hit.

The federal government has been financing this beneficence with equally unprecedented budget deficits, since there has been no serious attempt to raise taxes in the US since 1992. The all-in budget deficit for this year is around $2 trillion, up from $400 billion before 2008. Because of the strain this persistent, large amount of financing can cause the bond markets, the Federal Reserve has now begun to finance this debt directly, buying up to $600 billion of the debt this year in what it calls Quantitative Easing.

For Quantitative Easing to work, interest rates need to remain stable or head lower, at least in the ten year maturity where the Fed has concentrated its bond buying. Instead, from the minute the program was initiated, interest rates have headed up. Traders understand that this program is experimental and unprecedented, except when it was used in Weimar Germany with disastrous results, or more recently in the hyperinflationary economy of Zimbabwe. There is a real fear in the markets that the inflationary consequences of all of this US debt will be hyper-serious, and people are running for cover. They are rushing to buy anything tangible that could hold its value in an inflationary environment: sugar, wheat, oil, corn, cotton, gold, silver, platinum, rare metals, and copper are some examples.

Soothsayer

January 2nd, 2011
10:59 am

If you are employed on Wall Street you can go to work every day with the confidence that this economy is all about you. The Treasury, the Fed, the Administration, the Congress, the media, the economists – they are all focused on how Wall Street is doing, and the wonderful spending power that comes from a market bubble. Taxpayer money is being shoveled out every day to Wall Street for its profit, which is all that seems to count in this economy. And it is not just taxpayer money at stake – it is future tax revenues being pledged in support of the Finance Economy, to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars, amounts which even back in 2007 would have been eye-popping.

So far, all we have to show for all of this is are record-setting bonuses for Wall Street, and a Christmas splurge on the 3-C’s – Cheap Chinese Crap. And oh yes – lurking deep in the background are red flashing lights telling us that the stock market is poised, perhaps as soon as January, for another plunge down, and maybe even a second Flash Crash, since absolutely nothing has been done by the regulators to prevent Wall Street computers from once again going all to Hal on their creators.

Matti

January 2nd, 2011
11:43 am

The new normal:

http://www.bartcop.com/day-tears.jpg

Kamchak

January 2nd, 2011
11:49 am

Matti

Spot on!

Mick

January 2nd, 2011
12:20 pm

soothsayer

I got that list from yesterday in an email, I don’t know who originated it but all the points are valid….scary. I like this from wallstreet 2, NINJA – no income, no jobs, assets – the future if we don’t restart our manufacturing base. God knows we have the labor pool available..

TaxPayer

January 2nd, 2011
12:20 pm

Matti,

Those Republicans outside the window like to refer to what they are about to receive as “trickle down.” The odd thing is that they look forward to it.

TaxPayer

January 2nd, 2011
12:41 pm

Republicans promise to cut spending, roll back President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul and prevent unelected bureaucrats from expanding the government’s role in society through regulations that tell people what they must or can’t do.

Wow! The GOP is finally going to legalize gay marriage, abortions and marijuana. Then again, that’s probably not what they will do. Call it a hunch.

Soothsayer

January 2nd, 2011
12:53 pm

Hi, everybody! In today’s soundbite world, anything over 30 seconds just doesn’t get it. However, I urge you to take 5 – 10 minutes to read my post at 10:59. I think you will find it most enlightening.

Daltry

January 2nd, 2011
12:55 pm

I read your post at 10;59. I’ve gleaned more relevant and more enlightened material from decoding the random patterns of skidmarks on 3 day old BVD’s, my friend.

moron

Roger that, Pete

January 2nd, 2011
1:06 pm

Do you hear that ringing? What? I said, do you hear that ringing? Who? Never mind. I won’t be fooled again.

Paulo977

January 2nd, 2011
1:09 pm

God help us MORE in 2011…

http://www.ajc.com/news/teachers-to-be-graded-792562.html

Soothsayer

January 2nd, 2011
1:10 pm

Daltry,

Opinions are like a-holes. Everyone’s got one. Good luck for the future.

Kamchak

January 2nd, 2011
1:49 pm

I’ve gleaned more relevant and more enlightened material from decoding the random patterns of skidmarks on 3 day old BVD’s, my friend.

I’m not really surprised to find out there are those here that stare at dirty drawers. I’m just surprised that anyone would admit to it in a open forum. Just sayin’.

Soothsayer

January 2nd, 2011
2:50 pm

Kamchak: LOL. How about wearing your BVDs for three days! Talk about airing your dirty laundry.

Kamchak

January 2nd, 2011
3:01 pm

Sooth

I realize that Daltry was going for the cheap laugh, but I believe that more was revealed than intended, or in the words of the late lamented Lewis Grizzard, “Dang brother, I don’t think I’d have told that.”

Southern Comfort

January 2nd, 2011
3:12 pm

I’ve gleaned more relevant and more enlightened material from decoding the random patterns of skidmarks on 3 day old BVD’s, my friend.

I’m not really surprised to find out there are those here that stare at dirty drawers. I’m just surprised that anyone would admit to it in a open forum. Just sayin’.

Kamchak: LOL. How about wearing your BVDs for three days! Talk about airing your dirty laundry.

Don’t forget, here in GA, Deal was elected by a majority of voters who cast a vote in three separate elections. ANYTHING is possible in this state. I guess if you can read and decode sh*t, you should be able to talk it too. However, that does make me wonder if that would mean a person has sh*t for brains too?…

josef nix

January 2nd, 2011
3:20 pm

PAULO
@ 1:09

Oy, gevalt! So, you want to attract and hold onto good classroom teachers? Here’s what you do, concoct a plan to run off as many as possible…This latest has the characteristics of a Ionescu script from a Kafka novel, directed by the Three Stooges and starring the Marx Brothers…

Scout

January 2nd, 2011
3:34 pm

josef:

Headline: “Navy to Investigate Carrier Captain’s Lewd Videos”

“Videos Shown to USS Enterprise Crew Featured Women Showering Together, Gay Slurs …”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InBXu-iY7cw

josef nix

January 2nd, 2011
3:54 pm

SCOUT

Afternoon, Sir. Cute! However, laying the jokes between us on that one aside and getting a little more serious, I’ve been off on the status of Christians in Muslim countries following the attacks in Iraq and Egypt, of far more concern to me in the greater scheme of things than our domestic silliness over gays in the military…I thought you might be interested in this link…

http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Pages/ChristianAttacks.htm

Hillbilly Deluxe

January 2nd, 2011
3:56 pm

The changes are spurred by the $400 million Race to the Top grant, a program introduced by the Obama administration to jump-start school reform nationwide.

Like a lot of other things in the world, it’s all about the grant money.

Scout

January 2nd, 2011
3:59 pm

josef:

I hear you.

It’s all prophesied …………. “If they hated Me, they will hate you.”

I have to go for a few hours but would like to discuss further when I get back.

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 2nd, 2011
4:22 pm

Josef – Just a few more years and you can retire.

Then you will be of those greedy leeches draining the pension systems with those outrageous pensions and benefits LOL

You ready to go back to school now?

josef nix

January 2nd, 2011
4:43 pm

Hillbilly
That’s about the sum of it. Fiddling while Rome burns. Meanwhile, another crop of tomorrow’s future will suffer and we’ll continue this slide into a new Dark Ages…

Scout…
If I’m still here…

Common Sense
Well, ready or not, here I come!

everyday American

January 2nd, 2011
4:48 pm

Obama back from his vacation yet? wonder what Santa brought his kids for Christmas…..

everyday American

January 2nd, 2011
4:49 pm

oh, that’s right, they don’t cele….

Kamchak

January 2nd, 2011
4:59 pm

oh, that’s right, they don’t cele….

Really?

There seems to be evidence to contradict your supposition.

Paulo977

January 2nd, 2011
5:06 pm

Thank you josef for reflecting back to me!

Several persons I know are as dismayed as we are but unable to penetrate the various layers of stupidity and lack of knowledge and understanding about education that now ‘encase’ the system !!

josef nix

January 2nd, 2011
5:17 pm

PAULO

Which is why as soon as I hear the word “reform,” I know whoever is using it doesn’t have a clue. The whole system is so rotten that the only solution I can see is a complete dismantling of the system and start over again from scratch and focus on the teacher-student-parent compact. We can either do that in a proactive fashion, or we can dilly-dally around until it collapses. And I am not confining myself here to the public insitution, the private institution is no more sound. However, there are way too many with a stake in the system as it stands to expect the proactive. All we’ll see coming out of the Departments of and Schools of Education is more reactive horsesh*t and ruby slipper sales personnel…

everyday American

January 2nd, 2011
5:30 pm

wow, my bad, i didn’t realize a picture(and a menu) showed how and what someone celebrates…

Southern Comfort

January 2nd, 2011
5:43 pm

wow, my bad, i didn’t realize a picture(and a menu) showed how and what someone celebrates…

But, you believe unsubstantiated rumors proves what someone doesn’t celebrate.

Bill Orvis White

January 2nd, 2011
5:50 pm

Happy New Year, you naive September 10th secular-progressives. There are some traitors on the Republican side that WE THE PEOPLE in the Tea Party need to hold accountable. Some of them are leaving on their own accord, but a lot of the traitors think they can stay in the House and Senate as long as they want. Traitors are on both side of the aisle, but my point is now that the right people are in charge at least in the House, some of them are voting the wrong way. We are now seeing that in the U.S. Senate where there are eight traitors who joined along with Harry Reid: http://tinyurl.com/2adsg55

everyday American

January 2nd, 2011
5:57 pm

whoever said anything about unsubstantiated rumors?

josef nix

January 2nd, 2011
5:57 pm

Bill

Traitor? Excuse me, but are you implying that to support the right of your fellow citizens to serve in the armed forces of the country they love treason…? If so, why?

Southern Comfort

January 2nd, 2011
6:01 pm

whoever said anything about unsubstantiated rumors?

Whoever proved without a shadow of a doubt that Obama is not Christian?

Traitor????

Give me a F’N break. If anything, those 8 upheld the rights of Americans to not be discriminated against. If you’re supposed to represent the Tea Party, no wonder they’re considered fringe. If the GOP or anyone else is so damned adamant about gays not serving, then why don’t they enlist and do the jobs that the gays are already doing. If you’re not gonna put your ass on the line in the sandbox, then drink a warm cup of shut the fu*k up!!! That goes for anyone who wants to legally or illegally enact any kind of discrimination.

Kamchak

January 2nd, 2011
6:03 pm

Happy New Year, you naive September 10th secular-progressives.

And a Happy New Year to you also, sport.

Southern Comfort

January 2nd, 2011
6:09 pm

Kam

Judging by the rants on his blogsite, I don’t think that guy knows much about happy.

everyday American

January 2nd, 2011
6:10 pm

whoever proved without a shadow of a doubt that Obama is a Christian? by the way, i could care less if he were a Christian or not, just don’t lie about it… it would, however, concern me if he were a Muslim, which i read that he was at one time. can you convert from being a Muslim to a Christian? i guess you can, right? the name kinda gives it away, though, don’t ya think?

Kamchak

January 2nd, 2011
6:13 pm

Southern Comfort

I figgered as much.

When I first came here, I made the mistake of paying a visit to Swampy Dave’s site. Just trolls looking to drum up visitors.

everyday American

January 2nd, 2011
6:14 pm

i know, he is the greatest Christian American of all time. heck, he may even be the Messiah for all we know. he’s never been wrong in his life. he’s never lied, not even on some of his campaign promises. i understand Gitmo closed just last week. He’s awesome. i hope he had a wonderful vacation, as i know he needed another, and a wonderful Christmas. i’m sure he’ll talk about it…

everyday American

January 2nd, 2011
6:15 pm

what is a troll?

everyday American

January 2nd, 2011
6:22 pm

oh, Happy New Year, sport!!!

the term ’sport’..isn’t that what older folks say to young kids? ya know, talking down to them? “hey sport, how are ya?” (while rubbing their little heads) making themselves feel big or something. just wondering.

josef nix

January 2nd, 2011
6:23 pm

Bill

I assume you’re just a drive-by troll, then, and should be given that degree of credibility. Crawl back under your bridge…

Southern Comfort

January 2nd, 2011
6:24 pm

I don’t know much about HIS religion, but I do know enough about religion that one would not be a Muslim and be a 20 year member of a Christian Church. The only way to become a Muslim is to perform a Kalima, which would require him to publically recite the Shahada. If he had indeed done such a public event, there would have been witnesses who would have come forth by now. If he were indeed Muslim or formerly Muslim, there would be people from that religion showing proof. The only concrete proof of his religious affiliation is his friendship or mentorship with Rev. Wright, and we all know he’s no Muslim.

His name has more to do with him being the son of a Muslim from Kenya as opposed to his actual religion. If you’re named after your father, does that automatically mean you belong to whatever religion his name might allude to?

You conservatives really floor me with your logic sometimes. First, the guy’s a Muslim. Then, you excoriate him for being a member of Trininty. Then after all of that, you still want to think the guy’s Muslim. If you actually studied the religions and what the beliefs entail, there would be no reason to think he’s Muslim.

Dusty

January 2nd, 2011
6:25 pm

Well, HAPPY New Year. HAPPY, I say!. I know the sky is falling , henny penny, but I rather not hear about it every day. There IS good news out there. Yes, sir!

Dr. Donald Stern has researched progesterone for many years and has found that is almost always brings recovery from brain injuries. The first big research to prove it has shown fine results. More research is to be done but so far so good.

So now when you get your head bashed in a car accident or a bomb blast and get treated with progesterone within four hours, you have a great chance of a good recovery.

Thank you, Dr. Stern.(He’s right over there at Emory.) This has said to be the medical miracle of this century.

Now that is a HAPPY report, folks!!

Kamchak

January 2nd, 2011
6:25 pm

Troll

josef nix

January 2nd, 2011
6:27 pm

everyday
No, Sport is a form of address that can be either positive or negative depending on the context but in most English speaking societies is pretty much a neutral term used when the speaker wishes to address the listener in a familiar fashion. It’s sort of like the Romance “tu.” English, lacking this pronoun form, employs other methods, most generally forms of address such as this, to establish that intent…

josef nix

January 2nd, 2011
6:33 pm

Funny that the Muslim Obama would cite his Christian faith for his reason for being against “gay marriage” to get the black and latino vote in California…funny the good Muslim would invite the hate monger preacher Warren to bless his administration at his innaugural…but, then, what do I know?

TaxPayer

January 2nd, 2011
6:35 pm

If everyday americans are saddened by Obama and his actions to date, then they will really be disheartened by the actions of the Republicans once they get started doing whatever it is that they are going to be doing. Mitch will be pouting and John crying while Tom objects to the rest of the GOP’s whines about their inability to get anything done because of those mean old obstructionist Democrats. Fundraising for 2012 will get off to a great start though with the Koch brothers throwing a little party for the Supremes before they are called upon to start undoing the previous two year’s worth of legislation.

Del

January 2nd, 2011
6:38 pm

Got here to late to comment, so I won’t, other to say I hope y’all can find a way to enjoy this evening.

wet wiccan

January 2nd, 2011
6:38 pm

I’ve got a question that’s off topic (what is the topic, anyway?) Do any of you have any experience with drug Chantix for quitting smoking?

josef nix

January 2nd, 2011
6:42 pm

wiccan
Chantix is not for everybody and some of the side effects are grisly…didn’t have to use any of those things when I quit (a heart attack serves the purpose nicely!), but people I’ve talked to with experience using it do not recommend it except as a real last resort…

Southern Comfort

January 2nd, 2011
6:43 pm

Del

Comment away. You know your opinion is respected, even if it’s not agreed with. It’s all about respect.

wiccan

Non-smoker here, so I’m of no use. I don’t even know anyone who’s tried it.

everyday American

January 2nd, 2011
6:43 pm

uh oh, i think i must’ve said a bad word, for my comment is being moderated…ooops, sorry…and who exactly makes the rules on what is and isn’t a bad word…what may be bad to some, may not be to others, right?

Southern Comfort

January 2nd, 2011
6:44 pm

everyday

It’s an automated program. It might not be a bad word per se. It could be a combination of two words or a word that has a bad combination of letters within.

wet wiccan

January 2nd, 2011
6:47 pm

josef – my doctor wrote me a script, but I haven’t filled it yet. In their commercials, they say a side effect is “thoughts of suicide” if that should happen, they should just smoke a cigarette instead! My heart is in good shape, don’t think your cessation method will work for me.

josef nix

January 2nd, 2011
6:49 pm

Del,
Hey, Sport, chime on in! Hope your New Year is off to a good start…

everyday…
The moderator is also bilingual (Spanish-English) and oftentimes a combination of letters that’s “dirty” in Spanish will trip it…for the longest time it would moderate ridculous…the combination c-u-l-o being the trip…I think that’s been corrected now…we’ll see if this one gets through or not…a fun time can be had trying to find what tripped it, though…

everyday American

January 2nd, 2011
6:50 pm

ah, gotcha. i just was saying, if Kamchak, or anyone else, calls someone a troll, after seeing his picture, you might as well call him something else that starts with an a and has a couple of s’s in it(if you’re into name calling, which, evidently some are)

and was also letting you know i was born and raised here in Georgia, a southern Democrat. actually on the Ambassadors Circle at the Carter Center. well, was, i told Dr. Hardmann i was going to start sending my donations to the federal government, for they know what to with my money better than i do..

Doggone/GA

January 2nd, 2011
6:51 pm

wet wiccan…I don’t have any direct experience with Chantix, but one of my sister’s co-workers used it and it made him very short tempered and aggressive. I don’t actually know of it worked to stop him smoking, but when he stopped using it his aggressiveness stopped.

josef nix

January 2nd, 2011
6:56 pm

wiccan
The one I’ve heard most often is the wack-o dreams it brings on–grisly nightmares as well as, well a lot of things you never really thought about doing!

Are you trying to quit? If so, the thing that I had to pay the most attention to was the “triggers.” If you’re still puffing, pay attention to when and where you have the automatic response to light up (not the urge, that’s more the nicotine addiction at play.) Til this day if I’m watching an old movie and Humphrey lights up, I reach for the pack and lighter! And those triggers can be bizarre, stuff you might never suspect, a smell, a sound…as for the nicotine crave, this worked for me. You know that “tingle” you get under your tongue from the nicotine? Cranberry juice will give you the same sensation!

Kamchak

January 2nd, 2011
6:56 pm

…you might as well call him something else that starts with an a and has a couple of s’s in it…

I’ve been called worse.

An insult is like poison, or strong drink—it can only affect me if I accept it.

Southern Comfort

January 2nd, 2011
6:57 pm

Issa said he plans to lead bipartisan investigations on food and drug safety, as well as Medicare fraud.

“We can save $125 billion in simply not giving out money to Medicare recipients that don’t exist for procedures that didn’t happen,” Issa said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “These are real dollars. Ten percent of the deficit goes out in wasted money – money that doesn’t get one person health care in Medicare.”

I was reading this article, and I have a question I’d love to ask Issa or anyone else on that committee. If it’s that easy to uncover fraud and waste, why wait and form a commission to study and investigate those acts after the fact? Wouldn’t it be better to have adequate oversight and regulation of those programs from the start.

The GOP is constantly campaigning on loosening regulation and oversight. I understand the sentiment towards the private sector, but if there’s that much fraud going on with a government program, why in the hell would you want to cut back on regulation and oversight of it? We cut back on regulation work by the SEC, and we see what that led to. We cut back regulation and oversight by the FDA, and we’ve seen how many have gotten sick and died as a result. At some point, there has to be some accountability. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Now, don’t take that to mean that I feel we should regulate the hell out of everything, as that’s not what I believe. However, if there is little to no oversight, I wouldn’t hold my breath on the idea that everything will just take care of itself 100% of the time.

Matti

January 2nd, 2011
7:03 pm

wet wiccan,

I wouldn’t trust the Chantix. It’s too closely related to other dangerous and addictive psychotropic drugs and sleeping pills. (The devil you know vs. the one you don’t.) My friend got one of those e-cig thingies and some patches. As a chain smoker, part of her smoking is the response to stress by doing something with her hands and mouth, and stepping away (from loud crazy family members) to do it. The other part is the nicotine, of course. This way she can still carry on somewhat normally (for her), while she learns to live without toxic cigarettes. It doesn’t feel exactly like a cigarette, and there are some who warn about what it IS, but what it is NOT, I think, is more important. Who cares if you puff a vapor thingy to get a little nico-fix or calm down? At least it’s not toxic, chemical-laden, stinky smoke going into your body and the air around you. The urge will never completely go away forever. No pill is going to change that, but it’s what you do for yourself that matters. Good luck!

josef nix

January 2nd, 2011
7:03 pm

SoCo
That Issa comment sounds an awful lot like a shell game to me…and if you KNOW that you can save $125B then quit talking about it and do it!

josef nix

January 2nd, 2011
7:07 pm

Quitting smoking…that hand-mouth thingie is real…somebody suggested keeping a pencil in hand…I tried it…instead of two packs of cigs a day, I got up to 20 #2’s! Seriously, though, I did find myself chewing the h3ll out of ‘em…

wet wiccan

January 2nd, 2011
7:10 pm

josef – yes, I would like to quit. It’s just too expensive. But honestly, that’s the only reason. I really do like it and I live with a smoker too.

Southern Comfort

January 2nd, 2011
7:13 pm

josef

That’s sorta like the vibe I was getting when I read that. It sounded like one of those campaign points or something. If you KNOW something is bad, change it or put someone in charge to change it and make it better.

Kamchak

January 2nd, 2011
7:14 pm

According to FDL Darrell Issa was on CNN’s State of the Union as well as CBS’s Face the Nation today.

Maybe he’s feeling Presidential?

Del

January 2nd, 2011
7:16 pm

Hey SoCo and josef, you’re two of the good guys on here who don’t rip people just because they post something you don’t agree with. My New Year has started out good…too much food, too much football and a little too much libation but it’s the time to be happy.

josef nix

January 2nd, 2011
7:18 pm

wiccan

If you smoke because you like it and it’s the cost, you’ll have an easier go of it…I’m like you, I smoked because I liked it! The other things were factors, true, but the bottom line is I liked it…moral posturing on the matter just makes me want one…another of my “triggers,” and I kid you not, is an anti-smoking commercial!

Living with a smoker may not be the problem you think it is. I hang around with smokers a lot and that has not caused me to want one…

Unmentionable keeps an unopened pack around. Why? He found that one of his biggest problems was the “angst” of not having cigarettes there…he says that in the time it would take to open the pack, he can fight off the urge…

wet wiccan

January 2nd, 2011
7:19 pm

Doggone and Matti – thanks for your posts. I have read about the nightmares, not so much about the aggression, but I can see how that might happen too.

Southern Comfort

January 2nd, 2011
7:20 pm

Del

Your New Year sounds like it’s off to a GREAT start. However, there’s something I can’t agree with you on. There is no such monster as too much football.

Happy New Year bro!!!!

Southern Comfort

January 2nd, 2011
7:22 pm

Kam

I saw that. I don’t know what his agenda is, if he has one. I just want him, and everyone else including (D)’s and (R)’s, to quit the pandering and do the job they’re elected to do. If I’m standing outside my house and see flames shooting out of the windows, I don’t want a fireman to come up and tell me my house is on fire. I want him to put the fire out as quickly as possible.

Del

January 2nd, 2011
7:25 pm

SoCo, On no such thing as too much football…Amen to that. Happy New Year!

Doggone/GA

January 2nd, 2011
7:26 pm

“to quit the pandering and do the job they’re elected to do”

SoCo – I’m very much afraid that the problem is they think their job is to GET ELECTED.

@@

January 2nd, 2011
7:27 pm

Well, don’t know if she was jay’s feature, but I do recall having a discussion about Miss Francine, here.

Kamchak

January 2nd, 2011
7:28 pm

Southern Comfort

My first trip to California was during the recall of Gov. Davis. Issa spent a couple of million for that recall thinking that he could buy the Governor’s seat on the cheap. He was the front runner out of some 100 or so candidates until Arnold announced his intentions. Issa broke down and cried like a baby on state-wide TeeVee.

josef nix

January 2nd, 2011
7:32 pm

Best not mess with Issa…his name is Arabic for Jesus!

Del

January 2nd, 2011
7:34 pm

In the military I smoked my share of C-rat cig’s but never really liked them. I do enjoy an occasional cigar. The ones I like are too expensive for me to have very many just now and then. You don’t inhale cigars to enjoy them you just puff on em along with a little sipping whiskey.

Southern Comfort

January 2nd, 2011
7:35 pm

Doggone

Can’t argue with that. That’s why I’m adamant about campaign finance reform. Money is the primary corruptor in DC. Remove the money and the need to raise substantial money, and then the officials can focus on legislating. I personally have no problem with paying an extra $10, $50, or $100 dollars a year in taxes if it was solely for public financing of all campaigns with the provision that no outside money could be used at all.

Kam

I faintly remember hearing his name then. There were so many names being tossed around as candidates by the media, I pretty much tuned that election out until the results became news.

josef nix

January 2nd, 2011
7:38 pm

DEL
Don’t inhale, eh? Did you have sex with THAT woman? What do you mean by “is”

SoCo
I’m with you on campaign funding…the way it’s set up now is a free pass for corruption…

Del

January 2nd, 2011
7:40 pm

josef, oh oh, I left myself open for that one.

Southern Comfort

January 2nd, 2011
7:45 pm

josef

LOL!!!! I can’t imagine Del in that scenario….

wet wiccan

January 2nd, 2011
7:46 pm

SoCo – As long as we’re wishing for campaign reform, let’s limit the amount of time that they can campaign too. Cause you know they are going to crank up for 2012 in another couple of weeks. (AGGGGG!)

Kamchak

January 2nd, 2011
7:47 pm

You don’t inhale cigars to enjoy them…

Same with pipe tobacco.

The risk of cancer is transferred from the lungs to the mouth though.

Doggone/GA

January 2nd, 2011
7:52 pm

“Cause you know they are going to crank up for 2012 in another couple of weeks”

Couple of weeks? My sister said she’s ALREADY seen some 2012 campaign signs.

Dusty

January 2nd, 2011
7:53 pm

Well, nobody inhales around a cigar. Sorry, Del, but those things smell like rags burning.. Now, a pipe, that’s different. Certain tobaccoes smell wonderful. (which reminds me that I should remove my Christmas tree. But it smells SO good..spruce, balsam or something. I have a new “decorator” fixture in my living room (until the complaints get too loud)..

Southern Comfort

January 2nd, 2011
7:55 pm

wiccan

I think a 60 day period for primaries and 90 days for general elections is enough time. If you can’t express your message in that time, you don’t need to be in office. I also think that if you can not campaign on a set budget, how am I supposed to expect you to balance a budget when you’re in office. They campaign by spending more and more money. When they get in office, it’s hard to shut that spending off. We’ve seen that over the past 10 years.

We’ve gotta change it. That’s what my wish was for the Tea Party Movement. Instead of targeting specific candidates, target the entire system.

Del

January 2nd, 2011
7:58 pm

Dusty, I don’t smoke cigars in the house my wife would throw me out and lock the doors. In warm weather I’ll enjoy them out on the deck and in the winter I have a work shop with a space heater, so I don’t offed anyone.

wet wiccan

January 2nd, 2011
8:04 pm

SoCo – that sounds about right to me.

Del

January 2nd, 2011
8:07 pm

oops correction on my last. I meant so I don’t offend anyone not off anyone…my bad.

Southern Comfort

January 2nd, 2011
8:11 pm

Off anyone

Dusty

January 2nd, 2011
8:13 pm

I don’t believe the AJC was being fair to Gov. Perdue today. (Surprise!) The front page headline was PERDUE PUSHED PET PROJECTS. What kind of projects did they expect him to push? Something he did not like? His fishing project has brought more funds to Georgia.

As to Perdue’s pet projects being in Houston County, his home county, it is one of the poorest and that is where funds are supposed to be spent. The Oaky woods deal does sound questionable but naturalists were pushing that purchase to save a certain type of woodlands (for posterity!). If it was near the property of Gov. Perdue, I doubt that it would bring a big profit to the governor. A new fruit stand down the road or something? OH well.

Way down in the last of the AJC report, they did mention that the same thing had always happened with Democratic governors. Pet projects were found in their counties. Never heard about any indictments against any of them. Governors are going to spend money somewhere in the state. It might as well be in their own poor county.

Dusty

January 2nd, 2011
8:15 pm

It is OK, Del. You did not OOFed me. Outside for cigars is fine.

Hillbilly Deluxe

January 2nd, 2011
8:17 pm

The one I’ve heard most often is the wack-o dreams it brings on

I have those and I ain’t even on medication.

Dusty

January 2nd, 2011
8:21 pm

HillBilly Deluxe,

Wacho dreams,; huh? Maybe you are inhaling too much smoke from the wood stove.

Hillbilly Deluxe

January 2nd, 2011
8:22 pm

Dusty

If you go and talk to the people who live in Clay County, NC (which borders Towns County, GA), they’ll tell you Zell Miller is the best Governor they’ve ever had. They say he helped them a lot more than anybody in Raleigh ever did.

Hillbilly Deluxe

January 2nd, 2011
8:22 pm

And I ain’t got a wood stove.

josef nix

January 2nd, 2011
8:27 pm

Hillbilly
No wood stove? I would’ve thought you did…Granny never would let them take hers out…my nephew and niece who live there now still have it and still use it in the wintertime and my niece still cooks on it when it’s lighted up…they still go out and collect pine knotts (lighter knotts), too…

Dusty

January 2nd, 2011
8:28 pm

HillBilly ,

No meds and no wood stove! hmmm Maybe an overdose of bluegrass ?

By the way, why did those tarheels like Zell Miller so much? I always liked him ’cause I thought he was honest.

Hillbilly Deluxe

January 2nd, 2011
8:30 pm

josef

I’ve often wished I did have one but I’ve never gotten around to putting one in. My Grandpa wouldn’t eat a biscuit unless it was cooked on a woodstove. Granny cooked his biscuits on the wood stove and everything else on the electric stove, as long as he lived.

Hillbilly Deluxe

January 2nd, 2011
8:34 pm

Dusty

They liked Zell because the money he put into his home county of Towns, when he was Governor, spilled over into North Carolina and they profitted from it. The people I know in West NC feel about their state government, a whole lot like the people in South Georgia do, that it’s hundreds of miles away and doesn’t give a rip about them.

Everybody has their own opinion, but I know quite a lot of people who have known Zell since his college days, and from what they tell me, he was Zig Zag Zell, long before he got the name from politics.

Dusty

January 2nd, 2011
8:36 pm

I was looking at new wood stoves just last week. I was in Ace Hardward for something else and there were these little black iron beauties all ready for wood and cooking and warming fires. Made my pioneer spirit rise . Or better still, a nice mountain cabin. (This from one too lazy to keep fireplace embers going.)

Del

January 2nd, 2011
8:37 pm

Give em hell Zell. More politicians should be like him. Gnite y’all gotta go, I have a 3 year old tuggin on me to read her a good night story.

josef nix

January 2nd, 2011
8:37 pm

Hillbilly
There some things that just aren’t the same not cooked that way…greens being one of them…Granny also cooked in the fireplace. She had a whole set of cast iron utensils just for that purpose…what Mama’s generation thought were “old fashioned” are now worth a bloody fortune…another one of my nieces has one of her Dutch ovens and still uses it…modern house in the suburbs and most folks coming in think it’s just for decoration and are surprised to find out she cooks in it…

Kamchak

January 2nd, 2011
8:42 pm

I got Buck Stove fireplace inserts both here and in that place in a small hamlet in the N.C. mountains. Convenient when the electricity goes out. You can’t boil water on the tops of ‘em, but you can heat a pot enough for hot tea on a cold powerless morn.

Dusty

January 2nd, 2011
8:42 pm

Goodnight, Del. Sweet dreams for your little one.

josef nix

January 2nd, 2011
8:46 pm

K’Chak
That was why Granny didn’t want hers taken out…the area she lived was subject to some pretty rough ice storms in the winter and the power might be out for days…her stove had (has) a “reservoir” for keeping water hot…

Del
Good night and from the teacher THANKS for the reading…give her a hug for me…

Dusty

January 2nd, 2011
8:50 pm

I do love a fireplace with a nice fire. When it is going good, just back up and warm the “posterior anatomy” all toasty. The furnace just doesn’t cut it for pleasure but it surely is earier to adjust the thermostat than build a fire. I confess: some folks are just plain lazy!!

Southern Comfort

January 2nd, 2011
8:53 pm

Don’t have a woodburning stove, but there’s a fair amount of cast iron cookware in the kitchen here. No Southern kitchen is complete without cast iron…

Gonna hit the sack myself. Just finished making a few cd’s to ride to work with. There’s not good music at 4-5am on the radio.

Later all!!!!

Kamchak

January 2nd, 2011
8:59 pm

josef

Back when I was a wee boyo, my da would take me to visit his da who lived waaaaaay out in rural east Georgia. (Grandpa and Grandma were divorced, a scandal in rural Georgia in that day. Never did get the details….) and while he had a proper gas stove for cooking, heat was provided by a pot-bellied wood burning stove and I recall a dozen or so nights listening to them talk, Dad smoking his camel no-filters, while grandpa rolled his own from Prince Albert in the can and me staring in the fire til I fell asleep.

Dusty

January 2nd, 2011
8:59 pm

SoCo,

I can’t think of anything very good at 4 am. Even a cup of coffee. Keep that airport straightened out tomorrow. Goodnight now..

josef nix

January 2nd, 2011
9:00 pm

gotta run, too…early morning coming tomorrow…g’night

josef nix

January 2nd, 2011
9:02 pm

K’chak

Before I go…many of the same memories…one of my prize possessions is one of Granddaddy’s Prince Albert cans!

Dusty

January 2nd, 2011
9:04 pm

Kamchak,

“Prince Albert in the can!” That one really went around with the old jokes. What happened with Prince Albert and his can? Did the non smoking advocates bring about his abdication?

Dusty

January 2nd, 2011
9:06 pm

Goodnight, Josef. May the kiddies be kind to you tomorrow…

Kamchak

January 2nd, 2011
9:11 pm

I dunno, Dusty. I kinda believe that Prince Albert in the can went the way of my late grandpa. Much more convenient to buy pre-rolled cigarettes.

Billy Bob

January 2nd, 2011
9:14 pm

Goodnight John Boy.

Dusty

January 2nd, 2011
9:27 pm

Kamchak,

I got to thinking about what you thought might have happened to Pince Allbert. I googled Prince Albert and up came a picture as big as life, Albert still standing on his red can. Yep, a 14 oz can of Prince Albert tobacco can be ordered for $25.99 It is sold by the Smoking Spirits company, owned and operated by an enrolled member of the Seneca Nation of Indians.

How about that? I thought Prince Albert was long gone my self. But he is still available.

Kamchak

January 2nd, 2011
9:48 pm

Dusty

Well faith and begorrah ain’t that something. I get my pipe tobacco from The Tinder Box chain stores. My favorite is North Sea.

Dusty

January 2nd, 2011
9:56 pm

Kamchak,

“Faith and begorrah”?? Ye must be wearing a bit of the green for ol’ Ireland. Anyway, I am sure you will soon be ordering a can of Prince Albert. No more North Sea. The Seneca are counting on you.

Now, I ,too, am off to the land of nod so I won’t be nodding tomorrow. Pleasant dreams. Goodnight…

Scout

January 2nd, 2011
10:12 pm

For Del and the few others who may be interested:

Seven Myths About the Vietnam War :

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1021097/posts

Kammys Handpuppet

January 2nd, 2011
11:03 pm

Same old same old.

josef nix

January 3rd, 2011
6:52 am

And a top o’ the mornin’ to all ye lads and lassies of the Day Crew, be ye kind to one another today and the blessings of the New Year…and double it for the little Micks amongst ye, ’specially the l’il fairy ones…

Thanks again for the fun during break and now it’s back to the real world and the get ready for the Return of the Snot Nosed…

Mick

January 3rd, 2011
7:49 am

josef

Good luck to you today..

usinuk

Still out there? Hope you had a great holiday, good luck this coming year…..now its back to the grind….I feel lucky that I at least have something to grind.

Bill Orvis White

January 3rd, 2011
7:52 am

@josef nix

It’s about making our fighting forces the best that they can be. The US Marines don’t want to repeal DADT and if anyone knows that this vote was wrongheaded, it’s the very fighting men who are out there on foreign soil protecting us from those who want to kill us for just being who we are. Did you know that a man of the religious cloth will have his free speech rights taken away under this bill? DID YOU KNOW THAT, JOSEF NIX? Is this America or the USSR? Did you know that a preacher cannot say certain things to the troops such as, “homosexuality is an abomination?” HOLD IT! Even if you disagree with that opinion, the man of the cloth should have the right to say it to whomever he wants to at any time he wants. It’s up to the soldier if he wants to listen to the preacher’s ideas. I beg to ask, IS THIS AMERICA OR THE USSR? Why are people like you so misguided and refuse to read the Constitution of the United States?

Amen and God Bless America and the Southern Coalition of the United States,
Bill

josef nix

January 3rd, 2011
7:52 am

Some of us like our jobs TOO much, got to work and found out I don’t have to be back until tomorrow…so, what’s to complain…

Doggone/GA

January 3rd, 2011
7:55 am

“Did you know that a man of the religious cloth will have his free speech rights taken away under this bill?”

There is no unhindered right to free speech in the armed forces. If a Chaplain doesn’t feel he/she can do their job properly under the rules in force, there’s always to option to leave the military. No one is forceing them to stay.

stands for decibels

January 3rd, 2011
8:02 am

Mornin’.

DGA @ 7.55, I really wouldn’t waste my time with the likes of Bill, lest you wind up like this person.

Doggone/GA

January 3rd, 2011
8:07 am

Thanks sfd, but sometimes it’s just fun to tweak them and see if they’ll respond!

TaxPayer

January 3rd, 2011
8:08 am

Where did the saying, “man of the cloth,” originate.

josef nix

January 3rd, 2011
8:09 am

Bill Orvis

Good, you’re back. Before I say anything else, let’s get this straight from the get-go as we say down in Dixie. Our boy is career military. He served in Bosnia, Kossovo, two tours in Iraq including Shock and Awe, and in Afghanistan. I got an e-mail yesterday that one of my favorite cousin’s boy was wounded in Afghanistan. My better half is from a career military family and our boy joined up to continue a family tradition that stretches pre-Columbian. You want to bring G-d and your interpretation of the Holy Scriptures into it. That is fine and good and I will be the first to go to bat for your freedom to express that belief according to your own or your sectarian doctrine. I am a man of faith, too. We are citizens of the United States of America (I assume you are a citizen). This is our land, our home, our country. But it belongs to others than just you and me as well. To say that because they may or may not share our religious sectarian beliefs or share our own taste in titilation of plumbing does not make them any less American or any less patriotic or any less willing to lay down their lives so that the likes of you and I can sit here in the cozy security of our homes and trade barbs. If you are a man of honor, you should be able to honor that.

You get all bent out of shape and want to know if we’re the USSR. Your opinions on gays and gays in the military would be right in line with those of the USSR as well as Yemen, Afghanistan, Iraq,
Saudi Arabia and a few choice others not known for being particularly tolerant of your own faith (or mine)…

Finally, you want to bring Southern into it? Not with me you don’t. I’ll put my Southern credentials up against yours any day of the week. If you don’t believe it, just ask the Bruin!

jewcowboy

January 3rd, 2011
8:12 am

Well good morning and happy new year to everyone. Why do vacations have to end?

stands for decibels

January 3rd, 2011
8:14 am

Q: Where did the saying, “man of the cloth,” originate.

A: Jerry Reed. Pretty sure. Well, it was the first time I ever heard the phrase, anyway.

@@

January 3rd, 2011
8:14 am

Great article…lengthy, but worthwhile.

In summation?

Is the overall picture a shame? Yes. Is it distorting resource distribution and productivity in the meantime? Yes. Will it again bring our economy to its knees? Probably. Maybe that’s simply the price of modern society. Income inequality will likely continue to rise and we will search in vain for the appropriate political remedies for our underlying problems.

http://www.the-american-interest.com/article-bd.cfm?piece=907

All the more reason to experience life thru the standards, set by the individual, not the standards politicians would have us envy. One man’s “Jones” is another man’s good neighbor.

josef nix

January 3rd, 2011
8:15 am

Had to go look up man of the cloth…

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2002/whats-the-origin-of-man-of-the-cloth

stands for decibels

January 3rd, 2011
8:16 am

raunched the linkee @ 8.14; here it is…

http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/j/jerry_reed/amos_moses.html

Mick

January 3rd, 2011
8:24 am

josef@8:09

If that ain’t a pro-american screed, I don’t know what is..

josef nix

January 3rd, 2011
8:25 am

For those of y’all who may have missed it, Bill referred to the eight GOP senators who voted to repeal DADT as “traitors.” That’s where this little set-to started…

Normal

January 3rd, 2011
8:30 am

Well said, Josef

josef nix

January 3rd, 2011
8:48 am

jewcowboy

Welcome back…hope the vacation was everything you wanted it to be and more…

Real Scooter

January 3rd, 2011
8:51 am

doesn’t feel he/she can do their job properly under the rules in force, there’s always to option to leave the military. No one is forceing them to stay.

Couldn’t that be said for the Gay folks also Doggone?

Doggone/GA

January 3rd, 2011
8:52 am

“Couldn’t that be said for the Gay folks also Doggone?”

Nope. They were forced to LIE under DADT. No one is forcing Chaplains to lie.

Real Scooter

January 3rd, 2011
8:55 am

How were they forced to lie? Water boarded maybe?

Doggone/GA

January 3rd, 2011
8:55 am

“How were they forced to lie?”

It appears you don’t really know very much about DADT. Thank heaven it’s been repealed.

TaxPayer

January 3rd, 2011
8:56 am

Couldn’t that be said for the Gay folks also Doggone?

It could be that the gays outnumber the men of the cloth but that might be subject to interpretation. Anyway, I hear there’s strength in numbers.

josef nix

January 3rd, 2011
8:59 am

Real Scooter…
I’ll take you on, too, if need be! I’ve got the day off!

Let me pose to you the following…go through a whole day in which you at no point can make mention of your significant other, share a jest about your own sex-life or lack thereof, answer the question “what did you do this week-end…” I think you get the picture…just try it…you’ll see…

jewcowboy

January 3rd, 2011
9:01 am

josef nix,

“Let me pose to you the following…”

Or consciously think about the gender of your pronouns every time you do speak about something personal.

Real Scooter

January 3rd, 2011
9:02 am

It appears you don’t really know very much about DADT

In my opinion,I know as much about DADT as you know about the military.And what does this have to do with how they were forced to lie?

Doggone/GA

January 3rd, 2011
9:05 am

“And what does this have to do with how they were forced to lie?”

As I said…you don’t appear to know much about DADT. By it’s very existence, it forced gay service members to lie.

But it’s all academic now. The policy has been repealed, so arguing about it is just so much wasted hot air.

josef nix

January 3rd, 2011
9:06 am

jewcowboy

That “consciously think about the gender of your pronouns.” That right there lies at the heart of it. And every time we do it, we’re consciously reminded of the inherent problems that can result in making the slightest slip up…

josef nix

January 3rd, 2011
9:08 am

Real Scooter…
You ask how were they forced to lie…I answered that, I thought…and know about the military? Not much experience there myself, but I do take our boy’s word for it…

Doggone/GA

January 3rd, 2011
9:08 am

“And every time we do it, we’re consciously reminded of the inherent problems that can result in making the slightest slip up”

Maybe, in the cause of equality, we need to start a movement that all significant others must be referred to as “it”!

jewcowboy

January 3rd, 2011
9:09 am

josef nix,

“hope the vacation was everything you wanted it to be and more…”

It was once I finally got there. Trying to get out of Atlanta was a lesson in patience. I had a layover in Rome, where they made everyone disembark and hand search everybody’s luggage, even those of us who were just continuing through.

It was a little colder than I thought it would be so no beach, but there was the heated pool

Real Scooter

January 3rd, 2011
9:09 am

Good morn josef! Let me start out by saying I have no problem with Gays serving in the military.But I am still of the opinion that the military commanders should have decided what was best for the military.

Doggone/GA

January 3rd, 2011
9:11 am

“But I am still of the opinion that the military commanders should have decided what was best for the military.”

Like they decided what was “best” when the military was desegregated?

Bosch

January 3rd, 2011
9:14 am

Happy New Year all — back to the grind.

Doggone,

“we need to start a movement that all significant others must be referred to as “it”!”

Or…the other [insert name here]

Real Scooter

January 3rd, 2011
9:14 am

Like they decided what was “best” when the military was desegregated

Good point Doggone. No refutiating that!

Bosch

January 3rd, 2011
9:15 am

“But I am still of the opinion that the military commanders should have decided what was best for the military.”

I was of the opinion that is exactly what happened.

Doggone/GA

January 3rd, 2011
9:16 am

Bosch – actually MY choice would be “my partner”

josef nix

January 3rd, 2011
9:17 am

Doggone

Unmentionable is ahead of us on that one, he’s been calling me It for a long time!

jewcowboy
Sorry about the beach and the hassels…

Real Scooter…
Using that line of thought, however, blacks couldn’t serve either…the commanders are responsible for the conduct of battle, etc. not for who is and who is not an equal citizen…that’s why our military is under civilian control…

Normal

January 3rd, 2011
9:17 am

“we need to start a movement that all significant others must be referred to as “it”!”

The Alice’s Restaurant Massacre Movement!

Doggone/GA

January 3rd, 2011
9:18 am

“Good point Doggone”

Thank you. The bottom line is that the military is ultimately under civilian control and sometimes it IS necessary to force things on the military command that they don’t think they will like.

Doggone/GA

January 3rd, 2011
9:18 am

josef – GMTA!

Doggone/GA

January 3rd, 2011
9:19 am

Normal – Massacree, not Massacre!

Normal

January 3rd, 2011
9:20 am

…That’s because my “significan other’ wouldn’t allow it! Besides that’s the only movement I know of…

Real Scooter

January 3rd, 2011
9:20 am

I was of the opinion that is exactly what happened

Are you sure about that Bosch? I was thinking otherwise.

Normal

January 3rd, 2011
9:21 am

Doggone,
Dammit, and it passed spell check too!

josef nix

January 3rd, 2011
9:21 am

For “official” purposes I like the term “spouse” even if does sound somewhat like a vermin. For other purposes I use “Other Half” or “Better Half” since ours is a relationship of equals…

Doggone/GA

January 3rd, 2011
9:23 am

“Dammit, and it passed spell check too!”

No, no…you spelled Massacre correctly…but the quote is Massacree

josef nix

January 3rd, 2011
9:23 am

Doggone
GMTA? New one for me…what is?

Doggone/GA

January 3rd, 2011
9:24 am

“since ours is a relationship of equals…”

That’s why I like partner – it indicates that state of equality that “husband” and “wife” don’t always have.

Doggone/GA

January 3rd, 2011
9:25 am

Josef – GMTA = Great Minds Think Alike, we both referred to the civilian control of the armed forces

Real Scooter

January 3rd, 2011
9:26 am

UNCLE!!!!

josef nix

January 3rd, 2011
9:27 am

Real Scooter

Shoot! You’re TOO easy!

Real Scooter

January 3rd, 2011
9:32 am

Shoot! You’re TOO easy

It didn’t take me long to figure out that the odds were against me!

josef nix

January 3rd, 2011
9:35 am

Tell me, ain’t it about time somebody wakes Jay up? I want to know what he thinks is the timely first thread of the New Year…

Pennsylvanian

January 3rd, 2011
9:40 am

josef nix @ 9:35. “Tell me, ain’t it about time somebody wakes Jay up? I want to know what he thinks is the timely first thread of the New Year…”

Relax. Give him a break. The White House is late sending the official talking points memo with selected copy/paste items.

TaxPayer

January 3rd, 2011
9:40 am

We need a GOP list of resolutions to start off the new year.

Doggone/GA

January 3rd, 2011
9:43 am

“We need a GOP list of resolutions to start off the new year”

No list needed, they’ve only got one: undo everything done in the last 2 years

Pennsylvanian

January 3rd, 2011
9:43 am

TaxPayer – That will be right after the reading of the Constitution.

josef nix

January 3rd, 2011
9:47 am

Penn….
Well, there is that! And then he has to find us a nice graph/chart to go with it…

Bill Orvis White

January 3rd, 2011
9:50 am

@Josef Nix
I thank your family for their service, but facts are facts. Most of the United States Marines don’t want to repeal DADT because it will damage their effectiveness on the battlefield. That part isn’t coming from me.

I’m not questioning your Southern credentials. I would ask that you be open to an idea that I have called The Southern Coalition of the United State of America. These great Southern states need to band together to fight the power grab coming out of Washington and the corrupt Hussein Obama administration.

Lastly, I ask that you be open to Tea Party Patriots who are calling out traitors and Godless Democrats alike.

If you’re not open to these pro-American ideals, then I would have to say that you’re just as much of a traitor as those eight Republicans who joined forces with Harry Reid, Hussein Obama, Wiccan Pelosi, Bawney Frank and Hussein Obama.

God Bless,
Bill

Pennsylvanian

January 3rd, 2011
9:52 am

josef nix – I think Jay has nekkid pictures of Sarah, he’s just holding out on us.

TaxPayer

January 3rd, 2011
9:59 am

What does it mean to have “pro-American ideals.”

TaxPayer

January 3rd, 2011
10:00 am

And, what is the definition of “traitor.”

Doggone/GA

January 3rd, 2011
10:03 am

“Most of the United States Marines don’t want to repeal DADT because it will damage their effectiveness on the battlefield.”

How?

BADA BING

January 3rd, 2011
10:04 am

Once again ATL shows why people don’t want to go downtown. A 14 year old boy went to see the Peach Drop Friday night and paid with his life. If you were there, it could have been you.

Southern Comfort

January 3rd, 2011
10:05 am

Lastly, I ask that you be open to Tea Party Patriots who are calling out traitors and Godless Democrats alike.

Paron the profanity, but what in the hell does someone’s religion or lack thereof have to do with governance of this country. Are you looking to create theocracy here like in Saudi Arabia or other countries ruled by religion?

If you indeed had Pro-American ideals, you wouldn’t give a damn about someone’s religion as we all have the freedom to express our individual religion or the lack there of. People like you are the reason this country is so damned fu*ked up to start with. There’s nothing wrong with religion and expressing it. However, religion does not belong in the government.

jewcowboy

January 3rd, 2011
10:07 am

TaxPayer,

“We need a GOP list of resolutions to start off the new year.”

Here is one from Michael Steel, enshrining bigotry into the Constitution:

NOM’s Frank Cannon asks Steel, “If the federal courts were to strike down the California law and discover a federal right to gay marriage, in essence, would you fully stand behind the Republican platform’s call for federal marriage amendment?”

Says Steele: “Oh, absolutely. Without hesitation or doubt. In fact we would partner with our leadership in the House and our governors and leadership in the state legislatures to create a very very strong front line if you will, on that issue. I can’t again stress how important that is for how we will lead as a people, and how we will see ourselves as a nation. And again, that is not to the exclusion of anyone, it’s not anti- anyone, or any group. It’s just so fundamental and foundational, I think it needs to be protected.”

Southern Comfort

January 3rd, 2011
10:11 am

And again, that is not to the exclusion of anyone, it’s not anti- anyone, or any group. It’s just so fundamental and foundational, I think it needs to be protected.”

What kind of warped logic is that? It’s not anti- anyone, yet you want to make a federal amendment that’s basically anti- gay marriage? This year needs to be the year to call the stupid to the front of the class and make them explain themselves. We should quit coddling idiots and expose them all for the jackasses they are.

Doggone/GA

January 3rd, 2011
10:13 am

“This year needs to be the year to call the stupid to the front of the class and make them explain themselves. We should quit coddling idiots and expose them all for the jackasses they are”

I’d buy a ticket to see THAT

Gale

January 3rd, 2011
10:18 am

“Most of the United States Marines don’t want to repeal DADT because it will damage their effectiveness on the battlefield.”

Complete nonsense. If a Marine was not battle-ready, I suspect he would never see action.

Southern Comfort

January 3rd, 2011
10:18 am

Doggone

I may have to start my own blog this year. The level of stupidity is almost unbearable.

Dusty

January 3rd, 2011
10:19 am

Is Prince Albert out of the can this morning?

TaxPayer

January 3rd, 2011
10:21 am

I’m trying to plan for this new year’s expense increases so I can figure out how much I need to make in the stock market to cover the added costs. First, we use about 500 gallons of gas per year so if gas prices increase by an average of two dollar per gallon this year, I’ll need to budget another 1000 dollars. In order to acquire that 1000 dollars from investment income, I could purchase, for example, 513 shares of Verizon since it pays $1.95 per share in annual dividends but that would require tying up over $18,000 in the stock at current prices for an entire year. Nah! I need a better investment. There’s gotta be something out there with a better return. Something that will pull in at least 20% ROI annually. Oh, woe is me.

josef nix

January 3rd, 2011
10:24 am

Bill Orvis

First off, the Marines are not the only branch of the Armed Services and are, by tradition, the most conservative. Even there the figures from the DOD were not overwhelming…40-60% expressing some degree of opposition to serving with openly gay personnel…

I’m not asking you to respect my family’s service. I merely made that point to make it clear that mine is not a perspective drawn from a lack of contact with the military mindset.

As for the South and what it means to be a Southerner, our highest ideal and one of the pillars of our civilization is the concept of honor.

I am certainly no fan of President Obama whose two-stepping on the matter of equal rights for gays mirrors your position far more than mine. But whether or not he is to continue in office is constitutionally a matter of the ballot box. I did not vote for him in 2008 and I will not vote for him in 2012.

G-dless Democrats? Says who? There are just as many Democrats of faith as there are any other “party.” And remember that the Good Book abjures us to judge not lest we be judged.

Be careful with your use of the term traitor. That is dangerous. Failure to adhere to the Tea Party program does not per force make one a traitor. Adherence to the Tea Party program does not make one per force a traitor.

I happen to find Pelosi one of the most unpleasant persons in public service today and would cheer her exit. Barney Frank is an embarassment and I do not like him and his behavior at all. Harry Reid is a two-stepping wimp (i.e. DADT) and is another one whose exit I would crack a bottle of champagne to celebrate. But that does not make them traitors. It makes them politicians.

And if my belief in the equality of all under the Constitution of the United States of America makes me a traitor then put me in there with Patrick Henry, the greatest champion of religious freedom among the founding fathers, “if this be treason, then make the most of it!”

Jackie

January 3rd, 2011
10:24 am

@SoCo

If President Obama had called Rep. Wilson (R-SC) out at the State of the Union address in 2009 when he shouted out “liar,” this political climate that we are experiencing would not be present.

Dusty

January 3rd, 2011
10:24 am

TAXPAYER,

Gov. Perdue would like for you to open a fruit stand down in Houston County. Benefits? Fishing!!

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 3rd, 2011
10:25 am

SouCo

I may have to start my own blog this year. The level of stupidity is almost unbearable.
—————————-

Then we would have to screw with your blog filters to see what gets past them

Good morning all

Josef

I see where you were so excited to get back to the little snotters you went back a day early LOL

Doggone/GA

January 3rd, 2011
10:26 am

SoCo – can’t argue with that

Gale

January 3rd, 2011
10:26 am

FWIW, I agree with josef and Doggone; for legal papers and partner for general usage. Personally, I use partner because legally, I cannot use spouse. I admit though, I sometimes feel we should start a business because I think some people think I am referring to a business partner. It really does not have the same significance as spouse.

Mick

January 3rd, 2011
10:26 am

bill orvis

You are plainly a silly person with very foolish ideas about what this country is about. Obama was elected by the people of this country with an electoral and popular majority. If you don’t like the constitution or the people’s choice, then find another country. You won’t be missed.

josef nix

January 3rd, 2011
10:31 am

Penn
Either Sister Sarah or Brother Brown!

Southern Comfort

January 3rd, 2011
10:32 am

Jackie

You may have a point there, but I think it goes back even farther than that. I think this has been brewing for more than 20 years, and each subsequent event fans the flames even more. You had the whole impeachment thing with Clinton. Then, the Bush/Gore election. Add the anti-war protests against Bush/Cheney, and now the current attacks from the right on Obama. Somebody’s gotta step forward and put an end to this crap.

NoCom

I’d have to be careful with my position within the government. If I did a blog, I’d have to walk on eggshells to make sure I don’t get in trouble at work. However, I wouldn’t filter other people’s words. I want the idiots and a–holes to expose themselves for who they actually are.

TaxPayer

January 3rd, 2011
10:33 am

My dad used to roll his own. He could hold that little paper curled in one hand and sprinkle just the right amount out of that Prince Albert can without dropping a single piece of that precious tobacco and roll that paper up one handed, lick it along the edge and finish rolling it, place it on his lip to free up his hand for use to light a strike anywhere match and light that freshly rolled cigarette while simultaneously closing that can and slipping it back in his pocket in an almost seamless motion. When they came out with those big rolling papers with the glue pre-applied to the edge, he just asked “why on earth would anyone waste their money on such nonsense.” Later, he found out about a new generation of rollers that didn’t much care for those smaller papers with no glue but that’s another story.

Bosch

January 3rd, 2011
10:34 am

Mick,

I watched the first three seasons of “Dexter” while the fam was on vacation. It made me long for the South Beach!

Mick

January 3rd, 2011
10:37 am

bosch

Yes, we are back to miami weather, 70’s and nice. Now, about those dolphins and hurricanes……terible.

Dusty

January 3rd, 2011
10:39 am

MICK,–U said: If you don’t like the constitution or the people’’s choice, then find another country.

Now let’s not get picky here. George W. Bush was the “people’s choice”. TWICE! Democrats waged a war of ugly words against him. How soon Democrats forget their own expressed disgust and insults that they produced. I did not see a single one leaving the country in rejection of Bush..

Time to stop vitriol from both sides. We would get along much better except for Bookman. He would have a hard time without a “bone of contention”. That’’s his job mellowed with a little music.

josef nix

January 3rd, 2011
10:39 am

SoCo
Civility is not a lost art in my opinion, but it’s certainly not much on exhibition these days, either. My own personal belief (and, okay, I’m an optimist) is that the day is coming and coming soon when the partisans of both sides will be told to shut up and go away…

josef nix

January 3rd, 2011
10:41 am

DUSTY

Ah, but it’s the Bruin’s mellowing with music that does, if you participate, bring us together for at least a moment…

MICK
I saw that you’d seen an iguana…any more?

josef nix

January 3rd, 2011
10:45 am

GALE

And on a bad hair day, Ball and Chain fits the bill!

Dusty

January 3rd, 2011
10:46 am

Taxpayer,

I award you a fine can of Prince Albert (from the Smoking Spirits of the Seneca Nation) for your interesting description of your father’s rolling ability. He was an expert. They just don’t make ‘em like that anymore. I can’t remember the last time I saw someone roll a cigarette. Another lost “art”.

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 3rd, 2011
10:49 am

SoCo – I see what you are saying about an open blog, but I have a tendancy when I see a screed that really is not directed at some others comments to just scroll past it. You can’t fix stupid (even with Duct Tape).

There are many others even if I disagree I will take the time to read as they have valid points

Civility (on both sides) is not dead it’s just in hibernation (like the Bruin)

Dusty

January 3rd, 2011
10:55 am

JOSEF,

Bookman does not “mellow” with my kind of music. But I can see that it brings a lot of pleasure to most of you. That’s fine. I just lay low and don’t linger long.

Did you see Lang Lang playing with the NY PHilamonic a few days ago? That man is absolutely amazing in his skill and accomplishments. He is almost miraculous. Never have I see such joy and skill at the piano.

TaxPayer

January 3rd, 2011
10:56 am

Do people smoke their wacky tobacky with a bong these days or do people still roll their own. Those Prince Albert cans could be re-purposed too. Maybe sketch in some longer hair on the dude with a magic marker.

Farm Boy in TN

January 3rd, 2011
10:59 am

Mick

- -If you don’t like the constitution or the people’s choice, then find another country. You won’t be missed.- -

Nice lecture about what the constitution is all about.

Di you happen to read the Bill of Rights? It’s that first amendment that must drive you crazy. Imagine a person having the right to criticize the president. How dare they?

So in the eight years that you left the country while Bush was in office, did you get homesick at all?

Southern Comfort

January 3rd, 2011
11:02 am

josef

I hope you’re right.

Southern Comfort

January 3rd, 2011
11:06 am

NoCom

I’m not gonna try to fix stupid. I just want to expose it so that it can not mutate and multiply.

josef nix

January 3rd, 2011
11:08 am

Farm Boy

If you ask Mick he wasn’t in the country. He was in Miami! Verdad, amigo?

But as to your point, yes, you can and should criticise the President. But to call him a traitor? That’s our right under the Constitution, but it’s pushing the envelope…

Common Sense isn't very Common

January 3rd, 2011
11:09 am

SoCo – any luck finding that stupid gene yet LOL

TaxPayer

January 3rd, 2011
11:09 am

Dollar General plans to hire 6000 people. I don’t know whether to consider that a good or not so good thing. Do they sell anything made in America.

josef nix

January 3rd, 2011
11:10 am

SoCo

Well, hope does spring eternal! Just ask Pandora and I’m not sure that myth has not become reality…

Jackie

January 3rd, 2011
11:10 am

@SoCo

I think it started with Newt Gingrich in 1994. He was determined to use his power to control the government and “threw bombs” at Dems or anyone who dared question him.

Mick

January 3rd, 2011
11:11 am

dusty

Remember, I’m from florida where jeb had over 60k scrubbed from the voter rolls, how much did w win by? 534 votes or something. Then he was selected by the supremes. It’s all water under the bridge as far as I’m concerned but look at the catastrophe that the US became from 2001-2008.

farm boy

You need to keep plowing, I never said anything about not being able to criticize the president, it goes with the turf..

TaxPayer

January 3rd, 2011
11:11 am

I don’t rightly care in Billy Bob from TN calls Obama a traitor or not but I would like to see the little farm boy back up his loose lips with some form of factual evidence.

josef nix

January 3rd, 2011
11:18 am

Okay, y’all, Bruin’s back on the job…surprise! It’s the GOP…!!!
Gone upstairs for a little light reading….

Dusty

January 3rd, 2011
11:23 am

MIck ,

I’m not fighting a battle that has already been won. If Jeb Bush removed illegal voters from the rolls, he should have. If the Supremes decided Bush won, it was what they considered correct. As unusual as it may be, I do not think that all people are crooked. Even Democrats!!

So..wiggle in the warmth of Miami while I must venture into the cold consortiums of Atlanta. Even an iguana would not stop long in Atlanta. Freeze his tail right off. I know the feeling!!

Some New Year’s travelin’ music from right here at home

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Some New Year’s travelin’ music from right here at home

376 comments Add your comment

About Jay Bookman

Search this blog

Recent Posts

Archives

More from the AJC

Blogroll

FairTax archive

Laffer Curve debunked

The House GOP budget

All AJC blogs »

Tell us what you think about the site

Subscribe »

Customer Care »

AJC Services

Sections

Other Editions

Guides

Affiliates

Advertising

AJC Sites