Sunday, February 28, 2010

Olympic Sports We Should Add

The other day I was sitting at home during the afternoon (something that is happening more and more often), flipping channels and I came across some Olympic coverage of the "sport" of Curling. Now, to be frank it looked like a lot of fun and something that would be great to do during an afternoon of drinking, but to call it a sport, much less an Olympic one, is quite a stretch. Do you remember a couple of years back when poker nuts wanted to include the "sport" of card games of chance in the Olympics? That was perhaps even more silly than Curling becoming an event. Let us take a look at some of the other sports and pass times that we could include in the Olympic games down the road.

The aforementioned poker could be a added to the menu. It could be either in the summer or winter games. We may as well add slot machine playing for good measure.

The pass time of playing pool could also be entered. It does not really qualify as a sport per se, but at least there is an element of skill involved.

Ditto for Golf.

If we add pool and golf to the Olympic mix, I guess we might as well include bowling. The Olympics could enter both sober and intoxicated categories to extend the events. The same could go for pool and golf also.

Quarters, the beer drinking game, should surely have its time at the games. It could be either a winter event held in a nice pub, or a summer one where the contestants sit at picnic tables by a picturesque lake.

Let's not forget darts and lawn darts (jarts). They certainly need to be included.

Pole dancing most certainly should be added. Probably should be a summer game but either summer or winter would suffice. Well, maybe winter would be better. Summer already has beach volleyball to appeal to our prurient interests.

I am sure that there are some things that I am leaving out, but never fear, if Curling is an Olympic game then anything can happen. Keep lobbying minor sports and drunken pass times enthusiasts - Your event may be included next.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Health Care Again

Well while on my way to the evil empire to do a little grocery shopping I turned on the radio (to start my day, and dreamed of a girl I used to know, I closed my eyes and I slipped away).Oh sorry, flashbacks of Boston. Anyway, I turned on the radio and listened to a few minutes of Rush (the blabber mouth, not the band). As of this writing President Obama is having another one of his health care discussions with various members of Congress and of course Rush is playing commentator. Nothing wrong with that in itself I suppose. The problem here is that Rush and that somewhat buffoonish Sean tout a "free market solution" to the health care problem. Now that is fine and good of course, but what type of free market solutions are they talking about. Do they even know? Now the "free market solutions" that are spoken of may be a somewhat too little too late. The insurance and health care industry has had decades to fix any major problems that exist, but have put profits ahead of the lives of the American citizenry. That is why we now have the odious scene of the government getting involved in the whole fiasco. It is difficult to have any sympathy whatsoever with the insurance industry. They have made this bed and now will come time to lie in it, but still, having the government controlling something so important can be a huge problem. It has done so well with Social Security (in a lock box my ass hurts), Medicare, and fair tax collection.. No the government is probably not the answer. What then? Who knows? I do know that I am sick and tired of going to the corner store and seeing posters advertising a benefit selling BBQ plates so that a child can have money to access the health care system. Shame on the insurance industry. It is probable that it has been the cause of many deaths.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Why Should We Care About Israel's Survival or Why We Should Care

There are a great many in our country who seem to have a hatred of the tiny nation state of Israel. I must admit that I myself have some reservations about the nation. I still harbor resentment resulting from their "accidental" air attack on the "Liberty." Our Navy should and could have taken out at least an armored regiment in response to that travesty. It would have had little or no effect on the outcome of Israel's war with the Mohammedans that was raging at the time. With that said, I also know for sure that many Mohammedans would already have perpetrated a "second Holocaust" on Israel if they had the capability. The whole region is a mess and it is really hard for me personally to have any sympathy with any of them. Now with that being said one has to ask themselves whether the survival of Israel is a matter of concern for those of us in the Western Democracies.

It is true that if Israel was destroyed tomorrow by the forces of Mohammad very little would change in our country. We would still have to get up Monday morning and go to work. There would be moaning and gnashing of teeth and indeed some rejoicing in some sectors, but in reality nothing much would change for us here. Why then is the survival of the state of Israel, with our military assistance if necessary, important? Read on and lets discuss the issue.

The survival of Israel holds a good deal of cultural importance to a large segment of western society. I am speaking of course of the Holy Sites of Christendom that are in Israel. A military victory of the Muslim nations over Israel may well place these sites in danger of destruction. It is undeniable that there are those followers of the Prophet that are destructive to the shrines of any "competing" religion. This have been observed in modern times with the destruction of ancient sites by the Taliban. Indeed there are some in the Jewish and Christian community that would be happy to destroy holy Islamic sites, but that of course has not, nor will it likely, happen. Most Jews and Christians generally don't have a "medieval" mindset, while unfortunately many Mohammedans (majority? Who Knows?) do. This reason alone is enough for many to have an interest in the survival of Israel.

Getting away from emotions for a moment; it is important that Israel survives for strategic reasons of interest to the western world. At this time Egypt and Jordan have reached an accommodation with Israel that is beneficial. Syria does not have the military capability to take on Israel alone and Lebanon is in a state of chaos. The other Muslim nations in the region do not seem to have any interest at this time in confronting Israel and Iran has not the force projection capability to seriously threaten Israel conventionally. The possibility of some sort of missile strike from Iran is not out of the question however. Nor is an attack by an Iranian proxy with some sort of wmd out of the realm of possibilities. Israel still finds herself in a precarious position surrounded by enemies and potential enemies. For instance, there is no guarantee that Egypt will remain in the hands of the current type of regime. It is not a far stretch to imagine some sort of "Islamic Revolution" that puts radicals in a position of power would come to pass. Radicals bent on the destruction of Israel. Then we would have a scenario that is quite different than the current one. The radicals in Egypt would align themselves with Hamas obviously, radical elements in Lebanon, make an accommodation with Syria and Jordan (with full aims of overthrowing those secular regimes after Israel is dealt with I would wager), and ally themselves with Iran and other radical elements. It is not out of the question that they would receive also some economic and military aid from the likes of Russia and China. Here is where it gets really tricky. The Suez Canal would be under the control of a radical regime resulting with the canal most likely being damaged(blocked) before Israel or any western power could do anything much to stop it. In that event the United States and other western nations would be obligated to take the region and attempt to repair and reopen the canal. The Suez Canal is after all of great strategic importance to Europe, much more than to the United States and other nations in the Americas. Here is where an intact Israel comes into play. Obviously there would have to be landings via the sea and air in the region and it would be much easier to land unopposed and indeed aided by Israel than to attempt to land on hostile beaches or airdrop troops in hostile territory. So you see, there is great strategic importance to the West in the survival of Israel. We in the West must insure that she remains armed to the teeth and ready and willing to support us in the eventuality of a military action.

Of course there are alternative actions that may occur in the above scenario. The most likely is that Israel herself would take the Sinai Peninsula and secure the canal. The question would be would her armed forces take the area before damage is done to the canal that would make repairs a long term undertaking?

This scenario may be "pooh poohed" by a good many and may not be an accurate prediction of things to come in the region, but it is certainly not beyond the range of possibilities.
We should therefore remain vigilant.

How We Got Saddled With Obama

There has been quite a bit written on how on earth this nation could have possibly elected Obama to the highest office in the land and arguably the most powerful position on earth. This has been analyzed ad nauseum and I will now further add more to the pile.

For starters just the man's name alone should have been enough to deter a substantial number of voters. His middle name after all is the same as the former Iraqi dictator's last name. Oh also did I mention that his last name rhymes with Osama. It makes one wonder if The Almighty might be playing some kind of trick on this nation. These unfortunate coincidences concerning the President's name would give many pause. That is probably wrong, but it is human nature.
Apparently not enought people gave into this and voted for the man.

Number two on this list is of course Obama garnishing most of the minority vote in this nation. Now this is somewhat understandable as a serious minority presidential candidate is pretty much a novelty. When such things become more common then people will use a bit more of their brain and less emotion when voting.

Number three is the fact that the vote for Obama was for a great many nothing more than a vote against the incompetency of the previous administration. Add the fact that the Republican candidate was a wishy washy weakling (politically) and Obama's election was all but assured.

Number four we come to the electorate that are true believers. Those with a extreme socialist and even Marxist bent are certain to have voted for Obama, perhaps believing he is one of their own. It is interesting that this borderline Marxist President is not near left enough for most of these voters. Most are sorely disappointed now. Don't believe me? Take a gander at some of their asinine blogs. I could recommend a few.

Number five we come to the young and dumb. A great many bought into the messianic hype and voted. Perhaps we should raise the voting age to the current drinking age.

Then of course we have the phenomena of those white liberals that voted for the man just to show themselves how hip they are. Good job!

Now we come to a very interesting minority of voters that should have no interest in voting for a man with such an anti-business, socialist agenda. Most business people distrust Obama and his associates and would not ever consider voting for him. I am talking about those in business that perhaps believe that a liberal administration would be much more receptive to their brand of business. An example would those in the pornography business. I am personally acquainted with someone who manages some sort of quasi sports betting on the Internet. The past administration has shown hostility to any kind of offshore sports betting which would and did make it difficult to lay the governments hands on individual winnings. In this particular case it perhaps made sense for the person in question to (obviously) vote for and indeed campaign for Obama. It is doubtful that it will do him any good as offshore sports books and related industries make it inherently hard to control, and more importantly, collect any tax revenues off winning players earnings. This administration may soon prove to be relentless in the attempt to devise new taxes to impede American capitalism. Now these types of "business people "are probably in a very small minority but they do and did their part by their influence and their vote to enable the carnage that may (hopefully not) be the result of the Obama administration. Shame on them.

Rosie and Janeane

Well Rosie and Janeane have spoken on conservatives and people they do not like in general. Does anyone really care? Every time I hear of Rosie O'Donnell I can't help but thinking of her as Rosie O'Fat. Now being a bit portly myself, I think I can play a bit of the "pot calling the kettle black." Besides, I didn't come up with that handle - It was sports talk great Jim Rome. Shame on him. He also came up with such nicknames as "Bozo the Switzer," Orenthal (which is O.J. Simpson's real name, but no one ever calls him that), and a few others that I can't think of right now. Funny thing, he does not seem to like Rosie, and I really don't know of anyone who does. It seems odd that a good deal of these real lefty women tend to be quite, shall we say, homely. Take Rosie for instance. She is just not an attractive women. She has the look of a real mean bull dagger to me. One time when I was much younger, during my time in service to the nation, I was in a bar playing pool and eyeing a pretty young thing across the bar. It did not take too long before some big mama came up to me and informed me that that was her women and I would do well to leave her be. I was a bit taken aback as you might imagine and did not say anything. This women looked something like ole Rosie. Hell it might have been her, this was quite a while back. Apparently "Jeremiah Schlong" (I have told you of him before dear readers), my leading petty officer and sort of friend, did not heed her advice as before the night was through he was dragging this "woman" through the bar toward the exit with her teeth firmly implanted into his calf. He at one point stopped, placed his hands on a table, and attempted to stomp her with his free leg. Of course he finally got free and was well on his way to becoming a shipboard legend for that episode. He had to get an antibiotic shot. He said it hurt almost as much as her bite. Damn that was funny.

Now Janeane Garofalo is a different breed altogether. She just seems like a little loud mouth loon. She is also not near as funny as she thinks she is. When she was younger I would probably have enjoyed it if she practiced some fellatio on my person, but just don't think I would be interested anymore. She has such a sharp tongue.

Rosie and Janeane really don't deserve any comment from anyone but they are just so annoying it is hard not to say something.

Cheney a "War Criminal?" I Doubt It

Well Jill over at "Brilliant at Breakfast" is at it again. She has been beating the drums and blowing the horns about Dick Cheney being a "war criminal" for quite some time. Apparently water boarding and other forms of "enhanced interrogation" seem to hold some kind of problem for her and her many readers. Of course "enhanced interrogation" is nothing more than code for torture which Cheney apparently supports. So do I. If anything prevents another attack on our soil then anything goes. Al Qaeda operatives and their ilk are not uniformed soldiers of any nation and are nothing more than terrorists. They therefore, in my opinion, do not have rights under the Geneva Convention and certainly should not have any rights in the civilian American Justice System. Now if drugs can be used in obtaining information about terrorist activities and plans then so much the better. Torture would then not be a viable option. I would support that as long as the end result was the same - The execution of the terrorist operative as soon as it is determined that any and all useful information has been extracted.
Now back to Cheney - Jill and her ilk can argue that the man is a "war criminal" until the cows come home. That is a ridiculous notion. Why? Only the winner in any military contest gets to decide who is a war criminal and who is not. The loser gets to accuse the winning party of war crimes but only the winner gets to prosecute the losing party for said "crimes." An interesting example would be Heinz Guderian insinuating that the American and English Air Force committed war crimes by the continual bombing of civilian targets toward the end of WWII. He states so quite succinctly in his memoir "Panzer Leader." He may in fact have a point, but as Germany was on the losing end of WWII they were not in any position to actually prosecute those responsible for the bombing on any charges. Again the winner gets to pick. Now of course those Mohammedans that oppose the U.S. and our allies will be quick to blow the "war crimes" trumpet to no avail. Jill and her ilk perpetuating the notion that Cheney is a "war criminal" borders on treason. They, as American citizens, can certainly have their opinions, but to publicly accuse those responsible for defending our nation by necessary means of war crimes has pretty much crossed the line in my book. At the very most Cheney can be accused of nothing more than being an old blow hard incompetent. Incompetent? Of course!! Where is Bin Laden and why does the Taliban, Pasdaran, etc. etc. even still exists at this point? War Criminal? No! Blustery old fool? Absolutely.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Mossad Strikes (Allegedly)

So Mossad has whacked (allegedly) a top Hamas official in Dubai. That is a damn shame. We are all crying in our beer.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Beer Joints, Cocktail Lounges and Americana

The late, great Lewis Grizzard had a fascination with what is known as a beer joint. In his many travels he was never very far from a beer joint, in his heart if not in fact. The wonderful novel "North Dallas Forty" by Peter Gent, mentions beer joints on the Jacksboro Highway in the Dallas area. Seth, the Bulls QB (played by Mac Davis in the film) tells his star wide receiver (played by Nick Nolte) something to the effect of "we could spend some time in the joints on the Jacksboro Highway getting drunk and eating pussy. You could learn alot partner." The Nick Nolte character replies that "you could also get killed in those places." These are not direct quotes as I do not have the book handy, but you get the drift. Joseph Wambaugh, another literary great, mentions beer joints in one of his books by saying something to the effect of "in case you doubt that Americans have balls any longer just take a quick tour of honky tonks on the outskirts of town." That is also not even close to a quote but again you get the point. You still may be asking yourself what is the point and I tell you that if you ever doubt the courage and determination of Americans you have to go no further than a beer joint or honky tonk.

Last night we went to a little place in West Columbia, Tx. that is reputed to have pretty darn good food. It is also known to be a place that the squeamish and fearful need to avoid. We went pretty early in the evening and brought our child but I knew that we would be leaving shortly before it got past eight pm. Sure enough the food lived up to the billing and as it came close to the 8pm hour the local rednecks began to appear. Due to having a child with us it was time to leave. Some of these cats looked like they could and would rip the bumper off your vehicle with their teeth. There just isn't anyone as tough and prone to throwing fists around than oil field workers. They are also all armed and thank goodness for that!

I have been around the block a time or two and have done my fair share of drinking and whoring in beer joints, cocktail lounges and honky tonks around this country. Due to my rather quiet nature I only managed to get into one altercation. Honky Tonkin is a great cure for restoring your confidence in this great nation after an evening with Couric, Olbermann, Mathews or some other fruit blathering nonsense.

Here are a few places I would recommend for restoring your confidence in America.
Some of them may be defunct but I have been out of the drinking/whoring game a good while.

Rosie's on Telephone Rd in Houston is pretty damn dangerous and an exciting place to witness folks that will take no shit from anyone. Iran nor Al Queda hold any fear to these guys.
Ditto for the now defunct "Do Daddy's" on Almeda Genoa in Houston. A little bit younger clientele graced this fair establishment and you did not want to fuck with any of them.

In New Orleans I have done my fair share of drinking in upper French Quarter bars and Ninth Ward establishments just the other side of Esplanade. These joints are pretty scary and I don't frighten easy. They are in reality nothing more than neighborhood bars, but the neighborhoods in question are rough and tough. I wonder if any of them are left in business since Katrina graced the Louisiana/Mississippi Coast.

San Leon, TX. birthplace of the Bandidos, hosts some establishments in which it is best to drink your beer quietly unless you are a local. Probably best just not to go at all. The "real biker," chemical plant worker, shrimper, clientele are not to be trifled with. Some of these joints are probably closed now that the urban wealthy have discovered the San Leon/Bacliff area just south of Houston and ruined the atmosphere.
I have done a good bit of drinking in the Deer Park/Pasadena area of Texas and I will just let you know that it is a place to get yourself hurt. The old Diamond Club on Spencer was one of my haunts. A favorite spot for refinery hands and long haul truckers who are not afraid to spit in your eye. The "gentlemens club" just down the street (Texas Dolls I believe it was called) had some of the ugliest strippers to ever grace the stage. I loved it.

I've done more drinking than I can even remember in the Memphis area. Cross the big river and take in a few joints in W. Memphis, Arkansas near the truck stops. That will give you a perspective on the word "badass." One of my favorite spots was Hernando's Hideaway not too far from the airport in Memphis. (Jerry Lee Lewis used to show up and drink).There are a lot of bars and beer joints in Memphis that cater to the trucking and river man community and I tried my best to frequent them all. Those were the days.

Have you ever tried the Chalet Lounge in Alexandria, La? How about the old Leroy's Lounge on Macarthur Drive? Of the two Leroy's was the safer but not by much. I somehow talked myself into a threesome at Leroy's; wish I could remember more of it. Well maybe not.

Again I have taken in the dive experience all over this great land including but not limited to Tennessee, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, inland and coastal Florida, Northern California (where contrary to popular opinion there are some rough hombres), Queens and Brooklyn neighborhood bars, and joints in Cleveland, Oh. (there are none tougher). I can tell you it was an experience.

So the next time you have to listen to some puss on the news talk of the Taliban, etc. etc. as "battlefield suspects" or listen to some Ivy League pansy talk of national security (The Ivy League itself is a major internal problem confronting our great country), or perhaps you are just worried that the Iranian Navy is going to shell Boston Harbor unmolested, head on down to your local honky tonk, dive lounge, or beer joint and restore your faith brothers and sisters. I would suspect that if some of those honky tonk folks were in charge of this country's defence that there would now be no such thing as Bin Laden, Iran, etc.etc. They would not put up with our brave troops fighting with restraints and I would support them.

Vote for a Bubba or Joe and Jane Six Pack. Our Nation's future may be at stake!!
I shit you not.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Saints Win!!

Congrats to the New Orleans Saints in their very good win over the Colts of Indianapolis. It is about time that us long suffering Saints fans have something to really cheer about. This win is a big boon to the City of New Orleans which has of course had its fair share of bad luck. Who Dat?!! Not the Colts.

On another note, those of us who live in the Houston area still have the likes of John Mclain and Charlie Pallilo spouting their know nothing nonsense on the Saints, NFL and sports in general. Pallilo is usually wrong on any subject and Mclain, the Legend (in his own mind), is always wrong. Oh, and F you too Richard Justice. You are a Dick!