Wednesday
"Former Sen. Rick Santorum said Tuesday that Sen. John McCain, who spent 5 1/2 years enduring brutal treatment at the hands of his North Vietnamese captors, doesn't know how effective waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques can be. "
ROFL!!! I about spit out my coffee when I read this statement earlier. The humor of the statement should be self explanatory, if it is not, I can't help you.
The news of the day - and many days before it - is the mess going on along the Mississippi river. Just read a story about people that are evactuating their homes - stating they don't have flood insurance and the now-opened Mongonzola floodway is going to submerge their homes.
I don't know what to say about that, I can only pray for the situation.
I was awakened this morning at about 3:45 am by a very grotesque smell: dog crap on my floor. One of them had diarhea and apparently decided to not wake me up. I have been awake ever since then. You can't just say: gee, I'll clean that up when I get out of bed; or, gee, I'll just wait until I get home.
I spent well over an hour cleaning it off the walls - Duke stepped in it on his way out, splashing it all over the place and making the problem 50 times worse than what it originally would have been - and using the carpet cleaning machine to get it out of the carpet. The carpet in my bedroom needs replaced, is all I can say about that.
Between the dogs and the kids that used to live with me, well, it's pretty much a done deal.
Nice way to wake up, or the: the best part of waking up is dogs*** in your cup!! Oh, that's a modified Folgers song, well anyway.......
Busy day at work yesterday and the day before, today? Nothing in the system, at all.
The kid tenant comes up to me yesterday and informs me he has been laid off. He asserts he has already started looking for a new job. That's good, because he still owes me $200 for this month's rent. The female Army reservist has paid me nothing this month. She will be getting a notice today, it's what, the 18th? In fact, the couple are the only ones paid up.
I'm not in a very giving mood at this point: pay your rent or find a new home. I can't afford it. Summer is almost here and so are the electric bills that go along with it. Without tenants paying - on or close to on-time - we are all going to be living in a warm house, is all I can say about that.
Well, whatever. I'm just looking at photo after photo of the water flooding out homes and businesses along the Mississippi. I hope the federal government, that seems to have "endless" money to throw away at stupid nonsense, might find some of that money to help the people who are now going to be homeless. Or better yet, the American public pulls together once again and starts making donations to the organizations that can and will make a difference. I'm guessing the Red Cross is already in the middle of all of it, helping as much as they can. And yes, I would definitely make a donation, in fact, I would have to guess they already have an account set up for this.
The Red Cross came to my aid when my house burned down and I will never forget that and the generosity and help they gave during a very difficult time.
What, 8 days away. My son graduates in 8 days. Life without my son being around, that will be different. I don't know if he's planning on living with his parents when he goes off to college or - will he be able to find a job that will support him enough to be able to go out on his own?
I have no idea. I do know that the work day is almost here and I must be offa here.
G'day.
ben
5 comments:
Thursday
Slept like a log last night.
Which was at least a bit surprising considering how I was feeling before going to bed last night. NOT good, thank you. It came to pass that I found out that probably, from the bumps and stuff going on with my throat, I am allergic to the antibiotics that they gave me to get rid of strep throat.
So now what? I dunno. Find a doctor - not just an urgent care doctor, a regular doctor and get on board. I'm at least half considering going to the doc that several people at work go to which is on the way home from work. A nice plus.
Dunno if they are taking anyone new, but I think I will find out today.
I don't really have a lot of time left. I was reading a post on Craigslist Phoenix in general community from a person asking for help , when I realized that I KNOW this person. Her son has been burned and has serious medical problems and she lost her job. In other words, she's broke. Dunno that I can help her - maybe a few bucks - but I can back up her statements by posting an ad giving some kind of validity to her statements. People love to scoff people asking for help on Craigslist.
SOME of those people asking for help ARE just lifelong beggars, people who don't want to do anything, especially don't want to have anything to do with the dreaded W word: WORK.
I guess it is all too easy to let the government "work" for you, giving you all kinds of benefits such as free rent subsidies, food stamps and even cash allowances, not to mention free medical care.
I shun such ideas and even moreso that it's any way to "live" your life. That isn't living. I understand there are people that are physically incapable of working, we should help those people, but the masses of people I see at the grocery stores using the quest cards - food stamps via debit card - do not appear to have any problems at all.
You can easily spot these people without seeing their card first, either. They are pushing a shopping card around LOADED with groceries. Sometimes there are two shopping cards loaded with stuff. You figure hundreds of dollars worth. Then you see the card. It's a free life, I guess. It makes me mad, really. I know in the end, the money automatically removed from my paychecks twice or three times a month depending on the month is paying for that. If there were ever a case for reform, food stamps and HUD housing with free rent subsidies are at the top of my list. Free medical up there as well - at least for illegal aliens.
Well whatever, it's too early to be getting this fired up. Saturday is only 2 days away and it will be the end of the world. I really am not making the belief that Christ is going to return, I firmly believe that. I just think it humorous that these people allow themselves to be deceived to the point that one man's numerical system has firmly identified, at least in his view, the date of His return and further, that this person apparently must be charismatic because he has a lot of people duped into believing it.
In reality? This stuff comes and goes all the time. People think they know "The Date" and they attempt to get a rallying effort going with it. I don't know what sets off one person's notion over another's in this arena, but this guy has definitely put his money where his mouth is, he has spent his life savings, if the stories in the news are true, in attempting to let the world know.
The fact of the matter is, mainstream Christianity has flatly rejected his statements and I mostly tend to side with the mainstream on issues such as this. NOT always, but usually.
And, of course, my son's big week coming up. I have a total of 6 consecutive days off coming up. The scuffle at work about the main branch not being able to send a driver over here has been eliminated. They are going to simply hire a temp driver to take my place while I am gone.
Well, I'm offa here, time is up.
G'day.
ben
Ben, Waterboarding is really not as effective as building relationships. Seriously. It just pisses people off and causes them to resent you and look for methods to kill your families and the like.
I would make up stuff if I was waterboarded just to get you to quit. Harsh Interrogation tactics lead to lots of bad intelligence. In WW2 they would interrogate by relationship building which works out much better.
I think that is what McCain means in his statement.
Hi Ben - This is Wendy Harman from the American Red Cross. So sorry you've been through a house fire and we're so thankful for your kind words.
Bobby, the point is that McCain went through years of torture and I would have to think the man knows what he is talking about, versus some senator who thinks he knows what he's talking about.
Wendy, thanks for stopping by. The Red Cross definitely treated me right and helped me through the first week of hell after my house was gone.
ben
Friday
I guess I don't think we have any more business telling Israel what their borders should be as they would if they were to tell us something like, gee, shouldn't you give some of that land back to Mexico? This is a situation I do not believe we should be meddling and I do believe we should be giving full support to the Israeli's. I think Obama is pretty much a non-sequeter in the Middle East. He words are hollow because, up until bin Laden, he has done much of nothing.
As far as leadership, the man doesn't have it. He doesn't get it, either.
Whatever. Next week is going to be rather busy. But, 6 days off starting on Wednesday. Only 2 day work week. I'm going to have to figure out what to get my son for both a birthday and a graduation present. I think I'll find something that will serve for both. He leaves for the mountains on June 5th, according to him and his company has offered to let him take an extended leave of absence, meaning he will have a job when he comes back.
I guess that was my biggest concern. He was quitting one job to take a temporary gig with the Salvation Army up in the mountains. It is a paying job, yes, but it's temporary. Summer only and then it's over and - back to square one when he comes back. His first and only job - the one he is working at now, he has managed to keep and not get fired. So, he's already starting to build a work history, not bad for a 17 year old.
I did throw him a curve ball not too long ago: When you go to college, where are you going to live? He got a look on his face that was priceless. Welcome to the real world, it can be rough at first. In fact, it can be rough a lot. Just a matter of perspective, but I don't think you get that perspective til' you've been through the wringer a few times. After a few moments of some uneasiness, I declared he was welcome to stay with me and probably his mother would say the same thing, but. The but? You have to be going to school. If you aren't going to school, then probably it's time to head out on your own. I have a good kid, he has aspirations and he is working towards them, I don't think I will HAVE to kick him out, that progression will happen "naturally" - what kid wants to live with his parents forever? Ummm, the 30 something year old down the street. A glaring view of something that is completely unnatural.
Ummm, one drive in the semi to the south valley and that's it - so far - for today. Monday has a trip up to Globe, I always love those drives. I love driving in the mountains, which is opposed to many truck drivers who don't like it because of steep grades. Perhaps, but engine brakes work pretty well nowadays and I haven't had a close call on a mountain grade in over 2 decades.
Time's a runnin' out. Work day almost here. My 240 calorie breakfast is ready to eat. I am still eating Weight Watcher's frozen dininers at work instead of eating at - fill in the blank here - with high caloric intake and sodium content as well. Those low calorie dinners aren't the greatest, but they aren't NEAR as bad as they were a decade ago. Or remember when frozen dinners first came out? I thought they were the most disgusting crap to ever be put in to a dinner type of plate.
G'day.
ben
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