Gary LaPierre, Trained Observer

Patriots Should Have Won...Madonna Should Have Stayed Home

2012-02-06T06:51:00.000-08:00

Does this sound like sour grapes to you? Am I sounding like a grumpy old Monday morning mal-content who maybe just got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? Well however it sounds, I’m feelin’ good, have done my workout and in fact am still wearing my Patriots T-shirt but that Super Bowl game was a terrible disappointment.

Yes the Giants played well, Eli is a hell of a quarterback, probably tougher than his brother and New York deserved every point they scored. But……….Yes But…….Tom Brady was equally great as a quarterback, the defense played well enough to win…but….the receivers blew that game for the Patriots. (Yes, I know there was some stupid stuff, Tom Brady’s intentional grounding on the first offensive play of the game…twelve men on the field..etc…) These guys are great receivers when at their best, but they certainly were not at their best yesterday and THEY are the reason the Giants won. New York didn’t beat the Patriots, Gronk wasn’t up to it at all, Welker was dropping stuff that he never drops and same story for Deion. It was an exciting game, and the only thing that would have made it for me would be a spectacular “Hail Mary” catch at the end……but it wasn’t meant to be.

OK Gary, enough already. But before I go….the half-time show, though spectacular to watch in production, was awful. Thank you Madonna. Man she moves like an old lady, almost fell over a couple of times trying to put one foot in front of another in a so-called dance routine, and the first half of the musical production was some of the worst music I’ve ever heard. It got a little better when she was lip-synching one of her so-called “hits” with C-lo…or what the hell ever his name is…..but for the most part, Madonna didn’t even come close to living up to the hype.

Oh…and Super Bowl commercials? Very average. Yes I did have my bran this morning!!!!

Rest In Peace Kevin White..Boston Will Remember You Well

2012-01-31T12:11:00.000-08:00

For better or for worse….I really miss the old Kevin White days in Boston. The days of down-and-dirty power politics ruled the landscape and somehow, it was all OK. The passing of Kevin Hagan White in Boston is really the end of an era in Boston politics that could be rivaled only perhaps by The “Honey Fitz” and Mayor Curley days.

I was a journeyman reporter throughout Kevin Whites career. He was my senior by about fifteen years, but we matured and even perhaps grew-up in the same political arena and in retrospect, it was a hoot and then some. He was a feisty, sometimes cantankerous s.o.b. who suffered no fools and winning him over was a full-time chore….particularly with some of the pompous asses who surrounded and protected him through his reign. He was the “Loner in Love with His City” and often time you’d find Hizzoner wandering down Newbury Street, his sport coat slung over his shoulder, just taking it all in, unaware that anyone might recognize him. Yuh right! He knew he was the most powerful big city Mayor in the country. He knew he should go on to bigger and better things, and for a while, it seemed like it would happen. If it hadn’t been for some of the people who surrounded him and protected him, Kevin may have gone further, but he would listen for just so long….and he was done listening. I liked Kevin personally. I can say now I tried to help him in parts of his personal and political pursuit, but it wasn’t meant to be. A big city Democrat Mayor trying to become Governor of the Commonwealth? Not as long as the Kennedys were around. A Democrat from Boston being picked as a Vice Presidential running mate by Presidential nominee George McGovern? Holy crap….that’s not gonna happen. Ted Kennedy put the whammy on that idea so fast it spun George McGovern’s head around, the South Dakota Senator wimped out, dumped Kevin and then dug-up Thomas Eagleton…apparently in the midst of Eagleton’s shock-therapy treatments. What a disaster. George McGovern, now a neighbor of mine in Florida told me personally within the past year….”dropping Kevin White was the biggest mistake of my life.”

The Kevin White stories are unending, the good, bad and the ugly, but the memories are cherished and Boston has lost another “classic.” Kevin “the schity of Bawstun” White. God Speed.

A Tepid Mitt vs. A Blustery Newt = B.H.O. Wins

2012-01-24T18:44:00.000-08:00

Ok so I mis-judged Mitt Romney’s strength in South Carolina and if he doesn’t settle in and grow a couple, miscalculation will strike again in Florida.

Mitt went on the attack the other night in Tampa and it was good. He fired a couple of major salvos across the more-than-ample bow of Newt Gingrich and it was very effective…….except for one thing…. Newt didn’t take the bait. Gingrich has never been known to hold back and will often erupt, but not this time. Apparently it was time to look “Presidential” and he didn’t bite for Romney’s avalanche of charges. There’s a plus and minus here for Romney.

On the plus side….it’s time for the slightly prissey former Governor to man-up, get confident in your own skin and get in there and fight with the big guys. Stop apologizing for being filthy rich and duke it out with ‘em. On the minus side, all the crap you’re throwing at Newt right now is old crap. This stuff is a dozen years old, vetted years ago by the media and it’s time to get on with your original message………”Beat Obama!!”

Unlike Mitt, Newt is very comfortable in his own skin. I’m not terribly comfortable there and a lot of other people are a bit queezy with the former Speakers resume, but he’s bright, brusk and knowledgable on the issues and history, and Mitt Romney-the-Tepid has gotta choke up on the bat a bit and get back in the game. He’s by far the most “Presidential” of the bunch, he’s by far the one with the bucks to pull it off. All he’s gotta do is get back to the basics.

B.H.O. cannot win another term on the merits, but he will ride to victory on his “worst President in history” record if the Republicans continue to provide him with all the tools and piles of ammunition in the course of beating each other up.

Just Line 'EM Up...I'm In A Bad Mood Today

2012-01-18T07:20:00.000-08:00

Please tell me the debates among Republican candidates for President are almost done. With a little luck, Mitt Romney is going to clean house in South Carolina and end most of the bickering, because this party has got to get back to its root cause…….find a way to make BHO a one-term President. I believe it can and will be done.

But I have to say, besides hearing from these Republicans and at least one RINO, I’ve had it quite frankly with the interviewers as well…….two of them in particular. Diane Sawyer for example. I used to like Ms. Sawyer, but I’m thinking now that was about 25-years ago when she was a quite capable Anchor and interviewer. She is now a slow-talking, whining bore. What happened Diane. Her questions are right out of Oprah land….convaluted (if you were a tree, what kind of tree would you like to be) delivered in this whiney voice that demands no attention……or respect for that matter. Gosh she got awful.

But the only thing that might salvage her performance, is the performance of George…..sitting next to her. George Steponallofus has got to be worst. First of all, he too is an incredible bore, his questions are mostly absurd…i.e. “Governor Romney would you be against a state prohibiting birth control?” Huh? What in hell kind of question is that George. Stephanopoulus, I’m not sure, but I think is Greek for knucklehead. The spelling could be slightly different, but not misspelled is my first mention above; It’s how colleagues at ABC News refer to George…..Step-on-all-of-us. True! Bad enough he’s on the Network every weekday morning, now they’re sticking him back on the Sunday Morning news show…..replacing Christiane Amanpour…..who by the way, rightfully so, should return to street reporting in the desert somewhere. She never should have been put on the Sunday show in the first place.

Is there anybody that I’ve missed today?

The Following: For Mature Audiences Only

2012-01-18T07:17:00.000-08:00

Here we go again! It happens about every five years as I calculate things. I’m talking about the absurd debate over how much control the FCC should have over what words and how much skin should be allowed on television. First let me say this…..”the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) is a paper-tiger at best. It doesn’t have the “stones” or the muscle to back up anything it does, but having said that, put this Trained Observer in the FCC’s corner if it decides to cut the crap that’s being allowed on major networks. It was just a few years ago, one of the biggest names in radio, Howard Stern decided to give up the public airwaves and go with satellite radio so he could drop his f-bombs and talk about “pleasuring himself” with no interference from the FCC. Nice move Howard and I know you’re probably laughing all the way to the bank, but Stern lost about 90% of his audience with that move and now nobody cares what he says…..mostly because nobody is listening.

In radio…..it was go with satellite…i.e. Sirius…..good luck with that. With television….wanna talk dirty, wanna show lots of skin……switch to cable and knock yourself out…….FCC won’t bother with you…..and the cable companies will offer channel space to just about any gratuitous, untested whack-job topic you can name. But it should stop there.

What the primary channels are looking for now……..the ABC’s, NBC, CBS….you name it….the ones under some guidance from the FCC is to suggest there’s a double standard……the Satellites and Cables can using dirty words and show lots and lots of skin…and we can’t. Congress doesn’t have the stones to keep a lid on it, the FCC doesn’t seem to either and I’ve gotta tell you, it’s raunchy out there. I’m not just talking skin flicks that they try to slip in once in a while…..I’m talking regularly scheduled entertainment programming such as Two and a Half Men, (some really dirty rotten stuff…funny as Hell….but dirty rotten) Modern Family and several other TV shows that really push the envelope. I’ve been known to have a garbage mouth that would make a truck driver blush, but I learned at an early age, there are times and places you don’t talk like that and the FCC should be giving the same lesson for the Public Airwaves. Our left-leaning society wants to think everything is okay, but sometimes damn-it….its just wrong!

Hey…..do you kiss your Mother with that same mouth??

Voter Fraud Has Got To Stop..But It Won't

2012-01-18T07:13:00.000-08:00

Yes I know it hasn’t been a requirement in our recent past, but the whole idea of having to show an identification card in order to vote is a good idea. I’ve even had it suggested to me that I must be of the mind-set that only white, middle and upper income people should be allowed to vote. I believe in no such thing, but I do believe we ought to make it more difficult….not easier…to vote in this country. It’s disgraceful how few people bother to vote as it is, compared to other countries, and I bet it’s safe to say a good percentage of those shouldn’t vote. If only the well-informed were allowed to vote (regardless of any ID card) it would probably cut the voting population in half.

But here we go….the screamin’ and yellin’ begins…….requiring a photo ID to vote would disenfranchise minorities, the poor, the young and the elderly. Such comments are racist on their face. If minorities don’t have a photo identification, knowing they needed one to vote, probably have no interest in voting. Same story with the elderly because there isn’t a single state in the nation that wouldn’t go out of its way to accommodate these people in some fashion. I remember when Georgia forced the required photo ID thing, the usual complaints started and Georgia promised…….at it’s expense, it would drive you to the place for an ID and pay for the whole thing. They still complained……mainly because they didn’t want to vote in the first place. The poor? I bet they’ve got an ID that will allow them to buy a beer or cash a welfare check! Young people? College kids? Guaranteed they’ve got a photo ID, even if it’s a fake one to buy some booze, but that won’t make a difference. They don’t want to vote anyway and in most cases, they’re far too stupid, or should I say ill-informed, to be allowed in a voting booth in the first place.

We all know where their anti-Photo ID thing is coming from….starting with the White House on down. Keep in mind that’s all coming from a guy who hails from a city and state that epitomizes voter fraud in this country. I’ll bet my last nickel that the community organizer from Chicago’s, Illinois’s South side knows full well how corrupt the system really is. Voting in this country is riddled by fraud, state-to-state-to-state, fact, and requiring a photo identification just may go a long way toward correcting some of it.

OK Spin Doctors...Your Work Is Far From Done

2012-01-04T14:13:00.000-08:00

I never thought I’d say this, but damn the Spin Doctors are driving me nuts this year (and 2011) and I must say, I’m not missing being a part of it. I was never a Spin Doctor in politics, but as a reporter I was always looking for one, to give me that perfect sound bite, but not this time. I’ve covered Presidential politics since the late ’60′s-early ’70′s with the New Hampshire first-in-the-nation Presidential primary but I won’t be there this year…..for the first time….and I’m good with that.

Yes the entire world of news gathering has changed dramatically since those “good ole days” and believe me, none of those changes is for the better. I still find it exciting, that old manure spreader-pot belly stove kind of politics in New Hampshire is still the American way and I hope it never caves to the Madison Avenue TV-only approach, but it’s beginning to do that. Yes again this year, the candidates have had to go shake hands with a some strange folk in Iowa (indicative of nothing) and then onto giving speeches to 63 people at a time in a little town hall in somewhere New Hampshire (again representative of nothing in the overall scheme of things) but I must say, the Spin Doctors can’t seem to figure out what’s happening either. It’s mostly because of attempts to put labels (or spin) on everything……I mean everything that happens…..or doesn’t happen. Mitt Romney has been the guy to beat from day one……many moons ago….but at no time could he get credit for that……always some doubt. The first farmer caucus happens in Iowa…Mitt Romney wins….and still, “let us find a reason why that might not count.” Cut the crap! He’ll win in N.H. too but that won’t be enough either…the Tea Party may not like him….maybe….could be…..perhaps. Who the Hell is the Tea Party? Not sure. The worst President in American history is now pandering to the Wall Street Occupiers…….Who the Hell are the Occupiers? (Other than my aforementioned gathering of incredibly stupid people).

John Mccain endorses Mitt Romney today…….yeah….scream and holler……isn’t this wonderful….gotta be good thing….Right? One person even suggested Mccain would be great running mate for Mitt. Wrong! A Spin Doctor steps up to say….Mccain couldn’t beat B.H.O……..Mitt couldn’t beat Mccain…..that is a losing ticket. Love it.

Hang in there Spin Doctors….there’s still work to be done. The irritating Michelle is gone, the knucklehead from Texas soon will be, the smartest of then all, Newtmiester won’t be around long and for the people who still love what Ron Paul has to say…..year after year after year after year…..your job is done. Yes done…….it’s over…..again

Occupy This!! Yes This!!!!

2011-12-13T19:12:00.000-08:00

I’d like to make a minor correction in one of my earlier postings on this subject. A few misguided folks took offense to my suggestion that the “occupy” people at several locations around the country was “perhaps the largest collection of stupid people in recent history.” That statement is now unfair and I will amend my comment to say…”it is now one of the smallest collections of stupid people in recent history.” I’m not sure that’s necessarily a good sign-of-our-times, but it’s slightly encouraging.

I do have some encouraging words for the authorities in Boston who handled the dismantling of that city’s great unwashed with an incredible amount of speed, dexterity and finality. In the dark of night, just before the break of dawn, law enforcement moved in and within a matter of minutes, the clueless “OWS” (occupy wall street) protestors were gone. Only the stench remained but before the breakfast hour was over, the Boston site was clean, new grass and shrubbery was planted and only a handful of “need a lifers” were being readied for court. Nice job by Police Commissioner Davis in spite of the “occupy” endorsement from Mayor Tom Menino who eventually had to concede…this group of ill-informed (notice I didn’t say stupid) knuckleheads had to go.

One the last comments I heard from a “OWS” protestor, when asked what he hoped to gain from his “occupy” position was…”We want monetary equality.” Dont’ we all Bro…..don’t we all.

Barney Frank Is Leaving. I Wish Him........!

2011-11-29T12:11:00.000-08:00

Say it isn’t so Barney. Tell us you were only kidding when you announced you would not go after another term in Congress. Why Barney…..why? Is it because you suddenly realized you were going to get your more than ample butt handed to you in the next election? Is it because your grasp in Washington was weakening every term? Were you running out of people to insult? Maybe it’s because after 16 terms in Congress, you suddenly realized that’s about 14 more terms than you ever deserved.

Barney Frank is a very bright guy….I mean extremely bright. If you don’t believe it, just ask him. He’s very articulate (assuming you can understand his mumble-mouth articulation) and you don’t want to be on the opposite side of the table during a debate with him. And there-in lies the problem. He is the epitome of the extremely bright lefty loony liberal who is always debating…and challenging. From the day he got into politics (and I was there) he was an insufferable, arrogant, pudgy guy who constantly wanted to remind everyone, and I mean everyone, everywhere…. he was the brightest person in the room…always. If you were contrary to his views, there was never a discussion about possibly changing his mind….it was always, always, always pontification from this snotty angry man about how stupid your argument was.

I’m sure there is something he’s done well for the Commonwealth, but whatever that something may be, there is a boatload of Bad Barney out there too and I for one, believe Congress will not miss this pompous bag of wind and I wish him………………….gone?

They Did It And Will Regret It....Snake Eyes !!

2011-11-23T12:55:00.000-08:00

( Well kids……it happened. The Great and General Court of Massachusetts approved it, our ill-advised Governor signed it and now it’s happening. The corrupt Commonwealth of Massachusetts is all set to build some gambling casinos and at least one parlor….love that term “parlor’…for slot machines. No surprises here I guess. The legislature has been pushing this idea for years and for a long time, the clearer heads have prevailed. Governor Deval Patrick at first said “no” but he too caved like a sandcastle at high tide and now it’s gonna happen.

Oh yes, the powers that be (Reps and Senators) after being wined and dined to the tune of millions of dollars by the casino advocates, tweaked the legislation to cover their own collective butts and said “yes.” One example, they removed the safeguard mentioned in my previous posting on this issue, which said lawmakers are not allowed to work for the casinos until one year after leaving office. Yup, they removed that warm and fuzzy rule…so now….anything goes…anytime anywhere. I still think downtown Andover would be a great spot for one casino. Perhaps another in Wellesley…..or maybe Dover/Sherborn area. Slot parlor for sure should go on Beacon Hill somewhere….maybe Pinkney Place or Charles Street….ya think?

How ’bout Richmond, Massachusetts for a casino. Wadda ya think Deval?

As if Massachusetts didn’t have enough problems with corruption, the past three former Speakers of the House convicted of felonies. We are the biggest bookie joint in the country with our state lottery…but no…that’s not enough. Let’s do debauchery at the highest level, give Sloth Vegas a run for its money and make sure……I mean for damn sure…a fool and his money are soon parted.

A Fool And His Money Are Soon Parted. Very Soon!!

2011-11-17T07:15:00.000-08:00

From Massachusetts to Florida……..looks like it’s going to happen. Gambling casinos and Slot Parlors…as a way to create jobs and add some “vig”….or revenue if you will, to the state treasury. It’s not quite as close to happening in Florida at the moment, but in Massachusetts…..it’s all but a done-deal. Apparently in spite of their better judgement, the Reps and Senators on Beacon Hill in Boston have voted to allow three casinos and one slot-joint in the Commonwealth. When I say “against their better judgement” I’m referencing the lawmakers pushing it through when they say “it’s really too bad we’re being pushed to go in this direction but this is the only way we can create jobs and balance the budget.” True! As another lawmaker said….”we have no other ways to raise the needed revenue.” Also true…because as you know, Taxachusettes has never met a tax it didn’t like, they’ve run out of taxes to create so what’s next? Lets link-up with organized crime (and I mean even more organized than state government crime) and prey on the weaknesses of the electorate. We can scatter three casinos around our tiny state, allow one huge slot parlor and we’ll get our taxpayers to do their smokin’ , drinkin’ and gamblin’ right here in the wonderful commonwealth….maybe one right in the center of Andover. How ’bout one in Wellesley or Newton……how ’bout Dover or Sherborn. Nah….maybe not there. But we’ll make sure our people don’t have to go all the way to Rhode Island or Connecticut to totally blow their money, and they certainly won’t have to go to the American center for delusion and debauchery, Las Vegas to lose their shorts. No Sir, we can take their money away from ‘em right here. And just to convince everyone this is on the up-and-up……we still won’t allow Happy Hours at any restaurants or bars in the state……but, we will allow the Casino scammers to serve free….yes FREE booze to anyone on the gaming floor…..(any cause and effect there do ya think) and again on the up-and-up….we won’t allow any Reps or Senators who voted for the casinos to go to work for the casino…for at least one year after they leave office. Doesn’t that just make you fuzzy and warm all over?

Just sign it Deval…maybe that tiny little town out in the Berkshires where you live would love some neon lights. Whadda ya think?

Hey Florida…..step right up……you’re next.

His Name Is Professor Michael Avery..Suffolk U. Law

2011-11-15T13:39:00.000-08:00

Sorry I just couldn’t resist it. My friend and colleague Jon Keller does a commentary and blog on the words of another lefty loony Law Professor and apparently it touched off quite a reaction….which is still going on, and I just couldn’t control my urge to join the fray. The crux of the story is a member of the staff at Suffolk University was urging donations for care packages to send to the men and women of the armed forces deployed in Afghanistan, including some for a Suffolk Law student who’s on duty there.

It seems a professor at Suffolk didn’t like the idea, suggested it was not a thing to do at an academic institution…i.e. to show support “for those who go overseas to kill human beings.” It’s pretty clear this academic lefty who resents anything law enforcement, particularly the military (interesting coming from a Law professor) went on to denounce the fact that Suffolk University also displays the American Flag in the university atrium. He said the flag on display is “not politically neutral.” Huh?

Well Jon titled his piece “Education doesn’t always make you smart” and concluded in his piece….”for heaven’s sake (professor) have the decency to confine your snide foolishness to the faculty lounge where it belongs.”

There was and is lots of reaction to the excellent Jon Keller commentary, but I noticed one thing terribly obvious by its absence….Jon never named the professor involved. Well if you missed it at the top of this page…..here it is again at the bottom of this page. He is Michael Avery, a Law Professor at Suffolk University…educated, among other places Yale and University of Moscow, U.S.S.R. and he’s a former attorney for the Civil Liberties Union. Now I ain’t got a whole lot of book learnin’, surely not as much as Michael Avery, but now don’t that just say it all?

Some Things Are Forever !!!

2011-11-13T09:31:00.000-08:00

I have to say right up front…..I had no idea how pathetic the situation at Penn State was going to become when I suggested the iconic Joe Paterno definitely made a mistake. I even likened him to Bernard Cardinal Law and suggested the two of them should be benched for life, not for what they did…..but for what they didn’t do. I think it was about 24-hours later, Paterno got fired, the President of Penn State got fired…..and with a role of justice I don’t understand, the two guys who allegedly lied and covered-up for the alleged pervert in this whole affair……got suspended pending the outcome of the case. Paterno et al gets fired…..those alledgedly directly involved get suspended. What sort of twisted justice is that? Either way, though the vigil and group prayer thing on the football field over the weekend was impressive, Penn State is having its image and its destiny changed…….forever.

The Catholic church did it and in my opinion, is forever damaged in disgrace. Yes….forever. Same thing for Penn State and any other institution, or individual for that matter, who knows that our children are being sexually abused and nothing is done, for fear the hierarchy involved will be damaged. It’s almost akin to the politically inspired adage that some things in the corporate world are “too big to fail” and its imperative we bail them out. Well there’s no corporation bigger than the Roman Catholic Church and there’s no collegiate platform, including its football program, bigger than Penn State. But.. there’s no “bailing them out” on this one. Oh sure, the church will “buy” its way out of some of its troubles, and those at Penn State will hire some of the highest priced lawyers and PR agencies in the country to try and right the twisted ship but I repeat…….the damage is done and the image and destiny of both examples is changed forever. Forever!!!

Just Some Gary Grumbling !!

2011-11-07T11:17:00.000-08:00

Who said the Patriots played a great game against the Giants…..including defense…..until the 4th quarter? I beg to differ. I watched that game from start to finish and as far as I’m concerned, Belichick should have a little talk with Francona and ask him what it’s like. Yes the defense held the Giants scoreless for more than half the game, but the Giants defense held the Pats scoreless equally and when push came to shove, it was pretty easy to figure out where the fault should lie. The defensive secondary is awful, Ocho apparently needs four hands to catch a ball nowadays, Brady is throwing picks….game-after-game (plus fumbling the ball), and we missed a 26-yard field goal? Coach B has been a wonder boy for quite a few years now, but Coach, I’d still recommend you have a little chat with Tito because at this rate, you’re going to need some major league comforting and some moral support when the season is over.

One other grumble from the world of sports. What a shame what’s happening to the Nittnay Lions. One of the most impressive, durable and legendary college football teams ever and they’re being dragged through the mud by one apparently sick former assistant coach….Jerry Sandusky. I hope he’s innocent, but if he’s not….string him up. A couple of others with Penn State got canned apparently covering for him, but word is, legendary Head Coach Joe Paterno was cleared of any involvement. I can’t help but put Paterno on the same bench with Bernard Cardinal Law. Perhaps neither man could be found guilty of doing anything against the law, but the only reason Cardinal Law is sequestered in luxury in Rome right now, is for what he didn’t do. You’d have a hard time convincing me beyond a reasonable doubt that there isn’t a lot……I mean a lot…Coach Paterno didn’t do. Yes I know, Coach Joe has had a long and pristine career…..but this one coach….is not good for you…or Penn State.

Michael Moore And Mayor Quan..No Cure For Stupidity

2011-11-05T09:58:00.000-07:00

With all due (dis) respect, please add two more names to the list of idiots who support the Occupy Wall Street wackos in various parts of the country. Yes I did say at the outset of this urban violence…”it may be the largest gathering of stupid people ever assembled, in recent memory.” First let’s mention the Mayor of Oakland, California. That city is trying to recover from millions and millions of dollars in damages caused by the “Occupy whatever” thugs and the lady Mayor of Oakland, Jean Quan should have to pay the bill by herself. This Chinese lady definitely raises the bar when it comes to “only stupid people should apply.” I get the feeling if she wasn’t the mayor she would have been out there as part of the 99% crowd herself, tossing rocks and setting fires, but no…….she was in her home sending Tweets to the urban rioters telling them to “cut it out….and call me…call me…. so we can talk.” Mayor Quan is one dumb incompetent woman and once again we can say….”only in California.”

The other knucklehead I wanted to mention is none other than Michael Moore. This piece-o-work is a multi-millionaire many times over. His movies and productions are supported by the banking industry, the Goldman Sacks et al of Wall Street. He’s on the high-end of the 1% of people who the “Occupy” ninety-nine percent dopes hate, and guess who’s out in Denver, rallying and firing up the street demonstrations. Yup, fat-ugly Michael…..and the Occupy people are cheering him. Moore is the epitome of what these Occupiers supposedly hate…so I respectfully refer you back to my second sentence; “the largest gathering of stupid people…etc…….” And just to make matters worse and show again the insufferable arrogance of Moore, a reporter asked him at the demonstration if he was comfortable, as a one percent multi millionaire speaking to the 99% crowd, Moore answered “you are just a punk media liar.” Moore is a disgusting mutant, but most of us know that. The 99%ers should, once again, do their homework.

I remember once back in 2004 when George W was running for a second term, Moore, surrounded by fellow lefty loons Streisand, Sarandon and Baldwin said….”if Bush gets re-elected, I’ll leave the country.” I publicly contacted all of them and said “I will personally pay for a one-way ticket for each of you to leave the country, on election day or better yet….right now.”

Damn, not a single one of them took me up on the offer. But the offer still stands.

Social Media Is Now In Control...And It's UGLY

2011-11-03T13:10:00.000-07:00

I knew when I got out of the everyday working world of the media almost five years ago, I was going to have lots to say in my spare time about the deterioration of news gathering and dissemination of information in this country. I predicted way back when (almost five years ago) that it was getting ugly out there and the legitimate news organizations in this country had virtually relinquished control of “news” to the public-at-large. And the public-at-large was totally screwing it up. Screwing “it” up……screwing “us” up and little did I realize at the time how wrong I could be. When I suggested that the “public had stolen the media…and totally screwed it up” I had no idea what a understatment that would be. From what I’ve been seeing and hearing in the past year or so, there is no hope. The “social media” is now in control and Andy Worhol’s “15-minutes of fame” should now be emblazoned on the side of every soup can. Because if you want your “15-minutes of fame” you can get it…..easy……there are dozens of do-nothing, know-nothing, account-for-nothing, soap-box organizations out there, ready willing and able to give you your “15.” And guess what, if you can’t find one of those totally irresponsible organizations to give you your “15″….hell do it yourself! Get a friend with a cheap i-phone to record it, put it on You-Tube and bingo…..chances are one of the formerly legit networks will pick it up. It is disgraceful what the media will sucker for and it’s getting worse….week after week after week.

What’s in vogue at the moment? Is it a surfer getting bitten by a shark? Great, got two or three of those. Send me the pictures of the surfboard with bite marks in it and heck we’ll fly “Surfer Joe” to New York City, all expenses paid, to show us his stitches and mumble a couple of words about “how lucky I feel and yuh Dude, I plan to surf again as soon as I recover.” Maybe it’s the story about a little boy who wants to join the Girl Scouts. The Girl Scouts said no….so Mom and Dad are suing the Girl Scouts of America. Perfect! Fly ‘em all to NYC and we’ve got a show. How ’bout a Kardashian wedding? There’s a charade that lasted seventy-two days. And the knuckleheaded ”Mr” Kardashian says he was totally shocked and still wants to reconcile. Kris, did Kim tell you that booty was brains?

Enough Gary grumbling for one day.

I Told You So.........

2011-10-29T06:33:00.000-07:00

I told you so……I told you so……I told you so. Yes I know I had a 50/50 shot at being right….and it worked. The St. Louis Cardinals whooped the Texas Rangers late last night and I predicted it hours before it happened. :-) Tell me I don’t know sports!!!!

The Cardinals pulled off one of the biggest comebacks ever in major league baseball. In August they were about 124 games back (give or take) in the wild card race. in September they were still 87 games behind (give or take) with 5 games left in the season and today, October 29th, they are the World Series Champions. Another way to look at it…..St. Louis did the exact opposite of what Boston did. Boston gave up and tanked…St. Louis never gave up and won it all.

Congrats Cards……….I told you so….I told you so…..I told you so!!!

Gary Does Sports. Well.....Sorta !!

2011-10-28T11:40:00.000-07:00

I must say, coming from a guy who’s a “fair-weather fan” at best, the 6th game of the World Series in St. Louis was one of the best baseball games ever. Yes I know there were 5 or 6 errors between the two teams that are supposed to be the best, but there was some great pitching, concluded by some even greater hitting and I’ll commit to cheering for the Cardinals to win it all. If my cheering is successful, tomorrow (Sat.) you’ll be reading on this site…..”I told you so, I told you so, I told you so.” If Texas wins….too bad and I’ll be quiet. But wait till next year!!!

Oh, one more thing in sports, I’ve gotta tell you how some parts of the country view the New England Patriots. You probably heard about Rob Gronkowski apologizing to Patriots owner Bob Kraft and the public for having his picture taken with Bibi Jones….a porn star. Bibi…not known for modeling clothes, was wearing Gronk’s team jersey in the photograph. It’s true, the Patriots do demand a certain amount of dignity and decorum in everything they do, but here’s how the Sports Editor of the St. Augustine Record reacted. He said “In the perfect world known as New England, where players walk on water and heal the sick, posing for a photo for a porn actress is a sin.” The Sports Editor, Justin Barney went on to conclude…..”in New England, anything that doesn’t conform to the Patriot Way is out of line, but no need to apologize, Rob. You’ll be applauded by 31 teams in the NFL…….just NOT the one you currently play for.”

Go Gronk!!

Trying To Keep It In Perspective. It Ain't Easy !!

2011-10-22T08:23:00.000-07:00

I’m really not sure what is behind this particular rant. I’m sure some of it is my position in life (retired), and a lot of it is my struggle to determine whether I really give a rats tush what’s going on in the world. I’m not an activist in any way, short of occasional rants such as this, I never have been an activist even in my younger years…and that I’m sure will explain my feelings on a couple of issues facing the world today. For example; the “occupy (fill in the blank) crowd.” Every day, I pick up the paper, listen to radio, watch television check my I-Phone….whatever….and hear the latest ramblings from the “occupy whatever.” I noticed the other day my old friend Tommy Menino, the Mayor of Boston has tossed his support to the great unwashed…..and is taking it one step furthur…..he’s calling for a Congressional investigation into the “economic inequality” in today’s world. “Economic Inequality”? Mr. Mayor…….what in hell could you be thinking? Go talk to the Occupy Boston folks, the Occupy Wall Street folks and Tom……you will discover the largest collection of stupid people ever assembled in recent memory. Oh there are a few who might be able to spell “economic inequities”, but it’s doubtful more than one or two of them could tell you what the “inequities” are. Yes of course, these haters of corporate America, haters of the rich and successful, haters of hard work, could pull out their I-Phone and Google it for you!

Mayor of New York City also supports the great unwashed, Nancy Pelosi thinks the movement is a great idea, the President of the United States is voicing support and get this, at the same time, BHO is giving out more than $500 million…..yes more than a half billion USA $$$$’s to a guy named Fisker so he could build a modern-day electric car. And guess what……Mr. Fisker is building this car…..in Finland! Yes in Finland, but wait there’s more; only the very rich will be able to afford this car when it’s done…..and……..and……this combination electric/gas-powered sleek automobile will get an average of 19 MPG. A Ford Explorer gets better mileage. Nice move Barack. Sorry, I think I lost track of which issue I needed to protest…being the non-activist that I am.

Oh, did you hear about the activist Mom’s group that is fighting to keep the latest flavor of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream out of the supermarkets? This is true…..and it’s working. Several supermarket chains are refusing to sell “Schweddy Balls” ice cream because the Mom’s think it’s an inappropriate name. Take that Pete Schweddy!!

"Bulletin, Bulletin"...Barack's Teleprompter Stolen...President Speechless !!

2011-10-18T12:09:00.000-07:00

What are we going to do, and when should we do it? It’s hard to believe but it’s true, somebody stole the truck carrying the President’s sound system, his podium with the Presidential Seal……..and…….yes AND THE TELEPROMPTER.” I mean if that doesn’t call for an OMG I don’t know what will. The only words heard from B.H.O. since this crisis are “aah…..ummm….aah….and….let me be clear, goodnight.”

I’ve been unable to confirm those words spoken by the President since the theft, but he does use them a lot in every single speech he ever delivers so I’ll go out on a limb and assume he used them again……since the theft of the teleprompter.

Do you believe the pomposity and swagger from B.H.O. when (before his teleprompter was stolen) he had the audacity to say in a speech “maybe they (Republicans) don’t understand my entire jobs bill (too stupid) so what I’m going to do is break it up into little bite size pieces and give it to them one piece at a time (make it easier for them). A clear signal, this guy has got nothing left. Every thing he has tried during his disastrous three years in office has failed. His self-proclaimed social policies have yielded nothing more than a weaker economy……and to quote Charles Krauthammer, one of the brightest syndicated columnists in the country….”what does Obama do? He takes the low road…blame the Plutocrats for bleeding the country and I (BHO) will rescue you from them.” Krauthammer goes on to say “problem is, this kind of populist demagoguery is more than intellectually dishonest. It’s dangerous.”

Take heart my friends….just as O.J. is still hunting for the real killers of his wife Nicole and Ron Goldman back in ’94, B.O. is out there in a shiny new black bus, trying to find the villains who have screwed up this country to a fair-thee-well for the past three years while he wasn’t looking.

What "IT" Is On Wall Street..&..What Mitt Is As Of This Date

2011-10-13T11:50:00.000-07:00

Well I made two requests in my last posting……..”Republicans, get it together” and “Wall Street protestors, bring it on.” Speaking of the latter, I think the protestors did “bring it on.” The only problem is….they don’t know what “it” is. Yes I know, people such as B.H.O. and “The Birdbrain of Alcatraz”, Nancy Pelosi (she lives within sight of Alcatraz) think they know what “it” is and they’re voicing support for this clueless group of mostly unwashed, but from what I’m hearing and reading, this whole uprising probably doesn’t have legs on a national scale. Oh for sure, there will be a certain element in New York City who will be demonstrating there for days, weeks and probably months….for a couple of reasons: First….start a movement in NYC to sell five pounds of poop in three-pound bags and you’ll instantly have a following. Second, the knucklehead New Yorkers have for Mayor, who by the way tried to eliminate smoking and thus eliminate cigarette butts in Central Park, is telling these misfits they can stay as long as they want, sleeping in their own filth, creating a health hazard for blocks around. Pray for an early freeze….”it” will soon end.

Briefly to the Republicans, the debate the other night was perfect…and a clear indication the GOP is gettin’ it together. Bachman…. done. Huntsman…done. Santorum..maybe later Rick. Paul…done. Newt….damn it pains me to say it because, as I’ve said many times, he’s the brightest one there. He knows more about what makes this country tick than all the others combined….but, a V.P. possible at best. Rick Perry; a shame you couldn’t show up at the debate the other night…..DONE. Herman Cain……gotta love this guy….he’s keeping things exciting and I hope he stays in to the bitter end. He’s going to be a key player next year for sure, but Cain, your 9-9-9 idea is never……yes I said Never…..going to pass muster. $9.99 for a pizza… maybe…..but 9-9-9 to replace our tax system as we know it? NEVER!!! Finally…..Mitt Romney. He’s still got to sell me on his bigger picture qualifications and ability to become President of the United States…..but at that debate the other night, he totally dominated. He was locked and loaded for every issue that was brought up, he was articulate, dominating all others present, and as of this date (10/13/11) he is the Republican Presidential nominee.

GOP...Come Together...Wall Street Protestor..Bring It On!!!

2011-10-10T17:18:00.000-07:00

It’s about time! Yes, it’s about damn time the Republicans, sometimes known as the Grand Ole Party, got their act together. In fact it’s more than time because there is no question whatsoever what the end-game is. B.H.O. has gotta go. All Republicans believe that, clear thinking Democrats know it’s inevitable and an overwhelming percentage of all Americans agree. He hasn’t accomplished a darn thing since he took over, his campaign promises proved to be a joke, and if anyone other than Jimmy Carter deserves to be a one-term President……it’s B.H.O.

So Republicans……what are you waiting for? I know it’s early and all candidates should be given a chance to cut-it or not, but it is definitely time to at least think about uniting behind the best candidate(s) and concentrate on the mission. Congresswoman Michele Bachman, your money is drying up, your house-of-cards momentum is crumbling. You are an air-head…just go. Ron Paul is also going nowhere, as he’s proven year-after-year-after-year, but maybe he should stick around for entertainment relief. Governor Huntsman there’s an edge about you I sometimes like, but give it up. Like Christie….”this isn’t your time.” Herman Cain, definitely hang-in there, if for no other reason, your debating skills and ability to keep the rest of them honest. A great VP candidate maybe? Rick Santorum, what Chris Wallace did to you last weekend was despicable, but you are not ready for the big-time and you know it. As for the other Rick (Perry), I just don’t like him. We don’t need another Texas Longhorn right now and somehow I suspect his campaign will crash and burn before it’s too late. Mitt Romney? There’s an equal amount of things that I like and dislike about Mitt, but forced to whittle the field, lets face it…..this (Romney) is where it’s headed. The knucklehead preacher who recently suggested Mr. Romney belongs to a cult (Mormon) is a clear hugger of Rick Perry and if that doesn’t tell you everything you need to know about both of them, you’re not listening.

Oh and one more thing just to let my lefty loony friends and relatives know that I haven’t forgotten them, let the “occupy wall street” people know……..you are doing wonderful things for the GOP. With the likes of that total nutcase from San Francisco, Pelosi lending her support to your cause, she too doesn’t have a freekin’ clue what these “great unwashed” are marching for. Tell her to ask her buddy Barney Frank what they’re watching for and I’m sure “hot bottom” will have a mushy explanation.

What a joke. Most of them are barely old enough to vote and the others are still living with Mom and Dad. I think I saw the one exception to that being interviewed and he said.,……”I quit my job to come here.” Genius!!

For Whom Do We Feel Sorry Today? Anybody?

2011-10-04T12:12:00.000-07:00

Let’s see now……..how ’bout Terry Francona. No, not really. Sure he got booted after his band of brats pulled one of the biggest chokes in the history of baseball and Tito couldn’t administer the proper antidote, but don’t feel sorry for Mr. Francona, he’s back in the market for a job……and yes he’ll have one in no time. He picked up a few million bucks while managing in Boston, plus they’re giving him a little send off three-quarters of a million dollars just to cover his grocery bill for a few months. I did say earlier I felt bad for Terry, but that’s what professional sports is all about…..they needed someone to take the hit and we all knew it wouldn’t be the wunderkind Theo. I said to my Brother-in-Law that managers get too much credit when they win….and too much blame when they lose and he reminded me the late-great Casey Stengel……who won all sorts of Pennants and World Series with a team filled with future Hall of Famers. When Casey went to manage the Mets, a team of unknowns, he lost a hundred-plus games a season. So much for the manager matters.

Let’s see now…….how ’bout feeling sorry for Eric Holder. The incompetence (and unbelievability) of this country’s top law enforcement officer is out-done only by his boss……yes Mr. BHO himself. Obama is going down in history as one of the worst Presidents ever and it’s people like Holder, and several others in the administration, who are helping BHO claim that dubious distinction. And did you hear that mis-spoken, mis-guided Chicago community organizer actually scream at the Republican candidates the other day saying “if you want to be commander-in-chief, you better be ready to stand up for all men and women wearing the uniform of the United States Military.” Have you given any thought to the incredible gall, the disingenuous chutzpah it took for that anti-military community organizer to make such a statement? Now I feel sorry for all of us.

I think before I find myself in the same muck as Hank Williams Jr. on Monday Night Football….I’ll stop now. Oh, one more thing Hank…..ESPN was right in dumping your hillbilly butt. In words once intended for Barbra Streisand….and rightly so ”JUST SHUT UP AND SING!"

Hey Boston..Yes Red Sox Too..What the %#!*^Is Going On?

2011-09-29T08:08:00.000-07:00

I waited all summer to make a quick trip to Florida to spruce things up at LaPierre South.....and what happens? The wheels fall off the wagon! Yes I know, the wheels were getting mighty wobbly on the Red Sox wagon for weeks now, but the dive they took in the past week or 10-days may be the biggest and most historic collapse in baseball history. Somebody's gonna have to have to pay for this one don't ya think? Francona? Theo? This is a choke like ya read about kids and I do hope they can get it together in the off-season.

Boston fans will love the Red Sox if they're dead last in the standings, but get rid of a couple of knuckleheads, the likes of Papelbon, and we'll like 'em a whole lot more. What an arrogant faker he is.....that glare from the pitchers mound to the batter....oooooh....and quite frankly I don't care about his stats as much as I do about his demeanor. He doesn't scare anybody I'm sure and he too....CHOKED...when we needed him. And how 'bout those big bats for the Sox.......maybe a 7-iron will be more to your liking because that's the season you're in now. Surrounded by Yankee fans here in Florida.....it's not easy....but I've resurrected a long-time Sox-fan line....."wait till next year." I had the pleasure taking a birthday party tour of Fenway Park last week for my grandson's 9th birthday. What a kick, standing there on the warning track in left field, next to the Green Monster, surrounded by my son Dean and my grandson Cameron. A beautiful moment. It's a terrific ballpark, the Red Sox are a great organization, but omg you can be an insufferable downer at times.

And one other thing quickly since I left; The apparent murder of a friend in Ipswich. Tony Woo, owner of my favorite Chinese restaurant "Majestic Dragon" just down the street from my northern address. The first murder in Ipswich I understand since the 70's. My deepest sympathies to Tony's family and friends. He will be missed.

WBZ's 90TH Birthday. Proud To Be Part Of Half Of It

2011-09-20T12:24:00.000-07:00

If this was the Fox News Network that headline above would read: “News Alert” or “breaking News”…..followed by some articulate anchor chick saying…“it started before most of us were born…and today it’s 90-years old…..Radio.” OMG!!

Sorry, don’t need to be snide about the whole subject by pointing out one of the bad things that has happened since electronic journalism took a voice. In my near half century immersed in electronic journalism (radio & TV) it has really been a kick in the past few days listening to some of the old tapes from the last 90-years, broadcast by WBZ Radio. It was the first commercially licensed broadcast radio station in the country and to this day, it is the 900 pound gorilla in the room when it comes to a discussion of broadcasting integrity. For better or for worse, WBZ created the image of what was to become newsman Gary LaPierre. It has been a part of my life since I was 18-years old and today, 50-years later, I’m as proud and humbled as I was on day one….of what this station represents to American history. Listening to tapes from more than 50-years back, as well as from today, we occasionally heard the words..“here is a special bulletin from WBZ”…or “We have a news alert from WBZ”…or “we have this breaking news from WBZ” and in every single case, the story to follow was huge…and justified the alert…i.e. man stepping on the moon, the Berlin wall falling, the President has been assassinated, the space shuttle explodes, Iraq is being invaded…whatever……pick one…all worthy of an alert!

But today? Heard and seen recently………”We have a Fox News Alert…the producers of Dancing With The Stars have just announced Chas Bono will be one of the contestants this season.” Pass me the ipecac and praise the longevity and integrity of WBZ Newsradio in Boston. Happy Birthday ya’ll!!!

Stress? Did You Say Stress? For What??

2011-09-16T07:59:00.000-07:00

Can’t help but chuckling a bit when I hear all the stories over the past week on the stress of “back to school.” Yes….STRESS…not for the kids, but for the parents. Actually probably not both parents but for today’s stressed-out Moms who are convinced, they are the first Moms in the whole world who ever had to prepare a child for the first day of school. And not just first graders either….all grades…right through high school….stress and anxiety of getting that kid off to school. I’m sorry I think…..but I have to ask……”what is the problem here?” I saw shrinks on the major networks giving parents advice such as carefully planning the school shopping experience, picking out the right clothes and get this……..advising Moms to “make sure your child does not see you crying.”

Crying? Did you say crying? About what for Gods’ sake. You should be trying to make sure they don’t see you smiling…. and how happy you are… when you push them onto the bus and wave goodbye for a few hours. Stress? What in heaven’s name are you talking about? To me, one of the most classic and entertaining “back to school” commercials ever was from a couple of years ago…I think it was a Staples commercial…..the parent is literally riding the shopping cart up and down the aisles, tossing clothes, pencils, paper etc into the cart while singing the Christmas Carol…..”it’s the most wonderful time of the year….”

Come on Mom……chill! One afternoon of school shopping a couple of weeks ago and you’re done. Make sure they’ve got everything they need….make sure they’re safe and reasonable secure in their new environment, get them to school or to the school bus stop and bingo. Make sure they can’t see you smiling from ear-to-ear….. and wave goodbye. You’re free! Go and enjoy the next seven hours…because (and maybe this is where the stress comes in) that bus will bring them back later in the day.

Step Right Up...Got Some Snake-Oil To Sell Ya !!

2011-09-16T07:06:00.000-07:00

I see and hear the casino bill is continuing its trek through the hallowed halls of the Great and General Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. “You’re going to be sorry Massachusetts.” The House of Representatives has said yes…..word is the Senate will follow suit and of course the cave-man, Deval Patrick will sign it into law. (by cave-man, I mean he caved on this issue like a sandcastle at high tide.) The revenues to the state from the less than reputable elements who run the casinos are dropping like a rock in both Rhode Island and Connecticut. They’ll drop even more when and if Massachusetts provides some more places for people to lose their money and just wait ’till all those job and revenue projections really start to come in and then, you’ll fully understand my prediction that “you’re going to be sorry Massachusetts.”

Oh and I learned on the Globe editorial page today, the voters in the various cities and towns, targeted for a casino will get a chance to vote “yes or no” on putting the bookie joints in their community..EXCEPT….except in the large cities such as Boston, Worcester and Springfield. That’s right, Boston voters would have no say at all on whether or where a gaming joint will go and guess where head gambling cheerleader House Speaker DeLeo has an interest………….East Boston maybe? Do ya think? Place your bets kids. Actually it won’t be kids…..it’ll be middle and older people placing their bets. Dropping their hard-earned dollars into one-arm bandits or at the roulette table, refusing to accept the fact…….and yes it’s fact…..the “house” is gonna win and “you” are gonna to lose

The Smartest, Best Debater In The Room

2011-09-08T08:58:00.000-07:00

I do hope you took some time to watch some, if not all of the debate among the Republican candidates for President because it was the best yet….by far. I’m still not sure why the Reagan Library let those mutant lefties in the building :-) but somebody had to ask the questions and…..(write this down)….”it is what it is.”

I’ll let the real experts dissect the critical nuances of the debate, particularly the debate between Romney and Perry, because right now, lets face it, those two are the only ones with a chance in Hell of getting the nomination. If you insist, the Texas gun-slinger was good but the Massachusetts businessman was better, and I think one-upped Perry on almost every issue. Huntsman is done, Bachman is an air-head, Santorum is a hot-head, Paul should be reading bed-time stories to his grand kids, and Cain is a nice, bright, conservative pizza executive.

Back to my original comment (at the top of the page): The smartest, best debater in the room was Newt Gingrich…..by miles. No, he hasn’t got a snowball’s chance in Hell of getting the nomination, but as I’ve said repeatedly in my blogging rants, Newt has forgotten more about what makes this world go ’round than all the others on the stage ever knew. He gets it. He’s a brilliant historian, he’s a phenomenal debater (would love to see him one-on-one with BHO) and the part I loved the most last night was when he spanked…..yes absolutely spanked Politico’s John Harris. Newt hit Harris with so many “rights” (sitting next to NBC lefty Brian Williams) Harris must have been begging for a “left.” Google it…..it’s brilliant.

I do hope Newt is able to hang-in there for a while, if for no other reason, to keep the media types on their toes. God forbid any of us should be left alone in a room with the likes of MSNBC’s loonies Maddow, Matthews, Sharpton, O’Donnell and Shultz

Pray For Obama.....Please!!!

2011-09-06T08:28:00.000-07:00

Labor Day has come and gone…..a new season is upon us….and my hopes remain positive…..for the most part. My expectations however are minimal and after reading the morning newspapers, listening to a couple of radio newscast. watching a couple of the morning Network TV gab-fests…..I’m again urging you……Pray For Obama……Please!!!

Try this one: Psalm 109:8

Thank You!

Knuckleheads And Hurricane Irene

2011-08-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

I would appreciate it if you’d round up the usual suspects. You know who they are. Mostly its the radio and TV hosts with ratings that are lower than whale poop and they seize the moment to prove……beyond a reasonable doubt….they really are knuckleheads with an axe to grind. At this moment, I’ve got the axe and I don’t mind telling you, it’s grinding my nerves to listen to these people ripping apart the local and national news organizations, the weather channel included, for totally blowing the threat of Hurricane Irene out of proportion. That did not happen.

It was not…….I repeat……IT WAS NOT blown out of proportion. Irene killed more than two dozen people along its journey through several states….that’s not a huge story? Irene caused billions……YES BILLIONS of dollars in damages in several states……not a major story? Give me a freekin’ break! But wait, there’s more. One of the better known radio knuckleheads (yes, with poop ratings) was pontificating that when Irene reached New England, she wasn’t even a hurricane anymore…..and was not much more than a 30 MPH breeze. Did he see the homes destroyed in New England, the people KILLED in New England, the rampaging rivers ripping through towns, homes ripped from their foundations, trees uprooted like match sticks, cars floating down streams like a child’s toy, the reservoirs that were swollen by upwards of 90-feet of water, the heroic rescues and evacuations, the power lines shredded and the notices that some of us will be without power for more than a week?????????? NO, this particular knucklehead is from the Peoples Republic of Cambridge and wouldn’t know a news story if it hit him in the puss.

And I never even got to the millions and millions of issues on the oceanfront. Yes, Irene petered a bit when she got close to New England, but still caused chaos….and in sheer size and volume alone, Irene was of epic proportions and if you don’t think that deserves some hype and precautionary warnings…..enjoy yourself on Fantasy Island (or in Cambridge).

Commonwealth And Casinos = Corruption

2011-08-27T08:07:00.000-07:00

Hang in there gamblers….it appears the (corrupt) Commonwealth is going to give you what you’ve been waiting for…….for a long time. Yes…Casinos are coming……a new and fresh opportunity for you to be separated from your money and of course a new way for a dying organized crime syndicate to corrupt some new and fertile ground……right here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It’s virgin territory for the Casino industry. No longer will you folks have to drive an hour or more to be ripped off, such as in Connecticut. You’ll have three, maybe four places right here in good ole Massachusetts where you can go, plunk down your money, drink some free booze, maybe smoke some cigarettes and then go home and try to figure out where you’ll find the money to pay the rent.

Within a week or two, the Former Speaker of the House….Sal DeMasi will be sentenced to prison. He’s the third House Speaker in a row to be convicted of a felony…..which doesn’t even scratch the surface when it comes to just how corrupt our Commonwealth really is….and here we are, on Beacon Hill as we speak, allowing major gambling interests to roam and halls and grease the palms of our legislators to get an edge on approving the total debauchery of the casino world into our front yards. Who’s pushing for the casinos? This won’t come as a total surprise…..the current Speaker of the House!!!! The President of the Senate…..and of course the most recent back-slider…Governor Deval Patrick who caved like a sand castle at high tide from his previous opposition to Casinos. What do ya think……is it possible the $1.14 million that lobbyists have dropped on our political leaders in the past 6 months…may have something to do with it? Do ya think?

It’s a slippery slope kids, evidence is mounting every day it won’t create the windfall even the optimists are predicting and as my counterpart Jonathan Keller recently queried….”what if it doesn’t work?” (check out Keller At Large) This is a bad idea!!!!

Another Gasoline Gouger Alert !!!

2011-08-24T10:53:00.000-07:00

Had to go out and fill up the chariot this morning and from the best I can tell….I do hope you’re doing a little shopping before fillin’ ‘er up. Prices are all over the place…..and I do mean….all over the place.

We all understand the oil companies will rip us off with a clean conscience. The refineries certainly don’t have any trouble tuckin’ it too us….we can’t see them, they can’t see us. But I’m mildly surprised that the local gas stations, the local businessman who does have to look us in the eye…is really slammin’ us as well. Why? Because they can I suppose but it’s absurd the fluctuations I’m finding at the pump. Most of the gas stations in my immediate neighborhood are around $3.62 to maybe $3.79 a gallon. But about 5 miles down the road from me, three gas stations selling regular for the $3.48. One of them $3.45 a gallon. What’s up with that? And get this, less than three miles from there, I found one gouger (and he has been for many years) selling regular gas for $3.89 a gallon. What a thief……and yes, nobody waiting at the pumps when I drove by.

I guess my message is this….the oil companies are screwin’ us…we know that. But don’t let the local business people do it too you as well. If you’re paying $3.60 or more per gallon….it’s too much

New England Patriots...One Story...One Not

2011-08-23T13:11:00.000-07:00

Hey New England Patriots…….how’s that 340 pounds (or is it 360) of trouble workin’ out for ya? I know he’s not spending much time if any on the practice field so far….or the pre-season games….but are you keepin’ him away from the ice cream, hot dogs and donuts? Keepin’ him away from the courthouse I realize is something no-one has been successful at yet, but who knows, pretty soon he just might be out there pushin’ and shovin’ some linemen around. Like I said, I’m sure Myra is still trying to get over this one.

One other note briefly on the Patriots, only because it got so much publicity, thanks to the so-called legitimate mainstream media. It has to do with the photograph of Tom Brady’s nude son and I can’t help but say, I find this to be outrageous. Bad enough a perv blogger publishes the picture of a child less than two years old with comments about the size of the baby’s genitalia…..if that isn’t enough to label this whacko a sexual predator, I’m not sure what is. And for the mainstream media to then “run with the story”….I’m flabbergasted. I understand it was done, only because it was Tom Brady’s son. Everyone agrees on that….and I get that!! A minor car accident….no media..unless it’s Tom Brady…I get it. A barroom fight…no media…..unless it’s Tom Brady..I get it. A wedding ceremony, no media coverage….unless it’s Tom Brady. I get that! But a picture of a 20-month old baby boy with a focus on the size of his “Howitzer” because it’s Tom Brady’s kid? I DON’T GET THAT and it’s sick.

Another Reason Why Airline Travel Is Awful!!!!

2011-08-21T08:21:00.000-07:00

AND……it’s getting worse all the time….not better. There are many reasons why flying today is an insufferable pain in the butt…not the least of which I simply hate flying. But when flying commercial is about the only way to get from here to there…and back… is the only option…..we all do it. We grin and bear it….and just “do it.”

But what I want to know today is….why do the airlines hate animals? More specifically, why does Jet Blue hate our cat? And even more specifically, we’re talking here a tiny little kitten (2 lbs 8 oz). Understand, this particular rant is not coming from a whacky animal lover. We have a pet (kitten) in our home for only one reason; because my wife loves animals. However, I come to the defense of these little critters when the airlines want to ban them. Oh, they’ll allow one or two on most flights, provided they’re in specifically designed carriers (which the airline will sell to you) and they’ll fit under the seat in front of you. The rub is this: The airlines will charge you more for the cat tucked under the seat than than they’ll charge you for your seat. True!!!!!

I’ve got a flight coming up…round trip to Florida…..got a nice fare…..$96 dollars each way. Nice. To bring the cat along? An additional $100.. each way. Do you believe this? 96-bucks for me….100 bucks for the cat……JAMMED INTO A TINY CAGE AND TUCKED UNDER THE SEAT IN FRONT OF ME!!!! Fortunately for me I don’t have to but I could bring a small child onto the plane with me, a little brat who screams and hollers, pees and poops, tosses animal cracker crumbs over two rows of seats, turns the flight into a flight from Hell for all the people around me…….and that two-legged terror goes for free……FREE…no charge. My tiny little kitten stuffed under the seat bothering no-one…. pays $100.

Animal lovers and people who would ban obnoxious kids…..UNITE!!!

Good Morning!! How Are You? (answer) "Shut Up!!"

2011-08-04T12:19:00.000-07:00

What is your problem with the TSA anyway? I just don’t get it. I don’t like the airport delays either, I agree the long lines at check-in and the over abundance of TSA workers is a giant pain in the butt…..BUT…….get over it for goodness sakes. It is what it is….the flying public has been safe since nine-eleven, and all the yahoos who are getting their undies in a bunch because now the TSA might ask you a question when you’re checking in……go take a freekin’ bus!!

You might be asked: “Good morning Sir, where are you going today?” Or you may be asked: “Good morning Mame…did you check any bags today?”

It seems to me…with the smallest amount of sanity and civility…..one might respond to the first question with the answer….”I’m going to Chicago.” One might respond to the second question with the answer….”no I did not.” End of conversation…..not 10-seconds lost. Pain in the butt maybe, but the people who are trying to make a giant “dust-up” about this……cheered on by some mis-guided talk-show radio people….need to GET A LIFE!!!!

Just the other day, I passed a guy walking down the street and he said to me “good morning Sir.” I responded……”go to Hell.”

I’m kidding…..that never happened….but what is the problem here? Should I pass you on the street and I inquire “how are you”…….lie to me…..but only if that makes you feel better

The Patriots Don't Need 340 Pounds Of Trouble

2011-08-02T07:26:00.000-07:00

Oh sure…..he’s big, he’s a heck of a defensive lineman and he’s certainly a force to be reckoned with on the football field, but Big Al Haynesworth is an equal amount of trouble, on and off the field, and I’m really surprised the New England Patriots decided to reward this poster child for bad behavior with a multi-million dollar contract. Joan Vennochi in the Boston Globe (8/2/11) suggests the move is a bit of an insult to the memory of Myra Kraft, who Vennochi suggests was the “moral compass” for the Patriot’s organization. Could be….God knows Mrs. Kraft was the epitome of character, integrity and respect…..which clearly fat Albert is not, but I doubt it was Myra Kraft who made the decisions on players contracted to play for the Pats.

It’s professional football….it’s rough and tumble….it’s money in a sport that has more than it’s share of thugs. By “thugs” I mean, players who would be stickin’ up Seven-11′s if they couldn’t play football and this guy, as I suggested earlier, is the poster child for bad behavior. I don’t have enough space here to print out his entire rap-sheet, but just for chuckles, start with his maiming Andre Gurode by kicking an opening for 30-stitches in Gurode’s head during a game in Dallas, to say nothing of multiple apparent violations of the law “off” the field, including a pending sexual assault trial up-coming. In the midst of all this, he signs a 7-year, 100-million dollar…..Yes, $100,000,000 contract with the Redskins but ate too many donuts to be able to pass the physical.

This “mound of ice cream and hot dogs” as one columnist named him holds the record for receiving the longest suspension from the game in NFL history and he’s now a Patriot. “Well shut the front door!!!!”

Enough Already! Shame On Washington

2011-07-31T12:53:00.000-07:00

Ya want to know what burns my tush……even more than a flame about three feet off the floor? Our government….from top to bottom…..from Beacon Hill to Capitol Hill…..from the White House to the Out House…our government is one gigantic embarrassment. And this..by the way….is coming from a guy who believes we have the best governmental system in the entire world….but right now, it’s too embarrassing for words.

When Senate President Harry (the Nevada fraud) Reid is huggin’ ands squeezin’ with the likes of Nancy (California crackpot) Pelosi, it’s pretty clear we are heading for the New Delhi dumper. And when House Speaker John Boener looks to appease the ultra conservative Tea Partiers and suck up to ultra liberal/socialist Barack Obama at the same time, playing golf no less, that too makes it abundantly clear……..we’re counting on a guy who couldn’t organize a one-car funeral!!!!

So to whom do we turn? I honestly don’t know, but wouldn’t you think one, or a handful of those braintrusts Americans sent to Congress would put an end to this fiasco because make no doubt about it, the John Adams and Thomas Jeffersons of our world are positively rolling over in their respective graves right now. The Congressional leadership on both sides of the aisle doesn’t have the stones to fight for what’s right…. and the man hovering over it all, (BHO) doesn’t have a clue…..period!

Want A Casino In Your Backyard? NIMBY !!

2011-07-21T06:38:00.000-07:00

Well Kids, here we go again……another war between the states. Actually to be grammatically correct….it’s a war among the states and who do you suppose the losers will be? Us! All of us. Those of us who don’t want anything to do gambling casinos, in my yard of anybody else’s yard for that matter…..and to include everyone in this……those who do want the casinos, if they get them, will simply have a place to throw their money away. Losers…us all!

Ya know, out in the wide open spaces of Nevada and the like, go for it if you’re so inclined. If you like sleaze and debauchery, Las Vegas is the place for you. Heck just on the edge of town you can find yourself a legal whorehouse if you really need to be separated from your money, but to start that sort of activity in places like Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island…..whatever….you’ve got to be kidding. So far, the brain-trusts of Massachusetts have said no to gambling casinos, despite the efforts of our present Speaker of the House. The issue is about the come up again. Speaker DeLeo is still pushing hard, Governor Patrick I think would cave faster than a sand castle at high tide and wouldn’t you think that House Speaker DeLeo, after watching three successive predecessors be found guilty of felonies, would want to avoid encouraging this business element into the state. Come on kids, casinos are not owned and operated by Mother Theresa!!

Rhode Island and Maine are both getting anxious that Massachusetts may get into the casino gambling business before they do, but as I stated two paragraphs back, we’re all losers if any of the three cave-in. It’s bad business!!

Have You Heard About BBJTV? OMG...You Must!!!

2011-07-16T10:06:00.000-07:00

Alright…….chalk this one up to shameless self promotion, which it is. It’s brand new…never tried before between these two industry giants…..but it’s happening right now and guess who’s hosting the unbelievably well researched, well produced television show in the city of Boston? You guessed it……your humble and right now unabashed self promoter………’tis I….your Trained Observer.

It was just a couple of weeks back, I was asked if I’d be interested in taking an audition to host a new television show in Boston……to be called BBJTV. BBJ is the Boston Business Journal, one of the most highly respected business journals of its type in the country and CBS Boston Television. I dusted off the pinstripe suit, dug out the old duffel bag of TV makeup (and it took a lot of it) and the rest is history. We have recorded the first two half-hour programs which will run twice a week on Boston television. The first one was on channel 38 this past Wednesday night at 9:30 and it will repeat this Sunday morning (July 17)….on CBS Channel 4 at 11 a.m. The second one will air next Wednesday night (July 20th) at 9:30 p.m. on channel 38 and will be aired again the following Sunday morning (July 24th) at 11 a.m. CBS Boston, Channel 4…..(WBZ-TV).

The first couple of shows are about the businesses in and around Boston which made the Boston Business Journals list of “Best Places To Work.” This is a well researched and finely produced television show from start to finish. I don’t believe this sort of joint venture has been tried before and from your incredibly biased blogger known as Trained Observer, I think you’re going to be impressed. I wasn’t sure there could ever be enough make-up to pull this off…..but it works. I’m proud to be back in television, no matter how briefly and hosting this timely TV series.

BBJ-TV……check it out and I welcome all comments.

Do Ya Give A Rat's Tush What Whitey Reads In Jail?

2011-07-15T11:12:00.000-07:00

I’ll probably take some heat for this one, maybe right here in-house, but ya know what, I don’t give a rat’s tush what Whitey has been reading in recent years and I’m a bit amazed some people do.

I guess it could all go back to my previous blog entry, critical of the Feds sucking up to this street thug from Southie, but my fear is……it’s just more adulation or “oh my gosh” stuff over a guy who has been a dirt-bag hoodlum most of his life. Congratulations to the “Eye-Teams” et al that have been digging this stuff up from the archives…..nice work…but I don’t care. This old thug and accused multiple-killer is never going to see the light of day again, except of course when the feds are delivering him limo style (John Kerry style) back and forth from jail to the courthouse…and it does not impress me that he read all sorts of intellectual books and manuscripts while incarcerated. I even heard one official gushing recently that…”had Whitey applied his knowledge and expertise to good and legitimate businesses, he would have been extremely successful.” WELL HE DIDN’T!! He applied himself to street thuggery from the time he was old enough to walk. He intimidated people, he led a life of crime, he lied, he corrupted, ruined, bloodied and according to the indictments MURDERED at least a dozen and half others in the course of his life and you want me to be impressed that he read a lot of great books?

I don’t think so!! And one more thought applicable to the rat’s tush…keep Whitey’s travelling concubine locked up too. She does not deserve to go free any time soon.

A Gun Found On A Plane? Did You Say A Gun???

2011-07-11T09:47:00.000-07:00

Yes folks, the F.B.I. is investigating this one. The same FBI that recently took 16-years to find Whitey Bulger hiding in plain sight in Hollywood. Yes the feds are trying to figure out how a gun got onto a Jet Blue plane between Boston and New Jersey. A stun gun yes……but a gun. I don’t care if it was machine gun or a BB gun, but a gun turns up in the seat back pocket of a flight out of Boston and the only hope we have, is that it was put there by some knucklehead from the ground crew intentionally….to spice up an otherwise boring day in the airline industry.

How could this happen? Is it possible someone went through security with that gun? If that’s even remotely possible, this incident should scare the heck out of all of us who occasionally have the ugly mis-fortune of having to fly. A stun-gun on a commercial flight out of Boston? What the Hell is going on here? Is the TSA that incompetent? I don’t think so, in spite of having been fondled and photographed a couple of times recently passing through security….but what are the other possible explanations? I heard someone suggest maybe an Air Marshall left it behind my mistake. I can’t buy that theory either, but if that is the case, that should cause us even more concern.

It doesn’t matter to me how it got there, but it got there. A gun on a passenger jet flying out of Boston. Not a knife….not a box-cutter…..a gun…a stun gun and I for one find this scary and unforgivable.

Texting....And a Wasted Family Dinner

2011-07-09T11:19:00.000-07:00

Went to one of my favorite restaurants the other night for an early dinner. It was at Stone Soup in Ipswich, MA and it was terrific as usual. But as my wife and I shared a glass of wine before ordering, we both happened to notice a family sitting (and standing) in the foyer, waiting to be assigned a table. There was Mom and Dad, and four children….guessing ages around a 4-year old girl, a 7-year old girl, a 9-year old girl and a boy I’d guess about 13 or 14.

Both Mom and Dad were thumbing the living crap out of their cellphones. They were totally ignoring the three young girls who were bored to death about being there in the first place and the teenage boy was also intensely thumbing his own cellphone, I’m sure responding to special calls from his broker. Two of the little girls were crawling all over Mom, demanding some attention…and they got nothing. Mom was feverishly texting…pushing the little girls away, totally ignoring them. The other little girl was seemingly sharing her big brothers cellphone, perhaps with a game or something, until the kid’s phone actually started ringing and he headed out the front door, little sister right behind him, and he paced the parking lot for 20-minutes, ignoring his sister, while talking to his broker. Dad….head down….totally ignoring all of them, wife included, thumbing the Hell out of his phone, while the Mrs. poked non-stop on hers and the teenage son talked on his outside the front door. The three little girls waited not-so-patiently, punching each other until the hostess finally seated the entire family. Mom and Dad continued texting at the table…not one word spoken between them, or among the children. Ahhh yes….another fun family dinner together, compliments of technology advances that got put into the wrong hands. What a shame!!!

Is Casey Anthony Really Guilty? NO!!!

2011-07-09T08:56:00.000-07:00

Every fiber of my being wants to leave this story alone….let the amateurs have a field-day with it, pontificating about something from a pure emotional standpoint.

Even the so-called experts (which is none of us) have no better handle on the situation than you or I……they weren’t in the jury room…..but is Casey Anthony guilty? Absolutely not, because the jury says so, and the jury is the only group with a vote. The rest of us are outside amateurs. The jury says “not guilty” and that’s the end of it. She can’t be tried again, any more than O.J. could be tried again for his double murder…..and yes, even if he goes on TV with Oprah and admits he slaughtered those two people, as soon as he finishes his jail term convicted of gross stupidity, O.J. will go free. And so does Casey.

Perfectly put by one of the jurors in the Casey Anthony Trial….”not guilty does not mean innocent.” This little snot-nose psycho was found “not guilty” but she was not found to be innocent and we all know, she’s not innocent….in my opinion of anything. There’s no doubt in my mind and in the minds of a huge majority of clear thinking Americans……of course she did it. And if you still don’t believe she did it, I’m sure there’s a cold-blooded guilty killer out there who’s hoping for someone like you to serve on their jury.

No one will argue that our criminal justice system is a great one, but it’s not perfect…. and not without its flaws. The Casey Anthony trial, not unlike the O.J. trial…..are proof positive….that the system doesn’t always work.

Hey Feds, The Whitey Suck-Up...Has Gotta Stop !!

2011-07-01T12:06:00.000-07:00

Alright so you finally caught him. Took sixteen years to do it, even with Whitey hiding in plain sight.....but you got him....good for you.....and now it's time to start treating this piece of crap for what he really is.

Yes, he shared top billing on the Feds "Top ten" list with Osama bin Laden for a while, but trust me, Whitey is no UBL.....and shouldn't be treated like he was an international terrorist, wanted by almost everybody. He's a South Boston thug, he"s an accused killer, he's a bully.....has been since the day this creep was born, he'd like everyone to think he was a Cosa Nostra Godfather......he isn't and never was. Organized crime, i.e. Anguilo,Patriarca, Gambino....whatever.....was just that...."organized." Whitey was none of that and he couldn't carry those figures' jock strap. Whitey was unorganized crime........as I said.....a South Boston thug.... and to treat him now like he the head of the Taliban is just wrong....and the taxpayers hate it. That police escort to the courthouse; Holy crap, more security that Barack Obama gets when he's in town. The Coast Guard helicopter ride from prison to the courthouse......what a joke. Hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars already up in smoke and now you tell us....the taxpayers have to pay for his defense attorney(s) as well. Just short of a million dollars....IN CASH, found in Whitey's apartment and you tell us he's indigent.

Gotta transport Whitey back and forth to court for the next couple of years? Fine, throw his butt into the back of a police wagon and let him sit in traffic with the rest of the folks who are footing the bill. Enough with the Leer Jets, the C.G. Helicopter rides and the big black SUV escort vehicles. Come on......who do you think he is.....Senator John Kerry?

Curiously Quiet About Whitey Bulger

2011-06-27T11:59:00.000-07:00

So……who has been curiously quiet about Whitey Bulger? I for one have been terribly quiet about the Whitey capture, but quite frankly, nothing really curious about it. It’s not as though there was no place to go for more repetitive information on the great FBI grab of the notorious Bulger brother and honestly I just wanted to let the dust settle a bit. I’m certainly not the only interested player staying relatively quiet on the subject and I’m sure no-one is quieter than all the law enforcement people (mostly FBI) the politicians, community leaders, confidants et al who allowed Whitey to function and then allowed Whitey to disappear for 16-years. You’ve gotta know, there are several people on out there, some of whom carry or have carried a badge, who are very nervous that Whitey is going to throw up. A figure of speech yes, that this Bulger brother could start spitting out names and places that will confirm this states’ status as one corrupt Commonwealth. It is….and has been for longer than Whitey has been alive.

As as well-seasoned news-guy from Boston, I understand the massive media coverage of Whitey’s capture and return to Boston….but it troubles me. Of course if I was still working the streets, I’d probably be out there with the throngs of media types jamming a microphone in somebodys face, but to give this kind of star-power to one of Boston’s “dirty rotten scoundrals”….apparently a serial killer….is just wrong. Coverage exceeding Osama coverage and he killed more than 3,000 people. And please news people, stop the fawning all over brother Billy and treating him like the quiet intellectual brother who happened to have a brother who was a bad-guy. Quiet? Code of silence?

One more thing….since I love to mock those who don’t demonstrate an ounce of common sense; was there really a debate about whether the taxpayers should provide an attorney for Whitey? This dirt bag is holding in excess of $800,000 in cash and needs a publicly paid defender?

God Knows NBC Is Wrong..And So Is Nike. BIG Time!!!

2011-06-21T12:44:00.000-07:00

Do you too find it amazing that a major television network would stoop the level of many lefty loonies in this country and actually edit-out certain words from the Pledge of Allegiance? Whoever did the editing should be fired, but we all know that'll never happen and that's not the point. The network honchos actually allowed it to happen.....made sure that it happened.....and then came up with a lame apology for the golfing announcer to read at the U.S. Open. With pictures depicting our armed forces, the America Flag waving and school age children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.......the network has about four hours of TV time to fill with golf, (three hours and 45 minutes of which was like watching paint dry) and still they felt the need to edit out less than two seconds of time from the sacred Pledge to eliminate the words "indivisible" and "under God". I'm inclined to say....what a shame...........but clearly NBC or (P)MSNBC has none, as evidenced by that mush-faced excuse for an apology.....and by some of the people it puts on the television screen every day.

My friends and relatives on the far left (you know who you are) I'm sure will have a field day with these comments...so just to give you a little more "bang for your buck", add this to the fodder. Did you hear about the Mayor of Boston asking the Niketown store in his city to remove a couple of items from its window display? Yup, good ole Tommy Menino walked by the store with his wife and he thinks the window display promoting drugs and profanity wordplay are nothing short of a stoop to the lowest common denominator, just to get people to buy T-shirts. Do ya think!!! Seriously....do ya think....at all.....ever? On one Nike shirt just the word "DOPE". On another, just the words "GET HIGH." On another the words "F***K GRAVITY." The Nike store manager actually said the t-shirts feature marquee athletes using commonly used and accepted expressions. Do ya think?

Folks, if you don't believe NBC and Nike are both wrong......BIG time......my apologies on behalf of your parents for a failure to instill an ounce of common sense (a rare commodity) in their off-spring.

Only In San Francisco, California....

2011-06-17T08:13:00.000-07:00

Actually I have to concede up front....that posting title of "only in California" is a typical overstatement on my part, but often times as I visit some of the crunchy-granola, beautiful-people, lefty-looney locales in this country, I'm forever taken back by the dynamics of these destinations. The beauty of a San Francisco for example is magnificent. The coastline of the left coast, Pacific Coast Highway for example is magnificent. Follow the coastline North from San Francisco or veer slightly Northeast and cruise on through the vineyards of Napa, Sonoma etc. In my opinion, the coastline on the right side of this country pales in comparison. The coast of Maine? Rugged beauty. The coast of California? Magnificent, breathtaking.

The journalist in me never stops and I'm always anxious to scrutinize the local newspapers and this case, it was the San Francisco Chronicle. The Boston Globe obviously regurgitates the left-wing leanings of its parent, the ever-dangerous New York Times, but reading the Chronicle by the bay, in the shadow of the incredible Golden Gate Bridge, it was difficult to keep from chuckling.

For example: Lead story, front page, above the fold....the lead line is: "For the past six years, those mustard-yellow stickers affixed to the haunches of 85,000 California hybrid vehicles have been golden." Folks, you can't make this stuff up! But wait there's more. Lead story, front page, below the fold...the lead line is: "as she made her way up Market Street the other day on a tea break from her new job as head of the most prominent anti-death penalty organization in California, Jean Woodford strode slowly, shoulders hunched, stylish in a collarless black pantsuit that hung loosely around her slight frame. The steel in the brown eyes gaze so steady her head barely moves." Sounds more like book author Pat Conroy doesn't it.

Lest we wonder why the primary purpose of big city newspapers in this country is to provide lining for the birdcage or wrapping for the fish.

From San Francisco, we headed over the Golden Gate to Napa Valley.....Calistoga specifically....where I was about to seriously challenge the supply of Pinot Grigio and/or Pinot Noir and perform my first wedding ceremony as Gary LaPierre, O.C. (ordained clergy). Tell you more later.

Bye Bye Sarah P...Hellooo Michele B !!!

2011-06-14T12:33:00.000-07:00

There are "thoughts and things" I took away from the first public forum among the Republican candidates for President, which I'll undoubtedly share in the forseeable future.......but I have to say, the most dominant take-away was the performance of Congresswoman Michele Bachman. I had sorta dismissed her as a possible contender for the GOP nomination and presumed her main purpose was to rattle the Sarah Palin cage a bit for the future. Well guys, she not only rattled Sarah's cage, in my opinion she put Sarah back in the God-forsaken hinterlands of Alaska for the forseeable future......and furthurmore.....she more than held her own with the rest of the questionable testosterone on the stage in New Hampshire. Do you have any idea what a relief this can be when it comes to future utterances from the GOP distaff side? Instead of a shrill, screechie opportunist dunderhead from the frozen tundra, we could have Michele Bachman......an equally attractive and incredibly superior intellect who makes a lot of sense, going head to head with the best of the males out there. She is a bit polarizing and moderates aren't big fans or hers, but give her some time.

No major gaffs in the first "stand-around" for the Republican contenders. Mitt Romney is surely the front-runner, but mostly by default and as for his performance in the discussion.......he did OK! Pawlenty? Another OK. Rick Santorum? Not a chance in Hell. (that's a town in Pennsylvania) Ron Paul? Mildly entertaining but probably much better at delivering babies. Heman Cain? Likeable...but nothing else. And if there's one other strong "take-away" for me, it was Newt Gingrich. I know....more baggage than Pee Wee Herman...but Newt is by far, the most knowledgable candidate out there....has forgotten more about what makes this country tick than all the others know combined.....but.....I don't believe it will happen. In fact it wouldn't surprise me a bit if he bails out half-way through this thing. Newt will never be President.

So who elses is there? Rudy Giuliani? He's still sniffin' around, but Hey Rudy....."fagitaboutit." Jon Huntsman I hear is getting in. Whoopie......Just what the GOP needs....a biker from Utah who just hired Schwarzenegger's top flak. Rick Perry? Yes.

Help Me Search For A NEW President. (haven't found one yet)

2011-06-13T14:32:00.000-07:00

OK guys......while you're taking a look at the list of Republicans who think they ought to be President of the United States, including the forum tonight, a couple of things you may want to consider. I'm reasonably pleased with the list of contenders on the GOP side, but positively convinced that one of them should be President? I don't think so. It's possible I guess.....but there's still time and with a little bit of luck, one of them will convince me without equivocation.....or maybe even someone we haven't heard from yet will rise from the ashes. I'll give you my take on all the Republican candidates in future postings, but what I'm asking of you today is....please consider someone.....anyone.....other than where we've been going for the past two and a half years.

This "community organizer" from Chicago named Barack promised us "change".......maybe even "hope and change." But here's some of what we got from this guy who had fewer credentials for the Presidency than anyone in recent history. Oh he has a gift, make no mistake about it, but with a promise of "change" from zero credentials for the job.....here's some of what we got..........so far. Seriously, I wouldn't vote for a Sarah Palin for example if she was the only person running, but even she has more credentials for the job than the "community organizer" ever had. Back to the "changes" to date:

The price of gas in January 2009.......$1.83. Today: $3.64.

Unemployment rate in January 2009...7.6% Today: 9.8%

Medium household income in Jan. 2009...$50,000 Today: $49,777 (Dropping)

The list I have before me, verified by several government agencies, the bureau of labor statistics, Standard and Poors etc... just goes on and on. Giant increases in the number of people on food stamps, the number of unemployed, the poverty rate, failed banks, the money supply and most of all.....the National debt. Was ten trillion, it's now more than 14 trillion.....an increase of more than 32 percent and folks, we've got only about a year and a half to stop this bumbling madness. Granted, it wasn't pretty when he took over, but this is an economic and social disaster. Change? Not the kind I was looking for! We can do better.

Bruins, Weeners and "Rev G".

2011-06-07T06:47:00.000-07:00

A couple of things quickly before I get to the subject at hand: Boston Bruins, great job last night (6/6/11) showing the Canucks from Vancouver that you’re a bunch of tough guys to be reckoned with. (preposition) You not only redeemed yourself in the hearts of all Bruins fan, you stuffed it in their face with 8 goals. Go B’s!!

The other item: So Congressman Weener (that is how you spell it right?) how’s that Facebook thing workin’ out for ya? Was that your Face? How ’bout your Tweeter Weener….been Tweetin’ lately? Kinda too bad you’re from New York Weener because I doubt New Yorkers will allow you to survive this….and they shouldn’t. On the other hand, in nearby Massachusetts, at least two members of Congress, past and present have done far worse things than Weener-the-Tweeter ever did and still got themselves re-elected. Go figure!!

See….now you got me all riled up and I almost forgot the subject at hand. Which was what? Oh, I want to tell you more about my recent trip to San Francisco and Napa Valley which I found very enlightening, but I’ll have to do it small doses through future postings on this page. I will share this however: In addition to my Doctor status (thank you Emerson College) you can now also call me Reverend. Yes it’s true…..I’m officially Gary LaPierre, O.C. (ordained clergy) and am available as an officiant for Weddings, Funerals, Bar Mitzvah’s, whatever. You can call me “Rev G”.

Bruins...Ready for Golfing Season....?

2011-06-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

I know, with a name like LaPierre with a French-Canadian heritage, you’d think I’d know a whole lot more about hockey. I don’t. I’ve never played the game. Can’t even skate. But I know what I’ve seen on the ice during the third period of the last two Bruins games against the Canucks and if that’s the kind of play that will continue, I’d suggest the Bruins take off the skates and pick up the golf clubs.

The Bruins played well for two periods, but during the third period….both games, the big bad Canucks were swarming all our guys like Swarzenagger on a housekeeper. Heck even my wife, a barely one hundred pound Irish lady who wouldn’t know an icing call from a cross-check said to me, during the third period of both games, “why is all the action down in front of the Bruins goalie and not down the other end?” Lets face it guys, if it wasn’t for Bruins goalie Tim Thomas, the final scores would have been sixteen to one and not one to nothing…..or three to two. The B’s have got some great players, some tough guys, some guys like Chara who stands six-foot fourteen in skates and they were getting pushed around in the third period…and out-skated by punks like LaPierre (no relation) among others and you could just see how it was going to end.

With 18 seconds to go….Painful. With only 11 seconds into the overtime period….Shameful. Come on you guys…..how ’bout a little support for your goalie. And if these words tick you off, show me something in game three that includes not being pushed around by a bunch of Canucks from Vancouver.

Trying To Stay Within The "Budget"...It "Hurtz"

2011-06-04T13:04:00.000-07:00

Observer Gotta tell you about my recent trip to California……..spent a week in San Francisco and Napa Valley and yes kids, California still is…..the land of fruits and nuts (and wine.) I’ll give you some details in a bit, but first I’ve got to add one more item to my last posting when I was complaining about “gouging in America.” My last rant had to do with being gouged by hotels, charging whatever the traffic will bear but I also mentioned, car rental agencies do it too and boy did I get a classic example of how vicious sit can be…..”California Style.”

I had a car all rented (done on-line) which was going to cost me about $240 for four days. Fair enough. But when I realized I had rented the car from a downtown San Francisco location and by mistake was returning to the same place, I went back into my account to change the return from downtown…to the airport. What a mistake!!!! I don’t want to mention any names, but I usually stay within my “budget” when it comes to car rentals…..but the price for my rental went from approximately $240 to just over $500!!!! Holy crap! Same car, same length of time but the price more than doubled. Why? Because they can! No other reason. “Because they can.”

I immediately cancelled the deal and went to their chief competitor and gladly paid $300 for the same car and time period. Yes….$60 more than my “budgeted” amount, but $200 dollars less than the attempted extortion amount and yes, I do hope the other guys understand, sometimes it just feels good to know that it “hurtz” when the gougers try to put one on your chin.

Gouging In America. It's Everywhere!!!

2011-05-23T08:53:00.000-07:00

I’m thinking I should get out more and maybe I’ll have a better understanding of why we take it on the chin (for lack of the exact body part) day-in and day-out. Yes everybody’s looking for a bargain nowadays and there are plenty of them out there, but beware of the bargain you choose or your “chin” is going to take another whoopin’.

In the past five days, I have driven through twelve (12) states along the eastern coastline and without exception, my chin took one in every state in which I stopped. First of all, gas prices. The prices were different in every state, presumably because of tax differences, but with unanimity, I took one for the team in every state, compliments of the major oil companies. It’s a rip…..they know it, we know it, but we take it until the constant pressure has us believing four-dollars a gallon isn’t so bad after all.

But the part that has me fired up this time is hotel prices. Specifically Hampton Inn’s. I stayed in three of them in the past five days…..the highest price was $129 a night, the lowest price and neatest-cleanest of them all was $95.00 in Danbury, Conn. My last stop was going to be the Hampton in Greenfield, MA where I’ve stayed often…..but didn’t this time…..”thank you Gouging in America.” They wanted $290 for one night. $290 for me to put my head down for 8-hours and I’m told it’s because it was a busy weekend and the price varies. Varies! Varies? I might have paid $140 a night there in the past, but $290? $290? Then again, that is the night the world was supposed to come to an end….maybe that’s why…but even so…..$290? My chin hurts.

Oil companies do it…Airlines do it…Car Rental agencies do it…Hotels do it and Birds and Bees do it…and trust me, only the birds and the bees are doin’ it right! The rest of us are gettin’ hosed!!!

Want Some "Alledged" News? HMU!!!

2011-05-16T07:59:00.000-07:00

Woke up the usual time today, and as I do every morning, (before seeing the morning newspaper) tuned in for the latest national headlines from the TV networks……and OMG! On rare occasions, I’ll actually hearing something that is NEWS, with the execution of Osama bin Laden one of the most recent examples. Great story, definitely NEWS and something for all of us to cheer about. Yes I know there are some out who don’t like that we….the U.S., put two bullets into UBL’s hat while he was unarmed, but the three thousand plus who died on nine-eleven weren’t armed either and UBL was cheering that one…..so……”good for us.”

Now…..back to the NEWS…….today’s NEWS. The two highlighted stories on the major networks morning show were #1…the guido’s from the Jersey Shore reality TV show had landed in Florence, Italy and #2, James Tate, a Connecticut high school senior will be able to go his senior prom after all. I can separate these non-NEWS stories only one way; The Jersey Shore cast, starting with #1 knucklehead “The Situation” are quite simply a band of uncouth (but apparently cool) young people with a combined IQ of perhaps 26…..maybe 27. End of story for me. But the networks actually had cameras and reporters in Italy following them around, including talking to the Mayor of Florence for his opinion. He didn’t like ‘em either.

And then there’s James Tate. This kid decided to ask fellow senior, Sonali Rordigues to the senior prom by posting his invitation on the side of the school building in Shelton, Connecticut. For that, his up-tight High School Headmistress got her undies all in a knot, suspended James and banned him from the prom. Pretty stupid eh? Agreed! But “thank you” Facebook, James is going to the prom after all. National and then worldwide response to this non-NEWS story and a unanimous voice of support from about 196,000 Facebook followers, Headmistress Beth Smith relaxed the knotted bloomers, changed her mind and said “Jamess and Sonali may attend the prom in June.” Sweet…..ain’t it?

The lesson learned here is this: there are at least 200,000…..ok nearly two hundred thousand people on Facebook who need to get a life. If you disagree, would love to hear from you. HMU????

So GOP.....How Grand is it?

2011-05-11T07:32:00.000-07:00

The way things have been going lately, if it wasn’t for “bad” luck…….the Grand Ole Party wouldn’t have “any” luck at all. But let me say right up front……”GOP….calm down….it’s early…relax. Sooner of later someone is going to step forward, take over the front-runner status and go for it.” I understand, the Republican party, like the majority of Americans is trying to make sure there’s someone out there who can make certain that Barack is a one-termer and we end up with a credible adult with plenty of credentials in the White House. So far however, the potential front-runners are either a joke, i.e. “the Donald” or they’re still in hiding. When the party decided the parade the first list of possibles in that boring debate in South Carolina, not only was it lacking any strong leader, the timing couldn’t have been worse. Even “the Donald” didn’t show up….probably having a bad hair day….and Barack Obama was basking in the glory of one of the first things he’s done right since taking office…….i.e. taking out UBL.

Now I ask you GOP….when your party puts five potential nominees on the stage for a TV debate and all five of them couldn’t muster even a glimmer of hope, and the people back home are chomping at the bit to hear that Newt is going to jump in via “Facebook” no less, I ask you again…….”how grand is it?” Don’t get me wrong……I like Newt Gingrich, he’s forgotten more about how this country works than the other five would know combined, but the Newt has more baggage than Rudolph Giuliani and he’s a long-shot at best to ever win the nomination. Trump…you were an idiot when you topped one poll a couple of weeks ago. Your rankings are now dropping lower than whale dung and you’re still an idiot. Ron Paul. Hey Ron…..didn’t you learn anything from last time around? You are at times entertaining, but still a perennial loser. Rick Santorum. Another angry man who scares a lot of people. Herman Cain. Nice guy who says a lot of the right things….but should stick to making pizza. Gary Johnson. Give me a freekin’ break. Tim Pawlenty…long shot maybe.

OK kids……..come on in….the water’s fine? Newt? Mitt? Huck? Sarah? Krauthammer? :-)

Arnold Swarzenegger & Phil Jackson....Goodbye!

2011-05-10T09:58:00.000-07:00

So……when Maria left the mansion in the Brentwood neighborhood of L.A. (isn’t that where OJ used to hang out?) do you suppose she said to Arnold……..”I will be baack?” I’m sorry, I just couldn’t stop myself. Sounds like a major league mid-life crisis in the Swarzenegger family after 25-years. I understand…….I’ve had a couple of those myself.

It’s been fairly quiet on the recuperation front recently. Starting to get mighty hot here in Florida, but I’m headed back to Massachusetts shortly for the summer. Summer this year in New England I’m told will be the week of July 10th. Check me on that. I have been watching a fair amount of playoff sports recently and among other things, witnessed some of the worst bush-league play I’ve ever seen in the NBA, particularly from a team coached by Phil Jackson, one of the greatest of all time. I’m not a huge fan of Jackson, but for his players to send him into retirement with the performance they put on in their last game was downright pathetic. Yes I know, most of those six-foot-thirteen guys are thugs and would be robbing Seven-Eleven stores if they couldn’t shoot hoops, but the cheap shot fouls they put on the Dallas players in the closing minutes of the 7-game sweep by Dallas, was an embarrassment to Jackson, the entire Lakers management and yes to the NBA. Coaching legend Phil Jackson deserved a better goodbye. Oh and speaking of the NBA, one quick positive note. Want to watch a gutsy player with some class. Rajon Rondo gets knocked to the deck, his elbow gets distended and knocked out of joint in the wrong direction and ten minutes later, Rondo is back on the floor, completing the game with the use of just one arm. And if you do want to see him in action, better watch the next game or you might have to wait until next year. I love the Celtics but golf season is fast approaching for them.

Usama Took Two In The Hat....OK By Me

2011-05-03T13:54:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys……..Still in recovery mode a bit, but doing just fine. Well things sure have been poppin’ in the world recently…..not the least of which…..”hail, hail the month of May…..Osama bin Laden is dead today.” What a great story, no matter which one is perfectly accurate in terms of how it all came down, but our Special Forces are just that….special…. and congratulations to them for taking down one of the most vicious maniacal killers known to mankind. And by the way……perfect……no capturing alive…..dead……the only way to go for this guy.

I will respect, but never totally understand the reactions of some who seem to have trouble accepting the thought that a member of the U.S. Military shot this radical Muslim maggot right between the eyes and the people of this country were dancing in the streets because of it. I’m beyond dancing in the streets for any cause, but if you don’t understand the jubilation created by the death…..yes the death….of this notorious killer, perhaps it’s time to replay the tape of the twin towers in NYC tumbling to the ground, the pictures of bin Laden smiling and laughing while it was happening….and three thousand human beings were dying in the rubble. Yuh there’s probably something slightly twisted about shouting “Yes……Yeah” when anyone dies, but lets face it, you could say the same for “cheering” when a professional boxer nearly takes an opponents head off with a single punch, a pro hockey player slashes at another players head with a stick, or a pro football lineman inflicts major league pain on the opposing team. And speaking of the NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashad Mendenhall…….yes that would be Rashad Mendenhall…..is outraged that Americans are taking so much pride in US taking down this man who never had a chance to speak. Huh? Rashad just doesn’t get it.

There are a lot of emotions I’m sure in circumstances such as these and I guess they all must be respected. Try this one for example: A guy who three years ago was the most liberal peacenik in the recent history of the U.S. Senate, stood before national cameras to announce “justice has been done”…gloating as though he did it almost singlehandedly. UBL took two in the hat.

Hooray!!!!

I Tried So Hard, And Failed.....To Wait

2011-04-27T12:17:00.000-07:00

Honest I was going to wait a bit, perhaps for an internal attitude change, perhaps until the first of May….. to comment further on “The Donald.” Couldn’t do it! As I continue to whine about my recovery from back surgery, which is going nicely by the way, I thought I’d kick off the month of May a bit more upbeat….a bit more positive…a bit less of a name-caller.

Well May is still a couple of days away and maybe there’s hope, though I doubt it. So lets wrap up the beautiful month of April by reiterating my words on this blog site from two days ago. Donald Trump IS an idiot and I can’t believe the lengths to which he will go to prove it. I’m not sure who said “it is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and prove it”….or something like that…but every time I see those pursed lips, the necktie that’s far too long and that god-awful hair-do from hell, I pray he remain silent and not confirm my suspicions of idiocy. What do you suppose that thing is on top of his head? I saw him step out of his helicopter in New Hampshire today, the huge blades rotating over his head and everything was blowing in the wind except that thing sitting on his head. It never moved.

Alright, I could go on and on and on and on and I probably will if this guy sticks around too long, but I share with you this one fear. The only thing more frightening than Donald Trump the candidate, would be the people who even suggested it was a good idea. If there are six (6) people out there who would actually support this embarrassment, I’d love to hear from you. We all know who Dopey is….can you name the other 6?

What Happened To The Month Of April?

2011-04-25T07:12:00.000-07:00

There are so many things happening in the month of April yet somehow I see to have lost the entire month. Some of the excuse I concede will be chalked up to laziness, some may be chalked up to indifference to so many issues, but most of the excuse is a plea for mercy. Remember way back in February when I was slobbering away about the incredible lack of medical attention I was gathering from doctors and hospitals in Florida. Well it was horrific and it never did resolve my back pain issue. As circumstances would have it, I was in Massachusetts at the time of the next “back attack” and long story short, I ended up in surgery for repair of a herniated disc (L-4). The medical attention in Massachusetts was spectacular (thank you Lahey Clinic). The back surgery went well. An unrelated side issue developed and side-lined me for an additional 10-days, but all is coming back and I’m looking forward to resuming my usual rants as the month of April fades off into the sunset.

There are many things I love about the month of April. I was born in April, my first son was born in April, I was married in April and so many beautiful things spring to life in the month of April. Of course there is the usual April beating many of us take from Uncle Sam but like the miseries of winter in New England, this too shall pass.

Here’s a preview of things to come in May: Donald Trump is still an idiot!

Beware Of The TV Clicker !

2011-03-30T08:03:00.000-07:00

I guess there are a lot of things we all do for our spouses…..and tonight, I watched an entire edition of Dancing With The Stars. Yup I did and I’m proud to survive it. Some of the best and worst dancing I’ve ever seen and a superb job by my old friend Tom Bergeron. Tom may be one of the most comfortable and talented TV hosts who ever played the game and I respect that…..but I’ve gotta tell ya, after two nights in a row……..yes IN A ROW….of Dancing With The Stars….I have definitely fulfilled my obligation toward today’s quota of wedded bliss……and perhaps for weeks to come. Mama has gone to bed now and here I sit, in recovery, doing that male thing of channel surfing….flipping through the channels, oblivious to almost everything……… and what pops up on the screen? In HD no less? The Joy Behar show…..and if that wasn’t frightening enough…..she’s not there. Scary enough when Joy is there…..but who’s at the desk, hosting right now? Roseanne Barr. And who’s she interviewing? Michael Moore. If there are two people in show business today more obnoxious, more disgusting than Barr and Moore….at the same time and same place no less, I welcome suggestions. I think I’m going to be sick! I’m going to bed. Goodnight!

Facebook Still Eludes Me

2011-03-28T12:56:00.000-07:00

Darn it!!! Just when I was about to launch my myself into the world of Facebook….a story topping the news outlets this morning saying “doctors warn about Facebook depression.” I know the story is mostly about depression in troubled teens, but hey what’s to say it couldn’t cause depression in codgers as well and if you think I’m going to take a chance like that…..forget about it! As many of you know…..I have resisted the efforts to launch into Facebook. Resisted the opportunity to receive pictures and messages from people I haven’t heard from most of my life….haven’t missed them…..and probably wouldn’t know them if I ran into them in the street. In a weak moment many months back, I did sign up for Facebook and within minutes, I was bombarded with messages and pictures from people I’ve never known, never intend to know and it took me six days to extricate myself from this incredible quagmire called “social media.” What a phenomenal waste of time and effort, but I saw some kids interviewed on TV the other day claiming respectively….”I have 145 “friends” on Facebook.” The other kid says “I have 160 Friends.” A third kid says he has only about 50 since he just got started and the fourth kid claimed…..”320 “friends” on Facebook. Nobody…….I said NOBODY has 320 friends in a lifetime…..probably not even a dozen friends in a lifetime and you’ve got to know, the shrinks are having a field day with this one. As one researcher put it…”with in-your-face friends tallies, status updates et al, kids already dealing with poor self-esteem are finding this (Facebook) a particularly tough landscape to navigate. “A Skewed view of life” was the conclusion of one shrink and that’s probably a understament. But take the arguments all the way back to Dr. Spock, who admitted before he died that his child psychology books undoubtedly screwed up an entire generation of kids before people caught on to the fact…he was wrong. And now here we are with Facebook, My Space, Tweets from Twits, whatever…. and now you’re being told, if you want to boost your 7-year old child’s self esteem, go buy her a push-up bikini bra. I repeat…….Darn…..just when I was about to……….Ain’t happenin’ this time Facebook!

Obama, Brazil, Nader, NCAA and Texas Law

2011-03-25T10:14:00.000-07:00

Gotta love the administration’s response to the approaching $4 and perhaps $5 a gallon gasoline. He lends more than $2 Billion dollars……U.S. dollars which we don’t have….to Brazil….so they can drill for more oil. What on this good earth is going to save us from this community organizer from Chicago’s south side. Barack stops all domestic offshore exploration in this country for the past two years, but forks over two billion American bucks so Brazil can dig and we can buy from another foreign source. :-(

Sorry…..too huge a topic for this space…..so lets move on. I see in the paper today Ralphie Nader, the consumer advocate (means much the same as community organizer) says this country needs to eliminate all college athletic scholarships. He wants to “de-professionalize” college athletes. Ralphie…..that ship has sailed….and to suggest otherwise carries all the credibility of your last run for the Presidency. We’re in the midst of March Madness to be sure….and Ralphie suggests it would be more accurately labeled the “2011 NCAA Professional Basketball Championships” and he added “it’s time we step back and address the myth of amateurism surrounding big-time college football and basketball.” Now I axe you Ralphie……what would that accomplish? What would be solved by denying athletic scholarships? Accept it Ralph…..and most of all….accept it NCAA…..college athletes on scholarships are professionals…..who are also getting an education. Put 89,000 people into a football stadium for a college game….broadcast it live on TV nationwide….that my friends involves millions and millions of dollars and there is nothing amateurish about it. It’s professional sports!!! Loved the comment of one sports editor in Florida who said….”Ralph Nader shooting off his mouth about college athletic scholarships is like Dale Earnhardt Jr. planning bombing coordinates in Libya.”

Just one more quickie: What could Texas be thinking with approval of a plan to allow college students in Texas to carry weapons while on college campuses? Clearly “no thinking” going on out there. Strap on your sidearm kids it’s time for psych 101.

Some Morning Thoughts. Sometimes like Morning Sickness

2011-03-20T07:54:00.000-07:00

I’m not sure what happened here. I got a good nights sleep, the sun is shining bright, it’s about 70 degrees…a beautiful day… and all is well. I’m probably a million miles from anywhere Donald Trump has ever wanted to be….physically or spiritually….so why do I get nauseous when I open the morning paper and see another story about “The Donald” thinking seriously about running for President. Please tell me this is a joke!

Well it is a joke but my fear is, a lot of people may not be getting….the joke. Can you imagine waking up in the morning or going to bed at night and the first or last image to your eyes was that snotty nose puss with the pursed lips and most outrageous comb over in the history of hair styling? Oh…..my God! Alright he’s a billionaire, simultaneously a successful and disastrous businessman and get this, I even like some of what he says about this country, its politics and world events but oh my goodness, this creepy guy is carrying more baggage than an Amtrak luggage car and the thought of even allowing this guy to visit 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is scary.

Now before you get all bent out of shape….yes, this is coming from the same guy who said about three plus years ago…”trust me, this country is long way, and I’m sure not in my lifetime, from seeing a guy from Chicago named Barack Hussein Obama living in the White House.” Ain’t never gonna happen right? Ta-da!!!!

I’ve heard it said…various candidates have too much baggage to become President: Newt…House ethics….Rudolph…NYC and too many marriages….Mitt, Mormon……..whatever………..but Donald? The Donald? The Trumpster? Give me a bloody break! One of the most outrageous and obnoxious individuals to inhabit this planet….YOUR FIRED…..and he thinks we should take him seriously about running for President.

This does look like a beautiful day….but I think I’m going to crawl back into bed for a minute and get up on the other side.

Information Meltdown....Again!

2011-03-17T13:11:00.000-07:00

Another voice in the midst of the crisis and tragedy in Japan adds nothing…..I mean nothing…..but it sure doesn’t stop the voices and misleading verbiage barrage from spilling over on all sides. Another example of information technology “out-of-control.”

I’m not going to add to the bloviating from people who don’t have a clue as to what they’re talking about, because when it comes to a tragedy of those dimensions (earthquake and tsunami) followed by the nuclear plant powder keg in Japan, I’m as clueless as the next person. But I bring this up…only to say…..as I’ve said many times before…the public, yes the public has stolen the media and to say they have screwed it up to a fair-thee-well is the understatement of this millennium….and the millenium before it.

Thirty years ago, this wouldn’t have happened. The meltdown at Three Mile Island nuke plant for example…right here on our soil…just down the highway a short bit. A nuclear radiation threat second (or third) only to what’s going on right now…a world away in Japan and of course Chernobyl, but there wasn’t anything close to the panic in the air that we’re feeling and hearing right now. Why? Because the media was controlling the news back then, with its official sources and reliance on people who were knowledgeable on the crisis. That was in back in 1979, long before the explosion in information technology we have today, where the news networks have relinquished all control and common sense, only occasionally turning to knowledgeable reliable sources and are now taking whatever they can get from whoever has something to offer. It doesn’t even have to be an official sources. It doesn’t even have to be someone who’s been identified……..just someone with a cell phone, a Blackberry, a Skype, a blog, a tweet, a Facebook, a big mouth….whatever….doesn’t even have to be sober…..and the media outlets put ‘em on the air “live” like it was a pronouncement from the Lord. Damn is that dangerous….but it’s happening all the time…..day-in….day-out. Do you have any idea the rash of MIS-information we’ve been deluged by since terror struck Japan? It’s not kids. Beware!

The motivation seems to be the same things that motivate Wall Street……Fear and Greed……who’s gonna get it first….who’s gonna take the whoopin’ if they don’t get it first.

Florida's Friendliest Hometown? Yikes!!!

2011-03-08T07:10:00.000-08:00

Took a little trip with some friends this past weekend…to Lady Lake, Florida. Most people have never heard of Lady Lake, Florida but just say “The Villages” and everybody knows where you’re talking. I’ve heard lots of chatter about this place called “The Villages”, most of it quite positive, some of it not so positive….but a lot of talk, a lot of stories and I just had to check it out.

The place is billed as “Florida’s Friendliest Hometown” and in some ways, it really is…which I’ll explain in a moment. But this place is huge…..I mean freekin’ ginormous…and it’s still growing. It’s certainly not a Village (as I remember villages in New England). It’s too big to be a town (even though it’s Florida’s Friendliest Hometown). Thirty eight (38) golf courses, more than thirty-five thousand (yes 35,000) golf carts which are used not just for golf, but for public transportation, requiring an on-site hospital and at least one law firm dedicated to handling golf cart accidents. (Slip and fall lawyers are huge in Florida…even the ambulance drivers are afraid of these chasers!!) More than 10-square miles of land and upwards of 90-thousand people living there, with more coming apparently….and you want to call this a “village.” I don’t think so. It’s a 55+ community, meaning you’ve got to be at least 55 years old to buy there, but the part I find strange is….the median age is going down all the time and their school system is huge and growing. I’m talking state-of-the-art schools, elementary and high school. Maybe that explains why they call The Villages, Florida’s ACTIVE ADULT community……active being the key word here. Besides more than three dozen golf courses, there are softball diamonds on every other street corner, bocci courts all over the place and even polo grounds. I didn’t see any horses anywhere but I assume they play polo there. They used to have buffalo roaming the various fields but all it takes is one knucklehead to stick his hand thru the fence….get bitten by a buffalo, bring in the slip-and-fall or stupid-and-bite-me lawyers and that was the end of buffalo in The Villages.

There are two major town squares in this 10-square mile village and that’s where you see the true meaning of “active adult” community, particularly in the evening. As I strolled through the square looking for a restaurant, about 7:30 in the p.m., a live music performance was blaring from the gazebo/bandstand, a couple of hundred 55-plussers were standing and sitting around clapping to the music, a couple of dozen others were dancing the Hokey Pokey or what-the-hell ever you want to call it, definitely doing the hanky-panky (a lot of clutchin’ and grabbin’ goin’ on) and you didn’t have to go into a bar or restaurant to get a cocktail. Nope….self standing bars right there on the outside…all sides of the gazebos ready to pour whatever libation you want or need to get your 55+ groove on. (in a plastic to-go cup of course)

Florida’s Friendliest Hometown? Could be!!!!

U.S. Supreme Court: Legally Right, Morally Wrong

2011-03-06T12:28:00.000-08:00

I avoided the subject when it first came up……many moons ago, and I even tried to ignore it when the courts got involved, including the U.S. Supreme Court. But I can’t be quiet anymore. I published a blog way back….December 14th of 2010 in fact entitled “What’s wrong with this country today” and at the time, I mentioned that the list of things that are wrong goes on….and on…forever!!!!! This one is a classic:

It’s the gang of morons from Topeka, Kansas calling itself the Westboro Baptist Church. A dirtbag lawyer named Fred Phelps Senior started this group, started calling himself Reverend and rounded up enough cretins in Topeka to create hatred and putrid vile demonstrations that got them all the way to the Supreme Court. I’m sure you’re all more than familiar with this disgusting group of individuals. These scum are the ones who show up at the funeral services for American military men carrying picket signs reading, among other disgusting things……”Thank God for IED’s”, “God hates the USA/Thank God for 9/11.” Try this one…”God hates fags” and “Thank God for dead soldiers.” It’s pretty clear codger Phelps and his gang of repulsive followers are not necessarily anti-war and anti-military…..it’s all about gays. In fact the spokesman for the VFW said “their whole thing is based on some lunatic pathological hatred of homosexuals and they have no shame. If you have any doubt about that…..Dirtbag Phelps and crew protested at the funeral for Matthew Shepard, the gay college student who was murdered by two men who lured him out of a bar, beat him and tied his body to a fence out in Wyoming. Phelps followers showed up there with signs “God hates fags” and said Shepard was in hell.

Most of this is old news, but the thing that gave me a jump-start this morning was the newspaper headline (out of Kansas City I Kansas Citybelieve) which stated….”The Supreme Court made the right call on funeral protests.” No it did not! The perspective piece said the courts provided a victory for free speech in America and from a purely constitutional argument…that may be true. I’ll be the first to stand up for our first amendment rights….but that……..YES THAT…..is exactly what I’m taking about when I ask the question; “What’s wrong with this country today?” It’s still against the law to yell “FIRE” in a crowded theatre, but 8 people in black robes, who speak for the country, said it’s OK to yell “God hates fags, Thank God for dead soldiers” at the soldiers funeral and “Thank God for 9/11.” It’s reprehensible to anyone with at least a half-a-brain. And….it’s strictly politics. Nothing political about yelling “Fire” but that’s inciteful and against the law. But yell “Fag” at a dead soldiers family during a burial….that’s okay…it’s Americans freely speaking their minds.”

Want to know what’s wrong with this country today? Start at the top of the page and read it again.

Is There Such A Thing As Too Much Publicity?

2011-02-26T10:34:00.000-08:00

For the people looking for publicity….the answer is clearly NO. But that takes on so many variables, you have to toss in a few caveats as well. A politician running for office desperately seeks publicity….as long as its good publicity. Otherwise the answer to the question above is YES. Bring in the “spin-doctors” and all of a sudden the yes/no question becomes MAYBE and now you’re into the ears of the beholder. House Speaker John Boener for example is leading the charge to cut the unnecessary spending, including Congressional pork from the Washington budget, but he vehemently opposed the move to cut $450 million from the F-35 back-up engine contract. He knows it’s a waste of taxpayers money…but of course he fought the cut….just like the Massachusetts Congressional delegation fought it, because the constituents back home were going to benefit from that four hundred fifty million bucks…..jobs at the GE plants in Massachusetts (Lynn) and the GE plants in Ohio…Speaker Boehner’s home-state.

The Massachusetts Congressional delegation vote is not a surprise….with the exception of Scott Brown, its all big spending liberal Democrats. John Boehner on the other hand is a conservative Republican, looking to cut unnecessary spending, but is forced to vote FOR this particular item…….with the Democrats…..Yikes!!! $450 million taxpayer dollars that everyone knows is a totally unnecessary, but here’s the Speaker’s way out. He knew the votes weren’t there to approve the expenditure…the Speaker knows how to count heads, so his YES vote was good publicity and safe with the folks back home. It’s pretty clear to any clear thinking person, the military doesn’t need a back-up, interchangeable engine for the F-35. I find it difficult to accept but I agree with the President on this one. (even more disconcerting than agreeing with Barack, flip-flop Barney Frank actually voted against the expenditure). The Pentagon doesn’t want this engine, no-one in the military wants this engine, the Air Force doesn’t want it. Even our Sec. of Defense Robert Gates told the House Armed Services Committee….”this is an unnecessary and extravagant expense.” We’ll have to wait and see if this $450 million will be resurrected.

When it comes to publicity….it’s all in the “spin”. The President for example says he’s trying to create jobs…..so put a “spin” on this one for me: In his 2012 budget, Obama created 5,000 new jobs…..at the Internal Revenue Service!!!! Hey, the man is creating jobs…right? Gotta love Treasury Secretary Timothy (slippery) Geithner defense of the move….telling Congress, “the new IRS employees will be concentrating more on customer service or information technology than enforcement.”

Good publicity? To quote Congressman Todd Akin from Missouri…..”I’m from the IRS and I’m here to help you” said the Congressman. “That’s a hard sell in my state.” Todd earlier described the IRS agents as a “goon squad” we could do without.

Egypt, Algiers, Bahrain, Libya....Wisconsin.....

2011-02-22T07:34:00.000-08:00

Sooooo……How’s your ride in the handbasket going today? As brother Rick might put it……”good ‘n’ you?” Oh by the way, before I forget it, today marks the start of week four (4)……count ‘em…..four….. since I visited a Southern hospital emergency room for severe leg pain and as of today…..still haven’t met a doctor face-to-face. Had an MRI done 9-days ago, but so far haven’t been able to meet up with anyone who can read it for me. Silly me…maybe I’m just another impatient Northerner with two forms of medical insurance coverage who’s looking for a little something back for my premiums. Enough whining Gary!

Alright now….Back to the handbasket. There’s just so much turmoil going on in the world today, it’s tough to keep track of the players, but I remember from my days as a street reporter, we were often cautioned about reporting certain incidents (bomb threats for example) for fear it would touch off copy cat incidents. Often it did. Well look at what happened with all that coverage in Egypt. Next thing ya know… folks in Iran don’t like their dictator (he’ll survive) Bahrain wants its leaders gone, Iraq still isn’t happy, Algeria has had enough, Jordan’s King is mighty nervous right now, the bloodthirsty dictators who rule Syria are surely sleeping with one eye open. I remember back in the “good ole days” when Ronald Reagan ordered the military to drop one into Moammar Gadhafi’s tent with the warning….”mess with us and we’ll do it again.” That kept the Libyan dictator real quiet for a lot of years, but now he’s packin’ his belongings for a quick departure from his country…leaving behind a few machine gunners to kill more civilians on the way out the door. And what’s in for us? $4 a gallon for gasoline…..just for openers.

And if we can’t relate to Egypt, Algeria, Bahrain, Iran and Libya…what’s next……Madison, Wisconsin? As the lady from Alaska often said…..”you betcha.” The unrest in the middle east is toppling regimes left and right…..and trust me, the unrest in Wisconsin is far from over and I promise, will spread like wildfire to many other states.

And don’t you love the way the Senate Democrats handled the pressure in Madison? Yup, they packed their bags and went to Illinois. That’s what we like, real stand-up politicians ready for a healthy debate. You betcha!!

I Wish I Had Said That !!

2011-02-19T07:33:00.001-08:00

Have you ever read a statement…..or joke…..whatever….and thought…..”I wish I had said that?” Here’s one for me. I wish I had said…..”Facebook is looking to buy Twitter for 10-billion dollars. If it happens and the two companies combine…..it will be the biggest waste of time the world has ever seen.” Love it…….from Jay Leno, the rarely funny host of the Tonight Show, just a couple of nights ago.

Hey did you hear Rod Stewart and his wife had another baby? True….”Rod” already has six kids through the use or complicity of several other women, but he’s married again (not sure what number to apply to this one) and so far, they’ve knocked out kids numbers 7 and 8 for Rod, who at the age of 66 apparently is still trying to figure out what’s causing all this.

Here’s another quote I wish I had said……”Where are we going….and why are we in this hand-basket?” That could apply to so many happenings in the world today and it almost seems you’ve got to stand in line to get through to the numbers of people who do and say stupid things and wonder why we’re in the hand-basket.

I mentioned in a blog the other day “No Big Money Ride To Mickey Mouse’ House” that the Governor Florida said “thanks but no thanks” to a federal government offer of 2.4 billion dollars to build a totally useless, unnecessary boondoggle high-speed rail line from Tampa to Orlando. The Governor said of all Florida’s needs, this isn’t one of them. He said we don’t need a high-speed rail line between those two cities, it would be money ill-spent and furthermore, this country is yet to build a high-speed rail line anywhere that’s worth its salt and what’s happening now? The Democrat members of the Florida delegation are rallying the troops to make an end run around Governor Scott and find a way to salvage that 2.4 billion in taxpayer dollars to build the railroad to Mickey Mouse’ house whether we need it or not. Even Barak’s Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood says he’ll give the Florida delegation another week to figure out a way to get their grubby little hands on that money…so they can spend it. Please hang on tight to the hand-basket….this may be a bumpy ride.

No Big Money Ride To Mickey Mouse' House

2011-02-17T07:33:00.000-08:00

So….did you hear about the state Chief Executive who was offered more than two billion dollars to start a construction project..and he turned it down? Yup…..two billion plus in tax-free federal dollars…..”here ya go….take it….go build a high-speed railroad and we’ll figure out later where the rest of the money will come from…..probably 3 or 4 billion more to be needed.”

Not too many Chief Executives……certainly not political Chief Executives would turn down that kind of cash, but the Governor of Florida just did it. “Thanks but no thanks” says Governor Rick Scott in Tallahassee. “There are a lot of places that money could be spent, far more worthy than a high-speed train between Tampa and Orlando….or worse yet, Orlando to Miami.”

This one really has the political hacks on both sides of the aisle scratching their head. U. S. Senator Bill Nelson..a Democrat who once rode a rocket into space certainly knows how to spend federal money…which we don’t have. He can’t believe Governor Scott turned down all that cash. Congressman John Mica, a Republican who happens to chair the House Transportation Infrastructure Committee, also happens to live just outside Orlando so of course he’s all in favor of this boondoggle. Man, this country to this day, has failed to build a single high-speed rail that could even come close to those in Japan, several in Europe and the fastest of all in China and we want to build our first one to connect Tampa and Disney World? Give me a break……Boston to New York maybe, Boston to Washington maybe…New York to Chicago… how ’bout a reliable ride from Boston to Framingham…but Tampa to Orlando? From Buccaneerville to Mickey and Minnie’s house? Come on!!!!

I suppose, like a lot of pork things in Congress, the money could be resurrected in some other fashion down the road, but for now, chalk one up for the taxpayers. The Governor of Florida says “no” to a two billion dollar gift from Uncle Sam, which eventually would cost another three to five billion dollars, because that piece of Florida real estate from Tampa to Disney needs a high-speed rail about as much as John Kerry needs a new wind-surfing board.

Just Feel Like Being A Name-Dropper

2011-02-15T11:55:00.000-08:00

As I said to the lady in the hospital emergency room two weeks ago…..”don’t you know who I think I am?” Actually I didn’t really say that, but after waiting….in the emergency room…..for four and a half hours…..It sure is a good thing it wasn’t an emergency, for me or anyone else or there would have been bodies lying all over the floor. In Massachusetts, I would have been treated that day, the MRI would have followed within 24-hours, the results would have been read that afternoon and I’d be in treatment forthwith. No these folks had no idea who I thought I was. I could have been Donald Trump, but here we are two weeks later, I still haven’t got an appointment with a real doctor and Southern justice prevails.

Speaking of Donald Trump, he’s serious about maybe running for President. Please tell me that’s a joke from the Letterman show.

Speaking of the President, did you happen to catch his news conference today? (Tues.) Tom Bergeron has never seen that much dancing at one time, in one show. Barack’s hems and haws, stutterin’ and stammerin…aah…..aah….aah……umm….umm…dancin’ and shufflin’ his way through routine questions almost made Barney Frank and Tommy Menino sound like speech therapists. Man, am I a major league name-dropper or what…….. Oh, try this one….Bill O’Reilly. We all know who Bill thinks he really is and I found it quite refreshing, he had to go all the way to Washington for his interview with Barack Obama. The White House was the only building with a room big enough to accommodate those two egos…at the same time. Well done…both of you.

Regis Philbin on retirement. Good call Regis. About a year too late, but good call. But then again….I’ve been suggesting for a few years now that it was time for Larry (lap dog) King to cash in. Larry finally pulled the plug but I’ve got to say, I’ll take good ole Larry King seven nights a week..rather than 5-minutes with that pompous donkey Piers Morgan. What is a Piers anyway, other than a no-talent Brit who in my opinion, doesn’t deserve five minutes of “air” time in this country. Go home Piers!

Have I name-dropped Lady Gaga yet? How ’bout Justin Bieber? Bill Russell…Yo-Yo Ma…Donald Rumsfeld???

I’m going to go take a chill-pill.

A Post-Script to Yesterday's Blog (Medical breakdown)

2011-02-12T07:09:00.000-08:00

In the overall scheme of what’s happening in the world today, this sure is trivial. But sometimes that’s what I do. I mentioned in that “Medical Breakdown” blog that when all else failed, the patient made a desperate call to a friend with some clout and the doctor’s appointment to set up the MRI was booked in 90-minutes time. Now the rest of the story:

Yes, the appointment was made with the doctors PA for the following day. The physicians assistant agreed, an MRI is needed here and he promised to book it within 24 hours. He claimed it needed prior approval from the insurance carrier which the patient isn’t buying. (Back North, in my familiar territory, if an MRI was in order, you’d be on the table within hours.) So get this, the physicians assistant says “we’ll call you as soon as the MRI is booked (usually within 24-hours).” That was a Tuesday. No call all day Tuesday, no call all day Wednesday, no call all day Thursday and in desperation Friday morning…..a follow-up call from the patient….”what the Hell is the delay?” 5:15 p.m. Friday afternoon, (the 4th day of waiting) the doctor’s office calls to tell the patient…..”you’re booked for your MRI Tuesday morning.” Next Tuesday morning……the 15th of the month…the same date the patient was given when he walked into that unfamiliar territory in the emergency room, two weeks prior.

Yikes!!!

A Medical Breakthrough...NO...It's Medical Breakdown

2011-02-10T13:30:00.000-08:00

Medical care in unfamiliar territory. I’m not talking about a foreign land here. I’m talking about right here in the good ole US of A where medical care is in abundance, as long as you can access it. But I’m in the midst of a reality check for the first time in my life about just how sick one has to be, to access that care. This is the scenario:

The patient barely limps into the hospital emergency room, syatic pain surging from the right buttocks to the right ankle, enough to take ones breath away. Three and a half hours later, the patient is moved to an examining room where a Physicians Assistant comes to evaluate the situation. Sixty minutes later, the patient is told, “you definitely need an MRI but we don’t do them here at the hospital (not true…they do). You’ll have to see Dr. X, the only back specialist in the area…so make an appointment with him as soon as possible.” The patient goes directly home, still in severe pain and calls for the appointment with Dr. X. “The next available appointment (with the doctors assistant) is a week from next Tuesday.” That’s ten days from now. The patient struggles with excruciating pain for another twenty-four hours with no relief before finally calling the hospital again, and the doctor’s office again to be told, “I’m sorry, a week from Tuesday is the earliest anyone can see you to even schedule an MRI.” (Still 9-days away) Not acceptable!

This is where the unfamiliar territory comes into the story. Chances are, where you live and work, you have the familiarity of the surroundings. You may have family, friends, colleagues, business contacts, medical advisors, good Lord willin’ a primary care physician. But in unfamiliar territory you may as well be a sign post. Lets face it, when any of us go to an emergency room, we’re all strangers. But when you can’t get proper medical treatment unless you know someone, that’s just wrong.

This particular patient reached out to the one person he knew who had some clout in the community and within 90-minutes, yes within an hour and a half, the patient had an appointment…with the back specialist, for the following day. Not 10-days from now, not 9-days from now…..but tomorrow…1 p.m. All of a sudden, because of one phone call, that doctor’s appointment schedule opened up like the San Andreas fault…and for that, this patient is forever grateful.

But isn’t this a sad commentary from the medical world when we find ourselves in unfamiliar territory.

Alive and (reasonably) Well In Florida

2011-02-08T07:50:00.000-08:00

Time sure does fly when you’re havin’ fun…..and sometimes where you’re not, and I guess my absence on this page for the past couple of weeks is a combination of both. The good news is, I’ve been in Florida since the first of the year. The bad news is, the weather has sucked here in the Sunshine State so far this year where it’s currently 42-degrees, windy and drizzly. Compound that with a pinched nerve in my leg right now and I’m not a happy camper. But wait! Before you break out the crying towels for me, I’m totally aware of what’s been going on in the rest of the country weather-wise, and now I’m sorry I even mentioned my plight. Every person I talk to in the Northeast, family and friends have “had it”……have had enough of the lousy New England weather and we’re barely into the month of February. The only thing good about February……and I mean the ONLY thing….is that it’s the shortest month of the year. It just seems like the longest. Even a nice Valentines Day couldn’t make February better. But I’ll try.

Alright, just a quick few comments on the post-post-post-big game on Sunday. I didn’t have a dog in the fight so quite frankly didn’t care who won it….as long as it wasn’t Ben Roethlesberger. (dirt bag) I would root for Coach Mike Tomlin to win however. He didn’t….too bad.

It was a great game. I stayed with it to the very end. Yes I was pulling from Green Bay….I don’t know why I just had to cheer for somebody. But perhaps one big reason is the class shown by Aaron Rodgers. What a great quarterback. Yuh, he tossed a couple of clunkers into the ground, but he wasn’t throwing passes to be picked off (unlike Ben) and if Rodgers receivers (as good as they are) had caught a couple of his passes which hit ‘em right between the numbers, the Packers would have been leading by three touchdowns in the third period. I would put Rodgers right up there with the best in the league, in some respects above the Tom Brady’s of the world. He’s young, (like the rest of the team) and he’s going to be around a long time.

Super Bowl game? Excellent! Pre-game hype? As expected and worthy! TV Commercials? With only a couple exceptions..very disappointing! It almost seems some advertisers believe they’ve got to go so far “out-side-the-box”, they’ve forgotten where the Hell the box is. Silly non-sensical stuff (with only a couple of exceptions) and by the way, hitting a man in the groin with the can of Pepsi or whatever, isn’t funny now… and it wasn’t funny 20-years ago.

And one final request…..Super Bowl XLVIVLX..or whatever number is next (why not simply 46) would you please find someone who won’t insult the United States of America and the entire music world with their rendition of the Stars Spangled banner. Oh my God…that was the worst thing I’ve heard since Roseanne Barr did it in a baseball park a few years back and this blond bimbo Christina Aguilera not only stunk up the place with her voice, she didn’t even know the freekin’ words to our National Anthem. What a disgrace!!!

Travel & Leisure Magazine Says Bostonians are Sorta Rude

2011-01-24T11:48:00.000-08:00

I was going to try to avoid any comment about the magazine’s suggestion that Boston comes in sixth…..yes 6th in the nation when it comes to rudeness, but when I noticed my colleague Jon Keller was taking issue with the magazine survey, I can’t resist a little Southern perspective on the subject. To me, rudeness comes in degrees of sincerity and from that standpoint, I’d tend to agree that Boston should rank a little higher than 6th.

I have often drawn the analogy between human behaviour (attitude) in the south and the folks back in Boston. Living in the South a good part of the year, it is delightful on a day-to-day basis when the grocery store cashier engages you in friendly conversation, the kid bagging your groceries says “can I help you bring this to the car Sir?” I should have smacked him, but when I graciously declined his offer, he politely cautioned me to be careful driving because the streets were a little wet and he added…”when you get home Sir, have a wonderful evening.” What nerve!! Folks all over the South are like that…..southern hospitality….sweet….nice, courteous, polite. But do they really mean it? Some suggest it’s a sincerity you can rub off with a damp cloth, but that’s OK ….. I still like it.

In Boston now, you don’t have that same hospitality, that sweetness, that courteousness. You do have the rudeness, the waving to you using only one finger, not five….but it has a sincerity to it. It’s not something you can rub off with a damp cloth…it’s sincere, they mean it….and if you doubt that…..wave back. If Bostonians are 6th in the nation when it comes to rudeness, it’s real.

New Yorkers may be number two in the nation when it comes to rudeness, but they don’t care. They’re not even aware that they’re rude. It’s just their nature. They’re not trying to be rude, like the sincere Bostonian……they just are! Los Angeles #1 in the country for rudeness? Like my friend Jon Keller, I doubt it. Folks in the land of LA, God love ‘em, are too clueless to be rude…..at least intentionally. Phillie? Maybe…never spent any time there. And Miami? Not sure..I don’t speak the language there. As for Miami’s minority English-speaking population, I think we go back to the damp cloth thing.

Patriots, Jets, Brett Favre.....All Sad!

2011-01-18T07:21:00.000-08:00

Alright class……..has everyone calmed down now? I certainly hope so….and I include myself in that prayer. I’m talking about the football game on Sunday, during which the New England Patriots allowed all of us, and rightfully so, the opportunity to grumble and groan about a bunch of big-mouth athletes from New York. Hell we could take it from Pittsburgh, Dallas, Atlanta…..whatever….but not New Yorkers. I’d rather see the Patriots lose to Billerica High than take a whoppin’ from a New York team. And New York Yankees aside for one moment……when it comes to the jabbering Jet, to quote Associated Press’s Dennis Waszak Jr……..”Call them whatever bleepin’ names you want—and plenty already have. Rex Ryan’s bunch of blabbermouths isn’t shutting up anytime soon.” Danny Klein who writes “The Rant” for the St. Augustine Record took it one step further: He said “I think the only people in America who like the New York Jets are New Yorkers and the New York Jets…..but so what? Danny’s got some problems liking Bill Belichick and Tom Brady too but he adds….”I”m sick of comparing character flaws…the NFL is full of them.”

Amen to that Brother……Amen!

P.S. One more item. (sorry about that last Amen) I see Brett Favre is retiring…..again. He was crying the first time he retired (almost three years ago) and understandably so…the close of a Champion’s career. But Brett apparently took one too many hits to the head and decided at ages 39, 40 and 41….he could still do it….and clearly he couldn’t. He finished up his last season spending most of the time on the sidelines with injuries, tossed only 11 touchdowns, threw 19 interceptions (not including the nasty pictures he apparently sent to an old cheerleader which also got intercepted) and closed what could have been a Hall of Fame season with one of the lowest quarterback ratings in the NFL. Sad!

O.M.G. That Was Ugly........

2011-01-16T18:54:00.000-08:00

Boo! Boo!!! Booo!!!!!!!! New England Patriots………that was pathetic. That was one of the most disgraceful performances I’ve ever seen by you guys. Even my brother-in-law………..you remember him…..the guy who hates (dislikes) Belichick…..hates (dislikes even more) Rex Ryan……and was rooting for Tom Brady…………called me right after the game and said….”is it true the Patriots team bus crashed enroute to the stadium today (Sunday) and the only 11 guys from the 40-man roster who survived the crash were given a uniform and told to go out and play the Jets?”

Rex Ryan is still a fat (poundage challenged) loud-mouth who often sticks his foot (or somebody else’s) in his mouth, but today his guys kicked our guys butts and that my friends….is pathetic. Speaking of the aforementioned…. Belichick keeps a key….I mean KEY player out of the lineup for some innocent comment he made about the ugly New Yorkers (Wes Welker)…..Bill do you want to win a football game or do you want to enforce you numbskull ”don’t ask, don’t tell rules?” This is a team that hasn’t been to the Super Bowl in more than 40-years, a team the Patriots gave a woopin’ too just a few weeks back…….I mean a spanking 40-something to 3 and what happened today? They embarassed this New England football franchise. My old broadcast partner Gil Santos used to say to me….”Gary, don’t bother to comment because you don’t know if a football is blown up or stuffed”…….but Gil, the stench rising above that football field in Foxboro today was not the kielbasa being overcooked my friend…. it was a football team embarassing itself, the NFL statisticss, to say nothing of embarassing me and my Brother-In-Law’s predictions. Allright, allright…. I’m kidding…..my predictions and those of my favorite Brother-In-Law don’t mean squat, but when Tom Brady throws his first interception in 340-attempts during the first few minutes of the game, gets sacked a half dozen times, and the Patriots offensive line and defensive secondary gets taken apart like my Grandson dismantling his Legos……..this is outrageous.

Maybe the Red Sox will share their 85-year old banner……”wait till next year.”

Al Gore, Tom Brady, Rex Ryan And My Brother-In-Law

2011-01-15T07:41:00.000-08:00

So Al Gore……..how’s that global warming thing workin’ out for ya? A bit inconvenient don’t ya think? Goodness sake I couldn’t believe the amount of snow and cold piled onto New England recently. It started to look like the blizzard of ’78 which I remember all too well and the only good thing about the blizzard of ’11 is…….I wasn’t there to appreciate it….or cuss it.

However you may ask….why the cheap shot about “global warming” considering I’m presently in Florida? I’ll tell you why; three mornings in a row here in the “Sunshine State”, the thermometer reads below freezing, two mornings at 26 degrees. Every flowering shrub around my home is dead, all the grass is browner than a Kansas wheat field in winter and I picked the last four tangerines off my one remaining citrus tree that so far has survived…..thanks to a bunch of bed sheets tied around the foliage part of the tree.

Feel bad for me yet? If you’re a New Englander…don’t because we’re supposed to be back to 70 by Monday or Tuesday.

One more thing today: Tomorrows game between the Patriots and the Jets. Even here in Florida, where community college football is bigger than an NFL game, it’s like Super Bowl weekend….thanks to two things….1. How great the Patriots and Tom Brady are…..and 2…..the blowhard coach for the Jets…..(and maybe a couple of the Jets brain-cell-challenged players as well.) Jets Coach Rex Ryan is doing his usual trash-talking foot in mouth (hee hee!!) routine and there might be some forgiveness for him when you realize the old adage, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Rex’s Dad, Buddy Ryan is quoted as saying “talking is better than puking.” Good one Dad….Rex is a chip off the old block.

I’m headed South to Vero Beach today to visit my sister and her husband and even my brother-in-law is all fired up over tomorrow’s game. He sent me an email last night saying he hasn’t changed his mind about Coach Belichick (he hates him) but he says he is a Brady fan….and the “ignorant trash talking by the Jets is a sophomoric attempt to overcome glaring deficiencies on the field.” He goes to say in his usual calm demeanor…”Coach Ryan is a big fat bag of wind who should know better…and that barely adequate defensive back (Antonio Cromartie) who’s calling Brady names is just plain stupid.” Brother-in-law Bob goes on to point out “the Jets haven’t been to a Super Bowl in more than 40-years and still the name calling and mindless rhetoric proves they don’t have a clue how to stop Brady and company.” We will hoist one to that prediction later today!!!

Irresponsible Rhetoric. It Has To Stop!!!

2011-01-11T17:51:00.000-08:00

I have tried……Lord knows how I have tried, to avoid any involvement whatsoever, in the outrageous rhetoric that has run amuck since the tragic shooting in Tucson, Arizona. What a sick, sick event notched into the history books of Tucson…and this great country. But the diatribe and totally irresponsible rhetoric that has resulted from the bloody event will not make the history books……and perhaps it should.

There was a major part of me that said “Gary…leave this one alone. It will only give fuel to the intellectually delinquent cretins who are trying to blame political talk (radio and television), bloggers, the internet in general…whatever… for the massacre.” But for the past couple of days, I’ve been thinking about that. If I refuse to comment to avoid adding to the discourse, it’s a suggestion that the idiot Sheriff out there is right. Maybe there is too much vitriolic rhetoric…..political or otherwise and its time to leave it alone. I tried, but the idiocy of Sheriff Stupnik….sorry Dupnik….was the first grevious sin. Second came the flood of lefty loonies who signed on to what the Sheriff said and virtually turned one screwed up kid into a political terrorist. This kid Loughner can’t even spell politiks, there isn’t one shed of evidence anywhere that political debate in this country brought it on and still, Barack sends the head of the FBI out there, now Barack himself is going there (talk about political motivation) and I think maybe a Mamma grizzly from Alaska is probably responsible for their heinous act.

I have been preaching for months, in fact for years, about the dangers of the information technology today and this case is a classic example of out it can get outrageously out of control, in a heartbeat. Sheriff Stupnik didn’t have an ounce of evidence on anything, other than the casualties on the ground. He had nothing…..I mean nothing…but within minutes of the scene being secured, there’s the Sheriff of Pima County, Arizona pontificating to the world, because someone stuck a live microphone in his face about the reasons why this happened and how this country should start behaving itself. This guy Stupnik has been wrong on so many issues in his long career, it’s not worth enumerating. I’ve got a feeling I might enjoy sitting down and having a beer with the guy, but his knee jerk reaction to the crisis in Tucson, and worse yet the blame-stream medias latching onto every word, may be the worst media blunder since Al Gore invented the internet.

Shame on us…..whoever “us” is, allowing the entire nation to get caught up with the remarks of one person, totally unvetted, totally without substance, knowledge or even credibility to tell us what happened moments before………he wasn’t there…..and why it happened. Do we all remember, Jodi Foster made Hinkley shoot Ronald Reagan? I can’t believe I’m listening at this moment to Whoppie Goldberg about what happened and maybe why…..this is outrageous. We have lost it……again……..and again……….and again.

Oh I feel better know…….I just heard Sheriff Stupnik (I mean Dupnik) say……..honest he said it…..”HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT WEEK, PEOPLE WILL FORGET THE IDIOT SHERIFF IN TUCSON.”

Done!!!

Police Officer Jack Maguire Did Not Need To Die

2010-12-31T12:43:00.000-08:00

As I watched today, while a family, a community and a proud profession buried one of it’s own, it was difficult to ignore the outrage combined with the sadness. Woburn Police Officer John “Jack” Maguire did not need to die last week and it’s time our society woke up as to why Officer Maguire is dead.

Jack Maguire put in 34-years as a police officer and was about eight months away from retirement. But his remains are in the cold hard ground today because the Massachusetts Parole Board, and I’m sure they’re not alone in this, totally blew it when it came to judging the lack of character in a career criminal. The dirtbag who shot and killed office Maguire the day after Christmas was a poster child for the words “career criminal.” It did in fact go back to his childhood, but this is a guy who had been sentenced to three (3), COUNT ‘EM….three consecutive life sentences. Not concurrent life sentences……consecutive life sentences, meaning after you serve the first one, you start serving the second one and so on. But what did the Massachusetts Parole Board do when the scum appealed for a parole….saying he had been rehabilitated? A unanimous vote to parole him…never informing the DA’s office the hearing was pending…. and the liberal Commonwealth of Massachusetts has blood all over itself.

Governor Deval Patrick appointed 5 of the 7 members on that board and as the son of a Boston Police Officer, also killed in the line of duty said to me…”Gary, where is the outrage?” Are you listening Governor??

This isn’t the first time this has happened……in fact this is the second case this year…of a lifer, given freedom by the Commonwealth, going out to kill again.

This has got to stop!!

Blizzard '10 & Taylor Swift: Both Sound Awful

2010-12-29T08:26:00.000-08:00

With all the things going on in the world today, from war in Afghanistan, cop killing in Woburn, Massachusetts, a poorly timed winter blizzard along the east coast, Barack the Mrs. and the kids hangin’ in Hawaii….you name it…..why am I compelled to ask….”what is up with this attention on Taylor Swift? I understand she might be a nice kid (not sure about that) but a singer? I don’t think so. If that warbling I hear in the background from the TV set is singing, I’ll give up my love for music forever. I was raised in the world of music and still dabble in it a half-century later and I’ve gotta tell you….Taylor Swift can’t hold a tune in a bucket. If she’s not the worst singer in the world, she’s definitely right behind the person who is. God help us man, that’s like fingernails scratching a chalkboard.

Now look what’s happened…….I’ve lost my train of thought and I don’t have room now to cover some things that are far more important. Somehow I just can’t get that sound out my head. Nothing like an ear-worm that sounds like someone stepped on the cat.

I’ll get back to some other stuff later, but just one quick thought on the so-called “Blizzard of 2010:” There were tragic exceptions, i.e. Scituate and a couple of other spots, but “state-wide state of emergency” Deval? I don’t think so…not even close…..and nobody heeded it anyway. The local meteorologists regained some of their lost stature of late be predicting this one right on the nose. But the simple fact is, the snow crews weren’t ready (including where I live) and here in the northeast, our so-called officials acted like we’ve never had a snowstorm before.

And that warning from transportation “officials” about calling the airport before you head in there? Don’t bother….just go in, because if you do get an answer when you call (highly unlikely) they’re gonna lie to you anyway. And if you want to feel better about what’s going on around here, check out New York City. The Bloom is off the Berg there for sure!!!

Merry Christmas...I Found My "Ho!!!"

2010-12-25T10:59:00.000-08:00

I knew it was still out there somewhere and goodness knows, you can’t schlep around Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with just two “Ho’s.” Since I was a little kid…..back in the Barney Rubble days…..it was “Ho, Ho, Ho” and I knew I had to find the one I lost. Found it…..at Mom’s house in the Berkshires hills of Western Massachusetts.

I mentioned yesterday that I lost a “Ho” during my last trip to the mall on the day before Christmas. There’s nothing like circling a mall parking lot the day before Christmas, looking for a parking space, spotting one, and then having a soccer Mom, in an SUV the size of a battleship, blast you with the horn, give you the finger and cut you off into the parking space, leaving you to circle some more. “Merry Ho, Ho, Ho” to you too soccer Mom, only this time, I’m going to withhold a couple of those “Ho’s”….the same way you withheld several fingers on your right hand as you waved to me.

But that was yesterday. Today I’ve got all my “Ho’s” restored and then some, by a simple drive to Mom’s house, a Christmas Eve party at my Brothers house and a chance to share Christmas memories, a bunch of giggles, copious adult beverages, delicious foods and lots of love with about 15 members of the LaPierre family. God love my Mom, who at the age of 93, was wondering why everyone was starting to leave at about 11:30 p.m. She was ready to party-on. We started the revelry six hours earlier!!!!!

Besides Mom, my two brothers, two sister-in-laws, nieces and nephews and others…. a giant Merry Christmas…..a bunch of “Ho, Ho, Ho’s” and God Speed to two United States Marines who were there, my nephew and the husband of my niece, both of whom will be deployed to Afghanistan in the coming year. As they keep us safe……may God keep them safe.

With all my “Ho’s” in-tact, spending today with my wife, two sons, two daughter- in-laws and four grandchildren. Merry Christmas!!

I Lost One Of My Ho,. Ho, Ho's

2010-12-23T14:12:00.000-08:00

After my final schlep to a Mall today, I was planning to sit down at the computer and post a brief “Thank You” and “Merry Christmas to all” and settle down to a peaceful evening, dining by the LaPierre Christmas tree and fireplace. It will have to wait until tomorrow, mostly because it seems I’ve lost at least a couple of my “HO’s.” When I left the house early afternoon I had all three “Ho’s” goin’…….you know……”Ho, Ho, Ho” and all that stuff.

It wasn’t the mall trip that caused me to lose a “Ho”, though the traffic was a bit of a challenge. It was the news reports………radio, television, newspapers and just now when I sat down at the computer……..a screaming headline about the video scandal that is rocking the coach of the New York Jets, Rex Ryan. You’ve heard and seen me rant more than once in the past News Media,about the absurdity of the alleged news business right now, but this one just begs everyone to go back just one or two blog postings (December 14th to be exact) and find my rhetorical question….”what is wrong with this country today?” This story begs the question:

I’m no fan of Rex Ryan, and in fact think he’s a loud-mouth overrated football coach who deserves to get his butt kicked on a regular basis but when the so-called “legitimate” media sources, pick up a non-story like this one from the lowly “deadspin.com” and run with it….I can’t shut up. From all I’ve seen so far, I don’t care if that video is Rex Ryan and his wife or if it’s Tammy Faye and Billy Ray Cyrus…….it’s not a scandal…and definately not a national news story.

I just hope I didn’t stick my foot in my mouth with this one. :-)

"What's Wrong With This Country Today?"

2010-12-14T09:56:00.000-08:00

Did you ever listen to the radio, or watch television or read a newspaper story and say to yourself….”that’s what’s wrong with this country today…..?”

I do it all the time and it’s amazing how many diverse things and people I can come up with to blame for the country’s ills. I mean it’s as diverse as Barack Obama and John Boener, Whoppie Goldberg and Bill O’Reilly, or maybe Bret Favre and Aunt Bea……whatever.

Today, as I sat at my kitchen counter with an icepack on my jaw, recovering from some dental surgery, much to my chagrin my wife had “The View” on the kitchen TV set and there’s three (the 4th doesn’t qualify) seemingly intelligent women fawning all over this Diddy dude. Sean, P….whatever the heck ever his real Diddy name is, pontificating about his six children, which he fathered with three women, none of whom he ever married and how it important it is to do the right thing by his children. One of “The View” asked him, as his child had done, why he never married any of the mommys involved and “P”…or Sean or whatever Diddy he’s using today couldn’t spit out an answer…and I’m sure it has nothing whatsoever to do with the simple fact that Diddy is dumber than a box of rocks. And before I could reach the TV remote, they then let Diddy do his act….if one can call it that. I know it’s not singin’. It’s definitely not rapin’. It’s certainly not music…for sure… but here’s the “View” ladies standin’ and cheerin.”

Oh my Diddy…..That is what’s wrong with this country today.

A Cold But Comforting Day in Boston Radio

2010-12-06T10:41:00.000-08:00

I think WBZ Accuweather meteorologist Eliot Abrams had one of the best lines of day when he said to me this morning….”well Gary, you said it would be a cold day before you ever went back to work at 3 o’clock in the morning. Gary, it is a cold day today…..”

When I walked out of that building at 1170 Soldiers Field Road in Boston almost exactly four years ago, I was positive it was done. I proudly served in the most incredible Radio-TV News operation in the country (WBZ-WBZ-TV) for forty-three years. I was afforded the warmest retirement send-off anyone could ask for, December of 2006 and I knew that was it. Retirement! Never again to answer a 3 a.m. alarm clock and for almost exactly four years, I remained true to my goodbyes. So what did I do this morning? Set the alarm for 3 a.m…….woke up in nervous anticipation at 2:15 a.m…. and trudged down the highway to the WBZ studios to start preparations for the 5 a.m. newscast. “Gary…..what in heavens name could you be thinking ?”

Peter Casey…Director of News and Programming at WBZ…’THANK YOU.” What a kick that was this morning. Yes, I did some grumbling to myself as I drove Route One at 3 a.m. but when I hit the microphone switch to “ON” at 5 a.m……I knew I had done the right thing. It all came back to me, it felt real good, it was very reassuring for a man in his advanced :-) years and I’ll cherish the opportunity (but only for four more days) to get off the (retirement) bench and take one more shot at the game I loved for a half century.

It’s now 2:15 p.m. I’m in my jammies….going to take a nap.

Vigilance My Friends...Disaster Still Lurks !!

2010-11-29T12:21:00.000-08:00

There are some many things in today’s world I don’t understand, but at or near the top of those “things” is WikiLeaks. I’m not sure how it started nor how it will end, but if it doesn’t include someone being indicted and convicted for treason and subsequently hanged in the public square, this country is in much sadder shape than we already know that it is. At the very least, lets start with the founder of WikiLeaks! Need more candidates for the rope…….call me!

Sorta related to the above…. is the latest from the “World of the Stupids.” Headlining that world right now is a guy named Muhamud. Actually it’s one guy…..two Muhamud’s…….yes Muhamud Muhamud…or is it Mohamed Mohamed? It is one teenage knucklehead from Portland, Oregon named Muhamud who said he wanted to put on a “spectacular show” by bombing men, women and children who were attending a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony. Oh he’s a terror suspect for sure, he’s stated clearly he has had contact with jihadists in Pakistan and he was looking for blood and body-parts in our streets. This immediately qualifies him for inclusion in the suggested penalties from above in paragraph one. But the part that strikes me as ironic… is how inept and downright stupid these muhamud-types are. On one hand I want to congratulate the people who are keeping this country safe..and have since 9-11. There has got to be incredible intelligence working for us to uncover these idiots before they can bloody our streets. This Mohamud is a classic example of “World of the Stupids.” He negotiated (unknown) with undercover agents, posing as fellow jihadists, and went so far as to press a button on his cellphone that he thought was going to touch off the bomb. Turns out the bomb was a dummy……….so was Muhamud!

But all of this country’s great intelligence aside, just think of where we’d be if these Muhamud’s weren’t inept or stupid. The “Shoe Bomber” in Boston. If this dope had known how to keep his matches dry, a lot of people would have died on that plane. The “Underwear Bomber”. Apparently a lot of damage to his own genitalia but once again, it wasn’t our intelligence that stopped it. The “Times Square Bomber.” No prior intelligence on our part, just sheer luck that this alien from the World of the Stupids didn’t know how to make an effective detonator.

Disaster is still lurking out there!!

Morning-After Black Friday...This & That

2010-11-27T07:41:00.000-08:00

So…..did you get out and do your thing on Black Friday……or are you waiting for Cyber Monday? With the hope that you answered in the negative to both parts of that question…..I’ll continue on…with a few confessions along the way.

First, I didn’t have to fly myself yet…over this holiday period, but I did go to an international airport twice to pick up and drop off family members and guess what, all the media hype about chaos didn’t happen…….again. The only flight delays were weather related, and the only delays during the check-in and security phase of flying was waiting for some guy to get his shoes back on. The threats of an opt-out of security scaning by the great unwashed never happened. In fact at the airport where I witnessed, one guy with a sign urging people to refuse the security scanner almost needed protection from flyers looking to go through the scanner and get onto their destination. Yes this whole body-groping thing by the TSA for the folks who refuse the scanner is offensive. Groping little kids, Nuns and little old ladies is a disgrace, but the issue isn’t the monster the media created and for the most part, travelers are pleased to feel protected and safe and get on with the flight. I do have to take a flight next Wednesday and if any of this changes, you’ll be the first to know.

I did (confession time) happen to stop by a shopping center on Black Friday and yes, it was a zoo. I can’t believe some stores opened at midnight to start Black Friday, but even more amazing is the stores that opened their doors at 3 a.m. The people who opted to shop during those hours definately need some other diversions in their lives. There were some great bargains for sure on everything from clothing to flat-screen TV’s (I bought a golf shirt originally priced at $65 for $19.49) but all of this stuff, TV’s included was older models…..not the most current stuff. I still can’t believe I can buy a 46-inch flat screen for about 500-bucks. Same TV 8-years ago cost me $2,800.

As for Cyber-Monday……..not a chance. I can’t wait to stroll the stores at the mall right up to and probably including December 24th.

Giving-Thanks....Something We Ought To Do More Often

2010-11-20T10:49:00.000-08:00

As we approach Thanksgiving week, forever my favorite holiday time of year, I find myself doing a little internal audit on my frequency for “Giving-thanks” and I must say, I could do a lot better. I’d bet a lot of us could do a lot better, but in todays avalanche of news, the so-called explosion in information technology, there’s damn little good news out there….UNLESS…..you go looking for it!!

Oh it’s there…but you’ve got to go looking for it. My family recently lost my Mother-in-law at the age of 102. (bad news) My Mother is about to celebrate 93-years and all things considered, she’s doing well. (good news) I don’t need to tell which of the two events above made the newspapers. One guy tells a TSA worker at the airport…”you touch my junk I’ll have you arrested.” (bad news) Five thousand other passengers accept the TSA scrutiny at the same airport, leave on their trip without incident (good news) and I ask you again, which of the two scenarios above made the newspapers, radio, TV, the internet and everything viral?

This is not a new phenomenon however. It pains me to say it, but I can take you back close to fifty years when I was covering student street demonstrations in Boston. I remember one riotous situation at Boston University, in the late 60′s when about fifty students were trying to take over the B.U. Presidents office and overturned a car out on Commonwealth Avenue. I heard from the public….”there are at least 15,000 students at Boston University and you jerks in the media are focusing all of your attention on a hundred of them who are just idiots causing trouble….why???” Answer: “Because 14,900 students in their dorms studying….(good news) is not news…a hundred jerks causing trouble…(bad news) is!”

Alright, enough of my pontificating (good news) but again as we launch into Thanksgiving week, I’m going to continue my internal audit, give thanks for the many good things in my life and my world, and I sincerely wish you and yours the most wonderful Thanksgiving possible. Give Thanks…….it feels good. We’ll share another complaint session (bad news) soon.

Trucks For Sale...AK-47 Assault Weapons Free

2010-11-16T07:20:00.000-08:00

For as long as it has been since I spend extended periods of time in the South, it still ceases to amaze me how different things are here…..from my counterparts up North. I’ve been spending time in the South (northern Florida) since the early 80′s and a lot of the stuff is obvious. There’s that lovely Southern hospitality thing…..“yes, Sir”…….”no thank you Mame”…..and of course the proverbial “Ya’ll have a good day now.” The only difference between that Southern charm and the hurry up, get out of my way, flip ‘em the bird mentality we see up North is this: The Southern charm thing is very shallow…..sincerity you could wipe off with a damp cloth….but for the Northerners…The lack of charm goes deep….it’s sincere. Yanks flip somebody the bird….we mean it.

But I digress. What touched off this minor rant include a couple of recent TV ads and a billboard. First the billboard; a huge roadside billboard which reads “Listen up America…Shariah. un-American, unconstitutional, seditious. WWW.Shariahthethreat.com. Draw your own conclusions from that one.

But the one I really love is the car/truck dealer in Florida who’s now offering a special incentive to get Southern Bubbas to buy his trucks. ” Buy a new truck and get an AK-47 assault rifle for free.” I didn’t believe it either until I saw it with my own eyes, but sure enough, in a Florida town right next to where Mickey and Minnie live….“buy a pickup truck today….get an AK-47 assault rifle for free.” This of course follows the recent “Guns and Ammunition Show” at the Moroccan Shrine where you can buy and trade every kind of assault rifle, automatic weapon, machine gun, flame thrower…whatever…and at the same time….take classes on concealed weapons. They hold these sort of events in Barney Franks “moonbats” district quite often don’t they?

One more quickie: A TV ad for a Florida lawyer says “if you’ve been in a recent car crash and was not injured….call us. Often times people don’t think they suffered any injuries but actually did. We’ll help you find those injuries and fight for compensation.”

And we wonder why there are lawyer jokes.

Fat Kids, No Toys And Oblivious Smokers

2010-11-11T14:05:00.000-08:00

Well, well, well, I hear San Francisco is going to be the first in the nation to ban toys in Happy Meals……if that alleged happy meal has a certain number of calories. Raise your hand if you’re surprised! I thought so….not a single hand from where I’m sitting and isn’t it just perfect, from the loony left coast, San Francisco in particular which already is on overload with “happy” people and they’re going to prohibit food chains from marketing their products. The next thing you know, they’ll take the “prize” out of the box of Cracker Jacks. Or did they do that already?

Briefly on a related subject, some states are considering a demand that cigarette manufacturers put much more graphic health warnings on the side of a pack of cigarettes, including pictures of cancerous lips and mouths, dried up cancerous lungs and other rotted body organs and yes…..even pictures of dead bodies. It should be a great debate for talk shows. There’s already a lot of chatter among smokers and non-smokers and lots more to come I’m sure. Two thoughts come to mind: 1. It won’t stop anyone from smoking, and 2. Don’t worry about it, it won’t happen anyway. I have family and friends who smoke. These are not unintelligent people….but believe me when I tell you, put a picture of a black lung or some puss-infested lip on the side of the pack and they won’t even see it….anymore than they read the horrific warnings that are already printed there.

All this talk about graphic pictures is just that……..talk….and it won’t happen. Double or triple the taxes on cigarettes, quadruple the price of a pack and/or carton. Make is so prohibitive nobody can afford to smoke. Better yet…ban cigarettes. That won’t happen either as long as Congress wants to keep strokin’ the tobacco lobby…but quit with the threats for goodness sakes or we’re going to end up like San Francisco, taking toys away from little kids so they don’t grow up to look like their chubby Moms.

Presidents, Past and Present..And My Friend Rudy

2010-11-10T13:13:00.000-08:00

It’s probably not a good thing to start writing a posting for the blog site, considering my emotional state at the moment, but here goes anyway……and I’ll explain the “emotional state” in a moment.

First, George W. Bush. The former President I’ve seen interviewed a half-dozen times in the past two days, is not the same guy who was running this country for eight years. I’ve interviewed the former President myself and yes he’s still got that Texas swagger about him, (not a compliment) that goofy laugh and that sometimes inarticulate way of explaining things, but “dad gum it” (that’s my Southern speak) he’s relaxed, he’s comfortable with himself, he’s proud of his new book, “Decision Points” and yes I did mumble to myself a couple of times “I think I do miss this guy.” I watched the Matt Lauer interview with him first and “W” impressed me. Stumble-bum Matt sure didn’t, but George W did. But the interviewed I really enjoyed, with all nuances included, was W’s interview with Oprah. Ya know what? I think even the big “O” liked him…..a lot…..and coming from that Obama Kool-Aid drinker, that’s saying a lot.

Ok, a couple of quickies: The President of the United States, one day after his administration took a political “shellacking” (his word) like none other in recent history, leaves the country for a 10-day junket. Big Associated Press headline in the paper today…”Obama reaches out to Muslims in Indonesia.” Do you think if Barack had reached out to some hurting, out-of-work Americans instead of Bambang Yudhoyono, thing could have been different on election day? Yes, that really is the President of Indonesia’s name…Bambang!!!

Regarding my “emotional state”: I lost a good buddy yesterday. His name was Rudy. He’s been living in my home since he was a few weeks old, 16 and a half years ago. Rudy was diagnosed with liver cancer about six months ago and he fought long and hard to beat it. But Rudy lost the battle yesterday. My wife and I stood and cried while Rudy was mercifully sent on his journey to Kitty Heaven. Rudy, our cat has died. His daughter Gelsey weeps as well, as she tries to fill the void.

Your Tax Dollars At Work...And At Play

2010-11-06T08:34:00.000-07:00

Got up this morning….bright sunny skies……only 42-degrees outside with a predicted high temp of 60. So what’s wrong with that you say? Fine if you’re in New England I guess…….but I’m in Florida……the Sunshine state….warm climate…beautiful sandy beaches. What is up with this! Forty two degrees here…..35 degrees slightly inland. That’s it…….I’m heading back to Massachusetts where it’s supposed to be cold…and almost isn’t.

But first….a little unfinished business: I stated a couple of days ago the Presidents trip to India was going to cost a billion dollars. I could have said a bazillion dollars and it would have meant the same thing….just a figure of speech. But it’s true, some news sources (of which I’m not one) did report the trip was costing 200-million dollars…A DAY. Wrong……it’s going to be only about 20-million dollars….A DAY! Hey a million here, a million there….pretty soon you’re talking serious money, but I feel better now. Don’t you?

Speaking of $$$ and our nation’s big spenders. Headline in the paper this morning….”Fannie Mae asks for $2.5 billion in new U.S. aid.” Yes kids, this government-controlled mortgage buyer lost 3.5 billion taxpayer dollars in the last quarter. Fannie admits the big lenders problems and flawed documents will make delinquency rates even higher…..and Big Fannie wants 2.5 billion dollars more. Fannie, Freddie and Barney (Frank) brought our economy to its knees with corrupt and flawed policies and now they need 2.5 billion more. Hey…..if they don’t get it…”only people who can afford it will be able to buy houses!!!!!”

Two other notes briefly: I see Nancy Pelosi is running to keep her leadership role with House Democrats. Most clear thinking Democrats (there are a few) think Ms. Nancy was the reason for the party’s Election Day disaster. She certainly was a major contributor to the tsunami on November 2…but I’ll bet, once they pry that Speakers gavel from her “cold____hands”, she’ll keep her role as “minority” leader because she’s correct when she says…..”our work is far from finished.” Good one Nance!

And “nice job” Keith Olbermann. The face of prime-time on MSNBC, suspended without pay…. indefinitely, for interviewing Democrat candidates on his show and then writing a check to their campaigns. Good one Keith!

A Political Shellacking. Good Job America!

2010-11-04T17:31:00.000-07:00

I simply had to wait a couple of days. After Tuesday’s historic tsunami came crashing over the Dems specifically, and Washington in general, I honestly needed a couple of days to try and calm down. Was that a beautiful thing or what!! Yes, I understand some of my friends in several states (including Massachusetts, Kentucky and Florida) caught up in the euphoria of the “loony left” are still in mourning, but believe me, it’s a new morning out there and we’re all in a better place. No, not a Republican place as so many of the GOP winners have pointed out, but a better place…….a better place because the community organizer from Chicago who thought he could weave his magic for the entire country, got taken to the woodshed. His name wasn’t on the ballot anywhere on Tuesday, but his pomposity was, and in his words, he took a “shellacking”, the likes of which he’ll never forget. And good Lord willing, the effects of that whoopin’ will be carried on for another two years. So where does a failed Presidential regime go to hide after such a pounding? The Taj Mahal for a week or two, at a cost to the taxpayers of more than a billion dollars. Yes, I know this trip was planned a few months ago and it’s not a direct result of the election-day “shellacking.” However, they knew a few months ago what was going to happen on Tuesday of this week and what a perfect time to get out of town for a while.

This election was the most historic in our lifetime, but it’s long way from being our salvation. Clearly the Republicans don’t have all the answers….if any of them, but the point made loud and clear to the Democrats and the Washington insiders is…”we don’t like what you’ve been doing and things have gotta change.” One of the few huge exceptions to that however is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Massachusetts voters….I have to ask……”what could you be thinking?” Didn’t you get the message from 49 other states that things were going terribly wrong in our nations capital and some drastic measures were necessary? Barney Frank? OMG!

I’ m sorry Harry Reid will go back to Washington, but in the overall scheme of things, it’s a very special blessing (or will be) when I witness Nancy Pelosi handing over that Speakers gavel. That is going to be a special time for all of America. It’s (please God) the end of one of the worst and dumbest Speakerships in the history of Congress.

Headline in today’s paper: ‘OBAMA MAY YIELD TO GOP.” May? Did you say “he may yield?” May? Welcome Barack to the “change” a lot of misguided voters thought you were going to provide. How’s that change thing workin’ our for ya?” MAY?

It'a Almost Over Kids...No More Election Ads

2010-11-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

Over the course of several decades, (I’m trying to forget how many) I’ve seen some pretty contentious election campaigns but watching this one…..a mid-term election no less…..I can’t recall anything more divisive, more rancorous, more nasty, more downright dirty than this one…..the fall of 2010.

I’ve been the Trained Observer on this one from two vantage points….one in the Northeast (Massachusetts) and the other in the Southeast, (Florida) but this one has been bitter from one end of this country to the other. And where in heck have some of these candidates come from? Some will never be identified for sure but we’ve always got the Barney Mumble-Bumbles Frank in Massachusetts who somehow embarrasses clear thinking Americans in every state by winning…year after year. Does Newton carry that much weight? I hope not. Over on the left coast, we’ve got the hair-challenged Jerry Brown with a shot at winning the Governors chair (again) and all the chaos that “The Terminator” is leaving behind there. I remember Jerry many decades ago when was winning the Governors chair in the “Land of LA”, probably doing some of the best “weed” in America and reportedly enjoying the intimate company of Linda Ronstadt at the same time. And there’s the state of Florida where voters were given a choice between Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum for the Governors chair. The only promising sign for the future in Florida is the guy with the Cuban heritage, Marco Rubio, who should be going to the U.S. Senate in January.

But the best news of all as I mentioned at the top: After today, no more dinner hour calls from candidates and their surrogates and no more TV ads for constantly get caught lying. (you can always tell when they’re lying……their lips are moving Starting tomorrow, we’re back to the good ole TV ads touting cures for misbehaving kids, bladder leakage, constipation and E-D.

Governors, Senators, Junior Seau and Jane Austen

2010-10-25T08:17:00.000-07:00

I know I’m among the few who insists on having a morning-edition newspaper in front of me, every day, but even when it’s right there in black and white with printer’s ink making me sneeze, it’s still difficult to believe…..or sometimes even care….what’s printed there. Its undoubtedly just the political season forcing a lot of it…but with Barack Obama and Joe Bite-me flying around the country every single day on the taxpayer’s dime, defending fools the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, it gets a bit disconcerting.

I’m getting a close-up view from two states this year, due to my duel-citizenship (MA and FL) and the in-fighting is pretty much the same……just different names. In Massachusetts, the Governors fight is between a Obama clone (Deval) and an efite snob named Charlie. In Florida, the Governors fight is between a seemingly incompetent woman and a seemingly fraudulent man. And then there’s the race for the U.S. Senate seat in Florida, pitting a former Governor (and former Republican..now an independent) against a youthful one-note Republican who says over-and-over-and-over again, ”if want to continue the Obama-Pelosi-Washington agenda, I’m not your guy.” Marco……….Polo…….I mean Rubio. And then there’s the Democrat in the race, a former football player who apparently played too many times without a helmet. He’ll be lucky to finish fourth in a three-man race. His brilliant campaign one-liner is.. “I’m 6 foot 3…. 230 pounds… and if you want this seat, you’re going to have to get by me first.” What did I tell ya……………No Helmet!

Aw, what the heck. Let’s wrap this up on some important things in the news. Junior Seau, somewhere out on the left coast, will not be charged with assaulting his live-in girlfriend. That’s right…..will NOT be charged. We can all sleep easier tonight.

And from the “what’s this world coming too” department……a researcher has learned that Jane Austen was a poor speller back in the late 1700′s and many of her writing works had to be corrected by an editor. What else can I say……..OMG!

NPR Shows Its True Colors (and it aint pretty)

2010-10-22T07:58:00.000-07:00

Full disclosure…….I’m not a huge fan of Juan Williams, though I do respect him. I’m sure he was perfect as a NPR journalist and he did seem a bit like a fish out of water at the Foxx Network. But if nothing else, he was a gentleman at all times, obviously an intelligent guy, a decent debater and analyst and clearly deserving of far better treatment than he got from National Progressive Radio.

Ten years of service and fired. Fired because he said he got a little nervous on a plane when he sees passengers clearly trying to demonstrate (dress) that they are Muslim. I heard a couple of Williams defenders saying “a lot of people feel that way.” I’ll take it one step further, “most people feel that way"..…and if you deny it, you’re not being totally honest with yourself…or others.

However, the most grevious sin or all was perpetrated by that knucklehead woman who is the CEO at NPR. She proved her incompetence by every word she spoke about canning Juan Williams, but the most outrageous of them all…..was her quote “whatever feelings Williams has about Muslims should be between him and his psychiatrist or his publicist……take your pick.”

Vivian Schiller…..CEO……..you are an embarrassment to Juan, to me, to NPR, to all of radio and to America…. and if you’re not fired yourself for your disgusting statements and actions, I will be totally amazed.

I’m never sent a dime to NPR and never would under any circumstances. Let ‘em fight for their nickles and dimes like every other radio network in the country and yes, I would wholeheartedly support a move in Congress to cut off all public funding for them. Afterall, they’ve got billionaire lefty loonies such as George Soros buying their allegiances with million dollar donations, so I think the rest of us can relax.

I Fear The Worst For Those Miners

2010-10-18T07:40:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know….they”re all safely back on this side of the grass and not hundreds of feet below the surface in a living Hell on (in) earth, but the word “safely” is the operative word here. Yes, some of them will survive the whole ordeal in Chile quite nicely, but others, and I fear many others will not. It was the epitome of “reality TV” to watch these guys being dug out of the ground, televised around the world, but their celebrity status I’m afraid is not going to serve them well.

All thirty-three of them agreed that once rescued, they speak with one voice. Any proceeds to be gained would be divided 33 ways and one miner does not speak without the full consent and blessings of the other 32. All the above didn’t last twelve hours before at least one of them was granting an interview, who knows for what in return. Fully understandable, they were turning on each other in a desperate situation below the earth’s surface (even cannibalism was discussed) and now on top of the earth’s surface, the situation among these thirty-three…I promise…. is going to get ugly. Some have asked for religious guidance, some have asked just to be with loved ones. Some have required medical help, some just want to be with their children, some have actually asked to go back and see the mine where they were buried. And as so aptly pointed out by Jay Leno, one of them (the guy with the wife and the mistress) has asked to be put into the witness protection program. :-)

These guys are miners. There were no members of the Mensa Society down there and their ability to deal with the intense scrutiny, the insufferable media attention, to say nothing of the days, weeks and months of mental decompression, could become impossible for any one of them…..or any one of us for that matter. The Chilean billionaire who told the miners they would never have to work the mines again, and offered them a million dollars each, is going to make a difficult situation even worse. Bad move.

These 33 guys may have “rock-star” status right now, but they’re not heroes…they’re miners. The heroes were the guys above ground who got them out. As the ongoing story unfolds, there promises to be some ugly chapters.

Joy...Whoppi...Or Bill. And The Winner Is............

2010-10-15T09:50:00.000-07:00

Wasn’t that a touching moment on “The View” when Behar and Goldberg walked off the set because of something Bill O’Reilly said? If I wasn’t so suspicious, I wouldn’t even bring up the possibility it was a staged prat-fall. Behar and Goldberg are certainly capable of staging such a “dive” but O’Reilly is simply too “into himself” to even consider taking a “dive” for two women from “The View.”

When O’Reilly suggested that it was Muslims who killed thousands of us on 9-11, that’s when Joy-Joy and the Whoopster decided to protest and walk out. Even Barbara Walters was embarrassed by her own co-hosts, who of course came back when Big Bill said if he offended any Muslims, he was sorry. He explained he should have said “Muslim terrorists killed thousands of us on 9-11.” Of course the politically correct wackos would demand the word Muslim be taken out and only the word terrorist be used.

No question, O’Reilly said what he said…..for effect. It worked. And he’s not wrong! It was Muslims who killed thousands of us on 9-11, not unlike the Japanese who attacked Pearl Harbor and killed thousands. Nobody calls the Japanese…”terrorists.” Near 70-years later, it’s still the Japanese who attacked us….not terrorists…….it was Japanese people. 9-11 was done by Muslim People!

But of course that Japanese thing was long before PC started taking all reality out of our lives and became the law of the land.

As for the women of “The View”, some advice. Keep inviting O’Reilly back, keep storming off every time he says something you don’t like, O’Reilly will laugh all the way to the bank.

If You Needed Something To Feel Good About.....

2010-10-13T14:36:00.000-07:00

Goodness knows we all need something to feel good about once in a while. Put our sometimes putrid politics aside for a moment and appreciate the beauty of a GIANT hug! That’s what we’ve been seeing for close to twenty-four hours now…..live from Chile.

It was and is, as someone aptly dubbed it, the consummate reality TV. 33 Miners, trapped more than a mile beneath the earths surface for more than two months and they were given a virtual zero chance of coming out alive. But it happened. One at a time, approximately forty-five minutes apart, the men were transported from a seemingly sure grave, to the bright sunshine in Cociapo, Chile. Nothing like this has been accomplished at any time, any place in the world…..ever……but the smiles, the tears of joy and the incredible giant hugs were happening every 45 minutes until 33 men were resurrected from Hell on (in) earth. For sure, their issues and demons will be raising ugly heads for weeks, months and years to come, but we all witnessed something, we may never witness again. Actually miner number 21 had an immediate issue with which to contend; his wife refused to be there to witness his rescue, but his mistress of 16-years, which his wife found out about when he was buried alive, was there to give him a hug. She made a couple of noises like she was trying to cry while she hugged the cheater, but somehow she couldn’t rustle up any tears for the occasion and I’m sure that miner, who also cheated death, was glad to have the medics wheel him away.

All in all……it was a beautiful day for the world to see in Cociapo, Chile. As for miner #21, the Mrs. will want to have a little talk you a little later I’m sure.

The Face Of Evil...No, Not Akmoodingaling..David Axelrod

2010-10-10T19:23:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while I forget this guy Axelrod is lurking and slithering in the Obama White House (though not for long) and then he pops his venomous head out and appears with his pack of lies on an interview program. This time…..it was “Face The Nation.”

God knows this is a disgusting human being who just happens to be our Presidents Top Gun and if you’re not concerned about that, fine! I’m concerned enough for both of us. The only good news here is that Axelrod is not long for the White House either. Most newly elected Presidents hang on to their closest confidants for at least the first term…..but not this guy. Several of his top people have left already (couldn’t even survive two years with this guy) and now Axelrod, the snake of all snakes is about to split…… but beware, he’s not going far……just back into the trenches to try and figure out how to get this “community organizer” re-elected. Do you believe this guy (Axelrod) is still trying to blame George Bush for the all that’s going? He’s accusing the Republicans, i.e. Carl Rove and the GOP of using foreign money to subsidize attacks on the Dems. When asked by CBS’s Bob Scheiffer what the Dems will do when the Republicans take over in November….Axeldude said “we hope the Republicans will work with us for our future.” Something as simple as asking Axeldude if the President still smokes……..he said….”the President is doing a good job with that.”

What a scumbag!!! Can he answer one simple question….with a simple answer? My answer………”NO.”

And while I’m at it, the only person closer to Barack than Axelrod……(maybe Michelle)….is his “former” Chief of Staff Rahm Emanual……also couldn’t survive two years of a failing dismal administration. Rahm is going back to Barack’s (adopted) hometown of Chicago, where our President developed his entire resume, to run for Mayor. Perfect……Chicago, where the “C” in Chicago stands for corruption……in our lifetime always has……and Rahm will work to continue the Chicago traditions of Mayor Daley, (the 1st and the 2nd), Robert Sorich, Fred Roti, Nick Calabrese, Joey Lombardo, Al Capone…..etc, etc, etc……whatever.

Rahm probably won’t make it……but he would fit right in. Remember Rahm….”vote early…..vote often.”