Let's face it. I love seafood. I like to catch it, clean it, and cook it.
Sometimes, though, I don't actually catch it, due to "conditions".
And, I'm always trying new ways to do all of the above.
That's why I try new baits, rigs, line...you name it, and tell me it works, and I'll likely try it. And, the way I work, I'll think of a modification that I think "could work even better". (Still trying to come up with a mousetrap that out-traps the Victor ones).
So, I tried a variation on preparation for clam chowder. And, if I do say so myself (and, I do), it's pretty darn good.
First, as always,
You take an onion.
In this case, I took two. I chopped them up into medium size chunks.
I fried five (5) slices of bacon.
I diced one medium potato (I am not a fan of "tater-filled-soup").
And, I peeled two medium potatoes, kept the skin, and discarded the rest (yep, I know...I'm "special").
Dice two stalks of celery.
Dice up an anaheim pepper (bell pepper if you can't find the anaheim). Feel free to use additional peppers, if that's what you like. Do not over-pepper...you don't want to disguise the taste of the clams, you want to ENHANCE it.
I opened three cans of Snow's CHOPPED clams. Pour the liquid into a bowl or some container.
I cut about four ounces of crab CLAW meat from a container of frozen crab meat. Use fresh if you can get it.
I cut about four ounces of crayfish, crawfish or crawdad tails (same difference, just different names) from a frozen package...yes, it's available at Super WalMarts.
Assemble salt, crushed red pepper, Old Bay, fila, tyme, can of chicken stock or more clam juice, and a medium carrot
Procedure
Pout the bacon grease into a pot...I like stainless ones, but feel free to use what you want.
Dump the diced taters in, and turn burner to medium high.
When the potatoes begin to sizzle, indicating the pot is hot, add the clam juice.
When it starts to boil, add half the onions.
Then, add the remaining liquid...chicken stock, clam juice, or combination.
Add celey, the potato skins, and the anaheim pepper.
Sprinkle in a couple dashes of salt, maybe a little (very little) crushed red pepper, a sprinkling of Old Bay, a bit of tyme and a very little bit of fila (not always available...not totally necessary).
Now, it's time to add the seafood. Crawdads first, followed by the clams, then the crab meat.
If you like your chowder thick, then don't add a lot of liquid, or add a gumbo-type roux mix.
If you like yours soup-ier, then add more liquid. Water...good old tap water...works nicely for this.
REDUCE THE HEAT!!!!
Add the remaining onions...I like to have a little crunch when I take the first lovin'spoonful.
The meat is done. You just need to heat it up, and allow the individual flavors time to merge.
Taste it once.
Taste it twice.
Add seasonings ever so slightly, until the flavors are just right.
Oh, yeah. The carrot. But, only if you're not my niece (she hates carrots).
I use a vegetable peeler. Once the carrot is totally undressed from its skin, cut small chunks with the peeler; of, if you want to make it look "pretty", slice small pieces, an inch or so long, and leave them floating on top.
If you don't like to see carrots on top, then don't use them. Feel free to sprinkle on some parsley.
Serve with French or Italian bread...I like mine with melted garlic butter.
Good eatin'!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Why isn't solar energy development getting the political subsidy that ethanol producing corn growers are getting?
Ethanol. It's here to stay. That's what marine dealers were told recently, so "you'd better get used to it". With what I, and others, label as questionable and political motives, the Environmental Protection Agency, aka EPA, approved even an higher alcohol content for gasoline.
As I have noted, time and again, this stuff is wreaking havoc with outboard motors. Fresh off the shelf, it's bad enough, burning hotter in engines not designed for rocket fuel. And, when it sets around in gas tanks, as is common for boats, it breaks down into gasoline and alcohol. To refresh, the alcohol absorbs moisture (water, ya'll), and messes up your gas lines and carbs. Outboard motor mechanics, far and wide, point to this gasahol as one of the leading causes of outboard motor problems.
Ok, as I opened with, "it's here to stay". Only it's going to get worse. The EPA has authorized/encouraged distributors to sell mixtures of 15% alcohol instead of the current 10%.
Oh, goodie.
It's an effort to wean us off our dependency on oil. Not a bad long range plan, and we've got to start somewhere. Somehow. The "somehow"makes me a little suspicious, 'cause that's how I am. Can't help it. With such political pressure behind the EPA's decisions, I must wonder who's making money that we don't know about.
Take a look at this table. You may have to increase your "viewing"size to 150%, or more (I did).
As I have noted, time and again, this stuff is wreaking havoc with outboard motors. Fresh off the shelf, it's bad enough, burning hotter in engines not designed for rocket fuel. And, when it sets around in gas tanks, as is common for boats, it breaks down into gasoline and alcohol. To refresh, the alcohol absorbs moisture (water, ya'll), and messes up your gas lines and carbs. Outboard motor mechanics, far and wide, point to this gasahol as one of the leading causes of outboard motor problems.
Ok, as I opened with, "it's here to stay". Only it's going to get worse. The EPA has authorized/encouraged distributors to sell mixtures of 15% alcohol instead of the current 10%.
Oh, goodie.
It's an effort to wean us off our dependency on oil. Not a bad long range plan, and we've got to start somewhere. Somehow. The "somehow"makes me a little suspicious, 'cause that's how I am. Can't help it. With such political pressure behind the EPA's decisions, I must wonder who's making money that we don't know about.
Take a look at this table. You may have to increase your "viewing"size to 150%, or more (I did).
A couple numbers caught my eye. The government (that means a group of elected/appointed bureaucrats, likely folks with little or NO business sense, and I question whether common sense is involed) has decided that the production of ETHANOL should receive a subsidy (from tax dollars) of
$5.72 for each BTU produced. Ok, sounds like nothing but a random number that we don't know anything about, right? Well, yeah...exactly right. I can't visualize what that means any more than I can visualize what $14-TRILLION bucks looks like (our current, as of yesterday, national debt...the amount we're in the red).
But, when you look at the subsidy, on the same chart, that the development of solar energy gets ($2.82 for the same amount of generated BTU's), you just gotta wonder. Solar energy. It's, for the most part, free. Doesn't take corn off the dinner table, either. We just need to be able to throw a saddle on it. It's there. Every day. Free for the taking. Yep, the saddle's gonna cost some bucks. But, if we would channel the combined subsidies for ethanol development plus the current solar subsidy, the sun-energy project would get three times what it's currently getting. It stands to reason that we would be moving towards more advanced solar production THREE TIMES as fast as we are now.
Not to mention, boat owners, antique car buffs, and others would not have to go to expensive extremes to be able to enjoy their hobbies.
Likely, solar energy development WILL get more money, just as soon as the aforementioned bureaucrats figure out how to line their pockets with the subsidies.
That's my opinion. Might be mine alone. But, I don't think so.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Gifford to get what Wounded Warriors don't
The senseless shooting of Rep Gifford and the killing of a nine year old child are tragic. Still not sure why the jerk responsible is still kicking, behind closed doors, likely in isloation "for his own protection". Why, I wonder aloud, is he not in the "general population" where he could, hopefully, get what he so rightfully deserves?
That aside, for now anyway, I turn my attention to a report I just read. In case you're not aware, Tricare is a company that insures our fighting men and women. It pays for treatment and care for them when they're wounded. One would think that our government would make sure that an insurance company they pay would provide the absolute best medical coverage to treat these troops who are hurt while defending our freedom.
Yeah, a reasonable person would think like that. But, according to the ProPublica Reports, not only is that NOT the case, but they report that Rep. Giffords will get treatment from the government's insurance plan for congressmen that the troops are refused. Read on:
As Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords begins rehabilitative therapy in Houston after being shot in the head in Tucson earlier this month, she was transferred today [1] to TIRR Memorial Hermann, a premier rehabilitation hospital renowned for its treatment of traumatic brain injuries [2].
On its website, the hospital calls itself [3] “one of very few hospitals in the country designated as a model system for traumatic brain injury.” Among the techniques it relies on is cognitive rehabilitation [4] therapy, a tailored type of medical treatment designed to retrain the brain to do basic tasks.
That aside, for now anyway, I turn my attention to a report I just read. In case you're not aware, Tricare is a company that insures our fighting men and women. It pays for treatment and care for them when they're wounded. One would think that our government would make sure that an insurance company they pay would provide the absolute best medical coverage to treat these troops who are hurt while defending our freedom.
Yeah, a reasonable person would think like that. But, according to the ProPublica Reports, not only is that NOT the case, but they report that Rep. Giffords will get treatment from the government's insurance plan for congressmen that the troops are refused. Read on:
As Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords begins rehabilitative therapy in Houston after being shot in the head in Tucson earlier this month, she was transferred today [1] to TIRR Memorial Hermann, a premier rehabilitation hospital renowned for its treatment of traumatic brain injuries [2].
On its website, the hospital calls itself [3] “one of very few hospitals in the country designated as a model system for traumatic brain injury.” Among the techniques it relies on is cognitive rehabilitation [4] therapy, a tailored type of medical treatment designed to retrain the brain to do basic tasks.
It’s a treatment that Rep. Giffords will likely end up receiving, if doctors’ general descriptions of her care plan are any indication. Dr. John Holcomb, a retired Army colonel and trauma surgeon at Memorial Hermann, has described Giffords’ treatment as a “tailored and comprehensive [5] rehab plan” that includes “speech, cognitive, physical rehabilitation [6].”
If Giffords does end up receiving it, she’ll be getting a treatment that many troops don’t. As we’ve reported [7], the Pentagon’s health program, Tricare, has refused to cover [8] cognitive rehabilitation therapy for the tens of thousands of service members who have suffered brain injuries in the line of duty. Tricare, which provides insurance-style coverage to troops and many veterans, does cover speech and occupational therapy, which are often part of cognitive rehabilitation.
We’ve called the hospital to get further details about Giffords’ treatment plan but have not yet received that information. News reports have described her treatment as using “high-tech tools to push the brain to rewire itself [9],” with a focus on [10] her physical abilities, speech, vision, cognitive skills and behavior.
Traumatic brain injuries have different types [11] and levels of severity, according to the Office of the Surgeon General. They can include penetrating injuries [12]—like Giffords’—or mild brain trauma [13] like the kind often sustained by troops in an explosion. The latter, as we’ve reported, has been called one of the signature wounds of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and tens of thousands of cases [14] have been left undiagnosed by the military’s medical system.
Though top brain specialists have endorsed cognitive rehabilitation as an effective treatment for brain injury, Tricare officials have said that scientific evidence does not justify [15] providing it comprehensively to troops.
To support that position, officials cite a 2009 Tricare-funded assessment of cognitive rehabilitation therapy—an assessment that internal and external reviewers have called “deeply flawed,” “unacceptable” and “dismaying,” as we reported last month with our partners at NPR.
Last week, Sen. Claire McCaskill, chairman of the subcommittee on contracting oversight, cited our findings [16] while announcing an investigation [17] into the Pentagon’s decision to deny treatment of traumatic brain injuries to troops. In 2008, McCaskill was one of 10 senators—including then-Senator Barack Obama—who signed a letter [18] to Defense Secretary Robert Gates urging the military to provide Tricare coverage of cognitive rehabilitation “so that all returning service personnel can benefit from the best brain injury care this country has to offer.”
(http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/in-houston-rep.-giffords-could-receive-brain-injury-treatment-thousands-of-)
If that doesn't just tick you off, I don't know what will. It certainly points out, one more time, why our elected representatives should receive the same health care benefits that the rest of us do. If it's good enough for Rep. Giffords, it's good enough for our troops. It's time for real equality in this great nation of ours.
If Giffords does end up receiving it, she’ll be getting a treatment that many troops don’t. As we’ve reported [7], the Pentagon’s health program, Tricare, has refused to cover [8] cognitive rehabilitation therapy for the tens of thousands of service members who have suffered brain injuries in the line of duty. Tricare, which provides insurance-style coverage to troops and many veterans, does cover speech and occupational therapy, which are often part of cognitive rehabilitation.
We’ve called the hospital to get further details about Giffords’ treatment plan but have not yet received that information. News reports have described her treatment as using “high-tech tools to push the brain to rewire itself [9],” with a focus on [10] her physical abilities, speech, vision, cognitive skills and behavior.
Traumatic brain injuries have different types [11] and levels of severity, according to the Office of the Surgeon General. They can include penetrating injuries [12]—like Giffords’—or mild brain trauma [13] like the kind often sustained by troops in an explosion. The latter, as we’ve reported, has been called one of the signature wounds of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and tens of thousands of cases [14] have been left undiagnosed by the military’s medical system.
Though top brain specialists have endorsed cognitive rehabilitation as an effective treatment for brain injury, Tricare officials have said that scientific evidence does not justify [15] providing it comprehensively to troops.
To support that position, officials cite a 2009 Tricare-funded assessment of cognitive rehabilitation therapy—an assessment that internal and external reviewers have called “deeply flawed,” “unacceptable” and “dismaying,” as we reported last month with our partners at NPR.
Last week, Sen. Claire McCaskill, chairman of the subcommittee on contracting oversight, cited our findings [16] while announcing an investigation [17] into the Pentagon’s decision to deny treatment of traumatic brain injuries to troops. In 2008, McCaskill was one of 10 senators—including then-Senator Barack Obama—who signed a letter [18] to Defense Secretary Robert Gates urging the military to provide Tricare coverage of cognitive rehabilitation “so that all returning service personnel can benefit from the best brain injury care this country has to offer.”
(http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/in-houston-rep.-giffords-could-receive-brain-injury-treatment-thousands-of-)
If that doesn't just tick you off, I don't know what will. It certainly points out, one more time, why our elected representatives should receive the same health care benefits that the rest of us do. If it's good enough for Rep. Giffords, it's good enough for our troops. It's time for real equality in this great nation of ours.
Friday, January 28, 2011
A moving bunch of still pictures...and, that's all? Of course not.
The title is pretty boring.
Accurate, but boring.
The subject, though, is anything but.
A former marine (no such thing as an ex-marine, unless he/she did something less than honorable, right), turned NYC Transit Cop, now retired, captured some pretty cool shots at the Veteran's Day Parade in the Big Apple. Cops and military guys, old and young...they make good subjects.
Looking at the pictures, at the faces, makes you appreciate what these went through, what others are going through right now, and what still others will be dealing with soon enough.
A few signs, lots of tee shirts, all with messages. Important ones, if you'll look at them carefully.
And, think about what they did, what they went through, what they sacrificed...just so we may have the freedoms we have. Yes, including the freedom to ridicule them. And, to act like idiots by protesting at the funerals of returning defenders of your freedom.
Good peace of video.
Turn up your speakers.
And, SPEAK UP when you have a chance.
http://www.youtube.com/user/leeretiree
Accurate, but boring.
The subject, though, is anything but.
A former marine (no such thing as an ex-marine, unless he/she did something less than honorable, right), turned NYC Transit Cop, now retired, captured some pretty cool shots at the Veteran's Day Parade in the Big Apple. Cops and military guys, old and young...they make good subjects.
Looking at the pictures, at the faces, makes you appreciate what these went through, what others are going through right now, and what still others will be dealing with soon enough.
A few signs, lots of tee shirts, all with messages. Important ones, if you'll look at them carefully.
And, think about what they did, what they went through, what they sacrificed...just so we may have the freedoms we have. Yes, including the freedom to ridicule them. And, to act like idiots by protesting at the funerals of returning defenders of your freedom.
Good peace of video.
Turn up your speakers.
And, SPEAK UP when you have a chance.
http://www.youtube.com/user/leeretiree
Violent extremists, my butt!
On this day, we are remembering the events of 28 January 1986. What was a rather routine space shuttle launch, not even, we thought, newsworthy enough for the major networks to carry it live. It had become that routine. It was not long, however, before the day's low key celebration of a routine launch turned horribly tragic. Amazing as it seems today, looking back, we have students in med school who had not even been born at that time. A quarter of a century, 25 years, has passed. But, for those of us who were around in those days, the memories are as vivid as ever.
The tenth anniversary of yet another national tragedy will be marked this year. Hard to believe, but the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the United States happened ten years ago this September. I'm sure you can remember where you were and what you were doing at that time.
A lot has happened in the past ten years. As a society, we have learned that we are vulnerable, that the rantings of what we thought of as radicals were not quite so out there, not nearly as far fetched as the moderate majority would have us believe.
Television news organizations do a lot of research, research that they keep to themselves, for the most part. Research that they use to decide what news you want to know about. Since 9-11, and consistently near the top (number 2) of that list, is---public safety. We want to know what's going on around us that threatens our well being. We want to know what we can do to ensure our safety. We want to know what our government is doing to keep us safe.
It remains apparent that in the wake of 9-11, and the panic that ensued, we did a lot of knee-jerk reacting. At least, that's what many have thought as they stood in long lines, removing their shoes, before they could board their airplanes. A lot of inconvenience and, as time has gone by, more and more think it is totally unnecessary. It's a bit like the warnings and preparations preceding the "possible" attack of a hurricane. Unless that storm results in catastrophic property damage and loss of life, we become complacent. The next threat isn't treated with as much respect. Somelike like crying wolf, many say.
9-11 DID happen. And, it CAN happen again. We are doing what we think is best in this country to stop it before it happens. As it is with rules and laws, there are those who look for loopholes. While we can, as a nation, take every precaution to ensure our safety, there are groups looking for ways around our safeguards. And, rest assured, they will find them. Our job is to make it as difficult as possible, to close up as many easy avenues as we can. That way, it will be more likely that the bad guys will make a mistake as they prepare their attacks.
Lest we forget. 9-11 happened. It was not a dream. We want to make sure it is not a dream that will happen over and over.
I only wish our president would realize and acknowledge that the murders of innocent men, women and children were not carried out by "violent extremists", but by terrorists. They created terror in those World Trade Center offices. They created terror for the relatives and friends who watched as the buildings collapsed, as desperate people jumped out windows. They terrorized an entire nation while their brothers and sisters celebrated in the streets back home.
In his Cairo speech in 2009, our then new president's speech ticked off a lot of us. I only hope he learned a lesson, but from his track record, he has learned nothing.
A partial transcript of that speech:
"...tension has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations. Moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to the traditions of Islam.
Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims. The attacks of September 11th, 2001 and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and Western countries, but also to human rights. This has bred more fear and mistrust".
"Tension". "Violent extremists". "Hostile". What a wuss. Come on, Mr. President. These killers, these terrorists, have scared the crap out of us. They've made us mad. They've killed innocent men, women and children in the name of religion!!!! They have caused us to lock ourselves in our homes like never before. They've caused us to call police when we see a guy with a camera taking pictures of the full moon (yep, in Decmeber, while I was shooting photos of the rising full moon and was greeted by two very courteous and understanding gentlemen in blue) because they feared the camera and long lens could be a gun. Who can blame us? We were attacked in our homes. Terrorists caused this, not violent extremists.
Do not let ten years make you feel any safer. Do not become complacent because we haven't been attacked lately. You can thank our military for the aggressive work they're doing to keep that "tension" on the terrorists' turf. You can thank them for killing as many as they have in the last ten years. You can thank the diligent efforts of our intelligence community for quietly, in most cases, of locating and neutralizing "violent extremists" and their cells. A lot happens we don't know about. And, that's proably a good thing.
The tenth anniversary of yet another national tragedy will be marked this year. Hard to believe, but the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the United States happened ten years ago this September. I'm sure you can remember where you were and what you were doing at that time.
A lot has happened in the past ten years. As a society, we have learned that we are vulnerable, that the rantings of what we thought of as radicals were not quite so out there, not nearly as far fetched as the moderate majority would have us believe.
Television news organizations do a lot of research, research that they keep to themselves, for the most part. Research that they use to decide what news you want to know about. Since 9-11, and consistently near the top (number 2) of that list, is---public safety. We want to know what's going on around us that threatens our well being. We want to know what we can do to ensure our safety. We want to know what our government is doing to keep us safe.
It remains apparent that in the wake of 9-11, and the panic that ensued, we did a lot of knee-jerk reacting. At least, that's what many have thought as they stood in long lines, removing their shoes, before they could board their airplanes. A lot of inconvenience and, as time has gone by, more and more think it is totally unnecessary. It's a bit like the warnings and preparations preceding the "possible" attack of a hurricane. Unless that storm results in catastrophic property damage and loss of life, we become complacent. The next threat isn't treated with as much respect. Somelike like crying wolf, many say.
9-11 DID happen. And, it CAN happen again. We are doing what we think is best in this country to stop it before it happens. As it is with rules and laws, there are those who look for loopholes. While we can, as a nation, take every precaution to ensure our safety, there are groups looking for ways around our safeguards. And, rest assured, they will find them. Our job is to make it as difficult as possible, to close up as many easy avenues as we can. That way, it will be more likely that the bad guys will make a mistake as they prepare their attacks.
Lest we forget. 9-11 happened. It was not a dream. We want to make sure it is not a dream that will happen over and over.
I only wish our president would realize and acknowledge that the murders of innocent men, women and children were not carried out by "violent extremists", but by terrorists. They created terror in those World Trade Center offices. They created terror for the relatives and friends who watched as the buildings collapsed, as desperate people jumped out windows. They terrorized an entire nation while their brothers and sisters celebrated in the streets back home.
In his Cairo speech in 2009, our then new president's speech ticked off a lot of us. I only hope he learned a lesson, but from his track record, he has learned nothing.
A partial transcript of that speech:
"...tension has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations. Moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to the traditions of Islam.
Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims. The attacks of September 11th, 2001 and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and Western countries, but also to human rights. This has bred more fear and mistrust".
"Tension". "Violent extremists". "Hostile". What a wuss. Come on, Mr. President. These killers, these terrorists, have scared the crap out of us. They've made us mad. They've killed innocent men, women and children in the name of religion!!!! They have caused us to lock ourselves in our homes like never before. They've caused us to call police when we see a guy with a camera taking pictures of the full moon (yep, in Decmeber, while I was shooting photos of the rising full moon and was greeted by two very courteous and understanding gentlemen in blue) because they feared the camera and long lens could be a gun. Who can blame us? We were attacked in our homes. Terrorists caused this, not violent extremists.
Do not let ten years make you feel any safer. Do not become complacent because we haven't been attacked lately. You can thank our military for the aggressive work they're doing to keep that "tension" on the terrorists' turf. You can thank them for killing as many as they have in the last ten years. You can thank the diligent efforts of our intelligence community for quietly, in most cases, of locating and neutralizing "violent extremists" and their cells. A lot happens we don't know about. And, that's proably a good thing.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Paid Professional Solicitors...save time, just send your money to me
"Hi", the caller says when I answer the phone.
Recognizing the next standard question, "ïs this Mr."yaddayaddayadda?, I respond with my standard, "depends on who's calling and what you're calling about".
The caller said he was "Joe" with the XYZ Fire Department. My next standard question: "Are you a paid, professional solicitor"?
North Carolina law requires the caller to be truthful. By law I mean that if they lie, they have committed a crime. The callers are told about people like me. They are fully aware of this law.
He answered truthfully, and I politiely told him we did no business over the phone, and requested he put this number on his Do Not Call List.
That's when it started going downhill.
His tone changed, and he indignantly said, "may I ask why"? My tone remained the same (to which even I was surprised). "Because I told you to". He didn't like the response, of course, and by this time, I didn't care. I made sure he understood me. He said he did, and that he would "try to put me on the list".
Let me explain phone solicitations and charities just one more time. Well, one more time tonight. I have not problem with needy, worthwhile, productive organizations collecting funds. Many volunteer fire departments do it to raise money they need to stay in business. And, in most cases, they do a great job. There are any number of similar groups that perform great services for the people in their communities.
Unfortunately, there are as many "professional" solicitors who contract with these organizations, and collect donations or sell tickets to all sorts of events (ever been to one of those circuses to benefit needy children???), and give the profits to the host organization. I hate to once again burst anyone's bubble, but the North Carolina Department of State has compiled figures on such solicitations. The profits are less than 10-percent of the monies collected. More than 90 cents out of every dollar you donate to these charities goes to the expenses of the professional solicitors. No doubt, they have expenses. They were paying my latest caller eight bucks and hour. I did not keep him on the phone long enough to find out what tickets he was selling, or if he was just looking for a handout. I did not, and do not, care.
If you want to give money to a worthwhile organization, I encourage you to do that. Write a check, grab some cash from the ATM...and either mail it or better, yet, TAKE it to that organization. That way, 100-percent of your donation will end up in their hands, not a mere thin dime.
Of course, for security reasons, you should NEVER give anything over the phone to ANYONE who calls you. If you want to do business like that, though, please send me your credit card number, along with that three digit number on the back, plus your birthdate, your mother's maiden name, the name of your dog (one of the most commonly used passwords, along with your birthdate, by the way), and the last four digits of your social security number. Save yourself the hassle of being tied up on the phone while I rip you off.
Recognizing the next standard question, "ïs this Mr."yaddayaddayadda?, I respond with my standard, "depends on who's calling and what you're calling about".
The caller said he was "Joe" with the XYZ Fire Department. My next standard question: "Are you a paid, professional solicitor"?
North Carolina law requires the caller to be truthful. By law I mean that if they lie, they have committed a crime. The callers are told about people like me. They are fully aware of this law.
He answered truthfully, and I politiely told him we did no business over the phone, and requested he put this number on his Do Not Call List.
That's when it started going downhill.
His tone changed, and he indignantly said, "may I ask why"? My tone remained the same (to which even I was surprised). "Because I told you to". He didn't like the response, of course, and by this time, I didn't care. I made sure he understood me. He said he did, and that he would "try to put me on the list".
Let me explain phone solicitations and charities just one more time. Well, one more time tonight. I have not problem with needy, worthwhile, productive organizations collecting funds. Many volunteer fire departments do it to raise money they need to stay in business. And, in most cases, they do a great job. There are any number of similar groups that perform great services for the people in their communities.
Unfortunately, there are as many "professional" solicitors who contract with these organizations, and collect donations or sell tickets to all sorts of events (ever been to one of those circuses to benefit needy children???), and give the profits to the host organization. I hate to once again burst anyone's bubble, but the North Carolina Department of State has compiled figures on such solicitations. The profits are less than 10-percent of the monies collected. More than 90 cents out of every dollar you donate to these charities goes to the expenses of the professional solicitors. No doubt, they have expenses. They were paying my latest caller eight bucks and hour. I did not keep him on the phone long enough to find out what tickets he was selling, or if he was just looking for a handout. I did not, and do not, care.
If you want to give money to a worthwhile organization, I encourage you to do that. Write a check, grab some cash from the ATM...and either mail it or better, yet, TAKE it to that organization. That way, 100-percent of your donation will end up in their hands, not a mere thin dime.
Of course, for security reasons, you should NEVER give anything over the phone to ANYONE who calls you. If you want to do business like that, though, please send me your credit card number, along with that three digit number on the back, plus your birthdate, your mother's maiden name, the name of your dog (one of the most commonly used passwords, along with your birthdate, by the way), and the last four digits of your social security number. Save yourself the hassle of being tied up on the phone while I rip you off.
Veneer and the President. Coming apart at the seams.
Goodness.
It's Thursday, approaching the end of the first month of 2011. I can't quite figure out what happened to the first 26 days.
We have managed to get through another State of the Union Address. Amazing how such an ardent democrat with a full agenda just two years ago has suddenly awakened to face reality. Perhaps for the first time in his young life. Even more of an awakening is the media. Yep, even NBC guys are questioning The Man, aka POTUS (for goodness sakes, if this is the first time you've seen that reference, just Google it). Correspondents are actually asking pertinent questions, actually questioning (not quite challenging) his actions. The next 18-20 months should really be interesting on the campaign trail.
So, POTUS wants to work with the republicans, huh? He didn't want to even acknowledge them when the House was full of democrats. Feel free to check my voter registration, if you wish. I'm registered in Onslow County, North Carolina. And, it says I'm an INDEPENDENT. My definition of Independent is "free thinker". I can like, or dislike, any politician for any reason, but not because of his or her political party affiliation. I am much like the President (not any particular man, every man/woman who takes that office) should be. Once he/she is sworn in, that person should become an INDEPENDENT. The President must not let politics get in the way of leading this great nation. Party politics should take a four year nap immediately after a presidential election. The business of the United States of America is more important than political agendas.
It's sad, though, that it took an election to awaken what many claim is a brilliant man with a lot of foresight. Perhaps we can blame the media. Why not? They get blamed for everything else. I mean, if it wasn't for reporters, we'd have no crime, no disasters. "They"cause it all. At least, that's what I have heard time and again. "If they would just shut up about the gas prices, we wouldn't be paying so much. It's all their fault".
With regards to the President, there might be a little truth in that observation. He was the media's blatantly obvious choice from the beginning. An unknown young man with virtually no experience, who was "discovered" at a political event. A shining star, an articulate speaker. A visionary. He told so many people what they wanted to hear. Not necessarily what they needed to hear, mind you. And, the media, our watchdogs, bought the Bravo Sierra. On the surface, he appeared to have the answers. There was a problem, and the problem remains. Below the veneer of fine oak, there was nothing more than 3/4-inch particle board. You know, a bunch of sawdust held together by glue. Well, as we are all too familiar, particle board can't withstand a lot of water. It falls apart. And, the veneer, 1/16th of an inch thick, has no support. Nothing to keep it from collapsing.
And, that's exactly what's happening to the Great Platform. It's coming apart at the seams. The economy, despite the declaration that the recession is over, is in the toilet. Our national debt--the money we have borrowed and can't pay back--continues to climb. Kinda like the roulette wheel: "Round and round she goes, where she stops, no one knows". Well, folks. It's gonna stop. And, someone's gonna lose. If we can't get the runaway spending under control, one or more of our creditors is gonna bring our house of cards down. If you think your taxes are high now, just wait until you write a check to the IRS that includes an assessment fee. You know, like homeowner associations do when they need more money than the monthly fees you pay will cover.
Unfortunately, President Obama, the media's shining star, believed everything the media said about him. He could do no wrong. The media wrote only good things. Whoa"", you say. Not true. You point towards Fox News, and the conservative talk radio guys. Yep, Rush and the gangs have blasted Obama from the beginning. But, as is all too often the case, they were ridiculed. By TV comedians, by the mainstream media. They were given the same credibility as entertainment tabloids. No one listened except the radical realists.
I only wish that the media was full of INDEPENDENTS. Journalists should have NO friends in politics. They should never attend political social functions. Unless, of course, they're wired with hidden mics and they're looking for a story. I can tell you, from experience, that a politician in a social setting, consuming abundent quanities of truth serum, gives up a lot of good material. Reporters, like cops, must be on the job 24/7. We would certainly know a lot more about the way our government really works. It would be pretty cool if a good investigative team would tell us just how much of your hard earned tax dollars goes for entertainment every year. That would keep the party crowd on their toes.
The next 18 months are going to get interesting. We have a president who is now on the defensive. What he does will determine whether we end up with a seasoned, wiser man who can convince skepticle subjects and reporters that he can actually get something done, or whether we, the voters, are going to elect another unknown, inexperienced person who will promise us anything that we want to hear. By "get something done", I mean just that. Obama has no choice. He MUST work with all members of the House and Senate. He MUST surround himself with experienced advisors and department heads. He has little, if any, real life experience, at least none that anyone has been able to uncover. Successful businessmen are needed.
He needs to seriously examine the Wal Mart plan. You know, the one that is making the internet rounds. In just a few years, Wal Mart has taken over the retail market. It even sells more groceries than grocery stores. How did this happen? I don't know. But, the President of the United States should find out. It sounds like a plan that our Treasury Department should adopt.
It's Thursday, approaching the end of the first month of 2011. I can't quite figure out what happened to the first 26 days.
We have managed to get through another State of the Union Address. Amazing how such an ardent democrat with a full agenda just two years ago has suddenly awakened to face reality. Perhaps for the first time in his young life. Even more of an awakening is the media. Yep, even NBC guys are questioning The Man, aka POTUS (for goodness sakes, if this is the first time you've seen that reference, just Google it). Correspondents are actually asking pertinent questions, actually questioning (not quite challenging) his actions. The next 18-20 months should really be interesting on the campaign trail.
So, POTUS wants to work with the republicans, huh? He didn't want to even acknowledge them when the House was full of democrats. Feel free to check my voter registration, if you wish. I'm registered in Onslow County, North Carolina. And, it says I'm an INDEPENDENT. My definition of Independent is "free thinker". I can like, or dislike, any politician for any reason, but not because of his or her political party affiliation. I am much like the President (not any particular man, every man/woman who takes that office) should be. Once he/she is sworn in, that person should become an INDEPENDENT. The President must not let politics get in the way of leading this great nation. Party politics should take a four year nap immediately after a presidential election. The business of the United States of America is more important than political agendas.
It's sad, though, that it took an election to awaken what many claim is a brilliant man with a lot of foresight. Perhaps we can blame the media. Why not? They get blamed for everything else. I mean, if it wasn't for reporters, we'd have no crime, no disasters. "They"cause it all. At least, that's what I have heard time and again. "If they would just shut up about the gas prices, we wouldn't be paying so much. It's all their fault".
With regards to the President, there might be a little truth in that observation. He was the media's blatantly obvious choice from the beginning. An unknown young man with virtually no experience, who was "discovered" at a political event. A shining star, an articulate speaker. A visionary. He told so many people what they wanted to hear. Not necessarily what they needed to hear, mind you. And, the media, our watchdogs, bought the Bravo Sierra. On the surface, he appeared to have the answers. There was a problem, and the problem remains. Below the veneer of fine oak, there was nothing more than 3/4-inch particle board. You know, a bunch of sawdust held together by glue. Well, as we are all too familiar, particle board can't withstand a lot of water. It falls apart. And, the veneer, 1/16th of an inch thick, has no support. Nothing to keep it from collapsing.
And, that's exactly what's happening to the Great Platform. It's coming apart at the seams. The economy, despite the declaration that the recession is over, is in the toilet. Our national debt--the money we have borrowed and can't pay back--continues to climb. Kinda like the roulette wheel: "Round and round she goes, where she stops, no one knows". Well, folks. It's gonna stop. And, someone's gonna lose. If we can't get the runaway spending under control, one or more of our creditors is gonna bring our house of cards down. If you think your taxes are high now, just wait until you write a check to the IRS that includes an assessment fee. You know, like homeowner associations do when they need more money than the monthly fees you pay will cover.
Unfortunately, President Obama, the media's shining star, believed everything the media said about him. He could do no wrong. The media wrote only good things. Whoa"", you say. Not true. You point towards Fox News, and the conservative talk radio guys. Yep, Rush and the gangs have blasted Obama from the beginning. But, as is all too often the case, they were ridiculed. By TV comedians, by the mainstream media. They were given the same credibility as entertainment tabloids. No one listened except the radical realists.
I only wish that the media was full of INDEPENDENTS. Journalists should have NO friends in politics. They should never attend political social functions. Unless, of course, they're wired with hidden mics and they're looking for a story. I can tell you, from experience, that a politician in a social setting, consuming abundent quanities of truth serum, gives up a lot of good material. Reporters, like cops, must be on the job 24/7. We would certainly know a lot more about the way our government really works. It would be pretty cool if a good investigative team would tell us just how much of your hard earned tax dollars goes for entertainment every year. That would keep the party crowd on their toes.
The next 18 months are going to get interesting. We have a president who is now on the defensive. What he does will determine whether we end up with a seasoned, wiser man who can convince skepticle subjects and reporters that he can actually get something done, or whether we, the voters, are going to elect another unknown, inexperienced person who will promise us anything that we want to hear. By "get something done", I mean just that. Obama has no choice. He MUST work with all members of the House and Senate. He MUST surround himself with experienced advisors and department heads. He has little, if any, real life experience, at least none that anyone has been able to uncover. Successful businessmen are needed.
He needs to seriously examine the Wal Mart plan. You know, the one that is making the internet rounds. In just a few years, Wal Mart has taken over the retail market. It even sells more groceries than grocery stores. How did this happen? I don't know. But, the President of the United States should find out. It sounds like a plan that our Treasury Department should adopt.
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