COCKA, PEE-PEE, POO, POO!

(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/Frazer Chronicle)

We are becoming such a sanitized culture that we need to check our passions at the door, we need to be politically correct, to be so aware of our "neighbor's feelings" that we cultivate our language, our actions and reactions into an excepted manner so as not to offend anybody at any time, in any situation anywhere.

Gays, Hispanics, Afro-Americans, plain old African blacks, Indians (here and across the sea), Islams, Jews, Latin Americans, liberals, conservatives, Democrats, Republicans, women, men.....the list goes on and on. In today's society, it seems to be so confusing that a person might as well keep his yap shut.....actually "should keep his mouth shut" for self preservation.

I came across an article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel yesterday, April 28^th relating that the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee had "dismissed" it's men's soccer coach because he used offensive language.

Well "Hello," welcome to the world of sports, a place where civil governance ceases, where dictators hold court and poor little athletes are at the mercy of overbearing, abrasive totalitarianism rained down by coaching staffs all over the world. Believe it or not, coaching styles, philosophies and procedures didn't start here in the United States.

The coach in question, Chris Whalley, is from England, which probably explains his dour demeanor and less then sterling personality, but he was hired by the university to coach their college soccer team, and as such did have a resume.....right?

I don't know how ling U.W.M. has had an intercollegiate soccer program, it doesn't matter, Chris Whalley had been the soccer coach for just over two years at the institution, not much time to get the "guts" of his program in place.

A "slip of the lip," a racial slur here and there and wham bam, "your outta here," wow, as Chancellor Michael Lovell said, "We have a tremendous responsibility to ensure that our student athletes are treated with dignity and respect.”

A former player-turned team volunteer tipped off the administration and alumni to allegations against Whalley in a letter. The player, who called himself an ambassador for players who feared retaliation, said some players provided anonymous accounts saying Whalley used slurs and degraded players in public.

Well golly gee, I didn't know that, what'd he call the players.....in public....."Maybe he called them sons of bitches, or sons of fatherless goats, or worst of all, lousy soccer players who needed to focus.

"Think like a white man," or "keep the thinking to the white people." I actually can recall many of my coaches tell everybody to leave the thinking to the coaches, because we weren't capable of playing and thinking at the same time.

Telling an athletic team to "let the white man do the thinking" is, in today's society an incredibly stupid statement. But hey, the guy's from England, what do you expect, but to make a big "hubba bubba" seems a little excessive.

EX-YANKS GREAT DIES:

I wonder how old athletes would feel about a coach telling them to "leave the thinking to the white guys," I mean after all, in most sports 60 years ago the landscape was only dotted with minorities. Would there have been a mass protest, or some volunteer "player ambassador" going to administration.....not on your "tin-type."

The whacks on the football helmets, the kicks in the butt, the degrading remarks about possibly your man-hood, or your intellect lacking were weathered they were dealt with as best the participants could. You learned, you grew and you moved on, these slurs, these physical attacks were and are a part of the game.....I guess a necessary part of the game.

Sports, after a certain age, are for coaches, players, opponents, game officials and after a time, the media. There isn't any room for parents, boyfriends/girlfriends, aunts, uncles, grand-parents, not on the field/gym as the players are molded into a unit, a team.

Bill "Moose" Skowron passed on Friday, April 27, 2012 from heart failure, he was 81. Skowron was born in Chicago on December 18, 1930. He attended Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana and graduated. When he signed his Yankee contract in 1952 he became one of the few Yankees with a college degree.

"Moose" was of Polish extraction, had kind of a scrunched up face, and sported a butch or brush cut, and I wonder, just looking at old pictures, could he have, did he ever, could he have uttered if he ever heard the words, or used the words that described minorities.

Come on, you know what I'm talking about, Spick, Red Skin, Nigger, Jew, Polock, Jap, or a whole bunch of other slurs about a person's heritage. Gee I hate to say this....."But there only words," and they can't hurt, they only hurt if you let them.

What these words do is show a person's stupidity, his ignorance and his unbelievable disconnect with today's society. Good God.....we have a black president in the White House who is doing his level best for all of us.

"Moose" Skowron was a decent ball player, played on those Yankee teams of the 1950's and early 60's that seemed to win the World Series every damn year. He hit .282 for his big league career, socked 211 homers and was a good all around defensive player.

Parallels between the U.W.M. soccer coach and "Moose" Skowron.....there aren't any, Skowron came from a different time, but there is a link, both men wanted to win, both men used the best tools that they had, society today, however is less forgiving.

Today you can get arrested for picking your nose and wiping the snot ball on a light pole on Main Street. Guess people don't understand that in just a few days that snot ball will crystallize, lose every bit of its moisture, fall to the ground and blow away and nobody else will ever know that it was there. Oh well.....such is life.

I WANT IT NOW, AND I WANT IT FOR FREE!

I WANT IT NOW, AND I WANT IT FOR FREE! (Frazer Chronicle)

You know, I wonder why people want stuff for free, hunt for the best bargain or actually haggle over the price of an item at a furniture store or Wal-Mart. For example, just the other day I saw this man and women, in their 60's, at a Wal-Mart here in Green Bay "discussing" the price of an item with a store associate. The poor sales person couldn't get a word in x-ways and you could tell she was becoming more frustrated with each passing second.

I was waiting to talk about the same article and was getting more "pissed" with each argument that the couple brought up. Finally, unable to further stomach the conversation, I interjected that maybe the couple should "go to the other store where they saw the item for so much cheaper."

Today we are hit with so much advertising about getting stuff for free, how the company is "working" for the consumer and all you have to pay is shipping and handling.....and hell, you'll get 2 for the price of 1, just pay the additional shipping and handling.

Many of these "free" products are aimed at older folks with health problems, and the marketing programs have to work because the television channels are bombarded with the offers. It reminds me of the old radio raceway advertisement, "SUNDAY, SUNDAY, AT THE INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, GET YOUR FREE TICKETS NOW."

Nothing is free, everything costs money, if it doesn't cost me, you'll pay double for the product.....to make up for my freebie. "They" get you with that "shipping and handling charge" too, much of the time the article being sold costs less than the shipping and handling.

And for an additional charge, "factored in with shipping and handling," you can get your brand new handy dandy self lubricating catheter in 5 working days, gross.

Yesterday I had a prescription filled at my local pill factory, the price on the label listed the medication at $134.50, but my charge through my insurance was $0. That's right; my insurance company saved me the entire cost of the item.....how can that be?

Later in the afternoon I went to my doctor’s office, to get my diabetic medication straightened out and the nurse gave me a "free" meter for my wife (she also is diabetic). I asked her what the cost was and she said, "It's free." The company gives "free" samples.....how can that be?

NO WONDER OUR ECONOMY IS IN THE CRAPPER:

With all this "free" stuff floating around out there, I wonder how companies can turn a profit, after all, that's what business is in business for.....right.....to make money.

Funny, whenever something smells a little strange, the hairs on the back of my neck start to stand on edge, I get the feeling that there's a hidden agenda out there that I need to know about. With so much "give-away" going on out there, I discovered 2 reasons that it's still profitable to give it away.

Dirt cheap labor and the shipping and handling charges, they both work in concert to keep overhead down and profits up. The concept is actually a damn good business procedure, as long as you’re not one of those workers in China who get 3 hots, a cot, and a buck and a half a day for working 12 to 16 hour shifts.

United States workers have no chance, American business can't compete and although we can still get stuff for "free" or pay a reduced price at the local Wal-Mart, our economy is in the crapper because everything, "and I mean everything" is out-sourced.

I'm not just picking on Wal-Mart, God knows there are many businesses out there that practice this "free stuff" mentality, the shipping and handling and the dirt cheap labor. For me, it's really a tough call; I mean business has shareholders that are always bottom line oriented. It's how we work, as a society, but I wonder how well it's going to work in the long run.

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION:

The Federal Trade Commission was set up in 1914 to administer all sorts of business issues, from competition law, to monopoly, to predatory pricing to misuse of patents and copyrights. However the minute a company moves off shore, the rules change and the protection that the original FTC was created to give American citizens has been watered down.

As I mentioned, "nothing is free," everything comes with a price, maybe we should be looking for a fair price, a price structured so that working class people can make a decent living here in the good old United States.

As a guy entering his twilight years, I know you get nothing for free.....and so do you, we just want it now.....and for free. Maybe the price that we are paying is way too much.....I wonder.

AN ELEVATOR FOR MY CAR! (Washington Post/Frazer Chronicle)

So.....you have lots of money, it's yours, you earned it and you can spend it whichever way you want, it's the way the great American dream works, it's the attitude that has made the U.S. as unique a nation as the world has ever seen.

The carrot that is dangled in front of every middle-classed Americana's nose every single day of their lives, equality in the bank book. I can remember my Dad saying that every kid on the block wanted a bicycle, while Jews gave their kids monopoly; you know.....the money game, according to my Dad, that is what made the Jews "so good at managing money."

My Dad really believed that it was true, Jews were better at managing their money because of the games that they played as kids. It's kind of like the old myth about black kids being able to jump higher than white guys because they had a special bone in their shin. I actually believed that; imagine my surprise when I took an anatomy class my junior or senior year in high school and discovered that there was no such bone.

There is another big American myth out there, the myth that we middle class people can achieve a financial stability by "working for the man." The myth continues in today's work society, the "keep your nose to the grind-stone and good things will happen," is almost as outdated as land phone lines.

Middle class people can never have what the upper class citizen in American has and can have, it's impossible.....the game is rigged. There's money and then there's "old money," and many politicians across the nation has old money.

I have never in my life met a politician who I shared his view for how I live my life, neither Democrat nor Republican. Those are the rules under which we are supposed to operate as a nation. Those are the laws of the land. A constitution was written down well over two hundred years ago, and the principles therein have worked pretty damned well. Sure there are shortcomings, and outdated rules and regulations, but the core meaning is still there and still in use today.

You hear every so often, "whenever there is any kind of election cycle," that a particular candidate has a "vision, a radical view, or an agenda that will help people." Somehow these visions, these radical views, or these agenda's don't "trickle" down to the vast majority of us common folks.

I have a buddy who makes in excess of $300,000 a year.....a goodly amount of money; he makes his money off real estate, buying, selling and renting homes and buildings. It's a tough job, it consumes him, he is at someone's beckon call almost 24-7, and he earns his money.....however there is no car elevator in his future.

Here is the view from the top, an outlook.....by the way, no middle class American can see, much less understand. A conservative looks at a vacant lot and see's a building, a business, or equity, maybe even a tax write-off. A liberal sees the same lot and see's a home site, or a park where kids can play ball games and a city park department oversees activity.

Market forces, the magic of capitalism, smaller government, less taxes, a system where a person can keep more of his money.....freedom, right, no, wrong. Have you ever heard the term "panic," or depression, or recession, it's some of the things that happen from a conservative's point of view.

What happens with a liberal point of view, over-spending, higher taxes and more American's "on the dole?" I for one can't figure out why money is always a problem, why the economy is always teetering on the "brink."

Did you ever notice that while Democrats are in power the Republicans are dissecting everything that the majority is doing, and while Republicans hold sway, Democrats are doing the same thing, both are counterproductive, neither is progressive and both parties do not do the work of government for the American people.

President Obama is having trouble identifying with the American people; Mitt Romney has absolutely no clue. There is no credible 3rd. party, the Tea Baggers want to take everything away.....but keep their entitlements....."How does that happen?"

In the coming months hard questions need to be asked, but if the secret service sex scandals continue to grab headlines and dominate the political conversation, it will be business as usual.

Middle class people will continue to struggle.....and Mitt Romney will continue to check paint charts for a color scheme for his new "car elevator."

THE SPOOKS ARE AT IT AGAIN!

THE SPOOKS ARE AT IT AGAIN!

(Washington Post/Frazer Chronicle)

Deny, deny, deny, don't record anything, and never, never make a video tape of anything.....anyway a video you might be required to share someday. These are the rules of the intelligence world today.....actually they have been the rules since the 1st. Secret Agent Man raised his right hand, pledged an oath and went to work in the middle to late 19^th century.

Did you ever "really" wonder what makes a good cop.....well I have, and I've come to one kind of disturbing understanding, "good cops don't trust.....anybody, probably even their mothers. Good cops presume guilt before they even think about innocents. Their "collars or perps" are guilty as hell, and all of their efforts and energies are to prove the guilt.

Along the way, some evidence might get lost or discarded that might not fit the scenario of guilt, after all, things get misplaced every single day of our lives. No matter whether you’re a victim, or a "catch" of the process, the good cop wants you to go to jail and be punished for your crime.

In the world of intelligence, you, like spy stuff, a person can be snatched, interrogated.....for weeks, months, or even years and all the time, you do not have the right to.....well, actually you don't have rights. Sleep deprivation, huh, try urination and deification deprivation, when normal bodily functions are not allowed, or punishment is administered, your life can truly be a living hell.



The intelligence community, as those in the "community" like to call it, is a sprawling apparatus of the United States Government, its mission statement, "to protect American interests everywhere." Whether you are at home or abroad, their goals are 1^st and foremost to get the bad guys and to protect the homeland.

The United States has approximately 30 intelligence agencies at the current time; I'm surprised that their identities are even revealed, given the atmosphere of today's intelligence community. The members of these elite organizations are often referred to as American heroes, public servants, or soldiers for freedom and the American way.

Most of their operating budgets are classified, there is not a published list of its active members and their duties, responsibilities and any oversight is minimal. A prerequisite is that members have to look good in a black suit and sun glasses, and that my friends is usually it. "Oh ya," they can't trust anybody.

It reminds me of a good spy novel.....oh wait, these guys are actual real spies, they have guns and are licensed to kill, and I watch James Bond movies.

There however is one thing wrong with probably 90% of the men and women who are actual real spies, they are in the profession because it gives them a rush, hell probably have of them are bi-polar or some kind of "ism." Most of these people aren't right, they care dangerous and really, really can't be trusted.

These people break heads, make people disappear, and use every trick in the bloody book of intelligence to get their man, even if the man isn't the right one. Like cops and law enforcement, it's all about numbers.

Secret prisons has housed detainees for years, no visitation, no parole and no yard time, just the day upon day of interrogation. There aren't any lawyers, no public defenders, no judges and for sure, no friendlies. It's no wonder that these people "break," hell I'm sitter here in front of my computer, and if there was a hint that I was under suspension for something, I'd admit guilt, as opposed to "hanging" with these guys.

I am not against intelligence agencies, or against protecting United States interests, both at home and abroad, I guess I'd like a little more transparency. I want a Congressional committee aware of what is going on with these people at all times. And I would like a yearly report, complete with back-up proof on every action taken by the intelligence community published.....for public reading.

Without public oversight, how can you tell the players without a program.....and that my friend, is never a good thing.

BILLIONS SAVED!

BILLIONS SAVED! (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/Frazer Chronicle)



I've written about this sensitive issue on several occasions, and although I've read volumes about the subject, I still have mixed feelings regarding the validity of my feelings. You see, when a person is trying his level best to understand all aspects of an issue, it's hard to make a "snap judgment". Politicians on the other hand, look for any movement of a "core" issue, pointing to that movement as proof positive that their agenda is working, and good for the locals, state, or federal government.



Most politicians do not possess a thought process that looks past the black and white of an issue, to the more complex and involved understanding of an issue. Most people, today, no matter the party "jump on the partisan band wagon", supporting "whatever" whole-heartedly.



Raising taxes is never viewed as a good thing, every politician worth his salt, wants to avoid raising taxes however and whenever possible. The sad, jumbled up fact of the matter, when politicians consider raising taxes has a simple answer.....government must raise taxes to do the business of government. This opinion is not hard to understand. Compare your house to the county or state that you live in, if you don't have enough taxed money to fix the roads, keep the street lights on at night, or enough money to pay the police for protection, you lose all of these benefits.



When Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker talks about saving Wisconsin a billion dollars during his little more than a year in office, "on the surface" the statement sounds great. But when one considers the drop in service, the cut in teachers, the cut in offered school programs and the attitudes of public workers.....Walkers programs have been a dismal and dangerous failure.



Scott "Sleepy" Walker faces a June re-call election from his foes in the Democratic Party and the state of Wisconsin electorate. The re-call will be a landslide in favor of the Democratic Party; the Republicans have been way too crude, over the top, and disingenuous with the facts.



I do not necessarily agree with the recall, but I understand how people could be up in arms with the Walker administration and the entire Republican Party and their "lock-step" stance on almost everything that they think say or do.



Most union state workers in Wisconsin, clearly 6 in 10, figured that they needed to be paying more for the health coverage as well as their pension benefits. The move by the Walker administration to implement these additional payments was an austerity move, a "tough love" move, a move necessary for the taxpayer to keep his tax sanity.



But the move was not going to be met by state workers with joy and understanding, not when you take over $4000 out of a person making $50,000 a year, or about 12% of a paycheck. Then came the real bomb shell, collective bargaining was stripped from state union workers contracts, a right that had been established by the late 1950's, what could Walker been thinking, talk about pouring salt in the wound.....WOW.



Then there's a savings of $226.3 million from higher pension contribution and $82.4 million saved from state workers paying more for their health insurance, $40.9 million dollar in programs, paid by the Federal taxpayers, "which may not be kept by Wisconsin."



$464 million in yearly saving from local government workers paying more for their pensions, again a possibility that all of the money saved might not be kept by the state. And another $65 million in savings this fiscal year on health coverage by raising employee payments, similar to co-pays for employees for non-preventive care.



There is also an undetermined amount of savings for requiring workers to have 5 years of service and at least two-thirds full-time employment to qualify for a state pension.



There are other listed savings, but in many cases, I find the results convoluted or unverified. When you make employees pay more for their benefit packages, there will be monetary savings for the government of that there is no doubt. But along with the austerity comes some other realizations that get completely lost in the message.



NO DOUBT:

Whenever you cut jobs, either through tough new pay plans, or outright firings, you initially save money. Some have said that the Walker plan will lead to a loss of close to 22,000 jobs. It is a fact that the state's public school system has lost almost 1500 teachers. All sorts of services have been cut or there has been a general "draw-down" of services.



By cutting taxes which the state government works with, there most certainly will be a loss of good, quality; high paying jobs.....it is a financial fact of life.



I'm not so sure that I would be "touting" programs that take away, first from workers wallets and then from the quality of services offered.....services most taxpayers want.



Without a single doubt the real problem with Wisconsin's fiscal problems has been the inability of her people to get involved, to remain involved, to understand the issues, and when some "J-bird" like Walker comes around, they don't even give the joker a chance.

EXECUTIVE POWER!

EXECUTIVE POWER! (Frazer Chronicle)

I wonder exactly where our country is going, it doesn't matter whether a Democrat or a Republican is in power, it's the persuasion of the legal council that is on board "at the second", they change almost as quickly as a person changes his socks.

For most of us, the term "executive power" can usually be equated to our boss or supervisor.....or in some cases, a spouse. Being "lorded" over is a simple fact of life for many in the work place. Many of us use Kelly's Corner Tavern after hours, as a way of keeping our sanity.

Mostly executive power is some suit exercising his muscle in some sort of worker dispute and almost forcing his will on a group of workers, either because he figures what he is doing is good for the company, or that he simply doesn't give a crap and "Roger ram jets" his agenda on a group of workers.

When the president of the United States goes about his business in this manner, the "Roger ram jet," it effects not a group of people, or a single factory, or company policy, when the president "pushes" something onto either the people or a particular branch of government, millions of people are impacted.

The United States governmental practices and procedures are all about checks and balances, about the left and right, about Democrats, Republicans and whatever fringe voice can be heard. It's about differing view-points, competing for their opinions to be heard.

At the end of the day, when you have all of these opinions in a bowl, all of those folks involved, the Democrats, Republicans and whoever else is sitting around the table then debate, and hopefully pick the best ideas for our country, and hammer out laws, rules and regulations to operate what our country is, what it does and in which direction it will go.

But when a president and his people don't like the outcome of the Democrats and Republicans and those independents involved, through council, they devise tactics to override what has been decided, which way the country is going and ultimately how the actions affect us.

WE ARE CLOSE TO A MONARCHY:

Over the years, presidents have attempted to consolidate power into the executive branch of the government. When did this consolidation effort start? And whichever party, Democratic or Republican, has been responsible is hard to say and unimportant.

Signing statements and czar appointments are effective ways of controlling government, compressing it so that only a few people actually have a voice in what actions are initiated and placed into effect.

Congress has habitually disliked a presidential appointee to "head up" a specific agency, usually because that person has the powers closely resembling a Czar, with special powers and usually answerable only to the president.

Vacation appointees are another way that a president can consolidate power; these are done when the Congress and Senate are on a break, back home with their constituents, listening to the voice of their people. If you believe all that, I have ocean front property in Arizona.

Long story short, a sitting president has never saw a power that he didn't want, and has never, never given back a power that his predecessor acquired. It's simply un-American, a practice that is not done, and anyways, who in his right mind would do so?

A signing statement ranks right up there with one of the presidents most powerful weapon against legislation that has passed that he, "the president" doesn't like. A signing statement can be used to comment on the legislation, whether it's good or bad, and if it is designed to address a certain situation.

Usually a signing statement is used to point out possible unconstitutional aspects of a bill, and kind of give notice that the president will not allow the law to be executed.

THE TIMES WE LIVE IN:

The time that we live in is unique, misconceptions run high and political separatism is probably the biggest problem that the United States faces today. The left, the right, the liberal, conservative and all the rest can't seem to get together, sit down and "talk."

I was talking to a woman at an airport, several years ago, and somehow the conversation got around to politics. She said that she would never trust a liberal, I asked her way and she said, "Because they're all sex deviates, it's a well known fact."

I looked at this poor little mouse of a women, looked deeply into her eyes with my liberal eyes, I looked her up and down and said without hesitation, "Honey, you don't have to worry about a single little thing, you can rest easy at night, the liberal fiends won't touch you."

The divides that we live in are unprecedented, class distinction, you've got to be kidding, and it’s the reds against the blues and the greens against the yellows. Each color has its own agenda, and the rest can kiss butt.

The powers that be, "those folks that have been elected to do the business of government" don't look at us as the bosses, rather numbers and customers. Go to the D.M.V. sometime, you get a number, and are treated as a customer.

I’ve said it before and I'll say it again, "there is no Fed," we are the "Fed" without us there would be no "Fed" just a bunch of elected fools, running around looking and acting like a bunch of whores, and that's from the President on down to the local dog catcher.

These people work for us.....so we'd better get together, formulate a plan and get on with it, because once we are a monarchy, freedom is long gone, never to be retrieved.

HEADS, FEET AND MORE!

HEADS, FEET AND MORE! (New York Post/Washington Post/Frazer Chronicle)



They say "war is hell," and I'm sure it is, I'm just glad I never experienced it, the same as most other Americans, we thank our "lucky stars." But what about the young kid, the maybe less educated, or the guy with a loose screw, the person with a propensity for anger, violence, the person with absolutely no conscience.....the war criminal.

A war zone to these kinds of people must be kinda like a "kid with a sweet tooth in a candy shop or bakery," and hundreds of dollars at his disposal. I do know for a fact that the entrance bar has been lowered by the military as all of these wars drag on and volunteers become harder to find.

I was talking to a young guy the other day, (I consider a 25 year old man almost a baby) and he was telling me about his plans and how to get "out from under his educational burdens." He was going to join the Air Force as a nurse and with his signing bonus and the waiver of some of his school costs, he would be able to pay off all his student loans, all his other bills and walk away with several thousand in his wallet.

I am not saying that this guy is going to get into some sort of war zone and cut off noses to hang from a trophy necklace.....but you never know. I'm betting every single one of these soldiers that do this kind of "trophy display crap," to at least one person is a hero and an outstanding human being.

That feeling, "of a soldier being normal, like the rest of us," would be an incorrect opinion, because war affects everybody differently, but make no mistake, war affects every returning person. Change in a person's mental, physical and emotional health is a guaranteed result being in a combat zone.

I knew a guy almost 50 years ago, a veteran of World War II who carried a chopped off ear from some "Jap" that the guy had shot during the war. He pickled the damn thing and kept it in a little case, like a ring case and would show it to anybody and everybody.

Now that guy wasn't all there, a goodly portion of his reasoning power capacity was left on some little island or atoll near Japan, I never asked, I didn't want one of my ears in his little trophy case. Needless to say, "the guy was bonkers, crazy....and way out there. But it wasn't his fault, a war ruined the guy and as we allow our nation to make more wars; more of these half witted people are going to come back home sporting "the spoils of war."



Murder, dismemberment, rape, torture, hell we've seen it before, were seeing it now, and as long as war continues.....we'll see it again.....over and over, and over. Photos of the vanquished, subjected to posthumous humiliation, cut off body parts, hands, feet, legs, heads and other non-mentionables.

War dehumanizes, desensitizes, it breaks the spirit of strong men and can create musters of schoolboys and there is a history of trophy taking and a desecration of the enemy. Marines kill, Army soldiers kill, the Navy kills, hell even the Air Force kills.

Don't believe me, take a trip to any military installation, and check out basic training exercises and listen to the rhetoric of the drill instructors, "kill, kill, kill”. To protect a nation, to protect a thought or an ideal, to protect freedom, to protect the rights of others, all of these things are honorable.

But to protect a water-way, mineral rights, oil fields, metal regions, or coal fields; or propping up dictators because they might agree with our foreign policies is wrong. It's a waste of time, resources, and lives.

The war we are in right now is for..........I'm not sure, and I know I'm not sure enough to waste one single life on. When soldiers hold up severed legs, or hands, or heads, two things need to happen, the trophies buried and the soldiers shut away in some sort of medical unit for treatment.

Society "basically" agrees that the taking of a human body part for a war trophy is unacceptable, people in our society, (most people,) say that this kind of activity is not "who we are." Leon Panetta, Defense Secretary said as much this week, but I wonder.....are we.....trophy takers?

Do we feel like displaying feet, hands, fingers, ears, noses and heads of our vanquished? Is it the right of a warrior? Are the immediate rewards of war body parts, a good old fashioned rape and when you’re done, roaming around the village or country-side shooting little kids?

War is not a game, it’s not a romantic event and it does two things, it kills people and desensitizes. War also can release the animal in each of us. Most of us keep our demons under control and it is one of our human duties to help those battling to control theirs who sometimes lose control. Everybody can make love in varying degrees.....let’s concentrate on doing that one thing.....making love.

MISREMEMBERED!

   

MISREMEMBERED! (Yahoo Sports/Frazer Chronicle)

Sometimes the American language takes a beating from the most innocent of places, "misremembered" comes from just that area of American society, baseball. Unless you could call a bunch of grown men, running around in pajama looking attire chasing a little white baseball. I mean one guy hits a ball, and then while other P.J. clothed adults try and catch it and throw it to another P.J. clad adult, while the guy who hit the ball tries to reach a safe restricted area where the guys chasing the ball can't touch him.

To top this whole set of bizarre circumstances off, these guys get paid millions of dollars to practice their "craft." Some of these guys get millions upon millions of dollars even if they can only do one of the coveted things of the game well. To run, hit the little white ball, hit the little white ball with power, field the little white ball and then throw it to a team-mate before the hitter can get to one of the 3 safety restricted areas, can translate into big money.

Baseball is what I'm talking about, that magical, sweet smelling, fun to watch and easy to understand game. Baseball is an "every-boy" game, and can even be an "every-girl" game. Short, tall, skinny or fat, all sizes have played the game and even excelled. Without a doubt, more kids have played baseball than any other sport.

To play much football you got to be big, strong and run like the wind, to play basketball you need to be tall, but to play baseball, there are so many moving parts, "run, field, hit, hit with power and throw," if a kid can do just one of them, he can make the team.

Baseball is the game that get's under a person's skin, it's a subject that virtually everybody talks about at least once during a year. Baseball can draw people together, get fathers and sons talking, and is the most easily identified game in our society.....everybody plays.

The pinnacle of the game.....the place where a dirt poor kid can be the equal of anybody and in rear cases, pass everybody is where Roger Clemens rose. The "Rocket" could throw a baseball through a brick wall, or snap off a devastating curve that would buckle the knees of the best hitters of his day.

But now we find that our hero's did the unthinkable, they fell from grace, took the easy way out and cheated. The home runs, the huge batting averages, the runs scored and the joy that the run barrage brought the fans in the stands weren't real; they were acquired through the illegal use of pills and injections.

Whoopty wow, and a great big deal, so what, and what these guys did, they did with the technology of the day, the same as hitters and pitchers would have done with the technology of their day. Cheating has always been a part of baseball, or isn't stealing catcher's signs to pitchers, or decoding coaches signs to batters and base-runners "somewhat" the same. Putting some illegal substance into your body, which by the way can kill you, getting an edge?

Juicing your baseball bat, sharpening your cleats for the next spike wound a runner will give a 2nd baseman; these are all parts of the game. And now juicing sadly is a part of the game that we all love to varying degrees.

Admit it, tell the world that…."Ya, you cheated," but the game has a long list of cheaters that are in the hall of fame. The spit ball, the emory ball, the head hunting, inside part of the plate pitcher, these guys all took a special interest in "honing" their abilities with a little extra help.

And the owners, bless their mega-buck little hearts, are you gonna sit there and tell me that they didn't know what was happening to their game.....give me a break. As long as there's butts in the bleachers, as long as advertisers continue to buy space and as long as television offers billions for the right to air the games, nothing will change.

My point is simple, "nothing has to change," I like the game as is, I like the extra runs, the majestic home runs and the power ally shots for doubles and triples. The only thing that I don't like is the non-stop talking by the announcers and the color commentators. Put a sock in it, zip your lips, keep your traps shut, let me simply watch the game.

Roger Clemens "misremembered," it wasn't his team-mates or friends, or his trainer or agent, or any of the other people he has working for him. Hell during his heyday, he was making a year what some small countries budget is for the entire year. Roger Clemens "misremembered," he somehow forgot that the first rule of a professional athlete is to win at all costs, if you can't "beat um, cheat um."

I could care less if Roger Clemens used any sort of illegal pill or drug, or if he prefers oats for breakfast instead of eggs, because he took some kind of animal growth drug. In the end, most of these guys will pay for "pumping" themselves up.

Most won't live to old age, most won't enjoy the simple things in life and most won't be able to hang onto their testicles. Misremember that one Roger!



PATTY CAKE, PATTY CAKE BAKERS MAN!

PATTY CAKE, PATTY CAKE BAKERS MAN!

(Aljazeera/Federal News Radio.Com/Frazer Chronicle)

OVERWORKED-UNDERPAID & UNAPPRECIATED!

(USA TODAY/Frazer Chronicle)

First the sex thing, labor issues, under pay and not being appreciated can be kinda the same, but "as I write this blog," I can highlight any subject that I desire, and as everybody who knows me, "these days," sex is a fun subject for me to talk about.

I don't get it, the military has always had sex scandals.....don't you have to have at least 1 scandal before you can climb up the ladder in any branch of the military, before you can even be considered for "rank" advancement.

Military personnel have been playing "under the table" games for as long as men have been "going off to war." You don't really expect me to believe that Army General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff was shocked by the incident in Colombia, do you?

He looks like a regular guy, "if a general of anything can be called regular guy," has kids and a pretty darn good looking wife, if you like the pouting lips, supple looking breasts, big brown eyes and a butt kicking body.

Leon Panetta, U.S. Secretary of Defense, who also has a cool to warm looking wife of his own, Sylvia Marie Varni Panetta has been a "mover and shaker" in her own right, heading several different help organizations, but has remained in the background of her husband’s career.

These 2 men are heading up the investigation into what I am calling "patty cake, patty cake bakers man-----gate." Whatever the number of U.S. Secret Service men are involved, the incident reminds me of the old saying, "boys will be boys."

Oh sure I know there was a breach of security, indiscretion, acts of fornication, sex for pay and a "nasty boy attitude" during the final hours in the lead-up to President Obama's arrival in Colombia, but geez, nobody got shot, received broken bones, or had to be taken to the hospital.

I guess I would ask several questions of the men involved and the answers would be needed to answered responsibly and honestly, if not the witness would simply be taken out behind the building and shot.

My questions to these men, "and I'm assuming the participants were all men," are quite simple and straight forward:

1. Were the women good looking, American citizens do not want its military personnel going around with skanks?

2. How was the sex paid for, I mean, cash, credit card, "American Express of course," or was it, "sex" charged to some sort of an account were I might have to shoulder some of the financial load?

3. Were the women STD clean and for that matter were the Secret Service members; did they have all their shots up to date?

4. And last, but probably most important.....are there any videos.....and can I get a copy?

Look, this kind of crap has been going on for generations, since the beginning of time, since some wise-butt figured that military forces were necessary to protect. What a shock, when a bunch of young men are left to their own devices and the sun goes down, and the girls come out, crap happens.

In the case of the patty cake, patty cake that went on in Cartegena, the fools involved forgot that this is 2012, not 1980, or 1990, or even 2000. This is the day and age of wall to wall media coverage, the day of the big story, a time when 24 hours needs to be filled with news, weather and sports.

There aren't any hidden agenda's here, no politician messages and really nobody to point a finger at, the act was natural and has been going on since Adam and Eve.....remember "forbidden fruit?" These 11 or however many guys decided to go out and get laid, big whoopee wow, I sure as hell hope it felt good, because you guys just lost whatever career you might have had with the U.S. Secret Service.

That's the punishment, that's the hoopla, the beginning and the end of the issue, these guys did something incredibly stupid and now will pay the ultimate price.....losing their "plum" jobs, relegated to a life of having to explain exactly how they lost their secret agent badge.

OVERWORKED - UNDERPAID & UNDER APPRECIATED!

(USA TODAY/Frazer Chronicle)

Did ya ever wonder how your employer feels about you, whether he respects you, whether he cares about your health and the condition of your family. Well let me clue you in, he cares about "your" health, if you’re sick, or unhealthy, you can't work and produce whatever product you are working for.

Since the early 2000's my wife, who works for the city of Green Bay, has seen her job description and work load go up expediently. The attack on city, county, state and federal employees didn't just start with the recession back in 2008, the apparatuses to retard worker rights and worker pay begin even before George W. Bush took office in 2001.

Wage and hour lawsuits have escalated since 2010, especially since 2011, when employers have gotten their employees right by the little pubic hairs. It wouldn't be so bad if the only hairs that were being grabbed were the workers right in front of the bosses, but oh no.....these jerks either follow a worker home, or in some cases, hitch a ride. When they get to your home, they line up every member of your family and pull THEIR short hairs.

I have said it before and I'll say it again, "supervisors, bosses, owners, boards of directors’ secretaries and probably even the custodial guy can't be trusted." If these people can get more production with less pay and less benefits, it's what they are going to do.....every time.

There like the Secret Service guys in Colombia, they can't resist, they need a touch, need a feel of the velvet, need a whiff of the good life. It's the mission of a business to produce as much product with as little overhead as possible, always has been and always will.

Any of you guys out there that don't understand that basic rule of business are swimming up-stream, you'll never win, never get even with the game. And make no mistake.....it is a game, the only problem; bosses and owners want to change the rules in the middle of the game.

Employment in the United States has always been an ebb and flow of contact sport, you win a few and you lose a few. But today, there are people out there who not only want to change the rules, they want to gut every collective right that people have been able to get enacted over the past 75 years.

Politicians have always played a prominent role in governmental activity between labor and management. Government has called out the Pinkerton's, the National Guard and the regular army to quell disputes between the two bodies. In every instance, these detectives, or guardsmen, or soldiers stood with business against the working man.

AND YOU TRUST THEM.

We have a problem here folks, many people trust their employer, they for some reason feel all "warm and fuzzy" when supervisors or bosses give a pat on the back, or give a glowing report. For me, it was always, "shut up and give me a raise."

You can't trust your supervisor, or boss, or owner, they have total control over you, what you think, say and do, it's how they like it, and it's what they work to achieve. As submissive employee is a good employee.....for the company.

I have worked many menial jobs during my lifetime and one thing that I noticed was that either the supervisor, or the boss, or the owner could have cared less about my input, or the input of any of my fellow employees.

One job I had several years ago was taking care of the grounds at a major apartment complex in Green Bay, Wisconsin. There were over 500 living units in this complex, contained in 15 different buildings. During the peak time of winter snow removal we would hire temporary employees to help clean snow. I'll never forget the owner’s son, and what he said about these (temps) "Work the hell out of them, if you can't get enough out of them get rid of them and hire another one.....they are cheap."

I'm retired, for me the games over, I don't want to play anyways, however for you young ones out there still in the game, I have this to say, "Never trust."

IN SUMMATION

Education, education, education.....make sure you get one, an education can be your free pass out of the war. If you and your services are in demand, you can write ticket, thumb your nose and make your own way in life.

For those of you with no education, or those too stupid to get an education.....well, do the best you can, life for you will always be a struggle.....I know, my life has been a struggle.

  

A WHOLE BUNCH OF HOT AIR!

A WHOLE BUNCH OF HOT AIR! (USATODAY/Frazer Chronicle)

What a bunch of hot air, hot breathing, bull-crap, a whole bunch of talk about absolutely nothing.....and everybody fell for it, well almost everybody.....I didn't, but of course then again, I'm your Editor in Chief, I study these things and have absolutely no political agenda.

I am of course talking about the supposed flap caused by less than 100 words, 95 to be exact, about how Ann Romney doesn't have a clue about working mothers in America. I don't get the big deal; I wouldn't have said what Hilary Rosen did, especially if I were a democratic strategist.

This woman, with the flappy lips sure seems to know how to hit a sensitive cord with the Mitt Romney political camp. I guess we need to take a look at the principles in the current episode between the Republicans and Democrats as the "silly season" of political rhetoric unfolds.

A stupid simple statement, 95 words worth has given fuel to the fires of political passion as first the Republicans and then the Democrats try to take control of the atmosphere of debates that continue to ebb and flow as the country enters the "mean season" of the presidential race.

Here is what Hilary Rosen said on an appearance on CNN on April 11th. 2012 with regards to the Romney claim that the Obama presidency has been bad for women:

"What you have is Mitt Romney running around the country saying, 'Well, you know my wife tells me that what women really care about are economic issues and when I listen to my wife that's what I'm hearing.' Guess what? His wife has actually never worked a day in her life. She's never really dealt with the kinds of economic issues that a majority of the women in this country are facing in terms of how do we feed our kids, how do we send them to school, and why do we worry about their future."

Now if a person of reasonable intelligence dissects what Rosen said, as I did, one fails, "at least I didn't" fail to see anywhere where Rosen said it wasn't a job to raise kids, she talked about the hardships surrounding raising kids in today’s economic society.

Ann Romney probably has never worked a day in her life, like at Taco John's, or Burger King, or McDonald's. She has never had to deal with the public on a daily basis, or to drag her sorry butt out of bed, feed the kids, make sure that they are ready for school and catch the bus.....and then ready herself for her 9 to 5 job. Oh, and then worry about her husband and his wants or needs.

Personally I have marveled at how women can do all that is necessary and expected of her during her usual day. The kids, the house, the meals, the washing and at the end of the day.....the husband, women are "super" for sure.

Has Ann Romney ever had to do most of these things, of course not, have you ever heard of child care, or mother's helper, or a nanny, or an Au Pair? These "chicks" are the backbone of child rearing for the rich and shameless. They wake the children, groom them, dress them, make the beds, rooms are clean, prepare breakfast, prepare lunch, clean dishes, oversee homework, drive and pick them from school, prepare health afternoon snack, assist with homework, bathe them and then tuck them into bed.

If you are trying to tell me that Ann Romney has, or can walk a mile in my wife's shoes, "that, I would like to see." This is not to say that Ann Romney is any less a women then my wife, it simply means that she, "Romney" chose a better provider then my wife.

But for Mitt Romney, or Ann Romney, or the Republican Party, or Rush Limbaugh to say that life's lessons has made Ann Romney an equal with my wife is, well, ludicrous. Ann Romney couldn't carry my wife’s lunch pail, broom, or mop, but hey, that's okay, the world needs Ann Romney's the same as it needs Candace Joan’s, it's what balances the country.

Hilary Rosen works for a Capitol Hill based strategic communication, advertising, print and direct mail organization SKDKnickerbocker. To say that Hilary Rosen is a democratic strategist is like saying "my grand-daughter is a horse jockey because she likes horses." She has worked for SKD since sometime in 2010, and before that she was a lobbyist for the music industry.

Mitt and Ann Romney are worth at least half a billion dollars and that is great, it means that they pay a lot of taxes, they just need to pay more. Did the Romney's earn their money, I don't know, and I could care less, they have it, they use it and there is a "trickle down" to us poor folks, hell I hold my hand out every day.

But for some of these "whack job's" Rush Limbaugh, or Michele Bachman to chastise Hilary Rosen, or for President Obama to "distance" himself from Rosen is ridiculous. Simply consider the source and check from where she is coming from. In the end, Rosen stated a simple truth; she comes from a different class of people than 99% of us do. It's not her fault; she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, as was her husband.

Should these people be running our country.....are you serious.....of course not, they have absolutely no comprehension of what it takes to drag a tired butt out of bed, haul yourself to a job that, "for many is a drag," raise kids, get old, retire on some penny ante pension and then die at 70.

When I say that "rich people shouldn't run our country," don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that rich people are bad people, they’re just clueless, and how could they be any other way. You don't really think George W. Bush wiped his own butt until he was about 15, do ya?

And it doesn't matter the breed "of the politician," today the price is so high that the average guy doesn't have much of a chance to even consider run for most political offices, let alone actually beginning a campaign.

Get used to the attitude of the lesser, Ann, it's how we react to the affluent, most of us don't like it, but we can't help it, we long for your riches.....at least I do.

   

SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS AND THE FAILED WAR ON DRUGS!

SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS AND THE FAILED WAR ON DRUGS!

(Aljazeera/The Guardian/New York Post/Stabroek News/Frazer Chronicle)

Wanta joint, or crack cocaine, or some pills, "I'm like a freakin' drug store, only ya don't have to go to the doctor." I'm just your friendly neighborhood prescription "filler," you decide the drug.....I fill the order, no questions asked.

That is a rough translation of a conversation that goes on every day in every village, town, city and in many neighborhoods. Those of you who think drugs aren't flowing freely in America today are idiots and don't have a grasp on life. You are bubble people who are part of the problem and never will be part of the solution.

The summit opens today in Cartagena, Colombia and will focus on and will be attended by the usual suspects, "state leaders and President Obama." This year.....however, there is urgency to the summit that has been lacking in the past.

Latin America is a world "hot spot" for illicit drug production and drug trafficking and finally the Latin America contingent has come to grips with the realization that the "war on drugs" has failed and a brand new approach is needed.

I personally hate drugs, oh sure I've tried them, I mean marijuana, and Robitussin, but that has been my experience. I have known about drugs, what they can do and how prevalent that they are in the world today. I have heard and read about the profit realized from the sales and distribution of illegal substances, but you get older and forget.

Maybe this week-end summit in Colombia is a wake-up call for us "non-users, us tea tattlers," hell I don't even drink beer anymore. I don't know what we can do, I don't have a clue, I don't know who to talk with, who to contact, but one thing I do know, I don't want my grand babies exposed to the damn stuff.

I have.....in my lifetime, seen what drugs can do to people and what's worse, the lasting, long term effect(s). I had a dear, dear friend who was struck down with drugs, a highly educated, salt of the earth guy, who the last time I saw him was wondering around town looking completely spaced out.....he had lost himself completely to drugs.....how absolutely sad.

The long term effects on a person who uses drugs is a clinical question, to be answered by an expert, I have neither the expertise, nor the time to research the subject. I know that people who have used drugs have memory loss, trouble concentration and seem to suffer what I call the "sitting around and doing nothing syndrome."

Over the past 2 or 3 decades, profit has also wormed its way into the equation, not the drug dealers wallets, rather the judicial system of the U.S. and those people connected with law enforcement of the drug war.

Today America leads the world in incarcerated people, 7 in 10 are either in prison or under supervision for drug related infractions. The cost to house these people, the 7 out of the 10 convicts is staggering.....in the billions upon billions. In addition3 in every 40 people living in the United States has served time or are incarcerated today.

Another staggering statistic is the chance people have of going to jail for one reason or another.....but 7 out of those 10 arrests will be drug related. Add to the statistical parade is the fact that 20% of drinkers consume 80% of all alcohol and that 20% of drug users consume 80% of all the drugs in the United States.

In American today there are thousands of prisons, or people restraining buildings that generate billions of dollars of revenue and employ hundreds of thousands of people. For them, the war is a great study in futility that is like a cash cow for them.

Is the United States war on drugs working.....being won.....? Registering victories?  Absolutely not. The drug cartels have the weapons, the solders and the money to kick the crap out of whatever law enforcement does.

We simply choose to ignore what is right in front of our noses, who loses? Everybody. Who is exposed? My grand babies. What can we do, probably nothing, at least not until we wake up as a "people" not as a nation, or as countries.....we all need to come to the realization that the bad times are here with regards to the drug problems in our "world."

I have listed several thoughts for your consideration with regards to stomping out the drug problem, let me know if you agree:
1. Legalize marijuana, tax it, control sales
2. Outlaw all other drugs, shoot the dealers "to death" and send the users to a south sea island.....forever.

That's it, no long winded explanations, just the facts, as I see them.

DRIVE-BY UNITED STATES MEDIA

DRIVE-BY UNITED STATES MEDIA (Google News/Frazer Chronicle)

I must have missed something.....I was under the impression that the Keystone XL pipeline was on hold, that the tree hugging liberals, that the environmentalists "wackos" had won and the pipeline from Canada through the U.S. to the gulf of Mexico was at least on hold.

Several weeks ago I wrote a blog about how the press seemed to be digging up the dusty bones of the pipeline idea, so the issue could be re-examined, re-dissected and re-debated, "Geez… don't these guys ever get enough."

All the arguments are back, the increased employment of 20,000, the new roads, buildings, and fattening economies in the pipeline areas and states. It’s a well financed campaign by a country, Canada, and the oil industry to overturn President Obama's decision to "go slow."

Canada has said it will deliver its sand-oil to other countries for production, kind of like a professional sports team here in the United States threatening to move its sports franchise to a new location and venue.

The calendar date has changed, but it's the same tired argument as in the past, in fact these arguments have been used for decades and usually with winning results for whatever mineral removing companies were involved. It's a dangerous game that these industrial kings are playing, a game where the rules are bent which-ever way the kings may be favor.

The rules are what some would call the "blame game," blame everything that is bad about the issue on the President. Gas prices go up, Obama's fault; people out of work, the Muslim did it, cats and dogs living together, Obama's fault.

Actually, pumping sandy oil slush through a 3 foot round pipe is a relatively new idea that should be studied for as long as the study takes. Whenever you inject a sand-oil mixture, under high pressure, into a pipe that will travel more than 2000 miles, you open yourself up for all kinds of environmental possibilities.

I for one am glad that the President has decided to take it slow with regards to the proposed pipeline; it seems the germane thing to do. No matter whether the pipeline is approved or not, the price of gasoline at the pumps won't be altered, at least in the short term.

You people seem to understand so little about all the stuff that is swirling around your heads, it sometimes gives me a pain in my ass, prices are set by a bunch of different issues, none of which involves the President of the United States.

Letting a bunch of sand laced oil unto the Texan coast of the Gulf of Mexico will do little if anything with regards to the price of a gallon of gas at the pumps from Los Angles, to Boston, to Atlanta, to Chicago. The prices already have been regulated.

Why doesn't everybody simply back off, and let those powers that be.....do their collective job, it would make a tough issue so much easier for everybody. For news outlet to seemingly "hawk" an issue seems outrageous and manipulated.

Of course many of those dim-witted people out there might simply like the taste of petroleum laced water and the good things it does to your hair when you wash it.

TWO DEGREES OF STUPIDITY!

TWO DEGREES OF STUPIDITY! (Yahoo Sports/Frazer Chronicle)

Two jobs that many people in American would kill for, these two guys had it all, they were the "chief kahunas, the big cheese, legends in their own minds and masters of their domain(s)."  These 2 guys were making the big bucks with no whammies. Both had private secretaries, cars, trucks, motorcycles, beautiful women around for the taking and all kinds of possibilities that most of us can only guess about.

For one, the above is all gone, trashed by sheer stupidity and a longing for.....well, I'm not sure, some would say the "good life." Hell to me, that kind of "good life" tires me out just day-dreaming about it, I used to have bunches of "get-up-and-go," but that kind of emotion "got-up-and-left" long ago, especially once I woke up and discovered what I had right here at home was by far the best thing in the world for me.

Amidst all the "hub-bub" and the looking glass mentality of the press and people in general today, you'd think that people in the public eye might think before they either talked, made statements, or I guess had some sort of relations on a motorcycle. I mean, it just makes good common sense to me to look at the sidewalk before you take another step.

The Penn State disaster with Joe Paterno and Jerry Sandusky, or the University of Syracuse,  Jim Boeheim, Bernie Fine sex crime issues, come on boys, you'd think that guys in high places, representing either their schools, or the owners and other employees would "wise-up." Either not do this stuff, or not say anything about.....anything

But "oh no," indestructible, untouchable, above reproach and made of Teflon, these guys must think that their made of some sort of plastic. Actually what they are, is living in a bubble world, surrounded by adoring fans who lull them into a false since of security and every once in a while, when these people are held to the same standard as the rest of us, they get caught, crash and burn and then snap.

Arkansas Razorback football coach Bobby Petrino is the latest to toss himself under the bus, when he and a pretty blond employee missed a turn and crashed his motorcycle on.....April 1st, or "all fools day."

Petrino, following in the coach's handbook, deny, deny, deny, saying that he was the "only victim in the crash." Guess he forgot about the police report, which comes with every crash on a public highway.

Petrino.....8 days after the cycle mishap was fired from his head coaching job for lying to university officials about the accident. Seems as if coach Petrino had hired a former volley ball player, Jessica Dorrell on March 26th as a member of his coaching staff. It must have been coach Petrion's practice to give all new employees a cycle ride, but during the April 1st. ride a curve was not negotiated and the crash ensued.

Coach Petrino not only lost his position as football coach at Arkansas, but his wife's respect, maybe his wife,  as well as his 3 children's respect. In addition Arkansas opted out of having to pay the coach his annual salary which was the highest of any state official. Nice to see that Arkansas has it's priorities and heart in the right places.

The moral of this story, "if there is a moral,".....not to get caught with your helmet off, it'll cut down on head injuries.

OZZIE GUILLEN FLAPPED.....AGAIN!
You can't help but like the Miami Marlins baseball "skipper" Ozzie Guillen, he's always been a "player's manager," spoke his mind and is a top field manager. Guillen had a good job as the Chicago White Sox manager, won a world series championship back in '05 and had the Sox in a competitive mode throughout the latter part of the 1st. decade of the 21st. century.

Ozzie has had his run-ins with the Chicago media, calling a Chicago Sun Times writer a "fag," as well making statements about illegal immigrants and their work ethic,  refusing to take part in traditional visits to the White House, "after the 2005 world series victory."

Guillen also talked at length about the treatment of Latino players as opposed to Asian players and the translators that were provided them by their ball clubs. Ozzie did not however mention the old baseball adage about the language barrier in the game, "all a foreign player really needs to know is 3 outs, strike 3, ball four, hot dog, and hit the ball and run like hell."

What has gotten Guillen in hot water this time is his seeming love affair with Fidel Castro, when statements seemed to laud Fidel for staying in power for more then 50 years, in spite of the many attempts on his life.

Guillen's statements angered many Cuban-Americans in the Miami area so.....Ozzie apologized and asked for a second chance. Second chance.....second chance, surly you jest, Guillen doesn't need a second chance, he doesn't even need a first chance.....if that is possible.

Ozzie should have done his home work before he apologized, Fidel Castro was and is an amazing man and leader. He replaced a corrupt Cuban leader, Fulgencio Batista who himself was backed by Communists in the 1940 elections.

The 1901 Platt Amendment guaranteed  that Cuba was to be a free state through a representative democracy, independent from United States control.

In 1934, Cuba and the United States signed the Treaty of Reciprocity in which Cuba was obligated to give preferential treatment of its economy to the United States, in exchange the United States gave Cuba a guaranteed 22% share of the U.S. sugar market, which was amened to 49% in 1949.

Some Cubans lived under terrible conditions, slaving in the sugar fields, while the women worked as maids, waitresses and whores in the hotels. Castro and his people changed all of that during the late 1950's.

Castro turned to the Communists for help and support only because he couldn't very well turn to the United States who's fat cat industrial leaders were raking in the cash from sugar and the gambling Casinos.

Do I like Communism, of course not, does Ozzie Guillen, I don't think so, but there is always two sides to a story, and Ozzie Guillen or his comments didn't hurt anybody.....give it up.

However, from now on Ozzie, unless you're like me, retired and don't give a crap, maybe you should keep your "flap maker" shut. Sadly what you say does make a difference, even though your just a broken down old ball player

WEEK-END HEADLINES, WHAT A TREASURE TROVE!

WEEK-END HEADLINES, WHAT A TREASURE TROVE! (Frazer Chronicle)


What a treasure of week-end stories, a seeming never ending subject matter to read, to think about and, if you’re like me, to write about. Most of the stuff won't last, or the headlines or story lines will be altered to conform in the days and even weeks ahead. That’s the beauty of the current news gathering apparatuses across the world today; they can be changed on almost a moment’s notice.


Before we get started I guess I first need to take note of possible the greatest of seasons to write in, the spring time. Basketball and hockey are winding down at the professional level and their playoff series will soon begin and seemingly last until just before their training camps open.


College basketball, with all its divisions, 1, 2, 3, the different classifications, N.A.I.A. J.C. and a seeming never ending set of tournament games, division 1,2,3, the N.I.T. the Center Jump tournament, the 2nd best tournament, and the blind/deaf and can't walk playoffs.


N.C.A.A. hockey is almost as bad, with their divisions, again, 1,2,3, their different divisions and their "Frozen Fours" and their slap shot-shooting, break-aways, and penalty shooting, it's hard to keep track if all that is going on. "Good thing I'm retired," gives me the chance to keep up.


Not only are these sports winding down, the 162 game struggle that baseball season brings at the professional level begins, this season, over and over again. Whatever happened to the traditional Cincinnati opener in the Queen city?


Major League Baseball or MLB seems to be losing its grip on the very game that these people report about. Have you ever noticed the "wall to wall," or in this case, the "chalk-line to chalk-line" talk that goes on about every stinking pitch, from the pitchers aspect, the hitters’ aspect, to the managers and the coaches, to the fan in the stands. Every game is a single battle, with intricate moving parts, that dissected becomes more then itself and "morphs" into a life and death affair.


During my playing time, I played a little over 80 games in a single season and can tell you one thing, even at the low level that I was participating in, "every game was not a life and death struggle," we just wanted to get the damn thing over so we could go and drink beer.



Now the MBL opens their season on several fronts, Tokyo, Japan, and several cities in the United States before the "old traditional" game in Cincinnati. It's for the money.....I know, but isn't every home opener across the United States and Canada a financial success? Why not leave some things alone.....in honor of tradition.



Gee...professional sports weren't even a head-liner today, but I just felt like I needed to get my feelings out there. Like many of my readers, they are traditionalists and are as "peeved" about what is happening to the game that they love as I am.


Now on to the business at hand.....headlines over the week-end:


MAFIA'S SHADOW OVER ITALY FESTIVALS:

Well let’s see, I guess if the Italian Mafia wanted to “shadow" a festival, whatever that means, they could. Mean in excess of a hundred years, it's been their job, to shadow everything, life, death, business, parades, relationships and oh ya.....politics and the law. I know this, I watched Elliot Ness on television.


IN THE TITANIC WAKE 100 YEARS ON!

Once again, the hold that a tragedy has on people is ever amassing, at least to me. Now if you could drag up the old tub and dissect the remains that I would be interested in. But to re-watch any of the old movies, forget it. Kate Winslet did have a lovely body, and of course the scene where Jack," Leonardo DeCaprio" is painting her is my favorite, but one scene is not reason enough for paying to re-watch a movie.


U.S. POLICE TOOK CELLPHONE WITHOUT WARRENTS:

So, what’s your point, cops routinely take stuff, smash stuff, or confiscate crap every day just because.....they can, Go ahead, "make my day" or “try and do something about it.....punk."


GOP FAULTS OBAMA FOR ENERGY, KEYSTONE XL PIPLINE:

The last time I checked, President Obama was not on the board of directors of any of the petroleum companies in either the United States or any other country. Also the last time I checked, no sitting president had enough control to instantly change the price of gas at the pumps. You "drill baby drill" bunch ought to read just a bit more about what (might) happen it one of those Keystone pipes broke, ugly disaster, tremendous clean-up, and probable water contamination.


U.S. PLAYING CAT AND MOUSE WITH PAKESTAN:

Surely you jest......"I'm not kidding and don't call me Shirley."


WE WANT WAR AND WE WANT IT NOW:

I'm not kidding; I mean war.....right now.


RUNNING ON EMPTY:

Funds dry up, work centers struggle to remain open.....nation-wide.


FOREIGN PRESS SHOWN NORTH KOREAN ROCKET:

You show me yours, I'll show you mine!


Beauties huh.....and every one a real headline somewhere in the world this morning, it is true, a real story is stranger than fiction every time.

THOU SHALL NOT HIT CERTAIN AREAS OF MY BODY!

THOU SHALL NOT HIT CERTAIN AREAS OF MY BODY! (Frazer Chronicle)



Man, with all the talk going around today about A.C.L. hitting, "getting whacked on the outside of the knee," head hunting, or "knocking the snot out of goofy," "I just made the goofy one up," you'd wonder if these people were talking about a game, or going to war.



I of course have heard the phrase(s) "kill the bums," or "knock the bums out of the game," but I always thought those terms were just a figure of speech, a rallying cry to voice your support for the home team. I never really thought that the words meant anything more than that.



Now come to find out, we got this crazy guy, Gregg Williams running around the New Orleans Saints locker room setting up bounty payment scales for payments to players when a hit causes an opponent to be carted off the field. Wow, that is what I call hard core, or maybe a sick puppy, or a twisted individual with some survive emotional and mental problems that might need to be under the care of a doctor and a boat load of narcotics to settle the guy down.



This latest "brew ha ha" is absolutely nothing new, unless you figure that coach Gregg Williams was the very first to set up bounty payments for hits on opponents in the National Football League. Oh sure, today, there is more realization what individual players might mean to the overall stature of the N.F.L. you know, like those players that people actually pay for to see play.



But "hurt" in the N.F.L. has been going on for a long time, let's face it, some of these huge men are capable of breaking a guy in two pieces. And the mentality of some of these men, warped by years of illicit growth, and attitude enhancing drugs, come on "give me a break," wait, no I didn't mean that.



Like the man said, "my walk is not a swagger, it's an attitude," some of these big boys that make up N.F.L. rosters do have an attitude. Many are under the care of a coach, an assistant coach, a trainer, a personality coach and a keeper. If it weren’t for football, some of these guys would be dead or in jail for unspeakable crimes.



It's what makes up the "meat" of the National Football League rosters, these 6'-5" 300 pound men-child(s) capable of snapping a spinal column at any given second. Many of these guys are kept under control by assistant coaches; they aren't mentored by them.....but kept at "arm's length" and out of trouble.



I come from an area, Traverse City, Michigan where football is God, where Friday or Saturday nights in the fall-time of the year is not a season of turning leaves, and readying one's self for the winter, but for high school football.



Since 1975, Traverse City has produced 9 state football champions, 3 at the public school, 6 at the parochial school and 3 runner ups. These amazing won-lost records from a city that cites its population of around 15,000, bearing witness that in the fall, football is spoken there.



What does the Traverse City Trojans or the St. Francis Gladiators have to do with the New Orleans Saints or defensive coordinator Gregg Williams or head coach Sean Payton.....well, for one, they expect better from those people that they look up to. No cheating, no dirty play and for damn sure, no twisting the head off a running back or a wide receiver.



Good clean football, with hard tough tackling or blocking, but not with the idea that the play will cause injury or worse when after the play, players help one another up, and glad hand one another after the game.



There is no hate in football, just achiving goals through a "team concept," with the ultimate goal of winning for.....your team.



Winning isn't the only thing to be learned from the game of football, comradeship, fair sportsmanship, the joy of winning, with grace and also how to deal with losing.....with grace. Football sure as hell will teach you about how far you can go.....that extra mile to achieve.



Now that we have all that Pop Warner and high school crap done, we can get down to the real issues of why some people are so upset with Greg Williams and Sean Payton. They let the proverbial "cat out of the bag," unless you think that Mike Ditka, or Bill Parcels, or John Gruden, or a slew of other N.F.L. coaches haven't done the same thing with their approach to football.



Sunday N.F.L. football is the "show," it's about winning at any and all costs, it's about ratings, television "face" and the playoffs and the Super Bowl. Some guys will tear their arms off, or better yet, an opponents, to get to their goal.



Nobody should be surprised when he hears about a stupid coach saying things like Williams did, the surprise is that he got caught. The surprise is that he had to say anything to any of his players, remember Ndamuking Suh and his stomping of a Green Bay Packer player last season. Or was that a young man just losing control.


Sundays across America are like the Romans throwing Greeks to the lions in the Coliseum and waiting for the crowd cheering for their "champion" to slay whatever the enemy for the day is, shame on us all for expecting better from our fellow humans.