The "Keyboard Kommando Kulture"

I'd like to take a few minutes today to discuss something I've seen taking place pretty much my entire "career" on the internet...but for the last year or so and particularly within the last few months has reached epidemic proportions: The Keyboard Kommando.

What am I talking about, you ask? Let me define what a "Keyboard Kommando" is, and I think you'll see where I'm going from there. A Keyboard Kommando is a "netizen" who thinks it's perfectly OK to sit in the safety of their own home, behind the relative anonymity of a computer keyboard, and say the most outrageous of things. That's a Keyboard Kommando.

Now...please do NOT get me wrong...those of you that know me, know that I am a VERY strong proponent of "speaking your mind" and not necessarily pulling any punches when you do so. I am not only a "student" of the First Amendment of our Constitution...I am a fervent practitioner. That is NOT being a Keyboard Kommando, in my opinion. When you fervently believe what you are saying, and do so in a respectful manner, you are expressing your opinion, and I am beyond fine with that.

However...the Keyboard Kommando is a completely different beast from that. These are the people who say things that:

1. They would never in a million years say publicly
2. In the rudest possible manner they can come up with to say it
3. All the while not even necessarily BELIEVING the crap that is falling from their own mouths (or fingers, in this case)
4. They invariably fall back on their "right" to "free speech" whenever someone calls them on said crap
5. And to "cap off" how disgusting the practice is, completely oblivious to the stench of the crap as it falls from said fingers.

Here...let me give you an example of what I'm talking about. This fellow has taken the time to put together a compendium of FB posts and Tweets on various topics, the latest being the Steubenville rape case, on a website.

WARNING: prepare to be shocked, disgusted, dismayed, and generally despair for humanity reading some of these:

Public Shaming

See what I mean?

Try, just for a moment, to imagine being at a cocktail party and someone spewing this filth for everyone to hear. Hard to conceive isn't it? Because they WOULDN'T!!! Not without fearing someone absolutely knocking the living crap out of them for doing so!

What has caused this? And, more importantly, why is it just becoming more and more rampant? And most importantly, what can we do to reverse this trend, if anything? I'll try to tackle these questions in the remainder of this post...and look forward to your input as readers too, so please feel free to add your thoughts to the comments section here after you've finished reading my thoughts. I love putting my thoughts to "paper"...but I love more seeing your responses!

Cause and Increasing Prevalence

Just as with any other sociological issue, there is no one "cause". It's a complex mix of things, so I think I'm just going to do a sort of "laundry list" of what I think some of the causes might be, and let you decide from there.

• It's "safe"...or so they think. Relatively speaking, from behind a keyboard, in the comfort and safety of your own home, you can pretty much say anything and everything you want and "get away" with doing so. (Hence the term, "Keyboard Kommando"). Sure, you hear of the occasional person getting fired from their job...but most people have at least a subconcious belief that "ahh that won't happen to me...it only happens to idiots". Certainly, no one is going to come busting into their living rooms and give them a thorough beating for their crass heartlessness. (Although it would not surprise me to eventually read a news story on just such a thing happening.)
• We currently have a "public culture"...pioneered by the "shock jock" radio (bowel) "movement" that actually glorifies saying ridiculous things.
• We have a LONG standing love affair with our First Amendment right to freedom of speech, and in the last several years this "right" has become to be interpreted by many to think that they can say whatever they want whenever they want without repercussion
• Largely speaking, there are no real repercussions for saying such things. (I am glad to see that 2 girls were charged for making death threats via social media to the victim in the Steubenville rape case, but that's the exception, not the norm.) Look at all the posts on that website that are direct threats to the President of the United States, talking about assassinating him, and ask yourself the question: Why aren't the Secret Service knocking on these people's doors? They should be!
• In relation to my last bullet point...no one takes these sorts of posts "seriously". It's just "venting" or "blowing steam". This makes it more "acceptable".
• Generally speaking, I think parents in society as a whole are less mindful of teaching children the concept of speaking your mind while at the same time remaining respectful of others as you do so. And I think all of the prior bullet points I've listed are contributing factors as to why this is...with the "right to free speech" as the bedrock for allowing such crassness. Our culture celebrates the out-spoken...always has...and in general that is a good thing. The missing element in recent times is that key element of being respectful toward others as you are being out-spoken. Those of us are older, know full well that it is quite possible to do both. Our younger generations, for a variety of reasons, are either not being taught this lesson, or are simply not learning what they are being taught. I rather think it's the former of the two, but even if they are being taught, I think the poor examples I have listed here that they are seeing in society at large are over-riding what the parents are trying to teach.
• We are increasingly a society that does not have the respect for ourselves that we should have. We preach a good game...but we go about it in a lot of the wrong ways. I personally think that even the "it's our First Amendment right" is an attempt to teach self respect: "You should respect yourself enough to be able to speak your mind how and when you wish." But it's being taught the wrong way. We keep forgetting the age-old adage that "respect is a two-way street". And our kids are not catching that message. People, especially in early stages of maturity, are egocentric. They're going to assume that they deserve respect, and ignore that other human beings do as well. We need to change that.

Reversing the Trend

This is where it becomes even more tricky than enumerating the causes. The causes are becoming firmly entrenched in our society, and as we all know, entrenched attitudes...and mores in particular...are difficult to shed once entrenched. Let's give it a shot together though, shall we?

• Without doubt, I think the #1 thing we can do as thinking, caring, and respectful people is to call the ones who aren't all those things out on the carpet for their horrible behavior. Silence, in my book, is tacit approval. Only when we turn people into pariahs for these actions will anything change.
• Stop using the First Amendment as your excuse for being rude. On a personal level. If you don't do this, it obviously does not apply to you. But I think that pretty much all of us, at one time or another (and yes, I include myself in that group) have done so. Commit to never doing it again.
• Call out "celebrities" when they pull this crap. A friend of mine made a post earlier today about a comment Wendy Williams made on her show about Lindsay Lohan "getting away with it because she's white". While I think there's a lot of reasons why Lindsay gets away with her misbehaviour, I think the color of her skin is, at the very least, very far down that list. IF that were the reason for it, I think there's nothing wrong with pointing it out. But this is one of those cases where people are just saying outrageous garbage to hear themselves talk and garner attention. Those need to stop, and they need to be called out when they are made. Apparently, they even went so far as to delete every comment on their website that made any mention of the "it's racist" comment from Wendy. So...she knows what she said was wrong...make her pay for it by ostracizing her for doing so. Don't let her and others get away with it.
• At the top of this list of pariahs should be every "shock jock" of every ilk...whether ultra-right wing or ultra-left or anywhere in the middle. They can make their point without all the hatred and bile-spewing. I have hated this "genre" of communication from its inception, and can say with solid confidence that I saw almost all of what we are seeing as repercussions...the general hatefulness from it slowly permeating and poisoning our society as a whole. So much so that the up-and-coming prevalence of this genre, at the time, was instrumental in my leaving the industry when I did. (It wasn't the only reason, but it was definitely #1 on the list, even if I wasn't fully aware of that myself at the time.)
• Next on the list is all of the "reality" shows (another genre of communication/entertainment that I have despised from inception) that glorify confrontation. I know, I know...that's pretty much all of them. But I promise you...this is where our children are getting their worst examples of this. If you're going to watch these shows yourselves (for whatever reason), then at least do your children the favor of not watching them when they are around to be influenced by their glorification of all things rude. DVR it...watch it online after they go to bed...whatever. And forbid them to watch it on their own until they are old enough to understand that even though they're called "reality" shows...they are the furthest away from an example of how people in society should behave!!! 
• Teach your children well. Not just by telling them to be respectful, either. Show that respectfulness in your daily lives. As we all know, or should by now, the best way to teach, especially our young, is through example.
• Calling bad behavior out in others when you see it along with your child is key in that education of our children as well. If you're sitting there watching a TV program or you overhear a conversation along with your child...make a "teachable moment" of it...discuss with them why it's wrong...and why they should never do so themselves.

Well I think that covers the "high points". Again, I'd like to hear your views on this, but I'd also like to ask you to do me the favor of posting your thoughts in the comments here...and not on my FaceBook page. I use FaceBook as a means to get the link out to my audience, but I really prefer that my blogs not be discussed on FaceBook itself. I like to try and keep my FaceBook experience more one of fun and information, even though, as any of you who are friends with me there know, I do make my opinions known. That being said, I always try to do so in a respectful manner, and I would rather you have the option to express your opinions as you wish here, without any worries for whether you offend anyone, intentionally or otherwise. Given the topic at hand, I would like to think that you would not turn around and offend someone just for the sake of doing so...but I respect you enough to give you that freedom to do so here. Don't be surprised when I call you out on it, though. ;)

One more thing: Yes...the three "K's" in my title were intentional.....because the bile-spewing I see from Keyboard Kommandos, in my mind, is akin to the bile-spewing of a certain group that also uses those initials. The topic may be different, but the hatred remains the same...

Making the World Safe for Idiots

Yep...let's put "warning labels" on coke because some whack job drank 2 gallons of it a day and ended up dying at 31. (Let's ignore the fact that she also smoked a pack and a half a day, and, while not being judgemental about the fact...she had 8 kids. Having that many kids takes a toll on any woman's body, and then she added 2 addictions on top of that.)

Here's a better idea. Let's stop putting warning labels on anything. In this day and age...the "information age"...if you don't know something is bad/dangerous for you (i.e. using a hair dryer in the bathtub), then Darwin's law of "survival of the fittest" should just be allowed to kick in and wreak its havoc. I have said for many years that a large part of the problem with society today is that we've made it "safe for idiots". It's time for us to stop making the world safe for stupid people, and allowed for the natural "thinning of the herd".

We talk almost incessantly about the "dumbing down of society..." and yet in this instance we do everything imaginable to keep the dumb ones around. We have to create laws requiring people to wear seatbelts when every shred of research has shown that it saves lives...and yet people continue to drive without them, and even complain that the government is "in their business" and "over-stepping their bounds" by requiring them to do so. The same with helmet laws. You want to go against everything every intelligent person on the planet agrees is a safe course of action? Fine. Great. Awesome. Reap what you sow, "genius."

And let's face it...the ones that these "warnings" are aimed at are the stupid ones, remember? What makes you think:
a) that they're actually going to READ those warnings (and in many cases are even capable of reading)? Do you really think the 2-gallon a day coke drinker would have bothered reading a "warning" on her 20+ cans of coke per day?

b) they would have the sense to heed those warnings even if they did bother reading them? Literally millions of people get into vehicles all day every day and don't bother to put on their seatbelts, despite the fact that it's against the law to do so, and it has been proven over and over that wearing seatbelts saves lives.

So...let's get back to the way the world is supposed to work. Let Darwin do his handiwork. I guarantee you that within a generation the "average IQ" will jump a good 20 points. And that can only be good for society as a whole.

"Keep calm and......" Facebook's newest Yawnable Moment.

Let me start off by saying I'm not calm about this subject....

So the new "thing" I guess is to preface any random thought/feeling with "keep calm and....." ???
God can't anyone come up with something better? I mean seriously....
"Keep calm and move to Colorado..."
"Keep calm and love pitbulls...."
"Keep calm and ride a Harley..."
(just a few off the top of my head from the past few weeks.)

I'm being serious here...wtf is that supposed to MEAN?? That I can't move to Colorado unless I'm calm? Or that the only way to love pitbulls is to be calm? I can't ride a Honda and be calm?

This...thing. This...virtual place called FaceBook is seriously starting to erode what little faith I had left in the human race. It's done more to turn people into a herd of unthinking, unoriginal sheep/lemmings than any serruptitious drug any tyrannical government could have possibly dreamed of inventing. I go entire days...weeks...and probably even MONTHS, in some instances, seeing posts from many people that don't tell me a damn THING about what's actually going on in their lives, because it's nothing but a damn copy/paste/share from some site that they "think" is funny/insightful/whatever.

I joined Facebook to find out what my friends and family were doing. What was going on in their lives. And to share the same about me with them. Not to turn my life into an eternally-scrolling-by billboard full of trite and boring "isms." Don't get me wrong...these things are ok, using in sparing, infinitesimally small doses. They're boring as hell if you're posting more than 3 of them a day. It's just that no one wants to "hurt your feelings" by telling you so. Well guess what? I'm telling you so. Boring. As. Hell.

And if I've "offended" you because you've posted one or more of these "Keep calm and" things? Or because all you ever do is come on here and hit "share" on 30 different things in under ten minutes? GOOD. That was my intent. You're quickly going to find your way into my "delete" pile in 2013 anyway...so if I'm going to delete you anyway, I might as well offend you on your way out my door.

Why is my brand-new computer so blinkinblankinfrickinfrackin SLOW???

OK...here's a blog post I probably should have done a long time ago and just never got around to doing. This started out as a response to a friend's question on FB and quickly turned into a book so I figured rather than clog up my friend's newsfeed with it, I'd kill two birds with one stone and "share" it with all my other friends via a blog post.

In my years working with computers, both on a hobby level and running my own computer repair business, probably one of the most common questions/problems my friends and customers have had is this:

"I've got this brand new computer and it's not working the way I think it should! I've got a terabyte of memory, it shouldn't do that!"

So, here's the first problem...the end user commonly confuses "memory" with "hard drive space." (I can always tell by the # quoted.) Memory and hard drive storage are two completely different beasts, serving completely different functions.

Here's an analogy to the "analog" world I always share to explain the difference:

Think of "memory" as the "inbox/outbox" on your old fashioned analog world desktop. It's the stuff you're currently working on...taking stuff in and out of it...but it's nice and handy so you don't have to expend the extra energy (computing power) to walk over to your...

"Hard drive space"...the 4 drawer file cabinet of your analog world. This is "stuff" you're mostly already done with, but need to keep around for reference use at other times. In the digital world this consists of documents, videos, pictures...anything you have "stored" or "saved" or "downloaded."

Memory is in use for anything that is currently running on your computer (the inbox/outbox on your desk). So whatever programs (or documents, or videos or music or websites) that you are actually USING on the computer are held in memory so they're nice and handy...you don't have to sit and wait while the computer uses resources to pull them off of the hard-drive (or walk over to the file cabinet, dig through all your files, and find that particularly one you need and bring it back over to your desk.)

Now, that being said...memory can easily get clogged up on even a new computer for a variety of reasons. The most common one is, you've got this brand new "smokin' fast" machine and  you have more expectations of it than it is actually capable of handing. "This baby can do ANYTHING!" And yes, to an extent, you are right...especially when you compare it to the old POS you probably just threw out (or handed down to your poor unsuspecting kid/grandkid/niece/nephew). But even the newest fastest computers have their limitations. (Just because I replaced my Gremlin with it's top speed of 60mph with a brand new Mercedes E class doesn't mean my top speed is now the speed of light. Get it?) So if you're not actually using a program and won't be for a bit, go ahead and close that baby out. It will clear out your inbox/outbox and improve performance of the machine overall.

The other "biggy" with new computers is that the major manufacturers just LOVE to clog them up with useless applications that *automatically* start running in the background as soon as you turn your computer on. It's actually a "good thing" for the end user in that those software companies generally have paid the manufacturers for the "privilege" of being included on their new machines, and this in turn keeps the overall cost of that computer down for us the consumer. Think of it as a "subsidy" helping you pay the actual cost of your computer.

BUT...guess what? All those programs running in the background are taking up MEMORY! And thereby slowing down that brand-spanking-new-blazing-fast computer of yours! Imagine loading up the trunk of your brand-new Mercedes E class with a load of bricks. Think that's gonna slow down the performance of your "new baby" a bit? Of course it is! And for no particular reason! Look down there by your system clock.

 See all those little icons there? Each one of them represents a program that's running in the background...and slowing things down! Each one represents a brick in the trunk of your Mercedes! As an example, most new computers have a "print monitor" program sitting in the system tray. Why? Do you print non-stop? No? Then shut it off! When you hit "print" on a document...guess what? It's going to open that program anyway! Will you have to wait a second or two for it to start? Of course you will...but the savings of a few seconds of time waiting for it to open is NOT worth the performance hit your computer takes by having it run constantly in the background!

Yeah yeah I know...your next question is "So how do I turn that stuff off???" The common way is to right-click that little icon in the system tray and hit "close program" or "exit" or whatever option it gives you to shut the software down. Problem with that is...those darn software developers and computer manufacturers...they're sneaky! The software developers have paid for that software to be there...so they want it "in your face" as much as possible. Free advertisement! And the hardware manufacturers...well...they want their customers (no, NOT you, for God's sake! The software developers!) to be happy...so they oblige. They've given your computer specific instructions to automatically start that program every time you turn your computer on! So the next time you turn your computer off and back on, all those programs that you right-clicked and exited from are going to load themselves right back into your system memory.

So let me show you the easy way. Click, the "start" button and depending on your operating system you're going to either click on "run" or click into the "search" box and type "msconfig" and click the tab over toward the right labelled "startup". You will see this:

See all those checkboxes? Each one is a program that potentially loads whenever you start your computer. Uncheck as many as possible. The only one you REALLY need running is your anti-virus software. The rest, for the most part, can be unchecked. In fact, while typing this, I see a couple that sneaked their way in there that I can uncheck. Can you guess which ones? If you chose AdobeARM, GoogleUpdate and FacebookUpdate, you are correct Sir/Madame!

You'll also see a few that don't really make a whole lot of sense...like the "ctfmon" one in this example. Sometimes looking at the information to the right can help you, but if it doesn't, then the "rule of thumb" is to just leave it checked. Generally speaking, you can't really "hurt" anything by unchecking startup software, but better safe than sorry. You should be able to find plenty to uncheck in there to help save on system resources that you don't have to worry about leaving a few checked.

When you're done hit the "apply" button and "close". You'll get a message telling you that changes won't take place until you reboot. You can either reboot right then or wait until next time you go to shut down your computer. Doesn't matter. And when you reboot the computer you will probably get another message saying you've run the program and blah blah blah. Just hit "don't show this again."

There...now you've been given a quick tutorial on the difference between hard drive space and memory and what it means for your computer's performance, along with some tips on how to improve said performance. Hope you paid attention...there'll be a quiz later!

A Matter of "Demographics"?

Hello everyone. Been awhile since we spoke. Most of you know I've had more pressing personal issues to deal with.

I see much ado being made today about "demographics" being the "issue" for the Republican party. I think looking at their "problem" as just being one of "demographics" is a bit self-deluding. It is, to an extent, about "demographics"...but their issue is not that they don't appeal to a broad enough demographic...it's that they have chosen to appeal to a very narrow demographic.

John Danforth saw the hand-writing on the wall seven years ago...

There are two key quotes from the article itself I want to bring to focus and elaborate upon:

"When government becomes the means of carrying out a religious program, it raises obvious questions under the First Amendment. But even in the absence of constitutional issues, a political party should resist identification with a religious movement. While religions are free to advocate for their own sectarian causes, the work of government and those who engage in it is to hold together as one people a very diverse country. At its best, religion can be a uniting influence, but in practice, nothing is more divisive. For politicians to advance the cause of one religious group is often to oppose the cause of another." (emphasis mine)

When the Republican Pundits shout out that their problem is a problem of "demographics"...they are being disingenuous both with themselves and with those would do what they can to help the Republican party not continue to see the sorts of embarrassments they saw at the polls on Tuesday. They deliberately chose the demographic, as Senator Danforth points out, based on early successes they saw by doing so. But the pendulum has swung the other way. The choice is now hurting them more than it's helping. And the only way to reverse that trend is to unchoose that demographic.

They need to get back to core Republican beliefs...fiscal conservatism and keeping government out of your daily life. What has really killed them, in my estimation, is that while they spout those two key principles out of one side of their mouths, when it comes to actually doing the work of governing, they work at exactly the opposite. Pushing legislation that, rightly or wrongly, women have seen as declaring a "war" on their rights. Trying to tell people who they can and cannot fall in love with and marry. And at the same time virtually ignoring the bigger issues of ever-growing spending, poor unemployment numbers, etc. etc. etc. The outright hypocrisy of spouting those two key Republican pillars while actually working for just the opposite is not lost on the average voter.

Senator Danforth goes on to say in the article:

"As a senator, I worried every day about the size of the federal deficit. I did not spend a single minute worrying about the effect of gays on the institution of marriage. Today it seems to be the other way around."

This is by far the most salient point of Senator Danforth's article...and until the Republican Party "gets it"...they are only going to keep seeing the sorts of defeats they saw on Tuesday.

Dear Mr. Romney: Here's a job offer for you.

Since you have obviously kissed off any chance you might ever have had to be the President with your idiotic 47% remark, and will therefore not have much to do come the second week of November, I'd like to make you an offer:

Come be me.
Just for a week.

I don't even want to "trade you places," mostly because if being born with a silver spoon in your mouth requires having your head up your ass in perpetuity, I want no part of that.

So, what's it like to be me? Well, I got a pretty good job about eight months ago, so that's a good thing. I had been feeling bad for a few months before that, but, despite the excruciating pain, I just chalked it up to a fairly common ailment that lots of people have. Let's just say a tell "tale" sign of the ailment is the rubber ring that people afflicted by it sit on. I figured it would be all good while I waited out the 2 months for my insurance to kick in and then I'd go see the doc and get it "taken care of." (What I did not do was rush off like one of your "victims" to an emergency room and expect to suck off your disdained "government teat.")

It was all good...I sat through my month-long, 8 hour a day training (notice: sat), and barely made it to "that" day when my insurance kicked in. I only had 1 episode of pain so excruciating that I physically blacked out sitting at my desk at work. And I finally made it to a doctor without having to worry about how I would pay for the bill. Yep, sure enough, 8 weeks after that first doctor visit, it was "taken care of." The chemo and radiation had knocked that cancer right out of my ass. Literally.

Of course, I didn't get to work any of that time, but it was OK. My employer was awesome about my time away and greeted me back with open arms. I found ways to "get through" that two months of no pay without becoming one of your "victims," and went back to work. I'm just very fortunate that way.

Today, as I write this, I am sitting at the doctor's office, waiting to hear from him how we're going to battle with round two of  cancer for me. I've been off work again going on three weeks with it now, and we haven't even started the battle. If I'm lucky though, this time, I'll be able to draw my short-term disability insurance, so at least I'll get 1/2 pay instead of no pay. But in the meantime, all those bills I thought I would be able to catch up on when I went back to work are mostly still there, and the pile is again steadily growing by the day.

So, come be me Mitt. By the time the election is over, I should be towards the end of whatever treatments I'm going to get this round, so you will step into the shoes of a man who feels like walking from the kitchen to the living room of his tiny apartment is  like running the Boston Marathon. (Something your running mate should be able to tell you all about, right?)

Sorry for the interruption, doc wanted to go over "the plan." The plan is to pretty much kick my ass with chemo every four weeks for the foreseeable future, Mitt. He didn't put any kid gloves on. It's gonna kick my ass even worse than the last set of treatments, and let me tell you, boy, those treatments kicked my ASS. 
And the best I can hope for is a good, long remission if the treatments work.

Yeah, this time around I'm gonna have to be one of those 47% moochers you love so well, buddy. If you haven't done the math so far, I've been off work more than on so far this year, and I don't see myself being able to get back to it any time soon. (Because that's just how us moochers are, you know). So yeah, I'm going to prop my head up with a pole if necessary to research what I need to do to get whatever assistance I can. I'm going to be one of those moochers that you so flippantly write off when you're joking with your billionaire buddies over a dinner that you charged them fifty grand for, Mitt. Fifty grand for the honor of hanging out with the likes of you. Fifty grand so you can mooch off them instead of digging into your own overflowing pockets.

So....come be me, Mitt. There's only 2 conditions: 1) you can't bring your money and 2) you can't be me without the cancer, so you have to take that as part of the deal too.

Let's see if it takes even a full week for you to change your mind about who's a "victim" and a "moocher." 

Bet it don't........

Series, Part 2: Taking Back Our Government (Part 1)

Okay folks, remember those "insurmountable tasks" I referred to in my introduction to this series? Here's the first, most insurmountable, and yet most absolutely critical task we need to undertake in order to take our country back from those who have usurped it:

1. Abolish ALL private funding of political campaigns, replacing it with limited PUBLIC funding.

Just absorb that for one moment. Read it again, if you need to do so.

I would submit to you that the number one reason we no longer have a government "by the people" is that our politicians are willing to sell their souls to whatever devil has the money in hand to finance their election and re-election campaigns. Neither I nor 90% of the people living in this country have the financial capability to influence a politician's thinking. So, effectively, this country is being run by that 10% (or less) who does. That's not government "by the people..."

And I know what you're thinking "Seriously? You want me to pay MORE in taxes to finance these thugs' election campaigns?" It's a simple choice, my friends. Either you let them keep being bought and sold by special interest groups who NEVER have your best interest at heart, OR, you make them beholden to every single taxpayer in this Country just by upping your taxes a few dollars a year! I'd pay the extra taxes to get my government back, wouldn't you? The key would be to sharply limit how much any politician received. If you're running for a local office, you get XXXX amount of dollars. If you're running for state, you get XXXXX. Federal, XXXXXX. And not a dime nor even a PENNY shall you spend beyond that which you receive from the taxpayer. Not your own money, not anyone's money but what is allotted to you by the public coffers. And, I would further argue that giving them a flat, taxpayer-funded amount would virtually eliminate any and all "thugs" considering a run for public office.

Our current system of campaign finance is nothing short of legalized, thinly-disguised bribery. You know this, I know this, the people doing the bribing know this, and most acrimonious of all...the politicians know this.


And therein lies the rub, doesn't it? We're going to have to find some way, as citizens, to make this become the law of the land. Because we all know there's not a single politician, from the local city board all the way up to the White House, "left" "right" or "in between" that would ever vote "yea" on a bill that would enact this as law. Hell, you'd be hard-pressed to find a politician who would even propose such a bill with a straight face!

I'm not going to tell you I know how to make this happen...because I don't. But for anything else to be accomplished, this must be the first step.

Series, Part 1: The Common Sense, No B.S. Way to Fix This Country

So, I've had some discussions in the recent past about politics, both about specific situations, and things in general. My conclusion is that while we all may have our disagreements on exactly what needs to be done ideologically to get this country back on the right path, we have FAR more common ground as citizens than you would think if you were just to watch the political shenanigans coming out of Washington D.C. ("District of Criminals," as one of my friends so aptly put it the other day...don't even recall who but I thought it was hilarious.)

During one of these conversations we were discussing how real change could be brought about in this country. I think I have some pretty solid ideas on how that can happen. The person I was conversing/debating with made the very apt point that "you're telling all this to someone who absolutely cannot do anything about it." So I'm taking up that challenge. I'm going to write a series of blogs on the steps I feel are necessary to get this country back to where it should be. I will tell you up front that most of these things have nothing to do with being Liberal or Conservative, Democrat or Republican, Christian or Atheist. These are all ideas and ideals that we can get behind as Citizens.


And so that I won't be just "...telling this to someone who absolutely cannot do anything about it," I intend to forward links to my blog to both houses of Congress, the White House, and the major media outlets as I complete them. Will it do any good? Perhaps not. But at least I'm making the effort at having my voice heard.

The "mainstream politicians" have usurped and sold out the ideal of a government "by the people, of the people, and for the people," and we are the only ones...you and I...Joe and Mary Citizen, who can get that back. I will not deceive you...I will tell you from the outset that it will not be easy. In fact, some of the things I will propose will seem insurmountable hurdles. But you know what? Go ask one of the Founding Fathers the definition of "insurmountable!"

Why are we so easily distracted by side shows?

Tweeted pictures of Weiner's Weiner: When there are untold numbers of women abused, tortured, enslaved and murdered around the world on a daily basis. We have the power to stop it, and we do next to nothing to do so.

Caylee Anthony: When there are untold numbers of children abused, tortured, murdered, starved (intentionally or through poverty), living on the streets. We have the resources to end *all* of it, and we do next to nothing.

Lindsay Lohan behaving like a 2 year old (and boy don't we let her have it for doing so?). When we are raising our own children to expect that everything will be handed to them and they will never be told "no" (not by our words of course...we preach a good game...but by our actions.)

I could go on and on, but hopefully you get the picture.

These circus side shows are mirror reflections of what our society is spiraling down into...and as such should be a wake-up call to much broader action

But instead...they're just distractions that keep us from having to deal with the reality.

We watch "reality" shows to avoid dealing with REALITY.

We obsess over the symptoms...while totally ignoring the causes AND the solutions.

Because "smh" is the EASY thing to do......

If I were the President's speech writer....

This is the speech I would write for tomorrow:

3 years and 8 months ago, your government stood on this very ground and promised you that they would bring the perpetrators of this atrocity to justice. On Sunday, your government made good on that promise.

And the message rings clear around the world:

No matter who holds the office, when we promise the citizens of our country justice,  no matter how long it takes, we will deliver on that promise.

Ok. I will take you at your word that "birther" does not equal "rascist"

I don't know you from Adam or Eve, as the case may be, but I believe you. Just because you are a "Birther" does not mean you are "Racist".
Despite the fact that every "Birther" piece of evidence has been consistently and convincingly debunked, right up to and including the President of These United States being "forced" to "show his papers" for the first time in the history of this country. Despite the fact that within minutes of him producing it people were denouncing it as a forgery, moving on to demand his college transcripts while brushing aside the whole birth certificate thing with an "oh well gee I guess we were wrong on that one but what about THIS one?" In full face of the fact that the whole point of the "Birther Movement" is to de-legitimize the man as being "not one of us" and "not worthy of being President of our country"...to "take back our country" (from "them").

In full face of all of that, I will concede that just because you are a "Birther" does not make you a "Racist."

What it makes you is a sadly misinformed, incurably gullible dupe of a small cadre of racists who have spent millions of dollars and man-hours to perpetuate the myth of the "Birther Movement" in an effort to distract you from the fact that they are systematically raping this country of everything it has ever stood for.

What I Believe

Someone recently asked me, in the context of religion, the essence and existence of Mankind..."what do you believe?"

Before I tell you what I believe, I will say this: I am not so pretentious as to present my thoughts as original or revolutionary. Or for that matter, as the "Ultimate Truth." It is just what I believe.

There are 2 major tenets to my belief:

1) Whatever it takes for you to treat people with kindness...with utmost respect...to never intentionally do any harm, either physically or mentally, to another person...to place the well-being of others above your own when necessary...that is what you should believe.

What do I mean by that, you ask? (I thought you never would!)

I mean this:

If it takes the threat of Eternal Damnation in all 9 circles of Hell for you to do all the things I enumerated in #1, then that is what you should believe.

If it takes the promise of an Eternal Paradise to do all the things I mentioned in #1, then that is what you should believe.

If it takes the certain knowledge that Karma will have its way with you if you do (or do not) follow the ways outlined in #1, then that is what you should believe.

If you believe that as highly evolved, higher thinking, higher functioning Beings that #1 is the only logical path to follow, then that is what you should believe.

2) In complete harmony with #1, you should never try to impose your beliefs on anyone else.

My take on the Christina Aguilera/National Anthem Debacle

Well the SuperBowl is over and people my age and older are already asking "who played who in the SuperBowl?" But the world (sarcasm) is still abuzz about the "atrocity" wreaked by Xtina. So here's my buck-and-a-half on the topic.

First let's let's enumerate the criticisms:

1. She "forgot" the words
2. She butchered the melody

Okay...to point one I have a couple responses:

1. SO WHAT??? She's not the first to do so, and she most definitely will NOT be the LAST to do so! Don't believe me? Go Google "National Anthem Bloopers" Heck...even the venerable "Hi-De-Ho" man himself, Cab Calloway flubbed miserably in a performance of the Star Spangled Banner.
2. I would submit to you, as a musician, that she did not "forget the words"...what she actually did was lose her place in the song. Now, you could argue "what's the difference?" and I would tell you there is a huge difference, and any musician can tell you the same. The case can also be made that the reason she lost her place was because she was so damn busy butchering the song that she wasn't concentrating on where she was in the song. I would not necessarily argue with you on that point.

To point two, I have a single response:

1. Yep, you're right. She butchered it. But for anyone to say that she got up there and sang with the intent of being disrespectful in her performance is absolutely ludicrous. Unfortunately, her "career" has been made on her ability to perform "vocal gymnastics." So much so that she is well on her way to having ruined her singing voice doing so, and at the ripe old age of 30! Again, speaking as a musician, I truly feel sorry for her. She doesn't even really know how to "sing from her heart." All she knows is that the more embellishment she throws in, the more her records sell. At least up until now. So she got up there and gave what she thought her "fans" would want to hear: Senseless, meaningless, embellishment sung with absolutely no heart and no soul behind it. Truth be told, if you want to "blame" someone, blame the people who made her famous for her vocal style to begin with: her fans!

Now...to address the "backlash" from her performance. The vast majority of people, myself included, thought it was an absolutely abysmal performance. What bothers me, though, is the knee-jerk reaction of so many people screaming "just sing it STRAIGHT!" or "how disrespectful" or "what a disgrace for our country." I've already discussed the "disrespectful" aspect, so I'll discuss the other two here.

The only person "disgraced" by that performance was: Christina Aguilera. Well, and maybe the person who's idea it was to have her sing at the superbowl. And, well, maybe, her parents. Anyway, the nation is not disgraced by her performance. Get over it!

"Just sing it straight." Oh my goodness are you KIDDING me???? Ok...let's just say, for example, that the average person attends some gathering where the SSB is performed, what? 10 times a year? 15? For people who hold season tickets to major sporting events, you can double and even triple that. Can you imagine, if every performance were "note for note" with the original music? Stadiums everywhere would be filled with snoozing people before the game even started! Seriously...let's face it...no matter how patriotic you are...no matter how much  you love your country...the melody of the SSB is...well...let's just say it's "plain." So if for no other reason than to keep people awake...embellishment should occur.

To me, the whole "sing it straight" mentality is a false outrage. With all the other problems this country has, you're going to get all worked up about a single (admittedly distasteful) rendition of the National Anthem? Come on now...come on back to earth and join the rest of us earthlings, please? Channel that false outrage into doing some good in this world.

Not only that, but, last I checked...we live in the "Land of the Free," right??? I mean...it even says so right there in the SSB itself! So, why shouldn't a performer have the freedom to inject their heart, soul, and personality into our very own National Anthem? There is absolutely nothing "disrespectful" in doing so. In fact, I would submit to you that there is nothing more "American" than adding embellishment to music in general, and that includes the SSB. After all, the original "uniquely American" music...Jazz...is built on embellishment and improvisation. The key here being that it be done in a tasteful manner and more importantly: from the heart. Two things completely lost on Xtina. She has no concept of the term "tasteful," and her idea of "from the heart" translates as "let's see how much shit I can throw in for the sake of throwing it in..."

Whitney Houston's rendition of the SSB for SuperBowl 25 is considered by many to be one of the most heart-warming performances of the tune in modern times. Personally, it still gives me goose-bumps every time I hear it! Why? Not just because of it's musicality...but because the heart and soul she puts into that performance. Go watch the video and notice the look of sheer joy on her face as she's singing that song! I bet if we were to ask her...she probably looks on that performance as not only one of her best...but one of her personally proudest moments as well. Those who know me know that I am a huge fan of hockey, and particularly the St. Louis Blues. One of the BIG reasons I love going to a Blues game is to hear Charles Glenn performing the SSB before the game. He has a wonderful voice and while each performance is similar, (because that's his "style") I've never heard him sing it the exact same way twice. And just like Whitney's famous version, you can hear Charles's heart and soul in every note...and see the joy on his face as he performs!

So, to all you who say "sing it straight" I say, "stop being un-American."

Do people actually believe this junk???

Well I haven't blogged since Christmas...so I guess it's time. Well, that and I just read quite possibly THE worst analogy I've ever read in my life...so I have to comment. It's short and sweet, trust me. (Not the analogy...my comment on said analogy.)


So my nominee for the world's worst analogy?


"Being in a bad relationship is like trying to dance in shoes that don't fit... once you find a shoe that fits, everything else falls into place."


RIGHT...because, just like a relationship...becoming an accomplished dancer requires NO skill...NO practice...NO dedication...NO sacrifice...NO patience....no NOTHING....just....SHOES.


Told you it would be short and sweet. Oh well....I got the short part down, I guess. One out of two's not bad.....

A Special Christmas 2010 Blog: The Case for Santa...

You know, there's been a "debate" going back and forth for several years now as to whether it's a good thing or a bad thing to let your children believe in Santa Claus. Don't believe me? Just take a quick glance through this google search:

Should Kids Believe in Santa?

What stuns me the most about this is that I know "devout" Christians who absolutely refuse to let their child believe in Santa. Wow.

So, I'm going to keep this brief , but I'm going to present what I feel is a pretty clear-cut case in defense of Santa.

1. Children have a sense of wonder about the world that we, as adults, almost without fail, lose as we grow up. It's truly sad when you stop to think about it. Very few things "take our breath away" as adults. While as children, every new thing they come across fills them with wonder! Why, as a society, are we increasingly taking our children's childhood away from them? I was at a store the other day looking over new cell phones (not that I wanted to buy one, I'm a geek...I just like looking at them!) and a woman was standing there debating with a clerk what phone and plan she should buy for her seven year old daughter! Really? While I could go on forever about why no seven year old child "needs" a cell phone, the most pressing argument against it, in my opinion is this: let them be a kid! All too soon they will be an adult who on many many many occasions will wish they could just pitch that stupid thing into a river! Seven year old kids aren't supposed to be talking on cell phones...they're supposed to be playing with dolls, or tonka trucks, or sledding down a steep hill, giggling so hard they can't catch their breath by the time they reach bottom. Just generally being a kid and doing kid things! (Side note: I became so infuriated standing there listening to that woman debate what her 7-year old child "needed" in a cell phone that I had to walk away before I lit into her...)
2. A child's world is rife with fantasy anyway. Imaginary friends. Fairy tales. You name it, kids live and love fantasy. It is perfectly normal, and perfectly healthy for children to fantasize. Why deny them Santa Claus? He teaches the single most important quality of Human Kind: The concept of giving and caring for others. It seems that one of the basic "reasons" for parents not allowing children to believe in Santa is that as a parent, you have to "lie to your children." Are you kidding me? Really? This is such a specious argument, in my opinion. When the child gets old enough to start being skeptical that there is a "real" Santa, they are maturing enough to understand that, while Santa is based on a real person, the concept of Santa...that we should be caring and giving individuals...that those who do good things are rewarded in return...is what "believing" in Santa is all about. Will they be disappointed that there's no "real" Santa? Probably. But guess what...it's another lesson that is important for every child to learn as they begin to mature: life has its disappointments! 
3. Santa is the MAN. 'Nuff said!

So parents, on this Christmas Day, 2010, I encourage you...I implore you...do not deny your child the sense of wonder, the feeling of belonging to a Human Race that cares for each other, the sheer joy of believing that yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus!

May your life be filled with "Santa Claus Moments."

The Alleged "War on Christmas"

Much is made around this time of year about the "War on Christmas." This supposed "war" has been taking place for many years now. It started many years ago with "the enemy" using the abbreviation of "X-mas" in an effort to "Take Christ out of Christmas." I'm not going to repeat work that's already been done for me...go read this link that pretty much completely debunks that "battle":

"X-mas" Abbreviation myth debunked

The next great "battle" waged against X-mas was the "forcing people to say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas". Again, I will not re-invent the wheel....

Home Depot "bans" the word Christmas from its website...debunked.
Target "bans" use of word "Christmas"...debunked!

A recent iteration of this particular "battle" I will return to in great detail later in this post.

Let's turn to the latest "battle" in the "War on Christmas." Obstructionist members of Congress are now bemoaning that having to actually do some sort of work in this last two weeks before Christmas is somehow sacrilegious and/or an affront to the "most holy" of Christian Holidays. My first thought when I heard this was "wow, do these idiots not smell the stench of the crap that's falling out of their mouths??"

But I can't just leave it at that, can I? Of course not! There's just way too much hypocrisy to shove back down their throats. So let's make a detailed list of just how hypocritical such a statement is:

1. And I put this as number 1 for a reason, though the rest of the list will be somewhat random in order: Dear Congress: Are you aware that the vast majority of working people in this country have to work right up until Friday, December 24th, and will return to work on Monday, December 27th, if not sooner? And there are even people who have to work on the actual day of Christmas itself? If their jobs are that important, what in God's name makes you think yours isn't??? And while you're at it, go ahead and whine to the tens of thousands of men and women in our armed forces who will be thousands of miles away from their loved ones on Christmas...and working to boot! Go ahead...I DARE YOU! And let's not forget about the 10% of this country's population who wish they had a job that forced them to work right up to Christmas!
2. "We can't run a piece of legislation with such importance to National Security (START Treaty) through Congress in a few days without full deliberations." Uhm...yeah...The Prez signed that treaty in June. You've had six months to review it, send your questions to the White House, and have every one of them answered.
3. "We can't pass a Trillion-dollar Omnibus bill filled with Pork in a few days time without full deliberations." Oh...you mean that Omnibus bill that was a bi-partisan effort and has a really large chunk of Pork requested by you in it??
4. Where was your concern for working up until Christmas over the past year while you were using every foot-dragging tactic you could dream up to keep from having to do any work, or take any responsibility, for doing the job you were elected to do?
5. A quick glance at this Timeline search on Google shows that it is not unusual for Congress to work up until the 22nd or 23rd of December: Congressional Christmas Adjournment Timeline Search. *checks calendar* Oh...yeah...today's the 17th!!!!!

Okay, I think that's enough rubbing of their noses in the crap falling out of their mouths. Now let's turn to what's really got under my skin recently about the so-called "War on Christmas." And I will say up-front it will probably make people who have "said" these words grind their teeth...and perhaps never speak to me again. I'm ok with that.

Anyone who uses FaceBook on a regular (or even semi-regular) basis knows that it's really popular to post cut-and-paste status messages. While I generally hold a dim view of such status messages (see my previous post A Nation of Lemmings), I am particularly irked by this one, for different reasons:

We Can't say MERRY CHRISTMAS anymore, We Now Say HAPPY HOLIDAYS ! We Can't call it a CHRISTMAS TREE, We Now Call It a HOLIDAY TREE, Because it might offend someone! They call it CUSTOMS, We Call it TRADITIONS. This is OUR COUNTRY! If U Wanna Live & Work here have Some RESPECT! If U Don't like it, TOO BAD! GO HOME! If you agree with this, PLEASE post as your status. OH, By the way.☆※◦MERRY CHRISTMAS!!


First of all...yes you CAN. You can say "Merry Christmas." You can call it a "Christmas Tree. You see, we have this thing in this country called the First Amendment that gives you the right to say just about anything you want to say. Including "Merry Christmas." So the basic premise of this statement is just patently false.


Secondly, the back half of this post should completely offend your sensibilities as an American. I am going to completely skip the whole customs vs. traditions statement as it makes no damn sense whatsoever!  I am, however,  going to address every statement of the back half of this blurb, one by one.

1. "This is OUR COUNTRY!" Yes...it is. OUR country. Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, etc, etc, etc. This country has spent well over 200 years growing as a Melting Pot of people of all faiths, nationalities, and races from all over the world. Every "faction" of people who have come to this country has had influence on what we have become. For a Christian to claim it as "our country" is so offensive to me that I literally have to rinse the bad taste of it out of my mouth. Oh...and btw...I was born, raised, and still consider myself...a Christian!
2. "If you wanna live & work here have some RESPECT". For what? Someone who insists that I kowtow to the concept of a country that they "OWN"???
3. "If you don't like it, TOO BAD! GO HOME!" Really? You're telling all the non-Christians who live in this country to "go home"? Even though their families...just like yours...may have been here for 3, 4 and 5 generations? This IS their home...just as much as it is yours!
4. "If you agree with this (blah blah blah)": after reading points 1, 2, and 3...Congratulations! You're a self-righteous, sanctimonious, hypocritical...LEMMING!!!

Lastly, may I point out my reason for saying "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas"? It's simple. There are multiple religions who have holy celebrations during the month of December. Just like most of you, I am sure, I have friends of many different beliefs. Christians: yes. Hindus: yes. Muslims: yes. Buddhists: yes. Sikhs: yes. Jews: yes. To me, it's not a matter of "offending" them by saying "Merry Christmas." It's a matter of wanting to include them, no matter what their particular belief may be, in the wonderful feeling that the celebration of one's beliefs can bring...by saying "Happy Holidays."

Merry Christmas,
Kirk

A Nation of Lemmings

When exactly did this happen to us?
When did we go from a nation of free-thinkers?
A Land of Healthy Skeptics?
To the Land of Lemmings...willing to follow anyone straight off a cliff at the drop of a hat?
Don't believe me? Take a look at the atmosphere in this country over the last several months. People willing to believe in "death panels" just because some schmuck on TV told them it was true. (Well it was on TV/the Internet/Radio so it MUST be true, right???) That our President isn't a U.S. citizen. And even looking past the "bigger issues" down to the little ones. Someone explain to me why people will forward every bogus "virus alert" when the hoaxers have basically been using the same lame boilerplate template for their "warning" for going on 20 years now? And all it takes is a 2-second search on snopes to debunk it? People posting and reposting cut/paste status messages on FB just because "I saw everyone else posting it." I know it sounds trite and ridiculous but does anyone else out there remember what our Moms used to tell us when we tried to use the excuse "well the other kids did/are doing it too" ? The standard "Mom" answer from "The Book of Mom-isms": "Well if they all went and jumped off a bridge would you do it too?"

When did we become a nation of people willing to jump off bridges (against our Mom's better advice!) just because "everyone else is doing it too." ?

Not only does it boggle my mind that what was once a great nation of thinkers has been reduced to a bunch of blathering cut/paste, e-mail forwarding loons who are willing to swallow what any nutbag who comes along tries to shove down their throat...it embarrasses me as an American. We will not...cannot continue along this path and expect to solve our problems. Until we wake up and understand that everyone who would "speak to us" through whatever medium, be it TV, internet, radio, newspaper or magazine has their own agenda and are willing to obfuscate the truth in order to convince us over to their agenda, we will continue to waste time on every stupid non-issue they can dream up to keep us from addressing the real issues...the urgent and dire and pressing issues of our nation and people. The Nation of Lemmings comes closer and closer to the precipice every day...and only we as individuals can prevent our going over it in a mass suicide. Remember individualism? That great personality trait that this country was founded and built upon?

So here's my challenge to you: resist the urge! Before you take any actions, no matter how trivial they may seem, ask yourself: Am I doing this because it is what I want to do, or am I just being a lemming and "following along" because "everybody's doing it?" Should I take what this person says at face value? Or should I spend 10 minutes doing the research required to form my own opinion before just re-spouting whatever it is they may be saying? Can I take two seconds to research that virus warning on snopes or should I just automatically forward it to my 4 thousand best friends because I'd rather be 'safe than sorry'? Do I love my son/daughter/mother/father/spouse/cousin/dog/cat/turtle enough to actually take the few seconds it takes to put that love into my own words, rather than copy/pasting some other lemming's status?

Every time you allow someone else to do your thinking for you or tell you how you "should" think.....you give up a small piece of yourself...your freedom...your individuality. Don't let that happen. Don't be the lemming over the cliff.

Music: Shinedown live "Acoustic"

Well last night I was lucky enough to win tickets from 105.7 The Point to see "Shinedown" live at the Pageant. (Thanks!)
Two things: How does taking your electric rock bass and setting it on a stand so that you play it like some sort of "pretend" upright bass make this an "acoustic" show? I'm thinkin' if you're doing an acoustic show, you really have no need of a 64-channel mixer, either...but they sure had one! Anyway....that's just a side-rant.

What I'd really like to talk about is the lead singer having to "explain" every song to the audience.

Listen, dood...no one really cares what your personal reasons are for writing the song. Especially when it takes you 5 minutes to "explain" a song that takes FOUR to play!

They care why it connects to them! And here's the real kicker, bud...the listener may connect to your song for a completely unrelated reason than your original reason for writing the song. That is the beauty of music! And you know what else? Telling them your reason may just totally ruin the meaning of the song (and the song itself) for the listener.

So...if you are so in love with the sound of your own speaking voice and your story-telling abilities that you  want to "tell your stories" ....book a lecture tour. In the meantime, while on a concert tour, just stfu and sing your songs....that is why people come to see you in concert.

Why Every Single American Should be in favor of Health Care Reform

Right. I know. It's been beat to death.  The "Pros" say we need to do something to care for the millions of uninsured. The "Cons" say "not out of my pocket." And never the twain shall meet, no? What I'm about to tell you will probably boggle your mind for a moment, until you stop and say to yourself "oh...my...GOD!" Screw "public options"...screw "single payer"...screw "compassion for your fellow man". There is one simple fact that both sides (incredulously, in my opinion, when it comes to the "Pro" side) seem to completely ignore...and it is the single, sole reason why every American should stand up and demand that our so-called "Health Care System" be reformed. And that reason is this:

You are paying for it anyway!


How this irrefutable, undeniable fact has been largely left out of this entire debate just defies all logic of any sort. And to top it off, not only are you paying for it...you are paying for it in a way that is completely and totally unaccountable. The hospitals, the doctors, the big pharmacy companies...every sector of the Health Care Industry tells you "well the reason your bill is so high is because others aren't paying their bills, so we have to recoup our costs somehow." Hell the government forces (thankfully) hospitals to care for all patients, regardless of their ability to pay.

So who gets stuck with that unpaid "bill", compadre? YOU DO! Except here's the deal: You have no way of knowing if these people are being truthful with you about how much they actually "lose" to non-paying patients, and in turn pad onto your bill in order "make up" for said non-payment. Is it 1000 dollars they need to add to your bill? Or 10,000? Or 100,000? or TEN CENTS??? Guess what my friends...they're going to bid HIGH...bilking every possible dime they can out of you, because you don't have a freakin' clue what their true costs are, do you? Of course not. And in recent decades, the American Mantra has become "screw unto others before they screw unto you."

So, true healthcare reform would bring with it (hopefully) a full accounting of what costs are incurred by any health care provider when a customer does not pay their bill. And this in turn would, almost without a shadow of a doubt, drive prices down. Because now they can't charge you 30 dollars for a baby aspirin in the hospital when the accountants show that they only need to charge you 2. And guess what? When the prices are driven down, more and more people are capable of actually paying their bills, so the Providers incur less and less loss due to non-payment. Which in turn does what? Drive the cost down even more. Pretty soon, you've got prices to the point where even the guy pan-handling on the street can afford to go to a doctor and pay CASH to have a yearly check-up. Oh...my...GOODNESS...I've just put the insurance industry out of business!

And lest you think what I'm talking about is "not possible"...let me relate a true story to you. I traveled to India on business a few years back. Speaking of back, I threw the hell out of mine while I was there. I called the hotel doctor and he paid a visit to my room, referring me to a local doctor who specialized in back problems. That doctor charged me the equivalent of 4 dollars US per office visit. (And lest you think he was an "inferior" doctor, his diploma was hanging on the wall of his office. Cambridge University. With Honors.) He sent me to get an MRI done on my back. Total cost: 100 U.S. dollars. And I was given a CD with the MRI on it. It wasn't transferred to the doctor...it was handed...to me...my property. Now, I'm sure you're thinking 4 dollars and 100 dollars is a lot of money to an Indian. You're right. But it's not so out of reach for the average Indian that the doctor's office wasn't packed with patients every time I went there, and that there weren't several Indians at the MRI clinic. And trust me...I watched...somewhat fascinated...as virtually 99% of the patients paid cash for their medical care. To shorten my story somewhat, I made at least 1/2 a dozen visits to the doctor, had 4 weeks of physical therapy, and an MRI, for a total cost of right at 300 US dollars. Oh and the hotel doctor checked on me several times. I never did see a charge for it on  my hotel bill.

Shortly thereafter I returned to the US and went to my doctor to continue my recovery. He refused to accept the CD of my MRI in India, stating that my insurance company would not accept it for "diagnostic purposes." So I had to go to a local MRI clinic to have another one taken. To the tune of nearly 3000 US dollars. Oh and by the way...yes...I did notice. The MRI machine in India and in the US were the exact same make/model.

So, when you tell me that it's "not possible" for the "greatest nation on earth"  to have a health care system where everyone can afford to pay cash on the spot for their healthcare,  I will tell you that I would be remiss in my duty as a human being if I did not laugh in your face.

In Summary:
Dear "Cons": You're paying for "them" anyway. I would think your penny-pinching "compassionate" selves would at least want a full accounting of what it's costing you. Engage your brain and demand Health Care Reform now. It's your duty. To yourself.

Tips for Driving Safely on Our Interstate Highway System

Having spent some 30-odd years now driving on various parts of our Interstate Highway System, I think I can call myself somewhat of an "expert" at what it takes to safely travel on them. Should you doubt my veracity, let me give you an example: Once, driving from Chicago to St. Louis for the Holidays, I went from a completely dry roadway to a snow-packed one in a matter of an instant. I mean it looked like Mother Nature had painted a line across the highway and said "here be DRY....here be SNOW!" I'd never seen anything like it before or since. It was so bad that cars ahead of me were literally landing on top of each other as they slid into the ditches on either side of the road. I was driving a Honda Civic 3-door with my then wife in the passenger seat. She commenced to screaming and panicking and grabbing at my leg like that was going to help anything. I slid seemingly helplessly around on the highway, doing at least 1 complete 360, before my speed was reduced enough for me to regain full traction on the snow-packed highway and continue along my way. I made it...when literally dozens of others hadn't. So with that pre(r)amble in mind...please heed my following tips for safe highway driving.

1. First order of business (best done as you are going up that nice curly-cue entrance ramp) is to fire up your cell phone. Call anybody, doesn't matter. Pranking is particularly fun as you are hurtling down the highway at 70 miles per hour! Optimal use of the phone is to hold it in your left hand, and lean against your window, so that it in effect turns itself into a "horse blinder" forcing you to completely forget that there is anything even resembling a universe to your left side.
2. Mirrors are things to be mistrusted. (There's a reason they put that sticker "Objects in your mirror are closer than they appear"!) You are safest not to bother using them.
3. When entering the highway via the entrance ramp, no matter how long a stretch you have to get your speed up, you must never...ever merge into the actual highway lane doing more than 45 miles an hour. Going any faster completely scares every other driver already on the highway and you never know what may happen. Also, in the process, it is best if you actually time it so that you will have to cut off a car at the very last second as you merge (slowly!) onto the highway. They're probably going too fast anyway, so you are doing them a favor. You might even be saving their lives by forcing them to slow down.
4. Never. I mean NEVER use your turn signal for any reason while travelling our fabulous highway system. If you should accidentally turn on your blinker out of some odd habit you may have acquired over the years, you must leave it on for a minimum of 5 miles, and change lanes (preferably in the opposite direction of the way your blinker is blinking) at least once...hopefully more if there are enough lanes to allow. (Alternate: if you run out of opposite lanes, start pulling onto the shoulder as if you are having car troubles, slow way down, and then after turning your blinker off, slide slowly back into traffic. This is particularly effective if you do so in the left lane, as most cars in this lane are travelling at a slower pace anyway.)
5. Whenever you see at least two car lengths in between cars in the next lane...you are required by law to dive into it, in order to make more efficient use of space on the roadway. The best use of this tip occurs when you stomp on your gas and turn sharply in between the two...cutting off the trailing car...run right up to the tailpipe of the leading car...and then slam on your brakes to prevent hitting said leading car. I mean truly, it is such a horrible waste of space to have that much room between two cars, don't you think?
6. Last, but certainly not least, there are only 2 proper ways to exit the highway

• Option 1: stay in the left lane until the last possible second, and then stomp on your gas to dive across all available lanes into the exit ramp just before it's too late.
• Option 2: get in the right-hand lane at least 5 miles before the exit, and begin slowing down progressively until you are doing 25 by the time you actually hit the exit.

There you have it...Kirk's tips for safely traversing our Interstate Highway System.

Oh yeah...I almost forgot...it is now safe to hang up your cell phone.