tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9977996734234122162023-11-15T09:42:38.936-08:00It's like this...CE Bundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165385921773620274noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997799673423412216.post-78167452094129007782014-05-20T13:04:00.000-07:002014-05-20T13:04:04.013-07:00SierraDawne hits middle ageI found this little nugget buried on my Facebook page. I had forgotten that I wrote it. Now that I can't even see 40 in my rear view mirror, I still find the sentiment still applies:<br />
<br />
<br />My 40th birthday came and went quietly. This was due in no small
part to my own stealthiness and expert avoidance tactics. It's not that
I mind turning 40. In fact, I think it's pretty amazing, considering
the life I have lived, that I made it to 40 and still remain
un-incarcerated. <br />
<br />
But I did NOT want to face the
"Lordy, Lordy, the old bitch is forty" balloons, and the "Over the hill"
cake with the tombstone. It's hard to stand strong against all that
light-hearted negativity.<br />
<br />
But really, on my 40th
birthday, I was only one day older than the day before, and whose
counting days? And if you did, what great insight who you gain? Would
you change anything? It's not like you can go on diet and take off a
few years. And as rough as some years have been, there aren't any I
would want to lose. <br />
<br />
Although, if it's our experiences
that make us who we are, would I be a better or a worse person if I
could take a magic eraser to some of the worst of them? As tempting as
that is, erasing the bad would also mean erasing the good. <br />
<br />
So
instead of looking to the past, looking to the future is another
option. But believe me, one thing I have learned in all these years is
that no one can look to the future. Despite all due diligence and
planning, the future takes it's own spontaneous twists and turns,
leading you down paths that you never could have prepared for. Besides,
the future is just borrowed time.<br />
<br />
So that leaves only
today. This moment. Nothing else deserves our attention. It's the
only thing that we can change. Maybe not our location, or health, or
appearance. But what we can do is decide how we want to perceive it. I
was once told that "Perception is reality". Of course, the context in
which that pearl of wisdom was delivered was in a very negative
situation. And my knee jerk response was "only if you're stupid or
lazy." But there is some truth to that cliche. <br />
<br />
Actually,
there is a great deal of power in it. It means that you can look out a
stormy day, and instead of seeing an ugly, angry sky, you can
experience beauty in the swirling shades of gray, and feel it's power
tickling your skin. And suddenly you wouldn't trade this day for the
sunniest of days.<br />
<br />
Wow, does that sound Pollyanna-ish,
or what? Oh, well. If you tend to look at the downside of things, it's
worth a try every once in a while. As long as you don't abuse that
power, it's a good thing. I mean, if that guy you're crushing on has a
restraining order against you, perhaps you need to fine tune your
perception of the situation. <br />
<br />
So now that I am
officially "middle age" I gotta say that I don't feel any different than
I did at 28 (my official age BTW). So to all of you who think they'll
slit their wrists on their 40th, 50th, 60th... birthday, I'd advise you
let those candles burn, baby! That's your light, your flame growing
stronger. Take that moment and celebrate your life! CE Bundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165385921773620274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997799673423412216.post-26094722217201123392014-05-19T14:21:00.001-07:002020-07-29T19:23:59.749-07:00FlyIn my dreams I can fly<br />
just lift myself and glide<br />
a feather in the breeze<br />
free from this pedestrian life<br />
<br />
But here in my waking life<br />
I feel so clumsy, heavy and old<br />
struggling with the weight of my mistakes<br />
the beautiful sky so far from my reach<br />
<br />
maybe I'm just here to learn<br />
and maybe I'm here to teach<br />
maybe I'm just here to yearn<br />
to fly like in my dreams<br />
<br />
just lift myself and glide<br />
tumbling and turning<br />
twirling and dancing<br />
oh, why can't I just fly?<br />
<br />
Cathy Bundy<br />
May 26th, 2014.CE Bundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165385921773620274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997799673423412216.post-6329267726242495502013-06-18T17:20:00.000-07:002013-06-18T17:22:22.784-07:00What is private?What a difference a few days makes! First, we find out that a "leaker" outed the NSA classified surveillance programs to a foreign news reporter, and guess what? The NSA was supposedly surveilling us! Then, the "leaker" pops up in China where he seems to have generously shared more of our nations secrets with the Chinese government. (I mean this is China, do you think that they let him in out of the goodness of their hearts?)<br />
<br />
And, of course, chaos ensues! Citizens are furious! Politicians are back peddling and pretending they never knew of such intelligence programs. FOX news is gleefully dumping on President Obama and Democrats. CNN is conducting psuedo-polling, "Is Snowden a hero or a traitor?" The ACLU is suing the government for presumably obtaining ACLU phone records.<br />
<br />
Watching all of this, I was very puzzled as to why everyone was suddenly so upset now, when no one seemed to be upset when it was first made known to the public in 2006. What was different now? Is it because the internet generation has come of age in this last 7 years? Or is this yet another example of "it's OK when it's a white republican president"? <br />
<br />
There appears to be blood in the water, and the feeding frenzy is epic.<br />
<br />
After a week this, there are some misconceptions that was being sorted out. For instance:<br />
<br />
* These is the same programs that Congress approved in 2006. <br />
<br />
* Phone conversations are not being listened to. Can you imagine how many people it would take to listen to millions of people phone conversations?<br />
<br />
* The collection of internet data is still per request, and constitutes only a tiny fraction of user accounts. We don't know if those were accounts of private citizens or not. And of the requests reported, only an unquantified portion were requests from the NSA, the rest from Federal, State and Local law inforcement agencies.<br />
<br />
* The phone companies and internet companies willingly cooperated. Back in 2006, only QWEST refused government requests for information.<br />
<br />
* Yes, the surveillance program did stop some terrorist activity. More will be known as details become unclassified.<br />
<br />
There are a lot of questions left to be answered. <br />
How well does the NSA investigate people for security clearances? Since this is wartime, is Snowden guilty treason, or just guilty of releasing classified documents to unautorized foreign nationals? What information did he or will he release to China and other governments? <br />
<br />
What can the information that the NSA has collected be used for? Can it be shared with other agencies? Would we want that? (i.e. If they uncovered a pedophile ring, would we want them to bust the ring?)<br />
<br />
But, arguably, the largest issue is: In this information age what constitutes privacy? Has the 4th ammendment been breached here? To determine that, we need to answer the legal questions: <br />
<br />
Who owns the data? When you proudly post your latest selfy on Facebook, does that data, the bits and bytes that make up that image, belong to you? Or does it belong to Facebook? Is it only copyrighted material would be protected? When you post information to the internet is there an assumption of privacy? What about data transmitted over an unsecured link as opposed to encrypted links?<br />
<br />
<br />
Can the emails that you keep on Google be construed as your "property" or "papers" has stipulated in the 4th Ammendment? Can it be reasonably expected that your emails are your private communications and therefore, protected?<br />
<br />
Are phone records the property of the phone company?<br />
<br />
<br />
What we need is not finger pointing and bluster. Instead we need national understanding about the laws as they stand, a conversation about what we the people find acceptable and reform as needed.<br />
<br />
Now is the time to address these issues.CE Bundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165385921773620274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997799673423412216.post-12470395334634829862013-02-21T12:11:00.002-08:002013-02-21T12:55:56.759-08:00Dreams of North KoreaFolks who know me, know that I have normally have bizarre dreams. But never before have I composed a parody song in my dreams. And I even remembered it fully upon waking! If this is divine inspiration, then the divine must have a sense of humor as warped as mine!<br />
<br />
This is to the tune of "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria" from the Sound of Music.<br />
<br />
How do you solve a problem like North Korea?<br />
How do you catch a nuke and turn it 'round?<br />
What do you call a problem like Kim Jong Un?<br />
A lunatic, a psychopath, a clown?<br />
Many a thing Obama tries to tell him.<br />
Many a thing Kim ought to understand.<br />
But how do you make him pay?<br />
Or stop and change his ways?<br />
How do you stop a tsunami upon the sands?<br />
Oh, how do you solve a problem like North Korea?<br />
How do you kick Kim Jong Un in his pants?<br />
<br />
So in my dreams I pictured creating a JibJab video with replete with the North Korean army dancing to the tune, Super Obama guiding a nuke back to North Korea, and, of course, ending with a Uncle Sam's boot to the butt of Kim Jong Un.<br />
<br />
It was one of my more entertaining dreams!CE Bundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165385921773620274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997799673423412216.post-27048856415457197302012-07-17T00:26:00.001-07:002012-07-17T00:26:38.378-07:00When corruption is the law of the land...The only reason the republican politicians are bald face lying corporate shills is due to the supreme court legalizing corrupt companies buying politicians.
Does our system of checks and balances really overlook a corrupt supreme court judges? Sure they seemingly threw us a bone on ObamaCare. They didn't really. Without single payer, they delivered us straight into the jaws of the insurance companies.
Sheldon Addelson, who is under investigation for bribing chinese officials to IPOD his casinos in China, is one of Romney's biggest stakeholders. He has pledged unlimited funds to Romney's campaign. This is whomRomney is beholden to.
Think about it, if you are being given 500 million a single donor, well it is fairly guaranteed that you are nothing more than a puppet with his hand all the way up your butt.
The people need a government to look after our interests. A government that finds a way to be fiscally responsible while provide what the citizen service thatnee are paying for.
Old Sheldon, like most other CEOs would just as soon send all their jobs overseas, while enjoying the ridiculously low corporate taxes on both the federal and local levels here in the US, and the corporate welfare they receive from the government, AND keeping their money in off shore accounts to avoid paying any taxes.
In the meantime we have local governments declaring bankruptcy. We have state and local governments closing schools and selling off the properties. Police forces are being reduced and their priority is more to generate income through misdemeanor fines than to protect the citizens. Firefighters are being cut while 70 percent of America is under drought conditions.
We need to take back America, and put the citizens first. We need to start a targeted movement to force the supreme court to overturn their decision and to put a stop to the selling of our country.CE Bundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165385921773620274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997799673423412216.post-74337289998829311602012-07-16T13:29:00.001-07:002012-07-16T13:29:12.806-07:00How is Romney different than Bush?<br />
<br />
<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=10,0,0,0" height="245" id="msnbc41f6bd" width="420"><param name="movie" value="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640" /><param name="FlashVars" value="launch=48181793&width=420&height=245" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><embed name="msnbc41f6bd" src="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640" width="420" height="245" FlashVars="launch=48181793&width=420&height=245" allowscriptaccess="always" allowFullScreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object><br />
<div style="background: transparent; color: #999999; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: center; width: 420px;">
Visit NBCNews.com for <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; color: #5799DB !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; text-decoration: none !important;">breaking news</a>, <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032507" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; color: #5799DB !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; text-decoration: none !important;">world news</a>, and <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032072" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; color: #5799DB !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; text-decoration: none !important;">news about the economy</a></div>
<br />CE Bundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165385921773620274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997799673423412216.post-87644456944497138832012-07-16T13:13:00.001-07:002012-07-16T13:13:38.192-07:00<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=10,0,0,0" height="245" id="msnbc65b68b" width="420"><param
name="movie" value="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640"
/><param name="FlashVars"
value="launch=48181661&width=420&height=245"
/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param
name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="wmode"
value="transparent" /><embed name="msnbc65b68b"
src="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640" width="420" height="245"
FlashVars="launch=48181661&width=420&height=245"
allowscriptaccess="always" allowFullScreen="true" wmode="transparent"
type="application/x-shockwave-flash"
pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object><br />
<div style="background: transparent; color: #999999; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: center; width: 420px;">
Visit NBCNews.com for <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; color: #5799DB !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; text-decoration: none !important;">breaking news</a>,
<a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032507" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; color: #5799DB !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; text-decoration: none !important;">world news</a>, and <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032072" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; color: #5799DB !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; text-decoration: none !important;">news about the economy</a></div>CE Bundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165385921773620274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997799673423412216.post-30635870366494879972012-06-13T13:52:00.001-07:002012-06-13T13:52:28.813-07:00Who does Romney represent.<br />
Anyone who thinks that Romney will be on the side of the people needs to just listen to what the man says. His allegiance will clearly be to the billionaires that are funding his campaign. Point in fact, 44% of President Obamas campaign financing comes from small donors, aka: the people. Only 12% of Romney's funding comes from small donors. (Source: http://www.opensecrets.org/pres12/index.php). <br />
<br />
Who do you think that Romney will represent?<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />CE Bundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165385921773620274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997799673423412216.post-31675079456480512942012-05-09T20:48:00.001-07:002012-05-09T20:48:07.984-07:00Why is it that Christians feel they have the right to impose their religious beliefs on the whole country? I thought that this country was founded on freedom of religious belief. What's even more astounding is that most Christians do not follow the bible anyway (when was the last time a Christian was put to death for working on Sunday?), but they sure wave the bible when it is something that they don't personally like.<br />
<br />
But what I really want to know is why the government is in the marriage business in the first place. "Marriage" is a religious construct, and as such, should be left to religion. All the government should issue civil unions to handle the union of two people for legal purposes. If two people want to be legally bound in the eyes of the government, they register their union. If they want to be married in the eyes of the church, they get married in accordance with customs on their religion, in addition to their civil union.<br />
The government is supposed to represent all it citizens, that is why there is supposed to be a separate between church and state.<br />
We are NOT a christian nation, we are a FREE nation where all citizen enjoy EQUAL rights under the law.CE Bundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165385921773620274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997799673423412216.post-31764062807294836972012-04-28T18:05:00.001-07:002012-04-28T18:05:18.386-07:00Robin hoodSo I'm watching Robinhood, the Russell Crowe version, which is much more bloody and far less romantic than the Kevin Cosner version. But the treatise on liberty was awesome in this version.
And I started thinking about the versions of Robinhood that they've made over the years. A quick check on wikipedia and I found that there have been about 60 versions on TV and film ranging from Hollywood blockbuster actions films to comedy and even porn. I was amazed to find that the first references to Robinhood were back in 1228.
Wow!
People sure love the idea of Robinhood. But then it is the notion of Liberty and the fight against tyranny that rings true in the hearts of all people, except for who are consumed with greed.
And to a much larger degree than most of the Americsn population realize, we are in the same age old struggle today. We have the Republican party trying to rob us of our government, our rights and our freedom and turn us over to those who would exploit us for their own gain.
Consider this...
They want strip women of our rights no to be beaten, discriminated against or forced to bare children. Ask most of us a year ago and we would have never thought that women would have to fight for freedom again.
They want to strip workers of the right to a safe work enviornment or to negotiate their compensation and working conditions.
They want to turn prisons into slave factories so that we their government can detain anyone (read: minorities and liberals) without charge (thank you patriot act) force them to work for corporations indefinitely.
They want Christianity to the be law of the land so that there is no freedom of belief or thought.
They want to restrict what can be taught in public schools to only what is in line with their fundamentalist beliefs.
They want to prevent the American people from pooling our resources to provide for our public safety, education, roads, and especially, our health. Instead they want to us at the mercy of the insurance companies, which leach trillions from us and artificially drive up medical costs for those who are uninsured... until we are sick or old, and then we are left to die.
They want to rob us of our social security benefits that many of us have paid into most of our lives, without even refunding our money.
Instead of our tax money going to the public good, they want the taxes to go to pay for rich peoples vacation homes and car elevators, and make us pay corporations billions in profit to pay for those services we used to provide through those taxes.
They want the poor to starve.
These devout Christian Republician want to strip us of everything but guns and prayer. If they Republicianx do win in November you won't even have a prayer, because with the "if I don't like you I have the right to shoot you." stand your ground laws, and the proliferation of automatically weapons with extended magazine, I will imagine the rest of us won't live long enough to miss our rights anyway.
Wow.. What would Robinhood think of all that?CE Bundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165385921773620274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997799673423412216.post-81825733657250440342012-04-04T21:45:00.000-07:002012-04-04T21:45:01.123-07:00It's convenient to be the son of a judgeIf you should happen to drunkenly assault a police officer and want your case to be transferred to a junior DA who will inexplicably drop the case, well, it's handy to have a judge as a father.<br />
<br />
If you should happen to follow a unarmed black teenager walking through you neighborhood and then decide to attack and them shoot him, and then want the police to apologetically detain you then let you go free, it's very handy to have a judge as a father.<br />
<br />
Really, what is the mystery here?<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />CE Bundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165385921773620274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997799673423412216.post-78680603304344109852012-03-22T14:57:00.000-07:002012-03-22T14:57:44.377-07:00Even with an aspirin between our knees, we're still screwed!What the santorum is going on here!!??? I thought we settled this when I was a teenager. It was an long drawn out battle, back then. But women understood the stakes a lot better because we were living with the consequences of no birth control, no legal abortions, no equality. <br />
<br />
<br />
It was a time where orphanages were filled with unwanted non-white babies. (Affluent white women had their pregnancies "taken care of", the few white babies of poor women we snapped up quick for adoption).<br />
It was a time when girls without means died from back-alley abortions.<br />
It was a time when girls were forced to have their rapist baby, even if it was their father's or brother's baby. <br />
It was a time when girls had to quit school and we sent away in shame to have the baby.<br />
It was a time when women could be enslaved by forcibly impregnating them. <br />
It was a time when the morality of our society was the responsibility of the ones who had the no choice and no rights.<br />
<br />
HERE WE GO AGAIN!! <br />
<br />
And now, the proponents of the Christian right want to make their religious beliefs the law of the land again, all the while characterizing any government mandates allowing us the freedom of choice or belief outside their Christian doctrine as government overreach.<br />
<br />
With their mantra of small non-invasive government, and personal freedom, how is it that these theocratic buffoons can say that government (translate, we the people) has no business providing us health care, or even fair standards for care, yet champion the refusal of health services or force us to pay for unnecessary medical procedures meant only to shame and control us.<br />
<br />
Who is the government to tell my daughter that if the choice is her life or her unborn baby, that by law, she must die?<br />
Who is the government to tell a child that if she is raped, that she must give birth to her attackers spawn?<br />
Who is the government force me to publicly prove that I am not guilty of murder if I lose my child due to miscarriage?<br />
Who is the government to force my doctor to lie to me if he/she suspects that I may want to terminate the pregnancy?<br />
<br />
And with the republican version of the government refusing to help indigent people with food, housing and medical care...<br />
How are the impoverished women and girls going to get prenatal care and birthing services?<br />
Who is going to pay for all of the children that will be born to people who cannot afford birth control? Are they to just live out on the streets until they starve to death or get sick and die?<br />
<br />
This time will be even worse than before, as there will be no aid for victims of the oppression.CE Bundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165385921773620274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997799673423412216.post-62234959866467389692011-04-05T22:16:00.000-07:002011-04-05T22:21:59.501-07:00To Wisconsin Congressman Paul RyanMr. Ryan has proposed a budget the would cut spending for the disabled, elderly and poor, while paying more of our tax dollars to the wealthy who pay nothing, yet receive huge tax refunds.<br />
<br />
What they call "entitlement" programs... Medicare, Social Security, Schools, Food for the poor, are what I call the services that we willingly bought and paid for! The government isn't giving it's citizens anything, they are providing us WHAT WE PAID FOR!!!!<br />
<br />
What I didn't think I was paying for was a war in Iraq, subsidies to obscenely profitable companies to make those obscene profits at the expense of the health, happiness and safety of majority of us who share this planet with them.<br />
<br />
So I decided to write Mr. Ryan...<br />
<br />
<br />
Congratulations! You are so brave to stand up against the sick and impoverished! Surely you are doing the country a favor by letting the leeches die off as soon as possible. <br />
<br />
I do have one issue though...<br />
I have paid more than my share in federal taxes for over 30 years. And now that you are doing all you can to ensure that I will never see a single benefit from the hundreds of thousands of dollars that I have invested,,, no strike that... given to the government. I would ask that you would go one step further, ensure the repayment of all taxes plus interest to each and every individual tax payer.<br />
<br />
For all the years that I contributed to ensure that my generation and the generation before me would be taken care of. That our schools would provide the education to make our society strong. That we would live in a prosperous and safe country. But now thanks you to and your ilk, all of the money was a waste. And a contract was broken between the citizens and the government.<br />
<br />
Just give us our money back, and we can go find a country where the citizens run the country, not the corporations and their pet politicians (like you). A place with a future for all of it's people not just the wealthy. A place that is clean and safe. <br />
<br />
You and your corporate buddies can continue to turn the country into the post apocalyptic rubble that you so desperately crave and turn the citizenry into pathetic slaves that are grateful just to breathe the filthy air and drink the poisoned water, and look to death as a respite from their miserable existence.<br />
<br />
I want nothing to do with your hideously sick and brutal America.<br />
<br />
BTW, just between you and me, how much do you rake in for destroying a country? Or is it just a pride thing?<br />
************************************<br />
<br />
Think I'll get a response?CE Bundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165385921773620274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997799673423412216.post-67489406532909527522010-07-08T19:54:00.000-07:002010-07-08T19:55:30.812-07:00Involuntary Manslaughter RedefinedToday the BART officer, Johannes Mehserle, who had been charged with the killing of a innocent man was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. <br />
<br />
California Penal Code 192 defines "manslaughter" as the unlawful killing of another person without malice. "Involuntary Manslaughter," which is the least serious variant of manslaughter, gets charged when the killing occurs:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ol><li>in the commission of an unlawful act, not amounting to a felony, OR</li>
<li>by way of a lawful though dangerous act, that is done in an unlawful manner or without due caution or circumspection.</li>
</ol>Apparently shooting a black man point blank while he is laying incapacitated on the ground is not an example of malice. <br />
<br />
Maybe had the video of the murder - oops the involuntary manslaughter - showed the officer pausing briefly before pulling the trigger, the all white jury would have found him innocent, since he would have demonstrated what could be construed as caution or circumspection. <br />
<br />
Let that be a lesson to law enforcement. In the future, if you want to kill a non-white citizen, you need to smile for the camera and then take careful aim. <br />
<br />
What a shame, all-white juries used to be enough to get away with murder.<br />
<br />
Could it be that the officer really thought he was grabbing a taser? Despite the fact that he was not even wearing one? Despite the fact that the taser does not have remotely the same weight to feel as a hand gun? Despite the fact that the man he was about to "taze" was already incapacitated and on the ground? Despite the fact that the man who was shot was trying to prevent a fight, and not guilty of anything other than riding the train while black? Maybe the answer only lies in the dark depths of Mr. Mehserle's soul. But the video, which showed the cold blooded murder of a defenseless citizen, shows no such distinction.<br />
<br />
Once again, LA County has decided that unprovoked attack and now killing of citizens by the law enforcement agencies that are supposed to protect us is not an issue or worthy of any consequential punishment.<br />
<br />
<br />
In otherwords, the California court system has once again has failed it's citizens.CE Bundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165385921773620274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997799673423412216.post-10108417482073700982010-04-21T17:34:00.001-07:002010-04-21T17:34:49.169-07:00Delayed ReactionI think I get it... Thanks to Jon Stewart's interview with John O'Hara. All this tea party "Obama is a socialist Hitler out to destroy freedom" crap... It's just the delayed reaction to the tyrannical reign from the Bush administration. <br /><br />They had their foot down so tightly on Lady's Liberty's neck while they stripped her of her civil rights and raped, pillaged and plundered the whole of America, that the nation passed out from the shock of it all. <br /><br />While some of us stayed lucid enough to elect someone to stop the assault and heal the damage, the rest of the country has just now come out of it's post traumatic coma and are ready to raise plow-shares against the king.. but, alas they are an administration too late.<br /><br />On the other hand, was Lady Liberty asking for it? Isn't this the expected outcome of courting a President based mostly on the fact he'd make a good drinking Buddy. They, then, drank the lady under the table, well, from that point on, the government had the right to enter my home without a warrant or probable cause, arrest me without charging me, and detain me indefinitely without trial while they torture me without the protection of our constitution.<br /><br />Now that everyone is awake, maybe we can steer those of us that are still somewhat disoriented to the right direction to vent their outrage towards those that are truly in power, the financial insurance and energy consortia that robbed us of our savings, our homes, our health and left us stranded out in the cold while they shipped our jobs overseas and the politicians tucked in their expensive suit pockets.<br />CE Bundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165385921773620274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997799673423412216.post-56533347826476772492009-12-27T00:59:00.000-08:002009-12-27T00:59:34.642-08:00To My Dear Ex-Neighbors...Happy Holidays to you! I'm so sorry to hear of your troubles. I understand that you're beside yourselves with embarrassment that your daughter refused to stay in the loveless marriage that you had forced her into. Well, I hear the wedding was a lovely extravaganza, and wasn't that the point afterall? <br />
<br />
Ah but, Brenda, you got used to a loveless marriage didn't you? You swore that the only reason you would leave George was if he screwed around. And when he was arrested for "peeping", during his nightly "alone" time. You all but slammed the door in my face when I offered you help. It must have been quite a blow to your dignity to be offered help from the like of me. But when you couldn't ignore his affairs with neighbors and friends, you became a drunk. Was that how your daughter was supposed to deal with her marriage as well? You were so ashamed of your weight trouble, you made sure that she never had the same problem. At least she didn't disappoint in that area. That must be a relief, especially now that a few years have past since your gastric bypass, and you find that you're packing it back on again. At least you can point to your beautifyu<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Yeah, she's been a handful alright. Couldn't stay in the Army because she couldn't go cold turkey on the anti-depressants during basic training and still hold it together. Personally, I didn't think that she belonged in Iraq. But I know you would have relished the posthumous purple heart had she been able to keep it together long enough to make it to the war. <br />
<br />
And the eating disorders. I remember how you bit my head off saying that she was just doing it for attention. And you were right. The anorexia, the cutting, and the nervous breakdown was all to call your attention to the fact that she grew up being big brother's sex toy. Oh, yeah, you told her never to speak of that again. Afterall, he was just a teenager. But, oh! I hear that you're terribly disappointment with her now that her anorexia has left her sterile. I honestly didn't think that it meant that much to you since you never took her to the doctor when at 17 she still hadn't had a period. But Brenda, she managed to stay pretty and skinny just like you insisted she be. The must be a relief since now that it's been a few years since your gastric bypass, you find your packing it back on. At least you can point to your beautiful, slender and childless daughter, and say I made that. After all, you did, indeed, contribute heavily to all she is now. <br />
<br />
But your lucky, you have your son to look to for grandchildren. He not only married a girl who already had a child, but I hear that she is pregnant with his baby now. Did they get her baby back after that two week drunken binge they went on and get completely forgot about their lives, their jobs and her child? I hear the graduated rehab though. See you have so much to be proud of!<br />
<br />
If there are any granddaughters in the picture, you might want to mention your son's proclivities to his wife. Been then if you never cared much about your daughters well-being, why would you bother about you grandchildren. After all, just because your son cut it sexual teeth on a prepubescent girl doesn't absolutely guarantee that he developed an attraction to young girls.<br />
<br />
I heard about your Christmas gift to your daughter. The box of rocks. Because that is all she is to you. Something load and does nothing. Oh and those family game nights when you all get together with your son's new family and actually pretend that your daughter doesn't not exist to the extent that you don't respond when she talks to you. I honestly believe that you are trying to push that fragile girl over the edge. Then you can bask in the sympathy of your family and co-workers. Instead telling her that she should go to jail because she smokes some pot from time to time, you should be in jail for your reckless indifference to her well being and torture.<br />
<br />
I think you messed up there. I think that instead of all that, you should given her this for Christmas. Should kneel in front of her and beg her for forgiveness. Apologize that they sacrificed their daughter's soul just to keep appearances. That it was more important to them to try to convince people that you had evolved past your backwood upbringing. That her own mother had traded her own dignity for a cheating, peeping child of a husband and a bottle to crawl her skinny butt into every night.<br />
<br />
The they would rather parade their daughter's ex-husband in front of the family when they made the yearly trek home for Thanksgiving. You need to beg for her mercy that you had the nerve to profess there ashame of her instead of themselves for never caring when you cried out for help in so many ways for so many years.<br />
<br />
You should beg to me forgiven for telling her that she was selfish to throw away her marriage to a man to only planned to love her after he had ridiculed her, abused her and molded her into the woman that he could love. Beg her forgiveness that you didn't kick his ass instead of force her to marry him. You should beg her forgiveness that you all the money that you raked in over the years awarding government contract and sending her to college instead of paying for a big wedding and you building your garage band studio.<br />
<br />
You should beg forgiveness that you favor your alcoholic son who taught his little sister all about sex, over her. That you never withheld your love from him during the years he spent in a drunken stupor, throwing away every opportunity that you handed to him.<br />
<br />
Beg her forgiveness for all the times you never stood up for her against those that degraded and hurt her. <br />
<br />
Beg.<br />
<br />
And that promise that you will give everything you have to give her a fresh start at a new life. And that you will never place your pride above her happiness again.<br />
<br />
Oh, and by the way. Us lowlife's that you looked down on for all those years... Just so you know, our kids are doing well, Our daughter is working and going to college... getting good grades. We managed to keep her off the pole! (Oops, sorry, didn't mean to rub it in.) And the boys are doing real well, the Eldest runs a petroleum site in Africa, and the youngest is engaged to a school teacher with two kids and he is earning industry awards in his field. And, yeah, they aren't perfect, and we weren't perfect parents, and that is OK. The thing that they did grow up knowing is that our love was unconditional and that we would do everything in our power to help them through their hard times. We made it through the hell of mental and physical health issues, dealing with each heartbreaking head-on.. And I think that we are stronger now than ever. And we know that no matter what may strike us next, together we have the strength to make it through.<br />
<br />
It's not to late for your family. If you ever decide that it more important to be honest and face the hard stuff together, than to keep up appearances. Maybe you could then experience real happiness.<br />
<br />
That's what I wish for your kids. For you, I believe you deserved your unhappiness, it's a hell of your own making. But you still need to take responsibility for it and stop blaming the victims. I hope you spend the rest of your life struggling under the burden of your guilt.CE Bundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165385921773620274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997799673423412216.post-28598601887892399402009-12-15T22:35:00.001-08:002009-12-15T22:36:08.917-08:00Letter To Joe LeibermanShame on you! I can only pray that you have to suffer the fate that you are forcing on so many citizens. But no you won't, will you? We will pay for your healthcare the rest of your life. <br /><br />Meanwhile, you spit in the face of the majority of the country who voted for healthcare by electing the president and the rest of the democrats to office.<br /><br />While you might enjoy your power, you also need to take serious the responsibility that comes with.<br /><br />And since you will not take responsibility, I can only pray you feel our pain. I pray you feel it every time a sick man puts a bullet through his head rather than see his family destitute to keep him alive. And everytime a family has to beg for charity to raise money for a lifesaving operation, I want you to feel there desperation. I hope that one day you will know that gut wrenching knowledge that after paying nearly half their income to the government, that while living in the land of plenty, your life will end not for lack of a cure, but for the lack of insurance. I hope you will one day know that your life is worth less than the cost of the medicine to save you.<br /><br />People are dying Mr. Leiberman. Mother, Fathers, young, old. We are dying because we cannot afford healthcare, and we either cannot afford or are turned down for health insurance.<br /><br />I have to wonder, are you saving Medicare by ensuring that only the healthiest and luckiest of the population make it to 65?<br /><br />If you insist on killing us just because you can, then, you should have the decency to spend all the money you are pocketing from the health insurance industry to put flowers on the graves of all of us that you sentence to death.<br /><br />You should pay condolence calls on the children of the people that you kill and explain how your personal power and greed is far more important than saving the life of their mother who died of cancer but she could not afford treatment.<br /><br />Something tells me though, that it would only add to your perverse thrill, just as any serial killer would. <br /><br />One thing is for sure. You will go now in history as the most prolific serial killer in history.<br /><br />You must be very proud.CE Bundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165385921773620274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997799673423412216.post-14932716136249971792009-09-16T20:35:00.000-07:002009-09-16T22:58:34.907-07:00If You Can't Beat 'Em Join 'EmSo I saw a gaggle of 9-12<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">ers</span> standing on the corner hollering and carrying signs. There were about 8 or 9 sturdy souls demanding their right to religion and guns, and the continued tradition of medical class-ism.<br /><br />You know, I've seen them on the national news shows. They look so much smaller in person. They were a handful of ordinary white people, and looked to be middle to lower class on the economic scale. <br /><br />And I was perplexed that these folks were spending their Saturday standing on a corner steadfastly defending the very insurance companies who would see them all dead if there was a penny to profited. <br /><br />I wondered who had denied them their religious practice, or was it more the idea that they can't force everyone to adhere to their religious beliefs that they had a problem with.<br /><br />And their guns? Really? I don't think they have much to worry about, when even after their beloved Reagan was shot at, the house still couldn't pass gun legislation with any tooth to it.<br /><br />As far as guns go.. OK, I concede that it's a reasonable interpretation of the Constitution that every citizen has the right to bear arms. The trouble is that they were specific enough. Back then they had muskets and bowie knives. They didn't have <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">AKs</span> and Uzis, or students shooting up schools, or crazy men opening fire in restaurants, or urban gangs shooting kids because of the color of their shirts. I bet if they had they would have been more carefully worded that provision.<br /><br />Perhaps we should limit guns to single shot muskets and side arms. Seriously, if you need an automatic assault weapon to kill animals, maybe hunting is not for you. And if you need one to kill people a lot of people all at once, you might be better off taking a moment to examine your life, cause you've got some problems your AK can't solve!<br /><br />But I digress...<br /><br />So, this little rag tag band of revolutionaries calling the the President a tyrant, and railing against the government. It seemed to be drinking some very stank <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Koolaid</span>, indeed! But their message was a bit too scattered. I do so hate to see anything done badly, so I <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">desperately</span> wanted to help them out. <br /><br />They needed to stop beating about the bush and call a spade a spade. And something tells me that this group should have no trouble with that. Unfortunately, I was busy that day, and couldn't stop. <br /><br />But here's some suggestions for their signs the next time there out there. These will get their message across more effectively!<br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; color: rgb(102, 0, 204);font-size:180%;" >Only the Wealthy Deserve to be Healthy</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Death to the Old, Sick and Injured</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);font-size:180%;" >Medical Class-ism Is Nature's Way Of Curing Poverty</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);">I Would Rather Die for My Insurance Company, than To Support Medical Equality</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153); font-family: trebuchet ms;">I've Got Mine, To Hell With You!</span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-size:180%;" ><br />I Wouldn't Give The Sweat Off My Crotch To Save One Brown Child</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0); font-family: verdana;">United We Stand, Divided We Fall, But I Would Rather Fall Than To Help Others Survive!</span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);font-size:180%;" ><br />I Only Believe In Democracy If The Majority Agrees With Me</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;font-size:180%;" >My Insurance Company Won't Pay for Mental Health... 'Nough Said!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);font-size:180%;" >It's Not That The President Is Wrong, It's That He's Black</span><br /><br /><br />I mean come on, if you're gone stand out there, you might as well have the guts to say what you mean. Be proud of who you really are. Let your freak flag fly! But please, don't pretend to care about rights or democracy, or even freedom. And Tyranny? What's is more tyrannical than withholding help to the sick and injured when there are alternatives?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>CE Bundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165385921773620274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997799673423412216.post-7958154881364874662009-08-30T16:44:00.001-07:002009-08-30T20:15:42.593-07:00I Want My Country Back!This is for all of those sobbing idiots, drooling into any microphone they can get their hands on. Like Billy Joel once sang, "The good old days weren't always good and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems."<br /><br />Unless you are pining for the old days where the black folk that didn't know their place were shown it at the end of a rope, what have you lost? Or maybe we want George Bush's America, where the government felt free to attack it's citizen regardless of race.<br /><br />My Husband, a wounded war veteran and I, also a veteran, we're moved to tears when we read of the 2008 Rainbow gathering being attacked by the Federal Forest Service.<br /><br />I had the opportunity at attend a rainbow gathering, with my children several years ago. So, I can tell you with some authority and it is an amazing life-affirming event. It is a sort of a "hippie" gathering if you loosely define hippies as people to like to wear funky peasant clothes, maybe grow their hair long, and camp out for two weeks every summer, where on the 4th of July, there entire gathering holds hands forming a big circle and pray for world peace. But, most of the attendees are just people from all over the country, free spirits, gathering to sharing a peaceful communal experience.<br /><br />Usually they find a big meadow, on national forest land that all citizens have the right to utilize for free. This is "The Church". They build campsites around the perimeter of the meadow. An American flag is flown in the center of the meadow. The camp sites are varied as the people who participate. I remember the sweet smell of bread coming from the "Lovin' Ovens" camp, where they build ovens from mud and rock and wood, and brought in #10 cans for the chimney and baking sheets.<br /><br />And the Christian camp, where you could sit and listen to a sermon about loving your neighbor, and clean up in the showers they set up. The Hari Krishna camp, had the best cookies ever! There was even the Kitten camp and the Puppy camp, where campers could drop off their pets to be looked after for a while. Yeah, folks really did bring cats and dogs to the middle of nowhere.<br /><br />There were trading posts, where American currency is worthless, but a chocolate bar could buy you any number of hand crafted treasures! From the camps there was the sound of music and laughter, and the smell of food. In The Church, a drum circle pounded out rich, intricate, primal rhythms 24 hours a day until the morning of July 4, when The Church and all the camps fell silent and all held hands to form a giant circle and we prayed for world peace.<br /><br />Towards the far end of the meadow, the "Kiddie Kamp" was built. The campers build huge elaborate playscapes. True architectural marvels crafted from fallen tree limbs and rope. It was a fun place were patient, caring adults cooked for the children, and taught them crafts and songs. It was like the rest of the camps around The Church, a safe and happy place.<br /><br />Since the gathering is about freedom and diversity, for those who preferred to drink alcohol, there was "A" camp, set apart form The Church and the rest of the camps. It was far enough where the ugliness inherent with alcohol consumption would not spoil the serenity of the meadow.<br /><br />Day and night, people visited among the camps sharing conversation, music and food. And, yes, there was weed, just like you find at most concerts or outdoor events, but, surprisingly, it was not a major focus of the experience. It was sharing in a peaceful community built in the woods. No electricity, no generators, no TV or radios, no money. The campers provided there own patrols dedicated to the safety and security of the campers, and ensured that the rules of the forestry department were followed.<br /><br />But in 2008, on July 3, the eve of the day of prayer, the government declared war on it's citizens. Through out the day, they toured the camps, kicking napping sun bathers awake, illegally searching the people and their private property, tearing up campsites, handcuffing and arresting campers for minor infractions. The campers remained passive. Those who had cameras recorded the scenes. One camper even followed along providing musical accompaniment with his horn.<br /><br />Then later that evening, during supper time at "Kiddie Kamp", while some men and women were leading the children in prayer before the meal, while others were preparing to serve the meal, a formation of national law enforcement officers marched in battle formation into the camp.<br /><br />Without warning or demands, they fire upon the adults and children in the camp. The rounds were pepper spray bullets. Not lethal, but not harmless. They shot the men and women who were protecting the children. They shot children. They even shot the children pet dogs. They shot those who were sitting and praying. They shot those who calmly asked them to leave. They shot those who asked why. They fired indiscriminately without reason, not caring who they hit or how many times they hit them. <br /><br />They shot so many rounds at that small group of men, women and children, that from across the meadow, it looked as if a fire had broken out in Kiddie Kamp. The campers sounded an alarm, and everyone ran with containers of water to help put the fire out. Not until they arrived at the camp, did the realize that it was not a fire, but a vicious attack on the most vulnerable and innocent of the campers. And they too we fired upon.<br /><br />No orders were issued to the campers, and there were no responses to the camper's questions when they asked why were they being fired upon. It was a silent and vicious attack on American citizens availing themselves to the public land set aside for their free use. They were not breaking the laws by being there. But the peaceful gathering of American citizens is not tolerated by our government, not even in the middle of nowhere.<br /><br />And those that were shot, while they knelt and prayed? Did their prayers offend the officers?<br /><br />Why? No legal reason of any kind. Maybe some people were smoking some pot, but never in the Kiddie Kamp Maybe some of the people in the "A" camp below the meadow were a little snockered. But even those infraction cannot justify assaulting the men, women and children that we merely camping together in the wilderness.<br /><br />And you you think that there was an uproar? Do you think that people we infuriated that the government attacked children? Do you think that any of the officers involved we reprimanded in any way? Do you think there was any justice for those traumatized children? Were counselors sent in to help the kids deal with the trauma? Of course not. Because the government can do anything, and the rights of the people only exist when federal, state and local governments allow them to exist. It may be a surprise to a lot of people, but, the denial of citizens rights happens every day all across this nation. <br /><br />It happens when those in power do not have to answer to the people that put them there. It happens when the people that put them there do not hold the government accountable. It happens when we decided that some people do not deserve the same rights we have because of their color, nationality, or social, religious or political affiliation. It happens when one group with power passes judgment of the lives and beliefs of those outside their group.<br /><br />It happens in Austin, Texan, where the city police decide to try out their new bean bag rifles on unsuspecting party goers at the marti gras celebration downtown. They claimed they was a riot, but having been there, I saw no riot, only a stampede of frightened people when smiling officers on horseback began firing into the crowd.<br /><br />It happens in San Jose, when officers stand over a man attending a concert in the park, and taze him over and over, because he is convulsing from the previous shocks.<br /><br />It happens when a Bart officer in San Francisco can execute an unarmed man who is lying on the ground by shooting him point blank in the head.<br /><br />It happens when a police officer can maliciously shoot and kill a little mexican girl's dog, as she plays with it in the street in front of her home.<br /><br />It happens when a black child can be arrested because he is walking down the sidewalk in Texas.<br /><br />It happens when no one cares.<br /><br />It happens when we are too afraid to stand up for what is right.<br /><br />And if you think this does not affect your sweet little law-abiding self, then I can only quote Jackson Brown... "Don't think it won't happen just because it hasn't happened yet." And when it does, who will stand up for you?<br /><br />So, I find it hard to take people seriously to cry "I want my country back!". We, the people, never really had it, at least not freely. Sadly, we must struggle against our own government to enjoy our own constitutional rights. But no one wants to fight for actual justice. From my point of view, those sniveling idiots at the town hall meetings needn't worry, their country is alive and well and stinking to high hell.<br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>CE Bundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165385921773620274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997799673423412216.post-40706198952502080932009-08-14T18:24:00.000-07:002009-08-14T20:29:50.356-07:00Dog killer on the loose!The title of this post is enough to raise a shiver in the majority of dog owners, unless they are themselves, dog killers like Michael Vick. For the majority of us who see our pets as full fledged members of our families, what Michael Vick did was truly unforgivable.<br /><br />I, for one, cannot imagine the depth of evil in this man's heart (if he actually has one), that he would torture and kill animals for fun and profit. This isn't the act of slaughtering an animal for food, or even their fur. It's the enjoyment of not only watching but inflicting horrific violence, pain and death.<br /><br />Not only did he get a ridiculously light sentence, but knew that we would walk out of prison to go on and make millions. Much better men have walk out of prison for much lesser crimes with nothing to go back to. Face it, in the grand scheme of things, it was a mere inconvenience for him.<br /><br />Should he be reinstated? No!!! This wasn't some victimless crime like betting on sports. And it's not like he was caught taking steroids. But like those who have gotten caught for these lesser offensives, he knew what he was risking when he committed these sickening and cruel crimes, and obviously he felt indulging in his sadistic and obscene proclivities was more important than enjoying the truly fortunate and blessed life of being a football star.<br /><br />Now that he's had his slap on the wrist, Mikey wants to have it all back. And we are supposed to be all soft and forgiving when he recites a little apology speech some publicist wrote for him in order to collect a cool 1.6 million for a few months of work. Perhaps we should shed a tear that he may actually have to wait a year or two before we starts making the truly obscene bucks.<br /><br />But the fact it that football is entertainment, and it's hard to enjoy watching or rooting for someone as despicable as Mr. Vick. And I would never allow my kids to look up to someone like that. And I sure wouldn't want to be a player on the opposing team. I know that football is a sport for tough guys, but it stops being a game when your opponent is a known out and out sadist with no morals. Ask Jim McMahon.<br /><br />Maybe I'm an extremist, after all, I used to be a Guns and Roses fan until I found out that Axel beat women and was a outspoken racist, and even though I enjoyed their music, I could not stomach supporting Mr. Rose after that. And my kids will sure tell you about the lectures they had to endure, and my refusal to allow them to buy things that support people who represented the worse in human nature. I'm even old fashioned enough to think that the iron cross is not an appropriate fashion statement... nor the nazi flag... nor the confederate flag for that matter.<br /><br />But, alas, Mr. Vick and the Eagles are fortunate that here in America, we value entertainment above morals or values. We are happy to put millions and billions of dollars in the pockets of violent abusers, pedophiles (and, no, I'm not talking about Michael Jackson) and racists. So brutal sadists that target helpless animals for their perversions should be no problem for us.<br /><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>CE Bundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165385921773620274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997799673423412216.post-71777921348657766932009-08-01T19:27:00.000-07:002009-08-01T19:27:09.796-07:00Can Democrats Pass Health-Care Reform on Their Own?<a href="http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1909439,00.html">Can Democrats Pass Health-Care Reform on Their Own?</a><br /><br />The Blue Dog Democrats are a traitorous group of "so-called" democrats that seem to be working for the republicans. Apparently, like republicans, they think that our tax dollars should be used for pointless wars and to line the pockets of corporations than to provide services to support the citizens.<br /><br />I believe that the only role of government is to provide the people what they cannot efficiently provide for itself. I do not believe in government "take-overs" of industry. I believe that capitalism should be left to it's own devices where possible. <br /><br />But not everything should be for profit, especially not our health. I should not be left to die because treatment would cut into a company's profit margin.<br /><br />Having spent some time serving in the military, I know that government run healthcare is not perfect. But for profit health care is far worse. In the military, I was never denied service!<br /><br />There has been mention of co-op. But we are already paying into a co-op... the government. <br /><br />By providing healthcare, the government is not <span style="font-weight: bold;">giving </span>us anything. The average taxpayer has more than paid for it!<br /><br />We need to fight the Blue Dogs. The are nothing but Republicans that have crashed our party!<br /><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>CE Bundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165385921773620274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997799673423412216.post-70880529764985809322009-07-29T15:49:00.000-07:002009-07-29T17:24:45.562-07:00Waking From the StuporI had a little mishap on Memorial Day. I found out the hard way that my 500cc scooter, does not keep up very well with my sons' 625cc Ducati and 1450 Ninja. That it isn't just sheer horse power, the cornering is a bit different too. We weren't riding balls out. We were cruising some winding mountain roads, and I hit a bend too wide, caught the futz at the edge of the pavement, and down I went.<br /><br />When I realized that there was no stopping the inevitable, my thought was simple a true "Oh Shit, my bike is gonna be trashed!". <br /><br />Well, to my relief, though it has some road rash, it's OK.<br /><br />Me? Well, it's amazing how many pieces a bone can shatter into. My tibia is now a gruesome mosiac held together by my skin and this contraption the call an external fixater. My fibia, just has a nice clean break.<br /><br />So after two surgeries, and two months of being kept as Roger Waters coined it, "Comfortably Numb", I am rousing from my stupor.<br /><br />Not that I've had a leisurely time of it. You see, the company that I work for doesn't not provide short term disability. And although the emergency leave act protects my job, I cannot afford to live without an income for the 3 - 6 months it's going to take to heal.<br /><br />So, with a lot of grumbling from mid to high level mangement, I am able to work from home after surrendering all my leave. And no, it's not the wink, wink, nudge, nudge kind of working from home. I've turned a bedroom into an test lab, and I practically have my laptop permanently installed on my lap. <br /><br />I have literally had work conversations at 3 in the morning. I work 7 days a week, and for most days over 10 hours a day. <br /><br />But on the brightside, until the grumblings of management win out ("Is she really being productive?"), I still have a job.<br /><br />So I say to congress, it's more that just Health Care and americans need. Without disability insurance, an injured or sick person may still find themselves and their family out on the street.<br /><br /><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>CE Bundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165385921773620274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997799673423412216.post-46608145001338546892009-07-29T15:13:00.000-07:002009-07-29T15:36:07.607-07:00Monkeys Throwing Shit!OK, I think it's time to close down the monkey exhibits as a public health hazard. Yeah, I'm talking about the Rush's, the Hannity's, the Billo's, and all the rest of the idiots flinging shit out of their fiery red asses.<br /><br />Apparently the idea is that even the best of us look bad when covered with crap. And if everything is covered in shit, who will have the stomach to sort through it to salvage the good stuff.<br /><br />The problem is that the more they fling, the more the exhibits are being advertised by the Democratic pundits, presumably to point out how dirty these little bastards really are. But as most animal trainers know, these guys respond to behavior modification techniques and the more positive reinforcement (attention = rating = bananas), the more they'll gleefully with the air with their noxious bombs.<br /><br />Perhaps the way to handle it is to do a news blackout. I am convinced that the majority of people that tune into these people's show because of the outrageous content rather than any sense of agreement. Like a geek in a sideshow, people watch out of morbid curiosity. So the more they are pointed out, the more flock to watch the freak show! But watch out folks, the more you watch, the more you will get on you!<br /><br />Face it, Rush would skip rope naked while reciting Hilter's greatest speeches and farting the national anthem if it got him ratings. They've gone so extreme, that just may be on his show in the near future... unless Beck or Hannity beats him to it.<br /><br />And the senate repubs... They ought to feel ashamed feeding off of shit they throw. It only emphasizes that they will happily represent the worst imaginable side of americans rather than stand up for what is right.<br /><br />Republicans have no position or ideas because the are waiting for the lowest, most hateful among their party to feed it to them. So what comes from their mouths? Monkey Shit! And man does it ever stink!<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>CE Bundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165385921773620274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997799673423412216.post-50345793659987151562009-03-02T19:05:00.001-08:002009-03-02T20:28:47.087-08:00Crisis? What, Crisis?I believe that you can draw some profound parallels between our current problems in the economy and our recent approach to the way we handled forest fires. Up until recently, we would rush to put out a forest fire as soon as it broke out. We saw fires as a horrible destruction, instead of what they were. Then we discovered that forest fires are a natural part of natures constant cycle of destruction of the old to make way for the new. Fires are a key part of the regeneration of the forests.<br /><br />But we valiantly fought them, until the old growth built up so much that when a fire did break out it was so big that it was impossible to control and much more destructive.<br /><br />The same is true with our economy. It you notice that these days, big business has evolved to the point that almost any industry is controlled by "the big three". Auto makers, banks, super market chains, cereal producers... you get the picture. They are the new monopolies. The big threes are much less competitive than most people think. Together, they control the markets, and fix prices. Ever wonder why a box of cereal is $5 bucks when the actual cost to produce it is less than $1? Ever wonder why all of the companies sell their cereal for about the same inflated price? Because together they control the prices. Remember about five years ago the government started looking into cereal prices, and the big three all lower their prices... for a while?<br /><br />These big threes are powerful, and block any new competition. Notice that the only the real changes in over the years in the auto industry are those that either save the companies money, are forced by government (think safety features), or they can charge a lot of money for. But the basic affordable car has not changed a lot. So where is the competition with the new ideas? Bought out or stomped out by the big three.<br /><br />Like the old grow in the forest the big three have gotten so big that they block out the sun and starve out the new growth. They should have fallen long ago. But the government kept bailing them out, putting out the small fires. Now that they are so big, it's a massive fire that is required, and that in turn for kill a lot of new growth too, all at once. That also means a longer recovery time.<br /><br />Do we honestly think that if the big three auto manufacturers go down, no one new will come up and start building cars? Or if the mortgage banks go down, all the houses will be empty while the people live in the streets? Or will smaller banks be able to buy those loans for pennies on the dollar, and adjust the principle of the loans to to reflect the true value of the property, lowering the debt and the payments to a sustainable amount? And with the help of the federal government (or maybe even without), and strong usury laws (remember when 30% interest was considered loan sharking?), we can get through this a lot quicker than continuing our policy of bailing out the big three. Haven't the bank bailouts already proved to be ineffective?<br /><br />It is going to hurt? Yes. But if we keep on the bailout path, it will continue to hurt for a lot longer, and when we do start to recover, recovery will take a lot longer.<br /><br /><br />Maybe I'm just brave because I already lost everything in the tech crash. But on the other hand, I can say that there is life on the other side of the disaster. <br /><br />Being a victim of the crash has taught me a few key things:<br />1) Stay away from credit except where absolutely necessary.<br />2) I don't have to own a house to be happy or live well.<br /><br />Remember that old chant. The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire. We don't need no water let the motherfucker burn!CE Bundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165385921773620274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997799673423412216.post-48347151270511392122009-03-02T18:30:00.000-08:002009-03-02T19:04:56.448-08:00Who is to blame for the mortgage crisis?<span class="lw-text">I wonder if the people who keep talking about how people took out mortgages on homes they couldn't afford ever considered why those people couldn't afford them?<br /><br />It's not like the vast majority these people were buying mansions. When you consider that in California, a 60 year old cracked-up stucco track house averaged a cool million until recently, maybe it makes more sense to question the cause of the artificially inflated house prices.<br /><br />Ron Paul is right in the notion that the answer may be to let it all crash. Let the housing prices fall back to what they should be. Actually, despite bail-outs, I believe it will happen.<br /><br />When it takes two upper-middle class incomes and creative financing to purchase a mortgage on a home that was built in the 1950s to accommodate families living on a single low military salary, there's something fundamentally wrong.<br /><br />A lot of people got "rich" during the tech boom. But, isn't it ironic that the result was that they ended up spending the majority of their wealth to simply maintain the standard of living that their lower-middle- class, one income, parents and grandparents enjoyed.<br /><br />Regardless of what happens with backs and auto manufacturers, the one thing that cannot be "fixed" is the rapid depreciation of housing prices. That leaves the majority of the home owners in Northern California upside down on their mortgages. But the housing bubble had to break at some point. <br /><br />So again let it crash. But instead of bailing out the banks, bail out the homeowners that are stuck with a million dollar mortgage on a $70,000 dollar house. Someone has to live in these homes, and regardless of the turn in the economy, I guarantee you that they won't be inhabited by wealthy people. <br /><br />I believe this is a natural correction in a housing market that went terribly wrong. The point is to figure out how to avoid getting into this mess again.<br /><br /></span>CE Bundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165385921773620274noreply@blogger.com0