Makin'Sausage

Makin' Sausage

You know the old saying, "Never watch them make sausage or laws, it ain't pretty."

With retirement, I now have time during working hours to poke around in the innards of City Government. Folks, it ain't pretty.

You might remember my quest to change the regulations for fencing of backyard swimming pools. In only eigthteen months a new standard was written and approved requirieng fencing when the hole is dug. This really came about by happenstance. I was at a dinner party which included a city official with interest in public safety, he pushed it through.

Attending meetings of the Shreveport Regional Airport Authority Board, I followed the glacerial progress of a move to save one million dollars per year by eliminating two extra firetrucks at the airport. After the usual blue ribbon committe report, read that "fig leaf", it was decided to remove the only one truck six months hence. Why the wait ? This was the price extracted by City Hall and the Fire Union. The six month delay allowed firemen to retire, although it cost the tax payers 125k. When I asked Bill Cooksey, why the wait? He explained, "Well, it was already in the budget." Pass the sausage.

Watching his Honor, the Mayor, feverishly working behind the scenes to derail the extension of 3132, abstaining on a crucial vote while publicly proclaiming his desire to move Shreveport forward, is hard to take. One has to wonder why the Mayor of Shreveport is so taken with a Bossier Parish developer. As a now disenchanted supporter of the Mayor, I see his furure in magic. It is impossible to watch his lips and his hands at the same time, thus you don't notice that his actions don't match his words.

Just turning over these few rocks is sickening enough, is there any wonder that Shreveport is loosing population.

After all, you can't fight City Hall.

Why You Should Like Christi O'Donnell

Why You Should Like Christie O'Donnell

The talking heads are all exercised about Christi O'Donnell's recent Rhino hunt in Delaware. Seems the girl has been dabbling in witchcraft and has had money troubles in the past. Think about it, here is a lady whose Daddy did not serve in Government so could not pass a cushy job to his daughter. I suggest that everyone who has done something foolish in their high school days, had money troubles and said some off the wall things under pressure, vote for Christi. Everyone who grew up playing in the halls of Congress while his Daddy served there before becoming a lobbyist, vote for that white guy in the three piece suit, the Democrat.

Looking at the wreckage of our country today, I don't think we need more of the smartest lawyers in the room serving in Congress. How about someone who has worked for a living, missed a payment or two and been subject to collection agency harassment.

This current crop, Republican and Democrat, is harder to get rid of than insurance salesmen. Robert Byrd was casting votes from a wheelchair, Ted Kennedy may have been technically dead for a week before anyone noticed. One guy is suffering from the effects of a stoke, yet he will not yield.

The establishment parties geld any new candidates before the first primary, the money tit is more attractive than any Ideals of good government for the people.They become one more empty suit, spouting the party talking points.

To whom should the citizen turn today. The financial world has shown itself to be a fraud. The Government is staffed with whores who shuffle through revolving doors, always serving themselves or their patrons.The political class is arrogant and un involved. Like Gulliver, we are trussed by the Lilliputians with a thousand threads. We have been busy with the daily struggle while the levers of power of this beautiful country have been usurped by arrogant men and women who believe they know that is best for us and are hell bent on serving it to us.

As the Queen of Hearts said.."Off with their heads" all of them the good, bad and the beautiful.

Send some wild women and men,to Washington, those who really want to do something for America, black,white,tan, straight,gay and undecided.

Don't vote for an incumbent.

You Knew What I Was......

You Knew What I was.....

There's an old Middle Eastern fable about the frog who was asked by a scorpion to let him ride on his back to cross a river. The frog is hesitant, and makes the scorpion promise not to sting him as they cross. "I would be a fool to sting you, we would both drown", replies the scorpion. The frog relents, allowing the scorpion to climb on, they begin to cross. Suddenly, the scorpion stings the frog, paralyzing him. As they sink, the frog asks "Why did you sting me, now we are both doomed." As the scorpion disappears he answers, "You knew what I was when you let me get on your back." Old truisms persist because man repeats his follies, making them germane in any era.

As we watch the numbers of Muslims increase in our nation, we will probably be surprised many times in the future by home grown terrorists who attack us.

I suggest that the waves of immigrants before were from a world in which religion was a second identity to being American. People came to our shores for freedom from all the things that Muslim rule would bring. Shira law is a mirror image of all the things America stands for. The twisted version of the Muslim religion given to us by our friends the Saudis leaves no room for any other religion or way of life. Yield or die is the message they bring, backed up with beheading, cutting off of hands and stoning. There is no way possible for a follower of Islam as preached by our enemies to be an true citizen of modern America. Does anyone doubt that someone who would stone a woman, deny schooling to girls, or turn the clock back to the dark ages, would take a false oath of allegiance to America?

We open our doors to anyone claiming political asylum or having the ability to climb tall fences.

Still, we welcome Muslims until Detroit has the largest population of Iraqis out side of Iraq.

When there is a home grown 9/11 attack, don't be surprised. We knew what they were.

The Meat of The Matter

The Meat of the Problem

Bo "Goober" Smith is seated on his patio smoking a lettuce cigarette. He is seated beneath the federally mandated 25 horsepower exhaust fan. Although it is August, Goober is covered head to toe with an old Army blanket to avoid harmful UV rays of the Sun as directed by the Federal Sun and Moon Beam Avoidance Council. Above the noise of the fan Goober hears his cell phone. "Yellow" answers Goober. A muffled voice on the other end says, "Goober, its Bernie, the butcher." "Yeah, Bernie, what can I do for you" Goober answers. "Er, are you alone?" asks Bernie."Yep"says Goober, "the wife and kids are gone to a mandatory recycling class down at the Federal Court House. Why, what do you want?"

There is a long silence on the line. Finally, Bernie says" Goober, remember that TBone you bought last week?" "Shore do" says Goober, "it was good too." Bernie takes in a deep breath, "Well, the Federal Cholesterol Control boys were in today looking at my books. Seems that you are over the limit this month on animal cholesterol intake....Goober, this could get nasty."

Goober swallows hard. "Did you tell them it didn't have much marble? Bernie, I gotta have some help here, they had me up on an excess sugar charge last week. I could lose my eating privileges." "Look," Bernie begins,"that Tbone was registered, all cuts of red meat are serial numbered, they can trace it back to the cow.Then the weight of the cow tells them how much marble was in the meat."

Goober lights up another lettuce cigarette, takes a sip his pure carbon filtered, dehydrogenated, dematerialized water as he thinks. "What if I tell them that I fed it to the dog?" Goober is sweating. Bernie snorts, "Goober, you know the Feds just want to make sure you stay healthy, they care about your health,Goob. It's because you can't be trusted to take care of yourself, they gotta watch you. Besides, they can analyze the dogs breath for traces of cholesterol."

Goober is getting hysterical. "But, Bernie, my tooth brushing log book is way behind, my walking shoes still have new soles and the dandruff is out of control."

Goober picks up a dozen eggs, "Bernie! I'm going to end it all! I swear I'm gonna eat the whole dozen eggs and go out in a blaze of Cholesterol...I mean it."

The line goes dead.

Consider The Earthworm

Consider the Earth Worm

The lowly earth worm, lives in the dark, deaf to noise, blind to light. The earth worm takes in soil on one end and excretes waste soil out of the other end.

Consider America today, taking in Chinese goods on one end and excreting debt and used goods out the other end. The Chinese badly need jobs for their millions of eager hands. America exported its jobs years ago. The current industrial base of America is the shopping mall. Here the Chinese goods are processed by the American consumer into used products and debt. The life cycle of the American earth worm goes like this. America borrows money from the Chinese via bonds of national debt. The Chinese pretend that the bonds are worth real money, they then ship the products of their factories to our shores where we buy them and order more. Gradually, Americans will not be "working" in the usually accepted way. Our job will be to shop for and purchase the mountains of goods produced by the Chinese to keep them happy.The used products will be shipped to Bangladesh for recycling by barefoot dismantlers, the residue returned to China, materials for new poducts.Then,the process will begin again, just in time for Christmas.

Less astute observers believe that China is a military threat to America. Think about, when has a seller ever attacked its best customer? Why bomb a country that you own?

Further, if China conquered America, they would have to find jobs for all the American citizens no longer shopping to keep the Chinese citizens busy. The Chinese need us more than we need them. If the new China suffered fifteen percent unemployment, tires would be burning in the streets. Unemployed Americans just go the mail box for their check and vote Democrat.

And so the charade goes on, I pretend to pay you, you pretend the money is good. Like a counterfeit twenty in circulation, only a fool would reveal its a fake while its in his wallet. When will the whistle blow? Who knows, but it will make the Great Depression look like a High School Prom.

Why Does It Cost So much To Fly From Shreveport

Why Does it Coast So Much To Fly Out Of Shreveport ?

On the face of it this seems a simple question. Why are air fares so much cheaper at surrounding, much smaller city airports.

The simple answer is: Deregulation.

While we were not looking, the air travel industry changed to accommodate changing market conditions. Folks, the day of the Beaver Cleaver family driving the Edsel out the airport with the five piece, matched, hard sided Samsonite luggage, Mom in the pill box hat and white gloves, Dad in the wool suit, tie, and fedora are gone. Notice, I did not reference the Air Service industry. Forget the niceties, this is air travel cattle car style, pioneered by Southwest. The air carriers are focused on butts in seats at the highest price possible, not your comfort and convenience. Sorry, Charlie.

The fierce competition of the past is over for out of the way burgs like Shreveport. With three carriers "serving" Shreveport with no competition among them, we are a profit center to subsidize the cheap tickets out of DFW or somewhere else.

Today, if you want to spend your money on the family vacation, not on air line tickets, you must be your own travel agent. Find the ticket price first, then book the accommodations at your destination. be flexible on the dates. The tail is wagging the dog here.

The Shreveport Regional web site is now tracking the prices to help if you insist on flying from Shreveport. But, this is business, find the best deal for your needs and book accordingly.

You might attend a monthly meeting of the Regional Airport Board(third Thursday of the month at 9am) for a close look at how your city manages things. Also, there will be a blue ribbon committee of all the usual suspects to devise a twenty year master plan for the airport. Surprise the hell out of them and show up for a meeting and speak out. I missed you at the first meeting in July.

Don't expect to change things at the airport . It is a political entity which also is used for political aims.

There is always Green Park on Bistineau for a fun weekend getaway.

Position wanted

Position desired: Mature, experienced Middle East Despot seeks like position in new locale. Due to unforeseen corporate realignment, I find myself available to rule any country in need of firm hand at the helm. Experienced in downsizing and personnel management, I bring forty two years experience to the table. Available for immediate transfer. Contact MK, Lybia RFD.