Who is the Drain?

Let's see...... big banks dole out $32 billion in bonuses with our hard-earned tax dollars while the sick and elderly get shafted.

Who is the drain on the system???

Male Baldness

I'm just sitting here listening to the tv drinking coffee. It's a typical weekday morning. The television is blasting some irritating commercial promising miracle cures for male baldness.

I never understood why men get so freaked about hair loss. Hair (or lack thereof) has never been a determining factor in what I find attractive. Grass does not grow on a busy street.

California Sales Tax

This is not a joke. This picture was taken at a Subway sandwich shop in Sonoma County, California. I want to know which bloated, over-paid government bureaucrat contemplated this ridulous set of sales tax rules. I'm sure it just was not one bored bureaucrat trying to justify living off the public trough.. I'm sure there were many involved in this. No wonder the State of California is such a mess. They're wasting time and energy on stupid, useless shit like this.

Who audits this crap? Is the California Hot Sandwich police going to close down Subway because it toasted sandwiches, collected sales tax on it, and then did not report it to the state; therefore, keeping the tax as profits? What if my bottled beverage contains juice (which is not taxable)? Is that taxable? How much juice does a bottled beverage need to have in order to be non-taxable?

Do you see how STUPID all of this is? Raise up, people, and let your representatives know our money would be better spent on doing something that is actually productive and serves a real purpose -- like giving tickets to cell phone yakkers.

Driving Basics: Use of Blinkers

Do you remember drivers ed? Do you remember the section that pertained to blinkers? Let's review: the use of blinkers (signals) allows the other drivers to anticipate your intention of direction. This simple action is common courtesy and alleviates accidents. The intent of a signal is to communicate to other drivers BEFORE the action of a turn is taken -- not during or after.

I think every driving dork in Sonoma County has forgotten the basic rule using turn signals. I see people turning on their blinkers AS they are making the turn. Thanks a lot, fuckwad... I've already figured out you're turning. It's like screaming "Happy New Year" five minutes after midnight and after the horns are blown and all the confetti thrown... Useless.

Public vs. Private Employers

I have been exposed to the depths of the public work sector and the private work sector. Both are ugly. Of course, there are always exceptions to stereo-types, but in my 20+ years experience in dealing with employee relations a specific pattern has emerged.

The public (government) work sector is generally lazy and unmotivated. They will do the bare minimum to get by, and drag their feet and whine the entire time they are doing it. There is no accountability for anything. Everybody points the finger at somebody else. I have yet to see an efficient government operation.

Some larger corporations can also take on the government work model. I've seen that happen. They can get away with it until the company can no longer hide its debt with any more shell games on the books. Then, the company makes the final transformation into a government entity by begging the government for money because they're "too big to fail."

The private work sector will work employees into the ground in the name of "competition" while the top reaps any and all rewards sharing very little with the people who got them there. The over-zealous, greedy, type A assholes win in this scenario.

I'm afraid it's a choice of the lesser of two evils. However, I'm not sure which one it is. My sage advice for employer/employee relations still remains as....

Employers: Don't be a bunch of greedy bastards.
Employees: Do your job and quick fucking around.

Government Tit Suckers

I work in an industry where I have access to privileged financial and background information of some government employees. What I see day in and day out makes me want to throw up. Some of the worst "scammers" of the system are the government employees themselves. These scammers are not your typical rank and file clerks at the DMV. They are high-level state employees, some elected, some even retired, still trying to milk as much funds for themselves as possible. I have not even touched on the rampant abuse of workers' compensation fraud and disability claims for police and firefighters. That's another rant all in itself.

I have absolutely NO trust in the upper echelons of the state or federal government. Their M.O. is to secure as much for themselves in pensions and other retirement benefits (did I also mention jobs for their friends/families?) Putting on a facade of serving you is an inconvenience they must endure on their path to lining their own pockets.

Wake up people!!!!! There is a reason why there is such resistance on cutting government. These same morons who we elected to serve us want to raise your taxes are helping themselves to the feeding frenzy at the trough. JUST SAY NO to any more tax increases and insist on accountability.

The government bloat at the top is real, and that is where the real budget crimes are happening... The reason they have gotten away with it is that they have barricaded themselves with separate departments, fuzzy budget math, complicated funding sources, insane disbursement formulas that even Einstein would not be able to figure out, and layers upon layers of subordinates who are willing to lie and die for their master for hopes of climbing the government ladder themselves to benefit from this insane system. High ranking government employees are the modern "untouchables." Greedy bastards.

Zoo Homos

I could not help but chuckle to myself in reading the paper today about the penguins at the San Francisco zoo. The allegations are that a 'female' penguin broke up the long-standing nesting/homosexual relationship between the two male penguins.

It's all so utterly predictable. Blame the female. It's been that way since Adam and Eve. Whatever. Yawn.... That's not the tangent I'm going to go off on today.

What is even more amusing is that there are nutcases out there claiming that nature "prefers" heterosexual relationships and that is why the "gay" male penguin finally went straight.

I can bet a million bucks that none of these people spouting such opinions ever spent any time on a farm with livestock. Typical city slickers... spouting off on subjects they have no real-life experience with... Let me tell ya.... homosexuality is alive and well in the animal kingdom. There are males humping males, females humping females, and any and all combinations thereof.

I just want to know which biblical quotes these animals go by, what religion they follow, and how were they influenced by society to be gay and/or bisexual/or heterosexual?

Lawsuit

The other day I received a ream of paper in the mail regarding a lawsuit where I may be a beneficiary of a supposed settlement. The jack-ass lawyers took over 300 pages of fine print to convey a message that would have better said with 5 words or less. What is the purpose of dragging out and confusing people with their jargon? Are they trying to justify their $225 per hour?

In order for me to be considered for the settlement, I need to fill out and submit 30 pages of forms and also include: original samples of my dog's shit from two years ago, proof of confirmed sightings of Elvis, hair follicles from Jimmy Hoffa, and my pap smear results.

Who writes this shit? They should be shot.

News Flash: Michael Jackson Died!

Hey!!!! Have you heard that Michael Jackson died?

Seriously, I think we've reached the saturation point with our obsession with this celebrity death. Every paper and magazine in print has his picture plastered on the cover along with every detail of his life from birth until death. Why are we so wrapped up in this and have constant news coverage of Sheniqua hysterically bawling into the camera, who trekked all the way from Tennessee and set up a make-shift memorial with balloons and candles on Hollywood's walk of fame?

Here's a news flash for Sheniqua from Tennessee: Your 15 minutes of fame are up.

Was Michael Jackson talented? Absolutely. Was he a nut case? Absolutely. Does his death deserve constant news coverage 24/7? Absolutely not.

Never mind the North Koreans with their nukes pointed and ready to go. Never mind China and the riots. Never mind the mess in Africa. Never mind the war in the middle east. Never mind the fragile state of our own economy, ecosystem, and politics.

If we could only rally such emotion and participation displayed for Michael Jackson's death and channel it for the political process.....Wow... think of what we could get accomplished. Not to steal Michael's lyrics, but "the would would be a better place for you and me."

Cell Phones in the Bathroom

Please.... don't use your cell phone while in the bathroom. Maybe you don't mind broadcasting your grunts, plops, tinkles, and flushes to the free world, but I prefer my privacy -- even if we are separated by the stall wall.

It's rude and it's just downright gross. Is there no dignity with people anymore? Can't you leave your cell phone alone long enough to use the toiliet? Nobody wants to hear this conversation...

"Well, Jess, the at the last meeting we *grunt* *plop* approved the new budget for 2010. Yes, our investors seem really *tinkle* excited about our project. We should have our team ready *flush* by the end of the month."

Now that your bowels have been emptied, you may now place your cell phone there.

Fuck YOU, you FUCKIN FUCK

I have been in a rather downer all mood all week. Many friends of mine are going through some major shit right now. However, I saw this bumper sticker and started laughing so hard I didn't think I could keep from shaking to take a quick picture of it.

I want one for my car.

One Week

In less than one week, I found out:

1. A very, VERY good friend has stage 4 cancer;
2. One of my best friends from high school tried to commit suicide;
3. An old flame/guy friend from North Dakota has a chronic disease;
4. A couple we are good friends with are splitting up.

Let's see.... what else can happen? Is there any good news? I don't even want to answer the phone anymore. I was on vacation last week, too. I could not enjoy it because my thoughts were preoccupied with those I care about who are suffering.

Believe it or not, despite my bitchy facade on this blog, I truly do have empathy for what people are going through. I just want to help them....

Twilight

OK.... I admit it. I finally read Twilight against the pleas of literature snobs. Guess what. The literature snobs were right. However, I found that I had to read the entire book no matter how cliche and corny it was. It's just like that last Twinkie. You know it's bad and full of crap, but you eat it anyway, and you know you'll regret it.

....burp....

Now..... I need to see the movie.

Airport Security

I wish I could say that this way my photo, but it's not. My travels took me to San Francisco's airport recently. What I found sooooo amusing was that there was a guy wearing a turban working the passenger screening for the San Francisco Airport security.

And we're worried about grandma's hand sanitizer and hairspray?????