Teacher's Unions: Do You Want A Receipt For Your Souls?

Obama's economic stimulus package was voted on by the House yesterday. Every Republican voted against it. Eleven Democrats did too.

Here's why...


Obama is proposing to spend more than the entire Iraq war with one fell swoop of the pen, under the guise of a bailout.

Bailout??? This isn't strictly a bailout. Included in this bill is one big massive vote buyout payment to the teachers unions and the welfare throng, Obama's biggest supporters.

Let's look at the fine print on a $819 billion dollar package. (from the Wall Street Journal)

"In the education realm, the stimulus aims more than $125 billion at bolstering public education, an unusual federal intervention in a sphere usually left to state and local governments. It calls for spending $20 billion on school and college renovations. There's another $79 billion proposed for aid to the states to help them avoid education-related layoffs. In addition, more than $2 billion would go to the Head Start program, $13 billion to supplemental funding for high-poverty areas, and another $13 billion for special-education programs."


125 billion dollars of a STIMULUS PACKAGE to education???

How the hell in God's name does sending 125B to the education system, and a lion's share of that to preserve salaries ($79B), help stimulate the economy? This is a fucking outrage!

15% of the "Stimulus Package" is going to education (125B/819B). Throw in 50 million to the National Endowment to the Arts to add insult to injury (no I am not making that up, check the article yourself).

The stimulus package is basically a welfare package payout to many of those who were elemental to Obama's run for the presidency. Unfortunately, very little of it will actually go to stimulating the economy.

Congratulations, teachers unions...spend your dollars wisely.

Karma dictates that what comes around, goes around. School vouchers, shared home-schooling and privatization are in the future. It'll be the greatest thing for students but then finally, teachers will get paid what they are worth...not what the teachers unions can sponge taxpayers for. If I was a teacher, I'd be apt to try to gain control of the union that represents me, because eventually the union will spell the demise of the current education system in favor of privatization.

The fact that 11 democrats broke ranks gives me some hope for this country. Next time, Obama wants to give his buddies free money, I wish he would just call it what it is...a payout of free money or voter welfare and not hide it under a guise of a stimulus package.

Now, I'm sure all the teachers that are my friends will be pissed off by this post and I really don't give a rat's ass about that. I think that this could possibly be one of the most outwardly corrupt cash grabs I've ever seen in my life. Maybe some of them will finally see the greed, corruption and power of the national entities that spoon feed them their "facts"..., but probably not.

Unions and Thain and Pray For Rain...

This fucker, former CEO of Merrill Lynch, John Thain, was unceremoniously dumped by Bank of America today.

Was it his 1.22M office? Was it the 3-4B in bonuses he okay'd right before Bank of America was to take ownership and "supposedly" before he knew that Merrill Lynch's numbers were going to be bad in the previous quarter? Was it the fact, that in the middle of the banking turmoil and while facing possible bankrupcy, that he insisted on himself getting a 10M bonus for "putting together" the Merrill Lynch/BAC deal? As if he had a choice not to go forward.

Honestly, the corporate culture and the unions are killing this country and we are choosing to bail these fuckers out.

I say nationalize the banks for the time being and allow the auto industry to go through bankruptcies. It's the only way to clean the scum out from their lofty perches...

Stop taking sides in class warfare and realize that both sides are hosing the fuck out of us!!!

Then the banks can be slowly re-privatized in time as buyers come back without the government (us) purchasing their fucktard toxic debt and we can renegotiate what a autoworker is really worth and not what some fatcat union boss demands that he/she is worth.

I'm so sick and tired of taking it up the ass by Corporate America and Unions. Enough already!

Hope Fades, Reality Sets In

Barrack Obama is a smart guy. With a throng of hero-worshipping liberals, the Hollyweird elite and the leftist media whipped into a frenzy, he chose an overall message of personal responsibility to center his inauguration speech around.

That gives me some hope. Hope that President Obama is more centered and has a firmer grip on reality than many of his most avid supporters, who think he's going to waive a magic wand and cure all of our individual and collective woes. These are the same people who will likely be the first to turn on him when he doesn't support their pet projects with equal fervor.

I'm hoping that Obama is successful as a President and helps bring our two parties together, as partisanship is slowly killing this nation. Of course, I'm very skeptical but I have to believe that he didn't honestly think he was going to be able to live up to all of his campaign promises, many of which would face vigorous opposition from conservatives.

He has a Democratic House and Senate to help him push his agenda. The only thing left to wonder is whether he will use them to push the country to the far left or whether he is willing to truly be a consensus builder as he promised.

My biggest hope though is that he keeps us safe and defends our great nation with vigilance equal to that of President Bush. I'm not convinced that he can, but I hope that he does.

Good luck Mr. President!

My Final Pre-Inaugural Purchase

Since the Dems are coming tomorrow with full control of the House, Senate and Oval Office, I figured I couldn't afford not to make one last firearms purchase before guns "start coming under fire (pun intended)".

While I think Obama has a lot more on his plate to worry about, I'd be shocked if we don't see huge tax increases for guns/ammo in the immediate future.

This Remington 870 Express 12 ga shotgun should pretty much fill my arsenal. I'm looking forward to hunting turkey with it next year.

I may have also "jumped the gun (pun intended)" on my "NRA member by 45" prediction. I've already filled out the paperwork!

Pittsburgh Penguins Give Bebis Final Birthday Present!

Bebis and I attended our annual Pens-Rangers game this afternoon for her birthday. As usual, the Pens sent her home happy with a 3-0 victory. I swear she is a Ranger jinx as she roots for her hometown Pens! That coupled with the Steelers win over the Ravens really made her day!

And while she was away, her sisters made some interesting snow art. That post will follow.

Family Feud 2: Electric Bugaloo

Well, Tay has done it again.

Just to summarize, Tay and I play a game while we watch Family Feud. We both try to guess the number 1 answers for the first four rounds. One point is given for the number 1 answer, ties get 1/2 point and if neither of us gets the number 1, a 1/2 point is given to the highest ranked answer between us.

Many of you enjoyed my last story of a miracle victory, here is the latest incantation.

I go up quickly 1-0 as I nail the first answer. Tay takes a half point in Round 2. In Round 3, we both give the same #1 answer, so the score stands at Bluey 1.5, Tay 1 with one last round coming up.

I start to tease her.

"You know all I have to do now is to wait for you to start saying something and just say the same thing and take the win..."

"That's what you ALWAYS do!"

"Now, who's being a sore loser? I'm just kidding...it's on like Donkey Kong!"

"We'll see..."

So, the last question is "Name a language that many people must learn for business purposes"

Tay yells out "Spanish!"

I was a little slow on the draw and also yell out Spanish...

It's the #1 answer.

I immediately go on the offensive.

"Well, that's a tie...you lose!"

"I did not you big cheater! I said it first!"

"No you didn't!"

"Did too! You lost fair and square...admit it, admit it!"

I sheepishly concur...I'm a beaten man...

Other answers are given on the show, Chinese and English also were up there #2 and #3 leaving one more answer. I'd pretty much accepted defeat until Tay blurts out...

"I'll give you the win if you get the last answer..."

I immediately answer "French".

Tay says, "That answer has already been given"

"No, it hasn't"

Tay goes into full panic mode judging by her eyes...

The #4 answer turns out to be, you guessed it..."French".

"WooHoooooooooo!!! I win!!!! Yes!!!!"

"That doesn't count", counters Tay, "I was only joking".

"What? You were not!"

"I thought that they already gave French, so it doesn't count!"

"No. I admitted that I lost and didn't even beg for a last chance deal. I had accepted the loss until you made the offer and I answered. I won fair and square. You got a little too big for yer britches!"

"Damn!"

So, once again, Bluey snatches victory out of the jaws of defeat!

Will Tay ever learn?

Jersey Boys

We celebrated Bebis' birthday tonight and saw Jersey Boys at the Benedum. All I can say is, wow, what a show!

I never realized that the Four Seasons cranked out so many hits. The girls absolutely loved the high energy of the show and actually knew all the songs (I guess by cultural osmosis). Tay loved it as well.

I would highly recommend this musical. Oh, what a night! (ok, I know, that was pretty bad)

Nobody Goes Full Retard...

I watched Tropic Thunder last night. It was weird but extremely hilarious in spots. It will definitely be one of those cult classics that everyone quotes lines from for years.

The movie is about a bunch of actors making a war movie. Ben Stiller's character, Tugg Speedman, talks about his best role (Simple Jack), that all the awards shows snubbed. He explains how he puts his whole effort into the role, actually feeling retarded after leaving the set most nights. But the movie flops anyway. In comes Robert Downey's character, an Austrailian actor, Kirk Lazarus, with many Academy Award wins who has pigmentation surgery to play an African-American platoon sargeant in the film, to offer his sage advice for playing "slow" individuals on film.


Kirk Lazarus: Everybody knows you never go full retard.



Tugg Speedman: What do you mean?



Kirk Lazarus: Check it out. Dustin Hoffman, 'Rain Man,' look retarded, act retarded, not retarded. Counted toothpicks, cheated cards. Autistic, sho'. Not retarded. You know Tom Hanks, 'Forrest Gump.' Slow, yes. Retarded, maybe. Braces on his legs. But he charmed the pants off Nixon and won a ping-pong competition. That ain't retarded. Peter Sellers, "Being There." Infantile, yes. Retarded, no. You went full retard, man. Never go full retard. You don't buy that? Ask Sean Penn, 2001, "I Am Sam." Remember? Went full retard, went home empty handed...



The scene from Tropic Thunder just about had me pissing myself (although you need to see the "Simple Jack" trailer in the movie to have a real appreciation for it). This is what got most people upset over the movie for and of course, I find it absolutely hilarious...go figure!

Tay and I finished watching the movie and we were goofing around before going to bed.

I pop a couple of my meds and go to swallow them down and Tay Tay says, "You went Full Retard...You never go Full Retard..."

I started to choke and spit the ice tea in my mouth across the room and my pills all over the floor. I started to laugh so hard it actually hurt my throat.

I'm pretty sure we'll be saying that for awhile around here.

I would recommend the movie for twisted individuals like myself. Tom Cruise nearly stole the movie. He was hilarious, especially dancing to Flo Rida's "Low". I almost pissed myself at that scene too!

Florida Buys Trophy Case For Their Award!

I'm proud to say, I watched not one minute of college football this year and will continue to boycott the sport until a few things happen. I see no point in investing 3 seconds of my time in such a nonsensical and arbitrary contest each year.

Until the NCAA wrestles the scheduling of games away from universities and gives everyone a fair and balanced schedule with an equal number of home and away games, really, what is the point of watching?

Most teams have no chance of winning the BCS title no matter how they perform. College football doesn't have to have a playoff system necessarily (although, it would be great), but it does need to provide each team with a comparable SOS (strength of schedule) to allow each team a legitimate chance and not just pay lip service to their perceived "2nd tier" teams.

They'd be better off cleaving off a whole bunch of these Division I teams, rather then giving them false hope of ever winning a title. And for God's sake, let's maximize natural rivals as much as possible and create some cross continental regular season rivalries as well.

Let's face it, Penn State and Pitt should be playing each other, not Appalachian State or Temple.

So, NCAA...take on the role of schedulemaker already and lose the shitty programs already. Have a Division II league where the top 10 programs in a given year replace the bottom 10 Division I programs to at least mix it up or give a chance to up and coming programs.

Until that happens...I could give a shit.

Happy 14th Birthday, Bebis!

Just want to give my daughter, Bebis a quick shout out.

She turns 14 today. Fourteen...god where do the years go? Her and her buddy Izzy are doing some mad celebrating today.

Another Gem From The Onion!

I almost pissed myself watching this video.

A Major Award!

As part of the spoils of the Bluey's Hail Mary championship, I have donated a travelling trophy to the league to be enjoyed by all future WashPA FFL champions.

Thanks to all for one hell of a season. With five teams vying for the final playoff spot on the last regular season weekend, I think we all gained a real appreciation for just how competitive this league is. This trophy is my tribute to all of you guys.

Engraved on the first 4 detail plates are champions from 2005 (Flavorfools), 2006 (Justice League Now), 2007 (Bird) and 2008 (Hail Mary).

Of course, I am going to enjoy showing it off until draft day, when I will bring the trophy and surrender it to the commissioner.

Then, it'll be on like Donkey Kong!

If you think I'm going to surrender this trophy easily, you obviously don't know me very well.

Bluey's First "Timber!!!"

After relenting and getting me a Stihl Farm Boss for Christmas, Tay has been watching me like a hawk because she knew I wanted to take down a big dead tree now that I had a chainsaw.

She'd tell me, "you don't have a clue what you're doing".

I'd tease her and say, "I watched the lumberjacks on ESPN and a bunch of Axemen episodes. I know how to do it".

Of course, the first tree I wanted to take down was about 10 feet from our garage, which raised Tay's anxiety level even higher. So, as the days passed since Christmas she's been sleeping with one eye and one ear open.

Until today.

I paid the 4 junior peteys $5 each to create a diversion in the house.

While Tay was occupied, I bustled outside, fired up the chainsaw and went to work on the tree. She became wise to the ruse but was too late to stop me.

She grabbed the camera because she was sure I was going to drop the dead tree on the garage and wanted to get evidence for posterity and future bribery.

And the results...Sweet Success!!!

Tay was truly amazed! Although a Downey woodpecker seemed to be giving me the evil eye...