Sorry For The Delay

It's been quite a while since I've posted a blog. There are many reasons why. Just to name a few; I am in the middle of a divorce, I am completely turned off by the political climate we now have & I've been busy.

First off, anyone that has ever complained about how expensive a divorce can be was correct. Man 'O man, it's unbelievable. It's also very emotionally draining on everyone involved. Hopefully it will end soon. I doubt the bitterness and spitefullness will every really end. But hopefully it will diminish to a manageable level. It's a really difficult thing to go through especially when kids are involved.

Secondly, I have always been patriotic and thought that voting was not only a priviledge, but a duty of every American citizen. But, honestly, I don't want to vote for either of the two Presidential candidates we have running. If this is the best we can come up with then we are in bad shape as a country. Obama doesn't have near enough experience. I think McCain got the nod by the RNC because of all the years he was passed over by them. There are far better people out there for the job. Why can't we get someone that has the experience and intelligence to our country back together?

Since my seperation, I have been extremely busy getting situated in my new house. It's extremely expensive having to walk away from my worldly belongings and start over. You never realize how much crap you have until you don't have it any longer. I can't tell you how many times I've needed a tool or something like that and I thought to myself, "I used to have one of those". The folks at Lowes call my name out as soon as I enter the door like they used to shout out "Norm!" on the TV show "Cheers".

I will try and get more blogs out there in the near future. Although, I don't know what else to say about the two idiots we have running for President.

Christmas Gifts For Dudes

Wives, daughters, girlfriends & sisters, here's a list of Christmas gifts you can't go wrong with purchasing for the man in your life. In fact if you purchased one of these gifts, you will make him a very happy man. They're not that expensive and are guaranteed to put a smile on his face. So here goes:

Firearms - Any kind of firearm. You can buy a rifle, shotgun, pistol, black powder gun, it doesn't matter. If you were to actually go out to a gun store, fill out the paperwork and purchase a gun for your man, he gain a level of respect form him that you never thought possible. Be prepared for him to return the favor on your birthday by purchasing you a gun. He will take your willingness to buy a gun as a sign that you are interested in shooting sports. That's the only flaw with this gift.

Power Tools - Any kind of power tool will do. Don't worry about whether or not he already has one. Most men will take a duplicate of a power tool in a heart beat. He will apply man logic to the situation and create scenarios where two of the same tool is warranted. Ex: one for the shop and one for the house.

Dirty Magazine Subscription - If you were to surprise your man with a subscription to Playboy, you will be telling your man that you want him to be happy. You will be telling him that you are confident in your sexual relationship. Confidence is an extremely sexy quality in a woman. You man will also apply man logic to this gift and assume that you will be open to a 3-way with another woman. He will probably never approach you about it, but it will strengthen his life-long fantasy and he will be indebted to you forever. CAUTION - This is not a gift for sisters to get brothers or daughters to get fathers. That would just be weird.

Home Beer Brewing Kit - This really needs no explanation. I only caution those that live with alcoholics to rethink this one.

Fishing Gear - Even if the man in your life doesn't fish, it doesn't mean he wouldn't like to. I strongly caution you not to buy this fishing equipment at Walmart or Kmart. Get something good from Cabelas, LL Bean, or Bass Pro Shops and spend some dough. If you buy him something from Walmart he might use it for a little while but then he's just going to go behind your back and spend a butt-load of money on a really nice rod and reel anyway. So, just cut out the middle man and splurge.

Slippers - There's not a man out there that doesn't appreciate a good pair of slippers. When I say a "good pair" I mean something made of leather with a comfy lining. I suggest LL Bean's "Wicked Good Slippers".

Video Game System - If you bought you man an Xbox 360 or Play Station 3 for Christmas, I virtually guarantee you will get lucky on Christmas night. Be prepared however. This may be the last time you get any for a long time because he will have his ass planted in front of the TV playing video games until the wee hours of the night from that point on.

Pool Table - Pool tables are like magnets for men. There's not man out there that hasn't stopped in his tracks while at a mall when he sees a pool table. I don't know what it is about hitting balls with sticks, but men love to do it.

Golf Clubs - Again, it's the whole hitting balls with sticks thing.

Pro Sports Jersey - I know this one sounds stupid. Why would a grown man want a jersey of a professional sports team. It's not like they are ever going to receive a telephone call asking them to play. But, every man wants one. They may not have had the courage to buy one for fear that they would look stupid. But, I guarantee they will like it if you get it for them and they will find an occasion to wear it.

Electronics - This is a huge catagory and encompasses many things. If you buy a dude any kind of electronic gadget, he will be happy.

Sporting Goods - This is another huge catagory, but any kind of sporting goods will make him happy. If you bought him a football or a new baseball glove, he will not act very happy about it, but inside, he will be ecstatic. I think it has something to do with the smell of leather. All dudes love the smell of leather. If you could find some sort of spray that make anything smell like leather, buy it. If you sprayed yourself with leather he'd want to hang out with you more.

Red Sox are NOT The Yankees

I think it's too easy to say the Red Sox "are now" the Yankees. But I think they are a team that had to do whatever it took to beat a team in their division that is willing to spend ungodly amounts of money. If the Red Sox were to compete with the Yankees they needed to pony up the dough to do so. Thankfully the Sox now have an ownership group willing to do so. They also have brains in the organization that knows throwing money at a problem is not going to solve it. You also need to have a system in place for the future. The Indians are a great team and could very easily compete again, but they are going to have to spend a bunch of money to sign some young guys to long-term contracts in order to stay competitive. Will they then be called the "Red Sox that are now the Yankees"? I understand that the Yankees are the standard bearer for big spending and thus the comparison.

Because the Red Sox are now a winning team does not automatically make then the Yankees. It makes them a winning team. The Yankees are not going to be a winning team for a while, in my humble opinion. By "winning team", I mean Chamionship caliber. So, if the Sox go on a losing skid in a few years will that mean they are going to be called "The Yankees of the first decade of the new millineum"? During the late 90's why weren't the Yankess called "the Red Sox of the early 1900's"?

The Red Sox are the Red Sox and The Yankees are The Yankees. Will the Red Sox be vilafied like the Yankees because they are willing to spend money to get and keep great ball players? Maybe. But Red Sox Nation is due for a winning streak and be damned with those that want to whine that they win all the time. We'll be happy to listen to jealous cry babies.

More than likely, what will happen is other teams will follow suit and start spending to get a great GM like Theo Ebstein and let them spend the money necessary to build a strong organization that wins games and puts fans in the seats and generates even more money.

Soaring Healthcare Costs

It's been quite a while since I've posted a blog. It's not because I haven't had things that I wanted to talk about. It's mainly because I've been busy. But, it's also been because I got sick of trying to reason with irrational, hot-headed liberals that are constantly spouting the main stream media's agenda verbadum. I recently experienced something that I just can't keep to myself.

In late August of this year, I was at a local music store buying a violin for my son who is starting orchestra this year for his school. At some point during the purchase, I passed out and hit face first on their carpeted concrete floor. I was rushed to the emergency room of our local hospital via ambluance and then later that night transferred to a hospital in Charlotte. Apparently I did enough damage that I needed to be taken care of by the types of physicians that our little town doesn't have. A Plastic Surgeon and Neurologist were called in to make sure I didn't have brain damage and to try and put my face and skull back together the way it was supposed to be. I sustained multiple facial and skull fractures from the fall. The doctors in Charlotte were also trying to figure out why I collapsed in the first place.

I admire the good work that a lot of doctors perform. I have plenty of freinds that are doctors and they will always tell you that the reason healthcare is so expensive is because of all the people that don't pay their bills because they either don't have health insurance or because their health insurance sucks and they still end up with huge bills that they can't or won't pay. I've heard on many occasions from these doctors that as long as "they" pay something on their bill, even if it's only $10/month, there's nothing we can do about it. I used to believe that was the only reason for high healthcare costs. I still believe those situations exist and that it's unfortunate for the doctors and for those needing healthcare.

After my recent experience, I saw a different side. I was now the patient in the medical machine and I saw things that I didn't think I would. While I was in the hospital for two days, there were at least ten different doctors that came into my room. Only 2 or 3 of those doctors actually did anything. The others simply walked into my room, asked me how I was feeling and then left. At the time, I thought that there are a bunch of concerned doctors in this hospital. What I realized after Blue Cross started mailing me copies of the hospital/doctor bills was that each of those doctors billed my insurance company at least $200 everytime they popped their head in my door. They did absolutley nothing!

I know that they did absolutley nothing because nothing was done to me. I was given a bunch of pain pills by the nurses, but that was it. The Plastic Surgeon wanted to do more. He sent his PA into my room one day to tell me I needed surgery to repair the fractures in my skull and eye socket. He told me that they would have to make an incision from ear to ear across the top of my head and pull off my face. I told him I would rather get a second opinion. So, I went home and saw a local doctor that agreed that I needed the surgery. I called the Plastic Surgeon's office to tell them I wanted to go ahead with the surgery. Their response was, "Well the doctor hasn't even seen your scans yet to determine if you need surgery or not." I was floored. That doosh-bag was going to pull off my face but hadn't looked at my CT scans? So, they scheduled an appointment for me to come to the Plastic Surgeon's office in Charlotte and "penciled me in" for surgery in 10 days. I went to my appointment and the Plastic Surgeon told me that it was kind of late for surgery because the bones were already healing. He said that there really was no need for surgery.

So, to recap: I went to the hospital for 2 days. I was only given pain meds. They wanted to pull off my face and operate on my skull but I wouldn't let them. 10 days later they "determined" that I didn't need the surgery after all. My total bill for that 2 day stay is over $30,000, so far. I wonder how many people are needlessly operated on everyday because they take their physicians word as gospel.

I think there is a special hotline that the ER doctors call especially when it's a head trauma case with insurance. They call all the doctors in the hospital and surrounding areas to let them know "it's time to make some money". I guess they figure that this dude won't remember anything anyway, let's bill the shit out of him. So, they take turns "visiting" me and then bill my insurance $200-$250. I actually think they were lined up outside my hospital room and were high-fiving each other and trying to muffle their giggles as they left. I think I actually heard one of them whisper, "Cha-Ching!"

So, don't buy the bleeding heart stories these doctors are trying to sell about the uninsured causing the astronomical prices of healthcare today. They are as much to blame as anyone. If you don't believe me, read all of your recent hospital bills line for line. I bet you will find something in there that you know you didn't have done. I bet you will find at least one doctor's name on that bill that you never saw.

Not About Money? Come on Roger!

As everyone who follows professional baseball knows, Roger Clemens signed a one year deal with the Yankees for $28 million dollars. Yes, that's right, $28,000,000 for less than half a years "work".

My beloved RedSox offered something like $18 million for "the Rocket" but for some reason Clemens turned it down. His reason for going to the Yankees is to have the best chance to win another World Series and it's not about the money. If that were true, then he would have signed with the RedSox. The Sox have arguabley the best pitching staff in baseball and an arsenal of hitters. The Yankees have potentially a Cy Young winner in Hughes if his pulled hammy doesn't flare up any more and now Roger.

Don't get me wrong, I do not expect the RedSox to make it to the World Series this year. The only reason I say that is because I am a true RedSox fan and we always expect the worst. Should the Sox make it? Yes. But, I know somehow, someway the Yankees will screw us somehow. 2004 was an anomaly. I mean seriously, who would have bet that the RedSox would have come from being down 3 games to the Yankees in the ALCS to win 4 straight and get to the World Series and then sweep the Cardinals who had the best record in all of baseball that year?
No true RedSox fan.

Roger is a smart businessman and more power to him (or his agent) if he can get $28 million for pitching 4 or 5 months. He is the best the game has ever seen in my humble opinion. But he is a terrible liar. It's all about the money and nothing more. He started his career with the RedSox and like so many of Boston's great players, he ended up with the F***ing Yankees. For that alone, I hope his right arm is ripped off in a freak accident.

Gun Control

The old argument of gun control resumed the second after the last shot was fired at Virginia Tech. Immediately the anti-gun crowd wanted a ban on all guns. The gun nuts (of which I am one) argued that criminals are going to get guns whether there is a ban on guns or not. Let's examine this.

If there were to be a complete ban on guns, do you think that will stop criminals? The United States' crime rate is just about the same as any other country's. Let's remember why our country is so free about gun ownership in the first place. We needed guns when we settling this country and moving West. England's monarchy put a ban on all guns because they noticed how we "settled" the West and wanted to remove guns from the general public to prevent an over-throw of the existing monarchy.

I guess the argument would be that now the West has been settled, why do we still need guns. Well...let's remember...there are over 250,000,000 guns in this country. How could the government possibly confiscate all of those guns? Do you think that the gun owners would willingly give up those guns? ... OR... A better question would be: Do you think criminals are going to give up their guns? Where would that leave the average American citizen? It would leave them unarmed and unable to defend themselves.

We as Americans have the right to defend ourselves. There simply are not enough police to watch over us 24/7. That is why the Second Amendment was enacted in the first place.

Now, having said all of that, I do feel that strict laws are necessary. Laws that require lengthy background checks are completely reasonable. In fact, after yet another massacre at the hands of a madman this week, they are necessary. I am all for making someone that wishes to buy a gun wait 7-10 days. I would even agree with mental health background checks for handguns and assault weapons. I own over a dozen guns. Some are hand guns and the others are hunting rifles and shotguns. I legally purchased everyone of them and went through the 7 day waiting period (for the handguns) and background checks and had no problem with it. The waiting period is not only to have the time to perform a thorough background check but it also in place to help prevent crimes of passion that are, more times than not, spur-of-the-moment crimes.

I also believe that anyone that is going to own a gun should have proper training on how to handle and care for their weapon. There are hundreds of accidental deaths every year because people do not know what they are doing when they are handling a gun. Teaching a youngster gun safety can be fun and rewarding. I recently introduced my son to shooting and hunting. I am extremely strict with him about gun safety. We really enjoy target shooting and hunting small game. He understands that a gun is not a toy and is to be respected for the power it wields. He is not allowed to touch his guns unless I am present. In fact, he can't touch them because they are locked in a safe. Not only do I want him to enjoy shooting and hunting, but I also want him to know how to handle a gun in the event that he may need to defend himself and someday his family.

The extreme far left Hollywood nut bags are constantly preaching anti-gun rhetoric. They may not personally own a gun, but I would bet my left nut that their body guards have them. Rosie O'Donnell has admitted that her body guards pack heat. Yet, she is an anti-gun fanatic. This is another example of extremist hypocrisy.

Extreme Left Liberal Media

I don't know if anyone was watching The Factor last night, but Bill O'Reilly had a very interesting guest on his show. Tammy Bruce who is a former Director of N.O.W. (National Organization for Women) which is a liberal organization that supports the advancement of women in our society. Tammy is also a liberal democrat as well as being a lesbian. She is as far from the conservative right as you can get. The interesting thing that she talked about was how the far left extremists in our society are advancing their agenda through the main stream media.


She confessed that during her association with N.O.W. she had a contact with the New York Times. When ever she had a theory or an idea that she wanted published in the New York Times and all of the New York Time's subsidiary papers located all over the country, all she had to do was make a phone call to that person and those theories and ideas of hers were then published without question or fact checking. She informed the viewers of The Factor that the extreme far left has a "hit list" with names like Bill O'Reilly (of course), Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Dr. Laura and any others that have voiced opposition to their agenda. She even said that Don Imus, a democrat, was targeted because "he is the Joe Liberman of the liberal media". In other words, Don Imus would not promote their agenda.

Ms. Bruce also stated that there was a TV arm to the beast as well and that very well financed extreme left wingers are using puppets like Rosie Odonnell, Alec Baldwin, etc. to promote the their extreme views. Their motus operandi is to take a word or phrase uttered by those on their "hit list" out of context and repeatedly air it on TV or print it in the New York Times. They know that if the general public hears it over and over they will believe it to be true.

George Soros is the body of the beast. Unfortunately when a lunatic has more money than he knows what to do with, he can creat havoc. I want o make something perfectly clear. I am not referring to run of the mill Democrats. I have no problem with them. Extremists on either side can and will ruin this country. Most Democrats have strong moral values and good intentions. ( that was for you Brian)