Stat Counter
Sunday, September 30, 2007
The Comics
This 'Dilbert'from Monday,September 24th,walks away with this weeks comic of the week.I actually laughed out loud at this one.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Homecoming Weekend,2007
The 2007 Homecoming weekend was a fun ordeal.There was the Thursday night bonfire.
And a game so big that the Dayton Tv 7 helicopter flew in for it.Alas #4 in the state Bellefontaine lost in a squeaker to #16 Tipp City 21-20 in the final seconds.It was a nail biter that could have went either way.Adam did a fantastic job at left guard-always getting his man.He is #53.
Tyler ran x-country this morning at (Lima)Allen East.He had his third fastest time ever.
Tyler has been a very busy lad.Though he didn't get a date for the Homecoming he met some of his friends and their dates for wings at Wingers .Tyler, then with some of his buddies,got together for a anti-Homecoming music jam.
Here's a nice picture of Adam and his
long time girlfriend,Marissa.
Nikolas and Mandi share a smile:-)
Adam and Marissa triple dated with Nikolas and his girlfriend,Mandi,and Marissa's tennis double's partner,Julie and her boyfriend Ian.
All and all,a busy,fun filled weekend.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
The Comics
This 'Baldo' strip from Friday,Sept. 21th was the best of the strip's whole week on the WWII experiences of a Latino veteran.This is a very topical strip as Ken Burn's ,'The War' starts this evening.'The War'-a 15 hour documentary about the avereage(G.I.)Joe-initially had one major flaw:no Latino soldier's story.Ken Burns fixed that,but the 'Baldo' comic adds it's own distinctly Latino flavor.That is why it is the comic of the week.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
The Dr.Phil Plane Crash
On Tuesday,Sept.18th,2007 I watched a 'Dr.Phil' show where everybody crashed and burned.The show was about a young lady named Kyla Ebbert.Kyla is a Hooters waitress.She was wearing a mini-skirt and a tank-top covered up by a summer sweater on a trip from San Diego to Tuscon via 'Southwestern airlines.Though various sources say it ain't so,others say that Kyla was exposing her...um...support for bush/No,strike that,she was displaying her privates as she sat down in her seat.
Allegedly,the 'male' attendant-again,according to which source you are going to believe-either told her quietly that she needed to cover herself up[and even offered a blanket],or he did so in a very loud manner(she 'was' asked to buy a souvenir t-shirt,but refused).Eventually she tugged up her blouse and pulled down her skirt and was allowed to proceed.
Now,Dr.Phil.Phil had Kyla,with her mother,and her lawyer( Martin Reed)on the show.Doctor Phil seemed very very sympathetic to Kyla's cause.She wore an outfit very similar to the one she wore the day of the flight.As you can see,it looked nice on her.I didn't think it to be too revealing.Do you?
The doc approached the situation in a seemingly fair way.Questioning people off the street,asking them if she was too revealing.Some said yes-most said no.Some even said that if they had a body like hers that they would have wore the same thing.
Then,Dr.Phil,asked her just what she wanted out of this whole ordeal.Tsk,tsk,Dr.Phil-this was setting her up.She stated that all she ever wanted was an apology.So Dr.Phil,being Dr.Phil,in what she must have assumed to be a hypothetical question,asked"So,if 'Southwestern apologized to you,you would not appear on anymore talk shows?"
Startled,but sticking to her story,she voiced a nervous,"Yes."
Next(good ol' Phil),flashed on the screen behind them a jumbofied letter of an apology from the C.E.O. of 'Southwestern Airlines'.Dr.Phil then handed her two free tickets good for anywhere 'Southwestern' flew.The good doc then said something like(I am paraphrasing him),"So,no more talk shows,right ?"
Kyla's jaw dropped.At first she grabbed the tickets and agreed,and then she reneged.Her lawyer emphatically stated,"No,she wants to make sure this never happens to anyone again.Kyla handed the tickets back to Phil.And then Phil astonished me by saying something like,"But 'Southwestern' has the highest on time rate in the country.'Southwestern is the safest airline there is.
BAM!
Everybody was crashing and burning.Kyla and her mother(though tricked) were showing that they were hooked on the fame of the thing[I do not call the apology a true apology.The C.E.O. should have done it in person at the very least-not in a form of a letter on Dr.Phil].They came across as greedy and mean spirited.
Their lawyer came across the same way.Of course his reasons were more professionally stated,but I do have to agree with one thing that Dr.Phil said.Why should the time and the money of our courts be tied up on something already settled?
But in the end,Big Phil came across as the biggest loser.He came across not as a doctor at all,but as a manipulating,evil,trickster.He was bought out by 'Southwestern' before the show even began(why do I feel like 'He' was the one that came up with the idea?).It appeared that he cared little for Kyla's plight,but much of his own ego.
It was truly one of those shows that made for terrible television.But like any good plane crash...I couldn't stop watching.
Allegedly,the 'male' attendant-again,according to which source you are going to believe-either told her quietly that she needed to cover herself up[and even offered a blanket],or he did so in a very loud manner(she 'was' asked to buy a souvenir t-shirt,but refused).Eventually she tugged up her blouse and pulled down her skirt and was allowed to proceed.
Now,Dr.Phil.Phil had Kyla,with her mother,and her lawyer( Martin Reed)on the show.Doctor Phil seemed very very sympathetic to Kyla's cause.She wore an outfit very similar to the one she wore the day of the flight.As you can see,it looked nice on her.I didn't think it to be too revealing.Do you?The doc approached the situation in a seemingly fair way.Questioning people off the street,asking them if she was too revealing.Some said yes-most said no.Some even said that if they had a body like hers that they would have wore the same thing.
Then,Dr.Phil,asked her just what she wanted out of this whole ordeal.Tsk,tsk,Dr.Phil-this was setting her up.She stated that all she ever wanted was an apology.So Dr.Phil,being Dr.Phil,in what she must have assumed to be a hypothetical question,asked"So,if 'Southwestern apologized to you,you would not appear on anymore talk shows?"
Startled,but sticking to her story,she voiced a nervous,"Yes."
Next(good ol' Phil),flashed on the screen behind them a jumbofied letter of an apology from the C.E.O. of 'Southwestern Airlines'.Dr.Phil then handed her two free tickets good for anywhere 'Southwestern' flew.The good doc then said something like(I am paraphrasing him),"So,no more talk shows,right ?"
Kyla's jaw dropped.At first she grabbed the tickets and agreed,and then she reneged.Her lawyer emphatically stated,"No,she wants to make sure this never happens to anyone again.Kyla handed the tickets back to Phil.And then Phil astonished me by saying something like,"But 'Southwestern' has the highest on time rate in the country.'Southwestern is the safest airline there is.
BAM!
Everybody was crashing and burning.Kyla and her mother(though tricked) were showing that they were hooked on the fame of the thing[I do not call the apology a true apology.The C.E.O. should have done it in person at the very least-not in a form of a letter on Dr.Phil].They came across as greedy and mean spirited.
Their lawyer came across the same way.Of course his reasons were more professionally stated,but I do have to agree with one thing that Dr.Phil said.Why should the time and the money of our courts be tied up on something already settled?
But in the end,Big Phil came across as the biggest loser.He came across not as a doctor at all,but as a manipulating,evil,trickster.He was bought out by 'Southwestern' before the show even began(why do I feel like 'He' was the one that came up with the idea?).It appeared that he cared little for Kyla's plight,but much of his own ego.
It was truly one of those shows that made for terrible television.But like any good plane crash...I couldn't stop watching.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Busy Weekend
Oi,what a busy weekend.Friday,Bellfontaine whooped up on one of their close rivals,Ben Logan.We won 40-7.Adam played an amazing left guard.Dang,was it chilly.A brisk wind,and wouldn't you know it,we forgot or Chieftain blanket!Brrr!
Nikolas,Adam and I were out the door by 5:00 Saturday morning.We had to be at Fort Wayne,Indiana by 8:00 in order for them to take an ACT test.Meanwhile,Robyn followed Tyler to Galion for a big x-country meet.Ty once again beat his P.R.(personal record).He took a minute off his previous best time.He is also down to 143 lb.s.He did weigh 170.He loves drinking that water and running.Good job,son.
After watching Ohio State beat Washington State,we went over to Robyn's parents for some homemade pumpkin pie and then we were off to the Bellefontaine Band Spectacular.All in all eight local bands showed what they were made of,putting on a heck of a non-juried show.Bellefontaine went last.Nikolas and his girlfriend Mandi,pulled one of the giant three faced banners.Our show has a 1968 theme and is just great.Good job,Nik.
Today was a little easier,just Sunday school and church.The youth group went to Yellow Springs for ice cream.Robyn and I watched the Browns WIN...yes,I did say WIN!:51-45!Too bad Bengals:-(
Tuesday I have another colonoscopy.I feel like Kermit the frog already.Wish me luck.
Nikolas,Adam and I were out the door by 5:00 Saturday morning.We had to be at Fort Wayne,Indiana by 8:00 in order for them to take an ACT test.Meanwhile,Robyn followed Tyler to Galion for a big x-country meet.Ty once again beat his P.R.(personal record).He took a minute off his previous best time.He is also down to 143 lb.s.He did weigh 170.He loves drinking that water and running.Good job,son.
After watching Ohio State beat Washington State,we went over to Robyn's parents for some homemade pumpkin pie and then we were off to the Bellefontaine Band Spectacular.All in all eight local bands showed what they were made of,putting on a heck of a non-juried show.Bellefontaine went last.Nikolas and his girlfriend Mandi,pulled one of the giant three faced banners.Our show has a 1968 theme and is just great.Good job,Nik.
Today was a little easier,just Sunday school and church.The youth group went to Yellow Springs for ice cream.Robyn and I watched the Browns WIN...yes,I did say WIN!:51-45!Too bad Bengals:-(
Tuesday I have another colonoscopy.I feel like Kermit the frog already.Wish me luck.
The Comics
As the years unfold,the tragedies of 9/11 are slowly leaving the forefront of our attention spans.Soon,the day will be known simply as 'Patriot Day'.It will just be another day that we don't get our mail and the banks are closed.It has already begun.Most 9/11 coverage was relegated to the second page and the day after.9/11 has become a secondary news story.
This 'Baldo' strip from Friday,Sept. 21th was the best of the strip's whole week on the WWII experiences of a Latino veteran.This is a very topical strip as Ken Burn's ,'The War' starts this evening.'The War'-a 15 hour documentary about the avereage(G.I.)Joe-initially had one major flaw:no Latino soldier's story.Ken Burns fixed that,but the 'Baldo' comic adds it's own distinctly Latino flavor.That is why it is the comic of the week.
This 'Dilbert'from Monday,September 24th,walks away with this weeks comic of the week.I actually laughed out loud at this one.
The Funky Winkerbean 'Death of Lisa' arc reached it's apex this past Thursday,October,4th.Immediately,the next day,the strip continued the story line as a series of flashbacks-I believe-from nine years into the furture.This whole Funky Winkerbean story line has been just so touching and incredible,something I can't wait to read daily.This strip has been just as brave and daring as all those great newer comics strips fighting just for the chance,'the chance',to be published on the ever shrinking daily newspaper comics page.My hope is that strips like this will wake up newspaper publishers and editors,and make them realize that they need to expand their comic page and let more great comics in because it's good for business.That is why this is the comic of the week.
The Comic Of The Week Along with other new comic strips such as 'Frog Applause' and 'Diesel Sweeties',I always get a kick out of 'The Meaning Of Lila'.Lila[by John Forgetta and L.A. Rose] is about the pretty,yet underachieving Lila,her sexually ambiguous best friend,Boyd,and their comic tease and hard working other friend,the blond haired Drew.They all three work at a place called,'Metro-Mart' in a town called Cleveland.This 'Meaning Of Lila' from last Friday,Octomber 12th,left me in giggles and worked for me on more then one level,that is why it is the comic of the week.
I just don't know how Jim Davis does it.His 'Garfield' strip is both always timeless and,yet,still always funny.It is a trick many strips fail to accomplish.This whole week of strips having Garfield watch Tv horror movies for Halloween just made me laugh during a very tuff week.Thank you,Jim Davis.That is why this'best of the week' strip is the comic of the week.
The Comic Of The WeekThere is Diesel Sweeties.....The new daily strip....
.....and there is Diesel Sweeties....
....the on line more adult version.
This 'Frog Applause' was in contention for the comic of the week...
...just pointing it out for a job well done,that's all.
But this,'Clear Blue Water' from yesterday(Saturday,November,17,2007) is the 'clear' winner.'Clear Blue Water',by Karen Montague-Reyes,is a great strip.It tells the stories of the Eve & Manny Torres family and all of their trials and tribulations.The Torres are a spunky group with a very large family that includes young twins and an autistic child as well.Throw in a quirky bunch of friends and a mix bag of political ideologies and you have an unpredictable madhouse of laughter.This strip jumps the gun on the tradition Thanksgiving themed comic strip week,but with hilarious results.That is why it is the comic of the week.
This Turkey Day comic,a'Moderately Confused',by Jeff Stahler,hits all the right marks.It is current,topical,comical and just downright funny.That is why it is the comic of the week.
And so it was with the funnies.Very few comic strips even acknowledged the events on the day at all.That is why this September 11th,'One Big Happy' comic struck me so well.It was current,actually put some thought into it's tribute,and went above it's normal daily punch line to honor that which others forgot.A job well done.That is why it is the comic of the week.
This 'Baldo' strip from Friday,Sept. 21th was the best of the strip's whole week on the WWII experiences of a Latino veteran.This is a very topical strip as Ken Burn's ,'The War' starts this evening.'The War'-a 15 hour documentary about the avereage(G.I.)Joe-initially had one major flaw:no Latino soldier's story.Ken Burns fixed that,but the 'Baldo' comic adds it's own distinctly Latino flavor.That is why it is the comic of the week.
This 'Dilbert'from Monday,September 24th,walks away with this weeks comic of the week.I actually laughed out loud at this one.
The Funky Winkerbean 'Death of Lisa' arc reached it's apex this past Thursday,October,4th.Immediately,the next day,the strip continued the story line as a series of flashbacks-I believe-from nine years into the furture.This whole Funky Winkerbean story line has been just so touching and incredible,something I can't wait to read daily.This strip has been just as brave and daring as all those great newer comics strips fighting just for the chance,'the chance',to be published on the ever shrinking daily newspaper comics page.My hope is that strips like this will wake up newspaper publishers and editors,and make them realize that they need to expand their comic page and let more great comics in because it's good for business.That is why this is the comic of the week.
The Comic Of The Week Along with other new comic strips such as 'Frog Applause' and 'Diesel Sweeties',I always get a kick out of 'The Meaning Of Lila'.Lila[by John Forgetta and L.A. Rose] is about the pretty,yet underachieving Lila,her sexually ambiguous best friend,Boyd,and their comic tease and hard working other friend,the blond haired Drew.They all three work at a place called,'Metro-Mart' in a town called Cleveland.This 'Meaning Of Lila' from last Friday,Octomber 12th,left me in giggles and worked for me on more then one level,that is why it is the comic of the week.
I just don't know how Jim Davis does it.His 'Garfield' strip is both always timeless and,yet,still always funny.It is a trick many strips fail to accomplish.This whole week of strips having Garfield watch Tv horror movies for Halloween just made me laugh during a very tuff week.Thank you,Jim Davis.That is why this'best of the week' strip is the comic of the week.
In a week with allot of fun Halloween strips [I'm talking to you'Retail'],this past Sunday's (Oct.28th) 'Biographic' was the absolute most fun.That is why it is this week's comic of the week.
The Comic Of The WeekThere is Diesel Sweeties.....The new daily strip....
.....and there is Diesel Sweeties....
....the on line more adult version.
Either version is a rocker[and I rock out].I have been a fan of Richard Stevens Diesel Sweeties from almost the very beginning,somehow finding it on line very early on.I even have three of his t-shirts( 'Johnny Cash Is A Gangsta'/The cassette image/and the 'Chewie Is My Co-Pilot' t-shirt.
This on-line Diesel Sweeties from last Sunday,November 4th,pushed all the right buttons.A girl with blue hair.Talking about watching 'hentai' (Japanese anime porn).It was just adult enough without actually going too far off the edge.More of an imagination thing,really.Sort of like old forties movies.That is why is is the comic of the week.
P.S. Crush all hu-mans.
This 'Frog Applause' was in contention for the comic of the week...
...just pointing it out for a job well done,that's all.But this,'Clear Blue Water' from yesterday(Saturday,November,17,2007) is the 'clear' winner.'Clear Blue Water',by Karen Montague-Reyes,is a great strip.It tells the stories of the Eve & Manny Torres family and all of their trials and tribulations.The Torres are a spunky group with a very large family that includes young twins and an autistic child as well.Throw in a quirky bunch of friends and a mix bag of political ideologies and you have an unpredictable madhouse of laughter.This strip jumps the gun on the tradition Thanksgiving themed comic strip week,but with hilarious results.That is why it is the comic of the week.
This Turkey Day comic,a'Moderately Confused',by Jeff Stahler,hits all the right marks.It is current,topical,comical and just downright funny.That is why it is the comic of the week.Friday, September 14, 2007
Don Key & Ella Font Talk
Ella:Long time no see,Don.Comin' to gloat?
Don:Wha!?!Oh,no.Can't put the cart before the horse,ya know.
Ella:Then where ya' been?
Don:Just givin' ya enough rope....Are you the G.O.P. or the G.A.Y.?
Ella:You never let up,do you?
Don:You would think having gay people in your party would be a good thing.We do.
Ella:Humpf!Give me a break,will,ya?Some people have very strong opinions on the subject.Don't we have a right to believe the way we feel is right?
Don:Yeah.So why are you hiding in the men's room.
Ella:Tell me about it...we sure can't use the 'gay marriage' card in 'o8.
Don:Well,ya still have abortion.
Ella:Do we?Sometimes I think we're cutting off our face to spit our nose.
Don:Huh?
Ella:Look,I don't agree with the Democrats view of a woman's right to choose.Looking at a little heart beat..I know some people can,but...but..I just can't...not believe it's not life.
Don:Tell me about it.
Ella:Huh?
Don:It's so..gray.I know you see it as black and white...and I respect that.But when they throw away petrie dishes full of frozen embryos,how can they be against the morning after bill?
Ella:I don't understand how you can be against the death penalty but for abortion.
Don:Touche'.But technically..
Ella:..It's about the woman's right to choose.I know.'We' used used to hold the moral high ground on this issue.But to appease the looney tunes within our own party,I think that we are creating more abortions than saving them.
Don:I know allot of Democrats voted for Bushie because of his pro-life stance.So,I am not following you.
Ella:That's my point exactly.More and more Democrats are seeing most abortions as wrong.No one is for third trimester abortion.No one.
Don:Unless a mother's life is in danger.
Ella:Exactly!The government shouldn't have a say in a family's personal decision.That is a fundamental Republican position,but our abortion position has changed to where a family can't choose mother over baby...even if the mother's life is in danger!
Don:Ummm...
Ella:And why?
Don:Umm(gulp)...Votes?
Ella:Yes.The Republican leaders knew/know--whatever--that you Democrats could never ever agree to this absolute total ban on abortion.I.E.,y'all are pro-choice baby murderers.So instead of having a more 'moderate' anti-abortion law ,we're stuck with what we got now!
Don:Well,you still have that we are un-American,anti-war soldier haters.
Ella:Pl...lease.When Fred Thompson is our best hope,I don't think that matters.
Don:Seriously...just why are you in the men's room stall right now?
Ella:Have you seen the line to the lady's room?This bar needs to take better care of it.
Don:But why do you keep kicking my leg and reaching under my stall?
Ella:I'm out of toilet paper...hand some over,will ya?
Don:Wha!?!Oh,no.Can't put the cart before the horse,ya know.
Ella:Then where ya' been?
Don:Just givin' ya enough rope....Are you the G.O.P. or the G.A.Y.?
Ella:You never let up,do you?
Don:You would think having gay people in your party would be a good thing.We do.
Ella:Humpf!Give me a break,will,ya?Some people have very strong opinions on the subject.Don't we have a right to believe the way we feel is right?
Don:Yeah.So why are you hiding in the men's room.
Ella:Tell me about it...we sure can't use the 'gay marriage' card in 'o8.
Don:Well,ya still have abortion.
Ella:Do we?Sometimes I think we're cutting off our face to spit our nose.
Don:Huh?
Ella:Look,I don't agree with the Democrats view of a woman's right to choose.Looking at a little heart beat..I know some people can,but...but..I just can't...not believe it's not life.
Don:Tell me about it.
Ella:Huh?
Don:It's so..gray.I know you see it as black and white...and I respect that.But when they throw away petrie dishes full of frozen embryos,how can they be against the morning after bill?
Ella:I don't understand how you can be against the death penalty but for abortion.
Don:Touche'.But technically..
Ella:..It's about the woman's right to choose.I know.'We' used used to hold the moral high ground on this issue.But to appease the looney tunes within our own party,I think that we are creating more abortions than saving them.
Don:I know allot of Democrats voted for Bushie because of his pro-life stance.So,I am not following you.
Ella:That's my point exactly.More and more Democrats are seeing most abortions as wrong.No one is for third trimester abortion.No one.
Don:Unless a mother's life is in danger.
Ella:Exactly!The government shouldn't have a say in a family's personal decision.That is a fundamental Republican position,but our abortion position has changed to where a family can't choose mother over baby...even if the mother's life is in danger!
Don:Ummm...
Ella:And why?
Don:Umm(gulp)...Votes?
Ella:Yes.The Republican leaders knew/know--whatever--that you Democrats could never ever agree to this absolute total ban on abortion.I.E.,y'all are pro-choice baby murderers.So instead of having a more 'moderate' anti-abortion law ,we're stuck with what we got now!
Don:Well,you still have that we are un-American,anti-war soldier haters.
Ella:Pl...lease.When Fred Thompson is our best hope,I don't think that matters.
Don:Seriously...just why are you in the men's room stall right now?
Ella:Have you seen the line to the lady's room?This bar needs to take better care of it.
Don:But why do you keep kicking my leg and reaching under my stall?
Ella:I'm out of toilet paper...hand some over,will ya?
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
The Browns Trade Fry
In a dark day for Cleveland Browns fans,The Brownies traded Charlie Fry to Seattle.This basically means that they have already given up on their season:AFTER ONE BAD QUARTER! It's enough to make you give up pro ball all together.Shame on you Cleveland Browns.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
The Comics
It is rare in today's comic world to come across a comic strip so fresh and fun that you don't know quite what to think of it.With 'Frog Applause',I don't even try.Half of Frog's appeal is to just go with it's unique blend of word and idea usage.The other half is that it is not afraid to be bold and daring.This may not your grandfather's comic strip,but then again,it depends on grandfather :-)
This strip from last Thursday is a classic example of the 'Frog Applause' attitude of daring you to use your imagination.I found it both erotic and somewhat not at the same time....just like the 'Apocalypse Now' reference it pays tribute to.
F.A. should be read by everyone:DAILY!.That is why is strip is the comic of the week.
This strip from last Thursday is a classic example of the 'Frog Applause' attitude of daring you to use your imagination.I found it both erotic and somewhat not at the same time....just like the 'Apocalypse Now' reference it pays tribute to.
F.A. should be read by everyone:DAILY!.That is why is strip is the comic of the week.
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Go Browns!
Alright,no bets,no predictions,just a great big shout out to my team:
GO BROWNS!BEAT PITTSBURGH!
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
America's New 3rd Political Party
Due to the recent developments from within the Republican Party,'The Great Andrew' predicts that there will soon be a major split from within it's ranks.This will cause the start of a fresh new political party.Yes,we will still have the G.O.P.(George Orwell Party-Gay Outing Party-Grand Ol' Party etc),but we will also have this brand new third party.It shall be called.....
Monday, September 03, 2007
JFK Labor Day Speech-Sept 5th,1960 And Doonesbury Cartoon
I have come here today, on this day that belongs to all the people, to state my case and my cause to you * * * the American people. I am here to ask for a mandate - a mandate to achieve the promises of that stirring and historic document the 1960 Democratic platform. I am here to ask for men - the men who can translate that platform into action.
Give me your mandate. Give me the men. Give us more men in the Senate like Phil Hart and Pat McNamara. We only need a few more. A shift of only four votes would have given us a decent bill to provide medical care for the aged under the social security system. And next January we will have those votes. We will not be threatened with a Presidential veto. And we will not have to settle for a medical care program that is based on the pauper's oath.
Give me a Congress next January with more members like your Michigan Democratic Congressmen. We only need a few more. A shift of four or five votes in the House last June would have enacted a real minimum wage bill, with coverage for several million more families and a minimum of $1.25 an hour. Next January we will have those votes - and you will have a President who knows what a strong minimum wage law means to stop runaway shops and to raise living standards.
I ask you also to elect John Swainson as Governor of Michigan - a great Governor to succeed a great Governor. And I intend to work with both John Swainson and Mennen Williams to lead this State and Nation to a future of hope and promise.
I am taking my case to the American people because that is where it belongs - because that is where there will be no threat of veto or parliamentary obstruction - and because that is where we can always place our confidence. I take our case to you because I am confident that the American people want an enduring peace in which human dignity, truth, and justice under law are secured for all men everywhere. I take our case to you because I am confident that you are willing to do whatever has to be done to make us first in the world militarily, and thus first in the fight for peace.
I take our case to you because I am confident that all of us here, as descendants of immigrants, are ready to renew our hospitality to the homeless, the tired, and the poor, from other lands, without discrimination as to national origin. I take our case to you because I am confident that, as citizens of one world, we are willing to share our plenty with our brothers in the new states of Asia and Africa, and with those in Europe and Latin America, who need our help and our friendship.
I take my case to you because I am confident that the American people are not going to tolerate pockets of poverty and chronic unemployment in this land, the waste of idle men and women who are ready, willing, and able to work, or the decline of our farms. I take my case to you because I know you agree with me that racial discrimination must be eliminated everywhere in our society; in jobs, in housing, in voting, in lunch counters, and in schools.
And finally, I am here because I know we share a deep-seated belief in free collective bargaining, and in the growth and development of free and responsible unions - and unlike our opponents, we do not believe in this only on Labor Day.
I welcome the support of the working men and women of this country. I am proud of the fact that I was endorsed by the AFL-CIO. For I know that the American Labor movement wants for America what I want for America: the elimination of poverty and unemployment, the reestablishment of America's world leadership, the guarantee of full civil rights for all our citizens. I know the American labor movement opposes what I oppose: complacency, unemployment, economic stagnation, racial discrimination, and national insecurity.
Our labor unions are not narrow, self-seeking groups. They have raised wages, shortened hours, and provided supplemental benefits. Through collective bargaining and grievance procedures, they have brought justice and democracy to the shop floor. But their work goes beyond their own jobs, and even beyond our borders.
Our unions have fought for aid to education, for better housing, for development of our natural resources, and for saving the family-sized farms. They have contributed funds and talent to improve our oversea relations. They have spoken, not for narrow self-interest, but for the public interest and for the people.
For the labor movement is people. Our unions have brought millions of men and women together, made them members one of another, and given them common tools for common goals.
Their goals are goals for all America - and their enemies are the enemies of all progress.
The two cannot be separated. The man who opposes a decent increase in the minimum wage is not likely to be more generous toward a badly underpaid schoolteacher. The man who opposes proper medical care for the aged has no more compassion for the small farmer or the small businessman or the hungry families in this Nation and around the world. He likes things the way they are. He sees no need to change - no need to grow. His theme song is: "You never had it so good."
But let him try to tell that to the more than 4 million men and women who cannot find employment. Let him try to tell that to the 3 million men forced to work less than full time. Let him try to tell that to those who live on our hard-hit farms, in our depressed areas, in our deserted textile and coal mine towns. Let him try to tell that to 5 million men, women, and children trying to get by on an average of $20 worth of surplus food a month - or the millions of retired workers trying to get by on all average annual income of less than $2,000 a year.
This is the greatest country in the world. But we can be still greater. This is the most prosperous country in the world. But we can be still more prosperous . . . so that every American can share in that prosperity. We have the means to achieve our goals - to put our house in order - to regain our position of preeminence in the world. It all comes under the name of "economic growth" and today I want to talk with you about economic growth. There is nothing cold or dull about the meaning of economic growth. It means jobs and homes and schools for our children. Lack of growth means unemployment and pockets of poverty and a weak, declining nation.
Under Republican leadership, we have not been growing. The workers have noted it in unemployment and short workweeks. Businessmen have noted it in idle plant capacity and rising inventories. And Mr. Khrushchev noted it when he promised to "bury" us.
Three facts are indisputable:
Fact No.1: Between 1947 and 1953, under the administration of Harry Truman, our average annual rate of growth was 4 1/2 percent. Between 1953 and 1959, under a Republican administration, the rate was only 2 1/2 percent - less than half as much. And today our key industries such as auto and steel are operating at much less than full capacity.
Fact No.2: While our economy is crawling forward at an average rate of only 2 1/2 percent, the Russian gross national product is annually increasing 7 percent - three times as fast.
Fact No.3: Our rate of growth was surpassed by almost every major industrial nation during the past years of drift and indecision - including Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, and Japan. These are the facts which we must face. This is the record which our opponents have described as a "healthy rate of growth." And I defy them to find anything healthy about it.
When this country, with all its potential, is growing at less than half the rate achieved by the Soviet Union, less than the rate of almost every major industrial nation on earth, then our health is obviously down and we had better call for a new doctor in Washington. These facts and figures are not remote. They affect the welfare of everyone. With a really healthy rate of growth, each family of four would have received, on the average, an additional $1,300 every year between 1953 and 1959 - a total of more than $7,000 - $7,000 you could have had for a rainy day, or to finance a college education, or to take a trip, or help buy a house - $7,000 that these restrictive policies have kept out of your pocket.
With a really healthy rate of growth, we can have full employment - and let me make clear right now my conviction that in this country we cannot afford to have any goal except genuine full employment.
With a really healthy rate of growth, we can end the gnawing doubts about our national defense. If we had maintained a healthy rate of growth, it would have paid many times over the cost of the vital defense programs which the administration has said we cannot afford - the cost of putting our Strategic Air Command on a continuous air alert, the cost of modernizing our Army and Navy, and the cost of building more Polaris and Minuteman missiles. These are steps which must be taken and, once this country starts moving again, these are steps that will be taken.
With a really healthy rate of growth, we can provide our children with the best in education and eliminate the shortage of classrooms and the scarcity of teachers which is depriving millions of young Americans of adequate school training. And finally, with a really healthy rate of growth, we will win the crusade for economic justice. Here we have no time to spare. For it is a shameful fact that 32 million people in this, the richest land on earth, are forced to live on a standard of living that is woefully inadequate - a standard below that which $2,600 a year would buy for a family of four. It is a shameful fact that 7 million of our fellow citizens are dependent upon charity for their existence - that 5 million city homes lack plumbing - that breeding places of juvenile crime abound in our cities - and that abject poverty characterizes too much of our farm community.
These are some of the reasons why I say economic growth is not simply a cold, remote statistic. And these are some of the reasons why it is not enough to merely talk about it. It is time to do something about it - and we are going to start on next November 8.
The first step we must take is to put into office an administration which has faith in a growing America. The Republican Party, since the departure of Theodore Roosevelt some 48 years ago, has not had this faith - and it does not have it today. For example, on August 10 the President said that automobile production may exceed 6 million - and this, he said, "is really a very fine year." But the facts of the matter are that we made 7.5 million cars a few years ago. The facts of the matter are that thousands of autoworkers are out of jobs today or working on short time. If this is "a very fine year," I don't want to see a very bad one.
While these men are idle - while these facilities are idle - we see critical needs on every side of us that could "consume and absorb" their output, if only given a chance. We see the need for schools - for highways - for dams and powerplants, homes and hospitals, stronger defenses, and a rebirth of our cities. These projects need busy plans and working men. And so our second step toward economic growth must be to put back to work our idle machines and men - to return to the Democratic policy of full employment which for 8 years has been shamefully neglected. We have the tools - the legislation and the programs to put men back to work - and in 1961 we are going to do it.
As a third step, we can help our Nation grow by unlocking the riches of our natural resources. From our forest must come the timber, from our rivers must come the water and power, and from our mines must come the fuels and metals to meet the needs of an expanding population. Franklin Roosevelt raised the economy of an entire region through unified development of the Tennessee Valley. The Bonneville and Grand Coulee Dams have repaid their cost a hundredfold. Yet the Republican policy is "no new starts."
Fourth, we must put to work the wonders of automation in a way which will be a blessing for all America - not merely a curse for the workers. In the coal beds of West Virginia automation means joblessness, poverty, and deprivation. But automation can also bring lighter work, lower prices, and better jobs under a Government which cares for people - a Government which is unwilling to have men thrown on the scrap heap like obsolete machines.
And fifth and finally, if we want to grow, let us put an end to scarce money and high interest. Those who collect the interest may have profited. But every American who has financed a home, an automobile, a refrigerator, or a television set has suffered. Those of you who buy a home with a $10,000, 30-year mortgage today will pay out $3,300 more in interest charges than you would have paid under the last Democratic administration - $3,300 that could have been put to better use for you and your family.
This is a sound workable program to stimulate the growth of our free enterprise economy - a program which will keep our economy healthy and free - a program which will bring growth without inflation or increased government controls. We have heard that this kind of growth is merely an idle dream. But this country was built by dreamers - not by those of weak hearts and little faith.
In 1776 there were those who said that national independence was an idle dream. In 1789 there were those who said that a sovereign union of equal states was an idle dream. In 1860 there were those who said that freeing the slaves was an idle dream. In 1932 there were those who said that a New Deal for the American people was an idle dream.
Now, in 1960, we face problems unlike any we have faced before. Never has the challenge been so great. Never have the stakes been so large. Never have the dreams and the ideals and the dedication of free men been so essential.
We have no time for complacency, timidity, or doubt. This is a time for courage and action. This is a time for strong leaders - leaders who are not afraid of New Frontiers - leaders who are not afraid of the facts - leaders who can turn our dreams into reality.
Give me your mandate. Give us the men. For I believe the job can be done.
During the dark days of World War II, Winston Churchill appealed to America for help, pleading "Give us the tools and we will finish the job." Today - in 1960 - when America faces challenges and perils greater than ever before, I say to all Americans who want to build a better America - "Give us the job for we have the tools."
Give me your mandate. Give me the men. Give us more men in the Senate like Phil Hart and Pat McNamara. We only need a few more. A shift of only four votes would have given us a decent bill to provide medical care for the aged under the social security system. And next January we will have those votes. We will not be threatened with a Presidential veto. And we will not have to settle for a medical care program that is based on the pauper's oath.
Give me a Congress next January with more members like your Michigan Democratic Congressmen. We only need a few more. A shift of four or five votes in the House last June would have enacted a real minimum wage bill, with coverage for several million more families and a minimum of $1.25 an hour. Next January we will have those votes - and you will have a President who knows what a strong minimum wage law means to stop runaway shops and to raise living standards.
I ask you also to elect John Swainson as Governor of Michigan - a great Governor to succeed a great Governor. And I intend to work with both John Swainson and Mennen Williams to lead this State and Nation to a future of hope and promise.
I am taking my case to the American people because that is where it belongs - because that is where there will be no threat of veto or parliamentary obstruction - and because that is where we can always place our confidence. I take our case to you because I am confident that the American people want an enduring peace in which human dignity, truth, and justice under law are secured for all men everywhere. I take our case to you because I am confident that you are willing to do whatever has to be done to make us first in the world militarily, and thus first in the fight for peace.
I take our case to you because I am confident that all of us here, as descendants of immigrants, are ready to renew our hospitality to the homeless, the tired, and the poor, from other lands, without discrimination as to national origin. I take our case to you because I am confident that, as citizens of one world, we are willing to share our plenty with our brothers in the new states of Asia and Africa, and with those in Europe and Latin America, who need our help and our friendship.
I take my case to you because I am confident that the American people are not going to tolerate pockets of poverty and chronic unemployment in this land, the waste of idle men and women who are ready, willing, and able to work, or the decline of our farms. I take my case to you because I know you agree with me that racial discrimination must be eliminated everywhere in our society; in jobs, in housing, in voting, in lunch counters, and in schools.
And finally, I am here because I know we share a deep-seated belief in free collective bargaining, and in the growth and development of free and responsible unions - and unlike our opponents, we do not believe in this only on Labor Day.
I welcome the support of the working men and women of this country. I am proud of the fact that I was endorsed by the AFL-CIO. For I know that the American Labor movement wants for America what I want for America: the elimination of poverty and unemployment, the reestablishment of America's world leadership, the guarantee of full civil rights for all our citizens. I know the American labor movement opposes what I oppose: complacency, unemployment, economic stagnation, racial discrimination, and national insecurity.
Our labor unions are not narrow, self-seeking groups. They have raised wages, shortened hours, and provided supplemental benefits. Through collective bargaining and grievance procedures, they have brought justice and democracy to the shop floor. But their work goes beyond their own jobs, and even beyond our borders.
Our unions have fought for aid to education, for better housing, for development of our natural resources, and for saving the family-sized farms. They have contributed funds and talent to improve our oversea relations. They have spoken, not for narrow self-interest, but for the public interest and for the people.
For the labor movement is people. Our unions have brought millions of men and women together, made them members one of another, and given them common tools for common goals.
Their goals are goals for all America - and their enemies are the enemies of all progress.
The two cannot be separated. The man who opposes a decent increase in the minimum wage is not likely to be more generous toward a badly underpaid schoolteacher. The man who opposes proper medical care for the aged has no more compassion for the small farmer or the small businessman or the hungry families in this Nation and around the world. He likes things the way they are. He sees no need to change - no need to grow. His theme song is: "You never had it so good."
But let him try to tell that to the more than 4 million men and women who cannot find employment. Let him try to tell that to the 3 million men forced to work less than full time. Let him try to tell that to those who live on our hard-hit farms, in our depressed areas, in our deserted textile and coal mine towns. Let him try to tell that to 5 million men, women, and children trying to get by on an average of $20 worth of surplus food a month - or the millions of retired workers trying to get by on all average annual income of less than $2,000 a year.
This is the greatest country in the world. But we can be still greater. This is the most prosperous country in the world. But we can be still more prosperous . . . so that every American can share in that prosperity. We have the means to achieve our goals - to put our house in order - to regain our position of preeminence in the world. It all comes under the name of "economic growth" and today I want to talk with you about economic growth. There is nothing cold or dull about the meaning of economic growth. It means jobs and homes and schools for our children. Lack of growth means unemployment and pockets of poverty and a weak, declining nation.
Under Republican leadership, we have not been growing. The workers have noted it in unemployment and short workweeks. Businessmen have noted it in idle plant capacity and rising inventories. And Mr. Khrushchev noted it when he promised to "bury" us.
Three facts are indisputable:
Fact No.1: Between 1947 and 1953, under the administration of Harry Truman, our average annual rate of growth was 4 1/2 percent. Between 1953 and 1959, under a Republican administration, the rate was only 2 1/2 percent - less than half as much. And today our key industries such as auto and steel are operating at much less than full capacity.
Fact No.2: While our economy is crawling forward at an average rate of only 2 1/2 percent, the Russian gross national product is annually increasing 7 percent - three times as fast.
Fact No.3: Our rate of growth was surpassed by almost every major industrial nation during the past years of drift and indecision - including Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, and Japan. These are the facts which we must face. This is the record which our opponents have described as a "healthy rate of growth." And I defy them to find anything healthy about it.
When this country, with all its potential, is growing at less than half the rate achieved by the Soviet Union, less than the rate of almost every major industrial nation on earth, then our health is obviously down and we had better call for a new doctor in Washington. These facts and figures are not remote. They affect the welfare of everyone. With a really healthy rate of growth, each family of four would have received, on the average, an additional $1,300 every year between 1953 and 1959 - a total of more than $7,000 - $7,000 you could have had for a rainy day, or to finance a college education, or to take a trip, or help buy a house - $7,000 that these restrictive policies have kept out of your pocket.
With a really healthy rate of growth, we can have full employment - and let me make clear right now my conviction that in this country we cannot afford to have any goal except genuine full employment.
With a really healthy rate of growth, we can end the gnawing doubts about our national defense. If we had maintained a healthy rate of growth, it would have paid many times over the cost of the vital defense programs which the administration has said we cannot afford - the cost of putting our Strategic Air Command on a continuous air alert, the cost of modernizing our Army and Navy, and the cost of building more Polaris and Minuteman missiles. These are steps which must be taken and, once this country starts moving again, these are steps that will be taken.
With a really healthy rate of growth, we can provide our children with the best in education and eliminate the shortage of classrooms and the scarcity of teachers which is depriving millions of young Americans of adequate school training. And finally, with a really healthy rate of growth, we will win the crusade for economic justice. Here we have no time to spare. For it is a shameful fact that 32 million people in this, the richest land on earth, are forced to live on a standard of living that is woefully inadequate - a standard below that which $2,600 a year would buy for a family of four. It is a shameful fact that 7 million of our fellow citizens are dependent upon charity for their existence - that 5 million city homes lack plumbing - that breeding places of juvenile crime abound in our cities - and that abject poverty characterizes too much of our farm community.
These are some of the reasons why I say economic growth is not simply a cold, remote statistic. And these are some of the reasons why it is not enough to merely talk about it. It is time to do something about it - and we are going to start on next November 8.
The first step we must take is to put into office an administration which has faith in a growing America. The Republican Party, since the departure of Theodore Roosevelt some 48 years ago, has not had this faith - and it does not have it today. For example, on August 10 the President said that automobile production may exceed 6 million - and this, he said, "is really a very fine year." But the facts of the matter are that we made 7.5 million cars a few years ago. The facts of the matter are that thousands of autoworkers are out of jobs today or working on short time. If this is "a very fine year," I don't want to see a very bad one.
While these men are idle - while these facilities are idle - we see critical needs on every side of us that could "consume and absorb" their output, if only given a chance. We see the need for schools - for highways - for dams and powerplants, homes and hospitals, stronger defenses, and a rebirth of our cities. These projects need busy plans and working men. And so our second step toward economic growth must be to put back to work our idle machines and men - to return to the Democratic policy of full employment which for 8 years has been shamefully neglected. We have the tools - the legislation and the programs to put men back to work - and in 1961 we are going to do it.
As a third step, we can help our Nation grow by unlocking the riches of our natural resources. From our forest must come the timber, from our rivers must come the water and power, and from our mines must come the fuels and metals to meet the needs of an expanding population. Franklin Roosevelt raised the economy of an entire region through unified development of the Tennessee Valley. The Bonneville and Grand Coulee Dams have repaid their cost a hundredfold. Yet the Republican policy is "no new starts."
Fourth, we must put to work the wonders of automation in a way which will be a blessing for all America - not merely a curse for the workers. In the coal beds of West Virginia automation means joblessness, poverty, and deprivation. But automation can also bring lighter work, lower prices, and better jobs under a Government which cares for people - a Government which is unwilling to have men thrown on the scrap heap like obsolete machines.
And fifth and finally, if we want to grow, let us put an end to scarce money and high interest. Those who collect the interest may have profited. But every American who has financed a home, an automobile, a refrigerator, or a television set has suffered. Those of you who buy a home with a $10,000, 30-year mortgage today will pay out $3,300 more in interest charges than you would have paid under the last Democratic administration - $3,300 that could have been put to better use for you and your family.
This is a sound workable program to stimulate the growth of our free enterprise economy - a program which will keep our economy healthy and free - a program which will bring growth without inflation or increased government controls. We have heard that this kind of growth is merely an idle dream. But this country was built by dreamers - not by those of weak hearts and little faith.
In 1776 there were those who said that national independence was an idle dream. In 1789 there were those who said that a sovereign union of equal states was an idle dream. In 1860 there were those who said that freeing the slaves was an idle dream. In 1932 there were those who said that a New Deal for the American people was an idle dream.
Now, in 1960, we face problems unlike any we have faced before. Never has the challenge been so great. Never have the stakes been so large. Never have the dreams and the ideals and the dedication of free men been so essential.
We have no time for complacency, timidity, or doubt. This is a time for courage and action. This is a time for strong leaders - leaders who are not afraid of New Frontiers - leaders who are not afraid of the facts - leaders who can turn our dreams into reality.
Give me your mandate. Give us the men. For I believe the job can be done.
During the dark days of World War II, Winston Churchill appealed to America for help, pleading "Give us the tools and we will finish the job." Today - in 1960 - when America faces challenges and perils greater than ever before, I say to all Americans who want to build a better America - "Give us the job for we have the tools."
Sunday, September 02, 2007
The Comics
This week's comic of the week is a tie.First,as the Funky Winkerbean 'Death Of Lisa' story intensifies,so does the strip.After a so-so week{with Les talking to his cat},this Saturday strip just blew me out of the water.I hardly ever get this emotionally attached-to anything.Great comic.
There are a ton of 'new' comic strips out there that I read daily...they are that good.'Moderately Confused';'Candorville';'Clear Blue Water';'Pibgorn';'Girls & Sports';'Frog Applause' and this favorite called 'Retail'.I just love this comic.It has great art work(love it),is always funny,and is so current.It knows it's retail.It takes place in a fictional retail store called,'Grumbel's'(think Wal-Mart in a mall).This August 31st funny made me LoL!
There are a ton of 'new' comic strips out there that I read daily...they are that good.'Moderately Confused';'Candorville';'Clear Blue Water';'Pibgorn';'Girls & Sports';'Frog Applause' and this favorite called 'Retail'.I just love this comic.It has great art work(love it),is always funny,and is so current.It knows it's retail.It takes place in a fictional retail store called,'Grumbel's'(think Wal-Mart in a mall).This August 31st funny made me LoL!
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