Jessye Norman: Arguably the Most Thrilling Female Voice Ever

The Holy City



Nobody does it better. Georgia and the entire United States of America can take great pride in calling her their own.

Obama: Worst President in History

So says Ben Quayle, son of a second rate VP and now a wannabe congressman desiring to represent Arizona. Also not such a bright star himself.

What follows was lifted from a recently received e-mail. No effort has been made to check its veracity. I really don't care. It's my post anyway.

If George Bush were the idiot that some perceived him to be ...


If George W. Bush had been the first President to need a teleprompter installed to be able to get through a press conference, would you have laughed and said this is more proof of how inept he is on his own and is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes?


If George W. Bush had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to take Laura Bush to a play in NYC, would you have approved?


If George W. Bush had reduced your retirement plan's holdings of GM stock by 90% and given the unions a majority stake in GM, would you have approved?


If George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved?


If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved?


If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky?


If George W. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the non-existent "Austrian language," would you have brushed it off as a minor slip?


If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current in their income taxes, would you have approved?


If George W. Bush had stated that there were 57 states in the United States would you have said that he is clueless.


If George W. Bush would have flown all the way to Denmark to make a five minute speech about how the Olympics would benefit him walking out his front door in Texas , would you have thought he was a self important, conceded, egotistical prick.


If George W. Bush had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to "Cinco de Cuatro" in front of the Mexican ambassador when it was the 5th of May (Cinco deMayo), and continued to flub it when he tried again, would you have winced in embarrassment?


If George W. Bush had mis-spelled the word "advice" would you have hammered him for it for years like Dan Quayle and potatoe as proof of what a dunce he is?


If George W. Bush had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on Earth Day, would you have concluded he's a hypocrite?


If George W. Bush's administration had okayed Air Force One flying low over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic, would you have wondered whether they actually get what happened on 9-11?


If George W Bush had failed to send relief aid to flood victims throughout the Midwest with more people killed or made homeless than in New Orleans, would you want it made into a major ongoing political issue with claims of racism and incompetence?


If George W. Bush had created the position of 32 Commisars who report directly to him, bypassing the House and Senate on much of what is happening in America, would you have approved.


If George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have approved?


If George W. Bush had proposed to double the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved?


If George W. Bush had then proposed to double the debt again within 10 years,would you have approved?


So, tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes him so brilliant and impressive? Can't think of anything? Don't worry. He's done all this in less than 18 months.

The e-mail copied above prompted me to look a little further and I found
this article that adds a little more fuel to the controversial fire.

America's King George I made more than his share of gaffes but, after all, he was a only a Princeton educated businessman and not a Harvard (educated?) lawyer. Plus he is, after all, a Texan who was taking care of "bidness" in his own way.

I feel that Woodrow Wilson, heretofore labeled the worst president ever, has fallen to second place. Obama is now tops the list of bad presidents.

Nadir of Dispair in the USA

King George I (Bush II) was CEO of the most opaque and secretive administration in recent history. He, along with Chaney, the power behind his throne.

Obama and the upper echelon entities of his administration and party have lied to us and continued to lie to us. All are master prevaricators.

Some will say that statements here have been taken out of context. To lift part of a line from Margaret Mitchell, "Frankly ... I don't give a damn." After all, it is my blog.

Keeping it Light

With regard to any business and especially so for companies with customers' entrusted to them, safety and service should be the first priority. It appears that this intrastate airline in South Africa can make travel more of a pleasure rather than a drudgery. Some of their humor can be seen here.

On a Kulula flight, (no assigned seating) passengers were apparently having a hard time choosing, when a flight attendant announced, "People, people we're not picking out furniture here, find a seat and get in it."


On another flight with a very "senior" flight attendant crew, the pilot said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we've reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to enhance
the appearance of your flight attendants."
                 
On landing, the attendant said, "Please be sure to take all of your belongings. If you're going to leave anything, please make sure it's something we'd like to have."
              
"There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of this airplane."


"Thank you for flying Kulula. We hope you enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride."


As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at Durban Airport, a lone voice came over the loudspeaker: "Whoa, big fella. WHOA!"


After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in the Karoo, a flight attendant nnounced, "Please take care when opening the overhead compartments because, after a landing like that, sure ashell everything has shifted."


From a Kulula employee: " Welcome aboard Kulula 271 to Port Elizabeth. To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat belt; and, if you don't know how to operate one, you probably shouldn't be out in public
unsupervised."


"In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child travelling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are travelling with more than one small child, pick your favourite."


Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken clouds, but we'll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and remember, nobody loves you, or your money, more than Kulula Airlines."


"Your seats cushions can be used for flotation; and in the event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our compliments."


"As you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses.."


And from the pilot during his welcome message: "Kulula Airlines ispleased to announce that we have some of the best flight attendants inthe industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!"


Heard on Kulula 255 just after a very hard landing in Cape Town : The flight attendant came on the intercom and said, "That was quite a bump and I know what y'all are thinking. I'm here to tell you it wasn't the airline's fault, it wasn't the pilot's fault, it wasn't the flight attendant's fault, it was the asphalt."


Overheard on a Kulula flight into Cape Town , on a particularly windy and bumpy day: During the final approach, the Captain really had to fight it. After an extremely hard landing, the Flight Attendant said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to The Mother City. Please remain in your seats with your seat belts fastened while the Captain taxis what's left of our airplane to the gate!"


Another flight attendant's comment on a less than perfect landing: "We ask you to please remain seated as Captain Kangaroo bounces us to the terminal."


An airline pilot wrote that on this particular flight he had hammered his ship into the runway really hard. The airline had a policy which required the first officer to stand at the door while the passengers exited, smile, and give them a "Thanks for flying our airline. He said that, in light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the  passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment.  Finally everyone had gotten off except for a little old lady walking with a cane. She said, "Sir, do you mind if I ask you a question?" "Why, no Ma'am," said the pilot. "What is it?" The little old lady said, "Did we land, or were we shot down?"


After a real crusher of a landing in Johannesburg , the attendant came on with, "Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Captain Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are silenced, we will open the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage to the terminal."


Part of a flight attendant's arrival announcement: "We'd like to thank you folks for flying with us today.. And, the next time you get the insane urge to go blasting through the skies in a pressurized metal tube, we hope you'll think of Kulula Airways."


Heard on a Kulula flight. "Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to smoke, the smoking section on this airplane is on the wing. If you can light 'em, you can smoke 'em."


A plane was taking off from Durban Airport . After it reached a comfortable cruising altitude, the captain made an announcement over the intercom, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Welcome to Flight Number 293, non-stop from Durban to Cape Town, The weather ahead is good and, therefore, we should have a smooth and uneventful flight.. Now sit back and relax... OH, MY GOODNESS!" Silence followed, and after a few minutes, the captain came back on the intercom and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am so sorry if I scared you earlier.  While I was talking to you, the flight attendant accidentally spilled a cup of hot coffee in my lap. You should see the front of my pants!" A passenger then yelled, "That's nothing. You should see the back of mine!"

If you can't laugh at yourself, life's gonna seem a whole lot longer than you like. Especially so with business entities and one's self also.

Web Forgery Warning

Very sure I am NOT the only Citi cardholder to get the following e-mail. Posting copy here for benefit of any interested readers. In the event one decides to click on the link, I sincerely hope that you get the same warning as did I.

Immediately following is the red flag warning that my system sent when I clicked on the link in the e-mail. Following that is the e-mail that prompted this red flag. I use Mac OS-X if that is relevant.

 

Reported Web Forgery!

This web page at www.theprimexperts.com has been reported as a web forgery and has been blocked based on your security preferences.

Web forgeries are designed to trick you into revealing personal or financial information by imitating sources you may trust.

Entering any information on this web page may result in identity theft or other fraud.

Dear CitiBank customer,

Due to a recent upgrade in our server, we are currently reviewing member's accounts and we request you to take just a second out of your time to comply with this upgrade for effect on your account, click the link to upgrade your account.

http://citibank.com/updates/infoupdate.html

Click above link to confirm your account.

Failure to comply might lead to suspension or problem accessing your account.

Thank you for using Citibank Online 

Negro and Other Words

Recommend you take time to read this sensible approach to the use of a particularly offensive word ... except when a particular group of Negroes use it among themselves. That word is "nigger." When Caucasians speak the word it's highly inflammatory.

Negro is a perfectly proper word from the Spanish and Portuguese. It simply means black in those languages. When used to describe a race whose origins are, generally speaking, sub-Saharan Africa just like Caucasian describes a race marked by fair to dark skin, straight to tightly curled hair, and light to very dark eyes, and originally inhabiting Europe. Both words are "no longer in technical use." Whatever the hell that means. Probably just not fitting within the current politically correctness framework.

When first imported into the English language and pronounced correctly ... ney-groh in English; ne-gRaw in Spanish; or ne-gRoo in Portuguese ... it was acceptable by almost everyone. Then along came the Negroes who decided they no longer liked the word. So, they wanted to be called "black." "Colored" is no longer acceptable. People of color seems to be OK for now. Then it was decided that  African-American was the identity handle of choice. How ridiculous it is. They are still Negroes and we are still Caucasians and, together, we should all be Americans. By this, I mean legal ... repeat, legal ... citizens of The United States of America.

I was once told by a homosexual man that within the homosexual community there are gays and there are queers. Gays is preferable to queers because queers is just plain offensive and derogatory ... except when used within the "community" and in reference to each other. Another exception for those who had not noticed the first one. Same pew, different church. Or is it same church, different pew? Who gives a fat rat's ass anyhow?

Ain't nobody got a friggin' sense of humor anymore. One might say, "F*** 'em if they can't take a joke."

Winston Churchill Proven Correct

The best argument against democracy is a five-minute

conversation with the average voter. 

~ Winston Churchill

It took less than three minutes

for "Florida Jo,"  interviewed in this video,  to prove Churchill right.

Bill Cosby's You Bet Your Life

From the Bill Cosby archives, featuring Marcia Brody from North, South Carolina.

Sort of reminds one of "Who's on First" with Abbott and Costello. Put them against each other and Marcia Brody and Cosby would probably put "Who's on First" in second place.



After Part 1, click on Part 2.

*ORGANIZED* Religion: Clergy's Wrongheaded Personal Opinions Pushed from the Pulpit

Generally, I agree with Ms. Rice. In my opinion she more eloquently expresses the current state of organized religion  than I ever could. Pitts's article also covered the situation quite well.

An idea that I can relate to: Keeping faith, losing religion is a well stated wake-up call for organized religion.

I grew up in a fundamentalist church in the south. I joined and was dipped (baptized). Some say I've back slid. So? I have no feelings even remotely verging on guilt. Morals I understand and adhere to ... much more so than some of the organized membership role models. 'Nuff said.

Genetic Connection Between Sea Sponges and Humans

Attributed to Winston Churchill is this quotation: "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." 

His statement seems to conflict not at all with discoveries recently made by some Australian scientists whose lead researcher stated that there is a 70% connection between sea sponges and humans.

In my not-so-humble opinion that 70% increased exponentially in the brains of 2008 presidential election voters.

Those voters were, for the most part, lazy, which was evidenced by their  emotional voting and with not one iota of intelligent research. It was so wonderful to so many that they were a part of making history by voting for the first Negro President of the United States of America.

Look where we are now. Not that he is a Negro, but that he is basically an ignorant juvenile with regard to running one of the biggest businesses in the world ... this once great country of ours.

What does POTUS Obama know about national and international economics? What does he know about foreign policy? He constantly  embarrasses us with his apologies to the international community at ever opportunity and especially to those states which are Islamic-Muslim dominated.

Someone once said that great democracies last 200 years. Our 200 years are behind us with a level of respect never to be regained. Sponge brained voters and Congress can take pride in their contribution to our downfall.