Halloween is my favorite day of the year. Everyone is in a festive mood. Christmas is supposed to be the best day of the year but it is very depressing thinking of all the Christmases past and those who have passed on. Society has long ago forgotten the meaning of Christmas. Halloween is the day of the dead where we celebrate the memory of those who have passed and we make a big party out of the affair.
Each year I try to pick the costume I think best characterizes that which is most frightening and hideous. It has always been fun to evoke terror and fright in someone by a scary story or shocking costume. This year’s award for the most hideous image epitomizing horror is not a costume but a building. The new hospital building at Scott & White wins hands down. What you see on the hill is not a building under construction but one that is completed on the outside. It not only evokes fright at seeing it but extreme nausea and chest pain. For me personally it has also produced tears and embarrassment. My only hope now is that someday, someone will complete the outside. Until then it stands as a daily reminder of that which is most frightening at Halloween.

TV keeps pulling out some of the old veterans to keep interest alive. I noticed last week that Dick Clark will again host the News Years gala in New York’s Time Square. This will be the 100th year for him. He continues to do the show even after his stroke. The trick is to keep the camera about 100 yards away and have him say very few words. It’s pitiful to do this but it keeps interest up. Everyone tuned in to see the shaking Michael J. Fox just to observe someone severely affected with Parkinson’s. They don’t know or really care about stem cell research. It’s almost like seeing a free freak show. Using celebrities who are touched with a disease can be effective and I hope it is the case for Parkinson’s and Michael J. Fox. We do need to support stem cell research. One of the best examples in an affected celebrity was FDR for polio. The March of Dimes was the most effective fund raiser of all times and with very positive results. It’s still too bad that we have to resort to showing freakish things to get results.

Back to pulling out old veterans. CBS may need to do this with their evening news. Katie Couric continues to do poorly. She remains a distant third behind NBC and ABC. Last week she was ranked number seven with the other shows in her time slot in LA. They may have to pull Walter Cronkite back into the lineup even at his advanced age. There is even talk of pulling the mummy (picutred above) of the great Edward R. Murrow into service to save CBS. No one knows, or cares, about Dan Rather. If the Democrates win the upcoming election then all of the news people may be looking for work. Bush will be a lame duck and there will be no Republicans to bash and nothing to report after our troops have been pulled out of Iraq.

Nothing original on the blog today, just some of the funniest quotes I have seen. I felt these should be shared with my friends.

He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire."
-- Winston Churchill

"A modest little person, with much to be modest about."
-- Winston Churchill

"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure."
-- Clarence Darrow

"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary."
-- William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway)

"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?"
-- Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner)

"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it."
-- Moses Hadas

"He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know"
-- Abraham Lincoln

"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it."
-- Groucho Marx

"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it."
-- Mark Twain

"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends."
-- Oscar Wilde

"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend....if you have one."
-- George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

"Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second....if there is one."
-- Winston Churchill, in response.

"I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here."
-- Stephen Bishop

"He is a self-made man and worships his creator."
-- John Bright

"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial."
-- Irvin S. Cobb

"He is not only dull himself, he is the cause of dullness in others."
-- Samuel Johnson

"He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up."
-- Paul Keating

"He had delusions of adequacy."
-- Walter Kerr

"There's nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won't cure."
-- Jack E. Leonard

"He has the attention span of a lightning bolt."
-- Robert Redford

"They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge ."
-- Thomas Brackett Reed

"He inherited some good instincts from his Quaker forebears, but by diligent hard work, he overcame them."
-- James Reston (about Richard Nixon)

"In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily."
-- Charles, Count Talleyrand

"He loves nature in spite of what it did to him."
-- Forrest Tucker

"Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?"
-- Mark Twain

"His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork."
-- Mae West

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."
-- Oscar Wilde

"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts....for support rather than illumination."
-- Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

"He has Van Gogh's ear for music."

Glenn Beck is an interesting TV host. He is about the only conservative person allowed near CNN or any TV network. Have been listening to him when I have the chance. He is a little hyper with his delivery on TV but what he has to say is usually pretty good.
Last night he talked about how our American culture is in great danger of dying. I can already see this happening. What we value today is much different than when I was a child. History and other material which even my children were taught is presented in a much different way to my grandkids. George Washington and the cherry tree, pilgrims, apple pie, church, etc. are much less important today. I suspect that the Smithsonian will not even exist 50 years from now and certainly no one will care about the Bell County Museum.
It has been determined that for a culture to maintain itself each family should have on an average of 2.5 children. It is far below that in Japan and several other countries where the culture is rapidly disappearing. The US is above the 2.5, but unfortunately it isn’t with those who value the American culture. The growth in the US is in the Hispanic population and the American culture will be gradually replaced by the Hispanic culture. Mexico will eventually defeat us without firing a shot.
There are also probably less gays and cell phones in the Mexican population and they are not bothered by the infertility problem.
The president of Iran recognizes these facts and has encouraged increasing the birth rate. Americans need to get busy but we are probably too late because the trend now is for same sex marriages and the use of cell phones.

The New Jersey Supreme Court is scheduled to rule today on allowing same-sex marriages. If it passes they will join Massachusetts in permitting this act, which like the cell phone should help in world-wide birth control. The cell phone produces infertility and so far men with men and women with women have not been able to conceive. Maybe stem cell research will allow this to happen. I’m just happy I was born in a time when you could have a mother and father.
If Nancy Pelosi becomes House Majority leader, after the upcoming election, gay marriage may become the law of the land. If she eventually becomes President, it is certain to become the law of the land.
Meanwhile, the good news of the day is that Putin is not going to seek a third term as President in Russia. His support of Iran and their development of nuclear capability has been of great concern. Those two powers may have combined to create and fulfill the Biblical prophecy described in Ezekiel regarding Gog and Armageddon in which there will be an attempt to wipe Israel off the face of the earth and by so doing we will see the end of earth. Maybe we are going to be spared for a little longer. If we could only build a giant wall and dome over the US and keep everyone out. Better still, I wish I could build something like that around my house.

A recent study shows that the use of cell phones may contribute to infertility in the male. A large British study showed that there was a 25% decrease in the sperm count for those who used a cell phone more than four hours a day. The quality of the sperm was also diminished. They think that the heat or electromagnetic radiation generated by the phone may be the contributing factor to injuring the sperm.
Looking at the problem another way, this may be a blessing in disguise. The world population is already out of hand. The US just reached 300 million and God only knows what it is in China and India. The Muslims are also multiplying like flies and threatening to take over the world. Why not give everyone a cell phone instead of condoms. They would be much better accepted and more likely to be used. This might be the solution to containing the world population and saving the planet.
I suspect that it would also help to decrease reproduction in the female as well. With a cell phone they are much more likely to be chatting on the phone rather than performing the sex act. It’s a win, win situation.
Hopefully, this idea may catch on. I think I’m going to buy some stock in one or more of the cell phone companies.

Jeffrey Skilling was sentenced today to 24 years in prison for his part in the Enron scandal. He swindled 2 billion in employee pension plans and more than 60 billion in Enron stock. He is suppose to have 60 million in assets which will be liquidated and 45 million used for restitution funds for the victims. He still owes his lawyers 30 million. The money for the victims may help put some underwear back on their bare bodies. I only wish I would have gone to law school so I could lose a case like Skilling’s and still get 30 million.
Ken Lay is the lucky one. The interesting thing is that he may not even be dead. This scenario has the potential for a great movie plot. Wish I could write it.
The only problem with the restitution money is that the government will get hold of it first and it will be so watered down that the victims may get the equivalent of a bag of peanuts.
Skilling may go to prison with some of our current Congressman. It would be interesting if he had to share a cell with one of those guys or a priest. We might then hear stories of molestation or abuse of executives rather than children. At least this would be something different in the news. Nancy Grace would have a new topic for discussion

Diogenes was a Greek philosopher back in the time of Socrates who was a cynic and was said to have searched his entire life for an honest man. He carried a lantern in his search but was never able to find an honest person, rather he exposed the vanity and selfishness of man. Diogenes is one of my heroes, along with Mark Twain. Alexander the Great is reported to have said, “ If I was not Alexander, I would want to be Diogenes.”
We need a modern Diogenes to search for a pure and honest clergyman. He would already have given up on finding an honest politician. I suspect he would have trouble finding the clergyman. Every day we hear a new disgusting story. The latest is that Mark Foley, congressman from Florida, who recently resigned because of a sex scandal involving a house page claims he was molested by a clergyman when he was a boy. Turns out that this is probably true. The priest was found this week living on an island off Malta which is just south of Sicily. He is 68 years old and is still active in the priesthood. He admitted that he and Foley were naked together in a sauna when Foley was 13. There was a little massaging going on but no sex. Is there anyone who is pure and honest anymore? The modern Diogenes would likely have the same result as the Greek philosopher.

Jimmy Carter is after Bush again. He says the current Korean problem is Bushes fault. He says that Bush is making a mistake by not meeting with the Koreans one on one as they have requested. Carter thinks that if we would just meet with them one on one rather than trying to get the support of the other countries through the UN that everything would be okay. He says that all Kim Jong Il wants is reassurance from the US that we will not invade him if he continues his nuclear testing.
Jimmy Carter may be a great ex-president and I am very glad he is X. His track record with the middle east was not that great, remember the Iran hostage thing. He did get Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Menachem Began of Israel to shake hands and that has settled everything. Everything between Israel and the rest of the middle east is just great, thanks to Jimmy Carter.
Cater has done a great job building houses with the Habitat for Humanity project, he just need to keep hammering away rather than coddling madmen and promoting homosexuals in the Baptist Church.
The good news of today is that I got a raise in my Social Security check. We were going to Temple this evening to splurg this windfall on a meal at Luby’s but I couldn’t justify the expense of the gas for the trip even though the price has come down. The other good news is that the stock market almost hit 12,000 today. Maybe I can afford the gas when I make back some of the money I lost 7 years ago but I really don’t think I will live that long.

Today the population of the U.S. reached 300 million. Most of these people are on I35 between Roundrock and Austin at 8:00 AM or Friday afternoon at 5:00 PM. A large portion of them are also in line at WalMart or in the waiting room at the S&W Emergency Department.
It is estimated that the U.S. adds 2.8 Million a year and about 40% come from immigration. The estimate is probably low because that many come across the Texas border every week.
There was a big celebration in 1967 when we hit 200 million. A Chinese baby born in Atlanta was selected as number 200 million. I don’t know what they will do to celebrate this one, probably go to the Texas border and greet him as he comes across. The Chinese kid grew up and went to Harvard. Who knows, maybe number 300 million will grow up to become president and get us out of Iraq. The best bet is that he will grow up and go to prison.
Anyway, welcome number 300 million.

Mark Twain said, “ It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no one distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.” This sure seems to apply today as well as in Mark Twain’s time. Rep. Bob Ney, this week pleaded guilty in the influence peddling investigation which involved super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff. This is the same scandal that brought down Texas Rep. Tom Delay. All of this is on the heels of Mark Foley’s resignation because of the sex scandal involving a teenage House Page.
None of this is new. Just yesterday we were informed of the death of former Massachusetts Rep. Gerry Studds who was involved in a sex scandal involving a teenage House Page in 1972. This was okay because he was a Democrat and he served several more terms in Congress It of course was okay for the President to have a sexual affair with a White House Intern because she was a consenting adult and what he did was not really have sex. Like Huck Finn said about the Widow Douglas who wouldn’t let him smoke because it was a mean practice and wasn’t clean. Huck said, “she found a power of fault with me for doing a thing that had some good in it, and she took snuff too; of course that was all right, because she done it herself.” Huck defined hypocrisy for us. We criticize some one for something and we do something just a bad or worse and consider in okay because we do it ourselves.
Anyway, the poor Republicans are going to have no one left in the ranks come election time.

Temple High School coach jumps into the arms of his quarterback after defeating the Belton Tigers in overtime. The coach was yelling, " I love your, I love you, you have saved my job, you have saved my job." Even the astroturf and jumbo score board have not helped the the coaches standing with the fans. The Belton victory may save him. I don't think I have ever seen a coach jump into the arms of one of his players before. If this was a congressman, he might might be in trouble but with football anything goes.

North Korea claims to have tested an atomic bomb this week after repeatedly claiming they were only developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. They were beating their chest in the UN, this week, claiming how great they are and the world should applaud their efforts. North Korea loves to be applauded. That’s all Kim Jong Il seems to do, stand on a balcony reviewing his goose stepping troops and clapping his chubby little hands.
The world community, including China and Russia, at first did not endorse North Korea’s enthusiasm and seemed willing to join in sanctions against them because of this insane action which threatens world peace. Japan has already imposed sanctions and is not allowing North Korea to sail ships in Japanese waters and are banning imports to North Korea. That means no more cars or TV’s shipped to the starving people of North Korea, this is going to hurt a lot.
Now China is backing away from imposing sanctions. Believe me, China has been informed all along about North Korea’s intentions. I’m sure Kim Jong Il doesn’t go to the bathroom without the approval of China. Kim Jong even has his hair done in China and the newest style is straight up, as usual, but with the very top in the shape of a mushroom cloud.
If we could only manage to get Islam to direct their anger toward North Korea and China. We could then get into the fray along with Israel and could have Pat Robertson’s predicted Armageddon. This may be sooner that we think.

I was raised on stories about the great gunslingers of the west. When the western TV shows came along they were my favorites. People like Matt Dillon, Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp and Paladin were my heroes. When the western TV show disappeared I lost much of my interest in TV. Now there is hope that many of these will be revived and replaced by the gunslinger teachers.
There is serious discussion currently going on about arming teachers because of the marked increase in shootings in school. Even the peaceful God fearing Amish have been violated by a crazed gunmen murdering, in execution style, several Amish girls. A school principal was recently gunned down in the hall of his school. Hardly a week passes that some student is caught with a gun brought onto the school campus.
The solution is to arm the teachers. This has apparently worked in other countries and many are ready to try it out in the U.S. I can see it now, an entirely new generation of quick draw artist gunning down crazy kids and madmen in the school room. Headlines may read, “ Old maid teacher outdraws madman in hall of local high school.” We have the possibility of a new TV series based on the life of the famous substitute teacher who was the best gunslinger in the public schools. The TV show may be called, “ Miss Maude, Have gun and books, will travel.”
I’m all for arming the teachers. Maybe we can once again have discipline in the classroom and kill off the nuts at the same time.

While I was away the only news I heard in Florida was about the resignation of Congressman Mark Foley and also news of the school shootings.
Regarding Foley, it again seems that no one takes responsibility for their own actions or misbehavior. It is always somebody else’s fault. Borrowing a phrase from Flip Wilson, “the devil made me do it.” As soon as Foley was accused of sending sexually explicit e-mail to a Congressional page, who was a minor, he said I resign because I am gay and an alcoholic and am checking myself into rehab. Rehab is the solution to his problem and will cure his misbehavior and perverted personality. I hate to inform him, but rehab is not going to cure anything he has. He needs a brain transplant. When further charges were made, Foley responded by saying that he was molested by a clergyman when he was a child. That, of course, explains everything. I’m sure that next we will find that his parents were abusive and beat and molested him daily in a basement of his house where he had been confined for most of his childhood.
Why can’t he say, I’m a jerk and will just stay home and watch porno flicks and not bother anyone. This would save us all a lot of trouble.
In the mean time everyone who has had contact with him in the past is under investigation and Dennis Hastert is under fire for not taking responsibility for his behavior. It’s all great fuel for the Democrates who have no other agenda than bashing the Republicans.

Have been away from the blog for over a week. Took a trip to St. Augustine, Florida which is the oldest town in the United States. We went in search of the Fountain of Youth and for ghost. We didn’t find either. The Spanish explorer, Ponce DeLeon, found the place in the early 1500’s when he was also looking for the Fountain of Youth. We did go by a place where he drank the water but it was pretty dirty looking so I didn’t bother to take a sip. I suspect it is the source of E Coli which they have been looking for. St. Augustine is also supposed to be the most haunted city in the US. We took a night time ghost tour but didn’t see a thing, even in the famous lighthouse where one is thought to dwell. What we did find on our trip were thousands of crazy drivers especially on I 10. One of them almost ran into us as he crossed a wide median into our lane, which was headed in the opposite direction. Luckily, I missed him by a hair. I guess he was asleep or drugged out of his mind. There is much to write about which occurred in my absence including the murder of kids in school and the shooting of a school principal. The big news in Florida was the resignation of one of their representatives from Congress, Congressman Foley. There is absolutely no safe place to go. When I got home, I immediately went to bed and pulled the cover up over my head. I was happy to get to work this morning even if our new building is the ugliest I have seen in all my travels. I kept seeing signs along the highway advertising an agency which buys houses. The sign says “We buy Ugly Houses.” Wonder if they also buy ugly hospitals, if so I have a good one for them.