clinton in kentucky

every once in a while i try to catch up on a little bit of politics. i don’t follow political activities as much as i used to. i’ve become too much of a skeptic and cynic. that’s a whole other post at a whole other time. tonight i saw an article on cnn.com discussing senator clinton and her refusal to concede defeat in the democratic primary. i’m all for sticking to your guns and finishing what you started. if there is still a mathematical chance that she could win, then i don’t fault her one bit for not conceding. i might be heard harping on senator clinton’s politics, but i won’t be heard faulting her for not conceding.

okay, so in this article they quote sen. clinton as saying to a gathering in kentucky after her win there, “you’ve never given up on me, because you know i’ve never given up on you.” enter brad the skeptic. really?! what exactly have you done to demonstrate that you’ve “never given up” on kentucky? this is exactly the type of hyperbole that politicians spew like babies do poop and puke. i’m not making the case that she would or wouldn’t be a solid president. i’m not arguing her intelligence or her presence of mind under pressure. what i am saying is that she is full of it. she makes insinuations that she has done what she hasn’t. how can i trust her and feel comfortable taking her at her word when she makes statements like this?

she has been a corporate lawyer, a first lady (state and federal) and a senator representing new york. she has done many wonderful things for many people, but what, i ask, has she done for the people of kentucky? surely if she is going to make this statement she must have something in mind. if i had an audience with her this might be my first question for her. to be fair, this quote could have been taken out of context. she may have been talking to a group of attorneys that she has been personal friends with for years. this seems unlikely, but it is possible. also to be fair to her, i don’t think i would have to work very hard to find similar statements from sen. obama or sen. mccain, i just happened to see sen. clinton’s first.

is anyone else tired of politicians who make ridiculous statements and promises? does anyone else feel that most politicians treat us “common folk” like herdable idiots who will believe anything told to us? i don’t trust people who make statements like “…because you know i’ve never given up on you” because they are playing me as a fool. they insult my intelligence and assume that because they said it, while i haven’t seen it, i will believe them when they make these statements. please. these people are a far cry from president washington. he was concerned with the survivability of the thirteen newly formed states. he was nearly forced into the role of president when it was the farthest thing from the most powerful person in the western world. he did it because his country needed him. today the country doesn’t need these candidates, these candidates need this country. while washington’s main objective was to sustain the great republican experiment, our current selection of candidates seem to be more worried about the power of the office then fighting a good fight and bringing peace and prosperity to our nation.  i am farsighted. i want a leader who makes decisions (unpopular if necessary) that will strengthen our country now, but more importantly in the future.

senator clinton, you haven’t done anything for the people of kentucky. i would be willing to bet that most of your actions have been selfish and self-preserving. when your actions are for the greater good, they are in the best interests of your constituents in new york, not kentucky. don’t lie, don’t exagerate. find another way to rally your troops.

go cubs

i saw these pictures on facebook yesterday and i couldn’t stop laughing.  i thought i would share these beautiful pictures.  enjoy.

that might be too much text for a tshirt, but who cares?  that’s funny.

obviously this isn’t real, but would that not be the ULTIMATE prank if a cubs fan could actually pull it off?

happiness

i noticed that i have had several negative posts on here lately. sorry. it’s not because i am a negative person per se. it’s more because i am a problem solver by nature. i see problems and i want to fix them. when i complain, i generally try to do it with a recommendation as well. people who complain just to complain drive me nuts, but when they address a concern along with offering a solution, i’m fine with it. so here you go: me being happy.

happiness can be derived from almost anything. there are many things that make me happy, but nothing generates a smile faster than my weber one-touch silver grill. just look at it. i’m smiling right now. sunday night we made ribs. we used a simple rub of brown sugar, chili powder, black pepper, and salt. that’s it. i gave the ribs a good rub down and let them sit for a little while. i put the ribs on the grill on top of hickory chips and charcoal and…it was a sight for sore (or hungry) eyes. the smoke came pouring out of the grill any way it could. between the brown sugar and the hickory chips the smell was unbelievable. i couldn’t capture the smell so i tried to capture the sight. the batteries where dead on my camera so i tried taking a picture with my phone. i must admit, it did better than i thought it would. the darkness on the ribs is not because there are overdone, it is the brown sugar from the rub that is caramelizing. mmm! i getting hungry again looking at the picture. i put too much charcoal in the grill so the thinner end of the ribs was over done. but from the middle to the large end it was spectacular! for me ribs are a lot like steaks. there really is no need to cover it in a sauce if you do it right. not taking anything away from the a-1 folks, but their sauce is for overdone or bland steaks. same with bbq sauce. though i do like it as a change of pace, if you add a good rub to the delicious natural flavors of the ribs, who needs sauce?

things i’m tired of

sorry i haven’t posted in such a long time. i thought about telling you all of my reasons (read excuses) for why i haven’t posted, but the truth is i’ve just been lazy.

so here we go. none of these are going to be overly in depth, but these are things that have been driving me nuts. who knows. if i get going on these, you may see them in a longer, more detailed post soon.

1. oprah. i get tired of seeing her everywhere. it drives me crazy that she puts her face on each and every one of her magazine covers. how vain?! i also get tired of her power over the world. as a bookseller, i see her affect on the world as much as any non-oprah worshiper does. i find her fake, repulsive, power hungry, and having many qualities in common with the anti-christ. i hate the fact that she endorses and promotes rediculous books like the secret and the new earth . these books are nothing short of ridiculous and gullible women around the world are buying and buying in to these books. it’s pathetic. it’s disturbing.
2. political campaigns. i wouldn’t mind them so much if i felt that they were productive, but i don’t. i find them an incredible waste of money on propaganda. these candidates aren’t telling us how they will actually act in office, they are over-promising and pandering to the crowds. they are telling us what they think we want to hear. i know that i am over-simplifying this and that i am showing off my incredible cynicism, but still. look at the promises they make. there is one candidate who says on a commercial that as a rookie state representative, he will end the war in iraq, make health care affordable, and “undo all the mistakes make by the bush administration.” seriously? you actually think that you can do any of that, yet alone all of it? even if congress and the new president can do those things, for you to assert that you will be the driving force behind each of these agenda items is a joke. you don’t have the power to do that. those promises would be a bit of a stretch even for the presidential candidates, but you? a rookie state rep? get real. i don’t know much about this guy. reading his bio, he sounds like a great guy. he obviously is educated and has spent time doing many wonderful things, but he is kidding himself making these promises during this campaign.
3. national sports shows/announcers, etc constantly talking about the cubs 100 years of futility/bad luck. every time the cubs play a nationally televised game, the announcers spend WAY too much time talking about the well documented championship drought of my beloved cubbies. okay. we get it. it’s been 100 years. call the game. why don’t you talk about rich hill not being able to throw strikes, the merit (or lack there of) of leaving soriano in the leadoff spot, or the fact that big z and demp are on pace to win a combined 44 games this year. the game of baseball is fun, exciting, detailed, and strategic. there is so much more to talk about that the non-story that is 100 years. when the cubs are in the world series and they are one game from closing it out, then we can talk about it more.
4. dw saying “boogity, boogity, boogity! let’s go racin’ boys! enough said.
5. the kentucky derby. this doesn’t bug me nearly to the extent as the previous four. i just don’t get the obsession of it. granted i don’t really like horses, nor do i “bet the ponies” so i am at an interest disadvantage. i consider myself a fan of most sports, but i just can’t get into it. it seems to me that if the sport were really that wonderful, there would be more than three races a year that the average american could name. everybody knows what the derby is. many know what the preakness and the belmont stakes are, but besides those, name a horse race. people only care about the later two only as long as the winner of the derby keeps winning. if the derby winner loses the preakness, then no one seems to really care about the belmont. again. it seems to me that if the sport itself was so great, then people would care about all three races just as much regardless of if there is a possibility of a triple crown winner or not.