What Kyle will wanna know when he grows up

Ode to little 18 mo. old Kyle...

You are so young that you did not 'really' know your Grandpa - or perhaps the better thought is that you won't remember him when you're older. You know his smile & his hugs. That's the best part. When you're older, you'll see pictures. You'll hear stories. So I thought I'd write down a few things for you to add to the collection. You see, me & your Mom grew up together - we were sisters in every sense ~ except the 'real' sense of the word. Your Grandpa, was my "Dad #2".

Your Grandpa was a quirky ordinary 'joe' kind of guy. He could talk your ear off when it suited him. He knew lots of little things about lots of stuff. He was a quantity man. He knew everyone in the neighborhood. From the second they moved in. Know why? Because he walked his dog... a LOT. Even when it was butt cold out. Whenever something was going on - he knew about it. The cops would call HIM to see if HE saw something suspicious in the area. That's a great neighbor to have... but not if you wanna throw a house party. We never tried that - your Grandpa would have busted us after the 2nd car arrived. AND he had direct instructions from my parents to call the cops ASAP. AND I knew my parents wouldn't have bailed me out of jail until I had sat there for at least 24 hours. Not a way to have fun - so we skipped that part. Now I'm gonna get your Mom in trouble if I continue on that line... so I'd best quit that!

Anyway - back to your Grandpa. When he was outside; he had a cup of coffee in 1 hand, a cigarette in the other & a dog running around somewhere. If he wasn't outside, he was either: working, sleeping or eating. He liked to watch storms. I recall standing outside with him & your Mom watching tornadoes that were barely a mile away. That area was affectionately called 'tornado alley', and I wouldn't recommend that behavior to anyone.

He enjoyed scaring kids on Halloween. Haunting scary music played from inside the garage - on a cassette tape of all things (google it when you're older to see what that is). A mock-graveyard was in the front yard - with a few 'dummies' in the lawn chairs next to it. And I do recall a ghost or 2 hanging from a near-by tree.

What do I remember as the silliest? Well, ordering from a McDonald's drive-thru. Strange, I know - but true none-the-less. He'd ask 'what do you want?' Then proceed to order 1/2 the store for 4 people in the car. I never knew why he'd ask what I wanted in the first place because your Mom and I always ended up with laps full of food & not enough hands (or mouths or stomachs for that matter!) The 1st time this happened I laughed and said 'I can't eat all this!' The response 'Sure you can.' Did we ever finish it all? Nope. Was it fun? Yes. Was it FUNNY? YES!! What kid doesn't wanna be buried in McDonald's french fries???

So remember Kyle, when pictures come out - ask about the stories behind them too. They're fun. They're the best.

In the last weeks, it was you who brought joy to your Grandpa. He talked about you. He asked about you. He loved you. That you can take to the bank.

State Budgets

Last count I've heard is that about 2/3rds of the states in the U.S. have budget deficits. It's not tough to figure out why: unemployment up = less revenue coming in the door. I, by no means, have the solution to these huge problems. However I do have a bit of insight. I believe there to be 2 areas that need to be investigated in regards to state spending. #1 - who receives unemployment. Laid off? Fine. Job eliminated? Fine. Fired? Nope. I think this is simple enough. The reason this comes to mind is interesting. Someone I know well had to fire someone who falsified documents IN FRONT OF a State official. This person was fired. This person now receives unemployment. This is completely and utterly ludicrous, absurd, ridiculous, disgraceful, obscene & offensive - and I cannot think of more adjectives to describe this at this time. If I could, I would definitely include them as well!

#2 - health plans for state/city workers. Pardon me - but who out there in the 'real world' has no co-pay on their health insurance? The state could save a TON of money by making their plans 'average' along with the rest of the working world. I am not saying cut the insurance to pieces, but come ON. Co-pays have been in the traditional realm for YEARS - in fact - for AT LEAST over a decade. WIth the number of employees - just think of the premiums the State could save. In just MN. Now multiply that by 50 and think of what the country could be saving. Wowzers.

In my last post - I ripped on the RNC and Rep office holders in general & specific power players. Including my Governor. He is at the top of my s*it list at the present time. He's not alone - all MN state reps and Senators are with him. My 'beef'? The handling, or not handling of the budget. Mr. Pawlenty has held a long stance of not increasing taxes. I get it. It's well known. But to take the stance 'Do it my way, or I'll do it for you'? I think that is beyond what we are prepared for and should EVER accept. The budget passed included raising taxes. And was passed at the 11th hour, so no hope of over-riding a veto. Now Mr. Pawlenty will be balancing the budget his way. Cut cut cut cut cut cut cut cut - but no cuts to K-12 education because that is bad PR. So Yes, I am mad. I am mad at the House & Senate for trying to call Pawlenty's bluff. HELLO? Pass it in time to override his veto you idiots! (But make sure you've got the votes to begin with you morons.) I am mad. I am mad at Mr. Pawlenty for taking the 'my way or the highway' approach. This is the behavior of a dictator. NOT a democratically elected Governor. Talk about taking a lesson from George W. And no, that is not taking it too far. Really - are you comfortable having your Governor wielding that kind of power? I'm not. And I don't care what party s/he is a part of. If that is the way its gonna work - then why have a House and Senate to begin with? And that brings me to saving money #3.

#3 - Only have 1 body to the state legislature. (No House & Senate - just 1.) NE does it. Works great & saves a ton of money. Go check it out. It's do-able & plausible. Times that by 49 and think of what the country can save. Let's go!

You know - I think government in general would highly benefit from having average 'joes' looking at their budgets and hacking away at them. Once you get seated & engrained into the bureaucracy, it's tough to see what is 'normal' and what should be done. Perhaps this is an option... brings to mind the 1993 movie "Dave" with Kevin Kline impersonates the President. He has his accountant friend (Charles Grodin) go through the budget to see if $ for shelters can be 'found' so they won't have to close.

So there's my rantings for the day. We'll see if I can't find something 'nice' to write about next time!

The Republican Party

Welcome back? Well, I really haven't been gone, gone. Just not blogging. I 'discovered' Facebook - and am now a Mafia Wars addict. Wanna be in my Mafia? There's a time-sucker for you. But great fun none-the-less!

So my topic today: the Republican party. OK, from previous posts, you know I'm a rather hard-core Dem. And although I do not really agree with the 2 party system. It's what we've got. So I work with it. Frankly, when looking at France and Italy with multiple-party governments, I'm thankful. And considering the differences in their parties - the Dems & Reps are virtually the same. No joke. They laugh at our '2' party system. Because in their world, its only 1 party. Can you imagine the in-fighting then? But it certainly makes you stop and think a bit in the reality of the U.S., doesn't it?

My REAL issue is watching the decline and destruction of the Republican party. So it started a few years ago under the Bush regime. We can all agree to that. Little by little substance has been flitting away. When you hear pundits declare the Reps need saving - they are entirely correct. But the strange thing is that they seem to need saving from themselves. So you've got Gingrich, McCain & Cheney (& always Rush) all on the Sunday morning talk-show circuit you know the shit has hit the proverbial fan. And you know what? They didn't do the party any good by it. They're still bickering amoungst themselves today. I think one of the most respected Reps today is Colin Powell. Heck, if he ran as a Rep for President, even I would be hard-pressed not to cast my vote for the man. So what does Cheney do? Shred the man on national TV. Yep - that's great P.R. for the party man. Cheney should be kicked out of the party for being a key member involved in the party's demise. He shouldn't be allowed to publicly speak for them any longer. He helped wreck it. He's not the face to help fix it.

Let's go back 10 years. Gingrich drove me absolutely batty. But you know what? His rhetoric has mellowed and has become more... dare I call it....reasonable... in the last few years. Wow. A shock to my system. But you know what? The Reps need an infusion of young blood to keep the party vibrant. This will not come from a bunch of old, gray-haired, white men. It won't. Guaranteed. They're 'SSDD' (Same Shit Different Day).

What to do? Well, my absolute fav Ms. Palin, has certainly tried to keep her star in the limelight. And you know what? She's out there so much it makes me want to vomit. But that's no shocker to you. Do I think she's the one to 'save' the party? Nope. It's going to take someone a lot less polarizing. She's got the youth, spunk, and frankly the right x & y chromosomes. But to say there's a 'real' America and purposely try to split people over such mundane things? No. She's got a lot of prep work to do before she'll be the right one for this job. And for some reason, I don't think she'd listen to someone telling her to: quit the folksy hockey lipstick pitbull talk and have something intelligent flow from her red lips for a change.

So Bobby Jindal? You know - he's got the Michelle Bachman syndrome. He really shouldn't speak publicly...yet.

Tim Pawlenty? Yep. I can see him easily stepping onto the national stage. He knows his stuff. He shuts up when he should. Would he be successful at saving the party? I really don't know. But I do think he has a shot. Besides, then I wouldn't have to deal with him as my Governor anymore! Frankly I think he's done an OK job to date. But I don't agree with his cutting of spending regarding health & human services. I think how a society treats the less fortunate and those less able (elderly, mentally handicapped, disabled) is the true testiment of its character. To keep cutting programs putting these people at risk, in my opinion, is disgraceful. That's my 'beef' - and the reason I wouldn't want Mr. Pawlenty trekking around the national arena. He's already negatively effected 1 state in this manner, we do not need him kicking the other 49 down too.

So there you go - the Reps have a loooooong way to go. And you know - as long as they stay unorganized and bickering amoungst themselves - the Dems have another shot at 2012 too. It's all good! So keep it up Cheney, Rush, Gingrich & McCain.... oh, and I forgot Mr. Steele. He's a good one to keep talking for this point! Oh, and thanks from all the Dems you'll help in the 2010 election cycle too.