thebradleys's Blog

When one is laid up and resting as per doctor orders (and for once I had to comply - Holy Cow!) one is presented with The Supreme Challenge. Finding good television.

Consequently, the range of local, state and national events brought to my attention by my beloved FOX newscasters has presented a stunning array of stories just begging for comment.

We come again to the fact I could not sit at the computer comfortably. No means of spouting off.

Well.

I am healing, and have now managed to prop myself up and spew comment on a few doozies that have caught my eye. It's my way of saying I am alive, and I am here, and I have missed you.

Let me lead off with an easy one, 'k? I'm kind of out of practice...

------------------

Nick Hogan: Oh for heaven's sake. Pretty Boy needed a year and a day. The flagrant disregard for law enforcement and the firm belief that the streets of Pinellas were paved as his own private speedway shows him for the arrogant self-centered little brat he is.

And am I the only one that recalls Hulk Hogan receiving the 2007 Father of the Year award? This just begs comment, but I need to hold back.

------------------

Obama: Can this possibly get any worse?

Reverend Jeremiah Wright. How can you have the SAME spiritual advisor for 20 years and (a) know nothing of his views and (b) suddenly feel a need to sincerely seperate alliance? How can you trust anyone who has such sudden alliance shifts???? (Okay, well, where did Oprah go in all this?)

Has anyone not noticed how suspiciously QUIET others (Jessie? Al? Louis?) have been? They usually weigh in by now, year after election year. I am reminded of how quiet a snake can be, lying coiled under the brush....

-------------------

We are a country that occasionally celebrates wins with riots and destruction. We are a country that occasionally punishes perceived injustice with riots.

We are a country sitting on an election year.

We are a country sitting on top of more stress right now that it knows what to do, and I cannot help but wonder....

--------------------

I nominate one Brian Crowder, arsonist - ooops, sorry SUSPECTED arsonist - for the Cr@pweasel Award. The fawn that was born Saturday or Sunday (umbilical cord still a black nub on its belly) was rescued and is being cared for by one of my rehabber friends. Its mother's whereabouts are unknown.

--------------------

It is so refreshing to see how the women are finally showing up to play on Team Pedophile! And here I was thinking the men had sewn this one up on their own! Bad girl - I profiled! I hate it when I do dat!

I have never in my life wanted to slap the smile right off someone's face before, but this piece of work called Stephanie Ragusa seems to be riding high right now.

She and Nick would have made a perfect couple from the looks on their faces.

--------------------

The Rays NEED a new stadium? Exactly how old is their current stadium again? And exactly how many wins and titles have they provided our humble state with? Now I can go along with a nice uniform change - look what it did for the Bucs - but come on.....

---------------------

Finally, to the mother of one of the eight young ladies (oh, how I use THAT term loosely!) who beat the snot out of a classmate: How DARE you go on television and complain about how unfair it is you get phone calls at home threatening your precious little darling.... You hypocrite. Where were you when YOUR DAUGHTER was doing the same thing to the victim?

Karma bites honey. And yes, to all those who are aware of my Christian beliefs, I ALSO believe in Karma...

---------------------

Thank you all. I feel better for having let a little steam off.

Floyd - I'm getting there. Thank you.
Michelle - Hoping truly all the best for you.
Yellowdog - I hope your Southern Gentleman self is behaving!
Jumpy - Had to check fast and saw baby picture - Congratulations and how lovely! Please respond here and let me know how you and baby are? (I am still limited how long I can be up... this way I can peek right here!)

I am going to go lie down again and ponder life.

All right. I will not attempt to delve into global economics, international business or world trade, as I can admit readily I am not knowledgeable at all in that respect (and there are likely others like me), BUT....

It would SEEM to me that with the COST of all the recalls etc. involved with these issues, perhaps we need to rethink farming out so much of our business to China, and, if it MUST be sent overseas, select another country hungry to do business with us.

Weren't the pet food recalls China-based?

What about the Mattel toy recall for lead paint?

Now Heparin. (Though the FDA isn't "sure" yet...)

I would sincerely appreciate some of the heavy-weights (brains!) weighing in on this an sincerely explaining to me WHY we continue to do business if there are starting to be these kinds of issues.

Thank you. :-)

I have received another one of those inflammatory statistic-driven emails. It got me to thinking.  (In the morning on the first cup of coffee, I admit this to be a dangerous thing...)   I did not author this email -  - I adore my own doctors - but it does give pause for thought; I've seen enough to know they ARE out there...(Always the bad ones in anything to get the press)

The number of physicians in the U.S. is 800,000.

Accidental deaths caused by physicians per year are 120,000.

Accidental deaths per physician -- .0171.*

Now think about this:  Guns

The number of gun owners in the U.S. is 80,000,000.  (Yes, that's 80 million)

The number of accidental gun deaths per year, all age groups, is 1,500.

The number of accidental deaths per gun owner is .000188.

So, statistically, doctors are approximately 9,000 times more dangerous than gun owners.

Remember, "Guns don't kill people, doctors do."

I did a quick check online of the “facts” (the sources cited in the email – the FBI and US Department of Health & Human Services) but had no real luck on the FBI site, however, the NRA and Brady Campaign numbers DO appear to support the gun fact assertions.  Couldn’t locate squat on the USDHHS site, but on USA Today’s site the number of doctor’s is validated.  http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-03-02-doctor
-shortage_x.htm

Either way, it’s an amusing read.

Let’s face it:  Out of EVERY graduating class of doctors, only 10% were at the top 10% of their class!  And 50% were at the bottom half!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Of course, the same holds true for every other professions too!

Half the people you meet were at the bottom half of THEIR class!  (And that's based on those who did NOT drop out!)  Explains EVERYTHING when you think about it!

Couldn't resist!

I reference Baldwin, Florida Town Council, Ordinance 2007-17.

...the Town Council of the Town of Baldwin has found that the welfare of the residents of the Town of Baldwin is hampered and imposed upon by persons intentionally wearing their pants below their waist for the purposes of  exposing themselves and their undergarments...

Remember the days of yore when jeans and pants went to the waist and even the renegades wore their jeans up and t-shirts merely untucked?

Then it happened.  (Was it Mariah?) A popular singer went to a photo shoot, was displeased with the small "roll" that appeared over her tight jeans, and she cut off the waist; thus, the birth of the low-rise jean for girls.  (Not sure if this, too, gave birth to the low low rise for boys.)

I was riding in the car on 19 with my hubby, and we were extremely amused by the young man hopping down the side of the highway.  His jeans were slung down to just above his knees!  This is "cool"???????????????  He was about to trip and fall! Other people were noticing and laughing at him, too. 

When I take my daughter jeans/pants shopping, I make her sit on the floor so I can check the view from behind and see if there is any butt-cleavage going on.  If there is, the selection stays at the store.(NOTE: For me there IS a difference between strolling around all day with butt cleavage swaying back and forth and a good old-fashioned 2-second mooning out a car window, but that's just my opinion.)

I once saw on ebay an ingenious and humorous item for sale called "butt spackle."  You can imagine the usage suggested!

I don't think I will ever understand the coolness of showing off boxers, and I surely am not going to let my daughter suggestively moon the world (this is one of those arguments I do choose to have with her).

But I must say I applaud the efforts of yet another small town to RECTify a small, but annoying trend.

I am writing this particular blog in attempt to anticipate the long term effects the passing of this bill would have, so regardless of WHICH side of the debate you fall into, and I think we can agree no camps will ever be fully satisfied with any outcomes of this permanent issue, we could ALL be affected by the outcomes of this legislation. 

It is proposed that an ultrasound be performed on women who elect to have an abortion.  They may sign a waiver that says “No thank you I prefer not see the images.” 

I can clearly see what the goal on the surface is with this bill, but the underlying intent is what concerns me.  Exactly where will the additional cost of this ultrasound be laid? 

Surely not on the taxpayers… but on the pregnant women and/or the daddies, therefore putting abortion out of the grasps of the majority of folks seeking them.

Ultrasounds are rather expensive.

Arguments aside about birth control and responsibility; again, this is not the intent here.  Though I would be interested in finding out actual numbers of folks who protest abortions and how many of them actually are willing to open their homes to adoption or foster care.

With the advent and passage of this bill, there will be an increase in unwanted pregnancies, ergo, unwanted children.

This COULD and likely WILL affect an already beleaguered child welfare system in many ways. 

Reality is, you cannot force people to be GOOD parents when they resent the child and being “forced” by the government to have it.  (Low incomers, for example, will feel forced as they simply won’t have the funds available…)

What problems can you foresee with the passage of this proposed bill?

Made ya' look. ;-)

 However, they soon could be coming to a neighborhood near you - if they aren't there already! We are seeing in the news again folks in an uproar over predators/offenders moving into their neighborhoods.

 Prevention of crimes against children is at the top of everyone's list right now.

 Communities are actually passing regulations preventing these criminals from residing within x-amount of distance from schools, etc.

We are experiencing radical budget cuts, with more heading down the pike, in almost every field of law enforcement. Change in the way things are handled costs money. A lot of it.

If we jail them all, we would have to build hundreds more prisons, staff them, and be prepared to spend about $35K per prisoner per year (thereabouts).

I also heard somewhere along the line that for every 1 we know about, there can be as many as 3 (or so) we do not.

These people cannot be rehabilitated. Ergo, can they be productive members of society? Would they be allowed to be even if they could, or shunned?

In the back of my mind, that sheriff out in the desert west who has constructed a tent city prison is starting to look brilliant. 

You see where this is going?

As we discover them, throw them all into their own little city with a nice big wall around it. I dunno. As a group we complain and whine and appear united in what NEEDS to be done (prevention) but when it gets down to it, there's more dithering around than action.

We know exactly where one cow with Mad-cow-disease is located among the millions and millions of cows in America , but we haven't got a clue as to where thousands of sex offenders and predators are located. Maybe we should put the Department of Agriculture in charge of it!

(The preceding is not intended to "make light" but to "point out" a disparity in tracking!)

I predict, with all the dithering and lack of decisive approach, an abundance of Lunsford-type lawsuits with nothing really changing as that would ultimately require higher taxes.

What do YOU propose as a national fix-all for this growing situation?

Have any of the rest of you noticed the increase in public service announcements about mental illness?  They encourage us to be supportive of our friends with mental illness, some PSAs even specifying bipolar disorder.

These PSAs have made me think.  I have two friends diagnosed with bipolar disorder, however, it is becoming more and more difficult to view the friendships as anything more than a therapist:patient relationship.  (I am not a therapist, just a good listener; God gave me two ears and one mouth, so I tend to believe I was meant to listen twice as much as I speak.)

Every single conversation revolves around one problem or drama or crisis after another for them.  I am supportive, and listen and listen and listen.  My husband actually clocked one "session" as running 2 1/2 hours, with me nodding my head and occasionally saying "Yes" and "I understand."

Should I attempt to swing the conversation to a current event or even something about myself, my friends find a way to take it back to themselves, or even ignore the switch altogether.

I KNOW there are some fabulous minds here in Blog Central, and I need some fresh ideas.  I don't want to lose the friendships, but it's hard when it doesn't go both ways.

I received an interesting email (below is some of it ) and couldn't help but wonder if it IS true...  But it certainly gave food for thought:

John Glenn (DEMOCRAT) said this ----- It should make you think a little:

There were 39 combat related killings in Iraq in January. In the fair city of Detroit there were 35 murders in the month of January. That's just one American city, about as deadly as the entire war-torn country of Iraq.

When some claim that President Bush shouldn't have started this war, state the following:  

FDR (DEMOCRAT) led us into World War II. Germany never attacked us ; Japan did. From 1941-1945, 450,000 lives were lost .. an average of 112,500 per year.

Truman (DEMOCRAT) finished that war and started one in Korea.  North Korea never attacked us From 1950-1953, 55,000 lives were lost .. an average of 18,334 per year.  

John F. Kennedy (DEMOCRAT) started the Vietnam conflict in 1962. Vietnam never attacked us.  

Johnson (DEMOCRAT) turned Vietnam into a quagmire.  From 1965-1975, 58,000 lives were lost . an average of 5,800 per year.  

 

Clinton (DEMOCRAT) went to war in Bosnia without UN or French consent.  Bosnia never attacked us.  He was offered Osama bin Laden's head on a platter three times by Sudan and did nothing. Osama has attacked us on multiple occasions. 

 

In the years since terrorists attacked us , President Bush has liberated two countries, crushed the Taliban, crippled al-Qaida, put nuclear inspectors in Libya , Iran , and, North Korea without firing a shot, and captured a terrorist who slaughtered 300,000 of his own people. And the Democrats are complaining about how long the war is taking. 

 

It took less time to take Iraq than it took Janet Reno (DEMOCRAT) to take the Branch Davidian compound.  That was a 51-day operation.. 

 

We've been looking for evidence for chemical weapons in Iraq for less time than it took Hillary Clinton (DEMOCRAT) to find the Rose Law Firm billing records. 

 

It took less time for the 3rd Infantry Division and the Marines to destroy the Medina Republican Guard than it took Ted Kennedy to call the police after his Oldsmobile sank at Chappaquiddick.  

 

It took less time to take Iraq than it took to count the votes in Florida!!! 

What is everyone else out there thinking?

Are there any raised eyebrows other than my own?

Who is the Lunsford's attorney?

Inquiring minds want to know.............

Okay. Today I am willing to be a splash of color.  Subtitle:  Musings of an Idiot.

"Likely" mid-air collision with no obvious cause...

I must admit that deep within myself lurks the heart of a conspiracy theorist.  (I admit it…see last blog – LOL)  Not in an obsessive way, but I do feel like the American public is NOT told everything sometimes.  (I used to work in government, and have seen enough at a low level to assume it to be no different at much higher levels and other agencies.)

Every 6-8 months we hear of these professional military pilots or other “passing away” after unfortunate air accidents or some other sort of mishap.  It is always sad to hear of this sort of passing…

However.

When one looks at it, these “accidents” occur pretty regularly on neutral or US soil.  There never seem to be civilian witnesses.

What better way to allow the family to be “paid off” with all the government pensions that would go along with an honorable passing such as that, but to have the serviceman actually be alive, now working for the CIA?  To my knowledge, many agents/spies are not allowed contact with family.  Total identity change.

Not exactly an important line of thinking, but I cannot help musing about every time I hear of yet another unfortunate accident with million dollar planes/helicopters and well-placed servicemen (I doubt anyone less than the best of the best is allowed to fly those birds.)  There’s never any news of the “cleanup.”

Again, I shall lay claim to another sleepless night to explain this day’s thought….

I'm a little concerned about some things, so please hear me out:

Did we not have a satellite in recent years come crashing down in the Pacific - as predicted it would? There was no talk then of blasting the fool thing out of the sky.

We are being told THIS time however that while they cannot predict its landfall location, they are gearing up to blast it to smithereens.

They know WHERE to shoot it, they know the WINDOW to shoot it in, but they are clueless where it's going??????

Why the concern to shoot it this time?

I can understand that letting the American public know something like "Hey, it's gonna' hit the Southeastern US" could conceivable cause a chaotic situation (Oh God, can't you just imagine???), but at least we would have the option of being captains of our own destiny and leaving. (No different really than hurricane season...)

I could understand their caution at releasing the predicted landfall location on another country's soil..."Ooops, we're sorry" and "we tried to tell you" won't quite cover it.

But I'm not thrilled at the idea of that option being taken away, regardless of the greater good. And even if I was told it would hit Florida specifically, we would not leave. But it would be OUR choice.

I'm just left with these questions because of the LACK of details on this one. It's what they are NOT saying. I feel like they are not being as open, and therefore there is more to it than what they have said.

(Wonder if FEMA's doing anything this week?)

I'd really appreciate reading some other views on this.

Then again, maybe I'm jsut reading more into this than there actually is. (These sleepless nights are killing me...)

Have a great day!

Does the media have no memory of itself?

John McCain did NOT in fact REVISE the song “Barbara Ann” but actually made a play on the song/parody released in 1980 during the Iranian Hostage Crisis, "Bomb Iran" sung to the tune of "Barbara Ann."

Come on people. You can’t blame someone for authorship just because they quoted it.

Anna Nicole Smith passed away, leaving behind a 5-month old baby daughter.  She had obviously decided Howard Stern was her best choice as partner and father for her baby.

In a not so unusual turn of events (for the wealthy and famous or infamous) another man laid claim to the parentage of the baby, and paternity was soon to be tested.

It is now being reported that an additional three men have come forward trying to lay claim to having fathered this baby.

This is extremely unusual as almost 100,000 babies were born to single mothers in 2006, and let’s face it, exactly how common is it to have that many men come out of the woodwork, laying claim to having parented a baby?  Most men, sadly, run the opposite direction. (As a former welfare worker with the state, I assure you, I have seen my share of these cases.)

What exactly makes paternity of THIS baby so attractive to these men?

There are two theories here:

1. Money
2. A claim to fame (why didn’t they make such claims before she passed?)

I think this is a hideous commentary on human nature.

Are we to believe the intentions of these men are pure and altruistic in nature, and the child’s welfare is the ONLY cause inspiring their concern? 

This poor baby will have a hard enough time growing up motherless, a dark legacy overshadowing her entire life.  Focus needs to be made strictly on her welfare, and I cannot see how giving media attention to these obvious selfish attempts to exploit the situation can be helpful.

The media ought to focus on the tens of thousands of other situations where the fathers are, for lack of better description, MIA.  It would be far more productive.

Just my opinion.