I don't know what kind of President Obama will make, but I know what kind of President Bush has been and I don't want any more of it... that's partly why I can't hardly abide the Republican Presidential Canidate McCain. Oh please... in my humble opinion he's just too old, and his handler's are not doing a very good job. I still have trouble believing that so many Americans were stupid enough to actually vote Bush in for a second term - thus really making it seem possi... [More]

It's been quite some time since I last posted here, and so much has happened and changed with me. I guess it's a good thing that nothing ever really stays the same, but for now... I look in the mirror and I'm older... older than I ever thought I would live to be. Life is an amazing gift - and I've taken it as much for granted as the next person. I've come to appreciate life so much more since I had a heart attack on January 1st, 2007. I am so grateful that I still have the... [More]

You know how everybody talks about everybody gains weight that quits smoking... well I'm not gaining any weight BUT my efforts to not smoke seem to require that I keep moving - seems I can't stay in one place very long or I'll find myself physically looking for something to smoke. Seems shopping is an excellant way to keep moving... the problem: I think I've spent more money since I quit smoking shopping. I'm not generally known for being a shopper... generally making me ... [More]

I mentioned back a few entries ago that I'd had a major coronary (heart attack) on January 1st, 2007. Well the hospital bill has just arrived - $95,331.25. $95,331.25 And the above dollar figure does not include any of the multiple doctors who passed my way during those 7 days in critical care, and the 3 days I spent in Telemetry. (Actually, I think the hospital uses the $25.00 word "Telemetry" just so they can charge more for what use to be merely a private room while a body... [More]

Government Corruption - Ask yourself if that would have been you instead of the FDA Chief, would you have been able to afford the attorney that worked out a deal with Federal Prosecuters which allowed you to agree a $50,000 fine, probation, AND NO JAIL TIME. Damn, Martha must have really pissed somebody off to have had to spend time so much time in jail... and this guy only had his FDA CHIEF job for 2 months AFTER Senate Confirmation... Former FDA Chief Fined in Stock Case http://www.m... [More]

and the Birth (or Rebirth) of Idiotdom... my opinion only "perception depends on your age while reading my blog..." Will somebody please tell Rachael Ray that nobody else can cook her 30-Minute Meals in 30 minutes She's selling snake oil, and laughing all the way to the bank. I've given Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Meals more than it's share of due diligence. Am I the only individual that knows a Rachael Ray 30 Minute Meal can't be prepared and cooked in 30 minutes? Th... [More]

Seems to me, "Dead is Dead"... and the way I'm feeling about absolutely everything - Dead is less painful, less annoying, less maddening than being barely Alive. I'm certainly feeling barely alive... my strength is depleted. I still crave cigarettes... don't tell me how stupid that is - I KNOW HOW STUPID THAT IS!!! I am so depressed. I am sure that most of the depression that I'm feeling is "to be expected"... maybe? The hospital people pumped quarts and quarts... [More]

One doctor says you'll live for another 30 years and you secretly hope he's not an idiot... Another doctor's acts like you'll be lucky to see tomorrow, and secretly this Dino-Doc is only hoping you will quitely submit to whatever horrors the medical profession du jour wants you to endure today for whatever fees can be justified with the insurance carrier. I have not had a cigarette since the early evening of January 1st, 2007... but I want a cigarette. Intellectually I know... [More]

On Jan. 1st, 2007 as I had just began another one of our often casual, almost always impromptu phone conversations with my chest began to seriously ache. "Shit, it hurt!" Explained I'd eventually call back, but at the moment and under the circumstances (my pain) - I needed to go. LIFE IN DENIAL I had all the classic systems. My left arm ached. My chest ached, felt heavy, and I was having hot and cold flashes. Necessary breathing was fast becoming somewhat of a conscience pr... [More]

Bush cleared brush on his ranch in Texas rather than attend to the very public responsibility of attending a past President's funeral. Personally, I find Bush's refusal to attend past President Ford's funeral Appauling and Selfish! I think Bush and all of the Congressmen and Senators who failed to attend are cowards!!! Past President Ford's funeral came on the heals of Saddam Hussein's execution. I'm sure they feared that somehow there might be some kind of possibl... [More]

As dictators go Saddam hasn’t ever made the Top 10 list of murderous, evil despots: Tamerlane Ivan the Terrible Robespierre Joseph Stalin Adolph Hitler Mao Zedong Francois Duyalier Nicolae Ceausescu Idi Amin Pol Pot Source: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/topdespots1.html Saddam Hussein was never really a threat to the United States or any other country. Hussein was more of a loud-mouth nuisance than a threat. I don’t believe executing Saddam Hussein is going to do anybody an... [More]

Last night, Thursday, December 28th at 7:11 pm, my son's son was born. Corbin entered this world at 7 pounds 13 ounces, and 21 inches long. My son's wife, Jane, is an amazing young woman - she delivered my 5th grandchild naturally - no pain medication. Of course, my son Jon says Corbin is going to be lucky - cause he was born at 7:11... the numbers 7 and 11 are considered lucky when you're rolling dice - and life can sometimes feel like not much more than a roll of the dice! M... [More]

Are any of you reading this old enough to remember the movie "Solent Green", which was released in 1973? No, humanity is not out growing it's food supply, but the truth of the matter is there are an awful lot of people out there who don't want us to know what we are eating? Why is that? FDA poised to OK food from cloned animals Scientists say meat, milk just as safe as from conventional livestock http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16372490/ "Also, FDA believes that no sp... [More]

Back in the day some people said, "Make love; not war", but that was before the Internet, and certainly before Blogging. Why is everyone so interested in the sexual exploits of others? Is it they don't have their own sexual exploits to be concerned with...??? Maybe somethings wrong with me, but I have no interest in reading about other people's sexual encounters - although I'm extremely interested in what bloggers can be sued for - and, to my way of thinking, so should ... [More]

Be of good cheer! And know that I hope Santa Claus brought you whatever it is you were hoping for... Sincerely, The Critic... [More]

Life isn't fair - that's a fact. “It's not what you know, but who you know.” Most of the time that aforementioned statement is as true a fact as my first statement - Life isn't fair. Surely we all know who Dr. Michael E. DeBakey is, don't we? Even if his name escapes us, surely we all know about his life's work. YOU need to read the following: The Doctor’s World The Man on the Table Was 97, but He Devised the Surgery http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/25/hea... [More]

IRS taxation of online game virtual assets inevitable By Daniel Terdiman, Staff Writer, CNET News.com http://tech.msn.com/products/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1392930 So ask yourself - When will Writing.Com Gift Points be considered TAXABLE? Ask yourself too - When will the Gift Points we earn reviewing and/or winning contests need to be reported on a 1099? I'm wondering if that also means my charitable donations to ROAK will someday soon also be tax deductible? I don't... [More]

If you’re a Christian, then this is the time of year where your thoughts traditionally turn to the birth of Jesus and what you’re gonna get and give for Christmas – actually one has nothing to do with the other but that is really the way it is – isn’t it? I guess if you’re some kind of Heathen, and if finances allow then maybe you’re a Mall Rat. I’m not even going to try to be politically correct – I don’t have a clue what people other than Christians and heathens concentrate on this time ... [More]

Yes, ladies and gentleman America is already at War with Iran... we're just fighting the War with Iran on Iraqi soil – a proxy war with Iran in Iraq. The word Proxy in this case means that our President and his gang of thugs have substituted one location, Iraq, for another location, Iran, wherein to fight a WAR. Will someone please explain to me exactly what our soldiers are doing in Iraq? What is the mission? Our soldiers have no well defined target. Our soldiers are trained to f... [More]

George W. Bush is an alcoholic - not new news now is it? I have delibrately chosen my words carefully. I did not say Bush is a 'recovering alcoholic', did I? I don't remember when I first wrote about Bush and his dry drunk escapades; I just know that I have. October 11, 2002 Addiction, Brain Damage and the President "Dry Drunk" Syndrome and George W. Bush by KATHERINE van WORMER http://www.counterpunch.org/wormer1011.html... [More]

Illinois Gunman Felt Cheated Over Invention http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16114946/ The next time he returned, Joe Jackson, 59, had a revolver, knife and hammer hidden in a manila envelope, Cline said. He forced a security guard at gunpoint to take him up to the 38th floor, where shooting victim Michael McKenna, 58, rented office space. Maybe Joe Jackson had a valid complaint against the patent attorney, Mr. McKenna, maybe he didn't - that's just another one of the circumstanses ... [More]

Do you write? Oh I do, although not as well as I would like. For me, I think to write well a writer needs to read - frequently and abundantly. Best to read the good stuff, especially if you're going to compete for prize money. Prize money? See: http://www.glimmertrain.com/writguid1.html Oh do wish me luck, please ... [More]

I'm in the throws of a dreaded Holiday Depression. I have a million things big and small to be thankful for, but here I am... feeling lonely, left out, neglected and neglecting... I need to pull myself out of this slump... damn it. Spiked eggnog comes gratefully to mind... hmmmmmm Note to self: Buy some eggnog tomorrow. Even went out and bought the artifical tree I said I'd never buy... Target... 16.99 with tax... it's about 5 foot tall... have it up on a small end table so ... [More]

Holiday cooking, cleaning, and decorating... I was born into these traditional holiday activities - it was always just an accepted and expected part of the Thanksgiving/Christmas Holidays. But a whole lot has changed since I was born... and not all of the changes are for the better either. Take cooking... I'm shocked at how many families (regardless of how they're made up) don't actually cook ... they "buy and serve"... I consider myself fortunate... yep... I got p... [More]

Thanksgiving... I love Thanksgiving... but I'm not suppose to be here... I wanted and planned to be in Kansas with my son and his very pregnant wife... but I had two auto mechanics tell me I needed a new radiator... hmmmmmmm, okay maybe... but I didn't trust them... nope they were too willy nilly about the reason my car kept needing coolant was because my radiator needed changing. I went to see my brother in Abita Springs... that was this past Friday... He really is an excellent mechani... [More]

Chuck Shepherd's News of the Weird (.979) WEEK OF NOVEMBER 12, 2006 LEAD STORY "Thierry F." recently outed himself as a professional welfare bum, bragging in his brand-new autobiography that he has lived very well off the French government for most of the last 24 years and that, even after his unemployment benefits expired, he found a second unemployment program to leech from. The latest one pays almost all of his monthly home loan, according to an October dispatch from Paris... [More]

All Hail - the King (President Bush) is politically dead - hopefully!!! Maybe now WE THE PEOPLE will no longer have to endure the Iron Hand of Bush's Rule. Bush's Regime (the Republican Party) is in shambles. But you know, regardless of rather they're Democrates or Republicans - they are all still Politicians... now the really hard work begins!!! America needs to be restored. Have WE THE PEOPLE learned a lesson? Will we ever let another American President invade another co... [More]

A grievance with Bush School bus driver fired after flipping off president -wants job back http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15532553/from/RS.2/ I've read that they are saying the school bus driver's firing was NOT politically motivated. HA... They are saying the 43 year old bus driver set a bad example for the middle school children on the bus. So, I am to believe that Bush has set an outstanding moral example for all our school children? Yea right... If anyone needs to be fi... [More]

http://www.theaircar.com/ "Welcome to the future! After twelve years of reserch and development, Guy Negre has developed an engine that could become one of the biggest technological advances of this century." Read about it now, because I can't believe the Big Three are going to sit around and let this happen, do you? Too much of the American economy is based on Oil (or as we say in the south "Earl")... think what would happen if anyone could honestly produce... [More]

Companies track gridlock via cell phones Data from wireless providers mark how fast handsets are moving on roads http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15588634 Paranoid? Me? Absolutely... We can't keep our identities from being stolen because the Identity Thieves are not stealing them from US... their stealing our identities from the Big Profitteering Corporations that keep and track our personal information... Throw away cell phones won't keep these companies from selling big brother... [More]

Oh, like Bush never fumbles his words... please people... Yes I too was shocked at what was being said about what THEY SAID John Kerry said... then I watched the video of his speech... It's quite obvious to me that Kerry was not talking about our soldiers or the United States Military. As usual, Bush and the GOP are counting on mass hysteria based on what "they say he said"... please people, don't be fooled... Watch the video and listen... context people... context. ... [More]

Now would be an excellent time for you to take the opportunity to sign up with Writing.Com... you can try it for free... Click here, and then sign up: http://Writing.Com/authors/thecritic Well, it's not Writing.Com members that are reading here, so I figured I'd take this opportunity... to invite people to join... ... [More]

And there is not a damn thing funny about the following either, sadly every thing said is true: http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/61439/Olbermann_GOP_Fearmongering.html Now, you gonna still vote Republican?... [More]

And we're not suppose to believe that the Bush White House & Republicans have any influence over gas prices? If so then how in the world, even in the midst of falling gas prices has EXXON MOBILE recorded huge profits? When are corporate profits obscene? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/28/AR2005072802085.html Quote: "The quarterly profit was the third-highest in the company's history. Revenue climbed 25 percent, to $88.57 billion, Exxon said. A doubli... [More]

The commercials located at the following link follow Presidents, Presidential hopefuls and others through the years 1952 - 2004. There is no explaination as to why there aren't any commericals after 2004... hmmmmmmmmmmm http://livingroomcandidate.movingimage.us/style/index.php?nav_action=style ... [More]

This guy's job has surely been threatened, or he wouldn't be saying he's been misquoted: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D335B0DB-EB62-41BC-9433-E531BF800A6C.htm Somebody finally spoke the truth about Bush's War in Iraq by saying basically, "America was arrogant and stupid." I'm all for "Cut & Run". In my opinion, Sadamn was better for Iraq than Bush has been for America. Given the current death toll in Iraq, and I'm not just talking ... [More]

Mother Nature is getting ready for Winter. About time! In the Winter I like to knit and crochet - there's just something about curling up on the sofa with a kniting/crochet project. Acutally, I think it's a tactile thing... I just love the feel of some of the newest yarns. Yarns like are available today were not available when I learned to knit. I know... I know... I've been to Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart sells knited and crocheted hats, gloves, and scarfs way cheaper than I can just bu... [More]

I am coping and pasting Keith Olbermann's special comments addressing the newly enacted Military Commissions Act because I don't want to go to the link and someday discover it is not there – as sometimes happens. Here’s the link: http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1019-24.htm My cut and pasting Olbermann’s comments is not stealing or plagiarism – it is my way of persevering Olbermann's work - I give him full credit and homage. Olbermann is speaking the truth; I watched as... [More]

I keep hearing people talk about "It's a post 9/11 world." like it being "Post 9/11" just about justifies everything anybody wants to do, is doing, or has done since - especially the current American Government. Well, post 9/11 or not does not justify the power grab of one American President... but now that Bush has the power, when is he going to be held accountable for his actions? Not all of our duly elected Senators and Congressmen and women take the time to read Bil... [More]

Nothing more to say... I lost the whole entire entry that I spent hours working on ...not to mention the time I just spend thinking about what I'm going to write... I can't write it again... my mind does not work like that... I know I should have been typing in Word... I know that... there are no hurricanes in the Gulf... I remembered to pay my electric bill... I wasn't doing a bad thing... I did a stupid thing... it's gone... all gone... it's happened before... you'd thi... [More]

Since March 2004, the "blogosphere" has doubled in size every five to seven months. There now are more than 53 million blogs. Key blog statistics: 150,000 -- The number of blogs created each day, or nearly two blogs per second. 1.6 million -- The number of daily postings, or more than 66,600 per hour. 39% of the blogs were in English. 31% of the blogs were in Japanese. 12% of the blogs were in Chinese. 2% of the blogs were in Spanish. 40% of those who star... [More]

First of all I like to garden... I like gardening to be easy... which it ain't. I got to wonder how all the farmers of yore got plants to grow before there were all these chemicals, mulches, and additives. I guess I'm just lazy; all I want to do is just put some seeds into some dirt and get vegetables. OH NO... I've got to go the some gardening center and buy and haul potting soil, fertilizers, mulch, and other assorted stuff home. Seems regular dirt is not suited for gr... [More]

I am an intelligent woman... that fact has been a curse and a blessings... but often times being intelligent makes me more accutely award of BULLSHIT. This entry is going to be based on recent personal experiences. If you came here today expecting to find political correctness, politness, reason, and logic... leave NOW... cause I'm pissed, and I'm mad, and I'm NOT going to dance to a tune that I consider to be nothing less than INSURANCE FRAUD... that's right... INSURANCE FRAU... [More]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Son0BWduQx4... [More]

Who ever would have believed that we'd be hearing the word "Christains" and the words "hotter sex" in a church? I say, "It's about time..." There is finally a man using the Bible to teach about SEX, and glory to God about sex... after all God created SEX along with the heavens, the moon, the stars... and US. YEP... explaining SEX to Christains - at least those that will listen. To my way of thinking... this is a good thing With divorce seeming to be bei... [More]

The reality of a nuclear bomb attack on America is no longer a matter of if, but WHEN. Dying WILL NOT be the worse thing that will happen WHEN some terrorist group finally succeeds in setting off a nuclear bomb. The following is absolutely required reading, and it also includes a few links to survival gear suppliers (ain't that grand): The Survivalist: How to live through disasters. How To Survive a Nuclear Bomb http://www.slate.com/id/2148772/entry/2148774/?GT1=8592 By Davi... [More]

Yes, I believe there are terrorists that really want to kill as many Americans as they can, but I really don't understand why Airplanes seem to be their preferred method of mass murder - maybe it has something to do with having a captive audience, or maybe Americans traveling by plane represent everything these terrorists hate about us - "We go where we want to go, and we do what we want to do" - I swear those words inside the quotation marks sound strangely like words to a song I... [More]

I've always been blessed with a fairly good complexion, but this last year I've had what I thought was the mother of all blackheads. Yep, right there on my left cheek not to far below my left eye, and right where my glasses sometimes rub my face. So, sure it was likely it was a blackhead, right? Then I asked my idiot doctor to look at it... (Oh how I miss Dr. Levine). This doctor is older, I have not been his patient very long, and like a lot of older, traditional men - he dismisses mos... [More]

I've have been pardoned for my sin of smoking. Who would pardon me? You'd never guess, so I'll tell you... I found my reprieve in an article by Harvard Health Publications, titled "Nicotine: It may have a good side" Here's an insight into how my mind works, or tranlates what I read: My first thought after reading the first few paragraphs concerning the possible benefits of nicotine was: Ah HA... nicotine is like sex. Yesss sirre... To my way of thinking nothing is m... [More]

http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/52091/George_Carlin_Education_And_The_Elite.html?autoplay=true It's all true... it's all very sad... It's so truely sad, although Carlin makes us laugh... WE REALLY SHOULD BE CRYING... because in the very end, after all is said and done... NOW REALLY - THAT's NOT FUNNY... [More]