The following blog is not for young readers. I know I have a few that are too young for the content following. If you have any doubt about reading it, check with your parents. Thanks

Who noticed the news story this morning about the Republican National Committee’s monthly financial report? I’ll bet somebody is saying, “Why are they making such a big deal over spending $1,946 at a sex themed Hollywood club?” The club was Voyeur in West Hollywood. It is a sex themed club that features topless dancers and bondage outfits.

RNC spokesman Doug Heye said the committee doesn’t know the details of how the money was spent, all who may have attended or the nature of the outing, except to say it was an unauthorized event and the expenditure was inappropriate. Heye went on to say the RNC will be reimbursed by Erik Brown of Orange, California, the donor-vendor who billed the committee for the club visit

My question is can just anybody charge things to the RNC? It seems this Erik Brown had donated a few thousand dollars to the RNC. That evidently gives him the right to charge outings back to them. Again, this is politics at work in America. We can complain all we want to about the current administration and the decisions they are making but what good does it do when we can’t even control how donated funds are spent. I’m sure anyone who has donated to the RNC expected their donation to be used to promote the message of the Republican Party. How many of those donating do you think wanted their money spent at a sex club? Let’s complain about tax dollars being spent to fund abortions. We can also moan about the woes that a National Healthcare Bill will bring to this country. Let’s organize those Tea Parties to let the Democrats know we won’t stand for their foolishness. All the while this is happening the governing body of the Republican Party is having a good ole time at the donor’s expense.

Why would we spend donated money to have a convention in Hawaii when it has always been held in Washington? Sure folks would rather go to Hawaii than Washington but is that the point? I think it’s time for a change. Somebody in leadership at the RNC is way off base. Whether it be Heye or Michael Steele changes need to be made. With this kind of leadership it’s easy to see why the Republican Party can’t find a viable individual to run for President. When you’re spending time in a sex club it’s going to be hard to find what the Republican voters really want in a candidate.

 

I’ve seen a trend where bloggers are doing a day in the life of sort of thing. So, here is my offering of a glimpse into a Sunday in my life. I’m not a secret agent or spy. Heck, I’m not even a Real Estate Agent so this entry will probably be deemed boring. I apologize in advance.

The following takes place between 8:15 and 9:15 am

Otis, my dog, woke me up to let me know he had to visit the outside world and take care of business. At the back door I opened the blinds and then the door. I was greeted by a stiff, cold wind and rain. Where did spring go? Otis didn’t seem to mind. He charged out onto the rain soaked deck, took a stance and surveyed his domain. In the distance he spied an interloping squirrel and charged. Of course, by the time he reached the vicinity, the offending tree rat was watching him from a safe distance above. Otis wasn’t too upset. He finished his business and sniffed his way back to the deck. I opened the door and, as always, he ran toward the opening, stopped and surveyed the backyard one more time, then charged into the house.

Seeing this isn’t really an episode of “24” I wasn’t suddenly called to Washington due to some imminent threat of the nuclear holocaust kind. I was really happy about that because I just wasn’t up to saving the world. My eyes were puffy and, even though I had my glasses on close up things were still fuzzy. I found myself in the bathroom where, like Otis, I had to also take care of business. I didn’t bother looking in the mirror because I know what I look like and there’s just not that much I can do with what I’ve got.

The following takes place between 9:15 and 10:15 am

My wife and I sat down to watch “Good Morning America” the weekend edition; I had the DVR record it when it was on at seven. We had a cup of coffee while watching, her first and my second.

Again, and I’m really happy about this, there was no news of a pending threat against the homeland. The news of the day concerned political shenanigans, the economy recovering from the recession, and a dog which attacked a police car. Since it seemed to be a somewhat slow news day I could only guess we were either safe or a real life Jack Bauer was taking care of business so I wouldn’t have to.

The following takes place between 10:15 and 11:15 am

As she is always working, my honey had some things to do before the start of the week tomorrow so she retreated to her office in the basement and I to my laptop with my third cup of coffee. Once on my computer I tried to catch up visiting with some of my favorite blogs on WDC. I realized I was way behind since I didn’t do any visiting on Saturday. Here I discovered a few “day in the life of a blogger” type blogs which gave me the idea for this well crafted piece of journalism.

The following takes place between 11:15 am and 1:15 pm

We ate lunch which was uninterrupted and filling. Soon after lunch the hackles were raised on the back of my neck and I nearly soiled my pants when Otis let out one, high pitched, loud bark. I could have used some of Jack Bauer’s medical attention at that moment but I survived without it. In case you’re wondering, Otis also survived.

The following takes place between 1:15 pm and 4:00 pm

With my wife back down stairs in her office I returned to my laptop where I read a few more blogs and watched an episode of “Have Gun Will Travel” on Netflix. Once that was over I worked on my short story, The Review, for a while, took a phone call from my son who said he was stopping by, and ate a cookie. At one point I looked out the window and saw a neighborhood punk hit the tree in my front yard with a stick. I thought about opening the door and going all Jack Bauer on his rear end but decided it really wasn’t worth the effort.

The following takes place between 4:15 pm and 6:15 pm

My son stopped by and we watched our youngest grandson while my son and his wife went to dinner. Our grandson is one year and seven months old; unless he’s sleepy he likes to keep moving. We played hide and seek for a while, then we looked out the window, and after that we played hide and seek again. My honey had fed the grandbaby when he had arrived but I was getting hungry and it was almost dinner time. I went to the deck and fired up the grill. There was a pause in the rain so I didn’t get wet. I had placed some potatoes in the oven earlier and they smelled great. While my grandson watched I prepared salads, a spring mix in which I placed tiny tomatoes.

The following takes place between 6:15 pm and 8:15 pm

My son and his wife returned to pick up the grandbaby and my oldest grandson stopped in to visit. Since he lives across the street it was a short walk. He was hungry and stayed for dinner. When I retrieved the hamburgers from the grill it was raining again and I got wet. Surviving that harrowing experience I safely returned the burgers to the house where they were consumed without mercy. After dinner we watched America’s Funniest Home Videos or AFV for short. My grandson had to be home by 8:00 since it was a school night. I watched him cross the street and then returned to the television where I turned to On Demand and watched the latest episode of FX Network’s, Damages.

All in all it was a very good relaxing day. I decided to keep this to 12 hours instead of 24 since, unlike Jack Bauer, I sleep at night. I guess I could have included the hours of 11:30 pm to 6:00 am where I slept and woke twice to use the bathroom due to the cup of coffee I had around 10:00. It was decaf but it still kept me up. I wonder if Jack Bauer has that problem. I’m guessing he doesn’t since he doesn’t seem to sleep.

 

The photo above is a Tata Nano that burst into flames on the way home from the dealer in Mumbai, India

In this modern age where we have technology like the Iphone and flat screen televisions, navigators, and satellite radios what the heck is going on in the car industry? From Toyotas hurling down the road with no brakes to the ultra cheap Tata Nano bursting into flames it’s becoming a risky endeavor to drive an automobile.

I can remember getting my first car. It was a 1965 Corvair Corsa with a turbo charger on the engine. It produced 180 horsepower from a 164 cubic inch engine. The biggest problem I had with that car was the clutch cable snapping. I guess that’s what happens when you keep popping the clutch to burn rubber. The next car I owned was a 1966 Pontiac Firebird. This was a great car except for the color. It was bronze with a matching interior. I wanted to paint it black but could never afford it. My point is, the only thing I had to worry about with the Firebird was the color. In both of these vehicles I could work on the engine myself. The biggest problem back then with cars was the Ford Pinto and its tendency to burst into flames when rear ended. Sure, it was something to worry about but not like brake failure or bursting into flames while driving home from the dealer.

Things were much simpler then. Sure I had an eight track player instead of satellite radio and a map in the glove box instead of a navigator on the dashboard but driving was fun. I’m just glad that I’m not in the market for a new car right now. Maybe in a year, when my current ride is paid off, I’ll consider buying a new car. In the meantime I hope the auto manufacturers get their act together and correct their problems. After all, when I drive a car I expect to die from either my mistake or another driver’s, not due to the manufacture’s mistake.

 

I’ve written a blog or two about this “List of 100 Things to do Before You Die” that can be found on the internet. This catalogue of things to do intrigues me in several ways. First of all, how does someone come up with such a diverse list and secondly, how do some of these items make the inventory? I was going over the list again when I abruptly stopped and focused on item 31. It reads; eat jellied eels from a stall in London. After I threw up in my mouth the obvious question that came to mind was why? Why would I want to do that before I die?

The obvious reason is that the person who wrote this list ate them at some point and thought everyone else should share in this, shall we say exotic, dish and his unhappiness at having this creation in his mouth. Either that or the list was written by a person who runs a jellied eel stall in London. Either way I say nice try Mr. or Mrs. Jellied Eel Stall Runner or person who believes misery should have company. I will not be so easily duped into hopping into my private jet, flying to London, and eating jellied eels. Again, my stomach churned and I took an involuntary step toward the restroom.

In my life I’ve tried a few foods that looked or sounded disgusting. Among them are caviar and snails. The caviar crossed my path during the midnight buffet on a cruise. It looked innocent enough resting in the bowl on the beautifully decorated table. Strategically placed near the caviar were several varieties of cracker. In my mind it seemed like a good idea. I chose my cracker, a rounded wheat thin, and spooned the black goo onto it in a neat pile. As is normal, I sniffed the caviar before placing it in my mouth. It smelled like the fish counter at the local grocery store. In other words it stank!! Still, I knew my chances to try caviar didn’t come around too often. I’d seen the rich and famous enjoying it on television and in magazines. Surely they couldn’t be wrong about this delicacy. I placed the caviar covered cracker in my mouth and began to chew. What happened next is but a blur in my memory. I grabbed the closest thing I could find which was either a napkin, a table cloth, or the gentleman’s shirt that happened to be in front of me. I brought the cloth quickly toward my mouth and deposited the load. Unfortunately for me and the gentleman’s shirt just loosing this horrid mixture wasn’t enough to get the taste out of my mouth. I had to physically grab my tongue with the cloth and try to scrape any remaining goo from my taste buds. Once that was done I grabbed the nearest liquid and sloshed it around in my mouth in an attempt to wash away the taste. I thought I exercised great control by not licking a nearby ice sculpture.

As I mentioned I’ve also eaten snail which isn’t bad if you don’t look at it and don’t, I repeat don’t, chew it. There are so many spices on it that you actually taste only the spice. Calamari is another dish that is best left alone. If it isn’t fried it stinks and is somewhat slimy. When fried you are again tasting the spices used to prepare it. So, my question is why eat something that has to be spiced up to make it palatable? Spices are suppose to enhance a flavor not cover it up.

Now back to our friend at the jellied eel stall in London. Good luck with moving your product. I would suggest calling it something other than jellied eel. Maybe “Fruit of the Sea” or “Taste of the Ocean” would be better than your current product name. The “Fruit of the Sea” may be stretching it a bit but I’m sure “Taste of the Ocean” is spot on. I’m afraid I won’t be trying you dish before I die except under the most dire of circumstances. Those circumstances would include imminent starvation and being offered the eel at gun point. In other words, unless I’m actually dying I will not eat your slimy concoction. Now I need to brush my teeth, apply mouthwash, and drink a cold, cold refreshing beverage or two and hope I can forget about your use of jelly before breakfast tomorrow.

 

Douger’s out on the deck burning something on that grill of his. There’s so much smoke back there he won’t find his way home until nightfall. I think I’ll sneak in a blob.

Blog by Myrtle

It was nice after dinner last night so I decided to take a walk. When I say walk I mean more of a shuffle. Most of my moving parts have either gone on strike or just plain quit on me. In other words, I wasn’t moving too fast. About three houses down the street my Russian neighbor, Andrei, was out in his yard doing something. I’m not really sure what he was doing but his hands were muddy. My guess would be either working in the garden or burying a body. About three years ago Andrei’s wife, Irina, just up and disappeared. I always did suspect foul play. He’s got those beady little Russian eyes so I just don’t trust his foreign butt. He gets my attention by yelling something at me in Russian. I’m not sure what he said but it worked. I stopped and looked at him. Andrei walked over to me and I think he said, “Hi, Myrtle” but it sounded like he got choked on something and almost threw up.

I looked at him and said, “Did you drink the bird before the last Trolley?”

One of my favorite past times is messing with someone who hasn’t bothered to learn the language of the land. My thoughts are if you want to live here you should learn the language. He stared at me for a few seconds trying to get that brain of his out of neutral.

Before he had time to think I laughed and said, “Goodbye, Goodbye,” and smiled while shaking my head up and down.

Andrei was worked up to begin with so I’m sure my messing with him didn’t help his blood pressure. His face was red and his arms were waving around like a broken windmill. He finally said something that I truly didn’t understand and for a brief second I thought he might be messing with me. I shook my head to indicate I didn’t know what he was saying and he repeated himself. I think he asked me about Health Care Reform which really set my jaw on edge. The last thing in the world I wanted to do was discuss Health Care Reform with a Russian. For all I know he could be a spy. I don’t think I know any state secrets but you can never be too careful. Andrei spoke again and this time he went real slow and I realized he was asking me if I liked Health Care Reform. Sometimes I get really good ideas that slap me in the head out of nowhere. That’s what this was like. It hit me that we could let President Obama and his storm troopers practice their socialist medicine on foreigners like Andrei. I figure if he was knee deep in a death squad meeting he would get motivated real fast to speak English.

We talked for awhile and I convinced him to go over to the local Democratic headquarters and tell them he wanted to sign up for free healthcare. After all, what’s the worst that could happen? They might decide Andrei doesn’t belong here and they would ship him back to Russia where he could get all the free healthcare he wanted. After a few more exchanges where I messed with him and tried to figure out if he was messing with me I said, “hello, hello,” waved at him and headed home.

The girls, Betty and Hazel, tell me I shouldn’t mess with Andrei like I do and I tell them to mind their own business. Andrei is a big boy and should be able to take a little good natured ribbing. After I left my Russian neighbor’s house I came home and turned on the television to watch the Wheel of Fortune. Instead of Pat Sajak it was one of the talking heads from the network news. Before I could take the first sip of my medicinal whisky she was talking about healthcare. I was so aggravated I could spit. If all these people are so anxious to live in a socialist environment then they should head on over to Russia where the healthcare is free and the Vodka isn’t. The line forms down at the Democratic Headquarters behind Andrei. Just don’t stand too close to him. The police might have heard that he murdered his wife. I really couldn’t be sure where they got that idea. Until next time, das vi danya. In case you didn’t know, that’s Russian for “don’t let the door hit you in the butt on the way out.”

 

With the government going to hell in a hand basket and our country heading for bankruptcy I’ve decided to go to my happy place. It’s wonderful there and I’m sure you all will love it. That’s why I’m going to take you there with me. Close your eyes and imagine a place . . . wait a minute. Don’t close your eyes. I don’t want to lose you.

My happy place is a real location. At least it was in 1985. It was Hawaii during the last month of October. The island of Kauai, also known as the garden isle, is beautiful any time but I can’t really imagine it being any better than it was then, at that time of year. My wife and I along with our friends, Dick and Sis, had signed up for a Zodiac raft ride along the Na Pali Coast. We had already visited the Waimea Canyon State Park both by car and helicopter and I was anxious to see the Na Pali Coast. We made our way from Poipu heading east then north, never straying far from the beautiful coast. Our destination and my happy place was a lagoon located in the Wainiha Bay. This lagoon was created at the mouth where two rivers spill into the bay near State Highway 560. The sun was shining and warm winds blew in off the ocean. We, along with eight others rode in the back of the rafting company’s pickup truck. Soon we pulled off the highway and followed the road down toward the river. The area unfolded into a lush, tropical paradise.

Jumping from the back of the pickup truck I finished a joke about Gilligan’s Island and turned to see the most beautiful scenery I have ever laid my eyes on. Walking toward the water I tried to remain unruffled while being awe struck. At the edge of the lagoon I sat in the sand and placed my feet into the cool, tranquil water. The water was so clear that if it weren’t for the occasional ripple it would have been hard to see. Trees towered overhead shading the lagoon from the hot sun. The Kukui or Candlenut Trees rose from the banks of the water fifty to sixty feet toward the cloudless, blue sky. Their pale green foliage spotted with clusters of small, white flowers filled the area with a wonderful, sweet fragrance. Then there were the Royal Poniciana, possibly the most beautiful tree in the world. Reaching as high as forty feet the gracefully twisted limbs formed a flat canopy with lush, green, fern-like leaves decorated with massive clusters of bright, flaming-red flowers. Spreading through the undergrowth were the beautiful Birds of Paradise, pink and purple Bougainvillea Vines, and orchids galore. The colors of the orchids were yellow, white, purple and lavender. I’d seen the same white and lavender orchids along many of Kauai’s roads. The lapping of the water at my feet pulled me back to my wife and friends. There was laughter and conversation concerning the pending raft trip along the Na Pali Coast. I knew it would be beautiful but I also knew I would never see a more stunning, warm, and inviting place than I was in at that moment. I’d found my happy place and would be sad to leave.

Sometimes I place a hammock between two of the Kukui trees and gently rock back and forth in the breeze. Other times I wade out into the shallow water and let the calm current push me along the smooth, sandy bottom. Occasionally I snuggle close to Pat Sajak on the warm, white sands and . . . Myrtle!!! Get out of my head. I guess I’m doomed to share my happy place but I’m going to have to talk to Myrtle about who she’s allowed to bring. Now, back to the cool water of the lagoon and the colorful foliage that surrounds it. I’m not sure if this place is still there after all this time but I do know it’s hidden deep in my heart. Since that afternoon twenty-five years ago I visit the lagoon often. Whether I’m sad, or blue, or just want to escape from the gray skies of winter I close my eyes and sail back to Wainiha Bay and the lagoon I’ve named, Douger’s Happy Place. Thanks for visiting.

 

Please allow me to rant for a bit.

Do you remember the campaign promises of now President Barack Obama? Promises of bipartisan cooperation filled his speeches and gave heart to a public that was tired of war. His voting record showed anything but bipartisan collaboration yet he chanted, “Yes We Can.” In retrospect I’m guessing the “Yes we can” slogan meant something entirely different than the citizens of this country hoped for. It's easy to hold bipartisanship close when you are in the minority. Once you have the majority it's no longer needed whether it was promised or not.

With a year plus under his belt, bipartisan cooperation is nowhere in sight. The promise of using his executive power to take the abortion funding out of the picture was enough to sway a few of those Democrats who were riding the fence on this one. I’m still not sure if they were that concerned about the abortion issue or just needed a hook to hang their hat on, something they could tell their constituents when election time rolls around. “I was concerned about your concern around abortion,” they’ll say. It remains to be seen whether Obama will hold up his end of the bargain on that one.

According to www.politifact.com President Obama has already broken sixteen major campaign promises. These include, ending income tax for seniors making less than $50,000 a year, allowing five days of public comment before signing bills, and tougher rules against revolving doors for lobbyists and former officials. Just in case you might think this web site could be prejudiced, most of their “pants on fire” awards go to Republicans. By the way the afore mentioned award is connected to their Truth-O-Meter and is reserved for the most blatant of fibs. The Truth-O-Meter seems to be truly bipartisan.

On Saturday President Obama mocked Republican leaders for their friendly advice cautioning Democrats of the horrendous impact on their re-election chances if they supported this legislation. He later took a jab at the Republican Party by saying, “Something inspired you to be a Democrat instead of running as a Republican. Because somewhere deep in your heart you believe in an America in which we don’t just look out for ourselves, that we don’t just tell people you’re on your own . . .” This was directed toward the Democratic members of the house in a most un-bipartisan manner. This statement totally ignored the fact that *conservatives out give liberals by a 2 to 1 margin. They also continue to proclaim that concern for others is best demonstrated through government programs.

The latest **Rasmussen Reports national telephone poll, taken Friday and Saturday nights, shows that 41% of likely voters favor the health care plan while 54% are opposed. These poll findings include 26% who strongly favor the plan and 45% who strongly oppose it. These figures have moved only slightly in recent months. Only 17% believe the plan will achieve the stated goal of reducing the cost of care. At the same time, most voters (54%) believe the passage of the plan will hurt the quality of care.

With these poll results which I’m sure the Democrats have access to, you have to wonder if those that are voting may be doing so with an attitude. An attitude that says I know what’s good for you even if you don’t.

*Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism by Arthur C. Brooks
**Poll results from Rasmussenreports.com

 

I’m writing the blob this morning because Douger is still asleep and I got to the laptop first.

Blog by Myrtle

I’ve been watching the television lately and I’m left with one question. What the heck is going on in this country? On the one hand there’s Nancy “My Face is Frozen” Pelosi talking about every vote in the Congress being a “heavy lift” to Sandra Bullock’s marriage falling apart due to a philandering husband. Where do I start? Pelosi and the Democrats are bound and determined to push this Health Care Bill through no matter what. They’re gonna push it through with all the pork rolled up inside it just like one of those Chinese dumplins I sometimes get down at the China Palace. Now the pork I’m referring to is not Charles Rangel. I’m talking about those little gems added to the bill that awards better deals to certain states because that’s what it took to buy that Representatives vote.

How do you take a simple bill to make health care available to the masses and outlaw insurance companies from denying someone because of preexisting conditions and turn it into a piece of legislation that’s longer that three or four War and Peace novels? I’ll tell you how, get a bunch of Lawyers who want to try to buy the votes of their constituents. They basically have permission to stick their hands in the cookie jar as long as they try to make it look like it was a good idea. They do that by hiding what they’ve done with legal language and hidden earmarks. Turn the lawyers loose and you get a piece of legislation written in legalese and stuffed full of pork. You get the Democratic Chinese Dumplin. Those Chinese Dumplins down at the China Palace always give me indigestion too.

Now don’t get me wrong. The Republicans are just as bad when it comes to stuffing a bill with pork. Earmarks were a way of life for our elected officials during the Republican reign of early double aught. Politics have always been something of an open mystery. I fondly remember Dick Cheney shooting someone and getting away with it. You’ve got the stained dress incident of that handsome hunk of man Billy Clinton’s years in office to the shooting rampage of Dick Cheney. These incidents are soon forgotten by the voting public. Then W invents a few words of his own and you would think he stained a dress and then shot the person wearing it. I thought it was cute.

That brings me to the Sandra Bullock thing. I’ve always thought Ms. Bullock was a handsome woman. Then she married that hairy, unkempt motorcycle guy and I’m left scratching my head. Now we find out he’s been handing out a few pork rolls of his own. I don’t get it.

We might as well face the facts. We’re gonna end up with National Health Care that forces people to buy health care when they can’t afford it, that funds abortion, and bankrupts this nation. One of these days the citizens of this country are gonna wake up and realize we’ve been betrayed. In other words, we’ll feel like Ms. Bullock did when she realized her motorcycle man was working in someone else’s garage.

 

Every year around this time I have to wonder who in the heck came up with the bright idea of Daylight Savings Time. I know of no one who has anything nice to say about it. DST is described as the practice of temporarily advancing clocks so afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less. Modern DST was first proposed in 1895 by George Vernon Hudson. Wikipedia states that the practice is controversial. Adding daylight to afternoons benefits retailing, sports, and other activities that exploit sunlight after working hours. It goes on to say it causes problems for farming, evening entertainment and other occupations tied to the sun. What????

Where does this make sense? How does one hour, more or less make any difference? Wouldn’t it make more sense to just advance the clock one hour and leave it there? By doing that sleep patterns would not be disturbed and time would go on without all of this clock moving. Why do we need it to be daylight until nine PM in the summer? It seems like common sense to me but once the government becomes involved in time keeping it all goes to hell in a hand basket. Remember that when it comes to taxes and, probably, soon to be health care.

Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t really see how. That is unless there’s a race, culture, or spotted Barn Owl that benefit from that extra hour so much that it’s worth the disorder placed on the remainder of the population. Of course I realize that a spotted Barn Owl wouldn’t know if we were on DST or we decided to sleep all day and live our lives after dark. The point is; this whole mess of Daylight Savings Time was the brainchild of a guy who liked to collect insects. The purpose of his proposal was to obtain extra after-hours daylight to collect bugs. Yes, George Vernon Hudson was a part time entomologist. It was his hobby. Just think of that the next time you have to adjust your clock for DST. If it wasn’t for some guy back in 1895 who wanted extra daylight hours to collect bugs we would be living in happy ignorance never knowing the inane idea of DST.

 

How trustworthy is information we find in emails? I normally get around 25 to 30 emails a day. Most of them are advertisements, some from a few subscriptions I have, several letting me know a bill will be due shortly, some from family and friends, and every now and then an email or two offering me information that I supposedly didn’t have. I’m sure everyone’s received an email about the “Toyota conspiracy” or the “inheritance you might have overseas” or the “Obama’s a devil worshiping Muslim” email. Again I ask how trustworthy is any information we get in an email? If it’s an original from a friend or relative I would have no reason to question the information, unless it’s from Uncle Billy. I’m sure most of us have an “Uncle Billy” or two. When I get an email from a business I’m acquainted with or owe money to, sure, I’ll trust what they have to tell me, with a grain of salt, everyone has something to sell. I subscribe to several blogs and writing sites which usually notify me when a new blog is available or something is going on with the site. I have no reason to question the information contained in this type of email. Now a blog or piece of writing is another story. Both of which can be colored by the authors own personal opinion, but so can a news report. Usually this type of email doesn’t claim to be “spreading the truth so you aren’t an idiot” kind of promise. Some bloggers do take themselves a little too seriously but hey, we all know it’s a blog.

When I open up an email that has been forwarded too many times to count I would have to question the information contained therein. When it makes claims that are easy to see through you sometimes have to wonder how this piece was deemed worthy enough to be passed along by so many people. I can understand not liking a particular president, candidate, celebrity, etc. but why make stupid claims that are easily debunked? When President W was in office I saw many emails with ridiculous claims about his intelligence and history. Now, with Obama in office I see the same type of emails often claiming he’s a Muslim, Satan worshiper, or foreign spy. Just because somebody stinks at the job of being president doesn’t mean he’s an idiot or an alien.

This brings us to the letters informing us that we have money to claim in a foreign land. It’s either an inheritance or lottery winnings but we have to go through an attorney’s office to claim what is rightfully ours. What amazes me is that this still works in this day and age. What kind of cave does someone have to be living in to have not heard about this type of scam? Common sense should tell you if you’ve won or inherited money you shouldn’t have to send money to claim it. Just tell them to take it out of your winnings/inheritance.

I’m waiting for the day when I open an email to read, “President Obama would like to inform you that you have won the lottery in Yemen. A substantial amount of money awaits your action. Please send Obama a check for $200.00 to help expedite your winnings. Or, for faster service just email him your checking account number. In either case please hurry. He’s far too busy running the country to have to stand around on one foot while you decide how to claim your money.”

A couple of things to keep in mind, If Obama were a Muslim; McCain would have spilled the beans during the campaign. If you’ve inherited money you’ll most likely be informed by registered mail but if you didn’t know the supposed relative, I’d still question the mailing. To win a lottery you have to play the lottery. If you don’t remember entering the “English Fox Trot Lottery” then you probably didn’t really win. Claims made about politicians and celebrities that aren’t released from some sort of reputable news agency should probably be marked with a big, red question mark. Finally, and always, always remember this, if it sounds too good to be true chances are it isn’t.

I feel I need to end this entry with a disclaimer; this is a blog and therefore totally my opinion and observations. Before acting on any information contained herein please consult other sources and experts in said area. Should you receive an email that has you totally scared out of your gourd please notify law enforcement authorities immediately. This is just a blog, had this been a real news story you would have been notified as to which radio or television station to tune in.