State Of The Funion

Bush talked some pretty words, smiled a lot when he was given the polite applause accorded a lame duck President with less than a year left in office, and generally behaved well in front of the Congress, the Supreme Court Justices, and some military guys there for show.

He kept using the terms "trust" and "empower" in his speech. He kept describing how we should trust people to do better things when they are empowered by the government giving them free reign to do those things.

He did push for an economic stimulus package, and to stop frivolous medical lawsuits, and to not draw down troops in IraQuagmire until General Petraeus says so.

He also left the impression that he thinks everything will be okay, that Iraq will stabilize, that the economy is not that bad, and that he is ready to hit the speech circuit and get out of this hellhole of a town.

I cannot get over the impression that he is just a buffoon, another talking head who has minimal interest in real policy and minimal depth of thought on anything.

He was proud of himself for cutting $18 billion Dollars from wasteful and unnecessary programs in the next US Budget.

$18 billion is a lot of money, but in our national budget, it is less than a drop in the bucket, it a hair on the back of a flea floating in that drop in the bucket. It is an amoeba on the hair on the flea...

The budget for 2008 is:

$2,985,000,000,000
(Two Trillion, Nine Hundred and Eighty-Five Billion dollars)

The $18,000,000,000
(Eighteen Billion dollars)
the President is so proud of saving is:
.006 of that budget amount.

In other words, he was able to cut out 6/10 of 1 % of the total budget by getting rid of wasteful or unnecessary programs.

That's all the wasteful and unnecessary programs in the entire budget?

Not even a whole 1 % ?!?

And we still have a budget deficit ( the amount we are spending more than we are taking in) of:
$187,000,000,000
(One Hundred Eighty-Seven Billion dollars)

And that number is actually false, and misleading and way, way lower than it really is!

The government continues to spend the Social Security Surplus it receives every year, which it has done at least since Clinton, and I believe even before that.

Since the government does this, we are rapidly building up a debt that will soon be huge, and could threaten our own prosperity and stability.

Seriously.

There is what the government calls an "Off-Budget Surplus" every year, because Social Security brings in more money than it spends.

The reason it brings in more than it spends, is because there are so many Baby Boomers working and sending money in to Social Security.

As they retire more and more, they will start drawing out that Social Security money they sent in, as they are promised they will be able to.

But it won't be there.

The US Gevernment is spending all of the extra, every year, to make the budget deficit look lower than it really is.

In 2008, the government estimates that extra will amount to:
$212,000,000,000
(Two Hundred and Twelve Billion dollars)

When they put that $212 Billion into paying down the budget deficit the they year 2008, it brings down the deficit that they have to tell us about, to the number I gave above:
$187,000,000,000
(One Hundred Eighty-Seven Billion dollars)

That means that if they had put the Social Security extra money in a Social Security Trust Fund, the amount of our budget deficit for 2008 would show as the real number, the number it really is:
$399,000,000,000
(Three Hundred Ninety-Nine Billion dollars)

Which is high, but we have had higher ones at least a few times over the last twenty years or so. That is not good, either.

And, by the way,
There Is No Social Security Tust Fund!

The Government Spent It All!

They act like there is one, but there is only a pot full of IOU's!

They have been doing this for years!

We are so royally screwed...

The Social Security Trust Fund, if there were one, could have been earning money on itself every year, and growing, and helping to pay off the yearly Budget Deficits, and the Total US Debt (which is the accumulation of the yearly Budget Deficits that have not been paid off).

There have been yearly Budget Deficits for a long time, at least since President Carter, but they stopped for a few years during Clinton, then started up again with George W. Bush.

In the past, we have had yearly Budget Deficits at times, such as during World War II, but they were later paid back down.

For several decades now we have been in a period where there is very little hope of having no Budget Deficit, or of having something even better, a Budget Surplus (where we bring in more than we spend in a year, and use the extra to pay down part of the total US Debt).

But we will have to change, and start to drop the yearly Deficits and start to pay down the Debt, or we will have serious economic trouble.

Right now, the Total US Debt is:
$30,677
(Thirty Thousand Six Hundred Seventy-Seven dollars)
for every man, woman and child in the United States.

Today the total is:

$9,203,187,000,000

(Nine Trillion, Two Hundred and Three Billion, One Hundred Eighty-Seven Million, etc.)

It will be more tomorrow.

And this is not yet including the amount we will have to come up with to pay the coming HUGE Social Security amounts we will owe to coming retirees, and the ENORMOUS Medicare and Medicaid amounts we will have to pay as that older, retiring part of the population starts to use so much more of those services!

The coming costs of those programs is in the several TRILLIONS, not even in the Hundreds of Billions, unfortunately for all of us.

1 Trillion = 1,000 Billions (999 Billion + 1 Billion = 1 Trillion)

1 Billion = 1,000 Millions (999 Million + 1 Million = 1 Billion)

Yes, Ladies and Germs, unless we figure out how to get by with less government money and goodies for each of us, and unless we start taking better care of ourselves so we don't need as much medical care, and unless we figure out how to start saving money (personally and in our government budgets) instead of spending it all;

We are royally screwed, blue'd and tatooed now...

Trust in that to empower us.

Snow Day!

Yes, it's snowing here again in Portland, Oregon, as I write this.

We have had a few sporadic snowfalls, but it only accumulates to about an inch here before melting off and starting over again.

As I watch the flakes fall, I am remined of their distinct individuality from all of the trillions of other snowfalkes to have ever fallen on the earth, which has now been scientifically proven to be false, but we all believe it anyway.

And I am reminded of my haste in writing this blog, and my certainty that I am not making any errors, typo or otherwise, which has now been scientifically proven to be false, but I believe it anyway.

Politicians in Love

Wonderful...
Edwards is bowing out of the Democratic Presidential race, Guiliani is next to leave the Republican side, and there is uncertainty in the media over who is now the front horse!

With Guiliani gone, McCain can fight it out with the Mormon guy, what's his name? Oh yeah, Mitt Romney, the Rom-Bot. He's just a little too scrubbed and plastic for my taste.

And the loss of Edwards means the Democrats will really face the ultimate political question:

Whether all the red-neck voters across the country, Southern and otherwise, will actually vote for a woman or a black man for President.

They can say anything they want, and they can vote however they want in the Primaries, where is doesn't matter as much, but what will they do when it counts?

When they go into the private booth, when it is time to actually vote for the President of the United States, what will they actually do?

These voters would potentially go for and Edwards/Clinton or Edwards/Obama ticket, but will they really vote for a woman or a black man?

And even more telling, would they ever vote for Hillary Clinton for President?

I believe John McCain will take those voters, and if he can get just enough of the independents and hawkish Democrats, he can take it all.

Many American believe him to be more honest and forthright, and to have more integrity, than our current leaders, and his stances against torture and campaign finance loopholes has won him friends on the left, probably even more than on the right.

John McCain is the one to watch.

Random Fun-ness

Flashes of Brilliance Against a Background of Torpidity

Pretty Red Thingies

Urban Decay Camouflage

Good day for a hike...

Drudgery

And I am not referring to Matt Drudge. He's a goober.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have each won two states, and are poised to fight it out with each other snaggle-tooth and hangnail.

Dennis Kucinich has a hot wife, or girlfirend or companion or whatever. Much hotter than Fred Thompson's wife, or John McCain's wife, Cindy, and way, way hotter than Rudy Guliani's third wife.

That's why Fred is gone, and Rudy will be gone, but John should stick it out because he's probably the most real of the Republicanos.

Dennis Kucinich ought to stick around for the entertainment value, like Ron Paul.

Barack and Hillary will continue to fight it out, with Barack trying to take the high road, and Hillary trying to win.

And how about Bloomberg for Prez and Ahnold for VP?

Or Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice?

Or Dopey and Grumpy? Ooops, we already have them in office. Damn.

Politics, And Other

Bloglife

Hmmm.....
That last post makes it look like I am hyping a business for a buddy.
jeez.....
You can't change a blog post once you have posted it. I'm sure everyone but me knew this.
So I really don't know Gabriel any better than the average patron to his establishment.
We have sat at his bar and enjoyed many brunches, and shot the shit with him occasionally, but that's it.
And I really like the place.
But hey, that's as far as it goes.
He did win a big award not too long ago, so others think as well of him as I do.
(Lame rationalization...)
Oh, hell with it !
If you have an issue, just piss off !

Awwwww CRAP!

I screwed up the address for

le pigeon !!!

It's actually on

EAST Burnside !!!

Sorry Gabriel !!!

Look Mommy! More Pretty Pictures!!!

One of my favorite Portland restaurants - le pigeon on West Burnside and about 12th

Inside le pigeon. Fantastic food, lovely and kind staff, and one of the best brunches in town.

Chef and owner Gabriel Rucker is at right, with other good souls who help make it all work.

Gabriel has some great tattoos, and creates sublime dining experiences.

Another favorite - Fenouil on Jamison Square at NW 10th between Lovejoy & Kearney

in Portland.

Scientology - updated

Sorry Dear Readers,
I didn't clarify something.

The Church of Scientology and individual high level members of Scientology were accused of trying to infiltrate more than one U.S. Government agency - the Treasury Department of the United States - specifically the Internal Revenue Service - and over 100 other U.S. agencies. They were convicted of multiple criminal charges stemming from these acts.

Scientology and a number of its highest level members have been indicted and / or convicted of numerous crimes in the United States and in a number of other countries, including Canada, France, England, Denmark, Australia, Spain, Italy and others.

The most common criminal complaints agianst Scientology / Scientologists are for fraud, infiltration, tax offenses, illegal practice of medicine, and various crimes against members and enemies of Scientology, such as brainwashing, kidnapping/holding someone against their will, intimidation and violence.

What I mentioned in the previous post about Scientology directing members to use force, including up to a .45 caliber weapon against certain enemies, comes from directives that describe certain enemies as "Suppressive Persons" and some as "Fair Game".

If you get labeled "Fair Game" by these clowns, it is just as bad as it sounds.

Scientology is not a church.

Scientology is a vile, dangerous, amoral cult.

And it costs so much money to climb their ladder of learning and achievement in getting "clear" that many members end up giving most or all their assets to the organization, but it usually is gradual, over several years, as they try to please their leaders.

So, few people actually complain publicly, as they have been gradually brainwashed to think what they are doing and what they are putting up with are normal.

They lie, cheat, steal, intimidate, infiltrate, and physically harm anyone or anything that stands in their way.

For all they have done, maybe Scientology should be Fair Game.

The nutbags and pantloads in Scientology should all just go home and get a life, and stop harassing people and governments.

Interesting Images

mother nature?

my home, Portland, Oregon, with Mount Hood to the East.

a weird thing...

Brief Respite

Let't take a short break from bad news.

Hey, how about them Yankees?

And how about some interesting images?

Okay, you've got a deal!

Scientology - My Favorite Fake Religion

The Delphian School, near Sheridan, Oregon, about an hour South West of Portland. This boarding school for grade school through high school kids is owned and run by the Church of Scientology, and all staff and admministration members must first be Scientology members.

Wow, The Church of Scientology is under assault from a group that calls itself Anonymous, or Anon.

This group claims to be fighting the totalitarian and harsh methods of the "Church".

They are also highlighting the case of a young woman who died in 1995 under what was at the time suspicious circumstances, and which initially generated felony charges against the Church, which the authorities initially held responsible.

The young woman, Lisa McPherson, was in an auto accident on November 18, 1995. She seemed mentally unbalanced at the scene.

She refused to stay in the hospital and instead went to a "church" site and stayed there, under only care of "Church" members, until her death on December 5, 1995.

In the original report the state’s Coroner, Joan Wood, stated that the autopsy showed McPherson had deteriorated slowly, going without fluids for five to 10 days, was underweight, had several bruises and bedsores. They also showed she had been unconscious for up to 48 hours before her death and had dark brown lesions consistent with "insect/animal bites" in the right lower arm just above the wrist.

Wood said that McPherson had probably been bitten by cockroaches. Joan Wood concluded that Lisa McPherson died of a pulmonary embolism caused by bed rest and severe dehydration. Scientology responded by stating that Wood was lying and sued Wood for defamation.

They also hired the country's most expensive medical experts and paid them enough money to say what the "Church" wanted them to say.

The charges against the Church of Scientology were dropped after the state's medical examiner, Joan Wood, changed the cause of death from "undetermined" to an "accident" on June 13, 2000 thereby taking the Church of Scientology off the hook.

Anyway, Lisa McPherson was probably killed by the extreme nutcase methods employed by "Church" members, including neglect.

And these members sued, and bought expert opinions, and likely also bribed and intimidated, even threatened individuals and officials to get the results they wanted.

The officials of the "Church" have no qualms about doing anything unsavory, and they will literally do anything to anyone they wish because they feel they can get away with it.

They have no moral compass. There is no hisorical code of what the rest of us would call good behavior that they are taught to follow.

See the whole story here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_McPherson

The so-called "Church" of Scientology is known for it's fringe beliefs and willingness to do anything, no matter what, to protect the organization.

The founder of this group, L. Ron Hubbard, was a moderately successful science fiction novelist who once famously said, and I paraphrase,

"The best way to make a fortune is to start your own religion."

Which he later did.

Some of his followers, and his wife, were indicted for trying to infiltrate the United States Treasury.

He lived his last years in a very large yacht far enough off the coast of the U.S. to avoid capture by the authorities for any of his or his organizations varied transgressions.

Written instructions for "Church" members directed that reprisals against those who speak out against the organization, primarily ex-members who speak out, can include use of force, up to and including the use of firearms as large as a .45 caliber. !!!

Anyone who falls for the gloss, the hype, the "religious victimization" claims by members who lamely attempt to answer to any of these charges, should know that this is not a real church, nor is it a real religion.

It is a masquerade.

It is an excuse for tax exempt status.

Church members have to give a lot of their money and possessions to the church to remain members. Not just 10 % tithing, they want more, much more.

I was told that and many other things by "Church" members who tried over several years to recruit me.

And the organization has a boarding school in Oregon that I lived near for many years.

It is called the Delphian School, and it is in the hills just outside of Sheridan, Oregon.

(See the photo at the top of this entry.)

The school is primarily for wealthy members of Scientology to send their problem children.

It all looks pretty good on the surface, but it's not a healthy place for kids to learn how to be good people.

When I was a teenager, members tried to recruit me to the school.


I was able to get into the bowels of the building where, at the time, the outcast kids smoked in a small, drab, dim room with a single light bulb, a card table and two or three folding chairs.



I found out much more about the "Church" than I ever would have if I listened only to the official spokespeople or literature.



I never wrote about it before this, because I knew what they were willing to do.



The "Church" of Scientology is a fraud, a fake, and a criminal enterprise, filled with individuals willing to overlook wrongdoing, and including a few individuals who are willing to do the worst to get whatever they want.



This is not a church, and their tax exempt status is a slap in the face to every actual church, and to every decent, kind, regular person in the country.



And there is more, and it's not good...but I can't tell it all now.



Soon.

Toidy Bowl

NONE OF US IS AWARE OF THE SPEED AT WHICH WE ARE GOING DOWN THE DRAIN OF HISTORY.

Blue

I'm Blue,
Blue, Blue, Blue...
Doo Da Doo-Da-Dee Doo...
I'm Blue...

RETARD

All right, so I don't blog for weeks, months, millenia, then I do a bunch all at once. Just like studying for finals, or doing drugs.

It worked for Heath Ledger, so kiss off bag snapper!

Burning Man With A Burning Bush

Wow, contradiction in terms today!

Okay,
Hunter S. Thompson once said, "Bleagghhh, boggam...fuggit."

Seriously, and I agree!

Two average, everyday Investment Bankers making their way in the world, just trying innocently to make a buck and feel the surge of pride that comes with a job well done!

Holy Crapoly! I Don't Edit My Posts Enough!

Wow, I need to pay more attention to my sentences before publishing these posts.

I do mean to say all the nasty and freaky stuff, I just need to correct the sentence structure first.

Sorry, world, I will try to do better.

CAZART!

Good God Almighty Jesus Lord In Heaven Most Merciless!

I have no idea what makes people think they know things, when really they just believe things.

Sooooo many people in the believe what they believe, and those beliefs come from parents, environment, anecdotes, romances, whatever.

Not as many people harbor beliefs that come from actually reading any any sort of variety of journalism, or books on philosophy, history, political science, sociology, or medicine.

And few ever have rational discussions with those who study any of those, or other relevant subjects.

But everyone believes stuff.

And almost everyone will hold irrationally to their imbecilic beliefs, never wavering in the face of inconvenient and unneccessary facts to the contrary of any of those beliefs.

There is no use trying to tell someone they believe something that is completely false, unfounded, and bizarre, because you can't convince them.

You just about can't change anyone's mind. Got that?

YOU JUST ABOUT CAN'T CHANGE ANYONE'S MIND !!!

Why ?

BECAUSE THEIR MIND HAS TO ACTUALLY BE IN USE
FOR IT TO MAKE ANY CHANGES !

Only Television and Religion can change anyones mind, and that is why we love them both equally.

They are in fact, equal and the same in all respects, and intechangeable for one another.

Lucky for us they create their own redundant system to ensure we are never without a fountain from which all our opinions flow forth and become part of the universal eternal.

My dog licks his balls all day long.

Ooops! What the hell was that?!?

Now back to our regularly scheduled holy war...