More Mexicans leaving USA than coming in: GOP claims collapse after study

Good Day World!

Donald Trump can forget building a wall between the US and Mexico.

The air has been let of the bombastic candidate’s campaign when this study came out yesterday. Research shows more Mexicans are leaving the country than are coming in!

Let me repeat that for any Republican readers – More Mexicans are LEAVING America than those who are coming in. You know what that means don’t you?

Those hoards of Mexican immigrants entering the country have been vastly exaggerated by Republicans for political gain.

The Republican candidates for president are going to have to change their narratives on immigration – an issue that’s been gleefully (and forcibly, I might add) pursued with hateful zeal.

However, knowing that Mexican immigration is down will only be a bump in the road for them. That’s because the immigration issue has expanded lately. I’m talking about Syrian and Iraqi refugees coming to the US.

GOP presidential wannabes are eagerly wetting themselves with patriotic excitement at this turn of events. Without missing a beat, the hate expands from Mexicans to Syrians and Iraqis.

Ted Cruz pushed for legislation barring Syrian and Iraqi refugees, and the House turned on the president passing it – despite the threat of a veto. Christians will be given priority when it comes to immigration according to the bill.

New Jersey Governor and presidential candidate Chris Christie said even orphans under the age of five should not be admitted.

The bottom line is Republicans use fear to push their agendas and scored another victory for bigotry and hate. This kind of action is just what terrorists want to see. Looks like they scored another victory!

Time for me to walk on down the road… 

Thank goodness, I don’t have to quit drinking coffee!

Good Day World!

As I happily sip my third cup of coffee this morning, I want you to know it’s okay to join me because coffee is NOT a bad thing.

That’s right my fellow Java drinkers, we don’t have to worry about doctors taking away our daily doses of hot steaming Joe. I’ll bet Starbucks executives rejoiced when this recent study came out.

Researchers have found even more evidence that coffee can be good for you.

"The main message is that regular consumption, meaning three to five cups of coffee a day, is associated with lower risk in total mortality and mortality from several causes like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and suicide," Frank Hu, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology who helped lead the study, told NBC News.

Did you know that coffee is the No. 1 source in the American diet of antioxidants? Other research has found evidence that coffee can help people recover from colon cancer.

Needless to say, all of this information is good news for those of us who are dependent on our daily infusions of caffeine. I’m ready for my fourth cup. Won’t you join me?

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

 

Imagine Supporting a Party That Punks You: Many Republicans Do Anyway

Republicans have a case of cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face syndrome.

For example;

There is a question that has puzzled some sociologists for years: If America’s poverty is concentrated in the South, as data clearly show, why is it that those states are the most reliably Republican voters – essentially voting against the government assistance they would seem to need?

Data also shows that the primary red axis of the country, running from Appalachia to the Southern coastal plains, is the epicenter of some of the nation’s greatest stresses.

It’s here that the lack of well-paying jobs and large-scale abandonment of the job market are most pronounced, where obesity and health problems are most dire, where Walmart is winning a race to the bottom of what the American consumer can afford amid stagnating wages, and where the rising dependence on disability and Medicare is most pronounced.

“We know that problems of poverty and health are more endemic … in the red parts of the country,” says Jacob Hacker, a political scientist at Yale University. “That suggests that there’s probably lots of Republicans who live in areas where more effective government action could help them.”

Yet the South is where Obamacare sign-ups lag far behind other parts of the country. (condensed version - originally ran in the Christian Science Monitor) 

How do you account for this situation?

The Christian Science Monitor has their take on what’s happening with Republicans today.

 

College Protests Disturbing Message – ‘Only Black Lives Matter’

                                       Good Day World!

As a former college student, I don’t see anything wrong with legitimate social protests on campus. For better, or worse, this country has a long history of student activism.

However, I think the current student protests have some very disturbing elements:

First, here’s some backround material for you to consider: 

Today student activists are calling their latest movement #StudentBlackOut — a collective day of action where student leaders are encouraged to organize events that, according to Yamiesha Bell, one of the organizers, uplift Blackness.

Racial Discrimination Protests Ignite at Colleges Across the U.S.

After days of protests, students occupy building at Occidental College

3 University of Kansas student leaders called on to resign

Second, here’s the response to the protests:

Backlash brews against student race protests at Claremont McKenna College

Debating the Campus Protests at Mizzou, Yale, and Elsewhere

Columbia protesters cheer: 'I love black criminals'

Third, it’s scary to think students want to run our colleges and are actually moving in that direction with a series of threats and accusations of racism.

If you took the opportunity to read the links above, one of the central points that surfaces is the protests are an extension of Black Lives Matter (a political group). They talk about Black Spaces (University of Missouri) where no other ethnic groups are allowed.

Just like today, it’s all about uplifting blackness.

The students at Mizzou got their way by enlisting the football team to threaten not to play (thus the school would lose millions of dollars), thus setting up the possibility of repeat performances at other colleges.

Student activists are pestering peers to attend campus protests and walk-outs in solidarity with college students at Missouri and Yale or risk social isolation, students say.

Finally, this whole movement traces back to an incident at Mizzou that’s never been verified. I’m talking about a supposed swastika made from feces smeared on a black dorm door.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

 

  

 

Anonymous announces plans to ‘hunt down” ISIS

Good Day World!

Over the years I’ve followed the antics of Anonymous (a hacker collective) with concern that eventually evolved into a grudging respect.

As the world reacted to the Paris bombings, Anonymous stepped up and warned ISIS they were coming after them. “We will hunt you down!” the group declared.

Anonymous could start here:

ISIS Has Help Desk for Terrorists Staffed Around the Clock

Past targets of Anonymous hacktivism included government agencies of the US, Israel, Tunisia, Uganda, and others; ISIS; child pornography sites; copyright protection agencies; the Westboro Baptist Church; and corporations such as PayPal, MasterCard, Visa, and Sony.

While somewhat unpredictable, I’ve grown to believe there are good people involved with Anonymous – even if I personally dislike the idea of hiding one’s identity while claiming to do good.

Here’s something to consider:

ISIS, or Daesh (as they hate to be called), have enjoyed success using the internet as a recruiting tool. But, the internet is Anonymous’ backyard, so when they say they’re coming to kick some ass Daesh better believe it!

The western world is uniting to wage an air and ground war on Daesh. There’s no reason to believe they can’t drive them from their strongholds in Iraq and Syria. But to actually win the war, Daesh’s recruiting efforts on the internet have to be stopped.

Once the murdering bastards have lost their ability to recruit worldwide on a daily basis the core of their power will be nullified. Once they are driven out of their strongholds they’ll join the rest of the cockroaches scurrying around the world trying to avoid the light of retribution.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Real Heavy Metal Band Seeks Robot Lead Singer

                                    Good Day World!

Developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, heavy metal bands sprang from blues rock and psychedelic rock. The bands evolved over the decades until reaching their current transformation:

Meet Compressorhead.

Compressorhead is a three-android, full-robot band that has performed live covers of Metallica, Motorhead and Black Sabbath — with real instruments — in cities from New York to Sydney, Australia, since 2013.

The group is now trying to raise more than $300,000 to help fund the development of a fourth robot — a "heavyweight" lead vocalist they hope will take their careers to the next level.

The band’s three human creators plan to produce their first original album of 14 tracks written by Canadian progressive punk rock musician John Wright.

The album, which will be available free for download, is scheduled to be released next summer and is due to be presented live for the first time at Europe's largest open air hard rock festival in Wacken, Germany, in August.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Time for a Worldwide Response Against Daesh – it could, and should happen

Good Day World!

The 21st century has been about technological advances, and the formation of an evil force that threatens innocent people across the planet.

After the Paris attacks it became clear that if this evil isn’t confronted head-on with a world-wide response, it will continue to spread terror like a cancer among countries.

Millions of people will die in the name of an ideology that can’t really be called mainstream Muslim – more like a bastard off-shoot based upon hate.

The fact that these terrorists spring from the Middle East causes many to suspect all Muslims are evil. That’s not fair. Bad people come from all over the world regardless of origin.

One thing is for sure, something decisive needs to be done quickly. Not next month, or a year from now. The fact is, retaliation could come quickly – as little as a couple of days from now.

A force of elite warriors is waiting for the word. NATO’s Naval Striking and Support Forces are fully capable of going after this group of murders who call themselves Islamic State, but are mostly referred to by the world as ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh (which they particularly hate!)

Of course, the only thing holding this possibility of instant karma back is politics among the countries themselves. Perhaps that’s what Daesh is counting on. Time will tell.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

‘Influencers’ in society: Or, where can I get that guy’s puffy jacket?’

Good Day World!

In elementary school, I was considered an influencer.

Not a good influencer, but someone who led other children astray! I was a bad boy. My friends parents pigeonholed me, and that was all there was to it.

Photo-Drake/Youtube

We know there are good influencers in society who take us down the high road to humanity. Sadly, there seems to be less of those than ever before.

Then we have influence marketing.

I compare it to a herd of sheep mindlessly following a viral ram. The idea is to get someone with media influence to appear with your product. The list of candidates is endless.

It reminds me of high school when popular kids wore certain shirts, pants, etc., that became an instant trend among social climbers.

Popular influencers run the gamut from athletes, musicians, singers, and actors. Cagey companies nowadays believe in picking out a person who already has a big following.

For example:

Drake's 'Hotline Bling' Moncler jacket is selling like crazy

The idea that people matter is always going to be the name of the game. Just like the cool kids in high school mattered. Instead of trying to market for the masses, it takes a completely opposite approach – tapping into an established specialty market (person).

Here’s an interesting documentary (you can watch the trailer or the whole film) Influencers – How Trends and Creativity Become Contagious. This video tells you a lot more about influencers than I ever could.

I would like to say, in passing, that as a parent I became an influencer by default. I just hope I was a good influence!

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

 

Facts can be so inconvenient at times!

Illustration source

                                      Good Day World!

For some people facts are messy things that tend to explode their crazy universes.

They see facts as unnecessary information that conflicts with their world views. They hide from facts like vampires from sunlight, content to dwell in dark parallel worlds where their twisted ideologies rule.

In our society politicians use fear to motivate would-be voters. When it comes to politicians, truth is the first thing that is hidden behind closed doors…waiting to come out, but never getting the chance.

Lies, like cockroaches, scurry around every promise made by most politicians. When it comes to their personal lives they hide their skeletons deep in an imaginary biography designed to appeal to the masses.

It isn’t just politicians that lie in our society. So-called activists often lie to further their aims. Today, I’ll leave you with three examples to consider:

* Republican presidential contender Ben Carson has maintained a business relationship with a close friend convicted of defrauding insurance companies and testified on his behalf, even as the candidate has called for such crimes to be punished harshly.

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

* The Benghazi Committee staffer who says he was fired for resisting participation in what he called a politically motivated probe of Hillary Clinton is not protected under federal whistleblower laws - an exemption that some labor lawyers call "inexcusable."

Advocates say the lack of protection for Congressional staffers effectively silences any House or Senate worker who could otherwise reveal potential corruption in Congress. A perfect example of hiding the truth.

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

* Something stinks at the University of Missouri. A reported incident of vandalism at Mizzou sparked university-wide protests, a boycott by the school’s 4-5 football team, and eventually the resignation of the university’s president and chancellor.

There’s only one problem: no evidence of the alleged incident, in which a poop swastika on the wall of a dormitory restroom was reported, has ever been made publicly available. Did this incident occur as reported, or was it an immaculate defecation that formed the foundation of an unimaginable deception?

Related:

1. Is Ben Carson an impostor?

2. Democrats on Benghazi Committee Release Devastating Fact Sheet on Gowdy

3. BLACK UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI STUDENTS HAD SOME GOOD REASONS TO BE UPSET AND ALSO SOME BOGUS ONES

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

 

Yakety yakking about social media for people who want to hide

“You just put on your coat and hat
And walk yourself to the laundromat
And when you finish doin' that
Bring in the dog and put out the cat
Yakety yak (Don't talk back)”

-The Coasters

 

Good Day World!

Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. Yik Yak.

Yik Yak?

I thought I’d heard about all the social media sites there were, but I was wrong.

Until yesterday, when I read about a man who was arrested for making death threats against black students who attended the University of Missouri, I never heard of Yik Yak.

The man used Yik Yak to post threats.

In another case of a Yik Yak threat, a student at Texas A&M was arrested three weeks earlier for making "terroristic threats."

Apparently Yik Yak is a social media app for iOS and Android that has become very popular on college campuses in recent years. Since I haven’t been on a college campus in a couple of decades, I should be excused for this lack of knowledge.

Yik Yak was launched in 2013 and has been involved in some controversies before. The app was initially criticized for being a tool for cyberbullying on high school and middle school campuses.

Yik Yak isn’t my cup of tea, but the social network does provide a place for students to gripe about finals, publicize house parties, and even share inspiring news anonymously.

A lot of Yik Yak messages are simply jokes, like one of the most "upvoted" posts on the network from a University of Southern California student, who wrote, "Shout out to my grandma cause that's the only way she can hear me."

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Promises! Promises! Not One Presidential Wannabe Will Be Able to Keep Them!

                                      Good Day World!

There’s not one presidential wannabe that can fulfill their grand promises.

Republican or Democrat.

Take Donald Trump. He’s largely downplayed policy ideas in his campaign, but the border wall is one of his biggest promises, even though it requires huge spending by the Mexican government (something that would never happen).

Donald Trump's promise to overhaul both foreign and domestic policy through his leadership skills vastly overstates and misunderstands the power he would hold if elected president, according to political scientists and scholars of the presidency.

But Trump, these scholars argue, is promoting an idea of the presidency sometimes referred to as the Green Lantern theory, named after the Green Lantern Corps, a fictional police force in DC Comics whose members wear all-powerful rings.

The idea that we just need a president who will get things done is much simpler and more appealing than the complex realities of our political system.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is promising to lead a political revolution that will bring out millions of new voters, resulting in Democrats winning control of both the House and Senate and pushing through his very liberal agenda.

Scholars shake their heads at this promise.

Jeb Bush has said his presidency will result in the U.S. economy growing by 4 percent.

Hillary Clinton has promised she would issue executive orders to implement her proposals if Republicans remain in control of the House or Senate and block them.

Scholars are very skeptical either Bush or Sanders could achieve their goals, because they are largely out of a president's hands.

And the executive orders that Clinton wants to implement could be rejected by courts, which have struck down a number of Obama's executive actions.

I just wanted you to know that none of these presidential wannabes will be able to keep their promises because of that inconvenient thing called reality which will get in their way.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

Missouri Activists: ‘White Media Doesn’t Understand Black Spaces’

Good Day World!

What a difference a day, or two, makes.

Activists at the University of Missouri celebrated the resignation of the school's president on Monday after forcing him to quit.

When members of the media attempted to cover their victory celebration they were met with outright hostility and aggression! Watch this video.

After weeks of protests, activists with the Concerned Student 1950 group had turned their complaints of racism into a national story. But instead of welcoming the continued coverage, they acted like mindless morons with bad intentions.

Even faculty members were not above the madness. One member, identified by the Columbia Missourian as Greek Life and Leadership Assistant Director Janna Basler, blocked a student reporter and told him to leave.

Students and faculty were chanting “You don’t have the right to take our photos.” Excuse me? This is America and the media is allowed to take photos of public events.

As a retired journalist (newspaper editor), I was really offended by Melissa Click (see photo on top of page), an assistant professor of mass media (a courtesy title as it turns out), who joined the crazies in driving reporters away from the university quad.

On Tuesday, Click apologized for her actions in a statement issued by the Missouri Department of Communication. Shortly thereafter she resigned.

What really gets me is the hypocrisy: 

The activists defended their actions, saying on Twitter that "it's typically white media who don't understand the importance of respecting black spaces."

Black spaces?

I wasn’t aware there were “black places” at a public university where whites shouldn’t tread. Ironically, the protestors black space was supposed to be a time for “fellowshipping for white, black, and other minorities(!)”

Apparently some sanity returned Tuesday and the protestors welcomed reporters after Monday’s madness.

Activists removed yard signs warning the media to stay away from their black space. The group who started the protests put out fliers saying it was a “teachable moment” and to welcome the media.

Imagine.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

 

A Sad Day When Mob Rule Took Over Missouri University

Our so-called institutes of higher learning are caving in to students.

If we learned anything about the University of Missouri’s protests where students forced the president to leave by blackmailing the system – as in the football team threatening not to play (which would cost the university a couple of million dollars) it’s politically correctness has gone mad again.

Now the new normal will be students going on strike if they don't like their professors, or their grades, or don't get free unearned degrees.

Since so much money is involved for colleges and the NCAA, university staff will have to jump if football players collectively have demands, even if they’re ridiculous.

It is a sad day for institutions of higher learning when MOB RULE wins.

 

 

Group Says ‘Hell No’ To Doll Having a Voice

Hello Barbie is displayed at the Mattel showroom at the North American International Toy Fair in New York. Mark Lennihan / AP

                                        Good Day World!

The first talking doll was introduced 125 years ago to the amazement and delight of parents everywhere. Today the idea of a talking doll is controversial. 

The doll in question is Barbie, an iconic doll who made her debut 56 years ago. By the end of this month Mattel plans on introducing the first Hello Barbie.

You’d think parents would be delighted with this new version of Barbie, but that hasn’t been the case thus far.

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC), a group opposed to marketing aimed at children, launched a campaign to discourage parents from buying Hello Barbie (#HellnoBarbie).

So what happened in the last 125 years that makes a talking doll so sinister? Simply put, the first talking doll could not record anything like the new Talking Barbie does.

She is the first Internet-connected doll that can carry on a seemingly real conversation by recording what the child says and sending it via Wi-Fi to the cloud for Barbie's computer-generated response.

Here’s the rub: these conversations are stored and analyzed by ToyTalk, the San Francisco software company that makes this interaction possible.

Here’s where the controversy really gets interesting:

Mattel released a Thomas and Friends Talk to You app in 2014, based on the popular Thomas the Train character, that uses the same voice-recognition technology to communicate with children and it was a big hit with parents!

Mattel basically took that app and put it into Hello Barbie. Hmmmmm…

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

 

 

 

 

If you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen!

Good Day World!

Presidential candidates have never been thrilled with the vetting process. Most would just as soon skip sharing their personal history.

Their whining over public scrutiny has become a rite of passage in primaries. Take Ben Carson for example.

He claims the media are on a “witch hunt” because their delving into his past and pulling out nuggets that would make any sane person pause before voting for him. 

School children across America were stunned to hear their history books were wrong about what the Egyptian pyramids were used for, according to Big Ben. He’s on video claiming Joseph (see The Bible) built the pyramids to store grain.

Scientists and archeologists be damned.

Benny’s ties to a fraudulent product are no longer hidden because of the so-called witch hunt.

Ben Carson caught on video claiming Mannatech supplement magically cured his prostate cancer

Ben Carson has a decade long financial relationship with cancer-scam supplement company

And the nuggets keep turning up:

Ben Carson faked his story about protecting white students on the day MLK died

Exclusive: Carson claimed West Point 'scholarship' but never applied

FACT

Carson recalled in “Gifted Hands,” a story involving his psychology class at Yale University, called Perceptions 301. He described the professor’s conducting an honesty experiment on the class and wrote that he was the only one who passed, prompting The Yale Daily News to take his picture.

Oops! There he goes again! There was no photo identifying Carson as a student in the newspaper’s archives, The Journal reported, and a Yale librarian told the newspaper that there was no psychology course by that name or class number during Carson’s years at Yale.

I could go on. But I think you get the point. Anyone wanting to be the President of the United States has to be thoroughly vetted or millions will pay.

Cry babies, like Carson, who can’t stand the heat need to get out of the kitchen!

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

Teacher claims renowned poet was Jack the Ripper

Good Day World!

I’ve read a lot of theories on who Jack the Ripper was, but a recent theory by an Australian English teacher seems to pinpoint the most likely perpetrator.

Richard Patterson believes Jack the Ripper, who killed five London prostitutes over 10 weeks in 1888, was actually the renowned poet Francis Thompson.

HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES - English poet Francis Thompson (1859 - 1907) wrote "The Hound of Heaven" and other works.

According to the Mirror, Patterson read a book of Thompson's poetry in 1997 and became convinced he was the legendary killer. He's spent the years since attempting to prove his theory.

"Soon before and soon after the murders, he wrote about killing female prostitutes with knives," Patterson says. And the Daily News quotes a graphic short story by Thompson about a woman being stabbed to death.

In addition to Thompson's grisly writings, Patterson points to his experience as a surgeon and his troubled relationship with a local prostitute, the Mirror reports. Patterson says Thompson kept a dissecting knife under his coat and knew a rare surgical procedure that was used to mutilate some of the victims.

In the years since the slayings, scholars, amateur sleuths, and others have identified 100 suspects. I suppose we’ll never really know.

Make that 101 suspects.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Why are we electing people who contribute to America’s infastructure destruction?

Good Day World!

It’s real simple. Rome fell from within.

America is doing the same thing now.

Voters elect corrupt politicians who are more interested in ideologies than realities. Greed pollutes our government like a virus. People are blinded by brands – Democrats and Republicans – sheepishly following along without too many questions.

All the ingredients for America’s eventual disintegration are in place. We downplay our own internal needs even as they worsen.

For example:    

Despite years of warnings that the nation's roads, bridges and transit systems are falling apart and will bring nightmarish congestion, the House on Thursday passed a six-year transportation bill that maintains the spending status quo.

Anyone with a drop of common sense can see this is going to create more transportation problems than we already have. It’s like watching an oncoming train wreck and being helpless to do anything about it.

Yet, we allow Congress to get away with being so politically polarized that it’s like watching fight night at the coliseum every time a bill is introduced. What legislation that does manage to get passed seldom benefits the majority of Americans.

The fact that people are even considering electing Donald “Build that Wall” Trump or Ben “Pyramids for Storing Grain” Carson for our next president, is another sign of America’s end times.

Isn’t there anyone out there who cares enough to actually serve the people in this country, instead of being part of America’s demise?

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

 

There’s only one thing I want for my birthday…

Good Day World!

I’m turning 65 tomorrow.

At this point in my life I let birthday’s creep by like thieves in the night. Birthday wishes come and go like butterflies in flight. They’re mandatory among family and friends.

I would just as soon get on with the day like it was any other.

I no longer expect, nor ask for birthday presents. This year I’m breaking with my own tradition, and asking for one birthday present:

Don’t let Donald Trump host Saturday Night Live tomorrow! (Are you listening SNL producers?) Please make an announcement today that someone else is going to be your host.

If there’s one presidential candidate I can’t stand it’s that big mouth! I’m embarrassed for the Republican brand right now.

On Monday, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus asked SNL and parent company NBC Universal to "disinvite" Trump to the show.

Brent Wilkes, the executive director of the League of United Latin American Citizens, wrote in an opinion article published Wednesday in the Huffington Post that allowing Trump to host the program "is nothing short of a slap in the face to the more than 50 million Latinos living in the U.S."

There’s a lot of good reasons for not having Trump on SNL, but if it turns out that he’s going to host the show, would you give me an early birthday present?

Don’t watch it.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

 

Long Time Passing: What happened to the American Dream?

                                    Good Day World!

As a baby boomer, I grew up believing in the American Dream.

I was taught that if you work hard, you’ll get ahead. But The Times – They Are a Changin…

Fifty-seven percent of Americans say the principle that hard work brings reward once held true, but no longer does.

While half of financially secure voters believe in the tenet that working hard yields prosperity, 84 percent of voters facing economic hardship say it no longer works, or never did.

Feelings about the American dream's demise are basically shared across parties, with slightly more Republican voters saying it still holds true and slightly more Democratic voters saying it never held true according to a recent SurveyMonkey poll conducted by NBC.

This whole subject is making me feel nostalgic…

 Bye Bye Miss American Pie

Time for me to walk on down the road….

 

 

Pass the envelope please: ‘And the Worst TV Show of All Time is…’

Good Day World!

After searching for links about the worst TV shows in history, I’ve come to the conclusion it has to be The Jerry Springer Show. 

• 8 of the Worst TV Shows of the 1990s
• 7 of the Worst TV Shows of the 1980s
• 7 TV Shows That Stayed on Way Too Long
• 10 most hated TV Shows of All Time

Here’s the rub; Springer’s trashy show has been on since 1991 and continues to be popular with a certain segment in society.

Basically, the daytime talk show is the epitome of all things tasteless and trashy.

For example, guests on Springer’s show like to break out in fights as they debate the paternity of their children or whether to pursue sexual relationships with their relatives.

The studio audience makes for the loud hum of an angry mob rather than a laugh track, and that noise is interspersed with bleeped-out profanities every other second.

People with sad and pathetic lives go on the show to scream at each other, air their dirty laundry, and not solve their problems in the slightest.

Springer has been referred to as the anti-Oprah, and as long as there are people who want to scream and fight on television, this show will, unfortunately, probably stick around.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Today is a Big Day for Ohio Voters: Legalize Pot or Not?

                                    Good Day World!

I want to wish all the people voting Yes on marijuana legalization today good luck. You’re in for a challenge.

IN A NUTSHELL

There’s two ballot measures – or Issues as Ohioans call them.

Issue 3 would add an amendment to the state constitution that legalizes both personal and medical use of marijuana for those over 21 years old.

Issue 2 would nullify legalization if it creates "an economic monopoly or special privilege" for a private entity.

Wait a minute? What’s behind Issue 2? A legitimate concern. A monopoly.

Issue 3 grants exclusive rights for commercial marijuana growth and distribution to 10 facilities around the state. Those facilities are owned by investors in the legalization movement.

A recent poll by the University of Akron shows voters evenly split, but if the proposal passes, Ohio will be the first state to approve marijuana for personal use without first legalizing medical marijuana.

If both measures pass, the conflict will likely end up in court.

I don’t want to be a party-pooper but it looks like Ohio won’t become the 5th, and largest, state to legalize the recreational usage of marijuana, following Alaska, Colorado, Washington and Oregon, as well as the District of Columbia.

Next year, seven other states are expected to vote on recreational marijuana legalization. Chances are one of these will be the fifth state to legalize marijuana.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

Rags to Riches: A myth perpetrated by wealthy politicians

Good Day World!

A favorite conservative myth is the one about a person “pulling themselves up by the boot straps” from utter poverty, to riches.

The myths origins are firmly rooted to one author’s body of work. His name was Horation Alger Jr.

He was a prolific 19th-century American author, best known for his many juvenile novels about impoverished boys and their rise from humble backgrounds to lives of middle-class security and comfort through hard work, determination, courage, and honesty.

His writings were characterized by the "rags-to-riches" narrative, which had a formative effect on America during the Gilded Age.

Fast forward to today.

Claiming to be a conservative, Donald Trump is always talking about how he worked his way up to become a billionaire. The fact of the matter is Trump’s Dad gave him a “small” loan of a million dollars to get started.

Let’s get real. How many politicians in Congress pulled themselves out of ghettos and barrios to become wealthy and influential? When I hear about cutbacks in government it’s almost always on the backs of the poor and disenfranchised.

I’m not saying there aren’t exceptional people who overcome all odds against them and rise from poverty like a Phoenix, and live in wealth for the rest of their days. What I am saying is there’s very few and far between that can achieve the conservative myth of rags to riches.

Time for me to walk on down the road…