On Sunday, one of the many crowns that cover several of my ground-down, sometimes root-canalled teeth came off as I was eating dinner. It wasn’t a peanut brittle type of dental misfortune. No, it was regular old food that did it. I guess it was just time.

Fortunately, I managed to save the strange looking thing (we never really get to check them out when they’re being put in), rather than swallowing it, in which case it would have been gone forever. I would rather endure the process and shoulder the expense of getting a new crown rather than searching through … oh, you know what I mean.

Anyway, through the good graces of Dr. Dentist, I was able to drop by late in the day to have my crown re-cemented. He did an expert job, but dammit, it just doesn’t feel the same as it did before it fell out. I’ll get used to it. Hell, I figure if it weren’t for the wonders of modern dentistry, I’d probably look like Barney Frank right about now.

Speaking of Barney Frank, is there a more detestable asshole on the planet?

That is all.

Update (even before this is posted): I finally got around to eating with my replaced crown, and there was lots of scrunching and sweaking as I chewed (the infernal high spot). Looks like I’ll be visiting Mr. Dentist again. Yo, it beats gumming your chow.

Some of you may remember that last February I received a telephone call from George Washington, the Original Dubya and our country’s first president. At that time, he was very interested in the candidacies of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

He said he would call again, and so he did.

RINNNNNNNNG

Jimbo: Hello?

GW: Good evening, Jimbo. I hope you recognize my voice. I did say that I would call you again.

Jimbo: Do I recognize your voice? Holy crap! Oh, I’m sorry. Since your last call, I had convinced myself that I must have dreamed the whole thing, and here you are again, George Washington. Wow! Just wow!

GW: I received bits and pieces of news about the most recent election, and I hoped you would be able to answer some questions for me.

Jimbo: I’ll do my best, Mr. President.

GW: I heard that the colored man won. Is that true?

Jimbo: I believe we went over the “colored man” thing during our last call, sir.

GW: Oh, right. I’m sorry. So, this African American man won?

Jimbo: Yes, sir. That’s correct.

GW: Is his last name Washington? I was a bit surprised and pleased to learn how many colored … oh, I mean African Americans are named Washington – some quite famous.

Jimbo: No, sir. His name is Barack Obama.

GW: Barack Obama? What kind of a name is that?

Jimbo: It’s an African name, Mr. President.

GW: But, you said he’s an American.

Jimbo: You see, sir, his father was African. It’s a little complicated.

GW: So, his father was an African-American?

Jimbo: No, sir. He was African, from Kenya.

GW: And, his mother? Was she African too?

Jimbo: No, sir. She is an American, I believe from Kansas.

GW: Kansas?

Jimbo: Yes, sir. It’s one of the states now.

GW: So, she was an African-American?

Jimbo: No, sir. His mother was white.

GW: He’s a mulatto?

Jimbo: We definitely don’t use the term “mulatto” any more sir.

GW: Oh, my. This is all a bit confusing. What do you call such a person?

Jimbo: We refer to such persons as bi-racial, or a person of mixed race.

GW: That is quite something that such a man would be president. He must be quite remarkable. Tell me about his background. I’m sure he has an interesting history and has held many important positions.

Jimbo: Well, sir. He was a community organizer, then he ….

GW: What?

Jimbo: He was a community organizer, sir.

GW: I don’t believe I know what a community organizer is.

Jimbo: I’m not completely versed in the subject either, Mr. President, but I believe that a community organizer is a person goes into a town or city, makes speeches telling people how bad things are, holds rallies and forms groups to put pressure on the government to provide the things they want.

GW: Good grief! We used to call those kinds of people troublemakers.

GW: Did he do this on his own?

Jimbo: No, sir. In fact he worked to some extent with another community organizer named William Ayers who had a rather, shall I say, interesting past.

GW: What do you mean by “interesting past?”

Jimbo: It’s a bit complicated, sir. Are you familiar with the Vietnam War?

GW: Yes, I’ve read a bit about it. Sad how it turned out.

Jimbo: Yes, sir. That was sad. Anyway, during that war, William Ayers was an active member of a group that set bombs in federal and state buildings. In fact, while preparing a bomb to explode on an Army base, the bomb accidentally exploded, killing three of his associates. He married one of his associates and was a fugitive for many years.

GW: Good Lord. In my day, such a person would have been hanged. Surely, he spent many years in prison, this Ayers fellow.

Jimbo: No, sir. Charges against him were dismissed for prosecutorial misconduct.

GW: Prosecutorial misconduct? What in heaven’s name is that?

Jimbo: It’s really complicated, sir, but I believe the government gathered evidence against him in an improper way. I’d be happy to go into all this, if you wish, but I don’t know how much time you have.

GW: You’re right. I will have to look into this after this call. So, what else did this man do other than being a community troublemaker … I mean, organizer.

Jimbo: He served for a time in the State Senate of Illinois. Illinois became a state after you … well … died.

GW: Interesting. Well, that says something about the man. He must have been an outstanding legislator.

Jimbo: That’s not clear, sir, because no one was able to examine any of the documents he created or received while a state senator.

GW: What happened to the documents? Was there a fire?

Jimbo: No fire, sir. When asked, he stated that he didn’t know what happened to them.

GW: What? That’s preposterous.

Jimbo: Yes, sir. It does seem strange.

GW: Well, I assume that he is a well educated man.

Jimbo: Yes, Mr. President. He was graduated from Columbia University and Harvard Law School.

GW: Excellent, and how did he fare at those outstanding institutions?

Jimbo: No one was able to find that out, Mr. President, and to anticipate your next question, neither of those institutions has burned down.

GW: I’m beginning to think you are joking with me, Jimbo.

Jimbo: No, sir. I’m doing my best to answer your questions.

GW: My word. What else has this man done that would cause people to vote for him as their president?

Jimbo: Well, he did win an election to the United States Senate.

GW: Ah! I knew there was something. He had years of exemplary service in that venerable institution, and he certainly authored historic legislation, correct?

Jimbo: No, sir. I believe he served about 140 days before beginning his presidential campaign and voted “present” a good deal of the time.

GW: Oh, my. How about the military? He was a well-known military leader. That’s it, isn’t it?

Jimbo: No, Mr. President, he did not serve in the military.

GW: Is it true that the man he defeated in the election was a battle-tested officer in the United States Navy and spent twenty-six years in the United States Senate?

Jimbo: Yes, sir. That’s true.

GW: Please tell me that you’re joking with me, Jimbo.

Jimbo: No, Mr. President. I am not joking.

GW: Oh, my Lord. I’m not feeling well at the moment. I believe I will have to rest. It’s a shame, because I wanted to ask you about stories I have been hearing about the government actually seizing money from citizens and giving it to banks and private companies. Are those stories true?

Jimbo: Yes, sir. Those stories are true.

GW: Good God. I have to lie down. Before I do, let me ask you one more question.

Jimbo: Yes, Mr. President.

GW: I want to be sure I understood what you said. The man who was elected president actually associated with a person who was part of group that bombed federal buildings and tried to bomb an Army base?

Jimbo: Yes, sir. And, I forgot to mention his real estate dealings with a convicted felon.

GW: I beg your pardon, but I believe I feel the need to vomit. I’ll stay in touch. Good bye, Jimbo.

Jimbo: It’s always an honor to speak with you. Good bye, Mr. President.

I’d like to think that the guy who flew this plane would be the person saying those words during my next flight.

Via Synthstuff

Feel the love.

Via Gregor

Our governor, Jon Corzine (another Goldman Sachs genius), informed us that the current state deficit could reach $1.2 billion. The governor reported that, compared to the projections for October, revenues are off by $211 million.

Gross income tax collections were off by 14 percent, or $116 million; sales tax collections were 4 percent, or $28 million, below projections; and corporate business tax collections were off by 16 percent, or $30 million.

No shit, Sherlock.

This is what happens when a rotten-to-the-core state government tries to tax its way into prosperity and when it regulates businesses to the point where it simply makes no sense to do business in this state. Businesses flee, taking jobs with them, and people flee, unable to afford to live here, leaving fewer and fewer taxpayers to provide sustenance for the hoards of taxtakers.

The terrifying part is that the governor is not telling the entire story. As I have written before, the unfunded pension liabilities and the unfunded medical liabilities for state workers make that $1.2 billion look like a pre-teen’s allowance. (In the private sector, such unfunded liabilities would land people in jail).

That’s life … in a Blue State.

I’ve seen plenty of “first dances” at weddings, but this one is a gem. I’d like to have a couple cocktails with this couple.

Thanks to my friend Brian, the Air Force Vet.

Note: Because the number of comments generated by this post (almost two-thousand) was causing problems for the webhost’s servers, I regret that commenting will no longer be possible.

Enjoy this amazing video.

Oh, and thanks for stopping by. Take a look around the place.

Today the Comcast Technician arrived at the appointed time at the House by the Parkway. Pleasant enough fellow, upon entering, he said, “So, nothing’s working?” As we were taking the 15 or 20 steps to the room where the computer is located, I gave him the five-second summary, including the part where Comcast Telephone Support couldn’t get me online. He walked into the room as I was trying to relay the history of the problem, looked at the modem (two lights on) said, “The modem is on standby,” and with that he pressed the reset button and it began to work. He then installed a new length of cable between the modem and something under the desk.

Me: So, that’s it?

Cable Guy: Yep. Works fine now.

Me: What was the problem?

CG: Your modem was on standby.

Me: What? I must have pressed that same button twenty times and unplugged and re-plugged the modem twenty times.

CG: (shrugs – perhaps he thinks I am crazy?) Well, the switch is a little sticky. You should push it a bit towards the right when you push it in.

Me: Huh? Oh, and I also want to mention that this has happened a couple times in the past two weeks, and the problem corrected itself, without my doing anything. Other times, after I pressed the reset button ALL the lights on the modem came on and blinked simultaneously before it ultimately corrected itself, but not this time. You think maybe I need a new modem?

CG: Hmmm, yeah, maybe there is a problem with your modem even though it’s working fine now. You should probably get a new one, but I don’t have one on the truck. You could also pick one up at the Comcast office and install it yourself. It’s easy.

Me:

CG: If you have the problem again, call me directly (he gave me his number), and I’ll come by with a replacement modem. Please sign here.

Some thoughts:

1. I can only assume that the cable guy thought that I was lying about pressing the reset button multiple times, or that I was a complete idiot who never even tried to press the reset button.

2. I was quite surprised (maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised) to hear that a Comcast Technician doesn’t have modems on the truck. What the heck is in that truck?

3. I figure that for the forty or so bucks per month I pay for internet cable service, I shouldn’t have to deal with a modem with a “sticky switch,” and I damned sure shouldn’t have to deal with a modem that “probably should be replaced.”

4. I also figure that for the forty or so bucks per month I pay for internet cable service, I shouldn’t have to schlep off to the Comcast office, pick up a modem and install it myself.

5. While I appreciate the cable guy giving me his direct number, I wonder what will happen if I lose service three weeks from now. I suspect that if I use the number, he will not remember me and will direct me to call the office, which will start the annoying process all over again. In either case, it will involve yet another visit from the cable guy and more missed work.

6. Frankly, the only reason that I haven’t switched to Verizon is that I don’t want to go through the massive hassle of notifying all the right people and businesses of an e-mail address change. I may rethink that and begin preparing a list of who would have to be notified.

7. If you are thinking about getting high-speed internet service, think Verizon.

Update: Commenters share their Verizon experiences, pro and con.

This has to be a quickie, because I am using Ken’s (my bodyguard’s) computer. Why, you ask? It is because I again have no internet access. I spent about 45 minutes on the phone with a Comcast support person, who couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t get online, because, according to her, my modem is fine. I think all the noodling around at her direction may have made things worse. The wind up is that Comcast will come to The House by the Parkway on Wednesday and I will be offline until then.

As it happens, Wednesday is OK, because I am heading off to the Left Coast tomorrow (business) and will return Tuesday evening.

The Young lady at Comcast was very nice, and I assured her that I understood that my connectivity problems were not her fault I did ask her to remind her management that, for me, Verizon FIOS is one phone call away.

Anyway, I have to get ready for an early morning flight.

Play nice.

This morning I proceeded to the Dealer’s Service Department in order to obtain regular preventative maintenance on the Big, Fat, Black Capitalist Car. I’m no stranger to the place, having previously written about my visits here, here and here.

What I will share with you are literally scratchpad notes I made while sitting in the waiting room. The thoughts may be disjointed, but that’s just way it is.

Dammit! The television is on. I brought a book, and there are magazines on a coffee table, but nobody reads. Everyone sits and stares at the goddamned television. Is it possible for people to survive thirty minutes in a chair without staring into a goddamned television set? Too loud and too distracting to read. I took Mrs. Parkway’s car for service, and that dealer offers a “Quiet Room.” The availability of a “Quiet Room” may well be dispositive with respect to my next choice in vehicles.

Ack! MSNBC is on. Is this more or less annoying than, say, Regis or Judge Somethingorother? Tough call. They’re all right up there with a root canal.

Big, big, big MSNBC story: Former McCain staffers dish dirt on Sarah Palin! Perfect story for MSNBC. They get to continue to shit on Sarah Palin, but lay the blame on McCain people. BONUS! They get to say what shits the McCain people are. Damned near spit out my complimentary lousy coffee.

Ah, the subject now is Mr. Obama’s pick of Rahm Emmanuel, a former Clintonista and a known super-partisan hit man as Whitehouse Chief of Staff (Reach across the aisle, my arse). The host wonders aloud (strictly for rhetorical effect), “Critics are asking whether this is consistent with President-Elect Obama’s promise of a different kind of administration, a more inclusive administration [blah blah]?”

The question is answered by a parade of peeps, all justifying why Rahm Emmanuel is a solid choice. The Grand Marshall of the Parade was Hillary Clinton, who gushed about what a fine fellow Rahm Emmanuel is. I wonder if, by saying that, she is doing a favor for Obama or her old pal Rahm. As my Constitutional Law professor used to say, “To ahsk the question is to ahnswer it.”

The host (damned if I know who he is) announces that Barack Obama will give his first press conference later today. He continues, “MSNBC’s Chris Matthews will bring it to you.” Chris Matthews ought to be required to wear a slobber cup on his face when he talks about Obama. He’s beyond disgusting.

Notable Commercial Break: I don’t know whether you get to see the New York Times ads for the “Weekender” edition of the paper. Apparently, you can subscribe to the paper and only receive it on the weekends. I wouldn’t know, because I would sooner light money on fire than pay to read the New York Times. Anyway, the twenty-something, snot-nosey elitist pukey, yuppie woman smiles and says, “There’s the week, the weekend and then there’s The Weekender.” This is followed by a series or Upper West Side twenty-something racially diverse turds talking about how swell it is to get “THE PAPER” on the weekends, the subliminal message being that if you don’t read the New York Times, you must be some kind of mental defective. Every time I see it, I have a hard time not throwing something at the TV. (I guess you had to be there.)

Holy shit! Breaking news! Beyoncé will attend the inauguration! I had awakened Tuesday night worrying about whether Beyoncé would be on the case for the inauguration.

“Sir your car is ready.”

Free at last.

Several friends called me since the election to make sure that I hadn’t thrown myself in front of a speeding train. Let me say that, other than the frustration of losing internet access on election night (thank screw you, Comcast), and other than the dramatic spike in my alcohol consumption and a dramatic plummet of my happy quotient, I am fine coping.

I am still reeling from the election results, so my thoughts remain somewhat disjointed. But, here are a few snapshots of the kinds of things that are swirling around in my cruller at the moment:

Barack Obama
I believed during the campaign and I believe now that, as President, Mr. Obama, a lifelong leftist and class warfare artist, who has accomplished nothing other than winning elections and who has made no secret of his intentions to redistribute wealth, to gut the military, to increase the size and reach of the federal government and to tax the nation into prosperity, will be a disaster of major proportions to the Republic. The country has elected a man to serve as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, who, by virtue of his past associations, would not be granted a security clearance (as I previously have said) to mop the floors at CIA Headquarters. It is astounding to me.

As I sit here, I cannot think of a single position stated by Mr. Obama with which I agree. There must be one. Gotta be at least one. … Nope. It looks like I’ll have to get back to you on that.

The Press
Perhaps the saddest thing about this election is the death of anything resembling objective news reporting. The mainstream media was too busy slobbering all over The One to spend any time properly vetting him. There was no serious effort to learn about Obama’s activities while he attended Columbia or Harvard or while he served in the State Senate, or worked in his law practice. Someone applying for a middle management job in a corporation has to furnish precisely that type of information and yet the country has “hired” a president without any of it. Astonishing.

The press did manage to swing into rapid action and spring loose hoards of reporters to descend upon Wasilla to seek out dirt on Sarah Palin. In no time, they broke the blockbuster tanning bed story – that is when they weren’t engaged in grotesque speculation about who did and who did not pass through Governor Palin’s birth canal.

News organizations also showed their class and their investigative power when in twenty-four hours they essentially eviscerated a private citizen (with the help of Obama-supporting government workers), whose transgression was asking a question of The One, which caused The One to actually answer truthfully. Disgusting.

The Reality
The reality is that Barack Obama won the election and will be the country’s next President. Yes, I believe he won with the help of a fawning mainstream media, questionable voter registration tactics and boatloads of money, but win he did. Power will peacefully transfer, and that’s a wonderful thing. Is he my President? Yes he is, even though I agree with nothing he stands for. That’s the way it works.

So, like it or not, we are all in this together particularly if the nation’s security is threatened by today’s enemies, who don’t discriminate when it comes to their desire to kill Americans. It matters not to them whether you are rich, poor, middle-class, Christian, Jew, white, black, brown, yellow, red, Democrat or Republican. We pray that, in such circumstances, our President has the wisdom and courage to do what is right for all Americans.