DISPATCHES FROM THE GHOST MOOSE

The link below is to a story outlining the pure genius of Gov. Elmer Fudd Quinn, the governor of the most poorly run state in the county. http://dailyherald.com/article/20110330/news/110339994/ In the article, Quinn says "the budget cutting governors have it wrong".  I suppose then, by his defintion, governors that spend money they don't have are right.  And this buffoon is running our state????  You really have to read the story to see just how delusional he is....and still no mention of cutting the pension commitment.  of course, those that would cut the pension commitment have it wrong, I suppose.  never let a small thing like having no money stop you from spending money.  the picture of him in the article is priceless also - looks like one of those old guys you see on the news that goes missing and the family is frantically looking for them, and they show up in a White Castle somewhere. somewhere a village is missing its idiot.

Still cold - too cold for the end of March.  Here's a link to a story I saw yesterday: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/obama-illegal-alien-we-don-t-want-deport In a town hall meeting, an illegal alien, via skype, asked Obama about deportation.  Obama's reply was that he wants them to succeed, not deport them. says who? deport them all....bloodsucking leeches that they are.  freeloaders.  why should our tax dollars go toward supporting a population of criminals.  and, by being here illegally, they are criminals.  They come to this country knowing how to work the system.  The government hounds us legal citizens for every tax dollar they can squeeze out of us....but if you are here illegally, apparently you deserve special consideration.  A school district in Elgin was being sued because some slugs were not happy with the quality of the ESL program...hey, I have an idea - how about learning English like legal immigrants have for decades.  Or maybe our government can  make a

Back to work.  Vacation now a distant memory - with the brutal reminder of it when the credit card bill comes.  Here's a link to a story in the Sun Times.  The state is aggressively going after deadbeat parents who are not paying child support. http://www.suntimes.com/business/4138522-418/withholding-passports-licenses-among-tools-used-to-collect-back-child-support.html Good idea - if a parent has the commitment to pay child support, they should, and the state should use aggressive means to enforce those court decrees. However - this is a state that has designated certain cities as sanctuary cities, where illegal aliens are immune from arrest and deportation.  How is it that we go after our own citizens to enforce one law, but then create a safe haven for felons who are bigger deadbeats than those who are not paying child support?  makes no sense, does it?  or is it just me?

Back to the norm.  Cold weather - 40 plus degrees less than where I spent the last week.  Oh well - good to live in a place where I have a job and can scrape my nickles together and go somewhere warm for a week each year. The CEO of Caterpillar sent a letter to Gov. Quinn, the governor of the most poorly run state in the country, telling him that the conditions in Illinois are creating a situation that will force Caterpillar to relocate to another state with more favorable conditions.  No surprise - what exactly did Quinn think would happen when the corporate tax was raised to almost 10%?  And Caterpillar has, no doubt, no shortage of governors from other states offering not only better normal tax rates, but also one time incentives that would create a situation that the board and stockholders would mandate Caterpillar make the move.  Any CFO would jump at the opportunity to improve their bottom line by 3 - 4% with one act.  And, if the news is covering this Caterpillar situation, the

Just got back from a week in Scottsdale, AZ.  Went last Saturday, and had some very nice weather from Monday to Friday.  Had to get up at 2:00 am today to get ready, return the rental car and catch a 5:30 am flight.  so now I need a vacation from today's hustle. I realized that I only see my kids in the context of what we do here at home.  They are both very mature, well spoken individuals, but with the daily routine of school and limited interaction in the evening, I hadn't seen them in the same light at home as I did on vacation.  I was very impressed with their maturity, and their willingness to spend time with me.  I also realized what a good team I have at work.  AZ is 2 hrs behind the midwest, but my body clock didn't adjust, so I was getting up at 5 am every day.  I would take the computer to a spot where that I could get internet access and send, or reply to a few emails.  The response generally was "stop checking emails - we have you covered".  As for

I saw a story today that some elected genius is proposing a federal tax on toilet paper. Sure...makes perfect sense doesn't it? How about taxing government pensions or other outrageous handouts that we taxpayers are funding? Perish the thought...we middle class have an obligation to keep the hogs fed. The Libya mess is costing the US a billion dollars. Our president, who told us we shouldn't drive SUVs and expect to eat all we want, jets off with his family on a new vacation each month. His suggestions don't apply to him...just to us commoners. We're swirling around the toilet bowl folks.

The conflict rages in Libya. Japan is old news. Nice to know that the US will use it's resources (money, troops, diplomacy) to start the cleanup and will turn over operations once the heat dies down. So the next ruling party can continue to rip us off on oil prices. What a world. And the rest of the world stands by and criticizes us. Of course we'll have to give them something to pacify them as well. Our tax dollars at work.

Here's a link to a good story. The mayor of oak brook, in addition to pulling in 4 pensions, also has a job making 64 grand doing something counting license plates. Yes. Counting license plates. And getting 4 pensions. http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110320/news/703209943/

I was digging around the dead stalks from last years annuals, and actually saw some growth emerging from the ground.  Are we there yet?  Is it spring now???  something tells me we will get dumped on one more time.  we shall see.  Take a read on the story on the attached link from the Sun Times. http://www.suntimes.com/4384770-417/alvarez-not-enough-evidence-to-charge-daley-nephew.html Mayor Daley, who told us all to quit whining about foreign intervention in our economy, has a nephew that would be charged with a murder, if not for his connections.  and the cop that was the lead detective at that time is now pulling in a $90k pension while getting a salary of $175k as head of streets and san....so his nephew will not be charged with killing someone - who he killed.  read the comments attached to the story, as they are pretty informative too. so, we should quit whining....because it is not Daley's fault that we will not pull in $50k per speech like that douche will, and our br

We made it to Friday.  Finally. I see that Gov. Quin, the governor of the most poorly run state in the country, has proposed a 2% tax on Exelon, the corporation that owns the nuclear power plants in Illinois (the most poorly run state in the country) to initiate a rigorous safety inspection program in light of the disaster in Japan.  The way a utility works is they get to take all their operating expenses, and mark them up with a profit, then use that cost base to determine how much to charge per unit of power used by consumers.  So, this 2% tax on Exelon will be marked up, and passed along to the people buying power from them.  so, Exelon will actually profit from this additonal expense.  And who will pay?  Us.  and what has been done about the $78 billion pension defecit?  Nothing.  It is nice to know we are so much smarter than the imbeciles that are running the state.  but then again, all this does is frustrate us,  knowing these boobs are going to be set for life once their ter

The first day of the 64 team March Madness tourney.  Makes for a few good weekends of games.  the weather is finally nice.  very spring like.  and we deserve it.  I think the blizzard was a mere 4 weeks ago.  such a different look outside now. the chemlawn guy did the lawn - bring on the green grass.  and golf. There is a band, Rush, that people my age remember.  There was a documentary on VH1 about them.  They started playing in high school - in 1974.  I first heard them when I was in high school.  The program went through their various musical phases, and some personal stories about them.  It is really indicative of our age and station in life when you think back to their first album, and see they are still making music as a band 37 years later.  Kind of the same principle as my fishing buddies.  We have been at it since 1982.  looking at the pictures then and now shows a lot more weight, and a lot less hair.  but we are still at it. but, Rush probably has much better stories to te

Just got back from playing basketball.  Still frustrating - we had 10 guys playing, and I would say (with certainty) that I was the 10th best player on the court.  But to be able to go and run feels good.  I always consider it a good night when I walk off the court uninjured.  At 52 yrs old, I really can't do much or at a speed that I would get injured.  and tomorrow I will be sore - a reminder that I did something the day before.  so, that will be a good thing. The news from Japan goes from bad to worse.  funny how there was no concern about our reactors here, but now that the 4 plants in Japan are melting down, there is much written that our design is the same as those in Japan.....so, there will be some new tax imposed on us now to upgrade, inspect, certify....and nothing will change.  The price of crude oil has gone down again today...but the price of gas has not.  It is considerate that the oil companies do not want to inconvenience us by having us get used to lower prices,

First work day after the time change....I guess you can tell the difference.  I am dragging, but will get up to speed here soon.  A bit darker this morning, but the longer daylight late in the day is nice.  Now all we need is some warm weather.  I heard on the news that demand for oil has gone down due to the disaster in Japan.  Have prices gone down?  No.  Because they now say that because the nuclear reactors in Japan are damaged, they will use more oil, so we should expect the prices to rise.  Have we ever been told to expect the prices to fall?  No.  It's as if we are responsible for those events that cause prices to rise, and should expect to be punished through higher prices whene these events occur.  In about a month, you will see a story that the refineries are switching over to the spring season formula, so prices will rise because of that.  and when the oil companies post record profits for the quarter, we should expect prices to rise.  Probably because the record profi

Day 1 of the time change.  It will be nice to have it lighter later in the day.  Yesterday, I rode my bike.  Seemed like a good idea, but I was about 5 miles from home when I realized that not wearing gloves was not a good idea.  My hands were really painful when I got home.  Felt good to ride for the first time in months though. Watching the Blackhawks game on tv.  A team that started in October, played through the winter, and is now in the home strech of their season in March.  Then the playoffs start in late March (early April?) and go until late June.  I guess a sport that charges what they do for tickets has to play that many games.  But every professional sport is like that.  Even if someone gives you tickets, it is still a $200 outing to go to any game these days.  But nothing is this life is free, I guess.  Nothing.  and everything costs more every day. I have mixed feelings about the Japan situation.  On one hand, no country should have to endure that disaster and subsequent

Last month, the day of the blizzard, there was a pile of snow in front of the house that was too big for the snowblower to move.  So, I left it, since it did not obstruct anything....that pile, which was once over 4 feet tall, is now a patch of ice about 1/2" thick.  Seasons change....I won't miss winter at all, but the change of seasons happens so fast, it underscores the speed that the years are flying by.  The video from the quake and tsunami in Japan are horrifying.  One can only imagine how bad the situation is.  It is great that Obama pledges aid for Japan...where was Japan during Katrina, or during the gulf war, or during any of the numerous crises we face...nowhere to be found, of course.  While we have hundreds, if not thousands of areas right here in the USA needing aid, we trip all over ourselves to aid other countries in their time of need.  and when the shoe is on the other foot, not so much.  just my opinion.  but then again, that is what a blog is for.

Finally Friday.  The days are getting longer now, and with the time change on Saturday, it will be light until 7 pm or so.  A long way from those desolate, dark days of mid-winter.  Hopefully the warm weather will get here soon. I noticed that gas prices haven't changed, or haven't gone up any more, although they are still very high.  Which is curious since the price of oil has gone down 4 straight days.  The oil companies waste no time jacking up the price of gas the second the price of a barrel of oil goes up, but let it drop 4 days in a row, and the price at the pump remains at the high point. and oil companies continue to report record earnings each quarter.  The union issues in Wisconsin stay in the media.  From a non-union member standpoint, it seems that unions are demanding the same unrealistic, unaffordable benefits that has led states to the point of bankruptcy.  Not a matter of union busting - a matter of unsustainable costs that unions have agreed to with the gove

Cold, dark, very rainy.  This weather, though not as bad as winter, is still worthless.  Can't do anything outside, and we will have weeks of it until the nice spring weather gets here.  At least we are on the right track.  Luckily, Gov. Quinn signed a bill ending the death penalty in Illinois....what's that you say??? no one really cares???  well, while the idiot was wasting time on this trivial issue, he didn't have to deal with the budget issue that really should be front and center.  Very reminicent of Gov. Ryan - while the sharks were circling him on the pay for licences issue, he sends all the death row inmates home.  As if such a gesture would erase what a scumbag he is.  Quinn is no different, although he really looks like a deer in the headlights.  He is not quailfied to run a Dairy Queen, let alone an entire state. and this is the executive officer of Illinois...the most poorly run state in the country. and we elected these morons.  nice job.

Monday got away from me and I did not post.  I have been writing to this blog most days - I guess I was busy, or I had no original ideas to rant about.  But I am back...so, to my 2 or 3 readers, fear not.... There was a story in today's papers that the state is considering taxing pensions....not social security, or smaller persions...but those over $100 grand per year...and that tax may raise $1.6 billion per year..... makes perfect sense...let's look at the detail... The amount of unfunded state penions = $78 billion The amount this tax will raise = $1.6 billion I guess in our politicians minds, when faced with a $78 billion shortfall, the first $1.6 billion is the toughest ground to gain back.  and as taxpayers, we should demand to see a list of those state pensions at this taxable level.  The bottom line is that  Seniors, who are going to be paying this tax, have already had cuts to medicare, housing assistance (while their property taxes have skyrocketed), free transi

I think as you get older, you don't sleep much - as evidenced by my 5:20 am posting today.  It was actually 6:20, but it was too early for the Daily Herald online edition to have been updated.  I found this article which is about how politicians serve on multiple boards for transit and other public agencies, and how they use that to become fatter hogs then they already are by way of being vastly overpaid for the service they provide, and getting a pension on top of that.  there are 2 types of people these days - bloated hogs like our politicians, and those of us who pay for fattening them up.  oh, and btw - see if you can tell which comment posted was mine.  Read and enjoy. http://dailyherald.com/article/20110306/news/703069927/

Spring is still nowhere to be seen.  Yesterday was a complete washout - cold, rainy, snow.  Couldn't do anything outside.  Maybe today is the day I will get to the health club to sign up...or maybe not. I saw an interview with an oil market analyst yesterday, and when questioned about rising gas prices said the market had plenty of supply, but it was fear that was driving up the price....huh?   so much for supply and demand.  the speculators and big companies can find new ways to justify the unexplainable ripoff of the consumer.  we're all supposed to accept the stories that gas will get to 4 bucks or 8 bucks a gallon, or whatever propaganda we are being fed.  Our tax dollars go toward keeping the gas supply moving from the middle east, but we get no consideration on that.  American dollars, Amercan lives being spent to keep the oil companies and oil producing nations awash in money.  so when I read a story that gas is 9 bucks a gallon in Londan, I ask "why is it not 90 b

The press jumped all over Mayor Daley's speech yesterday where he said America had become a bunch of whiners, and had to learn how to deal with foreign influence on our economy.  I guess we have become whiners, but of course, we didn't have a skyway to sell to foreign investors that would quadruple the price to those using that road.  and we didn't have parking meters to sell to foreign investors, and sell at a price about a fifth of what it should have been, and to agree to a schedule of price escalations that would make parking unaffordable.  and we didn't have the money from those sales that was supposed to last decades, but to spend it in just a few years.  and we are not retiring on a $300k pension, and getting $50k per speech.  but if we had all of those things that the buffoon Daley had, we would not have to whine.  he is such a wise idiot.  History will show that Daley led the city into a death spiral.  Chicago will be the next Detroit. Daley has left a mess th

Had the health screening at work today.  much more work to do. and that is an understatement.  but I have tigers blood and Adonis genes, so I will be ok.  there was a school distirict discrimination case in Elgin that is covered by the Daily Herald.  Today, the former superintendant testified, and the story mentioned that the superintendant had negotiated her contract to stay into a new year, and thereby be eligible for a million dollar payout.  You have to wonder how many hogs like this are out there.  how many slobs that will collect many times the amount they paid into these funds...and all of it our money.  this bunch of slobs has to be delusional to think that their efforts somehow justify a payout like this.  and the only correction proposed by the politicians is to let those now collecting keep collecting, and only change the plan for new hires.  of course, that still leave us about $78 million short of the current shortfall.  so, why not let all the hogs take a cut in benefits

I get a kick out of the public's fascination with Charlie Sheen and his mental state.  Somebody so obviously delusional seems to capture everyone's attention.  Once we are tired of his act, who is the next insane moron we will obsess upon?  We seem to have tired of Lindsay Lohan - Charlie set the bar pretty high, so God only knows what her next act will be.  And you can pretty much count on some staged antic that gets a lot of press. I firmly believe all of this nonsense is orchestrated so we don't focus on just how bad things are in the economy, in the world, etc.  If we are eagerly awaiting the next really outrageous quote from Charlie Sheen, we might forget that gas prices are rising way beyond what they should be based on the limited conflict, or that the US dollar is next to worthless, or that the Illinois (the most poorly run state in the county) has solved none of our budget problems.  But, lets all turn on the tv and laugh when Charlie Sheen says he has tigers blo

Two news stories caught my eye today.  the first one said some financial terrorism was suspected in the 2008 market crash...gee, that's funny.  the New York bankers seemed to be out in front of that, and knew how to profit from the crash.  In the process, they got all their losses covered, and got billions in bailout cash to pass around as bonuses...if the govt thinks it was terrorism, they have no farther to look than Wall Street - where there is no shortage of financial terrorists.  It is laughable that such a story would hit the media when any degree of investigation would show the players responsible. the second story was that the state of Illinois (the most poorly run state in the country) was forbidding tanning salons from letting people younger than 17 get tans.  Have they solved the $78 billion pension problem??  well, no...but they are truly dealing with the most important issues first.  what a bunch of clowns. Maybe they are just worried that young people tanning too ear