DISPATCHES FROM THE GHOST MOOSE

Where did April go?  Still really wet outside, but it is offset by being 37 degrees.....when will spring get here??? I was watching Letterman last night.  He goes off on a tear about Trump being racist because he is asking for Obamas records that are now sealed to be released.  He is catagorizing the criticism of Obama by Trump as racist....now, this from a guy that had a nighly segment making fun of George Bush and the foibles of Bush that were all caught on video.  But Trump's question about the records is legit...  If there is nothing to hide, why seal the records?  If his dealings with convicted felon, Tony Rezko, were innocent, then release the records.  If his relationship with terrorist William Ayers was nothing of note, release the records.  The last bastion of a real loser is to stand behind the "racist" term when confronted with real questions.  If there was any question the liberal media is protecting this failure, look no farther...

Hey, guess what - it is raining again.  How much rain can be left anywhere???  of course, look at the horrible situation in Alabama, and the southeast in general.  Over 100 killed in one town.  God bless those folks.... and our president is engaged in such worthwhile activities as appearing on Oprah, and jetting off to New York for a fundraiser.  this buffoon just doens't get it.  While Trump talks a good game and says the things the average joe (or blogger) is thinking of, the rest of the potential presidential candidates are wisely staying quiet and letting this clown go off on a rant.....but exposing some of obama's flaws in the process.  I would imagine that the release of info will cease with the birth certificate, but it is fun to watch Trump hammer away at some basic elements of America - the economy, gas prices, international policy.  and even funnier that Obama feels the need to respond to Trump. As I have written before, I firmly belie...

Still raining today.  will it ever end?  I had started a bunch of dixie cups with various seeds in hopes of getting some plants started, and for the second time a squirrel came and ruined them all.  I suppose I am dumber than the squirrel since I wasted too much time planting and replanting knowing full well the inevitable would happen.  oh well....I will try it a third time, and will write of it when the squirrel ruins the next batch. I saw an article in Saturday's Trib (link below) about the millions the execs of United and Continental will reap once the merger of the two airlines is finalized.  What could they have done to justify such a payout....is it: 1. flying a fleet of aged, dirty, cramped planes? 2. treating its customers with contempt that borders on abuse? 3. charging outrageous airfares, baggage fees and prices for in flight food, etc? I just paid $450 to fly to Phoenix.  That same ticket was $250 two years ago.  Again I ask, what cou...

Will the rain never cease???  I mean, it is April, but enough is enough.  there was an interesting link on Drudge yesterday about Obama.  Despite issuing an official recognition of the last 5 muslim holidays, and an 8 paragraph recognition of Earth Day last week (where he burned 53,000 gallons of jet fuel to go to various cities to participate in Earth Day celebrations) there was no official mention of Easter by our muslim in chief.  How can the Christians in America not be offended by this omission?  I remember shortly after taking office, Obama gave a speach at a Catholic institution.  He had all religious signs covered up.....curious.  and you have Bill Maher on Letterman last night aggressively taking issue with those who dare to criticize this guy.  oh, and gasoline has gone up in price for 34 straight days. the emperor is wearing no clothes, folks.

Read the attached 2 articles about oil prices....one article says that more drilling for oil won't lower the prices because...well, I will let you wade through the bs in the article, as none of it makes sense to me.  The second article asks the question about why gase is so high when the barrel price is far from the record.  again, taken into context, is is so much bs.  but remember, our community organizer is setting up a commission to talk about high oil prices...not to DO anything, but to talk about them.  so, read and enjoy the 3rd article.  indulge me, and read them, and see if they are as much hot air as I think they are.  we are being controlled by the media.  anyway, Happy Monday.  and if you are bored (and you must be to read this blog) take a minute (well, 3 minutes) and read these stories. http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/25/news/economy/oil_drilling_gas_prices/index.htm?source=cnn_bin&hpt=Sbin http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/21/...

Easter Sunday.  Happy Easter. Played golf for the first time of the year yesterday.  it was cold and very wet, but we played.  and I played very poorly.  the old muscles just don't remember what they need to do in order to swing a golf club.  but, that will come back.  the main thing is that it is finally golf season. on the way back from golf, I stopped for gas.  and paid $4.19 per gallon.  On Friday, Obama acknowledged that the price of gas was a hardship to the working class (duh) and guess which actions he took to deal with the high gas prices...did he: 1. release gas from the strategic reserve to increase supply, and thereby reduce price (NO) 2. announce that the US would begin drilling on federal land to increase supply and thereby reduce price (NO) 3. form a panel to determine why gas prices are high (YES) brilliant move, huh?  that should really help.  about as much as the senate hearings about the financial meltdown that l...

Good Friday.  Almost the end of Lent.  I remember going to Catholic school from grades 1 through 4 and remember all the rituals of Lent....Stations of the Cross on Friday, giving up candy, the buildup to Easter.  I saw on the news this morning that county services are closed today due to budget cuts.  Why do we even need a county governing body?  Would anyone notice if we didn't?  besides not getting the huge tax bill twice a year.  more worthless layers of layabouts who are bleeding the middle class taxpayer dry with their benefits and pensions. It is amusing to see all the hoopla about the royal wedding about to take place.  another antiquated form of government.  the royals are another bunch of self-important pigs who, for some reason, are entitled to the riches provided by the commoner.  makes no sense in this day and age.  but what do I know - I am just a middle class slob responsible for funding the cushy lives of the anoint...

April is really flying by.  Maybe it will warm up by May. the gas prices are at an all time high.  Over 4 bucks everywhere, and 5 bucks per gallon in some cities.  But, back in 2008, when gas was over 4 bucks, the price per barrel of oil was $140.  the price per barrel is now $107, so how does that make gas as high as it is now?  the math does not compute, but of course, it doesn't have to when the oil companies own the government. I saw obama on the news at a fundraiser (between vacations and fundraising, when does he work?).  Speaking in front of a room of donors, speaking about nothing, as usual.  and the story is that he is amassing a huge war chest of funding for his reelection run.  What exactly about his term to date would casue anyone to want him in office one more day than absolutely necessary?  While, as I have written many times previously, we, as a country, are so far down the tubes there ain't no commin back.  But, I have ...

Cold, gray, rainy.  This is more like November than April.  I got an email from United about changes to the frequent flyer program.  Basically, they are charging service fees for any flight booked with frequent flyer miles.  Add that to the ridiculous baggage fees and outrageous prices for refreshments on the plane, and you have the airlines looking for every chance to exploit travelers who have no other option than to get ripped off.  Just like the banks who are now talking about raising the ATM fee to 5 bucks per transaction.  And for this, the heads of banks make tens of millions of dollars?  for creatively figuring out how to foreclose on more homes while having the taxpayers give the banks the difference between market and sell price, and for taking money from the govt (we taxpayers) at zero interest and loaning it to us at high rates, and for accepting our deposits, paying little interest and again, loaning it at high rates.  The market tan...

It is April 18, right?  because with all the snow on the ground this morning, it was hard to tell.  Supposed to be cold for another week.  Maybe spring will be here by July.  Tax day.  but from the sound of things I heard on the radio today, something like 45% of filers will pay no federal income tax at all.  now how can that be?  one would think that the opportunity to reduce our debt would start with making sure everyone pays taxes.   not just the middle class.  don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen.  Monday - and back to work.  I never really got the unemployment thought out of my head.  as someone once told me, unemployment is the scar that never heals.  it sure is true.  I have been at this job over 2 years, and consider myself lucky to have found this job.  I know some folks in the job market and it doesn't seem to bother them like it bothered me.  but maybe they are just good at hid...

As lousy weather goes, today is really bad.  Cold, rainy, and some snow flurries.  So much for the first day of golf season.  We'll give it a go next Saturday, hopefully.  The Bulls game was good - that was about all I did today, if you can call watching tv doing something.  I did go shopping this morning.  Made 2 stops, and have to hit Wal Mart tomorrow as well as spending 30 bucks on less than a half tank of gas.  Now I ask you - in a crowded grocery store, how dumb is it to have these shopping carts that look like cars for the kids to sit in?  These things are about as big as a compact car, and make it impossible to get around.  I'm all for making it possible for a parent to take their kids to the store, but is it necessary to have a cart the size of a VW Bug to push them around it? there I go - sounding like the old man I am becomming. 

Tax day...what a crock...we pay a big share of our earnings to various governing bodies (city, state, county, federal) and look at the ineptitude that it buys.  benefits for everyone but the tax payer.  Obama is in Chicago to raise money for his re-election campaign...which begs the question - what exactly has he done tha would justify his being president for 4 more years?  As I have written numerous times in the past, I don't believe things have ever been worse than they are now, and our prospects have never been bleaker.  I suppose I need to be more introspect, and write more posts like the one yesterday.....focus on the good, on the elements of the daily life that should be cherished....but when I do that, a reminder of the real world is never far behind. plus, we cancelled our golf for tomorrow since it is supposed to be cold and rainy... see - I can find the negative in everything.  I suppose I should quit looking for it.

Many years, and many pounds ago, I used consider myself somewhat of an athlete.  Pretty good at a few sports, and overall a pretty active person.  I became a jogger in my 20s and got to the point where I could run 20 miles - and enjoy it.  When my fishing buddies and I started our canoe trips to the Boundary Waters and Quetico National Park in 1982, we would canoe and portage to lakes that most people could not get to - really rough portages, long hours of paddling, etc.  You would be carrying an 80 lb canoe over a long, rocky, buggy, slippery portage, and had no choice about continuing.  You just had to do it.  you had to make it to the end so you could continue your adventure.  And there were times you just didn't think you could do it, and really felt a sense of accomplishment when you did. so, fast forward 30 years (and about 50 lbs). A good life makes us soft. A few weeks back, I bought a new vacuum cleaner and 2 frying pa...

I'm confused....the price of crude oil is down over 6 dollars from a week ago...but the price at the pump has gone up...gee, why is that?  What a rigged, monopolistic industry.  one that owns it's little share of the government.  the oil companies do what they want, and get away with it.  Pretty much the same as every special interest lobby now...insurance, utilities, you name it.  all of those groups look to the middle class as a source of the dough they need to live like the hogs they are.  and we continue to pay.  pay for everything.  I see Gov. Elmer Fudd  Quinn is talking about limiting the payouts for workmans comp and other workplace expenses...how you doing on cutting that $78 million pension deficit?  oh - nothing done, discussed, or planned..  fantastic job by our state elected leaders, huh?

Busy day.  what happened to spring, by the way???  one day of 80 degree weather, then back in the 40s.  Funny how the price of gas is now the lead story on the news...as if we didn't notice.  I am fortunate to work close to home, so I don't spend too much of my budget on gas, but it still hurts to spend 30 bucks for a half tank.  I have no idea what it would cost to fill the tank.  I do my shopping the weekend, and go to a few stores to buy what is on sale.  (I know - I am really cheap).  the prices are really getting ridiculous - even at WalMart.  A can of coffee that used to be 6 bucks is now 10 bucks.  Chocolate is really expensive.  Orange juice the same.  and the government has the nerve to tell those folks on social security that there is no COLA due to there being no inflation...but if they had a pension, they would be getting a 3% increase each year.  well, at least we are letting our retired folks on fixed incom...

Nice day yesterday.  83 degrees.  Days like that are what make winter almost tolerable...knowing that weather like yesterday is on the other side of the cold, blizzards, all that mess.  Of course, construction season has begun, so that is a real pain.  the main street that runs by the high school will be ripped up from now until November.  and the tollway heading to Wisconsin is going to be ripped up again.  I saw an article in todays Trib that said the stretch northwest of Chicago, heading to Rockford is due for a major rebuild.  Seems like it is rebuilt ever couple years.  Gotta spend that money taken in from suckers who pay tolls.  http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-tollway-addams-20110410,0,3601107.story there was an article in yesterdays Trib about the pensions that are collected by a group in Dupage county.  These hogs paid in a relatively small amount, and are getting 6 figure pensions.  http://www.chicagotrib...

April 10 already.  Why do the months in the winter seem to creep by, but spring through fall passes in a flash.  Supposed to be warm tomorrow - at long last. On Thursday, the press was all over Mayor Daley making stops in each of the 50 wards in Chicago, presumably to crow about his achievements as mayor.  Of course, the press gives him a free pass on the facts of his term - selling public assets, then spending that money in just a few years, the federal corruption probes, the fall-taking by everyone in his cabinet but him, the questionable situation involving his son and nephew in the death of a young man....no - he will get a free pass, and will move right into a lucrative public speaking career, bolstered by a $300 grand pension....speaking of which, what has Gov. Elmer Fudd Quinn done about his pension problem...nothing.  kind of like how Obama is trumpeting the compromise about the federal budget.  We are trillions in debt, and the budget cuts account for...

starting to feel like spring....the rains are coming, and will be here for awhile.  I get a kick out of our out of touch president.  when faced with questions about the high price of a gallon of gas, he laughingly says "if your car is getting 8 miles per gallon, you might want to consider a trade in".  what a genius.  we, as a country, better be considering impeaching this idiot.  how out of touch can  a person be?  just having a job is an accomplishment.  considering a new car is out of the question for most of us.  but then again, this from a dolt who thinks nothing of having his wife go off on a multi-million dollar vacation to Spain, then to Hawaii a month later, then to Martha's vineyard.  He had a meeting yesterday with Al Sharpton to discuss his re-election plans.  not too divisive, is he?  we were all fooled.....or at least the people that voted for this community organizer were fooled.  he will go down in histor...

The plants I ordered were delivered yesterday.  so, another sign of spring emerges.  I now have to wait for the spring cleanup so I can plant them.  I usually plant my tomoatoes too early and generally the first planting dies due to frost. I got a charge out of the comments by Bernie Stone, a Chicago alderman that was voted out yesterday.  His sour grapes comments that Emanual, and also the person who defeated him, were laughable.  He criticized them for not knowing how things are done; apparently that includes costly, non-productive contracts with unions, allowing the mayor's nephew to get away with murder, and authorizing the sale of City assets such as the skyway and parking meters.  Assets owned by the taxpayers....so, good riddance.  only when all sitting aldermen are replaced will the reform start, and even then, change is unlikely, given how firmly entrenched the corruption is.  at all levels.  Similarly, Obama has announced his re-e...

Monday already.  Weekends always go by way too fast.  but, always good to have a job to go back to - read the first posts from 2008 if you need a reminder of that.  I sure don't. I see that our president is going to announce his bid for reelection.  what has he done to warrant another 4 years of leading the country?  could it be: - his undisciplined spending and borrowing from China? - his propensity for speaking from an uneducated standpoint? - his approach to reducing unemployment by greatly expanding the number of govt workers? - his bowing to the leaders of other coutries? - the fact that gas has never been higher in March - ever? - although he won the Nobel Peace prize for ???, he dragged his feet, then ultimately bombed Libya. is this the hope and change we were promised?  funny thing - Letterman made the screwups by Bush into a nightly bit on his show...so when Obama gets home from his 25th vacation this year, and can't figure out what door ...

Spring is still not here - one of these days, I suppose.  Looking forward to golfing and soon, but it will be a few weeks before the courses are up to playing shape - once the grass has been cut a few times, it will be ready.  I'm going to start some seeds in paper cups, and will see what grows.  I usually end up buying plants anyway, but watching a cup of dirt and looking for a sprout is a nice diversion.  There was a story in the news Friday about the Fed and the lending that went on during the financial meltdown in 2008.  The details were kept secret until recently, but the bottom line is that once the meltdown started, foreign banks lined up to get interest free money from the Fed (our tax dollars) that presumably would be lent to those building houses, running companies, building inventories, etc....BUT AT A PROFIT.  so, the way that many banks survived was to be given free money that they then turned around and either lent at a profit, or bought t-bi...

What happened to March?  In like a lamb, out like a lamb.  I don't even remember much of March. The stories of waste and corruption on the city and state level just keep pouring in.  Since yesterday, there was a story about the City of Chicago drivers who make 90 grand, and whose job consists of driving workers to the job sites, and sleeping in their truck until it is time to drive the workers back to the yard.  Another story about the high number of prison guards claiming disabilty due to repetitive stress injuries - LOCKING AND UNLOCKING CELLS.   and a third story about the thievery by tollway employees.  Again, these were stories in the last 2 days.  Our tax dollars being stolen, misappropriated.  and our governour, elmer fudd Quinn wants to spend more.  What a cesspool this state is.  and we, the taxpaying middle class, is told that we have elected the wrong people.  What a crock - no matter who is elected, this is the mos...