By Jonathan Bert
The Extreme Moderate
December 23, 2008
Winter is rarely a pleasant experience here in Wisconsin. This one is starting out terribly. It’s bad through the whole country, so it’s extra ugly here. The North Pole is getting warmer because it is sending it’s cold to Cheddarland.
The good news is that the Sun is coming back north! Last Sunday, December 21st, was the solstice, the Earth angled away from the Sun as far as it goes, and is now angling back. It will be a while before we see or feel a difference, but it is a reason for celebration. Historians contend that this event has been celebrated ever since the cave people first figured it out.
Some early societies considered the Sun a deity. You wouldn’t dare mention to them that it is just one of a zillion stars, and a rather puny one at that. It wasn’t that long ago, relatively speaking, that people were imprisoned or even executed for uttering such blasphemy. But it is my Sun, puny as it is, and I love it, and I am delighted that it is now headed home to me.
Apparently many of the holidays and holy days this time of year are linked to the solstice, whether anybody wants to admit it or not. These holidays are beautiful, and give cheer at a time when cheer is hard to find. I not only enjoy nativity scenes, Christmas lights, and New Years parties, but also Menorahs and other “decorations” of all the cultures and religions in this country. Atheists, instead of trying to ban all of these good times, should just figure out how to join the party! People that belong to religions that don’t allow a good party still have to be somewhat happy that light and warmth are returning; and if they don’t want anybody to whoop and holler about it, well maybe these folks should get a life.
A nasty winter is the last thing our struggling economy needs. Snow and ice are literally paralyzing. Heat sucks up a lot of consumer and business dollars, with a big portion of the money going overseas. Construction slows through most of the country, as does home sales, car sales, etc. It does help industries that provide goods and services that help us survive, and even attempt to enjoy, this mess, but not enough to offset the disaster it inflicts on everybody else. Overall, winter sucks!
Patience. In just a few months our toes will defrost. The butter on the counter will be softer than the butter in the ‘fridge. Skating will move indoors, and fishermen will no longer be able to walk on the water, and will start using boats. Spring and summer will return, bringing long days and warm nights. With a little luck they might bring some prosperity.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Put America Back to Work!
By Jonathan Bert
The Extreme Moderate
December 15, 2008
I am sick of bailouts and loans for big businesses. This is still following the “Trickle Down” ideas from the Reagan years, and the middle class has suffered for decades because of this backward economic principle. We have got to reverse gears, get the money to flow up!
America needs jobs! While the little guys would love have money handed to them, like it is being handed to big financial firms, and soon to big car companies, most are very willing to work for it. Give Americans a regular paycheck and they will pay their bills, and buy new stuff. In a consumer driven economy, keep the consumer behind the wheel. Giving big business free money will just give them a license to keep their foot on the middle class’ throat.
Not that a lot of the middle class didn’t bring this treatment upon themselves. Reagan was the guy that figured out that if you get the ignorant among us frothing at the mouth over issues like gay marriage and abortion you could shove the screws up our butts and still get praised as great leaders.
Hey, the Democrats can fix this, they’ve always fought for the little guy! Say what? They want to shove billions to the big screw-ups instead of using the money for job creation? Do we have any friends? Don’t answer, I don’t want to hear it. We might also remember how much responsibility Democrats have for some of the trade agreements that shipped millions of jobs out of the country, with the crazy idea that we could compete with countries that don’t have OSHA and where trade unionists are shot. What would these guys do with a brain if they had one?
Franklin Roosevelt pulled us out of the Great Depression by putting America to work. Now, with all of our money going to bail out the big screws, can a job program be funded? Can we create a job program without big corporate interests demanding their cut?
Our new President will have to be strong, real strong, to do what’s needed to put America back to work, while making the bigwigs realize it will be good for them, too. Otherwise, we will witness the fall of the Great American Empire.
The Extreme Moderate
December 15, 2008
I am sick of bailouts and loans for big businesses. This is still following the “Trickle Down” ideas from the Reagan years, and the middle class has suffered for decades because of this backward economic principle. We have got to reverse gears, get the money to flow up!
America needs jobs! While the little guys would love have money handed to them, like it is being handed to big financial firms, and soon to big car companies, most are very willing to work for it. Give Americans a regular paycheck and they will pay their bills, and buy new stuff. In a consumer driven economy, keep the consumer behind the wheel. Giving big business free money will just give them a license to keep their foot on the middle class’ throat.
Not that a lot of the middle class didn’t bring this treatment upon themselves. Reagan was the guy that figured out that if you get the ignorant among us frothing at the mouth over issues like gay marriage and abortion you could shove the screws up our butts and still get praised as great leaders.
Hey, the Democrats can fix this, they’ve always fought for the little guy! Say what? They want to shove billions to the big screw-ups instead of using the money for job creation? Do we have any friends? Don’t answer, I don’t want to hear it. We might also remember how much responsibility Democrats have for some of the trade agreements that shipped millions of jobs out of the country, with the crazy idea that we could compete with countries that don’t have OSHA and where trade unionists are shot. What would these guys do with a brain if they had one?
Franklin Roosevelt pulled us out of the Great Depression by putting America to work. Now, with all of our money going to bail out the big screws, can a job program be funded? Can we create a job program without big corporate interests demanding their cut?
Our new President will have to be strong, real strong, to do what’s needed to put America back to work, while making the bigwigs realize it will be good for them, too. Otherwise, we will witness the fall of the Great American Empire.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Barking at the Moon
By Jonathan Bert
The Extreme Moderate
December 12, 2008
The Moon is getting full again and I’m in the mood to bark.
I just moved, only seven miles, but it was still a pain in the ass. After living in the same place for 10 years, I’ve moved 3 times in the past year and a half. The way the job market is going my next move might be to a cardboard box.
America needs jobs. The Democrats are thinking like Republicans, bailing out the bigwigs instead of helping the little guys find jobs. People with jobs will pay their mortgages, pay their credit card bills, and buy new cars. These multi-billion dollar bailouts won’t do a damn thing. They want to give the car companies big loans, but they will still lay off thousands! That’s going backwards! Now the Republicans are looking good because they know a bad idea when they see one.
The Dems have a majority in the Senate, but it’s not filibuster proof. Hopefully everyone realizes what a blessing that is.
Illinois’ Governor just got busted for trying to auction off a Senate appointment! And there are other high power Democrats getting indicted. I might have to change my motto to Democrats are Crooks and Republicans are Clowns, or, let’s face it, they are all crooked clowns!
I’m trying to meet women that don’t drink, in Wisconsin. Do you know what that’s called? Lonely.
People in Wisconsin drink a lot so they can put up with the Packers.
NBC is going to move Jay Leno to 9 PM (Central Time). I need to be humored after the evening news.
Remember when people used to like Ladybugs?
A military jet crashed into a house killing two women and two children. F-18’s are fine machines, but they have no business flying over residential neighborhoods. Not in this country, anyway.
Gas prices are going down so now the SUV’s and overpowered pick-up trucks are coming out of the woodwork. I’m getting the impression Americans are slooow learners.
Winter is here in Wisconsin. Hell must be a cold place, nothing makes me feel more God-forsaken than a forty below wind chill.
New Mexico is losing a great Governor. Obama better put him to good use and not do what Bush did, ripping off Tommy Thompson then telling him to keep quiet.
I’m tired of barking. I’m gonna go out and bite somebody. Don’t worry, I’ve had my shots.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Howling at the Moon
by Jonathan Bert
November 14. 2008
This month we can howl at the Moon with joy! It's over! No more negative political ads! At least for now.
America chose "Not Ready to Lead" over "Erratic." Let us hope Mr. Obama is ready to lead, he has heck of a mess to fix. The good news: he is gonna be better than W., just for the simple fact that nobody can be worse.
Obama is going to throw money at our problems, just like a typical Democrat. Wait, Republicans are doing that now, too. How much of the $700 billion bailout money did you get?
Obama jokes are coming out in force; some are funny, all are tasteless.
Some people want Sarah Palin to run, and win, the Presidency in 2012. Some people wanted a ticket on the Titanic in 1912.
Democrats have a lot of control now, with majorities in the House and Senate, plus the White House. Let us hope they use this power responsibly and not pass a bunch of crazy nonsense.
Republicans still have the ability to filibuster. Let us hope they use this power responsibly and be more than just a pain in the ass.
California outlawed Gay Marriage with a referendum. Gays are furious! I am actually concerned that they may tell their mothers!
Mormons were heavy movers in the anti-gay movement. Hah! They can only marry one person, gays can't marry nobody! Pricks.
Gays don't know what they're being saved from. Half of all marriages end in divorce, and most of the other half is miserable. Really f**king sacred.
Hillary for Secretary of State! She'd make a great secretary, she's already got the ass for it.
Oh, I forgot, her ass is named Bill.
Man, I am ornery rather than being filled with joy. Must be thinking ahead to the mid-term elections. Yuck. I'm outta here.
November 14. 2008
This month we can howl at the Moon with joy! It's over! No more negative political ads! At least for now.
America chose "Not Ready to Lead" over "Erratic." Let us hope Mr. Obama is ready to lead, he has heck of a mess to fix. The good news: he is gonna be better than W., just for the simple fact that nobody can be worse.
Obama is going to throw money at our problems, just like a typical Democrat. Wait, Republicans are doing that now, too. How much of the $700 billion bailout money did you get?
Obama jokes are coming out in force; some are funny, all are tasteless.
Some people want Sarah Palin to run, and win, the Presidency in 2012. Some people wanted a ticket on the Titanic in 1912.
Democrats have a lot of control now, with majorities in the House and Senate, plus the White House. Let us hope they use this power responsibly and not pass a bunch of crazy nonsense.
Republicans still have the ability to filibuster. Let us hope they use this power responsibly and be more than just a pain in the ass.
California outlawed Gay Marriage with a referendum. Gays are furious! I am actually concerned that they may tell their mothers!
Mormons were heavy movers in the anti-gay movement. Hah! They can only marry one person, gays can't marry nobody! Pricks.
Gays don't know what they're being saved from. Half of all marriages end in divorce, and most of the other half is miserable. Really f**king sacred.
Hillary for Secretary of State! She'd make a great secretary, she's already got the ass for it.
Oh, I forgot, her ass is named Bill.
Man, I am ornery rather than being filled with joy. Must be thinking ahead to the mid-term elections. Yuck. I'm outta here.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
The Minnesota Senate Race
By Jonathan Bert
The Extreme Moderate
October 29, 2008
The Minnesota Senate race is one of the most watched electoral contests in the country, and sittin’ here in Northwest Wisconsin, I got a front row seat!
This three ring circus is a prime example of one of the biggest problems confronting our Democracy; the major parties are offering sub-par candidates, and the independent and third party folks are totally outspent, making their chances of victory very slim. Poor Minnesota is gonna get a shit sandwich without bread. The candidates cranking out negative ads one after the other is mind boggling and getting totally out of hand.
Incumbent Norm Coleman drifts with the wind. He started out as a Democratic mayor, became a Republican mayor, lost a gubernatorial race to a professional wrestler, then beat a last minute replacement offered by the Democrats for a Senate seat. When Coleman first entered the senate, he was one of W’s favorite lap dogs, but as Bush’s popularity waned, he’s taken a much more moderate path, and has actually been doing a decent job. He still supports the Iraq War, which has lost moderate support, but he is doing better than most Republicans on such things as the environment and health care. He is reliably anti-abortion. Can he be trusted to stay within striking distance of center? His history says probably not. Plus he loves the hell out of lobbyists. Many questions linger over his relationships with representatives of special interests.
Democrat Al Franken will never act like a moderate. He is left wing at all opportunities; his extremism strongly resembling Ted Kennedy’s. He has questions too. He paid taxes to the wrong states over a period of years. Overall, he was paid up, just had to get the money to the right jurisdictions. Then there is an issue with Franken’s corporation failing to cover it’s employees with workman’s compensation insurance. Is this guy some sort of slick shyster or is he just totally ignorant of financial law? Which is a better quality for a senator? People are crying about Franken’s humor. I’ve told a lot of bad jokes myself, and I’m sure you have, too. Get real.
There is an Independent party candidate. Dean Barkley is fairly moderate, socially progressive with some fiscal responsibility. He is seen favorably by almost everyone that has a clue who he is, and is currently polling a strong 18% with no real advertising budget. He was a senator, briefly, appointed by Jesse Ventura to fill the late Paul Wellstone’s seat until Coleman’s inauguration. Barkley is about as colorful as pavement.
So it is a lose, lose, lose situation. Does Minnesota re-elect the shape-shifting opportunist? Or do they elect the left wing clown? Do we want the Senate to be filibuster proof? Or do we want to let the Republicans continue to grind the Senate to a halt? All the while the independent candidate doesn’t have a prayer because hardly anybody knows he exists. Which eye do you want the sharp stick in?
P.S.: Anybody from Minnesota’s 6th district reading this? Get rid of Michelle Bachmann. She is a bigger embarrassment to the state than the Vikings!
The Extreme Moderate
October 29, 2008
The Minnesota Senate race is one of the most watched electoral contests in the country, and sittin’ here in Northwest Wisconsin, I got a front row seat!
This three ring circus is a prime example of one of the biggest problems confronting our Democracy; the major parties are offering sub-par candidates, and the independent and third party folks are totally outspent, making their chances of victory very slim. Poor Minnesota is gonna get a shit sandwich without bread. The candidates cranking out negative ads one after the other is mind boggling and getting totally out of hand.
Incumbent Norm Coleman drifts with the wind. He started out as a Democratic mayor, became a Republican mayor, lost a gubernatorial race to a professional wrestler, then beat a last minute replacement offered by the Democrats for a Senate seat. When Coleman first entered the senate, he was one of W’s favorite lap dogs, but as Bush’s popularity waned, he’s taken a much more moderate path, and has actually been doing a decent job. He still supports the Iraq War, which has lost moderate support, but he is doing better than most Republicans on such things as the environment and health care. He is reliably anti-abortion. Can he be trusted to stay within striking distance of center? His history says probably not. Plus he loves the hell out of lobbyists. Many questions linger over his relationships with representatives of special interests.
Democrat Al Franken will never act like a moderate. He is left wing at all opportunities; his extremism strongly resembling Ted Kennedy’s. He has questions too. He paid taxes to the wrong states over a period of years. Overall, he was paid up, just had to get the money to the right jurisdictions. Then there is an issue with Franken’s corporation failing to cover it’s employees with workman’s compensation insurance. Is this guy some sort of slick shyster or is he just totally ignorant of financial law? Which is a better quality for a senator? People are crying about Franken’s humor. I’ve told a lot of bad jokes myself, and I’m sure you have, too. Get real.
There is an Independent party candidate. Dean Barkley is fairly moderate, socially progressive with some fiscal responsibility. He is seen favorably by almost everyone that has a clue who he is, and is currently polling a strong 18% with no real advertising budget. He was a senator, briefly, appointed by Jesse Ventura to fill the late Paul Wellstone’s seat until Coleman’s inauguration. Barkley is about as colorful as pavement.
So it is a lose, lose, lose situation. Does Minnesota re-elect the shape-shifting opportunist? Or do they elect the left wing clown? Do we want the Senate to be filibuster proof? Or do we want to let the Republicans continue to grind the Senate to a halt? All the while the independent candidate doesn’t have a prayer because hardly anybody knows he exists. Which eye do you want the sharp stick in?
P.S.: Anybody from Minnesota’s 6th district reading this? Get rid of Michelle Bachmann. She is a bigger embarrassment to the state than the Vikings!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Howling at the Moon
By Jonathan Bert
The Extreme Moderate
October 14, 2008
The Moon is full again, and this month I really gotta howl.
I am supporting Obama for President. This is scary, a Democratic President over what is sure to be a Democratic Congress. A McCain Presidency wouldn’t be bad, we’d just have to hope to high heaven that he lives to fill his term.
Just imagine, if McCain gets elected, and either passes away or decides not to run for a second term, we could see Sarah Palin vs. Hillary Clinton in 2012!
I wonder, would the campaigns get more negative every 4 weeks?
I am normally against capital punishment, but people that pass you on the road and then go slower than you were going in the first place makes me reconsider.
Obama has a better plan for the economy. McCain’s plan is still based on the old, and never worked, trickle down theory. Obama’s plan is more rise up theory.
Bailout! What a dumb idea! Talk about rewarding screw-ups. This will really give bankers a sense of responsibility. Not. We could help retirees and other little people a lot cheaper than giving welfare to unscrupulous lending institutions. McCain and Obama both blew this one.
Anybody remember we are at war? It amazes me, that subject got thrown on the back burner so quickly, like it wasn’t an unnecessary drain on the economy itself. Oh, by the way, people are still dying.
Republicans can’t win. The big news went from their bungling of the war to their bungling of the economy. Where’s Paris Hilton when they need her?
Three states now recognize Gay Marriage. I wonder if it should be left at that for a while just to see what happens. Will it create more, or reduce, domestic abuse? Child custody cases in 47 states aren’t even debatable in gay dissolutions. What will happen in the other 3? Let’s make sure it’s a good thing before we make gay marriage law in all 50.
Even with all this howling, I haven’t vented enough. But I have to leave; Animal Control is coming after me. Good night.
The Extreme Moderate
October 14, 2008
The Moon is full again, and this month I really gotta howl.
I am supporting Obama for President. This is scary, a Democratic President over what is sure to be a Democratic Congress. A McCain Presidency wouldn’t be bad, we’d just have to hope to high heaven that he lives to fill his term.
Just imagine, if McCain gets elected, and either passes away or decides not to run for a second term, we could see Sarah Palin vs. Hillary Clinton in 2012!
I wonder, would the campaigns get more negative every 4 weeks?
I am normally against capital punishment, but people that pass you on the road and then go slower than you were going in the first place makes me reconsider.
Obama has a better plan for the economy. McCain’s plan is still based on the old, and never worked, trickle down theory. Obama’s plan is more rise up theory.
Bailout! What a dumb idea! Talk about rewarding screw-ups. This will really give bankers a sense of responsibility. Not. We could help retirees and other little people a lot cheaper than giving welfare to unscrupulous lending institutions. McCain and Obama both blew this one.
Anybody remember we are at war? It amazes me, that subject got thrown on the back burner so quickly, like it wasn’t an unnecessary drain on the economy itself. Oh, by the way, people are still dying.
Republicans can’t win. The big news went from their bungling of the war to their bungling of the economy. Where’s Paris Hilton when they need her?
Three states now recognize Gay Marriage. I wonder if it should be left at that for a while just to see what happens. Will it create more, or reduce, domestic abuse? Child custody cases in 47 states aren’t even debatable in gay dissolutions. What will happen in the other 3? Let’s make sure it’s a good thing before we make gay marriage law in all 50.
Even with all this howling, I haven’t vented enough. But I have to leave; Animal Control is coming after me. Good night.
Monday, October 6, 2008
What’s Wrong With Moderates?
By Jonathan Bert
The Extreme Moderate
October 6, 2008
I look at polls and try to divine what moderate opinion is. This is not an exact science, and you are all welcome to disagree, but if you chose polls carefully, use polls that display what questions were asked and who was asked, and they appear designed to get an accurate answer, the pulse of moderation can be found.
By looking at polls that get extreme responses, I’ve determined that the extreme right and it’s sympathizers are about 31% of the voting population, and the left wing and their ilk are about 29%. In the middle are people, over a third, that could be described as moderate.
The problem is that there isn’t a moderate platform. Moderate opinion can vary widely. Not all possible positions have a gray area, so we have to chose either black or white, and we don’t always go in the same direction. Some of us lean to the right, and some lean left, without falling into the extremes.
Most, but not all, moderates are against gun control. Most, but not all, are for gay rights. Etc., etc., etc. Capital punishment? Split right down the middle. We don’t like taxes, but don’t like spending money we don’t have like we had a stolen credit card, (the current Republican strategy.) We prefer a right to abortion, but not without limits, (please see my post of July 2, 2008). How can we get exited? How could we possibly form a platform? We just can’t. All we can do is choose between ignorant, frothing at the mouth right wingers or over intellectual, bleeding-heart left wingers. Which is the least evil this week?
I am sorry to say, but we moderates are really, really lame. We don’t have the wherewithal to decide if the glass is half empty or half full. We are the most tormented, the least represented, but the largest group of voters in the country! But we have no hate. If we have any anger, it’s without direction. We have no platform to rally around. We are just a bunch of defeated wimps.
So go ahead and vote for the least evil this November. There may be a good independent candidate out there, try it. He/she may not have a chance, but if you help get him/her over 5%, he/she and his/her party will get some money and recognition.
It just plain appears that until man grows a third testicle the middle won’t have any balls. Let us hang our heads in shame for being lame-ass wimps.
The Extreme Moderate
October 6, 2008
I look at polls and try to divine what moderate opinion is. This is not an exact science, and you are all welcome to disagree, but if you chose polls carefully, use polls that display what questions were asked and who was asked, and they appear designed to get an accurate answer, the pulse of moderation can be found.
By looking at polls that get extreme responses, I’ve determined that the extreme right and it’s sympathizers are about 31% of the voting population, and the left wing and their ilk are about 29%. In the middle are people, over a third, that could be described as moderate.
The problem is that there isn’t a moderate platform. Moderate opinion can vary widely. Not all possible positions have a gray area, so we have to chose either black or white, and we don’t always go in the same direction. Some of us lean to the right, and some lean left, without falling into the extremes.
Most, but not all, moderates are against gun control. Most, but not all, are for gay rights. Etc., etc., etc. Capital punishment? Split right down the middle. We don’t like taxes, but don’t like spending money we don’t have like we had a stolen credit card, (the current Republican strategy.) We prefer a right to abortion, but not without limits, (please see my post of July 2, 2008). How can we get exited? How could we possibly form a platform? We just can’t. All we can do is choose between ignorant, frothing at the mouth right wingers or over intellectual, bleeding-heart left wingers. Which is the least evil this week?
I am sorry to say, but we moderates are really, really lame. We don’t have the wherewithal to decide if the glass is half empty or half full. We are the most tormented, the least represented, but the largest group of voters in the country! But we have no hate. If we have any anger, it’s without direction. We have no platform to rally around. We are just a bunch of defeated wimps.
So go ahead and vote for the least evil this November. There may be a good independent candidate out there, try it. He/she may not have a chance, but if you help get him/her over 5%, he/she and his/her party will get some money and recognition.
It just plain appears that until man grows a third testicle the middle won’t have any balls. Let us hang our heads in shame for being lame-ass wimps.
Monday, September 22, 2008
The World Looks Flat in Alaska
By Jonathan Bert
The Extreme Moderate
September 22, 2008
Assaults on the separation of church and state are continually being made by the extreme right, and has been a cornerstone of Republican support since the Reagan administration. This matter is an important issue now that we have a Vice Presidential candidate that was picked largely for her appeal to the extreme religious right.
Hey, all of you flag raisers out there; separation of church and state created this great country! Ever hear of the Pilgrims? Probably the most famous of the early settlers from Europe. They were Christians! Fleeing other Christians! How about the Spanish Inquisition? Some of the most horrible torture devices of history were created by the Catholic Church. There is a reason that the time religion ruled Europe is known as the Dark Ages. Religion in power has never ever been a good idea. Holy Crusades. Those were a good idea. Not. Christian lunatics attacking Muslim lunatics. There are still some nasty grudges being held. You can’t even say crusade in the wrong company. Now most of the countries that are giving us problems are ruled or influenced by religious lunatics. Holding a holy grudge.
There are six billion people on this planet, with six billion religious philosophies. Christians, Jews, Muslims. They all worship the God of Abraham. Why can’t they get along? Because everybody has a snobbery about their beliefs, and even small differences in opinion is a sign of ignorance. Or evil. Label someone as evil and they are dead meat. Ask any drowned witch. Religion in power has always resulted in bloodshed and sorrow.
Who’s religion do you want to rule the country? Why yours, of course. What if someone with a different philosophy took over? Maybe a little different, maybe a lot different. The country still will not be run the way you want it. What if they want you to think just like them? And you don’t want to think just like them? Bloodshed and sorrow.
Power corrupts. Look at how many TV evangelists turn out to be nothing but con artists. Which one do you trust enough to run the country? Yeah, right. There is a sucker born every minute, and all you have to do is thump on a Bible and utter the name of God, cash just comes rolling in. It’s so easy. A very attractive racket. Attractive to anyone with a silver tongue and a taste for easy money. What kind of people do the gullible suckers that buy this snake oil launch into power? Example #1: George W. Bush. If that isn’t enough to scare you, what will? Sarah Palin, Maybe?
Studying polling, it appears most moderates in this country are Christian, and there are moderate members of other major religions. There are even moderate Muslims. However, few moderates appear to make strict, literal interpretations of their holy writings. Many moderate Christians also believe in evolution. If you have all of time in the Universe, why create the Universe in a week? But to people who aren’t so rational, we had dinosaurs roamin’ around just a few years ago. Sarah Palin is one of them. How would you like somebody that backward to be the next President after the next? John McCain is 72 and has severe health issues. McCain disgraced himself, doing exactly what he has accused others of doing, putting winning the election above what is good for the country. A man who once was a favorite among moderates just made himself Public Enemy #1. Once a believer in the Constitution, he now believes Karl Rove.
Democrats also make their assaults on the Constitution, with attacks on gun rights and free speech, but those aren’t likely to get anybody burned at the stake.
The Extreme Moderate
September 22, 2008
Assaults on the separation of church and state are continually being made by the extreme right, and has been a cornerstone of Republican support since the Reagan administration. This matter is an important issue now that we have a Vice Presidential candidate that was picked largely for her appeal to the extreme religious right.
Hey, all of you flag raisers out there; separation of church and state created this great country! Ever hear of the Pilgrims? Probably the most famous of the early settlers from Europe. They were Christians! Fleeing other Christians! How about the Spanish Inquisition? Some of the most horrible torture devices of history were created by the Catholic Church. There is a reason that the time religion ruled Europe is known as the Dark Ages. Religion in power has never ever been a good idea. Holy Crusades. Those were a good idea. Not. Christian lunatics attacking Muslim lunatics. There are still some nasty grudges being held. You can’t even say crusade in the wrong company. Now most of the countries that are giving us problems are ruled or influenced by religious lunatics. Holding a holy grudge.
There are six billion people on this planet, with six billion religious philosophies. Christians, Jews, Muslims. They all worship the God of Abraham. Why can’t they get along? Because everybody has a snobbery about their beliefs, and even small differences in opinion is a sign of ignorance. Or evil. Label someone as evil and they are dead meat. Ask any drowned witch. Religion in power has always resulted in bloodshed and sorrow.
Who’s religion do you want to rule the country? Why yours, of course. What if someone with a different philosophy took over? Maybe a little different, maybe a lot different. The country still will not be run the way you want it. What if they want you to think just like them? And you don’t want to think just like them? Bloodshed and sorrow.
Power corrupts. Look at how many TV evangelists turn out to be nothing but con artists. Which one do you trust enough to run the country? Yeah, right. There is a sucker born every minute, and all you have to do is thump on a Bible and utter the name of God, cash just comes rolling in. It’s so easy. A very attractive racket. Attractive to anyone with a silver tongue and a taste for easy money. What kind of people do the gullible suckers that buy this snake oil launch into power? Example #1: George W. Bush. If that isn’t enough to scare you, what will? Sarah Palin, Maybe?
Studying polling, it appears most moderates in this country are Christian, and there are moderate members of other major religions. There are even moderate Muslims. However, few moderates appear to make strict, literal interpretations of their holy writings. Many moderate Christians also believe in evolution. If you have all of time in the Universe, why create the Universe in a week? But to people who aren’t so rational, we had dinosaurs roamin’ around just a few years ago. Sarah Palin is one of them. How would you like somebody that backward to be the next President after the next? John McCain is 72 and has severe health issues. McCain disgraced himself, doing exactly what he has accused others of doing, putting winning the election above what is good for the country. A man who once was a favorite among moderates just made himself Public Enemy #1. Once a believer in the Constitution, he now believes Karl Rove.
Democrats also make their assaults on the Constitution, with attacks on gun rights and free speech, but those aren’t likely to get anybody burned at the stake.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Screaming at the Moon
By Jonathan Bert
The Extreme Moderate
September 15, 2008
The Moon beckons me to scream, and there isn’t any shortage of things to scream about. Let’s start with the U. S. Presidential race.
John McCain, a former moderate, is pulling out all stops to get elected. He has abandoned any sign of moderation in an effort to appease the extreme right. Scream.
You could search the Ozarks for a lifetime and not find a hillbilly more backward than his VP pick. The former beauty queen likes to hunt moose, and if she sees a stray dinosaur she’d probably plug that too.
McCain is 72 and has been treated several times for a deadly cancer. Sarah Palin would be the most stupidly extreme President in our history. Do the math.
Barack Obama would be almost as bad, but not quite. He’s extreme but not as stupid. I have to endorse him as the lesser of two evils.
Why, John, why have you forsaken us? There is no way you could seriously consider that pit bull in lipstick good for the country.
I’ve never been an alcoholic, but that may change.
Third party and independent candidates don’t have a chance, and even they aren’t all that pretty. There is no denying that Ralph Nader is insane.
Gotta face it, the cars in this race are a bunch of smoke blowing Edsels.
Another subject, please.
The deadly train crash in California appears to have been caused by an engineer that was text messaging. The stupid tend to take themselves out, too bad he took 23 others with him.
Anybody that thinks privatizing Social Security may be a good idea, take a look at the privatized Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac. Privatizing SS is just another Republican plot to shovel money to their buddies. Working people would get it up the dark side.
Federal laws encourage health institutions to dump excess drugs into the sewage system, where they can get into the environment and deform frogs and probably us. Chalk another one up to the right wing anti-drug movement.
Democrats will take more taxes out of your paycheck. With Republicans running the economy, you don't get a paycheck!
I’ve been screaming so much I’ve gotten hoarse. Count Dracula. The Mummy. Sarah Palin. Think about them then try getting some sleep. Good night.
The Extreme Moderate
September 15, 2008
The Moon beckons me to scream, and there isn’t any shortage of things to scream about. Let’s start with the U. S. Presidential race.
John McCain, a former moderate, is pulling out all stops to get elected. He has abandoned any sign of moderation in an effort to appease the extreme right. Scream.
You could search the Ozarks for a lifetime and not find a hillbilly more backward than his VP pick. The former beauty queen likes to hunt moose, and if she sees a stray dinosaur she’d probably plug that too.
McCain is 72 and has been treated several times for a deadly cancer. Sarah Palin would be the most stupidly extreme President in our history. Do the math.
Barack Obama would be almost as bad, but not quite. He’s extreme but not as stupid. I have to endorse him as the lesser of two evils.
Why, John, why have you forsaken us? There is no way you could seriously consider that pit bull in lipstick good for the country.
I’ve never been an alcoholic, but that may change.
Third party and independent candidates don’t have a chance, and even they aren’t all that pretty. There is no denying that Ralph Nader is insane.
Gotta face it, the cars in this race are a bunch of smoke blowing Edsels.
Another subject, please.
The deadly train crash in California appears to have been caused by an engineer that was text messaging. The stupid tend to take themselves out, too bad he took 23 others with him.
Anybody that thinks privatizing Social Security may be a good idea, take a look at the privatized Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac. Privatizing SS is just another Republican plot to shovel money to their buddies. Working people would get it up the dark side.
Federal laws encourage health institutions to dump excess drugs into the sewage system, where they can get into the environment and deform frogs and probably us. Chalk another one up to the right wing anti-drug movement.
Democrats will take more taxes out of your paycheck. With Republicans running the economy, you don't get a paycheck!
I’ve been screaming so much I’ve gotten hoarse. Count Dracula. The Mummy. Sarah Palin. Think about them then try getting some sleep. Good night.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right (And Three Lefts Means You’re Lost)
By Jonathan Bert
The Extreme Moderate
September 3, 2008
Affirmative Action is in the news. Barack Obama's wife, Michelle, has been blowing mass quantities of smoke out of her behind, and doing a mass quantity of whining,
Affirmative Action being among the subjects of her belly-aching.
I am against discrimination in all forms, whether it’s racial, gender, creed, national origin or orientation. For this reason, I am against Affirmative Action. Any law or program that says you can’t have this job, you can’t enter this college, you can’t rent this house, because you are this or you aren’t that, is discrimination. Some people call it “Reverse Discrimination,” but it’s not. It’s just plain discrimination!
Two wrongs don’t make a right; didn’t your mother teach you that? Discrimination is bad, and still occurs, against minorities and women, etc. I wish I knew how to end it, but Affirmative Action is not the answer, it may even cause more hatred and resentment! And hatred and resentment are what we’re trying to get rid of!
One of the most stupid things to come out of this train of thought is relaxation of rules to become a firefighter. A restriction requiring that a firefighter be able to carry someone out of a burning building was struck down because it discriminated against women. Firefighters sometimes have to carry people out of burning buildings, but if your ass ever needs saving, you may be out of luck because your firefighter doesn’t need to! And the stupid thing is, many women are plenty strong enough to do the job, and a lot of guys aren’t. Maybe, on average, women are not as strong, but, to be honest, there are some women I will not lip off to.
When I was a young man, so many decades ago, a black doctor was amazing. He had to fight terrible odds and had to have extreme dedication and talent to make it. Now, you see a black doctor, you’re not sure he even qualified for medical school. That’s progress? Woman doctors, same story.
I travel all sides of the tracks, it makes life more interesting, and have met people that are as fine and upstanding as people can get, and am proud to know them. But I’ve also met people that are so fucked up they have a hard time standing up, they are just feelin’ fine. Law enforcers and criminals. Law enforcers that are criminals. People are so different it boggles the mind how varied the thought processes and behaviors of members of our species are. And it all has nothing to do with race, etc. Gender, maybe. There are organic differences between men and women. This plays out well for the preservation of the human race, (Viva la Difference!), but as far as law goes, this can get sketchy. Things like drug use, chemical exposure in the workplace, etc, for people that are, or may become, pregnant, must be addressed. It is a very special responsibility women have. It ain’t my fault! Okay, a few times, it was my fault.
We need to end discrimination, for the sake of our country, for the sake of our species. I wish I had the answers, but definitely, Affirmative Action is not the way to do it.
The Extreme Moderate
September 3, 2008
Affirmative Action is in the news. Barack Obama's wife, Michelle, has been blowing mass quantities of smoke out of her behind, and doing a mass quantity of whining,
Affirmative Action being among the subjects of her belly-aching.
I am against discrimination in all forms, whether it’s racial, gender, creed, national origin or orientation. For this reason, I am against Affirmative Action. Any law or program that says you can’t have this job, you can’t enter this college, you can’t rent this house, because you are this or you aren’t that, is discrimination. Some people call it “Reverse Discrimination,” but it’s not. It’s just plain discrimination!
Two wrongs don’t make a right; didn’t your mother teach you that? Discrimination is bad, and still occurs, against minorities and women, etc. I wish I knew how to end it, but Affirmative Action is not the answer, it may even cause more hatred and resentment! And hatred and resentment are what we’re trying to get rid of!
One of the most stupid things to come out of this train of thought is relaxation of rules to become a firefighter. A restriction requiring that a firefighter be able to carry someone out of a burning building was struck down because it discriminated against women. Firefighters sometimes have to carry people out of burning buildings, but if your ass ever needs saving, you may be out of luck because your firefighter doesn’t need to! And the stupid thing is, many women are plenty strong enough to do the job, and a lot of guys aren’t. Maybe, on average, women are not as strong, but, to be honest, there are some women I will not lip off to.
When I was a young man, so many decades ago, a black doctor was amazing. He had to fight terrible odds and had to have extreme dedication and talent to make it. Now, you see a black doctor, you’re not sure he even qualified for medical school. That’s progress? Woman doctors, same story.
I travel all sides of the tracks, it makes life more interesting, and have met people that are as fine and upstanding as people can get, and am proud to know them. But I’ve also met people that are so fucked up they have a hard time standing up, they are just feelin’ fine. Law enforcers and criminals. Law enforcers that are criminals. People are so different it boggles the mind how varied the thought processes and behaviors of members of our species are. And it all has nothing to do with race, etc. Gender, maybe. There are organic differences between men and women. This plays out well for the preservation of the human race, (Viva la Difference!), but as far as law goes, this can get sketchy. Things like drug use, chemical exposure in the workplace, etc, for people that are, or may become, pregnant, must be addressed. It is a very special responsibility women have. It ain’t my fault! Okay, a few times, it was my fault.
We need to end discrimination, for the sake of our country, for the sake of our species. I wish I had the answers, but definitely, Affirmative Action is not the way to do it.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Barking at the Moon
By Jonathan Bert
The Extreme Moderate
August 16,2008
The Moon is full, and I just want to howl.
It is hard to fathom the importance of the Olympics to international diplomacy, but other than the Basketball, I really couldn’t care less.
I kind of like watching Women’s Volleyball, but the participants need larger breasts.
China wants to join the rest of the World. I have one word of advice: Democracy!
The Republicans want to regain power in this country. I have one word of advice: Democracy!
The GOP does have the best solution to the illegal immigration problem, however; make America suck so badly nobody wants to come here! It won’t be long and we’ll be breaking down the fences to sneak into Mexico.
The Republicans have this country going in the wrong direction. The Democrats would also send us in the wrong direction, but at least it would be a different wrong direction.
The Republicans appeal to the ignorant and superstitious hillbillies of the “Bible Belt.” The Democrats appeal to the undereducated of the inner cities. Anyone with half of a brain can only appeal for mercy.
Russian Prime Minister Putin sent an enormous army into a small and defenseless country. What nerve! Who does he think he is? George Bush?
Rush Limbaugh just got a huge raise. The Right Wing is desperate to keep the stupid in line, and Limbaugh has the same power over morons as the Pied Piper had on rats.
I have two cats. There are days that I’d rather have mice.
I see a lot of women driving big trucks and SUV’s around. These ladies suffer from low self-esteem; they think they need that power to haul their asses around.
Barrack Obama says the best way to reduce our dependence on foreign oil is to reduce our dependence on oil. Duh! Republicans find this concept too complicated to grasp, and find this to be a reason to criticize Obama! Of course the Right Wing morons are foaming at the mouth, chanting “Drill, Drill, Drill, so we can use more Gas, Gas, Gas!”
All of the oil we’ve sucked out of the ground was holding up the bedrock above it. I’m waiting for the Saudi Arabian Desert to cave in and become the Saudi Arabian Sea. That would get rid of some terrorists!
Texas, same story. Texas can brag that it’s America’s biggest lake.
Before W invaded Afghanistan, Afghans produced 75% of the Worlds Heroin. Now they produce only 83%! Good going George! Republicans have the overwhelming support of the World’s crime leaders. The GOP makes sure drugs stay illegal to make sure criminals have a steady income. Ordinary, hard working citizens? Screw them.
While the War in Iraq is doing nothing for American security, it is making Israel safer, and freer to pursue aggression against it’s enemies in the Mid-east. This never gets pointed out, however, because the Democrats don’t want say anything good about the war, and the Republicans don’t want to point that out because the Neo-nazis are a small but important part of the Republican base.
During their recent stretch of power, Republicans managed to really piss me off. If the Democrats manage to not blow their chance at getting control, it won’t take long for them to piss me off. Keep your eyes open for future posts.
Good night, sleep well. Werewolves aren’t for real. However, Bush and Cheney are for real, so stare at the ceiling.
The Extreme Moderate
August 16,2008
The Moon is full, and I just want to howl.
It is hard to fathom the importance of the Olympics to international diplomacy, but other than the Basketball, I really couldn’t care less.
I kind of like watching Women’s Volleyball, but the participants need larger breasts.
China wants to join the rest of the World. I have one word of advice: Democracy!
The Republicans want to regain power in this country. I have one word of advice: Democracy!
The GOP does have the best solution to the illegal immigration problem, however; make America suck so badly nobody wants to come here! It won’t be long and we’ll be breaking down the fences to sneak into Mexico.
The Republicans have this country going in the wrong direction. The Democrats would also send us in the wrong direction, but at least it would be a different wrong direction.
The Republicans appeal to the ignorant and superstitious hillbillies of the “Bible Belt.” The Democrats appeal to the undereducated of the inner cities. Anyone with half of a brain can only appeal for mercy.
Russian Prime Minister Putin sent an enormous army into a small and defenseless country. What nerve! Who does he think he is? George Bush?
Rush Limbaugh just got a huge raise. The Right Wing is desperate to keep the stupid in line, and Limbaugh has the same power over morons as the Pied Piper had on rats.
I have two cats. There are days that I’d rather have mice.
I see a lot of women driving big trucks and SUV’s around. These ladies suffer from low self-esteem; they think they need that power to haul their asses around.
Barrack Obama says the best way to reduce our dependence on foreign oil is to reduce our dependence on oil. Duh! Republicans find this concept too complicated to grasp, and find this to be a reason to criticize Obama! Of course the Right Wing morons are foaming at the mouth, chanting “Drill, Drill, Drill, so we can use more Gas, Gas, Gas!”
All of the oil we’ve sucked out of the ground was holding up the bedrock above it. I’m waiting for the Saudi Arabian Desert to cave in and become the Saudi Arabian Sea. That would get rid of some terrorists!
Texas, same story. Texas can brag that it’s America’s biggest lake.
Before W invaded Afghanistan, Afghans produced 75% of the Worlds Heroin. Now they produce only 83%! Good going George! Republicans have the overwhelming support of the World’s crime leaders. The GOP makes sure drugs stay illegal to make sure criminals have a steady income. Ordinary, hard working citizens? Screw them.
While the War in Iraq is doing nothing for American security, it is making Israel safer, and freer to pursue aggression against it’s enemies in the Mid-east. This never gets pointed out, however, because the Democrats don’t want say anything good about the war, and the Republicans don’t want to point that out because the Neo-nazis are a small but important part of the Republican base.
During their recent stretch of power, Republicans managed to really piss me off. If the Democrats manage to not blow their chance at getting control, it won’t take long for them to piss me off. Keep your eyes open for future posts.
Good night, sleep well. Werewolves aren’t for real. However, Bush and Cheney are for real, so stare at the ceiling.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
A Guide to the Twin Cities of Minnesota
By Jonathan Bert
The Extreme Moderate
August 5, 2008
The Republican National Convention is coming to Minnesota! As a native of the area, (I was born in St. Paul, and have never lived more than an hour away), I’m going to depart from my extreme moderate ranting to give you a guide that you may find handier than the bullshit that will be handed out in brochures. St. Paul and Minneapolis are called the Twin Cities, but they are not identical twins. It’s hard to believe that they are from the same family.
Minneapolis is a small, but very metropolitan, city. It has a vibrant downtown, beautiful, tree lined residential areas, but, like any other large city, there are places you do not want to go. It is easy to find your way around, even though the downtown area is laid out at an angle. The Downtown is always this clean, and fairly safe. There is a bounty of good food and entertainment. There are lakes and parks everywhere you turn. If you like cities, this one is a gem. But watch out, don’t wander to the north. North Minneapolis and the first tier suburbs to the north are like pustules on a super-model. This is the area that earned the nickname “Murderapolis.” It is by far the most crime-ridden area in the whole state. The only legitimate reason to go to North Minneapolis is to look for crack. Other drugs are also available, including Oxycontin! Prostitutes? Well, yes, but you bozos have money, so pick those up downtown. Another thing to note: if you are not lily white, avoid Minneapolis cops, no matter what part of town you are in, or you will be sorry.
St. Paul, on the other hand, is an overgrown small town. Quaint, quiet for it’s size, loaded with beautiful old architecture, it has the refreshing, friendly atmosphere of a town one tenth it’s size. But you will get lost. St. Paul’s streets were laid out by paving crews following cows. Major thoroughfares just end without any clue which way to turn. The only roads that go all the way through town are the interstates. Walking, driving, taking the bus, allow extra time for getting lost, and, if driving, allow much more time to find parking. Is your cab driver running up the bill, or is he lost? There’s no way of telling. While you are lost, you may find yourself in neighborhoods that make your skin crawl, but there’s no particular area where you will be in grave danger. Unless you get so lost you find yourself in North Minneapolis. Also, avoid the Highway 52 bridge. This was a lemon when it was built. It’s been patched up more than a hippie’s blue jeans. I can’t believe it has stood longer than the 35W bridge. I don’t believe it will stand much longer. St. Paul is the home of the beautiful Como Park Zoo and Conservatory. Fascinating and inexpensive, it’s a don’t miss. Ask for directions.
And then there are the suburbs. Minnesota is full of cranky, independent people, and hundreds of them grabbed chunks of land around the cities and gave them names. Other than the first tier to the north, they are nice places, and very Republican. Just to the west of Minneapolis is a lake named Minnetonka. This lake is surrounded by high dollar settlements that are like a Mecca for those that worship money. When at the Xcel Center, the home of the convention, bow directly to the west. To the north of St. Paul is a community called North Oaks. This was a gated community before there were gated communities. You will never get away with going door-to-door for contributions here, though. Even Cheney would get hauled in.
There are too many suburbs here to cover in one lifetime. Bloomington has the Mall of America and the Airport. Shakopee has the Valley Fair amusement park. Apple Valley has the big Minnesota Zoo. Blaine has the huge International Sports Complex. Newport has the Waste to Energy Incinerator. It’s all here folks, and you are coming at a time the weather may be decent. Welcome to you all. Even W.
The Extreme Moderate
August 5, 2008
The Republican National Convention is coming to Minnesota! As a native of the area, (I was born in St. Paul, and have never lived more than an hour away), I’m going to depart from my extreme moderate ranting to give you a guide that you may find handier than the bullshit that will be handed out in brochures. St. Paul and Minneapolis are called the Twin Cities, but they are not identical twins. It’s hard to believe that they are from the same family.
Minneapolis is a small, but very metropolitan, city. It has a vibrant downtown, beautiful, tree lined residential areas, but, like any other large city, there are places you do not want to go. It is easy to find your way around, even though the downtown area is laid out at an angle. The Downtown is always this clean, and fairly safe. There is a bounty of good food and entertainment. There are lakes and parks everywhere you turn. If you like cities, this one is a gem. But watch out, don’t wander to the north. North Minneapolis and the first tier suburbs to the north are like pustules on a super-model. This is the area that earned the nickname “Murderapolis.” It is by far the most crime-ridden area in the whole state. The only legitimate reason to go to North Minneapolis is to look for crack. Other drugs are also available, including Oxycontin! Prostitutes? Well, yes, but you bozos have money, so pick those up downtown. Another thing to note: if you are not lily white, avoid Minneapolis cops, no matter what part of town you are in, or you will be sorry.
St. Paul, on the other hand, is an overgrown small town. Quaint, quiet for it’s size, loaded with beautiful old architecture, it has the refreshing, friendly atmosphere of a town one tenth it’s size. But you will get lost. St. Paul’s streets were laid out by paving crews following cows. Major thoroughfares just end without any clue which way to turn. The only roads that go all the way through town are the interstates. Walking, driving, taking the bus, allow extra time for getting lost, and, if driving, allow much more time to find parking. Is your cab driver running up the bill, or is he lost? There’s no way of telling. While you are lost, you may find yourself in neighborhoods that make your skin crawl, but there’s no particular area where you will be in grave danger. Unless you get so lost you find yourself in North Minneapolis. Also, avoid the Highway 52 bridge. This was a lemon when it was built. It’s been patched up more than a hippie’s blue jeans. I can’t believe it has stood longer than the 35W bridge. I don’t believe it will stand much longer. St. Paul is the home of the beautiful Como Park Zoo and Conservatory. Fascinating and inexpensive, it’s a don’t miss. Ask for directions.
And then there are the suburbs. Minnesota is full of cranky, independent people, and hundreds of them grabbed chunks of land around the cities and gave them names. Other than the first tier to the north, they are nice places, and very Republican. Just to the west of Minneapolis is a lake named Minnetonka. This lake is surrounded by high dollar settlements that are like a Mecca for those that worship money. When at the Xcel Center, the home of the convention, bow directly to the west. To the north of St. Paul is a community called North Oaks. This was a gated community before there were gated communities. You will never get away with going door-to-door for contributions here, though. Even Cheney would get hauled in.
There are too many suburbs here to cover in one lifetime. Bloomington has the Mall of America and the Airport. Shakopee has the Valley Fair amusement park. Apple Valley has the big Minnesota Zoo. Blaine has the huge International Sports Complex. Newport has the Waste to Energy Incinerator. It’s all here folks, and you are coming at a time the weather may be decent. Welcome to you all. Even W.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Beware of Killer Tomatoes!
By Jonathan Bert
The Extreme Moderate
July 28, 2008
Tomatoes are coming! They are out for blood! Oh, excuse me, maybe it’s killer jalapenos. Whatever, something’s tryin’ to kill us. Last year it was spinach, maybe broccoli will be next. When your kids don’t want to eat their vegetables, they might have a point.
That freak out warning devastated the tomato industry. Farmers plowed their crops into the ground. As if the economy wasn’t bad enough, now we have a big loss in the agricultural sector. For nothing.
Health “experts” are constantly trying to tell us what’s good for us, and fresh veggies are always on top of the list. But when was the last time you heard of a killer rib-eye? I like fresh veggies, (with a lot of Ranch), but if you cook stuff, you won’t get E. Coli, Salmonella, etc.
Eggs used to be awful, now they’re not so bad. Butter has cholesterol, so eat margarine. No! Wait! Margarine has hydrogenated oil! Eat dirt. I’d get the impression these people knew what they were talking about if they knew what they were talking about.
If you see a health expert on TV, you will see they are not that old. You don’t see a 90-year-old nutritionist. J. I. Rodale only lived to 70. Euell Gibbons didn’t live to a ripe old age, (apparently wild hickory nuts aren’t the key to eternal life). That guy that promoted running for health dropped dead at 44. I’ve made it past that myself!
After listening to these experts, I’ve become convinced that if you don’t eat anything, don’t drink anything, and quit breathing, you will live forever. Then I think of people I know that have quit these things, and it’s amazing! They have all moved on to a better place! Maybe the crazies have a point! But I love to eat, I get thirsty, and I find strange comfort in breathing. Maybe some day I’ll get the willpower to quit doing that stuff so I can move on to a better place, but meanwhile I’ll just have to muddle along here in Wisconsin.
Seriously, it does make sense to pay some attention to what you eat. But instead of freaking out every time a so-called expert says this or that is good or bad for your health, take advice from people that have actually lived a long time. Eat a lot of “roughage.” Take a shot or two of brandy before bedtime. Eat something green everyday, (I don’t think this includes grasshoppers). An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Walk, (don’t run), one mile every day. Etc, etc. If you know a really old person, ask them what they did to get so damn old. And cook your jalapenos.
The Extreme Moderate
July 28, 2008
Tomatoes are coming! They are out for blood! Oh, excuse me, maybe it’s killer jalapenos. Whatever, something’s tryin’ to kill us. Last year it was spinach, maybe broccoli will be next. When your kids don’t want to eat their vegetables, they might have a point.
That freak out warning devastated the tomato industry. Farmers plowed their crops into the ground. As if the economy wasn’t bad enough, now we have a big loss in the agricultural sector. For nothing.
Health “experts” are constantly trying to tell us what’s good for us, and fresh veggies are always on top of the list. But when was the last time you heard of a killer rib-eye? I like fresh veggies, (with a lot of Ranch), but if you cook stuff, you won’t get E. Coli, Salmonella, etc.
Eggs used to be awful, now they’re not so bad. Butter has cholesterol, so eat margarine. No! Wait! Margarine has hydrogenated oil! Eat dirt. I’d get the impression these people knew what they were talking about if they knew what they were talking about.
If you see a health expert on TV, you will see they are not that old. You don’t see a 90-year-old nutritionist. J. I. Rodale only lived to 70. Euell Gibbons didn’t live to a ripe old age, (apparently wild hickory nuts aren’t the key to eternal life). That guy that promoted running for health dropped dead at 44. I’ve made it past that myself!
After listening to these experts, I’ve become convinced that if you don’t eat anything, don’t drink anything, and quit breathing, you will live forever. Then I think of people I know that have quit these things, and it’s amazing! They have all moved on to a better place! Maybe the crazies have a point! But I love to eat, I get thirsty, and I find strange comfort in breathing. Maybe some day I’ll get the willpower to quit doing that stuff so I can move on to a better place, but meanwhile I’ll just have to muddle along here in Wisconsin.
Seriously, it does make sense to pay some attention to what you eat. But instead of freaking out every time a so-called expert says this or that is good or bad for your health, take advice from people that have actually lived a long time. Eat a lot of “roughage.” Take a shot or two of brandy before bedtime. Eat something green everyday, (I don’t think this includes grasshoppers). An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Walk, (don’t run), one mile every day. Etc, etc. If you know a really old person, ask them what they did to get so damn old. And cook your jalapenos.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Is Fairness in the Media Possible?
By Jonathan Bert
The Extreme Moderate
July 22,2008
There is a mass quantity of whining coming from the Republican camp that the national news media is being unfair in it’s coverage of the presumptive Presidential candidates. The numbers bear this out. Obama is getting over twice the airtime McCain is getting on network news, and papers are the same story.
Now this isn’t a conscious effort to get the Democrat elected. No way. Remember, these organizations, the media outlets, are owned and operated by millionaires, people that like Republicans very much. Republicans make the rich get richer. Fox News, for example, has a well known and much deserved reputation for it's lean to the right. They were the loudest in trumpeting Bush’s line of crap that got us into Iraq.
The GOP is just going to have to face it; Barrack Obama is better television. He is a fresh face, photogenic, charismatic, offering new ideas at a time when the old ways aren’t working. McCain is not a fresh face. He’s been around a long time, getting a reputation as an also-ran. Poor guy, he finally gets his moment in the spotlight, and people are tired of looking at him. Outside of an initiative on the environment, his line is the plain old Republican line; trickle down economics, war over diplomacy, safety over civil liberties. America is sick of Republicans, and deservedly so. They have been lousy at running the country, and most of the country doesn’t want to hear any more of it.
McCain didn’t help things himself. He made a big, big deal out of it that Obama hadn’t visited Iraq lately, and Afghanistan never. Like there are things to discover sitting in “Green Zones” that can’t be learned from reports shipped over by people in the trenches. Okay, Obama is visiting Iraq and Afghanistan, so the media is making a big, big deal of it. Are we all happy now?
The Republicans are just going to have to face it; John McCain is old news, the Republican Party is old news. Just sit in your rocking chairs and quit your whinin’.
The Extreme Moderate
July 22,2008
There is a mass quantity of whining coming from the Republican camp that the national news media is being unfair in it’s coverage of the presumptive Presidential candidates. The numbers bear this out. Obama is getting over twice the airtime McCain is getting on network news, and papers are the same story.
Now this isn’t a conscious effort to get the Democrat elected. No way. Remember, these organizations, the media outlets, are owned and operated by millionaires, people that like Republicans very much. Republicans make the rich get richer. Fox News, for example, has a well known and much deserved reputation for it's lean to the right. They were the loudest in trumpeting Bush’s line of crap that got us into Iraq.
The GOP is just going to have to face it; Barrack Obama is better television. He is a fresh face, photogenic, charismatic, offering new ideas at a time when the old ways aren’t working. McCain is not a fresh face. He’s been around a long time, getting a reputation as an also-ran. Poor guy, he finally gets his moment in the spotlight, and people are tired of looking at him. Outside of an initiative on the environment, his line is the plain old Republican line; trickle down economics, war over diplomacy, safety over civil liberties. America is sick of Republicans, and deservedly so. They have been lousy at running the country, and most of the country doesn’t want to hear any more of it.
McCain didn’t help things himself. He made a big, big deal out of it that Obama hadn’t visited Iraq lately, and Afghanistan never. Like there are things to discover sitting in “Green Zones” that can’t be learned from reports shipped over by people in the trenches. Okay, Obama is visiting Iraq and Afghanistan, so the media is making a big, big deal of it. Are we all happy now?
The Republicans are just going to have to face it; John McCain is old news, the Republican Party is old news. Just sit in your rocking chairs and quit your whinin’.
Monday, July 21, 2008
How Are We Going to Power the Future?
By Jonathan Bert
The Extreme Moderate
July 21, 2008
We are in an energy crisis; there is no question about this. Left, right, or center, we all agree we’re screwed. But, of course, there is big disagreement over what to do about it.
To the left, we have Al Gore. To anybody who doesn’t know who he is, he is very much a Democrat, and was once elected President, but wasn’t allowed to serve. His plan is geared more towards environmental protection, but his belief in the reliance on renewable energy is compatible with energy independence.
To the right, we have T. Boone Pickens. A billionaire oilman that spent a lot of money to help elect Bush in 2004. He is seriously into wind energy, and making use of America’s natural gas resources.
Either way, wind energy is a winner. We have wind energy being generated, profitably, as you read this. We need more. Environmentalists cry that these windmills are tough on birds, but there is a certain point, probably a long time ago, where you can’t take these folks too seriously. I like birds, and have had several parakeets as pets over the years, but we are in a crisis! Get a grip! They forget how tough coal fired plants can be on birds.
Natural Gas. Unlike oil, we have a lot of that. Cars and buses can be converted to run on it, just don’t run out of it in the middle of nowhere. You can’t just carry it in a little red can. You would need a big, pressurized tank in your trunk. Natural gas produces much less pollution than gasoline or diesel, the bulk of the exhaust is water vapor.
Gore considers natural gas “respectable,” but calls it a temporary measure, and doesn’t endorse it. He is big on solar energy, which is getting practical, except for powering cars. Gore says his plan will only cost as much as the Iraq war. This very sweet, except we have no clue how we’re going to pay for the war! How we going to pay for his plan? Pickens is, like I said, a billionaire. He knows his nickels and dimes, and he knows we don’t have a lot of nickels and dimes to spare. Don’t let him fool you, he isn’t entirely altruistic, he sees profits! And that means his plan has a chance to happen! Natural gas should be part of the solution. Start with trucks and buses, then the family car. This can happen, and it can happen soon. The profits might go to Exxon, but isn’t that better than going to despotic foreign countries?
Offshore drilling is proposed. This, again, will keep profits in America, but it is a relatively small part of the solution. Environmentalists will cry, but offshore drilling hasn’t been shown to be a problem. So ignore them. It’s been said that it will take 20 years to see that oil, but that’s crazy. It doesn’t take 20 years to build an oil rig. It just won’t make much difference.
Nuclear power is attractive because of it’s reasonable cost and lack of pollution. But it is dangerous. A major accident could kill thousands. We have been operating these plants for 50 years without a major incident; (Drunken Russians haven’t had as much luck). Are we that good, or will our luck run out? Plus, President Dummy doesn’t consider it important to protect them from terrorists. The next President will be smarter, but will he be smart enough? And the issue of disposing of waste isn’t settled. Here the environmentalists are being really stupid. They won’t let us build decent storage sites, but the current system of on-site storage is very shaky. Get a life! Nuclear plants take time to build, you can’t just slap one up like a Wal Mart, so this would be a long-term solution, if anything.
But we have the best solution in our own hands. Use less energy. Insulate your house. Turn off lights, televisions, air conditioners, etc, when they are not needed. Hang clothes out to dry when the weather is nice. Dryers suck up a lot of energy, and you’ll get fresh air and exercise. Drive slower. I usually drive about 5 mph over the limit, (bad boy), but cars still blow by me like I was sittin’ still. They don’t realize that they’d save enough for a couple of lattes if they’d just back off of the gas a little bit. Use yout imagination. If you see energy being sucked up that doesn’t need to be sucked up, turn it off. Using a little thought will go a long way.
The Extreme Moderate
July 21, 2008
We are in an energy crisis; there is no question about this. Left, right, or center, we all agree we’re screwed. But, of course, there is big disagreement over what to do about it.
To the left, we have Al Gore. To anybody who doesn’t know who he is, he is very much a Democrat, and was once elected President, but wasn’t allowed to serve. His plan is geared more towards environmental protection, but his belief in the reliance on renewable energy is compatible with energy independence.
To the right, we have T. Boone Pickens. A billionaire oilman that spent a lot of money to help elect Bush in 2004. He is seriously into wind energy, and making use of America’s natural gas resources.
Either way, wind energy is a winner. We have wind energy being generated, profitably, as you read this. We need more. Environmentalists cry that these windmills are tough on birds, but there is a certain point, probably a long time ago, where you can’t take these folks too seriously. I like birds, and have had several parakeets as pets over the years, but we are in a crisis! Get a grip! They forget how tough coal fired plants can be on birds.
Natural Gas. Unlike oil, we have a lot of that. Cars and buses can be converted to run on it, just don’t run out of it in the middle of nowhere. You can’t just carry it in a little red can. You would need a big, pressurized tank in your trunk. Natural gas produces much less pollution than gasoline or diesel, the bulk of the exhaust is water vapor.
Gore considers natural gas “respectable,” but calls it a temporary measure, and doesn’t endorse it. He is big on solar energy, which is getting practical, except for powering cars. Gore says his plan will only cost as much as the Iraq war. This very sweet, except we have no clue how we’re going to pay for the war! How we going to pay for his plan? Pickens is, like I said, a billionaire. He knows his nickels and dimes, and he knows we don’t have a lot of nickels and dimes to spare. Don’t let him fool you, he isn’t entirely altruistic, he sees profits! And that means his plan has a chance to happen! Natural gas should be part of the solution. Start with trucks and buses, then the family car. This can happen, and it can happen soon. The profits might go to Exxon, but isn’t that better than going to despotic foreign countries?
Offshore drilling is proposed. This, again, will keep profits in America, but it is a relatively small part of the solution. Environmentalists will cry, but offshore drilling hasn’t been shown to be a problem. So ignore them. It’s been said that it will take 20 years to see that oil, but that’s crazy. It doesn’t take 20 years to build an oil rig. It just won’t make much difference.
Nuclear power is attractive because of it’s reasonable cost and lack of pollution. But it is dangerous. A major accident could kill thousands. We have been operating these plants for 50 years without a major incident; (Drunken Russians haven’t had as much luck). Are we that good, or will our luck run out? Plus, President Dummy doesn’t consider it important to protect them from terrorists. The next President will be smarter, but will he be smart enough? And the issue of disposing of waste isn’t settled. Here the environmentalists are being really stupid. They won’t let us build decent storage sites, but the current system of on-site storage is very shaky. Get a life! Nuclear plants take time to build, you can’t just slap one up like a Wal Mart, so this would be a long-term solution, if anything.
But we have the best solution in our own hands. Use less energy. Insulate your house. Turn off lights, televisions, air conditioners, etc, when they are not needed. Hang clothes out to dry when the weather is nice. Dryers suck up a lot of energy, and you’ll get fresh air and exercise. Drive slower. I usually drive about 5 mph over the limit, (bad boy), but cars still blow by me like I was sittin’ still. They don’t realize that they’d save enough for a couple of lattes if they’d just back off of the gas a little bit. Use yout imagination. If you see energy being sucked up that doesn’t need to be sucked up, turn it off. Using a little thought will go a long way.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Barking at the Moon
By Jonathan Bert
The Extreme Moderate
July 16, 2008
The Moon is getting full, and some primal instinct makes me want to howl.
John McCain is known for being weak on economic issues, and now his top economic adviser has shown himself a total idiot. Do you think $4 gasoline and record home foreclosures are all in your head? He does.
According to anecdotal evidence, the prevalence of drug testing is encouraging drug users to switch from Marijuana, which is detectable for weeks, to Cocaine and Meth, which disappear in a few days and are easily masked. If true, this is not a good trend.
Right wingers are trying to paint Barack Obama as a Muslim. He is not a Muslim, plus there is nothing wrong with being a Muslim. It’s wrong to be a murderous religious lunatic, as not only are some Muslims, but some of those “Christian” right wingers. How many senseless deaths have they encouraged in Iraq?
The Minnesota Senate race is real interesting. With all the Bozos already in Congress, they have a chance to elect an actual clown! Al Franken should campaign wearing a big red nose.
Jesse Jackson is a joke. He also should wear a big red nose. ‘Nuff said.
If cows are responsible for so much Global Warming, why isn’t Wisconsin tropical?
It took the FAA 14 years to figure out why airplanes blow up in mid-air, and now is giving airlines 10 years to fix it. Who needs terrorists?
Republicans accuse Democrats of being “Tax and Spend.” Republicans just spend as if they have a stolen credit card. We will never dig ourselves out of the hole they’re putting us in. Don’t believe for a minute that Republicans know how to handle an economy.
The candidates are courting the Hispanic vote, the Black vote, the Female vote, and the Youth vote. Being an old white man, I wanna cry.
Gays are getting married, in places like California and Massachusetts, as fast as they can. How long before we see gays on “Divorce Court?” That should be interesting, if not nauseating.
I don’t have anything against gay marriage, but it won’t be long before gays are against gay marriage. You folks are getting exactly what you wished for.
Dick Cheney’s little outfit, Brown, Root and Kellogg, is getting a reputation for electrocuting our soldiers. What a racket. Overcharging us on no-bid contracts, and doing shoddy work. Hell of a way to support our troops. It’s just supporting Cheney and his buddies. Supporting them very well, in fact.
Brett Favre wants to get back in the National Football League. Being one of the all time greats, it would be a shame if that stupid, stupid interception was his last professional play.
The men in the white coats want to put me back in my cage. Sleep well.
The Extreme Moderate
July 16, 2008
The Moon is getting full, and some primal instinct makes me want to howl.
John McCain is known for being weak on economic issues, and now his top economic adviser has shown himself a total idiot. Do you think $4 gasoline and record home foreclosures are all in your head? He does.
According to anecdotal evidence, the prevalence of drug testing is encouraging drug users to switch from Marijuana, which is detectable for weeks, to Cocaine and Meth, which disappear in a few days and are easily masked. If true, this is not a good trend.
Right wingers are trying to paint Barack Obama as a Muslim. He is not a Muslim, plus there is nothing wrong with being a Muslim. It’s wrong to be a murderous religious lunatic, as not only are some Muslims, but some of those “Christian” right wingers. How many senseless deaths have they encouraged in Iraq?
The Minnesota Senate race is real interesting. With all the Bozos already in Congress, they have a chance to elect an actual clown! Al Franken should campaign wearing a big red nose.
Jesse Jackson is a joke. He also should wear a big red nose. ‘Nuff said.
If cows are responsible for so much Global Warming, why isn’t Wisconsin tropical?
It took the FAA 14 years to figure out why airplanes blow up in mid-air, and now is giving airlines 10 years to fix it. Who needs terrorists?
Republicans accuse Democrats of being “Tax and Spend.” Republicans just spend as if they have a stolen credit card. We will never dig ourselves out of the hole they’re putting us in. Don’t believe for a minute that Republicans know how to handle an economy.
The candidates are courting the Hispanic vote, the Black vote, the Female vote, and the Youth vote. Being an old white man, I wanna cry.
Gays are getting married, in places like California and Massachusetts, as fast as they can. How long before we see gays on “Divorce Court?” That should be interesting, if not nauseating.
I don’t have anything against gay marriage, but it won’t be long before gays are against gay marriage. You folks are getting exactly what you wished for.
Dick Cheney’s little outfit, Brown, Root and Kellogg, is getting a reputation for electrocuting our soldiers. What a racket. Overcharging us on no-bid contracts, and doing shoddy work. Hell of a way to support our troops. It’s just supporting Cheney and his buddies. Supporting them very well, in fact.
Brett Favre wants to get back in the National Football League. Being one of the all time greats, it would be a shame if that stupid, stupid interception was his last professional play.
The men in the white coats want to put me back in my cage. Sleep well.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Let’s Be Rational About Abortion
By Jonathan Bert
The Extreme Moderate
July 2, 2008
Abortion has become one of the most divisive issues in modern American politics. There are those that believe abortion should be available at any time, for any reason, and there are those that believe abortion should be outlawed, no exceptions. Most Americans are in between. Gallup polling has found that most of the United States citizenry, those at the center, believe in a right to abortion, but not without limits. Where can we set those limits?
Why not use the Constitution, and legal precedent, to set those limits? The Supreme Court has determined that the brain, and it’s functionality, determine a human’s life status. Those without a brain wave are dead, whether their heart is beating, or any other organ is working. Why not use this to determine a fetus’ right to live? Once a fetus has an operating brain, it is self-aware, capable of feeling pain. This is where it should be determined it has become human, and has an American right to live.
Research on this matter is sketchy, but a fetus develops the brain waves used in the Supreme Court standard somewhere between the 20th and 26th week of gestation, probably at the 22nd week. This would not eliminate a lot of abortions, but it would eliminate many of the most gruesome ones.
Only the most vicious of the Pro-Abortion movement would object to this determination, most on the Left Wing are kind and gentle, people that don’t even like to see a puppy in pain, much less a baby. And the Anti-Abortionists would get to see an end to third trimester abortions, a cause they have been promoting for decades. Win, win.
I am a strong believer in the Separation of Church and State, both for the sake of the Church and of the State. This may be a subject for a future post. I am also a strong believer in the Constitution, and the sensibility of the Supreme Court. Let’s keep the argument within those parameters. Thank you.
The Extreme Moderate
July 2, 2008
Abortion has become one of the most divisive issues in modern American politics. There are those that believe abortion should be available at any time, for any reason, and there are those that believe abortion should be outlawed, no exceptions. Most Americans are in between. Gallup polling has found that most of the United States citizenry, those at the center, believe in a right to abortion, but not without limits. Where can we set those limits?
Why not use the Constitution, and legal precedent, to set those limits? The Supreme Court has determined that the brain, and it’s functionality, determine a human’s life status. Those without a brain wave are dead, whether their heart is beating, or any other organ is working. Why not use this to determine a fetus’ right to live? Once a fetus has an operating brain, it is self-aware, capable of feeling pain. This is where it should be determined it has become human, and has an American right to live.
Research on this matter is sketchy, but a fetus develops the brain waves used in the Supreme Court standard somewhere between the 20th and 26th week of gestation, probably at the 22nd week. This would not eliminate a lot of abortions, but it would eliminate many of the most gruesome ones.
Only the most vicious of the Pro-Abortion movement would object to this determination, most on the Left Wing are kind and gentle, people that don’t even like to see a puppy in pain, much less a baby. And the Anti-Abortionists would get to see an end to third trimester abortions, a cause they have been promoting for decades. Win, win.
I am a strong believer in the Separation of Church and State, both for the sake of the Church and of the State. This may be a subject for a future post. I am also a strong believer in the Constitution, and the sensibility of the Supreme Court. Let’s keep the argument within those parameters. Thank you.
Let’s End the War on Drugs
By Jonathan Bert
The Extreme Moderate
July 2, 2008
The War on Drugs is more damaging to America than the drugs themselves. Let’s end it, now. This is entirely a political war, as demonstrated when Janet Reno, then Attorney General of the United States, suggested we end this war. The Right Wing immediately shouted “Soft on Drugs,” and the discourse ended without any discussion of the merits of her arguments. As we have trouble locking up murderers, robbers, or sex criminals for any length of time because our prisons are jammed with drug offenders, this must mean these Right Wingers are Soft on Murder, Robbery and Sex Crimes. But then look at how many robbers they elect to office.
These people have an urge to baby-sit others, even if they don’t behave so well themselves. Drugs are bad, no question, but prisons are not good places to baby-sit users. They need treatment, not punishment.
Marijuana, for example, is a little stronger than coffee, and less addictive, but these loonies insist that it be illegal. They won’t even allow it for medical use! What business is it of their’s if somebody wants to catch a nice, peaceful buzz? It doesn’t even affect driving nearly as much as Alcohol, which I am sure they freely consume. (Minnesota is extending it’s bar closing time by two hours for the Republican Convention, being held in St. Paul this September!)
Instead of spending millions, if not billions, of dollars to enforce laws against Marijuana, legalize and tax the hell out of it. It would be income for the farmers, and would help fill our Treasury!
Other drugs should be looked at on a case by case basis, but users of even the worst ones shouldn’t be shuttled into penitentiaries, where they will be exposed to, if not instructed by, truly hardened criminals. Treat them in some manner that doesn’t make them fear and hate Police. Police should be someone that will help them through their trials and tribulations, not someone that will cage them up with cruel and unsavory people.
The Extreme Moderate
July 2, 2008
The War on Drugs is more damaging to America than the drugs themselves. Let’s end it, now. This is entirely a political war, as demonstrated when Janet Reno, then Attorney General of the United States, suggested we end this war. The Right Wing immediately shouted “Soft on Drugs,” and the discourse ended without any discussion of the merits of her arguments. As we have trouble locking up murderers, robbers, or sex criminals for any length of time because our prisons are jammed with drug offenders, this must mean these Right Wingers are Soft on Murder, Robbery and Sex Crimes. But then look at how many robbers they elect to office.
These people have an urge to baby-sit others, even if they don’t behave so well themselves. Drugs are bad, no question, but prisons are not good places to baby-sit users. They need treatment, not punishment.
Marijuana, for example, is a little stronger than coffee, and less addictive, but these loonies insist that it be illegal. They won’t even allow it for medical use! What business is it of their’s if somebody wants to catch a nice, peaceful buzz? It doesn’t even affect driving nearly as much as Alcohol, which I am sure they freely consume. (Minnesota is extending it’s bar closing time by two hours for the Republican Convention, being held in St. Paul this September!)
Instead of spending millions, if not billions, of dollars to enforce laws against Marijuana, legalize and tax the hell out of it. It would be income for the farmers, and would help fill our Treasury!
Other drugs should be looked at on a case by case basis, but users of even the worst ones shouldn’t be shuttled into penitentiaries, where they will be exposed to, if not instructed by, truly hardened criminals. Treat them in some manner that doesn’t make them fear and hate Police. Police should be someone that will help them through their trials and tribulations, not someone that will cage them up with cruel and unsavory people.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
A Look at the Candidates
By Jonathan Bert
The Extreme Moderate
June 24, 2008
Now that it is clear who the presumptive candidates for U.S. President are for the two major parties, moderates and independents have a hard decision to make as they step toward the voting booth. Unless they decide to skip voting altogether.
John McCain had been a favorite of moderates for years, but his recent butt kissing of the right wing base of the Republican Party has ruined his image immensely. He steadfastly supports the Iraq War as a just cause, claims it is succeeding, and has no qualms at the thought of stationing American troops there indefinitely. This position appears to have little support from moderates. He also supports maintaining tax cuts for high-income earners. This is a cornerstone of the “Trickle Down” theory that has not been shown to work even though it has had the support of three of the past four administrations. Give it up already!
Another concern of McCain’s candidacy is whom is he going to be saddled with for Vice-President? There are not a lot of other Republican moderates, and their names do not seem to be appearing on any short lists I have heard of. This is important, not only because Vice-President is increasingly becoming a stronger, more influential position, but also realize McCain is 72 years old, and has already been treated for a particularly deadly form of Cancer.
An issue that hasn’t come up, to my knowledge, is that if someone from the Bush administration were to be indicted for crimes while in office, McCain would likely bow to pressure and issue a pardon.
Barack Obama is relatively unknown. The Great Republican Lie Machine, as usual, has labeled the Democratic candidate the Most Liberal Senator. This is not true. There are many Senators more liberal than Obama, but no rational person is going to call him a moderate. He will get us out of Iraq. But, will he do it carefully? Or, will he leave a dangerous vacuum? Democrats have earned the reputation for handling the economy better. The gap between rich and poor grows slower when a Democrat is in the White House, and prosperity was a reality when a Democrat was in office. We did well when Kennedy and Johnson were in, Carter pulled us out of the funk after Nixon and Ford, and Clinton oversaw a great economy after the disaster of the elder Bush. No “Trickle Down” there! Food for thought.
But, here again, Vice-President is important. I hate to say it, but I fear for Obama’s life. There are people that do not like the idea of a mixed-race President, and some of them are well-armed lunatics. ‘Nuff said. Hillary would be a decent choice, would likely bring us better health care, and might help Obama get out of the Middle East without disaster. I really like Bill Richardson of New Mexico. I wish he was the candidate, but being a rational man of sound mind, he got little support from mainstream Democrats.
The wild card in all of this, from a moderate point of view, is that the country runs better when there is split in power between the two parties. Congress appears likely to remain Democratic. Do we want a Democratic monopoly? Would that be as big of a disaster as when Ultra-Republican Bush had a Republican Congress to rubber-stamp his lunacy? Impossible, but it could be close. Gotta think about that.
The good news is that we will have a better President than the one we have now. George W. Bush will go down as one of the very worst Presidents in our nation’s history. Let us thank our lucky stars it’s almost over.
The Extreme Moderate
June 24, 2008
Now that it is clear who the presumptive candidates for U.S. President are for the two major parties, moderates and independents have a hard decision to make as they step toward the voting booth. Unless they decide to skip voting altogether.
John McCain had been a favorite of moderates for years, but his recent butt kissing of the right wing base of the Republican Party has ruined his image immensely. He steadfastly supports the Iraq War as a just cause, claims it is succeeding, and has no qualms at the thought of stationing American troops there indefinitely. This position appears to have little support from moderates. He also supports maintaining tax cuts for high-income earners. This is a cornerstone of the “Trickle Down” theory that has not been shown to work even though it has had the support of three of the past four administrations. Give it up already!
Another concern of McCain’s candidacy is whom is he going to be saddled with for Vice-President? There are not a lot of other Republican moderates, and their names do not seem to be appearing on any short lists I have heard of. This is important, not only because Vice-President is increasingly becoming a stronger, more influential position, but also realize McCain is 72 years old, and has already been treated for a particularly deadly form of Cancer.
An issue that hasn’t come up, to my knowledge, is that if someone from the Bush administration were to be indicted for crimes while in office, McCain would likely bow to pressure and issue a pardon.
Barack Obama is relatively unknown. The Great Republican Lie Machine, as usual, has labeled the Democratic candidate the Most Liberal Senator. This is not true. There are many Senators more liberal than Obama, but no rational person is going to call him a moderate. He will get us out of Iraq. But, will he do it carefully? Or, will he leave a dangerous vacuum? Democrats have earned the reputation for handling the economy better. The gap between rich and poor grows slower when a Democrat is in the White House, and prosperity was a reality when a Democrat was in office. We did well when Kennedy and Johnson were in, Carter pulled us out of the funk after Nixon and Ford, and Clinton oversaw a great economy after the disaster of the elder Bush. No “Trickle Down” there! Food for thought.
But, here again, Vice-President is important. I hate to say it, but I fear for Obama’s life. There are people that do not like the idea of a mixed-race President, and some of them are well-armed lunatics. ‘Nuff said. Hillary would be a decent choice, would likely bring us better health care, and might help Obama get out of the Middle East without disaster. I really like Bill Richardson of New Mexico. I wish he was the candidate, but being a rational man of sound mind, he got little support from mainstream Democrats.
The wild card in all of this, from a moderate point of view, is that the country runs better when there is split in power between the two parties. Congress appears likely to remain Democratic. Do we want a Democratic monopoly? Would that be as big of a disaster as when Ultra-Republican Bush had a Republican Congress to rubber-stamp his lunacy? Impossible, but it could be close. Gotta think about that.
The good news is that we will have a better President than the one we have now. George W. Bush will go down as one of the very worst Presidents in our nation’s history. Let us thank our lucky stars it’s almost over.
Get Rid of Chief Wahoo
By Jonathan Bert
The Mad Moderate
June 24, 2008
Sports team names and mascots based on Native American stereotypes are Un-American. I have a hard time believing that they still exist! No other minority is made to suffer this indignation; just imagine a team named the Japs, or the Jews, or any of the many nicknames given Americans of African decent. There would be an outrage from here to hell! What is going on here? Why is this being such a hard issue to resolve?
To me, the worst is Chief Wahoo of the Cleveland Indians professional baseball team. I am sorry, I am sure the players on this team are fine men, talented, and as deserving of a championship as any other players, but, I am happy to see them lose just because the logo on their caps and sleeves turn my stomach. Thank you, Red Socks, for eliminating them last fall.
Not all of the other nicknames and mascots are as bad, but all the same, Indians, Redskins, and even Sioux are all names given natives by European settlers, and not necessarily in a complimentary fashion. How about a team named the Fork-Tongues? With a big, white snake as a mascot? I wouldn’t like that, I don’t think a lot of people would.
Some of my closest friends are of native blood, and not all of them are in agreement as to what is an insult or what isn’t. One of them has no concern at all about an insulting caricature, he is still angry about his people receiving blankets infected with Smallpox. Some things are hard to let go.
I realize that there is a lot of tradition involved, and some very significant expenses would be incurred, changing everything from uniforms to school stationery, but come on people, get with the 21st century! Get rid of these insults.
The Mad Moderate
June 24, 2008
Sports team names and mascots based on Native American stereotypes are Un-American. I have a hard time believing that they still exist! No other minority is made to suffer this indignation; just imagine a team named the Japs, or the Jews, or any of the many nicknames given Americans of African decent. There would be an outrage from here to hell! What is going on here? Why is this being such a hard issue to resolve?
To me, the worst is Chief Wahoo of the Cleveland Indians professional baseball team. I am sorry, I am sure the players on this team are fine men, talented, and as deserving of a championship as any other players, but, I am happy to see them lose just because the logo on their caps and sleeves turn my stomach. Thank you, Red Socks, for eliminating them last fall.
Not all of the other nicknames and mascots are as bad, but all the same, Indians, Redskins, and even Sioux are all names given natives by European settlers, and not necessarily in a complimentary fashion. How about a team named the Fork-Tongues? With a big, white snake as a mascot? I wouldn’t like that, I don’t think a lot of people would.
Some of my closest friends are of native blood, and not all of them are in agreement as to what is an insult or what isn’t. One of them has no concern at all about an insulting caricature, he is still angry about his people receiving blankets infected with Smallpox. Some things are hard to let go.
I realize that there is a lot of tradition involved, and some very significant expenses would be incurred, changing everything from uniforms to school stationery, but come on people, get with the 21st century! Get rid of these insults.
Criminal Control, not Gun Control
By Jonathan Bert
The Extreme Moderate
June 24,2008
The congressional delegation from the planet Neptune is trying to sell us on the idea of controlling guns. I am not much into slogans, but the bumper stickers tell it all: “If Guns are Outlawed, only Outlaws will have Guns!” I cannot believe how naive these characters are. For one thing, there is no way we’re going to get all of the guns rounded up, it would be like getting pee out of a swimming pool! Guns are all over, and anyone that’s ever been within walking distance of a lathe or a milling machine knows that guns are very easy to make. Any decent high school machine shop has everything needed to make a pistol that would work at close range.
Gun training is what we need. Anybody with a legal right to carry a gun should be trained. It’s a fact that a gun in the house is more likely to kill an innocent member of the household than it is to kill an intruder. This is because too many guns are issued to idiots! A simple lesson in gun safety would reduce these sad statistics an appreciable amount.
A lot of the problem is from gang-bangers that are just bozos that can’t hit a barn, just spraying bullets in miscellaneous directions. They are better at hitting bystanders than their actual targets. Would this happen as much if these clowns knew that someone that knows what they’re doing might shoot back? I don’t think so. There is a misperception that criminals are anything but cowards. A well-armed and knowledgeable society will be safer in the long run.
The plan, put forward by left-wingers, of all people, is that the government and it’s agencies are the only ones that can be trusted with guns. These aren’t the left-wingers I knew in the 70’s. Remember Kent State? The National Guard shooting students armed with a couple of beer bottles? And killing nothing but bystanders? These are the guys you want to have all the guns? There is too much crack being smoked in Washington.
This country is never going to be taken over, not by a foreign power, or a despotic government (after the seven years we’ve just been through, you don’t think that can happen?), because we are too well armed. Let’s keep it that way. Keep guns away from felons, but anyone else that wants a gun should have the right to get one, and carry it for their protection. But they must be trained. I don’t care who they are, anyone with a gun or rifle, even Vice-Presidents, have to know what they are doing. And have respect for what their weapon can do.
The Extreme Moderate
June 24,2008
The congressional delegation from the planet Neptune is trying to sell us on the idea of controlling guns. I am not much into slogans, but the bumper stickers tell it all: “If Guns are Outlawed, only Outlaws will have Guns!” I cannot believe how naive these characters are. For one thing, there is no way we’re going to get all of the guns rounded up, it would be like getting pee out of a swimming pool! Guns are all over, and anyone that’s ever been within walking distance of a lathe or a milling machine knows that guns are very easy to make. Any decent high school machine shop has everything needed to make a pistol that would work at close range.
Gun training is what we need. Anybody with a legal right to carry a gun should be trained. It’s a fact that a gun in the house is more likely to kill an innocent member of the household than it is to kill an intruder. This is because too many guns are issued to idiots! A simple lesson in gun safety would reduce these sad statistics an appreciable amount.
A lot of the problem is from gang-bangers that are just bozos that can’t hit a barn, just spraying bullets in miscellaneous directions. They are better at hitting bystanders than their actual targets. Would this happen as much if these clowns knew that someone that knows what they’re doing might shoot back? I don’t think so. There is a misperception that criminals are anything but cowards. A well-armed and knowledgeable society will be safer in the long run.
The plan, put forward by left-wingers, of all people, is that the government and it’s agencies are the only ones that can be trusted with guns. These aren’t the left-wingers I knew in the 70’s. Remember Kent State? The National Guard shooting students armed with a couple of beer bottles? And killing nothing but bystanders? These are the guys you want to have all the guns? There is too much crack being smoked in Washington.
This country is never going to be taken over, not by a foreign power, or a despotic government (after the seven years we’ve just been through, you don’t think that can happen?), because we are too well armed. Let’s keep it that way. Keep guns away from felons, but anyone else that wants a gun should have the right to get one, and carry it for their protection. But they must be trained. I don’t care who they are, anyone with a gun or rifle, even Vice-Presidents, have to know what they are doing. And have respect for what their weapon can do.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Just Who is Against Gay Rights?
By Jonathan Bert
The Extreme Moderate
June 19, 2008
The concept that being gay is a choice is a load of crap. As a heterosexual I don’t see being gay as any sort of choice at all. Those that claim homosexuality is a choice do have a choice; between being gay, or pretending they aren’t gay, and hate themselves and other gays. These self loathing gays have a lot of internal struggles to battle, and occasionally the stress of this fight can lead to very aberrant behavior, much to the consternation of many an altar boy.
Why else do so many politicians that fight against the rights of gay people turn out to be gay themselves? They can’t face the truth about themselves. But once in while they give in to their true nature, and when they get caught they act like it was just a misunderstanding. They are the ones misunderstanding themselves.
Why on Earth would anyone choose to be gay? Disowned, despised, and how do they find each other when they are just a small percentage of the population? There are just so many airports with just so many restrooms. No, this is not a matter of choice. It is no more of a choice than being born with eleven toes. If the homosexual community would swallow some of their “Gay Pride” they might be able to avoid a lot of discrimination using the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Homophobia means being afraid of homosexuals. Why be afraid? Most of them are actually very nice people. Homophobes are afraid of gays because they’re afraid they themselves are gay!
Why fight gay marriage? If they want to be stupid and totally screw up their lives like straight people have been doing for centuries, why not? Why should gays be privileged and spared this torment? Some states give them “civil unions” while we’re stuck in very uncivil unions. What gives? I tried marriage once, and believe me, you alternative lifestyle folks don’t want it! Its not like I married a bad woman. She was bright, entertaining and attractive, and we had three bright, entertaining and attractive children, (good thing they took after her), but after time, even good things go sour, and the system for ending the contract causes the friction to get even worse! I’ve been in relationships that didn’t involve marriage (or children) too, and then it’s just a matter of booting her butt out and saying good-bye. That’s what gays have their whole life! That’s why bachelors were always called gay, even if they weren’t. They just didn’t have anybody to nag at them for not coming home in time, or not taking out the garbage, or for breathing, etc. I don’t know what we call bachelors that aren’t gay nowadays, besides happy and content.
So let gays get married, it’s a real learning experience. And if you know anyone that insists being gay is a choice, keep an eye out when they’re around children.
The Extreme Moderate
June 19, 2008
The concept that being gay is a choice is a load of crap. As a heterosexual I don’t see being gay as any sort of choice at all. Those that claim homosexuality is a choice do have a choice; between being gay, or pretending they aren’t gay, and hate themselves and other gays. These self loathing gays have a lot of internal struggles to battle, and occasionally the stress of this fight can lead to very aberrant behavior, much to the consternation of many an altar boy.
Why else do so many politicians that fight against the rights of gay people turn out to be gay themselves? They can’t face the truth about themselves. But once in while they give in to their true nature, and when they get caught they act like it was just a misunderstanding. They are the ones misunderstanding themselves.
Why on Earth would anyone choose to be gay? Disowned, despised, and how do they find each other when they are just a small percentage of the population? There are just so many airports with just so many restrooms. No, this is not a matter of choice. It is no more of a choice than being born with eleven toes. If the homosexual community would swallow some of their “Gay Pride” they might be able to avoid a lot of discrimination using the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Homophobia means being afraid of homosexuals. Why be afraid? Most of them are actually very nice people. Homophobes are afraid of gays because they’re afraid they themselves are gay!
Why fight gay marriage? If they want to be stupid and totally screw up their lives like straight people have been doing for centuries, why not? Why should gays be privileged and spared this torment? Some states give them “civil unions” while we’re stuck in very uncivil unions. What gives? I tried marriage once, and believe me, you alternative lifestyle folks don’t want it! Its not like I married a bad woman. She was bright, entertaining and attractive, and we had three bright, entertaining and attractive children, (good thing they took after her), but after time, even good things go sour, and the system for ending the contract causes the friction to get even worse! I’ve been in relationships that didn’t involve marriage (or children) too, and then it’s just a matter of booting her butt out and saying good-bye. That’s what gays have their whole life! That’s why bachelors were always called gay, even if they weren’t. They just didn’t have anybody to nag at them for not coming home in time, or not taking out the garbage, or for breathing, etc. I don’t know what we call bachelors that aren’t gay nowadays, besides happy and content.
So let gays get married, it’s a real learning experience. And if you know anyone that insists being gay is a choice, keep an eye out when they’re around children.
A Plan for Capital Punishment
By Jonathan Bert
The Extreme Moderate
June 19,2008
As a political moderate, I have mixed feelings about capital punishment. On one hand executing people shows a great disrespect for life, which is what we’re executing the guy for in the first place. Also, it actually ends up costing more to put someone to death than it does to house him for the rest of his life. On top of that, capital punishment makes the guy a martyr, with people, even movie stars, protesting his death, instead of just letting him rot in a cell, despised or forgotten. Not to mention that some times the system screws up and kills the wrong guy. But in some cases, we just have to make sure we keep these creeps off the street. Until judges are selected for good judgement, instead of for who they know, or their fundraising ability, etc., we can’t guarantee these scumbags won’t be released.
In some cases, like the Dru Sjodin murder in northern Minnesota, I would like to flip to switch myself. I would even pay money for the honor. Then it hit me, what if someone with actual money felt this way? We could offset the cost of appeals and other costs of the exercise! Put the job of finishing off a killer up for bid, and we could make money with our criminal justice system!
Too bad Florida got rid of the Electric Chair. The Carlie Brucia case would make them some cash! Show the video of the thug grabbing poor Carlie behind the car wash, then show the film clip of their electric chair setting some criminal’s head on fire, and the phones would ring off the hook! Or Utah, they used to have firing squads! What would you pay to lodge a bullet in the heart of a psycho killer? Multiply that by six and it would be a small fortune! And if someone chickens out, (no refunds), there would still be five other people happy to pull the trigger.
But Utah, like Florida, went to lethal injection. Speaking of lethal injection, why do they use a three-drug cocktail of questionable cruelty when there are plenty of other drugs that are deadly? If they want to show young, impressionable people the dangers of drugs, why don’t they just shoot the guy up with Heroin and let everybody know that yes, the stuff can kill you? I suppose murderers would be lining up for enough horse to kill a horse. Or shoot him up with a bunch of Methamphetamine and film his reaction, show the world what it looks like to have three strokes and a heart attack simultaneously? Let the world know the government isn’t filling us up with a load of crap when it says drugs are bad for your health! But however it’s done, even lethal injection could bring in some money.
The problem with this plan is some states might get a little overzealous about getting rid of people. Look at how many poor saps George W. had offed when he was governor of Texas. And he had to pay someone to do it! Just imagine if he could parlay it into a reason to give his buddies tax breaks. Even jaywalkers would be in danger.
We just have to face it; our criminal justice system is too incompetent and corrupt to be deciding who lives and who dies. Besides that, the worst psychos are just plain sick, sick people. Murder itself should be considered a sign of insanity. Just put these disturbed individuals in cages, and keep them there. And give them time, a lot of time, to think about how they screwed up. Wouldn’t that be the sweetest revenge?
The Extreme Moderate
June 19,2008
As a political moderate, I have mixed feelings about capital punishment. On one hand executing people shows a great disrespect for life, which is what we’re executing the guy for in the first place. Also, it actually ends up costing more to put someone to death than it does to house him for the rest of his life. On top of that, capital punishment makes the guy a martyr, with people, even movie stars, protesting his death, instead of just letting him rot in a cell, despised or forgotten. Not to mention that some times the system screws up and kills the wrong guy. But in some cases, we just have to make sure we keep these creeps off the street. Until judges are selected for good judgement, instead of for who they know, or their fundraising ability, etc., we can’t guarantee these scumbags won’t be released.
In some cases, like the Dru Sjodin murder in northern Minnesota, I would like to flip to switch myself. I would even pay money for the honor. Then it hit me, what if someone with actual money felt this way? We could offset the cost of appeals and other costs of the exercise! Put the job of finishing off a killer up for bid, and we could make money with our criminal justice system!
Too bad Florida got rid of the Electric Chair. The Carlie Brucia case would make them some cash! Show the video of the thug grabbing poor Carlie behind the car wash, then show the film clip of their electric chair setting some criminal’s head on fire, and the phones would ring off the hook! Or Utah, they used to have firing squads! What would you pay to lodge a bullet in the heart of a psycho killer? Multiply that by six and it would be a small fortune! And if someone chickens out, (no refunds), there would still be five other people happy to pull the trigger.
But Utah, like Florida, went to lethal injection. Speaking of lethal injection, why do they use a three-drug cocktail of questionable cruelty when there are plenty of other drugs that are deadly? If they want to show young, impressionable people the dangers of drugs, why don’t they just shoot the guy up with Heroin and let everybody know that yes, the stuff can kill you? I suppose murderers would be lining up for enough horse to kill a horse. Or shoot him up with a bunch of Methamphetamine and film his reaction, show the world what it looks like to have three strokes and a heart attack simultaneously? Let the world know the government isn’t filling us up with a load of crap when it says drugs are bad for your health! But however it’s done, even lethal injection could bring in some money.
The problem with this plan is some states might get a little overzealous about getting rid of people. Look at how many poor saps George W. had offed when he was governor of Texas. And he had to pay someone to do it! Just imagine if he could parlay it into a reason to give his buddies tax breaks. Even jaywalkers would be in danger.
We just have to face it; our criminal justice system is too incompetent and corrupt to be deciding who lives and who dies. Besides that, the worst psychos are just plain sick, sick people. Murder itself should be considered a sign of insanity. Just put these disturbed individuals in cages, and keep them there. And give them time, a lot of time, to think about how they screwed up. Wouldn’t that be the sweetest revenge?
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Anti-Family Court
By Jonathan Bert
The Extreme Moderate
June 18, 2008
Last Sunday was Father's day, and the newspapers, as usual, were calling for fathers to be more involved with their children. If they were really that concerned, they would make a better effort to resolve what maybe the biggest roadblock to healthy father-child relationships.
Anyone that’s been involved with a Family Court knows that this system is set up for women. It is usually run by women, and it’s beneficiaries are women. There is no place in America where discrimination is so pervasive, and this discrimination is against men, and somehow that makes it okay.
Sociologists decry that fathers are not involved enough with their children. One thing that makes them hesitant to do so is the wife will suddenly decide she’s not happy, get a divorce, and the poor sap will hardly ever see his kids again. The system will search the four corners of the Earth to make sure they get the guy’s money, but he can search the four corners and not find anyone to help him receive his visitation rights. Just as the women want it. It’s not like he has much chance of getting custody; women get custody about eighty percent of the time. The women running the operation claim women are better parents. Women throwing their kids off bridges, drowning them in the bathtub, or hiding them by the freeway while she turns tricks. Excellent parenting.
The truth is that it is found that the parent with the better income is the best parent to gain custody. As men usually have the better income, this is seen as unfair to women. How about the children? Is it fair to them that their best shot at life isn’t even given a 50/50 chance? It doesn’t matter; the system is set up for women.
I was lucky. My ex-wife is a good mother, good enough to understand that her children needed their father in their life. I didn’t have any problem getting regular visitation with my kids. But that was due to the goodness of her heart, not any action of the Family Court. I’m speaking for all of the poor guys that made babies with self-centered “ladies” that use their children as tools to exact their revenge.
If anybody out there truly believes that fathers are valuable to their children, tell your Family Court.
The Extreme Moderate
June 18, 2008
Last Sunday was Father's day, and the newspapers, as usual, were calling for fathers to be more involved with their children. If they were really that concerned, they would make a better effort to resolve what maybe the biggest roadblock to healthy father-child relationships.
Anyone that’s been involved with a Family Court knows that this system is set up for women. It is usually run by women, and it’s beneficiaries are women. There is no place in America where discrimination is so pervasive, and this discrimination is against men, and somehow that makes it okay.
Sociologists decry that fathers are not involved enough with their children. One thing that makes them hesitant to do so is the wife will suddenly decide she’s not happy, get a divorce, and the poor sap will hardly ever see his kids again. The system will search the four corners of the Earth to make sure they get the guy’s money, but he can search the four corners and not find anyone to help him receive his visitation rights. Just as the women want it. It’s not like he has much chance of getting custody; women get custody about eighty percent of the time. The women running the operation claim women are better parents. Women throwing their kids off bridges, drowning them in the bathtub, or hiding them by the freeway while she turns tricks. Excellent parenting.
The truth is that it is found that the parent with the better income is the best parent to gain custody. As men usually have the better income, this is seen as unfair to women. How about the children? Is it fair to them that their best shot at life isn’t even given a 50/50 chance? It doesn’t matter; the system is set up for women.
I was lucky. My ex-wife is a good mother, good enough to understand that her children needed their father in their life. I didn’t have any problem getting regular visitation with my kids. But that was due to the goodness of her heart, not any action of the Family Court. I’m speaking for all of the poor guys that made babies with self-centered “ladies” that use their children as tools to exact their revenge.
If anybody out there truly believes that fathers are valuable to their children, tell your Family Court.
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