Al Capp the Prophet

click on image to make bigger and readable but not believable, but it is true anyway.

Al  Capp, creator of LI' ABNER knew how business and politics worked hand in hand.  This was a Sunday LI'  ABNER strip many years ago, at least 50, and it holds true today. 

Rev Sun Myung Moon Died Today

The self-proclaimed massiah Rev Sun Myung Moon died today at age 92.  Yet we are still here.  It doesn't make sense.

Peggy and I

The previous weekend I tried loading a video to Youtube from the video program Windows Live Movie Maker. It was a HD movie. All the movies I have uploaded to Youtube were HDs.

This time as soon as I pressed the Youtube button the Live Movie Maker program informed me Youtube did not accept movies of that density. Well, I know it was wrong but you cannot argue with a computer.

The program recommended to downsize it to a smaller density, and click a choice for the system to downsize it for me.

I clicked and it instantly asked me for my user name and password. I typed it my name and password and it immediately told me it was incorrect.

I looked at my records, checked and double checked my passwords and user name. I was right and it was wrong. Grrrrrr.

The next step was to utilize the “forgot password?” function, which each time I started it, it told me it was going through some problems, check back in a few minutes or the next day.

This went on for a few days.

Also there was a place if you had any problems write them; just “click here”
I clicked and was staring at blanks for my user name and password. It wouldn’t recognize my name and password there either and wouldn’t let me go on to complain about the system not accepting my credentials. It was a Catch-22 situation.

By the way, the video I was trying to send is on the previous post. I sent it by the Flip video editor program. I prefer the movie maker because it allows you to label things and people.

We called the AT&T help desk. The help desk technician told us the Live Windows Movie Maker was a Microsoft Program and not their program, but she gave me the number of Microsoft’s help number. Which we called.


We ended up with a hateful technician with a chip on his/her shoulder. He/She reminded me very much of Peggy on the Discover Credit Card commercial. Before we could tell he/her all the problems we encountered he/she told us they were going to send us a form to fill out on line and when we filled that out we would be directed to the technician party to discuss our problem with on-line.

“Great!” I said.

He/She told us it might take 5 minutes for it to go through.

I checked my email in 6 mintues and it wasn't there. One hour later I checked and it wasn't there. We went to bed and the first thing the next morning I checked and it wasn't there. Nor, the next day, or the next.

That was three or four days ago and it is not here yet.

Peggy pulled a fast one.

"Mr Watson, Get Your Ass In Here!"

On this date, March the 7th, in 1876, Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone. The fury of communications and improvements that was released that day hasn’t ended yet and probably never will.

With Alexander Graham Bell as the base of it all, Bell Telephone Company started which quickly became too big of a monopoly and was broken up in smaller Bell Companies such as Southern Bell, Rocky Mountain Bell, and so on. Eventually AT&T swooped down and claimed it all.



Coincidentally, on this date, in 1933, the board game of “Monopoly” was invented and was and is marketed by Parker Brothers.

Also on this date in 1908, Cincinnati Mayor Mark Breith stood before city council and announced that, "women are not physically fit to operate automobiles". I love it when a politician put his* foot in his* mouth.

*or her.

Lobbying the Elected Georgia Represenatives

In the past two weeks, lobbyists have spent more than $340 per member of the (Georgia) Legislature literally wining and dining lawmakers. Ethics reformers don't like it. – ajc.com, Feb 17, 2011.

I bet Governor Nathan Deal is fuming. Just thinking lof those lobbyists trying to influence the Georgia legislators with wine, food, and other presents, after all he the Governor insisted in his campaign he is very ethical.

Those highly paid lobbyists bearing gifts can have quality time with legislators just about anytime they want to. You try communicating with your representative and see what a nice form letter you get back.

The governor needs to have a heart to heart talk with the lobbyists. I would think he knows them well, after all, he enlisted them to help him with his transition into the governor’s office, so the news said at the time.

Tuesday is the most productive day of the wk week

Tuesday is the most productive day of the work week.
- Uncle John’s Page-a-Day Calendar, January 4, 2011.

Monday is the day normal work work forces return from the weekend. You feel the need to share with your co-workers what your weekend actvivites were. Or you may have called in sick, extending your weekend. Or you may have a hangover.

Wednesday is the middle of the week. It is time to stretch and pop your knuckles. Many retail stores in small towns used to take off this day, or maybe take a half day off.

Thursday probably comes in 2nd as being the most productive day of the work week. But this may the day you sneakingly put your work aside, catch up on your email and make plans for the weekend. Of course, probbly checking our email and forwarding jokes is a every work day activity.

Friday - who can work on Friday? Afterall, they have to clean off their deskks to make it neat looking for the weekend and leave early to get a jump on Friday traffic, and not to mention makeing the weekend longer.

Working 8 and getting paid for 40 - not bad, not bad.

Tax Laws of the Jungle

c\Click on the above to enlarge to read.

The above Dilbert cartoon, by Scott Adams, yesterday’s comic strip, Dogbert talks about using the “Dutch Sandwich” system of companies avoiding paying taxes. He added, “I’m not even making that up.”

I Googled Dutch Sandwich to see if Dogbert made it up or not and found that the Dutch Sandwich is indeed real. It is a complicated tax law loophole used widely by big corporations to get out of paying their fair share of taxes and of course that gives the little man their tax bourdon.

Here are some thoughts:.

I wonder what the “Fair Tax” people have to say about this.

I also wonder what the Tea Partiers have to say about the Dutch Sandwich loophole. Being big companies, you know they will have lobbyist to talk to the lawmakers in more convincing and personal ways than you or I could do. With the Dutch Sandwich, it is: Representation Without Taxation.

What Is Good For General Motors is Good for the U.S.

World Problems Could be Solved by Redefining

BP Stockholders


A high ranking BP executive said there are no plumes in the Gulf of Mexico. The news people jumped on that statement and ran with it, showing pictures of a huge shapeless oil mass lazily drifting on the Gulf of Mexico.

Then the CEO of BP realizing what kind of foolish statement his executive made said, more or less, "Well, it is according how you define 'plume'."

That brought me to remember one time in a major city the statistics of murder went down in numbers. The actual killings did not go down, the city just redefined some words. Like, most murders are done in a domestic situation, so since everybody knew each other, it wasn't included in the murder statistic - it was safely hidden away under another heading.

I have seen things redefined at the post office to make their numbers look better and I have read about other legal maneuvers of redefining something so the people in charge of the redefinitions would gain.

I wonder how that executive at BP defined a plume? A giant blob that ended life on earth? Hold on, its getting there.

Disavowing BP

In about August of 1965 I went to work for Sinclair Refining Company in Atlanta. I worked there three years before going to work for the Atlanta Post Office.

I worked in the office of the Sinclair warehouse the whole time.

After I was there about two years British Petroleum (BP) bought out Sinclair. As you may have guessed, BP's central headquarters was in England.

One of the high ranking officers and major stock holder of BP sent his son Tim B. to America to work with us. He was there to learn from the ground up the Sinclair business so as BP slowly over the operations Tim would know what was going on.

Tim was a tall lean person that had a very gentle British accent. Although he was probably worth millions, you would never know it. He was a very humble He was very proud that his first cousin was British pop singer Ian Whitcomb.

Tim was about my age and we we got along great. Not only on the clock but after work sitting on a car hood having a beer at the Riverside Package Store. We also went bar hopping and partys. We also double dated. I was dating Anna and married her during this same time period. I think Anna may have fixed Tim up with a date or two.

When I jointed Sinclair I signed up for their payroll-deduction stock-option plan. The company would match every dollar I put into it, providing I kept it for a certain length of time, five years I think it was. BP observed the same policy.

When I got a job at the post office I gave my branch manager a letter of resignation informing him I was giving a two week notice. In the letter I closed it by saying, "I will continue to promote BP's good name". That was my way of not burning any bridges behind me.

Wait! I want to know - was that letter a valid contract? Can I back down on the "promote BP's good name" part? After breaking the rules and ruining a good portion of the planet which will have consequences on down the line for a long time, I don't want to support BP's good name. I may get out of it on a technicality - what good name?

I know what you are thinking. You are thinking, "Hmmmmm..rubbed elbows with one of the major stockhholders of BP and was a stockholder himself....hmmmm"

Wait! I cashed my stock in as soon as the waiting time was up to help pay down on a house, and I never heard from Tim B. after I resigned, and besides I have an alibi for April 20, 2010. Anna will swear that I mailed back to AT&T two cell-phones that day. They sent us 4 and we only needed 2. So, I couldn't have been in the Gulf of Mexico that day could I?

I have nothing to do with BP any more (I say, shifting my eyes back and forth).

F-22 Raptors Nose Dive

The F-22 Raptor project at Lockheed in Marietta appears to be doomed. The Pentagon said it will not buy anymore, they are obsolete.

That probably means about 2000 of the 7000 jobs at Lockheed Marietta will lose their jobs. That is bad enough but on top of the poor economy we are in now, that adds insult to injury.

After the Korean War Lockheed had a huge lay-off, I think about 12,000 people lost their jobs. And according to Doctor Thomas Scott, author of Cobb County, Georgia and the Origins of the Suburban South, a Twentieth-Century History, the economy in Cobb was so well oiled the fired Lockheed employees quickly was absorbed in the work force of Cobb. Hopefully, Cobb County's economy is still healthy and that will happen again - if needed.



"Build airplanes here? Why? We have a good thing going now! Besides, what are airplanes?"

Can You Hear Me Now Mr. Watson?

On this date in 1876 Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone.

On this date in 1926 the first transatlantic telephone call was made; London and New York.

Someplace in these years Bell Telephone became a very big company. I understand that is when Mrs. Bell took over and it was unofficially named “Ma” Bell.

Then one of their sons was named Southern. Southern Bell moved to the southeast. Southern had a son named South Bell. His name in the Bell telephone directory was listed as Bell, South.

Other kids moved on to other parts of the country.

Ma Bell and her family became very big and very powerful. No one could compete with them.

Then, on this date in 1933 the game of Monopoly was invented.




See? Everything is relative.

The CEO Addresses the Executive Board

Lady and Gentlemen. Thank you for coming to this executive board meeting on such a short notice. I appreciate your sacrifice. John, I know you were in West Palm Beach at the annual golfing tournament you always attend and William I know you were spending quality time with your son, teaching him how to manage the hired help on your yacht. Well, this shouldn’t take too long, there are just some things that need to be said face to face.

First of all, I want to go on record and I hope you fine patriotic people will agree, that this “sharing the wealth” business is a bunch of crap. It is plain and simple socialism and communism all rolled into one package. I hope you back me on that.

Secondly, with times hard like they have been lately, we are letting some of our mortgagees slide by without paying what they owe us on a regular basis. Not having a job is not our problem. If they fail to pay the payments, out they go, plain and simple.

Thirdly good old Uncle Sam has just bailed us so our company and we will keep on being a productive force in the business community as we have been. Old Uncle Sam sent us a huge check to keep us afloat.

Before we disperse this money we must do the patriotic thing and give ourselves bonuses so that we may continue to do our duty and let our spending trickle down to the working classes. It is the right thing to do, to keep this company afloat, by God.

We need to decide how much our bonuses will be for making such a sacrifice for the working classed…. Say, me as CEO, 25 million, the vice CEO 20 million, and the rest of you between 15 and 10 million, according to your ranking in the company.

Now that is settled, we will adjourn the meeting, but before we do, remember, this “sharing the wealth” with the commoners is just bad for this county.

We Need Money! Help! Feed the Poor (Us)

Let me see if I got this right.

Say the three big U.S. auto makers CEOs went to Washington, DC, to plead for money for a bail-out because their companies are on the brink of bankruptcy and they each were flown to DC by their private jets?

Ha ha ha.. Haw Haw Haw!!!

You just can’t make this stuff up. And it keeps on coming!

There Are No Problems, Just Solutions!

I remember once hearing a manager wannabe say, "There are no problems, just solutions!"

Now it seems, that any big company that many people depend on – either by employment or by contracts, or use it for a lending base, if the money goes sour, the domino effect is feared, causing a wide spread money black-hole.

Which then, it is felt, that to prevent an economic chaos, the government needs to jump in and bail them out.

So, if the government puts up the money to bail them out, then, I think technically, the government becomes one of the major stock stockholders of the company. I would think that is what is called socialism with the disguise of capitalism.

The rate things are going now the government could be the principal stockholder of many large corporations.

Where is the money coming from to save all these corporations? The government (which is owned by “We the People”) has already spent itself almost out on recent wars. Of course the first thought is raise the taxes but raising taxes has already been deemed too liberal and morally wrong – even though we do owe the money.

I doubt if anyone wants to pass down our debts for our children and grandchildren to pay – if that isn’t a no-no it should be. If we just ignore the problem,then it may happen by default.

Another way for the government to come up with the money is to sell bonds to big money countries such as China, Japan, and Germany. Then, possibly in the long run, they might own the U.S. and all its companies it just acquired.

I know! We will cut benefits for the poor and the elderly.

See? There are no problems! Just a wide choice of solutions!

The Privileged Goes First and also Gas

This gas shortage business is, I think, a business. I think Ike stirred up a good excuse to cause a gas shortage, long lines at the few places that have gas, and after the bulk of it is withheld for a while, when it comes back at higher prices we will be so happy to buy gas freely with no lines, we won’t even think about complaining about the jacked up prices.

I hope I am wrong.

I have sat in line twice at Krogers to get gas and with the Kroger people directing traffic everything went smoothly.

Before Krogers this morning, at 6am I found a line backed up to a Shell Station. I got in the back of the line and edged one car length at a time towards the front. When I got within a few car lengths of the entrance from the road I noticed some people that went around the line and went in – but they went to the parking area and walked in. Which I reasoned, that was acceptable, why wait in the long line to the gas pumps when all you want is a lottery ticket or a pack or cigarettes or something.

One odd looking truck I noticed pulled into the lot but did not go in the store. He went around and got in the “next” line. He had some equipment in the back of his truck – he was probably a contractor. He pulled a fast one.

Then van drove in. In it was a lady with a veil on her face. They went directly to the pumps too. The man faceless lady got out and went in to buy something while the man, who had a long length robe on got out and pumped gas. Technically they did go inside but not before they found a place beside a pump. They pulled a fast one too.

When I got up in the lot I saw that all but one or two pumps had “OUT” signs on them and cars seemed in a jumbled mess in front of the two pumps. I left, I waited 45 minutes for nothing.

In my mind I was cursing the oil companies for directing such a mess. And I also cursed the contractor and the Muslim couple for demanding more privileges.

Who do they think they are? Better than us?

They may be. But, outwardly we don’t know that. There is no way of telling.

In India they operate a caste system. You tell it a person of higher class that deserves special privileges by the dot on their forehead. Maybe the U.S. should start that. Us commoners don’t know to bow to or get out of the way for or anything. It would make day to day living much simpler.

I was mulling over all this in the Kroger line this morning. It was be much better for people of high social standing if they could just break in line – turn around and show the person behind them their forehead dot, or jewelry, or maybe even expensive clothes.

The only problem I was thinking while sitting at a red light is redlights. How dare a light tell an person of privilege to “stop” for a commoner to go. I think this could be solved by putting some kind of privilege micro chip on the car.

wait! Some day the car will be worn and sold to a commoner. Maybe a micro chip implanted under the person’s skin will work better.

Well, by venting all this while in the car I didn’t have to go home and kick the neighbor’s dog (Willow is privileged).

The Rich Get Richer

I heard earlier this evening on the news that Circuit City is laying off a very big chunk of its work force. Or I am not sure “laying off” is the right word. Could you call it “down sizing”?
No, I don’t think so. They still need approximately the same amount of employees as they have now.

They just don’t want to pay them as much as they are presently getting.

So, they are letting the employees go then turning around hiring people at a much lower rate. Employees that was let go will be welcome to fill out a new application – for a lower salary of course.

I bet the person who planned this gets a very nice bonus idea of saving money, and I bet the monetarily gratitude will roll in a snowball effect upwards all they way to the C.E.O.

That is the way the system works isn’t it?

Ma AT&T?

AT&T has bought out BellSouth. According to what all I read it is going to be a friendly takeover. And AT&T announced it will be do some things customer friendly too, so we will not consider the takeover a negative thing.

Of course, there will be changes, but in so many words they said the changes will be nice changes.

One change I am interested in is my email address. Now it is @Bellsouth.net. Will I have to change it to @at&t.net?

One of the changes will be to change the stationary and all logos wherever they may be. I was thinking of the huge building in downtown Atlanta that has big letters that spell BELLSOUTH. That will have to be changed to AT&T. How much do you think that will cost? Ten dollars? Maybe fifty dollars? I think it will be up in the thousands.

And that big tall building is not the only one, BellSouth has hundreds of buildings and substations that BELLSOUTH will have to be removed and AT&T will take its place. I think a million bucks to do all the changes would be a very conservative estimate.

But whatever it is you can bet the costs will be relayed to and paid by us customers, in a customer friendly way of course.

But What Have You Done For Us Lately?

It seems around every Labor Day big companies announce big lay offs. Intel, Radio
Shack, and Home Depot announced big lay offs in the near future.

The timing I think probably has something to do with the calendar, rather than any thing to do with a remembrance and appreciation of this country’s labor force. I think lay-offs are probably the last surge of cost cuts to make the profits to look good.

But it sure seems ironic; the holiday that is meant to show the working man how much we appreciate him for making this country’s enterprise so strong is also the time he could get the ax.

The Georgia State Capital from the Coke Museum

This is the picture I took from the top floor of the Coke Museum.

By the way, that gold dome is really gold, mined from the the hills of north Georgia.