Setting Up The New Computer

Well folks, this was the day I set up my new Dell computer. The day I was dreading. Now I wish I had taken my good friend Lar's advice and bought a Mac. At least with that computer, all I would have to do is take it out of the box and plug it in and I'm ready to go. Not so with my new Dell Inspiron. Early this morning, at the first crack of daylight, I laid everything out on the floor of my home office. Which plug goes where. I'm going to make this story short because I have company coming for dinner in about an hour and a half and I have to make preparations. Here is what happened. I couldn't get the wireless mouse and keyboard to work. The instructions that came with the PC didn't match what I had to do. I called the Dell help line. I will give them credit, they did answer right away. However, I was connected to India. COULDN'T HEAR HER! Her voice sounded like she was talking on the other end of a tin can connected by string between me here in Delaware and her in New Dehli. Finally, after many "I can't hear you?", she switched to another phone where I could hear her. I don't know if this was much better. SHE HAD THE ACCENT. Lots of "What did you say?" from me. That sing songy Indian accent. I thought when the tech support job were outsourced overseas, they taught those folks to speak Engie. After about an hour and a half I we succeeded in getting the wireless mouse and keyboard to work. However, she told me that I was on my own as to getting my Internet connection up and going. I thanked her for her time (she was trying her best I'm sure) and hung up. I put a call into my Computer Guy. He's coming over next Tuesday at 1 PM. He speaks English. Maybe he can help me to get the sound working too. I plugged the green sound cord in the back of the computer in the green female input. DIDN'T WORK! FRUSTRATED. I've been dreading this. That's why I'm running dual computers. I'm keeping my old computer until I'm good and comfortable with the new one. I also have to get the wireless printer to working. I haven't even taken that equipment out of the box. I can't get that image of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin giving an interview to a local news reporter that she was setting free one lucky turkey for Thanksgiving while others were being slaughtered in camera range right behind her. I hope I didn't get one of her turkeys.

Africa Is A Continent

If any of you happen to run into the former Republican vice presidential running mate, Sarah Palin, could you please inform her that Africa is a continent, not a country. Apparently, according to unnamed members of the McCain campaign, Palin thought Africa WAS A COUNTRY! She thought South Africa was PART OF THE COUNTRY OF AFRICA. Wait, it gets even better. She didn't know what countries make up NAFTA! The North American Free Trade Agreement. Uh Sarah, those countries are:

Canada

The United States

Mexico

When I first heard this news, it briefly knocked the wind out of me. A third grader knows that Africa is a continent! Palin, being the governor of Alaska, one would think would know what countries comprised the North American Free Trade Agreement. What took my breath away was the fact this this person could have been one heartbeat away from the presidency of the most powerful country in the world. Apparently this lack of knowledge wasn't the McCain campaign's main problem with Sarah Palin. Their problem was that she refused to be controlled. Thus, they called her a "Diva." Why is this news coming from unnamed sources within the McCain campaign? I think it's because they realized they couldn't control her. She wouldn't be their puppet. This woman truly believes she is all that. And that my friends, is really scary. One heartbeat away. Think of it. We came that close.

Why McCain Lost

Simply put, the American voter this time voted for hope, not fear. The current version of the Republicans who were in control of the government has basically put the message out “Vote for us or die.” This was the message of George Bush, senior and junior. It was to win at all cost by whatever means. McCain accepted this methodology. He conducted a slash and burn campaign against Barack Obama, painting him as “dangerous and untested.” Perhaps the death knell of McCain’s campaign for the presidency was his selection of Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska as his running mate. Up until his selection of Palin, McCain’s strongest case against Obama was that he (McCain) had more experience than Obama. McCain threw that argument out the door when he selected Palin. Then McCain tried, unsuccessfully, to adopt the mantle as a “change candidate.” McCain underestimated the intelligence of the American voter not to figure out that McCain was trying to hoodwink them. His fate was sealed when Sarah Palin hit the campaign trail and pushed the lie that Obama “palled around” with a terrorist. Day after day, we were subjected to this vile invective spewing from Ms. Palin’s lipstick tattooed lipstick lips. Day after day we were subjected to McCain as the Angry Old Man pounding the podium with his forefingers, his face twisted in anger, as an occasionally a smug smile crept across his face, when he read (what he considered) a particularly good dig at Obama. The test was to turn off the sound on the TV and watch the visual of the two different candidates. Obama looked cool and calm. McCain looked like an angry penguin pounding the lectern. Sarah Palin looked like what she is, an uninformed, self-satisfied, smug, Far Right, patronizing (she “tolerates” gays) religious extremist who doesn’t know how ignorant she is and doesn’t care. Her face showed true pleasure every time she let loose another steam of invective insults against Barack Obama. What she didn’t realize, that was every time she exercised her slashed and burn campaign tactics against Obama, she was losing more of the Undecided Vote. John McCain reminded us again and again that he was a POW and “had the scars to prove it”, assuming that that was a qualification to be president of the United States. He claimed to be the “change” candidate. This is a claim from a man who doesn’t know how to use e-mail, the basic form of communication in the United States in the year 2008. He professed to help the veterans but he consistently voted against increased funding for the Veterans Administration. John McCain claimed to be aware of how the middle class is suffering in this economy but he didn’t even know how many homes he owned. Just this morning it was reported on the news that Sarah Palin thought Africa was a country. The truth is Sarah Palin has a talent for reading a script (probably due to her earlier stint as a TV weather girl) but is unable to complete a sentence on her own; noun, verb and direct object. Both candidates were unqualified. McCain lacked the temperament (erratic.) Palin lacked the intelligence. They ran a totally negative and divisive campaign. Their efforts to try and suggest that Obama was some kind of a member of a terrorist sleeper cell failed miserably. The fear campaign didn’t work this time. It is time for Karl Rove and his acolytes to disappear in the dustbin of history. This time, hope overcame fear.

Only 17 Days To Go

Only 17 days to go to the presidential election. Obama is in the lead. However, he cautions his followers not to get complacent. Get out and vote. It is well known that the young and minorities vote in lesser percentages than older voters. Even though the Democratic registrations are way up, that doesn't necessarily mean they they will actually go to the polls and vote. The McCain/Palin campaign are pulling out all the stops now. The robocalls have begun which, non to subtly, accuse Obama of being a terrorist. McCain and Palin are continuing the Big Lie that if Obama if election, the middle class will have their taxes increased. McCain has trotted out Joe The Plumber (who in reality turns out to be Sam the Contractor - he doesn't actually have a plumbing license, his name is "Samuel J.", and he has a tax lien on his house - obviously Joe the Plumber doesn't like to pay taxes, something he has in common with the McCain Republicans.) How anybody could vote for four more years of Bush like economics is beyond me. One important factor is the Right to Life issue. Many will vote for McCain solely for this reason and that is understandable. However, if anyone seriously thinks that Sarah Palin, the shrill, moose hunting Alaskan governor, is suited to be vice president is surely drinking the Repug Kool-Aid. But then, they probably realize she is just a blank slate like George W. Bush. The powers behind the throne then could push their own agendas which is more tax cuts for the rich and the decimation of the middle class. Every evening I'm glued to the TV set watching MSNBC and their coverage of the presidential race. I have been fascinated by politics ever since the Fifties when I watched my first political convention on that old Philco TV set we had in our living room on Washington Avenue in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. For many years I was a die hard Republican. However, that all changed when I was watching the Republican Convention in 1992 which was held in Houston, Texas. Patrick J. Buchanan gave a hate filled speech in which he stated that the Republican Party had no place for people of a different sexual orientation. What really gave me a chill down my spine was the reaction shots of the well dressed, white cheering Republican convention delegates. They reminded me of the "Good Germans" who saluted "Heil Hitler!" to Adolph Hitler as he paraded through the streets of German cities during the Thirties. At that time I realized that no matter what my conservative views, the modern Republican Party drummed me and my gay brethren out of the Republican party as non persons. Then, a few years later, when I had to apply at the Veterans Administration for health benefits, my opinion of the Republican Party was permanently changed. The Bush administration began a series of moves to discourage veterans like me from applying for benefits. Fortunately for me, there was such a political outcry that my benefits were not affected. I was grandfathered in the system. However, other veterans like me, who delayed their application for VA benefits were denied. The coldness and brutality demonstrated by the Republican party left me with no other choice but to join the Democratic party. To me, the Republicans believe "you're on your own." The Democratic party believes "we're all in this together." Many of my family and friends are Republicans and continue to be True Believers. I respect their views but disagree with them. I am convinced that when Barack Obama is elected president they will see that this is the best thing that could happen to this country. By the way, in the picture of the soldiers I am the second from the left on the bottom row. Basic training, Fort Dix, New Jersey, February 1960. A long, long time ago. I wonder what ever happened to my friend Mike Tine, the young soldier from Massachusetts to my left. Like ships passing in the night. So many lost friendships. So long ago.

The Bates Motel

Remember the old Alfred Hitchcock movie "Psycho?" The dark and brooding image of the Bates Motel silhouetted on a hill in the nighttime sky was one of the stars of that movie. I was reminded of the spookiness of the Bates Motel while doing my rounds last night at my place of toil for pay in Lewes, Delaware. Ah yes, I was working again last night. I thought I finished my six week run of temporary full time employment with my Sunday nighttime duties. Alas, it was not to be. The gentleman who took my hours on Monday night called in about an hour before work to inform the assistant manager that he threw his back out (always a convenient excuse) and would be unable to come into work. The assistant manager thus made a call to me asking me if I would mind coming in. It is not in my nature to refuse to help (probably my downfall too.) So, in for one more go round. It wasn't busy last night, the hotel only having one guest. It was a quiet night. Much too quiet. The hours dragged by. To break up the monotony I did my "rounds" of checking the grounds outside the building. That's when I came upon this image of the Inn at night. It reminded me of a book I just finished, "Anthony Perkins, A Split Image." Anthony Perkins, as most of you know was a movie star back in the Sixties. His greatest role was as Norman Bates in "Psycho." That role defined him and he was never able to cast off that character of the twitchy faced Norman. What I remember most about the movie was it was the first time I ever saw the star murdered in the first few minutes of the movie. I remember how puzzled I was when Janet Leigh was taking the slashing in the shower. All I could think of was "she's going to be a mess the rest of the movie with all those stab wounds!" It's funny but I remember exactly when I saw the movie and where I saw it. I was stationed at Ft. Devens in Ayre, Massachusetts. It was April of 1960. I even remember the movie house I saw it. It was the main movie theater near the Service Club. It was a long walk from my barracks in A Company at the other side of the base. What is interesting that I would remember exactly where I was because there are few other times I remember where I was when I witnessed a momentous event in the history of this country in the world. One of the other times was when I heard the news that John F. Kennedy was shot (I was at work at Lipsett Steel Products in Coatesville, PA and it was a Friday afternoon.) Another time was when Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald. It was a rainy Sunday morning and I was in my apartment at 388 Madison Street in Coatesville, PA ironing my shirts for the upcoming work week. I couldn't believe what I saw when Jack Ruby pulled out his gun and shot Lee Harvey Oswald as Oswald was being transported from the hospital to the police station.. I think that is the common thread in all these Moments in History. I couldn't believe what I heard or saw. Another time was when the stock market took a dramatic drop like it did in October of 1987. I was working at Fidelity Bank in Philadelphia, PA. My unit was next to the investment management department of the trust department. Normally the men and women working in the investment management department were a noisy lot. Not that day. They were all huddled around a ticker tape type machine, mumbling in soft undertones. Ah yes, Moments in History. The stock market took another tumble yesterday. Today isn't looking any better. The presidential campaign was sunk to the gutter since McCain and Palin have starting slinging the mud at Obama. Hopefully, in the future I will look back on this time as one of positive change. The time when the likes of John McCain and Sarah Palin and the discredited Republican Party are repudiated and this country can again move forward. However, I have my doubts after seeing that haunting image of the Bates Motel last night.

The Republican National Convention

Here I am, sitting up late listening to Rudi Guilani knock Barack Obama. I'll have to admit, he's getting in some good shots. I should be in bed now so I can be all fresh and ready when I get up at 4:45 AM tomorrow to get ready to go to work. I'm interested in Sarah Palin's speech. Listening to Guilani I'm reminded of Anne Richards and her speech at a Democratic Convention knocking the first George Bush. That speech backfired on her because George Bush was elected president and she lost her job as governor of Texas. Interesting how Guilani feels the need to belittle Obama and build up Palin. While I'm sure she's a very nice lady, but a vice presidential candidate? One beat away from the presidency? I don't think so. Of course all those who are drinking the Right Wing Republican Kool-Aid will find that she is the MOST qualified candidate for vice president. This is going to be an interesting election. It will be close. There are those who will never vote for a black man, no matter how qualified. However, what really concerns me is how could anybody vote for McCain. This man is a hothead. Do we want someone like him with his finger on the nuclear button? This is what scares me to death. Not electing a woman like Sarah Palin as vice president but electing a man like John McCain as president.