Ramblings

The only connection between the matters discussed below are that they show ever more unpleasant facets of the human condition:

• About 150 years ago (when the U.S. population was 31 million) famous showman P.T. Barnum was credited with saying "a sucker is born every minute". In today's terms (with 310 million Americans) that would translate to "a sucker is born every 6 seconds" which seems just about accurate. How else to explain how many suckers exist to fall for every conceivable type of fraud--from the "sophisticated" investors who without question or diligence gave Bernie Madoff and other mini-Madoffs their fortunes to the less wordly who are or were involved in all sorts of absurd get rich quick schemes ("earn $200,000 from your home!") to the unfortunate and desperate who fall prey to dangerous fad diet claims and other impossible cures for various ailments? The bearded lady and other phony acts in Barnum's old carnivals were harmless bits of entertainment for yesteryear's suckers compared to what goes on in modern society.
• Is there any country in the "developed world" more ridiculous and hypocritical when it comes to sex and commercialism than the U.S.? While our courts devote precious time to decide whether Janet Jackson's Super Bowl "wardrobe malfunction" or fleeting obscenities uttered by celebrities are punishable offenses (?), the airwaves are polluted with not-so-subtle commercials about erectile dysfunction cures (don't you love the couple sitting outside apparently naked in side by side old bathtubs?) or K-Y petroleum jelly, etc. These aren't obscene? TNB, certainly no prude, is actually most amused by the several spots where young couples (no need for Cialis) breathe rather heavily in public until inevitably an old biddy says "get a room". It turns out that the commercial is for a furniture company pushing ROOM additions. Sex sells.
• Speaking of suckers, who exactly watches "reality shows" like the upcoming "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here"? Successor to a long line of quality television productions like "The Biggest Loser" (actually the viewer), "I Married My Niece" (OK, TNB made this one up) and others, the new show, set to debut in June, will feature Z-list "celebs" like Patti Blagojevich (Mrs. Rod) eating insects and doing other gross out things while on location in the Costa Rican jungle. Mr. Rod was not allowed to participate by the Federal judge overseeing his criminal case who strangely didn't trust the Smiling Serb to return to Chicago for trial. This judge obviously doesn't appreciate what TV viewers will be missing.

Corrections-- A sharp eyed reader noticed that both Arlen Specter and Jim Cramers's surnames were misspelled in the last post which was, you may recall, was entitled "Pathetic" which is how TNB feels about such errors. But please keep reading and sending in your comments, both positive and critical.

Pathetic

Just when there appeared to be a little lull in the obnoxious rantings coming from politicians and pundits, along comes some really pathetic individuals.

Who could possibly be more pathetic than Sen. Arlen Spector (D or R--your choice) of Pennsylvania? Facing certain defeat in next year's Republican primary in his home state, Sen. Turncoat took the pathetic route. Instead of retiring after 30 years in the Senate, at age 79 with a host of health problems, he opted to declare himself a Democrat. This development was pathetically welcomed by both President Obama and Vice President Biden, who apparently found time while continually inserting his foot in his mouth to lobby Spector to make the change.

Why? Spector will (maybe) give the Democrats the 60th vote they need to prevent GOP filibusters. That is, if Al Franken finally is seated after numerous court challenges in the Minnesota race by former GOP Senator Norm Coleman. But not so fast. Spector stated that he wants Coleman to win so there will still be at least one Jewish Republican in the Senate. So much for the 60th vote and any party "loyalty". Spector, who is best remembered for his vicious baiting of Anita Hill during the 1991 Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings, should not be embraced by Obama who already has a pathetic Jewish Senator in Joe Lieberman who mostly votes with the President after smearing him during the campaign. This is really disgusting.

But perhaps even worse we have the CNBC charmers such as Larry Kudlow and Jim Creamer who have likened Obama to Lenin and believe (or do they?) that we are in the throes of Soviet style socialism, etc. etc. Obama's "sin" of course is that he dared to "invade" the sacrosanct free market in order to save the country from a possible depression. Their solution would be just to stand by and let the financial system, auto industry, etc. fail. More than pathetic. Responsible dissent has disappeared and been replaced by demagoguery. It's sad that the only way that the two parties come together is when Arlen Spector looks in the mirror. Ugh!

Ticked Off

Regular readers of The Normal Blog will surely agree that most postings consist of factual, well reasoned positions with little or no hint of TNB's emotions. Ranting is not allowed. Thus, you may be shocked to learn that TNB is really ticked off this week, due in no small measure to the following:

• The Flyover--- What were they thinking? How could anyone be so stupid? Etc. Etc. Of course, this refers to the Air Force One look alike "photo-op" which took place in Lower Manhattan without warning, thus justifiably frightening thousands of New Yorkers with obvious memories of 9/11. Both President Obama and NYC Mayor Bloomberg stated that they had no advance notice and were "furious". So, did a head roll? Of course not silly, these are government employees. TNB is ticked off because no one was fired and required to seek a position in the private sector (good luck). Instead the White House official involved issued a lame apology (probably ghostwritten) and the New York official who failed to notify Bloomberg had an administrative reprimand placed in his file. No word on whether he was told to stand in the corner.
• The Singing Sensation--- Is there anyone who has not by now seen the YouTube video of the (formerly) frumpy Scottish lady Susan Boyle wowing British judges with her rendition of "I Had A Dream"? TNB is ticked off, not at her certainly, but at the entire entertainment media for their breathless and stunned reaction that someone who isn't beautiful, has allegedly never been kissed, dresses poorly etc. could possibly succeed. She has already had somewhat of a makeover and sadly once the media tires of the novelty, her 15 minutes of fame will likely end.
• Dick Cheney--- Although George W. Bush seems to have gracefully retired to private life (did he really want to be President?), Darth Vader has emerged from 8 years of hiding to become the unwanted spokesman for the Republican Party. TNB is ticked off that Cheney, who never seemed to be available for meaningful interviews while Vice President, has now appointed himself chief thorn in Obama's side. His image is hardly going to broaden the "tent" of the GOP which took another blow when Sen. Arlen Specter defected to the Democratic Party. When does hunting season begin?

If you're ticked off by something in the news, let TNB know. Best rant gets an all expense paid trip to Alaska in December for the first birthday party of the love child of Bristol Palin and ex-stud Levi Johnston.

Ignoring History

The famous quote "Those Who Ignore History Are Bound To Repeat It" or versions thereof, variously ascribed to Santayana or Burke, has been around for several centuries. Isn't it interesting how relevant this admonition is today? Consider several examples:

For hundreds of years, ending in the early 19th Century, pirates were the scourge of the seas, particularly off of North Africa--the infamous Barbary Coast. Finally, after decades of ransom paying by European nations, the fledgling US Marines finally wiped out the Barbary pirates in 1815 thus causing the phrase "...to the shores of Tripoli " to be included in the Marine hymn.

Then for the better part of the next 200 years, "pirates" were romanticized in the minds of the public, beginning with the classic Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera "The Pirates of Penzance" (which contains the most parodied song ever "I am the very model of a modern Major-General"), then onto Capt. Hook from Peter Pan, numerous sports teams using "Pirates" as sort of a benign nickname and finally Johnny Depp as a dandified captain in "Pirates of the Caribbean". The emergence of real latter day pirates, this time Somalis off the East Coast of Africa, received relatively little publicity until the recent dramatic rescue of Capt. Richard Phillips. Shipping companies and some governments paid ransoms instead of doing something to stop this practice. Ignoring history has increased the price of combating this scourge, which at least is finally receiving overdue attention.

Attention has not been lacking on another scourge--financial fraud. But again history has been ignored. A lot of people think that Charles Ponzi invented such frauds in the 1920's. But he was actually a small timer, preying mostly on the most vulnerable segments of society. 65 years earlier in 1855, when Dickens wrote "Little Dorrit" (now an excellent Masterpiece Theatre series) he portrayed the British aristocracy as being taken to the cleaners by a smooth, trustworthy, hard to approach (sound familiar?) con man eerily similar to Bernie Madoff, who of course preyed on a modern day "aristocracy" of sorts. The fictional counterpart was named Merdle, which is probably the original family name of Madoff, before it was de-anglicized to better identify with the majority of his victims. There obviously were real life models for Merdle, as well as for numerous other crooks who continue to fool people, all of whom ignore history at their peril.

Finally, the real history of the 1773 Boston Tea Party, involving a bailout of the East India Company (really!), was largely ignored on April 15, with the ubiquitous "tea parties" organized largely by Fox News to complain about taxation without representation. That was obviously valid three years prior to the Declaration of Independence, but wasn't there just a fair, democratic election? And worst of all, the "spontaneous" protesters ignored a modern day British (vulgar) usage of "teabagging" referring to a sensitive part of the male anatomy. Easy to ignore when you know nothing.

Too Much Information

In the world of text messaging and twittering, one of the most widely used acronyms (after OMG, BTW, LOL, etc.) is TMI, which is shorthand for Too Much Information and usually means that the recipient of one of these messages just has information overload. He or she can't or won't process all the information sent to them and has thus sent back a mild protest--TMI.

In our modern world, don't we all sometimes feel that we are receiving, by various means probably not even including texting, far more information than we want, need, can use and/or care about?

Only a generation or so ago, even the most knowledgeable people didn't have access to 24/7 news stations (they didn't exist!) or information now easily available on the Internet (PC's were just coming into widespread use) or certainly the currently ubiquitous cellphones which "way back then" in the '80's only could make telephone calls. Imagine how primitive!

You actually had to read a newspaper (remember them?) or magazine or carefully listen to a radio or TV news program to find out what was going on--and without much of the trivia than is now available. Rarely, for most people was there too much information--often not enough.

Actually if the irrelevant (should President Obama have bought pizza from his hometown Chicago rather than from St. Louis, did Billy Bob Thornton "pull a Joaquin Phoenix" in a Canadian interview, is Lindsay Lohan for real, will Blago go to Costa Rica to star in an NBC reality show, is the new White House dog Bo potty trained, etc. etc.) is filtered out there is a wealth of good information to make you smarter and more intelligent.

In order to achieve what might be referred to as JEI (Just Enough Information) you need to pay very close attention to The Normal Blog. Of course, in general blogs are probably the biggest source of TMI (present company excluded). Sadly, much of the "information" imparted is only opinion (present company also excluded).

Exodus

As Passover approaches, once again the timeless story of the Israelites, led by Moses, and their exodus from slavery under the Egyptian Pharaoh is being related to young and old. The parting of the Red Sea, 40 years of wandering in the wilderness and many other profound stories are being repeated. Although occurring perhaps 3,500 years ago, the biblical exodus still has significance for those of us coping with 21st century life.

For example, the desires of many people who are poverty and disease stricken and who live under brutal totalitarian regimes to find a better life elsewhere might produce a mass migration or exodus if such were possible. But it is painfully obvious that today's immigration policies and political climate in much of the developed world inhibits, in fact prohibits, any meaningful exodus from taking place.

Closer to home, the last 25 years or so have witnessed a huge exodus of Americans from the Midwest and Northeast to the South and Southwest. While this has understandably resulted from a desire to escape harsh winters and/or to seek better economic opportunities, so called "paradise" destinations such as California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida are reeling under the burden of the staggering overdevelopment in their states caused in no small part by such exodus. Where is Moses when we all really need him?

On a much more micro scale, we are seeing an exodus of various business executives starting with Rick Wagoner of GM and no doubt soon to be followed by some bank executives who raise the ire of Barack Obama--yes, he can be really angry. This type of exodus differs in one tiny respect from the others mentioned above. Only these guys get $20 million or more in severance to make their exodus comfortable. No unleavened bread for them.

April Fools

Every April 1, many pranks and tricks are played. Those who fall for them might be called April fools. But often these days, what might appear to be an April Fool's joke has actually happened on a daily basis. All of the following with one exception are real occurrences:

• A number of mistrials have been required because certain jurors, in contravention of judicial instructions, have been caught texting or twittering during jury deliberations. (Milwaukee Bucks player Charlie Villanueva was detected twittering at halftime during his coach's pep talk).
• A former NFL star (Travis Henry) and a former NBA player (Jason Caffey) have admitted to fathering, respectively, 9 and 8 children by an equal number of different women and despite their bloated salaries both are behind in child support.
• Iowa Senator Charles Grassley (who later said he was kidding) announced that he believed that many of those responsible for the financial crisis, particularly some AIG bonus recipients, should behave like some Japanese executives and commit suicide.
• Despite having several highly paid image consultants, Yankees star and '"former" steroid abuser Alex (A-Rod) Rodriguez's image took another big hit (pun intended) with the alleged revelation that he was client #13 (his uniform number) at the same high priced escort service that brought down NY Gov. Eliot Spitzer, supposedly client #9.
• Deposed and soon to be indicted former Illinois Gov. Rod (Helmet Hair) Blagojevich spent a morning as the host on a Chicago radio talk show right after receiving a six figure advance for a yet to be written book about him, who else?
• The wife of jailed Uber-Swindler Bernie Madoff received a seven figure advance for a tell -all book "The Truth About Ruth".

If you realized that only the last item was made up by TNB, you win an all expense paid trip to a Caribbean island of your choice (April Fool).