'Twas the night before Christmas,
He lived all alone,
In a one bedroom house made of
Plaster and stone.
I had come down the chimney
With presents to give,
And to see just who
In this home did live.
I looked all about;
A strange sight I did see,
No tinsel, no presents,
Not even a tree.
No stocking by mantle,
Just boots filled with sand,
On the wall hung pictures
Of far distant lands.
With medals and badges,
Awards of all kinds,
A sober thought
Came through my mind.
For this house was different,
It was dark and dreary,
I found the home of a soldier,
Once I could see clearly.
The soldier lay sleeping,
Silent, alone,
Curled up on the floor
In this one bedroom home.
The face was so gentle,
The room in such disorder,
Not how I pictured
A United States soldier.
Was this the hero
Of whom I'd just read?
Curled up on a poncho,
The floor for a bed?
I realized the families
That I saw this night,
Owed their lives to these soldiers
Who were willing to fight.
Soon round the world,
The children would play,
And grownups would celebrate
A bright Christmas day.
They all enjoyed freedom
Each month of the year,
Because of the soldiers,
Like the one lying here.
I couldn't help wonder
How many lay alone,
On a cold Christmas eve
In a land far from home.
The very thought
Brought a tear to my eye,
I dropped to my knees
And started to cry.
The soldier awakened
And I heard a rough voice,
"Santa don't cry,
This life is my choice;
I fight for freedom,
I don't ask for more,
My life is my god,
My country, my corps."
The soldier rolled over
And drifted to sleep,
I couldn't control it,
I continued to weep.
I kept watch for hours,
So silent and still
And we both shivered
From the cold night's chill.
I didn't want to leave
On that cold, dark, night,
This guardian of honor
So willing to fight.
Then the soldier rolled over,
With a voice soft and pure,
Whispered, "carry on Santa,
It's Christmas day, all is secure."
One look at my watch,
and I knew he was right.
"Merry Christmas my friend,
and to all a good night."

Taxes originally were a small amount of dollars taken from everyone in order to keep an infrastructure intact that services the community with things such as roads, garbage pickup and policing. Now it has risen to the absurd! Almost 50% of every working person’s wages goes to some tax or another. Whether it is income tax, health tax, gas tax, PST or GST it all flows into the government coffers to be doled out to others in some program or another. When is it ever going to stop? Unfortunately there is not a political party in Canada or the USA that will step up to the plate to put a stop to this lunacy. Redistribution of wealth is the cornerstone of every Liberal/Socialist/Communist/Fascist manifesto and we have a ton of these people in our governments. In order to accomplish their goals they have to tax their constituents that have money in order to get the funds to give to somebody else. It is all in the interests of compassion and taking care of those that can’t do for themselves. Bull shit (excuse the language) but this notion that there are an enormous amount of people that cannot look after their own welfare is a complete sham. These exorbitant tax grabs are more for the growth of government and the power it wields to control its citizens than it is for any other reason. Forget about accountability and responsibility for one’s own self as these are things of the past. Today you must worship at the altar of the almighty Government who controls your daily life from the time you get up in the morning (decided by the government by way of no more freeways) to the place where you live (gas taxes and municipal taxes). Just consider tobacco. You better quit smoking or you’ll be taxed to death instead of dying of lung cancer. If the Government and its politicians were honest about the dangers of smoking why wouldn’t they just ban it altogether? Because it’s all about health care costs. People are going to smoke if they want to regardless of bans etc,so to offset the costs of health care for lung cancer patients they tax all smokers to the extreme. The problem with this logic is that not all smokers get lung cancer so whether you agree or not the Government says you must pay. Sooner or later this tactic usually defeats itself because all legitimate sellers of tobacco products go out of business and in comes the black market and voila’ you have smokers and no taxes. The reality is that the more money you leave in a person’s pocket the more he or she will spend thus driving the economy and creating trade and wealth. This has been proven time and time again throughout history and yet every time a Liberal thinker gets into power they want to revisit the failed tax and spend ideologies of the past. It must be the Devil behind this thinking and he must be laughing hysterically at the fools that follow his path.

As I awake and stare at the wall it occurs to me that I better get a move on as I have a very busy day waiting for me. After the morning toiletries are complete I consume a hearty breakfast of fruits and cereal along with some toast and coffee. Its garbage day today and I should put the fruit rinds and toast crusts in the recycle but it’s a hassle to put it into the degradable bag and then search for the green bin so I guess I’ll just toss it into the regular garbage as no one will ever notice. As I walk out the door I notice that the grass at the side of the yard is a little brown so I think I’ll put the sprinkler on until I get home for lunch. Wait a minute am I to water on odd or even days??? Oh well no one will probably notice so I’ll just put it on and hope for the best. My first stop is at my accountant’s office where I will need to convince him that those expenses for upgrades on my house were tied directly to my business so I can get a reduction of my taxes. Probably about 10% were actually connected to the business but who needs to know that if I can get my taxes lowered. The next stop will be fun as I need to purchase some new stereo equipment for my basement which will provide fabulous audio effects within my rec room. The guy I’m buying them from is meeting me on a side road outside of town because he has the stuff in the back of a stake truck. The price I’m getting is incredible and if I was to think about it for any length of time I might think the stuff is hot but I try not to think about. Hey everybody does it right? After that it’s back to the house for lunch and to meet the contractor that is providing a quote to pave my driveway. He indicates $1400 cash or $1700 if I pay with a cheque. Pretty simple to figure this out. Cash it is! I’m saving a fortune today and if the next visit out is anything like this morning’s take I will be smiling all the way to the bank. I’m bidding on a big contract that could net me several thousands of dollars and it is all local work to top it off. Holy smoke I notice I am getting tight on time so I better speed up. I check and see no cops around so I step on it and before long I’m cruising at 60 mph in a 35 mph zone. Pulling into the crowded parking lot I see there are no spaces available except for the disabled spot. Well no one is looking so I quickly pull into the spot and jump out figuring I won’t be in there very long and if someone needs it I think they will understand that this is a very important meeting for me. Walking into the office I notice my competitor laughing and joking with my potential client and the warning signals start blaring. I hear the customer thank my rival for the tickets to the game as he is walking away and my hopes begin to fade. I have no tickets nor do I have anything else to help sway the deal to my side but I’ll give it my best. The next 15 minutes were disheartening as I found out I had been underbid for the job and lost out by a few hundred dollars. As I slowly walked back to my car I thought to myself how could this happen to me and over a couple of game tickets for a bribe no less? Here I am a law abiding and honest citizen trying to make a living. It is just not fair.

When I went to Public School, I’m talking about the 50’s, there were bullies. I’m also guessing that there have been bullies bouncing around since long before my time and yours combined. So why is it now headline news? Let’s first examine the environment that kids were in years ago vs. today’s classrooms and schoolyards. We find groups of children with all types of personalities thrown together to mingle, communicate and socialize in a somewhat controlled atmosphere. Not much different in that category so how about the schools themselves? Primarily brick buildings 2 or 3 floors high with fenced in yards and bells ringing at specific times to announce recess, start of class or other coded messages. Not much different there either so is it the teachers? Or the students? I think both of these questions deserve yes answers and here is why. The students reflect the society around them as they learn from their parents, their peers, the media (TV ,Movies etc) and their teachers. As society clamours for more and more reality, the violence, lack of morals and general disregard for human compassion are celebrated as great pieces of art in our movies and TV of today. Even X-rated cartoons can be seen by young eyes in this free for all of immorality that is called progressive. Then of course along comes the young offender laws that relieve kids from almost all accountability for any of the wrongs they may do. Considering that there were always a percentage of kids that would be bullies you can understand why they would begin to surface more readily in today’s world than in years past. When you consider that teachers have thrown in the towel when it comes to bullies you can see that there are no barriers to stop these young Turks from plying their trade on more subordinate kids. Hell the teachers are as scared of these toughies as much as the other children are. At one point we were making progress toward helping children and teachers deal with these morons as Mike Harris implemented a “zero tolerance for violence” mandate for all schools. But once again the Liberals rescinded it as they are wont to do in their quest to protect the wrong doers in society at the expense of the victims. Once again it is a simple thing and does not need to be complicated by elites who think they know better than everyone else. You break the rules and you suffer the consequences, no if’s ands or buts’. If you choose to be an aggressive idiot who intimidates others through force or extortion then you should be separated from the group until such time as you learn to behave. If you commit a crime then you do the time,.. not daddy’s fault, or society made me do it, nonsense. Get some decision makers that have some balls to see beyond the tears and sorrow displayed in the courtroom (after someone has been hurt or killed) and sentence these malcontents to the jail time they deserve. Kids should not be scared to go to school. We’ve all been there so put some pressure on our politicians to get off their seats and do something right for once to protect our children.

The Northern Black Widow spider is venomous and can harm people. However, the female injects such a small dose of venom that it rarely causes death. Reports indicate human mortality at well less than 1% from black widow spider bites. While Latrodectus variolus is not aggressive and does not have the instinct to bite, her venom is neurotoxic, which means that it blocks the transmission of nervous impulses. If the spider bites, most likely it has been pressed against human bare skin, and this causes a natural reaction, a bite in self-defense. For the most part, the black widow's bite may be felt only as a pin prick, during which the spider's fangs inject a minute amount of highly toxic venom under the skin. The severity of the victim's reaction depends on his or her age and health, and on the area of the body that is bitten. Local swelling and redness at the site may be followed in one to three hours by intense spasmodic pain, which can travel throughout the affected limbs and body, settling in the abdomen and back (intense abdominal cramping, described as similar to appendicitis), and can last 48 hours or longer. Elderly patients or young children run a higher risk of severe reactions, but it is rare for bites to result in death; only sixty-three having been reported in the United States between 1950 and 1959 (Miller, 1992). Other symptoms can include nausea and profuse perspiration. If left untreated, tremors, convulsions and unconsciousness may result. When death does occur, it is due to suffocation. In North America, there are very few types of insects that carry venom or poison and none whose venom is dangerous. It is possible, however, for an insect bite or sting to cause an allergic reaction that can range from a mild local reaction to something like a severe asthma attack. In extreme allergic reactions, your airways can close up and you can even stop breathing. The insect responsible for the largest number of severe allergic reactions is the yellow jacket wasp. Considering both multiple stings and allergic reactions to single stings, insects actually harm or even kill (in rare cases) more than three times as many North Americans as snakes do
Guanine which is derived from bat guano (dung) is used in the making of mascara but is produced synthetically.
Davy Crockett was born on August 17, 1786 near the Nolichucky River in what is now Greene County, Tennessee. A re-creation of his birthplace cabin stands in Davy Crockett Birthplace State Park along the Nolichucky near Limestone, Tennessee.[3] His father's ancestors were of Scots-Irish and Anglo-Irish descent, while his mother's ancestors appear to have been exclusively English. Tradition has it that David Crockett's father was born on this family's migrational voyage to America from Ireland, but, in fact, it is his great-grandfather, William David Crockett, who was registered as being born in New Rochelle in 1709.
Answer Clint Eastwood
In what city did Rob and Laura Petrie live?

Over the last 5 years I have had the opportunity to watch some relatives and close friends (of the female persuasion) participate in both Soccer and Softball games within their respective leagues and I must say I have been very surprised. The calibre of play I expected and what I actually observed were miles apart. The first time I watched my niece play softball I was totally shocked at the speed and tempo of the game. The ball was thrown hard and hit hard which demanded that the defensive players be skilful enough to catch the ball given some of the rockets that traveled their way. The girls (teenagers) carried themselves as ball players and exhibited a fierce desire to compete and win. As an old baseball coach and player I was impressed with their mechanics both at the plate and on the field. They had obviously been instructed well and could execute what they were shown. What was really surprising was the balance they displayed between femininity and hard core sports. When it came to getting the uniform dirty and blocking the plate there was no quarter given and yet there was a clear lack of malice evident as the play went down. With the ponytails bouncing on their backs they immediately retreated back to their positions for the next play without mulling about and exchanging words with one another. While the feelings may have been there they seemed to be able to maintain their poise far better than others I have seen. After watching several games you realize the talent is exceptional and the contests are entertaining to watch. The soccer game I went to watch just recently was also surprising in that the talent again was above the level I had expected but the intensity and pace were also a surprise. These were young women between 20 and 40 that were in extremely good condition to be able to play the game at a continuous pace for 1 1/2 hrs. They were also not shy about body contact as collisions occurred constantly in pursuit of the ball. Every one of them on both teams could give and take both body shots and head on jolts from balls kicked directly in front of them. One of the goals was scored on a header deflected from a perfect corner kick which indicates the level of talent running around on the field. It was also an entertaining contest to watch as the game kept moving without a lot of unnecessary antics or moaning although I’m sure it does happen from time to time. All in all I guess the most amazing thing I’ve learned over the past few years is that girls and women can not only be passionate about sport the same as the male species but that they can also develop the skill to play at elite levels. The only quandary I would have if I was a young man again is, “would it be safe to date someone that could beat you up?”

Actors and actresses do not have to be very bright and talented people. In fact many of these “artists” have rarely taken any training before entering into the world of telling stories on film or on stage. The first and foremost talent they must have is to look attractive. Everything else is secondary to this vain and self absorbing talent if you want to call it that. I’d prefer to name it “luck in the pool that is nature.” My grandson is better at playing fictional characters than many of the so-called film stars of today who have no original thoughts of their own as they have to memorize and repeat a script that is written for them. A director must tell them when and how to move and talk and a raft of other people must dress them and put make-up on to enhance their appearance. Where does their skill enter into the process???? The media drools over them and the giddy teens scream when they come within a mile of these egomaniacal pompous asses. Then after a few successes an amazing thing happens. These ill equipped bumblers suddenly become great statesmen who are more knowledgeable than anyone else on the planet. They suddenly know more about the world stage than our political leaders and if there is a difference in opinion they will quickly trash the elected officials with no thought to civility or patriotism. This is far more prevalent on the left side of the political spectrum as these newly rich and powerful moguls usually have a Liberal bias. They of course want the masses to fund all sorts of programs that will cost an ordinary person a hefty percentage of their earnings through higher taxes or in charitable contributions. Ask them to give away the same percentage of their wealth and you will hear an immediate silence and the only response is that they are giving up their time which is valuable. These folks also make me laugh when they celebrate each other’s so-called talent by way of phony awards programs. They are phony because it’s the same type of people that pick the winners. The only one that comes close to being realistic are the Golden Globe Awards however they are strictly a popularity contest which I guess at the end of the day that is all the world of “Acting” has become. When such enlightened people such as Sean Penn, George Clooney, Susan Sarandon and the Dixie Chicks choose to comment on the World Stage it is hilarious. And yet the media feels the need to cover this nonsense rather than both sides of serious political debates on many difficult subjects. It is a sad thing to see Rosie O’Donnell stand up and curse her own President and feel justified for doing so. She, who is a loud mouthed, crude and uncivilized idiot calling someone else stupid. She is funny I’ll give her that. Although I try to stay away from getting personal with my subject matter there are a few topics that stir the emotions and this is one. Break a Leg!

Remember the “old days” when guys like Joe DiMaggio were the heroes of every other little kid throwing baseballs in his backyard and dreaming of playing in the majors one day. Joe played and retired before I was old enough to see him personally but his legacy lived on through baseball cards and Sports Illustrated for decades afterwards. Joe like many others enlisted in the Military to fight for his Country regardless of his religious beliefs or the fact that he was a pro baseball player. There was a code of honour back in those days which has mostly been lost in this current day and age. Professional athletes have grown wealthy beyond belief in the past 30 years and the swelling in their wallets has been matched by the swelling of their heads. Sure as they enter into the majors they are ready and willing to talk and sign autographs for all but after a few years of big dollars and the spotlight they suddenly find that they are too important to waste time on the underlings. Mind you, if the PR people and the agents set up something structured whereby you can get in and out fast without mingling too long with the unwashed that could be tolerable. Most of the time these guys are unavailable before and after games unlike the old days when you could wait outside the locker rooms to see your favourite stars. From time to time the old time ballplayers and hockey players would take the time to play charity softball games with teams in the community and spend time talking with all the kids about their sport. They looked like men and acted like men because they were men but I’m not sure I could say the same about the players today. In years past the uniform consisted of a cap or hat, a jersey with your number and team logo on it, matching pants, socks and stirrups and a belt to hold your trousers up. A standard pair of black spiked shoes completed the uniform and rarely if ever was jewellery ever worn. Today you start with the hat which is pretty much the same except that some wear it with the brim curled which used to be standard and others try to imitate rappers with the beak flat and sometimes turned sideways. Heading south the next thing we run into is the ears which hold rings on one or both lobes. The neck can sport anything from the black and white plastic bead necklace to heavy gold chains that would seem to bog you down. The jerseys have the numbers and names on most of them (out of town for sure) as well as the logo and are sometimes worn with the top buttons opened to show a T shirt underneath. While the odd old timer would have a tattoo or two, some of today’s players are covered with ink up their arms from the hand to the shoulder. The pants can be long and drag on the ground or some distance above the shoes with the socks and stirrup showing or in some cases can be as short as right below the knee with the stirrups covering the entire sock. The shoes or spikes can be black or white or team colours with fancy labels and laces to add to the decor. Arm or sweat bands are often covering the forearm and the batting gloves are used on both hands to supposedly help with the grip of the bat. Last are the designer sun glasses with the flip up attachments. The batting helmets are a good thing that have been added to the game but some batters wear them in deplorable condition with a year’s worth of pine tar smeared over the top. At least the spitting hasn’t changed except that seeds have replaced tobacco as the missile of choice. There are still some men who play the game that have not yet been feminized and if you look hard you will find one or two every game but hurry they are a dying breed. Oh man, where are you Joe DiMaggio we need the likes of you today.

I am a Conservative as defined in the political dictionary of ideologies. As a conservative I tend to deal more with facts and reality as opposed to Liberals who deal more with feelings and emotion. To understand Liberal thinking you have to first realize that they are not “terrible people” just misinformed and most of the time mired in belief’s that have no basis in fact or history. Liberals want to help everybody and while that in itself is not a bad thing it is the method they want to use that has always created problems throughout history. To be a Liberal you first have to believe that certain people in our society cannot take care of themselves and need someone to help them out wherever and whenever possible. Conservatives also feel this way however the difference comes in the definition of those that cannot take of themselves. People with disabilities of any kind (mental or physical) that prohibit them from enjoying life as so-called normal persons are not in debate. The problem is with those folks who have made choices or decisions during their life that have caused them strife of one sort or another but who do have the physical or mental capability to fend for themselves. Liberals tend to want these type of people included in with the folks with disabilities. They feel that those who have worked hard and been successful should give up some of their possessions or earnings to help these people who the Liberals have designated as “needy” along with the truly wanting in society. This is called a redistribution of wealth which is usually seen in taxation of the rich (which in truth is really the middle class as there are not enough rich people in the world to fund their many entitlement programs). Another key trait of a Liberal is the distinct belief that those that don’t believe as they do are not intelligent enough to understand their views. When debating, they, many times are unable to substantiate their claims which is generally because no real facts support them. They have only suppositions and good intentions to argue their points and if this doesn’t work they immediately move to attack their adversary rather than the issue itself. That is why you usually see Liberal minded people turning to name calling or character assassination when they get bogged down in facts and logic. This is an elitist position taken because to them it is inconceivable that anyone could believe they could ever be wrong. The last true piece of evidence that defines a Liberal is the “results” or the “lack thereof” of any program or policy they seem to initiate. Results are always secondary to the actual intent of the mission. For example, take Medicare for the elderly in the USA which is now bankrupt and will continue to get worse with the onslaught of the baby boomers. A good idea but a disastrous execution which will inevitably hurt the very people they wanted to help. Look at the Social Security net that is also bankrupt and is eventually going to require a fiscal Conservative to get the books balanced, if it is even possible. In order to support their ideology the Liberals need a large government bureaucracy of which they control. Eventually people seem to realize that Liberals create more problems than they solve and turf them from office but unfortunately much damage has already been done by the time this takes place. If I had one wish that would change something in the Liberal mindset I would choose “an open mind”. Most Liberals are so convinced that their way is the right way they can never entertain a different point of view. Alas maybe one day they will find a Conservative point of view that doesn’t scare the hell out of them....:)

The title is similar to a famous quote from the movie “Hud” with Paul Newman who only had to communicate with the boss man and still had a problem. With the technology we have in the world today you would think that communications would have become that much easier but it is the reverse. Sure, information can move much faster from ear to ear and eye to eye but it’s the sending and receiving that gets complicated. We are no longer forced to speak directly with someone to transfer messages because of text messaging, email and voicemail among others. In fact more and more people would rather communicate this way to save time and reduce the risk of getting caught up in a long conversation. It’s fast and easy to send an email outlining your thoughts in a brief gaggle of words which will be seen and absorbed by the recipient. But here is where the problem begins. Words alone cannot always convey the message properly if you don’t take the time to properly articulate and punctuate your sentences. You see it is very often the recipient that does this for you and many times they do it incorrectly. When this happens then you could find out that your message was interpreted somewhat differently than was expected. Hopefully it wasn’t something that may create a catastrophe but it has happened. The other issue is the lack of a voice inflection which sometimes indicates seriousness, humour or sarcasm. This allows the recipient to provide their own spin and I have seen this blow up into a major quarrel many times. These short blasts of info also do not allow for a recipient to listen and hear what is being communicated and worse to be able to question the sender if something isn’t understood and probe until the message is clearly been transmitted. It may seem like a small thing to many people but over the years in business dealings I have seen a considerable amount of money and time wasted on “what seemed like” minor information errors. The electronic age is here to stay so maybe the only thing to do is to read your own communiqués and put yourself into the role of a cocktail waitress during working hours who doesn’t know you from Adam and is trying to understand what you are attempting to communicate. If she does get it you have been successful. A very difficult task, try it sometime.