Random Thoughts

So today coming to work I saw a bumper sticker that read Life is Good....it was obviously a trademarked thing because it was written in a particular style (A Google search has revealed that it is the trademark of two guys from Boston who started out selling T-Shirts and now have Life is Good Festivals......positive, upbeat blow sunshine up your ass kind of events...but 100% of their profits from the Festivals go to a Childrens Charity so I won't give them too much grief). The first thought in my "it's a glass and it has liquid in it" mind was "you aren't paying attention are you?" Life is good because we are alive, and we don't sleep in a cardboard box under the freeway. Life is good because we have family and friends, we have food on the table and a means to get around and mind numbing flickering entertainment on our boob tubes to watch. Yes let's be thankful for these things, but let's be realistic; life is not good. The Shrub in the White House has single handedly brought our once respected and feared Country to the brink of ridiculousness. The Globe hates us and our Citizens are starting to get the isolationist attitude. Let's build a giant wall around our Country, blah blah blah......don't get me wrong, illegal immigration is hurting our economy. But the Government let's it go on because the cheap workforce helps the bottom line of their Corporate buddies get fatter and fatter. Yet the Corporations bitch and moan that we aren't out there shopping and spending......their attitude is "see we hire Jose and Maria for 2 bucks an hour and we can sell you crap made by Jose and Maria's fellow Countrymen for .02 an hour....you should be happy?" Hey at least Jose and Maria work. I just think that Jose and Maria should pay taxes and get a wage that doesn't leave them a choice but to sleep 12 to a house......or worse yet 12 to a trailer (my In-Laws have just this situation across the street from their house....it's sad actually). Yes we need to strengthen our Southern Border (no need to strenghthen our Northern one.....not many Canadians sneaking over the border......). If we have such a great partnership with Mexico (and trust me we are paying for their country with as much crap as we manufacture down there) then why don't we push their Government to make life better there so their people won't want to come here in droves. Better yet, annex Mexico and make it a State. Might as well, and we can then get all that tax money. Problem is, the Country and it's people are indentured servants to the US. The Chinese are as well....well sort of. The Chinese are smarter than we give them credit for. Want to know why there is a backlash with all of these Chinese products containing contaminents and lead? The one thing that we've actually imported to China is the sense of cutting corners. How to look for the loophole. We manufacure things in China because the cost of manufacturing a product is dirt cheap compared to what it would cost to make here. Keeps the profit margins high. It's all about making money no matter what the affect. The Chinese have caught on and they are making their profit margins high. There seems to be no oversight in the manufacturing processes out there....could be why labor costs are low. No OSHA requirements, no Unions, etc etc....... So Mr. Wong wants to keep his profits high. He talks to Mr. Ho who has some surplus paint he's trying to get rid of cheap. Mr. Wong buys it then has his slaves....I mean workers......paint your kids Thomas the Train engine with it. Nice, poisonous, lead based paint. Does Mr. Wong care? NO. He doesn't care for the same reason as Mr. Big Wig Corporate guy doesn't care that his actions have shut down practically all manufacturing facilities in this Country and made us depenedent on a foreign nation for our goods. Mr. Big Wig sees the big picture....but it's the wrong one. His rose colored glasses show him Yachts and Mansions and travel to European Countries, but it doesn't show him what's out in his own backyard. Whole towns have disappeared because the only thing keeping the town alive was the Factory and now the Factory is gone. Thanks NAFTA.......thanks. Clinton was a good Pres, but NAFTA was the worst thing he did. This is why the folks that want Hillary for President scare me. She will just open the doors for everyone....come on in.....suck off the Government Teat......you aren't a citizen....we will give you free Health Care while taxpayers can't afford it. Nice huh?

I've tried, because of my last post about Christmas Tipping, to find the origins of this tradition. So far nothing. I do believe it is an old tradition though. Dating back to when life wasn't so convienent. Remember when milk was delivered to your door? I don't either but it used to happen. There was a Policeman assigned to your neighborhood who would walk it at night on foot. Remember that? I don't either but it used to happen. Your newspaper was delivered by a kid on a bicycle......now a dude drives by in his car flinging papers out the window.......remember when your garbage men used to get out of their trucks and carry your can over to their trucks? Or the postal carrier was the same person all the time. Or when you'd pull into a gas station and someone would come out to your car and fill your gas tank for you and check your oil and fluids and it didn't cost you any extra. So I can see during the Holiday season back then tipping those folks. Back then people didn't expect a tip, but were genuinely pleased and surprised when they got one; and they usually busted their asses to earn it. Too many people today expect a tip....and they expect one whether they earned it or not.