Epic Dem Fail.

Now it's not like we didn't see this kinda stuff coming... oh, wait, we apparently didn't. But seeing this article in the NYT simply made me want to cry, vomit, laugh, punch somebody, etc. Greece, one of the most social of nations over there, needs bailout money. Why? The usual suspects... big unions, bloated beaurocracies and socialized healthcare. Go read that article and tell me with a straight face that all the things we have JUST voted in aren't going to be the ruin of us all? We're currently broke and have already done our bailout deal which we won't recover from for over 10 years. Europe, of whom our latest polices are based on, is struggling mightily from within economically, and there's a pretty dark cloud looming over it all... they might not see economic sunlight for decades. There's a good take on it over at hotair, which sums up this nicely. Seriously, and we're just starting to do this sh*t?

Another thing to keep in mind. The IMF, which is an international conglomerate of nation states, includes the good ol' USA. They are participating in the 138 billion bailout for Greece. Guess who's the biggest contributor? That would be the US of course. So get this, WE have to shell out like 8 billion of OUR TAX MONEY to bail out Greece.

Sigh. Better get outside and plant the victory garden.

Thank You, Ft. Lauderdale

A friend of mine invited me to join him in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, and I had a great time. We hadn't seen each other in 20 years, but I think overall some friends are permanent, because the second I saw him I recognized him... Neither of us has changed much apparently. We immediately went to a local watering hole for some drinks, which is always a good idea after a flight, at least in my book.

During these drinks, I got to meet a lot of really fun people. Amicable would be a good description. Maybe it was because I was pretty much smiling and having a good time that everybody was so friendly to me, but it wasn't hard to have a good conversation. I don't recall from when I lived in Jacksonville the people being all that friendly, but then again, that was a long time and many beers ago.

I wish I could've stayed longer, but for everybody in Ft. Lauderdale, thank you for your hospitality and good times. I won't go into specifics about the trip for security purposes, but let's just say I can highly recommend the place. Lots of good lookin' women down there, with just the right attitude. Just be sure to smile and be friendly... and don't drink too much.

It's over :(

So, the Red Wings end another season, only in the second round. Well, to be honest, I kinda saw it coming. The Sharks played better, got some favorable calls, and apparently could skate on their own southern ice, because I saw at LEAST 10 times during last night's game where various Wing players just fell the f*ck over for absolutely no reason. 10 times! If not more! It was unpleasant to watch... I'm thinking it was the skate sharpener. Bastard :P

But, for all the stuff that sucked to take the victories away from the Wings, I think this was a good year. I think Helm is going to shape up to be a dominant player, if only for the effort he puts out on the ice. I cheer for him every time he gets the puck. All of the young guys are pushing hard to play well, and losing in the second round might be just what this team needs going forward. Heck, most of them won the cup 2 years ago, and considering the injuries and the amount of work they had to put in closing the season, it would be understandable if they were just freaking tired.

Overall the Wings did fine. Let them have their long summer. It'll give them time to heal and think about the brutal 2nd round exit. I think next year, they just might be better than ever.

One for the Left (Update)

Apparently, some folks on the left are angry with Barack for not overreacting to this oil-rig catastrophe in the Gulf. Bill Maher, of all people, and his trained-seal audience.

Give Obama crap? What? What the hell is the matter with you people? Don't get me wrong here, I know El Presidente is doing his best to sabotage this country and it's freedoms. However, to say that this is somehow his fault or even his responsibility is ridiculous. They build safety shutoff systems, and apparently this one is broken. The mere fact that we've gone this long without something like this happening already is a miracle, as far as I'm concerned. There's talk that BP might go under because of this, and I suppose if they can't put a lid on this thing, that would be a distinct possibility.

Certainly this problem needs a solution, and I'm sure BP is going out of their minds trying to find one... we're talking about billions of dollars here, not to mention the doom of offshore drilling. But to criticize Obama? Really? Well, to be honest, I'm kinda looking forward to blaming everything on him when he gets out of office, but I'll save that for later.

In the meantime, let's all cross our fingers and pray that some engineer finds an answer... killing fish and turtles isn't cool. Good Luck and God's Speed, BP.

Update:

Well, okay. I learned some things... like there were supposed to be pieces in place if in case this happened. The 9 days afterward. The fact that he went on vacation 2 days afterward??? Seriously? So it becomes Obama's Katrina, of which I think is of a different scale and not the same thing, but I see the parallel. The fact that he's perpetually on vacation with his family is really starting to get under my skin. People are missing the fact that with this disaster, there's power, fuel and supplies to be made available in this instance, which was not the case for Katrina. The scale of the disasters are different in their mechanics because people won't be killed for the oil disaster, but certainly the longer this goes on the greater the environmental impact throughout the entire gulf reigon. But, critters don't vote, so the delayed response won't be noticed by anybody but environmentalists. It'll be interesting to see who they vote for in 2012.