By Crystal Laramore
Memorial Day - a time for reflection and gratitude for many of us. I spent the day having a lot of fun with my fiancée & friends and all our combined children. We spent the day on the lake tubing and sun bathing and telling stories. You know, enjoying our freedom-while it lasts-wondering if the children splashing in the water were going to enjoy the same America I’ve enjoyed…hoping that everyone is paying attention to the rapid decline of freedoms and the rapid increase of direct government involvement in our lives. Find a tea party. Enjoy some tea.
Then, as always, I thought about our boys overseas. I always say MY Marines whenever I’m telling one of my Baghdad stories. Those guys over there-they are our guys. So if you are ever wondering who’s over there, now you’ll know…our boys and our girls. They are over there carting around 80 plus pounds of battle gear in 120 degrees, sleeping on the dirt, losing buddies, losing limbs, dying. For all for us, so we can have the freedom to be here today, enjoying the lake and our families & friends.
It’s holidays like this that cause me to pause for just a moment in time and realize how damn lucky I am to be living in the United States of America; the country that has the Bald Eagle as its national symbol; the three heads symbolizing the three branches of government, and the right wing representing conservation and the left wing representing the liberal side of life-doing stuff for those who cannot (or will not) do it for themselves. Our bird is becoming out of balance with a tiny right wing and a very large left wing. As Glen Beck pointed out, we can’t fly like this.
And its holiday’s like this that give me reason to remember who we are as a nation:
We are the country that remembers what we did for France. No, not what we did for France, what we sacrificed for France. The Dixie Chicks may be too young to remember or too self-centered to care, but you can bet most of us are not, uh Toby? And I’m the person who served the French Ambassador Woodbridge wine. Take that! Listen, it’s the best I could do under the circumstances. My Marines and I thought of several other things but all plans led to prison.
We are a rich country; gracious, forgiving and we should also be demanding. I want Reagan back. Sorry, I’m chasing butterflies again. We’re the country who shows up in a big way in every natural disaster area around the world. We’re the guys with C-130’s filled with relief supplies in Burma who cannot get in. We want to help China more than China wants to help China. That’s who we are! And we do NOT need the government to mandate our compassion.
We are the country who forgives. We forgive a lot. We may never forgive the Dixie Chicks but we’ll forgive a nations’ debt so they can feed their hungry. We forgive where it counts. And we do not need the government to mandate our forgiveness.
We are a proud country. We’re proud of ourselves, our children, our nation and most of all, our forefathers. Just ask the Dixie Chicks. We can love you one minute and turn on you the next. We have the power to make you rich (see: Toby Keith) or wish you’d kept your mouth shut (see: Dixie Chicks). We can put a company in business or take one out. We have the power b/c our government gave us that power. And we do not need the government to do it for us. It’s a free market. We understand. Those of us buying and selling. We ALL understand.
We are flag fliers and banner wavers - with wild abandon! We wear our bumper stickers and our yellow ribbons and we speak out against dictatorships and tyranny and open our arms for refugees and immigrants from those countries who do not. We not only take care of our own but we take care of others; sometimes to our own detriment. And no, we don’t always do the best, but I believe we do the best we can. And we don’t need the government doing it for us.
We are a brave country. We have brave men signing up every day to go to war. We don’t have to make them - they volunteer. They don’t run away to other countries by the hundreds (a few-but that’s another article) to escape serving their country, they run to the recruiter’s office and say “I want to serve. Sign me up; Sir”! So no, we don’t need the government interfering here either.
Just watch the right news programs and you’ll see our young men with their chests out and their eyes squinted; their weapons slung over their shoulders and a cigarette between their gritty teeth; sweat dripping down their foreheads into their eyes, thoughts of survival on their minds. Some of us have seen all of this up close and personal; and for those of you who haven’t, be grateful, be very grateful and think before you speak about what you know nothing of.
One of my Marines came back from Fallujah and told me how he had to handle an insurgent up close and personal. Kill or be killed. Only brave men sign up for that. They are a band of brothers. They train together, live together, sleep together, dream together, fight together and sometimes die together.
And in those rare moments when all seems safe, they have fun together. On my big Four-Oh, I was in Baghdad, with my Marines. As I drove from the U.S. Embassy to my hooch I had to go through several check points. My marines were there, singing happy birthday to me as I drove through. I was on the phone with my dad. He was a little weepy and I was…brave.
A lady opened the door of my restaurant Monday and wondered why everything in town was closed. I told her it was a national holiday. She said that she had driven for an hour to pay her taxes. I reminded her that it was a NATIONAL holiday. “Well, I guess it’s important to some people”.
Seriously? I told her that in fact it was important to some people and I was one of “those people”. Then I showed her my cousins’ picture from WWII receiving a Silver Star medal and told her he also received a Purple Heart. I told her his name was Don Cook, just in case she repeats this story. I said the holiday was important to him too. I showed her the autographed covers (hats) and uniforms hanging on my wall, one with my last name on it belonging to my UB, and told her the holiday was important to them too.
I asked her if she was actually from the United States of America. She said yes. I just looked at her and then asked her to leave, you know, since I was closed and all. But what I thought was “too bad”. Too bad so many people have become so apathetic. My pastor says apathy is worse than being vehemently opposed or for something; at least those emotions show that you care-one way or the other. And then I thought it was people like her that caused someone to invent duct tape.
And, we are FREE! So the next time you hear someone complaining about our country, your country, remind them they are free-to leave. It’s a real show-stopper. I hear France is nice.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Wake Up Congress-We Are
By Crystal Laramore
Edited by Deborah Martin and Cheryl Laramore
Ever heard the old saying “I’m so mad I could chew up nails and spit out tacks”? Well that is how I felt when I heard a congressman say something like: The American people need to rediscover the republican agenda. They need to rediscover the core values of the Republican Party. Is he kidding? Seriously? I’m pretty sure it was the American people who organized the tea parties. Right? It certainly wasn’t congress! And they, the American people, were right and left. I’m pretty sure, congressman, it is the American people and ONLY the American people who are pretty damned sure what our conservative core values are! And we’re pretty damned sure you congressman, and your colleagues are the only ones who have forgotten what our core values are. Clearly, there is a difference between the American people’s core values and those of congress. Clearly.
But never fear; we the American people are here to remind you, sir, and your colleagues. Hence, the tea parties, you sap. Ever since the AIG bailout all I could think about was tea and Boston . I told everyone who would listen, “People are going to start throwing tea over the side of the boat any day now”. So, it was no surprise to me, you sap, when tea parties started popping up all over the United States of America.
And now you have the audacity to stand there on national television in your designer suit and tell us, via Fox News, that WE need to re-connect with OUR values???? You did not. Oh, yes you did. Jesus said “What a man thinketh in his heart, so is he”. I was a hater today, sir. You made me want to hate you. Jesus says it’s a bad thing to cause someone to stumble, and I was stumbling all over the place today, sir. Again, I wanted to hate you or hit you. But instead, I’m going to pray for you. I’m going to pray that you learn to whom YOU are speaking. God forbid that we the American people REALLY get together and tell you how connected WE are. And make no mistake about it, sir, we are connected; in thought if not in action. But, the thought does come first doesn’t it. Look out, sir.
And for full disclosure let me state that I did vote for GW. Also for full disclosure let me state that I did NOT vote for GW to bail out AIG. That did not line up with my core values, sir. It did not line up with a free-market, sir. They were NOT too big to fail, sir. Nor are you. Careful how you speak to us. We are the American people. When we’ve had enough we will fight back. Can’t you feel the earth move under your feet?
California is certainly feeling the earth move and by no fault of the fault lines. No, this time their government is causing the movement. California , liberal California, is voting NO to higher taxes. But Barney Frank wants to bail them out. Listen Barney, you need to let California fail if that is what it takes. Oh wait; I have a better idea-let Texas govern them. Tee hee hee. Hey, it’s a good idea. In 2008 Texas produced more jobs than the other 49 states combined! Oh yes we did. And, Texas also produced more new businesses and cut taxes and we’re cutting taxes again. People WANT to do business in Texas because we are “The Friendly State”. We are friendly to strangers, entrepreneurs and gun owners.
And while we, the gun-toting, Bible-thumping, Jesus-loving people of America are holding onto our guns and our religion you had best hold onto your tongue. Do not speak down to us. We put you up there - on that pedestal and, with the help of our buddy Toby Keith, we can knock you off of it! I’m beginning to understand why you guys want to take away our guns!
Can anyone spell TERM LIMITS? These careerist politicians have no inkling what the founders meant when they intended ordinary people to “serve” their districts by going to DC. Instead, narcissism now exists in the place of service to others – by both parties!! Narcissism has never been more evident than in Arlen Specter – vote for me all you dumb PA democrats. I’ve turned my back on my friends, colleagues, those who helped me win elections and not to mention my own principles, if I ever had any. And why you ask? Because at 76 years old I need to be sure I win another election…Because…well, because it is ALL ABOUT ME and only ME!!! I just can’t give up the POWER, the POWER…..THE POWER!! I am too important. My opinions, my votes and my influence – it’s all TOO IMPORTANT!! But, don’t worry, I’d never sell you Dems down the river to pad my own nest or ensure my pedestal is secure….HA!!! I hope he gets his A$$ kicked by Pat Toome!!!!!
68% of Americans do NOT want to pay higher taxes in order to provide health care to all.
76% of Americans OPPOSE a federal bailout of ailing insurance companies. That 76% is made up of Republicans and Democrats; libs and repubs; blacks and whites; pro and anti abortionists; Christians and atheists. Oh! Which equals THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!!!!!!!
And the leader of the most unfavorable pack? You guessed it; CONGRESS.
Yep, over 90% of Americans do NOT TRUST CONGRESS.
The Supreme Court happens to be the branch of govt. we trust the most and that is a tenuous relationship, at best.
Wake up Congress-we are!
Edited by Deborah Martin and Cheryl Laramore
Ever heard the old saying “I’m so mad I could chew up nails and spit out tacks”? Well that is how I felt when I heard a congressman say something like: The American people need to rediscover the republican agenda. They need to rediscover the core values of the Republican Party. Is he kidding? Seriously? I’m pretty sure it was the American people who organized the tea parties. Right? It certainly wasn’t congress! And they, the American people, were right and left. I’m pretty sure, congressman, it is the American people and ONLY the American people who are pretty damned sure what our conservative core values are! And we’re pretty damned sure you congressman, and your colleagues are the only ones who have forgotten what our core values are. Clearly, there is a difference between the American people’s core values and those of congress. Clearly.
But never fear; we the American people are here to remind you, sir, and your colleagues. Hence, the tea parties, you sap. Ever since the AIG bailout all I could think about was tea and Boston . I told everyone who would listen, “People are going to start throwing tea over the side of the boat any day now”. So, it was no surprise to me, you sap, when tea parties started popping up all over the United States of America.
And now you have the audacity to stand there on national television in your designer suit and tell us, via Fox News, that WE need to re-connect with OUR values???? You did not. Oh, yes you did. Jesus said “What a man thinketh in his heart, so is he”. I was a hater today, sir. You made me want to hate you. Jesus says it’s a bad thing to cause someone to stumble, and I was stumbling all over the place today, sir. Again, I wanted to hate you or hit you. But instead, I’m going to pray for you. I’m going to pray that you learn to whom YOU are speaking. God forbid that we the American people REALLY get together and tell you how connected WE are. And make no mistake about it, sir, we are connected; in thought if not in action. But, the thought does come first doesn’t it. Look out, sir.
And for full disclosure let me state that I did vote for GW. Also for full disclosure let me state that I did NOT vote for GW to bail out AIG. That did not line up with my core values, sir. It did not line up with a free-market, sir. They were NOT too big to fail, sir. Nor are you. Careful how you speak to us. We are the American people. When we’ve had enough we will fight back. Can’t you feel the earth move under your feet?
California is certainly feeling the earth move and by no fault of the fault lines. No, this time their government is causing the movement. California , liberal California, is voting NO to higher taxes. But Barney Frank wants to bail them out. Listen Barney, you need to let California fail if that is what it takes. Oh wait; I have a better idea-let Texas govern them. Tee hee hee. Hey, it’s a good idea. In 2008 Texas produced more jobs than the other 49 states combined! Oh yes we did. And, Texas also produced more new businesses and cut taxes and we’re cutting taxes again. People WANT to do business in Texas because we are “The Friendly State”. We are friendly to strangers, entrepreneurs and gun owners.
And while we, the gun-toting, Bible-thumping, Jesus-loving people of America are holding onto our guns and our religion you had best hold onto your tongue. Do not speak down to us. We put you up there - on that pedestal and, with the help of our buddy Toby Keith, we can knock you off of it! I’m beginning to understand why you guys want to take away our guns!
Can anyone spell TERM LIMITS? These careerist politicians have no inkling what the founders meant when they intended ordinary people to “serve” their districts by going to DC. Instead, narcissism now exists in the place of service to others – by both parties!! Narcissism has never been more evident than in Arlen Specter – vote for me all you dumb PA democrats. I’ve turned my back on my friends, colleagues, those who helped me win elections and not to mention my own principles, if I ever had any. And why you ask? Because at 76 years old I need to be sure I win another election…Because…well, because it is ALL ABOUT ME and only ME!!! I just can’t give up the POWER, the POWER…..THE POWER!! I am too important. My opinions, my votes and my influence – it’s all TOO IMPORTANT!! But, don’t worry, I’d never sell you Dems down the river to pad my own nest or ensure my pedestal is secure….HA!!! I hope he gets his A$$ kicked by Pat Toome!!!!!
68% of Americans do NOT want to pay higher taxes in order to provide health care to all.
76% of Americans OPPOSE a federal bailout of ailing insurance companies. That 76% is made up of Republicans and Democrats; libs and repubs; blacks and whites; pro and anti abortionists; Christians and atheists. Oh! Which equals THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!!!!!!!
And the leader of the most unfavorable pack? You guessed it; CONGRESS.
Yep, over 90% of Americans do NOT TRUST CONGRESS.
The Supreme Court happens to be the branch of govt. we trust the most and that is a tenuous relationship, at best.
Wake up Congress-we are!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
QUEENS AND QUESTIONS
By Crystal Laramore and Deborah K. Martin
People are always asking me how I come up with stuff to write about week after week after week. Are you kidding me? I can barely contain myself sometimes. Especially in the cultural and political climate today!
My thoughts at this moment are:
I am outside on my patio piddling (a Texas word) around and listening to all the controversy surrounding a beauty queen, another kind of queen and a question. Last week the Miss USA beauty pageant was held as usual but the outcome was anything but normal. By the time it was over all hell had broken loose in the media over one question and its answer. What was the question? “Do you believe in gay marriage?”
Believe it or not this question does not have a right or wrong answer like “Is 2+2=4?” There are still quite a few subjects we have a perfect right to disagree on without fear of being criticized, ostracized or blacklisted. Aren’t there? Do we have to water down all our opinions these days for fear of offending someone out there???
The smarmy weasel who asked the question was none other than Perez Hilton, a BLOGGER, for Pete’s sake. His name isn’t even Hilton, its Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr. Exactly what ARE his credentials for judging beauty pageants anyway? He asked a question whose answer he almost certainly already knew. The fact that Miss California is a conservative Christian was well known and he HAD to know this would stir up controversy but he asked it anyway. The little twerp didn’t really want to know what she thought. This was ALL about HIM, and his political agenda.
My gay friend Marty Morales said this: “Perez Hilton did not speak for the whole gay community when he verbally attacked Miss California. Miss California spoke her mind. Is there something wrong with that? Whatever happened to just being you? Good for Miss California for being herself, regardless if I agreed or disagreed with her answer.” Thanks, Marty. Your tolerance is showing, as well as your integrity.
Miss California valued her integrity and her faith more than she valued a crown and a title. Her reply was her opinion based on principles she believes in and frankly a lot of other Americans do as well. No offense to anyone, but marriage HAS a definition. In my New Webster’s Dictionary and Thesaurus marriage is defined thusly: mar-riage n. the institution under which a man and a woman become legally united on a permanent basis.
Now, being that it is 2009 and we are as tolerant as we are I did NOT find that definition on my Microsoft Word dictionary…hmmmm. Seems the definition has changed to “a legal relationship between spouses”. My favorite definition was number 2. specific marriage relationship: a married relationship between two people, or a somebody’s relationship with his or her spouse.
From where I sit high upon my writer’s pedestal I have a few things to say about this:
First of all if you are gay, straight or crooked, I don’t care. There are many gay people, male and female alike, in my circle of influence from family members to customers to great friends; NONE of whom care, or seem to care, what term is given to the union with their partner. So what is all the fuss about on the news and in congress and on the internet? Well, it’s just like anything, there are those on the fringes of all cultures, in all sectors of society, that just cannot relax and let folks be. They scream that they want us to be tolerant but that happens to be the last thing they are. Tolerant, I mean.
But here’s this guy on Utube calling Miss California a cu*t! Are you kidding me? And you wonder why our tolerance is dwindling away. Or do you really?
Once again, marriage has a definition. Let it go. Get another definition for a union between two people who happen to be of the same sex. WE DON”T CARE!!!! Most of us love you no matter what race, religion or sex you happen to be. And, as far as your sexual preferences we straight people really don’t care. Most of us. Again, there are some on the fringes…but don’t worry about the fringes. If you please them on one issue, there will always be another issue for them to gripe about.
You know, I've had a question for gay/lesbian folks for some time. Perhaps some of our readers are of the gay/lesbian persuasion and can enlighten me. Why is it that militant gay people seem to be so defined by their sexuality? I'm straight and no one cares about my sex life. Why should I care about yours? Aren't we ALL more than that part of our lives which takes up so little actual time? I'm just curious.
Back to other issues; I can see a legitimate issue for gay couples. When my gay friend Marty had surgery, the hospital staff didn’t want his partner, Shaun Carter, to come back to support him while he was waiting. Why? He wasn’t “family”. Actually, this can be an issue for straight couples sometimes. Sandra Bullock was asked why she married Jesse James and her answer was a light bulb moment for me. He had a motorcycle accident and as he was being put into the ambulance she realized just how powerless she was. Here they were, partners for life, but she had no legal rights whatsoever in determining his care, simply because they were not legally married.
That’s the complaint I hear from gay and lesbian friends and I have to agree. We can call the institution something else if we want to. We can disagree on whether it’s “right” to be gay. We can disagree on whether people were born that way or “made” gay at some point. Meanwhile, many people make a lifetime commitment without the ability to make life and death decisions for and with the person who means more to them than anyone else. Is that fair?
There are people of integrity on both sides of this issue and then there are others who use their status as a bludgeon against those who disagree. Seems like my friends Sean & Marty and Miss California have a lot in common even though they are on opposite sides of this issue. She stated that her answer was her opinion and though she didn’t wish to offend anyone and wasn’t angry with anyone, she had to be true to herself. Marty confirmed that he believed in her right to her opinion (and maybe even the crown?) even if he didn’t agree. He didn’t withhold approval of her just because he disagreed with her.
And in the end it doesn’t matter of Perez Hilton is gay or straight. He’s a sleazy opportunist and don’t we have those in every sector of society? Doesn’t sleaze cross all sectors of society? Likewise, don’t we have courageous role models who are male, female, gay, straight, black, white, Christian, Muslim, atheist? I haven’t always held a high opinion of beauty queens but this year I’m glad one had the poise and courage to speak up for what she believed in. We should all try to follow her example; gay, straight OR crooked!
People are always asking me how I come up with stuff to write about week after week after week. Are you kidding me? I can barely contain myself sometimes. Especially in the cultural and political climate today!
My thoughts at this moment are:
I am outside on my patio piddling (a Texas word) around and listening to all the controversy surrounding a beauty queen, another kind of queen and a question. Last week the Miss USA beauty pageant was held as usual but the outcome was anything but normal. By the time it was over all hell had broken loose in the media over one question and its answer. What was the question? “Do you believe in gay marriage?”
Believe it or not this question does not have a right or wrong answer like “Is 2+2=4?” There are still quite a few subjects we have a perfect right to disagree on without fear of being criticized, ostracized or blacklisted. Aren’t there? Do we have to water down all our opinions these days for fear of offending someone out there???
The smarmy weasel who asked the question was none other than Perez Hilton, a BLOGGER, for Pete’s sake. His name isn’t even Hilton, its Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr. Exactly what ARE his credentials for judging beauty pageants anyway? He asked a question whose answer he almost certainly already knew. The fact that Miss California is a conservative Christian was well known and he HAD to know this would stir up controversy but he asked it anyway. The little twerp didn’t really want to know what she thought. This was ALL about HIM, and his political agenda.
My gay friend Marty Morales said this: “Perez Hilton did not speak for the whole gay community when he verbally attacked Miss California. Miss California spoke her mind. Is there something wrong with that? Whatever happened to just being you? Good for Miss California for being herself, regardless if I agreed or disagreed with her answer.” Thanks, Marty. Your tolerance is showing, as well as your integrity.
Miss California valued her integrity and her faith more than she valued a crown and a title. Her reply was her opinion based on principles she believes in and frankly a lot of other Americans do as well. No offense to anyone, but marriage HAS a definition. In my New Webster’s Dictionary and Thesaurus marriage is defined thusly: mar-riage n. the institution under which a man and a woman become legally united on a permanent basis.
Now, being that it is 2009 and we are as tolerant as we are I did NOT find that definition on my Microsoft Word dictionary…hmmmm. Seems the definition has changed to “a legal relationship between spouses”. My favorite definition was number 2. specific marriage relationship: a married relationship between two people, or a somebody’s relationship with his or her spouse.
From where I sit high upon my writer’s pedestal I have a few things to say about this:
First of all if you are gay, straight or crooked, I don’t care. There are many gay people, male and female alike, in my circle of influence from family members to customers to great friends; NONE of whom care, or seem to care, what term is given to the union with their partner. So what is all the fuss about on the news and in congress and on the internet? Well, it’s just like anything, there are those on the fringes of all cultures, in all sectors of society, that just cannot relax and let folks be. They scream that they want us to be tolerant but that happens to be the last thing they are. Tolerant, I mean.
But here’s this guy on Utube calling Miss California a cu*t! Are you kidding me? And you wonder why our tolerance is dwindling away. Or do you really?
Once again, marriage has a definition. Let it go. Get another definition for a union between two people who happen to be of the same sex. WE DON”T CARE!!!! Most of us love you no matter what race, religion or sex you happen to be. And, as far as your sexual preferences we straight people really don’t care. Most of us. Again, there are some on the fringes…but don’t worry about the fringes. If you please them on one issue, there will always be another issue for them to gripe about.
You know, I've had a question for gay/lesbian folks for some time. Perhaps some of our readers are of the gay/lesbian persuasion and can enlighten me. Why is it that militant gay people seem to be so defined by their sexuality? I'm straight and no one cares about my sex life. Why should I care about yours? Aren't we ALL more than that part of our lives which takes up so little actual time? I'm just curious.
Back to other issues; I can see a legitimate issue for gay couples. When my gay friend Marty had surgery, the hospital staff didn’t want his partner, Shaun Carter, to come back to support him while he was waiting. Why? He wasn’t “family”. Actually, this can be an issue for straight couples sometimes. Sandra Bullock was asked why she married Jesse James and her answer was a light bulb moment for me. He had a motorcycle accident and as he was being put into the ambulance she realized just how powerless she was. Here they were, partners for life, but she had no legal rights whatsoever in determining his care, simply because they were not legally married.
That’s the complaint I hear from gay and lesbian friends and I have to agree. We can call the institution something else if we want to. We can disagree on whether it’s “right” to be gay. We can disagree on whether people were born that way or “made” gay at some point. Meanwhile, many people make a lifetime commitment without the ability to make life and death decisions for and with the person who means more to them than anyone else. Is that fair?
There are people of integrity on both sides of this issue and then there are others who use their status as a bludgeon against those who disagree. Seems like my friends Sean & Marty and Miss California have a lot in common even though they are on opposite sides of this issue. She stated that her answer was her opinion and though she didn’t wish to offend anyone and wasn’t angry with anyone, she had to be true to herself. Marty confirmed that he believed in her right to her opinion (and maybe even the crown?) even if he didn’t agree. He didn’t withhold approval of her just because he disagreed with her.
And in the end it doesn’t matter of Perez Hilton is gay or straight. He’s a sleazy opportunist and don’t we have those in every sector of society? Doesn’t sleaze cross all sectors of society? Likewise, don’t we have courageous role models who are male, female, gay, straight, black, white, Christian, Muslim, atheist? I haven’t always held a high opinion of beauty queens but this year I’m glad one had the poise and courage to speak up for what she believed in. We should all try to follow her example; gay, straight OR crooked!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
America's White Collar Cartel
By Crystal Laramore
Weren’t you under the impression that organized crime was illegal? I certainly was. There’s always so much yapping about Mexico’s drug lords and the drug cartels. What about the cartels in Africa, Venezuela, Columbia? Can you spell Chavez? There is certainly enough anger directed toward him, straight from our very own mafia bosses; Obama, Reed, Pelosi (who is probably the real head of the organization. Obama is the figure head and spokesperson and Reed must just be kin to Guido who apparently has something on Pelosi.
And what about Blago? Poor sap. Someone had to be a sacrificial lamb.
Now, Harry Markopolos tried to point out to the SEC that Barney Madoff was running a ponzi scam? The only reason I use the word “try” is b/c the SEC couldn’t understand what Markopolos was saying. He actually laid the information under their noses and it took over 10 (count them, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10) years to open an official investigation. Well, they sorta opened one, but couldn’t find their calculators with both hands and, after ELEVEN months of finding NOTHING, they closed their “investigation”!
Understand that if the people working in the SEC know nothing about finances, statistics, integral calculus, algebra, hedge funds, money market accounts, pension funds, how to add and subtract, they probably will not be able to pick off a fraud even if the fraud was sitting right next to them. And Madoff did sit right next to them and placated them and disrespected them and lied to them. But, he made them feel good cuz he told them what a great job they were doing and how NO ONE could get one over on THEM! Snicker.
Taken from the 60 Minutes website:
Asked how long it took him to figure out something was wrong, Markopolos said, "It took me five minutes to know that it was a fraud. It took me another almost four hours of mathematical modeling to prove that it was a fraud. "
It was the performance line that Markopolos said caught his attention. "As we know, markets go up and down, and his only went up. He had very few down months. Only four percent of the months were down months. And that would be equivalent to a baseball player in the major leagues batting .960 for a year. Clearly impossible. You would suspect cheating immediately."
"Maybe he was just good," Kroft remarked.
"No one's that good," Markopolos said.
Wonder how much money was embezzled during those periods when the Government doing NOTHING except feeling good about themselves and getting paid by us!!!! Oh! I have a theory…if you don’t actually earn the money how can you respect the money?
If the SEC cannot do their job; if the SEC cannot oversee their own oversights (redundant, I know!), what makes anyone in this country think the govt. can run, oh let’s say an international corporation that builds automobiles? Just look at the man who is the frontrunner to be the COO-Barack Hussein Obama. He does not have a business degree. He has not run a company. The closest thing he’s ever come to being in charge of anything larger than a lemonade stand is organizing community events. Well at least the company picnic should come off without a hitch! Maybe Oprah will let him run her company for practice.
Furthermore, since he’s been elected to organize our country, he’s failed miserably. Have you noticed that we are not organized? Our country is breaking off into separate cells quicker than a fertilized egg. Our financial thermometer (Dow Jones) is down, down, down, up, down, down…But Obama’s power is up, up, up, up! This power grab is out of control. He decides he wants to be in control and bam the COO from GM is fired! Just like that. What about the board of directors? What about the shareholders? The American Government Cartel has decided they want control of major corporations and they are taking it. And they will take away our guns so we cannot stop them! Just wait.
So, with no positive track record he is taking over GM and Chrysler. Really? Just taking them over? Folks, wake up. The next thing he will take over will be farms. “No”, you say. Check out your world news. It’s coming. They will make it illegal to grow your own garden unless you are an agriculture giant like Archer-Daniels. When any company is as big as Archer-Daniels, GM, Chrysler, the Madoff firm or the Federal Government, corruption is just around the corner. Read The Informant.
Do your homework. Obama, Pelosi and Reed will go after every major industry in our country and we’ll all make the same wages and we’ll all work for THEM! Is anyone safe? Rush says he’s pretty sure they won’t go after companies making teleprompter parts! LMAO!
Let’s see what else…ahh yes the second amendment. Screw the constitution and take away the peoples’ right to bear arms. If the people do not have arms, how can they defend themselves? How can we make it appear that it is dangerous for average citizens to bear arms? Apparently, the cartels in Mexico are the fault of their government allowing guns in the hands of the people who aren’t terrorists, oops, I forgot I cannot say that word anymore. The mafia might be listening…might be? See Germany and all facts pertaining to Hitler.
I thought the government was put in place to work for us; to do our bidding. Who’s on first?
Weren’t you under the impression that organized crime was illegal? I certainly was. There’s always so much yapping about Mexico’s drug lords and the drug cartels. What about the cartels in Africa, Venezuela, Columbia? Can you spell Chavez? There is certainly enough anger directed toward him, straight from our very own mafia bosses; Obama, Reed, Pelosi (who is probably the real head of the organization. Obama is the figure head and spokesperson and Reed must just be kin to Guido who apparently has something on Pelosi.
And what about Blago? Poor sap. Someone had to be a sacrificial lamb.
Now, Harry Markopolos tried to point out to the SEC that Barney Madoff was running a ponzi scam? The only reason I use the word “try” is b/c the SEC couldn’t understand what Markopolos was saying. He actually laid the information under their noses and it took over 10 (count them, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10) years to open an official investigation. Well, they sorta opened one, but couldn’t find their calculators with both hands and, after ELEVEN months of finding NOTHING, they closed their “investigation”!
Understand that if the people working in the SEC know nothing about finances, statistics, integral calculus, algebra, hedge funds, money market accounts, pension funds, how to add and subtract, they probably will not be able to pick off a fraud even if the fraud was sitting right next to them. And Madoff did sit right next to them and placated them and disrespected them and lied to them. But, he made them feel good cuz he told them what a great job they were doing and how NO ONE could get one over on THEM! Snicker.
Taken from the 60 Minutes website:
Asked how long it took him to figure out something was wrong, Markopolos said, "It took me five minutes to know that it was a fraud. It took me another almost four hours of mathematical modeling to prove that it was a fraud. "
It was the performance line that Markopolos said caught his attention. "As we know, markets go up and down, and his only went up. He had very few down months. Only four percent of the months were down months. And that would be equivalent to a baseball player in the major leagues batting .960 for a year. Clearly impossible. You would suspect cheating immediately."
"Maybe he was just good," Kroft remarked.
"No one's that good," Markopolos said.
Wonder how much money was embezzled during those periods when the Government doing NOTHING except feeling good about themselves and getting paid by us!!!! Oh! I have a theory…if you don’t actually earn the money how can you respect the money?
If the SEC cannot do their job; if the SEC cannot oversee their own oversights (redundant, I know!), what makes anyone in this country think the govt. can run, oh let’s say an international corporation that builds automobiles? Just look at the man who is the frontrunner to be the COO-Barack Hussein Obama. He does not have a business degree. He has not run a company. The closest thing he’s ever come to being in charge of anything larger than a lemonade stand is organizing community events. Well at least the company picnic should come off without a hitch! Maybe Oprah will let him run her company for practice.
Furthermore, since he’s been elected to organize our country, he’s failed miserably. Have you noticed that we are not organized? Our country is breaking off into separate cells quicker than a fertilized egg. Our financial thermometer (Dow Jones) is down, down, down, up, down, down…But Obama’s power is up, up, up, up! This power grab is out of control. He decides he wants to be in control and bam the COO from GM is fired! Just like that. What about the board of directors? What about the shareholders? The American Government Cartel has decided they want control of major corporations and they are taking it. And they will take away our guns so we cannot stop them! Just wait.
So, with no positive track record he is taking over GM and Chrysler. Really? Just taking them over? Folks, wake up. The next thing he will take over will be farms. “No”, you say. Check out your world news. It’s coming. They will make it illegal to grow your own garden unless you are an agriculture giant like Archer-Daniels. When any company is as big as Archer-Daniels, GM, Chrysler, the Madoff firm or the Federal Government, corruption is just around the corner. Read The Informant.
Do your homework. Obama, Pelosi and Reed will go after every major industry in our country and we’ll all make the same wages and we’ll all work for THEM! Is anyone safe? Rush says he’s pretty sure they won’t go after companies making teleprompter parts! LMAO!
Let’s see what else…ahh yes the second amendment. Screw the constitution and take away the peoples’ right to bear arms. If the people do not have arms, how can they defend themselves? How can we make it appear that it is dangerous for average citizens to bear arms? Apparently, the cartels in Mexico are the fault of their government allowing guns in the hands of the people who aren’t terrorists, oops, I forgot I cannot say that word anymore. The mafia might be listening…might be? See Germany and all facts pertaining to Hitler.
I thought the government was put in place to work for us; to do our bidding. Who’s on first?
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tea Anyone?
By Crystal Laramore
While I lived in the big metropolis of Houston, politics didn’t really enter my life in a tangible way, but I never turned the radio off of Rush from 11 am to 2 pm. And the dedication paid off. Several years ago I left the big city and the big corporate paycheck and headed east where the pine trees grow a hundred feet tall and the locals have been round these parts for as many years. I be-bopped into this whisper of a town with big city ideas and an “I can do anything I want b/c I’m an American” big city attitude. I bought a building on the courthouse square (no sense making a ripple, splashes are more fun), turned it into a restaurant and applied for a liquor license…
…Stay tuned.
…During the time we (my customers and I) were applying for a private club license so we could all have a glass of wine or adult beverage with our dinner, I learned a lot about politics; especially small-town politics. I also learned that what people want far out weighs what is legal in some cases. People behave in the strangest of ways when what they want is not what is right. It’s that feeling thing we so often discuss. Obtaining a private club license in my restaurant was/is 100% legal. But that did not matter. What the locals wanted is what mattered. Never mind what the majority wanted. Never mind what the majority tax payers wanted. Never mind the law. Never mind capitalism. Never mind…Never mind…We had the right, under law, to do what we were doing. And we won. But we had to suffer expenses and lost revenue in the mean-time. But, we won.
When people are making decisions and laws based on feelings bad things can and do happen. Laws were made and passed to stop the change. Lies were told. Secret meetings were held. Illegal meetings were held. More lies were told, ON THE RADIO! Good thing I was the host! Snicker. Else, I would not have been able to defend myself against blatant lies, told to stop a legal event, b/c some (very few) people did not want it to occur. Basically, relatively good people did some bad things. Emotions got in the way of logic. Happens all the time. Happening today.
Now, back to feelings and national politics:
What is going on now on a national level is no different than that tiny event that occurred on a local level. Just more people care now. Thank God! But, sometimes, we don’t win. Do you feel like we are winning now? Today?
And no, I did not vote for the saxy jazz musician, but a lot of people did. At the end of the day I just wanted to be safe. It was a matter of national security for me. At the end of the day more people just wanted to feel…good? Apparently a lot of people voted based on the warm fuzzy feeling Clinton gave them. Apparently they thought he was in touch, too. Snicker. He was in touch all right. Apparently feelings outweighed thoughts and those who voted for him suspended their thought process; which means they had to possess it at some point…hmmm.
On a regular basis people ask me what I think about politics or specific candidates. I have a lot to say about that considering my background and my own personal fights, but my answer to them is “What do YOU think”? Seriously, unless I know they have researched the subject themselves, I’m not giving away all my knowledge. I’ll debate someone b/c maybe I will learn something myself, but I’m not just giving up all my hours of research and study time, all my “Rush” hours. That’s like giving someone who hasn’t studied a lick the answers on the final college exam. Not liberal. No level playing fields. Not happening.
Now, if they just don’t know cuz they’re lost, that's a different story. That's when I send them to Rush, Hannity, O’Reilly and Fox News in general. I steer them away from their network news and explain to them that just b/c it’s on television or in print does not mean it’s the truth. Nooooo. Yeeeessssss. My very own flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood, mother once belonged in this category. She once exclaimed (during the first Clinton era) while I was berating the imbecile for lying about “have sexual relations with that woman, Monica Lewinsky” and berating the news network for spinning the story, “Crystal Lee (I’m from the south, our middle names end in vowels so our moms can scream for/at us ad-nauseum) it is on TV. They can’t lie on TV!!" OMG! Rush had often mentioned people like this. I just didn’t know I was kin to any of them! And so closely kin…crap.
Journalism has become somewhat of an ugly term in the conservative vocabulary. Words do not mean anything anymore. The liberal or, as Rush says “The drive-by media” no longer value the truth. I’m not sure they (the liberal media) value much of anything except maybe seeing their name in print. This assault on truth in the written form can be witnessed from the smallest of newspapers/journals all the way up to the mega-media giants.
When did spinning something go from yarn to truth? When did what we want start prevailing over what is true and right? When this assault on what is right happens in small doses, we don’t hear much about it therefore, we don’t DO much about it, maybe that is why we are in the mess we are in right now. And we are in a mess. Our politicians are NOT doing the work of the people. Not the majority anyway. They are doing the work of the lazy. They are taking from the working people and giving to the lazy. And the working people are fed up. Tea anyone?
My AC and UB are living in Colorado Springs, Colorado where most people are conservative but something weird is happening in Denver. People in Denver are volunteering to have electricity meters in their home! You know, to measure how much they are using when. I can guarantee you there will NOT be one in the Laramore home!
We all wonder how far our President, our Speaker of the House and Harry Reed want to take their agenda? Wonder if they realize every red-blooded, Christian, conservative, born in the U.S.A., flag-waving, gun-toting, Bible thumping person we/they know is buying ammo, with cash, whenever/wherever they can. Wonder if they are paying attention to the murmmers and the discontent of the majority of this country? Wonder if they realize even folks who voted for Obama is against his far-left agenda? Wonder how they like their tea?
Like so many things in life sometimes you have to fall all the way down to get back up. Many people become Christians this way. They try things their way for awhile and when they are all the way down, with nowhere else to turn, they call on God. My AC (aunt Cheryl Laramore) and I were debating this issue just yesterday. I said maybe God knows what he’s doing…duh! Maybe we needed to get this far down in our country to be able to get back up. It’s like God is saying “You want a country without religion? You want a country that is ‘tolerant’? You want to keep prayer out of school? Really? Well, here’s what it looks like. Have a nice day”.
While I lived in the big metropolis of Houston, politics didn’t really enter my life in a tangible way, but I never turned the radio off of Rush from 11 am to 2 pm. And the dedication paid off. Several years ago I left the big city and the big corporate paycheck and headed east where the pine trees grow a hundred feet tall and the locals have been round these parts for as many years. I be-bopped into this whisper of a town with big city ideas and an “I can do anything I want b/c I’m an American” big city attitude. I bought a building on the courthouse square (no sense making a ripple, splashes are more fun), turned it into a restaurant and applied for a liquor license…
…Stay tuned.
…During the time we (my customers and I) were applying for a private club license so we could all have a glass of wine or adult beverage with our dinner, I learned a lot about politics; especially small-town politics. I also learned that what people want far out weighs what is legal in some cases. People behave in the strangest of ways when what they want is not what is right. It’s that feeling thing we so often discuss. Obtaining a private club license in my restaurant was/is 100% legal. But that did not matter. What the locals wanted is what mattered. Never mind what the majority wanted. Never mind what the majority tax payers wanted. Never mind the law. Never mind capitalism. Never mind…Never mind…We had the right, under law, to do what we were doing. And we won. But we had to suffer expenses and lost revenue in the mean-time. But, we won.
When people are making decisions and laws based on feelings bad things can and do happen. Laws were made and passed to stop the change. Lies were told. Secret meetings were held. Illegal meetings were held. More lies were told, ON THE RADIO! Good thing I was the host! Snicker. Else, I would not have been able to defend myself against blatant lies, told to stop a legal event, b/c some (very few) people did not want it to occur. Basically, relatively good people did some bad things. Emotions got in the way of logic. Happens all the time. Happening today.
Now, back to feelings and national politics:
What is going on now on a national level is no different than that tiny event that occurred on a local level. Just more people care now. Thank God! But, sometimes, we don’t win. Do you feel like we are winning now? Today?
And no, I did not vote for the saxy jazz musician, but a lot of people did. At the end of the day I just wanted to be safe. It was a matter of national security for me. At the end of the day more people just wanted to feel…good? Apparently a lot of people voted based on the warm fuzzy feeling Clinton gave them. Apparently they thought he was in touch, too. Snicker. He was in touch all right. Apparently feelings outweighed thoughts and those who voted for him suspended their thought process; which means they had to possess it at some point…hmmm.
On a regular basis people ask me what I think about politics or specific candidates. I have a lot to say about that considering my background and my own personal fights, but my answer to them is “What do YOU think”? Seriously, unless I know they have researched the subject themselves, I’m not giving away all my knowledge. I’ll debate someone b/c maybe I will learn something myself, but I’m not just giving up all my hours of research and study time, all my “Rush” hours. That’s like giving someone who hasn’t studied a lick the answers on the final college exam. Not liberal. No level playing fields. Not happening.
Now, if they just don’t know cuz they’re lost, that's a different story. That's when I send them to Rush, Hannity, O’Reilly and Fox News in general. I steer them away from their network news and explain to them that just b/c it’s on television or in print does not mean it’s the truth. Nooooo. Yeeeessssss. My very own flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood, mother once belonged in this category. She once exclaimed (during the first Clinton era) while I was berating the imbecile for lying about “have sexual relations with that woman, Monica Lewinsky” and berating the news network for spinning the story, “Crystal Lee (I’m from the south, our middle names end in vowels so our moms can scream for/at us ad-nauseum) it is on TV. They can’t lie on TV!!" OMG! Rush had often mentioned people like this. I just didn’t know I was kin to any of them! And so closely kin…crap.
Journalism has become somewhat of an ugly term in the conservative vocabulary. Words do not mean anything anymore. The liberal or, as Rush says “The drive-by media” no longer value the truth. I’m not sure they (the liberal media) value much of anything except maybe seeing their name in print. This assault on truth in the written form can be witnessed from the smallest of newspapers/journals all the way up to the mega-media giants.
When did spinning something go from yarn to truth? When did what we want start prevailing over what is true and right? When this assault on what is right happens in small doses, we don’t hear much about it therefore, we don’t DO much about it, maybe that is why we are in the mess we are in right now. And we are in a mess. Our politicians are NOT doing the work of the people. Not the majority anyway. They are doing the work of the lazy. They are taking from the working people and giving to the lazy. And the working people are fed up. Tea anyone?
My AC and UB are living in Colorado Springs, Colorado where most people are conservative but something weird is happening in Denver. People in Denver are volunteering to have electricity meters in their home! You know, to measure how much they are using when. I can guarantee you there will NOT be one in the Laramore home!
We all wonder how far our President, our Speaker of the House and Harry Reed want to take their agenda? Wonder if they realize every red-blooded, Christian, conservative, born in the U.S.A., flag-waving, gun-toting, Bible thumping person we/they know is buying ammo, with cash, whenever/wherever they can. Wonder if they are paying attention to the murmmers and the discontent of the majority of this country? Wonder if they realize even folks who voted for Obama is against his far-left agenda? Wonder how they like their tea?
Like so many things in life sometimes you have to fall all the way down to get back up. Many people become Christians this way. They try things their way for awhile and when they are all the way down, with nowhere else to turn, they call on God. My AC (aunt Cheryl Laramore) and I were debating this issue just yesterday. I said maybe God knows what he’s doing…duh! Maybe we needed to get this far down in our country to be able to get back up. It’s like God is saying “You want a country without religion? You want a country that is ‘tolerant’? You want to keep prayer out of school? Really? Well, here’s what it looks like. Have a nice day”.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Rush is Right - Again!
by Crystal Laramore
Have you listened to Rush’s speech at the CPAC conference? Listen, for those of you who live in a cave, the man’s formal radio name is Rush Limbaugh. But, Rush is so famous you need only utter his first name to see fan and foe alike become weak in the knees and suffer from sweaty-palm syndrome. Yes, Rush has made it into the circle of the infamous that need only one of their names uttered for the masses to know to whom you are referring: Hillary. Diana. Cher. Obama. Elvis. Rush. Not even George Clooney, Sean Penn or Alec Baldwin has made it this far in the fame stratosphere.
I digress. If you haven’t listened to Rush’s speech please, for the love of your country and your party, your principles and your wallet, your 401K and your business and most importantly your children and your grandchildren, do so. You can find it on www.rushlimbaugh.com/home. BTW, it’s his first televised address to the nation!
In the spirit of not spoiling the fun you will have and the immense sense of pride that will fill your heart by listening to this great speech, I’ll not talk much about it. I’ll just tell you how it made me feel. One American, in her living room, trying to sit on the sofa, watching and listening to someone, finally, tell it like it is. Wow! Rush said everything we disenfranchised conservatives have been wanting to scream at the President and his staff, through the transparent walls, since the historic inauguration. Every word, every syllable, every vowel, of Rush’s speech was undeniably RIGHT! As AC said “It was akin to Sara Palin’s first speech before the ‘handlers’ got in the way and started filtering her speeches”.
Did you see Remember the Titans? I must have watched that movie eight times. The movie made me want to jump up and dance and scream “go team!” It was just an all around feel good movie. It was a movie that inspired the best within us. Rush’s speech was all that and then a little somethin’, somethin’. It was real life conservative talk show host gone wild (in the true conservative sense of the word, snicker). His speech certainly made me want to dance and I was screaming “GO TEAM!” Who needs to watch Remember the Titans again and again for that Rah! Rah! feeling? All ya need is Rush. Whew! And what a rush it is to watch his first televised address to the nation! Remember the Titans-8. Rush’s first televised address to the nation-12.
When Oprah says something like The Obama’s have really brought back the family dinner to America, in reference to people sitting around their own table having dinner together as a family instead of going out to eat, (talk about S-P-I-N!) you really need a good dose of Rush to understand that it’s b/c Obama has ruined our financial foundation and we CAN’T AFFORD to go out to eat at the restaurant! And since I own a restaurant I have an up close and personal understanding of this.
When Oprah and her cronies, who gather round on Friday’s to play Rush, say something like the economic crisis we’ve been in for over 18 months…again, ya really need Rush to temper the idiots and keep your thoughts grounded lest you vote for someone b/c they can play the sax or speak from a teleprompter.
Since about 1992 after Bill Clinton was jazzing it up on the Arsenio Hall show, I’ve been listening to Rush. At the time I worked in the oil & gas industry for Baker Hughes in Houston. (It’s just Houston. No need to say Houston, TX. There’s only one Rush and there’s only one Houston.) Previously I had voted for Reagan and Bush Sr. Then all of a sudden a young hip dude who was running for President was playing my favorite instrument on one of my favorite late night talk shows. Hmmmmm. Maybe this is what our country needs (I ignorantly thought to my ignorant self), a leader who is in touch. Snicker. Little did I know…?
Anyway, this was the day before cell phones were a dime a dozen so I remember talking to my father, Noland Laramore, on a traditional land-line and sharing with him my extensive knowledge on how one should vote for a president. Only now can I laugh b/c only now can I picture what his face must have looked like. He was about 300 miles away and had to formulate a Steelers-like game plan in order to save his eldest child’s political soul. He had limited time and limited resources. The men in white coats were not an option. He’s a middle class working man you see.
Oprah always talks about having “Aha” moments and even though my father couldn’t tell you the difference between Oprah or Cher he certainly had an “aha” moment. Rush! Aha! That’s it. That’s how I’ll save her. Rush! And save me he did.
Being the young, on my way to a tree-hugging feminist I was, my father knew he shouldn’t TELL me to do anything. He knew he was treading on shaky, Californiaesque ground. But he also knew I was smart and hungry for knowledge-always hungry for knowledge. He also probably had a pretty good idea how much his little girl adored him so he definitely had a home court advantage in this game of saving his daughters political soul. There are many words parents throughout history have spoken to their children that are profound and life-saving but I wonder how often parents speak the words “Baby, you need to listen to Rush”.
Then he said “Now listen to me, you may not like him at first. He may come off a little strong, crass and obnoxious (for your feminist little heart) at first but just promise me you’ll listen to him for a week before you form an opinion”. C’mon now. This was my father! I can’t ever remember him asking me for anything. And this is was his ace in-the-hole favor to me? To listen to some AM (are you kidding me? AM?) talk radio host? Ok, Daddy, if that’s what you want. At this time in my life I was about 27 (I was born in late 1964-very last of the baby boomers). I was single, climbing the corporate ladder, rich (in my infantile mind) and needed nothing from anyone-especially a man!
The only man I ever needed was my daddy. And since Daddy wanted me to listen to this Rush guy and since Daddy seemed so desperate for me to do so…I hit the button that whisked me from rock N roll mindless words to the dreary world of AM. My first thought was “Are you kidding me? This guy is an a$$. He is soooo arrogant! Who does he think he is??? And believe me this was a bigger favor than I could have imagined me ever doing for my father. It was tough to listen to some stranger talk negatively, and in such a know-it-all manner, about the man I just saw play the sax on the Arsenio Hall show. Why? Because it made me feel good to watch a potential president swoon his audience with saxy jazz and it did not make me feel good to begin to realize that I almost made a complete and utter fool of myself.
It also did not take a whole week for me to snap out of the warm fuzzy feeling syndrome that have so many people trapped today. But never-the-less, my daddy did call “Just to check in” on me every other day or so. Mr. Laramore would always ask “Soooo, how ya liking him so far?” “What do you think”? Understand that he never once asked how I felt. Hell, he probably KNEW how I felt. I felt Agitated. No, he always asked me what I thought. You can debate thought, you cannot debate feelings. My goodness that man is smart!!!
About four years later I read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Until a couple of years ago I always wondered if Rush had ever read the book. Clearly, I should have known the answer. Every great thinker surely has read this book; silly me for ever doubting. He’s not a president and he doesn’t play one on TV, but he could, he should, would he?...A few times in the past I even dared call into the great Rush Limbaugh radio show just to ask him. Since I only had an hour for lunch, I never got through. Heck, I never made it past the busy signal!
My family is peppered with war veterans, and current-serving members of all branches of the military. There are many purple hearts and silver stars in my family. So, in July of 04 I shipped off to Baghdad, Iraq and served with the DOS for almost two years. My job was to help stand up the U.S. Embassy and anything else that needed doing. My duty was to serve my country, to serve the Iraqi people and to serve to make my father and my UB proud. While I was there I sent Atlas Shrugged to my father for his birthday. It was my gift to him for turning me onto Rush. Not exactly a fair trade. I also sent him the Limbaugh letter for Christmas a couple of times. Still…not quite there. Actually, there’s really nothing I can do for him that can compare to what he did for me, but I’ll never stop trying! You may call it silly, but it was one of the best gifts anyone has ever given me. I’ll be forever grateful that my father loved me and his country enough to share Rush with me.
While I lived in the big metropolis of Houston, politics didn’t really enter my life in a tangible way, but I never turned the radio off of Rush from 11 am to 2 pm. And the dedication paid off. Several years ago I left the big city and the big corporate paycheck and headed east where the pine trees grow a hundred feet tall and the locals have been round these parts for as many years. I beeboped into this whisper of a town with big city ideas and a big city attitude “I can do anything I want b/c I’m an American”. I bought a building on the courthouse square (no sense making a ripple, splashes are more fun), turned it into a restaurant and applied for a liquor license…
…Stay tuned.
Check out my other blog www.sexinthewoods.blogspot.com
Have you listened to Rush’s speech at the CPAC conference? Listen, for those of you who live in a cave, the man’s formal radio name is Rush Limbaugh. But, Rush is so famous you need only utter his first name to see fan and foe alike become weak in the knees and suffer from sweaty-palm syndrome. Yes, Rush has made it into the circle of the infamous that need only one of their names uttered for the masses to know to whom you are referring: Hillary. Diana. Cher. Obama. Elvis. Rush. Not even George Clooney, Sean Penn or Alec Baldwin has made it this far in the fame stratosphere.
I digress. If you haven’t listened to Rush’s speech please, for the love of your country and your party, your principles and your wallet, your 401K and your business and most importantly your children and your grandchildren, do so. You can find it on www.rushlimbaugh.com/home. BTW, it’s his first televised address to the nation!
In the spirit of not spoiling the fun you will have and the immense sense of pride that will fill your heart by listening to this great speech, I’ll not talk much about it. I’ll just tell you how it made me feel. One American, in her living room, trying to sit on the sofa, watching and listening to someone, finally, tell it like it is. Wow! Rush said everything we disenfranchised conservatives have been wanting to scream at the President and his staff, through the transparent walls, since the historic inauguration. Every word, every syllable, every vowel, of Rush’s speech was undeniably RIGHT! As AC said “It was akin to Sara Palin’s first speech before the ‘handlers’ got in the way and started filtering her speeches”.
Did you see Remember the Titans? I must have watched that movie eight times. The movie made me want to jump up and dance and scream “go team!” It was just an all around feel good movie. It was a movie that inspired the best within us. Rush’s speech was all that and then a little somethin’, somethin’. It was real life conservative talk show host gone wild (in the true conservative sense of the word, snicker). His speech certainly made me want to dance and I was screaming “GO TEAM!” Who needs to watch Remember the Titans again and again for that Rah! Rah! feeling? All ya need is Rush. Whew! And what a rush it is to watch his first televised address to the nation! Remember the Titans-8. Rush’s first televised address to the nation-12.
When Oprah says something like The Obama’s have really brought back the family dinner to America, in reference to people sitting around their own table having dinner together as a family instead of going out to eat, (talk about S-P-I-N!) you really need a good dose of Rush to understand that it’s b/c Obama has ruined our financial foundation and we CAN’T AFFORD to go out to eat at the restaurant! And since I own a restaurant I have an up close and personal understanding of this.
When Oprah and her cronies, who gather round on Friday’s to play Rush, say something like the economic crisis we’ve been in for over 18 months…again, ya really need Rush to temper the idiots and keep your thoughts grounded lest you vote for someone b/c they can play the sax or speak from a teleprompter.
Since about 1992 after Bill Clinton was jazzing it up on the Arsenio Hall show, I’ve been listening to Rush. At the time I worked in the oil & gas industry for Baker Hughes in Houston. (It’s just Houston. No need to say Houston, TX. There’s only one Rush and there’s only one Houston.) Previously I had voted for Reagan and Bush Sr. Then all of a sudden a young hip dude who was running for President was playing my favorite instrument on one of my favorite late night talk shows. Hmmmmm. Maybe this is what our country needs (I ignorantly thought to my ignorant self), a leader who is in touch. Snicker. Little did I know…?
Anyway, this was the day before cell phones were a dime a dozen so I remember talking to my father, Noland Laramore, on a traditional land-line and sharing with him my extensive knowledge on how one should vote for a president. Only now can I laugh b/c only now can I picture what his face must have looked like. He was about 300 miles away and had to formulate a Steelers-like game plan in order to save his eldest child’s political soul. He had limited time and limited resources. The men in white coats were not an option. He’s a middle class working man you see.
Oprah always talks about having “Aha” moments and even though my father couldn’t tell you the difference between Oprah or Cher he certainly had an “aha” moment. Rush! Aha! That’s it. That’s how I’ll save her. Rush! And save me he did.
Being the young, on my way to a tree-hugging feminist I was, my father knew he shouldn’t TELL me to do anything. He knew he was treading on shaky, Californiaesque ground. But he also knew I was smart and hungry for knowledge-always hungry for knowledge. He also probably had a pretty good idea how much his little girl adored him so he definitely had a home court advantage in this game of saving his daughters political soul. There are many words parents throughout history have spoken to their children that are profound and life-saving but I wonder how often parents speak the words “Baby, you need to listen to Rush”.
Then he said “Now listen to me, you may not like him at first. He may come off a little strong, crass and obnoxious (for your feminist little heart) at first but just promise me you’ll listen to him for a week before you form an opinion”. C’mon now. This was my father! I can’t ever remember him asking me for anything. And this is was his ace in-the-hole favor to me? To listen to some AM (are you kidding me? AM?) talk radio host? Ok, Daddy, if that’s what you want. At this time in my life I was about 27 (I was born in late 1964-very last of the baby boomers). I was single, climbing the corporate ladder, rich (in my infantile mind) and needed nothing from anyone-especially a man!
The only man I ever needed was my daddy. And since Daddy wanted me to listen to this Rush guy and since Daddy seemed so desperate for me to do so…I hit the button that whisked me from rock N roll mindless words to the dreary world of AM. My first thought was “Are you kidding me? This guy is an a$$. He is soooo arrogant! Who does he think he is??? And believe me this was a bigger favor than I could have imagined me ever doing for my father. It was tough to listen to some stranger talk negatively, and in such a know-it-all manner, about the man I just saw play the sax on the Arsenio Hall show. Why? Because it made me feel good to watch a potential president swoon his audience with saxy jazz and it did not make me feel good to begin to realize that I almost made a complete and utter fool of myself.
It also did not take a whole week for me to snap out of the warm fuzzy feeling syndrome that have so many people trapped today. But never-the-less, my daddy did call “Just to check in” on me every other day or so. Mr. Laramore would always ask “Soooo, how ya liking him so far?” “What do you think”? Understand that he never once asked how I felt. Hell, he probably KNEW how I felt. I felt Agitated. No, he always asked me what I thought. You can debate thought, you cannot debate feelings. My goodness that man is smart!!!
About four years later I read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Until a couple of years ago I always wondered if Rush had ever read the book. Clearly, I should have known the answer. Every great thinker surely has read this book; silly me for ever doubting. He’s not a president and he doesn’t play one on TV, but he could, he should, would he?...A few times in the past I even dared call into the great Rush Limbaugh radio show just to ask him. Since I only had an hour for lunch, I never got through. Heck, I never made it past the busy signal!
My family is peppered with war veterans, and current-serving members of all branches of the military. There are many purple hearts and silver stars in my family. So, in July of 04 I shipped off to Baghdad, Iraq and served with the DOS for almost two years. My job was to help stand up the U.S. Embassy and anything else that needed doing. My duty was to serve my country, to serve the Iraqi people and to serve to make my father and my UB proud. While I was there I sent Atlas Shrugged to my father for his birthday. It was my gift to him for turning me onto Rush. Not exactly a fair trade. I also sent him the Limbaugh letter for Christmas a couple of times. Still…not quite there. Actually, there’s really nothing I can do for him that can compare to what he did for me, but I’ll never stop trying! You may call it silly, but it was one of the best gifts anyone has ever given me. I’ll be forever grateful that my father loved me and his country enough to share Rush with me.
While I lived in the big metropolis of Houston, politics didn’t really enter my life in a tangible way, but I never turned the radio off of Rush from 11 am to 2 pm. And the dedication paid off. Several years ago I left the big city and the big corporate paycheck and headed east where the pine trees grow a hundred feet tall and the locals have been round these parts for as many years. I beeboped into this whisper of a town with big city ideas and a big city attitude “I can do anything I want b/c I’m an American”. I bought a building on the courthouse square (no sense making a ripple, splashes are more fun), turned it into a restaurant and applied for a liquor license…
…Stay tuned.
Check out my other blog www.sexinthewoods.blogspot.com
Monday, March 2, 2009
Dippity Do's & Don'ts
by Crystal Laramore
For as far back as I can remember I’ve wanted to own a salon. My friend since we were babies, Cynthia Thibodeaux, just wanted to cut, color, perm, twist and tie hair; namely mine! We have pictures of ourselves donning some very fetching wigs, dancing a jig atop an early 70’s model Ford. Yes, the fabulous world of making people feel beautiful, pampered and spoiled always attracted us.
Salons are a special place, for women much more so than men, but even men can agree that you do tell your hairdresser things you would never tell …It’s like an unwritten rule that as soon as you sit in that leather and steel chair you just lose control of your senses. The boundaries between right and wrong just get a little hazy when that nice lady is massaging your head like nobody’s business; all the blood just rushes right up there at one time, right along with all your friends’ best-kept secrets.
Why, salons have forevah (say it like a suuuhthanah) been the watering hole for gossip-crazed individuals-and you know who you are (and we do too, because who’s been gossiping is another thing we gossip about)! The local herald has never been as caught up as the local beauty salon on who’s cheatin’ whom, who’s being true and who don’t even care anymore! When we’ve had a hard week we so look forward to dumping all that crazy data and we dump it at the salon. Mostly the chatter is harmless, mindless and is forgotten as soon as the next person sits downs and says “You’ll never guess who…”
We not only trust our stylist with our hair, we trust them with our secrets. And, our friends’ secrets too! They double as our beautician and our therapist. That’s what the tip is for…And if we are talking about Suzie and she’s next, we’ll never know it; discretion is as important as a good pair of scissors for a stylist.
Caution; True Story: Long ago and far away in the early 90’s Mona’s was my salon of choice. Mona, I believe, was from Egypt. Anyhoo, she discovered acrylic was a good thing to put on nails while working in a Dentist’s office. Poof. Rich. (Don’t hold me to the facts as I am a “creative” writer but for the sake of the story and facts and all…) Her first salon may have been in Dallas.
Mona’s beautiful daughter Jackie and her husband Tom owned/ran the salon in Houston. You could sit down, have a glass of champagne and have anything done to your body from washing your hair, having a massage right down to the pedicure. It was a great escape from Baker Hughes just a few blocks down the road! I was young, over-worked, underpaid, but never, ever under-indulged when I stepped thru the doors @ Mona’s Salon. My sanctuary was between Hillcroft and Fountainview for over a decade.
One day I was gladly giving Tom all of my hard-earned money and I noticed Tom had little beads of sweat on his forehead. Hmm. What’s wrong with you? “See that lady sitting in that chair waiting to get her nails done”? Yes. “See that lady sitting in that chair getting her nails done”? Yes. She’s sleeping with her husband and I don’t know WHO booked them back to back”! Snicker. So apparently everyone in the salon knew, kept it on the down-low, and the only two people in the salon who didn’t know (besides the clients) were the two getting pampered. And guess who paid for both pampering sessions…
Another time I was getting my nails all filled-in and the woman in front of me (all the clients faced one direction and all the technicians faced the other direction) was bragging on sleeping with one of the Houston Rockets players (yes, I know who, but in keeping with the discretion theme…) She was “hooking up with him again tonight after the game”. Tee hee hee”. No, she didn’t care he was married. And on and on she went bragging about details she wanted us all to hear. Then, just like that, the woman in front of her got up to leave, paused slightly by the cheater-chick, bent down and whispered, just loud enough for us to hear (she was facing me!), “When you see my husband tonight, please tell him I said hello”. She then gracefully paid her bill with his credit card. Oops. To hear a pin drop in a salon is quite a feat and she accomplished it! And over behind the counter you could see Tom, little beads of sweat…
We each feel like our stylist is our best buddy for 2-3 hours every six weeks. And they are; who else among your friends knows and keeps as many secrets as your stylist? And even though it’s only about every six weeks that we see them, it’s like no time has passed once her hands are producing a rich, thick lather on our scalp! “How’s fluffy? How’s the new job? How’s the new baby”. It’s mostly all about us and isn’t that just the way we like it?
Mostly. I said mostly. Whatever is going on in salons today has to stop! The last few times I’ve been to a salon (3 different ones) all I’ve heard about is their problems! Their economic crisis, their financial portfolio; are you kidding me? My stylist has a financial portfolio???? What is happening?
One stylist was yapping on and on about her husband and how she just didn’t know what to do? Personally, I thought she should shut-up and talk about her woes on her time. After all, I was the one in the chair, not her! The rules clearly state that the one in the chair gets to talk. The one standing up working gets to listen, nod and exclaim on cue, ”Really”. Hello! TIP!!!
This economic fuzzy stuff we are going through is affecting more than we know. The long-term effects could be devastating. If my stylists are turning on me, who’s next? My doctor? My lawyer? My maintenance man? “Why would I care if your blades are dull on your lawnmower??? What? YOU have a financial portfolio too?”
Salons are not like spas where no one speaks for fear of cracking a mask. No, salons are busy and loud, except on those rare occasions when the wrong two women are in the right two chairs... Anyway, salon air is full of a mixture of fragrances ranging from L’Oreal products, perm solution, bleach, and acrylics but, mostly the air is full of secrets. Our secrets. Our friend’s secrets. The salon is like a vault; you don’t get to go in there very often so once you are in, the time is treasured. We hear enough about the economic crisis from our great leader. We study the economy on a daily basis and watch the DOW and read the Wall-Street Journal. We listen to Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC…So, when we sit in your chair please let us go on with our mindless chatter about who’s cheatin’ who, who’s being true and who don’t even care anymore!
After a beautiful daughter and an ugly divorce Cindy decided to make our big dreams come true and has made a big splash in the world of hair. She can be found keeping the best of secrets and cutting the best of hair at Studio 3 on University Blvd. in Houston, Texas. She can also be found NOT talking about her financial portfolio-and yes SHE has one too!
For as far back as I can remember I’ve wanted to own a salon. My friend since we were babies, Cynthia Thibodeaux, just wanted to cut, color, perm, twist and tie hair; namely mine! We have pictures of ourselves donning some very fetching wigs, dancing a jig atop an early 70’s model Ford. Yes, the fabulous world of making people feel beautiful, pampered and spoiled always attracted us.
Salons are a special place, for women much more so than men, but even men can agree that you do tell your hairdresser things you would never tell …It’s like an unwritten rule that as soon as you sit in that leather and steel chair you just lose control of your senses. The boundaries between right and wrong just get a little hazy when that nice lady is massaging your head like nobody’s business; all the blood just rushes right up there at one time, right along with all your friends’ best-kept secrets.
Why, salons have forevah (say it like a suuuhthanah) been the watering hole for gossip-crazed individuals-and you know who you are (and we do too, because who’s been gossiping is another thing we gossip about)! The local herald has never been as caught up as the local beauty salon on who’s cheatin’ whom, who’s being true and who don’t even care anymore! When we’ve had a hard week we so look forward to dumping all that crazy data and we dump it at the salon. Mostly the chatter is harmless, mindless and is forgotten as soon as the next person sits downs and says “You’ll never guess who…”
We not only trust our stylist with our hair, we trust them with our secrets. And, our friends’ secrets too! They double as our beautician and our therapist. That’s what the tip is for…And if we are talking about Suzie and she’s next, we’ll never know it; discretion is as important as a good pair of scissors for a stylist.
Caution; True Story: Long ago and far away in the early 90’s Mona’s was my salon of choice. Mona, I believe, was from Egypt. Anyhoo, she discovered acrylic was a good thing to put on nails while working in a Dentist’s office. Poof. Rich. (Don’t hold me to the facts as I am a “creative” writer but for the sake of the story and facts and all…) Her first salon may have been in Dallas.
Mona’s beautiful daughter Jackie and her husband Tom owned/ran the salon in Houston. You could sit down, have a glass of champagne and have anything done to your body from washing your hair, having a massage right down to the pedicure. It was a great escape from Baker Hughes just a few blocks down the road! I was young, over-worked, underpaid, but never, ever under-indulged when I stepped thru the doors @ Mona’s Salon. My sanctuary was between Hillcroft and Fountainview for over a decade.
One day I was gladly giving Tom all of my hard-earned money and I noticed Tom had little beads of sweat on his forehead. Hmm. What’s wrong with you? “See that lady sitting in that chair waiting to get her nails done”? Yes. “See that lady sitting in that chair getting her nails done”? Yes. She’s sleeping with her husband and I don’t know WHO booked them back to back”! Snicker. So apparently everyone in the salon knew, kept it on the down-low, and the only two people in the salon who didn’t know (besides the clients) were the two getting pampered. And guess who paid for both pampering sessions…
Another time I was getting my nails all filled-in and the woman in front of me (all the clients faced one direction and all the technicians faced the other direction) was bragging on sleeping with one of the Houston Rockets players (yes, I know who, but in keeping with the discretion theme…) She was “hooking up with him again tonight after the game”. Tee hee hee”. No, she didn’t care he was married. And on and on she went bragging about details she wanted us all to hear. Then, just like that, the woman in front of her got up to leave, paused slightly by the cheater-chick, bent down and whispered, just loud enough for us to hear (she was facing me!), “When you see my husband tonight, please tell him I said hello”. She then gracefully paid her bill with his credit card. Oops. To hear a pin drop in a salon is quite a feat and she accomplished it! And over behind the counter you could see Tom, little beads of sweat…
We each feel like our stylist is our best buddy for 2-3 hours every six weeks. And they are; who else among your friends knows and keeps as many secrets as your stylist? And even though it’s only about every six weeks that we see them, it’s like no time has passed once her hands are producing a rich, thick lather on our scalp! “How’s fluffy? How’s the new job? How’s the new baby”. It’s mostly all about us and isn’t that just the way we like it?
Mostly. I said mostly. Whatever is going on in salons today has to stop! The last few times I’ve been to a salon (3 different ones) all I’ve heard about is their problems! Their economic crisis, their financial portfolio; are you kidding me? My stylist has a financial portfolio???? What is happening?
One stylist was yapping on and on about her husband and how she just didn’t know what to do? Personally, I thought she should shut-up and talk about her woes on her time. After all, I was the one in the chair, not her! The rules clearly state that the one in the chair gets to talk. The one standing up working gets to listen, nod and exclaim on cue, ”Really”. Hello! TIP!!!
This economic fuzzy stuff we are going through is affecting more than we know. The long-term effects could be devastating. If my stylists are turning on me, who’s next? My doctor? My lawyer? My maintenance man? “Why would I care if your blades are dull on your lawnmower??? What? YOU have a financial portfolio too?”
Salons are not like spas where no one speaks for fear of cracking a mask. No, salons are busy and loud, except on those rare occasions when the wrong two women are in the right two chairs... Anyway, salon air is full of a mixture of fragrances ranging from L’Oreal products, perm solution, bleach, and acrylics but, mostly the air is full of secrets. Our secrets. Our friend’s secrets. The salon is like a vault; you don’t get to go in there very often so once you are in, the time is treasured. We hear enough about the economic crisis from our great leader. We study the economy on a daily basis and watch the DOW and read the Wall-Street Journal. We listen to Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC…So, when we sit in your chair please let us go on with our mindless chatter about who’s cheatin’ who, who’s being true and who don’t even care anymore!
After a beautiful daughter and an ugly divorce Cindy decided to make our big dreams come true and has made a big splash in the world of hair. She can be found keeping the best of secrets and cutting the best of hair at Studio 3 on University Blvd. in Houston, Texas. She can also be found NOT talking about her financial portfolio-and yes SHE has one too!
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