Felicidades! - Greetings!

Thank you for visiting this place and enjoy the celebration!

Gracias por haber visitado este lugar y disfrute de los festejos!

Court TV and the Queen of Mean Judges

It was a slow day in my household, a very slow day, and of course the TV had to be on just to create a background noise. While sipping my fourth cup of coffee I decided to watch whatever was on at that time and it happened to be an episode of Judge Judy. Ah, Judge Judy, where the “cases are real and the people are real”.

His former girlfriend was suing this guy because she had signed a loan in her name to buy his car, an expensive one at that. The basic reason, as is usually the case, because he didn’t qualify for the loan at the time of purchase. Now, according to the girlfriend, after only two month of the purchase she took the car from him - even though he was making the promised payments - because she found several unpaid bills the boyfriend was keeping with his belongings, and, she reasoned, he was a potential liability and perhaps was not going to make good on the promise of making the car payments and securing a loan in his name (after resolving several existing issues and/or mistakes on his credit report).

As it turns out the guy cleared the problems - as far as we could gathered between the insults and bashing he was getting from Judy - plus, at the time she took the car, there were no late payments on the car.
Now, the lady suing for $5000 (maximum allowed in most small claims courts) said that because she resold the car to mitigate her potential liability, she lost $24000 - the difference between the purchase price of about $49000 and the reselling price.

It was obvious first of all that she jumped the gun. She took the car from him even when he made the payments as promised. Hence, she broke their verbal agreement, not him.

It doesn’t take a legal genius to declare that she had no case. Enter Judy Sheindlin. Throughout all the “proceedings” this so-called judge dedicated every breath to put down the intellect of the “plaintiff” as if she was a total moron for trusting such a “scum” of a guy and, in turn, bashed the “defendant” at every occasion with whatever remarks she could find to paint one of the lowest forms of life on earth.

Time after time, with her trademark nastiness Judy called the guy names, interrupted him constantly and made sure that she will have the final word.

What was her final word? The lady didn’t have a case and the guy was not at fault!
Judy knew from the very beginning that this was going to be outcome - probably even before the show started - but she “had” to do the bashing and insulting so the public could enjoy “her” kind of justice.

While the setting may impress some, the bench, the robe, the bailiff, the flags in the background and even the solemn presentation assuring us that everything is “real”, none of that is true. These are not real courts, Judy is not acting as a real judge, just an arbitrator, and the whole procedure is simply disgusting.

Many others have jumped into the wagon, Judge Hatchet, Judge Brown, Marylyn Milian, Judge Cristina, some other guy with a baseball bat on top of the bench, another one who supposedly runs a Moral Court, and others that escape me. However Judy is the Queen of Fake Courts. How and why an ex-real judge got here? M-O-N-E-Y She has made a fortune with her unpleasant and disrespectful manner and has become the darling of some talk show hosts who cater to our curiosity on how the legal system works (!?).

I’m surprised mostly at how people lend themselves to this spectacle instead of going to real courts. Is it the fifteen minutes of fame, at any cost, or is it that they will get paid and catered to make fools out of themselves in front of a national audience?

I finished my coffee. Back to real life and out of this TV garbage.

Something Light, Something Stupid

With the Holiday Season here, I felt more or less compelled to close my year of ranting, raving and sometimes making fun of people and things, with a note to celebrate the occasion. After all, it’s time to be Jolly, isn’t it?
Well, thanks to Miss USA, Miss Teen, Donald Trump and Rosie O’Donnell I think I’ve found the proper theme: Stupidity. Yes, stupidity has been all around us this year, from our not-so-beloved leader at the White House and his cronies, parroting themselves and keeping a low profile or out of office, to so many celebrities acting like fools (Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson, Michael Richards, Britney Spears and lots more), we’ve had a parade of foolishness all year around thanks in part to the lazy people in the media outlets, forever taking the easy road of sensationalism over substance and the greed of those who pay their salaries, in their eternal search for more ratings.
So we come to a close with a prime example of lunacy, wasted airtime and people we shouldn’t care at all. The “news” that Miss USA and Miss Teen were drinking while underage morphed into a salacious exchange of insults between the Donald and Rosie, while MADD had to come to the plate with their own sanctimonious sanctions cutting ties with the Teen.
Problem is that these contests should be called what really are -beauty contests - and that’s all. Since the organizers and other entities tagging along for the prestige or the advertising bucks insist on placing a moral face to the skin show, not to mention the occasionally laughable talent portion, the burden on the winners is too much to bear.
After all, they are just young inexperienced girls who know they look good and that’s why they participate. These girls are not there because they’re brilliant scientists or church going role models. Instead, they looked one day at the mirror and said to themselves: “Hey, I think I can show myself and others may applaud.”
Donald Trump’s press conference, toupee in place and all, forgiving the sinner, Miss USA, the Miss in turn almost in tears “so grateful” and Rosie O’Donnell barking from her latest corner on TV take the prize for the most stupid stint of 2006. The runner up ought to be MADD with their insistence that a Miss Teen should be a role model. Why? Soft skin and a better than average looking face and body are the pre-requisites? Of course the MADD people know better but they also want to exploit the skin circus by snatching the winner of Miss Teen to be “their” role model.
Congratulations ! Donald, Rosie, Misses, MADD ! You‘ve managed the collective title of “2006 Most Stupid Stint” from the Least Read Blog in the Universe: Mine!
Happy Holidays to all !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bush: “I believe we’re going to win”

After so many years of comings and goings in his so-called War on Terror, our leader has finally arrived to his last gung-ho phrase for the public that invokes nothing less than “faith”. Perhaps he thinks that by repeating his “belief” we can all go back to the original premise of eradicating terrorism his way.

Mr. Bush, it doesn’t matter what you “believe”, what really matters is the crude reality of the Iraqi scenario. I said it before and I’d say it again: Iraq is a complex fabric of different factions who have been battling on and off for centuries to assert their supremacy over the land. Sadly, the only one who managed to handle the country, albeit in a brutal manner, was the former dictator Sadam Hussein, now sentenced to die by a pro-western court anxious to show the World that “justice“ has been done. Unfortunately, this decision in itself won’t placate the ire of all parties involved as is readily seen everyday on the streets of that country.

Believing that we can do or accomplish something has to be followed by solid and attainable goals, not just our own blind faith. And this seems to be the case with you Mr. President. After everything else has obviously failed, all the previous plans, promises and assurances, now we have to continue this nonsense exercising only our inner believe that “we are going to win”. Just because you say so.

I’m sorry, Mr. Bush, you have lied many times in the past as we all know (except you I guess) and the American public has demonstrated that can no longer rely in your judgment, or, as you put it, “the decider’s judgment”.

Changing the players, from the Secretary of Defense to Generals, and moving the pieces around does not alter the board. Like in a chess game, it’s not only a matter of shuffling peons, horses or bishops, but each move must have a precise reason, something that will develop into a winning strategy, and you have none. You have proven this, over and over, with every move and lie in the past.

Now you want more troops. Tomorrow, when this does not work, and it won’t, you will come up with yet another story, and later another one. When does it end? When are you going to make the right decision?
Nobody knows Mr. Bush. Here’s the problem: Most of us are frustrated and tired of your “decisions” in this matter and after so many losses in Iraq came to the conclusion that it’s time to leave that country. Not in six months, not in one or two years, but now!

The pitch that if we leave, Iraq will be in chaos is an empty threat to our civilized minds. You want us to feel bad for the Iraqi people, and we do, we really do, but Iraq has been in chaos, in one way or another for a long time, even before you sent our troops there. Nothing has really changed. The only thing that changed is that now the Iraqi people, not you, not us, not the World, will have to decide which way to go and whether they want to live in peace among themselves or not. And this is not even something new because they always had that decision to make, even under Hussein.

So you see, Mr. President, nothing that you did has worked there and nothing that you can propose will either, simply because the real problems and the possible solutions are not in the hands of outsiders, not even you as much as you think of yourself, just in the hands of the Iraqis.

Bring our troops home and tell your appointed people in Iraq that they are free to solve their own problems however they please, and come back to the world of reason. Perhaps history will forgive all your blunders if you make a good effort to redeem yourself in your last two years in the job. You have done terrible damage to our families, our young soldiers, and our image as a country, but I’m convinced that our instinct to forgive all the bad experiences and remember only the good times, will act in your favor in the long run. However, you have to provide our feeble minds with “something” positive to hold on to.

The Cure For ID Theft

I’ve been reading horror stories about people who had their identity stolen, mostly with the use of fake SS cards, sometimes with their real name on it, others with a different name, their number or a combination of several gimmicks. In either case the victims went trough a lot of headaches to prove bogus charges made, or not having worked at certain places, including encounters with not-so-friendly debt collectors or IRS agents asking for money they never owed.

It seems to me that the time has come to call the SS card what really is: An ID. Since almost everything we do, from obtaining credit to secure a job and all maters related to financial issues, including also routine and benign moves such as getting a drivers license, we must as well go all the way and declare the SS card our national ID.

I know, that was not the intended use for this document, but the reality shows the SS card has become a de facto ID, accepted and most often than not required by everyone from banks to employers and everything in between.

Given this, I’d propose to include in the card a picture of the bearer and also some electronic link, chip, magnetic or somehow embedded, to the SS office, issuer of such card.

Today’s computers, with a modest and cheap terminal attached at the employers‘ office, banks, consumer agencies and other commercial interests could provide immediate confirmation of the validity of the card on the spot. Even small businesses can afford this type of terminal so there will be no excuse not to verify the authenticity of the card.

This, as a bonus, could improve the efficiency in matters related to national security at airport terminals, ticket counters and any other place where ID must be proven.

Will this eradicate the problem totally? Probably not. Thieves haven proven to be a creative bunch and some employers will still hire people even when the information does not match. However, once a system like the one I mention is in full swing, there will be no more guessing in determining who’s responsible for the misuse of the card. The party granting a loan, opening an account, hiring someone, etc. will have a hard time explaining why, having compared the picture with the bearer and having swiped the card to obtain confirmation, the non-matching ID was accepted as real.

While some States are working on the ID issue with improved driver’s licenses and such, the SS card is a better alternative due to the uniqueness of it. There can be no two numbers alike, from birth to the grave. Therefore, once implemented, any State and everyone in it can have the assurance of a real ID procedure for business and legal purposes.

To those who may cry Big Brother! I say that I’m not advocating to show this to others who have no need for it, as in the case of a traffic stop for example, where the only required document should be a valid driver license and proof of insurance, or when going to a club for over 21, buying liquor, and many other activities where traditionally a State ID is the norm. This new SS card should be required in the same manner as it is now, for banking, tax purposes, employment, credit requests, etc. I’m not advocating for an expanded use of the card, I’m simply offering an idea to make it secure and avoid excuses from those responsible to verify it.

Crappy Town Makes the News Again

Recent update- Tuesday December 12th - The Town Board decided to pull this insane measure and it was rejected.

Until recently, probably nobody in the U.S. could tell you what or where Pahrump was. A dusty, small city in the outskirts of Las Vegas, about 60 miles away, has long been the refuge of trailer homes, cheap desert land and some bars and coffee shops. Oh yes, it was and still is the closest trip for locals and tourists looking for so-called regulated prostitution. Places like Sheri’s Ranch and others have a stock of, mostly, young ladies willing to sell some form of sex for a price.
Recently though, thanks to a controversial proposal making English the “official” language of Pahrump, this until now ignored place in the map made the news (See Foreign Flags Not Allowed Here
Due to the boom in construction and the high prices of homes in Las Vegas, this hole-in-the-desert has been an alternative to buy or build a house for a lesser cost and some Las Vegas’ workers apparently don’t mind the one hour fastidious drive each way, every day, and made Pahrump their home. So, as in any other migration of souls, Hispanics are also part of the move. The town as of now has about 11% of the population made of people who are Hispanic.
Problem is, Hispanics are not welcome in Pahrump. Since the passage of that silly ordinance, supposedly to protect patriotic values, there has been a lot of resentment and animosity in the air. While the ordinance was not enforced to date, racial scuffles occurred that show an incipient trend toward outward discrimination.
Now, once again, Pahrump wants to be in the news and they announced a proposal to establish fines for illegal immigrants.
According to the ordinance, which will be considered next Tuesday, those illegal residents who are working in the city will have to register and pay a fee of $200. Then, the ones who don’t comply can be fined and jailed with the final outcome of being deported.
Of course, unless the proponents are really utterly stupid, I don’t think they expect any illegal to follow their registration rule. The intent of all this is in fact to scare people out of town to the point where the local cowboys can have their BBQ’s without Hispanic interference.
I believe this is the case, because, if they really want to discourage illegal immigrants from working there, they should enact an ordinance with large fines to the employers, not the workers. And judging by the national trend on this matter, we all know this will never happen.
I have one suggestion for all Hispanics - legal or illegal: Forget Pahrump! Not because of these stupid ordinances and proposals, but because it’s one of the most awful places on earth to live in. Let those who want that little piece of dirt have it. Backward people deserve to be isolated. I’d go even further, let’s make the route from Las Vegas to Pahrump a dirt road. That should help discourage others from going there and will give the town a really folksy touch.

Poster for one of the few Hee-Ho! events in Pahrump

(Below the poster reads..) Wild Weat Extravaganza Click image above to view poster Wild Weat Extravaganza Join us September 23rd. At Saddle West Casino & RV Resort For more information call Chamber of Commerce 775-727-5800 So much for their website.

Holiday Season Is Here - Time to Feel Good

One more time, as it happens every year, images of good-deed-doers populate the television screen and enter our homes with cheering calls to help those less fortunate. And that’s nice, at least there is one occasion in our Oh-so-busy-schedule where we can make room for hunger, homelessness and poverty. So, the cameras start going places like the Salvation Army, Goodwill, local shelters and every other food kitchen they can find, with smiling and tender looking announcers interviewing mostly old ladies doing something to shake our dormant compassionate mood. Or perhaps a few shots of the guy ringing a bell in front of a store. What about a piece on a casino or other large entity donating a few hundred coats for the needy? Yeah, that will start things rolling and a little bit of free promotion for the merchant won‘t hurt either. You name it, you’ll find it on TV. Endless encounters with people and friendly companies eager to show that the Holiday Season is here and we must pitch in.
I don’t know about your town but in Las Vegas all this sounds so hypocritical that is sickening. All year long we are aware of the problems that surround us regarding the poor, the homeless and the ones who are not able to meet the minimum standard of living and very little is done about it. Yes, there is the occasional photo-op where someone from City Hall announces another patch to this problems, but overall, once December is gone everybody returns to their routine thinking perhaps that the five bucks they gave to some charity or that old coat they’ve donate will last for a whole year. And what about those who hold the purse in this fantasyland, forever worried about their next humongous building dedicated to skim yet more money from all of us. I’m not suggesting that big business should be in charge of solving our problems, but, since they are after all part of the community - or so they say - I wonder if it will hurt them, at least once, to get together and pour some of their profits into a partnership with the City, building and funding a couple of structures where those who have nothing can go and try to kick-start a new productive life. As far as I’m concerned, the Holiday spirit in this context is just a feel-good moment to makes us forget how much we don’t take care of common problems the rest of the year. So, go and donate something you don’t use anymore, drop a few bucks in the jar or work for three hours feeding starving people at your local kitchen, rinse well and have pleasant Holiday!

Iraq, Do We Care Anymore?

This week our inept leader will have to decide which course of action, if any, he’ll decide on regarding the Iraqi mess. As usual, we’ve been getting tons of lip service in this matter from all fronts. Those who are totally opposed to the war kept repeating the outcry for a pullout, if not tomorrow, at least the day after.

The hawks are in a muddy corner, given the reality on the ground, and are sort of backing out from the original “stay the course” stupidity, considering now some “alternatives“ such as beefing up the local Iraqi army, more training for their members and a potential hands-off situation from our military with a gradual and orderly removal of troops in uncertain time limits, one, two years at best. Finally, George W. tell us that “only” when stabilization is obtained on the ground and the Iraqis have taken full control of the terrain and secured peace, then and only then, we can send our troops home.

Finally, something call the Iraq Study Group will present Bush with yet another option, that is, to initiate peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis and an international conference to foster talks with Iran and Syria.

I believe that the latest “may” have some possibilities, since most of the resentment from the Arab world has its origins in the Palestinian-Israeli unresolved matter and Iran and Syria want to have a voice regarding the policies affecting their countries and neighbors. On the other hand, Israel has refused to abide to previous accords and kept on taking more land and building huge walls between them and the Palestinians. This created further alienation in the region, isolating in practice large segments of the Palestinian population from their own lands and resources while curtailing the possibility of trade, travel and jobs. Some extremist responded with violence fueling the sentiments of Israeli hard-liners to go even further with more restrictive measures. And the cycle continues.

Iran, even though is perceived as a loose cannon in the region, still is populated by a vast majority of people who want to live in peace with the World and, hopefully its neighbors. Same in Syria. In the paranoid vision of our President, these two countries are a menace. How does he go about defusing this menace? He calls them names and does not want to talk to any of their leaders. Brilliant!

Going back to the heading of these personal thoughts, I don’t care anymore. I don’t care about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, I don’t care about Iraq and whether they want peace or not. I don’t care about anything that has to do with the Middle East. I’ve had it!

This being said, I hope Israel - without our complacent help and money - manage to solve the problems they’ve created with the Palestinians, I hope the Iraqis can find a solution to their internal strife and put aside sectarian ambitions and I hope Iran, Syria and the rest of the countries in the region manage to solve their own problems from within, without murdering each other.

Is this achievable? Yes! Just get everyone who does not share and understand the political and religious views of the region out of the way, and that includes our troops and us.

Trying to control such a huge portion of the planet is an impossible task, besides being immoral, we don’t understand their inner motives and what drives their lives. To begin with, we don’t have enough troops to do it. Second, by intervening directly we are creating more and more resentment against us. And third we are sacrificing our young people forcing them to fight somebody else’s wars.

It’s high time for those in this administration to stop the switch and bait verbal tactics and talk to the Iraqis, Iranians, Syrians, Israelis and Palestinians face to face and tell them: Guys, you better find a solution to your problems. You are on your own! We are going home in 90 days or less. Take care.

Are we going to be “safer”? I don’t know. There will always be nuts out there. Will we have better means to defend ourselves in case of an attack? Certainly! Our troops will be where they belong, right here, to protect our country. Of course, many global corporations won’t be happy perhaps, since war is a big business. I say to them what their puppet kept saying, “It’s hard!”