Happy New Year!!!

I guess.

What can we expect in ‘07? Well, more of the same, I suppose. You know, war, famine, strife, genocide, mass graves…that sort of stuff. We’re bogged down in Iraq because our enemies were emboldened at nearly every turn by one of America’s two political parties. So much for politics ending at the water’s edge while our troops were taking direct fire.

Africa’s wheels are coming off in any number of disconcerting ways. And the Middle East never had any wheels on it in the first place. Saddam tried to turn Iraq into a regional superpower and got hung on YouTube for his destabilizing and murderous ways. Syria is purposely destabilizing Lebanon’s fragile government as a way of colonizing it all over again.

Iran’s new leader is quickly leading Iran down that ill-advised “regional superpower” road and his populace is none too thrilled about being sanctioned amid mention of U.S. attacks on it‘s hardened nuclear facilities. Iran’s new leader has also threatened to wipe from the face of the Earth the one country that can and will nuke him back to the stone age where he belongs. Iran funds, trains and equips Hezbollah, it’s proxy army in Lebanon.

The Palestinians even took time out from killing Israelis and to kill each other. And all of those oligarch-led thiefdoms have one common bond: their hatred of Israel and the United States. And how does fading Europe and the inept fools at the United Nations react to all of that? By criticizing the United States.

Russia continues to use it’s massive natural gas resources to blackmail it’s former colonies. And some military planners say that war between Russia and a handful of it‘s former union mates is a distinct possibility if this practice of abruptly shutting off the energy spigot continues.

China continues to stockpile offensive weapons from Russia which were clearly, inexplicably designed to nullify our military’s technologic superiority. And all the while, we tell ourselves they would never dare screw with us simply because we buy so much of their exported garbage. Hey, no one would dare attack Pearl Harbor, right?

North Korea continues to starve it’s own people while in a foolish pursuit of nuclear weapons. Hey, the dirt-poor populace won’t notice how bad their lives are if they’re kept on a nationalistic fever pitch. Worked for any number of history’s despots.

We’ve got a complete moonbat putting oil-rich Venezuela on a quasi war footing with our country. Hey, the dirt-poor populace won’t notice how bad their lives are if they’re kept on a nationalistic fever pitch. Worked for any number of history’s despots.

Oil-rich Nigeria is starting to lose country of it’s security situation as Islam creeps it’s way across the map.

Ethiopian forces have recently taken to strafing the rebels in Somalia. Meanwhile, Somalia starves.

And in this country, we have taken to hating our own administration because it dared to take to the offensive rather than making like a frightened appeaser, which it was implored to do in direct response to attacks upon our own soil.

So, as the new year rolls on in, I ask you, what’s not to like? I’ll see y’all up at Sprawl-Mart.

Warranty? What? They don’t warranty throwaways, do they?

Let‘s get this straight right now. I am in no way under any illusions about the New York Football Giants’ chances of winning even one playoff game. In fact, I was hoping they would lose that final game which would have most likely resulted in the coaching staff being unceremoniously dismissed. They lack focus, they lack discipline, they have suffered too many key injuries to key players and the Jekyl & Hide nature of their performance is disturbing, if not totally perplexing.

Dallas, yeah, that was fun, weren’t it? One week he’s the Romonator and the very next he’s Romo the confused rookie. Hee, hee.

As for the Birds, they better do it now because they are looking at retooling next year. I actually heard some nitwits on WILK saying the Eagles should dump Donovan McNabb in favor of Jeff Garcia. What’s the freaking difference when the quarterback is being called upon to throw 50 5-yard long passes every game? Dude, my kid could do that. McNabb is grossly overrated and Garcia is merely auditioning for a starting job somewhere else. Hell, I think I’ve got a stronger arm that Garcia.

The Giants could beat the Eagles, but I’m not getting my hopes up at all. All that I really hope for when these two teams get together is that somebody ends Brian Dawkins career with a cheap shot styled after one of the hundreds he’s delivered over the years. He’s the absolute best at driving his helmet into a ball carrier that’s, for all intents and purposes, already down. And he’s certainly no slouch at drilling receivers as they exit the back of the end zone when the refs and television cameras stop paying attention. Remember, some of us fools tape these games, so there’s really no arguing in defense of Mr. Better Late Than Never. If the Giants lose by 50 points and he’s scraped off the field with a Rubbermaid scraper, I’d be good with that.

Thing is, anybody could make it to the Super Bowl if they get on a serious roll. Seattle sucks in a gimme division. But their key players are back. Chicago sucks in a gimme division, and they’ve got a really questionable quarterback. Key injuries on the defensive side. New Orleans? Who knows? Inexperienced and probably gets upset before too long. Although, Drew Brees would probably go unfazed by the Eagles relentless blitzing.

With that said, the Eagles definitely have the momentum, but that momentum doesn’t count for too much with Andy Reid‘s track record in big games. He is totally inflexible as far as the offensive approach to the game is concerned. And without the always blitzing defense masking that defense’s warts, he might be coaching elsewhere at this point.

As far as the much-trumpeted winning streak goes, specifically, the Eagles winning three road games against three division foes is concerned, they beat an inexperienced Tony Romo, an inexperienced Jason Campbell and a thoroughly shell-shocked and barely experienced Eli Manning. I hate to rain on the parade, but that’s not an inconceivable turn of events. Unlikely, but totally doable.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that the Eagles do not even begin to impress me. But with the Giants in their current befuddling funk, they impress me even less. I’m thinking the Giants will make a very, very quick exit from the playoffs, but I’m really hoping that Tiki Barber’s last game as a professional football player doesn’t end up haunting him for the rest of his life. He’s a gamer and one tough sumbitch. He deserves to go out on a high note if that’s even possible with this walking wounded, rudderless shell of a team.

Alas, it all looked so darned good on paper some months ago.

I see we‘ve got some more inane ramblings against the proposed Business Improvement District for downtown Wilkes-Barre on the localized internet. Well, that is to say, those inane ramblings were put forth on a Web site that absolutely no one looks at, but that’s a whole other pathetic non-subject.

Which part of voluntary don’t we understand? A tax is not a tax when those paying said fees have veto power over the paying of the fees in the first place. If the downtown business owners give this proposed program a thumbs down, it’s not going to happen. That’s it in a nutshell, and I fail to understand how any nincompoop can point to it as some form of government corruption. It’s been explained to the business folks involved and now the final word is theirs and theirs alone. It goes forward if a majority of them see it as a good idea. And it will die on the vine if the majority is against it.

Which part of voluntary don’t we understand?

And why should we take anything the self-styled revolutionaries have to say seriously anyway? You know the oft-repeated charge against them, that they simply have too much time on their hands. Let’s explore that charge, shall we?

Normal people don’t attend damn near every council meeting. And normal people don’t attend damn near every meeting held at the courthouse. Be they in the early afternoon or late evening, how could anyone be there at all far-flung hours of the day? Could that possibly be because they are to meaningful, gainful employment what open sores on one’s face are to being popular?

Here’s the typical profile of your local professional protestor. They all have one thing in common, which is their total disdain for their own government at every level. America sucks, just in case you didn’t already know. They quote the founding fathers at nearly every turn as if they are blood brothers separated only by the accidents of their mistimed births. In lieu of meaningful employment, they seek out that so easily-had government check and then bite the hand that so aptly feeds them.

More often than not, they live with Mommy and, or Daddy…usually in the basement. Predictably so, if they even own a vehicle, it’s the low-end, beat-up variety even the illegal immigrants would shun. They use all of that free time at their disposal to “educate” themselves, and then turn around and waste what it was they learned on decidedly counterproductive ends. They rant and rave about being denied their rights, but totally ignore the rights of others whenever they deem it necessary to prove some sort of asinine point. Consider the ridiculous protests we endured at a well-attended St. Patty’s parade, or the more recent inconvenience some voters in South Wilkes-Barre had to endure because of one attention-starved and misguided malcontent.

And while they waste their days raging against the machine, we go on enjoying our lives. While they accuse our government of unspeakable and unproven atrocities, we give thanks for what our system amply provides us with. We work, we keep our noses clean, we buy plenty of cool toys and we generally enjoy what this life has provided us with. And being the “less fortunate” that they are, they accuse us of being unwitting dupes only because we don’t hate what we’ve made of our lives in the greatest country the world has ever known.

In their denuded minds, everyone within earshot of their utter insanity is either a worthless scumbag, hopelessly corrupt or something far, far worse. And to listen to them incessantly babble it, they are the sole arbiters of all things good, pure and ultimately noble. I tell you, it’s more than enough to make you violently ill when life’s lowest losers--the absolute bottom-feeders--accuse the much more upstanding people of being the bottom-feeders.

Yes, we’re all entitled to our scattered opinions, whatever they may be. But we’re not entitled with the right to inconvenience anyone whenever we see fit, or accuse practically everyone and anyone connected to government of being well, far beyond corrupt without offering even a miniscule shred of proof.

There’s responsible and then there’s irresponsible. There’s productive and then there’s counterproductive. There’s the average folks who thoroughly enjoy their lives and then there’s the embittered counterculture folks who cannot enjoy their lives. And yet, they dare to tell us--those having fun--what we should be doing or thinking as it was written in their sophomoric and overly demented manifesto.

Consider the desiccated source: Life’s castoffs.

One!…More!…Time!…Which part of voluntary don’t we understand?

Do you love it? Do you hate it? There it is the way you made it.--Francis Vincent Zappa

I got the Web camera hooked up with the son-in-law’s help and we fired it up through the Microsoft Instant Messenger service.

Way, way cool! I haven’t done this since Gage was less than a year-old when he lived in Selinsgrove. The first thing I saw staring back at me from Tennessee was Gage and Taylor looking all confused and whatnot when they spotted my ugly mug on Daddy‘s computer monitor. What’s Pop Pop doing on the computer? And then I started barking at them.

It did my heart some measure of good to gaze upon their faces again. Yeah, they were here for Thanksgiving, but knowing that they are now hundreds of miles away from Wilkes-Barre makes it seem as if I haven’t been near them in ages. I miss them, but we’ve put together quite the creative vacation planning whereby they’ll be spending plenty of time here in Wilkes-Barre during 2007. I can’t wait. And I’m pretty sure Wifey will be in her glory when she gets to hug them once again. She’s taken this separation thing much harder than I have. Or, at least, that’s what my doggedly cold exterior suggests.

Anyway, I got to hang out for a while with the senior-most grandrodents thanks to my trusty computer. I couldn’t be happier as a result. And I can’t wait to get them out there on the elongated Rock Stomper all over again.

Bikeabout!

Soon enough.

Check the picture. That’s supposed to be a “W” and a “B.” Hey, they take after their mother, not me.

Later