Happy New Year

Last year at this time, I was visiting Koh Samui, Thailand when the Tsunami hit Phuket and the west coast of Thailand. I was sitting on the beach, drinking a cold beer, reading Jimmy Buffet's book, A Pirate looks at Fifty. I remember going back to the hotel room and watching CNN for the next few days as the scope of the world's worst natural disaster unfolded. I was in paradise, while less than 100 miles away people were in a water-logged version of hell.

Have a safe holiday.....I will be traveling in Thailand from 12/27 through 1/17.....not sure if I will be posting any updates for a while (30 hours from Miami to Minneapolis to Tokyo to Bangkok)....but will try to stay away from the bird-flu, terrorists, and any other disasters.

The Media & Democrats will blame Bush!

Happy Holidays from the ACLU

Priceless and Tasteless

Here is a web site filled with garbage...but
a few of the videos are very funny!

http://thisisyourworld.com/

What's in a nickname?

A few weeks ago, I posted a message about a trip to Las Vegas. I wrote that I was going with Scrapy, Bo, Corky, and Crispy.....Unfortunately, I have never had a good nickname that stuck.

I guess "Bob" is a nickname for Robert....and I leased a Volvo a few years back and one of my buddies still calls me, "The Big Sweede"....but that's not a nickname....it's more like a statement. On our annual company cruise, a few months back, I made a statement (while under the influence of JD) claiming to quit cigars, liquor, and food...so the boys started calling me "Will"....short for Will Power....Hardy-Har-Har.....cute nickname, but it didn't stick??? A few friends called me "Zoom'in Newman", but I guess I have slowed down a little bit for that one to stick? During the Star Wars craze in the late 70's, Neil Contess (marketing genius) started calling me Jaba-the-Hut. Although "The Schnalfer" still calls me Jaba, it didn't stick either.

For a nickname to "stick", it needs to be a little descriptive, it needs to fit, should have a little humor, and must be SHORT! Additionally, you cannot give yourself a nickname...someone has to start calling you the nickname....than other people must use it for a while to "stick".

I really don't think about it that often, but it seems that Wally and Crispy have been giving it a lot of thought and have come up with a new nickname for me....I got a strange voice mail from Crispy...."Bob, we got it! We have been trying to come up with a new nickname for you and finally got it".....I have some pretty strange friends...but for these guys to sit around and dream up a nickname for me might be the strangest?

No, thinking up a nickname does not put them in the "strange friend" category...most of my friends are a lot stranger! But the fact that they called me, left a message, and thought it was a funny name is a little screwy....But I will let my loyal BLOG readers determine if they like the new nickname they came up with......."Chewy"...short for Chewbaca from Star Wars. A little weak, maybe, but can you come up with something better?

It's all fun and games, till someone gets hurt!

Ric Flair, 16 time World Champion. High flying, limousine driving WWE superstar. The Nature Boy. Lacing up the boots for over 30 years. Putting it all on the line, every night, to entertain the fans.

Whoooo......To be the Man...You gotta beat the Man!

Flair got arrested last week after a little road-rage scuffle....Time and traveling on the road has taken a chunk out of him....but no entertainer has have been a better promoter.....At 56, he still has the best "rap" in the business.

An Act of Treason?

As a proud Democrat, I am embarrassed. The party leadership has morphed into a "hate Bush" lynch group . They are now acting more like a party of "treason" instead of a party of reason. The "leaders" are void of any ideas or concepts to set a new agenda for America. Instead, they criticize every problem in a cheap and sleazy method that they must think will win future votes....Even if it costs the lives of our troops....How tragic.

Our party leader, John Dean claimed, "we cannot win the war"...What affect does that have on our troops?....and what affect does that have on the insurgents?

Our party candidate, John Kerry, was on TV this past weekend calling our troops in Iraq "Terrorists".

Have they lost thier minds?

It has gotten so bad, that the usually supportive Hollywood elite are running for cover. It's fun to see Barbara Striesand, Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Jerry Springer, Michael Moore, Alec Baldwin, etc run for cover. Tim Robbins got so frustrated about the overall situation, he exploded on Air America radio, stating that Hillary Clinton could "Kiss his Butt".

The anti-war wing of the party is pushing an agenda of immediate pull-out...pressuring celebs to take an even more radical stand, an irresponsible solution. I wouldn't leave the future of the middle east to these idiots and I could never spend a dime to see any of their films ever again.

If I walked into a party, a classroom, a poker room, a chamber meeting....and saw the party leadership John Dean, Ted Kennedy, Al Sharpton, Al Gore , Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Dick Durbin, John Murtha, Chuck Schumer, Barbara Boxer, Nancy Pelosi, Dianne Feinstein, Charles Rangel, Harry Reid, Robert Byrd, Mark Foley, Alcee Hastings, Jon Corzine, Robert Wexler, or Former President Jimmy Carter ....I would walk out....I would rather talk with used car salesmen.

The voice of moderate Democrats like Joe Lieberman, Joe Biden, Bob Kerrey, Barak Obama has been silenced.

The Bad News.....Our country is in trouble, our troops are at risk, and I am sick and tired of the behavior of our democratic leadership.

The Good News.....Therefore I am dropping my affiliation with the Dems.

The Really Good News ....No, I didn't save a bundle on my car insurance, but I can't stand the Republicans either. The religious zealots, the "Conservatives", the Christian Coalition, have hijacked the Republican Party (Robertson, Ralph Reed, and Falwell can all kiss my butt).

Our country is in trouble. Relying on these narrow-minded, self appointed morality police to get us out can only lead to further problems (Social Security, Stem Cell Research, Schools, Health Care). Therfore, I have decided to become a Libertarian joining independent thinkers like Jesse "the body" Ventura... If he runs in '08...I'll be there!!!

http://www.lp.org/

A time for caution?

According to Andrew Tobias.....

Warren Buffett is sitting on something like $43 billion in cash. If he can’t find good things to invest in at today’s prices, it gives me pause to think we can. This is one reason that I recommend about a quarter of your portfolio in 20- and 27-year TIPS (Treasury Inflation Protected Securities) that guarantee 2% above inflation . . . why I like my shares in PCL (I figure that, whatever happens to the stock short-term, the trees will keep growing) . . . and why I sleep okay with wildly speculative things like BOREF and the NTMD puts. Both could go to zero (really!), but certainly not because of any financial meltdown, in case we were to have one someday. In a financial meltdown, our NTMD puts would do brilliantly (if they had not already expired); and while BOREF shares might fall by 90% or 95% (on volume of 1200 shares, no doubt), it wouldn’t affect the value of the company’s underlying technology (whatever that value may or may not ultimately prove to be).

http://www.andrewtobias.com/cgi-local/display_col.pl?051208