It's July...It Must be Time for Politics

     I have been out of Mexico for about fifty years now and still can not get used to the way politics is played in this country. Think about all the good which could be realized for our society as a whole if the great MOUNDS of MOOLAH thrown around by politicians trying to stab one another in the back were actually put to good use for the benefit of all citizens. This will never happen. It is un-American in the extreme. 

      There is more chance that someone will erect an electronic billboard showing President Obama's face painted in African colors while proclaiming that his is an illegal administration because he was not born American. Such balls! We have fallen to the lowest rung on the ladder of propriety. There seems to be nothing that the new right will do to tarnish, destroy and break down any kind of forward-looking administration while completely ignoring the why, wherefore and how we were led to this precipice by a bunch of self-serving greed consumed so-called Christian Conservative Republicans. 

      Please remember that history has a nasty habit of repeating itself. If you look at our situation carefully you will see that our inflation and joblessness is not anywhere near the depths of Hell experienced by Germany post World War I. But looking at the way the Conservatives (New Nazis) paint everything liberal, it's a wonder that we have not yet had a Crystal Night as yet in  Washington D.C.  Get out your WWII reader and see how the Nazis slowly turned a God-fearing Christian country into a hydra-headed single minded beast. 

      People saw and thought what they were told to see and think. It was only a matter of time before the problems of the economy and society were placed at the feet of the Jews. It was those damned Jews who charged too much for everything. It was those damned Jews Hell-bent on stealing away our Christian heritage. And those damned Jews did nothing to try to stop the train which was soon to roll over their lives and the lives of millions in Europe and Eastern Europe combined. Who is today's enemy according to the God-fearing Christians?

     All one has to do is just look at the furor in Arizona. They may as well break away from the Union now.  They want to set up their own rules and regulations regarding the sanctity of a persons Right to Privacy. It's just the same as what happened with my father. Here was a well-educated man with a J.S.D from Saint John's University working with the F.B.I. for twenty-one years. When confronted with the reality that the Nixon people were slowly enacting laws abrogating our rights written in the Constitution  of the United States he said, "I have not done anything wrong. Such a thing CAN"T HAPPEN HERE". It sure as Hell can and it will if we, left and right alike, don't get up off our over-stuffed butts and do something about it. 

      Meanwhile, back at the Supreme Court before we were able to change  its complexion. Decisions marked the end of being up-front with America regarding the way in which money was moved around to pay for campaigns. Now we have a free-for-all again. Scum suckers on the left and right can do just about what they damn please as far as whoring themselves for special interests to get money to run for office. Ain't that special? Don't worry about the truth, it hurts too much. 

      Then there is that little issue about the time it takes to run for office in this country. President Obama had to start looking four years in advance with each and every law he signed. That's wrong in the extreme. There need to be limits. In the U.K. the season is six months long. Candidates are funded through monies paid in by citizens of all political persuasions. There are checks and balances on what can be said about the other party. It is controlled. It really cannot happen here. There are too many people conspiring against simplicity. 

      And finally, I couldn't run for office unless I whored myself to many special interests; the public be damned. It cannot be done adequately without a WAR chest. They call it a WAR chest. Doesn't that spark anything in your mind? It's not a war. I think that I can do a better job than the man or woman in that office. I apply to campaign for that seat. I get money from OUR government above the table which may be used only for the purpose at hand. Special interests are cut out completely. It can't happen here. Our society, our republic is doomed. 

      Little groups such as the 'Tea Party' come along and say just about any scurrilous thing they want to with equanimity and freedom. If you tell the lie long and loud enough, then it starts to become fact. When that happens truth, and our way of life is slammed into the mud. We can't have this. It's time to rise up and revolt. 

      Slowly but surely, I have developed the feeling that 'they' want a new civil war. We need to give it to them. They are surely armed to the teeth because of their clever twisting of the second amendment. We will see lots of pictures of unborn fetuses talking to us about how they want to be born to see their mommies. Mexicans and anyone brown-skinned will be stopped on the street and asked for papers proving that they should be here at all. Crap. It is starting just as it did so many years ago in Germany. It can't happen here. Sure. 

Not So Hot

A year ago in March we were looking for a larger size vehicle. Here everyone was economizing and we were going to trade in our little Chevy on a truck. I call it a truck because it sits on a truck chassis. You call it an S U V . My mother-in-law continues to use the word 'car'. It's a truck. With gas mileage like that....it's a truck.
Living in the Orlando area gives us some special advantages from time to time. A rental company had purchased a fleet of Suzuki XL7 SUV"s. Said vehicles would transport large groups (up to seven) of people from the airport to the hotel, thence to dinner, thence to a theme park, and then either back to the hotel or the airport. That's all they did! Suzuki had over-priced them, and the economy was starting to melt.
This company (which shall remain nameless), had many different outlets in the state of Florida. When they dumped the XL7's on the market we counted four in this area alone on the used lots. We chose a titanium colored unit one step up from the basic configuration. It had only ten thousand miles on it with the balance of the warranty. In March of 2009 it was exactly one year old. We knew this because of the sticker on the roof of the trunk. We negotiated the price down including our little OLD 2003 Chevy. We signed on for less than half the retail price of the unit.
Now let me tell you what we found out about the Suzuki XL7. Chevy has recently introduced the Traverse; same thing! The Suzuki had a SLIGHTLY smaller (by a few horse power) engine. The Suzuki could only fit seven people, although all the reviews suggested that the last two passengers be midgets or children. In an earlier version of the model, up to 2006 Suzuki used a smaller wheelbase vehicle and their own engine. This one was premiered in 2007. It stopped production in 2009. Actually, the year's production was never completed. I cannot say how many rolled off the line in Canada; but suffice it to say that not all the XL7's projected for 2009 were ever built. What was the problem????
A few months into ownership we noticed a problem with the gas cap. After re-setting the cap two times, the check engine light would go on. My first visit to the dealership for warranty work was as bad as reading idiot lights. They patted my head and spoke quietly to me to keep me calm. I was told that neither I nor my wife had the ability to screw the gas cap back on the vehicle after fueling. I did what I had to do. I knew that the Maya stuck large maguey fronds through their tongues to appease the Gods....I didn't do that....I cried all the way home....I didn't do that either. We felt that we were sitting on a keg of dynamite. What could go wrong next?
On the third visit to the dealership for the same thing, I felt very bad that I was not the first owner; at least, then I could have availed myself of Lemon Law protection and asked for either my money back or a new vehicle. I was the second owner. I had to tell the dealership to cut the ..... and get another story. They contacted Suzuki. The representative had to come around and look at it. He suggested replacing the gas cap. Why didn't I think of that?
About three weeks later, it started all over again. By this time, we had visited umpteen websites housing complaints and problems with this SUV (SUcky Vehicle). It seemed that because Suzuki re-built an already produced GM V6 engine to its specifications in Japan there was a problem matching the evaporator canister and the purge valve to the system. Suzuki knew nothing about this. Ignorance is truly bliss.
When finally they were forced to replace the canister and then the purge valve in three different trips, the problem went away......NOT.
One week ago tomorrow, I was tooling around east Orlando without a care in the world. I reached down to re-set my trip meter when the ghastly 'loose gas cap' came right on. Usually we would stop and make sure it was tight. Then it would happen a second time followed by the check engine light. This time, I could not cross the street after the light had turned green before seeing my little friend icon on the dashboard. That little engine told me all I needed to know. This baby was going.
One week ago this coming Saturday, we visited a KIA dealership in Longwood. The boys at KIA were in a selling frenzy. They made us a deal on a 2011 Sorento which could not be beat with a stick. GONE!
During our investigation of the problems Suzuki had with the GM engine they had tinkered with we found out that there was at least one major problem aside from the engine blowing out the purge valve every five thousand miles. When they re-designed the engine in Japan, the tekkie boys did something to the tensioners on the timing belt. Many problems started arising from the tensioners not holding the belt in place. Many engines had to be re-built or at least be bought back. Luckily, we dumped it (and we surely did not have the gelt to really do it at that time....but thanks to Wells Fargo which had held the mortgage on this house we got a very very good loan).
Plans are already in the works for a new (old) XL7 to be released toward the end of this year. If they put a six in it, it will be the six they are using on the smaller version SUV in their line.
What it all comes down to is that you never know. We do so much preparation for the purchase of a car that it seems like exams in college all over again. Months before the day or reckoning we memorize facts and figures about the car so that we can make a monkey out of the salespeople. On the other hand, buying a used vehicle is like picking the right watermelon. No matter what you do, some helpful person will always tell you about its shortcomings. There ain't no justice.
And that's all I have for this edition of the blog. I see that it has been quite a while since I brought us all up to date. It is time to take care of that. Visit with me on Blip.fm. I am DJ TeaGee. It's been a blast putting together runs of songs new and old. I try to keep the mix eclectic; and I try to keep awake as I program.....many times I lose. If you like what you hear, sign on as a listener or even become a DJ yourself. The price is right. If it's free, it's for me.
See you around the campfire.
Tony

April in Florida

Have you noticed? NBC is always the first to point out that the Cherry Blossoms are thriving magnificently in D.C. They are quaint and colorful and quite Japanese. It seems to me that there are probably some tekkies at Toyota in Tokyo thinking that the snot-nosed Americans are not showing enough respect because after all, 'we did give them the damned Cherry Blossoms'. I can understand that. They were caught short with their hands in the till; so to speak. This is no different than the activity which transpires in this country when some rich politicos pay for a trip to a strip club while the economy is still mostly in the crapper due to the fact that they were at bat and refused to hit the ball at all! But, the cherry blossoms are still quite beautiful.
I remember clearly pictures of said trees peeking out at us in the early Spring some years ago while being doused by an inordinate amount of snow from a 'surprise' late winter storm. Having lived in Richmond for many years, I can attest to the fact that there is nothing surprising about any one of these storms when they come around the mountains to the Southwest of the body of the state in Northern North Carolina, line up with a source of water (say......the Atlantic Ocean), and keep air temps in the twenties. It would help to have a high pressure center pushing the whole system up the coast from North Carolina also. This closes Richmond and gives our techoncrats, Republicans, Democats, and associates of the Fox Network a rich dusting in the city named after Mr. Washington. That is that. TV is good to see what happens in D.C. when such a storm occurs in early April. There is a surfeit of pictures showing kids sliding down the embankments just outside the Supreme Court and other laudable fixtures in our goverment. It is sad to think that because all the justices in that building have signed on to a term equal to the life of a Roman Catholic Pope, none of them would dare expose a spindly ancient body to the rigors of sliding down an embankment with a bunch of screaming and laughing kids; but that is what they truly need.
We have become so enamored with ourselves as the only people empowered by God to take care of everything on this planet that we have let others in our society sell us down the river. We are sitting in the chicken wire canoe without a paddle. Oh there will be some who will put a hand and arm in the water to push us forward. And there will be others who may do the same to help steer the ship of state; but none will withstand the hunger and sharp teeth of the predators beneath the boat. If they are lucky, they may just end up missing a hand or an arm. Unlucky means that they are dragged into the ever darkening pool of mess to drown in their own stupidity and then drag us all along with them.
The snow in late April is nothing when one comprehends that we have sold our manufacturing base down the river. A bunch of greedy bums played with the rules at hand, asked us to bend over, and then did to us what we wanted to do to the U.S.S.R. a short few years ago. We never even got a kiss out of it. That's really cheap. Now the excuses for media are declaring that one or another of this motley group of thieves is going to get away with it altogether. Isn't that great? We'll all be learning Chinese and eating day old rice while they get to live in palaces and be protected for FREE by the police state. That's America folks! This is truly the land of opportunity. It is colder for the soul to live in that kind of society and think that there is still something salvageable. This was no dinky recession; it was a call to arms; but the money for the guns and ammo is in a bank in beij...PEKING damn it! We did not change the language, they did. Let them live with us calling it Peking. Do you eat Beijing Duck?
We are now owned and operated by a different corporation. It is the corporation which owns and operates Hong Kong. Have you noticed how polite and quiet the Hongkongese are now? I guess they have nothing bad to say about the mainlanders. Just recently, a man who had been taken away (they say he disappeared and his wife agreed because she KNEW that he was being taken care of by some nice doctors and nurses) to a camp somewhere....IN CHINA.... He came back home and did not have any words for the cameras. I wonder why??? Your food is coming from these people too.
We stay away from frozen Chinese fish. Let's say that you buy some of this Karp (sorry I can't spell)and cook it up so that all the germs have gone to sleep. Don't you think that the chemicals might live on? What is O.K. to the Chinaman on the street will probably kill us. Then, as we stop reproducing, they will appear in our cities and send us to .......... oh well......I'm ranting again. I feel like I'm standing in front of a huge tank and ...I've seen that picture somewhere.
It's nice to stand out in the late April snow in Washington D.C. It's nice to see the kids having such a good time. It's nice to dwell on what once was and then think of that which will be. No supernatural God is going to come to our aid this time! When push come to shove and everyone puts down their armaments to pray they will find that Jesus has gone fishing (and not in a Chinese stream).