I have had varied experience with unionized labor. My father belonged to the Communication Workers Union and was an adamant supporter his whole life. As I got older I wondered how he came to almost despise the company that he worked for and paid his salary. I have never been in a union, but I have been around them throughout my career. An interesting issue has been raised about the fastest growing segment of unionized labor…government workers.
If you have worked anywhere you have probably run into that guy (or girl) sometime in your career. Terry was the name (name changed to protect the innocent) of “that guy” at one of my recent jobs. I would describe him as young, well dressed, very good looking, very personable, great to talk to, funny, a good listener, and someone everybody likes. Terry started in our sales department.
Comprehensive is defined as:
“So large in scope or content as to include much.”
Synonyms: complete, broad, wide, full, sweeping, exhaustive, extensive.
What does Wolf Blitzer think:
“I think what we try to do is bring the news to our viewers in a very comprehensive responsible way” This is CNN?
Can you use it in a sentence?
Politicians often use the word comprehensive when they introduce a piece of legislation when the want the American people to think they are being thoughtful and forward-thinking. Most citizens who pay attention know that when an elected official uses the word comprehensive to describe a bill, a rule, a policy, etc. that it actually means that it is full of things they do not want you to really know about. [Okay that is two sentences]
Round one gave us around thirty inches and was followed shortly by another twelve from round two. One more day with snow and February will break the record for snowiest February of all times. The record is predicted to be broken tomorrow after a week-long respite with above freezing temperatures and dry roads for commuting.
A unique thing that I noticed during the recent deep freeze and mountains of snow was how many houses started gardens on their roofs. Icicle’s were springing up all over town and hanging from gutters. It became almost a daily chore for me to knock the new sprouts from the edge of my roof only to have them grow back the next day.
As I prepared dinner this evening, I was listening to the Michael Savage show. The news-talk radio station that I regularly listen to finally put him on earlier in the evening and I can listen more often. He is perhaps one of the most interesting hosts on the air. This evening I tuned in and heard a discussion about Obama being described as a Robin Hood type figure who steals from the rich and gives to the poor.
This characterization drives me nuts.
One of my favorite cartoons as a youth was Underdog. Have no fear, Underdog is here! Of all of Underdog’s protagonists, none were more irritating than scientist/inventor Simon Bar Sinister. One of his weapons was a machine that made snow. I can still hear him running around wreaking havoc yelling “Simon Says Go Snow.”
“…politicians were all that way. They honestly believed in their personal power of persuasion. These were the men and women who never stopped campaigning. Every dry cleaner, bar, and cafe they stopped in, every golf outing and fund raiser they hit, they shook hands, smiled, remembered an amazing number of names and convinced people though nothing more thatn their personality that they were likable. These men and women excelled in politics. They were willing to make to make concessions and be flexible so others thought them reasonable. On the international stage, though, these types got taken to the cleaners. Neville Chamberlain, the British prime minister at the onset of WWII, was the classic modern example. He had met Hitler, looked him in the eye, made him laugh, and concluded that he was a decent chap despite the evidence to the contrary that had been provided by the British intelligence services. Hitler took Chamberlain for a fool and played him through the occupation of Austria, the invasion of Poland, and right on up to the invasion of France. Somehow Hitler had been able to resist the irresistible charm of Chamberlain.”
There are three entities that have the unique ability to drive the left absolutely stark raving mad. The mere mention of any of these makes Keith Olberman slather, Chris Matthews have leg pain, Rachel Madow (Ok I got nothing for her), the New York Times lose more circulation, and Robert Gibbs wish for his big break on Saturday Night Live.
The first and perhaps the most hated is former Republican Veep candidate, Sarah Palin. Sean Hannity calls it “Palin Derangement Syndrome.” The left was probably very disappointed that they did not get to choose the Republican VP candidate like they chose John McCain and took an instant dislike to her. From the price of her campaign wardrobe to who is the mother of her child to what she reads and most recently what she writes on her hand.
Many years ago I was fortunate to be invited on a school trip to Gettysburg National Military Park. That trip sparked a love affair with the city and the Civil War. If you are from below the Mason-Dixon line you would call it the War Between the States. A favorite book about that era is The Killer Angels which was the basis of a favorite movie, Gettysburg
One of ending scenes of the movie was an encounter between some captured Confederate soldiers and Union soldiers after the epic Picket/Pettigrew charge. The southerners were resting on some fencing when one of the Union officers asked the prisoners why they were fighting this war. One of the Confederates answered that they were fighting for “Stats Rhats.’
“It should not have come as a surprise to him that in a town like Washington and in a place like the White House, politics played such an important role but, in an irritating and undermining way, it did. Add to all of that a convoluted, misguided, and rabid political correctness that permeated nearly every meeting, and you were left with an environment in which the inconsequential was debated and dissected, and the issues of real importance we obfuscated and put off for someone else to deal with at a later date. It was not a place where a man of action felt at ease” [emphasis added]
