Sunday, October 2, 2011

Old Betsy!

OCTOBER 2, 2011

BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND

The news as I see it and the views as I want them.

October 2 is … Name Your Car Day



Old Betsy is a popular car name; so is Hotrod Harry.



Another political explanation I did not write.



Cows & Politics Explained

A CHRISTIAN DEMOCRAT: You have two cows. You keep one and give one to your neighbor.

A SOCIALIST: You have two cows. The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor.

AN AMERICAN REPUBLICAN: You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. So what?

AN AMERICAN DEMOCRAT: You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. You feel guilty for being successful. You vote people into office who tax your cows, forcing you to sell one to raise money to pay the tax. The people you voted for then take the tax money and buy a cow and give it to your neighbor. You feel righteous.

A COMMUNIST: You have two cows. The government seizes both and provides you with milk.

A FASCIST: You have two cows. The government seizes both and sells you the milk. You join the underground and start a campaign of sabotage.

DEMOCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE: You have two cows. The government taxes you to the point you have to sell both to support a man in a foreign country who has only one cow, which was a gift from your government.

CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE: You have two cows. You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.

BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE: You have two cows. The government takes them both, shoots one, milks the other, pays you for the milk, then pours the milk down the drain.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when the cow drops dead.

A FRENCH CORPORATION: You have two cows. You go on strike because you want three cows.

A JAPANESE CORPORATION: You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. You then create clever cow cartoon images called Cowkimon and market them World-Wide.

A GERMAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You reengineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.

A BRITISH CORPORATION: You have two cows. They are mad. They die. Pass the shepherd's pie, please.

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows, but you don't know where they are. You break for lunch.

A RUSSIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You count them and learn you have five cows. You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. You count them again and learn you have 12 cows. You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.

A SWISS CORPORATION: You have 5000 cows, none of which belong to you. You charge others for storing them.

A BRAZILIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You enter into a partnership with an American corporation. Soon you have 1000 cows and the American corporation declares bankruptcy.

AN INDIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You worship both of them.

A CHINESE CORPORATION: You have two cows. You have 300 people milking them. You claim full employment, high bovine productivity, and arrest the newsman who reported on them.

AN ISRAELI CORPORATION: There are these two Jewish cows, right? They open a milk factory, an ice cream store, and then sell the movie rights. They send their calves to Harvard to become doctors. So, who needs people?

AN ARKANSAS CORPORATION: You have two cows. That one on the left is kinda cute.



Just a couple of thoughts I had and you should too or at least think about.



BRUCE A. BRENNAN

DEKALB, IL 60115

COPYRIGHT 2011



VISIT ANY OF THE SITES LISTED FOR REVIEW, RESEARCH, ORDERING MY WRITING PRODUCTS OR TO CONTACT ME.













Go to web sites below to buy books by Bruce A. Brennan. It is still a good time to purchase any of my books. The books are interesting and inexpensive reads. My third book is now available. The title is Public EneMe?



www.barnesandnoble.com (do a quick search, Title, my name)

www.smashwords.com Do a Title or author search.





Book Titles:



Holmes the Ripper



A Revengeful Mix of Short Fiction



Public EneMe?



"To be feared is to fear; no one has been able to strike terror into others and at the same time enjoy peace of mind himself." - Seneca








Saturday, October 1, 2011

Thanks Dick!

OCTOBER 1, 2011

BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND

The news as I see it and the views as I want them.

October 1 is … World Vegetarian Day and Magic Circles Day



Illinois Senator Dick Durbin pushed a law capping the fees banks can charge customers. In typical Washington DC fashion, the law made matters worse. Bank of America, the same one that just announced thirty thousand layoffs and earlier accepted bailout money but never loaned any of the money to small business has announced a new fee to get around the Durbin cap set to take affect October 1, 2011.



B of A will now charge customers $5.00 per month for the use of their debit card used to access their own money. B of A has 57 million customers. At $5.00 each, that comes to 285 million dollars a month in new bank fees. That is over 3 billion dollars a year.



Thank you Dick Durbin and go to hell Bank of America.



I bet this jackass, he probably works for B of A, is a vegetarian. I doubt he eats pork. Once he is found guilty, he should be taken to a porn theatre, chained to a seat with a bomb taped to his groin. We should then publicize to the world this guy can be let go and given immunity if he is rescued. We would then set up a parameter of snipers and cameras and kill every one that tries to rescue him. The ones we miss will be arrested and questioned for further information about their religion of hate. We should place a magic circle around this baby killer wannabee.



Just a thought I had. The full story about this Muslim hater is below.



A 26-year-old Ashland man was arrested and charged Wednesday in connection with his plot to damage or destroy the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol, using large remote-controlled aircraft filled with C-4 plastic explosives.



Rezwan Ferdaus, a U.S. citizen, was also charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization, specifically to al Qaeda, in order to carry out attacks on U.S. soldiers stationed overseas. In June, Ferdaus rented a storage facility in Framingham, under a false name, to use to build his attack planes and maintain all his equipment.



According to the affidavit, in August 2011, the F-86 remote controlled aircraft was delivered to the Framingham storage facility. Ferdaus delivered a total of eight detonation devices to the undercover FBI employees over the course of the investigation, which he built with the intention that they be used by al Qaeda operatives overseas to kill U.S. soldiers. “Our top priority is to protect our nation from terrorism and national security threats. The conduct alleged today shows that Mr. Ferdaus had long planned to commit violent acts against our country, including attacks on the Pentagon and our nation’s Capitol. Thanks to the diligence of the FBI and our many other law enforcement partners, that plan was thwarted,” said U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz.



The public was never in danger from the explosive devices, which were controlled by undercover FBI employees. The defendant was closely monitored as his alleged plot developed and the undercover FBI employees were in frequent contact with him. Richard DesLauriers, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston Division said, “Today’s arrest was the culmination of an investigation forged through strong relationships among various Massachusetts law enforcement agencies to detect, deter, and prevent terrorism.



Each of the more than 30 federal, state, and local agencies on the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force worked together to protect the community from this threat. In this particular investigation, the Worcester, Ashland and Framingham Police departments and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, played particularly critical roles.



The communities of Worcester, Ashland and Framingham should be proud of the unwavering commitment and professionalism the agencies demonstrated in ensuring that their towns and region were safe from harm. The Massachusetts State Police and the Commonwealth Fusion Center also contributed significantly to this investigation.”



“The FBI used an undercover operation to conduct this investigation. Undercover operations are used to combat all types of crimes and criminals, including in the counterterrorism arena.”



The affidavit alleges the following: Ferdaus, a Northeastern University graduate with a degree in physics, began planning to commit a violent jihad against the U.S. in early 2010. He obtained mobile phones, each of which he modified to act as an electrical switch for an IED. He then supplied the phones to FBI undercover agents, who he believed to be members of, or recruiters for, al Qaeda.

According to the affidavit, Ferdaus believed the devices would be used to kill American soldiers overseas. During a June 2011 meeting, he appeared gratified when he was told that his first phone detonation device had killed three U.S. soldiers and injured four or five others in Iraq. Ferdaus responded, “That was exactly what I wanted.”



According to the affidavit, after each subsequent delivery, Ferdaus was anxious to know how well each of his detonation devices had worked and how many Americans they had killed.



During recorded conversations, Ferdaus stated that he devised the idea of attacking the Pentagon long before he met with the government’s cooperating witness and undercover agents, and that his jihad had, “started last year.” In recorded conversations with the cooperating witness that began in January, Ferdaus stated that he planned to attack the Pentagon using aircraft similar to “small drone airplanes” filled with explosives and guided by GPS equipment. According to the affidavit, in April, Ferdaus expanded his plan to include an attack on the U.S. Capitol. In May and June, Ferdaus delivered two thumb drives to the agents, which contained detailed attack plans with step-by-step instructions as to how he planned to attack the Pentagon and Capitol.



The plans included using three remote controlled aircraft and six people, including himself whom he described as an “amir,” i.e., an Arabic term meaning leader. During various recorded meetings, Ferdaus envisioned causing a large “psychological” impact by killing Americans, including women and children, who he referred to as “enemies of Allah.” According to the affidavit, Ferdaus’ desire to attack the United States is so strong that he confided, “I just can't stop; there is no other choice for me.”



In May, Ferdaus traveled from Boston to Washington, D.C., conducted surveillance and took photographs of his targets (Pentagon and Capitol), and identified and photographed sites at the East Potomac Park from which he planned to launch his aircraft filled with explosives. Upon his return, Ferdaus told the agents that “more stuff ha[d] to be done,” that his plan needed to be expanded, and that he had decided to couple his “aerial assault” plan with a “ground directive.”



Ferdaus indicated that his ground assault plan would involve the use of six people, armed with automatic firearms and divided into two teams. Ferdaus described his expanded attack as follows: ... with this aerial assault, we can effectively eliminate key locations of the P-building then we can add to it in order to take out everything else and leave one area only as a squeeze where the individuals will be isolated, they’ll be vulnerable and we can dominate.



Once isolated, Ferdaus planned to “open up on them” and “keep firing” to create “chaos” and “take out” everyone. He also provided the expanded plan to the UC on a thumb drive. Between May and September, Ferdaus researched, ordered and acquired the necessary components for his attack plans, including one remote controlled aircraft, an F-86 Sabre.



This morning, prior to his arrest, Ferdaus received from the agents, 25 pounds of what he believed to be C-4 explosives, six fully-automatic AK-47 assault rifles and grenades. On Sept. 20, Ferdaus made a training video, which he provided to the agents, demonstrating how to make “cell phone detonators.” After inspecting the components, Ferdaus brought them to his storage unit, took possession of the explosives and firearms, and locked them in his storage unit. Ferdaus was then immediately arrested.



If convicted Ferdaus faces up to 15 years in prison on the material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization charge; up to 20 years in prison on the charge of attempting to destroy national defense premises; and a five year minimum mandatory in prison and up to 20 years on the charge of attempting to damage and destroy buildings that are owned by the United States, by using an explosive. On each charge Ferdaus also faces up to three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.



The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys B. Stephanie Siegmann and Donald L. Cabell of Ortiz’s Anti-Terrorism and National Security Unit.



Go get him, his family, his spiritual leader and every other Muslim he associated with. It is time to abuse a few Constitutional Rights of Muslims suspected of wrong doing. Let’s get them before they kill us.



Just a couple of thoughts I had and you should too or at least think about.

BRUCE A. BRENNAN

DEKALB, IL 60115

COPYRIGHT 2011



VISIT ANY OF THE SITES LISTED FOR REVIEW, RESEARCH, ORDERING MY WRITING PRODUCTS OR TO CONTACT ME.













Go to web sites below to buy books by Bruce A. Brennan. It is still a good time to purchase any of my books. The books are interesting and inexpensive reads. My third book is now available. The title is Public EneMe?



www.barnesandnoble.com (do a quick search, Title, my name)

www.smashwords.com Do a Title or author search.





Book Titles:



Holmes the Ripper



A Revengeful Mix of Short Fiction



Public EneMe?



I was angry with my friend; I told my wrath, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe; I told it not; my wrath did grow." - William Blake




Friday, September 30, 2011

Political poo.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND

The news as I see it and the views as I want them.

September 30 is … National Mud Pack Day



This broad needs several. Police say an Iowa City woman didn't react well to being told "no" Monday evening. According to criminal complaints, Melissa Barbara Minarsich, 28, was accused of second-offense domestic abuse assault, an aggravated misdemeanor, for punching her boyfriend, with whom she has an 8-year-old child with. Minarsich was convicted of domestic abuse in 2009 as well



Police say they arrived at 10:24 p.m. at 131 Taft Speedway for a report of a woman that was out of control. Officers say they met the caller, Minarsich's boyfriend, at the scene, and he told them that she had damaged the outside of the house and hit him several times after he refused to have sex with her. He told police that despite being hit he was not injured. Officers say then they spoke to Minarsich who was still at the scene, and that she appeared intoxicated, strongly smelling of alcohol and having slurred speech. Police say Minarsich conceded that she had been in a fight with her boyfriend due to his refusal of sex.



"All I want is a piece of (expletive), is that too much to ask for?" she told police, according to the complaint.



As of Tuesday morning, Minarsich was being held in the Johnson County Jail on $5,000 bail. She is about to get her wish and get screwed. It appears proper this occurred in Johnson County.



What Is Politics?



A little boy goes to his dad and asks, "What is politics?"



Dad says, "Well son, let me try to explain it this way: I'm the breadwinner of the family, so let's call me capitalism. Your Mom, she's the administrator of the money, so we'll call her the Government. We're here to take care of your needs, so we'll call you the people. The nanny, we'll consider her the Working Class. And your baby brother, we'll call him the Future. Now, think about that and see if that makes sense,"



So the little boy goes off to bed thinking about what dad had said.

Later that night, he hears his baby brother crying, so he gets up to check on him. He finds that the baby has severely soiled his diaper. So the little boy goes to his parents' room and finds his mother sound asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he goes to the nanny's room. Finding the door locked, he peeks in the keyhole and sees his father in bed with the nanny. He gives up and goes back to bed. The next morning, the little boy says to his father, "Dad, I think I understand the concept of politics now."



The father says, "Good son, tell me in your own words what you think politics is all about."



The little boy replies, "Well, while Capitalism is screwing the Working Class, the Government is sound asleep, the People are being ignored and the Future is in deep poo."



From a joke website; not my original work.



Is it just me or does it appear the news media is creating news by harping on to the ‘will he/ won’t he’ Chris Christie story? Let it go. He should review history and see how the yes/no game worked out for Fred Thompson, Sarah Palin and Ted Kennedy. The people that report the news should be sharp enough to understand he is not running and is using the press for publicity.



Insanity is inherited. You get it from your children.



Just a couple of thoughts I had and you should too or at least think about.

BRUCE A. BRENNAN

DEKALB, IL 60115

COPYRIGHT 2011



VISIT ANY OF THE SITES LISTED FOR REVIEW, RESEARCH, ORDERING MY WRITING PRODUCTS OR TO CONTACT ME.













Go to web sites below to buy books by Bruce A. Brennan. It is still a good time to purchase any of my books. The books are interesting and inexpensive reads. My third book is now available. The title is Public EneMe?



www.barnesandnoble.com (do a quick search, Title, my name)

www.smashwords.com Do a Title or author search.





Book Titles:



Holmes the Ripper



A Revengeful Mix of Short Fiction



Public EneMe?





"Those who restrain desire do so because theirs is weak enough to be restrained." - William Blake


Thursday, September 29, 2011

See ya later baseball.

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND

The news as I see it and the views as I want them.

September 29 is … Poisoned Blackberries Day



The 2011 Chicago Baseball Season, RIP!



My Fair Lady closed on this day in 1962 after a run of 6½ years. At the time, the show held the Broadway record for longest-running musical of all time. 3,750,000 people watched the wonderful show and heard tunes like Wouldn’t it Be Loverly, Show Me, Get Me to the Church on Time, I’m an Ordinary Man, I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face and the Vic Damone/Robert Goulet standard, On the Street Where You Live.



The team of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe turned George Bernard Shaw’s play, Pygmalion, into a colorful, musical production. They gave a new life to the rough-around-the-edges, cockney, flower girl; the subject of a bet between Professor Higgins (Just You Wait, ’Enry ’Iggins) and a colleague. The Professor bet that he could turn Eliza Doolittle into a proper lady (The Rain in Spain). With a Little Bit of Luck he did it. Eliza, looking and acting very much like a princess, sang I Could Have Danced All Night.



After its Broadway success, My Fair Lady was made into a motion picture (1964) and won seven Academy Awards including Best Picture. I think you’ve got it.



1953 - Danny Thomas, who many now remember as Marlo’s dad and Phil Donahue’s father-in-law, is also remembered for many things that influenced television. At the suggestion of his friend, Desi Arnaz, Thomas negotiated a deal that would allow him to retain ownership rights to his programs, like Make Room for Daddy, which debuted this day on ABC-TV. Later, in 1957, the show would move to CBS under the Desilu/Danny Thomas Productions banner. The rest is, literally, TV history. His success allowed him to give something back to the world, in the form of his philanthropic efforts to build St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis. “All I prayed for was a break,” he once told an interviewer, “and I said I would do anything, anything, to pay back the prayer if it could be answered. All I needed was a sign of what to do and I would do it.” And so it was.

1960 - My Three Sons was welcomed into U.S. homes on ABC-TV. Fred MacMurray, who was a movie actor, had a difficult time making the adjustment to the small screen. But adjust he did, and My Three Sons endured so well that CBS bought the successful hit for somewhere between seven and ten million dollars in 1965.



1982 - The first of seven deaths was reported in the Chicago area from Tylenol capsules laced with cyanide. Later, Johnson and Johnson introduced a triple sealed, tamper resistant Tylenol bottle.



1983 - On the Great White Way, A Chorus Line became the longest-running show on Broadway, with performance number 3,389. Grease, the rock ’n’ roll production, had been the previous box-office champ since 1980.



There seems to be a Broadway theme today. Don’t break a leg.



On this date:



1789 1st congress adjourns too bad they came back.
1789 US War Dept established a regular army.
1793 Tennis is 1st mentioned in an English sporting magazine.

1954 Willie Mays famous over-the-shoulder catch of Vic Wertz' 460' drive, we have all seen a video of this catch.

1979 Gold hits record $400.20 an ounce in Hong Kong

1986 Cubs Greg Maddux defeats Phillies Mike Maddux (1st rookie brothers)



1907 Construction begins on Washington National Cathedral



1990 Washington National Cathedral construction is completed after 83 years



What took them so long; must have been a government job.



Just a couple of thoughts I had and you should too or at least think about.

BRUCE A. BRENNAN

DEKALB, IL 60115

COPYRIGHT 2011



VISIT ANY OF THE SITES LISTED FOR REVIEW, RESEARCH, ORDERING MY WRITING PRODUCTS OR TO CONTACT ME.













Go to web sites below to buy books by Bruce A. Brennan. It is still a good time to purchase any of my books. The books are interesting and inexpensive reads. My third book is now available. The title is Public EneMe?



www.barnesandnoble.com (do a quick search, Title, my name)

www.smashwords.com Do a Title or author search.





Book Titles:



Holmes the Ripper



A Revengeful Mix of Short Fiction



Public EneMe?



"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself." - Harvey Fierstein








Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Nobody should win

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND

The news as I see it and the views as I want them.

September 28 is … Ask A Stupid Question Day



Did this guy love his work or what? Arch West, a retired Frito-Lay marketing executive credited with creating Doritos as the first national tortilla chip brand, has died in Dallas at age 97.



A statement issued by the West family says he died Tuesday at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. A graveside service is scheduled for Oct. 1. Daughter Jana Hacker of Allen tells The Dallas Morning News  the family plans on "tossing Doritos chips in before they put the dirt over the urn."



West was a marketing vice president for Dallas-based Frito-Lay in 1961 when, while on a family vacation near San Diego, he found a snack shack selling fried tortilla chips. Hacker says her father got a tepid corporate response to the tortilla chip idea but conducted marketing research that led to the Doritos rollout.



Never can tell when you are going to get hungry. Do you think he can eat just one?



Rick Perry just cannot shake the Merck donation story out of Texas. It amazes me how an inconsequential nutcase like Michelle Bachmann can prevent the most popular candidate in her party from getting the nomination. The defeat of Perry will not help her in any way. She is way out on the diving board and no one will help her get back to the ladder.



Once again Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey is not running for the Republican nomination for President. He is running out of ways to say he is not running.



It appears to me that the total mess President Obama inherited and then worsened is too broken to really fix. Like most economic woes and world crisis, time will fix it. Sooner or later people will have to replace refrigerators, cars and clothes. They just will not be able to wait any longer. Sooner or later employers will hire new employees because current employees die, retire or get ill; sooner or later the world will tire of the troublemakers around the globe and kill them either physically or economically.



The fixes that will eventually occur will not be because of who the President is. Time will fix everything; whoever is President will get the credit but it will be a matter of luck not ability.



Politicians realize this. That is why the Republican field is so weak. Whoever is elected will likely be a one term President. If things do not turn around quickly, you are one and done. It takes 18 to 24 months for the national economy to recover from anything. The trickle down takes a long time to get to Mississippi.



It could be several national elections before a President is re-elected.



The man who created Li’l Abner was born on this day in 1909 at New Haven, Connecticut. Alfred Gerald Caplin, better known as Al Capp, was responsible for all the happenings in the fictitious hillbilly town of Dogpatch.



From 1934 until 1977, Capp wrote and drew the cartoon, Li’l Abner, with its cast of wonderful characters, Mammy and Pappy Yokum, their son Abner, the lovely Daisy Mae, Fearless Fosdick and the lovable Schmoos. Al Capp even invented a holiday, Sadie Hawkins Day.



Li’l Abner wasn’t just a funny comic strip. It became a Broadway show and a Hollywood movie, too. But above all else, Al Capp used the characters in the Sunday funnies for political satire. It was fairly common to see public figures being lampooned in Li’l Abner. Al Capp would have had a field day with today’s political antics.



Just a couple of thoughts I had and you should too or at least think about.

BRUCE A. BRENNAN

DEKALB, IL 60115

COPYRIGHT 2011



VISIT ANY OF THE SITES LISTED FOR REVIEW, RESEARCH, ORDERING MY WRITING PRODUCTS OR TO CONTACT ME.













Go to web sites below to buy books by Bruce A. Brennan. It is still a good time to purchase any of my books. The books are interesting and inexpensive reads. My third book is now available. The title is Public EneMe?



www.barnesandnoble.com (do a quick search, Title, my name)

www.smashwords.com Do a Title or author search.





Book Titles:



Holmes the Ripper



A Revengeful Mix of Short Fiction



Public EneMe?



"The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office." - Robert Frost