Somewhere out there...

September 25, 2011

2011-09-25T14:19:00.001-06:00

It's still September, and I still live in Cap Hill, Denver. Yesterday (for about $100), I got to escape Denver in a rented 2010 Chevy Impala and return to my hometown of Colorado Springs. Rents are still cheap there, but the job market is still worse than Denver's. Due to the abnormally warm weather since the first day of Autumn, most of the local attractions that close for the summer are still open. The Manitou spring water is still available for free. But my trip to the Springs was mainly a business trip- as in rescuing personal items from the storage site I've had there since May 31. Most of my valuable items (computers, genealogy stuff, old photos, diaries, and winter gear) are now in my suddenly undersized room in Cap Hill. Noticeably absent is my wi-fi receiver (which may have never left 618 N Weber Street back in May), which is why I'm posting this blog from the main library Downtown. Normally, I might be inclined to call Century Link and get their $29.95 no-phone internet, but I'm not sure if I want to stay in my current residence after the beginning of next month (when the month-to-month lease rent is due again). Parking in near that building is as bad as it is in New York, as I found out last night. The 2 legged neighbors are fine, but I have a major problem with the 6 legged neighbors freeloading at my place (the bedbugs and roaches) and about 2 hours ago caught a four legged unwanted freeloader- a mouse, who was probably escaping from my neighbors' cats. But I would need a car to move all my stuff out of the Cap Hill rooming house- and it could be months before I could afford to buy another car.

September 11, 2011

2011-09-11T14:44:00.001-06:00

I didn't have internet access or a digital camera (or any camera) on this date 10 years ago, which is why I'm using alternative video/photo sources on this blog. And for the most part I would love to never remember again the horrors of what happened 5 miles from my residence on that date. I would love never to remember watching that horrible sight of the North Tower collapse live on WCBS-TV (which was the only commercial English language station not knocked off the air when that happened). I would love to forget the smells of death and the debris that came across the harbor. I would love to forget the endless funeral coverage and the media taunting by Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda, Hamas and their ilk. I would love to forget that one of the priests at the church I was a member of in 2001 (St. Francis of Assisi in Midtown) died for the sole crime of administering last rites to an injured fireman.

Ten years later, I would love to ignore the event happening just outside the library where I'm writing this blog- a tribute and Beach Boys concert, in a city of 600000 that was never on Al Qaeda's radar. Sure, Najibullah Zazi lived in nearby Aurora, but instead of crossing Yosemite Street, he had to go back to New York to implement his terror scheme.

It's hard to believe that just over 10 years ago, I was an NYPD candidate (until some health problems and an ugly firing got in the way) who should have been there that day. Before September of 2001, no one ever thought the US would be involved in a deadly, undermanned Vietnam-type war in Afghanistan, or in another war in Iraq.

But all of that stuff did happen, and 10 years later, there is no waking up from this nightmare, not for the city of New York, not for those who died in the planes and at the Pentagon, and for the thousands of those whose loved ones died on that day.

Most of the readings for today's Mass (which I'm sure were the same at St. Francis as they were at Holy Ghost) had to do with forgiveness and healing. But if I can't forgive a scumbag politician who bribed my co-workers (and sent R-rated texts to a teenager), if I can't forgive another scumbag politician who fucked up the job market as well as some hookers, if I can't forgive various family members who ignored and virtually disowned me in my greatest time of need earlier this summer, and if I can't forgive my possibly dying sister who has just gone on another psychotic ego trip, how the Hell am I supposed to forgive a bunch of Satan worshiping terrorists who want to turn my longtime home into a nuclear wasteland and who succeeded in killing thousands of my neighbors 10 years ago?

August 21, 2011

2011-08-21T15:40:00.002-06:00

My long nightmare is over. After 2 lengthy stints of homelessness, I am now employed and housed. The 2 week break between the shelters was spent at a rooming house in the Cap Hill section of Denver. I moved back there this afternoon, with slightly cheaper rent and a much bigger 3rd floor unit with great digital reception. As my main computer is still in storage in the Springs, I don't know how good any wi-fi reception is yet- or whether I will end up going with the new phone company Century Link for service whenever my computer gets to Denver.

It took a very long time, but I now have a permanent job with a certain automotive warehouse north of Denver. My temp job with Randstad's Denver office lasted 2 weeks, and I've already exceeded the number of hours and days worked with the new job. The supervisor was nice enough to let me store my bags in the office when I was staying at the Denver Rescue Mission. Interestingly enough, that warehouse is the first non-temp job I've ever held in Colorado. Randstad and all my Springs jobs were temporary, and technically I don't know if I was ever considered an employee of GCA. I never got paid for their orientation last month.

While as far as amenities, the Denver shelters are much nicer than their New York counterparts, the admission and bed policies would probably be illegal in New York. Just because one signs up to stay at a shelter like Denver Rescue Mission, there is no guarantee that person will even get a bed. A shelter forcing people out on the streets because there are no alternative beds would be mucho illegal in NYC. Indeed, the New York ACLU would howl about it and the city would end up housing people in an overpriced hotel or in Rikers (if they did something illegal to get kicked out of the shelter). And someone has not been checking who has been getting to the Denver shelters. There was a joint Denver PD/FBI/ICE raid on the Denver Rescue Mission last Tuesday (August 16). The local media ignored this 3+ hour raid, with the probable exception of KCNC, because I spent over an hour that night trying to e-mail them camera phone photos (below) of the raid taken from the 2nd floor of the Mission. After I posted about it on Facebook, my former roommate (from 1993) Vince Shovlin loaned me money to get out of the shelter, and I haven't been back since Wednesday morning. (Between Wednesday night and this morning, I was staying at the Denver hostel I first stayed at when I arrived in Denver nearly 3 months ago.) Several others never returned to the Mission, but that's because they are in jail- or in one case, a mental institution in Pueblo.

I guess the last 3 months have shown me who my real friends are. I didn't expect any help from my New York friends on this, but I did get support messages from them on my voice mail and on Facebook. I sure as hell didn't solicit Vince for money (I haven't heard from him in years until Wednesday), but I was offered the money and now have housing because of it, in addition to my first paycheck, which probably won't clear my account until next week. I definitely wasn't expecting moral support from other homeless people when I was kicked out of Samaritan House and when the Denver Rescue Mission was full, but I managed to get it. Apparently some people are praying for this semi-broken 39 year old former Brooklynite. And I don't know how or if I could ever thank them.

July 27, 2011

2011-07-27T11:08:00.001-06:00

I have been out of the Samaritan House shelter for a week now- but given my employment status, I don't know if that will last past next week. On July 19, I got a text from a driving job I applied for 2 weeks ago, inviting me to their new hire orientation. I attended the event, which was held Friday the 22nd at the Hampton Inn near DIA. I was told I was hired and that I would get my new work schedule within 2 days. I even listed this employer on my lease. Monday- no call from the company, so I called the emergency number in the employee handbook. They refer me to one of the recruiters, who said she doesn't handle scheduling, and that someone would get back to me. That was over 48 hours ago. Assuming I am still employed (which is highly unlikely considering that this company has ignored my calls), I will not get my first paycheck until August 12- 9 days after my next rent due date. So I can look forward to the lottery line at Denver Rescue Mission again in a week, or else pay the $11 for the FREX bus back to Colorado Springs (where most of my belongings are still in storage) and invest in one of those tents along Fountain Creek.

June 7, 2011

2011-06-07T13:44:00.001-06:00

It's like 2008 all over again. A New York politician I personally despise gets caught in an X rated scandal, I am financially forced to move from a cheap residence in Colorado Springs, and as of last night, I am in the shelter system again. Thanks to a couple of social service agencies, I have an address to give potential employers and a place to store my clothes and other items. I even have a free health clinic to go to (which has done more to remedy the skin problems than Peak Vista ever did in the Springs). But the shelters here in Denver are a lot less organized than in New York. There is no city agency monitoring them or putting shelter people in programs. Indeed, due to the lottery system they use by who shows up, there is no guarantee a homeless person will even get a bed. I spent most of last evening shuttling between 2 shelters trying to find out which one I would sleep in. Since I am definitely not the only one in that situation, I would strongly advise Denver drivers to avoid Park Avenue West of Broadway between 5PM and 8PM because of the mass migration of people trying lotteries in both shelters.

At this point, I am stuck in this nightmare until I can earn at least $250 in income (the minimum required for the SROs I've contacted here in Denver, which average $110 a week plus deposit). I am currently enrolled in the Denver Workforce Center, the St. Francis Center employment office, at least 8 temp agencies, and have applied for at least 20 other jobs. But for now, I have an address, 2 phone numbers which for now I can access for free, storage in 2 cities, and enough of a food stamp balance that I could afford a months rent in an SRO were it legal to use them for that purpose.

And if anyone thinks that all this nightmare is due to any chemical problems I have (I don't have any), or due to Bush's handling of the economy, or because I would prefer this over living in an apartment, then they should expect a Howard Newman-esque response in return.

June 3, 2011

2011-06-03T12:22:00.001-06:00

I am temporarily settled in Downtown Denver. I don't know where I will be living next week yet. I have sporadic access to the internet (although unlike last week, I'm not paying $62 a month for it anymore). Otherwise, I would spend time commenting on the death of Dr. Death (Jack Kevorkian) and the ongoing internet scandal involving the Weiner's weiner.

May 28, 2011

2011-05-28T09:41:00.001-06:00

About 72 hours left before I have to move. So much for having my own apartment- what's the point of having your own place if you can't afford it? What's the point of moving back to your hometown if you can't find or maintain work without a car? (See May 11 blog as to why I no longer have a car.)

Barring a financial miracle, I will probably move to Denver next week. The job market is significantly better there than in Colorado Springs, and unlike Colorado Springs, most potential employers can be accessed by foot or by public transportation.

I just can't wait for this nightmare to get over with.

May 11, 2011

2011-05-11T12:23:00.001-06:00

At this point, I'm still unemployed. I received some expensive news on my 1994 Oldsmobile 88, and due to the repair costs being more than all my viable assets, I had no choice but to sell the car- which I was able to do in under 3 hours on the Colorado Springs version of Craigslist.

So goodbye, car #9. I don't know how long it will be before I can afford another one. I had the Oldsmobile for 3 years and 9 months, about a month less than my longest owned car, a 1986 Chevrolet Nova that also happened to be my first car. My first 4 vehicles were able to be driven away when I sold them- the remaining 5 had to be towed away. All 9 vehicles I've owned have been driven in New York City- indeed, all 9 were driven on the BQE and the Long Island Expressway. But cars have changed a lot since the late 1980s. Gas was about a fourth of what it is now. Airbags weren't standard until the mid-1990s (and the Oldsmobile was one of only 3 vehicles I've owned that even had an airbag). And it is a lot more expensive in other costs to own a vehicle now. Most of my cars were cheap to repair. The ignition problem on the Olds will cost about what I sold it for, $325, because of a computerized chip in the ignition key (something no other vehicle I've owned ever had). But unlike my 1992 Skylark, my 1990 Taurus, my 1988 Caprice, and the infamous Chevy van (that died on me 3 days after I purchased it because the dealer forgot to add oil to it), that Olds will probably be running again. But I have had to sell all 9 of those vehicles due to extreme financial difficulties. After 18+ years, my finances and job situations still aren't stable.

May 7, 2011

2011-05-07T18:47:00.001-06:00

This might be the last blog I post for a while. I haven't been employed in a while. My car has stopped working again, and I don't have the money to fix it. Indeed, I don't have much money left since the last car repair and May's rent. I have 2 bills due next week (utility and phone/internet) and not enough money for both. At this point, I don't know where I will be in June. The last time I was this bad off (about 3 years ago), I ended up in a homeless shelter. But that was in New York. I don't even have that option here in Colorado Springs, especially since the city's main shelter (a converted motel at 8th Street and Cimarron) is court ordered to shut down due to conditions that are probably minor compared to other places (and shelters) I've lived in.

And tomorrow happens to be both Mother's Day and my 39th birthday. As if I don't have enough to be depressed about......

March 29, 2011

2011-03-29T12:56:00.001-06:00

A lot has happened since my last blog. 2011 has roared in with a lot of turmoil. The turmoil in my personal life so far this year includes the loss, gain, and loss of employment, health problems (involving skin infections I never had to deal with when I lived in NYC), and lost friends. I lost several friends to paranoia, one friend to Kregeritis, and another to a heart attack- at 28. Unfortunately, Jeff Braverman's surviving family is still struggling over his death, and to be honest, they need the prayers more than he does.

There's also been a lot of political turmoil. Some of it could have been predicted with the Republican wave last election day. But the current turmoil in the Middle East is what will affect world history more than any union attempts to convince public opinion to support their attempts to milk more money out of a broken and overtaxed economy. Tunisia and Egypt are free of their autocratic leaders, and there is civil unrest in Bahrain, Oman, Yemen, and Syria. The biggest news in the Middle East right now is the civil war in Libya. Muammar the wacko (I won't print his surname here because there are at least 4 conflicting Arabic-to-English spellings of it in various media sources) is fighting to keep power after losing the eastern part of Libya to insurgents inspired by the revolutions in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt. After the Arab League and EU "discovered" that Muammar was targeting civilians (I guess they forgot what his agents did over Lockerbie in 1988), they lobbied the UN to approve a "no-fly zone" over Libya. President Obama used the resolution as an excuse to supply most of the airpower to enforce the no fly zone. This has caused some weird shifts in the US political dynamic. Conservatives are split on Obama's actions, as are the various tea party contingents. Many Democrats are calling for Obama's impeachment over enforcing the UN resolution. And Obama is making a poor case as to why the US is even involved in Libya. But if anything, Obama should point out that we are finishing an action that Reagan should have completed in 1986. If Reagan had bombed Muammar the Wacko into hell during the 1986 bombings, we could have been spared the Pan Am bombings, various terrorist attacks, and the buildup of a chemical weapons program that was only stopped when Muammar saw the damage that the US Army did in Iraq in 2003.

George Soros and the wacko leftists are at it again. Soros is using his non-profit Media Matters organization to plot a "guerilla warfare and sabotage" against News Corp and Fox News Channel. While I think that one of the big 4 networks should be out of business (mainly because the FCC didn't do its job in 1993), I diasgree with the Soros war against Fox, especially since Fox is no more biased to the right than MSNBC and NPR are to the left and has certainly not done anything illegal other than tear Soros's worldview to shreds.

First of all, Fox News Channel is a cable channel. The FCC has little influence over cable, except to dictate competition and rates bargaining. While I tend to agree with news coverage on Fox News more than I would on ABC News or MSNBC, I do have some issues with Fox News's management ideas. While I know of various web sites that stream CNN, Fox has done everything in its power to shut down sites that try to stream its news. Why? Not everyone has or can afford cable. And why should any commercial network (Fox News, USA, Spike, or any of the over-the-air networks) charge to transmit their programs onto cable on the first place? What the hell are these networks doing with their advertising revenue? And are they so broke that they can't live off that? And if Fox News gave a damn about trying to have as many viewers as possible to watch their "fair and unbiased" news, they should do an end-run around cable by making Fox News and little-watched Fox Business available as subchannels on every over-the-air Fox affiliate in the country.

If Soros wanted to use his powers to destroy a network/media company that actually has violated the public interest (the modus operandi for the FCC), he should go after NBC. Soros probably won't since NBC's news divisions are closest in line to his worldview. But NBC never got punished for the most egregious violation of public interest in my lifetime- the Dateline report where producers tried to prove GM trucks were explosive by rigging explosives on a truck and passing that off as a fuel tank defect. Sure, the NBC News president (Michael Gartner) was forced to resign, but NBC News is still on the air. Dateline NBC is still on the air. And NBC received no fines or sanctions from the FCC for staging the GM story. Meanwhile, CBS got fined $550000 for an accidental nipple flash during the 2004 Super Bowl. How the hell is that a bigger violation of the public interest than anything NBC News has put on the air over the last 20 years? And I still haven't forgotten the "Syracuse Peacock" incidents from March of 1997, when a Syracuse grad employee of WNBC (NBC's low rated flagship station in New York) made threatening calls to the Brooklyn College Excelsior student newspaper concerning my articles that mentioned his pathetic excuse for an employer.

General Electric was so upset with what NBC was doing to its image (and its profits) that they sold NBC to Comcast last year. Comcast now controls the largest collection of cable systems in the country and 3 over-the-air broadcast networks (NBC, Ion, and Telemundo). Since most liberals hate media monopolies, why aren't they crying out over this illegal (under most FCC rules) media combination?

Getting slightly off the NBC tangent, I have replaced the Windows 2000 system that was installed on my Dell in favor of a Linux-based OS called Ubuntu. Trying to figure out Linux and trying to re-learn UNIX (the MS-DOS for Linux) for the first time since 1997 should be a fun challenge between job searches. This is the first blog I've composed in a completely non-Windows format- using Ubuntu 10.10, Leafpad, and Ubuntu's generic version of Firefox. But then, I have used Firefox's Windows version for most of these blogs between 2005-2010. And if I can master these new programming languages, there's another thing to add to my resume.

December 16, 2010

2010-12-16T15:18:00.001-07:00

I am still unemployed- indeed, I have not worked since November 22- the longest stretch of unemployment for me since the beginning of 2008 (the last time I lived in the Springs). I still make frequent calls to all the temp agencies I'm signed up for. And I've had at least 2 interviews this week, as well as a callback on one of last week's applications. However, I was in the bathroom when that call hit my answering machine, and I've tried 4 times to call the callback number back with no success. So much for Colorado Springs being a better job market than New York City- the unemployment rate here is up to 9.2% (well above the Colorado statewide average, although lower than Pueblo). The only good thing right now is that I am on unemployment due to a seasonal job ending 2 months earlier than it was supposed to. I've had a few short term assignments, including ad insertion for the Gazette, and a 2 day moving job at Fort Carson that ended with my left toe getting injured. While the toe stopped hurting the following day, it is still purple colored in spots- and after that incident, I'm not even bothering applying for labor positions that require constant lifting of 60-100 pound materials, since that's what fell on my toe. I'm getting older, and my physical strength isn't what it was a few years ago. But supposedly, Woodford and Walmart's remodeling crew will be calling up people again in January, so if none of these other job prospects pan out, I might be working at one of those old jobsites again. But either way, it beats $132 a week in unemployment or the $235 a week after taxes I was averaging at my messenger job in New York.

This has been one weird autumn. New York, the Midwest, and the southeast are seeing record cold and snow, yet Colorado Springs tied for its latest start to the snow season ever with a 2 inch snowfall that started on the evening of November 28. It hasn't snowed again until this morning, and as of 2PM MT, that snow is gone, and another storm is supposed to hit tonight with a possible 1 to 4 inch snow range. If it must snow, it's better this happens when I don't have to drive out in it.

I have had more time to work on my novel and on my side hobby of music mixing. I put the link to my SoundCloud site that features some of my mixing abilities on the right side of the page. The novel draft (at this point titled Purgatory on the Third Rail) is usually updated on my website. The link to it can be found here (novel link). It took a while to update the last draft because the computer that processed many of these blogs since July 2007 stopped working right after a major virus infection (probably caused by the Wikileaks cyberwars). I got a replacement computer Saturday night, which has a 1.7GHz processor and 250MB more RAM than the old computer. For some reason, the newer Dell computer, which was installed with Windows XP, has Windows 2000 Professional on it instead. That means that a lot of my backed up files from the old computer don't work on the Dell. And because it currently has Windows 2000 Professional, I can't upgrade it to my copy of Windows XP Home edition- it can only be upgraded to Windows XP Professional, which is presently out of my budget. Indeed, between shelling out $45 for the Dell, $70 for my most recent utility bill (which is double September's bill) and $15 for my most recent visit to Peak Vista health clinic, there isn't much leftover money to throw around.

November 1, 2010

2010-11-01T16:54:00.002-06:00

As tomorrow is election day, I have decided to publish my own endorsements for various races.

COLORADO (my current home state)

Governor: No endorsement. The Republican, Dan Maes, has been caught in various lies, is deeply in debt, and is polling at 5-8%, bad enough to where despite the potential Republican victories in other state offices, they will be (for legal purposes) a 3rd party in this state. The two main candidates (tied at around 40-45% of the vote) are former Republicans John Hickenlooper and Tom Tancredo. Hickenlooper switched his party affiliation to Democrat so he could run for and win his current job (Denver Mayor). While Hickenlooper is running as a conservative budget balancer and government job trimmer, his true colors came out at last week's debate when he came out against Colorado's anti-Obamacare Amendment 63, and for potentially raising taxes to keep the state's budget in balance. Tancredo, on the other hand, bolted the Republicans for the American Constitution Party this year because Maes and his primary opponent Scott McInnis wouldn't drop out of the race. And let's not forget Tancredo's extremism on the immigration issue (supporting an Arizona-style immigration law is one thing, but trying to restrict the ablities and options of legal immigrants is another). Colorado in 2011 could end up as messed up as New York, where one of the architects of the Great Recession (Andrew "no homo" Cuomo) is way ahead in the polls to replace David Paterson.

Judiciary: Colorado is one of those states where a judge can be voted out of office after a few years (2 years for recently appointed judges, 10 for incumbent members of the state supreme court). Part of the reason Amemndments 60, 61, and 101 are on the ballot this year is because 4 liberal judges found loopholes around the state's TABOR law and used them to hike state fees dramatically. Three of those liberal supreme court judges are up for a yes or no vote this year (the fourth, Mary Mullarkey, who was the state's chief justice, decided to quit rather than face a certain no vote). I urge Colorado voters to VOTE NO on the 3 Supreme Court justices up for a vote- Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, and Nancy Rice.

Attorney General: John Suthers is the clear choice over liberal Boulderite Stan Garnett.

Secreary of State: I recommend Scott Gessler over Democrat Bernie Buescher.

Treasurer: Despite the recent DUI charges (which the Democrats have distorted to the point where even the liberal newspapers are condemning their last minute campaigning on), I still endorse Walker Stapleton over Cary Kennedy.

Senate: I made no endorsement in the Republican primary back in August because no matter if Jane Norton or Ken Buck had won, either would have been preferable to liberal Andrew Romanoff or Obama puppet Michael Bennet. Ken Buck won, and is leading the polls despite a few gaffes and the full force of the Democratic establishment condemning him. I strongly endorse Ken Buck for the Senate. If Michael Bennet was serious in his recent ad about having his pre-teen daughters transporting gullible voters to the polls, then that alone should disqualify him from ever holding public office again. (I will never endorse my former Congressman, the Weiner, due to his cookie bribing incident at a polling site I worked at back in 1998.)

House District 3: The clear choice here is tea party-endorsed Scott Tipton over anti-Springs Puebloite (and more recently, Obama and Pelosi puppet) John Salazar. Fortunately, this is one of those races which has gone from toss up to soon-to-be-former-Democrat.

I'm also endorsing Republicans Cory Gardner for District 4 and Ryan Frazier for House District 7.

Colorado State Senate: The Republicans have a shot out of wresting this from the Democrats. One of the tightest races is in my Senate District 11. My current state senator, the state Senate leader John Morse, is running annoying "boots" commercials complete with talking boots denouncing Air Force Academy graduate Owen Hill as anti-Military. Those boots need to be used to kick Morse's posterior (and various other jackasses) out of Denver- I strongly endorse Owen Hill.

Colorado State House: This chamber could also flip to the Republicans. My liberal state representative Michael Merrifield is abandoning this seat for a probably losing race for one of the El Paso County Commission spots (which hasn't gone to a Democrat in years). The clear choice is Republican Karen Cullen over Democrat Tim Lee in District 18.

Amendments and Propositions: Voting on these are crucial to fixing the state government.

Amendments 60, 61, and Prop 101: Hell fucking yeah I support these! Don't believe the scare tactics that these will cause massive job losses and a "voter approved "recession". They will cause public sector layoffs (which even Hickenlooper wants to do as governor), while at the same time lowering taxes and automotive and telecommunications fees.

Amendment 62: Yes, if passed, this amendment will outlaw unrestricted abortion on demand in Colorado. For that reason alone, I strongly support this amendment.

Amendment 63: If passed, this will outlaw in Colorado the most odious aspect of Obamacare, the requirement that all people must have health insurance or else face massive fines from the government. I have not had health insurance for most of my adult life because it is too damn expensive and most insurers won't cover me anyway because of my asthma. Forcing me to pay for a product that I can't afford and in most cases wouldn't be able to use anyways is so immoral that I would seriously consider leaving the US if the "insurance requirement" survives Constitutional challenges. I support Amendment 63.

Amendment Q: This amendment allows for relocating state government in case something catastrophic happens in Denver. I support this amendment, and would go further as far as suggesting the state government should move out of Denver now- preferably to the Springs, Castle Rock, Cripple Creek, or Grand Junction.

I also support Amendments P and R.

NEW YORK

Governor: Rent is too damn high in this state, Paladino is a bit nuts, but Andrew Cuomo is one of the architects of the Great Recession, and considering he's from the same party apparatus that put job-killing prostitute-loving sleazeball Eliot Spitzer into the Governor's mansion 4 years ago, there is no way in hell I can endorse Cuomo. I support Carl Paladino for New York governor, and I hope that the NY polls are wrong tomorrow.

Comptroller: Albany shill Tom DiNapoli vs Harry Wilson? Of course I'm endorsing Harry Wilson.

Attorney General: Albany shill Eric Schneiderman vs Staten Island DA Dan Donovan? I'm endorsing Donovan.

State Senate and House: The NY Senate was a "chamber of horrors" last year. The Democrats are disorganized, corrupt, and need to lose 3 seats to reclaim the minority in the state Senate. Unless they are running on the Conservative, Republican, Right-to-life, or Tea Party lines, I cannot endorse anyone running for New York's state legislature. Most deserving to go: Assembly sleazer leader Sheldon "Shyster" Silver.

Senate seats: I endorse Jay Townsend and Joseph DioGuardi over Chucky Schumer and his parakeet Kirsten Gillibrand. While both Republicans will probably lose, Schumer will probably be the next US Senate Majority Leader if the Republicans don't win back the Senate tomorrow.

House: I endorse Altschuler (NY-1), Gomes (NY-2), and King (NY-3).

House District 4: Colin Ferguson shot the wrong McCarthy. I'm endorsing Fran Becker.

House District 8-9: Don't vote for "Jerrolmander" Nadler or the Weiner. Sheepshead Bay and Forest Hills don't belong in the same Congressional district. Neither do the West Side and Brighton Beach. Hopefully redistricting will redraw the 8th and 9th districts into something that is sensible, competitive, and less leftist, especially since Southern Brooklyn is one of the most conservative parts of NYC.

House District 13: I endorse Michael Grimm over too-liberal-for-Staten-Island Michael McMahon. This is the one NYC seat that should flip back to the Republicans tomorrow.

House District 19: John Hall sucked when he was with Orleans in the 1970s, and he is just as lousy a Congressman now. I'm endorsing Nan Hayworth, and according to most polls, she should win tomorrow.

I'm also endorsing Chris Gibson (NY-20), George Phillips (NY-22), Matt Doheny (NY-23), Richard Hanna (NY-24), and Tom Reed (NY-29).

CONNECTICUT

Governor: I'm endorsing Tom Foley for governor over Dan Malloy.

Senate: I strongly endorse Linda McMahon. I hope tomorrow she will layeth the smacketh down on Vietnam faker Richard Blumenthal.

Also, I encourage all Connecticut voters to wear WWE gear to the polls tomorrow.

NEVADA

Down with the Reids! I'm endorsing Brian Sandoval for governor and Sharron Angle for Senator.

FLORIDA

I'm endorsing Rick Scott for governor and Marco Rubio for Senator in my late father's home state. I know the governor's race here is tight, but isn't Sink the perfect surname for a Democrat?

PENNSYLVANIA

I'm endorsing Tom Corbett for governor and Pat Toomey for Senator in my late mother's home state.

KENTUCKY

House: I'm endorsing Todd Lally over way-too-liberal-for-Louisville John Yarmouth in the 3rd District.

Senate: I'm endorsing tea party favorite Rand Paul over Jack Conway, who disgraced his faith and killed any chance the Democrats had of taking this Senate seat with the infamous Aqua Buddah attack ad.

September 25, 2010

2010-09-26T18:14:00.001-06:00

As of this writing, I have spent a combined total of 6 years in my hometown of Colorado Springs. But this city keeps changing (probably more so than NYC over the last 3 years), and not always for the better.

With maybe 3 exceptions, the people I knew and socialized with during my last stint in the Springs (May 2007-May 2008) aren't here anymore. This city has one of the highest turnover rates in the country. Some of it is due to the military presence. That's how my family ended up here in 1973 and why it left by the end of the 1970s. In 2007, medical marijuana had few dispensaries in this state. Now, there's too many to count in this city (including one just 2 blocks from where I go to Mass) and the unincorporated parts of El Paso County are trying to outlaw them. And it is not that difficult for a physically well pothead to get a prescription for a joint. Wisely, all the major colleges outlaw "legal" marijuana on their campuses. Maybe the Feds should step in and remind them that non-medicinal use of marijuana is still illegal under Federal law, despite what one would believe by reading the back "Cannabiz" section of the Colorado Springs Independent.

The media and politics are also screwed up here. Why is it that the Republicans have a better chance of taking back Albany than Denver? Because the Colorado state Republican party totally screwed up. An unknown candidate by the name of Dan Maes beat the establishment candidate of Scott McInnis (mainly due to Maes's strong support in this county, since excluding the El Paso Republican results, McInnis won everywhere else in the state). And what does that mean now? An underfunded candidate being attacked by the right (Tom Tancredo, who left the Republicans for the American Constitution Party) and the left (Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, who is a lot more liberal than outgoing Democrat Governor Bill Ritter). At least the tea party is actively supporting Republican candidates Ken Buck (for Senate) and Scott Tipton (who is running against a member of the infamous anti-Springs Salazar clan for Pueblo's Congressional seat). At least in New York, Carl Paladino has enough money to counter the Democratic machine. Hell, Carl Paladino and Rush Limbaugh recently discovered that Village Voice article from 2008 that ties Andrew Cuomo to HUD policies that caused the housing crisis that caused the Great Recession. What is it with New York Democrats and their love affair with candidates that are proven job and economy killers? Hello- read anything I've written on this blog between 2006-2008 with the keyword of "Spitzer".

And the local media... I understand Colorado Springs is too small to have all the dailies and free papers that New York City has. But 75 cents is way too overpriced for what the only paper in town gets you. And according to the Nielsen ratings, the number one station in this media market isn't even based in Colorado Springs or affiliated with a watchable network. Between KKTV, KRDO, and KXRM, are there are 3 pretty good alternatives. As far as broadcast quality, I would probably rate KRDO and KXRM ahead of their broadcast networks' owned stations in New York (although WABC and WYNW get better ratings in New York than KRDO and KXRM do in Colorado Springs). And now that the damn Pueblo station's main digital signal picks up in the Springs, why are they on both Channel 42 and Channel 30? KHWS TV is fairly good, but it can only be picked up on cable since they don't have a digital signal. And one also needs cable to get the Ion family of networks. And how come Accuweather isn't on any digital subchannels here? And let's not forget our local cable company is Comcast, which also now owns the worst network in broadcasting and gives it channel preference over most of the Springs stations.

And as far as KKTV, while they're no WCBS, they tend to have the best local news, although one would not believe that by reading the local Nielsens. But I do have a gripe with KKTV- despite being the last VHF station in town (and by far the strongest digital signal on my converter box), they want to move from Channel 10 to Channel 49. Why, so they can weaken their signal? So they can lose their coverage in the the southern Denver suburbs and in Southeastern Colorado? Ever since WCBS was forced to move to UHF in New York, they've lost a lot of coverage in Orange and Suffolk Counties. The FCC is allowing WCBS to get a repeater signal on 22 since WCBS's main signal on 33 conflicts with WFSB Hartford's signal, also on 33. Before 2009, WCBS was on Channel 2 and WFSB was on Channel 3, and both could be picked up in the far northern suburbs. Now, neither can be picked up without cable. Great going, FCC. I see KKTV moving to Channel 49, falling further behind in the ratings, and possibly losing their longtime CBS affiliation if they don't apply for more repeater signals.

While CBS is the dominant primetime network and (in NYC, Philly, Chicago, and LA) a heavily listened to radio news source, there is no CBS radio news in Colorado Springs. CBS lost their longtime affiliate, KVOR-AM (the original owner and callsign of KKTV) in 2007. Despite the fact that KRDO-AM/FM was (and still is) an ABC news affiliate, KVOR's owner decided to switch to ABC. But then KVOR's owner (Citadel) bought ABC's radio networks and could have easily yanked that from KRDO-AM/FM, but didn't. There are also 2 Fox News radio affiliates that pick up here (KZNT and KCSJ).

And now, I need an internet connection to listen to anything resembling a news radio station or a dance music station

August 10, 2010

2010-08-10T11:29:00.002-06:00

There has been a break in blogging due to my move. I am now living in the west end of Colorado Springs, CO. The area is very scenic, but the rent is a little high and the amenities are malfunctioning at times (namely the free cable and the wireless internet, which is why I'm posting this from the Old Colorado City Library). I start work on Monday the 16th- making this period (July 31-August 15) the longest I've spent not working since the last time I was living in Colorado.

Today is primary day in Colorado. Normally I would be outspoken about who to vote for, but I can't in these primary elections because (A) I can't vote in them (I moved here too late to vote in the primaries), (B) the campaigns are even more negative than what I've seen in New York, and (C), all the candidates with the exception of unopposed Democratic gubernatorial nominee John Hickenlooper, are to the right of most New York politicians.

I will probably vote for whomever wins the Republican primaries in the fall. Hickenlooper is way too liberal for my tastes (and way too far to the left of retiring Democrat Governor Bill Ritter), and former Republican/ACP candidate Tom Tancredo is way too extremist for my tastes. Unfortunately, Tancredo has a lot of support in this state, and his entry into the race could make leftist John Hickenlooper the next governor.

And for some reason, I reactivated my Facebook account. Now I can waste time when I do have internet access talking to old friends from New York and my relatives.

July 20, 2010

2010-07-20T12:26:00.004-06:00

Outside of a highly probable move back to Colorado Springs in 2 weeks, nothing else much to report. I am still off of Facebook. Certain longtime friends I had disputes with last month are still not talking to me. I finally got to return to Bash Bish Falls in Massachusetts for the first time in 4 years last weekend. I have never seen the place so crowded! And the water levels were low, which meant I could cross to the other side of the falls without getting wet. I didn't go to far, since my normal work shoes are not designed for mountain hiking. Out of all the scenic places I wanted to visit when I moved back to NYC in 2008, the only one I haven't visited yet is Montauk, but I should be visiting there next weekend. Ironically, the first time I visited Montauk was a week before I left NYC for a 3 month stay in Pennsylvania, in 2003.

June 27, 2010

2010-06-27T11:54:00.003-06:00

It has been more than a year since I last posted here. In that time, my residence and job title have not changed, although my employer's payroll office has moved twice in that time. Michael Jackson is still dead. So are President Obama's sky-high approval ratings.

This may be my main online outlet to the world since I decided to get rid of my MySpace and Facebook accounts. It is sad that in this day and age that one should determine their ability to make friends by how many "friends" they have on Facebook. I had at most 42 "friends" on Facebook, and nearly half of those were relatives that I mistakenly advised to join the service. I actually helped create 3 Facebook profiles and assisted in adding photos and comments to 3 other profiles. But maybe Aunt Nancy and Uncle Rodger were right- who wants to post all that info online and allow anyone with internet access to read it?

And who in real life has over 100 friends? Or, in the case of a certain estranged niece and a former friend from New Jersey, over 500 friends? I've never had that many friends- and thanks to a dispute with someone I thought was my best friend, I noticed a lot of people "unfriending" me on Facebook. But then, I hated the idea of cliques in high school (which for me thankfully ended over 20 years ago), and I don't care for them now at age 38.

June 25, 2009

2009-06-25T19:14:00.006-06:00

Today was a fairly eventful day even before I returned home and turned on WCBS-DT's news. My last delivery of the day had a name of "Doorman" and a 64th Street address on the work radio. And it wasn't until I made the pickup when I found out who it was going to. Ruth Madoff. The wife of Bernie, as the mailroom guy at the pickup spot verified. I figured it would probably be signed for by the doorman since Ruth Madoff wouldn't risk the stalkerazzi to pick up a simple envelope from a certain media outlet. And I was right, although the doorman looked at that envelope like it was a payoff or something (it wasn't).

I turned on the news after I got home to find out Farrah Fawcett had died and that Michael Jackson was taken to a hospital in Los Angeles after undergoing "major cardiac arrest". I don't remember much of "Charlie's Angels", but I do know nearly every guy who came of age in the 1970s had a pinup of Farrah on his wall. In real life, she was involved with (although not formally married to, in a violation of her Catholic faith) another actor named Ryan O'Neal. The most telling footage of her death came when Ryan O'Neal approached the stalkerazzi and informed them that "she's gone" and drove off. For the sake of their family, I hope the stalkerazzi doesn't camp out in front of their house or her pending funeral Mass.

By 6:20PM EDT, WCBS was reporting that Michael Jackson was pronounced dead. It took about a half hour for other news outlets on the internet to confirm the story. Despite his sickening personal life, Michael Jackson was a very major force in American popular music, right up there with Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra. His 1982 album Thriller (which I still have in my CD collection) is the biggest selling album of all time. He combined music, dance, and the then-new music video in a way no one had done before or since. There are very few people in the civilized world of my generation that don't know what a Moonwalk is or who could name at least 10 of his number one singles.

But let's not forget that Michael Jackson did have a very sick personal life. He was a probable pedophile. I didn't take many liberties when I wrote a parody of his 1980 hit "She's Out of My Life" called "They're Out of My Life"- they referring to the boys of what he called sleepovers. It was another Thomas surnamed Sneddon who never forgot what Michael Jackson did to those boys. And Jackson repaid Sneddon with a snuff song off his 1995 HIStory album called "D.S.".

I would not be surprised if after this Gay Pride Week, Michael Jackson is outed as bisexual. His kids were not conceived the old fashioned way. About the only wife who will admit to sleeping with him was Lisa Marie Presley, although that brief marriage was more of a failed business merger than anything resembling traditional marriage.

But Michael Jackson is gone now. To paraphrase my Godmother (who actually used this saying about her dead father, my grandfather)- It is going to be very weird without him around. And for a week or so at least, the craziest media circus in America won't be in the Senate Chambers of Albany, NY.

June 8, 2009

2009-06-08T17:27:00.004-06:00

I returned to work today after spending the weekend recovering from Friday's ER visit. I got my medicine after work. I also injured my left arm (which had the IV in it Friday) while carrying some heavy garment bags.

But I've spent most of the evening updating my blogs after watching Channel 2's 5PM news.

WCBS-TV, WABC-TV, and WNYW-TV (all 3 from New York City) are reporting that New York State Senate Democrats Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate are joining the GOP coalition, which means that the Republicans have just retaken the state senate (with a 32-30 majority) after losing their narrow majority to the Democrats last November. This new caucus has voted Dean Skelos back to his pre-November 2008 position as Senate Majority Leader. Pedro Espada has been voted in as Senate President, which thanks to Spitzergate means Espada could be the acting governor if something happens to the current governor, David Paterson.

The New York Post and Daily News are reporting that noted NY conservative Tom Golisano was deeply involved in convincing Espada and Monserrate to dump their support for Democratic Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith. Among other things, this means the legalization of gay marriage in New York is unlikely, as the state senate has not voted on the issue yet. The state assembly passed the measure earlier this year.

Of course the Democrats are fuming. According to the Post and WCBS, the lights of the senate chamber were turned off during the vote to replace Malcolm Smith with Dean Skelos as Majority Leader. And (no surprise), Democrats are threatening to go to court to reverse this afternoon's power swap.

Now if only the same thing could happen in the state assembly, where uber-leftist (and paid shill for Weitz and Luxenberg) Sheldon Silver is the Assembly Speaker and (to use an old Tammany term) boss. Ironically, one of the few things deposed Senate leader Malcolm Smith and the Republicans agreed on was that legislative leaders (specifically, Silver) should not hold paying jobs in addition to their legislative pay. Silver has not disclosed what he currently does for Weitz and Luxenberg, but it is reported he makes more per day as a "consultant" than I make in a week. Of course, no one seems to care that having an assembly speaker who also works for a law firm with major state contracts and who is also an avowed opponent of tort reform is to put it mildly- sleazy and unethical.

June 6, 2009

2009-06-06T20:00:00.002-06:00

Today is June 6, 2009, the 65th anniversary of D-Day. None of my ancestors served in the European theater of World War 2 (my grandfather Richard Faith Sr. worked in an airplane factory at the time while my other grandfather George F. Clarke was an MP at a POW camp in Sheffield, PA). But my father Donald Clarke served at an Air Force Base in Evreux-Fauville, Normandy from 1960-64. Ironically, in the early 1960s, he stumbled onto the Normandy coast during one of his leaves and witnessed the filming of The Longest Day. Ironically, while I knew the story of his witnessing the creation of that film, I didn't know which film it was until I found out the info from a recent delivery order from Alan's Alley video store in Chelsea, which carries the DVD (and who had better not be begging for any more free promos on this blog).

I only had a 4 day workweek this past week because of a regularly scheduled doctor's appointment on Friday, June 5. I put in nearly the maximum hours allowed for a 5 day workweek this week. Between that, exhaustion from carrying a way-oversized item for over 2 hours in Manhattan, severe sinus pressure, and a major eye infection, I spent most of Friday not in the 4th Floor of Coney Island Hospital, but in the Emergency Room. I have had at least 74 visits to either the Group 4, Dermatology, or eye clinics at Coney Island Hospital since 1998. And as of yesterday, I have now had 4 visits to their emergency room- 3 of which have involved painful IV treatments. Yesterday, I got the IV put only to find out 3 hours later that I never needed it in the first place. And because I was not discharged from the emergency room until well after the hospital's pharmacy had closed, I can't even get the medicine they prescribed me until Monday at the earliest.

So naturally, I have spent most of today at home in Brooklyn recovering from sore nose, sore eyes, sore throat, sore left side of my face, and a sore left arm from where the IV was. Facebook being what it is, I posted that I was in the ER yesterday. I got an instant message from one of my sister's friends, Dana Twaddle, whom I haven't seen in person since my father's funeral in 1995. I got the usual concerned call from my sister. I even got into an extended chat with Steve Peak, whom I haven't seen in person since his wrong turn on the 2 train in 1999. The lack of responses from other, more local friends is disheartening. I moved back to New York to be the most alone guy at the holding area of the Coney Island ER? Steve says I should find a wife, but I doubt any sane woman would want someone with all the baggage I have. Right now, I don't even have an emergency contact for work or hospital. While waiting for the test results that drained all that blood out of me, I wondered what would happen if I didn't make it out of there alive. The answer, not much. So much for the last surname descendant of Stillman Clarke.

And to close this totally non-linear blog post, here are the concluding lyrics of the last song recorded by the KLF/Justified Ancients of Mu Mu on this, the 65th anniversary of D-Day and the last year of the very fucked up (and getting worse) first decade of the 21st Century:

O Trinity of love and power!
Our brethren shield in danger's hour;
From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
Protect them wheresoe'er they go;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on that perilous sea!
The grace of Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, Amen.

Fuck the Millenium!

May 27, 2009

2009-05-27T17:21:00.006-06:00

I am sort of settling in my new place in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. It is nice to be walking distance from a church, a major (B and Q lines) subway station, my bank, and at least 2 major supermarkets.

For now, I have home internet access. I finally checked the site where I e-filed my NY and Federal taxes 2 months ago, and found out that- surprise- my state return never got filed. I got billed April 2 for filing a nonexistent return. I am in the process of closing out my storage site. This means I don't have to travel to Long Island City to access my CDs, my photo albums, and diaries dating back to 1987. And since I don't have anywhere near the short-term memory I had in 1987, I need those diaries to reference things such as when I filed my taxes, when I last dated, old immunization records, old school attendance dates, and certain old debts (see the next paragraph).

I still don't have such niceties as a camera phone,a microwave oven, a DVD player, an antenna that allows my DTV converter to pick up such stations as WNET, WLIW, and WPXN, and I still don't understand that Twitter thing that Lane Gold and several others are so adamant about. Speaking of Lane, he finally joined Blogger with a horse blog. I'm sure that a lot of people are wondering what the hell is going on with the Triple Crown race circuit. Between a longshot Derby winner called Mine that Bird, the Preakness and Kentucky Oaks winner Rachel Alexandra, their usual jockey Calvin Borel, and allegations of collusion to prevent certain fillies from entering the Preakness, the whole mess is resembling an equine version of the Jerry Springer show. And to think, if that scumbag Spitzer hadn't tampered with NYRA's business 3 years ago, I might still be working certain promotions at the tracks. But the amount that Lane still owes me from a certain tow job in Queens back in July 1991 might just barely cover a decent seat at the Belmont Stakes next month.

April 5, 2009

2009-04-05T10:12:00.007-06:00

As of later this afternoon, the home office for this blog (and this blogger) will be in Sheephead Bay, Brooklyn. Considering most of the novel I'm writing takes place in that part of Brooklyn, maybe I can get more inspiration in my bigger residence and finish the damn thing.

But now, I'm going to be closer to 2 major supermarkets (and my former parish of St. Mark's) than I will be to a non-street cleaning block. But the car finally got inspected yesterday, so now I can spend the rest of this day moving and running up the fuel bill and EZ-Pass.

March 14, 2009

2009-03-14T10:16:00.004-06:00

I haven't been posting many novel excerpts (or done much writing on my novel) lately because I've had a lot of other stuff to worry about- like next month's move (which will probably be to Brooklyn or Queens), and my car repair.

The radio landscape in NYC changed this week. WXRK-FM dumped their K-Rock format (again) and is now a top 40 station competing against the city's most listened-to station, Z100. It has been a long time since Z100 has had competition (WPLJ dumped top 40 over 17 years ago, and WNEW 102.7 only spent a few months with the format in early 2003). I hear 92.3 is still looking for staff. If they are even remotely interested- I have a weird sense of humor, a lot of strong opinions on current music, and a few incriminating bulletin board posts from the 1990s that feature current Z100 morning show personality Jon Bell and my infamous Prodigy exchange with JoJo Morales (who argued 12-13 years ago that top 40 was dead in NYC). And to the K-Rock fanatics- their format is still on one of 92.3's subchannels, which means the format never went away if you have an HD radio.

I have been spending more time on Facebook. A lot of people I know have given up MySpace in favor of Facebook, but I will continue to have both. Right now, it's the only way I can communicate with my sister. I just hope MySpace fixes their playlist problems.

And tonight is the Big East championship. It's been a long time since I followed up on college basketball. I'd like to know how Louisville got out of Conference USA and into the Big East. Now their only obstacle to a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament is Syracuse, the alma mater of the infamous NBC staffer codenamed "Syracuse Peacock" who loved to criticize public college journalism programs back after I transferred to Brooklyn College in 1997. For those of youse not aware, I did attend the University of Louisville for a few semesters in 1990-93. And like Brooklyn College, U of L is a public college. Unlike Brooklyn College, they didn't have a journalism program back in the 1990s, and I don't think they have one now.

And now it's back to manipulating my novel's characters and getting my car fixed to where it can pass inspection..........

February 7, 2009

2009-02-07T10:16:00.008-07:00

This has been a busy week.

First of all, my mayor came to my borough on Monday for the annual Groundhog thing at the Staten Island Zoo. Here's what happened next...

Needless to say, Staten Island Chuck is probably more popular in this city (and in this borough) than Mayor Bloomberg is right now. And so far, the groundhog seems to be right about Spring coming early. But then, 40 degrees is warm compared to what this city saw most of last month.

And anyone who has read this blog in the last few months knows I don't particularly care for the reckless out of pool actions of one human Flipper. Last weekend's NY Post and Monday's Metro and AM-NY all had headlines about Michael Phelps's experience with marijuana. I predicted he would do something stupid with drugs last year. And considering he will now be suspended from official activities for the next 3 months, maybe he will be hawking those medals in the ghettos of Baltimore in the near future. I just hope Richland County, SC, throws the book at him.

And this morning, I finally joined the digital TV community, with my new fresh-from-E-Bay Zenith DTT-901 hooked up to my tv set. The picture quality is great, and I now get NOAA weather radio off my TV set, Fox and My Network on 4 different subchannels, and a whole lot more PBS stations. Now if only I can get it to work with my VCR..

January 10, 2009

2009-01-10T10:13:00.005-07:00

It's been a quick 10 days of the year so far. I put in a bit of time at work. I finally got the title to my car, but now I need a starter. There is supposed to be a snowstorm in NYC this afternoon. And I got the first serious genealogy inquiries into the Essex County Clarke families since 2006 this week.

It seems I am not the only Clarke who has had a newspaper column. I knew my great-great grandfather Edgar A. Clarke's cousin Almon Taylor Clarke wrote a "Meditations" column for the Palm Beach Post in the early part of the 20th Century. But it turns out that Almon's son (also named Almon Taylor Clarke, but better know to the upstate NY literary community by his pen name of Rufus) was a major columnist. He was well known for the "Old Timer's Column" that was syndicated in several upstate Newspapers, including the Tupper Lake Free Press. But despite what it says in several upstate New York obituaries, these Clarkes did not have an ancestor who signed the Declaration of Independence. Their ancestor (and mine) who lived around that time was Abraham Clarke (1736-1817), who spent his first 50+ years in Middlesex County, MA (and served in the Continental Army around 1782). After his wife's death, Abraham started what would be the first of 218 years of Clarke migration- to Sullivan County, NH, Springfield, VT, and to Essex County, NY. His grandson James Madison Clarke's bible is what definitively connected Almon Taylor Clarke to my ancestors, most of whom were not prominent, certainly not prominent enough to go to Philadelphia in 1776.

As far as I know, while I have sent submissions to the (recently deceased) New York Sun and to a few websites, the only newspaper which has printed any of my writings regularly was the Brooklyn College Excelsior, and I stopped sending stuff to them over 9 years ago.

Also, my friend from Japan-by-way-of-Owensboro, KY, Steve Peak, is in the United States right now. I doubt he will get to New York before his wife's and daughter's travel visas expire. But New York had to deal with Al Qaida in 2001, I don't think it is ready for Al-Boaida now.

December 28, 2008

2008-12-28T08:54:00.005-07:00

Well folks, the year is almost over. I'm still in a hellish place in Staten Island. I am still working on that novel (excerpts of which are on my MySpace blog). I may have made up with some old friends. And I may be going to a New Year's Eve party in Brooklyn on Wednesday.

If anyone knows how to replace starters on a mid-90s Oldsmobile 88, let me know before I shell out $200+ to register my car (assuming McCloskey Motors even has the documents I need to register that car).

And also, yesterday was the 13th anniversary of my father's death.

December 6, 2008

2008-12-06T10:45:00.003-07:00

This has been a busy few weeks. I put in another week of overtime at my messenger job. I finally started writing my novel. But I still don't have a title for it. But it will take months, if not years to finish that tome (the opening pages of which can be viewed on my MySpace blog). For the most part, this novel will be a lot less political than most of my recent writings. But there are a lot of supernatural incidents in it (visions, possible time travel, a closet portal, a soul being placed in the wrong body, the spirit of a certain Franciscan friar well known to my archdiocese leading thousands of souls out of the rubble of Ground Zero, and a man stuck in Purgatory giving advice to his still-alive son so he can get out of choir practice).

My sister is still in Tennessee. My mother's relatives are still in Pennsylvania. And I still don't have internet access at home, which is why this blog is being written on a laptop at the New York Public Library.

My political blog at townhall.com recently broke the story of a fictitious version of the New York Times that was being distributed throughout Manhattan. The stories were pretty nightmarish for one not of the radical left wing persuasion. I gave a copy to security at the New York Times (while waiting for a delivery order at their headquarters). The security officers told me that Times management was irate over the fake Times. But it turns out now that a few Times staffers contributed some of the fake stories in that fake Times. Yesterday, I had another delivery to the Times headquarters. The security officers were a lot less pleased to see me yesterday than they were when I gave them a copy of the phony Times last month.

October 1, 2008

2008-10-01T12:53:00.011-06:00

Normally, October 1 for me is usually a time to remember the dead, most notably my father Donald G. Clarke who was born on this date in 1935 and who died in 1995. But another thing died yesterday, the New York Sun. This was one of only two newspapers (the other being Brooklyn College's Excelsior) that published any of my sumbissions. Some of my classic retorts to New York's corrupt political culture (and its former leader, Eliot Spitzer) were published there within the last year. But now it is no more, and for the second time in the last 50 years, the New York Sun has set. This pretty much narrows the conservative print voices in this town down to News Corp's New York Post and Wall Street Journal.

I got an e-mail from my sister today. Apparantly she wrote to the President last week. A slightly edited (since she did put down some personal info I would never allow to be passed about on the internet) version of the letter is below...

From: suzanne johnson
Subject: Letter from your cousin (yes this is for real)
To: www.comments@whitehouse.gov
Date: Tuesday, September 23, 2008, 8:13 PM

Well I figured I would write to you while you are still the President. My name is Suzanne Faith Johnson, surname, Suzanne F. Clarke. Through extensive genealogical research by my brother, I found out you are my 3rd cousin. Some people may not believe in you and all that you have done for this country. I am not one of thoes people. I was happy when you won the presidental race 8yrs ago and hate to see you go. Don't let people tell you that you haven't done a good job. They aren't in your shoes and do not have the weight of the country weighing down on their shoulders .
I believe in you!!
One of the other reasons I wanted to write you is because I am a resident if Ripley Tennessee. A state that offers no healthcare to the poor. Don't worry, I am not asking for money, but if you could do anyhting about the Medicaid system here I would greatly appreciate it.
I was in a car wreck 4yrs ago that greatly damaged both knees and my back. I am in need of total knee replacement and epideral blocks for my back. But under the current lack of Medicaid assistance to someone in my situation ( I am unable to work) it looks like I will never again be able to play ball with my son or even walk down the block. I was a brown belt in taekwondo and had to abandon my dream of ever being a black belt.
I am sure you hear sob stories everyday, and some are worse than mine. But I know you believe in Family , so I hope that mabey you might take a second look at this. I lost my mom to cancer in '91 and my dad in '95.from Lou Gehrigs. He served proudly in the United tates Air Force for 25 yrs.and I know he would be proud of the job you have done.
I know I may never hear from you, but I want to wish you the best for the future.And thank you for standing up for us as a country. I believe in you!!
Sincerely,
Suzanne Faith Clarke Johnson

From: comments@whitehouse.gov
Subject:
To: witchywoman103074@yahoo.com
Date: Wednesday, September 24, 2008, 9:04 AM

On behalf of President Bush, thank you for your correspondence.

We appreciate hearing your views and welcome your suggestions.

Due to the large volume of e-mail received, the White House cannot respond to
every message.

Thank you again for taking the time to write.

For the record, my sister and I are related to President Bush through our great X8 grandparents Thomas Andrews and Hannah Kirby of Middletown, CT. However, my sister's editing ability is almost as bad as our distant cousin's, which may be why the White House internet staff sent her that response.

And in honor of my late father's 73rd birthday, here is a YouTube clip of one of his favorite comedians, Tom Lehrer...

September 27, 2008

2008-09-27T09:56:00.005-06:00

What a month.. I am still at my job. My car died on me last Saturday (September 20) and then started like nothing was even wrong with it on Tuesday (September 23). My sister seems to be settled in rural hick Tennessee again. And I seem to be hearing more from Steve Peak and Lane Gold since both of them are now on Facebook.

In political news, the economy is going to Hell. Many seem to blame this on Republicans, when in several cases, companies collaped due to long term effects from the interference of... Eliot "Job Killer" Spitzer. The collapse and government takeover of AIG can directly be traced to Spitzer's crusade against AIG founder Hank Greenberg. Democrats want more government interference in business and Wall Street matters. Why? The last time we had major government interference in Wall Street, thousands of jobs were lost because of grudges by Spitzer. If AIG can't survive its government takeover, the ensuing job losses would be greater than those incurred on 9/11. The last thing the US needs in these economic times is Spitzernomics on a national scale. Spitzer's political career may be dead, but his evil influences and regulatory philosophies are setting the stage for future economic catastrophes.

September 6, 2008

2008-09-06T11:45:00.003-06:00

What a week.. Sarah Palin, who was unknown 9 days ago, is now the most popular politician in America. McCain/Palin is even to Obama/Biden in most polls as of Wednesday.

According to today's Daily News, McCain's acceptance speech outdrew Obama's by about 500000 viewers.

But in more disturbing news for the East Coast, Hannah is coming. Most of the NYC area is under a Tropical Storm Warning until tomorrow. If Hannah continues on its current path, it would be the first Tropical system to hit NYC since Floyd in 1999. The eye of that storm made landfall over Rockaway, Queens. It damaged the roof of the rooming house in Stapleton that I called home at the time. And few residents of Bound Brook, NJ (which was much further from the eye of Floyd than Queens or Staten Island) will forget that storm, since the whole town was flooded for days because of all the rains.

My hood of New Brighton is supposed to get somewhere between 2-7 inches of rain out of this storm. But the eye of Hannah is supposed to be along the Long Island Atlantic coast. It's a good thing that this storm is coming after the beaches closed for the season, because those beaches may not be there by Monday.

August 29, 2008

2008-08-29T10:31:00.003-06:00

The DNC finished their convention last night 60 miles north of my hometown in Denver. Obama took the nomination. Plagiarist Joe Biden is Obama's running mate. And hopefully, the Clintons will never again run for high office after being forced by the DNC to kiss Obama's and Biden's posteriors.

Next week, the GOP has its convention in St. Paul, MN. Not content to let Obama bounce up 6 points in the latest polls, McCain rolled out his running mate. It is Sarah Palin, the current governor of Alaska. This is a huge shock to those who were expecting either Mitt Romney or Tim Palenty to be McCain's running mate.

The election now holds a bunch of firsts: first Presidential candidate from Hawaii (Obama was born there); first Presidential candidate born in a US territory (the Panama Canal Zone was still part of the US when McCain was born there in 1936); first major party Presidential candidate of African descent (Obama); and now the first pro-life female vice presidential nominee and the first nominee of either party to be from Idaho and Alaska (Sarah Palin). And also, this is the first Presidential election in which both candidates are sitting Senators.

August 24, 2008

2008-08-24T09:31:00.002-06:00

There is a rumored dread amongst some Democrats that their party always puts the most defeatable candidates up as their Presidential choices. Of course for the last 2elections, these Democrats failed to see that their candidate was wrong on the issues that mattered most to Americans.

And now their Golden Boy, Barack Obama, he of the 95% approval rating (in Europe) is falling behind McCain in the latest polls. And then Obama does something even stupider than declaring "I am a citizen of the World" in Berlin.. he nominates Joe Biden to be his Vice Presidential pick.

Now maybe those defeatist Democrats may be right here. Obama is a likeable guy who glosses over his positions that differ from the mainstream. But why would he nominate a guy whose best known qualities are not his foreign policy experiences as a Senator, but his blatant plagiarism of British Labour politician Neil Kinnock. It also doesn't help that the main blog at Townhall is reporting that Biden has just as much military experience as Obama (none), marking the first time since 1932 that a major party ticket has no one with military experience. This wouldn't be an issue if we weren't at war with Islamic terrorism and in a renewed Cold War with Russia.

If I were a Democrat , I wouldn't want a blatant liar on my ticket. But then their last successful Presidential candidate was the worst liar and cheat ever to stain (in more ways than one) the Oval Office- and his wife was a serious threat to Obama in the primaries earlier this year. But I haven't been a registered Democrat since 1992, and unlike those left wing elites, I know better.

August 17, 2008

2008-08-17T09:19:00.008-06:00

Wow.. 5 weeks in Staten Island. It beats the shelter, but some of my housemates can be annoying. Especially the anonymous one who broke that Foreman Grill I bought just before I left Colorado Springs. At least I am getting a new grill out of this mess.

Work is still work. While most of my deliveries either originate or go to Chelsea, I have had a few deliveries that are going to the Upper West Side- especially around W 98th and West End Avenue. One of my old friends from Kentucky, Lane Gold, grew up in that part of town. And now I am getting a lot more e-mails from him. I haven't heard as much lately from the other Kentucky friend who usually e-mails me (Steve Peak). And in a probably coincidental move, local drugstore Duane Reade is marketing a new iced tea called Gold Peak. If Steve and Lane do sue Duane Reade for illegally using their last names to market their new beverage, I'd like some of the proceeds since I did point out the atrocity to both of them. And I still have a car and a student loan to pay off.

Apparantly my Olympic Boycott isn't working. Normally 4th place National Bull Crap (NBC) is having record ratings from the Beijing games. But they will be back in the cellar once the games are over and when Michael Phelps starts hawking his medals for Lord knows what on North and Guilford in Baltimore.

And in other news, the Catholic Church is agreeing in principle with Judaism and banning the proper name of God at Mass. Most Jews won't even fully spell out God, in favor of G-d. But for centuries, Catholics have gone to attempting to pronounce the whole Tetragrammaton, usually as Yahweh. They are now urged to replace the Holy name with Adonai, which means "my Lord", but supposedly doesn't cheapen the name. But "Adonai, I Know You Are Near" doesn't rhyme quite as well as "Yahweh, I Know You Are Near". And now, a lot of Catholic song books are going to have to revise their lyrics. But since the name Lord or God is used instead of the Tetragrammaton in the non-singing part of Mass, the basic Mass format won't change.

July 27, 2008

2008-07-27T09:19:00.002-06:00

It has been a busy few weeks since I moved back to Staten Island. I have been working a lot, driving a bit on weekends, and yesterday, I went to Tyrone's big party in Bed-Stuy.

I am still at the mercy of the New York Public Libraries and the Manhattan internet cafes for internet stuff, though.

July 12, 2008

2008-07-12T09:16:00.000-06:00

It seems I am now settled here in NYC. As of July 9, my nightmarish experience with DHS and the shelter system ended when I was set up in a rooming house in the New Brighton section of Staten Island. It is about an hour (by train and boat) to my messenger job in Midtown, and parking for my car is free, unrestricted, and (by NYC standards) plentiful.

I don't know how long it will be before I get home internet access, though. I would like to comment about such political things as Bruno's retirement, the lack of support for Obama amongst the Hildabeest's supporters, and the death this morning of former Fox News host and White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, but there is only a limited amount of time at these NYPL computers, and right now I'm too busy updating and changing my address to reflect the move out of Manhattan.

June 10, 2008

2008-06-10T11:00:00.001-06:00

Over thie weekend, Barack Obama clinched the Democratic nomination to face John McCain in November's election. I'll still probably vote for McCain but unlike the horrificaly corrupt Clintons, I could live under an Obama administration. If Obama is wise, he won't name Hillary as his VP and the Clintons can whither away to obscurity in Chappaqua.

I would have a lot more to comment on this but I have way too many other crises to face in NYC at the moment. Since I am on at least one housing list I should find something better than the place I'm staying at in Midtown soon. Hopefully I can find a permanent job soon so I don't have to worry about the Olds getting repossessed and me being liable for thousand$ in penalty fees. But at least now my housing search is limited to the 5 boroughs of NYC instead of having to look outside the US come 2009.

And my nephew Jamie turned 10 this morning. Assuming my mother hadn't died back in 1991, she would be turning 66 on Thursday, which happens to be the day I start my latest job search and training program. I'm sure she and Dad are turning over in their graves, epecially since their only son has endured over a decade of poverty and 12 days in the NYC shelter system.

May 24, 2008

2008-05-24T13:17:00.002-06:00

I am now back in Brooklyn. The journey here was long and expensive. I didn't pay anything for lodging along the way, but I shelled out $300 in gasoline costs. Now I get to explore a neighborhood I have never been to before, and attempt to relax until the job interviews on Tuesday.

April 19, 2008

2008-04-19T15:40:00.000-06:00

Yes, the rumors are true. Due to employment and financial concerns I can't discuss here, I am moving back (at least temporarily) to New York. I won't be leaving before May 20, though, unless that NYRA application gets approved in record time. In 2006, NYRA was having mass layoffs, due in no small part to the actions of then-attorney general Eliot "Job Killer" Spitzer. Now that Spitzer is unemployed and NYRA's contract to operate the racetracks has been renewed, they are hiring again.

Overall, the experience in my hometown of Colorado Springs was not what I was expecting. I never was able to afford my own apartment. The neighbor experiences I had with Pato Loco last year were as bad as having drug addicts for neighbors and (in one case 8 years ago) having a bipolar drug addict as a building superintendent. The combination of rent and car and (especially) food expenses vastly exceeded my New York expenses in rent and groceries and Metrocards. I spent 4 of 11 months on unemployment and got laid off by a very good job twice. I also got fired and blacklisted by the Colorado Springs chapter of Goodwill. I am still on the national Goodwill's "Member For Life" program, but I won't be able to use their services until I leave Colorado. I still miss my friends in New York, and hope to see them in just over a month.

I have a nice running car, but I may not be able to take it with me to New York. If that happens, I won't be able to do any Port Washington warehouse jobs (which pay 25-40% more than similar warehouse jobs here in the Springs). But presently, I can barely afford road trips to North Cheyenne Canon Park and Paint Mines Park and Manitou Springs- and those areas are far closer to Briargate than Bash Bish Falls, Montauk, the Hamptons, Port Jervis, and Greenwich are to New York City.

Too bad I can't go to New York this weekend; I would have liked to have seen Pope Benedict XVI in person.

Pictures of what I will be missing (top 2) and will be coming home to (bottom 3):

April 4, 2008

2008-04-04T23:03:00.002-06:00

Today is a big anniversary day. On this date 40 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, TN. He was 39 years old. My grandparents' (George and Hazel Clarke) 39th wedding anniversary was also on April 4, 1968. Needless to say, their special dinner planned for that night was cancelled.

A lot has changed since 1968. Race relations are much better now than then. Hate groups like the KKK are no longer in political power (with the possible exception of West Virginia Senator Robert "Sheets" Byrd). The KKK no longer controls the governments of Colorado or Indiana. But there still is a memorial statue of KKK founder Nathan Bedford Forrest in Memphis, TN. But it probably is a good thing that a man of African heritage such as Barack Obama can be a serious Presidential contender. It is also a good thing that criticisms of Barack Obama have nothing to do with his racial heritage and everything to do with his liberal viewpoints on issues. And there may be a non-white Vice President, too- several top names for John McCain's VP list include J.C. Watts, Michael Steele, Condoleezza Rice, and Bobby Jindal.

I spent a good part of the day on the job interview circuit. I also tried googling certain names that popped up in my Prodigy Posts page. 2008 marks 15 years since I entered the online commentary and message board world. Within a week, I got dragged into an online war involving a sexual psychopath named Mark Pena and dome of his victims. By the time Pena was vanquished (late 1993), I found out about another online flamer named Mark (whose last name wasn't Pena) who also went by the name of Vito. A Fresno police detective named Frank Clark was investigating the Vito case (and was also being impersonated by Vito). And just when I thought this was too surreal, CBS News did an investigation of their own on Vito. Vito was eventually arrested, although I don't know if he was ever imprisoned for any of the charges brought against him.

With Vito out of the picture, another flamer appeared by the name of Gerald "Gerbil" Jones. Pena critic Jerry Vasilatos at first thought the Gerbil was Pena. That launched a yearlong harassment and death threat tirade from the Gerbil against me, Vasilatos, and anyone else who called the psycho out for who he was. Even after the Gerbil finally vanished, his online buddy Tommy Davis (who also went by such names as Sean Kelly and BJ Backus) continued his slime campaign for another 3 years. The last I heard of him (1997), he claimed to be a talk show host on WTTM-920AM in Trenton, NJ. That station is no longer a talk station, and if Davis ever worked for them, I'm sure he's unemployed now. Davis also claimed to be a parishioner at St. Thomas Aquinas in Flatlands, Brooklyn. My friend George Brice attends Mass there now, maybe he should investigate if Mr. Davis ever got physically abused like he claimed 11 years ago. Maybe George should also find out if their priests are willing to go to Washington Crossing, PA, to do an exorcism.

The last online war I got involved in was not with a stranger, but someone I considered a friend. It started during my days at Brooklyn College. Someone going by the AOL name of "Danihottie" harassed most of the staff of the student newspaper I worked for, the Excelsior. It took until after I left Brooklyn College (and one virused-out 486 computer and more Danihottie harassment against my sister and some friends who never attended Brooklyn College) that I found out that Danihottie was the Excelsior's supposedly ditsy editor Alyson Walansky.

I'm not sure what really happened to Mark Pena. If you Google his name, some of his posts I put on my website might pop up, but there's also an Austin-based 30something singer with that name. It might be him- after all, he did claim to work at a nightclub in Austin called Dante's. Former Prodigy member Beth Donovan has a blog on Pena that links to my Prodigy Posts page on my website. Despite the Pena fiasco and other tirades, she met her now-husband on Prodigy.

Jerry Vasilatos is still alive, and for the most part doing well. Unfortunately, a decade in Hollywood has turned the filmmaker into a raging anti-Bush leftist. I tried adding him to my MySpace friends list last year, but no response. But he probably knew beforehand that the guy he's trying to get impeached is my distant cousin.

Alyson has probably a bigger online presence than I do. But I did see a recent picture of her, and for someone who was born when I was in the first grade, she sure looks older than me. She is still friends with Scott Kuperberg (the BC Campus Democrats leader whom I often clashed with). Her Friendster page (which I knew nothing about until an few minutes ago) even jokes about the Danihottie fiasco from 8-10 years ago! There is another Danihottie that showed up on Google, but this other Danihottie was 8 years old when Alyson went on her flaming ego trip.

No one has seen or heard from Gerbil Jones since he made a brief appearance on Prodigy's Gay bulletin board in late 1995. I tried doing an "online obituary" for the Gerbil based on his "diaries", and there was also a Gerbil Jones based tirade that appeared in the Excelsior in May of 1997. There apparently is a filmmaker that goes by the name of Gerbil Jones. One Gerbil Jones is more than enough, thank you.

March 29, 2008

2008-03-29T20:16:00.004-06:00

It seems I am not the only member of the Clarke and Stokes families with a major online presence. My father's cousin Wendy Stokes Waselle moved to Franklin, TN, a few years ago from Illinois, and started her own home staging business.

She was recently profiled on frontdoor.com (a video equivalent to HGTV- they're both owned by Scripps-Howard), and the following link is to a video profile of her on frontdoor.com's website. Also making cameos as home stagers on this short clip are Wendy's husband Dave Waselle, and their niece (and Wendy's partner in the home staging business) Kelly Murray.

Picture of Wendy and Dave Waselle before they got into the home staging industry (January 2004)

I still find it amazing that some people (especially a certain cousin in Tennessee) can start a successful business from scratch from almost nothing. And Wendy has done this at least twice since 1995.

Note: due to certain restrictions on this blog's settings that won't let me upload any videos other than those from You Tube, I couldn't upload Wendy's video here. That is also why other entries on this blog are missing a few videos that are featured on my MySpace and townhall.com blogs.

March 28, 2008

2008-03-28T17:21:00.004-06:00

I guess this is becoming more of a news commentary blog. Now that Spitzer is out of office, another political atrocity rears its ugly head- in the Far East.

For years, I've been boycotting businesses and politicians whose actions I don't support. Some of the most famous on my boycott list include NBC and Planned Parenthood. But it is high time to add the world's most populous nation to that list.

Why?

For starters, view the videos below. Many (especially in the Republican Party) thought by increasing trade with this brutal regime after the Tiananmen Square massacre that it would help the millions who were victimized by the evil Communist Party and encourage them to protest, uprise, and eventually overthrow that evil government. After all, a similar policy help bring down that other evil empire called the Soviet Union, right?

Not quite. If anything, the Soviet Union collapsed due to being outspent by of all things the US Military. Ronald Reagan's defense policies may have made nuclear alarmists and the peacenik left go bonkers, but they did indicate to the Soviet Union that we would spend whatever we could to defend our nation against their nuclear threat. It may have ballooned our national debt, but it spent the Soviets into oblivion. By the time the people could uprise against the Communists, the Communists could not pay their own army to defend them against the people, and the army side with the people (and Boris Yeltsin), and Communism is no longer a force in Russia.

Unfortunately, our trade dollars with China did not help bring down the CCP (Chinese Communist Party, to use the Epoch Times's abbreviation). Indeed, it has had the opposite effect. The CCP is using its newfound wealth to attract the Olympics (whose US broadcast partner I have been boycotting for over 11 years, but for other reasons). And more disturbing, the CCP has been building up their military. If the US spent as much of its budget on military purposes as the Chinese have been doing lately, the leftists would be howling. And right now, the Chinese army has the capability to wipe out most of the West Coast with their nuclear weapons. This is not quite the threat that the old Soviet army posed (enough nuclear weapons to wipe out most of civilization), but it is potentially even greater a threat than Al Qaeda. But the CCP won't launch their nukes yet- they still need our money.

Most people know know about the Chinese atrocities in Tibet. But the main test of the CCP army is that little island off their SE coast- Taiwan. The CCP has pledged to do everything within their power (even to the point of nuclear war) to prevent Taiwan from declaring complete independence from China. Such a war would almost certainly involve the US- and if that happens, I wouldn't want to be anywhere west of the Rockies.

To quote Chinese general Zhu Chenghu in 2005, "if the Americans draw their missiles and position-guided ammunition on to the target zone on China's territory (Taiwan), I think we will have to respond with nuclear weapons," and that "we [...] will prepare ourselves for the destruction of all of the cities east of Xi'an. Of course the Americans will have to be prepared that hundreds ... of cities will be destroyed by the Chinese."

It is insanity to keep trading with (and de-facto arming) one of the biggest threats to the existence of the United States. At the very least, the US Olympic Committee (based about 8 miles south of my current residence) should boycott the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The United States should halt all trade with China until the CCP is out of power. To continue trade with China and to give any type of aid to the CCP is not just against the ideals of American morality, it is greatly increasing the chances the United States will be in a nuclear war. Right now, the US could win such a war, but as long as we keep funding this beast, our chances of winning such a war decrease. And a US victory could still result in over 30 million American civilians killed (and over 300-400 million Chinese and 20 million Taiwanese). That is over 6 times the worldwide casualties of the costliest war in human history- World War 2.

March 14, 2008

2008-03-14T17:12:00.001-06:00

The fallout from Hookergate continues... The hooker who brought down Client 9 the Job Killer is also an aspiring singer whose songs are fairly big on MySpace and are now being played on Z100. While I don't normally support prostitutes, this one brought down the biggest slimeball in American politics, and her non-illegal activities should be encouraged.

A new blog called Oh Eliot! is now up and providing updates on the scandal, the slimeball, and the hooker. Contrary to popular belief, I have nothing to do with that blog, other than offer my moral support. I hope they can dig up that old November 2005 Daily News feature on the corrupt (but unfortunately legal under NY law) methods that Spitzer used to divert his Wall Street settlements away from the NY treasury. I might have a copy in my storage site in Long Island City- but I'm a good 2000 miles from there and won't be able to return until after I get that stimulus check. The fuel costs alone would cost me over $600.

Photo from KRDO-13's Peterson AFB cam earlier this morning

Today in Colorado Springs was a lot less scandalous. Yes, the forecasters were off. Instead of light snow and temperatures near 50 in the afternoon, it is considerably cooler, but above freezing now after 4 inches of snow in the morning. It was enough to shut down schools in Manitou Springs and Woodland Park, but not in the city.

I have yet to hear back from Governor Paterson on the letter I wrote him on Wednesday. But he probably got too many letters at once wishing him well, and may not have had a chance to read my letter yet. I hope he does read it, though. But at least he has agreed to not raise taxes, and came up with a McCain-esque response to a reporter's question on whether he had ever patronized a prostitute: "no, not unless you count the lobbyists." No word yet on whether Paterson supports the abhorrent RHAPP bill or not, but that bill probably won't become law because the #2 man in Albany now is Spitzer victim and Republican Senate Leader Joe Bruno, who before Hookergate had already announced his opposition to the RHAPP bill.

And going back to the CYACS Theology on Tap meeting on March 4, the main event was a mini concert by local folk musician Joe Uveges. He pitched the idea to CYACS director Nicole Schommer.. mainly because his most recent album was heavily influenced by the Catholic faith. Not all of Mr. Uveges's music is of the religious variety, though. In fact, he has a very popular video on You Tube for his infamous "Librarian Song". The video is shown below.

March 12, 2008

2008-03-12T15:08:00.007-06:00

A little over an hour ago (4PM EDT/2PM MDT, March 12, 2008), I e-mailed the following letter to David Paterson, who as of Monday will be replacing Client 9 the Job Killer as Governor of the great state of New York:

As a longtime New Yorker who moved to Colorado last year, I have taken great interest in the recent news over your predecessor and the scandal that finally drove him from office. I feel sorry for his wife and daughters because his behavior has ruined their lives and harmed the state as a whole. I won't go into detail on the other ways in which Spitzer has harmed this state (note: read the Spitzer tags on this blog for that), but since you will be replacing him, I hope you will not make the same mistakes he did.

First of all, don't antagonize the public. Spitzer did and thought he was above the law. He thought he could get away with illegally laundering money, with illegally using the state police to snoop on his opponents (many of whom he created by his actions), and all sorts of other sleaze. Everything I have read about you indicates that you have none of the character flaws of Mr. Spitzer. Right now, you have the moral authority and the mandate to take the initiative on ethics reform in the state. Too many public office holders in New York have been forced to resign because of ethical or criminal reasons. New standards need to be implemented to prevent future Spitzers or Alan Hevesis or Guy Vellelas from destroying the public trust with their illegal actions.

Second of all, you have the opportunity to do something your predecessor could never do, and that is make amends with Wall Street. Wall Street and the financial sector is the biggest economic engine in the state. This is an industry that your predecessor nearly drove out of the state because of his character. If anyone in the industry is breaking the law, they should be prosecuted, but to demonize the state's biggest industry and rally the whole state around those lies because of the actions of a few is downright asinine. Is it any wonder that Wall Street has been in a jubilant mood (in the middle of a nationwide economic downturn) since the Spitzer scandal broke? The laws concerning business regulation need to be revised to prevent future abuses (and pointless job losses) by overzealous lawmakers while at the same time preventing businesses from thinking they operate outside the law.

Also, don't succumb to the left wing's desire to give drivers' licenses to illegal aliens and to expand the state abortion policies. The whole illegal alien debate is an issue that Congress and the Federal Government need to come to an agreement on first. There are demagogues on both sides of this issue, but the potential Presidencies of either Barack Obama or John McCain mean that common sense and a national policy will happen within the next couple of years. Hopefully, there will be a major increase in the number of immigrants allowed to come here legally, and with their legal status, allowed to become productive workers, taxpayers, and helpful citizens of both this nation and this state. But at the same time, only the Federal Government can craft a meaningful policy that also weeds out the criminals and the disguised terrorists that see New York City as their next killing ground. We don't need the state legitimizing someone who is hellbent on destroying it.

As far as the divisive issue of abortion, the last thing the state should be doing is forcing the non-profit groups that oppose it to do what is against their beliefs or else be punished. That is just un-American, and the RHAPP bill S.5829 must not be allowed to become law for that reason. Spitzer outraged the state's largest religious group (Catholics) with his advocacy of this legislation. The last thing New York needs in these rough times is a government-instigated religious war.

I wish you the best in your new job as Governor, and I pray that you will be able to heal the divisions in this state that your predecessor helped create and that you wisely guide my former home state in a new, conciliatory, and productive direction.

Thomas D. Clarke

formerly of Ridgewood, Queens, and Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn

Notes: Guy Vellela is a Bronx Republican former state senator who did jail time for accepting bribes. Alan Hevesi was convicted on felony charges in late 2006 for among other things using state funds (and state vehicles) to chauffeur his wife around NYC and Albany. And if David Paterson moves too far to the left or tries to become the second incarnation of Eliot "Job Killer Client 9" Spitzer, he will be hammered in my blogs as much as Spitzer and the Hildabeest are. But I will give Governor Paterson a chance to redeem himself first. After all, it will take a while to fumigate the Governor's mansion once Spitzer moves out.

And you didn't think I would celebrate the demise of Spitzer without a video of his resignation?

March 11, 2008

2008-03-11T20:14:00.001-06:00

The fallout from Hookergate continues. Eliot "Client 9" Spitzer is still governor of New York, although his political career is as dead as NBC should be. I actually found a few internet posters who think that Hookergate was a Republican dirty tricks operation. No offense, but the Republicans don't have a dirty tricks operation that could manufacture something like this. The liberals and Spitzer defenders have to realize that their savior is not a saint, but something politically akin to the anti-Christ. You don't mess up the job market and antagonize nearly everyone without making everyone opposed to you. And Spitzer did far worse that mess up the job market and antagonize Wall Street (which coincidentally has seen a major rally since the news of Hookergate broke).

I am still unemployed. I spent most of today on the job hunt. Both applications I filed were with non-profits. One of them wants me back for an interview on Thursday. So much for the myth that conservatives are heartless bastards. But then they probably didn't know or care that I still volunteer with St. Mary's Cathedral or that I used to be a church usher at St. Pancras in Queens. But then it also shows the depths that Spitzer sunk to in his political career that a former church usher is one of his most virulent critics.

March 10, 2008

2008-03-10T16:58:00.007-06:00

My least favorite politician Eliot Spitzer is at it again.

It is bad enough he destroyed thousands of jobs in New York when he was attorney general. It is bad enough the businesses he sued and settled with donated money to charities that either supported his gubernatorial bid or were run by his relatives. It is bad enough he thought it was a good idea to give drivers' licenses to people not in his state legally. It is bad enough he is so radically pro-infanticide that he thinks all health care providers (especially those opposed to abortion) should either provide abortions or not be allowed to practice medicine. It is bad enough that he used the New York State Police to have trail his political rival State Senate Leader Joe Bruno. It is bad enough that he thinks the most corrupt and overpaid state legislature in the country deserves a pay raise.

Now Spitzer is laundering money to pay for high class hookers. Spitzer (or Client 9, as he is referred to in the joint IRS/FBI investigation), cheated on his wife, and used an illegal money laundering scheme to pay for his mistress. Last time I checked, using the services of a prostitute was still illegal in New York. Last time I checked, laundering money to fund illegal activity was a federal offense (which is how the IRS first got involved). The more one learns about the real Eliot Spitzer, the more one finds out he is about as clean as a weasel with diarrhea. If Eliot Spitzer doesn't resign soon, the legislature should begin impeachment proceedings pronto. But given the recent history of slimeball politicians in the state, it might take a Federal conviction to get him out of office.

Spitzer's attempt at an apology (from CBS News)

This blog originally appeared in my other blog (netscaper113.townhall.com) about an hour ago. I feel vindicated because now nearly everyone in America knows what a scumbag Spitzer is and there is no way he can further his political career (or stay out of jail for much longer) after this latest scandal. But it is sad that he still got elected governor and that he did so much damage to my longtime home of New York. The Hildabeest is almost as corrupt as Spitzer. Before one thinks of electing her President, one should realize that if she is elected President, she will have a scandal that will result in calls for her resignation or impeachment. Does the United States really need another Clinton impeachment circus? Can the United States afford a Presidency that will closely resemble Spitzer's 15 months as Governor of New York?

March 4, 2008

2008-03-04T13:27:00.008-07:00

It's been boring lately. 70 degrees one day, a snowstorm the next. All those applications, few responses, and the one interview request for the week pushed back because of the interviewer's family emergency. At least the unemployment is still coming.

I tried posting a personal ad on Craig's List last week. Along with a whole bunch of fembots, I did get one response from a real person. We've been exchanging e-mails for the last 3-4 days now, and she seems nice. I hope to meet her soon. But so far my accent has not turned her off. I wish I could say the same about the last CYACS event I attended, last Tuesday's (2/26) assistance with Pikes Peak Right to Life. In that event, I helped with their mailings. It was interesting meeting up with the regular CYACS members and the older volunteers who also came to help. But I didn't need to be reminded every 15 minutes that I wasn't in Brooklyn anymore. Yeah right.. in NY, the governor is trying to force abortions down the Catholic Hospitals' collective throats, while here in Colorado, the governor is pro-life and a former Catholic missionary. It's hard to believe Eliot [bleep]ing Spitzer and Bill Ritter are members of the same political party.

Yesterday, I joined Facebook. I think my profile there can be accessed here. I put up a lot of photos- including some of friends and family I didn't put up on my MySpace page (see links to the right). Why they needed my full name when MySpace didn't... I don't know. So far the only person from MySpace that I'm sure is on Facebook is Steve Peak (my former neighbor from Louieville with at least 4 music based profiles on MySpace). There are also some interesting groups there, including one for Pulse 87, one protesting the FARC and Hugo Chavez, and one that most who know me would have a hard time believing I didn't create- a group that advocates giving Memphis (the hellhole city I went to high school in from 1984-90) to Al Qaeda. But then if Al Qaeda does take over Memphis, I probably should get my grandfather George Clarke exhumed from Memorial Park and moved to a freer cemetery in a place I would like to visit.. maybe Michigan (his home state), Jacksonville, FL (the final resting places of his mother and his only son- my father), or Boulder County (the final resting place of his widow, my Grandmother Hazel). Fortunately, none of my relatives still live in that hellhole. The one who lives closest to there would be my niece Allie. In 2 years, she'll be going to college. I would like for her to go to NYU, Columbia, Brooklyn College, UCCS, or Colorado College, but for some reason, she wants to go to Ole Miss- a school with a symbol that her great-great-great grandfather (Adam Fogal) got maimed defending his country against in Gettysburg. Sherman didn't do enough damage to that area 140+ years ago.. and now those neo-confederate rednecks think they can dominate the culture again. They're almost as bad as the anti-religious left.

I hope to hear from certain friends in NYC again.. as soon as I can get my cell phone minutes increased or if some of them finally get a computer.

Also, I did probably the first cosmetic redesign of this blog in 3 years. There will be ads too. I can't encourage regular blog readers to support the ads of anything I would buy or endorse (legal disclaimer). But if Google tries to run ads for things I vehemently oppose (such as Spitzer, the Hildabeest, NBC, Planned Parenthood, PETA, Scientology, the Memphis Tourist Board, etc.), let me know. Hopefully, Blogger/Google won't be that stupid.

January 9, 2008

2008-01-09T11:37:00.001-07:00

So far, 2008 has been an interesting year. The political primaries are going well against conventional wisdom. Hillary Clinton is no longer a lock to be the Democratic nominee (although unfortunately after last night's primaries in NH, she hasn't been knocked out of the race, either). John McCain, the only Presidential candidate on my MySpace friends list (and the only one of the candidates besides Giuliani whom I've met in person- at the VFW in Staten Island in November 1999), won big last night and is probably now the Republican front runner. If by some horrific nightmare come true Hillary does win the nomination, I strongly encourage McCain to bring up the political misdeeds of her New York allies, especially Eliot "Job Killer" Spitzer and corrupt trial lawyer/Assembly speaker Sheldon "Shyster" Silver. If Hillary wins in November, hello Ireland, or maybe Ensenada or San Miguel de Allende, or St. Catherine's, Ontario.

As of this afternoon, I am back at work, at the same job that laid me off 6 weeks ago. At the very least, it means about $75 more per week than unemployment, and no longer being able to attend weekday CYACS (Colorado Springs Catholic Young Adults) events or watch the evening newscasts or Jeopardy. But I am very good at assembling faucets, and the pace of work means I get a full gym workout without paying gym membership (indeed.. getting paid nearly $280 a week for that workout). I can now catch up on the afternoon talk radio again.. hello Michael Medved, Hugh Hewitt, and the others who convinced me to start that other blog on townhall.com.

And now, I can catch up on back student loan payments, although I still refuse to pay more than $3 for a gallon of milk or more than 50 cents for a pound of pasta.

I gave my MySpace address to several of the newcomers at last night's CYACS event. I'm not sure if Jennifer is one of them or not.. but it is nice knowing that there are people involved in the techno/dance music scene here in the Springs.. and she has a nice singing voice. I am still criticized for singing in full Brooklyn accent during Mass. I guess that's what 11 years in NYC (plus 3 years as a church usher in Queens) will do to youse.

December 9, 2007

2007-12-09T16:31:00.001-07:00

While there are a lot of things I missed about not living in NYC anymore, one of the things I didn't miss (besides having Eliot "Job Killer" Spitzer for a governor) was the relative safety from terrorism here in Colorado Springs. NYC is Al Qaeda's number one target. The last time they struck, I was about 5 miles downwind from the towers. One of the priests from my parish at the time (St. Francis of Assisi on W 32nd St) was killed in those attacks. I knew at least 3 people who barely made it out of lower Manhattan alive. Nearly every parish in the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn has a plaque or memorial of one of their parishioners who died that day. No American should have to go through what thousands of New Yorkers had to go through back in 2001. And one would think with President Bush's War on Terror and Al Qaeda on the run in Iraq that America is safer now. And certainly, a mid sized city on the edge of the Rocky Mountains that is probably unknown to the head killers at Al Qaeda would be safer than NYC, wouldn't it?

Not at all.

Around 1PM MT today, someone decided to shoot up the New Life church, which is about 3 miles from where I'm writing this blog. They got as far as the parking lot, and 4 people (including 2 young girls) were wounded by the gunfire. Now most of the area near Voyager and Interquest is on lockdown. About 13 hours before the New Life shootings, another gunman shot up a Protestant youth missionary site in Arvada, killing 2 people.It's pretty obvious that the New Life and Arvada shootings are anti-Christian terrorist attacks. (For the record, I have major theological disagreements with the New Life crowd.)

No one knows yet if the Colorado church shooters are involved with Al Qaeda. It certainly wouldn't be beneath Al Qaeda to kill a few Americans at a soft target such as a church- in fact, it might be their Christmas wish for the year. But more likely, these shootings were single or dual party cells, fomented by extreme religious hatred. There are numerous examples of anti-religious bigotry in this country. At least one odious example is a so-called religious group called Westboro Baptist in Topeka, KS. Their hatred includes such infamous websites such as godhatesfags.com, godhatesamerica.com, and godhatessweden.com. But the bigger purveyors of religious hatred in this country are on the American left, aided by the ideology of politicians such as Eliot "Baby Killer" Spitzer (see the Dec. 1 2007 blog for his war on NY's Catholics), Hillary Clinton, Sheldon Silver, Air (anti) America, and the liberal Hollywood and atheist movements. In some ways, the anti-religious left has become a type of Al Qaeda ideological movement. But up until now, that movement hasn't driven anyone to kill.

Now it has.

Pat Buchanan may be extremist on many issues, but he was dead on in the 1990s about the culture war. This is why it is vital to the survival of the United States of America that someone not on the anti-religious left becomes President next year. An anti-religious President will polarize this already fractured country, and since the militia movements tend not ally themselves with the anti-religious left, the next bloodshed in the culture war could lead to another civil war. Imagine the Irish Troubles, with 200 times more victims, 200 times more guns, and millions of casualties.

Maybe regardless of who wins in 2008, I should be looking for jobs and real estate in Ireland.

December 1, 2007

2007-12-01T18:57:00.002-07:00

I have been busy on my first day of unemployment. I have a couple of interviews scheduled for Monday (the 3rd). And for the first time in a long while, I have been able to submit media opinions to widely-read (or viewed) outlets. The following are a comment to the NY Sun's website and an e-mail to Lou Dobbs of CNN, both concerning the slimeball who is still governor of New York:

Submitted by Thomas D. Clarke, Dec 1, 2007 14:30 (NY Sun)

On Day 1, everything changed. Instead of getting an increasingly inept Republican governor (Pataki), 70% of New Yorkers (I was not one of them), elected Spitzer into office. Somehow, they were conned into thinking Spitzer would be a reformer and a fiscal conservative. Never mind the fact that the greatest threats to reform and fiscal responsibility (i.e. the Democratic Assembly) were the biggest supporters of Spitzer to begin with. And of course no one knew or cared that in Spitzer's previous job (Attorney General), he did more to chase jobs out of New York than anyone not employed by Al Qaeda. His actions against Marsh and McClellan alone (6000+ jobs destroyed in a lawsuit Spitzer filed and lost while prosecuting) should have disqualified him from being governor.

And now, his attempted (but so far unsuccessful) achievements as governor include:

Trying to force Catholic and other pro-life health care providers to perform abortions
Pay raises for the most dysfunctional legislature in the United States
Increased taxes in the most taxed state after campaigning against tax hikes in 2006
Allowing non-legal residents of New York to have official NY Drivers' Licenses (for some reason, this is the only Spitzer atrocity that has elicited outrage outside the Northeast)

At the very least, Spitzer and his cronies in the state legislature should be impeached or recalled. Ideally, the state Constitution should be amended or re-written to where reforms are enacted, the legislature is pared to one chamber (similar to Nebraska's unicameral legislature- this restructuring alone could save NY billions in taxpayer money), and a clear statewide recall statute which if enacted could prevent Spitzer, Shelly Silver, and other snake oil lawmakers from ruining the state further.

Also, I am of the strong opinion that Spitzer and the state legislature should be forced to take a 40-70 percent pay cut.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

E-mail to Lou Dobbs at CNN, December 1, 2007:

As a longtime resident of New York who recently moved to Colorado, I am intrigued by Lou Dobbs's comments on my former state's atrocious governor Eliot Spitzer. Spitzer lied about his record as attorney general (and how many jobs he destroyed as part of his politically motivated anti-Wall Street crusades), and lied about being a reformer and a tax cutting "fiscal conservative". In 2006, I was one of the few (29%) of NY voters who was not conned by his bovine excrement. And while his crackpot scheme to allow people not in the US legally to obtain NY Driver's Licenses failed, he is still doing a lot of harm to my former home. He pushed through increased state spending (mostly to his pet projects- just like he did when he was Attorney General) and is now flip-flopping on his promise not to raise taxes- in the most overtaxed state in the Union. He has brought Albany corruption to a new low by using state troopers to spy on his biggest political rival (Senate Leader Joe Bruno, who is no saint himself). And Spitzer has declared war on New York's largest religious group by trying to force Catholic health insurers to pay for abortion and by attempting to decertify any Catholic-run hospital that refuses on moral grounds to perform abortions.

Eliot Spitzer is not fit to be Governor of New York. He should resign. The right-wing talk shows and blogosphere should not be the only ones bringing the atrocities Spitzer has wrought upon New York to light. And the illegal drivers' license scheme is not even the worst thing Spitzer has done. Spitzer is not an idiot. He is far worse.

Thomas D. Clarke, Colorado Springs, CO 80920; formerly of Ridgewood, NY 11385, and Brooklyn, NY 11235

(note: these letters were also printed on my MySpace blog, available at www.myspace.com/tdclarke)

October 27, 2007

2007-10-27T14:02:00.004-06:00

Normally, I don't like discussing politics on this blog. 2006 and the Spitzer debacle was the big exception. Here was a fraudulent, rich, elitist, anti-private sector attorney general who bought his way into the attorney general's position, started suing every business he could, and lied and conned his way into the NY governor's mansion. There was a lot of blame to go around there- the NY Democratic Party (easily the most obscenely corrupt and liberal gaggle of politicians in the United States), the NY Republican Party (for bending over to Spitzer and not even bothering to fund their candidates in 2006), the NY Post (a normally conservative paper that until recently believed Spitzer's lies about cleaning up the state). Sad to say, but I put out probably the only independent website that opposed Spitzer before his election. But that webpage completely changed focus after I moved back to Colorado Springs.

Now 2008 is coming up. The Democratic National Convention will be held about 60 miles north of my residence in 10 months. Which Democrats will prevail there? Will they be the common sense Democrats like Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, PA Senator Bill Casey, and Tom Suozzi, or the misled leftist Democrats like Barack Obama, Harry Reid, and John Edwards, or the lunatic fringe Democrats like Dennis Kucinich, Pete Stark, Nancy Pelosi, and Howard Dean, or the true slimeballs like Eliot Spitzer, Sheldon Silver, and Hillary Clinton? And for the record, I will seriously consider renouncing my US citizenship if Hillary Clinton is elected President next year. After all, I did move out of my longtime home of New York City after Spitzer got elected. His job killing crusade against my longtime seasonal employer (the New York Racing Association) also helped there.

October 14, 2007

2007-10-14T15:46:00.001-06:00

5 months ago, I moved back to Colorado. I have a new home now, in the Briargate section of Colorado Springs. The rent is a bit cheaper, and the amenities are a lot nicer. And instead of a human roommate who shares my first name, I now have a feline roommate who shares my first name.

More to come when I have more time to write.

July 1, 2007

2007-07-01T14:26:00.001-06:00

A lot has changed since I moved back to Colorado on May 11. I still don't have a car. I have a decent paying warehouse/assembly job that is about 15-20 minutes by foot from my residence. Before that, I had a very disastrous stint with Goodwill Staffing that resulted in me getting fired, my supervisor attempting to blacklist me from ever using any Goodwill services (or stores), a few calls to Goodwill NY's Member For Life program (because the blacklisting threat violated Goodwill policy far more than anything I did while I was employed by Goodwill Staffing of Colorado Springs), and a renewed claim for NY's Unemployment program. Normally, an unemployment claim in NY takes 6-8 weeks to process, but I got the unemployment money last Friday. I faxed them a report about my experiences with Goodwill Staffing, the name of the [bleep] who fired and threatened to blacklist me, and my complaints to Goodwill of NY about their Springs office's practices (along with the number and extension of the NY Goodwill lady who handled my complaint against their Springs office). Within 5 days of sending that fax, I got my money. Now July's rent, groceries, and the first student loan payment I've been able to make in years (excluding those income tax repossessions of the last 2 years) are taken care of. I don't expect any more unemployment money now that I am employed, but with my new salary, I can handle rent, groceries (even at Colorado Springs prices), student loan payments, and (hopefully by August), a car. I started the Woodford job 10 days ago, and in that time, I have made more money and had far fewer work issues or problems with management than I did in my brief tenure with Goodwill Staffing. I just wish I qualified for Holiday Pay on Labor Day instead of the following week.

Going to Mass on Sundays is a bit of a hassle out here without a car. There are no Catholic churches within 2 miles of my residence, and the neighborhood parish system that is used in the Brooklyn diocese is not used in Colorado Springs. Because of the Sunday bus schedule, the easiest parish to get to from my neighborhood is St. Mary's Cathedral in Downtown. I was welcomed warmly by the parishioners there. St. Mary's has been in a bit of transition as of late, too. Their longtime pastor, Father Donald Dunn, retired last week. Their new pastor, Father Frank Quezada, has his formal installation as pastor next week. I was informed today by Bonnie of the parish Welcoming Committee that they are in desperate need of ushers for the 11:45 AM bilingual Mass. If they take my previous ushering experience from St. Pancras into consideration, I could end up being one of those new ushers at that Mass. And it would be nice knowing some Spanish words that are appropriate to use in a church, as opposed to the 10 years of "temp agency Spanish" I learned at various jobs in New York. And maybe I could find out more about that Pope John Paul II novena that some of the parishioners were talking about after mass this morning.

May 14, 2007

2007-05-14T14:01:00.001-06:00

A lot has happened since I last posted here. I was without internet service for 4 months at home. And at the end of April, I found out thanks to the NYC Buildings Department that my home was an illegal residence and I had to move. As of Friday, May 11, I have lived in Colorado Springs, in a subdivision less than 2 miles from my childhood home (and in the same ZIP code, 80915) .

There is much to detail on, but I only have 55 minutes on the Penrose Library computers. I sold my computer, TV set, and clothes to help finance the move out here.

January 21, 2007

2007-01-21T09:54:00.000-07:00

I started off today like most Sundays- ushering at St. Pancras. I was well bundled because it was about 20 degrees outside. Fortunately, the 9:30 Mass had extra ushers because the Mass was packed. It was a special Mass for the CYO- and it seemed like everyone under 18 that was registered at St. Pancras parish was at that Mass. Overall, between 300 churchgoers (and at least 80 children) and 7 ushers, the Mass went smoothly. Even Father Gallo (the pastor) joinend in by attempting to auction off his CYO team jacket. The bidding was stopped at $100.

I got home after Mass and found my DSL was still on for another day. I got an e-mail from my sister Suz. After the bunnycide incident involving my nephew Jamie, Suz had him institutionalized. For at least the next 16 days, Jamie will be evaluated at Crossroads Regional Mental Health Center in Alexandria, LA. I'm a bit curious as to why there aren't any hospitals in the Baton Rouge area (currently the largest city in the state, and about 100 miles closer to where Suz and Jamie live than Alexandria is) that can handle a messed up 8 year old.

January 20, 2007

2007-01-20T18:58:00.002-07:00

The new year of 2007 is nearly 3 weeks old. And for me, it has been nothing short of a disaster. I was forced to apply for public assistance because I was rejected for unemployment. I have not been able to find another job. In fact, pending medical results (which should be due around February 6), I am not even in the typical public assistance job search programs. This means I am stuck at home- without normal phone service (my phone is unable to make calls because I can no longer afford the Lifeline phone bill), and without any money or metrocards to get out of home. The DSL is supposed to be cut off soon, and with it, my last lifeline to most of the outside world.

The world outside doesn't look so hot, either. Hillary Clinton (wife of the worst President in my lifetime) just announced she's running for President, joining a lineup of for the most part, either inexperienced or just plain awful candidates running to take over my distant cousin's job next year.

Closer to home, I found out from my sister that my soon-to-be 9 year old nephew Jamie has problems. Apparently he likes to kill small animals. First it was a puppy last year. This morning, it was a pet bunny he received for Christmas. And while my sister was hauling him off to the local psychiatric center, Jamie was more concerned about his video games than about the dead rabbit in the backyard.

And my former friend Jon seems to be plotting something. After feuding with my friend Tyrone for over a year, Jon decided to be friendly to Tyrone. And Jon also announced to Tyrone that he's suing me over the van incident from 2005. And that ingrate Jon wonders why I won't call him anymore.

December 25, 2006

2006-12-25T05:58:00.001-07:00

Boy, has this been a horrible December.

I knew weeks ago I would be unemployed by now. But I had no idea until last week that I would be stuck in New York and going onto public assistance because my car had died. That among other things, cancelled the move to Colorado Springs, as well as the 3 job interviews I had scheduled there for this week.

And to paraphrase that old techno song from 1992, James Brown really is dead now.

December 6, 2006

2006-12-06T09:23:00.001-07:00

Wow.

Someone got my MySpace account yanked. At this time, I don't have the resources necessary to renew it. I have a move in 17-18 days. At least I won't be going alone.

And my car is acting up.

December 2, 2006

2006-12-02T17:35:00.001-07:00

A lot has happened since I last posted here. I have made new friends and have become embroiled in a very bitter battle with someone I had considered a friend for 9 years. Among other things, this means no more Box Office Poison plugs on this website (unless they fire and blacklist their bassist).

I am about 3 weeks away from the big move. I now have contacts and a voice mail number for Colorado Springs. There's a small chance I may be taking 1 or 2 others on the 1900 mile drive to Colorado. I have had several responses from potential employers in the Springs. Even if none of them pan out, my current employer has an office in Denver (although I would be looking at New York style hour plus commuting if I take that route). I am also enrolled at the Pikes Peak Work Force job center.

But as of right now, I still don't have a place to move to. I had 2 near certain deals off of Powers Blvd that fell apart at the last second due to locals providing the rent money up front before I could.

I got a call from my sister a few days ago. She said that one of my aunts was looking up a disorder called Asperger Disorder, and they both think I have it. I see my NY shrink for the last time on December 20, so I'll find out in 3 weeks if she thinks that I have it. I somewhat hope that my new roommate Joseph and those hot girls he's trying to hook me up with don't read this blog....

November 8, 2006

2006-11-08T07:52:00.002-07:00

After seeing the results from last night's elections, I can't believe how out-of-touch American and New York voters have become. The Democrats (led by leftist Nancy Pelosi) have taken control of the House of Representatives. With a few exceptions (most notably Independent Joe Lieberman), anti-war candidates won big, which means a pullout from the front line on the War on Terror and another high probability of another US attack by Al Qaeda. Lawsuit-happy Job Killers (Eliot Spitzer) and soon-to-be-indicted crooks (Alan Hevesi, Robert Menendez) have been elected in New York and New Jersey. Democrats even won key races in Pennsylvania and Colorado, although those Democrats tend to be less corrupt and more conservative than New York Democrats. I am truly ashamed and disgusted to be from New York after seeing the local election results. But I have a right to complain. Unlike many who stayed home, saying their votes won't count, I did vote on November 7. And to the leftist crooks who won big last night in New York, you can have this state. I'm moving out in a few weeks. But I do have a lot of friends who can't afford to leave New York, so don't completely fuck up my former state and city.

October 29, 2006

2006-10-29T12:43:00.001-07:00

Only 8 more weeks to go. Tomorrow my sister turns 32. And I have a lot to do in the next 8 weeks- collect at least $600 necessary for the move; vote; send my sister a card; find storage for all that stuff; find a place; make sure the transfer goes through; and get all my bills settled before December 25. At this point, I will most likely use my current employer to transfer me out of town. I will still end up in Colorado Springs, but it may be in mid-2007 if I don't get a job right away in late December (in which case, I will probably end up in the Denver area or Pittsburgh).

October 1, 2006

2006-10-01T10:37:00.001-06:00

On this date 71 years ago, my father was born. As most people who know me or read this blog already know, he died in 1995, so he won't be having any big bashes to celebrate the big 7-1.

I am sure he would be proud of his 2 grandchildren. Allie is doing well. Jamie is doing well despite his ADD. My sister has significantly recovered from his death.

However, I don't think he would be too pleased with me.

September 30, 2006

2006-09-30T15:06:00.001-06:00

This month sure sucked. I have spent most of it unemployed and not collecting unemployment. In addition to Eliot "Job Killer" Spitzer way ahead in the polls, now his ideological soulmates are poised to take control of Congress. Instead of trying to win in Iraq, they want to leave Iraq to the Al Qaeda types. This country is definitely headed in the wrong direction- and the only ones who can save it are ridiculed and way behind in the polls.

September 8, 2006

2006-09-08T15:50:00.001-06:00

3 more months..

How I'm going to survive the next 3 months, I don't know. I lost yet 2 more jobs in the past 2 weeks.

I got e-mail an individual in Westport, NY, which promised information on my Clarke ancestors that called that area home 150 years ago.

And 3 more days to convince my Democratic friends that Tom Suozzi would make a lot better governor than Eliot "Job Killer" Spitzer will...

August 26, 2006

2006-08-26T05:55:00.001-06:00

Wow. It's been 10 years since I first moved to New York. In late August and in September of 1996, I was renting from vaious weekly hotels and the Flushing YMCA. By December, I had finally found work (which caused my debts to balloon). And now, I've been with one employer for 7 months and a certain Long Island temp agency for over 9 years. But that long, strange stay in New York will likely come to an end by Christmas.

I've spent some time on MySpace- now that my sister and niece have accounts there, too.

The official ISP provider of this blog has changed (as of August 23) from Netscape dial-up to Verizon DSL. I am not sure who will be providing the connection if I do move back to Colorado Springs in 4 months.

And Eliot "Job Killer" Spitzer is way out in front for the November Governor's race. If he does win, my anti-Spitzer site will change to an "escape Spitzer" site, with links on how to flee the state before he takes office January 1, 2007.

July 1, 2006

2006-07-01T13:32:00.000-06:00

July 1- the halfway point of the year. I have been at my current job for 5 months. I have a car that runs pretty well, and gets very good city mileage. I still have friends, and with the car, it is a little easier to visit them out in Brooklyn. I recently got a cellphone, which I am still tying to figure out how to use since cellphones are more complicated now than they were in 1999. And it is too damn hot outside. So what else is new.. not much. I'm still single, still underweight, still asthmatic, still living in an overpriced room in Queens.

May 7, 2006

2006-05-07T15:27:00.001-06:00

It is already May- the fifth month of the year. And tomorrow, I turn 34. But at least now I have a car, which I get to pick up on Friday. And I have to balance this blog with another blog I write on my new My Space site. Instead of working tomorrow, I get to spend most of the day at Coney Island Hospital undergoing my semi-annual asthma evaluation. So far, 34 means I'm getting older, upsetting more people, earning the same or less in income, and getting closer to the ages at which my parents died.

April 13, 2006

2006-04-13T13:27:00.000-06:00

Supposedly on this date 1976 years ago (the exact date has been disputed), Jesus was executed outside Jerusalem. Most Christians celebrate Jesus's death (and eventual resurrection) on Easter Sunday and the preceding Friday (which happens to be tomorrow). Next time you think of any big sacrifice, remember what happened on the night before Good Friday. A healer, who cured the sick, changed water into wine, and called out his religion's superiors on their hypocrisy, was praying that a cup (unbearable for pretty much anyone) would pass him by. That symbolic cup was knowing that your own friend and confidant was betraying you to those who would kill you. Instead of fleeing, Jesus was waiting to be arrested. And when Peter cut off the ear of one of those who arrested Jesus, Jesus healed the guy and rebuked Peter.

April 6, 2006

2006-04-06T11:59:00.001-06:00

Greetings, all, from the Netscaper 113 sickbed in Queens. I still don't know what caused me to get sick, but I missed work yesterday and spent most of this morning at Elmhurst Hospital. I have to return there tomorrow to get back the last of my test results. I did get one test result back this morning: I am not HIV positive. Not that I fall in any of the risk categories for HIV, but I did get a free HIV test to go along with my other exam. The HIV test was administered orally, as opposed to using needles. And I was able to get the results back in an hour. I still have a stomach ailment and a bad skin condition, but at least I don't have a killer virus. I am stuck on a soup and bread diet for a few days until the stomach ailment goes away.

I don't intend on discussing the rising gas prices or Spitzer campaign in this post (I'm sick enough as it is), but there has been major news that will affect my TV viewing. When Bob Schieffer took the anchor job at CBS Evening News in March 2005, he said his job was temporary. Well, CBS finally found Bob's replacement: Katie Couric from NBC (also known as National Bull Crap for the way they treat news). I don't blame Katie for wanting to leave the cesspool of broadcast journalism, but I don't think her signing was a great move by CBS. CBS's evening news ratings have risen considerably since Bob Schieffer took over last year. Do they really think the co-anchor of a morning show that omitted the most newsworthy event at last year's Thanksgiving Day Parade is a good choice? And NBC has already announced Katie's replacement: Meredith Viera, who currently hosts "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and the odious ABC talk show called "The View". Wasn't Meredith Viera the same 60 Minutes former correspondent who announced how glad she was that she was out of journalism following the September 11th attacks? Well, Today isn't a news show, it's a crap fest. And Meredith, no amount of Lysol is going to get that smell off the new entry on your resume.

March 31, 2006

2006-03-31T10:12:00.002-07:00

Well folks, the month of March is almost over. I spent most of it working. I am still recovering from a 52.5 hour work week that ended yesterday. I am off work until Sunday, and will be catching up on 3 weeks of lost sleep.

The primaries aren't until September, but already, Spitzer and Suozzi are airing their commercials on television. Spitzer claims in his commercials that he's the savior of the state, but I don't want any of that Drano he's passing off as campaign kool-aid. One of Spitzer's commercials trumpeted his prosecutions- including Marsh and McClellan, which was found NOT GUILTY of Spitzer's accusations. But the resulting legal fees forced Marsh and McClellan to lay off more than 5000 people- the biggest single job loss incident in New York since 9/11. Suozzi's commercials attack the Albany establishment- most of whom should lose their jobs. But Suozzi seems to forget that the biggest threat to economic and employment security in this state is not Albany, but his opponent Spitzer.

To those who are afraid of higher taxes, of their job security, of having to join their relatives in moving out of state, whatever you do, do NOT vote for Spitzer. But if Spitzer does become governor, Colorado Springs is always looking for new employers and residents. In the meantime, any opponents of Spitzer are welcome to use my bumpersticker idea- "Been sued out of a job yet? Stop Spitzer now. Vote for..."

March 4, 2006

2006-03-04T12:39:00.002-07:00

It's Lenten time, folks.

Traditionally, Lent is the 40 days before Easter. Ash Wednesday starts Lent, and many church services symbolize this time of sacrifice and prayer by having ashes on their foreheads. Some think it is their religious duty to have those ashes. Surprisingly, it is not. For Catholics, Ash Wednesday isn't even a holy day of obligation (i.e. a day you have to go to Mass). Those ashes do symbolize death and sacrifice. The old symbolism involved sackcloth and ashes, now, an appropriate might involve the ashes created from the process of cremation. I can remark that 10 years ago this month, I saw how much life can be in a pile of ashes- when what was supposed to be a routine ash scattering off the Jacksonville Beach Pier turned into a spiritual experience involving me, my great-uncle Bill Stokes (who died 5 months after that incident), and my great-aunt Gladys Stokes.

My father's final wish was that his ashes would be scattered off the Jacksonville Beach fishing pier he frequented when he was growing up. One time in the 1940s, he was fishing and caught a baby hammerhead shark. We joked 50 years later that the hammerhead's relatives would be looking for him. In late March of 1996, I opened up the plastic box with his ashes. Instead of dropping into the ocean waters below, they flew out of the box like some spirit had been released. As I found out 6 months later during Bill Stokes's ash scattering in Plymouth, MI, this was not a normal occurance.

As far as I know, Gladys Stokes is still well and living outside Myrtle Beach, SC. I haven't heard from her in nearly 5 years due to an ugly family feud that ensued following the death of her oldest daughter (and my father's cousin) Pamala Stokes. I was one of 6 family members that bothered to show up for Pamala's funeral at Tower Hill Presbyterian Church in Red Bank, NJ, in August 2001. But Pamala had a lot of friends, and it was standing room only during her funeral service.

Since Ash Wednesday 2005, my friends have had their own losses to deal with. Jon Koza lost his grandmother a few months ago, and shortly afterwards, his fiancee Dara's grandmother also died. Last week, Diana Pensabene lost her father. Tyrone Griffith lost his 90 year old great-grandfather 5 months ago. Jon and I attended the wake- and despite the sorrow of losing Kinnard Sypher, his family and friends had a very spiritual and uplifting service. It is like Bill Stokes, Pamala Stokes, Mr. Sypher, Mr. Pensabene, and Mrs. Cohen that we will end up eventually. Many are still mourning. But Lent is here to remind us of our pending death, and our renewal in a new life.

And now that this composition is over, I have about an hour to get ready for my usher gig at this afternoon's 4:30PM Mass at St. Pancras Catholic Church in Glendale.

February 11, 2006

2006-02-11T11:09:00.001-07:00

I recently read an article on Netscape ISP's homepage about how everyone born before 1987 is now considered old. But since I was born in 1972 (and turn 34 in 3 months), I'm not quite over the hill just yet. Maybe I should set the geezer year at 1968 and make the following remarks about all non-geezers:

They don't remember a living JFK, and Ted Kennedy has always been a Senator.

A Klansman has always been the senior Senator from West Virginia (Robert Byrd).

PBS and Sesame Street have always existed.

60 Minutes has always been on CBS.

The Super Bowl has always existed.

The Internet has always been in use, although some may remember it being called ARAPNET.

The US has always been involved in some type of Middle Eastern political affair, crisis, or war.

Richard Nixon has always been remembered as a current or former President.

Ronald Reagan has always been known as a current or former politician and not as an actor.

Segregated schools, theatres, water fountains, etc. have always been illegal under Federal law (although if I had been born in 1971 or earlier and lived in Memphis before 1978, I would have briefly remembered being in an illegally segregated school system).

Detroit has always been a declining and very dangerous city.

Houston and San Diego have always been bigger than Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis.

California has always been the most populous state in the Union.

The only civil rights leader with a surname of King they remember had the first name of Coretta.

Michael Jackson and Elton John have always been famous.

In half the Presidential elections they remember, the winner won with less than half the popular vote.

The computer has always been around, although some can remember when cassettes were used to run them.

McDonald's, K-Mart, and Wal Mart have always been in existence.

And, finally, Flintstones Vitamins and Geritol have always been around and suggested for people who are older than the year listed on these type lists.

And in distressing news, the NYC area is expecting a blizzard overnight, which means I will be walking right through the middle of it on my way to work tomorrow morning. Also, Tom Golisano decided not to run, which means the Republicans are really screwed. But hopefully, Tom Suozzi will beat Spitzer and the state won't get screwed.

February 3, 2006

2006-02-03T15:08:00.001-07:00

Goodbye January. Hello Black History Month, or is it Groundhog Month? Punxatawney Phil saw his shadow yesterday in Pennsylvania. Staten Island Chuck, one of NYC's resident groundhogs, didn't see his shadow. It figures that the winter I don't have a car would be the same winter that didn't require snowplows.

Since a Governor Spitzer administration seems more and more likely (and also because my new job will allow me to transfer out of NYC in 10 months), I've been looking at potential new homes. One of those options is my hometown of Colorado Springs. I've also looked at Las Vegas, San Diego, and (more recently) Chicago, Waterbury, CT, and my great-grandfather's final home of Indianapolis. There are advantages and disadvantages to each: Chicago has a much higher crime rate than the other cities; San Diego's cost of living isn't that much cheaper than NYC's; Waterbury would be a hell of a commute from potential jobsites; Indianapolis is in the heart of the allergy belt; and Las Vegas gets too damn hot in the summer. But Vegas and Chicago have a lot of big city amenities; Waterbury is a Metro North ride away from NYC and is the only one of the above mentioned cities that has a branch of my bank; San Diego has great weather and a nice beach; Indianapolis has the lowest cost of living of the other cities, and is centrally located to my relatives in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Tennessee, Lousiana, and Iowa; and Colorado Springs is my hometown and has probably the best natural amenities of any mid-to-major city in the United States. Regardless of whether I move there or not, I intend on driving the gravel road up Pikes Peak in 2007. But Indianapolis and Colorado Springs are the only cities in which I could afford a house rental (although Vegas and San Diego are the only cities where I would end up paying more in rent than I am now in Queens). It would be nice to have my own place again for the first time in 10 years. But that decision won't be made before November 7, 2006. I intend on doing my best to keep Spitzer from Albany before I plan any job transfers.

January 25, 2006

2006-01-25T09:19:00.001-07:00

Well folks, the year is only 4 weeks old and already some major news has rocked the broadcast media world. CBS and Time Warner have merged their UPN and WB networks into something called the CW Network. Why UPN and the WB had to go out of business while NBC is still polluting the airwaves is beyond me, but now we're down to 5 major English-language broadcast networks. But there are a lot of markets in this country that don't have both UPN and WB stations, so they should be delighted by this news. It's also a vote of confidence for WWE's Smackdown, which along with "Everybody Hates Chris" and "America's Top Model" was the UPN show most mentioned during the merger announcement. In fact, those shows will be moving to higher rated stations in NYC, LA, and Chicago. The biggest losers in this new network announcement are the soon-to-be-ex UPN stations owned by Fox such as WWOR 9 New Jersey, KCOP 13 LA, and WPWR 50 Chicago.

In other news, the NY Governor's Race is getting into gear. Overconfident Eliot Spitzer has already picked a running mate, who is not sitting too well with certain Democrats. This may end up boosting Tom Suozzi's candidacy, as he is far less odious (and far less likely to drive millions of jobs out of this state) than Spitzer. If you're to believe the blogs and internet news sources, Senator Chucky Schumer and various Wall Street types are trying to help Suozzi's candidacy. I recently got an automated voice mail message urging me to help Spitzer's campaign. If I knew what phone number left Spitzer's message, I'd return the favor with a 3 minute answering
message consisting of the Box Office Poison song "Inconsiderate" and reasons why Spitzer should move to New Jersey and kill their job market instead of New York's. At the very least, a Governor Spitzer would drive NYRA and me out of New York. A Governor Spitzer could also drive the stock markets out of New York, which is why so many conservative Wall Street types are supporting Democrat Tom Suozzi's challenge against Spitzer. Hopefully this race will be a battle of two Toms- Independent-turned-Republican Tom Golisano is exploring whether to run as a Republican. He would instantly be the front runner for the Republican nomination if he ran, and would probably get most of Suozzi's support if Suozzi lost the Democratic nomination to Spitzer. Most importantly, Golisano is a self-made millionaire who wouldn't need outside money to counter the MoveOn.org, DNC, and left wing PAC money that would bankroll Spitzer's
campaign (which could easily be around $100-150 million). Either Golisano or Suozzi is welcome to use my anti-Spitzer ad idea that compares Spitzer's job killing record to the jobs lost because of Osama bin Laden's terrorist attack in 2001.

I would also like to thank the left wing wackos at Air America WLIB 1190 for the anti-Bush materials they keep sending me. It reminds me why I support our President against these wackos, and it saves my landlord money on kitty litter.

January 15, 2006

2006-01-15T10:17:00.001-07:00

Well, it's 2 weeks into the New Year. Al Qaeda is still in business, as is the tobacco industry, NBC, the Spitzer for Governor campaign, and other unworthy industries.

I'm still alive. My sister got out of the hospital. My niece Allie turned 14. I am unemployed, but I collect unemployment. I've sent out at least 6 applications this past week alone. And I have a nice job fair to go to this Friday (the 20th).

Due to problems with my free ISP, I switched to the Netscape ISP. The switchover went fairly well, although now I have to pay $12.45 a month for internet. But once I get the so called Accelerator CD-ROM, I'll see if the internet really can go at a decent speed on dial up. Of course the problem could be the old laptop that a friend gave to me last year. It runs on Windows 2000, and I had to install Firefox (and later, Netscape 7.2) just to get online. It freezes up from time to time, but unlike my desktop computer, it runs most of the time. My desktop (complete with games, a CD burner, and half my music collection) stopped running on September 11, 2005. Between catching up on rent (and paying other bills), I don't have the money yet to fix the desktop computer.

Between interviews, applications, and my normal Sunday church usher position, I've spent more time online. I updated my online family tree. I've sent e-mails to friends I haven't seen in person in years. I'm even working on some websites. One has my old newspaper columns from Brooklyn College and forum posts from 1993-2004. The other, when complete, will be an anti-Spitzer website, complete with details on how many jobs he's already cost this state. So far, I've tabulated close to 25000- all in the private sector.

So far, the year 2006 hasn't been that eventful. But there's still 50 weeks left to go.

January 1, 2006

2006-01-01T16:41:00.002-07:00

Well folks, 2005 is over. I'm fairly glad it's over, since I managed to lose several friends, 3 jobs, 3 vehicles, and had to face the premature deaths of a cousin and a roommate (see December 25, 2005 blog- that story was not made up).

2006 started out as most years do in NYC, with a lot of fanfare in Times Square. I spent midnight at home, since I had to be up early this morning. I flipped between New York 1, Fox 5, ABC 7, and CNN (Channel 10 on Time Warner Queens cable). ABC 7 had the return of Dick Clark (no relation). He sounded awful- but supposedly because of his 2004 stroke, he had to re-learn how to talk. The real host of ABC's New Year's Eve celebration was the smarmy Ryan Seacrest. Fox settled with the more conventional Regis Philbin. Normally, Fox employs Seacrest for their American Idol show, while Philbin's normal employer is ABC 7. CBS 2, which normally is on top of news stories, eschewed Times Square coverage in favor of a CSI rerun.

I usually spend New Year's Day at work at Aqueduct Racetrack. Today was my 9 year anniversary there. I handed out and stocked the tables with calendars. I have been there every year since 1997. But due to NYRA's financial troubles (and the threat faced by a potential Spitzer administration), the calendar giveaway may be the last giveaway held at Aqueduct. The promotions department isn't sure when the next giveaway will be. Supposedly Aqueduct will become a slot machine haven next year, and assuming that happens, the track will be saved. But now the track is in bad shape, and that affects the promotional department's budget, which in turn affects my budget.

But 2006 is starting on an uncertain note. Now that the giveaways are over, I have to go on unemployment again. I found out my sister has spent the last 4 days at a hospital in Louisiana. My friends Jon and Tyrone are feuding, and I'm caught in the middle of their noncommunication. There's a tropical storm in the Atlantic (which has only happened once before in January). And the destructive job killing Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is still way out in front in the polls to be NY's next governor. I hope he doesn't win, but I have saved several potential employers' names in Colorado Springs and Las Vegas in case he does win. But I would like to go to Times Square for New Year's one of these days.

December 25, 2005

2005-12-25T08:42:00.001-07:00

Folks, this is not a Christmas tale for kids..

Santa did not stop by the 6100 block of Cooper Avenue in Queens last night. Instead, paramedics, firefighters, and police officers from the 104 Precinct huddled around the small white house. They were summoned because of a large man named Kenneth Gromwaldt in the living room. Despite the paramedics' best efforts, Kenneth (or Kenny, as the house knew him) was pronounced dead at 9:30PM. He was 47 years of age.

The police questioned the landlord, Shanik, about the deceased. Shanik remarked that Kenny had a sister named Geraldine from Middle Village. Kenny had a few side jobs moving furniture. He had asthma and a blood clot in one of his legs. He also had a voracious appetite for drugs, including angel dust, heroin, xanax, methadone, and marijuana.

On the preceding night (December 23), Kenny went to his neighbor Dorby's room. Dorby sometimes assisted in Kenny's pharamceutical pursuits. But this time, Kenny downed Dorby's bottle of xanax and her methadone without her consent. She shooed him away, and he passed out on the kitchen table. Hours later, Kenny stumbled from the kitchen to the living room, where he spent the last 21 hours of his life.

Shanik, Dorby, and the other residents of the small white rooming house were in shock when the paramedics announced they could not revive Kenny. Dorby blamed herself for Kenny's death. One of the paramedics gave her Kenny's tiny address book, and she started calling the names listed on the book. One of them, Pete, was Kenny's boss from the moving jobs. He hung up on her when she told him that Kenny was dead. The police never noticed the address book. If they had, they could have gotten the names and phone numbers of at least 4 drug dealers.

So much for a well paying job. So much for 47 years of life. So much for good humor- all gone because of some pills and chemicals. To those who think using and abusing illegal drugs is fun and harmless, go to the morgue or Potters' Field in the Bronx. That's where your harmless fun takes you.

December 23, 2005

2005-12-23T09:50:00.001-07:00

Well, the year is almost over. I managed to go through 3 vehicles (the Taurus died in early October). I survived the transit strike- which pretty much cost me my job because I had no way to get to work.

Supposedly, the members of Box Office Poison are fans of this blog because I mentioned them in an earlier post- and because I told my sister about their song "Inconsiderate". "Inconsiderate" was written by their bassist Jon Koza (a teacher at South Shore HS in Canarsie) about his rude, violent, gang colors wearing students. The chorus describes the students in vulgarities best hurled at Al Qaeda terrorists and transit strikers. Outside of "Inconsiderate" and "Ding Dong", most of Box Office Poison's songs are fairly clean. And that's about all the mention I'll give them until Jon Koza and the Catepano brothers cough up money for the Netscaper113 car fund.

When my father was alive, he used to send Christmas letters to his friends and relatives. My mother's relatives used to complain about the morbid, negative tone of the letters- until I wrote the family letters for 1995 and 1996. As horrifically commercial and non-religious as Christmas has become, I think the Catholic Church should move the holiday closer in the year to its historical occurance (September) and end the madness that takes up most of November and December now.

I'll try writing a year-end blog when I'm in a more festive mood.

October 1, 2005 (or is it 1935?)

2005-10-01T08:26:00.001-06:00

Greetings, again. Again I find some reason to post here, this time for marking what would have been my father's 70th birthday. My father, Donald G. Clarke, was born on this date in 1935 in Jacksonville, Florida. He spent 20 years in the Air Force (during which time he married my mother, and was stationed in France, Vietnam, several places in Texas, and New Jersey).

My father was a bit of an eccentric. He was very detail and goal oriented. He was also stubborn, anti-religious (which is surpising considering how devoutly Catholic my mother was), somewhat bigoted (especially against Vietnamese). He was into computers early in his Air Force career, and made a living selling computers for retailers such as Radio Shack, Dillard's, and Office Max after he retired from the military. He was one of the early users of the internet- operating an online bulletin board to keep touch with his international friends in the 1980s. He later used Compuserve, Prodigy, and AOL before the ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) made him unable to use a computer. I'm sure if Google or Blogger had been around when he was alive, he would have used them.

Despite his computer genius, living with him (compounded with being a Yankee/Westerner forced to live in his retirement home of Memphis, Tennessee) was extremely difficult, and I moved away right after I graduated from high school. He did live to see his granddaughter Allie; but he never lived to see his grandson Jamie, his daughter's first marriage fall apart, his son's descent into bankruptcy and poverty and depression, or the events of 9/11 that occurred 5 miles from his son's 2001 residence. But in his lifetime, he never got to know his great-aunt Sarah, who died in 1966 10 miles from where he was stationed in Ohio, or his Uncle Milton (his father's unknown-until-2001 half-brother), or his grandmother Jeanette (whose family I discovered over the internet in the last 5 years).

But outside of the war on terrorism and several computer upgrades, not much has changed since he died in 1995. He thought 2000 and the following years would be drastically different from the 20th Century. But so far, I don't think they are.

September 10, 2005

2005-09-10T16:28:00.001-06:00

Well, tomorrow is the 4 year anniversary of those terrorist attacks Downtown. And back on August 29, an even bigger disaster hit the Central Gulf Coast.

I'm still trying to forget what happened 4 years ago. At the time, I lived about 5 miles downwind of the Twin Towers. I was unemployed at the time, and thanks to the attacks, my least favorite media outlet (NBC-4) got knocked off the air for about two months. I got a security guard job at a site in Staten Island which overhired security after one of their employees was suspected of being linked to Al Qaeda. Like most of my jobs since I moved to New York, that security job last only a few months.

About two weeks ago, a Category 4 hurricane named Katrina hit the Gulf Coast around Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. The storm was huge- causing major damage from Hammond, LA, to Mobile, AL. Most of the damage was on the eastern side of the storm, which is why my sister's residence in Denham Springs, LA, saw far less damage than eastern areas such as Mobile and Biloxi, MS, that were further from the eyewall than Denham Springs. (And yes, my sister and her family escpaed the storm unharmed. Don't send her any money since she'll probably waste it on booze or cigarettes.)

Some disasters just aren't that preventable. Katrina would have still caused a lot of damage because it was an act of nature, not an act of war. But a lot of the deaths from Katrina were preventable. There was hardly any warning for 9/11 before that plane hit the North Tower. There was advance warning for Katrina- at least two days warning from the Weather Channel- and a Hurricane Warning that stretched from Morgan City, LA to the AL/FL border. Most of New Orleans evacuated, but approximately 100,000 people didn't leave the area. Instead of working in advance to evacuate the poorer residents to locations such as Shreveport and Montgomery, the city government opened a shelter of last resort (appoximately 18 hours before the hurricane hit) that only accomodated 10,000.

And now the blame game begins- when they're still evacuating hurricane survivors. Some blame the President, as if he had the authority to re-route a hurricane or to (legally) override the Louisiana authorities. Others blame the New Orleans and Lousiana officials. But it's over, it's done with- now all we can do is to aid the survivors and bury the dead (which according to recent reports looks like it will be less than the 10,000 feared dead originally).

At least with 9/11, there was someone responsible for that carnage- a Wahabist psychopath and terrorist icon by the name of Osama Bin Laden. He even bragged on videotape how the attack went "better than expected". And this psycho wants to do even worse. Recent US actions in Afghanistan and Iraq have hampered his ability to strike the US again. Unfortunately they have not captured Bin Laden. Until then, I can always dream of dragging him by his beard and feeding him to a bunch of hungry piranhas.

And to totally get off topic from the previous discussion, there are piranha feeding videos available for free on the internet- a couple featuring live rats. Now animal rights wackos say those videos are cruel. Hello- piranhas have got to eat, and live rats are considered a delicacy to those fish. And there is a Siamese Fighting Fish called the betta- whose fights the animal rights wackos want to outlaw. I have owned bettas before, and when a male betta sees another male betta, their first instinct is to plume up and attack. (Try putting a mirror in front of a male betta and you will get the same reaction from the fish. I guess this also means there is no such thing as a gay betta.) Male roosters have the urge to attack each other too- yet 48 states have made allowing roosters to attack each other (in a popular-in-other-countries sport called cockfighting) a crime. Only in Louisiana and parts of New Mexico can you legally allow roosters to fight. Other things the animal rights wackos have outlawed are bullfighting, horse meat, and dog meat. This country could save millions by turning over the dogs that the shelters plan to kill over to butchers. Either way, the dogs die- but by using them as food, people actually benefit from dead canines. If you look at the wackos' anti-dogmeat sites, you'll see their true objective: the criminalization of any type of meat eating. Yet these hypocrites see no problems with injecting deadly chemicals into a condemned animal at a shelter, or worse, with the wanton slaughter of human fetuses that occurs daily in the guise of legalized abortion. You know our system is messed up when dogs and lobsters and mice have a greater right to life than the unborn or brain damaged or suicidal humans.

So petition your legislatures to allow dog meat, bullfighting, and cockfighting. Help those hurricane victims any way you can. Pause for a moment of silence at 8:46AM EDT tomorrow. And to all piranha owners with tanks of 2000 gallons or greater- do the world a favor and start feeding your fish members of Al Qaeda or ALF/ELF/PETA.

August 14, 2005

2005-08-14T12:52:00.001-06:00

Maybe I got too religious in the last (February) blog, so I'll try not to offend the non-Catholics out there in this one- except to remind Catholics that tomorrow is the Feast of the Assumption. Since it is on a Monday this year, it is not a Holy Day of Obligation. I'll probably be ushering at tomorrow night's 7:30 PM Mass, though.

Now onto other things:

This summer is too damn hot. So far it is the third hottest summer in NYC history. I don't have air-conditioning, so that means I have been sleep deprived lately. Some people do not adapt well to 90+ degree heat. It is one of the numerous reasons I moved out of Tennessee right after high school (although at least there I had air conditioning). And if these temperatures were effecting Memphis right now, they'd be happy to have a summer with much fewer than their normal 60+ 90 degree days. (NYC has had 20 so far, if you count today.)

Another gripe has to do with gas prices. Gas is up to $2.63 in this neighborhood. I filled up at the Hess on Cypress and Cooper on Friday, which was at $2.57 on Friday evening but up to $2.63 by Saturday morning. My Taurus gets better mileage than my old V8 Caprice did, but still, $26 to fill up half a tank? I am pretty active now on the GasBuddy.com sites (screen name there also Netscaper113).

And finally, I discovered sites that make the loony left go absolutely bonkers. Some people don't have a sense of humor. My psychotical liberal former roommate Lynda Kreger went haywire when I suggested that people give me money so I can use the services of hire-a-killer.com on her. First of all, hire-a-killer.com is not for real, and its creators admitted as much on a recent CBS Evening News profile earlier this summer. Thanks to the psycho whining to Delphi, my internet forum got deleted- even though death threats posted against me and my sister on that forum in 1999 and 2000 got nary a peep from Delphi. Maybe I should create a "live or die" website for Lynda- but then I'd pocket the money and move to Mexico and this (bleep) who was twice fired by the NYC Department of Education (it's hard to fire a teacher once in this system, but firing her twice proves she's a major threat to kids everywhere) would still be roaming the Brooklyn streets pissing off countless others with her rampages and threats to give "doggie lithium" to her neighbor's dog. And last time I checked, the original hire-a-killer site was down.

The threat of hire-a-killer.com made only one liberal go bonkers that I know of. A much more successful (and hilarious) website appeared last February to numerous animal rights wacko protests. I am talking of savetoby.com. Supposedly, this guy wants $50K in rabbit upkeep or else he will cook his rabbit Toby using one of the recipes on his site. The fact that the site's owner threatened to cook Toby on NBC News (the most unethical news organization out there) should have proven right away that this was another spoof. My initial reactions to the site were "funny" and "why the hell didn't I come up with this site first?". Copycat sites have come since then, including saveophelia.org (where a woman wants to eat her saved Pepperidge Farms goldfish), whereistoby.com (where savetoby.com's owner is supposedly outed), and tobystew.com, which encourages people to not donate and to enjoy eating rabbits. Thanks to these sites, I now know why Bugs Bunny didn't want to be turned into hassenpheffer in that 1950s cartoon.

Another animal wacko's nightmare is the long-running bonsaikitten.com . The Bonsai Kitten site is funny as hell, but people are claiming it's abuse to glue kittens' butts shut and to stuff them in glass boxes. That's certainly more humane than what certain restaurants do to cats or what most liberals propose doing to the unborn in this country, but the fact that a joke website is so popular just ticks them off. I'm sure they'd love eatbabies.com . At least that site comes with a disclaimer- and recipes.

February 26, 2005

2005-02-26T18:17:00.001-07:00

Somewhere out there, throughout the vast infoglut of cyberspace, is this blog. Who knows who will see this, or who will respond to it? I guess if they like what I have to write.. or if they want to laugh at my messed up mental state.

But anyone would be a little messed up if they were unemployed. I lost my last job when I lost my transportation there. For 9 months, all was fine at the warehouse in Nassau County. And then on February 2, my 1988 Chevrolet Caprice died, just off of Mineola Avenue. Since public transportation is nonexistant in that part of Nassau (and because a round trip by taxi from where I lived would cost $100 a day), I was forced to leave the job.

Three days later, I purchased (with borrowed money) a 1990 Chevrolet G20 van. The van lasted two days before meeting the same fate as my Caprice. And to add insult to injury, the van died in front of the junkyard that purchased my Caprice. I used the money the junkyard gave me for the Caprice to tow the van back to the dealer. But the dealer is refusing to refund me the money. That means I am out $800 and stuck paying insurance on a van without a working engine (thanks to the dealer holding on to my license plates).

But other people have problems, too. The Pope is in a hospital in Rome because of the flu. Now he may not speak again for a while, if ever. And yet despite the breathing tube, the Parkinson's, and the complications being in your 80s can add to those conditions, the Pope still treads on. Few people alive right now can imagine what Pope John Paul II is going through. Fewer still can understand why he is still willing to hold on to the papacy after all his health problems. But then the first Pope, St. Peter, had a chance to escape certain death in the mid 60s A.D. But he turned around (after seeing a vision of Christ) and headed back to Rome, and was crucified- upside down. Now that was sacrifice.

Sacrifice is a scary word to most people. While most people don't have to sacrifice their lives anymore, they are afraid to lose something important. The Pope has lost his voice. Millions of people in South Asia have lost their homes due to the tsunami last December (which did claim a quarter of a million lives). Dozens of people have lost their homes in Southern California due to the mudslides. It kind of makes giving up meat on Fridays (one of the Lenten obligations for Catholics) seem trivial, doesn't it? It even makes losing one job and two vehicles seem trivial.

If any of the preceding drivel made any sense, you can comment on it, or let me know if I should keep this thing going. After all, I should get another vehicle and another job sometime, and a little conversation, or criticism, or prayer, never hurt anyone.