July 27, 2008

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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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

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

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

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

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.