Come on Man! Revoked!

Christmas 2011 — Birth of a New Tradition

As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high
gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced
goods — merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American
labor.

This year will be different. This year Americans will  give the gift
of genuine concern for other Americans. There is no longer an  excuse that,
at gift giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American
hands. Yes there is!

It’s time to think outside the box, people. Who says a gift  needs to fitin a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced wrapping paper?

Everyone — yes EVERYONE gets their hair cut. How about gift certificates
from your local American hair salon or barber?

Gym membership? It’s appropriate for all ages who are thinking  about some
health improvement.

Who wouldn’t appreciate getting their car detailed? Small,  American owned
detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift  certificate or a
book of gift certificates.

Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of  plonking down
the Benjamines on a Chinese made flat-screen? Perhaps that  grateful gift
receiver would like his driveway sealed, or lawn mowed for the  summer, or
driveway plowed all winter, or games at the local golf course.

There are a bazillion owner-run restaurants — all offering  gift
certificates. And, if your intended isn’t the fancy eatery  sort, what
about a half dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint.  Remember,
folks this isn’t about big National chains — this is about  supporting
your home town Americans with their financial lives on the  line to keep
their doors open.

How many people couldn’t use an oil change for their car,  truck or
motorcycle, done at a shop run by the American working guy?

Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom? Mom would LOVE the services of a
local cleaning lady for a day.

My computer could use a tune-up, and I KNOW I can find some  young guy who
is struggling to get his repair business up and running.

OK, you were looking for something more personal. Local crafts people spin
their own wool and knit them into scarves. They make jewelry, and pottery
and beautiful wooden boxes.

Plan your holiday outings at local, owner operated restaurants and leave
your server a nice tip. And, how about going out to see a play or ballet
at your hometown theatre.

Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.

Honestly, people, do you REALLY need to buy another ten thousand Chinese
lights for the house? When you buy a five dollar string of  light, about
fifty cents stays in the community. If you have those kinds of bucks to
burn, leave the mailman, trash guy or babysitter a nice BIG  tip.

You see, Christmas is no longer about draining American pockets so that
China can build another glittering city. Christmas is now about caring
about US, encouraging American small businesses to keep    plugging away to
follow their dreams. And, when we care about other Americans, we care
about our communities, and the benefits come back to us in ways we
couldn’t imagine. THIS is the new American Christmas tradition.

This is a revolution of caring about each other,

and isn’t that what Christmas is about?

GPS

A couple of weeks ago a friend told me that someone she knew had their car broken into while they were at a football game. Their car was parked on the green which was adjacent to the football stadium and specially allotted to football fans. Things stolen from the car included a garage door remote control, some money and a GPS which had been prominently mounted on the dashboard.

When the victims got home, they found that their house had been ransacked and just about everything worth anything had been stolen. The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house. They then used the garage remote control to open the garage door and gain entry to the house. The thieves knew the owners were at the football game, they knew what time the game was scheduled to finish and so they knew how much time they had to clean out the house. It would appear that they had brought a truck to empty the house of its contents.

Something to consider if you have a GPS – don’t put your home address in it.. Put a nearby address (like a store or gas station) so you can still find your way home if you need to, but no one else would know where you live if your GPS were stolen.

MOBILE PHONES

I never thought of this…….

This lady has now changed her habit of how she lists her names on her mobile phone after her handbag was stolen. Her handbag, which contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet… Etc…was stolen.

20 minutes later when she called her hubby, from a pay phone telling him what had happened, hubby says ‘I received your text asking about our Pin number and I’ve replied a little while ago.’ When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn. The thief had actually used the stolen cell phone to text ‘hubby’ in the contact list and got hold of the pin number. Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank-account.

Moral of the lesson:

Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact list.

Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, Mom, etc….

And very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked through texts, CONFIRM by calling back.

Also, when you’re being texted by friends or family to meet them somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from them. If you don’t reach them, be very careful about going places to meet ‘family and friends’ who text you..

“I could end the deficit in 5 minutes,” he told CNBC. “You just
pass a  law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more
than 3% of  GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible
for re-election.

The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds)
took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified!  Why? Simple!

The people demanded it. That was in 1971 – before computers, e-mail,
cell phones, etc.

Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took one (1) year
or less to become the law of the land – all because of public pressure.

_*Congressional Reform Act of 2011*_

1. No  Tenure / No Pension.

A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no
pay when they’re out of office.

2.  Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social
Security.

All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the
Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into
the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the
American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.

3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan,  just as all
Americans do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise.
Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5. Congress loses their current health care system and
participates in the same health care system as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the
American people.

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void
effective 1/1/12. The American people did not make this
contract with Congressmen/women.

Congressmen/women made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in
Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers
envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their
term(s), then go home and back to work.

THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!

A Police Stop at 2 am

An elderly man is stopped.

And is asked where he is going at this time of night?

The man replies, “I am on my way to a lecture about

alcohol abuse and the effects it has on the human body,

as well as smoking and staying out late.”

The officer then asks, “Really?

Who is giving  that lecture at this time of night?”

The man replies, “That would be my wife.”

Dear President Obama,

My name is Harold  Estes, approaching 95 on December 13 of this year. People meeting me for the  first time don’t believe my age because I remain wrinkle free and pretty much  mentally alert..

I enlisted in the U.S.  Navy in 1934 and served proudly before, during and after WW II retiring as a  Master Chief Bos’n Mate. Now I live in a “rest home” located on the  western end of Pearl Harbor, allowing me to keep alive the memories of 23  years of service to my country.

One of the benefits of  my age, perhaps the only one, is to speak my mind, blunt and direct even to  the head man.

So here goes.

I am amazed, angry and determined  not to see my country die before I do, but you seem hell bent not to grant me  that wish.

I can’t figure out what  country you are the president of.
You fly around the world  telling our friends and enemies despicable lies like:
” We’re no longer a  Christian nation”
” America is  arrogant” – (Your wife even
announced to the  world,” America is mean-
spirited. ” Please  tell her to try preaching
that nonsense to 23  generations of our
war dead buried all over  the globe who
died for no other reason  than to free a
whole lot of strangers  from tyranny and
hopelessness.)
I’d say shame on the  both of you, but I don’t think you like America, nor do I see an ounce of  gratefulness in anything you do, for the obvious gifts this country has given  you. To be without shame or gratefulness is a dangerous thing for a man  sitting in the White House.

After 9/11 you  said,” America hasn’t lived up to her ideals.”

Which ones did you mean?  Was it the notion of personal liberty that 11,000 farmers and shopkeepers  died for to win independence from the British? Or maybe the ideal that no man  should be a slave to another man, that 500,000 men died for in the Civil War?  I hope you didn’t mean the ideal 470,000 fathers, brothers, husbands, and a  lot of fellas I knew personally died for in WWII, because we felt real  strongly about not letting any nation push us around, because we stand for  freedom.

I don’t think you mean  the ideal that says equality is better than discrimination. You know the one  that a whole lot of white people understood when they helped to get you  elected.

Take a little advice  from a very old geezer, young man.

Shape up and start  acting like an American. If you don’t, I’ll do what I can to see you get  shipped out of that fancy rental on Pennsylvania Avenue . You were elected to  lead not to bow, apologize and kiss the hands of murderers and corrupt  leaders who still treat their people like slaves.

And just who do you  think you are telling the American people not to jump to conclusions and  condemn that Muslim major who killed 13 of his fellow soldiers and wounded  dozens more. You mean you don’t want us to do what you did when that white  cop used force to subdue that black college professor in Massachusetts , who  was putting up a fight? You don’t mind offending the police calling them  stupid but you don’t want us to offend Muslim fanatics by calling them what  they are, terrorists.

One more thing. I  realize you never served in the military and never had to defend your country  with your life, but you’re the Commander-in-Chief now, son. Do your job. When  your battle-hardened field General asks you for 40,000 more troops to  complete the mission, give them to him. But if you’re not in this fight to  win, then get out. The life of one American soldier is not worth the best  political strategy you’re thinking of.

You could be our  greatest president because you face the greatest challenge ever presented to  any president.
You’re not going to  restore American greatness by bringing back our bloated economy. That’s not  our greatest threat. Losing the heart and soul of who we are as Americans is  our big fight now.
And I sure as hell don’t  want to think my president is the enemy in this final battle…

Sincerely,
Harold B. Estes

As we Silver Surfers know, sometimes we have trouble with our computers.

I had a problem yesterday, so I called Sean, the 11 year old next door, whose bedroom looks like Mission Control and asked him to come over. Sean clicked a couple of buttons and solved the problem. As he was walking away, I called after him, ‘So, what was wrong ? He replied, ‘It was an ID ten T error.’

I didn’t want to appear stupid, but nonetheless inquired,

‘An, ID ten T error ? What’s that? In case I need to fix it again.’

Sean grinned ….’Haven’t you ever heard of an ID ten T error before ?

‘No,’ I replied.

‘Write it down,’ he said, ‘and I think you’ll figure it out.’
So I wrote down:

ID10T

I used to like Sean, the little sh**