How Dare You Try To Prevent Disaster!

Sit up straight and pay attention to this one. It could be hard to follow but there is wisdom in here somewhere...Humorous Wisdom.
Words recently spoken in our 9% Approval Rated Congress...
“All members of Congress have conferred with me about this statement I am about to make. Yes that is right. All members are in full agreement about the imminent danger we are facing regarding the operation of our Post Offices across this great nation. We are demanding action!
Our Post Office has been floundering around and losing money for so long that is unconscionable that no action has been proposed by our Postmaster General to rectify this awful situation.
Without a specific and detailed plan to save the Post Office, the very fabric of life in the Good Ole USofA will be forever changed for the worst.”

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Heeding the serious prompting from our 9% Approval Rated Congress, our Postmaster General issued a specific and detailed plan to save the Post Office that same day.

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Words spoken the very next day in our 9% Approval Rated Congress in response to the Postmaster General’s specific and detailed plan to save the Post Office...
“All members of Congress have conferred with me about this statement I am about to make. Yes that is right. All members are in a state of shock that the Postmaster General has proposed a plan of action to save the Post Office.
What the heck is going on here? Does the Postmaster General really think our directive to take action to save the Post Office actually mean that we expected him to take action to save the Post Office?
This is extraordinary! What the heck is air for if it is not for members of Congress to poke holes into without having to worry about anyone taking us seriously?
If people in this country start paying attention to what we say, we stand ready to close all sessions of Congress and not let the folks back home know anything about what goes on in these hallowed chambers.
If we are going to be paid attention to, it will put a lot of pressure on us and actually take all the fun out of being a member of congress.”

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All right, I made up the two congressional speeches above...Or did I?

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If you have not had enough of reading about our Post Office and Congress, you can click on the link below and read the article that inspired me to write this Foolishness...Or Is It?.
http://news.yahoo.com/postal-loses-3-2b-2nd-161550610.html

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Before I let you go, a couple more comments from The Smartfella:
In this single article you will find two statements that, to my way of thinking (there I go thinking again), are in complete contradiction...
“The Senate last month passed a bill that would give the agency an $11 billion cash infusion...”

and

“The Postal Service, an independent agency of government, does not receive tax money for its operations...”
They must think we are stupid.
Oops, it just dawned on me that these two contradictory statements make perfect sense. It is not Tax Money. It is China’s Money.
Would I kid u?

After All We Have Done For Afghanistan, They Turn Around And Do This To Us! This Is awful!

I see where our president and the president of Afghanistan have signed the Strategic Afghan Pact. I am not one to be too critical but on this occasion I have a deep seated need to express myself.
There is language in the Pact that I feel the Afghans have no right to demand of the Good Ole USofA!...

Assurance that more will be done to combat corruption.

This is unconscionable! After all we have done for this country are they really taking the position that they will not take our money until and unless we get rid of corruption in the United States? This is one tall order!
We had every intention of going to an awful lot of trouble to borrow the money to give to them. If we have to get rid of corruption before they will take our money, I feel certain that there are some hotheads in our Congress who are going to strike back and go looking for other countries to borrow money for or they will just go straight to Happy Hour and ForgetAboutIt!
Would I kid u?

Some Are Going To Accuse Me Of Making This One Up

If you are the owner of a Guinness Book of World Records, please do not tell me. I would hate to think that a reader of my Foolishness...Or Is It blog could be silly enough to buy one of these foolish books.
I have really done it this time. I have insulted a whole bunch of people. Please allow me to put some weight behind my disparaging remarks...

Unwanted Cranial Ammunition Acquisition

There you have it. This is my opening salvo. Did I hear you just say you don’t know what the heck I am talking about?
I admit I did not handle that very well. Here is more information to support my position...

• Unwanted Cranial Ammunition Acquisition is a Record Category in the Guinness Book of World Records.
• This category is set up for the person (could there possibly be more than one?) who has a bullet embedded in his head that was not put there by the person with the bullet embedded in his head.

The news article that got me started on this was published in my local newspaper on April 27, 2012. The article sadly tells us about the record holder dying at the age of 103 on April 23^rd. His specific record was that he had been living with a bullet in his head longer than any other living bulleted person.
What exactly was his record? He was accidentally shot by his older brother in 1917. His record accumulation stopped on April 23^rd at 94 years and 6 months.
The saddest part of all this is the bulleted record holder did not learn he had been crowned the world record holder in the Unwanted Cranial Ammunition Acquisition category until 2006. That means he had only 6 years of being pleased as punch that he was such a special person.
What do you want to bet that this is not the only Foolish Category in the Guinness Book of World Records? That’s why I see this book as silly.
There is one category that I would be so interested in seeing that I might be willing to buy a book myself...

Wanted Cranial Ammunition Acquisition

Those who were willing to shoot themselves in their heads just so they would have a shot at being in the Guinness Book of World Records must be an interesting bunch of people to read about.
Many of you probably think I made up the category of Wanted Cranial Ammunition Acquisition. I think it is safe to say that some of those many are absolutely certain that I made up this category...Or are they?
Would I kid u?

Prioritizing Nonsense

Before I get into the meat of this bit of Foolishness allow me to sidetrack myself...
I just read where there are several cities that have been reported as so cash strapped that they may not be able to pay for the upcoming Presidential Election. In case you have never thought about it, think about it, it takes money to set up the apparatus for voters to be able to vote in any election.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/25/us-usa-campaign-elections-idUSBRE83O0YN20120425
It is no surprise that the Once Great City of Detroit is one of those cities. Having lived in the Detroit Area twice, it makes me sad to realize that “Once Great City” is going to be in front of the word “Detroit” for the foreseeable future.
Message from the Smartfella to the Once Great City of Detroit...I know where you can get at least $50,000 to pay for your presidential election.

Above is the sidetrack and below is the meat.

Recently a single issue of my local newspaper had two separate articles that my keen and observant eye noticed were related to each other.
They were both about the Once Great City of Detroit...
First Article: Detroit currently faces a $200 Million deficit and a $13.2 Billion long-term structural debt.
These are some serious numbers. This situation ought to make any city look very closely at any expenditure of money.
This is reality. How does Detroit deal with reality? The answer is Detroit attacks reality with Nonsense!
Second Article: The good people of Detroit have set aside $50,000 to erect a statue of RoboCop. (What do you want to bet it will cost a lot more than $50,000 before it is done?)
Is this what a city in dire straits ought to be spending its money on? ...

A statue to a Fictional Crime-Fighting Cyborg?

The movie was described in the article as, “A 1980s movie set in a futuristic and crime ridden Detroit”.
Dear reader, we have seen the future and the future is now but RoboCop can’t help because, no matter how much he costs, he can’t get off his pedestal and go around fixing things.
The people of the Once Great City of Detroit ought to know this.
Would I kid u?
NOTE: Don’t blame me… BlogSpot (Google) is responsible for those ads at the bottom of my Foolishness.

If George Zimmerman Can’t ... Does That Mean I Can?

I see were the Conditions of Release for George Zimmerman are...

• He can’t have any Guns.
• He can’t drink Alcohol.
• He can’t use Illegal Drugs.

I’m sure you see my question. If he has to be specifically told that he can’t use Illegal Drugs, does that mean that under normal circumstances he could use illegal drugs? Carrying this to its logical Foolish conclusion, does that mean it OK for me to use Illegal Drugs?
I have been released for a long time now.
Heck, they have probably forgotten I am out here.
Would I kid u?

United Nations Observers

My newspaper tells me that our intrepid United Nations has sent 300 U.N. Observers to Syria. I have a question. What are they there to observe?

For more than a year now the ruler of Syria has had his Security Forces shooting his unhappy people. They may have once been happy people but being shot and killed tends to make most people unhappy.

A truce has been in effect for many days but the shooting seems to be continuing. I wonder if a person who is shot and killed during a truce is less dead than a person who is shot and killed before the truce was declared.

The Smartfella does not want to be too critical but I think the U.N. is guilty of not being explicit enough about what their observers are supposed to observe.

Syrian Security Forces General’s announcement to his troops:

It appears that the United Nations is interested in observing how we kill our minions. Three hundred U.N. Observers have started arriving in Syria. Go get ‘em boys! Show them how good we are at doing what we are trained to do.

Strother Martin told Paul Newman in 1967 in Cool Hand Luke, "What we've got here is failure to communicate".

The U.N. should have explained that the observers are there to observe people standing upright and not to observe them falling down dead.

Want to read more of my nonsense about Syria? Click below to read what I blogged on January 19, 2012...

http://forii.blogspot.com/2012/01/its-got-to-be-worst-than-you-think.html

Would I kid u?

Getting To Full Employment Quickly

Please note the Gadget on the left called “Share it”. If you are entertained by this Foolishness (or one in the future), use “Share it” to tell your friends or enemies about it on Facebook or Twitter.

Chapel Hill, NC has come up with a plan of action that could get everyone in this country employed in no time at all.

They are banning all electronic device usage while driving. This means no texting and no cell phone use. When they say No Cell Phones they mean No Cell Phones. This includes all Hands-Free cell phones.

The Smartfella thinks the No Hands-Free aspect of this law is going to be tricky to enforce. How will a ticket-at-the-ready officer be able to tell if driver is talking through his car (like me) or with one of those little earpieces? I see only one possible way to make this enforcement policy work...

A bureaucrat is going to have to be stationed in every car in Chapel Hill to make sure that there is no Hands-Free Tomfoolery going on inside moving cars.

Expand this Bureaucratic Stationing nationwide and, there you have it, Full Employment!

Heck, our 9% approval rating Congress just might have to institute a Bureaucrat Guest Worker Importation Program.

Would I kid u?

We Have A Great Product But It Has One Little Problem

My newspaper is talking to me again.

This time it told me about a Solar Panel Company that was worth $20 Billion in 2008 but, as of last week, it is only worth $2 Billion.

It has had several setbacks recently, not the least of which has to do with the company’s need to make higher warranty provisions because its solar modules may suffer “increased failure rates in hot climates”.

Silly me, I thought solar panels were supposed to be specifically designed to be installed where there was a lot of sun and a lot of heat.

Many of you know that in the real world I enjoyed a very successful mediocre automotive career. I once knew all about cars. I can tell you for certain that the Chief Design Engineer who came to the Chairman of the Board with the following statement would not have been The Chief much longer...

Sir, I can assure you that this revolutionary vehicle we have developed will get 257 miles per gallon. The only problem is it shuts down when it gets in the vicinity of asphalt.

Would I kid u?

Another Federal Law Is Needed

At an Eagles Club in the St. Louis area during the first two months of 2011  a man sold 50 baby alligators. The people who took the cute little critters home bought them because they were cute little critters. Now the alligators have come home to roost.

These former cute critters are now monsters and the owners seem to be mystified as to how this could have happened. Many say they are shocked that alligators have grown so large.

One unsuspecting owner almost had his hand bitten off. Some alligators have escaped or been released into the “wild” (the neighborhood). Neighbors are worried about letting their children go out of their houses to play.

Some residents are organizing gator hunts while others are organizing against the gator hunts and saying, you guessed it, “Gators are people too!”

As usual, the Smartfella has a remedy to prevent such future consternation. As the Subject of this blog posting says, Another Federal Law Is Needed...

In order to protect human limbs, small children, grown adults and (most of all) household pets, all Americans are hereby required to watch Nature Television Shows about alligators. The producers of these shows are also required to give particular emphasis to the fact that alligators have been known to grow in size and can become very large.

That oughta do it.

Would I kid u?

Stupid Sayers Say Stupid Things

Below is a quote from Yahoo News. As you read it you will note that I falsified the name of the high-level security person who said something stupid enough to inspire this Foolishness...Or Is It?.

It is not that I am trying to protect him. I am actually trying to protect myself from being sued by him.

Here is how I could be sued...

• Someone who is supposed to be smart says something stupid.
• An observant person like me takes note that what was said was stupid and puts it in his blog.
• The Stupid Sayer brings a lawsuit contending that I reported to everyone reading my blog (on good days that could be as many as 7 to 8 people) that I dared to report the details of his stupidity.
• He does not content that I falsified anything but attacks me for repeating very precisely the stupid things he actually said.
• I can just hear the stupid person’s attorney pointing his finger at me in court and saying, “Your Honor, that self-proclaimed Smartfella seated at that table accurately reported the stupid thing my ignorant client said”.

With the conclusion of the above bullet I have completed the Introductory Phase of this blog posting and I will now begin reporting the actual stupid words from Yahoo News...

Peter Fernerk, deputy assistant to the assistant national security adviser for critical security stuff said, the U.S. is "committed" to implementing the missile defense system, "which we've repeatedly said is not aimed at Russia”.

I would be disappointed in you, my dear reader, if you did not immediately catch on to the stupid part of this statement. Just in case, I will explicitly lay it out for you...

• The Offending Words are, “which we've repeatedly said is not aimed at Russia”.
• I did not know we “aimed” missile defenses at countries.
• I am smart enough to know that we do aim the missiles themselves at countries.
• Missiles are supposed to be aimed at people who would do us harm.

The only logical conclusion that can be drawn by the Russians from the above Offending Words is...

Russia can feel free to launch their missiles at us at any time they darn well please and we would be glad to receive them.

It is just those countries that we have our Missile Defense Shields aimed at that would make us mad.

If you think I am being foolish about what I have pecked out above, I have this to say to you... Thank you very much! I am glad I could be of service.

Would I kid u?

This Blog Posting Does Not Require Any Comment From Me

According to USA Today there are two statistics about the current $640,000,000 Mega Millions Jackpot that are very interesting...

• It would take the average American household 12,800 years to earn $640,000,000.
• It takes the U.S. Government 1 Hour and 29 Minutes to spend $640,000,000.

Would I kid u?

How Do They Know That?

My newspaper recently told me that there are 915 million ways to combine Six LEGO Blocks.

Such published reports beg many questions in my inquisitive mind...

• Why are such published reports published?
• Did some guy really sit down and rearrange these six blocks 915,000,000 times.
• Was a gun to his head while he was rearranging those six little blocks?
• Was he paid to do this?
• If he was paid, he must have been paid with tax-payer funds because no private enterprise would have bothered to do something this silly.
• How did it come out that there were exactly 915,000,000 ways?
• They must have rounded up or down.
• Should they be allowed to round up or down when we are dealing with such an important piece of information?
• Should the Congressional Subcommittee in charge of such things hold hearings and call witnesses (the block arranger and the guy holding the gun to the block arranger’s head)?
• Why is there a Congressional Subcommittee in charge of such things?

There are times when I think I may be running out of subject matter for any more Foolishness...Or Is Its? and then I open up my newspaper and I find myself covered up with Foolishness.

Would I kid u?

Proof That Many Of Us Are Nuts...Part 2

A few days ago I took jabs at American Sanity (or should that be American Insanity?).

Part 1 of this 2 part series discussed Ted Kaczynski’s Personal Belongings Auction. If that did not prove my point, I am ready to take another shot at it.

This craziness is not unique to the good ole USofA but knowing that there are other nuts in the box of candy somehow makes all the nuts feel better.

To set the stage, allow me to fill you in on one Pablo Escobar...

• Before he was killed in 1993 he was generally accepted as the world’s most notorious criminal.
• Little Pablo had gotten his criminal start stealing headstones from cemeteries, grinding them down and reselling them. (We all have to start somewhere.)
• During his life he blew up a civilian airliner.
• He had also bombed the Columbian government’s Security Ministry.
• He dabbled in politics by assassinating at least one presidential candidate.
• He waged an open war on the Columbian government that killed thousands, including dozens of judges and hundreds of policeman.
• He kidnapped a respected 38 year-old magazine publisher and shot her three times in the back during a commando raid that was trying to rescue her.

Does all of the above sound wild and crazy? Wild and crazy it was but what I am about to tell you is not only wild and crazy but also Bizarre...

Mr. Escobar Is Now A Tourist Attraction

Down in Columbia two companies are vying to run tourists through his life and death. It appears Business Is Booming. Here is the spiel used by one of the Tour Guides as he begins taking his tour group of mostly 20-something backpacking travelers through Pablo’s World...

“We’re going to bring you to the very places where he lived and died, and you will sit on the actual motorcycle Pablo road for his first-ever drug run.

I am sorry to tell you that many of the backpacking tourists mentioned above are from the Good Ole USofA.

This is Medellin’s hottest ticket with hundreds being sold each month. For $30 you can be taken on a 4-hour tour and see and experience the likes of the following...

• See his grave, of course.
• See the house where was shot to death by police.
• See and walk through his home in the hills where lived before his death.
• Meet his older brother.
• Don’t forget sitting on his motorcycle.

All of this is described as part of Columbia’s “rich, colorful history”.

Don’t be too hard on the Columbians for trying to make a Peso or two. In England they try and make a Pound or two too.

If you ever get to London, you can take the very popular tour of 20B Baker Street.

Those of us who have enjoyed reading Sherlock Holmes will remember that this is the address where the fictional detective would have lived if he had not been fictional.

Would I kid u?

A Win-Win Situation In The Middle East

May I recommend to you that you do not skim this posting? Please read it slowly and let what you are seeing sink in. This is serious stuff.

Here is what my newspaper has been telling me...

• Syria and Iraq: Terrorists once traveled from Syria into Iraq to kill people but now they travel from Iraq into Syria to kill people.
• Iran: The Baha’i leadership is in prison and there is no penalty in Iran for killing a Baha’i.
• Yemen: Two hundred soldiers died in an Al-Qaida attack. (Change the number killed and this bullet point could be repeated over and over.)
• Somalia: Christians are being systematically hunted down and killed.
• Pakistan: In 2009, after allegations that a Koran had been torn, a 1,000-strong mob with Taliban links rampaged through a Christian neighborhood in Punjab killing 7 people, 6 of whom, including 2 children, were burned alive. Pakistani police did not intervene.
• Afghanistan: Six United Kingdom soldiers were killed when an explosion destroyed the armored vehicle they were riding in. (Change the number killed and this bullet point could be repeated over and over.)
• Saudi Arabia: Three activists have been imprisoned for using un-Islamic terminology, such as democracy and human rights, when calling for a written constitution.
• Syria: Fourteen people were killed by two bombs outside a crowded restaurant. (Change the number killed and this bullet point could be repeated over and over.)
• Repression: Saudi Arabia represses Shiites, especially Ismailis.
• Repression: Iran represses Sunnis and Sufis.
• Repression Plus: In Egypt, Shia leaders have been imprisoned and tortured.
• Afghanistan: A Shia scholar and editor has been imprisoned for publishing un-Islamic articles that criticized stoning as a punishment for adultery.
• Saudi Arabia: A teacher was sentenced to 40 months in jail and 750 lashes for mocking religion after discussing the Bible in class and making pro-Jewish remarks.
• Pakistan: When a member of Pakistan’s Human Rights Commission, raised questions about Pakistan’s policies in Kashmir, he was charged with having blasphemed.
• Bangladesh: A man was imprisoned for hurting religious feelings by advocating peaceful relations with Israel.
• Iran: An Ayatollah was imprisoned for arguing that political leadership by clergy was contrary to Islam.
• Iran: A Cleric was imprisoned for publishing untruths and disturbing public minds after publishing writings which questioned the legal basis of Ayatollah Khomeini’s view of government.
• Iran: A sampling of other charges brought against Iranians include...
  Fighting against God.
  Dissension from religious dogma.
  Insulting Islam.
  Propagation of spiritual liberalism.
  Promoting pluralism.
  Creating anxiety in the minds of Iranian officials.

Some are pressing the West to negotiate with the Iranians. The Iranians believe that they have an obligation to kill all Jews. How does one negotiate with the mindset as laid out in all of the bullet points  above? Does it go something like this...

I can appreciate that you want all Jews dead but can’t we be a bit more reasonable about this? “All” is a Big Number. Are you open to another figure?

Compromise a good thing, don’t you think? How about killing 60%? Would that make you happy? Let me tell you this, 60% would be a great batting average in baseball.

What’s that you say? You are not real comfortable with only 60%? I tell you what. When you start getting close to 60%, we can meet again and revisit the final number.

Don’t be so firmly fixated about this “all” thing. After all, Rome wasn’t destroyed in a day.

Would I kid u?

This Could Be My Longest Blog Posting Yet ... But It Isn’t

Here is the scenario...

• North Korea is feverously working on its Nuclear Weapons Program.
• Other concerned countries (hereinafter called Six Party Negotiators) ask North Korea to stop feverously working on its nuclear weapons program.
• North Korea says, “No way, Jose” (in Korean).
• Six Party Negotiators tell North Korea, “We will give you tons and tons of food for your starving people, if you will stop feverously working on your nuclear weapons program”.
• North Korea says, “OK we will stop” (in Korean).
• Six Party Negotiators give tons and tons of food to North Korea for its starving people.
• Six Party Negotiators find out that North Korea is feverously working on its nuclear weapons program.
• Six Party Negotiators say to North Korea, “We had an agreement whereby you would stop feverously working on your nuclear weapons program”.
• North Korea smiles (in Korean) and says to the Six Party Negotiators, “What agreement?” (in Korean).

I just heard you say to yourself, “Self, this blog posting is not that long.” (I bet you are wondering how I know what you are saying to yourself.)

The Smartfella says it could have been a lot longer if the nine bullets above had been repeated over and over and over because these nine bullets have happened over and over and over.

We now have a new agreement with North Korea. The News Media is calling it a “Breakthrough”.

Let us all hope that the Umpteenth Time Is A Charm.

Would I kid you?

I Can’t Trick You … Or Can I?

Here I am again posting a Foolishness...Or Is It? about names. Please do read on because I have put a different spin on it this time.

Below is a list of ten Modern American Names. As a side note, I gather such names from the Police Reports or the Sports Pages of my local daily newspaper.

Attention Modern American Parent:

If you use these kinds of names, your offspring will either end up in jail or they will sign a multi-million dollar professional sports contract and they will buy you a house.

Those are the chances you take when you choose (or make up) such names.

Here are the ten names I promised. Five are from the Police Reports or from the Sports Pages and five I made up all by myself. Test your skills. Can you tell which ones are real Modern American Names and which ones are Smartfella Made Up Names? ...

Jadeveon or Brundae or Dunchein or Joylinda or Ke$ha or

Lupeleon or Manjit or Doruchia or Shekinna or Monnussia

Do not look at the answer until you have tried to figure them out on your own.

I tried to get the Jeopardy Thinking Tune for you to click on here but the download failed.

Just imagine Alex Trebek humming it to you for a bit and then look at the next paragraph to see which were real names and which ones I made up.

Was not easy was it? The answer is: Every other name, starting with the second name, are the five names I made up.

Go back up and look them over again. I would be willing to bet that you would have been willing to bet I had made up the one with the Dollar Sign in it.

I did not list my favorite name... Tai-ler. It is my favorite because I saw little Tai-ler’s mother interviewed on TV. The interviewer was having trouble with the little fellow’s name so he asked mama how to pronounce it. Mama seemed to get miffed at the interviewer’s ignorance and responded, “The dash is silent!”

Would I kid u?

The Polight (Part 2)

The word “Polight” is derived from a combination of “Politician” & “Light”.

Almost 4 years ago I posted the first Foolishness...Or Is It? about the Polight. Today I have revised it because of the current Presidential Election.

There ought to be a law requiring a red light be surgically implanted on the top of the head of any candidate running for President. The light would function as follow...

• If the candidate were speaking a lie, the light would turn on.
• If the candidate were making a proposal that was physically impossible to actually be implemented, the light would turn on. For Example: “My fellow Americans, today I am proposing that all B52’s that I send to drop nuclear bombs on anyone anywhere have a gear or a gadget or a doohickey installed that will allow the pilot to be able to stop forward flight and reverse direction within 25 feet, just in case I change my mind.”

Because of some politician's propensity to lie unceasingly or make statements on subjects about which they have no knowledge, the Polight would have to be rigged so that it would blink every 20 seconds. If this were not the case and the light stayed on all the time, voters might begin to think the Polight was broken. Then where would we be?

I can hear you out there saying to yourselves, that this is Foolishness. However, can you picture in your mind’s eye how wonderful it would be if only this Foolish device really existed?

Would I kid u?

Proof That Many Of Us Are Nuts...Part 1

I have commented in the past about our seemingly unquenchable thirst for anything Celebrity. Those attention grabbing magazine headlines in our Wal-Mart checkout lines make sure those magazines keep flying off the rack, into our shopping carts and right into our hearts... 

• A Celeb got fat or a Celeb got shinny.
• A certain Celeb has been seen with another certain Celeb.
• Celebs signing Divorce Papers at the same time that they sign their Marriage Licenses. This prevents them having to go back into court in case they have something important to do (like go skiing) when it comes time for the divorce.

I am always going to be fascinated by our society’s Celebrity Fascination. There is, however, a much more unsettling phenomenon of which I have started taking notice and that is Evil People Fascination.

Recently an auction was conducted to dispose of the personal belongings of Ted Kaczynski the infamous Unabomber. This awful person set off 16 explosions, killed 3 people and wounded 23 other people.

In total 58 items were sold for $232,246. Some of the items were...

• Personal Journals sold for $40,676
• His Typewriter sold for $22,003
• His Hooded Sweatshirt and Sunglasses (a set) sold for $20,025
• A Handwritten Copy of his Anti-Corporate Manifesto sold for $20,053
• Other items sold included Kaczynski's medical and mental health records, various articles of clothing, his academic records, his Michigan diploma, correspondence to and from family members and his bank and tax records.

I am at a loss to understand why would any one of us want to display ole Ted’s belongings on our fireplace mantel?

Smartfella Predicting the Future...

The person who bought his Flip-Flops is having them reproduced in China and in a few weeks they are going to start being sold in retail establishments all over this country.

If the Chinese can get these imitation Flip Flops to smell like his real Flip Flops smelled, this is going to be a really Big Seller.

And last, but not least, if they can get Kaczynski to sign his own death certificate after he dies, there is no telling how much that piece of paper will be worth.

Would I kid u?

Making News Neat & Tidy Is Hard Work

Have you ever noticed how often huge numbers reported by the News Media are exactly exact? It is not uncommon to see these kinds of numbers in news reports...

• It has been reported that attacks by security forces have killed 2,300 demonstrators.
• There have been 211,600 patients stricken with this dire debilitating abnormality in the last 3 years.
• Paying for this mortgage assistance program has cost the taxpayers $2,767,600,000 since it was approved by Congress 4 years ago.

The above exactly exact figures are strange enough but recent reports have brought to light unsettling information about how the News Media just might have complete control over the numbers they report in their stories.

It is even more baffling when there is More Than One Exactly Exact Number in a single story...

Since the uprising commenced 8 months ago, 17,600 demonstrators have been killed, 63,700 have been injured and 8,200 have been reported missing.

My sources tell me, speaking on the condition of anonymity because there is no way the anonymously speaking people can know what the heck they are talking about, the News Media keeps in constant contact with the people who are making the story the story and are actively involved in orchestrating Story Numerical Configurations.

Tweets are constantly going back and forth between the News Media and the Story People to make sure story numbers are Neat & Tidy. Below is a series of Tweets my Twit Interceptor captured involving a recent big time news story...

• Ok, we have reached a good stopping number for the Killings. Hold up on any more Killings for now.
• We are getting close to a good stopping point for an Injured number. Thanks for your attention to detail in making some of the protestors injured instead of making them dead.
• We are, however, quite a ways from an acceptable Missing People number. Could you please crank it up a bit regarding the quantity you are causing to go Missing? We are anxious to publish this story and your slow progress in this area is starting to annoy some of our staff.

Actually the Smartfella has a lot of admiration for our New Media regarding their efforts to keep the news Neat & Tidy. He has always been a very persnickety person. Neat & Tidy is a big part of who he is.

Would I kid u?

Don’t Take Me There!

I am more observant than most people. I see things other people don’t see. Sometimes I think it is a curse. Other times I think it is a wonderful thing. This time I think it just might save my life. If you heed what I am about to convey to you, it may save your life too.

EMT stands for “Emergency Medical Technicians”. Some think it means “Emergency Medical Transport”. Either one conveys to all of us the same thing. If you call 911, these emergency people are going to come in their emergency vehicle and haul you off to a hospital where you are supposedly going to be made all better.

That’s where my powers of observation kick in. Have you ever noticed how many times your newspaper story reads...

Patient was pronounced dead shortly after arrival in the hospital.

There is the problem! The hospitals are killing us!

As usual I have a solution...

Why not just take the patient to the nearest Starbucks and get him a cup of coffee?

I can read your mind. You are worried about the expense of all these cups of coffee. Worst yet you are expecting the usual expense explosion of such Well-Meaning Programs when patients start asking for Lattes or Cappuccinos.

Don’t worry about running out of Starbucks Bucks because our Federal Government has invented China.

Would I kid u?