Something to think about

‎"We live in a magical, mystical and miraculous world! Become a believer in all that you can't see and open to the unlimited possibilities the universe holds for your future!" ~Bill Walsh  

Bob Hope

 Great lines from Bob Hope


ON TURNING 70 'I still chase women, but only  downhill'.

ON TURNING 80  'That's the time of your life when even your birthday suit needs pressing.'

ON TURNING 90 'You know you're getting old when the candles cost more than the cake.'

ON TURNING 100

'I don't feel old. In fact, I don't feel anything until noon. Then it's time for my nap.'

ON GIVING UP HIS EARLY CAREER, BOXING 'I ruined my hands in the ring. The referee kept stepping on them.'

ON NEVER WINNING AN OSCAR  'Welcome to the Academy Awards or, as it's called at my home, 'Passover'.

ON GOLF 'Golf is my profession. Show business is just to pay the green fees.'

ON PRESIDENTS 'I have performed for 12 presidents and entertained only six.'

ON WHY HE CHOSE SHOWBIZ FOR HIS CAREER 'When I was born, the doctor said to my mother,

Congratulations, you have an eight pound ham.

ON RECEIVING THE CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL 'I feel very humble, but I think I have the strength of character to fight it.'

ON HIS FAMILY'S EARLY POVERTY 'Four of us slept in the one bed. When it got cold, mother threw on another brother.'

ON HIS SIX BROTHERS  'That's how I learned to dance.  Waiting for the bathroom.'

ON HIS EARLY FAILURES 'I would not have had anything to eat if it wasn't for the =stuff the audience threw at me.'

ON GOING TO HEAVEN 'I've done benefits for ALL religions. I'd hate to blow the hereafter on a technicality.'

Give me a sense of humour;

Lord, give me the grace to see a joke, to get some humour out of life. Thanks to Douglas and Christopher for these memories

The Barbecue

Thanks to Scott for this one

It's the only type of cooking a "real" man will do and usually only on hot summer days. When a man volunteers to do such cooking, the following is what can usually be expected.

(1) The woman goes to the grocery store.

(2) The woman fixes the salad, vegetables, and dessert.

(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils, and takes it to the man, who is lounging beside the grill, probably having another beer.

(4) The man places the meat on the grill.

(5) The woman goes inside to set the table and check the vegetables.

(6) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is burning.

(7) The man takes the meat off the grill and hands it to the woman.

(8) The woman prepares the plates and brings them to the table.

(9) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.

(10) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed "her night off." And, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women.

Which Tire?

Another thanks to Marie for this

At Penn State University, there were four sophomores taking chemistry and all of them had an "A" so far. These four friends were so confident that, the weekend before finals, they decided to visit some friends and have a big party. They had a great time but, after all the hearty partying; they slept all day Sunday and didn't make it back to Penn State until early Monday morning.

Rather than taking the final then, they decided that after the final they would explain to their professor why they missed it. They said that they visited friends but on the way back they had a flat tire. As a result, they missed the final. The professor agreed they could make up the final the next day. The guys were excited and relieved. They studied that night for the exam.

The next day the professor placed them in separate rooms and gave them a test booklet. They quickly answered the first problem worth 5 points. Cool, they thought! Each one in separate rooms, thinking this was going to be easy.

Then they turned the page. On the second page was written....

For 95 points: Which tire? _________

Harper's Project of Destruction

A very interesting post by Dr. J.F Conway, University of Regina political sociologist and the author of Debts to Pay: The Future of Federalism in Quebec and The West: The History of a Region in Confederation.

Few understand the sheer enormity of what Harper is up to – the destruction of the welfare state, and ploughing and salting the political terrain upon which it stood so it will never sprout again. Those in their adulthood in the 1970s remember the promise and the hope. Those born since know only the long, gradual crushing of that hope and promise as the neoliberal wrecking crew began its work, defeating popular resistance battle after battle. With a majority Harper now intends to complete the destruction. Perhaps it is timely to remember what is being lost and how it was won.

Following the Great Depression and the carnage of the World War II, welfare capitalism made heady promises, and initially delivered on many of them. A greater share of the wealth produced by the combined efforts of capital and labour was diverted from capital to labour with gradual increases in real wages and the establishment of a universal “social wage.”

This social wage included:

1) Publicly funded, universal primary and secondary education 
2) Health care 
3) Family allowances 
4) Old age pensions
5) Unemployment insurance 
6) Social assistance for those in need, and growing investments in public infrastructure and cultural amenities.

A solemn social covenant was made based on the principle of universality. All citizens, even the wealthiest, received these benefits, even though for those with high incomes much of it would be taxed back due to progressive taxation. Nevertheless this principle of universality was important politically and symbolically, since all citizens received tangible evidence of their participation in sharing in the distribution of public goods. No one would ever again be hungry, homeless, denied needed health care, or refused access to quality education.

The rest of his post is here: http://www.operationmaple.com/fyi/harpers-project-of-destruction