HESONER IS AT IT AGAIN

To be filed under: "I only know what I read in the newspapers." Seems "the city's plan" (read the Mayor) wants to install a 210 foot reflecting pool at our obscure International Balloon Park Museum. It would cost "about $2.5 million" and that would give us a pool, fountains, landscaping and park. No one seems to know where that guess came from. I think they call it an estimate. (When I was in the business, I always pointed out that an estimate was really a guess.) The chairman of the board of the museum complains that the museum looks like a building that was just "stuck there." He suggests it would make a great place for "weddings and 'other events'," too. He doesn't say what other events. Just other events. We know Hesoner is all for it. The first warning came from his office a few days before this article. He even said he approved of making it look better. Marty loves landscaping. While our schools still don't have enough rooms, teachers nor supplies. And many seniors go without household help in their golden years because they can no longer physically do the household chores. But I guess Marty feels looking good is better than helping someone . It seems to me that our brand new "museum" needs to take more time, use the money it has available and prove itself worthwhile from the admision fees it charges. If it can't make it from these methods, then let the "directors" come to the taxpayers and ask for their help. We have a tremendous number of minimum wage earners here who would undoubtedly be willing to pay to help out a rich man's facility.

BE CAREFUL ARNIE

A cat and a dog sharing closeness. A pleasant, smiley type picture. They seem to be pretty good buddies. They are among those who have lost, or never developed, mankind's sense of open warfare, shown in this kind of picture. I like it. But I like it because I have always been owned by cats and dogs. We three types of beings get along just fine. And we play and laugh together as though we all had the same forebears. We appreciate and recognize our differences. Hooray for wisdom.

Unfortunately, in politics one often finds him/herself in a quandry. We might share a belief in a certain candidate. Or a disbelief in a certain candidate. What's this got to do with Arnie? Well, Governator Schwarzenegger appears on the front page of our local newspaper The Albuquerque Journal. With him (both showing big smiles) is New Mexico's Governator Bill Richardson. Bill is joining the effort to support five Western state's Governors in a regional effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Boy, that sounds terrific to me. I am really all for that concept (I read Lives Per Gallon and it scared the heck out of me).

The problem I see here, however, is that my Governator is very, very good at getting money from Big Oil. You know, the people who tried to bribe the scientists to turn thumbs down on the facts of global warming. The people who make obscene profits everytime you buy a gallon of gas. The people who really don't want fuel efficient automobiles and trucks. Now, Governator Scwartzenegger is, and has been for a long time, a fighter for less pollution from our transportation methods. I applaud him for that. WTG Arnie!

On the other hand, Governator Richardson only got on this bandwagon when the scientists report came out. His campaign crew finally figured out that there are a number of conservationists in our state. Every vote counts and the more smoke one can blow, the more cloudy the real issues become. And from what I have seen, Bill is very good at blowing smoke. But not very good about solving local, state-wide problems. In my opinion, if a person is incapable of solving the difficulties in a small population state, how could that person be any good at solving the problems of 300,000,000+ people? (And that doesn't include our problems with the vast population of illegals, either.) I rather admire California's Governator and his constant, consistent efforts to make the people of California's life better. I have a problem with our Governator's lack of consistent efforts to make our lives better.

Bill, you have to do a lot better in order to get my clique's votes.

WHERE'S NEWTON TODAY?

"When television is good, nothing — not the theater, not the magazines or newspapers — nothing is better. "But when television is bad, nothing is worse. I invite you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there without a book, magazine, newspaper, profit-and-loss sheet or rating book to distract you — and keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that you will observe a vast wasteland." That quote is from a speech made by Newton Minow in 1961 (Jack Kennedy's time) talking about then television. He was head of the FCC and a man who was his own man. He made more than one remark about poor quality shows, had no patience with networks who violated rules for how much time could be used for advertising and refused to be waylaid by "artistic expression." More than one network trembled when he sent them a query about what was happening with their television programming. Our present FCC regulations apparently favor advertisers (no matter how inane their ads), enabling them to take almost as much time as the shows we want to watch. A devoutly Republican point of view. Is anyone in our Federal goverment even interested in this dumbing of the US? Does anyone care that the ugly (and offensive) logos the stations use, cover up and interfere with our enjoyment of the shows we like? Does anyone care about the obnoxious extra ads that run, while we are watching the show, covering the corners of our sets, distracing our attention? I guess the FCC really doesn't care about the viewers.

HILLARY CLINTON - WHY NOT?

I've kind of avoided giving my opinions about Senator Clinton. Maybe "ignored" is a better word. You see, I have a distinctly unpleasant recall about her. And her hubby. Here's a list of some of the things I remembered to thank him for: 1. Thank you for introducing us to Jennifer Flowers, Paula Jones, Monica Lewinsky, Dolly Kyle Browning, Kathleen Willey, and Juanita Broderick. Did I leave anyone out? 2. Thank you for teaching my 8-year-old about oral sex. I had really planned to wait until he was a little older to discuss it with him, but now he knows more about it than I did as a senior in college. 3. Thank you for showing us that sexual harassment in the work place (especially the White House) and on the job is OK, and all you have to know is what the meaning of "it" is. It really is great to know that certain sexual acts are not sex, and one person may have sex while the other one does not have sex. 4. Thank you for reintroducing the concept of impeachment to a new generation and demonstrating that the ridiculous plot of the movie "Wag the Dog" could be plausible after all. 5. Thanks for making Jimmy Carter look competent, Gerald Ford look graceful, Richard Nixon look honest, Lyndon Johnson look truthful, and John Kennedy look moral. 6. Thank you for the 73 House and Senate witnesses who have pled the 5th Amendment and 17 witnesses who have fled the country to avoid testifying about Democratic campaign fund raising. 7. Thank you, for the 19 charges, 8 convictions, and 4 imprisonment's from the Whitewater "mess" and the 55 criminal charges and 32 criminal convictions in the other "Clinton" scandals. 8. Thanks also for reducing our military by half, "gutting" much of our foreign policy, and flying all over the world on "vacations" carefully disguised as necessary trips. 9 Thank you, also, for "finding" millions of dollars (I really didn't need it in the first place, and I can't think of a more deserving group of recipients for my hard-earned tax dollars) for all of your globe-trotting. I understand you, the family and your cronies have logged in more time aboard Air Force One than any other administration. 10. Now that you've left the White House, thanks for the 140 pardons of convicted felons and indicted felons-in-exile. We will love to have them rejoin society. (Not to mention the scores you pardoned while Governor of Arkansas) 11. Thanks also for removing the White House silverware. I'm sure that Laura Bush didn't like the pattern anyway. Also, enjoy the housewarming gifts you've received from your "friends." 12. Thanks to you and your staff in the West Wing of the White House for vandalizing and destroying government property on the way out. I also appreciate removing all of that excess weight (China, silverware, linen, towels, ash trays, soap, pens, magnetic compass, flight manuals, etc.) from Air Force One. The weight savings means burning less fuel, thus less tax dollars spent on jet fuel. Thank you! 13. And finally, please ensure that Hillary enjoys the $8 million dollar advance for her "tell-all" book and you, Bill, the $10 million advance for your memoirs. Who says crime doesn't pay! 14. The last and most important point - thank you for forcing Israel to let Mohammed Atta go free. You may remember that terrorist pilot Mohammed Atta blew up a bus in Israel in 1986. The Israelis captured, tried and imprisoned him. As part of the Oslo agreement with the Palestinians in 1993, Israel had to agree to release so-called "political prisoners". However, the Israelis would not release any with blood on their hands. The American President at the time, Bill Clinton, and his Secretary of State, Warren Christopher, "insisted" that all prisoners be released. Thus Mohammed Atta was freed and eventually thanked the US by flying an airplane into Tower One of the World Trade Center. This was reported by many of the American TV networks at the time that the terrorists were first identified. It was censored in the US from all later reports. Why shouldn't Americans know the real truth? What a guy!! And finally, thank you for reminding me of the things to consider now that Hillary is running for president. Now, of all these memories the ones that have affected me most are the lies. I realize the tale about George Washington chopping down the cherry tree and refusing to lie to his Dad isn't true. I know that Franklin Roosevelt was less than truthful when he said the American bombers that made a raid on Tokyo in 1942 came from "Shangri La." And other manufactured lies that were designed so thinking people could see through them do not bother me. But my problem is primarily with Senator Clinton. She apparently doesn't get upset that her man is incapable of understanding that "oral sex" is sex. She doesn't seem to care that he lied, not only to the American people, but to her. Divorce cases, tort cases, sue happy Americans, fill the court rooms with problems that stem from lying. (Yes, I'm still waiting to see WMD's.) I'm waiting to hear her tell me that she is the most forgiving woman in America. Or perhaps that she sees nothing wrong with her beloved man lying to us all. Or maybe the truth. She certainly would know that a woman running for Senator and/or President, doesn't need the word "divorce" on her resume. The right wing Christians would not like that. Neither would the left wingers. So is it possible that knowing these things, she is hopeful that our memories are truly short? That the newer voters will not know what truly happened? No, Senator Hillary Clinton, you will not get my vote. And I am a registered Democrat.

A COUPLE OF GOODIES

http://WindowsSecrets.com This one will tell you how to upgrade (from XP) to Vista. If you really want to that. Cnet had an article in it saying (right out loud) that Microsoft could have simply issued an update for the few things Home Premium adds to XP usage. Oh, yes, they also tell you how to (legally) get Vista for free. Microsoft seems to have deliberately left this open. http://http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm A site with more downloads than I need. choose carefully. http://www.grisoft.com/doc/40/lng/ww The famous AV free software. Grisoft also has many other freebies on it. (I wonder why that's in red?) http://www.addictinggames.com/index.html I dig games on my 'puter. There's some fun ones here. And some toughies. The link warns you, though. http://www.freeslots.com/ Free slot machines. You can win, but you cannot lose. http://www.miniclip.com/games/en/ Lots of addicting games here. Where can get more free time? I guess free games will have to do.

HOW TO BE SAFE ON THE ROAD

It is time for us to protect ourselves on the highways and byways of our great land. Herewith the present day ultimate in vehicular safety. Note the four inch thick steel reinforcement on the side panels, the non-slip "tires", the recessed head lights, the ability to crawl over illegally parked vehicles, the extra width to give the driver control over sharp curves and the ultimate "move-it-or-lose-it" incentive of the side mount cannon. This vehicle is highly recommended for your teenagers and will suit Mom perfectly. Various colors are available at a slight additional cost. See your local armament dealer for this anti-terrorist beauty.