A couple of weeks ago, the President made a speech saying that those in the opposition party who didn’t support the war in Iraq were in the party of “cut and run.” I don’t think the Commander-in-Chief gave much thought to the rationale that he was insulting the majority of the American people, because only a minority support his failed Iraq policy.
Yesterday the Chief Executive made the comment that the opposition party was celebrating prematurely their victory at the polls in two weeks.
Today, Donald Rumsfeld said that critics should “back off” in their insistence of a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. One could not be blamed for assuming that the white house was admitting the possibility of defeat the week after next in the mid-term elections.
I say that we shouldn’t jump to any conclusions about this election being over. You may recall in the 2004 presidential campaign, the incumbent went into the final weekend of the race trailing in the polls. However, then, as I believe he will do in the next week or so, the President pulled out his big gun. You may remember that he got a last minute stump speech from his top supporter Osama Bin Laden. I think that we are going to get to see on our televisions the less-than-handsome countenance of the world’s number one republican sometime soon. I think that Osama is going to tell us we are right for opposing the war and that we are right opposing President Bush’s policies. I think he will tell us that we are right in our opposition to the Republican incumbents in congress.
I think that worthless Saudi Arabian pile of feces will say something that will sway the election, just like he did in 2004. And when that happens, can you imagine how much our government will be indebted to that less-than-fresh-smelling camel jockey? And what will ol’ Osama want in return? Will he want more representation of the Taliban in the government of Afghanistan? Will he want us to recognize Mummar Al-Qadaffi as an ally?
Oh, wait. We have already given him both of those things. Whatever he wants, though, he knows that our current government will give it to him.
Maybe this time, though, we’ll have the guts and foresight to throw Osama, George and their kind out. You can call it the optimist in me, but sometimes you just have to hope for the best.
At least that is our hope here in Jimbo’s world.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Saturday, October 21, 2006
some people have all the luck
In one of the “Dirty Harry” movies, Clint Eastwood discharges his weapon a number of times during a confrontation with some bad guys and when the action climaxes, he finds himself face to face with one of the perpetrators. He is not sure of the number of unspent cartridges in his weapon, or even if there are any cartridges remaining. He explains the situation to the perpetrator and lets him know the odds of whether there may be a bullet in the gun. This would not be considered smart police work, but it had high entertainment value. Eastwood concludes his logical imperative by asking something like:
“Do you feel lucky, punk?”
Using the logic that criminals are, by nature, risk takers, the “Dirty Harry” series of movies should have ended at that moment with Eastwood dying on the floor. Fortunately that didn’t happen and we continued to be entertained, because, we’ll believe anything, if we want to believe it enough.
The punk didn’t feel lucky and Eastwood was lucky. But, what if your luck is running bad? That is the case of some old guy in Germany. It seems the old dude got hit by a meteorite. Here is the story.
IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE
Have you ever thought there was a black cloud over your head? Have you ever had a day when it was going bad for you? Well, cheer up. It could be worse. Your luck could go as bad as the guy in Germany. What are the odds?
Although the story doesn’t specifically say so, I am going to assume that this is not the only bad thing that happened to the guy. They say bad things come in threes. I’m guessing he was sitting there with a winning lottery ticket in his hand, thinking, “After all these years of playing the lottery, I finally won. With my luck, I’ll get struck by lightning.”
Then, he looks out the window and thinks he has gotten lucky because there is not a cloud in the sky.
“I guess I lucked out this time,” he says to himself in German.
About that time, our friend the meteorite pays his house a visit and as he surveys the damage, he sees the ashes of the lottery ticket on the floor. He says the following, in German:
“%&#$!”
Well, Jimbo, you are saying right now, you said bad luck comes in threes. That is only two.
Ah, yes, there is one more thing. Just imagine, if you would, trying to explain to your homeowners insurance company that your house was destroyed by a meteorite. Good luck collecting. That is number three.
I hope today brings you the best of luck.
At least, that’s our wish, here in Jimbo’s world.
“Do you feel lucky, punk?”
Using the logic that criminals are, by nature, risk takers, the “Dirty Harry” series of movies should have ended at that moment with Eastwood dying on the floor. Fortunately that didn’t happen and we continued to be entertained, because, we’ll believe anything, if we want to believe it enough.
The punk didn’t feel lucky and Eastwood was lucky. But, what if your luck is running bad? That is the case of some old guy in Germany. It seems the old dude got hit by a meteorite. Here is the story.
IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE
Have you ever thought there was a black cloud over your head? Have you ever had a day when it was going bad for you? Well, cheer up. It could be worse. Your luck could go as bad as the guy in Germany. What are the odds?
Although the story doesn’t specifically say so, I am going to assume that this is not the only bad thing that happened to the guy. They say bad things come in threes. I’m guessing he was sitting there with a winning lottery ticket in his hand, thinking, “After all these years of playing the lottery, I finally won. With my luck, I’ll get struck by lightning.”
Then, he looks out the window and thinks he has gotten lucky because there is not a cloud in the sky.
“I guess I lucked out this time,” he says to himself in German.
About that time, our friend the meteorite pays his house a visit and as he surveys the damage, he sees the ashes of the lottery ticket on the floor. He says the following, in German:
“%&#$!”
Well, Jimbo, you are saying right now, you said bad luck comes in threes. That is only two.
Ah, yes, there is one more thing. Just imagine, if you would, trying to explain to your homeowners insurance company that your house was destroyed by a meteorite. Good luck collecting. That is number three.
I hope today brings you the best of luck.
At least, that’s our wish, here in Jimbo’s world.
Friday, October 20, 2006
american stars and bars
I sat at an online poker table last night and many of the cities of the people around the table had very “American-sounding” names. I suggested out loud that while they may have been Europeans trying to convince everyone they were bad-asses from the US, trying to look defiant, I suspected that many of these players were actually Americans.
I argue that poker is an American game, and although some foreigners have gotten good at it, the true masters are from the good old USA. It takes something of an entrepreneurial spirit and mindset to master the game, and someday I hope to master it. The game is something Osama Bin Laden and his republican friends and supporters in congress will never understand. It is an American thing; so don’t ever expect Bush or Chaney to have a clue.
It is the same independent spirit that makes us do what they tell us we’re not supposed to do. It’s the same American mindset that made Bostonians throw British tea into the harbor two hundred and some odd years ago. When the government tries to take America away from us, you had better bet, that we’ll be telling them, “Hell no, you aren’t.”
And even when the chips are down and when it is time to cut and run, or stay and fight and make a bet on America, you can probably guess what will be the next words out of my mouth:
“I’m all in.”
And I won’t be the only one. No, not by a long shot.
At least, that is the wager here in Jimbo’s world.
I argue that poker is an American game, and although some foreigners have gotten good at it, the true masters are from the good old USA. It takes something of an entrepreneurial spirit and mindset to master the game, and someday I hope to master it. The game is something Osama Bin Laden and his republican friends and supporters in congress will never understand. It is an American thing; so don’t ever expect Bush or Chaney to have a clue.
It is the same independent spirit that makes us do what they tell us we’re not supposed to do. It’s the same American mindset that made Bostonians throw British tea into the harbor two hundred and some odd years ago. When the government tries to take America away from us, you had better bet, that we’ll be telling them, “Hell no, you aren’t.”
And even when the chips are down and when it is time to cut and run, or stay and fight and make a bet on America, you can probably guess what will be the next words out of my mouth:
“I’m all in.”
And I won’t be the only one. No, not by a long shot.
At least, that is the wager here in Jimbo’s world.
Monday, October 02, 2006
republicans gone wild
On Friday of last week, Bill Frist of Tennessee set into motion legislation to take away my privilege of being able to play Internet poker. Come Monday, he is in Afghanistan saying that the Taliban should be brought into the government of Afghanistan. He says we cannot win the war in Afghanistan militarily.
read the story here
I’m rubbing my eyes, hoping I’m going to wake up and this will all be a nightmare, but I’m afraid it’s true. First, the Bush administration and the Republican congress starts a war in Iraq to draw our attention away from their stealing every cent we have in our treasury. While they do it, they take their focus off the Taliban and Bin Laden and then the war in Afghanistan—which was virtually won—falls into the loss column. Then, they start telling everyone what a good friend Muammar Al-Qaddafi is and that he is our buddy and ally in the war on terrorism, disregarding that he was once the poster-boy for worldwide terrorism.
Several weeks ago, we marked the five-year anniversary of the blackest day in American history, and the President gave us that Alfred E. Newman, dork-ass expression, and the Krusty the Clown explanation.
“Don’t blame me! I didn’t do it!”
Now, as the story is breaking about one of their own coming on to teenaged boys, we are learning the Republican leadership was warned it was happening and chose to ignore it. Doesn’t it remind anyone of the same thing they did when they ignored warnings that 9/11 was about to happen?
So what do they do? They go over and suck up to the Taliban.
What’s next?
Will they make an effort to smooch the unpleasant derriere of Mr. Bin Laden? Will they ask the world’s number one Republican to send over some more of his minions to fly some more planes into some more buildings? “We’ve got lots of planes, Mr. Bin Laden, Sir. We have more tall buildings. Take us off the front page and put your own far less than handsome countenance there, instead of ours.”
It’s out of hand and something has to change. But, it’s been out of hand for a long time and nothing seems to be changing, except our government is getting bolder in their shenanigans. It’s like they think they can do anything they want and we’re not going to do anything about it.
And, they are probably right.
At least that’s the way it looks from here in Jimbo’s world.
read the story here
I’m rubbing my eyes, hoping I’m going to wake up and this will all be a nightmare, but I’m afraid it’s true. First, the Bush administration and the Republican congress starts a war in Iraq to draw our attention away from their stealing every cent we have in our treasury. While they do it, they take their focus off the Taliban and Bin Laden and then the war in Afghanistan—which was virtually won—falls into the loss column. Then, they start telling everyone what a good friend Muammar Al-Qaddafi is and that he is our buddy and ally in the war on terrorism, disregarding that he was once the poster-boy for worldwide terrorism.
Several weeks ago, we marked the five-year anniversary of the blackest day in American history, and the President gave us that Alfred E. Newman, dork-ass expression, and the Krusty the Clown explanation.
“Don’t blame me! I didn’t do it!”
Now, as the story is breaking about one of their own coming on to teenaged boys, we are learning the Republican leadership was warned it was happening and chose to ignore it. Doesn’t it remind anyone of the same thing they did when they ignored warnings that 9/11 was about to happen?
So what do they do? They go over and suck up to the Taliban.
What’s next?
Will they make an effort to smooch the unpleasant derriere of Mr. Bin Laden? Will they ask the world’s number one Republican to send over some more of his minions to fly some more planes into some more buildings? “We’ve got lots of planes, Mr. Bin Laden, Sir. We have more tall buildings. Take us off the front page and put your own far less than handsome countenance there, instead of ours.”
It’s out of hand and something has to change. But, it’s been out of hand for a long time and nothing seems to be changing, except our government is getting bolder in their shenanigans. It’s like they think they can do anything they want and we’re not going to do anything about it.
And, they are probably right.
At least that’s the way it looks from here in Jimbo’s world.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
congress is "all in" with a rag hand
Tennessee is sort of on my mind this morning. My father died fifteen years ago today. My father was born in Tennessee and my relatives from my father’s side came from Tennessee. My ex-wife’s mother came from Tennessee, as did Chris Moneymaker, who won the 2003 World Series of Poker. Moneymaker has generally been given credit for the online poker boom and the popularity of the rebirth of poker in the world and especially in the United States. Moneymaker won his way into the WSOP by means of an online satellite poker tournament. Bill Frist, also of Tennessee, was instrumental on Friday of this week, attaching legislation to ban online poker to a bill in congress to improve port security.
I have two opinions about the legislation. First, if there really are any terrorists who are not in the employ of the Bush administration—and I believe there are—they will continue to try to attack us, and congressional legislation to stop them by safeguarding our ports five years after it should have been done won’t be effective. Second, I will continue to play poker, as will most of the people currently doing it.
I took a new job a couple of months ago and I have been putting in some extra hours, so I haven’t been playing much poker lately. I haven’t won anything significant since before the WSOP in July. I was somehow lucky enough to be sought out by a headhunter who placed me with the top company in the world in our industry. I’ve been putting in a few extra hours at work so I can learn a very complex new business and so I can do my job better. Consequently, I haven’t been able to spend as much time playing poker online as I used to and I haven’t actually stared someone down across the felt, in person, in over fifteen months. You may have noted also that I haven’t had time to update my blogsite as often, lately.
We’ll get the job down to forty hours a week someday, just like we took the last job we had from a fifty-hour-a-week, uncontrolled catastrophe to a state of almost transcendental calm in less than a year. That is, unless this job continues to be as much fun, and we may want to find reasons to stay longer each day.
I can’t help but feel that once the Bush administration and the Republicans in congress drained all the money from the treasury and put it in their pockets and there was none left, they saw that money was changing hands on the poker tables and wanted to get a cut. These grafters make us long for the good old days when the conservatives were respectable men like Barry Goldwater and Dwight Eisenhower. These were men with whom we would disagree on the fringes, but we would not be concerned they would try to steal our wallet.
And, on this sunny and warm day, not all that different than the one fifteen years ago today, I can’t help but remember that my father believed that the President and Congress were all rascals. I’m beginning to think he was right.
At least that’s our take here in Jimbo’s world.
I have two opinions about the legislation. First, if there really are any terrorists who are not in the employ of the Bush administration—and I believe there are—they will continue to try to attack us, and congressional legislation to stop them by safeguarding our ports five years after it should have been done won’t be effective. Second, I will continue to play poker, as will most of the people currently doing it.
I took a new job a couple of months ago and I have been putting in some extra hours, so I haven’t been playing much poker lately. I haven’t won anything significant since before the WSOP in July. I was somehow lucky enough to be sought out by a headhunter who placed me with the top company in the world in our industry. I’ve been putting in a few extra hours at work so I can learn a very complex new business and so I can do my job better. Consequently, I haven’t been able to spend as much time playing poker online as I used to and I haven’t actually stared someone down across the felt, in person, in over fifteen months. You may have noted also that I haven’t had time to update my blogsite as often, lately.
We’ll get the job down to forty hours a week someday, just like we took the last job we had from a fifty-hour-a-week, uncontrolled catastrophe to a state of almost transcendental calm in less than a year. That is, unless this job continues to be as much fun, and we may want to find reasons to stay longer each day.
I can’t help but feel that once the Bush administration and the Republicans in congress drained all the money from the treasury and put it in their pockets and there was none left, they saw that money was changing hands on the poker tables and wanted to get a cut. These grafters make us long for the good old days when the conservatives were respectable men like Barry Goldwater and Dwight Eisenhower. These were men with whom we would disagree on the fringes, but we would not be concerned they would try to steal our wallet.
And, on this sunny and warm day, not all that different than the one fifteen years ago today, I can’t help but remember that my father believed that the President and Congress were all rascals. I’m beginning to think he was right.
At least that’s our take here in Jimbo’s world.
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