We give them money and then we advertise their brand.....

I've been perplexed by this subject for many years but I think this is the first time I've actually written anything because in the long run people need to identify with something and in turn be identified with something or someone LARGER than themselves.

For the last few years plastic bags have been banned from the market and if you need a paper bag they charge you 10 cents.

Yesterday they started selling reusable plastic bags for 25 cents with a very large PAVILIONS name on the side.  I asked the clerk why they were selling plastic bags and he smugly answered, "because they are reusable."

REUSABLE PLASTIC BAGS??????
WITH A VERY LARGE PAVILIONS NAME ON THE SIDE
and
THEY CHARGE US (not all of us) 25 CENTS TO WALK AROUND ADVERTISING THEIR COMPANY.

If it takes a 100 years for regular plastic bags to disintegrate...how long will a reusable plastic bag last?

I somewhat understand if someone buys a jersey with their favorite players name on it.
I almost get the secondary market that seems to exist when Jordan introduces a new shoe.
I never got the idea of a logo of a manufacturer on a shirt.
I understand when someone buys a country club golf shirt when visiting a special golf course.

I will never ever understand why someone would pay 25 cents for a reusable plastic bag that actually names the store responsible for creating a such a monster product.


They actually know how stupid people can be and they thrive on that knowledge.

https://www.theoceancleanup.com/great-pacific-garbage-patch/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsJqMmuFWO4

THE MAGIC QUESTION
How many people that work for Albertsons, which owns Safeway, Vons and Pavilions have actually watched the video's of plastic islands in our oceans?

What year was it that companies learned they could charge a premium by placing their brands on the outside of their product so that people could advertise their companies for them?

I assume NIKE might have been an early benefactor of this type of behavior.  Maybe they appear to be a major player in the beginning because their advertising campaigns were unique.

I think back to when Converse and Keds were the only tennis shoe players and neither of them capitalized on BRAND AWARENESS....mainly because there were no other brands unless you include Buster Brown.

Again I understand if someone wears a name of someone they admire, whether it be in sports, politics or entertainment.  What I don't understand is the symbolism of wearing a product that advertises a company so that other people can see how much money one spends on said products.

Walking around with a Rolex and wearing a shirt that says I'm wearing a Rolex is probably the next step toward this epidemic BRAND nonsense....and also a very good way to be the victim of a robbery....which by the way, happens with high priced sneakers.

Of course I will admit that I've never been the demographic that all the advertising is aimed at and have only asked four people in my life for an autograph.

Bill Buckner looked at me and said...."get a life."

Tommy Lasorda told me to fuck off once and then years later signed a ball.

Angus Young of AC/DC signed my Panama golf hat and tried it on and asked how he looked. And Jerry West signed a golf cap that is totally illegible.

I was standing in a circle one time around Muhammad Ali while people were handing him money to sign, but I just stuck out my hand and said..."the pleasure you have given me, I just want to shake your hand"  He looked at me, smiled and said, "Thank you very much," and then went back to signing the bills without looking at anyone.

It seems that Ali never really took advantage of the Brand dealio and it's odd because he might be the most recognizable person in the world.

I might buy a bag from Pavilions if it said Ali is the Greatest....but it couldn't be a reusable plastic bag.

Sorry Champ but my celebrity adoration only goes so far. 

The brand thing could end up, like my friend Tom said, with people walking around looking like race car drivers.

It's well on it's way to that level of nonsense.

I know it sounds silly but if someone wants me to advertise their product I expect to be paid.

And that will only happen if my art becomes more important than me....and truthfully speaking when you get to a certain age as an artist you fully have to accept that IT might be all about
LATER.

Much much much much later.....

Then again sometimes life just turns on a dime....and everything goes a different direction.

Maybe those suits that run Albertsons will wake up tomorrow and decide to help clean up the plastic island in the middle of the oceans.

Sometimes MAYBE and IF really have no meaning.....and maybe if a monkey flew out of my ass I could be on the Jimmy Kimmel show.

Of course it would be much more effective if the monkey had on a pair of Nike's, a pair of Levi's and a Dodger cap.

Michael Timothy McAlevey

People on both sides of the issue

What I've seemed to notice lately is how both sides of the coin have altered when it comes to viewing the current President of the United States.

The people who did not support him and thought the entire process of him running for President was just a publicity stunt and that there is no way this country would allow him to be the leader of the free world....now think the entire situation has been a joke and that he is an embarrassment to the office and to the reputation of our country. In other words those who didn't like him..... NOW really don't like him.  

They didn't really know him before and now that they have learned about him, their disdain has quadrupled.

On the other hand....the people who supported him and believed that a wealthy celebrity businessman could be good for the country are now positive that they made the right choice and they can't wait to vote for him again.  Those people look at the economy and see the stock market doing well and think he's responsible and they completely ignore the numbers
under the Obama administration 
when the recovery was actually taking place.

When a recession happens like in 2008 the recovery time table is completely unknown and during Obama's term the recovery was steady and has continued through the first year and half of the Trump term.

THE RECOVERY WAS AND PROBABLY STILL IS TAKING PLACE. IT STARTED IN 2009....LONG BEFORE OUR CURRENT LEADER EVEN CONSIDERED APPLYING FOR HIS CURRENT JOB.

But the people who support him don't look at the big picture because if they did they would see how dangerous his EPA policies are and throw his ass out the door.

BOTH SIDES SEEM STRONGER THAN BEFORE

THE DIFFERENCE IN THE PREVIOUS ELECTION AND 2020 RESTS WITH THE PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T LIKE HILLARY CLINTON AND SELECTED THE OTHER CANDIDATE AS A PROTEST VOTE.

THOSE PEOPLE NOW ARE THE DIFFERENCE MAKERS.

My instinct tells me that a large percentage (30 to 40%) of those people will not vote for Trump again....and are sorry they did in 2016.

That 30 to 40 percent and the new registered voters should be enough to offset a second term for DJT.

Of course the opposition party will have to present a candidate that people know and trust will conduct business in a dignified and honorable fashion.

In my world that seems to be a regular Joe kind of guy.....in fact a regular Joe guy named Joe.  I'm not concerned about the age factor because within the last few years age has become a non-issue with me.  

Experience matters.

Of course getting older will always contribute to the increase of that type of awareness.

The UNITED STATES of AMERICA needs a Joe Biden type of personality to follow the Donald Trump type of personality.  

IT SIMPLY JUST MAKES SENSE.

I'm not certain if Joe wants to do it but since he's spent his entire life trying to make a political difference it seems that one last episode of doing the right thing is the right thing to do.

He might need some encouragement....like maybe a little push from Lizzy Warren when she promises to be his running mate.

Does anyone have his cell phone number?

Let's get the campaign rolling because if you haven't noticed the other guy is in full election swing mode.

GO JOE!

Michael Timothy McAlevey

Listen to the voice

 "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" is a song which was written by Roy Turk and Lou Handman in 1926.

(Wkipedia)
In April 1960, after Elvis Presley's two-year service in the United States Army, he recorded the song at the suggestion of managerColonel Tom Parker; "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" was Parker's wife, Marie Mott's, favorite song. Its release was delayed by RCA Victorexecutives, who thought the song did not fit Presley's new (and publicized) style. When "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" was released in November 1960 it was an immediate success in the U.S., toppingBillboard's Pop Singles chart and reaching number three on the R&B chart. A month after the song's release, it topped the UK Singles Chart. Presley's version was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1961 and upgraded to double platinum in 1992.

This is the original recording 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cS5aCozhcA

Listen to the talking portion of this song.  It was 1961 and his diction is so "unique.

I'm not sure unique is the best word to use 
but 
if you listen a few times
it's pretty easy to understand how he got the title



THE KING


As I introduce Elvis to my 14 month old granddaughter I realize that the voice is so compelling and then as she watches him she appears mesmerized....


The Celine Dion/Elvis Presley make believe video is a must see for anybody...especially for those younger folks who have not listened to The King.

https://www.littlethings.com/celine-dion-elvis-presley-if-i-can-dream/

The Voice could be his nickname.......

It turns out President "Biff" is a genius CONSTRUCTOR

I've finally come to the conclusion that if you can confuse EVERYBODY all the time 
then you probably can be considered a genius
IF
of course you have the resources
or
the power.

CCPS 
Building a completely camouflaged personality structure allows someone to actually do and say whatever they want, at anytime, because they have figured out the ultimate answer to what people will and will not pay attention to.

The constructor of said personality knows for certain that the more confused people are the less they pay attention to details.  That constructor also knows that the people who are confused will follow mindlessly because they think that the person creating the confusion must know what is going on.

Engage the people who are confused (Trump fans) 
with a strong media presence (Fox)which continually pontificates the benefits, however abstract or non-existent they are, of said constructor and crowds will form and signs will appear....and elections will be won.

The people who aren't confused and continue to view the past 18 months with disdain and anger and shock appear to be diminishing.

WE CAN'T LET THAT HAPPEN

The time to start campaigning is NOW because the CONSTRUCTOR is campaigning and has been since he registered his reelection papers the day after being inaugurated on Jan 20 2017.


Of course at the present time there doesn't seem to be an opposing personality who can verbalize, organize and realize the task at end.

THE TASK AT HAND IS TO MAKE SURE DONALD J. TRUMP, better known in the Mind Jazz world as President "Biff" DOESN'T GET A SECOND CHANCE to continue displaying his weird and completely self-centered driven personality.

Presently we are experiencing his attempt to fulfill promises from his unprecedented election campaign of 2016.

He vowed to pull out of the Iran treaty stating that it was the "worst deal ever made."

DOES ANYONE REALLY THINK IN 2016 THAT DONALD J. TRUMP READ THAT TREATY?

He made comments at the time that we "gave" Iran $150 BILLION to make that treaty a reality.

WE DIDN'T GIVE THEM ANYTHING.  WE RELEASED SOME OF THEIR MONEY THAT HAD BEEN FROZEN SINCE THE 1979 REVOLUTION.

The amount we released varies considerably....and it's very hard to get a definitive answer to that question....but it was and is their money.

This goes back to the ability of the CONSTRUCTOR to confuse and alter facts.   I read the other day that since he started running in 2016 the constructor has verbalized 3,000 incorrect statements.

3,000.

THE MAN IS A GENIUS

HE KNOWS PEOPLE DON'T REALLY PAY ATTENTION TO LIES
BECAUSE
HE
KNOWS
EVERYBODY 
LIES

You might like to refer to political exaggerations as not being lies
but
a rose is a rose
and
bullshit is bullshit
and
we have let the ultimate showbiz bullshitter determine the future of the United States of America.

Not only has he created international angst but his environmental policies are a legitimate treat to our health and the health of our children and their children.

THAT FACT DOES NOT SEEM TO SCARE ENOUGH PEOPLE

If North Korea follows through on their promise to stop construction of their Nuclear weapons then of course something positive has taken place.  I truly believe that China has a bigger hand in diffusing that situation but a victory is a victory. 

Our President doesn't seem to trust the United Nation's inspector's when it comes to Iran so why would he trust them in North Korea?

This last week we had the leaders of France,Germany and the UK ask "Biff" to reconsider his position and while there might be flaws in the treaty it is working as it was intended.

But when the CONSTRUCTOR says it's the worst deal ever..... then it must be true.

And the two countries that agree with him are Israel and Saudi Arabia...which happen to be Iran's sworn enemies, while at the same time receive the largest foreign aid packages from US.

THE MAN HAS LIED 
OVER
AND
OVER.......and over and over
and 
MILLIONS OF PEOPLE still believe him and follow him and like him 
and most of all  
TRUST HIM to make the decisions regarding
the best interests of the United States.

Which no matter what you might think
makes
him
a
freakin
genius.

Of course there have been other personalities in history that were considered 
geniuses 
until
they
weren't.

Unfortunately it usually took some time and very heavy tolls before those individuals were reclassified.

LET'S PRAY AND HOPE THAT HISTORY DOESN'T PUT OUR PRESENT SITUATION ON THE WRONG COLUMN OF WORLD EVENTS.

Michael Timothy McAlevey

1052

2018   April

1052

THE begins a story that never has been told

It is absolutely new and billions of years old

IT matters only to those who wonder why

And of course to those who wander in the sky

STUDY and learn about dark before light

And answers will appear that don’t appear right

BUT then it unfolds and quarks become larger than thought

And all the integers have been saved for not

WE now see NGC 1052 might not have dark matter at all

Which changes quantum theories and makes them very small

Experiments can only prove theories that math tells us are true

But without Hubble and his co-mirrored friends there is nothing we can do

NOW we can look into billions of years ago

And suddenly everything goes very very very slow

Without dark matter velocity is reduced

So maybe there is something else that keeps the universe juiced

AND thus the story of how we begin

Goes back to the period before time could end

And thus the story of how we begin

Starts with a number much less than ten

Maybe even a number below the number one

And when you stop and think about it

ZERO

Is

The

Ultimate

FUN

WE CAN SEE BILLION OF YEARS AGO

BUT WHAT WE SEE

DOESN’T MEAN WE KNOW

VISION TELLS US THERE WAS A HUGE EVENT

BUT

IT’S

HARD

TO

EXPLAIN

HOW

IT

CAME

AND

WENT

https://www.spacetelescope.org/videos/heic1806a/

Granddaughter can't get enough of Baby Beluga and

and of course.................

and I'm trying to get her into St. Vincent but 14 months might not be long enough....maybe 16 months.

I think she might be ready for The Sound of Music

Can't wait to introduce her to AC/DC

This is how I take my mind off of the White House and the EPA's attack on our water and air. 

I'm pretty sure America can withstand the Trump tornado....as long as it doesn't last too long.

Michael Timothy McAlevey

40 and forever...I'd like to introduce my son Sean if we met after 1994.

                    The birthdays never stop
                                     the memories never cease
                                                      the love never fades


                  
                Sean Maximilian McAlevey

I wish I had 25 more years of photos 

to

share

I post this every Earth Day....composed in 2004

There's a soul in the life of the land where we live

IT'S CLEAR

IT’S CLEAN

IT’S FRESH

AND IT’S OURS

IT DOESN’T CARE WHERE WE’VE COME FROM

IT DOESN’T ASK WHO WE ARE

JUST

DO WE LOVE

WHERE WE STAND

AT THIS TIME

WE CAN DRINK ALL THE WATER

AND MINE ALL THE COAL

BUT WHEN WE MIX THE TWO TOGETHER

IT TROUBLES HER SOUL

WE CAN TEST ALL THE BOMBS

AND DESTROY EVERY LAST TREE

AND THE ONLY THING IT REALLY DOES

IS ELIMINATE YOU AND ME

THE HARM THAT WE BRING

DOESN’T BOTHER THE LAND

WE ONLY HURT OURSELVES

BY FAILING TO UNDERSTAND

THAT THERE’S A SOUL IN THE LIFE OF THE LAND WHERE WE LIVE

IT’S CLEAR

IT’S CLEAN

IT’S FRESH

AND IT’S OURS

IT DOESN’T CARE WHERE WE’VE COME FROM

IT DOESN’T ASK WHO WE ARE

JUST

DO WE LOVE

WHERE WE STAND

AT THIS TIME

WE ARE GIVEN ALL THE TREASURES

THAT ANYONE COULD USE

BUT IF WE DON’T HAVE VISION

THEN ALL WE DO IS LOSE

WE DUMP OUR PROBLEMS

IN EVERY OCEAN, RIVER AND STREAM

WE LIVE BY A CODE OF COMSUMPTION

THAT DARKENS EVERY DREAM

WE THINK THAT OIL IS OUR GOLD

BECAUSE IT MOVES MACHINES AND MAN

AND ALL IT REALLY DOES

IS REMOVE THE SPRINGS OF LAND

WE NEED THAT SPECIAL CRUDE

BECAUSE WE’VE IGNORED OTHER WAYS

AND ALL WE’VE ENDED UP WITH

IS COUGHING THROUGH A HAZE

OUR CHILDREN’S CHILDREN

WILL REALLY PAY THE PRICE

AND JUST THAT THOUGHT ALONE

DOESN’T MAKE US VERY NICE

AND WHEN THE DUST HAS FINALLY SETTLED

AND ALL THE BILLS HAVE BEEN PAID

IT IS ONLY THE SIMPLE FACT

THAT’S THERE’S ONE MISTAKE WE’VE MADE

WE THOUGHT WE CONTROLLED THE EARTH

BY DOMINATING THE LAND

AND IT SIMPLY COMES DOWN TO ONE THING

THAT WE JUST DIDN’T UNDERSTAND

THAT THERE’S A SOUL IN THE LIFE OF THE LAND WHERE WE LIVE

IT’S CLEAR

IT’S CLEAN

IT’S FRESH

AND IT’S OURS

IT DOESN’T CARE WHERE WE COME FROM

IT DOESN’T ASK WHO WE ARE

JUST

DO WE LOVE

WHERE WE STAND

AT THIS TIME

Have a nice Earth Day

An attack on America?

In my narrow hallway of reasoning and deductive abilities I have come to the conclusion that President Biff's latest statement might be his
STUPIDEST STATEMENT
EVER.

The FBI raiding his personal lawyer's office resulted in 
DONALD J. TRUMP  (President Biff in my world) saying the following words.

"THIS ACTION IS AN ATTACK ON AMERICA"

I sincerely hope he does fire Robert S. Mueller 111 because
then it would be the beginning of the end for the Trump administration.

But getting back to his most stupid statement ever.....all this statement does is verify how large and misdirected his ego is. And of course we all realize that having a large ego is fundamentally important when one decides to enter the world of politics.  But that entry level political ego development usually begins shortly after college or law school not at the age of 68.  Then combine that with the ego enhancement from having hosted a successful TV show for numerous years after building a financial real estate empire and it's easy to see how the guy thinks he can do and say anything anytime he wants.

The President of the United States must possess a quality known as decorum.

The guy sitting in the oval office at 1600 Pennsylvanian Ave has NONE.
and by the way, the Webster definition of decorum
......propriety and good taste in behavior, speech, etc.

I will repeat myself......the guy has NONE.
ZIP
NADA

And if you believe that decorum can be camouflaged by gold chairs and gold coffee mugs, long red ties and dyed artificial hair then you might have voted for the asshole.

I mainly refer to him as an asshole because of what he has done to the EPA. The environmental issues that are being targeted by the Trump administration and his lackey, Scott Pruitt, are the main issues that will greatly affect my granddaughter and your grandchildren.

Of course his isolationist and trade war mentality might be putting US all in immediate danger but I have faith in the political system and fully believe that even Republicans know when to bite the bullet and flush the problem before it leads to mass chaos.

An attack on America?  
Technology has introduced new methods for attacking anyone at anytime and we have seen that form of attack happen in overt and subtle ways over the last few years.

THE FBI using a legal search warrant to secure documents ON ANYONE is not an attack on America

IT IS A GESTURE THAT SHOWS
AMERICA
WORKING
CORRECTLY

IF NOTHING IS FOUND THAT IMPLICATES ILLEGAL BEHAVIOR 
THEN THE FBI HAS SOME SPLAINING TO DO.   

BUT EVEN THEN 
THAT EXPLANATION WILL PROBABLY 
JUST 
BE 
AN
APOLOGY
but remember
A search warrant being issued 
generally doesn't bode well for the target.

An attack on America?

Please PRESIDENT "BIFF"
stop pretending this is your personal TV show and let me use your exact words.....

YOU ARE FIRED!

Michael Timothy McAlevey

The trade wars and "Biffs" behavior and something much more important

I don't really care what a celebrity does because it generally never affects my life....but when a celebrity starts making decisions that directly affects millions of people's lives then it's time to draw the line.

Let's first look at the facts regarding President "Biff" and his ladies.

That infamous video tape, released before the election, with Billy Bush, let everyone know who HE was and yet it was completely ignored by millions of voters. 

Getting upset with women who signed waivers not to talk but now are deciding to talk is really not an issue.  
But I do think that they should return the money.

The main issue here is that celebrities can get away with many things that a non-celebrity can't.

So we watch questionable behavior and read about irresponsible actions and then gossip about how crazy celebrities are.....and then we turn the page and get back to our lives.
BUT WHEN A CELEBRITY 
BECOMES PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
ALARMS
MUST
BE
SOUNDED

THIS PRETEND PRESIDENTIAL SITUATION HAS GOTTEN OUT OF CONTROL

THE NON-EXISTENT STABILITY ISSUE REGARDING THE ADMINISTRATION HAS GOTTEN 
OUT OF CONTROL

THE ENTIRE 14 MONTHS SINCE DONALD J. TRUMP HAS BEEN IN THE WHITE HOUSE
HAS
BEEN
A
JOKE
and
IT'S NO LONGER
FUNNY

When you stop and think about his slogan "Make America Great Again" and suddenly realize that he could actually reverse our position and make us less than we were when he started this ridiculous exercise in ego gratification.

HE IS AN EMBARRASSMENT and that truth reflects on the America people and our Great country.
(why people let him downgrade America with that stupid campaign slogan always baffled me)

The trade war, which officially gets underway this week, will only affect the average middle and lower class consumer.

IT DOESN'T TAKE A GENIUS TO UNDERSTAND THAT COMPANIES AFFECTED BY TARIFFS SIMPLY PASS THE INCREASE ON TO THE CONSUMER.

IT ALSO DOESN'T TAKE A GENIUS TO REALIZE THAT THE UPPER MIDDLE CLASS AND WEALTHY PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY COULDN'T REALLY CARE LESS IF PRICES INCREASE.

And then this entire Russian investigation just raises more questions then the average person can handle...and generally it gets overlooked.

There's no way that the present clown in the White House can survive one term.

My only real concern is that he doesn't take the rest of us down with him.

I still can't get over the fact that Donald J. Trump has somehow made George W. Bush look like Albert Einstein.

VERY VERY WEIRD!

BUT...and it's a big BUT.....

TOMORROW March 29th 
is the beginning
of
the
2018
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SEASON
and after the great season the Dodgers had last year
(only one team had a perfect season)
It's very exciting to see if they can either repeat 
or take it one step further.

Getting to the World Series is the goal of every team in the spring.
Winning the World Series is a huge bonus 
and while everyone thinks 
Houston is the team to beat 
one must always remember that it is very hard to repeat in baseball.  
Probably the hardest of all the team sports, because so many things
can affect a season..... 
and 162 games is a very l   o   n   g season. 
One key injury can derail a team.  
Two injuries to key players and it's wait til next year.

Politics doesn't seem to have that problem.  Multiple injuries take place and replacements just simply appear and take over and then more injuries and more replacements and the beat goes on.

I feel sorry for those people who don't have a favorite team to root for......it truly takes ones mind off the bullshit game that politics has become.  

Some might say it's always been a bullshit game but I think the bar has been set at a new low.
But of course that's just me
you see.

GO DODGERS
( By the way, the D on the hats just doesn't work like LA)

Michael T. McAlevey

Sometimes you just need to be reminded

I'm not ignoring the guy.....it's just that I'm bored with the chaos......

It's been awhile since I pounded on the "Biff" Presidency and it's not from lack of wanting but instead I've come to realize the repeated chaos from the current administration, to put it mildly, is ......simply boring.

Everyday there's an issue of some sort that just makes me think we (i'm pretty sure you understand the we that we are) don't need to interject any outside contrarian opinion or influence because the guy just does it to himself....over and over and over and over.

As he tries to turn back the clock and recreate industries that have no chance competing with low wage countries it becomes  very clear on one, and of course there are many, of the main differences between this administration and the previous administration......

For eight years we had a President who was telling people that the creation of new jobs would come from new sources and that the future would look different than the industrialized America that was constructed after WW 2, and that people would have to adapt and change.  People who worked with their hands would have to learn how to use computers. The previous guy stressed the fact that jobs would be created in a wide range of Eco-friendly industries and technology and that the sooner workers got on board the better off they would be.

The new guy wants everything to be the way it was in 1952.   As an example The United States was the world leader in steel, auto and furniture manufacturing and great cities were built around those industries and a powerful and vibrant middle class was formed and prospered for 30 years, with hardly any competition except for the Japanese and their well built automobiles in the early 70's.  

Then countries without middle classes and possessing huge body counts realized that America loves to do one thing.......SHOP.   And of course when one loves to shop one loves to get the best deal and getting the best deal means being able to save money.

How in the world can the American steel industry complete?  Even if they retooled every steel plant in the country the wage barrier alone would never allow for the best deal.  And if the retooling were done properly then automation would virtually eliminate any need for human hands.

In order for the United States to compete with the wages of China, Viet-Nam, and India salaries would have to be reduced by 75%.

THAT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.  

Reducing salaries by 20% is not going to happen.

Our Middle Class consumer is the backbone of our country.  There will always be a certain amount of people who shop at Nordstrom's but compare the numbers to Costco and Wal-Mart and you see the reality.

It's nationalism versus globalization and without another World War there's no going backwards.

WE ARE THE INNOVATORS AND WE MUST ACCEPT THE FACT THAT OTHER COUNTRIES CAN BUILD BASIC GOODS CHEAPER THAN US.

LET THEM USE THEIR WORK FORCE AND CREATE THE PRODUCTS WE DESIGN.

WE WILL THEN BUY IT AND USE IT AND BUY SOME MORE.

BUT THAT CAN'T WORK IF WE DON'T FIGURE OUT NEW WAYS TO CREATE REVENUE FOR OUR MIDDLE CLASS.

AND 
WE CAN'T LET THE WEAPONS INDUSTRY EXPAND TO A POINT WHERE THE GOODS THEY MAKE ALL HAVE TO BE USED...... SO THEY CAN MAKE MORE.

RENEWABLE ENERGY
ECOLOGICAL AWARENESS 
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
SUPERIOR ENTERTAINMENT
UNEQUALED SERVICE

These are just a few of the avenues we can dominate but with our current leadership there appears to be no interest 
other than
expanding Twitter, trying to invent Clean Coal 
      using up fossil fuels as fast as possible
           stopping any progress related to health care
....and of course the main problem....
reversing any previous attempt to improve the quality of our
air
and
water.

By the way it's been 14 months since he took office and the amount of changes and legal issues in his administration have set records that will never be broken.....AND HE'S JUST GETTING STARTED.

I'm bored with his entire agenda and I'm simply hoping that the American public feels the same way.
Mid-terms are approaching and that should tell us something.,,,unless the GOP redistricting dealio has taken over completely

Michael Timothy McAlevey

Still the winner

On my last post I mentioned that I like to find the hottest "chicks" in the Olympics.....and of course mention a few compelling stories.

There are quite a few that grabbed my attention and they usually operate around the ice skating rink.
After careful consideration I think I have to pick the winner as the same winner I choose 4 years ago and eight years ago.

Madison Chock didn't win a medal but who cares?

The Shaun White story seems compelling but maybe for the wrong reasons.  Time will tell if his past behavior weighs more than his athletic accomplishments.

I keep thinking that maybe Lance Armstrong shouldn't be so tortured....after all he just abused himself.

The Lindsay Vonn saga is very compelling and Trump supporters are somehow involved in the post game parade of comments.....claiming she lost the downhill because of "Karma."  She was quoted a few weeks ago saying she wouldn't go to the White House if invited.  I think the real karma drama centers around the fact that now she doesn't have to worry about being invited.  She is the most decorated skier in United States history and that should be enough to keep her warm at night.  Look for her to be a lead commentator next to Bodie Miller at the next winter Olympics in 2022.

The US women's Hockey team defeated Canada for the gold medal in one of the most exciting hockey games I've ever watched.

YOU CAN COUNT THE HOCKEY GAMES I'VE WATCHED BY HOLDING UP YOUR TWO HANDS....and the games I've watched are in the Winter Olympics.

Getting back to the "babes"

Tessa Virtue from Canada just completed her fourth Olympic games and she won the gold medal with her partner, in all aspects of life, Scott Moir for Ice Dancing.

This is them awhile back.

 This is them......Now....gold medals and wedding bands......great story.

Norway has 5 million people and leads everyone in medals.
Of course there are lots of blondies in Norway and since they were Vikings it makes sense that they excel in winter sports.

This speed skater's name is Hege Bokko and I'm not sure how to pronounce it but she is definitely Bokko ok to me.

The 16 year old Russian skater who leads after the short program easily had the coolest looking costume and I think it helped her take a slight lead over the older Russian skater who is 18.  They both have great poise and the final should be quite entertaining.

That's enough beauty for now......it's time to get back to the Curling finals.  By the way how about the Curling dude who got expelled for Performance Enhancing drugs?  How in the world will he ever live that down?

So far I'm just elated that no one got killed in the Big Air and Half Pipe contests......

THOSE GUYS AND GALS ARE INSANE......
but 
Madison Chock is still the winner......

Michael Timothy McAlevey