Is that all there is?
January 11, 2013
If that’s all there is my friends, then let’s keep dancing.
Let’s break out the booze and have a ball…
I like the sound of that.
Have you seen this?
AIG Won’t Join Lawsuit Against the US.
(Click on it to read the source story.)
So, what lawsuit is AIG no joining, you might ask? I know. Most people had forgotten about this but, AIG’s former CEO has organized a $25 billion (billion with a “b”) lawsuit on behalf of AIG shareholders, claiming that the U.S. government’s bailout deal was to expensive and that the government took too much equity in the company in return for their $182B – calling the bailout “forced”.
Huh? I guess we should have let them fail. Oh wait, I’ve been saying this that whole time. And, I bet if we did let them fail, they’d be suing us over that. I say “us” because this is just more taxpayer money – your money and my money, and the Washington money machine just lets it go on and on.
Whatevs!
I’m so tired. I’d been taking it easy for a while but this is 2013. I’ve been working on a spaceship for a lot of years and this year, we’re launching it into orbit. So take your protein pills and put your helmets on. Launching a spacecraft isn’t easy and I haven’t seen my rocket scientist friends in years – they are out sailing, where I should be.
Funny, I’ve been working until 2am every night. That’s my “hard stop” time. When it gets to be 1:45am, I’m like, “oh damn… time to go to bed”. Doesn’t matter. I’m a machine.
Rock me… Rock me.
Roll me through the night!
Doctor, Doctor, Give me the news…
I went to see a doctor the other day. There’s nothing wrong with me… Outside of deciding to go see a doctor, that is. It turns out that when your age starts rounding up to 100, they want to start poking, prodding, and sending cameras up into places that haven’t seen light since Richard Gere wanted his gerbil back.
So, I make an appointment for a “consult” and the lady on the phone says to me, “OK. Make sure you bring your insurance card, a picture ID, and all of your medications”. No worries.
Appointment day gets here,
and while staring at my bottle of Don Julio, she’s like, “what’s that?”
“That’s tequila. It was your idea that I bring all my medications!”
“In fact”, checking my watch. “Do you guys have any shot glasses?”
Then she hands me this clipboard and wants me to fill out all this stuff.
Do you have this? Do you have that? I thought they were going to tell me!
Here were my favorite questions with my answers:
Q: Do you use alcohol?
A: Duh!
Q: Do you use cigarettes?
A: Not since I broke up with the girl that liked me to burn her neck.
Q: Do you suffer from memory loss?
A: What was the question?
Q: Do you suffer from memory loss!!!?
A: I don’t remember. Why are you people in my house?
Q: Have you ever been diagnosed with Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome?
A: Is that a law firm in Fort Lauderdale?
Q: Have you ever been diagnosed with Takayasu Arteritis?
A: Do I look Japanese?
Q: Do you suffer from panic attacks?
A: Not until I had to read this list of shit I might suffer from.
Then I threw the clipboard at her and jumped out the window.
But Why Are We Really Here Today?
Is it to look at the new tax tables for 2013?
Seriously? So if you make less than $8700 per year, your marginal tax rate is increasing from 10% to 15%. That’s 5%! But all the other tax increases are smaller. Does that sound like tax increases are only affecting the ultra-successful or shall we hold hands and chant “Liar. Liar. Pants on fire!” ..at Señor Presidente?
No. That’s not why we’re here today. We can do that anytime.
We’re here because I promised a non-redhead that was more my age.
Well, here she is…
This week’s Non-Redhead of The Week is Hope Davis.
I’m going to say that 48 doesn’t get any sexier than this.
If you’re not familiar with this Jersey girl, look her up and rent some movies. You might like “About Schmidt”, for which the NY Film Critics Circle nominated her for Best Supporting Actress.
I would recommend The Nines, a crazy-assed film starring Hope with Ryan Reynolds that, at the end of the movie will leave you wondering, what the f@3k was that movie about? Yes, a little nutty and confusing, but interesting and Hope tips the scales just enough to make it worth watching.
Hmmm… I haven’t seen it in a while. Maybe I’d understand it better the second time?
Is that tequila? Call me.
Well, is that all there is for today?
It would be, if it wasn’t for this video from the movie, The Nines,
with Hope Davis singing the Peggy Lee classic Is That All There Is?
Oh, great…
Now I’m picturing her shivering in her pajamas. It’s definitely time to go.
So…??? Don’t you love it when it all comes together at the end.
You see. If you trust me… I will deliver you from evil.
And that my friends is… All There Is.
So, let’s break out the booze and have a ball!
Peace
– Arch
Happy Freakin’ New Year…
January 4, 2013
Time to Pick-up The Tab…
Well, America. You re-elected him. Now it’s time to pick-up the tab.
Obama said: We’re just going to tax the ultra-successful. (I don’t like calling them “rich”.)
Archie said: But listen here, O-man, there aren’t enough ultra-successful people. Even if you taxed all of them out-the-wazoo, that won’t work.
Of course, he already knew that but that didn’t matter. He was just trying to win an election. So now it was time to deal with the fiscal cliff. A cliff that we should have driven over. Instead, it was time to wheel & deal. And, although the ultra-successful will absolutely be paying more – so that they have less money with which to create jobs, everyone will be paying higher taxes in 2013. If you make between $50K and $75K, you’ll be paying about an extra $1000 this year. If you make more, guess what? Yup – you’ll pay more. That should cover just about everyone who reads this blog. You pay more, you pay more. Oh and you – you pay more.
By the way, for all of you who voted for Obama because he supports same-sex marriages (every now and then), even though the President has absolutely no influence whatsoever on whether or not your state allows same-sex marriage… For you, I call this The Gay Marriage Tax Increase. Now when your gay friends get married, you’ll have $1000 less with which to buy them a nice gift.
So who will be paying higher taxes,you ask? Answer: 77% of Americans!
Isn’t anyone besides me thinking, “Liar, liar.. Pants on fire?”
What do you suppose Prez O is going to do with all the cash?
I know whenever I have big debts and I get a bunch of cash in, I try to pay everything to zero. Even if I can’t get to zero, I still try to pay down my debts. After all, it shows that I am responsible with my money and it cuts down my interest charges. Surely, our fearless leader will be doing the same… Yes/No?
Actually… Uh… No.
Actually, actually… Obama’s plan is to keep spending. In order to avoid a fiscal catastrophe, we’ve now agreed to spending an extra 4 trillion dollars, which will require another raising of the debt ceiling – just as soon as Obama gets back from vacationing in Hawaii. In reality, we’re already over the debt ceiling – we hit it on New Year’s Eve. So right now, we’re basically over our credit limit but we’re still borrowing & spending using US Treasury Department trickery.
So what was this cliff we avoided?
My guess is that most people didn’t even understand what the Fiscal Cliff was about. First of all, there was no cliff. It basically consisted of two things. 1) The Bush Tax cuts were to expire and 2) $109 Billion in Federal Tax cuts went into effect. Uh… These both sound like good things.
Obama wanted to tax the ultra-successful more and, as any democrat would tell you, the Bush Tax Cuts were mainly tax breaks for the ultra-successful. So why not let them expire, then go back and reinstate some tax breaks for the middle class? Answer: Because Ben Bernake nicknamed the coincidence of these two events a potential Fiscal Cliff. That gave our government the fuel they needed to make it sound catastrophic and requiring immediate action. After all, our government doesn’t want to spend $109B less this year. That would be overly smart and responsible. Instead they want to spend more. Awesome.
That gets us back to…
Four (4) trillion dollars…without any agreement to reduce any government spending!
$4,000,000,000,000
Holy crap that’s a lot of cash. Doesn’t anyone worry about this?
I guess we could just ignore it. Like the Greeks did. What could go wrong?
Well, at least Obama isn’t just giving money away to big corporations…
Oh, wait a minute. What’s this? I thought those ultra-successful Wall Street bankers were bad guys, Mr. President. So why did we extend the “special financing” tax cuts to these guys? That costs $9 Billion dollars every year. $9 Billion!!!
Then there’s the “Liberty Zone” tax-exempt financing, which, on the surface, sounds like tax free financing to fund reconstruction around the former World Trade Center in NYC. But, upon close inspection, where is this money actually going? Oh… It’s a $1.6 Billion tax break for Goldman Sach. That makes sense. After all, people from Goldman Sachs were at the White House all last week and eventually announced that a small tax increase for all Americans was probably good idea. I guess I’d say that too if I could then get $1.6 Billion in tax breaks for my new cool offices in Manhattan
Socialist Hate Crime?
OK, so, I don’t normally promote morons by naming them here on my show (blog) but did you hear about Thom Hartmann‘s rant last week? Well, this socialist yo-yo, who apparently has his own radio talk show, suggested that being a billionaire should be illegal and that all wealth beyond $1 billion should be confiscated “to help those of us who have less”. In fact, he went on to say, “You can call it redistribution of wealth, that’s fine, I am perfectly comfortable with that language. I think we should outlaw billionaires.”
Seriously? I don’t even know what to say.
But I’ll take a crack at it… Dear Mr. Hartmann, Have you stopped to consider that there are only 425 billionaires in the United States and that they average about $4 billion dollars each? This means that if you took all the money from every billionaire in America, you might be able to keep the US afloat for about 12 months. That is, of course, just the debt borrowing needs of the country – we haven’t even helped anyone yet. If you distributed this money among all other Americans, everyone would get about $6K.
Note: I’d spend my $6K on expensive booze and cheap women.
Although, not necessarily in that order.
Then we’d have no billionaires and all the same problems we have today. Granted this is still a better plan than giving it to the government. If we did that, they’d blow about half of it first. Then we’d each get about $3K. Then we’d have no billionaires and all the same problems.
Too bad no one can think of a plan whereby billionaires could create jobs, put people to work, and generate countless dollars in payroll taxes. I guess socialist just don’t think that way. That’s right. i don’t usually do it. But I had to call this guy a socialist….
I am perfectly comfortable with that language.
But my big question is… Why isn’t getting on the air and professing that you hate billionaires a hate crime? I understand that billionaires are not a “protected group” but maybe they should be. If someone got on the air and suggested that they hated the poor, there would probably be a public outcry. Hmmm… Well, maybe Oprah will buy this guy a new car and he’ll shut the hell up. But then, I guess if all I did was have a little crazy “far left” radio talk show so that I could promote my socialistic ideas, I’d probably hate billionaires too.
And then there’s gun control…
And then there’s gun control… Did I say that twice? So please don’t think that I am accusing the democrats of planting nutty people around the country who “go off” and start randomly shooting but somehow, I wasn’t that surprised at that recent school shooting. I was somewhat expecting it and I think we can expect more of them. I think there are some looney people out there who are just crazy enough to pull the trigger on others and then on themselves so that Obama and his gang can point at them and say, “see…we need better gun controls”… and that worries me.
Here’s another thing that worries me. Gun control advocates are idiots and, in the name of safety, they’ve turned our schools into the perfect place for a looney shooter. Everyone knows that there are no weapons at a school. In other words, there’s no one there who will shoot back at you. How stupid is this?
We protect our money with armed guards, we protect our borders with armed guards, we have armed air marshals on flights. Whenever something really needs protecting, we have armed guards there – but we protect our children with unarmed guards. Does that make any sense?
Even our President, Mr Gun Control himself… He is protected by armed guards. I say when Obama disarms his guards, I’ll disarm mine. In the meantime, let’s get some armed “school marshals” trained and placed at every school in America. There – I just created some jobs.
Then there’s these mega yo-yos at Journal News in Clarkstown, NY. They published an online interactive map showing all handgun permit holders in Westchester and Rockland counties. How awesome is that? Now criminals can see exactly which house don’t have guns. This is brilliant.
But here’s the best part… After the newspaper then received some non-threatening yet somewhat concerning emails, they hired armed guards!!! I can’t make this stuff up. I’ll repeat… The big anti-gun newspaper hired guys with gun when they felt that they needed protection.
Isn’t it ironic… Don’t you think?
So every last one of the biggest anti-gun voices in the country now have people with guns protecting them. What is that, if not hypocritical?
OMG! I think my head is going to explode.
I need something to calm me down. Let’s switch to something fun. How about….
Blonde of The Week. What?
Unrolling a giant scroll, he began to read…
“And now, by the power vested in me by the states of Florida, California, and Tennessee, and the fine people of the British Virgin Islands, technically including Foxy, the guy who owns Foxy’s Bar and Her Majesty, The Queen, I hereby pronounce 2013 the year of the non-redhead.”
[Rejoicing is overheard from the crowd gathered outside the palace, predominantly consisting of hot chick blondes and brunettes.]
“But be forewarned my follow citizens”, he continued. “2014 will once again be a year of the redhead. Years that end in 4 always are.”
Remembering the ancient “Rule of 4’s”, the crowd acknowledged that their time to shine was limited but collectively resolved to make the most of the next 12 months.
So, who will have the honor of being the first non-redhead of the week? Much thought was given to this. As if an entirely new world had been opened up to them, the research department spent countless sleepless nights away from their usual rigorous schedule of porn downloading, so they could familiarize themselves with blondes, brunettes, and others…
…but at the end of the day, the choice was mine. My first thought was to avoid some of the usual criticisms by selecting someone “more my age” – but that’s just silly. Instead, I decided to go with a young punk in her mid-20’s. You know, before she hits then big Three-Oh and becomes to old for me. I’ll feature someone more-my-age next time.
And so, our first Non-Redhead (Blonde) of The Week is… Jemina Pearl
[Spoken like Butthead (from Beavis & Butthead)]
“Hey, baby…”
So… “Where do we know Jemina from”, you might ask?
Well, you may have heard that I love time-traveler bands. You know, bands from now, who could have fit in, in the 80’s, who like like a girlfriend, that I has in February of last year…?
Well, one such band was Be Your Own Pet and JP was their lead singer. Be Your Own Pet was like a late 80’s early 90’s Garage Punk Band. They were awesome fun and with Jemina as their front person, they were also easy to watch. Unfortunately, BYOP is no longer together. 😦
So what is this lovely creature doing now-a-days?
Well, when she’s not hanging out with Archie (which is pretty much all the time), she’s working on a project called Ultras S/C. After some minimal listening, however, I don’t think I like Ultras S/C. So far, what I’ve heard, sounded like a Dead Kennedys experiment gone bad. But hey, I’m diggin’ the longer hair…
Ah, but we’re not done with her yet.
That’s right… This week’s Musical Guest… Be Your Own Pet.
So many good one to pick from, which shall it be?
OK, here’s BYOP performing Adventure.
Don’t you love her?
Well, I do… and that’s what matters around here.
I usually have to pause that video right around 1:30 just to check out her cute face
And what was that guy, a giant bunny… Who hunts giant bunnies?
I guess if you hunt giant bunnies, you have to make sure you get his girlfriend too.
Hmmm… Now that I’m thinking about it, I probably shouldn’t have featured her in a blog post where I totally bash the democrats. It’s hard to imagine that a 25-year old female punk rocker wouldn’t be a democrat. I won’t even bother with a “call me, maybe”. 🙂
Just in cased you’re reading, JP. I’m NPA, baby… No Party Affiliation! I actually don’t like either side. They both suck for their respective reasons. I think they keep our country divided and prevent us from moving forward. Maybe, we should write a song about that?
Well…no matter. I gotta run.
So, that’s it for this week.
See ya, wouldn’t wanna be ya!
And, oh yeah… Happy Freakin’ New Year!
We’re off to a great freakin’ start, aren’t we?
<smootches>
– Arch
Ain’t nobody got time for that…
November 16, 2012
You know, whenever you turn a certain age, younger people tend to ask you what it’s like.
“Hey… What’s it like to be 30? What’s it like to be 40?” My traditional answer going back was that 40 felt a lot like 39, which felt a lot like 38, which felt a lot like 37 – you get the idea. In fact, I thought being 50 was really a lot like being 49. So I really wasn’t expecting 51 to be any different – but it is. I’m changing. My thoughts are changing, my priorities are changing. And it all seems to be happening in front of me, in a surreal fashion, as if I were watching it on TV.
I’m even quoting Van Hagar…
Well if you wanna see other guys…
Baby, I could let it slide.
You want a lover, you want a friend?
Mama, I can be both of them…
I never used to quote Van Hagar.
One thing that has changed is that, I give even less of a shit than I ever have about being politically correct or about what other people think of me or about pissing anyone off. It’s awesome. It’s almost as liberating as not watching the news since June of 2008. At the same time, I have a much higher appreciation and respect for what is important to others. I appreciate how much some people embrace their culture or heritage. These things are important. It’s what makes us who we are.
That said, I have little tolerance for “non-sense” – my new favorite word.
This leads me to a follow-up topic from last week…
So, what is up with the Native Americans?
Last week, they whined about the No Doubt video which was subsequently “pulled”.
Well, this week they were back at it again and got upset with Victoria’s Secret.
Apparently, we 20 year old Victoria’s Secret model, Karlie Kloss, strolled down the runway in noting but a feather headdress, buckskin bikini and some turquoise jewelry. An outfit which the Vicky Secret folks thought would represent Thanksgiving, the Native American community was, once again, “outraged” for its misappropriation of cultural attire.
Seriously? All I saw was a hot chick wearing a bikini, some jewelry, and some feathers.
Would they have been less upset if she wore only the headdress? …less feathers?
I don’t get it. Do they think they have the exclusive rights to use a feather headdress?
Guess what? Natives inhabitants from around the globe incorporated the use of feathers when decorating themselves, their women, children, chiefs and others. I’m thinking that the use of a feather headdress is in the public domain and it’s nothing more than a feather headdress. Not some symbol of any Native American community. Especially not when it’s on a hot chick in a fashion show.
Then – get this, some blog, who I will not popularize by naming or linking, said that VS was “jumbling all American Indian cultures into one mish-mash”. No they weren’t. It looks like a mish-mash of things to you because, it wasn’t patterned after you. It wasn’t meant to represent any American Indian anything.
And by the way, I have read the reports concerning the high number of rape cases involving Native American women. There are some very disturbing reports out there. It is a very sad situation that deserves the utmost attention and investigation and needs to be stopped. But to say that Victoria’s Secret was somehow trying to sex-up Native American women at a time when Native American women are being targeted by rapist is really ridiculous (aka “non-sense”) and quite a stretch to try and get a rise out of people. I don’t see it.
Just in case you’re curious, all other outfits showcased at the Victoria’s Secret fashion show appeared to only created a mish-mash of non-Native themes and only sexed-up non-Native white women and that seemed to be OK with everyone. except maybe me – I’m definitely offended here somewhere. Not sure where. I’ll get Barnsley working on it.
He thinks I am mostly offended by what Lily Aldridge wore…
I think he’s right.
I’m so offended that I’m making her Red, White & Blue Head of the Week.
Archie’s People…
My people, by the way, were originally from Hispañola and had migrated to Caobana (“Cuba”). Most of our people were slaughtered during colonization. I believe one eye-witness described the scene as – a village of about twenty-five hundred who welcomed the Spaniards, fed them and gave them drink, was immediately wiped out once the feast was over, “they set upon the Indians,” he wrote, “slashing, disemboweling and slaughtering them until their blood ran like a river.”
So pardon me if I occasionally have to wear a few feathers in honor of my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great ancestors…
Now I know what’s going to happen. I have friends who are going to say to me, “hey… I’m part Cherokee or I’m part Navajo”. Two things: 1) I got no beef with you. I still love you, Brothas. 2) After writing that, I’m really thinking you guys should go after the auto industry.
A Continuation of Political Incorrectness…
Remember Antoine Dobbs? Well, he’s not back but I think there’s a sequel.
This song is so catchy, I’ve been singing it for days.
Who has time to have a song stuck in their head, “ain’t nobody got time for that”..?
Here’s YouTube Hit “Sweet Brown”. The full news clip followed by the “video mix”…
I know. I love it. It’s OK – go back and play it again.
I think each of the 9 million viewers should send her a dollar.
That would be awesome. I bet she’d have time for that.
Reflections of the Arch…
So, remember the days when Archie was funny? I know. Some misguided readers still think I’m funny. No, no… I mean really funny. What killed those days? Was it politics? Was it the election? Was the turning 51? Is it the missing redhead?
[Barnsley is overheard off stage: “Missing Redhead?”]
Ain’t nobody got time for that, Barnsley.
“These wheels keep turning but they’re running out of steam…”
I do have a lot to talk about.
But I don’t know if I have the energy to speak or write.
Oh, while I’m thinking about it. I heard a rumor that certain ladies out there are considering dying their hair red to try and qualify for Redhead of the Week. I love it!
Oh and check this out, my fellow Floridians…
And sign this online petition, today!
If you’re not from Florida, you can use that site and find one or start one for your state.
After the recent presidential election, 20 states filed petitions asking to withdraw from the Union. What’s funny is the people commenting on other websites saying, “if Florida recedes from the Union, I’m moving”. LOL… Well, there’s no need to pack. States cannot actually leave the Union. I think this is merely a symbolic gesture. Nevertheless, we got our 25000 signatures. So now, the white house actually has to issue a response. I love it.
OK but… Back to me.
An Archie Hiatus?
I think I need some time off. I think I need to spend some time listening to nothin’ but the sound of the wind powering some sails and some warm Caribbean waters splashing against the hull.
So, is it over?
“It’s not over until we say it is.
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?”
[Barnsley: Germans?”]
“It may be over but it won’t stop there,
I am here for you if you’d only care.”
[Bansley: James Blount, really?”]
I know. Sorry Barns.
Anyway, the big question is…
Will Archie be back? …after the holidays? …in 2013?
My answer is probably…
“…or we’ll just end up walkin’ in the cold November rain.”
– Arch
Everything that is wrong with America…
November 9, 2012
Captain America’s been torn apart
Now he’s a court jester with a broken heart
He said, turn me around and take me back to the start
I must be losing my mind, are you blind?
I’ve seen it all a million times
So, this has nothing to do with the election…
(at least the first part doesn’t)
First of all, it has to do with the New York Marathon.
As you probably know, after Hurricane Sandy put a serious hurting on the Northeastern U.S., leaving many without homes and many more without power, the New York Road Runners, organizers of the event, decided to cancel this year’s marathon. New York City’s Mayor Bloomberg favored moving forward and continuing to hold the race. Due to overwhelming public criticism, however, the Road Runners decided to cancel the event. Seriously?
I understand that Sandy left many people devastated with the loss of family, homes and whatever else you can think of. And if the marathon were held and it’s organizers didn’t offer to somehow support the Hurricane Sandy victims, we could surely criticize them then and call them insensitive and/or greedy. But who are we, the whiny American public, to demand that an organization like the New York Road Runners should suffer an even greater hit than what Hurricane Sandy had already delivered.
Instead of putting the marathon in a position to help, this decision, based on public criticism, is potentially costing the marathon millions in lost revenues, refunds to runners, and refunds to sponsors and television broadcasters who paid for an event that didn’t happen. Not to mention all the money spent by runners, many of whom traveled to New York, only to then find out that the event was being cancelled.
Have we really become a country of “poor us”, “poor them”, “poor me”..? And once someone cries “poor me”, then everything else is fair game, regardless of who gets hurt? If this were a smaller, or less well-funded, organization this cancellation could put them out of business. I guess no one cares about that and all the goodwill that the marathon generates every year. Shame on us – the whiny American public.
Next is the No Doubt video…
You know No Doubt… Gwen Stefani… Possibly the coolest hot chick on the planet?
Well, No Doubt released a video for their new song, Looking Hot. (Yes, Gwen – you are.)
After watching the video, I’m convinced that Gwen and the boys were making fun of old cowboy/western movies but apparently the Native American community found the video offensive. Seriously? How is this video offensive? Oh, that’s right… It’s the whiny American public again or, in this case, the whiny Native American public.
I know – there go my chances or ever running for public office.
God forbid that I exercise amendment given right of freedom of speech.
Maybe I don’t like Sterlin Harjo’s portrayal of white people in his film Barking Water. Aaron Riggs plays the part of Elvis in the film. Is Harjo saying that all white people from Tennessee remind him of Elvis? …or is he making fun of white American heritage? I’m offended either way – or – is it possible that I’m just being a little overly sensitive? You know, like the turmoil over the No Doubt video.
BTW… Nothing personal, Sterlin, I was just trying to prove my point.
So, in the end, No Doubt took their video down down from their official Vimeo and/or YouTube sites and issued an apology stating, “it was never our intention to offend anyone”. Of course, you weren’t… This whole ting is silly. The good thing is that, although the video has (technically) been “pulled”. I found it here…
http://en.musicplayon.com/play?v=775232
Hopefully it stays up for a while there.
So now, you watch it and you tell me…
Do you find this potentially offensive in any way?
Whiny America wins again.
By the way, once upon a time, right after the first No Doubt tour, Gwen Stefani dyed her hair red. Apparently she didn’t like it but that shouldn’t stop her from being this week’s Redhead of The Week…
And now, onto the election…
Neither candidate really addressed the issues surrounding our nation’s debt crisis. That’s probably because it is spiraling out of control and no one really know what to do about it. Not talking about it is a good political strategy because, to solve it, all Americans will have to feel the pain and we the whiny American public doesn’t want to hear about that. So let’s ignore the problem and see if it goes away. My bet is that it will not.
All that said, President Obama ran a brilliant campaign. He kept focusing on the fact that Romney was a rich guy who had made a lot of money and pays less taxes than you do. Of course, the taxes part isn’t true but political campaigns are mostly immune to whole truth in advertising thing. So, if you’re not a rich guy, it’s pretty easy to hate rich guys – after all, they have everything. If on top of that, he pays less taxes than we do – then he’s just a self-centered lyin’, cheatin’ bastard right? Of course he is.
Then there’s the part where Romney wanted to fix healthcare, medicare and social security because the mathematicians will tell you that the current system is going to fail soon. Well, it was easy to say, “Look – the rich guy wants to change everything and screw you out of the things that you’ve been promised”. So, instead of taking responsibility for these things, let’s just stay the course, ignore the problems, and hope they go away. My bet is that they will not.
At the end of the day, President Obama brilliantly targeted the whiny American public and said, “poor you, poor me – please don’t let the rich guy run our country. Instead, I promise to take from the rich and give to poor you” …and the whiny American public voted.
Now, let’s put the election behind us and start “the real work”. Let’s figure out how to unite Americans on common ground and form a new major political party. Let’s focus on the things we all want and throw out the things that divide us and should have anything to do with our national government. I believe more than 60% of America will join us if we do this properly. Then our country can really start to make progress and end the ridiculousness which defines American politics today.
You can start today. Obama was re-elected. Now let’s see if he’s willing to start fixing things. Weren’t you tired of watching the dirtiest election campaigns in history with all the lies and negative ads? Thank you to the Supreme Court and Citizen’s United for that. Well, again – let’s see if we can fix it. Let start here. By signing this open letter to the President.
https://www.unpac.org/dear-mr-president/
Thanks for reading…
Thanks for caring…
– Arch
The highway’s jammed…
November 2, 2012
…with broken heroes on a last chance power drive.
Everybody’s out on the run tonight,
but there’s no place left to hide
Who is Wendy?
Well kids, it’s crunch time.
If I can leave you with one thought, it would be this…
Never, ever elect any president for a second term – never.
You see, it’s in the second term when they get really crazy.
If they did really crazy stuff on their first term, they know they won’t get re-elected.
So, until we can follow the manifesto and launch or own party – just keep switching sides.
Some would argue that this would prevent anything for ever getting done in Washington.
Really… How would that be any different than the last 20 years?
And here’s another thing (because, I’ve been drinking) –
Boooo! …on the whole system.
You know what we need to focus on? Our financial crisis.
Both presidential candidates know about this. They both understand that our problem is looming – but neither one is really addressing this. That makes them both criminally irresponsible – in my opinion. The problem is that, most Americans don’t understand what’s going on. They don’t think it’s real – but it is. And I think this video does a fairly good job at explaining it, in mostly non-partisan rhetoric…
So, you know who you need to vote for?
You need to vote for whoever you think has a snowball’s chance in hell of addressing this.
Me? i already voted.
Early voting my friends. I love it.
By the time we find out who won, I’ll be in Puerto Rico. Seriously!
If you’re reading this – you should be with me.
That’s it. Short and sweet. I gotta run.
I have a plane to catch and Barnsley is ordering up another round of Presidente Margaritas!
Although I doubt the best man will win – because, he’s not really in the running,
Let’s all make sure we’re making America #1. See you on the other side.
Cheers
Love yas!
– Arch
Stuck it in the needle…
October 19, 2012
And I shot it in the middle
And it, it drove me out of my mind
I should have known better
Said I wish I never met her
Said I, I leave it all behind
Yowsa!
Violence on Television
You know, I’m not usually one to complain about what gets put on the airwaves. My philosophy is that, if you don’t want to watch it – turn the channel or, better yet, turn it off. But it’s getting a little ridiculous. Just the other day, I turn on the LEDs – it really incorrect to say “tube” these days – and there is live coverage of an old man beating the crap out of a little kid. I was about to call the police or the FBI or somebody, but it turns out that it was the Vice Presidential debate.
You know, the worst part about today’s political process is the avalanche of twisted truths that the two parties constantly throw at each other to try and confuse the public into seeing things their way. The interesting part to me is that, these are not stupid people. So when they throw these things out there, they must know that they are purposely misguiding the public. It’s seriously disgusting.
Actual Actuality
One thing that always gets me is the idea that by taxing the rich, as if there were that many rich people, we could solve the country’s financial crisis. Then they all talk about the number of American who pay no income tax, which is different, by the way, from American who do not file tax returns. Well, jeez… I thought if you didn’t tax taxes, you went to jail? Not always.
First of all, in some not-too-outdated document that I read (sorry for the lack of details), there was an estimated 42 million American living at or below the poverty level. These people do not pay taxes because they don’t make enough. Senior citizens, living exclusively off Social Security also have no taxable income and, in many cases, do not have to file a return. That’s a lot of people – but that doesn’t make all of these people mooches or tax evaders.
Then there’s the thing about lower income people paying a higher percentage of taxes. Well, it turns out that this is many times true. Particularly when you weigh in state and local taxes. Somewhere (again – I think it was USA Today) I read that in Alabama, if you make $13K per year, you spend about 11% of that on state & local taxes, where if you made $230K, you only spend about 4% on state & local taxes.
OK. So there are two things to note here. First, these are state and local taxes, not federal taxes. Next, the above figures only make sense. State and local taxes are mostly basic usage taxes. So for example, if you only have $4 to you name and you buy milk for $2 – you could say that you spend 50% of your money on milk. On the other hand, a guy with $100 will buy the same $2 milk and he’s only spending 2% of his money. And guess what, we can’t charge rich people more for milk. We already charge them more for the houses they live in, and the cars they drive, and the trips they take, and the seats they sit in on airplanes.
It’s also important to understand that when people talk about paying federal taxes, they mostly mean income taxes. So if you have twenty million dollars under your mattress but you didn’t work last year and you made no income – you don’t have to pay income tax. If you’re a frat boy, living large at an Ivy League college and driving around in your Porsche 911, while mommy and daddy pay all your bills, you don’t have to pay income tax.
But hey… Blame the game, not the players.
So, more or less, that takes care of the people not paying taxes.
Now I have to break my silence about The Two Yo-Yos. Because this really pisses me off!
We should tax the crap out of Romney, right?
There are a few little words that Obama throws in, whenever he brings up the fact that Romney only paid 14% on his $20M income last year. These are very important words. He always says, “that’s the Capital Gains tax rate”.
Does anyone know what that is?
Most American don’t pay capital gains tax. Capital gains is what you pay when you sell a business or sell investments, and it’s paid on the difference between your basis (what you paid for it) and what you sold it for. So, for example, if you buy a business for $1M and sell it years later for $3M, you have to pay capital gains tax on the $2M that you are making on that transaction.
So, here is what makes President Obama so out of touch with small business. Every time that he asks, “why should Mitt Romney only pay 14% in taxes, while you pay 25% or 30%?” he’sw comparing payroll taxes to capital gains taxes. And here’s what he doesn’t get…
Let’s pretend that some entrepreneur , not completely unlike me, decides to start a business. He’s a young punk with very little money or credit but decided to move forward anyway. So, on a shoe string, armed with a credit card (with a $2500 limit), he launches his business. Every business statistic on the planet says that he’ll probably fail in the first two years. During these first two years, however, he works hard and takes home very little money. At some point he calculates how much money he’s making for the hours that he’s putting in and laughs that he’s averaging 15 cents per hour.
But wait, the IRS dictates that small business owners need to take a fair salary and pay payroll taxes, even if the company isn’t making money. OK, so… Before even being ready or making money, the government is making sure they get theirs.
The small business person makes it work. He survives the first few years and slowly starts to make more money. He sees his friends only working 8 hours or less per day while the small business person works his ass off – and doesn’t necessarily get twp weeks of vacation per year, because even when he’s on vacation, he’s back at work. Most people separate themselves from the finances of where they work, they just want their paycheck. The small business person doesn’t sleep at night thinking about finances, after all – he’s responsible for keeping a bunch of people employed.
So let’s say that, for years, this small business person keeps up the fight, now he’s making some money, paying payroll taxes just like you and keeping others employed. Now there’s an economic downturn and shit hits the fan. As a small business person, everything is at risk. Now let’s say that he needs a little extra cash to keep the business going and keep everyone employed. The small business person goes to see his banker and is essentially laughed out the door. He is told, “a few years ago I could have helped you”.
That translates to, “in order to protect the public, the Obama administration passed a whole bunch of new banking laws that prevent us from loaning money to those who need it”.
So the small business owner has to make a decision: Do I close my doors or risk all that I’ve made so far? Answer: The small business person goes home and takes money out of his IRAs or 401K, pays penalties for taking that money and put his personal future at risk again – but the business survives and his employees stay working.
Remember, during all of this time, he is taking payroll and paying payroll taxes – just like you.
Now, after say – 10 or more long years, the small business person decided to sell his business. He’s worked hard and now his business is worth a million bucks! A let’s say that he had started this business, as described above for little or no money, so his cost basis is $0. This means he has to pay capital gains taxes on the whole $1M.
So President Obama is saying that now, after all of this – I guess since he thinks the small business person didn’t really build his business, the government did – he should have to pay 25% to 30% of that to the government, just as if it were payroll taxes.
So after years of hard work, putting others to work, paying payroll taxes every step of the way, putting everything at risk, and getting little or no help financially from anyone, President Obama thinks that a 14% capital gains tax isn’t enough. So now that small business guy sells his business for $1M and Obama wants $300K from him.
Is it disrespectful to say “fuck you” to the president of the United States?
Probably. OK, so then I won’t do it.
The Silence Resumes
So, as you may remember, I am ready to look past the election. After all, one of The Two Yo-Yos are going to win and really, really – not much will change. We need to start working on the things that really matter, like getting money out of politics.
Well, I found this website that was highly entertaining and on point.
It’s called The Story of Stuff Project: http://www.storyofstuff.org/
If you’ve been reading my reading my “stuff”, I think this video will hit home.
I probably couldn’t have put it together better myself.
Here’s The Story of Citizens United…
And with that, my friends, and a quick Red Head of the Week…
…we end another broadcast day.
See ya, wouldn’t wanna be ya.
– Arch
It’s just you…
October 5, 2012
against your tattered libido,
the bank and the mortician, forever man…
and it wouldn’t be luck if you could get out of life alive
Red or white?
This quiet period thing is crazy. How can I possibly keep quiet after that presidential debate?
I guess I have to say, I don’t like either one of these guys – but Obama really needs a few lessons in economics. I mean… Harvard has an economics department, he must know someone over there. Make a few phone calls, Barry. Go to a fraternity party.
Do some butt chugging! What in the world is that?
Don’t worry. If this hasn’t caught on at Harvard, I can introduce you to some Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity members at University of Tennessee. Uh… I hope you like wine. Do you suppose it really matters if it’s a merlot, a cabernet or maybe a nice un-oaked chardonnay?
http://gawker.com/butt-chugging/
Be sure to watch the press conference video at the bottom. What a riot! Do you think they had a bet going on? How many times can we our attorney to say, “butt chugging”…?
Shhhhhh…!!!
OK, back to my quiet period… That only pertains to the elections, right?
It doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t still try to fix America – even during our quiet time. Right?
I’m getting back to basics. The American political system is one giant clunker but it’s worth restoring. I just keep asking myself, how do we do it? How do we fix this monster? And I think the answer is to take it one step at a time. If that’s the case, I think first of all – we need to get the money out of politics. I believe this is the central component that has grid-locked our political system and fueled the focus on partisanship instead of focusing on America. Not to mention the fact that instead of getting anything done, our politicians have to spend 85% of their time fundraising. Is it any wonder why nothing gets done in Washington?
Next, we’ll work on really getting religion out of politics.
Third, we’ll ensure equal rights and equal treatment for all.
Somewhere in there, we have to get out finances straight. I believe America has borrowed beyond its ability to ever repay its debts. At this point, our creditors are probably OK with that. If we can’t even make principal payments, our creditors will be collecting interest forever. This was probably good investment on their part – but bad for America. We have to figure this out. We have to work on our trade deficit. And we have to not only balance our budget, which only stops the monetary bleed, but we have to figure out how to pay-down and pay-off our multi-trillion dollar debt.
We will get it done!
And here’s a great start… I hate the name of this organization, by the way, because it sounds like just another PAC. But it’s not… trust me. This is the real deal Check it out…
http://act.unitedrepublic.org/event/founder/create/?akid=200.101266.2oQryF
Part of what I love about this is that, getting money out of politics is something that everyone should agree on. It’s not good and no one, other than wealthy special interest groups, could possibly think that it’s a good idea. So this could also be our first step to unity, getting the majority of our country together on common ground and maybe, eventually, overthrow those two political monsters that do nothing other than divide us.
I love this: Conservatives. Progressives. Independents. Together!
Let’s get this done.
No ands, ifs, or buts …or butts! No chugging butts! Not even small butts.
And speaking of small butts…
Have you been watching Sons of Anarchy? If so, you’re probably wondering who that high priced call girl was. You know, the one Gemma beat the crap out of last week and she was back this week, riding around on the back of Jax’s bike. She looked familiar, huh?
That’s because it was Ashley Tisdale gone “breaking Disney”.
I know. It seems like just the other day we were waiting for her to turn 18.
Next thing you know, she’s 27 and hanging out with the boys from SAMCRO.
This is Barnsley’s favorite photo…
Wow. I like boots.
But 27… Soon she’ll hit the big three-oh and then she’ll just be too old for us, Barns.
What will we do? Fear not, my friend. Let Ashley go… Let her walk towards the light.
I have us all hooked up with Julia, a 22 year old from the Ukraine.
By the way, it’s pronounced Yulia.
OK, let’s move on to bigger butts.
You’ve got the biggest butt I’ve ever seen…
So, I went on a Carnival Cruise last weekend. As a general rule, Carnival seems to have somewhat of a reputation for being a little lower budget and a little lower class than some other cruise lines. I will neither confirm of deny such a rumor, but I will say this…
Many years ago, I was listening to live entertainment, as I often do, at a little watering hole in Lake Worth, Florida. The lead singer introduced a song by telling us that it was a love song which had been written by his black roommate for his black roommate’s girlfriend. After these many years, I can still recall that it went something like…
Ooooh, baby…
You’ve got the biggest butt I’ve ever seen.
It’s so big, and round, and brown.
I never really understood this song until last weekend on my Carnival cruise. But then, I’d never seen butts the size of the ones that were on this ship. Good Lord! They were blocking my view of the hot chicks, casting shadows… and, as if predicted by the prophets, many of them were big, and round, and brown. Biggest ones I’ve ever seen. Not that there’s anything wrong with that – a person’s butt size preference is their own personal business.
Right Next Door to Hell…
Since we’ve been talking about asses, I could make a joke here – but I won’t do it.
I love this guy. He’s really my brother from another mother and one of America’s great singer songwriters. Well, after 20 years of refusing interviews, on October 24th, Axl Rose will be making an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel.
I think that deserves making him Redhead of the Week…
So, set your Tivo!
I know. I’ve already called my friends at NBC. It doesn’t look like they’re getting me tickets.
Axl and his band, by the way, are taking up residency at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, where they will be doing multiple shows from the end of October through early December, as I recall. That may be worth going to see. Anyone up for a Vegas trip?
And now, My Letter to Axl…
First, I love you brotha! Thanks for the music I still listen to everyday. Next, I understand that you own the name Guns & Roses but you should really consider retiring that name. To most people, when they hear someone say Guns & Roses, they are thinking of the original line-up, not the current band. I would absolutely go see Axl Rose in Concert, but I’m not sure that I would go see Guns & Roses today because – it’s just not Guns & Roses. That’s all I’m sayin’.
I also have some thoughts surrounding your appearance on Jimmy Kimmel.
But I won’t insult your intelligence – that’s what your publicist is for.
And just for you Axl, I picked out this real redhead of the week…
Oh, no… I have no idea what that is that she’s wearing.
I just thought Axl would appreciate it.
That’s all for today. You be well.
Nice to meet you, Yubee.
– Arch
And if I call you out of habit…
September 28, 2012
I’m out of love and I gotta have it.
Would you give it to me, if I fit your needs,
Like when we both knew we had it?
As this hits the blog site this morning, I find myself on a cruise ship, somewhere in The Atlantic, undoubtedly holding a brightly colored cocktail with a little umbrella sticking out of it, and headed for the Bahamas. It’s a rough life but someone has to do it.
Nassau to be exact. It’s like Nazareth, except there is no Jesus of Nassau – or at least there wasn’t until today. I think this is going to be my new Bahamian code name. Brilliant.
“Hello Ladies… I’m Jesus of Nassau. Perhaps you’ve heard of me?”
The End of Politics
Speaking of brilliant, a friend of mine recently came up with an incredible idea… Just like corporations, before they go public, there should be a mandatory “quiet period” right before political elections. That way, people could just think for themselves, without being exposed to all the propaganda and misguided rantings of the mainstream media. I’m in.
Of course, he thought it should start 48 months before the election.
The truth is that, no matter the outcome, I will be disappointed. I’ll either be disappointed at the fact that we chose to keep a president who is mediocre, at best, or I’ll be disappointed that we chose his opponent, who thinks corporations are people and doesn’t see a problem with money running Washington and buying our politicians. Mostly I’ll continue my disappointment at what our political system has become. Nothing more than a way of dividing our country, across party platforms, based on issues that have no place in America’s politics and have nothing to do with moving our country forward on the world stage.
My quiet period begins now.
But I can’t keep quiet about this…
Bob Levinson
For those of you who have been following my stuff for a while, you may remember that I have a friend whose father, a retired FBI agent, went missing in March 2007, while visiting Kish Island, a small resort island off the coast of, and belonging to, Iran.
Bob is now the 2nd longest held hostage in American history.
You know – I don’t think I ever met Bob, but I’m certainly looking forward to meeting him upon his safe return. I’ve met his wife. I’ve met most of his seven children, and all I can say is that this is an awesome family who deserves to have him back.
In a recent, brilliant move, earlier this week, during the UN General Assembly in New York City, the Levinsons got billboards up in Times Square asking the international community for help in finding their missing family member. Next thing you know, in an interview with CBS, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave an indication that Bob was still in alive and, possibly, still in Iran. He also seemed to indicate that he thought that Iranian and American intelligence had discussed this matter and an agreement has been reached.
For the sake of accuracy, here’s the article I read.
Be sure to watch the CBS video, all the way at the end of this article.
Family of missing FBI agent Robert Levinson rents out Times Square billboard
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/family-missing-fbi-agent-robert-levinson-rent-times-square-billboard-pleading-u-n-delegates-article-1.1167970
I’m thinking this is awesome news. As far as I know, this is the first time that anyone from Iran has acknowledged knowing anything about Bob. Also, as far as I know, there had been no news of Bob at all since that grainy 57-second video that surfaced in 2010, showing him captive – no one knew where. Hopefully, this new information is the start at bringing this thing to an end and bringing Levinson home safely.
You know, I’m an action guy, a “run guy”, a “what can I do guy”. Unfortunately, all any of us can can do in this case is to be calm, be quiet, and hope (or pray – if that’s your gig) for Bob’s safe return. I’m in…
You can learn more at the family’s website, by following this link:
Stay strong Levinson family. You guys rock and I raise my fruity drink to you.
As far as the rest of you…
You should spend the day being thankful for your ability to be with the ones you love.
…and if you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with.
That’s all I have for today. There must be tequila somewhere on this ship.
Barnsley!!!
Peace
– Arch
When I look around…
September 7, 2012
…everybody always brings me down.
Well is it them or me, well I just can’t see,
but there ain’t no peace to be found.
I did a bit of traveling last week and, while I was out, I heard some whacky things had happened. First someone told me that Clint Eastwood had made President O disappear. Two thoughts ran through my head, first – I didn’t know Eastwood possessed such talents, and two – if he could make Obama disappear, why had he waited this long? Hopefully he’ll disappear in November, all by himself. Obviously Eastwood was using some new secret technology. I know we didn’t have this a few years back. If we could make presidents disappear, there’s no way we would have put up with 8 years of Dubya. Naturally, I was excited about this new technology.
Almost immediately someone let me know that I was way off base. They explained to me that Dirty Harry hadn’t made the president disappear at all, he had just turned him into a chair. Hmmm? I didn’t like this at first. I guess I was temporarily overlooking the value and genius of turning politicians into furniture. I mean, anything that will turn something noisy and useless into something quiet and useful has to be valuable… Right?
I wonder if we could turn politician’s wives into furniture? I could see turning Redhead of the Week, Elizabeth Harper Kucinich (34), wife of U.S. Congressman and former Democratic Presidential candidate, Dennis Kucinich (65), into a nice recliner.
Oh, she’s a politician too? Perfect. I’m thinking one of those recliners that has a cup holder, so I can have a beer while watching the new season of Sons of Anarchy on FX. Yes/no?
That was a joke, Liz. Call me.
Oh wait, my bad, I don’t date married women anymore. Lunch?
Finally, I decided to watch the video clip myself and see what Mr. Eastwood had actually done. The whole thing was actually a little surreal. I mean, whether or not you like the Pubs or the Crats, you have to admit that there are a whole lot of brilliant minds at work behind the scenes and a whole bunch of these geniuses had to have agreed that this was a good idea. It wasn’t. It was stupid. It was disrespectful and I expect more from those who want to run our country.
The really amazing thing to me was that during Super Bowl XXXVIII, when Justin Timberlake tore off a part of Janet Jackson’s clothing in the now famous wardrobe malfunction, the network cut off the “exposure” in a half-second but this boob was allowed to stay on the air for over 12 minutes. Unbelievable!
So, I really wanted to end this week’s installment there, leaving it short and sweet, but i have to ask the question…
How stupid do these politicians think that we are?
In as much as the mainstream media is tainted and you can hardly ever get an unbiased look at anything being reported, there is never any television programming that is more insulting to the intelligence of the American public than the broadcast of either the Republican National Convention or the Democratic Convention.
It’s amazing to me that every major network agrees to cover and broadcast countless hours of lies, bent and/or misguided truths, and just all out bullshit. It’s so funny… The commentators during the RNC told us that, according to the polls, Romney needed to appeal more to women. Next thing you know, Ann Romney is out there yelling, “I love you women!” Really? Are there really women at home watching and going, “oh good… she loves me… I’m voting for them now”. Really?
Then there was Elizabeth Warren, I actually like about 60% of what she’s all about but I can’t believe she brought up her Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Yes, it may have been her idea but why didn’t Obama appoint her to run it? Answer: Because Wall Street was scared to death of her and they pressured the white house to appoint someone else. So, she got to create her bureau and she gives Obama credit for making it happen but, at the end of the day, it’s all bullshit. Think about it… What has the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau done for you? You know, other than restrict your ability to do balance transfers. That’s protection, baby… Thanks!
I think my two favorite speakers were Bill Clinton and Marco Rubio. Although I don’t agree with much of his politics, you gotta love Bill Clinton, and not just because of his cigar skills. The guy is a great speaker. I remember the first time I heard him speak and I remember think, “oh crap… this guy is going to be president”. He’s still the most popular Democrat alive and I’d probably consider voting for him again. Cheers, Bill.
But Hey… Things are different now and Barrack Obama is no Bill Clinton. And again, really? Do you think that by hugging each other on camera, you’re going to make me think that you are in political alignment. We’re just not that stupid. The whole thing is insulting.
Marco Polo
One relatively fresh face to the game is Florida Senator Marco Rubio. Unfortunately, like any other politician wanting to be successful, he had to align himself with one of the big two political parties and he chose to be a Republican. So, to a certain degree, you should expect some of the usual Republican party platform from him. But I see a guy who, like me, is way more concerned with making America great and would love to end the Democrats vs. Republicans bullshit that gridlocks our country and prevents us from moving forward. I’ve been following this guy for a while. He’s all about fiscal responsibility, having a balanced budget, protecting America’s credit rating, and making America better than we’ve ever been before. I like this guy. If you missed his speech at the RNC, I leave you with it…
Dude, be careful. Do not drink Clint Eastwood’s water.
That’s all I have for today.
Peace
– Arch



























