Middle East Thoughts (graphic image included) plus other notes

Its 2:11 pm


   Enjoying the summer heat as it once again hits the low to mid 90s in SE Michigan. Sort of muggy outside but still no rain as of yet. I'll be heading out to water the plants as it sort of cools off later tonight.
 Work is going well....we got the new chair and table this week but to our dismay the table has a crack in it so we have to get a new one via a exchange.


Been keeping my eye on the Turkey-Syria situation which hit a new high as Syrian forces shot down a Turkish Phantom II fighter that was on a normal recon mission at their borders. While Syria is trying to claim it didn't know it was a Turkish plane they were shooting it,the claim they thought it was a Israeli Air Force plane is laughable.




  For one thing,the Israelis no longer use the Phantom as a first line fighter,they fly only F-15s and 16s now.
The only older model jet they still use,the A-4 Skyhawk is only used as trainer. Second,if that had actually been a Israeli pilot,no way would he have been caught off guard by a Syrian radar sight. He might have given them a 10 second warning to quit lighting him up before he would have destroyed the site.

    But Syria is a strange place these days. The so called "civil war" is not nearly as one sided as you may have been led to believe. The Assad government is only doing some of that killing that the Western press/UN  monitors now has the world up in arms about. Fact is,the so called rebel movement is deadly farce,the "Free Syria Army" is being bankrolled by the US. Both sides are just as bloodthirsty as the other. And thanks to various sites,videos are now being posted showing just how evil the so called rebels REALLY are. Between the fake shootings,posting videos of Mexican drug cartel violence and claiming its the Assad regime killing more "innocents" to down right murdering fellow Syrians then filming themselves as martyrs and carrying the dead person to try and get "help". Basically,its poorly made propaganda 101.






Its also the reason why Russia and China are starting to back Assad with more aid,including new helicopters and other equipment. The US and our allies have made a grave mistake in thinking that if they help these Arab countries overthrow their old governments that they'll embrace democracy. That shit ain't going to happen. It didn't happen when we helped Libya w/Mommar,Iraq /Saddam,Iran with Khomeni and Egypt with Mubarak. All this meddling has done is trade one asshole for another. Sudan is now 2 countries,is there now peace? Nope. Libya....peace? Nope and in fact there is now ethnic cleaning taking place there (but not being reported by the US media or commented on by politicians who banged the war drums so loudly)
  How is Iraq doing these days? They just experienced a massive wave of bombings that killed dozens and wounded countless more. Soon our forces will be gone and the same violence we are seeing in Syria will happen there.
 Egypt.....the lion's share of the press coverage for their uprising....yeah,right. Between a US journalist being sexually assaulted,a huge mob of men attacking a group of women who merely want their voices heard just as the men are to the army taking control and making rumblings about the Camp David peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.




Many said that this treaty wouldn't last but it has done so despite leadership changes in both countries. But by turning a blind eye to Mubarak's slow decline into becoming another Shah of Iran,the US has lost any and all trust they could have had with the new regime




Increasingly we are starting to see little flare ups more and more as the Middle East is becoming more unstable and with Europe in a mess and our attention is focused on our own election,its just not surprising to see a incident like the shooting down of the Turkish Phantom. (and the loss of its aircrew).
  This region is never easy but with the withdrawal of our forces in Iraq plus the need to re-arm and re-equip our armed forces and the continuing mess in the EU means a spark like this could set off a most dangerous problem. You got to hand it to Turkey for not flying off the handle and counterattacking the Syrian missile battery or issuing a "shoot on site" on any Syrian aircraft. The loss of the plane isn't going to imperil Turkey's good air force,the loss of the two men flying it....that is a different matter....and actually finding out if it really was a  regular army unit that fired upon the Turkish plane or was it a Sunni-led"Free Syria Army" attack designed to draw Turkey into the conflict..



Time will tell and we can only hope that cooler heads will prevail between Syria and Turkey.


  Sometimes I just get damned lucky....I get a email from one of my real personal heroes,Lacye Presley,who said her aunt was writing a book about breast cancer and how do caretakers handle the illness. She asked me if I could get in touch with her aunt and I said "Yes". Out of the blue I suddenly asked her if I could interview her! She very kindly said yes and this week,I got to "chat" with her on a number of topics as well as sending her a lot more questions. This is getting pretty exciting....Lacye Presley,hot designer Evon Cassier,once I get my interviews back and written,by posting them here,I sure hope I can get at least 12 followers on here *LOL*. Been trying to rack my brain on how I can get more traffic here and it is all about getting people to like the content. My favorite teapublican in disguise,Renee,said she really thought adding the photos was a nice touch. (I have a feeling she might be a little upset with me on this blog).Of course hearing/seeing anything in the comment box would be great...

  Monday is Lori's next check-up....please keep us in your prayers. Just want everything to stay the course,feel like we are starting to get a little head of steam going here....going to build the bird feeder this week as well as paint the deck. Next up is replacing our crappy kitchen sink and painting the bathroom!
That is all I got for now.....

enjoy the weather!

8th Anniversary Part 2....

Its 10:55 am


     Stepping away for a minute for a cup of coffee!

Last Thursday was the second day of our 8th anniversary celebration. And we spent it working on the yard. More weeding,mulching and planting. We also wanted to improve our patio a bit and since now is actually the best time to get patio furniture,we resumed shopping for that table that we tried for a few days back over at Garden Ridge.
  We didn't bother going back to Garden Ridge,since there was no way knowing if the table was even in stock that we had looked at before.
  We stuck closer to home and went looking. Patio furniture generally goes on clearance last week of  June/1st week of July,the best prices of the season happen then...why now instead of late August? I have no idea,but just glad they are on sale now.
  And as just so happens...we found the same table that was on sale at Garden Ridge for 99.00 on sale at another store for 69.00 plus free shipping to the house! Pretty jazzed up at this to say the least.  All we need now is a few new planters and to rebrick the backyard where our plastic fence is slowly falling apart.
  Just means we have to save a little more but by planning smart and within our budget,we can do this!



   We had hoped to weed and put in fresh topsoil in our two old wooden planters in order to plant some new flowers,upon closer inspection,it wasn't going to happen. Both planters were ready to kick the bucket and we only being held together by the rusted metal bands around them. When I emptied the dirt,they fell apart in my hands. But they had done a nice job and we are ready to get a pair of new ones. After washing off the deck in hopes of painting it,we watched the weather. It called for rain so we didn't dare risk it even though the day was perfect for it.
  Of course you know what I'm writing next,right? It didn't rain....it got cloudy and even very windy but nary a drop fell on us. But you can't take that risk with painting,right?



You just shake your head and start watching for another 2 day gap where you're home and the rain isn't going to fall.
  After tussling a bit more in the yard,we headed out for some light activities and hitting a few yard sales.
I'm on the hunt for the Hunger Games trilogy and think I can find it at a yard sale.
The day was very hot....we loaded up a couple of coolers with iced tea and headed out in search of bargains.




Thursdays are always the best day to shop if you are on the hunt and looking for the best items. Saturday and Sunday are the best days for bargains as most folks just want to unload what they don't sell.
We had a bit of a struggle looking for a sale because it was so hot. But after 15 minutes we started hitting the signs pointing towards folks having a yard sale.
   We cruised by several sales that we call "baby sales" which means that the sale is aimed at moms/families with kids. They are dominated by baby clothes,books and toys and won't really have anything for us. Sometimes they are good for household items but not very much. A good yard sale host will post " Mom 2 Mom" on their signs,this helps the casual shopper from wasting time on a sale that won't have anything for them.
  After stopping by 4-6 sales and seeing zero to buy,we sort of noticed a trend,the sales were really bad. Not only wasn't there that much to sell (and at 95 degrees you weren't going to host a sale just because you're bored!) but was there was very poor quality. I mean it it was "tucked in a basement under a smelly blanket" type of items and we really had seen those types of sale other then in towns like Redford or Inkster.
  Seemed a lot of work for not very much money to be made...
We found a subdivision wide sale and headed in. This was a senior condo complex and it was quite active. Lots of sales abounded so we parked and started walking them...and again,the trend held true. Lot of sellers,just not a lot of good items....we both had a idea what we wanted and so if we didn't see it within a minute,we headed out.
   At our 11th house,we found a lovely tote bag that was almost brand new. I saw a Colin Powell autobiography but it was a very outdated (1995) one so I passed. But I did a gentleman look at a food processor that was on sale for 3 bucks...he was holding it,inspecting it,looking at the brand...you could see he thought it was a good item and he wanted it.At 3 bucks....it was a steal,right? He walks up to seller and says "How about a dollar for this"? The seller,a elderly man,looks at him and says "Two dollars". The potential buyer snorts and says "That is too high",puts it down and leaves. Just had to shake my head at the gall of the asshole. Just rude.
     After a few sales,I finally caught a nice little break....a gentleman was selling tons of paperback books.
While I didn't get any Hunger Games luck...I did buy quite a few of James Patterson's Alex Cross series for .50 cents apiece (his asking price) which I thought was very fair.





   And that was pretty much the end of the hunting. We headed home back to our cool house.




Was wondering if anyone else caught the Dateline NBC last Sunday "Lost in Suburbia"?
Thought it was a pretty good show....showing 3 former middle class families that are being affected by the continuing recession.



The show showed a pair of married couples and a 50 year old single mom in Colorado.
One married couple both worked good jobs,one married couple had a stay at home mother and the single mom worked. All three families had a central medical issue that affected them once they lost their jobs.
I guess what I found shocking is the attitude about going to a food bank,having a EBT card,asking for help with the rent. I mean,really??? Where have these people been the past 5 YEARS? Millions and millions of people have lost homes,jobs,savings,marriages and have to rely on a social safety net to get by. The number of middle class families holding on for dear life hasn't gone away,you just don't hear about them as much as the 2.7 billion dollar race for the White House has pretty much been the only headline news you're going to see until Febuary 2013.
   To see just how bad it still is out there for people....we re-arranged our freezer and deep freezer based on a idea Lori saw online. The same day this happened,I sold my first 3 deep freezers. All of them were going to the basements so folks could stockpile,there is a real uneasy feeling that is starting to re-assert itself.
  What about in your area,have you noticed any vast improvements or declines? Drop a comment,love to hear what you have to say....

8th Anniversary -Day One

Its 2:41 pm

   Sitting at the casa.....watching the carpet dry out,sipping on some coffee and looking outside at the puffy clouds floating on by. Its been a beautiful summer week here in SE Michigan...a trio of 90+ days and now its falling back into the 80s.....


   What a perfect time to reflect that on the 19th of June,it was Lori and my's eighth wedding anniversary.
Just seems like yesterday that we were married in front of our friends and family in Northville. We have really battled through some rough times but yet at the same time,it has never seemed like it. Layoffs,businesses closing,unemployment,death and illness...not so much mountains but hills that you have to walk a little harder to get over. I know I am a blessed man to have found such a complete woman to share my life with.
We were enjoying lunch while making some future activity plans and saw that last year on this day,we were at our 3rd Chemo treatment. Just so blessed to be able to plan for the future....
  I worked on the actual day of our anniversary so we decided to celebrate it the next two days instead. Now we had looked into going to Put-In-Bay but since the prices have doubled during the busy season,we decided to stay closer to home. We thought of meeting Lori's friend Shawn in Frankernmuth but that didn't pan out as well. So back to square one...
   Our first big activity? We scheduled a appointment to get our carpet cleaned! I can't tell you how big this was to us...such a mundane thing but when the budget is this tight,you find yourself putting it back and back and back. And add in cancer and medical bills on top of that and well,you can see where I'm heading with this.
  So that was our first thing we did on Wednesday.



 After some light chores around the house,we headed out on the awaited Chair Replacement Project. I had blogged about a old comfy chair we had gotten for 65.00 off of eBay about 4 years ago. About 7 months ago,the fabric on one of the arms tore and has slowly eroded ever since. The chair has been restricted to "cat chair" status only with very rare human sittings allowed.
  We debated on what to do with the chair....repair,ebay or replace with a new chair. We decided to go with the new chair and started a self-made Kickstarter program for it. For seven months we have saved and scrimped all with the goal of getting a new chair!
 And today was the day we ventured out.....we first went to here






This store is in Westland and right next door to closed Value City store that went belly up years ago. Its a type of location that unless you are intending to go there,you'll won't. There is also a big Dollar Tree store on the other side where my buddy Scuba Steve used to work at before being transferred. When we pulled up,we saw only 5 cars were in the parking lot. I told Lori that I bet we'll be the only ones in here other then the sales staff.
   Turns out I was right..now we didn't to buy anything here,their product is just crappy. But what you CAN get is a good price guage,see what you can get for the dollar. The sales guy we talked to,Mike,was very pro and friendly and didn't try any high pressure tactics despite what must be just terrible business. We were very thankful for that as we walked and looked at the different chairs.
   While a lot of them looked nice,sitting in one just reminded you how cheaply made they are. Uncomfortable to sit in,with very little cushion on the armrest. And after I got stuck in a recliner and had to struggle to get out....well,we had seen enough




and bailed out of the store and back into the 95 degree heat.
Now we do have a lot of furniture stores around here or did. Between getting blown up by a gas explosion like Frank's Furniture in Wayne did over a year ago....




to La-Z-Boy closing a lot of their stores,including the one right by our house,


its not quite as easy to shop and find a good deal. But since we knew we were going to Art Van's anyways,we weren't sweating it that much (and we weren't,thanks to my car's AC!!).
Art Van was just a couple of miles down the road from Value City and within minutes we were there. Talk about night and day! Fully air conditioned,nice muted lighting and a very nice salesperson named Wanda who greeted us with a smile and helped direct us to our area.
  We looked at several chairs and while they were top notch,they also threatened to take up our whole budget to boot! Because not only were we looking for a new chair but also a new coffee table. The little Ikea table was nice but it was time for a upgrade. We moved about and then went back to the clearance center,which featured discounted pieces that were just as nice as most any other furniture store around.
We spotted a very nice club chair for 148.00 but it had been "sold". The tag said to see Wanda(yep,our Wanda). We had noticed other chairs/couches that had been sold but to check with a staff member because there might about model in the back. We hoped that this would be the case as the chair was very nice and comfy!
  We walked back up front to ask about the chair...Wanda said that they didn't have anymore in the back at that price but that was okay...because the person who had ordered the chair had called just minutes before and cancelled his order! Talk about good timing! The buyer,who was a doctor,called and said the chair was too big for his waiting room and he had to change his mind.



Needless to say,we jumped all over that incredible deal and then went looking for a coffee table..after 20 more minutes we spotted the perfect table to go into the living room. Once again,we walked into a nice deal. Art Van was running a promotion that was scheduled to run at night...between 8 and 10 pm,they had a 16% off sale off everything in the store and the tags even said so. But after asking Wanda about it and she in turn asking her manager about it,they extended that deal to us as well. So a 200.00 table became a 166.00 table. Seven months of hard saving had gotten us a nice chair and table.




 After arranging a delivery time,we said "Good bye" to Wanda and headed out,very happy. We then poked our car towards Northville and headed that way. Lori dropped me off at the Barnes and Noble bookstore while she went to Pier One Imports.
  Saw my old buddy Paul who was setting up a Batman book display. I have known Paul now for about 10 years now. He is one of the coolest dudes around,hip,funny and loves GOOD books. We riffed on the hot book of the moment,50 Shades of Gray and he asked if I had heard about it. I said I had,it had evolved from a fanfic by a woman who liked the Twilight series. Fanfics are infamous for taking popular characters and putting them in highly sexual engagements...99% of the type aren't even fit for a catbox. I had a friend who used to love to write these and would ask what I thought,now this was years ago and I was really honest. It was borderline porn and not original,exciting or creative. Of course feelings were hurt but she asked and I answered.
   We saw the new Glenn Beck was out as well....I asked Paul if he used it as a stepladder (he is about 5'2) to stack the "real"books. He cracked up and said no. We made more small talk and I told him about the blog. I went to get his email address and he offered me the Beck book to write on. He said "See,he does have SOME value" which in turn cracked me up.

When I found out that the new issue of  FANGORIA featured Debbie Rochon (and about time!) on the cover,I really wanted to check it out! So I cruised to the zine section only to find that the issue was SOLD OUT!!! Super bummed to be sure as many of you know I adore Debbie greatly,she is one of the sweetest actors I have ever run across and am a huge fan of her work.

 
With that happening,I went with my second choice and grabbed Air Force Monthly which had a excellent series of articles of the 30th anniversary of the Falkland War between the UK and Argentina. In fact,tomorrow...the 23rd of June marks the day that Argentina invaded the islands. Recently there has been some saber rattling by the Argies over the islands but the Brits are far more ready this time. There won't be a second war.
   After the bookstore,we went out to eat at the Macaroni Grill,which is one of Lori and mine favorite places to dine at.



After a long day,we called it a day and headed back home......we still had one day off to celebrate and I'll cover that in my next entry.



















 

Randomness

Its 9:26 am

     Just got a cup o' Joe out while looking at an amazing looking day outside. Got a lot errands to run so this one will be sorta short.

Thank you to Coco and Laurel for the kind comments on the last entry. Good to know that folks are coming back and sending some feedback. Makes it so much easier to get up and jot down some words.

   The election rhetoric is heating up as we near the stretch run of the Presidental race. Both sides spending 1.3 BILLION combined for the White House. That,in a nutshell,explains that every single politician Washington is out of touch with us,the average American. I'm working part-time for an incredibly low wage (despite my education/background) yet being asked to donate to either party. Really???
  The combined parties are so intent on spewing hate ads,misleading lies and PR grabbing directives that the most pressing issue,the creating of jobs is being ignored or blocked and won't be addressed until January 2013.
   The fallout of this is being felt...I didn't mention that last week,we both came tired and decided to grab a pizza for dinner. I pulled out our coupon book and grabbed a Marco's Pizza coupon.

 

Now we have enjoyed Marco's before and had ordered there many times but after a couple of so-so pizzas we had discovered better places and so we never went back. But since Marco's is a chain,you sort of take them for granted. We did and so when I went upstairs to find the number to call for dinner..I was taken aback when I found the store in our town had went out of business. Of course there are many factors for this...we have so many diners and pizza shops in our area that are clamoring for your dollars. But the main factor is that those dollars are getting fewer as once again,Americans are cutting back on spending. And when you read that an average American's net worth went from 126,000 to 76,000 since 2007 and with wages being cut to the bone,the recession hasn't gone away so much as Americans are doing their best to adjust to it.
   Now while I see that has been a upsurge in homes selling,I also see that foreclosures are still keeping pace,gain a home,lose a home.Its not a recovery,its treading water,right?
  Since this incident with Marco's last week....we found out two more diners have went belly up,that is 5 in just six weeks. And my wife has told me a entire chain of clothing stores,over 600 strong is going to be shut down early next year,another 1,200-2,000 people who will be losing their jobs. Its a real shame that we have already seem to have forgotten that so many folks are losing their benefits,in fact,a lot of folks won't even become 99ers,the states and feds have cut the amount you can collect for unemployment.
  How many of you know someone affected NOW by the hidden recession?

Had nice encounter at my local Petco when I went to get cat food. As you may know,Petco and PetSmart have a section where you can adopt a cat(s) for your family. While many of the adoption centers are run by volunteer groups,sometimes thing happen when they are not there. Dirty litterboxes,empty food bowls,low water and even a illness. When I see this,I always bring it to the attention of the store manager or worker so they can handle it. Most of them always put it off on the volunteer group,but its rather unacceptable to myself. If the water is low....fill the bowl already!! Dirty litterbox? Empty it,it only takes 3-5 minutes to clean a box,right?
  Yesterday being a Sunday when I walked in and saw the mess,I didn't have much hope that any volunteers would be around to change the cages and they were dirty. I got my cat food and went to pay for it,the store manager was working and I let know my concerns. I can't tell you how quickly he responded to my comment,he was aware of the situation and had assigned a staff member to handle despite being short handed



 Needless to say,I was pretty stoked as was a couple behind me who had also commented. I thanked the manager for his compassion and left. While I generally shop at PetSmart,this Petco has won my loyalty and my business for such a kind act. Funny how something so small can move so many.

Of shopping,yard sales and seeing a good friend

Its 9:32 am

   Looking outside at a hot muggy summer day....we're expected to hit 90 today and tomorrow. Guess that means summer is now in session,right?

Hope everyone is doing well on Father's Day. I chatted with my pops yesterday and he is doing well. We talked about the U.S.Open and how rough it is this year to play on the revamped course. Pops isn't a big Tiger Woods fan so he was pretty happy Tiger faded a bit. His buddy Coke,who is 73,fell and broke his hip this week and is in a rehab center. I told my dad that the recovery time for a broken hip is so much faster these days and if Coke works hard,he'll be back at 'em in a few weeks. After seeing my mother-in-law bounce back so quickly,I know my dad's good buddy can do the same.

   But that wasn't the only medical issue going on this week...seems Lori had developed a nasty rash on her arm that burned and itched like crazy. It also was painful so that led us to think it was a insect bite of some kind. Now because I had been to a dermatologist for a unrelated matter,we decided Lori should go as well.
Because now the rash had spread to her stomach and when you have recently dealt with a serious cancer scare,you don't want to take ANY chances.
 So Friday afternoon,she went and saw the doctor....I was pretty perplexed to say the least,I thought maybe a spider bite or perhaps bedbugs (God forbid) but I had gotten nary a bite or itch.
  Imagine our surprise when we learned that Lori,who had worked on the yard during the week had stumbled across this bugger






Yep,you're looking at your basic poison ivy plant! Now despite living here for 13 years,I didn't know poison ivy grew in Michigan. I have caught a couple of cases myself in California,didn't think it could grow here because of the weather. And it explains why she suddenly started itching like mad on her stomach. Poison Ivy is such a nasty beast. Hot/cold compresses,Benedyl (from my yellowjacket adventure) and calamine lotion are now the order of the day. Its like our yard is getting revenge for last summer lack of love.

But before this was somewhat resolved,we took a road trip to Fairlane Mall in Dearborn. Macy's was having a one day sale and since we also had coupons,well...I know what some of you are saying "Why Fairlane Mall when 12 Oaks or Westland is so much closer"? We needed to go to Garden Ridge as well,we're looking for a larger,heavier patio table and since the two places are close together. Plus,we were going in the middle of the day so the safety factor was high as well.
   I mean,they don't call this place "Scarelane Mall" for nothing,right? We found a good parking spot and went into Macy's. The store was busy,lot of Middle Eastern moms were out with the kids,school had gotten out for the summer and it was a good time to shop for summer/vacation clothes as the prices were really very good.
  We ended up getting 2 new pillows,a food chopper,a father day gift for my dad and a couple of nice shirts for me. It was a very pleasant experience to shop at such a nice store with friendly and professional customer service. The 2 other Macy stores in this area could learn a thing or 3 about helping guests from the Dearborn store.
   

We said goodbye to Macy's and headed on over to Garden Ridge. Now I have wrote about this store before,its a poor man's Menards/HomeDepot/Party City. We do find good deals here but the place is such a hot ghetto mess its hard to stay in there and shop. Last time we were there,I ended up sweeping up 2 broken plates that had been there for a while,they didn't have enough staff to spare anyone to handle it. Its always a "hold your breath,dash in and out"type of place...
  But wow....were we pleasantly (again) surprised this time! The store was in perfect order and there was a army of workers this time and everyone of them was doing something! This put us at ease and we were able to shop comfortably...but this came at a cost as the prices were higher then before. Of course this being the start of summer and demand being high for summer items,it makes sense,right?
  We walked to the table section and while we saw the perfect table,it was sold out. Now Garden Ridge is sort of like a Dollar Tree,its a "first come,first serve" type of store. You can't find out when the next shipment is due and you can't special order either.




  Now if the store was close to us,this wouldn't be a real problem. But being about 16-18 miles away,its not worth the crapshoot to see if the table is there or not. So back to square one....we'll be looking at stores closer to home for the table. Sort of a shame actually because we really liked the idea of buying from Garden Ridge.
 
   Headed back home to help our neighbor set up her yard sale. We had agreed to to co-host the sale except for one small item. We really didn't have anything to sell! After our yard sale last year,we donated what we didn't sell to the local Goodwill Store. And we have always donate old magazines/books to the Purple Heart guys who call us every six weeks or so...we just didn't have anything!
  But I walked over in time to set up the sale,the neighbor's son,Dylan,was sorting out his Yu-Gi-Oh cards to sell. Now that is one of the few things I did and was going to put out. I have a lot of cards and don't really need so many so it made sense. His mom said he was going to sell his cards for 12 cards for a buck. I thought that fair but I also told her he should hang on to his 1st Edition cards as finally they are starting to gain value. When I read that cards from the first booster set "Legend of Blues Eyes" were worth 50 and 60 bucks apiece,I was pretty stunned.




I went to help sort out his cards and my heart sank when I saw the condition of them. They were in pretty bad shape as far as collectors would look at and even the most casual players probably would pass on them. I still helped sort them out but I told him his mom I wouldn't being mine down...mine are in mint condition and he wouldn't make a dime. I grabbed a few old video games,the light fixture I wrote about in my last blog and a few other things. Lori went over and helped organized the tables. 30 minutes later I came out to carry the stuff over only to see my lovely wife carrying a armful of stuff BACK to the house! Seems like she was the first shopper and bought some very good items,including a brand new Wilton cookie sheet for 3.00! Hard to beat that deal! I had to laugh at that and helped set out our items on the table. Dylan came out and said he wasn't selling his cards after all and I could bring over mine if I wanted to. I went ahead and did so...and he promptly bought 36 cards! I showed his mom the condition of my cards and she said "thank you" for thinking of her son's feelings.I offered to buy her cat,Crash,but was told "no!!!".
   Yesterday was a peaceful day. Spent it puttering around the house....cleaning up,doing light chores and then checking in at the yard sale. So I'm standing there talking to our neighbor's sister who is now helping run the sale. I see a young couple who are debating buy this very cool looking candle holder...so I chip in with "That would look very nice on a kitchen table". They chat a little more and then buy it. As they start walking out,the man stops and says "You're Michael,right?" I said "Yes...I am". He says "You need a haircut" It took me a second to register that and then  it hit me ....it was Sharif! Before the group became "The Inner Circle" and evolved into this blog,I started the group to help support my friend Sharif,whom I met at the place I get my hair cut at. He had joined the National Guard and was deployed to Iraq as a mechanic but volunteered to serve as a gunner in convoy security. He spent a year there and thank God,saw no action and never had to fire his weapon in battle.
   But after he got back last year he deactivated his FB page and I lost contact. So it was just awesome to run across Sharif like that...he looked great and the young lady was his sister who was helping him shop for his new place in Westland. He shared some stories with me about Iraq,some good,some pretty bad. He invited me over for a poker night once he gets into his new place. Not only did he buy the candle holder but also Lori's vase that she hated. Except they did it BEFORE I saw him....
 


Not the actual vase but you can an idea how UGLY it was.....but as the saying goes "beauty is in the eye of the beholder".

   Saturday evening saw me head back over to help break down the yard sale,we folded tables and cleaned the garage enough so that my neighbor could park her car. Her sale was a major coup as she made 500.00! We didn't do too shabby consider how little we chipped in....we made 22.00 that is going to a new chair that we are still looking for. Dylan helped me carry our stuff back and I gave him a card he was looking for.
 Lori came home and we zipped over to Aldi's for a few items that we needed. But now I need to wrap this up because I have 2 cats who are flashing massive paws at me and pointing at their mouths....




Guess that means a Petco run!


 Tweets are the funniest things sometimes......and this one from English writer Sarah Pinborough just cracked me up...
"I think I'm getting a cold. That is not in my plans.This is one dull motherfucking tweet".
Way to call oneself out on the carpet there! But we do you feel better Sarah,who needs a cold in the summer?

Rodney King died today,looks like a case of drowning. Sad end to a hard life.

Happy Father's day to all the dads out there.....leaving you a helping of "Your Daily Boo".


New interview with hot designer Evon Cassier coming soon....stay tuned!

Thanks for reading.

"We'll lose the dock"....."Sir,we already have....."

Its 11:06 am

   Anyone know which movie that line came from???

Its another beautiful day here in SE Michigan. I have a lot to do so this will be a rather short entry.
I like to say "thank you" to the wonderful people who keep on reading this blog....and welcome the new folks as well. I have commented before about hard it is to drop a comment here on Blogspot because you either have to be a Blogspot member or have a Google e-mail account to comment. Its a tad bit frustrating looking at your numbers and seeing its mostly "you"who are coming by. But hey,just happy to get who I get,right?

   So after I posted yesterday.I went out to cut the grass and to plan a proper attack on the yellowjacket nest. I zipped through the grass and then grabbed the bug spray,no more wooden sticks,my heavy gloves and went back to the nests. I checked the first nest which I thought had been cleaned out but nope,the 'jackets had returned....so I stood back,checked how the wind was blowing and then hit the nest. 5-6 jackets dropped on the deck. I hit the other side as well and got one more.
   Then on to the main nest,where I had gotten my ass lit up on Saturday night. I was put on my gloves for this one because I knew there were a lot more in this nest then the first one. I got a good angle,pressed the trigger (I can see all the NRA readers drooling reading this) and squeezed. Instantly 7-8 came out,5 dropped,one flew away and two came at me....and I shot both down with another dose of spray.
I moved to the other side and repeated,another group came pouring out and I had to shoot three more down but the nest was cleared. The wind angle had changed and I got spray on my legs and shirt which I promptly washed off with a garden hose. I went inside and took a long shower. Its going to be a long summer if I can't get these nests cleared...
    After the very long past weekend,Lori and I have decided we need to get away ourselves. But because we are both working (can I say how nice that sounds....?) we can't always get the same days off. Next week however,we get lucky and have two days off together...so we thought a trip to Put-In-Bay would be a good idea.
  Put-In-Bay is in Ohio and we have been there 3 times already and have had a wonderful time. We stay with the same guy who has two bed and breakfast homes and he always throws in a free golf cart. But each time we have visited out of season....when rates are very cheap and the visitors are not so plentiful. This trip however falls into the tourist season and the rates pretty much double....we have to have a plan B which I think is going to Birch Run/Frankenmuth to chill with Lori's old college friend Shawn. Shawn is the one who treated us to the Frankie Valli show about 18 months ago and with whom we hung out with at the Lansing Street Fair last summer. She is also a cancer survivor and a huge music lover. While we have been to Birch Run recently,it has been a long time since we have poked around Frankenmuth so hopefully there will be lots to see and do.

   Alrighty then....I have to scoot....lots to do and little time to do it. I am grilling hot dogs and making a pasta salad for dinner tonight...


Be safe everyone and thank you for reading!



Happy birthday Boomer!!!!

Catching up......

Its 2:01 pm

   I'm looking outside at a cool,crisp day,drinking some coffee and talking to a bear. Yep,I speak bear fluently,its a skill I picked up about 13 years ago back in California. I learned it from my friend Melissa who in turn taught herself when she befriended her first bear about 15 years ago.
  I rarely get a chance to use this skill but do enjoy it when I do. My bear friend,who is named Kendra,used to be a happy-go-lucky bear but now has settled down and is raising a family now so we don't many chances to chew the fat. She is a wonderful mother and a one of a kind bear!

   So much has happened since I last blogged. Of course the BIG story was the Yankees sweeping the Mets over the past weekend! So happy about...not only they won but also scored 18 runs while holding the Mets to just 7!! But now my good buddy Tom is saying he isn't going to wear the Yankees cap if he loses....sort of bummed about that but I know he'll come up with a clever way of paying off our annual bet.
  Lori's folks came down for a visit and as usual it was a eventful weekend full of weirdness. Her dad calls us because he is restless up north and wants to get away for a few days,I can understand that....I really do. Lori and I planned a nice weekend for the visit but all we got was a bitter old man who is obsessed with money and expecting to get paid back for every little kind deed he does. He wonders why he has no one ever come to visit them....why?
  This story he has told me twice now....a neighbor's trailer blew up and he lost everything. Lori's dad gave the guy 100.00 towards recovering his life. Nice gesture,right? Well,not really.....because of that gesture,Phil (Lori's dad) now feels that the guy,who they ran across at a local diner,should have bought them a fish dinner! No,I'm not kidding....he then tells me 3 or 4 more stories like that. I was just shaking my head...and wondering if he was spewing such crap about us. While we are very thankful for his help during our medical ordeal this past year,its very disheartening to know that is how he is expressing himself. But I think he knows better then that...after all...we took care of his sister and her severe injury last year and the side effects of that. Lori is a such a good daughter who really has helped her parents in so many ways and her dad should be very proud of her. To expect people to repay a kind gesture,I mean really....if anything,you want that person not to repay YOU  but hopefully pay it forward to someone else who might need a helping hand!
   Anyway,we did end up going to Cabelo's down in Dundee. This place is HUGE






Its has 2 levels of whatever a hunting,camping,fishing fanatic would want. The place is always packed and you can see cars from Ohio,Illinois and Indiana in about the same amount of Michigan license plates.
 Phil loves the outdoors so we thought this would really make his day....we got Lori's momma (who has Alzheimer's) into a wheelchair and I kept her entertained by pushing her around the store.
 This enabled Lori to help her dad spend a little fun time just poking around...looking at light jackets for her mom. We spent about 2 hours there before we left....without finding a jacket despite many cute ones for sale. He stated he wasn't impressed because had already been to Bass Pro Shops (but didn't find a jacket there either)
We decided to have lunch at a local place in Ann Arbor called The Bread Basket,he ordered 2 corned beef sandwiches while Lori had a salad and I had a roast beef. He bitched about his sandwich...I ended up giving him half of mine.  Lori told me he had bitched about the hamburgers she has grilled up...and while she was fixing dinner,he was watching TV but told her "keep a eye on your mom". Now I was at work so I missed that but that would have set my teeth on edge. This is why I hate when he comes down the most....as soon as he gets here,he dumps his wife's care on us completely. Now I don't mind helping out but its important he stays in the picture because Lori's mom is used to seeing him every day when it comes to cleaning her up,feeding her and getting ready for bed. Just to quit doing it puts a lot on undue stress on her...so we have to tell him to stay involved.
   Sunday was much better and no drama,I worked and came home and grilled up some steaks we got from Marv's (aka Eastern Market of Canton). We watched the Tigers for a while then I went to bed early since I opened at 6 am the next morning. Lori's folks left later that day and got home safely. But as far as them coming down again....Lori is pretty much dead set against it. Its sort of sad on many levels because her dad wasn't always like that....not by half.

   Oh yeah.....I almost forgot....because I guess I am just embarrassed by my stupidity. Saturday night after dinner we were all sitting outside just chatting. Lori was telling me that they had knocked down a yellowjacket's nest that was between our screen door and patio glass door. We could see the remains while we talked. Now I had nuked the two nests that once again had been built last year with bug spray. In fact after seeing that destroyed nest,I peeked at one of the nest and only saw two dead yellowjackets that had been killed but not fallen.
   Good news....but now we saw that they had moved to a new area by our kitchen window. Now this is where its gets stupid.
   We see the nest....now instead of waiting til it got cooler or the next day when I could safely nuke the nest,what did I do? Went inside and grabbed a small stick....now I know what you're thinking. Don't put a stick in a hornet's nest,right? Well....I go back outside and said "This might be a bad idea" But Lori had a watering plant can and said "I'll drown them when they hit". So we proceed to knock down the small nest and sure enough,she drowned about 4-5 yellowjackets. Yay team!
 


We then proceeded to the second big nest that I had nuked before,I peeked in and saw activity. I turned around and said "I'll have to hit it tomorrow" but Lori said "we'll use the same tactic as before". Good in theory,bad in reality. Against my better judgement,I stuck the stick in the nest behind the light and ......BAM! Saw the empty and a instant sting on my lip! Yep....I had been stung and it hurt like a motherfucker! First time I had been stung by a yellowjacket and wow....I had been stung by bees before so I knew what do and I rushed to get a credit card...which I carefully scraped across my lip which by now is starting to puff up.






This isn't me.....and it was my lower lip that looked like this. I put ice on my lip,then baking soda and water paste to help draw out the poison. Lori gave me a benedryl and after 2-4 hours,the swelling was much better. I couldn't use my CPAP machine that night because of my face but I still slept fine anyways.
  Felt back to normal the next day.....after all I am a Roughneck and wouldn't want to let Rico down....right?



I still haven't taken out the second nest as of yet,going to wait til tonight when it gets cooler and then I'm going to spray the poo outta that nest and kill 'em all!!!!!
 Okay.....I have spent way too much time on here and I have a yard that is calling my name. So I'm outta here for now....but I like to thank Christopher Petersen who tirelessly helps promote other writers and their work. In this day and age...one needs all the help they can get in promoting a new blog,book,album or whatever a artist may create. So Chris.....thank you again!

Okay,that is all I have for now.......be safe!



Laurel- Dobermans rule!

Of Gardens,baseball and football....

Its 12:56 pm

     Been a while since I wrote so I here I am...

Its a beautiful day here,in fact the weather has been downright amazing the past 4-5 weeks. We never did get any severe weather like we normally do in May/June. Of course it would be nice to get some rain but that usually comes in the way of big thunderstorms so maybe turning on the sprinkler might be the way to go...
   At this time last year,Lori was in the middle of her chemo...summer for us was just maintaining a level head and focusing on getting well...while the inside of the house was taken care of by myself,we didn't get to do much gardening outside as avoiding the sun is a key element in cancer treatments. So nothing really got done.
But this year we are so glad to be back outside...this summer we are repainting/staining our deck,putting fresh mulch down in the back patio area,planting new daisies and reshaping the front yard a bit by taking out old roots and mulching over them. At the of this writing,the back planting has been done and the front yard has been prepped. We spent a day outside weeding,raking,trimming and cleaning up. Now we just need to get the mulch when it goes back on sale.
   I decided that red mulch would add a nice color to the back yard and picked up 8 bags at the Home Depot. It was a killer price at 4 bags for just 10 bucks. Now when I got home and spread it out,it did look nice. But we had done brown mulch the past couple of times. Lori wasn't sure she was going to like it and said so when I told her on the phone what I got. I preached patience and said "Wait til you see it before saying no".




Our old brown mulch..........right?


Our NEW red mulch.....





What do you think? It makes for a nice brighter change of pace. After seeing it down in the back patio area,she agreed and actually wants to re-mulch the rest of the front yard in red as well....yay! Now of course I have to wait til it goes back on sale again....cause I'm not ready to spend 4.00 a bag when I got it for a mere 2.50...right?
  We also decided to build a brick wall in the back as well....we had a black liner that separated our grass yard from the rock beds we have now. Only now the liner is slowly being destroyed by the elements and time. Now this will be a real challenge as its going to take some serious building to do to get this right. Plus since we both have smaller cars,getting the brick home will take some doing as well...I wonder if Kickstarter would let me raise the money to fund my project? *LOL*
 We also planted some new flowers and decided not to try and grow any veggies as it was a total failure last year. I am thinking once we build the new wall this year,next year we'll finally be able to build a boxed in garden and try it again. We need the garden to be elevated off the ground as we have rabbits galore roaming about,waiting to pounce on anything that looks good.

  

We also got our supplies ready for the repainting of our deck. This happens about every 3rd year for us. We don't like to have to do it but the weather changes pretty much demand it unless we want a deck that looks crappy. The first year we were here,our buddy Scuba Steve and I painted it by hand. It was a real pain in the back but it turned out really nice and lasted two years. Then Lori and I repainted it using rollers and left me wondering what the hell Scuba and I were thinking about using hand brushes!!

  And just like our mulching project,we decided to switch the color of the deck from Cape Cod grey to more a of a muted vanilla. I think it will add a nice contrast to the red mulch and the new plants we are planting. We were aiming to do this this weekend but Lori's dad decided he wanted to visit us so we are hosting them instead. Haven't figured out what we're going to do other then maybe a run down to Cabela's Sporting store in Dundee and maybe a trip to Menard's in Toledo. Of course just as I have wrote how much I dread when Lori drives up there by herself,I have the same sense of dread knowing her 90 year old dad is also making the  470 mile round trip down here. 

 But since Irons is such a small town and there really isn't much to do,I can understand why he wants to get away and visit us. Plus getting a pair of home cooked meals doesn't hurt either as we tend to cook her dad's favorite dishes when they come by. I'm going to really push that we visit his sister since they don't really get a chance to see each other much.
   Of course this will lead into baseball talk as the Detroit Tigers continue to fumble and stumble around while the mighty Yankees are starting to surge and might be in first place in time for the first round of the Subway Series against the New York Mets.
 For the 3rd year in a row,sportscaster Tom Leyden from Channel 7 and myself will be battling for bragging rights as the Yankees and Mets battle for 6 games to be King of New York. Two years despite splitting the series at 3 wins apiece,I lost the bet on ONE RUN and after being denied help by my two other Met's fans in finding me a cheap ass Mets cap,had to post the Mets logo on my FB for 6 weeks to pay off my bet.
Once people saw THIS on my page,all sorts of sprack happened...people asking me if I became a Mets fan,if I was going to rename my cat David Wright,did I ever find a cap,did I want free tickets....



Wow....such heat.....so of course when the Yankees won CLEANLY 4 games to 2 last year,I got a note from Tom telling me to tune in for the last minute of the Sunday show. True to his word,Tom acknowledged our bet and doffed the Yankees cap on the air.




But this year is going to be a real battle,actually both teams are playing much better then expected as the AL Beast is once again showing us why its the best in major league baseball and the NL East is also a serious dogfight with the Mets finally getting their first (Jim Joyce) no-hitter in team history and staying in the division title hunt. Its going to be too close to call so as I told my brother,I just hope the Yanks can put a 10 run beat down in the first so just in case its a tie.....*L*
   Of course I have to share this moment with you as well....on Sunday on the Sports Update show,they have a segment called "Stonehead of the Week" in which sports radio host Mike Stone points out a stupid incident in the world of sports and gives them a "Stonehead". Its pretty funny and 99% of the time,Stoney gets the call dead on.
 So last Sunday,Tom turns the segment to Stoney and he instantly gives baseball commissioner Bud Selig the "Stonehead" for not allowing instant replay. He points out several bad calls that happened against the Tigers recently and then as starts to mention the blown call that allowed the Mets and Johan Santana to get that no-no,Tom says" If you mention the Mets call,I'm outta here!"
  Stoney then starts talking about and true to his word,Tom bolts...Stoney calls him out for being a Mets fan and then finishes the segment including the lead into the  commericals! Its was just awesome and I was laughing so hard. Its refreshing to see such good TV with two very respected journalists just having unscripted fun and its why Sports Update is MUST see TV even at 11:30 pm on a Sunday!
  As you can see,talking about the Tigers probably won't be happening much this trip...

And keeping on the sports theme,the college football magazines are hitting the news stands. Before the 'net,a fan would circle June as to go get the newest copies of the previews zines and see where their favorite team was ranked,who they recruited and what the schedule was.
 These days,every day is June as there so many different outlets to gather information,like the blog I have on my wall here,The Sun Belt Insider. One can get scheduling news from Kevin Kelley's FBS Schedules website and even fan driven content on Yahoo Sports.
  But since I'm a oldster now,I still like buying the zines. I used to get Street and Smith's preview issue but now its only Phil Steele's book that I buy. Guy just LOVES college football and it shows in how much details he manages to squeeze in 344 pages.
   Of course being a San Jose State fan,I have to see what he has to say about the Spartans. Wow,Phil Steele is sorta of liking us in 2012. He has many Spartans on his top players list,has them on his Most Improved List yet only has them 3rd in the much weakened and final season of the WAC behind Louisiana Tech and Utah State. And also while he has them having a good season,he doesn't have them in a bowl game despite all the hype. I think the Spartans really need to win the WAC to springboard into the Mountain West on a high note. They can ill-afford to finish 3rd or less. But there was one unexpected piece of good news,attendance is up to over 18,000 per game (Spartan Stadium holds just over 30,000) so at least the fans are starting to show up again. The schedule is more suited for the team as well with no major bodybag games but will still face two very good teams in Stanford and Navy,both on the road.
 
   I still haven't heard from my current interview subject so I'm going to move on to the new person I'm interviewing,New York based fashion designer Evon Cassier. This one will be pretty damn cool,I can assure you that!
  And to my good friend Rees,I'm going to address your heartfelt and correct post this week. Because I agree with you....

Until then....thanks for reading!

21st Century Battlefield: Detroit

Its 1:37 pm

   Been one crazy week here in the metro Detroit area.....its on the edge of summer and already its looking like a fucking war zone here.....young thugs busting caps over who makes the best Kool-Aid,a granny was so scared of her 17 year old grandson that she bought a gun and ended up putting EIGHT rounds in him. Mix in the 22 year old Warren dad whose pregnant ex-girlfriend he had kidnapped,set on fire and shot twice and left for dead.
Fox 2's Charlie LeDuff exposing the criminal conditions of the working men and women of the Detroit Fire Department...when he confronted the assistant fire commissioner about the problems,he gets assaulted and cursed at.

  I guess I will start with recalling the brutal attack of the wealthy Cipriano family a few weeks ago. A adopted son who had become a drug addict,along with a friend,broke into the family home,killed the father with a baseball bat and critically wounded the mom and a younger brother.
  But what made this story so "sexy" to the local media is a synthetic marijuana called K2 which is basically poison but because its supposed to be used a incense,isn't considered illegal and you can buy at any smoke shop/gas station around here. Supposedly the suspects had smoked K-2 and this triggered the robbery.
  Because the family was wealthy and a suburb family (white),this story was a hot subject here for weeks.
The media kept on harping how bad K-2 is and had countless stories on its dangers and why is it still legal to buy. I mean,they really pushed and still are pushing on how dangerous this stuff is. But of course they completely bypass the gun shops and gun shows who push/flood the streets of Detroit. They ran several stories on how many women are buying guns,including how a woman could buy weapons with a pink pistol grip!
   So after the extensive coverage of the Cipriano case,this spurred a grandma to purchase a handgun for protection from her own grandson who was staying with his grandparents to finish high school. His parents had moved to Arizona and despite problems at the grandparents house including you guess it,a drug arrest and a fight with the grandparents,they made no moves to come get their unruly son and he remained troublesome.
  Turns out the kid had run around with the Cipriano son who had killed his father and had also been smoking K-2. This led the grandma to buy that gun...and after one incident too many,the grandma sent her husband out on a errand,loaded up her handgun ....and went and shot her grandson eight times. In self-protection of course cause you never know,7 shots may not be enough.
 The grandma was arrested for 1st degree murder...but will plead temporary  insanity.

Next up....caught the local "Let It Rip" a couple of weeks and because of the incredible upsurge in violence in Detroit,the question was asked "Does Detroit need the National Guard to help police the city"?
No,I'm serious.....that was actually a question. Now this happened the year before last in Chicago,the gang violence in the ghettos and projects was getting so bad,there were calls for the governor to deploy the National Guard. It didn't happen and by increasing the police forces in the area,Chicago survived one bloody summer.
   Now the question has been asked here.....and its a double edged sword,does Detroit need to have to the Guard here? I would say "hell no" IF Warren Evans was still Chief but with Keystone Kop Ralph Godbee in charge,its not such a stretch to say "yes....send in the Guard". The Detroit cops are so badly led and non-managed,the crime rate is just awful....its so bad,it has led to more and more citizens to arm themselves and as much as I hate to admit,I can't blame them. The cops either don't respond or they show up DAYS later to take a report that will be filed under the desk to help balance it. Every day,we hear more and more stories  on just how senseless and violent this city is.
  But it just not violence that continues to rip the city,the city leadership is also to blame. Between Dave Bing and his decision to have whatever streetlights left running in the city turned off and the absolutely god awful conditions the firehouses in the city are in,the city reflects its leaders and right now,Detroit is completely leaderless.
   Watching journalist Charlie LaDuff just trying to help the fire department and getting attacked for it just speaks volumes for the Mayor and the City Council. While the Mayor and several council members are up at super swanky Makinac Island for a 3 day "policy" session,we are being shown just how filthy and broken down the fire stations are. Human waste backing up the sewers,broken rigs that have leaks in the water tanks that would be needed to fight a actual fire and we have council people who appeared slightly tipsy,proclaiming that Detroit 18 months away from returning to its "glory days". Really????
  But the answer to the National Guard question....no,Detroit doesn't need the Guard,it just needs to have better leadership then its been getting in the past 10 years. Its no longer a "jobs can fix things",its a cultural change that is so badly needed.
  Otherwise you're going to get more incidents like this.....yesterday,two groups of thugs were across the street talking shit....about who made better Kool-Aid. You read that right.....they were frontin' about who made better Kool-Aid. Well someone's momma got dissed so one group broke out the guns and the other group did as well and gunfight broke out sending people scattering for their lives.

  Two teens were shot......all for nothing. Because all they had to do was YouTube this subject and see how Kool-Aid really is made....
But all kidding aside,this is what happens here....no one knows how to  solve problems anymore other then with a gun.

Its Saturday....good news,the fire department official who assaulted Charlie LeDuff was fired for his actions this week. Charlie also interviewed the Fire Commissioner,Don Austin,about the conditions of the stations. Austin,who landed here in high hopes a year ago,has sadly seen what he has to deal with and to his credit,he knows he is up against a real monster. You get the sense he really is aware of the problems but his hands are tied....because the new 60 million dollar headquarters for Fire and Police was put in place before he got here.
  Oh,did I mention to forget to mention that? Yep....the same leaders who allow broken EMS rigs,filthy fire stations,leaky engine companies to make runs,that close stations due to budget short comings,that staff police stations after 5 pm with 2-3 cops and lock the doors and still,after having a shooter come in and injure 4 cops with a shotgun because the metal detectors weren't working (and STILL are not!!),are having a new 60 million dollar HQ being built! And that is on top of a 300 million dollar jail that Robert Ficano is having being built using all sort of cronies in doing so,making who knows how much in kickbacks and favors. When the FBI and the Feds get done with ex-Mayor Kilpatrick,you can rest assured,Ficano will be joining Kwame in that jail cell
   And it seems like the push to ban K2 Spice is going to work. Citgo is already telling its gas station owners to pull it off their shelves. Wow.....2 high deaths and look at how fast this gets pulled. But guns,how kill and maim 30k a year? Still legal......only in motherfucking America.  *smh*

I'm off to make some Kool-Aid.