Yellow Ink

My brand not pictured

I needed an ink cartridge.  My printer was insisting that it could not go on until the yellow ink cartridge, which had run out, was replaced.  It insisted on this even though the tax document I was attempting to print contained no yellow.

Unable to convince the stubborn machine otherwise, I headed out for our local office supply store.  The printer is not a newer unit (more than two years old...imagine), so the outlets available to buy new ink are limited.   Why not replace it with a newer model?  It works very well, it's connected to our little intranet and everyone uses it.  It also has, what seems to be a vanishing attribute, a straight through paper path.  What I mean is, the media that you are printing on does not need to bend as it moves through the printer.  This is very handy when printing business cards, clear vellum sheets for overhead projection and other media that is not simple #20 inkjet paper.

I had a different brand of printer that had only two initials as a name and it had a folding paper path.  the continual jams, stutters, and waist brought about its sad and untimely demise on the office floor.   With a few kicks to be sure the beast was dead, I went and bought the printer we are still using today.

The one that is currently out of yellow ink.

I hear on the TV and radio how poorly the economy is doing and how retailers are struggling to get by with a skeleton staff.  Its very hard for them to keep the doors open.  You could not prove it by the parking lot of the mall outside the office supply store. Its 114 degrees in the shade (of which there is none) and the lot is full to brimming over. 

Cars are parked on any available open spot, marked or not, making the search for an open spot more like the "Dodge-um" amusement park ride than a .. well... search for an open parking spot.  After circling the lot and watching the temperature gauge on my old minivan slowly climb towards the red line, I finally slip into a spot that is not completely out of sight of the office supply store.

Victory! 

"Too bad for you, slackers," I smile as other cars pass by my old van with heated scowls.  For a moment, I actually entertained the idea of realigning my parked vehicle in its spot, just to watch the circling parking piranhas come flying together only to be disappointed as my van slipped back into the same parking spot.  Muhahahaha!

But the moment passes and I pause to survey the trek ahead of me across the hot asphalt.  I should have brought water. 

And maybe a camel.

Crossing the parking lot is no easy task.  Pass between parked vehicles is safe enough, so long as you watch where and in what you are stepping.  I learned long ago the little green puddles can be as slippery as sheets of ice and catching your balance by placing bare skin on a sun baked, painted car hood can be just as painful as landing on the asphalt.  But the most dangerous by far is crossing the streams.  Referred to as "access drives" or "lanes" by the uninitiated, they are streams filled with creatures more deadly and unpredictable than anything in the rivers of Africa or the Amazon jungle... impatient drivers.   Some are on the hunt for a parking spot, others attempting to escape the mall altogether.  Each are equally desperate.  Each are equally dangerous should an opening arise with you in between them and their intended target.  Having just been one of the pack, I wave them by, patient waiting for my opening to cross. 

Sweat is running down my back as I enter the store and a chill runs through me as I plunge my body into 78 degree conditioned air.  I'm greeted with a hollow "welcome to ..." by one of the minimum wage drones behind the service counter who does not even look up to see me as she speaks.  I make no attempt to get her attention or even reply, but make my way to the aisle with its perforated gondolas filled with ink cartridges in sealed plastic hangers.  All the brands are here and even some generic refill kits.  And my brand hangs right here....

Hey.  It's gone.

"Can I help you" asks a young girl covered in her "Big Box Store" smock.

"My ink is gone," I say pointing to a display now filled with another brand.

"We moved those down here," she says as she leads me to the far end of the aisle.

"But its not here either," I say as my eyes dart from one packaged ink to another, "its the one with a guitar on the box."

"Those are over here," she says point to an opposite row.  "Personally, I don't like those because its hard to read the box."

"It has a guitar on the box.  Its the only one with a guitar on the box.  Others have horses, or butterflies, or something, but only one has a guitar on the box."  My explanation failed to impress her.  "There are only singles here," I pointed out questioningly.  "Where are the multipacks?"

"I don't know," she said, "we might have them online."

I thought of my printer which is stopped mid page and demanding an ink cartridge which it did not need.  Could it sit that way while I wait for ink to be delivered?  I shook off the thought and resigned myself to paying $20 for a single ink cartridge.  I would find the multipacks somewhere else, perhaps online...

Producing the proper "member" card saved me nothing, but it did inform the management that there was still someone stupid enough to be buying ink single packs and just who that idiot was.  I maneuvered my way back to my old van and cautiously opened the door to allow the trapped heat to escape without singeing the hair in my mustache and eyebrows.  And a mere 20 minutes later I was approaching the exit. 

Back at my office I was greeted by my printer, still stopped mid-page, its little green and red lights blinking.  I pressed the red flashing button and the ink carriage swung out into the open where I could pop out the old yellow cartridge and snap the new one into place.  The printer jumped into life and ran its cleaning cycle to bring the new cartridge online, thereby being ready to not print yellow in the twenty-five page black and white tax form still in my computers print buffer.

Cleaning...

Cleaning...

AH! Here it goes.  The print head swings into position, data begins to move, and the computer beeps and stops. 

It would seem that the head cleaning was all that remained of the light cyan.

The last big forclosure

"For sale, one country, used. Not cheap, but affordable with many perks for the right buyer(s). Spacious skies, with purple mountains, foreclosed farm land, and vast plains ready for development and exploitation. Beach front included on East,West, and partially Southern exposures(although the Southeast area is prone to storm damage). Current occupants are somewhat intelligent but remain lethargic and basically apathetic. Some inerudite members will trade claims to property and savings for sparkly promises. Greatest cooperation is won by letting them think that they are "in charge." A real fixer-upper. Previous management began some remodeling but disagreed over where best to make changes and never finished. Property is already subdivided and some plots have expressed a preference in being sold separately. New management interested in immediate liquidation of assets as business requires travel overseas. Sorry, all purchases must be made in precious metals, international stocks, bonds, or jewelry as the local currency is expected to have no value. Interested parties are requested to contact our brokers; the U.S. Chamber of Commerce or American Crossroads."

Republicans and Tea Party Go Too Far

In the first 18 months of the Obama presidency, we have seen the Republican members of congress drag their feet, put out misinformation, and finally refuse to even discuss proposed legislation, all the while collecting their paychecks and publicly funded healthcare benefits.

We have seen disrespect for the President of the United States and the OFFICE of the President of the United States on a scale never before seen in modern America.

It’s one thing to disagree with legislation, and quite another to just stop it. No vote, just cause nothing to be done at all. That is not why you were elected and put in office. You are there to govern, to lead, and stating that your feel-bads got hurt, or you don’t like the game so you are not going to play, is not an option. Just like it’s not an option in anybody else’s job.

But refusing to play may be just what we get, if some Republican and Tea Party candidates are elected.

Republican candidates and House Republican Leader John Boehner have publicly stated, “No Compromises,” for the next two years. No compromises means no work. Well, at least no work for you or I, you know the people who pay these guys.

The very definition of a political government is compromise. You want this, I want that, let’s find something in the middle that we can both live with and maybe gets us both a little closer to our goals. The idea of “No Compromise” means no governing. No action at all.

And although many shortsighted people may think that this is a good way to stop what they may not agree with in this Presidency, what do you think is going to happen if and when the political worm turns?

Even if the Republicans were to take back control of both houses, even if President Obama looses his reelection in 2012, what do you think the minority party is going to do? The same thing? You bet.

No republican legislation will make it through Congress because Democrats will use the exact same tactics now mastered by the Republicans.

But its gets even worse. Utah's Tea Party-backed Republican Senate candidate, Mike Lee, talked about the possible “Inconvenience” of a government shutdown to stop what he sees as a run-away budget.

An “Inconvenience?” Really? Let’s see Mike, you might be inconvenienced if your paycheck comes a week or so late, but the healthcare for you and your family will continue. Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, the Post Office and other Federal Government agencies would come to a stop. Inconvenience? Putting people lives and livelihoods on the block to oppose a sky rocketing budget deficit?

Let’s pause and look to see just where that deficit came from.

When Clinton administration finished, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, they left a budgetary surplus of $86.4 billion in fiscal 2000. Again that was his last year in office and does not count any Social Security surpluses.

That was the budget condition that George W. Bush and the Republican held Congress inherited when Bush took office. In 2008, the last full year G.W Bush was in office, the Presidents budget request optimistically projected that the deficit for all of 2008 would total $410 billion.

I call his proposed budget “optimistic” because by October of that same year, 2008, the budget deficit had ballooned to 10.2 Trillion, that’s TRILLION with a ‘T’, dollars. This was not because of the 9-11 attacks, it wasn’t just because of the wars in Iraq and Afganistan, this was primarily the 700 billion dollar Government bailout of the banks and Wall Street.

And who had restricted the enforcement or eliminated the Federal rules governing those businesses? Obama? That would have been one hell of a trick as he would not take office until January 20th of the following year. It was George W. Bush and the Republican held congress.
According to the Treasury, the Bush administration added an average $500 billion dollars a year to the deficit, every year starting in 2003.

As I record this, the U.S. NATIONAL DEBT CLOCK is reading just under 14 Trillion dollars. That means with all the “wild spending” that President Obama and the Democrats are accused of, amounts to less than 4 Trillion dollars since October of 2008, four months before President Obama even took office.

And that does include Social Security, all the extra bailouts, and the stimulus package, which President Obama and the Democrats were forced to make to fix the fiscal irresponsibility of the previous administration.

What is the Republican war cry? “Cut the deficit!” How do they plan to do that? By extending the “Bush Tax Cuts” past their December 31, 2010 expiration date. .Those very tax cuts, right now, account for approximately 25% of the overall budget deficit, according to the Congressional Budget office. That’s about 3.5 TRILLION (with a T) dollars! Who has to make up the difference? You and I.

I’m not here to tell you who to vote for or who to vote against next Tuesday November 2nd. I’m saying that you should spend some time, not only listening to MSNBC or FOX News, NPR and others, but do a little digging of your own. Find the facts.

“But Chuck, how do you know all this stuff?”

I’m sitting in front of a computer connected to the internet and if you are watching this, so are you. Use Google, use Yahoo, use whatever is your favorite search engine and type in your questions. Or follow the links I have posted below. That will get you started.

But don’t just blindly believe what any politician is telling you. They are trying to get your vote and will say whatever they think you want to hear to get it from you. Don’t give that vote away cheaply. It’s yours, you earned it. You earn it everyday that you go to work, mow your lawn, take care of your family, and pay you taxes. You earn it the old fashioned way, by living everyday the best you can, as an American. Don’t let anyone sucker you out of it.

I found all of this in a little over two hours, and typed this up to boot.

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Where did I find all this stuff?

Federal Employeee Health Care Program. No waiting period for Congressional members or their families and no “pre-existing conditions” are refused.
http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/

Congressional disrespect
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/09/gop-rep-wilson-yells-out_n_281480.html

Congressional Republican Misinformation
http://www.seiu.org/2009/07/republican-misinformation-about-health-care.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/PoliticsNewsPolitics#p/u/420/PqjIt8kUUJo

Use of the “Filibuster” by both parties
http://newsjunkiepost.com/2010/03/02/republican-obstruction-at-work-record-number-of-filibusters/

Rep. John Boehner, (R-Ohio), Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.)
http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2010/10/28/130895390/house-republicans-vow-no-compromise

Mike Lee’s Government Shutdown –
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/28/mike-lee-government-shutdown_n_775405.html

Clinton Budget facts: http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/during_the_clinton_administration_was_the_federal.html

Bush projected budget deficit
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/12/national/main3822385.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_3822385

October 2008 deficit

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/new-money/2008/10/09/maxing-out-the-national-debt-clock.html

National Debt Clock
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

Bush Tax Cuts
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/30/AR2010073002671.html

Who gets the Bush Tax Cuts
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39317328/ns/politics/

A written version of this Vlog will be on my Blog as soon as I can post it there.
http://distorteddogma.blogspot.com/