Blog – Page 11 – House of Winkel

Don’t Do It

January 19, 2010/0 Comments/in Consumer/by Jerry Winkel

This may just be common sense to me but look at this package. I took this picture today at a local grocery store. To me this has all sorts of warning signs on it. First, it’s pre-spiced. It doesn’t just have a little tarragon sprinkled on it but a BBQ rub. Usually they use a Cajun rub because it’s a better mask of smell. Think about it…why would they spice the chicken for you? Is it that hard for you to do yourself? They do it because this chicken is bad. It’s got a good stink to it and they are trying to hide if from the consumer.

Bad Chicken

You can’t see it but down in the lower right is the sell by date. It was yesterday. Butchers don’t want to ever EVER throw away meat. Instead they try to move it fast. They spice it up. They put it on special. When I see “Butchers Special” I hear “Salmonella Special”. Some butchers even change the sell by date.

NEVER BUY CHICKEN ON SPECIAL UNLESS THE SELL BY DATE IS FIVE DAYS AWAY! Even then be careful. No you probably won’t die. You may not even get sick but it’s just not worth it.

Butchers get serious pressure from grocery store management. They have to be profitable and they can’t afford to throw away product.

I imagine to most people this is obvious but to some young twenty something on a budget….it may be a life saver.

Quote

January 10, 2010/0 Comments/in Favorites/by Jerry Winkel

“I will devour it. Then I will regurgatate it. Then I devour it again. Two times devoured.”

Vlad the Assassin

What do….

January 10, 2010/0 Comments/in Fun/by Jerry Winkel

What do Venice Beach, Walmart and The Learning Channel have in common?

They are where you go to see freaks.

Massive shot to the ribs

January 8, 2010/0 Comments/in Politics/by Jerry Winkel

I didn’t see this coming. What a huge win for liberals. We will now see unprecedented loaning to those who can’t afford it. It was a brilliant move by the Democrats. This is way better for them than the Great Society. Under the Great Society it was an assigned apartment; now the poor get a home and they even get to pick it out.

Fannie and Freddie’s Huge Christmas Bonus
By Larry Doyle

While Americans across the country hustled and bustled for last minute gifts and holiday preparations, our wizards in Washington tied a big red ribbon on a blank check made out to Freddie Mac (FRE) and Fannie Mae (FNM). In the process, a future of socialized housing finance has been increasingly solidified.

Why would the Obama administration pass this blank check under the cover of darkness on December 24th? In hopes that America had just settled down for its long winter’s nap and would miss this act of pillage and plunder. The Wall Street Journal highlights this ‘blank check’ in writing, U.S. Move to Cover Fannie, Freddie Losses Stirs Controversy:

The Obama administration’s decision to cover an unlimited amount of losses at the mortgage-finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the next three years stirred controversy over the holiday.
The Treasury announced Thursday it was removing the caps that limited the amount of available capital to the companies to $200 billion each.

Unlimited access to bailout funds through 2012 was “necessary for preserving the continued strength and stability of the mortgage market,” the Treasury said. Fannie and Freddie purchase or guarantee most U.S. home mortgages and have run up huge losses stemming from the worst wave of defaults since the 1930s.

“The timing of this executive order giving Fannie and Freddie a blank check is no coincidence,” said Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama, the ranking Republican on the House Financial Services Committee. He said the Christmas Eve announcement was designed “to prevent the general public from taking note.”

Let’s take note. Let’s ponder this development. What exactly does a blank check and unlimited access to bailout funds truly mean? I envision the following:
1. A total lack of discipline and accountability in the distribution of taxpayer funds.
2. A full government takeover of the U.S. housing finance industry.
3. A socialized housing policy and accompanying programs.

If those developments do not revile you enough, the blank check is also a confirmation of the following:
1. A failed housing policy developed and promoted over the last twenty years.
2. The true legacy of those who fed from the Freddie and Fannie trough during the last two decades. Which legislative leaders piled their plates the highest with Freddie’s and Fannie’s payoffs? John Kerry (D-MA), Chris Dodd (D-CT), and Barack Obama.

Are you sick yet?

Blank checks are no way to run a country!! Capitalism has been under assault all year long and this year end shot is the ultimate kick in the balls.

These bums must be thrown out.

Blue Dog Nothing

December 22, 2009/0 Comments/in Politics/by Jerry Winkel

I honestly feel like the sky is falling. I don’t agree with the health care bill that just passed the Senate. I believe it is 100% about becoming a socialist nation. I could go on and on about the reasons why I hate it. I could go on and on about how it will fundamentally change our nation. But today I want to mention a surprising discovery that has come from this bill.

For years, I and millions of other American’s, thought there was such a thing as a blue dog Democrat. They were supposed to be centrists. Congressman who leaned towards the Democratic Party but struggled with full fellowship. These men identified themselves as blue dogs. They often have plaques or statues in their offices of blue dogs.

I’ve held the belief that you shouldn’t rely on blue dogs because they are conflicted—perhaps schizophrenic. People’s brains are just not wired to be liberal on social issues and conservative on economic. You are one or the other. If you are a centrist you can’t make up your mind. Thus, how can you be reliable in any situation? They hide behind the phrase, “I don’t discriminate. I look for good people in both parties.” What a crock. There are good people in both parties but their ideas don’t match up. Liberals and conservatives are like metric and standard wrenches. They are not interchangeable and they don’t work together. The principles and ideas of each group are in constant conflict.

Politicians try to make it out like they work together and come up with solutions. I’m convinced that politicians never, EVER have ideas. Congressmen don’t sit in their offices inventing. They don’t sit together around a table and say, “what if we do this.” It just doesn’t happen. They are editors. They champion other people’s ideas.

So how does this play out in 2009? Well, the democrats came up with an absolutely socialist healthcare plan. Forcing employers to provide healthcare? Forcing people to purchase insurance? Forcing doctors to provide services? Forcing insurance companies to cover specific ailments? It’s all about force and it’s all socialist.

So where were the Blue Dogs? Harry Reid needed every single Senator to fall in line and ALL of them did. How can a bill that is so far left that not a single Republican voted for it but EVERY blue dog did? Everyone knows the Republican Party is in a complete state of disarray. They are not nearly cohesive enough to compel consensus. How did the Democrats do it? Sure there was arm twisting. More than arm twisting there are well documented was pay off’s to for Senators who stuttered. (I hope Ben Nelson’s Medicaid deal for Nebraska is challenged in court.) But there were not enough of these payoffs to account for all the so called blue dogs. The only explanation I can see is that blue dogs are not nearly as centrist as they make themselves out to be.

This bill is socialist. It’s socialist in its social aspects, such as abortion, and socialist in its economic aspects. Its passage is going to give me an ulcer. But I’m also disturbed that so many went along so willingly.

MSG

December 10, 2009/0 Comments/in Health/by Jerry Winkel

I don’t live for MSG but I don’t like seeing foods or food components getting a bum rap for no reason. I just saw a television commercial with a turkey running down the isle of a grocery store trying to get away from a can of broth containing MSG. Why?

Here’s a paragraph from MSG on Wikipedia:

“MSG as a food ingredient has been the subject of health studies. A report from the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) compiled in 1995 on behalf of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded that MSG was safe for most people when “eaten at customary levels”. However, it also said that, based on anecdotal reports, some people may have an MSG intolerance which causes “MSG symptom complex” and/or a worsening of asthmatic symptoms. Subsequent research found that while large doses of MSG given without food may elicit more symptoms than a placebo in individuals who believe that they react adversely to MSG, the frequency of the responses was low and the responses reported were inconsistent, not reproducible, and were not observed when MSG was given with food. While many people believe that MSG is the cause of these symptoms, a statistical association has not been demonstrated under controlled conditions, even in studies with people who were convinced that they were sensitive to it. Adequately controlling for experimental bias includes a experimental design and the application in capsules because of the strong and unique after-taste of glutamates.”

May people would read this paragraph and conclude that MSG is bad for you. People who interpret in this way can’t be helped. Some people are always searching for tragedy. They focus on emotion rather than facts. To the intelligent reader it clear that MSG is just like ALL other foods. Some people don’t react well to it. I know people allergic to bananas, chocolate, chicken, wheat, milk, soy, etc. With that said, most people declare themselves allergic based on one bad incident.

It’s simple, if you have a concern, perform a double blind study, with a large sample size and have the study managed by an independent body.

“I have not been true to my values…” Eldrick Tont “Tiger” Woods

December 8, 2009/0 Comments/in Sports, Wicked World/by Jerry Winkel

“I have not been true to my values…” That is what Tiger Woods said in his apology. You know, there are times when you should just keep your mouth shut. This statement just puts him further in the whole as far as I am concerned.

In making this statement he is either deliberately lying or he’s delusional. If a guy robs banks every week for years and then says, he hasn’t been true to his values–what are you going to think? Tiger may be thinking internally that his values don’t include adultery but his behavior says otherwise. You simply can’t do it that consistently and have it be a big deal to you. Do you think Bill Clinton really thinks monogamy is important?

I don’t ever condone adultery but there are different levels of offense. Tiger is a record breaker and he broke all standards of infidelity. He didn’t get lonely one night after weeks on the road. He systematically built a harem of woman in cities around the country and perhaps the world.

In a day when adultery is joked about as naive, consider a few things:

He planned trips for the sole purpose of immortality.
He looked his wife in the eyes and made up stories for why he needed to leave town
He got his wife pregnant and cheated on her while she was not only carrying a baby but caring for his small daughter at the same time.
He put his wife and children at risk of painful, debilitating and deadly diseases.

Anyone can repent but he’s only sorry he got caught. The purpose of his apology is to do one thing–preserve revenue. It has nothing to do with contrition or trying to overcome personal failings. It’s about limiting the damage he is done to his career.

For years I’ve rooted for Tiger. After all this I will continue to root for him. I will root for him to lose.

Still Stewing

December 5, 2009/0 Comments/in Sports/by Jerry Winkel

I’m still stewing about this year’s BYU/Utah game. Yes BYU won but they didn’t cream Utah. I absolutely hate Utah and winning isn’t enough. I wan’t annihilation. When Max Hall said he hated everything about Utah he was singing my song. As the years have progressed I’ve developed more distaste for the school. This year I had tickets to the game and chose to give them away. I just can’t stand the aggravation. I knew I would be angry about ever call and I was right.

I’ve never liked Utah but over time I’ve realized they are not the University of Utah. They are a university in Utah. There charter isn’t education but liberalism and rebellion. They are the anti-BYU. It is loaded to the hilt with students who have rebelled against Mormonism. Everything goes except religion. Let me correct that. Everything goes except the Mormon religion. If a student wants to explore Hinduism, Buddhism or Mysticism, that’s just great. But if you are Mormon you’re an idiot.

So when football season comes I find it impossible to route for the Utes. I don’t care if they are in a BCS bowl. I will never route for them. I can acknowledge that they are good. They know how to win. They have done much better than BYU in post season bowls and in the NCAA basketball tournaments. Their success is aggravating.

Clearly I’m not the only one with these feelings. Every time BYU and Utah play, ugly things happen. I think things are getting out of hand.

I didn’t have these hostile feelings in the Edwards/McBride days. Both were great coaches who put the football in it’s proper perspective. They laughed, joked, hugged and teased each other. They shot commercials, golfed and attended charitable events together. I can see in hindsight that this was a powerful example.

We haven’t seen that type of example for years. Crowton, Meyer, Bronco and Kyle haven’t shown any interest in each other. Yes there are a few billboards of them pitching kidney cars but they look photoshoped. The ugliness of the rivalry isn’t fun or productive. It’s time to soften things up a bit.

Global Warming….my foot

December 3, 2009/0 Comments/in Outrage/by Jerry Winkel

Over the last few years we’ve seen a new fashion trend. It’s called global warming. Everything is Eco this or that. Green this or that. The media has force fed us a steady diet of lies. Now we have some unraveling of this fabric of deceit.

Some dude hacked the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Center. Thousands of records were stolen. The correspondence uncovered at the center shows that they had global warming data which contradicts their political agenda. It also shows that they conspired to hide and even destroy the data rather than let it come to light. They also discussed marginalizing fellow scientists who were challenging their claims.

The director of the center, Phil Jones, made the following statement. “My colleagues and I accept that some of the published e-mails do not read well. Some were clearly written in the heat of the moment; others use colloquialisms frequently used between close colleagues.”

“Colloquialisms frequently used between close colleagues.” In other words, they were openly plotting to deceive.

Besides the massive deception that has been taking place. There are a variety of other outrages taking place.

#1 The national media has turned a blind eye. NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN and MSNBC have ignored the story that has been out for several weeks. How can they miss such an explosive story on the number one issue in our day? They created green trend and now they are protecting it like it’s a helpless child.

#2 There is liberal outrage over the hacking of this organizations computer. I agree that what the hackers did was illegal but why is the outrage so selective? The liberal media didn’t seem to care about Newt Gingrich’s phone being hacked. It didn’t express outrage when Sarah Palin’s email account was hacked. But if you shoot an undercover video at an ACORN office or hack emails at an overseas university, then you must be brought to justice.

I’m grateful that we have a variety of news stations, as well as thousands of Internet sites, that allow truth to flow while the Democrats are busy putting their fingers in the dike.

Beck Is In Over His Head

November 25, 2009/0 Comments/in Economics/by Jerry Winkel

Today on my way home from work I was listening to Glenn Beck. Beck has been correctly pointing out for a year that our government’s massive deficit spending will result in inflation. However, Beck’s draconian views on the subject puthim in a difficult position. He is neither an economist nor a financial advisor. Today I heard him fielding a call from an astute woman. She basically said, “If we are going to have rampant inflation, shouldn’t I increase my debt?” Of course her line of reasoning is that if we have inflation, income will increase. Debt accumulated now, at today’s low interest rates, would become cheap in the future.

For example:
Let’s say you currently make $100,000 a year. You take on $10,000 in debt at 5%. In five years, assume we have double digit inflation. In order to keep you, your company increases your pay at a double digit rate, which simply maintains your standard of living. All of sudden the 5% is much easier to handle.

If you take a more drastic view, let’s say 100% inflation, the debt virtually vanishes.

I’m not suggesting we will have 100% inflation but we should be realistic. Hyperinflation has occurred in dozens of countries. We shouldn’t consider ourselves immune.

The following 33 countries have experienced hyperinflation in the last century:

You may have noticed that the United States is not on the list. Well, we make the list if you go back a little further to 1865.

So back to Beck…in fielding this woman’s question Beck was like a deer in the headlights. He gave her a pitiful answer that she needed to be strong and that not going into debt would make her a leader in her community. Please…that’s a pretty juvenile response. Beck was so lost he didn’t know what to say.

I enjoy listening to Glenn Beck. But I can’t take too much of him; mostly because I consider him somewhat of an intellectual lightweight. He has a pretty good grasp on the issues but he doesn’t have unique thoughts. He’s just an avid reader and who draws extreme conclusions. He’s basically a regurgitator.

A better answer would have been, “inflation can also be coupled with unemployment.” “Regardless of your perceived job security, you shouldn’t assume that you will have a job if the economy goes into an inflationary period.” He could have fallen back to his sponsors and said, “It would be safer to invest in gold than to invest in personal consumption of goods.

Beck is working people up into a froth and may not be able to properly manage the movement he is creating.

Note: The most severe month of hyperinflation occurred in Hungary in July 1946 when prices increased by 4.19 quintillion per cent (4,190,000,000,000,000,000%)