Ghost of Sam Post

Turkey Day, 2008

2008-12-02T23:17:00Z

Well, we got through another holiday. I hope that everyone enjoyed their day, met with family and friends, and that they stuffed themselves with copious amounts of bird. Did anyone ever question why we celebrate Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November? I always thought that the Pilgrims, back in 16-whatever, gave thanks on Thursday in November and that we have been doing it ever since. I was surprised to learn that it was Abraham Lincoln who declared that the last Thursday in November would be the national holiday forever and ever. Way to go, Abe. (yeh)

The ghost met with a room full of folks on Thursday afternoon. It was a “bring a dish” affair and there were many dishes. As with all such affairs there were a few smokers and a high noise level. Both of these things ruin the meal of whoever is still eating. Oh well, you can’t have everything. The food was great and everyone was jolly. Next day (Friday) we met with family at the Cracker Barrel for breakfast. We had to wait one hour to get the food and the noise level was deafening. The acoustics in the place are such that every sound is heard and with the place packed, you can’t hear yourself think. Why do people desire to go to a restaurant where the noise level is so high and the service is so slow? That’s right, it wasn’t my idea to choose this place. There were six of us seated at the table and I was only able to converse with the one person sitting across from me. The stress levels, created by all the noise, confusion, and hunger from waiting an hour, made everyone irritable, especially those who might be hypoglycemic. The food tasted okay but it was not hot. The waitress was great; she was the only “bright spot” in an otherwise chaotic affair.

Friday evening, when it was time to dine, I suggested that we eat at Jimmy’s located in St. Marks. This restaurant is superb in every way. First, it is extremely quiet. This atmosphere is conducive to dining, rather than sidling up to the trough at loud, chaotic places. Second, the food is great, and it is prepared exactly as requested. Anyone who has had the experience of dining out with the Ghost knows that he tolerates no nonsense when it comes to the fare that he will consume. Life is too short to eat fodder. Third, the service is unsurpassed. All the servers and cooks seem genuinely concerned that your meal reaches your standards. After the food is served (we were eating five minutes after arriving) the cook who prepared the meal will visit the table to ascertain that everyone is satisfied. If there is anything out of place, the dish is taken back to the kitchen and remade. I have never had a bad experience at Jimmy’s; it has always been exemplary. Let me mention one final note on this wonderful eating establishment. One normally finishes a meal with coffee. For those who enjoy milk with the coffee, this restaurant provides creamers – not milk. Whenever I have dined there, I request milk, not creamer, with my coffee and the waitress always explains that they have only creamers. When I explain that the Ghost will only have milk, the management has always gone to a neighboring store to bring back a small portion of the white nectar for the coffee. Now that’s service!

Whether the dining experience occurs on a holiday or not, the Ghost highly recommends Jimmy’s in St. Marks as a restaurant of the highest quality in fare, atmosphere, and service. So says Sam Post.

Some Thoughts on a Solution

2008-11-26T00:28:00Z

While it is good to illuminate problems so that the apathetic public can recognize them, it is even better to propose some possible solutions. Let us look at the current state of affairs. The redistribution of wealth that the liberals are always so keen on enacting is fairly easy to remedy. According to them, everyone is equal and deserving of an equal share of "the pie". No one likes to see one person getting the advantage over another, so maybe we can help out this liberal agenda just a little.

The liberal leaders always speak about the downtrodden, the poor, and the destitute. They say that everyone ought to have whatever they want. Okay, where do we get the money to distribute to the poor? The liberals would have the common people taxed to get the needed money, but I have a better idea. Let us start with the liberal leaders themselves. Why, for example, do these politicians have salaries and benefits that reach into the millions? Congress simply votes to increase their income and it becomes so. I can't do that; I have to work if I want more money. How about we compromise on a set income, say $75,000, which would be the top pay for anyone, including the President? Think of all the extra money we would have to give to the poor. Next, how about the sports figures and the movie stars? They can live very nicely on $75,000 per year too. Some of these people might spend $75,000 a day on lunch. But, how many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches can a person consume? People do not need wheelbarrows full of money to live a normal, healthy life. And, do not try to tell me that they "earn" these exorbitant amounts of money. Who puts in a tougher workday, a politician or a ditch-digger? Who is more important, a doctor or the guy who picks up the trash? Who is more necessary to you, the plumber fixing your broken water line, or your manicurist? Aren't they all the same? Don't they all work very hard? Don't they all deserve the same pay? Don't they all deserve equal respect?

There is, however, another problem. The liberals do not want to have everyone working. Instead, the liberal agenda promotes infantilization of the population to the point that more people are encouraged to accept welfare than to maintain their integrity as human beings. The dumbing down of the population is well known, just ask any teacher. (For those who like reference materials, see the documentary, "Declining by Degrees", also read the book, "The Liberal Mind" by Lyle Rossiter). Therefore, the people who produce things are seen as the "bad guys", the ones who garner all the goodies for themselves (the selfish bastards) while the poor are kept, well, poor. The "good guys" are the downtrodden (poor fellows) who just want to eat a sandwich and to see the sun shine. Maybe if all the politicians, doctors, lawyers, and movie stars stop being so selfish and accept only $75,000 per year in salary (out of which they would pay for their own benefits) then all of the population could achieve that free sandwich and a look at the sun shining. Aren't we all "entitled" to that?

I am sure that there are many more solutions to this overall problem. I look forward, though, to the news that all the politicians, lawyers, doctors, sports figures, and movie stars are cutting their incomes to $75,000 (or less) before I believe that our "leaders" have anybody else's (except their own) interests in mind. Said another way, "Don't pee down my back and tell me that it's raining". So says Sam Post.

State of the Economy

2008-11-25T02:43:00Z

I guess it is okay to say the “R” word now. You know, “recession” because we are hip deep in it. Actually, we are in (or about to be in) a depression. There is no way around it. We, as a nation, have been so irresponsible for so long with our policies and money mismanagement that it was inevitable that the house of cards should fall. And to add insult to injury, the powers that be in Washington (or wherever else they may be hiding) have said that they have no idea on how to fix things. Add to that they are trying to blame Alan Greenspan for some of the mess. How could that be? He was doing very well for so long; his predictions were the benchmark for guiding us through many prosperous years. I guess that is the American Way, look to blame someone when things go wrong. There is a great line in the movie Rising Sun where Sean Connery explains to Wesley Snipes the difference between the United States and Japan. He says that, “In the United States, when something goes wrong, we look to blame somebody. In Japan, when something goes wrong, they fix the problem; nobody gets blamed. Their way is better.” I agree. Wouldn’t it be better to address the problem of this pecuniary mess by fixing the problems instead of trying to find ways to work around them?

One possible solution (the only one, I think) is to attack the problem with a two-pronged approach. First, the entire system needs to be trashed and a new system, set up by the best economists the world has to offer, needs to be put in place. No small task. The system that we have doesn’t work; why do we seek to patch something with “chewing gum” when that can’t fix the leak? Second, there needs to be a massive education program for the entire population to explain that over-indulgence and the waste of money and resources is part of the problem. To really do the job well, we would have to teach the population that maturity is the key. This means that people will have to mature (not just get older). Toys are for little children, not for adults. America has become a nation of immature children who think that this country is just a large playpen filled with toys.

Another step in the right direction would be to find some leaders who (1) are mature, (2) understand that they are leaders, not older children who promise “candy” to the whiney masses, and (3) who have a sense of morality. Of course we need many more items on our list of cures, but this would be a decent start in what promises to be a very long, drawn out economic depression. So says Sam Post.

The Concept of Team

2008-11-12T13:44:00Z

For a group of people to be a real team, they would have to desire a common goal, they would work hard to realize the goal, and they would work together voluntarily. In addition, these folks would help each other so that the overall effect would be a group accomplishing something that an individual would not or could not do alone. If we think of a football team we see a group of players working together to get one little ball over the goal line. We look at this example and say, “right, that is a team effort”. But upon closer scrutiny we will discover that the players are acting in a highly directed manner. There is very little voluntary thinking occurring on the field. Actually, there is only one thinker, the coach, who directs everything. In football, this may be okay; in other areas of life this method doesn’t work very well.

For example, in the world of business, a cooperative effort by competent people (a team) is a force to be reckoned with. Each member of the group is an intelligent, thinking, contributing member. The team is stronger because of the quality of its members. Take away one member, and you have a weaker team. Add another competent member, and you have a stronger team. The salient feature in this example is the competence in each person; there is no “dead wood”. There is, however, another very important ingredient. It is the voluntary aspect incorporated into every decision made by the team. There is no “coach” but there is a facilitator. The facilitator makes it easier for the team to operate. He (or she) must encourage the team members, but never coerce them with threats, or prizes. A team works because each member voluntarily desires to help the other members; the team goal is the individual goal. If there is coercion in any form (incentives or punishments) there is no team. What you will have is a bunch of automatons that will only do what they are told because they are getting paid, or to keep their job. Automatons are cattle; they don’t think, they only move when prodded.

In our society, these days, the government would prefer to have everyone become a “cow” because cows are easy to maneuver. All forms of government hate real teams because competent team members need no coercion to operate; they see what needs to be done and they do it. They voluntarily cooperate with each other, they feel the pride of a job well done, and they become better citizens. On the other hand, if a person is doing their assigned task and a supervisor comes over and demands that the person “do their job” (which they are already doing), what do you think that worker would feel? Yes, the worker would feel embarrassed, humiliated, hurt, and unappreciated. This scenario goes on all too frequently. The upshot is that the worker will not do anything until told to do so. Stress and fear are heightened in everyone. Certainly there is no “team spirit”; rather there is paranoia.

Teams are competent people working together for the right reasons. If there is any coercion involved, there is no team. Competition will develop in the absence of cooperation. Nothing will dismember a company faster than competition. Stress in the workers follows competition and fear escalates. Isn’t a real “team” a better way to go? So says Sam Post.

The Election Is Upon Us

2008-11-04T21:25:00Z

There’s only a day or so to decide whom we will vote for in the presidential election. This particular election seems to be more difficult to decide than others and I believe this is because of the candidates that we have to choose from. Usually, we have a Democrat and a Republican running against each other and each candidate stood for their party’s agenda. In times past voters could pick the agenda they liked and the candidate sort of “went along” with the choice. It was assumed that the candidates represented their party’s thoughts on how to best run the country. Today, however, there seems to be little correlation between the individual candidate and his party. Or, should I say that each candidate represents only the radical part of his or her party?

From my point of view, Obama seems to support such a radical position that if he were to implement some of his ideas, they would cause this country to internally hemorrhage. It is so difficult to find anything in the man’s speeches that speaks to common sense. He (according to interviews) doesn’t know if he is Christian or Muslim. He speaks about sweeping tax changes, but they don’t lead anywhere except to punish those small businesses that work hard to make more money. It would seem that Obama wants (almost) everyone to remain, or become, poor. Then when people struggle to makes ends meet, he wants to put them on welfare. Where does the welfare money come from? It comes from the taxpayers. Pretty soon, everyone will be on welfare and then there will be no workers to pay taxes. Something doesn’t work here.

On the other side of the street we have McCain/Palin. I include Palin because she appears to have more toughness, level headedness, and common sense than all of the other candidates combined. From what I have read, she is a breath of fresh air in the political arena. Her track record as governor speaks of honesty, integrity, and kowtowing to no one. This is someone we need in this world of chaos. Her running mate is older, very experienced, and he has served his country on the front lines. Anyone who has not served cannot know what it is like. Reading a book about reality is no substitute for reality. You have to experience it to know it. For his experience and his war record, this man has stood up to be counted. The fact that all of these candidates are politicians is to their detriment; I don’t know if being in the political arena has destroyed their ability to think. As I have said, this particular election will be extremely difficult to fathom. So says Sam Post.

Decisions On The Auxiliary

2008-10-29T13:54:00Z

If you remember my last blog concerning the MSD, you will be pleased to know that I have found out some information on this device. After asking everyone I could find I found that no one could tell me about the MSD. I casually mentioned my dilemma to a friend (who is a computer geek) and he suggested that we might find the answer on Google. He punched in the question and we got an answer. I am elated to have the information, but I am dismayed that not a single member of any boating organization was knowledgeable. It is frightening to think that most people have given up using their brains in favor of letting their lives be run by a computer. What if the power goes down? It reminds me of the movie, “The Matrix” where the only use for humans is to power machines with their bodies, and their brains are “washed” to the point where illusion is what they take as reality.

When I contacted the power squadrons, I found that most of them were shut down due to lack of interest. I could find only one squadron in Panama City and the gentleman that I spoke with told me that they were shutting down at the end of the year. The reason, again, was lack of interest. He said that the young people today have no interest in boating safety or the environment. The only members that were left in the squadron were elderly and that they were dying off. Since they were not able to refresh their numbers with younger people, they were deactivating their organization. I had mentioned to this man the concerns I had with the Coast Guard Auxiliary and he agreed with me. He told that he had been a member of the Auxiliary for thirty years but that recently he, and many others, left that organization because of the nitpicking and stupid rules and regulations that they have added recently. He was very angry that the Auxiliary would not recognize him as a loyal member and participant for thirty years service; they treated him as if he were a new recruit and required him to re-apply and to submit to re-examination of his information.

One wonders what is going on with the thinking in these organizations. They want people to volunteer their time and money, but they subject them to scrutiny as if they were applying for 007 status. And they may wonder why most of their experienced members are leaving and that no new people can be found. “Come join the Auxiliary – bring your own Vasoline!” Our pathetic Government does it again. Or maybe the organizations are trying to shut down. This is the only explanation that makes sense. Insult anyone who has experience or a working brain and make recruitment so arduous and ridiculous that no one will seek to join. Then the organizations will fade into oblivion. The result will be that the good work that these organizations have been doing for many years (the power squadrons have been around since about 1912, and the Auxiliary has been around longer than that) will disappear in favor of more lawlessness and ignorance; the boating public, all of us, will lose valuable information about safety on the water. So says Sam Post.

Just What Is An MSD?

2008-10-21T13:41:00Z

There must be a hundred different explanations for the initials, MSD. If, however, we are talking about boats, then there are only about ninety-nine explanations. To help out, I will mention that, in this case, MSD stands for Marine Sanitation Device. Fine. Just what IS a marine sanitation device? It is not a porta-pottie, or a macerator pump, or a holding tank, because if it were any of those things, it would be called by any of those names. So, a marine sanitation device must be something else. I thought of every combination of parts in the head, but nothing answers the question. Next I searched through all of my nautical books hoping to find a section on this elusive device but to no avail. Then I thought that the Coast Guard Auxiliary might know because it was in their literature from the Coast Guard that I saw the requirement for this device whenever you have an installed toilet in a boat.

I called two separate members of this organization. Since they specialize in educating the boating public, I thought that my question would be very easy to answer. I was wrong. Both people had no idea of what I was talking about. When I asked my question, I said, “What is an MSD?” Then I had to tell each of them what the initials stood for; they had no clue. One of them told me to go to a marine store, where boat parts are sold and ask them to show me the device. Off I went to Westmarine where I felt sure that I would meet with success. I spoke to every one of the employees. Guess what, none of them knew.

Now I am on a quest to find the answer to the question. I rechecked the literature to make sure that I did not misread the requirement. Next I will call the Power Squadron to see if any of them can answer my query. It is quite disturbing to know that a boater can get a ticket for not having a very long list of equipment on board. But it is even more disturbing that no one knows what this equipment is in the first place. The MSD question was not the only query I made where I received an unsatisfactory answer. It is truly scary that the government is so inept and arbitrary in their silly rules, regulations, and laws. How is a citizen supposed to abide by all the contradictory crap that is thrown our way? So says Sam Post.

A Ghostly Addendum

2008-10-14T14:53:00Z

Working on a boat requires many different skills, a toolbox overflowing with specialized contraptions, warehouses filled with materials, an office filled with plans, a bookcase choked with hundreds of reference books, and a strong desire to build something of worth – that will actually float. Do you know how to make a boat float? You take two scoops of Vanilla ice cream and add one scoop of boat, and stir. But what happens when you stir too vigorously and you spill some of your drink? Well, you must clean it up – with a ShamWow.

Boats that are bought from a factory need to be washed, dried, waxed, and polished. All of these things can be done with the ShamWow. When a boat is manufactured in your backyard, however, there is more need for a tough and handy little cloth. Many times a tool must be cleaned before being used. Saws work better when they have a light coating of machine oil and the ShamWow makes a great applicator. The cloth is tough enough to stand up to any tool but it is also absorbent to drink up any spill of liquid on the job.

From a safety standpoint, the ShamWow does a better job of cleaning up spills than anything else. Sometimes you have to work in the rain, or on a wet floor. If you also have to use electrical tools in wet conditions, the situations can get very dangerous to your health. Not only can the ShamWow easily mop up over ten times its weight in water, it does the job in half the time of other cloths. And, you can lay down a ShamWow on the floor to stand on to give a little extra protection from the wet environment. It will also give you a non-skid surface upon which to work so that you are working in a safer area.

The Ghost has found that the ShamWow works well as a shop rag for the dirtiest jobs, as well as a polishing cloth for the finishing of the most delicate hardware. Put on a little wax and the ShamWow easily works the material into the bright work. Renew the cloth and you easily polish that wax into a mirror finish. One cloth does it all. I used to use old shirts (somebody else’s if possible) as rags while working on the boat, but now I use the ShamWow because it works better and I can just wash it, dry it, and use it again, and again. So says Sam Post.

Every Once In A While…

2008-10-13T14:51:00Z

They come up with something useful. As most of you know, products these days are mostly garbage. They are made in some third world toilet by natives who are happy to be getting the three-cents an hour wage paid by some sweatshop. The products are cheap, fragile, and they don’t work. But, every once in a while, somebody comes up with a product that is worthy of a second look. That product is ShamWow.

Even if this cloth was not made in Germany, it is still a great product. The fact that it is made in Germany makes it that much better. This European country has always been known to produce high quality merchandise. Do you remember the Volkswagen, the Rolleiflex, and the Wehrmacht? One was a great little car (the People’s Car), the second was a great camera, and the third was a great army that nearly conquered the world. The Germans produce very good stuff. Now they are producing the ShamWow and you can rely on the German precision to come out with a cloth that does more than is advertised.

The Ghost has used it for many purposes. Around the home the cloth is fantastic for cleaning up spills, drying dishes, drying his Ghostly hands after washing, placing under the dogs’ water bowls, polishing mirrors, and washing the car. With a little imagination, there are hundreds of uses for this neat little cloth.

Let’s look at the structure of this product. It is a tough little cloth reminiscent of a chamois; it is a gentle little cloth reminiscent of velvet; and it is a sturdy little cloth reminiscent of a shop rag. It is all of the above rolled into one useful tool. But it is better than any of the above too. Would you (if you were a mechanic working in a greasy environment) want to wash and dry your hands with a shop rag? No, because the rag holds onto the grime and you don’t want to smear it all over your hands. Would you scrub the floor with a chamois? No, because the rough floor will ruin the material. Would you use a velvet cloth to place under the dog’s water bowl? No, because the dog’s claws will rend it asunder. You can do all of these chores with a ShamWow because it is engineered so well. So says Sam Post.

Thanks For The Suggestions

2008-10-08T14:53:00Z

In my last blog (the Extra one) I stated that I would be running for election under the Post Party. I asked for suggestions on anything that anyone would like to propose. Though only one person responded, I appreciate the gesture and, yes, we will make sure that all meetings of the Post Party will include chips and dip, and some of those cute little umbrellas for our drinks. Of course, we will also include the beer and burgers since we will not be able run a successful campaign on chips alone. Nuff said. Now we have an important decision to make. I feel compelled to appoint Mr. Chips as our food and entertainment coordinator, but there is another person out there who is a wizard in the kitchen. She has commented on the Post blogs on occasion but she has been silent on this latest writing. Certainly, we would want her to be the White House culinary director. We will appoint her Secretary of Culinary Affairs. All that is necessary is for her to apply and the job is hers.

Staffing is probably more difficult than getting elected. People usually assume that the difficult part is all the campaigning, the speeches, the baby kissing, the backslapping, and other general lying that candidates perform in order to get elected. But, no one knows the story after the election is won. One does not run a country by himself/herself (maybe they should, it could be better). There are hundreds of positions that must be filled. Secretary of this, secretary of that. Ambassador to this, ambassador to that. Just think of all those lackeys that are on staff. When it comes to blaming someone for the latest debacle, we naturally turn to the “lackey de jour”. We politicians would never take responsibility for our mistakes and oversights; that is what lackeys are for, and we need plenty of them. Yes, it is a tough job finding enough people to fill the positions necessary. But, hey, someone has to do it.

To fill all the available slots, we will need a plan. We could do a lottery, or maybe just pick people at random, or take applications. At the moment all positions are open except the food director, Mr. Chips. Anyone else who would like to join the Post staff may do so. Just tell me what position you would like, and so long as you don’t have any experience, the job is yours. And, as an added incentive, anyone elevated to a staff position will be free to hire his or her own people to work on the team. For example, the food director needs lots of people to carry all those bags of chips and jars of dip. He will also need a beer taster to make sure that the beer is of the highest quality. You never know when the Noles may come to town and we would need plenty of beer for the victory party. So, you see, staffing is a serious matter. November is coming up very fast; let’s all pull together for the Post Party. So says Sam Post.

Extra, Extra, Read All About It!

2008-10-03T13:38:00Z

All of you have heard of the “extra” editions of newspapers; they are published in addition to the regular papers when something monumental happens. Well, you say, what has happened? Isn’t it obvious; I am posting for a second time this week. Do I have anything important to say? Not really, so I am just going to make up something.

Since we are in this time of presidential elections, we should discuss plans for my new political party, the Post Party. Now this could stand for a third political party or it could refer to the beer and burgers after the election. I say: it stands for both. That’s part of my political package, economy of everything. We could save words by combining sentences, or phrases and this would lead to savings in ink and paper. Just think of how much our pathetic government wastes. We in the Post Party could fund our campaign, get rid of ninety-nine percent of the useless government workers (oops, that’s redundant, “useless” and “government workers”) and have money left over to bail out all the banks too. We could do all of this in a matter of weeks, not years. And, if we want to go further in helping to save words, we could adopt Newspeak as our official language. Since our government sycophants are afraid to make English our official language, instead forcing our citizens to speak a dozen other languages, we may as well just decide to convert the entire world to Newspeak and be done with it. (Isn’t it interesting that English is spoken in nearly every other country on the planet? Only the aliens who come to this country aren’t able to speak English.)

As a textbook for our new party I suggest The Liberal Mind: The Psychological Causes of Political Madness by Lyle Rossiter, M.D. He is a psychiatrist with many years treating patients. His purpose in writing this book is to expose the reasons that liberals are the way they are. The sub title of his book is: The Psychological Causes of Political Madness. If you always wanted to know why we have such a screwed up government, this is the book to tell you. Every page is packed with information on how spoiled parents have produced spoiled children. He points out how people (liberals) have been mistreated all their lives and how this mistreatment has ruined their ability to think. After reading this book the political arena seems clearer; we can see why spoiled, infantile people think that they should be given everything without having to demonstrate any responsibility.

My favorite film on the subject of out pathetic political arena is: Man of the Year, starring Robin Williams. I would say this has to be the perfect film to illuminate some of the major problems we are experiencing. It is a very entertaining movie; and you will recognize most of the actors. If you have not seen this film, it is a “must see”, not only for the entertainment value, but also for the accurate depiction of how dishonest our politicians are in screwing the public.

I am serious about my new Party. There is no doubt that, seeing the mess we have now (and it is getting worse) that Sam Post could not possibly do any harm. In fact, as I mentioned in a previous blog, he would bring something to politics that we haven’t seen in decades – honesty. All who are on board with my new Party idea are encouraged to step up with suggestions. Who knows, we may be on to something. So says Sam Post.

Elect Sam Post

2008-09-30T13:23:00Z

Since the elections are so close I guess it is time that I start campaigning. There are many reasons to vote for Sam Post and a bunch of reasons not to vote for whomever else is running. If we are talking about the top spot (President) then there is no one else running against Sam. The two guys that are in the newspapers can’t be serious; one of them has no experience, has no clue about anything, and has only one topic: he wants to raise taxes. No one in their right mind wants to pay more taxes. The other guy has some merit. At least he has been around for a while; he has lots of experience. He has served his country in the military, and he has ideas for this country other than raising taxes. His downfall is that he is a politician. They are all politicians. And any right thinking citizen knows how to tell if a politician is lying – his (or her) lips are moving. It has been this way for decades, even more so with the last two presidents. Why would anyone vote for a liar? Is it possible that the entire voting process, these days, centers on choosing the “least of the evils”? It is probably so. How pathetic. I wonder what would happen if the public became smart enough to refuse to vote at all until an honest person said that he (or she) would seek the office. Imagine that, a president (or other elected official) who would actually do what he promised, and that was agreeable to the public. No greed, no corruption, no dishonesty, no lying, or other harm done to the American people. Wow, that would be something.

Now, why would anyone vote for Sam Post? Well, Senor Post has the one main ingredient needed for a decent official; he is honest. He doesn’t really care what other people (like interest groups, campaign supporters, or other corrupt dingle berries) have to say. There is a job to do and Sam would just go and do it. No fanfare necessary; no banners; no loud idiots with silly hats and signs making a ruckus. Just straight up talk so that the people would know what he stands for and what he intends to do. He won’t spend anything on the “campaign” so that later on he won’t owe his soul to any group that contributed money. It would be similar to the movie, Man Of The Year, starring Robin Williams. Since Robin is not running, Sam Post will be willing to take his place. Let us try honesty in our leaders, it is a big change, but it is what we need. So says Sam Post.

Starting To See Some Progress

2008-09-25T13:33:00Z

Some of you know that the Ghost is writing another book; now you all know. Writing a book is quite a large task, for me anyway. I used to write everything with pencil and paper (or was it quill and parchment, it was so long ago). Sometimes I think I remember using chisel and stone, but that was back in the days when I used to ghostwrite for other dignitaries. There was one job that I did on two stone tablets. Boy, was he impatient. He kept telling me to hurry up because there were hordes of pagans making golden idols and stuff. So I hurried, and you know what happened? He broke the tablets and I had to redo the job – from memory! I sure hope I remembered correctly; if the Author comes back and I didn’t do it right, I may be in for some real trouble. Anyway, that was then and this is now. It sure is nice to sit in front of a writing machine that lets me correct mistakes (not that I make any mistakes, you understand) and I don’t have to lift that heavy hammer, this is great. You can just imagine how it was to correct a mistake on a stone tablet. Not only that, but you know customers, they change their mind a lot. I just finish a stone tablet, and the guy tells me that he wants the order of the rules changed. I say, “look Man, I put a lot of sweat and toil into these two tablets and if You want them changed, You do it.” I guess it was the right thing to say because there was a little puff of smoke and “presto”; the tablets were changed to the Author’s liking. I guess He understood how hard (get it?) it is to chisel on that stone material and so He cut me some slack. After that I suggested to Him that there should be some easier way of writing if He wants me to keep ghosting for Him.

Cleavon's Offspring

2008-09-18T21:56:00Z

Today the Ghost will comment on the recent weekend race for the last drop of gas. To look for the real problem we need only look as far as the media. We are told that the storm (Ike) would cause horrible things to happen to the oil industry and that the result would be no gasoline production and, therefore, no fuel for our gas hogs. The result for most of us was to, quick as a bunny, go fill up every available container and vehicle with as much of the precious liquid as possible in as short a time as possible. We certainly wouldn’t want our neighbors (the bastards) to get the fuel that we wanted for our toys. All this sounds somewhat logical. After all, if there is to be no gasoline, how would we get to work? To the store? To the “game”? Unfortunately, most of the information we were given was false – it is always false.

Do any of you remember your grandparents telling you about the “gas shortages” back in the 1970’s? There was very little gas; there were long lines (maybe twenty to thirty cars per line at every gas station) and rationing. You could only buy a specified amount of gas; maybe $5.00 worth (gas was maybe fifty to sixty cents a gallon at the time) and you could only purchase gas on even or odd days depending upon what the last digit on your car’s license plate was. If the last digit was a “4”, for example, you could only purchase your fuel on an “even” calendar day. It was terrible; a person spent an hour just getting a little gas. And, he felt great just getting that gas. Then something interesting happened. A rogue reporter, Geraldo Rivera, a new kid on the block at the time, took a helicopter and a film crew and he flew out over the bay to photograph oil tankers, filled with fuel, just sitting there. Long story short, there was no fuel shortage. After his report on the evening news, the people (we were New Yorkers) got really pissed and then, magically, the gas stations had plenty of gas. Rationing and odd/even days went away. The point? We were being lied to back in the 1970’s and we are being lied to today. The media nowadays (and it has been like this for many years, of course) sensationalizes everything to “get the story”, whether they have to lie or not. Their mis-information scares the unthinking public into a panic over the stupidest things; people die because the media mis-informs the public. And it causes most people to alter their lives needlessly. It is like making an announcement in a crowded stadium that there is a bomb hidden somewhere in the seating. Can you imagine the chaos? Instead of making up the news as they go along, I believe that telling the actual truth on matters of storms and gas production, and the like, would be better. Stop scaring the public with falsehoods; they are unable to think as it is without fabricating stories that make things worse. The media telling the truth? Sounds like fiction. So says Sam Post.

A Post About Posts

2008-09-10T16:08:00Z

All right, let’s get some things unraveled. There’s a ranking of posts and points are awarded but I can’t figure out how the rankings are chosen. In looking over the hundreds of posts that are created, I see that no one comes even a little close to the wonderful Sam Post when it comes to volume in a single post. And, no one comes close to putting in as much content as Sam Post, the Great. The ranking of King Post is quite high (of course) but I’m wondering how other bloggers are ranking higher when they don’t have the volume that Post, the Great churns out on a weekly basis. I know that others have many more blogs but their length per blog is very short compared to His Royal Highness, Herr Post. So, how is the ranking decided? Is it volume per blog? Is it based on the highest number of blogs? Is it based on quality? Is it based on quantity? Is it based on whom you know? Or, is it a formula that encompasses many of the factors already mentioned? The person who comes up with the right answer will get a great prize. (Oops, I did that scene already; besides, I sold the house that had all the firewood so the winner will not get any firewood, or cash, or anything. You are just going to get the gratitude of the Great Ghost.)

I’m thinking of changing the length of the Ghost blogs. Maybe I’ll make them short and sweet instead of my usual medium length writings. Or, maybe I should go all out and write long blogs. This is such a quandary. Since I don’t know the formula I am going to write really short blogs to see if that makes a difference. Certainly the Ghost deserves to be numero uno. See you on the field of blogging! So says Sam Post.