Bump's Stump

Have you noticed there are fewer fire trucks coming to your neighborhood to fight fires? Sure enough, it's true. It seems that the fire retardants used to build houses, the common use of fire detectors, and  more available water, have combined to reduce urban and suburban fires. When we see a a big red fire truck it is usually followed by a fire department ambulance. Eureka! We have more medical emergencies and fewer residential fires.  Today's epiphany number one.   If a person calls 911 and reports a medical emergency - the team leaps into action. The firemen put on their heavy coats, their fire resistant galoshes, and their silly fire hats. They jump into the big red pumper truck and - (with the sole purpose to frighten everybody) - they blast the horn and start the siren screaming. Hidden behind the pumper truck is the fire department ambulance with two EMTs (Emergency Medical Technicians) on board with a full load of bandaids. We used to call these guys "paramedi

Egypt has been in the news lately. Another government turn-over. The new people are even more anti-American. It's so bad one wonders if it is even possible.  Now that the uninspiring patrician John Kerry is in the middle of the Egyptian mess it can only get worse. The corrupt Muslim Brotherhood actually governs Egypt from a bunker somewhere in the desert. Radical Islam runs Egypt. Nobody else.  Our appeasing President is laughed at and ridiculed. The "Brotherhood" loudly proclaims that America is stupid - and they are right. We are a fountain of money for Egypt even when they are throwing stones at us.  We bail out their corrupt governments. They spit on us in return.  No matter how broke we are, no matter how many unemployed, homeless, and etc., we are able to pay billions Egypt's unfriendly anti-American government. Make sense to you? And if you think your moderate, tolerant, Muslim neighbor is a peace loving friend, don't be so sure.  If you think members

Per Obama "Anything you do will be done to you in return".  How do you like that for stupidity?  Only this dysfunctional Obama government would be so ridiculous.  You take my ball and I'll take yours. Remember that? What happened to:  "If you send a nuke our way we will erase North Korea". P.S. I'd swap our idiot for theirs.

One of my favorite people died recently. Margret Thatcher wasn't soft and cuddly but she was exactly what the British needed.  She was a strong willed anti-socialist government "turn-around artist". Maggie was obstinate, headstrong, and self opinionated, and a brilliant student of Milton Freidman and Hayek. She single-handedly caused a revolution in British political thinking. Margaret Thatcher was the first to realize that collectivism (socialism) had reduced the size of the working class. Consequently, her platform ignored the wishes and needs of the poor. She realized that there just weren't as many of them, and most of the very poor didn't vote anyway. This has become a major factor for anyone running for office. You just cannot count on the poor to win an election for you. There are two most significant opinions on the subject.  In America Number 1 is related to the Democrat party . This is the ploy of the Obama Administration - that relies heavily on wel

It's been an odd afternoon. Just got back from attending Helen Campbell's memorial service. It was different than the kind of service I'm familiar with - and  absolutely fascinating! I retired in 1992 and bought a small  awards and engraving shop in Fountain Valley, California. I soon found the store was too small, and the location not so good.   So the employees and I moved the business to larger quarters. It was 1994. That's about when Helen walked in the door. She asked if I was a good engraver and I told her I was. Then she asked if I knew how to spell, and I told her I was pretty good. Then  she laid out some wallet size etched brass cards on the counter top and asked if I could engrave names and numbers on each one without making ANY mistakes. It looked like a straight forward job so I said sure.  Up to this point  Helen hadn't  cracked a smile. I wrote-up her order, and Helen left the store,  and I put the paperwork in the jobs-to-do tray.  Helen returned