Baffled

At one time I possessed 4, or more, different, and current pieces of United States Government issued identification cards/documents. Foolishly, I used to carry them all with me, sometimes using one, or more, of the documents to bluff my way past security in order to gain entrance to places I should not have been, or obtain some extra assistance when necessary. I always found that, for the most part, the old adage “If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, then baffle them with bullshit”, worked well for me. 

At the time of this story I was carrying a valid US Passport, which identified me as a tourist. I also had a black Dept. of Defense identification card, which identified me as a civilian crew member aboard an American military vessel.

In addition to that I always carried my pink Armed Forces Reserve Identification Card, which stated that I was on Inactive Duty with the United States Navy.

And, as if this wasn't quite enough, I also presented my United States Coast Guard "Z" Card, which made me a Merchant Marine serving as an Able Bodied Seaman.

I also had with me my newly issued United States Coast Guard Third Mate's License, a document which identified me as an Officer and allowed me to operate vessels of any size in any waters. To be blunt, I was a walking enigma.

Now no plan; however well-conceived; works indefinitely, there must come a time when something, or someone,  comes along to block your path. Both of these forces came to play one night in Rota, Spain; across the bay from Cadiz; when I tried to enter the Naval Base. 

Dressed; as I was; in civilian clothes, with long hair to boot, I did not look like I belonged on any military base anywhere. Accordingly, the guard, who only spoke Spanish, motioned for me to produce my Identification. So, I decided to just overwhelm him with all of these official documents. 

Well, I did, and it worked. As a matter of fact, he was so overwhelmed that I was immediately arrested on suspicion of espionage due to the conflicting nature of the documents I was carrying. It was hard for the authorities on duty at the time to grasp that I was a civilian, who was also in the United States Navy Reserve, working for the Department of Defense as a Merchant Marine; as both a Seaman and an Officer; while in possession of a passport that said I was a tourist who had not even bothered to have it validated when I entered their country; begging the question of how I got there and just who the hell I really was.

It was hours later; when the whole thing got sorted out; that I remember being back aboard ship in my stateroom thinking, "Man, I really showed them..."

Rex Reed - The Shallow Man Weighs In

I suppose that everyone on the planet is now aware that Rex Reed, film critic for the New York Times, has referred to Melissa McCarthy as “tractor-sized” and a “screeching, humongous creep”, as well as some other choice and unnecessary adjectives. Apparently he did not agree with the casting director’s choice of the role for Ms. McCarthy; but those who throw stones at others; as Mr. Reed does; should beware, lest the winds change and hurl some of the stones back in their own direction.

  

Melissa McCarthy, a fine actress best known for her appearance in the film “Bridesmaids”; which I have never seen; is a plus sized and very capable actress who took her new film “Identity Thief” to Number One at the Box Office this past weekend. It earned $36.6 million in the United States. No small feat; as there are several good films out right now.

Mr. Reed, an industry icon for decades, seems to be fraying at the edges these days. Let’s face it though; he has never been a real positive person to begin with. There was a time, when New Yorker's routinely ignored his reviews. Actually, that is not correct. The truth is that if Rex Reed panned it; they went to see it.

People such as Mr. Reed are long overdue for retirement. Giving a movie a bad review is a perfectly honorable way to make a living; but trashing someone for their physical appearance is something which I thought had passed us by a long time ago; back in the days of Twiggy.

   

In today’s more educated world, we recognize; and welcome; diversity as well as physical differences in appearance. I wonder how Carroll Baker and Sylvia Miles (pictured with Mr. Reed above) feel about his callous and insensitive remarks concerning Ms. McCarthy. Remember, pound for pound, Mr. Reed himself is no longer the skinny little film critic he was in the early 1970’s. If physical appearance were the only thing required of actors and actresses, the majority of films would be as shallow as Mr. Reed and the skinny little waifs which he seems to admire so much.

I Try Not To, But They Make It So Easy....

I try, I really do, so hard to remain on the political sidelines, but they make it so easy that sometimes you just have to take a poke at 'em. And I mean ALL of them. Republicans and Democrats, alike. This time it just happens to be an e-mail from the White House, with Joe Biden talking about duplication of expenses and the burgeoning amount of government websites that could all be consolidated as one, that has me provoked. It's a great idea! But the letter ends with the oppurtunity to sign up for a new government website to track the progress of cutting government waste. You cannot make this stuff up! It's like that commercial that always ends with - "Priceless."

Here is the exchange, beginning with the White House e-mail, then my reply (I actually do reply to these things) and then the automated response saying they can't take my response at this website- go to another one. Remember, this is YOUR government, hard at work, spending YOUR money.

--- On Mon, 6/13/11, Vice President Joe Biden, The White House wrote:

From: Vice President Joe Biden, The White House
Subject: There's a new sheriff in town
To: robertrswwilliams@yahoo.com
Date: Monday, June 13, 2011, 3:21 PM

Good morning,

Did you know that the government spends millions to maintain buildings that have sat vacant for years? Or that your tax dollars pay to needlessly ship copies of the Federal Register to thousands of government offices across the country even though the same information is available online?

And I bet you didn't know that your tax dollars pay for a website dedicated to the Desert Tortoise. I'm sure it's a wonderful species, but we can't afford to have a standalone site devoted to every member of the animal kingdom. It's just one of hundreds of government websites that should be consolidated or eliminated.

This kind of waste is just unacceptable. Particularly at a time when we’re facing tough decisions about reducing our deficit, it's a no-brainer to stop spending taxpayer dollars on things that benefit nobody.

That’s why President Obama asked me to head up the Campaign to Cut Waste—a new effort to root out wasteful spending at every agency and department in the Federal Government.

Like millions of American families, the Federal Government has to take a hard look at spending and live within its means. Most of these cuts we’re going to make are small. They won’t close our deficit or solve all of our fiscal problems. However, no amount of waste is acceptable, and these cuts will add up over time. This year alone we’ve found $33 billion in savings, but we know there’s a lot more work to be done.

When we passed the Recovery Act back in 2009, President Obama insisted that we use that program to set a new standard in government transparency and accountability. And he appointed me as “Sheriff Joe” to make sure the job gets done.

Now, there were a lot of naysayers back then who said that there was no way we could implement the Recovery Act without massive waste, fraud and abuse.

You know what? They were wrong. Thanks to our diligence (and some help from advanced computer models and sophisticated data analysis), the Recovery Act has had an unprecedentedly low level of fraud, with less than 0.6% of all awards experiencing any waste or abuse.

There’s absolutely no reason why we can’t apply these same principles and techniques to all government spending.

And that’s exactly what I intend to do with the help of a new Government Accountability and Transparency Board, a group composed of independent inspectors general and high-level agency officials who will help me root out waste, fraud and abuse across the government. Helping me ensure that your tax dollars are being spent on things that matter, like investments in education, innovation and improving our infrastructure.

So, folks, we’re changing the way your government does business (and spends your hard-earned tax dollars), and I think you’re going to like the results.

Sincerely,

Vice President Joe Biden

P.S. If you’re interested in keeping up with our progress in hunting down wasteful spending, you can sign up for regular email updates.

This email was sent to robertrswwilliams@yahoo.com.
Unsubscribe robertrswwilliams@yahoo.com | Privacy Policy

The White House • 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW • Washington, DC 20500 • 202-456-1111

Here is my response;

Re: There's a new sheriff in town
Monday, June 13, 2011 6:31 PM
From: This sender is DomainKeys verified"Robert Williams" View contact details
To: "The White HouseVice President Joe Biden"
Cc: "robert williams"

Honorable Vice President Biden,

It is unimaginable that you begin this missive by calling out the myriad of goverment websites, that should all be consolidated into one, and then finish by asking us to join yet ANOTHER government website, in direct conflict with your stated goal. I will be publishing this e-mail, along with yours, which was paid for by me, on my blog. This is something I could not have made up!

Incidentally, I was a life long Democrat until the party drove me away. I am an Independent voter at the present time. Good luck with all that you do, but please, think before you hit the send button. You harm your own cause when you do not.

Respectfully,

Robert Williams
10865 River Oaks Drive NW
Concord, NC 28027
http://robertwilliamsofbrooklyn.blogspot.com/

Here is their reply;

Flag this message
The White House Auto-Response Message
Monday, June 13, 2011 6:32 PM
From: "The White House"
Add sender to Contacts
To: robertrswwilliams@yahoo.com

Due to the high volume of messages received at this address, the White House is unable to process the email you just sent. To contact the White House, please visit:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

Thank you.