America Just Can’t Make It Anymore.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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The statement in the title is not true, except that it is.

If you are a little confused stay with me and let me clarify.

The United States used to be the industrial power house of the world. Its industries generated unprecedented wealth for the country, creating the world’s first self-made billionaires and productive wealth creating jobs galore for everyone. The whole country prospered.

Today, however, the United States has become the world’s second biggest importer of goods. Worse than that, even though America still exports billions of dollars’ worth in oil, consumer goods and automotive products, it imports even more. This creates a trade deficit ($471 billion according to recent figures).

So what are all these imports into the US?

Well, they include industrial machinery and equipment ($681 billion), automotive vehicles, parts, and engines ($309 billion), miscellaneous private services, primarily financial services ($201 billion), cell phones ($90 billion), travel passenger services ($86 billion), pharmaceuticals ($84 billion), computers ($65 billion), chemicals ($61 billion), other transportation services ($59 billion), computer accessories ($57 billion), telecommunications equipment ($54 billion), royalties and license fees services ($42 billion), apparel ($49 billion), petroleum products ($48 billion), fuel oil ($44 billion), industrial supplies ($29 billion), U.S. Government service imports primarily defense ($25 billion), fish ($18 billion), fruit ($13 billion), and vegetables ($11 billion).

If you are a bit shell-shocked by all those figures let me phrase it a bit differently using as examples the types of goods you would tend to buy.

• 100% (almost) of the shoes bought in the U.S. come from China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Mexico;
• 90% of white goods (washers, fridges, etc.) and consumer electronics are imported;
• 85% of household furniture is imported;
• 80% of cars on U.S. roads come from Canada (31%), Japan (24%), Germany (16%) and Mexico (12%); and,
• 65% of U.S. clothing is imported from China (37%), Vietnam (9.4%), Indonesia (7.2%) and Bangladesh (6.7%).

Probably the saddest part is that even things you thought were “American” are now actually made overseas and imported.

I remember while on a business trip to the US many, many years ago I bought a gift for the young son of a friend of mine. He was a big sports enthusiast so I reckoned that one of the most iconic symbols of sport from America would be a baseball. I bought one in Wal-Mart. It was marked with all the different holding positions for the various ways to throw a baseball (fast ball, curve ball and all that). The perfect gift.

I gave it to him on my return feeling ever so pleased with myself. The kid opened it, showed momentary delight, then looked up at me accusingly. “It says ‘Made in China'” he told me.

But it’s not only baseballs. Similar types of product that you would think are all-American, like Converse All Stars, Levi’s, Huffy bicycles, televisions, Monopoly, Etch-a-Sketch, Radio Flyer wagons, Barbie dolls, and last but by no means least, most of those American flags just ain’t American no more.

It really doesn’t have to be this way. Apple, for example, doesn’t have to become the richest company in the world by manufacturing its products in China and storing its vast hoards of cash overseas.

Or does it?

Everything on the lists above could still be made in the US and surpluses exported to other countries. But the US government and its moronic bureaucrats are spending their time and our money thinking up new ways, not to help American businesses, but to add ever-increasing amounts of rules, regulations and bureaucracy on to American companies.

American businesses can no longer compete, because their own government has ensured that the deck is stacked against them.

In the mind of a bureaucrat losing a million productive wealth creating jobs, for example, in the automotive industry, and replacing them with a million more administrative jobs that cost the country money evens things out.

It doesn’t. Simple math will tell you that. Every time it happens things get worse and America gets poorer.

So America just can’t make it anymore, but not because China has stolen the jobs. It’s because the US government bureaucrats gave them away.

Put the blame where it should be.

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Some More Politicians Who Managed To Get Their Feet In Their Mouths.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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It always amazes me that politicians, who should be well aware that every word they say will be recorded somewhere, are so prone to speak without thinking.

On the other hand maybe they do think about what they are going to say and see nothing wrong with it. That is a very distinct possibility.

Either way it’s good for the rest of us.

We all like to laugh and who better to laugh at than a stupid politician.

Enjoy.

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”Feminism was established so as

to allow unattractive women easier access

to the mainstream of society.”

Rush Limbaugh

 

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“Schwarzenegger is going to find out that,

unlike a Hollywood movie set,

the bullets coming at him in this campaign

are going to be real bullets.”

Bob Mulholland, campaign adviser

for the California Democratic Party

 

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 “We are not without accomplishment.

We have managed to distribute poverty equally.”

Nguen Co Thatch,

Vietnamese Foreign Minister.

 

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“When the President does it

that means that it’s not illegal.”

Richard M. Nixon

 

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“During my service in

the United States Congress,

I took the initiative in

creating the Internet.”

 Al Gore.

 

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“Exercise freaks

… are the ones putting stress

on the health care system.”

Rush Limbaugh

 

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“Capital punishment is our way

of demonstrating the sanctity of life.”

Orrin Hatch

 

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“If you’ve seen one city slum,

you’ve seen them all.”

Spiro Agnew

 

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“From time to time there are going to

be things that occur that are acts of God

that cannot be prevented.”

Rick Perry,

on the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, in 2010

 

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”Well, I learned a lot….

I went down to (Latin America) to find out

from them and (learn) their views.

You’d be surprised.

They’re all individual countries.”

Ronald Reagan

 

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“We know that no one person can succeed

unless everybody else succeeds.”

Howard Dean.

 

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“The more toppings a man has on his pizza,

I believe the more manly he is.

A manly man don’t want it piled high with vegetables!

He would call that a sissy pizza.”

Herman Cain

 

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“What a terrible thing to have lost one’s mind.

Or not to have a mind at all.

How true that is.”

Vice President Dan Quayle

 

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“I’ve now been in 57 states

– I think one left to go.”

Barack Obama

at a campaign event in Beaverton, Oregon.

 

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“Stand up, Chuck, let ’em see ya.”

Joe Biden

to Missouri State Sen. Chuck Graham

… who’s in a wheelchair

 

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“In America,

anybody may become president,

and I suppose it’s just one of the risks you take.”

Adlai Stevenson

two-time Democratic presidential nominee

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Chain Stores, Axes And Earthquakes Are Just Some Of Today’s Facts.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Yes, chain stores, axes and earthquakes are just some of today’s random selection of fabulous facts here at the fasab blog.

Hope find a few things new and interesting.

Enjoy.

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NASA’s New Horizons mission will

be the first probe to study Pluto.

It was launched on January 2006,

and will be near Pluto on July 2015.

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The world’s largest Axe is located

in Nackawic, New Brunswick, Canada.

It stands 15 metres (49 ft) tall,

weighs over 55 tons and the

axe-head is 7 metres (23 ft) wide and

has a time capsule embedded within it.

It sits on a concrete stump 10 metres (33 ft) in diameter.

The axe was commissioned, designed and

built in 1991 by a company in Woodstock and it

symbolizes the importance of the forest industry in the region.

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There is a small town in Estonia (actual name ‘Tartu’)

that has been nicknamed of ‘Souptown’ because most

of its streets are named after various vegetables,

such as Kartuli (Potato), Herne (Pea), Oa (Bean),

Marja (Berry) and Meloni (Melon).

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The town of ‘Superior’ in Wisconsin in the USA

is also known as ‘Soup Town’

but this is simply because the name was shortened

to ‘Soup’ and then ‘Town’ added later.

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The first recorded chain store was British-owned W H Smith,

founded in London in 1792 by Henry Walton Smith and his wife.

The store sells books, stationery, magazines, newspapers,

and entertainment products.

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In the U.S., chain stores began with the founding of

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) in 1859.

By the early 1920s, the U.S. boasted three national chains:

A&P, Woolworth’s, and United Cigar Stores.

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Ants are known to be able to lift and carry

about 50 times their own bodyweight,

but a recent scientific research study by

Ohio State University suggests it can be up

to an incredible 5000 times their bodyweight.

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It was during the stupid ‘Prohibition’ period

in the Unites States (1920-1933),

when there was a nationwide Constitutional ban

on the sale, production, importation, and

transportation of alcoholic beverages,

that  ‘cocktails’ gained popularity.

They were offered to mask the flavor of poorly made

alcohol and popular versions included

‘Mary Pickford’, ‘French 75’, ‘Barbary Coast’,

‘Bee’s Knees’, and the ‘Sidecar’.

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And, by the way,

it is still illegal in Ohio to get a fish drunk.

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Barack Obama is the USA’s 44th President,

but there actually have only been 43 presidents:

Grover Cleveland was elected for two non-consecutive terms

and is counted twice, as the 22nd and 24th President.

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Although the Great Wall of China has

existed for more than two thousand years,

most of the rest of the world didn’t know

about it until after the first European,

a Portuguese explorer named Bento de Gois,

discovered it in 1605.

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Not quite as old as the Great Wall of China,

but nonetheless impressive, was Brazilian woman

Maria do Carmo Jeronimo who for a while

was the oldest living person on earth.

She was the last Brazilian slave,

and one of very few people in history who

managed to live during three different centuries;

she was born in Brazil in 1871 and

she died on June 14, 2000,

at the incredible age of 129 years and 102 days.

Unfortunately lack of a birth certificate,

which were not often issued in those days especially for slaves,

prevented her official recognition as the world’s oldest woman.

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If you ever wondered what it would be like

trying to eat your dinner during an earthquake

then you should book a table at

Disaster Café, in Lloret de Mar, Spain.

At the “disastrous” dinners customers experience

an artificial 7.8 magnitude earthquake

so don’t wear your best gear as there are likely

to be spilled food and drinks during the meal.

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When James Wan agreed to direct the horror movie ‘Saw’

he also agreed not to receive an “up front” salary

but instead opted for a generous percentage

of the movie’s box office earnings.

‘Saw’ made over $100 million globally and it is

considered one of the most profitable horror movies of all time.

Wan’s risk also enabled him to become one of the youngest

and highest-earning directors in movie history.

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The world’s shortest commercial flight takes place

between the two Orkney Islands, Westray and

Papa Westray, north of Scotland.

Operated by Loganair,

the flight covers a distance of only 1.7 miles (2.7 km)

and if the weather conditions are favorable,

it can be completed in just 47 seconds.

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Ants In Your Pants? There’s Plenty Of ‘Em!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Hi and welcome to fact day which does, as the title suggests, include an amazing fact about the number of ants ib the world. They may not be in your pants, but keep a look out just in case!

And now for the facts.

Enjoy.

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Halloween, which we’ve all just endured another year,

is thought to have originated around 4000 B.C.,

which means Halloween has been around for over 6,000 years

and is one of the oldest celebrations in the world.

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Most vegetables and almost all fruits contain

a small amount of alcohol in them.

Cheers!

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Some scientific studies suggest there are about

10,000,000,000,000,000 individual ants

alive on Earth at any given time.

Ants are estimated to represent about 15–20%

of the total terrestrial animal biomass,

which exceeds that of the vertebrates.

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When Pluto was discovered it was initially

believed to be larger than Earth.

Now astronomers know that it’s about

1,455 miles (2,352 kilometers) across,

less than 20 percent as big as the Earth.

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Thomas Stewart Armistead was a Confederate officer

who fought bravely in the American Civil War.

After being wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness he

was captured and placed in a camp near Morris Island

where the Union authorities used him as a human

shield to prevent fire from nearby Confederate artillery batteries.

Thomas Stewart Armistead and 599 other Confederate officers

who had also been captured became known as “The Immortal 600.”

When, on November 16, 1922, Armistead died at the age of 80 he

was the last survivor and member of “The Immortal 600.”

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The American football team the Baltimore Ravens are named

in honor of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic poem ‘The Raven’.

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The construction of the Great Wall of China took over 2 thousands years,

the very first parts being built as early as in the 8th century BC.

.

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Table for one, sir?

Amsterdam´s restaurant At Eenmaal,

founded by social designer Marina van Goor,

has become famous because the only type of table

that you can find in the restaurant is a table for one.

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The largest thermometer in the world is 134-feet-tall (40.843m)

and was built by businessman Willis Herron in Baker, California.

The thermometer is supposed to serve as a memento of

the highest recorded temperature in the U.S.

measured in nearby Death Valley

– 134 degrees Fahrenheit (56.6 Celsius) in 1913.

The thermometer is no longer in operation,

and was put up for sale in January 2013.

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In 410 A.D. Alaric the Visigoth demanded that Rome give

him three thousand pounds of pepper as ransom,

an amount not to be sneezed at.

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Abu Nasr Isma’il ibn Hammad al-Jawhari was an author of

a notable Arabic dictionary containing about 40,000 entries.

He is also remembered in Arabic history for

his attempt to fly with wooden wings.

He leapt from the roof of a mosque in the old town of Nishapur,

whereupon gravity took control and

he promptly hit the ground and was killed.

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If you spray an antiseptic spray on a polar bear,

its fur will turn purple.

I wonder who got close enough to find that one out?

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The Japanese Empire was the largest maritime empire in history,

spanning more than 7 million square kilometers and gained such

notoriety that it took atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki

plus plenty of other battles to defeat it.

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The movie that grossed the most money that was

adapted from a T.V. cartoon is Scooby-Doo

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Quite often when a book is made into a movie a lot of things get changed.

Sometimes this spoils the story for those who have read the book,

other times it can improve it.

In Robert Bloch’s novel  the main character ‘Norman Bates’

was short, fat, older, and very dislikable.

In Alfred Hitchcock’s movie version, however,

he was young, handsome, and sympathetic, and one

of the most well-known characters in film history.

Here are a couple of clips….

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Another Monday – Another Quiz Day, What Else Can I say?

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Yes another start to the week, and here on the fasab blog that means another quiz.

We’ll start off with a relatively easy one today, but the others may be more challenging. Still that’s what we want. If they were too simple what would be the point?

As always the answers are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but NO cheating!

Enjoy.

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Q.  1: It is ‘Kar’ in Turkish, ‘Lumi’ in Finnish, ‘Neve’ in Italian, ‘Nieve’ in Spanish and ‘Neige’ in French, but what is it called in English?

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Q.  2:  How many sides does a dodecahedron have?

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Q.  3:  It consists of seven letters and is a noun meaning ‘chorus’ and a verb meaning ‘to cease’, what is it?

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Q.  4:  Which famous Hollywood actor was buried in his Dracula costume?

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Q.  5:  What name is given to the Japanese dish of thinly sliced meat, vegetables and seasoning all cooked together quickly, usually at the table?

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Q.  6:  Based on the total number of passengers per year, the two busiest metro (subway) systems in the world are in which cities?  (One point for each correct answer.)

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Q.  7:  What was the name of the child in the TV series ‘Bewitched’?

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Q.  8:  What is the stage name of Sir Thomas John Woodward?

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Q.  9:  What is the largest city in the US named after a British PM?

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Q. 10:  Claret wine is produced in the region surrounding which French city?

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Q. 11:  How many prime numbers are there between 10 and 20?

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Q. 12:  ‘Allegro’ is a musical direction meaning to play how?

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Q. 13:  How many squares/spaces on a chess board?

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Q. 14:  Which famous singer was first offered, but thankfully did not get or accept, the TV role of ‘Lieutenant Colombo’?

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Q. 15:  What is the name of Sherlock Holmes’ housekeeper?

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Q. 16:  What was the name of the park ranger frequently outwitted by Yogi Bear?

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Q. 17:  Who was the daughter of the prophet Muhammad?

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Q. 18:  From which country did the dish ‘chilli con carne’ originate? 

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Q. 19:  Until the mid 16th century “sea dogs” was the English word for which type of predator?

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Q. 20:  What are the two missing words in this famous quote from the classic movie ‘Casablanca’?

“Of all the … ….. in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine”

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ANSWERS

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Q.  1: It is ‘Kar’ in Turkish, ‘Lumi’ in Finnish, ‘Neve’ in Italian, ‘Nieve’ in Spanish and ‘Neige’ in French, but what is it called in English?

A.  1:  Snow

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Q.  2:  How many sides does a dodecahedron have?

A.  2:  12

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Q.  3:  It consists of seven letters and is a noun meaning ‘chorus’ and a verb meaning ‘to cease’, what is it?

A.  3:  Refrain

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Q.  4:  Which famous Hollywood actor was buried in his Dracula costume?

A.  4:  Bela Lugosi

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Q.  5:  What name is given to the Japanese dish of thinly sliced meat, vegetables and seasoning all cooked together quickly, usually at the table?

A.  5:  Sukiyaki

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Q.  6:  Based on the total number of passengers per year, the two busiest metro (subway) systems in the world are in which cities?  (One point for each correct answer.)

A.  6:  Tokyo and Moscow

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Q.  7:  What was the name of the child in the TV series ‘Bewitched’?

A.  7:  Tabitha.

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Q.  8:  What is the stage name of Sir Thomas John Woodward?

A.  8:  Tom Jones

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Q.  9:  What is the largest city in the US named after a British PM?

A.  9:  Pittsburgh

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Q. 10:  Claret wine is produced in the region surrounding which French city?

A. 10:  Bordeaux

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Q. 11:  How many prime numbers are there between 10 and 20?

A. 11:  Four (11, 13, 17 and 19)

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Q. 12:  ‘Allegro’ is a musical direction meaning to play how?

A. 12:  Lively/fast

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Q. 13:  How many squares/spaces on a chess board?

A. 13:  64

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Q. 14:  Which famous singer was first offered, but thankfully did not get or accept, the TV role of ‘Lieutenant Colombo’?

A. 14:  Bing Crosby

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Q. 15:  What is the name of Sherlock Holmes’ housekeeper?

A. 15:  Mrs Hudson

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Q. 16:  What was the name of the park ranger frequently outwitted by Yogi Bear?

A. 16:  Ranger John Smith

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Q. 17:  Who was the daughter of the prophet Muhammad?

A. 17:  Fatimah

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Q. 18:  From which country did the dish ‘chilli con carne’ originate? 

A. 18:  The USA.

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Q. 19:  Until the mid 16th century “sea dogs” was the English word for which type of predator?

A. 19:  Sharks

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Q. 20:  What are the two missing words in this famous quote from the classic movie ‘Casablanca’?

“Of all the … ….. in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine”

A. 20:  “gin joints”

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Did You Know? More Random Facts From Fasab’s Files

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Another chance to increase your knowledge with a very random list of facts from fasab’s files.

Have some fun throwing one or two of these into conversations. It will either make you the hit of the party, or you won’t be asked back. Possibly a win-win scenario!

As always, enjoy.

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“I” is the most spoken word in the English language

 

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“You” is the second most spoken English word

 

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An Olympic gold medal must contain 92.5 percent silver

 

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Lee Harvey Oswald’s cadaver tag sold at an auction for $6,600 in 1992.

 

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The average American works 24,000 hours in their lifetime

just to pay their taxes

 

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A quarter of Russia is covered by forest.

 

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A rodents teeth never stop growing.

They are worn down by the animal’s constant gnawing

on bark, leaves, and vegetables.

 

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About 3000 years ago, most Egyptians

died by the time they were thirty.

 

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A Walla Walla scene

is one where extras pretend to be talking in the background

when they say walla walla it looks like they are actually talking.

 

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Astronauts are not allowed to eat beans

because passing wind in a spacesuit damages them.

 

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Albert Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952.

 

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Alexander the Great was an epileptic.

(He’d have a fit if he knew I’d told you that!)

 

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In eighteenth century English gambling dens,

there was an employee whose only job

was to swallow the dice if there was a police raid.

 

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In England, in the 1800’s pants was considered a dirty word.

 

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In the movie “Star Trek: First Contact”,

when Picard shows Lilly she is orbiting Earth,

Australia and Papa New Guinea are clearly visible

.. But New Zealand is missing.

 

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Irving Berlin, who was born on 11 May 1888

and who composed three thousand songs in his lifetime,

couldn’t read music.

 

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It is estimated that millions of trees in the world

are accidentally planted by squirrels who bury nuts

and then forget where they hid them.

 

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Jacques Cousteau invented scuba gear

while in the French resistance during World War II

 

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The characters Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street

were named after Bert the cop and Ernie

the taxi driver in Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

 

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A raisin dropped in a glass of fresh champange

will bounce up and down continually from the bottom of the glass to the top.

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Yesterday It Was The Answers That Were The Problem, Today It’s The Questions

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Yesterday it was the answers that were the problem. Today it is the questions. Here is another selection of those important questions that very few seem to want to ask.

Enjoy.

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Why do overalls have belt loops, since they are held up at the top by the straps?

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Why can’t women put on mascara with their mouth closed?

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Why is it considered necessary to nail down the lid of a coffin?

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Why people are so scared of mice, which are much smaller than us, when no one seems to be scared of Micky Mouse, who is bigger than us?

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How come we never hear about gruntled employees?

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Why are plastic bears the only animal you can get honey from? Why can’t you get honey from a plastic bee?

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What happens when you put hand sanitizer on a place other than your hand?

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Can you “stare off into space” when you’re in space?

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Why do they sterilize the needles for lethal injections?

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If there were a thousand seaguls in an airplane while its flying, each weighing two pounds a piece, but they were all flying in the airplane, would the airplane weigh 2000 pounds more?

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If a fly has no wings would you call him a walk?

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If a food processor slices and dices food, what does a word processor do?

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Why isn’t there mouse flavored cat food?

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If a hen and a half can lay an egg and a half in a day and a half, how long would it take a monkey with a wooden leg to kick the seeds out of a dill pickle?

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If a jogger runs at the speed of sound, can he still hear his Walkman?

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If a mirror reverses right and left, why doesn’t it reverse up and down?

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If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

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