By: Ray Rife

Welcome to Ray’s “Boom-Boom” Room.

This is a weekly review of anything that interest Ray, the proprietor. The idea is to give you a weekly look at how I view the world, which I’ve been told is a bit off the beaten path. I don’t expect you to agree with me, just think, laugh, cry or whatever emotion strikes you. I enjoy debate and having people challenge my ideas, so feel free to leave a comment. You never know, I may even respond. So kick back, get a glass of your favorite libation or if you roll up or whatever you do to relax and enjoy. The Boom Boom Room is now open.

Japanese Earthquake

On Friday, March 11^th an 8.9-magnitude earthquake erupted off the eastern coast of Japan. This earthquake also set off a large tsunami. From the first reports, you knew this was a big one. The amateur and professional video and images that are coming from the country are mesmerizing. The amount of property damage and loss of life will not be known for weeks. Some are estimating the death toll to be in the tens of thousands. Crazy.

First and foremost, I offer my heartfelt condolences and prayers to the people and victims of this horrific disaster. Whatever deity that you subscribe to I ask that you pray, meditate or however you ask for blessings from this deity, and ask for blessings for the people of Japan.

I saw a piece on the LA County Firefighters were packed up with 70,000 lbs of supplies and material and on a plane for Japan within 48 hours of the earthquake. I couldn’t help but think…it took 6 days for us to respond to New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina victims. While, I know this may be ripping open an old scab…but dammit, how did we as American’s fail our own people so miserably? Still fuming!!

So with that in mind, let’s not forget the victims of some other recent disasters and remember even though we are going through a terrible financial crisis in this country (America), there are people that are not worrying about how their 401(k) plan is doing or if their property portfolio is still taking a bath. There are millions who are just hoping for a hot meal and a bath.

Haiti, Indonesia, New Orleans, Sumatra and El Salvador, to truly name a few, still need our prayers and efforts. This once again proves that in the blink of an eye, your whole world could be turned upside down. Literally.

Note: Please don’t talk about the dumbass that was on the West Coast taking pictures of the tsunami. I know that he got drug out to sea and has passed away but didn’t they give out warnings to people to get away from the coastal regions?? Darwinism at work.

Heart Attack Grill

Now, this is one that takes the cake…no, really.

Have you heard of the Heart Attack Grill?

If you haven’t heard of this place, it’s a restaurant in Chandler, Arizona that has a menu of high caloric items. The menu touts a Bypass Burger which comes in 4 sizes; singe, double tripe and the 8,000 calorie Quadruple Bypass Burger. They also have fires that are called “flatliner” fries and they are fried in lard and are all-you-can-eat. To wash it all down you can get a real butter cream shake, beer, tequila or some Jolt cola.

My chest hurts and I can feel my arteries hardening just thinking about consuming this food. Have to admit though, sounds good. He He He!

The restaurant was founded in 2005 by Jon Basso. He is an unashamed owner of this restaurant, who walks around in a doctor’s smock and calls his menu “nutritional pornography.” He proudly implies that you will have the chance of developing atherosclerosis from one of these high in saturated fat burgers.

I’m sorry Mr. Basso but blood does not rush to my neither regions when I see that menu. Not sure if pornography was the word you were looking for but in this day of Meta tags…I get it.

Recently, the spotlight has been on the Heart Attack Grill because their spokesperson, Blair River, 29, died last week. He was 6’8” and weighed in at 575lbs. That’s not a typo. You can go to YouTube and see the commercials or go the restaurants website. Mr. Rivers and all people over 350 lbs, eat for free. You don’t get drinks though with the free meal, what do you think it is a soup kitchen?

No seriously, go look at the videos of him mocking the fact that he was killing himself. The guy was freaking enormous. I can appreciate self-deprecating humor though.

People are now calling for the restaurant to be shut down as a health hazard; going as far as asking the FDA to investigate. The attack of the morality police begins, again. People have a hard time watching other people having fun and enjoying themselves. Do I think it’s stupid that you’re over 350lbs and you’re excited for getting an 8,000 calorie burger for free? Absolutely!  But I believe that people should have the right to kill themselves by the choices that THEY make and then deal with the consequences even if its death (see above about tsunami guy).

Look, I have a hard time looking at the menu and justify eating one of these burgers. I don’t eat at some fast food restaurants because I can’t enjoy choking down a handful of grease, so I certainly wouldn’t eat at the Heart Attack Grill but I’m not going to stop others. It’s simple; it’s a free society and the free market determines their existence.

The restaurant basically mocks people for eating there. They have a sign on the door that says, “Caution: This establishment is bad for your health,” and “A taste worth dying for.” So if people want to go there and eat, then I say, eat and be merry. Just don’t be so surprised when there is, as Biggie Smalls once said, “A lot of slow singin’ and flower bringin.’”

Wisconsin Anti-Union

The fiasco that is known as the Wisconsin budget debate just took another turn. Is it, just me or does it seem like after all the excess of the last presidency, those who enjoyed them are now asking for others to pay for it? Why do we ALWAYS seem to take our budget pressures out on our public school teachers?

So Governor Scott Walker decided that the best way to bridge the gap in the Wisconsin state budget was to attack the government employees union. Now, I’m not necessarily against the idea, I’ve felt that unions have caused more harm than good in the last decade or so. Salaries for union employees have priced American jobs out of the manufacturing industry. Yet, they are responsible for a majority of our labor laws.

As a former small business owner, I also know that a company’s largest expense is almost always salaries. So when companies are starting to cut expenses that almost always mean cutting jobs.

Of course, Gov. Walker has decided that he didn’t want to be the bad guy and make the decision to cut jobs because none of our elected officials can keep their eye off the next election. Some Democrats are suggesting it’s a political move to bust of the Democrats majority backer…unions. To this I say, so what? Then adjust your message and speak to the masses not just the unions. You know, adapt.

Even so, if that is really what the GOP is doing, it’s another example of them attempting to install an aristocratic class on the back of the working class. Plus, all the people who support the republicans and make less than $300,000/year just don’t get their agenda. But I digress.

I know what the Governor is thinking, why should he make these decisions of layoffs and take all the heat? That would be political suicide. I think the union busting was a peripheral benefit. Think about it, what are all politicians the most worried about? The next election. So, how can he run a race with his opponent saying he laid off 1,500+ people? Even if it’s the most prudent thing to do, I mean, the American people don’t expect miracles from their policy makers we expect rational well thought out….no….wait….we do expect miracles from our policy makers. We want them to cut spending and reduce the deficit without more income and without removing what government program that I benefit off of currently. I mean how dare you raise taxes and then cut spending for my daughters pan flute classes?

So, he the Governor decides, let’s make an obscene offer to the unions, knowing they wouldn’t agree to it and this way he can lay off workers and not take the heat, it’s the workers own fault because they didn’t make the concessions. I see the plan as clear as day, too bad the sheeple don’t.

It reminds me of sport franchise owners. They complain that salaries are rising much too fast but…they keep spending. This is what all government did the last 10 years, we all knew that the economy wasn’t going to stay this hot and continue on it hyper-expansion…but they all kept spending.

So as a government (see the Federal government also), it has created all these pet projects, over spent on other things, gave themselves and the federal employees generous raises and didn’t care about the future. Well the future is now and its time to pay the bill.

Again, I ask, why do we always fix our budget problems on the backs of teachers, nurses, child care workers, prison guards, school bus drivers, the poor, single mothers…?

March Madness – Office Pools

So it’s that time again, the holiday made for bookies. March Madness!! This is the time of college basketball excess. Conference tournaments, seedings, RPI ratings, guard play analysis and all the other mundane facts that the boys in Bristol come up with.

Let’s see, can Oakland win their first round game?

Of course, the NCAA in all of its infinite wisdom (considering how they handle football it all could probably fit in a thimble), has decided to tweak the tournament this year. 68 teams now have the opportunity to win the coveted prize of NCAA Men’s Basketball champion.

Truthfully, I liked the tournament more when it was basically just the conference winners. If you didn’t win the conference, you didn’t get invited to the Big Dance. How are you able to claim to be national champions but can’t claim a conference championship; has always stumped me.

Duke should be a number one seed right?

Of course, who am I to let common sense and logic to get in the way of making a few more millions? I mean, that would be fewer games for the bookies and Vegas gaming houses to put up on the big board. That would be less television money for the conferences to split up. Less exposure and therefore less money spent on apparel sales.

Don’t get me wrong. I love the basketball tourney. I enjoy spending a Thursday and Friday afternoon at my favorite sports bar arguing with an equally naïve patron about the benefits and deficiencies of McNeese State and Belmont.

The Pac-10 deserved more teams than the Ohio Valley Conference.

People all over America will fill out brackets in their legal (wink, wink) office pools. Old jocks will remember when Chris Mullin was filling it up for St. John and pick them to win it all. Secretaries will fill out a bracket so they don’t feel left out and pick teams because of the way the team name sounds and win the pool.

Yes, the pageantry and spectacle that it the NCAA basketball tourney.

Why does it feel like just like the NFL though, they greedy presidents cheapen it by overtly tying to squeeze that last dollar from people who are being laid off by their state government because they won’t take concessions?

I’m starting to think Gordon Gekko was right…greed is good.

Argh, who picks a #12 seed to go to the Final Eight!!!

Quote of the week

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky on how gas prices rising is President Obama’s fault.

“There has been a conscious effort to make it difficult to drill in this country. Both on shore and offshore by the bureaucrats who have been appointed by this administration and president. Noting that there has been a slight uptick in production doesn’t get to the heart of the problem.”

See this is my biggest problem with politicians, he knows he’s spreading misinformation right in the quote. They are making drilling harder yet we have an uptick in production. Boooo!

Final Thought

Well thanks for stopping by for the inaugural opening of the “Boom Boom” Room. Don’t be bashful to add a post or contact me via email below.

Again, please pray for the people in Japan and everywhere where people have suffered from a natural disaster.

Ray

raysbbr@gmail.com

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