I'm Ready to Fully Support Doug Owen's Run For Congress

     I just heard that Doug Owens will be running against Mia Love for Utah's 4th district.  I hate to be so lock & step partisan, but you can count me IN!
     I don't need much convincing when it comes to the son of Rep.Wayne Owens, and here's a personal story that might shed light on why I not only supported and admired him, but I even worked on his campaign in his unsuccessful bid for a Senate seat, way back when.
     I had recently returned to Utah from Taiwan with my wife who I had met while teaching English there. She had legally immigrated, and believe me, that wasn't easy.  (If she had been so much as Diabetic or had been missing a finger they would have turned her down.)  Putting together that folder of papers for immigration was quite literally a part time job for me, for several months prior to returning to Utah with my (now pregnant) wife.
     And they lost it!  The last I ever saw of that folder was when we turned it in at LAX which was our first U.S. stop before continuing on to Salt Lake City.  We waited and waited for the green-card that was supposed to be mailed to us, but it never arrived, and when I started investigating, I realized the seriousness of our predicament.  It didn't matter who I called, it was gone.  That folder which represented months and months of work was missing, and there was really nothing I could do about it.
     What it meant was that they could have picked her up at any time and sent her back to Taiwan.  I was getting frantic and wasn't sure where to turn.  My phone calls to immigration were getting me nowhere except to alert them of her being illegally in the U.S. I started calling my representatives.  Admittedly an act of youthful indiscretion, but I was running out of options.
     As you can imagine, I was pretty much ignored by the lot of them, but there was one office that did return my call.  It was Wayne Owens office, and though I never spoke to him directly, his secretary called back a day later to tell me the green-card was on it's way!      
     Is it a lesson in the power of our policy makers?  Perhaps, but when his son Doug Owens says he's running on a platform of 'getting things done,' I'm inclined to believe him.

Cartoon Caption #414

I had submitted this caption, uploaded it to my blog here and was just walking away when I came up with something that's probably a lot better.  How's this?

"The irony is that the devise it controls is the size of a nickel."

#413

At first I was thinking something like,

"It's a small price to pay for the repeal of Obamacare."

But the big problem with that one is that you somehow have to assume you're a decade or so into the future. Not to mention that barely anyone will understand the humor.  So nix that one.

"Not to worry.  I keep hard-candy just for such emergencies."

Nahhh.  And I'm not too sure if it should be hard-candy anyway.  The elderly used to keep it around but not really for themselves.  What about

"Can you believe I actually have a copy of Readers Digest Right here."

Then there were these pair, both of which I was mostly happy with, 

"I didn't think anyone actually said 'stick-em-up' anymore."

or 

"I can't remember the last time I heard someone say, 'stick-em-up?"

and yet...  Let's tweak it a little. 

It's not very P.C. but I'm fifty myself so I'm allowed. 

California Cops Are Allowed to Kill Homeless People

Here's the article buried in the back pages of Salon.

Cops Who Beat Homeless Man To Death Walk Free

And if you can stomach it, here the video of the killing.

I wish the members of this jury were taken out and beaten like this. They deserve it.

Here's a link to a petition you can sign.

Got This One in a Flash

I think I came up with this one faster than any before.  It's a little cryptic for those numskulls picking finalists there at the Caption Contest, but I like it.

 I guess I'd like to give an alternate, however it's really the same joke, and not quite as good..

"How 'bout you hit me in the face with a pie."

Cartoon Caption Contest #411

At first I worked at a particular angle that led me to this,

"Yes sir, I'm the one who complained that you're not very approachable." 

...however I then decided that it was a pretty weak attempt.  I very nearly went with,

"I'm here about the echo."

...but it still did seem quite right, so I tweaked it a little and came up with this.

Then right after I submitted it, I suddenly had serious second thoughts about including the typed echo.  It's a little bold in style, and the caption probably would have worked just fine without it.

UPDATE:  The finalists are out, and I was clearly beat by David Witus of Mercer Island, Washington.  Here it is.

I think it's brilliant.

Michael Palin is My New Hero

          I just started a new series on Netflix called Michael Palin: New Europe, and although I'm only a few episodes in, I'm seriously hooked!  I sort of knew about these, and maybe I'm getting this wrong, but I somehow got the impression that Michael Palin found out he was dying, and that's why he decided to travel around the world with a film crew.  All I keep thinking is... "Now there's a guy who really did it.  Michael Palin really did end up living a fantastic life.  It's right there on the screen.  I'd be green with envy if I wasn't having so much fun watching.
          I love the way he's traveling.  He'll go from automobile, to train, to bicycle, to bus, to boat, to horseback, to camelback, to hot-air balloon, and that's all in one episode!  Netflix also has seasons of him in the Sahara as well as the Himalayas, but I checked and there's around ten of these.  I'm really looking forward to it.