Saturday, November 27, 2010

Check out my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/people/Robert-James-Payne/654239439

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Tuesday, May 18, 2010


Watch CBS News Videos Online This 60 Minutes segment broadcast last Sunday evening sickens me as I'm sure it did the millions of other Americans who viewed it! This disaster can be attributed to one thing, GREED! The greed of Americans for oil to power their autos and the greed of BP managers to ignore damage to the Transocean Deepwater Horizon drilling rig's Blowout Prevention (BOP) equipment! BP's blatant disregard for safety is criminal and I hope that the people who are responsible will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law! They are guilty of manslaughter (11 dead crew members) and they are also guilty of 'Crimes Against Humanity'! These people must be sentenced to long terms in prison if we are going to avoid these sorts of pitfalls in the future. I wonder how long it will be before President Obama steps in and directs a team of NASA scientists and other deep water drilling experts to initiate a plan to cap it! BP has proven its incompetency in the matter and if we're depending upon them to come up with a solution, we're going to get screwed!

Thursday, May 06, 2010

25 September 1978 The Worst Day in San Diego's History I remember what a beautiful morning it was, Santa Ana conditions, hot and clear! I was on my way home from work when I passed near the intersection of 32nd St & Polk. I was shocked to see the wreckage of the Cessna that collided with the PSA jetliner. A body from the Cessna had demolished the roof over the front door entrance of a house and was lying under a yellow tarp. I turned on my car radio to learn what had happened! I was shocked! Looking back on this day after more than 30 years had elapsed, I think of it as the day that my beloved San Diego had lost her virginal purity! I had witnessed death and destruction during the riots in Watts, Detroit, and other large American cities that had large ghetto neighborhoods, but San Diego was never affected by social upheavals! Death and destruction on a massive scale visited my home town that day! San Diego would never be the same!

The Crash of PSA 182: Return to Dwight and Nile from Gray Matter Entertainment on Vimeo.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

I Never Thought that I Would See the Day

As I watched the A Celebration of Music From the Civil Rights Movement tonight on PBS I was moved by the fact that within my lifetime the U.S. had elected a man of African-American heritage to it's highest elective office. President Obama has faced opposition from the Republicans in Washington D.C., but none of it has been based upon his race!

Another thing that happened a little over 20 years ago that I thought would never happen was the Berlin Wall come toppling down! Which was the first tell tale chink in Soviet Russia's collapse!

With the near collapse of the U.S. economy and the huge government spending deficits threatening to bankrupt our nation, I often pause to reflect upon the idea that had the U.S. military not invaded Iraq in what was clearly an unprovoked war, and had all those billions of dollars been spent on domestic issues, would our economy still be in such bad shape as it presently is? One thing that can be said about the money squandered in Iraq, is that we wouldn't be facing such large deficits!

The loss of American and Iraqi lives and the billions upon billions of dollars being wasted even unto this very day can be blamed on one person and one person only! His name is George W. Bush, who I believe bears the full responsibility of bankrupting America! It is a tragedy that such a misguided man was able to become the president in the first place and it should be remembered that the Supreme Court enabled him to steal the election from Al Gore. I think that the U.S. would have been much better governed had Mr. Gore won the election!

Friday, January 29, 2010

During President Obama's State of the Union Address I was surprised at the Military Chiefs of Staffs non-response to the following statement he made,"This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are." After seeing them giving their Commander in Chief standing ovations whenever he made mention of the military or defense it was a sharp contrast to see them sitting on their hands when he mentioned the prospects of gay people being able to serve their country

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Cherry Cake

I had never heard of a 'cherry cake' until late Friday night when I heard it mentioned by the dead cowboy's mother in "Brokeback Mountain". Then it seemed to be rather coincidental to hear 'cherry cake' mentioned again by another mother of a dead daughter and granddaughter as I watched the pilot episode of "Caprica" early Saturday morning.

I guess I should try to find a cherry cake at a bakery, or ask a bakery worker if they make cherry cakes.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Thank You for an exciting season 2009 San Diego Chargers!

I'm sure that all the Monday morning QBs will be searching for scapegoats to place the blame for the stunning play off loss to the New York Jets, however I think the team will admit that they were outplayed by a better prepared opponent. Obviously, Rivers had trouble handling the blitzes as he was unable to move the ball as he had done during the 10 victories prior. I think that the Chargers offense should have tried the "wild cat" formation a few times in order to keep the Jets defense guessing. I also think that the Chargers should have gotten the ball to LT at least 10 mores times, he was overdue to bust a big gainer! The Chargers relied too much on their passing attack and when that failed they didn't have an effective Plan B to implement. I think that the dumbfounded look on place kicker Kaeding's face after he missed his second field goal attempt explained what the whole team must have felt! Congratulations to the Jets, they were well prepared to take on the Chargers' high-powered offense, they took advantage of turnovers and penalties that the Chargers committed and won the game!