The list of guy stars include Aiden Turner, soap opera star, Buzz Aldrin, former astronaut, Chad Ochocinco, Cincinnatti Bengals wide-receiver, Jake Pavelka, from the Bachelor series, and Evan Lysacek, Olympic Gold Medal Figure Skater.

The gal stars are Erin Andrews, ESPN sports reporter, Kate Gosselin, reality show, Nicole Scherzinger, one of the Pussycat Dolls, Niecy Nash, host and producer of home makeover show, Shannon Doherty, actress from Beverly Hills 90210, and Pamela Anderson, who doesn’t know her?

Did you notice that the total amount of stars is eleven – five guys and six gals? Do you think the show is stacking the stars for a woman to win this season’s Mirror Ball Trophy? Hmmm?

Brook Burke will be the new co-host replacing Samantha. Wonder if Brook will continue wearing ballroom gowns.  Samantha wore some pretty knock out gowns. Will Brook live up to that standard?

Until later,

Linda

So whose bright idea was this? The Democrat majority run legislature in Colorado enacted a law that was quickly signed by Governor Ritter (D) on March 1, 2010. This law covers sales taxes on purchase of items online that puts the onus for collecting tax revenue squarely on the shoulders of retailers and consumers.

As a result, online retail giant Amazon.com notified web-based affiliate businesses across Colorado on Monday that it is dropping them because of this new state sales tax law. Amazon will continue to sell to Colorado residents online but will no longer market through online Colorado affiliates. Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) ‎has a national network of bloggers and Internet-based businesses that generate commissions themselves by driving sales from links on their websites to Amazon.com.

Who is suffering from this tax law? Small business owners are suffering. They make money as an affiliate to Amazon, now this stupid law is hurting their revenue.

However, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter issued a statement Monday criticizing Amazon.com’s move. He said, “Amazon has taken a disappointing – and completely unjustified – step of ending its relationship with associates. While Amazon is blaming a new state law for its action, the fact is that Amazon is simply trying to avoid compliance with Colorado law and is unfairly punishing Colorado businesses in the process. My office worked closely with Amazon’s affiliates and associates to modify House Bill 1193 to specifically protect small businesses to avoid job losses and provide a fair, level playing field for on-line retailers and Main Street, brick-and-mortar retail shops alike. Amazon’s position is unfortunate, and Coloradans certainly deserve better.”

Well, Governor Ritter and your Democrat buddies, if you were more fiscally responsible with taxpayers’ money, you wouldn’t have to impose this idiotic sales tax on online retail sales. Why is it that Democrats are always looking at ways to tax our way of life? We now have a tax on soda, candy and software products. Colorado hiked vehicle registration fees over three years starting at an extra $22.50 up to $29.00 per year to pay for roads and highways. But Mr. Ritter aren’t you getting some Stimulus money for this?  That’s what the $100+ signs say throughout the state. And you still complain that you have to cut additional money from the state’s budget.

What are you doing with our money? Stop taxing us and learn how to work within a budget.

 Until later,

Linda

I didn’t. 

I haven’t watched the Oscar’s in over ten years. Why? Because just like Barbara Walters, who after 29 years of doing Oscar night specials on ABC, said that she is giving up her specials. She said that there are very few stars now and the public is not in awe of them any more. What are showing in movies are animated features like “Avatar” and independent films. There are no more stars to inspire or awe us and basically they have nothing to say.

I couldn’t agree more with Barbara Walters. Just like her, I don’t care anymore. Hollywood is not what it used to be twenty years ago. Films have not inspired me nor have the actors. They all have their own agenda and have no mystique. Plus the Oscar show is slow, not very funny and seems more of a popularity contest than a real review of the best picture or actor/actress.

Sure, I like Sandra Bullock as an actress and Jeff Bridges has earned his dues to win an Oscar. But will their winning solve our economic problems in the country? What baffles me is that with about 10% or more of unemployment, people still have the money ($10-$20 worth) to spend on movie going. I may be cheap but I don’t want to spend that kind of money to help the rich, whacked out Hollywood types. Finally, many of these movies have an agenda that may be hurting the moral and ethical ideas of most of the American public.

That’s my two cents and I’m sticking to it!

Until later,

Linda

Kate Gosselin, Pamela Anderson – this should be interesting, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco, Shannen Doherty, recent gold medal ice skater Evan Lysacek – I think he’s a cutey, ESPN sportscaster Erin Andrews, Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger, “All My Children” soap opera star Aiden Turner and comedian Niecy Nash, astronaut Buzz Aldrin who is 80 years old and “Bachelor” star Jake Pavelka.

I’ll be tuning in and hope this season will be a fun one to watch.

 Until later,

Linda

What I didn’t like about this episode was that some of Mr. Rife’s decisions were not very good. Take for instance the supervisor in their hamburger-making factory. She didn’t seem engaged with her people. She was acting like a prima donna and not encouraging or helping her people. So what did he do? He asked her to work as a team player more. Excuse me, why didn’t he send her to some classes to teach her leadership, supervision or management. I would have put her on another shift after she completed some classes. I would have promoted the gal, who complained about her, to a supervisor, because that gal seemed to understand what it means to supervisor people.

Then he encountered a manager at one of his stores that was afraid of losing her job because of not following policy and procedures correctly. What a big disconnect between corporate and stores. He really didn’t do anything about it, just said that his grandfather wouldn’t want to hear about this because it’s the people who make this company great. Big deal.

With the usual donation of scholarship money for other employees, this episode was very boring – just like the President of White Castle. He showed no enthusiasm or passion, but seemed to me he was more concerned with the bottom line – making money.

The next episode will be about the owner of Churchill Downs. I hope this one won’t be smelly!

Until later,

Linda

First it was Columbine High School, then Platte Canyon High School and now Deer Creek Middle School. All of these schools are located in either small suburban or mountain communities. Kids who attend these schools are from middle class parents. These aren’t urban schools where crime is happening all around them.

The whacko who did the shooting was a 32-year-old man named Bruco Strong Eagle Eastwood. He has had prior arrests back to 1996 for threatening someone with a weapon, assault charges and domestic violence charges. He is currently being held on a $1million bond. Why wasn’t he previously in jail for all of those charges he racked up?

The girl student was shot in the shoulder and has been released from the hospital but the boy student is in serious condition with a gun shot to his chest. Pray for him.

When did it become the “in” thing to shoot kids while they are in school?  School should be the one place that our kids can go to all day long, to feel safe and secure. But these perverts have taken this away from them.

When did it become the “just” thing to do to release a criminal from jail on bond so he can go out and commit crimes?

Something has to change. We have to keep our kids safe and get dirt-bag criminals off the streets.

Until later,

Linda

As a result, Mr. DePinto decided to go out among his franchised stores to see how the employees are doing, what motivates them and how he can make working condition better for 7-Eleven employees. In this episode, we saw some nice people working for his company. His first visit was with a store that sold more coffee than any other store. The reason wasn’t the coffee, it was the employee in charge of making the coffee. This lovely lady was friendly and knew all of her customers by name. Now that is great service! Most of the employees at the stores really did enjoy their jobs and working for the company. Igor who is the delivery person, was the bright spot of this episode. As an immigrant to the U.S. he told Mr. DePinto that he has a great job and living the American Dream. He chose to do this work and is very happy.

This episode seemed to me too rosy. With all the jokes made of 7-Eleven workers, this episode showed normal average working people. All of their stores seemed to work like a well-oiled machine and at the end everyone was happy, happy, happy. This seemed to be staged to me, but it did leave me feeling good about Mr. DePinto. He seemed to care about what was going on and willing to take care of problems, whenever he found one, right away. I guess with over 6,000 stores, he’s making good money. Did you see his house at the beginning of the episode? It’s a multi-million dollar house. I guess I would be happy, happy, happy too.

Next week the owner of White Castle will be featured.

Until later,

Linda

The most memorable moment happened when he was an Assistant Manager working with the manager Jimbo. Jimbo is your typical misogynist. He is a disgrace as a manager working with women. He didn’t fire Jimbo. He gave him one more chance to straighten up and be respectful of his employees. I wouldn’t have done that – he would have been gone in a New York minute!

He then worked as part of a marketing team to find out what us regular folks thought about Hooters. He was surprised that most women felt that being a Hooters’ girl was demeaning. He said that he would allow his two daughters to work for Hooters and couldn’t understand this. As a result, he promoted the two girls he worked with to do a positive marketing of the restaurant chain. We’ll see how far this goes.

The bright spot was the lady Manager. All the employees in her restaurant loved working with her. She was encouraging and understanding. Mr. Brooks learned a lot from her and gave her long vacation to anywhere she wanted to go with her family. He also put her in charge of policy making for managers in the company.

Mr. Brooks visited the plant where all the sauces where made. He was boo-hooing about how much his father was loved by all the workers there. However, when his father died and he became President and CEO, the morale of the workers in the plant was low. They didn’t know who he was and what type of boss he would be. Mr. Brooks said that he would make a better effort to frequently visit the plant and talk with the employees there. This part of the program seemed unbelievable to me.

You see I knew beforehand that the Hooter’s chain is reportedly up for sale. The chain is desperate for cash, as business has fizzled. Sales have dropped because of the economy. Hooters tied itself to the business-travel market in some ways, placing some of its 450 restaurants near convention centers and other business meeting sites. Businesses have curtailed business trips and Hooters took a hit.

No matter how much Mr. Brooks showed how concerned he was with employees and plant workers of Hooters, it seems as though he was just enjoying the privileges of being a CEO and President of Hooters. I don’t know why he was surprised about the perception of his Hooters’ girls, it has been there for a long time.

Maybe he will turn the company around or maybe he’ll just sell if off and walk away richer than before.

Until later,

Linda

I too was stunned after reading this article. This child is being charged with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on two other children. This bully used a foot, a locker door as well as scissors to assault these children. In addition, there were punches, kicking and scratching during some of the assaults.

What was totally shocking was that the bully was an eleven year old GIRL! This girl faces long-term suspension from school. I hope that her parents and authorities will get her mental health counseling that will help her to control herself and not be a future inmate in our prison system.

 Until later,

Linda

A young widow of an Air Force Airman, Bradley R. Smith, came to Colorado Springs, Colorado for a memorial service for her husband.  He died last month in Afghanistan.

While taking some time to have a meal at a local restaurant, a thief or thieves broke into her car and stole this brave Airman’s belongings. They stole a red Garmin wristwatch with a black band along with his dog tags. In addition, two laptops, a digital camera and cell phone were also stolen. The car window was broken as well as the heart of this brave Airman’s wife.

Please, if you know anything about this incident, contact the Sheriff’s office at 719-520-7246 or Crime Stoppers at 719-634-7867. You can remain anonymous. If you are the low-life drugged out criminal who stole these items, the Sheriff’s office is asking you to bring these items to any of its police stations and drop off the items – no questions asked.

As for me, I think good old Western justice would be the order of the day.

Until later,

Linda