Absolution

absolution:
1. the act of absolving or the state of being absolved; release from guilt, obligation, or punishment

2. (Christianity / Roman Catholic Church) Christianity
   a.  a formal remission of sin pronounced by a priest in the sacrament of penance
   b.  the prescribed form of words granting such a remission


It's been almost 24 hours since The Decision by the Supremes. 

The initial 'punched-in-the-gut' feeling?  While not-gone, it is somewhat diminished. 

I thought of putting a few words down yesterday after hearing that the Beast lives as a 'Tax' - but in reality, I needed time.  Time to think, to reflect, time to drive to my appointments yesterday with that 'WTF' look frozen on my face.

Yeah, you could say I needed some time. 

Comments from friends on FaceBook came (pardon the expression) Fast and Furiously:

"It's about time the Supreme Court got something right."

"Wow, John Roberts is NOT a Racist?"

"A great decision for America!"

And my personal favorite, "OMG, what have they done?"

Yes, responses to the news were as swift as they were varied.  The Legislatively-Bought-And-Paid-For-With-Your-Tax-Payer-Dollars, "The Affordable Health Care Act", survived.  But, unless you live in a freezer box in an underpass beneath I-95 - you already know this.

As I awoke this morning I knew I had to do something.  

But what?

Then it came to me...

I needed to offer myself (and, by extension, all of you) absolution.  As you know, I'm NO Priest (so it doesn't count towards getting you past Saint Peter's 'Gate') but I'd like you to take the next few minutes to regroup, reorganize, and reset yourself.  

For example:

If you...

• Voted for Hope and Change
• Thought ObamaCare was a 'Good thing'
• Sat back and kept quiet while ObamaCare was being shoved through the House and Senate
• Believed that the unfunded $17 Trillion in ObamaCare projected debt is 'no big deal'
• Wanted your kids to have health coverage until they're 26 because they can't get a job of their own
• Actually believed that YOUR health care would be 'Free'

I forgive you.  (But there are still a lot of other folks really crabby with you...)

Better yet, take a moment and forgive yourself.

When ObamaCare is 'locked and loaded' in 2014 you won't have to 'Read the Bill to find out what's in the Bill' because you'll be living, and paying for the Bill... 

For the rest of your life.

Chew on THAT for a minute.

Sure, there's a chance that it may get repealed, (there's also a chance that I may grow three inches taller overnight) but when you're busily 'giving things away which other people are paying for', it's hard to turn back this particular cruise missile once it is launched.

So, I offer you the following to assist you in resetting your priorities for the remainder of the day, and the upcoming weekend: 

Three boys, several tractors, numerous cows, and a brief moosical interlude called, "I'm Farming and I Grow It"

Why?  Because when all is said and done, 52+% of Americans will continue to do what they've done in the past...

• Go to work
• Take care of their families
• Take care of others (by choice, and / or by legislative dictate)
• Hope for a better future for their kids
• Pass their values on to their children
• Succeed, in spite of government's best efforts to make everyone 'equal'
• And, of course, feed their cows...

The challenge, of course, is to turn this legislation back by repealing it - killing it - and otherwise rendering it 'harmless'. 

To do this, we'll need to change the make-up of 66% of the branches of the Federal Government.

No pressure.

If you feel better after receiving your 'Absolution' above, please understand that this is a one-shot deal.  Effective immediately, everyone of you is responsible for what happens to this Nation. 

Because whan you can't count upon the Supreme Court to uphold the Constitution?  Yes, you could say that we're on our own. 

And now? 

Get busy.

Generations of rapping farm kids are depending on you.

So are the rest of us. 

Swallow Hard...

This just in from the MoosRoom's 'Surreal Department', courtesy of the Daily Mail Online:   

YOU and a guest can join Michelle and Barack on their next... 

[Gulp]

Date.


And, as uncomfortable as this sounds on the surface, you'll also be able to get dating 'tips' via the following text and video from...


The President of the United States


I'll be quiet for a moment while these two bits of information sink in...


Silence.

Silence.

Silence.


Okay, I'm back. 

Oh, you need another moment?  Go ahead, I'll be here.  I'll continue typing v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y while you're gone - you'll catch up soon enough. 


If you need to 'rinse and spit' to wash that acrid 'pre-vomit' taste from your mouth, there's a sink in the next room.  I suggest that you use it prior to delving any deeper into the subject at hand.  


From the Daily Mail article dated June 25th:    The 1 minute 40 video clip posted online begins with Michelle Obama recalling: 'It was a cool date, we spent the whole day together, he was showing me all facets of his character. We went to the Art Institute.'
 
At which point Barack Obama, wearing a white shirt and striped tie, nods enthusiastically, points his finger at the camera and says: 'Art - guys out there, it impresses people.'

Mrs Obama then says that the couple, who married in 1992, 'took a nice long walk down Michigan Avenue' and again Mr Obama smiles and gives a knowing nod to camera saying 'romantic.'

The First Lady, who is wearing her trademark pearls and a patterned sheer top, then asks Mr Obama 'Did we go to the movie first?'

He thinks for a second and then replies: 'Uh we didn't have dinner we actually had lunch at the Art Institute, there was a little courtyard, with a little fountain.'
 

Mrs Obama smiles and says 'Yeah that was nice' and Mr Obama agrees: 'Yeah it was very nice.'


The president continues: 'Then we went to see Do The Right Thing'
 

And Mrs Obama nods saying 'Spike Lee - it had just come out. '

'He showed all the sides - he was hip, cutting edge, cultural, sensitive. The fountain - nice touch,' she continues.

'The walk - patient,' she adds.

Mr Obama grins, shrugs his shoulders, looks at the camera and says 'Take tips gentleman' before winking.

Video Link:   That Magical First Date 

The interview coincides with a competition his Obama For America campaign have launched which offers winners the opportunity to have 'dinner with President Obama, along with a guest of your choice and four other supporters.'
 
The winners will each receive round-trip tickets for them and a guest from within the fifty U.S. States, DC, or Puerto Rico to a destination to be determined by the sponsor.
 
They will stay in a hotel and have dinner with the president and his wife at an undisclosed location  - the competition states that the package is worth about $4,800.


Honestly, I could have lived my entire LIFE without knowing the details of the President's and Michelle's first date.  Thanks to everyone at the Daily Mail for making it so REAL for me - for bringing it to life.  You guys and gals ROCK. 

[Somewhere in the U.K., reporters are raising pints of amber beverages and laughing hysterically...  at US.] 

Once again, the President of the United States is inviting you to register (to win!), donate, sign up for 'We Love Barack' e-mail blasts, and eat with him, Michelle, and four other 'supporters' at some point in the future.

That's a 'value' of $4,800!

Wow.  

This is small consolation when you consider that YOUR family's slice of the debt-pie has grown $29,660 since the President passed his 'Stimulus' plans, increased government spending, and sent scores of Americans to the unemployment lines.  

What does this mean to your household?  One year ago, YOUR family owed $125,425 (up almost $30k since the President was elected) of the National Debt. 

This year, as expected, YOU necessarily owe our debtors...  more.  (Feel free to use the words, 'Your Fair Share' if they make you feel any better.)

But hey, what's a little 'debt' among friends? 

Things are getting better, right?

Yeah, let's go there - let's lift up the well-worn, thread-bare stained blue skirt of President Obama's 'Recovery'...

  $15.7 Trillion:  Current National Debt ($15,744,360,700,064.85).
(U.S. Treasury Department, Accessed 6/13/12)

$5.11 Trillion:  Added To The National Debt Since Obama Took Office.
(U.S. Treasury Department, Accessed 6/13/12)

23.2 Million:  Number Of Americans Who Are Unemployed, Underemployed, Or Marginally Attached To The Workforce.
(Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 6/13/12)

12.7 Million:  Unemployed Americans.
(Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 6/13/12)

8.1 Million:  Americans Working Part-Time For Economic Reasons.
(Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 6/13/12)

6.3 Million:  Number Of Americans That Fell Into Poverty Since Obama Took Office.
(U.S. Census Bureau, 9/13/11)

5.4 Million:  Americans Unemployed 27 Weeks Or Longer.

People used to say, "There's no free lunch." 

Those people were fools. 

As we close the fourth year of this ObamaNation, free lunches are found all over the place.  Mostly needed because people can't afford to feed themselves, or their families any longer. 


Why offer Americans a 'hand-up' when you can buy them with a 'hand-out'? 

If re-elected, you can safely bet (oh yes, you will bet - whether you want to, or not) that President Obama will continue to do what he's done for the past 3+ years...

Dress up... 


Talk down... 

And give Americans a multitude of options with which they can embrace mediocrity.

However, as illustrated by the post from the Daily Mail - if you play your cards right, you get lucky, and you submit your name for future e-mail organizational 'notifications', you MIGHT just win dinner with Barack, Michelle, and other 'supporters'...

Just remember as you wash your hands, rub your stomach and stare into the bathroom mirror at your expanded waistline following the Meal to thank the millions of other American Households who are each paying the additional $30,000 of the National Debt so you can get your FREE dinner with the President. 

As for me, I'm happy sitting here eating my PB and J, low-salt chips, and Coke Zero.  It's not much, but it's paid for.  Unlike spending legislated out of DC, our family is working hard to pay as we go. 

But if President Obama figures out how to work with Congress to balance the budget and eliminate deficit spending in his last couple of months in office?  I'll cook HIM dinner, and he won't have to register for feeds from my website, or anything goofy like that.  He'll still be the worst President since Carter, but I'd feed the man if he were here.

I do, however, suspect that my wife and I will lock the dogs away in the upstairs bedroom, you know, just in case he starts longing for the 'unique tastes' of his youth. 

Yumm-O!

WWDD - Father's Day Re-Do

Ah, the old 'What Would Jesus Do' bracelet...  Nice!


Unfortunately, the only thing this post shares with WWJD is the fact that three of the four letters are identical - one letter in today's post has been replaced by another.


Today is Father's Day! 


In keeping with the theme of the photo above, I ask you to change a singular letter in honor of your Dad to the following:


"WWDD = What Would Dad Do?"


The reality is that I ask myself this question daily.  

The question isn't a Father's Day 'specific event' because to me...  Every day is Father's Day. 


Why? 


Because every day I think about my Dad (yes, you too Mom, but you know, it's Father's Day, soooo...).


I remember the things my Dad taught me. 


I remember the things he showed me.


I learned what it is to be a 'Dad' from my Dad.


Consider the following 'real-life' examples of what being a Dad 'is':

• If you always take care of your family first - 'other stuff' will get done if it's important enough to spend your time on, 
• If you realize that being a Dad is the most important job there is,
• If your youngest son decides to test whether a plastic bottle of shampoo is truly 'Unbreakable' (it's what the 'Ad' said, at least) by repeatedly hitting it into the living room carpet until it shatters and showers shampoo onto a carpeted area roughly the size of Rhode Island and you DO NOT murder the child,
• If you let your youngest son get a dog when he's in High School and then adopt the dog as your own when he moves away to seek 'adventure', 
• If your youngest son's dog escapes out the back door on Thanksgiving and you spend the next hour (although, it could have been longer) walking through the potato fields behind the house shouting her name until your voice is gone,
• If this very same dog returns 'on her own' later Thanksgiving day covered in mud, wrapped in potato vines, and loaded with those 'sticky ball' things that get caught in fur and all you say is, "I'm glad she's back",
• If you go on a Boy Scout camp out and your son and the next-door-neighbor kid pitch their tent in a spot (which turns out to be a low-spot) and it begins to pour during the night and the tent begins to flood and you drag them from their soaked tent and put them into your dry tent,
• If you then move your stuff into their already-compromised tent to spend the rest of the night in because there's not enough room for you and them in your warm & dry tent,
• If the first time your son sees you cry is at his wedding,
• If you tear up when you renew your wedding vows with your family present at your 50th Wedding Anniversary,

If any of the above situations apply to you - you are an awesome Dad.


Happy Father's Day Dad! 


Thanks for making it look easy when it wasn't. 


Thanks for knowing when to step in and when to stand back. 


Thanks for always being there when it matters the most.


Bottom line is... 


Thanks for being my Dad. 


I'm a lucky kid. 

The Voting Dead

Courtesy of:  The Rude News

Yes, President Obama caused a stir yesterday when he dictated (oops, sorry, poor word-choice there) that young, illegal aliens born (through no fault of their own) should now, and for a non-descript length of time into the future, be considered, as merely, 'young, legal aliens'.

Here is a portion of el Presidente's teleprompted (with exciting audience participation!) speech, courtesy of the New York Times online:

Effective immediately, the Department of Homeland Security is taking steps to lift the shadow of deportation from these young people. Over the next few months, eligible individuals who do not present a risk to national security or public safety will be able to request temporary relief from deportation proceedings and apply for work authorization.

Now, let’s be clear. This is not amnesty. This is not immunity. This is not a path to citizenship. It’s not a permanent fix. This is a temporary, stopgap measure that lets us focus our resources wisely while giving a degree of relief and hope to talented, driven, patriotic young people. It is the — it is the right thing to do.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Off mic.)

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Excuse me, sir. I — the — it’s not time for questions, sir.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Off mic.)

PRESIDENT OBAMA: I — not while I’m speaking.

...

And the answer to your question, sir — and the next time I prefer you let me finish my statements before you ask that question — is this is the right thing to do for the American people. They — I didn’t — I didn’t ask for an argument, I’m answering your question.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Off mic.)

PRESIDENT OBAMA: It is the right thing to do for the American people, and here’s why.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Off mic) — high unemployment.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Here’s the reason — because these young people are going to make extraordinary contributions and are already making contributions to our society. I’ve got a young person who is serving in our military, protecting us and our freedom. The notion that in some ways we would treat them as expendable makes no sense.

...

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  We have always drawn strength from being a nation of immigrants, as well as a nation of laws. And that’s going to continue. And my hope is that Congress recognizes that and get behind — gets behind this effort. All right? Thank you very much, everybody.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible) — specifically ruled this out, sir, last year.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: What about American workers who are unemployed while you employ foreigners?


O-k-a-y... so now the President has dictated (dang, there's that word again) that the Nation requires a 'temporary, stop-gap measure' to address needs of young illegal aliens who most Americans...  treat as 'expendable'? 

Huh???  When was the last time you tossed away a perfectly-good-Hispanic-youth?  I got six or seven of them working in the garden right now plantin' my Victory Garden - yes sir.

In this thoughtful, yet 'heckled' speech, the President acknowledges that we are a "nation of immigrants, as well as a nation of laws".  However, the President's very actions disregard the collective will of the Legislative Branch of Government. 

Everybody's got it down, right?  As of yesterday, we have a singular branch of government, so the Legislative and Judicial branches just need to step the _ _ _ _ back?  (The missing word is 'heck') 

The Executive Branch will lead not by the rule of law, rather but by 'what's right' (as defined by the Ever-Pandering-Presidential-Candidate-Obama).  

Flashing back, let's revisit what 'President Obama' said in 2011 regarding the demise of the Dream Act, 

“The fact of the matter is there are laws on the books that I have to enforce. And I think there’s been a great disservice done to the cause of getting the Dream Act passed and getting comprehensive immigration passed by perpetrating the notion that somehow, by myself, I can go and do these things. It’s just not true.” 

Well, it didn't "used to be true". 

But now it is.  What a difference a year, and bad polling, makes?
  

Next up, President Obama sets his sights on another stalwart constituency for his party:

The voting dead.

"Re-animated by their feckless leader's need for unbridled power, his pursuit of limitless divine-right Executive privilege, and the hunt for fresh Conservatives, an unholy alliance of the registered dead will rise en mass to vote..."

Against Mitt Romney's "Hope and Brains" 

Why?  Because brains are for 'Eating', not for 'Using'...

How do I know this is true?

I seen it on that Intern-Net:

Yup. 

It's true.

There you go.  

Have a nice weekend - but leave them lights on when you go ta sleep at night. 

Just in case O'Bomber's already got the dead up and voting around your town...

If thing's wasn't bad enough already, I hear he's after the Blue Oyster Cult / SNL vote next...

Yeah, more mindless zombies. 

Dang.

Both Sides Now

Another early morning.  Another short night.  Another post begins.

One of the advantages of sleeping fewer than six hours per night is that you have several 'extra hours' to spend doing stuff you will not normally have time for. 

One of the disadvantages of sleeping fewer than six hours a night (according to the news report I watched yesterday morning) is that your chance of having a stroke is much higher than if, you, you know, sleep for eight hours, or longer each night.

Both sides of my body working 'relatively harmoniously' with each other, I'm thinking it's okay to proceed for the time being.  If I begin to slur my typing, or appear to be randomly pounding on inappropriate keyboard symbols, could one of you please call 911?

Great.  Thanks. 

I discovered a couple of interesting articles while waiting for the sun to come up (still waiting as I type this).  They weren't interesting for their content individually, but rather, they were interesting for the contrast between their conflicted messages.  

How conflicted?

I dunno, you tell me...



COIN SIDE 1:

The Weekly Standard, June 12, 2012:   Obama on Republicans: 'You Can Pretty Much Put Their Campaign On, On a Tweet'

At a fundraiser in Maryland this afternoon, President Obama criticized Republicans, saying that "you can pretty much put their campaign on, on a tweet and have some characters to spare.”

"The good news is, the American people generally agree with our vision," President Obama said at the fundraiser, according to the pool report. "If you just put in front of them, issue after issue and you present the Democratic approach and the Republican approach, we win..."


Okay, so the "American people generally agree with our (Democrats) vision", and if "you present the Democratic approach and the Republican approach, we (i.e.:  I) win"?

How, then, do you explain the following 'other' stories I ran across in my pre-stroke delirium this morning?



COIN SIDE(s) 2a, 2b, and 2c:

Image:  AP

Politico, June 12, 2012:  Spike Lee: Obama win not a sure thing

Spike Lee is predicting a tough road to reelection for President Obama.
 
“This thing is not a lock,” the filmmaker told GQ in a recent interview. “It is not a lock that President Obama is getting a second term and people have to really rekindle the enthusiasm that we had the first time.”
 
Lee, who hosted a fundraiser for the president in January, said that he “just had a meeting with somebody high up in the Obama campaign” to discuss the race.

“I can't say to all the people that are unhappy with him that they're racist people,” Lee said of Obama’s critics. “People ain't got jobs, people are hurting. So I don't care what color you are, if people are out of work, it's tough. And then when you're the first African American president, that's not helping either.” 

[Moos Note:  Ah, there it is, the oft-tossed 'Race Card' for all you 'haters' out there...  Spike Lee knows who you are, and what YOU think of the President's race, um, since you elected him President ALREADY - um, you must be Racist?  But, didn't he JUST say that not everyone unhappy with the President is a Racist?  I don't understand - I must be tired...]

The Weekly Standard, June 12, 2012:  Obama's Jewish Support Drops 22 Points in New York

President Obama's support among Jewish voters in the state of New York has dropped 22 percentage points in only a month, according to the results of a just released poll.

The poll, conducted by Siena College, finds that currently President Obama has the support of 51 percent of Jewish voters, while 43 percent are opposed to him. Five percent are undecided. That means, Obama's lead among Jewish voters is at 8 percentage points.
 
Previously, in Siena's May poll, Obama had the support 62 percent of Jewish New Yorkers, while 32 percent opposed him. That means, last month, Obama's lead among this group of voters was at a strong 30 percentage points.  

Those polled were responding to this straight forward question: "If the election for President were held today, who would you vote for if the candidates were [Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, or Don't know]?

Additionally, Jewish voters in New York overwhelmingly believe that America is "headed in the wrong direction" as opposed to "the right track," by a margin of 62 percent to 31 percent

Gallup, June 13, 2012:  Obama's White Base Shows Cracks Compared With 2008

Support down five points since 2008 among all voters, but more among key 2008 white supporters   [Moos Note:  Oh, oh, don't tell Spike Lee...]

PRINCETON, NJ -- Gallup Daily tracking indicates Barack Obama is receiving less support in the 2012 presidential election from some of the white subgroups that gave him the strongest support in 2008. These include non-Hispanic white registered voters who are 18 to 29 years old, female postgrads, and the nonreligious, among others.
 
Obama won the 2008 election comfortably over John McCain, but the 2012 election contest with Mitt Romney is shaping up to be more competitive, with the two statistically tied since Gallup started Daily tracking on the race in April.

...

Currently, 43% of white 18- to 29-year-olds say they plan to vote for Obama in the election, down nine points from the 52% backing him in 2008. By contrast, Obama has lost five points among whites aged 30 to 49 and six points each among the two older age groups.


So, if I look at one side of the Obama coin, I see a President who believes he 'will win' if he can simply get his message out, and, on the opposing side of the coin, I find three articles from different news sources which say he's lost significant support of each of the following groups:

• Blacks
• Whites
• Young
• Old
• Jewish
• Unemployed
• Employed
• 'Hurting' Americans

To sum up, President Obama has lost the support from 'Americans', in general. 

I hate lumping people into hyphenated groups for purposes of discussion because we're too often 'divided into groups' by our political wizards of smart.  If one word applies to the above 'mix' of those losing fait in President Obama, yeah, that word would be "Americans". 

In November, 2012, when the ultimate electoral coin is 'flipped', I'll be delighted to write the post I've been waiting to author for the past three-plus years:


"Tails We Win...  President Obama - You Lose"

I'll leave it here, as I'm feeling a little bit 'whoopsie'. 

Perhaps from lack of sleep?

Or, something more 'medically-uncomfortable'?  Hmmmm?

If this is my last post, well, I guess you'll know the answer soon enough.

Dear Jon - Advancement June 8, 2012

US Navy, Sasebo Naval Base, Japan, June 8, 2012: Jon Kane is awarded the rank of Petty Officer III in a formal frocking ceremony...  

While I slept.

If he were a 'little closer' (i.e.:  in ANY of the 57 states) I would have attended, but given the distance, the time change, (the cost - yeah, I'm cheap), and the desire to keep my job, yes, I missed it.

I was with my boy 'in spirit' (astral-projecting at the time) even though I was not physically there.  Come to think of it, my wife says, that I am often, 'Not all there'.  

What DOES she mean?

He is joined by others onstage for the event as they sing the Navy Standard...  "Anchors Aweigh".  

This is odd, as prior to Boot Camp, I never saw him so much as lip-sync a Beatles song.  

However, while driving on trips, around town, or on the way to the store, he and his two brothers would often ask me, "Dad, could you please NOT sing?  Please???"

Yeah, these kids have an 'ear for music'...


Following the ceremony, while 'Skyping', Jon told us that he got his 'crow' during the ceremony.  This, apparently, is a term of endearment for the symbol now on his uniform (also known as the American Eagle). 

Crow?  

Sheesh...

And, of course, he sent a photo of his updated ribbons (so his crow wouldn't be 'lonely'?) to me and his Mom.

There were other photos from the day, of course, there were photos of other sailors getting their obligatory handshakes and a large toothy smiles from the commanding officer...

But, of the 94 photos in the Naval Base's Facebook post, there were only a couple I cared about.  Pictures of my boy whom I haven't seen other than 'digitally' in over a year.

The boy I used to know.  

The photos I've seen of him lately are very serious, typically in uniform, carrying around a side arm and a big-honking machine gun.

But every now and then I see the kid who was born in Jacksonville, Florida.  Who grew to be a teenager in New York, and who became a man, and a sailor, all by himself in the US Navy far from home.

But ultimately, the guns are stowed away, the boat is left in the harbor, and the boy 'I used to know' puts on a big (non-Navy) hat, goes to Disney (Tokyo) and reminds me of how much I miss that boy.

And how much I've missed of his life over the past eighteen months.

MA Jon Kane - Petty Officer / Disney Fan

  
But, as it turns out - the boy's 'still there' after all.  

And I'm still here - typing my life away; looking back over my shoulder and wondering where the years went...

God speed MA Kane.

Enjoy the ride.

What, Exactly, Does 'PETA' Stand For?

"W.T.M.?"  (What the... Moo?)

What does 'PETA' stand for?

Inquiring cows want to know...

At the superficial, 'Acronym-based,' level of conversation, 'PETA' stands for (according to their website):

"People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals"

All animals?

No.  Please do not infer something PETA never implied... 

Ethical treatment is NOT 100% universal in regard to the animals which PETA 'treats' ethically.

Please notice that the fuzzy little bunny is running AWAY from PETA

PETA, according to their 'About PETA' tab, has a mission - oh, look, here it is now:

Our Mission Statement
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is the largest animal rights organization in the world, with more than 3 million members and supporters.
 
PETA focuses its attention on the four areas in which the largest numbers of animals suffer the most intensely for the longest periods of time:

- on factory farms,
- in the clothing trade,
- in laboratories, and,
- in the entertainment industry

We also work on a variety of other issues, including the cruel killing of beavers, birds, and other "pests" as well as cruelty to domesticated animals.

PETA works through public education, cruelty investigations, research, animal rescue, legislation, special events, celebrity involvement, and protest campaigns.

So, according to their website: 

"PETA focuses its attention on the four areas in which the largest numbers of animals suffer the most intensely for the longest periods of time..."


This makes a lot of sense - especially when contrasted to the animals who do NOT suffer for the long periods of time.  (Keep reading, we'll get there) 

Specifically, those animals which PETA is tasked with caring for at PETA's very own shelter (for 48 hours, or less).  

No, PETA doesn't shed so much as a tear for them... 

These animals have never been in the PETA Shelter.
How do we know this?  They are still alive...

The Daily Caller Online reports:  Documents published online this month show that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an organization known for its uncompromising animal-rights positions, killed more than 95 percent of the pets in its care in 2011. 

The documents, obtained from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, were published online by the Center for Consumer Freedom, a non-profit organization that runs online campaigns targeting groups that antagonize food producers.
 
Fifteen years’ worth of similar records show that since 1998 PETA has killed more than 27,000 animals at its headquarters in Norfolk, VA.

In a February 16 statement, the Center said PETA killed 1,911 cats and dogs last year, finding homes for only 24 pets. 
“PETA hasn’t slowed down its slaughterhouse operation,” said Rick Berman, CCF’s executive director. “It appears PETA is more concerned with funding its media and advertising antics than finding suitable homes for these dogs and cats.”

In a statement, Berman added that PETA has a $37 million dollar annual budget.

...

“The facility does not contain sufficient animal enclosures to routinely house the number of animals annually reported as taken into custody,” Kovich concluded in his report. 
.
Kovich also determined that PETA employees kill 84 percent of the animals in their custody within 24 hours of receiving them. 

“[PETA’s] primary purpose,” Kovich wrote, “is not to find permanent adoptive homes for animals.”
 
PETA media liaison Jane Dollinger told The Daily Caller in an email that “most of the animals we take in are society’s rejects; aggressive, on death’s door, or somehow unadoptable.”
 
Dollinger did not dispute her organization’s sky-high euthanasia rate, but insisted PETA only kills dogs and cats because of “injury, illness, age, aggression, or because no good homes exist for them.”
 
PETA’s own history, however, shows that this has not always been the case.
 
In 2005, two PETA employees described as “adorable” and “perfect” some of the dogs and cats they killed in the back of a PETA-owned van. The two were arrested after police witnessed them tossing the animals’ dead bodies into a North Carolina dumpster. 
.

PETA had no comment when the Daily Caller asked what sort of effort it routinely makes to find adoptive homes for animals in its care.


With a 95% 'kill rate percentage' for 2011, you'd think Margaret Sanger ran this joint.  However, at last report, Margaret Sanger 'continues' to be dead, although her 'death's work' is being aptly carried out day after day by caring, federally-and-privately-funded staffers of Planned Parenthood (your contributions, as always are 'Most Happily Accepted!'). 

There is NO truth to the rumor that PETA and PP are looking to merge their operations to obtain a better 'Economy of Scale' when it comes to the purchase of dumpsters, syringes, gloves, aprons, and / or ball peen hammers, however.

I guess the bottom line is if you think your contributions are going to PETA to 'SAVE ANIMALS', you might want to inquire as to what your particular donations are actually being used for.  More likely than not, they are being used to recruit other unsuspecting contributors to the organization, pay "G & A" expenses of staff, and to fund travel expenses associated with the myriad of 'Boycotts & Protests' across the country, each supported (with a little help from their 3 MILLION members) by PETA.  

To justify PETA's euthanasia-prone tendencies, they have issued a formal response, and purchased Paid (SEM) search results from Google.  Oh, yes, your Tax-Exempt contributions to PETA are also going to Google, Yahoo, Bing, et al...  Sorry, I missed these 'online defense expense bucket expenditures' in the last paragraph.

You can read PETA's response to the above charges HERE, but I wouldn't recommend viewing it if you have an aversion to of 'half-dead' animal photos used to justify PETA's particularly high 'kill rate'. 

Apparently, 95% of the animals 'sheltered' in 2011 had facial cancers, infected limbs, and other visually-unattractive diseases as illustrated at via the link above.  Yes, of the 100% of the animals they 'sheltered', a phenomenal 95% of the animals looked like the photos they're using to explain their Guest Mortality Rate at the 'PETA Shelter' to their contributors, media, and the curious, in general.

The only humane choice was to kill 95% of the animals placed in their care.

Bastards.

p.s.:  As a rule of thumb, when you are taking an animal to a 'Shelter', it is preferable that its survival rate 'in the shelter' be a 'bit' higher than the same animal's survival rate when left alone to fend for itself while surrounded by rabid wolves.

But then again, you may disagree. 

The President's Bad Week

"Well I may have had a bad week, but, ah, I won the election in 2008...  Didn't I?

President Obama had a really 'interesting' week this week.  It wasn't 'interesting' for any one thing he did, but rather for the number of 'interesting' items which arose over the past five days. 

So many interesting things have arisen recently, I'm only going to cover the past three day's worth. 

All things considered, I almost feel sorry for him.

Almost.

Wednesday, June 6th, 2012, Washington, DC, Huffington Post:
WASHINGTON -- Four top lawmakers on the House and Senate intelligence committees condemned recent national security leaks during a Thursday news conference and announced plans for legislation to prevent future breaches.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said she and her fellow lawmakers are not voicing concerns as a way of "finger pointing at anybody," including the White House. "What we're trying to do is say we have a problem and we want to stop that problem," she said. "We're not finger pointing."

Feinstein, joined by Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.), promised new legislation to crack down on leaks of classified information, The issue has gained traction since the publication of two front-page New York Times stories last week providing new details about President Barack Obama's secret terrorist "kill list" and the U.S. government's cyberattacks on Iran's nuclear facilities. ...

“This administration takes all appropriate and necessary steps to prevent leaks of classified information or sensitive information that could risk ongoing counterterrorism or intelligence operations,” Jay Carney said, “Any suggestion that this administration has authorized intentional leaks of classified information for political gain is grossly irresponsible.”

...

"The notion that my White House would purposely release classified national security information is offensive. It’s wrong," Obama told reporters at a news conference Friday. "And people I think need to have a better sense of how I approach this office and how the people around me here approach this office."



Why it's interesting:  "Grossly irresponsible" claims or not, Eric Holder's Justice Department has just (defined here as: 'moments ago' on this Saturday morning while YOU are sleeping) appointed two US Attorneys to look into the source of the leaks referenced above.

AP just reported the story just prior to 8am.  It's kind of odd that this should occur while so many people are un-connected, offline, and literally, 'sleeping'?

"An unconcious customer (Citizen) is our BEST customer (Citizen)..." 

________________________________________

Thursday, June 7th, 2012, Los Angeles, CA: 
“I want to thank my wonderful friend who accepts a little bit of teasing about Michelle beating her in push-ups but I think she claims Michelle didn't go all the way down"

Why it's interesting:  The President referenced Michelle Obama's visit to the Ellen DeGeneres Show while speaking to 600 supporters at a fundraiser for the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Leadership Council.   

Watching the video clip below, you will spot the moment in which he realizes what he just said, and to whom around 23 seconds into the clip.  Lacking the required 'Time Machine' to go back and un-say it, the President gestures to the audience to 'keep it down'.

Seriously, just because it's on the teleprompter, do you HAVE to read it???

Video Link HERE

________________________________________

Friday, June 8th, 2012

Friday, June 8th, Late Morning Press Conference:
 
QUESTION:  What about the Republicans saying that you're blaming the Europeans for the failures of your own policies?

THE PRESIDENT: The truth of the matter is that, as I said, we've created 4.3 million jobs over the last 27 months, over 800,000 just this year alone. The private sector is doing fine. Where we're seeing weaknesses in our economy have to do with state and local government -- oftentimes, cuts initiated by governors or mayors who are not getting the kind of help that they have in the past from the federal government and who don't have the same kind of flexibility as the federal government in dealing with fewer revenues coming in.

And so, if Republicans want to be helpful, if they really want to move forward and put people back to work, what they should be thinking about is, how do we help state and local governments and how do we help the construction industry. Because the recipes that they're promoting are basically the kinds of policies that would add weakness to the economy, would result in further layoffs, would not provide relief in the housing market, and would result, I think most economists estimate, in lower growth and fewer jobs, not more.

ENTER...  The Huffington Post (immediately following the morning press conference): 

As a political matter, the remark had all of the makings of a gaffe. The economy is Obama's biggest weakness in his campaign for re-election, and the comment almost certainly did not help the president's standing.

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who has had his his share of poorly phrased statements about being "not concerned about the very poor" and liking to fire people when talking about choice in health care, jumped on the comment.

"He said the private sector is doing fine. Is he really that out of touch?" Romney said in Iowa. "I think he's defining what it means to be out of touch with the American people."

Said Romney, "For the president of the United States to stand up and say the private sector is doing fine is going to go down in history as an extraordinary miscalculation."


Friday, June 8th Press Conference 'Clarification', President Obama, mid-afternoon:

UPDATE:  The president sought to clarify his remarks later Friday, saying it is "absolutely clear the economy is not doing fine." He continued, "That’s the reason I had a press conference. That’s why I spent yesterday, the day before yesterday, this past week, this past month and this past year talking about how we can make the economy stronger. The economy is not doing fine. There are too many people out of work. The housing market is still weak, too many homes underwater and that’s precisely why I asked Congress to start taking some steps that can make a difference."


Why it's interesting:   According to "Mid-Morning President Obama", the private sector is doing 'just fine'.  Yes, 8.2% unemployment is 'fine', 2x the number of Americans on food stamps since he was elected, is 'fine', our National Debt $6 TRILLION higher than when he was elected.  Yes, everything is just 'fine'. 

Once again, according to the "Mid-Morning President" the only thing NOT fine yesterday morning was the fact that state and local governments were NOT growing. 

Yes, this is EXACTLY what Americans want more of, state and local governments... 

Why it's interesting(2):   Yesterday afternoon as Mitt Romney spoke of the President's comments, the "Mid-Afternoon President Obama" admitted that he 'said what he meant', but he didn't necessarily 'mean what he said'.

We (AND the Huffington Post), 'mis-underestimated' him once again.

For the love of God, would someone please fix his Teleprompter?!?!? 

When it's NOT on, the President talks 'all crazy', but, um, when it IS on he talks all, um, 'all crazy' then too...

Ah, never mind.


President Obama does not need a Teleprompter to get re-elected - what the man needs is a complete Media Black-Out (no racial pun intended).

Image courtesy of FloppingAces.net

So, is this it?  Is this everything that happened during the past three days of the Obama Presidency?

No, there's more of course, but it's Saturday morning and I've got chores to do.

While I'm gone, you can check out the following story which is making NO waves at all, odd, since it involves ACORN, President Obama, and one-half of a BILLION dollars of your (or is it, China's?) money...

June 7th, 2012, Judicial Watch:  The Obama Administration has given a former director at the scandal-plagued Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) nearly half a billion dollars to offer “struggling” Illinois homeowners mortgage assistance, a Judicial Watch investigation has found.

It means the ACORN official (Joe McGavin) will go from operating a corrupt leftist community group that’s banned by Congress from receiving federal funding to controlling over $445 million in U.S. taxpayer funds.  The money is part of a $7.6 billion Treasury Department program to help the “unemployed or substantially underemployed” make their mortgage payments.


Ah, what the heck, it's only a half-billion dollars, that's 'chump change' in the Reign of Obama.  Don't worry about it, maybe there's something good on cable...

Have a nice weekend,

Moos