Mike's MoosRoom

Running On Empty

2012-03-05T15:32:00.001-05:00

Ah, where to begin?

Hmm, how about: The Beginning?

Once upon a time great (and wee) creatures called Dinosaurs roamed the Earth. They did not KNOW they were called 'Dinosaurs'. WE named them as such many millions of years after these reptilian creatures became 'Extinct'.

'Extinct' means that if you go out and look for dinosaurs today, you won't find any except for fossilized remains in Museums, on signs from old-time Gasoline stations, and perhaps, reproduced digitally in several Steven Spielberg films.

As for REAL Dinosaurs, nobody's got any live ones of these today - the closest you'll ever get to seeing a REAL Dinosaur is if you pass the rare and surgically-altered Nancius Pelosasaurus Rex on a street in a mythical land called, Washington, D.C. (D.C., as everyone knows, stands for 'Dinosaur Capital of the World' (It's formal, longer, abbreviation of "D.C.O.W." was shortened to avoid politicians getting confused so it was reduced to the D.C. version you see above)).

The ACTUAL dinosaurs from millions of years ago walked around, stomping on smaller Dinosaurs, plants, and assorted slow-moving spores, molds, and fungus while making noises like those heard throughout the film, "Jurassic Park". Some dinosaurs were Meat-a-saurs who ate 'Free-Range Chicken'. Other dinosaurs were Salad-a-saurs. These latter dinosaurs ate whatever they found 'lying around', typically something green, covered with slugs, mutant-ginormous-caterpillar cocoons, mud, and the droppings of larger, taller Meat-a-saur dinosaurs who laughed aloud as they fouled the grazing grounds of the Salad-a-saurs.

Scientists have concluded (scientifically) that IF the Internet existed 65 Million Years Ago, that Meat-a-saurs would have been Cyber-Bullies on FaceBook to the smaller, weaker, and slug-larva-pooh-eating Salad-a-saurs. Don't ask me how I know this, but, it's true!

Suddenly, a bright light appears in the sky, 23 asteroids (more or less...) hit the Earth and every creature and plant on Earth (with the exception of the German Cockroach) dies.

Millions of years later, humans determine that the sticky 'goo' found weeping from the ground is a substance deemed to be: 'Fossil Fuels'. They put a refined version of the 'goo' into their cars and discover that driving is FUN. The economy takes off, America is a great place to live, and Steven Spielberg makes a movie about Dinosaurs, and, um, the rest is pretty much history...

Okay, so I made a 'lot' of the above story up, misrepresented the facts, made the story fit my narrative, AND played fast and loose with ACTUAL history, but if Al Gore can do it...

What the heck, so can I!

Whenever I think of dinosaurs, Al Gore, Nancy Pelosi, and a litany of other Democrat Politicians almost always come to mind. I'm not sure why...

Oh, my, I've digressed again.

So, you have probably already heard that General Motors is 'pulling the plug' on the Chevrolet Volt's production for the next five weeks, right? If you haven't, you can read about it HERE at the Huffington Post online. They professional writers at The Huffington Post Online are perplexed, stunned, AND manage to blame the Volt's 'shocking' reputation on...

Republican lawmakers!!! (Whoa, who saw THAT coming?)

Well, the last time I heard something this funny from the Huffy Post, I laughed so hard...

I laughed so hard, I fell right off my dinosaur. (Sorry, had to go there)

So, what you probably haven't heard is something I found from a post on "TheTruthAboutCars.com" from December, 2011. I wanted to get to this last month, but life got in the way, the dinosaur ate my homework, and I was being cyber-bullied by a particularly-pesky Velociraptor named 'Earl'.

These issues being now successfully resolved, let's spend a few moments to understand why President Obama's Administration is putting General Motors OUT OF BUSINESS (in the Hybrid vehicle sector).

From the TruthAboutCars site linked above:

It’s the policy of many automakers that you can’t get through the factory gate unless you drive something made by that company. If recent trends continue, GM’s largest stockholder will have to park outside and walk.

The U.S. government, now owning 33 percent after a pre-IPO 61 percent of GM, bought most of its cars from the competition. Bloomberg had to file a Freedom of Information request with the GSA until they handed over the data. This is what they received:
Manufacturer    Units Purchased
Ford                        21,980
GM                          21,440
Chrysler                 13,063

More Fords than GMs!

...

As mentioned by Ed a few days ago, the GSA has gone on a hybrid binge, snapping up almost a quarter of Detroit’s hybrids. The trouble is, GM doesn’t have too many hybrids.

Ford sold at least 11,066 hybrids to the U.S. government in the past two years, compared with 3,316 for GM, which discontinued sales of its highest volume hybrid, the Chevrolet Malibu, last year.

Even if there would have been a conspiracy to buy mostly from Government Motors, the disjointed government bureaucracy would not have been able to pull it off, says government contract law specialist Jeff Green:

“The government is so disaggregated that it would be hard to favor one company over another. I would have been really surprised if someone were able to game the system.”

Yes, the U.S. Government, which still owns 33% of General Motors has purchased MOST of its Hybrid vehicles from Ford Motor Company and Chrysler Corp. over the past two years.

I don't know about you, but if the Federal Government really believed in the Chevrolet Volt (at $46,000 MSRP, on average) they'd be able to keep the Volt manufacturing lines running 24 x 7 for quite a few months.

So the question is: Why won't the Federal Government buy its own product?

I can think of a few possible reasons:

The Chevrolet Volt is not ready for prime-time
The Chevrolet Volt is not priced right for the market (even at GSA pricing)
The Federal Fleet Maintenance Crews working on the Vehicle Fleet doesn't WANT to service them
Federal Parking Garages are NOT yet fire-proofed
No one on the government payroll can figure out where to buy the 'Really long extension cords' to power the 'Electric Cars'
The Obama Administration is concerned about the perception of impropriety (buying from GM as a preferred vendor to the detriment of other companies)
The Free Market actually DOES work - in spite of the government being involved
The Government's Teamster-organized hamster unions REFUSE to run on their cage 'wheels' to power the Volt's electrical generators before 9am or after 4pm Monday through Friday

I guess, you also can't rule out the obvious reason: "Why in the name of GOD would you consciously choose to buy a car that only goes 40 miles ONE WAY per charge? And if you are going to be running on a gas powered generator when the charge is GONE, why wouldn't you buy a Ford Focus for about half the money?"

Yeah, that could be it in a nutshell.

In a late-breaking (today) related story, the Chevrolet Volt has been named the "2012 European Car of the Year!"

If nothing else, I'm happy to report that the Chevrolet Volt and the European Union seem to be a perfect fit for each other.

One is from a recently-bankrupt manufacturer, the other is on its way to going bankruptcy. A match made in Washington, DC if I ever heard one.

As for myself, I'm buying a Ford. I've already picked it out at www.cars.com, now I just need to figure out how to pay for it. Maybe if I tell the Obama Administration that my wife won't 'get romantic' with me (if I buy a Ford) the purchase will be considered a 'Contraceptive' and they'll require that Ford GIVE it to me for free?

Yeah, that might just work...

It's not like it hasn't been done already.

We live in interesting times.

The Dinosaurs did also (think giant mutant caterpillar cocoons). The difference between then and now is that we can see the Asteroids coming... We can, right?

Did the ground just shake where you are???

It will.

Good luck America.

Hey, why is the sky to the south so bright tonight???

Sandra Fluke Opens Up

2012-03-03T08:40:00.000-05:00

Photo Courtesy of GlobalPost.com

"Ms. Fluke, you're a bit close, would you mind not swallowing the microphone? Thank you."

fluke [flook]
noun 1. an accidental advantage; stroke of good luck: She got the job by a fluke.
2. an accident or chance happening.
3. an accidentally successful stroke, as in billiards.

(Definition courtesy of Dictionary.com)

There are other definitions for 'fluke' of course, but the above seems most apt when describing Sandra Fluke, struggling Law Student, past President of Law Students for Reproductive Justice, and all-around 'great gal' 'reproduction' activist. The 23-year old Georgetown Law student (ahem, she's actually 30 - not that the facts matter) has been on a tear all week following her testimony with Democratic leadership and 'mean' comments made towards her by Rush Limbaugh.

Yes, I heard quite a bit about Ms. Fluke's testimony to Nancy Pelosi's panel, but I wanted to learn a bit more about the woman chosen by the Left as the lever with which they intend to separate US Citizens from their Constitutionally-Guaranteed First Amendment rights.

Who, I ask you, is Sandra Fluke?

I found the following bio on the Georgetown Law Public Interest Scholars site:

Sandra Fluke’s professional background in domestic violence and human trafficking began with Sanctuary for Families in New York City. There, she launched the agency’s pilot Program Evaluation Initiative. While at Sanctuary, she co-founded the New York Statewide Coalition for Fair Access to Family Court, which after a twenty-year stalemate, successfully advocated for legislation granting access to civil orders of protection for unmarried victims of domestic violence, including LGBTQ victims and teens.

...

As the 2010 recipient of the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles Fran Kandel Public Interest Grant, she researched, wrote, and produced an instructional film on how to apply for a domestic violence restraining order in pro per. She has also interned with the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking; Polaris Project; Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County; Break the Cycle; the Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project; NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund; Crime Victim and Sexual Assault Services; and the Human Services Coalition of Tompkins County.

Through Georgetown’s clinic programs, Sandra has proposed legislation based on fact-finding in Kenya regarding child trafficking for domestic work, and has represented victims of domestic violence in protection order cases. Sandra is the Development Editor of the Journal of Gender and the Law, and served as the President of Law Students for Reproductive Justice, and the Vice President of the Women’s Legal Alliance. In her first year, she also co-founded a campus committee addressing human trafficking. Cornell University awarded her a B. S. in Policy Analysis & Management, as well as Feminist, Gender, & Sexuality Studies in 2003.

The bottom line is that if an organization's title has 'Reproduction', 'Justice', or 'Gender' in it, chances are that Sandra Fluke appears to be involved. The thing which strikes me as 'odd' is that why would someone who is so involved in 'Reproductive Issues' be ONLY involved in the prevention of, um, how do I say this? Reproduction? Are no women attempting to BECOME pregnant who cannot? And if this is a reproductive issue (as I assume that it is), where's the love for these women from Sandra Fluke? What's with all the 'negative energy man?'

Here's the thing with Left-Leaning ideologues, such as Ms. Fluke: They latch exclusively onto the issues they wish to promote and exclude all other aspects of related topics.  Reproductive issues, according to them, pertain ONLY to the ability of a woman to PREVENT a pregnancy, rather than any other issue regarding to the act of 'Reproduction' itself.

I don't know why this is, all I know is that 'it is'.

I'm not going to discuss what Sandra actually said during her testimony to Nancy Pelosi's panel of  'Congressional Experts' (on Reproduction? In Congress???) as there's been much coverage of her statements over the past week. If you would like to view a complete transcript of her testimony, you can find it here: WTF

And now that Rush Limbaugh's jumped into the middle of the "Most Important Social Justice Issue of ALL TIME!", no one in the Media is talking about fuel prices, Military lives lost in Afghanistan, obesity in our house pets, or our crushing National Debt.

Yes, we're all talking about reproducing (or not) ourselves.

While they ought to be discussing the First Amendment; Republican Presidential Candidates have gotten off-message and swam fast (and furious) into the center of this Media created tempest.  No, they're not talking about the First Amendment, but I've got to wonder, why?

Because they CAN win that argument. Instead, they're fighting 'free contraception' for all, courtesy of another government-mandated give-away. Yeah, nice job Republican Leadership. Way to go - if it weren't for the Democrats and the President, I'd want YOU to lose too...

So, is any of this media focus on 'Reproductive Rights' a coincidence?

No.  It's all coordinated to coincide 2012's upcoming elections - two days ago, Kathleen Sebelius, HHS's titular head said this:

“The reduction in the number of pregnancies compensates for the cost of contraception,” Sebelius said. She went on to say the estimated cost is “down not up.”

Yes, a COMPLETELY NEW SPIN ON 'Trickle Down' Economics. We need to waive the First Amendment because... It's the Fiscally-Responsible thing to do.

And Republican leadership chooses to NOT do battle on proposed violations to The Constitution, but rather whether 'condoms ought to be free'?  Smooth move Ex Lax. Idiots.

Ah, but why am I so serious?!?! It's Saturday and today and the High School Band is marching in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Downtown Binghamton!!! I need to turn my frown upside down...

Time to throw a bit of red meat to the people who are mad at me already!!!

Bon Appetit - enjoy!!!

Other definitional alternatives for the word 'Fluke', mentioned above?

1. any of several American flounders of the genus Paralichthys, especially P. dentatus, found in the Atlantic Ocean.
2. any of various other flatfishes.
3. a trematode.

also,

1. the part of an anchor that catches in the ground, especially the flat triangular piece at the end of each arm.
2. a barb, or the barbed head, of a harpoon, spear, arrow, or the like.

But you'll never catch ME calling Sandra Fluke a bottom-feeding fish, that would be wrong.

However, I was intrigued by what fluke (a.k.a.: 'Flounder') eat, so I visited Paul at Paul's Fishing Kites for an answer:

The answer to what do flounder eat depends on the habitat in the area the fish are living.

Baby flatfish begin feeding as an ambush predator as soon as they settle on the bottom.

The juvenile fish are normally in very shallow estuarine areas and feed on tiny shrimp like copepods, small crabs, a variety of sea worms and invertebrates.

Yes, Mr. Paul writes that Fluke eat sea worms and invertebrates.

Please do not read anything into Fluke eating 'worms' above. If that's all Ms. Fluke was doing, she wouldn't need the free birth control.

Heh, heh, heh...

Nevada... Legislating Tomorrow Today!

2012-02-23T17:43:00.000-05:00

Courtesy of Car and Driver Magazine

Not wanting to be 'left in the dust' by other uber-Progressive States Nevada has decided to write legislation to manage...

TECHNOLOGY WHICH DOESN'T YET EXIST

Yes, you read that correctly. The lone State of the Union offering legalized pay-for-play-sex (a.k.a.: 'The World's Oldest Profession') has moved aggressively to be also the only State to write legislation for 'Driveless Automobiles'. As in: Writing legislation, in advance, for technology which does not exist today.

According to USAToday online:
The state of Nevada is preparing for the day when self-driving cars move from the world of sci-fi to real life, the Associated Press reports. It recently became the first state to create regulations for companies interested in testing self-driven cars on public roads.

The state acknowledges that automakers aren't close to getting this technology to market, but Nevada wants to have laws in place when -- and if -- it happens. Regulations approved by state officials include requiring companies to secure a bond of $1 million to $3 million, detail their specific plans and intended test locations, and provide all collected data to the state. Nevada also requires that during testing, two passengers will always be in the car, in case one needs to override the controls.

If cars like these ever hit the market, Nevada's regulations also stipulate that people operating them need to have a special license and the cars have to contain a "black box," a type of data collector.
Yes, in a bold move, the State of Nevada chunks a stake into the ground telling 'Driveless Car' manufacturers, "If you're going to put one of them things on our roads, you're going to:

a. Buy an up-front insurance policy if you kill anyone, or break anything

b. 'Partner' with the State by providing your plans, intentions, and any results from your testing. But don't worry, you're only sharing your confidential testing information with government workers - your secrets are safe with them!

c. Provide a 'Designated Driver' while the vehicle is traveling anywhere within the State of Nevada

Okay, here's the thing: Harry Reid's home state is telling the world they have time to legislate 'stuff which does not exist', but they do not have time to address the following?:

BusinessInsider.com 02/25/2011:
Falling property values in Las Vegas led all three major ratings agencies to take negative actions on the area's school district this week, Bond Buyer reports.

The decisions come as the Clark County School District - the nation's fifth largest school system - gets ready to sell $100 million in refunding bonds next week. The district, which covers all of Las Vegas, owes more than $4 billion in debt.

Nevada's budget woes have added to the school district's financial struggles. State funding is the school district's primary source of revenue.

LAS VEGAS (FOX5) 02/23/2012:

Prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing drug problem we face in Nevada according to the DEA.

"We are four percent of the world's population the United States, yet we consume 40 percent of the world's pharmaceutical drugs," said Paul Rosario, DEA Special Agent In Charge in the Las Vegas district office.

Prescription drugs are killing Las Vegas. A look at the numbers from the Clark County Coroner's office over the last five years reveals a total of 1,611 deaths from prescription drug overdoses.

"That is more than methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine combined," said Rosario.

Last year in Clark County, 190 were killed by overdoses of meth, cocaine, or heroin; 178 were killed in car accidents. (Moos Note: Oh, so THIS is why they need driveless cars in the state...)

Rosario's office has an eight-man task force, regulatory and undercover, to specifically attack the spread of prescription drug abuse in Nevada.

Rosario says the root of this killer is often a professional. "Many times, many times it's a doctor or a pharmacist," he said.

Unemployment Rate In Nevada, December, 2011: 13% (Source: BLS)
Yes, when it comes to unemployment, Nevada is LEADING the Nation!!!

So Nevada lawmakers cannot figure out how to pay for schools, reduce prescription drug abuse, or pass legislation to encourage employers to create jobs, but they DO have time to investigate, initiate, and legislate STUFF that doesn't exist yet?

Super. Groovy. Cool.

Other interesting Nevada Factoids courtesy of your 'Moo Media' Outlet...

In 1899 Charles Fey invented a slot machine named the Liberty Bell. The device became the model for all slots to follow.
Bertha was a performing elephant that entertained for 37 years at John Ascuaga's Nugget casino located in Sparks. She was 48 years old when she died.
While Samuel Clemens took the pen-name "Mark Twain" as a reporter working for the "Territorial Enterprise," he began his writing career as a reporter in the Midwest some years before moving to Virginia City in 1862.
In Death Valley, the Kangaroo Rat can live its entire life without drinking a drop of liquid.
The ichthyosaur is Nevada's official state fossil (Moos Note: Harry Reid has long been considered a close second runner-up as the replacement for the current State Dinosaur).
Austin's oldest church, St. Augustine, requires the establishment's bells in the tower to be rung by pulling a rope located in the men's restroom.
Nevada has more mountain ranges than any other state, with its highest point at the 13,145 foot top of Boundary Peak near the west-central border.
The longest running show in Las Vegas is the Follies Bergere at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino. It opened in 1959. The production numbers in "Showgirls" were written specifically for the Paul Verhoeven film and shot in the Horizon Hotel at Lake Tahoe. The bulk of the movie used locations located at the Luxor and the Forum Shops at Caesars.
Misfits Flats off Highway 50 near Stagecoach takes its name from the John Huston film. Huston used the privately owned area to film a complicated wild horse round up with Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift and Eli Wallach.
Nevada is the largest gold-producing state in the nation. It is second in the world behind South Africa.
The Virginia City steam train still operates and was featured in the Imax project "Mark Twain's America." The "steam train" is a modern-day tourist train and does not link back to the original Virginia & Truckee RR which had its last run to Virginia City in 1938.
Nevada is the only state with an entire museum devoted to the life and time of entertainer Liberace. (Moos Note: 'Oh, yeah, hold me back!')
Area 51 is acknowledged with State Route 375 officially christened "The Extraterrestrial Highway" in a ceremony featuring the director and cast of the movie "Independence Day." The highway runs between Alamo and Tonopah. There is a tiny restaurant stop at the Little Ale' Inn at Rachel.

Rumor has it that Nevada State Legislators are currently working on a series of bills to curtail the Illegal Immigration of Aliens (Space Aliens). Additionally, large interstellar docking stations are secretly being built atop casinos along the Vegas strip to accommodate the travel needs of wayward space travelers.

No word as yet if the Nevada State Legislature will provide dietary guidelines to 'All-You-Can-Eat-Buffets' along the Strip regarding alien nutritional guidelines. The assumption here is that the Aliens will most likely dine upon the drug-addled brains of the homeless currently lining the streets and scurrying through the alleyways of Vegas.

More details will be forthcoming as they are announced by the progressive leadership of the Great State of Nevada.

Alien prostitutes? Hmm, sounds like another post for another day...

Only in Nevada!!! ( I smell "Marketing Campaign!" )

Tin Men

2012-02-21T07:56:00.002-05:00

Tin men & women - those friendly, patriotic, business-savvy, and freedom-loving men and women of the UAW are here. Go with them now... Become part of their machine, lest they stomp you (as friendly, patriotically, and freedom-lovingly as possible) into Mechanically-Separated 'Meat Product'.

Oh, and thanks for the $50 BILLION loan...

On Friday I speculated (yes, I 'speculate' in public) as to why President Obama would want to increase the existing $7,500 Tax Credit on Electric Vehicles to $10,000. IF the Chevrolet Volt is as good as GM says it is, people should be flocking to put down the $46,000 required to be one of the first kids on the block to own one.

Will this increased Tax Credit ever see the light of day? No, probably not. Why? Because the provision was in the President's Budget submitted to Congress last week.

That question you are probably asking yourself is, "Why won't the legislation move forward - what's preventing the President's Budget from being approved?" Excellent, question thanks for asking!

Well, that's because the Democratically-led Senate will not VOTE on the Obama budget submitted by the Democratically-led Executive Branch. It's TOXIC (and when other Democratic lawmakers realize this, um, it's really bad).

The interesting thing is that John Boehner, the Republican Speaker of the House, DOES want to vote on the President's Budget.

Why? Because "It's TOXIC." So much so that Boehner wants the Bill discussed so all Americans can hear what the President believes THEY ought to be spending THEIR money on. Since Congress hasn't passed a Constitutionally-Required Budget in over 1,000 days (that's over 8,500 days in 'dog days'), sure, what the heck, might as well vote on the Deficit-reducing, pro-Business, OWS-loving, and freedoms-reducing Obama Budget, right? At least it's something with 'Budget' in the title...

Huh, what's that? Sheesh, what's with all the questions today? Now you want to know why the Congress hasn't proposed a Budget in over three years?

Because for the two years the Democrats held the House and Senate, they were much too busy passing important life-altering legislation than to worry about, you know... Budgets. Health care needed fixing, Osama Bin-Laden needed to be killed (President Obama did this himself), the Economy needed to be trashed, and the military needed to be reduced, you know, since President Obama personally killed OBL.

And now that the Republican House Leadership has passed and submitted multiple Budgets to the Senate, Harry Reid won't allow votes on them. If nothing else, Harry Reid is consistent.

But alas, I have once again fallen victim to my own 'trackless' train of thought. Let's get back to the good stuff, shall we???

So why is the President hawking the $10,000 EV ('Electric Vehicle') Tax Credit in his proposed budget? It's a financial 'Shout Out' to the Union Workers who continue to benefit from President Obama's legislative decisions from a few years back. The credit may never see the light of day, but gosh golly, would a Republican throw the UAW dogs a 'virtual bone' like this? Yeah, probably.

Why? AGAIN WITH THE QUESTIONS!?!?!   Yikes! Because not all Republicans are Conservative, of course. And when you're a moderate, a liberal, or a progressive, you 'Dance with the one who brung you' regardless of WHO you are.

However, if you get a REALLY Liberal Democrat President in the White House, you know he's going to give to the Unions what they want to garner their support...  Anything.

Even once-independent car companies.

Check out the following from the homepage of the UAW website:

OWS, Solidarity and Family Scholarship Values - It's all here!!!

And how will these union-owned institutions repay the American people who loaned them $70+ BILLION dollars? According to the Wall Street Journal's Sharon Terlep:

General Motors Co. is freezing the pay of its 26,000 U.S. salaried employees and will eliminate its traditional pension contribution for those salaried workers who still receive them in moves to reduce financial risks and cut costs.

The Detroit company also will shrink the 2011 bonus for all salaried U.S. workers because it failed to meet its financial goals last year, people familiar with the matter said.

The changes come as GM prepares to disclose on Thursday a record annual profit of around $8 billion for 2011...
...

The company will pay smaller annual bonuses to most white-collar (non-union) workers despite an expected record profit because net income is only one factor in determining payouts…

The auto maker’s 48,500 United Auto Workers-represented hourly workers receive bonuses under a different formula, which hinges on profitability and quality.

Next up, an article from 'Sweetness & Light' quoting the Associated Press and discussing the projected bonuses provided to Union Workers at GM. Employees in a Union-Run Business (still owned are apparently NOT equal in the eyes of Union Leadership. (Okay, not really a surprise, but it does provide additional validation for the whole "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely" quote).

I wonder, how many Americans know that THEY still own 27% of the 'New GM'? And if so, would they approve of the bonuses paid ONLY to Union Thugs (um, workers, I meant skilled-workers) in lieu of their getting repaid the still outstanding multi-Billion dollar debt to taxpayers? I wonder...

Okay, here we go, from Sweetness & Light (their commentary is in RED):

DETROIT (AP) – General Motors earned its largest profit ever in 2011, two years after it nearly collapsed into financial ruin… The 103-year-old company made $7.6 billion in 2011, up 62% from 2010.
Mind you, since 27% of GM is still owned by the government, these figures are, in effect, coming from the Obama administration as well as the United Auto Workers. So they are probably as accurate as the current unemployment numbers.

GM also said Thursday that its 47,500 blue-collar workers in the U.S. will get $7,000 profit-sharing checks in March. The checks are based on North American performance and are a record for the company...

...

GM is a vastly different company than it was then. It’s smaller and has less debt, and its contract with the United Auto Workers is less costly…
Yes, the UAW’s pension fund was bailed out, and the union was given the company they destroyed, in exchange for a "less costly" contract.

That is what is known as "fairness."

But it took a government bailout and a trip through bankruptcy protection in 2009 to cut its bloated costs. The restructured company was able to make record profit last year, even though U.S. auto sales were near historic lows at 12.8 million cars and trucks…

Again, these profit reports are coming from the Obama administration. And who knows how much they have been ‘seasonally adjusted’ to give Obama something to crow about?

Also bear in mind that GM will not have to pay any federal taxes for the next ten years. (Which was another payback to the UAW for their loyal support of Obama and the Democrat party.)

So, even though General Motors has made the biggest profit in its history, it will pay less tax than Warren Buffet’s secretary. — Where is the outrage?

Where's the outrage?

Oh, it's coming. Oh, but it's not from you.

It's from them, the Tin Men and Women of the UAW and their Brother and Sister Union organizations.

Check out the UAW.org website homepage today...

The 99% Spring is coming because, they say, "The 1% have stolen our democracy - That's why we're starting the 99% Spring". Shoot, based upon what I've read, it occurs to me that the only stealing going on from this bunch is FROM the 99%. And, thanks to the Obama Administration we're funding 27% of their springtime events on behalf of GM.

Get ready for the 99% Spring. It's gonna get weird.

I wonder if anyone will talk about it?

I know a few folks.

See ya.

President Obama's Tax Cut for... Wealthiest Americans

2012-02-17T07:50:00.000-05:00

A story of horror.

A story of wealth.

A story of insider-trading and price-fixing.

A story of a philosopy - and, a car...

Yes, as surely as Carol Anne stares into the electric static glow of the unplugged (yet somehow strangely still 'on') television set - say it with me now, "They're here..."

And, they're NOT going away.

DETROIT FREE PRESS, FEBRUARY 15, 2012: The budget President Barack Obama proposed Monday would increase the tax credit for buyers of electric vehicles -- from the $7,500 maximum to a $10,000 maximum -- and expand the credit to other "advanced technology vehicles."

Under the proposal, the tax credit would apply to vehicles that operate primarily using an alternative to gasoline, as long as that technology is not currently widespread in the U.S. The preliminary budget document, from the U.S. Treasury's website, lacks details about the vehicles that would qualify.

The amount of the tax credit would vary by the fuel efficiency of the vehicle, but would be at least $7,500 for electric vehicles.

...

The budget is for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1 and is not expected to pass Congress. Republicans control the House and are attempting to take back the presidency from Obama in the November election.

Still, the proposal shows Obama's continued support for subsidizing electric vehicle purchases, despite the controversy surrounding the government's recent investigation into the Chevrolet Volt and the car's slower-than-expected sales.

Critics have said the administration is propping up the Volt because of its ownership stake in General Motors. Some have also suggested the tax credit is a tax break for the rich; GM has touted its well-off Volt buyers, since the automaker wants more buyers who will pay for technology. Still, the expansion of the tax credit could also make electric vehicles less expensive or include buyers of less-expensive technology.

Okay, a couple of things:

As discussed in prior posts, the Chevrolet Volt will cost the average American approximately $46,000. The vehicle currently has a $7,500 tax credit associated with it.

With a price tag this steep, the Chevrolet Volt is out of reach for MOST Americans (payment over 60 months at 4.88% financing = $870 per month (assuming you receive a tax Credit, which has NO impact on your initial purchase price))

In 2011, General Motors sold fewer than 8,000 Chevrolet Volts for the full year. Missing its sales objective in the first year by over 20%

Chevrolet initially claimed they missed their sales targets because of 'availability' issues, where supply couldn't keep up with massive demand for the product - however, having just done another NEW Volt search on cars.com, I find that there are over 1,400 Volts in stock within 500 miles of my home. No, NOT a 'supply' problem - perhaps a 'Demand' issue?

If I purchase a 2012 Ford Focus I'll get 28 local and 38 highway MPG on regular gas running about $3.85 per gallon in NY. All this for an investment of about $22,000. No tax rebates, no credits, just an honest supply / demand economic transaction from one private party to another

Purchasing the 2x as expensive Chevrolet Volt will get me (according to cars.com)...

A whopping 93 MPG!!! (For approximately 45 miles per charge - after which I need to fire up the gasoline engine requiring PREMIUM Unleaded, at $4.39 per gallon).

Then, while in 'gas mode' I'll bask in the carbon-monoxide joy of 36 MPG highway - yes, '2' fewer MPG than the 'bargain basement' Focus would get me while burning REGULAR gas.

So WHY would the President propose a TAX CREDIT for the wealthiest Americans (the only ones who could afford this dog???)

Because HE wants to - it's HIS money.

And when you're a guy like President Obama, it's the ONLY reason you need.

But there ARE more reasons, but I have no time to discuss them today - I'm burning daylight and when you are lucky enough to have a job during the "Obama Recovery", you want to keep it.

Because unlike Chevrolet Volts, when it comes to 'jobs', they're not just laying around waiting for you to pick one up.

Have a nice day folks, I will wrap this up this weekend.

Be nice to each other - we're all we've got...

Eat Me Too

2012-02-16T07:54:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday - Whoever You Are!
No, this photo nothing to do with today's post, but I woke this morning thinking of cake.
And look, here it is...

Last night around 10:30 I finished writing "Eat Me". A tale of children, the USDA, mold-encrusted applesauce (fed to the children under the watchful eye of the USDA) and mechanically-separated chicken food 'product'. Perhaps this is why I awoke thinking of 'cake'? Yeah, could be...

Looking for something else 'completely different' this morning to ponder upon, I found this...

From Myrtle Beach Online, December 01, 2011:

CHARLESTON -- Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said Thursday that America’s health is a matter of national security and that she’s optimistic the Supreme Court will uphold the nation’s health care reform law.

During a visit to the South Carolina coast, Sebelius spoke with a black nurses group [Question: Were Caucasian, Hispanic, Oriental, or Panamanian Nurses not allowed to attend?] and then was to attend a conference on improving access to health care.

The nation’s health “really is an issue of national security,” she told the nurses group, adding that a healthy, productive work force “is an essential part of our prosperity.”

[Moos Note: Then, by extension of Kathleen Sebelius' logic, FAT people are a threat to our National Security? Quick, someone get Richard Simmons on the phone - I need to be 'Sweatin' to the Oldies' with the rest of those spooky-looking folks in his ads from a few years' back. I used to be big and strong, now I'm just, pretty much, BIG. Maybe I ought to take Bossie for a walk today once the snow turns back to rain?]
...

She said keeping people healthy means less drain on paying for health care.

“Seven out of 10 deaths are caused by chronic disease conditions and 70 cents of every health care dollar is spent treating chronic diseases,” she said. “We spend eight cents - less than a dime - keeping people healthy in the first place.”

Sebelius also said she’s optimistic the health care reform bill will be upheld by the high court, noting appeals courts have ruled both ways.

“I am optimistic it stands on solid constitutional grounds and that we will be able to get the green light and move forward,” she said.

I do find this last statement more than a 'little bit ironic' (or 'misleading' if you prefer) that Kathleen Sebelius is under the impression that once the Feds 'get the green light' they can 'move forward'. Knowing that ObamaCare has been 'in process' since Congress passed this debacle back in 2009 - what parts of the legislation's impact has SHE missed? A fair question as she's been a HUGE proponent for the past bunch of years. And wait, won't she kind of, sort of, be responsible for running the program, or is that the IRS? I get so confused...

But hey, that's just my opinion. What do I know?

Next, I found a related story on the New York Times Online dated, February 13, 2012:

Dr. Jodi Sterle, an expert on human reproductive management at Iowa State University, said no easy options when it comes to human dietary needs because feeding people is complicated by their hierarchical nature. “When they are raised in large community settings, there is competition for food, water and space, and especially for food,” she said.

Researchers have tried a method called trickle feeding, in which small amounts of food are put onto plates throughout the day, but dominant personality types tend to camp out by the table and push more passive humans away.

Another method uses a microchip embedded in an ear tag to manage the subject’s diet and feed him / her in a “cafeteria,” but people sometimes find ways of overcoming that technology, too. “Basically, there’s no science that provides the perfect answer right now,” Dr. Sterle said.

Kathleen Sebelius, head of Health and Human Services, said in a statement that it supported alternative feeding efforts to contain obesity. “Legislative leadership has expressed a desire to see changes in how people are raised,” she said. “Nutritionists and dietitian's are responding and modifying their recommendations accordingly.”

Oops, I am sow sorry, the section above was pulled from a New York Times' article addressing McDonald's commitment to not purchase pork from suppliers who do not treat their 'pigs' humanely.

How could I have possibly confused the care and treatment of cloven-footed livestock with anything the Obama Administration is doing to make our lives 'better'? My sincerest apologies to any swine I may have offended.

I get the impression (and this must just be ME) that Kathleen Sebelius, the HHS, and members of Congress perceive us to be a lot like your garden-variety swine.

They tell us what we can eat.
They tell us what we can drink.
They tell us what we can smoke (and if we dare smoke, how much we'll pay for it)
They tell us that our exhalations include 'harmful greenhouse gases'
They tell us, in general, how we can live

The major differences between our two species?

Pigs don't vote
Pigs don't pay taxes
Pigs don't drive (well, at least they don't drive 'well')
Pigs don't believe in inter-species dating
Pigs are almost always happy (Including the moment when the nationa buyer for McDonalds calls to place that really HUGE bacon order)
Pigs don't 'occupy' other pigs property based upon envy or hatred towards other, more-successful, pigs

You may call me a pig. You may call me a cow. You may call me a low-down rotten sow...

Just don't call me now.

I'm going to work.

Have a nice day folks.

Oh, and for the record? I only changed eight words in the article above from the NY Times discussing the care and feeding of pigs. Swap a few words regarding animal husbandry, apply it to humans, and anyone can be a Progressive Liberal Democrat.

Not that there's anything wrong with THAT.

Eat Me

2012-02-15T22:14:00.002-05:00

Part 1: Eat our nuggets...

Raeford, North Carolina, January 30, 2012 - A pre-schooler at West Hoke Elementary School did not eat the lunch her mother prepared for her.

No big news here, right?

Sometimes kids get picky.

Sometimes kids get stubborn.

Sometimes kids get Chicken Nuggets.

Yeah, sometimes kids get to eat stuff that begins 'life' as THIS...

Mechanically-Separated Chicken for...
McNuggets!!! Yumm-o!

In this instance, the child in question didn't want to eat Chicken Nuggets. In fact, she didn't eat her intended lunch because it was taken away from her by the Inspector working for the Division of Child Development and Early Education - Department of Health and Human Services.

Why?

Because the child's homemade Turkey and Swiss sandwich, banana, potato chips and apple juice did not meet published USDA guidelines. Yup, this being the case, the 'lunch box inspector' deemed the meal provided for the child by her Mother to be 'nutritionally-challenged' and the inspector supplemented the meal by providing the girl three Chicken Nuggets (made from the pink 'goo' illustrated above).

To add insult to injury, the school then charged the parent $1.25 for the 'yummy' deep-fried mechanically-separated meat product it provided to her child (without the Mom's approval, consent, or knowledge in advance).

But don't worry, it's really for the best. No one takes care of you like the USDA - right? Yeah, right.

For the complete story, you can read it online here: Carolina Journal Online

This, it turns out, is but Part One of the story.

However, like they say on television at 2am Saturday morning, "But wait, there's more!!!"

Yes, more.

More begins now.

Part II: Green Applesauce - Eat it, eat it, yes you will...
(Do not read the following while eating, drinking, or operating heavy machinery.)

MSNBC Online: November 4, 2011

FDA: Moldy applesauce repackaged by school lunch supplier

A Washington state fruit processor that supplies the nation’s schools and a baby food maker is under scrutiny by federal health regulators for repackaging applesauce contaminated with several kinds of potentially dangerous, multi-colored molds, msnbc.com has learned.

Food and Drug Administration officials this week posted a warning letter to Snokist Growers of Yakima, Wash., saying the company cannot ensure the safety of moldy applesauce and fruit puree that has been reconditioned for human consumption.

Products recalled earlier this year by Snokist were blamed for illnesses of nine North Carolina children who became sick after eating applesauce at school.

The latest warning came after FDA officials said Snokist failed to adequately address problems identified during a June inspection in which regulators found large, laminated bags of fruit products that were supposed to be sealed and sterile, but instead were broken open and tainted with white, brown, blue, blue-green and black mold. Some of the compromised bags were bloated and one had “a strong fermented odor,” the report said.

The FDA’s letter identified at least eight instances last year in which Snokist had reprocessed the moldy applesauce into canned goods for human consumption. The inspection report said Snokist documents showed the company had reprocessed mold-contaminated applesauce at least 13 times between January 2008 and May 2011, repackaging food into 15-ounce cans, 106-ounce-cans, 300-gallon bags and 4.2-ounce, single-serve cups.

Cinammon on top?
Or 'Commonous Mouldus Nasteus'?

On one hand (Part I), North Carolina elementary school food service folks are taking food away from 'small humans' in an effort to assure that they receive the daily-nutrional value required by the USDA. This, regardless of what their parents pack for them. Because when it comes to raising a child, "It takes a Bureaucracy".

On the other hand (Part II), since North Carolina schools are buying prepared food 'in bulk' from the low-cost bidder, well, you HAVE to expect a little mold in your food. I'm not sure how the USDA feels about this, but I'm sure that IF they had known about it...

Huh, what's that?

The USDA DID know about it?

KING5.com: Federal Inspectors Told to Ignore Moldy Food At Local Plant, February 13, 2012

The KING 5 Investigators have learned that federal inspectors complained for years about significant food safety violations at a Yakima plant but their superiors didn’t put a stop to it.

"I thought it was terrible because I have never seen anything like that in my life," said Jerry Pierce, a recently retired U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector who was assigned to the Snokist Growers plant in 2008. He said he watched Snokist employees “reprocess” and sell applesauce that belonged in the garbage bin.

“It's appalling that the company would take those measures just to make a few dollars," said Wendy Alguard, the USDA inspector who worked at Snokist from 2009 until the summer of last year.

Snokist Growers is a century-old cannery that processes and packages 50,000 tons of cherries, apples, pears and plums each year. The inspectors say that leaks in the packaging would cause 300 gallon bags of applesauce to spoil. Snokist would scrape thick mold off the top of the spoiled applesauce, heat-treat the remaining product and then send it down the production line for sale to the public.

The KING 5 Investigators obtained public records showing Snokist reprocessed more than 23,000 gallons of moldy applesauce in the year 2010 alone. Other records show Snokist's own consultant concluded in 2009 that the mold in applesauce "would not be eliminated by your firm's thermal process." Records show the company continued selling it to customers.

The inspectors (Moos Note: yes, the USDA Inspectors) say they repeatedly told their boss about the moldy applesauce.

"I guess they promised my boss they wouldn't do it again and within a week they were doing it again,” said Pierce.

"I had contact with my boss many times and he basically told me to mind my own business," said Alguard.

The USDA had inspectors in Snokist’s plant because the company is a major supplier to the national school lunch program. The USDA grades and certifies food deemed acceptable for school lunches. Alguard and Pierce say they did their best to make sure that reprocessed applesauce didn’t get into school lunch food.

Boys, girls, Moms and Dads, sit back and relax knowing that the USDA knows what's best for you and your kids...

Deep-fried chicken nuggets and moldy applesauce

Bon Appétit!!!
Just be sure to pay the helpful SEIU Cafeteria Worker on the way out... Assuming, of course, that she's not on strike at the time.

Darn Catholics

2012-02-14T22:34:00.000-05:00

Last Friday President Obama told Catholics that he 'compromised' with the Church by 'caving' in to the Church's desire to NOT pay for contraceptives, morning-after abortion pills, and, presumably, out-right genocide of any type. The issue, according to the President, was a matter of interpretation by Catholics and other religious leaders who opposed the legislation as a violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution. The actual reason for the dust-up in the Press and the Pulpit was due to the fact that, "They" just didn't 'get it'. This isn't a matter of Constitutional breach, it's simply a 'misunderstanding'.

So the President offered a compromise: They would not have to provide contraception in their health plans, but female employees wanting coverage could obtain it directly from the insurance companies. The arrangement would not add any cost to the employee’s premium, the argument being that prevention of childbirth is cheaper than childbirth.

In their statement, however, the bishops say that among the groups needing “clear protection” from the contraception mandate are “religious and secular for-profit employers.” That would sweep in a far larger variety of organizations.

Richard M. Doerflinger, an official of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, was asked whether that meant that a Catholic owner of a sporting-goods store who believed that use of birth-control pills is immoral should be able to offer health insurance excluding that coverage. He said it did.

“That person should have the freedom to choose the health plan that does not violate his convictions. It doesn’t mean he will be able to find it, but the government shouldn’t have anything to say about it,” Doerflinger said Saturday.

In addition, religiously affiliated insurance companies are not exempt from the mandate. Friday’s announcement also left unresolved what a Catholic-affiliated organization that self-insures and objects to contraception would do, as there is no insurance company to provide coverage directly to employees.   (Source: Washington Post)

So what's a Petulant Progressive President to do? What he always does when someone stands in his way... He clears the field.

Yes, bust out the torches, rouse the malcontents, and grab them pitchforks! It's time to destroy the Catholic Church.

Seriously, what good are 'Minions' if you're not going to use them? Oh, look, here comes a useful Minion now, writing for Reuters!

Reuters, 02/13/2012: "Monsignors' mutiny" revealed by Vatican leaks

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Call it Conspiracy City. Call it Scandal City. Call it Leak City. These days the holy city has been in the news for anything but holy reasons.

"It is a total mess," said one high-ranking Vatican official who spoke, like all others, on the condition of anonymity.

The Machiavellian maneuvering and machinations that have come to light in the Vatican recently are worthy of a novel about a sinister power struggle at a medieval court.

Senior church officials interviewed this month said almost daily embarrassments that have put the Vatican on the defensive could force Pope Benedict to act to clean up the image of its administration - at a time when the church faces a deeper crisis of authority and relevance in the wider world.

Some of those sources said the outcome of a power struggle inside the Holy See may even have a longer-term effect, on the choice of the man to succeed Benedict when he dies.

From leaked letters by an archbishop who was transferred after he blew the whistle on what he saw as a web of corruption and cronyism, to a leaked poison pen memo which puts a number of cardinals in a bad light, to new suspicions about its bank, Vatican spokesmen have had their work cut out responding.

The flurry of leaks has come at an embarrassing time - just before a usually joyful ceremony this week known as a consistory, when Benedict will admit more prelates into the College of Cardinals, the exclusive men's club that will one day pick the next Roman Catholic leader from among their own ranks.

"This consistory will be taking place in an atmosphere that is certainly not very glorious or exalting," said one bishop with direct knowledge of Vatican affairs.

The sources agreed that the leaks were part of an internal campaign - a sort of "mutiny of the monsignors" - against the pope's right-hand man, Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

Bertone, 77, has a reputation as a heavy-handed administrator and power-broker whose style has alienated many in the Curia, the bureaucracy that runs the central administration of the 1.3 billion-strong Roman Catholic Church.

He came to the job, traditionally occupied by a career diplomat, in 2006 with no experience of working in the church's diplomatic corps, which manages its international relations. Benedict chose him, rather, because he had worked under the future pontiff, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, in the Vatican's powerful doctrinal office.

...

The Vatican sources said some cardinals asked the pope to replace Bertone because of administrative lapses, including the failure to warn the pope that a renegade bishop re-admitted to the Church in 2009 was a well-known Holocaust denier.

But they said the pope, at 84 and increasingly showing the signs of his age, is not eager to break in a new right-hand man.

"It's so complicated and the pope is so helpless," said the monsignor.

The bishop said: "The pope is very isolated. He lives in his own world and some say the information he receives is filtered. He is interested in his books and his sermons but he is not very interested in government."

Blah, blah, blah, yada, yada, yada...

So, according to Reuters and the Obama Administration, the Catholic Church has 'internal' issues, they certainly do NOT have an issue with the Executive and Legislative Branchs' 'perceived' violation of the First Amendment - that would be CRAZY...

Yup. Crazy (with a capital CRAZE)

And to make matters even more interesting, Jack Lew, President Obama's Chief of Staff, announced to the world that "the White House had done enough to appease religious critics".

Washington Examiner, February 13, 2012: HHS mandate shows fight in Catholic Church

President Obama's chief of staff said that the contraception mandate will not be revised any further, despite opposition from church groups, and he dismissed ongoing critics as revealing internal division within the Roman Catholic Church.

"I can't speak to differences within the Catholic Church," White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew said on Fox News Sunday when reminded that "the most powerful statement by the Catholic Church in this country" was a denunciation of Obama's attempt at accomodation. "I would point to the statement put out by the Catholic Health Association, which knows a fair amount about what it requires to [provide] health care in this country," he added.

Lew argued that "people can disagree" with the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate "on the margins," but declared that the White House had done enough to appease religious critics. "I think what the president announced on Friday is a balanced approach that meets the concerns raised both in terms of access to health care and in terms of protecting religious liberties," Lew said.

That's right, the White House has "done enough to appease religious critics"... Requiring insurance companies to give contraceptives away for FREE to anyone asking? Why, that's tried and true old-fashioned-Obama-giving-more-of-other-people's-money-away-solution (just please don't ask who's going to be paying for these 'contraceptives' in their insurance premiums - that could get messy).

As a card-carrying Catholic, I feel the need to turn the other cheek to President Obama's continuing assaults to our liberty, our religion and our God-Given right to bare our cartoon butts in our blog posts...

So help me 'Bart'.

Depend

2012-02-09T07:58:00.002-05:00

de·pend [dih-pend]
verb (used without object)

1. to rely; place trust (usually followed by on or upon ): You may depend on the accuracy of the report.

2. to rely for support, maintenance, help, etc. (usually followed by on or upon ): Children depend on their parents, just as approximately 50% of households depend upon the Federal Government for subsidies.

3. to be conditioned or contingent (usually followed by on or upon ): America's success depends upon the effort and ability (by roughly half of the population) to pay for the other half's lifestyle.

4. to be undetermined or pending: the United States may become Europe or it may not, it all depends.

Yes. It all 'Depends'.

I came across an article yesterday while eating lunch which gave me pause. Surprisingly, it wasn't about Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, or Rick Santorum's status in the polls. The aforementioned are 'temporary conditions', susceptible to the whims of marketing, Presidential Politics, the National 'mood', and mutually-assured personal destruction.

The article I read had deeper roots.

Evil. Nasty. Roots.

Excerpted from Investor's Business Daily Online: The American public's dependence on the federal government shot up 23% in just two years under President Obama, with 67 million now relying on some federal program, according to a newly released study by the Heritage Foundation.

The conservative think tank's annual Index of Dependence on Government tracks money spent on housing, health, welfare, education subsidies and other federal programs that were "traditionally provided to needy people by local organizations and families."

Source: Investors Business Daily Online
(I added the Dotted red line above to depict the Dependency Index since LBJ launched his 'Great Society'
The Solid red line shows the end of the Bush term and the beginning of the Obama Administration)

The increase under Obama is the biggest two-year jump since Jimmy Carter was president, the data show.

The rise was driven mainly by increases in housing subsidies, an expansion in Medicaid and changes to the welfare system, along with a sharp rise in food stamps, the study found.

"You can't get around the fact that policy decisions made over the past two years, on top of those made over the past several decades, are having a large effect on the pace of growth of the index," said William Beach, who authored the Heritage study.

Dependence on the government has climbed steadily since 1962, when the index stood at 19. By 1980, the index had risen to 100. It stood at 294 in 2010, the last year for which the data are available. The D.C.-based Heritage Foundation has produced the index for nine years.

...

The report also found that spending on "dependence programs" accounts for more than 70% of the federal budget. That, too, is up dramatically. In 1990, for example, the figure stood at 48.5%, and in 1962 just over a quarter of federal spending went to dependence programs.

At the same time, fewer Americans pay income taxes, the report notes. Almost half (49.5%) didn't pay income taxes in 2009, the latest year for which the researchers have data. Back in the late 1960s, only 12% of Americans escaped the income tax burden.

Other findings:

The number of people dependent on the federal government shot up 7.5% over the past two years.

In 2010, for the first time ever, average spending on dependence programs per recipient exceeded the country's per-capita disposable income.

The truly 'spooky' part of this article is that only the first two years of the Obama Administration are tracked, and reported here. Another year has passed since these numbers were reported.

Yes, I know there are people reading this who will say, "Yeah, but Moos, this period represents the Economy President Obama INHERITED from President Bush. These numbers are NOT the current President's fault! It's President Bush's FAULT - it's all his FAULT!"

[This, of course would be followed by a series of grunting noises, wildly flailing hands, and spittle flying in almost all directions at once as the 'True Believer' of the President works him (or her) self into a full 'lather'.]

Okay, I understand your desire to cling to the failed Obama policies of the recent past, but let me ask you this: "How do YOU explain the following chart of US Workers NOT participating in the work force?"

The following chart tracks the number of "Persons NOT in the Labor Force" through January 2012. That 'straight up' line over to the right of the chart represents the 1.2 MILLION people the BLS 'Discarded' to get President Obama's (published) Unemployment Rate down to 8.3%

Source: ZeroHedge.com

Why are the 1.2 MILLION 'eliminated workers' from the work force important? Read on my friend, read on...

Source: ZeroHedge Online... A month ago, we joked when we said that for Obama to get the unemployment rate to negative by election time, all he has to do is to crush the labor force participation rate to about 55%. Looks like the good folks at the BLS heard us: it appears that the people not in the labor force exploded by an unprecedented record 1.2 million.

No, that's not a typo: 1.2 million people dropped out of the labor force in one month! So as the labor force increased from 153.9 million to 154.4 million, the non institutional population increased by 242.3 million meaning, those not in the labor force surged from 86.7 million to 87.9 million.

Which means that the civilian labor force tumbled to a fresh 30 year low of 63.7% as the BLS is seriously planning on eliminating nearly half of the available labor pool from the unemployment calculation.

So, if you believe that the President 'Inherited' the bad economy, how do YOU explain the fact that while adding MILLIONS of Americans (in spite of the best efforts of Planned Parenthood, Unions, and Democrats to reduce our population ) over the past 30 years -- the Civilian Labor Force has shrunken to its lowest level during the same 30 year period?

'Fuzzy Math', or Federally-Sponsored Deceit?

You pick.

Oh, and while I'm asking the questions which no one seems to be able or willing to answer, let me ask you yet another question: "Will America survive another four years of President Obama's rule?"

Well, it Depends.

Depends on if he stays or goes, and what the Congress looks like following the upcoming elections.

Because once again - you get to pick. In November, 2012, you get the opportunity to fix the problem OR grow it. Your call.

Have a nice day folks.

Newer Dogs - Older Tricks...

2012-02-06T17:54:00.000-05:00

The following post was updated most-recently on December 3, 2011 when the Unemployment Rate

'Unexpectedly' fell to 8.5% after the economy had 'Unexpectedly' shed 315,000 workers out of the U.S. Workforce.

This past week the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the numbers for January. Once again the Unemployment Number fell 'Unexpectedly'. The most 'Unexpected' component of the most recent number is that an additional 1.2 MILLION U.S. Workers have 'Disappeared' from the U.S. Workforce.

QUESTIONS:

Are U.S. Workers REALLY disappearing at a rate of 38,710 per day?
Are aliens AMONG U.S.?
If folks falling 'out of the workforce' ARE, in fact, disappearing in bulk... why IS the unemployment rate still so HIGH???

All questions will be answered, but you'll need to re-think logic as you have always known it.

At the signpost up ahead, it's the Third-Edition of "America Loses Several Hundred Thousand Jobs" post. Good luck, you're going in.

p.s.: Wherever 315,000 'missing Americans' was mentioned in the earlier post, I have increased this number by a factor of 4 to support the most recently announced 1.2 MILLION missing American Worker figure quoted last week.

(If all these people are gone... Can I have one of their cars???)

Heard around the Blogyard...
Madison asks, "Psst, Bossie, have you seen Buttercup lately?"

"Nah, I thought she was with YOU...", says Bossie.

"That's weird, I found her stall empty and she didn't touch her dinner last night."

"Maybe she's over with Ferdinand's "gettin' busy"?", asks Bossie.

"Nah, that Ferdinand's a freak, hanging out under the cork tree all day. Buttercup says he makes her uncomfortable. That bull's so dang peaceful - you'd hardly think he was a bull. He's more like a Golden Retriever." Madison says.

"With horns!", shouts Bossie.

"It's a shame, the poor boy doesn't know how to use them." Madison laughs as she trots away.The blogyard fades away as today's post begins anew...

Yes, it's true. Disappearances like the one above have taken place all across America during the past thirty days. Is anyone talking about it?NOOOOOOOOOO!And why not?

It's a conspiracy man. An inter-galactic conspiracy of Biblical proportions!!!
(Obligatory Right-Wing Rant Section to make left-leaning readers feel more at home)

Huh?How do I know that people are being sucked off the planet?The nice folks at the Bureau of Labor Statistics told me so, that's how. Yeah, they reported yesterday that 1,200,000 people were 'OUT' of the workforce.

With fewer people 'IN' the workforce it means that the unemployment rate MUST go down. Right? Fewer people 'ready, willing, and able' to work makes YOUR employment opportunities that much better!!!

Yeah, so what what happened to roughly 1.2 MILLION US Workers (since last month)?

Two words for you: "Space-Alien Abduction"! (Joke, that's four words, if you, um, count the hyphen.) Yeah, could be, but the actual 'disappearing workers' thing from the BLS IS two words, the first word begins with 'Bull' and the second word ends with '__ __ it'.
(Fill in your own blanks on this one.)

From the Bloomberg article found online: U.S. Jobless Rate Unexpectedly Declines to 8.3%President Barack Obama said the drop in the jobless rate is a sign the recovery is getting stronger, and extending a cut in the payroll tax will provide more fuel for the economy.He went on to say, "Let me be clear, if we clap REALLY REALLY hard; the Fairies who control our Economy will be once again healthy enough to reduce our employment rate to 5.5% like it was when GW Bush left office."

While the last quote above is NOT, hmm, let's say 'factually attributable to the President', I do believe that President Obama believes in Fairies.

Why? Because Fairies believe in President Obama. of course! Yes, the wee folk who flit from tree to tree spreading magical goodness across the land believe in President Barack Hussein Obama.

Unfortunately, he lost the Minotaur vote yesterday when the Senate said 'Bestiality' was pretty much cool from a legislative perspective. And as we all know, Minotaurs have no use for, well, you know... "Hey buddy, get off my _ _ _!"

No, the bestiality thing is not cool with minotaurs - at all. Mermaids, to date, have been relatively quiet on the subject of the President's re-election chances, but King Neptune is still really P/O'd about that Gulf spill from Earth Day, 2010. Yes, President Obama, you will receive NO Mermen votes in November of 2012 (outside of Illinois, of course. Dead Mermen (and others) vote Democratic up there).

So, the unemployment fantasy continues its onward trek towards November, 2012. For the past six months I've heard that no President has ever been elected with an unemployment rate of greater than 8% and now, magically, improbably, and unexpectedly, the rate drops a full three-tenths of a percent to 8.3% because...

1,200,000 People have disappeared from the work force. And,243,000 Jobs were added (most, admittedly, from part time, seasonal employment according to the article quoted).

Stunning, isn't it?Did you see THAT coming? Actually, I did. (Nana-nana-boo-boo!)

I even wrote about how the Department of Bureau and Labor Statistics gets all 'jiggy' with numbers when it needs to. And, a long time ago, back in February 10, 2010 (this seems a REALLY long time ago when measured in "Obama Years" I wrote...

When the most recent unemployment rate was announced (dropping the Unemployment from 9.4% to 9.0% with VIRTUALLY no job growth) you may have wondered, "How could this BE? How could the economy not add jobs but the unemployment rate went DOWN???"

Well, it's a 'Math Thing' again. It works like this:

EXAMPLE A:If you have 900 people employed, your unemployment rate is 10%.

EXAMPLE B: Now assume that the number of 'total jobs' available DROPS to 925.If you have 850 people employed, your unemployment rate is 8.1%So, even though you have FEWER people working, your unemployment rate goes DOWN.

This, and the following, accounts for our most recent reduction in the percentage of unemployed.Confused yet?Oh, you will be...Trust me...You can read it in its entirety by clicking HERE.

But after all, today is a Monday, and reading this fact-based series of Mathematical exercises will only make you sad. Upon reading, you'll learn that everything in Washington in a shell game.

And in DC... They hold your nuts in their hands.Turn your head and cough.

It's all you can do until November 2012. THEN, the nuts will be in your hands, won't they?

Oh yes, they will, and get ready to squeeze them hard. As we wrap today's exchange, I want to confirm that no Minotaurs were injured in the generation of today's post.

However, this woman? She's in BIG trouble...

A Joke. A Gag. An Ignorant Hag.

2012-02-03T21:26:00.001-05:00

"The Joke"

"The Gag"

Two morons were walking along railroad tracks in Northern Pennsylvania. After a while of walking and enjoying the sights they came to a train trestle spanning a large river. "You think we should try to cross this here river?" Moron One asks.

"Well, if we don't cross this river, then we ain't going to get where want to get to..." says Moron Two.

"Yup, I'm guessin' that's about right," responds Moron One. "We'd better get started then. Just be careful whilst we're crossing over this river - it looks deep and fast-moving."

So the morons begin their trek across the train trestle to get to the other side. Half-way across Moron Two totters towards the right-hand side of the track. "Look out, you could fall!" shouts Moron One.

Surely enough, Moron Two flails his hands to the sky and falls off the trestle into the dark, fast-moving river below.

Moron One looks at the water rushing below him, shrugs, and continues walking alone to the other side.

Question: WHY did this happen?

Answer: Because One Moron was a little more-on than the other.

(Smooth segue coming...)

"The Ignorant Hag"

Q: How much money would you have charged to
complete that left-leg flower tattoo???
A: Ain't enough money in the world...

Ah, yes, time for the important news about Presidential Politics and the FIRST real challenge to President Obama...

While Republican Presidential Candidates bludgeon each other in public, a bold figure, an epic leader, and a woman who slept with John Goodman for multiple seasons - steps forward to take her rightful place in history!!!

According to the Associated Press: WASHINGTON (AP) — Roseanne Barr said Thursday she's running for the Green Party's presidential nomination — and it's no joke.

The actress-comedian said in a statement that she's a longtime supporter of the party and looks forward to working with people who share her values. She said the two major parties aren't serving the American people.

"The Democrats and Republicans have proven that they are servants -- bought and paid for by the 1 percent -- who are not doing what's in the best interest of the American people," Barr said.

Occupy Wall Street protesters popularized the "We are the 99 percent" slogan in their fight against economic disparity and perceived corporate greed.
...
Barr said she has been fighting for working-class families and women for decades.

"I will barnstorm American living rooms," she said in a candidate questionnaire submitted to the Green Party. "Mainstream media will be unable to ignore me, but more importantly they will be unable to overlook the needs of average Americans in the run-up to the 2012 election."

Barr's hit TV sitcom "Roseanne" aired from 1988 to 1997 and earned her an Emmy and a Golden Globe. She played a wise-cracking mom in the comedy about a blue-collar family. Barr has a 46-acre macadamia nut farm in Hawaii.

(Moos Note: Please pay particular attention to this last line - Yes, she owns a 46-acre 'nut' farm in Hawaii. Yet one more reason I pray nightly for the Earth's Mantle to shift swallowing these sugar-cane-and-pineapple-laden islands back to the watery deep from where they rose. Nothing GOOD ever came from Hawaii...)

But wait, what's this??? You don't believe that Roseanne Barr is qualified to be President of the United States?!?!?

How dare you (sir or madame)!!!

Just take a moment to review a few of the insightful fact-filled posts on RoseAnne's official blog, RoseanneWorld: (And no. I'm not making ANY of these up...)

9-11 firefighters for truth: "Cheney pulled it- and the building was demolished-it had been wired before 911--so that House of Bush and Cheney's Haliburton could use and hide behind the horror to erase their financial crimes-ie-that they used taxpayer money to build Dubai-the international center of the Child Sex Slave Trade. there you have it. Pedos at the top=Satan."

war against females: china will deserve what it gets: "too many males--and all that entails-"

brilliant analysis, Jon Gold: "PLEASE READ THIS!" (A deliciously detailed delusion of the 911 Conspiracy)

army corps of engineers' negligence caused the damage of Katrina (organized genocide?):

Us judges sell children for money:

heritage foundation : pro rape and pedophiles: " The right wing are predators and talibangelists, who can't muster even a distant feeling of empathy for any living man woman or child unless they can use it as an excuse to go to war and kill."

911-er writes me: "Sick of these over educated white men talking about nothing.
RW WORLD RESPONSE: I "HERE" YOU! TOO MUCH EDUCATION IS BAD! 9-11ers are against the wrong people it seems! Attack the right, not the left! Are 9-11ers counter intelligence operatives?"

With this 'arse'-anal of ammunition at her disposal during a debate between herself, the President, and the Republican Nominee... I'm thinking that President Obama will lose about 60% of his base.

Run Roseanne. Run...

Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

"Hey Man, You Got the Stuff" Part II

2012-02-03T07:55:00.001-05:00

LAUSD 'LA Menu' Healthy Food Choice Items

FRIDAY (THE DAY AFTER THURSDAY)...

Tommy says, "Cheech, can you give me a ride into LA? I need to pick up my kid for lunch."

Cheech pulls the Chevy hard to the right and stands on the brakes, "No man, you can't eat your kid for lunch, that would be wrong! What's wrong with you man?!?!"

"No, I said I need to pick my kid up for lunch - you know, I have to take him to lunch." Tommy explains.

"Oh, that's a completely different thing, I guess, right? But wait, why do you have to take him to lunch, don't they feed him those Free Lunches at school?" Cheech asks.

"I don't know man, they USED to feed him at lunch - but now he wants to spend time eating with me all the time. It's kind of weird - I never wanted to eat with my Dad."

"Tommy, your Dad used to bite the heads off chickens in that traveling Geek Show of his - nobody wanted to eat with YOUR Dad. He made the local kids really nervous..." Cheech says.  "Do you remember what happened to that Beagle puppy you got for your sixth birthday?"

"Snack Wrap?"

"Was that his name?" asks Cheech.

"No. That's what happened to him." answers Tommy. "Yeah, my Dad was 'different'."

"So why won't your kid eat the Free Food at the school?" asks Cheech a second time.

"He says they're trying to poison him there. They give the kids a handful of sticks and twigs wrapped with a celery stalk and tell them it's lunch."

"Any mushrooms?" asks a hopeful Cheech.

"Sometimes, but they're not the right kind of mushrooms." answers Tommy.

"Bummer."

"Huge bummer..."

Cheech pulls his Chevrolet back into traffic and drives towards town. Tommy falls asleep moments later and dreams of a Big Mac marinated in Hershey's Chocolate Sauce with a side-order of Nabisco Sugar Wafers.

In the deep corners of his subconscious - a beagle bays...  Then, all is silence with the exception the sounds of a tap-dancing mushroom crunching on a celery stick...

Well, I told you we'd get back to it. Not as quickly as I wanted, but here we are again, nonetheless. I promised yesterday morning that I'd tell you what happens when well-meaning tyrants determine what other people, may, or perhaps, may not be allowed to do as it pertains to their dietary habits.

It's a story of intrigue, political correctness, starving the poorest Americans, and black market burritos.

It is the story of...

The Los Angeles Unified School District LA Cafe'!

The following excerpts are from the shocked, confused, and 'not getting it at all' folks at Natural News Online:   (NaturalNews) A massive school lunch menu overhaul implemented by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) in California last year has been met with widespread resistance among district students. CBS 2 in Los Angeles reports that many students are actually choosing to go hungry rather than have to eat revamped, healthier meal offerings like vegetarian curry or quinoa salad. (Moos Note: Vegetarian curry and Quinoa Salad?!?! Yum-O!!!)

Last summer, LAUSD's school board voted to eliminate unhealthy meal options like corn dogs, processed chicken nuggets, and sugar-laden flavored milk beverages in favor of alternative, healthier meal options that incorporate more whole, unprocessed food items. The decision was inspired by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's show Food Revolution, which at one time featured an LAUSD school on its show, until the permit was revoked.

Many people initially praised LAUSD's decision to alter its lunch menus as a giant step forward towards improving the health of the district's schoolchildren. But few anticipated that the students would ultimately reject these new offerings en masse, choosing instead to smuggle in unhealthy snacks from home, and even trade things like ramen noodles on newly formed and thriving "black markets." (Moos Note: Ah, evil 'Free Market Forces' at work again!!! Curse you Bill of Rights and your 'Freedom to Eat Food You Don't Hate' amendment, curse you to HECK!!!)

Reports indicate that many students have been throwing away their entire meals, including their unopened cartons of plain milk product. And those that are unable to snag a high-demand item from the junk food black market to replace those meals were simply not eating, which was leading to widespread malnutrition at many of the district's schools.

Conditions have gotten so bad that the district is now planning to re-implement many of the menu items that it offered previously, but with supposedly healthier ingredients. A healthier type of pizza will be returning to lunchrooms, for instance, as will hamburgers and cheeseburgers. Dishes like brown rice cutlets and quinoa salad, on the other hand, are getting nixed.

No matter what LAUSD serves, it is required to serve a certain amount of it to students, and those students are required to accept that amount, even if they do not want it.

This is why so much of the undesired food has ended up in trashcans rather than given to somebody else. But ABC 7 News in Los Angeles recently reported that some students are now volunteering to help give these leftover meals to those in need. (Moos Note: No mention here of whether 'those in need' are rejecting the sticks and twigs also. But I have my suspicions arethat those 'in need' are looking for other folks 'much more in need' to pawn the "Brown Rice Cutlets" off on... Somebody help me out here but the last time I saw the word 'Cutlet' used on a menu it was immediately preceded by the word, 'Veal'. Veal, of course, is a young cow forced to stay in a box up until the moment of slaughter. If these heartless California Liberals are keeping Brown Rice (do I sense Racial Overtones here??? Hmm?) standing on end in a box, I'm gonna HURT somebody!!! Nobody abuses RICE like this while I'm around! Poor little brown babies all standing on end in a BOX in the DARK!!! I'm angry I tell ya' - angry!)

The second-largest school district forces kids to eat 'healthy foods' (yes, this district is one of the ones which banned Chocolate and Strawberry Milks last year) and the kids? The kids just say, "No," collectively, resoundly, and resolutely.

Now there's "Hope" I can believe it.

There's more, but once again, the time clock's dyin' to be punched, and after reading about how Rice is treated in California, I'm a guy in a punchin' mood. I feel a Part III coming on, but for now, we end this post as the lights of a 1964 Chevrolet Impala drive into the distance as Tommy and Cheech attempt to rescue the boy from the 'Sticks and Twigs Lunch Wardens'...

Happy trails folks!

"Hey Man, You Got the 'Stuff'?"

2012-02-02T07:49:00.000-05:00

"Hey man, you got the stuff?" Tommy asks.

"Um, what stuff you talkin' bout man? I don't know nothing about no stuff..." Cheech responds.

"Come on, you know what I'm talking about - the GOOD stuff. I need it bad man, I got a monkey on my back the size of Paula Deen." Tommy says.

"Oh, oh, THAT stuff? No way man, I don't have any of that. THAT stuff will KILL you deader than Taylor Hicks' singing career."

"Okay man, you got any virgin-pure-uncut Kosher salt?" Tommy leans in as he asks this last question.

"No way man, this is California. That stuff will get you 3 - 5 in the Big House," Cheech answers.

Tommy lowers his eyes and asks Cheech quietly, "Transfats? You got any transfats man?" I'm Jonesin' for some transfats. I haven't had any since 2010. Come on man, you gotta help out your bro' on this one..."

"I've got no transfats, I've got no salt, I've got no sugar, you hear me? All I've got are these semi-automatic weapons I bought at the high school and a couple of rocks of crack. You want those?"

"Nah, that STUFF will kill you." Tommy says as he stares down at his hands folded on his lap.

"I think there's a Smoothie Shack up there, you want a Cucumber-Tomato-Carrot-Dill Smoothie or somethin'?"

"No. I'll just get out of the car and graze on the grass along the shoulder of the highway..." Tommy says.

"Okay, just make sure you don't eat any weed..."

The scene fades as today's post begins

Sugar - The "New Crack"
Eat it, baby, eat it!!!

From the San Francisco Chronicle Online: Like alcohol and tobacco, sugar is a toxic, addictive substance that should be highly regulated with taxes, laws on where and to whom it can be advertised, and even age-restricted sales, says a team of UCSF scientists.

In a paper published in Nature on Wednesday, they argue that increased global consumption of sugar is primarily responsible for a whole range of chronic diseases that are reaching epidemic levels around the world.

Sugar is so heavily entrenched in the food culture in the United States and other countries that getting people to kick the habit will require much more than simple education and awareness campaigns, the UCSF scientists said.
...
It's going to require public policy that gently guides people toward healthier choices and uses brute force to remove sugar from so many of the processed foods we eat every day, said Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist at UCSF.

"The only method for dealing with this is a public health intervention," Lustig said in an interview. "Everyone talks about personal responsibility, and that won't work here, as it won't for any addictive substance. These are things that have to be done at a governmental level, and government has to get off its ass."

...
In their paper, they argue for taxes on heavily sweetened foods and beverages, restricting advertising to children and teenagers, and removing sugar-ladened products from schools, or even from being sold near schools. They suggest banning the sale of sugary beverages to children.

Schmidt noted that those policies could nudge people toward healthier choices - but only if, at the same time, healthier choices are made widely available. Such policies have worked in reducing alcohol consumption and smoking rates, she said. There's no reason they can't work with sugar too.

Lustig said he realizes that there will likely be heavy resistance to the idea of largely removing sugar from American diets - and resistance not just from the food and beverage industries, but from the public at large. (Moos Note: Hey, did they just slip a PUN in here? "The public 'at large'?")

Yes, there is more to this, but I'm out of time. Work calls and I must answer. But here's something to think about while I'm gone: What happens when you 'Nudge people toward healthier choices?' I know. Later today, you will too...

Have a nice day!

Eat at your own risk... Um, while you can.

Kathleen Sebelius Answers to a Higher Authority

2012-02-01T18:14:00.000-05:00

Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services

Letter January 25, 2012 from Archbishop John G. Vlazny on the matter of freedom of conscience and decisions by Health and Human Services...

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

It is important for you to know that the federal government has just dealt a heavy blow to the Catholic population and to the millions more who are served by the Catholic faithful.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced last week that almost all employers, including Catholic employers, will be forced to offer their employees’ health coverage that includes sterilization, abortion-inducing drugs, and contraception. Almost all health insurers will be forced to include those “services” in the health policies they write. And almost all individuals will be forced to buy that coverage as a part of their policies.

By this ruling, the Administration has cast aside the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, denying to Catholics our Nation’s first and most fundamental freedom, that of religious liberty. Unless the rule is overturned, we Catholics will be compelled to violate our consciences or drop health coverage for our employees (and suffer the penalties for doing so). The Administration’s sole concession was to give our institutions one year to comply.

We cannot and will not comply with this unjust law. People of faith cannot be made second class citizens. We are already joined by our brothers and sisters of all faiths and many others of good will in this important effort to regain our religious freedom.

In generations past, the Church has always been able to count on the faithful to stand up and protect her sacred rights and duties. I hope and trust she can count on this generation of Catholics to do the same. Our children and grandchildren deserve nothing less.

And therefore, I would ask of you two things. First, as a community of faith we must commit ourselves to prayer and fasting that wisdom and justice may prevail, and religious liberty may be restored. Without God, we can do nothing; with God, nothing is impossible. Second, I recommend visiting www.usccb.org/conscience, to learn more about this severe assault on religious liberty, and how to contact Congress in support of legislation that would reverse the Administration’s decision.

Thank you for all you do to build the Church and society.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend John G. Vlazny

Archbishop of Portland in Oregon

The Catholic Church is being "Legislated" into providing Birth Control, abortion, and sterilization services to employees of the Church. This, according to the provisions of 'ObamaCare' and according to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius.

Haven't I heard SOMETHING about "The Separation of Church and State" for my entire life? Yes, I believe that I have. So what's this crap that the Catholic Church needs to provide services for its employees, which are diametrically opposed to the teachings OF the Catholic Church?

Let me ask you this: "Is the Separation of Church and State only applicable when the Church undercuts the authority of the State? Or, perhaps, when a stray manger or something looking even close to a 'Cross-shaped object' shows up on public land?"

Does this mean that the oft-referenced mantra of the Left (separation of yada, yada, yada), is then, at best, '50% Universal' in scope? Or, could it be also then be fairly said that the support is 100% in favor of the Federal Government's "Whim Du Jour"?

I'm sure that the Most Reverend John G. Vlazny put a lot of time into drafting his letter above. I'm not going to try to restate that which he so eloquently spoke of above. I have neither the patience, nor the desire, to be as thoughtful and well-spoken as he is.

This government was founded upon a belief that there IS a God. Our currency includes the words, "In God We Trust". This is NOT an accident, not a 'typo', or random act of literary license. It was an expression of one of our most basic tenets of our Nation's founding. There was a period of time in our history when MOST Americans believed that the Great American Experiment was undertaken with the blessings of God. This, of course, is back when we, as a Nation, believed in God.

Just lately, I wonder - does God still believe in US?

As for myself, I believe that the Federal Government believes neither in God, nor US (you can read the latter expression to stand for either 'the United States', OR us, as in, you know, the pronoun for you, I, and everyone else we know.) The Federal Government, Obama Administration, Kathleen Sebelius, et al, have broken the trust given to them by US.

I've told my kids for years that trust is similar to a bank account. They can make deposits daily to the 'Trust Fund' when they are truthful, honest, and when they act consistent with their core beliefs. However, much like a bank account, withdrawals can also be made through a breach of trust, a lie, or a misrepresentation of the facts. If we were to break open the Obama Administration's 'Trust Fund', I suspect that we would find it bankrupt - both financially and morally. A mirror image of the contents of the vacuous mass's soul currently inhabiting the White House.

In this, as with so many other instances, the Administration has squandered the trust given to it by the American people less than four years ago. This Administration has chosen to go into the 2012 Election Year picking a fight with Catholics and people of Faith across the Nation?

Smooth move Ex-Lax...

Kathleen Sebelius may answer to President Obama as her, "Higher Authority", but so help me God, there'll be much for all of the President's Men and Women to answer for in November, 2012.

Yeah, so help me God.

Barack, Meet Bill

2012-01-24T19:55:00.001-05:00

The Bill Of Rights (as approved by the TSA)

If you plan on watching the President's State of the Union Speech this evening, please take a moment to check out the Rights granted to you by courtesy of a series of Amendments to the Constitution known as the "Bill of Rights".

No, not the redacted Rights (above) granted by the TSA, but, rather, the ACTUAL Bill of Rights, given to you by a bunch of old White guys who cared more about your Freedom than the man currently serving as the President, the Commander In Chief, the Leader in Absentia, President Barack Hussein Obama [APPLAUSE]!

If you find the President violating ANY of your Rights during this evening's speech, please feel free to print out the following listing and check off the violations put forth by the Teleprompter, um, er, President. Put a nice big X on any Amendment he's trampled upon this evening while he's re-hashing speeches of the past two years.

For Example (por ejemplo):

Government taking over private industries?
Government running guns into Mexico to promote 'Gun Control'?
Government mandating that you buy health care insurance from them (or anyone)?
Government telling you what you may, or may not, eat?
Government working for the good of Unions at the expense of the private sector?
Government monitoring / managing the exchange of information on the Internet?

VIOLATIONS!

Tomorrow, or later tonight (if you can't sleep), please submit your "Violations to the Bill of Rights As Outlined In the State of the Union Speech 2012" and send them to me here.

My mailing address is:

MoosRoom

1234 Anywhere But Here Drive

Mootown, MOO 60609

This, of course is not my ACTUAL address, as providing an actual address would inspire Crazies from across the country to seek me out and hurt me (all in the name of 'fairness'). Well, at least they would TRY to hurt me. Luckily for me I used to be big and strong, now I'm only, well, you know; 'big' (still not sure if this is a 'good thing' or not...).

In closing, please refer to the following for your complete, your guaranteed, your God-given (oops, now I AM in trouble - 'Crazy Alert' Begins NOW!) Rights as granted to you via the first Ten Amendments to The Constitution.

Ladies, Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, I present to you - The Bill of Rights

(President Obama read the Cliff Notes' Version - but for the rest of us, here they are in their entirety!!!)

The Preamble to The Bill of Rights

Congress of the United States begun and held at the City of New-York, on Wednesday the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine.

THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.

RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all, or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz.

ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution.

Note: The following text is a transcription of the first ten amendments to the Constitution in their original form. These amendments were ratified December 15, 1791, and form what is known as the "Bill of Rights."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amendment II

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amendment III

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amendment VII

In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

If you read and understood the above Amendments - congratulations, you're an informed American Citizen!

If you have not read, or understood the above?

Perhaps one day you can be President!

A word of warning though... To get the 'nod', you'll have to be a Progressive Liberal Democrat. Unless of course, you're Bernie Sanders, I, VT, in which case you'll have to be a card-carrying Socialist Democrat. In Democrat-speak - that's a Weapons Grade Democrat...

Not that there's anything wrong with that...

“We have been expecting businesses to provide health insurance coverage, but is this fair? Or, should health insurance be like education, a public responsibility?” -- Bernie Sanders

"Will the 99% Please SHUT UP!!!", Cordially, the 1%

2012-01-24T09:07:00.001-05:00

Ahem, WILL the 99% PLEASE be silent until we need them again...

My friend, Grumpy, over at www.GrumpyElder.com sent me a link to a post last night intended to give me what President Obama has never given me - HOPE. Not 'hope' in the bumper sticker sense, but rather, 'hope' as in the, "Please God, if you are there, can't you give us a break - if it wasn't for bad news there wouldn't be ANY news?" sense.

And, the 'Hope', at least for me, came last night at roughly 9:18pm. Grumpy sent me a link regarding a story I had heard NOTHING about. A story of Citizenship, a story of courts, a story of possibilities. You can find it here by clicking the following link: LIVE FEED FROM THE COURTHOUSE

Bottom line is that a private citizen in Georgia (images of NASCAR dance through your head) is questioning whether the current President of the United States should have been allowed to RUN for President in the first place. No, it's not the 'Birther' thing, you can follow the story link and get the details there. I'm not going to re-write what's already been written.

So where do I find my 'Hope'? I decided to do a Google Search to see what else I could find on the story since I had heard nothing about it online or on the nightly news.

Begin Google search sequence now:

And then something wonderful happened...

I followed the 1st link I found and...

Get ready, here it comes...

Two things:

First, someone within the Occupy Wall Street organization posted the link about President Obama's eligibility hearing, and then,
Second, someone else within the Occupy Wall Street's '1%' took away their right to be heard

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Hypocrites.

Below is an excerpt from the occupywallstreet.org's "Principles of Solidarity":

How many crises does it take? We are the 99% and we have moved to reclaim our mortgaged future. Through a direct democratic process, we have come together as individuals and crafted these principles of solidarity, which are points of unity that include but are not limited to:

■Engaging in direct and transparent participatory democracy;
■Exercising personal and collective responsibility;
■Recognizing individuals’ inherent privilege and the influence it has on all interactions;
■Empowering one another against all forms of oppression;
■Redefining how labor is valued;
■The sanctity of individual privacy;
■The belief that education is human right; and
■Endeavoring to practice and support wide application of open source.

We are daring to imagine a new socio-political and economic alternative that offers greater possibility of equality. We are consolidating the other proposed principles of solidarity, after which demands will follow.

I took the liberty of highlighting the Principles Violated by the "1 Percenter" who pulled the (DELETED) post down. Ironic that the people who whine and scream for a chance to be heard are so quick to silence others, isn't it?

Makes you wonder whose side they're on...

Conservatives vs. Liberals (The Turn-About-Is-Fair-Play Edition)

2012-01-23T19:08:00.000-05:00

Things have gotten a bit heated lately with regard to Presidential Politics, primaries, and, in general, the state of the Union. Since President Obama is having his own 'State of the Union' address tomorrow evening, I'm thinking that it's time to lighten things up a bit.

I went to the Internet and looked for jokes about politics. I found a site dedicated to jokes about Conservatives (who saw THIS coming???) sooooo, I took the liberty of changing the subject matter 'a bit' and came up with the following:

Question: What's the difference between Rush Limbaugh and Bill Maher?
Answer: One has a Radio Show and is the most listened to man in America, the other speaks almost entirely to himself. (Acceptable alternative answer: "Who's Bill Maher???")

Question: Why can’t liberals find facts?
Answer: They aren’t looking for any.

Question: How do liberals brain cells die?
Answer: Lonely.

Question: How do you confuse a liberal?
Answer: You don’t, they are born that way

Question: If Barack, Harry and Nancy and all the other liberals are on a sinking ship, who gets saved?
Answer: We do.

Question: What’s the difference between a terrorist and a liberal?
Answer: The terrorist makes fewer demands.

Question: What’s the difference between liberals and cow pies?
Answer: Cow pies stop stinking after awhile (This is true - trust me...)

Question: What’s the definition of a liberal genius?
Answer: A liberal who can count all 50 (acceptable alternative answer: '57') states.

Question: How is being at a Democrat convention different from being at the circus?
Answer: At the circus the clowns don’t beg and whine at you.

Question: How many Liberals does it take to change a light bulb?
Answer: It takes ten, nine to deny that darkness exists and one to hire a Republican to change it.

Question: What is the difference between giving to the poor and giving to Liberals?
Answer: The poor don’t follow you around for three weeks whining for more.

Question: How do you drown a Liberal?
Answer: You paint Barack Obama’s face at the bottom of a pool.

Question: Why do Liberals like smart, highly-educated women?
Answer: Opposites attract.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIBERAL AND CONSERVATIVE CHILDREN
(Yes, it's a joke - just go with it...)

Scientists were struggling to understand the differences between children raised in Liberal homes vs. Conservative households. They devised a study to determine if there were traits which distinguished one from the other in response to external stimuli.

Past studies indicated that Liberal children are less happy than their Conservative counterparts. In an effort to more deeply investigate the reasoning for this disparity, scientists devised a plan to study the effects of 'surroundings' on a Liberal child as well as his Conservative counterpart.

LIBERAL TEST SUBJECT "BARRY":

Barry, son of a middle-class Liberal couple is led into a darkened warehouse, seated in a wooden chair and told that he must sit for one minute after which the lights will be turned on and he can play with whatever he finds in the massive room once the lights are illuminated.

The lights turn on and Barry finds himself surrounded by brand-new toys of every shape and size, a mini-bike, and, in a distant corner of the room - a pony. The researchers film Barry's reaction at being surrounded by toys should have fired his imagination sparking youthful, gleeful play.

However, in spite of his surroundings the boy remains seated staring down at his hands neatly folded upon his lap. After two hours of observation the researchers re-enter the room to ask Barry questions:

"Why did you not play with all these wonderful toys?
"Why did you not leave your chair?"
"Didn't you SEE the pony? Every boy wants a pony?"
"What were you thinking after the lights came on?"

Barry sits gazing at his hands as he replies slowly to the questions raised by the researchers.

In response, the boy says the following:

"Oh, sure, the toys LOOK wonderful, but they will probably break once I start playing with them. Most likely they're made in China and are chock-full of lead paint which will kill me if I'm exposed to it for a long enough period of time."

"If I left my chair and you turned the lights off again, I may have fallen and hurt myself, being left alone here in the dark to die. I don't know who you are, why would I trust you - just because you're carrying a clipboard and wearing a white lab jacket? The lady in my lunch room does the same thing when I line up for my Free Lunch program at school. The only difference is that since she works for the government? I trust her."

"Yes, I saw the pony, but as everyone knows ponies and other livestock is mistreated and abused every day. If I try to ride the pony I will be forcing my will onto his, taking his freedoms away. Not to mention that fact that ponies are animals which live outside! Until I see notification from the Department of Agriculture that this pony doesn't carry any diseases and has appropriate health documentation, I'm not going any where near that thing."

"As for the lights, yes I saw them come on, but since they did not come on slowly, I realized that you were using old, inefficient incandescent bulbs. These are very expensive to operate and have a greatly diminished useful life as compared to Federally-Mandated Compact Fluorescent Bulb alternatives. I thought that if I sat in the chair that you WOULD turn the lights off again so you would not be wasting electricity. And I knew you weren't REAL researchers because real researchers would never us high intensity halogen bulbs to illuminate a warehouse full of toys - because, honestly, there's no point to it... "

The boy's voice trailed off as the researchers look from one to another. "Okay Barry, thank you for participating in our study today. Follow us out and we'll get you back to your folks in the next few minutes..."

CONSERVATIVE TEST SUBJECT "TOMMY":
Baffled by the child's reluctance to play with a warehouse full of toys, the researchers summoned Tommy to the facility for evaluation the following day.

Given the disappointing results of Barry's experience, they modified the experiment as follows:

The warehouse was emptied off all toys and games.

The pony was taken out of the facility and in his place a huge pile of manure was stacked upon the floor in the furthest corner of the warehouse.

The experiment was repeated as before, this time, with Tommy, the Conservative kid seated in the chair. When the lights came on, Tommy lept from his chair and ran for the pile of manure.  He grabbed fist fulls of the stuff and threw it into the air and everywhere around the room. He laughed, he sang, he was joyful beyond all rational expectation.

Twenty minutes later, the researchers entered the room with a single question among them, "Tommy, we put you in a room full of horse poop and you're having a LOT of fun... Why?"

Tommy looked back at them in his filthy clothes, dirty face, smiled at them and laughed, "Well, with all those horse poop in here, I figured if I kept moving this stuff around, I'd find a pony!"

As for myself, I continue to look for the pony - in SPITE of the amount of miscellaneous Liberal poop (and Nincompoops) which come my way.

I haven't found him yet, but I know he's out there.

Just a bit more digging???

Kid, question away...
It keeps 'em guessing.

No Birds - No Stone

2012-01-21T07:29:00.004-05:00

Photo courtesy of 'GreenAutoBlog'
Seriously, not kidding...

Several months ago I posted an article called, "Two Birds One Stone". The premise of the post was simple:

The Obama Administration wanted to turn the economy around by having U.S. Citizens BUY more Chevy Volts (which 'might possibly' catch fire and burn your house down as you sleep).

Once your house is gone, you (assuming you are not a crispy critter in an upstairs bed) will contract with a construction guy / gal to rebuild your charred and damaged home. In addition to propping up Government Motors' financials you'll also be doing your part to bring Construction Numbers back up prior to the next election, assuring four more years of "Hope and Flames" (oh, sorry, that last entry SHOULD read "Hope and Change").

The Two Birds One Stone scenario be illustrated mathematically by the following equation:

One Chevy Volt + One Siemens Car Charger = $200,000+ of Economic Stimulus

As illustrated above, your initial Volt investment of $46,000 will 'possibly' yield a 400+% return on investment (ROI) for the US economy.  It should be noted that this is a MUCH greater return than we've seen with Abortion ROI's over the past several years from Planned Parenthood.

Perhaps if the Federal Government provided Chevrolet Volt vehicles to pregnant women considering aborting their unborn child we'd have the Economic Trifecta. The "Three Bird - One Stone" ROI model in which we would reduce funding to Planned Parenthood, sell a GM vehicle AND stimulate the construction industry simultaneously!

Alas, this uber-potent Economic Stimulus model will never come to pass.

Why?

Oh, sure, you want to know WHY?

I learned this morning that there is NOTHING wrong with the Chevrolet Volt. No, really, I did - nothing wrong at all with the Volt.

For the past several months I was giving credit to the Obama Administration for coming up with its ONLY innovative method of stimulating the economy and turns out...

Well, suffice to say that their Innovative Job Creation counter remains firmly set somewhere in the -2,200,000 range.

According to a Bloomberg article this morning:  U.S. regulators, who ended their investigation yesterday into the Chevrolet Volt, said electric- powered vehicles do not pose a greater risk of fire than gasoline cars.

“Based on the available data, NHTSA does not believe that Chevy Volts or other electric vehicles pose a greater risk of fire than gasoline-powered vehicles,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in an e-mailed statement.

The conclusion by NHTSA came two weeks after General Motors Co. (GM) told Volt owners to bring the vehicles to dealerships for repair.

The government started investigating the Volt after a side- impact crash test in May led to a fire three weeks later. During that test, the lithium-ion battery pack broke open and coolant leaked into the battery. When the car was physically rotated as part of the test, more coolant leaked into a circuit board, leading to a fire. NHTSA replicated the fire in November and started an official probe Nov. 25.
...

The Volt blaze had little effect on sales of the vehicles, so there may not be any significant improvement with the government completing its investigation, said Jeremy Anwyl, vice chairman of auto-researcher Edmunds.com, in an e-mail.

“Volt buyers tend to be passionate about their vehicle,” Anwyl said. “They really want an electrified vehicle. The small risk represented by the potential for fire wouldn’t have been an obstacle for this group of buyers.”

“We see gasoline powered vehicles blow up in the movies all the time,” he said. “A vehicle with batteries catches fire and it is portrayed as a big deal.”

PAUSE

PAUSE

PAUSE

PAUSE

Sorry, I was shootin' milk all over the keyboard with that last quote. I'm okay now, I just thought it was 'kind of' funny that a guy defending the Chevrolet Volt would use, "We see gasoline powered vehicles blow up in movies all the time" as his primary defense of a car which has, on several occasions (NOT MENTIONED in this report), caught fire and burned down homes while people slept.

This 'other' issue, of course, has been linked to the battery charging station and NOT the batteries themselves. But I guess that's all the NHTSA was concerned with in releasing the 'ALL CLEAR!' declaration for the vehicle which the Federal Government (NHTSA) owns 32% of.

Not that there might be any perceived conflict of interest THERE...

General Motors states that they have sold 8,000 Volts since its introduction in November, 2010, for an average of 525 cars per month.  Sales numbers like these have not been seen since the introduction of Neptune Manufacturing's "Submarine Screen Door" back in 1971.

By way of comparison, the Chevy Cruze, introduced last year, sold 230,000 units during the same period. Of course, at less than one-third the cost of the Chevrolet Volt, this shouldn't really come as that big of a surprise to anyone who has ever had to make a car purchase decision before.

If the two vehicles deliver roughly the same gas mileage (they do) and provide transportation from Point A to Point B... WHY would you pay 3x the cost for a Volt?

Oh, that's right, because the guys over at Green Auto Blog told you to - right?

Good luck with that. When YOU get yours, remember to place your charging station OUTSIDE of your home, preferably on an exterior concrete wall. Last time I checked, concrete does not burn. As for your Chevrolet Volt vehicle, battery, and charger? Well, they are NOT made of concrete, are they?

If Government Motors truly wanted a cost-efficient, reliable, all-electric vehicle, they could have looked no further than right here...

THE ROBERTS ELECTRIC VEHICLE

Built in 1896, the Roberts Electric Vehicle gets over 40 Miles Per Charge -- Same as the Chevrolet Volt!
Only major differences are that it's 115 Years Old and has not (yet) burst into flames

The Roberts Electric Vehicle - Now there's: "Charge You CAN Believe In!"

For over 11 Decades.

Have a nice weekend folks!

Drive safely.

Council Bluffs, Iowa - Never been there, I hear it's nice...

2012-01-20T13:06:00.001-05:00

Just a quick note of appreciation for the person(s?) checking into the blog on a regular basis. I don't know who you are, but I wanted to let you know that IF (of course there isn't) a prize for the most consistent MoosRoom visitor existed - you would most likely win.

I don't know who you are, but I sure do appreciate you stopping by from time to time.  While I'm currently running about 150 hits per day, it's nice to see the recurring appearance of "Council Bluffs, Iowa" on the little 'Mappie-Thingie' over there to the right of the screen.

I've never been there, but I used to work for a company based out of Cedar Falls, Iowa. Actually got to visit there for training back in the 1980's (when I could run faster and jump higher). Nice area, even nicer people - we could use more folks from Iowa over here in New York State (although that would be cruel and unusual to the folks from Iowa...).

That's it for now, lunch is over, and I need to be back off to work.

Have a great weekend!

Mike (A.K.A.: Moos)

A Lesson In Physics (The Doctrine of Universal Permeation)

2012-01-19T16:40:00.002-05:00

Everything which exists is at once capable of acting and being acted upon. In everything that exists, therefore, even the smallest particle, there are these two principles. By virtue of the passive principle the thing is susceptible of motion and modification; it is matter which determines substance.

The active principle makes the matter a given determinate thing, characterizing and qualifying it, whence it is termed quality. For all that is or happens there is an immediate cause or antecedent; and as cause means cause of motion, and only body can act upon body, it follows that this antecedent cause is itself as truly corporeal as the matter upon which it acts.

Thus we are led to regard the active principle force as everywhere coextensive with matter, as pervading and permeating it, and together with it occupying and filling space.

This is that famous doctrine of universal permeation, by which the axiom that two bodies cannot occupy the same space is practically denied.

Got that???

Okay, if 'two bodies cannot occupy the same space'...

How do theoreticians explain the fact that President Obama AND Goofy are BOTH at Disney World today?

Hmmmmmm?

Just wondering...

Mission Accomplished?

2012-01-15T20:32:00.003-05:00

Remember when Leaders of Major Political Parties didn't encourage citizens to 'occupy' property, to prevent people from going to work, or to damage private / public property?

Yeah, me neither. I can't remember this far back.

We've come so very far in the past three years.

Let's step back and take an admiring look at all we've accomplished...

According to PEW Research, January 11, 2012:

The Occupy Wall Street movement no longer occupies Wall Street, but the issue of class conflict has captured a growing share of the national consciousness. A new Pew Research Center survey of 2,048 adults finds that about two-thirds of the public (66%) believes there are “very strong” or “strong” conflicts between the rich and the poor—an increase of 19 percentage points since 2009.

Source: Pew Research Poll

Not only have perceptions of class conflict grown more prevalent; so, too, has the belief that these disputes are intense. According to the new survey, three-in-ten Americans (30%) say there are “very strong conflicts” between poor people and rich people. That is double the proportion that offered a similar view in July 2009 and the largest share expressing this opinion since the question was first asked in 1987.

...

The biggest increases in perceptions of class conflicts occurred among political liberals and Americans who say they are not affiliated with either major party. In each group the proportion who say there are major disagreements between rich and poor Americans increased by more than 20 percentage points since 2009.

While the survey results show a significant shift in public perceptions of class conflict in American life, they do not necessarily signal an increase in grievances toward the wealthy. It is possible that individuals who see more conflict between the classes think that anger toward the rich is misdirected. Nor do these data suggest growing support for government measures to reduce income inequality.

In fact, other questions in the survey show that some key attitudes toward the wealthy have remained largely unchanged. For example, there has been no change in views about whether the rich became wealthy through personal effort or because they were fortunate enough to be from wealthy families or have the right connections.

A 46% plurality believes that most rich people “are wealthy mainly because they know the right people or were born into wealthy families.” But nearly as many have a more favorable view of the rich: 43% say wealthy people became rich “mainly because of their own hard work, ambition or education,” largely unchanged from a Pew survey in 2008.

The interesting thing about this survey is that in spite of President Obama's, Vice-President Joe Biden's, and former Speaker Of the House Pelosi's coordinated attacks on Capitalism and the Free Enterprise System... Americans are aware that people are wealthier than others - but they don't BLAME them any MORE for their wealth in 2011 than they did in 2009.

I guess we live in interesting times when a polling organization feels the need to determine if we HATE successful people more now than we did previously. In spite of the best efforts of of US Politicians, Occupy Wall Street, Unions, Communist Party USA, and USA Nazi Party members, awareness of the concern has increased, but the anger, the vitriol, the 'hoped for' violence has not happened.

This is most likely attributed to one of two things:

Democrat Party leadership legislation has tainted its message of 'Hope and Change' to the down-trodden, tired, and otherwise 'financially beaten-up' citizens of America. You can TELL people that you're 'for them' but if you create policies to the contrary, well, most people are going catch on sooner, vs. later.
Or, much to the dismay of Progressive folks in places of power, Americans still believe in the American Dream. Somehow, in spite of 50+ years of Progressives running educational institutions teaching children how "Evil America is", the dream, against all odds - survives.

I don't know which situation applies, perhaps it is a combination of both. The American Dream can not survive if American workers, businesses, and foreign investors fear America is destined for a 99 64/100% chance of bankruptcy. We, of course, became 'morally bankrupt' YEARS ago, but why beat a dead horse? The bad news is that it wastes you time, the good news is that the horse doesn't really seem to mind it so much...

All I do know is that hearing the President ask for an additional $1.2 TRILLION to keep the government running past the 2012 elections (better sweep this under the rug NOW, lest it become an uncomfortable Election Issue), I'm thinking we should be done kicking the problem down the street.

Better yet, perhaps we should get OFF the street we're currently on?

The Congress and White House have increased our National Debt by 43% in the first three years of the Obama Presidency. I heard this particular bit of news from CBS (yes, Bob said it best, "the Times they are a-Changin")...

The debt was $10.626 trillion on the day Mr. Obama took office. The latest calculation from Treasury shows the debt has now hit $14.639 trillion.

It's the most rapid increase in the debt under any U.S. president.

The national debt increased $4.9 trillion during the eight-year presidency of George W. Bush. The debt now is rising at a pace to surpass that amount during Mr. Obama's four-year term.    Source: CBS News


'Spending yourself' into prosperity hasn't worked EVER in the history of mankind - despite what Paul Krugman over at the New York Times says.

I know this to be true as I've spent more than I've earned for YEARS.  If spending your way to prosperity worked, I'd own Rhode Island. Only problem with owning Rhode Island? As it turns out, it's NOT actually an island.  Don't believe me, look it up! Dang, that ain't right...

On second thought, I've got to spend MUCH more money so I can buy Manhattan. I'm pretty sure that it IS an island, but unfortunately, I think it'll be big-time expensive. I'd better spend a LOT of money soon, 'cause with all that Global Climate Change going on, Manhattan's gonna be a reef within the next ten years.

Man, I just can't get a break... Anybody know how much mountain ranges are going for - I may need to set my sights a bit higher.

"See ya flatlanders..."

Up... Chuck!

2012-01-11T17:47:00.002-05:00

Okay, I'm not cool any more (I'm not sure if I EVER was, but I'll leave this for my kids to determine). I don't pick up on trends, fads, or fashions since they aren't really that important to me. I do not read 'People', 'Us', 'Time', 'Cosmopolitan', or, hard as it is to believe, the 'National Enquirer'.

I have an unhealthy distrust for 'all things Hollywood' as I believe that actors who read lines which are written for them are, in general, not to be trusted when speaking about anything affecting national security, presidential politics, or scientific matters. (Matt Damon springs to mind...)

It has recently come to my attention however that there is ONE man who is different. His name? "Chuck Norris"

I learned much about Chuck Norris earlier this year while shopping at Kohl's for clothing for my boys. I hadn't seen Chuck Norris in years (except hawking that multi-purpose Power Gym). I thought Chuck's celebrity career ended when "Walker, Texas Ranger" did. But there I was at Kohl's, looking at Chuck Norris' face plastered on T-Shirts everywhere, and accompanied by 'manly' expressions regarding the amount of 'manliness' embodied in a single man, yes, THE man -- Chuck Norris. Man, oh man...

I had no idea of the phenomena I almost missed. In case you've been living in a cave also, check out the following (so you'll be 'cool' enough for your kids to be seen with):

TOP CHUCK NORRIS FACTS:

Chuck Norris counted to infinity - twice.

Chuck Norris does not hunt because the word hunting infers the probability of failure. Chuck Norris goes killing.

If you can see Chuck Norris, he can see you. If you can't see Chuck Norris you may be only seconds away from death.

When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.

Chuck Norris has already been to Mars; that's why there are no signs of life there.

There is no chin behind Chuck Norris' beard. There is only another fist.

The chief export of Chuck Norris is pain.

Chuck Norris is currently suing NBC, claiming 'Law' and 'Order' are trademarked names for his left and right legs.

Chuck Norris once commented, "There are few problems in this world that cannot be solved by a swift roundhouse kick to the face. In fact, there are none."

Chuck Norris kicked Neo out of Zion , now Neo is "The Two"

Chuck Norris knows where Carmen Sandiego is.

China was once bordering the United States, until Chuck Norris roundhouse kicked it all the way through the Earth.

If you have five dollars and Chuck Norris has five dollars, Chuck Norris has more money than you.

When Chuck Norris had surgery, anesthesia was applied to the doctors.

Chuck Norris once broke the land speed record on a bicycle that was missing its chain and the back tire.

Chuck Norris once tried to wear glasses. The result was him seeing around the world to the point where he was looking at the back of his own head.

Chuck Norris sleeps with a night light. Not because Chuck Norris is afraid of the dark, but the dark is afraid of Chuck Norris.

Chuck Norris can touch MC Hammer.

Chuck Norris ordered a Big Mac at Burger King, and got one.

A Handicap parking sign does not signify that this spot is for handicapped people. It is actually in fact a warning, that the spot belongs to Chuck Norris and that you will be handicapped if you park there.

Chuck Norris frequently donates blood to the Red Cross. Just never his own.

There is no such thing as tornados. Chuck Norris hates trailer parks.

Chuck Norris never cries, because of this when he's sad he roundhouse kicks himself and it makes him feel better since he knows he is the only one who can survive the roundhouse.

When asked what type of vehicle he drives, Chuck Norris responded slyly with "Don't you mean what kind of vehicle drives me?"

Although it is not common knowledge, there are actually three sides to the Force: the light side, the dark side, and the 'Chuck Norris'.

Chuck Norris is why Waldo hides.

And just in case you wanted to prove the strength of your 'kitchen appliance'; the ultimate test MUST be: the 'Chuck Norris Will It Blend' Test:

I've got to go work on my abs now (a.k.a.: the snack machine calls to me once more...)

Before I sign off, in case you're wondering, I now own two Chuck Norris T-Shirts, although mine are X-Large (unlike Chuck's).

His size would probably be called, simply, 'Chuck Norris'.

One size does NOT fit all.

Ain't that the truth?

Through the Looking Glass...

2012-01-09T17:10:00.005-05:00

Cheshire Cat: If I were looking for a white rabbit, I'd ask the Mad Hatter.

Alice: The Mad Hatter? Oh, no no no...

Cheshire Cat: Or, you could ask the March Hare, in that direction.

Alice: Oh, thank you. I think I'll see him...

Cheshire Cat: Of course, he's mad, too.

Alice: But I don't want to go among mad people.

Cheshire Cat: Oh, you can't help that. Most everyone's mad here.
[laughs maniacally; starts to disappear]

Cheshire Cat: You may have noticed that I'm not all there myself.

"Most everyone's mad here..." (Ain't THIS the truth?)

I didn't plan on posting anything today after running a marathon chasing Margaret Sanger's 'in context' quotes for this morning's earlier entry, but sometimes, life throws you the oft-unexpected 'curve'.

By the pricking of my thumbs, something 'curvy' this way comes...

Reported last night online at The Telegraph:

The White House covered up an Alice in Wonderland-themed Halloween party staged by film director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp for fear of creating the wrong impression during a recession, a new book on the Obamas has claimed.

Depp greeted guests in the costume he had worn in a film version of the Lewis Carroll story released around the same time by Burton, who was given carte blanche to transform the state dining room into a Mad Hatter's tea party in "his signature creepy-comic style".
A long table was "set with antique-looking linens, enormous stuffed animals in chairs, and tiered serving plates with treats like bone-shaped meringue cookies", writes New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor in The Obamas, which is released on Tuesday. Fruit punch was served in blood vials at the bar, she adds.

...

The White House press corps was allowed to report on more modest festivities earlier that day for Washington-area school children, but did not release details of the more glamorous festivities that occurred later for what was the Obamas' first Halloween in office in 2009.

Okay, a couple of things which do NOT bother me about the White House Halloween Party 2009:

If this was a BIG deal back in 2009 we should have talked about it THEN. Last time I looked, it was 2010, oops, make that 2012. Personally, I don't care any more. Over the past several years I've become numb to goofy, misguided, tacky, and inappropriate actions taken by the Obama Administration.
Plus, putting things in context; in 2009 we were still waiting for the 'Hopee / Changee' magic to kick in. I don't think it would have been a huge story back THEN, let alone coverage of this because of a book published in 2012? No, I don't give a flip.
When I first read this report, I thought it was a scam. Why? Because it was just too perfect. The story detail above includes: "The cover-up!", "Silencing of the Press Corpse" (yes, this is a joke - if you get it, just chuckle quietly along with me), "Movie Stars!", "Chewbacca!", "Johnny Depp", and lastly, "Michelle Obama" dressed as some kind of "Leopard Woman".
Seriously, can Halloween 2009 in the White House get any MORE stereotypical than the above?

Is the story being touted on the Telegraph online 'Historically Accurate'? I don't know. I don't care. I fear we have greater issues facing our nation than how the Obama White House celebrated Halloween in 2009.

Things in 2012 which, at a glance, are TRULY scary:

A nuclear Iran
A $15+ TRILLION National Debt
15% of All Americans are on Food Stamps (Another Record!)
Second-Hand 'Snoring' may be killing my wife
It'll cost me $50,000 to clone "Good Dog Kelly"

Bottom line is, whether the Obama family and staff recreated the entire "Alice in Wonderland" set, or not, in the People's House? I don't care.

If these same folks want to dress up like the "Bevery Hillbillies" and jump up and down in Jethro Bodine's "Cee-ment Pond" - again, I do not care.

So then the question remains: What should I care about?

Oh, I dunno, I guess I have a general sense of unease about the Nation my / your kids will inherit.

I worry that the declining size of the Nation's workforce will be unable to provide for 'Seasoned Citizens' who have the audacity to live longer than their parents did. And since no one is actually attempting to FIX Social Security or Medicare, things will only get worse for the folks who handed over the keys to the Nation to us. We, of course, have managed to find every tree along the roadway to drive into.

I fear that ObamaCare will be the "OnRamp" to the Complete Lives' System, as seen through the eyes of Ezekial Emanuel, the guy who worked behind the scenes to take-over an additional one-sixth of the US economy for the President.

I worry that we have become a Godless Nation whose only claim to fame is that we were 'once great'.

Many of you may have the same concerns I do. Others, I fear, stand on the other side of Alice's Looking Glass and see no more than their own reflection.

I look through the glass. As I write this - I do not like what I see.

If only it were 'just a Hollywood movie'; it would be over in a couple of hours, but we have MONTHS to go. And we'd better not fall asleep again. Once you're through the glass, getting back is hard. Just ask Alice.

Meet Maggie!!!

2012-01-07T13:19:00.001-05:00

Aw, come on, knock it off! You KNOW what I asked for!!!

So I sent my crack team from the MoosRoom to get a very specific image online and they come back with...

A cartoon image of Maggie Simpson.

Super, thanks guys...

Honestly, if I PAID them anything, I'd want the money back; assuming, of course, they could remember where they put it...

Well, if you want something done, you'd better do it yourself.

Never send a calf to do a cow's job.

Hold on, I'll be right back.

Holding...

Holding...

Holding...

Here we are - here's our girl now!

Margaret Sanger - Founder of Planned Parenthood with excerpts from: "Woman in the New Race", published, 1920

Infanticide did not go out of fashion with the advance from savagery to barbarism and civilization. Rather, it became, as in Greece and Rome, a recognized custom with advocates among leaders of thought and action. So did abortion, which some authorities regard as a development springing from infanticide and tending to supersede it as a means of getting rid of undesired children. 17

As progress is made toward civilization, infanticide, then, actually increased. This tendency was noted by Westermarck, who also calls attention to the conclusions of Fison and Howitt (in Kamilaroi and Kurnai). “Mr Fison who has lived for a long time among uncivilized races,” says Westermarck, “thinks it will be found that infanticide is far less common among the lower savages than among the more advanced tribes.”

SOURCE: Women's Struggle for Freedom

...

What material is there for a greater American race? What elements make up our present millions? Where do they live? How do they live? In what direction does our national civilization bend their ideals? What is the effect of the “melting pot” upon the foreigner, once he begins to “melt”? Are we now producing a freer, juster, more intelligent, more idealistic, creative people out of the varied ingredients here?

Before we can answer these questions, we must consider briefly the races which have contributed to American population.

Among our more than 100,000,000 population are Negroes, Indians, Chinese and other colored people to the number of 11,000,000. There are also 14,500,000 persons of foreign birth. Besides these there are 14,000,000 children of foreign-born parents and 6,500,000 persons whose fathers or mothers were born on foreign soil, making a total of 46,000,000 people of foreign stock. Fifty per cent of our population is of the native white strain.

Source: The Materials of the New Race

...

Women who have a knowledge of contraceptives are not compelled to make the choice between a maternal experience and a marred love life; they are not forced to balance motherhood against social and spiritual activities. Motherhood is for them to choose, as it should be for every woman to choose. Choosing to become mothers, they do not thereby shut themselves away from thorough companionship with their husbands, from friends, from culture, from all those manifold experiences which are necessary to the completeness and the joy of life. 16

Fit mothers of the race are these, the courted comrades of the men they choose, rather than the “slaves of slaves.” For theirs is the magic power—the power of limiting their families to such numbers as will permit them to live full-rounded lives. Such lives are the expression of the feminine spirit which is woman and all of her—not merely art, nor professional skill, nor intellect; but all that woman is, or may achieve.

Source: Two Classes of Women

...

The woman of the workers knows what society does with her offspring. Knowing the bitter truth, learned in unspeakable anguish, what shall this woman say to society? The power is in her hands. She can bring forth more children to perpetuate these conditions, or she can withhold the human grist from these cruel mills which grind only disaster. 15

Shall she say to society that she will go on multiplying the misery that she herself has endured? Shall she go on breeding children who can only suffer and die? Rather, shall she not say that until society puts a higher value upon motherhood she will not be a mother? Shall she not sacrifice her mother instincts for the common good and say that until children are held as something better than commodities upon the labor market, she will bear no more? Shall she not give up her desire for even a small family, and say to society that until the world is made fit for children to live in, she will have no children at all?
SOURCE: When Should a Woman Avoid Having Children

...

LABOR seems instinctively to have recognized the fact that its servitude springs from numbers. Seldom, however, has it applied its knowledge logically and thoroughly. The basic principle of craft unionism is limitation of the number of workers in a given trade. This has been labor’s most frequent expedient for righting its wrongs. Every unionist knows, as a matter of course, that if that number is kept small enough, his organization can compel increases of wages, steady employment and decent working conditions. Craft unionism has succeeded in attaining these insofar as it has been able to apply this principle. It has failed insofar as it has been unable to apply it.   1

The weakness of craft unionism is that it does not carry its principle far enough. It applies its policy of limitation of numbers only to the trade. In his home, the worker, whether he is a unionist or non-unionist, goes on producing large numbers of children to compete with him eventually in the labor market.

Even with the temporary advantages gained by the wiping out of millions of workers in the Great War, labor’s problem remains unsolved. It has now, as always, to contend with the crop of young laborers coming into the market, and with the ever-present “labor-saving” machine which, instead of relieving the worker’s situation, makes it all the harder for him to escape. Fewer laborers are needed to-day for a given amount of production and distribution than before the invention of these machines. Yet, owing to the increase in the number of the workers, labor finds itself enslaved instead of liberated by the machine.

SOURCE: Will Birth Control Help the Cause of Labor?

...

This is the dawn. Womanhood shakes off its bondage. It asserts its right to be free. In its freedom, its thoughts turn to the race. Like begets like. We gather perfect fruit from perfect trees. The race is but the amplification of its mother body, the multiplication of flesh habitations—beautified and perfected for souls akin to the mother soul.   16

The relentless efforts of reactionary authority to suppress the message of birth control and of voluntary motherhood are futile. The powers of reaction cannot now prevent the feminine spirit from breaking its bonds. When the last fetter falls the evils that have resulted from the suppression of woman’s will to freedom will pass. Child slavery, prostitution, feeblemindedness, physical deterioration, hunger, oppression and war will disappear from the earth. 17

In their subjection women have not been brave enough, strong enough, pure enough to bring forth great sons and daughters. Abused soil brings forth stunted growths. An abused motherhood has brought forth a low order of humanity. Great beings come forth at the call of high desire. Fearless motherhood goes out in love and passion for justice to all mankind. It brings forth fruits after its own kind. When the womb becomes fruitful through the desire of an aspiring love, another Newton will come forth to unlock further the secrets of the earth and the stars. There will come a Plato who will be understood, a Socrates who will drink no hemlock, and a Jesus who will not die upon the cross. These and the race that is to be in America await upon a motherhood that is to be sacred because it is free.
SOURCE: The Goal

Seriously, where to begin?

Perhaps a shower? Not now, I've got to get this particular chore done.

Margaret Sanger subscribed to the principles of Eugenics. What are Eugenics Principles?

Spending a moment with Dictionary.com we find the following:

eugenics (yjĕn`ĭks), study of human genetics genetics, and of methods to improve the inherited characteristics, physical and mental, of the human race. Efforts to improve the human race through bettering housing facilities and other environmental conditions are known as euthenics.

Sir Francis Galton Galton, Sir Francis , 1822–1911, English scientist, founder of eugenics; cousin of Charles Darwin. He turned from exploration and meteorology (where he introduced the theory of the anticyclone) to the study of heredity and eugenics (a term that he coined). Galton introduced the term eugenics, is usually regarded as the founder of the modern science of eugenics; his emphasis was on the role of factors under social control that could either improve or impair the qualities of future generations.

Modern eugenics is directed chiefly toward the discouragement of propagation among the unfit (negative eugenics) and encouragement of propagation among those who are healthy, intelligent, and of high moral character (positive eugenics). Such a program involves many difficulties, especially that of defining which traits are most desirable.

The first half of the 20th cent. saw extreme coercive application of such principles by governments ranging from miscegenation laws and enforced sterilization of the insane in the United States and other nations to the Holocaust, the name given to the period of persecution and extermination of European Jews by Nazi Germany. Although anti-Semitism in Europe has a long history, persecution of German Jews began with Hitler's rise to power in 1933.

Regulated eugenics continues in some parts of the world; China enacted restrictions on marriages involving persons with certain disabilities and diseases in 1994.

Margaret Sanger, the Founder of Planned Parenthood, believed that if you control the reproductive capabilities of the people who were having children, you could control the very FUTURE. In her Progressive Utopian view, only the best, and brightest parents would pro-create, giving rise to future generations chocked full of Platos, Newtons, Socrates, and Jesus.

POINT OF CLARIFICATION:  I'm sorry, but after almost 100 YEARS of Planned Parenthood, I'm not seeing a whole lot of well-meaning Geniuses running around making our Nation a 'better place'.

Might this Utopian 'disconnect' indicate that Margaret Sanger was, in the best case scenario, mis-guided, or at worst, a Racist-Idiot bent upon the extermination of what Hitler (another Eugenics-guy) later referred to as 'sub-Humans'?  Adolph should have checked HIS DNA prior to building those ovens of his (LINK).

"Now seating, table for one, Mr. Hitler, table for one?"

Margaret was a Progressive Elitist Big-Brained type who, "As any enlightened person will know", (she used this phrase a LOT in her writings) also happened to be a moron.

This does not, however, explain why our government continues to fund roughly $500 MILLION per year to HER progeny, Planned Parenthood. Why would the US Government continue to pour money into an organization whose Mother was Racism, and whose Father was Arrogance?

I've got a single-fingered salute saved for Ms. Sanger. It's a shame she'll never see me give it to her. I'm thinking there's another guy who's been having tea with her on a regular basis in a fiery, smelly, and 24x7 scary place.

Heil Hitler - Heil Sanger - Heil Progressives!

"What the heck am I pointing to? How do I 'Heil myself?
Do you like my gloves? They are made from Russians."

Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, Progressives, Liberals deciding who 'deserves' to live and who 'ought to' die? And paying for these decisions with my / our tax dollars?

Not just 'NO'.

Oh, Heil No!

Death Merchants vs. Disney World!!! (A Choice)

2012-01-06T07:55:00.006-05:00

The above photo was 'borrowed' from the site, "Black Women for Wellness.org"
Anyone want to hazard a guess as to what's wrong with this picture???

I stayed away away from today's topic for a long time. I didn't want to go here. But some things are better 'out' than 'in', I guess...

Okay, time to let it out.

I read last night that Planned Parenthood Federation of America received $ 487.4 MILLION from the Federal Government 'grants and funding' for the fiscal year ending June 2010. Approximately 90% of this$ 487.4 MILLION in funding was paid out via Medicaid.

The source of our Federal Government's funding, of course, is you.

Questions spring to mind:

What services are the Feds buying from Planned Parenthood Federation of America (a.k.a.: PPFA)?
What are the 'buying patterns' of the Feds on our behalf?
How many lives were 'created or saved' by the sterling efforts of PPFA?
What core tenents drive Planned Parenthood? (Another post for another day)

Quickly turning to the MicroSoft Excel Program for the 'Higher Math' aspects of this post...

SOURCE: Planned Parenthood Annual Reports and PPFA Fact Sheets

Okay, let's now look at how efficiently our Federal Government is purchasing the 'snuffs' on our behalf:

As any one can PLAINLY see, it costs almost 50% MORE in 2010 to murder the 'average unborn' in 2010 than it did in 2009 (based upon Federal Investments in Planned Parenthood during the most-recent reported period).

When investing MY money, I want results AT LEAST consistent with 'past performance'. I know it's hard to invest in an Obama economy, but social engineering is the ONE place I thought my investment would be relatively safe.

However, in this instance, given the Federal investment level in 2010 of $487.4 MILLION, I would have expected at minimum:

$ 487,400,000 / 1,095 = 445,257.1 confirmed KILLs

(2010 Spending / 2009 'Kill Cost' = 2010's projected cost per kill)

This is yet another example of how inefficient, and unaccountable Federal Funding is.

If past trends continue throughout Fiscal 2011, it COULD cost as much as $2,218.01 per abortion ($1,479 x 1.5 = $2,218.01).

This is completely unacceptable! We cannot continue to spend THIS kind of money while getting continually diminished returns.

I do, however, have a suggestion which will instill 'Fairness' and cost-efficiencies back into our Federal Funding of Planned Parenthood.

Here's the idea:

(It's a BIG idea as indicated by the size of the print)

First, allocate Fiscal Year 2010's $1,479 'cost per abortion' back to the expectant-but-I-really-want-an-abortion-Mother as follows:

Fly the mother wishing to abort to Disney World for three days (all expenses paid!)
Provide her meals, lodging, and a three-day park hopper pass (you've got almost $ 1,500 to play with, after all)
Encourage her to ride Space Mountain

Second, at the end of the three days of viewing happy, whole, and loved children, perhaps the 'Mom' will re-think her decision to abort her unborn child and either keep said child, or offer the child up for adoption to parents who want to share their lives with a child.

Third (this is where the 'Fairness' comes in), if, at the end of three days the mother hasn't had a miscarriage from all the 'bumping around' on Space Mountain, she has a pretty good idea that God wants her to keep this child.

Fourth, SHE, with a little of God's help, gets to make the decision without the nice folks at PPFA giving her THEIR completely unbiased advice.

Do I actually subscribe to the ideas above? No, I don't. However, I allowed myself to spend a few moments channeling my 'Inner Liberal'...

It is the 'Fair' thing to do, after all.

Another interesting (yet unhappy) statistic from current funding of Planned Parenthood as it pertains to Adoption Referrals:

According to PPFA’s annual report for fiscal year 2007-2008, in 2007 Planned Parenthood’s “adoption referrals to other agencies” totaled 4,912.

In Fiscal Year 2010 that number was 841, a decrease of 82.8 percent.

All things considered, my lunatic idea above does sound a 'bit more fair' doesn't it? At least sending the Mom to Disney MIGHT give the kid a fighting chance. (As long as she doesn't do the Runaway Train ride - that thing nearly killed ME.)

The thing about crazy ideas is that sometimes they don't look so 'nuts' when surrounded by other 'more lunatic' ideas which have set the bar so very, very high for 'goofiness'...

Oh, I KNOW that Planned Parenthood does things OTHER than JUST kill the unborn - it's not like I live in a barn, or something - get a grip!

However, the things which most people DON'T know about Planned Parenthood?

Yeah, they'll keep you up at night.

Next week. Aloha.

Have a nice weekend folks,

Moo

Meet the 2012 Fisker Karma!

2012-01-02T07:37:00.003-05:00

The All New 2012 Fisker Karma!

Please, I need a moment. A moment alone.

A moment of 'ME' time so that I might continue to gaze lustily at the Fisker Karma above. Seriously, as I gaze upon this limited-production electric sex-mobile, I wonder -- can it get any better than this?

Look at the great lines, the low profile, the sneering mustachioed front end (must be Italian?), and, dare I say it? The awesome rubber. The hybrid Fisker Karma screams, "Take me! Take me now!!!" to the unsuspecting automotive ogler passing by.

She's pretty, she's expensive, and she's waiting; waiting, for someone JUST like you! Hold on, am I describing a car, or a prostitute, or, something worse, both???

In reality both, and there's only one (or two, or three, or four, ah, seven) itsy-bitsy problems with this can-be-had-for-cash-bad-Karma-mobile:

MSRP on this Hybrid is $ 103,000
It weighs over 5,800 pounds (same as a Ford Expedition)
In gas-only mode it gets 20 MPG
In all-electric mode it gets 56 MPG-e (for 32 miles worth of charge)
Fisker received $529 Million in Taxpayer Dollars (because of its 'greeness')
All Fisker Karmas are being built, right here, in... Finland (last I checked, this was not a US Territory, so, um, why did they get $529 MILLION of our money?)
And, lastly (and this is a BIG ONE), as of December 30, 2011, Fisker is recalling all of the 239 Karmas, because of the risk of Fire ("Holy Chevrolet Volt, Batman!!! They've done it again!")

As found on New York Times Online: Fisker Automotive is recalling all 239 of its 2012 Karma luxury plug-in hybrid cars because of a fire hazard, according to a report filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Prices on the 2012 model start at $103,000, including the destination charge.

In a report filed recently on the agency’s Web site, Fisker said some hose clamps were not properly positioned, which could allow a coolant leak. “If coolant enters the battery compartment an electrical short could possibly occur, causing a thermal event within the battery, including a possible fire in the worse case,” the company told the safety agency.

Fisker said the problem was discovered on Dec. 16, when workers at the Valmet Automotive assembly plant in Finland noticed coolant dripping. Fisker said it was not aware of any consumer complaints, warranty claims or “any other reports related to this condition.” It said fewer than 50 vehicles were in the hands of consumers.

Then, from DailyTech Online: The official EPA numbers came out recently for the Fisker Karma and they were much, much lower than many expected. The EPA rated the Karma at a scant 20 mpg on gasoline. Considering the car was supposed to be a green hybrid, it's rating is disappointing, especially when you think that other hybrids of the size can achieve much better numbers. The all-electric (battery) range is rated at 32 miles for a combined 56 mpg-e.

If you were wondering why a car with a hybrid power plant was rated so low on gasoline power, it’s due to the massive weight of the Karma. The Karma has a curb weight of 5,300 pounds. Most of the weight is due to the heavy and expensive lithium-ion battery pack that motivates the Karma in electric mode.

With the low economy rating of the Karma and the fact that Fisker was one of the green firms that was loaned $529 million in federal funds, some are afraid it will be the next Solyndra. Solyndra is the solar firm that went under after receiving Federal funds for operation. While the EPA thinks its numbers for the Karma are accurate, Henrik Fisker thinks that drivers will see a better driving range.

So once again, the Federal Government places its bets on yet another manufacturer of a technology which it wants to see as a 'Winner' in the marketplace. Free Markets are sooooo over-rated.

The only problem is, of course: The Feds spend OUR money on THEIR 'hunches' (or other progressive 'feel good' projects).

Why is this so? Why do the FEW (1%) continue to take from the MANY (99%)? (Sorry, had to go there...) Let's go straight to the man in charge of determining Economic Outcomes in the United States of America, Mr. George Soros...

Oops, this of course, would be President Barack Obama. When asked about the whole 'Solyndra' thing, President Obama responded (October 3rd, 2011): "the loan guarantee program is important to developing clean-energy technologies and demonstrating that that U.S. can be an exporter of manufactured goods, rather than only an importer."

[Moos Note: But by selecting to invest in Finland's Fisker, isn't the President banking on the U.S. to be an 'importer' of these manufactured goods, rather than an 'exporter'?]

"If you look at the overall portfolio of loan guarantees that have been provided, overall it's doing well," Obama said. "What we always understood is that not every single business is going to succeed in clean energy. But if we want to compete with China which is pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into this space, if we want to compete with other countries that are heavily subsidizing the industries of the future, we have to make sure that our guys here in the United states of America at least have a shot.

[Moos Note: Well, as long as China is 'pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into this space'... Cool! We should too, right? Hey, wait a minute, don't WE borrow a LOT of money from the Chinese? So, we borrow money from China to keep up with the, um, investments, of China? That's like spending more money to keep from going bankrupt - yes, we've done this too...]

Now there are going to be some failures, and Solyndra is an example." - President Barack Obama, October 3, 2011.

Great, this clears it all up for me! The President acknowledges that there will be failures, and as long as he's not personally paying for them... We, as a Nation, are pretty much Good-to-Go!

It seems extremely odd that so many of the ventures this Administration has invested in have 'gone up in flames' (either financially, or, quite 'literally'). Re-visit the Chevy Volt discussion linked above for more detail here.

I do, however, take comfort knowing that this President wants an additional four years to select the winners and losers in the technology sectors which HE feels 'good' about, as this permits an advantage to US.

Here's the premise: If he could tell us in advance of a company receiving their Federal welfare check, we will have the opportunity to invest in the firm, then sell out nine months later, prior to their going belly up? Shoot, the folks in Congress have been doing this legally for years - how about giving us kids a chance to beef up our 401Ks for the next four years or so?

I hear lots of talk about 'Fairness' coming out of DC, but I wonder, when will we (99%) benefit from the Beneficence of the People's House?

Since when is 'Fairness' a single-sided equation?

Dim Bulbs... a.k.a.: Fear and Loathing in DC (& AC)

2011-12-30T18:01:00.002-05:00

How to change a broken light bulb, as envisioned by Thomas A. Edison:

Turn off electricity to fixture housing broken bult to prevent an inadvertent flow of electrical current into your body,
Firmly grasp base of bulb with one hand and begin turning said base counter-clockwise until bulb is removed from fixture while holding fixture 'neck' with your other hand,
Remove bulb, wrap broken bulb in newspaper, carefully pick up, or sweep any glass fragments from the floor, and deposit bulb and shards into nearest trash receptacle.
To install new bulb, reverse the order and direction of Step 2 and reinsert new, unbroken bulb into fixture
Enjoy modern electrical convenience of 'incandescent light' in your home for pennies a day
Have an icy cold amber-colored beverage to celebrate your resourcefulness!

How to change a broken light bulb, as mandated by your Democratically-led Congress, as legislated in 2007, effective January 2012:
(You'll want to keep this simple-to-follow set of guidelines handy for when you break your FIRST CFL light bulb!)

SOURCE: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency January 25, 2011

What to Do if a Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) Bulb or Fluorescent Tube Light Bulb Breaks in Your Home

Fluorescent light bulbs contain a small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing. When a fluorescent bulb breaks in your home, some of this mercury is released as mercury vapor. The broken bulb can continue to release mercury vapor until it is cleaned up and removed from the residence.

To minimize exposure to mercury vapor, EPA recommends that residents follow the cleanup and disposal steps described below. This cleanup guidance represents the minimum actions recommended to clean up a broken CFL, and will be updated as EPA identifies more effective cleanup practices.

Before Cleanup

Have people and pets leave the room, and avoid the breakage area on the way out.
Open a window or door to the outdoors and leave the room for 5‐10 minutes.
Shut off the central forced‐air heating/air conditioning (H&AC) system, if you have one.
Collect materials you will need to clean up the broken bulb:
Stiff paper or cardboard
Sticky tape (e.g., duct tape)
Damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes (for hard surfaces)
Glass jar with a metal lid (such as a canning jar) or a sealable plastic bag(s)

CLEANUP AND DISPOSAL OVERVIEW
The most important steps to reduce exposure to mercury vapor from a broken bulb are:

1. Before cleanup

a. Have people and pets leave the room.
b. Air out the room for 5‐10 minutes by opening a window or door to the outdoor environment.
c. Shut off the central forced air heating/air conditioning system, if you have one.
d. Collect materials needed to clean up broken bulb.

2. During cleanup

a. Be thorough in collecting broken glass and visible powder.
b. Place cleanup materials in a sealable container.

3. After cleanup

Promptly place all bulb debris and cleanup materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area until materials can be disposed of properly. Avoid leaving any bulb fragments or cleanup materials indoors.
If practical, continue to air out the room where the bulb was broken and leave the heating/air conditioning system shut off for several hours.

Cleanup Steps for Hard Surfaces

Carefully scoop up glass fragments and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place debris and paper/cardboard in a glass jar with a metal lid. If a glass jar is not available, use a sealable plastic bag.(NOTE: Since a plastic bag will not prevent the mercury vapor from escaping, remove the plastic bag(s) from the home after cleanup.)
Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder. Place the used tape in the glass jar or plastic bag.
Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place the towels in the glass jar or plastic bag.
Vacuuming of hard surfaces during cleanup is not recommended unless broken glass remains after all other cleanup steps have been taken. [NOTE: It is possible that vacuuming could spread mercury containing powder or mercury vapor, although available information on this problem is limited.]
If vacuuming is needed to ensure removal of all broken glass, keep the following tips in mind:
Keep a window or door to the outdoors open;
Vacuum the area where the bulb was broken using the vacuum hose, if available; and
Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister) and seal the bag/vacuum debris, and any materials used to clean the vacuum, in a plastic bag.
Promptly place all bulb debris and cleanup materials, including vacuum cleaner bags, outdoors in a trash container or protected area until materials can be disposed of properly.
Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your area. Some states and communities require fluorescent bulbs (broken or unbroken) be taken to a local recycling center.
Wash your hands with soap and water after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing bulb debris and cleanup materials.
Continue to air out the room where the bulb was broken and leave the H&AC system shut off, as practical, for several hours.

Cleanup Steps for Carpeting or Rugs

Carefully scoop up glass fragments and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place debris and paper/cardboard in a glass jar with a metal lid. If a glass jar is not available, use a sealable plastic bag. (NOTE: Since a plastic bag will not prevent the mercury vapor from escaping, remove the plastic bag(s) from the home after cleanup.)
Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder. Place the used tape in the glass jar or plastic bag.
Vacuuming of carpeting or rugs during cleanup is not recommended unless broken glass remains after all other cleanup steps have been taken. [NOTE: It is possible that vacuuming could spread mercurycontaining powder or mercury vapor, although available information on this problem is limited.]
If vacuuming is needed to ensure removal of all broken glass, keep the following tips in mind:
Keep a window or door to the outdoors open;
Vacuum the area where the bulb was broken using the vacuum hose, if available, and
Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister) and seal the bag/vacuum debris, and any materials used to clean the vacuum, in a plastic bag.
Promptly place all bulb debris and cleanup materials, including vacuum cleaner bags, outdoors in trash container or protected area until materials can be disposed of properly. Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your area. Some states and communities require fluorescent bulbs (broken or unbroken) be taken to a local recycling center. Wash your hands with soap and water after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing bulb debris and cleanup materials.
Continue to air out the room where the bulb was broken and leave the H&AC system shut off, as practical, for several hours.

Future Cleaning of Carpeting or Rugs:
(Assuming you continue to live in your Mercury-laden-HAZMAT-infested home...)

Air Out the Room During and After Vacuuming
The next several times you vacuum the rug or carpet, shut off the H&AC system if you have one, close the doors to other rooms, and open a window or door to the outside before vacuuming. Change the vacuum bag after each use in this area.
After vacuuming is completed, keep the H&AC system shut off and the window or door to the outside open, as practical, for several hours.

Actions You Can Take to Prevent Broken Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs
Fluorescent bulbs are made of glass and can break if dropped or roughly handled. To avoid breaking a bulb, follow these general practices:

Always switch off and allow a working CFL bulb to cool before handling.
Always handle CFL bulbs carefully to avoid breakage.
If possible, screw/unscrew the CFL by holding the plastic or ceramic base, not the glass tubing.
Gently screw in the CFL until snug. Do not over‐tighten.
Never forcefully twist the glass tubing.
Consider not using CFLs in lamps that can be easily knocked over, in unprotected light fixtures, or in lamps that are incompatible with the spiral or folded shape of many CFLs.
Do not use CFL bulbs in locations where they can easily be broken, such as play spaces.
Use CFL bulbs that have a glass or plastic cover over the spiral or folded glass tube, if available. These types of bulbs look more like incandescent bulbs and may be more durable if dropped.
Consider using a drop cloth (e.g., plastic sheet or beach towel) when changing a fluorescent light bulb in case a breakage should occur. The drop cloth will help prevent mercury contamination of nearby surfaces and can be bundled with the bulb debris for disposal.

NOTE: This document contains information designed to be useful to the general public. This document does not impose legally binding requirements, nor does it confer legal rights, impose legal obligations, or implement any statutory or regulatory provisions. This document does not change or substitute for any statutory or regulatory provisions. This document presents technical information based on EPA’s current understanding of the potential hazards posed by breakage of mercury‐containing fluorescent lamps (light bulbs) in a typical household setting.

Finally, this is a living document and may be revised periodically without public notice. EPA welcomes comments on this document at any time and will consider those comments in any future revisions of this document.

Yes, you read the above correctly, the EPA states that regarding CFL usage:

Consider not using CFLs in lamps that can be easily knocked over, in unprotected light fixtures, or in lamps that are incompatible with the spiral or folded shape of many CFLs.
Do not use CFL bulbs in locations where they can easily be broken, such as play spaces.

Roughly translated: "Yup, don't use 'em where they 'could ever' break, or anywhere near children, unless of course, you WANT to have some kind of third eye shootin' out of the kid's forehead later in life."

And in case you're wondering, I DID go to the NY State website to read the FAQs on CFLs and the disposal thereof.

Why? I'm a glutton for punishment.

The 'Glut' continues. And as for you, you might want to have one of those amber-beverages right about now, but go ahead, leave the lights off while you do it...

Answers To Common CFL Questions (NY State)
1. How do I know if my lamps are hazardous?
Because of their mercury content, most fluorescent lamps in current use are considered hazardous wastes when taken out of service for disposal. Other lamps that are commonly classified as hazardous waste due to the presence of mercury or lead include high-intensity discharge (HID), neon, mercury vapor, high pressure sodium, and metal halide lamps. If you want to know for sure, you can have them analyzed by a laboratory test called the "Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP)." Most major manufacturers are now producing a line of fluorescent lamps which they claim are non-hazardous low-mercury or "green end cap" lamps. When these bulbs are taken out of service, manufacturer's data may be used to help determine if they are a hazardous waste.

2. How do I handle low-mercury fluorescent lamps?
Under Chapter 145, Laws of 2004, "Mercury-Added Consumer Products Law," even low-mercury (green end cap) lamps are subject to certain management standards. Under this law, defined Small Businesses may discard of up to fifteen low-mercury lamps per calendar month. If the non-hazardous lamps are commingled with universal waste lamps, all of the waste is regulated as universal waste. The Department strongly encourages the recycling of any lamps containing mercury.

3. Now that the Universal Waste Rule is available for hazardous waste lamps, must I use it?
No, handlers of hazardous waste lamps may choose between traditional hazardous waste regulations and Universal Waste Rule standards. However, flip-flopping between the two sets to avoid meeting requirements of one or both regulations is not allowed. For example, both management scenarios include storage time limits. Flip-flopping between regulations will not extend storage time.

4. Do hazardous waste lamps count in determining my generator category? Must hazardous waste lamps be indicated on my annual hazardous waste report?
Under traditional hazardous waste regulations, hazardous waste lamps must be counted in determining whether you are a conditionally exempt small quantity generator, a small quantity generator or a large quantity generator; they must also be reported on the generator annual report if you are required to file an annual report. Lamps managed under the Universal Waste Rule are not counted for the purpose of determining generator category, and need not be reported on your hazardous waste report. However, they are counted for regulatory fee purposes.

5. Lamp crushers - I am considering the purchase of a lamp crusher to minimize my waste volume. How is crushing of hazardous waste lamps regulated?
Lamps being managed under the Universal Waste Rule may not be crushed. If you wish to crush your lamps, you will need to manage the lamps under the traditional hazardous waste regulations. This will require that you count the weight of the lamps toward determining hazardous waste generator category, and meet applicable generator, transporter and transfer facility standards. Crushing is considered a form of hazardous waste treatment, and under ordinary hazardous waste generator regulations, hazardous waste lamps may be crushed only if the process is exempt from hazardous waste treatment regulations (6 NYCRR 373-1.1(d)(1)).

Common exemptions that might apply to crushing lamps are: on-site treatment by a conditionally exempt small quantity generator; the first step of a recycling process, if the lamps will be directed to a mercury recycler, or treatment in the tank or container in which the lamps are stored. Generators wishing to use one of the latter two exemptions should seek specific guidance from the Waste Determination & Analysis Section.

The crushed lamps are usually considered hazardous waste for mercury, and sometimes for lead, and must be handled and disposed of in accordance with normal hazardous waste requirements.

Facilities that use in-house bulb crushers should be aware of possible personnel exposures to mercury vapor. EPA has published a study of Drum Top Crushers; the report is available on the right side of this page under "Links Leaving DEC's Website".

6. Transportation - Can I put my lamps in the trash dumpster?
Lamps handled under the Universal Waste Rule cannot be put in the trash dumpster because they would not be handled in a way to minimize breakage. Generators of universal waste lamps can self-transport up to 500 lbs of lamps per shipment to an authorized universal waste handler, or treatment or disposal facility under the provisions of 6 NYCRR Part 364. Conditionally exempt, small or large quantity hazardous waste generators cannot put hazardous waste lamps in the trash dumpster.

7. Under the Universal Waste Rule, do my lamps have to be directed to a recycler?No, lamps may be directed to a treatment or disposal facility if the receiving facility is authorized to accept hazardous waste lamps. However, NYSDEC strongly recommends recycling of hazardous waste lamps to reduce the accumulation of mercury in the environment. A list of fluorescent and HID lamp recyclers is available on this website at the link given at the bottom of this page.

8. How do I get rid of waste lamps from my household?Households are exempt from the ordinary hazardous waste regulations. Lamps discarded by households are also exempt from New York State's Mercury-Added Consumer Products Law. Lamps may legally be disposed as normal household trash if allowed by the municipality, the trash collector and the disposal facility. However, households are encouraged to contact the town or county solid waste management authority to determine whether there are any household hazardous waste collection facilities or events in their community at which hazardous waste lamps are collected, or to contact local lamp recyclers to see if they accept lamps from households.

9. What do I do if I break a compact fluorescent lamp/bulb (CFL) in my home?The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy provide guidance on how the general public can clean up a broken CFL. "FAQ - Information on Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs) and Mercury" (70 Kb pdf) is available for download.

Sorry for the length of this post, but it was 'touched' by governmental legislation all-over-the-place.

As for me, I've been buying Mr. Edison's bulbs in bulk over the past two years. I'm just hoping that you stocked up too...

Happy New Year's folks, you may want to visit your local hardware store between now and midnight tomorrow.

p.s.: The last bit of irony about this story? CFL Manufacturing is 100% done 'offshore' due to EPA manufacturing regulations in the U.S.!

So while we have to under penalty of law USE them here, we can't MAKE them here. More jobs, 'created and saved', just, somewhere else, of course...

Occupy!!! (Iowa???)

2011-12-28T18:30:00.000-05:00

It was great - Christmas 2012, spent with family, away from work, and away from the regular tedium of 'normal' daily life. Yes, it was pretty much 'all' good.

It was the best "To Mike / From Santa" gift I've given myself in years. A free pass to stay offline for almost six whole days!

Peace on Earth - Goodwill toward Men

I don't know about you, but I didn't turn on a computer for the past six days. Yes, I've missed the company of the laptop LCD's electric glow, but sometimes you've got to cut the cord (albeit it wireless) and rediscover the things which are lasting.

Family,
Friends,
Taking dogs for walks,
Remembering the person you were, and
Revisiting the place(s) and people who made you who you are

I could go on, but you know what I'm saying, right? Yes, I suppose you do.

Today's post, however, is not about Christmas, not about family, and not about whether we are a 'Christian Nation' or not.

It's about Nancy Pelosi hijacking Charles Dickens' quote attributed to Tiny Tim:

"God bless them" - Nancy Pelosi, D, CA
(I believe Tim's entire quote is. "God bless us all, every one", but true to form, Minority Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, got THIS wrong too...)

Madame Speaker continued: "for their spontaneity. It's independent ... it's young, it's spontaneous, and it's focused. And it's going to be effective."

And now with the support of Democratic (and other - below) leadership, Occupy Wall Street is heading to...

The ONE place on Earth where the richest 1% of Americans go to enjoy their 'one percentage-ness':

IOWA

From the Associated Press Online: DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Already they have interrupted Michele Bachmann and drawn a withering putdown from Newt Gingrich as "all noise, no thought."

Now, to the dismay of Iowa Republicans, Occupy activists in Des Moines are vowing to expand their protests as GOP presidential hopefuls converge on the state that speaks first in the race for the party's presidential nomination.

"The 99 percent have woken up and we're not going to take it anymore," Occupy activist Stephen Toothman, of Des Moines, said as an advance guard met Tuesday to decide which candidates to target in the coming week.

Hundreds of Occupy activists from at least 10 states were expected to participate in a "People's Caucus" near the Capitol to plot activities between now and the Jan. 3 caucuses. The activists are promising to interrupt candidates at events and camp out at their Iowa campaign offices. They say they want to change the political dialogue, but critics fear their tactics could tarnish Iowa's reputation for civil political discourse ahead of the contest. Activists say mass arrests are possible.
...

Occupy activists, who came from as far away as New York and Seattle, said the caucuses were largely meaningless because the parties and candidates were overly influenced by wealthy, special interests that led them to ignore key issues.

"The caucuses are really a statement as to where the nation is as a whole. I think this occupation is really a statement that they are dissatisfied with all the choices that we've been given," said Ivan Burghart, an activist from St. Louis who mingled with others at the group's Des Moines headquarters.

Occupy Des Moines organizer Jess Mazour, 24, said protesters wanted candidates to address issues ranging from campaign finance reform to college debt to the home foreclosure crisis. She said the weeklong set of actions marked a new phase for the nationwide Occupy movement, and would be a test of whether activists could flex political muscle as one group.
...

Stephany Hoffelt, a member of Occupy Iowa City, said protesters believed the in-your-face tactics were justified because their message hasn't gotten through in the past.

"It's perfectly appropriate if you were listening to what we were saying," Hoffelt said of the group's chant blasting Bachmann's positions on health care and taxes. "She is part of the 1 percent."

Ah, where to begin?

The 'Occupy Wherever' group appears to be well-funded (for a bunch of poor folks). Shoot, I can't afford to take time off from work to visit the Great State of Iowa and stay in hotels for a week (or more?). Maybe THESE guys are the 1% they keep yakking about? Perhaps they HATE themselves? I don't hate anyone, but honestly, I'm getting tired of them myself...
The OWS folks are upset because they don't believe anyone is listening to their message (whatever IT happens to be 'at the moment' as they're repeat each other as if trapped in some Gregorian Chant nightmare). The lack of exposure, unfortunately, is NOT their problem. Their problem is that we HAVE heard them. And after listening, we stopped listening to them.
The objective, according to Ms. Hoffelt, is to disrupt the free speech of Republican Presidential Candidates in Iowa. This, of course, is coming from the OWS group, which again, is upset that no one is a.) Letting THEM speak, or b.) Listening to THEM
Here's a heartfelt bit of advice for the mental wheelchairs traveling to Iowa 'just to make a fuss'... Get your tickets from wherever you are reading this and fly to: Reagan International Airport. Why? Because Iowa is NOT the source of your discontentment - Washington, DC is. AND (BONUS!) the guy who has been fueling your class warfare rhetoric is THERE. (DISCLAIMER: Actually, the guy who has been supporting your efforts to destroy Capitalism in the U.S. is currently in Hawaii (again) - but, like the 'bad penny' he'll show up in a couple of weeks rested, relaxed, and ready for more mayhem from the White House. Maybe you folks could show up at HIS place in Hawaii? Then follow him back here? Just think of the Capitalist Riches you'll ring up on your 1%-sponsored credit card!)
Lastly, in regard to Madame Pelosi's comment that this ongoing debacle is a 'beautiful, spontaneous event'? The last time I saw a spontaneous movement from the OWS folks, it involved a guy with his butt hunkered down onto the fender of a police car. It WAS spontaneous, but the 'beautiful' adjective does not seem to apply to the 'movement' itself.

As you look across the Nation do you feel more, or less secure, knowing that the highest elected official in the land supports the efforts of the OWS group. These are the people who 'occupy' property which does not belong to them, shout down the free speech of others, and use intimidation to garner an audience for their 'needs, wants, and desires'.

Answer the above question honestly.

If you feel pretty good about the OWS folks and their activities, take a moment to follow this link: A Revolutionary Hope of Christmas.

The above post, 'A Revolutionary Hope for Christmas' is brought to you by the nice folks at Communist Party USA. Proud sponsors, and supporters of Occupy Wall Street.

The story of Christmas, as told by Communists, all in the hope of obtaining 'the greater good' for the oppressed in America.

Ho, ho, ho...

My Christmas Story

2011-12-23T07:29:00.001-05:00

Must keep things in their proper perspective...

Everyone has a special Christmas Story, or Christmas tradition that they want to hand down to their kids.

This is mine.

I am 9 years-old. My Mom brings me to the local 5 and 10 (WAY before WalMart) to pick up a few late-minute Christmas items for the family. I am in the store fewer than two minutes when I see it. It is red. It is shiny. It is meant to be mine. It is meant to be under our tree - with MY name on it.

It is, of course, the Uncle Sam's Cash Register Bank.

(The 'poke your eye out when you fall on it sharp metal nub' on my version was replaced by the impressive 'too wide' red 'puller-thing' shown here...)

It SINGS to me. It calls to me from across the store. I alone must possess it...

There are still a couple of weeks before Christmas, right? And ONLY $7.99?!?! How can my Mom turn me down? I've mentioned before that I have been in Sales for most of my adult life. What I haven't mentioned is that most people who are in Sales in their adult life, started out much earlier in their life, being, 'In Sales'.

Here's the dialogue, as best as I remember it, at least...

Me, "Mom, do you see IT?!"

Mom, "I'm sorry, do I see WHAT?"

Me, "The THING, the THING over THERE...! Can't you see IT?", I say pointing to the shelf that holds my hope for 'Christmas yet to come'.

Mom, "Oh, well, it isn't on your list for Santa, now is it?"

My hopes fall but I quickly recover and press the point further, "But Mom, how could I know?"

Mom, "Know what?"

Me, "That something this WONDERFUL; besides you (Mom), of course... Ever existed? I've never seen anything like it in all of my life. It's, it's... beautiful..." My voice trailed off as my eyes welled with tears all the while staring un-blinkingly at the object of desire.

Mom, "But you know, I think that Santa has already gotten your gifts all ready to go on his sleigh. It's too late to let him know about this now..."

Me, "But Mom, it's the ONE thing I truly want... AND, it will teach me how to be responsible with money. You always say that I need to understand money better, right? It will TEACH me financial responsibility. Look, it even has a display that will tell me how much money I save; and saving money is really important! Right?"

Mom, "Well, I know, but..."

Me, "Mom, I WANT to be responsible! I WANT to save my money! I WANT to be like you and Dad! You guys are my heroes!"

Mom, "Umm..."
[The first overt sign of weakness, she is beginning to fold, now for the clincher...]

Me, "Mom, I WANT you to be proud of me, as I am proud of you and Dad. You guys are the best parents ever. I want to grow up to be a good; NO, I want to be a GREAT parent too - like both you and Dad are."

Mom, "Well, we already have gifts for you from us, and your Grandparents, and your brother, how can I get you this too? It wouldn't be fair to your brother..."

[Rats, hadn't thought of that. Show no weakness, keep moving forward... Head down, keep moving...]

Me, "Mom?"

Mom, "Yes, Michael?"

Me, "Santa delivers gifts Christmas early morning right?"

Mom, "Yes, he does. Why do you ask, because you already know that..."

Me, "Well, I'm thinking; what if we buy this bank, wrap it in Christmas wrapping paper, and slide it under the tree early Christmas morning before anyone else wakes up?

What if we put a gift tag on it that said?:

To: Mike
From: Santa

This way, no one will ever know that we bought the gift here, today, this very moment?"

Mom said, with the hint of a smile crossing her face, "Well, I don't know..."

Me, "Mom, we'll be the ONLY ones who will know! It can work. No! It WILL work! We can do this..."

Mom, "Okay, but it's just between the two of us."

Me, "You've got it Mom, you are the BEST!"

Christmas morning comes and there is an extra gift stashed way back under the tree. It has my name on it. It wis an Uncle Sam's Cash Register Bank. The tag says that it is from the jolly ol' elf himself, 'Santa Claus'. I love Santa. I love my Mom. I love the entire World this Christmas morning.

I still have the bank. It still works. My kids have asked me for it for years, but it's mine, I got it from my Mom. It's still in my room in the house I grew up in.

On Christmas morning I still love the entire World, in spite of all of its warts. Christmas is the one day you can still believe in magic. If you stretch out that magic for more than one day I believe that you will be truly happy.

In our family there is at least one gift under the tree each year tagged as follows,

To: Mike
From: Santa

There is also a gift under the tree tagged,

To: Gail
From: Santa

This is the tradition that I have passed to my family and now I pass it to you. This year, next year, just 'some' year, buy something special for yourself. Buy something for yourself that you know no one else would buy for you and tag it simply,

To: ____________
From: Santa

You've been good all year, you know it, I know it, and Santa knows it too...

Merry Christmas folks,

Mike