All Tied Up - Extreme Makeover Edition

What's the rest of it?  Rats!  Hold on, hold on, I'm reaching, reaching, almost, just about there...

Ah, I've got it. 

I was trying to remember an old joke. 

It is about a guy who sits tied up with a gag in his mouth.  He's been tethered to his chair by his spouse as she stands above him sporting leather 'Underoos', spiky shoes, and a riding crop. 

The phone rings, she reaches over to answer it and he hears her say, "No, I'm sorry, he can't come to the phone - he's all tied up at the moment."

Okay, this joke has nothing to do with today's post... 

Or, perhaps it does?

In actuality, today's post is one of the President's 'Bundlers' who's getting a new government job! 

(Bundler? =  "All Tied Up"? Yeah, it's how I'm wired.  Just go with it - okay?)

WashingtonExaminer, June 14, 2013:  Obama picks campaign bundler, White House decorator’s partner, as ambassador to Spain

President Obama intends to nominate HBO vice president James Costos, a top campaign bundler, as the new ambassador to Spain, the White House Press Office announced today.


Costos heads the Global Licensing and Retail division at HBO. “The choice of Costos for an ambassadorship would put a high-profile gay couple in a key post,” The Hollywood Reporter noted in May.  “His partner, White House decorator Michael Smith, previously was said to be interested in a diplomatic post. Smith’s spokesman adamantly denied that chatter. The couple co-hosted key Obama fundraisers in L.A. and New York.”

...

The announcement coincides with LGBT Pride Month and comes the day after an LGBT Pride reception at the White House. “The genius of America is that America can change,” Obama said at the reception. “And people who love this country can change it.  That’s what we’re called to do.  And I hope that when we gather here next year, and the year after that, we’ll be able to say, with pride and confidence, that together we’ve made our fellow citizens a little more free.  We’ve made this country a little more equal.  We’ve made our world a little more full of love.”
 
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Aaaah, that's nice, the world is a "little more full of love"...  Because this is what a guy like President Obama does best - making the country a 'little more equal'!  Super!

The President also 'loved' receiving $500,000 for his campaign in 2012 from everyone attending the New York fundraiser hosted by James Costos, our newly-appointed Ambassador to Spain.

Don't get me wrong, I don't believe that making an HBO Executive Ambassador to Spain is necessarily a bad idea.  In actuality, I'm thinking that this is a win-win for America:

WIN #1:  My HBO cable bill may go down next month (fewer HBO employees = lower cost of goods, right?)

WIN #2:  We won't have to pay a designer to have the Embassy in Spain redecorated!  It'll just 'happen'!  

I was curious about the decorating done at the White House by Michael Smith, James Costos' 'partner'.  In fact, I'm thinking that most Americans are curious about the White House now that the Sequester has ended access to the "People's House" due to those 'Draconian Cuts' we heard so much about back in March - so I did a bit of digging and found this excerpt on Michael Smith from the Wall Street Journal online in 2009:

Mr. Smith is a national star. He makes classic rooms that look like their owners have inherited money and furnishings, and he mixes things up with tastefully hip pieces -- just as he wears Keds and John Lobb custom shoes. Were the economy in better shape, we might look for an uptick in sales of his signature scents ($55 for a 7-ounce candle, $110 for air fresheners), a relatively cheap way to get a whiff of society decorator. 

(MoosNote:  I have no desire to get a 'whiff of (a) society decorator', especially at $55 per nostril (assuming you spring for the $110 'air freshener'.))

The Obamas made it clear during their campaign that they would not tolerate divas, another reason Mr. Smith is a startling pick, but he's smart enough to know when to respect protocol. Mr. Smith declined to comment.

As goes the cabinet, so goes the cabinetry. Mr. Smith's qualifications are strong: this is no time for the inexperienced, particularly if the at-home style of the Obamas reflects anything of their public personae. We can expect that the private quarters will embrace what in decorating parlance is called an eclectic style -- America's favorite in every survey. That sounds like anything goes, but is far from it, quite difficult to pull off gracefully. Mr. Smith's look is sumptuous without being too fussy; he buys the finest quality, most expensive fabrics, carpets and antiques. Mr. Smith has a large, well-organized operation; he'll whip things into shape quickly.

Yes Michael, "Whip it, whip it good..."  -- Devo

"But wait, there's more!"

Obama Names Two Gay Men to Ambassadorships
 
President Obama has named Rufus Gifford, a prominent fundraiser who was most recently Finance Chair of the Presidential Inaugural Committee, as Ambassador to Denmark. He has also named James Costos, Vice President of Global Licensing and Retail for Home Box Office (HBO), as Ambassador to Spain.


According to Towleroad.com, there are TWO appointees of the President who are gay.  The unmentioned appointee as Ambassador to Denmark is a gentleman by the name of Rufus Gifford, long-time FOO (Friend of Obama) and FODP (Friend of Democratic Party).  I'm not sure why Mr. Gifford slipped under the radar from the Washington Examiner story above, but the folks over at Towleroad 'went deep inside and scooped them' on this one. 

If you want to feel 'not so alone' in your distrust of the Obama Administration, click the link above for the Towleroad site and read a few of the comments.  

Yes, there are the obligatory, "Hello Mr. Gifford. Rawr..." comments, but you'll also find others, similar to these...
 

"I hope the new Ambassador to Denmark isn't assassinated by the extremists in Denmark and nearby countries. We know how well Obama cares for his ambassadors."


"Good old patronage. What exactly does a fashion, retail and marketing executive know about being an ambassador? Why does he deserve this position? Money. This is another example of what is wrong with our system, and another example of how President Obama really is just like all the other politicians that came before. I know the "change" is that these are gay men. The game however is being played the same way. We cannot have change, or hope, if you just keep doing things just like everyone before you. I am a staunch liberal btw."

It appears that in spite of the President's best efforts to pander to specific target audiences, they too, are tired of the man's lack of leadership and hypocrisy.  If you're gay, you're still American, and perhaps the love of country will ultimately trump political alignment based upon a singular issue (i.e.:  sexual preference, race, or abortion)?   

I can only hope. 

We need to stop focusing on the things which make us different and instead embrace those which make us all...  American.  

That's it.  Just 'American'.

It's not too much to ask, is it?

p.s.:  The next time I'm traveling to Denmark and / or Spain, I'll be sure to drop by to our Embassy just to say, "Hi!" to check out the decorating.

You should too! 

(Right after you find the money to pay for your NEW AND IMPROVED health insurance coverage, coming soon to an employer near YOU!  As for me, I'm selling MY internal organs for cash on the Black Market.  Sure, it makes traveling a bit more difficult, but with kidneys and lungs selling at a premium these days, I'm a revenue-generating machine!  AND, it's non-taxable income since I'm getting paid in CASH by the Russian Mafia!)

p.p.s.: 

Dear IRS Tax-Payer Compliance Monitoring Agency,

I made the paragraph above up.  It's not true - it's a JOKE.  I can show you my spleen, kidneys, and lungs to prove it. 

Just access my medical records and look up my most recent chest X-Ray.  Come on, I know you can do it.

After all, you've got the tools you need already via the Affordable Health Care Law...

Thank you!

Mike (Moos) Kane

Irony

I found the above image over at www.despair.com.  If you haven't been there yet you might want to check the site out.  

They sell -- the emotion I try to write about on a regular basis...  Despair (a.k.a.:  FUNNY Misery). 

Granted, their humor is not for everyone, but I believe many folks would appreciate receiving the gift of a 'Demotivator' for a Birthday, an Anniversary, a Gall Bladder removal surgery Get Well wish, or perhaps, [gasp] a really uncomfortable divorce...  

Misery loves company, so why not 'Despair' with someone you love (or perhaps, someone you love to hate)?   

Sure, I guess my despair could be caused by the fact that it's rained every day this week when I was out of the office making calls and today, the singular day that's it's nice out...  I'm stuck in the office.  

Or, maybe I'm blue because I just realized that we have exactly 1,242 days until we get the chance to inaugurate our next Bad Decision in 2016! 

For those of you who are big time (into time), I offer the following graphic:

I'm not counting down the actual minutes, but just by having basic access to the Internet, it sure is good to know that someone else is...

Today's blues began with my finding an article on Yahoo! entitled...  

HGTV Apologizes for suggesting American Flag Tablecloth in Fourth of July Celebrations

In the segment, titled “Classic Fourth of July Table Setting Ideas,” the network suggested viewers "drape a large American flag over the table as a bright and festive table runner."

The segment recommended using a "nylon flag so spills can be easily wiped off and the flag can later be hung with pride on a flag pole.” 

Yup, welcome to America, 2013.  Using your "nylon (American) flag as a tablecloth so spills can be easily wiped off, and the flag can later be hung with pride on a flag pole" is just fine with the folks at Home and Garden Television.  But don't you dare use a floral print for your curtains in the living room because they'll say something BAD about you...

No, I'm not really cool with using a flag to catch 'droppings' on the Fourth of July. As a kid I was taught to respect the flag.  Perhaps it was all those years of Boy Scouts, the Flag Retirement Ceremonies I attended, and perhaps the images of flag-draped coffins coming back from the myriad of 'overseas contingency operations' that I've seen during the years between which I could run faster / jump higher, and today?   

I guess I was born too early.  If I were a 20-something over at HGTV and were run through our current unionized education system, perhaps I wouldn't have an issue with it either?  After all, why would I be offended if I was never taught to respect the flag of our Nation?  What if the things I learned back then are no longer taught?  What if the Boy Scouts of America became a social experiment? 

Oops.  Sorry.  Too late.

Ah, but my particular 20-something self is long gone in the rear-view mirror.  2.5+ Times that number have gone as I look at the date here on my PC monitor.   

Ragged old flag - Johnny Cash  

  
Ironically, today is Flag Day.  I guess no one thinks about it so much because it's not a Federal Holiday, the banks remain open, all Federal and State workers remain on the job, and there are no big sales to commemorate the day.  Life goes on as normal out here in fly-over country...

I know that the vast majority of Americans understand that you don't use the American Flag as an over sized-red-white-and-blue-doily.  Unfortunately, I also know that the number of Americans who know how the flag deserves to be treated decreases with each passing day. 

Considered in total, we are a breed of 'lesser Americans' than the generations which went before us.  As both houses of Congress rush wily-nily to cram Immigration 'Reform' down out throats, we are expected to accept people as citizens who have no desire to learn the language, learn about the Nation, learn of the Great American Experiment, nor understand the symbolism of our Flag. 

We must accept them, we learned this week, because once they are 'Legalized' they will pay the taxes and fines which will fund 'the fence' which was supposed to be built almost thirty years ago. 

Yeah, this time it will be completely different.  We won't be lied to 'this time' like when they passed the Affordable Care Act telling us it would insure everyone in the Nation and reduce per family costs by roughly $2,500 per year.  Because a few years later, we know that we were lied to 'way back' then.

But this is now.  And 'now' is better than 'then', right?  There's still an extraordinarily exponentially small chance that it'll all work out just GREAT! 

Really, what could go wrong with the US Government legalizing 11+ Million illegals as citizens?  All those additional registered Democrat voters will make our fundamentally-transformed future that much more assured!

Okay, now I'm more depressed than when I started writing this. 

I need some hope.  I need some change.  I need some inspiration.

Ah, here it is now...

Click to View:  Red's Pledge

 

  

Red Skelton's Pledge of Allegiance from 1969 reminds me of the ten-year old kid I used to be.  Back then anything was possible if only you had the desire to try. 

I only hope that there are enough of us who are willing to try, once again, to build a better Nation than the one we have today.  A place where hard work is rewarded, the only limit to your success is your imagination, and the government actually WANTS to see you succeed. 

One day this will be a GREAT place to live - again.

I'd better begin eating healthier so that I can live long enough to see it one more time.

The "Hunger Games" - June 2013 Edition

I went online to my local Gannett Online Publication this morning to check out 'local news'.  The screen darkened for a moment as the page loaded and then...
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Oh.  My.  God.
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Another unhappy news report.  Another social-justice situation requiring IMMEDIATE LOCAL AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ATTENTION.  Another indication of how the local economy has been impacted by decisions made far (and not nearly so far) away.  
 . 
If Misery truly loves company, consider yourself 'loved' for on this Sunday Morning as I am now truly 'miserable'...  And you are invited to join me.
 . 

 . 
When schools close for summer break, child hunger hits home

Thousands will be left without meals in Southern Tier

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When schools close for summer recess later this month, thousands of children in the Southern Tier will lose access to free or reduced-price breakfasts and lunches.

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Although the federal government funds a summer nutrition program to continue feeding children, the meal count drops by roughly 84 percent.

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That’s raising concerns for local elected and public health officials, food pantries and others — including a New York senator — who deal with feeding children. And it begs the question:

 . 
Will they go hungry simply because meals are not as readily accessible as they are stepping off the school bus and into the cafeteria?
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Almost 15,800 out of 32,500 students in 14 districts in Broome-Tioga BOCES are eligible for free or reduced-priced breakfasts or lunches. When classes are in session from September through June, these districts’ cafeterias serve roughly 17,500 breakfasts and lunches each school day under the federal lunch program.

. 

The highest percentages of eligibility by districts are Binghamton, with 80 percent of its 6,400 students eligible for the federal program, followed by Johnson City and Deposit, where 60 percent of each district’s enrollment qualifies for free or reduced-priced meals, according to Mark Bordeau, senior director of food services for BOCES.

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...

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Transportation, health issues

(MoosNote: Please note that there are NO health issues in the remainder of the article regardless of this sub-heading.  I can only guess that we are left to 'assume' the issues and be incensed accordingly...)
. 

If transportation is the prime culprit in putting so many children at risk of going hungry in the summer, why not transport them to food sites or go mobile with the food?

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Logistics and the bureaucracy that accompanies a federally-administered program impose limitations on seemingly simple solutions, such as busing children to the sites, said Bordeau. Who pays? Who assumes liability? What buses are used?

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Ultimately, any changes to the program — perhaps to provide public transportation to sites — would be the responsibility of the federal government, including Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

 . 
“Senator Schumer is concerned with the ability to access summer lunch programs in Broome County and will look into the details of the program to see what can be done to rectify these issues,” said spokeswoman Meredith Kelly.
 . 
(Moos Note:  Please understand that Chuck Schumer is concerned with EVERYTHING impacting potential voters but manages to get 'mostly nothing' done about 'anything'.  The man's spokespeople are 'everywhere' and 'nowhere' at the same time - but in NY State, Chuck Schumer does a lot of 'looking into things' but he apparently never 'sees' anything because the status quo is just fine with him (and apparently his constituents).)
 . . 
...
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In the meantime, the local community has an obligation to rally around fighting child hunger and finding immediate, workable solutions, said Natasha Thompson, president and chief executive officer of the Food Bank of the Southern Tier.

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“Hunger is an issue; child hunger is a particular issue,” Thompson said. “This is not just a food bank, church or nonprofit organization’s problem. We can only make a difference if everyone is working together.”

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In some of the communities served by the Food Bank, solutions to the summer food distribution problem have involved bringing the food to the children.

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Its Picnics in the Park program in Elmira brings free bag lunches to children and their parents on weekends at four parks in and around the city.

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In Schuyler County, the Food Bank instituted a demonstration project in 2011 that brings breakfast and four lunches weekly to eligible children in refrigerated trucks at various sites.

 . 

So the questions we're left to draw from the above are: 
 . 

1. "How will the hungry children survive all summer without being fed 'free or subsidized' breakfasts and lunches by the government?"
2. "How will local towns be able to bring the children to their meals, if the children are unable to bring themselves to the meals?"
3. "Since when did parents abdicate their responsibility to feed their own... children?"

 . 
Hmm, tough questions...  Wow, how to respond?
. 
Okay, sure, I'll take a "crack at it".  (Please note that I did not say 'Crack Addict' in reference to parents who do not feed their own children.  I think that it is important that we keep the debate civil...) 
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Answer #1:  "How will the hungry children survive all summer without being fed 'free or subsidized' breakfasts and lunches by the government?" 
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Parents (Mother / Father / relatives of some sort) need to use 'currently provided' state and federal assistance to feed their families.  In New York State there are HUNDREDS of programs designed to feed, clothe, medicate, house and even teach unprepared individuals HOW to be a parent. 
. 
Apparently these programs are necessary because several generations of NY State Citizens have had no exposure to ANY quality parents in their lives thanks to... 
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You guessed it, "State and Federal Assistance Programs".
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From the NY State "Fatherhood Services" site (and no, I'm not making this up):
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• What if the relationship between me and my child's mother does not work out?  (I've got this one down!  Meet someone, know them for an extended period of time, get USED TO THEM, and then ask them to marry you - prior to having children with them.  Please note that the New York State Fatherhood Services site includes neither the word "Wife" nor "Husband" on it.  I wonder why that is?)
• How can I take an active role in my baby's life?  (Oh, I dunno, how about by BEING THERE to raise YOUR child?)
• How can I play with my baby?  ('Lovingly', one would hope)
• What do I do if my baby won't stop crying?  (Um, how about:  a.  Checking the diaper for 'discharge' of 'some sort', b.  Holding the baby, c.  Feeding the baby if the child is hungry and if you have a school bus available to take the child for food), and / or, d. Speaking to the child in a soothing tone while 'burping him / her')
• What resources are available in the community to help me in my time of need?  (How about:  Your parents.  Your religious organization.  Your employer.  Your mentor.  Your WIFE?  Oh, sorry, didn't mean to be so dang judgemental...  Apparently 'Dads' in New York State have no parents, religion, jobs, friends, or wives - Sorry, I forgot why I LOVE NY so much.)  

. . 
Answer #2:  "How will local towns be able to bring the children to their meals, if the children are unable to bring themselves to the meals?" 
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I can't answer this one.  I honestly can't wrap my head around the concept.  I grew up in a small town with two working parents.  During the summer months I would wake up when Mom and Dad went to work, watch a little TV (all five channels) and then I would...  Walk next door to visit with the neighbors, hang out with their kids, go for walks, cruise local streets looking for 5-cent cast off bottles to return to Risco's Deli for candy, make a PB&J / can of soup / or Mac & Cheese for lunch and behave myself until my parents returned in the evening. 
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When I was thirteen I got a job at a local diner washing dishes, bussing tables, and doing general prep work for the next day.  I could work, eat, get paid(!), and learn a trade.
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It wasn't a perfect plan (not much in life is), but it beat the pants off of a community considering how to fund a school bus service 'as if' school is in session because children aren't getting fed at home.  And, it taught me the value of 'work' at a young age (and I learned how to cook real food allowing me to feed myself later in life).
. . 
Answer #3:  "Since when did parents abdicate their responsibility to feed their own... children?"
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Since LBJ launched America's "Great Society". 
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I'm not going to rewrite stuff I've already written (yes, even I would like this post to end sometime today) so I'll embed a link here if you'd like to delve a bit deeper into the dark, scary places of America's 'recent social justice past' for a night when you really don't want to sleep (ever again):  The (Late) Great Society
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Parents and communities worried about children not eating because school is no longer in session?  Another reason to keep kids in school 'all year long'? 
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Hillary Clinton was wrong.  It does NOT 'take a village' to raise a child.  It only takes two, and sometimes a single decent person to help a child grow into an independent adult.
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The premise that it takes a community to raise a child is false.  This idea is not based upon the writings of Hillary Clinton however.
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Somebody owned 'her thoughts' long before she did...
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“The education of all children, from the moment that they can get along without a mother's care, shall be in state institutions.”  -- Karl Marx  (The least-funny of the brothers)
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Somewhere in the distance, a school bus sits, waiting for the opportunity to serve the students... year-round. 
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I sit at my dining room table in my shorts and T-shirt typing this post on a Sunday morning as the rest of the family sleeps.  I say no. 
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But no one is asking me. 
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"People? People..." (Barack Obama LIVE, without a Net / Note)

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San Jose, California, June 7, 2013:  President Obama takes the stage to deliver a speech when he realizes that something is wrong - very wrong.
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The audience is prepared, the podium is in place, the lighting is 'lit', the President of the United States looks down at his podium, turns stage-right and says... 
 . 
“My remarks are not sitting here.  People!  Things on a Friday afternoon get a little challenging..." 
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(Moos Note:  The speech began at 9:00am - maybe the President forgot flying to California and believed that he was still in Washington, DC?)
 . 
“I’m uhhh….people….oh goodness….uhhhh...folks are sweating back there right now.”
 . 
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President Obama Video Link 

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It's been a long time since President Obama has spoken "Live without a Net / Note / Teleprompter".  Given the events and 'leaks' of the past few weeks, I commend the man on showing up in public - at all.  Yes, you read this correctly, I said something positive about the President (feel free to write this date down for future reference.) 
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[Note to self:  Consider scheduling Cranial CAT Scan for Wednesday AM]
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I can understand President Obama's reasoning in wanting to stand behind someone else's words.  Speech writers for the President do a great job of crafting an appropriate message for the 'audience du jour'.  They have to.  It is, after all, their job. 
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If you're not good at your job, you shouldn't DO it - or, at least, you shouldn't get paid for it. 
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It is in this spirit that I offer the following suggestions to 'help the President do his job better' (because as we learned this week, he's paying someone to read my, your, and our collective posts, comments, and e-mails in general). 
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As of this week -- I feel so very, very, important!
. 
. 

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OPTION A:
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But?  Thinking about it now...  I wonder? 
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Given President Obama's lack of preparation for his speech yesterday morning / afternoon (whichever time of day the President says it is), perhaps we should pay the President's Speech Writers to give his speeches on his behalf? 
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I mean, if he's not going to be prepared enough to take the speech with him to the podium, have an 'emergency back-up teleprompter' standing by, or have even the vaguest of notions as to what's IN the speech prior to the address in the first place, why don't we just have someone else present it for him?  It's the kindest thing to do for the man.
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. 

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OPTION B:
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Traveling on Air Force One is so very expensive, and I know that President Obama wants nothing more than to shave BILLIONS from Federal Spending!  Since the speech was given in California - we could request that Matt Damon, George Clooney, Beyoncé,  Leonardo DiCaprio, Reese Witherspoon, or almost any other Hollywood A-List Celebrity to give the speech for him!  They could read it ahead of time, commit it to memory and then present it to the audience...  Verbatim!  AND, they could do it with such faux 'feeling'!
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Why didn't I / they think of this sooner?!?!? 
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No!  We do NOT need to FLY the President across the country.  Let's keep him safe, right there at the White House where he can do his good work 24x7x365 (excepting, of course, those very rare instances when he's out golfing, campaigning, fund-raising, on vacation, or out of the country).   
. 
. 

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OPTION C:
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If 'Stars' aren't available to 'double' for the President, all the White House will need to do is have some West Coast 'Geek Squad' kid set up a large computer monitor in the conference hall, place it on an otherwise-empty chair, hang a flag to either side of the screen and viola!  A Presidential Webinar!  
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The President will KNOW his speech is ready because he'll have his notes, he'll have his teleprompter, he'll have other people's thoughts right there in front of him to, um, read!  He could even RECORD his LIVE speech in advance, just so that he will not make ANY mistakes!  Then, when the speech is over, the video feed will be accidentally 'cut' so that the President will not have to take questions from those turn-coat reporters who used-to-be so friendly to him.
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Next, of course, the NSA will read reporters' e-mails to see what they're saying privately about the Administration to determine who is still 'with the program' and who is not.  This should dramatically cut down on the number of folks in the White House Press Corps and the expense of doughnuts and coffee in the Capital's version of the 'Green Room'. 
. 
. 

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OPTION D: 
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The CGI (digital) Option.  Take any script written for the President, run it through a Text to Speech conversion program (they're really quite good), sample the President's voice for the audio file and create a 'Virtual President Obama' complete with computer-generated 'President Obama talking head'. 
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This last option could be a real money-maker also!  Imagine being able to 'buy' the President, run him on your Xbox or Nintendo PS 3 and programming him to say things like:
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"Yes Mike, I think you really do have some solid ideas here.  I'll run them by Harry Reid in the morning and, um, get to work on them immediately!",
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or,
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"Yes, I also think that George Soros is a great big tub of lard - I don't like him either!  And, have you ever been close enough to smell the man's breath, it's like a cross between a diner's dumpster and the Potomac in August".  
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Yeah, I'd buy this program for $59.95.  Although, if government WERE involved, it'd probably closer to $60,000. 
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But if it were, it would still ALMOST be worth it - regardless of price.
. . 
This post, like so many others, once begun has not gone where I thought it was going.  Looking back up at what I've written, I have a question which I did not intend to ask when I started this. 
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But then again, maybe in the end it's a variant of the statement that came in 'under the radar' above? 
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"If you're not good at your job, you shouldn't DO it - or, at least, you shouldn't get paid for it."
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The questions I'm thinking on this chilly Saturday morning are these, "If the President has no words of his own - why do we need him to speak someone else's words to us?  And who, exactly, do those words belong to?"
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Maybe I'm just crabby because I woke up at 4:18 this morning?  Or maybe it's because when I did wake up this morning I was thinking about the last thing the President said before he received his 'script' from his stumbling aide:  "Folks are sweating back there right now.”
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Always the 'Heavy'.  Always with the 'Boot on the neck'.  Always the 'Chicago Way'.
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Always Obama.
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President Obama, I also have learned not to care but I didn't need pot or blow to do it.  I learned not to care by listening to you.  Gee, thanks for that.
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Have a nice weekend folks.
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IRS Team Training (Or, How "Bunny Hopping" Will Lead America to Prosperity!)

Another Friday night.

Another scandal is released to the wiles of the Media.

Another week of the "Most Transparent" Administration (in the History of Mankind) concludes.

Does it occur to you, as it does me, that each Friday night is a simply THE BEST NIGHT OF THE WEEK for "Obama Administration Leadership" to have Media outlets release 'bad news'?  

Have you ever seen any:

• Mis-step Mondays?  Nope. 
• Terrible Decision Tuesdays?  Nope.
• Wildly Inappropriate Wednesdays?  Nope.
• Thumpingly Thunderous Thursdays?  Nah.

And yet,

• Freaky Fridays? 

Oh yeah.  Every Friday's been FREAKY lately.

May 31st, 2013 fits quite nicely into this category. 

As reported on CNN online, no less...

(CNN) – Updated 8:40 p.m. ET Friday 5/31 -- A newly obtained video has the IRS running damage control on a new front, as the embattled agency prepares for the release next week of an inspector general report that will be critical of how money was spent on staff conferences.
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In the video, an apparent team-building exercise, employees are taught the Cupid Shuffle dance move as they prepare to present the dance as a group at a 2010 conference.

The IRS said Friday night the video "was unacceptable and an inappropriate use of government funds."
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The video's narrator describes the group of individuals as executives from the Small Business/Self Employed (SBSE) department. They say they’re competing "to become the next great dance sensation."

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The IRS said the video cost $1,600 to produce, and it played at the end of a 2010 leadership and education meeting in Anaheim for 2,600 managers in the SBSE division.

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Acting Commissioner Danny Werfel, appointed in recent weeks, said in a statement that the report will focus on an IRS conference that took place in 2010 and labeled it an "unfortunate vestige from a prior era."

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"While there were legitimate reasons for holding the meeting, many of the expenses associated with it were inappropriate and should not have occurred," he said, adding new rules have been put in place and such a conference will not happen under his watch.

Ah, but yes, this happened "so long ago..."  (A tip of the literary hat to Jay Carney) 

There can't be anything more to this story, can there?  No, that would be CRAZY. 

Nothing more to see (or read) here - move along, move along.

Left out of the CNN report excerpted above (presumably by accident) is the 'Rest of the Story'...

Also Found online:  IRS Spent $50 Million on Conferences Drawing GOP Scrutiny

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service spent about $50 million on 220 conferences for employees from 2010 to 2012, according to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

The cost of the agency’s conferences was released today by the committee, which is holding a hearing on the subject June 6. In one case, the IRS spent $4 million for an Anaheim, California, conference in 2010, where some stayed in rooms costing $1,500 to $3,500 a night and $135,000 was paid to outside speakers, including $17,000 for a lecture on “leadership through art.”

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Representative Darrell Issa, the Republican who leads the committee, said the agency didn’t negotiate on the cost of hotel rooms, instead receiving perks such as game tickets or free drinks, which he called kickbacks.

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“The culture of the federal workforce is one where I don’t think you can underestimate that if you don’t keep reminding the voters but also the federal workers that we’re watching, this will happen again,” Issa said on CNN’s “State of the Union” today.

 
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The IRS said in a statement that the video was “unacceptable and an inappropriate use of government funds.” The agency said it and the entire government have “strict new policies” to ensure taxpayer funds are used properly.

Senator Charles Schumer, a Democrat from New York, was also critical of what has been revealed about the agency’s spending on conferences and videos as the federal government is under pressure to cut spending.

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“The acting director of the IRS said he would put an end to it,” Schumer said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday. “It’s outrageous. Any kind of wasteful spending like this must be put down, particularly at these times.”

Hey, wait a minute, did Chuck Schumer just say the Economy is BAD???  His Boss in DC is NOT going to be happy to read this. 

Shoot, the last time President Obama watched CNBC he heard that the Economy was doing just fine... 

So why am I picking on the IRS?  Well, quite frankly "THEY started it" when they morphed from a tax collection agency into a Goon Squad for the White House.  As I type this, they are:

An IRS with a proven track record of wasting your money.
 
An IRS which targets political opponents of the Obama Administration.
 
The people who will be funding (or, perhaps, (in the case of YOU dang Conservatives! - maybe not) your Health Care in the future.

Oh, and if anyone asked me, which they didn't, I would have MUCH preferred that the attendees to the IRS training learned a CLASSIC dance, vs. that Cupid Shuffle crap they were working on. 

Oh, I don't know, something like, yeah, something like THIS...

The "Time Warp" from the "Rocky Horror Picture Show". 
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Because maybe if we could time ”Warp” Fridays into Mondays, and…
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Perhaps we can have BIG news come out on Monday nights when more of us are awake and conscious rather than on Friday evenings. 
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Friday after Friday, week after week, Americans sit slumped over warm beers celebrating this vital, robust, and burgeoning U.S. Economy wondering, “Why?  Why did HE get re-elected?”.
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And YOU, Chuck Schumer, it’s ALL good, isn’t it?  Get with the program Chucky.  Pour yourself another icy-cold glass of Goofy Grape Kool-Aid!!!
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As for today…  It’s Monday!
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So sorry, no more news today!  Come back after Five PM on this upcoming Friday.
We’ll have another ‘Dump’ for you then…
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Oh, look at the pretty birds...

Nothing more to see here.