Obama is confused about al-qaeda

So Obama is expressing our national grief and concern about al-qaeda Somalis killing Christians and others in a Kenyan Mall (some of them possibly Somali-Americans), while at the same time arming al-qaeda linked rebels in Syria who are killing Christians and others. Does this make any sense?

http://news.yahoo.com/somalias-shebab-claims-responsibility-nairobi-mall-attack-182747786.html

Kenyatta, who called for patience, said he had received "numerous offers of assistance from friendly countries" but that for now it remained a Kenyan operation.

However, a Kenyan security source confirmed that Israelis "are rescuing the hostages and the injured". The Israeli foreign ministry refused to confirm or deny its agents were involved.

Taking out the trash

Sharon Jaynes writes at her website:

“Once I had a door-to-door vacuum salesman come to my house. To my detriment, I let him in. Before I could convince him I did not need a new vacuum cleaner, he had his demonstration trash sprinkled all over my foyer floor. Almost two hours later, I finally got him to leave.

What was my first mistake? You know it! My first mistake was to let him cross the threshold of my doorway and enter my house. Once he was in, it was difficult to get him out. It is the same way with our thoughts. Once we entertain a thought, once we allow the “salesman” to scatter his “trash” in our minds, it is hard to dismiss it or push it back out again. The place of easiest victory is at the threshold; don’t even let the trash in the door. It has been said, “Every spiritual battle is won or lost at the threshold of the mind.” I think victory is possible once the thought has passed over the threshold, but it sure will save us a lot of heartache and pain if we begin to recognize Satan’s lies and reject them from the start.”

I came across this looking for the exact citation for, “Hold every thought captive for Christ.” (Paul)  The complete wording and citation is, For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

At this age, I wouldn’t make the mistake of letting in a salesman of anything unless I had invited him or called for an appointment, but my goodness, the dust and dirt still creeps in and I find ways to avoid cleaning it up (often checking FB or my blog instead). Better to have a good seal and filter so there isn’t so much to clean up later.

The national debt

First day of Fall

Thesouthernladycooks

I eat walnuts everyday for breakfast—like their shape, I hope they are brain food .  Here’s what Southern Lady says about that:

Walnuts are known as the healthy nut. They are high in calories but you only need about 1 ounce a day (14 halves) to get the benefit of this great food. Walnuts contain higher amounts of omega-3 fatty acids than other nuts. Omega-3 fatty acids help lower triglycerides and blood pressure. My doctor is amazed that my blood pressure is perfect and I’ve never had any problems with high blood pressure. There are studies showing that omega-3 fatty acids may help with other conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, depression, and many more. Walnuts are a great source of protein, rich in fiber, B vitamins, magnesium and antioxidants such as vitamin E. Studies are showing they increase blood flow for type 2 diabetes. Melatonin is a hormone that decreases in our bodies as we age and melatonin improves sleep. Walnuts have melatonin. Do you have trouble sleeping? Eat a handful at night before going to bed. I have seen Dr. Oz talk about the health benefits of walnuts on his show. Dr. Oz said he carries them in his pockets to eat as a healthy snack and he never gets hungry during the day.

Walnuts are great in salads, desserts, cereal, oatmeal, yogurt and granola. Not all nuts are the same. Walnuts are unique in their many health benefits.

Toxic love

What ever happened to “Our Gang” aka “Little Rascals”

Tommy Bond “Butch” died in 2005 after a long and successful career directing and producing in TV. Served in WWII and graduated from college in 1951. Most of them, however, did not have a long and happy or successful life.

Pete the Pup – (? –1930) - An unknown assailant poisoned the original Pete.

Carl Switzer “Alfalfa”  (8/07/27 – 1/21/59)  was shot to death at age 31.

Robert Hutchins "Wheezer" - (3/29/25 - 3/17/45) - Died in an airplane accident at the age of 19.

William Robert Laughlin "Froggy" - (7/05/32 - 8/31/48) - Died in a bicycle accident at the age of 16.

Robert H. Young "Bonedust" – (9/15/17 - 9/10/51) - Died in a hotel fire, which started when he fell asleep smoking in bed.

Dorothy Dandridge "Dorothy" – (11/09/23 – 9/08/65) - Committed suicide after an investment scheme caused her to go bankrupt.

Harold Switzer "Deadpan" or "Slim" - (1/16/25 - 4/14/67) – As was the case with his brother, Harold was also killed following a dispute with another man.

Scotty Beckett "Scotty" - (10/04/29 - 5/10/68) – Died in a Hollywood nursing home after being severely beaten two days prior to his admittance. A bottle of pills and a note were found at the scene, however the coroner never determined the exact cause of death. He was just 38 years old.

Darla Hood "Darla" - (11/08/31 - 6/13/79) - Hospitalized for hepatitis in 1979, she soon died under what was later ruled to be "suspicious circumstances."

Kendall McComas "Breezy Brisbane" - (10/29/16 - 10/15/81) - Two weeks before his 65th birthday and apparent forced retirement from the U.S. Naval Weapons Center in China Lake, California, he committed suicide.

Robert Blake "Mickey" - (9/18/33 - present) - On April 18, 2002, he was arrested and charged with the murder of his wife, Bonnie Lee Bakely.

Darwood Kaye "Waldo" - (9/08/29 - 5/15/2002) - Killed by a hit and run driver while walking on the sidewalk.

Jay R. Smith "Jay R" - (8/29/15 - 10/05/2002) - Stabbed to death and left in the desert by a homeless man he had befriended.

William "Billie" Thomas, Jr.  “Buckwheat” (3/12/1931 – 10/10/ 80) heart attack.

Wikipedia lists the others.

Most of this is from http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/celebrity/carl_switzer/8.html

I’m longing for Jimmy Carter!

No President in my memory has so reflexively blamed SOMEONE ELSE for his failings: The economy. The Middle East mess threatening more wars.  Arming al-qaeda in Syria. 73% of the losses in Afghanistan have been under Obama.  Gun violence on military bases. Benghazi. Using the IRS to attack political enemies. NSA snooping. Operating without a budget (even when he had both houses). Obamacare train wreck and exempting cronies and campaign donors. Bailouts for unions and banks. Misspent AARA funding. The redline fiasco. On and on. I lose track. He is succeeding in destroying our country, perhaps it was in the plans all along. Nixon or Carter would be a breath of sanity and fresh air.

Health care costs—the lie

Spiraling health care costs.  We've heard it so often it's burned in our national soul.  But 100 years ago, health care was 5% of consumer income, and today it is 6%.  Entertainment has soared as a percent of income, as has transportation.  Where's the outrage? Food has dropped from 40% of consumer income to 15%, and if you cut eating out, it would drop even more. If a pill costs $100/week instead of pennies like an aspirin (which won't keep us alive), we are outraged, but don't consider the 10 years of research and FDA approvals and the recovery costs.  We want the best when we go to the hospital for surgery or illness, but we want someone else to pay the bill and seem to want the RNs and doctors, cooks and janitors to work for free.

What has increased is the amount of government in our health care, not just in research, but in expensive, ever growing regulation of the insurance industry (they are now same species partners), plus creating a new bureaucracy and red tape that steps between us and our doctors.  And now despite the soaring graft, payola and crime in Medicare, Medicaid, VA, S-CHIP, state programs and insurance companies, Obama wants an even fatter layer of government, plus he wants the IRS which is embroiled in its own scandal supervising it. (Can't wait for the IRS, NSA, our electronic medical record and the i-phone fingerprint to all be linked.) Whether or not the ACA was designed it to crash the economy is no longer the issue; that is what has resulted as we’re still struggling with Obama’s recovery.

Constitution Day in Modesto, California

No matter how liberal you think campuses are, it's worse. 62% of colleges and universities have unconstitutional speech codes. This one prevented copies of the Constitution from being distributed on Constitution Day.

A police officer at Modesto Junior College in California told a patriotic libertarian student that it was against college rules for him to hand out copies of the U.S. Constitution on campus.

Ironically, this flagrant violation of the student’s Constitutional rights took place on September 17th: Constitution Day.

The exchange between student Robert Van Tuinen and a campus police officer was captured on video. Tuinen told the officer that he wished to start a Young Americans for Liberty chapter on campus, and hoped that passing out copies of the Constitution would generate interest in that. The officer, however, maintained that Van Tuinen was not allowed to distribute flyers without college authorization.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2013/09/19/campus-cop-stops-student-from-handing-out-constitutions-on-constitution-day/#ixzz2fTHvEH3c

Guidelines for napping

So. . . looks like 90 minutes it is.

A Letter from a Shelter Manager - anonymous in North Carolina

Our society needs a huge "Wake-up" call. As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with you all, view from the inside if you will.

First off, all of you breeders/sellers should be made to work in the "back" of an animal shelter for just one day. Maybe if you saw the life drain from a few sad, lost, confused eyes, you would change your mind about breeding and selling to people you don't even know.

That puppy you just sold will most likely end up in my shelter when it's not a cute little puppy anymore. So how would you feel if you knew that there's about a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it is going to be dumped at? Purebred or not! About 50% of all of the dogs that are "owner surrenders" or "strays", that come into my shelter are purebred dogs.

The most common excuses I hear are; "We are moving and we can't take our dog (or cat)." Really? Where are you moving too that doesn't allow pets? Or they say "The dog got bigger than we thought it would". How big did you think a German Shepherd would get? "We don't have time for her". Really? I work a 10-12 hour day and still have time for my 6 dogs! "She's tearing up our yard". How about making her a part of your family? They always tell me "We just don't want to have to stress about finding a place for her we know she'll get adopted, she's a good dog".

Odds are your pet won't get adopted & how stressful do you think being in a shelter is? Well, let me tell you, your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off. Sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn't full and your dog manages to stay completely healthy. If it sniffles, it dies. Your pet will be confined to a small run/kennel in a room with about 25 other barking or crying animals. It will have to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps. It will be depressed and it will cry constantly for the family that abandoned it. If your pet is lucky, I will have enough volunteers in that day to take him/her for a walk. If I don't, your pet won't get any attention besides having a bowl of food slid under the kennel door and the waste sprayed out of its pen with a high-powered hose. If your dog is big, black or any of the "Bully" breeds (pit bull, rottie, mastiff, etc) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door. Those dogs just don't get adopted. It doesn't matter how 'sweet' or 'well behaved' they are.

If your dog doesn't get adopted within its 72 hours and the shelter is full, it will be destroyed. If the shelter isn't full and your dog is good enough, and of a desirable enough breed it may get a stay of execution, but not for long . Most dogs get very kennel protective after about a week and are destroyed for showing aggression. Even the sweetest dogs will turn in this environment. If your pet makes it over all of those hurdles chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed because shelters just don't have the funds to pay for even a $100 treatment.

Here's a little euthanasia 101 for those of you that have never witnessed a perfectly healthy, scared animal being "put-down".
First, your pet will be taken from its kennel on a leash. They always look like they think they are going for a walk happy, wagging their tails. Until they get to "The Room", every one of them freaks out and puts on the brakes when we get to the door. It must smell like death or they can feel the sad souls that are left in there, it's strange, but it happens with every one of them. Your dog or cat will be restrained, held down by 1 or 2 vet techs depending on the size and how freaked out they are. Then a euthanasia tech or a vet will start the process. They will find a vein in the front leg and inject a lethal dose of the "pink stuff". Hopefully your pet doesn't panic from being restrained and jerk. I've seen the needles tear out of a leg and been covered with the resulting blood and been deafened by the yelps and screams. They all don't just "go to sleep", sometimes they spasm for a while, gasp for air and defecate on themselves.

When it all ends, your pets corpse will be stacked like firewood in a large freezer in the back with all of the other animals that were killed waiting to be picked up like garbage. What happens next? Cremated? Taken to the dump? Rendered into pet food? You'll never know and it probably won't even cross your mind. It was just an animal and you can always buy another one, right?

I hope that those of you that have read this are bawling your eyes out and can't get the pictures out of your head I deal with everyday on the way home from work.

I hate my job, I hate that it exists & I hate that it will always be there unless you people make some changes and realize that the lives you are affecting go much farther than the pets you dump at a shelter.
Between 9 and 11 MILLION animals die every year in shelters and only you can stop it. I do my best to save every life I can but rescues are always full, and there are more animals coming in everyday than there are homes.
My point to all of this DON'T BREED OR BUY WHILE SHELTER PETS DIE!

Hate me if you want to. The truth hurts and reality is what it is. I just hope I maybe changed one persons mind about breeding their dog, taking their loving pet to a shelter, or buying a dog. I hope that someone will walk into my shelter and say "I saw this and it made me want to adopt". THAT WOULD MAKE IT WORTH IT.

The absentee landlord fights back—guest blog by Richard

I have permission to use this letter to point out a problem many homeowners face when their neighborhood changes, and they run into a wall of bureaucracy and red tape. Richard (I’ve left off the details for his privacy) writes his local paper a letter:

August 23, 2013

Editor
Statesboro Herald
1 Proctor Street.
Statesboro, GA 30458

cc: City Council
re: zoning decision

The City Council has made a decision about the zoning of the three properties on the corner of Herty and Fair Road, as is their right. I understand the concerns of the residents of this area, though I don’t’ agree with their reasoning. There are too many examples of businesses placed on locations near or on the edge of residential neighborhoods that have had no negative effects on the neighborhoods. Be that as it may, I accept the decision of the Council with disappointment, but without anger .

I do have major concerns about the kind of publicity and reasoning that have been published by the Herald and brought up in Council discussion.

It was pointed out that the owners of the property are “absentee landlords,”  implying that we/they bought the properties as an investment, implying something nefarious on our parts. Notwithstanding the fact that any landlord who does not live on the premises is “absentee,”  this absentee landlord is seventy nine years old, and I lived in the Catherine Ave. house for thirty five of those seventy nine years I think it is clear that I did not have a desire to sell it for commercial use when I bought it. The first thirty of those years were quite wonderful for my wife, myself, and our six children, but the last five were quite difficult. People were parking in my yard for graduation, ball games and other events. My yard had become a shortcut to the campus, and anything left in the yard (including the blueberries and blackberries, pears and peaches growing at the edge of the property) was subject to misappropriation (call it theft).

My neuropathy had become enough of a problem that, after my children moved away for college, graduate school, military service and marriage, I was having difficulty maintaining the property. (If it were not for a young parolee from some kind of incarceration who dropped by one day and asked if he could mow my lawn or wash my car, and continued to come by once or twice a week to help me for four of the last five years, my place would have become a real mess. I was glad for him to get a job at Claxton Poultry, but it created difficulties for me.) Finally, I decided to try to sell the property, but as family housing, it was unmarketable. After finding another house further from the property, I rented the place to students and became an “absentee landlord”

One of the “absentee landlords,” identified as a corporation, is not a landlord at all, it is the Salvation Army. Before buying the location, they polled the entire neighborhood to see if there was any opposition to their object to build a Salvation Army facility. Finding little opposition, even when they held a public meeting to get response, with the encouragement of city officials they bought the property. When a building permit was requested, a meeting was held, THEN, the objectors from the neighborhood showed up, the permit was disapproved, and for sixteen years they have been stuck with an unusable and unmarketable piece of land.

At this time, thanks to the procrastination of the city council, postponing their decision till after the “renting period” had expired seems almost deliberate. Judging from the cheering from the members of the Council and the unanimous vote of all members, including those who had voiced support up to the moment, it was a decision that appeared to have been made at the first meeting, or before, and then postponed for no reason except public relations. As a result, I have missed the period wherein student rentals are available (August 1) so that the robust rental market mentioned in the resolution printed in the Herald and part of the negative resolution passed by the council no longer exists, at least for me and Dr. Hood.

I am pretty sure that the current Council recognizes the inevitability of this area becoming commercial, as did Marvin Pittman, or his agents who submitted the original plat to the city wherein all of the properties concerned were zoned commercial. I am not sure when this zoning was changed, or when it will be changed back, but it is as inevitable as death and taxes.
As for me, I am very concerned about getting it rented, because, if I can’t, I may end up losing it to a foreclosed mortgage.

Thank you for your time
Richard

The debt limit

Obama insists it’s no big deal. Easy for him to say—he’s a millionaire.

Video game violence—don’t buy it

"Many people, especially children, think that whatever they see in the media is real. If in the name of entertainment violence is glorified, anti-social behavior is approved of, and human sexuality is trivialized, this is a sin both of those in the media who are responsible and also of those supervisory authorities that ought to put a stop to it." (YOUCAT)

Sounds good, but who is supervising the adults sucked in by the same sin and supporting it financially? Look what hit the shelves and homes this week. Grand Theft Auto 5.

"Grand Theft Auto V," the latest installment in Rockstar Games' hit video game series, reaped an eye-popping $800 million in worldwide retail sales on its first day of release Tuesday, heading for $1 billion.

“ “For better or worse,” Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in the decision, “our society has long regarded many depictions of killing and maiming as suitable features of popular entertainment.” As such, Rockstar, the developer of Grand Theft Auto V, the latest entry in the long-running series, which was released today, could include a prolonged interactive depiction of torture without fear of censorship. Nevertheless, the “24”-esque scene, which requires players to rotate the game controller’s sticks in order to tug out the victim’s teeth with pliers, has inspired debate—not only over its artistic merit but also over whether such distressing interactions have any place in video games. “ (New Yorker)

Where in the world are the adults? How many more mentally ill shooters will be inspired?

        

Gluten free Halloween treats

I would never go to this much trouble, but isn’t it cute.

Is Obamacare because of costs or loss?

Outraged about cost of medical care? Don't be. It was 5% of consumer income in 1901 and is 6% today. And look at the change in life expectancy. What has increased is the amount of our income that goes to entertainment/reading: 3% in 1901 a...nd 7% in 2003. More than health care. Food costs have been reduced tremendously in percent of income. 40% on food down to 13%. The biggest increase has been in transportation. What I can't tell from the graph (because it is consumer income), is how much we contribute to these categories through our taxes--artificially low food prices because of agricultural support, and the various government health programs and research.

http://visualeconomics.creditloan.com/100-years-of-consumer-spending/

Obamacare isn't about insuring the poor or pre-existing coverage. The employer deduction and the employee tax free benefit amounts to a "loss" to the government that is twice that of the mortgage deduction loss. It's the biggest "loophole" in the system, and the way the government controls both business and labor through tax laws. Both Republicans and Democrats think that's their money--and they want us to pay up! That said, the money that employers use to purchase health insurance comes out of workers’ wages. We would all be better off if we were just allowed to purchase the insurance we want (without employer involvement) and health care were tax neutral, but that will never happen.

Who’s reckless now?

"Wrong and reckless leadership all over the map." No, Obama wasn't describing himself, but Gov. Romney who called Russia a "geo-political foe" just about a year ago.  Putin has since proved Romney right, and Obama recklessly wrong.  Romney reminded Obama that attacking him wasn't an agenda.  (Neither is attacking Bush or the GOP, but it seems to work for keeping his supporters.) And Romney went on to say he opposed direct U.S. military involvement in the efforts to topple Syrian President Bashir Assad, which at the time was also Obama's position (although we can't be sure).
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/22/neck-and-neck-at-end-obama-and-romney-seek-foreign-policy-edge-in-final/

Happy Birthday, U.S. Constitution

Somebody should check the spelling on posters.

Obama, Biden and Boehner sitting on their bottoms looking for a new idiom

While Obama opened his address by calling the victims of the mass shooting "patriots" and vowing to get to the bottom of what happened, he quickly pivoted to his remarks about congressional Republicans (on Sept. 16, day of the shooting).

Biden says he's confident the nation will get to the bottom of the situation. (Sept. 16, day of the shooting)

“We still do not know who did this or why. And people shouldn't jump to conclusions before we have all the facts. But make no mistake -- we will get to the bottom of this“ said Obama about the Boston Marathon bombings.   Then the bottom turned out to be 2 Muslim brothers who were planning terrorism, but the T-word was not used.

"I think our committees in the coming days and weeks are going to get to the bottom of this so we’ll have real facts at our disposal to determine whether it is true, and if it was true, why the information wasn’t shared,"  John Boehner

“If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon. “I think [Martin's parents] are right to expect that all of us as Americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves and were going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened.”  Then the bottom turned out to be a troubled teen who attacked Zimmerman first.

Obama: “We need to get to the bottom of Benghazi.” President Obama says he will “cooperate in any way that ...

"The Congress has the responsibility to get to the truth," said the [John Boehner] Ohio Republican, “whether it's Benghazi, the IRS scandal, the whole situation with The Associated Press, our committees are going to do their job to get to the bottom [of this]."

President Obama is pledging to work with Congress to get to the bottom of the IRS scandal. May 13, 2013  Follow up 3 months later finds no group targeted (41) by IRS had been contacted by investigators from DoJ  Aug. 13, 2013.

House Speaker John Boehner tells Newsmax that Congress will “get to the bottom” of the unfolding Fast and Furious scandal following new revelations about Attorney General Eric Holder’s involvement in the case.  Oct. 2011

Obama never said he would get to the bottom of the Ft. Hood shootings, probably because they knew who the murderer was.  But instead he warned the American people against “jumping to conclusions.” Terrorism was renamed “workplace violence.”

Tonight many families are suffering

Cardiovascular Benefits of olive oil

This is just part of an article on the benefits of olive oil that was in WHFoods website (the newsletter article was shorter, but couldn’t find it on the website).

“Many different cardiovascular problems—including gradual blocking of the arteries and blood vessels (called atherosclerosis)—have their origin in two unwanted circumstances. The first of these circumstances is called oxidative stress. Oxidative stress means too much damage (or risk of damage) from the presence of overly reactive oxygen-containing molecules. One of the best ways to help avoid oxidative stress is to consume a diet that is rich in antioxidant nutrients. The second of these circumstances is ongoing (chronic) and undesirable low-level inflammation. Undesirable and chronic inflammation can result from a variety of factors, including unbalanced metabolism, unbalanced lifestyle, unwanted exposure to environmental contaminants, and other factors. One of the best ways to help avoid chronic and unwanted inflammation is to consume a diet that is rich in anti-inflammatory nutrients. Any food that is rich in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients is a natural candidate for lowering our risk of heart problems, because it contains the exactly right combination of nutrients to lower our risk of oxidative stress and chronic, unwanted inflammation. Many foods contain valuable amounts of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, but few foods are as rich in these compounds as extra virgin olive oil, and this fact alone accounts for many of the research-based benefits of this culinary oil for health of our cardiovascular system.

In terms of antioxidant protection for our blood vessels, olive oil has been shown to lower risk of lipid peroxidation (oxygen damage to fat) in our bloodstream. Many of the fat-containing molecules in our blood—including molecules like LDL—need to be protected from oxygen damage. Oxygen damage to molecules like LDL significantly increases our risk of numerous cardiovascular diseases, including atherosclerosis. Protection of the LDL molecules in our blood from oxygen damage is a major benefit provided by olive oil and its polyphenols. Equally important is protection against oxygen damage to the cells that line our blood vessels. Once again, it's the polyphenols in olive oil that have been shown to provide us with that protection.

One process we don't want to see in our blood vessels is too much clumping together of blood cells called platelets. While we want to see blood platelets clump together under circumstances like an open wound, where their clumping together acts to seal off the wound, we don't want this process to occur in an ongoing way when there is no acute emergency. Several of the polyphenols found in olive oil—including hydroxytyrosol, oleuropein and luteolin—appear to be especially helpful in keeping our blood platelets in check and avoiding problems of too much clumping (called platelet aggregation). There are also two messaging molecules (called plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 and factor VII) that are capable of triggering too much clumping together of the platelets, and the polyphenols in olive oil can help stop overproduction of these molecules.

Olive oil is one of the few widely used culinary oils that contains about 75% of its fat in the form of oleic acid (a monounsaturated, omega-9 fatty acid). Research has long been clear about the benefits of oleic acid for proper balance of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol in the body. When diets low in monounsaturated are made high in monounsaturated fat (by replacing other oils with olive oil), research study participants tend to experience a significant decrease in their total blood cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and LDL:HDL ratio. Those are exactly the results we want for heart health. In addition to these cholesterol-balancing effects of olive oil and its high oleic acid content, however, comes a new twist: recent research studies have shown that olive oil and its oleic acid may be important factors for lowering blood pressure. Researchers believe that the plentiful amount of oleic acid in olive oil gets absorbed into the body, finds its way into cell membranes, changes signaling patterns at a cell membrane level (specifically, altering G-protein associated cascades) and thereby lowers blood pressure.

Interestingly, a recent laboratory animal study adds one note of caution for anyone wanting to bring the unique cardiovascular benefits of olive oil into their diet. This study found that cardiovascular benefits from olive oil and its polyphenols were not realized when the laboratory animals consumed too many calories and too much total food. This result suggests that olive oil—outstanding as it is in polyphenol protection of our cardiovascular system—needs to be integrated into an overall healthy diet in order to provide its expected benefits.”

For anyone seeking the truth about the Tea Party—guest blogger Kay

As a supporter of the Sauk Valley Tea Party [Illinois], I know the liberal media has steered you wrong. The majority of the active members are people like you, retired and concerned about the future of the country. Our group focuses on education and we have people like Congressmen Manzullo, Schilling, radio hosts like Dan Proft, local leaders like the owner of Jimmy Johns in Dixon, representatives from a state-wide organization to point out facts of Common Core Curriculum.

The nation-wide Tea Party is comprised of people of all races, ages, and ethnic backgrounds. (And I'm quoting this from a statistic of a few yours ago.) I protested Pelosi Care in D.C., when it was staged to be voted by the Democratically controlled house. The "tea party" people at that protest included families with young children, all ages and races and even Democrats. Anyway, the point is: I was next to the security and as the security guards shifted around, their number one comment was: This group is the best group. . . never any problems occur with the Tea Party people, they are well organized and very respectful.

I hope you find peace with yourself in your quest for the truth.

Monday Memories—Caribou Coffee

For many years I had my morning coffee at Caribou on Lane Ave., and then would walk indoors at the Lane Avenue shopping center, then head for work at the Sisson Hall Veterinary Medicine Library. Now all are gone. Caribou has become Peet's, the enclosed mall disappeared—well, it was remodeled but now you have to walk outside, and the veterinary medicine library was torn down.

Ohio State fan on game day in Caribou on Lane Avenue, Oct. 2007

"Going out" for coffee is something I've done for about 60 years--starting probably when I worked the counter at Zickuhr's Pharmcy in my home town, Mt. Morris, Illinois. That's when it was $.10 a cup and I'd get a dime tip (or even a quarter occasionally) and all the town's gossip for free. It is still a social event, at least for me. No matter what McDonald's or Caribou or Cup 'o Joe's I enter, I see a group of regulars solving the day's problems. That's why I have a special blog about coffee shops. So you see, I've been on the other side of the counter too.

Friday Family Photo—the Ford Explorer

In the fall of 1999 we bought a 2000 2 dr. Ford Explorer, forest green, shift, good gas mileage.  It has been a great car and still looks good. There was a recall on the original tires very early, so we're still on those replacements after 14 years. The bumper got bumped about 5 years ago and developed some rust, so we had that replaced.  Because it's basically a truck, it's not comfortable for my back when I’m a passenger, but the step ladder fits in the back, so we keep it for the art shows and our kids hauling things. This week our daughter borrowed it while her husband was in Cleveland with their car, so we had to make some adjustments in our schedule.  We could probably manage with 1 car, but this is just too convenient and useful. (This is not our Explorer in the photo—it’s pulling a boat.)

Why you can’t reason with ignorance

I contribute to Huffington Post political FB page. I don’t call people names, slander the president or make biased statements.  I just contribute sourced statements.  Like this one about why the food stamp program is expanding as unemployment drops and so mean old Republicans want poor people to starve by cutting back. All you have to do is check a reasonable source like the USDA or a non-profit that works with the poor—left or right—and you see that recruiting of low income people was expanded with ARRA money--the money that was going to get people back to work in 2009 was used in part to add more people to SNAP (the new name for food stamps).  I even pointed out that the N in SNAP stands for nutrition, and that EBT cards can be used at fast food restaurants.  For that easily researched information I was told I was stupid and uninformed.  My posts are always researched and reasonable, and the left calls me a troll, stupid, tea bagger, racist, homophobe, etc.  That’s the level of political discourse.

Just say no, Doctor.

I've often wondered about this--why do pharmaceutical companies advertise to us, the consumer, as if we know what the doctor needs to prescribe.  It seems it's not that old.  Claritin was the first in 1997, according to the University of Illinois LAS newsletter (May 2013).

http://www.las.illinois.edu/news/2013/rosenberg/

Worked as planned

Divots on the golf course and pivots on the economy

"Because Obama speaks with such authority, it often takes several repetitions before I realize that what he’s saying is total nonsense." Caroline Baum, Bloomberg, on his "growing the economy" meme, A User’s Guide to Obama’s Inside-Out Economics, Aug. 7, 2013

He's pivoted again; it's back to the economy. The rich have recovered; the low income not so much. Five years and Obama can't fix it. The recession has been over since June 2009. Truman had a recession, Eisenhower had several, Nixon got a recession, so did Carter, so did Reagan, so did both Bushes, and all were brief and the economy quickly recovered. But then, they didn't try to take over health care and pay back and bail out unions and bankers. You have to go all the way back to FDR's mishandling of the Depression in the 30s, extending it a decade, to find a record this poor.

          

NSA snoops

Fourteen NSA documents were declassified on Tuesday in response to a May 2011 ACLU lawsuit. The documents were made public under the Freedom of Information Act and related to the government's interpretation of Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which ambiguously grants the FBI permission to obtain "any tangible things" without evidence or probable cause for the sake of national security.

ACLU National Security Project staff attorney Alex Abdo: "These documents show that the NSA repeatedly violated court-imposed limits on its surveillance powers, and they confirm that the agency simply cannot be trusted with such sweeping authority."

Conservatives underestimate Obama and his support

Although I enjoy reading American Thinker, this writer, J.R. Dunn is underestimating Obama. Conservatives seem to be in an echo chamber listening only to themselves. Obama's supporters still love him and think all these detriments Dunn cites are positives. They don't even see the worsening race relations, or blame them on those who oppose him. The wealthier are getting richer after a few tough years, and the poorer are losing ground--they don't care.

From J.R. Dunn in American Thinker:
"Obama is less lucky than FDR, less competent than Jimmy Carter, and less flexible than Bill Clinton. With Obama, all the failures of liberalism are coming to a head. He has put more liberal policies into effect in a shorter period than any other president, but thanks to his unique combination of ineptness, ignorance, inexperience, and arrogance, every last one of them is doomed. All of them are failing as we watch. His economic policies have repeated the failures of FDR's New Deal, with worse to come. His health care "reform" is in a state of collapse before it has even started. His stewardship of race relations has returned the country to a state of nearly open hostility and panic not seen since 1968. His Hallmark card foreign policy has killed tens of thousands overseas and will almost inevitably lead to the deaths of millions, as did the policies of Jimmy Carter in countries as unrelated as Nicaragua, Iran, Ethiopia, and Cambodia."

Defund Obamacare; don’t try to fix it

I called Steve Stivers, my representative, talked to a real person and after giving her my name told her, "Please tell Mr. Stivers I want him to vote for defunding Obamacare." She asked my address and thanked me for calling. To sweeten the deal for Congress and staff to get their support, Obama will give them a $4,500 subsidy for individuals and $10,000 for family coverage to help pay the cost of their Obamacare exchange. In the rest of the country, you lose assistance after an income of about $46,000 (Source: WSJ, August 8, 2013; Affordable Care Act) A number of companies and unions have been exempt, but HHS still mandates Christians will pay for abortifacients and birth control, and we all know that's just the nose of the camel in the tent.

Meanwhile according to today’s Washington Post, the U.S. continues to supply rebel forces, some of which are al-qaeda, in Syria despite our protests. And if we could ever get the media to do investigative journalism, we might find out what happened to all the arms we lost in Libya (Benghazi).

The CIA shipments are to flow through a network of clandestine bases in Turkey and Jordan that were expanded over the past year as the agency sought to help Middle Eastern allies, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, direct weapons to moderate Syrian rebel forces.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/cia-begins-weapons-delivery-to-syrian-rebels/2013/09/11/9fcf2ed8-1b0c-11e3-a628-7e6dde8f889d_story.html

JAMA’s new cover design

I hate it.  Now I can never tell which issue I’ve read.  I loved their covers and always looked forward to reading the details. Yes, it’s still inside, but it’s lost its purpose.

“The cover art made JAMA a beacon for humanism that shouted out its presence in a sea of technological advancement, and reminded us that medicine is closely intertwined with people and culture. In marketing terms, the revised cover represents rebranding not only of JAMA but perhaps of the medical profession itself. The change comes at a time when medicine sorely needs a touch of humanism, and rather than taking art away we need more of it.” http://www.jeffreymlevinemd.com/jama-redesign-removes-cover-art/

Syria Time Line for White House

Sex diary of RFK Jr.

Robert Kennedy, Jr's sex diary has been published and although I think he's no moral prize and this is the pot calling the kettle black, "During lock up [with Al Sharpton], he apparently had plenty of time to critique his fellow Democrats, saying that Sharpton 'has done more damage to the black cause' than segregationist governors in the south who prevented school integration. '(Sharpton's) transparent venal blackmail and extortion schemes taint all black leadership,' Kennedy wrote."

Sounds like he was trying to keep up with his uncle, JFK, or maybe his grandfather who was also randy.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2415988/RFK-Jrs-secret-sex-diary-RFK-Jr-slammed-creepy-Al-Sharpton-said-Andrew-Cuomo-lacked-humanity-diary-kept-ranking-of-women-cheated-with.html

Fairfax County Library throws out usable books

Throwing out usable books and cutting staff, and hiring more non-librarians to buy more digitized collections is foolish. Information IS NOT FREE, whether it appears on your Kindle, your computer, or your paperback.  There are many people, children and adults, who would have been delighted to have these books.  And if the county isn’t allow to give away its own property, then the Friends of the Library should have sold them for a reduced price to get back some of the tax payer money.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/fairfax-county-library-revamps-system-discards-books-reduces-librarians/2013/09/09/e3dca65a-1724-11e3-be6e-dc6ae8a5b3a8_story.html?hpid=z3

For years, the public and librarians were told computerization/digitization would save money.  That hasn’t happened. It has just replaced library staff with IT staff and constant upgrading of equipment, software and contracts with book bundlers.   Also, digitized books/documents are easily edited with no one knowing--the earlier version is just gone. I recall looking something up a few years back in an e-encyclopedia at the public library only to discover the horrors of the Soviet Union had virtually disappeared.

Dumpster diving for books at Chantilly technical operations center in a Washington, DC’s affluent suburbs. (Median family  income in Fairfax Co. is about $120,000) Photo by Linda Smyth.

Mission Accomplished

Michelle Obama has hung out the "mission accomplished" sign for us. Her husband has completely destroyed U.S. credibility and succeeded in totally transforming our image from tough guy to indecisive, flip flopping wimp who will go after an enemy with words and itsy bitsy strikes leaving everything in tact. She doesn't want to lose any more far left supporters, so she's let him know his job is done.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2416530/First-lady-Michelle-Obama-opposes-military-action-Syria-president-reveals.html

What the state creates, it can destroy--marriage

I have no idea who Marie Dean is, but on several occasion this commenter at blogs has made a lot of sense.  Most likely a Catholic, this is Dean’s take on the so-called gay or same sex marriage. From comments on other topics, I would guess Dean teaches history.

“The state regulation of marriage began in the Protestant Reformation, a legal movement in the 18th century gaining momentum in the 19th century, with laws in England, Scotland, Switzerland, France and then Germany demanding State recognized marriages rather than Canon Law ones as previously regulated under the Catholic Church. What these laws did was give power to the State to determine the definition of marriage, rather than the Church, allowing for the State, therefore, to change the definition of marriage at will. Civil ceremonies were more common in the French Republic and under Napoleon, as religious or sacramental marriages were not recognized by the State, for example. In England today, a religious marriage is not recognized by law without a civil marriage.

What this did was undermine any moral position of marriage, as once marriage was divorced, pun intended, from religion, anything civil definition could be manipulated.

It is only in the 20th and 21st centuries that we see the logical consequences of separating marriage from a religious sacramental act and merely becoming one more cog in the societal wheel. That such gross aberrations did not happen before the mid-20th century merely points to the fact that there was an overlay of Christianity in the culture. Once that disappeared, the State did what it always wanted to do, define marriage outside that Christian moral framework.

The California law would be in keeping with the logical progress of the undermining of the sacredness of marriage begun back in 1753. Even if the state required a religious setting, as in England at that date, it was the State deciding, creating the law, not God. What the State can create, the State can destroy.”

9/6/2013 First Things article on Marvin v. Marvin

http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2013/09/the-case-that-destroyed-marriage

The long good-bye

We worshipped at the lovely Hilltop Lutheran today; enjoyed Pastor Paul's final sermon there and also his playing the organ.  He is retiring at the end of the month and is preaching at different locations.  It is one of the 3 campuses of our church, Upper Arlington Lutheran, but it had probably been 5 years since we'd visited. A warm and friendly congregation, 12 South Terrace, Columbus, OH 43204.

Paul and June came to UALC in 1973 after 4 years in Minneapolis right out of seminary, and we joined in 1974, so we’ve had a long time together.  He left for awhile (8 years?) to pastor a church in Illinois, but came back as associate, and then became the senior pastor about 11 years ago.

Paul came to the hospital in 1988 when our daughter was in a serious automobile accident and was with us when she had her cancer surgery in 1996.  He officiated at our son’s wedding in 1999. He’s preached more funeral sermons than I want to recall. So, 40 years is a long time.

We also worshipped earlier at our Lytham Road campus, where we had flowers on the alter for our 53rd wedding anniversary.  Now we have them on the deck so we can see them through the dining room window.

Liberal media line up to kiss butt when Obama follows Bush

“Obama made clear in his Rose Garden announcement that he wasn’t seeking Congress’s approval out of constitutional necessity. “I believe I have the authority to carry out this military action without specific congressional authorization,” he said, arguing that the “country will be stronger” if Congress grants authorization. That happens to be precisely the argument the Bush administration made in the run-up to the Iraq War in 2002. The president also acknowledged during a press conference in Sweden on Wednesday that the United States “may not be directly, imminently threated” by the conflict in Syria.

As liberal commentators such as E. J. Dionne and Nicholas Kristof – along with a host of previously “anti-war” Democrats – have lined up in support of Obama’s plan to attack Syria, there has been relatively little discussion about the president’s blatant disavowal of the opinion he expressed as a candidate in 2007, when he told the Boston Globe that “the President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.””

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/357764/obama-constitutional-hero-andrew-stiles

But wait.  Bush did get authorization, and Obama says he will strike without it, so I guess it really isn’t the same, is it?

Senators voting Yes and the defense contractor connection

* Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) - $60,000
* Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) - $24,150
* Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.) - $80,550
* Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) - $41,872
* Christopher Coons (D-Del.) - $19,500
* Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) - $127,350
* Tim Kaine (D-Va.) - $101,025
* Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) - $70,850
* Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) - $26,900
* John McCain (R-Ariz.) - $176,300

Looks like McCain got the largest amount, and he’s been one of the biggest disappointments for Republicans.  Having run against Obama in 2008, he knows personally how he lies and distorts.

“Senators voting Wednesday to authorize a Syria strike received, on average, 83 percent more campaign financing from defense contractors than lawmakers voting against war.

Overall, political action committees and employees from defense and intelligence firms such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, United Technologies, Honeywell International, and others ponied up $1,006,887 to the 17 members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who voted yes or no on the authorization Wednesday, according to an analysis by Maplight, the Berkeley-based nonprofit that performed the inquiry at WIRED’s request.”

President Obama and Syria

I rarely drink soda (aka pop)

It was very hot recently, and I had a 7-up mixed with orange juice.  Someone in the U.S. is drinking my share, which is in the gallons per capita.

Obama’s red line

The Cowboy Code

Bubba Thompson has written a book called "The Cowboy Code," about the ways a man should behave in his dating life. Alabama native Bubba Thompson lives by a code of honesty, respect, determination and faith with his family, his farms and his animals. Now, this modern day cowboy brings his code of conduct to relationships. In THE COWBOY CODE (Self-Published; on sale since September 3, 2013; Hardcover: $9.99), he shares straightforward tips, personal anecdotes, easy to follow advice and even some revealing moments from behind the scenes on CMT's Sweet Home Alabama. A must-have plan for finding and holding on to lasting love. http://www.cowboycodeusa.com/

Friday Family Photo—our anniversary

I've just put on a pair of heels for the first time in months. First it was a broken toe, then it was summer. Now it's our anniversary (almost) night out. 53rd.

Obama’s floundering economy

Notice the difference between the recession Bush inherited, and the one Obama inherited. It took Bush only a couple of years even with 9/11, although it never got back to the tech boom years of the late 90s. Obama is still floundering, and it may take until 2023 to get back to the Bush levels. Obama continues to punish small businesses and intimidate those who would expand and grow. He decided to tackle health care instead of the economy, and we are sure paying for that.

Is anyone with them on this trip?

Nancy, John and Bashar

Obama, Kerry, Pelosi and H. Clinton all tried to undercut President Bush when he was president by getting cozy with Assad. Bush made no secret about not liking him. He had the Iran/Assad connection figured out and had imposed sanctions. It's nice that they've figured it out, but why make us pay for their mistakes, which included defying and lying about a sitting president. Obama took office on 22 January 2009. Less than a month later, on 21 February 2009, U.S. Senator John Kerry was meeting with the Syrian President in Damascus. Senator Kerry would become Obama’s key envoy in dealing with Assad. You’ve probably all seen the sweet photo of the Assads and Kerrys dining together. Obama had sent a hush-hush delegation in 2008 to meet with Assad even before he was president.

Photos are from her trip when Nancy Pelosi defied the State Department and visited Assad, declaring that “the road to peace is through Damascus.”  John Kerry, acting in concert with the Obama administration, served as Assad’s errand boy in trying to bring Israel to the table for the purpose of returning the Golan Heights to the butcher of Damascus.  The Bush administration had been largely successful in isolating Syria (as Obama sought to do in 2012) until Pelosi and Kerry willfully undermined it.

"President Al-Assad and I had a very positive discussion on the formidable challenges facing this region and we found agreement on a number of ways in which both of us and other countries can contribute significantly to changing the dynamics that exist today," said Sen. John Kerry in March 2010. Then came the Arab Spring, and Obama began supporting the Islamists in various middle eastern countries.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303395904575157713877756160.html

Have you called your representative in Congress?

Black conservatives discuss needs of black community

Great show on GBTV tonight--an hour long discussion with 5 black conservatives on problems and strengths in the black community. Star Parker hosted; panelists were Scott Turner, (former Redskins, Chargers, Broncos) Republican House, Texas; Marc Little, author of "Prodigal Republican," lawyer, California; T.W. Shannon, Oklahoma House speaker; Katrina Piersen, Tea Party, Fox commentator. They discussed generational poverty, school choice, income, wealth, mobility and net worth. Job growth, not more government assistance is needed, they concluded. Although a source was not cited, one said that affirmative action had actually decreased black income over time.

Meeting up with the crazies on line

The Daily Beast and Huffington Post are just amazing sites on FaceBook--the editors write to inflame their supporters, and the comments are bizarre and crazy, sometime even funny.  Spelling and grammar are a bit up for grabs, but I do find some good ones, too.  Any offer of facts or truth get you labeled a troll. The cumulative misinformation would benefit from an Obama drone strike.

The support for legalizing marijuana is about 99%. I have an RN friend who works in a methadone clinic--sort of the end of the line for all the pot heads who thought marijuana was harmless, safer than alcohol, we just use it to unwind or relax, wouldn't lead them through the sparkling gate to the hard stuff, but it did. Wasted. Homeless. Addle-brained. Confused. And they were just so sure in their teens and twenties. . .

http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/marijuana-abuse/how-does-marijuana-use-affect-your-brain-body

I didn’t set a red line—Barack Obama

“I have, at this point, not ordered military engagement in the situation. But the point that you made about chemical and biological weapons is critical. That's an issue that doesn't just concern Syria; it concerns our close allies in the region, including Israel. It concerns us. We cannot have a situation where chemical or biological weapons are falling into the hands of the wrong people.

We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. That would change my calculus. That would change my equation.”

August 12, 2012, Barack Obama

What’s the rush Mr. President?

Obama made no move for the first 100,000 dead in Syria; he wasn't in a hurry to call Congress back for a vote. Now a vote has to be rushed through when about 70% of the people, left, right, and center, don't want another war. All this to save face? To cover the current scandals? To head into the 2014 elections? It makes no sense even in an administration excelling in the bizarre and incomprehensible. We have no leadership.  He can’t define the problem; he has no goal; no plan.

 

A letter to Congress about Syria

What Calvin Garlick wrote to his Congressman:

This is in response to the Syrian crisis that is ongoing. First, I will plainly state that I am AGAINST military action in Syria. It is has nothing to do with the humanitarian effort that all the politicians state or chemical weapons at that. The rebels clearly stated several times, they committed the offenses of using the chemical weapons. Second, this intervention is strictly geopolitical warfare and that it will not accomplish anything of real significance except more instability in the region, American troops getting deployed (don't act like they won't), and prove to the "east" that we are too war hungry. How can we say the Chechen militants, the Iraqi insurgents, and AL Qaeda (who are they ONLY ones who are making real advances against Assad) will be a fair partner even to Saudi Arabia? This is dangerous behavior. Doing nothing is not a serious consequence. It really is not. Tell them CIA guys and those Saudi guys to drop the advances. This is not anti-American rhetoric. It WILL save our troops lives. It was a stupid pick of a fight. Plus, this effort will leave Iran wide open to a preemptive strike against Saudi Arabia especially in an economic slowdown. This is the perfect time to strike for them. Consider that you politicians right now are the REAL ones about to start WW3. I don't want to look back at our country (if it even exists) and say "Son, We started that big war that killed so many people." Its so sad that I actually have to visualize this is a real thing. So, please I beg of you, the Syrians protested and were killed. Let them know it didn't work. Much like Bahrain and Qatar which they were brutally oppressed just the same during the same time. Please don't become the Bush/Cheney administration again. Its was a disgrace then and it still is now. Thank you for your time and Good Night

I don’t know Calvin, but saw this on HuffPo’s Facebook, a very liberal site full of crazies.  He sounded sensible and thoughtful.  And I would add, whether you agree or not, Bush actually did have a plan—he said many times, he thought the Afghans and Iraqis deserve the same freedoms we’ve enjoyed.  It was naïve.  We don’t need to impose our system on countries buried in the 7th century. Bush also had the assurances of Kerry, Pelosi, Clinton, Waxman, Edwards, and others, that there were definitely WMD in Iraq.  The same group that backed off later, then today is assuring us that terrible chemical weapons are being used in Syria. Bush also spent months leading up to the invasion in talks with Congress, and had strong support.

Why Obama wants us to go to war

Obama plans a gay rights push in Russia

Michael Wolfe writes on FB: 

“You have no patience. You hypocrite. You persecute homeschoolers already granted asylum from Nazi era anti-homeschool law, you persecute Christian businesses for not subsidizing sexual perversion and now your love for homosexual behavior and unconstitutional warmongering could help start WWIII. The bloodiest Nobel peace recipient in history? There's one for the books.”

The hypocrisy of a president who wouldn’t support gay marriage until he was sure it wouldn’t hurt him politically, or championing athletes and celebrities who hid in the closet for years, is just beyond me.

Sick.

Our government lies with photos

"Secretary of State John Kerry opened his speech Friday by describing the horrors victims of the chemical weapon attack suffered, including twitching, spasms and difficulty breathing. Attempting to drive the point home, Kerry referenced a photograph used by the BBC illustrating a child jumping over hundreds of dead bodies covered in white shrouds. The Secretary of State forgot to mention, however, that this photo was taken during US intervention in Iraq back in 2003." Journal of Turkish Weekly.

Because of all the scandals and lies of this administration, they can't be trusted on the issue of Syria, and may well be using this to cover the messes they've been making the last 5 years.