Mt. Morris has a bear

It’s not that difficult to imagine the problem

“It’s hard for most Americans to imagine growing up in a democracy [Sierra Leone] where elected officials devise ways to quash citizens’ attempts at free expression and a press’s right to print fair criticism of its leaders." On Campus, Ohio State University, June 12, 2014.

Actually, that's not difficult at all.  Imagine having the most powerful taxing agency in the world, the U.S. IRS, sifting through information for "anti-government" comments because the organizations are checking voter ID registration rolls for dead or duplicate voters, or a reporter being investigated by the NSA because he works for Fox, or publishing confidential voter financial records/contributions on certain issues to get a CEO fired, or publishing gun registrations because the publisher is anti-2nd amendment.  Happened.  Right here.  In the good old free press USA. Where the press functions as an arm of a political party.

Why stop at B?

Michelle Obama on feeding her kids

“Before coming to the White House, I struggled, as a working parent with a traveling, busy husband, to figure out how to feed my kids healthy, and I didn’t get it right,” she explained. “I thought to myself, if a Princeton and Harvard-educated professional woman doesn’t know how to adequately feed her kids, then what are other parents going through who don’t have access to the information I have?”

I have two degrees too (no name dropping for me), but I think I learned about basic nutrition from my mother, from 4-H, and from 7th grade home-ec class. When I was first married, I read the introductory material and nutritional information in my recipe books and women’s magazines.  Many things have changed since I was raising children, like we know margarine probably isn’t good for us, and coffee isn’t going to poison us, the way I learned.  But I always knew fruits, vegetables, some meat, cheese, eggs and bread would cover it. 

I also learned how to make a great pie from watching Mom.  It’s all in the crust.

Priorities

Which is the bigger loan shark—payday loans or government student loans?

I  checked Payday Loans against the government loans to students. Who's the real culprit. Got it--the federal government is the bigger loan shark.

"The $41.3 billion profit [from gov't student loans] for the 2013 fiscal year is down $3.6 billion from the previous year but it's a higher profit level than all but two companies in the world: Exxon Mobil cleared $44.9 billion in 2012, and Apple cleared $41.7 billion." (USAToday Nov. 25, 2013)

"The easy-to-get small ...[payday] loans have drawn a lot of criticism in recent years for burdening low-income borrowers with astronomically high interest rates and fees. In states with no restrictions on the loans, borrowers who quickly replace one payday loan with another generate $2.6 billion in fees every year. ( Washington Post, Sept. 11, 2013)

"Payday loan borrowers spend approximately $7.4 billion annually at 20,000 storefronts and hundreds of websites, plus additional sums at a growing number of banks." (Pew Report, July, 2012)

45 Uses for White Vinegar

1. Freshen up the fridge. Clean the shelves and walls with a solution of half water and half vinegar.
2. Brighten coffee cups and teacups. Gently scrub stains with equal parts vinegar and salt (or baking soda).
3. Eliminate odors. Swab plastic containers with a cloth dampened with vinegar.
4. Kill bathroom germs. Spray full-strength vinegar around the sink and tub. Wipe clean with a damp cloth.
5. Save a garment. To remove light scorch marks on fabrics, rub gently with vinegar. Wipe with a clean cloth. This technique also works on antiperspirant stains.
6. Tidy up a toilet. Pour a cup or more of diluted white distilled vinegar into the bowl. Let sit several hours or overnight. Scrub well with a toilet brush and flush.
7. Lose the carpet stain. Make a paste of 2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar and ¼ cup salt or baking soda. Rub into the stain and let dry. Vacuum the residue the next day. (Always test an out-of-sight part of the carpet first.)
8. Renew paint brushes. To remove old paint, place brushes in a pot with vinegar. Soak for an hour, then turn on the stove and bring the vinegar to a simmer. Drain and rinse clean.
9. Wipe off a dirty faucet. To get rid of lime buildup, make a paste of 1 teaspoon vinegar and 2 tablespoons salt. Apply to sink fixtures and rub with a cloth.
10. Stop static cling. Add ½ cup of white distilled vinegar to your wash cycle. The acid reduces static and keeps dryer lint from sticking to your clothes.
11. Make old socks look new. Get the stains out of old socks and sweaty gym clothes by soaking them in a vinegar solution. Add 1 cup of white distilled vinegar to a large pot of water, bring to a boil and drop in the stained clothes. Let them soak overnight, and in the morning stained clothes are fresh and bright.
12. Restore handbags and shoes. Wipe white distilled vinegar on scuffed leather bags and shoes. It will restore their shine and help hide the marks.
13. Banish weeds. Pour white distilled vinegar on the weeds growing in the cracks of your walkway and driveway. Saturate the plant so the vinegar reaches the roots.
14. Liven droopy flowers. Don’t throw out cut flowers once they start to wilt. Instead, add two tablespoons of white vinegar and one teaspoon of sugar to a quart of water. Pour the solution into your vase, and the flowers will perk up.
15. Put an end to itching. Dab a cotton ball soaked in white vinegar on mosquito bites and insect stings. It will stop them from itching and help disinfect the area so they heal faster.
16. Whiten your teeth. Brush your teeth once a week with white distilled vinegar. Dip your toothbrush into the vinegar and brush thoroughly. It will help prevent bad breath, too.
17. Make nail polish last longer. Before you apply your favorite polish, wipe your nails with a cotton ball soaked in white distilled vinegar. The clean surface will help your manicure last.
18. Keep car windows frost-free. Prevent windows from frosting over in a storm by coating them with a solution of three parts white distilled vinegar to one part water. The acidity hinders ice, so you won’t have to wake up early to scrape off your car.
19. Let your dog shine. Spray your dog with one cup white distilled vinegar mixed with one quart water. The solution is a cheap alternative to expensive pet-care products, plus the vinegar will help repel pests like fleas and ticks.
20. Battle litter-box odor. Cat litter can leave behind an unwelcome smell. Eliminate it by pouring a half-inch of white distilled vinegar into the empty litter box. Let stand for 20 minutes, then rinse with cold water.
21. Kill bacteria in meat. Marinating in vinegar knocks out bacteria and tenderizes the meat. Create a marinade by adding ¼ cup balsamic vinegar for every 2 pounds of meat to your own blend of herbs and spices. Let the meat sit anywhere from 20 minutes to 24 hours, depending on how strong you want the flavor, then cook it in the morning without rinsing.
22. Prevent cracked eggs. Prevent eggs from cracking as they hard-boil by adding two tablespoons of white vinegar to the water. The eggs will stay intact, and the shells will peel off more easily when you’re ready to eat them.
23. Steam away a microwave mess. Fill a small bowl with equal parts hot water and vinegar, and place it in the microwave on high for 5 minutes. As the steam fills the microwave, it loosens the mess, making clean up a breeze.
24. Repair DVDs. If you have a worn DVD that skips or freezes, wipe it down with white distilled vinegar applied to a soft cloth. Make sure the DVD is completely dry before reinserting it into the player.
25. Get those last drops. If you can’t get that final bit of mayonnaise or salad dressing out of the jar, dribble in a few drops of vinegar. Put the cap on tightly and shake. The remaining condiments will slide out.
26. Rinse fruits and vegetables. Add 2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar to one pint water. Use the mixture to wash fresh fruits and vegetables, then rinse thoroughly. The solution kills more pesticide residue than does pure water.
27. Brighter Easter eggs. Before your kids dye Easter eggs, mix 1 teaspoon of vinegar with ½ cup of hot water, then add food coloring. The vinegar keeps the dye bright and prevents the color from streaking.
28. Loosen a rusted screw. Pour vinegar onto the screw, and it will easily unstick.
29. Remove gum. To remove gum from fabric or hair, heat a small bowl of vinegar in the microwave. Pour the warm vinegar over the gum, saturating the area. The gum will dissolve.
30. Keep cheese from molding. Wrap cheese in a vinegar-soaked cloth, then place in an airtight container and refrigerate.
31. Renew a loofah. Soak your loofah in equal parts vinegar and water for 24 hours to dissolve soap residue, then rinse in cold water.
32. Remove wax. If you get melted candle wax on your wood furniture or floors, gently wipe it away with a cloth soaked in a solution of equal parts white vinegar and water.
33. Take a relaxing bath. Add ½ cup of vinegar to warm bath water for a cheap spa session at home. The vinegar removes dead skin, leaving you feeling soft and smooth.
34. Brighten your hair. Remove hair product buildup by rinsing a tablespoon of vinegar through your hair once a month.
35. Freshen fabrics. Fill a spray bottle with white vinegar and spritz your home to neutralize odors in fabrics, carpets, shoes or any sprayable surface.
36. Erase crayon. If your kids get crayon marks on the walls or floor, dip a toothbrush in white vinegar and gently scrub. The vinegar breaks down the wax, making for an inexpensive, nontoxic way to clean up after children.
37. Sticky stickers. Don’t scratch at the residue left by stickers or price tags. Instead, apply vinegar to the gunk, let it sit for a few minutes, then wipe the glue away.
38. Clean the dishwasher and coffee pot. Reduce soap buildup and food residue by pouring a cup of vinegar into your empty dishwasher or coffee pot once a month and letting it run a full cycle.
39. Sanitize pet accidents. You can remove the stain―and smell―of your pet’s accident by mixing ¼ cup vinegar with a quart of water and blotting the mixture onto the mess with a washcloth. Continue dabbing until the spot is gone.
40. Prep for summer grilling. To remove charcoal buildup from your grill, spray white distilled vinegar on balled up aluminum foil and scrub the grate thoroughly.
41. Restore showerhead pressure. If your showerhead gets clogged with mineral deposits, soak it for 15 minutes in a mixture of ½ cup vinegar and 1 quart water.
42. Clean your scissors. When your scissor blades get sticky, wipe them down with a cloth dipped in full-strength white vinegar. Unlike soap and water, vinegar won’t ruin the blades or rust the metal.
43. Unclog drains. For a natural, nontoxic way to clean clogged pipes, pour one cup of baking soda, followed by one cup of white vinegar, down the drain. Let the products bubble and foam, then flush the pipes with a pot of boiling water.
44. Eliminate dandruff. If your scalp is feeling dry or flaky, vinegar can be a simple at-home remedy. Once a week, pour one cup of apple cider vinegar over your scalp, and let it sit for 15 minutes. Rinse thoroughly with cool water.
45. Soften your feet. Summer sandals leaving you with cracked heals and calluses? Soak your feet for 20 minutes a day in one part vinegar to two parts warm water. The vinegar removes dead skin, leaving your feet soft and smooth.

Thousands may lose their insurance subsidies—big surprise come April

This might change some ACA success stories, but since it's rolled off the front page, who will care? Or maybe it could cover up for the Iraq beheadings and massacres since Obama declared it safe and sovereign. "Of the eight million people who signed up for private health plans through insurance exchanges under the new health care law, two million reported personal information that differed from data in government records, according to federal officials and Serco, the company hired to resolve such inconsistencies.

The government is asking consumers for additional documents to verify their income, citizenship, immigration status and Social Security numbers, as well as any health coverage that they may have from employers. People who do not provide the information risk losing their subsidized coverage and may have to repay subsidies next April." New York Times, June 15, 2014

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/16/us/thousands-to-be-questioned-on-eligibility-for-health-insurance-subsidies.html?_r=1

Pray for the unborn whose only hope is their mothers’ decision about life

There are 22 women on my pregnancy prayer list this week. Only one is leaning toward adoption as a solution for an unwanted pregnancy. All the rest are either planning an abortion, asking about it, or considering it; two are married, two single with other children, so they know what they are doing--taking the life of their children’s sibling. In one case, the father is anxious for her not to ab...ort; in another, the father is pressuring her to abort. There are no tragic stories of rape or incest or disability--just bad choices. There is all manner of financial support for women in this situation, much more so than 20 or 30 years ago--from free, to sliding scale to government. What there isn’t is society’s support . . . for children to be allowed to live, to be valued and treated fairly.

Sharyl Attkisson’s questions on Lois Lerner’s missing e-mails

• Please provide a timeline of the crash and documentation covering when it was first discovered and by whom; when, how and by whom it was learned that materials were lost; the official documentation reporting the crash and federal data loss; documentation reflecting all attempts to recover the materials; and the remediation records documenting the fix. This material should include the names of all officials and technicians involved, as well as all internal communications about the matter.
• Please provide all documents and emails that refer to the crash from the time that it happened through the IRS’ disclosure to Congress Friday that it had occurred.
• Please provide the documents that show the computer crash and lost data were appropriately reported to the required entities including any contractor servicing the IRS. If the incident was not reported, please explain why.
• Please provide a list summarizing what other data was irretrievably lost in the computer crash. If the loss involved any personal data, was the loss disclosed to those impacted? If not, why?
• Please provide documentation reflecting any security analyses done to assess the impact of the crash and lost materials. If such analyses were not performed, why not?
• Please provide documentation showing the steps taken to recover the material, and the names of all technicians who attempted the recovery.
• Please explain why redundancies required for federal systems were either not used or were not effective in restoring the lost materials, and provide documentation showing how this shortfall has been remediated.
• Please provide any documents reflecting an investigation into how the crash resulted in the irretrievable loss of federal data and what factors were found to be responsible for the existence of this situation.
• I would also ask for those who discovered and reported the crash to testify under oath, as well as any officials who reported the materials as having been irretrievably lost.

                  

http://sharylattkisson.com/lois-lerners-lost-emails-questions-for-the-irs/

While Iraq goes up in flames, Obama plugs climate control

"President Obama hijacked the commencement address of students at the University of California at Irvine this weekend to mock people who disagree with him on climate change. The President insulted all of the graduates who disagree with him on global warming on a day that was supposed to be in their honor.

No President should mock his country's citizenry, but if he's going to do it anyway, he should have delivered a better speech than this fatuous, misleading poppycock." National Center for Public Policy Research

http://www.conservativeblog.org/amyridenour/2014/6/16/3-reasons-obamas-university-of-california-at-irvine-commence.html

The President said: "So the question is not whether we need to act. The overwhelming judgment of science, accumulated and measured and reviewed over decades, has put that question to rest."

Response: Proper science doesn't rest on "judgments," even multiple judgments that someone somehow "measures." It finds proof.

The President said: "The 18 warmest years on record have all happened since you graduates were born."

Response: Our temperature records are very short, and a 16-year period of warming ended about the time today's high school graduates were born. The President could just as accurately said there hasn't been any warming since Bill Clinton was President and that one of his own agencies released data this month showing the United States has cooled slightly over the last decade, but that didn't fit his political agenda

The President said: "Out West, firefighters brave longer, harsher wildfire seasons; states have to budget for that. Mountain towns worry about what smaller snowpacks mean for tourism. Farmers and families at the bottom worry about what it will mean for their water. In cities like Norfolk and Miami, streets now flood frequently at high tide. Shrinking icecaps have National Geographic making the biggest change in its atlas since the Soviet Union broke apart."

Response: If this is the best evidence the President has for the catastrophic global warming theory, it's a wonder he can say he believes in it with a straight face. Wildfires are affected by many circumstances, and did the President not notice that it snowed a lot last winter? Sea levels have been rising for thousands of years, and the fall of the Soviet Union was only 23 years ago, not even a blink in climate terms. And, by the way, global sea ice is approaching record high levels. Give it up, Mr. President, if this is all you've got.

I don’t know if he said this, but I’ve thought it

Monday Memories--strap on roller skates

Yes, I went around the block a few times on skates similar to these. Cracks in the sidewalks, bumps, skinned knees, and most painful, sometimes the toe lock would loosen, and slip off your shoe, leaving the leather thong still fastened at the ankle. The key to the lock was usually kept around the neck of the skater.

When high taxes create criminals

No one hates cigarettes more than I do--they are destroyers of health and burners of money needed for other goods and services. However, this is just stupid. 56.9% of the cigarettes consumed in New York are now smuggled into the state, according to a report from the Tax Foundation. Why? The cigarette tax in New York is $4.35 a pack, the highest in the nation. And New York City imposes an additional $1.50 tax, bringing the total taxes to $5.85 a pack — nearly 35 times higher... than in the lowest-taxed state. It's the classic "sin" tax. The people hurt the most are poor and they are probably the targets for the smuggling. This is an example of how any ridiculously high tax is counter productive. In 1960 the top tax rate was 91%, and total tax receipts as % of GDP was 7.9%. In 2013 the top tax rate was 39.6% and total tax receipts as % of GDP was 7.6%.

http://www.heritage.org/federalbudget/income-tax-receipts

http://taxfoundation.org/article/cigarette-taxes-and-cigarette-smuggling-state

Happy Father’s Day

Everyone is posting photos of “dad,” so here’s mine.  I don’t have a lot to choose from.  We didn’t have digital cameras in those days, or smart phones, and we didn’t record every get-together and holiday.  But this one was on the occasion of three new grandbabies born between September 10 and October 5 in 1961.  Dad wasn’t all that experienced holding babies, as you can see from the shape of his hands.  He was the oldest of nine, so of course my mother thought he must love kids!  He was 48.

Ham sandwiches for a crowd

BEST HAM SANDWISHES YOU'LL EVER HAVE!!!
2 -12 packages of sweet Hawaiian rolls (the small dinner roll looking ones)
1 1/2 lbs of Virginia ham (NOT honey ham)...
12 slices Swiss cheese
1 stick of real butter
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
Directions:
You will need two 9 x 13 pans. Place the bottoms of 12 rolls in each pan. Place ham (about 2 shaved slices or so) on the rolls. Cut the cheese slices into 4 parts and place 2 small pieces on each sandwich. Put the dinner roll tops on. In a sauce pan, mix butter, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, garlic powder and poppy seeds. Wait until all butter is melted and then brush the melted mixture over the ham sandwiches. Cover with foil and let sit in fridge for 1 hour or over night. (If you want to bake them right away, you can also.) Preheat oven to 375 and bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve. They are great hot and even at room temperature. Enjoy!

Sunnis and Shi’ites can’t get along with each other; why should they get along with us?

"The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has just seized the Iraqi cities of Mosul and Tikrit, and is close to taking control of the nation’s largest oil refinery — indicating that the jihad between Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims is raging hotter now than it has in centuries, and isn’t going to die down anytime soon. . .the idea that the Sunni-Shi’ite divide, which is 1,400 years old and goes all the way back to the murky origins of Islam, is something that can without undue difficulty be “overcome” is a sterling manifestation of the general superficiality of Washington’s analysis of the Middle East, during both the Bush and the Obama administrations. - http://pamelageller.com/2014/06/sunni-vs-shia-explained.html/

Bush thought he could bring democracy to these warring groups and stop the killing; Obama thought he could pull out and the killing and chaos would not return. But looking at that big black blob (Shia) that is Iran, I suspect that’s where the problem is.

Obama’s on top of the Iraq situation—on the golf course

Is it the technology or the people using it?

We have the snooping technology to ruin the career of a TV chef for something she said 20 years ago, and to get a CEO fired for how he voted in 2008 on a pro-marriage issue, but there's no way for branches of the military to be alerted that Bowe Bergdahl had emotional problems and was removed from the Coast Guard before he enlisted in the Army?

And how about those missing files in the IRS? It's amazing that the federal government has no back up, isn't it (as required by law)? Lois Lerner's e-mails for that important period of time the IRS was harassing conservatives have mysteriously just disappeared. Has the IRS ever lost information on what YOU owe the government?

http://www.itworld.com/security/55954/law-requires-email-archiving

Obama’s good war

For those too young to remember, in 2008 President Obama campaigned against the Iraq War.  By the time of the election it was virtually over, and all he could do was promise to bring the troops home.  He had always said Afghanistan was the “good war,” however, hostilities there were increasing after being quiet and secure for years. Women had uncovered and were going to school, working, being elected, etc.  So he dawdled and waited during the summer of 2009, and by the time he OK’d a surge, it was probably too late.

  During his first term more military were lost than during Bush’s two terms.  575 US troops died in Afghanistan during the Bush presidency. By August 18, 2010, following two troop surges initiated by President Obama, that number had doubled.

When looking at a map today of how the jihadists have overrun Iraq, it’s pretty clear that everything was in place.  Perhaps the return of the five was just the impetus needed since they knew Obama never wanted to be there and probably wouldn’t fight to help the Iraqis that Bush had liberated from Saddam.

In 2009 the main stream media still couldn’t lavish enough praise on their beloved president and admired him for holding back for months.

“When the history of the Obama presidency is written, that day with the chart may prove to be a turning point, the moment a young commander in chief set in motion a high-stakes gamble to turn around a losing war. By moving the bell curve to the left, Mr. Obama decided to send 30,000 troops mostly in the next six months and then begin pulling them out a year after that, betting that a quick jolt of extra forces could knock the enemy back on its heels enough for the Afghans to take over the fight.

The three-month review that led to the escalate-then-exit strategy is a case study in decision making in the Obama White House — intense, methodical, rigorous, earnest and at times deeply frustrating for nearly all involved. It was a virtual seminar in Afghanistan and Pakistan, led by a president described by one participant as something “between a college professor and a gentle cross-examiner.” “ New York Times, Dec. 5, 2009

                 

http://allenbwest.com/2014/02/us-military-deaths-afghanistan-skyrocket-obama/

"Today the president acknowledged that the Islamic State's advance "poses a danger to Iraq and its people, and given the nature of these terrorists, it could pose a threat eventually to American interests as well." In 2007 he promised to withdraw regardless of the danger to Iraq and its people. He kept that promise." Wall St. Journal, June 13, 2014

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303373004579622360300173126.html

Today's household tips

1. When blogging, put the visiting dog in your lap to stop the barking.

2. Don't lick a slotted spoon.

3. Wear an apron when preparing beets.

4. Repairmen never have the parts with them and require a trip to the hardware store which adds to the time. But that's not a good reason to keep 50 bazillion pieces parts in jars and cans in the basement storage area.

5. Masking liquid (for painting white in watercolor) does not come out of carpets, but there is some hope for the furniture once it dries (just rub it off).

6. Have an extra key or two made and keep them at the neighbors.

7. Learn your daughter's unlisted phone number.

8. Owning a home is not an investment, it's a place to bury money you'll probably never see again.

9. If your cat develops a sneeze, your nice furniture and clothing are toast. Don't waste your money on cures, or changing cat food. Keep Kleenex handy.

10. If you like to make lists, don't run out before #10 or it won't look tidy.

The sin of envy

We fight one another, and envy arms us against one another. ... If everyone strives to unsettle the Body of Christ, where shall we end up? We are engaged in making Christ's Body a corpse. ... We declare ourselves members of one and the same organism, yet we devour one another like beasts 

St. John Chrysostom, Hom. in 2 Cor. 27,3-4:PG 61,588

I was looking through contemporary sermons (mostly audio which is difficult) on Sermon Cloud, http://www.sermoncloud.com/, but since the early church struggled with it from the beginning, I think this was one of the best.  “arms us against one another. . .making Christ’s body a corpse.”

St. John Chrysostom was a "golden-voiced" orator and one of the 8 great Doctors of the Church (Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, Gregory the Great, Athanasius, John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, and Gregory of Nazianzus).

49% drop in gun homicide—but who knew?

There's no consensus on why gun homicide has decreased almost 50% in the last 20 years--aging population, more criminals in jail and off the streets, some kooks think it is all the aborted children who might have grown up to be criminals. But one thing is for sure, the media have been very quiet about the drop as gun ownership and population increase, and you'll never hear about it from the anti-second amendment folks like our president. http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/05/07/gun-homicide-rate-down-49-since-1993-peak-public-unaware/

• In 2010, there were 3.6 gun homicides per 100,000 people, compared with 7.0 in 1993, according to CDC data.
• In 2010, CDC data counted 11,078 gun homicide deaths, compared with 18,253 in 1993.⁵
• Men and boys make up the vast majority (84% in 2010) of gun homicide victims. The firearm homicide rate also is more than five times as high for males of all ages (6.2 deaths per 100,000 people) as it is for females (1.1 deaths per 100,000 people).
• By age group, 69% of gun homicide victims in 2010 were ages 18 to 40, an age range that was 31% of the population that year. Gun homicide rates also are highest for adults ages 18 to 24 and 25 to 40.
• A disproportionate share of gun homicide victims are black (55% in 2010, compared with the 13% black share of the population). Whites were 25% of victims but 65% of the population in 2010. Hispanics were 17% of victims and 16% of the population in 2010.
• The firearm suicide rate (6.3 per 100,000 people) is higher than the firearm homicide rate and has come down less sharply. The number of gun suicide deaths (19,392 in 2010) outnumbered gun homicides, as has been true since at least 1981.

Why is all this happening?

“The Crimea is gone. Ukraine is in danger of Russian domination. Syria and Libya are in turmoil. Egypt is a basket case. We are "negotiating" with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Iraq is being overrun. The EU is in decline even as the the power of China and Russia is growing. Traditional allies of American do not trust us any longer - and for good reason - America can no longer project its power, nor is it willing to do so. America's southern border is being assaulted by illegal immigrants that we can't take care of because we are broke - a debtor nation.

Why?

The world is in chaos today for one reason. It is due to the policies enacted by the progressive Democrat Party and their leader . . .”

Michael Smith at his Facebook page.

The VA scandal hasn’t gone away

“The VA scandal is like cancer: It doesn’t go away, it just gets worse when we aren’t looking… The Obama Administration’s self-made crises with the Bowe Bergdahl prisoner swap and the new wave of underage illegal immigration knocked the VA scandal out of the news. But it was like hitting your head with a hammer to take your mind off your broken leg. And Heaven help you if you need VA treatment for either of those things. While the media were distracted, a new VA audit revealed that delayed care for veterans is even worse than we thought. Over 57,000 veterans have been waiting at least 90 days for their first visit with a VA doctor. Over the past decade, another 64,000 vets enrolled, requested a doctor’s appointment, and never even got one. And out of 731 VA hospitals reviewed, 73 percent showed evidence of fraud to cover up the lack of care. The White House is rushing to provide care for all the illegal border crossers. How about an equal sense of urgency to provide care for our veterans?” Mike Huckabee

Safer sex?

I volunteer at a free clinic, and when my tasks are finished, I read the literature. Here's a brochure on STIs and condoms that I thought was interesting. Condoms don't reduce STIs at all for oral sex, and increase the risk for HIV; condoms during anal sex may decrease your risk for rectal chlamydia and cut your chance of getting HIV by up to half; condoms used every time can cut your chance of HPV by up to 70% (HPV causes cervical cancer and causes about the same number of deaths as HIV/AIDS every year); use of condoms every time can cut your chance of genital herpes by about 30%, but once you're infected you have it for life; using condoms every time can cut your chance of getting chlamydia or gonorrhea by about half; using condoms every time can cut your chance of getting HIV by about 85%--it kills about half a million a year. Only about 2/3 of sexually active teens use condoms, and as males age, they use them even less. All these odds assume correct usage and no breakage.

Now my question is, how many people would fly or drive with these odds of arriving safely?

And I have the references to the research if you need it.

The Medical Institute

Forgive for your own sake, if nothing else

Brat defeats Cantor, but that’s not the shocker

I'm not so shocked that someone who believes in free markets and our constitution could win a place on the ballot with almost no money--I'm stunned that you can find someone like that in academe, the least diverse place in the country for the last 4 decades.

This has never happened in our history—that a House majority leader would be defeated in his party’s primary.

The mess at our border

Have you seen the photos of the "unaccompanied children" (abandoned? kidnapped?) being dropped off in Arizona and other southern states? Most aren't Mexicans--their immigration rules are stricter than the U.S. They are mostly from Central America and not welcome in Mexico. They are dark skinned, some indigenous people, some mixed-race, flooding north because opportunities for education and a comfortable life style are limited in their home countries. In their countries the... power structure in business and government is mostly white European or Mestizo. Rather than provide opportunity for all, Central America and Mexico just push their bi-racial and indigenous people north. It would be like the U.S. rounding up anyone 1/8th or more African heritage, unemployed or underemployed, and sending them to Canada or Mexico with the message that we have no job growth or opportunities because of regressive-socialist government policies, so maybe someone else can handle it.

"If the Obama administration put half the effort into securing our border as it has invested to institute this operation, our state and nation would not be facing this situation," Gov. Jan Brewer (AZ) said.

Republican candidates in search of votes, are doing their usual limp spine tap dance, instead of speaking up for what is right for American citizens, particularly our minority population who will have to compete for jobs and college slots with these newcomers.

“More likely, the migration is a result of ambivalent immigration policy that is sending mixed signals abroad. While the Obama administration has deported a record 2 million people, the administration has also extended a compassionate arm to undocumented children. It’s no surprise, then, that there’s a widespread belief in Central America that if kids can survive the treacherous journey and get across that border somehow, they will be allowed to stay.”

 http://www.sacbee.com/2014/06/08/6464441/editorial-the-international-crisis.html?storylink=lingospot#storylink=cpy

New exercise plan

Obama has created this cruel crisis

They're calling it a "humanitarian crisis." 150,000 unaccompanied children crossing our border into Arizona and Texas? Who created this? How are they getting across the border? And how did they get into Mexico from Central America, since most aren't Mexicans (a country with very strict laws about this)? Obama gave the message 2 years ago that they wouldn't be turned back if they came before 2007, but somehow that year got left out of the message and what anxious parents who want a better life for their kids wouldn't think they'd better act now and enter the U.S. and take advantage of the social welfare benefits and education opportunities. The Democrats want this chaos so they can clobber the GOP on immigration issues. I wonder if they started the rumors and hired the drivers. Children don't leave mom and dad on their own and decide to go to America.

http://riograndeguardian.com/bordernews_story.asp?story_no=23

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/06/09/lawmakers-fault-lax-obama-immigration-policies-for-calamity-in-arizona/

http://www.glennbeck.com/2014/06/09/did-the-obama-administration-engineer-a-humanitarian-crisis-on-the-border-to-push-a-progressive-agenda/

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/15/politics/immigration/

“In recent weeks, a tide of young, unaccompanied minors crossing the Texas border illegally has pushed the US immigration system to its breaking point. Unable to cope with the volume of children crossing the border without their parents, immigration authorities have had to find emergency solutions, such as housing thousands in a San Antonio Air Force base, a California Navy base, and a makeshift detention center in Nogales, AZ.'”

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/2014/0608/Illegal-immigration-how-humanitarian-crisis-on-border-could-hurt-Obama-video

These children have not been vaccinated; have no documents; they are too young to be without their parents; they can be victims of violence.

“More likely, the migration is a result of ambivalent immigration policy that is sending mixed signals abroad. While the Obama administration has deported a record 2 million people, the administration has also extended a compassionate arm to undocumented children. It’s no surprise, then, that there’s a widespread belief in Central America that if kids can survive the treacherous journey and get across that border somehow, they will be allowed to stay. “

http://www.sacbee.com/2014/06/08/6464441/editorial-the-international-crisis.html#storylink=cpy

Does this bother you?

The new student loan bail out

Today I was watching a program on college student debt, graduates living with their parents, and Obama to step in with yet another government solution. This is so counter productive. 1) Grow the economy and get them employed; 2) stop funneling money for loans so colleges won't continue to raise tuition and fees at the feed trough. Also, I don't know a single recent graduate (who chose a smart degree field) that isn't employed and whittling down his debt without my help.

http://money.cnn.com/2014/06/08/pf/college/obama-student-loans/

I don't expect the government to "create" the jobs that would help the college students pay down their debt, move out of mom's basement, get married, buy a home, etc. But I do expect the federal government to stop making it so difficult for investors to help the entrepreneurs, to stop adding burdens with new EPA regulations and health care taxes that discourage expansion, and stop making it easier for the underemployed to stay that way through transfer payments.

A message from the Master

Remember the Folger’s ads?

Petty conservatives

Ridiculing Obama because of his weights work out or for chewing gum. Come on folks. Stick to the important policy/political stuff.

Our presidents need to stay fit. I didn't remember this incident from Nov. 2004, but it seems President Bush rescued his own Secret Service agent.

http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/president_bush_aids_secret_service_agent_/

Kicking a gift horse in the teeth

Last year Wal-Mart donated $3 million to New York City charities, including $1 million to the New York Women’s Foundation, which offers job training, and $30,000 to Bailey House, which distributes groceries to low-income residents. It’s donated some $22.5 million all across New York state. In 2011, it donated $4 million to a city program that offers summer jobs to young people and since 2004 it has donated $16 million to the city’s charter schools. But corporate good will flies in the face of progressives' agenda so NYC Council has order Wal-Mart to stop. Meanwhile, unemployment and poverty in NYC is way above the national average, and under the leftist regime of De Blasio I suspect will get worse.

http://247wallst.com/retail/2014/06/07/new-york-city-ensures-no-good-deed-wal-mart-does-will-go-unpunished/#ixzz3447pq2rV

Wal-Mart the company and foundation gave more than $1 billion in cash and in-kind contributions during 2012, a record for Wal-Mart or any retailer. If De Blasio doesn't want the money, maybe your organization could use it.

http://foundation.walmart.com/apply-for-grants/local-giving

Jobless rate holds steady at 6.3%

After reading the butterfly kisses account of the “recovering economy” in the Washington Post (all jobs lost during the recession are back, and oh yes, labor participation rate is the lowest since 1978) I scanned through the comments.  Noticed this realistic one—can’t tell if the writer is left, right or middle, but s/he has obviously lost the rose colored glasses the government economists have been passing out for 5 years.

I think most of us are smart enough not to swallow the government data on job growth, rising home prices, or the brainless comment that "“we’re in the clear for the second quarter,” or any other data they throw at us. We're not as gullible as they think we are...we live in the REAL world, not from their fantasy realm in some ivory tower where they look down their noses at the working classes and fudge the numbers to make their assessments look good. How do they sleep at night?

Wonk blog, Washington Post

Here’s what an Obama recovery with added taxes, regulations, bank bail outs and crazy “cash for clunkers” looks like: 2.5years longer than any other recovery since WWII.

Is Obama inept?

Unlike many conservatives who think Obama is a bad leader, dumb, crazy or inept, I tend toward the view he is deliberately trying to destroy the economy.

 http://www.nationalreview.com/article/379654/obama-just-trying-tank-economy-stephen-moore#!

Raise minimum wage above market levels like FDR did (and half a million blacks lost their jobs); go around the Congress that voted the latest EPA regulations down because they realized what it would do to the economy; promote abortion in a country whose birth rate is already below replacement; encourage weak borders and nice perks for illegals so the non-existent citizens that were aborted can be replaced by outsiders; dumb down the education system so we can't compete in the world economy; destroy the best health care system in the world and make it even more expensive; allow a bloated bureaucracy to run the government and claim it's a complete mystery how these scandals got "whipped up."

No, that doesn't sound like a dumb or inept man--only dumb voters.

The Cool Whip President

He's being called the "cool whip President." He referred to the Bergdahl swap as "a whipped up controversy." Really, Mr. President?  It’s just a golf cliché?  "What difference does it make?" retorted Harry Reid, echoing Hillary Clinton on Benghazi. What a low opinion they have of Americans and our military and families who have lost family members. As Jonathan Turley said, "He's the president Richard Nixon always wanted to be."

PRESIDENT OBAMA in press conference in Brussels: I’m never surprised by controversies that are whipped up in Washington, all right?  [Actually he probably was surprised and shocked—he has no understanding of the American people.] That’s — that’s par for the course. But I’ll repeat what I said two days ago. We have a basic principle. We do not leave anybody wearing the American uniform behind [notice how he clarified in uniform so he can exclude an ambassador and his body guards]. We had a prisoner of war [who walked away or deserted and possibly has converted to Islam]  whose health had deteriorated [they threatened to kill him after 5 years?] and we were deeply concerned about. And we saw an opportunity and we seized it. And I make no apologies for that [No apologies for Fast and Furious, NSA snooping, IRS illegal targeting of conservatives, VA wait lists, going a round Congress after it defeated Cap and Trade, releasing information of CIA chief in Afghanistan, Benghazi deaths and gun running to Syria, supporting Arab spring, and so on].

We had discussed with Congress [in 2011] the possibility that something like this might occur. But because of the nature of the folks that we were dealing with [and the Republican House]  and the fragile nature of these negotiations, we felt it was important to go ahead [against the law he signed requiring 30 days notice]  and do what we did. And we’re now explaining [after the fact, because he’s King] to Congress the details of how we moved forward.

Seniors can ask for a discount (I’ve only tried a few)

RESTAURANTS:
Applebee's: 15% off with Golden Apple Card (60+)
Arby's: 10% off ( 55 +)
Ben & Jerry's: 10% off (60+)
Bennigan's: discount varies by location (60+)
Bob's Big Boy: discount varies by location (60+)
Boston Market: 10% off (65+)
Burger King: 10% off (60+)
Chick-Fil-A: 10% off or free small drink or coffee ( 55+)
Chili's: 10% off ( 55+)
CiCi's Pizza: 10% off (60+)
Denny's: 10% off, 20% off for AARP members ( 55 +)
Dunkin' Donuts: 10% off or free coffee ( 55+)
Einstein's Bagels: 10% off baker's dozen of bagels (60+)
Fuddrucker's: 10% off any senior platter ( 55+)
Gatti's Pizza: 10% off (60+)
Golden Corral: 10% off (60+)
Hardee's: $0.33 beverages everyday (65+)
IHOP: 10% off ( 55+)
Jack in the Box: up to 20% off ( 55+)
KFC: free small drink with any meal ( 55+)
Krispy Kreme: 10% off ( 50+)
Long John Silver's: various discounts at locations ( 55+)
McDonald's: discounts on coffee everyday ( 55+)
Mrs. Fields: 10% off at participating locations (60+)
Shoney's: 10% off
Sonic: 10% off or free beverage (60+)
Steak 'n Shake: 10% off every Monday & Tuesday ( 50+)
Subway: 10% off (60+)
Sweet Tomatoes: 10% off (62+)
Taco Bell : 5% off; free beverages for seniors (65+)
TCBY: 10% off ( 55+)
Tea Room Cafe: 10% off ( 50+)
Village Inn: 10% off (60+)
Waffle House: 10% off every Monday (60+)
Wendy's: 10% off ( 55 +)
White Castle: 10% off (62+) This is for me ... if I ever see one again.

RETAIL & APPAREL:
Banana Republic: 30% off ( 50 +)
Bealls: 20% off first Tuesday of each month ( 50 +)
Belk's: 15% off first Tuesday of every month ( 55 +)
Big Lots: 30% off
Bon-Ton Department Stores: 15% off on senior discount days ( 55 +)
C.J. Banks: 10% off every Wednesday (50+)
Clarks : 10% off (62+)
Dress Barn: 20% off ( 55+)
Goodwill: 10% off one day a week (date varies by location)
Hallmark: 10% off one day a week (date varies by location)
Kmart: 40% off (Wednesdays only) ( 50+)
Kohl's: 15% off (60+) Modell's Sporting Goods: 30% off
Rite Aid: 10% off on Tuesdays & 10% off prescriptions
Ross Stores: 10% off every Tuesday ( 55+)
The Salvation Army Thrift Stores: up to 50% off ( 55+)
Stein Mart: 20% off red dot/clearance items first Monday of every month ( 55 +)

GROCERY:
Albertson's: 10% off first Wednesday of each month ( 55 +)
American Discount Stores: 10% off every Monday ( 50 +)
Compare Foods Supermarket: 10% off every Wednesday (60+)
DeCicco Family Markets: 5% off every Wednesday (60+)
Food Lion: 60% off every Monday (60+)
Fry's Supermarket: free Fry's VIP Club Membership & 10% off every Monday ( 55 +)
Great Valu Food Store: 5% off every Tuesday (60+)
Gristedes Supermarket: 10% off every Tuesday (60+)
Harris Teeter: 5% off every Tuesday (60+)
Hy-Vee: 5% off one day a week (date varies by location)
Kroger: 10% off (date varies by location)
Morton Williams Supermarket: 5% off every Tuesday (60+)
The Plant Shed: 10% off every Tuesday ( 50 +)
Publix: 15% off every Wednesday ( 55 +)
Rogers Marketplace: 5% off every Thursday (60+)
Uncle Guiseppe's Marketplace: 15% off (62+)

TRAVEL :
Airlines:
Alaska Airlines: 50% off (65+)
American Airlines: various discounts for 50% off non-peak periods (Tuesdays - Thursdays) (62+)and up (call before booking for discount)
Continental Airlines: no initiation fee for Continental Presidents Club & special fares for select destinations
Southwest Airlines: various discounts for ages 65 and up (call before booking for discount)
United Airlines: various discounts for ages 65 and up (call before booking for discount)
U.S. Airways: various discounts for ages 65 and up (call before booking for discount)
Rail:
Amtrak: 15% off (62+)
Bus:
Greyhound: 15% off (62+)
Trailways Transportation System: various discounts for ages 50+

Car Rental:
Alamo Car Rental: up to 25% off for AARP members
Avis: up to 25% off for AARP members
Budget Rental Cars: 40% off; up to 50% off for AARP members ( 50+)
Dollar Rent-A-Car: 10% off ( 50+) Enterprise Rent-A-Car: 5% off for AARP members Hertz: up to 25% off for AARP members
National Rent-A-Car: up to 30% off for AARP members

Overnight Accommodations:
Holiday Inn: 20-40% off depending on location (62+)
Best Western: 40% off (55+)
Cambria Suites: 20%-30% off (60+)
Waldorf Astoria - NYC $5,000 off nightly rate for Presidential Suite (55 +)
Clarion Motels: 20%-30% off (60+)
Comfort Inn: 20%-30% off (60+)
Comfort Suites: 20%-30% off (60+)
Econo Lodge: 40% off (60+)
Hampton Inns & Suites: 40% off when booked 72 hours in advance
Hyatt Hotels: 25%-50% off (62+)
InterContinental Hotels Group: various discounts at all hotels (65+)
Mainstay Suites: 10% off with Mature Traveler's Discount (50+); 20%-30% off (60+)
Marriott Hotels: 25% off (62+)
Motel 6: Stay Free Sunday nights (60+)
Myrtle Beach Resort: 30% off ( 55 +)
Quality Inn: 40%-50% off (60+)
Rodeway Inn: 20%-30% off (60+)
Sleep Inn: 40% off (60+)

ACTIVITIES & ENTERTAINMENT:
AMC Theaters: up to 30% off ( 55 +)
Bally Total Fitness: $100 off memberships (62+)
Busch Gardens Tampa, FL: $13 off one-day tickets ( 50 +)
Carmike Cinemas: 35% off (65+)
Cinemark/Century Theaters: up to 35% off
Massage Envy - NYC 20% off all "Happy Endings" (62 +)
U.S. National Parks: $10 lifetime pass; 50% off additional services including camping (62+)
Regal Cinemas: 50% off Ripley's Believe it or Not: @ off one-day ticket ( 55 +)

CELL PHONE DISCOUNTS:
AT&T: Special Senior Nation 200 Plan $19.99/month (65+)
Jitterbug: $10/month cell phone service ( 50 +)
Verizon Wireless: Verizon Nationwide 65 Plus Plan $29.99/month (65+).

MISCELLANEOUS:
Great Clips: $8 off hair cuts (60+)
Supercuts: $8 off haircuts (60+)

Seen at https://www.onmogul.com

Sweet Hawaiian Crock-pot chicken

2 lb. Chicken tenderloin chunks
1 cup pineapple juice...
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup soy sauce
Combine all together, cook on low in Crock-pot 6-8 hours...that's it! Done! Serve with brown rice and you have a complete, easy meal!!

I haven’t tried this yet, but I think I’ll put it on my “bucket” list.

Comfort and diet in the same title?

I’m relocating this cook book to my Lakeside kitchen.  Not sure where I got it—yard sale, or library sale, or Volunteers of America thrift shop. But it’s fun to read in the car even if I don’t really need recipes for most of my day to day cooking.  I learned today there is a new place to eat down the road from Lakeside, Hidden Beach Bar.  "The perch are great as are the cocktails," reports a friend.

Rachel Carson’s legacy for the poor and dark skinned

The legacy of Rachel Carson [her book Silent Spring launched the modern environmentalist movement 51years ago] is that tens of millions of human lives – mostly children in poor, tropical countries – have been traded for the possibility of slightly improved fertility in raptors. This remains one of the monumental human tragedies of the last century." What are the trade offs for American's poor and low income with Obama's new oppressive EPA regulations?
http://www.forbes.com/sites/henrymiller/2012/09/05/rachel-carsons-deadly-fantasies/

 

http://cei.org/news-releases/new-study-rachel-carson-was-wrong?

As a direct result of Bergdahl’s actions

MSG Mark Allen

"Meet my husband, injuries directly brought to you by the actions of this traitor. He can't give an account of what went down, because he can no longer speak. Now, which guy is a 'hero' again?!? Sick."

Yup.

“Hip bursitis may involve pain on the side of the hip, often radiating to the thigh. The hip area may be painful to the touch. Although range of motion of the hip may appear normal during the physical exam, the symptoms of trochanteric bursitis may be exacerbated by lying on your side, walking (especially uphill), climbing stairs and standing up from a seated position.”

Physical therapy is making a difference, but slowly. I can now walk downstairs without pain, but walking upstairs is still an effort. I think I’m walking faster, but still limp. The exercises are for strengthening the core so that I don’t reinjure anything, and for making the left leg stronger, because apparently the right was doing more than its share, thus causing the inflammation.

Based on the pain, I realize this had gradually been coming on for years, but because it would go away when I stopped whatever aggravated it, I didn’t give it much thought.  In mid-December, after a vigorous day of up and down stairs in various buildings, the pain just never stopped.

Inspiring, but makes my bursitis hurt just thinking about it

91-year-old Harriette Thompson set a new world record Sunday after she ran a marathon in San Diego in little over seven hours! Her feat, which also made her the second-oldest woman to complete a marathon in US history, is especially remarkable given that Thompson only completed her last radiation treatment for skin cancer one month ago. The grandmother of ten from Charlotte, North Carolina beat... the previous marathon record for women 90 and up by two hours and 45 minutes.

Thompson ran her first marathon at age 76 and tells people that "it's never too late" to start exercising. She has run in 15 out of the past 16 Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Marathons and raised over $90,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in the process. A classically trained pianist, Thompson told WFAE that she replays pieces in her head to keep pace while running: "I usually think of Chopin etudes, the ones that are technically difficult, because usually they're pretty fast, and it stimulates me to go a little faster, and also helps pass the time."

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/06/harriette-thompson-marathon

http://www.people.com/article/harriette-thompson-91-finishes-marathon-in-san-diego

http://running.competitor.com/2014/06/news/record-setting-day-harriette-thompson-san-diego_104482

Bergdahl and Obama

When the President loses the support of the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN AND CHRIS MATTHEWS, he's in deep doo-doo. He's traded five of the most powerful guys of the Taliban for one deserter, who will just come back to kill more Muslims and more Americans, and probably our allies who went to war with the U.S. 10 years ago. Bush had a lot of support here at home, from both parties and from numerous allies. Even Senator Obama said Afghanistan was the "good war." Obama has zip nada zilch for breaking the law in what he did--I haven't heard a single person on the left (except Rice) say this was a good idea.

The soldiers who served with this guy are able to break
their gag law now and speak out, and we know at least 6 Americans died looking for Bergdahl after he deserted. They've got his messages and e-mails about his disillusionment and hate for the military and his country.

At first I thought this happy clappy joyful bringing home a POW might just be to cover the VA mess, but although it did wipe that out of the head lines, this is just too bizarre. We don't need any conspiracy theories from the Tea Party--this is open, stupid and right out there for everyone to see. Calls for impeachment are getting loud. This seems to be worse than diddling an intern and then lying about it on the stand.

They had family too.

CNN reports: "On August 18, 2009, Staff Sgt. Clayton Bowen and Pfc. Morris Walker were killed by an IED in the search for Bergdahl. Staff Sgt. Kurt Curtiss was killed on August 26; 2nd Lt. Darryn Andrews and Pfc. Matthew Michael Martinek were killed after being attacked in Yahya Khail District on September 4; Staff Sgt. Michael Murphrey was killed September 5 by an IED at the Forward Operating Base, Sharana.

Moreover, other operations were put on hold while the search for Bergdahl was made a top priority, according to officers who served in Afghanistan in that time. Manpower and assets -- such as scarce surveillance drones and helicopters -- were redirected to the hunt. The lack of assets is one reason the closure of a dangerous combat outpost, COP Keating, was delayed. Eight soldiers were killed at COP Keating before it was ultimately closed."

Outing the CIA station chief

Religion in the public square

"What we believe--or don't believe--about God profoundly shapes what we believe about the nature of the human person and the purpose of human society. It follows that the more we remove God from our public life, the more we remove the moral vocabulary that gives our public institutions meaning. The more secularized we become, the more we undermine the common good and the more we feed the problems that are hurting us as a nation." Charles J. Chaput, archbishop of Philadelphia, “We can’t be silent,” First Things, May 2014

This failed in Congress, with his own party, so he’s going it alone

Cap and Trade failed in Congress--there weren't enough Democrats to support it. Some of them want the economy to recover, and want to hold their seats.  But Obama really owes his leftist supporters, so he's going it alone.  Who needs a Congress when you've got a Czar? In a week in which he gave the worst speech of his career, traded five terrorists for a deserter, was AWOL on the VA scandal, and got two members of his administration to take the fall for him, his ratings couldn't go any lower, so why not just confirm that Congress is an outdated vestige of a past that included a Constitution that outlaws just about everything he does?.

“Personally, I'm pretty skeptical that enough Democrats would have embraced cap and trade, even if the president had put it before health care. Democrats were willing to do a suicide charge on health care because they (incorrectly, so far) assumed that it would be much more popular after it was passed. Only a lunatic could have thought that Cap and Trade would be more popular once it started taking chunks out of peoples' paychecks. Especially in the middle of a brutal economic crisis.” http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/17/why-did-cap-and-trade-fail

The truth is there weren’t enough Democrats willing to support a carbon cap, let along Republicans. Michael Shellenberger of the Breakthrough Institute—a think tank that is highly skeptical of cap and trade—told me that his group spoke to environmental lobbyists back in 2008 who were working on a cap-and-trade bill in the Senate then, the Warner-Lieberman bill. Though it never went to a full vote, Shellenberger believes that a carbon cap bill in 2008 would have received no more than 35 votes. Now there are more Democrats in the Senate than there were then, and political realities change with a Democratic president in the White House—but that’s still a huge gap. http://science.time.com/2010/07/22/cap-and-trade-is-dead-really-truly-im-not-kidding-whos-to-blame/

Why blame Reagan?

In 1984, the HIV virus was identified by the U.S. Public Health Service and French scientists. In 1985, a blood test to detect HIV was licensed. Yet gay advocates criticize President Reagan for not speaking out about it until 1987 even though he had instructed his Surgeon General to issue a report in February 1986. (I even saw that on the cover of Entertainment magazine recently.) Gay bars, bathhouses and rampant promiscuity continued, but somehow it's Reagan's fault men were dying from their own sexual behavior?

What other president is blamed for deaths from disease before treatment/cure was found? There were at least 9 deadly diseases known to kill citizens in Washington's 2 terms. Inoculation for small pox was being tried in the mid 18th century and Jefferson didn't advocate for it until 1806. Even Lincoln got small pox after Gettysburg. FDR didn't start the March of Dimes until almost 20 years after he'd had polio. The Fords and Carters advocated for childhood vaccines 30+ years after I'd been vaccinated in 1945 and 1953. 45 years after the Surgeon General's report on smoking, President Obama was still smoking.

In the U.S. 443,000 people die prematurely from tobacco related illnesses each year according to the CDC--more people than alcohol, AIDS, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined and WWII deaths!. Not a peep from the White House (except to raise the cigarette tax which disproportionately hurts the poor).

So why the anger at Reagan for not jumping on the HIV band wagon?

Boko Haram killed 9 in Nigerian village

I grew up in and was baptized in the Church of the Brethren, as were my parents, grandparents, great grandparents and siblings.  Even as a little girl I enjoyed hearing the stories of taking Christ to the Nigerians, and eventually there was a strong Brethren church there, EYN, Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria. The Brethren Newsline of May 20, 2014, reported that five EYN members were killed by Boko Haram who are seeking a pure Islamic state for Nigeria. Nine were killed in the village of Shawa.

The wife of EYN president, Rebecca Dali writes: “We need your prayers.  Now there is virtually no security in Borno State, especially outside Maiduguri.  Many have fled to Cameroon.  In refugee camps in Cameroon and for some who are displaced there was no food, medical, or other kinds of help.  The government, even when warned, does not stop the violence.  People are suffering.”

The school from which the girl were kidnapped was established by a Brethren missionary couple now living in Kansas.

http://www.hutchnews.com/news/local_state_news/mcpherson-couple-watching-events-unfold-at-nigerian-school-where-they/article_ca81e3ca-e875-5ab1-a28a-bc6ad654e512.html

Sue after the sale

“Donald Sterling, who has co-owned the Los Angeles Clippers with his wife since 1981, sued the National Basketball Association a day after she agreed to sell the team for $2 billion following the uproar over Sterling’s racist comments.

Sterling, 80, seeks more than $1 billion in damages, claiming the NBA violated his constitutional rights by banning him from the sport for life, fining him $2.5 million and taking steps to strip him of ownership of the team solely on basis of a conversation with his lover he said was illegally recorded.”

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Donald-Sterling-NBA-Clippers-lawsuit/2014/05/30/id/574363#ixzz33ISJknkC

I know nothing about the law, but unless racist comments with his mistress in a private conversation was included in a contract of 33 years ago, I think he has a case. He has been defamed, humiliated in public and stripped of his property.  And they have what?  Illegally recorded and sold to the media conversation.

Shinseki and Carney go bye-bye

Two useful solutions for VA scandal

Paul Krugman, eat crow. Romney suggested private vouchers for veterans and was roundly ridiculed on the left. However, Obama said there were problems in 2008 and did nothing but ask for more money. It's control, not money. VA health system is socialized medicine, the direction all leftists want us to go. The pro-choice crowd wants no choice for education, veterans' health, light bulbs, etc. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/14/opinion/krugman-vouchers-for-veterans-and-other-bad-ideas.html?_r=0

It wouldn't take a genius: give the veterans vouchers to introduce some competition and reduce the wait time, and get rid of the unions. Why, when we already have civil service and professional organizations for every medical specialty, does there need to be union bosses calling the shots for veterans' health?

http://nypost.com/2014/05/28/how-unions-share-blame-for-va-deaths/

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/379051/while-vets-wait-va-employees-do-union-work-jillian-kay-melchior

Respect the bee

Shinseki takes the fall for the president

I'll only defend the president to this point. The VA has systemic problems that existed before January 2009. We know this because he claimed it so during his first campaign, and we know how he can be trusted on campaign promises to clean up problems with complete transparency.  However, the VA medical system is our completely socialized medical component of government health care (we have four—Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP are private/public partnerships with government being heavy handed), and the failures are consistent with the philosophy of having the government own and run health care.

"Eric K. Shinseki resigned Friday as secretary of veterans affairs, taking responsibility for a scandal in the VA health-care system over excessive waiting times and cover ups of what he called “systemic” problems."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/shinseki-apologizes-for-va-health-care-scandal/2014/05/30/e605885a-e7f0-11e3-8f90-73e071f3d637_story.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/transcript-obamas-remarks-on-resignation-of-va-secretary-eric-shinseki/2014/05/30/92cd831a-e80c-11e3-afc6-a1dd9407abcf_story.html

Head injuries in sports

Glad to see the president is getting up to speed on head injuries (especially in children). I blogged about this 7 years ago. Welcome aboard, Mr. President. I didn't even have a scandal or two to cover up. http://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/2007/11/head-injuries-in-sports-columbus.html

Dr. [Daniel] Amen, who has seen over 30,000 brain scans, says: "I would not let my children hit a soccer ball with their heads, play tackle football, or snowboard without a helmet. I encourage my own kids to play tennis, golf, table tennis, and track. Your brain matters. Respect and protect it."

If an NFL players has also played little league, high school and college football, imagine the trauma to his brain.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-to-host-a-white-house-summit-on-growing-conerns-over-sports-head-injuries/2014/05/28/d49e48ae-e5ac-11e3-afc6-a1dd9407abcf_story.html

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/05/29/recalling-own-injuries-obama-calls-for-end-to-suck-it-up-culture-in-youth-sports/

Glenn Beck’s monologue about rape statistics

The anti-Beck forces were out saying his producer and side-kick Stu was ridiculing the seriousness of rape, when in fact  he was questioning the phony rape statistics recently published for political reasons (need to hang on the female vote?). Most rapes happen to men, and on today’s radio show Glenn talks about how his father was raped as a young man. He’s irate that truth has been cheapened in this latest study about rape where feeling pressured or feeling sorry is equated with rape.

“I will not comply. You do not own my thoughts. A few things are very clear to me, and no amount of speech giving or bumper stickers or EPA, NSA, IRS threats will ever change the facts that are true.

These are just a few of them: My child’s fingers are not, nor will they ever be a gun. Those who survived the Holocaust did not do so because of white privilege. A Hollywood blacklist is exactly the same horror show, whether the names on that list are communists or conservatives. 2 plus 2 equals 4. Always has, always will. I don’t give a flying crap how you got there, as long as you got there, to 4. Global warming is not the same as global cooling or global climate change, which is different than global climate crisis and none of them have to do with the shootings in Chicago or the idea of regulating the very vapor that we as humans breathe out, that we all learn trees breathe in to grow. That is just as ridiculous as your straight face plan to now regulate cow farts.

I’m sorry, but I respectfully, lovingly, yet full-throated declare that is nonsense. I also declare the self-evident truth that racism is not about having high expectations. Racism is not about standards. And rape certainly is not about someone asking for sex too many times and then being sad when you turn them down.

If you had the facts on how brutal rape is, it shows how awful your peer-reviewed study questions really are. Let’s contrast and compare, shall we, America? Who is hurting women? Who is standing up for women? Who is defending them and who is using them, merely for political power?”

http://www.glennbeck.com/2014/05/29/glenn-shares-painful-family-history-of-abuse-in-response-to-critics/

Emma Watson gets a pass on Brown’s gun ban

The older “student” is actually an armed guard protecting a movie star.  Others?  I guess they are either not safe, or extremely safe.  Either way, it’s hypocrisy.

Story at Time.

Helping the uninsured children of America

Of the 6.6 million uninsured American children in 2009 (7.2% of all children), about 2/3 were actually already eligible for health coverage through Medicaid or CHIP. About 40% of that 7.2% were children of illegal immigrants, but are American citizens by birth. Now with Obamacare, things will really be screwed up, and it's possible if CHIP funding lapses (which logically shouldn't be needed if we've got this other wonderful plan), there could be more uninsured children than before the ACA.

Now, I'm no math genius, but if 92.8% of all American children were insured either by private insurance or their parents' employer, and 40% of the uninsured were children of illegal immigrants, and 2/3 were eligible for a government plan already in place, were there no geniuses in this administration would could figure out a way to help these children without messing up every other child's plan?

Statistics from JAMA, May 7, 2014.