Our new garage door

It's being installed this morning. I hope it doesn't disturb the mother duck on 9 eggs by the front door. The bottom panel of the door takes on water and then it starts to peel and look ugly. We've already replaced it once since moving here in 2002. So we're going for a new door--this one is metal, but will match the color of the building trim. We're also having a quieter opener/track installed, one that will have more than 10,000 open/closings, the life expectancy of the "average" opener. But because of the insulation in the door, other Americans get to help pay for our door with our tax deduction. Yes, our new brown garage door is "green." Actually, I'm more concerned about the gasoline powered vehicles that will be inside the garage, than I am an insulated door. Besides, who knows when whatever is in our insulation (roof and attic newly installed in 2001) and door, will be declared unsafe for .5% of the population and will need to be replaced? With Obama's new stop drilling rules and the regulations to come even though no one knows what caused the accident and the old regulations weren't being followed by either the government or BP, we just know gasoline is going to become very dear.

The flap in the press about Rand Paul

Rand Paul's comments about the 1964 Civil Rights Act show his inexperience with the press. Barack Obama in his early years, and even in his presidency, could get away with saying stupid things about police, terrorists, illegals, etc. because of his party and his race, but not a Republican/Libertarian. That said, which party really supported the Civil Rights Act overwhelmingly in both houses in 1964? The Republicans. Look it up.

The fundamentals of civil conversation at Ohio State University

President Gee in wanting "civil discourse" isn't mentioning any names, of course, but who do you really think he's including in this condemnation of the national civil debate? Surely not Katie Couric, or Keith Olbermann, or NYT opinion pieces disguised as news. He's not going to condemn union protests over capping pensions, or students protesting tuition hikes, but I'm guessing he's terribly concerned that peaceful Tea Party protests have been held in every state and the capital and the movement is growing.

"The profusion of fractious talk radio and bias disguised as cable news." Do you think he has ever watched Glenn Beck for a week and followed an American history lesson on his chalk board, or read one of his recommended books? Has he watched a Fox panel, where not two sides, but perhaps four are represented, and no one is shouting, or labeling? No, he's probably getting his "news about the news" through a filter like other liberals and academics.

He's not lifting up our current U.S. President as the most thin-skinned, whiny, petulant national leader in memory is he? He doesn't criticize the national media for NOT performing their role in keeping the administration on track by investigation and thorough analysis. No, he's going after the talkers and alternate media that actually do analysis. Glenn Beck, love him or hate him, is doing the job of the press--he's peeking under the skirts of the girlie men of this administration. College presidents never concern themselves over the bias of the regular broadcast media or the major newspapers (which are dying from lack of advertising). Has Gee ever spoken out when Christians and Conservatives are shouted down or denied access to an audience on college campuses? Do conservatives feel safe speaking out on the Ohio State campus?

"We cannot allow the diatribe and venom to shackle our nation’s progress." (Gee) This is the leading up to reinstating the so-called "fairness doctrine."

The fundamentals of civil conversation : onCampus

Parker got smart too late about Obama and Pelosi

Sen. Arlen Specter switched parties in Pennsylvania and lost to Joe Sestak (the guy who turned down a bribe to not run against Obama's choice, the former Republican Specter). Then Alabama's Rep. Parker Griffith, a Democrat, switched parties, and he also lost.

"I do not regret changing parties. I think politically it may have been a mistake. On principle, it was the right thing to do, and I'm happy about it," said [Parker] Griffith, the morning after losing the Republican primary to challenger Mo Brooks. . . .

He said he would continue to support local Republicans and planned to vote for Brooks in November. "I think Obama is a socialist. I think Nancy Pelosi is, as well," he said, repeating recent campaign themes linking Democrats, government spending and a suffocating national debt. (Huntsville Times)

Flotilla "Peace Activists" Attack Israeli Security Officers at Tel Aviv Airport

Thirteen female European activists, arrested for their participation in the flotilla to Gaza, attacked Immigration Authority officers escorting them to the airport for their deportation, the Interior Ministry reported Wednesday.

The Vicious Babushka: Flotilla "Peace Activists" Riot, Attack Security Officers at Tel Aviv Airport

Do you get the impression these "peace activists" (sounds like "meat eating vegetarians") are looking for a fight? That they are unhappy they weren't kept in jail? And they could've brought in humanitarian aid through Egypt--that's an Arab, Muslim country. Actually, they can dock in Israel, and bring in aid that way.

I watched a CNN analysis of the raid--it was bizarre. They were clueless about the violence against the Israelis. Jews, where ever you are, be careful. Read history. You're being set up.

About 2,300 running for Congress

More than 2,300 people are running for 471 House and Senate seats in the midterms. It's the highest number of candidates in at least 35 years, says MyWay.com. It's anti-incumbent and anti-Obama sentiment that's driving it. People are putting up their own money--they know they won't win but they'll have a voice.

My Way News - About 2,300 running for Congress, most in decades

David Brooks is not a bold thinker

What passes for criticism in a NYT Op-Ed column left me speechless. David Brooks actually writes that after pulling off amazing things in the first 16 months, Obama's become bogged down. The oil spill is a turning point. Huh? No Mr. Brooks, Obama cooked his goose by attempting to "fundamentally transform the country." His campaign promise.

• The health care bill was agonizing, and he did that first instead of addressing the jobs problem.
• It barely squeaked through with no one knowing what was in it, and even with all the MSM like NYT, WaPo and WSJ rooting for it, and his deadly monotonous speeches, it has turned out to be a bust with 70% of American voters not wanting it.
• He dawdled and crept along on the Afghanistan decision last summer, and God only knows how much that set a resolution back. I think he's addressed the war maybe three times in 16 months.
• His national security, anti-terrorism plan has become a joke because all he knows how to do is rename the problem so that the words, Muslim, Islam, jihad and terrorist don't appear in any media reports.
• He criticizes the Arizona SB1070 without ever having read the bill--a more serious rerun of the
•  Gates/police problem last summer where he called out the police without ever learning the facts.
• The ARRA has done zip, nada, zilch in restoring the economy--we had loads of evidence from FDR in the 1930s that this government take over doesn't work, but he did it anyway.

Just where is the "bold movement" of which you wrote, Mr. Brooks?

"For the past 16 months he has been on nearly permanent offense, instigating action with the stimulus bill, Afghan policy, health care reform and the nearly complete financial reform. Whether you approve or not, this has been an era of bold movement.

But now the troops are exhausted, the country is anxious, the money is spent and the Democratic majorities are teetering. The remaining pieces of legislation, on immigration and energy, are going nowhere. (The decision to do health care before energy is now looking extremely unfortunate.) Meanwhile, the biggest problems are intractable. There’s no sign we will be successful in preventing a nuclear Iran. Especially after Monday’s events, there’s no chance of creating a breakthrough in the Arab-Israeli dispute. Unemployment will not be coming down soon. The long-term fiscal crisis won’t be addressed soon either."

Op-Ed Columnist - The Oil Plume - NYTimes.com

Not All Latino Immigrants Accepted As 'White'

This isn't about just the Census! Who do you suppose is encouraging Latinos NOT to become Americanized, not to be stirred into the melting pot, to continue speaking Spanish, to march on Cinco de Mayo, to hoist the Mexican flag, and to watch Telemundo, where all the spokeswomen are glamorous, European types? American immigrants are being sold out by the very organizations who are claiming to help them, all for the almighty political vote--which in most cases means the Democrat party. We know many proud Americans of Mexican descent, 2nd and 3rd generation (and most don't know a word of Spanish other than those on the restaurant menu just like the rest of us).

Despite Efforts, Not All Latino Immigrants Accepted As 'White'

Footage of Mavi Marmara Passengers Attacking IDF Soldiers

Although most of the "volunteers" and "passengers" were Turkish, about 15 countries were represented, including 16 people from the USA. I hope our government has a record of them--you know, the proper documents that we all have to show when involved in a crime. Israel is very touchy about passports, so I'm sure they were examined closely before they released them and sent them packing.



"The Israeli prime minister's office announced that all foreigners from the flotilla who were detained would be released and deported by sometime on Thursday. There were about 600 activists on the six ships." CNN

The Gores

I was as shocked and saddened as anyone to hear about the Gores. And there's no way I believe the story being put out--not after 40 years.

"They were college sweethearts whose public struggles — her battles with depression, his searing loss to George W. Bush in 2000 — did nothing to suggest anything besides a stable and mutually supportive team. The Gores — he is 62, she is 61 — were never trailed by rumors or whispers, and people close to the family said Tuesday that they expected no second shoe to drop. This decision, they said, was simply about a couple that had grown apart after four decades."

Assumptions Go Asunder as Gores Split - NYTimes.com

When Do They Tune Out?

"So an oil spill that he had as much ability to prevent as George W. Bush did to stop Katrina from hitting shore has snared the president, who oversold himself and the power of government. But the Joe Sestak scandal may be worse. For one thing, it’s a White House–made mess, not a natural disaster."

Commentary » Blog Archive » When Do They Tune Out?

I started tuning Obama out during the 2008 campaign, reached for the remote as he looked down his nose at us and our country and wagged his finger, promising us more taxes and higher energy bills, and of course, transparency and honesty in government. His transparency has come in strange ways. He's still a thin skinned, narcissist, Chicago thug, and nothing he's said since July 2008 has changed what he wrote in his books, said in his speeches, or the friends and associates with whom he surrounded himself. He is what he is.

Angela McGlowan at the Nashville Tea Party

Angela McGlowan is from Mississippi and is running for Congress, as a pro-life, pro-family, pro-Second Amendment conservative.

Oprah and Orpah

Oprah (no last name needed) is the richest woman in the United States. . . and no, the lists don't say that because they include women who got their wealth from their family status, and inheritance--wife, widow, daughter, granddaughter, etc. Oprah actually earned her billions. And then there's Orpah, the check-out clerk (not her real name). Orpah is a Biblical name, the daughter-in-law of Ruth (means "she who turned back") and Oprah is probably a misspelling of that Biblical name on her birth certificate.

Poor Orpah behind the cash register is about Oprah's age, but she's white, skinny, with a long gray pony tail, a sullen grimace for all the customers, and no fashion sense at all, unless baggy t-shirts and work boots are in style.

So, here's a question for all you Democrats and liberal Republicans. How much of Oprah's wealth should be redistributed to Orpah who didn't get the personality, looks or education to become a successful talk show host and media mogul? She's a victim. Maybe her parents died; maybe she had an abusive husband; maybe she was a single mom.  Just because she rarely speaks to the customers and isn't photogenic, didn't pursue an education (although I really don't know--perhaps there were no scholarships or loans for skinny, unathletic white teen girls in the 1970s) doesn't mean she deserves to have so much less money than Oprah. She'd probably enjoy a few of those acres by the ocean in California, or attentive personal assistants, or dining out in fancy restaurants, or even Oprah's health care plan.

So, liberals, how would you redistribute Oprah's wealth to Orpah? And how much before Oprah would notice it was even gone?

Clinton Cutout

This [Whitehouse] alibi boils down to: "We didn't try to bribe Sestak; we got Bill Clinton to try to bribe him for us. But what we were offering wasn't worth anything. So it couldn't be a bribe."

So if it is not (whatever the definition of "is not" is) a bribe, then it isn't a felony. But, an uncompensated seat on a commission is still a "thing of value."

Clinton Cutout - IBD - Investors.com

Mushroom soup for dinner

It's a good thing I blogged it. Norma's mushroom soup.

Pelosi has a new duty--this one is shocking

A pro-abortion Catholic seeks to pursue policies in keeping with "what would Jesus do." Now that she's cheek to jowl, shoulder to shoulder, linked to the most deadly administration in our nation's history, she believes she must pursue public policies "in keeping with the values" of Jesus Christ, "The Word made Flesh. She's just unbelieveable, funny almost if her contradictions weren't so tragic. How many millions have been aborted by now--how many embryos will die for science?

Pelosi, who is a Catholic and who favors legalized abortion, voted against the ban on partial-birth abortion that was enacted into law in 2003. . . After Pope Benedict XVI met privately with Speaker Pelosi in February 2009, the Vatican issued a statement saying: "His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church's consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death which enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in co-operation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development."

CNSNews.com - Pelosi Says She Has a Duty to Pursue Policies in Keeping With The Values of Jesus, 'The Word Made Flesh'

Our salt intake--looks, taste and preservation

The Sunday New York Times had an interesting article on salt. Interesting because the journalist, Michael Moss, actually put the positive contributions of salt at the beginning of the article instead of burying them at the end as I've come to expect from WaPo, NYT, WSJ, LAT, CD, etc. or anything contributed by AP.

It's a fascinating article, and I encourage you to read it, but just to briefly highlight some of the positives of salt--flavor enhancer, preservative, crisper, color enhancer, plumping, texture, and masking bitterness. Without salt a lot of processed food would taste and look like "damp dog hair on cardboard." And of course, currently the processed food industry must be demonized. Without that industry, we probably wouldn't have any sick people at all!

I bought a box of Cheez-it knock offs (store brand) the other day to serve as nibbles for about half the price. The list of ingredients looked the same, but about half were broken and crumbly. Must have been something wrong in the salt ingredients. Now I know.

Pushed to Lower Salt Use, Food Industry Pushes Back - NYTimes.com

See what happens when you don't read the bill? White House fights state challenges to Obamacare

And of course, we taxpayers will be footing the bill for these challenges--both at the state end and the federal. Sigh. Full employment for government lawyers. Now that's job security!

The Obama administration responded to the first court challenge to health care this week, asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit from Virginia the claims that the federal law violates a state statute.

The Congressional Budget Office released figures that suggest the health care law will $115 billion more than previously estimated.

Another aspect of the law that flew under the radar is potential tax penalties for as many as one-third of companies subject to the law.

Read the whole article. But in a nutshell, this may be the messiest legislation, and the most expensive, in my life time.

Congress.org - News : White House spars with states

He Was Supposed to Be Competent

No Peggy. That's not why he was elected. Everyone, even his strongest supporters, knew his resume, and competence in anything wasn't on it. Even you were swooning during the campaign because he wasn't George Bush.

Noonan names three political disasters and then ponders whether he can possibly survive. His sycophant supporters and his props in the media won't bat an eyelash.

"There was the tearing and unnecessary war over his health-care proposal and its cost.

There was his day-to-day indifference to the views and hopes of the majority of voters regarding illegal immigration.

And now the past almost 40 days of dodging and dithering in the face of an environmental calamity. I don't see how you politically survive this."

You just watch, Peggy. It will all be George Bush's fault. Obama wanted a failed, weakened United States, and by gum, he's going to get one!

Peggy Noonan: He Was Supposed to Be Competent - WSJ.com

Sestak and Obama White House

If you google "Joe Sestak Barack Obama" you get about 1,200,000 hits--and since he only claimed victory in the primary a few days ago, that's huge--even with duplicates and reposting. I wonder how this will affect the voters who might turn to the Republican candidate saying "a pox on both your houses." Pols and bloggers from Chicago can't imagine what all the fuss is about. Doesn't everyone bribe?

Talking points memo has a number of stories on this.