Swoops from Snowyowl

On A Recent Recess Appointment

2012-02-11T22:55:00.000-06:00

The first recess appointment by a President was made by President George Washington in 1795 and that practice has continued since.

More recently, President Bill Clinton made 139 recess appointments. President George W. Bush made 171 recess appointments, and as of January 5, 2012, President Barack Obama had made 32 recess appointments.

Sources:

Henry B. Hogue; Richard S. Beth. "Recess Appointments: Frequently Asked Questions" (pdf). Congressional Research Service.

http://www.senate.gov/CRSReports/crs-publish.cfm?pid='0DP%2BP%5CW%3B%20P%20%20%0A. Retrieved 4 January 2012

The question arises from the fact that the present “Do Nothing” Congress, with an approval rating in the single digits, had failed to approve a head for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau after several months. Exposing the Republican’s desire to NOT have consumer’s finances protected from banks, loan associations or any other group out to cheat the public. The Republicans didn’t even want that bureau to exist so the best bet was for them to continue to filibuster any appointments to head it. To try to thwart any appointments, the Republicans did a pro forma opening of the Senate. They opened it and left it open with no business being done and no one there to perform any business or to give “Advise and Consent.” They had to do this every three days to make it work. President Obama appointed John Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau anyway. The Republicans have objected ever since but none have taken him to court on it. More “Sound and fury . . . signifying nothing.”

On January 6th, 2012, the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel issued an opinion regarding recess appointments and pro forma sessions, stating that "The convening of periodic pro forma sessions in which no business is to be conducted does not have the legal effect of interrupting an intrasession recess otherwise long enough to qualify as a "Recess of the Senate" under the Recess Appointments Clause. In this context, the President therefore has discretion to conclude that the Senate is unavailable to perform its advise-and-consent function and to exercise his power to make recess appointments."

Sources:

http://www.justice.gov/olc/memoranda-opinions.html

http://www.justice.gov/olc/2012/pro-forma-sessions-opinion.pdf

In case anyone is interested, President Barack Obama knows the Constitution, he was a Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago.

"Hoppin' John" My New Year's Tradition

2010-12-28T03:01:00.002-06:00

It has long been a tradition among many groups to serve Black Eyed Peas on New Year's Day for good luck in the coming year. My first thought was, "Why didn't they make Porter House Steak a good luck tradition for The New Year?"

The lowly blackeyed pea has too little taste . . . for MY taste. But, here I set, looking at a pot of black eyed peas wondering, "What to do, what to do?"

Well, here's what I did!

SNOWYOWL'S HOPPIN' JOHN
1½ cup-Chopped Red Onion
1½ cup-Chopped Ham
1½ cup-Chopped Poblano Pepper (Sweet not Hot)
2 Tbsp-Peanut Oil
2 15oz. cans of black eyed peas (Keep ¾ cup of liquid)
4 Tbsp or more to taste, of Salsa Snowyowl (Can be found at: http://swoopsfromsnowyowl.blogspot.com/2009/09/recipe-for-salsa.html) on my Sept. 18th, 2009 post! Or, you might want to use Pace's Medium or Hot Salsa as a substitute.
7 oz. Hominy, drained
2 oz. Pimientos, undrained
2½ oz. sliced, ripe Olives, drained
¾ cup sliced Mushrooms

In a large skillet, saute onion, pepper and ham in oil for 3 minutes. Drain Blackeyed Peas and retain ¾ cup of liquid. Add blackeyed peas and retained liquid, Salsa, hominy, mushrooms, pimientos and and olives to ham mixture. Stir to combine then heat over medium heat to a boil. Then simmer for an hour on low.

In my 'fridge, I have two special "Condiments" that I use other than the standard stuff. One is blueberries and the other is chopped onions. I have found that whatever I can't improve the flavor of with onions, I can with blueberries. In this instance, use those chopped onions on top of the finished product when served. Might want to sprinkle a little pepper jack cheese too. It's up to you.

As in most of this type of recipe, this is gonna taste much better tomorrow than it does today. If you can do it a day or so ahead of time and keep your hands off of it, then let it set for a day. As Grandma always said, "Let it Fester," it will taste even better.

A Poem Worth Reading!

2010-12-17T12:52:00.001-06:00

A POEM WORTH READING

And sharing!
(Author unknown)

He was getting old and paunchy
And his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion,
Telling stories of the past.

Of a war that he once fought in
And the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies;
They were heroes, every one.

And 'tho sometimes to his neighbors
His tales became a joke,
All his buddies listened quietly
For they knew whereof he spoke.

But we'll hear his tales no longer,
For old Bob has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer
For a Soldier died today.

He won t be mourned by many,
Just his children and his wife.
For he lived an ordinary,
Very quiet sort of life.

He held a job and raised a family,
Going quietly on his way;
And the world won't note his passing,
'Tho a Soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth,
Their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing,
And proclaim that they were great.

Papers tell of their life stories
From the time that they were young
But the passing of a Soldier
Goes unnoticed, and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution
To the welfare of our land,
Someone who breaks his promise
And cons his fellow man?

Or the ordinary fellow
Who in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his country
And offers up his life?

The politician's stipend
And the style in which he lives,
Are often disproportionate,
To the service that he gives.

While the ordinary Soldier,
Who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal
And perhaps a pension, small.

It is not the politicians
With their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom
That our country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger,
With your enemies at hand,
Would you really want some cop-out,
With his ever waffling stand?

Or would you want a Soldier--
His home, his country, his kin,
Just a common Soldier,
Who would fight until the end?

He was just a common Soldier,
And his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us
We may need his like again.

For when countries are in conflict,
We find the Soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles
That the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor
While he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage
At the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simple headline
In the paper that might say:
"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
A SOLDIER DIED TODAY."

A Simple Song of Freedom

2010-12-10T01:57:00.001-06:00

I am reminded constantly how much life is nothing but a circle! If you keep a tie long enough, it'll come back into style. Here's an old song by Bobby Darin that is so true now that it seems to defy logic.

Simple Song Of Freedom (True After All These Years)

By Bobby Darin

Come and sing a simple song of freedom
Sing it like you've never sung before
Let it fill the air
Tell the people everywhere
We, the people here, don't want a war

Hey there, Mister Black Man can you hear me?
I don't want your diamonds or your game
I just want to be, someone known to you as me
and I will bet my life you want the same

Come and sing a simple song of freedom
Sing it like you've never sung before
Let it fill the air
Tell the people everywhere
We, the people here, don't want a war

Seven hundred million are you listening?
Most of what you read is made of lies
But speaking one to one, ain't it everybody's sun
To wake to in the morning when we rise?

So come and sing a simple song of freedom
Sing it like you've never sung before
Let it fill the air
Tell the people everywhere
We, the people here, don't want a war

Brother Yareshenko are you busy?
If not would you drop a friend a line?
Tell me if the man, who is plowing up your land
has got the war machine upon his mind

Come and sing a simple song of freedom
Sing it like you've never sung before
Let it fill the air
Tell the people everywhere
That we, the people here, don't want a war

Now no doubt some folks enjoy doin' battle
Like Presidents, Prime Ministers and Kings
So let's build them shelves where they can fight among themselves
and leave the people be who like to sing

Come and sing a simple song of freedom
Sing it like you've never sung before
Let it fill the air
Tell the people everywhere
That we the people here, don't want a war

Let it fill the air
Tell the people everywhere
That we the people here, don't want a war

Fact Free Politics

2010-11-14T00:38:00.002-06:00

Ever since Obama chose to run for President, the U. S. has experienced fact free politics. A culture where UNTRUTH has triumphed over facts, references and sources. And, all this has been promoted by an enthusiastic, deliberate and systematic campaign to destroy Barack Obama's presidency before it even got started. The economic collapse was answered with emergency measures, a bank bailout, an auto bailout and the stimulus package.

While almost identical to Mitt Romney's health reform in Massachusetts, and far to the Right of the Clinton's in the '90s, Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will actually reduce the deficit. That while placing millions more within the program and providing insurance and drug companies with more customers. That was all turned into a Socialist Governmental take-over.

All of these moves could be held as detrimental in lots of ways but what you cannot do is say they portray Obama as an ultra Socialist anti-American who is taking the U. S. down a path to oblivion. Fox News, Rush, Sean, Michael, Glen and various others have put that in our heads day and night for so long, it almost seems true . . . ALMOST!

If a Republican President had stepped up and helped turn around our financial institutions, our auto industries and done that profitably while insuring millions within the private sector, cut Medicare fraud and misuse, overseen a decline in illegal immigration, started a pull out from Iraq, set up a debt commission to reduce future debt, and seen job growth within a deliberate recovery . . . I don't think that Republican President would be referred to as a Socialist. Yet, because the President is a Democrat, that is exactly what has happened.

The BIG LIE is nothing but a bunch of little lies--"Death panels, out of control spending, climate change is a myth, Obama will take your guns away, a tax on financial transactions, average Federal employees make $120,000 per year, $200,000,000 per day to travel to India, rationed health care, Obama was born in Kenya, Obama is a Muslim, Obama is a radical Christian, Obama is an atheist," and oh so many more. It is the onslaught of all the little stuff that makes the BIG LIE, the accumulated lie. This all got into the minds of the people and became, at first, plausible, then possible, then probable and later true because they never let up and never varied in their talking points. And, none of this was officially refuted. A lie told long enough becomes the truth, someone said.

Don't let them get away with it. Look things up, check it out for yourself and call them on it. Ask for references, as for sources, ask where they read it, heard it and who wrote it or said it.

You might ask me, "They are all lying, isn't there a law against that?" For the answer to that you really need to go to:
http://swoopsfromsnowyowl.blogspot.com/2010/06/isnt-there-law-against-that.html

Breaking News From Canada!

2010-11-10T13:13:00.002-06:00

CANADIANS SET TO BUILD HUGE FENCE TO KEEP LIBERALS OUT!

From The Manitoba Herald, Canada--by Clive Runnels

Manitoba -- The flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past week sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration. The recent actions of the TEA Party are prompting an exodus among left-leaning citizens who fear they'll soon be required to hunt, pray, and agree with Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck. Canadian border farmers say it's not uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors, animal-rights activists and Unitarians crossing their fields at night.

"I went out to milk the cows the other day and there was a Hollywood producer huddled in the barn," said Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield, whose acreage borders North Dakota. "The producer was cold, exhausted and hungry. He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range chicken. When I said I didn't have any, he left before I even got a chance to show him my screenplay, eh?"

In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher fences, but the liberals scaled them. He then installed loudspeakers that blared Rush Limbaugh across the fields. "Not real effective," he said. "The liberals still got through and Rush annoyed the cows so much that they wouldn't give any milk."

Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals near the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons and drive them across the border where they are simply left to fend for themselves. "A lot of those people are not prepared for our rugged conditions," an Ontario border patrolman said. "I found one carload without a single bottle of imported drinking water. They did have a nice little Napa Valley Cabernet, though."

When liberals are caught, they're sent back across the border, often wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumors have been circulating about plans being made to build re-education camps where liberals will be forced to drink domestic beer, watch NASCAR races and learn to shoot guns.

In recent days, liberals have turned to ingenious way of crossing the border. Some have been disguised as senior citizens taking a bus trip to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a half dozen young vegans in powdered wig disguises, Canadian immigration authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed seniors about Perry Como and Rosemary Clooney to prove they were alive in the '50s. "If they can't identify the accordion player on The Lawrence Welk Show, we become very suspicious about their age," an official said.

Canadian Citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are creating an organic-broccoli shortage and are renting all the Michael Moore movies. "I really feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian economy just can't support them," an Ottawa resident said. "How many art-history majors does one country need?"

Senate Election Analysis

2010-11-06T21:06:00.002-05:00

Remember back on October 26, I gave an analysis of the upcoming Senate election and what I thought it might mean.
http://swoopsfromsnowyowl.blogspot.com/2010/10/senate-races-to-watch-on-november-2nd.html

Well, the election commission in Washington State can finally put their shoes and socks back on now that they have used all their fingers and toes to add up the result of their Senate race between Dino Rossi (R) and Patty Murray (D) the incumbent.

In that post I listed six races and I felt the Democrats needed to win at least half to take the Senate. Well, what happened is the Democrats won four of the six and did indeed hold the Senate . . . not by much but a good hold.

The winners were;
In Nevada, Harry Reid (D) over Sharron Angle (Mars). There were actually nine people in that race which diluted the votes down to where it might have been hard for one person to win a majority. But Harry finally pulled it out.

In Washington, Patty Murray (D) over Dino Rossi (R). It took several days to hand count the ballots which were, by all appearances, written in Sanskrit and being read by a visually impaired election commission.

In Colorado, Michael Bennet (D) over Ken Buck (R). Buck was ahead for several hours at the beginning but Bennet held the lead once he got it.

In West Virginia, Joe Manchin (D) over John Raese (R). This again was a nail biter in that Raese had a lead for a long time at the beginning.

The two Democrats that lost were Joe Sestak to Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania and Alan Giannoulias lost Barack Obama's old seat in Illinois to Mark Kirk.

Now, if the President wants anything done in the Senate, he'll have to do it with reconciliation from the get go. That is what "W" did most of his terms in office and that is how Obama will have to do it, too.

Strange News From Dallas

2010-11-04T14:52:00.001-05:00

(From the Dallas Morning News)

Dallas, TX (AP) - A seven year old boy was at the center of a Dallas County courtroom drama yesterday when he challenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him. The boy, Joseph Luna, has a history of being beaten by his parents and the judge, Arthur Wingate, initially awarded custody to his aunt, Martha Luna, in keeping with child custody law and regulation requiring that family unity be maintained to the highest degree reasonably possible.

The boy surprised the court when he proclaimed that his aunt beat him more than his parents and he adamantly refused to live with her. When the judge then suggested that he live with his grandparents, the boy cried and said that they also beat him.

After considering the remainder of the immediate family and learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life among them, the judge took the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to propose who should have custody of him.

After two recesses to check legal references and confer with the child welfare officials, the judge granted temporary custody to the Dallas Cowboys professional football team, whom the boy firmly believes are not capable of beating anyone.

Is a Gerrymander An Amphibian?

2010-11-02T14:07:00.002-05:00

Way back in 1812, Elbridge Gerry, then the Governor of Massachusetts, was in charge of redividing the districts of his state after the census of 1810. Governor Gerry decided to reshape districts to gain political advantage. When he did, one came out with a strange shape that looked like a salamander. That was renamed by the local newspaper into a "Gerry" mander and has stuck for the past hundred and eighty eight years. So to "Gerrymander" is to redistrict for political advantage making strange shapes out of districts.

That is why electing a Governor from your party is important in the years after a census is taken. That Governor can dictate the way your state is represented for the next ten years. He/She can give his opposition a funny shaped district and confine all those against him into one district while giving his compatriots five districts or more. In some cases a Governor can put all his opposition into a minority in several districts.

In Arkansas, we have a strong Democrat as Governor, but in some other states the voters don't realize yet that the future of their state and their representation for the next ten years rests with who they elect Governor.

Only two states, Arkansas and New York, have strong Democrats that should be re-elected. The Republican in New York is Carl Paladino, the guy that Andrew Coumo should beat easily. Those two states plus seven holdovers will give the Democrats only nine states for sure.

The Republicans, on the other hand, have six holdovers and eleven solidly going to them. That will give the Republicans a solid seventeen states to redistrict. The leaning states are six for the Democrats and ten for the Republicans. If that stays accurate, that will give the Democrats fifteen states and the Republicans twenty seven states to redistrict to their advantage. The tossup states for Governor number eight. If the Democrats take all of them, and they won't, they can't catch the Republicans in number of states they can redistrict.

No one has really brought this to the attention of the voters this year and it is very important that people know. Unfortunately this blog is about a week late and reaches far too few to make a difference, but be aware, those Governors we elect this year are important, not only now but for the next ten years.

That's just another reason to be well informed.

(For more on this subject, go to;
www.redistrictingthenation.com/

The Time Is Here

2010-11-01T14:44:00.001-05:00

OK folks, the time has arrived and I've found that elections are really a conversation. They, the candidates, have been talking to us for a long time now and it is time for us to tell them where to go.

We need to tell some to get lost and some to take office. But first we need to find out about the candidates and their views on what is important to us. We need to find out as much about the various amendments and issues that are on the ballot as we can . . . then vote. We must know what we are going to say in that conversation and to be able to say it in an intelligent fashion. Remember, this is a conversation. Don't talk foolishly and don't say stupid things. All of our lives and all of our futures are depending on what we collectively say.

If you have decided to not vote this time, you will be conceding power to others. Those "Others" may not have your best interest at heart. The power you concede may very well hurt you, your family and your future.

I frequently support one side over the other on this blog. I won't be doing that today. If you read me much at all, you know what side I'm on. Today I want to encourage you to get educated and get involved. This is about you! This is about your family! This is about all of our futures and moving forward. Please do it but do it intelligently. Do it well informed.

The future depends on you and your well informed vote. Don't let others tell you where to go. Don't let others dictate you and your family's future.

Senate Races To Watch on November 2nd

2010-10-26T20:38:00.002-05:00

The big Mid-Term Elections are on November 2nd and here are the Senate Races you need to watch Tuesday night.

In Washington State:
Dino Rossi (R)
Patty Murray (D)
Patty Murray is the incumbent and hold a very slight lead over Dino Rossi. That lead is about 48% to 46% at this time but we have a week to go and this one could go either way.

In Nevada:
Sharron Angle (R)
Harry Reid (D)
Jerry Carter (I)
Jeffery Durbin (I)
Wil Stand (NONE)
Scott Ashjian (T) [Tea Party of Nevada]
Recently the polls have gone back and forth with Ms. Angle recently taking a small lead but still about 47% to 45%.

In Colorado:
Ken Buck (R)
Michael Bennet (D)
Bennet and Buck have been in a dead heat tied at 47% for the last 2 weeks. The decision will be made when it is decided who screwed up most/least.

In Illinois:
Mark Kirk (R)
Alan Giannoulias (D)
LeAlan Jones (G) [Green]
Michael Labno (L) [Libertarian]
Alyson Kennedy (S) [Socialist Workers] {Write-in}
Mark Kirk has been consistently ahead for the past month but still within each polls margin of error. So for all practical purposes it is still a tossup. The problem here is the Green/Libertarian/Socialist dilution of voters. That makes it very difficult for one person to get above 50%.

In West Virginia:
John Raese (R)
Joe Manchin (D)
Jesse Johnson (M) [Mountain Party]
Three weeks ago Raese had a 5 point lead. Two weeks ago Manchin had a 4 point lead. Two days ago Raese had a 2 point lead . . . who knows by November 2nd.

In Pennsylvania:
Pat Toomey (R)
Joe Sestak (D)
Osborn Hart (S) [Socialist] {Write-In}
This is a back and forth race. On the same day one pose shows an even tie at 46% while other polls show Toomey ahead by up to 8 points. No poll shows Sestak ahead. But it shall be interesting.

I feel that the Democrats need to take at least half of these races to keep a majority in the Senate. Keep this list and watch the fight come Tuesday night.

Getting The Word Out

2010-10-24T21:58:00.001-05:00

Now that the Supreme Court has ruled that everybody is allowed to give as much money as they desire, to anybody they choose and absolutely nobody needs to know about it, we are finding ourselves up to our butts in crap passed down to us as truth.

First, I'd like you to read my blog post on the lies we endure during campaigns by clicking this URL:
www.swoopsfromsnowyowl.blogspot.com/2010/06/isnt-there-law-against-that.html

Now you will understand that all restraints are off when it comes to politics and political advertising. If that is the case, why doesn't more truth come out? Why is it that only the false stuff makes the headlines? Isn't the truth believable? Or, isn't there any truth out there to be believed?

I'm not sure I can answer any of these questions to the comfort of everyone, but here is my analysis on what has happened, is happening and will happen in the future.

You have to understand that a good part of politics is getting the word out. Letting people know what you are going to do and why, then actually doing it and again explaining why it is good for the country, then reinforcing what you did with again explaining it so that there will be few if any questions. Anticipating objections and overcoming those objections up front will help eliminate problems that might arise later.

The White House is not very good at this! Obama's advisers don't understand good salesmanship and that is what politics is all about. Winning an election is one thing, keeping the post to which you are elected, is another. In order to keep your position, you must explain your actions and why those actions were good for the country. If the White House doesn't do this then everyone that hears the lies, which will inevitably come from the other side, will only believe them to be true because no one has refuted them.

Here are some of those lies that have been recently passed around and need to be put to rest.

1. "Government spending takes money out of the economy." The REALITY is that Government is you and I, the "People" and the money it spends is on you and me. The citizens of the U. S. are a gathering of people who pool their money to do the good we need to have done for us because we can't afford to do them as individuals. Some consider this a Socialist leaning country and what would they do without those Socialist Roads, Socialist highways, Socialist airports, Socialist harbors, Socialist courts, Socialist schools, Socialist police, Socialist Firemen and Socialist Armed Forces. Government doesn't just spend on the unemployed, welfare recipients and foreign aid.

2. ""Social Security is a Ponzi Scheme that is going broke." The REALITY is that Social Security has run a surplus since it began and has Trillions in a trust fund. It is completely sound for at least 25 more years. It cannot borrow so it will never contribute to the deficit, unlike the military and most other agencies. Life expectancy is longer because infant mortality has improved over the years. Back in the 30s the average life expectancy was shorter because more children died of TB, Polio, Whooping Cough, Mumps, Measles, Chicken Pox, Scarlet Fever and various other diseases that don't kill people any more. If you reach the age of 60 your future life expectancy is about the same as it was back in the 30s.

3. "Health Care Reform costs $1 Trillion." The REALITY is that Health Care Reform will reduce government deficits by $138 Billion over the next 10 years.

4. "Small businesses will hire if they get Tax Cuts." The REALITY is that Small businesses hire according to DEMAND. Demand creates jobs. Having extra money on hand does not cause Small Businesses to hire. On the other hand, if there is demand for their product or service, a business will find the money to hire workers to create products to satisfy that demand.

5. "The Stimulus was a bust and didn't work at all." The REALITY is that the stimulus worked but was not enough by itself. The Congressional Budget Office says the stimulus raised employment by between 1.5 and 3.5 million jobs. The fact is that we were in a deeper depression than we had known about. We needed a larger stimulus to get us all the way out.

6. "Obama Bailed out the banks." The REALITY is that while most people confuse the "Stimulus" with the bank bailouts, the Bank Bailouts were requested by President George W. Bush and his Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. The bailouts passed and began before the 2008 election of President Obama.

7. "President Obama raised taxes, which hurt the economy." The REALITY is that President Obama actually cut taxes. 40% of the ""Stimulus" was wasted on tax cuts which only create debt. That is why the stimulus was so much less effective than it could have been.

8. "President Obama tripled the deficit." The REALITY is that President George W. Bush's last budget had a $1.416 Trillion deficit. Obama's first budget reduced that to $1.29 Trillion.

Until the White House learns how to communicate President Obama's programs and how to best do a quality PR job, they will continue to lose the information battle and it may cost Obama re-election in 2012.

Doing a good job is only half the battle, communicating it is the other half and some say the important half. Senior Obama advisor David Axelrod has to do a better job. Recently he stated, "Two years ago I could have told you this was going to be a tough year." He knew then and had plenty of time to work on PR and quality communication about Obama's plans. But, unlike the master Karl Rove, Axelrod has really done very little or nothing. Axelrod also stated, "Our mission is to get people energized and understanding there are real stakes in the election." But what he failed to understand is, that is an ongoing job, not something you only do a few months every two years. His job should be to stay out in front of those objections and anticipate those questions before they are asked.

What The Republicans Are Against!

2010-10-16T20:02:00.000-05:00

Recently, the Congressional Republicans stated that they are for the Small businesses in America, yet they have been consistently opposed to the Obama's administrations efforts to cut the taxes small business owners have to pay.

The President has already signed into law eight pieces of powerful legislation designed to help small business. They are:
1. A small business health care tax credit.
2. A tax credit for hiring the unemployed.
3. Bonus depreciation tax incentives to support new investment.
4. 75% exclusion of small business capital gains.
5. Expansion of limits of small business expenses.
6. A five year carryback of net operating losses.
7. To allow small businesses better flexibility in their investments, a reduction from 10 down to 7 years on built in gains holding period.
8. A temporary small business estimated tax payment relief so small business can keep more of their cash on hand.

Guess what, the Republicans voted against all of that. They are not pro-small businesses . . . they are ANTI-OBAMA! The high income taxpayers they are fighting to get tax relief for are hardly what most Americans think of as "Small Businesses." While Congressional Republicans' rhetoric would imply they are fighting for "Start-ups", mom-and-pop store owners and aspiring entrepreneurs, they count as "Small Businesses" making "Small Business income" any and all high income taxpayers with any type of partnership income, sole proprietor income, or "S" corporation income. Thus, under their definition, the following are all counted as small businesses:
>Each partner of a major corporate law firm
>Billionaire hedge fund Managers
>Over 50% of the top 400 taxpayers with the highest adjusted gross income (according to the IRS--a group that averaged $344 million each in income in 2007)

And here is more;
While Republicans claim that their push for high income tax relief is motivated by concern for small business, almost 85% of the tax relief they want goes to those making over $1,000,000. Those are not small businesses.

Obama wants to lend support to creditworthy small businesses still struggling to access the credit they need to expand and hire.

Republicans are holding middle class tax cuts, your tax cuts, hostage so they can borrow $700,000,000,000 to pay for the tax cuts that the Republicans want to give to the richest 2% of earners, those are the people that contribute to the Republicans campaign.

Next Year's COLA

2010-10-10T16:25:00.000-05:00

This is a preliminary warning to Liberals everywhere. There are those around that are at this very moment preparing emails that will soon be coming your way about the subject of this blog post.

Approximately 35% of retired Americans rely on Social Security for up to 90% of their retirement income and over 60% of those retired depend on Social Security as their primary income. Most of them also rely on an annual COLA (cost of living allowance) increase in that income. Once again, next year, that will not happen. That's two years in a row without a COLA increase, and it still isn't Obama's fault. Nor is it the fault of the Democrats controlling Congress. In fact, the COLAs are automatically set each year by an inflation measure that was adopted by Congress back in the mid seventies. That COLA is based on inflation within the present year and according to that measure, there will be no COLA next year.

Once again; For those of you reading this, be aware . . . there will be emails coming your way accusing Obama or the Democrats in Congress for this lack of a COLA. They will say that Obama has refused to give the elderly a raise in their Social Security. Make sure you don't let them get away with it. Remember, the formula was set back in the 70s, not by anyone in power today and it is the law.

Also remember that the VA benefits are tied directly to the Social Security COLA as well as many other entitlements.

On Early Voting

2010-10-08T23:28:00.000-05:00

We are about to enter the period of time, just prior to the mid-term elections, that most of the civilized world has "Early Voting." It used to be that this period was termed as "Absentee Voting." You had to know when you were going to be gone and then you had to document that you were going out of state, then you were mailed a ballot that may or may not have been counted because it had to be mailed back to the election commission hopefully with enough stamps.

Now, you don't have to have an excuse to vote early. In the past, I've had to stand in line for up to an hour to vote. Early voting has eliminated all that, if you play your cards correctly. If you vote early on your lunch hour remember, so will everyone else. If you put it off until the last couple of days remember, so will everyone else.

Vote on your day off, in the morning, about 9 till 11 or in the afternoon between 2 and 4, otherwise you are still going to be in a line. Don't wait till the last few days of early voting . . . again . . . you'll end up waiting in an even longer line.

About the only reason to not vote early is that you will miss out if your candidate is a sex offender or gets arrested for theft within the last few days before election day. Remember, if he/she gets caught lying, there is no law against that. (see my blog dated 6/20/2010 entitled "Isn't there a law against that?) Then you might have switched your vote, otherwise . . . you're vote is good.

I'll try to cover my readers by area in which they live.

In Arkansas, early voting begins October 18th and ends November 1st.
(If you live in Baxter County you can vote in either the new Library or at the court house. If you live in Marion County your early voting spot is at the County Court House. (Say hello to Amy for me . . . nice lady)

In California, early voting began on October 4th. You'll have to check on the spots for voting early.

In New Mexico, early voting will begin on October 16th and you too will have to check on where.

In Texas, early voting is as it is in Arkansas. You will start on October 18th.
In Maryland, you start early voting on October 22nd.

In Tennessee, you will start your early voting on October 13th.

In Oklahoma, you will have only a short period of early voting. There early voting starts on October 29th and ends on November 1st. And, I am not sure if the early voting polls there will be open on that Saturday, the 30th.

A few of my friends live in states where there is no early voting. In Mississippi, Alabama, Missouri, South Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia and Minnesota you'll just have to wait until November 2nd.

If you can and if you want, please vote early and take the pressure off the polls on November 2nd. But, before you go vote, make sure you are informed about the issues and about the candidates.

A Burnt Out Lamp

2010-10-07T21:52:00.000-05:00

A light bulb burnt out this week in my bedroom. Actually, "Bulb" is an improper name for it. It was really a lamp. The word "Bulb" is meant to be the name of the glassware that surrounds the lighting filament/s. Lamp is the proper name for what most of us call a "Light Bulb." But enough for the trivia . . . there didn't seem much to write about on a lamp burning out. Not much except I bought this lamp in 1997 and it was the first Compact Florescent Lamp I ever bought, in fact I bought eight of them in a package. It is different from those curly ones we get now. It has three fingers sticking straight out. I bought it at Wal-Mart because it said I would use only 14 watts while getting 60 watts of light and I got eight lamps fro $12.96. That was the first time I ever saw them for under $2 each. I think they were trying to get rid of them because the next batch they received was the twisty/curly type.

There were no real instructions with those lamps, they just wanted you to replace your old incandescent lamps with the new CFLs. But, some uses don't fit the CFL. For instance;

--If you have a dimmer switch in the dinning room, those CFLs won't
work when dimmed, or in some cases they don't work at all.
Some new CFLs are usable with a dimmer and are so marked as
"Dimmable."

--If you turn a light on and off frequently, a CFL will not last as long
as when you put it where a light stays on for long periods and only
gets turned on and off once or twice a day.

--If you use a CFL outside during cold or even cool weather it will
not work as efficiently and it will take several minutes for it to
warm up to the point of sufficient lighting. It will also not last as
long.

All in all, the CFLs I've had have outlasted any incandescent bulb I've owned. Now don't get me wrong, some CFLs have lasted a shorter period of time than this 13 year lamp because they were put in one of my two bathrooms where lights were turned on and off several time a day or they were used outdoors in the cold weather. But this being of the original purchase and used in my bedroom where the light is on for several hours each day, make it very special.

The other two in that fixture are of the same original purchase and I assume that they will soon be gone, too. But they are still working and have more than paid for their purchase price in putting out light and saving me money on electricity.

If you want to know more about CFLs and have not yet decided to invest in them, go to http://www.cflfacts.com/ to get straight information on use and disposal of CFLs.

Don't Take The Pledge! (Conclusion)

2010-09-30T21:21:00.000-05:00

We have seen where the "Pledge to America" is a façade that has nothing, or next to nothing, as foundation. Of the 46 pages of "Pledge," only 17 have a message and even that is
Large Type
and w i d e l y s p a c e d.

Even though this year government employment has declined and private sector jobs increased by over 750,000, the "Pledge" states that the "Only parts of the economy expanding are government and the National Debt." That, of course, is FALSE!

Even though jobless claims are down 8%, the "Pledge" says, "Jobless claims continue to soar." That is obviously FALSE!

Even though it has been proven FALSE, it echoes the claims that the IRS may need to expand by over 16,000 employees.

Even though the CBO, a non-partisan group of experts, states that the stimulus bill will cost $814 billion over 10 years, about $81 billion a year, the "Pledge" claims it will cost $1 Trillion.

Even though tax cuts would not hurt any REAL "Small Business," the "Pledge" claims that half of the small businesses in America would have higher taxes. What they don't tell you is that the GOP has included as "Small Business" are businesses that make over $450 million a year. That's not a small business!

The "Pledge" is full of "Apple Pie" and "Motherhood" terms and Phrases like ". . . to those who yearn to be free" and "America is an idea."

Even though the will of the people is what put Obama in office and gave the Legislature to the Democrats, the "Pledge" states, ". . . an unchecked executive, a compliant legislature and an overreaching judiciary have combined to thwart the will of 'the people.'" That, of course, is FALSE!

Even though the CBO estimates that "Defensive Medicine" or ordering extra tests as a defensive measure, would only raise the cost of medicine about ½ of 1%, the "Pledge" states "Skyrocketing medical liability insurance rates have distorted the practice of medicine, routinely forcing doctors to order costly and often unnecessary tests to protect themselves from lawsuits, often referred to as 'defensive medicine.'" So, that part of teh "pledge" is FALSE!

The "Pledge" is like Cotton Candy and Marshmallow Fluff. . . it kinda tastes good for a while but in the end you are gonna get lots of cavities and may even get diabetes. It sounds good but in the end it will only hurt you and cost you more.

Most of the really bad things that the GOP "Pledge" predicts will happen only if the Republicans get control of the legislature in the midterms and/or the Republicans continue to say NO to everything that would be good for the middle class.

The solution to all this is for you to get educated and to educate those around you. Then get out and vote in an intelligent manner. Offer your services on Election Day, to help other Liberals get to the polls.

Get informed and stay informed.

References:
www.data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost?ce

www.data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/SurveyOutputServlet?data_tool-latest_numbers&series_id-LNS14000000

www.factcheck.org/2009/10/malpractice-savings-reconsidered/

www.factcheck.org/2010/03/irs-expansion/

www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/117xx/doc11706/08-24-ARRA/pdf

www.factcheck.org/2009/06/making-sense-of-stimulus-spending

www.jct.gov/publications.html?func-startdown&id-3691

www.factcheck.org/2010/09/2011-tax-increases/

Don't Take The Pledge!

2010-09-26T13:48:00.002-05:00

One thing must be understood from the start, jobs are created by DEMAND not by rich guys with lots of money to invest. Rich guys with lots of money to invest put that money where there is a DEMAND for a product or service and where that demand has not already been met and surpassed. Rich guys with lots of money to invest have never created a job and never will. Bill Gates wasn't rich when he started Microsoft, he just found something where there was demand and satisfied that demand, and that created more demand . . . and so it goes.

The way to create demand is to put money in the hands of the masses, the great middle class. If they have money they will find a way to spend it and a product on which to spend it. That in turn creates more jobs to make those products and perform those services.

The way to put more money in the hands of the masses is with a middle class tax cut, or in this case a tax cut continuation.

Now to that "Pledge to America"

(www.gop.gov/resources/library/documents/solutions/a-pledge-to-america.pdf)

The Republican "Pledge" tells you exactly what the Republicans will do when they take over Congress . . . SORTA!

This is a 46 page document with large glossy photos that really comes out to be about 17 pages of real text(large type, widely spaced) and I use the word "Real" very loosely. About the only things I found that were definite were that they would repeal "The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," (Obama Care). I just wonder what about "Patient Protection" and "Affordable Care" do the Republicans not like? Oh, that's right, they think that Health Care is a Commodity that should be only for the rich. They also want to put a halt to all unspent TARP funds. You know, the stuff that stopped the decline of the Auto Industry and has created enough new jobs and preserved old ones to stop the skid we were in. By the way, the original TARP was a Bush era and Republican backed plan that they do not now like. But they liked it when it was Bush's plan.

I've gone through this document, as you can at the link above, and here is what I've found. There are 13 full pages of glossy pictures, that's a full 28% of the document. There are 8 title pages with only the title on them, that 17% of the document. There are 2½ pages of graphs, that over 5% of the document. One page is the back cover, one page is the table of contents, 5 pages are either single column or only half covered with words. So, the entire 46 page document has, in very large type and widely spaced, 17 pages of substance(I use that word loosely), or around 37% . . . a little over a third of the "pamphlet" . . . but it is attractive. If I were a judge, I'd give the document an 8 for style and a 2 for substance.

Go take a look at it for yourself. I guarantee, it won't take long for you to read and it has such broadly worded ideas and ideals that you can almost speed read it. Actually, many of the thoughts are very close to those of the White House, just using different words.

My next post will be on the inside of the "Pamphlet." Go to:
http://swoopsfromsnowyowl.blogspot.com/2010/09/dont-take-pledge-conclusion.html

The "I" of Newt!

2010-09-24T19:29:00.000-05:00

Newton Leroy McPhearson, born June 17, 1943 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania into a family with a nineteen year old father and a sixteen year old mother. The McPhearson Family didn't last very long and his mother married again to Robert Gingrich who adopted Newt. The Gingrich family was military and moved frequently. Newt graduated from High School in Georgia and went to college at Emory University in Atlanta where he graduated with a BA, then later he received an MA, then went to Tulane for a PhD in modern European history.

Newt Gingrich was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1978 after two previous unsuccessful attempts. He was then reelected six times to that position until he decided to not take his final reelection and left the House and his office as Speaker, under pressure from his own party.

To retrace, in 1995, Newt and a small group of powerful Republicans decided to bring the government to its knees by stopping all funding of vital programs. He said he wanted to "Slow the growth of Government Spending." That was a great Republican thought and garnered him great praise among fellow Republicans. Later however, it was revealed by Newt himself, that it was to spite President Clinton for snubbing him on Air Force One and making him stay in the back of the plane with Bob Dole. Tom Delay wrote in his book, "No Retreat, No Surrender;"
"He told a room full of reporters that he forced the shutdown because Clinton had rudely made him and Bob Dole sit at the back of Air Force One . . . Newt had been careless to say such a thing and now the whole moral tone of the shutdown had been lost. What had been a noble battle for fiscal sanity began to look like the tirade of a spoiled child . . . The Revolution was never the same." But Hillary Clinton, in her book "Living History" shows a picture of that flight with Bill Clinton, Bob Dole and Newt Gingrich laughing on that flight together and having a good time.

In 1997, the House voted overwhelmingly to reprimand Gingrich for ethics violations going back as far as late 1994. Gingrich had to pay a $300,000 penalty. That was the first time in history that a Speaker was disciplined for an ethics violation. Also in 1997, a few Republicans saw that Gingirich was becoming a liability and tried to replace him as Speaker. Tom Delay, Dick Armey, John Boehner and Bill Paxon along with lesser House Members Steve Largent, Lindsey Graham and Mark Souder plotted against Gingrich and held secret meetings to capture the leadership of the party. They were going to hand Gingrich an ultimatum, that Gingrich resign or they would vote him out. But Dick Armey got cold feet and warned Gingrich about he coup.

In 1998, Newt became a heavy liability with his approval rating below 50% among Republicans and the Republicans had lost seats in the worst showing in 64 years for the party that didn't hold the Presidency. Gingrich faced yet another rebellion and held most of the blame for the losses. After being reelected in November 1998 Newt Gingrich quit as Speaker and left the House. His reasoning was, "I'm willing to lead but I'm not willing to preside over people who are cannibals."

Gingrich has been married three times . . . so far. Gingrich was married when he started dating his second wife. He told his first wife and they planned the divorce while his first wife was recovering from cancer in the hospital. He married his second wife six months later. Gingrich began an affair with house staffer Callist Bisek, 23 years younger than he, in the mid 90s. That continued during the Congressional investigation of Bill Clinton and the Monica Lewinsky scandal. He married her in 2000 shortly after his divorce from his second wife.

Some of his present quotes:
"When the United States 'first created the federal income tax, frankly, nobody below a million dollars a year paid anything.'" That of course is totally FALSE. (See my previous posts on the history of the income tax.) The first income tax was in 1913, those brackets were:
$0-$20,000 paid 1%
$20,000-$50,000 paid 2%
$50,000-$75,000 paid 3%
$75,000-$100,000 paid 4%
$100,000-$250,000 paid 5%
$250,000-$500,000 paid 6%
Over $500,000 paid 7%
(From http://www.taxfoundation.org/)

In January of this year on the O'Reilly Factor Newt said:
"The President recently signed, very quietly, an executive order that basically releases Interpol from all American Constraints. Freedom of Information Acts don't apply. All the constraints that you as a citizen could use against an American police force, based on a recent Obama-signed executive order, give Interpol, which has relationships with Syria, with Libya, with Iran, it give them all sorts of extralegality in the United States in a way that has never ever before been offered to Interpol. And I'm very curious as to why the President is doing this . . . What I'm told is that it could lead to a number of investigations by Interpol in the United States, potentially aimed at American officials. And the question I would raise is, why would the President of the United States give that kind of extralegal protection to an international police force?" This was rated by http://www.politifact.com/ as "Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire." The key problem with this notion is that Interpol couldn't investigate CIA or American officials because Interpol doesn't do investigations. It doesn't arrest anyone, and doesn't even have it own officers. It helps police organizations in different countries communicate and coordinate actions, provides databases of crime information (fingerprints, stolen artwork, names of suspected terrorists), training and does other support services.

In late May of last year, Newt said: Inside the stimulus package "is anti-Christian legislation that will stop churches from using public schools for meeting on Sundays, as well as Boy Scouts and student Bible study groups." Again, politifact rated this one as a "Pants on fire" lie. And what is really bad about this one is that a fund raising mail out that contained it also stated, "Bring moral leadership back to our nation." I guess morality includes telling lies as far as Newt is concerned. When this one is passed to you, ask, "Could you cite the location of that for me?" It ain't there and never was.

In May of 2009, Newt said, "Democrats in Congress had control since January of 2007. They haven't passed a law making waterboarding illegal. They haven't gone into any of these things and changed law." That, of course, is FALSE. In 2008, Democrats did pass legislation that would have had the effect of outlawing waterboarding by restricting U. S. agents to interrogation methods outlined in the Army Field Manual. The Manual specifically forbids waterboarding. But President George W. Bush VETOED the bill and Democrats were not able to muster the two-thirds majority necessary to override the veto.

If you get notes and emails promoting Newt Gingrich, copy and paste this to the one that sent it to you. He is not a plus for the Republican Party or for Conservatism in general . . . after you look a bit deeper.

Newt Gingrich holds truth as high as he holds his marriage vows. He'll do what it takes to promote Newt . . . the Big "I," and he'll squash whatever is in his way. Don't get taken in!

The History of the Federal Income Tax, Conclusion

2010-09-16T23:22:00.000-05:00

As we have seen, since the beginning in 1913, the Federal Income Tax has been and rightfully so, a progressive tax. By 1918 they realized that the "Progression" should run higher . . . a lot higher. So, it went all the way from a top rate of 7% to a top rate of 77%, and the brackets went from 7 to 56.

The poorer pay a lower percentage and the wealthy pay a higher percentage. Why you ask? A person that pays 10% tax on an income of $15,000, pays 100% of their discretionary income on taxes and have nothing left for retirement or anything else, like a new refrigerator or furniture. That's not good for the refrigerator and furniture manufacturers. A person that pays 10% on $100,000 pays about 25% of their discretionary income on taxes and they have lots more means to acquire deductions to lower their taxable income. But, since the middle class doesn't have any money to spend on clothes and refrigerators and furniture, investments in those areas don't draw any income. In fact, our economy requires that middle income people to have spendable income to make everything work, otherwise the rich don't have anyone to sell their products. Without demand, there are no jobs in industry. Demand creates jobs.

Let's get back to where we were in our history of the Federal Income Tax.

As stated, the income tax brackets stayed pretty stable from 1965 through 1982. There was some small variance, but mostly it was the same. The top rate for 17 years was 70%.

That all changed when Ronald Reagan became President. He cut the top rate by almost 30% from a 70% rate down to a 50% rate and he cut the highest income bracket that started at $215,000, down to $85,000. This was massive for the guy that had a taxable income of $225,000. That guy or gal paid $45,000 less in taxes in one year than in the previous. It was a gift to the wealthy. Now let's look at the guy that made $50,000. He went from 49% to 44%. Wow! he paid $2,000 less. So, with Reagan the middle class got screwed when it came to taxes. Now, let's look at the brackets.

1981 taxes:
$5,001 paid 14%
$50,001 paid 49%
$225,001 paid 77%

All changed in 1982, the rich got richer:
$5,001 paid 12%
$50,000 paid 44%
$225,000 paid 50% (look at this and tell me who made out)

In the next 5 years nothing changed except the upper range income got higher and drove the top earners in 1982 of $85,600 to a lower bracket of 42%. That guy went down 8% but the $5,001 guy only went down one percentage point to 11%.

In 1987, also under Reagan, the top dropped down again. It went from 50% down to 38.5%. Now let's see what Reagan did for the rich. Under Reagan the top tax rate went from 77% down to 38.5%. That is a total decrease of 38.5 points or a 50% decrease. Reagan cut the taxes for the in HALF, and he considered the rich s anyone with a taxable income of over $45,000.

In 1988 the top rate went down again to 28% and it started at $113,300. That means the top tax bracket has now gone down, under Reagan, by 49 points. That is a total decrease for the rich of 64% in taxes.

So, in 1988, the taxes were:
$5,001 paid 15%
$50,001 paid 38.5%
$225,001 paid 38.5%

In 1989:
$5,001 paid 15%
$50,001 paid 33%
$225,001 paid 28% (A 15% rate bubble allowed a recapture from the
middle class of the discount to the rich)

Except for that rate bubble that expired in 1991, everything stayed close to the same till 1993. Under Clinton the three brackets went up a bit to five brackets and the top rate went back to 39.6%. The top bracket was 39.6% until 2001 when it went , under George W. Bush, to 39.1%, then in '02 to 38.6, and in '03 to 35%, where it has been until now.

In 2013 we will be celebrating the one hundredth birthday of the Federal Income Tax system. In the past 97 years the average top income tax bracket was 60.1%. For twenty years the top rate was 90% or higher. For forty nine years the top rate was 70% or higher. For sixty three of the past ninety seven years the top tax bracket has been 50% or higher.

Right now the top bracket is 35% and the wealthy is pissed off and they aren't going to put up with it any more! BULL! The rich are getting off lightly and they know it but have convinced the middle class that the rich are responsible for inventing jobs. Believe me, they are not. Demand creates jobs! Without demand for products, thee is no reason to manufacture those products. Demand comes from the people who use those products. If those people are unemployed, there is no demand.

I agree, the rich should pay 90% to income tax, but that almost never happened. That 90% rate was only on taxable income and with deductions, amortization, and reinvestment, the rich never paid much. In some cases the rich paid nothing after deductions.

Remember, just because some people are in a particular bracket doesn't mean that their taxable income will make them remain in that bracket. Warren Buffet has stated that his tax rate is less than his secretary's.

Don't let them fool you. They, the rich, are now paying less than they have paid in 90% of the life of the Federal Income Tax.

The History of the Federal Income Tax, Part 2

2010-09-12T21:16:00.001-05:00

Now, to catch us up to where the last post left off in 1928, you must remember the price of things then as compared to now. In 1928, $20,000 was about the same as $245,000 is now. The inflation calculator is at:
www.westegg.com/inflation/infl.cgi

So, a loaf of bread cost 10¢, eggs were 20¢/doz. and milk was about 30¢ a gallon. Go to:
www.thepeoplehistory.com/20sfood.html

My three monetary categories of $5,001, $50,001 and $225,001 which would be very reasonable now were then equivalent to $62,000, $620,000 and $2,800,000. You have to remember that to break even with the income of 1928 you would now have to be making $74,000. If you are not then you have lost ground to inflation.
www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,738618,00.html

Now, on to the next few decades of tax brackets. The great stock market plunge happened in late 1929 and Republican President, Herbert Hoover, decided that we could come out of it on our own without any help from the government so he and congress didn't change the tax brackets in the first few years of the depression. When Hoover lost to Roosevelt in 1932 those brackets began to move some. In 1932 there were 55 tax brackets and the top earners paid 63% to income tax.

in 1933, things changed:
$5,001 paid 8%
$50,001 paid 31%
$225,001 paid 58%
(This was the first step to getting us out of a debilitating depression)

In 1934, the number of brackets shrank from 55 down to 30 but the top earners still paid 63%. What they did was combine most of the brackets with the one just above it and about half of us paid a percentage point or two more than the previous year.

1934 brackets:
$5,001 paid 9%
$50,001 paid 34%
$225,000 paid 58%

By 1936, the wealthy still weren't creating jobs so the Federal Government started with CCC programs and various other job creating plans. Along with this, Congress decided to punish the wealthy by raising the rate the top earners had to pay.

in 1936:
$5,001 paid 8%
$50,001 paid 45%
$225,000 paid 66%
(the top bracket paid 79% which jumped up from 63%)

In 1940, knowing full well that war was coming, a defense tax was imposed. An additional 10% surtax was levied to help with the war effort.

By 1942, we were in the war on two fronts. We declared war against Japan on December 8, 1941 and against Germany on December 11, 1941. We didn't declare war against the rest of the Axis powers till June 5, 1942. The top wage earner rate in 1942 jumped again from 79% to 88% and that was for anyone making over $200,000. So, what they did was raise the top rates and lower the bracket incomes so that everyone got a hike.

In 1942, these were the rates:
$5,001 paid 26% (this was over triple the '36 rate)
$50,001 paid 72% (almost double the '36 rate)
$225,001 paid 88% (about a 35% increase)

The brackets rose only slightly in 1944 with the top bracket paying 94% income tax. In 1946, the income tax brackets were passed and then reduced by about 5% to help spur the economy. The top bracket was originally 91% but was reduced to 85.5% along with a proportionate reduction in the other brackets. Even higher reductions were made in '47, '48, '49 and '50.

In June of 1950, we entered the U. N. Police Action against North Korea and had lots of war obligations but the tax rate was about as high as it could get. Even the lowest bracket was in excess of 20%. The government started reducing the discount on taxes, which originally brought the tax rates down and now made the rates what they were originally.

In 1954, the government tweaked the tax brackets and they stayed the same for several years.

In 1954:
$5,001 paid 26%
$50,001 paid 75%
$225,001 paid 91%
Remember, this was during the Eisenhower years.

This stayed the same till the revenue act of 1964 was passed. This was a substantial reduction in all brackets.

In 1964:
$5,001 paid 23.5% (a 10% reduction)
$50,001 paid 66% (a 12% reduction)
$225,000 paid 77% (a 15% reduction)

The revenue tax rates of 1964 stayed in effect, except for surtaxes, till 1969 when the Marriage Penalty came into effect. Those surtaxes were 7.5% in '68, 10% in'69 and 2.5% in '70.

Tax rates and tax brackets stayed pretty stable till 1982. That's where we'll pick this up in my next post. Ronald Reagan really brought the tax for the upper crust down . . . all the way to 50%! WOW . . . 50%

I think you are beginning to see where we are going here. The rich and super rich are pissing and moaning about the high tax rates now but most of them have so many reductions and expenses to deduct that they pay about half their rates and lots of them pay nothing. Individuals don't have the business expenses to deduct that small business owners have.

Wait till you see what's coming next!
The conclusion and whole point of this is at:
http://swoopsfromsnowyowl.blogspot.com/2010/09/history-of-federal-income-tax_16.html

The History of the Federal Income Tax

2010-09-10T21:59:00.001-05:00

You might want to have a secondary title for this of "How The Rich Keep Getting Richer."

Recently I decided to go back and see what has happened to the income tax brackets in the past, especially the bracket for the upper income area. You are going to be surprised at what I found.

First a bit of history; Federal Income Tax took effect after the 16th Amendment to the Constitution was passed and ratified in February of 1913. The Republican President , William Howard Taft, in an address to Congress in 1909, proposed a 2% income tax on corporations. The Congress took up the gauntlet and went all the way with an income tax on Corporations and Individuals. It was ratified by the necessary ¾ of the states and was enacted just before Woodrow Wilson took office in March 1913. As a sidebar; Arkansas and New Hampshire first rejected it and then came back and ratified it later. Connecticut, Rhode Island and Utah considered it but have never ratified the 16th Amendment. On the other hand; Florida, Virginia and Pennsylvania not only have never ratified it but they never even considered it.

I would like to take a look at various income brackets for the following amounts of income; $5,001/year, $50,001/year, and $225,001/year. I am not going to figure for inflation but you can figure that in 1913 $5,000/year went a lot farther than it does today, in fact it was a good sum of money. You might want to figure also that $50,000/year was more than 98% of the population made and that $225,001 was a fortune that only the top .01% were capable of making. Those are the three incomes I'll be looking at in this essay. I will not be looking at the deductions that people qualified for but you must remember that the more people make the more deductions they qualify for and the income tax is only on income after deductions. The top earners had lots of deductions to bring their taxable income down and the lower income had few.

I will most likely have to do this post in two editions (maybe more) because it will be longer than most.

Let's go back to the beginning, here is 1913;
$5,001 paid 1%
$50,001 paid 2%
$225,001 paid 5%

In 1916, with war on the way, the brackets were expanded a bit and most paid double what they paid earlier;
$5,001 paid 2%
$50,001 paid 4%
$225,001 paid 9%

The very next year, 1917, we were in war and things changed;
$5,001 paid 5%
$50,001 paid 16%
$225,001 paid 41%

In 1918, Congress found a gold mine in the income tax and they needed it to pay off the mounting debt the war brought on and the original 7 brackets had now expanded to 56 brackets and the top earners were paying through the nose;
$5,001 paid 13%
$50,001 paid 36%
$225,001 paid 72%
(The top bracket was at 77%)

In 1924, the war had been substantially paid off but the money was flowing and who could resist? The brackets have now shrunk to only 43 from the 56 in 1918;
$5,001 paid 4%
$50,001 paid 24%
$225,001 paid 44%

In 1928, the roaring '20s were in full swing and income taxes had now gone down to a very low rate compared to what it was in the early '20s. The U. S. at this time had a Republican President since 1921 and the rich were rolling in the dough;
$5,001 paid 3%
$50,001 paid 18%
$225,000 paid 25%

As you can see, just prior to the great depression, the wealthy had it made. That didn't bring on the depression but it didn't help either. It just shows that a low income tax rate for the rich doesn't create wealth in any class but the already rich. It also shows that without regulations, the wealthy will let the economy go to hell. Deregulation brings on unbridled greed and the end of a positive economy.

(The next issue of this post will come in about 2 days. There are some amazing things that you will not beleive in that post.)

I got the history of the income tax and the bracket history at:
www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/151.html
www.ustreas.gov/education/fact-sheets/taxes/ustax.shtml

The second part of this post is at:
http://swoopsfromsnowyowl.blogspot.com/2010/09/history-of-federal-income-tax-part-2.html

Where The Money Is

2010-08-31T23:17:00.000-05:00

As you might have heard, the RNC headed by Michael Steele has not received as many donations as they have in past election seasons. But, there is money out there waiting to be spent for Republican candidates and Conservative causes. Let's see where that money is and who is in charge of it.

First, you have to understand what these groups represent. Usually the name of the organization doesn't give a clue as to what the groups real goals are or who they represent.

1. U. S. Chamber of Commerce; This is an organization or "Union" if you will, that represents businesses and corporations in the U. S. They don't represent the working people or the middle class. They have big bucks to spend on elections. By big bucks, I mean millions . . . $75 million or more, to get those pro business people elected.

2. American Crossroads; The main purpose of this group is to fund the election of Republicans and unseat Democrats in power. Pelosi and Reid are the top targets. American Crossroads biggest sponsors are Karl Rove, Harold Simmons, from Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. American Crossroads has $52 million to spend on the upcoming elections.

3. American Action Network; This group calls itself a "Think Tank" but promotes personal freedom and limited government. This is another Karl Rove group that also includes Haley Barbour, Jeb Bush, and Norm Coleman. American Action Network has about $25 million to spend on elections this year.

4. Club For Growth; this is really a Union for large corporations who want to return to the Bush economics that made them lots of money and almost wiped out the U. S. economy. "Dusty" Rhodes & Chris Chocola are the principles in this group and they have about $23 million to spend on getting Republicans elected this year.

5. Americans For Job Security; This group seems to fund Tea Party candidates like Ken Buck in Colorado. AJS's main job is to influence elections and get Republicans that lean to the far right into office. They were started by a large donation from the American Insurance Association and will not disclose the source of their revenues. AJS has about $10 million to spend on getting the far right candidates elected in this election.

6. Freedom Works; This organization is from where the "Astro Turf" name for fake grass roots organizations came. FW funds people like Ken Buck, Rand Paul and Sharron Angle. FW is the corporate base of the Tea Party movement. This is from where the money and organization come. This is primarily a Dick Armey group but Steve Forbes is on the board and Glen Beck is featured on a membership drive. FW has about $5 million to spend but their main feature is their large group of followers, this group is the main backers of "Tea Party Express." That is where FW has the power and the votes.

7. Campaign for Working Families; This group has nothing to do with "Working Families." It has endorsed Sharron Angle, Marco Rubio, and Chuck Grassley. Gary Bauer or the Family Research Council and the religious right is at its head. CWF has about $2 million to spend on this years campaign.

8. Heritage Action; This is an arm of the Heritage Foundation and has a powerful influence on the far Right Wing Political Faction of the Republican party. HF claims that Sean Hannity & Rush Limbaugh are members. They have over $1 million available to elect Republicans this year.

9. Family Research Council Action; This is the electioneering arm of the Family Research Council and it funds Sahrron Angle and Marco Rubio. FRC was founded by James Dobson from Focus on the Family and George Rekers, an anti Gay activist who went on vacation for 10 days with a "Rent-Boy" is one of its founders. FRCA has about $½ million to promote far right candidates.

In 2008 these groups had about $50 million to spend on elections. This year they have in excess of $195 million to fund the elections of the most extreme of the far right. That is almost 4 times as much to get what we got rid of in 2008.

Yes, the RNC and Michael Steele has less to spend on the mid-term elections but those nasty groups mentioned will make up the difference. If you have the money . . . contribute to a campaign, if you don't have the money, give some time to help where you can make a difference.

HATES AND FEARS!

2010-08-26T23:01:00.000-05:00

If you can find something or some group to hate, you can unite people who might otherwise be divided. What you have to do is make that hate larger and more irritating than all their other differences.

Let's start with the Civil War. The Civil War didn't start because of the "Negroes" and their plight in the South. It started because the industrialized North was taking advantage of the agrarian South. The South grew cotton and other goods and the North wanted the South to sell that cotton and other goods to the North . . . cheaply. The South found that England and the European continent would buy cotton for a much higher price than the Northern U. S. The U. S. Government put a tariff on cotton sold to Europe and England and the South revolted. The way the North got their people together was to free the slaves in the South, even though there were some slaves in the North. Slavery was what brought the North together and the South used that same issue to hold the South together.

That is what the Nazi propaganda machine did just prior to and during World War II. The Jews were the targets and being as passive as the Jews were, they didn't try to defend themselves till it was too late. Hitler brought the whole of the German people together in their hate of the Jews. He gave them a reason to fight and to die and they did both.

During the Cold War, Americans learned to hate the Russians. The Russians brought us together in our distrust and fear of the REDS. Then we started hating the Chinese . . . the "Red Chinese." Then we realized, or were told, that what we really hated were the Communists. That great generality covered all our hates and fears; The USSR, China, Yugoslavia, Albania, Hungry, Poland, Romania, East Germany, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia could now be rendered down to "Communism." Senator Joe McCarthy, in the early '50s, defined it well by finding Communists under every bed and in every closet.

Finding and fighting Communism took us all the way through Viet Nam and on into the next great threat to Democracy. Reagan called that threat, "The 'L' word." Yeah, Liberals were the enemy and the great threat to America. Reagan turned a legitimate and legal philosophy into a word of "Hate and Fear." You're not a Liberal, are you?

George W. Bush used the gays as a rally point. In 2004 and again in 2006, "W" used the gay marriage issue to revitalize his far right troops. He worked up the Evangelical Right to follow him in his battle against Adam and Everett. (Today, Ken Mehlman, "W's" spokesman and Campaign Chairman came out of the closet. Why so late?)

Now we have the Muslims to fight against. That peaceful religion that respects love and humanitarianism is now who we are against . . . or I should say, "Who some are against."

The Imam of that "Victory Mosque" in New York was hired by Geroge W. to be an ambassador to the Islamic World from America. Now he has been vilified as the "Imam from Hell" and the Islamic community Center, which is in the middle of an Islamic Community, is the center of our "Hate and Fear."

Rally around the Pyre, Boys! This is whom we will hate tomorrow. So far the GOP has only come out against the Middle Class. We are who can hurt them most and we are those who they would like to wipe out or at least make poor and dependant.

Welcome to the middle class. If the GOP is in power, we haven't got a chance.

The Victory? Mosque

2010-08-20T20:42:00.000-05:00

I have never heard such an uproar by a group of people trying to circumvent the Constitution. They, the GOP, have campaigned for years on upholding that same Constitution and promoted the strict interpretation of it.

Here is an example of the GOP's thoughts on the Constitution. I present an excerpt from a speech given by Charlton Heston to the NRA upon Protests by citizens of Denver against the NRA holding their convention in Denver a few weeks after the Columbine shootings in a Suburb of Denver.

Mr Heston Said:
(My insertions in parenthesis to show how similar things really are)

"This cycle of tragedy-driven hatred must stop because so much more connects us than that which divides us, because tragedy has been, and will always be, with us. Somewhere right now, evil people are planning evil things. All of us will do everything meaningful, everything we can do to prevent it, but each horrible act can't become an axe for opportunists to cleave the very Bill of Rights that binds us. America must stop this predictable pattern of reaction. When an isolated, terrible event occurs (9/11), our phones ring, demanding that the NRA (Muslims) explain the inexplicable. Why us(Muslims), because their (The GOP) story needs a villain. They (the GOP) want us (Muslims) to play the heavy in their (The GOP) drama of packaged grief (9/11), to provide riveting programming to run between commercials for cars and cat food."

That is what Charlton Heston, a devout Conservative had to say about discrimination against the NRA. How does that not apply to the Muslims and their Community Center 2½ blocks and several porn shops away from the WTC's "Sacred Ground" in New York City?

Christians, Jews, Muslims, Pagans, Agnostics and Atheists were all killed on 9/11. They all have claim and deserve a place of worship in the area . . . not because of those deaths, but because we have a Constitution that says they have that right if they can afford putting one there. Protesting that Muslim Community Center is protesting the Bill of Rights.

Building the "Victory" Mosque will represent the victory of the Bill of Rights, the victory of the Constitution and the victory of all the American people.

For more, go to:
www.factcheck.org/2010/08/questions-about-the-ground-zero-mosque/

Visiting the 14th Amendment

2010-08-13T20:58:00.000-05:00

There is a lot of talk about the 14th Amendment these days. The Republicans want it repealed because of those pesky "Anchor Babies," after all that is what the 14th Amendment is all about . . . isn't it?

That, of course, is not very accurate, but we have all grown to expect that from the devious Republicans. They know what they are doing and how to manipulate ideas and how to soften harsh ideas into something more palatable.

As a disclaimer, I want everyone to know that I am not a Constitutional scholar nor a Lawyer at all. I just know how politicians work and what the Republicans want. So with several good reads of the 14th Amendment and lots of research from both the pro and the con side, this is what I've come to understand about the controversy.

First we have to understand the 14th Amendment and why it was needed in the first place. It was one of three "Reconstruction" amendments that were put passed after the Civil War, outlawing slavery, defining citizenship and giving rights to all citizens/persons of the United States.

Basically, the 14th Amendment was to reverse the decision that was handed down by the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott case, or that is what the Republicans want you to believe. But, there is a lot more to the 14th Amendment than that. Many have referred to the 14th Amendment as "The Second Bill of Rights."

Before the 14th Amendment was passed, individual states could pass laws that superseded the Constitutional guarantees in the original Bill of Rights. If an individual state wanted to pass a law making any particular religion the official "State Religion," that state could do it and enforce it. Individual states could curtail freedom of the press, or freedom of assembly, or any of the freedoms enumerated in the original Bill of Rights. The Supreme Court had earlier ruled that the Constitution only protected citizens from the Federal Government, but not the government of the individual states. That is what brought on the Dred Scott decision.

The 14th Amendment incorporates "Due Process" and "Equal Protection" into the Constitution and makes it pertain to the individual states. That is what the Republicans want to repeal. Once the 14th Amendment is gone, individual states can control what goes on inside each state. That way they can, state by state, enact laws that they can't enact on a countrywide basis. They might even outlaw being a liberal in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Arkansas or make being a Mormon mandatory in Utah.

Let's look at the Due Process Clause. As stated, before the 14th Amendment, the Bill of Rights didn't protect citizens from state government, only Federal Government, or so the Supreme Court once ruled. The Due Process Clause states, " . . . nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law." As stated, although Due Process was part of the 5th Amendment, the Supreme Court had ruled that the 5th Amendment only pertained to the Federal Government, not the government of the individual states. The 14th Amendment pertained to the individual states and expanded Due Process to include people in the individual states and protection from the state's laws.

Equal Protection is a whole new puzzle. All of a sudden, the Constitution uses the word "Person" instead of "Citizen." The 14th Amendment states,
". . . nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." As in the Due Process clause, the 14th Amendment uses the word "Person" although the word "Citizen" is also used elsewhere. Some argue that a Citizen was considered to be a "White Male" over the age of 21 and a "Person" was, in the case of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments, a male ex-slave over the age of 21. Not being a Constitutional scholar, I can't argue one way or the other on that one.

Don't let the Republicans get away without telling you everything they want to do in repealing the 14th Amendment. They want to get away with much more, it all sounds good the way they tell it, but when the Republicans start sounding good, you need to look further into it. They haven't had a good idea in decades.

"B. I. O. B." Part 2

2010-08-06T14:01:00.000-05:00

As you have probably noted, the first ten of my top 20 reasons that what we are into as a country, pertain to the Iraq/Afghanistan war. The next 10 reasons are mostly other than that. #14 and #17 have also to do with the Wars but the others have to do with the economy, Katrina, and outright stupidity on the part of the Republicans in general and Bush in particular.

Here are the rest of my top 20 reasons "W" Bush is to blame for the situation we find ourselves in today:

11. Bush promoted and got, by reconciliation, tax cuts for the rich. Right after that, the economy of the U. S. and the World suddenly went into the crapper. The rich have money, the big corporations have big money, they just won't turn it loose. Those rich people aren't hiring, therefore people aren't spending and the big companies aren't making any money.

12. Until Bush limited the research of embryonic stem cells, tremendous advances made in the study of Parkinson's. On March 6, 2009, President Obama reversed that decision and we are now able to progress once again.

13. "W" Bush liked to have lots of "His" type of people around him at all times. That is why he nominated and got Alberto Gonzales, an old Texas friend, as Attorney General. Gonzales oversaw the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapes and the firing of many U. S. Attornies that wouldn't tow the line for "W." He tried to do the same thing with Harriet Miers in the Supreme Court, but she was forced to withdraw her name about 3 weeks later because of the opposition even from the Republicans.

14. The awarding of Halliburton contracts at the start of the Iraq/Afghanistan war. Some say they were no bid contracts but everyone agrees that they were very lucrative and profitable for Dick Cheney's old company.

15. The athorization of Warrantless Wiretaps as well as other unconstitutional orders.

16. As in number 13 with Alberto Gonzales, he appointed Mike Brown to head FEMA. Brown was totally unprepared and without a clue as to how FEMA was to work and what he should do in New Orleans after Katrina. "You're doing a heck of a job, Brownie!"

17. After coming aboard that aircraft carrier in the early Summer of 2003, Bush proclaimed the war was over with a "Mission Accoplished" banner hanging from the super structure behind him. That was an enduring mistake. Most of our casualties have come since that day.

18. "W" failed to sign the Kyoto Protocol because he said it would hamper the auto industry which was on its way down at that time already. This year green house gasses have contributed to us having the hottest first 6 months in world history. Let me remind you that last Winter was mostly in this year, all but about 9 days of it.

19. "W" decided to view the damage left by Katrina from a fly-over at 35,000 feet while he was on his way back to Washington from a Crawford vacation and McCain's birthday party in Phoenix, instead of going there and bringing attention to the disaster.

20. "W" Bush, in declaring a "State of Emergency" in Lousiana failed to include the coast and New Orleans in the Emergency State. Both had to scramble to get the funding and loans they needed to recover, and lots of New Orleans still needs help.

Now these are only my top 20 and have nothing to do with some of the really stupid things he said at various times. He continued to mispronounce "Nuclear" until he finally learned how to say it late in his presidency. But, to make up for mispronouncing words he made up some of his own from time to time.

What he left us was a dump and Obama is attempting to make it livable. George W. Bush is the embodyment of everything the Progessives are running against and I fully expect to see his name brought up more the closer we get to November 2012. Most look at George W. Bush with disdain and a bitter taste in their mouths.

"B. I. O. B."

2010-08-05T20:31:00.000-05:00

The Republicans have recently been saying that Obama has to stop blaming it on Bush (B.I.O.B.). Obama, they say, blames the whole mess he has gotten into as Bush's fault. That is not what I've found.

This week in Atlanta obama said, "These are the folks who were behind the steering wheel and drove the car into the ditch. So we've had to put on the galoshes. We went down there in the mud. We've been pushing, We've been shoving. They've been standing back, watching, saying, 'You're not moving fast enough. You ain't doing it right. Why are you doing it that way?' We're about to start driving forward again and they say, 'Hold on, we want the keys back.' You can't have the keys back . . . you don't know how to drive!"

No where in that nor in most of Obama's recent statements has he blamed Bush. He is blaming the Republicans, the dumb asses that nominated then elected Bush.

But, I've been thinking . . . and that always gets me into trouble, but what are all those really terrible things that I've been blaming Bush for all these years? Well, I have come up with at least 20 of those things, a sorta "Top 20" list.

Here is what I've come up with in my top twenty list of Bush's worst mistakes:

1. Not paying attention to that August 6th memo entitled "Bin Laden determined to strike in U. S." Bush knew on August 6, 2001 that the U. S. was in Bin Laden's sights and did nothing. Bush just passed it off and pay no further attention to the warning that cost us several thousand lives and the World Trade Center. Check out:
www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/04/10/august6.memo/

2. Invading Iraq without the help or sanction of the U. N. The U. N., after several months of hearings, could not come to any agreement on the invasion of Iraq. So, Bush decided to do it alone . . . well he had the help of the "Coalition of the Willing," 49 countries which consisted of some heavy weights like:
Eritrea, Estonia, Honduras, Macedonia, Palau, Rwanda, Tonga,
Singapore, Micronesia, Angola, & Latvia along with 35 other light
weights along with some real heavy weights like Great Britain,
Australia and the U. S.

3. Bush insisted that there was a coalition between al-Qaeda & Saddam Hussein. There is not now nor has there ever been any connection between the two. Another lie told by the Bush administration.

4. The U. S. went to war on the lie told by Bush that there were weapons of mass destruction. Just like number 3 above, there is not now nor was there then any WMDs in Iraq. It was all a ruse to get congress to vote to go to WAR. Another lie told by the Bush administration.

5. Failure to track down and capture Osama bin Laden. Bush had a chance in Tora Bora but failed to listen to his Generals and troops on the ground. I think he really wanted to go into Iraq and going after bin Laden was only short distraction to get us there and Iraq was the primary goal in the first place.

6. There was no planning for the end of the Iraqi War. How do we leave? Who do we leave in charge? Who do we train to do the job of enforcement? How do we get out with our dignity intact?

7. Bush's Presidency will always be known as the era of torture and depravity when it comes to enemy combatants. We are still hated around the world for what Bush allowed to happen to those we captured.

8. Bush's total misunderstanding of the cost of a war. His first estimate was in the $75 Billion range. To date the total cost of the wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq is in excess of $1.1 TRILLION. Go to:
http://www.costofwar.com/

9. The total lack of protection for our troops cost lives in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Bush failed to provide body armour, and heavy armour for vehicles. Families were purchasing body armour for their kids and sending it to them in Iraq to see to it they were safe.

10.Bush changed focus from Afghanistan to Iraq for no other reason than to get the guy that threatened his father George H. W. Bush. Changing the war in the middle of an invasion let bin Laden escape into Pakistan.

Tomorrow I'll finish my 20 reasons that "W" Bush is responsible for where we are now.

Did You Know . . .

2010-08-01T00:12:00.000-05:00

Did you know that no matter how long you have voted and no matter for whom you voted, you have never voted for a President . . . never! Presidents are not elected by the citizens of the United States of America. They are elected by an Electoral College (shudder). All we do as citizens is elect people into that Electoral College, then they vote for a President and Vice President. Each state has a total number of Electoral College delegates equal to the number of Representatives plus Senators that state has. Arkansas has 6, California has 55, New Mexico has 5, Alabama has 9, Maryland has 10, Missouri has 11 and Texas has 34. I think that covers most of my readers.

What is distressing is that there have been four Presidents elected that were not elected by the popular vote. That is right, we have had people in the presidency that most of the people in the U. S. voted against. In 1824 most of the people voted for Andrew Jackson but the Electoral College voted for John Quincey Adams. In 1876 the majority of Americans voted for Samuel Tilden but Rutherford B. Hayes was elected instead. A few years later in 1888 President Grover Cleveland was not reelected, it went to Benjamin Harrison instead. The fourth person to be elected to the Presidency that didn't get the majority of the popular vote was George W. Bush in 2000 when the Supreme Court awarded Florida to Bush. That gave the Electoral College to Bush and the Popular Vote to Gore.

Maine and Nebraska do it slightly differently, but their combined votes are just 17, so no one protests.

There are several movements to change that and one day it might change but don't be fooled, your vote for the President doesn't count, except to elect a member to the Electoral College. Please don't let that keep you from voting. Unless you vote you will be allowing others to tell you who will be President. Remember . . . get informed . . . stay informed . . . and vote with good information on the best person you can find.

Fox News Reality!

2010-07-22T21:56:00.000-05:00

Unlike most of my friends, I have to watch Fox News. I need to do that because I have friends that are conservative and I have discussions with them. In Basic Training to be a salesman (Shudder), I learned to anticipate objections and overcome them before they are brought up. To this end, I need to know what those conservatives are watching and what forms their opinions. So, I get a lot of Fox Propaganda. One of the things I've heard time and again is that Fox has the biggest audience in Cable News. I've wondered about that.

When I checked it out . . . I found it to be correct . . . Sorta!

Fox Cable News is the only Ultra Conservative News on either Cable or Broadcast. Fox does not have a regular broadcast News. So, if you are a Conservative and want slanted news, you gotta watch Fox Cable News. That gives Fox Cable News the TOTAL of all the viewers that want Conservative Viewpoint News. Whereas, if you are Normal? Sensible? Realistic? or Middle of the Road, you have several News networks from which to choose, including Fox. So we have the Conservatives with one News source and the rest of us with many choices. That is why Fox News has so many viewers, or do they?

On a day this week the ratings for the various news channels in Prime Time were:
Fox News= 2.35 million
Other Cable News=2.25 million

But that is not the whole story. There are other news in broadcast. This is how that breaks out:
All Fox News= 2.35 million
All NBC News= 8.13 million
All CBS News= 5.52 million
All ABC News= 7.14 million
All CNN News= 1.82 million

That means that of the Prime Time Viewer of the news, 22.61 million TV sets were on a sane news source and 2.35 million were on Fox News.

That means that about 9.42% of the news viewer were watching Fox News. Now don't get me wrong, those are loud and obnoxious people and they want their way, no matter what. But, they are a minority, a vicious minority, but a minority none the less.

Fox News is a great source of bull shit. If you believe it, that is to their credit. If you don't believe it, let your friends know you don't and call them on their "FACTS."

Fox News Represents less than 10% of the people. You need to be louder than that 10%. You need to be smarter than that 10%. It is up to you to bring this group to task for their insanity.

Jump on in . . . the oily water is fine!

Breaking News?

2010-07-19T14:33:00.000-05:00

Here's an interesting item. Today, in the House of Representatives, it has been approved by the Committee on House Administration that there can be a "Tea Party Caucus."

I have no problem with that, but I do find it interesting who requested it and will probably be one of the principals involved in its formation . . . Rep. Michele Bachmann.

I am sure you know who Rep. Michele Bachmann is, but if you don't, let me explain.

Michele Bachmann recently stated, "The New England Journal of Medicine released . . . that 30% of American Physicians would leave the profession if the government took of Health Care." In fact the American Medical Association endorsed the recent Health Care Reform Act and I have heard nothing about a mass exodus from the profession.

Michele Bachmann states that, "The Obama Health Care bill states specifically that people can't purchase private health insurance after a certain date." Totally FALSE.

Michele Bachmann said, "Sec. Geithner has left on the table the option of abandoning the dollar for a multinational currency." I won't even comment on that one it is so far out false.

Michelle Bachmann has been rated by http://www.politifact.com/ on ten of her statements. None of them were even rated as high as "Barely True." Of the ten, six were rated "False" and four were rated "Pants on Fire." (outrageously FALSE)

Michelle Bachmann avoids facts like a heart attack and will do anything to prove herself verity challenged.

I think she should be right up there leading the campaign for the Tea Party. As I stated before in a recent blog post, the Tea Party is likely to be a bane on the Republican Party.

This last weekend, the Tea Party Federation kicked out the Tea Party Express along with their leader Mark Williams because of a series of racial remarks over the past several months.

Look out Republicans . . . I think they are sneaking up on you!

The Truth of Politics

2010-07-17T22:25:00.000-05:00

I've always wondered if any time a human aspires to government office, does his brain really turn to crap? Do people really think that they have to cater to everyone on everything? Do people think that they are pulling the wool over the eyes of all who listen . . . really listen?

If you really think about it, you will know that it's true that working for the government changes the way your brain works and that ain't for the good. And, the point here is that it isn't just the Republicans or just the Democrats who are at fault here. They are equally guilty of almost any crime known to man . . . but . . .!

My point here is that the Republicans are the true villains. A Republican will preach to you about family values and then get caught soliciting sex in a public bathroom, or with a prostitute in a cheap motel room, or molesting little boys near a playground.

A Republican will harp on individual liberties then tap your phone or hack your computer or track your library records.

A Republican will talk to you about the evils of homosexuality then take a vacation with a male hooker at government expense.

Now, let me explain that Democrats do the same things but don't preach to you about the evils of it. if you trace the history of a Democrat who is caught with a prostitute, you will probably find that he has a record saying that prostitution should be legalized. A Democrat probably has recorded votes for gay rights and against demonizing those who are openly gay.

A Republican will say, "Read my lips; NO NEW TAXES!" Then we will get new taxes. Democrats have more trouble getting elected and then staying in office because they have more of a tendency of telling it like it is, no matter how bad it is.

Most Democrats want to think about it and analyze it, then take it apart and see how it works before making a decision. That is why most Democrats come to a decision that will most likely be slightly different than their compatriots. That is why Democrats are less cohesive than Republicans. A group of Democrats are going to come up with lots of different conclusions at the end of a caucus.

I am of the firm belief that the Republicans in office today don't think about their decisions . . . they just react. Republicans, almost to a person, are against abortion and Democrats are split on the issue. Democrats think too much and it makes them look weak. They need to find a way to make thoughtfulness look wise and sexy.

Isn't There a Law Against That?

2010-06-20T20:45:00.000-05:00

Since I wrote on my blog the essay entitled, "'Tis the Season For . . . Political E-Mails" at www.swoopsfromsnowyowl.blogspot.com/2010/05/tis-season-for-political-e-mails.html, I realized that there really shouldn't have to be places like Politifact and Factcheck. After all, there are laws against false advertising and telling lies . . . isn't there? Well, as it turns out . . . there are not! At least not for politicians. You can't tell a lie about a refrigerator, but a politician can not only lie about himself but his opponent, too. They call it "Freedom of Speech." Therefore, there is a demand and a desire for websites that can catch these politicians in their lies and point them out to us. In fact, politicians have a legal right to lie to their constituents as much as they wish.

Candidates can legally lie about ALMOST anything they want, and the law requires broadcasters who run candidate ads, to show them uncensored, even if the station knows their content to be FALSE or MISLEADING. Rejecting an ad from a candidate simply because it is FALSE is not allowed and not LEGAL. It is called "Free Speech" and it is guaranteed in the Constitution, First Amendment!

There are a few . . . very few . . . states that have laws against politicians running for state offices fabricating facts and lying about themselves and/or, their opponents. These laws have not been very successful in decreasing lies in political ads except the very blatant ones.

So, that is why we have :
http://www.politifact.com/, http://www.factcheck.org/, http://www.truthorfiction.com/, http://www.snopes.com/, and http://www.ask.com/. That is why it is up to you to do your own investigations, and do it for both sides of the political equation. You might be surprised that your guy/gal is lying too. It might give you a different perspective on politics and politicians.

If you want to check out a few emails that have recently come out, you might want to check this link:
www.factcheck.org/ask-factcheck/hot-topics/
It will direct you to several new emails and political lies of which you may not yet be aware. Don't get taken in by politicians and political groups that only have their own best interests at heart. There are a lot of politicians out there and a lot of liars, too.

Your Social Security Checks are coming to an END!

2010-06-13T15:24:00.001-05:00

That's right . . . If you are presently receiving a Social Security check in the mail every month, you're in for a change.

By March 2013 the U. S. Government will have phased out all directly mailed Social Security checks in favor of the electronically transferred funds.

All new enrollees, starting in March 2011, will have to opt into one of two mandated electronically transferred programs. If you have an account, you can transfer funds into it. That is the way most have done it and most will do it. But, if you have no account and don't want one, then you will have a debit/credit style card into which your Social Security benefits will be transferred.

The reason for all this is COST. It costs about $1.00 to cut and mail in an envelope a paper check. Electronic transfer costs less than a dime. That's a 90% savings on each check and the government can save up to $300,000,000 in the first five years after this goes into effect. The government presently issues 135,000,000 benefit check every year. I believe that V. A. benefits and all other government benefits including you income tax refund and disability benefits will be handled this way, but the most prevalent is the Social Security checks.

If you would like to get ahead of the crowd and start your electronic transfer now, either go to your nearest Social Security office or call 800-772-1213. If you have questions, call 877-212-9991. This can also be handled online at www.ssa.gov/deposit.

Remember, soon you will not have a choice on whether you get a check or it's electronically deposited. May as well do it now.

OK . . . I've Changed My Mind!

2010-06-08T09:35:00.000-05:00

Since my early twenties, I've tried to get people to "Go out and VOTE" no matter what.

"Let your voice be heard!"

Well, I've changed my mind. There are just too many mis-informed, ill-informed, and un-informed people out there. These people don't have a reliable opinion because they don't know all sides of an issue. They only listen to one news source.

You might think that I'm talking about Fox News . . . but I'm NOT! I'm talking about people who listen to MSNBC or NPR, too! I'm also talking about people who only listen to or read one information source. You can't get the whole story from one source and it's going to get worse as time goes by.

Right now, we have many sources of news, some think too many. Our major traditional source has been the newspapers, those will soon be a thing of the past as the internet takes over. Too many people only get their news from Fox, MSNBC, CNN, ABC,CBS, NBC, or NPR or read only NEWSWEEK, TIME, FORBES, Wall Street Journal, ARDEMGAZ, Arkansas Times, or your local newspapers. We all have to learn to get our information from all sides of any issue, not just one. You have to understand the other side, no matter on which side you presently are. And all sides need to learn this. There are more than just one side to any issue and in most cases there are more than two sides. Just sort the information out and know what is information and what is opinion, or as some call it "Commentary."

That is why I've decided all too many people are too uninformed to vote. People have these wonderful computers that get them all the information in the world and they don't use them. You have available multiple sides to almost any issue and people just don't care enough to look it up. These people should not vote.

Apathy and cynicism are not the paths to take when you are on the way to good government. Do the homework required to do a good job at the polls. Don't depend on PAID ads and pricey but evasive sound bites. When you do that you are driving politicians toward the money to pay for all that and away from the issues and away from you, the constituent.

Do not turn our Republic over to those savvy enough and rich enough to dictate our Nation's future. Be vigilant and well informed in order to choose those representatives that best reflect your values and your integrity. Don't set there and be a spectator, be an active and well informed citizen when you go to the polls.

Either that or please DON'T VOTE! Don't tie around our necks the millstone of your mis-information.

'Tis the Season for . . . Political E-Mails

2010-05-31T15:07:00.000-05:00

Well it has already started and I'm getting E-Mails from friends and just people that want me to think the way they think. Most of these E-Mails are dubious at best and they are coming from many sides (I'd say BOTH sides, but with the TEA Party's advance, there are more than just two sides and in some cases there are more than three sides).

First of all, check out E-Mails that seem far fetched, you might even want to check out the ones that don't seem to be false. Most of these have an element of truth in them but that is small and is not the point of the E-Mail. Less than 10% of the E-Mails I've checked out were totally true, about half of them were only partially true, but the majority were totally false. If the E-Mail you receive is hard to believe, there is probably a reason for that. I don't call these E-Mails . . . I call them E-Mauls because they either MAUL the truth or they MAUL a person.

Here are some places that you can check out the veracity of the next E-Mail/E-Maul you get. Go to:
http://www.factcheck.org/
http://www.politifact.com/
http://www.truthorfiction.com/
http://www.snopes.com/
http://www.ask.com/

There is an E-Maul out there that states the Mikkelsons, the couple behind snopes.com, are liberals and that Snopes is biased. It also states that the Mikkelsons are avid about their privacy and doesn't want anyone to know who they really are. This is, of course, not true. Go to:
www.factcheck.org/2009/04/snopescom/
There you will find that David Mikkelson was a registered Republican as of 2000 and re-registered as a "No Preference" in order to not show any bias. Barbara Mikkelson is a Canadian citizen and can't vote or contribute to any candidate. All records show that David has never contributed any money to any candidate or any political party. Their privacy was given up long ago and they have done TV appearances as well as Magazine articles and given interviews to the media. In 2009 there was a Reader's Digest article about them complete with where they lived and a total background on them. So they are not shy or reclusive.

Here are some of the E-Mauls I have checked out as being totally false:
1. The new health care bill will provide free health care for illegal aliens.=FALSE
2. "In God We Trust" isn't on the new Dollar Coins. =FALSE (on the edge of the coin)
3. Abortions will be provided free on demand and all Doctors will be forced to provide them to their clients.=FALSE & FALSE
4. "Cap and Trade" would cost the American Family $6,800 per year, says the CBO. =FALSE (That estimate came from the Conservative think tank, The Heritage Foundation, not the Congressional Budget Office)
5. You have to have a Microchip inserted into you body if you go on the public health care plan.=FALSE
6. You must list all your guns on your 2010 income tax return.=FALSE
7. The Obama White House is renaming all Christmas Trees to Holiday Trees.=FALSE
8. Congress is 100% exempt from the new Health Care Bill.=FALSE
9. Hillary Clinton recently signed a treaty with the U. N. and Congress passed legislation that by passed the second amendment and we all have to turn in our guns or face prosecution.=FALSE (nothing supersedes the Constitution, and it is otherwise false, too)

And the list goes on! And, new ones will show up tomorrow. Check these out yourself, you now have the resources to do your own research. It's fun to be able to not be taken by one of these gross lies or even the subtle ones.

If you get something you just can't sort out, send it to me and I'll do what I can to check it out. Some are so new that they have not yet been checked or are in the "Undetermined" stage. But don't pass them on unless you are sure they are real E-Mails and not just E-Mauls.

On Negative Campaign Ads . . .

2010-05-23T17:57:00.000-05:00

This will be for information purposes only, their is no political message in it, just information you can use.

Have you noticed in the recent and surely in the upcoming political campaigns, there is a lot of negative advertising going on. This is coming from all sides, not just one. I recently received in the mail seven campaign "Flyers/Cards," for lack of a better description, in one day. All of these were about two candidates in one race. Three of them were asking me to vote for a candidate and had a very positive message, four were giving me disparaging information about an opponent.

If you will remember back to the 2004 election, there were a lot of negativism in that campaign, too. From both sides came information about the other side, so this has been going on full force for several years now, and it's getting worse. If you'll notice the return address for these negative "Flyer/Cards," you will notice they are not from the other candidate, they are from a group such as, The Committee for the Truth, or Real Information You Need.

These groups or organizations are called 527 organizations. That is just a short nick name given them from the U. S. tax code of 26 U. S. C. § 527, you can go to www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/26/527.html for more detailed information on 527 organizations and PACs which also fall under this tax code but have different rules and different limits.

What is real good/bad about these 527 groups is that they can collect and spend as they wish in almost any amounts they wish, for information purposes. This can be done as long as they do not coordinate their efforts with a candidate or a party. The high courts have ruled it is just "Freedom of Speech." They also do not come under the jurisdiction of the U. S. Election Commission or the State and Local Election Commissions.

It is very difficult to discern a 527's affiliation by its name. For instance Progress for America is not a "Progressive/Liberal organization and the League of Conservation Voters is not a Conservative Organization.

In 2004, 527s spent just shy of $440 million dollars on various campaigns and in the mid-term elections of 2006 they spent over $170 million.

I must point out that these organizations are from both sides of the aisle, but some of the most effective were the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" in 2004. MoveOn.org originally started out as a 527 organization and in 2004 spent over $21 million for various Liberal candidates and issues. MoveOn.org is no longer a 527 organization and now has to follow different rules.

Not all 527s are candidate oriented, some are Pro-Life, some are Pro-Choice, some are for Women's Rights, Gay Rights, Gun Control, Retirees, Immigration Policies, The Environment, etc.

Next time you get an "Anti" whatever or whoever card in the mail, check out the return address. Chances are that it will not be from the candidate's opponent, it'll be from one of these 527s. That way a candidate can truthfully say, "That wasn't from my campaign, I didn't have anything to do with that." Yeah, right!

Who Should Pay Attention to The CAUTION Sign?

2010-05-19T20:09:00.000-05:00

The Primaries in a few states were held yesterday. I noted, with a great deal of encouragement, that there was one election in Pennsylvania that really counted. It was for John Murtha's seat in the House of Representatives. Rep. Murtha died a few weeks ago and the state needed to replace him for the rest of his term. The District has been Republican for some time now and voted for McCain in 2008 by almost 20 points. The Republicans were all set to take that seat away from the Democrats. That didn't happen! The Democrat took it by about 10 points, and that is at mid-term when everyone says that the Democrats are going to be weak.

The point of this essay is to figure out who it is at this mid-term election that should be afraid of the "TEA PARTY?" Who is it that stands to be the most damaged by this new challenge? I think it is the Republicans and here is why:

Rand Paul won the Primary in Kentucky yesterday on the Republican ticket over the pick of the Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Trey Grayson. In his victory speech he mentioned the Tea Party nine times but didn't mention the Republican party once.

In Maine, at the Republican State Convention, the Republican Platform was defeated and the Tea Party Platform was inserted instead. That platform was passed by the Maine Republican Convention and became the new Republican platform for all Maine Republicans. That platform includes:
1. To reassert the principle that "Freedom of Religion" does not mean "Freedom
from Religion."
2. To return to the principle of "Austrian Economics." ?
3. To remove obstacles created by government to the private development of natural
gas, oil, coal, and nuclear power. (ie. Let's let them pollute as much as they want)
4. Rejection of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
5. Eliminate the U. S. Department of Education, and the Federal Reserve.
6. A declaration that Health Care is not a RIGHT, but a SERVICE.

The Tea Party in Utah has succeeded in their effort to oust the present Republican Senator Robert Bennett. Yep, they've taken over the Utah Republican Party too.

My advice is that the Republicans should look out for the Tea Party . . . they are out to make you obsolete.

A Political Smear Speech

2010-05-16T18:22:00.000-05:00

I don't remember where I got this or to whom I should credit it. But it seems appropriate at this time in our present political atmosphere.

At times, in answering people who suggest that politicians should tell the truth, I point out that the truth might get them into more trouble than they need as in the 1998 movie "Bulworth" where Warren Beatty performs as the President and decides to tell the absolute truth, no matter what. It shows what blunt honesty will do.

At any rate, this is a political smear speech written some time ago by someone? other than myself, but seems right for our times. If you need to get out a dictionary for a few words . . . that's great . . . have at it. It's the positive truth portrayed as a negative. Check it out.

Political Smear Speech

My fellow citizens, it is an honor and a pleasure to be here today. Now, when I embarked on this political campaign I hoped it could be conducted on a high level, and that my opponent would be willing to stick to the issues. Instead . . . unfortunately, he has decided to be tractable, and to indulge in unequivocal language, to eschew the use of outright lies in his speeches and even to make repeated veracious statements about me.

Now, at first, I tried to ignore these scrupulous, unvarnished fidelities, but I will do so no longer. If my opponent wants a fight, he's gonna get a fight!

Now, it might be instructive to start with his background. My friends, have you ever accidentally dislodged a rock on the ground and seen what is underneath? As for my opponent, his background is dissimilar. All the slime and filth and corruption you could imagine, even in your wildest dreams, are glaringly nonexistent in this man's life. Even during his childhood.

And since the subject came up, let us take a quick look at his childhood! It is a known fact that on a number of occasions, he emulated older boys on a certain playground. It is also known that his parents not only permitted him to masticate excessively, but even urged him to do so.

This man, who poses as a paragon of virtue, exacerbated his own sister when they were teenagers. I ask you my fellow Americans, is this the kind of person we want in public office? To set an example for our youth?

Let us consider some of the other members of his family. My opponent's second cousin is a practicing monogamist! His Uncle was a flagrant heterosexual. His sister, who has always been obsessed with sex, once worked as a proselyte outside a church. And, his younger brother wrote an essay extolling the virtues of being a Homo sapien. And his great Aunt? Well, his great Aunt expired of a degenerative disease. His nephew subscribes to several phono graphic magazines! His wife was a thespian before they were married, and had even performed that act in front of paying customers. His own mother had to resign from a women's organization in her later years because she was an admitted sexagenarian.

Now, what shall I say about this man himself? I can tell you in the solemn truth, that he has perambulated his infant on the street, he has practiced nepotism with his Uncle and first cousin. And, he has attempted to interest a thirteen year old girl in philately.

This man participated in a seance in a private residence where among other odd goings on, there was incense. An, he has openly advocated social intercourse in mixed company, and has taken part in such gatherings himself.

He had been deliberately averse to crime in our streets! He has urged our Protestant and Jewish citizens to develop more catholic tastes, and last summer he committed a piscatorial act while aboard a boat flying the American Flag.

Now, I beg you my friends . . . oppose this man whose life, work and ideas are so openly and avowably compatible with our American way of life. A vote for him would be a vote for the perpetuation of everything we hold dear. The facts are clear! the record speaks for itself.

Follow the Leaders?

2010-05-10T15:25:00.000-05:00

In my research of the GOP's leaders and elected officials, I have noted a few . . . PROBLEMS. The GOP is rapidly getting rid of their more moderate and saner officials and putting into prominent jobs people like Michael Steele. Then they go out and actually believe people like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann and Fox News.

So . . . I got to looking at some of the people who call themselves Conservative. You know, people that might be attracted to the GOP. Here is what I found:

According to the latest Harris Interactive Poll, when asked is Barack Obama was a Muslim, 57% of the Republicans answered Yes. When asked if they thought Obama was about to take away Americans' right to own guns, 61% of the Republicans said YES. 41% of the Republicans think Obama is anti-American. To top it all off 24% of the Republicans think he is the Anti-Christ!

Now how could this all happen? It is easy, look to whom the Republicans listen. People like the afore mentioned Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann and Fox News! So I decided to check out what was coming out of these sources.

Rush Limbaugh recently suggested that, "The explosion of the Oil Platform in the Gulf was probably the work of Wacko Environmentalists." Then he went on later to state, "The ocean will take care of this on its own if it is left alone and left out there. It's natural, it is as natural as the ocean water is." Pardon me but arsenic, mercury and lead are also natural. I don't think I want to be exposed to them to any great extent.

Sarah Palin has continued to promote off shore oil drilling in the middle of the oil slick coming ashore. She still is pushing the U. S. to "Drill, baby, Drill!"

Michelle Bachmann has stated, " . . .the swine flu broke out under another Democrat President Jimmie Carter. And I'm not blaming this on President Obama, I just think it is an interesting coincidence." On CO2 as being harmful to the environment, Bachmann stated, "Carbon Dioxide is being portrayed as being harmful. But there is even one study that can be produced that can show that Carbon Dioxide is a harmful gas." And last but certainly not least she said, "If we took away minimum wage . . . we could virtually wipe out unemployment because we could offer jobs at whatever level."

Sean Hannity, back in 2003 said, "Iraqis are not going to be bombed by the United States. The U. S. will use pinpoint accuracy like they always do."

Michael Steele once said, "The problem we have with this president is that we don't know him. He was not, vetted folks . . . not vetted!" Steele forgot that we all had several months to look at everyone running and the Obama won a Nation wide election.

These are a few of the people that are leading the Republicans and are forming the Republicans' opinions. I think I would be in fear of the GOP not being around in about 15 years, if I were one of them. The sane ones are going to the Democrats and the less sane ones are now Tea Baggers, way off on the Right (incorrect) side.

WARNING-WARNING-WARNING!

2010-05-07T21:40:00.000-05:00

There is a lot going on today in the political fabric of the country. Some of it is out in the open, but some of it is down deep in the tufts of that fabric, almost hidden.

Exposed to the light of day already have been "Oath Keepers." Be very careful, they sound right but they forget to tell you about those "Orders We Will Not Obey." They don't tell you who it is that determines what qualifies as an order they will obey. In the Real America the Supreme Court says what is constitutional and what isn't. In the Oath Keepers, that court doesn't exist. And, to top it all off these people have been trained in weapons, in most cases, by the same government they want to disobey. In the Oath Keepers, the individual determines what orders they will obey. Can you imagine what would happen during a war or other armed conflict if the individual soldier determined what orders he or she would obey?

More recently there has been a rise in a couple of new "Militia" type organizations. One is called "American Grand Jury." This seems to be a loosely organized group of citizens that want to take the law into their own hands. Citizen's arrest and "Common Law" juries are their trademark and mostly they are an older group. On the other hand we are starting to see more of the "Council of Conservative Citizens." This is and outgrowth of the old "White Citizens Council," a white supremacy group. Be careful of all these groups. Any group that puts one group above another, or one group below another, are people of which you should be cautious.

Here are some other organizations in Arkansas of which you need to be aware:
National Socialist Movement, Aryan Nations Revival, the Nation of Islam, and the Aryan Terror Brigade have groups all over Arkansas.

In the Ozarks we have:
--Heritage Connection, Christian Books and Things, Kingdom Identity Ministries, Knights of the KKK, and Ozark Craft LC all of Harrison.
--The Church of Jesus Christ and White Pride Home School Resource Center in Bergman.
--League of the South in Hot Springs, Mammoth Springs and Alpena.
--White Revolution and The Natural State Skinheads of Russelville.
--Tightrope of Calico Rock.

To my friends out in California, you also have several groups that are statewide. Some of those are the Aryan Nations Revival, Knights of the Nordic Order, KKK, Black Panthers, League of the South, Nation of Islam, and the Volksfront.

To my New Mexico Friends:
--The Front Line Aryans work throughout the state.

To my family in Maryland:
--You have everything under the sun in your state. If they hate, or if they love too much or too hard . . . they probably need to be avoided.

To my family in Texas:
--Texas is so large that it has everything under the sun going after it. The biggies in the Ft. Worth area are groups calling themselves "European-American Unity and Rights Organizations." You also have League of the South, The National Alliance as well as the obvious ones like the KKK, and various Skinhead groups.

In Southern California you have:
--American Renaissance, American Third Position, Biblical Family Advocates, Freedom 14, Golden State Party, Institute for Historical Review, the Noontide Press, OMNI Christian Book Club and White Revolution.

If you are aware of any of these organizations or if one of your friends has become involved in one, this is your warning. They are very seductive and very dangerous.

An Open Letter to The Tea Party

2010-04-30T23:35:00.000-05:00

Dear Tea Party;
Where the hell have you been?

We just went through the most horrendous eight years of tragic leadership that I've ever seen. Where the hell were you then?

Back almost 10 years ago the Supreme Court Stopped a legal recount and appointed a President and Vice President against the wishes of the majority of the American People. Where the hell were you then?

Back about 8 years ago, the energy policy of the United States was decided in a closed meeting held by Dick Cheney, ex-CEO of Halliburton, one of the largest energy services companies in the World. Those present were the energy company officials and Cheney would not allow any reporters in and the minutes of that meeting were not allowed to be released to the public. Where the hell were you then?

A CIA operative was outed by contacts and staffers of Vice President Dick Cheney. Where the hell were you then?

Dick Cheney shot a fellow hunter, an attorney, in the face and didn't report it for days. I know, some attorneys just need being shot, but where the hell were you then?

The Patriot Act was passed which directly subverted the Constitution and with that act the government started unconstitutionally wiretapping citizens of the United States. Where the hell were you then?

We invaded Iraq and have spent so far over 600 Billion dollars and several thousand lives on a war against a country that was not a threat to us. Were the hell were you then?

We found out we were actually Torturing people at Gitmo. Where the hell were you then?

The reason we invaded Iraq was to divert attention away from the fact that we couldn't find bin Laden. Where the hell were you then?

Our servicemen and women, who had suffered so much in Iraq, were submitted to horrible conditions at Walter Reed Veterans Hospital. Where the hell were you then?

The Super Rich received a 900 Billion dollar tax break but nothing for the middle class. Where the hell were you then?

By the use of reconciliation, a trillion dollars of our tax monies was stolen by various insurance companies for Medicare Advantage, which costs over 20% more for basically the same services that are covered by Medicare alone. Where the hell were you then?

Under Bush our debt hit over thirteen trillion dollars and our deficit hit the trillion dollar mark after he had received a surplus from Clinton. Where the hell were you then?

You finally decided to show up when the U. S. government decided that everyone in the United States, not just the rich, deserved the RIGHT to see a doctor if they are sick. Why in hell does that piss you off?

Let's look at this . . . we've had illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, stealing tax dollars to make the rich richer, and you're OK with that but helping other Americans pisses you off? Who the hell do you think you are?

While you are reassessing your priorities, I'll reassess you. I just don't think you come up to the level required by most of us to back in an election.

Is This The Way It Works?

2010-04-25T19:59:00.000-05:00

A red headed fellow born in Ireland named Padraic Kelley went to Canada about 10 years ago and within 2 years had illegally crossed the U. S. border into Buffalo New York. From there he moves down to Phoenix Arizona and starts a small construction business that builds pole barn like structures and he hires three men to help him build the structures. After the Arizona legislature passed the new immigration bill and the Governor signed it, he was immediately asked to show his immigration status and when he couldn't he was arrested and sent back to Ireland . . . THIS DIDN'T HAPPEN AND IT WON'T HAPPEN!

A blond German Fellow named Hans Van Duessel got a visa to go to Mexico to study in 1983. He did go to Mexico and studied for 3 years then decided to illegally cross the border to the North into the United States. He did that over 20 years ago and after working in a vineyard south of Tucson for 10 years he bought some land and started his own small vineyard and sold his products to local taverns and eateries. He was making great progress until the Arizona legislature passed the new immigration law and the Governor signed it . . . at that time he was asked to show he was in the U. S. legally and when he couldn't he was arrested and then sent back to Germany . . . THIS ALSO DIDN'T HAPPEN AND IT WON'T HAPPEN!

A highly educated man from Peoria Illinois, who graduated from the University of Chicago and worked for Bank of America, was transferred to BofA's Phoenix branch about 5 years ago. His name is Enrico Rodriquez and he has dark hair and a Latin appearance. He worked his way up and became a vice president of the company. He drives a Lincoln Town Car and lives in an exclusive neighborhood. After the Arizona Legislature passed the Immigration law and the Governor signed it . . . he is asked daily to prove he is an American because he is driving a Lincoln in an expensive locale where he probably should not be because of his looks . . . THIS DOES HAPPEN AND IT HAPPENS AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN not only to him but to his wife and his children and to everyone who even looks Latino/Latina. And it is illegal and should be overthrown . . . NOW!

Just Some Thoughts . . .

2010-04-23T08:53:00.000-05:00

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, PATRIOT means:
pa·tri·ot
Pronunciation: \ˈpā-trē-ət
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle French patriote compatriot, from Late Latin patriota, from Greek patriōtēs, from patria lineage, from patr-, patēr father
Date: 1605
: one who loves his or her country and supports its authority and interests

So, it seems to me that an Anti-Government Patriot is akin to an Atheistic Baptist, a Poor Billionaire or a Compassionate Conservative. Oxymoronic best fits these examples in more ways than one.

Don't let these people fool you. They are indeed Anti-Government (my guess is more like 'I don't like the black guy in office') but Patriots they are not. That name only makes them feel better about their poor choices.

"Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism," said George Washington at his farewell address

They point at the newest SALT treaty as giving up too many Nuclear Weapons when it comes from Obama and totally forget that it was Reagan's idea to try to eliminate completely all nuclear weapons from all countries.

They say that none of the Stimulus packages worked when they forget that "W" Bush and the Republicans did the first one with little opposition from any of them.

Most of the "Tea" people promote themselves as Patriots and Christians. But remember the quote, "When Fascism come to us it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a Cross/Bible."

Remember . . . that 47% approval rating that Obama has, includes on the negative side, about 18-22% of the far left that don't think he's done enough. Those people aren't going to vote for Cheney, or Sarah, or Mitt, or Ron Paul. They may not vote, but they won't vote for the RIGHT.

The Republicans did what?

2010-04-18T13:16:00.000-05:00

More than 100 congressional Republicans, after voting against the stimulus bill, wrote Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood seeking money from $1.5 billion the plan set aside for local road, bridge, rail and transit grants. Most of these Republicans voted against the stimulus bill because they said it wouldn't create real jobs, just temporary jobs that didn't count. Then they turned around and wanted some of that money, they voted against, for their states to create some of those jobs they were looking down on. The Republicans did WHAT?

Obama, during a Feb. 19 speech to the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, said congressional critics are calling the stimulus a “boondoggle” while “making appearances at ribbon-cuttings” for local projects financed by the bill. “They’re trying to vote against their cake and eat it, too,” he said. They voted against you in order to vote against Obama.

Thirty four Republicans voted against ending debate on Unemployment Extension. The 9 billion dollar package will also pay for health benefits under COBRA and the national flood insurance program. And then they voted against it and against their own constituents.

Earlier this year the Republicans voted en masse against the Pay-As-You-Go measure. They voted NAY because it was proposed by Obama and the Democrats even though most of them had voted for the very same proposal five times before, once in '04, three times in '05, and again in '06. But, those were proposed by the Republicans, and they couldn't let the Democrats gain credit. But, by voting against the measure, they are really voting against the citizens of the United States.

Right from the beginning the President stated that he wanted tax cuts and the Republicans voted NO. All that and for years the Republicans have said that Tax Cuts create more income. But what they were really for was Tax Cuts for the Rich, not you and me.

Happy Tax Day 2010!

2010-04-15T20:12:00.000-05:00

Today the TEA parties all over the U. S. put on a TEA party. TEA by the way stands for Taxed Enough Already and they are protesting all the new taxes the Obama administration have imposed on us. But, when you ask any of them, "Which of those 'NEW' taxes are you talking about?" They can't give you an answer because there has been none. In fact 95% of all the people in the U. S. are paying less taxes this year than they have paid in decades and the others are paying about the same as before. Source: www.mediamatters.org/research/201004150075 & www.blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/04/15/hey-teabaggers-your-taxes-are-actually-really-really-low/ or www.washingtonindependent.com/82426/mccain-lowest-tax-rates-in-decades-are-crippling-the-country

Now you might or might not want to go to one of these "Media" web sites so if those displease you, try this one from The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities" at:
www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=139

There they explain that even the highest income families pay less than they have in a long time because of the Bush Tax cuts which will expire soon.

So don't let the TEA party extremists confuse you. They are not a grass roots group. Most of them are funded and lead by Freedom Works and Dick Armey or the AFP group. AFP stands for Americans for Prosperity. Now you must understand it is not your prosperity they are looking out for, it is their own, and that of the big corporations which fund them. But . . . they need to confuse you so you will vote the way they want you to. The reason for the confusion is that if you knew the truth you would never vote their way because if you knew the truth you would realize that your own good is at stake. If you knew the truth you would realize that they want you to vote against your own best interests.

I never have understood why people would continue to follow those who continue to lie to them. Death Panels, killing Grandma, you go to jail if you don't get health insurance, you're being taxed too much, Obama is a Muslim and he wasn't born in the U. S. and isn't an American Citizen, are just a few . . . I could go on and on and on . . .

So, with that I'll wish you all a happy tax day! Glad your Federal Taxes have gone down.

Don't forget to stop following those that have lied to you, they don't have your best interest at heart.

Oh My God, Jesus Was a Liberal!

2010-04-10T21:42:00.000-05:00

Biblically documented teachings of Jesus Christ clearly show that Jesus was a Liberal. His philosophy, based in compassion, equality, inclusion, forgiveness, tolerance, peace and - most importantly - love, is 100% Liberal.

For well over 20 years we have seen the growing domination of the radical right wing evangelicals on TV, on the radio and in the news, newspapers and magazines and in politics - claiming to own a virtual monopoly on Jesus. They have redefined what He meant and used His name to advance their radical right wing social, business, governmental, political and military agenda - or as the Republicans call it, "their just and righteous Crusade." I strongly object and disagree.

Like the views of over 150 million Liberal, Progressive, Tolerant and Independent thinking Christians, Catholics, and others of ALL spiritual paths, religions and traditions in the United States. I, personally, reject the radical right wing Republican evangelicals' claims that they alone represent the will, expression and blessing of Jesus Christ. I believe it is high time someone stands up for the Liberal, Progressive, Tolerant and Independent thinking majority's position that any plain reading of Christ's words, any genuine interpretation of Christ's intent, outline a Liberal, Progressive, Tolerant, Loving and holistic world view.

Liberalism has been under assault since the Reagan years. The attack on the liberal political philosophy has altered the contemporary definition of liberal to the point that Conservatives use it as a PROFANE word. They use it to paint a political opponent as anti-American and anti-God. Moderates and liberal Christians are afraid to be open about their political leanings. Surely it even affects their choices as they vote. This has to be particularly troubling to a Christian evangelical who loves America and its heritage.

Conservative policies generally favor the wealthy and ignore the needs of the poor. Their policies are frequently greed-driven, with no concern for environmental or societal consequences or for their exploitative actions. Jesus plainly taught that the LOVE of money is the ROOT of all evil.

So, Christians can go after the various "fruit" of sin in our society, but they won't see the real change for the better until the axe is put to the ROOT. Christians should oppose greed-driven policies as a primary point of political concern. Jesus was a Liberal as should all Christians be.

Upon Further Consideration . . .

2010-04-09T22:05:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure who it was that said it but it is true that a lie told frequently enough becomes the truth! We have that today in our politics. It started on the National scene and has now "Trickled Down" into local politics. One of the few things that actually flows down hill effectively. There are others . . . but that is for another posting. That list doesn't contain money or anything having to do with the economy.

I have wondered for years exactly how the Conservatives have been able to convince the working class to vote for the Republicans and against the common man's own best interest. What I've found is that the Conservatives keep telling the same lies on an ongoing basis till it seems to be the truth. The following will give you some examples.

Recently Michelle Bachmann stated, "The New England Journal of Medicine released a survey the week that President Obama signed Obamacare stating that over 30 percent of American physicians would leave the profession if the government took over health care." That, of course is not true. The NEJM had nothing to do with the survey, it was a private recruiting firm's survey and it wasn't in the NEJM. The NEJM published a disclaimer at:
www.nejmjobs.org/rpt/health-reform-may-reduce-physician-workforce.aspx
On the other hand, the AMA and its physicians endorsed the Health Care Reform Act. But that lie continues today and the only way to make it a lie is to expose it to the light of wisdom. That is just one of many of Bachmann's many falsehoods.

There are so many that I'll just list out who said them and what was said:
Glenn Beck said, "In the health care bill, we're now offering insurance for dogs."

Sarah Palin said, "Says she couldn't take stimulus money because it required universal building codes." It didn't . . . She also said, "A provision in the health care reform bill for end-of-life counseling for seniors is not "entirely voluntary." This is another one of those things that took on a life of its own. Just another lie.

Rush Limbaugh said, "People can't go fishing anymore because of Obama." and
"There are high administrative costs when you donate to Haiti relief through the White House Web site." But the worst was, "President Obama . . . wants to mandate circumcision."

Now don't get me wrong. There are lies on all sides, but only the Conservatives seem to continue with the same lies and then use them later to prove they are true by restating them and saying "Everybody knows that . . ."

If you want your side to be believed then you need to get your leaders to understand that once you are established as a liar, then even your truths will be held in suspect.

On Bipartisanship

2010-04-08T17:55:00.000-05:00

Let's just say Main Street in your town was a two way street that ran East and West. If every one that wanted to go West did so on Main Street but if they wanted to go East, they did it on First Street, a block away. Does that make Main Street a one way street? And, does that make First Street a one way street? The answer to both questions is NO! People have just chosen to use those streets as one way streets.

The same thing happens in politics. In both the House and the Senate, there are bipartisan meetings in both committees and on the floor of both chambers, as well as behind closed doors. Many of the bills that have passed recently have had amendments in them that were proposed by the Republicans and welcomed by the Democrats hoping for a vote from the Republican side. There have been times when Republicans even co-sponsored a bill . . . then voted against it. So, the question has arisen, is a bill really bipartisan if no Republicans have voted for it? The answer is just like Main Street, just because no one has chosen to travel East on it, doesn't make it one way. Just because Republicans don't vote for a particular bill doesn't mean it isn't bipartisan.

Here are just a few of the recent compromises brought forth by Obama:
1. Expansion of the earned income tax credit.
(www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/key-elements/family/eitc.cfm)

2. Elimination of capital gains taxes for small businesses and start-ups. That is what was promised, but Obama had to settle for only reducing it.
(www.house.gov/billtext/hr1_cr_jesb.pdf)

3. Establish a small business initiative for rural America. Obama used the Stimulus package to expand financing and benefits for Small businesses and wants to expand it. But, the Republicans in Congress have held it up in committee.
(www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/25/establish-a-small-business-initiative-for-rural-am/)

4. Create a small business tax credit to help with health premiums. As part of the Health Care Reform Act recently signed was a small business tax credit. This is not a deduction from earned income, it is an actual tax credit. It is considered a compromise because as a concession to the Republicans, trying to get a few to vote for it, the Democrats agreed to not make it for more than the tax liability and that it would not be be paid in advance.
(www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/54/create-a-small-business-tax-credit-to-help-with-he/)

5. Strengthen antitrust laws to prevent overcharging for malpractice insurance. Not all the language that Obama wanted got into the Health Care Reform Act. But most of it did.
(www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-3590)

There are lots more. If you are interested, go to:
www.politifact.com/
And click on "Compromise"

If you want to know which promises he has actually fulfilled, you can go to the same URL and click on "Promises Kept." There are a few, very few, that he has not kept and will not keep, for those you will find them under the "Promises Broken" category.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

2010-04-02T22:39:00.001-05:00

If I were to say, "Anti-Government Patriots," it wouldn't make a lot of sense to most people. But that is what is coming up in the near future to most people. It is here now but most don't know about it because it has been sneaking up on us. Anti-Government and Patriots are supposed to be polar opposites. But now we have some that think that the U. S. Government is not only against them but is lead by a non American President who wants to have death panels to kill grandma, or that he might even be an "Antichrist."

Some of these Anti-American Patriot groups are the Oath Keepers. If you come across any of these people running for Sheriff or Police Chief in your area, be careful. They sound good but they have another agenda. Oath Keepers are a group that recruits from the law enforcement, military, veterans, and retired of the military and law enforcement. The oath they want you to keep is your oath to the constitution and yet they want you to understand that it is "Their Interpretation" of the Constitution that they will follow, not the Supreme Courts Interpretation. They list out what they will not do. That list is mostly against what you and I would say is our understanding of the Constitution. Oath Keepers are well trained by the government in weapons and tactics because they only recruit from law enforcement and veterans. It has been said that when the overthrow of the U. S. comes, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a Bible/Cross.

There is a new group, or I should say a group that only recently has come to the fore. That group is the "Guardians of the Free Republics." They seem to be an offshoot or another form of the older Posse Comitatus and their courts of Common Law. They don't seem to be as aggressive as the Oath Keepers. But they will fool enough people to draw attention to themselves. They recently wrote letters to various Governors telling them to leave office or be removed within three days. They didn't threaten violence but the message was clear.

Remember, this is the way that the Nazis came to power. They appealed to the people that were being left behind. They appealed to those that felt betrayed by the government. They lied to the people and told them that only they could bring about what they were looking for and they drew large crowds and many votes and that is all it takes. The real problem is with those that threaten with aggression and guns.

At this time only the "Oath Keepers" seem to be the most corrupt and most aggressive of the new groups. If you have anyone running for office . . . mostly sheriff, in your area, make sure you check them out. Soon, your whole sheriff's office will be members of that group, because it will be required that deputies hired must join OATH KEEPERS.

The UGLY is people like Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Steele, and Fox News.

The GOOD are people that take the time to think and ask questions. Remember, asking the right questions in the right way is one of the most important factors of life, but make sure you listen to and understand the answers. It will keep you out of trouble and keep salesmen and charlatans away.

The U. S. Census . . .

2010-04-02T00:07:00.000-05:00

Today is the date that you should have sent in your census to the government. They will collect it and with the information they receive they will come and get your guns, collect your children, if you have a name like Omar or Hakkim they will put you in a concentration camp and confiscate your property . . . April Fools!

Let me explain the U. S. Census. It was required by the U. S. Constitution that we enumerate those who live in the United States including their Slaves.

There has been some questions that have appeared on the census that were not required to be answered. Some of those questions appear in this years census. But there are those that don't want you to turn your census in at all. Michelle Bauchman for one has stated that they will use the census to put people into concentration camps and some even have stated that you must list out all your guns and other weapons on the census form . . . that, of course, is untrue.

Let's go over what those with the U. S. Government want to know and why.

The first question has to do with how many people live in your abode. That is the enumeration part.

The second question has to do with additional people, temporary or transient, persons that might be there. Also an enumeration question.

The third question has to do with the abode. Is it a rented home, or mobile? Is it owned by your or are you in it without rent? Not sure if this one is required, but probably not.

The fourth question has to do with your phone number. This is only needed in case they, whomever that may be, needs to ask questions or clearify your answers, otherwise they will come knocking on your door.

The fifth question has to do with your name. Who are you? If you look back on previous census, you will find that this is very important to those who come after us. I have found my great grand father, his wife, great grandma, and all my great uncles and great aunts. If you don't want your progeny to know who you were, don't answer this one. You will remain a nothing in the generations of your family.

The sixth question has to do with your gender. Being Pat Whatever doesn't give those in the future enough information as to who you really are. There are far too many names that could go with each gender and the government needs to make sure that you are not playing around with the same gender. They want to make sure you are really screwing around and making it mean something.

The seventh question has to do with your date of birth. They want to make sure that you are so old that when they come to get you, that you will not put up too much of a fight. Beware of those Black Helicopters!

The eighth question has to do with your regional origin, if you are of Latin origin. (this is not Race question).

The ninth question has to do with Race, but gets all that confused with nationality. They ask about RACE but then break it down from Asian to Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, etc. Makes one wonder who wrote this . . . stuff. They even separate American Indian from Asian. Go figure!

Lastly they want to know if you sometimes live somewhere else. Is this only your Winter/Summer home? Might you be counted elsewhere?

Now understand that despite all those warnings . . . you haven't been asked about your gun inventory!

Now, why do we do this every ten years? Because it is in the Constitution. That is what the founding fathers wanted us to do. They wanted us to find out who we were. They also us the information to distribute our representation. Michele Bauchman warned against answering the census until she found out that her district would be eliminated if the population count went down. One of the lowest returns by state so far has been Texas. Their governor has placed questions in the citizens' minds. What he forgets is that the House of Representatives are distributed by the last census and he could probably get as many as four more representatives, mostly Republican, if all the people send in their census. I'll not tell him about that and I hope you don't either.

Answer your census. It doesn't take long and it doesn't hurt at all. There is a lot of good that comes out of it and there is no bad. And if you don't answer it, they will come knocking.

Why Men Can't Win!

2010-03-31T00:32:00.000-05:00

You may not all agree, but please think about it. That's all I ask.

If you work too hard, there is never any time for her.
If you don't work enough, you're a good-for-nothing bum.

If she has a boring repetitive job with low pay, it's exploitation.
If you have a boring repetitive job with low pay, you should get off your butt and find something better.

If you get a promotion ahead of her, it's favoritism.
If she gets a job ahead of you, it's equal opportunity.

If you mention how nice she looks, it's sexual harassment.
If you keep quiet, it's male indifference.

If you cry, you're a wimp.
If you don't, you're insensitive.

If you make a decision without consulting her, you're a chauvinist.
If she makes a decision without consulting you, she's a liberated woman.

If you ask her to do something she doesn't enjoy, that's domination.
If she asks you, it's a favor.

If you try to keep yourself in shape, you're vain.
If you don't, you're a slob.

If you buy her flowers, you're after something.
If you don't, you're not thoughtful.

If you're proud of your achievements, you're an egotist.
If you're not, you're not ambitious.

If she has a headache, she's tired.
If you have a headache, you don't love her anymore

The World As We Know It Will Soon End (Part 4)

2010-03-29T21:14:00.000-05:00

OK folks, to some of you this will come as a great joy. This is the final post on this subject. The list is down to the miscellaneous file now. The following really doesn't fit into categories or if they do, it would be on the outer fringe.

The first on my miscellaneous list is Stand Alone Bowling Alleys. For many years the local bowling alley has been raising prices in order to pay for the cost of up-keep and the mere fact that it stands empty for a lot of the time. Many of the newer bowling alleys are part of a larger family entertainment center where you have lots of different types of games from pool to video games and miniature golf, play areas for the little ones, even baby sitting in some. Lots of the newer gaming centers have rock walls to climb, paint ball army warfare games, go carts, laser tag, and many other entertainment interests. Soon going to the bowling alley will give you more choices than you probably really want.

In the United States only, Mumps and Measles will really vanish. In 1964 over 200,000 cases of mumps were reported in the U. S. By 1983 that number had dropped to only about 3,000 cases in the U. S. In 2005 only 66 cases of measles were reported and in 2006 only 55 cases were reported. Unfortunately, they both have recently been on the rise slightly because of a higher number of home schooled children that are not required to have a vaccination.

In 2001 over 70% of us paid our recurring bills with a check. By 2003 that had gone down to 60% and more recently that figure is at less than 50%. More and more we are paying our bill electronically or with a debit card. The amount of checks we write is shrinking rapidly and going paperless is the new way to do business and the best way to do family business. Checks will take a longer time to vanish, but I think it is coming within the next 20 years.

With that I have finished the list of things that our grand kids won't have to put up with. They will also probably marvel that we had the stamina to put up with them as long as we did.

If you liked this series, tell your friends. If you didn't like it, tell your enemies. But at the very least . . . have fun!

The World As We Know It Will Soon End (Part 3)

2010-03-28T15:10:00.000-05:00

Well, we have looked at some of the institutions and things in nature that we probably see come to an end. Some of those natural things can be saved with a lot of help. But now we must go to things electrical and electronic.

Brick and Mortar video rental stores are on the endangered list. Netflix and the new Red Box as well as lots of online stores have taken their toll on the video rental business. Movie Gallery recently filed for bankruptcy for the second time and will be going strictly online soon. What is clear, however, is that the video rental market, at least in its current form, is on the way out. Blockbuster (BBI), America's top rental chain, has been facing ever-decreasing revenues and is in the process of closing 1,000 stores. Movie Gallery, which spent the 1980s and 1990s buying chains and opening stores, has spent the last three years closing them. In the process, it has demonstrated the dangers of being on the business end of a changing technology. Barnes and Noble (BKS) and Borders (BGP) might want to take note: It's no fun selling typewriters in a digital world. Which indicates that brick and mortar books stores are now going-going-about to be gone.

Next on the list is the VCRs. For the better part of 30 years the VCR has been a staple of the average household. In the past few years that market has been completely decimated by the DVD and now the Digital Video Recorder (DVR). About all that is left of the old VCR age at Wally World and Radio Shack is the blank VHS tapes. They did well for us but became only a transition to another technology.

I anticipate that it will soon be lights out on the incandescent light bulb. According to various reports, only about 10% to 18% of the energy used by the incandescent bulb goes to light, the rest goes to making heat. There has already been legislation introduced in Congress to do a changeover but that will probably take up to 10 years. Knowing full well it is coming, most manufacturers will reduce their making of incandescent bulb and expand on the newer, more efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).

Next we have a situation where electronics has taken over for an older technology. That would be in Cameras. Film cameras are about to come to an end. The classic photographer dealt with the technology of TAKING great pictures. Now that technology can be done on the computer to make an OK photo into a great picture worth framing. What with the digital ability of cropping, re tinting, sharpening, soft focusing backgrounds or foregrounds, lightening or darkening . . . it all can be done on your computer. Just take a gander at a well photo shopped pic and tell me you can tell. Nikon quit most of their film cameras in 2006 as did Minolta later. Some say that film cameras will never really go away and it took me a long time to buy one because of some of the features on a film camera that could not be found on a digital, but now that has been overcome so I take more digital pics than film.

News Magazines such as Newsweek, Time, and various other News type weekly or monthly magazines will be a thing of the past. Most of what you get from these magazines are "Old News." It happened a week or a month ago, that's not news. If it happened yesterday, most people know all about it and know about it from several viewpoints. Almost everyone gets news via their Cable connected TV, the radio, or their computer. Like newspapers, the news magazine will soon be a thing of the past.

The last one for today is the analog TV receivers. Eighty five percent of all homes get their signals from Cable or Satellite providers. That other 15% is dwindling rapidly and those converter boxes they got last year is only a stop gap move. The analog TV reception is about to be gone.

On my original list was Ham Radios. But in my investigation I have found that it had been slack for some years and now is on the rise . . . slowly . . . again. They have eliminated the need to learn morse code and that should help get a few more people interested, and it has.

The World As We Know It Will Soon End (Part 2)

2010-03-27T19:04:00.000-05:00

As with the last post, this too will do with things that will be coming to an end. Unlike the last post, the tragedies of this list can be stopped with a little more care and insight. Some of this list requires more study to know the true nature of the problem.

Have you ever thought about the lowly Honey Bee. Being a gardener, I have. If you like apples, apricots, blueberries, cherries, all kinds of citrus, strawberries, cantaloupes, watermelons, or peanuts, you had better learn more about that lowly honey bee and the scourge that is about to wipe it out, CCD. CCD is better known as Colony Collapse Disorder. That's what has hit the Worlds bee colonies. CCD has wiped out up to 80% of the bee colonies in some parts of Europe and approximately 1/3 of the colonies in the U. S. Honey bees are absolutely necessary to pollinate many fruits and vegetables that you have in your house right now or will have this summer. In the near future the U. S. could lose up to $15 billion worth of crops annually and totally change the way we eat if we lose any more of these little creatures. To say nothing of the price of things that we can get. The Dept. of Agriculture has allotted $20 million over 5 years for research, but more . . . much more is needed. What's appalling is that we don't even know for sure why this is happening. We must get a handle on this one soon or our collective diets will have to change. For more go to:
www.nrdc.org/wildlife/animals/bees.asp?gclid=CI_MwZeX2qACFUlP2godxEYwAw

The next on my list of loses in nature is the Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab. This highly valuable crop is one of the best quality crabs in the U. S. and has been in decline for the past few years due to predation from invasive species, lose of habitat, pollution and climate changes. The 2007 harvest was 44.2 million pounds, down from 73million pound annual average and the lowest catch since 1943. Again the government doesn't seem to be able to put a finger on the solution but are working on it. For more go to: www.chesapeakebay.net/crabs.aspx?menuitem=14700

Next on my list of loses in nature is the Ash Tree. The north east has had a problem with the Emerald Ash Borer. This is a pest that seems to have hitched a ride on some lumber imported from Asia in the late 1990s. The EAB is threatening much of the ash trees in the north east and seems to be expanding their habitat. Fortunately, there are several solution to this one and the little pest is being eradicated as fast as it is discovered. For more information google/bing: Emerald Ash Borer

Now we come to our next lose . . . Wild Horses. Now let me explain to what I refer. There really is only one "Wild Horse," or a horse who's species have never been domesticated and is wild by nature. That is the Przewalski's Horse. This is not the kind of horse we in the U. S. have roaming around out west in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, parts of California, and Idaho. What we have are feral horses whose ancestors escaped from various farms, ranches, and Army forts, during the early frontier times out west. These feral horses once numbered 2,000,000 and now we might be lucky to have 20,000, or 1% of the original total. Many were killed, more were lost to disease, some recently were adopted to various private parties. But all these are no longer counted as being feral. There will always be some space to have feral horses but that space is rapidly becoming smaller. As soon as a feral horse is corralled for show it is no long a "Wild Horse." For more, go to:
www.aspca.org/fight-animal-cruelty/horse-cruelty/wild-horses.html

Next on our list is the Family Farm. Large Corporations have been dominating the market for some years now and driving the family farm out of business. The normal family farmer can only handle about three years of bad harvests or low prices before they have to fold. Large corporations that have farms in many parts of the country Can survive a bad harvest in Texas because they have farms in 18 other states and can absorb the small lose from a single area. The family farmer can't do that. If we aren't careful, the large corporations will dominate our food supply and can dictate the price we pay. The market will then have no effect. To really know the control a corporation can have over a food market, rent the movie "The Informer" about the inner workings of Archer Daniels Midland, a large worldwide agricultural corporation that can easily control the price of any thing they want. For more, go to:
www.showcase.netins.net/web/sarahb/farm/

Now to the lighter side of this list for today. Finally I've gotten to the local swimming hole. Like so many things these days, our litigious society has now run out of business so many small but meaningful little entertainments. You can't buy insurance on a rural swimming hole because if you could, it would cost a fortune. Just find out how much it cost in legal fees to defend yourself against a law suit for damages for a kid that broke their neck while jumping from a rope at the local swimming hole.

That is today's list. Tomorrow we will be looking at what will be missing from our future in the electronics and electrical industries.

The World As We Know It Will Soon End (Part 1)

2010-03-26T16:44:00.000-05:00

NO, NO . . . I'm not refering to the recent passage of the President's Health Care Reform Act. I'm saying that there are some things that we have had in the past that will not be there much longer. Some of these things might be saved, some will be saved, some shouldn't be saved, but only time will tell. Some will be gone in the next twenty years and with some it will take less time than that. Like 33 1/3, 45 and 78 RPM records, one day they were here and the next they were gone.

The first item is the Post Office. I don't know how long it will take or if it will ever really go away, but soon the price of mailing a letter will be so high that almost no one will do it anymore. I recently read in article in the paper stating that the PO will soon not be delivering mail on Saturday. Postal rates keep going up and service goes down and they expect to stay in business. In my opinion, that is not a good expectation. Soon the PO as we know it will be gone along with hand written letters.

The second item will be the Yellow Pages of the telephone book. The fact that more and more people are dropping their land lines in favor of the more convenient cell phones only will leave yellow pages and telephone books in general without much use. You might want to add dial-up internet service and answering machines in on the list of extinct services of the future having to do with owning a land line.

The third on my list is all things having to do with print news papers. They have been on the decline for several years now. Some have merged, some have just plain gone out of business but fewer people each month actually buy a newspaper. With that there will be almost no demand for classified adds in those newspapers, or newspaper advertising at all for that matter. And, without advertising there will be no more ink printed news.

Now most of what I've mentioned so far are things that were probably not much of a surprise, but there are more . . . much more to come. The next post will have to do with you doing without apples, apricots, grapes, plums, strawberries, olives, peanuts and soybeans. So make sure you follow my blog for the next post.

The Republican Party is now one of Intimidation

2010-03-24T19:48:00.000-05:00

In the past we, as a Nation, we went along with the laws that were passed. Even if we didn't like the laws, we dealt with them the best we could and hoped they might get changed in the future. After all, most laws passed by the House and Senate and compromise bills anyway. I don't remember ever that one party got everything they wanted in a bill.

Now, the minority party, wants rebellion and revolution over the passage of the Health Care Reform bill. They have advocated throwing bricks through the windows of law makers that had voted to pass the bill. Glenn Beck suggested today that picking up a gun might be a good idea. Glenn didn't explain what he would do with that gun, but you can use your imagination on that. Sarah Palin said that instead of repealing it, now might be a good time to "Reload." Again, she didn't elaborate but her plan is on her website with a map on which there are "Cross Hairs" on the states where she was "Targeting" members of Congress who voted for the Health Care Reform Bill.

Republicans have gone from the Party of NO to the Party of LIES and now to the Party of INTIMIDATION.

On their way back to the house on Monday, various groups of Democrats were spat on and called names and threatened with harm . . . these were Congressmen/women. And, all along, from a balcony above were Republican Congressmen/women getting the crowd inflamed with words of hate.

Michael Steele today stated that the Republicans were getting Nancy Pelosi ready for the "Firing Line." One Republican leader stated today that if you are represented by a Liberal Congressman you should go look him in the face because someday you may need to blow it off.

One Republican leader stated that all this intimidation is just "Isolated Incidents." Hell, that is all WAR is . . . just a bunch of little "Isolated Incidents" that gets people killed and things blown up.

The Republicans are becoming scary. Now fully understand that to me they have always been a bit on the frightening side, but now they have far exceeded that and maybe "Scary" isn't the word. OK, let's face it, the Republican Party of today is outright horrifying. And there are people out there that are attracted to that. Sane is not one of the words that come to mind when talking about these people.

Chuck Grassley of Iowa lied about the Health Care Bill many times saying that it had "Death Panels" that if you are too old you couldn't get any health care in England. Grassley voted totally against the Health Care Bill. Today he took credit in his state for getting it passed and getting various amendments into it.

In Congress today, all committee meetings were halted because the Republicans withdrew unanimous consent for the committees to meet. The Republicans are doing anything they can to intimidate and stall all proceedings in Congress.

Payday will be in November . . . I'm now wondering who it will be that pays the highest price. Will it be progress or intimidation that pays the price for what they do?

The Party of "NO" becomes the Party of Lies!

2010-03-21T18:19:00.000-05:00

The Republicans, in the past 18 months or so, have become known as the party of "NO." More recently they have become the party of deception and lies.

There have been "Death Panels." There was, for a short time, rumors that Obama was going to take away your guns and tax ammunition to the point that no one could buy it anymore. People went out and bought guns and ammo by the case to hoard. Reminded me of Y2K and the hoarding of food and guns and gold because paper money wasn't going to exist after the year 2000.

Here are just a few of the things that have recently passed as "Fact."

John Boehner, one of the most abundant purveyors of false information, recently posted on his website, "Forcing Americans off of their current health coverage and onto a government-run plan isn't the answer, but that's exactly what the Democrats' plan would do."

I've been studying the health care reform proposals in both the House and the Senate for some time now. All the plans have rules that would prevent people from being "forced" off their current health coverage and into a government-run plan.
John Boehner has lied to you once again.

Nancy Pfotenhauer, a Republican operative and almost as prolific a liar as Boehner, recently stated, "The president's health care proposals will cause most Americans to have their premiums increased, not decreased, and hundreds of millions of people lose their current insurance coverage."

The fact is that Health care reform does not increase premiums and boot people out of their coverage. In an interesting display of chutzpah from a television pundit, Republican strategist Nancy Pfotenhauer claimed on CNN that she understood perfectly the president's health care proposals, then proceeded to distort them and openly lie about their meaning and purpose. When contacted to cite her sources on this claim, she never responded, and they are all false.

In a recent Republican Chain Email I received, it stated, "In the health care bill, 'The Health Choices Commissioner' will decide health benefits for you. You will have no choice. None."

The explanation is that people who don't get insurance through work or another group will go to the health care exchange; it's designed to help people who have to go off on their own to buy health insurance, and for small businesses with few employees. The reason for the exchange is that the government wants to regulate insurers to make sure that health plans clearly explain what they offer, can't refuse people for pre-existing conditions, and must offer basic levels of service.

"This is designed to protect consumers from plans that have outrageous cost-sharing or really limited benefits," said Jennifer Tolbert, an independent health care analyst at the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan foundation that studies health care reform.

On March 9th of this year, Rush Limbaugh stated, "because of Obama, people can't go fishing anymore."

Apparently, Rush had picked this up from some Right Wing Blogger and stated it as fact. Then Glen Beck got hold of it and repeated it on his evening TV show on FOX News. And so it goes.

And the beat goes on:
Scott Brown said, "The stimulus Bill didn't create one new job." WRONG
Virginia Foxx said, ""The economy began its nose dive when Democrats took control of
Congress in January 2007." WRONG
Rush Limbaugh stated, "There are "high administrative costs" when you donate to
Haiti relief through the White House Web site." WRONG
Rudy Giuliani told us, "We had no domestic attacks under Bush." WRONG
Glenn Beck reported, "In the health care bill, we're now offering insurance for dogs."
Rush Limbaugh once stated, "President Obama . . . wants to mandate circumcision."
Michael Steele said, "The Department of Veterans Affairs has a manual out there
telling our veterans stuff like, 'Are you really of value to your community?' You
know, encouraging them to commit suicide."

I just heard a Republican Representative ask for the House to "Stand With Us" against Heath Care because it is patriotic. Yet when they were in power, the Republicans passed tax cuts for the wealthy, and deregulation for the big banking interests. They did nothing for the working class!

All of these are not just lies, they are blatant lies! When you lie to the people enough, those people will no longer trust you. They will learn to pass you by and you will be left wondering, "What the hell happened?"

And so it has come to pass that the party of NO, has become the party of lies. Be careful out there. There are those out to get you and they are wrapped in the flag, they are holding a cross, and they swing a mean trunk!

Turning a Corner or a Minor Correction?

2010-03-14T17:52:00.000-05:00

While government bailed out Bank of America, Citigroup, AIG, Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Auto Industry and enacted the troubled asset (TARP) program with almost $2 Trillion of our money, almost 3 Million people lost their homes. All this in late 2008 and all of 2009. That lose went to foreclosure or bank repossessions, that’s almost 8000 per day.

Last year, Wall Street has awarded itself over $20 Billion in bonuses, an average of $123,000 on top of their salary.

Right now about 17 Million people are jobless, Millions more are working part time when they need to be working full time. And, there are millions who are extremely underemployed, working at lesser jobs to make ends meet. There are Millions asking, “Would you like fries with that,” when they should be in technical positions that no longer exist.

There are about 40 lobbyists per elected member of the Legislative Branch of Government. A few, but very few, are working in your interest. Most are funded by big . . . WHATEVER! Big Pharma, Big Banking, Big Insurance, Big Health Care, Big Money that are trying to influence how their business can get away with more of your money while having to comply with the RULES less. Your protection is not what they are lobbying about. Those lobbyists are seeking protection for their sponsors, from you. All this so that you can’t sue them or so that they no longer have to tell you the WHOLE truth when selling you whatever they have.

It is a really silly system when to get things done you have to have a 60% majority and yet one Senator can stop unemployment and Medicare benefits from being paid to Millions. While this is going on, the U. S. Supreme Court decided that corporations now have a Constitutional right to interfere with elections by pouring money into races. Next thing we know, Corporations will be able to marry and have children, or start their own religion in order to escape taxes.

Our Department of Justice recently chose to not prosecute its own lawyers who illegally authorized torture, while the Pentagon chose to prosecute Navy SEALS for merely punching an Iraqi suspect.

Whose assets are being protected when the U.S. maintains 700 military bases worldwide and another 6000 in the U.S. and its territories. Whose assets are being protected when our young people join the military to protect the U.S. and get killed and maimed in elective wars and are used as the World’s Police.

The U.S does half of the military spending in the World.

Who’s assets are being protected when Private Companies and the U.S. Government put hidden cameras into private places, conduct phone intercepts, access personal computers, read and record personal and private emails, compile and collect records from credit card purchases, computer views and travel agendas.

Martin Luther King, Jr. once said that, “ . . . a time comes when silence is betrayal.” At that time he condemned the Viet Nam War and the system that created it and many more injustices that were clearly apparent. He stated, “We, as a Nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a ‘Thing Oriented’ society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property right are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism and militarism are incapable of being conquered.”

The tea party people think that the Republican Party has sold them out to big business. The Far Left thinks the Democrats have sold us all out to big business. I think we all need to take a closer look at what we have become. Is it time for another revolution? Has the time come?

Sometimes, on a journey from here to there, we need to correct our steering. Sometimes that correction only needs a small twist of the steering wheel, but sometime we need to turn a corner.

I believe the time has come at least to consider a glance at the map and check to see if a correction isn’t required in order to get where we are going.

"Heretics Anonymous"

2010-03-05T21:02:00.000-06:00

Hello! My name is "Snowyowl" and I’m a Heretic!

I have chosen to not follow the path that others want me to follow. I chose long ago to find out for myself, to seek and search for the truth. I actually found that the search was more important to me than the truth, whatever that is.

Actually, the process is what makes me a heretic. Seeking truth is what most organized religions want you to avoid. “Come with me and I’ll lead you through the Bible.” Some sprinkle, some immerse, some drink from one cup, some from many. Some don’t use musical instruments in the service. Some worship on Saturday, most worship on Sunday. But all want you to do it just one way, their way. They don’t want you to be exposed to other things and other ways. “Stay away from those “Bad Influences.” They will lead you astray. They will tempt you away from the flock.

Well, I’m not a sheep! I wanted to get the flock out of there.

So, as I’ve said, “I chose to follow another path.”

In fact, making that choice was what made me a heretic. That process of choice is what makes anyone a heretic. You see, the word heresy comes from the Greek root “Hairesis” which means “able to choose.”

You see, that is from what most of the Organized Religions want to keep you away. They want to make sure you don’t have a choice. They want to make sure you are not exposed to a choice.

Catholics want you to stay away from the Protestants. Those who follow Islam want to keep you away from the Jews. The Amish wants to keep you away from Machinery. And the Adventists want to keep you away from Sunday. All you have to do to be a heretic is to choose something different.

Now this is like Preaching to the Choir because most of you are here because you have chosen something different from that which you were raised. But you can continue to live your life in a heretical way. People constantly try to lead us. All you have to do is choose to not follow. Or, choose to ask questions. It may be that you will choose to go the way you are lead, but at least it is your choice. And since you have asked questions, you are choosing with more than a little information.

We all are faced with decisions every day. I encourage you to live your life the same way that you live you spiritual life. With all the information you can acquire and then by make well-informed choices.

I have found that a “Salesman” with an inferior product doesn’t want you to ask too many questions. They don’t want you to have a choice between their product and a better one.

But, a “Salesman” with a superior product is confident that with all the right information you will choose his product over an inferior one.

With Religion it is a bit different. There is no telling what is on the other side of the Rubicon. So it is a matter of comfort. Some are more comfortable being lead. Some are more comfortable seeking and searching on their own.

The biggest test of a person’s religion is, “Are you comfortable.” If you are, then that is where you belong. If not then you need to exercise you ability to choose. Trying to live your life according to your minister and their values diminishes your worth. It makes you a clone of the minister.

With a little searching, you can find spirituality that fits your life, and if you outgrow that one, you can move on into another choice.

Remember, “You are not free unless you have a choice.”

So, become well informed by asking the right questions. Then with all the information you have, do the best you can and make good choices.

What in Hell did you expect?

2010-03-05T18:49:00.000-06:00

An engineer dies and reports to the Pearly Gates. Saint Peter checks his dossier and, not seeing his name there, accidentally sends him to Hell.

It doesn’t take long before the engineer becomes rather dissatisfied with the level of comfort in Hell. He soon begins to design and build improvements. Shortly thereafter, Hell has air conditioning, flush toilets and escalators. Needless to say, the engineer is a pretty popular guy.

One day, God calls Satan and says with a sneer: "So, how are things in Hell?"

Satan replies: "Hey, things are going great. We’ve got air conditioning, flush toilets, and escalators. And there’s no telling what this engineer is going to come up with next."

"What!" God exclaims: "You’ve got an engineer? That’s a mistake -- he should never have been sent to Hell... send him to me."

"Not a chance," Satan replies: "I like having an engineer on the staff, and I’m keeping him!"

God insists: "Send him back or I’ll sue."

Satan laughs uproariously and answers: "Yeah, right. And where are you going to get a lawyer?"

The Final Verdict:

2010-02-04T20:23:00.000-06:00

The American Medical Association has weighed in on National Health Insurance.

The Allergists voted to scratch it, but the Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves.

The Gastroenterologists had sort of a gut feeling about it, but the Neurologists thought the Administration had a lot of nerve.

The Obstetricians felt they were all laboring under a misconception.

The Ophthalmologists considered the idea shortsighted.

The Pathologists yelled, "Over my dead body!" while the Pediatricians said, 'Oh, Grow up!'

The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, while the Radiologists could see right through it.

The Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing.

The Internists thought it was a bitter pill to swallow, and the Plastic Surgeons said, "This puts a whole new face on the matter."

The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but the Urologists were pissed off at the whole idea.

The Anesthesiologists thought the whole idea was a gas, and the Cardiologists didn't have the heart to say no.

In the end, the Proctologists won out, leaving the entire decision up to the assholes in Washington.

My "New Year's" Tradition:

2010-01-04T21:46:00.000-06:00

(This is a little late for this year, but you can try it anytime of year. Save it for your New Year's Party next year!)

It has long been a tradition among many groups to serve Black Eyed Peas on New Years Day for good luck. My first thought was, “Why didn’t they make Porter House Steak a good luck tradition for New Years?”

The lowly Black Eyed Pea has too little taste . . . to MY taste. But, here we set looking at a pot of Black Eyed Peas wondering, “What to do, what to do?”

Well, here’s what I did.

Snowyowl's Hoppin’ John

1 ½ cup- Chopped Onion
1 ½ cup-Chopped Ham
1 Tbsp-Olive Oil
2 15oz. Cans-Black eyed peas, keep ¾cup of liquid
4Tbsp-Salsa Snowyowl(Can be found at:
www.swoopsfromsnowyowl.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-09-22T12%3A38%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7 On the September 18th, 2009 post)
7 oz-Hominy, drained
2 oz-Pimientos, undrained
2.5 oz-Sliced Ripe Olives, drained
3/4 cup- Sliced Mushrooms

In a large skillet, cook onion, and ham in oil for 3 minutes on medium heat. Drain Blackeye peas and retain ¾ cup liquid. Add blackeye peas and retained liquid, Salsa Snowyowl(Posted Previously), hominy, mushrooms, pimientos and liquid and olives to ham mixture. Stir to combine, over heat. Heat to simmer.

In my ‘fridge, I have two special “Condiments” that I use other than the standard stuff. One is Blueberries and the other is Chopped Onions. I have found that whatever I can’t improve the flavor of with Onions, I can with Blueberries. In this instance, use those Chopped Onions on top of the finished product when served. Might wanna sprinkle a little cheese too. It’s up to you.

As in most of this type of recipe, this is gonna taste much better tomorrow than it does today. If you can do it a day or so ahead of time and keep your hands off of it, then let it “marinate,” or as my grandmother always said, “Let it Fester,” it well taste even better.

Thoughts on Black and White . . . & Color

2009-12-27T00:12:00.000-06:00

Once a long time ago, all things were in black and white and various shades of gray or off white, depending whither you were closer to black or white. We lived in a black, white and gray/off white World. Most were happy because they hadn’t thought of the world as being anything else or anything better.

Some people thought that we could do better and realized that there was more to the world than black and white. Others wanted to make the world better by adding color . . . but only for those who could afford it, like themselves. But there were those that wanted a better, more colorful World for everyone because it was a right not a privilege.

There were several bills being written to submit to the House of Representatives and the Senate, but going from black and white to color was a complicated issue. There were both additive and subtractive ranges to contemplate.

The additive ranges were those having to do with light and lighting. The subtractive ranges had to do with paint and ink and printing. Additive primaries were Red, Blue and Green, while the Subtractive primaries were Magenta, Cyan and Yellow.

The conservatives wanted to know how we could make the world colorful for everyone without costing a huge amount of money for the Country. The conservatives wanted to just make it available for those that could afford it. The progressives wanted those that could afford it to pay for everyone. Somewhere in the middle was the answer.

The progressives had the power, but not by much, and a few of the progressives were being financed by the Light Lobby while others were being financed by the Paint Lobby. So, instead of having their constituents at heart, they fought for the point of view of their Patrons. Since there were no real colors yet, these legislators were called the “Gray Pussycats.” The GPs were able to hold up the passage of something that would have been good for almost everyone because the light and paint people wanted to have control and didn’t want to let it go to the people.

Some of the GPs were holding out to make Red, Blue, and Green the primary colors and others were trying to make Magenta, Cyan, and Yellow primary. The two didn’t realize that both the ranges were primary for different purposes, and what is worse they refused to talk to each other and find a common ground.

As time went by and several bills were written up to be presented to various committees, the conservatives decided to halt any advancement of any bill till they had control possibly in a few years. That way they could control how it was done and who would get the advantage of “Color.” Right now all they could do was to put doubt in the minds of the people. They claimed that color would blind the average citizen with its dazzle. They claimed that with color, the elderly would die from a heart attack at the brightness of the hues and that small children would lose several points on their IQ test because they would so be entranced by the various colors that they wouldn’t study their lessons any more.

None of this was true but it put into the argument a pause of plausibility. Some took up this rather unreasonable stance and repeated it enough that it almost became accepted as true.

In the House, there was great debate and they finally came up with a bill that was passed on, to the Senate. There were many flaws in that bill but it had most of what was needed and was accepted as being almost reasonable. Most Representative realized the Senate would take out the part that stated that all additive colors when used together would make everything turn black and that all subtractive colors when put together would make everything turn white, and that is exactly what happened. But . . . more was taken out of the bill.

In the end they decided that everyone had to buy into the color business by supporting color manufacturing in both the additive sector and the subtractive sector. The more money you had the more colors you could see and if you could afford the elective colors you had the advantage of having millions of colors at your disposal.

The Senate finally came up with a bill that was passed out of the Senate and would not cost anything at all to the people . . . but it was very watered down. It came out that the common people that didn’t have much money, didn’t have many colors either. The rich could afford lots of colors but the rich were very few and the average people were hundreds of millions.

The Senate bill was then passed to the House to be reconciled. There came out of that a compromise bill that was much like the one that was passed in the Senate, and it was passed to the President who realized that it wasn’t what he wanted but it was progress. The President then signed it and it became law.

Movies started being shown that were in color. But the common man could only see the primary colors and the few rich could see all the colors. Sunday comics started coming out in color but only the rich could see all the colors.

Sales of color material at first shot up but then started to decline because the common man couldn’t see all the colors. At that point it was determined that it was best for everyone, the lighting industry, the paint industry, the ink industry and all people everywhere, that color be made available to the whole world, without regard to the money involved. Color became a right not a privilege.

New bills were introduced into Congress and the right to color was expanded to be more and more inclusive to more and more people. More colors were invented and immediately released to the public at large.

The lighting and painting sector wasn’t harmed at all. Have you priced good theatrical lamps lately? I just bought some lamps for the local community theatre and had to pay almost $100 for a quality 500-watt lamp. The painting industry doesn’t hurt at all either. Quality exterior paint is over $25 a gallon

That is how color became part of everyday life. All the predictions of great calamity didn’t occur. Our children didn’t become idiots. Our older people aren’t falling dead at the sight of great color and we have progressed.

People have a tendency to be like electricity in that they follow the line of least resistance. Be very careful as to those that want you to follow a line of regression. You can’t reach the future by stepping backward anymore than you can regain you virginity.

'Twas the Night of Thanksgiving . . .

2009-12-18T11:10:00.000-06:00

Twas the night of Thanksgiving and out of the house
Tiger Woods he came flying, chased by his spouse.
She wielded a nine iron and wasn’t too merry,
Because a bimbo’s phone number she found on his blackberry.

He’d been cheating on poor little Elin,
And as each day went by another whore came out a squealin'.
He’d been on Holly, on Jaimee, on Rachel, on Cori,
On Joselyn, and Kalika, TMZ had the story.

From the top of the world to above the fold,
Tiger’s ever more sordid tale, it was told.
With hostesses, waitresses, he had lots of sex,
And when he wasn’t hosing them, he sent them hot texts.

He crashed his Caddy, but didn’t call OnStar,
Yet he played “spank me daddy” with a skanky old porn star.
He’s been naughty, so with Santa he hasn’t a chance,
Except the big lump of coal like the lump in his pants.

But despite all his crying and begging and a pleadin',
Tiger’s wife went right out, bought a new home in Sweden.
And I heard her exclaim as she packed up the Escalade,
If you’re going to get laid, then I’m going to get paid.

Now she’s not pouting, in fact she’s of good cheer,
Because her prenup made Christmas come early this year.

Is There a Santa Clause?

2009-12-17T13:29:00.001-06:00

(This is a reprise from early November that seems more appropriate to be posted now)

I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my friend Eddie dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," he jeered. "Even dummies know that!"

My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her "world-famous" cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so.

It had to be true.

Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus?" She snorted...."Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad!! Now, put on your coat, and let's go."

"Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn't even finished my second world-famous cinnamon bun.

"Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors,Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days. "Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car. "Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's.

I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother,but never had I shopped for anything all by myself.

The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping. For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-Dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for. I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends , my neighbors, the kids at school, and he people who went
to my church.

I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-two class.

Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out to recess during the winter. His mother always wrote note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough; he didn't have a good coat. I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat!

I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that.

"Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down.

"Yes, ma'am," I replied shyly. "It's for Bobby."

The nice lady smiled at me, as I told her about how Bobby really needed a good winter coat. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag, smiled again, and wished me a Merry Christmas.

That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) in Christmas paper and ribbons and wrote, "To Bobby, From Santa Claus" on it. Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially, one of Santa's helpers.

Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk.

Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going" I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his door and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma.

Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby.

Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes.

That night , I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were: ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team. I still have the Bible, with the coat tag tucked inside: $19.95. Seems there were more than Grandma and me helping Santa that night.

May you always have LOVE to share, HEALTH to spare and FRIENDS that care....

And may you always believe in the magic of Santa Claus . . . or Father Winter.

(I don't remember where I got this piece, but it seems worth posting at this time of year)

"The Christians and the Pagans"

2009-12-17T12:56:00.000-06:00

By Dar Williams

Amber called her Uncle, said “We’re up here for the holiday,
Jane and I were having Solstice, and we need a place to stay.”
And her Christ-loving Uncle watched his wife hang Mary on a tree,
He watched his son hang candy canes all made with red dye number three
He told his niece, “It’s Christmas eve, I know our life is not your style.”
She said, “Christmas is like Solstice, and we miss you and it’s been awhile.”

So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table
Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able
And just before the meal was served, hands were held and prayers were said
Sending hope for peace on earth to all their Gods and goddesses.

The food was great, the tree plugged in, the meal had gone without a hitch
Till Timmy turned to Amber and said, “Is it true that you’re a witch?”
His mom jumped up and said, “The pies are burning,” and she hit the kitchen
And it was Jane who spoke and said, “It’s true, your cousin’s not a Christian”
“But we love trees we love the snow, the friends we have, the world we share
And you find magic from your God, and we find magic everywhere”

So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table
Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able
And where does magic come from, I think magic’s in the learning
Cause now when Christians sit with Pagans only pumpkin pies are burning.

When Amber tried to do the dishes, her Aunt said, “Really, no, don’t bother”
Amber’s Uncle saw how Amber looked like Tim and a lot like her Father
He thought about his brother, how they hadn’t spoken in a year
He thought he’d call him up and say, “It’s Xmas and your daughter’s here”
He thought of fathers, sons and brothers, saw his own son tug his sleeve
Saying, “Can I be a Pagan?” Dad said, “We’ll discuss it when they leave”

So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table
Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able
Lighting trees in darkness, learning new ways from the old,
And making sense of history and drawing warmth out of the cold.

A Solstice Tribute

2009-12-15T23:32:00.002-06:00

Oh, stirring star of solstice time.
Your radiant hours are few.
You turn and strike the New Years chime,
We owe our lives to you.

These darkest days of Winter,
We miss your warming rays;
But every year this hemisphere
Returns to brighter days

Since olden days the human race
Has feared your warmth would die?
The evergreen is ever seen
As hope we will survive.

Oh, ancient drums stop beating,
And superstitions fall.
It’s time for reason’s greetings.
For PEACE, goodwill to all.

Puns and Plays on Words for Educated Minds . . .

2009-11-30T14:49:00.000-06:00

1. The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.

2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.

3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.

4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class because it was a weapon of math disruption.

5. The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in hiswork.

6. No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.

7. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.

8. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.

9. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.

10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

11. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it..

12. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

13. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other, 'You stay here; I'll go on ahead.'

14. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.

15. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: 'Keep off the Grass.'

16. A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said, 'No change yet.'

17. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.

18. The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at-large.

19. The man who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.

20. A backward poet writes inverse.

21. In democracy it's your vote that counts. In feudalism it's your count that votes.

22. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.

23. Don't join dangerous cults: Practice safe sects.

For What I'm Thankful . . .

2009-11-24T16:06:00.000-06:00

(This is a reprise from Early September. Seems to fit better here just before Thanksgiving)

The Sun, good health, the husband, the wife, the kids, the grandkids, life, love, food and shelter, I’ve heard people give thanks for all of the above, and more, much more. Originally, I was looking for something for which to be thankful, without duplicating someone else’s thankfulness. Then the light came on, I’m thankful for all the bad things that happen to me. And, the reason is that the bad things make the good things far more meaningful.

I tend to be fairly well coordinated. I was a gymnast in High school and college and did flips, hand stands, and scales in city and state competitions. It wasn’t until I tripped and broke my toe that I realized what a great gift I had received in being able to move around without hurting myself. . . until then.

To carry this a little further, it also dawned on me that without illness, I probably would take good health for granted. If there was no influenza, how could I possibly appreciate an ache free day. I know that I would assume that agility was commonplace if it were not for my arthritis. Good eyesight would never be questioned if I didn’t have to wear glasses.

But, the one thing that I don’t understand, is youth. No one ever appreciates youth until we get older. And unlike health, agility, and all the other things for which we are each thankful, it cannot be re-attained. You have it, you enjoy it, then it goes away and it isn’t coming back. One day you wake up and your joints ache, your hair is thin, your forty pounds over weight, your kids have their own kids, the wife is gone and so are your teeth, and you wonder . . . “What in the hell happened?”

Well what you have just experienced was life. And yes, it goes on. But someone else is the major participant. At this point you have a supporting role. But later you will become a character actor, then after that you become the stage manager or house manager, then, if you live long enough, you just become a burden.

None of this sounds promising to anyone, but if you play your cards right, you can prolong your health, teach your kids to respect their elders, have enough money to not be a burden to your kids, and spend your retirement in comfort.

Now, what I’m really thankful for is that I can buy my grandson a drum set for Christmas. His mother drove me crazy when she was a kid, and I intend to return the favor.

December 21st. 2012!

2009-11-13T22:09:00.001-06:00

Life is funny. We all run in circles. Fashion comes and goes . . . in circles. If you keep a neck tie long enough, it will come back into fashion. The same happens with skirt lengths and hair styles.

The Moon makes its cycle every 27 days or so. A "New Moon" doesn't mean it has gone away, it just means it is starting a new cycle. In the depths of Winter we don't consider the Sun having gone away, it just means Spring isn't too far behind and the cycle starts again. Soon we will be in short sleeves and swimming in the creek.

The Mayans didn't believe the World was coming to an end on December 21, 2012, they believed that was when there would be a new cycle starting.

There are those that mention that there will be an alignment between the Earth, the Sun and the center of the Galaxy on December 21, 2012. That is true . . . but it happens every December, on or about the 21st. There is going to be nothing unusual about the December of 2012, at least not as far as the Universe is concerned. Jupiter will be high in the Southern sky that night and be up all night. The Moon will be about 60% full and Orion will be in the Southern sky. The Milky Way will traverse the sky from East to West through the night. All this will happen . . . as usual.

We will know then if Obama can make it another term, or by then we will know if all Americans can enjoy Universal Health Care. We also will know if the GOP will become a third party or will they still be significant in American Politics.

I believe in recycling whatever we can. Life is a circle. If you live long enough you will be surprised at what comes around again.

Just some thoughts . . .

2009-11-09T15:59:00.000-06:00

* Don't handicap your children by making their lives too easy!

* Do everything in Excess. To enjoy the flavor of life take big bites. Moderation is for monks.

* Fake Fortune Tellers will be tolerated. But, if you claim to be an authentic Soothsayer, you will be shot on sight.

* Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end . . . the faster it goes.

* Listen to the experts. They'll tell you what can't be done and why. Then just go do it.

* There is no conclusive evidence of life after death. But, there is no evidence of any sort against it either. Soon enough you'll know for sure. So why fret about it now?

* The Pope is fallible. The planet is fillable. Promote Birth Control.

The Local Nativity Scene . . .

2009-11-09T01:12:00.000-06:00

In a small southern town, somewhat like the one I live in, there was a nativity scene, almost like the one where I live. It was a large one covering some 50 feet or so. But, one small feature bothered me. The three wise men were wearing firemen’s helmets.

Totally unable to come up with a reason or explanation, I went across the street to the local E-Z Mart, and once again, somewhat like where I live. I asked the lady behind the counter about the helmets. She exploded into a rage, yelling at me, “You dern furiners never do read the Bible!”

I assured her that I had, but simply couldn’t recall anything about firemen in the bible. She jerked her Bible from behind the counter and ruffled through some pages, and finally jabbed her finger at a particular passage.

Sticking it in my face she said, “See, it says rot cheer, ‘The tree wise men come from afar.’”

Among The Stones

2009-11-06T21:27:00.000-06:00

Here . . . I walk among the stones commemorating those who have gone before. I see their names and dates carved carefully by those who loved them, and those they loved. Their deeds are forgotten for the most part, except what has been passed down. We have lived because of those that these stones represent. Flesh and blood, a beating heart, reduced to clay, and a stone with a name and a date. What about their tragedies? What about their triumphs? What about their accomplishments and their loves? Great lives are reduced to a few lines on a stone. Will we never know the situations and challenges that they overcame? We are here because Sam loved Elsie, Obidia loved Flossie, and Norman loved Alma.

Here . . . I walk among the stones of those who have loved before. The heritage they passed down to us, with a myriad of mysteries is here, within us. It’s all laid out and ready for us to read and explore. We are the accumulated history of these stones. We are what they lived for, we are what they loved for, we are what they fought and died for, and we will be their best works until we pass the prize to those that follow and we join the stones.

(I wrote this for my Mother's funeral)

Is There a Santa Claus?

2009-11-05T16:32:00.000-06:00

I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my friend Eddie dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," he jeered. "Even dummies know that!"

My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her "world-famous" cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so.

It had to be true.

Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus?" She snorted...."Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad!! Now, put on your coat, and let's go."

"Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn't even finished my second world-famous cinnamon bun.

"Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors,Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days. "Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car. "Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's.

I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother,but never had I shopped for anything all by myself.

The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping. For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-Dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for. I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends , my neighbors, the kids at school, and he people who went
to my church.

I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-two class.

Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out to recess during the winter. His mother always wrote note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough; he didn't have a good coat. I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat!

I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that.

"Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down.

"Yes, ma'am," I replied shyly. "It's for Bobby."

The nice lady smiled at me, as I told her about how Bobby really needed a good winter coat. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag, smiled again, and wished me a Merry Christmas.

That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) in Christmas paper and ribbons and wrote, "To Bobby, From Santa Claus" on it. Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially, one of Santa's helpers.

Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk.

Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going" I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his door and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma.

Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby.

Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes.

That night , I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were: ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team. I still have the Bible, with the coat tag tucked inside: $19.95. Seems there were more than Grandma and me helping Santa that night.

May you always have LOVE to share, HEALTH to spare and FRIENDS that care....

And may you always believe in the magic of Santa Claus . . . or Father Winter.

(I don't remember where I got this piece, but it seems worth posting at this time of year)

On Prayer in School . . .

2009-10-23T23:42:00.000-05:00

It is true, to escape official religious oppression in England, many brave souls came to this continent. Their goal was to set up a society in which all could practice each of their religions without interference from the government, and also to not interfere with the religions of others. In our society the majority rules, as long as the majority does not step on the rights of the minority.

What I am sure most people want is the return “Christian” prayer to our schools.

What we forget is that we are not all Christian, and even if we were, how would we feel if our child came home and told us he was forced in school to say fifteen “OUR FATHER’S” and twenty “HAIL MARY’S,” both good Christian prayers.

On the other hand if prayer is all that is wanted, how about ten minutes of “ALLAH IS GREAT, AND MUHAMMAD IS HIS PROPHET,” or the kids could set in the floor, legs folded, hands together and “OOOMMMMM” for ten minutes.

Maybe if the teacher is a feminist she just might want to lead the children in “OH! GREAT GODDESS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH, BRING ME INTO THE COMPANY OF THOSE WHO SEEK THE TRUTH, BUT DELIVER ME FROM THOSE WHO THINK THEY HAVE FOUND IT.”

My point here is that there are certain things that are personal, which is why we have locks on our bedrooms and bathrooms. Prayer is personal, each of us who prays does so in our own individual way and to our own God.

I promise to never force your child to say an “OUR FATHER” or a “HAIL MARY” or “ALLAH IS GREAT” or even an “OOOMMMMM.” All I want is for you to not force my children to recite your prayers. Personal prayer belongs in Church or with those who also believe, at home. Christian doctrine dictates that one should do their prayers “MODESTLY” away from others, in a closet.

We all want our children in school to be taught the fundamentals. Religion and morals, I’ll take care of at home and in my church. You certainly don’t want me teaching your children my religion and morals, and I feel the same. The assumption is that we are all Christian, but if you mean Baptist, that leaves out the Lutherans, Catholics, People from the Church of Christ, and Church of God, Church of the Nazerine, not to mention the Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Agnostics, and Atheists.

In other words, most of the World. The Christian Fundamentalists are a minority.

Living a Life That Matters

2009-10-22T01:30:00.000-05:00

Ready or not, someday it will all come to an end.

There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days.

All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else.

Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance.

It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.

Your grudges, resentments, frustrations, mean spirit and jealousies will finally disappear.

So, too, your hopes, ambitions, plans, and to-do lists will expire.

The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.

It won't matter where you came from, or on what side of the tracks you lived, at the end.

It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant.

Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.

So what will matter?

How will the value of your days be measured?

What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built;
not what you got, but what you gave.

What will matter is not your success, but your significance.

What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.

What will matter is not what you gave in to but what you stood up for.

What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage, love or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.

What will matter is not your competence, but your character.

What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone.

What will matter is not your memories, but the memories that live in those who loved you.

What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.

Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident.

It's not a matter of circumstance, but of choice.

Choose to live a life that matters.

Moral Leaders?

2009-10-18T02:12:00.000-05:00

The outpouring of unseemly and unchristian lies and distortions from the nation's self-proclaimed "Moral Leaders" that appeared in the days before the Nov. elections was truly amazing. I'm no stranger to hardball politics, and as the President of the Board of Trustees of my Church, with my own political opinions, I'd be the last to argue against any one's right to be in the fray. But, I cannot bear to let go unnoticed that many of the candidates who were most closely associated with the Religious Right, those who proclaimed themselves the candidates of the "Values Voters," abandoned the values of honesty and decency in the closing days of their campaigns.

A Few Examples among many:
Ohio Gubernatorial Candidate Kenneth Blackwell, favored by the so-called "Patriot Pastors"- accused his opponent, a decent, humane man who served in Congress and as a United Methodist minister, of supporting sex between adults and children.

Senator Rick Santorum, declared by archconservative leader Paul Weyrich to be the most important senator in America at the recent "Values Voter Summit," accused his opponent, a popular state treasurer, of aiding and abetting terrorism and genocide.

Virginia Senator George Allen, who will forever be known for his ugly mocking of a young person of color to a chuckling, all-white audience, attacked his opponent, a respected author whose military-themed novels have been praised by George Will and John McCain, by calling a few out-of-context quotes, "OBSCENE."

It's not just the politicians, The American Family Association was so desperate to energize conservative Christian voters that it told its members that if Democrats won, they should expect attempts to make "polygamy legal in all 50 states."

In 2000, GOP strategists went to work in South Carolina demeaning John McCain. They orchestrated a malicious campaign of phone calls and fliers whispering about illegitimate mixed-race children, mental instability, and other falsehoods.

George W. Bush, the president who is so eager to wear his "Jesus-Changed" heart on his sleeve, responded to a righteously angry McCain with the dismissive comment, "It's only politics."

Mr.. Bush and Karl Rove aren't the first or the last politicians to adopt an end-justify-the-means approach to winning elections, but there's a glaring disconnect between their proclaimed commitment to truth and biblical values and their willingness to shuck it all aside if it means getting enough votes to hang onto power.

Unfortunately I have already received, so early in the 2010 election process, several delightful email lies about Barack Obama. And, I know there will be more.

Please check out the facts on www.snopes.com and just type in Barack Obama in the search field.

I know this will be the first of many from the "Family Values" side of the aisle. I just never realized that lying was a family value.

Americans are beginning to demand a new direction in politics, a direction that holds up hope instead of fear, the common good instead of divisions, and aims at solving real problems that affect real American families rather than ideology. And that is a politics that is much closer to the good news of the Gospel than anything the so-called "Moral Values" crowd has offered.

What Some People Believe

2009-10-17T22:19:00.000-05:00

SOME PEOPLE REALLY BELIEVE THAT:
Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion.

Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.

The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq.

A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multi-national corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.

Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.

The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.

If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.

A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our long-time allies, then demand their cooperation and money.

Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy. Providing health care to all Americans is socialism.

HMOs and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.

Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.

A president lying about an extramarital affair is a impeachable offense. A president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.

Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.

The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's driving record is none of our business.

Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness, and you need our prayers for your recovery.

You support states' rights, which means Attorney General John Ashcroft can tell states what local voter initiatives they have the right to adopt.

What Bill Clinton did in the 1960s is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the '80s is irrelevant.

The Mensa Invitational . . .

2009-10-17T01:19:00.000-05:00

Here is the Washington Post's Mensa Invitational, which once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.

The winners are:

1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.

2. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole.

3. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

4. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

5. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating.

(The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.)

6. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.

7. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

8. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

9. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

10. Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.

11. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease.

(This one got extra credit.)

12. Karmageddon: It's when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, and then the Earth explodes, and it's a serious bummer.

13. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

14. Glibido: All talk and no action.

15. Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

16. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

17. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

18. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.

==========================================

The Washington Post also published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.

The winners are:

1. coffee, n. the person upon whom one coughs.

2. flabbergasted, adj. appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.

3. abdicate, v. to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4. esplanade, v. to attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. willy-nilly, adj. impotent.

6. negligent, adj. absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.

7. lymph, v. to walk with a lisp.

On The Public Option:

2009-10-13T14:51:00.002-05:00

Every poll I've seen recently shows at least 65% want a public option choice and many polls show over 70%. So public opinion is not even close on this issue. With those kinds of numbers, the ONLY reason any politician should be struggling with the issue is because they're either:
(a) in the tank for the insurance industry (GOP);
(b) blue dog Dems who claim to be captive of "swing state" constituencies who will throw them out if they vote for a public option; or
(c) all the above.

But the polls show that, except for industry advocates, the only public support politicians can reasonably cite for opposing a public option is from the Fox News/Limbaugh/Beck/screaming teabagger crowd. And while that group's media profile has been high in recent months, their actual numbers are in reality very low.

I doubt most politicians have ever been faced with a clearer, more dramatic choice between public and private interests with such huge amounts of money at stake. The outcome of this debate literally means life or death for both people without health insurance and the health insurance industry. The insurance companies are currently spending $1.4m every day on advertising and lobbying because they KNOW a serious public option will take many of them out. And the revenues and profits of the companies that survive would be a mere shadow of what they are now. In effect, if a robust public option becomes law, the health insurance industry will draw a Monopoly game card that says "Do not collect $401,152,979,783.00 a year."*

And no, that's not a typo. A cash flow of over four hundred billion dollars a year that the insurance industry is currently enjoying is at risk of slowing to a trickle.

*2007 net revenues from health insurance premiums. And that's just the major players. Source, www.reuters.com

Personal Hell

2009-10-10T23:16:00.000-05:00

“What in the hell are you afraid of?”

“I ain’t afraid of nuttin’!”

“I’ll bet you’re afraid of the Devil.”

“I don’t believe in the devil. In fact, I’m not afraid of anything in this life. I’m not afraid of you, the devil, or God, or anything, not even death.”

Those were the words of a very young and very naive boy. As he drove home, there appeared above the dashboard, a small hairy spider. It crawled down his windshield very slowly. At first he thought it was on the outside, but then he remembered that he was going 55MPH and that it would have blown off. He looked closely, and realized that in fact it was on the inside. He could feel the hair on his arm stiffen and come to attention as goose bumps sprang up their full length. The spider came to rest behind the steering wheel, right in front of him, and just below his vision of the road. He divided his attention between the road and the spider, about 70% to the road and 30% to the black hairy spider with some small, lighter markings on its legs and body. It crawled around for a while on top of the dash and finally went under some papers that were lying on top of the dash. NOW HE DID NOT KNOW WHERE THE DAMNED THING WAS! The percentages were now 50/50. The road was 50%, and where he thought the spider was, 50%. He looked around the papers on the dash, then at the road, then back at the road, then the dash again. It wasn’t anywhere to be found, and moving the papers around didn’t seem to help. Where in the hell was it? Now, his attention was divided 30% on the road and 70% on the unknown whereabouts of a very small spider. Every once in a while he could catch the reflection of the spider on the inside of the windshield as it ran from underneath one paper to underneath another.

Within a very short period, his time was divided 10% on the road and 90% to the threat of the disappeared arachnid. As the unattended highway disappeared beneath the car, and the vanished spider demanded more attention, it became apparent that driving was totally impossible and he pulled to the side of the road and stopped. He then carefully pulled the papers off the dashboard until he found the spider and took out his anger on the conniving little bastard. He climbed back into the car and drove away wiping the sweat off his forehead with a napkin from the dash. Who says that there is no Hell on earth?

We all know that we have our own phobias. That irrational and persistent fear or dread of SOMETHING. Whether you are claustrophobic, acrophobic, agoraphobic, or arachniphobic or even if your fear is not an irrational one, you have a type of Hell, right here on Earth.

Some of us have more than one irrational fear and some of our fears are more along the lines of immense dislikes, or heavy discomforts, or bad irritations. Whatever your personal Hell or Hells are it is important that they are acknowledged before your Hell or Hells really do make life a “HELL ON EARTH.”