No, I didn't

I didn't watch the debate last night. I did listen and I kept a careful watch on Twitter. And it was obvious that  President Obama won...

But, this morning I was thinking about how degrading this process of debates is for both candidates and the public. Winning a debate is a measure of a man? Or a woman...if we ever become civilized. Of course not! I want to know more about a candidate than 90 minutes of sound bites can possibly deliver. The whole affair reminds me of the old days of prize fighting and the moderator is the referee of course. 'And in this corner....'
That's not Presidential. Give me a speech, one hour long, detailing the plans that the candidate has for this country if elected. That's all. If I can't make a decision after that, I don't deserve to vote.

I'm terribly afraid that this election and all elections in the future will be decided by debates and polls. Scary.

What?

My 'Smart' phone just burst out with a tornado warning. Tornado? We're in California. We can't have tornadoes. I'm sure it's in the state constitution ...

Along with the raucous warning came the message. "Seek shelter immediately" I jumped to the computer to check out the local weather where, sure enough, there was a tornado alert. I was told that I should seek shelter in my basement. Basement? We don't have basements in California! Well, some houses do but they are the really old houses. So where's my shovel?

The alert time has run out and I see sunshine. I also see a dark wall of clouds in every direction. This might not be over...

clearing my head

Just so I don't go crazy with election year fever...I am looking at my Ancestry dot com program to see where I came from. I do this every few years and I get all excited to see the origins of many of my distant ancestors. And then it becomes work and I drop it until the next burst of curiosity.

I just ran across 'Mercy Tilinghast' a 7th great grandmother on my mother's side of the family. She was born in 1680 in Providence, Rhode Island. She married at the age of 18 and died, in Providence, at the age of 89. Her father, or my 8th great grandfather was named 'Pardon Elisha Tilinghast. He was from Seven Cliffs, Sussex, England. Mercy had at least six children that I can find, including my 6th great grandfather, John Power, born in 1710. I love those names...Mercy and her father, Pardon. And Pardon has his headstone located at Corner of Benefit & Transit Streets,Providence, Rhode Island. 

Now, a mystery...Pardon and his father, also named Pardon died in 1718. the 29th and 19th respectively. So what happened during that winter? Plus, Lydia Taber, the wife of Pardon Senior and my 8th great grandmother died on the 27th of January...same year. I have to Google these dates!

I did search and I was surprised when I saw a Wikipedia article pop up as #1 in the Google search. (Providence January 1718) The article was all about Pardon Senior and his exploits. Great reading! But no clue as to why they all died. Pardon Senior was close to 96 years of age so his death was not unexpected. Now I have to find out why the others died in that month. More mystery!

It drives me crazy!

All of the candidates, from dog catcher to Presidential, refer to the 'politicians' as being the worst thing imaginable...yet that is exactly what they, the candidates, are! If you run for office, you are a politician. Don't you get it, folks? They ARE lying to you!

But there they are, on television, night after night, claiming to rid the city, county, state, and nation of 'politicians' if only we would favor them with a vote.

We have a local pol who claims to be a good old boy and is always seen leaning on the fender of his truck, a barn and tractor in the background, while he promises to get rid of the politicians that are infesting Sacramento. But...he is one! He already holds office. In Sacramento...

Doesn't anyone notice? We deserve the government we get...

Beautiful Day

The sun is out and it's supposed to be 77 degrees for our high...and then the forecast---

... Major change in the weather pattern coming with valley rain
and mountain snow early next week... 

A cold low pressure system from the Gulf of Alaska will begin
dropping into the eastern Pacific this weekend. A cold front
associated with this low is forecast to move into northern
California Sunday night passing through the north state on Monday
and Monday night. This system will bring breezy winds... valley
rain and mountain snow between Sunday night and early Tuesday
morning. Subsequent systems may bring lighter amounts of precipitation
later in the week. 

Between Sunday night and early Tuesday... valley rains of up to a half inch
are expected. Roads which have been dry for months will likely
become very slick at times due to the build up of dirt and oilsover the Summer. Motorist should allow extra time for travel especially
during the Monday morning commute. Localized heavier rain is also
possible. Areas scarred from recent wild fires over the Summer
will be susceptible to debris flow. At the higher elevations... snow
accumulations of 6 to 12 inches are possible above 5500 feet.
Travel will become hazardous there due to slick roads and reduced
visibilities at times.

 Yikes! Suddenly it's Fall.

But we're not worried as we will be flying South to Disneyland on Wednesday AM and we will land at John Wayne International Airport where the temperature will be 79 degrees and the sun will be shining...all week long. We will have our son and girlfriend with us as well as the 'reason' for the trip; our twin 9 year old grandchildren.

Friedensreich Hundertwasser -

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

I hadn't heard of him until this morning...where was my head? Anyway, I find his work to be fascinating. Just use Google Images to see his works. I especially enjoy his architectural works; very much like Antoni Gaudi.



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Identity of donors

 to conservative group sought - latimes.com:

""We went online and checked them out," he said. "They seemed like a legitimate group.""

Of course...because everything you read on the internet is true. Isn't that the rule?


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Too Many Mitts Says The Salt Lake Tribune

Tribune Endorsement: Too Many Mitts | The Salt Lake Tribune:

I hope this gets national attention!

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The sickening truth

 about wind farm syndrome - opinion - 08 October 2012 - New Scientist

I knew it! The closest wind farm is about 120 miles from here but even so, it's causing me gray hair, memory loss and 'stray electricity'...

Leaked Audio

Captures Romney Asking Employers To Tell Their Employees How To Vote

Why am I not surprised? He would think it's perfectly normal to act this way.


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another one

Just listened to the news and they were reporting that Fedex is consolidating services, laying off workers and will be laying off even more as automation will make their positions redundant. Our worry shouldn't be outsourcing...automation is taking jobs away and it won't be stopped. Remember the folks that used to make buggy whips? You don't? Neither do I.

Driving around

I spotted more than one politicians' plea for my vote. They're everywhere! And the the standard theme these days is to promise jobs. City council, county supervisors, state representatives, dog catcher...they are all promising jobs. Of course it's all a lie. If you want jobs to reappear you have to educate. There are only so many service jobs and they are always filled with those that didn't aspire to higher goals because their education was so poor. We didn't give them the education they deserved. In the meantime, mid level technical/engineering jobs are going unfilled for a lack of qualified applicants. When will we learn?

I'm anxiously awaiting the delivery of my ballot. I want to fill it out immediately and get it back to the registrar. I heard that California now has over 50% of the voters using 'absentee' ballots. Now if we could only turn that 50% into independent voters, we would have some power! Power to eliminate the two party system...that's what I want to see.  

Steve Jobs Quote

Top 15 Steve Jobs Quotes | Big Is The New Small: +

"Picasso had a saying: ‘Good artists copy, great artists steal.’ We have always been shameless about stealing great ideas… ~Steve Jobs"

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a moral imperative

“When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.”
— Thomas Jefferson

Romney’s ruinous tax plan - From The Washington Post

Romney’s ruinous tax plan - The Washington Post:

Another worthy read...

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From Tumblr...Obama for America

Obama for America:

Why, oh why didn't we hear this last night? That should have been his closing statement.


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Words

I'm feeling quite 'wordy' today and so here is another thought, or two, of mine.

Regarding the debate. I was disappointed in Jim Lehrer last night. He let himself be intimidated, or so it seemed. I like Jim Lehrer a lot and it seemed as if he wasn't up to the job. Both candidates should have been sternly reprimanded at one time or another, but Romney deserved it far more often.

But, previously, I said I wasn't watching the debate. And I wasn't. But I was recording it for my wife and she watched after she got home. And so I heard it from the other room. It wasn't pleasant to hear the truth being twisted and tortured by the Republican candidate.

And that business about Mitt getting rid of PBS/NPR funding! What an idiot! The figure that I read was that .012% of the federal budget is used for that funding. Chicken feed. That sure sounds like a personal vendetta on Mitt's part. Actually, he is playing to his base; they hate NPR/PBS with a vengeance. They can't stand to hear true 'fair and balanced' news as opposed to the Fox kind.

I was also offended by the references to the 10th Amendment. If there was ever an Amendment that deserved to be removed from the Constitution, this is it. This is the 21st century and Romney is telling me that if I want the best healthcare or education, that I have to shop around among the various States and then move to the one that best suits my needs. What? And how does that make us a better nation?

I'm a citizen of the world who lives in the United States and within a region of the USA called California. Am I a patriot? Somewhat. I've learned that American Exceptionalism is a lie. I served in the Navy, which is more than most of the draft dodging Republicans can say.

There I go again, getting off topic...I better quit while I can.

Okay. One more thing...Romney threw out the 'best healthcare system in the world' lie once again. Why wasn't he called on it?

From TIME GOES BY | Loneliness and Old Age

 Loneliness and Old Age:

Ms Bennett has a very interesting subject here and since for technical reasons, I don't seem to be able to comment within her Comment section, I will just do it right here...but first, read her blog and then return.

I would probably believe the Terman Longevity Study before I would the others. I am lonely at times but it's often by choice or by temperament. I've been a 'loner' all of my life. As an INFP personality type I am extremely introverted. People wear me out! While I was in the Navy I always asked for the 'graveyard' shifts and loved them. During my career in the construction industry I always worked alone. I was foreman and I was a superintendent and you don't make friends in those positions; you might have to fire a 'friend'. As an estimator I had to be alone during the work day. Estimators were not to be disturbed because we were always counting things.

Now don't get the wrong idea; I was not anti-social. I went to all the company functions...and left early. I traded jokes with the people I worked with. But I rarely had anything in common with most of those people. I  remember quite vividly the making a friend during my days of working with my tools on. During a conversation at lunch, I discovered that he read...books! Finding someone like that on a construction site is very rare and we became very good friends.

Now 72 and retired (by choice) for almost nine years, I find that my time on the internet, my time with my artist friends, my time at church...are enough for most times. I know that I can find other sources for friendship but my 'standards' are often too high. Like that friend from long ago, I'm always looking for someone who reads...books.

I paint once a week with a group of eight other painters. They all read books. We talk more than we paint. Painting is our excuse for getting together. I scour the internet for others who read books and I've found plenty of them. We haven't met in person but I think of them as friends. Ar our church we have four pastors and they are all intellectuals who believe that there is a way for science and religion to get along. We work with the University of California, Chico (nest door) in a series of seminars about science and religion. We work with other faiths and have sponsored seminars with local Muslims as guests. I own a Koran and read it. (now and then)

But I digress...(I'm 72 and it's allowed) what I was getting at was the fact that I can choose to be lonely...or not. And this would have been my comment on Ms Bennett's blog this morning.






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polling

The debate is over and who won? Of course it all depends on who you ask and that's the rub. There never will be a winner or a loser in these contests. That's probably one of the reasons why I hate the darn things!

But on to the polls and a thought that I have had for quite awhile now...since I won't answer the phone for a pollster and since I know a lot of others that feel the same way, we are never going to be included in those polls. That's millions of people. I read the other day where a reporter attempted to conduct his own poll of a thousand voters and after two days of calling he had been able to get the opinions of a little over a hundred people.

People who answer their phones for pollsters (and then answer the questions) are a subset within the general population yet that is where the statistics are coming from. That is a small subset. I would guess that these are lonely people that are thrilled when they hear the phone ringing. Yet we believe the figures when they come out in the paper or we see them online.

I've always wondered why they don't use internet polling? You have no idea who you have contacted when you use the phone and so it is with the internet. You have no idea as to the truthfulness of their answers when you use the phone and so it is with the internet. All things being equal, why not use the internet?

Someone has decided to do just that! And of course it's Google; in a trial run.


A CNN poll of debate-watchers found Mr. Romney very clearly ahead, with 67 percent of registered voters saying he won the debate, against just 25 percent for President Obama.

A CBS News poll of undecided voters who watched the debate found 46 percent siding with Mr. Romney, 22 percent for Mr. Obama and 32 percent saying it was a tie.

Google, which is experimenting with online surveys, found 38.9 percent of respondents saying they thought Mr. Obama performed better in a poll it conducted during the debate, against 35.5 percent for Mr. Romney and 25.6 percent who said it was a draw. But a second poll they conducted after the debate found 47.8 percent of respondents giving Mr. Romney the advantage, against 25.4 percent for Mr. Obama.

Do those figures tell us anything? I'm not sure yet, though I'm naturally inclined to believe the Google figures. I think Google is on to something here and I don't doubt that other pollsters will be following their lead. Perhaps then I will have my voice heard in a poll.

Now a word about the debate; from all I've read, Mr. Romney was all bluster and no facts. That is what his base loves! He talks about the 12 million new jobs he will create and yet he won't describe even one of those new jobs for us. Me, I'll take 'facts' every time.

Debates

The debates are on and I have left the room. As an INFP personality type with AS, I cannot stand the rancor. Listening to the arguing actually gives me a terrible feeling; one that I find hard to describe. my heart races and I can't concentrate on what I'm doing. Even with the volume all of the way down, I know that they are arguing and that still bothers me. If I were there, I would charge the stage and tell the two men to stop! Stop it right now! Settle your differences like grownups. 

Of course I would never make it to the stage; I would be shot dead by the Secret Service agents...so I'll just read the critics views tomorrow. Reading is going to make me angry but I will be alive. And alive to vote for Obama.

Mitt in 1985

Talking to a group of employees, caught on video...

 "“Bain Capital is an investment partnership which was formed to invest in startup companies and ongoing companies, then to take an active hand in managing them and hopefully, five to eight years later, to harvest them at a significant profit.”"

How's that for job creation?


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Poll: Romney Ahead in Presidential Race, Say Replacement Refs : The New Yorker

Poll: Romney Ahead in Presidential Race, Say Replacement Refs : The New Yorker:

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From Birds on the Brain

Birds on the Brain:
"A word about PowerPoint. PowerPoint was released by Microsoft in 1990 as a way to euthanize cattle using a method less cruel than hitting them over the head with iron mallets. After PETA successfully argued in court that PowerPoint actually was more cruel than iron mallets, the program was adopted by corporations for slide show presentations. Conducting a PowerPoint presentation is a lot like smoking a cigar. Only the person doing it likes it. The people around him want to hit him with a chair. PowerPoint is usually restricted to conference rooms where the doors are locked from the outside. It is, therefore, considered unsuited for large rallies, where people have a means of escape and where the purpose is to energize rather than daze."

These words are so true!

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From TIME GOES BY

 What Plutocracy Looks Like: Read this!

Because I don't enjoy the verbal friction among guests, found on the TV shows of political pundits, I don't even know who Chris Hayes is. But I do know a well written piece and this is one. ( I like Rachel Maddow, precisely because she has no guests...go figure)



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Isn't it time?

Among all of the voices heard during this political season, one is curiously absent. That would the voice of the last President. The one that has a real grasp on the ins and outs of the financial disaster that is plaguing us. Yet he is silent. In fact, if he has thrown his support to the Republican candidate, I must have missed it. Where is President Bush? As a senior statesman of the Republican party, you would think that he would be crisscrossing the country, giving speeches in support of Romney. Isn't it time for him to come out in support of his budget; the one that President Obama inherited? President Clinton was eager to talk about his budget!

I still have a copy of the book, The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict by Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes. It came out in 2008 and so it doesn't include all of the costs of the war in Afghanistan. I'm willing to guess that there are at least another two trillion dollars that will come from that war. If you haven't read it, you should. Four years later and it's even more timely.

Those are Bush's wars. Those are Republican wars. Did Democrats vote to go to war? Yes, they did; based on Bush's lies.

I really don't know why I bother to point out all of this evidence. Romney Republicans don't read. They're not about to let facts get in the way of their hatred for a black/white President.

Whenever I become engaged with a Romney supporter, I just ask 'who did you vote for in 2000 and 2004?'
When they answer 'Bush' I simply say 'Well, there's your problem.' Case closed.' and I turn and leave.

US ranks 28th

US ranks 28th in Internet connection speed: report: "

"People in Japan can upload a high-definition video in 12 minutes, compared to a grueling 2.5 hours at the US average upload speed," the report said."

by the way, we also pay the very most for our connections.


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Inside the brain

I just started reading The Republican Brain; The Science of Why They Deny Science - and Reality by journalist Chris Mooney. So far, so good. It should be explained that Mr. Mooney is writing about the 'brain' of the far right wing, radicalized Republican. In other words, your average Romney follower. 

Although I could never be a Republican; it's simply not in my genes, I do know a lot of very nice Republicans. And I have to wonder what they are thinking as they see this empty suit pretending to be anything that his base wants him to be. The Grand Old Party will never be the same after this election, no matter who wins. The leadership is now exposed for the greedy poltroons that they are. 

Speaking of poltroons...I was thinking that perhaps we could start using some of the old political nicknames for our slate of politicians. How about The Know Nothings? I think it's perfect! It fits for one reason; because they were Republicans!

Although I'm happy to see Willard making all sorts of mistakes these days, I am not certain of victory for the Democrats. The people that want to own this country have more money...and greed than we can imagine. And they aren't afraid to use it.

Mother Jones via the NYT

Mother Jones Releases Complete Video of Romney at Private Fund-raiser - NYTimes.com:

I'm a Mother Jones fan and have been a subscriber to the magazine named for her, for many years. But this has to be one of the best things they have ever done to protect our freedom. I can hardly wait to read the article...



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From No More Mister Nice Blog

No More Mister Nice Blog:

Once again I've found that this blog is pretty good. These are pretty much the same sentiments that I have...


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Pictures, we got pictures!

I don't remember if I have ever mentioned the HAMB Jalopy Journal before and since I can't remember, I will proceed as if I have not. This image thread was started almost three years ago and members have contributed thousands of photos. The theme was supposed to be 'old' cars and items related to the automobile industry. That changed over the years and there are photos of just about everything...but all are 'old'. So, if you like to browse through an endless supply of photos, this the place (HAMB Jalopy Journal)
You never know what you might see; For instance, I've seen photos of my old hometown, Manhattan Beach. I recently ran across a large photo of Hermosa Beach, taken from uptown and showing the luxurious Hermosa Biltmore. Plus a lot of photos of the drive-ins that we used to cruise on the weekends. Nostalgia? Plenty of it.

From "No More Mister Nice Blog"

No More Mister Nice Blog

A brief history of the life of Steve Klein...

I never cease to be amazed at the depth of perversion that's found in the Right Wing Christian groups... so here I am, amazed and disgusted.

Some clarity

From a blog I just read... it seems that the NY Times had one story (the one below) early in the AM and then this quote was deleted in the final story. Go to Blogging via Typewriter for the story

“an adviser to the campaign who worked in the George W. Bush administration” who went so far as to say that Romney “had forgotten the first rule in a crisis: don’t start talking before you understand what’s happening.” 

Anti-Islam Filmmaker

Anti-Islam Filmmaker Went by 'P.J. Tobacco' and 13 Other Names from Wired Magazine

Mystery solved. And there was a piece of human garbage involved. And then he found more just like him to help... what isn't clear is the question of criminality. Did he commit a crime by making this film? I certainly hope so!


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I feel so much better

I left Facebook...the management at Facebook seems to have lost their moral compass or they have lost control of their employees. Besides that, it is a big waste of time.

From now on it's Blogger, Twitter and Tumblr.

I suppose you could call those three 'time wasters' as well, but they seem a little bit cleaner.

Mitt Romney and the "Libya Surprise":

Mitt Romney and the "Libya Surprise": How it Unfolded : The New Yorker:

But he couldn't wait to shoot his mouth off. Facts, Governor. The world operates best on facts.

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Libya

Mitt Romney is an embarrassment to the human race. Or is he just Rove's puppet like the last Republican wannabe President? He criticized the President as soon as Rove heard the news and told him what to say but he didn't bother to verify anything at all. Is this how he would govern us? That last Republican President (the one whose name cannot be said) governed that way and we all know how that turned out.
Something serious, very serious, happened in Libya and Mitt needs to butt out and let the grownups work on it.

News Flash

"After months of rampant rumors and hype, Apple debuted the company's latest smartphone today, claiming it is the world’s thinnest."

Who did they steal that idea from?

memories

I was just reading Left Leaning Lady's post for today and the memories cane back. I was in Grandview, Missouri at the time, teaching a future estimator how to use our software. There was a television on in the break room and we soon heard the loud voices through our closed office door. We couldn't make sense of what they were talking about so we went to the break room to see for ourselves. Everyone was talking at once, and since I couldn't fathom the thought of an airliner hitting the building, told my 'student' that we ought to continue where we left off. We had just sat down when the second tower was hit. Now we knew. We closed the office and I drove back to my hotel room in Lenexa, Kansas. I turned the TV on and sat there dazed, trying to grasp the enormity of it all. I called home and we shared our fears over the phone. I needed to be home; I knew that. But I was in Kansas and home was in Northern California and there were no planes flying. I checked with my boss and he got our travel coordinator to arrange for our rental cars to be driven anywhere they needed to go. We had staff scattered all around the country so there were about 2 dozen cars involved. It wasn't until later that I realized how lucky I was to have that rental car. I set off the next morning. As I traveled, the radio would fade in and out as I passed the towns on the prairie. And all I heard were stories of great bravery. Amazing!
Traveling on I-70, I soon noticed that the majority of the cars on the road were rental cars. Everyone without a flight to take was heading home. After about 12 hours I was approaching the Denver Airport and as I passed the turnoff I looked up and scanned the sky; not a single plane to be seen. Eerie! I got as far as Eagle, Colorado that first day after driving for 15 hours. I got the last room at the hotel and the clerk told me that every car in the parking lot was either a rental or one that had been purchased just for this one trip home.
One advantage to driving all by yourself across half the country is...plenty of time to think. And I thought about what had just happened almost continuously. And I think that long drive healed me in a way; I was no longer fearful. I was putting it all in perspective; my perspective, certainly, but still calm and rational.
The next day was a 17 hour day, but I was home. The day after my long drive, I returned the car to Avis at the Sacramento Airport. 'Life' began again.
To be honest, I'm not much for physical memorials. No one is returned to life by erecting them. If they comfort someone...fine. The memorial to the victims of the 9/11 attack is embedded in my memory and will never go away. The only physical memorial I approve of is the Vietnam War Memorial. It should be law that every President, Senator and Congressperson walk around this memorial to those killed in a wrongful war, once every year. Have them read the names as they go...
 

Foreign Policy Team:

Mitt Romney Foreign Policy Team: 17 of 24 Advisors Are Bush Neocons:

Doesn't that bother anyone in the MSM? I know it scares the heck out of me! (especially Cofer Black and John Bolton. These people are evil)

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Teachers’ Strike in Chicago

Teachers’ Strike in Chicago Tests Mayor and Union - NYTimes.com:

"Kelly Farrell, a kindergarten teacher at Higgins Elementary on the city’s South Side, said her class had so many pupils that she did not even have enough seats for them all. “They are 5 years old,” she said. “They want their teacher’s attention, and there is one of me and 43 of them.”"

It's not always about money...but it's a fact that taxpayers don't want to buy new classrooms. They don't want to buy new books. They don't want to buy paper and pencils. They don't want to buy computers and software. But they do want their children educated. So I guess it is about money and it's also true that you get what you pay for.


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From the Nameless Cynic:

Nameless Cynic: Why Does The GOP Loves Mitt Romney?:

Flipping and flopping...you need to read this. Or, you should read this. What a difference fifty years makes.

From Who Hijacked Our Country:

 Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago? YES

Click on the link and see the headlines from September of 2008...4 YEARS AGO! And who was President? The man that no one (Republican) will mention...George Bush. He did this to us. And the Republican Party wants to do it again. Apparently, they didn't get all of our money last time.

Relativity

I've been fooling around with genealogy once more. It's fascinating and I will enjoy it for a month or so and then the 'facts' begin to inundate my poor brain. Then I have to stop for awhile; perhaps a year or so. Just long enough for my brain to recover.
I've always used Ancestry dot com for my research and the program has become easier than ever to use. A plus for me as I need all the help I can get. And speaking of help; I have found two relatives that are deep into genealogy and they have helped immensely. One is my second cousin, a relative I didn't know about until I began to explore, and the other is the wife of my wife's cousin. They are both wizards! Generous wizards.
Anyway, one of the relatives I found, died in an insane asylum in the 1800's. Terrible! And one of my relatives is Jane Seymour. Yes, that Jane Seymour; the mother of King Edward and a wife of Henry the VIII. She is my 12th Great Grand Aunt.and that's a long way back. Born in 1509 and died 1n 1537 from ?infection? following childbirth at the age of 28. She did give birth to a male heir (Edward) so if she had lived, she would have been the luckiest of Henry's wives. The others, if they did not produce a male child, were disposed of. In that day they did not know that it was the male that determined the sex of the baby.

Time does go by

I was reading a favorite blog, Time Goes By, and Ronni Bennett was noting how aging affected her. That happens to be a favorite subject of mine as I'm reminded of my age every ten minutes, 18/7. I find it more difficult to get out of the chair or off of the couch. Not because I don't want to, but because my body refuses to spring into action and catapult me into an upright position. I watch myself as I try to find some leverage spot that will ease me upwards. And I can't help but compare what I see with what used to be. We go to a gym now in an effort to slow the aging process and that's where I'm faced with brutal reality. It's hard work! But we persevere and then I go to the pool to join a group of elders in an elders water fitness program. I want to hide. My once trim body (I was a sheetrocker! 6'2" and 180#) is now overweight (6'1" and 240#) and my belly is hanging over the edges of my swim trunks. I debated leaving my shirt on but since I would be the only one doing that, I decided to bare it all. Well, not ALL, but my stomach was going to be exposed. I joined the elders in the pool. Oh, my...they were all old. Really old! Was I 'old' as well? I try not to think about it. We do this three times a week for an hour each time and I think...that my bracelet is a little bit looser now. That's progress. And if it continues, I will be able to take the covers off of the mirrors at home.

End of the week

We watched the DNC last night by way of our recorder. We were out and about on Thursday, so a recording had to be made. It was great! What else can I say?
I'm no longer a Democrat, having left the Party about 12 years ago because they were becoming the party of the center and I'm a liberal. We lost our fit. But last night I was glad to see that the Democrats had regained some courage. There was no centrist appeal to their message. And the audience in the convention center was fantastic!  Every color of humankind was represented. There were Muslims! They would never have made it past security at that 'other' convention. There were Sikhs with their colorful turbans. They too would have been viewed with suspicion at the RNC.
With the conventions out of the way, the Republicans are unleashing all that money that Romney's 'friends' have promised him. The American public has shown themselves to be gullible and with this flood of money we are looking at the buying of a Presidency and a nation. But why? Why on earth would you want to return to the same failed policies and think they will work this time? Reagan proved it didn't work. So did Bush #1. Then Bush #2 proved it in the most destructive way possible, leaving the country in financial meltdown. Didn't any voter notice that Bush #2 wasn't invited to Tampa nor was his name mentioned? Doesn't that make anyone suspicious? If it doesn't, I give up on the American voter...  

PolitiFact | Barack Obama's file

PolitiFact | Barack Obama's file: versus Mitt Romney's file

but I forgot...the Romney Campaign said they didn't care about 'facts'. Well, that's obvious!

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From BLOGGING via TYPEWRITER.

 - Hey after Michelle’s speech go back and find Ann Romney’s and watch that too and cringe at the insincerity.:

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A dumb question

From No More Mister Nice Blog:

 "Suppose your house is on fire and the firefighters race to the scene. They set up their hoses and start spraying water on the blaze as quickly as possible. After the fire is put out, the courageous news reporter on the scene asks the chief firefighter, "is the house in better shape than when you got here?""

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Where did the time go?

It's a day off! (I'm retired, so every day is a day off...) and what am I doing? I'm scrolling through Tumblr and then 'pinning' interesting Tumblr posts to my Pinterest account. It's a  terrible time waster but I excuse it by saying that I have a painting that is drying, and this scrolling is educational. Both things are true. I do have a painting that is drying and I will be adding to it in just a few more minutes. And Tumblr can be educational if you pick the right people to 'follow'. I have followed artists of all schools and so I'm constantly seeing great works. And I see great work by unknowns as well. Tumblr and Pinterest are definitely habits...the jury is out on whether or not they are bad habits.

John Deere

Last night, I was watching a television program that I had stumbled across and it was all about the making of Combines by the John Deere Company. And it showed just how those combines worked for the farmer. Great stuff! Really. And as I watched these huge machines being assembled, I was struck by the fact that robots were being used all over the factory floor in different operations. Now John Deere is a fine All-American company, so nothing was being outsourced, but the humans were slowly being replaced by the non-complaining robots. This same scenario is being played out from coast to coast. I don't know how to solve the problem but I do know that it is growing. In a year or two, we will be our own worst enemy and we won't be able to blame outsourcing for the disappearance of jobs. So what do we do? It might help if industry and our school systems worked hand in hand. Why are we educating children to do work that is disappearing?

What's going on?

I have not decided to allow a third party to advertise on this blog, yet I found one that had sneaked on to my blog...Text Enhance. Where did that come from? I have a feeling that the search and remedy will take me some time. Blogger, you frustrate me!

Once again

     It's that time of year. I've made it to the age of 72, an age that would have made me snort with laughter when I was 16. Who could possibly be 72 years old? Maybe that old man, Ed Sullivan; he might be 72. At the age of 16, my world vision was quite limited.
     I received a birthday greeting last night from my second cousin who lives in St. Louis. She found me while working on her family tree. I'm sure glad she did! It's nice to have a little more family, even when she's half way across the country. Someday I hope to meet Cece in person...
     We're not going to the gym this morning. We did that yesterday and had a full workout. We've only been going to the gym for about two weeks now but I think I have begun to firm up the stomach once again. Ever since my first surgery, I have put on about 40 pounds. Fear of pain kept me out of the gym until we decided to use the Silver Sneakers free gym membership offered by our AARP supplemental insurance. I had no pain after the first trial workout and so I'm continuing with it until I see 200 pounds on the scale once again.
      I am going to be painting again this morning. I have half a dozen pieces that I'm working on; some in acrylics and some in water soluble oil pastels. I love getting my hands into my work and the oil pastels are perfect for that kind of pleasure. Recently, I had an offer to show my work at a local sports club and I'm going to need more pieces than I have hanging around the house. I have until February to put the show together and that should be enough time.
      I'm trying to avoid framing my work. Frames are the worst! They're expensive and if you make the wrong choice in the frame, it doesn't matter that your art work is stunning, you'll never sell it. I have been using MDF panels that I cover in 2 coats of gesso and then 'frame' them with wood backing. I sand the wood and the edge of the MDF at the same time and leave them unfinished. I like the look. Or, I put a frame that is smaller than the piece and then it looks like the piece is floating on the wall; another nice look.
       We still have smoke in the air from the two fires that are not fully contained. Other than that, it's really just another ordinary day around here. I like it! Now I think I'll go paint for awhile...

Fact-Checkers Howl

Fact-Checkers Howl, but Both Sides Cling to False Ads - NYTimes.com: "

“We’re not going let our campaign be dictated by fact-checkers,” Neil Newhouse, the Romney campaign’s pollster, said this week during a breakfast discussion at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., that was sponsored by ABC News and Yahoo News. He said that fact-checkers brought their own sets of thoughts and beliefs to their work, and that the campaign stands behind its ads."

Facts are thoughts? Facts are beliefs? Not on this planet. Facts ARE facts. Period. Mr. Newhouse is a liar. Disgraceful!


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Lies?

I just finished another morning of reading about the lies. You know, the Republican convention lies. Apparently, the Republicans have decided to abandon all integrity and take the lowest road in the quest for the White House. The party has already declared that they were not going to be dictated to by 'fact checkers'. If not the 'fact checkers', than who will moderate their speech? You would think that the moderate Republicans would be speaking out on this issue and calling for more honesty from their candidates. You would think that moderate Republicans would be embarrassed. Are there any moderate Republicans left? I don't think so and that's a terrible loss for our country. We no longer have the give and take between the parties that used to be a symbol of our democracy. Now the Republican rhetoric is 'slash, burn and take no prisoners'.

(Check out PolitiFact for the latest count on Pants on Fire lies...it's depressing)

Why not?

Isn't it time for our President to start naming names and pointing directly at those Republicans that are lying? He should just say it...Mitt Romney (pause) is a liar. Ryan (pause) is a liar! Now say it again and again through all of the speeches and as a topper, ask directly for an apology!This is not politics as usual; the Republicans have declared war on the truth because they know if it's said often enough, it will become "truth" to the masses of uninformed. The masses that hate the thought of a black man in the White House.

Wooden, but Wishful -

From the - NYTimes.com:
 "Neil Newhouse, a Romney pollster, recently explained that “we’re not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact checkers.” Or the facts themselves, obviously."

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Day two?

Day 2 of the RNC has passed and we still don't know anything about that empty suit named Mitt. We do know that his wife stands beside him in her own empty suit. What did she say? Important? And that was followed by the disgrace that calls himself governor of New Jersey. Again, emptiness. Devoid of any meaning. The standard lies were repeated as expected and that was that...

I'm not sure I can take much more of this... I need to get my brushes and paint.

Study: Right twists facts

Something we already knew

Obama In 'Impossible Bind' Over Donors

Jane Mayer: Obama In 'Impossible Bind' Over Donors : NPR:

Have you ever wondered just what it would cost to 'own' this country? I think we're about to find out. Unless you help...


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Another why?

Why is Romney touted as the man with "business experience"? He identifies himself with all of the small business owners; he's one of them! Yet the man has never run a business that produced anything. He's never had to face a payroll. He was a 'consultant' for a few years after college and then went into the company acquisition business with Bain Capital. He never produced anything and never got his hands dirty. He's a fraud.

Why?

Why do so many people think that the Keystone pipeline project is all about bringing oil and jobs to the USA? In some small way that is true. The oil will travel through the heartland of the USA on its way to a refinery in Texas where it will be made into gasoline that will then depart our shores on a supertanker bound for China. China is the Canadian company's customer for this gasoline. There will be some jobs created; mainly to build the pipeline and when that is complete, the jobs are gone. The Canadians were prepared to build that pipeline to British Columbia if we hadn't caved in. Building a pipeline to the Gulf coast is cheaper than building one to the Pacific.

From Guernica

How Nonprofits Spend Millions on Elections and Call it Public Welfare - Guernica / A Magazine of Art & Politics:

Who knew that the "501(c)(4) " could be used this way? It surprised me. And the $$$ numbers are astounding. Class warfare? Yes, and guess who started it. The very wealthy are in full attack to buy this Presidency and make this their nation.



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Akin the science major

This is from the LA Times... "So what's so scary about Todd Akin? It's that he currently sits on the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology", which oversees federal spending on non-defense-related research. This is not the kind of post for someone who thinks pregnancy can be suppressed by women's bodies. He also sits on the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, which is not the ideal assignment for a guy who thinks that climate change, if it's happening at all, is probably a result of solar flares. This is, of course, the House the tea party built. Unless voters put a stop to this anti-science movement, the Senate could soon go the same way. Now that's a nightmare."

A valid opinion

"ROBERT B. REICH, Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley, was Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration. Time Magazine named him one of the ten most effective cabinet secretaries of the last century. He has written thirteen books, including the best sellers “Aftershock" and “The Work of Nations." His latest is an e-book, “Beyond Outrage.” He is also a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine and chairman of Common Cause." 

I would say that Mr. Reich has the credentials to have an opinion that bears listening to. Read this post of his (August 20) on why the Ryan/Romney plan would be a disaster for America. Even if you are a Romney fan, Robert Reich deserves to be heard by you. He makes his argument quite clear and doesn't hide anything from you.What do you have to lose by reading this short article? 

ENPLAN Wildfire Viewer

It's another orange morning as the smoke from all of the fires settles into the valley here (Chico). The Chips fire continues to threaten my son-in-laws family cabin in Prattville.

This viewer is a great tool for seeing what's actually happening in the field. The Rush fire is the states largest fire and is close to where we once lived... ENPLAN Wildfire Viewer:

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A quiz

Who was the 43rd President of the United States?

Why don't Republicans remember his name? And all that he did?

Just wondering.

Who believes them? Why?

"Both men have also twisted themselves into knots to distance themselves from previous positions, so that voters can no longer believe anything they say. Last week, both insisted that they would save Medicare by pumping a huge amount of money into the program, a bizarre turnaround for supposed fiscal conservatives out to rein in federal spending."

Read the whole NYT article here... 

What's his name?

Democrats and Progressives (no, they're not the same thing) need to keep Bush's name in the news. He and his policies are the reason for our economic mess. To pretend otherwise is insanity. And our President needs to keep reminding people of that...he needs to say the word 'Bush' in his speeches. No tiptoeing around it. That Republican President threw away a surplus budget and then spent over $3 trillion dollars in the wars he wanted. All while cutting taxes for the wealthy. That can't be debated. And this current candidate and his white bread partner want to use the same tax cutting method while accelerating the growth of the Pentagon war machine. The Reagan/Bush/Romney  'trickle down' method of budgeting has been shown to be a fool's game, as only a fool would believe it works. Why are they telling us it will work this time?

It's obvious that the Republicans know that Bush is their weak spot. He isn't invited to their convention and that's a first! Former Presidents are always invited to speak at their Party conventions. Not this time and that's why Democrats and Progressives need to speak his name every chance they get. He's to blame and he's a Republican. Enough said.

ps don't forget to ask about the tax returns...

Vitriol?

I've been watching and reading the news and I constantly see where Republicans are complaining, loudly, that the Obama campaign is out of control! They talk about the nasty rhetoric that our President uses against the upstanding Mitt. And then I watched a Jon Stewart clip where he reminds the audience, in his oh so subtle way, that the Republicans have an overwhelming edge on the Dem's when it comes to near slander of the President. Do the Dem's have a Rush Limbaugh? How about a Michelle Bachmann type? And there is Sarah Palin with her nasty mouth; the Dem's have no one like that. And how about the Fox network? They can't say 'Fair and Balanced' anymore as every spokesman on the air is trashing the Democrats. Do the Democrats have a TV network to call their own? I know that the Republicans insist that 'The News Media' is left leaning. Oh, if only they were! The news media of today is owned (literally) by the same corporations that are supporting the Right. No reporter wants to rock that boat! and so it goes...the summer and the campaign drone on. But I do feel good about one thing; I donated some money to the Obama campaign. Not a large amount and I may do it again later in the summer. He is gonna need every dollar! There's a dozen billionaires that want to own the Presidency and they are giving plenty to the Mittster.

She's back...

It was so nice to see that Nance was back and posting. Although this one is a repost of hers, it is being posted at just the right time. Give it a read, you will enjoy it.

A choice has been made

I'm not surprised. Those in charge of the Republican Party knew they had to have someone on the ticket to charge up their regressive base. And Mr. Ryan will certainly do that. Let's see; he wants to cut SSI and Medicare before he has them removed altogether.And taxes for the wealthy will decrease under the Ryan Plan and that means the someone else's taxes will have to increase. Duh! It's very much like the Reagan Plan when he took office, and if you will remember, he ended up increasing the taxes and the role of government. But not the taxes on the wealthy. Reagan wasn't going to do anything to hurt his boss's empires. So now Ryan wants to do the same thing and you may notice that everyone is talking about Ryan's Plan and not Romney's. That's because he doesn't have one. He is truly an empty suit. He has nice hair and millions of Mormon votes. And that's all that Ryan needs to fulfill his dream of gutting the government for the benefit of his friends.

With any luck at all, Ryan and his friend will not be elected. Then we can look forward to 4 more years of  venom from the regressive right. Sigh.

I'm still registered as an independent. I'm not a Socialist nor am I a Communist. I like to think that I'm a progressive (without a capitol P). Independent voters are increasing all of the time and that weakens the two parties; a good thing. Imagine a country without the two parties; those in office would have to listen to all of our comments, praises and criticism's. No more being deaf to the pleas of the citizens of the 'wrong' party.

Speaking of Socialism; we already have some of that in our government and it works quite well. I think we could use some more. A more perfect society would contain capitalism and socialism. You can make make money in your ventures but you need to help the widow and the crippled. All those that life has cast aside. How hard could that be if we all did it?

Just the other day...

I was watching the Olympics and there was a break for a human interest spot where people (Brits) were being interviewed and asked what they thought about Americans. One lady responded that she was baffled by the American preoccupation with 'God, Government, and Guns'.The first and last items were self explanatory but she did say that 'here in England we expect government to do things for us and it's quite the opposite in America.' So true. But wrong. Government is supposed to work for us. Thomas Jefferson, though I love his intellect, was dead wrong with his opinion that the wisdom of the 'Yeoman farmer' was enough to govern the land. In the America of 1776 the main industry was agriculture that was supported by slaves. There were only a few million Americans to govern, not over 300 million as we have now. We need government and we should be willing to pay for it because it supports us all. We are the government! Do we really want to go back to 1776 and be responsible only for our ourselves? If you do, you should leave; find yourself an island and move to it. Let us get on with the urgent tasks that our government must do to secure our future.

How very odd...

So, it's Paul Ryan for VP. The rigid Right Wing has decreed that if the Mittster wants their support he will take on Paul Ryan. Now, even as naive as Mitt is, he must know that Paul Ryan is not welcome around any gathering of baby boomers or elders. He is a declared opponent of Medicare and would eliminate it altogether. Ryan only has one theme and that is 'cut'. I think Mitt is in trouble.

The All-American sport

Football. NFL football to be exact. And the NFL and Lenovo have signed an agreement whereby Lenovo will sponsor the NFL and provide all of the great computers that the NFL will need. Lenovo? A very large computer manufacturer from China. You may remember them as the company that bought IBM Thinkpad.

The Chico ER says...

I was reading the local paper this morning and had already finished with the column 'Tell it to the ER', a place where anonymous callers can have their thoughts displayed in print on page 2 of the paper. Naturally, all those with no desire to be identified call in with every kind of lie imaginable. It has always seemed so odd to have such a prominent spot in the paper since you're not allowed to have a 'Letter to the Editor' published anonymously. I moved on to the editorial page and here the editor was raging on about the fact that Senator Reid was not revealing the source for his claim that he had heard that the Mittster had not paid taxes for ten years. The editor was convinced that Reid was lying because he had not named his source, and he used the full content of the column to vilify the Senator. I have a feeling that the editor was silent about the Swiftboating of Kerry and I don't remember this editor getting very upset with the 'birther' folks.

You would hope that the editor would remember some of the lessons from Journalism school and try to remain balanced and neutral while trying to seek out the truth. Nope, not going to happen here...that's how it is in a conservative county within a liberal state.

Another day, another medal

Here we go again. Another full day of Olympics and NBC. Don't get me wrong as I do love the idea of Olympics; the Olympics where the amateur athletes of the world assemble to compete against each other. (Or the clock) I don't like seeing incredibly rich professional athletes wearing gold medals. It makes me want to vomit. And then there is this business of counting the medals won by a country. Excuse me? I didn't see a country competing, I saw athletes competing and the glory belongs solely to them.

Oh, well...it's an old complaint and nothing will change. There simply too much money involved to ever make changes.

On another note; did you see the women's 10,000 meter race? You need to see that race! Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia ran always hanging back in the pack. Then, as final the 6 or 7 laps  came up, she began her move. Soon she was in 4th place and moving forward. As the last two laps began she moved to the front and then, when everyone expected the Nigerians to make a kick, she accelerated and left everyone seconds behind her! I get goose bumps just thinking about the race.

And the next day, it was the men's 10,000 and another thrilling finish. Mo Farah of GB and Galen Rupp of the USA were 1 and 2 in a finish that is giving me those goose bumps again. And to top it off, Mo and Galen have been training partners for the past 18 months while Mo was in Oregon to train under Alberto Salazar.

The best part of the Olympic viewing experience? It's being able to use the Mute button on the remote. Goodbye Costas! You're outta here!

Sail away

Politicians on both sides are blaming the other for the loss of jobs. The 'outsourcing'. Yet it is the American public that is to blame. We want the cheap goods. We buy the cheap goods. And I don't mean cheap in quality, just in price. And with our wallets open every day of the year at stores like Target, KMart and Wal Mart, we guarantee that those jobs will remain outsourced. The largest container ship in the world*, the Emma Maersk, sails across the world from China in just five days and it is loaded with goods for Wal Mart and Wal Mart only. So every two weeks, the Emma Maersk supplies us with the cheapest of goods. And I'm not even counting the hundreds of smaller container ships that are making the same kind of voyage. Those jobs? They sailed away while we wished them Bon Voyage!

ps did you know that both China and India are caught in the same trap? Yes, they are outsourcing jobs to nations that will do the work for less.because their citizens want a better deal. Good luck with that!

*there's probably a larger one by now...

Yippee! Vacation time!

You want to know why the unemployment rate just went up in July? Just ask your Congressman or Senator. Oops! I forgot; they just decided to take a month long vacation. Leaving a Jobs bill behind. I guess they forgot it in the rush to pack their bags...

On an ABC interview

'Dick Cheney breaks silence on Gay Marriage' ... 'claims his silence was for political reasons'

In other words, he was a coward. (most bullies are) Any time someone claims that they did anything at all for 'political reasons' it is because they are a coward. And our Congress and Senate are filled with them. Cowards all!

Refining oil: Stormy petrol

from The Economist:

Interesting story because it puts lie to the usual gloom and doom if we don't hurry up and drill in ANWR or other  pristine sites. Fact is; there's a glut of oil/gasoline in the world. I had always thought that the oil tankers brought the expensive black stuff to our shores where we refined it and distributed it to all of the pumps where we waited, wallet and nozzle in hand. Not so. Gasoline itself is what's found in those tankers. And since India and China have the more modern (productive) refineries, those tankers, more often than not, are delivering gasoline to our thirsty cars...there's more to it than that of course, so read the article for yourself.

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This, just in...

from 'Blogging via Typewriter'

ABC NEWS: "Like other companies, Apple typically keeps profits on overseas sales in overseas accounts. When someone buys an iPad in Paris or Sydney, for instance, the profit stays outside the United States. Apple may pay some corporate income taxes on that profit to the country where it sells the iPad, but it minimizes these by using various accounting moves to shift profits to countries with low tax rates. For example the strategy known as 'Double Irish With a Dutch Sandwich,' routes profits through Irish and Dutch subsidiaries and then to the Caribbean." →

From now on  we'll just call these sort of shenanigans, 'The Mitt Maneuver'


Well said!

Wait, don't tell me.

Update! "The suspect in the shooting rampage at a Colorado movie theater that left 12 dead has been identified..."


No, don't tell me his name. I need to know what color he is. What's his religion? What about his political party affiliation? Is he a natural born American? Those are the real important things to know! Oops; almost forgot...is he a member of the NRA? Nah, I guess we don't need to know that... 

Things I read...

 “All we have to do is replace Obama. We are not auditioning for fearless leader. We don’t need a president to tell us in what direction to go. We know what direction to go. We want the Ryan budget. We just need a president to sign this stuff. We don’t need someone to think it up or design it. The leadership now for the modern conservative movement for the next 20 years will be coming out of the House and the Senate. Pick a Republican with enough working digits to handle a pen to become President of the United States. This is a change for Republicans: the House and Senate doing the work with the president signing bills. His job is to be captain of the team, to sign the legislation that has already been prepared.”
~Grover Norquist, calling for conservatives to elect a weak President they can use as a puppet, CPAC, February 2012. NOTE: While Norquist did not specifically mention Romney, other Republicans on this list have noted Romney’s weak leadership skills and his lack of spine in standing for what he believes in. Bryan Fischer stated in an earlier quote that Romney would be a pushover as President, which is exactly the kind of President that Norquist wants.

apropos of nothing at all...

'apropos of nothing at all' was my mother's remark to me on most occasions when I interrupted the adult conversation around me...which I did quite often.

Now on to another subject. I am so very tired of hearing that the wealthy create jobs. It's such a patent lie. It's the demand of the consumer that creates jobs. I want a new stove but I can't buy it because I'm making so little per hour and I have no money in my savings because I was paid so little on my last job. So the stove factory doesn't hire anyone to build that stove I wanted. Duh! The guy that owns the factory hasn't created any jobs. And the very wealthy take their money and put it into off-shore accounts. There's no job creation there!

How do the Republicans face themselves in the mirror each morning? Robert Reich, who can be read here or on his Facebook page said it all a few minutes ago. I'll paste that comment here because he has already shared it with all of his Facebook fans and asked them to share it with their friends..."Senate Republicans blocked the DISCLOSE ACT. No surprise there, but they should be held accountable. They're making a mockery of our democracy, once again. Their logic? That required disclosure of the names of wealthy or corporate political donors might cause them to be intimidated, and therefore infringe on their First Amendment rights. I don't know many billionaires who intimidate easily, especially when it comes to making large political contributions. And I've never heard of an intimidated corporation."

 In closing, let me say, apropos of nothing at all, that Mitch McConnell is a piece of dirt.

Reading

I have been reading 'That Used To Be Us', a book by Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum. It's a good one. The only complaint I have is that it is taking a long time to read it because I become so outraged at what the authors reveal, that I have to put it down for awhile to calm myself. Well, that may be a little over the top. Let's use disturbed instead of outraged. I like to think that I'm too old to be outraged.
Anyway, back to the book, whose subtitle is ' How America Fell Behind In The World It Invented and How We Can Come Back'. The authors explore every facet of our society and how it relates to the jam we seem to be in these days. They use real facts to make their arguments and that's refreshing, even though I haven't always agreed with their conclusions. It is fun to read (once again) a book written by polite people. I would bet that I would enjoy sitting down with them and 'discussing' what they have written. And we would part as better friends than when we first sat down.
The reasons I'm posting here today are found in the ninth chapter, where they discuss deficits and taxes. One; Nixon scrapped the Breton Woods system that the US and Britain had forged in 1944. This system had the dollar tied to the price of gold and so gov't couldn't print and spend money that wasn't tied to this exchange rate. Nixon did this to pay for the Vietnam War. Now our currency floated free and the 'invisible hand' of the market would determine the value of the dollar. When Reagan took office he cut taxes for the wealthy and soon those deficits reduced the revenue base to a full 5% of GDP. In the meantime, government spending increased as Reagan invested in the Pentagon for a defense buildup. Reagan was soon alarmed by the figures and began replacing the tax cuts with increased taxation. He did this five times during his time in office. Reagan also shored up the Social Security system in 1983. Just as an aside; Reagan never called them taxes. They were revenue enhancements. That way he could claim to have never raised taxes. George H. W. Bush also found out that he needed to raise taxes, much to his embarrassment. Clinton was a different story, in that he raised taxes and the deficit was soon a surplus! His plan was to be ready for the 'Boomers' in the next century. Then we had eight years of disaster as Bush the Younger went to war and cut taxes. Four years ago, the estimate for the cost of the war in Iraq was $3 Trillion dollars. And that didn't include the  cost of the war in Afghanistan which is now the longest war in our history.
Bush the Younger leaves office and hands the whole mess over to Barack Obama. Disaster ensues when debt catches up to revenue and then the banks, etc, etc. Obama has made a mistake in NOT laying the blame for this mess on those that deserve it. He has been far too polite. They all should have been called out for the liars they are...
Another part of the book deals with the fact that millions of jobs will never come back. Even if you brought back those jobs that are in foreign lands, it wouldn't help. Technology has sailed into the future and left millions standing on the pier. Don't blame the President...blame our education system and that places the blame right at our own two feet. We have decided not to fund schools. We have decided to abandon our children. We can't blame anyone else.

Whew! That's enough for now...

From snopes

snopes.com: DNSChanger Virus:

Want to check if you have the DNS Malware? Check here. (I got a green light.)
'via Blog this'

In case you hadn't noticed...

Climate Change: ‘This Is Just the Beginning’: "More than 2,000 heat records were broken last week around the U.S. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the government agency that tracks the data, reported that the spring of 2012 “marked the largest temperature departure from average of any season on record for the contiguous United States.” These record temperatures in May, NOAA says, “have been so dramatically different that they establish a new ‘neighborhood’ apart from the historical year-to-date temperatures.”"

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Republican Candidate Chris Collins says...

Chris Collins: 'People Now Don't Die From Prostate Cancer, Breast Cancer': "

"People now don't die from prostate cancer, breast cancer and some of the other things," he told The Batavian in an interview that was flagged Tuesday by City & State NY. Collins was discussing his desire to repeal Obamacare."

if only.

This guy must be a Mitch McConnell disciple.

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Mitch McConnell

On 30 Million Uninsured: 'That Is Not The Issue' (VIDEO):

and our tax dollars go towards his paycheck. Can we fire him? Please?

'via Blog this'

senility

Sen. Mitch McConnell said. “The question is how to go step by step to improve the American health care system. It is already the finest health care system in the world.” That's a lie! McConnell has dementia!

Okay!

Fantastic news! The Supremes have had a moment of clarity and we're on our way to joining the rest of the world in how we care for our citizens...

I need to tune in CNN just to see the long faces on the Republicans.

Now, what does Romney have to say?

Images

I was just looking for some images of my other two grandchildren. We had spent some time at their swim meet two weeks ago and I'm certain that I had photos...somewhere. Then I remembered that I had used my smart phone to take the photos and now how do I get those photos from my phone to my computer. And I think I used Instagram. Now that really compounds my problems. I can see the photos on my Instagram folder on my phone, or is the folder somewhere in the depths of Instagram itself?

I used to do programming for a living! Now look at me...I can't find a simple file. But in my defense, Can you imagine the number of images that are out there? I wonder if anyone has ever counted the number of bytes that are stored just for images? Worldwide? And yet, we are still being offered tens of gigabytes for free storage of photos. Each one of us. Amazing!  

Let's take that little further and imagine the number of servers in a huge number of 'Server Farms' scattered all around the globe. And imagine the power needs for those servers! How many power plants are needed to generate that power?

All of this brings me to the number, 200 Giga-ton's. That's the amount of ice, in tons, that is shed annually from the Greenland ice cap. That's the ice that actually raises the level of the sea. So, if I find those photos, I will print them and then delete the files. Just doing my bit for mankind.

The Past Two Weeks

...have flown by as we have been spending all of our time (day and night) with our two youngest (9 years old - twins) grandchildren. It was time for their annual stay with 'papa' and grandma while they take swimming lessons. There are no lessons or even a pool where they live. We've been doing this since they were 3 years old and they have turned into pretty good swimmers. There is a lake near their house that can be used during the summer, so the lessons do have a value...a value beside the obvious one of pleasing the grandparent's by their presence.

Abigayle this year

Steven (my namesake) this year

Here they are in 2007...debating the reason for swimming lessons.  

Scary!

Statement as of 3:26 PM PDT on June 14, 2012

... Red flag warning in effect from 10 am Friday to 9 PM PDT
Saturday for wind and low relative humidity for fire weather
zones 215... 216... 263 and 279...


The National Weather Service in Sacramento has issued a red flag
warning for wind and low relative humidity... which is in effect
from 10 am Friday to 9 PM PDT Saturday. The Fire Weather Watch is
no longer in effect.


* Affected area... fire weather zone 215 northern Sacramento
Valley to southern Tehama County line below 1000 ft... fire
weather zone 216 central Sacramento Valley in Glenn, Colusa,
Yuba, northern Sutter, and Butte County below 1000 ft... fire
weather zone 263 southeast edge Shasta-Trinity nf and western
portions of Tehama-Glenn unit and fire weather zone 279
eastern Mendocino nf.


* Winds... north 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 45 mph.


* Relative humidity... as low as 5 percent.


* Impacts... low humidity along with gusty winds and dry fuels
will result in critical fire weather conditions Friday and
Saturday with increased chances of the rapid spread of any
fire starts.


Precautionary/preparedness actions...


A red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions
are either occurring now... or will shortly. A combination of
strong winds... low relative humidity... and warm temperatures will
create explosive fire growth potential.

The wind has already begun to blow...18 mph right now

Asperger's

Good reading that explains why we're so important.

http://www.economist.com/node/21556230

same old same old

There's so much to not like about yesterday's election results. We live in a 'Red' county so the fact that the same old miserable Republicans made it back into office was no surprise. The fact that it looks like the additional $1 tax on cigarettes will be defeated makes me angry. Philip Morris and the others of their ilk paid almost $50 million to defeat the tax while supporters were only able to pay about $15 million. And it's the advertising that does the job...sad isn't it? Heaven forbid that a voter might read about an issue; it's so much easier to just let the ads tell you how to vote. That is if they voted at all. Far too many never even bothered. Even the convenience of mail-in ballots doesn't seem to get some people to participate.
The Wisconsin vote will affect us all. It's open season once again on unions. And without unions, quality of work will decline. I saw it happen in the construction trades as non-union workers took over the housing and light commercial work. There is a good article on the fate of unions and just how important they are in this NYT opinion piece..
It going to be a long summer. But I did find some good summer reading, courtesy of the Nameless Cynic. He has the link to McCain's 2008 opposition file on the 'Mittster'.

4-Way

I attended two graduation ceremonies during the past week. One was for my 13 year old granddaughter as she moved to high school from middle school and another was for my 18 year old granddaughter as she graduated from high school. During one of those ceremonies the Rotary International 4-Way Test was mentioned as being inspirational and helpful for life. The 4-Way Test is...
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all Concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

All very admirable indeed. And then I thought about all of the candidates for leadership roles in our government. Okay, what wrong with that picture? I imagine that every candidate is a member. How could they pass up a chance to schmooze with a pack of businessmen? Think Romney; he has to be a member! Has he passed even one part of the Test? Of course not...

Rotary International should purge their membership roles of any candidate/member that hasn't followed the Test. If not, then we know exactly how hollow this 4-Way Test really is.