Ironies

I loved seeing two bumper stickers on a white BMW driven by a woman today.   On the right was WOMEN FOR OBAMA 2008.  On the left was IN-N-OUT BURGER.   I wonder if she's voting for OBAMA THIS TIME?

:-)

Black Caucus to Republican?

Artur Davis, Former Black Caucus Member, Switches to GOP....HERE is the article

You'll want to read the whole thing, so I encourage you to click above.    Here is a part I found important because I don't think Congressman Davis is alone in his thinking:

Barack Obama campaigned on changing politics in America. He certainly succeeded, but not in the way he or his supporters envisioned. Over the past decade, the progressive left has pulled off a hostile takeover of the Democrat party. Today's party is not the one of just a generation ago. 
Artur Davis didn't leave the Democrat Party. The Democrat Party left Artur Davis.

OH, heck, the rest of the article's so good, I'm posting it here (but there's even more if you click on the link):

But parties change. As I told a reporter last week, this is not Bill Clinton’s Democratic Party (and he knows that even if he can’t say it).  If you have read this blog (Congressman Davis' blog), and taken the time to look for a theme in the thousands of words (or free opposition research) contained in it, you see the imperfect musings of a voter who describes growth as a deeper problem than exaggerated inequality; who wants to radically reform the way we educate our children; who despises identity politics and the practice of speaking for groups and not one national interest; who knows that our current course on entitlements will eventually break our solvency and cause us to break promises to our most vulnerable—that is, if we don’t start the hard work of fixing it.

On the specifics, I have regularly criticized an agenda that would punish businesses and job creators with more taxes just as they are trying to thrive again. I have taken issue with an administration that has lapsed into a bloc by bloc appeal to group grievances when the country is already too fractured: frankly, the symbolism of Barack Obama winning has not given us the substance of a united country. You have also seen me write that faith institutions should not be compelled to violate their teachings because faith is a freedom, too. You’ve read that in my view, the law can’t continue to favor one race over another in offering hard-earned slots in colleges: America has changed, and we are now diverse enough that we don’t need to accommodate a racial spoils system. And you know from these pages that I still think the way we have gone about mending the flaws in our healthcare system is the wrong way—it goes further than we need and costs more than we can bear.

Taken together, these are hardly the enthusiasms of a Democrat circa 2012, and they wouldn’t be defensible in a Democratic primary. But they are the thoughts and values of ten years of learning, and seeing things I once thought were true fall into disarray. So, if I were to leave the sidelines, it would be as a member of the Republican Party that is fighting the drift in this country in a way that comes closest to my way of thinking: wearing a Democratic label no longer matches what I know about my country and its possibilities.

A Black Democrat Congressman has changed parties...for such good reasons, reasons all of us blog on EVERY SINGLE DAY......OH, and, thanks to Elmer's Brother, THIS information is available. Moveon.org is running out of money and may have to curtail campaign projects for Democrats?  Say it ain't SO!  :-).....ANY THOUGHTS? 
This made my day...maybe month, I'll have to admit.

Z

Peter Kreeft ROCKS

I know this guy's writing isn't for everybody, but I wanted to highly recommend PETER KREEFT.   I was sub'ing a high school class recently and had them reading aloud from SOCRATES MEETS SARTRE.  It astonished me in its scholarship and clever way of showing the philosophies of both Socrates and Sartre;  educational, accessible, astonishingly good book.  Other books (listed under the link) are Socrates Meets Jesus, Socrates Meets Hume, etc.     He's also got excellent works covering CS Lewis, Philosophy,  God, Heaven, and SURFING, of all things!?

Anyway, in case you're interested...I'd definitely give this guy a try.

z

A Socialist gets a great honor from US.........

President Obama awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday to Dolores Huerta, an 82-year-old labor activist and co-founder of the United Farm Workers union.
Huerta is also an honorary chair of the Democratic Socialists of America.
DSA describes itself as “the largest socialist organization in the United States, and the principal U.S. affiliate of the Socialist International.”
Huerta has claimed, “Republicans hate Latinos,” and has spoken fondly of Hugo Chavez’s despotic regime in Venezuela. 
If you'd like to, you can here more of her HERE......she's quite the radical.   Does Obama think we won't notice?  Or care?

Do we need much more proof that Mr. Obama leans a little further left than even some Democrats would like?    Did this get the coverage the awards to Bob Dylan, John Glenn and Madeleine Albright got?   The only place I've seen this Huerta award is through a Conservative blog sent to me by Elmer's Brother.    


Think CNN will feature this one?


z

Dan Quayle WAS right....we knew it back then...

...but we were PC'd into retreating and keeping mouths shut.  After all, it's COOL to be experimental, to have kids out of wedlock, to shove off tradition. It's freeing!  It's open minded!   So, we cringed for the children but we couldn't say too much.  And shame is not in the American lexicon anymore, so the trend is growing as you can see in the chart below.  We should have spoken up, we should have braved the angst and mockery of the "very cool" types, but we didn't.  And children and society will suffer.

THIS article's parting words are troubling because we know things will not change, making this not only a compelling article, and a sort of cathartic article, but a really daunting look into a very bleak American future.  Because Murphy Brown was wrong.

Do you think this is no big deal?  Or do you feel babies are better off born into a married union?  Can this trend turn around?

Z

May I have a raise?

Employee:    Excuse me sir, may I talk to you?
Boss:            Sure, come on in.   What can I do for you?

Employee:    Well sir, as you know, I have been an employee of this prestigious firm for over ten years.
Boss:           Yes.

Employee:    I won't beat around the bush.   Sir, I would like a raise. I currently have four companies after me and so I decided to talk to you first.
Boss:           A raise?   I would love to give you a raise, but this is just not the right time.

Employee:    I understand your position, and I know that the current economic down turn has had a negative impact on sales, but you must also take into consideration my hard work, pro- activeness and loyalty to this company for over a decade.
Boss:           Taking into account these factors, and considering I don't want to start a brain drain, I'm willing to offer you a ten percent raise and an extra five days of vacation time.  How does that sound?

Employee:    Great!   It's a deal!   Thank you, sir!
Boss:            Before you go, just out of curiosity, what companies were after you?

Employee:    Oh, the Electric Company, Gas Company, Water Company and the Mortgage Company! 

:-)
z

Memorial Day

The "Pen" here at geeeeZ is mighty grateful to the sword... 

The American flag does not fly because the wind moves past it... The American flag flies from the last breath of each military member who has died protecting it.

Americans don't fight because they hate what's in front of them... They fight because they love what's behind them..........from Ed's blog.  Thanks, Ed.

Thank you, military of the past and the present.............for so much.  And to the families....please read Bob's blog for what was a gut wrenching read for me and a piece that really 'brings it home.'

I post this 'poem' of mine every year at my blog, so I thought I might as well...again:

Memorial Day at Frank and Ellie's, 1998  Windermere, Florida

 

The lake bumped the sand causing the water to wrinkle

at the end of the long grass slope that started back up at the house

The slope was lime green and shadow leaves swayed across it in the breezy heat

The barbecue was smoky with hamburgers, and the table was piled with bowls of cole slaw, potato salad,

pickles, catsup and mustard

We sat under towering oak trees with black angled branches and a white blue sky that held the heat in like the lid on a pot of corn on the cob

Bessie the dog ran through the trees and into the lake while the four small boys splashed in the water

and Grandpa shouted advice about their plastic raft, him being an old Navy man

The furniture in the house was American Primitive, dark wood-spoked chairs on an intricate wood floor

and bright orange crate labels from the family business hung framed against pine slat walls

A small American flag waved out of the large spoon pitcher on the stove next to Grandma’s three layer chocolate cake, and the childrens' popsicles were red, white and blue and left their mouths patriotic with color

It was Memorial Day that warm Florida Monday. We didn't mention it, but it was there.

THIS YEAR, PLEASE DO MENTION IT...AND PLEASE REMIND YOUR CHILDREN WHAT MEMORIAL DAY IS ABOUT.........I thank you and your country thanks you!!!


Have a GREAT DAY, everybody.

 

z

Sunday Faith Blog

HERE is an amazing bit of information that's not getting much coverage....
Geologists say Jesus, as described in the New Testament, was most likely crucified on Friday, April 3, in the year 33.

The latest investigation, reported in International Geology Review, focused on earthquake activity at the Dead Sea, located 13 miles from Jerusalem. The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 27, mentions that an earthquake coincided with the crucifixion:

“And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open.”

What a finding.......inspirational and powerful, isn't it.  Still, "We live by faith, not by sight."  2 Corinthians 5:7.

Have a faith-filled Sunday.  I hope this information is as interesting and affirming to you as it is to me.

(thanks, M)

z

Caught off guard........

I just had such a creepy realization....I was just looking at THIS YAHOO ARTICLE of bars that look out over incredible views of marvelous cities and was wondering if they'd included a fabulous restaurant/ bar in Athens where Mr. Z and I had dinner and watched the Acropolis on the hill in the not-too-far distance turning colors with different lighting.  I know, it sounds like a disgusting tacky lava lamp treatment, but it's not, it's an absolutely gorgeous sight.   It wasn't listed there in the article among the various bars sporting amazing views.

Suddenly, I thought to myself of the other really fantastic view from up high that I'd had the pleasure of looking at while I had a cocktail in the World Trade Center's restaurant, Windows on the World.   "Where is that?  How could they not include THAT?"

And then I remembered.

And then I remembered how creepy it was that evening looking down on that view that was so high up and vast that one felt like it was a scenic wallpaper instead of windows...and how I'd mentioned to the General Manager,  who'd sat with me and my cousin because she knew him, that the painting above the piano bar of a flaming globe was off putting as one sat so high up, being reminded of fire.  He said he'd heard that many times and the painting was being replaced with something else.  That was in 1979.
z

Planned Parenthood's best kept secret:

Margaret Sanger, Founder of Planned Parenthood, In Her Own Words

"The most merciful thing that a large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it." Margaret Sanger, Women and the New Race (Eugenics Publ. Co., 1920, 1923)

Editor of The Birth Control Review from 1917 to 1938. Founder of Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the world.  (Z: Please make sure you read the end of the post!)

Her goal in life:

Sanger admitted her entire life's purpose was to promote birth control. An Autobiography, p. 194
Helped to establish the research bureau that financed "the pill," she contributed toward the work of the German doctor who developed the IUD. Sanger espoused the thinking of eugenicists -- similar to Darwin's "survival of the fittest" -- but related the concept to human society, saying the genetic makeup of the poor, and minorities, for example, was inferior. Pivot of Civilization, by Margaret Sanger, 1922, p. 80 
 
On mandatory sterilization of the poor:

One of Sanger's greatest influences, sexologist/eugenicist Dr. Havelock Ellis (with whom she had an affair, leading to her divorce from her first husband), urged mandatory sterilization of the poor as a prerequisite to receiving any public aid. 

On eradicating 'bad stocks':

The goal of eugenicists is "to prevent the multiplication of bad stocks," wrote Dr. Ernst Rudin in the April 1933 Birth Control Review (of which Sanger was editor). Another article exhorted Americans to "restrict the propagation of those physically, mentally and socially inadequate."

On blacks, immigrants and indigents:

"...human weeds,' 'reckless breeders,' 'spawning... human beings who never should have been born." Margaret Sanger, Pivot of Civilization, referring to immigrants and poor people.”

On sterilization & racial purification:
Sanger believed that, for the purpose of racial "purification," couples should be rewarded who chose sterilization. Birth Control in America, The Career of Margaret Sanger, by David Kennedy, p. 117, quoting a 1923 Sanger speech.

On the right of married couples to bear children:
Couples should be required to submit applications to have a child, she wrote in her "Plan for Peace." Birth Control Review, April 1932

On the purpose of birth control:
The purpose in promoting birth control was "to create a race of thoroughbreds," she wrote in the Birth Control Review, Nov. 1921 (p. 2)

On the rights of the handicapped and mentally ill, and racial minorities:

"More children from the fit, less from the unfit -- that is the chief aim of birth control." Birth Control Review, May 1919, p. 12

On religious convictions regarding sex outside of marriage:

"This book aims to answer the needs expressed in thousands on thousands of letters to me in the solution of marriage problems... Knowledge of sex truths frankly and plainly presented cannot possibly injure healthy, normal, young minds. Concealment, suppression, futile attempts to veil the unveilable - these work injury, as they seldom succeed and only render those who indulge in them ridiculous. For myself, I have full confidence in the cleanliness, the open-mindedness, the promise of the younger generation." Margaret Sanger, Happiness in Marriage (Bretano's, New York, 1927)

On the extermination of blacks:

"We do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population," she said, "if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members."  

On respecting the rights of the mentally ill:

In her "Plan for Peace," Sanger outlined her strategy for eradication of those she deemed "feebleminded." Among the steps included in her evil scheme were immigration restrictions; compulsory sterilization; segregation to a lifetime of farm work; etc. Birth Control Review, April 1932, p. 107

On adultery:

A woman's physical satisfaction was more important than any marriage vow, Sanger believed. Birth Control in America, p. 11

On marital sex:

"The marriage bed is the most degenerating influence in the social order," Sanger said. 

On abortion:

"Criminal' abortions arise from a perverted sex relationship under the stress of economic necessity, and their greatest frequency is among married women." The Woman Rebel - No Gods, No Masters, May 1914, Vol. 1, No. 3.

On the YMCA and YWCA:

"...brothels of the Spirit and morgues of Freedom!"), The Woman Rebel - No Gods, No Masters, May 1914, Vol. 1, No. 3.

On the Catholic Church's view of contraception:

"...enforce SUBJUGATION by TURNING WOMAN INTO A MERE INCUBATOR." The Woman Rebel - No Gods, No Masters, May 1914, Vol. 1, No. 3.

On motherhood:

"I cannot refrain from saying that women must come to recognize there is some function of womanhood other than being a child-bearing machine." 

Z: I have all the sources if you're interested, or if you try to dispute this favorite of the Left's above mentioned opinions. 

One might say she's another "Robert Byrd of the Democrat party"...him being so loved and having been a KKK Recruiter.  right?    HERE is a fascinating blog on Sanger if you're interested.  Coincidentally, she's speaking to Klan "Gals" ...My GOD.

(thanks, M)

Obama is giving jobs to BRAZIL?

This is a video about how Obama's outsourced defense jobs to Brazil....The details are troubling, the outcome unsure as it's been taken to court.  Have YOU heard about this much?  No, I didn't think so.  I'd have thought it was pretty important, but I only noticed it as a footnote to another even more troubling story I'll be publishing very soon.

Here's the deal:  Brazil's plane beat the American Beechcraft's Hawker, according to the Pentagon.  The Hawker is apparently unacceptable and risky.  The interesting thing is that there are 750 Hawkers already in operation in our Armed Services!   The Brazilian plane is 30% more expensive than the Hawker.  The Hawker contract would create 1,200 high quality jobs for America.   But, Obama says in this video that "it's important to create jobs in both our nations."

I don't think so.  I think we need to create jobs HERE.  If Hawker is so unacceptable and risky, why are our airmen flying 750 of them?  And, if it's not so hot, why not let Beechcraft improve it before we go to Brazil to support their industry?
What is going ON?


z

A break this evening...............and, hopefully, a smile :-)

Cheating Miners....Obama's corruption?

Obama administration officials may have pressured government contractors to change job loss estimates associated with coal regulations, audio recordings reveal. The tapes show that unnamed officials with the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement asked government contractors to change their calculations of job losses associated with the Stream Protection Rule.

A preliminary draft of an environmental impact statement estimated that up to 7,000 coalminers could lose their jobs under the administration’s “preferred” regulation. After a leaked copy of the report went public, officials asked the contractors to compare job estimates to a model in which another regulation was enforced, rather than the real world numbers. ...

Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, blasted the administration’s refusal to cooperate with the investigation.

“The tapes validated many of our concerns that the administration went into this with an intent of devastating the coal industry, fully knowing that the provisions in the proposed rule would put 7,000 jobs at risk,” he said. “And they wanted to get away with it by playing pretend.”

Well, Rep. Johnson, good luck with that.    I just Googled your quote, which any honest media venue would use if it covered this information...but, no luck with any of the big ones.   Only Conservative blogs carry this story.   Ya, Mr. Johnson...good luck.   This administration can 'play pretend' for years and nobody'll know.

HERE is the full story.

I've often wondered at how much the Obama people can cook any books to make figures turn to their advantage, or to hurt industries they want hurt, anything to make things look like they're going their way.  I've noticed that the CBO has had a certain set of numbers that reflected badly on Obama and, the next day, they've changed to his advantage....I wonder if the Obama WH gets to them.  I also wonder if this story will even be followed up on one way or the other.  Or will Rep Johnson somehow be shut up.  I'd have thought it deserved some attention. 
z

Mountain Lion in Santa Monica?!

I arrived at an appointment today only to hear four helicopters hovering overheard when I arrived...........turns out that a mountain lion was loose in downtown Santa Monica!
HERE is the story.   When I saw the helicopters, I figured some burglar was trying to escape the police but then I heard about the lion!   The mountains aren't that close, so this was really surprising!

I had to go back to my car to get something after I'd arrived, the helicopters were still noisy,  and I figured "If it's a burglar, I can cope if he pops up in my way"  (Mr. Z used to often accuse me of being too brave in obvious trouble while sometimes suffering the 'small stuff')...but later I heard it was a MOUNTAIN LION and was glad my journey back to my car and back to the appointment was safe!

Here he is...was, actually.  They shot him with a tranquilizer but it didn't take so they had to kill him to protect people in the area.  So sad.  We don't get mountain lions downtown and so close to the Pacific Coast Highway......this was a weird one!

Z

Father of the YEAR?

Bruce Jenner, stepfather to the Kardashian girls and husband of Kris Jenner has been named Father of the Year by Esquire magazine.   HERE is the article.  Maybe he had little to do with the raising of Bob Karashian's three girls who are now so famous for their questionable and ubiquitous behavior, but it appears he's approved of what they've done.  He has two more daughters by Kris Jenner: let's hope they turn out a little better.  Apparently, he has three sons and a daughter by two other wives who his wife says "wasn't the best father."  So, today someone calls him "Father of the Year?"

It's not Father's Day yet, but what person IN PUBLIC LIFE (Not your own wonderful dad!..we know HE's the best) would YOU have named FATHER OF THE YEAR over Bruce Jenner?

Z

See this.

You may have already seen this.   Please see it again because it is so important that we know what's going on.   And SEND IT AROUND.

THIS is what we have to FIGHT......."OBAMA DOLLARS" and all the rest of the ridiculous things we've allowed to happen in America.
Z
(thanks, M)

AMERICA'S TUG o' WAR

I was just at Silverfiddle's blog and asked, in a comment, what he thought was the answer for the terrible divide between Republicans and Democrats.  SO, I thought I'd ask you, too.

We've always had disagreements about high taxes, low taxes, abortion, etc etc........WHY DO YOU THINK THINGS HAVE REACHED A SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE SITUATION WHERE EITHER SIDE WON'T GIVE IN......what is this really about?  What's THE BIGGEST thing that's really behind the GREAT DIVIDE OF 2012, that thing which seems to deter either side from any kind of cooperation?  It's almost like a tug of war, isn't it.

What caused this and why is it SO BAD THESE LAST 8 YEARS OR SO?  America's a democracy, we've always fought back and forth, why the sudden HATE and POWER GRAB?

As happens far, far too often to think this is a coincidence, just after I typed this post (Sunday afternoon), I ran across THIS ARTICLE.   The mayor of Newark, Cory Booker, is, I believe, wrong headed in his politics, but he sure did grasp the point of my post here!  He said Obama's ads are too negative and so are Romney's.  Gasp! He had the nerve to diss Obama?   Take a look.
UPDATE MONDAY MORNING:  Cory Booker is now 'walking back' from his criticism of Obama.    My, my, my..........he must have had a phone call.  He's even saying that Obama feels the same way about negative ads :-)   I guess that hazing gay guys doesn't count.  I guess the blasting of Romney and Bain doesn't count.  I guess........ ya, you get it.

Z

Robin Gibb

The Bee Gees' ROBIN GIBB has died.  I just had to post this because I've always liked the Bee Gees so much.  HERE is some information.

He sure contributed to an amazing amount of great entertainment.
Rest in Peace with your twin brother, Robin, and your younger brother, Andy...and thanks for great memories.

Barry Gibb has lost all of his younger brothers.......what are the chances?  Please say a prayer for him and all the family.
z

this cracked me up!

Sunday Faith Blog...Reagan and God

If you're a person of faith and believe this country's off kilter in that regard, bathe yourself in this video;  it's reassuring, it's wonderful, it could make your day.


Have a blessed Sunday.  Would that we'd hear these values today from any president.  The huge majority of this country is Christian, yet we're not allowed to talk like this anymore.  We've allowed the wrong people to chart our course in this country and call the shots.  Let's pray that someone will be bold and Americans will wake up.... in time.

(thanks, M)
Z

Reagan.........an amazing letter and a thank you to our Armed Services

Could you respect Reagan any more than you did?   Well, here's another reason to.  He not only answers a thirteen year old boy's letter to him, but he practically describes the difference between Democrats and Republicans as he does it.  Seventh-grader Andy Smith from Irmo, South Carolina, wrote Reagan in 1984: "Today my mother declared my bedroom a disaster area. I would like to request federal funds to hire a crew to clean up my room."

Reagan's reply:

Dear Andy:

I'm sorry to be so late in answering your letter but as you know I've been in China and found your letter here upon my return.

Your application for disaster relief has been duly noted but I must point out one technical problem; the authority declaring the disaster is supposed to make the request. In this case your mother.

However setting that aside I'll have to point out the larger problem of available funds. This has been a year of disasters, 539 hurricanes as of May 4th and several more since, numerous floods, forest fires, drought in Texas and a number of earthquakes. What I'm getting at is that funds are dangerously low.

May I make a suggestion? This administration, believing that government has done many things that could better be done by volunteers at the local level, has sponsored a Private Sector Initiative program, calling upon people to practice voluntarism in the solving of a number of local problems.

Your situation appears to be a natural. I'm sure your mother was fully justified in proclaiming your room a disaster. Therefore you are in an excellent position to launch another volunteer program to go along with the more than 3,000 already underway in our nation—congratulations.

Give my best regards to your mother.

Sincerely, Ronald Reagan

—From Reagan: A Life in Letters

I hadn't seen that and wondered if you had..........terrific, isn't it?   What a MAN;   this shows what we're so lacking these days, and it shows it on so many levels.

First, He answered at all.

He was sympathetic
He was encouraging and kind
He was clear and honest
He was educational
He understood the limits of a budget
He recommended the boy help HIMSELF
There's even a mention of the law Bush followed after Katrina, remember?  That law for which he got blasted for following?


Thanks, Mr. Reagan........if only you could come back.

And I know you'd join me in remembering ARMED FORCES DAY.

God bless all our people who served and who are still serving...we owe you so much.

Z and her buddies at geeeez

Breitbart : "Will the real Barack please stand up?"

HERE is the whole article...below are the parts I thought you should see (more to this story developed after I'd written this post and I add that down below...priceless stuff):

Breitbart News has obtained a promotional booklet produced in 1991 by Barack Obama's then-literary agency, Acton & Dystel, which touts Obama as "born in Kenya and raised in Indonesia and Hawaii."

The booklet, which was distributed to "business colleagues" in the publishing industry, includes a brief biography of Obama among the biographies of eighty-nine other authors represented by Acton & Dystel.

Obama’s biography in the booklet is as follows (image and text below):

Jay Acton, who represented Obama back then  "indicated that while "almost nobody" wrote his or her own biography, the non-athletes in the booklet, whom "the agents deal[t] with on a daily basis," were "probably" approached to approve the text as presented.
Dystel (Jay Acton's partner) did not respond to numerous requests for comment, via email and telephone. Her assistant told Breitbart News that Dystel "does not answer questions about Obama."


The biography does, however, fit a pattern in which Obama--or the people representing and supporting him--manipulate his public persona.
David Maraniss's forthcoming biography of Obama has reportedly confirmed, for example, that a girlfriend Obama described in Dreams from My Father was, in fact, an amalgam of several separate individuals.
In addition, Obama and his handlers have a history of redefining his identity when expedient. In March 2008, for example, he famously declared: "I can no more disown [Jeremiah Wright] than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother."
Several weeks later, Obama left Wright's church--and, according to Edward Klein's new biography, The Amateur: Barack Obama in the White House, allegedly attempted to persuade Wright not to "do any more public speaking until after the November [2008] election" (51).
Obama has been known frequently to fictionalize aspects of his own life. During his 2008 campaign, for instance, Obama claimed that his dying mother had fought with insurance companies over coverage for her cancer treatments. 

That turned out to be untrue, but Obama has repeated the story--which even the Washington Post called "misleading"--in a campaign video for the 2012 election.

The Acton & Dystel biography could also reflect how Obama was seen by his associates, or transitions in his own identity. He is said, for instance, to have cultivated an "international" identity until well into his adulthood (z; and running for office in these United States, of course), according to Maraniss. (you can read the rest of the article at the link under the first word of this post, HERE)   


Z:   So, this isn't a birther thing...Breitbart makes that CLEAR....it's about LIES and MANY DIFFERENT BARACK OBAMAS. 

HOLD THE PRESSES...I did this post Thursday afternoon and then, later on, I ran across THIS as a HEADLINE FOR YAHOO!    An agent ("Miriam Goderich edited the text of the bio; she is now a partner at the Dystel & Goderich agency, which lists Obama as one of its current clients.") is saying she just didn't bother to check the facts back then......it's ALL a mistake, folks.   Of course, they don't say where they got that information, but nevertheless;  BELIEVE them, it's all a big GOOF :-)

But, tellingly, the Yahoo article tries to misinterpret Breitbart.com's whole reason for having even printed this story of the old brochure.  They say "Breitbart.com published a lengthy disclaimer with the brochure, saying it does not believe Obama was born outside of the United States:  (Z: DISCLAIMER of WHAT?)   The Breitbart article says plenty (again, see the very top link) but their point is:  "It is evidence--not of the President's foreign origin, but that Barack Obama's public persona has perhaps been presented differently at different times."   Can any sane person not see that?

(Breitbart NEVER said he was a birther, NEVER.)

Sorry, Yahoo, sorry White House, sorry leftwingers, but Breitbart's piece stands and there is no 'disclaimer' because there is nothing to disclaim.  But, good try.  "@(#b&*a@#s(*$t&a(@*r#&d$(s&*#"


The fun never quits, does it. 
thanks, Mustang.
z

Donna Summer's very "Last Dance"........

She added such a lot to my life and, probably, to yours....I picked the image above because she was more than the big haired disco queen........she set the bar for many marvelous future performers.   Rest in peace, Donna, and may God comfort your family.

z

I need a new book

There are gazillions of good books, and I've read quite a few of them (!), but I wondered if anybody's reading anything really good now that you could recommend?    

Could you comment with 2-3 of your all-time favorites, too?    I know I'd love to hear them and I think my commenter buddies would, too.   And I know you probably read good political stuff, but how's about a good NOVEL?  I need a BREAK!


Thanks!

Z

SPAM

I just found 12 comments in SPAM that I didn't know were there.  I'm not releasing them because they're in older posts, but not so old that some of you might not remember and think that I deleted you.

I DID NOT.  Net Observer had a few thought-provoking comments I'm sorry went there (WHY?), KP had some, Beamish had a couple, Rita had one or two...I can't remember the others, but I want to apologize for my spam situation;  I was surprised to find them there.

I did NOT ignore your questions to me, I just never saw them.  
Thanks..

z

Chris Matthews, hypocrisy and JEOPARDY!

I would never blog this embarrassing situation for MSNBC's Chris Matthews because we could all fall apart on Jeopardy, knowing millions are watching....But I do post it because of these comments from Matthews about Sarah Palin over the last couple of years:

-Do you think she’d do better on the questions on Jeopardy! or the interview they do during a half-time?

-Don’t put her on Jeopardy!”

-If she were on Jeopardy! right now and the topic was national government, American government generally defined, would she look like an imbecile, or would she look okay? Does she know anything?"

-“I’d like to see her on just a couple of episodes of Celebrity Jeopardy!

HERE is the link..........the video's short and VERY amusing as poor Chris blunders through, not knowing the answers, even if the loathsome Robert Gibbs (past White House press guy) wins :-)    I suppose they'll have 3 Republicans on tonight?  They sure had none on last night.  Maybe it's just an oversight.  Because Alex Trebek's a pretty smart guy.  A lot smarter than Chris Matthews, I guess.

z

They're demanding Romney's last 12 years of tax returns?

Lies proven again....but who's listening?

I don't usually watch videos that I'm warned last as "long as a cup of coffee" as Lone Ranger did at HIS BLOG....  But, I watched today and had to post it here for you to see.  I'm also sending it to friends via email and I SO HOPE you do the same.  And send it to your liberal kids, please.
The lies never stop..........and yes, I KNOW my libs will discredit every bit of irrefutable information because it's a GLENN BECK presentation :-) but.......sometimes, we have to just grow up and see things unpleasant to our eyes and mind, and I suggest they watch, too.  Please pay particular attention to his comments about Jeremiah Wright :-)
Let me know what you think....I'll just say WOW, what a 'man' we have as president of these United States.

z

Democrats and racism.........

Photo Credit:Center for Social Inclusion

Maya Wiley, founder and president of the Center for Social Inclusion, trained House Democrats on how to inject race into public policy debates. 

 

 The Washington Times article goes on:

 

House Democrats received training this week on how to raise the issue of race to defend government programs, according to training materials obtained by The Washington Examiner.

The prepared content of a Tuesday presentation to the House Democratic Caucus and staff indicates that Democrats will seek to portray apparently neutral free-market rhetoric as being charged with racial bias, conscious or unconscious.

In her distributed remarks, Maya Wiley of the Center for Social Inclusion criticized "conservative messages [that are] racially 'coded' and had images of people of color that we commonly see used" and proposed tactics for countering the Republicans' (presumably) racially-coded rhetoric. (end of article)

Isn't this whole scenario rather racist?  And are Black Americans really the only ones who need government programs to survive?   Wow.   And what interest is it to ANY American to be racist, particularly to Republicans who want to bring people together, fighting for the survival of this country?  Got any thoughts on this on any level?

Z   Thanks, Mustang.

Sunday Faith Blog....my stepson and Mother's Day

My stepson leaves for Munich tonight...after a stay of three months.  I have enjoyed him every bit as much as I did last year, the year before, etc.......He's busy and I'm busy so we aren't living in each others' pockets and that makes it easy, but he's also helped me SO much with my cars, my home, etc.  He's been amazing and kind in so many ways and I must say that God gave me a wonderful stepson...a tribute to his parents...and, I think, a fitting thing to note here on Mother's Day...........thanks, A. 
Now here's my Sunday Faith Post:
 
"When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, 'Dear woman, here is your son,'  and to the disciple, 'Here is your mother.' From that time on, this disciple took her into his home." (John 19:26-27)

This is one of my favorite scenes in Christian history...........First, imagine being considered by Jesus to be "the disciple whom he loved"?  It's almost mind boggling to wonder what that would feel like.  I think, today, many pastors and other Christians would say "but you are that person Jesus loves, too!"    Well, that's nice, and I do believe He loves us, but when the scripture clearly says "the disciple whom he loved,"  that's singling John out as someone VERY special.  I think any Christian would long for the special, singular distinction as written in the Bible!

Jesus wanted to make sure his mother was taken care of after he was gone....and he seems to have wanted his mother, that "dear woman" Mary, to take John on as a son.   Some who have studied this history believe she might have lived with John in Ephesus, some think in Jerusalem.  Wherever it was, Jesus had made sure she was cared for until she was with him in heaven...and history tells us she was, wherever it was.

He honored His mother, and we honor ours.   Not all of us have good relationships with mothers, I know that, but I hope most of you do and that maybe hearts can be mended if times have been rough with your mothers for some of you.

God bless you, mothers who visit geeeeZ;  may you have a really wonderful day being honored by those you gave birth to and care for........and to grandmothers, too!

Blessings to you on this special Sunday.  If my mother read my blog on a regular basis, I'd be saying HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, MOM!  But, she doesn't, and I'll be seeing her today, anyway :-)   The pink rose is for all the Moms visiting here today, the yellow's particularly for my mother, who loves yellow roses.



z

Obama's suckin' up, too, huh?

Clooney brought in FIFTEEN MILLION DOLLARS....$40,000 a plate.   The most any presidential event's ever brought in.   
I think Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said it best:

"With a first term this disastrous, we can't afford to see the second -- because if we've learned anything from Hollywood, it's that the sequel is always worse."

My goodness, with the lies that the Democrats use about Republicans having all the money (they don't...Wall St is mostly Democrats, Republicans give more in charity though they don't have as much dough, etc.), I'm surprised they could find 150 people who could pay that much for dinner :-)

By the way, it does give me pause to publish a picture like this, I hate it because this is a president (God help us)......but I hate what Obama's doing to America even more. So, it stays.

geeeeeeeZ  (thanks for the image, Mustang)

Breasts. Time to GROW UP, folks.

I've been thinking a little about the image on the left and how our culture's come to the point that this is acceptable as a cover for any supposedly mainstream magazine.   Imagine in the early 1900's when women were revered and cherished for their beauty and their modesty.   I think that was better, I don't care WHAT anybody says.  
As  for the image on the right, which our friend/commenter "Impertinent" sent me, that's absolutely a perfect image for what Obama's bringing to us all.   I keep asking lefties what happens when the money runs out...what happens when the milk runs out?
My mother used to say "Breast feeding is probably good for a year of a child's life...and, maybe some prefer more time, but  when a child's old enough to unbutton a mother's blouse, he's too old to nurse. Period"  Amen to that.  
Time for our lefties to stop unbuttoning the blouse.........there's NOTHING LEFT.
z

Could you do this?

Think how many people FORTY FIVE MILLION DOLLARS could feed.

Instead, someone paid that huge amount of money for this Lichtenstein, part of Sotheby's auction of postwar and contemporary art, which brought in $267 million.  I love contemporary art; I'd love to have The Sleeping Girl, but I couldn't hang it on a wall (or be a Sleeping Woman) knowing I could have fed a LOT of people with FORTY FIVE MILLION DOLLARS.   That's a LOT of mac'n cheese.

z

Israel's behind US?

My friend Julie just got back from a two week trip in Israel.  She purchased a T Shirt on her trip and was wearing it the other day and showed it to me and a few of our friends......I found the exact T Shirt image on line:

Everyone who saw it laughed but I said to my friend Sylvia "It should be the other way" and she said "that's what's so funny about it!"   I realized, with an astonishingly heavy feeling, that I actually read it not as funny but truthful.  I realized that my psyche, after having been bombarded with news of weakening our military for the last few years, has so affected me that I thought the T Shirt's sentiment was serious.

I blogged this because my reaction was such a shock to me and such a revelation about how deeply the information we're being given every day affects us.     Ya, don't sorry, Israel's on our side...........the tables are reversed and we could very well need Israel some day.   Who'd have thought it?

z

Koch Brothers.....a lesson

If you think George Soros is tied, privately, quietly and effectively, to Sunstein, Obama, Geithner, etc, etc,  raise your hand.   Oh, my GOSH, the wind almost blew me away from the computer screen!  Whew...okay, now settle down :-)    But, we don't hear too much about him, do we.   Mention the Koch Brothers to anybody on the Left and see what happens!   So, I thought this video Elmer's Brother just emailed to me was pretty important.  Sadly, only conservatives will be enlightened (if they didn't know all of this already), but at least the truth gets out.   Here it goes:

That Stephanie Cutter who opened the video says she's Deputy Campaign Director for Obama for America, and I swear, I cringed in embarrassment for her for a second.  Weird reaction, but true.


Please pass this video around........people need to know.  It's not enough that conservatives learn this stuff.


Thanks.
Z

Ghandi had it right, don't you think?

Goodies, goodies, goodies....the name of the game in politics

So, GREECE's people are enraged at 'economic hardships'....WE WANT OUR GOODIES EVEN IF THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NO MONEY LEFT!   And they say that German Chancellor Angela Merkel should understand that austerity policies had been defeated.   I say "Good for THEM......they have no more money and they don't want austerity, they want their goodies, damn it!"    I wonder where FROM?

The FRENCH are the same way.   France's economy stinks right now and the people are mad because they looked at losing some of their free goodies, too, if Sarkozy had stayed in power!  SO, they lost the only lifeline they had into sanity and voted for the Leftie!  "Good job, France!  We know YOU have no more money, either, but that shouldn't mean  you lose your goodies!"    And, like Greece, where do you think YOU'LL be getting your goodies FROM?? $$  

Don't tighten your belts.  Don't turn to family and friends for help.  Don't help anybody else.  Don't expect to have to work and pay for your education.  Don't like corporations, just expect your huge salaries and benefits from them.  Don't believe that there's any end to the money, there'll always be rich guys to steal from!  Don't.............ya, my readers could keep going with that one, I know.


Don't kid yourselves, America...we've got the same mentality here.  NO MONEY?  Just SPEND MORE!  VOTE OBAMA!$$$$  :-)    WE WANT OUR GOODIES!  Vote Democrat!   Ptui

z

Republicans: is it over?

From THIS blog, comes an article listing reasons for why America won't have another Republican president again, all things I've thought of in the past,  so I wanted to post it. 

Since I got this post ready, I got an email of rebuttals to the points so I'm including them in blue: Here's the piece:

Is it possible that George W. Bush could be the last Republican president ever, or at least for the foreseeable future?
Am I crazy to even formulate that question?
Maybe not and here are 10 reasons why.

1. Rapidly changing demographic trends that favor the Democrat Party.
Other trends, such as Mormon church growing 50% in 10 years show other signs that things are not so bleak. People who have children tend to believe in a future that will be better than the past. That is fundamentally a conservative value. The future belongs to those who show up and those having babies are those who are going to be showing up.

2. An education system controlled by liberals that churns out young liberals.
As a father of two high school age kids, I can tell you that the kids today have absolutely nothing but contempt for the system that has stolen their future. You have nothing to worry about here. Nothing makes a conservative faster than the experience of living in liberalism and the school system today is churning out thousands of kids who absolutely hate the liberal system. As a person who came into the political world in 1979, I can tell you that nothing made me a conservative more than the example of executive leadership provided by Jimmy Carter and I never thought I would say this, but I finally have seen someone in Executive Power that’s far worse at his job than even Jimmy Cater. Jimmy Carter was a paragon of competency by comparison to the current President.

3. A population with an ever increasing dependence on government in the form of entitlements and subsidies.
All of which are inadequate and require the user of such programs to be degraded and fed into systems that make a day at the DMV seem like fun. Again, if you want to see people who hate the government, go visit the post office or the DMV or the IRS.

4. A mainstream media that is overwhelmingly comprised of journalists who subtly and not so subtly spin the news in support of Democrats and liberal causes.
And they have never looked more ridiculous and without merit as a result. What used to be a respected calling now looks like World Wide Wrestling without the makeup. This would be a problem if the average person wasn’t already self selecting their own news in a way that was impossible even 10 years ago. rating up in liberal media land? or lower? More evidence? The Zimmerman case. The days of “journalism”, he would never have stood a chance. They would have had him convicted and thrown under the jail.

5. The influence of Hollywood, which makes it cool to be a liberal Democrat.
If this was true, Smoking would be increasing every year since every movie uses cigarettes as a character prop. And I would also submit the case that Hollywood tried like crazy to make anti-war movies that make money and yet, fails every time.

6. The growing power concentrated in local, state, and federal government worker unions, whose members actively campaign against Republicans on the taxpayer dime.  (See WI Governor Walker’s upcoming recall election for an active example of this.)
A recall election that his opposition is not even campaigning against his rebuke of Public Sector unions since its so obviously working to improve the State. And watch Scott Walker win that election too. I also reject the idea that Public Sector Unions are growing. Public Sector Unions are fighting for their lives in 40 of 50 states. The battle isnt over, but its going our way if for no other reason than the simple tyranny of budgetary math. Today people do not look at “Government” as their friend and helper as they did in the 1930′s. Now they look at Government as the enemy and the thing that is getting in their way.

7. A culture where non-traditional social and sexual behavior has become mainstream.
uhhhh. I dont know what you mean here. What does sex or sexuality have to do with the republican party and conservatism, except that we dont think that its any of your business one way or another. Move along…

8. A hatred for Republicans in general and a tendency to blame the party for “the mess we’ve inherited.”
I know! In 1984 that’s all I heard! “EVERYONE HATES REAGAN”!!!. I think he won 49 of 50 states that year. Everyone hates the Yankees too but that’s because they win most of the time. Look at it this way, everyone loves a loser. And by the way, keep repeating this meme “The Tea Party is all washed up” because that’s the same sort of message. Senator Lugar and a few others might have something to say in that regard.

9. A Republican Party that is growing increasingly white, old, southern, and male, while alienating majorities of younger voters, Hispanics, African Americans, gays, teachers, young professionals, atheists, unmarried women, and even suburban married women. (Z:  'alienating' through encouraging wholesome values, honesty, self-sufficiency, etc., of course)
Its also increasingly made up of ex military and technical business folk. Why? Because people tend to get more conservative the older they get( the school of experience has new graduates every day). Take a look around, the population is getting older and that means that things are getting better, not worse for the Republicans. Proof? Look at what the Tea Party has been able to do in 2010. You think that was a Democrat group? If your theory were right, that would never have happened and the youth sponsored OWS movement would really mean something. Frankly, I cant think of any other thing in recent memory that has caused more people to come over to the Republican side than the whole OWS movement.


10. The internet and the growing social media phenomenon that strongly tilts in favor of Democrats.
Together, all of the above reasons are reflected in the latest Obama vs. Romney Real Clear Politics Electoral College map.......

The internet is also a force that proven repeatedly to vex the statist desires of the left. We have proved repeatedly we can give as good as we get. Shall we go back over the long history of things that we on the right have dismantled and turned against the left with the internet? AP Photoshopping in Lebanon? Dan Rather and George Bush? Van Jones? And this latest gift from internet Gods, the “Julia” campaign which is so hokey that everyone on both sides is laughing at it. If there was ever a media that allowed a firehose of mockery to be turned on the left, its the internet.

Upon examining this lopsided electoral matchup, one could conclude that Romney is not the strongest candidate the Republicans could nominate to go up against Obama.  Sure, you could say that, but you would be wrong.
The truth is that Romney, at this time, is actually the best candidate the Republicans could have to spearhead the ticket. The reasoning is that since Romney is perceived as “more moderate,” he has a better chance of converting independent voters in those nine toss-up states with 115 electoral votes than any of his former GOP rivals. (Do you seriously think Gingrich, Santorum, Bachmann, Cain, or Perry would be doing any better?)
Romney’s problem with the electoral map is NOT Mitt Romney. But the attitude and composition of the voting electorate is trending away from what the Republicans, as a brand, have traditionally stood for — less government, traditional values, taking charge of your own destiny, strong defense, God, family, and apple pie.
Does anyone seriously have a plan to turn around current social and cultural trends?  Think about the 10 reasons at the beginning of this piece and it becomes clear that the Democrat voting mold is cast.
This pains me to write, but let’s just say the statistical chances of Romney winning 100 out of those 115 electoral votes prove to be too much and President Obama is re-elected.
What happens to Republicans as they try again for the White House in 2016?  Here is a preview.
Base conservatives who were against Romney and wanted a “true conservative” at the top of the ticket in 2012 will blame Romney for the loss and the cycle of finding a “Reagan conservative” leader will begin again just like it did after McCain’s loss to Obama in 2008.
Meanwhile, traditional Republican states like North Carolina, Virginia, and Arizona have become fierce battlegrounds, joining the usual battlegrounds of Ohio and Florida. Thus, the path to 270 for ANY present and future Republican presidential nominee becomes narrower and narrower while the Democrats have an increasing number of options.
Looking back, based on how much the demographic composition of the nation had changed, there are studies (by Democrat think tanks) that conclude John Kerry in 2004 and even Michael Dukakis in 1988 would have won the White House if they faced the same electorate then that President Obama is facing this November.  The Democrats know that today’s demographics are their destiny.
I wish I had better news to report, but based on the 10 reasons cited above I conclude that President George W. Bush and President Millard Fillmore might just have something in common.
Fillmore in 1850 was the last Whig Party president, and Bush re-elected in 2004 might be the last Republican Party president.
For the sake of this nation’s future, I hope I am wrong. However, when I look at all the young Democrat voters in my own family, I shake my head.The thought of any of them voting for a Republican president this time or anytime in the future is as unlikely as any one of them quitting Facebook.
It’s the culture, stupid.

Think this is wrong? I hope so....tell us why.   And, do you think the rebuttal in blue is right?   Please say "Yes", it'll cheer me up!

And I'd love to give credit to whoever wrote the depressing and optimistic parts, but THIS is the best I can do.  (thanks, Imp, for sending me the info)
z