Sunday, March 31, 2013

Sunday Blog; Happy Easter Sunday! (and an Easter Rainbow)


I wish you a very Happy Easter with all the commercial fun thrown in! 

Bunnies, Peeps, flowers, ham or lamb, colored eggs.....speaking of eggs, HERE is a fun Armenian custom well explained, something I grew up with and will undoubtedly participate in tonight after dessert! (nobody actually eats the egg after the cracking, some leave them at the hostess' and I suppose a few take them home for the next day).

Christ died and rose for us and Easter is such a happy time to celebrate that greatest gift EVER GIVEN ANYONE.  

I think He'd want us to enjoy this Sunday so have fun!   But, please remember His sacrifice and His love!  It truly is a "Glorious Day".....

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In his great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."  1 Peter 1:3
This is a rainbow photographed this morning by my nephew in Northern California....Beautiful way to start Easter Sunday!

Happy Easter / Happy Resurrection Sunday!

Z


Saturday, March 30, 2013

What IS "Winning?"

Most of you have heard that Nike has a new motto "Winning Takes Care of Everything,"  right?   Apparently, Tiger Wood has said this for years and Nike used it in an ad under his picture.  It's not Tiger who apparently came up with this ad, it was the Nike ad department, but how could they not have realized what they were saying?

Winning does take care of his finances, his reputation, his ego, right?  But it doesn't smooth over what he did to his wife and children, does it?   Someone on the news last night said something like "perhaps if Tiger came forth and told Nike 'no, it doesn't, really....I made a mess of my family and no amount of winning will take care of that'..."   Wouldn't that have said a lot about Tiger?  But, he hasn't.   He's feeling better, he's playing great golf again, and he's having an affair with skier Lindsay Vonn.  Life is sweet for him, isn't it.  On the outside.  And, maybe, for him, on the inside, too.
 
I'm blogging it today because I felt like it was part of the Easter message. Is it WINNING that "takes care of everything?" 

Winning is SO SO much more.........and faith has a big part of that, in my opinion.  I know people who have very little money and they're winners........I know people who've suffered terrible health problems and they've won in so many ways. 

What makes you feel someone is a TRUE WINNER?

Z

Friday, March 29, 2013

Goodness.........

It's GOOD FRIDAY today.   Most of us know that Jesus Christ was probably killed on a Friday, but the actual day really isn't important, is it.  What's important is it happened.

The day is only called "good" in the English language.  In Germany, the day is called Karfreitag and "kar" is thought to be very old German for "suffering" or "mourning"..which makes a lot more sense than "good" for this day that Christ suffered so terribly.

The origin of the term Good is actually not clear. Some say it is from "God's Friday" (Gottes Freitag); others maintain that it is from the German Gute Freitag, and not specially English. Which is fine, except I've lived in Germany and it is always called Karfreitag, not Gute (Good) Friday.  Sometimes, too, the day was called Long Friday by the Anglo-Saxons; so today in Denmark.

Whatever it is, it's a GOOD day because of Christ's sacrifice and how much it means to the whole world...that's very, very GOOD.


Be extra very, very good today to someone you know.  I think that's an excellent way to acknowledge the day, don't you?
z

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Obama Lies

So, I know many of us don't like spending the time to watch a video, but this one's particularly worth it because it's something you will not see in the mainstream news.  Of course, facts are there, articulately submitted and discussed, but Obama's, let's say "mischaracterization" has not been corrected by the mainstream media.   Again.
What do you think of this?  Don't you believe Americans should know both sides of everything, particularly if they're not being told the truth?

I hope so.

z

Where's it go from here when "here" isn't too hot?!

Can bikinis get smaller? (remember when bathing suits were lovely and decent but still sexy?)
Can language get fouler?  (remember when men wouldn't swear in front of women?)
Can people dress sloppier? (remember when people wore hats and gloves and women mostly wore skirts?)
Can children have sex any younger? (have you heard about kids having oral sex at 10 in school buses?)
Can TV situations become more lewd? (ever watched Hot in Cincinnati, for example?)
Absolutely nothing's made anymore of young girls choosing to have kids without dads...
Some kids just tried to poison their teacher and we all know what happened, by kids, at Columbine, for example.   What is GOING ON?

Where DO we go from here?   Seriously.   Last night, I walked by a young father out for a walk with his little son.  The guy might as well have just got out of bed and walked outside;  he looked positively disgusting.   You see young couples and the girl's wearing the same crappy jeans and TShirt her boyfriend's wearing.  You can't tell a difference between them.  Sad, isn't it?  What are people thinking anymore these days?

Maybe some of what I mentioned above is okay by you, and that's FINE, but I'm wondering how much "live and let live" and  "do your own thing" can go before there's no place worse to get, you know?   Then what?

It's one thing to be "open minded" and accept all that's going on in American "culture" these days....you can agree or disagree with it, but my point is how bad can things get when there isn't much wiggle room?  Will Miss America's swimsuit competition soon be naked?  Will F*** join the rest of the amazing language we hear on TV today?  Will full-on sex be portrayed on television?   Etc etc.......   There's not a lot of room to get worse, you know?

I liked it better when people cared how they looked, at least tried to watch their mouths (I'll admit I'm no angel with language sometimes, and life was just plain sweeter, you know?

Do you think culture can improve or is it just too late.........?


Z

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Why our country will fail

I don't know who said it yesterday, but some government official said that "cutting costs in this city would be POLITICAL SUICIDE."

The left so often blames Republicans for EVERYTHING, including this rotten economy, but which party is it who has made so many Americans dependent enough on freebies for a politician to say that? 

So, as we've all said for years, Democrats won't cut anything because they'd have no political careers, and Republicans are afraid to do as much cutting as necessary.........how do we survive?

Z

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Obama's phone etiquette

This really bugs me........I know a president's busy, believe me, and I know he at least saluted, but I'd almost rather he'd not saluted.   Sorry for the caption language, I didn't write it, obviously.  But........REALLY?  Must he be so perfunctory to two of America's best?  It's not like he's had to salute to a hundred people that day.  What's it take to put the cell phone down for a sec?

I'm probably over reacting, but it says a LOT to me.

Z

You can't get on your internet server....

........what would you miss the most?

Blogs?   Email?  Googling?

??

Z

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Gay Conversion Therapy

THIS is very interesting.  Gay Conversion Therapy.....

I don't really care one way or the other about it except that I do know that there are people who've left the gay lifestyle after therapy.   Sadly, I also know that there people who've been emotionally hurt by it.  Here's a woman whose book I just started to read.  She was a lesbian activist tenured English professor at the University of Syracuse who decided to debunk the Bible for something she wanted to write, didn't like anything about Christians, and became one after reading the Bible and talking to a minister over the course of a couple of years.  She left her lesbian lover and is married to a pastor now and they've adopted four children.  Her faith in Christ and leaving her lover did not include gay conversion therapy 'per se' but most conversation therapy, I believe, is tackled by Christians seeking to help those who've asked for help.

What bothers me is information which is in that link above...I do care that there are people who actually think that gay conversion therapy needs to be banned by legislation.  What in the heck for?  Let's not forget that nobody's forcing anybody who thinks he's gay to get converted;  it's a choice.

WHY is it that libs, like ghouls, believe in CHOICE only when it could have a dead baby as a consequence of that choice? 

So, whether you think gay conversion therapy is good or bad, isn't it nuts to ban it by law?  Are we so screwed that we can't even decide for ourselves something like this?

What do you think?
z

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Bush Lied? Check this out...you'll want to watch all of it.


THIS TRAGIC VET'S LETTER TO BUSH should be addressed to Clinton, Edwards, Reid, etc etc...all the Democrats who supported going into Iraq before and after 9/11.   The real tragedy is that the media would think it's such a good idea to publish this letter and give it headline status to get still more jabs into Bush after all these years.   It's almost as if they're using this poor dying man's letter to forward their agenda.   
God bless that poor man and give him peace. 
Z

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

"Bite Me"...Kurt Schlichter makes some sense here...

Who the hell is New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to presume that he has a say in what I or any other American chooses to drink? Of course, the answer for any self-respecting citizen is that he has no such say, and the proper response to him and his legion of petty fascist fan boys is the suggestion that they pucker up – and I will politely decline to identify what they should kiss.

It’s a sad commentary that the once boisterous, independent, take-no-guff New York
er of the past has been replaced by a gutless, cowardly supplicant eager to obey the commands of whatever pint—sized potentate occupies Gracie Mansion. Back in the day, a real New Yorker would look that tiny troll in the mayor’s office in his beady little eyes and laugh, “Hey Mikey, I got your Big Gulp right here.”

These bossy snobs are getting out of hand, and it’s time to push back – hard. Besides bein
g the American thing to do, resistance to this creeping liberal totalitarianism is a huge opportunity for conservatives.
Obedience to arbitrary authority is counter to everything that America stands for. We didn’t reluctantly cede a tiny bit of our personal sovereignty to the government so a bunch of know-it-all twerps could tell us what to eat, what to smoke, what to do and how to live. We did it to allow them the ability to keep order, which they have manifestly failed to do, and to perform a few basic governmental functions, which they have likewise failed to do.

So, a government that has failed to adequately perform the few discrete tasks which it should be performing now wishes to do a bunch of other things which it has no business doing in the first place, and which it will inevitably do badly and thereby cause even more problems than existed in the first place.

It’s time to say “No,” and our rejection of this obnoxious governmental overreach has the potential to create a new coalition that could up-end the status quo.

Real conservatives detest the idea of a government so big and intrusive that it feels free to interfere with such basic liberties as choosing what to eat. And they also hate the idea of a government so big and intrusive that it feels that it is within its rights to, say, blow up American citizens within the United States because it, well, thinks blowing them up is a good idea.

It’s all part of the same unearned hubris. The notion that some government functionary can tell you what you can drink or not drink based on his notion of what’s good for society is not so far from the notion that he can decide who lives or who dies based on his notion of what’s good for society.

Sadly, the enablers of these uppity functionaries aren’t just the usual liberal nanny-staters. You have putative Republicans conceding that “Well, I guess sugar is really bad…”, as if it matters whether high fructose corn syrup is the devil’s brew or an elixir from the Fountain of Youth. They should never reach the question of whether sugar is good, bad or indifferent; the mere posing of the question is antithetical to everything a real conservative believes. It’s none of their damn business.

Moreover, the appalling argument that “Well, we all have to pay for obesity” itself accepts the flawed premise that “we all” have any business paying for anyone’s health care. I’ve researched the Constitution pretty thoroughly and have been unable to find anything about me shelling out my dough to subsidize some couch-dwelling slacker’s doctor visits.

Maybe the enumerated power to do so is dwelling behind some penumbra or emanation, but it seems like making that argument accepts the idea that government ought to be in the health care business in the first place. And if the fact that the Constitution says nothing about doing so isn’t enough to show why it shouldn’t be, the idea that because the government does so gives it the right to micromanage our lives is itself ample reason to reject that hateful notion.

The specter of pseudo-cons like Senators John McCain and Lindsay Graham fussing about Senator Rand Paul making a stink about the fact that the President’s progressive Mini-Me Eric Holder refused to give a straight answer about whether The One could ice folks in the U.S.A. on a whim demonstrates the problem. Too many sort of-cons sort of like the idea of unlimited governmental power.

And you know who else besides real conservatives has some real questions about governmental overreach? Well, a lot of them are folks we conservatives have been simply unable to reach. In fact, we hardly even tried, mostly because we are just as suspicious of them as they are of us.
There is a whole group of potential allies out there – the Millennials who grew up familiar with technology but chafing at their helicopter parents and the politically correct hypocrisy of the education establishment. Many of them think of themselves as “liberal,” but they have little use for bums who want to lay about sponging off producers. Their liberalism is more about affectation and cultural posturing than about political positions – they reject the idea of the anti-gay, anti-woman, anti-sex conservative boogeyman they’ve been taught in the media, not conservatism itself.

These young folks have bought into the notion that conservatives are somehow obsessed with other people’s sex lives, which is false – conservatives are obsessed with their own sex lives, as the CPAC meat market demonstrates. But the wacky notion that some conservative is going to climb in their bedroom window to interrupt their trysting by making them pray has convinced this huge demographic to support an ideology that leaves them burdened with student debt and living in their parents’ homes – and thus unlikely to ever have sex to begin with.
 The key to defeating this residual cultural affinity is twofold. First, conservatives need to avoid feeding old stereotypes with boneheaded maneuvers like making idiotic pronouncements about rape and writing jerktastic articles about how being a gay conservative is the result of a Marxist conspiracy. Remember, these young people grew up being taught to be tolerant. They’ll be tolerant of anyone – including hardcore Christians – who are themselves tolerant. We don’t have to accept anything we consider immoral – we just have to not be jerks about it.
Second, conservatives need to emphasize the pro-freedom agenda that both demographics share. Millenials have no desire to be dictated to about their snack options or hellfired by some drone either. Nor do they want to get arrested for jailbreaking their iPhone or sued for a $100,000 for downloading the latest terrible Mumford & Sons song. And for the few who have found jobs in the Obama economy, the tax bite on their pay stubs is just as unwelcome.
Call it the Coalition of the Unwilling to Be Bossed Around.

We need to understand that the freedom sometimes means people make choices we don’t like and, where appropriate, compromise. I’m certainly ready to accept a few stoners bogarting doobs and some gay dudes exchanging vows if it means a smaller government so constrained and neutered that it wouldn’t dare try to tell me how to live out my faith or how many bullets I can keep in my M4, much less how many ounces of Mountain Dew I can pour into my Styrofoam cup.
It’s time to put aside a few policy disagreements to build a new alliance of citizens who believe that government has gotten too big for its britches and needs to be reined in. We may not agree on all the specifics, but we can build a majority of Americans who can stand together for liberty and, as one, offer the proper response to these tin pot dictators of liberalism: “Bite me.”

"Bite me" is an expression which has, for some reason, always made me laugh.   I printed this article not because I agree with all of it but because it makes us think.  And we need to think and we need to incorporate a lot of what this guy says about even young people who think they're liberal not really being quite so liberal when shown what this government's doing to them.

What do you think?
Z

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

CNN like FOX??

CNN becoming "more like FOX news"??   Wait.  Half of CNN's contributors are conservatives, like FOX has half its contributors liberals?  I DON'T THINK SO!!!

THIS ARTICLE suggests that CNN is becoming more editorialized.  It says "Fox News' evening coverage was also dominated by interviews."  Ummm.  FOX's evening coverage is O'Reilly and Hannity.  Of course it's interviews; that's their style, it's not news, per se.

That horrid Shep Smith is on FOX in "the evening" and he has almost no interviews, just NEWS, so what are these authors doing, lying?

CNN has been every bit on the Left as FOX has been on the Right but the media never mentions that, does it.  Actually, FOX has had FAR FAR more liberals under contract and on every single day than CNN ever had the guts to do for Conservatives............Check out the link under "This Article" above...it's a short piece but interesting.  The bias there is so obvious.   Will they ever stop bashing FOX?

At least the authors admit MSNBC is "left leaning"  :-)   Duh, REALLY?!!

Z


Monday, March 18, 2013

What a way to start the week...

I should have used this shot I was just sent for my Sunday Faith Blog yesterday:  "Please God, don't let Americans be this ridiculous..."  (though I have no proof they would not..)

Who'd be your nightmare candidates?

Z

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Sunday Faith Blog

"Father, I pray in Jesus' name that You restore a social conscience to our nation.  Thank you for the rich and glorious heritage we have as a country.  Let us never forget that this was a country founded upon religious freedom and the principles and precepts of Your Word.  May the same spirit reside in us as it did in our founding fathers.  Let us never forget the thousands upon thousands who shed their blood and gave their lives so we might enjoy the freedoms we now have.

Help us unite together in support of our nation.  Help us rise above political, racial, and social differences, to stand together as citizens of the United States of America.  Let us bind together in support of our president, military and Congress.   Let us be proud to fly the American flag and sing "The Star Spangled Banner."

Help us be mindful to pray for our nation and its leaders.  Help us to pray for those in authority to make the right decisions that will keep our nation strong.  Help us remember that even though our country may have faults, it deserves the loyalty, commitment, and support of all citizens."

"Our institutions of freedom will not survive unless they are constantly replenished by the faith that gave them birth."   John Foster Dulles, Secretary of State, 1953-59, under President Eisenhower. ...

..........from Pray for our Nation by Keith and Megan Provance
 
"Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find? The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him."  Proverbs 20: 6,7

let us pray...

z


Saturday, March 16, 2013

Government; can it work again?



A guy stopped at a local gas station and, after filling his tank, he paid the bill and bought a soft drink. He stood by his car to drink his cola and watched a couple of men working along the roadside.
One man would dig a hole two or three feet deep and then move on. The
other man came along behind him and filled in the hole. While one was
digging a new hole, the other was 25 feet behind filling in the hole.

The men worked right past the guy with the soft drink and went on down
the road. "I can't stand this," said the man, tossing the can into a
trash container and heading down the road toward the men. "Hold it, hold
it," he said to the men. "Can you tell me what's going on here with all
this digging and refilling?"

"Well, we work for the government and we're just doing our job," one of the men said.

"But one of you is digging a hole and the other fills it up. You're not accomplishing anything. Aren't you wasting the taxpayers' money?"

"You don't understand, mister," one of the men said, leaning on his shovel and wiping his brow. "Normally there's three of us: me, Elmer and Leroy. I dig the hole, Elmer sticks in the tree, and Leroy here puts the dirt back. Elmer's job's been cut... so now it's just me and Leroy...."

At last! An explanation for how our present U.S. government REALLY
operates.....

Z:    not bad, huh?  It just makes so much sense.   If we just got rid of fraud and government employees who do practically ZILCH (ever been to a DMV?), how much money could we save?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Think we can EVER get back to sanity in government again?    Can we get to a place where jobs are only filled when NECESSARY, like in private business?  Or is it too late to change?

What do you think?
Z

Friday, March 15, 2013

Biden.......is this a joke? HE is

WHITE HOUSE LAUNCHES "BEING BIDEN" SERIES.

Is this an American presidential administration or some stupid shabby two-bit reality show?
Must we be part of this utter stupidity?

How much will THIS cost?  Are they kidding?

What would YOU do for one of the series on BEING BIDEN?  Please limit it to publishable material!
I'm stunned.   Just when I think this White House can't do anything worse..............

z

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Your bank account...WHO has the right?

I pose a question at the bottom, please read this and let us know what you think...thanks.

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON | Wed Mar 13, 2013 2:31pm EDT
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration is drawing up plans to give all U.S. spy agencies full access to a massive database that contains financial data on American citizens and others who bank in the country, according to a Treasury Department document seen by Reuters.
The proposed plan represents a major step by U.S. intelligence agencies to spot and track down terrorist networks and crime syndicates by bringing together financial databanks, criminal records and military intelligence. The plan, which legal experts say is permissible under U.S. law, is nonetheless likely to trigger intense criticism from privacy advocates.
Financial institutions that operate in the United States are required by law to file reports of "suspicious customer activity," such as large money transfers or unusually structured bank accounts, to Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
The Federal Bureau of Investigation already has full access to the database. However, intelligence agencies, such as the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, currently have to make case-by-case requests for information to FinCEN.
The Treasury plan would give spy agencies the ability to analyze more raw financial data than they have ever had before, helping them look for patterns that could reveal attack plots or criminal schemes.
The planning document, dated March 4, shows that the proposal is still in its early stages of development, and it is not known when implementation might begin.
Financial institutions file more than 15 million "suspicious activity reports" every year, according to Treasury. Banks, for instance, are required to report all personal cash transactions exceeding $10,000, as well as suspected incidents of money laundering, loan fraud, computer hacking or counterfeiting.
"For these reports to be of value in detecting money laundering, they must be accessible to law enforcement, counter-terrorism agencies, financial regulators, and the intelligence community," said the Treasury planning document.
A Treasury spokesperson said U.S. law permits FinCEN to share information with intelligence agencies to help detect and thwart threats to national security, provided they adhere to safeguards outlined in the Bank Secrecy Act. "Law enforcement and intelligence community members with access to this information are bound by these safeguards," the spokesperson said in a statement.

Some privacy watchdogs expressed concern about the plan when Reuters outlined it to them.

A move like the FinCEN proposal "raises concerns as to whether people could find their information in a file as a potential terrorist suspect without having the appropriate predicate for that and find themselves potentially falsely accused," said Sharon Bradford Franklin, senior counsel for the Rule of Law Program at the Constitution Project, a non-profit watchdog group.
Despite these concerns, legal experts emphasize that this sharing of data is permissible under U.S. law. Specifically, banks' suspicious activity reporting requirements are dictated by a combination of the Bank Secrecy Act and the USA PATRIOT Act, which offer some privacy safeguards.
National security experts also maintain that a robust system for sharing criminal, financial and intelligence data among agencies will improve their ability to identify those who plan attacks on the United States.
"It's a war on money, war on corruption, on politically exposed persons, anti-money laundering, organized crime," said Amit Kumar, who advised the United Nations on Taliban sanctions and is a fellow at the Democratic think tank Center for National Policy.
SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY
The Treasury document outlines a proposal to link the FinCEN database with a computer network used by U.S. defense and law enforcement agencies to share classified information called the Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System.
The plan calls for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence - set up after 9/11 to foster greater collaboration among intelligence agencies - to work with Treasury. The Director of National Intelligence declined to comment.
More than 25,000 financial firms - including banks, securities dealers, casinos, and money and wire transfer agencies - routinely file "suspicious activity reports" to FinCEN. The requirements for filing are so strict that banks often over-report, so they cannot be accused of failing to disclose activity that later proves questionable. This over-reporting raises the possibility that the financial details of ordinary citizens could wind up in the hands of spy agencies.
Stephen Vladeck, a professor at American University's Washington College of Law, said privacy advocates have already been pushing back against the increased data-sharing activities between government agencies that followed the September 11 attacks.
"One of the real pushes from the civil liberties community has been to move away from collection restrictions on the front end and put more limits on what the government can do once it has the information," he said.  (end of article)

Z:  The friend who sent me this information was pretty upset about it.   It doesn't bother me so much.   I know it reeks of privacy breaches, but really?   Don't we need to see if people are moving money around in ways that can badly affect us?   I will say I think that $10,000 is a very low amount to have banks reporting all transactions above that, but...  DOES THIS BOTHER YOU TERRIBLY MUCH?  I'm curious.

thanks...
z

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

What in the H.................????



Ralph Benko, Contributor:  FORBES

1.6 Billion Rounds Of Ammo For Homeland Security? It's Time For A National Conversation

Soldiers from the 41st Infantry Regiment, 1st ...

The Denver Post, on February 15th, ran an Associated Press article entitled Homeland Security aims to buy 1.6b rounds of ammo, so far to little notice.  It confirmed that the Department of Homeland Security has issued an open purchase order for 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition.  As reported elsewhere, some of this purchase order is for hollow-point rounds, forbidden by international law for use in war, along with a frightening amount specialized for snipers. Also reported elsewhere, at the height of the Iraq War the Army was expending less than 6 million rounds a month.  Therefore 1.6 billion rounds would be enough to sustain a hot war for 20+ years.  In America.
Add to this perplexing outré purchase of ammo, DHS now is showing off its acquisition of heavily armored personnel carriers, repatriated from the Iraqi and Afghani theaters of operation.  As observed by “paramilblogger” Ken Jorgustin last September:


[T]he Department of Homeland Security is apparently taking delivery (apparently through the  Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico VA, via the manufacturer – Navistar Defense LLC) of an undetermined number of the recently retrofitted 2,717 ‘Mine Resistant Protected’ MaxxPro MRAP vehicles for service on the streets of the United States.”
These MRAP’s ARE BEING SEEN ON U.S. STREETS all across America by verified observers with photos, videos, and descriptions.”

Regardless of the exact number of MRAP’s being delivered to DHS (and evidently some to POLICE via DHS, as has been observed), why would they need such over-the-top vehicles on U.S. streets to withstand IEDs, mine blasts, and 50 caliber hits to bullet-proof glass? In a war zone… yes, definitely. Let’s protect our men and women. On the streets of America… ?”
“They all have gun ports… Gun Ports? In the theater of war, yes. On the streets of America…?
Seriously, why would DHS need such a vehicle on our streets?”
Why indeed?  It is utterly inconceivable that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is planning a coup d’etat against President Obama, and the Congress, to install herself as Supreme Ruler of the United States of America.  There, however, are real signs that the Department bureaucrats are running amok.  About 20 years ago this columnist worked, for two years, in the U.S. Department of Energy’s general counsel’s office in its procurement and finance division.  And is wise to the ways.   The answer to “why would DHS need such a vehicle?” almost certainly is this:  it’s a cool toy and these (reportedly) million dollar toys are being recycled, without much of a impact on the DHS budget.  So… why not?
Why, indeed, should the federal government not be deploying armored personnel carriers and stockpiling enough ammo for a 20-year war in the homeland?  Because it’s wrong in every way.  President Obama has an opportunity, now, to live up to some of his rhetoric by helping the federal government set a noble example in a matter very close to his heart (and that of his Progressive base), one not inimical to the Bill of Rights: gun control.  The federal government can (for a nice change) begin practicing what it preaches by controlling itself.
Remember the Sequester?  The president is claiming its budget cuts will inconvenience travelers by squeezing essential services provided by the (opulently armed and stylishly uniformed) DHS.  Quality ammunition is not cheap.  (Of course, news reports that DHS is about to spend $50 million on new uniforms suggests a certain cavalier attitude toward government frugality.)
Spending money this way is beyond absurd well into perverse.  According to the AP story a DHS spokesperson justifies this acquisition to “help the government get a low price for a big purchase.” Peggy Dixon, spokeswoman for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center:  “The training center and others like it run by the Homeland Security Department use as many as 15 million rounds every year, mostly on shooting ranges and in training exercises.”
At 15 million rounds (which, in itself, is pretty extraordinary and sounds more like fun target-shooting-at-taxpayer-expense than a sensible training exercise) … that’s a stockpile that would last DHS over a century.  To claim that it’s to “get a low price” for a ridiculously wasteful amount is an argument that could only fool a career civil servant.
Meanwhile, Senator Diane Feinstein, with the support of President Obama, is attempting to ban 100 capacity magazine clips.  Doing a little apples-to-oranges comparison, here, 1.6 billion rounds is … 16 million times more objectionable.
Mr. Obama has a long history of disdain toward gun ownership.  According to Prof. John Lott, in Debacle, a book he co-authored with iconic conservative strategist Grover Norquist,

“When I was first introduced to Obama (when both worked at the University of Chicago Law School, where Lott was famous for his analysis of firearms possession), he said, ‘Oh, you’re the gun guy.’
I responded: ‘Yes, I guess so.’
’I don’t believe that people should own guns,’ Obama replied.
I then replied that it might be fun to have lunch and talk about that statement some time.
He simply grimaced and turned away. …
Unlike other liberal academics who usually enjoyed discussing opposing ideas, Obama showed disdain.”
Mr. Obama?  Where’s the disdain now?  Cancelling, or at minimum, drastically scaling back — by 90% or even 99%, the DHS order for ammo, and its receipt and deployment of armored personnel carriers, would be a “fourfer.”
  • The federal government would set an example of restraint in the matter of weaponry.
  • It would reduce the deficit without squeezing essential services.
  • It would do both in a way that was palatable to liberals and conservatives, slightly depolarizing America.
  • It would somewhat defuse, by the government making itself less armed-to-the-teeth, the anxiety of those who mistrust the benevolence of the federales.
If Obama doesn’t show any leadership on this matter it’s an opportunity for Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, to summon Secretary Napolitano over for a little national conversation. Madame Secretary?  Buying 1.6 billion rounds of ammo and deploying armored personnel carriers runs contrary, in every way, to what “homeland security” really means.  Discuss.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Vote TODAY

If you had your choice today, who would you vote for for President of these United States?

Commenter/friend JonBerg suggested this question and I think it's a fascinating one.......so go for it:

Who and WHY?

Have a great Monday.........

Z

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Sunday Faith Blog

HERE is a wonderful story of people from different religions working side by side in Israel.  Jew and Muslim happy to be working together and delighted to see each others' faiths in action; an amazing video.  You will not be sorry if you watch.  We need to pray that more and more companies do this type of thing.  I do know that Palestinians have worked in Israel for years, but this story really touched me.

"Do not say "I'll pay you back for this wrong!"  Wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you."  Proverbs 20:22

The people in the video are not carrying grudges, in their desire to provide better for their families than they could in their home villages, they are earning really good salaries and working side by side with who the world would call their enemies but who are really now their friends.

Have a great Sunday...the video will start it off well!

Z


Saturday, March 9, 2013

Hagel......in Afghanistan

Hagel today after the 2 suicide bombings in Kabul.."No one should be surprised, WE'RE AT WAR...we're at WAR here...."

Wait, we're at war but we're pulling our soldiers out, right?

oops.

VERY odd, don't you think?



Old news, but a friend emailed me this yesterday and it astonishes me each time I read this stuff over the years  Every single one of them really happened and every single one of them really were associated with the Clintons. Wassup?

 
THE CLINTON BODY BAGS

Food for Thought 

Just a quick refresher course lest we forget what has happened to many "friends" of the Clintons.

1- James McDougal - Clintons convicted Whitewater partner died of an apparent heart attack, while in solitary confinement. He was a key witness in Ken Starr's investigation.

2 - Mary Mahoney - A former White House intern was murdered July 1997 at a Starbucks Coffee Shop in Georgetown .. The murder happened just after she was to go public with her story of sexual harassment in the White House. 

3 - Vince Foster - Former White House councilor, and colleague of Hillary Clinton at Little Rock's Rose Law firm. Died of a gunshot wound to the head, ruled a suicide.

4 - Ron Brown - Secretary of Commerce and former DNC Chairman. Reported to have died by impact in a plane crash. A pathologist close to the investigation reported that there was a hole in the top of Brown's skull resembling a gunshot wound. At the time of his death Brown was being investigated, and spoke publicly of his willingness to cut a deal with prosecutors. The rest of the people on the plane also died. A few days later the air Traffic controller committed suicide.

5 - C. Victor Raiser, II - Raiser, a major player in the Clinton fund raising organization died in a private plane crash in July 1992. 

6 - Paul Tulley - Democratic National Committee Political Director found dead in a hotel room in Little Rock , September 1992. Described by Clinton as a "dear friend and trusted advisor".

7 - Ed Willey - Clinton fundraiser, found dead November 1993 deep in the woods in VA of a gunshot wound to the head. Ruled a suicide. Ed Willey died on the same day his wife Kathleen Willey claimed Bill Clinton groped her in the oval office in the White House. Ed Willey was involved in several Clinton fund raising events.

8 - Jerry Parks - Head of Clinton's gubernatorial security team in Little Rock .. Gunned down in his car at a deserted intersection outside Little Rock Park's son said his father was building a dossier on Clinton He allegedly threatened to reveal this information. After he died the files were mysteriously removed from his house.

9 - James Bunch - Died from a gunshot suicide. It was reported that he had a "Black Book" of people which contained names of influential people who visited prostitutes in Texas and Arkansas 

10 - James Wilson - Was found dead in May 1993 from an apparent hanging suicide. He was reported to have ties to Whitewater..

11 - Kathy Ferguson - Ex-wife of Arkansas Trooper Danny Ferguson, was found dead in May 1994, in her living room with a gunshot to her head. It was ruled a suicide even though there were several packed suitcases, as if she were going somewhere. Danny Ferguson was a co-defendant along with Bill Clinton in the Paula Jones lawsuit Kathy Ferguson was a possible corroborating witness for Paula Jones.

12 - Bill Shelton - Arkansas State Trooper and fiancee of Kathy Ferguson. Critical of the suicide ruling of his fiancee, he was found dead in June, 1994 of a gunshot wound also ruled a suicide at the grave site of his fiancee.

13 - Gandy Baugh - Attorney for Clinton's friend Dan Lassater, died by jumping out a window of a tall building January, 1994. His client was a convicted drug distributor.

14 - Florence Martin - Accountant & sub-contractor for the CIA, was related to the Barry Seal, Mena, Arkansas, airport drug smuggling case. He died of three gunshot wounds. 

15 - Suzanne Coleman - Reportedly had an affair with Clinton when he was Arkansas Attorney General. Died of a gunshot wound to the back of the head, ruled a suicide. Was pregnant at the time of her death.

16 - Paula Grober - Clinton's speech interpreter for the deaf from 1978 until her death December 9, 1992. She died in a one car accident.

17 - Danny Casolaro - Investigative reporter. Investigating Mean Airport and Arkansas Development Finance Authority. He slit his wrists, apparently, in the middle of his investigation.

18 - Paul Wilcher - Attorney investigating corruption at Mean Airport with Casolaro and the 1980 "October Surprise" was found dead on a toilet June 22, 1993, in his Washington DC apartment. Had delivered a report to Janet Reno 3 weeks before his death. 

19 - Jon Parnell Walker - Whitewater investigator for Resolution Trust Corp. Jumped to his death from his Arlington , Virginia apartment balcony August 15, 1993. He was investigating the Morgan Guaranty scandal.

20 - Barbara Wise - Commerce Department staffer. Worked closely with Ron Brown and John Huang. Cause of death unknown. Died November 29, 1996. Her bruised, nude body was found locked in her office at the Department of Commerce.

21 - Charles Meissner - Assistant Secretary of Commerce who gave John Huang special security clearance, died shortly thereafter in a small plane crash.

22 - Dr. Stanley Heard - Chairman of the National Chiropractic Health Care Advisory Committee died with his attorney Steve Dickson in a small plane crash. Dr. Heard, in addition to serving on Clinton 's advisory council personally treated Clinton's mother, stepfather and brother.

23 - Barry Seal - Drug running TWA pilot out of Mean Arkansas, death was no accident. 

24 - Johnny Lawhorn, Jr. - Mechanic, found a check made out to Bill Clinton in the trunk of a car left at his repair shop. He was found dead after his car had hit a utility pole.

25 - Stanley Huggins - Investigated Madison Guaranty. His death was a purported suicide and his report was never released.

26 - Hershell Friday - Attorney and Clinton fundraiser died March 1, 1994, when his plane exploded.

27 - Kevin Ives & Don Henry - Known as "The boys on the track" case. Reports say the boys may have stumbled upon the Mena Arkansas airport drug operation. A controversial case, the initial report of death said, due to falling asleep on railroad tracks. Later reports claim the 2 boys had been slain before being placed on the tracks. Many linked to the case died before their testimony could come before a Grand Jury. 


THE FOLLOWING PERSONS HAD INFORMATION ON THE IVES/HENRY CASE: 

28 - Keith Coney - Died when his motorcycle slammed into the back of a truck, 7/88.

29 - Keith McMaskle - Died, stabbed 113 times, Nov, 1988 

30 - Gregory Collins - Died from a gunshot wound January 1989.

31 - Jeff Rhodes - He was shot, mutilated and found burned in a trash dump in April 1989.

32 - James Milan - Found decapitated. However, the Coroner ruled his death was due to natural causes".

33 - Jordan Kettleson - Was found shot to death in the front seat of his pickup truck in June 1990.

34 - Richard Winters - A suspect in the Ives/Henry deaths. He was killed in a set-up robbery July 1989.

THE FOLLOWING CLINTON BODYGUARDS ARE DEAD:

36 - Major William S. Barkley, Jr.

37 
- Captain Scott J . Reynolds

38 - Sgt. Brian Hanley

39 - Sgt. Tim Sabel

40 - Major General William Robertson

41 - Col. William Densberger

42 - Col. Robert Kelly

43 - Spec. Gary Rhodes

44 - Steve Willis

45 - Robert Williams

46 - Conway LeBleu

47 - Todd McKeehan

 
I think who's missing is some of the people who died exactly as described in PRIMARY COLORS, remember?  Can anybody please tell us all of this isn't true?   I wish you could!   HOW WEIRD IS THIS LIST?
At the least, you don't really want to be a friend of the Clintons just for sheer expedience/luck!  At the most, we sure can see how the machine works when it's well oiled and HELL BENT to get its way.
IMAGINE if there was a list like this of dead people who associated with a Republican? :-)
z