Thursday, May 31, 2012

Boom!

I am enjoying Tom Brokaw's book Boom, about the decade following the assassination of JFK. Of course, Brokaw's sympathies are mostly with the liberal left, but it is fun to relive with him that turbulent decade, in which almost daily it seemed that Boom, another big event was taking place. He is a good writer.

Banning the sale of soda

Mayor Bloomberg confirms that he will be banning the sale of soda in New York City in anything higher than 16 ounce containers. Ace suggests that we shouldn't call them liberal any longer; authoritarian socialists seems more accurate. Read more here: http://ace.mu.nu./

There is no doubt that we have an obesity problem, and that sugary foods are major contributors. It is my observation that it is more of a problem with women. I did a little survey the other day, certainly not a scientific one. In one half hour the total number of obese women outnumbered fit women by three to one. Fit men outnumbered obese men by two to one. Anyone else have observations on this subject?

Update: Glenn Beck played tape of Mayor Bloomberg today (June 1) saying that his ban was only applicable in restaurants, and nothing would prevent a patron from ordering two 16 ounce drinks. So why the ban, then? Bloomberg said it was to "force people" to think about the choices they were making and the consequences.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Poppies on Memorial Day

On Memorial Day I woke up and looked out my window. This is what I saw: the poppies had popped open in bright orange glory! I had been watering them faithfully every day in anticipation of lots of blooms. They will only last about a week longer, so I am enjoying them while they are in bloom.

CNN's obsession

John Sununu stands up to a CNN anchor who is pushing the Obama talking points. Via Ace of Spades and http://hotair.com/archives/2012/05/30/romney-advisor-to-soledad-obrien-why-is-cnn-so-obsessed-with-the-birther-thing/

What we see, and don't see

"Even when we’re broken, we battle onward, all the fixing coming in the moving forward. Sometimes it’s hard to look love square in the eye and accept the acceptance. Is this why we turn from God? We see only a sliver of the sum. We cannot see how the bad might be good. God is sovereign and He is good and He sees and works all things together for good.”
Read much more here, as Ann Voskamp writes about and shares photos of what we see, and don't see:  http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/05/for-the-days-that-seem-to-be-going-bad/

Remembering

Sometimes I think my blogroll might be getting too long. Yet, I keep adding to it, because I keep running across brilliant writing. Like this from Ambulance Driver, who wrote this piece on Memorial Day. "Remind yourself also that your sacrifice is infinitely easier. All you need do is sacrifice a moment of your time every few years to pull a lever. The way to honor a dead soldier is not simply to fly a flag on Memorial Day. Vote to preserve the freedoms they died defending. Elect leaders worthy of those rough young men and women who stand ready to do violence on your behalf."
Read much more here:  http://ambulancedriverfiles.com/2012/05/25/memorial-day-3/

Doomsday, or will there be a "decoupling?"

There has been a bird-sighting: a black swan. Tyler Durden writes at ZeroHedge that the U.S. is "hyperconnected" to the "hyperleveraged" messes in Europe and China, and that a global crash is likely, followed by global money-printing, led by our Fed. Read more here: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-post-enter-swan
Another article there by John Aziz points out that the U.S. dollar has been on a year-long up-trend, and our bond and stock markets may become a safe haven, a "decoupling" from the rest of the world's markets.

We wait

Ye Olde Crabb writes that we are waiting out the outcomes of a number of crises around the world. He mentions the Euro financial crisis, the coordination between America and Israel versus Iran, the prospects of the end of Syria's bloody dictatorship, Chinese and Japanese economic question marks, questions about Russia's stability, and the U.S. elections. Read more here:  http://yeoldecrabb.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/the-great-wait/

Technology gains and common sense losses

Ye Olde Crabb analyzes important trends in North American energy potential, weapons of death and destruction, the U.S. balance of payments, and Obama's new foreign policy emphasis on the Western Pacific. The writer wonders if there is a race between common sense and technology, and, if so, which one is winning? Read more here: http://yeoldecrabb.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/is-there-a-race-between-technology-gains-and-common-sense-losses/

The human spirit

Field Day. It has to be one of the best days of the school year for elementary and middle school kids. It signifies the end of the school year. This year's Field Day in Worthington, Ohio was extra special. Matt, a kid with spastic cerebral palsy, chose to compete in a two lap race around the field. Matt gave the two lap race everything he had, and did not quit until his gym teacher gathered him up in his arms at the end of the race. The gym teacher stayed with Matt throughout the race, offering support and encouragement. Then, one-by-one, other students joined the gym teacher, cheering Matt on. By his personal example, that teacher has taught those kids what is truly important in life.




"Not everybody pays"

The Knothole
A little old lady was walking down the street dragging two large plastic garbage bags behind her. One of the bags was ripped and every once in a while a $20 fell out onto the sidewalk.
Noticing this, a policeman stopped her, and said, “Ma’am, there are $20 bills falling out of that bag.”
“Oh, really? Darn it!” said the little old lady. “I’d better go back and see if I can find them. Thanks for telling me officer.
“Well, now, not so fast,” said the cop.“ Where did you get all that money? You didn’t steal it, did you?”
“Oh, no, no”, said the old lady. “You see, my back yard is right next to a Golf course.
A lot of Golfers come and pee through a knot hole in my fence, right into my flower Garden. It used to really tick me off. Kills the flowers, you know. Then I thought, ‘why not make the best of it?’
So, now, I stand behind the fence by the knot hole, real quiet, with my hedge clippers. Every time some guy sticks his thing through my fence, I surprise him, grab hold of it and say, ‘O.K., buddy! Give me $20, or off it comes.’”
“Well, that seems only fair,” said the cop, laughing. “OK. Good luck! Oh, by the way, what’s in the other bag?”
“Not everybody pays.”
http://onehappydog.us/2012/05/humor-for-wednesday-185

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Unassisted triple play...by a six-year-old!

Watch the shortstop. He is six-years-old. He makes an unassisted triple play!

A bluegrass fan

On this day when legendary bluegrass musician Doc Watson died, it is fitting to show this video of a little bird hopping on the guitar of Josh Williams, as he sings about Mordecai. via http://www.theospark.net/2012/05/josh-williams-mordecai.html

Watching what you say

"The US Government has released the list of words that will trigger the Department of Homeland Security to start monitoring your online contributions and conversations. The list is divided into sections by subject matter." I learned about this from reading the Watts Up With That blog, which points out that you can call the photo above a thunderstorm, but under no circumstances are you allowed to use the words "extreme weather.!"

"Obama, Obama, we are all Osama"

Muslim testosterone in Tunisia.
via http://vladtepesblog.com/?p=48541

Monday, May 28, 2012

Cancer vaccine developed!

Scientists have developed a cancer vaccine that can train cancer patients' own bodies to seek out and destroy tumor cells! Read more here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9191848/Universal-cancer-vaccine-developed.html

Two shots a day!

NASA has developed a lot of good things, but this concoction of fruits and vegetables may be one of the best.
"The drink contains a blend of fruits including cupuacu (a Brazilian fruit), acai, acerola, prickly pear and yumberry, which all provide vitamins and phytochemicals - compounds known to block the harmful effects of radiation . Other ingredients are grape, green tea, pomegranate and vegetables. Radiation particles alter oxygen molecules in the body to create reactive oxygen species (ROS) - "free radicals" which damage cells in a process known as oxidative stress. This process has been linked to diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's . The toxic molecules are also thought to play a role in the skin aging process.

AS10 is thought to improve skin condition as the drink's large quantities of antioxidants ward off oxidative stress, allowing the skin to heal naturally. Antioxidants attach themselves to ROS and neutralize them before they cause damage." 
read more here:  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Space-drink-can-reverse-signs-of-aging/articleshow/13582570.cms

On foreign land

Krista Branch sings about those who gave their lives on foreign land for our freedom.
via http://www.theospark.net/2012/05/krista-branch-foreign-land.html

Never forget...

Via http://www.theospark.net/

He aint heavy, he's my ...?

via http://www.theospark.net/2012/05/pic-dump_28.html

"An industrial vacuum cleaner for sensitive information"

A huge 20MB (20 times larger than Stuxnet, which infected Iran's nuclear program) virus has been infecting computers in Iran, Israel, Sudan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Egypt since August 2010. It is known as Flame. Individual hackers and cybercriminals have been ruled out. It is thought to be a nation state that has produced it. Could it be the U.S.? Read more here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18238326

Update:  Symantec said the virus had also been found in computers in Hungary, Austria, Russia, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates.  Read more here: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/new-computer-virus-hits-iran-west-bank-in-unprecedented-cyberattack-1.433006

SWATting

Have you been reading about the SWATting of conservative bloggers? Someone makes a call to the police, using the phone number of the blogger!) and tells the police that something violent has happened at that house. The police then send a SWAT team to the house. Read more here: http://hotair.com/archives/2012/05/28/things-to-do-in-denver-and-everywhere-else-before-youre-swatted/
Also, read more here: http://michellemalkin.com/2012/05/28/a-post-brett-kimberlin-blogburst-to-do-list/

Stay away from her!

A woman accuses a man of raping her. He said it was consensual. He gets five years in prison. She gets $1.5 million from the university on whose campus the "rape" occurred. A decade later she contacts the man on Facebook, admits she lied, and wants to help him clear his name, but says she wants to keep all that money. What's next?
Read more here: http://volokh.com/2012/05/24/rape-conviction-overturned-when-supposed-victim-recanted-what-about-the-civil-liability/

Someday Soon

Jewel Kilcher joins Garth Brooks on the USS Enterprise singing Someday Soon about a man from Southern Colorado "just out of the service, and he's looking for his fun."
Many thanks to Kenneth Anderson at The Volokh Conspiracy: http://volokh.com/2012/05/27/happy-memorial-day/

"Never lost the capacity to see himself as the victim"

Finally I have found someone who can supply us with factual history about Brett Kimberlin, the convicted terrorist who now works in a George Soros funded leftist organization (also funded by Theresa Heinz Kerry and Barbara Streisand). The blogger named Ken at Popehat writes that "people will embrace any evil if it stands against the same things they stand against."
Read much more here:  http://www.popehat.com/2012/05/25/blog-about-brett-kimberlin-day/#more-14509

A "spine of steel?"

On Saturday George Will wrote one of his best columns ever. Liberals such as Vermont's very unlikeable Senator Patrick Leahy have decided to put pressure on Chief Justice Roberts on the Obamacare decision. George Will hopes that the pressure will reveal Roberts to have a "spine of steel." Read the whole thing here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/liberals-put-the-squeeze-to-justice-roberts/2012/05/25/gJQANa4hqU_story.html

"Happy" Memorial Day?

What is the proper etiquette for observing Memorial Day? "Happy" Memorial Day? When someone said that to me, it did not seem right. It is a solemn day of remembrance and appreciation of those who serve and who are serving. I was glad to see that Kenneth Anderson at the Volokh Conspiracy is writing about this here: http://volokh.com/2012/05/27/etiquette-of-memorial-day-observance/

Team versus individuals: a culture clash

Do you like basketball? We could be getting close to something interesting. The San Antonio Spurs are breaking all NBA records with their nineteen game winning streak. We could be heading toward a NBA Finals featuring the Spurs against the Miami Heat. Team versus individual stars. Here are some of the things writer Jason Whitlock has to say about the possibility:

"The biggest lie in sports is that the San Antonio Spurs are boring. Winning is never boring. The Spurs aren’t remotely boring. They’re poorly marketed by a commissioner and a league that overdosed on Michael Jordan and the celebration of individual over team. They’re poorly defined by media that are gutless, politically correct and lazy.

 The Spurs share the ball and the scoring load, rely on a 10-man playing rotation and run an exquisitely precise offense. James and Wade, with the exception of the last three games against the Pacers, mostly go one-on-one for their points. Duncan, Parker and Ginobili rarely dunk. James and Wade are featured on "SportsCenter" nightly.


The Spurs should be the NBA’s version of the Green Bay Packers. Yes, the Cowboys are more glamorous and the Steelers and the 49ers have won more titles. But little old Green Bay is “Titletown.” The Packers are a huge national television draw. No one would call the Packers boring.

The Spurs are not boring. Greatness is never boring. And if these Spurs go on to win the title, there will be no denying they’re one of the greatest teams in NBA history."

Read more here:  http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/San-Antonio-Spurs-winners-not-boring-Miami-Heat-culture-clash-America-needs-David-Stern-Michael-Jordan-052712

Sunday, May 27, 2012

A day to honor those who serve, and those who served

http://www.theospark.net/2012/05/bethpage-air-show-at-jones-beach-new.html

Slinky does treadmill


http://troglopundit.wordpress.com/2012/05/24/your-weirdly-fascinating-youtube-of-the-day/

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Getting to 270

How is your state looking as far as the presidential election? Town Hall has this AP state-by-state analysis of the race to the magic number of 270 electoral votes. It shows 247 votes already solid or leaning Democrat, 206 solid or leaning Republican, and 85 toss-up.
http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2012/05/26/a_statebystate_look_at_the_road_to_270

Friday, May 25, 2012

The left embraces a terrorist

Ineptocracy

http://www.theospark.net/2012/05/new-word-for-timesfrom-rico.html

Cult

http://www.theospark.net/2012/05/cartoon-round-up_25.html

Joyful noise

I could see my boys wanting to do this. Everybody else would have to be outside, though, while they practice!
http://www.theospark.net/2012/05/roll-in-my-sweet-babys-arms-sleepy-man.html

Thursday, May 24, 2012

and women like him because...?

NBC is gleefully reporting the results of its polling data in three battleground states today. Obama has a slim lead over Romney in Ohio, Florida, and Virginia. He leads Romney by double digits among women in all three states, while men favor Romney by slim margins. Read more here: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/24/11854807-nbc-polls-obama-edges-romney-in-three-key-battleground-states?lite

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Relax and enjoy!

And now, for some right brain enjoyment: I found it here: http://presurfer.blogspot.com/2012/05/light-hearted-kites.html

Not a good name for a restaurant

And there are ten more bad choices here: http://www.buzzfeed.com/teamstupidest/the-11-worst-fast-food-restaurant-names-5atw

Pakistan is our enemy

Can there be any clearer evidence that Pakistan is an enemy of the United States? The doctor who led the C.I.A. to Osama bin Laden has been sent to prison for 33 years for "high" treason! I say cut off the millions of dollars in foreign aid to Pakistan now! Where is our great Secretary of State? Where is our President? What's the difference between high treason and low treason?
Read more here: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/23/11827022-pakistan-jails-doctor-who-helped-cia-find-osama-bin-laden

The last day of school

Yesterday was the last day of school. All three kids really enjoyed their last day, but only Sara wishes she could still be going to school. "School was fun for me. I don't want it to end! I got the award of being first best reader in the whole class!"

Jon said the last day was great, because it was the last day, and because "We did nothing!" Greg said, "Our teacher asked what we liked best about fifth grade. Everybody said it was having her as our teacher, because nobody could think of anything good about it." Greg said he got "all A's and B's." Jon said he got "all A's and B's...and C's."

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Cross-dressing in Saudi Arabia

Sunny is now writing for PJ Media. Here is her satirical post on why Saudi Arabian men just cannot resist the temptation to cross-dress. "A Saudi Arabian man was arrested and executed last week for impersonating women, that incredibly fortunate class of Saudis. He was caught wearing a burqa, the only thing other than a niquab that women are allowed to wear in Saudi Arabia. The burqa is a dress that covers a woman from head to toe in order to hide her evil parts, which is her entire being, including her eyes, which can be so powerfully seductive in some cases as to render a man insensible. It is big and unshapely, making it so easy for a man to hide under that it is hard to know just how prevalent these crossdressers are. The Saudi Arabian government is cracking down as incidents of male crossdressing rise. Sources say this is due to the ease with which it can be accomplished. Also, the prospect of being treated like a female in an Islamic nation — for even just a little bit of time — is too tempting for many men to resist."
 http://houseofsunny.tv/2012/05/09/saudi-man-caught-wearing-burka-because-women-have-it-so-good/

Bubble bursting

The Enterprise blog writes about the bursting of the bubble of renewable energy stocks, which Obama has propped up with taxpayer money.
The RENIXX Index of the 30 largest renewable energy companies in the world is trading at an all-time low today and has lost over 90% of its value since 2008. A partial listing of green energy companies that have already filed bankruptcy or are teetering on the brink is below. Many of these companies were financed by taxpayers.
Filed Bankruptcy:
o    Solyndra
o    Beacon Power
o    Ener1
o    Range Fuels
o    Solar Trust of America
o    Spectrawatt
o    Evergreen Solar
o    Eastern Energy
o    Unisolar
o    Bright Automotive
o    Olson’s Crop Service
o    Energy Conversion Devices
o    Sovello
o    Siag
o    Solon
o    Q-Cells
o    Mountain Plaza
Teetering on the Brink:
o    Abound Solar
o    A123 Systems
o    Brightsource Energy
o    Fisker Automotive
o    First Solar
o    Nevada Geothermal
o    SunPower
o    Nordex
o    The Bard Group
o    Amonix
o    NRG Energy
o    Alterra Power
o    Enel Green Power
o    Sunpower Corp

Too close to call

The Enterprise Blog has several maps of the U.S., showing what various experts are expecting regarding the 2012 election. There seems to be a consensus that Colorado, Nevada, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, Virginia, and Florida are too close to call. Thus, Obama is back in Colorado again tomorrow for fundraising.

Nonwhite babies now make up a majority of all births.

Rich Lowry writes at The Corner that "Hispanics are roughly 26 percent of all births in the U.S., blacks 15 percent, and Asians 4 percent. These categories aren’t quite as clear-cut as advertised. About half of Hispanics identify their race as white on the census, a phenomenon that was neglected until the New York Times started calling George Zimmerman a “white Hispanic,” apparently on grounds that an unambiguously Hispanic man couldn’t possibly be involved in a racially charged shooting of a young black man."
Read more here:  http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/300667/assimilation-now-more-ever-rich-lowry

Monday, May 21, 2012

Father/son combo successful!

Foul ball to right field...father holds son up...son catches the ball: awesome!

Fraud

On the right hand side of this post is the blurb from Barack Obama's  bio distributed by his literary agent. He did not correct it until he ran for President ten years later. Who committed fraud in this endeavor? Mark J. Fitzgibbons analyzes some of the legal issues at The American Thinker:


 "It is not credible that Obama was not aware that his literary agent published a false statement about his place of birth. Even if those defending him were to claim that he was unaware, Obama had a duty of care to ensure the accuracy of facts material to the sale of his story. He did so over a decade later, but only when he was preparing to run for president.

Compared to the big lies Obama tells regularly about policy and politics, a literary fraud from 1991 is small potatoes. Then again, Obama was relatively small potatoes at the time it first surfaced."

Students record teacher yelling

Nowadays kids are armed to the teeth with mobile devices. When their teacher yelled at them for saying Obama bullied someone, some North Carolina students caught it all on the webcam and uploaded it onto You Tube. The teacher has now been suspended. By the way, the information about Obama bullying a girl came from Obama himself, if he is the author of his autobiography. As I understand it, Obama admits in his book that he pushed a girl, who was black, whom other students accused him of liking. Here is the You Tube video capturing the audio of the teacher yelling. She obviously did not know she was being recorded.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Fun times in Denver

One of the things the kids and I enjoyed doing this Spring was going to watch the Denver Nuggets play basketball. Stepson Erik joined us on a recent night. Of course, the boys loved to jump on his back as we went back to the parking lot after the game. Erik is finishing up his two year tech college course in diesel mechanics, while working full time at a Grease Monkey. I am very fond and proud of him, as I am of his brother, Thomas, who drives an eighteen wheeler truck all over the United States.

At the Pepsi Center, where the Nuggets and the Colorado Avalanche NHL hockey team play their home games, there are fun things to do, like pretending you are on one of the teams.

A day in Colorado Springs

When I learned that the kids would be here on Friday, May 18, I got somebody to work my shift, and began plotting a day of fun in Denver. One of our favorite things to do is to go shoot pool and have a great meal at the Wynkoop Brewery. Then we like to go to the Denver Library and/or The Tattered Cover Book Store.

But, Friday morning I received a phone call from Jon saying that Colleen was working in Colorado Springs, and he wondered if I could meet them there. I said sure, got in the car and headed south, instead of north.  I thought of fun things we could do there. How about visiting and taking a tour of the USA Olympic Training Facility? I had read that Mark Spitz is there training for this summer's London Olympics. Maybe we could catch a glimpse of him flying through the water! We joined up with a tour group, but Jon was bored; too much like school! So, we just explored on our own. Greg saw something that looked like monkey bars, going around in a big circle. He made it all the way around!

I asked the kids if they would like to go to the zoo, which I remembered is on the side of Cheyenne Mountain, where NORAD is located. To my delight, they enthusiastically wanted to go to the zoo! Usually, when kids approach middle school age, they get all sophisticated and poo poo ideas like going to zoos. I was so thankful my kids do not have that pseudosophistication yet. Jon loved playing tug of war with a giraffe, who thought Jon was trying to feed him a leaf! The zoo is located in a lush mountainside setting.

Near the zoo is the spectacular Seven Falls. We checked it out. It is in a steep canyon. You can actually ride an elevator to the top. Of course, the boys preferred to run up and down the steep stairs, but I think Sara preferred the elevator. The seven falls can barely be seen at the top of this blogpost.

We finished the day in Colorado Springs eating delicious sandwiches at Schlotskys Deli then stopped at Wal-Mart to buy a new football for the boys. When we got home the boys still had energy to toss the football and play some basketball, while I tucked Sara in. Sara and I shared spiritual philosophies with each other, before saying our prayers. She has some wonderful ideas about God's love. Later, the boys were finally also ready to be tucked in. Another day of cherished memories.

Choosing love

I had a wonderful day with my boys, Jon and Greg, and my daughter, Sara, on Friday. I will write about it when I get some photos ready to post. I am just overcome with joy and thanksgiving when I get the chance to be with them.

If your heart has been broken, do you close it back up? How about leaving it open in a stabilized way, so that you can choose to love, and not wait for someone to have to pry it open to give you love? I can be the one who chooses to love. In and of itself, that choice is good for me, regardless of what the other person does. It is something I am really working hard on.

Today I met one of Jon's previous teachers when he lived here with me. She was so sweet. She asked me how Jon was doing in New Mexico. I told her the truth: he does not like school. She was not surprised, because he did not like school here, either. Jon likes to set his own agenda. I will be writing about that when I post the photos. I had a great talk with his former teacher. She told me she really misses Jon and Greg. She said, "Jon is a great writer, just like you!" I started to cry, because I miss those kids terribly, and I appreciated her kind words.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

May 20 annular solar eclipse

On the afternoon of Sunday, May 20, the Moon will pass in front of the Sun, creating an annular solar eclipse. This won't be a total eclipse; a small ring of the Sun will still be visible. Millions of people from China through North America will be able to see the eclipse. It'll be especially visible in the southwestern United States starting around 6:30p.m. PDT.

Very important: Do not look directly at the sun! Ever! If you do not have a pair of eclipse glasses, try this:
Do-it-yourself pinhole projector
The cheapest way to view the eclipse is to get your hands on two pieces of cardboard and a pen. Take the pen and poke a hole in the center of one of the pieces of cardboard. Then stand with your back to the Sun and hold the cardboard with the hole in it up to the Sun while letting the light pass through the hole onto the other piece of cardboard.

What you'll get is an image of the Sun projected onto the cardboard. As the annular eclipse starts to happen, you'll slowly see a dark shape start to pass over the projected Sun. This is the Moon. Eventually, you'll only see a slim outline of the Sun when the eclipse reaches its height. Be careful not to look directly into the hole you poked, however; that's just as dangerous as if looking at the Sun itself.
Read more here:  http://www.tecca.com/columns/how-to-see-may-2012-solar-eclipse/


Muslim voters changing the political dynamics of Europe

Muslim voters are changing Europe.
"According to a survey of 10,000 French voters conducted by the polling firm OpinionWay for the Paris-based newspaper Le Figaro, an extraordinary 93% of French Muslims voted for Hollande on May 6. By contrast, the poll shows that only 7% of French Muslims voted for the incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy.
An estimated 2 million Muslims participated in the 2012 election, meaning that roughly 1.7 million Muslim votes went to Hollande rather than to Sarkozy. In the election as a whole, however, Hollande won over Sarkozy by only 1.1 million votes. This figure implies that Muslims cast the deciding votes that thrust Hollande into the Élysée Palace."


"To be sure, France is not the only country in which Muslims are changing the political dynamic.
In Denmark, Socialist Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt won the parliamentary election in September 2011 by a margin of just 8,500 votes. According to an opinion survey, 89.1% of Muslims said they would vote for Socialist or leftwing parties. There are an estimated 200,000 Muslims in Denmark, 100,000 of whom are eligible to vote.
In Britain, a new research report entitled, "Degrees of Separation: Ethnic minority voters and the Conservative Party," shows that 47% of Muslims say they have affinity for the Labour Party, while on 5% say they identify with the Conservatives. During the 2010 elections, Muslim voters were the deciding factor in 82 constituencies."
Read more here:  http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3064/muslim-voters-europe

Thursday, May 17, 2012

No fakery, no phoniness, no b.s., no mush, and no stink bombs in a garden party"

 Former Wyoming Senator Alan Simpson talks about America's debt.
 


I found this here: http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/

O'Reilly talks to Miller

Bill O'Reilly tells Dennis Miller that if he were at the same table with Barack Obama he could make oblique references that Obama would not get. Without missing a beat, Miller said, "You mean like balancing the budget?"
O'Reilly and Miller also get a good laugh out of new laws that allow women to use men's bathrooms. Miller asks, "Is this where 50 years of feminism has led us?"
I saw the tape at Protein Wisdom: http://proteinwisdom.com/?p=40483

Congress rejects Obama FY 2013 budget 513-0

Do you have a budget? President Obama submitted a budget to Congress for Fiscal Year 2013. In March it was rejected by the House of Representatives, and yesterday it was rejected by the U.S. Senate. The combined vote was 513-0. Did you hear about that on the evening news? How about your local newspaper? Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid does not look very happy about Republican Senators forcing a vote. From Powerline:
"Four different Republican budgets were taken up by the Senate. The House budget (commonly referred to as the Ryan budget) was voted down 41-58. The vote on Pat Toomey’s budget was 42-47; the vote on Rand Paul’s budget was 16-83; and the vote on Mike Lee’s budget was 17-82. The common denominator was that no Democrat had the courage to vote for any of them.
Has an American political party ever been so irresponsible? It is hard to think of an equally craven precedent. Today Jeff Sessions said:
Today, before the whole nation, the majority party running the Senate effectively declared that as long as they’re in charge this country will not have a budget.
Their message is simple: Send Washington more money. Don’t ask us what we’ll do with it. They’re determined to avoid public accountability as our nation spends its way to financial disaster."
Read more here:  http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/05/senate-democrats-achieve-a-new-standard-of-irresponsibility.php

Still the Best Hope

Are you sending your child to an American university? Dennis Prager says in this interview there are Christian seminaries, Jewish seminaries, and leftist seminaries. American universities are the leftist seminaries. Prager says that if they were honest, they would say right from the get-go that "It is our hope that when your son or daughter leaves our institution he/she will be a committed leftist." Instead, they proceed under the guise of "We're trying to open minds." Is it a freeing of the mind, or the closing of the mind that is the goal?

Many other subjects are covered in the interview, which is about Prager's book about American values Still the Best Hope.

Here is the PJTV interview with Dennis:

Wake up, you Ron Paul supporters!

Andrew McCarthy is urging the Tea Party to avoid being used by the Obama left in delegitimizing military responses to international terrorism. Crazy Ron Paul and other congressman are already being duped into supporting greater legal protection for terrorists.

Read more here: http://pjmedia.com/andrewmccarthy/2012/05/17/tea-party-should-oppose-latest-terrorist-bill-of-rights/?singlepage=true

Holder's outrageous lawlessness

I have just read two important posts by Christian Adams at Pajamas Media. The first is a recent one in which he tells us that Florida is about to announce that it has purged the names of 53,000 voters who are dead. The second is a post he wrote in 2010, telling about an experience he had while being a five-year member of the Justice Department's Voting Department. A Holder appointee told a room full of Voting Department employees, including Adams, in November 2009 that the Justice Department will not enforce that part of the newly passed "Motor Voter" law obliging states to ensure that no ineligible voters were on the rolls.

This brings back memories. As a foster parent, I frequently had to go to the Denver Department of Social Services to take children to visit with their birth parents. Every time I went there I saw a table prominently located and staffed by at least two people who aggressively stopped people to ask them if they were registered to vote. Though I never stopped to talk with them, I am certain, with what I now know, that these were ACORN people, lining up votes for Obama. The table was in the middle of the hallway at an important junction of the huge building. To the left were the welfare offices. To the right were the visitation offices.

As Adams says, welfare, social services and motor vehicle offices have been turned into voter registration places, but there has been no attempt by the Justice Department to ensure the integrity of the voting process by eliminating dead people, ineligible people such as felons or illegal immigrants, or people who have moved. Just another example of Fast and Furious Holder's outrageous lawlessness! It looks like the only way we can stop this is by our vote in November.

The Adams posts are here: http://pjmedia.com/blog/lawlessness-at-the-doj-voting-section-told-not-to-enforce-purging-the-dead-or-ineligible-from-voting-rolls/?singlepage=true
and here: http://pjmedia.com/jchristianadams/2012/05/16/53000-dead-voters-found-in-florida/

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

"A woman takes her life every three seconds"

Bridget Johnson gives us an update in PJ Media about the status of Chen Guangcheng. One quote from the story: "Another witness before the subcommittee told of the “systemic elimination of girls” in addition to the forced abortions that “show why Chinese women face a climate so oppressive that a woman takes her life every three seconds.” Could this be true?
Read much more here: http://pjmedia.com/blog/a-life-destroyed-by-chinas-forced-abortions-tells-all-to-congress/?singlepage=true

Wrong direction

http://pjmedia.com/rogerkimball/2012/05/16/obama-by-the-numbers/2/

Each one is smiling

Read much more at http://pjmedia.com/rogerkimball/2012/05/16/obama-by-the-numbers/

30 days for perjury!

From VW at One Happy Dog Speaks:
Russ and Sam, two friends, met in the park every day to feed the pigeons, watch the squirrels and discuss world problems.
One day Russ didn’t show up. Sam didn’t think much about it and figured maybe he had a cold or something.. But after Russ hadn’t shown up for a week or so, Sam really got worried. However, since the only time they ever got together was at the park, Sam didn’t know where Russ lived, so he was unable to find out what had happened to him.
A month had passed, and Sam figured he had seen the last of Russ, but one day, Sam approached the park and — lo and behold — there sat Russ! Sam was very excited and happy to see him and told him so. Then he said, ‘For crying out loud Russ, what in the world happened to you?’
Russ replied, ‘I have been in jail.’
‘Jail!’ cried Sam. What in the world for?’
‘Well,’ Russ said, ‘you know Sue, that cute little blonde waitress at the coffee shop where I sometimes go?’
‘Yeah,’ said Sam, ‘I remember her. What about her?
‘Well, one day she filed rape charges against me; and, at 89 years old, I was so proud that when I got into court, I pled ‘guilty’.
‘The damn judge gave me 30 days for perjury’.

 http://onehappydog.us/2012/05/humor-for-wednesday-183

"A transparently cunning will to power"

Dr. Bob at One Cosmos entitled yesterday's post "There is No Truth, and Only the Left Possesses It." Have you ever heard a better title for a blog post?

Here are some excerpts:
As we have discussed before, man is composed of intellect, of will, and of sentiment. To deny truth is to maim the intellect. But that doesn't kill the body. Rather, it seems that the will to power comes in to fill the vacuum. This perverse will
"has a violence and cruelty that go beyond the delight in masquerade and in the deception of others." It also "turns on the thinker himself and unmasks his thought as a cunning will to power."
Let's take another example from just last week, when President Obama decided to express his support for the redefinition of marriage. It is a matter of public record that this was merely a power play, in that wealthy donors were threatening to withhold funds if he didn't openly embrace their agenda.
For Newsweek to then proclaim Obama the "first gay president" is completely absurd, in light of the fact that he is just another statist with a transparently cunning will to power.
To believe otherwise one must want to believe otherwise, which is itself another instance of the will-to-power genre, except that it doesn't accrue to the power of the rank-and-foul self-deluder, only to the powerful. In reality it is but a "graceless disorder of the soul" rooted in a "demonic mendacity" (ibid).
(All quoted material from Science, Politics, And Gnosticism.)
 Read more here: http://onecosmos.blogspot.com/2012/05/there-is-no-truth-and-only-left.html

In the comments section Julie Cork nails Obama: "He is a BS artist, plain and simple."

Positive affirmations are powerful!

We can learn from a child the power of positive thinking!
http://odewire.com/168730/develop-the-power-of-positive-thinking.html

The strength and wisdom that come from a broken heart

When your heart is broken, you have an opportunity to "stabilize your heart in the open state." That is, instead of saying, "I want love in my life; I need someone to love me," you can move to a new perspective, in which you say, "I want love in my life; I am going to give love in every opportunity." Are you looking only to receive love, or are you someone who chooses to give love and not wait for love?
Read more here: http://odewire.com/heartbroken

Dueling shock value magazine covers

I agree with Neo-neocon who writes about this week's "dueling shock value" Newsweek and Time magazine covers. She finds the Time cover "very, very, very wrong," because the mother and magazine exploited an almost-four-year-old boy sucking on his mother's breast.
http://neoneocon.com/2012/05/14/cover-wars/

Seeing-eye-horses

I saw this story at the Neatorama blog:
"Miniature horse fans rejoice! Thanks to a Senate vote, miniature horses have now been approved for use as service animals in the state of Illinois.
Here’s why mini horses make awesome guides:
According to the Guide Horse Foundation, miniature horses can be useful for people with severe allergies or phobias to dogs, or people who want an animal likely to live longer than a dog. The horses are strong enough to provide support when handlers need to lean on them, and they are not easily distracted by crowds.
So, the next time you see a mini horse on a leash, sporting a fashionable vest and some oh-so-cute little shoes, don’t panic!
They’re here to help, and they’re not just in it for the free carrots."
 http://www.neatorama.com/2012/05/16/illinois-approves-the-use-of-mini-horses-as-service-animals/

Monday, May 14, 2012

Shriveled visions of freedom

Mark Steyn decides to share the risk: "I have no desire to end up living like Geert Wilders or Kurt Westergaard, never mind dead as Fortuyn and van Gogh. But I also wish to live in truth, as a free man, and I do not like the shriveled vision of freedom offered by the Dutch Openbaar Ministrie, the British immigration authorities, the Austrian courts, Canada’s “human rights” tribunals, and the other useful idiots of Islamic imperialism. So it is necessary for more of us to do what Ayaan Hirsi Ali recommends: share the risk. So that the next time a novel or a cartoon provokes a fatwa, it will be republished worldwide and send the Islamic enforcers a message: Killing one of us won’t do it. You’d better have a great credit line at the Bank of Jihad because you’ll have to kill us all."
 http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/299725/spirit-geert-wilders-mark-steyn

Real value

- Average wages in 1959 were $5,016 or 143oz of Gold
- Average wages in 1977 were $15,000 or 120oz of Gold
- Average wages in 1999 were $28,970 or 104oz of Gold
- Average wages in 2008 were $41,335 or 53oz of Gold
From Rico at Theo Spark's blog. Read more here:  http://www.theospark.net/2012/05/nominal-vs-realfrom-rico.html

The Gospel according to Barack Obama

Manhatten Infidel was there to record the words of the Messiah:
Barack said to him:  Thou shalt love the Federal government with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy mind.
This is the greatest and first duty in a Republic.
And the second is like to this:  Pay your fair share of taxes.
And no man was able to answer him a word: neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions for they are no match for Barack’s intellect and knowledge of the Constitution.
Read more here:  http://manhattaninfidel.com/2012/05/10/the-gospel-according-to-barack-obama-part-xv/

Would you wear this shirt?

Found here: http://kingshamus.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/best-item-of-clothing-ever/

Virtue vs. corruption and viciousness

PJ Media welcomes Andrew McCarthy to their stable of columnists: "Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom,” Benjamin Franklin observed. “As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.” What is it that makes us virtuous? What slides us toward corruption and viciousness? I look forward to a long deliberation on those questions. It is a privilege to be able to explore them here at PJ Media, among friends and colleagues I so admire, and readers I feel like I already know — after all, I’ve been one for a long time!
 http://pjmedia.com/andrewmccarthy/2012/05/13/welcome-to-ordered-liberty/2/

Head Games

Click on image to enlarge.

Minimum wage from 1950 to 2010

http://www.theospark.net/2012/05/from-1950-to-2010-minimum-wagefrom-rico.html

Good Grief!

http://www.theospark.net/2012/05/cartoon-round-up_14.html

Drones, or fighter jets?

Drones are "where it's at:" http://maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com/archives/19746-The-F-35-Debacle.html

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Exposing grocery store customers and employees to dangerous viruses and bacteria

The L.A. city council is voting on May 23 to force its citizens to bring their own bags to the grocery store. If the bill passes, here are some of the viruses people will be exposed to: http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2012/05/09/ban-the-bag-get-the-runs/

Seven myths the left propagates about terror and terrorists

Ralph Peters expounds on seven myths about terror and terrorists propagated by the left:
One: Killing terrorists only turns them into martyrs.
Two: We can't kill our way out of this.
Three: Terrorists have rights.
Four: Formal trials will show them the superiority of our system of justice.
Five: The only path to peace is negotiations
Six: It's not about religion.
Seven: It's about us.
Go here to read how he expounds on each of these points: http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/the-lefts-seven-tragic-terror-lies?f=must_reads#ixzz1uaXNVNen

I might try this

Here is an idea that might improve your home security system. Post this note on the front door:
Bubba,
Me, Jethro and  Jimmie Earl have gone out get more ammo.
The pitbulls are locked inside -- they got the mailman  good this morning. There was so much blood  around that it was impossible to tell which  of the four dogs was  involved. Stay out on the porch, and  we'll be back soon. -- Caleb.
 http://laughingconservative.blogspot.com/2012/05/southern-security-system.html

Gays have NO rights in Iran

According to Iranian human rights campaigners, over 4,000 gay men and lesbians have
been executed since the Ayatollahs seized power in 1979. An Iranian court has sentenced four men from the town of Choram, in the Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, to death by hanging for sodomy.
 http://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/05/iran-four-men-sentenced-to-death-by-hanging-for-sodomy-in-accord-with-sharia-law.html

You call these people doctors?

Al-Qaeda doctors have been trained to implant bombs inside human bodies. Airport scanners cannot detect the bombs. Read more here: http://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/05/can-we-shut-down-the-tsa-now-al-qaeda-doctors-trained-to-implant-bombs-in-humans.html

Are you Churchill, or Chamberlain?

Ann Barnhardt takes Obama seriously. She explains why here:

Why the NDRP E.O. of 3/16/2012 is Different
Posted by Ann Barnhardt - March 18, AD 2012 8:46 PM MST
I'm getting really, really sick of these pundits and talking heads on the so-called "right" clucking their tongues at the unwashed masses and telling us that we're crazy and paranoid to be the least bit concerned each and every time the Obama regime takes another stride toward totalitarianism. And it is EACH AND EVERY TIME.

Let me break it down for Ed Morrissey, and all of the other pundits in that social circle so that you can get your heads around this. We are concerned and even, dare I say it, panicked, because we can see the big picture of the Obama regime for what it is. We can take the totality of the dataset and draw not just a logical, reasoned conclusion, but a conclusion that is supported by centuries - nay millenia - of past precedent. We are, as Patrick Henry put it, "willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it."
 
Why is the 3/16/2012 Executive Order worthy of grave concern? Simply put, because of the man and the regime who issued it. This is a man, and a regime that has done the following:
-Sent the Secretary of Defense (Leon Panetta) to Congress to put them on notice that despite the explicitness of the Constitution, the consent of the Congress to wage war will neither be solicited nor required by the Commander in Chief or his regime. The CiC and SECDEF may, if they feel like it and can find the time, MAY inform the Congress of "kinetic military actions" henceforth.
-Declared the First Amendment null and void by mandating that every American must, as a condition of legal residency in the United States, pay for abortions. Mr. Morrissey, being a Catholic, you should understand that what the Obama regime has done is demand your very soul. In order to remain corporeally "free" in the United States of America, you must enter into mortal sin, reject Jesus Christ in totality, turn your back on your Crucified Savior, excommunicate yourself from the Church, and consign your immortal soul to eternal hell. If that isn't the prohibiting of the free exercise of religion, then nothing is or ever could be.

-Committed acts of war upon the sovereign nation of Mexico and her people, willfully arming narco-terrorists with the intent of using the optics of hundreds if not thousands of brutally murdered Mexicans in order to stir up and justify the overthrow of the Second Amendment to the Constitution. This is textbook sedition.

-Has coordinated with regime cronies in the Legislative Branch to enable the Obama regime to operate for an entire term WITH NO BUDGET WHATSOEVER. In this time, the Obama regime has looted the United States Treasury and debased the currency of the United States to the tune of SEVEN TRILLION DOLLARS, or roughly one-half the gross domestic product.
This is just a very, very, very short list. Additionally, with each passing day it is being further revealed that EVERY SINGLE PERSON Barack Obama has ever associated with has been not merely a Marxist, not merely a Socialist, not merely a Communist, but a TOTALITARIAN hellbent on the destruction of the United States of America.

I'll concede the point that if this Executive Order was issued by - get this - Jimmy Carter or even Bill Clinton, I could buy the idea that it was merely an emergency protocol housekeeping item of some sort geared toward the reaction of the Federal Government after a nuclear attack. I'd be skeptical, but I would be open to the argument.

Not so now. These people are totalitarian tyrants who are no longer even trying to hide their intentions. See the bulleted items above. There comes a point where you have to pull your head out of the sand, synthesize a massive dataset into its obvious, coherent output, and be willing to know the worst, and to provide for it.
 
Denying the obvious, even when the obvious is horrific, is not some sort of virtue. Keeping people numb to reality and drunk on a sugary treacle of distraction and reassurance that "everything's okay" even when every iota of data and experience tells us that everything is NOT OKAY is not a virtuous public service. It is a massive failure in charity, both towards those who are misled and falsely-consoled by your assurances, and toward those whose intellects and intentions you backhandedly insult.

Remember, people exactly like Ed Morrissey and his ilk were calling everyone warning of Hitler's danger to mankind "alarmist", "conspiracy theorists" and "paranoid" up until 4:40 am on September 1, 1939 when the Luftwaffe attacked Weilun. And before that mess was over, 70 million human beings were dead. The hell that the Obama regime is determined to unleash on the world will make World War II look like a mere bar fight.

Yeah, I'm sorry I can't tell you the day, hour and minute that open war is going to break out, both overseas and here in the homeland, or the exact date, time and high-tick in the markets before the entire system implodes. There is a name for people who claim to know exact dates of future events - they're called CHARLATANS. If that failure makes me non-credible and paranoid, then I wear that sash with pride, and am consoled and flattered by the caliber of the company of Jeremiahs and Cassandras throughout history that I join. But I do know that it is coming, and that the NDRP Executive Order of 3/16/2012 is, WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE DAY AND THE REGIME THAT ISSUED IT, entirely ominous and certainly tactical.

I'll leave you with the video of Larry Grathwohl, which can never, ever be posted, spread and publicized too much. Recorded in 1980, when Barack Obama was nothing more than a drug-addled foreign student at Occidental College and not yet even a glimmer in the eye of the Totalitarians who would later adopt him as their public persona, Grathwohl recounts conversations led by Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn, the founders and leaders of the Weather Underground, the Marxist-Communist-Totalitarian terrorist group that Grathwohl was tasked to infiltrate, and the eventual intimates, ghostwriter and political handlers of Barack and Michelle Obama. The Totalitarian cabal that runs the Obama regime has intended, for decades, to collapse the United States, overthrow it, establish a Totalitarian oligarchy, and as a necessary corollary to that, murder at least ten percent of the population as "die-hard, unreformable capitalists." In 1980, that 10% worked out to 25 million human beings. Today, it would be 31 million - but heck, what's another Holocaust (6 million) give or take?
Today, you are either Churchill or you are Chamberlain."

Do U.S. troops have a right to free speech?

"If you believe so, then their rights are not limited or exclusive.  They are free to say whatever any other American has a right to say.  If you believe they do not, then you have relegated the troops to the position of second class citizens, or even property of the state.  There is NO in-between.  Discipline and military coherence be damned.  Either these men and women have First Amendment protections and are full citizens or they are mechanisms of the government whose civil liberties have been erased."

"What I have seen in a number of the reactions to the honest activism of Sgt. Gary Stein is a knee-jerk bias that reeks of the slave mentality, but it offers us a window in gauging the leanings of the general public.  Now that the once theoretical dangers of federal fascism are breaking the surface of the water and circling the American sinking ship, the great test is to watch closely where the masses place their priorities.  Will they take the path of the individual, admit to the laboratory mutation that our government has become, and try to make things right again?  Or, will they take the path of the slave, forget their past follies and empty arguments, and jump on the totalitarian bandwagon?  Certainly, it is not as if the cheerleaders of the state usually get out of the tumult with all their limbs intact.  In most cases, they are lucky to get out alive once the smoke clears.  One might think that the lessons of history would be guide enough, but then again, the average slave has taken every conceivable measure to ensure that his particular fantasy land is magical enough to withstand substantial examination.  The system is their drug, and the upheaval that free thought brings is such a buzz-kill…"
Read more here:  http://www.alt-market.com/articles/670-understanding-the-slave-mentality

On love, laziness, and evil

M. Scott Peck distinguishes between love, laziness and evil. “There really are people and institutions made up of people, who respond with hatred in the presence of goodness and would destroy the good insofar as it is in their power to do so. They do this not with conscious malice but blindly, lacking awareness of their own evil — indeed, seeking to avoid any such awareness. As has been described of the devil in religious literature, they hate the light and instinctively will do anything to avoid it, including attempting to extinguish it. They will destroy the light in their own children and in all other beings subject to their power.

Evil people hate the light because it reveals themselves to themselves. They hate goodness because it reveals their badness; they hate love because it reveals their laziness. They will destroy the light, the goodness, the love in order to avoid the pain of such self-awareness. My second conclusion, then, is that evil is laziness carried to its ultimate, extraordinary extreme. As I have defined it, love is the antithesis of laziness. Ordinary laziness is a passive failure to love. Some ordinarily lazy people may not lift a finger to extend themselves unless they are compelled to do so. Their being is a manifestation of nonlove; still, they are not evil.

Truly evil people, on the other hand, actively rather than passively avoid extending themselves. They will take any action in their power to protect their own laziness, to preserve the integrity of their sick self. Rather than nurturing others, they will actually destroy others in this cause. If necessary, they will even kill to escape the pain of their own spiritual growth. As the integrity of their sick self is threatened by the spiritual health of those around them, they will seek by all manner of means to crush and demolish the spiritual health that may exist near them.

I define evil, then, as the exercise of political power — that is, the imposition of one’s will upon others by overt or covert coercion — in order to avoid extending one’s self for the purpose of nurturing spiritual growth. Ordinary laziness is nonlove; evil is antilove.”
From “The People of the Lie”
M. Scott Peck
I found this at  http://barnhardt.biz/

At one with nature


I found this at Jaded Haven: http://jadedhaven.wordpress.com/2012/04/22/go-north/

This is the kind of math my boys would really enjoy!

Be sure to click on this cartoon to see it better. I found it in the comments section at Jaded Haven: http://jadedhaven.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/small-furies/#comment-18843

Six-year-old plays with gusto

Autism may not be such a handicap, especially when there is a loving adult nearby.

Happy Mothers Day!

Read more here: http://abcnews.go.com/US/mothers-inspiring-video-blind-baby-viral/story?id=16335288#.T6_weFJvfz4

Saturday, May 12, 2012

"The last ride of my shift"

I found this on Google+ http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=11546739#editor/target=post;postID=4329699425661676291 in a post by Aaron Manley Smith
A sweet lesson on patience.

A NYC Taxi driver wrote:

I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I honked again. Since this was going to be my last ride of my shift I thought about just driving away, but instead I put the car in park and walked up to the door and knocked.. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie.

By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.

There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard
box filled with photos and glassware.

'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.

She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her.. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.'

'Oh, you're such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, 'Could you drive
through downtown?'

'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly..

'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice.

I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued in a soft voice..'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.

'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.

We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired.Let's go now'.
We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.

Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move.
They must have been expecting her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

'How much do I owe you?' She asked, reaching into her purse.

'Nothing,' I said

'You have to make a living,' she answered.

'There are other passengers,' I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug.She held onto me tightly.

'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said. 'Thank you.'

I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light.. Behind me, a door shut.It was the sound of the closing of a life..

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day,I could hardly talk.What if that woman had gotten an angry driver,or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.

We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.

But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.
I found this at Daphne's wonderful Jaded Haven blog:  http://jadedhaven.wordpress.com/

They can't contain their excitement!

Wouldn't it be exciting to get to sit near the president while he is giving a speech?

Read more here: http://invinciblearmor.blogspot.com/2012/04/obama-loses-racist-you-black-old-white.html

You have no CHOICE!

Are you pregnant and planning a visit to the Wite House? You MUST register your child with White House security before entering. You have no CHOICE!
Read more here: http://freebeacon.com/no-birth-certificate-required/
I found this while perusing the Invincible Armor blog: http://invinciblearmor.blogspot.com/2012/05/obamas-white-house-demands-unborn.html

"Teamness"

Since the Nuggets have no superstar for them to "go-to" in tonight's deciding game of the playoff series with the Lakers, I'll post this photo of their coach, George Karl. It is Karl who has preached "teamness," and this year's team has bought into the concept completely. Unselfish hustle on both ends of the court has brought them to this point. It is a team (and coach) Coloradans and basketball fans everywhere can be proud of and enjoy.
Read more here: http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_20606789/george-karl-love-beat-lakers-series-finale

Facebook co-founder gives up U.S. citizenship to avoid taxes

Singapore suits him just fine. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-11/facebook-co-founder-saverin-gives-up-u-s-citizenship-before-ipo.html

Don't let the left define the terms of the debate!

Dr. Sanity thinks it is crazy to let the left define the terms of the debate.
Read the whole thing here: http://drsanity.blogspot.com/2012/05/countering-postmodern-political.html

"As much recoverable oil as all the rest of the world's proven resources combined"

(CNSNews.com) - The Green River Formation, a largely vacant area of mostly federal land that covers the territory where Colorado, Utah and Wyoming come together, contains about as much recoverable oil as all the rest the world’s proven reserves combined, an auditor from the Government Accountability Office told Congress on Thursday.
Read the whole thing here:  http://cnsnews.com/news/article/gao-recoverable-oil-colorado-utah-wyoming-about-equal-entire-world-s-proven-oil

Highest number of people ever (not in the labor force)

From Zero Hedge. Click on the graphs to see them clearly.
Read the whole thing here: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/people-not-labor-force-soar-522000-labor-force-participation-rate-lowest-1981