"They thought they could break us. They thought they could scare us. We're the land of the free and home of the brave. And we will stand."

Today, of course, is 9-11, the day Obama's pastor said "America's chickens came home to roost."

Photo from Instapundit, who also recommends this piece by James Lilek, written on 9-11-2003: http://www.lileks.com/bleats/archive/03/0903/091103.html

Instapundit also refers us to this passage from James Harris's Civilization and It's Enemies: 

Forgetfulness occurs when those who have been long inured to civilized order can no longer remember a time in which they had to wonder whether their crops would grow to maturity without being stolen or their children sold into slavery by a victorious foe.
…
They forget that in time of danger, in the face of the Enemy, they must trust and confide in each other, or perish.
They forget, in short, that there has ever been a category of human experience called the Enemy. And that, before 9/11, was what had happened to us. The very concept of the Enemy had been banished from our moral and political vocabulary. An enemy was just a friend we hadn’t done enough for — yet. Or perhaps there had been a misunderstanding, or an oversight on our part — something that we could correct. And this means that that our first task is that we must try to grasp what the concept of the Enemy really means.
The Enemy is someone who is willing to die in order to kill you. And while it is true that the Enemy always hates us for a reason — it is his reason, and not ours.

Flag photo found here: http://accordingtohoyt.com/2012/09/11/eleven-years/

Where, In her piece, Sarah Hoyt writes:
"On the one hand, part of me wants to laugh at the terrorists.  They thought they could break us.  They thought they could scare us.  They underestimated both the size of our territory and the mettle of my people.

And part of me thinks of the psychological twisting that has taken place since then: people who blame their own country for the actions of barbarians; people who kowtow to the barbarians and claim to be multiculturalists because that sounds so much better than vile cowards; people who think that a country the size of ours, as wealthy as we are should do nothing to deter attackers because we’d be protected by our halo of purity and goodness.

I think of our troops who fought the enemy there, so we wouldn’t fight them here.  I think of the brave young men and women willing to lay down their lives for this country — for the last, best hope on Earth. And I think of those who died, even on 9/11, to save others: the people who went into the towers, to help total strangers down.

And as an author to an Author I have to admire the plotting touch, where the three burly and brave guys who spearheaded the fight back in flight 93 were a born again man, a Jewish man, and a gay man.  Can you imagine any group designed to give more heart burn to the enemies that brought down the towers and who tried to use flight 93 as a weapon?

I can’t either.  But, more importantly, I can’t imagine any other culture, any other country, any other place where those three would have banded together, immediately – instinctively – putting aside any perceived differences, thinking only of trying to save the defenseless, laying down their lives for others.

Their lives were forfeit, but they died free men.  They died heroes.  More importantly, they died Americans.

Surely a nation that produces such men will not perish from this Earth.

We will not go quietly into that good night.

We’re the land of the free and the home of the brave.  And we will stand."

Read the whole thing here:  http://accordingtohoyt.com/2012/09/11/eleven-years/

Stereotyping by race and gender

Victor Davis Hanson writes about the left's fixation on gender and race. "With this fixation on race and gender, note how individualism fades and character matters less, as we regress into cardboard caricatures of human beings. In the world of a Harry Reid or Robert Fowler, white males can be pale or old, but are not mere individuals who may intermarry or have less money and fortune than females or non-whites — unless they pass muster as liberals and thus are given free rein to stereotype others by their race and gender."

"One of the legacies of the Obama presidency is that “white male” as a term of embarrassment has now transcended the hothouse of the campus and gone mainstream. We are lectured by media figures, celebrities, and politicians ad nauseum that the November election is really about a new America of diverse minority groups, gays, feminists, and green pitted against a dying and shrinking number of old white guys. Sometimes that narrative requires absurd assumptions."

Read the whole thing here:  http://pjmedia.com/victordavishanson/everyones-a-white-male/?singlepage=true

"A 100% chance of empty seats"

Reading!

Can you imagine what the math scores are? Click on image to read the fine print. Found here: http://www.theospark.net/2012/09/cartoon-round-up_11.html
Ramirez is the best cartoonist, hands down.

Unemployed and out of work are not the same thing

A guest blogger at the Brutally Honest blog imagines how Abbott and Costello would discuss the unemployment rate:

COSTELLO: I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America.
ABBOTT: Good Subject. Terrible Times. It's about 8 percent.
COSTELLO: That many people are out of work?
ABBOTT: No, that's 16 percent.
COSTELLO: You just said 8 percent.
ABBOTT: 8 percent unemployed.
COSTELLO: Right 8 percent out of work.
ABBOTT: No, that's 16 percent.
COSTELLO: Okay, so it's 16 percent unemployed.
ABBOTT: No, that's around 8 percent...
COSTELLO: Waits a minute. Is it 8 percent or 16 percent?
ABBOTT: 8 percent are unemployed. 16 percent are out of work.
COSTELLO: If you are out of work aren't you unemployed?
ABBOTT: No, you can't count the "Out of Work" as unemployed. You have to look for work to be unemployed.
COSTELLO: But they are out of work!!!
ABBOTT: No, you miss my point.
COSTELLO: What point?
ABBOTT: Someone who doesn't look for work, can't be counted with those who look for work. It wouldn't be fair.
COSTELLO: To who?
ABBOTT: The unemployed.
COSTELLO: But they are all out of work.
ABBOTT:No, the unemployed are actively looking for work ... Those who are out of work stopped looking. They gave up. And, if you give up, you are no longer in the ranks of the unemployed.
COSTELLO: So if you're off the unemployment roles, that would count as less unemployment?
ABBOTT: Unemployment would go down. Absolutely!
COSTELLO: The unemployment just goes down because you don't look for work?
ABBOTT:
Absolutely it goes down. That's how you get to 8 percent. Otherwise it would be 16 percent. You don't want to read about 16 percent unemployment do ya?
COSTELLO: That would be frightening.
ABBOTT: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: Wait, I got a question for you. That means they're two ways to bring down the unemployment number?
ABBOTT: Two ways is correct.
COSTELLO: Unemployment can go down if someone gets a job?
 ABBOTT:Correct.
COSTELLO:And unemployment can also go down if you stop looking for a job?
ABBOTT: Bingo.
COSTELLO: So there are two ways to bring unemployment down, and the easier of the two is to just stop looking for work.
ABBOTT: Now you're thinking like an economist.
COSTELLO: I don't even know what the hell I just said!

 http://www.brutallyhonest.org/brutally_honest/2012/09/unemployed-and-out-of-work-are-not-the-same-thing.html

Guns and ammo sales surge

One industry has thrived during the Obama presidency. Guns and ammo. Hot Air reports:  http://hotair.com/archives/2012/09/09/an-obama-bounce-in-gun-sales/
Here is a video of some interviews on CNBC.

Chicago teachers disrupt the families of 400,000 children

Unlike the teacher I wrote about earlier today, these Chicago teachers have disrupted the lives of 400,000 children and their families today.  Today 400,000 Chicago school children and their families have a conundrum. Their teachers are out on strike. Teachers unions had more delegates to the Dem Convention last week than any other interest group. Obama portrays himself as friendly to the middle and lower classes. His former chief of staff is the mayor of Chicago. Do you suppose Obama and Emanuel will take on the unions, who are disrupting so many lives? Remember when Reagan fired the air traffic controllers? These teachers make an average of $76,000 per year BEFORE benefits! And, they have turned down a 16% raise. The average family in Chicago earns only $47,000 a year.
Photo of teachers found here:  http://www.theospark.net/2012/09/remember-atc-strikefrom-rico.html

 Photo of Obama found here: http://www.breitbart.com/

Republican hand-wringing

Now that Obama has received a boost in the polls, following the Dem Convention, Republicans are worried whether Romney has the passion to confront Obama and defeat him. Republicans had a man who had the passion, not only to take on Obama, but also to take on Obama's media sycophants. That man was Newt Gingrich. Gingrich came in a very distant third behind Romney and Santorum. I have little sympathy for the Republican hand-wringing that is going on now.

In fact, it was Gingrich himself who told Hardball's Chris Matthews that Romney is "a very tough competitor," he proclaimed, "and he takes no prisoners."

A teacher who is earning his paycheck, and the respect of his students.

Every night when I talk with my kids on the phone, I ask them to tell me one thing they learned that day. My son Jon is in the seventh grade. Yesterday was not a school day, but Jon decided to tell me what he is learning in his favorite class, which is German. He told me that his teacher's name is Mr. Disstlehorst. "His wife can't have babies, for some reason, so we're his kids."

"Germany tried democracy, but their leaders failed them. Hitler came along and promised that he could provide the German people with what they needed and wanted. You know how when you think of Germany, you think of Nazis? Well, actually, Dad, the Germans were the first people Hitler attacked! Each woman was forced to have at least three children by the age of forty, or she would be killed. Then, he started concentration camps, and put the Jewish citizens in them."

"I have learned about three political systems: capitalism, communism, and fascism. Capitalism is America. There are two sides, left and right. The left is where the people are babied, but actually are ruled by the government. The right is where the people want to be more independent. Fascism is where the military rules the people. Communism is where the czars assigned jobs, and everybody was paid the same, so there was no incentive for people to work harder or study harder."

Jon loves his German class and his teacher. It is the only class he ever mentions. Count me as one father who appreciates a good teacher!

The photo image above is outside the building in Braunau am Inn, Austria, where Hitler was born. It is a memorial stone placed as a reminder of the horrors of World War II. The inscription translates as:

For peace, freedom
and democracy
never again fascism
millions of dead remind [us]"
(from Wikipedia)

A football state

This state is going crazy for the Denver Broncos, and it is only the beginning. Tonight the Broncos defeated the Pittsburg Steelers 31 to 19 in the 2012 season opener. Two free agent pick ups in the off season came up big for the Broncos tonight: Peyton Manning on offense, and Tracy Porter on defense.

Infant tee shirts are selling for $23, when the Bronco insignia is sewn in. Any article of clothing you might want can be purchased with Bronco symbols. Any furniture item. Bumper stickers. Blankets. Bath towels. Auto accessories. Flags and banners. Cups, mugs, shots. Toasters. Lawn and Garden. License plates and frames. Luggage and sports bags. Pet supplies. Shoes and socks. Wallets and checkbooks. Watches and clocks.

I'm not sure if this is a Christian nation, but Colorado is undoubtedly a football state.

Envy

Bill Whittle tells the truth. "Progressives have launched a class war. Evil, greedy, rich fat cats, unless they are companies or rich persons who donate to the Obama campaign. Number one health concern for poor Americans is obesity. "Eating our sustainable algae cakes as we watch the Chinese land on the moon." via http://www.theospark.net/2012/09/number-six-bill-whittle.html

Cell phones

Cell phones are ubiquitous. I wonder what effect they are having on relationships. If people use them to be in close communication with spouses or "significant others," then I imagine it is a good thing. On the other hand, if one partner is constantly on the phone, talking to someone else, while being physically with their partner, that might not be so good! Has anyone seen any research on the question?

Homecoming

We're not even one-third through September, and already the homecoming dances are on the scene. Girls in high heels for the first time (in public). Not for long, though; after about an hour, the first sensible one takes them off and goes barefoot.

One guy chaperoning four girls (his girlfriend and her three best gal pals). Is he the quarterback or the student council president? My money is on student council president.

The Terrifying New Normal

If you did not see Victor Davis Hanson's column this week entitled The Terrifying New Normal, please read it. He writes about the effects of the 45% unemployment rate for young people ages 16 to 29, and the effects of near-zero interest rates.
go here: http://pjmedia.com/victordavishanson/the-terrifying-new-normal/?singlepage=true
via The Bookworm Room

You may not see these numbers in the old media

The blogger at The Bookworm Room asks that we all do our part in making sure these numbers get out from behind the media "Iron Curtain."

23,136,000: The Number Of Americans Who Are Unemployed, Underemployed, Or Have Stopped Looking For Work. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 9/7/12)
12,544,000: The Number Of Unemployed Workers. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 9/7/12)
8,031,000: The Number Of Workers Working Part-Time For Economic Reasons. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 9/7/12)
5,033,000: The Number Of Workers Who Have Been Unemployed For 27 Weeks Or Longer. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 9/7/12)
1,043,000: Construction Jobs Lost Since President Obama Took Office. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 9/7/12)
582,000 Manufacturing Jobs Lost Since President Obama Took Office. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 9/7/12)
368,000: Workers That Dropped Out Of The Labor Force In August. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 9/7/12)
261,000: Jobs Lost Since President Obama Took Office. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 9/7/12)
41,000: Downward Revision Of Jobs Created Over The Last Two Months. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 9/7/12)
15,000: Manufacturing Jobs Lost In August. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 9/7/12)
1981: The Last Time The Labor Force Participation Rate Was At Its Current Level Of 63.5 Percent. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 9/7/12)
43: Consecutive Months The Unemployment Rate Has Remained Above Eight Percent. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 9/7/12)
39.2 Weeks: The Average Duration Of Unemployment – Nearly Double The 19.8 Weeks When President Obama Took Office. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 9/7/12)
14.7 Percent: The Real Unemployment Rate, Including Those That Are Working Part-Time Due To Economic Reasons. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 9/7/12)
11.2 Percent: The Unemployment Rate Had Labor Force Participation Remained Steady Since President Obama Took Office. (American Enterprise Institute, 9/7/12)
8.4 Percent: The Unemployment Rate Had Labor Force Participation Remained Steady From July. (American Enterprise Institute, 9/7/12)
8.1 Percent: The Unemployment Rate In August. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 9/7/12)
7.8 Percent: The Unemployment Rate When President Obama Took Office. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 9/7/12)
5.4 Percent: The Unemployment Rate President Obama’s Advisers Predicted If We Passed His $787 Billion Stimulus. (Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein, “The Job Impact Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Plan,”1/9/09)

http://www.bookwormroom.com/2012/09/08/we-need-your-help-getting-the-bad-employment-information-past-the-medias-iron-curtain/

Update: a commenter named Sadie at The bookworm blog says that the news is not all bad. There is one industry where the unemployment rate is only 5.1%: government jobs!

Are we a "nation staggering around with a giant condom rolled over its collective head?".

Mark Steyn reminds us that "we cannot have two futures simultaneously, even under Obamacare." Referring to the Dem Convention's prime time feature of Sandra Fluke, Steyn writes, "But what’s strange is that so many people don’t find it strange at all — that at a critical moment in the affairs of the republic the ruling party should assemble to listen to a complacent 31-year-old child of privilege peddling the lazy cobwebbed assumptions of myopic narcissism."

Steyn thinks Fluke actually represents a third future. "So this is America’s best and brightest — or, at any rate, most expensively credentialed. Sandra Fluke has been blessed with a quarter-million dollars of elite education, and, on the evidence of Wednesday night, is entirely incapable of making a coherent argument. She has enjoyed the leisurely decade-long varsity once reserved for the minor sons of Mitteleuropean grand dukes, and she has concluded that the most urgent need facing the Brokest Nation in History is for someone else to pay for the contraception of 30-year-old children. She says the choice facing America is whether to be “a country where we mean it when we talk about personal freedom, or one where that freedom doesn’t apply to our bodies and our voices” — and, even as the words fall leaden from her lips, she doesn’t seem to comprehend that Catholic institutions think their “voices” ought to have freedom, too, or that Obamacare seizes jurisdiction over “our bodies” and has 16,000 new IRS agents ready to fine us for not making arrangements for “our” pancreases and “our” bladders that meet the approval of the commissars. Sexual liberty, even as every other liberty withers, is all that matters: A middle-school girl is free to get an abortion without parental consent, but if she puts a lemonade stand on her lawn she’ll be fined. What a bleak and reductive concept of “personal freedom.”

Read the whole thing here:  http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/316276/nation-sandra-flukes-mark-steyn?pg=1
via The Bookworm blog

Do we do it by strength, or by weakness?

You can get this tee shirt on-line today for only $25, just five dollars more than a Peyton Manning tee shirt! A woman was wearing one of these the other day in the store where I work. It's a good thing I was helping another customer at the time, because you know I would not have been able to resist asking her how she thought we could accomplish the goal of stopping wars. What do you want to bet that her answer would not have been "by making sure we are the strongest nation on earth?"

Over the top enthusiasm

Colorado is way more interested in the Peyton Manning-led Denver Broncos than the presidential race. The NFL season kicks off tomorrow night in Denver, with the Broncos playing the Steelers. The Steelers have lots of motivation, after Tim Tebow (remember him?) led the Broncos to victory over the Steelers in a playoff game.

Manning's number 18 jersey will sell about one zillion times this fall. Put number 18 on a tee shirt, and its value goes from four dollars to twenty dollars immediately!

However, if you are a fan of Manning, and you are a student in the Greeley, Colorado public schools, you better not wear your shirt to school! Why? Because 18 is the name of the 18th street gang there! A good way to decide whether to move to a community, or not, is to see if they ban shirts because of gang activity! No shirt ban = relatively safe community!

People are very worried about the replacement officials. Will the players be safe? Will officials have the courage to make tough calls?

It is all a little over the top.

"Out of juice"

"Barack Obama is deeply overexposed and often boring. He never seems to be saying what he’s thinking. His speech Thursday was weirdly anticlimactic. There’s too much buildup, the crowd was tired, it all felt flat. He was somber, and his message was essentially banal: We’ve done better than you think. Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes? … It was stale and empty. He’s out of juice."    — Peggy Noonan,    The Wall Street Journal

Some jobs may be just too dirty

Canada getting out of Iran

Did you see the news story that Canada has broken off relations with Iran? Do you suppose the Israelis warned the Canadians that they better get out of there?
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/NorthAmerica/Canada-breaks-off-relations-with-Iran/Article1-926389.aspx

82 years old, not afraid to innovate! Eastwood: “President Obama is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people!”

Clint Eastwood gave his first interview since the Republican convention. He said that the idea for the empty chair came to him as he was backstage waiting to give his speech. A stagehand kept asking him if he wanted to sit down. He got to thinking about the chair, and at the last minute, decided to use it to ask Mr. Obama why he didn't keep his promises. He gave the interview to the Carmel Pine Cone, the newspaper in Carmel, California, where Eastwood served as mayor. (Have you ever heard of a better  name for a newspaper?)

He said the Romney campaign did try to vet his speech, but Eastwood replied, "You can't do that to me. I don't know what I'm going to say!"

“President Obama is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people,” Eastwood said. “Romney and Ryan would do a much better job running the country, and that’s what everybody needs to know. I may have irritated a lot of the lefties, but I was aiming for people in the middle.”

 http://popwatch.ew.com/2012/09/07/clint-eastwood-rnc-remarks-chair/

"It's important to destroy their sense of individualism while they're still young"

I found this here: http://www.bookwormroom.com/2012/09/07/what-you-didnt-build-that-looks-like-in-the-real-world/

Accepting everyone's differences

Jon Stewart sends a team of interviewers into the "tolerant" Democrat Convention. Some very funny moments:

Emulating past presidents

Though scratching his head as to why anyone would want to emulate the presidency of Jimmy Carter, Rush Limbaugh played three clips today that were close to identical. They were of Jimmy Carter at the 1980 Dem Convention, hoping to get re-elected, and Barack Obama last night, trying to get re-elected. Rush has long said that Obama's presidency is the second term Carter never got.

Theo's Cartoon Round Up

Theo Spark was ready this morning with cartoons. The three above were the ones I liked best. See the rest here: http://www.theospark.net/2012/09/cartoon-round-up_7.html

"If Obama gets everyone out of the workforce, the unemployment rate will be 0%!" (Larry Herring on Twitter)

Instapundit links to a number of sources this morning that show that our civilian workforce is now at a 30 year low of 63.6 %. Once you are out of the workforce (and on Social Security disability) you are not counted in the unemployment numbers. You are counted only if you are actively looking for work. The two main ways people get on Social Security Disability is back pain and stress, both difficult to disprove.
Please read the whole thing here: http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/

The radical lunatics are in control of the Democratic Party

J. Christian Adams, who blogs at PJ Media, is rapidly becoming one of my favorite reads. Today he explains how the Democratic Convention was like the 1968 Dem Convention in Chicago, except this time the radicals were inside the arena. To use the metaphor being pushed by the old media, Adams hit the ball out of the park!

"The “Ride for Justice” bus from “No Papers, No Fear” rolled into Charlotte to keep the fiasco humming.  This outfit is an illegal alien pressure group.  Yes, in 2012, we now have open and well-funded organizations representing people committing crimes. In fact, the bus was full of illegal aliens openly touting their illegal status!  Naturally, they were welcomed with open arms by the DNC because they are supporting President Obama’s lawless immigration policies.  Local authorities arrested ten of them outside the convention for state crimes and turned them over to federal authorities, who then promptly released them.

Lawlessness has become policy. Instead of the radicals tearing Chicago apart, they now have the power to order the release of lawbreakers."

"Tom Brokaw shares the story of how Hubert Humphrey lost the 1968 election after Americans watched television images of the young radicals in Grant Park scaling statues and flying the Viet Cong flag. At that moment, Americans fully appreciated the lawless direction that some wanted to take the country and saw Richard Nixon as the antidote.

The young radicals of 1968 have become the old radicals who now control the Democrat Party. They put on a convention this week characterized by incompetence, radicalism, and race."

Oh, and the rain? Didn't happen. Read the whole thing here, because every sentence is a home run:  http://pjmedia.com/jchristianadams/2012/09/07/losing-it-in-charlotte/?singlepage=true

No longer a racist

Bob was a racist, but now he is not.
found here:  http://www.theospark.net/2012/09/this-is-bob-bob-is-racist.html

"If all goes according to plan,..."

For those of you who missed it, The Onion has provided us with the full transcript of Michelle Obama's speech.

"Good evening, everyone. Thank you so much for being here with us. I speak to you tonight as a mom, a wife, a daughter, a sister, and, of course, a proud American.

But most of all, I’m happy to stand before you as a meticulously calculated communication tool whose every action, from the color of my dress down to each wave of my hand, has been premeditated and painstakingly devised by a set of experienced political handlers working to re-elect my husband this November.

Honestly, I’m thrilled to see all of you here tonight, knowing that my presence has been consciously engineered to soften my husband’s image and give his poll numbers a quick boost. There is really no greater pleasure in the world than getting up on this stage and talking to millions of Americans not only as a first lady, but also as a cynical ploy to add warmth, humanity, and relatability to an otherwise cold, detached three-day display of political gamesmanship.

It is also an honor to tell you, in words that were written out for me by a speechwriter and then carefully reviewed and edited by dozens of ruthlessly single-minded campaign advisers, all about how my husband is a caring husband and loving father, and how, in spite of his incredibly busy schedule, he is still so devoted to our family. A moment like this is such a great chance to reveal painstakingly scripted anecdotes about how he still picks up the girls from soccer practice and how I’m always nagging him to take the trash out so that you will believe he is an everyday person like you and your friends and not a massively powerful world leader with a superhuman degree of ambition and political savvy.

After all, there are very real issues facing our country, and I’m proud to be forced to repeat some hackneyed political rhetoric that will go down much easier because it is coming out of my mouth, and to tell you about how much my husband loves these great United States and how he has met a series of challenges that you will indeed believe he has met because I seem trustworthy and not like some Washington insider who is just trying to get your vote, even though that is precisely what I am.
It’s also a true honor to have my gender exploited in order to gain support among the key demographic of female voters, who I am forced to pander to by talking about my own relatable experiences as a woman. I’m honored to have my motherhood put on full display as a tug on the heartstrings of other moms around the country, and to talk about how difficult it is to raise a family and how I understand all the struggles that working mothers face in this day and age, as though that has even the slightest relation to my husband’s ability to lead this country out of an insecure economic landscape and tackle complex debates over health care, Social Security, tax reform, and foreign policy, among other things.

And furthermore, it feels wonderful to be paraded out here, mascotlike, as an African-American woman, allowing my husband to appeal to both minority voters and women simultaneously, a rare feat which no other person in this campaign is able to carry out with such efficacy and which, again, I am so, so happy to do.

Lest we forget, I hasten to add what a privilege it is to be objectified by all of you here and the millions of people watching at home, as I’m forced to use my charming smile and physical attractiveness to distract an entire nation from what is, by most accounts, a generally disappointing presidency. I can’t begin to convey what a dream it is to be used as a puppet by the hordes of political playmakers who direct my husband’s campaign, and to stand here in a shameless attempt to appeal to voters who like how I carry myself as a strong, independent-minded woman and love the picturesque image of our seemingly ideal American family.

Needless to say, I am also overjoyed to have our two young daughters repeatedly roped into participating in this sick little dog and pony show.

If all goes to plan, after I walk off this stage, you will see my husband not only as a strong political leader, but also as an everyday man who is trustworthy, honest, compassionate, and all the other bullshit you’d expect to hear from someone being used exclusively as a totem for some uplifting and calculatedly inspiring political message. And you have no idea how proud that makes me.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America."

Found here:  http://www.theonion.com/articles/good-evening-its-an-honor-to-be-used-as-a-politica,29437/

Update: On the morning after the speech, blogger and law professor Ann Althouse had this to say:  "Here's what I'd like to say the morning after the First Lady's speech. It was a typical First Lady speech, completely old fashioned, using the candidate's wife in the old-fashioned way. She's a wife and mother, and she tells you over and over how being a wife and mother is the most important thing. Children are the future. We live and sacrifice for them. And my husband knows that. Vote for the wonderful man that I'm vouching for.

There's no indication that this woman, like her husband, has a J.D. from Harvard. Her undergraduate degree is more impressive than his. As a lawyer she was senior to him: She served as his mentor when he was a summer associate at a fancy Chicago law firm where she was a permanent associate. She has (or had) professional stature and legal expertise. No trace of that showed in the speech she gave.

Isn't it ironic? The Obama campaign has relied on a theme called "the war on women," within which the Republicans want to shove women back into the past and Democrats represent the future where women are the full equals of men. Yes, yes, yes, that's all very nice, but the man has an election to win, and his woman must reenact — one more time — the role of the traditional, modest, little-lady, helpmeet housewife."
 http://althouse.blogspot.com/2012/09/good-evening-its-honor-to-be-used-as.html

You didn't fill that!

Dems could not give away enough tickets for Obama's speech tonight, so it has been moved to a venue way less than half the size of Bank of America stadium. I hope someone in the conservative new media will tell us what is happening with the weather, since that is the excuse Dems gave for the move (and the old media is dutifully reporting it that way).

Every vote counts!

Dems put God and Jerusalem back into the party platform last night. Here is how the Dems make sure that "every vote counts."

Feeling Bill Clinton's finger

The finger-wagging liar spoke again last night. I still remember where I was the night he spoke to the nation, wagged his finger at us, and said he "did not have sex with that Lewinsky woman." This time, as he wagged his finger that Monica remembers so well, he says that if we vote Obama back into office, we will "feel it." No thanks, Bill.

Photo image found here: http://www.drudgereport.com/

Humans have "at least" four million on-off switches to control 21,000 genes!

Gina Kolata writes in the New York Times about the discovery that "the human genome is packed with at least 4 million on-off switches that tell our genes what to do and when. The switches reside in bits of DNA that once were dismissed as "junk" but turn out to play critical roles in controlling how cells, organs and other tissues behave."

"As they delved into the "junk" — parts of the DNA that are not actual genes containing instructions for proteins — they discovered it is not junk. At least 80 percent of it is active and needed.
The result is an annotated road map of much of this DNA, noting what it is doing and how. It includes the system of switches that, acting like dimmer switches for lights, control which genes are used in a cell and when they are used, and determine, for instance, whether a cell becomes a liver cell or a neuron."
 
"The findings have applications for understanding how alterations in the non-gene parts of DNA contribute to disease, which might lead to new drugs.
They can also help explain how the environment can affect disease risk. In the case of identical twins, small changes in environmental exposure can slightly alter gene switches, with the result that one twin gets a disease and the other does not."
 
"In one of the Nature papers, researchers link the gene switches to a range of human diseases — multiple sclerosis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, celiac disease — and even to traits like height.
In large studies over the past decade, scientists found that minor changes in human DNA sequences increase the risk that a person will get those diseases. But those changes were in the junk, now often referred to as the dark matter — they were not changes in genes — and it was not clear what their significance was. The new analysis reveals that a great many of those changes alter gene switches and are highly significant.
"Most of the changes that affect disease don't lie in the genes themselves; they lie in the switches," said Michael Snyder, a Stanford University researcher for the project, called ENCODE, for Encyclopedia of DNA Elements."



"Why would you need to have a million switches to control 21,000 genes?"
There also is a sort of DNA wiring system that is almost inconceivably intricate."

Read more: Scientists decode "junk" DNA to show complex inner workings of genes - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/commented/ci_21477309?source=commented-#ixzz25i0OeRfI

Lightning likely to strike Charlotte on Thursday night

Tonight on the ride home from work I caught some of the Mike Huckabee radio show. I was surprised to hear him lavish praise on Michelle Obama. He said her speech last night was superb, going right to the hearts of her listeners. I am not used to conservatives praising Michelle. When his commercials came on, I flipped over to Sean Hannity, and, lo and behold, Sean also complimented Michelle, although he did not carry on like Huckabee. Just a quick compliment, then back on the attack against Barack Obama.

Earlier in the day I caught some of Rush Limbaugh, who was at the top of his game. Rush was talking about the fact that the Dems have decided "because of weather" to move Thursday night's address by Obama inside to a 20,000 seat stadium, instead of the 65,000 seat outdoor stadium where the Carolina Panthers sell it out ten times a year. Rush named a local Charlotte weatherman who said that Thursday was going to be the nicest day of the week. Predictably, NPR made no mention of the local weatherman, and just accepted the "fact" that there is going to be "bad" weather Thursday.

But, wait! Maybe there is another explanation! Laura Ingraham reported on her show this morning that the Dems have removed all references to God from the Dem platform. Maybe that is why lightning strikes are feared!

In this video the Fox News host asks a very defensive Senator Dick Durbin why God and Jerusalem have been removed from the Dem platform:Update: The Dems apparently put God and Jerusalem back in their platform.

Update 2: Kathleen Parker praises both Michelle Obama and Ann Romney for their convention speeches' emphasis on the value of dads and husbands: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/kathleen-parker-michelle-obamas-valentine-to-men/2012/09/05/17435824-f77b-11e1-8b93-c4f4ab1c8d13_story.html

"Nuttin but low blows"

I found it here: http://www.theospark.net/2012/09/cartoon-round-up_4.html

Eastwooding

I hope these soldiers do not get into trouble for this. I found it here: http://www.theospark.net/2012/09/empty-chair-day-round-upfrom-rico.html

What could possibly go wrong?

Dr. Barbara Bellar, candidate for the Illinois State Senate, sums up Obamacare in one sentence! I found it here: http://www.theospark.net/2012/09/obamacare-summed-up-in-one-sentence.html

Writing it down

Are you journaling your life? Are you sharing the path you are walking? Here is a blog post that recommends you do just that: http://anwafounder.blogspot.com/2012/09/journal-your-life-part-ii.html

Yesterday I wrote about Ann Voskamp's idea to make lists each day of what you are grateful for. I started doing that yesterday and had three things on my list. Today I had nineteen! I like what it does for my attitude.

Prayer

If this isn't the sweetest picture you have seen today, I'd like to see the one you thought was sweeter!
I found it here:   
http://americandigest.org/mt-archives/myths_texts/abc_news_jesus.php

Clint Eastwood quotes illustrating the Obama years

Found here: http://americandigest.org/mt-archives/driveby/40_clint_eastwood_quotes.php

Stupidity writ large

Get real, people!
I found this at http://alwaysonwatch3.blogspot.com/2012/08/huh.html#more

A person who knows how to live

There is a new person where I work. I noticed some things about her. She is tall, has scars on the side of her forehead, not much hair, and has a really good attitude.

This week she came to work with a large headband wrapped around numerous surgical bandages on the side of her forehead. I asked her about the bandages. She said she had had surgery Friday
to have some cancerous tumors removed. She has had seventeen tumors removed and has been on chemo for the last fifteen months! In fact, she says it is the radiation that is the likely cause of the new tumors!

As I said before, she has a great attitude. People ask her why she works. The alternative, she says, would be much worse. Sitting at home focusing on herself, her anxieties, her pain, would be many times worse. At work she serves others, thereby finding herself. A couple thousand years ago in Galilee a Man told us that would be the Way to live. 

Some good advice

Old Farmer’s Advice
“Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.”
“Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.”
“Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.”
“A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.”
“Words that soak into your ears are whispered…….not yelled.”
“Meanness don’t just happen overnight.”
“Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.”
“Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.”
“It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.”
“You cannot unsay a cruel word.”
“Every path has a few puddles.”
“When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.”
“The best sermons are lived, not preached.”
“Most of the stuff people worry about, ain’t never gonna happen anyway.”
“Don ‘t judge folks by their relatives.
“Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.”
“Live a good and honorable life, then when you get older and think back, you’ll enjoy it a second time.”
“Don ‘t interfere with somethin’ that ain’t bothering you none.”
“Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.”
“If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.”
“Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
“The biggest troublemaker you’ll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin’.”
“Always drink upstream from the herd.”
“Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.”
“Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.”
“If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around.”
“Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, and leave the rest to God.”
“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

I got this advice by reading this blog: http://onehappydog.us/2012/09/good-advice

How much longer have you got?

Click on this image to enlarge it, if you need to. It is a map of global life expectancy. I found it here: http://all-that-is-interesting.com/mapping-global-life-expectancies

Happy Empty Chair Day!

Happy Empty Chair Day! This day was formerly known as Labor Day, but, since there are no jobs, it has been replaced by Empty Chair Day. Anyone who reads this blog is automatically inducted into the movement. The founder of this movement is Professor Anonymous. I am sure he must remain anonymous, because he is undoubtedly a conservative, and it would not be safe for him to announce publicly that he believes in liberty, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, paying his bills on time, and not taking himself too seriously. The good professor inducted me into the movement as a charter member, but please do not let that discourage you from participating.
Chair image provided by  http://www.theospark.net/2012/09/empty-chair-day.html

http://www.eyeswideart.com/shop/product/1080/

Michael Moore predicts Romney will win

If you can stand it, watch this HuffPo interview with Michael Moore. Moore predicts a Romney win in November.

Lenticular clouds near Mount Rainier

Have you ever seen lenticular clouds? I haven't. This photograph of the clouds also includes Mount Rainier. http://all-that-is-interesting.com/tag/photography

If you're going to Japan...

If you're going to Japan, be sure to visit these tea gardens at the foot of Mount Fuji!
http://all-that-is-interesting.com/tag/beautiful

Walmart's growth

Walmart now has 8,500 stores in fifteen countries. http://all-that-is-interesting.com/the-explosive-growth-of-walmart-in-america

Full schedule of events at the Democratic National Convention

Maetenloch at Ace of Spades has an exclusive look at the schedule for the Democratic National Convention.

2012 Democrat National Convention
Schedule of Events 7:00 pm OPENING FLAG BURNING
7:15 pm PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE UNITED NATIONS
7:20 pm Max Baucus PROPOSES A TOAST TO Barack Obama
7:25 pm OPENING PRAYER - Reverend Jeremiah Wright
7:45 pm CEREMONIAL TREE HUGGING - Darryl Hannah
7:55 pm Max Baucus PROPOSES A TOAST TO Darryl Hannah
8:00 pm GLOBAL WARMING OMFG!!!!!!!!! - Al Gore
8:30 pm WHY FOURTH TRIMESTER ABORTIONS MATTER - Barbara Boxer
8:55 pm Max Baucus PROPOSES A TOAST TO Barbara Boxer
9:00 pm CHARGING OUR TROOPS WITH WAR CRIMES - John Kerry
9:30 pm MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR SADDAM HUSSEIN AND MUAMMAR GADDAFI - Cindy Sheehan and Susan Sarandon
9:55 pm INCOHERENT RAMBLING ABOUT COWBOY POETRY, ETC. - Harry Reid
10:00 pm Max Baucus PROPOSES A TOAST TO Susan Sarandon
10:05 pm COLLECTION DRIVE FOR THE OSAMA BIN LADEN MEMORIAL FUND - Cher
10:30 pm FREE THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS FROM GUANTANAMO BAY - Sean Penn
11:00 pm OVAL OFFICE AFFAIRS - William Jefferson Clinton
11:45 pm Max Baucus PROPOSES A TOAST TO Susan Sarandon's Rack
11:50 pm A PLEA FOR MASS PARDONS OF THE OCCUPY WALL STREET RAPISTS - Howard Dean
12:15 am FREE THE MINUTEMEN IN AFGHANISTAN'S PRISONS - Michael Moore
12:25 am Max Baucus PROPOSES A TOAST TO Jessica Alba
12:30 am SATELLITE ADDRESS - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
12:45 am NOMINATION OF BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA - Nancy Pelosi
12:55 am Barack Obama ACCEPTS NOMINATION, GRAMMY, AND TONY AWARDS
1:15 am THE TRUE STORY: HOW I KILLED BIN LADEN - Barack Obama
1:25 am Max Baucus SINGS NATIONAL ANTHEM
1:30 am CORONATION OF BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA
1:55 am Max Baucus PROPOSES A TOAST TO Mitt McRyan
2:00 am Bill Clinton asks Max Baucus to drive Hillary home.

East German judges giving Eastwood 1.4 out of 10

Ace at Ace of Spades says the media, like the East German judges in the Olympics, when there was still an East and West Germany, are giving Clint Eastwood 1.4 out of 10. But I think Mr. Eastwood's simple, but emotional, statement that "when somebody's not doing the job, ya gotta let him go," was very powerful. And, oh, by the way, it was another Republican actor from California who demanded that wall be torn down, wasn't it?

Without you, we wouldn't be here

Dave in Texas posts at Ace of Spades this color video from Hawaii, 1945. Why? It was on September 2, 1945 aboard the USS Missouri, anchored in Tokyo harbor, that General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz prepared the documents of surrender that were signed by the Japanese.

SHINE!

“You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world.
God is not a secret to be kept.
We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you?
I’m putting you on a light stand.
Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand — SHINE!”
~ Jesus, Matthew 5:16 MSG

found at  http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/08/when-youre-broken-dont-know-where-to-go/

Keeping a gratitude list of His gifts

From A Holy Experience, my favorite blog dedicated to living the Christian faith: Why keep a gratitude log?
It’s habits that can imprison you and it’s habits that can free you and when thanks to God becomes a habit, so joy in God becomes your life.
Maybe a life needs change over and over again — that constant turning to God? Not so much new month resolutions but revolutions.
And why bother keeping a gratitude list of His gifts?
Because those who keeping a gratitude list:
1. Have a relative absence of stress and depression. (Woods et al., 2008)
2. Make progress towards important personal goals (Emmons and McCullough, 2003)
3. Report higher levels of determination and energy (Emmons and McCullough, 2003)
4. Feel closer in their relationships and desire to build stronger relationships (Algoe and Haidt, 2009)
5. Increase your happiness by 25% — (Who wouldn’t want a quarter more happiness!) (McCullough et al., 2002)
Who doesn’t want all that?

 http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/09/blessed-september/

To make you smile

Does this statement remind you of anyone in your life?

"I may not be much... But I am all that I think about."

How about this one:  "A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort."
~ Herm Albright (1876 - 1944)

or, "When I was a kid my parents moved a lot, but I always found them."

Rodney Dangerfield

I found these here: http://lionskip.blogspot.com/

A preemptive strike

Libs have set up a facebook page, a blog, and a website selling Impeach Romney wares. This is called a preemptive strike, I believe. Read about it here: http://weaselzippers.us/2012/09/01/libs-already-looking-to-impeach-romney/

You won't see this in your local newspaper

Muslims gathered for prayers at the site of this week's Democratic National Convention. One of their leaders wore this torn American flag around his neck.
http://weaselzippers.us/2012/09/01/u-s-muslim-leader-wears-tattered-american-flag-as-scarf-at-dnc-jumah-prayer-event/

We don't want to be "complicit?"

Speaking to journalists in London Thursday, General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, says he doesn't want to be "complicit" if Israel chooses to strike Iran's nuclear sites. Israel responds that the comments “show once again that the US is not demonstrating determination against Iran’s nuclear program.”

Read more here: http://weaselzippers.us/2012/09/02/israel-slams-obama-regime-for-lack-of-determination-in-face-of-irans-nuclear-weapons-drive/

Update: from a commenter at Weasel Zippers: "It looks like Romney will have a few generals to clear out of the military. I hope he makes Martin Dempsey number one."

You mean Al Gore had it wrong?

An important new paper published today in Global and Planetary Change finds that changes in CO2 follow rather than lead global air surface temperature and that “CO₂ released from use of fossil fuels have little influence on the observed changes in the amount of atmospheric CO₂” Read more here:
 http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/08/30/important-paper-strongly-suggests-man-made-co2-is-not-the-driver-of-global-warming/#more-70149

116.3 billion barrels of crude oil technically recoverable

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/08/30/north-american-energy-independence-by-2020/

We always believed in the American dream

"Growing up I never imagined a little girl from a border town could one day become a governor. My parents taught me never to give up. Success is not built on resentment and fear. We always believed in the American dream. I carried a Smith and Wesson 357 Magnum (guarding a bingo game). My parents took the risk to start a business providing security, and you better believe they built it!.....I'll be damned: we're Republicans! We turned that New Mexico deficit into a surplus, and we did it without raising taxes! Obama added $5 trillion to the national debt: he did build that! Success is not something to be ashamed of!"

Springtime in the Muslim world

The last "working synagogue" in Egypt has been told that it may not observe Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur services for "security" reasons. Read more here: http://vladtepesblog.com/?p=52372

"Child abusing crime gangs, seeking out new turf"

Gypsies from Hungary are claiming they are refugees, and flocking to Canada. Being a criminal hassled by cops is not the same as being a refugee. My favorite commentator, Ezra Levant, talks about it.

I found it here:   http://vladtepesblog.com/?p=52383

Democrats and African Americans

Is the Democratic Party encouraging "slow-motion genocide" among African Americans? Do they feel they "own" African Americans? Their dignity, their pride, their soul? If that is the case, it is very, very sad. Read more here: http://www.velociworld.com/Velociblog/Oldvelocity/003966.html

"Rough, but not tough"

What will be Obama's October surprise? Velociman thinks it will not be a foreign escapade. Much more likely to be a "bleat for succor and need." Oh, and if you're Eric Holder or Joe Biden, well, read the whole thing here: http://www.velociworld.com/Velociblog/Oldvelocity/003971.html

What would Mitt do?

"Show up with his damned work gloves, for one thing!" http://www.velociworld.com/Velociblog/Oldvelocity/003973.html

Velociman helps a friend move: "On a more important note I helped a friend of a friend move today. I'm usually quite selfish when inebriated, and this works for me, but in an expansive moment last night I thought What Would Mitt Do? And so I volunteered for the task.

The person in question is a hoarder. I was not aware of this fact beforehand, but set my teeth and plunged into the moment, the previous night's cabernet oozing from my ruined pores like a tar sands strike.

I'd forgotten my work gloves, but in this instance latex gloves would have been more appropriate. With a Georgia game pending, and the cabernet again persistently beckoning, I returned home upon completion and thoroughly showered, only to emerge from my ablutions with a horrid red rash on both hands.

I'm unsure what this is, but I am very reluctant to prepare my own repasts at this point. Not going to pick my nose. And my opportunities for self-abuse are obviously severely curtailed.

What Would Mitt Do? Show up with his damned work gloves, for one thing."

Chuck Norris stays off his lawn

http://troglopundit.wordpress.com/2012/08/30/well-it-looks-like-im-not-the-mystery-speaker-at-tonights-rnc-after-all/

The true measure of a man...

The true measure of a man is revealed in his actions during times of trouble. The quiet hospital room of a dying boy. No cameras, no adoring crowds. By far the best speeches of the convention. http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katehicks/2012/08/31/watch_the_tearjerking_story_that_finally_humanized_mitt

"The desperation and fear of the other side"

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2012/08/30/allen_west_chris_matthews_might_be_off_his_medication

Why the Navajos consider it sacred

http://www.theospark.net/search?updated-max=2012-08-30T12:28:00%2B01:00&max-results=50&start=30&by-date=false

Purchasing power of the dollar from 1913 until now

http://www.theospark.net/search?updated-max=2012-08-31T19:10:00%2B01:00&max-results=50

Here's how you go to Mars

http://www.theospark.net/search?updated-max=2012-08-31T19:10:00%2B01:00&max-results=50

You mean they actually want to win?

Glenn Reynolds links today to a piece by J. Christian Adams. Mr. Adams notes that it appears that the Romney campaign knows what it is up against, and knows how to fight. In fact, they appear to be taking some pages from Saul Alinsky's own playbook!  Read the whole thing here: http://pjmedia.com/jchristianadams/2012/08/31/the-gop-goes-alinsky-on-obama/?singlepage=true

the two rabbits punching is via  http://www.theospark.net/search?updated-max=2012-08-30T12:28:00%2B01:00&max-results=50&start=31&by-date=false
(so are the pollsters)