Another Blast From the Past

This weekend we have my favorite of the Beatles, George. He was the quietest, but in my opinion, the most introspective of them all and it showed greatly in his music and lyrics.

Here is a performance with Leon Russell:



This is from the same concert and is a brilliant piece of work in my estimation:



Enjoy.

Friday Flashback

The wit and wisdom of the one we called Maggie:



As you can see, we are still fighting the same weak and faulty arguments today.

Europe's Growing Conservatism

Stories like this must drive the frequenters of the French blog some of us met at, nuts. It's about Europe's version of the Tea Party.

People are coming to their senses, they are learning that big government is not a panacea for every problem we face. I would put more confidence in a charity to help people than any government agency. I would allow for local communities and states to come up with better solutions for the local problems they must encounter, than any federal government entity.

When Europe bails on big government, you know it must be a bad thing.

America: The End Is Near

I am sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, But if I must do anything, I must speak freely and truthfully. America, as we know it, is about to end soon.

Many of us, who have been here and enjoyed what this great nation has offered us, will be aging and dying. We will be leaving a country that will no longer lead anything, invent anything, nor will it be able to sustain anything.

The IMF is already making plans for the day.

China is planning to cut its U.S. reserves by a third.

The Dollar continues its rapid, steady decline.

Unreported secret meetings are drawing up plans to weaken the dollar even faster.

All of this is going on right before our very eyes and what does the NY Times lead with today? A Guantanamo Story. How about the LA Times? Chicago Tribune? Indianapolis Star? What about the one where you live? Check them out here.

What does CNN's website have on its entry page? Take a look. While we are at it, let's look at MSNBC. And just for good measure, let's see what FOX News has to offer.

Now by the time you all look at these there will be changes in the lead story. But just so you know, CNN was headlining the air traffic controller problems. MSNBC featured the Syria story. Only FOX news led their website with the grim news I am writing about.

Folks, we cannot keep borrowing money to give to unions, irresponsible corporations, people who can work but choose not to, and more than anything, illegal aliens who cross our border for no other reason but to misuse our programs. These are programs that we cannot even afford for our own citizens anymore. Why should we continue to dish out for non-taxpaying non-citizens, who have never paid a dime into the system?

The easy route to take is to blame the Dems, who are responsible for the lion's share of this mess right now. They have been the biggest spenders because they have the weakest message of all. Vote for us and we'll take care of you. But the GOP has had a hand in it too, for many different reasons. They say, vote for us and we'll stop this, despite the fact they make deals with the spenders.

In the next election, we are going to have an opportunity to turn this around. Still, I have trouble believing that America will make the right choice because I believe the people are too selfish to understand what may be required of them.

People are looking for an Iacocca, a Reagan, a real someone who will lead this nation out of this mess. They want a fixer. The people cry out for a person who will instantly fix everything and will need to be perfect on every last issue. Well, good luck. That person does not exist. It's going to require more than just some magnetic personality who tells us what is wrong and says all the right things.

We know what is wrong.

The country is being run by a bunch of out of control morons who cannot do basic general math. They cannot understand the most basic of economic theories, and they damned sure have no abstract thinking.... or they would utilize the lessons of history to come to the realization that this course is a deadly course, one that will lead to the largest banana republic on earth. But on the other hand, we have a group of people who want someone who fits their mold of morality, someone who is the "right kind of Christian" who believes everything they believe, right down the line. No one else will be acceptable to them. If they do not get what they want, they will stay home and pout.

Those who want a pastor, look in the phone book for whatever kind you want. That's something you can get in your own community, next weekend, if you like. If you want someone who is intelligent enough to use the best methods to stop this nation from going into more debt, and from declining into a cesspool world like the one we watched in the Mad Max series in the 80s, stop judging a government leader based on social issues alone. We will not have a nation where we can choose to worship freely, if you do not look past the here and now....and what we must implement to get out of this mess.

Social and moral issues are difficult to fight when people are starving to death and crime runs completely rampant, because the Obama World Order wins re-election in 2012. It's more difficult to leave our children and grandchildren a nation they can enjoy the freedoms of, if Obama is allowed to put the hammer down even harder than he already has up to this point. Maybe with some salt and pepper you might find your new I-Pod/Pad/Phone will taste good enough to eat, because that is all you cared about when this warning was going out. That is precisely where we are headed, if these things I called attention to in the beginning of this post are not dealt with soon.

It's time to grow up. It's time to put aside petty arguments about what we perceive a man's character to be or not to be, and look at what he can do to preserve the nation and the freedom we have enjoyed. It's time to listen to reason, time to make some sacrifices along the way to help facilitate this nation's healing. It's time to hear the message and not judge the messenger.

Happy Easter

To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.--Thomas Aquinas

I firmly believe He lives.

This may not be the exact day he rose form that tomb, but it is the the day we honor it and celebrate it. To those who know this as I do, have a very happy and joy-filled Easter Sunday. And to those who do not, I hope you all have a great day too.

Another Blast From the Past

Some Harry Chapin memories, this week.

Many thought Taxi and Cat's In The Cradle were his best works. They were definitely good, but I always liked this one about the broadcasting industry best:



Enjoy.

Friday Funnies

Such a cheery little tune about getting screwed.



Don't you feel like having an ice cream cone, right about now?

Is Trump A Democratic Plant?

Much has been said over the past few weeks about Donald Trump's flirtations with a Presidential candidacy. And much has been thought. But what have we gleaned from this brand name marketeer and what makes him so intriguing?

I have read and heard much from people who say Trump is saying what everyone else is thinking. He has a successful billion dollar trademark and a successful TV show that needs little promotion, and yet, here he comes trotting onto the political scene saying things that many of us on the blogs have been saying for months now. So what?

His central focal point is the birth certificate. While I have some questions as to why the President will not show it and be done with it, it didn't seem to matter much during the campaign. And to me, it has become a non-issue at this point in the game. People voted for him anyway and here we are, stuck with an inept and dishonest President who was the most ill-prepared of any in modern history.

At this point in time, we have 10% unemployment, gas prices threatening to reach $5/gallon by vacation season, and a new war that we lost in two weeks because we didn't have any set objectives. We have watched a stimulus package fail, exponential multiplication of debt, rising deficits, and have been forced to listen to sophomoric and juvenile excuses for all of it. (He inherited it. If he hadn't been in charge, there is no telling how horrible things would be right now. If only the GOP would lie down and accept total defeat, we could have been on our way to recovery by now, etc.)

So here we are, we are quickly becoming the laughing stock of the free world and Trump is worried about a piece of paper. Notice how the media loves to jump on people who raise the question of the birth certificate, but ignore the real issues that I just mentioned?

I know Trump has raised many of these important issues in his interviews in passing, but the focus the media wants to center on is the birth certificate. This is because they cannot defend the other more serious items at hand, and would rather divert attention to the birther issue as a smoke screen. There are no answers they can serve up as plausible explanations for Obama's overt and obvious failure.

So, distraction becomes the strategy.

Enter the 2012 election season. Everyone wants to know who can beat Obama before anyone actually declares. And with all of the failures brought on by this Administration, the fear is that someone who resembles what the people want and need will rise up out of the ashes and send Obama back to Chicago, as a one-term President. This is something the MSM cannot bear to think about, so this is why they are jumping on Trump.

To help with this illusion, we have Public Policy Polling.

It is a Democratic hack organization that skews polls to suit the Democratic Party's agenda and is an organization that cannot seem to afford a real website, so it uses a Blogger/Blogspot site for the dissemination of its propaganda. (I know I have one too, but I am a just a bozo with a blog. They want to be known as a valid and reputable polling organization that is fair and unbiased. You figure out the difference.)

So after all of this hullabaloo about Trump and his outrageous commentary, here comes a poll by PPP that shows Trump leading the GOP. (See it here in the PDF)

Trump leads with 26% over Huckabee’s 17%, Romney’s 15%, Newt Gingrich’s 11%,
Palin’s 8%, Ron Paul’s 5%, and Tim Pawlenty and Michele Bachmann’s 4%.

So after taking to the airwaves decrying the lack of a birth certificate, Trump is 9% above the nearest contender. But wait, there's more:

23% of these voters say they would not be willing to vote for a candidate who stated
clearly that Obama was born in the U.S. 38% say they would, and a 39% plurality are
not sure. Among the hardcore birthers, Trump leads with 37%, almost three times as
much support as anyone else. He comes in only third at 17% with those who are fine
with a candidate that thinks the President was born in the country. Romney, who recently stated he believes Obama is a citizen, leads with 23% with that group but gets only 10% with birthers.

And...

Take Trump out of the equation, and the field is more muddled. Huckabee leads with 22% over Romney’s 16%, Gingrich’s 15%, Palin’s 12%, Paul’s 8%, Pawlenty’s and Bachmann’s 6%, and Haley Barbour’s 3%. In this and other variations of the potential field, Palin and Huckabee are the favorites of birthers. Trump pulls the least support from Romney of any of the candidates.

With this information as it is presented ans as tempting as it is to believe, I am not sure Trump is a plant. But he is his own opportunist and at least, an opportunity that the Dems may want to exploit.

Here is a poll by Rasmussen that shows why:

President Obama leads Donald Trump by 15 percentage points in a hypothetical 2012 match-up, but the president is unable to top the 50% level of support even against an opponent some are deriding as a joke.

Now, take a look at the rest of the field and how they match up against Obama. It is murky, but Huckabee seems to match up best at this point in time. (But again, he's not even declared.)

So why would the Dems like this information to be counted as real? 

Never mind that Trump has been a pocket liner of a lot of Dems over the years. Let's look at this from a more prudent perspective and analyze this properly:

Now is the time for fund-raising for candidates. How much money a candidate can raise often depends upon these early polls. Trump will not need to raise money, but the others will. By making Trump look like he is the clear cut front-runner, it hinders the candidates that have a real chance of beating Obama from raising the necessary cash.

Trump toys with the idea on the air and gets a big stir going. He sets up a wedge issue in which the GOP can get distracted. He shuts down the flow of money for otherwise viable candidates.

Meanwhile, Trump gets free publicity by marketing the final episode of his TV show as the forum in which he will announce, one way or another. And Obama keeps raising money for the general election, because it looks like he has no primary challenge at this point.

He may not be a plant in the literal sense, but he is a gift that the PPP and the Dems have managed to manipulate to their benefit. It is a well laid trap that many Republican and conservatives are falling for, hook, line, and sinker.

So the next time you hear someone you know sing the praises of how The Donald says what everyone else is thinking, you might want to tell them what the Dems are thinking right now. Because now that Palin is down in the polls, they need to elevate someone they think they can trounce.... or Obama is history in 2012.

The Gall Of Some People

Once in awhile, someone has the guts to challenge the Emperor on his new clothes. Or in the case of the fable, the lack thereof.

Watch as this reporter does just that:



Very few people would have the guts to come out like he did and press the President as this man did. In what was supposed to be an early softball interview for political sales and marketing purposes, he found someone who was not so much in awe of this empty suited man, one that so many of his peers drool over.

After he thought the mike and tape was off, the President made it clear he likes to be the demagogue-in-chief and does not want to be interrupted while doing it. President Mindless Chatter Filibuster wants to have the ability to use every appearance with the press as a free campaign commercial...and his answers are final.

But the sad part in this whole event is not the President's response. We know that many people in countries and cultures the President admires have tried this kind of thing and they are no longer here to tell about it. Had this happened in Venezuela, well, just say "night night" Mr Reporter.

No, the sad part is two-fold.

One, this wasn't nearly as aggressive as it should have been. With 10% unemployment, gas prices headed for $5.00/gallon by the summer, and a lost war with no defined objective, you'd think there would be more things in which to press the President on.

That's why the number two part of this two-fold sad tale is so evident. It's sad that more news reporters cannot muster up the guts to continue this interview, the next time Obama thinks he should get a pass in one. In fact, he shouldn't even need to interview for the news media to start holding this reckless and inept man they call a leader accountable, for his lies and grave errors that could cost us a country before he is through with it.

Two Geniuses And An Idiot

There may have been more of both, but that's all who got to speak:



Short and simple, but you can see that the Frances Fox Pivens ideology is in control right now. And we can also see the results of their flawed thinking.

Coverage You Can Depend On

Peace of mind.



HT: GM Roper (via Facebook)

Another Blast From the Past

Here is a band from the 60s, from NY's Greenwich Village. Despite being from the east coast, they had distinctive LA sound. Jesse Colin Young formed them before he went solo and Charlie Daniels actually produced one of their albums.

Their big hit was Get Together, but here is one of their more obscure tunes that really I liked a lot:



Of course, we all remember the Kinks and their musical legacy. Here are a couple songs performed in Glastonbury and sang as a tribute to the late Kinks bassist Pete Quaife, by front man Ray Davies:



Enjoy.

Friday Funnies

Just before Obama's election, his grandmother passed away. Just after the classroom portion of her orientation to Heaven was completed, Obama was sworn in and right after that time she began getting the guided tour.

At one point they came across a room full of clocks. It was huge and clocks covered all of the walls, end to end, from top to bottom. Naturally, Obama's grandmother asked, "What do all of these clocks represent?"

St. Peter replied, "This is where we keep track of famous people's lies". He continued, "Everyone has a clock assigned to them, and when they tell a lie the big hand spins around once."

"Over there, you will note George Washington's clock. He never told a lie, we hung it and there it sits as it always has. It's never moved once."

"Next to that one you'll see Abe Lincoln's clock. It has moved only twice."

Getting more curious, Obama's grandmother had to ask, "Where is Barry's clock?" St. Peter hastily replied, "I am sorry ma'am, but that is not on this part of the tour. That is in God's bedroom, he uses it as a ceiling fan."

Obama Just Wants His Life Back

Like Tony Hayward of BP fame and Jenn Sterger, the tart who thought it would be just and noble to go public with Brett Favre's sexual cell phone commentary, Obama is now trying to one up their whining. Two years after he stood with his nose in the air and his hand on a Bible swearing he'd uphold the Constitution of the United States, he now realizes what he misses about being just a normal person.

"I just miss -- I miss being anonymous," he said at the meeting in the White House State Dining Room. "I miss Saturday morning, rolling out of bed, not shaving, getting into my car with my girls, driving to the supermarket, squeezing the fruit, getting my car washed, taking walks. I can't take a walk."

Outstanding Mr. President, such an epiphany you must have had when you dreamed that one up. It must have been some great cathartic release to get that off of your chest. Now that you have spent the nation into oblivion and are still searching for ways to spend more, I think it's a fine time to express even this fractional amount of regret about your favorite subject....you.

It has been all bout you from the beginning, hasn't it?

You weren't satisfied playing U.S. Senator with no real experience. You just had to play a non-experienced President too.

Well, here's novel idea that I think a lot of people will support. Why don't you just resign and let the court jester play President awhile, until we can replace him next year. Do this... and you will be hailed as a real patriot and lover of your country.You won't have to lie about it anymore.

To my faithful readers, I think Obama is setting us up for what might be an invitation for someone else to replace him. He has liberals pissed off at him, so he'd be ripe for a primary challenge. He has independents pissed at him because he lied to them about being different than the others. So he's greatly ripe for defeat in the general election.

I don't think he wants the job. I don't think he ever did.

He just wanted to win the election so he could say he made history, by being the first black president. When the work began to show up at his office, he started taking vacations so he could escape the responsibilities a President must face to be successful. He left the jobs to incompetent hacks who have no idea what it takes to run a paper route, much less a nation.

He left it to the Democratic Congress. He left it to those incompetent pukes so they could screw it up. Then, he could blame them when it could no longer be blamed on Bush.

Thanks again America.

You wanted to witness and be a part of history. How's it feel to be a part of the worst era this nation has ever experienced, outside the Civil War?

Monday Quote

If you want total security, go to prison. There you're fed, clothed, given medical care and so on. The only thing lacking... is freedom.

-Dwight D. Eisenhower

I am not sure what else I can add to this, except to pose a simple question to the progressives who think government can meet all of society's needs:

At what point do think it is good to stop?

Introducing....

Henry Wentworth Nash Sunsett

We know we could never replace our beloved little Sydney, but our other little dog Holly was very depressed and missing her so badly. We thought this might help her loneliness a little.

Needless to say, we are in an adjustment phase right now.

Another Blast From the Past

Einer der führenden deutschen Bands aus den 70s. Sie sangen alle ihre Texte in Englisch.



Genießen

Friday Funnies

For those trying to understand the Obama Doctrine on Libya:



I hope this is as helpful as it is confusing.

Who Do You Believe?

Are you ready to vote for four more years of hope and change?



I cannot think of anything he promised in his 2008 campaign that he delivered on. So beyond blaming Bush for another election cycle, I cannot see a sound record he can run on.

He lied to progressives about Gitmo and several hot button issues.

Gitmo isn't closing. He has signed onto another war before ending the others that he promised to end. He has Farrakhan and the radical racist black separatist theology movement pissed off at him. They won't vote for a GOP candidate, but they have a history of staying home on Election Day, when they are dissatisfied.

He lied to independents and moderates too.

He told them this would be the most transparent government ever. It isn't. He said he'd cut the deficit, which was run up by Bush from his wars and tax cuts to rich people (which we now know is almost anyone that works without government assistance). He has exponentially increased the debt and the deficit, he caved on the tax cut extension.

I could go on and on here, but the bottom line is simple. He has lied to everyone. He lied to liberals, moderates, and conservatives across the board. He played on our fears.

He may be the highest profile candidate next year, but he isn't the only snake in the grass up for a vote. Here is someone who rode in on the anger express of the 2006 Democratic congressional sweep to power:



She lied to the people of Missouri to get her ass into Washington. Transparency seems to be the word that gets used when someone wants a job there. But once they win and relocate, it seems the transparency transforms into translucency, and then opaqueness, real quickly.

Here's another liar who has led the Democrats into this era of deceit and contempt:



As it turns out, we now learn that he wants to be a U.S. Senator from Virginia. The question is, does Virginia want him? The electorate of the commonwealth soundly rejected the Obama-backed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds, in 2009. Do you think Virginians are any fonder of Obama now?

So when it comes right down to it, I think we do need hope and change this time around.

I certainly hope that the masses will change the way they select their elected officials. I hope they change the way the evaluate their candidates.

Are they selling a bill of goods that cannot possibly come to pass?

Or are they telling us that it's going to be a difficult job to fix the damage that this lying bunch has wrought on us all.... and it will be up to us to make the necessary sacrifices to get into a better position for the future of our children and grandchildren?

I know who I believe.

And I know who I don't.

Hint--it isn't anyone that believes in this failed President and the cheerleaders who have helped him destroy what our forefathers have built and protected, over the years.

Controlling The Narrative

A week and a half in the life of Team Obama:

Monday: Qaddaffi must go.

Tuesday: Khadafy can stay.

Wednesday: Never mind. We had it right the last time. Kaddaffi should go.

Thursday: Give us a minute to rethink what Quadaffy should or shouldn't do.

Friday: Quackdafi needs to stop bombing civilians.

Saturday: Quaaludaffi must go.

Sunday: Farrakhan says, Who the hell do you think you are? Khaddaffi must stay.

Monday: Dianne Feinstein says, Arrest Gadhafi

Tuesday: A symbol of racist oppression, Butler, lost the NCAA Championship.

Wednesday: Kaaduffy can stay, maybe.

When Will The Butler Bulldogs Get Some Respect?

Q. When does a two-time NCAA finalist stop being a Cinderella Team?

A. When they win it all and shut up the TV fools like Charles Barkley.

To his credit he did give them some props, after they beat the real Cinderella Team that the media wanted in the finals for ratings purposes. But before the game and at halftime, Barkley and some of his colleagues just had to keep harping about how VCU would eventually wear Butler down.

It didn't happen.

It hasn't happened in any tourney game in the last two years.

The only game they lost in the last two was the title game against Duke, only by a basket. That's not wearing anyone down and the entire nation watched that last shot from Hayward fly towards that basket, only to be a hair off the mark.

I can understand last year. It was a magical run. And like everyone else, I figured with Hayward leaving for the NBA, it probably wouldn't happen again. I knew the Bulldogs could send some teams home early in heartbreak, shock, and disillusionment. But that would probably be about it.

To their credit, they didn't listen to me. They have been believers in themselves more than anyone else. When they came back against a very good Florida team, I knew they were for real and have the makings of a potential champion. They are proving to the world that were more than just Hayward last year, they are a TEAM. Like one announcer said last night, Butler is good at playing bad. This means they can play badly and still beat you because they never quit, regardless of how they are playing.

Let me tell you (if you are a basketball fan who is not a UConn fan) why you should be for Butler Monday night:

1. They play the game, the way the game should be played.

They have been playing bigger, stronger, teams that are sometimes very physical. These teams have used their sizes and strength to intimidate the smaller Butler team. Basically they have played thugball, but they lost anyway.

Butler is patient and does not give up even when they are down. They pass the ball, spread the court, and do not allow pressure in the back court to get them rattled. If they make a mistake, they forget about it and keep playing on.

2. They put the student back in student athletes.

These guys are smart, all of them. If you meet one and speak to him, you get some damned intelligent conversation about basketball or anything else they are studying. You do not get jive ebonics, or all glory to God speeches.

93% of the current class of Butler freshmen have a 3.0 HS average or above. 50% has a 3.75 or higher.

The focus at this university is clearly on academics, not big money sports. They play in an old fieldhouse that was once the site of the Indiana championship games is years gone by, you may have seen it if you watched the movie Hoosiers. Their enrollment, including grad students, is around 4600.

Most of these guys will truly go pro in something other than basketball.

Forward Matt Howard (son of a postman) has a 3.88 in Financing. Ten of the players on the roster are from the state of Indiana. Shelvin Mack, a junior, is from Lexington Kentucky and may be the only player who has the skills to turn pro. (I bet UK wishes they would have given this kid a closer look, instead of the yo-yos that came and played the required one year, before going into the NBA.)

So unless you are committed to UConn for some reason or are a racist TV analyst, why would you not pull for Butler?

They do this right. They are building a solid program based on scholarship and athletics is a side act.

Brad Stevens gave up a great marketing job at Eli Lilly to pursue his dream of coaching basketball, starting out as a low paying assistant. They gave him a decent raise to stay last year when others were courting him after last year, but it's nothing like Calhoun, Calipari, and others make.

Stevens may eventually jump ship for more money. Who could blame him? If this thing with Tom Crean doesn't work out at IU, we may see Brad being hired as his replacement, down the road. He could make the big time and still stay in Indiana. But if you look at this realistically, he's making it big time right now.

Crean has NC Center Tyler Zeller's brother, Cody, coming in next year. He is also a 7-footer and there will be no excuses to not be competitive. no one expected miracles out of the Hoosiers after Mike Davis and Kelvin Sampson decimated the entire program. But if Crean cannot get the job done and improve this performance, maybe Stevens can. I can only imagine what Brad could do with a strong 7-footer on this Butler team right now.

Go Dawgs!!!

Another Blast From the Past

Souvenirs.

Over time, it's all we are left with to prove we were here or there, or we knew this person or another.

Today, I will go pick up a ceramic paw imprint of our little friend.



Enjoy.