Having a female brain

Over the years, my husband has said something at times leading to a "discussion"

Usually it started about something "Women just wouldn’t understand" like car maintenance, vacations, how to spend our money, when the yard needs mowing, when can someone give the dog a much needed bath, can someone go to school and talk with our daughter’s counselor….who knows, there are endless variations over the years.

 Invariably though, the subject of how I think about whatever subject came down to something akin to “I wish I could understand how you think..."

 How do women think? Are we that different than men, mentally?

I know we are more emotional, seem to be more in touch with stuff…so I looked online to see what I could find out…

I searched for “Differences in male and female brains” I found lots of scientific stuff, and this video, in which this man seems to explain it all..(although I don't exactly agree with the video)

 

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Korean War II Brewing...??

B. B. Bell, General, US Army and native Tennessean, retired in 2008 following 39 years of military service. He graduated from the University of Chattanooga in 1969 with a degree in Business Administration.  After graduation, General Bell was commissioned in the Army as a participant in the University's ROTC program and designated a Distinguished Military Graduate.  He served fifteen years deployed overseas during both peace and war times.

As a two star general, he commanded the Army's Armor Center at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and later, as a three star general, he commanded the Army's Third Corps, headquartered at Fort Hood, Texas.

As a four star general, General Bell commanded the US Army in Europe, as well as NATO's Land Component Headquarters in Heidelberg, Germany.

Subsequently he served as the Commander of US Forces in Korea, as well as commander of all Allied forces in Korea. General Bell is a veteran of the Iraq Desert Storm Campaign where he served as General Norman Schwarzkopf's Executive Officer, as well as the Balkans Campaigns in southern Europe.  

So when he writes that the Korean Peninsula is ready to erupt into a full fledged shooting war, one should probably listen.

His scenario, published as a op-ed in the Chattanoogon, on April 21, 2010:

“Listen up everyone, we have one brewing over our shoulder right now that could drag us into another major war, whether we like it or not.

The United States is properly committed to a defense alliance with South Korea wherein we pledge to lead a war against north Korea, should north Korea attack South Korea. Here's the situation -- it's very possible north Korea has already attacked the South and as soon as everyone figures it out, we could be in a hot and lethal war again on the Korean peninsula.

Over the last 10 years, there have been three major naval engagements between the two Korea's along their western sea border area. In one of these engagements in 2002, six South Korean sailors were killed and a South Korean patrol board was sunk.

Just a month ago on March 26 of this year, things got worse, a lot worse. While patrolling the west sea border between the Korea's, the South Korean frigate, Cheonan, "mysteriously" and instantly was blown in half during the night, with the loss of 46 crew members of 104 on board. The South Koreans have salvaged most of the ship and are now examining its remains in dry dock. Already it is clear that there was an external explosion that cut the ship in half and caused it to sink almost immediately, with the large loss of life.

There are two plausible explanations for this disaster.

 

The first is that the Cheonan ran up against an old sea mine which had come loose from its moorings dating back to the Korean War. If this proves to have been the case, then this incident, while tragic, will be placed in the history books and South Korea will move on.

The other explanation is that the ship was deliberately ambushed by a north Korean submarine. Given the state of relations between the two Korea's, this is very possible, if not probable. The forensics should tell the tale within the next several days or weeks.

If the South Koreans determine their ship was ambushed and catastrophically sunk by a torpedo from a north Korean submarine with the loss of 46 of their sailors, there will almost assuredly be a quick and very decisive South Korean retaliatory strike. This whole process could escalate into a large scale war, before the generals, admirals and political leaders figure out what is happening around them. If a war does break out, we are in it for keeps meaning three wars at one time. It is essential that the United States work closely with its ally, the South Koreans, to determine the facts surrounding this naval catastrophe and assist them in planning and executing an appropriate response should it be determined that north Korea is the culprit.”

Well, South Korea is has pretty much decided it was the second scenario.

“South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young has suggested a torpedo attack as the most likely cause of the sinking of the corvette Cheonan on March 26, the New York Times has reported on 25 April 2010.

 

46 South Korean sailors died in the sinking.

The Sinking of the Cheonan

Suspicion has been growing that Cheonan was sunk by a North Korean torpedo exploding before impact, causing a ‘bubble jet’ which broke the ship in two. Head of the investigation Yoon Duk-yong, told the New York Times that the ship was likely sunk “by a non-contact explosion, rather than a contact explosion,” saying that there was an absence on the wreck of damage normally left when a ship suffered a direct hit. “A bubble jet caused by a heavy torpedo is thought to be the most likely thing to be blamed, but various other possibilities are also under review,” said Mr. Kim.

The region in the Yellow Sea in which the Cheonan sank has been the scene of a number of skirmishes between North and South. In 1999, a confrontation left 17 North Koreans dead, while in 2002 four South Korean sailors and at least 30 North Koreans died. During the ‘Sunshine Policy’ days of 1998 – 2008 South Korea was hesitant before pointing the finger at the North on any matter likely to increase tensions. Lately however, attitudes have hardened in Seoul under President Lee Myung-bak.”

 

Meanwhile, the Obama administrations chief diplomat, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday that she hoped there would be "no miscalculation" that could spark a new war between North and South Korea.

"I hope that there is no talk of war, there is no action or miscalculation that could provoke a response that might lead to conflict that is not in anyone's interests," the chief US diplomat told reporters.

Clinton had been asked to comment on North Korea's seizing South Korean-owned assets at a mountain resort and warning both sides were on the brink of war over the sinking of a warship on their disputed border.

"We have said time and time again that North Koreans should not engage in provocative actions and that they should return to the six-party talks," she said, referring to the talks for the de-nuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and other matters.

The UH-72A Lakota program: “A success of the first order”

This kind of makes me angry- and points out how truly stupid government procurement processes are. In 2007, it was pointed out that the UH72 helicopter (actually a Eurocopter EC145) had not met several key features, including a cabin that became too hot in desert conditions, inability to lift 2200 pounds, and other shortcomings. It was modified and became the UH72A. Still built by Eurocopter, only now in the USA under the name EADS North America.. In March of this year, this came out from the company "

American Eurocopter President and CEO Marc Paganini recalled the Lakota program’s aggressive schedule, which enabled the first UH-72A to be delivered in December 2006 – only months after the Army’s Light Utility Helicopter award in June of the same year.  

“We built this new plant in less than one year, we’ve successfully transferred the full production line from Germany, we’re hiring and training more than 300 employees, and our team has trained over 500 U.S. Army pilots and 200 of the service’s mechanics,” Paganini said.   “With the Lakota fleet having already flown more than 25,000 hours, American Eurocopter and EADS North America take great pride in supporting our armed forces.”

OK, so then the US Army posts a story about "Army's newest helicopter now flying in Europe" on April 23, 2010.

The Army's first UH-72A Lakota helicopter to reach Europe is off-loaded on Ramstein Air Base, April 13. The aircraft will be used by the Joint Multinational Readiness Center at Hohenfels, Germany. The Lakota, an advanced rotary-wing aircraft, is produced by American Eurocopter, a business unit of European Aeronautics Defense and Space.

"The Lakota is the military version of an existing aircraft - the EC 145 Eurocopter - it was actually designed in Donauwoerth, Germany, which makes it even better suited for the training mission here," said Bill Bennett, a contract field service representative with American Eurocopter.

Meeting the Army's commercial off-the-shelf acquisition strategy for light utility helicopters also equates to time and money saved for research and development as well as acquisition.

OK. So the US contracts a European company to build a plant in the USA, move a bunch of production equipment from Germany to the USA, set up the factory, build the helicopters, test fly them, disassemble them, load them in USAF C-5's, fly the disassembled helicopters  to Germany, when they are reassembled and put into service...got it?

My question is, if they know how many they were sending to Germany, wouldn't it have been cheaper just to buy them IN GERMANY instead??

 

Animal Lovers or not?

My Stick Family

There are people that really care about animals, and those that simply don't get it.

 I recently was talking with a friend, a former co-worker, and has he walked me to my car he noticed the "stick family" decal on the back window of my car, which has figures for my husband, me, our dog, our two cats and an angel dog- our scottie that had cancer and was euthanized in 2007.

He smiled and said it was cute, and asked about the halo dog- which I talked about a little,explaining that to me and a lot of people I have spoken with, pets are more than living property, they are parts of our family. I told him how we agonized over whether to put her down or not, and the vet telling us she was likely in some pain, which would only become worse has the cancer deteriorated her other organs, including her brain. I started crying, since I can't really think about it even three years later without becoming distraught. 

He said, "Canice, I never could see why people get so wound up about pets, I never had a dog and wouldn't want one"

To me this is unimaginable, not having a dog and or cat in the family. Let alone not caring for one. That's why the news about the dog in Southern California, named Courage by the people caring for him, strikes a chord of anger and disbelief in me. That's probably why Animal Planet shows about "Animal Cops" are so popular.

Roughly 60% of American families have a dog in their family. Some are like mine, probably pampered too much, go everywhere with their humans, including vacations and errand around town, most places. She even sleeps in out bedroom with us.

Some spend their lives outside, cared for but unwelcome in the house. Some don't even fare that well.

As part of the charity campaign at my work, I regularly give through payroll deduction to a variety of charities- including The American Humane and American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals...

People that can be mean and hurtful to an animal, can be mean to people. Many studies have found a link between cruelty to animals and other forms of interpersonal violence.

This is why this blog, which has lately focused on politics, has been focused on this story lately. Because the "alleged" person responsible for the cruelty towards this beautiful dog is also a mother. Statistically, cruelty cases involved child abuse.  The perpetrators either abused the children or force them to witness the cruelty to animals.

How accurate this turned out to be

People laughed when this was first on Saturday Night Live, but its odd how true it rings..

 

Courage the German Shepherd Update

April 7 -  a starved and near death 3 yr old German Shepherd is brought to the emergency veterinary, as revealed in this story from Orange County California:

Somewhere in a lonely back yard, a young dog lived chained to a tree without food, water or attention.

He waited for that food, and when it didn’t come, he ate dirt. Eventually the dog laid down and he didn’t get up.

But still, he didn’t die.

An anonymous Good Samaritan stepped in April 7 and rescued the German shepherd from sure death. The animal, not much more than skin and bone, wailed in agony on the way to get help.

The dog was taken to an emergency animal hospital in Orange County where a horrified veterinary technician called friends at German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County.

The dog’s owner, Kimberly Nizato of Bellflower, was arrested April 16 and charged with one count of felony animal cruelty and one misdemeanor count of failing to provide care. Nizato met her bail requirement and will be arraigned May 12 in Bellflower Superior Court.

She was fired from her job Wednesday as a full-time kennel attendant at Southern California Veterinary Specialty Hospital in Irvine.

Courage continues to rehabilitate with the help from a foster caretaker with GSROC.

 He has gained 20 pounds since he was rescued.

The April 24 peaceful protest, "March for Courage," in Bellflower, Calif., has been officially canceled due to fears the event would turn into a volatile situation, according to sources at German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County. " People in this community are angry, and want to know why a person working as a tech at a vet hospital wopuld do such a thing?"

It began as a way for a limited number of GSROC volunteers and others in the rescue community to silently protest animal cruelty as well as shed light on felony animal abuse suspect Kimberly Nizato, 26, and the near-starvation case of her dog, Courage the German Shepherd. But once word of the event got out in various media circuits and cross-posted online, the once-peaceful walk began looking more like a lynch mob.

"I very much regret this has happened because we could have done a lot of good," said march organizer and GSROC volunteer Shawn Hollub. "Unfortunately, I'm not comfortable lending my name [to this event anymore]. We don't want a mob scene. We want a peaceful walk in honor of Courage."

Follow Courage's recovery at Courage Lives

Constitution of the United States of America

Why is it that when people advocate government adherence to the Constitution the are labelled? Support an unpopular view and claim your First Amendment rights=Free Speech advocate;

 support the Right to keep and bear arms, you're a gun nut, militia member or wingnut...among other names.

Now if you advocate states resistance to federal government encroachment, you're a Tenther, part of the Tenth Amendment Movement.

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
--Tenth Amendment in the U.S. Constitution.

When I worked for the government, when honey joined the military, we always took an oath to preserve protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America...

California has a section in the Government Code that prohibits public employees from being paid if they do not sign an oath,

§ 1360. Necessity of taking constitutional oath

Unless otherwise provided, before any officer enters on the duties of his office, he shall take and subscribe the oath or affirmation set form in Section 3 of Article XX of the Constitution of California.

(Amended by Stats. 1953, c. 1250.)

I, , do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitutions of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter

Does so doing make one also subject to derision as a "Oather"?

More things bugging me lately...

Why does the media like to hype the fact that Timothy McVeigh, who was executed for the Oklahoma City Bombing, was a military veteran?

 Is Military service now a precursor to being labelled a danger to the country they swore to defend?? 

Remember a year ago when Secretary of Homeland Security caused a furor for saying just that?

The problem is (and the administration knows this) that if you move too fast and too broadly you can create a resistance that becomes more than just political rallies and tea-party protests. Those are just harbingers. Beyond these harbingers is the darker realm of what is politely called "civil unrest."

This is especially the case when things are collapsing economically and your plan initiates, daily, policies that accelerate the collapse. In this situation, even nations with a long history of political patience and stability can rapidly devolve to the point where a government, to maintain itself, has to look at plans for placing the army in the cities. And all established governments have these plans. They would be negligent if they did not.

Have you ever lived in a city when the army is present?

 I have. It was Berkeley, California in May of 1969 in what was know as The People's Park Riots. (History at the link.) What began with about 250 Highway Patrol and Oakland police being sent in to take back control of a disputed piece of University property escalated to a situation where 2,700 National Guard troops were placed in the city to restore order.

 It's a strange thing to see a soldier on every corner with a loaded rifle. Something so rare that it is pretty much unthinkable to the average American today. But it did happen and it can happen. All it takes is, in times of collapse, a spark and a paranoid government.

(Note: In thinking about this, after 9/11 they posted the National Guard at the entrance to the San Francisco Bay bridge and other bridges- pretty weird, seeing troops with a roof mounted machine gun on a Hummer in the toll plaza...or when I went to Germany and there were machine gun armed soldiers patrolling the terminals...but I digress)

What are your thoughts?

NEW - for me

Anybody reading this is news to me, its like Multiply people are all off into other things...many are now almost solely in Twitter land or using the omnipresent Facebook, which has quickly surpassed MySpace and numerous other sites to be number 1, with over 200 million users...until the next NEW thing comes along..and with that in mind, have a look at the video

 

Arizona - Presidential candidates to prove they are constitutionally eligible...

PHOENIX -- The Arizona House on Monday voted for a provision that would require President Barack Obama to show his birth certificate if he hopes to be on the state's ballot when he runs for reelection.

The House voted 31-22 to add the provision to a separate bill. The measure still faces a formal vote.

It would require U.S. presidential candidates who want to appear on the ballot in Arizona to submit documents proving they meet the constitutional requirements to be president.

Phoenix Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema said the bill is one of several measures that are making Arizona "the laughing stock of the nation."

Mesa Republican Rep. Cecil Ash said he has no reason to doubt Obama's citizenship but supports the measure because it could help end doubt.

LameAss Media - misuses Pictures in Story

World's Top 5 arms exporters" followed by the story :

#1 UNITED STATES

The United-States of America remains the largest exporter of conventional weapons in the world, according to the latest study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The U.S account for 30% of global arms sales, or about $7 billion per year, for the period 2005-2009, SIPRI statement says. From 2005 to 2009, the U.S. sold one-third of its arm exports to South Korea (15%), Israel (13%) and the United Arab Emirates (11%).

OK, but if you clicked on the picture, you find out the evil USAF plane in the photo was delivering humanitarian aid to South Africa..."05 MARCH 2000 - HOEDSPRUIT AFB, HOEDSPRUIT, SOUTH AFRICA: A U.S. Air Force C-17A Globemaster III is given the thumbs-up to taxi for departure from Hoedspruit Air Force Base, South Africa, on March 5. The crew of the C-17A Globemaster III delivered personnel and cargo to Huidspruit for Operation Atlas Response. Operation Atlas Response is the U.S. military contribution to relief efforts following torrential rains and flooding in southern Mozambique and South Africa. The C-17A is the one of several flights that will bring helicopters and military personnel to assist with search and rescue and with the distribution of relief supplies. The Globemaster III is deployed for the operation from the 437th Airlift Wing, Charleston Air Force Base, S. C If the story is going to portray America as arsenal to the world, why not show a bomb or a tank or something??? Or maybe a GUN? Not a cargo plane! Typical  <<<(My TEA Party face)

 

A Dog called Courage

A good samaritan spotted him and arranged his rescue.

A three year German Shepard chained to a tree without food or water - for 5 weeks.

The dog, named "Courage" by German Shepherd Rescue volunteers weighed only 37 pounds when he was carried into the emergency clinic last week, apparently only hours away from death.

 "A woman came up to me and asked me why I was sitting there with a dead dog, because he looked like he was dead," animal rescue volunteers told KTLA.

A healthy adult male German Shepherd should weigh 75-85 pounds. Courage,  was unable to walk or hold his head up because he had no muscle, according to veterinarians; he had subsisted on eating gravel and dirt.

The owner, a 26 year old woman has been arrested and is in jail under $50,000 bail, charged with animal cruelty and infliction of intentional harm to an animal, a felony

Courage is expected to fully recover

 

Cap and Trade Coming in April- Gasoline to go up 27 cent gallon

A compromise climate and energy bill being drawn up by US Senators will see the light of day on Monday week, April 26, sources have told Reuters. Democrat Senator John Kerry, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and independent Senator Joseph Lieberman have been working hard to draft a bill that could win the cross-party support necessary to win Senate approval. Their bill would be more pragmatic than the Waxman-Markey bill passed in the House last year, the main cap-and-trade features of which have since failed to find support in the Senate.

The Senators have kept close counsel on content of the bill, but it appears the thrust of emissions reduction elements would be a cap-and-trade scheme for the power sector only first off, and a carbon tax on the oil and gas industry linked to the cap-and-trade price. Other high-emitting sectors might be included in cap and trade at a later date.

It is expected that the bill would keep a national target to cut greenhouse emissions by 17 per cent below 2005 levels by 2020, contained in the House bill and tabled at the UN climate talks by President Ob ama. Latest speculation suggests that the bill would also prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating carbon emissions, a significant carrot offered to Republicans who have rallied in vehement opposition to  EPA plans for such rules. The new bill could also require all state based schemes, existing and planned, to be terminated.

Analysis by Carbon research firm Point Carbon estimates that, based broadly on the above scenario, a successful bill would produce a carbon price averaging $31 per tonne from 2013 to 2020 and add 27 cents to the retail price of a gallon of US gasoline. Its research finds that the carbon price could be cut to $18 a tonne during the period if the power sector alone was used to meet the national target and asked to cut emissions by 27 per cent.

Leading voices in the Senate are also considering a new tax on gasoline, as part of this bills effort to reduce America's consumption of carbon based fuels.  The tax, which according to early estimates would be in the range of 15 cents a gallon, was conceived with the input of several oil companies, including Shell, BP and Conoco Phillips, and is being championed by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

When wing-nuts cry...or is it when fat pigs fly??

Three things that bug me...
1 - Why is it when a people can't agree politically , they start name calling with terms like evil?

2 - Why are people who claim to be the real tolerant and progressive thinkers are so bent on using every device imaginable to convince someone else to believe what they believe, and failing to do that, resort to ridicule, mockery and slanderous  contempt? (see point 1)

3 - Why are people that believe in fiscal conservatism thought of as " brain dead knuckle dragging mouth breathers"  while the left proclaims "Democrats have to have guts... Now we have to have the guts to take the majority that the American people have given to us and do something... And what we have to do is solve people's problems." (See points 1 and 2)

HUH?

Solve problems by exacerbating the depth of fiscal follies, know as the Stimulus Plan, the TARP, the Comprehensive Health Care Reform Act and what next?


People are still losing their homes, still out of work, still working for less money.
I am tired of being beat over the head with the idea that people are the reason for so much of whats wrong..
In government, particularly at the federal level, who has stepped up and said "...before we continue, lets take a look at what we are spending money on, and find out if somethings can be cut....before we add to the bill being paid by the taxpayers." and meant it?

And when someone does say that, why is OK  for someone     opposed to that idea to open a big can of class warfare and say because they want to  trim fat from the budget, it means they don't care about people? (see points 1-3, repeating over and over)
 
These are all arguments that have been posted in thousands of blogs....all I am saying is why are we so much in an up the rhetoric mode for the last 20 years in this country? 

Can we ever return to civility when commentators of the left and right throw grenades at each other?
And why is Kool Aid considered a bad thing?

To Block or Not to Block, tis a difficult question...

One of the most ingenious aspects of most blog sites is that if someone is annoying you or being rude, you can simply ignore them or even block them. I have blocked my fair share of people, and most of the time I’ve done it without giving it a second thought.

Blocking someone is strange because it’s like erasing him or her from your life. With the click of a button – poof – they are gone. It’s like they never existed. I’ve also experienced being on the other side of a block. When you are the person being blocked, at least for me, it is hurtful. It is the ultimate way that someone can send you a clear message that they want you gone, never to be heard from again.

Being blocked means that person also prevents you from following them; they want you to go away in every way.

In some situations, it is very necessary to block someone if they are being rude or inappropriate because here is our happy place, and we shouldn’t have to deal with that. However, in many cases, I think we get trigger happy with the block button.

 I’ve learned that online relationships and real life relationships are very similar. Just as you would think twice before kicking someone out of your real life, sometimes it might be best to think twice before kicking someone out of your online life also.

10 Reasons Not To Block Someone 

1. Everyone deserves a second chance
Some people will disagree with me here, but I believe this is true. So someone was a jerk to you – if they apologize and are genuine about it, do you think you might be able to give them a second chance to do the right thing?

2. Their wrath was simply the result of having a bad day
We all have bad days every now and then and we all say things that we regret when we aren’t feeling our best. Sometimes we have to just give people a break, even on here

3. Are you making an emotional decision? Can you sleep on it?
Although it’s hard sometimes, I’ve found that it is best to not make decisions when we are emotional. You want to block someone? Would you consider sleeping on it just to be sure you feel the same way in the morning? If you feel the same way when you wake up, then blocking is probably the right thing to do. But chances are, you’ll wake up and think that person is annoying as hell, but you won’t think it is necessary to block him.

4. Alcohol might be involved
C’mon, be for real, you’ve never had too many glasses of wine and then gotten online? You must be an angel. My personal view on this is that if someone gets on after having too much to drink and they make a fool out of themselves, they are going to have to deal with the embarrassment and the tarnished reputation the next day. They don’t need me to rub salt in that already fresh wound by blocking them as well.

5. We may have taken their comments out of context
Online humor is different than ‘in person’ humor because many things do not translate from one to the other. I see it in blog posts all the time, people trying to be funny but it’s just not working out. Can we give them the benefit of the doubt? Maybe we just took that humor out of context, is that possible?

6. Slip of the tongue
Oh… this is a good one. It’s fun to watch . We all have a slip of the tongue every now and then in real life and online. I open my mouth and insert my foot on a regular basis.  It’s pretty easy to forgive and forget on this one, no real reason to block, right?

7. You never know
You never know what is going on at the other end of someone’s life. They could be in a very bad situation and you don’t know about it. Their account could be hijacked by their kids, they could be trying to use Google translator and it’s not working, they could be in a very bad relationship and it’s causing them stress. You just never know. My own personal rule of thumb is that they have to be a jerk on more than one occasion for me to block them because I don’t know what is going on with them in their life at that time.

8. Forgiveness is always a better path to take
Wow, I have learned this lesson the hard way. When you don’t forgive someone it’s like you are allowing a snake to bite you over and over again. If you want to break free of that, you have to forgive. Don’t do it for the other person, but do it for yourself. You will feel lighter and happier.

9. Do you have Friends to spare?
 You know I don’t believe that the numbers matter much; however, do you have friends to throw on the pile and write off forever?

10. Karma
As you know, karma is a mother and just be careful you aren’t blocking someone because you want to hurt them, get their attention, or just to be nasty. If you do that, you know you will attract those same kind of followers to you, and it’s not a pretty sight. I saw this play out on someone’s  page about a month ago, and she was so clueless and still kept throwing out insults and I just wanted to say to her, stop and take a look at what’s happening. However, it’s easy for us all to get caught up in a self righteous moment, I’ve done it myself a million times. Let’s try to remember about karma next time it happens.

4-14-10 - Whether we like it or not...

We need to remember, this is a nation of We the People, not Us the subjects...

I know how many of you just hate the fact that the United States is a dominant military superpower in the world. But don’t worry. Obama is our president now, and he’s here to change all that. Unfortunately, for the time being, we have to reconcile ourselves to this: that, like it or not we remain a dominant military superpower.  If we’re not a superpower, then who keeps countries like Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea in check.

Al Qaeda would be able to unleash their terror on the world with literally no one to stop them. Who will step up against them if we won’t? Holland? England? France?  Yeah, right.....

 [Further cynical commentary deleted to protect the innocent]

Why Israel and Britian are NOT coming to Obama's Nuke Summit

London Times

Britian - Twenty-eight years after the outbreak of the Falklands conflict, lack of US backing for Britain’s recapture of the islands has many in Britian calling the Obama Administration’s foreign policy team “a bunch of amateurs” for failing to support Britain over Argentina once again. Twenty-eight years later David Cameron faces a more equivocal US Administration as a potential Conservative prime minister. In an interview this week he said that Britain should “frankly and candidly say we’re disappointed” with Washington’s call for negotiations on the Falklands’ future even though the islanders do not want them

Israel -  Prime Minister Netanyahu, unwilling to be shunned again by Obama, and humiliated at a conference attended  by many Arab states, will instead send a Deputy in his place. Has the Prime Minister stated Monday, “We encounter in the best case a limp reaction, and even that is fading,” Netanyahu said. “If we have learned anything from the Holocaust, it is that we must not be silent or be deterred in the face of evil.”

"The world gradually accepts Iran's statements of destruction against Israel and we still do not see the necessary international determination to stop Iran from arming," Netanyahu said, calling on "all enlightened countries" to strongly condemn Iran and act with "genuine determination" to prevent it from building nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile in Obamaland, its be good to the bad, and bad to the good, its topsy turvy time...

stop the ride, I am not amused any more...

I want to hurl...Obama bows..AGAIN...

Owing to his sense of deep humility and apparent disrespect for the authority of the office he holds as President of the United States of America, Obama once again can not tell the difference between friends and foes...

Obama - or how to deceive and get elected..

Obama is the worst president of the United States ...but his treachery that was disclosed BEFORE the election and discounted as mere political smear tactics is in fact being exposed as the truth all along...

We must notice that ALL of Obama's records from his Illinois State Senate office have been disappeared. Ditto for his client lists at the Law Firm he worked for. No paper he has ever written at University has ever shown up. He says he threw them all away. Two years from his biography are completely blank. He spent time in Pakistan with friends after college. Who paid for such a trip for a young student? These are reasonable questions of a man whose true ideology can be considered unknown because of his many odd, to say the least, associations, and which seems suspicious to us. Don't we deserve better answers than rebukes for asking?

In March 2008, it was written about Barack "Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama is currently hiding his anti-Israel views in order to get elected, according to a well-known anti-Israel activist. The activist, Ali Abunimah, claimed to know Obama well and to have met him on numerous occasions at pro-Palestinian events in Chicago.

"The last time I spoke to Obama was in the winter of 2004 at a gathering in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood. He was in the midst of a primary campaign to secure the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate seat he now occupies. But at that time polls showed him trailing."As he came in from the cold and took off his coat, I went up to greet him. He responded warmly, and volunteered, 'Hey, I’m sorry I haven’t said more about Palestine right now, but we are in a tough primary race.  I’m hoping when things calm down I can be more up front.' He referred to my activism, including columns I was contributing to the The Chicago Tribune critical of Israeli and US policy [and said:] 'Keep up the good work!'"

Daniel Pipes wrote in 2008 about a world in the Obama Administration" 

Get ready for Iranian supremacy in the Middle East and Russian dominance of Europe. Get ready for Russia's taking back total control and oppression of the Eastern European nations, and likely extending into South America. Get ready for the effects on us, while we kow-tow to whatever their demands might be. Get ready for a significant rise in the power of Islamists, both violent and non-violent. And violent revolutions all over the world. Get ready for a World Without Israel and a second Holocaust. One with no pretence of shame and guilt but instead, triumphalism.

We survived Lyndon Johnson's Great Society, but, although misguided, he was all pro-American. Then there was the not so pro-American Jimmy Carter. We survived the economic scourge, but it can't be said without lasting harm. He, after all, brought us an empowered Ayatollah Khomeini and the Rise of Shiite Revolutionary Iran, which has brought us to today."

I sure hope Mr Pipes is NOT right.

MWP- Modern Whig Party

The six tenets of the Modern Whig philosophy are:

• Fiscal responsibility – "The Modern Whig philosophy is to empower the states with the resources to handle their unique affairs."
• Energy independence – "Reduce dependence on foreign oil by developing practical sources of alternative energy. This will have the simultaneous effect of changing the national security dynamic."
• Education/Scientific advancement – "Increased public and private emphasis on fields such as space, oceanic, medical and nanotechnology. Also, providing common-sense solutions to enhance our educational system from pre-school to university-level studies."
• States' rights – "Each state can determine its course of action based on local values and unique needs."
• Social progression – "Government should refrain from legislating morality."
• Veterans affairs – "Vigilant advocacy relating to the medical, financial, and overall well-being of our military families and veterans."

http://www.modernwhig.org/index.html

Mark Levin - Obama, American Dictator

Link

ARMY uses music to fight Taliban

Remember the film Apocalypse Now, where the air cav unit flies into battle blaring Ride of the Valkyries?

Well a modern twist on that is this little story...

US special forces have a novel weapon in the fight to expel Taliban from a desolate and war-weary farming community in southern Afghanistan -- heavy metal music.

When insurgents open fire in Marjah, an armoured vehicle wired up to powerful speakers blasts out country, heavy metal and rock music so loudly it can be heard up to two kilometres (one mile) away.

The playlist has been hand-selected to annoy the Taliban, according to one US special forces officer.

"Taliban hate that music," said the sergeant involved in covert psychological operations, or "psy ops", in the area in Helmand province.

"Some locals complain but it's a way to push them to choose. It's motivating Marines as well," he added after one deafening round of several hours including tracks from The Offspring, Metallica and Thin Lizzy.

The officer said they also broadcast messages from the Afghan government, as well as threats to the Taliban -- there are no obscenities, "but we tell them they're gonna die", he smiled.

 

The Modern Whig Party

Established in 1833, the Whigs are one of America's oldest mainstream political parties. We were the original party of Abraham Lincoln and four other U.S. Presidents.

Revived by Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, the grassroots movement has quickly new members. We represent the moderate voters from all walks of life who cherry-pick between traditional Republican or Democratic ideals in what has been called the Modern Whig Philosophy. This Washington DC-based national movement values common sense, rational solutions ahead of ideology and partisan bickering.

This includes general principles of fiscal responsibility, strong national defense and educational/scientific advancement.

OBITUARY

OBITUARY            Born 1776, Died 2008                        It does not hurt to read this several times.                          Professor Joseph Olson of   Hamline University School of Law,   St. Paul ,   Minnesota , points out some interesting facts concerning  last November's Presidential election:     Number of States won by: Obama: 19    McCain: 29 Square miles of land won by: Obama: 580,000    McCain: 2,427,000 Population of counties won by: Obama: 127 million                                                         McCain: 143 million Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by: Obama: 13.2    McCain: 2.1    Professor Olson adds: "In aggregate, the map of the territory McCain won was mostly  the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of the country.       Obama territory mostly  encompassed those citizens living in low income  tenements and living off various forms of government welfare..."     Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the "complacency and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.     If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million criminal invaders  called  illegals and they vote, then we can say goodbye to the  USA in fewer than five years.           If you are in favor of this, then by all means, delete this message.  If you are not, then pass this along to help everyone realize just how much is at stake, knowing that  apathy is the greatest danger to our freedom. 'Do not ask the Lord to Guide your Footsteps if you are not willing to move your Feet'

Obama- The bad Gift that just keeps on giving

The Washington Post reported in January 2010 that “U.S. military teams and intelligence agencies are deeply involved in secret joint operations with Yemeni troops who in the past six weeks have killed scores of people, among them six of 15 top leaders of a regional al-Qaeda affiliate, according to senior administration officials.

As part of the operations, Obama approved a Dec. 24 strike against a compound where a U.S. citizen, Anwar al-Aulaqi, was thought to be meeting with other regional al-Qaeda leaders. Although he was not the focus of the strike and was not killed, he has since been added to a shortlist of U.S. citizens specifically targeted for killing or capture by the JSOC, military officials said. The officials, like others interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the operations.”

The Post then listed a “correction” that they inaccurately reported Obama approving killing a U.S. citizen, Anwar al-Awlaki. (Anwar al-Awlaki is the Muslim cleric that was in correspondence with Nadal Hassan, the crazy US Army major that when on a shooting spree at Fort Hood.)

Well, turns out the Post was right after all:

 Obama orders US-born cleric to be shot on sight

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has authorized the killing of a radical Muslim cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen believed to be hiding in Yemen and thought to have shifted from encouraging attacks on the U.S. to participating in them, according to published reports. Al-Awlaki, 38, recently was added to the CIA target list after a special government review of his activities, prompted by his status as a U.S. citizen, U.S. officials told the Los Angeles Times. He is to be captured or killed, the newspaper said.

That the Obama administration might green-light the assassination of an American to combat terror was first signaled by the Director of Intelligence, Admiral (ret) Dennis Blair in February.

"We take direct actions against terrorists," he said at a congressional hearing. "If we think direct action will involve killing an American, we get specific permission to do that." He did not name Awlaki at the time, however.

While taking this guy out might be a good idea, is it really a good idea to have Presidential authority to declare a US citizen a high value target for execution? Shouldn’t there be some sort of legal proceeding, like a Grand Jury type deliberation ? I mean I think back to January, when his administration issued a revamp of DoD Directive 1404.10.

The new 1404.10 cancels the prior directive of the same designation ("Emergency-Essential (E-E) DoD U.S. Citizen Civilian Employees"), which was issued in 1992 under President Clinton. The 1992 directive specifically deals with overseas deployments of civilian personnel. It does not mention terms like "restoration of order" or "stability operations", prominently featured in the new directive.

The 1992 directive mentions the term "overseas" no fewer than 33 times.

The 2009 directive does not mention the term "overseas" even once.

In this case No News is Good News - Obama Rules Out Using Nukes

WASHINGTON

 (—Stephen Crowley/The New York Times)

 President Obama said Monday that he was revamping American nuclear strategy to substantially narrow the conditions under which the United States would use nuclear weapons.

But the president said in an interview that he was carving out an exception for “outliers like Iran and North Korea” that have violated or renounced the main treaty to halt nuclear proliferation.

Discussing his approach to nuclear security the day before formally releasing his new strategy, Mr. Obama described his policy as part of a broader effort to edge the world toward making nuclear weapons obsolete, and to create incentives for countries to give up any nuclear ambitions. To set an example, the new strategy renounces the development of any new nuclear weapons, overruling the initial position of his own defense secretary.

It eliminates much of the ambiguity that has deliberately existed in American nuclear policy since the opening days of the cold war. For the first time, the United States is explicitly committing not to use nuclear weapons against nonnuclear states that are in compliance with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, even if they attacked the United States with biological or chemical weapons or launched a crippling cyberattack.

History of Humanity

For those that don't know about history ... Here is a condensed version:

Humans originally existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunters/gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains during the summer and would go to the coast and live on fish and lobster in the winter.
The two most important events in all of history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man to the beer. These were the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two distinct subgroups:

1 . Liberals, and
2. Conservatives.

Once beer was discovered, it required grain and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented yet, so while our early humans were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed.
Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to BBQ at night while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what is known as the Conservative movement...
Other men who were weaker and less skilled at hunting learned to live off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly BBQ's and doing the sewing, fetching, and hair dressing. This was the beginning of the Liberal movement.

Some of these liberal men eventually evolved into women. They became known as girlie-men. Some noteworthy liberal achievements include the domestication of cats, the invention of group therapy, group hugs, and the concept of Democratic voting to decide how to divide the meat and beer that conservatives provided.

Over the years conservatives came to be symbolized by the largest, most powerful land animal on earth, the elephant. Liberals are symbolized by the jackass for obvious reasons.
Modern liberals like free beer, or European beer which they try to get for free at Conservative functions. Most prefer imported beer (with lime added), but some prefer white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like their beef well done. Sushi, tofu, and French food are standard liberal fare.. Another interesting evolutionary side note: most of their women have higher testosterone levels than their men. Most social workers, personal injury attorneys, journalists, dreamers in Hollywood and group therapists are liberals. Liberals invented the designated hitter rule because it wasn't fair to make the pitcher also bat.

Conservatives drink domestic beer, mostly Bud or Miller or any of the great microbrews that dominate the land. They eat red meat and still provide for their families. Conservatives are big game hunters, rodeo cowboys, lumberjacks, construction workers, firemen, medical doctors, police officers, engineers, corporate executives, athletes, members of the military, airline pilots and generally anyone who works productively. Conservatives who own companies hire other conservatives who want to work for a living.

Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to govern the producers and decide what to do with the production. Liberals believe Europeans are more enlightened than Americans. That is why most of the liberals remained in Europe when conservatives were coming to America . They crept in after the Wild West was tamed and created a business of trying to get more for nothing.

Here ends today's lesson in world history:

It should be noted that a Liberal may have a momentary urge to angrily respond to the above before forwarding it.

A Conservative will simply laugh and be so convinced of the absolute truth of this history that it will be forwarded immediately to other true believers and to more liberals just to **** them off.

And there you have it…Let your next action reveal your true self, I'm going to have another beer.

Happy Easter