Well the Democrats are pleased with the election results of course, but who else is....................
The answer is Illegal Aliens, Terrorists, Socialists, and Dictators.
The leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Hamza al-Muhajir was thrilled to see the Democrats take power. He posted a statement on the Internet which included the following "I swear by God we shall not rest from jihad until we blow up the filthiest house known as the White House".
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday called U.S. President George W. Bush's defeat in congressional elections a victory for Iran. "Since Washington's hostile and hawkish policies have always been against the Iranian nation, this defeat is actually an obvious victory for the Iranian nation."
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran was quoted as saying, "The result of this election indicates that the majority of American people are dissatisfied and are fed up with the policies of the American administration," Khamenei said military maneuvers in the Gulf this week in which Iranian forces tested new missile systems showed Iran was ready to face any threat. But, he said: "With the scandalous defeat of America's policies in Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon and Afghanistan, America's threats are empty threats on an international scale."
Falah Hassan Shanshal, who leads the parliamentary bloc of radical anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said "We hope the Democrats don't forget their campaign promises. If they don't, we will deal with them in a brotherly way once the last American soldier pulls out from Iraq."
More than 200 Socialist members of the European Parliament hailed the American election results and gloated that the Bush administration had been seriously weakened. French author Bernard-Henri Levy described the 2000 and 2004 American election victors as "moral values maniacs". These are Socialists who want America to be more like Europe where "morals" are not currently in vogue. They apparently think all is well in Europe and aren't concerned with unemployment in excess of 10%, stagnant economies, regular riots, and the fact that there will be more Arab Muslims than Europeans in Europe in 10-20 years.
Here's a Reuters headline "Arabs Relish US Republican Election Losses." Another headline from Madrid (in Spain where voters bent to terrorists demands): "Democrats Win in US, Embraced Overseas -- From Paris to Pakistan, politicians, analysts and ordinary citizens said they hoped the Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives would force President Bush to adopt a more conciliatory approach to global crises, and teach the president a lesson in humility."
Hugo Chavez said of the vote "It's a reprisal vote against the war in Iraq, against the corruption' within the Bush administration. All this fills us with optimism." If a viscous dictator is pleased this must be a good
This from Mexico: "'Gains by Democrats in the US congressional elections may help promote more liberal immigration policies sought by Mexico,' said a spokesman for President Vicente Fox. Mexico's been deeply disappointed by President Bush's failure to convince his own Republicans to accept a guest worker program." So I guess we can look forward to an "amnesty" program for illegal immigration. You might want to start learning to speak Spanish.
When so many enemies of the US agree I have to think that the American people have made some mistakes in the recent election. Heaven help us all, if I'm still allowed to say such a thing.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Monday, November 13, 2006
Look for the Bright Side
I am of course disappointed about the election. The thought of Nancy Pelosi leading the House of Reps makes me sick to my stomach (darn, my IRA was doing so well). The thought of a Democrat controlled Senate makes me fear the next Supreme Court appointment confirmation, or non-confirmation I guess. However, I like to look on the bright side whenever possible.
Here's one bright spot. We got to skip the post election tears and recriminations. There were lots of really close elections that the Republicans lost. If Democrats had been the ones to lose by such small margins we would have had to have recounts, lawsuits and allegations of election stealing. As Ann Coulter pointed out, suddenly the Dibold electronic voting machines work!
Also, some really lousy Republicans bit the dust, namely Lincoln Chafee and Mike DeWine. Hopefully both will leave politics entirely or switch parties. They were never good Republicans or good representatives or good anything in my humble opinion.
Finally, neither majority is large enough to override a Presidential veto. Consequently I doubt the Dems can raise my taxes until 2009. By then the house at least could be back in Republican hands especially if the Democrats who talked so tough and conservative prior to this election go to Washington and legislate like liberals.
My advice, pray for gridlock (my IRA would like that) and look on the bright side.
Here's one bright spot. We got to skip the post election tears and recriminations. There were lots of really close elections that the Republicans lost. If Democrats had been the ones to lose by such small margins we would have had to have recounts, lawsuits and allegations of election stealing. As Ann Coulter pointed out, suddenly the Dibold electronic voting machines work!
Also, some really lousy Republicans bit the dust, namely Lincoln Chafee and Mike DeWine. Hopefully both will leave politics entirely or switch parties. They were never good Republicans or good representatives or good anything in my humble opinion.
Finally, neither majority is large enough to override a Presidential veto. Consequently I doubt the Dems can raise my taxes until 2009. By then the house at least could be back in Republican hands especially if the Democrats who talked so tough and conservative prior to this election go to Washington and legislate like liberals.
My advice, pray for gridlock (my IRA would like that) and look on the bright side.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
WE WON'T BE FOOLED AGAIN
The media is pulling out all the stops to discourage Republicans from voting. This isn't new. In the 2000 election returns the media called Florida for Gore before the polls closed in the very Republican panhandle of the state (costing Bush from 5,000 to 15,000 votes in Florida according to John McLaughlin). They managed to dampen Republican voter turn out nationwide by convincing many Republicans that the election was over and Bush could not win. This cost Bush the popular vote and made way for Gores attempt to steal the election with his three most liberal county"recount".
Then in 2004 they stacked the exit polls by steering Democrats to the voting booths at the times they knew pollsters would be present. Technically, they couldn't legally release the early exit poll results so they leaked them on the Internet. The word was that Kerry was winning in a landslide. Most didn't hear about it and voted. Those of us who did hear about it threw up, voted and went home to await the real results with fingers crossed that the exit polls would be wrong. We won with a large enough margin to avoid another attempt to steal the election.
DO NOT LET THEM FAKE YOU OUT!
Then in 2004 they stacked the exit polls by steering Democrats to the voting booths at the times they knew pollsters would be present. Technically, they couldn't legally release the early exit poll results so they leaked them on the Internet. The word was that Kerry was winning in a landslide. Most didn't hear about it and voted. Those of us who did hear about it threw up, voted and went home to await the real results with fingers crossed that the exit polls would be wrong. We won with a large enough margin to avoid another attempt to steal the election.
DO NOT LET THEM FAKE YOU OUT!
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Democrat Double Standard
I have in the past voted for Rep. Mark Foley. He was actually a rather good congressman and I don't think I was aware of his sexual orientation. I am shocked by the contents of his "IM's" to former pages and would be calling for his resignation if he had not resigned already. I apologize to all of the decent and moral homosexual men out there but must say that this is yet another example of the inability of many gay men to stay away from teenage boys. That said let's deal with the Democrats outrage.
Whenever a Republican is accused of misconduct the "holier than thou" Democrats go bonkers and call for the resignation of any and every Republican anywhere nearby. When a Democrat is involved the response is quite different. When a former Democrat Rep., Gerry Studds admitted that he had sex with a male teenage page in 1983 he did not resign and his party did not demand his resignation. Apparently his constituents had no problem with this behavior as he was re-elected six times afterwards and finally retired no doubt with his pension intact.
Okay, so that was some time ago as was a similar incident regarding Rep. Barney Frank. In 1989 Rep. Frank had a "roommate" named Stephen L. Gobie, a male prostitute who was running a prostitution ring out of Mr. Franks apartment. Rep. Frank claims he had no knowledge of the prostitution going on in his own home, a claim disputed by Stephen Gobie and by Franks own actions in "fixing" thirty parking tickets issued to "clients" of Gobie. Barney Frank still serves as a congressional representative for the state of Massachuttes. This was an actual crime and if you are saying that minors were not involved you know nothing about male prostitution. No Republican would have survived this series of events.
Finally, in the sex crime arena we have former Rep. Mel Reynolds who was indicted for having sex with a female campaign volunteer who was only sixteen. That was august of 1994 and Reynolds who claimed the charges were untrue and "racially motivated" was re-elected in November of 1994. A year after the indictment Reynolds was convicted on 12 counts of sexual assault, obstruction of justice and solicitation of child pornography. Yikes! At this point even a Democrat had to resign. Being from Chicago it turned out that Reynolds was guilty of additional crimes. Mr Reynolds was sentenced to a six and a half year sentence for wire fraud, bank fraud, lying to the Federal Election commission and the afore mentioned sex with a minor. When a Democrat is finally forced to resign he knows that he will be taken care of. Bill Clinton included Mr. Reynolds in his "Pardon-poluzza" and commuted the sentence. Reynolds was then hired by Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Push Coalition in what is probably a high paying job as a "youth counselor".
Once, everyone knew that it was wrong for a man in a position of power to become sexually involved with a younger subordinate and that to do so was "taking advantage". Then came Bill Clinton, if you'll pardon the expression. Although President Clinton had sexual contact with a much younger, entirely subordinate intern, suddenly that was nobody's business. Although Clinton blatantly lied about the affair to the American people and even lied under oath, suddenly that was okay too as "everybody lies about sex".Well, so far all Rep. Foley did was send some truly repugnant messages to a young man and he has resigned in disgrace. That is as it should be but the Democrats demands for more resignations is just partisanship and hypocrisy at it's worst!
Whenever a Republican is accused of misconduct the "holier than thou" Democrats go bonkers and call for the resignation of any and every Republican anywhere nearby. When a Democrat is involved the response is quite different. When a former Democrat Rep., Gerry Studds admitted that he had sex with a male teenage page in 1983 he did not resign and his party did not demand his resignation. Apparently his constituents had no problem with this behavior as he was re-elected six times afterwards and finally retired no doubt with his pension intact.
Okay, so that was some time ago as was a similar incident regarding Rep. Barney Frank. In 1989 Rep. Frank had a "roommate" named Stephen L. Gobie, a male prostitute who was running a prostitution ring out of Mr. Franks apartment. Rep. Frank claims he had no knowledge of the prostitution going on in his own home, a claim disputed by Stephen Gobie and by Franks own actions in "fixing" thirty parking tickets issued to "clients" of Gobie. Barney Frank still serves as a congressional representative for the state of Massachuttes. This was an actual crime and if you are saying that minors were not involved you know nothing about male prostitution. No Republican would have survived this series of events.
Finally, in the sex crime arena we have former Rep. Mel Reynolds who was indicted for having sex with a female campaign volunteer who was only sixteen. That was august of 1994 and Reynolds who claimed the charges were untrue and "racially motivated" was re-elected in November of 1994. A year after the indictment Reynolds was convicted on 12 counts of sexual assault, obstruction of justice and solicitation of child pornography. Yikes! At this point even a Democrat had to resign. Being from Chicago it turned out that Reynolds was guilty of additional crimes. Mr Reynolds was sentenced to a six and a half year sentence for wire fraud, bank fraud, lying to the Federal Election commission and the afore mentioned sex with a minor. When a Democrat is finally forced to resign he knows that he will be taken care of. Bill Clinton included Mr. Reynolds in his "Pardon-poluzza" and commuted the sentence. Reynolds was then hired by Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Push Coalition in what is probably a high paying job as a "youth counselor".
Once, everyone knew that it was wrong for a man in a position of power to become sexually involved with a younger subordinate and that to do so was "taking advantage". Then came Bill Clinton, if you'll pardon the expression. Although President Clinton had sexual contact with a much younger, entirely subordinate intern, suddenly that was nobody's business. Although Clinton blatantly lied about the affair to the American people and even lied under oath, suddenly that was okay too as "everybody lies about sex".Well, so far all Rep. Foley did was send some truly repugnant messages to a young man and he has resigned in disgrace. That is as it should be but the Democrats demands for more resignations is just partisanship and hypocrisy at it's worst!
WINDS OF WAR
I recently read Winds of War and highly recommend that you read it or re-read it if you read it years ago. The parallels are frightening. The authors creation, General Armin Von Roon provided the mindset behind the Third Reich and it was amazingly like the Islamo Fascist today. Germany always had a reason for every attack, usually placing the blame on which ever country they were attacking. Germany considered itself morally equivalent to the countries who dared to fight back or to object to their goal of global domination.
Currently followers of Islam are burning churches, flags and the Pope in effigy. A Nun has been murdered in Somalia and an Al-Queda web site promises the Muslims will "Conquer Rome" "Slit throats" and "Make their money and descendants bounty" which I take to mean enslave the descendants and take the wealth. All this because the Pope dared speak the words of an Emperor from several hundred years ago.
Hopefully the good guys in this world will get the message and unite against Islamo-fascism as we united against Hitler. If we don't get the will to fight this enemy soon be afraid, be very afraid.
Currently followers of Islam are burning churches, flags and the Pope in effigy. A Nun has been murdered in Somalia and an Al-Queda web site promises the Muslims will "Conquer Rome" "Slit throats" and "Make their money and descendants bounty" which I take to mean enslave the descendants and take the wealth. All this because the Pope dared speak the words of an Emperor from several hundred years ago.
Hopefully the good guys in this world will get the message and unite against Islamo-fascism as we united against Hitler. If we don't get the will to fight this enemy soon be afraid, be very afraid.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Clinton Blows his Cool
Ex-president Clinton lost it during an interview with Chris Wallace on Sunday. Wallace dared to ask Clinton about his failures regarding Osama bin Laden. The Clintons', most Democrats and all liberals like to pretend that all terrorism (or anything else) began with the inauguration of George W. Bush. In the throes of a full fledged "hissy fit" Bill Clinton reverted to form and lied, lied, lied.
First Clinton insults the Fox News Channel and takes a swipe at ABC and their miniseries "The Path to 9/11". Then he misinterprets the question regarding Black Hawk Down and goes off on a tangent regarding that which distracts from the real question asked.
Clinton repeatedly named Richard Clark and his book as proof of his statements, but the book and Clark himself contradict many of Clinton assertions. Clinton claimed that he had done much more to fight terrorism than the Bush administration did prior to September 11th, 2001. In a background briefing to members of the press Richard Clark said the new administration had "changed strategy from a roll back of Al-Qaeda to elimination of Al-Qaeda" and that the new administration "decided in principle, in the spring to add to the existing Clinton strategy and to increase CIA resources -- for example, for covert action, five-fold -- to go after Al Qaeda".
Clinton said Clark was the best guy in the world to fight terrorists and that the Bush administration "downgraded him and the terrorists operation". In reality Clark states in his book that he chose to head up the new "critical infrastructure and cybersecurity" department outside of the NSC. Later Clark left the administration in a huff when he was passed over for a job he wanted but he was not "downgraded" or dismissed.
Clinton claimed he was ridiculed by "far right wingers" and "neocons" for being "obsessed" with finding and killing Osama bin Laden. However he never named any names and in his own autobiography barely mentions Al-Qaeda . There was some "wag the dog" ribbing from the media but Republican leaders like Newt Gingrich, Arlen Specter and Richard Pearl were very supportive of Clinton finally taking action against terrorists. Senate majority leader, Trent Lott was quoted as follows, "Despite the current controversy, this Congress will vigorously support the president in full defense of America's interests throughout the world." Wow, President Bush didn't have support like that from the "loyal opposition" one week after 9/11!
He laid the blame for not getting UBL at the feet of George Tenant, the CIA the FBI etal, but the man who carried the nuclear football related two instances when Clinton refused to answer or return calls to authorize action against Al-Qaeda.
Me thinks the ex-president doth protest too much.
First Clinton insults the Fox News Channel and takes a swipe at ABC and their miniseries "The Path to 9/11". Then he misinterprets the question regarding Black Hawk Down and goes off on a tangent regarding that which distracts from the real question asked.
Clinton repeatedly named Richard Clark and his book as proof of his statements, but the book and Clark himself contradict many of Clinton assertions. Clinton claimed that he had done much more to fight terrorism than the Bush administration did prior to September 11th, 2001. In a background briefing to members of the press Richard Clark said the new administration had "changed strategy from a roll back of Al-Qaeda to elimination of Al-Qaeda" and that the new administration "decided in principle, in the spring to add to the existing Clinton strategy and to increase CIA resources -- for example, for covert action, five-fold -- to go after Al Qaeda".
Clinton said Clark was the best guy in the world to fight terrorists and that the Bush administration "downgraded him and the terrorists operation". In reality Clark states in his book that he chose to head up the new "critical infrastructure and cybersecurity" department outside of the NSC. Later Clark left the administration in a huff when he was passed over for a job he wanted but he was not "downgraded" or dismissed.
Clinton claimed he was ridiculed by "far right wingers" and "neocons" for being "obsessed" with finding and killing Osama bin Laden. However he never named any names and in his own autobiography barely mentions Al-Qaeda . There was some "wag the dog" ribbing from the media but Republican leaders like Newt Gingrich, Arlen Specter and Richard Pearl were very supportive of Clinton finally taking action against terrorists. Senate majority leader, Trent Lott was quoted as follows, "Despite the current controversy, this Congress will vigorously support the president in full defense of America's interests throughout the world." Wow, President Bush didn't have support like that from the "loyal opposition" one week after 9/11!
He laid the blame for not getting UBL at the feet of George Tenant, the CIA the FBI etal, but the man who carried the nuclear football related two instances when Clinton refused to answer or return calls to authorize action against Al-Qaeda.
Me thinks the ex-president doth protest too much.
Monday, September 11, 2006
The Path to 9/11 Reveals Clinton Truth Blockade
Although the MSM mostly ignored the attempts of the Clintonista's to silence "The Path to 9/11" this was just the latest in a long history of attempts to savage the critic and salvage the legacy of Bill Clinton. Before Clinton was elected there were scandals concerning his involvement with women. These were generally handled using a two step process. First deny the allegation. Second smear the accuser. This was also called the "nuts and sluts" defense as the counter allegation would generally include besmirching the woman's reputation and or questioning her sanity. These maneuvers were quite effective in most cases.
When Mrs. Clinton invested $1,000 in cattle futures and walked away with $100,000 she said she had accomplished this amazing feat by reading the Wall Street Journal every day. It turns out there was no mention of cattle futures made during the time of her investment but no one ever got to ask the follow up question.
Over the years the Clinton couple used misdirection to detract from Mr. Clinton misdeeds. When word got out that the President had been doing naughty things with a young intern just a few feet from the Oval Office he first denied the claim while his wife blamed the entire matter on a "vast right wing conspiracy". Once "the blue dress" forced Mr Clinton to fess up neither Clinton ever apologized for blaming others for the allegations. If the matter was brought up at all Ms. Clinton would revert to the convenient role of the wronged wife to avoid having to answer.
President Clinton was specially fond of using the following phrase "Mistakes were made, it's time to move on so that I can get back to working for the American people. This phrase was trotted out so often it became the mantra for Clinton apologists and inspired the name of a leftwing liberal web site and organization, Move On.org. Which turned out to be a bit ironic later on as they were completely unable to "move on" when Al Gore failed to win or steal the presidency in 2000!
When Mr Clinton pardoned a wide variety of misfits on his way out of office and was questioned about the rumors that some of the pardons were quid pro quo his response was "That is just something that some people are saying there's no proof". Which wasn't much of a denial, really. Later when proof did appear regarding pardons promised and payments received by Clinton family members Mrs Clinton would only say that she was "very sad and disappointed". Despite her reputation with some as the "smartest woman in America" when the stuff hit the fan she never knew a darn thing about anything.
When they took thousands of dollars of furnishings and valuables that belonged to the White House it was an inventory error made by a subordinate. I often think of the Clinton presidency being part of an old SNL skit, "it just goes to show you, it's always something".
When Mrs. Clinton invested $1,000 in cattle futures and walked away with $100,000 she said she had accomplished this amazing feat by reading the Wall Street Journal every day. It turns out there was no mention of cattle futures made during the time of her investment but no one ever got to ask the follow up question.
Over the years the Clinton couple used misdirection to detract from Mr. Clinton misdeeds. When word got out that the President had been doing naughty things with a young intern just a few feet from the Oval Office he first denied the claim while his wife blamed the entire matter on a "vast right wing conspiracy". Once "the blue dress" forced Mr Clinton to fess up neither Clinton ever apologized for blaming others for the allegations. If the matter was brought up at all Ms. Clinton would revert to the convenient role of the wronged wife to avoid having to answer.
President Clinton was specially fond of using the following phrase "Mistakes were made, it's time to move on so that I can get back to working for the American people. This phrase was trotted out so often it became the mantra for Clinton apologists and inspired the name of a leftwing liberal web site and organization, Move On.org. Which turned out to be a bit ironic later on as they were completely unable to "move on" when Al Gore failed to win or steal the presidency in 2000!
When Mr Clinton pardoned a wide variety of misfits on his way out of office and was questioned about the rumors that some of the pardons were quid pro quo his response was "That is just something that some people are saying there's no proof". Which wasn't much of a denial, really. Later when proof did appear regarding pardons promised and payments received by Clinton family members Mrs Clinton would only say that she was "very sad and disappointed". Despite her reputation with some as the "smartest woman in America" when the stuff hit the fan she never knew a darn thing about anything.
When they took thousands of dollars of furnishings and valuables that belonged to the White House it was an inventory error made by a subordinate. I often think of the Clinton presidency being part of an old SNL skit, "it just goes to show you, it's always something".
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Glad Not to be a Native
Labor Day is fast approaching and summer will soon be over. I'm glad I'm not a native of Illinois as they go through a painful transition this time of year. With each wonderfully cool evening or misty morning an apprehension grows within the native Illini. There is this nervousness, a sense of being on edge as the Illini silently wonder "Is this it, is summer over?" Despite the mild weather we had last year the specter of winter in Chicagoland looms. Memories of endless days with gun metal gray skies, below freezing temperatures, backbreaking drifts of wet snow and biting winds haunt and taunt.
The Illini put forward a brave front. Fall and Halloween are celebrated like nowhere I've been before with Septemberfests and Octoberfests, some of which are in September??? Still the barely disguised panic is there, bubbling below the surface, eating at the psyche of the native Illini as they assemble their elaborate display of pumpkins, scarecrow and spooky scenes. How much nicer it is to be new to the area and get a thrill at the thought of autumn leaves. I look forward to our first evening cool enough to merit a fire in the fireplace. I'll be happy to put summer behind me and pull out my sweats and sweaters. I miss my warm socks my flannel pajamas and wearing my jeans nearly all the time. I'm ready for the electric bill to go down and the gas bill to go up.
I would love to have snow in time for Thanksgiving but I'll keep that to myself and let my neighbors deal with the change of seasons without subjecting them to my private euphoria.
Happy Halloween everybody!
The Illini put forward a brave front. Fall and Halloween are celebrated like nowhere I've been before with Septemberfests and Octoberfests, some of which are in September??? Still the barely disguised panic is there, bubbling below the surface, eating at the psyche of the native Illini as they assemble their elaborate display of pumpkins, scarecrow and spooky scenes. How much nicer it is to be new to the area and get a thrill at the thought of autumn leaves. I look forward to our first evening cool enough to merit a fire in the fireplace. I'll be happy to put summer behind me and pull out my sweats and sweaters. I miss my warm socks my flannel pajamas and wearing my jeans nearly all the time. I'm ready for the electric bill to go down and the gas bill to go up.
I would love to have snow in time for Thanksgiving but I'll keep that to myself and let my neighbors deal with the change of seasons without subjecting them to my private euphoria.
Happy Halloween everybody!
Monday, August 14, 2006
URBAN ADVENTURE CRUISE or Another Bad Hair Day In Chicago
Our cruise in Chicago Saturday was really a great time and sort of an adventure. Jack wanted me to reserve a specific cruise but with boats leaving every half hour and not knowing for sure when Jack would arise I didn't. Jack had chosen a $27 90 minute river cruise that would include commentary on over 50 buildings and had a bar aboard.
Well, he sort of slept in, then of course we had to go to breakfast and we caught the 11:05 into the city. I selected the correct exit from Union Station for the first time ever and the bus we needed was waiting there as we came out the doors. Still we arrived at the cruise Jack chose shortly before it sold out for the day (while I was in line with only 3 people in front of me). I was at a loss and not sure what to do.
Jack said, "Get in line for this cruise instead", and I stepped right up to the Mercury "Urban Adventure Cruise". The cruise was a Lake and River tour with commentary on 17 bridges and 82 buildings and landmarks and get this cost only $19. The only down side was no bar on board (which had to save us another $10+) and it was leaving in 40 minutes. While we were in line to board I mentioned to Jack that the boat we would be on was like the one in the movie "The Breakup". Later during the cruise our guide told us it is the boat used in that movie.
I didn't know there was a locks for boats to enter and leave the lake (to control the amount of water going from the lake to the river. It was interesting entering the lake, the water level in the lock went up 3-4 feet and then decreased on the trip back. In the lake we learned about the "adventure" portion of the cruise. The seats we had chosen were near a large bumper hanging off the side of the boat. This bumper threw up amazing amounts of water which dowsed everyone seated nearby, especially Jack who had traded seats with me. Poor Jack was drenched and we both missed small portions of the commentary on the skyline, distracted by the occasional cold wall of water falling on us!
Soon we were back in the river and no longer being drowned. Chicago has an amazing array of buildings and landmarks and the information provided by the tour guide was fun and fascinating. We cruised all the way to the Sears Tower and got to see and hear about a great deal of the city. Just as I was getting concerned about possible sunburn our cruise was over an we were back ashore. Two boats had unloaded at the same time and there was a delay to get up the stairs to the corner of Wacker and Michigan. Everyone seemed to be going to the top and I suggested we only go half way up. I can't fully explain but there is an Upper Michigan Ave and a lower Michigan Ave and get this there is Upper Wacker, Lower Wacker and Lower Lower Wacker?????
Anyway this worked well too as we wanted to go to the original Billy Goat Tavern which was at Lower Michigan and Wacker. We walked across the lower level of the bridge and were there (with one short stop for me to try and wring some of the water out of the tail of Jack's shirt). The Billy Goat Tavern was nothing special but the beer and double cheeseburger were great. If you every come here don't even consider a single burger, get the double or even the triple, (or as they say "Cheezborger! Cheezborger! No fries, cheeps! No Pepsi, Coke).
http://www.billygoattavern.com/history.html
Refreshed we decided we could walk back to Union Station and talked about stopping for another beer if we passed a good spot. However, once I checked the time and saw that we could catch the 4:39 if we moved along smartly instead of taking our time and getting the next train at 5:39. Jack was highly motivated and hurried me along the 10 blocks in time to catch the train. I really think this was one of my best trips to the city. If you ever get to Chicago, I highly recommend this cruise followed by a triple cheeseburger.
Well, he sort of slept in, then of course we had to go to breakfast and we caught the 11:05 into the city. I selected the correct exit from Union Station for the first time ever and the bus we needed was waiting there as we came out the doors. Still we arrived at the cruise Jack chose shortly before it sold out for the day (while I was in line with only 3 people in front of me). I was at a loss and not sure what to do.
Jack said, "Get in line for this cruise instead", and I stepped right up to the Mercury "Urban Adventure Cruise". The cruise was a Lake and River tour with commentary on 17 bridges and 82 buildings and landmarks and get this cost only $19. The only down side was no bar on board (which had to save us another $10+) and it was leaving in 40 minutes. While we were in line to board I mentioned to Jack that the boat we would be on was like the one in the movie "The Breakup". Later during the cruise our guide told us it is the boat used in that movie.
I didn't know there was a locks for boats to enter and leave the lake (to control the amount of water going from the lake to the river. It was interesting entering the lake, the water level in the lock went up 3-4 feet and then decreased on the trip back. In the lake we learned about the "adventure" portion of the cruise. The seats we had chosen were near a large bumper hanging off the side of the boat. This bumper threw up amazing amounts of water which dowsed everyone seated nearby, especially Jack who had traded seats with me. Poor Jack was drenched and we both missed small portions of the commentary on the skyline, distracted by the occasional cold wall of water falling on us!
Soon we were back in the river and no longer being drowned. Chicago has an amazing array of buildings and landmarks and the information provided by the tour guide was fun and fascinating. We cruised all the way to the Sears Tower and got to see and hear about a great deal of the city. Just as I was getting concerned about possible sunburn our cruise was over an we were back ashore. Two boats had unloaded at the same time and there was a delay to get up the stairs to the corner of Wacker and Michigan. Everyone seemed to be going to the top and I suggested we only go half way up. I can't fully explain but there is an Upper Michigan Ave and a lower Michigan Ave and get this there is Upper Wacker, Lower Wacker and Lower Lower Wacker?????
Anyway this worked well too as we wanted to go to the original Billy Goat Tavern which was at Lower Michigan and Wacker. We walked across the lower level of the bridge and were there (with one short stop for me to try and wring some of the water out of the tail of Jack's shirt). The Billy Goat Tavern was nothing special but the beer and double cheeseburger were great. If you every come here don't even consider a single burger, get the double or even the triple, (or as they say "Cheezborger! Cheezborger! No fries, cheeps! No Pepsi, Coke).
http://www.billygoattavern.com/history.html
Refreshed we decided we could walk back to Union Station and talked about stopping for another beer if we passed a good spot. However, once I checked the time and saw that we could catch the 4:39 if we moved along smartly instead of taking our time and getting the next train at 5:39. Jack was highly motivated and hurried me along the 10 blocks in time to catch the train. I really think this was one of my best trips to the city. If you ever get to Chicago, I highly recommend this cruise followed by a triple cheeseburger.
Friday, August 11, 2006
Bad Hair Day In Chi-Town
I went onto the city yesterday to see the DiVinci exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. As the train neared Union Station I saw the city was cloaked in the sort of fog you expect of Chicago but rarely see. I was standing at the corner of Adams and the Chicago River and could not see the top of the Sears Tower. Although there was a cool mist hanging in the air and occasional drizzle it was also warm and humid. I took a bus from near Union Station to the museum with no idea how far it was. The museum is just past Hyde park in the southernmost corner of Chicago. We drove past Soldier Field and the White Sox Cellular Field, got on an expressway for a bit and finally arrived near the museum.
Just as I entered the building a man with two children asked me the time and said something about the museum being free today. That struck fear in my heart. I had canceled this trip once before due to a "Free Admission" day sure to pack the place with children. The ticket lines were long and I wondered if I would even get to see the exhibit. Twenty minutes later I had tickets to enter in a little less than 1/2 an hour. I guess most of the crowd was getting general admission tickets or going to the Omnimax theater. I looked around a bit, got a Pepsi and waited for my 11:30 entrance time to the exhibit.
When my turn came I entered, saw a short film on the subject and got my headset for the audio tour. On clueless couple had their three children with them, the youngest girl was about 3 years old. Once she began to cry I found i couldn't hear the audio on my headset. So I slowed down a bit and allowed them to move ahead out of ear shot. As the group thinned out I was able to really see everything at my own pace and enjoy learning about all the devices DiVinci either invented or improved.
Near the end there is a "workshop" with lots of hands on items and two working catapults. A museum worker was there to explain how DiVinci improved the catapult and demonstrated it in action. Apparently DiVinci had attempted to make a name for himself as a weapons expert. When the Museum guide asked if there were any questions a woman asked "Why was DiVinci so interested in war". I had to bite my tongue not to answer "Because he was a genius not a pacifist" but the guide was even more of a realist and answered, "for the money". There is no way to know for sure what his motivations were but leave it to some people to assume that any great man must be anti war.
I had lunch and wandered around the museum for a while checking out lots of interesting stuff then walked to my bus stop at about 2:45. There I learned that the bus I took to the museum wouldn't be running again till afternoon rush hour. I took another bus planning to go to Navy Pier and catch the bus there to Union Station. Instead I got off at Adams and Michigan and walked from there. Back at Union Station I had time for a cold drink and made the mistake of seeing myself in the mirror in the ladies. The brush in my purse has been missing since Camp Auntie and the long walk in the heat and the steam had taken it's toll, oh well the anonymity of the big city is very liberating. I caught the rather crowded 4:50 home. I might not have walked the 10 blocks in the city if I had remembered that my car was parked 1/4 of a mile from the station. I guess the higher gas prices have more people using the train and a Grandmother managed to beat me to the last parking slot in the more convenient lot.
Tomorrow Jack and I plan to take one of the Architectural cruises and have lunch in the city. I plan to see the King Tut exhibit at the Field Museum also, but will wait until all the kids are back in school. Summer heat will be gone soon, and fall is fabulous here. Come visit if you can!
Just as I entered the building a man with two children asked me the time and said something about the museum being free today. That struck fear in my heart. I had canceled this trip once before due to a "Free Admission" day sure to pack the place with children. The ticket lines were long and I wondered if I would even get to see the exhibit. Twenty minutes later I had tickets to enter in a little less than 1/2 an hour. I guess most of the crowd was getting general admission tickets or going to the Omnimax theater. I looked around a bit, got a Pepsi and waited for my 11:30 entrance time to the exhibit.
When my turn came I entered, saw a short film on the subject and got my headset for the audio tour. On clueless couple had their three children with them, the youngest girl was about 3 years old. Once she began to cry I found i couldn't hear the audio on my headset. So I slowed down a bit and allowed them to move ahead out of ear shot. As the group thinned out I was able to really see everything at my own pace and enjoy learning about all the devices DiVinci either invented or improved.
Near the end there is a "workshop" with lots of hands on items and two working catapults. A museum worker was there to explain how DiVinci improved the catapult and demonstrated it in action. Apparently DiVinci had attempted to make a name for himself as a weapons expert. When the Museum guide asked if there were any questions a woman asked "Why was DiVinci so interested in war". I had to bite my tongue not to answer "Because he was a genius not a pacifist" but the guide was even more of a realist and answered, "for the money". There is no way to know for sure what his motivations were but leave it to some people to assume that any great man must be anti war.
I had lunch and wandered around the museum for a while checking out lots of interesting stuff then walked to my bus stop at about 2:45. There I learned that the bus I took to the museum wouldn't be running again till afternoon rush hour. I took another bus planning to go to Navy Pier and catch the bus there to Union Station. Instead I got off at Adams and Michigan and walked from there. Back at Union Station I had time for a cold drink and made the mistake of seeing myself in the mirror in the ladies. The brush in my purse has been missing since Camp Auntie and the long walk in the heat and the steam had taken it's toll, oh well the anonymity of the big city is very liberating. I caught the rather crowded 4:50 home. I might not have walked the 10 blocks in the city if I had remembered that my car was parked 1/4 of a mile from the station. I guess the higher gas prices have more people using the train and a Grandmother managed to beat me to the last parking slot in the more convenient lot.
Tomorrow Jack and I plan to take one of the Architectural cruises and have lunch in the city. I plan to see the King Tut exhibit at the Field Museum also, but will wait until all the kids are back in school. Summer heat will be gone soon, and fall is fabulous here. Come visit if you can!
Monday, August 07, 2006
Where Have all the Hurricanes Gone
Last year when a record number of hurricanes hit densely populated areas we were told by everyone (except the hurricane experts) that "Global Warming" was responsible. Today is August 7th and we are all the way to the letter "C" and there hasn't been a real hurricane yet. So, what's the explanation? Did "Global Warming" stop, reverse, peter out? I recently read a report that stated "Global Warming" stopped in 1998. This is "Global Warming" season, previously known as "summer" and we keep hearing about "record high temperatures". However, most high temp records still belong to 1936. What exactly was causing the "Global Warming" way back then? Why did it stop so completely that by the 1970's we were reading frantic warnings of the coming ice age?
Well the earth may be warming. Personally I'm not positive that even today we have the ability to determine the temperature of the entire planet. I am positive that it is not logical to assume that if the planet has been warming for the past 30 years it will continue to do so, indefinitely. Especially when we have every reason to believe that the earth has been warming and cooling for hundreds of thousands of years.
Well the earth may be warming. Personally I'm not positive that even today we have the ability to determine the temperature of the entire planet. I am positive that it is not logical to assume that if the planet has been warming for the past 30 years it will continue to do so, indefinitely. Especially when we have every reason to believe that the earth has been warming and cooling for hundreds of thousands of years.
Saturday, June 24, 2006
"NORM!"
At long last for reasons unknown Norm Mineta is stepping down as Transportation Secretary. Mr. Mineta, a leftover from the Clinton adminsitration has been too politically correct to be effective in a post 9/11 world. Mr. President, you are too kind to the weak links in your adminsitration and should have began your 2nd term with a wholesale house cleaning.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Chicago Style Politics
Chicago is nefarious for a certain style of politics. The phrase "Vote early and vote often" is said to have originated in Chicago and our Mayor Daly (Jr) was called to Florida when Al Gore needed his expertise to attempt to steal the 2000 election. Currently the president of the Cook County Board of commissioners is MIA. John Stroger who is 77, overweight and diabetic suffered a massive stroke on March 13th while running in the primary for the November 2006 election. Mr Stroger has been a member of the board since 1970. The newest hospital in Cook County is named after John Stroger but he didn't go there as it is considered an inferior medical facility and the only patients who go there are those who have no choice in the matter.
Immediately after Mr Strogers stroke his supporters swung into action to make sure his name was not removed from the primary ballot. They were successful and he won the primary. Now what? In the ensuing 3 months he has been released and then returned to the hospital and has been kept out of the public eye. Reports on his condition come from family members and no one is sure that his condition isn't being downplayed. We do know that he has been unable to come to work at his $170,000 a year Cook County job and that his family will hear no talk of him stepping down. As more time passes the whole thing becomes more suspicious. If he were able to sit up and speak wouldn't they get a camera crew in his room, as Reagan did after he was shot? Jokes are going around comparing Strogers situation with the movie "Weekend at Bernies". Strojers' family and supporters keep harping on what a great man he is (was?) and how cruel and unfair it is to question when and if he will be able to do his job again.
The man is up for reelection in November! How can people vote when they don't know if their candidate is awake or not? Well, he is the Democrat candidate and as history has shown there are democrats who will vote for a dead person before pulling the lever for a Republican. Well, that's their choice, but they at least have the right to know if they are voting for a dead man or not!
Immediately after Mr Strogers stroke his supporters swung into action to make sure his name was not removed from the primary ballot. They were successful and he won the primary. Now what? In the ensuing 3 months he has been released and then returned to the hospital and has been kept out of the public eye. Reports on his condition come from family members and no one is sure that his condition isn't being downplayed. We do know that he has been unable to come to work at his $170,000 a year Cook County job and that his family will hear no talk of him stepping down. As more time passes the whole thing becomes more suspicious. If he were able to sit up and speak wouldn't they get a camera crew in his room, as Reagan did after he was shot? Jokes are going around comparing Strogers situation with the movie "Weekend at Bernies". Strojers' family and supporters keep harping on what a great man he is (was?) and how cruel and unfair it is to question when and if he will be able to do his job again.
The man is up for reelection in November! How can people vote when they don't know if their candidate is awake or not? Well, he is the Democrat candidate and as history has shown there are democrats who will vote for a dead person before pulling the lever for a Republican. Well, that's their choice, but they at least have the right to know if they are voting for a dead man or not!
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
A Good Day
You may disagree with this statement "A good day for this country is a bad day for the Left", but there is supporting evidence. Today the President has made a "surprise" visit to Baghdad where he will attend a meeting with the Iraqi Prime Minister, most of his cabinet and a group of advisors assembled at Camp David. This is the second successful secret visit to Iraq our President has made. I'll never forget seeing President Bush appear at a big Thanksgiving Dinner for the troops in Iraq. That really took the shine of of Hillary Clintons' simultaneous visit to Afghanistan, where it was rumored troops had to be ordered to eat with her.
Pay attention to the way today's meeting in Iraq is reported and how the Democrats attempt to downplay the importance of this event. Since just a week or two after the Senate and Congress voted to give President Bush the authority to invade Iraq the Democrats have been undermining our war effort by marginalize any good news from Iraq and shouting any potentially bad news from the nearest mountain top. New York Congressman Charlie Rangle reacted to the elimination of Uday and Quesay with the following "I personally don't get any satisfaction that it takes 200,000 troops, 250,000 troops, to knock off two bums." Rangel went so far as to accuse the U.S. of acting illegally in killing the Hussein boys despite the fact that they were killed in a fire fight after refusing to surrender.
Since then we have seen the capture of Saddam Hussein, two very successful elections, the creation and ratification of a Constitution and the assembling of a freely elected Iraqi government. Each of these mile stones had drawn a yawn from the MSM (mainstream media) and the odd assortment of Democrats have taken every opportunity to undermine our effort. Democratic Party Chair Howard Dean said "The idea that we're going to win the war in Iraq is just plain wrong," A remark that flew through the news and undoubtedly heartened the hopes of every terrorist fighting us and the Iraqis. Most recently when the top al-Qaida terrorist Abu Musab al Zarqawi was killed the Democrat Speaker Nancy Pelosi said "This doesn't change anything in Iraq", but it does.
Another front in the MSM and Democrat war against the Bush administration suffered a blow today. Liberal Democrats are distraught over reports that Leakgate Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has decided there is no reason to indict senior White House advisor Karl Rove. Beginning with the Gore "Recount" fiasco the Left has tried every method they can invent to weaken the Bush Presidency. A memo written by an aide of Senator Rockefeller laid out the Democrats plans to throw one roadblock after another in front of the Bush Administration and use every trick they could access to trump up charges of wrongdoing.
Watch how they spin all the success in Iraq. Already today Senator Chuck Schummer (aka Schmuckie) has taken the opportunity of this momentous and historic meeting in Iraq to throw out the "Q" word once again, calling Iraq a "quagmire". Never mind that a brand new democracy is getting on it's feet and that we will have an ally in the Mid-east for the first time since Jimmy Carter allowed the overthrow of the Shah of Iran. If the Democrats no longer have any faith in democracy, it's time for them to change their name.
Pay attention to the way today's meeting in Iraq is reported and how the Democrats attempt to downplay the importance of this event. Since just a week or two after the Senate and Congress voted to give President Bush the authority to invade Iraq the Democrats have been undermining our war effort by marginalize any good news from Iraq and shouting any potentially bad news from the nearest mountain top. New York Congressman Charlie Rangle reacted to the elimination of Uday and Quesay with the following "I personally don't get any satisfaction that it takes 200,000 troops, 250,000 troops, to knock off two bums." Rangel went so far as to accuse the U.S. of acting illegally in killing the Hussein boys despite the fact that they were killed in a fire fight after refusing to surrender.
Since then we have seen the capture of Saddam Hussein, two very successful elections, the creation and ratification of a Constitution and the assembling of a freely elected Iraqi government. Each of these mile stones had drawn a yawn from the MSM (mainstream media) and the odd assortment of Democrats have taken every opportunity to undermine our effort. Democratic Party Chair Howard Dean said "The idea that we're going to win the war in Iraq is just plain wrong," A remark that flew through the news and undoubtedly heartened the hopes of every terrorist fighting us and the Iraqis. Most recently when the top al-Qaida terrorist Abu Musab al Zarqawi was killed the Democrat Speaker Nancy Pelosi said "This doesn't change anything in Iraq", but it does.
Another front in the MSM and Democrat war against the Bush administration suffered a blow today. Liberal Democrats are distraught over reports that Leakgate Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has decided there is no reason to indict senior White House advisor Karl Rove. Beginning with the Gore "Recount" fiasco the Left has tried every method they can invent to weaken the Bush Presidency. A memo written by an aide of Senator Rockefeller laid out the Democrats plans to throw one roadblock after another in front of the Bush Administration and use every trick they could access to trump up charges of wrongdoing.
Watch how they spin all the success in Iraq. Already today Senator Chuck Schummer (aka Schmuckie) has taken the opportunity of this momentous and historic meeting in Iraq to throw out the "Q" word once again, calling Iraq a "quagmire". Never mind that a brand new democracy is getting on it's feet and that we will have an ally in the Mid-east for the first time since Jimmy Carter allowed the overthrow of the Shah of Iran. If the Democrats no longer have any faith in democracy, it's time for them to change their name.
Saturday, June 03, 2006
I'm Not in Florida Anymore
Yesterday was a sunny warm day and for the first time since our move to Illinois I wore a favorite outfit from last summer. The mostly green floral print blouse was one of my last purchases at Burdines, a store that is no more but which was for my entire life "the Florida store". Apparently such bright colors aren't as common here in the Midwest where I received three "compliments" on my quote "Hawaiian print blouse". Thank heavens I was wearing white shorts instead of the yellow capris I used to match with this particular blouse. The addition of even more color might have stopped traffic.
I was reminded of a conversation I had with an American woman in London. This women said she was leaving that day which should be obvious from the bright colors she was wearing. The inference was that one would never dress in bright colors in London, something I hadn't known. After that conversation I did notice that there was a decided lack of bright clothing on, well everyone I saw. I'm all for "When in Rome" but I like my bright tropical clothing and will wear them whenever I choose.
I was reminded of a conversation I had with an American woman in London. This women said she was leaving that day which should be obvious from the bright colors she was wearing. The inference was that one would never dress in bright colors in London, something I hadn't known. After that conversation I did notice that there was a decided lack of bright clothing on, well everyone I saw. I'm all for "When in Rome" but I like my bright tropical clothing and will wear them whenever I choose.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Clinton the Cheater
I was once on a ski trip to Steamboat Springs in Colorado with the Gator Snow Ski Club. I was at that time the President of the club but just an intermediate skier. I chose a ski run one day based solely on the name, Rolex. Shortly after starting down the run I knew I was well beyond my skiing ability. I chose to ski nearly horizontally across the slope. This meant I was moving downhill at just a few feet per pass and it took dozens of passes and timid turns, about an hours worth, to slowly work my way down the terribly steep slope.
Later when I told someone about my experience they asked, "Why didn't you just scoot down on your butt". I replied, "Because I am the president of the ski club, I'm not going to scoot down a slope on my butt, that's like cheating, what if someone saw me?". Apparently I had more respect for my office as president of a ski club than Bill Clinton had or has for his office as President of the United States of America.
Ex-president Clintons' penchant for cheating at golf has been legendary and is recently reinforced by Tiger Woods. Woods was in Arkansas for a children's golf clinic, and was asked about playing golf with former President Bill Clinton. Woods described one hole with Clinton during which the former president first took a mulligan (golf lingo for a do over, a practice frowned upon by honorable golfers) then picked up a ball that was six to seven feet from the hole. In golf if your ball is so close to the hole that it is very unlikely you would miss the putt your opponent might give you a nod indicating that you can skip the actual putt, count the stroke and assume you made it. However, no one would allow a six foot putt and you shouldn't assume that allowance yourself even if it is a six inch putt.
Finally, Woods mentioned that when Clinton tallied the scores he didn't count his "mulligan" and recorded the count for the hole as Clinton 3, Woods 4. There was no mention of any bets on the round of golf which was a good thing for Tiger. I have it on good authority that in addition to playing fast and loose with the rules Clinton is also known to welsh on his bets (meaning he makes bets and collects when he wins but forgets to pay when he loses).
Later when I told someone about my experience they asked, "Why didn't you just scoot down on your butt". I replied, "Because I am the president of the ski club, I'm not going to scoot down a slope on my butt, that's like cheating, what if someone saw me?". Apparently I had more respect for my office as president of a ski club than Bill Clinton had or has for his office as President of the United States of America.
Ex-president Clintons' penchant for cheating at golf has been legendary and is recently reinforced by Tiger Woods. Woods was in Arkansas for a children's golf clinic, and was asked about playing golf with former President Bill Clinton. Woods described one hole with Clinton during which the former president first took a mulligan (golf lingo for a do over, a practice frowned upon by honorable golfers) then picked up a ball that was six to seven feet from the hole. In golf if your ball is so close to the hole that it is very unlikely you would miss the putt your opponent might give you a nod indicating that you can skip the actual putt, count the stroke and assume you made it. However, no one would allow a six foot putt and you shouldn't assume that allowance yourself even if it is a six inch putt.
Finally, Woods mentioned that when Clinton tallied the scores he didn't count his "mulligan" and recorded the count for the hole as Clinton 3, Woods 4. There was no mention of any bets on the round of golf which was a good thing for Tiger. I have it on good authority that in addition to playing fast and loose with the rules Clinton is also known to welsh on his bets (meaning he makes bets and collects when he wins but forgets to pay when he loses).
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
The Battles of the Bird Feeders
It's me vs Nature in my own back yard. Shortly after we settled here in Carol Stream I bought a bird feeder and a 20 pound bag of wild bird seed. I dutifully filled the feeder and hung it in the tree outside my back door. No bird went near the feeder for months. Occasionally a squirrel would hang above the feeder and brush it with his tail, then retrieve the seeds from the ground under the feeder. Finally the birds discovered the feeder and I had a few weeks of enjoyable bird watching.
Then, disaster! A squirrel climbed onto the feeder and caused it to fall and break (the squirrel escaped unscathed). I bought a new feeder that was attractive and held about three pounds of seed. I thought it would be much better than the original feeder. Alas, the bird seed streamed through this feeder like a sieve. The birds could empty it in about four hours by taking turns perching on it and brushing seed off the feeder to fall to the ground where it could be enjoyed in a leisurely fashion by birds, squirrels and the dreaded Canadian Geese. I taped half of the openings closed but only delayed the emptying of the feeder slightly. In addition to the messy, noisy and unwelcome geese I now had two big black crows pigging out and intimidating my target customers the small and more attractive birds.
Jack said, "You're not going to be able to determine which birds you feed and which you don't". You would think that after almost 13 years of marriage he would know that I consider a statement like that a personal challenge. I was in Target shortly thereafter and thought I had found my solution at a very low price. I bought a bird feeder designed for finch and other small birds costing only $4.99. I was so confident the crows were defeated I bought another twenty pound bag of seed as the first was nearly gone. The feeder is a tall narrow tube with very small perches each with it's own feeding port. Initially the crows were stymied. If they could manage even to lit on the tiny perches they were too tall to eat from the portal nearest that perch. I was pleased and sure I had outsmarted the crows which at last count were now six (I'm reduced to counting crows, I don't even like Cheryl Crow).
Well the feeding frenzy continued and it took the crows only a day to learn how to half perch and reach around to the portal on the other side of the tube. This made eating the seed nearly impossible for the crows but allowed them to knock lots of seed to the ground where they and any other unwelcome creature could get to it. There is a landscape and gardening store nearby where I can get expert advice on my bird feed problem, I'm not giving up quite yet. In the mean time I can quit filling the bird feeder, there's nothing those crows can do about that.
Then, disaster! A squirrel climbed onto the feeder and caused it to fall and break (the squirrel escaped unscathed). I bought a new feeder that was attractive and held about three pounds of seed. I thought it would be much better than the original feeder. Alas, the bird seed streamed through this feeder like a sieve. The birds could empty it in about four hours by taking turns perching on it and brushing seed off the feeder to fall to the ground where it could be enjoyed in a leisurely fashion by birds, squirrels and the dreaded Canadian Geese. I taped half of the openings closed but only delayed the emptying of the feeder slightly. In addition to the messy, noisy and unwelcome geese I now had two big black crows pigging out and intimidating my target customers the small and more attractive birds.
Jack said, "You're not going to be able to determine which birds you feed and which you don't". You would think that after almost 13 years of marriage he would know that I consider a statement like that a personal challenge. I was in Target shortly thereafter and thought I had found my solution at a very low price. I bought a bird feeder designed for finch and other small birds costing only $4.99. I was so confident the crows were defeated I bought another twenty pound bag of seed as the first was nearly gone. The feeder is a tall narrow tube with very small perches each with it's own feeding port. Initially the crows were stymied. If they could manage even to lit on the tiny perches they were too tall to eat from the portal nearest that perch. I was pleased and sure I had outsmarted the crows which at last count were now six (I'm reduced to counting crows, I don't even like Cheryl Crow).
Well the feeding frenzy continued and it took the crows only a day to learn how to half perch and reach around to the portal on the other side of the tube. This made eating the seed nearly impossible for the crows but allowed them to knock lots of seed to the ground where they and any other unwelcome creature could get to it. There is a landscape and gardening store nearby where I can get expert advice on my bird feed problem, I'm not giving up quite yet. In the mean time I can quit filling the bird feeder, there's nothing those crows can do about that.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Wow, What a Month!
I haven't posted for nearly a month. A great deal has happened in that time.
Jack's appendix partially burst on May 8th after a weekend during which we thought he had at the stomach flu. Consequently he had an internal infection that made it impossible to remove the appendix immediately. His white blood cell count was 20,000 when it should be 12,000 and he had a fever. We originally thought he would be home in a day or two but he had to stay in the hospital for a week on an IV of antibiotics to bring the infection under control. That was followed by 5 days of oral antibiotics He will have the remains of his appendix removed in about 5 or 6 weeks which will be handled as an outpatient procedure which should be no big deal with him coming home the same day.
Jack got out of the hospital on Monday May 15th and went back to work the next day working half days the rest of the week. When Jack came home from work for lunch on Tuesday it seemed fun and I made him grilled cheese and tomato soup. When he came home the next day expecting lunch again, I was less motivated. However I made a nice save, whipping up a box of mac and cheese and leaving the house to run all my errands.
Jack insisted that I should fly to Florida on Thursday as planned so, I went. I hadn't seen my parents since March and spent lots of time with my niece Madison and nephew, Cameron. I flew back on Sunday and jack picked me up at O'Hare with the usual confurion and frustration of dealing with a major airport under renovation.
Jack's appendix partially burst on May 8th after a weekend during which we thought he had at the stomach flu. Consequently he had an internal infection that made it impossible to remove the appendix immediately. His white blood cell count was 20,000 when it should be 12,000 and he had a fever. We originally thought he would be home in a day or two but he had to stay in the hospital for a week on an IV of antibiotics to bring the infection under control. That was followed by 5 days of oral antibiotics He will have the remains of his appendix removed in about 5 or 6 weeks which will be handled as an outpatient procedure which should be no big deal with him coming home the same day.
Jack got out of the hospital on Monday May 15th and went back to work the next day working half days the rest of the week. When Jack came home from work for lunch on Tuesday it seemed fun and I made him grilled cheese and tomato soup. When he came home the next day expecting lunch again, I was less motivated. However I made a nice save, whipping up a box of mac and cheese and leaving the house to run all my errands.
Jack insisted that I should fly to Florida on Thursday as planned so, I went. I hadn't seen my parents since March and spent lots of time with my niece Madison and nephew, Cameron. I flew back on Sunday and jack picked me up at O'Hare with the usual confurion and frustration of dealing with a major airport under renovation.
Monday, April 24, 2006
Flight 93
I'll be in a theater Friday with a box of Kleenex on my lap. I would like to say something to those folks who think the subject matter is too "depressing" or that it is "too soon" for this movie. Even if you believe that this flight was shot down by US forces, a theory for which there is no evidence, we have enough proof from calls and cockpit recordings to confirm that these brave people banded together and were the first to fight back against the terrorists. The flight 93 passengers may have failed to save their own lives but undoubtedly, they were fighting to save the lives of unknown others who were the targets of this terrorist attack.
Now with that said I have heard that the audio tapes released in the Moussai trial have revealed a clearer picture of exactly what happened on flight 93. Since the movie makers had no access to this information some aspects of their depiction are now proven incorrect.
Now with that said I have heard that the audio tapes released in the Moussai trial have revealed a clearer picture of exactly what happened on flight 93. Since the movie makers had no access to this information some aspects of their depiction are now proven incorrect.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Happy Easter
We really had a very happy Easter. Jack's daughter, Jenny and youngest son, Tim came to visit along with Jenny's soon to be fiance, Tobin. The young people arrived before 7pm on Good Friday and we dyed eggs while we waited for our chinese food to arrive, well some of us did (not Jack). Saturday afternoon we went to the Willow Community Church for a very nice Easter service and Jack made Bar-B-Qued chicken on the grill for our dinner.
Sunday, thanks to the sleeping habits of my guests, I had time to go to the 7am mass, buy candy, assemble a large Easter basket and hide the eggs for our egg hunt. Jack hid most of the small plastic eggs I had filed with candy or cash. It was so funny watching three 20+ year olds frantically trying to find all of the eggs we had hidden. We had a nice brunch with french toast, ham, bagels, strawberries and cantaloupe and of course champagne. The young folks hit the road shortly after noon and Jack and I relaxed and nibbled on leftover the rest of the day.
I was still chuckling over Jack trying to deviously hide the eggs, Jenny crying fowl when Tobin reached around her to grab an egg, and all the fun we had had over the weekend when I went to bed Sunday night. It was a very nice Easter weekend.
Sunday, thanks to the sleeping habits of my guests, I had time to go to the 7am mass, buy candy, assemble a large Easter basket and hide the eggs for our egg hunt. Jack hid most of the small plastic eggs I had filed with candy or cash. It was so funny watching three 20+ year olds frantically trying to find all of the eggs we had hidden. We had a nice brunch with french toast, ham, bagels, strawberries and cantaloupe and of course champagne. The young folks hit the road shortly after noon and Jack and I relaxed and nibbled on leftover the rest of the day.
I was still chuckling over Jack trying to deviously hide the eggs, Jenny crying fowl when Tobin reached around her to grab an egg, and all the fun we had had over the weekend when I went to bed Sunday night. It was a very nice Easter weekend.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Before You Fight a GAS WAR Identify the Enemy
I recently received an email titled "Gas War an Idea that WILL Work" suggesting that I should, after forwarding the email to 10 people, not purchase any gas from Exxon/Mobile, forcing them to lower their prices. My husband and I have those cute little "fast pay" tokens which we both use to buy gas from Mobile. Since I like the convenience provided to me by Exxon/Mobile I'll pass on this boycott. I replied to the message that I won't buy gas from BP as they are French owned and make commercials that make me change the channel.
The following was my husband's response when he received the same email from another source ..............................................
We have decided we don't want oil refineries built, to save the environment.
We have decided we don't want nuclear power plants built, same reason.
We have decided there will be no off shore drilling, same reason.
We have decided the Alaskan caribou is sacred, same reason.
We have decided to add expensive anti-smog chemicals to the gas, same reason.
At the same time, being the full of shit generation we are, we have bought bigger cars and built bigger houses.
Then, when the price of oil and gas goes up, we whine about ExxonMobil.
My suggestion: Build refineries, build nuclear plants, and drill wherever the oil is. If we don't want to do that, then buy oil company stock. As long as the leftist environmentalists control our energy policy, oil company profits will increase as will the value of their stock, then we can afford to buy gas at any price.
Boycotts are for communists. {end of husband's response}
Now, I think boycotts are perfectly fine for a democratic republic like the United States of America. I don't join the screaming mobs who blame everything on "Evil Corporations" you know, those horrible organizations who provide jobs, benefits, investment opportunities and goods and services. Communists and Socialists decry Capitalism and the profit motive as inherently evil. I know that the "profit motive" is the best encouragement to provide goods and services for the lowest price, best quality and using the least resources. Productivity has been increasing over recent years and workers benefit from this. Anti-Capitalists always point to the workers who are not needed once productivity increases ignoring the higher wages paid to the now skilled workers who are producing more with less.
Here's a question, why is the amount of tax we pay when we buy gas kept hidden from us? When I buy groceries the amount of sales tax I paid is clearly listed on my receipt but the receipt for gas shows what I paid per gallon in total without mentioning the tax amount. I'm told it is illegal for gas stations to breakdown the price for us. Here in Illinois I'm told the amount of tax is not per gallon but per dollar of gas purchased. This way when the price goes up the tax goes up too, increasing the burden on the consumer and providing a windfall in tax revenue.
Throughout history and all over the world today dictators hold power by providing the people an enemy to blame for all their problems, that way the people don't rise up against their real oppressor, said dictator and his or her corrupt regime. Socialists, Communists and Big Government liberals use this same tactic in stoking animus against "BIG OIL". Using misdirection the media reports endlessly on the oil company profits ignoring the reasons for the increase in gas costs just like they ignore any decrease in gas costs when those occur.
Oh, and regarding the sacred caribou, when we built the Alaskan Oil Pipeline we were assured that this would kill all the caribou. Since the completion of the pipeline the caribou population has quadrupled. Apparently the caribou appreciate the small amount of heat that the pipeline generates. So the enviormentalists were WRONG AGAIN!
The following was my husband's response when he received the same email from another source ..............................................
We have decided we don't want oil refineries built, to save the environment.
We have decided we don't want nuclear power plants built, same reason.
We have decided there will be no off shore drilling, same reason.
We have decided the Alaskan caribou is sacred, same reason.
We have decided to add expensive anti-smog chemicals to the gas, same reason.
At the same time, being the full of shit generation we are, we have bought bigger cars and built bigger houses.
Then, when the price of oil and gas goes up, we whine about ExxonMobil.
My suggestion: Build refineries, build nuclear plants, and drill wherever the oil is. If we don't want to do that, then buy oil company stock. As long as the leftist environmentalists control our energy policy, oil company profits will increase as will the value of their stock, then we can afford to buy gas at any price.
Boycotts are for communists. {end of husband's response}
Now, I think boycotts are perfectly fine for a democratic republic like the United States of America. I don't join the screaming mobs who blame everything on "Evil Corporations" you know, those horrible organizations who provide jobs, benefits, investment opportunities and goods and services. Communists and Socialists decry Capitalism and the profit motive as inherently evil. I know that the "profit motive" is the best encouragement to provide goods and services for the lowest price, best quality and using the least resources. Productivity has been increasing over recent years and workers benefit from this. Anti-Capitalists always point to the workers who are not needed once productivity increases ignoring the higher wages paid to the now skilled workers who are producing more with less.
Here's a question, why is the amount of tax we pay when we buy gas kept hidden from us? When I buy groceries the amount of sales tax I paid is clearly listed on my receipt but the receipt for gas shows what I paid per gallon in total without mentioning the tax amount. I'm told it is illegal for gas stations to breakdown the price for us. Here in Illinois I'm told the amount of tax is not per gallon but per dollar of gas purchased. This way when the price goes up the tax goes up too, increasing the burden on the consumer and providing a windfall in tax revenue.
Throughout history and all over the world today dictators hold power by providing the people an enemy to blame for all their problems, that way the people don't rise up against their real oppressor, said dictator and his or her corrupt regime. Socialists, Communists and Big Government liberals use this same tactic in stoking animus against "BIG OIL". Using misdirection the media reports endlessly on the oil company profits ignoring the reasons for the increase in gas costs just like they ignore any decrease in gas costs when those occur.
Oh, and regarding the sacred caribou, when we built the Alaskan Oil Pipeline we were assured that this would kill all the caribou. Since the completion of the pipeline the caribou population has quadrupled. Apparently the caribou appreciate the small amount of heat that the pipeline generates. So the enviormentalists were WRONG AGAIN!
Friday, April 07, 2006
Final Nail in the Coffin of CBS News
The addition of Commie Katie Couric to the CBS evening news should finish off that entity for good. Sure some women may flock to CBS briefly but how many men want to get their news from the "perky one"? Remarkably, interim replacement, Bob Schieffer, has increased the number of viewers in recent weeks.
The downfall of what used to be called the "Tiffany Network" has been a long process. The organization has been on the downslide since Walter Cronkite lied to America about the effectiveness of the Tet Offensive. The top contributor to the destruction of the credibility of CBS News has got to be Dan Rather (AKA Dan Blather or Rather Biased). Dan attacked then vice President George Bush in an interview in 1988 but Bush 41 was ready for him. Bush suggested that Rather focusing on one incident during the 8 year Reagan administration was as unfair as judging Rathers career on the time he threw a hissy fit and walked off the news set. Rather had no comeback but has had a chip on his shoulder against the Bushes from that day forward, although he was never a supporter.
Dan had no such problem with President Clinton as displayed by his sickening response to a congratulatory call he took from Clinton during a newscast with Connie Chung as Co-Anchor. Rathers' eyes filled with tears as he said "Mr President, if we can be one onehundreth as great as you and Mrs Clinton have been I'll be more than satisfied". Yuck! That's the CBS version of an independent and unbiased news anchor. Check out the website, "RatherBiased" for endless examples of Rather giving Democrats a pass while attacking Republicans but the final straw has to be the Bush 43 Texas Air National Guard story. To this day Dan Rather will not admit that the documents he used to source that story were phonies and not especially good phonies at that.
The chipmunk cheeked Couric isn't any more neutral or fair minded than her predecesor. On the Today show Katie gives soft ball interviews to liberals and attacks conservatives with hammer and tong. I can't give you many examples because I do not watch the Today show. I am aware of the way she attacked Ann Coulter who had rightly pointed out that the Today show should not be calling President Reagan an "airhead".
I may be wrong but I expect Anchorwoman Couric will last about as long as the pet rock did. Time will tell.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Back of the Bus Follow Up
Earth to George Clooney. Hollywood, in all its self rightous virtue did award an oscar to Hattie McDaniel, a black woman, for her part in the 1939 film, Gone With The Wind. However, when the time came for McDaniels to receive her award she was seated in a "special" section for her and her guest in, you guesed it, the back of the theater.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Back of the BUS George, Back of the BUS!
I didn't want to watch the Oscars but there was nothing else on and we're down to only one TiVo'ed episode of 24. I usually watch the pre show and skip the Oscars because I do like to see the dresses. I was curious about Jon Stewart and how far he would go with the political humor. Unfortunately for me George Clooney's best supporting actor win occurred early in and I was subjected to his self righteous little speech. I can summarize his speech in one sentence. "Hollywood is out of step with America because we are better than America".
George Clooney is the male version of a "dumb blonde". He is so darn good looking that he never had a need to develop any brain power. Actors as a group emote for a living. Their stock in trade is emotions not thought. That they are exceptionally talented and endlessly celebrated causes them to be fooled into thinking that they are exceptional in other areas. Since everything they say is reported and repeated they mistakenly believe that what they say has some heft or value. They could not be more mistaken.
Barbara Strisand thinks she is an expert in, oh gosh, I guess just about everything. Ms Strisand can sing and act and has made millions using those God given talents. This blinds her to the reality that she knows nothing about how America should run our foreign or domestic policies. Even more hilarious than her attempts at stating her policy preferences, usually followed by blaming the multiple spelling errors on staff underlings, are her disparaging remarks about our President.
President Bush graduated from Yale and earned an MBA from Harvard. Ms Strisand has a high school diploma. George Clooney thinks blacks were forced to sit in the back of the theater and although at one time there were probably theaters with signs stating "Whites Only" it was the back of the bus George, the back of the bus. So collect your awards Hollywood, and pat yourselves on the back for being such great guys and gals. Those of us out here in America who buy the movie tickets, or more often than ever don't buy the movie tickets will continue to vote with our dollars. When the gross for all the best picture nominees totaled is a mere fraction of the gross for Chronicles of Narnia, who really got the last laugh?
George Clooney is the male version of a "dumb blonde". He is so darn good looking that he never had a need to develop any brain power. Actors as a group emote for a living. Their stock in trade is emotions not thought. That they are exceptionally talented and endlessly celebrated causes them to be fooled into thinking that they are exceptional in other areas. Since everything they say is reported and repeated they mistakenly believe that what they say has some heft or value. They could not be more mistaken.
Barbara Strisand thinks she is an expert in, oh gosh, I guess just about everything. Ms Strisand can sing and act and has made millions using those God given talents. This blinds her to the reality that she knows nothing about how America should run our foreign or domestic policies. Even more hilarious than her attempts at stating her policy preferences, usually followed by blaming the multiple spelling errors on staff underlings, are her disparaging remarks about our President.
President Bush graduated from Yale and earned an MBA from Harvard. Ms Strisand has a high school diploma. George Clooney thinks blacks were forced to sit in the back of the theater and although at one time there were probably theaters with signs stating "Whites Only" it was the back of the bus George, the back of the bus. So collect your awards Hollywood, and pat yourselves on the back for being such great guys and gals. Those of us out here in America who buy the movie tickets, or more often than ever don't buy the movie tickets will continue to vote with our dollars. When the gross for all the best picture nominees totaled is a mere fraction of the gross for Chronicles of Narnia, who really got the last laugh?
Friday, March 03, 2006
Looney Left Plans Coup d'`etat
The following is from Newsmax.com. Who are these nut jobs? Slave owners? Assassins? What are they talking about? If these idiots actually try this there will be blood on the moon!
Thursday, March 2, 2006 1:41 p.m. EST
Protesters Urge 'Storm the White House'
An anti-war group that belongs to the umbrella organization United for Peace and Justice has announced that it intends to topple the Bush administration during a March 15 Washington, D.C. protest.
In a message headlined "Storm the White House" that appears on the UPJ web site, the group "Political Cooperative" is urging its members:
"TAKE THE WHITE HOUSE BY STORM," Stop Genocide, Torture and Occupation."
"We will not allow the Slave Holders that Still Prevail in this Country to Rule us any longer . . . The Administration is Criminal and if they will not step down, we must storm in, show them how many of us do not accept a criminal government."
The Political Cooperative goes so far as to announce its plans to install an interim government after the Bush administration is toppled:
"The Political Cooperative will put a new, temporary government in place that is comprised of people from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and all the organizations that have finally made us aware of the truth of the savage practices and illegal policies of our government in assassinating our own officials as well as people throughout the world who oppose their criminal activity."
Bush-bashing filmmaker Michael Moore apparently endorses the coup plan, linking to the "Storm the White House" message on his web site.
Thursday, March 2, 2006 1:41 p.m. EST
Protesters Urge 'Storm the White House'
An anti-war group that belongs to the umbrella organization United for Peace and Justice has announced that it intends to topple the Bush administration during a March 15 Washington, D.C. protest.
In a message headlined "Storm the White House" that appears on the UPJ web site, the group "Political Cooperative" is urging its members:
"TAKE THE WHITE HOUSE BY STORM," Stop Genocide, Torture and Occupation."
"We will not allow the Slave Holders that Still Prevail in this Country to Rule us any longer . . . The Administration is Criminal and if they will not step down, we must storm in, show them how many of us do not accept a criminal government."
The Political Cooperative goes so far as to announce its plans to install an interim government after the Bush administration is toppled:
"The Political Cooperative will put a new, temporary government in place that is comprised of people from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and all the organizations that have finally made us aware of the truth of the savage practices and illegal policies of our government in assassinating our own officials as well as people throughout the world who oppose their criminal activity."
Bush-bashing filmmaker Michael Moore apparently endorses the coup plan, linking to the "Storm the White House" message on his web site.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
The Big "C" and Me?
Yikes. After years of having dermatologists scrape samples of skin from me and later call to say "Nothing to worry about" I've finally gotten the other result. I had a six month appointment with my dermatologist on Monday. Dr C, as we call her (her full name is a tongue twister) found one spot on my neck and two spots on my back that required testing. Today she called me to say that all three are some form of skin cancer. Now I have to go back to have them removed completely. If that isn't annoying enough I must have them done one at a time beginning with the neck on March 13th.
This is not unexpected and not a terribly serious concern. This is the result of dozens of Florida summers spent on the beach and by the pool and at the Palm Beach Hawaiian. It shouldn't shake me like it did. I was in the grocery store when I got the call from Dr. C. I hadn't begun shopping yet and I had a pretty long list. I considered skipping the shopping and going home. I considered calling Jack at work to tell him. I felt light headed and a little sick to my stomach. I thought I was being silly and completed my shopping before heading home.
I made a meatloaf, went to the bank, went to have lunch at the elementary school with the little girl I mentor only to find there was no school today (some sort of teacher event). I'll tell Jack tonight. This is not a big deal but it is cancer.
This is not unexpected and not a terribly serious concern. This is the result of dozens of Florida summers spent on the beach and by the pool and at the Palm Beach Hawaiian. It shouldn't shake me like it did. I was in the grocery store when I got the call from Dr. C. I hadn't begun shopping yet and I had a pretty long list. I considered skipping the shopping and going home. I considered calling Jack at work to tell him. I felt light headed and a little sick to my stomach. I thought I was being silly and completed my shopping before heading home.
I made a meatloaf, went to the bank, went to have lunch at the elementary school with the little girl I mentor only to find there was no school today (some sort of teacher event). I'll tell Jack tonight. This is not a big deal but it is cancer.
My Biggest Fan
When I was active in a big club in South Florida I was young and pretty. I took great care with my appearance when attending club events but was always surprised to learn that anyone had discussed my appearance. One year at the Christmas Party I learned one of the men present had asked another man "Have you seen Leslie yet?". Although he described my appearance with a modest "Not all bad" the point he was making was "Do not miss seeing Leslie tonight." He was an architect and expressed amazement that the color of my lipstick exactly matched my dress. I didn't bother to tell him I was wearing a blend of two lipsticks and the result did not really match the dress exactly (men are notoriously color blind).
At another meeting I chose to wear my glasses rather than bother with my contacts and donned a demure dress. This was an outfit I often wore to work and described as my "School Marm" look. I was accosted by a member of the club whom I didn't really know. I couldn't tell you his name or pick him out of a police lineup but he felt perfectly comfortable giving me fashion advice. I shouldn't dress like that he told me. "you are too pretty to wear such a long skirt and you shouldn't wear glasses", he said. That wouldn't have left much of an impression except he was so adamant about it. He seemed personally upset that I had toned down my look for one evening.
He should see me now!
At another meeting I chose to wear my glasses rather than bother with my contacts and donned a demure dress. This was an outfit I often wore to work and described as my "School Marm" look. I was accosted by a member of the club whom I didn't really know. I couldn't tell you his name or pick him out of a police lineup but he felt perfectly comfortable giving me fashion advice. I shouldn't dress like that he told me. "you are too pretty to wear such a long skirt and you shouldn't wear glasses", he said. That wouldn't have left much of an impression except he was so adamant about it. He seemed personally upset that I had toned down my look for one evening.
He should see me now!
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
DUBAI OR NOT DUBAI
That is the question and I do not yet have the answer. I heard yesterday that 97% of people polled were against the sale of a British firm to Dubai Ports World, a firm in the United Arab Emirates. Whenever nearly 100% of Americans agree on something we need to take a second look. Then there is Jimmy Carter, the worst president in my lifetime, coming out in favor of the sale. Carter has opposed President Bush on every issue for the past 6 years. I don't know if this is a case of "even a broken clock being right twice a day" or if Carter finally realized that he can do more harm to the Bush administration by siding with them, than he can by siding against.
On Fox and Friends yesterday their guest, whose name I didn't get, was against the sale. In making his case he mentioned the general lack of port security and the "smart containers" that are used in Hong Kong's port as an example of something we should be doing. I don't know if he was aware that port is run by the Dubai Ports World. I heard the explanation from the Bush administration for this plan and there is something in the Wall Street Journal I'd like to read before I make my decision.
The one thing I am sure of at this point is that I am sick of our legislature taking responsibility for nothing. Whatever goes wrong the members of our House and Senate act like they just got there and are quick to blame the President or whomever is handy. Congress insisted on a Department of Homeland Security and pilloried the President until he agreed. They were the ones who set it up with FEMA included in this huge bureaucracy and when FEMA was unable to respond adequately to Hurricane Katrina they blames President Bush like they had no hand in setting FEMA up for failure. The vetting process the Dubai company went through was designed by our elected representatives in the House and Senate. It was a long process but did not call for congressional review yet now they cry "Why was this done in secret?" "Why weren't we consulted". I am just sick of it!
On Fox and Friends yesterday their guest, whose name I didn't get, was against the sale. In making his case he mentioned the general lack of port security and the "smart containers" that are used in Hong Kong's port as an example of something we should be doing. I don't know if he was aware that port is run by the Dubai Ports World. I heard the explanation from the Bush administration for this plan and there is something in the Wall Street Journal I'd like to read before I make my decision.
The one thing I am sure of at this point is that I am sick of our legislature taking responsibility for nothing. Whatever goes wrong the members of our House and Senate act like they just got there and are quick to blame the President or whomever is handy. Congress insisted on a Department of Homeland Security and pilloried the President until he agreed. They were the ones who set it up with FEMA included in this huge bureaucracy and when FEMA was unable to respond adequately to Hurricane Katrina they blames President Bush like they had no hand in setting FEMA up for failure. The vetting process the Dubai company went through was designed by our elected representatives in the House and Senate. It was a long process but did not call for congressional review yet now they cry "Why was this done in secret?" "Why weren't we consulted". I am just sick of it!
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
So The Veep Shot Someone, Big Deal
The MSM is going ape over Vice President Dick Cheney having a hunting accident and not advising them immediately. My thoughts are; Hey, if the guy who got shot isn't complaining then no one else has any reason to gripe!
There have been some reasonably good jokes like;
VP Cheney was hunting quail. Does anyone know if Dan is okay?
Leno Provided the Following
Although it is beautiful here in California the weather back east has been atrocious. There was so much snow in Washington, D.C. Dick Cheney accidentally shot a fat guy thinking it was a polar bear.
That’s the big story over the weekend. On a quail hunting trip in Texas, Vice President of the United States, Dick Cheney accidentally shot a fellow hunter, a 78 year old lawyer. In fact when people found out he shot a lawyer his popularity is now at 92%!
Cheney’s defense is that he was aiming at a quail when he shot the guy. Which means that Cheney now has the worst aim of anyone in the white house since Bill Clinton.
and my personal favorite.............
What a nightmare I had last night .. I dreamed I was at a Washington party and I had to choose between Dick Cheney taking me on a hunting trip or Ted Kennedy driving me home.
There have been some reasonably good jokes like;
VP Cheney was hunting quail. Does anyone know if Dan is okay?
Leno Provided the Following
Although it is beautiful here in California the weather back east has been atrocious. There was so much snow in Washington, D.C. Dick Cheney accidentally shot a fat guy thinking it was a polar bear.
That’s the big story over the weekend. On a quail hunting trip in Texas, Vice President of the United States, Dick Cheney accidentally shot a fellow hunter, a 78 year old lawyer. In fact when people found out he shot a lawyer his popularity is now at 92%!
Cheney’s defense is that he was aiming at a quail when he shot the guy. Which means that Cheney now has the worst aim of anyone in the white house since Bill Clinton.
and my personal favorite.............
What a nightmare I had last night .. I dreamed I was at a Washington party and I had to choose between Dick Cheney taking me on a hunting trip or Ted Kennedy driving me home.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
So, The Arab Street Has Finally Erupted in Violence
We have been warned time and time again about the "Arab street". We were told that the Arab street would erupt in violence if we invaded Afghanistan and again if we invaded Iraq. We heard this again about Abu Gharib, which the media reported endlessly. There were 28 front page stories about Abu Gharib in 30 days at the New York Times and today a Yahoo search of Abu Gharib detainees will recover 1,870,000 results. We were warned again when Newsweek published a bogus story about a Koran flushed down a toilet and there were violent demonstrations about that. Newsweek lied, people died! Still there was never anything that could accurately be described as the "Arab street erupting in violence" until now.
What exactly was the necessary provocation for this long awaited response. Some cartoons printed in a Danish newspaper over five months ago. You may not have seen any of the cartoons or perhaps saw only the one with Mohammad with a bomb shaped turban. I viewed all 12 cartoons today and they are absolutely innocuous. Yet newspapers all over this country are allowing themselves to be bullied into not publishing those cartoons. Freedom of the press will bow to political correctness as long as it is the Muslims who are upset. If Christians or Jewish people were angered by a cartoon their feelings would be ignored while they were chastised for being intolerant.
Leave it to Bill Clinton who apologized all over the world during his presidency to run to a microphone and join the PC crowd.
Clinton warns of rising anti-Islamic feeling
Bill Clinton, former President condemns freedom of speech. Former US president Bill Clinton warned of rising anti-Islamic prejudice, comparing it to historic anti-Semitism as he condemned the publishing of cartoons depicting Prophet Mohammed in a Danish newspaper.
"So now what are we going to do? ... Replace the anti-Semitic prejudice with anti-Islamic prejudice?" he said at an economic conference in the Qatari capital of Doha.
"In Europe, most of the struggles we've had in the past 50 years have been to fight prejudices against Jews, to fight against anti-Semitism," he said.
Clinton described as "appalling" the 12 cartoons published in a Danish newspaper in September depicting Prophet Mohammed and causing uproar in the Muslim world.
"None of us are totally free of stereotypes about people of different races, different ethnic groups, and different religions ... There was this appalling example in northern Europe, in Denmark ... These totally outrageous cartoons against Islam," he said.
I think you are missing the point Mr Ex-President. Anti-Semitism is alive and well especially in the Arab world where there is no hesitation to print cartoons depicting Jews as animals. Where news articles are printed describing Jewish religious ceremonies which require using the blood of Muslim children.
What exactly was the necessary provocation for this long awaited response. Some cartoons printed in a Danish newspaper over five months ago. You may not have seen any of the cartoons or perhaps saw only the one with Mohammad with a bomb shaped turban. I viewed all 12 cartoons today and they are absolutely innocuous. Yet newspapers all over this country are allowing themselves to be bullied into not publishing those cartoons. Freedom of the press will bow to political correctness as long as it is the Muslims who are upset. If Christians or Jewish people were angered by a cartoon their feelings would be ignored while they were chastised for being intolerant.
Leave it to Bill Clinton who apologized all over the world during his presidency to run to a microphone and join the PC crowd.
Clinton warns of rising anti-Islamic feeling
Bill Clinton, former President condemns freedom of speech. Former US president Bill Clinton warned of rising anti-Islamic prejudice, comparing it to historic anti-Semitism as he condemned the publishing of cartoons depicting Prophet Mohammed in a Danish newspaper.
"So now what are we going to do? ... Replace the anti-Semitic prejudice with anti-Islamic prejudice?" he said at an economic conference in the Qatari capital of Doha.
"In Europe, most of the struggles we've had in the past 50 years have been to fight prejudices against Jews, to fight against anti-Semitism," he said.
Clinton described as "appalling" the 12 cartoons published in a Danish newspaper in September depicting Prophet Mohammed and causing uproar in the Muslim world.
"None of us are totally free of stereotypes about people of different races, different ethnic groups, and different religions ... There was this appalling example in northern Europe, in Denmark ... These totally outrageous cartoons against Islam," he said.
I think you are missing the point Mr Ex-President. Anti-Semitism is alive and well especially in the Arab world where there is no hesitation to print cartoons depicting Jews as animals. Where news articles are printed describing Jewish religious ceremonies which require using the blood of Muslim children.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
FREE SPEECH OR JUST BAD MANNERS
In Natan Sharansky's book "The Case for Democracy" he makes reference to the "town square test". If you cannot go to the town square and express your point of view freely without fear of arrest, imprisonment or harm you do not live in a free society. Free speech is not however, an absolute right and an invitation only event at the Capital is not the town square.
We all know you cannot yell "fire" in a crowded theater or make jokes about bombs in the airport. Cindy Sheehan has had plenty of opportunities to express her point of view including during a meeting with the President of the United States of America. The MSM has given her a megaphone that few have access to. Just last week she appeared with Hugo Chavez to lend support to his oppressive rule of Venezuela.
The same crowd that criticize this country and every action of the Bush Administration is up in arms that her attempt to disrupt the State of the Union speech last Tuesday was thwarted. "Free speech, Free speech" they all cry but we heard nary a peep from them when the last administration was really infringing on citizens constitutional rights.
Senator Hillary Clinton was in Chicago speaking at a crowd where several professional liberal hecklers tried to interrupt her speech by shouting her down. A transcript follows below.
HILLARY: You know, I have to say that I appreciate the passion --
PROTESTER'S: Troops out now!
HILLARY -- and the intensity that you feel about Iraq.
PROTESTER'S: Troops out now!
HILLARY: I share it, and you're here expressing your opinion, but let's make sure that people have a chance to be part of a dialog, and I do not believe that they want to hear from you at this moment.
Well I'll give Hilary the benefit of the doubt. I don't know the circumstances of this speech, perhaps it too does not rise to the standard of the public square. How about protesters lining a parade route, surely that should be considered "the public square...............
Hillary 'Goon Squad' Victim Goes Public
One Clinton "goon squad" victim has come forward to tell his story.
The incident took place at New York City's Israeli Day parade at the height of Mrs. Clinton's 2000 campaign for the Senate, where, by all accounts, the-then first lady was roundly booed by the crowd as she stoically marched from block to block.
A member of the conservative Web site FreeRepublic.com, dressed for the occasion as the Devil, joined the crowd to add his voice to the protest. He recounted the episode Tuesday:
"To suppress opposing views in the crowd the Clinton campaign had people on both sides of the street walking the route with Hillary - but behind the barriers. They were carrying professionally printed pro-Clinton signs."
"Before she passed," he recalled, "they shoved me back and got in front of me, holding their signs in front of mine. However, my signs had a 3 foot handle and I raised them up."
At that point, recounts the FreeRepublic protester, "I was poked in the eye by a finger inserted to the eye-hole in my mask."
Oh well, surely this was just an isolated incident, or was it?
In his recently released book "On the Road with Hillary," Mr. Halley details his eight year stint as Mrs. Clinton's advance man, where one of his most important jobs was stifling protests like those staged by FreeRepublic, using even physical intimidation when he deemed it necessary.
"Less genteel souls," Halley explained, sometimes referred to his protest-busters as "goon squads" - although he preferred the term "etiquette squads." "I was proud of the fact that not one of them had ever been arrested," he boasts in the book.
Every now and then, Halley said, even he would have to throw a punch or two.
During a trip to Moscow while Mrs. Clinton was first lady, the advance man recalled:
"A photographer blocked my way and, trying to get a picture of Hillary in her limo, pushed me. I hit him square in the face so hard I thought I'd broken my hand. His nose exploded in an eruption of blood and I was able to shove him out of the way and jump into the lead car.
When it came to his protest busters, Halley says he "never advocated physical confrontation and always insisted that the etiquette squad stay within the boundaries of the law." But in the next breath he confessed, "Sadly, but inevitably, things sometimes got a little frisky, but my recruits knew how to handle themselves.... I had heard rumors that they had been very adamant about defending themselves when set upon by protesters."
Wow a bloody nose and a gouged eye, sounds bad but surely no one was arrested for expressing their point of view?
If you ever, ever diss the Clintons while in their presence you'll get arrested. On July 1996, in the public record, Patricia Mendoza was arrested in Chicago for shouting "You suck, and those boys died!" (in reference to the Khobar towers bombing in June 1996) at Bill Clinton in July, 1996. But the Clinton's SS troops claimed it was a death threat. Yeah, right. Can't even express a dislike in front of the president's face.
After their arrest, the Mendozas spent 14 hours in a Cook County lock-up. Though the Secret Service eventually dropped all charges, the couple, who ran a small electronics business, was soon audited by the Clinton IRS.
Ralph Grayson, special agent in charge of the Secret Service's Chicago office, said his agency has an "ongoing investigation" into the matter.The Secret Service said Mrs. Mendoza made a "threatening statement" to the president.
The "town Square test" no fear of arrest, imprisonment or harm. The Mendozas were arrested and I'd call an IRS investigation harm. The Democrats have been suppressing a government report for over a year which discloses misuse by the Clinton Administration of the IRS. American citizens who were audited by the IRS (some of them repeatedly include Gennifer Flowers, Bill O'Reily and multiple conservative organizations).
The Capital police have made a grave error in apologizing to Mrs. Sheehan and stating publicly that it is not against the rules to wear an advocacy shirt in the Capital. I can just see next years SOtheU with wall to wall slogans and maybe a few commercials on the shirts in the gallery.
If folks had better manners none of this would be necessary.
We all know you cannot yell "fire" in a crowded theater or make jokes about bombs in the airport. Cindy Sheehan has had plenty of opportunities to express her point of view including during a meeting with the President of the United States of America. The MSM has given her a megaphone that few have access to. Just last week she appeared with Hugo Chavez to lend support to his oppressive rule of Venezuela.
The same crowd that criticize this country and every action of the Bush Administration is up in arms that her attempt to disrupt the State of the Union speech last Tuesday was thwarted. "Free speech, Free speech" they all cry but we heard nary a peep from them when the last administration was really infringing on citizens constitutional rights.
Senator Hillary Clinton was in Chicago speaking at a crowd where several professional liberal hecklers tried to interrupt her speech by shouting her down. A transcript follows below.
HILLARY: You know, I have to say that I appreciate the passion --
PROTESTER'S: Troops out now!
HILLARY -- and the intensity that you feel about Iraq.
PROTESTER'S: Troops out now!
HILLARY: I share it, and you're here expressing your opinion, but let's make sure that people have a chance to be part of a dialog, and I do not believe that they want to hear from you at this moment.
Well I'll give Hilary the benefit of the doubt. I don't know the circumstances of this speech, perhaps it too does not rise to the standard of the public square. How about protesters lining a parade route, surely that should be considered "the public square...............
Hillary 'Goon Squad' Victim Goes Public
One Clinton "goon squad" victim has come forward to tell his story.
The incident took place at New York City's Israeli Day parade at the height of Mrs. Clinton's 2000 campaign for the Senate, where, by all accounts, the-then first lady was roundly booed by the crowd as she stoically marched from block to block.
A member of the conservative Web site FreeRepublic.com, dressed for the occasion as the Devil, joined the crowd to add his voice to the protest. He recounted the episode Tuesday:
"To suppress opposing views in the crowd the Clinton campaign had people on both sides of the street walking the route with Hillary - but behind the barriers. They were carrying professionally printed pro-Clinton signs."
"Before she passed," he recalled, "they shoved me back and got in front of me, holding their signs in front of mine. However, my signs had a 3 foot handle and I raised them up."
At that point, recounts the FreeRepublic protester, "I was poked in the eye by a finger inserted to the eye-hole in my mask."
Oh well, surely this was just an isolated incident, or was it?
In his recently released book "On the Road with Hillary," Mr. Halley details his eight year stint as Mrs. Clinton's advance man, where one of his most important jobs was stifling protests like those staged by FreeRepublic, using even physical intimidation when he deemed it necessary.
"Less genteel souls," Halley explained, sometimes referred to his protest-busters as "goon squads" - although he preferred the term "etiquette squads." "I was proud of the fact that not one of them had ever been arrested," he boasts in the book.
Every now and then, Halley said, even he would have to throw a punch or two.
During a trip to Moscow while Mrs. Clinton was first lady, the advance man recalled:
"A photographer blocked my way and, trying to get a picture of Hillary in her limo, pushed me. I hit him square in the face so hard I thought I'd broken my hand. His nose exploded in an eruption of blood and I was able to shove him out of the way and jump into the lead car.
When it came to his protest busters, Halley says he "never advocated physical confrontation and always insisted that the etiquette squad stay within the boundaries of the law." But in the next breath he confessed, "Sadly, but inevitably, things sometimes got a little frisky, but my recruits knew how to handle themselves.... I had heard rumors that they had been very adamant about defending themselves when set upon by protesters."
Wow a bloody nose and a gouged eye, sounds bad but surely no one was arrested for expressing their point of view?
If you ever, ever diss the Clintons while in their presence you'll get arrested. On July 1996, in the public record, Patricia Mendoza was arrested in Chicago for shouting "You suck, and those boys died!" (in reference to the Khobar towers bombing in June 1996) at Bill Clinton in July, 1996. But the Clinton's SS troops claimed it was a death threat. Yeah, right. Can't even express a dislike in front of the president's face.
After their arrest, the Mendozas spent 14 hours in a Cook County lock-up. Though the Secret Service eventually dropped all charges, the couple, who ran a small electronics business, was soon audited by the Clinton IRS.
Ralph Grayson, special agent in charge of the Secret Service's Chicago office, said his agency has an "ongoing investigation" into the matter.The Secret Service said Mrs. Mendoza made a "threatening statement" to the president.
The "town Square test" no fear of arrest, imprisonment or harm. The Mendozas were arrested and I'd call an IRS investigation harm. The Democrats have been suppressing a government report for over a year which discloses misuse by the Clinton Administration of the IRS. American citizens who were audited by the IRS (some of them repeatedly include Gennifer Flowers, Bill O'Reily and multiple conservative organizations).
The Capital police have made a grave error in apologizing to Mrs. Sheehan and stating publicly that it is not against the rules to wear an advocacy shirt in the Capital. I can just see next years SOtheU with wall to wall slogans and maybe a few commercials on the shirts in the gallery.
If folks had better manners none of this would be necessary.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Party, Party, Party
Well our party for the remaining management folks at Jack's office has finally come and gone. All in all they seemed to be a very nice group of people. I was a little freaked out. I had planned for so long and then had everything ready at 5pm, since Jack had told me the party was from 5 to 10pm. Well, he had told the guests to come "anytime after 5pm" So when we had only guest at 6:30 and I had the food set to begin serving at 6pm I got a little freaked out.
All our guests arrived between 6:30 and 7:30 and we had about 12-15 people. Not big drinkers and I nearly ended up with more wine than I began with. It was a pleasant evening although as the hostess the whole thing kind of flew by for me. With the exception of Lana whom I was pals with proir to the party I didn't really connect with anyone. Tuesday night I'm going to a party to watch the State of the Union address. Hopefully I'll meet some interesting people there.
All our guests arrived between 6:30 and 7:30 and we had about 12-15 people. Not big drinkers and I nearly ended up with more wine than I began with. It was a pleasant evening although as the hostess the whole thing kind of flew by for me. With the exception of Lana whom I was pals with proir to the party I didn't really connect with anyone. Tuesday night I'm going to a party to watch the State of the Union address. Hopefully I'll meet some interesting people there.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Did You Hear Me On Rush?
Yesterday at about 1:39 pm eastern time I was on the Rush Limbaugh show. You may have guessed I'm a fan by the name of my blog. I was identified by Rush as "Leslie from Carol Stream, IL" I think I spoke too quickly but pointed out that since Osama bin Laden recommended a book called Rogue State in his recent audio release, sales of the book have increased. Personally I don't read books recommended by Oprah Winfrey so I would certainly not read anything OBL suggested. Who would? It must be all those hand wringing wimps who keep asking, "Why, why do the terrorists hate us?"
Rush was ready with a critique of the book that compared the writer to that wack job Professor in Colorado, Ward Churchill who said those who died in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11th were "little Eichmans" who deserved their fate. So, please do not read this book. It was written by a rabid anti-American who sides with our enemies.
Rush was ready with a critique of the book that compared the writer to that wack job Professor in Colorado, Ward Churchill who said those who died in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11th were "little Eichmans" who deserved their fate. So, please do not read this book. It was written by a rabid anti-American who sides with our enemies.
Monday, January 23, 2006
Can't Something be Done About Jimmy Carter?
The worst President of my lifetime is a gift that just keeps giving, to our enemies. As President, Carter allowed our one ally in the Middleeast to be deposed by radical islamofascists. During his presidency we had double digit inflation and unemployment Anyone remember the "misery index"? Since being thrown out of office by the Reagan revolution Carter has attempted to improve his image with Habitat for Humainty. I would sum up thie "feel good" organization using words from a recent Hillary speach, never has so much been done to help so few who need it so little. I'll explain the ineffectiveness of Habitat at another time. Even the most liberal among us sidesteps the Carter presidency by awarding his the title of "Greatest Past President".
After his stunning defeat in 1980 Carter had to keep his head down for a while. Emboldened by Clinton's 1992 victory he reappeared. Sadly, and to the detriment of the entire world Carter decided to insert himself into the negotiations with North Korea. Thanks in part to his involvement we now have a nuclear North Korea. Over the years Carter has embraced many a ruthless dictator. Castro is one of his particular favorites and Hugo Chavez benefited greatly from Carter's endorsement of his sham of an election.
I have always believed that it is little incidents in ones life that reveal character and here is my most recent little story about Carter. When the Pope John Paul II died Carter's people contacted the White House. Carter was volunteering to lead a delegation to attend the funeral. When Carter learned that the President would be attending personally he was no longer interested in going. If Carter could not lead the delegation there was no reason for him to attend simply to pay homage to a great man. Carter is a small self serving individual who never met a socialist dictator he didn't like and who should never have been President of the United States of America.
Now he is singing the praises of Hamas, on Friday, Carter said that although Hamas were "so-called terrorists," so far "there have been no complaints of corruption against [their] elected officials." Excuse me Mr. Carter, how could there be complaints about corruption in an organization that has yet had any offical power? Hpwever if Carther has his way members of Hamas will be elected soon. Carter apparently thinks being a terrorist is just another political party. No surprise since his Camp David accords gave the "father of modern terrorism" Yassir Arafat the status of a elected world leader. Carter also said sometimes you have to learn to work with terrorists and glossed over the declaration from some in Hamas that Israel has no right to exist.
No wonder that rabbit attacked him!
After his stunning defeat in 1980 Carter had to keep his head down for a while. Emboldened by Clinton's 1992 victory he reappeared. Sadly, and to the detriment of the entire world Carter decided to insert himself into the negotiations with North Korea. Thanks in part to his involvement we now have a nuclear North Korea. Over the years Carter has embraced many a ruthless dictator. Castro is one of his particular favorites and Hugo Chavez benefited greatly from Carter's endorsement of his sham of an election.
I have always believed that it is little incidents in ones life that reveal character and here is my most recent little story about Carter. When the Pope John Paul II died Carter's people contacted the White House. Carter was volunteering to lead a delegation to attend the funeral. When Carter learned that the President would be attending personally he was no longer interested in going. If Carter could not lead the delegation there was no reason for him to attend simply to pay homage to a great man. Carter is a small self serving individual who never met a socialist dictator he didn't like and who should never have been President of the United States of America.
Now he is singing the praises of Hamas, on Friday, Carter said that although Hamas were "so-called terrorists," so far "there have been no complaints of corruption against [their] elected officials." Excuse me Mr. Carter, how could there be complaints about corruption in an organization that has yet had any offical power? Hpwever if Carther has his way members of Hamas will be elected soon. Carter apparently thinks being a terrorist is just another political party. No surprise since his Camp David accords gave the "father of modern terrorism" Yassir Arafat the status of a elected world leader. Carter also said sometimes you have to learn to work with terrorists and glossed over the declaration from some in Hamas that Israel has no right to exist.
No wonder that rabbit attacked him!
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Winter WOW!
This morning we had what was referred to during my snow skiing days as a "white out". Cloudy, foggy with a sky the same color as the snow covered ground. I took a few photos of the invisible lake and my bird feeder with an icicle hanging from it. Although I noticed the frost clinging to the branches of our tree I was not prepared for the sights I enjoyed on our way to breakfast. To see row after row of big bare trees with a crispy coating of frost over every tiny twig is amazing. Even the marsh grasses on the edges of ponds were transformed into delicate works of art. Ice sculptures too fragile to ever be created by human hands. When we parked the bushy pines which had held large clumps of snow yesterday now had a thin skin of frost covering each individual pine needle.
Then this big studly guy opened the door for me at the restaurant and flirted with me. Jack really does take his time getting out of the car and when it's 22 degrees I don't wait. All in all a pretty nice morning. Hope your weekend went well also.
Saturday, January 21, 2006
FINALLY, This is More Like It!
The lack of snow has been really getting me down. Finally last night I got what I have been hoping for, several inches of snow. The last time we had snow the lake was frozen so the view is a bit different now. Jack and I really love it up here.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
OH, Did MLK Have a Birthday Too?
Jack and I were in Florida this past weekend for my Dad's 80th Birthday. We arrived at PBIA at 10:10pm on Friday and needed to get to our hotel in Stuart before the front desk closed at midnight. We were staying at the Suburban Extended Stay in Stuart which I thought was a fairly new hotel. Perhaps due to our late arrival we got a room that was less than impressive. Two beds, a refrigerator and microwave, all the comforts of home but...........The carpet was a bit worn the curtain was hanging oddly from only 4 hooks above the rather noisy airconditioner, a window style model and the room didn't smell fresh and clean. Well, we've had a few mediocre accommodations in our time together and they did have Fox News Channel so we just settled in and attempted to get to sleep before 1 am.
My Mother was the one who had recommended the Suburban Extended Stay in Stuart which she assured me was brand new. My Mother was a bit miffed when I suggested to her that she not recommend the Suburban to anyone else in the future. I'm pretty sure she agrees with me now however. In the Monday morning paper my Mom learned that while Jack and I were nestled all snug in our beds two of our fellow guests at the Suburban were having a fight. The loser was stabbed to death with a steak knife. Oh well I guess that could happen anywhere.
Anxious to see my nieces and nephews I was up and out by 7:30 am. Suprisingly, everyone was up. Apparently my Brother and Brother-in-law woke everyone as they got ready to leave for golf. The children all gave me a hug but once they saw there were no presents forthcoming they lost interest in me. It was terribly chilly and windy but Katie was determined that she was going swimming. I don't blame her. Katie is old enough to remember living in Wellington with a pool in the backyard and endless opportunities to swim. So, three out of four children got in the pool. Debi and I watched as did Madison dressed in Katie's parka.
There was a party at Ruthann's starting at 2pm which was very nice. There were lots of foods to choose from spread out on their pool table and beer and wine. The party kept going strong since more folks were arriving than leaving throughout the afternoon and evening. My Uncle Ted and his Daughter Nancy and Son-in-law Jack had driven down from Daytona and lots of friends from Palm Beach County drive up.
On Sunday we were all supposed to meet at Mom and Dad's for a family day. My Dad's brother Leo with his wife Nancy arrived from Lakeland and we all watched the Pittsburgh game together. I made several attempts to get some good photos of my nieces and Nephews but Katie squints if the sun is out and Cameron didn't have a shirt on all day. Oh well, I still have the photos from last June.
Jack and I flew out first thing Monday. All in all it was a very nice week-end and we didn't learn about the homicide until we were back in IL.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Sen Kennedy at it again
Ted Kennedy exemplifies a life without consequences. Born into privledge he has never had to pay for any of his mistakes. Kennedy was allowed into Harvard as a legacy and thrown out as a cheater. No matter, I am sure most of his supporters are unaware of his college history. Senator Kennedy drove drunk and allowed his young female passenger to drown. There was one small consequence for this action, he could never be President of the United States of America and had to settle for a lifetime appointment to the Senate. Thanks Mary Jo, your sacrifice may have saved us all. In many instances over the years Kennedy has lived his life like a libertine.
With a history like his anyone else would keep their head down and their mouth shut, but not Senator Kennedy. The Senator is the main attack dog for the Democrats whenever a Republican President dares to exercise his authority to appoint a Supreme Court justice. Note to Democrats, in order to appoint judges you need to win elections. At the beginning of the Bush administration in 2001 seventy-five percent of the judges in America had been appointed by Clinton over the prior eight years. Even when a uber-liberal like Ruth Bader Ginsburg was nominated by Clinton the Republicans did not attempt to "Bork" her nomination.
Then the unimaginable happened, a Republican was elected President and all the rules were thrown out the window once again. The Senate's responsibility of advise and consent is to approve any qualified nominee. The Democrats refuse to do this. We saw it with Bork, and again with Clarence Thomas and to a lesser degree with David Souter. All the liberal groups tried to block Roberts and now have Judge Alito squarely in their sights. Now they could run their ads and write their editorials promising Armageddon if Alito is confirmed without affecting the proper process if not for Senators like Kennedy.
Kennedy and others allow the hysteria into the confirmation process, acting as a mouthpiece for the left wing nuts. Kennedy claims Judge Alito is a bigot or a homophobe or remarkably this time sides with government against the "little guy". This from a Senator who would like the government to control every aspect of your life beginning with your healthcare.
Finally the Democrats are having to face reality. They are in the minority and no longer have a monopoly on what will be reported by the media. The Dems cannot prevent a qualified upstanding man like Judge Alito from being confirmed. The worst they can accomplish is to bring his wife to tears with their outrageous attacks. Still they will have their way by delaying the vote on Alito for an additional week. So very childish!
DOES ANYONE KNOW IF IT IS TRUE THAT SENATOR KENNEDY HAS A DOG NAMED "SPLASH"?
With a history like his anyone else would keep their head down and their mouth shut, but not Senator Kennedy. The Senator is the main attack dog for the Democrats whenever a Republican President dares to exercise his authority to appoint a Supreme Court justice. Note to Democrats, in order to appoint judges you need to win elections. At the beginning of the Bush administration in 2001 seventy-five percent of the judges in America had been appointed by Clinton over the prior eight years. Even when a uber-liberal like Ruth Bader Ginsburg was nominated by Clinton the Republicans did not attempt to "Bork" her nomination.
Then the unimaginable happened, a Republican was elected President and all the rules were thrown out the window once again. The Senate's responsibility of advise and consent is to approve any qualified nominee. The Democrats refuse to do this. We saw it with Bork, and again with Clarence Thomas and to a lesser degree with David Souter. All the liberal groups tried to block Roberts and now have Judge Alito squarely in their sights. Now they could run their ads and write their editorials promising Armageddon if Alito is confirmed without affecting the proper process if not for Senators like Kennedy.
Kennedy and others allow the hysteria into the confirmation process, acting as a mouthpiece for the left wing nuts. Kennedy claims Judge Alito is a bigot or a homophobe or remarkably this time sides with government against the "little guy". This from a Senator who would like the government to control every aspect of your life beginning with your healthcare.
Finally the Democrats are having to face reality. They are in the minority and no longer have a monopoly on what will be reported by the media. The Dems cannot prevent a qualified upstanding man like Judge Alito from being confirmed. The worst they can accomplish is to bring his wife to tears with their outrageous attacks. Still they will have their way by delaying the vote on Alito for an additional week. So very childish!
DOES ANYONE KNOW IF IT IS TRUE THAT SENATOR KENNEDY HAS A DOG NAMED "SPLASH"?
Thursday, January 05, 2006
It Took ALMOST 24 Hours
From Newsmax.com
President Bush Blamed for Mine Disaster
Less than 24-hours after 12 of the 13 workers trapped by a West Virginia mine explosion were found dead, critics were already politicizing the disaster, with at least one mine safety expert blaming President Bush.
"This mine should have been closed," former director of the National Mine Safety and Health Academy, Jack Spadaro, told Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes" Wednesday night.
"There were too many serious [safety] violations and the record is very clear," he added.
Asked why the allegedly unsafe mine continued to operate, Spadaro contended:
"I think it's because of the current Bush administration's policies toward mine operators and their reluctance to take the strong enforcement action that's sometimes necessary."
Spadaro insisted that "there has been a significant change since the Bush administration took over the enforcement of mine safety."
He said that the White House's lax approach to mine safety had made mine operators "reluctant to follow the law."
President Bush Blamed for Mine Disaster
Less than 24-hours after 12 of the 13 workers trapped by a West Virginia mine explosion were found dead, critics were already politicizing the disaster, with at least one mine safety expert blaming President Bush.
"This mine should have been closed," former director of the National Mine Safety and Health Academy, Jack Spadaro, told Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes" Wednesday night.
"There were too many serious [safety] violations and the record is very clear," he added.
Asked why the allegedly unsafe mine continued to operate, Spadaro contended:
"I think it's because of the current Bush administration's policies toward mine operators and their reluctance to take the strong enforcement action that's sometimes necessary."
Spadaro insisted that "there has been a significant change since the Bush administration took over the enforcement of mine safety."
He said that the White House's lax approach to mine safety had made mine operators "reluctant to follow the law."
Are you as glad as I am that the holidays are over?
Are you as glad as I am that the holidays are over? I'm not complaining, I had a great time. The visit to Florida was great and went really fast. It was fabulous to see you and get caught up. My trip home was very nice. Upgrades to first class on both flights, no delays no waiting in lines. I can only assume most folks were returning home later in the day or on Tuesday.
Jack's daughter arrived with her boyfriend on Thursday Dec. 30th and son David arrived the next day. We had a very nice visit and everyone left on Sunday the 1st. I took all the Christmas decorations down yesterday and went into the city today.
A week of temps in the high 30's and low 40's and some rain has melted every flake of snow in our yard (and almost everywhere else). The only snow remaining is the dirty stuff that was plowed to the edges of the parking lots and roads. Hopefully, we can start anew with fresh snow one day soon.
I'll be in Fla with Jack January 13th through the 16th but don't get in until 9pm Friday and leave first thing Monday morning so I doubt we will be able to visit anyone but family.
Jack's daughter arrived with her boyfriend on Thursday Dec. 30th and son David arrived the next day. We had a very nice visit and everyone left on Sunday the 1st. I took all the Christmas decorations down yesterday and went into the city today.
A week of temps in the high 30's and low 40's and some rain has melted every flake of snow in our yard (and almost everywhere else). The only snow remaining is the dirty stuff that was plowed to the edges of the parking lots and roads. Hopefully, we can start anew with fresh snow one day soon.
I'll be in Fla with Jack January 13th through the 16th but don't get in until 9pm Friday and leave first thing Monday morning so I doubt we will be able to visit anyone but family.
Hello From Chicagoland
Tuesday, November 01, 2005 12:21 PM
The gray skies I have been expecting for weeks now finally arrived yesterday, but didn't last. It was warm yesterday with a high of 62 degrees but the weather looked bleak and I expected it to last all winter. The two trees behind our home which were beautifully gold in recent weeks are now nearly completely bare and the one out front which was green yesterday went yellow overnight. A soft rain fell into the evening, soaking my 8 foot inflatable spooky tree. I had a big bowl of candy ready last night and only got 3 chubby, obnoxious preteen boy trick-or-treaters. As greedy as they were, Jack will have enough candy to last him though next summer.
Sunday, while Jack made full use of his Direct TV Sunday Ticket I went to a Halloween party and fund raising event in nearby Elk Grove. It was fun seeing all the kids in their costumes. I feel a bit guilty because I went to support the event and came away with a painting I really like for only $40 in the silent auction.
Today according to the weather folk on the radio I've gotten yet another reprieve from the coming weather. It is cool and sunny and expected to stay nice and get warmer until Friday. I plan to go into the city tomorrow. Jack and I will be spending the first weekend in December in the city. I'm using the last of my Hilton points to spend two nights in the Chicago Hilton and we plan to go out on the town, see an exhibit at the Museum and experience the last Christmas ever at Marshall Fields in downtown Chicago.
Thu Nov 03 06:59:59 2005
It was an amazing day in Chicago. Sunny, warm (62 degrees). I went to see if I could get a ticket for Wicked. They have a drawing at noon and sell 20 tickets for $25 in the front row. There were only 21 people there and only one didn't get a ticket. I didn't care as I had already decided I would try again next Wednesday and would rather not spend what might be the last nice day for months indoors. So I went to Marshall Fields! I really need to dress better when I go into the city. Jackcalled me and I left Marshall Fields to get better reception. While I was talking to him I walked over a subway grate while the train passed below. It blew my hair straight up for a second, not exactly a Marilyn Monroe moment but it gave me a chuckle.
I took a walk along the Miracle Mile and walked all the way back to Union Station. I was just loving it! Soaking up the energy of the city, Then I came to an intersection lined with police. I love to see their hats with the checkerboard strip. Unfortunately I had happened upon the anti Bush administration rally called "The World Can't Wait". Stinking anarchist nitwits, ruining my mood! The President was reelected just one year ago but they want to override that election and have him step down. Then what? They hate Chaney worse than Bush and if he steps down Dennis Hastert becomes President which I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate any better. Idiots! I chatted with the cops briefly and continued on, they were with me on this issue.
I hope I am slowly learning my way around downtown. I learn something new with each visit. For example, the corner of the bus stop shelter that best protects you from the wind will always smell of pee, so put on your scarf and mittens and stand outside. Also, just because a fire truck is bearing down on you that doesn't necessarily mean you should wait to cross the street.
The cold hasn't bothered me yet but the locals don't seem to react to temperature changes like I do. I was wearing a sweater and got too warm shortly after I entered Marshall Fields but other women there seemed comfortable even though they weren't taking off their coats and scarves, unless they were having lunch. I considered buying a tee shirt but the only ones I saw were $75 and UGLY! I can hardly wait for next Wednesday. I'd go into town again today but we have a leak that needs to be dealt with and the men are coming at 1pm today.
The gray skies I have been expecting for weeks now finally arrived yesterday, but didn't last. It was warm yesterday with a high of 62 degrees but the weather looked bleak and I expected it to last all winter. The two trees behind our home which were beautifully gold in recent weeks are now nearly completely bare and the one out front which was green yesterday went yellow overnight. A soft rain fell into the evening, soaking my 8 foot inflatable spooky tree. I had a big bowl of candy ready last night and only got 3 chubby, obnoxious preteen boy trick-or-treaters. As greedy as they were, Jack will have enough candy to last him though next summer.
Sunday, while Jack made full use of his Direct TV Sunday Ticket I went to a Halloween party and fund raising event in nearby Elk Grove. It was fun seeing all the kids in their costumes. I feel a bit guilty because I went to support the event and came away with a painting I really like for only $40 in the silent auction.
Today according to the weather folk on the radio I've gotten yet another reprieve from the coming weather. It is cool and sunny and expected to stay nice and get warmer until Friday. I plan to go into the city tomorrow. Jack and I will be spending the first weekend in December in the city. I'm using the last of my Hilton points to spend two nights in the Chicago Hilton and we plan to go out on the town, see an exhibit at the Museum and experience the last Christmas ever at Marshall Fields in downtown Chicago.
Thu Nov 03 06:59:59 2005
It was an amazing day in Chicago. Sunny, warm (62 degrees). I went to see if I could get a ticket for Wicked. They have a drawing at noon and sell 20 tickets for $25 in the front row. There were only 21 people there and only one didn't get a ticket. I didn't care as I had already decided I would try again next Wednesday and would rather not spend what might be the last nice day for months indoors. So I went to Marshall Fields! I really need to dress better when I go into the city. Jackcalled me and I left Marshall Fields to get better reception. While I was talking to him I walked over a subway grate while the train passed below. It blew my hair straight up for a second, not exactly a Marilyn Monroe moment but it gave me a chuckle.
I took a walk along the Miracle Mile and walked all the way back to Union Station. I was just loving it! Soaking up the energy of the city, Then I came to an intersection lined with police. I love to see their hats with the checkerboard strip. Unfortunately I had happened upon the anti Bush administration rally called "The World Can't Wait". Stinking anarchist nitwits, ruining my mood! The President was reelected just one year ago but they want to override that election and have him step down. Then what? They hate Chaney worse than Bush and if he steps down Dennis Hastert becomes President which I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate any better. Idiots! I chatted with the cops briefly and continued on, they were with me on this issue.
I hope I am slowly learning my way around downtown. I learn something new with each visit. For example, the corner of the bus stop shelter that best protects you from the wind will always smell of pee, so put on your scarf and mittens and stand outside. Also, just because a fire truck is bearing down on you that doesn't necessarily mean you should wait to cross the street.
The cold hasn't bothered me yet but the locals don't seem to react to temperature changes like I do. I was wearing a sweater and got too warm shortly after I entered Marshall Fields but other women there seemed comfortable even though they weren't taking off their coats and scarves, unless they were having lunch. I considered buying a tee shirt but the only ones I saw were $75 and UGLY! I can hardly wait for next Wednesday. I'd go into town again today but we have a leak that needs to be dealt with and the men are coming at 1pm today.
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