CELEBRATING FEBRUARY 29TH

Wow, it's finally here.  A day that only happens once every four years!  Am I talking about Inauguration Day?  Nope, it's Leap Year Day.  It really seems this day is not celebrated enough.  There are a lot of really good things about this day.  One is that if you are black, you get to celebrate Black History Month for an extra 24 hours.  That right there should make 20% of Americans happy.  
If you like nudity, you might enjoy knowing that in 1960, Hugh Hefner opened the first Playboy Club in Chicago, or if you are a TV buff, you probably know that the final episode of M.A.S. H. aired on this date in 1983.  WOW, has it been that long?
Regardless, it's a good extra day we've been given this year to spend wisely.  Hug your wife and kids, pet the dog, pause to reflect on your life, pray for our troops and their families, or go out and register to vote.    The important thing is to make good use of this extra 24 hours because once it's gone, it's gone.  Happy Leap Year Day!

GROWING LACK OF CONFIDENCE IN AMERICA?

Resurrecting Civil Defense

As I tool around the web, I am finding more examples of serious concern about the future of the country and the ability of the federal government to handle an impending crisis.  This one showed up today and, in my opinion makes the case that if nothing else, there is a great deal of concern, by some government officials about the country's future.  I'm not clear on why landlocked Wyoming wants an aircraft carrier but, the thought that they think they need one, is a bit worrisome. 
Based on all the dangerous things happening in the world today and the potential threats to the stability of the nation, as well as the fact that we don't have decisive leadership in the White House, it might not be a bad idea to clean out those old Cold War Civil Defense Shelters.   
There are plenty of other reminders out there, including some we may have forgotten.  or others we remember more clearly.  Perhaps we are headed "back to the future," so to speak but, I must admit, as I get older, the thought of global annihilation, perhaps in the form of thermonuclear war, meteorite collision, sunspot eruption, or by the idiocy of continued political stupidity (my vote for most likely), is in an odd way, somewhat appealing.  
The thought of zapping off to eternity with all my friends and family together, as well as the pleasure of knowing that all those I consider evil, stupid, etc., vaporizing as well, gives me some form of bizarre solace.  Call me crazy but, even though I would be gone, it's nice to know that nincompoops like these will be gone too.  

POST VALENTINE'S DAY SERENDIPITY: TWENTY QUESTIONS THAT NEED ANSWERED

1.  Who wrote the book of love?


2.  Why do fools fall in love?


3.  What does love got to do with it?


4.  Why does love hurt?


5.  Why do I love rock and roll?


6.  Did you tell Laura I love her?


7.  Why did the  tide erase those love letters I wrote in the sand?

8.  Why do you always hurt the one you love?

9.  Where did our love go? 

10.  Is love all you need?

11.  Can you direct me to the chapel of love?

12.  Why can't I buy me love?

13.   I'd do any thing for love but I won't (vote for Obama) do that!


14.  Mr. Frank, "Have you ever loved a woman?"


15.  What is the power of love?  


16.  What are the 50 ways to leave your lover?


17.  How did you get addicted to love?


18.  Why is love blue?


19.  Has the prisoner of love escaped?


20.  Exactly, how do I love you tender?

SPEAKING OF EDUCATION

One of the better articles I've read lately regarding the failure of inner city (or for that matter all) public education in this country by the great Walter Williams.  This guy makes a ton of sense and it doesn't hurt his credibility that Sharpton and Jackson etc. don't like him.   He is able to say what many of us know to be true but, for the risk of being called, "racists," can't say.  Of course he is referred to by many other blacks as an Uncle Tom so, you know he is on to something.  Too bad more folks in the black community don't take heed of what he says.   He is one columnist I read at every opportunity.  He has a lot more to say about a lot of things. 

AMERICAN GESTAPO, HARTFORD CURRENT /NEW HAVEN EDITION

Attention Hartford Current

Every day there are more and more examples of the reduction of basic Constitutional Rights in this country and this is just another example.  Sometimes when you tell the truth about something and the bleeding hearts don't approve, you are expected to mince your words (and risk not making the impression you hoped to) or simply, not state your views at all.  
Evidently, the mayor of New Haven takes it upon himself to be the filter that the Hartford Current Newspaper runs through.  Apparently, the goodly mayor took issue with cartoonist Bob Englehart's work in a recent edition of the paper.
It's not permitted to say how horribly the inner city schools are doing up there (and everywhere else for that matter) or to say it using some strong, unkind words in doing so.  
As usual, when liberals don't like the message (or the way it's stated) you silence the individual who dared utter the dirty truth.  The main objective is not to solve the problem or tackle an unpleasant issue.  Better we kill the messenger as the liberals prefer.
If I was Mr. Englehart, I don't apologize and in fact tell the mayor where to shove his.  But, of course that is easy for me to say, since it's not my job in the balance.  Here we have another example of the gutless, fourth estate and it's managers, fearing to back up the truth and the Constitutional Right of their employee to state his views in the words he chooses.
At the end of the day, the inner-city schools of Hartford will still suck for the reasons he so in-eloquently stated.  The status-quo preserved for another generation of failure in Hartford/New Haven.

JAMES K. POLK, AMERICA'S GREATEST PRESIDENT?

Perhaps the Greatest?

It always makes for good discussion when the topic is "Who is America's greatest President.  Usually, one hears the same old names over and over, Lincoln, FDR, Washington, TR, etc.  One guy that I've always been partial to and believed should be in the discussion is, James K. Polk.  Polk figured in a lot of important events in our country's history, he was successful at achieving most of his set goals AND he knew when to get out.  A guy who self imposed term limits on himself.  If only today's politicians were so willing. 

MORE GOOD BO IS DOING FOR US......SAY THANK YOU BO

****From a recent email I received.  Thought it was worth sharing.  All credit belongs to the original author.

Barack Obama's 34 Month Report Card; by Rich Carroll

Mr. Hope and Change wants to create a nation humbled; humiliated, casting-aside capitalism and individual freedoms for one where we the people are government controlled.  This would be a system that genuflects mediocrity, steals personal aspiration and opportunity, and punishes those who strive to succeed.

A gallon of regular gasoline the day Obama was inaugurated was $1.79 on average in the U.S.  Today that priceis $3.59, a 100.6% increase.  The number of food stamp recipients has risen since Obama took office from 31,983,716 to 43,200,878, a 35.1% jump.  Long term unemployment soared 146.2% during the same 34 month period from 2,600,000 to 6,400,000.  Staggering hope and change isn't it?

American citizens living in poverty have risen 9.5%from 39,800,000 to 43,600,000, and the number of unemployed has jumped almost 25% from 11,616,000 to 14,485,000 as of August 31, 2011.  The number of unemployed blacks has risen from 12.6% at the end of George Bush's term to 15.8% today, a 25.4% increase, and finally, our national debt is up 43.2% from 10.627 trillion to 15,022 trillion.

Keep these figures in mind as we recount the number of firsts for this presidency:

First President to refuse to show a valid birth certificate.

First President to apply for college aid as a foreign student, then deny he was a foreigner.

First President to have a social security number from a state he has never lived in.

First President to preside over a cut to the credit rating of the United States.

First President to violate the WarPowers Act.

First President to be held in contempt of court for illegally obstructing oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. 

First President to defy a Federal Judgescourt order to cease implementing the Health Care Reform Law.

First President to require all Americans to purchase a product from a third party (OBAMACARE).

First President to spend a trillion dollars on shovel-ready jobs and later admit there was no such thing as shovel-ready jobs.

First President to abrogate bankruptcy law to turn over control of companies (GM & CHRYSLER) to his union supporters.

First President to by-pass Congress and implementthe Dream Act through executive fiat.

First President to order a secret amnesty program that stopped the deportation of illegal immigrants across the U.S., including those with criminal convictions.

First President to demand a company hand-over $20 billion to one of his political appointees.

First President to terminate America's ability to put a man in space (TERMINATED THE SPACE SHUTTLE).

First President to encourage racial discrimination and intimidation at pollingplaces.

First President to have a law signed by an auto-pen without being present.

First President to arbitrarily declare an existing law unconstitutional and refuse to enforce it.

First President to threaten insurance companies if they publicly speak-out on the reasons for their rate increases.

First President to tell a major manufacturing company in which state they are allowed to locate a factory (BOEING).

First President to file lawsuits against the states he swore an oath to protect (AZ, WI, OH, IN).

First President to withdraw an existing coal permit that had been properly issued years ago.

First President to fire an inspector general of Ameri-corps for catching one of his friends in a corruption case.

First President to appoint 45 Czars to replace elected officials in his office.

First President to golf 73 separate times in his first two and a half years in office.

First President to hide his medical, educational and travel records.

First President to win a Nobel Peace Prize for doing NOTHINGto earn it.

First President to coddle American enemies while alienating Americas allies.

First President to go on multiple global apology tours.

First President to goon 17 lavish vacations, including date nights and Wednesday evening White House parties for his friends, paid for by the taxpayer.

First President to refuse to wear the U.S. Flag lapel pin.

First President to have 22 personal servants (taxpayer funded) for his wife.

First President to keep a dog trainer on retainer for $102,000.00 a year at taxpayer expense.

First President to repeat the Holy Qur'an tells us, and openly admit the early morning call of the Azan (Islamic call to worship) is the most beautiful sound on earth.

Implemented the Fast & Furious program to send arms to the Drug Cartels in Mexico resulting in the death of one of our border agents.

Terminated a national repository for Nuclear waste after thirty years of study and $20 billion dollars was spent on studying where to locate it and to build it. He is obviously smarter than our best scientists.

Remember that 34 months of Obama we the people have accumulated national debt at a rate more than 27 times as fast as during the rest of our nation's entire history, as the Obama's plan their next extravagant vacation to the Indonesian Island nation of Bali. 

Hope and changeanyone?

* sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Wall Street  Journal, Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Dept of Labor, Standard & Poors/Case-Shiller, Federal Reserve, US Treasury, Heritage Foundation.

"There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword. The other is by debt." --John Adams 1826

IS HE RUSHING THERE TO HELP?

I'll Be Right There Gram

I was wondering if the C.I.C. was rushing to to the bedside of his injured grandmother, being the wonderful family man he is and all?  Pretty impressive that grandma has bodyguards over there in Hawaii, I mean Kenya.  
There really isn't anything going on that could be more important is there?  Let me see.


Economy-Booming
War in Afghanistan-Winning Right?
Iraq-Solved
Unemployment-Who's not working?
World Affairs-Just a few dead Syrians, 
                             -Iran/Israel- No Problem
                             -N. Korea-Warm and Fuzzy
                                  Fast and Furious-What?

                                  Well he could always send Joe Biden.

LOOKS LIKE WE ARE COOKED

I found this recent article from the NY Times, to be informative yet, quite disturbing.  It paints a bleak picture (at least in my mind) regarding our nation's ability to EVER compete in the world economy in anything other than as a secondary fiddler.
It's not something any of us want to hear but, after reading it, I can be comfortable in my belief that, if not immediately, very soon, we will be on our deathbed as a world power.  
It's even more frustrating that our inept politicians continue to ride our nation, faster and faster to the abyss.  They are our Nero and we are their Rome.  
I should warn you that the article is not only a long one but, it doesn't have a happy ending.  What it gave me was a very clear example of the inevitable, we are facing as our culture degrades along with our economic muscle.