TSA has its priorities straight

I happened to walk past the TSA office at MSP airport earlier this month.
I noticed that they have only one poster on the wall as you enter office.
Something to help them remember the most important thing about the TSA.
On side say "We are TSA" and the other side.
"We are Security" - Nope
"We are Safety" - Nope


Here it is -



"We are Diverse"
That is what they want their people to focus on.

A remembrance from Thanksgiving Weekend

From Michael Yon's site:


Published: 27 November 2009

By JOSEPH L. GALLOWAY
McClatchy Newspapers

Over the last 12 months, 1,042 soldiers, Marines, sailors and Air Force personnel have given their lives in the terrible duty that is war. Thousands more have come home on stretchers, horribly wounded and facing months or years in military hospitals.

This week, I'm turning my space over to a good friend and former roommate, Army Lt. Col. Robert Bateman, who recently completed a yearlong tour of duty in Iraq and is now back at the Pentagon.

Here's Lt. Col. Bateman's account of a little-known ceremony that fills the halls of the Army corridor of the Pentagon with cheers, applause and many tears every Friday morning. It first appeared on May 17 on the Weblog of media critic and pundit Eric Alterman at the Media Matters for America Website.

"It is 110 yards from the "E" ring to the "A" ring of the Pentagon. This section of the Pentagon is newly renovated; the floors shine, the hallway is broad, and the lighting is bright. At this instant the entire length of the corridor is packed with officers, a few sergeants and some civilians, all crammed tightly three and four deep against the walls. There are thousands here.

This hallway, more than any other, is the `Army' hallway. The G3 offices line one side, G2 the other, G8 is around the corner. All Army. Moderate conversations flow in a low buzz. Friends who may not have seen each other for a few weeks, or a few years, spot each other, cross the way and renew.

Everyone shifts to ensure an open path remains down the center. The air conditioning system was not designed for this press of bodies in this area.

The temperature is rising already. Nobody cares. "10:36 hours: The clapping starts at the E-Ring. That is the outermost of the five rings of the Pentagon and it is closest to the entrance to the building. This clapping is low, sustained, hearty. It is applause with a deep emotion behind it as it moves forward in a wave down the length of the hallway.

"A steady rolling wave of sound it is, moving at the pace of the soldier in the wheelchair who marks the forward edge with his presence. He is the first. He is missing the greater part of one leg, and some of his wounds are still suppurating. By his age I expect that he is a private, or perhaps a private first class.

"Captains, majors, lieutenant colonels and colonels meet his gaze and nod as they applaud, soldier to soldier. Three years ago when I described one of these events, those lining the hallways were somewhat different. The applause a little wilder, perhaps in private guilt for not having shared in the burden ... yet.

"Now almost everyone lining the hallway is, like the man in the wheelchair, also a combat veteran. This steadies the applause, but I think deepens the sentiment. We have all been there now. The soldier's chair is pushed by, I believe, a full colonel.

"Behind him, and stretching the length from Rings E to A, come more of his peers, each private, corporal, or sergeant assisted as need be by a field grade officer.

"11:00 hours: Twenty-four minutes of steady applause. My hands hurt, and I laugh to myself at how stupid that sounds in my own head. My hands hurt... Please! Shut up and clap. For twenty-four minutes, soldier after soldier has come down this hallway - 20, 25, 30.... Fifty-three legs come with them, and perhaps only 52 hands or arms, but down this hall came 30 solid hearts.

They pass down this corridor of officers and applause, and then meet for a private lunch, at which they are the guests of honor, hosted by the generals. Some are wheeled along.... Some insist upon getting out of their chairs, to march as best they can with their chin held up, down this hallway, through this most unique audience. Some are catching handshakes and smiling like a politician at a Fourth of July parade. More than a couple of them seem amazed and are smiling shyly.

"There are families with them as well: the 18-year-old war-bride pushing her 19-year-old husband's wheelchair and not quite understanding why her husband is so affected by this, the boy she grew up with, now a man, who had never shed a tear is crying; the older immigrant Latino parents who have, perhaps more than their wounded mid-20s son, an appreciation for the emotion given on their son's behalf. No man in that hallway, walking or clapping, is ashamed by the silent tears on more than a few cheeks. An Airborne Ranger wipes his eyes only to better see. A couple of the officers in this crowd have themselves been a part of this parade in the past.

These are our men, broken in body they may be, but they are our brothers, and we welcome them home. This parade has gone on, every single Friday, all year long, for more than four years.

"Did you know that?

The media haven't yet told the story."

V/R TK
TOM KUNK
COL, GS
Division Chief for ODO
HQDA, G3/5/7

(BTW, Joe Galloway was portrayed by Barry Pepper in the Mel Gibson movie "We Were Soldiers")
Comments welcomed.

Because I have no words...

To fallen soldiers let us sing.
Where no rockets fly nor bullets wing.
Our broken brothers let us bring.
To the mansions of the Lord.

No more bleeding, no more fight.
No prayers pleading through the night.
Just divine embrace, eternal light.
In the mansions of the Lord.

Where no mothers cry and no children weep.
We will stand and guard though the angels sleep.
Through the ages safely keep.
The mansions of the Lord.

Find a veteran today and thank him for your freedom and liberty...

A Sunday in Heron Lake, MN 1961

I watched the film footage on TV of a soldier running concertina wire across a street. I was twelve but didn't appreciate what was happening, but my Grandmother said, as she listened to the reporter "This sounds like war." What I was witnessing was the very beginning of what was to be called The Berlin Wall. The first explanation I heard for the wall was that it was constructed to constrain the West Berliners from diluting the socialism of East Berlin and East Germany. The truth has always been an obstacle that tyrants and tyrannies need to "explain".
As the years progressed there were stories of many spirited and interesting attempts to breach the wall to get into the West. Too many times the attempt proved fatal. There is one iconic photo that I've always remembered, that of an East German border guard who leapt the then concertina wire only wall-
In 1989, it was becoming apparent that the Eastern Bloc was failing in its attempt to keep its solidarity. One evening I heard a report that there were people, hundreds if not thousands of people, who were marching across the fields of Hungary toward the Iron Curtain. And the border guards were not stopping them.It was quite a report for a man who grew up hearing "When you see the flash, 'Duck-And Cover!' " Who grew up seeing the start of the Berlin Wall, watched my parents become very worried in October, 1962, saw the Prague Spring...

And then there was this evening:



There was an article about the creation and fall of the Berlin Wall on the History Channel. The amazing risks people took to be free: tunneling, hot air balloons, befriending border guards to learn how an armored car worked to be able to car jack it later and ram through the wall, using ultra light airplanes to rescue a brother...incredible.
All to escape to liberty.
I wonder what we here in America are willing to do to preserve liberty.
I came across this quote that is extremely timely and thought provoking, especially today during this time here in America:
" It is the common fate of the indolent to see their rights become a prey to the active. The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt."
So, what are you doing, what will you do to preserve and take back your liberty?
Time to let that hollow space in the Lazy Boy fill back in.

A must read that must be read now

I just got through reading an excellent article on Hot Air called "The Momentum of History" by a fairly recent writer to Hot Air with the nom de plume Doctor Zero. He discusses the importance of the 2010 election (and the incredible relevance of the NY 23 election). I also strongly urge you to read all the comments on the first page, especially the comment by Dark Horse.
The article and Dark Horse's comment prompted me to go to Doug Hoffman's website (NY 23 candidate ) and made a contribution.
The radicals are taking money from you in buckets. Take $25, $50, $100 of you own money and fire back at them and tell the RINO supporters to shut up by donating to Doug Hoffman.

A better way or why BHO is surrounded by idiots

Yesterday I was coming back from a doctors appointment and was listening to Glenn Beck as he was describing "his accepting the prize","how this would have been a pinnacle moment if there had been any other significant achievements". It took me about two miles to realize "Obama's been awarded"(not won)"the Nobel Peace Prize !!! WHAAAAATTTT???" Beck went on to say that this awarding of the Peace Prize does nothing now but highlight the ineptitude and arrogance of Obama. As I read some of the biting criticism and incredulity of many on the left, something else occurred to me though.
If The One had surrounded himself with something other than self serving advisors and sycophants, or if he hadn't been caught up in his belief of his own infallibility, he would have strode to the microphone yesterday, cleared his throat, and thanked the Nobel Peace Prize Committee for the honor. And then, with a proffered sense of humility and propriety, he would have politely and graciously refused the award. The One would have made huge political points and would have robbed the Republicans of all the ammunition the likes of Michael Moore and Peter Beinart have so willingly served up ("You won it. Now earn it" "I like Barack Obama... But this is a farce. He's done nothing to deserve the prize."). He also would have scored points internationally.
However, no. Arrogance and looking into the Donacon pool controlled his reason and political acumen. A huge opportunity completely squandered. Plus, it exposes him and his advisors as having the same tailor as a well known emperor.(BTW, an excellent read. Especially now.
Nothing learned from a trip to Copenhagen, he loses again.
He is on a roll, however.
Now, don't get me wrong. This is not a bite on the Peace Prize. It's an observation on COC (Community Organizer in Chief) and his advisors. It's an observation on what America's enemies see and surmise. They see a president full of himself. They see an American President who lingers over his image so that any appeal to his vanity may very well yield results. They see an American President who believes he can secure an Olympic venue just by showing up. America's enemies are not fools. They play the manipulation game very, very well. They realize they can easily manipulate the press (Yasser Arafat did it for decades. His progeny still do).They are taking the measure of this man in the White House and are calculating strategy accordingly.
Another danger is evident in a Prairie Pravda editorial:"That he would be chosen says much about the hope invested in his presidency by people of good will around the world." And what if he doesn't deliver on that "hope"? What if he disappoints on that "world investment"? And he will. No one can ever live up to another's expectations. To live your life adhering to someone else's hopes and dreams is emotional dysfunction. To base national and international policy on it is downright dangerous and lunacy in the extreme.
The COC has not done himself or America any good here.
Quite the opposite, I fear.
Quite the opposite.

Irena Sendler and the Noble Peace Prize

I thought that today, in light of the Noble Peace Prize being awarded to COC (Community Organizer in Chief) this You Tube clip is more than appropriate:

My Profile Photo

This is a picture of me last July as I was helping to run the Wings of Freedom Tour at Anoka Blaine Airport (Janes Field). I'm under the port wing of a B-17G named Nine-O-Nine owned by the Collings Foundation out of Stowe, MA.
Start planning now for the tour to come back next year.

How big WAS the crowd in D.C. ?

Seems to be the question of the hour. Well, I happen to have a bit of experience with really, REALLY large crowds. Like over 1,000,000 men.
I was at "Stand in the Gap" the Promise Keepers event 4 October 1997 in Washington D.C.



I was over near the tree line in front of the Smithsonian. We arrived about 9:00 and were told that we had just missed an ABC camera crew. The crew had shared with the men around us that ABC was estimating 100,000 men between each Jumbotron.They told us there were 9 Jumbotrons from the Capitol steps to the Washington Monument. We were also told there were another 300,000 plus men on the other side Monument to the Reflecting Pool and Lincoln Memorial. There were another 50,000 on the Ellipse. And many 10,000's walking the streets as there was no more room on the Mall.
Now, here is a satellite picture taken of the Mall during Obama's inauguration ceremony. (Click on the image above and below twice to enlarge).


A photo analyst estimated this crowd at 800,000. The Washington Post crowed that there 2,000,000 at the inauguration.

The MSM covered Stand in the Gap with the usual deference they show Christians and conservatives.
Compare the two photos and come to your own conclusion about numbers reported by the MSM for the 912 Rally.

No, Mr. President

A powerful response to Obama's speech on "Women's Reproduction Freedom"



And I recommend to others that we continue to pray for our President.

Obama in 774 words

Sometimes it takes South Park to put the policies of the Community Organizer in Chief (COC) in perspective. As I've written before, the left is great for proclaiming something will happen because they SAY it will happen. The following is from a WSJ article:


Sometimes it takes "South Park" to explain life's deeper mysteries. Like the logic of the Obama administration's policy proposals.
Consider the 1998 "Gnomes" episode -- possibly surpassing Milton Friedman's "Free to Choose" as the classic defense of capitalism -- in which the children of South Park, Colo., get a lesson in how not to run an enterprise from mysterious little men who go about stealing undergarments from the unsuspecting and collecting them in a huge underground storehouse.
What's the big idea? The gnomes explain:
"Phase One: Collect underpants.
"Phase Two: ?
"Phase Three: Profit."
Lest you think there's a step missing here, that's the whole point. ("What about Phase Two?" asks one of the kids. "Well," answers a gnome, "Phase Three is profits!") This more or less sums up Mr. Obama's speech last week on Guantanamo, in which the president explained how he intended to dispose of the remaining detainees after both houses of Congress voted overwhelmingly against bringing them to the U.S.
The president's plan can briefly be described as follows. Phase One: Order Guantanamo closed. Phase Two: ? Phase Three: Close Gitmo!
Granted, this is an abbreviated exegesis of his speech, which did explain how some two-thirds of the detainees will be tried by military commissions or civilian courts, or repatriated to other countries. But on the central question of the 100-odd detainees who can neither be tried in court nor released one searches in vain for an explanation of exactly what the president intends to do.
Now take the administration's approach to the Middle East. Phase One: Talk to Iran, Syria, whoever. Phase Two: ? Phase Three: Peace!
In this case, the administration seems to think that diplomacy, like aspirin, is something you take two of in the morning to take away the pain. But as Boston University's Angelo Codevilla notes in his book, "Advice to War Presidents," diplomacy "can neither create nor change basic intentions, interests, or convictions. . . . To say, 'We've got a problem. Let's try diplomacy, let's sit down and talk' abstracts from the important questions: What will you say? And why should anything you say lead anyone to accommodate you?"
Ditto for Mr. Obama's approach to nuclear weapons. In a speech last month in Prague, right after North Korea had illegally tested a ballistic missile, Mr. Obama promised a new nonproliferation regime, along with "a structure in place that ensures when any nation [breaks the rules], they will face consequences." Whereupon the U.N. Security Council promptly failed to muster the votes for a resolution condemning Pyongyang's launch.
Now Kim Jong Il has tested another nuke, and we're back at the familiar three-step. Phase One: Propose a "structure." . . .
It was also in his Prague speech that Mr. Obama repeated his pledge to "confront climate change by ending the world's dependence on fossil fuels, by tapping the power of new sources of energy like the wind and sun."
Never mind that neither the wind nor the sun are new sources of energy. It so happens that the U.S. gets about 2.3% of its energy resources from "renewable" resources of the kind the president advocates while fossil fuels account for about 70%. The reason for this, alas, has nothing to do with the greed of the oil majors. But it has much to do with something known as "energy density": Crude oil has almost three times as much of it as switchgrass, supposedly the Holy Grail of our green future. A related problem is that heat invariably dissipates, meaning that it will always be difficult to turn diffuse sources of energy, like wind, into concentrated ones.
In Gnome-speak, then, Mr. Obama's energy policy goes something like this: Phase One: Inaugurate the era of "green" energy. Phase Two: Overturn the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Phase Three: Carbon neutrality!
Take any number of Mr. Obama's other initiatives. Rescue Detroit? Phase One: Set a national mileage standard for passenger cars of 39 miles per gallon and force auto makers to make the kind of cars that drove them to bankruptcy in the first place.
Reduce the deficit? Phase One: Approve $3.5 trillion in government stimulus, and then await the mythical Keynesian multiplier.
Pay for a $1.2 trillion health-care reform? Phase One: scrounge around for about $60 billion in new "sin tax" revenue.
Actually, we can easily guess how Mr. Obama intends to make up the difference on this last item: To wit, by taxing health benefits. Taxes, subsidies funded by taxes, regulations and mandates will also fill in many (though not all) of the other blanks. Underpants gnomes: meet Phase Two. Say, what happened to profits?

"I pledge..."

I pledge to give President Obama the same level of respect as the left gave President Bush for eight years.
I pledge to give Sonia Sotomayor the same level of deference and critique as the left gave Sarah Palin, Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas.
I really do!

You're not broke enough, in debt enough, miserable enough or dead enough-yet

Last night I was listening to the Community Organizer in Chief (COC),on the official Janet Napolitano certified radical right wing terrorists on Fox News, proclaim the virtues of new CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards. Afer hearing how the we should all be grateful to pay an average of $1300 more per vehicle (as per estimates-ya), the vehicles will be smaller (where do you put the kids?) plus a number of other great reasons we should declare 19 May a new national holiday in gratitude for the depth of experience and wisdom COC brings to us, the servile masses. What really caught my attention was this: A spokesman for the Washington Policy Institute said, regarding the vehicles that will be manufactured under the new CAFE regs, "More than likely, all the safety features that the buyer would like will not be available." Let that sink in.
According to a Heritage article, the National Highway traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that the CAFE standards have, over the past years, been responsible for the deaths of an additional 49,000 people. That translated into 7,700 lives for each mile/gallon (MPG) improvement. Again, that's just deaths. It does not not include the 100,000's of injuries, permanent pain and suffering, the disruptions of lives forever.
If we take the 7,700 lives lost in each MPG gained and extrapolate the ten MPG the Mandater in Chief proclaims, that means 77,000 of you are going to die. That includes children who can't read this blog entry. It does not include the, again, the 100,000's if not 1,000,000's of you who will be injured, many permanently. And of course, it will include the innocent children.
So, next time you meet someone who extols the virtue of CAFE and the "green" movement, first cite these statistics. Then ask them "How many people dying are acceptable to you? How many permanently scarred and painfully injured children are acceptable to you?"
I'd be interested in hearing what they have to say.

"...where no President has gone before!"

From "Day by Day" from "No Runny Eggs" from an article (you need to read this one. Basically "another canary drops dead" posting) from "Hot Air" (There. I think that covers it all).

"Just a little more_ _ _ _ _ and WE'RE THERE!!!!"

As I look over the decades (and now the century and a half of failure of socialism), there are always excuses as to why left wing programs always fail:

1. "The program needs more time"
   
2. "Not enough money has been spent"
   
3. "The right people haven't been in charge"
4. "It needs just a bit of tweaking"
5. Any combination of the above.

So, listen to how many of those elements are in this exchange :

The ugly duckling

I just caught the last of this on Glenn Beck. (here are the lyrics for the song).
Watch Simon Cowell's expression as she starts to sing.

Here are my comments from the Stribune story:

My shame

"Her story immediately transcends packaging as we are all immediately consumed by the humanity -- and inhumanity -- in all of us." I caught the last 30 seconds of the video on Glenn Beck and decided to go see it at You Tube. In the past 12 hours I've watched it at least 25 times. Watching that first expression on Simon Cowell's face speaks volumes. And I, I am deeply ashamed to admit, prejudged her on her appearance. There is a significant lesson here for me should I choose to learn and apply it.

Uh, no, you don't-really

From a WSJ headline "More States Look to Raise Taxes". As I read through the article, what impressed me, negatively, was how few states were going to balance their books by cutting spending. There are a few who will try to do it by cutting some spending and raising taxes, but raising taxes is the main thrust. Here in Minnesota, our state budget has increased 100% . At the State Central Committee meeting in December, I offered to help Governor Pawlenty dry up that $5-6,000,000,000 in red ink. I told him all I needed was the projected budget, a neon highlighter , a pot of coffee and viola'! At least $6,000,000,000 in savings before noon. And that I'd supply the coffee. And the highlighter! He said he'd mail the documents. I never saw them, even with a follow-up email. But, the point is that there is fat in every single state budget. But notice where the cuts are highlighted-" With the size of our budget gap, we are looking at a situation of closing down our courts, releasing prisoners and cutting the school year by as much as a month..." The very things that governments are required to do are the first things cut (except that school thing- one less month of left wing indoctrination and debasing of America and a possible extra month of part time work will help some families and the local economies. Plus the reason schools are hit is to force parents to scream for more money).
So, when non-essential programs are truly cut ( not just the rate of growth) there will be trail of sobbing witnesses, telling the whole litany of why their right to your money is more pressing than your evil, greedy, uncompassionate desire to keep what you've earned to provide for your family (I inadvertently left out that you're heartless too).
If these politicians had a spine, all state budgets would and could be balanced in a couple of hours.

I had no idea!

His messiahness BHO is truly amazing.
Here is what he's accomplished in just the first half of his first hundred days:



Truly, truly stunning!!
What more can this guy possibly in the next half?
Well, we'll certainly know soon enough.

I love the old ads....

From Hot Air:

The original:


The recently updated:



We so often hear (ad magna nauseum) the left's concern about"the children".
Well, what say you now MoveOn.org? What say you now?

Salient quote

From the Patriot Post:

"The ideal tyranny is that which is ignorantly self-administered by its victims. The most perfect slaves are, therefore, those which blissfully and unawaredly enslave themselves. A truth's initial commotion is directly proportional to how deeply the lie was believed. It wasn't the world being round that agitated people, but that the world wasn't flat. When a well-packaged web of lies has been sold gradually to the masses over generations, the truth will seem utterly preposterous and its speaker a raving lunatic." --author Dresden James

I reflected on how the Founding Fathers would be received today.
Poorly I imagine.
Quite poorly.

Also, go subscribe, get the recent Patriot Post (3-30-09) and read how Mark Levin describes the descent from a "soft tyranny" to a "hard tyranny".

If you don't hear the canary hit the bottom of the cage, how about an eagle?

I've written many times about the looming financial disaster called Social Security and Medicare. The head of the Dallas Federal Reserve has calculated the amount of money we need to put aside today is $99,000,000,000,000 to meet future outlays.(BTW, that $99,000,000,000,000 figure increases $4,650,000,000,000 each year according to Dr. Walter E. Williams). I've written that Bernie Ebbers went to prison for running MCI/Worldcom the same way Congress and the Treasury have run Social Security/Medicare. I've also written that when the "surplus" goes away, that will become the opening shot in an inter-generational civil war.
How does Social Security/Medicare work?
Poorly. Here is a simple explanation. One note: the money the SS Admin lends to the treasury is spent. It also goes on the books as an "asset" or "revenue" which it is not, rather than a "liability" which it is. In other words, the SS Trust Fund has nothing but IOU's in it, the Treasury is cooking the books and the annual deficit has been made to look a lot lower than it is.
Most analysts predicted that we had 6-8 years before the surplus went away. It appears that that date has already arrived (for a real scary laugh, go down in the article and read how the now Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Peter Orszag, predicted in 2002 that the chances of failure for Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac were less than 1 in 3,000,000. Oh, and Mr. Orszag is now the man in charge of the federal budget!) The most optimistic forecast is that the surplus will be gone in 2 years.

I can not begin to tell you how incredibly concerning this development is.

Excuse me...did I just hear squeaking gun carriage wheels across Charleton Harbor?

Dear Mr. Hannan...

Now, this is really speaking truth to power...



Now, if he's over 35...but, he's not a natural born citizen of the United States. Drat!
Well, maybe a run for Senate then... I'll be emailing Mr. Hannan and asking if he's ever considered Stateside residence and politics.

P.S. Read what Mr. Hannan has said about his three minute speech, that was ignored by the European MSM. Very interesting!
And a BTW, PM Gordon Brown was in the chamber as Mr. Hannan was speaking directly to him!

The rosy cheek hull thrusher v your children

A Clinton era appointed federal judge (Colleen Kollar-Kotelly) issued an injunction prohibiting citizens with a valid permit to carry to carry firearms into National Parks and wildlife refuges. Pres. Bush issued a decision to allow firearms into the National Parks where a lawful permit would allow a citizen to do so. The reason Colleen Kollar-Kotelly gives for the injunction? The Bush decision "failed to evaluate the possible environmental impact" of the ruling.
Oh.
So, what possible environmental impact would necessitate a 44 page ruling from Colleen? Well, I guess a decision process that Colleen calls "astoundingly flawed". 44 pages...
And what, pray tell, is the environmental impact of a bear attack on a group of children in a National Park? Or a bison charging a group of tourists? Will Colleen call the National Park Ranger Defense Hotline so the Rangers can come to the rescue of any citizen who obeys the law when confronted by one who does not?
Hhhmmm...probably not.
She'll be much too busy to be torn away from "Earth in the Balance" or the recent Brady Campaign recent email update. BTW, it was the Brady Bunch who was a party to the suit that brought the injunction from Colleen.

A picture and a bunch of words plus trillions of dollars

I joined Twitter a couple of months ago (www.twitter.com/AmendmentX). Two organizations I follow on Twitter are the Cato Institute (Cato Twitter link) and the Heritage Foundation- ( Heritage Twitter link). This morning I got a Tweet from Heritage that shows the Bush deficits v the Obama deficits via a graphic.
Here's the bad news:


The good news? Well, BHO promises to cut the deficit in half. So, as the article points out, BHO will quadruple the deficit, then promises to cut it in half. If he follows through on at least this promise, that means he'll only double the deficit.

Bumper sticker politics

Yesterday my Mom and I were coming back from the St. Joesph's Day celebration at Mama D's son John's restaurant Cafe Biaggio in St. Paul (see below). Traveling down 35W, there was a Ford Escape in the next lane with a number of bumper stickers on the back window:"Franken", "Obama" and "Wellstone". And at the left center of all those stickers was one that absolutely baffled me-"I Vote The Constitution".
My dismay and befuddlement vanished when I finally realized the bumper sticker didn't say which country's constitution he voted.

My Second Mother Passes Away

I read with so much sadness this afternoon that Mama D passed away yesterday.
Mama was a Minneapolis celebrity and restaurateur for four decades.
When I was a student at the University of MN, I went to the first restaurant she was associated with, Sammy D's, in Dinkytown. I had, of course, heard of Mama but had never seen her. I saw this short dark haired woman shuttling around the restaurant and into and out of the kitchen. I naturally assumed that she was Mama. She wasn't. It was her sister Connie. I found out on my third visit who that white haired woman was who talked to the dark haired woman all the time. That was Mama.

I visited the original Sammy D's (her son Sammy owned the restaurant) many times after. The original Sammy D's moved down the street to bigger digs then moved to St. Paul into the old Baker schoolhouse near Raymond and Territorial Rd. The name of the restaurant changed from Sammy D's to Mama D's, Sammy bowing to the inevitable fact that everyone was going to or asking about or referring to "Mama D's".

And the stories Mama could tell!

She told me that after her husband Gene died, she came back to Minneapolis to help Sammy in his sandwich shop. Sammy went on vacation and people would come in and see a sandwich menu but ask "Do you serve lasagna?" to which Mama replied "Come back tomorrow." Same question for spaghetti, fettuccine, veal or eggplant parmigian with the same reply. Sammy came back from vacation and his one page menu had become a two page complete menu! "Ma! What have you done to me!" he asked. So, he went back to a one page menu and then faced all the questions: "I brought my family/my office/my friends for the lasagna/fettuccine/veal/etc. What happened to..." And Sammy was taken kicking and screaming into the full restaurant business.

My Mom and Mama had never met. Mama was going to speak at the senior retirement facility where Mom worked. As Mama got out of the car, Mom introduced herself as my mother, whereupon Mama hugged her and said how happy she was to finally meet her. As Mama delivered her speech to about 300 seniors with my Mom on stage behind her, Mama said "If I were 30 years younger, this woman would be my mother-in-law."

Mama's husband Gene, as he was dying from cancer, made her promise that she would not forget the poor and hungry, so every March 19th, St. Joseph's Day, she would feed any and all who came to be fed. After her restaurant couldn't accommodate the crowd she moved it to St. Lawrence Church. I volunteered for many St. Joseph's Days. Someplace I have a video of Mama D and me dancing a tarantella in the basement of St. Lawrence's on a St. Joseph's Day. So many rich memories as I read that last sentence...

And all were equal in Mama D's eyes. All.

My first spiritual mentor, Ralph, once said never to take away someone's dignity. And it was at a St. Joseph's Day Supper that I saw that lesson: She was an old woman. Short in a heavy coat on a fairly warm St. Joseph's Day. I had seen her before at the restaurant, but didn't know her name. Mama had posted a sign "One Plate Only" to ensure that there was enough food for all. This old woman had taken two and was juggling both down the buffet line. As I watched her from the kitchen, I was going to say something to her about the two plates. I would have been right. But my decision would have been wrong. And so I said nothing, but quietly observed that Mama's generosity and faithfulness to a promise she made her husband would result in my learning a lesson about dignity.

I also believe I was perhaps the only bachelor that asked Mama D out on "dates". I met Tony Bennett and Peggy Lee on one such outing.

When my Dad passed away in 1993, Mom was talking to Mama. Mama empathized with Mom's loss when Mom told how much she missed Dad and so often cried. And Mama told Mom "If tears would bring him back, I'd cry with you." One of Mama's favorite sayings "It's the old hen that makes the best broth" come to life.

As Mama got older, her memory was starting to fail her (she was suffering onset dementia) and she suffered from macular degeneration and didn't see well at all. But, if she didn't recognize you or remember your name, you would never knew as she treated you as a good friend she hadn't seen in a while.

It occurs to me as I write and reflect on my four decade relationship with Mama D, that when I met her in 1969, she was five years younger than I am today. What will be the legacy I pass on to those children and young adults in my life? I've had a exemplary tutor.

There is so much, much more I could write about Mama D, but let it suffice for me to say how much richer I am because Mama D was in my life teaching me wisdom, humility, kindness, compassion and mercy- personified.

Plus a couple of really great recipes!

Rest well Mama.

An audio interview. It was so wonderful to hear her voice again.

3-20-09 P.S. Tomorrow Mom and I will be going to Mama's funeral.
We plan to be there very early.

What the Constitutuion was meant to stop

In a little known story, it became apparent to me how freedom and liberty can be evidenced in small ways.
North Korea has just opened its first pizzeria. Seems the Dear Leader, Kim Jong-il, thought that North Koreans should "also be allowed access to the world's famous dishes." Damn decent of that fellow, I say. Damn decent!
Many customers have tried pizza for the first time in their lives. First time. And only because the Dear Leader allowed it. And ordering pizza is something you and I would and have never even given a second thought to-unless it's our watching the clock to see if we can get a discount or get it for free.
This pizzeria opened in a country where it's estimated that millions have died of starvation over the past few years.
This is what happens when power is concentrated and centralized. I've written about this before.
And the real crime here: there are tens of millions of voters who will see absolutely no connection, in any way, shape or form in even a remote fashion between the first pizzeria opening in Pyongyang and the decades long and the current disaster called Washington D.C. and the article I wrote over three years ago.
No connection at all.

And just to remind you of what lies in store for you, the loyal subjects of thos ewho know how to do it all:

What we always knew...

The Radical Left Wing Drive By Media (Rush's term) Great Conspiracy.

An opportunity for leadership by example

Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) has suggested that the executives at AIG commit suicide over bonuses paid out. AIG has a loan, terms written by Congress (ha,ha,ha,ha,ha...). Total so far : $170,000,000,000. Congress has committed to spending of anywhere from $4,000,000,000,000-$7,000,000,000,000 (trillions, not mere billions). And Congress and the president are in a dither over a few millions?
My suggestion to Senator Grassley: you people under the Great Marble Dome think you can run businesses, banks, mortgages, car companies? Well, Senator Grassley, why not gather a contingent of your like minded Senators and Representatives and lead from the front? Show those AIG executives that those of you who can squander trillions can lead those who spend millions.

The wheels on the bus go "crunch, crunch, crunch..."

From Drudge-"Bonus Mess Depeletes Obama Capital".
OK, so the lefties at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave and under the great marble dome are in a huff and outrage over bonuses at AIG. Did the greatest minds ever assembled who worked out the loan to AIG , well, how did they work out the loan provisions? What are the loan provisions? As there are a number of divisions in AIG, which divisions are involved? As this a LOAN, not a purchase, again, what are/were the strings attached with the loan? How about real businessmen looking over the terms? Are we to assume that the greatest minds ever assembled got it, well, wrong? There's no way BHO and the Congress get out of this one. They either didn't get it right (no surprises) or are going to try to cancel AIG contracts. They will certainly do as they have for decades- blame everyone they can see and take no responsibility themselves, unless it's in some self-serving way ("We thought we could trust AIG to do the right thing.")
The one big question I have is "Who gets thrown under the bus on this one?"
The same people that have brought you Medicare, Fannie and Freddie, the sub-prime disaster, Bernie Madoff, etc are the same people who now know how to run a multi-billion dollar international business.
Let them start with running their respective lunchrooms first.

Only because George Soros' money is not going to Air America

And the reason "conservative" talk radio is on the wane is because there is no left wing talk radio to speak of...duh!

It is because...

Over at Hot Air, my friend Ed Morrissey has a post about the Speaker of the House Duplicitous Majority Nancy Pelosi pleading that she is NOT partisan.
Oh. OK. Thanks for clearing that up for me San Fran Nan.
One of the commenters posted this about San Fran Nan's protestations:
"I am 'X' because I say I am 'X' ".
It reminded me of all the bills that the radical left passes with their anti-liberty, anti-Constitutional, anti-American agenda: "This bill will do 'X' because I say it will do 'X'. "
Any questions?

Moral equivalency

"I support the President but not his policies."

"I support the troops but not the mission."

We're all DOOMED!

I caught a part of Fox News Sunday this morning. Chris Wallace was interviewing Austan Goolsbee from the White House Council of Economic Advisors. His take: Tax cuts caused the economic crisis. They produced a weak recovery.
This man advises the President.
We now see the danger of surrounding yourself with people you chose specifically to tell you what you want to hear rather than people who tell you the truth.
I'll update as soon as the video becomes available.

Amendment X saillies forth on Amendment II

This evening, 14 March, your intrepid warrior for liberty and freedom will be on The Sue Jeffers Show on KTLK FM 100.3 tonight 5-7 p.m. Central Daylight Time. My friend Tim Grant, VP of AACFI (the firearm instructor organization where I am accredited) and I will discuss the 2nd Amendment, the Heller case, other cases, pending (and past) legislation and firearm instruction.
Listen live or via streaming audio.
See if I truly have a face for radio.

When Hell, or Lake Superior, freeze over!

I've always been appreciative of the way the left puts a smiley language happy face on evil. They always have a nice sounding name for a bill or program that doesn't,has never, will never and can never do what the name of the bill or law or program implies. But, the ardent enemies of liberty and goodness are tireless in attacking all that is good and free and worthy. So, when they're caught with their ideological pants down via language, they are adroit. Case in point: "global warming", after countless articles and scientific papers have proven it to be a fraud of the first order, morphed into "climate change". Lake Superior, the largest of the great lakes and largest lake in the world for surface area, feezes over completely about once every twenty years. Well, lookie here:


Lake Superior frozen over! NOAA captured this image of a frozen over Lake Superior having frozen over the last time in 2003.
Perhaps the new name the left will pin on this lame attempt to control people and economies will be "climate elasticity".
Thanks to King Banion and Janet at SCSU Scholars for this.

Lightning strikes twice; Blind squirrel finds acorn-etc

Steve Sack, the editorial cartoonist for Prairie Pravda is unapologetically way left of center.
Today, however, he gets it right.
I therefore present the Once in a Decade Correctly Drawn Steve Sack Political Cartoon:

Lest we forget

This morning as I was sipping my fresh ground coffee (basically enjoyng some of my fast evaporating rights {more on that later}), reading an article about Rick Santelli from the People's Cube (an Amendment X highly recommended parody site), I came across a picture that I had seen nearly twenty years ago. It reminds me of who really has the power in any state. He was on his way to work. He only had a briefcase and a plastic bag. I don't believe he planned his actions ahead of time, but if he did, that makes him all the more courageous. I''ll include the picture as a still and I'll also embed the You Tube video. This man did one of the most courageous things I've ever seen a human do:






My sister and brother-in-law where graduate students in IT at the U of MN in 1989. There were a number of Chinese graduate students also in the IT Dept. My sister and BiL related that the fax machines in the department were being used constantly, nearly 24 hours a day communicating with the students in Tiananmen Square in that spring of 1989.
And I'm still impressed, in awe and humbled by the courage of a single man who was willing to put his life on the line for liberty-a man that I've never met and still don't know his name.

Toilet paper worse than Hummers!

When will these people finally be sent packing?

"Future generations are going to look at the way we make toilet paper as one of the greatest excesses of our age. Making toilet paper from virgin wood is a lot worse than driving Hummers in terms of global warming pollution." Making toilet paper has a significant impact because of chemicals used in pulp manufacture and cutting down forests.

A campaign by Greenpeace seeks to raise consciousness among Americans about the environmental costs of their toilet habits and counter an aggressive new push by the paper industry giants to market so-called luxury brands."

I'm reminded of a story in Liberty magazine a fews years back exhorting the liberty loving readers to action by talking about the radical environmental movement. When the enviro nazis started in the very early 70's, could they have ever imagined the hell and misery that they would wreak on mankind due to the incredible political power they acquired over 30+ years? Not at all. And the above article shows how true that statement is.

Media Darwinism

I came across the following clip from Hot Air. I remember the quote. As you watch the clip, watch how the MSM morphs it from the original statement by Joe Biden about BHO's first few months to a general statement about the " next administration". This is why we need "reasonable" editorial controls just like we have a constant cry for "reasonable" gun control laws. If Minnesotans For A Safer MN can't trust me with my rights with a firearm and keep adding "reasonable" controls to keep firearms out the hands of "disturbed" people, then I need to call for "reasonable" controls on those who have demonstrated they can't properly handle themselves with a pen or their mouth.

Choose "A" or "A"

From the AOL.com poll page after the BHO Olivet discourse. Any idea who the writer may have voted for (HT to my friend Mark)(click on picture to expand) :

And in case you missed it...

And one part of the stimulus?:

Stimulus by any other name...

From Reason via Weekly Standard via Hot Air:

Is nothing sacred anymore?

This headline from Breitbart:" Massachusetts Couple Who Led Gay Marriage Fight to Divorce".
What next, illegals eligible for Social Security? New York Democrat politicians changing their positions when they reach the Senate?

and when I see it ,well, it just gets better doesn't it?

The people at Suitably Flip have extended their graphic analysis of what the Stimuless Bill will buy per American household:

I've added comments at the site.

TANSTAAFL

Or, "I'll drink your milkshake!"
Be sure to click and read the comments.

...but I'll know it when I see it

Everet Dirkson, Senator from Illinois, has been attributed to have said "A billion here and a billion there and pretty soon you're talking about real money!" (BTW, when I think "Senator" I think "Ev Dirkson!"). In the Spendapalooza (aka Wastepalooza) going on in Washington, I'm also reminded, in trying to imagine what a million million is, I'm reminded of a quote from Stalin:" A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic." I'm afraid we've become dulled to to the scope of this Porkalooza tsunami.
Well, from Ed Morrissey at Hot Air, here is a link to a historical spending graphic, all in inflation adjusted dollars (aka constant dollars) (click on the image for a clearer view):


Now, what this graphic does not show is the Fannie and Freddie bailout, TARP, the auto bailout just to name three. Ed got this from a a site Suitably Flip . What also is not shown is all the economic damage from the New Deal which has crippled the American economy for over 75 years. This graphic does not include the $70,000,000,000,000+ unfunded liability for Social Security and Medicare. The Porkulus bill only spends about 12-14% on any real "stimulus". That plus most of the "money" won't be spent for years.
Liz Trotta on Fox News Sunday a few weeks back had five great questions to ask, even before this disaster (my answers follow each question):

1. How much money does the Fed have?- None. It has to take it from you in one way, shape or form.
   
2. Where does it come from?- Depends on what Liz Trotta refers to as the Fed: The federal government or the Federal Reserve. The Fed Reserve again prints it. The federal government gets it from only three places: taxes (you pay), borrowing (you pay again with higher interest rates and taxes as those debt instruments have to paid back) or they print it.
3. Who decides what to do with the money?- Barney Frank ("Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are solid and sound! No problem at all. Trust me."), Chris Dodd (How's that Countrywide mortgage going for you there Senator?), Charles Rangel (I'm too important to have to pay fines and penalties on those taxes I didn't pay), Tim Geitner (Oh, THOSE taxes! Horrible mistake, Turbo Tax's fault, etc...).
4. Who has oversight? Checks/balances?- see answer to question 3.
   
5. How much money does the government have left?- As it didn't start with any and has run up deficts (for us serfs, it called "overdrawn", aka "bounced check syndrome"), it's "created" money.

As I've sold high collectibles for over 17 years, mostly consisting of old American gold coins, I put together a Power Point presentation about buying and taking a defensive position in gold. One of the slides asks "What makes money, well, money?" I stop the slide and take comments: recognized method of trade, easy to transport, able to ascertain value... All true. However, there is one prime factor in making money money: It's accepted as money. If it's not trusted for any number of reasons and therefore not accepted, it no longer is money.
So, what happens when foreign governments no longer buy our debt?

An ad that I really like

My friend Ed Morrissey over at Hot Air has a pro-life ad that NBC and the Super Bowl rejected.
It makes a very powerful statement.



It raises a lot of thorny questions for the anti-life/limited pro-choice left.
A lot.
And that makes it even more enjoyable.

Another reason the Stribune is bankrupt

From the Stribune editorial cartoonist Sack:

I notice Mr. Sack conveniently did NOT include the President's tirade against Rush Limbaugh, not to mention that he "mentioned" in his all inclusive bi-partisan overture to the Republicans "I won". No reference to Speaker Pelosi's refusal to include the Republicans any opportunity to address or amend the Porkulus package. As Minority Whip Eric Cantor reminded President Obama at a White House get together yesterday that it was not a House bill-as the Republicans were frozen out, it was and is a Democrat bill.
I wonder if Sack is working as a consultant for the Strib these days or is still one of the 23 retained under Chapter 11 employees still on board?

Why I love the open, compassionate, diverse left

I've written many times about my involvement with the 8th Air Force Historical Society. Every Wednesday 50-60 of us meet for lunch, usually seated at the same chairs at the same tables.
I usually sit next to a retired Chief Master Sargent (CMSgt). I know he's a fairly strident lefty. I had no idea how strident until today.
I put my stuff on my regular chair, took off my jacket and went to return a book on WWII to a Vietnam vet across the dining hall. As I left I made a comment about Rush Limbaugh and this CMSgt made a comment about "A bullet to his head". I dropped off the book, chatted with the Navy vets and went back to my seat. We had a program that lasted for about 30 minutes. After the program, I turned to the CMSgt and said "Jack (not his name), you said something about Rush Limbaugh before the program. I just want to be clear about what you said." "I said that I don't agree with him." "Oh. What about a bullet to his head?" "Well, I said I wouldn't mind if someone put a bullet in his head. I just don't like what he says." "Oh. What about me? Do want to put a bullet in my head?" "No. Not at all." "Why not? I agree with a lot of what he says. As a matter of fact, I sometimes think he's a bit too soft. So, again, do you want to put a bullet in my head?" "No, no. I don't disagree with you." "But, I agree with Rush. You want a bullet in his head. Do you want to put a bullet in my head too?" Three times I asked him directly. Three times he demurred. I'll let remain unsaid what I thought about doing next to really call him out.
This is from the open, inclusive, bi-partisan, compassionate, we'll never re-enact the Fairness Doctrine, we support open debate, embracing diversity left.
My posterior!
Next week, I'll give "Jack" the link to this post.
I'll report on the reaction from this compassionate, embracing diversity, not closing the debate from other voices CMSgt (ret).

Soon to be illegal near you

And what might be next?

If in America

Would she have lived had she had American health care ?

Roses wilt under the heat

Yah know, some champagne goes flat real fast.
A drop of nearly 20%? Who'd a' thunk?
Come on now-those numbers will boing right back up as soon as we stop listening to Rush Limbaugh (see below).

Why President Obama represents Hope and Change to me

His stance and expressed desire and his striving for unity and bipartisanship.
In contrast to his campaign rhetoric.

A concept twice lost

When Little Jimmy Carter came to Washington, he rode in on a wave of "I'm not one of them. I'm a Washington outsider."
How'd that work out for him again?
Today, from The Politico, there is this headline: "Obama to GOP: ' I won'"
The Republicans came to the President to express concerns about the "stimulus" package. President Obama reminded the assembled representatives of the minority party "I won".
What Pres. BHO doesn't realize is the lesson from Jimmy Carter and the ancient Greek tragedies regarding hubris. Whenever there is failure on the part of a character, it is usually traced back to the arrogance on the part of that character.
Presidential candidate Obama walked and talked arrogance from his "vero possumus", his faux presidential seal, his plane being called "O Force One", Greek columns, et al. He starting believing all the fawning press reports regarding him. What he fails to realize is that when he moved that 1.5 miles down Pennsylvania Ave from the Capitol Dome, that he left being "one of them" to being "The President". He fails to realize that he now has to contend with a whole marble dome full of egos. He is now one of three branches of government. He is the lightening rod.
One more thing he doesn't realize is what Princess Diana also failed to realize: the press made her and she thought that she could turn that on and off like a faucet. So it is here in America.
The President's ego is going to collide with Washington reality. It already has (from a Hot Air column):