"... every Republican in this country wants President Obama to fail but none of them have the guts to say so. We want him to fail."
"Republicans are cowards."
That's what I heard.
They don't 1) have the guts to say 2) they hope our President fails in his effort to help the Nation recover at one of the most serious times of trouble our Nation has experienced.
Oh my!
Not only does The Leader of The Republican Party® thinks most of his fellow members are too cowardly to say what they think; and they all want the U.S. to sink deeper into the hole the former president, who they voted for TWICE, left us in.
wow.
Republicans.
A dying breed.
p.s. Keep talking, Limbaugh. I hope you remain the leader of the Republican Party for at least another 16 years!
Last year during the last three months of the presidential campaign up to election night, filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi visited 28 states to get the perspective of mostly of those Americans who would vote for McCain. The result is the HBO documentary RIGHT AMERICA: FEELING WRONGED - SOME VOICES FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL. The 45-minute documentary is mostly the comments of those who feel underrepresented by the mainstream media. Their comments -- about America, about a potential black president -- are at times downright chilling.
With the impending election of Barack Obama, voices from the Right expect, nay GUARANTEE, outright social, political, and economic upheaval like this country has never seen; the loss of their rights as gun owners; the appearance of the Qu'ran at the Inauguration; the end of America as we know it.
It's very scary how delusional, how out-of-touch, tens of millions of Americans are. View at your own risk.
He founded a mega-church in Colorado Springs. Made major bucks.
He was a star. A bright, shining light for God.
First time I saw him and every time after that, I thought the dude was one of the most self-righteous pricks I'd ever seen. Like so many JW elders too many to number.
Then he got caught in a sex and drug scandal with a male prostitute. He'd been living a double life. Truth, pressed down, bubbled up. ------
I do not describe myself as a Christian. I do not. I question the bible god's very existence. Hownever... Haggard FOUNDED A CHURCH whose purpose was to help people struggling with issues. Sin. He helped one or two make their way.
Does the bible not say that the CHURCH is about healing? Is not the CHURCH solely, mainly, for sinners?
Did not Jesus say that he came for sinners... for the diseased? Not for the healthy? Did he not ask "what use do the healthy have for a doctor?"
The documentary pissed me off, really. Dude fell far and hit hard. He is a family man and at 50+ years old can't find a job. Somehow the State of Colorado was able to kick him out of the state. His family are vagabonds.
Dude said he was a loser.
He got slapped down, but my goodness. How much is enough?
Should I be like god and punish people for their sins FOREVER? Or should I forgive?
Like I said... I got pissed watching. God knows better than me, I guess. He is a more successful father. All I can say is, if I was in charge, I'd let up a lil' bit on my son, especially if he'd asked me for forgiveness multiple times.
I'd give the guy and his family a break but then... I ain't god.
There is a Greek word: exaleiphein. Literally, it means "to wipe out" or "to obliterate."
It occurs only five times in the New Testament Bible, but at least one of its uses is unusual.
In colloquial Greek, it means 'to wash over' like whitewashing the exterior wall of a house; wiping out a memory; annulling a law; canceling a debt.
In New Testament times, documents were written with an ink made of soot, mixed with gum and diluted with water on papyrus. The ink had no acid so didn't bite into the paper. It would last a long time unless a wet sponge was passed over it soon after was written. In that case, the writing disappeared completely as if the words had been had been written on slate.
At the time, a more common word for canceling a debt was chiazein which means to write the Greek letter chi which was the same shape as a capital X right across the document.
Here's the thing:
Paul does not say that Christ "crossed out" (chiazein) the record of our debt. He says He "wiped it out" (exaleiphein). If you cross something out -- write a big X over it -- what's written underneath is still clearly visible. If you WIPE it out, the record is gone, erased from memory.
Humans can forgive but can't really forget. For humans, it is impossible. But God, according to the Greek exaleiphein, not only forgives but wipes out the very memory of our sin as if it had never occurred.
There is a kind of forgiveness that forgives but still remembers--what humans do. God's forgiveness is that supreme forgiveness which forgives and forgets.
I bought a gadget, cheap. High-quality, less than a couple hours worth of pay. Given reasonable care, it'll probably be here at least half a century after I'm good and gone.
I can say: There is something to be said for taking a knife sharp enough to kill somebody and put it to a useful purpose. Cutting up once living things -- veggies -- into little bits and creating something fit to eat. Taking one's hands, a couple of kitchen tools, and the proper fruits of Mother Earth and making food.... nourishment. Now that's something, when you really stop and think about it.
The joy of cooking is in my blood--I've know it for a while--but I was last with a woman who knew her way around a kitchen and she took a certain pride in it. Kept her secrets. Made food fit to eat. I respected that so let my talents rest. Mind you... out on the patio, yours truly remained the grill meister. But in the kitchen, she was Queen. I acquiesed.
We're not together no mo', so I've called upon the chef that's lived within to feed me. The one that's always wanting to come out. A culinary artiest, he is.
Dont get me wrong. I don't mind KFC, Burger King, Wendy's, Pizza Inn. This, that and the other fast food joint, but every now and then, I want a home-cooked meal. Who can I count on for it? Well I'll be g dang. I can count on me.
Wherever I live from here on out will be much like the place I live now: the kitchen will have an unobstructed view of the TV. I get in there with a sharp knife, a red and/or green bell pepper, onions, garlic, ground beef and still see ESPN? Oh my. How could life be better?
There is a line in The Reader: "Societies think they operate by morality but they don't. They operate by law." It is a statement that sets the stage for most of what happens on scales large and small during one of 2008's most thought-provoking pictures of any year -- a movie about sex, ethics, morality, law, right and wrong, judgment, punishment, revenge. Scape-goating.
The marketing says the movie will force you to question everything you believe. There's a little hyperbole in that statement, but not much. It that way The Reader reminds me of Doubt. I left the movie full of questions of what I believe about the topics the movie covers, and that's just fine with me.
The movie jumps around in time a little bit, but the foundation of the story takes place during the summer of 1958. There is a torrid affair between a teen and an older woman who meet by chance. If my math is right, Hannah (Kate Winslet) is 36 and her love interest Michael (new-comer David Kross) is 15. There is mystery to Hannah. She has a lot of secrets. There is an unspoken innocence about Michael, but he has secrets of his own.
At one point, Hannah endures intense courtroom questioning for something she'd done years before. Her primary interrogator, a distinguished-looking judge who appears to be in search of Truth®, asks why she did this and this and this. Her answer astounds. Her question is sincere. She really wants to know.
The courtroom (and the movie audience) goes dead silent. All ponder the question while it hangs in the air like a thick fog and we sit as Hannah's judge. The Truth Seeker® who sits in judgment lowers his head. Not a single word crosses his lips.
The judge is not the only culpable person in the room, and I'm not talking about Hannah, the woman who's on trial. In fact, very few in the movie come thru as innocent and one comes thru as equally guilty as Hannah of crimes against humanity; what Roger Ebert describes as "a fact of human nature: Most people, most of the time, all over the world, choose to go along. We vote with the tribe."
And if you think this is a movie about Nazis then you just weren't paying attention.
It's a great movie. I rate it a 9+ out of 10. Some movies you'll buy, some you won't. I'll buy The Reader. Another test of how good a movie is: would you be willing to pay to see it again on the big screen? On this one, I most definitely would.
****************Caveat****************
There's a lot of nudity for the first 30-40 minutes; frontal, backal, boy, and girl. I don't mind nekidness, don't get me wrong, but it may have been just a tad overdone. Maybe not. Just be ready for it.
The investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna.
The banker complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.
The little Mexican replied, "not long."
The banker then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish?
"Because this is all I need."
The banker then asked, "but what do you do with the rest of your time?"
"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life!"
The banker scoffed, "You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise."
"But, how long will this all take?"
"Fifteen to twenty years."
"But what then?"
The banker laughed at the fisherman's ignorance.
"That's the best part! When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions!!"
"Millions? Then what?"
"Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."
It was a weird week, nation-wide. A nasty, racist-tinged wind commenced to blow. Hopefully it doesn't speak of the years ahead. Because of America' treatment of Africans during Slavery and the ugly reign of Jim Crow who's legacy survives, race has always been an undercurrent in America. Few have the courage or honesty to talk intelligently about it.
"Many interviewees were particularly incensed by what they saw as a lack of any meaningful media attention given to their message during the election campaign and by a perceived media bias against McCain and running mate Sarah Palin. Many of them feel so alienated over cultural and political issues that they say they will never trust the new president, the Congress or the media."
They seem to be a collection of scared, angry, and I feel dangerous, people -- very unhappy that a black man who is, supposedly, "not a Christian"; expected by many to place his hand on the Koran come inauguration day, with clear ties to bin Laden, now living in the White House. --------------
On Wednesday, the NY Post publishes this:
Civil rights leaders and elected officials said it echoed racist stereotypes of blacks as monkeys. Some have even interpreted it as a call to commit violence against if not assassinate President Obama. --------------
On Thursday, America's top cop, Attorney General Eric Holder, called the country a Nation Of Cowards.
"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and we, I believe, continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards. Though race-related issues continue to occupy a significant portion of our political discussion, and though there remain many unresolved racial issues in this nation, we -- average Americans -- simply do not talk enough with each other about things racial." --------------
That same day -- Thursday -- the top-most republican official, RNC Chairman Michael Steele, expressed plans to take the neocon message to the inner city with an "off the hook" public relations blitz into "urban-suburban hip-hop settings" in hopes of wooing African-Americans to the conservative cause. He sees the need for his increasingly irrelevant group to "uptick our image with everyone, including one-armed midgets." --------------
Then yesterday, Friday, former republican presidential candidate Alan Keyes pretty much called for the President's removal from office... by any means necessary:
In view of the current racially-charged place we're in, what exactly did Keyes mean when he said "we're either going to stop [President Obama] or the United States of America is going to cease to exist." This is especially in view of the undercurrent of hatred for a black president amongst upwards of 60 million republican voters; the cartoon showing police having shot and killed a monkey w/ the caption revealing that it wasn't just a monkey, and so forth.
Interesting times. Watch your back, President Obama.
He was arguably the best ever. I'm not the first to say that, but for the first time you'll read why he was (and it wasn't just the dunks)...
He was physically gifted, yes, but many others in his profession were, too.
One, what set him apart was his work ethic. He respected the game, respected his place in it, and worked at being the best he could be. That alone set him apart from a field where most expected to float to the top on their physical gifts alone.
He hired a personal trainer at his own expense, his off-season training regimen becoming legendary. But he wanted to be the best he could be, and he was not content with what came naturally -- without effort. He understood this very early, and stuck with the program thru-out his career. He pushed his natural ability to he very edge.
Second, he was smarter than nearly everyone else on the floor. He thought about what might/could happen. He anticipated. This video is a testament. I'll never know--I'm not an MJ expert so I've never read anything he's said about it--but I think some of these missed free throws were planned. So he could do what we see him doing. Giving his team an edge, demoralizing his opponent.
Opponents soon understood their physical gifts weren't enough. In the midst of a season, it all of a sudden dawned on them that their lackluster workout regimen during the season AND off-season wasn't enough. This guy is SERIOUS! This guy wants to win! To beat this Jordan fella, you had to actually think a lil' bit. And not just be a thinker -- you had to think all g-dang game long... EVERY GAME.
And that's were he held a significant edge. Most of his competitors didn't care to think on his level or nearly as long. I wasn't there, but I know that during games they lost focus. Not Mike. Not ever. He was out for the kill every moment he was in the arena--the field of play. Like how Bill Russell blocked shots...
To this day, most blocked shots you'll ever see in a basketball game go into the high-dollar seats. The crowd oohs and aahs! How impressive!!
Hall Of Famer Bill Russell understood that blocking shots into the crowd meant the other team would get the ball back. So... oh no. Russell would block the ball into the backboard, grab the deflected ball, follow it up with a quick outlet pass to a team mate for an easy score on the other end.
Yeah, the shot blocked into the seats roused the crowd -- but the ball went right back to the other team. Bill Russell, Mike's predecessor, was smart. A thinker. A high school senior amidst eighth graders, really. I digress...
Third and maybe most important, Jordan WANTED it more than everybody around him. He wanted to be the best... to excel. By definition, he wanted "to do or be better than." I hear it sometimes: "so-and-so thinks they are better than such-and-such." Well, maybe they are. Water seeks it's own level. *shrug*
If you watch the video like I did, you wonder: did he and Pippen (who was usually the one missing the free throws in the vid) plan the miss? Or did Jordan study Pippen's (missed) freethrows, learn which way they were most likely to bounce off the rim, then take advantage?
Then.... if you're like me, you say "no," because Grant Hill in an All-Star game does the same thing -- misses a free throw... and looks stunned when Jordan flashes by to slam in the miss.
Here's the deal:
There are never more than 500 active NBA players at any one time. Tens of thousands of little boys dream of being in the NBA. You and I know: the majority never make it. It goes w/out saying: 99.9999999999% of us can't really relate to Jordan's feats on a pro b-ball court. None of us ever did or ever will get there. Still, there are lessons to be learned...
We do what we do, whatever it is. We go to work everyday. We punch a clock, go to an assembly line, get in a truck, deliver mail, pick up a hammer and build something that we can look back on in wonder at the end of the day. Whatever it is we do, the question hangs: When it comes to what you do, whatever it is... are you like Russell and Jordan... working hard, thinking ahead, wanting to be your best?
Or are you more like the numberless journeymen players Russell and Jordan consistently beat -- employees satisfied with a paycheck on Friday so they can party on the weekend but never reaching the top of the mountain or wearing the crown? The kind of player/team Russell and the Boston Celtics and Jordan with the Chicago Bulls rolled over many years on their way to multiple championships. In other words, a loser.
Being the best you can personally be is not a matter of luck or a ball's good or bad bounce. It's A CHOICE. The work we leave behind says something about us. What we do speaks in our behalf.
Sometimes... every now and then... you hear of a situation where everybody associated with an event does absolutely what you believe is the right thing (meaning: what you would do). Every one of the thousands in the room.
What a gift of Life it is to be alive to see or hear of the basic humanity of humans and that it lives. It's dang near the feeling you get when reading about what Peter, Paul and John described upon seeing the transfiguration.
I'm crusty myself and beyond hope as The Neph will tell you, but maybe you got a chance so hold out. More later on this. Or you can google it.
*shrug*
p.s. how did everyone in the room know what was going on in the life of the kid who just showed up? One wonders.
One of the bad things about my job is that my weekend, my two off days, are sometimes Monday/Tuesday. Or Thursday/Friday. Or any other pair of days other than the traditional Saturday/Sunday.
One of the really cool things about my job is that my weekend is sometimes Monday/Tuesday. Or Thursday/Friday. Or any other pair of days other than the traditional Saturday/Sunday pair. Weekends of the traditional type are vastly overated. I digress.
It was one lazy "weekend" weekday. I was at Circuit City in late 2007, maybe early 2008 -- one of ten customers in the whole store -- when I first saw this video and first heard this song. I instantly became a fan of one Diana Krall and her crew.
It was playing on a big screen TV they had set up with a Bose sound system. With no effort I commandeered the remote and must have hit "Replay" ten times. Dude asked me twice if I needed help. No. Not really. He just didn't understand.
I was little more than a snotty-nosed kid looking thru a candy shop window, dreaming a distant dream. Mesmerized, jaw dropped. The sound was cool enough all by itself, but the visual of Ms Krall's light fingertips dancing on the keys and those magnificent high heels; too-cool bass player, guitarist feeling it, drummer marvelously keeping everybody in check... man.
It was lovely. All of it. Still is. What a remarkable dance amongst truly talented people.
What is it like to look over at a fellow musician whilst making magnificent music? I can only imagine, for this is truly magnificent... top to bottom, start to finish.
What follows is the closest I've seen to sex without people getting undressed. It's not exactly the same vid I remember seeing then, but it's close. And it evokes pretty much the same.
I have a mad... mad... MAD crush on Sade Adu. It's lasted for 20yrs, unabated. She is the type of woman I spoke of earlier. I would definitely let her buy me lunch.
When he was elected governor of Minnesota in the late 90s, I wondered, "what the f**k is wrong with them?? Those idiots deserve whatever 'leadership' they get."
Well, I was wrong. Turns out this former Navy Seal--shoulda told me something right there--this former 'b' actor, this former rassler and I have a lot in common. He is definitely an out-of-the-box thinker, far detached from the mainstream on every issue. He's self-assured if not down-right arrogant, but I'd hang out with him given the chance.
If you got time and nothing else to do, you might want to check out an hr interview. (I listened to it twice).
He talks of harrassment by the CIA AFTER HE'D BECOME GOVERNOR. As a Black man, when I heard that I thought "when government harrassment can happen to White male GOVERNORS..." Oh my!
In Part 4 of last summer's radio interview, Ventura prophecies something very very worrisome about newly elected President Obama.
He lives 6 months a year in Mexico and makes an interesting comment about the brown-skinned people he lives around and how that figures into America's national security concerns.
If you're here and reading this, you know something about me. I urge you. Take an hour out of your day & check it out. Some of you will learn something. Others will only shake their heads, hearing stuff you already know.
The problem with FOX "News" and the Right's deafness:
I like this preacher like I love very few. Why? He speaks universal truth, the kind of truth that will live forever. He points out every one of the interviewer's errors of thought, errors of fact, errors of belief.
"When white folks criticize America, they're critical. When black people criticize America, they're haters of America."
Wow. Preach on, Brother!
- Baseless talking points not based in fact.
- Double standards.
- Ad hominems.
- Straw man arguments.
- Attempts to change the subject when challenged.
The hannities and oreillies and limbaws of the world are having their day now, but not forever. Their best days are behind them. Even the dumbest Okie wakes up one day.
See The Nizkor Project for more info on how people seemingly win but actually LOSE arguments every day, all day. The "Religious / Self - Righteous Right" uses them all.
I come from a clan of Loners. Some of my clan have, has, and do presently work at... I say WORK AT... as in seeing good in the lifesyle and working at perfecting the art of being perfectly happy and alone IN A DUSTY CAVE whilst swimming in a sea of humanity... the idea of being totally disconnected from the rest of humanity unless totally necessary.
Members of my Clan have been known to completely ignore blood-related travelers, people they'd once shared a home with for years... when such had traveled far to share their company. Oh, what stories I could tell.
It's a weird thing. Yet, it's beautiful thing. People who don't really need other people? People who are comfortable in our own skin? Weird, objectively.
I think of the pillars of my life... the shoulders I stand on, most now gone: Mama. Loner. Momo. Loner. Aunt Margaret. Loner.
Aunt Frances? A Loner nonpareil, and if she ever reads this I bet she'll bust out laughing. The Quintessential Loner. That marvelous chick never cared less about what you, your momma, or your momma's best friend thought. I mean... Ant Frances don't give a damn. She is supremely secure in her being. Come at her the wrong way the first time you meet her and find out for yourself. Coming up, I trusted her like I did NO OTHER. I'm not the only one who can say that, either. If she's your friend, you'll need very few others in life.
Debbie. Nephew. Connie. Rusty. Vicki. Roddie. Shelly and Stacy, too, are keeping the tradition alive. All Loners to the core. Deon. I don't agree 100% of the time with a single one of my people. We're a bold bunch with opinions hard to budge.
Sometimes I wonder if I was born into this family or if a switch was made at Twin Cities Hospital on Midland where I was born.
In case you didn't already know, I respectfully disagree with boldy expressed opinions on a regular basis. If you've had the privilege you already know why: my Clan is noted for boldly expressed opinions. Coming up, you had to stand up or be walked on. My peeps don't scare me, though. Especially strong Black women like the ones I was raised around. Aunties, mothers, sisters. Strong. Bold. Don't mess with me types. Yep. They don't scare me none. Once you figure them out, they're no different than fuzzy kittens.
We fall out sometimes and sometimes I admit being perfectly happy not speaking to a couple now and forever. But I got major respect for how I was raised. For the people who raised me. And who I grew up with.
Major respect.
What misfits... my folks. What beautiful people. I love 'em ALL. You'd be lucky to meet any single one.
At 15.3% unemployment, it has the highest unemployment rate in the U.S. right now, voted Republican for the past 8yrs. Hard for me to feel sorry for... well... people who repeatedly vote against their own interests, but that's just me.
No different than the folks in DC voting for drug dealer Marion Barry years ago. Drug-dealer Marion Barry. Totally inept gw bush. Huge difference, right? One a city mayor. Another -- leader of the Free World® for eight years. I digress. _____________
President Obama visited Elkhart today. He's unafraid of going to where he's not liked. Only two weeks in and we can already say that, unlike the so-called great uniter, he's visited the ohter side, had drinks with the other side, invited to the other side (and been shot down more than once -- how they've set themselves up!)
The town-hall so-called "mid-America" crowd, unlike every bush crowd for the past eight years, was not--I say NOT--screened to allow entry only to party favorites. Insecure former cheerleaders don't impress me.
During bush's regime, tickets went to first come - first served. Truth, not the bush/cheney brand, has nothing and no one to fear. It can/does stand on its own.
President Obama took questions from folks that didn't vote for him.
green line = the path the U.S. economy has been on since January 2008 when bush, cheney and every other Republican "leader" (ala McCain/Palin) were BOLDLY saying there was no recession... that "the fundamentals of the economy are STRONG."
And President Obama got zero votes from republican congressmen on the Stimulus Bill because....
Why, again?
Yeah. Uninformed or blind or blindly partisan Repubs living in trailer parks all-too-willing to vote against their own interests. Same thing happened here in Oklahoma. Amazing.
Keep playing politics, gals and fellas. Millions losing their homes and jobs and retirement funds (many having voted the Palin/McCain ticket) have all kinds of time and money to spare. The Republican Party has become nothing more than an aging, uneducated group of self-righteous fear mongers. Thankfully, it's a party that's (literally) dying out.
It's mindless stupidity like this that explains why, because of their partisanship, the "my team only, right or wrong" mentality of "conservative" Republicans lost them the leadership in the House and the Senate in 2006; why they lost the White House in 2008 for the next 16 yrs; and why they will continue to lose every election for the next generation. Because of their naked lust for power, unconscionable lack of decency and basic common sense, they are now totally out of step with where America is headed thanks to eternal optimist President Obama.
Good riddance to the fear-mongering dregs of the Republican party. It shouldn't have taken this long but I'm thankful it finally did.
The chief of staff of the previous administration saw the picture of President Obama sitting at the Oval Office desk without a jacket, had a childish fit, and Wednesday went on TV to whine about it...
"...Ronald Reagan and both President Bushes treated the Oval Office with tremendous respect. They treated the Office of the Presidency with tremendous respect. And some of that respect was reflected in how they expected people to behave, how they expected them to dress when they walked into the Oval Office. And yes, I'm disappointed to see the casual, laissez faire, short sleeves, no shirt and tie, no jacket, kind of locker room experience that seems to be taking place in this White House and the Oval Office."
So, going jacket-less is a symbol of disrespect for the office and the presidency. Knowing this, the former president always had a jacket on when in the Oval Office. Oh really?!! Then who is this sitting with with staff secretary Harriet Miers IN THE OVAL OFFICE?
Ooops! How did *that* get out??
Either the previous president disrepected the Office and the Presidency, a double standard exists, or Card did again what members of the previous administration did far too much over the past 8 years. I believe the latter is true.
Knowing what the truth really is, Card prefers to tell bold-face lies. The dregs of the Republican party that did so much damage to the Nation and the world would be doing us all a huge favor if they'd just shut up and scurry back under the neocon rocks from under which they came. The sooner, the better.
Spent the last couple of days with The Nephew® and his best friend who'd come over to see me. Getting away from the sticks so they could spend at least a moment in time in a modern metropolis. Those two are truly brothers. Being twice their age, they crack me up... old dog me looking at pups wanting to play all the time. The Nephew® always picking, not only at his friend, but at everybody. One day he will fully realize how lucky he is, what he's been GIVEN. He hasn't yet.
Didn't do much really but enjoyed ourselves. Went to an NBA game in which the hometeam lost by one point in the last seconds because they or their coach is/are IDIOTS.
Breakfasted at IHOP over dynamic conversation the next morning.
Then the Zoo - where they had more fun than they let on although many of the most-interesting of the animals went missing, prolly because it was so dang hot for early February.
Then walking around downtown.
Then the kiteboarders.
Then went to pick up and hang out with my most favorite person on Earth -- my daughter Jillani (rhymes with Connie). Being with my kid was the sweetest, butteryest way to top off the day. Any day.
Someone once said: "it's not where you go, it's who you go with."
President Obama has brought a more relaxed style of dress to the White House, going without a jacket himself and allowing others to do the same. Members of the former administration and many other long-time observers of the capital scene where appalled when they saw how the new President was dressed on his first full day of work.
It was the first of the former resident's unbreakable Rules to fall by the wayside... a subtle indication of the changes coming our way. His relaxed style is just one more reason for his political adversaries to hold against him.
An aide in the previous suit-&-tie-at-all-times crew tells the story: "I [got] to work on a Saturday morning... I had on khakis and a buttoned-down shirt, and I had to stand by the door and get chewed out for about 15 minutes. He wouldn't even let me cross the threshold."
In contrast, President Obama has issued an informal rule for “business casual” on weekends, setting the example when he showed up Saturday for a briefing dressed in slacks and a gray sweater over a white buttoned-down shirt.
What workers from the previous admin and Obama critics seem not to understand is: de-emphasizing the second word of the name the most famous office in the world is known by doesn't change the room's purpose. By that I mean, the Oval Office is, after all, an office. And like every other office in the country, the Nation's work is done there. In the end, does it matter if one has a jacket on so long if the work gets done?
Respect should be shown for the White House and the Oval Office because of what they represent: the United States of America and her people. But a renewed emphasis of substance over style rather than style over substance stressed by the previous crew is what's going to get us out of the mess the neocons left us in.
I don't know about you, but I prefer a casually dressed but articulate, thoughtful, honest and competent leader over one who stresses that visitors be dressed for Sunday church but who is arrogant and thoroughly incompetent; who may have broken federal laws, who by choice started a war that has cost us dearly in blood, treasure and moral stature.
As President Obama said in the stimulus speech: "many of America's largest corporations are planning to lay off tens of thousands... the number of new unemployment claims jumped to 626,000... 2.6 million jobs lost last year... ½ million jobs each month for the last two months.
The time for talk is over. The time for action is now, because we know that if we do not act, a bad situation will become dramatically worse. Crisis could turn into catastrophe for families and businesses across the country.
We can't delay and we can't go back to the same worn-out ideas that led us here in the first place.... proposals you've been hearing for the last 10 years... [ideas] rooted in the idea that tax cuts alone can solve all our problems. Those ideas have been tested, and they have failed. They've taken us from surpluses to an annual deficit of over a trillion dollars, and they've brought our economy to a halt. And that's precisely what the election we just had was all about. The American people have rendered their judgment. And now is the time to move forward, not back. Now is the time for action."
So who cares if those trying to rescue America from the hole the neocons left us in wear suit jackets or not? Only fools would. Or do.
rush limbaw (sp) is a traitor. It (he) is not truly American. Not by strict definition. If you have to, look it up.
If it (he) was a minority spouting as it has... wanting The President of The United States of America to fail in these tragic times, wanting the Nation to sink deeper into the hole bushboy has left us in... limbaw would-a been lynched already, considering America's progressive history. limbaw's house would still be smoldering as you read this. it would have already lost its job. It certainly would NOT be on the radio being paid millions to spout its stupidity all over the United States. Not if he was a minority, no sir.
But we live in America, thank Jehovah. Where even the greatest of naked "kings," racists, neocons, white supremicists can lead the greatest of mindless and blind flocks of dumb sheep into the ditch while all the time making boastful claims about their grand, tho totally absent, attire. Nakid kings.
God bless limbaw (sp). He's found his niche and is making millions, suckering 20 million folks who can't wait to suck his toes every day, all of 'em leaning on every one of his silly words, all of them afraid to think for themselves, all of them too stupid to call "BULL SHIT" when it's right in front of them. Dishonest people. Or fools.
Uneducated Okie-type foot suckers who figured out long time ago they have 1/3 the brain of the average 10th grader but, like bushboy, wanted to get by with less. They just don't have the pedigree.
A president that takes responsibility even for things that others did and that he couldn't have known. A president that admits that his crew is imperfect; that they make mistakes; that they are human? He can't do everything but still takes the blame.
Oh. My. God.
How unlike the former.... uh... person.... to hold the office.... who, when asked the last 3 or 4 years "what mistakes did you make?" answered: "I can't think of anything."
When asked: "What would you do differently?" boastfully answered: "We made all the right decisions every single time 100%. I have no regrets."
Eighty-one percent of the country heard bullshit when those soundwaves first hit our ears. The former Yale cheerleader just wasn’t man enough, wasn't human enough, wasn't honest enough to own-up to and admit his humanity.
Is it true that McCain graduated at the bottom--894 out of 899--cadets in his class?
Did bottom-of-his-class McCain really wreck 5--count 'em, FIVE--multi-billion dollar airplanes?
When Kerry ran for prez in 2004, several of his ex-vet friends spoke up for him during the campaign. How many of McCain's former vet friends did?
Did McCain collaborate with enemies?
Did McCain really think Gov. Palin was an energy expert, responsible for a pipeline he thought was currently being built in Alaska bringing natural gas down to the lower 48? Did the long-time Senator *really* think that? (Note: there's no nor never has been a nat-gas pipeline currently being built.)
Was Gov Palin the most-qualified woman in the republican party he could have selected as a female running mate?
Was McCain aware of Mr Palin's ties to a secessionist group let by a kook that hated America?
Did the newly-elected president invite the loser McCain to the WhiteHouse to view the Superbowl, and didn't the loser turn down the invitation?
Pittsburgh has a #1 defense. Besides that, for very personal reasons, I'd love to nothing more than to see Coach Tomlin get drenched w/ Gatorade at the end of the game. "Winning Super Bowl Coach" has a certain cache for a black man in America in 2 thousand 9.
Especially if you're the white racists I live around 24/7.
I have a feeling....
Jason Whitlock had an interesting piece. It's not his Race, it's his Age that should be news. Go figure!
That said, my gut says Cardinals. Why? Kurt Warner. Roslinburger is way better than romo. Warner is special. He's... I dunno.
The world has told him he can't. Pittsburgh's defense is gonna beat him up. They are gonna get to him. They'll double-team Fitzgerald. Been right there myself. "YOU DON'T QUALIFY."
I believe in him. Kurt is a winner. And Larry Fitzgerald has a huge debt to pay to his mother.
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