An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Archive for 8 September 2008
Experience
The Presidential election was too close to call. Neither the Republican candidate nor the Democratic candidate had enough votes to win. There was much talk about ballot recounting, court challenges, etc., but a week-long ice fishing competition seemed the sportsmanlike way to settle things. The candidate that caught the most fish at the end of the week would win the election.
After much of back and forth discussion, it was decided that the contest take place on a remote frozen lake in northern Minnesota
There were to be no observers present, and both men were to be sent out separately on this isolated lake and return at 5 P.M. with their catch for counting and verification by a team of neutral parties. At the end of the first day, John McCain returned to the starting line and he had ten fish.
Soon, Obama returned and had no fish. Well, everyone assumed he was just having another ‘bad hair’ day or something and hopefully, he would catch up the next day.
At the end of the 2nd day John McCain came in with 20 fish and Obama came in again with none.
That evening, Harry Reid got together secretly with Obama and said, ‘Obama, I think John McCain is a low-life, cheatin’ son-of-a-gun. I want you to go out tomorrow and don’t even bother with fishing. Just spy on him and see just how he is cheating.’
The next night (after John McCain returns with 50 fish), Harry Reid said to Obama, ‘Well, tell me, how is he cheating?’
Obama replied, ‘Harry, you’re not going to believe this, but he’s cutting holes in the ice.’
Oh, yeah…..experience counts!
It Melted…It Froze…It Melted…It Froze…
Melting Swiss Glacier Yields Neolithic Trove
Some 5,000 years ago, a prehistoric person trod high up in what is now the Swiss Alps, wearing goat leather pants, leather shoes and armed with a bow and arrows.
The unremarkable journey through the Schnidejoch pass, a lofty trail 9,000 feet above sea level, has been a boon to scientists but it would never have emerged if climate change were not melting the nearby glacier.
So far, 300 objects dating as far back as the Neolithic or New Stone Age — about 4,000 B.C. in Europe — to the later Bronze and Iron Ages and the Medieval era have been found in the site’s former icefields.
“We know now that the discoveries on Schnidejoch are the oldest of this kind ever made in the Alps,” said Albert Hafner, an expert with the archaeology service in Bern canton.
They have allowed researchers not only to piece together snapshots of life way back when, but also to shed light on climate fluctuations in the past 6,500 years — and hopefully shed light on what is happening now.
“For us, the site itself is the most important find because we have this correlation between climate change and archaeological objects,” Hafner said.
“We know that people were only able to walk on this site when it was relatively warm,” said Martin Grosjean, executive director of a national network called Swiss Climate Research. “When it was too cold, the glacier advanced and it was not a passable route.”
Well now, isn’t that interesting. I wonder how many SUVs were tooling around when that Stone Age guy was wandering around. Were there traffic jams during the Bronze Age? Were the Medieval folks drilling for oil and building pollution spewing factories? Gosh! I wonder what caused those meltdowns if it weren’t evil man. Hmmm…. Perhaps….just perhaps, mind you…..it was NORMAL climate cycles?
Scientists have long known there were periods of warmer weather in the region but the artifacts allowed them to identify the exact years, when the site would have been passable on foot.
Scientists KNEW? YIKES! Did someone forget to tell the “Great and Wonderful” Boracle?
Yet even with this information, the hysteria is included. Well, what can you expect from anything associated with the NY Slimes.
A recent U.N. Environment Program report said by the end of the century, swathes of mountain ranges worldwide risk losing their glaciers if global warming continues at its projected rate.
“The ongoing trend of worldwide and rapid, if not accelerating, glacier shrinkage may lead to the deglaciation of large parts of many mountain ranges by the end of the 21st century,” the report warned.
Guess what! Obviously this isn’t the first time the glaciers have melted. No doubt, it won’t be the last. So, you losers up there at the UN? Snap out of your sleaziness. You are NOT getting my money, and you can’t have my guns!
It Should Be Obvious…..
…..B. Hussein knows SQUAT about economics! I’m hoping someone will get at least that chunk of O’Reilly’s interview on video!
I Got A Shot!
Oh, yeah me! I would have prefered it in my hinder! Instead, I got a shot in my knee. That hurts!
I spent some time with the ortho guy this morning, looking at my x-rays and MRI. Funny looking stuff in there, bones and such. What I found amusing was the look on the doc’s face when I asked him what the zipper on the side was. Heh. I was wearing these britches with a zipper on the side, and it came out REAL clear on the MRI.
Yes, I knew what it was, but the look on his face. 
Priceless!
So, anyways, he says I have a real bad case of arthritis in my left knee….bones all jagged and such. He’s not sure if the tear he sees is an ‘echo’ from a previous surgery or not. What the heck does that mean? He gave me some heavy duty ibruprofen, along with said icky shot and he’s going to see if it’s all better in 10 days….next Thursday? Something like that. Well, so far, neither the shot, nor the pills have done diddly to help in the extreme pain department. sigh…
It’s not like I expected to be able to run a marathon immediately. Why should I? I never have before! Why start now, right? 
But I was a least hoping for some relief.
And by the way……
OLD AGE SUCKS!
Open Letter to Senator Bob Corker
I received your email today, in response to mine, and I thank you for at least doing me the courtesy of responding, unlike your colleague in the Senate, Lamar Alexander. Sen Alexander has NEVER responded to ANY correspondence I’ve sent him, whether by email, or snail mail. This, in my opinion, gives YOU seniority. But that is neither here nor there, and totally irrelevant to the subject at hand. Although you might want to inform your fellow Senator that since he couldn’t be bothered to address my concerns, I couldn’t be bothered to donate to his re-election.
Now, to the matter at hand.
In your email, you stated:
Like you, I am pro-life. As you may know, since 1976 there has been a prohibition – which I support – against federal funding for abortion. This has provided protection for tax payers like you and me who do not support abortions, and do not want to support them financially. I strongly believe in protecting the sanctity of human life, and that is why, on October 18, 2007 I voted in favor of an amendment to the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Act of 2008 that prohibits any grant funding of organizations that perform abortions. Furthermore, I voted against an amendment sponsored by Senator Boxer and Senator Snowe to the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill that allows funding to international organizations that perform abortions.
While I don’t doubt you are pro-life, would you please explain to me just why my tax dollars are actually funding the murder of innocent babies through Planned Parenthood, a racist abortion mill if ever there was one? Do you, in your position as an elected official, believe that it is the taxpayer who should be footing the bill for WIC (Women, Children and Infants) that is evidently linking to Planned Parenthood. Since an overwhelming number of those on WIC are black or Hispanic, don’t you find it a bit hypocritical for the federal government to be funding an organization founded by a horror in skirts, Margaret Sanger?
So, it would seem that, contrary to the wishes of the American taxpayers, we not only fund Planned Parenthood to the tune of more than a quarter BILLION dollars, we are also funding them through WIC? Are our tax dollars also being spent to promote murder by women in foreign countries?
I find this highly suspicious and would appreciate some clarification from the entire U.S. Senate. Do we, or do we not, oppose mass murder?
Thank you.
PDS
Palin misappropriates religious beliefs for political gain
The Republican Party came out of the convention last week with some mixed messages and one clear message.
They derided the celebrity status of Barack Obama but created a celebrity of their own in their vice presidential nominee, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. They belittled Obama’s lack of experience but celebrated hers.
Well, actually, no. It wasn’t us ‘unwashed masses’ that propelled Gov Palin into celebrity status. It was the media. I can only guess they are getting bored with B. Hussein and needed a new ‘target’.
John McCain wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Palin doesn’t think humans are causing any climate change. Their party has been in power eight years, but they’re going to bring change to Washington.
Hey, no one ever said McCain is the one who should be on top of the ticket! Well, except for the NY Slimes. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we got this candidate. Pretty much the same way that the Shrilldebeast got knocked out of the park, by those same leftist Slimes and their cronies.
Those mixed messages aside, there was one clear message McCain and the Republicans are counting on: The Republican ticket is once again right with the religious right.
Hate to break it to ya bud, but it’s not just right with the ‘religious right’. You see, on the conservative side of things, there are all kinds of folks. Even some who have no affiliation with the church at all. There are even …….GASP…… atheists. Honestly, I would have thought the true blue religious right would have had a problem with Palin, because she IS a woman. Y’see, the church teaches that women do not have such leadership roles. Nope! Those I know personally have NO problem whatsoever with Gov Palin, even if she had to step into the role of POTUS.
It wasn’t just that they nominated a woman for vice president. It wasn’t just that they nominated a woman with salable narrative to which many Americans can relate. It was that they also boldly brought to the national stage a staunch evangelical that mobilized the religious conservatives who were skeptical of McCain.
You’d think, just once in a while, these yahoos could get it right…..er, correct. Our skepticism with McCain, came from McCain, himself. There’s that whole schamnesty business. And how ’bout the violation of the 1st Amendment business with the ever smarmy Feingold? Those are just two of the issues we had with him. His stand on many other issues, we can relate to, with no problem.
In June, speaking to ministry students at her former church, she portrayed the war in Iraq as “a task that is from God.” At the same time, she asked them to pray for a $30 billion natural gas pipeline in Alaska. “God’s will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built.”
And just how do ya know it’s NOT a task from God? Aren’t we suppose to help people who are in dire straights? I’d say the Iraqi folks were having a bit of a problem……just staying alive. Is there something wrong with getting energy to the people? I dunno, but I’d say that the Good Lord doesn’t want to see anyone freezing to death. Although, that’s just speculation on my part.
Praying to God for guidance is one thing. Attributing your political decisions and desires to God’s will is another. Two people, both equally devout, can do the same praying and soul-searching and come up with different conclusions.
As any true Christian would tell this buffoon, if he had bothered to ask….”Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” Oh, just in case ya didn’t know, that’s 1 Corinthians 10:31. There are many more such verses in the Bible. All he had to do was look.
After the Katrina disaster in New Orleans, some preachers of the evangelical right called it punishment for sinful lifestyles, tolerance of homosexuality and taking the Bible out of schools. I thought it had a lot more to do with building a city below sea level, destruction of wetlands and incompetent political cronies at the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Hmm…. Ever stop to wonder if they were actually right? The rest of the Gulf Coast has done one heck of a job getting things back to normal. NOLA? Not so much. Why? Well, perhaps they are all depending on the federal gubmint just a bit too much? Many church organizations went in, rolled up their sleeves, and got to work WITH the residents. Just a thought. No, I’m not saying it was a ‘punishment’. I can’t read God’s Mind. Perhaps the folks in New Orleans should have called on their own two feet, and the brain that God gave them, and gotten out while the gettin’ was good? FEMA messed up, but the problem started LONG before with the Dhimmicrat gubmint of the state and city.
But if I was looking for an Almighty message, I could have argued that it was God’s punishment for our spewing of greenhouse gases in the air and mistreatment of the finely tuned natural environment He bestowed upon us.
Greenhouse gases? Oh, fer petes sake! Even though this crap has been debunked over and over and over, these types will still spew the Boracle mantra. Hey! Has albore given that Peace Prize back yet? How ’bout that stupid door stop?
Our religious beliefs are part of what inform our perspective and judgment about people and issues. That’s legitimate. But attributing political decisions and the consequences of those decisions to God’s will is a misappropriation of religion for political purposes that is all too common in today’s political arena.
Isn’t it odd that the Founding Fathers invoked the name of God quite frequently in their papers, and in their actions. But today? Invoking His name will get you mocked. tsk tsk And God will not be mocked.
The results of this election will be the will of the voters. Not the will of God.
How do you know? How do you know that a President B. Hussein is not God’s will, to push the world towards the End Times? How do you know that a President McCain isn’t a way to stall just that same thing? Answer is, you don’t know, and neither does anyone else.
Obamarama
Morning Coffee 09/08/08
US government takes on big role in mortgage market
Uncle Sam has just become the 800 pound gorilla in the U.S. mortgage market. The Bush administration’s announced Sunday it was seizing troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in a bid to help reverse a prolonged housing and credit crisis.
But private analysts worried that it may not be enough to stabilize the slumping housing market given the glut of vacant homes for sale, rising foreclosures, rising unemployment and weak consumer confidence.
Other than the fact that the gubmint has been that ’800 pound gorilla’ for a LONG time, this is one more indication that they no longer belong to WE, the People. No doubt, to much glee on the left. 
Russia Sets War Games in Caribbean
With American-Russian relations declining to the point of Cold War-era posturing, Moscow is sending ships to the Caribbean.
If the scheduled joint exercises with the Venezuelan navy take place, the maneuver would be one of Russia’s most provocative exercises in the Western Hemisphere since the Soviet Union supported Marxist guerrillas in Nicaragua and El Salvador — and could entangle the Kremlin in the Monroe Doctrine, which holds that the Europeans should keep out of the American hemisphere.
Well, now, I don’t know about you, but I just don’t feel too comfortable with two dictatorial type regimes, headed by egotistical lunatics, playing “games” in my neighborhood.
Sloppy school records may cost Metro $35M
Now, district leaders have about a month to show they’re trying to account for how past federal dollars were spent and to agree to future improvements outlined by the state.
“We’re not going to release dollars if there is a fear they would not be spent appropriately,” said Rachel Woods, spokeswoman for the state Department of Education. “However, if they document a good-faith effort, if they’re transparent, then we would probably not freeze funds.”
Metro’s federal funding from last year will expire at the end of this month, and its application for new money — which is used for salaries, benefits, teacher training and several other programs — has not been approved.
This is a darn good reason for the federal gubmint not to be involved in state and local gubmint. Do it their way, or ya don’t get money. Seems to me that all that money that goes to the feds, should be kept right here in the state, instead of feeding the fatcats in D.C. Oh, and the school districts might want to hire someone who is just a wee bit more meticulous in their record keeping.
Ohio microwave-baby mom to be sentenced
An Ohio mother convicted of killing her infant daughter in a microwave oven is about hear her punishment.
Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Mary Wiseman is scheduled on Monday to sentence 28-year-old China Arnold.
A jury spared Arnold from the death penalty last week after it couldn’t reach a consensus. That leaves sentencing options of life in prison without parole, or with parole after at least 25 or 30 years.
Now just why did the ‘spare’ her from the death penalty? I am of the mind they should have shoved HER sorry ass in a large microwave, and slow roasted her, from the inside out! I have NO sympathy for that POS.
Palin Finalized 20-Year Quest for Pipeline Deal in First 20 Months
In her first 20 months as governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin completed a deal for a natural gas pipeline that had been a top economic goal for the state for nearly two decades.
After battling oil companies and leading lawmakers over the project, Palin signed the bill on Aug. 27, 2008. The deal grants a Canadian company $500 million in state funds and permission to build a $36 billion pipeline to transport natural gas from Alaska’s North Slope to the continental United States.
Isn’t it amazing what strong leadership can do in a relatively short time? Y’hear that Queen Moonbat (aka plastic woman)???? THAT is what leadership looks like!
Iran solidifies control over Hizbullah
According to the officials, following the Second Lebanon War, Iran decided to step up its involvement in the Hizbullah decision-making process and has instituted a number of changes to the terror group’s hierarchy, under which Nasrallah has to receive Iranian permission prior to certain operations.
“There is real Iranian command now over Hizbullah,” a top IDF officer said. “This doesn’t mean that Nasrallah is a puppet, but it does mean that whenever he pops his head out of his bunker he sees an Iranian official standing over him.”
This is what you get with the ‘wait and see’ folks. I don’t think Iran being in charge of yet another terrorist bunch is a good thing for ANYONE, but most especially, Israel.
A state representative is touting a recently released report about the effectiveness of Tennessee’s public prekindergarten program as further evidence that it should be eliminated and its money directed elsewhere.
Proponents of the program, however, say the report proves that prekindergarten narrows achievement gaps between 4-year-old participants, many of whom are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, and their peers who were not in the voluntary program.
Just call me old fashioned, but I think a 4 year old should still be at home with his/her mom, instead of in a public indoctrination system that is failing miserably when it comes to actually teaching kids. Many values have been lost in the public education system.
US air power triples deaths of Afghan civilians, says report
Civilian deaths in Afghanistan from US and Nato air strikes have nearly tripled over the past year, with the onslaught continuing in 2008 and fuelling a public backlash, a leading human rights group says today.
The report by Human Rights Watch says that despite changes in the rules of engagement which had reduced the rate of civilian casualties since a spike in July last year, air strikes killed at least 321 civilians in 2007, compared with at least 116 in 2006. In the first seven months of this year at least 540 Afghan civilians were killed in fighting related to the armed conflict, with at least 119 killed by US or Nato air strikes, such as this July’s attack on a wedding party which killed 47, says Human Rights Watch.
As best as I can figure, there are NO civilians in such a war. If I invite murderous thugs into my home, that makes just as culpable as they are, in such a war. The deaths of real innocents are on the heads of those who use them as shields.
MSNBC shake-up: Olbermann and Matthews no longer anchoring
Less than two weeks ago, MSNBC president Phil Griffin was still defending the network’s anchor team to Politico, despite reports of turmoil behind-the-scenes and on-air squabbles. At the time, a high-ranking MSNBC journalist told me the network was “about to blow up.
Well, here’s the blow up! The NY Times reports tonight that Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann will no longer anchor during upcoming political news events, as network insiders reveal more about what’s been happening.
After months of accusations of political bias and simmering animosity between MSNBC and its parent network NBC, the channel decided over the weekend that the NBC News correspondent and MSNBC host David Gregory would anchor news coverage of the coming debates and election night. Mr. Olbermann and Mr. Matthews will remain as analysts during the coverage.
THAT’S what they call a ‘shake up’??? Replacing Olberdouch and Tingles Matthews with an even MORE leftist ‘bat? Oh, c’mon, couldn’t they get Hugo Chavez??
Verse of the Day
James 4:2-8
2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
