An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Archive for May 2009
An Open Letter To President Obama
Can I sign it too?
H/T: Ryte Wynger via Facebook
TN Pork Tour
Jackson, Tennessee
June 8th – 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Madison County Courthouse
100 East Main Street
Jackson, TN 38301
For the one closet to you, check out TCPR.
Pork and fraud isn’t just a national problem. States have major problems figuring out how to spend money wisely, and Tennessee is no different.
A few examples:
$9 million for the “Party Bunker,” an underground entertainment facility buried in the front yard of the Governor’s Mansion.
$7.4 million to finance government- approved art, including a grant to an author of sex novels and support for a film festival showing “an Iraqi bloodbath” and “porn-influenced sexual encounters.”
$2.3 million to bail out 11 financially insolvent state-owned golf courses.
$1 million to study mouse genomes at the University of Tennessee.
$482,572 to fund the “Barge to Nowhere,” a ferry connecting Benton and Houston Counties that carries less than 17 passengers per day.
The Mr and I are hoping to make this event, but we shall see. One good thing, I know exactly where it will be, so I won’t get lost….as usual. 
Weasel Time
Decisions, Decisions!
First Hispanic justice? Some say it was Cardozo
Benjamin Cardozo was indisputably the second Jewish justice on the Supreme Court. Was he also the first Hispanic? There is no conclusive answer.
The Federal Judicial Center, on its Web site, says he was not. Some readers, objecting to the description of Judge Sonia Sotomayor as the first Hispanic nominee to the high court, say Cardozo was Hispanic.
Why is this so important?
Cardozo was nominated to the court by President Herbert Hoover in 1932. He was a member of a prominent family of Sephardic Jews who claim Portuguese heritage.
The word “Sephardic” is derived from the Hebrew word for Spain. (Judaism 101)
Cardozo himself was proud of his heritage, Kaufman said, but he probably never had occasion to consider whether he was Hispanic.
I’ve always thought that it’s not important, although influential, where we come from, but where we end up. Evidently, this gentleman believed himself to be American, not a hyphen.
By another measure, though, Cardozo was an “ethnic pick,” Herz said.
At that period in time, I suppose he would be. I had hoped we’d get past that, but this administration seems to making choices based solely on ethnicity, and politics.
In an era when there was a Jewish seat, a Catholic seat and regional seats on the court, there already was a Jewish justice, Louis Brandeis, and a New Yorker serving. Cardozo also was a Democrat, while Hoover was a Republican.
Can you imagine? Choosing a Supreme, based solely on qualifications, since Jan 20, 2009? Me neither.
Now, the issue at hand….B. Hussein’s pick for the seat on the highest court in the land is being touting as the ‘first Hispanic”. Guess what! I don’t care! I can’t imagine why this is a big deal. Is she qualified? Well, from what I’ve read, not really, in my opinion. One of the cases that has been pointed out is the one involving the baseball strike in 1994. This woman told a private business, they couldn’t use replacement players. I whole heartedly disagree with that decision, and I did at the time too.
For a better rundown on cases that Mzzz Sotomayor has been involved, the SCOTUS blog is a real good source. A couple of the many cases that gives me pause is:
First Amendment – Religion: In addition to her dissent in Hankins v. Lyght, 441 F.3d 96 (2d Cir. 2006), discussed below, in Ford v. McGinnis, 352 F.3d 382 (2d Cir. 2003), Sotomayor wrote an opinion that reversed a district court decision holding that a Muslim inmate’s First Amendment rights had not been violated because the holiday feast that he was denied was not a mandatory one in Islam. Sotomayor held that the inmate’s First Amendment’s rights were violated because the feast was subjectively important to the inmate’s practice of Islam. But in Duamutef v. Hollins, 297 F.3d 108 (2d Cir. 2002), Sotomayor wrote an opinion holding that an inmate’s First Amendment rights were not violated by prison officials’ monitoring of his mail – prompted by the inmate’s receipt of a book with the title “Blood in the Streets: Investment Profits in a World Gone Mad” – because the inmate had previously caused disturbances and the prison needed to forestall security problems.
While these two cases both involved the 1st Amendment, they address 2 different aspects, religion and speech. One in overturning the lower court on non mandatory food, the other, an rather well reviewed book, just because it had the word ‘blood’ in the title? Now, in all honesty, I’m one of those people who don’t believe people are put in jail for ‘rehabilitation’. I think they are there for punishment. I’ll repeat, I am not a lawyer, and don’t even pretent to have a great deal of knowledge about the law. I do have a rather keen sense of right and wrong though. Denying a non mandatory meal to an inmate was not a violation, getting the knickers in a twist over a book on economics was. Perhaps, making use of a prison computer to look the book up would have saved the taxpayers a great deal of money? Obviously, I disagree with Sotomayor’s ruling on both of these cases.
One of the cases that has been in the news quite frequently is Ricci v. Destefano. I find this case more than a little disturbing. Sotomayor was part of a three-judge panel that initially affirmed the district court’s judgment in the city’s favor with a summary order that described the district court’s decision as a “thorough, thoughtful, and well-reasoned opinion.” (source) If it had been the reverse, if it had been black firefighters that had done well on the test, and the white firefighters had done poorly, would this ever have been an issue? IMHO, when it comes to such tests, there would be no race involved, only scores. If you want to qualify, try studying.
I don’t believe Sonia Sotomayor is qualified to sit on the highest court in the land. I don’t want a judge who bases his/her opinions on ‘feelings’. I would like to see judges base their decisions on the actual law, on the U.S. Constitution. Judges do not, or are not suppose to, make policy! Although, the intent of the Supreme Court, and most federal courts, has become quite different than what is is now. Wouldn’t it be nice if law, logic, and the U.S. Constitution were put above politics? What a novel concept.
Just my 2 cents.
Why Parents Drink
The boss wondered why one of his most valued employees was absent but had not phoned in sick one day… Needing to have an urgent problem with one of the main computers resolved, he dialed the employee’s home phone number and was greeted with a child’s whisper. ‘Hello?’
‘Is your daddy home?’ he asked.
‘Yes,’ whispered the small voice.
‘May I talk with him?’
The child whispered, ‘No.’
Surprised and wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, ‘Is your Mummy there?’
‘Yes’
‘May I talk with her?’
Again the small voice whispered, ‘No.’
Hoping there was somebody with whom he could leave a message, the boss asked, ‘Is anybody else there?’
‘Yes,’ whispered the child, ‘a policeman.’
Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee’s home, the boss asked, ‘May I speak with the policeman?’
‘No, he’s busy,’ whispered the child.
‘Busy doing what?’
‘Talking to Daddy and Mummy and the Fireman,’ came the whispered answer.
Growing more worried as he heard a loud noise in the background through the earpiece on the phone, the boss asked, ‘What is that noise?’
‘A helicopter’ answered the whispering voice.
‘What is going on there?’ demanded the boss, now truly apprehensive.
Again, whispering, the child answered, ‘The search team just landed a helicopter.’
Alarmed, concerned and a little frustrated the boss asked, ‘What are they searching for?’
Still whispering, the young voice replied with a muffled giggle….
‘ME!‘
Shared by Sharon.
Gravestone From 1890
And nothing has changed since then, has it!
Shared by brother in law Tom.
Obama’s Choice
“I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion [as a judge] than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”
– Judge Sonia Sotomayor, in her Judge Mario G. Olmos Law and Cultural Diversity Lecture at the University of California (Berkeley) School of Law in 2001
(source)
Now, I don’t know about you, but I find this statement highly offensive. Why? Well, for one thing, I’m a woman, and even though I’m not Latina, I have had a “richness of experience” as an AMERICAN. If this women believes that the law is fluid, then we are going to have some serious issues in this country. Don’t we already have enough people who believe laws are suppose to bend to their whims? I am, by NO stretch of the imagination, a feminazi, which is how I see today’s feminism. To say that a woman, of any hue, could be a better judge than a white male, is just absolutely ridiculous, not to mention sexist. Let’s face it, a great many women are not the most logical of creatures, and liberal women are even less so. 
We knew Obama would be picking a minority. We knew it would likely be a woman. I’m not really sure why the ‘race’ or gender should even be an issue. I don’t care about the color of someone’s skin. I don’t give a flip about their gender….male….female…..it honestly does not matter. What does matter, and should to every single American citizen…..how will this person rule on the LAW? Will this person uphold the U.S. Constitution? Or, will she make her decisions based on her “richness of experiences” that are totally unrelated to legal matters?
We’ve already seen the U.S. Supreme Court violate the Constitution. Two cases come to mind: Roe V Wade and McCain/Feingold. Neither of these cases are based on the Constitution, only on society’s whims.
That’s just my two cents.
“Government” Money Does Not Alleviate Poverty
I’ve been in disagreements with a few folks on this matter, more than a time or two. We obviously aren’t able to come to an agreement. I don’t believe it’s the government’s job to provide charity. They do. I don’t believe a hand out aids anyone, but a hand up can. Sometimes, there are times in our lives, where we need help. To rely on that aid, as a lifestyle, is destructive.
Don’t Think It Can Happen Here?
Video courtesy brother in law Tom.
Gun-Grabbers Undermine U.S. Sovereignty
Gun-grabbers invariably argue that such proposals will diminish the ability of criminals to use firearms in the perpetration of criminal acts. They seem not to have gotten through their thick heads that criminals who by definition do not obey laws prohibiting crime are not dissuaded by laws against gun possession or use. In fact, as John R. Lott documented in his book, More Guns Less Crime, laws that facilitate citizen access to firearms correlate with rates of reduction in crimes of violence. What a surprise: Criminals don’t want to face armed citizens!
Many lives have been saved by an law abiding ARMED citizen. Less guns on the streets does not equate less crime. These are criminals we’re talking about here, they will find a way to get weapons, illegally! They don’t give a flip about laws. If they did, they wouldn’t be criminals now, would they! The first line of defense is an armed citizenry! People willing, and able, to stand up against tyranny.
Amendment II
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
It is my opinion, this should have been the FIRST amendment in the Bill of Rights, because without our right to bears arms, we will have no other rights to uphold. They can quite easily continue the erosion of all the others, which we’ve already seen in happening with the 1st Amendment.
Gun-grabbers for some time have worked assiduously to induce the United States to sign a treaty that would curtail drastically Americans’ gun rights. So far, the United States has avoided taking such a drastic, unconstitutional step. But the Obama Administration could well bring a reversal of policy. Obama may want to do an end run around American gun owners by signing such an international agreement and subverting citizen rights in that way. The administration propaganda nonsense that the Mexican drug wars are fueled with American firearms could be a prelude to such a program.
Do we really want our sovereignty as a nation diminished? I don’t live in a One World mind set, and neither should anyone else. Do we care about the rest of the world? Well, yes, we do….to an extent. But if you have watched events around the world, do you really want to be like them? Like Great Britain, where competition shooters have to leave their homes, just to practice? Do we want to be overrun by drug lords, like Mexico? Will we allow a dictator, like Chavez? If this is the same America I remember, then the answer will be, not just no….BUT HELL NO!
The gun-grabbers are seeking to promote and implement a 2001 UN resolution calling for a Program of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects.
Supporters of the program have been trying to neutralize American opposition by alleging that the program and its supporters contemplate action against only “illegal” or “illicit” guns or military-style firearms.
The fact that the Useless Numnuts are involved should be the first LARGE red flag! We’ve seen how effective they are in curtailing anything! /snark The biggest problem here, the UN does not want lawful citizens armed, to defend themselves, their families, their homes, their nation. An unarmed populace are much easier to control. Well, I don’t need to be controlled, and neither do you. Well, most of you don’t. Some should be put in straight jackets, but that’s another issue.
The program demands the adoption and implementation, “in the states that have not already done so, of the necessary legislative measures to establish as criminal offenses under their domestic law the illegal manufacture, possession, stockpiling and trade of small arms and light weapons within their areas of jurisdiction, in order to ensure that those engaged in such activities can be prosecuted under appropriate national penal codes.”
We already have laws in place to deal with this problem. We do not need a body of useless tinpot dictators to force their views on us.
A prime mover behind the program is the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA). It defines small arms as “weapons that can be carried and used by an individual, for example, revolvers, pistols, rifles, shotguns, submachine guns and assault rifles.”
I have a few of those little ‘weapons that can be carried and used’. And if push comes to shove, I WILL use them! I am not a criminal. I won’t say I’ve never broken the law. I had a wild youth. But during my wild time, I never, EVER, carried any weapons, or even owned any. Why should I, as a law abiding person, be left basically helpless because some asswipe in Europe wants to control the world? Why should you? Many countries in Europe imposed gun bans before WWII, and the citizens were left defenseless. We know what the results were then. Other nations have imposed such bans. The results are not pretty. Do we want a repeat of history? It’s bad enough we are forced to register any personal firearms, because with registration, they can easily come to your door, to forcefully take your guns.
Ack!
I’m going through my email this morning and came across this:
Dear Fellow Wisconsinite:
I am honored to serve as your United States Senator.
Very soon I will be launching an e-newsletter to provide news and additional background about my legislative efforts and priorities in Congress.
By signing on to my email list, you will receive periodic e-news updates so that we can continue to stay in touch.
Simply click here to sign up.
Sincerely,
Herb Kohl
United States Senator
*If you would not like to receive e-mails and updates from my office, please click here.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK! I don’t live in Wisconsin, and even when I did (10 years), I didn’t support Senator Potted Plant, and I would never consider myself a ‘Wisconsinite’! No offense to those who do, but even though I now live in Tennessee, I will ALWAYS be a Texan! That’s just the way we are, don’cha know. Guess what I clicked! Heh. Nope….don’t wanna get your updates.
And just how the hell did he get my email address anyways?
Sounds About Right….Er…..Left
From the Urban Dictionary:
In a large nutshell, a libtard’s goal in life includes one or more of the following:
–the establishment of a Socialist “utopia” (a.k.a. a global nanny state)
–”benevolent” totalitarian control of the world’s population through any means necessary
–ever increasing government micromanagement of private enterprise (a.k.a. clueless meddling)
–the adoption of laws, treaties and tax regulations that hinder America’s competitiveness
–the usurpation of the legislative process, at all levels, through judicial fiat
–the filing of specious law suits in order to thwart the will of the people (e.g. Calif. Proposition. 187)
–the promotion of the tyranny of the minority
–the filing of specious law suits to shakedown corporations for cash (under the guise of “social responsibility”)
–the disproportionate taxation of citizens “who have more money than they need”
–the redistribution of wealth from producers to non-producers (under the guise of “fairness”)
–the banning and confiscation of all privately owned guns (even though it has lead to genocide)
–the abolition of all private property rights
–the destruction of all national sovereignty (America first, of course)
–the destruction of Capitalism
–the establishment of one religion (with no personal accountability), OR the abolition of all religion
–the appeasement of Islamic radicals and their American front groups like CAIR (see: Religion of Pieces)
–the regulation, or banning, of all opposition media (under the guise of “fairness”)
–the appeasement of Communist dictators and their American front groups
–the further insertion of Socialist ideology and indoctrination into public school curricula
–the purposeful “dumbing down” of the masses through inane public school curricula and pedagogy
–mass thought control through “speech codes” and political correctness
–the further promulgation of the homosexual/pedophile agenda
–the teaching of HATE (superficially disguised as “Women’s Studies”, “African Studies”, etc.)
–the legalization of marijuana (“far OUT, man”)
–the establishment of world wide socialized medicine (under the guise of “fairness”)
–the conservation of the environment over the conservation of the American economy
–the demonization of attempts to make English Americaâ??s national language
–world peace (which genocidal dictators define as: “the absence of conflict”–dead men cannot resist your brutal oppression)
–the conservation of the environment over the conservation of humanity
–the promotion of abortion as birth control, eugenics, and teaching the theory of evolution as fact (even though the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics precludes it from the get-go)
–the abolition of individual freedom
–anarchy
Remember
From the Under Side of His Rock
Obama to Visit Arlington for Memorial Day
President Barack Obama sought to dodge racial controversy on Memorial Day, sending wreaths to a monument for Confederate soldiers and other flowers to a memorial honoring more than 200,000 African-Americans who fought for the Union during the Civil War.
Obama, the nation’s first black president, planned to continue tradition and have aides leave a wreath at the Confederate Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery, the 600-acre site that once was Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s estate. But the White House also will send a wreath to the African American Civil War Memorial in Washington’s historically black U Street neighborhood.
Presidents traditionally visit Arlington to personally leave a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns, a marble structure housing the remains of unidentified U.S. military members who died during war. Presidents then have aides deliver wreaths to other memorials or monuments, generally including the Confederate memorial.
On Memorial Day, I always believed it was our duty, and honor, to remember ALL soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country? No matter what era in which they fought. So, when I read this:
But a group of about 60 professors last week sent a petition to the White House asking Obama to avoid a memorial for Confederate military members who died during the war between the North and the South.
“The Arlington Confederate Monument is a denial of the wrong committed against African-Americans by slave owners, Confederates and neo-Confederates, through the monument’s denial of slavery as the cause of secession and its holding up of Confederates as heroes,” the petition said. “This implies that the humanity of Africans and African-Americans is of no significance.”
While I find slavery of any sort abhorrent, I also know that the Confederate soldiers didn’t die in a war fought to keep slavery. The majority of the Southern soldiers didn’t own slaves. What they were fighting for was the right for states to decide their own fate, as described in the 10th Amendment, and the ever encroaching federal government.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
I am more than just a little offended that this piece of crap, and his cronies, would dare to dishonor ANY soldier, from any age in our history! His very existence, living in freedom, warping young minds, is an affront to everything that our brave men and women fought and died for.
“This is not only a time for celebration, it is also a time to reflect on what this holiday is all about; to pay tribute to our fallen heroes; and to remember the servicemen and women who cannot be with us this year because they are standing post far from home — in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world,” Obama said during his weekly radio and Internet address ahead of the holiday.
This also includes those who gave their lives in the bloodiest war fought on our nation’s soil, the very un-Civil War. How DARE he drag his sorry ass out from under his slime and blood covered rock with the sole intent to dishonor them!
Decoration Day
Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day because it was a time set aside to honor the nation’s Civil War dead by decorating their graves. It was first widely observed on May 30, 1868, to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers, by proclamation of General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of former sailors and soldiers. On May 5, 1868, Logan declared in General Order No. 11 that:
The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.
When I was young, we celebrated Memorial Day, on Memorial Day….30 May. It was not a “Monday holiday”. It was a day to honor those who gave their all to our nation. There were flags in front of almost everyone’s house, we had parades and ceremonies. Families gathered together and thanked God for those who served, remembered loved ones who were no longer with us, and went to the cemetery with wreaths and flags. We gathered as a nation in gratitude, for our freedom.
Memorial Day has a special poignancy for a nation at war. Every week, more Americans make the supreme sacrifice. Air Force 1st Lt. Roslyn L. Schulte, 25, graduated from the Air Force Academy in 2006 with academic and military honors. She deployed to Afghanistan in February 2009 to help train the Afghan National Army in her specialty of military intelligence. Lt. Schulte died on May 20 near Kabul, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device. She was the first female Air Force Academy graduate killed by an enemy combatant.
Americans fall in locations with exotic names, in countries that a decade ago few predicted would be host to thousands of American troops. Marine Sgt. James R. McIlvaine, 26, of Olney and Staff Sgt. Mark A. Wojciechowski, 25, of Cincinnati, fell during combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq, on April 30. The next day, Army Sgt. James D. Pirtle, 21, of Colorado Springs and Specialist Ryan C. King, 22, of Dallas, Ga., gave the last full measure of devotion near the village of Nishagam, in Konar province, Afghanistan. Al Anbar and Konar may not be household names, but previous generations had never heard of Guadalcanal or Bastogne before they became eternally linked with America’s martial legend. Likewise St. Mihiel or Antietam, or any other locales whose names resonate with sacrifices made in freedom’s cause. (source)
My biggest fear is that we will forget the meaning of this day. It’s not about getting together with your friends, grilling burgers and drinking beer. Every day should be a Memorial Day, to remember the men and woman, from every walk of life, who have served with honor.
I Survived!
Two days with a teenager….at my age….is quite an adventure. Strangely enough, it was quite a pleasant weekend. Go figure!
We chatted and watched the idjit box on Friday, with a quick side trip to Sonic. Hey….I had to feed her at least once, right? We watched a variety of movies on Saturday, with the required trip to Wal-Mart in the middle of the day. She baked a batch of cookies, ate 4 and left the rest to temp me from over there in the cookie jar. Today, we headed to church, where folks were happy to see her. Afterwards, it was the required trip to the mall in Jackson. I had to get that kid some jeans that she didn’t looked like she was wedged into, don’t ya know. Plumbers crack on a teenage girl is NOT attractive! After a quick trip to the only bookstore within a hundred miles, it was time to take her home.
A couple of pieces of advice for people giving directions: Do NOT wait until after the exit to say, “Oh, hey….you were suppose to take that one!” Do not yell, “Turn left here!” when the drive is already halfway past the street. Jeeeez. The kid was trying to give me a heart attack!
On my way home, I had the dubious pleasure of almost meeting my Maker through the utter stupidity of a blonde bimbo, on her cell phone, behind the wheel of a big honkin’ Escalade! I’m sitting there, at a stop sign, in the right hand lane, like I’m suppose to, even had my blinker on, and she is turning left onto the road I’m turning off of. There are two lanes, one going, one coming. Evidently, she thought my front end was her guide to MY lane! Stupid broad! Didn’t even bat an eye, just swerved, and went on her merry way. Needless to say, there were a few choice words from my vehicle to hers.
