An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Archive for June 2010
Conspiracy Theory?
I don’t much buy into the ‘conspiracy theory’ nonsense. Give me rock solid proof, and I’m all over it. Speculate, without facts and I’m quite leery, although, occasionally curious. So, after watching these two videos, I, of course, had to look up The Club of Rome. Talk about some scary chit! Snoop around the site, you’ll see what I mean.
Systems Integration – As work proceeds on the five clusters, a parallel effort will focus on developing a better conceptual and practical understanding of the world systems within which they are linked and embedded. This will help to understand the linkages between trends, issues and actions and to identify the drivers of global change. The Programme will in this way recognize the immense complexity of world affairs.
Environment and Resources – This cluster relates climate change, peak oil, ecosystems and water. Radical and rapid social and economic transformations will be needed to avert runaway climate change and ecological breakdown.
Globalisation – This cluster relates interdependence, distribution of wealth and income, demographic change, employment, trade and finance. Rising inequalities and imbalances associated with the present path of globalisation risk the breakdown of the world economic and financial systems.
International Development – This cluster relates sustainable development, demographic growth, poverty, environmental stress, food production, health and employment. The scandal of abiding poverty, deprivation, inequity and exclusion in a wealthy world must be corrected.
Social Transformation -
- to clarify the goals of social transformation to create conditions for the re-orientation of societies and economies onto an equitable and sustainable path;
- to propose how the necessary changes in attitudes, values and behaviour can be encouraged in different cultural contexts;
- to recommend how governments and city authorities, business and financial institutions, education, the media and civil society can contribute to motivating the necessary social transformations.
Peace and Security -
- New concepts and policies for national security in an interdependent world where the security of citizens is at risk from new, diffuse threats;
- Building the human, social and institutional capabilities in the developing world for conflict prevention and resolution and the prevention of violence;
- New patterns of power and influence in a world community in rapid and profound transformation;
- New international partnerships, institutional arrangements and cooperation to face the security challenges of the 21st Century.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t much cotton to the idea of a bunch of rich SOBs sitting around, deciding where I can live, what I can eat, or where I can go. I’d suggest they start probing their own orifices before poking around in someone else’s. 
Just sayin’.
Worst…..Speaker…..EVAH!
If for no other reason, than to get rid of THAT woman, Republicans MUST retake the House! And there are a LOT of reasons the Dems need to lose the majority!
Dismantling Education
Prolonging Education’s Race to the Bottom
The Foundry
In perhaps the President Obama’s most stealth campaign to date, the federal government has been slowly tightening its grip on the education sector to little fanfare. Rather than working through the democratic legislative process, this Administration has circumvented Congress to enact an ill-conceived education agenda that will weaken accountability, reduce transparency and minimize choice while only adding to the national deficit.
For close to four decades, the federal government has operated under the seemingly simple premise that increased spending on education will translate into academic achievement. This line of thinking has resulted in inflation-adjusted federal expenditures on education increasing 138 percent since 1985. Per-pupil expenditures have ballooned to over $11,000 per student, and are even higher in most urban areas including the District of Columbia where the government spends $14,500 on each child. Billions upon billions of dollars have been poured into our public school system because the federal government, backed by powerful teachers unions, is convinced that it is best suited to administer our country’s education system. Unfortunately, this approach has been a miserable failure.
“Choosing” To Be Ignorant
America’s Golden Age of Ignorance
by J. D. Longstreet
One can only conclude that America finds herself in the current mess as a direct result of ignorance. “Ignorance of what,” you ask? I must answer, “Ignorance of practically everything.”
I concluded, early on, the election of Obama was a direct result of ignorance. Ignorance of just how politics works in America as a result of no education, period. Ignorance as a direct result of education received in the government schools, and just plain old willful ignorance – choosing to be ignorant of politics in America, by electing not to involve oneself in the distasteful, and sometimes less than sanitary job of maintaining America’s freedom.
Ignorance of America’s colorful political history, and that of the world, is much to blame for the Obama Regime’s continued acceptance by vast numbers of Americans. But, I am happy to report that number is growing ever smaller as each day passes.
Ignorance of history, as well as of current events, among the populace of any country, can lead to consequences that are truly awful. Take the election of America’s first socialist government, for instance. The election of 2006 turned our national legislature into a socialist machine bent on creating an even stronger central government with all the power it could grasp. Then, in 2008, the capstone of socialist victory in American politics was the election of Barack Hussein Obama. He promised fundamental change in America. The politically savvy in America understood he meant to lead America into out and out socialism. And he did.
Even today, the average democrat voter will deny the existence of a socialist government in America today. They simply do not recognize it. I am convinced that ignorance stems from the fact that they were not taught the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the genius of America’s founders, and the love of a free constitutional republic that led their ancestors to lay down their lives to protect and preserve the freedom granted by that constitution. That is ignorance.
Read the whole post here.
I honestly can’t add anything to J.D. opinion. I’m seeing the same willful ignorance, even in my own family, and it’s quite disturbing. (No Ick, not you and Brat!) Personally, I noticed something was terribly wrong when I would talk to high school kids, 30 years ago, about our nation’s history. Not one of them could name a Founding Father, had no idea what was in the Bill of Rights, or if they could name even one Right, what it meant. I know the educational system has declined in the years since, when I had a similar conversation with my own granddaughter.
Since the education system is failing to educate our kids, I honestly believe it is the DUTY of every parent, to sit down with their kids and actually READ the U.S. Constitution. Discuss it! Make them read The 5000 Year Leap. And confront those teachers who are failing to educate our children.
I SO Like This Guy!
Drilling moratorium a manmade disaster
Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal called a six-month moratorium imposed on exploratory offshore drilling a manmade disaster that will only compound the state’s suffering in the wake of a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
“Our bottom line is that we absolutely want drilling to be done safely, but it shouldn’t take months of federal government committees and meetings,” Jindal told reporters yesterday.
“Just because the federal government can’t do their jobs doesn’t mean thousands of Louisianans should lose their jobs.”
It’s a shame people in D.C. won’t listen to him. He could help get their collective hinders out of the sling on this one! Pretty speeches don’t solve problems, and that’s all they’ve got. No common sense, no economic sense…… no sense at all!
Comment Left On My Facebook Status
Some people have the misconception that cats never have to be bathed. That somehow they “lick” themselves clean. Well contrary to this popular belief, cats do NOT have some enzyme in their saliva that resembles Tide (with or without bleach).
Cats, like their nemesis, the dog …. do get dirty and have a … See More variety of odors… from smelling like the outhouse where you camped last year to the same odor as your dog’s breath. (Remember… your dog will try to eat anything.)
Now we all know that cats HATE water. And we know that giving the cat a sedative to ease this process of a bath is out of the question. So, the best approach is both sneaky and direct. Remember now, this is not the dumb dog who can be led to tub with lies and a trail of Kibbles and Bits.
Although your cat has the advantage of smarts, quickness and total lack of concern for you …. you have the advantage of size, strength, and the ability to wear protective garments.
1. First …. dress for the occasion. A 4-ply rubber wet suit is suggested, along with a helmet, face mask and welder’s gloves.
2. A Bathtub with a glass enclosure is preferred to the one with a shower curtain. A frenzied cat can shred one of these in about 3.5 seconds.
3. Have the Kitty Bubbles and towel in the enclosed bathtub area beforehand. No … blow drying the cat after the bath is not suggested.
4. Draw the water, making it a little warmer than needed as you still need to find the cat. Position everything strategically in the shower, so you can reach it even if you are face down or prone in the tub.
5. Find your cat. Use the element of surprise. Pick the cat up, nonchalantly as if you were simply carrying him/her to the supper dish. No need to worry about the cat noticing your strange attire… the cat barely notices you anyway.
6. Once you and the cat are inside the bathroom …. speed is essential. In one single liquid motion, shut the door to the bathroom, step into the shower, close the sliding doors, and drop the cat into the water. While the cat is still in a state of shock, locate the Kitty Bubbles and squirt whatever part of him is above the water line. You have just begun the wildest 45 seconds of your life.
Remember that cats have no handles and add the fact that he now has soapy fur. His state of shock has worn off and he’s madder than a wet hornet.
7. As best, you can, wearing welder’s gloves, try to field his body as he catapults through the air toward the ceiling. If possible, give another squirt of Kitty Bubbles with his body now fully exposed.
8. During the 5 seconds you are able to hold onto him, rub vigorously. No need to worry about rinsing. As he slides down the glass enclosure into the tub, he will fall back into the water, rinsing himself in the process.
9. Only attempt the lather and rinse process about 3 times. The cat will realize the lack of traction on the glass by then and will use the next attempt on the first available part of you.
10. Next, the cat must be dried. No…this is NOT the easiest part. By this stage, you are worn out and the cat has just become semi-permanently affixed to your right leg. We suggest here that you drain the tub and in full view of your cat, reach for the bottle of Kitty Bubbles.
11. If you have done step 10 correctly, the cat will be off your leg and hanging precariously from your helmet. Although this view of the cat is most disgusting, he will be in a much better position for wrapping the towel around him.
12. Be sure cat is firmly wrapped in towel before opening tub enclosure. Open bathroom door …. put towel wrapped cat on floor and step back quickly. Into tub, if possible, and do not open enclosure until all you can see is the shredded towel.
13. In about 2 hours …. it will be safe to exit the bathroom. Your cat will be sitting out there somewhere looking like a small hedgehog while plotting revenge.
Thanks Ryan. 
I needed that!
Glenn Beck 06/10/10
Ignorance Is Ugly
Bullets Shatter Glass at BP Gas Station
(Southaven, MS) — Windows at the BP Gas Station on Highway 51 at Custer Drive were shot out overnight. Folks who work at the store believe the suspects were expressing anger over BP and how it’s handling the oil spill.
I’m angry too, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to go out and shoot up the local BP station!
Incidents of anger spilling over at locally owned BP gas stations have been reported in several areas. In New York City several BP signs have been vandalized. Owners there believe vandals are filling balloons with dirt then throwing them at the signs.
Notice…”LOCALLY OWNED”! These people are your neighbors. Their kids go to school with YOUR kids. They attend YOUR church. They are NOT responsible for the fiasco in the Gulf!
Stanley Morton posted several clips on YouTube, where he’s seen driving to a BP station, then dumping yard waste on the property. He jokingly throws a hat over the waste as a solution to cleaning up the mess.
Oh, that’s just absolutely hilarious, Stanley! /snark Such behavior might have been funny back in Jr high, but adults don’t behave in such a manner. Who do you think is going to have to clean up YOUR mess? It won’t be BP’s corporate office. I wonder, has ol’ Stanley been arrested for vandalism?
According to CBS News, BP gas is sold at nearly 12,000 stations in the United States. BP actually owns just a small number of those stations. Most are owned by small business owners.
How many jobs do small business owners provide? How much will these small business owners have to raise their rates in order to pay for the increased insurance rates due to the vandalism? GET A FREAKIN’ GRIP PEOPLE! You want to vent, vent at the REAL culprits! That would be the corporation AND the incompetence of the federal government!
And one other thing, while I’m at it….many retirement funds are invested in oil companies, BP included. When Grandma can’t pay her bills out of her retirement dividends, thanks to the utter ignorance of the government’s actions, who is going to sue D’Bama’s administration to pay her bills? How about Rosie O’Donnell? BTW, dividends from BP helps pay our bills too.
How did we become such a nation filled with idiots?
Yep! I’m A Sexist!
Abortion on base
Democrats escalate their war against the unborn
The amendment was introduced by Sen. Roland Burris, Illinois Democrat, who shamelessly pegs the measure to the war on terrorism. A Burris spokesman said that women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan face special burdens seeking abortions, and that “if you’re not able to get access to services on base, you’re at the mercy of whatever medical services are out there. It’s a pretty dangerous scenario.”
He should just call it a war on babies. Democrats have been pushing for the slaughter of innocents for decades. To attach such an amendment to war funding is reprehensible.
It is an even more dangerous scenario for the unborn babies who are better protected under current law. Abortion proponents stress the perils women might face in countries where abortion is illegal, medical facilities are substandard or the security situation makes it too dangerous to go outside bases. But a safe alternative for all concerned already exists, namely taking leave to come home and give birth. This preserves the baby’s life while not forcing women into potentially hazardous circumstances. Women in uniform already have this option. Pregnant women are not forced out of the service, though they may separate voluntarily if they wish. They receive six to eight weeks of maternity leave and are not eligible for deployment for four months after the birth of their child. Having a baby imposes no professional liabilities on America’s military moms.
I am a sexist! I admit it! While I believe there are reasons for women to serve in the military, I do NOT believe any woman should be in a combat zone. Contrary to what the feminazis would like you to believe, men and women are different. We think differently, we react differently, we behave differently. Well, at least that’s the way it was intended to be! Today’s society has wussified men in general. I find it fairly disgusting.
Women getting pregnant in combat zones is rather disturbing on it’s own. Men go off to fight wars. Women stay at home and raise children. They are the support team. For reasons I’ve never understood, people have wanted to blur the line between the sexes. The only thing I’ve seen that accomplishing is the destruction of the family. Without the family, there is no society.
Wholesale slaughter of babies is a blood business. It is evil, plain and simple. We get the argument that young girls who find themselves pregnant shouldn’t ‘be punished’ with a child. Well, let’s use Newton’s Third Law of Motion: For every action there is an equal and opposite re-action. In other words, there are consequences for every action. The word ‘no’ comes in right handy. But this isn’t about teens making stupid choices. This is about grown women, who find themselves in a situation that should never have been in the first place….in a war zone….pregnant.
Now this fool comes along, and decides that military base hospitals can be used as slaughter houses? I honestly do not believe there are way too many in Congress who are completely clueless. Why change a law that is perfectly adequate into something that borders on wholesale murder? Am I missing the point?
Beyond Incompetent
How the White House is Making Oil Recovery Harder
The Foundry
Five weeks ago Escambia County officials requested permission from the Mobile Unified Command Center to use a sand skimmer, a device pulled behind a tractor that removes oil and tar from the top three feet of sand, to help clean up Pensacola’s beaches. County officials still haven’t heard anything back. Santa Rosa Island Authority Buck Lee told The Daily Caller why: “Escambia County sends a request to the Mobile, Ala., Unified Command Center. Then, it’s reviewed by BP, the federal government, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard. If they don’t like it, they don’t tell us anything.”
Keeping local governments in the dark is just one reason why the frustration of residents in the Gulf is so palpable. State and local governments know their geography, people, economic impacts and needs far better than the federal government does. Contrary to popular belief, the federal government has actually been playing a bigger and bigger role in running natural disaster responses. And as Heritage fellow Matt Mayer has documented, the results have gotten worse, not better.
Glenn Beck 06/09/10
Weasel Time
Ann on Palin Endorsements
Sarah Palin: Please Endorse Rob Simmons
by Ann Coulter
Sarah Palin endorsed three dark-horse candidates in Republican match-ups this year, and all three won their primaries yesterday: Nikki Haley in South Carolina, Sharron Angle in Nevada and Carly Fiorina in California. No wonder Sarah’s being stalked by Joe McGinniss.
Now, she’s got to endorse Rob Simmons for U.S. Senate. Otherwise, Republicans can kiss the possibility of a major upset in Connecticut goodbye.
I wouldn’t ask, but the country is at stake. We have a mere 100 senators; only 17 Senate seats currently held by Democrats are up this year; and only about six of those could possibly go Republican, even in Newt Gingrich’s wildest fantasies.
I’m Angry!
Other than the fact I’ve been as sick as the proverbial dog for the past week (bronchitis/pneumonia), which seriously chaps my hide, I’ve been getting more and more angry at the state of affairs, not just in this country, but the world in general. I’m sure you’ve watched the same coverage I have, and no doubt, are just as fed up as I am. Granted, I’ve gotten to the point I don’t even bother turning on the TV till about 3, unless I want to watch a mindless, sappy chick flick, or some such. Typically, my daily irritation starts at 3 with Cavuto. No people, the economy is NOT recovering. The only jobs being created are government jobs, and the government doesn’t produce anything but debt. The private sector, which are the REAL producers, is being thwarted at ever turn, by more and more government intrusion.
I’m angry that there are people running this country into the ground. All the pretty speeches are not going to solve one problem. Actually, IMHO, they are creating more, but then, that’s what government does…..it creates problems, then pretends to solve them, all the while, making the problem they created worse. Where’s the logic?
Mexico can be pissed off all it wants, I don’t give a flying flip! Go the **** home!
Why haven’t we blown these SOBs into oblivion?
The idea that BP and D’Bama could have prevented a lot of the damage on the Gulf Coast, but didn’t, pisses me off.
The thought that Israel would even consider easing the Gaza blockade is mind boggling.
And just how did liberals get to be so ignorant?
So, I really haven’t had much to say lately, that didn’t involve a large number of four lettered, inappropriate words, that resolves nothing. Venting is all well and good, but right now, I just don’t have anything constructive to say. So, I’m shuttin’ up. Well, at least for a few hours. 
Cool!
New Comet a Stunner — and Visible to Naked Eye
A recently discovered comet is surprising skywatchers by becoming brighter than predictions had first suggested and can now be seen with the unaided eye during the next few weeks.
Comet McNaught is expected to pass closest to the sun (perihelion) on July 2, at a distance of 37 million miles (60 million km). This sky map shows where to look in order to spot the comet in the morning sky.
Comet McNaught (C/2009 R1) is now just barely visible to the naked eye in the predawn, northeastern sky from the Northern Hemisphere. This map shows the sky as of June 9, just before daybreak. The comet will be near the star Mirfak on June 13-14, when it’s expected to be brighter than now. Sliding lower each morning, it’ll be near the bright star Capella June 21-22.
A nice fat arrow pointing to the vicinity would have been helpful.
If you want to get a view of the comet, you’ll have to get up early in the morning. Set your alarm clock for at least two hours before sunrise. For most people that will mean around 3:30 a.m. local time. The comet is currently moving through the constellation of Perseus, the Hero, which at that early hour will be low in the northeast part of the sky.
Are they freakin’ kidding? Chickens aren’t even up that early. I think I’ll wait for the movie.
After June 15, Comet McNaught will rapidly slide lower toward the north-northeast horizon, passing very close to the brilliant star Capella in the constellation Auriga around June 22 and a few mornings later very near to the second magnitude star Menkalinan.
By then, McNaught will be visible – albeit with some difficulty – both in the evening sky for a short while just after sunset very low above the north-northwest horizon and in the morning sky just before sunrise very low above the north-northeast horizon.
Ok, that’s more like it. I think I can manage to look up after sunset. Hey…come to think of it, if the trees aren’t in the way, we have a new fangled telescope that might just be the way to go. Then again, I’ll probably forget all about it until it’s too late. sigh…
I have to ask though…..why did they title the picture “Comet Mcnaught_doomsday”? That’s a bit creepy, don’t ya think?
