An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Archive for June 2012
Having Fun With OUR Money
Yep! The infamous Pork Report from the Beacon Center is out! Now, I gotta tell ya, I am more than disappointed to find that even though the “Rs” are now the majority in the state house for the first time since…what… Reconstruction?…. there is absolutely no difference in the spending issues. Seriously…none. The Rs are as bad as the Ds when it comes to spending other people’s money on crap. And yep…that’s what it is….C-R-A-P!
You can check out the entire report here, but my favorite is the Pork of the Year. Starting on page 6, we have….drum roll please….. LIVING THE DREAM ON YOUR DIME.
Whitney Askins, the executive director of the Upper Cumberland Development District (UCDD), had launched a project called “living the Dream” with $300,000 in seed funding from the development district. She also received million of dollars in various government grants. The funding went to purchase an elaborate mansion designed to provide housing for needy seniors. They weren’t the only ones living the dream.
What Williams (Nashville’s News Channel 5 reporter) and his team found was that Askins herself promptly moved into the mansion, filling it with her own furniture after paying herself from the “Living the Dream” coffers. She reimbursed herself nearly $10,000 for furniture and then went on a spending spree. Among her purchases:
- a $1,500 high-definition TV;
- a custom-made $25,000 staircase;
- a steam shower and sauna costing $3,000; and
- two massive fountains totaling nearly $9,000
Askins also relocated her horses and dogs to the mansion, or as she called it, a “therapeutic petting zoo” for the seniors. She also put numerous family members on the payroll, including her mother, father, sister, brother, and daughter. Each of the family members received his or her own car and gas cards.
In all, Askins blew more than $1.5 million on the project. After New Channel 5 released its findings, the development district board placed Askins on administrative leave, while state and local officials launched criminal and civil investigations into her actions. As if pouring salt in the wound, Askins applied for unemployment benefits, but fortunately, her claim was denied.
I should freakin’ hope so! While there are people desperate for work, some broad is taking your money, and having a high ol’ time with it, and then expects us to pay even more in unemployment benefits? Jiminy crickets…talk about ballsy! But I must ask…was NO ONE paying attention? Who approved the purchases? I would think with such a project, someone would have to have been doing a bit of oversight…wouldn’t you?
Were there actually any ‘needy seniors’ in the house, or was this just one big ol’ party for Askins and clan? While I’m sure the mansion (pictured in the report) would be quite pleasant for the needy seniors, I would think their needs would be more akin to food, clothing, shelter, and someone who actually CARES about THEM, and not their own comfort and desires.
People like this make me want to smack the crap out of them! Literally!
The numerous examples of how our state and local governments WASTE our money is absolutely mind boggling! At a time when everyone is strapped for cash, little luxuries have to go by the wayside, yet government carries on without a care in the world. How about some incentives for the youth…more Job Corps facilities so kids can learn a skill? Nope….gotta blow money on an industry that makes billions! Maybe using that money they blew for a $1.5 million sign for Volkswagon, who can buy it’s own sign to be seen from the air, to hire more state police that just might stop the drug trafficking through our state? How about equipping the volunteer fire departments in the small towns around the state? Just a couple of suggestions. Heaven knows, they could sure use some help in making wiser decisions!
Obama 1, Constitution 0
Daily Read – June 30
Obama and Holder — Men of Privilege
Since I have been having some major issues with my computer, I was unable to post The Great Eight last Saturday. Well, it seems I have managed to fix one of the problems, so I’m posting it now. Still relevant!
NewsBusted 6/29/12
Regressing
The headline in The Washington Times:
Obama hails ruling as win for ‘middle class’; justices hand tax issue to GOP
Ummm… how would this be a win for the middle class, which the majority…well, what WAS the majority…of people fall? Now, apparently, we’re all going to be below the poverty level, joining the others that Obama has put there by the failed economic policies which has resulted in the creation in a LARGE number of government jobs, paid for by us peons, but not a whole lot in the private sector, where most of us live our day to day lives.
And let’s not forget that this overblown piece of crap that was foisted on the American people also violates the 1st Amendment. Forcing faith based organization to pay for murder is beyond the pale! Forcing people to buy something they don’t want, and then taxing them if they don’t, is also a violation.
This administration, and all who support their Marxist plans, MUST GO! I don’t give a damn where they go….just GO! Any STATE government that just follows along blindly will also need to be replaced.
I really don’t think they understand the TRUE American spirit! Too bad for them!
Fight To REPEAL!
Join the Fight to Repeal Obamacare
The Foundry
Fellow Americans,
Like you, I am disappointed by the Supreme Court’s Obamacare decision. The Court misread and rewrote Obamacare in order to save it. Such contortions are not the proper role of judging. Most Americans are with you and me and deeply dislike this law.
We believe, however, that this is far, far from a time for despair. This decision will energize freedom-loving Americans to once again take matters into their own hands. Our republic has survived and flourished for more than two centuries because men and women—brave, determined, and deeply committed to the cause of freedom—were willing to stand, to march, and to make whatever sacrifices were necessary so that their children would know the blessings of liberty, the hope and opportunity that flow from living in “the land of the Free.”
They will receive this ruling as a clarion call to action. Once again, the people will have to rise to defend a fundamental American concept: that the power of government over individuals must be limited.
First, let’s acknowledge what was good in the decision. The Court recognized that there are limits to what Congress may do under the Commerce Clause. Big-government forces have for too long abused this clause’s grant of congressional authority, but the Court’s decision reaffirms that there are limits on their actions.
Daily Read – June 29
Obama’s Fangs
Hmmm…..
Mourning America
Today would be my parents 61st anniversary. I’m grateful they didn’t live to see what this nation has turned into….a socialist state, ala the road the Germans took with Hitler’s rise to power, leading up to a World War, and the slaughter of millions. This is no longer the United States of America, the land of the free. It IS, however, still the home of the brave. And I see many brave people fighting against the onslaught, not just at the ballot box.
May she rest in peace, and what rises from the ashes be the nation our founders had intended. We are truly a nation in distress.
Will The Supremes Stand WITH The People, Or With The Dictator
Obamacare After the Court
The Foundry
The policy landscape will change dramatically after 10 a.m. today. If the Supreme Court does not strike down Obamacare in its entirety, Congress should move to repeal it. Americans support repeal of the health care law, as they have demonstrated in more than 100 polls since it passed in 2010. The infamous individual mandate is only the beginning of the problems Americans face under this law. Most importantly, Americans need real health care reform, and we need to begin moving toward a patient-friendly system where people have the freedom to choose the care that is best for them.
Beyond the Individual Mandate
Over the past two years, Heritage has laid out the flawed policies of Obamacare, including the individual mandate to purchase health insurance, which is at the center of the law’s constitutional questionability.
Yesterday Was An Important Day!
After being in Texas for nearly two months, I think we are starting to see the end of the tunnel, and HOME is looming in the not too distant future. It actually has been 2 months since I’ve spent more than a couple of days with the Mr. One very bright spot….he is suppose to be down here tomorrow to spend some time with the family, and play golf with the Ick in law. This afternoon, we will find out whether or not my ‘services’ will continue to be needed, or we can all celebrate my departure. 
Pray….cross your fingers, toes, and eyes!
Daily Read – June 28
Ann on The BIGGER Scandal
The biggest scandal in U.S. history
by Ann Coulter
Forget executive privilege, contempt of Congress, “fast and furious,” how many documents the government has produced and who said what to whom on which date.
The Obama administration has almost certainly engaged in the most shockingly vile corruption scandal in the history of the country, not counting the results of Season Eight on “American Idol.”
Administration officials intentionally put guns into the hands of Mexican drug cartels, so that when the guns taken from Mexican crime scenes turned out to be American guns, Democrats would have a reason to crack down on gun sellers in the United States.
Democrats will never stop trying to take our guns away. They see something more lethal than a salad shooter and wet themselves.
