Wednesday, December 29, 2010

CH-Ch-Ch-Changes!

December 17th & 18th I moved in with mom & dad... have to sell my house.  Actually for two reasons now...

  1. Because I'm not earning quite what I used to before I was laid off from my last job and I was scrimping then.
  2. To be shared soon... a recent situation I've decided to blog through.

Been trying to adjust to my new living quarters... my cats are trying to adjust too, they're not used to anyone but me being around.  They're skittish around other people... skittish is putting it mildly.  They usually beat it out the cat door if anyone came to the door... or if they heard a vehicle pull in the driveway.

Simon is doing remarkably well, seems to be asserting himself with the "natives" (mom's cats).  There have been a few squabbles.  Missy is still pretty much hiding in my room, mostly under the covers.

Well, got to get to bed... one more day and then it's a three-day weekend!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

I Fought For You: By The Sound Tank

My dad forwarded this to me.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Terrorism Plot Thwarted... In case you missed it.

I just recently made a statement about this same subject, Terrorism.  It was a comment made in reference to a question on SodaHead.  The question was:

Should Bush Be Investigated for Waterboarding?  My reply below...


What is it going to take for people to wake up and allow our police, the FBI, the CIA, our military to do what needs to be done to ensure our protection from these vile individuals?

Now I read this...

Oregon bomb-plot suspect wanted 'spectacular show'

By Tim Fought And Nedra Pickler, Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. – A Somali-born teenager plotted "a spectacular show" of terrorism for months, saying he didn't mind that children would die if he bombed a crowded Christmas tree-lighting ceremony, according to a law-enforcement official and court documents.

He never got the chance. Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, was arrested Friday in downtown Portland after using a cell phone to try to detonate what he thought were explosives in a van, prosecutors said. It turned out to be a dummy bomb put together by FBI agents.

It is the latest in a string of alleged terrorist plots by U.S. citizens or residents, including a Times Square plot in which a Pakistan-born man pleaded guilty earlier this year to trying to set off a car bomb at a bustling street corner. Last month, another Pakistan-born Virginia resident was accused in a bomb plot to kill commuters.

In the Portland plot, Mohamud believed he was receiving help from a larger ring of jihadists as he communicated with undercover federal agents, but no foreign terrorist organization was directing him, according to a law-enforcement official who wasn't authorized to discuss the case publicly and spoke on a condition of anonymity.

The official said Mohamud was very committed to the plot and planned the details alone, including where to park the van to hurt the most people.

"I want whoever is attending that event to leave, to leave dead or injured." Mohamud said, according to the affidavit.

"It's in Oregon, and Oregon, like you know, nobody ever thinks about it," the suspect told an agent in one discussion.

Thousands of people had gathered Friday on a cold, clear night for the annual event at Pioneer Courthouse Square, a plaza often referred to as "Portland's living room" because of its popularity.

Just 10 minutes before Mohamud's 5:40 p.m. arrest, the lighting ceremony began. Babies sat on shoulders, and children cheered at the first appearance of Santa Claus onstage.

The tree-lighting on the bricks of the plaza went off without a hitch just as the arrest was taking place.

Mohamud, who grew up in Beaverton, was a former student at Oregon State University. He had been enrolled in courses from late 2009 until Oct. 6 before withdrawing, said Oregon State University spokesman Todd Simmons.

The law-enforcement official who spoke to the AP on Saturday said agents began investigating Mohamud after receiving a tip from someone who was concerned about the teenager. The official declined to provide any more detail about the relationship between Mohamud and that source.

In an e-mail exchange with an undercover agent Mohamud complained, "I have been betrayed by my family," although he describes no specific action that family members took.

The FBI monitored Mohamud's e-mail and found that he was in contact with people overseas, asking how he could travel to Pakistan and join the fight for jihad, according to an FBI affidavit.

According to the law enforcement official, Mohamud e-mailed a friend living in Pakistan who had been a student in Oregon in 2007-2008 and been in Yemen as well.

For reasons that have not been explained, Mohamud tried to board a flight to Kodiak, Alaska, from Portland on June 14, wasn't allowed to board and was interviewed by the FBI, the affidavit states.

Mohamud told the FBI he wanted to earn money fishing and then travel to join "the brothers." He said he had previously hoped to travel to Yemen but had never obtained a ticket or a visa.

On June 23, an undercover agent contacted Mohamud by e-mail, pretending to be affiliated with the "unindicted associate" Mohamud had sent e-mails to.

The FBI's affidavit says the friend in Pakistan referred him to another associate, but gave him an e-mail address that Mohamud tried repeatedly to use unsuccessfully. The official said FBI agents saw that as an opportunity and e-mailed Mohamud in response, claiming to be associates of his friend, the former student.

The affidavit said Mohamud was warned several times about the seriousness of his plan, that women and children could be killed, and that he could back out. But he told agents: "Since I was 15 I thought about all this" and "It's gonna be a fireworks show ... a spectacular show."

Mohamud, a naturalized U.S. citizen living in Corvallis, was charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. A court appearance was set for Monday.

Authorities allowed the plot to proceed in order to build up enough evidence to charge the suspect with attempt. Mohamud sent bomb components to undercover FBI agents who he believed were assembling the explosive device, but the agents supplied the fake bomb that Mohamud tried to detonate twice via his phone, authorities said.

The FBI affidavit says the undercover agent first met Mohamud in person on July 30 and asked what he would do for the cause of jihad. The agent suggested that Mohamud might want to spread Islam to others, continue his studies to help the cause overseas, raise money, and become a martyr or put together an explosion but didn't know how and needed training, the affidavit said.

The undercover agent said he could introduce him to an explosives expert and asked Mohamud to research potential targets.

At a second meeting on Aug. 19 at a Portland hotel, the agent brought a second undercover agent, the documents say, and Mohamud told them he had selected Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square for the bombing.

On Nov. 4, the court documents say, Mohamud made a video in the presence of one of the undercover agents, putting on clothes he described as "Sheik Osama style:" a white robe, red and white headdress, and camouflage jacket.

He read a statement speaking of his dream of bringing "a dark day" on Americans and blaming his family for thwarting him, according to the court documents:

"To my parents who held me back from Jihad in the cause of Allah. I say to them ... if you — if you make allies with the enemy, then Allah's power ... will ask you about that on the day of judgment, and nothing that you do can hold me back ..."

Friday, an agent and Mohamud drove to downtown Portland in a white van that carried six 55-gallon drums with detonation cords and plastic caps, but all of them were inert, the complaint states.

They left the van near the downtown ceremony site and went to a train station where Mohamud was given a cell phone that he thought would blow up the vehicle, according to the complaint. There was no detonation when he dialed, and when he tried again federal agents and police made their move.

Tens of thousands of Somalis have resettled in the United States since their country plunged into lawlessness in 1991, and the U.S. has boosted aid to the country.

In August, the U.S. Justice Department unsealed an indictment naming 14 people accused of being a deadly pipeline routing money and fighters from the U.S. to al-Shabab, an al-Qaida affiliated group in Mohamud's native Somalia.

Officials have been working with Muslim community leaders across the United States, particularly in Somali diasporas in Minnesota, trying to combat the radicalization.

On Saturday, Omar Jamal, first secretary to the Somali mission to the United Nation and an advocate for Somalis in Minnesota, said Mohamud has a stepmother in Minneapolis. He condemned the plot and urged Somalis to cooperate with police and the FBI.

Jamal said he had spoken to two Somalis who knew Mohamud, and he was described as religious, quiet and innocent. Jamal said Mohamud is from southern Somalia.

"Everybody's afraid, really really afraid," Jamal said of members of Oregon's Somali communities and elsewhere. "They're afraid of, first of all, the label. The allegation is very serious ..."

___

Pickler reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Nigel Duara in Portland, Carrie Antlfinger in Milwaukee and Lolita C. Baldor in Washington also contributed to this report.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101127/ap_on_re_us/us_portland_car_bomb_plot


What if the FBI hadn't found out about this?  I wonder how many of the politically correct bleeding-heart liberals would now be crying out for retaliation or stronger interrogation if a town full of people, including children, had been murdered for showing up to a Christmas tree lighting?  Is that what it's going to take... a tragedy like this!

Friday, November 5, 2010

Election of black conservatives signals 'awakening'

Chris Woodward and Russ Jones - OneNewsNow - 11/4/2010 4:25:00 AM

With South Carolina's victory of the first 'Deep South' black Republican to Congress since Reconstruction, one conservative thinks it's evident that the tea party is not racist.

Ron Miller, a conservative author, columnist, veteran and tea party member, says Tim Scott's election to Congress is "an impressive victory."

"I think it's a great testimony to Americans' ability to evaluate people by the content of their character, rather than the color of their skin," he suggests.

In winning the election, Scott beat out two white candidates in the Republican primary, including the son of late Senator Strom Thurmond and the son of former South Carolina Governor Carroll Campbell.
"You would think that if there was going to be any state where race would be an issue [it] would be South Carolina. But they've demonstrated their ability, not just with Tim Scott's election, but with Nikki Haley's election as the first female and Indian-American governor of that state, that they're perfectly capable of voting based on the issues," the conservative columnist notes.

He decides the endorsements Scott and Haley both received from the tea party should reject claims that the grassroots movement is racist. Miller also predicts more black conservatives will get involved in the political process in the future.

"We had the largest number of black conservatives run for Congress this year than in any other, and we're going to have two black conservatives in Congress for the first time since 1996," Miller points out. "So we have a beachhead -- to use a military term -- and we want to start using that, not only to show everyone that the black community doesn't think or act alike, [but also] to give black conservatives the courage to speak out and let themselves be heard."

He concludes those are logical goals because no community thinks or acts alike.


Making history for the right reason
Tim Scott was not the only black conservative who emerged victorious on Tuesday. Allen West, a retired Army officer and an Iraq War veteran, won his race for the House and will be representing Florida's 22nd District. Bishop E.W. Jackson, Sr., president of Staying True to America's National Destiny (STAND), points out it is the first time since 1996 that two conservative black Republicans have served in Congress. (Listen to audio report)

"I think that [the elections of] Allen West and Tim Scott are the beginning of an awakening that is already happening all across the country," says Jackson. "But I believe that that awakening is now starting to happen in the black precincts across this country, and I think we're going to see a shift away from the Democrat [sic] Party, which has ill-served the black community for decades now."
While the nation made history two years ago by electing Barack Obama as the first black president, Jackson believes much of that support was misguided.

"I think we were making history for the wrong reasons because we were electing someone [largely] based on emotion, based on wanting to try to move the country forward racially -- as opposed to based on the principles of the man," he observes. "And I think that this year's election is repudiation not of the man, but of his principle and of his policies -- and I think that's a very, very healthy thing."

In addition, Jackson contends the election of Scott and West demonstrates a shift moving away from government dependence. "I think that the black community is just tired of that [message] -- particularly younger black people realize that that's a message that simply does not ring true anymore," he concludes.


http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=1223540

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Federal Light Bulb Ban Creating Jobs in China, Endangering Americans

A federal law banning ordinary incandescent light bulbs has already had a negative effect on the American economy — GE has closed its last major bulb producing factory in the United States, creating job opportunities in China.

Legislation enacted in 2007 orders the phase-out of incandescent light bulbs beginning with the 100-watt bulb in 2012 and ending with the 40-watt light in 2014. These bulbs cannot meet efficiency requirements dictated by law.

Compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) are the least expensive alternative. But the manufacture of CFLs is “labor intensive and too expensive to be done at U.S. wage rates,” according to a report from The Heartland Institute, which estimates that domestically produced CFLs would be 50 percent more expensive than bulbs manufactured in China.

So instead of retrofitting its plant in Winchester, Va., to produce CFLs, GE closed the plant in September and laid off 200 workers.

CFLs are already being manufactured in China, and increasing American demand will no doubt create new jobs there.

As the Insider Report disclosed earlier, while CFLs use about 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs and last far longer, they cost significantly more, take longer to turn on, can flicker, and contain small amounts of highly toxic mercury, which creates problems for users when they break or need to be disposed of after they burn out.

“Environmental activists and their allies in Washington were either too ignorant of basic economics to see these job losses coming, or they were simply too callous to really care,” said Heartland Institute science director Jay Lehr.

“Either way, compact fluorescent light bulbs in the real world fail to live up to environmental promises, unnecessarily subject American households to toxic mercury, produce poor-quality light, and are sending American workers to the unemployment line.”

And Sam Kazman, general counsel for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said: “If the new energy-saving technologies being pushed by government are really that good, then we don’t need government to mandate them. And if they are being mandated, that’s a sure sign that they’re not very good.”

Three Republican members of Congress — Joe Barton, Marsha Blackburn and Michael Burgess — have introduced a bill that would repeal the ban on the incandescent bulb.

The three said in an article on The Daily Caller: “The unanticipated consequence of the ’07 act — layoffs in the middle of a desperate recession — is what sometimes happens when politicians think they know better than consumers and workers.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

CFL Light Bulbs Are Dangerous, Cost Jobs
Tuesday, 28 Sep 2010 09:45 AM
Article By: Michael Reagan

It's should be called the law of unintended consequences, and Congress should learn to abide by it, taking enough time to discover whether the road they choose to follow is smooth or filled with ruts.

Back in 2007, the Congress in their wisdom ruled that starting in the year 2012 the ordinary incandescent light bulbs we've been using for ages must be phased out and completely regulated away by 2014. They are to be replaced by so-called CFLs, those twisted fluorescent gizmos that if dropped become tiny mercury bombs.

Why do away with something we've been using, without problems, for just about forever? Well, because they allegedly contribute to a deadly hazard that exists only in their minds — nonexistent global warming.

Just think, every time you turn on a light you are helping to barbecue the planet, according to Mr. Gore and his fellow global-warming alarmists in Congress.

Shame on you!

Congress totally ignored the warnings that the allegedly wondrous CFLs they want to jam down our throats use high levels of mercury and when they break, as light bulbs tend to do when we drop them, they scatter mercury like shrapnel when a shell explodes.

The clean-up required to undo the damage cause by dropped CFLs is extensive and hazardous as well.

In addition, medical experts warn that when broken, the bulbs Congress favors can cause migraine headaches and even epilepsy attacks. Moreover they are unreliable in colder temperatures, failing to emit much heat, are hostile to such gimmicks as dimmer switches, and their lifespan is limited by being frequently turned on or off.

In addition, in this period of economic uncertainty and growing unemployment, the replacement of our usual bulbs has cost a lot of jobs.

General Electric, for example, has closed factories in Kentucky and Ohio, and has recently announced they are closing their major incandescent factory in Winchester, Va. — a factory that employed 200 of our fellow Americans and the last major incandescent manufacturing facility in the United States.

That's good news for China and other countries that will take up the slack with CFL manufacture, but will also undoubtedly create a new form of bootlegging or, rather, bulblegging.

According to the Heritage Foundation, in an attempt to undo the damage Congress has done with this outlandish regulation, Reps. Joe Barton, R-Texas, Michael Burgess, R-Texas, and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., have introduced the so-called "Better Use of Light Bulbs" (BULB) Act last week.

The act would repeal Subtitle B of Title III of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 — the phase-out of the incandescent bulb.

Said Rep. Blackburn: "Washington banned a perfectly good product and fired hard-working Americans based on little more than their own whim and the silly notion that they know better than the American consumer. Now, hundreds more Americans are looking for work while assembly lines in China are churning out fluorescent bulbs for the U.S. market."

Does anyone in Congress care about the plight of American workers, or are they so deeply embedded in the fantasies of Al Gore that they are willing to put American workers out of work?

Thank God for the oncoming congressional elections. We'll have an opportunity to put out the lights on Capitol Hill for a lot of these crazed ideologues.

Mike Reagan, the elder son of the late President Ronald Reagan, is president of The Reagan Legacy Foundation (www.reaganlegacyfoundation.org), and founder and chairman of The Reagan Group. Look for Mike’s books and other information at www.reagan.com.

http://www.newsmax.com/Reagan/CFLlightbulbsGore/2010/09/28/id/371768

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Ray Stevens - The Last Laugh [1980, Shriner's Convention]

I have been looking forever for this song, only available on the original vinyl record.  Was hoping someone would record it off their old album.  I found a version, but at a higher speed.  She likes it better that way, just wish she'd do another version at the correct speed.  Oh well, beggers can't be choosers, I guess.




Here are the lyrics, although I couldn't quite make out a few near the end.

Ray Stevens - The Last Laugh
1980 - The Shriner's Convention Album

In your garage, I will start up my dodge and I'll stick my head in the exhaust. When the doctors arrive and try to revive me, they'll say, "Sorry, we tried but we lost."

And I'll say, "Ah ha ha ha, who's laughing now, I've got the last laugh on you". I'll say, "Ah ha ha ha, you'll be so sorry you treat me the way that you do."


Up on the hill, by the Hollywood sign, it's a great place to end the whole show. I'll leave you a note, tied to my throat, when I jump from the top of the O.


And I'll say, "Ah ha ha ha, who's laughing now, I've got the last laugh on you". I'll say, "Ah ha ha ha, you'll be so sorry you treat me the way that you do."


Bye, bye, baby. I'll leave you the car in my will. Bye, bye, baby. After I drive it over the hill.


Well here I am, with my gasoline can, so just tell me once more you don't care. And I'll memorize that look in your eyes that [[ hupbacle?? worked like a plan ]] or [[ I planned ]]


And I'll say, "Ah ha ha ha, who's laughing now, I've got the last laugh on you". I'll say, "Ah ha ha ha, you'll be so sorry you treat me the way that you do."


I'll say, "Ah ha ha ha, who's laughing now, I've got the last laugh on you". I'll say, "Ah ha ha ha, you'll be so sorry you treat me the way that you do."

So if you know the words I couldn't make out... please leave a comment or email me.  And if you know where I can get the song digitally [did I say that right, after I wrote it I started questioning if that's what I was trying to say... it's been one of those weeks... mp3, m4a, wma, wav/avi, wmv, mp4, flv] or on a CD, please let me know, I'd be ever so grateful.  Thanks.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

How Hot Is It?

I received this via email... I love it!  Thanks Kathy T.


When someone asks how hot it is, send them this.




Sunday, September 12, 2010

News Flashback: Muslims Burn Bibles and Destroy Crosses

Published June 18, 2007 by:
Kimberly West

Christians in Gaza Fear for Their Lives as Muslims Burn Bibles and Destroy Crosses

After defeating their rivals in Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement, Muslim extremists are focusing their attacks on Christians in Gaza City. Christians in Gaza City have issued an appeal to the international community and a plea for protection against the increased attacks by Muslim extremists.

Father Manuel Musallem, head of Gaza's Latin church, told the AP that Muslims have ransacked, burned and looted a school and convent that are part of the Gaza Strip's small Romany Catholic community. He told the AP that crosses were broken, damage was done to a statue of Jesus, and at the Rosary Sister School and nearby convent, prayer books were burned.

Gunmen used the roof of the school during the fighting, and the convent was "desecrated," Mussalem told the AP.

"Nothing happens by mistake these days," he said.

Father Musalam additionally told The Jerusalem Post that the Muslim gunmen used rocket-propeled grenades (RPGs) to blow through the doors of the church and school, before burning Bibles and destroying every cross they could get their hands on.

Catholic Online reports that the heads of Christian churches in the Holy Land have urged both sides to put aside their weapons, noting that the infighting diverted international attention from the national goal of Palestinian independence.

"This domestic fighting where brother draws his weapon against brother is detrimental to all the aspirations of achieving security and stability for the Palestinian people," they said. "In the name of the one and only God as well as in the name of each devastated Palestinian, many of whom are still dying, we urge our brothers in the Fatah and Hamas movements to listen to the voice of reason, truth and wisdom."

One young woman told the Catholic News Service that she was concerned the Islamic extremists would "enforce a strict dress code, forcing women to wear veils and robes." One Christian teenager spoke to the Catholic News Service on the condition that her name not be used. She said the days of fighting had been "very difficult" but they were "OK now."

"We all hope it will be better, but it will never ever be good with Hamas," she said.

Approximately 2,500 Christians live in Gaza.


CBN Reports--

Leaders of the Christian community in the Strip expressed deep concern over the fate of the Christians living under Hamas. They said most of them wanted to leave Gaza out of fear for their lives.

[Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas condemned the attack as barbaric and despicable and blamed Hamas militiamen.

'The torching of the church is one of the fruits of the bloody coup that Hamas staged in the Gaza Strip,' he said.

Several Christian institutions in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank have been targeted by masked gunmen over the past few months.

Sources:

Gaza's Christians fear for their lives, The Jerusalem Post, June 18, 2007, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1181813061916 (Christians, Muslims, Islam, Palestine, Hamas, Israel, Terror, Terrorism, Jihad, Gaza)

Catholic compound ransacked in Gaza, The Associated Press, June 18, 2007, http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/international/index.ssf?/base/international-38/118216269043620.xml&storylist=international (Christians, Muslims, Islam, Palestine, Hamas, Israel, Terror, Terrorism, Jihad, Gaza)

Israel Today, Hamas turns on Gaza Christians, June 18, 2007, http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=13149 (Christians, Muslims, Islam, Palestine, Hamas, Israel, Terror, Terrorism, Jihad, Gaza)

Christians in Gaza Strip express concern about their future, Catholic News Service, June 18, 2007, http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=24422 (Christians, Muslims, Islam, Palestine, Hamas, Israel, Terror, Terrorism, Jihad, Gaza)

Praying for Gaza, CBN News, June 18, 2007, http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/178934.aspx (Christians, Muslims, Islam, Palestine, Hamas, Israel, Terror, Terrorism, Jihad, Gaza)


http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/285123/christians_in_gaza_fear_for_their_lives.html?cat=9

Christian worshippers attacked in Indonesia

Christian worshippers attacked in Indonesia
Associated Press Writer

BEKASI, Indonesia – Assailants stabbed a Christian worshipper in the stomach and pounded a minister in the head with a wooden plank as they headed to morning prayers Sunday outside Indonesia's capital.

Neither of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening.

No one claimed responsibility for the attacks. But suspicion immediately fell on Islamic hard-liners who have repeatedly warned members of the Batak Christian Protestant Church against worshipping on a field housing their now-shuttered church.

In recent months, they have thrown shoes and water bottles at the church members, interrupted sermons with chants of "Infidels!" and "Leave Now!" and dumped piles of feces on the land.

Local police Chief Imam Sugianto said Asia Sihombing, a worshipper, was on his way to the field when assailants jumped off a motorcycle and stabbed him in the stomach.

The Rev. Luspida Simanjuntak was smashed in the head as she tried to come to his aid.

"I was trying to help get him onto a motorcycle so we could get him to a hospital," she told reporters in the industrial city of Bekasi, 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Jakarta.

She said the face of one of the assailants looked familiar.

Indonesia, a secular country of 237 million people, has more Muslims than any other in the world. Though it has a long history of religious tolerance, a small extremist fringe has become more vocal in recent years.

Leading the charge against the Batak Christians has been the Islamic Defenders Front, which is pushing for the implementation of Islamic-based laws in Bekasi and other parts of the nation.

They are known for smashing bars, attacking transvestites and going after those considered blasphemous with bamboo clubs and stones. They also pressured the local government early this year to shutter the Batak church.

Perpetrators are rarely punished or even questioned by police.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who relies heavily on Islamic parties in parliament, has been widely criticized in the media for failing to crack down on hard-liners.

But he immediately called on authorities to investigate and to hold accountable those responsible for Sunday's attack.

"We know who's behind it," said Maj. Gen. Timur Pradopo, the police chief in Jakarta, without elaborating. "But I don't believe this is an inter-religous conflict."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100912/ap_on_re_as/as_indonesia_christians_attacked

Friday, August 20, 2010

"Taken" - Movie Review

I just watched "Taken" last night... it was EXCELLENT!!!  If you like to see the bad guy get what's coming to him... you'll love this movie.  It will have your blood pumping for various reasons.  I haven't talked back to a movie like this since "Man On Fire" with Denzel Washington.

Liam Neeson did a superb job playing this role.  He kicked some major butt!  I was very animated during most of the movie. When his daughter was taken WHILE he was on the phone with her, I could just feel a parents nightmare living this situation.  And when he told the dude on the phone, "Let her go now and I won't look for you.  If not, I will look for you, I WILL find you, and I will kill you!" you got that he was stating a fact, not just bluffing or throwing out idle threats in the heat of the moment.  The guy replies back with, "Good luck.", which comes back to haunt him... I don't want to give away too much for those who haven't seen it.  But it is an excellent moment.

I have to admit, very unchristian thoughts and words were all abound.  I wanted those guys dead... and not in a civilized way.  This movie evokes those primal feelings... that these horrendous people, these scum-of-the-earth, should not and were NOT going to get away with everything you see during his search for his daughter.

"Taken" Movie Trailer





Buy DVD:
 - Wal-Mart  $9.96
 - Amazon.com  $11.99
 - Buy.com  $13.62


Thursday, July 29, 2010

New Job Update - One Week Yesterday

It was a week ago yesterday since I started my new job. So far it's just been mostly training... got to go solo today. As for going solo, one good thing right now is that if we question anything, we can flag it for our tainer to check it before we approve it. Whew... takes a little pressure off.

By "we" and "our" I mean Renee and I. We started together. She was in that group presentation/interview thing I had with the five other people... we both got hired, yeeeaaa! Our offices are right next door to each other... unfortunately she got the one right across the hall from the main door, so she gets that annoyance all day. It's kind of loud with the security beep, the clunk of the unlock and the bang of the door shutting. Plus her doorway is straight across from the door, so everyone walks through looking at her sitting at her desk... no privacy unless she kept her door shut.

My office is about three steps down from hers and I've been able to tune out the noise... I just jam to my music while doing my work. We're on the sixth floor... just wish I had a window. And I haven't figured it out yet or bothered to ask, but several times a day I feel the floor rumbling and vibrating. This is an office building... with like... concrete floors or something. So I got no idea whats going on down on the fifth floor??

It's quite a building... shnazzy building. Very artzy with shiny metal and glass. I had trouble just trying to work the elevator. The button looks like a bolt cover... very deceiving. The entryway is like a small plaza and our parking garage is on the other side of it. So it's like parking in the garage and walking across the patio to the front door. My last job, we were in a small three bedroom starter home with everyone trying to fit their cars in the drive. Most times I would park in the yard. God forbid if we had customers... they had to park wherever they could get their car.

What I love most about this job... I don't have to answer phones while trying to get all my work done. That is draining when you're trying to fill multiple positions, you know, the "wearing many hats" type of jobs or concentrating on something in particular that needs your full attention. You get burnt out and frustrated with the constant interruptions. This position is relatively stress free compared to my past jobs. It might be nice to be a little more laid back for awhile. It also gives me training in a new area to add to my resume. Broadens my future job prospects... you gotta like that!

Friday, July 23, 2010

Green: Obama is a victim of Bush's failed promises

Received this "article" through email.  I went online to verify the article... wanted to make sure the article was for real and the email accurate.

Here's an opinion piece by Chuck Green who writes "Greener Pastures" for the Denver Post Aurora Sentinel...one of the more liberal papers in the country. Additionally, Mr. Green is a life long Democrat...so this is rather a stunning piece...

Green: Obama is a victim of Bush's failed promises
By CHUCK GREEN, Columnist [Aurora Sentinel]
Published: Sunday, February 7, 2010 11:14 AM MST

Barack Obama is setting a record-setting number of records during his first year in office.

Largest budget ever. Largest deficit ever. Largest number of broken promises ever. Most self-serving speeches ever. Largest number of agenda-setting failures ever. Fastest dive in popularity ever.

Wow. Talk about change.

Just one year ago, fresh from his inauguration celebrations, President Obama was flying high. After one of the nation’s most inspiring political campaigns, the election of America’s first black president had captured the hopes and dreams of millions. To his devout followers, it was inconceivable that a year later his administration would be gripped in self-imposed crisis.

Of course, they don’t see it as self imposed. It’s all George Bush’s fault.

George Bush, who doesn’t have a vote in Congress and who no longer occupies the White House, is to blame for it all.


He broke Obama’s promise to put all bills on the White House web site for five days before signing them.

He broke Obama’s promise to have the congressional health care negotiations broadcast live on C-SPAN.

He broke Obama’s promise to end earmarks.

He broke Obama’s promise to keep unemployment from rising above 8 percent.

He broke Obama’s promise to close the detention center at Guantanamo in the first year.

He broke Obama’s promise to make peace with direct, no pre-condition talks with America’s most hate-filled enemies during his first year in office, ushering in a new era of global cooperation.

He broke Obama’s promise to end the hiring of former lobbyists into high White House jobs.

He broke Obama’s promise to end no-compete contracts with the government.

He broke Obama’s promise to disclose the names of all attendees at closed White House meetings.

He broke Obama’s promise for a new era of bipartisan cooperation in all matters.

He broke Obama’s promise to have chosen a home church to attend Sunday services with his family by Easter of last year.

Yes, it’s all George Bush’s fault. President Obama is nothing more than a puppet in the never-ending, failed Bush administration.

If only George Bush wasn’t still in charge, all of President Obama’s problems would be solved. His promises would have been kept, the economy would be back on track, Iran would have stopped its work on developing a nuclear bomb and would be negotiating a peace treaty with Israel, North Korea would have ended its tyrannical regime, and integrity would have been restored to the federal government.

Oh, and did I mention what it would be like if the Democrats, under the leadership of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, didn’t have the heavy yoke of George Bush around their necks. There would be no earmarks, no closed-door drafting of bills, no increase in deficit spending, no special-interest influence (unions), no vote buying (Nebraska, Louisiana).

If only George Bush wasn’t still in charge, we’d have real change by now.

All the broken promises, all the failed legislation and delay (health care reform, immigration reform) is not President Obama’s fault or the fault of the Democrat-controlled Congress. It’s all George Bush’s fault.

Take for example the decision of Eric Holder, the president’s attorney general, to hold terrorists’ trials in New York City. Or his decision to try the Christmas Day underpants bomber as a civilian.

Two disastrous decisions.

Certainly those were bad judgments based on poor advice from George Bush.

Need more proof?

You might recall that when Scott Brown won last month’s election to the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts, capturing “the Ted Kennedy seat,” President Obama said that Brown’s victory was the result of the same voter anger that propelled Obama into office in 2008. People were still angry about George Bush and the policies of the past 10 years, and they wanted change.

Yes, according to the president, the voter rebellion in Massachusetts last month was George Bush’s fault.

Therefore, in retaliation, they elected a Republican to the Ted Kennedy seat, ending a half-century of domination by Democrats.

It is all George Bush’s fault.

Will the failed administration of George Bush ever end, and the time for hope and change ever arrive?

Will President Obama ever accept responsibility for something — anything?

Chuck Green, veteran Colorado journalist and former editor-in-chief of The Denver Post, syndicates a statewide column and is at chuckgreencolo@msn.com

Monday, July 19, 2010

Big News... New Job... Starts Wednesday!

Since I haven't posted in awhile... let me catch you up.  I didn't get that job I blogged about earlier... the 500 resumes, phone interview, application packet, video interview.  I was disappointed.  Anyways...

I had an interview last Monday... actually a presentation with five of us interviewees, then one-on-one interviews.  There were three men and two women.  The company is looking to hire a couple of individuals.  We were referred by a temp/staffing agency.  I called the agency Friday, but no decision had been made.

This morning I got the call... Can you start Wednesday?  Less than I was previously making, but a little more than the "I hope to make at least" figure.  And it's not way downtown Raleigh... it's in Northern Raleigh... which makes for an easier commute from how far out I am.  Just take Capital down to 540, short run to Six Forks exit, then a hop, skip, and a jump down the road.

I must admit... I immediately had a small anxiety attack.  It's been 18 months since I got laid off.  It took 15 months to get even one interview.  That does a number on you psychologically.  I feel really out of the loop professionally. Plus, it's a MUCH bigger company in a bigger city than I'm used to.  I'm not sure if I have the right wardrobe... the small companies and type of companies I've worked for had very casual dress requirements (casual/jeans/sweats/shorts).  This place is business casual... I have no idea what I'm gonna wear!

My sister Laura, my friend Danette, and I went to the "Red Lemon" (DQ) to celebrate.  Danette bought me a cone... thank you Danette.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Jimmy Carter Cake

Don't know where the name comes from, always assumed it was because of the peanut butter... but the peanut butter is the smaller equation compared to the pudding and whip cream.  Chocolate Peanut Butter Dessert or Reese's Dessert seems more fitting... but this is what I've always known it as.  You call it what you like.

Jimmy Carter Cake

First Layer:  Mix
1 cup flour
½ cup melted margarine/1 stick of butter (your choice)

Pat into 9x13x2 glass dish. Bake 20 minutes @ 325°.  Cool.
This is a fairly thin crust so just push and pat with your fingers until bottom of pan is covered.

Second Layer:  Mix
1 cup Cool Whip
1 brick (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened
1/3 cup Peanut Butter

Spread onto cooled crust layer.


Third Layer:  Beat
(2 pkgs) 3.4 oz. instant Vanilla Pudding
(1 pkg) 3.4 oz. instant Chocolate Pudding
2 ½ cups milk

Pour over second layer.

Top with remaining Cool Whip and garnish with chopped nuts or chocolate shavings (or both).  Refrigerate.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Another Tiring Day and More Job News

Another tiring day... or evening.  My sister is selling her house and is in the process of moving.  Still too hot to be doing all this moving and cleaning.  Sweating buckets... constantly wet and uncomfortable.  Such is life.  Hopefully we'll get finished up tomorrow.

Still have another load or two... DO NOT know where she's gonna put it!  New house is crammed full.  It's gonna take her six months to go through and unpack and organize everything.

Before I left to go help my sister, I received a call from the job I'm hoping to get.  Wanted to know if I was still interested... they hadn't received my application packet yet.  This freakin' town sucks when it comes to mail and shipping.  I dropped my packet in a FedEx box on Friday and they still hadn't received it... I'm pretty sure the label they sent me was an overnight label.  I let her know I had sent it out and I appreciated her calling.  She said if it doesn't come in tomorrow then she'll send me the application through email.  She did want to set me up for an interview though... so I have one on Thursday morning at 10 am.

I could kick myself... I usually make copies of everything.  I wanted to make a copy of my application and the FedEx tracking number, but I was in such a hurry to get it out ASAP that I didn't.  I could of just scanned it in and emailed it to her today.  The one time I don't do something turns out to be the one time I needed it!!  Isn't that just the way.

I'm very glad that they are interested enough in me that she called... she could have just tossed my resume aside thinking, "She must not be interested."  That gives me alot of hope that I may get this job!!!

Thank you Lord for watching out for me.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Today Was A Good Day

My Air Conditioning Crisis:

The AC guy came about 9:30 am and it took roughly 2 hours for him to do what he needed to do to replace that part.  (The doo-hickey part is a TXV Valve)  He said he was certain this would fix the problem.  I wanted to believe... but was afraid to trust.  I had struggled so much the last four weeks that I couldn't believe it was finally going to be over.

I left the house about 2 pm.  The temperature had dropped from 86 to 80 degrees.  The humidity had dropped from 55% to 52%.  I set the thermostat to 76 degrees.  When I returned home at 8:30 pm... it was 76 degrees and there was no ice buildup.  WOOHOO!!!

After suffering in upper 80 and 90 degrees temps in here... 76 feels pretty darn cold!


On The Job Front:

I received a call on Tuesday from an employer I sent my resume to.  We had an initial interview over the phone.  She said she received approximately 500 resumes, out of those she decided which ones would get initial phone interviews.  I was one of the chosen ones... out of 500! If I make the cut from the phone interview, then I would be FedEx'd a packet with information and an application.  From those it would be decided who will get, I believe she said, video conference.  Then, from those, individuals would be chosen for a face to face interview.  I was so excited and nervous that I can't remember exactly. The home office is in Massachussetts, she would fly down for those interviews.

Well guess what came today?!!  I GOT A FEDEX PACKET!!!  Yea me!

I'm going to get it filled out and sent back immediately.  So say a prayer and keep your fingers crossed.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Welcome To My World... I'm In Hell!

I came home tonight... it was about 9 pm.  I opened the door to an oven. It was like walking into Hades.  The thermostat needle was buried, I couldn't even see it.  I checked the thermometer in my bedroom/office and it said 96 degrees.

This is now week 4 since I started having problems with my central air conditioning.  Still haven't figured out what the problem is... although we think we may have found the answer, hopefully.  It's a part he had to special order, he expedited the order and is supposed to be in around 10 am tomorrow.  I need prayers... lots and lots of prayers... that this is it.  It's supposed to stay in the 90's all the way through Sunday!

It doesn't blow very cold, it freezes up, I turn it off to thaw, after it runs so long it only blows 'just barely cool' air so it isn't sufficient in cooling the house down very much.  So I've developed a strategy.  Although Missy and I SUFFER through the day, I wait until about 7 or 8 pm when the outside temp starts coming down, then I open the windows and put the box fans in.  This brings the temp inside down to the low 80's, it takes a few hours.  Then after midnight when the temp is more manageable, I close up the windows and put the air on.  That way it has a better chance of cooling it off a little bit to the upper 70's.

Here's some pics of the unit frozen up.


Slightly Frozen
(see that piece in the middle... that's the doo-hickey)






Major Freezing... look how thick the ice is!














These are the filters.




At first he thought it was a piece in the outside unit that was recalled or something because it wasn't working right... the part would be replaced free, but the work to get to it and make the new piece fit wouldn't be.  It was expected to run about $500.00.  So before he went to that extreme he wanted to try a few things first... which meant dragging this hell out further than anticipated.  I don't know all the technical stuff, but this part he changed out first was what allows the freon to run through to where it's supposed to.  Mine looked pretty rough and he wasn't getting good pressure readings, so it looked like it could be the culprit.  NOT!

Then he was going to try replacing the motherboard, then a doo-hickey on the inside unit that regulates the freon in there.  That was last week.  By Friday I was trying to get hold of him to tell him to do both, I can't take dragging this out any longer.  I had a feeling it was the inside doo-hickey and wanted that replaced first.  Well when he showed up this morning he tells me that he thinks it's that doo-hickey thing too and he talked to his dad (whom he took over the business from) and his dad feels pretty sure it's the doo-hickey thing too.  That's the part he just expedited... it's a $100 part.

So I'm saying a prayer and keeping my fingers crossed!  Besides, I'm tired of eating cereal all the time 'cause it's too hot in here to cook.

Here's Missy trying to stay as cool as possible.  I've been worried about her in this heat.  She's got all that fur.  I've got the ceiling fans on high and I've pointed a box fan towards her sleeping spot on the desk.

Her sprawl cracks me up.  There's a ceiling fan right above her.









Here's a pic of some weeds I picked... they were cute weeds.  Looked like tiny mini-daisies.



Here's Missy on the file cabinet.




And here I have the fan over her sleeping spot on the desk.




Here's the flower arrangement I did to replace the pretty weeds.




Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Missy's Chair


I've posted Missy in her chair a few times... it's always been HER spot.



UNTIL NOW...!  (uh oh)

Simon has lost his 'fear' of the chair and has decided it is quite comfy.



Then along comes Missy expecting to settle down into HER chair.
She was not too pleased with what she found!



Then later, after she got HER chair back... Simon comes back from a trip outside to find his seat had been 'stolen' back.  Regardless, he tries to also settle in.  Really cute!










Aren't they just adorable?!


Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Look What I Made!


Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding



(Here's a close-up)




Cornish Hen Half & Veggie Pasta




Sunday, May 23, 2010

My Latest "Gift"


It was delivered Friday evening...




Trying to catch and release it was such a joy!  I don't know what it is with Missy and her bugs, frogs, lizards, and snakes.  At least Simon brings me the fuzzy and furry "normal" gifts expected from cats.


I love my cats... I love my cats... I love my cats.
They're lucky I love them!!!

Friday, May 21, 2010

"Grey's Anatomy" - Season 6 Finale

For anyone who missed last nights 2-hour "Grey's Anatomy" season finale… you missed one of the best finales I have ever seen. Granted I sobbed for two hours, but that's beside the point. In my opinion, it was the most emotionally traumatic, heroic, stunning, jaw-dropping, powerful, heartfelt, tragic, hold your breath finale ever! I'm all geared up for the "LOST" series finale on Sunday… but not sure if they will be able to deliver the emotional roller-coaster ride "Grey's" provided. I'm hopin' for the best… but, WOW!... "Grey's" left me stunned and speechless for quite some time.

In case you missed it, you can watch the episodes here:

ABC.com - Grey's Anatomy: http://abc.go.com/shows/greys-anatomy
Grey's Anatomy - s06e23 - Sanctuary (Season Finale P1)
http://abc.go.com/watch/greys-anatomy/93515/261783/sanctuary-finale-part-1?cid=fullepisodeaccess
Grey's Anatomy - s06e24 - Death And All His Friends (Season Finale P2)
http://abc.go.com/watch/greys-anatomy/93515/261805/death-and-all-his-friends-finale-part-2?cid=fullepisodeaccess

Hulu.com - Grey's Anatomy: http://www.hulu.com/greys-anatomy
Grey's Anatomy - s06e23 - Sanctuary (Season Finale P1)
http://www.hulu.com/watch/148529/greys-anatomy-sanctuary#s-p1-so-i0
Grey's Anatomy - s06e24 - Death And All His Friends (Season Finale P2)
http://www.hulu.com/watch/151241/greys-anatomy-death-and-all-his-friends#s-p1-so-i0

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Nancy Pelosi... What a superscary whack-job!

If this wasn't bad enough...

Nancy Pelosi asking the church to preach amnesty.



Ohhhh... so it's "separation of church and state" EXCEPT when Pelosi wants them to preach on something she supports.


Then comes this...

Pelosi Says It's Okay To Quit Your Job... Go Be Creative... Taxpayers Have Got Your "Health Care" Back.




Here's a more in depth debate on same issue.




This woman is un-freakin'-believable!

Monday, May 17, 2010

College Has Become a Consumer Fraud

College Has Become a Consumer Fraud
Monday, 17 May 2010 09:59 AM
By: Ronald Kessler

College catalogs are as enticing as brochures for shiny new cars. They promise intellectual stimulation, critical thinking, and preparation for a rewarding life. But like come-ons for underwater land, the claims of liberal arts colleges are bogus.

Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato began the liberal arts tradition of learning in ancient Greece. They advocated systematic reflection and a search for truth. The term liberal arts itself comes from the Latin word liber, meaning free.

Today, colleges impose rigid conformity. Rather than encouraging students to find the truth for themselves, they propagandize, usually with a far-left cast. Rather than encouraging open-mindedness, they promote stereotypical thinking and adherence to preconceptions and dogma.

In short, a college education — at roughly $40,000 a year — has become a consumer fraud.

The corruption of college has taken place over decades. That is why some of the most brilliant and successful figures dropped out of college or never attended in the first place.

Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, left Harvard after two years. Socichiro Honda, founder of Honda Motor Co., left home at 15 and never got a degree, which he said would be “worth less than a movie ticket.”

Henry Ford dropped out of school at the age of 16. Edwin H. Land, who brought the world the Polaroid camera, polarized sunglasses, and 3-D movies, left Harvard University after his freshman year. F. Scott Fitzgerald dropped out of Princeton.

William Faulkner dropped out of the University of Mississippi. Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook from his Harvard dormitory, but after the social networking website exploded in popularity, he quit school and became a full-time entrepreneur.

To placate his parents, Michael Dell enrolled at the University of Texas. He began buying remaindered, outmoded IBM PCs from local retailers, upgrading them in his dorm room, then selling them. Eyeing the burgeoning inventory piling up in their room, Dell’s roommate moved the parts to the door and suggested that Dell move out.

Dell did—and decided to drop out at the end of his freshman year.

Others who dropped out of high school or college include Larry Page (Google), David Geffen (Geffen Records), Steve Jobs (Apple), Richard Branson (Virgin), Ralph Lauren (Ralph Lauren), and Jerry Yang (Yahoo).

In fact, one in five billionaires never finished college. Nine presidents, including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Harry S. Truman, never earned a college degree.

To be sure, genius will never make its home in a structured learning environment. Thomas Edison rebelled against school and was told by his headmaster he would “never make a success of anything.”Albert Einstein could not read until he was seven. He hated school and dropped out at 15.

One of his teachers told him, “You will never amount to anything.”

But if colleges encouraged the kind of innovative thinking they profess to nurture, they would attract, rather than repel, brilliant minds.

More important, they would stop turning out cookie-cutter graduates who cannot think outside of the box.

Michael Dell and Bill Gates dropped out of college precisely because they wouldn’t — or couldn’t — tailor their thinking to the prevailing wisdom.

“I took one course that was remotely related to business — macroeconomics,” Dell has said. “One of the things that really helped me is not approaching the world in a conventional sense,” he said. “There are plenty of conventional thinkers out there.”

As practiced today, the very heart of the academic approach is flawed. In the political sciences, that approach entails postulating a theory and shoe-horning reality into it.

For example, Myra G. Gutin taught a course on first ladies at Rider University in New Jersey. In her book “The President's Partner,” she sorted first ladies into three categories: ceremonial (Bess Truman, Mamie Eisenhower), whose role was said to be mostly entertaining; emerging spokeswoman (Jacqueline Kennedy, Pat Nixon), who promoted issues important to them; and activist (Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford).

While such theories give academics something to write about, they distort rather than illuminate the truth. Like racial stereotyping, placing labels on people focuses attention on apparent similarities while shifting attention away from differences.

Instead of promoting conventional thinking, Gutin should encourage students to examine for themselves what each first lady was like. Michael Dell did not come up with his revolutionary concept for manufacturing computers to order by adopting the prevailing wisdom. Thinking outside the box requires looking at the world without blinders.

As a college student, I rebelled against that mind-constricting conformity. After crusading against formal education as an editor of the Clark Scarlet at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., I took my own advice and dropped out after my sophomore year.

My parents were not pleased. They were not exactly strangers to the academic world. My father was an associate professor of microbiology at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons and a professor of chemistry at City College of New York. My stepfather was a physicist at MIT. My mother, a concert pianist and composer, taught at the Juilliard School in New York.

But on the school paper, I had found my passion, investigative reporting. I had written an article exposing rampant discrimination against black students by local landlords. When I called a sample of those who had placed classified ads in the local paper, almost 40 percent admitted they would mind if my roommate was black and said they would not rent to me.

The Worcester Telegram picked up the story, and the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination began an investigation.

Rather than regurgitating what my professors told me, I learned I could uncover original information on my own. Rather than using it to write papers that no one would read, I realized I could have an impact on society by exposing the truth.

After becoming a reporter on the Worcester Telegram, I went on to the Boston Herald, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, which I left in 1985. Published last year, “In the President’s Secret Service: Behind the Scenes With Agents in the Life of Fire and the Presidents They Protect” is my 18th book.
I have never regretted my decision to drop out of college. Since then, college has become more doctrinaire. At least 90 percent of college professors are registered Democrats. That would not be a problem if they honestly sought to open students’ minds rather than brainwashing them.

While exceptional professors still exist, portraying Republicans as evil, Americans as Nazis, and capitalism as a way to subjugate minorities is the norm in too many college classes. Protected by tenure, professors replicate themselves, blackballing teachers who do not have ultra-liberal views.

If “the truth will set you free,” America is in serious trouble.


Ronald Kessler is chief Washington correspondent of Newsmax.com. View his previous reports and get his dispatches sent to you free via e-mail. Go here now.