Cannon Fishbowl

gymnastics 009.avi

2010-04-27T19:32:00.000-04:00

gymnastics 011.avi

2010-04-27T19:31:00.000-04:00

Come on people

2010-01-17T22:49:00.002-05:00

Really people, it's been over a year. Democrat's need to stop blaming everybody else and start working on their own issues. It's not Bush's problems anymore and last I checked Frannie and Freddie were democratic issues, not Republicans.

After Obama Rally, Dems Pin Blame On Bush

January 17, 2010 6:16 PM

By Felicia Sonmez

As audience members streamed out of Pres. Obama's rally on behalf of AG Martha Coakley (D) here tonight, the consensus was that the fault for Coakley's now-floundering MA SEN bid lies with one person -- George W. Bush.

"People are upset because there's so many problems," Rosemary Kverek, 70, a retired Charleston schoolteacher said as tonight's rally wrapped up. "But the problems came from the previous administration. So we're blaming poor Obama, who's working 36 hours a day ... to solve these problems that he inherited."

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), speaking with a gaggle of reporters after the event, said that while state Sen. Scott Brown (R) offers voters a quick fix, in reality, the problems created by "George Bush and his cronies" are not so easily solved.

"If you think there's magic out there and things can be turned around overnight, then you would vote for someone who could promise you that, like Scott Brown," Kennedy said. "If you don't, if you know that it takes eight years for George Bush and his cronies to put our country into this hole ... then you know we have a lot of digging to do, but some work needs to be done and this president's in the process of doing it and we need to get Marcia Coakley to help him to do that."

(Curiously, Kennedy mentioned Coakley repeatedly during his remarks to reporters, each time referring to her as "Marcia," not "Martha.")

More Kennedy: "One thing the Democrats have done wrong? We haven't kept the focus on this disaster on the Republicans who brought it upon us. We've tried too hard to do that right thing, and that's to fix it, as opposed to spend more of our time and energy pointing the finger at who got us [here] in the first place."

Blaming their problems on Bush does carry a risk for Dems, however -- with their sights so firmly focused on the past, Brown's campaign has managed to wrest the "change" mantle from them.

Meanwhile, even as Kennedy took on both Bush and Brown head-on, some attendees were more muted in their criticism of Brown.

"I mean, he is handsome," Christine DiPitro, 61, of Malden, said of Brown.

"He does appeal to the regular guy with his truck, but that's about all."

Oh good grief

2009-12-17T18:07:00.003-05:00

First Cookie Monster and now Santa. How about parents taking a little responsibility? Oh yeah, that doesn't happen anymore.

Medical Journal: Santa Needs to Clean Up His Act

Thursday, December 17, 2009

With his portly belly and a fondness for a brandy-fuelled spin on the sleigh, Santa Claus is hardly the picture of health or safety.

Now his wild ways are catching up with him, with calls for a radical overhaul of his bad boy image. A study by Monash University public health expert Dr. Nathan Grills found Santa could be promoting obesity and speeding — and damaging millions of lives.

The childhood legend should be used to promote a healthy lifestyle, the study, published in the British Medical Journal, found.

It suggested Santa slim down by ditching the cookies, mince pies and milk, and snack instead on his reindeers' carrots and celery sticks. His reckless behavior could also encourage extreme sports such as roof surfing and chimney jumping — not to mention speeding.

At the very least he should buckle up or don a helmet, the study says.

"I wouldn't go as far as saying that Santa causes obesity — it's more about raising wider issues around advertising and public health," he said.

A study of American school kids shows Santa Claus is the only fictional character more highly recognized than Ronald McDonald.

How in the H?

2009-12-08T18:19:00.002-05:00

How in the h&($ can you compare a drug to help a man and abortion? One helps get a life started and the other ends a life. It's not her reproductive healthcare, it's her unborn child. A life that she is snuffing out. Boxer is crazy.

Blame game

2009-10-23T12:44:00.002-04:00

How about blaming it on the fact that people are getting tired of the democraps and their policies? Funny how they start to turn on their own. I guess they have an opinion about it and aren't doing what they are told to do.

Deeds ignored advice, White House says
Top Democrats seek to shield Obama in case of election loss

By Rosalind S. Helderman and Anne E. Kornblut
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 23, 2009

Sensing that victory in the race for Virginia governor is slipping away, Democrats at the national level are laying the groundwork to blame a loss in a key swing state on a weak candidate who ran a poor campaign that failed to fully embrace President Obama until days before the election.

Senior administration officials have expressed frustration with how Democrat R. Creigh Deeds has handled his campaign for governor, refusing early offers of strategic advice and failing to reach out to several key constituencies that helped Obama win Virginia in 2008, they say.

Democratic strategists said that over the summer, Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) offered Deeds advice on winning a statewide election. Among other things, Kaine, who is also chairman of the Democratic National Committee, told Deeds that he should lay out more of his own vision and stop attacking Republican Robert F. McDonnell so ferociously. But Deeds did not embrace the advice, according to a national Democratic strategist.

A senior administration official said Deeds badly erred on several fronts, including not doing a better job of coordinating with the White House. "I understood in the beginning why there was some reluctance to run all around the state with Barack Obama," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to speak candidly about the race. "You don't do that in Virginia. But when you consider the African American turnout that they need, and then when you consider as well they've got a huge problem with surge voters, younger voters, we were just a natural for them."

A second administration official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said: "Obama, Kaine and others had drawn a road map to victory in Virginia. Deeds chose another path."

A loss for Deeds in Virginia -- which for the first time in decades supported the Democratic presidential candidate in last year's race -- would likely be seen as a sign that Obama's popularity is weakening in critical areas of the country. But the unusual preelection criticism could be an attempt to shield Obama from that narrative by ensuring that Deeds is blamed personally for the loss, particularly given the state's three-decade pattern of backing candidates from the party out of power in the White House.

Deeds advisers insist the notion that he has distanced himself from Obama isn't true. "We've enjoyed a tremendous relationship with the White House," said Mo Elleithee, a campaign spokesman. "The campaign has worked very closely with them and the DNC and the [Democratic Governors Association] from the very beginning. They have given us just about everything the campaign asked for."

A key meeting

An adviser to the Deeds campaign said that on June 17, top campaign staffers held a meeting with the White House political team as well as representatives from the DNC and the Democratic Governors Association at the DGA's Washington offices. They came equipped with some requests of the White House: two visits by the president before Nov. 3, e-mails from the president to his Virginia supporters and a visit from Vice President Biden. Almost all of their requests have been met, the adviser said.

But national Democrats are contrasting Deeds with New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine and New York congressional candidate Bill Owens, who they say have more actively sought the White House's help and more vigorously and publicly backed its agenda. Polls show Corzine in a competitive position in New Jersey and Owens ahead, while Deeds has turned aggressively to Obama voters in recent days in an effort to overcome a significant deficit in the polls.

Although Deeds often praises the president on the campaign trail, he has distanced himself from Obama and Democratic policy priorities at times. At a debate in September, he declined the opportunity to label himself an "Obama Democrat." And just this week, he said he did not believe that a public health insurance option is necessary and that as governor he might consider opting out of one if Congress extends that right to states.

Deeds campaign officials said they're running a centrist campaign, in the mold of previous successful Virginia Democrats.

Obama will campaign with Deeds in Hampton Roads on Tuesday, and his political organizing group this week sent an e-mail signed by Obama to tens of thousands of Virginia supporters asking that they volunteer for Deeds to keep "the promise of change alive" in the commonwealth. The White House also signed off on a Deeds television commercial released Thursday in which Obama praises him.

But privately, administration officials said they see almost no way for Deeds to win on Nov. 3.

Asked to respond, a senior Deeds adviser, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: "I have no interest in doing a postmortem on a race that we're working hard to win and that we think is still winnable. I don't see a need for either side to be critical -- we're all fighting for the same thing."

Kaine said he spoke at length with Obama about the race on Tuesday, and the governor rejected post-game analysis of a race he said can still be won. "You've got to sprint through the tape," Kaine said. "Quite often, the successful campaign is the one that tunes out the background noise and the doubters. Every campaign has them, and you've got to tune them out and go for the win."

Wooing key Democrats

Democrats on both sides of the Potomac River cite prominent Democratic businesswoman Sheila Johnson's endorsement of McDonnell in July as the first sign of trouble in the Deeds campaign. They say Deeds let several weeks go by after his June 9 primary without calling Johnson, the co-founder of Black Entertainment Television and one of Kaine's leading donors.

A senior Deeds aide said that the Democrat traveled to Johnson's Middleburg ranch in April and that the two did not hit it off. Johnson mostly wanted to talk about her opposition to labor unions, and the aide said Deeds told Johnson that he had concerns about congressional legislation that unions favored, but she seemed unhappy that he was unwilling to "trash" unions.

The campaign decided after Deeds's primary win that the best approach was to have staffers try to set up another meeting. The aide said Deeds and staffers for Kaine's political action committee tried to reach Johnson a dozen times but that she did not return their calls. Deeds himself did not place a call.

Johnson declined to comment, but through a spokesman said she didn't remember when Deeds contacted her. She has been actively campaigning for McDonnell and stars in a television ad calling him the better bet to right the economy.

"She was the canary in the coal mine, not just because of how it might affect African American and women voters, but she's politically savvy -- she saw something going wrong in the campaign," said a national Democratic strategist.

With Johnson's defection, an endorsement from the nation's first elected black governor, Democrat L. Douglas Wilder, became more essential.

But as late as August, Deeds's campaign was calling around Richmond looking for a way to reach Wilder, according to a longtime state lobbyist and also Wilder's nephew, Michael Brown.

"It was a high official within the campaign who called," said Brown, who supports Deeds.

A Deeds adviser said the state senator placed his first post-primary call to Wilder on June 23, leaving a message, and rejected the idea that the campaign did not know how to reach him.

The White House also became deeply involved. Obama political director Patrick Gaspard spent two hours with Wilder in July trying to persuade him. Obama made a phone call. Last month, Wilder announced that he would not endorse either candidate in the race, issuing a lengthy statement largely critical of Deeds.

Staff writers Anita Kumar and Amy Gardner contributed to this report.

Biggest Loser

2009-10-13T20:16:00.000-04:00

So I'm watching biggest loser and I just don't get the hatred for Tracy. It's not her fault she couldn't exercise because she was injured. It's not her fault that she got the golden ticket to pick teams. The one I can't stay is Shay. I'm so sick of her little waa waa sob stories.

Maybe, just maybe

2009-10-09T12:31:00.001-04:00

Maybe if I skip church and do absolutely nothing I might win one too.

Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize this morning. Over the last decade the only requirement to win the prize was that the nominee had to be critical of George W. Bush (see Al Gore, Mohamed El Baradei and Jimmy Carter).

President Obama has broken new ground here. Nominations for potential winners of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize ended on February 1. The president took office only 12 days earlier on January 20.

Let’s take a look at the president’s first 12 days in the White House according to his public schedule to see what he did to deserve a Nobel Peace Prize:

January 20: Sworn in as president. Went to a parade. Partied.

January 21: Asked bureaucrats to re-write guidelines for information requests. Held an “open house” party at the White House.

January 22: Signed Executive Orders: Executive Branch workers to take ethics pledge; re-affirmed Army Field Manual techniques for interrogations; expressed desire to close Gitmo (how’s that working out?)

January 23: Ordered the release of federal funding to pay for abortions in foreign countries. Lunch with Joe Biden; met with Tim Geithner.

January 24: Budget meeting with economic team.

January 25: Skipped church.

January 26: Gave speech about jobs and energy. Met with Hillary Clinton. Attended Geithner's swearing in ceremony.

January 27: Met with Republicans. Spoke at a clock tower in Ohio.

January 28: Economic meetings in the morning, met with Defense secretary in the afternoon.

January 29: Signed Ledbetter Bill overturning Supreme Court decision on lawsuits over wages. Party in the State Room. Met with Biden.

January 30: Met economic advisers. Gave speech on Middle Class Working Families Task Force. Met with senior enlisted military officials.

January 31: Took the day off.

February 1: Skipped church. Threw a Super Bowl party.

So there you have it. The short path to the Nobel Peace Prize: Party, go to meetings, skip church, release federal funding to pay for abortions in foreign countries, party some more.

Good grief.

What the h?

2009-10-07T15:22:00.002-04:00

What is wrong with these ya-hoo's in Congress? Rangel can't pay taxes. Geithner can't pay them. Then the Republicans try to get rid of the cheats and the Democraps vote them down. What the h? The democraps are such a bunch of hypocrits and cheats.

Democrats defeat GOP attempt to remove Rangel

Oct 7 02:29 PM US/Eastern

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WASHINGTON (AP) - House Republicans have failed for a third time to oust Rep. Charles Rangel as chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee.

Despite the expected defeat Wednesday, the GOP did keep the spotlight on the New York Democrat's ethical problems, although the matter will be turned over to the House ethics committee for a long-term investigation. The House voted 246-153 to refer the resolution to remove him to that panel in a partisan vote that had no meaning except to revisit Rangel's problems.

The Harlem congressman is faced with allegations of financial improprieties, including failure to pay taxes on investment income and neglecting to report assets and income on his congressional financial disclosure forms.

Sacrifices

2009-10-01T12:38:00.003-04:00

What exactly is she sacrificing? How about the men and women sacrificing for her and us right now? Where's the article on their sacrifice?Oh and don't you find it a bit ironic that she talks about funds drying up and it being harder for kids to swim or ride a bike yet her husband wants kids to stay in school longer. Are we going to hire PE teachers now to teach our kids how to ride a bike since we will never see them?

Michelle Obama: It's a 'sacrifice' to travel to Europe to pitch for the Olympics. But I'm doing it for the kids.

By: Byron York
Chief Political Correspondent
09/30/09 5:12 PM EDT

In her speech in Copenhagen today, First Lady Michelle Obama said her trip to Denmark, along with the travel of her "dear friend" and "chit-chat buddy" Oprah Winfrey, as well as tomorrow's visit by President Obama, is a "sacrifice" on behalf of the children of Chicago and the United States. "As much of a sacrifice as people say this is for me or Oprah or the president to come for these few days," the first lady told a crowd of people involved in the Chicago project, "so many of you in this room have been working for years to bring this bid home."

"As first lady, as many of you know, I’ve made it a priority to bridge the gap between the White House and communities across D.C. and across the country," Mrs. Obama continued. "I’ve spent much of my first nine months trying to open the doors to the White House to kids who might not otherwise see themselves having access to these institutions, because that’s where I came from – communities like that where kids never dreamed that they could set foot in the White House, let alone live there&hellipAnd Barack and I made a point of doing the same thing when we lived in Chicago – making the concerns of kids in all sorts of communities our own."

Mrs. Obama said bringing the Olympics to Chicago is especially important right now because "athletics is becoming more of a fleeting opportunity." "Funds dry up so it becomes harder for kids to engage in sports, to learn how to swim, to even ride a bike," she said. In addition, with childhood obesity on the rise, "it is so important for us to raise up the platform of fitness and competition and fair play," the first lady said.

Finally, having the Olympics in Chicago would be important to "let people know that we understand that sports saves lives, that it makes dreams come true, that it creates visions in kids’ heads to make them think they can be the next David Robinson, the next Barack Obama, the next Nadia Comaneci, the next Oprah Winfrey," Mrs. Obama said.

In case you missed the lyrics

2009-09-24T15:03:00.002-04:00

Song 1:
Mm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama

He said that all must lend a hand
To make this country strong again
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama

He said we must be fair today
Equal work means equal pay
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama

He said that we must take a stand
To make sure everyone gets a chance
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama

He said red, yellow, black or white
All are equal in his sight
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama

Yes!
Mmm, mmm, mm
Barack Hussein Obama

Song 2:
Hello, Mr. President we honor you today!
For all your great accomplishments, we all doth say "hooray!"

Hooray, Mr. President! You're number one!
The first black American to lead this great nation!

Hooray, Mr. President we honor your great plans
To make this country's economy number one again!

Hooray Mr. President, we're really proud of you!
And we stand for all Americans under the great Red, White, and Blue!

So continue ---- Mr. President we know you'll do the trick
So here's a hearty hip-hooray ----

Hip, hip hooray!
Hip, hip hooray!
Hip, hip hooray!

Can you imagine?

2009-09-23T19:55:00.003-04:00

Can you imagine if your children came home singing a song like this about President Bush or another President? Would you be shocked? Would you think it's a good thing? And really what exactly are President Obama's accomplishments? Some one, anyone?......

Making sure you don't miss this important article

2009-09-16T12:24:00.001-04:00

I don't have an extra 1761 a year, do you?

The Obama administration has privately concluded that a cap and trade law would cost American taxpayers up to $200 billion a year, the equivalent of hiking personal income taxes by about 15 percent.

A previously unreleased analysis prepared by the U.S. Department of Treasury says the total in new taxes would be between $100 billion to $200 billion a year. At the upper end of the administration's estimate, the cost per American household would be an extra $1,761 a year.

A second memorandum, which was prepared for Obama's transition team after the November election, says this about climate change policies: "Economic costs will likely be on the order of 1 percent of GDP, making them equal in scale to all existing environmental regulation."

The documents (PDF) were obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the free-market Competitive Enterprise Institute and released on Tuesday.

These disclosures will probably not aid the political prospects of the Democrats' cap and trade bill. The House of Representatives approved it by a remarkably narrow margin in June -- the bill would have failed if only six House members had switched their votes to "no" -- and it faces significant opposition in the Senate.

One reason the bill faces an uncertain future is concern about its cost. House Republican Leader John Boehner has estimated the additional tax bill would be at $366 billion a year, or $3,100 a year per family. Democrats have pointed to estimates from MIT's John Reilly, who put the cost at $800 a year per family, and noted that tax credits to low income households could offset part of the bite. The Heritage Foundation says that, by 2035, "the typical family of four will see its direct energy costs rise by over $1,500 per year."

One difference is that while Heritage's numbers are talking about 26 years in the future, the Treasury Department's figures don't have a time limit.

"Heritage is saying publicly what the administration is saying to itself privately," says Christopher Horner, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute who filed the FOIA request. "It's nice to see they're not spinning each other behind closed doors."

"They're not telling you the cost -- they're not telling you the benefit," says Horner, who wrote the Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming. "If they don't tell you the cost, and they don't tell you the benefit, what are they telling you? They're just talking about global salvation."

The FOIA'd document written by Judson Jaffe, who joined the Treasury Department's Office of Environment and Energy in January 2009, says: "Given the administration's proposal to auction all emission allowances, a cap-and-trade program could generate federal receipts on the order of $100 to $200 billion annually." (Obviously, any final cap-and-trade system may be different from what Obama had proposed, and could yield higher or lower taxes.)

Because personal income tax revenues bring in around $1.37 trillion a year, a $200 billion additional tax would be the equivalent of a 15 percent increase a year. A $100 billion additional tax would represent a 7 or 8 percent increase a year.

One odd point: The document written by Jaffee includes this line: "It will raise energy prices and impose annual costs on the order of XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX." The Treasury Department redacted the rest of the sentence with a thick black line.

The Freedom of Information Act, of course, contains no this-might-embarrass-the-president exemption. You'd hope the presidential administration that boasts of being the "most open and transparent in history" would be more forthcoming than this.

????

2009-09-11T22:03:00.002-04:00

Out of curiosity, doesn't the Chinese hold the majority of the US debt?

This is according to CNBC-
3. China (Mainland)

The buzz word in the market for US debt is China. The world’s most populous country is also the largest and most important international buyer of US debt. From June 2008 to it's all-time high in May 2009 of $801.5 billion, China had raised its stake in US debt by over $266 billion. Receding back to $776.4 billion in June, China’s holdings were still up $241.3 billion from a year earlier. Hong Kong, which is not included in China's total, holds an additional $99.8 billion.

Don't you think the article below would piss them off? As you can tell by the button on my side bar I don't give a flying rip about unions and I am sick and tired of Presidents and lawmakers catering to these people. They run perfectly good companies into the ground. I've seen it and am witnessing it now. It makes me sick. I hate them.

Obama Administration Slaps Tariffs on Chinese Auto Imports
Obama had until Sept. 17 -- next week -- to accept, reject or modify a U.S. International Trade Commission ruling that a rising tide of Chinese tires into the U.S. hurts American producers

AP

Friday, September 11, 2009
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WASHINGTON -- President Obama has slapped punitive tariffs on all car and light truck tires entering the United States from China in a decision that could anger the strategically important Asian powerhouse but placate union supporters important to his health care push at home.

Obama had until Sept. 17 -- next week -- to accept, reject or modify a U.S. International Trade Commission ruling that a rising tide of Chinese tires into the U.S. hurts American producers. A powerful union, United Steelworkers, blames the increase for the loss of thousands of American jobs.

The federal trade panel recommended a 55 percent tariff in the first year, 45 percent in the second year and 35 percent in the third year. Obama settled on slightly lower penalties -- an extra 35 percent in the first year, 30 percent in the second, and 25 percent in the third, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Friday.

"The president decided to remedy the clear disruption to the U.S. tire industry based on the facts and the law in this case," Gibbs said.

The decision was announced by the White House late Friday evening, a time when significant news often gets less attention because of the hour and the upcoming weekend.

The timing was awkward for another reason, coming as U.S. officials are working with the Chinese and other nations to plan an economic summit of the Group of 20 leading rich and developing nations in Pittsburgh, to be held Sept. 24-25. China will be a major presence at the meeting, and the United States will be eager to show it supports free trade.

Many of the nearly two dozen world leaders Obama is hosting have made strong statements critical of countries that protect their key industries. Obama, too, has spoken out strongly against protectionism, and other countries will view his decision on tires as a test of that stance.

Governments around the world have suggested the United States talks tough against protectionism only when its own industries are not threatened. U.S. rhetoric on free trade also has been questioned because of a "Buy American" provision in the U.S. stimulus package.

The decision could have ramifications in other high-priority areas, too.

The White House badly needs Chinese help to confront climate change, nuclear standoffs with Iran and North Korea and global economic turmoil. China is the world's third-largest economy and a veto-holding member of the United Nations Security Council.

Beijing says the duties would be a violation of global free-trade principles and has complained about U.S. protectionism.

And Roy Littlefield, executive vice president of the Tire Industry Association, which opposes the tariff, said it would not save American jobs but only cause tire manufacturers to move production to another country with less strict environmental and safety controls, less active unions and lower costs than the United States.

At the same time, Obama needs support from unions -- also a key backer of the Democratic Party in elections -- as he makes a high-stakes push for national health care legislation.

To reach a compromise on health care, Obama may need concessions from pro-labor Democrats who support a strong stand against China.

The steelworkers union brought the original case in April, accusing China of making a recent push to unload more tires ahead of Obama's expected action. The union says more than 5,000 tire workers have lost jobs since 2004, as Chinese tire overwhelmed the U.S. market.

The U.S. trade representative's office said four tire plants closed in 2006 and 2007 and three more are closing this year. During that time, just one new plant opened. U.S. imports of Chinese tires more than tripled from 2004 to 2008 and China's market share in the U.S. went from 4.7 percent of tires purchased in 2004 to 16.7 percent in 2008, the office said.

"When China came in to the (World Trade Organization), the U.S. negotiated the ability to impose remedies in situations just like this one," U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said. "This administration is doing what is necessary to enforce trade agreements on behalf of American workers and manufacturers. Enforcing trade laws is key to maintaining an open and free trading system."

The new tariffs, on top of an existing 4 percent tariff on all tire imports, take effect Sept. 26.

Obama's action marks a shift from the Bush administration, which was routinely criticized for being too delicate in confronting Beijing's alleged trade violations. Obama promised during his presidential campaign that he would do it differently.

For the Chinese government, the tire dispute threatens an economic relationship crucial to China's economic growth. There was speculation before the decision that new tariffs could produce public pressure on Beijing to retaliate, potentially sparking a dangerous trade war.

Soaring Chinese imports of American chicken meat already have been mentioned by Chinese state media as a possible target. Beijing also could sell some of its extensive holdings of U.S. Treasury debt, which could unsettle markets.

Oh my goodness....

2009-09-10T14:40:00.002-04:00

Words escape me. I just don't know what to say. Go here for the article.

The dilemma

2009-09-04T16:49:00.002-04:00

Don't forget the new blog here http://loveandalittlecraziness.blogspot.com.

Since I was going to make this more of my political venting blog now, I have a dilemma. I just got a message from Brandon's school. They aren't showing the great ones talk on Tuesday because of lunch conflicts, they are showing it on Wednesday. I'm kind of leaning towards letting him stay home that day. What do you think?

My new blog

2009-09-03T20:28:00.003-04:00

My new blog is http://loveandalittlecraziness.blogspot.com. It will be about the family and I will leave the politics here. I was running out of photo storage on this blog and I just wanted a new start. I was going to wait until the new year, but now is as good as time as any.

I named it Love and a Little Craziness because that's what we have at our house. It should have probably been love and a lot of craziness, but the other sounds better :).

Also, thank you to Beverly for the sweet, sweet birthday post for Sophie. I hope that you had a wonderful birthday and I'm still praying for you each and every day.

Also Happy Birthday to Mimi. I love you and am so glad that you are in my life. I don't know what I would do without you sometimes. I hope you had a great day.

People wonder why there is racism in America

2009-09-03T20:12:00.005-04:00

Rangel also likened the fight to provide health care for the uninsured to the fight for civil rights.

"Why do black people have to bargain for what is theirs? Why do we have to wait for the right to vote? Why can't we get what God has given us? And that is the right to live as human beings and not negotiate with white southerners and not court the votes. Just do the right thing," Rangel said.

Maybe Rangel should quit worrying about the race card and worry about his ethics investigation.

New blog and such

2009-09-03T19:05:00.003-04:00

I will have a new blog up and running here pretty soon. I'm running out of photo storage and this blog seems to have taken on a more political turn. I do think that politics are very important to talk about now. I used to not think so, but I have 3 kids who depend on the decisions that are being made right now. Things have to change and I hope they can. 2010 is going to be an important year for our country.

It's Sophie's birthday today and Beverly's birthday and my mom-in-law's b-day today. I have a whole bunch more to say and will do it tonight.

Dude!

2009-09-02T19:00:00.002-04:00

Okay what's wrong with this picture. This man has a high paying (okay I'm assuming it's a high paying job since we don't really know anything about his position) in the White House. This man is an advisor to the President of the United States. Where is the outrage in this? Come on Republicans it's time to take a stand. Let's take our government back. Let's get rid of these "Czar's" and all this other crap we do not need or want.

Okay really?

2009-09-02T08:56:00.002-04:00

Dude is afraid a fight will break out if they shake hands. I mean really, give the Bulldogs a little more credit.

HANDSHAKE WITH DAWGS? OKLAHOMA STATE COACH NOT SURE.

Coach Mike Gundy says he's torn over whether Oklahoma State should shake hands with the Georgia Bulldogs before their opening game. In an attempt to promote sportsmanship, the American Football Coaches Association has requested that all teams shake hands with their opponents before their opening game. But Gundy fears such a gesture might result in a brawl.

Gundy said the ninth-ranked Cowboys will have about 110 players in uniform Saturday and Georgia will have another 70 and if something happens, "I don't know that we could get it broke up before the game."

The AFCA has encouraged every team to have its players shake hands on the field before the kickoff, although it is not mandatory. Coaches are required to shake hands before and after games.

Gundy says he has respect for the AFCA and executive director Grant Teaff, but he's having trouble with the decision.

Gundy's comments add to what's been a week full of bad news in Stillwater. Starting cornerback Perrish Cox was arrested for driving on a suspended license late last week. On Monday, starting linebacker Orie Lemon tore an ACL, ending his season. On Tuesday Gundy announced that starting tight end Jamal Mosley had left the team for personal reasons. And now Gundy may have handed the Bulldogs a little extra motivation for what's being called Oklahoma State's biggest opening game ever. And it's only Wednesday.

He speaks

2009-09-01T15:06:00.002-04:00

Glad my girls are going to private school and don't have to hear this. Glad their not showing it to high schoolers. I already have problems with teachers shoving their viewpoints down his throat.

Description

President Obama’s Address to Students Across America September 8, 2009
PreK-6 Menu of Classroom Activities: President Obama’s Address to Students Across America
Produced by Teaching Ambassador Fellows, U.S. Department of Education
September 8, 2009

Before the Speech:
• Teachers can build background knowledge about the President of the United States and his speech by reading books about presidents and Barack Obama and motivate students by asking the following questions:
Who is the President of the United States?
What do you think it takes to be President?
To whom do you think the President is going to be speaking?
Why do you think he wants to speak to you?
What do you think he will say to you?
• Teachers can ask students to imagine being the President delivering a speech to all of the students in the United States. What would you tell students? What can students do to help in our schools? Teachers can chart ideas about what they would say.
• Why is it important that we listen to the President and other elected officials, like the mayor, senators, members of congress, or the governor? Why is what they say important?
During the Speech:
• As the President speaks, teachers can ask students to write down key ideas or phrases that are important or personally meaningful. Students could use a note-taking graphic organizer such as a Cluster Web, or students could record their thoughts on sticky notes. Younger children can draw pictures and write as appropriate. As students listen to the speech, they could think about the following:
What is the President trying to tell me?
What is the President asking me to do?
What new ideas and actions is the President challenging me to think about?
• Students can record important parts of the speech where the President is asking them to do something. Students might think about: What specific job is he asking me to do? Is he asking anything of anyone else? Teachers? Principals? Parents? The American people?

My heart hurts

2009-08-30T20:59:00.003-04:00

My heart is hurting so badly right now. I had no idea this had happened. I prayed for little Lavender to come home. Her mom was waiting for her TA about the same time we were waiting on Sophie. We had even emailed back and forth and commented on each others blogs. My heart is just hurting so badly right now.

Authorities recently arrested a 41-year-old woman who allegedly murdered her adopted, 3-year-old daughter when they were living in Elk Grove last year.

Suspect Sabrina Alberta Banks was arrested at her home in Visalia on Aug. 5, Elk Grove police spokesperson Christopher Trim said. Visalia police took her into custody and she was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on Aug. 8.

“The death wasn’t an accident and the motive is unknown at this time,” Trim said.

Banks first dialed 911 about her daughter, Lavender being unresponsive on May 2, 2008. Elk Grove police and paramedics came to the scene on the 9900 block of Sorrentino Drive in the East Franklin area. They could not save her life in time.

Sacramento County coroners determined that Lavender died from asphyxia and several blunt force injuries, said Ed Smith, a spokesperson for the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office.

Trim reported that Elk Grove police detectives investigated the death and later concluded that Banks killed her daughter. A warrant was then issued for the suspect’s arrest.

Banks is charged with committing murder, assault resulting in the death of a child under 8 years of age and endangering a child’s life.

There were previously no reported homicides in Elk Grove last year - the Banks case is now its lone incident.

Banks’ next court hearing is scheduled for Aug. 11 at the Sacramento Superior Court, according to jail records.

Another idiot

2009-08-28T23:49:00.003-04:00

1st she can't even say Rush's name correctly. 2nd she talks like people can't think for themselves. I listen to Rush and Glenn because I like to hear what they have to say, but I can form my own opinion. I don't need them to do that for me. Oh and come on, Castro???? He's such a great leader that his country doesn't even have enough toilet paper.... good gravy.

Sophie's birthday video

2009-08-27T20:11:00.001-04:00

I finished Sophie's birthday video today. Her birthday isn't until 9/3, but I'm posting it now because I'm sure we will have birthday party pictures to post then.

Hurry Home

2009-08-25T21:45:00.002-04:00

I heard this song for the first time on my way to work this morning. I was a mess by the time I got there.

Jason Michael Carroll

More CMT Music

More CMT Music Videos

Weekend pictures

2009-08-23T23:48:00.004-04:00

Great article

2009-08-21T09:15:00.001-04:00

Obama Snares Palin, Media in Wide Blame-Game Net: Caroline Baum

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Commentary by Caroline Baum

Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) -- When the political winds shift -- when a party is voted out of power or a policy is panned by the public -- Washington turns to its favorite pastime: the blame game.

And so it is with President Barack Obama, who tripped on his sprint to the health-care-reform finish line. Voters, it seems, want to understand a little more about what ObamaCare will mean for them, what it will do to the doctor-patient relationship, and what it will cost future generations in higher taxes and, yes, rationed supply.

Rather than examine the public’s concerns, the plans’ inconsistencies or the sheer irresponsibility of trying to ram something this big and complicated through Congress without a small-scale trial, the Obama administration is pointing fingers. Lots of them. Most of the targets are just plain silly.

1. Conservative groups

When liberal activists, including trade unions, Acorn and MoveOn.org, protested against anything and everything President George W. Bush said or did, it was called grassroots democracy.

When conservative groups encourage supporters to attend town hall meetings and make their sentiments known to their congressmen, it’s un-American, disruptive and the work of right- wing extremists.

Madame Hypocrite

Where was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, when President George W. Bush was being compared to Adolf Hitler and the Nazis? She was a “fan of disrupters” in those days, as she told anti-war protesters at a January 2006 town hall meeting in San Francisco. Pelosi only developed a thin skin (too much plastic surgery?) when the Democrats took control of the executive and legislative branches of government.

The effort to blame right-wing groups is transparent. If my feedback on a recent column is indicative of the political persuasion and demographic distribution of the protesters, these are ordinary Americans energized by the debate, frustrated at not having a voice and motivated to exercise their right of free speech. Attempts to smear opponents and shut down debate are, well, un-American.

2. Insurance Companies

Garnering support for health-insurance reform by demonizing insurance companies is a cheap shot, albeit one that resonates with the public. After all, these are the faceless bureaucrats who deny or pay claims in a seemingly arbitrary manner and refuse or cancel coverage if you cost them too much money.

Stubborn Facts

Facts are stubborn things, this White House is quick to remind us. And in this case, the facts don’t support the vilification.

If insurance companies were gouging the public, the evidence would show up in one of two places, according to Graef Crystal, a compensation expert in Santa Rosa, California, and occasional Bloomberg News columnist: excessive executive pay or excessive returns to shareholders.

His analysis of five major health insurers shows just the opposite: below-market pay and below-market shareholder returns.

“There’s no case here for undue enrichment of shareholders” or over-compensating CEOs, Crystal finds.

Health care needs a major overhaul, but that’s no reason to make scapegoats out of insurance companies.

3. The Media

I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard Obama point the finger at the media at his town hall meeting last week in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Fishing Expedition

The president, defending the White House’s fishing expedition for “fishy” e-mails on health-insurance reform (suspended this week by popular demand), blamed the media for “distorting what’s taken place.”

Is this the same media that was in the pocket for candidate Obama and waltzed us through the honeymoon? If Bush had been as reliant on his teleprompter as Obama, or said “Cinco de Cuatro” when he meant “Cuatro de Mayo,” the press would have been all over him for being inept.

Sorry, Mr. President, you have no idea what it means for the media to distort what’s taken place. The long-gone Bush administration is getting more negative press than you are.

4. Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin, the recently retired governor of Alaska, 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate and Democrat’s favorite whipping boy (or girl), created a stir with a reference to death panels on Facebook. Palin said she didn’t want her parents or Down-Syndrome baby to “have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide” what kind of medical care should be allocated to these less productive members of society.

Blame the Democrats

This is the same Sarah Palin whose foreign policy experience was summed up during the campaign by her ability “to see Russia from land here in Alaska.” This is the same Sarah Palin credited with changing the terms of the debate? C’mon. That’s too laughable to address.

Besides, there’s a kernel of truth in what she said. Like all goods and services, medical care is a scarce resource that must be rationed. The only question is how: by the market (price) or by government mandate.

If government is doing the rationing, what exactly will bureaucrats use to determine who gets what care and who doesn’t?

Opposition to fast-track health-insurance reform is coming from Obama’s own party. Senator Kent Conrad, Democrat of North Dakota and one of six Finance Committee members involved in bipartisan negotiations, said on Fox News Sunday that the goal is to “get this right,” not meet some “specific timetable.”

He said the Senate lacks enough votes to pass a bill with a public option. “To continue to chase that rabbit, I think, is just a wasted effort.”

There’s always room for one more -- the Democrats -- on Obama’s blame-game list.

(Caroline Baum, author of “Just What I Said,” is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.)

To contact the writer of this column: Caroline Baum in New York at cabaum@bloomberg.net.

Glenn Beck

2009-08-19T20:02:00.002-04:00

I love Glenn Beck (if you couldn't tell). He tells it like it is. I totally agree with this opinion piece that was on aol today. Where was the boycott against Olberman? I know I don't watch a show or movie with Janeane Garafalo in it (but really it's because she stinks as an actress). How can you call what Beck said hate speech and not what Garafalo called hate speech? I guess calling people a punch of tea bagging rednecks is okay in the mind of a liberal......

So, the number of corporate sponsors that have pulled their advertising dollars from The Glenn Beck Program grew to 20 on Tuesday. Walmart, Best Buy and Travelocity joined the list of companies that, depending on your point of view, should be classified as either responsible corporate citizens or easily bullied cowards.

The statements of the corporations themselves tend to confirm the second option. But first the background:

Glenn Beck is a conservative commentator whose television show airs at 5 p.m. daily Eastern Time on the Fox News Channel, where it attracts an enormous (for cable, at that hour) audience of some 2.3 million souls. His audience has exploded this year, apparently riding a tide of conservative resentment over the poor economy, the supposedly liberal media, and Democratic Party control in Washington.

"You are not alone," Beck tells his viewers. Millions of people like to hear such assurances, even when coming from a polished performer whose histrionics are obvious. Beck doesn't mind crying on the air. His soliloquies range in tone from rants to raves, often spiced with a dash of paranoia. Recent Beck-isms include a claim that the U.S. Mercury dime has a secret fascist symbol on it, ~~that FEMA was secretly setting up concentration camps~~ ( Beck actually went out of his way to disprove this rumor. Thanks to Bob, Carol, Virginia and many others for pointing this out), that global warming is fiction, and that a single-payer health care system is the first step to a society being forced to "goose-step."

Earlier this year, Beck compared himself in an interview with The New York Times to Howard Beale, the unglued anchorman in the 1976 classic movie, "Network." Beale was famous for saying that he was "mad as hell" and wasn't going to take it anymore. But Beck's persona has a quite un-mad aspect to it. As it happens, driving progressive Democrats cuckoo is quite profitable – and fairly easy to do these days. In that same interview with The Times, Beck volunteered that he is like a "rodeo clown," dancing in front of the (liberal) bulls and broncos for the audience's entertainment.

His Web site advertises Beck as The Fusion of Entertainment and Enlightenment. Human Lightning Rod is more like it. But all of his past comments put together do not equal the furor Beck ignited on July 28, when he accused President Obama of being "a racist." Here is how it went down: Beck and his guest panelists were discussing the controversial arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. – and Obama's ill-fated comments regarding said arrest. That's when Beck began channeling his inner rodeo clown.

Beck: "This president, I think, has exposed himself as a guy, over and over and over again, who has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture, I don't know what it is . . ."

At that point, Fox News's Brian Kilmeade interjects, pointing out that many of Obama's closest White House advisers are white (he doesn't mention Obama's own mother). "You can't say he doesn't like white people . . ."

Unfazed, Beck replies: "I'm not saying he doesn't like white people. I'm saying he has a problem. This guy is, I believe, a racist."

To a group called ColorofChange.org, this wasn't entertainment, it was hate speech. ColorofChange.org is an online membership organization that exists, according to its mission statement, "to strengthen Black America's political voice."

The group was founded by Van Jones, who left in 2007 for another activist organization, Green for All, and who now works in the Obama administration as a top adviser on "green" jobs at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Jones' replacement at ColorofChange.org is James Rucker, and he quickly concluded after the Obama-is-a-racist comment that Glenn Beck is an impediment to his organization's objectives and should be removed from the airwaves. His weapon of choice: An e-mail campaign by ColorofChange.org members to advertising agencies and corporate sponsors that advertise on Fox News during the daily Beck hour.

Beck's commentary, Rucker declared, was "repulsive, divisive, and shouldn't be on the air." His effort has met with surprising success. The list of companies that agreed includes Geico, CVS, Men's Wearhouse, Radio Shack, Procter & Gamble, and State Farm Insurance. This is a little strange, even granting Rucker's description of Beck's language being "repulsive" and "divisive." Heck, let's add "witless" and "obviously inaccurate" to the litany. But the phrase "shouldn't be on the air," well now, that is really raising the stakes to the point that we are playing a different kind of game here. So let's also call this burgeoning secondary boycott for what it is: attempted censorship.

"We are heartened to see so many corporate citizens step up in support of our campaign against Glenn Beck," said Rucker, executive director of ColorOfChange.org. "Their action sends a clear a message to Glenn Beck: Broadcasters shouldn't abuse the privilege they enjoy by spewing dangerous and racially charged hate language over the air. No matter their political affiliation, hate language doesn't belong in our national dialogue."

Leaving aside the dated notion that free expression over the airwaves is a "privilege," the problem here is that the outrage against playing the race card in politics is selective. Is it not also repulsive and divisive when Keith Olbermann invites an angry actress named Janeane Garafalo on his show to dismiss conservative protestors as "a bunch of racists?" As Olbermann mumbles audible sounds of encouragement, Garafalo adds: "Let's be very honest about what this is about . . .This is about hating a black man in the White House. This is racism straight up. This is nothing but a bunch of tea-bagging rednecks."

If you don't remember ColorofChange.org's boycott against Olbermann and NBC, that's because it never happened. Good thing, too, because you can bet some of these cringing companies would have been susceptible to that as well.

"We have instructed our advertising agency to inform Fox to ensure Glenn Beck's program is not part of our advertising plan," Carolyn Castel, a vice president for corporate communications at CVS, one of the 20 Beck boycotters, said in an e-mail to ColorofChange.org. "Our position is simple. We support vigorous debate, especially around policy issues that affect millions of Americans, but we expect it to be informed, inclusive and respectful, in keeping with our company's core values and commitment to diversity."

Really? By that logic, CVS wouldn't be able to advertise on most of the shows on cable television. (Rite Aid, I sense an opening!) But seriously, since when did it become some corporate suit's prerogative to make sure that political discourse on talk shows is politically correct? Are we heading into an era of "red" corporations and "blue" corporations? Travelocity for Democrats and Orbitz for Republicans? (Would James Carville and Mary Matalin even end up on the same flights?)

Many moons ago, I covered a Senate race in which a black North Carolina Democrat named Harvey Gantt tried to unseat Jesse Helms, a white Republican with a deeply conservative record – and one not terribly enlightened on race. Some of the state's Democrats privately urged home state basketball star Michael Jordan to endorse Gantt and maybe even make a television spot. The great symbol of Nike shoes declined, and in doing so, sent word to the Gantt emissaries to the effect that "Republicans buy shoes, too."

At the time, I found Jordan's self-imposed neutrality to be crass. I may have misjudged the man. In his view that corporate profits and politics don't mix, Jordan seems to have been was ahead of his time. Finally, let's contemplate for a moment the likely effects of this Glenn Beck boycott:

(1) More attention, and thus, possibly more viewers for Glenn Beck.

(2) A sympathy backlash (like this column) from people who normally wouldn't dream of defending Glenn Beck, but who will almost always defend free speech.

(3) A backlash boycott against Olbermann, or whomever, on the part of angered conservatives.

(4) The spreading perception that some liberals are often willing to employ tactics that are quite illiberal when it comes to those with whom they disagree.

(5) More opportunity on Beck's show for him to spew goofy opinions, precisely because the advertisers have fled, leaving him with more time to fill.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-08-19T12:57:00.001-04:00

Cannon's dentist office - updated

2009-08-18T20:03:00.003-04:00

They both lost teeth tonight. Sophie actually pulled hers out and then Maddie was mad so I pulled hers out. They look so cute and so grown up.

Updated 8/19 - I reread my post from yesterday and it made it sound like I just pulled Maddie's tooth because she was mad. It was loose enough to come out, but not all the way loose. We wiggled and wiggled and got it out. It was a good thing to take it out so maybe her bottom teeth will have room to grow now.

My new favorite picture

2009-08-18T19:09:00.000-04:00

On the beam...

2009-08-17T23:15:00.001-04:00

Handstand dismont on the beam.

Progress

2009-08-16T19:11:00.001-04:00

I love watching her progress in her gymnastics. This video is from today.

You can see when she was just learning here or here.

Entertaining pictures

2009-08-12T22:16:00.003-04:00

Check out these pictures. Can you believe how big Daisy is? and yes that is Maddie putting eye shadow on.

Why are there so many idiots in Congress?

2009-08-12T20:53:00.002-04:00

Here is the 2009 hurricane season predication as of 8/6/09. I think Stabenow might want to check her facts and quit relying on hysteria to pass bills or to make bills look good. Oh and also included is a tornado chart for the past several years. I'm not really seeing the increase in tornado's for this year and yes I can see they don't have May, June and July. April looked like the busiest month so far this year and that's because April showers bring May flowers :). I guess she has a magical Congressional chart.

2009 Updated Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook: Summary

NOAA’s updated 2009 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook indicates a 90% chance of a near-normal or below normal hurricane season. These seasons are classified using the ACE index, which accounts for the combined intensity and duration of the total named storms and hurricanes, and NOT by the numbers of named storms and hurricanes. The Atlantic hurricane region includes the North Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico.

TORNADO TOTALS AND RELATED DEATHS...THROUGH WED AUG 05 2009
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0415 AM CDT THU AUG 06 2009


     ...NUMBER OF TORNADOES...    NUMBER OF       KILLER
                                  TORNADO DEATHS  TORNADOES
    ..2009.. 2008 2007 2006  3YR             3YR             3YR
   PREL  ACT  ACT  ACT  ACT   AV  09 08 07 06 AV  09 08 07 06 AV
JAN   10   6    84   21   47   51   0  7  2  1  3   0  4  1  1  2
FEB   44  36   147   52   12   70   9 59 22  0 27   2 12  3  0  5
MAR  123 115   129  170  147  149   0  4 27 11 14   0  3 10  7  7
APR  270 226   189  167  244  200   6  0  9 38 16   3  0  3  9  4
MAY  227   -   461  252  139  284   6 44 14  3 20   4 10  4  1  5
JUN  294   -   294  128  120  181   0  7  0  0  2   0  4  0  0  1
JUL  126   -    93   69   70   77   0  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0  0
AUG    8   -   101   75   80   85   0  0  1  1  1   0  0  1  1  1
SEP    -   -   111   52   84   82   -  2  0  1  1   -  1  0  1  1
OCT    -   -    21   86   76   61   -  0  5  0  2   -  0  3  0  1
NOV    -   -    15    7   42   21   -  2  0 10  4   -  2  0  3  2
DEC    -   -    46   19   42   36   -  0  1  2  1   -  0  1  2  1
   ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----  --  -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
SUM 1102 383  1691 1098 1103 1297  21 126 81 67 91  9 37 26 25 29

Posted by Henry Payne (The Detroit News) on Tue, Aug 11, 2009 at 12:17 AM

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Energy Leader (National Review, 08.10.09)

Detroit, Mich. - Michigan just experienced its coldest July on record; global temperatures haven't risen in more than a decade; Great Lakes water levels have resumed their 30-year cyclical rise (contrary to a decade of media scare stories that they were drying up due to global warming), and polls show that climate change doesn't even make a list of Michigan voters' top-ten concerns.

Yet in an interview with the Detroit News Monday, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.) - recently appointed to the Senate Energy Committee - made clear that fighting the climate crisis is her top priority.

"Climate change is very real," she confessed as she embraced cap and trade's massive tax increase on Michigan industry - at the same time claiming, against all the evidence, that it would not lead to an increase in manufacturing costs or energy prices. "Global warming creates volatility. I feel it when I'm flying. The storms are more volatile. We are paying the price in more hurricanes and tornadoes."

And there are sea monsters in Lake Michigan. I can feel them when I'm boating.

I ♥ faces - Crazy, Silly Face

2009-08-11T20:29:00.003-04:00

This weeks I ♥ faces challenge is crazy, silly faces. This picture was taken at Six Flags this weekend. Maddie was making her usual crazy, silly face. Head on over to I ♥ faces and see some more crazy, silly faces.
P.S. It's also the first picture that I blurred the background on using Photoshop. I think it came out pretty well.

Summer officially over....

2009-08-09T22:40:00.004-04:00

Well with the girls being in school for a week I think summer is officially over for us. Starting tomorrow starts our activities schedule. Monday & Wednesday is gymnastics for 2 hours a day and Friday starts Chinese dance. The girls are so excited to be starting dance again. They love it, plus they get to see all of their friends. We had a great summer. I guess the favorite thing was Cocoa Beach, but Six Flags was a close 2nd. We didn't do much, but we did a lot if that makes sense.

The girls are loving school. They seem to be very happy with it and I'm pretty happy with it so far. They love taking their lunches and boiled eggs are the frequent request. They love them. I've been using the Bento stuff and that's been pretty cool for them. Tomorrow's lunch is sausage, mustard, ketchup, boiled egg, grapes (for Maddie), peach (for Sophie), gogurts and gummy's. For the most part, everyday their lunch boxes are empty.
Brandon doesn't say much about school. He just says it's going okay or it's good or whatever.
Yesterday we went to Six Flags. The girls had a great time. They loved it. There were only two fits pitched. Maddie had one standing in line for the roller coaster and Sophie had one because they wouldn't let her ride the horse that goes up and down on the merry-go-round. They were both really good even though it was hot. They loved it and can't wait to go back.

That's about it for right now. I hope everyone is having a great rest of the summer and for those starting back to school soon, have a wonderful first day.

Can't wait

2009-08-08T20:16:00.002-04:00

I love, love, love the book The Lovely Bones. I am so excited about this movie. I hope it doesn't disappoint me like Where the Heart Is did.

School

2009-08-05T23:51:00.004-04:00

School is going great. The girls are really enjoying kindergarten. Maddie stated that kindergarten was the bomb. I love it because there are only 10 kids in each classroom and the girls are separated. It's great for them to have their own friends. Brandon hasn't said much about school, but then again he is 16 and doesn't say much about anything. I hope everyone is enjoying the rest of their summer and getting ready to start back to school. I can't believe they've been going back to school since Monday. Time sure does fly. The pants in the picture are supposed to be capri's, but they look like highwaters on my girls

Crazy!

2009-08-05T23:45:00.002-04:00

I know this is driving my mother crazy, but this healthcare bill is scary. The DNC calling people protesting this bill "right-wing extremist" is just wrong. It amazes me how it's okay for the left to protest anything and everything, but conservatives do it and all heck breaks lose. Keep on fighting you crazy right wing extremist you....

Why??

2009-08-03T21:19:00.002-04:00

So why does one cause an uproar and the other barely a trickle when it was published? Oh that's right one is a "messiah" and the other was the president.

It's only a matter of time

2009-08-03T13:31:00.001-04:00

You know it's coming. I like my insurance. Matter of fact, I love my insurance. I pay enough for it, but I am so thankful to have it and I really, really don't want it taken away.

1st day of school

2009-08-03T07:56:00.000-04:00

Change Blindness

2009-08-01T20:50:00.000-04:00

I ♥ faces - Beach

2009-07-27T18:41:00.004-04:00

This weeks I ♥ faces theme is beach pictures. I love beach pictures. They are so pretty. This picture was taken on about the 2nd or so day we were at Cocoa Beach. I love the non- traditional dresses (most everyone wears white). At first the girls didn't want to get their dresses wet so that's why Sophie is holding hers up. I told them it was okay and then they went to town. Wade on over to I ♥ faces and check out some other beautiful beach pictures.

Toothless

2009-07-27T18:26:00.003-04:00

Check out who is toothless in our house (excuse the messy mouth we had just finished dinner).

Since I haven't posted any Sophie pictures in a while, here's one.

Here's a video of Maddie practicing handstands last Thursday that I didn't post with the cartwheel picture.

Another on the prayer list

2009-07-27T16:30:00.001-04:00

Idiot - that's all I can say

2009-07-27T12:35:00.000-04:00

“What good is reading the bill if it’s a thousand pages and you don’t have two days and two lawyers to find out what it means after you read the bill?” Rep. John Conyers

Please add to your prayers today

2009-07-26T18:38:00.001-04:00

Today at gymnastics

2009-07-23T16:28:00.001-04:00

They worked on technique for forward rolls, backward rolls, handstands and cartwheels. Maddie was proud that she landed her cartwheel on the line... if you can't tell.

?????

2009-07-23T09:15:00.002-04:00

Since when did he get his medical degree. After several years of antibiotics and testing and so forth with Maddie I was glad when a doctor finally suggested taking her tonsils out. I suppose her doctor just used her fee sheet and decided that those would be the most expensive things to try first. What amazes me is all the other doctors didn't see how much money they could have made by simply taking the child's tonsils out.

Click here for a link to the video.

AP: In trying to rally support for health care overhaul, Obama described a patient who sees a physician for a sore throat, or a parent who brings in a child with a sore throat. "Right now, doctors a lot of times are forced to make decisions based on the fee payment schedule that's out there. ... The doctor may look at the reimbursement system and say to himself, 'You know what? I make a lot more money if I take this kid's tonsils out,'" Obama told a prime-time news conference. The president added: "Now, that may be the right thing to do, but I'd rather have that doctor making those decisions just based on whether you really need your kid's tonsils out or whether it might make more sense just to change — maybe they have allergies. Maybe they have something else that would make a difference."

Our Chinese Acrobats

2009-07-21T19:37:00.003-04:00

Gymnastics

2009-07-21T18:33:00.005-04:00

Maddie has gotten a lot better at gymnastics in just the short time that she's been at this new gym. She loves it. Her new coach is from Russia and I found out today that starting the first week of August her team will be Pre-team 2. The next level is competition. She was so excited about that. She can't wait.

I also remember I never did Brandon's birthday bullet post. Look for that sometime tonight.

I ♥ faces - Feet

2009-07-20T15:53:00.004-04:00

This weeks I ♥ faces challenge is feet. I love taking pictures of feet. They are just so cute. In anticipation of this weeks theme I took some pictures of cute little feet down on the beach. I love the sand all squished in her toes. Unfortunately I can't remember if these are Maddie or Sophie's feet. I think they are Maddie's. Sophie was busy playing in the water with her daddy. Why don't you hop on over to I ♥ faces and check out some other cute feet.

Brandon

2009-07-20T09:22:00.002-04:00

I'm busting out bullets in honor of Brandon's 16th birthday.

He still loves his video games. He loves playing Rock band, but when I play he wants me to sing and I don't want to.
He is an A/B student who could be all A's if he would turn in his homework. I'm still really, really proud of his grades.
He wants to be a doctor. I think he will be a really good one.
I'm not sure where he wants to go to school. It will probably be a state school so he can get the Hope scholarship.
His crazy teachers at school keep putting their ideas in his head, like socialized medicine and I'm trying to change that!
He is great with his sisters. They are like any siblings who fight, but for the most part they get a long.

I am just so proud of him. He is such a joy to parent and I love him very much. I joke with him about I can't wait for him to go to college, but I will be sad and will miss him very much.

Happy Birthday Brandon

2009-07-18T21:15:00.003-04:00

An actual post about Brandon on Monday which is his real birthday, but tonight we made a birthday brownie and sang Happy Birthday to him since he won't be here Monday.

Check out these firework!

2009-07-18T15:10:00.001-04:00

Crazy

2009-07-15T21:11:00.003-04:00

Remember next November we can get rid of a bunch of these bozo's in Congress... that is of course if we have any money to drive our cars to the polls, if we have any cars.

Goofing off

2009-07-15T16:10:00.001-04:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Gymnastics and stuff

2009-07-12T21:14:00.004-04:00

Yesterday we went and got a practice low beam for Maddie that I got off of cra^!gs&ist. She loves it. Today she was practicing her cartwheels and she was starting to get really good. Sophie was practicing her handstands and was getting pretty good. Here's some videos and some pictures.
Here are some pictures of our watermelon's. They are doing better than I thought they would.

Had to share

2009-07-12T01:40:00.002-04:00

I hardly read the editorials or other opinions in the ATL paper. They are just too liberal for me sometimes. This one I loved. He hit it square on the head. If you have never had the pleasure of a tomato sandwich, you are missing out. Nothing beats a fresh picked tomato, fresh white bread, mayo, salt and pepper. I still remember my first one. We were visiting relatives in Alabama and I had my first tomato sandwich and a glass of cherry Kool-aid....mmmmmm.

I bolded my favorite part of the article. It is a true describtion of this wonderful summer time meal.

P.S. Here is what awaited us when we returned from vacation.... I am in heaven!

THE tomato sandwich. A first-timer’s tale

4:44 pm July 9, 2009, by John Kessler

Late last night after a dinner of pasta and garden tomatoes a strange thought occurred. Not once in the dozen years I have lived in the South have I eaten a tomato sandwich. In fact, if you define such sandwich as sliced summer tomatoes, white bread and mayo, I had never — not once — eaten one. That seemed an amusing Facebook update, so up it went.

Despite the advanced hour of the posting, I quickly racked up more than 40 responses. “What’s wrong with you?” asked the aghast. “It’s a pre-requisite for citizenship,” they huffed.

The recipes that started pouring in were, of course, simple and repetitive: Tomatoes (just picked), white bread (the “no nutritional value” kind), mayo (has to be Duke’s, say most), salt and pepper (enough to turn the tomato black, according to one fellow).

One person suggested an advanced version that involved cream cheese, ground dill and Splenda, but she was quickly booed off the stage.

“No whole wheat bread, no dill, no lemon, no cream cheese. It has to be white bread, white mayo, white salt, black pepper and tomatoes — warm from the sun if you can get them,” someone responded huffily.

As a food writer, I was quite familiar with this basic sandwich. In fact, I can’t mention a summer tomato in a story without someone writing an email to the effect of, “Mmm, mmm, ‘mater sammich!” and directing me to make one and stand over the sink to catch the juices.

Yet I had never once been tempted to try it.

Though we’ve been growing backyard tomatoes for the past several years at home, we default to an olive oil dressing — often with chopped shallots and a splash of vinegar, but sometimes with basil and a mozzarella we deem worthy of the tomatoes. For a sandwich, we pack these ingredients into a split baguette with a little prosciutto throw in for good measure.

Of course, I grew up before the Age of Caprese. Olive oil was something I saw in the gourmet foods aisle next to the tinned octopus, but not something my folks kept in the kitchen. Nor did we have a vegetable garden. Instead, we bought our summer tomatoes from roadside farm stands on the way to the Jersey shore. Once we got to the beach house, we made BLTs with toasted white bread, Hellman’s mayo, iceberg lettuce and Oscar Meyer’s finest. “There’s nothing like a Jersey tomato,” my mother would sigh.

I went to bed thinking, and then dreaming, of tomato sandwiches. So when I woke up this morning I went out to the garden and found one perfectly ripe Cherokee Purple tomato that pulled from the vine with a nudge.

I thought of making a nice BLT. I thought of the Holy Trinity of tomatoes, basil and olive oil. I then thought of the seeming apostasy of mayonnaise. I really should try it…

This project involved a run to Kroger because our bread choices consisted of English muffins or a multigrain loaf that promised enough fiber in each serving to last through the recession. Nor did we have prepared mayonnaise.

Most of my friends recommended Duke’s mayonnaise. One said Kraft had a preferable “lemony” flavor. North Carolina chef and author Bill Smith wrote a great piece about the tomato sandwich and admitted, with perhaps a touch of contrition, he preferred Hellman’s.

“Duke’s seems too sweet to me,” Smith writes, “but I refuse to get really worked up about this. People should suit themselves. We’re talking about lunch , not a historical re-enactment.”

So I went with Hellman’s, hoping I’d tap into a vein of flavor nostalgia that would explain the tomato sandwich to my tastebuds. I almost bought Sara Lee white bread, but couldn’t go through with it. I haven’t had a piece of squishy white bread stick to the roof of my mouth for years, and couldn’t see going back. Pepperidge Farm white would be plenty soft.

And so I made my sandwich: a thick-but-not-too smear of mayo on each slice of bread, two juicy rounds of my prize tomato, salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Holy. Freaking. Face-stuffingness.

I’ve been missing this all my life?

How do you describe a taste that your soul already knows but your tongue says is a novel thrill?

I get it.

The mayo and the anodyne bread put the sweetness and acid of the tomato in high relief with their richness and ballast.

That tomato — rich in natural glutamates that make the mouth water and the tongue tingle with the sensation of umami — belongs as much between two pieces of bread as a juicy burger or a mound of warm corned beef.

I felt stunned by the yearning receptiveness of my tastebuds to this flavor, but not too stunned to eat a second sandwich. This must be as close as I’ve gotten in life to reproducing the sensation of suckling.

I had to run to work, but not before giving one of my daughters precise instructions on how to make her own sandwich with the leftovers.

“Tomato with mayonnaise?” she asked incredulously. “Gross!”

“Trust me,” I said.

Pictures

2009-07-10T21:08:00.001-04:00

I was playing around with Picnik and I like the way this picture turned out. Picnik is pretty cool.

We are home

2009-07-09T19:37:00.003-04:00

The beach was fun, but I am glad to be home.

Gatorland

2009-07-07T14:45:00.002-04:00

A good time was had by all.

Tomorrow - Gatorland

2009-07-06T21:22:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow we are going to Gatorland, but today we just stayed here. The girls swam and swam some more. They both actually made it the width of the pool swimming under water. These girls have really turned into fish here. It's been great to watch.

More pictures

2009-07-05T19:18:00.003-04:00

I have another dress that I'm doing more beach pictures with, but I love these dresses and wanted to try it out. They came out cute and with a little bribery (a popsicle and some fruit by the foot sticketrs) I knew I would get some good ones.

2009-07-05T09:25:00.000-04:00

Wish you were here!

2009-07-04T18:39:00.001-04:00

Leaving

2009-07-03T10:35:00.002-04:00

In about 6 hours we are heading to the beach for the next 5 days.....woo hoo. We had no haircut incidents and we are all packed and ready to go. Not sure if I will have my laptop on or not. I'm just ready to go. I hope everyone has a safe and Happy 4th of July.

Just enjoying the summer

2009-06-28T21:31:00.001-04:00

Gymnastics

2009-06-23T19:57:00.005-04:00

Maddie is doing so good in gymnastics. She has gotten so many skills and just looks better and better every class. Next week she gets new coaches. I'm pretty excited about it. They are from Russia and the female coach who is coming was the 1980 Russian National Champion on beam. I can't wait to see what they (she and her husband) can do with the girls. Here are some pictures and a video. I really need another camera to take better pictures especially when Sophie starts playing soccer (that's what she has decided) to get those great action shots.

I ♥ faces - Sepia

2009-06-16T21:19:00.003-04:00

I love Sepia colored pictures. I think they look beautiful. This weeks I ♥ faces challenge was for Sepia colored pictures. While the girls were outside playing yesterday I took some pictures using the Sepia setting on the camera. I think this one is my favorite. I just love Maddie's look. Hope on over to see some other beautiful Sepia pictures.

Kai Lan

2009-06-12T23:24:00.003-04:00

My girls love Kai Lan, but I don't think they would love this costume. There is just something a little creepy about it. Maybe it's the fake hair or the shoes being big or that it looks like a boy in the costume. I can't quite put my finger on it.....

I'm a summer slacker

2009-06-12T20:54:00.002-04:00

There's lots going on, but not a lot going on. We started school today. Yep I started school with the girls. They were getting bored. We did math, sight words and played a game. Maddie didn't get to do much except for go to her room. The fits she was pitching were outrageous. She was driving me crazy. Sophie and I worked for a while. It will be interesting to see what they pick up over the summer. Gymnastics is going great. I am amazed at the stuff Maddie has picked up just in 3 months. Brandon got 3 A's and 3 B's and I'm very proud of him. That's really about all. We are just spending our time swimming, gymnastics, trying to stay cool, enjoying the summer and staying away from copperheads. Yes we did have one, yes I do have a picture and no I'm not going to post it. I don't want it showing every time I open the blog. AJ shot it with a rifle. It was kind of gross. Other than that I hope everyone's summer is going well. Oh yea and I've lost 15lbs so far...woohoo!

1st Kids Workshop Project

2009-06-06T11:34:00.003-04:00

We went to the H$me D&pot's kids workshop today. They did their first project and loved it. They had such a great time and did it all by themselves. Maddie only got frustrated once which was a huge surprise. She is such a perfectionist. Her sticker tore and she got upset, but it was easily fixed. Sophie was a little pro with the hammer. I think she's going to be a builder or something like that. I think they did a great job and can't wait to do another one.

Maddie's gymnastics

2009-06-05T16:28:00.002-04:00

It's not pretty, but she's getting it. She got her first kick over on her own at gymnastics yesterday morning. Today she wanted to practice and I wanted to get it on camera. She's doing great for only be doing it for 2 months at her new gym.

Fashion Friday

2009-06-05T08:35:00.002-04:00

Over at Salsa in China they are having some fun with fashion Friday's. When I saw the girls this morning I just knew I had to post. This is what they have picked out to wear today. Not so bad with the cheerleading outfits, but the shoes and rainbow colored eye shadow crack me up. That was the first thing the girls said "like our rainbow colored eyes". Needless to say, they won't be leaving the house like that. Makes Maddie look so much older.

We have company

2009-06-03T20:10:00.001-04:00

Two people are very happy right now.

Swimming

2009-06-02T22:48:00.002-04:00

Maddie does have an ear infection of course. I knew she would. Well that didn't stop her from going swimming tonight with ear plug in of course. These girls love their pool. I love it to because they actually sleep. They were in it from about 6 tonight until 7:30. When I came back from my walk at almost 9 they were sound asleep, usually they are playing. I love this picture. These girls crack me up.

Maddie's Ear

2009-06-01T18:41:00.003-04:00

I was hoping we would make it until she was 8 and they fixed the hole in her ear. I was just hoping, but I knew we wouldn't make it. I looked in her ear at gymnastics and saw the nasty puss coming out.....sigh. This will be the second time in 3 weeks that she will be on antibiotics. She was on them for a sinus infection before.

No toys needed here

2009-05-29T21:56:00.005-04:00

Our children have very active imaginations. They are always pretending something, whether it be school or being daddy and mommy... whatever. Well today they enjoyed playing with this box. Here are a couple of videos, but the best moment is their sleeping arrangement oh and Sophie's giggle. So note to self... no toys needed here.

Today

2009-05-29T08:57:00.005-04:00

Today is the last day of school. I can't believe it. I will have an 11th grader and 2 kindergartners by the end of the day... ugh. Where has the time gone? I started to take pictures of Brandon at the bus stop today, but he would not have been happy with me. I should have done it anyway. Here are first and last day pictures of the girls. I can't believe how much they have changed. Funny thing is Maddie has the same goofy smile in both pictures.

I ♥ faces - Silhouette

2009-05-27T09:54:00.003-04:00

When I saw this weeks challenge at I ♥ faces I knew immediately which picture I wanted to use. I took this one down at the beach last year. I just love it. I love the way her hair is blowing and the way her little fanny pokes out. Just so sweet. Click on over and check out some of the other beautiful silhouettes.

and now it's over

2009-05-26T20:23:00.002-04:00

Only gymnastics twice a week and soccer camp next week, but we are done with recitals. Check out their baton recital tonight. We are all exhausted right now. I still have a bunch to say about this weekend and will do it soon.

Duck dance pictures - updated 5/29

2009-05-25T21:30:00.004-04:00

More to follow...... really, really, really tired....

What an exhausting weekend we had. It was actually the whole week. Friday was the girls last dance class and then Saturday we left for the hotel. Sunday started with dress rehearsal at 11:30. They did a walk through (that's where the stage pictures came from) and then did a rehearsal with music. We left there at about 2:30 or so to go back to the hotel. The girls swan for about an hour with their friend Kara from class and then it was back to the Gwinnett Performance Center at 6 for that nights performance. I had tickets to watch that one because after they performed on Monday we were going home. The whole show was beautiful. Ms. Lee does a wonderful job getting the girls ready and with all of the beautiful costumes. There were only 4 professionals in the whole show. Everyone else was from the dance school. The little ducklings got the biggest chuckle and applause. They all did so good. Sunday and Monday were both sold out. I found out that the theater can hold up to 600 people. That's a huge amount of people. The girls weren't nervous at all. On Monday night I stayed backstage with the girls until it was time to perform. I knew I shouldn't have because Sophie didn't want me to leave her. She had to be bribed with a box of candy, but she did go out and did great. I can't wait until the next performance in about 18 months or so. They won't be doing the duck dance then :).

In a little under 2 hours

2009-05-23T11:17:00.002-04:00

In a little under 2 hours I will be leaving for a hotel to start a very long, short weekend. We are staying at our favorite hotel near the AG store. The girls will get to swim all day today and then tomorrow the busyness starts. We have to be at the Performance Center by 11:30 for a walk through/dress rehearsal. We will be done by about 2:15 or so and then go back to the hotel for a little while. We have to be back at 6 for their performance that night at 7:30. Sunday night's performance is sold out. I think that's pretty cool. The girls are so excited and so ready. They have practiced their duck dance every Friday now since last August. We parents are actually ready to see the duck dance die. I hear that music in my head all the time.
On Monday will be their final performance at 2pm and then we come back home. I love watching them perform and they love it, but I am so ready for a break. This week has been so busy. Monday- baton rehearsal, Tuesday - gymnastics, Wednesday - AWANA's banquet, Thursday - gymnastics and graduation and Friday - dance. It doesn't end until Tuesday night when they have their baton recital. Gymnastics goes all summer and Sophie has soccer camp that she's going to try, but I can handle that. The girls have done pretty well at all the activities. They haven't complained any. They have been picking at each other a little more, but I think that's because they are getting older and getting their own ideas about things. They are excited about their new school and are even more excited about being in different classes. It will be so good for them to have their own friends and to not be in the same room with each other for 5 hours or so a day.
Okay this post kind of rambled towards the end.... sorry. Send us prayers for this weekend. I'm taking my lap top and will try to get some pictures. I can take pictures at dress rehearsal, but not of the actual show.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

Drill Here, Drill Now!

2009-05-22T21:54:00.004-04:00

The last paragraph is one of the most important paragraph's of this whole article. It is important that we drill here, drill now. No more dependence on foreign oil. Also since gas prices are going up, who do Obama supporters blame now? There is no more Bush to drive up prices for his so called rich oil friends.......

Offshore Oil Suffers From Obama Restrictions on New Drilling

Friday , May 22, 2009

By William La Jeunesse

ABOARD THE NOBLE PAUL ROMANO —

Almost 140 miles off the Louisiana coast, aboard the drill ship Noble Paul Romano, workers punch an 8-inch steel pipe four miles under the ocean in search of America's next barrel of oil.

"If we don't increase our own oil production in the U.S., our dependence on foreign oil won't go down," said Marathon Oil executive Woody Pace.

The drill ship is the size of a football field. Twelve anchors the size of an average living room hold the rig in place while a synthetic-diamond cutting blade bores deep into sand and rock.

Like other oil explorers, Marathon is being forced farther and farther out into the Gulf to find oil. Deeper water means more expensive oil.

"We may spend anywhere from $100 to $200 million just to find out if we have commercial hydrocarbons," Marathon Vice President Annell Bay told FOX News.

• Click here for photos.

Marathon is a Houston-based oil company than not only explores for oil and natural gas, but refines oil as well.

Marathon dumped $230 million into developing the Droshky oil field, which it acquired in 2007, but expects to spend more than $1.3 billion when it begins pumping next year, about the time the economy is expected to recover.

And while every drop counts, many fear it won't be enough.

"We all have hope for green energy, but it is going to take time — and in the meantime, oil and natural gas will have to be the bridge to the energy future," says Cathy Landry, a spokeswoman for the American Petroleum Institute.

Congress lifted its 27-year moratorium on drilling off Florida and the East and West Coast last year, but billions of barrels of that oil remains untouched and off-limits because the Obama administration has postponed development there.

The Obama administration favors green energy and provides generous tax subsidies to wind and solar. By contrast, this week the oil industry complained that Obama proposed hiking their taxes by $70 billion over 5 years, including a $122 million on leases the administration considers non-producing.

"If you penalize oil and gas, and add taxes, it is going to make it much more difficult and more expensive. That means U.S. jobs are exported and we won't get the revenues from royalties," said Landry.

Oil executives fear the lesson of $5-a-gallon gasoline is lost, and that American consumers will pay the price, vulnerable to shortages in the short term and a continued dependence on foreign oil for decades to come.

Pre K Graduation

2009-05-22T08:38:00.003-04:00

Last night was the girls Pre-K Graduation or ceremony as they are allowed to call it. It's sad knowing my babies are moving on to big school, but I'm also happy that they are moving on. They are excited about starting their new school next year. Graduation was really sweet last night. They all looked so cute in their gowns. I really need to practice more with my camera. The pictures I got are not the best.

What would you do?

2009-05-19T20:54:00.000-04:00

Remember this post? Well I started walking again last night. My first night out I came to a neighbors house on our street and out in their front yard they have a pit bull chained up. He looks pissed. Of course I would be pissed to if my owners had a fenced in backyard and here I was chained up out front. I don't know these people and I really wonder why this dog is chained up out front. I'm also really paranoid about the breed. What if my kids are outside playing and the dog breaks loose? What if I'm walking by and I do something to piss the dog off? I don't want to be a prisoner on my street. That's not fair to me and my family. I'm probably going to call the sheriffs office tomorrow to find out what can be done. They will probably say nothing unless he is out roaming around. Who knows? What would you do?

Soda tax

2009-05-19T17:56:00.000-04:00

Now they want to dictate what we can drink! Socialism at it's best.

Soft drink industry hopes tax idea loses its fizz

By BOB KEEFE

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Washington — One idea to help pay for health care reform may be hard to swallow for Coke drinkers and the soft drink industry.

Congress plans to discuss a tax on sweetened soft drinks that are often blamed for helping cause health problems like obesity and tooth decay in the first place.

Not surprisingly, companies like Atlanta-headquartered Coca-Cola Inc. are sour on a so-called “sin” tax on their products.

“It’s an over-reach when government uses the tax code to tell (people) what to eat and drink,” said Kevin Keane, senior vice president of the American Beverage Association. Officials from Coca-Cola declined to comment, instead referring questions to Keane’s group.

A soda tax is one of many ideas a Senate committee plans to discuss in a closed-door meeting Wednesday as it begins considering how to pay for President Barack Obama’s proposed overhaul of the nation’s health care system. Nutrition groups such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest, are pushing the idea.

Passing such a tax won’t be easy, however. Previous attempts by states to tax soft drinks have come up flat.

The ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley, deemed a soda tax a non-starter before it even bubbles up for discussion.

“I think, quite frankly, the only reason it’s being brought up is to get shot down early so it doesn’t become part of the debate,” Grassley told reporters.”I don’t think it’s going to have any legs at all.”

Other more viable options before Congress include limiting or eliminating tax-free flexible spending and health savings accounts; reducing tax breaks for some employers and major insurers; and extending Medicare payroll taxes to state and local government employees who are currently exempt. A tax increase on alcoholic beverages is also on the table.

Though the soda tax idea didn’t come from the White House, U.S. Rep. Tom Price, a Roswell Republican, didn’t hesitate to pour blame on the Obama Administration.

“If you came up with a list of the top 200 things in this nation that could be taxed, this administration wouldn’t miss any of them,” Price said.

I ♥ faces - Blurb Photo Book Contest

2009-05-18T18:57:00.006-04:00

This weeks I ♥ faces challenge is to pick a close up face photo. I love this one of Sophie. She loved being at Cocoa Beach and in the pool. They didn't care what we did as long as we went swimming they were happy. I love this picture because of the water drops and that sweet little smile. You can even see the smile in her eyes. Click on over and check out all the other great entries this week.

I am submitting this photo into the www.iheartfaces.com Blurb Book photo contest. I am granting I ♥ Faces permission to use my photo in a printed version of a book for commercial use and possibly advertising of a photo book on both the Blurb and I ♥ Faces web sites."

Our garden

2009-05-17T10:27:00.000-04:00

Our garden is doing great!

Strawberry Picking

2009-05-16T17:27:00.001-04:00

Today we went strawberry picking. It was lot's of fun.

Dora

2009-05-16T01:21:00.003-04:00

I thought it would be cool to take the girls to go see the Dora live stage show. They totally enjoyed Diego. I thought it was cool until I got to the final ticket price. Ticket M*ster is a ripoff. 4 $8 tickets would end of costing $80.85. What a ripoff! Sad thing is people will pay it. It's cheaper to drive downtown, park and walk to the box office and buy tickets than it is to buy them online.

Pre-K Graduation preview

2009-05-14T19:34:00.003-04:00

We did a little photo shoot tonight. Next week is their graduation ceremony. It's hard to believe. Wow.

Maddie conversation

2009-05-14T14:57:00.001-04:00

Maddie: “ I broke up with Ethan today”

Me: “Why (and also wondering when she and Ethan started dating)?”

Maddie: “Because I was bored”

Me: laughing really hard on the inside so she can’t see

Maddie: “He told Laney that she was hot so I broke up with him”.

Details

2009-05-13T15:10:00.002-04:00

I just love how they are adding more and more detail to their drawings. Here are a couple from the beginning of the school year.

Girls Room

2009-05-12T09:30:00.003-04:00

I redid the girls room on Friday. It was sad to see the castles and stripes get covered in new paint, but it was time. The girls love, love, love their new room. Two walls are pink and two walls are purple. I thought they were going to pick Hannah Montana (Sophie) and High School Musical (Maddie) because that was what they wanted just a couple of months ago. Well they decided they just wanted plain pink and purple. Pink is for Blossom on the PowerPuff girls and they didn't have Green or that would have been for Buttercup. They love the PowerPuff girls. The pictures above their beds are their names that I had done in China two years ago. I finally framed them.

I'm working on a video for Sophie that should be done in about a day or so.

Double Standard

2009-05-11T16:15:00.001-04:00

It's sad the double standards that go on in the media.

Comedian Wanda Sykes pulled no punches as she skewered conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh at the White House Correspondents' Dinner -- but her morbid cracks set some guests' cringe-meters off the charts.

Sykes accused Limbaugh of treason, compared him to Usama bin Laden and wished for his physical collapse as she roasted the favorite target of liberals Saturday night at the Washington Hilton.

"Rush Limbaugh said he hopes this administration fails, so you're saying, 'I hope America fails,' you're like, 'I don't care about people losing their homes, their jobs, our soldiers in Iraq.' He just wants the country to fail. To me, that's treason," Sykes said.

"He's not saying anything differently than what Usama bin Laden is saying," she continued, before addressing the guest of honor, President Obama. "You know, you might want to look into this, sir, because I think maybe Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker. But he was just so strung out on OxyContin he missed his flight."

The crowd groaned, Obama smiled and Sykes may have noticed a little discomfort in the room.

"Too much?" she asked.

But then she piled it on:

"Rush Limbaugh, 'I hope the country fails' -- I hope his kidneys fail, how about that? ... He needs a good waterboarding, that's what he needs."

Obama joined the crowd in laughing at the crack about Limbaugh's "kidneys."

But White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs suggested Monday that Sykes' bit was considered in poor taste.

"I don't know how guests get booked," Gibbs told reporters. "I haven't talked to the president (about it), but my guess is there are a lot of topics that are better left for serious reflection, rather than comedy -- no doubt 9/11 is part of that."

After the appearance, conservatives bellowed that Sykes was way over the line. "Mean-spirited," "hateful" and "disgusting" were just a few of the words used by conservative bloggers and commentators to describe the performance.

"This woman comes up and says, 'I hope Rush Limbaugh dies,' and everybody giggles," said Tim Graham, director of media analysis with the Media Research Center.

National Review columnist Jonah Goldberg called it "particularly awful."

Sykes' publicist was not immediately available for comment.

Some critics said there was a double standard employed for conservative and liberal jokesters, pointing out that golf announcer David Feherty apologized over the weekend for his column in which he joked about U.S. troops wanting to kill House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Feherty's line drew heavy attention from the liberal group Media Matters and earned him a "worst person in the world" dubbing by MSNBC's Keith Olbermann.

Graham said the relatively low-key coverage of Sykes' joke in mainstream media underscores the "slanted take on what's hateful and what's not."

"When a conservative says it, it's an utter outrage. And when a liberal says it, it's a knee-slapper," he said.

An editor with Britain's Daily Telegraph who was at the dinner wrote that liberals will give Sykes a pass, since her target was a right-wing talk show host. And he marveled at Obama's response.

"That's way, way beyond reasoned debate or comedy and Obama's reaction to it was astonishing," wrote Toby Harnden. "Imagine if a comedian 'joked' that Obama was a terrorist who was guilty of treason and should be tortured and allowed to die. There would justifiably be an outcry."

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- CBS Sports golf analyst David Feherty apologized Sunday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for a morbid joke that went bad in a Dallas magazine.

Feherty, one of the most popular golf analysts for his sharp wit and self-deprecating humor, was among five Dallas residents who wrote for "D Magazine" on former President George W. Bush moving to Dallas.

"From my own experience visiting the troops in the Middle East, I can tell you this though," Feherty wrote toward the end of his column.

"Despite how the conflict has been portrayed by our glorious media, if you gave any U.S. soldier a gun with two bullets in it, and he found himself in an elevator with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Osama bin Laden, there's a good chance that Nancy Pelosi would get shot twice, and Harry Reid and bin Laden would be strangled to death."

Feherty, a former Ryder Cup player who grew up in Northern Ireland, has gone to Iraq over Thanksgiving the past two years to visit with U.S. troops, and he created a foundation to help wounded soldiers.

"This passage was a metaphor meant to describe how American troops felt about our 43rd president," Feherty said in a statement. "In retrospect, it was inappropriate and unacceptable, and has clearly insulted Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid, and for that, I apologize. As for our troops, they know I will continue to do as much as I can for them both at home and abroad."

Feherty has lived in Dallas the past dozen years. Along with working for CBS Sports, he writes a monthly column for Golf magazine and has written four books, the last one titled, "An Idiot for All Season."

CBS Sports distanced itself from Feherty's writing, saying it was "an unacceptable attempt at humor and is not in any way condoned, endorsed or approved" by the network. The PGA Tour also criticized him for an attempt at humor that "went over the line."

CBS is not broadcasting The Players Championship this week. The network resumes its PGA Tour coverage next week in San Antonio with the Valero Texas Open.

Cannon Fishbowl

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Come on people

Oh good grief

Medical Journal: Santa Needs to Clean Up His Act

How in the H?

Blame game

Biggest Loser

Maybe, just maybe

What the h?

Sacrifices

Michelle Obama: It's a 'sacrifice' to travel to Europe to pitch for the Olympics. But I'm doing it for the kids.

By: Byron York Chief Political Correspondent 09/30/09 5:12 PM EDT

In case you missed the lyrics

Can you imagine?

Making sure you don't miss this important article

????

Oh my goodness....

The dilemma

My new blog

People wonder why there is racism in America

New blog and such

Dude!

Okay really?

He speaks

My heart hurts

Another idiot

Sophie's birthday video

Hurry Home

Weekend pictures

Great article

Glenn Beck

Wordless Wednesday

Cannon's dentist office - updated

My new favorite picture

On the beam...

Progress

Entertaining pictures

Why are there so many idiots in Congress?

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Energy Leader (National Review, 08.10.09)

I ♥ faces - Crazy, Silly Face

Summer officially over....

Can't wait

School

Crazy!

Why??

It's only a matter of time

1st day of school

Change Blindness

I ♥ faces - Beach

Toothless

Another on the prayer list

Idiot - that's all I can say

Please add to your prayers today

Today at gymnastics

?????

Our Chinese Acrobats

Gymnastics

I ♥ faces - Feet

Brandon

Happy Birthday Brandon

Check out these firework!

Crazy

Goofing off

Gymnastics and stuff

Had to share

THE tomato sandwich. A first-timer’s tale

Pictures

We are home

Gatorland

Tomorrow - Gatorland

More pictures

Wish you were here!

Leaving

Just enjoying the summer

Gymnastics

I ♥ faces - Sepia

Kai Lan

I'm a summer slacker

By: Byron York
Chief Political Correspondent
09/30/09 5:12 PM EDT