Facebook For Dummies

North Texas Juror Tried To ‘Friend’ Defendant

Read the article, this was just too funny and probably more than a little indicative of our present day culture.

Whatever Happened to Code Pink?

August: Deadliest month for U.S. in Afghanistan

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Heard anything from Code Pink lately? How about Cindy Sheehan? Tim Robbins? Susan Sarandon? Danny Glover? Sean Penn? Alec Baldwin? Ben Affleck?

Just curious.

What Do You Think About This?

I was watching Fox today and the discussion was about Marco Rubio as VP choice.

The arguments were:

-He could deliver Florida. This could deliver the election with a lot of Midwest states, Western states, and other large states like Pennsylvania turning away from Obama and Perry, if he is the nominee, likely delivering Texas.

-He is Hispanic. I do not like to see affirmative action candidates. All we have to do now is look at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to see where that gets us. Bottom line though, he is Hispanic. This will not hurt, and again, could deliver the election by making a dent in a group of voters Obama was counting on. This would also shunt the criticism from the left that the GOP, due to immigration reform, is a bunch knuckle dragging, anti-Hispanic racists.

-He is likable. He plays well on stage. He's personable. Picture him on stage against Joe Biden in the VP debate.

-He's a Tea Party favorite. This is a big one. Not only would he draw in the Tea Party voters but he could also either prevent or limit the damage of a Ron Paul 3rd party candidacy.

So, what are your thoughts? Rubio a good choice? Do you have a better thought?

Quote Of The Week

The scale of Hurricane Irene, which could cause more extensive damage along the Eastern Seaboard than any storm in decades, is reviving an old question: are hurricanes getting worse because of human-induced climate change?

The New York Times

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What an absurd statement.

Let's break it down into two parts.

First is the extensive damage. Reading the quote one comes away thinking that the extensive damage is because of the storm. In reality it is because it is hitting one of the most densely populated and most expensive areas in terms of property values in the country.

Yes, this may be one of the most expensive storms to ever hit the US but how does that make it more powerful?

Second we have the question of whether hurricanes are getting worse. Maybe they are and maybe they are not but how is this storm in any way a barometer of that? At best this is a middling strength storm.

This is like going into a 7/11 at night and seeing two other people in the store and deducing from that that their business is increasing.

Now realize I am not making light of the hurricane or damage it will cause. It will likely be significant. I know people in it's path and worry for them.

There is only one question about all of this really though. Does the NYT have any credibility at all anymore?

What Is The Media Up To?

I know, that's an absurd question. One could go crazy trying to figure out the fringe media in the US.

A lot of the stories on Hurricane Irene have been interesting to say the least.

I have seen articles calling the hurricane "historic". There have already been articles discussing the economic impact of the hurricane.

I even saw one article today talking about how Governor Christie was under pressure to perform well. It will test his popularity. Do you even remember hearing the governor of Louisiana being mentioned in the buildup or aftermath of Katrina? Quick, what was the governor of Louisiana's name?

The point is, I think the media is in overdrive right now to spin this for Obama.

Things go well, he did a great job in this "historic" hurricane. Not like that idiot George Bush.

Things go bad, under the bus goes Christie. Evidently the federal government is only responsible for responding to natural disasters in Republican administrations.

Finally, Obama has an out on the economy. From today on the economy will be dealt a blow because of the hurricane. What could Obama do with such a disaster? George Bush only had to deal with Katrina and 9/11. He didn't have to deal with a historic hurricane.

Do We Have A Problem Here?

I have insisted all along that this next Presidential election is the GOP's to lose.

Unemployment is going to remain high and other numbers such as consumer confidence are at either historic or decades-old lows (or highs).

Blacks, Hispanics, and other liberals are getting restless.

The right largely despises Obama so there will be little cross-over.

The independents are running away from Obama in droves.

We have a potentially viable candidate in Rick Perry. Someone who is willing to actually campaign against Obama instead of having aspects of his life off limits like McCain did.

So, what could go wrong?

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This man is a nut. He is the GOP's answer to Dennis Kucinich. He thinks he can win.

So, will he run as an independent?

This is not an idle question. Why? Because there are other crazy people in the country. This man has just enough rabid followers that when he has an appearance in a city it is virtually impossible to find tin foil for BBQing in the week building up to it.

Think about this. Has anyone else seen the stories recently on the networks asking why he isn't getting more respect? I've been seeing stories here and there from some MSM networks wondering out loud if he isn't maybe more mainstream than he is being given credit for.

Are they doing this to inflate his potential, and ego, so he will run as an independent and assure Obama a victory?

Or, is he attractive to some on the left?

This brings me to my next point. Would he damage the GOP candidate or would he draw disillusioned voters equally from the right and the left? He is anti-war. He's not really a conservative as much as he's a Libertarian. This political focus has a tendency to draw from the right but also draws from the left. It seems a little unlikely that he would draw equally from right and left but let's look at some recent and past history.

Ronald Reagan was elected with a wide margin because of the "Reagan Democrats". These were left of center Democrats that liked his message of self-reliance and were turned off by the massive failures of Jimmy Carter.

I was convinced Perot would have been more damaging to Clinton and the Democrats. He gave Clinton the election by drawing Republicans from Bush.

People are convinced the Tea Party is a wing of the GOP. There is a substantial number of Democrats in the Tea Party.

So will a populist GOP candidate hold off Paul and draw enough Democrats from Obama to win? Could a candidate like Rick Perry pull a "Reagan" and draw from across the political spectrum while keeping a conservative message?

What are your thoughts? Is he the spoiler? Are his people crazy enough to stick with him at the polls even if it is obvious he will not win? We had conservatives sit out the last election to "protest" McCain. Are they smart enough to learn from that?

Go Straight To Hell

Maxine Waters yet again showed the trade mark Democratic political civility. She said the above about the Tea Party at a Democratic rally.

Tea Party Group Slams Rep. Waters Over 'Straight to Hell' Outburst

The above was from a Fox article.

Drudge ran a link (from Fox)

Looking over the other networks

We had this from CNN:

MSNBC ran the following headline:

The Associated Press had this on their web site:

CBS.com ran with this:

ABC reported it as this:

And, of course, Rueters ran this:

So far Joe Biden has not weighed in either.

Quote Of The Week

"I was praying Perry would get in the race,"

Former Obama official and current campaign operative

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What do you think about this? Is Perry the preferred candidate? Is Romney more dangerous to them?

Let's examine some plus/minuses of Rick Perry as I think they see it (followed by my thoughts):

-His mouth is his own worst enemy.

Not impossible they're wrong but this is an easy one to fix this early on. Also is offset by Obama and Biden's mouth. The real ace in the hole for Obama is the media. Perry's gaffes will be reported, Obiden's will not.

To their credit Romney could be more formidable because he is a little more polished. I wonder though if sometimes this is a turn-off for voters. Sometimes these types of politicians come off as stiff.

-Too much swagger.

Is this a real minus? A subdued McCain looked old and tired during the last election, how'd that work out for us? I wonder if a little swagger is what the GOP needs. We have a tendency to look like the stuffed suit crowd. I think this is one of the reasons Bush was fairly well liked early on and won re-election, he could go to a BBQ or county fair and look like he belonged. A little swagger may help with younger voters and some men too.

Also possible the Obama camp is right here. Again Romney appears more calm and reserved. I go back to my above point though and wonder if this is a plus. Romney feels as if you are voting for your dad. Perry is kind of like the cool if a little eccentric uncle. Which would voters choose?

-Too conservative for main street America.

See above comment about McCain. We tried a RINO last time and conservatives stayed home. Shame on them, they gave us Obama. The point is though, do we repeat the same mistake? Albert Einstein said it best: Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Also, Perry has some liberal skeletons in his closet that he needs to explain to the right. This may blunt any "too conservative" narrative.

-Tied to Bush/is from Texas

I think this is a non-starter and will likely only play on the far left. Anyone paying attention will know Perry and Bush are not exactly tied at the hip, they have had a bit of a love/hate relationship for a long time. Second, Rove is critical of Perry and it's not likely Rove would have done this if Perry and Bush were friends.

So, is Team Obama right? Is Rick Perry the push-over and Mitt Romney the threat? Or, is this gamesmanship in which they are trying to poison Perry and try to bring in Romney. In other words, reverse psychology?

Finally, when are we conservatives going to stop letting the left define us? This is one thing I like about Perry and the only thing I liked about Trump, they are willing to kick some ass. This election is not going to be won by Romney lecturing us on the economy and explaining how he is going to fix it. It is going to be won by Perry calling Obama out on how he has destroyed the economy and explaining how he will bring his Texas-style job creation to the rest of the country.

Sigh

Obama Pushes for Action on Jobs While Vacationing on Martha's Vineyard

In China, Biden pulls punches, not punch lines

Cops: Woman left child in stroller outside bar

Florida Teacher Suspended for Anti-Gay Marriage Posts on Personal Facebook Page

GM says bankruptcy excuses it from Impala repairs
* New GM said not responsible to fix Impala made by old GM

Forget all of the craziness, watch the video, smile, and have a good Saturday. Me, I'm checking in to this place.

(Note: to get rid of the annoying annotations in the video, click the button that looks like a cartoon bubble at the bottom of the video. I can't believe someone finds those entertaining)

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

I realize that Biden is bad for the country. I get it. With that said, he does have one significant use, he can help us get rid of Obama.

The Biden 'terrorist' story: How it came together

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Biden was overheard at a meeting with fellow Dims calling the Tea Party terrorists. The story just won't go away. Obama, while out on his campaign jobs tour, is being asked about it.

Personally, I think Biden is a good thing for us. Give that man a microphone and turn him loose.

What Do You Think About This?

Louisiana police: Father confesses to decapitating special-needs son

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Read the above article.

I am not asking what you think of the man's actions, any comment you could make would likely get my site shut down by blogger.

The question is, is there real evil in the world?

I realize the man is mentally ill, completely flippin nuts quite frankly. But does that fully explain this crime?

This is a question I have pondered before.

Charles Manson. It is likely you have all seen the infamous close-up pictures of his face. Really look at his eyes. Is that just mental illness?

Adolf Hitler. 6 million jews killed, 1 million of them children.

The Pol Pot regime, Joseph Stalin, history is littered with them.

So, are these people insane? Are they opportunistic politically and simply sociopaths? Or, is it possible that some of these people are manifestations of evil on earth? Does that exist? What are your thoughts?

Quote Of The Week

One of the nice things about blogging is sometimes these darned things write themselves. Thanks to Jay Carney, press secretary extraordinaire, this is one of those times.

Now, I'm not going to feign shock at the fact that this President is using photo ops in an attempt — some might say a cynical attempt — to influence public opinion. It would be news if he weren't doing just that.

The question now is whether a few photo-ops will fix the problem — or just make it worse.

Credits: Quote, Photograph

Read the article at the above quote link for the source and target of the quote. (hint - he wasn't talking about Obama).

Hypocrisy, Thy Name Is Jay Carney

You just have to love Matt Drudge of the Drudge Report sometimes. One of his favorite past-times is posting an article about someone, and then digging up and old article showing how the person the first article is about has done a complete about face.

The target du jour is Jay Carney, Press Secretary of possibly the most hypocritical administration in history.

First we have this gem from Real Clear Politics

And I don't think Americans out there would begrudge that notion that the President would spend some time with his family. It is also, as I think anyone who has covered in the past, either in this administration or others, there is no such thing as a presidential vacation. The Presidency travels with you. He will be in constant communication and get regular briefings from his national security team as well as his economic team.

Jay Carney, the press secretary, speaking of Barack Obama.

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Before Mr Carney joined the Obama team he was a journalist for Time magazine. He seems to have had a different take on Presidential vacations back then:

A Vacationing Bush Works Hard for His Photo-Ops

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This Is One Creepy Dude

Honey-Soaked Naked Girls Were Filmed By Pastor

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Turns out this pastor set up a "Fear Factor" type of game where honey was poured on girls aged 15 - 17 and then let them use a shower equipped with a camera to shower.

The state of Texas has had to withdraw felony charges because the statue of limitations has expired.

One question - what is the statue of limitations for fathers whipping this dude's ass?

What Do You Think About This?

Obama Administration Exempting Schools From Federal Law’s Testing Mandate

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I realize that No Child Left Behind was not wildly popular. I will go on record though with saying that I supported it, with the thought that there could have been changes to it.

With that said, and ignoring the merits or faults of NCLB, think of the implications of this ruling.

Is this the solution to getting rid of NCLB? Does it shortchange kids in public schools? Is this simply a nod to teacher's unions whose members are under fire for poor performance? Is it just a further attempt to dumb down the US education system.

Finally, is this a decision that should solely left to a presidential administration? Should this decision be made by unelected bureaucrats or Congress?

What are your thoughts?

Quote Of The Week

I'm going to miss you so much =(

This was from my son last Sunday, the day before my grandmother died.

My two sons and I had gone home to Flint to see her in the hospital and told them on the way home that it was likely she would not live much longer than a few days at best. He went home that night and posted the above on Facebook.

The immediate family on my side is quite close and my children and nephews were all close to their great-grandmother, as were all of her children and grandchildren.

I could not have summed up her loss any better than my middle son did above.

We will miss her but she has had a rough two years and I know she was ready to rest.

Good-bye grandma and I hope you are finding peace today from the varied illnesses and pain that have consumed most of your last two years.