Brazen Bambis

Not quite what I was hoping for…

I Want to Brag on the AirForce’s Newest, Shiniest Staff Sergeant!

His name just happens to be “Ebola” and he managed to get selected for the lofty rank of E-5 in a shade over 3 years. Being so junior, it took ten months from the list coming out until yesterday, when those FANTASTIC STRIPES when on.

That’s OUR RatBoy ~ yes, it is.

The Ocean…

…is a harsh mistress

We Are Going To Party This Weekend

Like it’s 1979

Old School: With Six You Get Eggroll

New School: With Eggroll You Get Citizenship

SANTA ANA (AP) — An immigration officer has been indicted on charges that she took bribes in cash and egg rolls from immigrants seeking citizenship and green cards.

Federal prosecutors say 47-year-old Mai Nhu Nguyen was indicted by a grand jury on Wednesday on three counts of solicitation of a bribe by a public official.

Prosecutors say Nguyen took 200 egg rolls from a citizenship applicant and received $1,000 and $2,200 bribes from two other immigrants since 2011.

I sold my soul for some eggroll.

Spam Of The Day

The Consensus Is Clear:

In case certainly there has been more atmospheric cyclone task, might be it is proceed to bigger surface. Politicians ought to weigh up the options Louis Vuitton Shoes and your money may be much better wasted moving metropolis rather than fighting Characteristics which has much more options when compared with humanity features.

All along we thought it was Greenhouse Gases causing Gerbil Warmening…when in fact it was designer shoes.

Twinkie Twinkie Star Ledger…

Isn’t that how that song goes?

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) – The owners of The Star-Ledger plan to close New Jersey’s largest newspaper by year’s end if its production unions don’t make concessions in contract negotiations, the publisher said Wednesday.

In a letter to staff, publisher Richard Vezza said the company felt “pushed into a corner” by the unions, whose contracts expire in July. Vezza said the unions have until Sept. 27 to make compromises or else the paper will shut down.

“This is not a threat. This is reality,” Vezza said in an interview with The Associated Press.

But no worries, soon-to-be-funemployed Union types! The President (and NJ Senators) YOU worked so hard to give us has declared this to be Recovery Summer VII!

And there are loads of those good, well-paying Green Jobs that they have created or saved just all around us.

And, really, you needn’t worry about those millions of new citizens that the Magic Wand in DC is creating as being competition for you for those jobs.

UNEXPECTEDLY It Turns Out the Economy Isn’t QUITE as Booming

…as they had “previously estimated”…

US First-Quarter GDP Gets a Haircut, Rises 1.8%

U.S. economic growth was more tepid than previously estimated in the first quarter, held back by a moderate pace of consumer spending, weak business investment and declining exports.

Gross domestic product expanded at a 1.8 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said in its final estimate on Wednesday. Output was previously reported to have risen at a 2.4 percent pace after a 0.4 percent stall speed in the fourth quarter.

…which was only to news to somebody IN Washington anyway, so thank GOD that loopy, worthless President of ours is busy elsewhere as usual.

Don’t Attack The Blue Ties

Julia Gillard loses her party leadership role.

Now we’ll see if she will keep her word.*

*naturally, as a politician this will be impossible for her to do.

Shockingly, “Uncle Tom” Has No Racial Conotations…

…when it’s used by a Democrat

A Democratic lawmaker from Minnesota criticized Tuesday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision on the Voting Rights Act by calling Justice Clarence Thomas “Uncle Thomas,” then saying he didn’t know “Uncle Tom” was a racist epithet.

On his Twitter account Tuesday, state Rep. Ryan Winkler called the justices’ 5-4 ruling striking down a part of the law racist, and the work of “four accomplices to race discrimination and one Uncle Thomas.” Justice Thomas, who is black, was one of the five justices in the majority.

Paula Deen was unavailable for comment.

But never fear, he went to HARVARD so he’s smart and you’re schtupid

However Mr. Winkler, whose site says he has an undergraduate history degree from Harvard and a law degree from the University of Minnesota, seemed to dig the hole deeper in a subsequent tweet, in which he said the racism of the term “Uncle Tom” was disputed and unknown to him.

“I did not understand ‘Uncle Tom’ as a racist term, and there seems to be some debate about it. I do apologize for it, however,” he said.

So shut up.

I Don’t Know That I’d Call It “Shameless”

Seems a little tame, don’t you think?

LOL shameless. RT @StevenTDennis: Key pt: Obama's final climate rule for existing (coal) plants will be delayed until 2015 – after midterms

— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) June 25, 2013

Oh Nooooees! The Gerbil Warmenists Are…

…starting to lose British politicians

For more than 20 years now, we have been told that this country was going to get hotter and hotter and hotter, and that global warming was going to change our climate in a fundamental way. Do you remember that? We were told that Britain was going to have short, wet winters and long, roasting summers. It was going to be like 1976 all over again, with streakers at Lord’s and your Mr Whippy melting before you could even lick it, and Hyde Park scorched into a mini Kalahari.

They said we were never going to have snow again, and that we should prepare for southern England to turn gradually into a Mediterranean world. There were going to be olive groves in the Weald of Kent, and the whole place was going to be so generally broiling in summer that no one would be able to move between noon and 4pm, after which people would come out to play boules and sip pastis, to the whine of a mandolin, in the dusty square that had once been a village green.

It hasn’t quite turned out that way…

(via Maggie’s Farm)

Smart Power!

Lurch is not a drone but instead a loose cannon

Since succeeding Hillary Rodham Clinton as America’s top diplomat, Kerry has issued several as yet undelivered — and perhaps undeliverable — pledges to allies and rivals alike, proving a source of concern for Obama’s policy team. It is trying to rein in Kerry somewhat, according to officials, which is difficult considering Kerry has spent almost half his tenure so far in the air or on the road, from where his most dissonant policy statements have come.

The White House quickly distanced itself from both Kerry’s North Korea remarks and has now, since President Barack Obama’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Northern Ireland this past week, seen up close the strength of Moscow’s resistance to Kerry’s Syria strategy.

What a pathetic group our “Betters” have become, and what a joke they have made us.

No, I’m Not Going To The World Cup

A lot of very clear points, very well expressed.

A lot of the same questions she raises apply here as well: how many municipalities have got huge debt problems because of stadiums?

They Blew Their Cookies

In yet another example of pensions run amok the Girls Scouts are $347 million in the hole

NEW YORK (AP) — Given the friction and financial woes facing the Girl Scouts these days, perhaps it’s time for a giant friendship circle. Under that long-standing tradition, a ring of Scouts clasp hands and give a little squeeze, accompanied by a silent wish of good will.

Just a year after its centennial celebrations, the Girl Scouts of the USA finds itself in a different sort of squeeze. Its interconnected problems include declining membership and revenues, a dearth of volunteers, rifts between leadership and grassroots members, a pension plan with a $347 million deficit, and an uproar over efforts by many local councils to sell venerable summer camps.

She really means it now.

What Happens When the CHAIRMAN of the Escambia County Board of Education (Who’s a Bit of a Whang-Doodle in Any Event) Not Only STEPS on the Third Rail of Education…

…but reaches into the tracks and grasps it firmly unto his heaving bosom before having an editorial printed in the local fishwrap EXRESSING said opinion?

Too early to tell yet, but GOD BLESS HIM FOR IT.

We need to hold parents accountable for their children’s education

At a recent meeting of the Escambia County School Board, several speakers said we had “failed” Lincoln Park Elementary. Astonishingly, several district officials nodded in apparent agreement with this censure of our teachers!

Instead of rebuking these slanders, the obsequious response from many district officials was to bow to the crowd, bemoaning time-lines established by state and federal law that force districts to intervene when individual schools repeatedly fail. “It’s the legislature’s fault, not ours,” was the answer.

Here’s the truth. The U.S. Congress and the Florida Legislature did not arbitrarily decide to tinker with local school boards. They stepped in when they heard repeated pleas demanding a fix for chronically failing schools that local districts did not, in many cases, have the guts to fix themselves.

Where was the righteous indignation for allowing some kids to remain trapped in horrible schools for decades?

So now we’re legally forced to take action locally on Lincoln Park, and take action we will.

In the meantime, it’s appropriate and necessary to address some of the vitriol that was spewed at good, hard-working teachers and employees by a vocal minority of people who want to assign blame for the failures to which they themselves are contributing.

As elected officials, we’re held accountable by voters.

We hold teachers accountable, we no longer give tenure for new hires and we’re evaluating teachers more rigorously than ever.

We hold students accountable; they’re graded on performance.

We need to hold parents accountable!

…The politically correct nihilists complain that the issue is poverty.

Yes, poverty is a troubling issue, but as chronicled in the Economist in the June 1 edition, there is a marked difference between poverty in the developed world vis-à-vis the 1.1 billion humans worldwide subsisting on less than $1.25 per day.

In America, being poor in many instances equates to not working, collecting government assistance payments, living in subsidized air-conditioned housing, enjoying cable TV, food stamps and the latest smart phone….

Read the whole thing. Online the comments are overwhelming supportive, although I’m sure ~ because the focus of his ire needs activists to inform them of the opinion ~ there will soon be the requisite “racist”, “unfeeling” and “hater” spews coming along shortly.

Sure, Vote On It Without Reading It

That worked out so well last time.

The GOP has lost its mind.

Free Le Fromage!!

A short video about the Obama administration’s #WarOnCheese

Yes. You heard that right.

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy

The Sweetest Bestest Dog Ever™ is 12 today.

And I’ll be giving him his birthday meat cake in a little while!

Update: Now with even more Meat Cake!

Great News!

Troops at Ft. Hood are getting riot control training ahead of their deployment to Tea Party Rallies Egypt

(KCEN) — A group of soldiers are preparing for their deployment to Egypt with riot training on post.

They’re planning ahead for violent protests or riots and the possibility of protecting the country’s border with Israel.

Good thing we’ve given up on that whole “World’s Policeman” bit, eh?

Paging Celine Dion

Or maybe it should be Gordon Lightfoot…

It is rather shocking that this could happen to vessel that is only 5 years old.

In heavy weather on Monday she broke her back and split into two pieces with over 7,000 TEUs on board…and both parts are still afloat.

Can you imagine how her crew must have kissed the ground when they got ashore?

How Do I Sign Up For This Illegal Immigrant Gig?

Via Fausta, here’s a handy chart showing some of the ways that our Elected Betters have decided to treat people who broke our laws and continue to break our laws versus us simple citizens who, well, you know, just sort of have to pay for everything:

How any US Citizen, let alone any Republican, can support this legislation is beyond me.

Protests Continue In Brazil

“As olvelhas feliz” start to wake up

(Reuters) – Brazil’s biggest protests in two decades intensified on Thursday despite government concessions meant to quell the demonstrations, as 300,000 people took to the streets of Rio de Janeiro and hundreds of thousands more flooded other cities.

Undeterred by the reversal of transport fare hikes that sparked the protests, and promises of better public services, marchers demonstrated around two international soccer matches and in locales as diverse as the Amazon capital of Manaus and the prosperous southern city of Florianopolis.

..The targets of the protests, now in their second week, have broadened to include high taxes, inflation, corruption and poor public services ranging from hospitals and schools to roads and police forces.

With an international soccer tournament as a backdrop, demonstrators are also denouncing the more than $26 billion of public money that will be spent on the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics, two events meant to showcase a modern, developed Brazil.

Good for them to start demanding that their “Betters” actually give them some steak for once instead of simply another whiff of sizzle.

With little more than a year to go before presidential and gubernatorial elections, the unrest is forcing incumbents and traditional political parties to reconsider their strategies.

The decision to cut transportation fares illustrates what many analysts consider a reactive and contradictory response by a ruling class caught off guard.

“Were they wrong before or are they wrong now?” asked Carlos Melo, a political scientist at Insper, a business school in Sao Paulo, noting what had been a steadfast refusal to reverse a fare hike.

The answer is “yes.”

You Might Not Be Able to Get Your Summer White House Tour In

…but you’ll sure know when NOT to dip your wick if you sign up for the right FEDERAL program…and speak-a da “lingo”

$509K Federal Safe-Sex Study Will Text ‘Gay-Lingo’ to Meth Addicts

(CNSNews.com) – A $509,840 grant by the National Institutes of Health will pay for a study that will send text messages in “gay lingo” to methamphetamine addicts to try to persuade them to use fewer drugs and more condoms. The study began in February.

Lead researcher Dr. Cathy Reback of the Baltimore-based Friends Research Institute, Inc., told CNSNews.com how she and her team of health educators will spend the next four years and over half a million dollars encouraging gay meth addicts to cut down on unprotected sex by periodically sending them “gay-specific” text messages.

“We did a pilot about four, five years ago with 52 out-of-treatment MSM (males who have sex with males),” Dr. Reback explained. “And we sent them text messages that were gay specific – used gay lingo – and made references to the connection between high-risk sex and methamphetamine use among MSM.”

The current study, she added, will test the effectiveness of using text messages to alter gay meth addicts’ behavior.

“So what I wanted to do with this text messaging intervention was to optimize the opportunity to get these guys [to have safer sex] by sending text messages as opposed to ‘Come into my brick and mortar site that’s ten miles from your house, and come for a group [session].’ I mean – you know – okay maybe!” Dr. Reback explained.

“We have the technology to go beyond these brick-and-mortar interventions where you sit down with a counselor and you sit down in a group. … You know, send them text messages as they’re walking into a bathhouse, or while they’re getting dressed in their home, or on the computer to hook up with somebody.”

Think of it as a federally funded Whether-Or-Not-To-Get-LAID Alert.

Oh, GREAT idea for ALL my monies, okay, maybe…NOT!!!

Thanks to my buddy Cosmocon.

Well, I Guess It’s a “NewsFlash”

…because THEY certainly sound surprised.

Will Obamacare Hurt Jobs? It’s Already Happening, Poll Finds

Small business owners’ fear of the effect of the new health-care reform law on their bottom line is prompting many to hold off on hiring and even to shed jobs in some cases, a recent poll found.

“We were startled because we know that employers were concerned about the Affordable Care Act and the effects it would have on their business, but we didn’t realize the extent they were concerned, or that the businesses were being proactive to make sure the effects of the ACA actually were minimized,” said attorney Steven Friedman of Littler Mendelson. His firm, which specializes in employment law, commissioned the Gallup poll.

“If the small businesses’ fears are reasonable, then it could mean that the small business sector grows slower than what economic conditions otherwise would indicate. And small businesses have been a growth engine in the economy,” Friedman told CNBC.

Nobody ever realizes the effect of NUTHIN’ ’round here, even though small business has been talking themselves blue in the face since Obama, the Democratic Senatorial cadaver and his frozen-faced Congressional harpy sorceress first conjured this abomination up.

“Surprise”, morons.