Permanent Campaigner in Chief

That is all he can do is campaign well, the man is a great orator, he can sell ice to eskimo's in the winter.
    But as as a President he is worse than Obungler 1.0  Jimmy Carter

Obama has held more re-election fundraisers than previous five Presidents combined as he visits key swing states on 'permanent campaign'

By Toby Harnden

Barack Obama has already held more re-election fundraising events than every elected president since Richard Nixon combined, according to figures to be published in a new book.

Obama is also the only president in the past 35 years to visit every electoral battleground state in his first year of office.
The figures, contained a in a new book called The Rise of the President’s Permanent Campaign by Brendan J. Doherty, due to be published by University Press of Kansas in July, give statistical backing to the notion that Obama is more preoccupied with being re-elected than any other commander-in-chief of modern times.

Campaigner in chief? Barack Obama has been assiduously visiting swing states; he is pictured earlier this week speaking in Iowa

Doherty, who has compiled statistics about presidential travel and fundraising going back to President Jimmy Carter in 1977, found that Obama had held 104 fundraisers by March 6th this year, compared to 94 held by Presidents Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush Snr, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush combined.
Since then, Obama has held another 20 fundraisers, bringing his total to 124. Carter held four re-election fundraisers in the 1980 campaign, Reagan zero in 1984, Bush Snr 19 in 1992, Clinton 14 in 1996 and Bush Jnr 57 in 2004.

 

Doherty, a political science professor at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, has also analysed presidential travel to battleground or swing states, which change and fluctuate in number with each election cycle.
In their first years in office, Carter visited eight out of 18 battleground states and Reagan seven out of 17. Bush Snr, Clinton and Bush Jnr all visited around three-quarters of battleground states while Obama went to all 15 within his first 12 months.

Fundraising: The President, pictured in North Carolina, has held an unprecedented number of campaign events

Challenger: Mitt Romney is still running behind in the race to build up an election pot

While the Obama’s campaign activities in office have been largely in line with historical trends, he is especially vulnerable to criticism because in 2008 he promised to change how politics works and to curb links with special interests.
Vowing in 2008 to ‘launch the most sweeping ethics reform in US history’ Obama said that if elected he would ‘make government more open, more accountable and more responsive to the problems of the American people’.
In his State of the Union speech in January, Obama bemoaned the ‘corrosive influence of money in politics’. The following month, he reversed course and announced he was allowing cabinet members and top advisors to speak at big money events for so-called super PACs – unaccountable outside groups raising money for his re-election.
During the 2008 election, Obama abandoned a pledge to opt for public funding of his campaign, instead opting to raise an unlimited amount privately. He then raised and spent approximately $730million, almost double the campaign funds of Senator John McCain, his Republican opponent.
Up to the end of March, Obama had raised $191.6million for his re-election bid, compared to $86.6million raised by his Republican challenger Mitt Romney. His frenetic fundraising activities are in part because he is lagging behind campaign expectations. Early last year, some advisers spoke privately of raising $1billion.

Predecessor: George W. Bush, pictured at a rally in Milwaukee, was a less active campaigner

In his book, Doherty writes that in his first full month in office Obama visited Indiana, Florida, Colorado, Arizona and North Carolina – all battleground states - in 2012. 'Clearly, the White House made a point of the president travelling to key electoral states early in his term in office.'
This week, the Republican National Committee (RNC) lodged a formal complaint with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) about alleged misuse of taxpayer money by Obama.
The Obama campaign dismissed the complaint as a ‘stunt’ and the White House said that it would follow the same rules as previous administrations and refund the appropriate amounts.
In the complaint, Reince Priebus, RNC chairman, wrote: ‘Throughout his administration, but particularly in recent weeks, President Obama has been passing off campaign travel as “official events,” thereby allowing taxpayers, rather than his campaign, to pay for his re-election efforts.’
Doherty, however, said that although the tactic of labelling Obama’s activities as fraud was ‘novel’ in reality the opposing party always complained about a president facing re-election dressing up political events as official ones.
‘This is not new. The Republican complaint is more of a situational complaint than a principled complaint because they certainly weren’t complaining when George W. Bush did this eight years ago.'

Contrast: Ronald Reagan apparently did not hold a single re-election fundraising event in the election year of 1984

He added: ‘In 2004, President George W. Bush broke all records for presidential fundraising in terms of time devoted to fundraising and in terms of money raised and at the time Democrats hit him hard for that.
'Obama has already surpassed Bush [Jnr] in numbers of re-election fundraisers, but not yet in money raised.'
The rising costs of campaigns, lower contribution limits, the breakdown of the public financing system, the 24/7 media environment and the professionalisation of campaigns had all led to successive presidents having to devote more and more time and energy to raising money.
He added that the ‘big picture’ was incumbent presidents fearing defeat. ‘Until 1976 [when Carter beat President Gerald Ford] no sitting president had been defeated for re-election since 1932. It had been 44 years.
‘And then three of the next four presidents who tried [Ford, Carter and Bush Snr] lost. Of all the presidents re-elected since Ford lost to Carter, only Reagan has won in a landslide. George W. Bush’s re-election [in 2004] was close, Clinton got less than 50 percent [in 1996]. There is a very keen sense among presidents that they really might lose.’
Kirsten Kukowski, an RNC spokesperson, said: 'It’s no surprise that the Campaigner-In-Chief has taken raising money for his re-election to a whole new level. The worst part is the American taxpayer has been footing the bill.' The Obama campaign did not respond to a request for comment.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2136851/Obama-held-fundraisers-previous-Presidents-combined-visits-key-swing-states-permanent-campaign.html#ixzz1tXTHUGlq

Lessee, the same senate that refuses to perform its duties under the constitution by passing a budget instead pays off its union supporters with a bailout bill....Are you kidding....really...?  The same senate that refuses to do any thing, finds time to pass a bill to pay off the union supporters that contribute to the majority party in the senate....really?
    The minority party proposes bills to deal with the fiscal crisis and get shut down by the senate majority leader Harry Reid (D) who then pass continuing resolutions rather than a budget so they can use slight of hands tricks to get pass the voters and taxpayers........Really?

Senate passes postal bailout bill

Would postpone closure decisions

Updated: Thursday, 26 Apr 2012, 10:13 AM EDT
Published : Thursday, 26 Apr 2012, 3:21 AM EDT

• Matt Caron

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - The U.S . Senate voted to throw an $11-billion-dollar lifeline to the struggling postal service. If it becomes law, it could be really good news for local post offices.

Back in January, the community came out to try and convince postal officials to keep the Mason Square Post Office in Springfield open.

This bill may help to do that.

In addition to giving the postal service billions of dollars, it would stop the closing of up to 250 mail processing centers and postpone decisions on closing individual post offices.

It would also put off the very controversial decision to end Saturday delivery.

It could end up being good news for places like Springfield, where several post offices, including Mason Square were on the chopping block. Even the Springfield mail processing center was facing an uncertain future.

The issue now goes to the House, which has yet to consider a separate bil

List of Obama's accomplishments

Here is a list of Obungler's accomplishment since he was coronated in 2008

1.  The Cairo speech.
2.  Bowed to foreign dignitaries including the King of Saudi Arabia.
3.  Backed release of Lockerbie Bomber let him go back to Libya.
4.  The Gulf of Mexico drilling moratoriums and then IGNORING a Fed court twice.
5.  No shovel ready jobs/the bailout spending spree was a money laundering gig.
6.  Over 425K small businesses closing every year under Obama.
7.  Obama debt OVER 5 TRILLION dollars and GROWING.
8.  NO Summer recovery and NO recovery at all.
9.  Downgrading of America's credit rating from AAA to AA. (1st time in US history)
10.  ObamaKare forced on the American people w/o READING IT!
11.  HIGHER unemployment despite ONE TRILLION in a stimulus ripoff.
12.  Appointed a TAX CHEAT for SecTreas.
13.  Appointed an economic idiot in charge of the Fed.
14.  OVER 34 UN-ELECTED CZARS, many of them criminal radical communists.
15.  In thirty months, INCREASED our deficit OVER 40%!
16.  Food, gas, and other necessities SOARING in price.
17.  42 MILLION Americans are living in poverty, ANOTHER 1st for the US.
18.  Solyndra and other green energy scams (money laundering scams)
19.  Operation Fast and Furious AND a COVER UP!
20.  Stopped the XL Keystone pipeline then LIED about it.
21.  NO budget in over 3 years, ignoring a Constitutional REQUIREMENT!
22.  Holder suing AZ and SC for enforcing FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LAW!
23.  Holder IGNORING NBPP voter fraud felony.
24.  FORCED General Shelton to ALTER his testimony on LIghtSquared.
25.  More home foreclosures in our history, US Gov't owns them.
26.  45 MILLION Americans on food stamps.
27.  NLRB keeps Boeing from moving to South Carolina. (At-will state)
28.  IGNORES Congressional subpoena on Solyndra.
29.  FIRST president to attack states he swore an oath to protect.
30.  Terminated NASA and made it a Muslim outreach program.
31.  Signed an EO to examine companies political contributions.
32.  Swore to "bankrupt the coal industry."
33   Unvetted past, allied with ACORN, and seeks to undermine America.
34.  Race baiter and racist.
35.  Narcissistic Sociopath.
36.  Allows Cass Sunstein to write over 90,000 NEW anti business regulations!
37.  First one snitch site on whitehouse.gov then came Attackwatch!
38.  Appointed two UNQUALIFIED Marxist idiots to the SCOTUS.
39.  Supports union thugs, SEIU violence, Occutards, etc.
40.  National Debt now OVER FIFTEEN TRILLION DOLLARS.
41.  First president in history to seal ALL of his records by Executive Order.
42   The USA borrows TRILLIONS from the ChiComs.
43.  Muslim Brotherhood terrorists at every level of his Admin, including State.
44.  Over 25 MILLION jobs lost in three years.
45.  Added over 3 MILLION more Americans to the poverty level.
46.  Gas up over 100%.
47.  LIES TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE DAILY.
48.  NO transparency at all (two YEARS and a lawsuit to get Spain vacation records)
49.  RECORD level of lobbyists in his admin.
50.  RECORD amount of contributions from Wall Street/Goldman-Sachs/Soros, etc.
51.  Ignored the War Powers Act in Libya.
52.  USES ESPIONAGE ACT TO SILENCE WHISTLEBLOWERS

2013 Mustang Shelby most powerful production car.

I am a former Ford Employee when Ford was forced to shut down my Taurus plant, I didn't relocate to Kentucky like my fellow Ford Employee and found employment in the Aviation field not far where my Taurus plant used to stand.   Ford treated me well in a bad situation and I bear them no animus.  I kept my Ford Stock when it was really low and refused to sell.  I was proud that Ford didn't take the bailout like the other domestic automakers.  I owned a 1986 Mustang and drove it for 5 years on the autobahns of Europe, that was fun.  I want to own a Mustang again and a Shelby is on the top of my dream list.

2013 Ford Shelby GT500 rated at 662 hp, for the love of all that’s holy

Speaking to a gathering of Mustang and Shelby fans in Los Angeles last week, the chief engineer of the upcoming 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 let slip the car's official stats: 662 hp, 631 ft-lbs of torque, and enough miles per gallon to avoid the gas guzzler tax. We've managed to confirm the numbers and add a few more that shows Ford will soon create not just the most powerful street-ready Mustang ever, but the most powerful sports car from any Detroit automaker.

For those who may get confused by the permutations of Shelby, Cobras and Mustangs on the market, the 2013 Shelby GT500 will still be rated below the altered Mustangs built by Carroll Shelby's own Shelby American shop, which can be tuned up to 1,000 hp. But it's still enough for the full factory-warrantied Ford to beat not just any Chevrolet Camaro, but the Chevy Corvette ZR1 and even the claimed 640 hp from the V-10 in the revived 2013 SRT Viper.

Jamal Hameedi, chief engineer for Ford's SVT division and the man in charge of the Shelby, told the gathering that the 2013 would get fuel economy of 15 mpg in the city and 24 mpg highway, for 18 mph combined -- a sufficient level to avoid a federal gas penalty, and 5 mpg better than the Chevy Camaro ZL1. He also said the GT500 has enough torque to snap to 60 mph in first gear; how it keeps from shredding tires at every stoplight remains an open question.

Ford shared with us a few other notes about the Shelby: It's still claiming the most powerful production V8 in the world, although Koenigsegg would disagree about what defines "production." Unlike the peaky engines of years past, 90 percent of the GT500's power from the supercharged 5.8-liter V8 is available between 2,000 revs and its redline; at just above idle, it's making nearly as much torque -- 395 ft-lbs -- as the Camaro SS makes at its peak.

One other tidbit, according to the Team Shelby forums: The engine runs so hot and requires so much cooling that the GT500 will do without any front grille. At a top speed supposedly near 200 mph, who would notice it's gone?

Ford also sent over this graphic showing the power curves of the Shelby. Viper who?

We are screwed

I took a test to see how well informed I am versus the regular American public,
    The link is http://pewresearch.org/politicalquiz/

     I got this off Wirecutter's blog

    Like he said, we are in deep trouble I consider myself to be fairly average in overall knowledge, and I did better than 92% of the American public....the state of ignorance is truly frightening, that is what you get when you let the fed's educate the kids.  I think that the bottom 50% probably vote democrat since political knowledge and information isn't their interest, whereas TMZ and what the latest going on in Hollywood with the celebrity worship we have going on here seems to be their interest.   These people have the same vote like we do, I almost wish we could give people IQ test before giving them power of the ballot box.

The quiz was made up of 13 questions excerpted from the larger Knowledge Survey. Your responses do not affect the survey results.

Read the report What the Public Knows About the Political Parties

E-mail Updates Sign up to receive updates on other Pew Research Center reports and interactive features.

Find out how your score compares with other Americans who took the test in our national telephone survey:

Overall Score

How you did, question by question

Demographic breakdowns by question

Wallace and Gromit

A friend got me hooked on Wallace and Gromit cartoons a few years ago...Thanks Shelldude

The fight against tyranny is in the playbook.

   Saw this rant here and borrowed it

     Thanks Gunny

our Founders crafted. If we lose in November, and that is doubtful at this point because the economy sucks, Obama lies and we know it, gas prices are high because Obama and Chu are green energy morons, and on and on. HOWEVER, should we lose in November and the Manchurian Candidate gets four more years to be flexible and bendable for Putin, Medvedev, the Muslim Brotherhood, Iran and the Mad Mullahs, along with endless vacations, we have four weapons left in our arsenal.
1.  Nullification:  In Article VI, Clause 2, of the United States Constitution, it so states that all laws of the United States made in pursuance of the U.S. Constitution, and all treaties made and ratified by the United States Senate, are the supreme law of the land. 
Now what does that mean to us? Any law passed by the Federal Government, i.e., ObummerKare, not falling under the authority granted to the Feds by the States in the Constitution are unconstitutional. Thus the 57 states are not legally bound to them. What the Left fails to understand is that the U.S. Constitution is a contract between the Federal Government and the various States and the States DO NOT have to follow any laws that are outside of that contract because they are then a breach of that contract. The fact that schools teach the utter bullshit that ALL federal laws overcede ALL State laws does not necessarily make it so. ONLY the laws passed by CONGRESS, under the authority of the US Constitution are the law of the land. In other words, Barry’s Executive Orders are simply bullshit scribbled on paper and the States have the duty to disregard them. For more on Nullification, Thomas Jefferson wrote a masterpiece in his draft on the Kentucky Resolution. Also read Marbury v. Madison (1803) wherin the Supreme Court grabbed the power to decide what laws ARE and ARE NOT Constitution, bypassing State’s Rights and the Founder’s intent.
2.  Constitutional Convention:  This is outlined in Federalist Papers Number 85 (a must read) and the ONLY WAY to change the Constitution is through the amendment process and not by Obama’s Executive Orders, or his wishes, or the wishes of the Progressive Caucus (Communists) and it is not widely known that the first TEN amendments were proposed by the STATES and therefore a State, as well as Congress, can propose an amendment. A Constitutional Convention is called when 2/3rds of the 50 (57) states make an application for a convention and to date, according to a REAL Law professor at the UofA, there have been over 700 applications for a convention that Congress refused to acknowledge, which is, of course, UNconstitutional. This requires more research by the Gunny but you can bet your bottom dollar that Congress (probably Democrat Majority ones for the most part) DENY these conventions because States would gather to LIMIT Federal power and revoke the idiocy of liberal thinking like Corruptocrat Conyers “Good and Plenty” clause. (Not such clause exists) Considering how Federal prosecutors LIED and WITHHELD evidence that would have exonerated former Senator Ted Stevens and deprived Alaskans of their long-time Senator who was defeated because of his conviction that was later overturned in 2009. BTW, NOTHING was done to these Federal prosecutors by the Obama DOJ. In other words, this was done to throw the election to Mark Begich. One of them, William Welch, retired from the Feds and is working in private practice. It seems we NEED a convention to seriously roll back Federal intrusion.
3. Revolution at the Ballot Box:  Think of the TEA Party raising enough ruckus, peacefully, that Washington has to listen and abide by the will of the people. This worked in 2010 because WE got involved and helped run Democrat corruptocrats and some RINOs OUT of office and elected Conservatives such as LtCol Allen West. When we are informed, refuse to be complacent, educate others, and VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!, we retake this nation a piece at a time. When we work to elect a local Conservative, call, email, stump, and talk for national conservatives, we have an impact. Only when we are “the silent majority” do we lose and we can NO LONGER afford to be silent. Remember one salient point of American history and that is, our Revolution started in the minds of patriots, then the churches, taverns, and meeting halls, and then the streets.
4.  Revolution with the Cartridge Box:  Sometimes evil and tyranny cannot be overcome at the ballot box, especially with the corruption of the Democrats and their massive history of voter fraud, think ACORN. At first we peacefully tried to separate from Britain but when they came for our firearms at Concord, the first shots were fired at Lexington Green, which is why our Founders included the Second Amendment in the Constitution. Remember that Britain was a central government, like the kind Obama wants, which ALWAYS leads to tyranny and oppression and genocide in the end.

“In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.” — Thomas Jefferson

“And what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.” Thomas Jefferson, November 13, 1787.

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” — John Adams
There can no longer be ANY doubt that the Obama Regime and many in the Congress no longer follow the Rule of Law and seek to oppress the people with onerous legislation like ObamaKare that taxes for YEARS before providing any benefits and Executive Orders that are not only illegally applied to us but are unconstitutional as well. Our Founders would have revolted in a NY second over that and yet Americans today seek a peaceful resolution to that through the SCOTUS, as they should. But be warned that Obama and his minions are the oppressors and they pursue the Rule of Man as the tenets of Marxism dictate and the dedication of Saul Alinsky’s book, what Obama was raised on, to Satan, should be warning enough to us all. Perhaps Daniel Webster was thinking of Obama and his minions like Cass Sunstein, Holdern, Chu, Holder, Napolitano, etc, when he wrote:
“There are men in all ages that mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters.”
Be it Nullifcation or Revolution, it falls to US to right the wrongs of Progressivism and their cousins Marxism and Communism, inflicted on America since the days of Teddy Roosevelt.

45 Communist Goals.....

I ran across this and I have seen that many of these are true now......Makes me wonder if the Republic will survive.....

On Jan. 10, 1963, Congressman Albert S. Herlong Jr. of Florida read a list of 45 Communist goals into the Congressional Record. The list was derived from researcher Cleon Skousen’s book “The Naked Communist.”


1. U.S. should accept coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.
2. U.S. should be willing to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.
3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament by the U.S. would be a demonstration of "moral strength."

4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.
5. Extend long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.
6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.

7. Grant recognition of Red China and admission of Red China to the U.N.
8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the Germany question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.
9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the U.S. has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.
10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.
11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces.

12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.
13. Do away with loyalty oaths.
14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.

15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the U.S.
16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions, by claiming their activities violate civil rights.
17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for Socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers associations. Put the party line in textbooks.
18. Gain control of all student newspapers.
19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations that are under Communist attack.
20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book review assignments, editorial writing, policy-making positions.
21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV & motion pictures.
22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all form of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings," substituting shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms.
23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."
24.Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.
25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio and TV.
26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural and healthy."
27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity, which does not need a "religious crutch."
28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the grounds that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state"
29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.
30. Discredit the American founding fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."
31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of "the big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.
32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture – education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.
33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.
34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.
36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.
37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.
38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand or treat.
39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose communist goals.
40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.
41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.
42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special interest groups should rise up and make a "united force" to solve economic, political or social problems.
43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.
44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.
45. Repeal the Connally Reservation so the U.S. cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction over domestic problems. Give the World Court jurisdiction over domestic problems. Give the World Court jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike.

Did Blogger change the format again...?

I go to post a couple of things and noticed that the blogger dashboard has changed........sup wid dat?


    If y'all want to give me your opinion on this change, please let me know...I liked it the way it was before..

Unemployment statistics for rebuttal of koolaid drinking Obama supporters

• How about a job?  About 15 million Americans of working age have no job and are looking for work. 
  
• Every fifth man in America is out of a job. 

• Fewer Jobs.  There are 5.5 million fewer jobs right now than there were when Obama was inaugurated.

• Employment Levels.  Employment has been below the pre-recession peak for over 50 consecutive months.

• U3 Unemployment Stats.  This is the 8.2% figure quoted by Obama for last month.  This counts only people who have applied for a job in the previous four weeks.

• U6 Unemployment Stats.  This figure counts the number of people who have applied for jobs in the previous 6 weeks.  It also includes people who are working in part-time jobs who want to work full time.  The U6 unemployment rate is now around 15%

• College Graduates   In 2007 90% of all college graduates found a job.  Today that figure is 56%. 

• Nearly 87 million Americans are NOT in the labor force. 

• Dropping Out.  Since Obama was sworn in about 3 million people have dropped out of the jobs market.  These people are no longer even bothering to look for a job.  If they were still in the market – still hopeful – the unemployment rate would be about 10.8%.

• Economic Growth after Great Depression.  In 1934, 35 and 36 our economy growed at 11%, 9% and 13%.  Economic growth in 2010 was 3%.  In 2011 it was 1.7%.  This year we’re running between 2 and 3%.

• Ethnic Jobless Rates.  For young workers 20 to 24 the unemployment rate is 13%.  For Hispanic teenagers it’s 30.5%.  For black teenagers it’s 37.9%.

• Private Sector Hiring.  Through June of 2011 private sector hiring was 10 times slower after the passage of ObamaCare than it was in the 16 months prior to ObamaCare. 

• New Businesses.  We need 1 million new businesses every year to sustain growth.  We’re running about 400,000 right now.

• Layoffs and Hiring.  In the first months of 2012 layoffs have risen 18% from a year ago.  Hiring plans have dropped 82%.

• Per Capita Income.  In May of 2008 per capital income in the U.S. was at $37,752.  It’s now at $37,606.  Adjust this for inflation and you have $36,641 in 2008 dropping to $32,600 now.  This is the first time since the 1930s that inflation-adjusted incomes have decreased in America. 

• Welfare  Over $1 trillion spent on government entitlement programs in the last two years.

• Welfare Increase  A 5,500% jump in means tested welfare since 1970. 

• Welfare percentage  Over ½ of households in America have someone receiving entitlement checks. 

• Food Stamps  Under Obama food stamp use has increased by 41%.

• Every 7^th person you pass on the sidewalk is on food stamps.

EBT Cards   The increase in the use of EBT cards is 135%.

Obama doggie recipe's

I saw this on GOC

    I saw how the democraps tried to ridicule Romney about putting his dog  in a carrier on the roof of his car back in '81 and people finally are vetting Obungler and saw the comment about chowing down on Rover and it exploded all over the blogosphere.....hehehe that is how you handle the democraps...ridicule and humor.

Obama Favorite Dog Recipes
Chicken Poodle Soup
Chihuahua-Changa
Chou Chou Mien
Pup Tarts
Hambeagle Helper
Beef Terrier-aki
Lox and Beagle
Pugs in a Blanket
Eggs Rover Easy
Rin Tin Tin Din Din
In honor of Obama, people are now referring to Romney's dog on a roof incident as "Meals on Wheels".

People may lose the ability to connect to the internet in July

I got this off Huffpost, I already checked my computer and my wife's computer.  I figured I would post this on the blogosphere.

                                               

WASHINGTON (AP) — For computer users, a few mouse clicks could mean the difference between staying online and losing Internet connections this summer.
Unknown to most of them, their problem began when international hackers ran an online advertising scam to take control of infected computers around the world. In a highly unusual response, the FBI set up a safety net months ago using government computers to prevent Internet disruptions for those infected users. But that system is to be shut down.
The FBI is encouraging users to visit a website run by its security partner, http://www.dcwg.org , that will inform them whether they're infected and explain how to fix the problem. After July 9, infected users won't be able to connect to the Internet.
Most victims don't even know their computers have been infected, although the malicious software probably has slowed their web surfing and disabled their antivirus software, making their machines more vulnerable to other problems.
Last November, the FBI and other authorities were preparing to take down a hacker ring that had been running an Internet ad scam on a massive network of infected computers.
"We started to realize that we might have a little bit of a problem on our hands because ... if we just pulled the plug on their criminal infrastructure and threw everybody in jail, the victims of this were going to be without Internet service," said Tom Grasso, an FBI supervisory special agent. "The average user would open up Internet Explorer and get 'page not found' and think the Internet is broken."
On the night of the arrests, the agency brought in Paul Vixie, chairman and founder of Internet Systems Consortium, to install two Internet servers to take the place of the truckload of impounded rogue servers that infected computers were using. Federal officials planned to keep their servers online until March, giving everyone opportunity to clean their computers. But it wasn't enough time. A federal judge in New York extended the deadline until July.
Now, said Grasso, "the full court press is on to get people to address this problem." And it's up to computer users to check their PCs.
This is what happened:
Hackers infected a network of probably more than 570,000 computers worldwide. They took advantage of vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Windows operating system to install malicious software on the victim computers. This turned off antivirus updates and changed the way the computers reconcile website addresses behind the scenes on the Internet's domain name system.
The DNS system is a network of servers that translates a web address — such as www.ap.org — into the numerical addresses that computers use. Victim computers were reprogrammed to use rogue DNS servers owned by the attackers. This allowed the attackers to redirect computers to fraudulent versions of any website.
The hackers earned profits from advertisements that appeared on websites that victims were tricked into visiting. The scam netted the hackers at least $14 million, according to the FBI. It also made thousands of computers reliant on the rogue servers for their Internet browsing.
When the FBI and others arrested six Estonians last November, the agency replaced the rogue servers with Vixie's clean ones. Installing and running the two substitute servers for eight months is costing the federal government about $87,000.
The number of victims is hard to pinpoint, but the FBI believes that on the day of the arrests, at least 568,000 unique Internet addresses were using the rogue servers. Five months later, FBI estimates that the number is down to at least 360,000. The U.S. has the most, about 85,000, federal authorities said. Other countries with more than 20,000 each include Italy, India, England and Germany. Smaller numbers are online in Spain, France, Canada, China and Mexico.
Vixie said most of the victims are probably individual home users, rather than corporations that have technology staffs who routinely check the computers.
FBI officials said they organized an unusual system to avoid any appearance of government intrusion into the Internet or private computers. And while this is the first time the FBI used it, it won't be the last.
"This is the future of what we will be doing," said Eric Strom, a unit chief in the FBI's Cyber Division. "Until there is a change in legal system, both inside and outside the United States, to get up to speed with the cyber problem, we will have to go down these paths, trail-blazing if you will, on these types of investigations."
Now, he said, every time the agency gets near the end of a cyber case, "we get to the point where we say, how are we going to do this, how are we going to clean the system" without creating a bigger mess than before.
___
Online:
To check and clean computers: http://www.dcwg.org

If I wanted America to fail....

I saw this video while surfing YouTube...Please watch it.

Public Debt

I am back harping on the debt.  If Obungler get reelected, we will be past the point of no return, and will behave like Greece when the financial necessities force a curtailment of the out of control entitlement spending.

    Here is a poster I saw while surfing around.

 

Earth day 2012....

Yes today is Earth day, the day that we are supposed to show appreciation to the Earth for all that she has done for us.....In honor of V.I Lenin's Birthday,   "Earth day" I will show how to leave a proper carbon foot print, I will leave all my lights on and play my radio as loud as possible and still have 1/100 of the carbon footprint of Al Gore the father of the internet the Pope of the Stick it to the Western Nations er the wealth transferance in the name of fairness,  er  the Global Warming scam,  the Climate Change movement.
      Earth day started in 1971 by a bunch of communist, American hating, protesting the Vietnam war hippies,  The 60's generation. 
      Funny how things have changed, from a radical day of atonement for all of our environmental sins to a day that is celebrated as a mainstream holiday...I guess we have slid to the left again in the name of cultural marxism, er the Politically correct movement.
    

13 Politically Incorrect Gun Rules for Conservatives

April 18, 2012

1. Guns have only two enemies: rust and politicians.
2. It’s always better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6.
3. Cops carry guns to protect themselves, not you.
4. Never let someone or something that threatens you get inside arms length.

5. Never say, “I’ve got a gun.” If you need to use deadly force, the first sound they hear should be the safety clicking off.
6. The average response time of a 911 call is 23 minutes; the response time of a .357 is 1400 feet per second.
7. The most important rule in a gunfight is: Always win – cheat if necessary.
8. Make your attacker advance through a wall of bullets . . . You may get killed with your own gun, but he’ll have to beat you to death with it, because it’ll be empty.
9. If you’re in a gunfight:

• If you’re not shooting, you should be loading.
• If you’re not loading, you should be moving.
• If you’re not moving, you’re dead.

10. In a life and death situation, do something . . . It may be wrong, but do something!
11. If you carry a gun, people call you paranoid. Nonsense! If you have a gun, what do you have to be paranoid about?
12. You can say ‘stop’ or ‘alto’ or any other word, but a large bore muzzle pointed at someone’s head is pretty much a universal language.
13. You cannot save the planet, but you may be able to save yourself and your family.

Liberal Gas prices..Who's fault is it now...?

I shamelessly clipped this from Irish

    After watching this video it reminds me how much in the tank the lame stream media is to the democraps and to Obungler.  It is to us to keep driving this point home.

Precision Drill Team for us older Veterans

Saw this on an e-mail link I had gotten from some of the places I used to be stationed at.

       I thought it was hilarious...but that is me.

    

Bird Strike on Delta flight 1063

     The airplane is a Delta  BOEING 757-232, I looked at several of the pics that were shown by the video below and looks like they pieced several different airplanes, looks like they used a 777 in the footage also.  I hate it when people use generic footage, it tells a false monologue.   As an aviation person I am glad that the passengers are well and that there were no injuries reported. 

New video footage has been released from inside Delta Flight 1063, which made an emergency landing at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on Thursday.

The new video, posted by RightThisMinute, was captured by a Delta passenger who was filming the flight's takeoff as a flock of birds flew past the passenger window moments before striking the plane's right engine.

The site has also posted video from just after the plane's emergency landing, during which a passenger discusses the experience. You can also view footage taken from inside the plane moments after the bird strike occurred.

Delta Flight 1063 was originally headed for Los Angeles, but was able to safely return to JFK after the engine malfunction took place.

CNN correspondent Ali Velshi was on the flight and reports hearing "a loud grinding noise" and feeling the plane shaking shortly after takeoff. "Moments later, the cabin started filling with smoke." 

He said there was "no panic on the flight" and that "the crew was fantastic."

Bird strikes are fairly common. The FAA reports there were 2,586 bird strikes at JFK alone since 1990, though most are not considered to pose any risk to aircraft or passengers.

In 2009's "Miracle on the Hudson," Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger safely landed AIRBUS A320 US Airways Flight 1549 on New York's Hudson River after the plane struck a flock of geese and lost power in both engines shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport.

Fortress homes

I personally like the Transformer home in Poland, the others are too flashy for my view.   I am a fledgling prepper, I believe in the survive in place theory.  Whereas some have the bug out bag and bolt for the hills, I disagree because you will then be a refugee depending on others to survive.  If you have a bugout location already prepped, then you are doing good.  In the event of a great socioeconomic upheaval, plastic will be worthless and cash may be devalued.  You may have to barter and some communities will not like strangers.  Unless circumstance force you to leave, you are better off staying at home and working on your preparation at home because that is where all your stuff is.

Incredible fortress homes

By John Giuffo, Forbes.com

April 18, 2012

Provided by:

This Transformer-like home in Warsaw, Poland can turn from concrete fortress to glass house. Photos: KWK Promes

Built in 1994 for an art-collector couple keen on protecting their investments, the concrete-and-steel stronghold of Hollywood’s 2260 Sunset Plaza Drive has the sort of security system one might expect to see in an FBI building.
The entryway, the gates and the interior spaces—even the bedrooms—require a keycard to gain access. High-resolution security cameras keep watch throughout the entire building. And in case of emergency, there’s an industrial-grade home generator and elaborate fire suppression system—all of which can be operated by smartphone.
In Pictures: Incredible fortress homes On the market for $11.9 million (recently upped from $8.9 million), the home is being put up for sale by an internationally famous DJ. “I can’t say who he is,” says Santiago Arana, who is handling the sale for Partners Trust Real Estate, “but I can say that he is on the level of David Guetta.”
Not all fortress homes rely on fancy camera systems and state-of-the-art technology. Chateau Artisan, for example, uses the time-tested security feature of a water moat to keep would-be intruders out. Architect Charles Sieger, who designed and lives in the expansive home—maintained with the help of live-in staff—the home was a test of his own creativity.
“It was specifically modeled as an experiment on my part,” says Sieger. “And I did that just to see if I could do it.” Heavy metal gates guard the single driveway in or out of the house on its man-made island, which sits in the center of a 14-acre property surrounded by thick hedgerows. There are also regular and infrared cameras on the main road, and cameras on all of the doors—perhaps a concession to the modern security needs of a 21st century mansion. “I was going to have the bridge be a drawbridge,” says Sieger, “but it cost too much to build.”
Read on for more fortress homes ready for any invasion:
The Creech House
Location: Whitefish, Montana
Price: $16 million

The home is a ski lodge and high-tech fortress all in one. Photo: Sotheby's International Realty

Many mountain cabins provide breathtaking views and easy access to the slopes, but for some devoted ski-aficionados, that’s not enough. With its elaborate electronic-control features and a high-tech security system, the home makes up in digital “fortress” features what it lacks in concrete walls. On-site and smartphone-accessible security features can control home operations such as a full view of the exterior, a detailed alarm system, the ability to contact police and fire departments remotely and checking locks on windows. Add to that being able to keep tabs on the activity in most rooms.
“It’s a nice little feature to see your what your kids are doing,” says owner Kay Creech. And with 16 rooms, seven bedrooms (with the ability to sleep 34 if necessary), 10 bathrooms, and four decks that open up to views of Glacier National Park, any tool to help you keep track of the kids is essential. The home is currently on the market for $16 million.

Transforming Concrete Fortress
Location: Warsaw, Poland

The Warsaw home with its concrete wall retracted. Photo: KWK Promes

Like a Transformer with a minimalist non-robot mode, this Warsaw concrete compound, designed by architect Robert Konieczny of KWK Promes, can convert itself from an open floor-to-ceiling glass window home into a concrete-clad cube in seconds.
You’ve heard of a panic room? This is a panic home with a panoramic view and lockdown mode. Once the 50-foot retractable concrete wall shutters are closed, the drawbridge (yes, a drawbridge), and the 20-foot metal roll-down gate closes off the glass anterior of the home, this concrete cube can ride out almost any scenario you throw at it. As far as owners who value their security above all else, this home is the gold standard of privacy and protection.

The Fortress Home
Location: Los Angeles, California
Price: $11.9 million

Getting from room to room in this L.A. house will require a security card. Photo: Realtor.com

Located on a ridge high up in the Hollywood Hills, a steel and concrete sanctuary sits, blocked off from the road behind it, and essentially inaccessible from every other direction. The home features views of the Los Angeles sprawl beneath it (an especially inspiring view at night, when the city becomes a string of electric pearls).
smartphone. City regulations have since banned the construction of such homes, so the property, currently on the market for $11.9 million is truly a rare find.

Malator House
Location: Pembrokeshire, United Kingdom

The "Teletubby House" is built into the ground by the bay. Photo: Loweswatercam.co.uk

Like a chameleon peeking out from beneath the grass, the Malator (or the Teletubby House, as it’s colloquially known because of its striking similarity to the home featured in the famous British children’s TV show) blends almost seamlessly into the lush green hills surrounding its perch over St. Brides Bay in Wales.
Most of the home is located underground, featuring an earthen roof that perfectly emulates the hills around it, with the glass front facing the bay (the only hint that there’s a home hidden somewhere below). Like a Hobbit hole of contemporary experimental architecture, the Malator was designed and built in 1998 by avant-garde architectural firm Future Systems, now known as Amanda Levete Architects after a company split in 2008.

Chateau Artisan
Location: Homestead, Florida
Price: $10.9 million

Anyone wanting to invade this Florida home will have to get past the moat. Photo: Charles Sieger

Charles Sieger, half of the Miami architectural firm Sieger Suarez, made a name by designing and building creative high-rise residential and commercial buildings. But when it came to designing his own home, Sieger instead drew his inspiration from the French and British chateaus (hence the home’s name), medieval castles, and manor houses.
He dug out a giant circular moat (a time-tested invasion deterrent) to surround the $10.9 million home, built one road leading in and out of the home, put up a heavy metal gate, and installed regular and infrared cameras along the road and around the house. “In particular, I bought the property because it was on the side of a canal, which also provides protection” says Sieger.
Click here to see more photos of incredible fortress homes.

Thank you Obama......

I saw this post from the Gunny and was really impressed by his turning of the written word.  So I shamelessly ripped it off.  

THANK YOU BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA by Gunny G

You know something, even the Gunny is not above some soul-searching and in doing so, he realized that he has been very mean to Obama over and over and over again and he sincerely apologizes to Barry for that. Gunny [heart] Barry (but he AIN'T visiting that Chicago bathhouse with you or Rahm and we AIN'T taking late night showers together).

THANK YOU OBAMA...

For bowing to foreign leaders like King Abdullah and that Japanese dude and One Hung Lo in China and playing kissy-kiss with Hugo Chavez. Americans in the Heartland loved it. Simply awe-inspiring.

For taking the side of Zelaya (Marxist dude) in Honduras when he tried to usurp their Constitution and then being a big ol' meanie to Honduras when they ousted Zelaya. What a boost to our freedom loving reputation!

For naming dangerous radical revolutionaries (that the Secret Service and/or the DOJ refuses to investigate) like Van "9/11 Truther" Jones, Anita "cow mouth" Dunn, the screaming ballerina Rahmbutt Emanuel, John "Kill em All" Holdren, Cass "Nudge" Sunstein, etc, into your Regime. Gotta tell ya brother, America digs it.

For palling around with domestic terrorists like Bill Ayers who murdered Americans, maimed others, and thinks that the slaughter of 25 million Americans who refuse to be "reeducated" is, well, nothing to be upset over. Man, law enforcement simply thought that was so cool and us vets whom he scorns? Wunderbar. (That's German, not Austrian, Barry, for you are one shithot dude!)

For spending us to the brink of disaster and adding tens of thousands of dollars of debt to my grand, great-grandchildren yet unborn. They SOOOOOOOOO love that. Those that don't get aborted since WHO wants a mistake on their hands huh?

For lying over and over and over and over and over again to the America people because you think that we're stupid. We are, or rather, 52.9% of the population is. The rest of us, not so much and when you stutter, i.e., "I,I,I,I,I,I, will ______" we know you lie. But you do it so smoothly that we really like it. It makes us feel ALL warm and fuzzy inside.

For making the American Nation a food stamp nation. How COOL it is to be not only UNEMPLOYED thanks to your awesome economic wizards like Austen Goolsby who threw money at anything hoping it will stick, but to have to use food stamps, er, EBT cards to feed your family! Why, killing the dignity and self-respect of a father, breadwinner, husband, especially a white cracker, is awesome.

For giving us ObamaKare in that cool backroom middle-of-the-night deal that will add trillions to our debt and turn 1/6th of the economy over to stupid bureaucrats that can't even manage their own lives, i.e., Weiner, Patrick Kennedy, etc, that we are literally down on our knees in thanks. Standing in lines and waiting months and months for an operation and then, when old, getting the blue pill...thanks Barry (sniff, sniff, wiping eyes).

For refusing to follow that stupid old document created by white racists only concerned with enriching themselves you go Barry! The HELL with following the War Powers Act of 1974! The HELL with following your Constitutional Oath to defend the borders against invasion (illegal aliens) because we KNOW you need those votes and your homies need cheap landscaping. Start those illegal wars like in Libya, lie to the American people about troops on the ground (500 were), and forge your path to a dictatorship you rebel you! Damn the Constitution of the USA and UP the Constitution of the former Soviet Union because you seem to be following THAT more and believe you me Barry, America thanks you!

For kissing the unwashed ass of Iran, who works SO hard to be peaceful and who only needs nukes for self-protection, heedless of their threats to Israel and the West. Oh, and speaking of Israel, your hot-mic incident and rude treatment of that bad ol Jew meanie Bibi Netanyahu was epic. How America SWOONED when you left the USA for a vacation and Bibi gave a speech before Congress that rocked the house and it was ALL for you Barry. When you told Sarkozy that you really hate that big ol bull Bibi, man, we had your back. You stud you, who KNEW that you, a skinny pencil-neck would stand up to a bull of a man and a former Sayeret Matkal (Israeli SEALs) by talking about Bibi when he was about 8,000 miles away. You bad-ass warrior you.

For whacking Osama bin Farting. Barry, when you fast-roped in ahead of the SEALs and double-tapped Public Enemy #1 while the SEALs held your jacket, yeeeeah baby, America had a collective hard-on visible from space shuttles, that is IF we had any workable space shuttles now that you shut down the program. Whoda thought America would be asking the Russians for a ride into space? Barry, that was truly a work of art...so crafty. Why, you're an espionage genius!

For driving up inflation and the price of food through fantastic economic miracles like Quantitative Easing 1, 2, and 3 as well as Cash for Clunkers and constantly printing the money we need. WHO CARES that food is higher priced and coming in smaller amounts, i.e., a pound of bacon is now 14 ounces vice 16! LESS truly IS MORE! What the heck, we're all so fat, we can go on that diet your cousin Mugabe gave to HIS people in Zimbabwe.

For ending that STUPID XL Keystone pipeline that stood in the way of your buddies Buffett and Soros and Senator Ben Nelson making millions and millions. WHO needs that stupid old fossil fuel ANYWAY when we have Solyndra, the Chevy Dolt, Fisker, Stephen Chu, Solar City, and the rest of those pioneers using taxpayer dollars that somehow find their back into your campaign coffers? Piffle on that pipeline and those 20,000 jobs. After all, Nancy Pelosi said it best when she said, "unemployment checks stimulate the economy!"

For letting us know that dog meat is, "the other white meat."

Finally Barry, we really want to thank you for driving up the price of gas (120% since 2009) because we have finally realized that we were driving too much and enjoying WAYYY too much freedom of movement being able to drive when and where we wanted. How stupid of us and thank you for showing us the light...as your fine lovely bride stated recently, "Barack brought America out of the dark and into the light." Too true.

We truly want to thank you a million times over Barry, for rewriting our history, our traditions, our customs, and for putting your feet up in the Oval Office on stupid racist desks like the Resolute desk, that old antique coffee table, etc. Hey, WHO CARES that they are national treasures. Bah humbug.

Karzai wants the U.S. to guarentee 2 billion annually

I am missing something here, the corrupt Afghan president after crapping all over us during the Koran incident the repeatedly green on blue incidents, and throwing us under the bus internationally now wants the United states to give them 2 billion dollars to train the Afghan military and police.  Lessee the level of corruption in the Afghan armed forces and the police is already legendary, the Officers regularly steal from their their own troops, they stiff their training and rip off their pay and rations to self enrich themselves.  I wonder how much of this money will " vanish" to super secret accounts in Switzerland and other places once we pull out they will have a nice nest egg to live lavishly after the taliban sweep in because of the rampant corruption of the government officials have impacted the average Afghan.

Afghan President Wants US to Guarantee $2 Billion Annually

April 17, 2012
Brian Padden | Islamabad, Pakistan
A day after Afghan forces with NATO support fought off multiple attacks by Taliban militants, Afghan President Hamid Karzai is focusing on ensuring international financial support after most Western combat troops leave in 2014. In a speech Tuesday, Karzai said he wants the U.S. to guarantee at least $2 billion annually to fund the Afghan army and police under a strategic partnership agreement now being negotiated between the two countries.
Both the U.S. and Afghanistan want a strategic partnership agreement to demonstrate America's commitment to stay engaged in Afghanistan after 2014. Karzai said negotiations have stalled over whether or not to include in the agreement a minimum of $2 billion dollars a year to fund the Afghan army and police.
Karzai said the U.S. side indicated that in the future it may want to increase the amount of funding, but that he wants the strategic partnership document to include a written guarantee that Washington will provide at least $2 billion to Afghan security forces annually.
U.S. officials said they could pay up to about $4 billion a year to fund Afghan forces. But they also said the strategic pact is not meant to be a detailed aid package, but rather a broad framework committing both sides to continue to work together for years to come.
Sunday's attacks by Taliban militants in the Afghan capital and in the eastern Nangarhar, Logar and Paktia provinces have raised concerns about the readiness of Afghan forces to maintain security without U.S. and NATO support.
U.S. officials are pushing to sign the deal before a NATO conference in Chicago in May.
But negotiations over the long-term pact with the U.S. have dragged on for months as Karzai has asked for specific commitments before signing. The biggest of these demands - that the U.S. transfer authority over detainees and night raids to the Afghan government - have been recently resolved.
The Afghan president's comments suggest a growing concern on the Afghan side that the U.S. will not follow through on its promises after most American soldiers leave.
The U.S. has already greatly reduced some funding for development programs in Afghanistan, and a number of NATO nations are accelerating their withdrawal timetables. On Tuesday, Australia announced it would to pull out its troops nearly a year earlier than planned.

Reagan vs Obama

Loyal Dog stays by friends side

Time and again, dogs have proved that "man's best friend" is more than just an expression. A black Labrador retriever named Grace is exemplifying that in an entirely new way and being hailed as more than just good companion. She is being called a loyal friend to the end and beyond. A motorist in La Puente, California, captured video of Grace lying down next to her friend, a yellow Labrador retriever who had been struck and injured by another vehicle.

Grace lies patiently next to the other dog as cars whiz by dangerously close to the lane she and her companion are positioned in. She does not seem bothered by the noise or the busy street as she stays by her companion's side. The motorist who shot the video put out safety cones to protect the dogs and then called animal control.

So far, the video has been viewed almost 200,000 times on YouTube. Unfortunately, Grace's companion did not survive. As for Grace, she is up for adoption at the Baldwin Park Animal Shelter. Shelter workers say that she appears to have been well cared for, but no owner has come forward yet to claim her. With all the attention she's getting on the Web and in the news for her loyalty, Grace should have no problem finding a new home.

George Washington named Britains greatest Military Opponent.

You realize the power of personality that enabled Washington to stay in the field against the British especially in the dark days of 1776-1778 when his rag tag army kept getting vanquished by the British, the machination of Congress that seemed more in self enriching and power politics than supporting the Army in the field.  The various wanna be generals that kept trying to usurp George Washington's role in the Continental Army.  The road to victory that took a long time with setbacks along the way.  Finally when the victory was won, George Washington resigns and goes back to being a private citizen.  And when the republic was being formed with the U.S. Constitution after the articles of confederations have failed, he was offered king or emperor.  George Washington refused stating that " we have fought against tyranny of the Crown, to then go back to the same system?"  George Washington's faith was legendary as was his belief in the republic.  Even now he is still revered as the greatest American President.

George Washington named Britain's greatest ever military opponent

Published April 15, 2012

NewsCore

LONDON –  George Washington has been named Britain's greatest ever foe, according to the UK's National Army Museum.
The American Revolutionary War hero and the country's first president was the winner of a vote held at the museum Saturday to identify the Britain's most outstanding military opponent, The (London) Daily Telegraph reported.
The museum drew up a list of 20 candidates, which was whittled down to a shortlist of five. On Saturday, five historians presented the case for each commander to an audience of 70 guests at the west London museum who then voted.
Washington was named ahead of Michael Collins, who led Ireland to independence from the UK; France's Napoleon Bonaparte; Erwin Rommel, the German World War II commander; and Turkish World War I leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
To qualify for the vote, each commander had to come from the 17th century onwards -- the period covered by the museum's collection --- and had to have led an army in the field against the British, which excluded political enemies like Adolf Hitler.

North Korea rocket launch fizzles....

Northcom Acknowledges North Korean Missile Launch, Failure

By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, April 12, 2012 – North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command officials acknowledged today that U.S. systems detected and tracked a launch of a North Korean TaepoDong-2 missile at 6:39 p.m. EDT.
The missile was tracked on a southerly launch over the Yellow Sea, according to a statement issued from Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado.
Initial indications are that the missile’s first stage fell into the sea 102.5 miles west of Seoul, South Korea, the statement says. The other two stages were assessed to have failed and no debris fell on land, it says.
“At no time were the missile or resulting debris a threat,” it says.
“Despite the failure of its attempted missile launch,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said in a statement tonight, “North Korea’s provocative action threatens regional security, violates international law and contravenes its own recent commitments.”
The action is not surprising given North Korea’s pattern of aggressive behavior, he added, but any missile activity by North Korea is of concern to the international community.
“The United States remains vigi