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By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

There are many rituals in accordance with tradition, but there is one tradition that very few people know about.

Shortly after a new Pope is enthroned, the Chief Rabbi of Rome seeks an audience. He is shown into the Pope's presence, whereupon he presents the Pope with a silver tray bearing a velvet cushion. On top of the cushion is an ancient, shriveled envelope. The Pope symbolically stretches out his arm in a gesture of rejection. The Chief Rabbi then retires, taking the envelope with him and does not return until the next Pope is elected.

A new Pope's reign was shortly followed by a new Chief Rabbi. He was intrigued by this ritual and that its origins were unknown to him. He instructed the best scholars of the Vatican to research it, but they came up with nothing.

When the time came and the Chief Rabbi was shown into his presence, they faithfully enacted the ritual rejection but, as the Chief Rabbi turned to leave, the Pope called him back.

"My brother," the Pope whispered, "I must confess that we Catholics are ignorant of the meaning of this ritual enacted for centuries between us and you, the representative of the Jewish people. I have to ask you, what is it all about?"

The Chief Rabbi shrugged and replied: "We have no more idea than you do. The origin of the ceremony is lost in the traditions of ancient history."

The Pope said: "Let us retire to my private chambers and enjoy a glass of kosher wine together; then with your agreement, we shall open the envelope and discover the secret at last." The Chief Rabbi agreed.

Fortified in their resolve by the wine, they gingerly pried open the curling parchment envelope and with trembling fingers, the Chief Rabbi reached inside and extracted a folded sheet of similarly ancient paper.

As the Pope peered over his shoulder, he slowly opened it. They both gasped with shock —

It was a bill for the Last Supper — from "Moishe the Caterer."

Remark: that joke is probably as old as Papacy, but right now it's relevant again, for a while...

March is here and soon it will (finally) be spring. Thank god. There is no season that does more for my mental well being than spring. And since I try my best not to dance in the streets anymore, I celebrate this much needed change in little ways. Like on my hands.

My hands are in terrible shape right now. Thanks to another weekend spent working on the One Room Challenge the insides are an umpa lumpa orange from removing stain and my fingers are covered in paint...again. Not to mention their general dryness.

But as soon as my projects are complete, the first place I'm going is to get myself a mani/pedi. There is no better reward. Now to decide which spring colors to choose.

all colors by Essie

How do you celebrate the (almost) arrival of spring? Did this winter last as long for you? Have you seen my flip flops? I can't find them anywhere.

The End Is, Ur, ALMOST Nigh
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
*******************

In keeping with today's custom of placing everyone in a class, group, a pigeon hole of some kind, you can place me in with the: "It ain't gonna be so bad" crowd.

I think weathering the results of SEQUESTER will all depend upon just how much pain our paternalistic ruler Obama wants to bring to bear on his wayward children.

Yep!  This ain't my first rodeo.  Been around THIS block before.  Deja vu, all over again. All those little pearls of wisdom apply.

I have never seen it fail -- from the local level to the national and international level -- when the amount of money any government lays claim to is threatened by a decrease, they ALWAYS cry doom and gloom, rolling out images of "The End of Days."  ALWAYS.

You may find this difficult to believe (If you follow the Mainstream Media, that is.) -- but nobody much is listening to the President's dire predictions of imploding government.  (Actually, nobody, much, is listening to the President anymore, anyway!)

I sometime think the politicians and the press have forgotten about all of us consumers of news out here in the hinterlands and they are just talking ABOUT themselves TO themselves.

Think about it for a moment:  If the public HAD been listening to all the blather coming from the MsM and from inside the beltway of DC in the past few months, there would be panicked crowds running rampant in the streets of America.  There are not.

So ... why not? What happened?

Well, for those of us who do not worship at the feet of Obama, it became clear during Obama's first campaign that the MsM would be the democratic propaganda bureau for all things Obama.  We turned them off THEN.

As it became clear to those who support Obama or, at least, DID support Obama, there was, and is, a near incestuous relationship between the Mainstream Media and Obama, many have, themselves, shut their ears to the never ending flood of rhetoric flowing from the White House and filtered through the caresses of the prime paramour -- the Mainstream Media.

Besides, the American public has been lied to so consistently by the Obama Administration that very little value is placed on anything coming out of the White House and NOTHING from the Mainstream Media.

You know, I have come to believe, along with a number of other commentators, that the primary concern of the political left is not so much the damage sequestration might cause to the country, but that there might not be any damage -- and -- that the American people will learn that spending CAN be cut and common sense brought back to the way we manage our nation's finances and American can pull herself together and regain her power and influence in the world.   I think the progressive left fears that outcome more than anything else.

Look.  If we cannot manage what amounts to a measly two-percent cut in our spending then, I have to believe, there is no hope of America ever setting herself aright.

The President may have bitten off more than he can chew this time.  Another President once said:  "You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool ALL the people All the time."  Apparently, Obama has never heard that expression.

Peggy Noonan asked in a recent column:  "How's the president's game going?"  She went on to say:  "What's new is that almost everyone does seem to understand he's playing games. He used to get more credit. His threats of coming mayhem and his lack of interest in easing it have dimmed his luster."  SOURCE: http://online.wsj.com/article/declarations.html

It has become obvious over the past few weeks that Obama has never shifted out of campaign mode.  He is campaigning for the 2014 takeover of the House of Representatives by the democrats giving him complete and utter control of the Congress with no electorate to answer to for two whole years.  That's what Obama wants and that is his goal.

Ms. Noonan calls it "permanent campaign:" " ... the president's disdain for Congress and for Republicans, the threats of damage unless he gets his way, the first lady's forays—is part of the permanent campaign, and the immediate sequester campaign.

But they push it too far. It feels uncalibrated, over some invisible line.

It looks like what critics have long accused this White House of being—imperious, full of overreach, full of itself."  SOURCE:  http://online.wsj.com/article/declarations.html 

Frankly, my only concern about the effects of sequestration is that which it will have on the US military.   It cannot even be argued that it will decimate the US Armed Forces at a time when we are quite probably the most vulnerable we have ever been to rogue nations like North Korea and Iran not to mention the ongoing terrorist threats.

Congress should move immediately to do whatever is necessary to see that the deep cuts to our military are mitigated.

In the long run, this sequestration thing might turn out to be a good thing for America.  It is just possible that we might actually learn a little about the value of things. Even more importantly, we might learn WHICH things we REALLY need and those we don't.

Now THAT ought to scare the living daylights out of the government!

© J. D. Longstreet

Today I have for you an outfit that I wore before I left for NYFW. Running errands in the snow made me to choose this casual outfit. I was wearing my blue fuzzy coat this time combined with black and some drops of water colors accents + one of my DIY necklace. I love injecting colours in my outfits especially if I wear a lot of black. Contrasting and playful as always!
Have a great Sunday everyone!




                                                                              Coat: H&M/ now in love with this one Here
                                                                              Top: thanks to Sugarlips.com/ Here
                                                                              Necklace: DIY, made by Bogdan and I
                                                                              Boots: Lucky Brand/ option Here
                                                                              Jeans: c/o Lulu's.com/ similar Here
                                                                              Bag: Margot
                                                                              Sunglasses: thanks to zeroUV/ Here 

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny


The nation is indeed in serious trouble. The right and the left are so enmeshed in their own ideological perspective neither can differentiate between day and night. It's okay they keep reassuring themselves...  after all  those we elected are working hard at ensuring our well being. A sentiment that   will, in the long run, amount to exactly NOTHING.

Yep, the nation's electorate, which is of course us, are happy believing those we elect are going to address the problems we face and ultimately resolve them in our best interests. However, given the present realities I guess it depends on whether or not one really understand what your interests are. At this juncture in history my bet rests on most don't have a clue what there own rational self interests are, let alone how to preserve them.

Okay... whether you agree or not I'm here to tell you that 99.9% of the politicians you elect are out to accomplish one thing and one thing only, it is getting reelected. In other words the a'holes will tell you anything they think you want to here. I don't mean to offend anyone but I must say they are apparently doing a mighty fine job deciphering what they think you are saying because for the most part you keep reelecting them.

I find it interesting, indeed comical, the number of times I hear people say "it's not my representative and Senator." that is part of the problem. How foolish and naive can one be?

As a classical liberal, and for those who do not understand what that means do some research, I can only say our leadership in both parties have failed us. To be fair the socon and neocon factions of the rEpublican party are the most at fault for attempting to keep the country on a 19th and 20th century footing. I have a news flash for you, time and technology moves on. If we are to keep the nation we all love we must move on with the times as well.

On a different yet related note.

I'm not my brothers or sisters keeper. I must live for myself and act voluntarily and responsibly to insure for myself and my family the level of prosperity we desire. Having said this I will be among the first to acknowledge your rights as well as  standing up to secure and protect them if necessary. I will be ready and willing to protect you and members of your family from bodily harm to the maximum extent I am able. In return I will ask nothing other than to let me live my life as I choose. Honorably and and with the self respect I have eared the right to demand.

The beacon of liberty, prosperity, and equality has shone brightest on the North American continent and the United States of America. Have we always lived up to the lofty ideals Thomas Jefferson inscribed in our Declaration of Independence? Without hesitation I will say no, we have not. However, even given this, today we remain the freest and most productive nation the world has ever known. Whether we remain in this position depends entirely on us.

We are facing the test that time always demands of great nation states. From Ancient Greece to the Roman Empire. From the Persian Empire to the Ottoman Empire. From the Incas and the Aztecs. From the British Empire to Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union they have all failed this test. Today the United States of America facing the same test other great nation states have failed.

Will our diverse and uniquely different nation be the next to fail the test of time? I hope not. It will depend on us working together to solve the problems of a modern, diverse, and free nation. Sadly, given the current state of our nation I fear the worst.

Good Night until another time.

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny

The political games continue. Or should we say the political inability to talk across the table with sincerity and a willingness to find workable solutions continues? This nation, sooner or later will need to come to terms with its very real, and largest problem, fiscal instability and perhaps eventual insolvency. The reality is spending cuts are needed, both defense and domestic, the antiquated tax code needs to be overhauled and simplified, tax loopholes need to be closed, and yes, some degree of revenue increases needs to be implemented. If the nation is truly serious about debt reduction and achieving a balance budget it is only going to happen through spending cuts, revenue increases, tax reform, and regulatory overhaul.

The nation's lawmakers can continue acting as they have, which of course will only lead us further down the road to national fiscal destruction, or, they can take the alternative approach. Their choice really belongs to us, We the People.

Ideology is great when talking philosophy, and it is very possible to live ones philosophy as an individual throughout ones life. However, we are talking about a diverse, complex, and populous nation and  because of the different dynamics the rules of the game, out of necessity, change. Isn't it time lawmakers (and the constituents who sent them to Washington) begin acting like adults and consider what the best LONG TERM  interests of our country are?

It seems that compromise, as much as I find it distasteful in many ways, is the only course  prudent and reasonable citizens or lawmakers ought to take.

BuzzFeed - While lawmakers in Washington trade shots over the $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts, due to take effect Friday, there's a growing consensus among liberals across the country that the real threat to the social safety net isn't this fight, but the next one.

As originally designed in 2011, the deficit-reduction sequester splits cuts between defense and domestic spending, and explicitly exempted programs like Social Security and Medicaid. But no one in Washington believes the sequester cuts will be permanent, and liberals worry the deal Congress eventually reaches to replace it will slash funding to those programs — as Republicans and some Democrats have advocated.

"There's a broader concern about the fact that entitlements may get ensnared when we go to an alternative fix, [that] they won't escape," Rep. Jerry Nadler, a progressive Democrat from New York, told BuzzFeed. "I have heard that concern."

"Not only do we have the sequester, but we have to be thinking about the deal that replaces it as well," said Melissa Boteach, a director at the Center for American Progress. "Republicans have already begin to push hard for benefit cuts."

Although House Democrats signed a letter this month stating their opposition to entitlement cuts, President Barack Obama has signaled a willingness to bring such spending reductions to the table as part of a grand bargain with Republicans.

During the fiscal cliff talks last year, the president said he would consider implementing "chained CPI," a Social Security reform that would increase benefits more slowly over time... {Read More}

Via: Memeorandum

Beside sharing with you my outfits from NYFW, I'll like to show you some great street style outfits that Bogdan captured during NYFW.
I hope you like it and I will like to hear which one is your favorite?