These photos speak for themselves and don't need any presentation!
You can see here all the details that captured my attention starting with the shoes, jewelry, coats and dresses at BCBGMAXAZRIA showroom in New York last week!
Enjoy!
Pure Emotion ... FEAR Of Reality! ... J. D. Longstreet
Pure Emotion ... FEAR Of Reality!
America's Wuzzification
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
***************
I am embarrassed -- ashamed, ashamed, I tell you!
What ever happened to real men in America? Where'd they go, huh? Whatever happened to real women in America? Where'd they go? I ask because neither are readily identifiable in America any more.
The Americans that are most easily seen today are the pale, limp-wristed, weak-spined, pitiable, pliant, malleable, tractile, fall-to-the-floor-and-assume-the-fetal-position men and women who quake in their boots at the mere utterance of the word "GUN."
Egads, people! What has happened to you? What has happened to America, the champion of freedom around the globe?
In two generations we have become a nation of wusses! (A wuss is a person who is physically weak and ineffectual.) The individual American -- and the nation -- have become wusses! ARRRG!
Look. Americans no longer know who they are. The history of western civilization and the history of America have been so "revised" and "sterilized" that the products of our public education system in America have lost all connection to their roots.
An excellent example of the revision and sterilization of history played out recently here in my state of North Carolina when the Confederate Battle Flag was removed from the N. C. House of Representatives chamber in the old State Capitol Building in Raleigh.
The Confederate Battle Flag is an integral part of North Carolina history, of the story of the people of North Carolina. The US flag remains on display in that chamber, however, even though it is the only flag, of the two, to fly over slavery in America, and to fly from the masts of slave ships. The Confederate Battle Flag was NEVER a national flag of the Confederacy. It was a battle field emblem ONLY.
How many Americans actually KNOW that today?
See what I mean about losing touch with your history, about losing touch with your family, about losing touch with who you REALLY are?
Anthropologists will tell you that when that happens, that person, that individual, that group/nation is, for all intents and purposes, LOST. They have lost that vital connection to their origin and their social relationship with other citizens and/or other human beings. Basically -- they're just taking up space in a society.
THAT is where far too many Americans are today. Just taking up space.
As a country, we have gone from being the policeman of the globe to being the victim of the globe.
American self-reliance used to be celebrated. No longer. Today, a self-reliant, individualist is looked upon as -- somehow -- crazy!
The dispute between gun fearing gun-grabbers and gun owners in America today is an excellent example of how dependence on a strong central government -- for everything -- can and will lead a strong, vibrant, country into ruin.
Consider this: "U.S. sees highest poverty spike since the 1960s. The number of Americans living in poverty has spiked to levels not seen since the mid 1960s, classing 20 per cent of the country’s children as poor.
It comes at a time when government spending cuts of $85 billion have kicked in after feuding Democrats and Republicans failed to agree on a better plan for addressing the national deficit.
The cuts will directly affect 50 million Americans living below the poverty income line and reduce their chances of finding work and a better life." SOURCE: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2302997/U-S-sees-highest-poverty-spike-1960s-leaving-50-million-Americans-poor-government-cuts-billions-spending.html#ixzz2PPeTIjlw
We have made ZERO progress since LBJ's "War on Poverty" began in the 1960's!
Is the picture becoming clearer?
Reason tells us that there is simply no way a government can protect an individual, either. Americans have known this from day one. That is why we laid claim to the divine right of self defense. Understand: Self defense IS a "right" granted by God -- not a government. Until roughly six decades ago, we understood that individuals had not only a right to self defense but a responsibility to provide same for his family and for himself -- and for his country.
When we lost the connection to our past, to our history, we lost our connection to the values of a people, distinct in all of history.
Consider this: "It is impossible to separate the two. I mean, of course, guns and America. Guns obtained and secured the country we now know as “America” for the people we now know as Americans.
As the settlers/pilgrims stepped ashore in the New World they carried their trusty weapons, guns. When the frontiersmen dipped their toes into the waters of the western sea, the Pacific, no doubt they clutched in their hands a later variant of the same weapon the Pilgrims had in their grips when their toes touched the sand of the Carolina, Virginia, and New England beaches. It had been a long journey and guns had fed, clothed, and protected these new people, called Americans, as they laid claim to a new land destined to become the leader of the free world, if not the entire world.
When these restless people, the Americans, decided their “King” was demanding more from them than they were willing to give, the gun won them their Independence.
Some eighty years later, these same restless people decided to fight a war amongst themselves over, depending upon how you decipher (or revise) history, “States' Rights” or “Slavery”. (In my case, I have done the research and know that States' Rights was the cause of the American Civil War simply because the facts, when laid bare, support that interpretation.) In any event, the gun carried by both sides in the conflict devastated both countries -- and yet -- some say the war forged a single entity known as the UNITED States of America. Only recently, frankly, have I begun to question that ... The "united" part, I mean.
In all the wars since, the gun has taken the war to America’s enemies and protected the Americans wielding it and managed to secure the freedom and liberties our forefathers put their lives and their fortunes on the line for back in the 1700’s. Together, we have come a very long way the gun and America." SOURCE: http://westernfrontamerica.com/2009/07/27/guns-america/
But we are a very different people, we MODERN Americans. We are ruled by our emotions. Why, even men are applauded for weeping in public! THAT IS A MAN?
Heck, we even have a Commander-in-Chief of the US military whose philosophy on leadership is: "Lead from the rear!" Is it any wonder why our military cannot win wars today?
For instance: We have two nations threatening to strike America with nuclear weapons even as I write these few words. One question: Why are those two nations not smoking piles of nuclear radiating rubble right now? Answer: Because they do not fear America any longer. See, they recognize the weakness of America. They see it in our national leadership -- and -- in our common everyday citizens.
When our kids are forbidden to play "Tag" or "Dodge Ball" on the playground at school, when we no longer reward excellence but mediocrity by not publicly recognizing young scholars for all their work and determination to succeed in their studies because it might make those who failed, or had less satisfactory grades, feel bad, then you KNOW the country is in serious trouble for the long run.
We no longer understand games such as Tag and Dodge Ball were devised to create winners and losers. It was intentional. The founding IDEA was to celebrate winning and to teach losers what it feels like to lose and in doing so -- inspire them to get off their duffs and apply themselves, and their talents, and WIN! It's just more evidence of America having lost that connection to its roots. We don't even understand "American exceptionalism" anymore -- because we don't recognize exceptionalism!
We have become weak, slothful, mediocre, accepting of bigger and bigger, stronger and stronger, government populated by a self-proclaimed American elite convinced THEY, somehow, have a right to deprive Americans of their liberty and freedom and force the country into a national "collective" in the form of national socialism, which is the introductory stage of full out communism. (If you want to see where American socialism it is ultimately taking America -- read Glenn Beck's book "Agenda 21")
The "wuzzification" of America is nearly complete. If the government is allowed to confiscate our guns, or even register our weapons, or insist that we undergo background checks when selling or buying guns, or insist, by law, that we have a background check even to purchase ammunition, or purchase expensive insurance policies for each and every gun in our possession, the grand experiment known as "America" will be OVER. It will have failed -- utterly. The last, best, hope of mankind, on earth, will be gone leaving only evil to reign on a planet at perpetual war with itself.
Frightening? Absolutely! We have one chance to reclaim our country in November of 2014.
We were warned by one of America’s original Founding Fathers and our second President, John Adams. Freedom, once lost, can never be regained. Adams said: “A constitution of government, once changed from freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.”
Isn't America worth saving and restoring -- or isn't it?
© J. D. Longstreet
America's Wuzzification
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
***************
I am embarrassed -- ashamed, ashamed, I tell you!
What ever happened to real men in America? Where'd they go, huh? Whatever happened to real women in America? Where'd they go? I ask because neither are readily identifiable in America any more.
The Americans that are most easily seen today are the pale, limp-wristed, weak-spined, pitiable, pliant, malleable, tractile, fall-to-the-floor-and-assume-the-fetal-position men and women who quake in their boots at the mere utterance of the word "GUN."
Egads, people! What has happened to you? What has happened to America, the champion of freedom around the globe?
In two generations we have become a nation of wusses! (A wuss is a person who is physically weak and ineffectual.) The individual American -- and the nation -- have become wusses! ARRRG!
Look. Americans no longer know who they are. The history of western civilization and the history of America have been so "revised" and "sterilized" that the products of our public education system in America have lost all connection to their roots.
An excellent example of the revision and sterilization of history played out recently here in my state of North Carolina when the Confederate Battle Flag was removed from the N. C. House of Representatives chamber in the old State Capitol Building in Raleigh.
The Confederate Battle Flag is an integral part of North Carolina history, of the story of the people of North Carolina. The US flag remains on display in that chamber, however, even though it is the only flag, of the two, to fly over slavery in America, and to fly from the masts of slave ships. The Confederate Battle Flag was NEVER a national flag of the Confederacy. It was a battle field emblem ONLY.
How many Americans actually KNOW that today?
See what I mean about losing touch with your history, about losing touch with your family, about losing touch with who you REALLY are?
Anthropologists will tell you that when that happens, that person, that individual, that group/nation is, for all intents and purposes, LOST. They have lost that vital connection to their origin and their social relationship with other citizens and/or other human beings. Basically -- they're just taking up space in a society.
THAT is where far too many Americans are today. Just taking up space.
As a country, we have gone from being the policeman of the globe to being the victim of the globe.
American self-reliance used to be celebrated. No longer. Today, a self-reliant, individualist is looked upon as -- somehow -- crazy!
The dispute between gun fearing gun-grabbers and gun owners in America today is an excellent example of how dependence on a strong central government -- for everything -- can and will lead a strong, vibrant, country into ruin.
Consider this: "U.S. sees highest poverty spike since the 1960s. The number of Americans living in poverty has spiked to levels not seen since the mid 1960s, classing 20 per cent of the country’s children as poor.
It comes at a time when government spending cuts of $85 billion have kicked in after feuding Democrats and Republicans failed to agree on a better plan for addressing the national deficit.
The cuts will directly affect 50 million Americans living below the poverty income line and reduce their chances of finding work and a better life." SOURCE: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2302997/U-S-sees-highest-poverty-spike-1960s-leaving-50-million-Americans-poor-government-cuts-billions-spending.html#ixzz2PPeTIjlw
We have made ZERO progress since LBJ's "War on Poverty" began in the 1960's!
Is the picture becoming clearer?
Reason tells us that there is simply no way a government can protect an individual, either. Americans have known this from day one. That is why we laid claim to the divine right of self defense. Understand: Self defense IS a "right" granted by God -- not a government. Until roughly six decades ago, we understood that individuals had not only a right to self defense but a responsibility to provide same for his family and for himself -- and for his country.
When we lost the connection to our past, to our history, we lost our connection to the values of a people, distinct in all of history.
Consider this: "It is impossible to separate the two. I mean, of course, guns and America. Guns obtained and secured the country we now know as “America” for the people we now know as Americans.
As the settlers/pilgrims stepped ashore in the New World they carried their trusty weapons, guns. When the frontiersmen dipped their toes into the waters of the western sea, the Pacific, no doubt they clutched in their hands a later variant of the same weapon the Pilgrims had in their grips when their toes touched the sand of the Carolina, Virginia, and New England beaches. It had been a long journey and guns had fed, clothed, and protected these new people, called Americans, as they laid claim to a new land destined to become the leader of the free world, if not the entire world.
When these restless people, the Americans, decided their “King” was demanding more from them than they were willing to give, the gun won them their Independence.
Some eighty years later, these same restless people decided to fight a war amongst themselves over, depending upon how you decipher (or revise) history, “States' Rights” or “Slavery”. (In my case, I have done the research and know that States' Rights was the cause of the American Civil War simply because the facts, when laid bare, support that interpretation.) In any event, the gun carried by both sides in the conflict devastated both countries -- and yet -- some say the war forged a single entity known as the UNITED States of America. Only recently, frankly, have I begun to question that ... The "united" part, I mean.
In all the wars since, the gun has taken the war to America’s enemies and protected the Americans wielding it and managed to secure the freedom and liberties our forefathers put their lives and their fortunes on the line for back in the 1700’s. Together, we have come a very long way the gun and America." SOURCE: http://westernfrontamerica.com/2009/07/27/guns-america/
But we are a very different people, we MODERN Americans. We are ruled by our emotions. Why, even men are applauded for weeping in public! THAT IS A MAN?
Heck, we even have a Commander-in-Chief of the US military whose philosophy on leadership is: "Lead from the rear!" Is it any wonder why our military cannot win wars today?
For instance: We have two nations threatening to strike America with nuclear weapons even as I write these few words. One question: Why are those two nations not smoking piles of nuclear radiating rubble right now? Answer: Because they do not fear America any longer. See, they recognize the weakness of America. They see it in our national leadership -- and -- in our common everyday citizens.
When our kids are forbidden to play "Tag" or "Dodge Ball" on the playground at school, when we no longer reward excellence but mediocrity by not publicly recognizing young scholars for all their work and determination to succeed in their studies because it might make those who failed, or had less satisfactory grades, feel bad, then you KNOW the country is in serious trouble for the long run.
We no longer understand games such as Tag and Dodge Ball were devised to create winners and losers. It was intentional. The founding IDEA was to celebrate winning and to teach losers what it feels like to lose and in doing so -- inspire them to get off their duffs and apply themselves, and their talents, and WIN! It's just more evidence of America having lost that connection to its roots. We don't even understand "American exceptionalism" anymore -- because we don't recognize exceptionalism!
We have become weak, slothful, mediocre, accepting of bigger and bigger, stronger and stronger, government populated by a self-proclaimed American elite convinced THEY, somehow, have a right to deprive Americans of their liberty and freedom and force the country into a national "collective" in the form of national socialism, which is the introductory stage of full out communism. (If you want to see where American socialism it is ultimately taking America -- read Glenn Beck's book "Agenda 21")
The "wuzzification" of America is nearly complete. If the government is allowed to confiscate our guns, or even register our weapons, or insist that we undergo background checks when selling or buying guns, or insist, by law, that we have a background check even to purchase ammunition, or purchase expensive insurance policies for each and every gun in our possession, the grand experiment known as "America" will be OVER. It will have failed -- utterly. The last, best, hope of mankind, on earth, will be gone leaving only evil to reign on a planet at perpetual war with itself.
Frightening? Absolutely! We have one chance to reclaim our country in November of 2014.
We were warned by one of America’s original Founding Fathers and our second President, John Adams. Freedom, once lost, can never be regained. Adams said: “A constitution of government, once changed from freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.”
Isn't America worth saving and restoring -- or isn't it?
© J. D. Longstreet
dirty little secret
I'm going to be doing some simple updates to our (one and only) bathroom over the next few weeks and I've decided where I want to start.
Toilet paper is a big source of annoyance in my house. And just to show you that I'm not being a hard ass, this is what the toilet paper situation looks like at our housemost all of the time.
Nice.
Now I could put all the blame on the hubs for this one, but I am just as bad. I don't know what his excuse is but mine is very simple - my imaginary cleaning lady forgets to replace it each time she comes. I tell you, if she does it again I might have to pretend fire her.
So I think it is time to call a spade a spade - we are not avid toilet paper re-fillers in this house. Everyone has their strengths but that is not one of ours. So I've been thinking of alternatives. Storage alternatives. Not alternatives to using TP. That's just...wrong.
I'm thinking baskets.
I bring home a new package of toilet paper from Target, unwrap said package, throw it in the basket and voila. No worries about refilling the roll.
Marital Bliss brought to you by the little black door. Consider this an early anniversary present hubs.
What do you think? Do you have a household quirk? A task that never seems to get done in your house? Ever do a search for toilet paper display in Pinterest? Don't. It's scary.
 |
| Grant K. Gibson |
Toilet paper is a big source of annoyance in my house. And just to show you that I'm not being a hard ass, this is what the toilet paper situation looks like at our house
Nice.
Now I could put all the blame on the hubs for this one, but I am just as bad. I don't know what his excuse is but mine is very simple - my imaginary cleaning lady forgets to replace it each time she comes. I tell you, if she does it again I might have to pretend fire her.
So I think it is time to call a spade a spade - we are not avid toilet paper re-fillers in this house. Everyone has their strengths but that is not one of ours. So I've been thinking of alternatives. Storage alternatives. Not alternatives to using TP. That's just...wrong.
I'm thinking baskets.
 |
| all images via my Pinterest board |
Marital Bliss brought to you by the little black door. Consider this an early anniversary present hubs.
What do you think? Do you have a household quirk? A task that never seems to get done in your house? Ever do a search for toilet paper display in Pinterest? Don't. It's scary.
Senate Ratification Of The UN Small Arms Treaty ... J. D. Longstreet
Senate Ratification Of The UN Small Arms Treaty
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
********************
I originally wrote about this threat in December of 2010. Now that the UN has, indeed, passed the treaty, Let's review, shall we?
With then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton having publicly stated that the Obama Administration would be working hand-in-glove with the UN to pass a new "Small Arms Treaty" American gun owners have been worried that with the constraints of another election no longer facing Obama, he can, and will, press ahead at -- flank speed -- to ram this treaty through the US Senate.
If ratified by the US Senate it will, for all intents and purposes, disarm American citizens ... superseding the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution. (Second Amendment override?? See: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/apr/2/un-passes-international-arms-regulation-treaty/)
The fact of the matter is this: The UN Small Arms Treaty amounts to global gun control.
It may surprise Americans to learn that our government is filled with lawmakers who endorse a one world government with the UN as the single governing agency for the globe. They will most certainly support the UN's Small Arms Treaty when it comes before the US Senate
As we noted above, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the Obama Administration would be working hand in glove with the U.N. to pass the “Small Arms Treaty." Well, it passed in the UN.
It is expected that the Washington Gun-Grabbers will package the treaty as legislation to assist in the fight against “terrorism,” “insurgency,” and “international crime syndicates," and they will package it as "reasonable gun control" for America.” But the truth is this: The UN’s Small Arms Treaty Is Nothing More Than A Massive, GLOBAL Gun Control Scheme.
American organizations supporting the Second Amendment have warned that the U.N.’s Small Arms Treaty will almost certainly FORCE national governments to make gun licensing requirements far tougher than they are now, which will force law-abiding citizens to have to trudge through even more bureaucratic red tape just to legally own a gun;
It will also give the UN the power to CONFISCATE and DESTROY ALL “unauthorized” civilian firearms. Of course, all firearms owned by the government will be excluded.
The treaty will BAN the trade, sale, and private ownership of ALL semi-automatic weapons.
There will be an INTERNATIONAL gun registry created. Once they know who has the guns -- and where the guns are -- we can expect full-scale gun CONFISCATION.
The citizen “unrest” in America today over the teetering economy and the socialist agenda as well as the domestic effort to grab American's guns -- by those in power in Washington -- may make the ratification by the US Senate of this “treaty” seem far more palatable and even desirous by our current government. And that is why we bring this warning to you. We MUST keep a wary eye on the goings-on in the US Senate
In 2009, we issued a warning concerning the unceasing work of “gun-grabbers” in America. In that article we said the following: So America edges ever closer to losing the citizen’s right to keep and bear arms, quite possibly even the right to carry a knife. There can be no doubt that a knife, in the time of our forefathers, was, indeed, a weapon. It would, no doubt, fall into the category of “arms.” There can also be no doubt as to why the forefathers felt it important to place this amendment (the second amendment) in the constitution as a part of the original 10 amendments that made up the Bill of Rights. They had just fought a war against a tyrant to gain their freedom - and they did it with a citizen’s army composed of men who owned their own weapons!
George Washington, the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army and the first President of the United States said the following: "A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government."
Thomas Jefferson said the following: "When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."
And finally, words from the most well known of the tyrants of the last century, Adolf Hitler: “The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed the subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that the supply of arms to the underdogs is a sine qua non for the overthrow of any sovereignty.”
It is good, I think, to note that The Forefathers felt so highly of the right to keep and bear arms that it is the SECOND Amendment. The first being, of course, freedom of speech, religion, etc. Please note that without the Second Amendment the First Amendment would effectively be null and void.
We must tread softly, yet boldly, as we attempt to protect our rights these days. America has two generations of citizens trained in socialism as products of the Public (Government) School System. Like “Pavlov’s Dog” they await only the ringing of the bell to respond in defense of the “greater good.” But, like the other dog, chasing it’s tail, they haven’t the reasoning ability to ask of themselves what they intend to do with the tail if, and when, they DO catch it?”
“The price of freedom is, indeed, eternal vigilance.” The Democratic Party has demonstrated their utter contempt for the concerns and wishes of the American citizen. Currently they continue to hold the reins of power in the US Senate. We cannot drop our guard, or divert our attention for one moment. If there is a way, anyway, (as we have learned the hard way) the democrats will try to sneak ratification of the UN Small Arms Treaty through the Senate with no regard for the opposition of American gun owners nor for those who insist the US Constitution still reigns supreme in America -- NOT THE UN."
Conservatives must work harder than ever as we continue our endeavor to rid our nation’s leadership of those who support the United Nations and their goal of establishing a one world government, or global governance, under THE UN's control.
We must not allow the UN Small Arms Treaty to be ratified by the US Senate… period!
© J. D. Longstreet
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
********************
I originally wrote about this threat in December of 2010. Now that the UN has, indeed, passed the treaty, Let's review, shall we?
With then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton having publicly stated that the Obama Administration would be working hand-in-glove with the UN to pass a new "Small Arms Treaty" American gun owners have been worried that with the constraints of another election no longer facing Obama, he can, and will, press ahead at -- flank speed -- to ram this treaty through the US Senate.
If ratified by the US Senate it will, for all intents and purposes, disarm American citizens ... superseding the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution. (Second Amendment override?? See: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/apr/2/un-passes-international-arms-regulation-treaty/)
The fact of the matter is this: The UN Small Arms Treaty amounts to global gun control.
It may surprise Americans to learn that our government is filled with lawmakers who endorse a one world government with the UN as the single governing agency for the globe. They will most certainly support the UN's Small Arms Treaty when it comes before the US Senate
As we noted above, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the Obama Administration would be working hand in glove with the U.N. to pass the “Small Arms Treaty." Well, it passed in the UN.
It is expected that the Washington Gun-Grabbers will package the treaty as legislation to assist in the fight against “terrorism,” “insurgency,” and “international crime syndicates," and they will package it as "reasonable gun control" for America.” But the truth is this: The UN’s Small Arms Treaty Is Nothing More Than A Massive, GLOBAL Gun Control Scheme.
American organizations supporting the Second Amendment have warned that the U.N.’s Small Arms Treaty will almost certainly FORCE national governments to make gun licensing requirements far tougher than they are now, which will force law-abiding citizens to have to trudge through even more bureaucratic red tape just to legally own a gun;
It will also give the UN the power to CONFISCATE and DESTROY ALL “unauthorized” civilian firearms. Of course, all firearms owned by the government will be excluded.
The treaty will BAN the trade, sale, and private ownership of ALL semi-automatic weapons.
There will be an INTERNATIONAL gun registry created. Once they know who has the guns -- and where the guns are -- we can expect full-scale gun CONFISCATION.
The citizen “unrest” in America today over the teetering economy and the socialist agenda as well as the domestic effort to grab American's guns -- by those in power in Washington -- may make the ratification by the US Senate of this “treaty” seem far more palatable and even desirous by our current government. And that is why we bring this warning to you. We MUST keep a wary eye on the goings-on in the US Senate
In 2009, we issued a warning concerning the unceasing work of “gun-grabbers” in America. In that article we said the following: So America edges ever closer to losing the citizen’s right to keep and bear arms, quite possibly even the right to carry a knife. There can be no doubt that a knife, in the time of our forefathers, was, indeed, a weapon. It would, no doubt, fall into the category of “arms.” There can also be no doubt as to why the forefathers felt it important to place this amendment (the second amendment) in the constitution as a part of the original 10 amendments that made up the Bill of Rights. They had just fought a war against a tyrant to gain their freedom - and they did it with a citizen’s army composed of men who owned their own weapons!
George Washington, the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army and the first President of the United States said the following: "A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government."
Thomas Jefferson said the following: "When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."
And finally, words from the most well known of the tyrants of the last century, Adolf Hitler: “The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed the subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that the supply of arms to the underdogs is a sine qua non for the overthrow of any sovereignty.”
It is good, I think, to note that The Forefathers felt so highly of the right to keep and bear arms that it is the SECOND Amendment. The first being, of course, freedom of speech, religion, etc. Please note that without the Second Amendment the First Amendment would effectively be null and void.
We must tread softly, yet boldly, as we attempt to protect our rights these days. America has two generations of citizens trained in socialism as products of the Public (Government) School System. Like “Pavlov’s Dog” they await only the ringing of the bell to respond in defense of the “greater good.” But, like the other dog, chasing it’s tail, they haven’t the reasoning ability to ask of themselves what they intend to do with the tail if, and when, they DO catch it?”
“The price of freedom is, indeed, eternal vigilance.” The Democratic Party has demonstrated their utter contempt for the concerns and wishes of the American citizen. Currently they continue to hold the reins of power in the US Senate. We cannot drop our guard, or divert our attention for one moment. If there is a way, anyway, (as we have learned the hard way) the democrats will try to sneak ratification of the UN Small Arms Treaty through the Senate with no regard for the opposition of American gun owners nor for those who insist the US Constitution still reigns supreme in America -- NOT THE UN."
Conservatives must work harder than ever as we continue our endeavor to rid our nation’s leadership of those who support the United Nations and their goal of establishing a one world government, or global governance, under THE UN's control.
We must not allow the UN Small Arms Treaty to be ratified by the US Senate… period!
© J. D. Longstreet
The "Free Lunch" Weight Loss Plan v.022
I continue to climb at least 20 extra flights of stairs each and every day.
Click to enlarge.
It doesn't look that great but... I gained weight last March too. I guess that's just par for the [seasonally adjusted] course.
Click to enlarge.
I'm down 7 pounds since this time last year. The long-term trend works for me. I originally expected it to take "3-4 years to get down to my goal". Still seems plenty doable. No pain. No gain. (Not sure that's how they intended me to view it, lol.)
I mowed the yard yesterday (first time this season). I also did some weeding today. The seasonal effects should now start working in my favor. June is when the effects really kick in though (if the last two years are any indicator).
I'm also zipping through the 20 flights of stairs. Some days I use the physical stairs (2 sessions of 10 flights each) and some I just go 4 minutes continuously on the stair-stepper (50 feet per minute). It also keeps me in good enough shape so that I can climb [nearly] as many stairs as I like without giving it a second thought. :)
I'm very much looking forward to hiking season this year. It has nothing to do with weight loss. That will just be a bonus.
See Also:
The "Free Lunch" Weight Loss Plan v.000
Click to enlarge.
It doesn't look that great but... I gained weight last March too. I guess that's just par for the [seasonally adjusted] course.
Click to enlarge.
I'm down 7 pounds since this time last year. The long-term trend works for me. I originally expected it to take "3-4 years to get down to my goal". Still seems plenty doable. No pain. No gain. (Not sure that's how they intended me to view it, lol.)
I mowed the yard yesterday (first time this season). I also did some weeding today. The seasonal effects should now start working in my favor. June is when the effects really kick in though (if the last two years are any indicator).
I'm also zipping through the 20 flights of stairs. Some days I use the physical stairs (2 sessions of 10 flights each) and some I just go 4 minutes continuously on the stair-stepper (50 feet per minute). It also keeps me in good enough shape so that I can climb [nearly] as many stairs as I like without giving it a second thought. :)
I'm very much looking forward to hiking season this year. It has nothing to do with weight loss. That will just be a bonus.
See Also:
The "Free Lunch" Weight Loss Plan v.000
ZIRP-A-Dee-Doo-Dah (Musical Tribute)
The following chart shows the average daily movement in the federal funds rate over the previous decade.
Click to enlarge.
It's not a bug, it's a feature.
Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Effective Federal Funds Rate
Click to enlarge.
It's not a bug, it's a feature.
This is when the programmers central bankers declare that they officially hate their end users savers and plan to never fix the problems in their code monetary system. Instead, users savers are forced to adapt to working around these "features."
Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Effective Federal Funds Rate
Continuing our head-long slide down the slippery slope of abortion
When people challenge and attempt to liberalize valued traditions, there is usually great concern that doing so is the first step down the "slippery slope," which ultimately leads to bad results. The “slippery slope” is considered a logical fallacy, but in the case of abortion, evidence supports that it is an apt argument.
We started down this slope when abortion was legalized 40 years ago. If it was not the original intention, abortion certainly has become a thinly disguised mechanism for after-the-fact birth control. Pregnancy is not a mystery; we know what causes it. There are numerous ways to prevent pregnancy whenever people decide to forego the one certain way to prevent pregnancy: abstinence.
Birth control devices, while not perfect, are very dependable when used properly. However, somewhere along the way it was recognized that there were a lot of people facing the eventual birth of an unwanted child, and some thought that society was obligated to find a way to relieve these folks of having to bear responsibility for their actions. Abortion became the solution for unwanted pregnancy, under the curious label, "a woman's right to choose."
Each now-pregnant woman and her male partner had the right to choose to abstain from sexual intercourse and chose not to. They had the right to choose to use birth control, and either chose not to, or chose not to use it consistently or correctly, or it just didn't work one time. In the great majority of cases, birth control measures do work when used properly, and that means that in the majority of cases the right to use birth control actually was not chosen.
The "right to choose" is little more than a mechanism for prospective parents to avoid creating a child at an inconvenient time: In 2004 fully 74 percent of women getting an abortion said a child would "dramatically change their life."
Since Roe v Wade imposed legalized abortion on the nation in 1973, 55 million abortions have been performed, and approximately 1.2 million future Americans were aborted in each of the last several years. Nearly half of all pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended, and nearly half of those are aborted.
Planned Parenthood is the nation's most prolific provider of abortions, performing about 1-in-4 total U.S. abortions each year, chalking up 334,000 in 2011. It received $542 million from taxpayers that year, about 40 percent of its total revenues.
And since 1973 we have witnessed the slide down that slippery slope. It has been considered acceptable by a significant number of Americans to end a pregnancy anywhere from the morning after to the day when the baby should be born healthy and ready for life.
We have been treated to horrors such as partial birth abortion where the baby is allowed to be born, but not completely, with part of the child still in the birth canal so that a butcher with MD or DO after their name can kill the child before it is "born." This nefarious procedure takes hair-splitting to a new level.
A year ago a giant slide down the slippery slope occurred when two Australian ethicists – Alberto Giubilini with Monash University in Melbourne, and Francesca Minerva at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne – provided an answer to the question, "When does a fetus become a person?" Their answer: it doesn’t matter. They argued in the online edition of the Journal of Medical Ethics that if abortion of a fetus is allowable, so, too, should be the “termination” of a newborn.
This cold-blooded idea has now infected the United States. That same concept appeared in testimony at a Florida legislative committee that was considering a bill to require abortionists to provide medical care to an infant who survives an abortion and is moving on the table and struggling for life. A Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates lobbyist endorsed the right to "post-birth abortion." The lobbyist, Alisa LaPolt Snow, stunned legislators when she said that her organization believes the decision to kill an infant who survives a failed abortion "should be left up to the woman, her family, and the physician."
This is nothing more than pre-meditated murder, and is not so different from first responders executing a seriously injured accident victim. And just how far does this "right" to post-birth abortion extend? The first birthday? The difficult years of adolescence? Or perhaps it will extend many years after the botched abortion when under as-yet-unknown elements of the Affordable Care Act bureaucrats may be in the position to determine that it will cost too much to keep an elderly patient alive.
Fortunately, the tide appears to be turning against the grizzly practice of abortion. Last June a Gallop poll showed that 50 percent identified themselves as "pro-life" compared to 41 percent who said they were "pro-choice." And, 51 percent said abortion is morally wrong, compared to 38 percent who said it is morally acceptable. And some state legislatures have passed tighter restrictions on the procedure.
This attitude favoring preserving life and restoring personal responsibility is one small ray of light in America's otherwise darkening culture.
Camel & Blue for BCBG Max Azria Fall preview in NY
As I told you in the previous outfit post, I had the pleasure to take a closer look at BCBG Max Azria, Herve Leger and BCBGeneration Fall preview collections. This was the reason that I came back so soon in the Big Apple (after my birthday).
After I saw Herve Leger show at NYFW and missed the BCBG Max Azria show, this preview was exactly what I was looking for. Nothing compares with taking a closer look at the collections and seeing all the details. I have a full post about it soon.
Here is what I wore that day: Joe Fresh pants, vintage camel coat, Zara floral tunic and Costume National bag.
I hope you like it!
Coat: vintage/ option Here
Pants: Joe Fresh/ option Here
Floral tunic: Zara/ similar style Here
Bag: Costume National
Heels: BCBGeneration/ similar Here
Sunglasses: Ralph Lauren
Rotting The Soul Of A Nation ... J. D. Longstreet
Rotting The Soul Of A Nation
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
**************
Nothing much REALLY changes. Nearly a half century before the birth of Christ a wise man said:
"A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious, but it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly, but the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their garments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear." --- Marcus Tullius Cicero 42 BC.
I count myself fortunate, and even lucky, to have been born into the last generation of independent freedom-loving Americans.
That’s on the one hand.
On the other, I feel depressed that my generation will be the first to see a free America voluntarily choose slavery as a way of life.
As we look about us today, we can see the effects of socialism: A nation in decline, a nation financially broke, a nation of people depressed, hurting, and angry, a nation deeply divided by the race baiting and class warfare imposed on them by a major political party in its grab for the power to rule America as the “elite class” in a socialist America. We refer, of course, to the Democratic Party.
Slavery? Yes! Socialism is slavery to the state (and to those elite socialist politicians who will run your life from the cradle to the grave).
Under the Obama Administration, it has already begun. The evils of Pandora’s box can’t hold a candle to the evils of Obamacare.
Socialism is the slavery of forced labor. Americans will work for the government. I don’t mean the 48% of the American workforce already on the government’s payroll. I mean 100% of the American workforce, which will be receiving those wages the government decides you need to exist and continue working at your government assigned job.
So many Americans are nothing more than the “useful idiots” Vladimir Lenin used to mock. He was referring to westerners, including Americans, Who publicly and privately sympathized with the socialist movement in what would become the Socialist Soviet Union. He was, of course, right about one thing: They were, and are, idiots -- and they were, and are today, useful to the cause of socialism and communism. This time, however, the targeted country is the United States.
Today, those of us in America who see what is happening to our country, to our freedom, to our future as a free country, are derided as some sort of alarmists. To that, allow me to say: “You’re darned right, I’m ALARMED!” It is as clear to me as sunrise this morning that a free America will only be a legend to my grandkids.
I expect that in the not too distant American future there will be a time when those of us who pen such comments as these will be arrested as enemies of the socialist state of America … if we live long enough. As I have been spouting these kinds of commentaries and public addresses since I was a sophomore in high school, I expect they will have a lot to work with!
Again, I remind readers of this column -- socialism is a killer of nations. It is a terminal illness that rots a nation’s core until it is hollow and then it implodes in upon itself -- taking that nation’s society along with it.
Today in America we are awash in socialism. There is Marxism, Leninism, Trotskyism, socialist feminism – and -- the Democratic Party. The Republican Party is badly infected, as well.
I mentioned Obamacare above. Obamacare is socialized medicine … socialism! Americans have no idea how much freedom and liberty Obamacare will strip from the citizens of the USA. But it’s coming -- and it will be startling! Already we are getting hints, just hints, of that which is in store for America once Obamacare is fully in place. You are going to recognize the USA.
Distressingly, I see no push-back against the steady encroachment of socialism in America. Make no mistake about it, socialism is on the march in the USA and we will awaken one morning to find that America is no longer a free country but a slave nation shackled to a socialist government… and even sadder, Americans will have no idea how America came to be socialist.
Even now the chains are being forged for America’s enslavement. The foundry is working 24/7 turning out the bonds that will hold a nation of once proud, free, Americans.
Well over one-third of our national government is already socialist … the executive branch. One half of the Legislative branch, the Senate, is controlled by socialists, and the Judicial branch is very close to falling under the control of socialist sympathizing justices. Within the next four years we likely see a socialist court in place.
Do you begin to understand the threat America is living under today? I hope so, because the change from freedom to slavery is going to be rapid and startlingly complete.
© J. D. Longstreet
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
**************
Nothing much REALLY changes. Nearly a half century before the birth of Christ a wise man said:
"A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious, but it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly, but the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their garments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear." --- Marcus Tullius Cicero 42 BC.
I count myself fortunate, and even lucky, to have been born into the last generation of independent freedom-loving Americans.
That’s on the one hand.
On the other, I feel depressed that my generation will be the first to see a free America voluntarily choose slavery as a way of life.
As we look about us today, we can see the effects of socialism: A nation in decline, a nation financially broke, a nation of people depressed, hurting, and angry, a nation deeply divided by the race baiting and class warfare imposed on them by a major political party in its grab for the power to rule America as the “elite class” in a socialist America. We refer, of course, to the Democratic Party.
Slavery? Yes! Socialism is slavery to the state (and to those elite socialist politicians who will run your life from the cradle to the grave).
Under the Obama Administration, it has already begun. The evils of Pandora’s box can’t hold a candle to the evils of Obamacare.
Socialism is the slavery of forced labor. Americans will work for the government. I don’t mean the 48% of the American workforce already on the government’s payroll. I mean 100% of the American workforce, which will be receiving those wages the government decides you need to exist and continue working at your government assigned job.
So many Americans are nothing more than the “useful idiots” Vladimir Lenin used to mock. He was referring to westerners, including Americans, Who publicly and privately sympathized with the socialist movement in what would become the Socialist Soviet Union. He was, of course, right about one thing: They were, and are, idiots -- and they were, and are today, useful to the cause of socialism and communism. This time, however, the targeted country is the United States.
Today, those of us in America who see what is happening to our country, to our freedom, to our future as a free country, are derided as some sort of alarmists. To that, allow me to say: “You’re darned right, I’m ALARMED!” It is as clear to me as sunrise this morning that a free America will only be a legend to my grandkids.
I expect that in the not too distant American future there will be a time when those of us who pen such comments as these will be arrested as enemies of the socialist state of America … if we live long enough. As I have been spouting these kinds of commentaries and public addresses since I was a sophomore in high school, I expect they will have a lot to work with!
Again, I remind readers of this column -- socialism is a killer of nations. It is a terminal illness that rots a nation’s core until it is hollow and then it implodes in upon itself -- taking that nation’s society along with it.
Today in America we are awash in socialism. There is Marxism, Leninism, Trotskyism, socialist feminism – and -- the Democratic Party. The Republican Party is badly infected, as well.
I mentioned Obamacare above. Obamacare is socialized medicine … socialism! Americans have no idea how much freedom and liberty Obamacare will strip from the citizens of the USA. But it’s coming -- and it will be startling! Already we are getting hints, just hints, of that which is in store for America once Obamacare is fully in place. You are going to recognize the USA.
Distressingly, I see no push-back against the steady encroachment of socialism in America. Make no mistake about it, socialism is on the march in the USA and we will awaken one morning to find that America is no longer a free country but a slave nation shackled to a socialist government… and even sadder, Americans will have no idea how America came to be socialist.
Even now the chains are being forged for America’s enslavement. The foundry is working 24/7 turning out the bonds that will hold a nation of once proud, free, Americans.
Well over one-third of our national government is already socialist … the executive branch. One half of the Legislative branch, the Senate, is controlled by socialists, and the Judicial branch is very close to falling under the control of socialist sympathizing justices. Within the next four years we likely see a socialist court in place.
Do you begin to understand the threat America is living under today? I hope so, because the change from freedom to slavery is going to be rapid and startlingly complete.
© J. D. Longstreet
Socon rEpublicans Proving Yet Again...
by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny
Call me stupid if you like. But the looney tune (IMNHO) Georgia "top rEpublican" Sue Everhart, chairwoman of the Georgia Republican Party lives in a totally different reality than any sane rational person.
But then again stepping back and thinking about it... Sane and rational is NOT something the present day rEpublican party is into. Fear mongering, yes. Power, yes. Control of the lives of the individual, yes.
This inanity from what's her name? Oh yeah, Sue Everhart is the final straw for this independent Classical Liberal and Objectivist who REFUSES to be lead around by ignorant and clueless collectivists. Which by the way folks is something this Classical Liberal, Objectivist, and fiercely individualistic liberty loving person has grown to recognize is precisely what identifies the rEpublican party as well as the current state of conservatism.
Here then is the article that elicited my ire. Willful ignorance really sets me off. Sorry all you collectivist conservatives that march in lockstep to the insanity of the unthinking.
Yes Ms. Everhart, you are in trouble. For reasons you will NEVER understand. But then again I'm sure you really don't care, do you?
Via: Memorandum
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny
Call me stupid if you like. But the looney tune (IMNHO) Georgia "top rEpublican" Sue Everhart, chairwoman of the Georgia Republican Party lives in a totally different reality than any sane rational person.
But then again stepping back and thinking about it... Sane and rational is NOT something the present day rEpublican party is into. Fear mongering, yes. Power, yes. Control of the lives of the individual, yes.
This inanity from what's her name? Oh yeah, Sue Everhart is the final straw for this independent Classical Liberal and Objectivist who REFUSES to be lead around by ignorant and clueless collectivists. Which by the way folks is something this Classical Liberal, Objectivist, and fiercely individualistic liberty loving person has grown to recognize is precisely what identifies the rEpublican party as well as the current state of conservatism.
Here then is the article that elicited my ire. Willful ignorance really sets me off. Sorry all you collectivist conservatives that march in lockstep to the insanity of the unthinking.
TPM - A top Republican in Georgia has sounded an ominous warning that legalization of same-sex marriage may also lead to fraud.
Sue Everhart, chairwoman of the Georgia Republican Party, told the Marietta Daily Journal in a story published Saturday that once gay nuptials are legally permitted, there will be nothing to stop a straight person from exploiting the system in order to claim marital benefits.
“You may be as straight as an arrow, and you may have a friend that is as straight as an arrow,” Everhart said. “Say you had a great job with the government where you had this wonderful health plan. I mean, what would prohibit you from saying that you’re gay, and y’all get married and still live as separate, but you get all the benefits? I just see so much abuse in this it’s unreal. I believe a husband and a wife should be a man and a woman, the benefits should be for a man and a woman. There is no way that this is about equality. To me, it’s all about a free ride.”
Everhart also expressed a distaste for homosexuality, which she argued is unnatural.
“Lord, I’m going to get in trouble over this, but it is not natural for two women or two men to be married,” Everhart said. “If it was natural, they would have the equipment to have a sexual relationship.”
Brian Keahl, executive director of the Georgia GOP, told TPM on Monday that he hadn't seen Everhart's comments and would have to confer with the chairwoman before commenting. When TPM followed up later in the morning, a man at the Georgia GOP said the group has "no comment at this time" before refusing to provide his name and hanging up.
Yes Ms. Everhart, you are in trouble. For reasons you will NEVER understand. But then again I'm sure you really don't care, do you?
Via: Memorandum
i heart katie ridder
Morning y'all. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend celebrating spring weather, celebrating Easter or celebrating the Walking Dead season finale - whatever you choose to celebrate.
We had a lovely time being outside as much as possible, soaking up that lovely vitamin D (aka the Sun) and eating way too much candy. Lots of chocolate of course but also some good eye candy.
While looking for some inspiration for my new couch, I came upon this lovely picture.
Katie Ridder and I totally have the same taste in couches. We will be having cocktails over lunch and talking about the RHOBH reunion before you know it.
But until she calls me back about where our reservations are, I thought I would share some more Katie.
She likes color and she's not afraid to use it.
How about you? Do you like Katie's style? Would you silver leaf your ceiling? Do you know where to get a disco ball chandy?
We had a lovely time being outside as much as possible, soaking up that lovely vitamin D (aka the Sun) and eating way too much candy. Lots of chocolate of course but also some good eye candy.
While looking for some inspiration for my new couch, I came upon this lovely picture.
Katie Ridder and I totally have the same taste in couches. We will be having cocktails over lunch and talking about the RHOBH reunion before you know it.
But until she calls me back about where our reservations are, I thought I would share some more Katie.
 |
| all images via Katie Ridder |
 |
| images via Pinterest |
How about you? Do you like Katie's style? Would you silver leaf your ceiling? Do you know where to get a disco ball chandy?
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