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colorful shower curtains

Obviously I've got bathrooms on the brain as this is the second time this week I've written about them. All those pretty pictures have inspired me to do a bit of a refresh on my loo.


Full disclosure, I've already painted. (I'll share that soon) But I want to do more. For those who might not have seen it before, or who don't remember, we are talking about a rather petite space - check it out here - and it is our single solitary bathroom. That's right, go ahead and shed a tear for me.

So it will remain rather clean (in theory) and simple but I love the idea of giving a little pop with the shower curtain.
Natalie Clayman
Design Manifest
Bailey McCarthy via Rue Magazine
Kristen Ewart
You can barely peek at that wonderful pink herringbone shower curtain, but you can see how it finishes the space. Its also the bathroom in one of my all time favorite houses btw.

Tobi Fairley via Pinterest
via Pinterest
Jonathan Adler
M.E. Beck Design
Anna Spiro via Pinterest

So what do you think? Would you inject some color and (gasp) pattern into your shower curtain? Or do you like the classic crisp look of white? Are you a one curtain person, or a one curtain on each side kind of house?

Left Heaping Bovine Scatology On NC Voter ID Law ... J. D. Longstreet

Left Heaping Bovine Scatology On NC Voter ID Law    ...   J. D. Longstreet
Left Heaping Bovine Scatology On NC Voter ID Law
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

*****************************

I'm a Tar Heel and I am fed up with the unadulterated bunk, and that's what it is -- BUNK -- being spread by the Democratic Party and the Mainstream Media about NC's newly passed Voter ID law.

At first their idiocy was almost funny, but no more.  Now it is vicious and hurtful and condescending and designed to show North Carolina in a bad light and I will not sit idly by and allow it to pass without challenge. 

Leftists have come to the WRONG state looking for a fight,  for it is here, rest assured, that you WILL find one -- and find one quickly!
   
The first thing you need to know, dear reader, is that the democrats are out of power in North Carolina after having had their way and ruling the state for a hundred and thirty some odd years. And it's not looking REAL good for them in 2014, or 2016, either.

THEY ARE LIVID! 

They feel betrayed by the Tar Heel voters and they are flailing about much as a drowning man will do when faced with imminent death.

The displays of their infantile behavior is an embarrassment to a conservative state.  And, YES, North Carolina IS a conservative state.  Even the bulk of democrat voters in NC are conservatives.  Heck, even my own Congressman is a conservative democrat! 

They are also, more or less, powerless and scared witless now that the GOP is in charge.   The dems are worried that the GOP will use the very same tactics they, themselves, used -- AND honed to a fine edge (and a fine art) -- over the nearly century and a half of creating a Democratic Party Fiefdom here on the Mid-Atlantic Coast.

You also need to know that we have a mainstream media here in North Carolina allied closely with the National MsM which, as everyone knows now, is the propaganda wing of the Democratic Party. 

North Carolina is also the home of the university known as the "Vatican of Liberalism" in the USA.  Their journalism school produces some of the finest liberal-minded media people in the world.  They march out each spring determined to save the world FROM itself and FOR progressivism/socialism and, well, just plain ole Marxism.

So, now, along with Texas, NC has a huge target painted on its back and is preparing to defend itself from all the Democratic Party venom  that is already spewing from that leftist political "brood of vipers."

Oh, for the record -- there really are only 50 states in the union, contrary to what our President might think, and 34 of those states already have some type of Voter ID laws.  That is nearly three-quarters of the states! 

So, what sort of ID must one have to vote in North Carolina in 2016?  "The bill will require voters to show photo identification -- a driver's license, passport, veteran's ID, tribal card -- beginning in the 2016 elections. Student IDs are not an acceptable form of identification."  SOURCE:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/12/north-carolina-voter-id_n_3745253.html

Oh, and the HuffPo did thoughtfully add this:  "The bill does provide for a "free ID" to be offered at DMVs, though the state estimates that between 203,351 and 318,643 voters registered in North Carolina lack ID, and that providing them with one would cost $834,200 in 2013 and 2014, and $24,100 every two years after that."

I'd like to thank the HuffPo for including the paragraph concerning the free Voter ID's provided at taxpayer expense to those who don't have them.  Many reports have left that little bit of important information out of their reporting.  I can't imagine why?  Must have something to do with the template of their narrative.   

"The bill also reduces early voting by a week, eliminates same-day registration, ends pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds and a student civics program, kills an annual state-sponsored voter registration drive and lessens the amount of public reporting required for so-called dark money groups, also known as 501(c)(4)s."  SOURCE:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/12/north-carolina-voter-id_n_3745253.html

Nearly all the reports fail to mention that if a voter turns up at the polls without a valid Voter ID, he/she will be allowed to cast a provisional ballot, and they almost always fail to mention that the hours available to cast an early ballot remain the same as they are currently, and voters will have ten days in which to vote early.

 

Personally, I don't think the law is nearly strong enough.  Heck, I'd like to see requirements that a voter must have an IQ of over room temperature, be able to read and write, be able to prove citizenship in both the USA and in North Carolina, be fluent in English, cast all ballots between sunrise and sunset on one day -- Election Day.  And that's just off the top of my head.

In my, ahem,  highly exalted, unassailable, opinion, casting a ballot is not nearly difficult enough.  Men and women died to preserve that privilege for us. To lie, cheat and/or steal in an election is blasphemy, or ought to be.

The lawsuits coming North Carolina's way were expected.  That accounts for the law being so carefully written.

When listening to (or reading) all the polling out of the Tar Heel state purporting to show how unpopular the new Voter ID law is, first we ask that you determine who the polling company is, whether it leans right or left, and who paid for the poll.  You will be surprised. 

And remember this, dear reader.  When a majority of the voters of North Carolina elected a majority republican General Assembly (state legislature) and then turned right around and elected a republican governor, that meant the voters wanted a change.  That is exactly what Tar Heel voters did.  And, so far, the majority of North Carolinians like it.  I'd go so far as to say a heck of a lot of NC democrats like it, too, but as the democratic party is an authoritarian organization, those democrats supporting the new Voter ID law will be compelled to hold their peace and keep their own counsel.

Either elections have meaning or they don't. If they have no meaning -- then what's the point?

Look, I am convinced that anyone who really is interested in the future of North Carolina -- and America -- will WANT to vote.  And, if they really WANT to vote they will make sure they have the proper identification.  It ain't rocket science.

Consider this:  " ... some seem to think that asking for a photo ID for voting purposes is somehow a violation of civil liberties or an attempt to prevent people from voting. The really interesting part is that it is usually liberals claiming that it is conservatives attempting to prevent people from voting when a photo ID law would apply equally to both liberals and conservatives. Heck, they would apply equally regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, weight, sexual orientation, income, health, disability, race, wealth, intelligence, marital status, attractiveness, employment status and everything else. Is there something wrong with preventing the dead, the illegal aliens, the young (under the age of suffrage) and other non-qualified people from voting ... "  SOURCE:  http://www.usmessageboard.com/politics/212534-list-of-things-that-require-photo-identification.html

Indeed!  What IS wrong with wanting, yea, demanding fair and honest elections?  And who, save for those whose intentions are unscrupulous, unlawful, and those who are morally defunct, would dare oppose a form of identification by which the people of a state can be sure the person seeking to cast a ballot is who he/she says he/she is -- and -- is, in fact, qualified to vote.

Everyone, and  I mean, EVERYONE knows there is far more to the democrat's opposition to voter ID than their plaintive cries of disenfranchisement.  It is pure superficial sympathy.

They are crocodile tears designed to elicit an empathetic response. 

It is simply another tool they use in manipulating the "useful idiots" who parade around on sidewalks allowing themselves to be humiliated and arrested -- making fools of themselves while the democrat bosses receive the accolades of the party hierarchy. 
No.  Here in North Carolina, this is about power:  Those who won it, those who lost it, and those who want it back. 

It's about power.  It's ALWAYS about power.

© J. D. Longstreet

Initial Claims vs. Employment (Musical Tribute)


Click to enlarge.

Return to the mean?

Never! A new era of permanent prosperity was unleashed thanks to the popping of the dotcom bubble, the popping of the housing bubble, and a nearly endless supply of ZIRP permanently putting a stop to all future recessions! Yes! It's a brand new day!



Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Macy's Recovery

The following chart shows Macy's net income during the Christmas season in nominal dollars (not adjusted for inflation).


Click to enlarge.

My how the fallen have bounced!

About the only thing driving net income growth per diluted share lately has been an ongoing reduction in the number of diluted shares, and even that will face serious limits should the trend in this chart continue (might not).

Put another way, the cracks in this dam were evident long before Macy's latest warning.

August 14, 2013
Macy's Shoppers Remain Cautious

After reporting disappointing quarterly results and trimming its full-year earnings forecast, Macy's Inc. on Wednesday said it would boost its marketing efforts in the second half of the year to address a troubling slowdown in store traffic.

Good luck on that one! Boosting marketing efforts sounds expensive. For what it is worth, I'm not exactly bracing for a pick up in the second half. Macy's isn't either apparently.

That said, just opinions! Past trends do not necessarily predict the future. This is not investment advice.

Disclosure: I'm neither long nor short Macy's. As of 2004, I have no interest in gambling in the stock market (in either direction).

See Also:
Trend Line Disclaimer

Source Data:
Macy's Investor Relations

The Long-Term Death of Real Yields


Click to enlarge.

The black line shows the real interest rate investors earned on the 10-year treasury from the time of purchase (we don't know what the real yield is until 10 years have elapsed). The blue line shows what the real interest rate investors earned on the 10-year TIPS (we know instantly because the rate is the real yield).

If this downward trend kept the deflation monster at bay, then what's going to happen when the trend ends? Put another way, if 4+ years of ZIRP can't generate much inflation then what can? And how might the trend end? ZIRP has a 0% floor and we're glued to it.

As seen in the chart, interest rates are probably "tight" if the 10-year TIPS currently yields more than 0%. It now yields 0.57%. Tight!

Ben Bernanke should have never said the word taper. Just like the Japanese, we can't handle high interest rates any longer.

Want to know how to lock in Jeremy Siegel's mythical 3.5% real yields? It's really quite easy. First, invent a time machine. Second, travel back in time 16 years to July of 1997. And lastly, invest accordingly! Seriously.

Just opinions!

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: 10-Year Treasury Rate
St. Louis Fed: 10-Year TIPS Rate
St. Louis Fed: CPI

List Of The Churches And Institutions That Have Been Destroyed By Muslim Brotherhood Supporters Today

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

Hat Tip to Atlas Shrugs

Islamic supremacism in action. Muslim Brotherhood groups in the US like Hamas-CAIR are demanding that Obama support this violence and genocide.



CopticWorld regrets to inform you that today has been very destructive for Coptic Christians in Egypt. We are attempting to document all the destruction. You can see a list of the churches and institutions that have been destroyed at:
Tallying the destruction Coptic World Aug. 14, 2013, 10:15 p.m.
Please note that this situation is fluid and changing.



Churches
 Alexandria
  1. Father Maximus Church
Arish
  1. St George Church | Burned 
Assiut
  1. Good Shepherds Monastery |  Nuns attacked
  2. Angel Michael Church | Surrounded
  3. St George Coptic Orthodox Church 
  4. Al-Eslah Church| Burned 
  5. Adventist Church | Pastor and his wife kidnapped 
  6. St Therese Church 
  7. Apostles Church | Burning 
  8. Holy Revival Church | Burning 
Beni Suef
  1. The Nuns School 
  2. St George Church | al-Wasta
Cairo
  1. St Fatima Basilica | Heliopolis | Attempted Attack
Fayoum (Five churches)
  1. St Mary Church | El Nazlah 
  2. St Damiana Church | Robbed and burned
  3. Amir Tawadros (St Theodore) Church
  4. Evangelical Church | al-Zorby Village | Looting and destruction
  5. Church of Joseph | Burned 
  6. Franciscan School | Burned 
Gharbiya
  1. Diocese of St Paul | Burned 
Giza
  1. Father Antonios
  2. Atfeeh Bishopric
Minya
  1. Church of the Virgin Mary and Father Abram | Delga, Deir Mawas 
  2. St Mina Church | Abu Hilal Kebly, Beni Hilal 
  3. Baptist Church | Beni Mazar 
  4. Deir Mawas Bishopric
  5. Delga Church | Attacked 
  6. The Jesuit Fathers Church | Abu Hilal district
  7. St Mark Church | Abu Hilal district
  8. St Joseph Nunnery 
  9. Amir Tadros Church 
  10. Evangelical Church 
  11. Anba Moussa al-Aswad Church
  12. Apostles Church 
Qena
  1. St Mary’s Church | Attempted Burning
Sohag
  1. St George Church 
  2. St Damiana | Attacked and burned 
  3. Virgin Mary | Attacked and burned 
  4. St Mark Church & Community Center
  5. Anba Abram Church | Destroyed and burned 
Suez
  1. St Saviours Anglican Church 
  2. Franciscan Church and School | Street 23 | Burned 
  3. Holy Shepherd Monastery and Hospital 
  4. Good Shepherd Church (molotov cocktail thrown)- Relationship with Holy Shepherd Monastery unknown.
  5. Greek Orthodox Church 
Christian Institutions
  • House of Father Angelos (Pastor of Church of the Virgin Mary and Father Abram) | Delga, Minya | Burned 
  • Properties and Markets of Copts | al-Gomhorreya Street, Assiut
  • Seventeen Coptic homes | Delga, Minya | Burned
  • YMCA | Minya| Burned 
  • Coptic Homes | Qulta Street, Assiut | Attacked
  • Offices of the Evangelical Foundation & Oum al-Nour | Minya
  • Coptic-owned shops, pharmacy, and hotels | Karnak and Cleopatra Streets, Luxor | Attacked and Looted
  • Dahabeya Nile Boat | Minya| Church-owned 
  • Bible Society bookshop | Cairo | Burned 
  • Bible Society | Fayoum 
  • Bible Society | al-Gomohoreya Street, Assiut 


Sequin Finishes


bittersweet colours, Aryn K, Lucky Brand, Zara, sequins, street style, Summer 2013 trends, boyfriend jeans, Sequin Finishes

bittersweet colours, Aryn K, Lucky Brand, Zara, sequins, street style, Summer 2013 trends, boyfriend jeans, Sequin Finishes
bittersweet colours, Aryn K, Lucky Brand, Zara, sequins, street style, Summer 2013 trends, boyfriend jeans, Sequin Finishes
bittersweet colours, Aryn K, Lucky Brand, Zara, sequins, street style, Summer 2013 trends, boyfriend jeans, Sequin Finishes
bittersweet colours, Aryn K, Lucky Brand, Zara, sequins, street style, Summer 2013 trends, boyfriend jeans, Sequin Finishes
bittersweet colours, Aryn K, Lucky Brand, Zara, sequins, street style, Summer 2013 trends, boyfriend jeans, Sequin Finishes
bittersweet colours, Aryn K, Lucky Brand, Zara, sequins, street style, Summer 2013 trends, boyfriend jeans, Sequin Finishes
bittersweet colours, Aryn K, Lucky Brand, Zara, sequins, street style, Summer 2013 trends, boyfriend jeans, Sequin Finishes
bittersweet colours, Aryn K, Lucky Brand, Zara, sequins, street style, Summer 2013 trends, boyfriend jeans, Sequin Finishes
bittersweet colours, Aryn K, Lucky Brand, Zara, sequins, street style, Summer 2013 trends, boyfriend jeans, Sequin Finishes



Glamorizing the boyfriend jeans is not that hard these days. This is exactly what I did two days ago pairing a pair of blue jeans with this embroidered top that adds the perfect amount of glam and femininity to the whole look. I finished the look with a pair of nude sandals and a mini furry bag and I was good to go with my guy shopping :)
This is one idea of " how to sparkle for day"!




                                                                                    Top: Aryn K/option Here and Here 
                                                                                    Jeans: tanks to Lucky Brand/ Here
                                                                                    Sandals: Zara/ similar design HereHere and Here 
                                                                                    Bag: Valentina/ option Here 





Correa Files Alleged Harassment Claim Against Perez From Esperanza Unida

Irene Agape Correa and Manuel "Manny" Perez

Perez denies sexual harassment claims by Correa, the head of a mental health clinic at Esperanza Unida.

By H. Nelson Goodson
August 15, 2013

Milwaukee, WI - On Tuesday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (JS) reporter Georgia Pabst wrote that a temporary restraining order was filed and granted against, Manuel "Manny" Perez, the current general manager for Esperanza Unida. Irene Agape Correa, 35, President of  United Hands Across the City, a mental health clinic run at the Esperanza Unida, 611 W. National Ave. claims that Perez on several occasions grabbed her arm and once tried to grope her while caressing her, but when another person walked in on them and Perez stopped, according to the JS article.
Perez denied Correa's claims and believes he will be exonerated in court. Correa is running the clinic rent free, according to Perez. Correa also claims, Perez threatened to get rid of her from Esperanza Unida.
An injunction hearing for Perez and Correa is scheduled for August 20, according to court records.
Perez formerly worked for Governor Scott Walker in 2011 and resigned only five months into the job citing he had accomplished what he wanted to do in that short period. Perez was previously an owner of JNA Staffing Inc. and head of the Hispanic Republican group in Wisconsin that supported Walker. He also worked for Manpower Group.
When contacted on Wednesday, Robert Miranda, the executive director of Esperanza Unida who appointed Perez in March as general manager confirmed, that the Esperanza Unida Board will release a statement soon and that former U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic has been retain by the Board. Miranda would not comment further on Correa's alleged sexual harassment claims.

A New Constitution? ... J. D. Longstreet

A New Constitution?   ...   J. D. Longstreet
A New Constitution?
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

******************

The push for a new constitution for the United States of America has begun.

We have all heard the expression “A Living Constitution” – meaning the constitution of 1787 is a document that should be interpreted by taking into account and consideration that Americans live today in different times, not in the 18th century when the current constitution was first drafted.

Many will claim the 21st century American is much more sophisticated than his ancestor who fought a world super power to gain their freedom -- and won, and drafted a constitution, created a government for a country that would show the way to people seeking freedom anywhere in the world, and would, reluctantly, become the police force of the planet.

You know, if the current leaders of America had just a tiny portion of the integrity and sophistication of the men who framed the constitution, they would revere the constitution those 18th century “rabble-rousers” created.  They would recognize that it was, and is, an American constitution for all time, and that includes today. They would also recognize that it deserves protection from the likes of those who would gut it, re-interpret it, and re-write it into some limp, compliant, document that would say whatever the leaders of this country WANT it to say WHEN they want it to say it.  In other words, there are those in America today who would use a “Living Constitution” against the people of America – in a heart beat!  It would no longer be a protector of Americans it would become a weapon to be used against Americans by ruthless leaders who don’t give a whit about the liberty and freedom guaranteed American citizens by the original US Constitution.

Unfortunately, there is a growing clamor from the Political Left in America for a new constitution. Frighteningly, their numbers are growing. Many politicians in power today are amongst them -- as are many in the judicial community across America -- and even among the federal judiciary.

Before we continue, allow me to assure you that I am NOT among those who advocate for a new constitution nor do I believe the US Constitution is a “living document.”  No!  I believe the original constitution is responsible for making this country great.  It has made Americans the freest people anywhere on the planet today and as far back in history as you care to look. Even today when Americans are enduring a period of financial uncertainty, we are still the most prosperous people in history.  The original US Constitution made that possible.

The original constitution placed restraints on the government of America and those restraints allowed the American people to be, as the US Army used to say: “…
 All they could be!”  As a result, America became one of the most creative nations in history.

For many decades there has been a rather large number of Americans who have sought to crush America’s liberty, America’s freedom, and create a so-called “New America.”  They seek to create a “collectivist” society in America.  WE call it Socialism.  For many decades those people have pulled the strings of their marionettes in our national government – and they have done it from the shadows.  Now, however, their marionettes are in high positions of power within the US government.

Their actions tell us they intend to kill off the America we know and replace its government with a government not shackled by the democratic process, a government free of the burden of acting as representatives of the American people.  Ultimately, they intend to replace the US constitutional republic.  They will remove all control of the government by the people.  America will become that proverbial “Socialist Dung Heap.”  The constitution will be dead.

When we Americans look about, at our country today, we can readily see she bears little resemblance to the America of five or six decades ago.  There is a reason for that.

There are a number of Americans today who believe that the Shadow Government has been slowly, but surely, maneuvering a judicial form of government into place in America. Think about this -- more and more laws are being made by the federal judiciary than by the national legislature, the Congress, these days.  In many case, judges legislating from the bench were appointed to their current positions for life.  They are going to be there for a while and they are doing a great deal of harm to our country.  But, they have little to fear from the electorate as they, themselves, were not elected, and will never have to stand for election.

On the surface, America’s legislative process appears to be the same as always, but it is becoming more obvious, as time passes, that the responsibility for making America’s laws has been slowly shifting to the federal courts.

America is a nation in jeopardy of losing itself today.  The original constitution, which has been the protector of our freedom and liberty since 1787, is in deep trouble today.  There are those among us who would shred it, in a heartbeat, to get what they want – unbridled power.  It is the duty of every American to protect the original constitution from the forces of evil at work in our government today.

America is in need of rescue right now -- at this moment.  I contend that she has never, in her long history, been as threatened by power hungry men and women as she is today.

Ben Franklin, one of the founders of the country, told us they had given us a Republic, and he added these important words: “… if you can KEEP IT.”

As I write today, there is serious doubt that modern Americans are up to the challenge of safeguarding America’s liberty, and freedom. You may question how I can say that.  I would counter by asking, how else, then, do you explain the socialist government in Washington, DC, today?

In about fifteen months, or so,  Americans will be going to the polls again.  I intend to vote for the most conservative candidates on the ballot.  If we are to save America, I am convinced, THIS is where we begin.  After that, well, -- may God help us.

 © J. D. Longstreet

Rental Income Bubbles (Musical Tribute)


Click to enlarge.

Muse - Hysteria


'cause I want it now
I want it now
give me your heart and your soul

I'm not breaking down
I'm breaking out
last chance to lose control

Source Data:
FRB: Z.1 Release

27-year-old Man Fatally Shot On S. Chavez Drive In Milwaukee's Southside Identified

Carrington was talking to his girlfriend when shot at this public payphone.

Photo: HNG/HNNUSA

Mark Carrington

Photo: Courtesy of WISN

Carrington was talking to his girlfriend on public payphone on S. Chavez Drive when he was fatally shot.

By H. Nelson Goodson
August 14, 2013

Milwaukee, WI - On Wednesday, WISN News dot com identified Mark Carrington, 27, who was fatally shot multiple times while using a public payphone at the 900 S. Cesar E. Chavez Drive on early Wednesday. Carrington was talking to his girlfriend around 1:30 a.m. when he was shot. His girlfriend, Bianca Prescott told WISN that she her the shots and knew he was dead.
Police were patrolling at the 1600 block of W. National Ave. when they heard multiple shots on Chavez Drive. When they went to investigate, they found Carrington's body on the sidewalk, according to police.
Carrington was scheduled to be sentenced in October for a felony drug related charge, according to WISN. 
Police are looking at outdoor surveillance camera video recordings from businesses where Carrington was shot and along the block for evidence. Police have several leads to a suspect or suspects.

The New Modern Republican Party?...

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


Perhaps the following is a big reason the Republican party, aka the Tea Party, is losing credibility.

Given Steve Lonegan's self identified "callous disregard" for presumably every conceivable (unfortunate) situation maybe the party of which he is a member should take a look at how the majority of Americans view his callousness, and by extension the callousness of the party he represents.



Only a blind person could shoot themselves (and their party) in the foot as thoroughly as this dunderhead.

Read the story HERE.

Via: Memeorandum

Gingrich Speaking Out, In Criticism Of His Own Party...

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



I have not been a advocate of Newt Gingrich these past few years. I mean during his presidential campaign and all.

I guess though the guy deserves credit for having the capacity to work with Bill Clinton when he was Speaker of the House and Mr. Clinton was the President.

Now, during these times of rancor and discontent between brothers and sisters (conservatives and liberals, republicans and democrats) Mr. Gingrich is advising his more recalcitrant Republican brethren to, well, can I safely say THINK?

The ex Speaker is sounding an quite a bit like, well, an elder Statesman chastising his own party for their lack of idea's nonetheless. Who would've thought?

I ain't no backer of the ACA has written and poured down our throats. But given the opposition party has come up with no alternative, other than repealing the ACA (and impeaching President Obama) I give the Speaker high fives for speaking out.

From CNN Politics here is some of what the Speaker had to say.

Former House Speaker and presidential candidate Newt Gingrich reprimanded his fellow Republicans in unusually harsh terms Wednesday, blaming GOP members of Congress for developing "zero" alternatives to President Obama's health care reform law.

Gingrich, who was speaking at the opening session of the Republican National Committee's summer meeting, fielded a question about "Obamacare" and recalled that Republicans were able to block Bill Clinton's health care reform effort in 1994 because they had "a positive alternative approach" to health care.

But Republicans today have nothing comparable to offer, Gingrich told nearly the 200 state party chairs, operatives and activists gathered in Boston for the conference.

"I will bet you, for most of you, you go home in the next two weeks when your members of Congress are home, and you look them in the eye and you say, 'What is your positive replacement for Obamacare?' They will have zero answer," Gingrich said.

Gingrich blamed the problem on Republican culture that rewards obstruction and negativity instead of innovation and "being positive."

"We are caught up right now in a culture, and you see it every single day, where as long as we are negative and as long as we are vicious and as long as we can tear down our opponent, we don't have to learn anything," Gingrich said, acknowledging the "totally candid" nature of his remarks..."

In a moment of candor that represented COMPLETE RATIONAL HONESTY, Mr. Gingrich summed up the MAJOR problem facing republicans and conservatives today. Whether or not it will have any impact remains to be seen. For all you reasonable conservatives, republicans, and libertarians now is the time to pressure your leaders in the House and the Senate as well as at the state level to do SOMETHING that can be seen as both POSITIVE and WORKABLE.

Continue reading Mr. Gingrich's remarks HERE.

Via: Memeorandum

Local Milwaukee Singer And Composer Allegedly Suffered Fatal Overdose

Jose Lopez, aka, "Kenepa, El Ultimatus"

Photo: Facebook

Promising local Milwaukee singer and composer died of an apparent overdose, but police continue to investigate his death.

By H. Nelson Goodson
August 14, 2013

Milwaukee, WI - Police are investigating the death of Jose Lopez, 25, aka, "Kenepa, El Ultimatus" who died on Tuesday. Lopez is originally from Vega Alta, Puerto Rico. Lopez is also a popular local singer and composer who was a recording artist for Traficando Music Entertainment. He hoped to become a security guard and eventually to become a police officer, according to a Facebook (FB) posting by Luis Figueroa, who knew him and recently talked to him about becoming an "armed security guard."
A vigil by friends and family members was held yesterday outside his residence at the 1700 block of S. 18th St. News of his untimely death spread through quickly on Facebook. Lopez is survived by his girlfriend and two children. 
A FB posting on Tuesday by Jose Raul Millan responding to Figueroa's asking about Lopez's death stated, "Yes its true pa, our brother is gone to a better place now, this happend three hours ago, an ovedose on perks, liquor and redbull on 18th and burnham." The comment was posted at 2:48 p.m. on Tuesday by Millan.
Police or the Milwaukee medical examiner's office have not released any information about Lopez's cause of death.
A fundraiser for Lopez or Kenepa will be held on Friday beginning at 7:00 p.m. at Club International at the 1600 block of W. National Ave. in Milwaukee (No cover, but will accept a donation, according to a flyer circulating on FB).

Funeral services for Lopez, aka, Kenepa will be held on Friday at the Witkowiak Funeral Home at the 500 block of W. Historic Mitchell Street in Milwaukee, WI from 9:00 a.m. to noon. After noon services, interment will be at the Forest Home Cemetery. 

Lopez recording (2012) at link: Kenepa

refinishing the bench - part 2

So the bench.


When last we left our story (read part 1 here), it looked something like this.

After all the sanding was complete, and my tears were dried, I called over my mom and dad to take a look at what I was working with. After decades of refinishing furniture and selling it, they are like the experts on Antique Roadshow. I bring them things, they tell me the good/bad news and then I jump for joy or kick them out of the house, depending on their answer.

The verdict - it was determined I was looking at a piece made of at least two different types of wood. Damn you furniture!

But after a cool down period I realized/remembered that this is not a fancy piece. This is backwoods furniture y'all. The people sitting in these pews were most likely in their farmer overalls rather than suits so it was never meant to be a fine antique.

So I gave in and decided I couldn't fight an old church pew. (its probably sacrilegious or something) It will be whatever it is. After all, I have it (and love it) because of its history, not its beauty.


So all though some spots never came out, no matter how much I sanded, I decided it was time to move on and stain. Embrace the character. Embrace the character. (this is my staining the bench mantra)


And after three coats of stain and two coats of clear polyurethane here she is. Some of her red paint still shows thru (some wood 'released' the paint better than others) and I like that. It is a reminder of how it looked as I grew up and my little nod to all the years my parents had it.





Ignore that table behind the bench and those lamps, that's a whole other post.

This isn't a tutorial on refinishing (obviously) but rather just a tale to remember that not all furniture will cooperate with your plan. And sometimes that's for the best. Love what you have and it will work for you.

Have you ever had a bossy piece of furniture that wouldn't cooperate? 

The Sarcasm Report v.178

August 13, 2013
Rise in retail sales signals stronger growth

Retail sales jumped in July, unhampered by an increase in fuel prices, according to government data.

Gasoline station nominal sales were unhampered by an increase in fuel prices? Shocking!

Retail Sales for July 2013 (Musical Tribute)

Click to enlarge.

Here's the best part.

July 1, 2013
California 3.5-cent gas tax hike kicks in for drivers

Prices are going up 3.5 cents. California drivers were already paying 36 cents a gallon in state taxes, but the hike means drivers will pay 39.5 cents. Including the other local, state and federal taxes, California drivers will be paying 72 cents in taxes on each gallon alone, making for the highest prices in the nation.

That's like a seventh of our country! Just look at all that unhampered growth in July! Amazing!

Aug 9, 2013
Restaurant sales, traffic sink in July

“July was a very disappointing month for the restaurant industry,” Lynne Collier, an analyst with Dallas-based Sterne-Agee, wrote in a report. “However, it is our view that we are not heading into a protracted downturn.”

Who said anything about protracted downturns? Why are we bringing that up at all? Resilient! Strong! These are the words I wish to hear! Unhampered growth I tell you!

The report said that based on conversations with numerous restaurant companies, Collier believes the downturn in sales resulted from the Fourth of July falling on a Thursday, poor weather and higher spending on big-ticket items such as homes and autos.

Thursday! Yes! Because nobody would ever think to take Friday off too! I certainly never did! Why burn a vacation day on that? Makes no sense! And nobody ever eats out on the 4th when it is a weekday. That's just nuts! No, sir. It's best to just go to bed early and sleep. That's what I love about the 4th: peace and quiet. You could hear a pin drop at 8pm around here. I swear!

Poor weather everywhere in the country! Simultaneously! For the entire month! And let's not forget all that higher spending on big-ticket items such as homes and autos and food and gasoline too!

This concludes the sarcasm report. Not much sarcasm this time let me tell you!

Mayor Bob Filner, Getting it Shoved Up His by Hooters!...

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


Not big news. Yet is is indicative of our nation and the general moral fiber of said nation. A very appropriate response to a VERY sick individual.


SLATE - Earlier today, the executive director of the San Diego Republican Party tweeted this image (above) from in front of the Hooters in Rancho Bernardo.

According to the manager of that restaurant, all of the Hooters locations in the city (Rancho Bernardo is in the zone) have taken up this policy. "The signs went up at our four locations in San Diego this morning," said Melissa Fry, director of marketing for HootWinc, the west coast Hooters franchise. "It's not a political move for us in any way, shape, or form. We're strictly taking a stand for the fair treatment of women. At our franchise alone, we employ 1100 beautiful, talented women." And so Mayor Bob Filner, who has been locked out of city hall, has just been locked out of this fine family restaurant.

UPDATE: Randy Dotinga informs me that this poster uses a text and design suggested by Glenn Beck. Who says he's lost his cultural cachet?

While generally a detractor of the "Beckman's" rather idiot and overheated hyperbole the guy nailed this one. God going Beckman!

Via: Memeorandum

A Serious Plan to Generate 0.2% Annual Inflation


Click to enlarge.

Set the Fed Funds rate at 0% and then patiently wait for the next recession! Oh, and don't forget to mention the word "taper" often!

Genius!

I'm either half-joking or half-serious. Even I don't know!

Seriously, I don't know. I don't think the Japanese knew. Come to think of it, I doubt Bernanke does either. Does anyone know? What happened the last time the Fed Funds rate was set at 0% for more than 4 years? Surely someone must know.

The plan to get to 0.2% inflation might work, right? That's what the formula in the chart says. Not saying it will work. Not saying it won't. Just saying it might.

This is not investment advice.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

America: will its present form of government survive

America: will its present form of government survive

America: will its present form of government survive

 

A RINO virus is quickly moving through the Republican ranks in the Congress. One by one the conservative contingent of the Senate and the House of Representatives are falling ill to this contagion. With few exceptions, their voices are unified with their opponents, when antithetical tones should be heard. Democrats believe there are more than enough votes to pass pending immigration legislation. Whispers from Republican leadership bear out the latter statement. All appearances suggest the two-party system has been redefined under Obama’s disharmonious leadership. Some even believe the parties have merged on many levels. President Obama has been able to sidestep most issues that are toxic to his presidency, surprisingly with major assistance from the Republicans. Originally Congressional committees moved aggressively to ferret out detriments emanating from the Administration, these so-called scandals have been reduced to quiet supplication on requests for data from the reigning regime. No one in Congress has been able to overcome Obama’s intricate administrative machinery to keep him at bay from moving on his very open socialist agenda. Government’s balance has been thrown towards the Executive branch, as though we are on a war footing against ourselves. Founders of this nation looked towards the future as they finished the Constitution. They were aware that too few strengths embedded in government structure would render Democratic principles useless. Yet, they were wise enough to know that too much would bring us full circle, similar to the egregious monarchy America had recently casted off. Unfortunately, they could not foresee a time when the Constitution would be usurped by a renegade government. This self-serving entity has absconded with the country’s wealth and robbed the nation of its most valuable resource, educated people. Government intervention has caused a decline in every major institution in American in the last four years except for one, the entitlement industry. Exponentially growing yearly, our newly merged political party is spending America into destitution lathering recipients with the largesse from others’ labors. Why? To maintain their power base. With the population moving towards 320 million, America’s central core of power no longer represents the electorate in entirety. A government structured around one person as President does not make sense as it did during the birth of this nation. President Obama has proven this premise over and over again. Additionally, 535 people in both legislative branches fail to reflect the wishes of those who put them in office. This obvious fact cannot be refuted. One review of the legislative agenda from the last 4 years is evidence enough. A Constitutional committee should study these issues because America is no longer the country millions have died to preserve. Mark Davis, MD: author of Demons of Democracy and the forthcoming book, Obamacare Dead on Arrival, A Prescription for Disaster. President of Healthnets Review Services and Davis Book Reviews. www.healthnetsreviewservices.com, platomd@gmail.com To comment please post to our group on LinkedIn, Government in Transition.

Seton University Study Shows An Increase Of Illegal Medical Repatriations By U.S. Hospitals

Quelino Jiménez Ojeda

A Seton Hall Law School study on forced or coerce medical repatriation criticized the U.S. government for its lack to enforce its exclusive authority to deport individuals or sanction hospitals whether private or public that engage in illegal deportations of ill patients to cut exceeding medical costs.

By H. Nelson Goodson
August 13, 2013

Washington, D.C. - The immigration reform debate, civil disobedience protests and a national push by both immigrants and supporters for reform continues in Washington, D.C. in the hope that U.S. House of Representatives, which is controlled by the Republicans can approve a bill that would allow a path to citizenship for more than 11 million of undocumented immigrants this year. One growing issue that has been in the shadows, left out from immigration reform and reported by few is the illegal medical repatriation by hospitals in the country. It's a widely exercised practice with no consequences or sanctions to hospitals that spend thousands of dollars to private removal services to deport ill patients to other countries for the purpose to cut medical treatment costs from uninsured immigrants. 
The medical repatriation practice by hospitals has been documented in 15 states and ill patients have been illegally deported to the following countries, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Lithuania, Mexico, Philippines, Poland and South Korea.
A joint study by the Center for Social Justice at Seton Hall Law School and Health Justice Program at New York Lawyers for Public Interest released on December 2012 revealed an increase of illegal medical repatriation (deportation) of uninsured ill patients to foreign medical facilities. The medical repatriation study criticized the U.S. government for its lack to enforce its exclusive authority to deport individuals or sanction hospitals whether private or public that engage in illegal deportations of ill patients to cut exceeding medical costs. The study also found that undocumented injured immigrants, permanent residents and a U.S. born child were victims of medical repatriation because they were uninsured.
The study cites the case of Quelino Jiménez Ojeda who was injured while doing a roofing job in Chicago and ended up at a local hospital on August 20, 2010. Once Ojeda was considered stabilized, the hospital executive board decided to deport Ojeda to Mexico. A hospital spokesperson first admitted that it was done by Ojeda's family consent, but later recanted when Ojeda and his mother confirmed, that the hospital had lied and deported him without approval. The hospital also got approval from the Mexican government to allow Ojeda back in the country by falsifying documents, the Ojeda family claimed. 
In Feb. 2011, Kelly Jo Golson, senior vice president and spokesperson for Advocate Christ Medical Center (ACMC) in Oak Lawn admitted to deporting quadriplegic patient Quelino Jiménez Ojeda, 23, to Mexico. Ojeda was taken out of the medical center on December 21, 2010 after the executive ACMC board decided to forcibly remove Ojeda from hospital care after five months of treatment for a spinal cord injury escalating to $650,000 in medical costs. Ojeda was taken out of the hospital by AeroCare personnel hired by ACMC and put Ojeda on a plane to Mexico, so ACMC could finally stop paying for his medical treatment. The AeroCare transfer of Ojeda to Mexico cost $60,000, according to Golson.
Community activists in Chicago also alleged both the AeroCare and Advocate might have falsified information to acquire Mexican government documents to deport Ojeda to Oaxaca, Mexico without his consent or family's authorization.
In the early hours of January 1, 2012, Ojeda died at the age of 24, of an apparent heart attack while a patient at the Doctor Macedonio Benitez Fuentes General Hospital in Juchitan de Zaragoza, Oaxaca, Mexico. 
Ojeda's case is one of multiple cases mentioned in the Seton study. At least 800 cases showed attempted or involuntary deportation of ill patients in the last six years before the report was released. The patients were forced or coerced in the widely practice of medical repatriation by hospitals.
A recent medical repatriation was authorized by the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey when it decided to deport Wladyslaw Haniszewski, 69, an undocumented Polish immigrant in June who had lived in the U.S. for 30 years. Haniszewski ended up in a shelter after losing his job and apartment in Perth Amboy. He suffered a crippling heart attack that rendered him unconscious and ended up at the New Jersey hospital. While he was unconscious due to the stroke, the hospital deported him without letting anyone know or his friends who later identified him after he was deported. He later woke up in Poland.
Haniszewski suffers from a blood disease and was uninsured.
Haniszewski was transported to a Poland hospital in Boleslawiec without his consent and left there, according the NYdailynews.
Numerous other cases of medical repatriation are suspected of have taken place in the U.S., but have gone unreported due to a lack of government regulation and a mandatory requirement to report such cases.
The study recommended that the "U.S. Department of Health and Human Services track medical repatriation, impose sanctions on hospitals that perform involuntary medical repatriation and develop regulations that impose greater accountability for hospitals discharging patients to facilities abroad...(to push) for Congress to convene hearings and to comply with international human rights obligations."

Seton University study:


Discharge, Deportation, and Dangerous Journeys: A Study on the Practice of Medical Repatriation / Full Report (PDF) at   http://is.gd/AWQkjE


Discharge, Deportation, and Dangerous Journeys: A Study on the Practice of Medical Repatriation / Executive Summary (PDF) at   http://is.gd/DzchlX


Alta Médica, Deportación, y Viajes Peligrosos: Un Informe sobre la Práctica de Repatriación Medica / Resumen Ejecutivo (PDF)   http://is.gd/bkxImn



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Oy Vey, Louie G. ... Idiocy Personified!

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




Perhaps the best comedy show in America!

Here's the Story.

Via: Memeorandum

It is Becoming Clearer Methinks...

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



I was just reading Thomas Paine. I was actually amazed at how much I had FORGOTTEN about the man and galvanizing force for the American Revolution over the past 43 years since I actually read and studied a bit about his life and social views. I was warmly reminded that aside from NOT being a religious zealot he actually bought into the whole notion that there is, and out to be a social contract between the people and the government they have a right to choose. Damn I feel stupid (it's either that or I'm suffering from dementia) right about now. I guess advancing age can have that effect. I can't speak for the young-ins in the The Party movement of course, nor would I want to.

WASHINGTON — In another setback for President Obama’s health care initiative, the administration has delayed until 2015 a significant consumer protection in the law that limits how much people may have to spend on their own health care.

The limit on out-of-pocket costs, including deductibles and co-payments, was not supposed to exceed $6,350 for an individual and $12,700 for a family. But under a little-noticed ruling, federal officials have granted a one-year grace period to some insurers, allowing them to set higher limits, or no limit at all on some costs, in 2014.

The grace period has been outlined on the Labor Department’s Web site since February, but was obscured in a maze of legal and bureaucratic language that went largely unnoticed. When asked in recent days about the language — which appeared as an answer to one of 137 “frequently asked questions about Affordable Care Act implementation” — department officials confirmed the policy.

The discovery is likely to fuel continuing Republican efforts this fall to discredit the president’s health care law {emphasis mine}. (Read More)

Yeah, I believe (for reasons of my own), that the ACA or ObamaCare is a badly flawed law that actually benefits primarily the insurance companies and the the large national pharmaceuticals, while throwing a bone to the very poor and the indigent.

Again I'm reminded of Thomas Paine and the outdated notion of a social contract. Damn it's all so confusing. But I'm convinced that after the special interests Get together (AGAIN), and work out the ideal compromise everything will come out bright and sparking white in the end.

Via: Memeorandum