It never seems to dawn on political leaders or their “advisors”, that we dont want spin.  We want results, especially when it comes to our military and winning wars.

Snippet from the Telegraph:
“An adviser to the administration said: People aren’t sure whether McChrystal is being naïve or an upstart. To my mind he doesn’t seem ready for this Washington hard-ball and is just speaking his mind too plainly.”

This is the mindset a little more than half our population voted for  and at least 40% will blindly support no matter bad things become. 

Betty Eadie claims to have died and went to heaven, relating her experience in this book.

Betty’s story may be inspiring and uplifting to non-Christians who badly want some sign that there’s life after death.   To non-Christians her tale would have to be insulting and far-fetched heresey.

While  meeting and conversing with Jesus, He makes no reference to dying for our sins or being the only way to heaven.  Enlightening moments comes off as an “everything we do on earth is an exercise in higher learning”.
Not good or evil – but self-knowledge.  Knowledge is more important than the actual deeds.

It’s unclear whether all humans or just some - are spirits being voluntarily recycled through life experiences, being reborn in human form so they may “learn” more.  Regardless, she claims to believe in Jesus however nothing she relates in her story is consistent with Christ. 

Along her way,  she meets spirits who must really be her BFF’s, enters the library of all knowledge which is instant on any subject or person you desire, and hangs out with the high tribunal of 12 men who council her on returning to earth.   Of course, Jesus couldnt possibly allow her to remember anything she learned from the library so he ………drum roll………get ready for the predictable ………”erased her memory!”

The author has been exposed to an amalgam of mysticysm and religions, lending credence to the scientific theory that life after death accounts are nothing more than electrical signals still moving about, conjuring up “dreams” based on what we’ve been exposed to during life.   Other possible reasons for this book are:  she smokes alot of dope, she’s nuts, wants to make money writing and smokes alot of dope.

Eadies’ writing style is on par with your tpyical blogger; unpolished.  The only thing believable about this book is that it was written by someone who is not a professional or learned author and it was her first book.  A quick look at her website however shows that she now has more books to her credit (http://www.embracedbythelight.com/)

Our Federal Trade Commission is going to hold workshops.  Oh boy I cant wait to find out how much this is costing us.

What they’re really doing is trying to figure out ways to pump up the viewership of the left wing branch of media.  You know, the ones at the bottom of this list every month:

CABLE NEWS RACE
MONDAY, AUG. 24, 2009

FOXNEWS O’REILLY 3,440,000
FOXNEWS HANNITY 2,937,000
FOXNEWS BECK 2,810,000
FOXNEWS GRETA 2,450,000
FOXNEWS BAIER 2,066,000
FOXNEWS SHEP 1,860,000
MSNBC OLBERMANN 1,114,000
CNN KING 1,063,000
MSNBC MADDOW 885,000
CNN COOPER 827,000
MSNBC HARDBALL 640,000

This isnt a phenomenon, it’s been like this for 10 years, and it goes to illustrate once again that this is a center/right nation when it comes to our values and interests.

With Obama rapidly losing support and their means to manipulate what we see and hear, you’re going to see alot more attacks and complaints from the White House directed at Fox News.  It’s how the children in power roll.

Remember the old painted green steel garden hose reels when you were a kid?  They just dont sell ‘em anymore.  Go ahead and google your hearts desire, but chances are you wont find one easily online, and certainly not at brick and mortar retailers like Home Depot, Menards, or Walmart.

You’re likely to keep seeing all the stores carry those crappy plastic Suncast reels that leak once you hook them up, or tip over with even the slightest bit of hose movement.  You can find a few steel constructed units but they cost anywhere from $130 up to $350, but c’mon now it’s just a damned hose reel. 

I diligently looked for an American made metal hose reel that didnt require a small loan or the trading one of my kidneys.  The best I found is a Chinese made unit, sold under “Yardworks” shown below, and it is not a common unit sold among stores.  My mother bought one at Menard’s for $59 and it only took about 25 minutes to assemble it.

It does NOT leak, nor will it tip over even when tugging at the 150ft of hose I wrapped on it. (It can take up to 300ft of 5/8″ hose).  The fittings are made of metal, not cheap plastic.

Normally I would lay down more specs and thoughts, but an excellent review was already posted here : http://www.epinions.com/review/Hose_Reel_Cart/content_480138464900
 Epinions will show the wrong unit pictured and the author makes note of it in his review.

The pics above I snagged at Gemplers.com an online supply shop, where this same unit costs $125.

The bottom line is, if you need a garden hose reel, go to Menards and get this one – and get your gardening on.

  I renounce my long standing view of Jean Claude Van Damme.   A hollywood action darling of the 80’s and 90’s he deserved his reputation for bad acting and silly action movies,

……………..but that was then and this is now.

He’s back, a mature and humbled actor – putting self deprication, humor, and an inner darkness all out in front.  I’ll go as far as to say there is no other action star who’s nailed such startling emotion-driven sequences as he has in this latest film. 

The last pleasant acting gem came when Bruce Willis did the Sixth Sense, and even that takes a back seat to JCVD. 

The plot of the movie centers on Jean Claude the washed up action star struggling to make movie deals with hackish producers out to use him for a few quick bucks, and while trying to get some money advanced to him he ends up in the middle of a bank robbery.  The press and the police have good information indicating JCVD is part of the heist and malay ensues as die hard fans and police surround the bank to get a piece of him.

I’d just mark this up to a one in a million performance, a lucky script, or even chance, but he also pulled off another excellent portayal a few years ago in a movie called In Hell.  No martial arts, no hammy tough guy bs.  In Hell, he’s a man sentenced in a foreign prison for taking the law into his own hands.  Yes, it’s a bustem up prison movie, but he uses no martial arts and the action is gritty and realistic.  He doesnt even have any muscle in this one, it’s very weird to see a skinny out of shape Van Damme trying to keep his butt from being kicked.  But I digress….

I highly recommend JCVD, and his earlier work In Hell.  Both will amaze those familiar with the Van Damme of old.

This is simply not the same cheesey action guy from the 80’s.

Self-righteousness has traditionally been a term attached by the media and democrats to anyone forcing their moral guidelines on the rest of society.  You know, those horrible busybodies in opposition to adults having sex with children, fatherless families, abortions of convenience, communism, marxism, and [D] Senator Byrd’s beloved KKK.
 
Nothing encroaches on the freedoms of democrats like telling them you dont want to pay for their children, their houseing, their groceries, or locking up their most loyal voting consituency – 3rd time felons.

Replacing the vile Christians in this new century, Democrats plan to bring us what we’ve always knew would solve the root of suffering in the world:  Snack-eaters.

No, there isnt going to be any stipulations made for the protected class of generational dumdums who burden society with their outrageous disregard of humanity. We’re going after the real culprits this time, the sinister snackenstiens among us.
They are the real evil of this world!  How dare they have a total body fat percentage over 3%! 

While you’re paying for your the neighbor’s little darling’s 2nd abortion and her right to hide it from her parent(s), you will not find solitude with your bag of Doritos without the new Behavior Police whacking you with a punitive tax.

Can of soda you say?  Not so fast. You must pay extra for you sugar intake, because it’s just not moral to indulge in such slovenly behavior without first paying the fiddler.   Don’t even joke around that you’re going to roll your own cigarettes away from the public eye – to do so is a sin against goverment.  One of the first actions of our Dear Leader was to close the “loophole” on bulk tobacco.

The new sin taxation was outright rejected by the people only a few months back when congressional democrats mulled over their newfound (predicted years ago) venue into our wallets. 
Have no fear, because the democrat’s counterparts in the media and the CDC are pushing forward with reports, studies, and glib support for renewing this call for higher morality and the demonization of these junkhounds. McDonalds, Lay’s, Hershey’s beware, we know you are the root of evil unlike no other since the crusaders. 

You will be stopped!

As I puff away my cigarette at midnight, I’m in awe of the stars.  Thousands pinned to the blackness above me and I’m saddened to know I’ll never be closer to any one of them as I am right now.  Im sad to think they’re randomly positioned by a violent cosmic birth, their trajectory increasing, expanding, heading to an unkown end as does everything before and after we’re gone.

I’m sad to think there could have been a creator – who abandoned it.  Did “He” create more life somewhere, or has it sprang from some long microbiotic misadventure?  Are we alone. Is there a purpose.  Why.

The cigarette winks out,

The stars fade from my mind.

As much as they’ll never know or care that I ever existed, I now feel the same about the universe.

Besides, stars dont have breasts.

“It took Bush 8 years to get us into this mess, it will take years to clean it up!”. 
It’s meant to derail any thought or questioning of the Obama-owned economy by people who dont understand economics and are coincidentally rabid Obama supporters.  Dont confuse this with a rant  tarring all democrats, there’s still a few Blue Dogs who care about the well being of Americans.

Amazingly, even in this age of instant access to documented facts (and even pictures for those with a public education ) myths are formed and spread ad nauseum without much resistance.  Instead of delving into poor jounalism and why it exists, I’ll just set the record straight about how the economy collapsed. It’s so simple a caveman ……well, you know.

The quickest way to deal with it is simply to respond “Really, how so?”   If utter silence doesnt ensue, it’s likely  you’re now hearing that Cheney is hiding the Iraqi oil in his secret basment (you know, the one he accesses from a fake phonebooth) or well thought-out brilliant quips about how Bush commanded hurricanes to kill blacks.  If you dont walk off somewhere to rip your hair out, you can try to pass on a little wisdom.  Consider it your civic duty or simple charity. 

The line-up shouldnt surprise anyone, with the exception of 6th graders and younger:  Carter, Clinton, Cuomo, Franks, Dodd, and Acorn have their fingerprints all over this economic wrecking-ball, some more than other for the last 30 years - but even as recently as a few years ago when they put up roadblocks to reform the system.  17 Republicans including Bush and McCain petitioned the congress to specifically reign in Freddy and Fanny, but were given “the hand” by a party who then turned around with amazing gall wailing “Bush Caused This Mess!”  It’s a helluva talking point  -  3  one syllable words designed to empassion people who only read headlines or catch youtube bites.

I’ve detailed the time-line ”here“.  Next time you’re trying to have a rational discussion about the economy you’ll be ready when an individual drops the “The Bush Mess” canard (equivalent of a bean-fart) into the fray.

Putting socialism into hyperdriver, the Obama administration is right now ramming through punitive health care policy, unfair trade advantages to benefit China, Cap and Trade that not one serious economist supports, - all while the fire’s hot. 

Stay tuned.

One of the biggest eye-glazers can be the explanation of federal spending.  Everyone has their own spin and bias reporting these figures, so the Heritage Foundation does the work and provides an easy to understand chart for the rest of us…….

http://www.heritage.org/research/features/budgetchartbook/Federal-Spending-Growing-Faster-Than-Federal-Revenue.aspx

On a related note: Congress has increased spending by 50% for travels to exotic islands with their families, fancy dinners, and airfare to places most will never be able afford – all in the name of understanding the world.

Free clue for our leadership:  Get a webcam and video conference to get your learn on.  You have no right to bring your family and friends to the Galapogos or Paris on the back of the taxpayers.

President Obama said that he would not meddle in Iran’s elections by putting pressure on their ”soveign democracy” to investigate what is globally seen as  corrupted results, in effect supporting a mini-dictator who’s threatened to carry out genocide on Israel (as well as being the biggest arms supplier to terrorists in Iraq).

This week, President Obama takes the side of Honduran mini-dictator Manuel Zelaya who tried to forcibly and unconstitutionally remain in office past term limits, going as far as calling the protection of their consitution and government-backed removal,  an illegal coup. 

President Obama prides himself as a constitutional scholar, and must know that his actions fly in the face of the most rudimental laws governing free elections and has taken the wrong side of two major foreign policy issues in only a few weeks time.

He is thus far establishing a very clear trend of jumping to the support of dictators instead of their oppressed citizens.  These are not the actions of a caring and compassionate man of the people.  Compounding his ineptness is the breaking of US tradition by bowing to foreign kings and pushing for direct negotiations with unsavory dictators who smuggly defy the most basic human rights of their citizens.  His first action as President was to write glossy “can we be friends” letters to those who oppress and abuse the people of their nations. 

This President’s foreign policy failures are massive and stand in stark contrast to his campaign promises of a global Utopia under his tutelage.  North Korea, Iran, Cuba, Russia, and China, have all been thumbing their noses at President Obama and US interests.  It’s easy to criticize former President Bush for his lack of eloquency at times, but one thing remains clear – he understood the psychology and danger of menace states and dealt with them in a manner that does not reward bad behavior.

Even Obama’s staunchest supporters must realize that any further rationalization or support of his foreign polcies thus far, are not in line with the American people’s feelings or interests and are lying with straight faces to their consituents about ther merits of the President’s actions.