It's How Voices Carry or Not Thing

Dear America,

to set the day's stage, let's go to a light moment in the current book I'm reading, The Destiny of the Republic, A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President, by Candice Millard:

Candice writes of the "astonishing speed" in which the telephone -- newly invented by Alexander Graham Bell -- won over the hearts and minds, even the skeptics and naysayers, like someone by the name of Mark Twain.  He lamented that "the voice already carries entirely too far as it is...if Bell had invented a muffler or a gag he would have done a real service."  And yet, duly noted within this context, Twain had convinced his boss at the Hartford Courant into getting one for the newsroom -- and he installed a couple of phones at home!  too funny

But it's that part that reads, "the voice already carries entirely too far as it is" that got to me. And oh how we must wonder, just how much a certain man like Mark Twain would hate what's afoot these days, with all the smart phone and twitter and Snapchat and Instagram-ing going on. yikes.

The thing is, voices do carry.  oh how they carry.

And these days, it's not only about the ways and means our voices carry, it's also about who controls the voice -- which then translates to things like, who hears it, the content itself, and how it aligns -- or doesn't align -- with a certain agenda...and so on. Which explains why, until Fox News, the Left had a monopoly on controlling the voice and messaging to the general public; until Fox News, the liberal optics and perspective was all the American people ever received, no matter if it went in one ear and out the other, or settled comfortably into the psyche, and right next door to a mind full,  a community really, of neighboring thoughts.

The news of the day -- the voices of the day -- were cherry-picked and pruned, bound and gagged,  before any of it made it to the airwaves or went to market.

And to be sure, if you happen to have a voice as loud and entitled as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, even someone like Nancy Pelosi has to set the world according to the AOC straight from time to time...“While there are people who have a large number of Twitter followers, what’s important is that we have large numbers of votes on the floor of the House" ....Pelosi said in an interview with USA Today.

we can bag that beauty alongside this little turn of a Pelosi-peach:  "The green dream, or whatever they call it, nobody knows what it is, but they're for it, right?"  Yes, Nancy, you are in charge, huh.

It's just amazing how riled up the Left gets, however, just by the thought of hearing something that they do not agree with, right?  It's like, they go ballistic; they throw tantrums; they protest the right for someone to speak their own truth, ad nauseam, and even before they hear a thing!

I'm so tired of it.  It's like grow a pair, will ya?

Like, take for instance, Matt Walsh -- set to speak at Baylor (today) -- a private, CHRISTIAN  University, by the way... Headlining a petition, entrenched knee deep in hate, it reads, "This [speech] cannot be allowed to take place. Please remove this from campus events,” the petition states. “For the benefit of all LGBTQ+ students, alumni, and future students, this harmful hate speech must be kept off of our beloved campus.” hate on hate on hate...

If you signed the petition against the speech, you were one of about 2100 signatures; the petition supporting Matt and his freedoms, garnered more, over 2300.  [So the speech lives on!]

Headlining the petition in support, went a little like this:  “This is a free speech issue. No one has to agree with him. No one has to listen to him. He was invited by those on campus who do want to hear what he has to say, and he should be allowed to speak his mind,” the petition stated.  For more, just go to The College Fix.

And that's just it --

Just because someone is pro-LIFE, or pro-Traditional marriage -- doesn't make you a hater of alternative lifestyles and life choices; it simply confirms what you are FOR!

All the while, many religions -- not just Christianity -- cling to certain truths and beliefs that shape and influence these very principles and values. Matter of fact, some Muslim countries, for instance, are not only against the homosexual lifestyle altogether -- if the powers that be find you  guilty of such behavior, given it is illegal, they may even sentence you to death. Just a fact, k.  Don't hate.

Walsh was INVITED by Baylor's Young Americans for Freedom chapter, to present: "The War On Reality: Why the Left has set out to redefine life, gender and marriage.”   exactly.. I wanna hear more of what he has to say about that...

When responding to The College Fix about the controversy, Walsh said it is “just another example of the decline of our university system.”

“College should be a place where challenging ideas are embraced and engaged,” he said. “Instead people expect to only be exposed to ideas that fit into their ideological framework. It’s a sad state of affairs.”

In reality, the destiny of our republic has been shaped by challenging ideas all along; and even so, some ideas (like socialism) have been challenged (and completely repudiated through logic, through trial and error heard 'round the world) long before the modern world of today, long before the telephone, long before twitter and Instagram and news feeds 24/7, all of which, celebrate and glorify  this new world where voices carry all the live long day, and ricochet back again and again!

Certainly, it would be nice to put a muzzle on it, in some instances; but that's the joy of living in a culture that celebrates independent thought -- we figure out a way to co-exist peacefully, while still holding true to our personal values.  It is a world where  nobody is forced to listen and nobody is forced to agree -- but we can still speak; we can respectfully use our inside voices and speak our truth any and every day of the week.  And it is a beautiful thing...when we are allowed to do it that is!

Oh life in America,
always entertaining.

And how about that Kim Foxx -- blaming racism, now, for the rush of  recent criticism on how she handled the Jussie Smollett case; like, what?

Yes, it's the same Kim Foxx who IS the first African-American woman elected to serve as Cook County state’s attorney, screaming racism.  hilarious.

So here we are, in a new world where... when there is any criticism against actions, when motives/or process is being questioned, well, automatically, it's gotta be because I'm a person of color when you happen to be a person of color (otherwise, you're outta luck); yeah, yeah, it just couldn't be because of an error in judgement, or process, or what have you...

Um, did Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman scream racism when they got caught paying someone off for college admission for their kids?  NO.  They just pleaded guilty, straight up.

Now, let's look at that Jussie Smollett -- the case where JUSSIE staged a hate crime and just recently got off, thanks to the work of the office of the Cook County state's attorney, Kim Foxx.  Did Jussie get off because he's black, just like Foxx?   And the Fraternal Order of Police in Shy-Town are not too pleased about it either...there is that, too.

This is a good read from "Prosecutor X" -- out of Chicago..."It isn’t about race; it’s about basic legal ethics..."  go ahead, I dare you to keep reading...and trust me, it won't hurt, let alone kill you.

Oh, it has been a true joy to show up today.
It doesn't even matter if you read me or not.  so there.
I feel so alive -- and Bin Laden is dead; and that has nothing to do with today, but what the hell. It must be the whispers of Joe Biden still sneaking around inappropriately inside my head.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's all about the Wordsworthians Thing

Dear America,

"There is ecstasy

 in paying attention.  

You can get into a kind of 

Wordsworthian openness 

to the world, 

where you see in everything 

the essence of holiness."  

Anne Lamott, writer

of course, wanting to be completely sure my inclination to lead back to the famous poet, William Wordsworth, was correct -- pertaining to the point of context within that lovely quote --  my assumption turned out spot on.  I googled it and got:

Words·worth·i·an
/ˌwərdzˈwərTHēən,ˌwərdzˈwərT͟Hēən/
adjective
1.
relating to or characteristic of the English poet William Wordsworth or his works.
"this form of Wordsworthian reverence for nature was immensely influential in American life"
noun
1.
a student or admirer of the English poet William Wordsworth or his works.
"even Wordsworthians are cautious in commenting on the poem


How brilliant a life must be to have a word made up around your name and have everyone naturally connect the dots, right?

If you have been reading along with me of late, my last post was turned entirely over to the loss of a friend; a friend gone way too soon.

This Lamott quote, leading the day, is a good one, for it encapsulates my immediate shift to see in everything the essence of holiness  because that is just what happens.  Every moment is suspended in time and place, to grasp its pure beauty, capture its essence, and breathe in its holiness; and all I can wonder -- just how long this Wordsworthian feeling is going to last?

My Heart Leaps Up by William Wordsworth

My heart leaps up when I behold 
   A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began; 
So is it now I am a man; 
So be it when I shall grow old, 
   Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety

I know the ridiculousness of life will seep back in, like tales of our creepy Uncle Joe -- there is that.

And just like that, we're back to the sleazy business, multiple personalities, reckless reality of politics, political correctness, principles or the lack thereof...and just maybe, some twisted combination of all.

Any essence of holiness in any of it?  um, that would be a resounding, no.

'Tis the season to use whatever tools, history, video, one can muster to change minds and sway loyalties, right?

The thing is, what's truly creepy is the timing of these "new" revelations, when quite honestly, are years in the making.  [And that Vox article, linked above, does a splendid job in explaining it.]

We've all joked about Joe being Joe -- but now, oh my gosh -- now -- as if his behavior has suddenly taken a turn, Joe just being Joe is now just too creepy to overlook anymore; his political holiness, notwithstanding.  I mean, we're talking past Vice President to President Obama; like, he was next in line to the crown with every whisper in the ear, every kiss to the back of the head or popped, smack, straight on the kisser.  It's just Joe being Joe.

But I have to say -- not one woman seemed all that upset at the time; not one woman stepped back, away for good ole Joe,  landing a decent slap to the face in a proper, timely turn.  No. All the women seemed to be smiling, almost enjoying the sweet, personal attention from the senior statesman.

Perhaps I just don't get this hashtag drama of late, this #metoo movement...

For -- if I were in charge of the world of this hashtag -- I would be upset that some women are twisting their truth, and basically usurping the hashtag for nothing more than personal gain, to amass their fifteen minutes of fame -- or, with more devious motives in mind, aim to totally upend a political career, even if such a career is already forty years strong. 

I would just be sick about it. 
How dare these women reduce the seriousness of real sexual assault to a tactic. 

Perhaps the truth of Biden's actions lands somewhere over the rainbow while under a dark cloud, simultaneously.

[I wandered lonely as a Cloud] by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a Cloud
   That floats on high o'er Vales and Hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
   A host of golden Daffodils;
Beside the Lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
   And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
   Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
   Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:—
A Poet could not but be gay
   In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the shew to me had brought:

For oft when on my couch I lie
   In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
   Which is the bliss of solitude,
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the Daffodils

Surely, given the climate of the day, even a saintonian like Wordsworth would have to apologize for using the word "gay" -- and in matters surrounding the essence of holiness for the entire community of gay people, be forced to find another way to say gay that rhymes with they.

Unlike Wordsworthian, pulling a Joe-Bidenian, is not one for the history books; the Bidenian openness to the world is challenged by nature and nurture in multiple dimensions --- but still, isn't he still a decent guy? Isn't he?  [It's complicated, right, Joe?]

The thing is -- returning back to how this day began -- the tight rope of managing and living in reality while recognizing the pure beauty, sanctity, and "ecstasy in paying attention.  You can get into a kind of   Wordsworthian openness to the world, where you see in everything the essence of holiness."

This is where we should aim to live as much of the day as humanly possible. It's just a great goal.

Life is full of beautiful things.

And to end this day, firmly and soundly, this girl is moving to a certain Letter to the Philippians, written by the Apostle Paul, because it is probably one of the prettiest verses in all the Bible (and its a repeat on G):

"Finally, brothers,

 whatever is true, 

whatever is noble,

 whatever is right, 

whatever is pure, 

whatever is lovely, 

whatever is admirable --

 if anything is excellent 

or praiseworthy -- 

think about such things."

amen. 
and finally, finally, please recognize that Paul was speaking to both men AND women, in a brotherly love kind of way...in other words, this verse of Wordsworthian proportion and significance and grace, is gender neutral, k.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's Always in Motion, this Truth Thing

Dear America,

"Therefore the Book of Divine Instructions 

so constantly repeats 

"Fear not; doubt not," 

because we can never divest 

our Thought of its inherent creative quality, 

and the only question is

 whether we shall use it ignorantly 

to our injury or understandingly to our benefit."

The Hidden Power 

by Thomas Troward

Oh but Troward was only just getting started,

continuing to sum up the Master's teaching, "that knowledge of the Truth would make us free. Here is no announcement of anything we have to do, or of anything that has to be done for us, in order to gain our liberty, neither is it a statement of anything future.  Truth is what is.  He did not say, you must wait till something becomes true which is not true now.  He said:  'Know what is Truth now, and you will find that the Truth concerning yourself is Liberty.' If the knowledge of Truth makes us free it can only be because in truth we are free already, only we do not know it."

THIS knowledge of the TRUTH. this liberty, and many other pillars of virtue --  of faith, of courage, of the hidden power to change an entire culture -- is the reason why the preachings and teachings by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were so remarkable; and in the context of American history, itself, unparalleled to this day.

I say this nearly every anniversary of his birth -- oh how I wish he were here.

From the president's twitter:  "Today we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for standing up for the self-evident truth Americans hold so dear, that no matter what the color of our skin or the place of our birth, we are all created equal by God. #MLKDay"

Troward expresses this idea like so -- "[O]ur liberty consists in our reproducing on the scale of the individual the same creative power of Thought which first brought the world into existence, 'so that the things which are seen were not made of the things which do appear.'  Let us, then, confidently claim our birthright as 'sons and daughters of the Almighty,' and by habitually thinking the good, the beautiful, and the true, surround ourselves with conditions corresponding to our thoughts, and by our teaching and example help others to do the same."

Dr. King LED by following these teachings of the Word, and led by example, opening up a world of new thought, while pointing all Americans in the direction of right thinking, so that one day his dream -- of relating to each other beyond the color of our skin, and of being far more interested in our character -- would one day be living inside the hearts and minds of us all.

One thing is for sure, in addressing where race relations are today -- it would help a whole helluva lot if we started with the truth of the matter, from the start.

People like Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders -- who are using this sentimental day to push fake news and propaganda, is simply bad form and unnecessary... unless, of course, they only wish to stir lies to push an agenda, or delegitimize and disparage a sitting president. 

"We've learned in the last two years, it doesn't take much to awaken hate, to bring those folks out from under the rocks," Biden said. "That part of American society has always been there. Will always be here. But has been legitimized."  (Whatta dark thought, isn't it)

"It gives me no pleasure to tell you that we now have a president of the United States who is a racist... "  Bernie addressing a crowd today.  (And whatta about that for another dark thought...)

I mean, c'mon, this president has actually done more to improve the lives of African-Americans by his strong stance on illegal immigration, his intent to build a wall to control the gang violence and the illegal drug flow into this country, improving the economy by eliminating harmful government regulations and thereby creating more job opportunities for everyone, and has just completed major prison reform laws! ...something not even a President Barack Obama and VP Joe Biden could do, let alone show any sign of attempt!

It was Joe Biden that spoke of Barack as being -- oh how did he put it -- let's hear it again:

"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy," Biden said. "I mean, that's a storybook, man." 

Articulate?
Bright?
Clean?

um ABC on CNN... three strikes, you're out, Joe.

But this Bernie quote from today  --  of course, Trump is not strong on character in many departments, but calling him a racist, is a flat out character assassination without cause. But the best part, is Bernie beginning with, "it gives me no pleasure...;"  Seriously, Bernie?  but we digress.

It's not like anyone in the left-wing media is going to call him on it, either; I mean, they -- this media of ours -- are still choking on a couple of other stories that turned out to be downright manufactured.

See BuzzBleed, here  and here.

Oh I'm sorry, did I say Buzz Bleed -- that is incorrect.  my bad.

It's more like BuzzKill the truth; or BuzzFuzzylittleliars; or BuzzSpeed swirling recklessly to a lawsuit, or two.

Thing is, it doesn't even matter once something gets out there -- whether it's truth or dare or scare; what's done is done.

Much like football; once the call of the ref is done, it's kinda done; replay can only take the truth so far.  And even if the truth is, a huuuge mistake -- a mind-blowing bad call on the field -- it is still done.  Of course, in real life, this meant a difference between going to the Super Bowl and marching home until the Saints can try try again.

Now -- full disclosure, I was rooting for the Rams; but it's irrelevant with what I am about to say:  I think -- and have been thinking for quite some time -- that the penalty we recognize as "pass interference" has got to go.  Maybe its just me....but I believe in the power of both teams having the chance to interfere with a pass, fair and square.  It's football! This is what it's all about!

The whole truth of the matter  -- good and bad "pass interference" calls have led to a change in possession, to touchdowns, and have interfered with  regular season games, all the live long day and all season long.  All season long.  Am I right? 

Truth is always in motion -- from football, to thinkers, to preachers, to teachers, to communicators of all things large and small.

Let me ask you, honestly, did this one bad call, made by the refs, even after a replay, and then more replay, really decide the game --- making way for the reason the season was over for the Saints?  Let's ask Colin Cowherd. 

Oh how I do like a clear thinker and communicator...hubba hubba; my baby's a lot like this...mmmm what a man, what a man, what a man....whatta mighty good man...oh, man, girl... get a grip on yourself...and stop your daydreaming and stay focused on the task at hand....indeed.

indeed.  

To the real thing baby:  Truth carries the Power to Set Us Free; and how. That is, if we get out of our own way,  thereby tapping into an atmosphere of less interference and more sound connection; if we use it less for injury and more for understanding, can I get an amen?

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a good man (not perfect...but an awfully awfully good man).

And for this I dedicate this day.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; 

only light can do that. 

Hate cannot drive out hate; 

only love can do that.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

God rest his soul and may his teachings and preachings of the Truth continue to impress upon each and every one of us, from this generation to the next.

"Therefore the Book of Divine Instructions 

so constantly repeats 

"Fear not; doubt not," 

because we can never divest 

our Thought of its inherent creative quality, 

and the only question is

 whether we shall use it ignorantly 

to our injury or understandingly to our benefit."

Make it a Good Day, G

It's a Life-Changing Super Upsetting Blog Thing...

Dear America,

"Because your love 

is better than life, 

my lips will glorify you." 

Psalm 63:3

exactly.

when things get dicey politically, emotionally, internationally or domestic -- of course, after receiving delight and encouragement and inspiration and grace from the GOOD Book -- this girl cooks.

so picture me cooking everyday, right...

and in a perfect world, it would be all day long.

So it's no surprise that cookbooks bring me comfort and joy just by looking at them, and my favorite these days is something that jumped off the shelves, kicking and screaming, in an Urban Outfitters:  A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches, by Tyler Kord...famous for the No.7 Sub chain of restaurants.

[GET ONE of your own, for you will be most pleased.]

Kord speaks to the avid lover of real food and sauce, often served straight up and dirty, and filled with all kinds of remarkable and splendid flavors that are sure to tantalize each and every taste-bud. And it's not just about the food, either.  He gives us a running dialogue on the side that is funny, sometimes vulnerable, sometimes bordering  TMI, with a splash of humility and a certain self-reflection that is like none other -- simply speaking in terms of the universe of cookbooks, anyway.

So allow me to share parts of a page -- pg. 32 to be exact -- just for starters....

THIS IS A CHICKEN SANDWICH

and he says,

"I don't eat a ton of meat, and I've thought about becoming a vegetarian many times.  But I don't ever want to give up eating chicken.  Not because I hate chickens and want to prove my dominance over them or anything (because they already know), but because they are the most delicious animals of all time, and if God didn't want me to eat them, he probably would have made them that way.  That said, a lot of people believe that, if you eat the wrong thing or think the wrong thing, God will make you spend eternity bathing in a lake of fire.  I'm not sure if I believe in God or not, but I definitely don't believe that God cares about the details of what I eat.  Actually, if God really does care about what we eat, then it is probably because God isn't super stoked about all the animals we abuse in factory farms every day, even when we don't have to and there is plenty of broccoli lying around.  But I doubt that I will be denied entry into heaven just for eating a few chickens.  Right, God?"

[Kord loves his broccoli.]

So the recipe itself, is a combination of roasted chicken (pg. 26), fried eggplant (pg 148), fresh mozzarella, arugula, and "special sauce" (pg. 163)...all stacked up scrumptiously on a kaiser roll. But, like I said, you will just have to GET YOUR OWN copy, in order to for you, too, to know, what he knows, what I already know, that you wanna know. 

Often, it has been said that the writing of legislation is much like the making of sausage.  This phase is where most of us conservatives go absolutely bonkers.  We can't even bear to watch, it's so bad.

This is one of those weeks, much like the editors of Cooking Light glorify the re-do of something that never should have made it our bellies, let alone the printer and 3000 pages later -- Obamacare wasn't, and still isn't, worth the paper it is written on, and hardly deserving to see the light of one more day. 

If memory serves me -- and it usually does with gusto and perfect timing -- good ole Joe called it a "big f@%&ing deal" --- and oh my how tasteful that little morsel is, right?  What a moment.  What a scam.  What a lie; for just look at us now.

While if I see one more re-run of Barack Obama telling us we can keep our doctor, keep our plan.....

surely, how could anyone on the left be satisfied with this?  It's vile.  

From pork butt to snout, it is a nauseating abomination against the health, wealth and happiness of the American people and OUR health care system; it's a purely reprehensible act, a corruption from the ground up, from root to tip.  In other words, it is a big f$@%*ing pile of slop underneath wispy curls of meringue and in the every day, it is being thrown in the face of all Americans through the wayward and wanton and weaselly acts of Congress.  A pie chart of disastrous proportions.

Considering this girl is celebrating a birthday this week -- and a f@%&ing big one at that -- it seems to run like clockwork with an annual mental health check...asking things like, how was your last year, G?  What are your goals for the brand new one on the horizon?  Is there anything you need to work on, anything you wish you did, but didn't...what were your favorite things you ate, who were you with, and what's on your wish list for next year?

And given it has coincided with another good read, a little book on keeping neat, by Mari Kondo:  "the life-changing magic of tidying up."    [title was written in all lowercase, just fyi]....

....you throw these two reads together amidst the ghastly state of the Union, and what do you get?

exactly.

It WAS an age of eating what we sow; but NOW,  it's the age of clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere, clean up, clean up, everybody do your share...And if you sing that last bit, it not only helps the medicine go down, we might actually sit back at the end of the day feeling suddenly free!

Over the weekend, twenty two bags of clothes, housewares, odds and ends were sent on their way to Goodwill.  And talk about a big f$%^^ing deal, oh man....there are not words.  Liberation and freedom live inside and outside and everywhere I go.  I breathe better; sleep better; love better; and give better....and it feels good.  [You should try it, too.] [just sayin']

Just take a little bit off to chew at first, and then, you will know.

Suddenly the understanding of less is more, cries out for seconds, and the realization that we just might have way too much -- more or less -- brings us to our knees.   When we have too much, we have no idea of the value of anything.  Naturally, our perspective gets twisted like little garlic knots with shrimp phyllo purses; spring rolls, cinnamon rolls, lobster rolls, and profiteroles all roll into one. [think Nancy Pelosi when she said, we have to pass to pass the bill so that you can know what is in it....right...]   [yum, love that kind of sausage]

It's time to clean up our mess -- throw out what doesn't belong, keep only the things we can honestly proclaim our love for, and do no further harm.  And suddenly, this isn't about Obamacare at all, it's about ALL of government.   At twenty trillion dollars in debt, that luxury -- of growing fat, in body and mind and bureaucracy that doesn't serve us well -- is not ours to have to hold any longer.

No amount of secret sauce will fix what WE have allowed to happen to ourselves; nor can we throw on a muumuu and think we look good.

Stop.
Pick things up one at a time and ask yourself, do you LOVE it?  Like LOVE it love it love it? Or is it just a thing that has come to the end of it's day, with you?  Give it away, give it away.

And if it's something nobody deserves -- broken, worn, full of holes, etc. -- throw it away, throw it away.

First, The Holy Bible; then, the life-changing magic of tidying up belongs on the desks of every civil servant and countryman; and to lay it beside A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches, we got ourselves a perfect combo; both offering plenty of manna for thought, food for living and loving what we put in our mouth, and pure sustenance for creating a brand new day tomorrow and thereby leading to a tidy, meaningful, delightful future.   Ah lass, sometimes things can be so simple to solve.

Bone Appetit, every one.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's About a Boy's Dream Since 1972 Thing

Dear America,

here's the thing,

if she bombs away in the congressional proceedings...or stumbles royally on the campaign trail...he's there.  He made every effort to sound like the next president of the United States, while saying it isn't his time...yet... because a window has closed.

IF you need him, though...

democratic party...

he's there; he's just waiting for the nod and somebody to whisper in his ear, "you f&$@*g got this."

................................

Excerpts from The Washington Post transcript of Joe Biden's Rose Garden Announcement:

................................

BIDEN:  ...I've said all along what I've said time and again to others: that it may very well be that that process, by the time we get through it, closes the window on mounting a realistic campaign for president. That it might close...

BIDEN:...But I also know that I could do this if the -- I couldn't do this if the family wasn't ready...

BIDEN:...Well, that's where the Bidens are today. Thank god. Beau -- Beau is our inspiration...But while I will not be a candidate, I will not be silent...

BIDEN:...This party, our nation, will be making a tragic mistake if we walk away or attempt to undo the Obama legacy...

BIDEN:...But it all starts with giving the middle-class a fighting chance. I know that you in the press love to call me "Middle-Class Joe,"...

BIDEN:...I believe the huge sums of unlimited and often secret money pouring into our politics is a fundamental threat to our Democracy...

BIDEN:...We need to commit. We are fighting for 14 years -- we need to commit to 16 years of free public education for all of our children...

BIDEN:...Children and child care is the one biggest barrier for working families.

BIDEN:...Wealthy folks will end up paying a little bit more, but it's my guess -- and I mean this sincerely -- it's my guess they'll be happy to help build a stronger economy and a better educated America...

BIDEN:...We have learned some very hard lessons from more than a decade of large scale, open-ended military invasions...

BIDEN:... I don't think we should look at Republicans as our enemies. They are our opposition. They're not our enemies...

BIDEN:...And I believe that we need a moon shot in this country to cure cancer. It's personal. But I know we can do this...

And I'm going to spend the next 15 months in this office pushing as hard as I can to accomplish this...

If I could be anything, I would have wanted to have been the president that ended cancer, because it's possible.

BIDEN:...I also believe we need to keep moving forward in the arc of this nation toward justice: the rights of the LGBT community, immigration reform, equal pay for women and protecting their safety from violence, rooting out institutional racism.

BIDEN:...

It's about equality, 

it's about fairness, 

it's about respect. 

As my dad used to say, it's about affording every single person dignity. 

It's not complicated...

..And the ugly forces of hate and division -- they won't let up, but they do not represent the American people. They do not represent the heart of this country. They represent a small fraction of the political elite (exactly!  "they represent a small fraction of the political elite" FOR POLITICAL GAIN!  Including yours -- Joe -- as part of the political elite since 1972 for pete's sake..it's what I like to call his "McCarthy Moment"), and the next president is going to have to take it on...

BIDEN:...Most of all I believe there's unlimited possibilities for this country...

BIDEN:...We are so -- I've been doing this for a long time [yeah, since 1972]...

BIDEN:...We found purpose in public life.   So we intend -- we intend to spend the next 15 months fighting...[to quite possibly be] our future nominee, I am absolutely certain that we fully are capable of accomplishing extraordinary things. We can do this...[for watch me...I'm not going away.]

And when we do, America won't just win the future, we will own the finish line.

..............................

Right.

He's not running for president, because he doesn't have "run."

He can sit 

and 

wait 

and at the right time,

walk right in...

when the door opens -- you know --  after all the windows just happen to close and the walls come down on the House that Hillary built.

The thing is --

Just think about it -- 

IF he is NOT running, nobody can attack him or the campaign that isn't even off the ground. He is in the clear for as long as it takes.

It's not over til it's over, right, Joe -- 

and while it may not be conventional, this may just be the perfect angle for the candidate who gaffes with every other word.  It's brilliant really.


For ever since you were a boy, you were told anything is possible. And your dreams of your father included being president of the United States of America. So you can't stop; won't stop...until the fat lady is in Sing-Sing, God Bless her, right, Joe.

The political elite of the Left know a Hillary nomination is still at risk; and therefore, intend to prepare for anything. The situation is fluid, as they say (just as fluid as it was on the ground at the White House during the Benghazi Attack) -- especially while Hillary is sitting in front of a Congressional Benghazi Committee and the FBI is still full speed ahead with a criminal probe of her use of a personal email and server while acting Secretary of State.

I can only hope I am all wrong; but I do not have a good feeling about this whatsoever.

Make it a GOOD Day, G

PS:  It was NEVER about a video (proven); Ambassador Stevens requested more security in advance (proven); and all she has done is lie about it.  Whether protecting the president, or herself, what difference at this point does it make -- she lied.  It's a pretty big deal.  

Who is really left?  Who can really trust her to be president of the United States?

And if you clicked the link, above, on Benghazi, you would still have your jaw on the floor.  What kind of rinky-dink operation did she run at the State Department?  Seriously?  Now she claims she didn't even have a computer or use email at the State Department?  Four Americans died because you didn't use a computer or email at the State Department?  There are just so many things wrong with that...

It's Malarkey with No Reservations Thing

Dear America,

so on this day in the life we will be getting around to the marvelous malarkey; it's really good stuff.

no, scratch that, it isn't all that good or all that marvelous or all that at all.

It's politics.

Here's a good one from just this past weekend's turn of events -- Arlen Specter died.  Oooh G gaffe, right off the bat, too,  Bad girl. Bad girl.  So allow me to clarify, if you will:

He is being generally referred to as a "centrist."  Yes. That is a good one.  A registered democrat throughout his early life when one day he decided to get into politics; long story short, he passed himself off as a "republican" to gain the seat...then fast forward through the years -- making a history of casting rather suspicious votes, voicing contentious opinion against his party -- then finally turning around in a rough re-election bid only to change party affiliation just in time to lose the election altogether.

Specter's political career defines malarkey.   If you were to give it a color -- it would be gray.

Oh that is rich.
Yes!  Indeed! When you put it like that -- He IS a centrist!  Well I'll be, call me butter and slather me on toast.

Rest in peace, Arlen.

More malarkey now; and this one takes us wee, wee, wee, all the way home to the original source:  joker Joe Biden.  Given that tomorrow we get to be trick or treated to the second presidential debate,  unfinished business of the vice president's showing keeps ringing my bell.

While over the weekend I got lucky -- not lucky, lucky, but just lucky to find a sweet and tangy list of the top ten malarkey moments.

HERE YOU GO...eat this letterman-joe.

go ahead.  click away...read it....devour it....savor it...save some for later....

The "10 Lies and Counting" post is prefaced with the following quote:

“‘What I’ve been doing mostly, quite frankly, is studying up on Congressman Ryan’s positions on the issues, and Gov. Romney has embraced at least everything I can see. I don’t want to say anything in the debate that’s not completely accurate,’ Biden told reporters outside a Hy-Vee in Council Bluffs, Iowa.” (Arlette Saenz, “Vice President Joe Biden Says Accuracy Is Key At Next Week’s Debate,” ABC News’ Political Punch, 10/4/12)"

ooooooh boooo "I don't want to say anything in the debate that's not completely accurate," he says with malarkey moxie.

well done.
good one... Mr. Vice President of the City of Vice.

and now thinking back to the big white teeth, smiling like a Cheshire cat ready to pounce, sitting there just shaking his head....wavering back and forth in his chair....going "it's not true, not true" "ah no"  "ah no" "not true, not true"  ah "with all due respect, that's a bunch of malarkey." That last link just sends you to the HuffPost -- so no need to go there really...only if you want to...but talk about a bunch of malarkey...

At least good, ole Joe also said this:  "I always say what I mean."

Scary, isn't it?

From the reprehensible...GO...Mr. "They want to put y'all back in chains"

To a bevy of remarkable video clips...GO..."Mr. The middle class has been buried the last four years" all the way on through the 'top ten to "Stand up, Chuck..."  and simply stunning the entire audience after asking the Senator, a paraplegic, to stand up from his wheelchair.

"I always say what I mean."

Let's hope not.

My girl and me have a thing for Anthony Bourdain...there is just something about the way he moves, man...   While in this moment, all of a sudden, I'm seeing this sharp contrast between a guy who has made a career of living off "a bunch of malarkey" -- from one politician to another to his own -- to a guy who has made it his business to be so honest, so real, so all about being true to the food and the scene.

He is in the middle of the farewell season of his show, No Reservations.

But the thing is, there is never a day when I don't watch him roam a city far and wide that I don't come away with a new reality; perhaps it's something rather small and insignificant, but sometimes it becomes so big, taking on a life of it's own, I can't get it off my mind.  And it's the latter being just the case while watching Bourdain somewhere in France, sometime over the last couple of days...He was in the middle of a field of vines.

It was there where the vintner turned to Tony and said something about the hard, rocky soil the grapes call home...remarking how the conditions are so difficult, so rough, for the little vines to grow -- that the roots must actually struggle every day to find sustenance and water and nutrients -- that it makes the grape more concentrated in flavor.    


Of course, all I can think of is wow -- what a wonderful, wonderful world if those very conditions met the field of Congress each and every day.  But no.  They live in an unending field day, sunrise to sunset, making oodles of money, from investment and favor to salary and expense accounts.  See also  General Malarkey with no reservations here.

Just how hard do they really have it?  huh?  am I right? am I right? huh, am I right?  I'm right, right?

Where is the congressional strife and struggle?  It may be an oversimplification, but without it, real substance has no way of being produced. [and funny how that works for all of us...and yes, I drink my own label]

If I were in charge of the world I would cut the congressional vine right off -- slashing salaries, putting them on bare bones expense accounts, cutting off all kickbacks and wiggle room for personal investment and wealth building, and make them work forty hour weeks in Washington, just to start.  They have this job to SERVE us, the people -- and THIS is what we get?

We seem to be funding malarkey by the barrel...and while perhaps half the country finds our Vice President's debate debut with Paul Ryan something worthy of a ribbon if it were a 'gotcha' and 'bring it' fest...the rest of us are wondering how did we get here?   What an embarrassment he is. Honestly, liberals, is THAT what you like?   what you respect?   Is Joe putting your best foot forward?

Is Obama really a uniter?    We thought he would be -- he had all the right stuff to make it so, or so we thought (in general...old G thang not included).  But that is some kind of malarkey to save for another day, indeed.

Ahh Another favorite moment with Bourdain is flashing before my eyes...

somewhere in Emilia-Romania one day, Tony got a chance to hang his own prosciutto for future noshing [did that come out alright?  to Bourdain worshipers, you know what I'm sayin'...]  -- anywho, he was gonna have to wait, like years, for it to be ready.  But it's there, signed, sealed and dated, as if an everyday ham could be passed down from a long line of royalty.  In the process, the little Italian gentleman in charge began to describe the essence of refining the basic pork shoulder like you wouldn't believe...

first, you have ah, this window here, eh... the air comes in ah from d'north and ah then you have it waft over d'river here, ya see, and then it moves ever so gently through d'window and begins to caress-ah d'little piggie until a rich, sweet, noble mold grows, ca peesh?

He said it better.
But let's not dwell, shall we?

A thing of substance takes time, care, thought.  It needs to be earned -- strengthened and compounded in it's very nature through hard work, toil, struggle, thereby having it's convictions tested in every way, day in and day out.  There is no gray.  There is no middle.  There is no center.  There are only principles left or principles right.

In other words, malarkey has no place under the sun, Tuscan or otherwise.

Ah to have a George Washington grace us with his presence of leadership; to have an Adam Smith enlighten us with his natural law; to have a Jefferson, a Madison, a Paine, a Franklin root us firmly in self-reliance and bring us sustenance.  If there was ever a need so great... this is the time... this is the moment,  for a sweet and noble mold to envelop us and enrich us and bring us home, with no reservations.

happy monday, sweet people, happy monday.

Make it a Good Day, G

For No Malarkey and All Substance everyday:  GO TO THE PATRIOT POST.   
TODAY is no exception...it's a Memo to Mitt...please read...you and Mitt..

It's Called 300 Million Specifics Thing

Dear America,

it's post debate boys and girls.

oh my, and let the fur fly.

So G has some thoughts (duh)...but hold up... let me get my laugh track up and going; let me set up my automatic interruption spring, to pop peanuts off the top of my head in an annoying fashion; let me just practice my smiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrrk.

okay.  ready, steady, go G - - take it away...

We will not dwell on the @laughing hyena joe in attendance.  Other than noting we got a live one in the office of the vice presidency -- god save the king -- old Gthang is gonna leave him be. How in the world did he get this far?

I will only add this:  If Joe had simply toned it down a wee bit, carried himself in a more measured demeanor perhaps, he might have come close to winning the debate in the eyes of the independent/undecided voter hands down and no fact-checks asked. But then again, maybe not; Biden interrupted Ryan 82 times (in 90 minutes; now that's a record we can believe in).

But like I said -- this laughing stock of a debate is not where this girl is gonna settle.  Ah no...we got bigger bridges to build, higher roads to travel, freer fish to fry.

Something hit me over the head much harder than a peck from a peanut.  It didn't come until moments after the debate; it didn't come until I was listening to an undecided focus group, organized by Frank Luntz; and it almost didn't come at all.  It wasn't until one itty bitty detail was articulated....you wanna know what it was?

They returned to Ryan's five-point plan complaining about the HOW -- just how will they do it?  Nobody ever gives us specifics, they whine and cry....

....and that's when it hit me.  bonk.

Somewhere over the rainbow, happily on our way to Ameritopia, we -- as a people -- have become disconnected to the engine that gets us there [and there being anywhere but here].  And that something is called the free market.  It's as if we have forgotten the basic human dynamics, working specifically and in tandem, to operate as a whole.  The machine, the instructions, the tools, the fluids, the flow has been hindered by something rather huge -- that being, the vision itself.

Perhaps the idea of having so much freedom is simply too much for us to handle anymore?

Perhaps the notion that we could have each and every one of us pursuing happiness and reaching our dreams is overwhelming, too good to be true?

The Free Market?  Really?  No way....   Would that really work?

So back to the focus group and the gathering of "undeciders" -- and we might as well throw old Joe and MarthaModerator in there, too.  They acted as if Ryan was speaking a foreign language when he was lauding the plan to lower taxes, as part of their crazy, pie-in-the-sky five-point plan; the Romney/Ryan economic vision includes creating 12 million jobs, pursue energy independence in earnest, honestly get debt under control, make international trade work for us, while championing small business.

Everyone's like, say what?   
There's not enough specifics.
What is he talking about?
How can he say that?
How do you get there from here?

Ugh.

It's like we have to start entirely over teaching people how to be truly free!

How DID we get here, for independence sake?

Like Ryan tried to say --  repeatedly -- the idea itself is so good, so big, it's Reagan-esque; and by all evidence, if this focus group says anything at all, seems too difficult for ordinary Americans to truly comprehend.

So let's take a run at it, shall we?

With the right conditions --generously added to a whole lot of time, effort, and blood, sweat and tears -- we prosper;  when we lower taxes, it has been proven to create more opportunity for a larger portion of society across the board.  More people working, paying taxes, contributing to life and being productive citizens equals everybody wins.  It's elementary and wonderful; creating the very conditions when every day can be silly day.

Mitt Romney is a jobs guy -- whether it be from the private sector or the public servant side.

As a jobs guy, he communicates in free market speak.  For Romney, it's about creating the conditions to create jobs and then he walks away.  [wow, G.  that is good]

It's about jobs; it's about how we create more jobs; and the funny thing is, it's not that complicated when we are honestly set free to do it -- nor, does it need to be very specific!  That's the beauty of it.  And this, I would assume by his resume,  is the very perspective where Romney may live...and eat, pray, love even.

Not only that, it's where all of us should live....and eat, pray, love.

And yet, this whole government dole thing --  the nanny state seeking to remake the night of the living dead -- has got us drinking the kool-aid a wee bit too much and far too often.

The thing is, the  Free Market is an idea that never gets old.  It is the machine that generally, widely, broadly, indiscriminately, boldly, abundantly creates jobs, opportunity, happiness, purpose, for the most people; and it's truly responsible for bringing all good things to life.  

ssmmm iiiiiiii rrrrr k

Think about it.  The ability to amplify, and exponentially expand, opportunity for all, allowing more of us to keep more of our own money --- oh my goodness, oh my goodness. That is priceless!  Multiply the number of job creators -- it becomes an intangible, unlimited value.

But apparently THESE PEOPLE...they need specifics.  Are you kidding me?

The free market just doesn't operate that way.  Just where is the open mind, people?

Peanut ping:  The free market is kinda like a free spirit on steroids; when left unleashed and allowed to roam...freely...anything can happen and usually does.

Peanut ping: It's kind of like being its own animal -- kinda like a Joe Biden.  [He has succeeded because he knows thy self; he is just joe being joe and true to his own.]

Peanut ping: I just can't believe we are arguing about how much of our own money is rightfully our own money!  But I digress.

When more people are working and prospering, less people are needing and suffering; more people are able to find work when more job creators are given the freedom to invest, grow, expand their business.

IN a free market, we are no longer committed-for-life to a particular station, class, salary or benefit package. Matter of fact, the free market is the force that makes more millionaires and billionaires per capita [no.  I don't really know that,  just wanna sound as good as joe-letterman-biden] But I do know this: the free market aims to take away restrictions and open up to real possibility for anything, everything.

But how is it, in this day and age, we find ourselves at the crossroad of Enterprise and Main -- living in Contradiction and looking at a red light that never changes?  Remarkably, sadly -- the basic, universal understanding supporting the inner workings of true and free enterprise is virtually nowhere to be found.

This is not America -- land of the free and home of the brave --  being very true to herself, now is it?.

And as to my little  un-deciders ..... the specifics you seem to be looking for are more likely to be found crafted into our Declaration of Independence, enriched by our Constitution, and built into the fundamentals over decades of American life and prosperity.   It's an enigma, really, to the rest of the world.   But for you guys -- this should be where you live....and eat, pray, love even.

Peanut ping: The thing is, you don't need a Paul Ryan to tell you anything more; you don't need a Paul Ryan to explain his plan any further; the specifics are YOU, and me, and everyone else simply getting back to work.  Romney's five-point plan is to create the best conditions for the most people to get back to a real job and then walk away; it's what he does.

Peanut ping:  In other words, it's just Mitt and Paul being the best Mitt and Paul for 100% of the American people.  It's called 300 million specifics, martha [best moderator in the world -- if, in fact, you were going for 'Biden's bbbbbbbitch'].

smm iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr k

if I was sitting there next to joe, I may have slapped him silly; no, wait, he's there already.


Make it a Good Day, G

 rumor has it Joe was prepped by....wait for it...this guy...this guy....

It's A Falling Camel Attracts Many Knives Thing

Dear America,

so, are we clear with THE FACT that Obama chose Biden for the vice president's job because BIDEN came with foreign policy credentials?

think back now...

Obama came with literally no foreign policy experience.  None. Zilch.  NaDa.

So now close your eyes....and picture the world today and yesterday.  Roam through the early days -- foreign policy wise -- when it was the president, right out of the box, apologizing and appeasing to the Islamic world; picture the brush up with Poland and the take away of missile defense; picture Cairo -- the "rise of democracy" beginning with peaceful protests here to a day when "history takes place;"  picture deals made with a handshake until after the election; picture deals with longtime allies brazenly broken;  picture the rushed meeting on the tarmac - only out of embarrassment - only after the world found out the president never met the guy running the war - with Gen. McCrystal (quick synopsis, here); picture Pakistan, Afghanistan, bin Laden; flash forward and picture his sophomoric speech to the United Nations, still laser-beamed focused on the video that was NOT to blame for the murder of the ambassador and three others lives...the day in the life being SEPTEMBER 25th no-less, when he says, 'There are no words that excuse the killing of innocents. There is no video that justifies an attack on an embassy..."

It has been Obama, not Biden, who has led America in its foreign policy agenda.

It has been Obama, not Biden, who called for the Osama bin Laden raid -- the death being the cornerstone of the National Democratic Convention, and just imagine it, only days before the protests in the Middle East took place;  it was Biden who said “Mr. President, my suggestion is: don’t go.”  See here for details, by Marc Thiessen.

It has been Obama, not Biden, deciding the proper response time, the desired narrative, the intended message all through the days.

Ironic, isn't it -- looking back.

Americans got bamboozled.

It was nearly a month ago, almost to the day, when Romney was blasted by the president for "shooting first, taking aim later."   All just a part of the narrative unfolding...let's deflect and cry foul.

Romney's comments were made immediately after formal remarks coming out of the administration were heard worldwide.  So let's take them in order:

The administration, by way of the State Department, by way of the Embassy in Cairo, declared this:

"The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims – as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions. Today, the 11th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Americans are honoring our patriots and those who serve our nation as the fitting response to the enemies of democracy. Respect for religious beliefs is a cornerstone of American democracy. We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others."

This message came from somewhere first; you don't just send this out to the Arab world without approval.*

For back up:  Here is a link to a new hot spot I found for opinion via DiploPundit; this day, dates back to September 14th; just love how he starts out...

"Anyway here’s the thing — Foreign Service officers are really, really excellent at following the chalked lines. You don’t see a lot of rogue and old diplomats for very good reasons. And they, certainly, do not suddenly forget their clearance procedures because they were confronted with a badly made, badly written and badly acted movie clip in YouTube; much less, defy a direct order from the State Department when it comes to an official statement for public consumption. Unless, of course, the officer is looking to commit a career suicide. And I’m not convinced that is the case with man of the hour, Larry Schwartz."

Romney's immediate response to Cairo's condemnation statement, was simply this:

"I'm outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi. It's disgraceful that the Obama administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks."

* Now remember:   the Administration chose to distance itself from the statement made in Cairo nearly at the same time!

We are also well aware, now, that the statement which came out of Cairo came before the protests as a means to avert disaster; basically, calling out to all Arabs not to shoot, begging for reason; pleading to the Egyptian public not to overreact to the video, having heard rumblings of discontent in the area.

Here is a great interactive report with a time-line to walk you through the details; and who-knew, it's even from the NY Times...

BUT HERE'S an even better time-line...from The Heritage Foundation (unfortunately, being a post from October 8th, it comes without the added incriminating details from just yesterday's congressional hearing).

WITHIN 24 HOURS: everybody who is anybody in the administration knew LIBYA was attacked by terrorists. WITHIN 24 HOURS:  the video was not only beside the point -- it was never the point in Libya.  But WITHIN 24 HOURS: the story was crafted.  Now, talk about who's shooting first and taking aim later...

Let's bring this all together now.

And let's get one thing straight:  Biden is really nowhere to be found -- whether it be foreign or domestic, really.

And about the president's biggest mistake -- being unable to tell the story better -- every thing, as it turns out,  is about the narrative; every thing is about the way it looks, how it's perceived; it's always, and only, about the story -- whether it be true or false. [Go back and read Rules for Radicals, that should be your first clue]

But in the end, what we saw happening in Libya is really called -- now looking back -- a miscalculation.

Make no mistake.  It was Obama, as president, who elected to tell a story out of Egypt and Libya -- one that would make the most sense, and one that would align with the principles and policy of this administration and not make him look bad in the process.

• It had to be something that denied any September 11th connection;
• It had to be something that brought a little daylight  between the clear and present danger of having just spiked the football, of bin Laden's death, at convention, and really driving it home; 
• It had to reinforce the false belief that Al Queda is no longer a threat, that he did it -- he killed 'it'; 
• It had to be able to fit into a re-election campaign.
• And some might even say, it had to point to an extremist being at fault -- someone like a Coptic-Christian extremist...yeah, yeah, that might be just the ticket...
• IT certainly couldn't point to a security weakness, requests for reinforcements turned down, or anything having to do with a position of a general, albeit prevalent, perception of weakness all the way around. 

Let's remember the first pictures coming out of Egypt -- posters declaring "we're all Osama's now" and the people chanting "Obama, Obama, there's a billion Osama's".  Oh yes, the rise of democracy, indeed.

But let's be clear.  Biden has been a no show throughout.

Matter of fact, the administration works awfully hard at keeping Joe nip/tucked now.

Matter of fact, all things "Joe" haven't exactly worked out -- being the lead on the President's Jobs Council, being the lead at overseeing stimulus money.... These things are not exactly real winners, now are they? And how can we forget mr. big f*&%ing mouth and this is  a "big f*&*ing deal day"?

...now that was a good day in America, am I right?  am I right?


Libya is a mess; and it isn't for anything Romney said, suggested, or did.

Libya is a mess; and it isn't for anything Biden said, suggested, or did.

Libya is a mess; but as far as the ever-changing story, masterminded out of this administration, it begins as a serious miscalculation and ends badly.  [Lying is neither a good thing or a family value]

Libya -- along with the entire Middle East -- is a hot mess for America because of many things; and just like every other administration, only one man leads the way.  That man happens to be Barack Hussein Obama.

Ancient Arab Proverb says, 

“A falling camel attracts many knives.”

...basically meaning, weakness is provocative.  GO HERE for the super good back story on that.


Once upon a time... a real leader accepts all responsibility from the get go, through thick and thin, foreign and domestic, and slays the evil dragon(s)..

Make it a Good Day, G

It's Still Divine Providence in Motion Thing

Dear America,

there is much to get to.

for me, just G, trying to keep track of it all within this humble day in the life of America, it suddenly feels overwhelming.  there is just so much to say, so much misunderstood, so much that is just plain wrong.

And yet, my heart is filled with such faith and pure joy!

Let me begin by making a big deal of something that occurred last night at the tail end, if you closed your eyes, you may have missed it.   Especially considering how the majority of the last 24 hours has been drama filled -- watching the theatrics on the floor of the DNC having the audacity to argue with the Almighty -- perhaps some of you already know where I'm going with this.....

....the thing is, GOD had the last word.

In the end, the entire arena prayed together; in the end, everyone closed their eyes and bowed their head to the Holy Spirit; the Thing Itself -- parted the aisles and filled the 20,000 seat airspace to capacity.  Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, brought the convention to a close -- just as he had done for the RNC -- and prayed for, and with, America.

He not only gave a benediction complete with all of the proper embellishments in sincerity and grace -- he opened up the podium to the Heavens and said take me.   And in the still of the night, Dolan redirected the nation and corrected our folly upon our knees.

Oh yes he did.

And yet, It was not finished; Dolan made no mistake and left no Stone unturned; and after speaking on behalf of the protection of Life and restoring our faith and values in the things that truly matter -- he went further, stipulating in agreement with God and country, that we must CHOOSE wisely this November, even mentioning the Romney/Ryan ticket by name.  All while wrapping it up tightly declaring that we truly are ONE Nation UNDER GOD, indivisible...and In GOD we trust. we say Amen!

So --  like I said -- God always gets the last word.   My coffee cup is overflowing.

As far as the rest of the night.  Reviews are widely mixed.

My favorite moment:  saying the Pledge of Allegiance along with the Fmr. Congresswoman Gabby Giffords on stage leading us in every word.   What a testament to her strength and courage and grace.  so beautiful.

John Kerry's entire speech was a propagandized hot mess.  Ridiculous that he can even speak on behalf of the troops at all -- it takes something called credibility to do that and he's got none in that department.  But let's not dwell.   His big line of the night was this one: "Ask Osama Bin Laden if he's better off now than four years ago."   Wouldn't the answer to that simply be, um, No. Um... he's dead???; oh, right, you were lauding the Commander-in-Chief who got him [and I would assume counting in, what, the seventy virgins waiting for him, yes the afterlife is good].

@john kerry -- next Secretary of State hopeful --  if America is so exceptional as you claim this administration has proclaimed to believe from the start...why the apology tour?  Why was THAT the first task on the president's Official Foreign Policy Fixer Upper To-Do List [besides returning the Churchill bust]?  And regarding things more closer to home -- you made crafty insinuations that Romney would be the Outsourcer-in-Chief -- perhaps taking a closer look at the devil in the details is in order for you.  Check out GM having China build our Caddy's, GE having China make our freaky little light bulbs, and speaking of energy -- what about the green energy companies given stimulus money outside the United States, and off-shore drilling investments in Brazil, and shall I go on?    [The argument itself shows your naiveté of the realities of the world today --  investment banker capitalists GET THIS, and moreover, respect this very aspect of how the business of business building has changed.]

AND then there's Joe...Mr. "OBL is Dead and GM is Alive."

Um Joe, you honestly going to stand there and lead America to believe that The Right bets against America?  Given it's the party now famous for the rise of the Tea Party -- the original working class?   The Tea and the GOP personify middle America in every way.  Your speech was offensive, sophomoric, and stupid.  Oh sure, you did a great job; you fired up the base, which was your only mission last night.  And good luck with that.  Can't wait for you to debate Paul.

um, and that's all I'm gonna say on Joe. 

 if you say it like Forrest Gump it's more fun.

There was a troubling refrain that kept popping up throughout the evening which, personally, made me stop and wonder, just what happened to us?   I didn't realize that The Left believes that they have total ownership now of the American values, separating from the whole, the middle American and poor working class values.

From the speeches, to the formal DNC videos,  the mantra was repeated time and time again... as if the American value of hard work meets opportunity belongs to them -- as if it's their cornerstone, hands off my mortar, back off my block.  Saying with explicit conviction and 100% ownership, 'THEY BELIEVE a JOB is more than a paycheck -- that it stands for dignity, a place in community, allowing us to stand tall and care for our children and family -- to participate in the great, or is it grand, bargain.'  Saying it in such a way as to convey that the other side simply does not.

I am just so sick of the constant red thread being spoon-fed to the American people -- republicans don't care and have not a compassionate bone in their bodies and that all WE -- the People of the GOP -- DO is bet against America.  It's just getting so old.  SO OLD.   

And speaking of which, here's Obama:

"if you believe 

in a country where everyone gets a fair shot, 

and everyone does their fair share, 

and everyone plays by the same rules, 

then I need you to vote this November."

YES!  I believe in this AMERICA!  Who doesn't, Mr. President?  Let's go there and talk about everyone who doesn't play by the same rules; and talk about everyone who doesn't do their fair share. [full transcript]

And back to Joe for a second, when he said something like this, 'they're not looking for a handout, they're just looking for a shot.'

Hello, Joe!  We're there already.  We all get a shot -- whether from a birth into poverty or wealth -- the entire spectrum of possibility of outcomes is still the same:   there are no guarantees and anything is truly possible.  THIS America, has seen the very poor rise up to be rich, and sometimes heroes; THIS America has seen the silver spoon babies grow up to lose it all.

BUT MOST OF US LIVE SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE, don't we.

AND I do believe -- speaking for one, as one -- that we ALL SHARE the same values; I believe we are, as a whole, hardworking, compassionate, charitable, giving, loving, optimistic Americans who want to do what is right for ourselves and our children..  THAT IS WHO WE ARE, Mr. President, all of us.

As THE sitting president, how dare you not include me!

How dare you speak only to your base.

Earth to the Candidate-in-Chief, you may not like or agree with this aspect of the presidency, but you stand for all of us.  And in-between running for re-election, your chief task and priority is to lead an entire nation, half of which do not agree with your ideology, policy, or politics.

How dare you speak only to your base.
Where is your courage to stand for all Americans at the same time?

After the Left made a point of saying that Romney didn't say enough last week -- that there were no specifics -- at least he spoke to all Americans as one; and how in the world can The Left justify the remarks of their sitting president struggling to get re-elected when all he can do is double-down on promises made four years ago?

IF Romney didn't say enough -- Obama didn't say anything new.

Something old, something blue, but in the end, nothing new.

This speech was nothing more than a composite of everything he has said thus far [kinda like "Julia" -- or how Obama blended all of his old girlfriends into one], complete with broken promises and cutting rhetoric and all.  He sounded worn out until the last five minutes; and more than that, appeared almost annoyed that he had to convince his followers of a second chance at all.   [Wonder if Bob Woodward's new book, The Price of Politics, had anything to do with it?  ouch.  of course it did.]

"You know what? That’s not who we are. That’s not what this country’s about. As Americans, we believe we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights, rights that no man or government can take away. We insist on personal responsibility, and we celebrate individual initiative. We’re not entitled to success. We have to earn it. We honor the strive-rs, the dreamers, the risk- takers, the entrepreneurs who have always been the driving force behind our free enterprise system, the greatest engine of growth and prosperity the world has ever known."

exactly. and can I get an amen.  Can you even believe he said aloud "we are endowed by our Creator!"  In past remarks he usually omits that phrase.

You should have stopped right there, Mr. President.  But, you didn't, did ya?

"But we also believe in something called citizenship"

You're right, we do. There is that.  AND it has nothing to do with community organizing or social justice.  What was that?  Code?   Boy, you are a skilled speaker.

He keeps going on for quite some time citing examples used before...and gets to this:

"....As citizens, 

we understand that America 

is not about what can be done for us. 

It’s about what can be done by us, 

together, 

through the hard and frustrating 

but necessary work of self-government. 

That’s what we believe."

um NO you don't; you DO NOT believe in "the hard and frustrating but necessary work of self-government."  Seriously?  That is exactly why within these United States the two sides are fundamentally opposed to one another.

Looking back on a week destined to be all about moving forward, I'm confused as to why the democrats felt the need to start over, as if we all haven't met.   Having Michelle tell their love story and family beginnings shaped by "poverty"; while Billyboy got up there and basically claimed that what happened in the last four years didn't really happen the way we think it happened -- re-writing Barack's history, his history, and taking the opportunity to suspend reality for as long as he could get away with it.

Adding into the mix a couple of recent polished admissions of the president: the first, being that he considers his grade on the economy "incomplete"; and second, having the audacity to say his biggest mistake is having  not told the story better to the American people.  

For the Left, it's all about conveying a narrative to control Americans from start to finish -- wedging between rich and poor, opportunists and the disenfranchised, the haves and have-nots, blue collar against white, Americans divided by demographic, race, wealth, religion, sexual orientation.

Obama is in this position, pleading for a second chance, because he clearly believes he hasn't told the story better.  ...are you kidding me?

Alec Baldwin made a shocking statement last week.  He tweeted,

"if Obama was white, he'd be up 17 points." 

Sorry, Alec.  If Obama was white, if he wasn't already impeached for acting by dictate through Executive Order and abuse of power, he would have been replaced by Hillary and never even given a second chance.

But that's what America is all about --  second chances, third chances, how ever many times it takes to succeed furnished through the virtues of good self-government.

And may the best man, or woman, win, always.  The best being in all things under heaven, of course.  Thankfully, we can conclude, America is still Divine Providence in motion.

So, folks, let's keep moving.
The DNC is finally over and clearly, there is nothing to see here.
Let's just get on with the debates and be done with it.

Make it a Good Day, G

Roger Hedgecock, San Diego's past mayor turned conservative talk-radio host, came home from the DNC having been denied.  Freedom of speech and tolerance of the other side, simply non-existent.  The DNC projected a stern warning to all delegates and representatives not to speak with any conservative radio/tv guy/gal during the entire convention.  What are they afraid of?