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 a 'Satan Sandwich' sort of Thing

Dear America,

"Government by the elected representatives 

of the people is coming to be government 

by two (or three or four) men 

in a secret room 

pronouncing the new law 

that will be rubber-stamped -- or else! 

Accepting such a process as normal 

is a new phenomenon, 

but it is becoming in Washington 

an acceptable procedure..."  

Tony Blakely, 

a 'Washingtonian'

never short of great conservative opinion

happy monday, day before Armageddon -- oooh, but not really cuz we are working things out...


are we now?


But I heard this new debt ceiling deal was more like "a sugar-coated Satan sandwich."  That fine opinion came from a democrat (MO) and Chairman of the Black Caucus, Emmanuel Cleaver.

what else...


Oh yes, from John McCain we get this:  "I don't think without the Tea Party we would have had an agreement."


say what?  is this the same guy who read aloud, on the floor of the Senate, excerpts of a conservative opinion piece (written by Bill Krystal) who equated the Tea Party to a bunch of Hobbits...just last week?  nice flip.   just how is your neck there, John?


sideshow alert, sideshow alert.


I believe Blakely is spot on.  Washington is becoming less and less of the people, for the people, by the people and more about a few good men.


The more I delve into our dark side of human nature and governing, the more I understand -- and respect -- the Rule of Law this great nation has so defined.  Everything was built upon COMMON law that we all agreed to follow -- not tweaking towards any one person, group or special interest more than another.  It is the corruption of such Law that we are where we are.   


From John Adams:

"No man will contend that a nation 

can be free that is not governed by fixed laws.  

All other government 

than that of permanent known laws 

is the government of mere will and pleasure."

Nothing about our government seems "fixed" these days, does it?   

Even though what We the People have long assumed to be in place, a government intimately bound by the terms of our Constitution, with processes of authority and precepts of regulation to make sound Law...for the people... But this isn't what we see, is it?

Aristotle lamented that "even the best of men in authority are liable to be corrupted by passion.  We may conclude then that the law is reason without passion, and it is therefore preferable to any individual."

By growing our debt another 2.4 Trillion dollars, we constrict our freedom even more -- how can this body of "statesmen" not see this?   They must not have any idea what it feels like to be indebted -- the burden it places on both body and mind; these men, must be merely reflecting there own magnificence -- and without a doubt, without a care or a concern, let alone an inkling of a burden, in the world.  

Who are these people, and what have they done with our Law?  respective of boundaries, limited government, leaving any and all UN-limited-ness expressly for the people? 

"Our world was built on the solid pillars of three great civilizations:  Jerusalem, Athens, and Rome.  The first taught us to pray; the second, to think; and the third, to govern.  Yet, as strong as they are, these pillars require our respectful study, contemplations, and defense, if they are to continue bearing the tremendous weight of the West.  Absent this attention, we will continue to witness our ongoing decay, and eventual collapse."  

This is a quote from a local writer, Craig Maxwell -- initially dropped into my American girl realm  a long long time ago , if according to the relativity of time on the blogosphere.  But once again, it seems to jump out from the corners of my mind as something worthy of a short fixation in the moment.   The country's "pillars" were intended to be fixed in stone in most respects; what we continue to do -- to ourselves, no less -- is a treason of the worst kind.  

Who would ever have thought we would live to see a day when making "a sugar-coated Satan sandwich" becomes just part of the everyday, occurring somewhere around noon, followed up with a three hour siesta -- only to get up the very next day and do it again.  Who would have thought?

Manufacturing numbers are way down today -- oooh, color me surprised when the only thing we seem passionate about creating is more government bureaucracy.  

This new plan -- yet to be voted on, ergo yet to be real law [done deal?  hardly...oh a girl can only hope]  -- says that there are 3 Trillion dollars in debt reduction over ten years (slashing Defense in the process) to add 2.4 Trillion in credit card debt for this administration to squander...supposedly getting us to 2013.

are you kidding me?

there is no Balance Budget caveat; it leaves entirely open a raising of "revenues" down the road -- to be so ordained by committee; it squashes the responsibility and accountability factor down to nil.

Consider the AAA credit rating gone solely because We the People, through our representation, do not deserve it.

The road ahead is neither paved with gold or conviction -- it is more like on borrowed time, along with the overpriced, perfectly and passionately, pensioned and plumped, public works guys filling in the holes, and jumping from one hot spot to the next, clinging to shovel ready projects totally fixated upon burying the United States in debt....in order to fundamentally transform everything.

 

 what else is there for lunch?

Make it a Good Day, G

Aristotle and Adams came from The 5000 Year Leap...get a fix and get this book.

Dear America,

Don't you just love a movie montage capturing the umpteen moments when a certain presidential wanna-be said the words 'roll back.' Hannity has been playing it over and over and over...

Makes it all the more clearer just how tight the relationship between the White House and the makers of Walmart; oh the sweet heart deal they got with Humana, now amplified daily in sixty second commercials, appealing to the aged, senior citizens to walk this way; they will wait for you to make it up to the door, take your time.

Once again, I am overwhelmed with the idea that the full orchestration of the wheeling and dealing is sequestered securely under the main stage; what we see going on in Washington is never on the up and up, never what it seems.

How can we really trust anyone?

And these last few days, my goodness, what a joke; how can a president stand before the American people, proclaim a deal is all but done, and then have it morph into days of rhetoric, disgruntled feelings, barbs and jabs from both sides, making his so called "compromise" absolutely, entirely meaningless -- while in the process, diminish his very own credibility?

It was as if Washington, and essentially his own party, abashedly gave him the hook....just  send in the clowns already, don't bother, they're here...loosing my timing this late...in my career...well maybe, next year...

[Great song -- and thank you, Frank, couldn't have sung it better myself.]

Somebody, please, tell me, just why is it we can't agree on one thing at a time anyway?  Why isn't it possible for an easy 'yea' or 'nay' vote on one thing, and one thing only, one thing at a time in Washington?  Why can't we just get exactly where each and every one of you stand -- without collaborating for an inside piece of the action, without gerrymandering the votes on the floor, and keep to a semblance of order entirely based upon one's convictions; and simply make a decision solely based on it being the right thing to do, for the people, by the people, with the people ... of course, doing so in a manner that is totally, utterly grateful and respectable of the office you hold and the larger America of whom you serve, while getting paid handsomely to do it?

I recognize we have a two party system; I understand we very rarely see eye to eye; but what is with these 2000 page bills and the perversions of power doctoring up the details -- to the extent that we don't know what's in it until we pass it?

What's with throwing in as much pork we possibly can, counter-productively risking the passage of the one thing that is sorely requiring immediate attention?

And I hate to keep rolling back to the same old argument, but what's with the manufactured rush now?  How is it possible for all of you to wait all year before tackling these HUGE, catastrophic, controversial, divisive issues and opting to do it under the Lame Duck congress, with those who no longer hold the power by the people?

What kind of management is that?

Let's just say, if my Reebok Easy Tone feet were sitting behind the desk in the Oval Office, you could bet this would be the first thing I would change.

What a mess, these last few days; just imagine what the world leaders are thinking...here's the POTUS appealing to the public, proclaiming victory in reaching a compromise, when not one bit of it was even true -- and when in fact, rolling back on one of his chief, and tirelessly overused, campaign promises to "roll back" those evil Bush tax rates.

O    M    G

And don't  you just love how they define the group of over $250 K always as "millionaires and billionaires," especially coming from the 14 trillionaire sitting on capital hill.  unbelievable.

What is that?  As if there are so many billionaires running around with the rest of us slackers?  Seriously?  Really?  That's what you want to run with? Let's just expand that to make it sound even better, throwing in zillionaires next time and plastering our pinkie to the corner of our lips. Hold up a second while I get a good belly laugh and lose a half inch in my waist...

There are just about 310 million Americans living here -- probably up to 20 zillion of that are illegals, but let's put that in a little perspective, shall we?  Less than one percent of our population are considered to be in the  Richie Rich category, okay?  And dovetailing on yesterdays ideas, just who do you think create the jobs?


Most people are not in a position to create a company that can create a million zillion jobs (okay, really about 2 M) like a Sam Walmart, as in THE Wal-Mart, who low and behold, looky there, are one of the top contributors to democrats, a notable shift from dolling out their thousands of dollars to republicans over the last two years -- and currently, one of the few corporations embracing the employee mandate under the new health care law. hmmmm what is going on behind the scenes there?

Interesting to note, a certain Hillary Clinton sat on the Board of Directors from the mid eighties and into the early nineties; but that little tidbit becomes all the more more fascinating given the company's history of being beholden to the free market system -- being decidedly against unionization -- with it's companies leaders regularly topping the list of the nations "millionaires and billionaires" for decades now. something must have changed...

And boy does this company make bank -- I didn't know how much until today, talk about billions, but equally grabbing my attention was the fact that nearly 100 million Americans shop at Wal-Mart each year, a third of the population; and what may come as no surprise, given their market advertising, might be the reality that the average Wal-Mart customer falls below the national income average -- but did you know that nearly one-fifth of it's base don't even have a personal bank account!

They also say, the people who gain the most from discount super stores, the Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target shoppers of this world -- are those who fall below a middle class income; the filling of this particular economic niche contributes to the harsh reality many Americans live in every day; these super stores make a difference from not only bring a value added benefit to millions of customers, they could very well be the difference of their survival.

So our president is in trouble for rolling back on a promise; he's been here before, I'm sure he will find a way to smooth over the rough spots, maybe throw in an executive order, furnish a pardon, make a special allowance for, exempting his favorite players; or maybe...

he'll simply just look the other way, ignore the controversy, ridicule the opposition, divide and conquer the base, his base, your base, nothing is sacred, we all scream for ice cream, anything can happen in a storm; or maybe...

nothing really matters at this point going forward -- the damage has been done, the trillions in health care legislation, and stimulus, and bailouts, and uncontrollable government spending, and the growth of
government faster than the growth of private industry, and the borrowing from Peter to pay Paul, will all amount to the same predicament for each and every one of us -- that even a Wal-Mart won't be able to help us now, as the inevitable bankruptcy looms larger than life itself.


America's total destruction will put us on the map, equally and fairly, next to the rest of the misfits and failures of a budding republic, that which provides for the safe keeping and healthy practice centering upon the sweet liberties and freedoms of the individual -- as everything this administration ever wanted would be made and procurred whether right under our noses or behind closed doors, stage left  -- creating the brand new, global community at large, yeah cloud, leaving free market capitalism falling to it's knees.  And oh thank God we believe in God.

Make it a Good Day, G

and to the Dems, the party now holding the gun and keeping the tax cuts "hostage" until something better can be worked out in a real compromise...to you I say, since when have you been concerned with deficits, the national debt, and not spending the people's money?  just when did that start?