Sunday, November 30, 2014

Awesomeness in the Turks & Caicos!

There are so many awesome things about traveling that I wish everyone in this world could have a chance to experience!   A big part of that traveling experience can be about the people that you get to meet.   Our latest venture to Turks & Caicos (Blue Haven Resort), confirmed what I believe to be true…so many of us in this world have a great deal in common or we have amazing stories to share with the world…or BOTH!   So here are some of the folks that we met.

The Romanians:
There was the young couple from Romania (didn’t get their names) who escaped communist Romania and fled to Germany (well after the wall came down).   They told us of the hardships that they endured and how they were treated and housed in many different German locations…but they were free!   Eventually they were sponsored by their Uncle and were allowed to immigrate to the United States!   Their story was amazing!   They were traveling (on vacation) with their 6 month old son!   In Turks & Caicos with a 6 month old!   The kid was awesome.   Not a peep out of him in all the fancy restaurants!

The Honeymooners!
Then there were the Houston newlyweds, Billy & Holly…married for 5 days!   Their original plans were to honeymoon in Cabo San Lucas (Mexico) but hurricane Odile screwed that up!   So at the last minute…they signed up for Turks & Caicos.   They were awesome too!   Just good, wonderful young people.   We first met them on the resort’s beach and it was instant good vibes.   And…he’s a fan of Crown Royal…which just so happens to be our kid’s new favorite beverage of choice!   The honeymooners don’t know it…but they haven’t seen the last of us.   Just good kids and we wish all the best for them!

The Ladies from Vancouver!
And finally...our new found buddies from Vancouver!   We booked a half day “snorkeling/conch” cruise with “Caicos Dream Tours”.   That’s where we met these two outgoing and fun-loving ladies (Rosemary & Christa)!   “Ms. Rosey” invited us to her home and insisted that we take an Alaskan cruise…originating from Vancouver (her home town). She even said she would pick us up from the airport in Vancover!   And…she invited us to stay with her in her two bedroom condo!   (She may not know this…but we’re going to take her up on this invite)!!!

To us, this is just one of the greatest things about travel.   It’s so much about the people you get to meet from all walks of life and from all over the world and then you quickly realize that we all have so much in common!   Just good people!   Oh…and the beach was awesome too!

Traveling is an awesome experience!   It has ALWAYS been an awesome experience for us!   It’s time to figure out where we’re going next and the wonderful people we may get a chance to meet!   My best friend is trying to talk us into joining him and the Mrs. on a QM2 trans-Atlantic crossing from South Hampton, England to New York!   We may just take him up on it!!!

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Ferguson...Shoot to Kill!

"Officer Wilson fired 12 rounds, including two from the car and 10 more down the street, where Mr. Brown sustained at least six more wounds, including at his forehead and the top of his head, which suggested that his body was bent forward at the waist.

Mr. Brown’s body was about 153 feet east of Officer Wilson’s car. Mr. Brown’s blood was about 25 feet east of his body. This evidence supports statements that Mr. Brown continued to move closer to the officer after being hit by an initial string of bullets."

Source: New York Times
C'mon...you had to fire twelve shots and shoot this kid 6 times over some f*ckin' Cigarillos...AND he was 153 feet away from you!!!

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Friday, November 14, 2014

Why/How(?) the Democrats Lost the Midterms!

Needless to say, I'm deeply saddened by the results...but I'm not surprised.   I've long held the belief that the American electorate is stupid uniformed.   It's a sad fact that just over 36% of the electorate turned out to vote and I believe the majority of those that did were older Rethuglicans.   Add to that that the majority of eligible voters don't even know which party controls the Senate or the House!   Just unbelievable.   And...to add icing to the cake...of the 14 countries surveyed by over 11,000 respondents, only the people of Italy proved to be more ignorant than Americans!!!   Need more info...just check below!

The turnout statistic Republicans hate most!
General election voter turnout for the 2014 midterms was the lowest it’s been in any election cycle since World War II, according to early projections by the United States Election Project.

"Just 36.4 percent of the voting-eligible population cast ballots as of last Tuesday, continuing a steady decline in midterm voter participation that has spanned several decades. The results are dismal, but not surprising – participation has been dropping since the 1964 election, when voter turnout was at nearly 49 percent.

The last time voter turnout was so low during a midterm cycle was in 1942, when only 33.9 percent of eligible voters cast ballots."

More details at The Washington Post.

More than half of Americans don't know which party controls the House and the Senate!
A study of 1416 American adults conducted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center found the following:

  • Asked which party has the most members in the House of Representatives, 38 percent said they knew the Republicans are the majority, but 17 percent responded the Democrats, and 44 percent reported that they did not know (up from 27 percent who said they did not know in 2011).
  • Asked which party controls the Senate, 38 percent correctly said the Democrats, 20 percent said the Republicans, and 42 percent said they did not know (also up from 27 percent who said they did not know in 2011).
  • Little more than a third of respondents (36 percent) could name all three branches of the U.S. government, just as many (35 percent) could not name a single one.
I'm just dumfounded but too many Americans are just f*cking dumb when it comes to the BASICS of their government!

Who's more ignorant than Americans?
Ipsos MORI’s new global survey highlights how wrong the public across 14 countries are about the basic make-up of their populations and the scale of key social issues.

Looking across the full set of questions and how each country responded, we can identify a clear pattern in how close to reality the public in each country are. The image below shows that the country with the best understanding of these population characteristics and social issues is Sweden – and the country with the least accurate view is Italy.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Happy Veterans Day!

ZERO!!!   What a sad fact!   via... 8fact.

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Can't wait 'til January 21st 2016!

I never thought I'd think this way...but I'm looking forward to the end of Barack Obama's presidency.   Why?   Because I'm so sick and tired of him being beaten up and blamed for everything that doesn't sit well with the right wing ignorant Americans.   I'm sick of it!

I'm sick of all the talk about taking back America!   Taking it back from who?   Taking it back to where?   Then there's all the criticism about the President's policies!   But they never mention the exact policies that they are criticizing!   It's all the generalities exaxcerbated by FOX news!

President Obama stepped into a bag of sh*t left at the front door of the White House upon Dubya's departure!   Here is what this man has accomplished (in spite of Mitch McConnell declaring that his primary mission was to make President Obama a one term President)!:

  • Avoided a full depression!
  • Kept alive the American auto industry!
  • Oversaw the creation of more jobs in 2010 alone than Dubya did in eight years (with Mitch McConnell's wife as Secretary of Labor)!
  • Has the current unemployment rate below 6%!
  • Has the Dow Jones above 17,000!   It has increased 121% since President Obama took office!   (I know a whole lotta folks are still hurtin' but there are a whole lotta folks with 401k's smilin'!)
  • Got Osama Bin Laden!
  • Has provided for the lowest increase in health care cost in the last 50 years because of the Affordable Care Act!
  • Has reduced the federal budget deficit from 9.8% of GDP in Fiscal Year 2009 under Bush, to 2.9% of GDP in FY 2014.   We're talking over ONE TRILLION dollars!
  • Led the country to 64 consecutive months of economic expansion, eclipsing Saint Reagan’s record, by far.
  • Has dragged us out of Dubya's wars that cost the taxpayers trillions of dollars!
And that's just the tip of the iceberg!   If you need more just GOGGLE "Obama Accomplishments"!

But then again here are those "policies" (facts?) that the right wing wackos just can't get over:

  • President Obama got rid of DADT (Don't Ask, Don't Tell)   Gays in the military!   OUCH!
  • President Obama supports same sex marriage!
  • President Obama was born in Kenya!
  • President Obama can't verify his birth certificate! (Just ask Donald Trump!)
  • ...and last, but not least...President Obama is a NIGGER!!!
This country does not deserve him and I'm counting down to 2016.   After that...this place can go to hell in a hand basket!   I really don't give a sh*t anymore!

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Vote!!!

The thought that the Republicans might take the Senate tonight and Mitch McConnell becoming the U.S. Senate Majority Leader makes me want to throw up!   If this happens...it confirms my belief that far too many Americans are "ignant"...and they shouldn't be allowed to vote!

I'm going to be drinking a whole "lotta" rum to get me thru the night!