Help! I'm at a loss! Who could this be???

• racist - a person who believes in racism, the doctrine that one's own racial group is superior or that a particular racial group is inferior to the others.
• birther - a person who claims that the presidency of Barack Obama was unconstitutional, citing a belief that he was not born in the United States, or denying the authenticity of his birth certificate.
• xenophobic - relating to or exhibiting fear or hatred of foreigners, people from different cultures, or strangers.
• demagogue - a person, especially an orator or political leader, who gains power and popularity by arousing the emotions, passions, and prejudices of the people.
• misogynist - a person who hates, dislikes, mistrusts, or mistreats women.
• alarmist - a person who tends to raise alarms, especially without sufficient reason, as by exaggerating dangers or prophesying calamities.
• homophobe - a person who fears or hates homosexuals and homosexuality.
• crook - a person who engages in fraudulent or criminal practices.
• autocrat - an absolute ruler, especially a monarch who holds and exercises the powers of government as by inherent right, not subject to restrictions.
• corrupt - debased in character; depraved; perverted; wicked; evil.
• agitator - a person who stirs up others in order to upset the status quo and further a political, social, or other cause.
• bigot - a person who is utterly intolerant of any differing creed, belief, or opinion.
• scroundrel - an unprincipled, dishonorable person; villain.
• divisive - creating dissension or discord.
• narcissist - a person who is overly self-involved, and often vain and selfish.
• LIAR - a person who tells lies.

Hope I didn't miss anything...or did I???

Hobby Lobby: WTF?

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that certain "closely held" for-profit businesses can cite religious objections in order to opt out of a requirement in ObamaCare to provide free contraceptive coverage for their employees.

The 5-4 decision, in favor of arts-and-crafts chain Hobby Lobby and one other company, marks the first time the court has ruled that for-profit businesses can cite religious views under federal law.

Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion in the ObamaCare case, finding the contraceptive mandate in its current form "unlawful." The court's four liberal justices dissented.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Monday afternoon that the decision "jeopardizes the health of women who are employed by these companies," but said the administration would respect the ruling.

"We will work with Congress to make sure that any women affected by this decision will still have the same coverage of vital health services as everyone else," he said.   Earnest did not get into specifics, saying they are still assessing the decision and trying to determine which companies are affected.

Dick(HEAD) Cheney...WAR CRIMINAL!!!

Per Mr. Dick(HEAD)...

"Our enemies no longer fear us.   Our allies no longer trust us.   Empty threats, meaningless redlines, leading from behind, and 'engagement' with rogue regimes, have put America on a path of decline.   Threats to America’s security are on the rise.   Iran is marching towards a nuclear weapon.   Al Qaeda is resurgent, establishing new safe havens across the Middle East, including in Iraq where President Obama withdrew all American forces with no stay behind agreement.   He has announced he intends to [do] the same in Afghanistan.   Syria has become the most dangerous training ground for Islamic terrorists since the attacks of 9/11."

My 2 cents...
WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction)?   NO!   Halilburton?   Yes!
You, Rumsfield and Dubya ought to be charged with war crimes!

Gitmo Taliban Detainees: Obama=5; Dubya=500+

I will save judgement until I hear/understand all the FACTS!

Source below from: Americans Against the Tea Party

"The Republicans have a lot to say about President Obama’s recent release of five Guantanamo Bay detainees.   He is being called criminal.
He’s being accused of endangering America.   They’re calling for hearings to investigate his actions.   All of this outrage over five men.

If the release of five men is such a crime, what about the release of close to 600?   You would think that would be considered a much bigger threat to our country, but you’d be wrong.   Why?   Because it was done by a Republican, and they surely believe that anything they do is for the good of the country.

Between 2007 and 2009, President George W. Bush released 520 detainees from the facility at Guantanamo Bay – at least that’s how many are officially recorded.   One of those detainees was Abu Sufian bin Qumu, who is a suspect in the Benghazi embassy attack.

The strangest part of this story is that despite official White House documents and news articles detailing Bush’s actions, people continue to deny that he has negotiated with terrorists.   Apparently his negotiations with Iraqi insurgents, Iran and North Korea never made it into the Republican history books."

Photo below from the cover of this week's Time Magazine.   Haven't read the article yet, but here's a teaser from Time's website...

"If every soldier were brave in battle, we wouldn’t need a word for valor. Yet generals since the time of Saul have confronted the problem of breakdown and desertion.   The eminent military historian John Keegan, in his masterpiece The Face of Battle, quoted U.S. military authorities who concluded after World War II that “there is no such thing as ‘getting used to combat’...Psychiatric casualties are as inevitable as gunshot and shrapnel wounds.”   Some soldiers deal with the pressure by running away—or worse, by switching sides.   Which is why Stalin kept a significant share of his guns pointed at the rear of his own army.   When President Obama stepped into the Rose Garden on May 31 to announce..."

Social Security...1-800-772-1213

I just wanted to know how much I've been paying for Medicare Plan B.   So I dialed the subject telephone number (Social Security # 1-800-772-1213) today at 5PM EST.   I've been listening to muzak/announcements for the last 58 minutes and 33 seconds!   I'm hanging up!   Damn!   Let's spend more money on wars!

I'm shutting down!

Members of Congress will have no dilemma about the future of their own finances this week because the 27th Amendment to the Constitution specifically stipulates that the salaries of the House and Senate cannot change until a congressional election has come and gone.   Members of both chambers currently make $174,000.   I don't know about you, but I don't make anything near that!   Let's shutdown congressional pay too!

I think we all need to SHUTDOWN at midnight and see where that takes us!   Ted Cruz gets $174K!   You gotta be kidding me!

The Crackpot Club...Pat Robertson & Bryan Fischer!

People...you just can't make this stuff up.   On his radio program yesterday, Bryan Fischer was discussing the on-going Anthony Weiner sexting scandal, which provided an opportunity for him to join the right-wing smear campaign against Weiner's wife, long-time Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, for supposedly being an agent of the Muslim Brotherhood intent on destroying America.   As a matter of fact, said Fischer, despite having no evidence whatsoever, Abedin's "stated goal" is to destroy this nation.   "Her goal in life as a member of the Muslim Brotherhood is to destroy Western Civilization".

Then there is wack job Mr. Robertson!   It is estimated that Mr. Robertson and his "700 Club" on the Christian Broadcast Network (CBN) may have up to 1 million viewers!

That alone scares the sh*t out of me.   It really does!

  But the few of you that follow my rant here on the blog-o-sphere already know that!

Benghazi was God's Judgement!

America is in decline, proven by the fact that this bat sh*t crazy person is serving in Congress.   Then agian...there's this idiot.

It's Hillary with two Ls *sshole!!   And yes...she will be the next President of the United States of America in spite of all you right-wing Republican f*ckin' wacka-doodles!

Benghazi is the new Watergate!

Never Never Land!

If I had really big money, I would set up a "Neverland" foundation.   I'm talkin' Bill Gates, Warren Buffett kind of money!   Young folks (anyone under thirty?) could apply for a grant.   They would have to qualify for (or answer to) any of the following:

• never been ankle deep in the ocean...yes OCEAN!
• never been on a plane
• never been out of the country...much less their home state
• never known or had a friend of another race/religion or sexual orientation
• never been to a "play" or a Broadway show
• never knew their Dad
• never felt loved!

If they've never experienced it...I would try to make it happen.   I know it would be a much better world if all the young folks could say..."yes...I've done/experienced that"!   Sure there are many more "nevers" I could add to my "Neverland" list...but this is good enough for now!

I consider myself to be very fortunate because I've had very few "nevers"...but I could write a book on those "nevers" that I've had!   Guess I need to start that infamous "bucket list"!

Dear Mr. Pistorius...aka..."Blade Runner"...

I don't know where to begin.   Never heard of you before the 2012 Olympics.   And then there you were!   A first!   Awesome!   Quite honestly I idealized you and what you overcame and your accomplishments.   I think the whole world did too.   I KNOW the whole world did.   Now I'm at a loss for words.

People are already identifying you as the South African version of O.J. Simpson.   O.J. was not a worldwide phenomenon...and he was guilty as hell.   You ARE a worldwide phenomenon!   And I hope you're not guilty!   I really do...but at this point, it's hard to believe either your innocence or guilt.

Taylor Morris...A quadrapalegic and a feel good story!

Never heard of this dude before...but Taylor Morris and his high school sweetheart, Danielle Kelly, were on the “Today Show” this morning.   His/their story is quite moving.   Buzzfeed’s “22 pictures” has gone viral.   I was moved by his story and equally moved by the Buzzfeed photos.   This one is my favorite!

It’s a great story.   It’s really a feel good one!   I wish them the best.   Taylor’s sacrifice supports my position on the insanity of war!   I would have signed up for WWII…but that would have been the end of it!   Korea?   Viet Nam?   Iraq (hello WMD)?   Afghanistan?   War?

Do whatever you can to donate to Taylor's cause.   I did!   It’s worthwhile.   Make a difference!

September 11th...again.

I left my house at about 8:30AM today…on my way to my 1st lymphoma treatment.   As I stepped out my front door, I was amazed at how beautiful a day it was...crystal clear, with ice blue and skies devoid of any clouds...a pleasant temperature in the high 60s.   It was absolutely beautiful!   The first thing that came to my mind was how the beauty of this morning was EXACTLY the same as September 11th, 2001.   Not even Photoshop could have improved on the cloudless, bluest of skies.   Absolutely beautiful!   Perhaps the photo below was enhanced with Photoshop…but this morning’s sky looked damn close to the sky depicted in this image!

• 8:46AM - American flight #11 crashes into the World Trade Center north tower (1 WTC)
• 9:03AM - United flight #175 crashes in the south tower (2 WTC)
• 9:37AM - American flight #77 crashes in to the Pentagon
• 9:58AM - the south tower collapses
• 10:03AM - United flight #93 crashes in Pennsylvania
• 10:28AM - the north tower collapses
• 11:45AM - my daughter www.studio162.com calls from a payphone (cell phones didn’t work and she didn’t own one at the time!) in the basement of Cooper Union (located less that 3 miles from the World Trade Center) to tell us she’s okay.

Epilogue:
Here’s where we are today!   Still quibbling over finances…of the yet-to-be-completed Memorial Musuem.

And although the new “Freedom Tower”reaches 1776 feet…I’m not impressed by the overall design and I think it looks really bland.   IMHO, from an architectural perspective, I had hoped the decision would have been to go with the original Daniel Libeskind design!   I thought it was awesome!

The Wingnuts are really going Wacko!

John Sununu – Obama is an un-American Pot Smoker!

Rush Limbaugh and the Dark Knight Rises!

You just can't make this stuff up!   These two fuel the fire and add to my thoughts and opinion that America is really getting f*cked up.   And it's not just limited to these two.   As I've said before...what really scares the sh*t out of me...are those American citizens that take this sh*t as the gospel truth...and they believe and support theses thoughts and ideologies.

After all...the President is a Muslim from Kenya!

Independence Day in America!

OK America, on this Independence Day, perhaps it’s time for a re-assessment of our claim as the greatest country on earth.   Don’t get me wrong, I love this place, but we are not without flaws!

Given the Republican primaries, among other things, I’ve revisited the concept of America’s greatness.   C’mon!   If for nothing else, the fact that so many Americans actually voted for Bachmann, Santorum, & Cain & Perry or believed that “birther” Trump was worthy of the office of the Presidency continues to scare the sh*t out of me!   Did I mention Newt?   Add to that, 47% of the American electorate thought that Sarah Palin qualified to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency still has me shaking in my boots.

America is a leader among the world in religious beliefs, incarceration and defense spending!   Is that greatness?   Sadly enough there are some Americans that still believe that President Obama is a Muslim born in Kenya.   But American intelligence is a whole ‘nother matter.   I’m certain that many Americans probably couldn’t pass the test to become a naturalized citizen.   These are the very same people that are probably fighting immigration reform tooth and nail.

America is a divided nation.   Some have said it’s the college educated, the minorities and the young…versus everyone else.   Red state versus blue state!   Our issues are many and they add to this divisiveness:

• healthcare
• tax policy
• racism
• marriage equality
• immigration reform
• unemployment
• and finally…laying blame for all of the above!

In spite of all of this, I do believe that America can lay claim to the title of “Land of Opportunity”.   I love this country and most…but not all...of its people.   But given the current climate and state of affairs…I question its greatness.

Mario Balotelli…Italian?

This dude closed the quarter-finals against Germany with two goals.   When I first saw him…I thought…if he’s Italian…then so am I.   I began to think…if he was in America…what would his hyphenated “classification” be?   America is big on hyphenated citizens!   So Mr. Balotelli…if you ever immigrated to America you may be “classified” as either:

• an Italian-American…who happens to be black
• an African-American…who happens to be Italian or…
• just another nigger from Africa without a bonafide birth certificate!

Mr. Balotelli made the front page of today’s New York Times sports section.   After reading the article…my thoughts of me being Italian if he was, quickly faded away.   Per the NY Times article:

“Balotelli dedicated his two goals against Germany to his adoptive mother. He sought her out after the match and gave her a kiss. He was born in Sicily, named Mario Barwuah, the son of immigrant parents from Ghana in West Africa. Intestinal problems became so severe, his birth father has said, that young Mario was baptized in fear that he might die. At age 2, he was sent to live near Brescia, Italy, with white foster parents, Francesco and Silvia Balotelli. Eventually, Mario took their name and, at 18, in 2008, he became an Italian citizen, eligible to play for its national soccer team.”

"His personal life has been as unsettled as his professional career, one perhaps influencing the other. As he gained citizenship, Balotelli accused his birth parents of having abandoned him in a hospital and having tried to reconnect only after he gained fame as a professional player.?”

If you watched today’s Union of European Football Association’s (UEFA) finals…you know that he wasn’t able to pull it off for the finals! Espana-4 versus Italia-0 (My German daughter and my German son-in-law got me into this stuff!) No vuvzelas this time though!

Broken & Obsolete...Immigation in America

I’ve been a big fan of Fareed Zakaria.   I just read his article, regarding his opinion on immigration, in last weeks’ Time Magazine.   You may…or may not agree with Mr. Zakaria…but reading the article is time well spent…IMHO!

“As the American economy sags, the race for the presidency gets tighter--except in one dimension.   Hispanic Americans continue to support Barack Obama by an astonishing 61%-to-27% margin.   Were Obama to win, it might well be because of his attitudes on one issue: immigration.   But it is an issue on which he will be unable to enact any of his preferences, let alone those policies that many Latinos support.   The Republican Party has taken a tough stand on the topic.   Democrats have their own bright lines.   That means America's immigration system is likely to stay as it is right now--utterly broken.”

Read the full article here…and there’s a one hour special, hosted by Zakaria, on CNN tonight!

According to the lastest issue of Time Magazine...this is the total estimated direct cost of the U.S. war in Afghanistan from 2001 through the end of next year!   Did I mention that almost 2,000 Americans and over 1,000 coalition forces have lost their lives in the mess to fight off the Taliban!

I've already posted my own recommendations on how to handle this!   That post was back in 2010, almost 2 years ago and the tally then was $277 BILLION!

Conservative Teen Magazine!

This is for real people!

Father of the Brides!

Huh?   Wedding Advice?   What in the world brings this up?   Well…we have been invited to 3 weddings over the course of the next several months and they have been the subject of discussion around the kitchen table.   OK…so it’s been a one man discussion!   However, as a two time “Father of the Bride” within a year of each other (ouch)…I’ve got my own opinions/advice!   So…if you’re planning a wedding, below is my unsolicited advice…from the “Father of the Brides”!

The List:
If I’ve said it once…I’ll say it a thousand times…it’s all about the list!   To me…this was the most agonizing aspect of sending both of my daughters down the aisle and off to wedded bliss!   You might ask why?   The obvious answer is…it has the most significant impact on the overall cost!   Cost matters…unless you are part of the 1%.   I’m not!   The list influences the location for both the wedding and the reception venues, the menu, the flowers (or lack thereof), bar options, invitations and damn near everything else…save the infamous bridal gown…aka…dress (see below).   Believe it or not, I still think about those few that we couldn’t invite to our wedding (cost and venue size)…and that was over 37 years ago !



Here’s an interesting option.   For one couple we know…the magic number was 150.   Parents of the bride and the groom were allocated a maximum of 30 guests each.   No questions asked (invite whoever they wanted).   The bride and groom got to invite the remaining 90 guests!   Any unused invites allocated to the parents would go back to the bride and groom’s “kitty”.   Interesting idea and it really worked for them (I think?).   On the other side…if each set of parents had a list of 50…oops!   My own lists for each of my daughter’s weddings were well over 50+…and that was painful enough!   Again…it boils all down to the list!

The Location:
Don’t expect a whole bunch of folks to show up to a destination wedding if it requires travel/lodging expenses in excess of $500/person.   (You can only go but so far or can't get too exotic at $500 a pop!)   If you do…don’t expect any big time gifts!   Again…this does not apply to you one per-centers!

My youngest wanted to get married in Jamaica.   We love Jamaica.   My wife was born in Jamaica…but when my daughter realized that a significant number of family, close friends and other relatives that she wanted to share in her “once-in-a-lifetime” experience…financially…would not be able to attend...she squashed that idea.   Instead, she got married in Connecticut…and the wedding party (and her parents…that would be me & Mom) all jumped on a plane and went to Montego Bay and had a group honeymoon!



It was an awesome 7-day experience for about 14 of us!   Everyone involved still says it was the best.   For a few folks in the wedding party…it was their first trip “abroad”!

Now that I think about it…”international” weddings can be an exception to this “destination wedding” rule.   My oldest daughter…fell in love with and eventually married my German son-in-law.   He was born and raised in Dresden, Germany…from the former East Germany no less!   The wedding was held here in Connecticut.



The final list included about 180 guests.   Aside from his immediate family, the list also included about 30 friends from Germany, a dozen or so from California and even one from Tokyo Japan!   We sent out the invitations…and I assumed that maybe 10 or 15 of the their German friends would actually attend…saving me some money!   Wrong!   Damn near all of them showed up!   Even the friend from Tokyo!   For many, it was their first time to America.   For my son-in-law’s grandmother, it was her first time on a plane!!!   She was 82!

The Wedding Venue:
Inviting 50 people and getting married in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral (in New York City) is a little odd….dontcha think?   If nothing else…the echoes would be deafening.   Big is one thing…small is another!   My wife and I got married in a small church (capacity about 120).   The ceremony was scheduled for 10:30AM.   My wife and future in-laws were worried because we invited 150+ people.   I assured them that most of my friends would not attend a wedding ceremony starting at 10:30AM.   Much to my surprise…they ALL showed up!   There was standing room only!   Seriously…some folks had to stand in the vestibule!   I was shocked!   At 10:30AM…I barely made it to the ceremony myself!

Our youngest daughter got married in a beautiful old church…that we didn’t even belong to…but they opened their arms to us.



Every other church turned us down except St. Johns Episcopal and a nearby Universalist Church.   I could go on forever about that…but I’ll defer. The older daughter got married at the reception venue…a beautiful outdoor ceremony.   Outdoor versus indoor is a whole ‘nother discussion.   Fortunately, the rain didn’t start until after the ceremony and the outdoor cocktail hour!

The Reception Venue:
Okay…so the list is 500?   Scratch the filet mignon!   How about a single rosebud per table…better yet…a daisy?   Tables?   What tables?   Passed hor d’ourves?   Fuhgeddaboudit!   Open bar…maybe!   Top shelf booze at open bar?   At 500 guests…no thanks…we’ll use the house brand instead!   How about just beer and wine?   How about BYOB!

Both daughters opted for a reception venue…that by default…dictated the maximum number of invitees.   I think both venues had a capacity of about 175 or so guests.   As I mentioned, for our oldest daughter the wedding and reception venue were one and the same.   The younger wanted a big time party atmosphere and opted for a local venue.



Unfortunately…both lists started out at the 200 level!   It was an agonizing exercise going through the list and having to make some eliminations.   To this day…I regret eliminating those I/we wanted to attended versus those that were “politically correct” to invite!

Once their big day arrived, I was really annoyed…okay…livid…at the last minute “no shows”.   Okay…you were really sick!   I understand.   Other than that…you really pissed me off.   Why?   We had to include you in the “committed” headcount to the caterer…you cost me money even though you opted not to show up!   More importantly…we eliminated folks from our list so that you could attend…and you didn’t.   In many cases, I understand…but in most…there was no excuse!   Especially when we had to tightly scrutinizing the infamous list!   Again…it’s the list and forget about being politically correct!

The Gown!
It’s obviously a female thing…and I’ll get beat up for this.   Why anyone, outside of the one per-centers, would spend more than a grand on a dress (okay…wedding gown) is beyond my comprehension.   Okay…$1500 MAX!   My daughters spent less than half of that!   You’re in the dress for a max of seven or eight hours!   Less if you have a wedding gown and then a change into “a dress for the reception”.   I understand it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience…but trust me…the bride’s daughter (if she ever has one) does NOT plan to wear your “hand-me-down” dress at her nuptials…and you quickly realize that spending several thousand dollars on a white dress is absurd!

Father of the Bride:
I could go on and on but I don’t expect that you’ve read even this far!   If you have…let it be known that I was a very happy “Father of the Bride”…both times! Everything worked out really well and the feedback from the daughters, son-in-laws, and invited guests were awesome.   If nothing else…have a great time…but don’t forget the list!