Meanderings

Swimming On A Humid Day

At the hotel pool

Spider Web

A spider web highlighted by the misty raindrops.

One night's worth of "tree droppings"

One drawback of living in a deciduous paradise is the effluent they
leave on your car. It's off to the car wash for a de-sapping.

Two Poems by Maria Reyes

I'm Moving Back to Settle
by Maria Reyes

Sad to leave my friends and go
Happy to see my old friends again,
but what relly maters is I have friends.

Going Into My Prey School
by Maria Reyes

Happyness goes around
kindness a strate line
everyones quite.
Then I move to a diffrent place
a place to have more friend ship
and every ones happy epxet for my friends
in the place I love
and I love Latimer Lane.
I think Latimer Lane
is better then my prey school.

Today's Thought

Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!

Patrick Henry
American Hero

North Korea Sentences Journalists to 12 Years

And my liberal friends mocked President Bush for referring to North Korea as a member of "the Axis of Evil". They're not looking to lovey-dovey now are they?

N. Korea Sentences U.S. Reporters to 12 Years - North Korea | Map | Government - FOXNews.com

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The Most High Speaks on Nuclear Proliferation...

According to our President, the Most Honorable and Beneficent Barack Hussein Obama:

"I understand those who protest that some countries have weapons that others do not. No single nation should pick and choose which nations hold nuclear weapons. That is why I strongly reaffirmed America's commitment to seek a world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons."

Really?

Isn't it the President's responsibility to pursue international policies that protect the U.S. and its allies? How does weakening the U.S. stand on nuclear proliferation achieve that end? Does the U.S. have a legitimate stake in which countries are allowed to develop nuclear capabilities? Absolutely. The expanded development of nuclear arms poses an existential threat to not only the United States, but also Israel, the U.K., and other democratic countries which are considered enemies of radical Islam.

Also, his Utopian Kumbayah vision of "a world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons" is naive on its face. So if we turn our swords into plowshares so will the people who despise our nation and its freedoms? Right. Why don't we test that theory by eliminating the President's Secret Service detail? After all, if disarming leads to increased security then doesn't he have a responsibility to lead the way?

Deeply troubling.

 

Now We Know Where We Stand.....

In his Cairo speech of June 4, 2009 American President Barack Hussein Obama stated:

 "The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli                 settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop."

As a lifelong supporter of Israel, this unequivocal statement of U.S. policy against Israel is chilling. Obama's proclamation that the settlements are illegitimate tells me that future attacks on the settlements will not be condemned by the U.S. What is the effect of this statement? It tells the Palestinians that they can attack at will without fear of retribution from the U.S. or the international community. Essentially, President Obama is blaming future victims of terrorist attacks for their own demise because it is they who chose to live in 'illegitmate settlements'.

When this happens, I hope he has the strength of character to face the families of these victims and repeat these words to them face to face.

View from hotel Window

Looking the other way from our hotel window.

Cool View

This is the view from our hotel window in Times Square.

Obama 5:7-8

In the days that followed the hundred, the Messiah went here and there spreading the good news. In his travels he spake unto the multitudes and he did say, "I will bring down the high and uplift the low, I will mend the sick, give rest to the weary, and bring peace to the lands. I will give sustenance to those who toil for my sake and smite those who stand against me."

The crowd murmured, wondering how one man could bring such miracles. Sensing their disquiet, The Messiah spake unto them again, "My children, let not your hearts be troubled, for you shall not bear the burden of my great works. They who worshiped the false gods and reaped the harvests of your labor shall pay for their iniquity. The sum of their greed shall kindle my vengeance. Their edifices, monuments, and institutions shall be rebuilt in my image and any who resist shall be consumed as tinder in a wildfire. Yea my children, tell thy bretheren that I am the Light and any who turn away shall be set upon as locusts to a field."

Thus endeth today's reading.

Operative Phrase

Maria recently informed us that those people who do not digest milk products well are called, "Blacktoast Intolergent". Thought you'd like to know for future reference.

Do The Math

FDA Warns Consumers to Stop Using Hydroxycut Products

In this FDA announcement, the Agency reports that Weight Loss Supplement Hydroxycut is being pulled from the shelves because 23 people have alleged liver damage as a result of using the product and it is being tied to one death. The report also states that nine million packages of the product were sold in the last year. NINE MILLION. Based upon these numbers it implies that there is a 0.00000256 chance that one would become sick as a result of taking these supplements. While I empathize with the people who are sick, I wonder if the potential for harm is significant enough for a full recall. Certainly there are other products on the market that are potentially riskier than this; like Ginsu knives, red meat, and whole milk.

Something from this story seems fishy. Either the risk factor is higher than the numbers portray, or this is a significant overreaction on the part of the company and the FDA. 

Two Tired Kids

Waiting for the bus at Epcot

Downtown Disney

Anthony and Maria at Downtown Disney.

Enjoying A Fine Florida Afternoon

With the family at Typhoon Lagoon.

USA Today

This morning's edition of USA Today was delivered to our room and
here's what I've learned from the first section:

Attorney General Eric Holder thinks that we're a nation of cowards
with regard to discussing racial issues.

A NATO supported Canadian warship thwarted a hijacking; then released
the pirates.... so they could attack someone else?

Dianne Feinstein wants to reserve the right to prosecute CIA officers
for their role in interrogating Al Qaeda terrorists.

Obama's new pal Ahmadinejad said of one our closest allies, Israel,
they are "the most cruel and repressive racist regime," and "they
resorted to military aggression to make an entire nation homeless
under the pretext of Jewish suffering."

Perhaps I'm just mired in an ineffective Cold War mindset that
separates the world into good guys and bad guys....

Sent from my iPhone

A Dad's Right

After the indecent comments that Jamie Foxx made about his daughter, I
think that Billy Ray Cyrus is entitled to give Jamie a good old
fashioned redneck ass whoopin'.

Sent from my iPhone

Speaking of/from Fantasyland

American President Barack Obama demonstrates his Kumbayah foreign policy on the world stage by reaching out a hand of cooperation and friendship to regimes that are openly hostile to the United States. WTF you idiot! Castro no es amigo, comprende? Hugo es pinche cabron, entiende? Ortega no le gusta Los Estados Unidos, got it?

Sure Castro will release prisoners.... just like his brother did with the Mariel boat lift in 1980. Along with a handful of political dissidents will be 2000 murderers, rapists, and other undesirables sent to our country to inflict damage. It was a mistake to grant them asylum then and it would be an even greater mistake to do it now, given our nearly three decades of experience to reflect upon.

Over the past five years, Chavez has probably been the most vocal Anti-American voice in our hemisphere, second in the world only to the vitriolic voices on Al-Jazeera in rancor. Sucking up to him will strengthen the U.S. how?

I simply do not buy a foreign policy of "strength through greater weakness" where the U.S. supplicates itself to anyone. Dictatorships such as those in Iran, North Korea, China, etc. will regard this as carte blance to do as they wish because the U.S. has lost the resolve to do anything about it.

So the liberals really did get their wish. By electing Obama they got their first African-American AND their first female President.

Thanks for offering our country's nuts up on a plate Barack. We really appreciate it.

Ellis' Economic Stimulus Package (Idea 1)

This evening I read an article in Fast Company Magazine about the benefits and risks to companies who do business with WalMart. Since one of the extreme risks of courting the world's largest retailer as a customer can be one's own company being outsourced out of business, I came up with an idea to encourage WalMart to allow its American vendors to sell at a higher price point and in so doing enabling them to stay in business.

Rather than sending billions to crappy businesses (like the automakers, banks, insurance giants, etc.) that may or may not use it effectively, the government could provide tax incentives to consumers to buy goods produced in the USA by American manufacturers. All merchandise produced in the USA could be supplied with a special SKU and then a portion of the premium paid for US made goods could be written off at tax time.

For example, if my company chooses to purchase the James River brand that costs $5.29 a ream rather than the Fujimoto brand that costs $3.99 per ream, a 25 percent tax credit would put the costs about on par and would help support job retention here in the USA. In my opinion that would encourage buyers to select products that would support domestic job growth even if they had to pay a premium in the short term to do it.