Sunday, November 30, 2014

Shane's Notes From His Boss At Walmart's Deli

This is from the online page Young Conservative and was written by Michael Cantrell, who describes this as, "This is the wickedly funny story of Shane the Walmart Deli Guy, narrated by notes from his boss."















Friday, November 28, 2014

Benjamin Watson Comments on Ferguson


KHQ.COM - Benjamin Watson who plays for the New Orleans Saints posted the following on his Facebook page and it has since gone viral:

 "At some point while I was playing or preparing to play Monday Night Football, the news broke about the Ferguson Decision. After trying to figure out how I felt, I decided to write it down. Here are my thoughts:

I'M ANGRY because the stories of injustice that have been passed down for generations seem to be continuing before our very eyes.

I'M FRUSTRATED, because pop culture, music and movies glorify these types of police citizen altercations and promote an invincible attitude that continues to get young men killed in real life, away from safety movie sets and music studios.

I'M FEARFUL because in the back of my mind I know that although I'm a law abiding citizen I could still be looked upon as a "threat" to those who don't know me. So I will continue to have to go the extra mile to earn the benefit of the doubt.

I'M EMBARRASSED because the looting, violent protests, and law breaking only confirm, and in the minds of many, validate, the stereotypes and thus the inferior treatment.

I'M SAD, because another young life was lost from his family, the racial divide has widened, a community is in shambles, accusations, insensitivity hurt and hatred are boiling over, and we may never know the truth about what happened that day.

I'M SYMPATHETIC, because I wasn't there so I don't know exactly what happened. Maybe Darren Wilson acted within his rights and duty as an officer of the law and killed Michael Brown in self defense like any of us would in the circumstance. Now he has to fear the backlash against himself and his loved ones when he was only doing his job. What a horrible thing to endure. OR maybe he provoked Michael and ignited the series of events that led to him eventually murdering the young man to prove a point.

I'M OFFENDED, because of the insulting comments I've seen that are not only insensitive but dismissive to the painful experiences of others.

I'M CONFUSED, because I don't know why it's so hard to obey a policeman. You will not win!!! And I don't know why some policeman abuse their power. Power is a responsibility, not a weapon to brandish and lord over the populace.

I'M INTROSPECTIVE, because sometimes I want to take "our" side without looking at the facts in situations like these. Sometimes I feel like it's us against them. Sometimes I'm just as prejudiced as people I point fingers at. And that's not right. How can I look at white skin and make assumptions but not want assumptions made about me? That's not right.

I'M HOPELESS, because I've lived long enough to expect things like this to continue to happen. I'm not surprised and at some point my little children are going to inherit the weight of being a minority and all that it entails.

I'M HOPEFUL, because I know that while we still have race issues in America, we enjoy a much different normal than those of our parents and grandparents. I see it in my personal relationships with teammates, friends and mentors. And it's a beautiful thing.

I'M ENCOURAGED, because ultimately the problem is not a SKIN problem, it is a SIN problem. SIN is the reason we rebel against authority. SIN is the reason we abuse our authority. SIN is the reason we are racist, prejudiced and lie to cover for our own. SIN is the reason we riot, loot and burn.

BUT I'M ENCOURAGED because God has provided a solution for sin through the his son Jesus and with it, a transformed heart and mind. One that's capable of looking past the outward and seeing what's truly important in every human being.

The cure for the Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice and Eric Garner tragedies is not education or exposure. It's the Gospel.

So, finally, I'M ENCOURAGED because the Gospel gives mankind hope.

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Potpourri for Thanksgiving Day 2014

I definitely need to try this since my doctor tells me I have a severe sparkle deficiency.

When I was a kid, not only were there advertisements for cigarettes on television, some of the cigarettes were trained to dance.


It is funny how after years and years, phrases come to mean something altogether different.


One of the nicest ladies on Facebook writes Godzilla Haiku.


The looting and rioting in Ferguson Missouri has given a whole new meaning to Black Friday.


I cannot imagine having twins.


My wife graduated at the top of her class for a mastery degree program last year. She cannot find a job.


We are hearing so much about racism this year. But you know what I think? It ain't really racism; it is politics.


Yeah!


It is too bad that Berkley Breathed quit his successful comic strip. The guy was the best at what he did. This is one of my favorites from his Bloom County comic strip


Obama endangers nation with turkey-pardon scheme


From Tribune Voices author REX W. HUPPKE

   

Dear Fellow Patriots:

   This is an urgent call to action for all AMERICANS who care about freedom, liberty and NOT BEING KILLED by marauding bands of hostile foreign turkeys.

   On Wednesday, our lawless president, Emperor Barack Hussein Caesar Obama the Dictator King, will goose-step into the Rose Garden, wipe his feet on the Constitution and do something no president in the history of this great nation has ever done: pardon a turkey.

   That’s right, just days before Thanksgiving, Obama and his liberal cronies will grant amnesty to a presumably delicious turkey, denying the creature its God-given right to be eaten by a patriotic American family.

   To make matters worse, a second turkey — an “alternate” in case the first one escapes to the safety of someone’s dinner table — will be pardoned as well.

   This is a clear violation of the will of the American people. According to the National Turkey Federation, Americans ate 46 million turkeys last Thanksgiving. That is a clear mandate for turkey consumption. The last thing we want or need is big government telling us which turkeys we can or can’t kill and eat in celebration of blessing the Native Americans with our presence.

   As expected, Emperor Obama’s boosters in the lamestream media claim there is historical precedent for this blatant overreach of executive power. They say every president dating back to George H.W. Bush has held an annual turkey pardoning, but that overlooks several key points:

   1) Not a single one of those past presidents was named Barack Obama.

   OK, I guess there’s just that one key point. Regardless, there is no precedent that justifies Obama’s plan to pardon this pair of turkeys, not even the precedent he set by pardoning turkeys in previous years of his administration. (Those years don’t count, because we forgot to be outraged.)

   The mere idea of these unconstitutional presidential turkey pardons has already started tearing this country apart at the seams.

   Last week in Seattle, Mayor Ed Murray pardoned a tofu turkey. That’s weird, even by Seattle’s standards, so you can just imagine the horrors that will come next.

   A cranberry pardoning in Cape Cod. A nationwide movement to legalize marijuana stuffing. Gravy bans.
   And the worst outcome of all will be the unprecedented wave of illiterate turkeys that will soon be waddling across our northern and southern borders, drawn in by Obama’s promise of amnesty and free medical services under Ogobblecare.

   Those opportunistic turkeys will swiftly take the jobs of hardworking Americans, most likely members of Congress and telephone customer service representatives. And once Obama the Turkey Tyrant makes them all legal citizens, the Democrats will have an unbeatable base of human/bird voters to help them seize control of government and turn the nation into a vegan welfare aviary.

   That nightmare scenario doesn’t even factor in national security. A group of turkeys is known as a “gang,” so some of these illegal birds will undoubtedly be gang members. And founding father and noted electricity socialist Benjamin Franklin once described the turkey as “a much more respectable bird” than the bald eagle, indicating a plot against America hatched generations ago.

   Clearly, Obama must be stopped before America is irrevocably changed.

   I’m calling on all members of Congress who believe in freedom to halt this imperial president by suing him, threatening to impeach him and refusing to confirm any of his judicial or executive nominees. So basically just keep doing what you’re doing.

   As for the rest of you, please take to social media and e-protest Obama’s unlawful activity by using the hashtag #ProtestThePardon. By tweeting at the top of our lungs, our collective voice might be loud enough to put the president in his place (prison) and the turkeys in theirs (on large serving trays).

   Nothing less than the future of our democracy and the succulence of our Thanksgiving dinners are at stake.

   May God bless us and protect us from this fowl tyranny

Saturday, November 22, 2014

What does the Constitution say about citizenship?

Courtesy of Grolier's New Book of Knowledge


The United States Constitution, drafted in 1787, did not explain citizenship, but it did mention "citizens of the States" and a "citizen of the United States." Citizens of the United States became entitled to the rights guaranteed to them by the Constitution and its later amendments. Among these rights were the right to vote, own property, seek elective office, and to be protected by the laws of the land.

Because the young United States followed British common law, it accepted the rule of jus soli, or place of birth. As early as 1790, Congress recognized the rule of jus sanguinis, or blood relationship, by passing laws giving citizenship to a child born in a foreign country if the father was a citizen of the United States.



The 14th Amendment The first official written explanation of American citizenship was included in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution (1868). Section 1 of this amendment declares that "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." The wording of this amendment places national citizenship before state citizenship.

In other words, an American is first a citizen of the United States and then a citizen of the state in which he or she lives. Citizens are entitled to the rights granted by both the national government and their own state's government.


The 14th Amendment was passed to guarantee citizenship to blacks who were freed from slavery after the Civil War (13th Amendment, 1865). The amendment made the rule of jus soli(place of birth) a law for all U.S. citizens. This means that any child born in the United States becomes a citizen at birth, even if its parents are aliens. (However, the rule does not apply to children born to foreign diplomats or United Nations officials.) 

The 14th Amendment does not include jus sanguinis. American citizenship acquired at birth in a foreign nation is usually determined by the law that is in effect at the time the child is born. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, amended in 1965, 1976, and 1978, gives the requirements.


For a child born on or after December 24, 1952, both parents must have been American citizens. In addition, one parent must have lived in the United States for ten years (and for at least five years after the age of 14) before the birth of the child.

Friday, November 21, 2014

The Gods of the Copybook Headings


AS I PASS through my incarnations in every age and race,
I make my proper prostrations to the Gods of the Market Place.
Peering through reverent fingers I watch them flourish and fall,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings, I notice, outlast them all.

We were living in trees when they met us, they showed us each in turn,
That Water would certainly wet us, as Fire would certainly burn:
But we found them lacking in Uplift, Vision and Breadth of Mind,
So we left them to teach the Gorillas while we followed the March of Mankind.

We moved as the Spirit listed. They never altered their pace,
Being neither cloud nor wind-borne like the Gods of the Market Place,
But they always caught up with our progress, and presently word would come.
That a tribe had been wiped off its icefield, or the lights had gone out in Rome.

With the Hopes that our World is built on they were utterly out of touch,
They denied that the Moon was Stilton; they denied she was even Dutch;
They denied that Wishes were Horses; they denied that a Pig had Wings;
So we worshiped the Gods of the Market, Who promised these beautiful things.

When the Cambrian measures were forming, They promised perpetual peace.
They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease.
But when we disarmed They sold us and delivered us bound to our foe,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "Stick to the Devil you know."

On the first Feminian Sandstones we were promised the Fuller Life
(Which started by loving our neighbour and ended by loving his wife)
Till our women had no more children and the men lost reason and faith,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "The Wages of Sin is Death."

In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."

Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew.
And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true.
That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four.
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.

As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man.
There are only four things certain, since Social Progress began.
That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire,
And the burnt Fool's bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire;

And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins.
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn,
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!


This is a poem written in 1919 by Rudyard Kipling and his editor and friend Andrew Rutherford shortly after Kipling’s only son was killed in a World War I battle.

From a historical perspective, Kipling’s son had poor eyesight and was exempt from serving in the military, but the boy wanted to due his duty to his country. Kipling’s influence helped to get son in the military and onto the battlefield.

It was during these horrid years, the young men of British villages served together in units. In them was distilled the belief to fight and die for God and Country. When the cry was ordered to “go over the top” meaning to get out of the trenches and try to overtake the ground held by the enemy, thousands of young men were shot and killed. This left their home villages tragically bereft of young men.

The poem demonstrates Kipling’s ire and disbelief in the failed system that promised valor and glory and ended in grief, loss, anguish and disgust with the system. It reminds me of the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. Longfellow's son Charles went off to join the Civil War without his father's permission. Young Charles was severely wounded during a battle but survived. Longfellow's poem recounts the senselessness and apprehension of war.

Copybooks were the note pages used by British students to write their assignments. There were maxims or proverbs printed at the top of the pages extolling virtues such as honesty of fair dealing. Students were encouraged to write these over and over to commit them to memory and put them to use in their lives.


The period of time leading up to World War I when Britain was in the midst of much social progress; schemes that promised a better life for all through social engineering, politics and philosophy. Some of these ideals went against the grain of natural law. Worship of market place ideals were hailed over traditional religion.

The philosopher George Santayana told us those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it. He also said only the dead have seen the end of war. This poem echoes these facts.

I cannot recall a time since when I was a young man in my late teen years that the United States has not been engaged in some form of war. Even as a child growing up, the threat of the Soviets using the nuclear bomb to attack a city in the United States loomed large. The draft of 18 year old men threatened my generation and left its mark on cemeteries throughout this nation.

We have just had a national election which sealed the disgust and national anger against the current administration and our president. Despite the election nothing has changed; in fact things are becoming worse.

Those words fashioned in 1919 still ring true in 2014

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Ten Reasons to Love the Guitar

 
1. No chipped reeds
  
2. No spit valve
  

  
4. No pressure to march and play

 5. It never squeaks
  
6. Callused fingers are manly
  
7. Making guitar face while playing is fun
  
8. You can play at least 6 notes at a time
 
9. Slinky strings – need I say more?

Friday, November 07, 2014

Thoughts on Looking to The 2016 Election


The mid-term elections are over. Due to President Obama’s heavy-handed policies, the Democrats took a shellacking.

In fact by just looking at my local elections results, not one Democratic candidate was elected.


 The media outlets are stymied and pouting. What did you expect? President Obama has tried to do a run-around to bypass the U.S. Constitution and run the United States like a socialistic country. And he is still vowing to continue to do this. 


On November 5th, he says “He heard the people.” But I don’t think he listened.  What has happened is on the records and certainly there will be changes made to the status quo.

We are hearing reports of Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush gearing up for the 2016 presidential campaign. I certainly hope neither of these folks tosses their hat or headband in the ring. Dynasty, the TV show tried to make a comeback and failed. Dynasty, the Presidential Office should not even be a factor to consider.


I was reminded recently of how down and dirty the Clinton Administration was during those years. Most of us just held our nose and looked the other way. But allow me to remind any potential voters that would consider Hillary Clinton as a President of what happened to those associated with the power couple.

Here are a few of the people Bill Clinton did not have to pardon.

  1. James McDougal - Clinton's convicted Whitewater partner died of an apparent heart attack, while in solitary confinement. He was a key witness in Ken Starr's investigation. 
  2. Mary Mahoney - A former White House intern was murdered July 1997 at a Starbucks Coffee Shop in Georgetown. The murder happened just after she was to go public with her story of sexual harassment in the White House. 
  3. Vince Foster - Former white House councilor, and colleague of Hillary Clinton at Little Rock's Rose Law firm. Died of a gunshot wound to the head, ruled a suicide. 
  4. Ron Brown - Secretary of Commerce and former DNC Chairman. Reported to have died by impact in a plane crash. A pathologist close to the investigation reported that there was a hole in the top of Brown's skull resembling a gunshot wound. At the time of his death Brown was being investigated, and spoke publicly of his willingness to cut a deal with prosecutors. 
  5. C. Victor Raiser II - & - Montgomery Raiser, Major players in the Clinton fund raising organization died in a private plane crash in July 1992. 
  6. Paul Tulley - Democratic National Committee Political Director found dead in a hotel room in Little Rock, September 1992. Described by Clinton as a "Dear friend and trusted advisor". 
  7. Ed Willey - Clinton fund raiser, found dead November 1993 deep in the woods in VA of a gunshot wound to the head. Ruled a suicide. Ed Willey died on the same day his wife Kathleen Willey claimed Bill Clinton groped her in the oval office in the White House. Ed Willey was involved in several Clinton fund raising events. 
  8. Jerry Parks - Head of Clinton's gubernatorial security team in Little Rock. Gunned down in his car at a deserted intersection outside Little Rock. Park's son said his father was building a dossier on Clinton. He allegedly threatened to reveal this information. After he died the files were mysteriously removed from his house. 
  9. James Bunch - Died from a gunshot suicide. It was reported that he had a "Black Book" of people which contained names of influential people who visited prostitutes in Texas and Arkansas. James Wilson - Was found dead in May 1993 from an apparent hanging suicide. He was reported to have ties to Whitewater.
  10. Kathy Ferguson, ex-wife of Arkansas Trooper Danny Ferguson, was found dead in May 1994, in her living room with a gunshot to her head. It was ruled a suicide even though there were several packed suitcases, as if she were going somewhere. Danny Ferguson was a co-defendant along with Bill Clinton in the Paula Jones lawsuit. Kathy Ferguson was a possible corroborating witness for Paula Jones. 
  11. Bill Shelton - Arkansas State Trooper and fiancee of Kathy Ferguson. Critical of the suicide ruling of his fiancee, he was found dead in June, 1994 of a gunshot wound also ruled a suicide at the grave site of his fiancee. 
  12. Gandy Baugh - Attorney for Clinton's friend Dan Lassater, died by jumping out a window of a tall building January, 1994. His client was a convicted drug distributor. 
  13. Florence Martin - Accountant & sub-contractor for the CIA, was related to the Barry Seal Mena Airport drug smuggling case. He died of three gunshot wounds. 
  14. Suzanne Coleman - Reportedly had an affair with Clinton when he was Arkansas Attorney General. Died of a gunshot wound to the back of the head, ruled a suicide. Was pregnant at the time of her death. 
  15. Paula Grober - Clinton's speech interpreter for the deaf from 1978 until her death December 9, 1992. She died in a one car accident. 
  16. Danny Casolaro - Investigative reporter. Investigating Mena Airport and Arkansas Development Finance Authority. He slit his wrists, apparently, in the middle of his investigation. 
  17. Paul Wilcher - Attorney investigating corruption at Mena Airport with Casolaro and the 1980 "October Surprise" was found dead on a toilet June 22, 1993 in his Washington DC apartment. Had delivered a report to Janet Reno 3 weeks before his death. 
  18. Jon Parnell Walker - Whitewater investigator for Resolution TrustCorp. Jumped to his death from his Arlington, Virginia apartment balcony August15, 1993. He was investigating the Morgan Guarantee scandal.
  19. Barbara Wise - Commerce Department staffer. Worked closely with Ron Brown and John Huang. Cause of death unknown. Died November 29, 1996. Her bruised, nude body was found locked in her office at the Department of Commerce. 
  20. Charles Meissner - Assistant Secretary of Commerce who gave John Huang special security clearance, died shortly thereafter in a small plane crash. 

  21. Dr. Stanley Heard - Chairman of the National Chiropractic Health Care Advisory Committee died with his attorney Steve Dickson in a small plane crash. Dr. Heard, in addition to serving on Clinton's advisory council personally treated Clinton's mother, stepfather and brother. 
  22. Barry Seal - Drug running pilot out of Mena Arkansas, death was no accident 
  23. Johnny Lawhorn Jr. - Mechanic, found a check made out to Bill Clinton in the trunk of a car left at his repair shop. He was found dead after his car had hit a utility pole. 
  24. Stanley Huggins - Investigated Madison Guarantee. His death was a purported suicide and his report was never released. Hershell Friday - Attorney and Clinton fund raiser died March 1, 1994 when his plane exploded. 
  25. &  27. Kevin Ives & Don Henry - Known as "The boys on the track" case. Reports say the boys may have stumbled upon the Mena Arkansas airport drug operation. A controversial case, the initial report of death said, due to falling asleep on railroad tracks. Later reports claim the 2 boys had been slain before being placed on the tracks. Many linked to the case died before their testimony could come before a Grand Jury.


THE FOLLOWING PERSONS HAD INFORMATION ON THE IVES/HENRY CASE:


  • Keith Coney - Died when his motorcycle slammed into the back of a truck, 7/88. 
  • Keith McMaskle - Died stabbed 113 times, Nov, 1988 
  • Gregory Collins - Died from a gunshot wound January 1989. 
  • Jeff Rhodes - He was shot, mutilated and found burned in a trash dump in April 1989. 
  • James Milan - Found decapitated. However, the Coroner ruled his death was due to "natural causes". Jordan Kettleson - Was found shot to death in the front seat of his pickup truck in June 1990. 
  • Richard Winters - A suspect in the Ives / Henry deaths. He was killed in a set-up robbery July 1989. 


THE FOLLOWING CLINTON BODYGUARDS ARE DEAD:


  • Major William S. Barkley Jr. 
  • Captain Scott J. Reynolds 
  • Sgt. Brian Hanley 
  • Sgt. Tim Sabel 
  • Major General William Robertson 
  • Col. William Densberger 
  • Col. Robert Kelly 
  • Spec. Gary Rhodes 
  • Steve Willis 
  • Robert Williams 
  • Conway LeBleu 
  • Todd McKeehan 


May anyone reading this be aware of what happens to friends of the Clinton's!