It's Tuesday

This is more pleasant to contemplate than Muslims, radical or otherwise, or the White House, or GEN Patraeus, or Attorney General Holder. Especially Holder.

Or Ohio State. Shoot -- I just detest Ohio State. Anyway -- stay warm!

D-Day, H-Hour, Plus Seventy Years

This iconic photograph is enlarged so that it fills the entire entryway of the National WWII Museum's "Beaches" gallery. The men aboard the Higgins boat appear life-size as they wade ashore in Normandy.  It is so very moving.

Back in the 1940s, my father-in-law lied about his age so he could join the Army Air Corps and help save the world. He was sixteen years of age. A red-headed spitfire. He wound up in the mountains of the China-Burma-India theater with a bunch of gurkhas who were fond of posting severed heads atop poles in the ground. He was responsible for placing transponders that guided Allied planes as they flew over "The Hump."  As incoming fire hit his locations, he and the Gurkhas learned that holes aren't just for transponders, and the deeper the better.  He learned how to sneak into nearby British officers' tents, "borrow" their gin, take a swig or two before soaking his jungle-rot-plagued feet in it, pour it back into the bottle, and return it to its rightful owners. He wasn't particularly fond of the British. Or the Finns, for that matter. He suffered from occasional bouts of malaria that he originally contracted in Burma the remainder of his life. Needless to say, the man he became was a direct product of his WWII experiences -- he was one of the most brilliant men I've ever encountered, usually jovial and loving, but sometimes quite callous, and often ruled by the principles of self-preservation.  Little surprise there.  He did, however, help save the world.  Thank God and Grandpa.

My mother told me stories about the Home Front in small-town mid-America.  Her family saved the rendered fat from the little bit of meat they could buy to donate to the munitions industry. There were ration books, limiting the amounts of food, gasoline, and clothing that civilians could purchase so that our fighting men could have first dibs on limited resources. She peeled the tin foil from the wax paper that wrapped chewing gum and took it to the metal drive at the library. School children wrapped rolls of bandages from worn-out cloth to be shipped overseas.  Everyone from children to grandparents had skin in the game; everyone sacrificed in one manner or another. Sadly, that is not the case today. The White House even seems to float above the fray.

My father was barely 15 when the Allies landed in Normandy seventy years ago today.  A few weeks ago I asked him to email me his memories of D-Day.  I'd never heard him talk about it much.  Now I understand why -- I guess we take today's 24-hour newscycle for granted.  Here's what he sent me:

Don’t remember much, the news was pretty  well shut down in those days.. Only had radio, the papers put out what they called ‘EXTRAS, READ ALL ABOUT IT’ and Newsreels at the movie theaters.. I recall hearing on the radio ‘ the invasion of fortress Europe has begun’ on the coast of France, but it was much later when we got any details.. The gov’t had a slogan ‘loose lips sink ships’ and they clamped down on most info…Any bad news was pretty well omitted..

Loose lips sink ships.

A few weeks ago, the Obama administration outed a CIA operative in Afghanistan, placing his very life in jeopardy, then, in essence, said, "Oops."  Shortly thereafter, our Commander in Chief unleashed on the world  five of the worst terrorists known as our Veterans suffer and die without care from the VA.

We need you again today, Boys of Pointe Du Hoc.  On the beaches of the Potomac.

You Know How to Whistle, Don't You? (Updated and Fixed!)

Posting on the iPhone in the car on the way home after a wonderful, jam-packed week in New Orleans, so there may be some interesting spellings. And, I'm pretty worn out, so expect random blatherings. Disclaimer complete. (Fixed!)

During a dinner conversation with some of our delightful hosts, a childhood memory escaped from its drawer in my head and made its presence known:

When I was in elementary school, my Daddy owned a 1/3 interest (together with other Korean War vets) in a pontoon party barge on Lake Maumelle just outside Little Rock. We spent many happy times aboard, tooling around the lake, occasionally getting a fishing line wet. The boat was christened the "FUBAR Maru." I was well into adulthood before I learned the acronym doesn't stand for "FOULED Up Beyond All Recognition."

Yeah, Moogie led a pretty sheltered childhood.

Today, with all of the hullabaloo going on in Ukraine, together with all the impotent, indecisive inaction going on in DC, as a scales-fallen-from-the-eyes adult, I can without doubt or hesitation, assert that the acronym most definitely fits hand-in-glove with the Obama administration.

And it's only getting worse.

IRS scapegoat chick, Lois Lerner, repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment in this morning's Congressional hearing concerning the IRS's targeting and unequal treatment of conservative groups seeking 501(C)(4) status.

Nothing suspicious there.

But . . . I'm just the tiniest bit hopeful that a breeze is building and heading toward the Obama FUBAR House of Cards.  So, let's all pucker up and blow!

Presidents' Day PTSD

Presidents' Day will probably never be the same after 2016.  If there are future presidents.  I mean, other than the Emperor who occupies the White House at present.  I just don't see him willingly packing up and moving on. There's still a lot of Hope and Change to be bulldozed out there, and he is so very skilled at operating the bulldozer.

In just a few short years he has managed to throw a sixth of the nation's economy into turmoil with a few deft strokes of his magic Executive Order pen.  I ran into an old friend at last week's wedding who recently retired from the health insurance biz. She says she left just in time -- clients have been increasingly asking her what's going to happen to this or that provision under Obamacare, and what's the cost going to be for this or that policy, and the only answer she could give them was, "I don't know.  I don't know.  I don't KNOW!!!"

Apparently neither does the White House. Nor Congress.

So, on this Presidents' Day, to let the current occupant of the West Wing know what we think of him, I think we should encourage him to stay in good health by exercising.  Toward that end, we should send him a little gift -- how about a warm-up suit made by a small American company that sells its products in France?  Here is the label that provides cleaning instructions:

Don't you think he'll love it!

Quick!  Someone hide the keys to the heavy equipment!

Happy Rodent Day, Plus This and That

Fast times in southeast Louisiana!

It looks like we're in for a nice, long spring, with not as much heat and humidity in southeast Louisiana -- Pierre C. Shadeaux didn't see his shadow this morning!



The absence of a rodent shadow is much better than in 2011 when Punxatawney Phil and Pierre had differing experiences and we had a miserable summer.

In the next few hours, we have to decide if we want to hop the streetcar and descend into the madness that has become downtown New Orleans on the Saturday before Super Bowl; driving the car and finding a parking place are out of the question.  I think I vote "no."

Our puppy, Roux's Mystic Muse ("Mysti"), is up to 29 pounds. She's long, lean, and fearless. Bouie had some follow-up blood work done this week and he got a clean bill of health!  The infection has even cleared up!  It's so good to see our boy feeling good and back to his old precious self. 

Since we're having this Super Bowl thing here (without the Saints, so who cares?), Carnival parades in Orleans Parish were divided this year -- we started last weekend, a week early, and the second week of parades rolls starting this coming Wednesday.  Think happy thoughts for good weather! 

Speaking of the Super Bowl, NFL Commissioner Roger Gooddell (aka, Satan) is actually planning to set foot in New Orleans!  If I were him, I'd wear a flak jacket and bring a food taster.  Of course, there might not even be a need for a food taster -- there are signs like this posted in food establishments all over town:


Perhaps he should pack a supply of MREs.  Or just starve to death in a city known for its cuisine.

The President now claims to be a skeet shooter, and to verify said claim, the spin factory in the White House released this photo today:



My first reaction -- he even shoots like a girl.  Second thought?  Photo shop.  Next?  He needs to do a little work on those arms with Michelle's personal trainer.  And what's up with that plume heading off to the right?  But after seeing with my own eyes evidence of what a gun-toting sportsman the Young President is, I feel certain, and secure in the knowledge, that he would do nothing to jeopardize the Second Amendment.

When hell freezes over.

They must really think we're that naive.  Egad. 

Scandal and Secession

A few hours ago, a Petition Permitting Louisiana to Secede from the United States of America amassed more than the number of signatures required for the White House to issue a response.  BayouBuzz reports:

Louisiana secession petition signatures reached the threshold for a response from the White House on Tuesday morning. The White House We The People programs offers all citizens the power to initiate a petition drive. Once a petition reaches more than 25,000 signatures in a 30-day period, the issue is routed to the appropriate office for review and a response issued.  

As of Tuesday morning, Louisiana’s petition to secede had 27,028 signatures, according to the Atlanta Black Star . Louisiana celebrated its statehood bicentennial earlier this year. A man identified as “Michael E” of Slidell created the secession petition on November 7, according to The Advertiser .  

University of Louisiana at Lafayette political science professor Ryan Teten had this to say about the We the People petition drive:

“It doesn’t represent the state and its population. It’s another form of protest. Given Louisiana’s position and its struggles."
 

 As of this afternoon, the HuffPo is reporting that some 30 similar petitions have been filed on the White House website's "We the People" feature. 

[Of course, there's also a petition seeking to name Duncan Trussell as Emperor of Planet Earth. (Don't ask me -- I have not made the acquaintance of Mr. Trussell.)  Mr. Trussell has already accumulated 221 signatures.  Personally, I don't see the Young President granting the status of Emperor to anyone but himself, so Mr. Trussell probably should put off ordering the leopard skin cape with ermine trim for awhile.  (You don't want to know what he wants his throne made of.  Seriously.) But, it's nice to have aspirations, I suppose.]

Interestingly enough, one must create an "account" and "log in" before one may add a signature. Yeah.  I want to create an "account" on the White House website.  When pigs fly.  I'm sure someone already monitors every time I brush my teeth or eat an extra potato chip or two, so I'm pretty sure I don't want to give the squiggly-wire-earpiece guys tacit approval to monitor me .

I'm seriously unsure of what to make of the secession movement.  There are already more than 78,000 signatures on a Texas petition.  More than 27,000 on Louisiana's. Kick in Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia, and Missouri, and another 74,000+ add to the total.  Heck, even someone in Wisconsin and Kalifornia has filed petitions -- and people are signing them!  Of course, these are statistically insignificant numbers, but they are relevant numbers. 

There is a cauldron of smelly stuff, and fear, coming to a boil out there while the media go on and on about the indiscretions of senior military leadership rather than voting discrepancies or murdered ambassadors. Something is getting ready to hit the fan, and I doubt whether those who plan to pitch it are willing to wait four more years.

Get ready to duck.

Murphy Hits it on the Nose -- Obama-centric Foreign Policy

I am so angry and so frightened and so furious about the attacks yesterday on our diplomatic corps -- not to mention the murders of an Ambassador and his staff -- that I am tongue-tied.  I am so angry and so frightened and so furious that those attacks took place on the anniversary of 9/11 that I am red-faced.  So, since I can't clear my head enough to write about the whole thing, go over to Lagniappe's Lair and read Murph's take on those abominable (or perhaps I should say Obamanable) travesties.  Here's a little taste of Murph's post that is so spot on, and so very scary:

The reality is that they know exactly who they are messing with. They know that Barry Obama, for all of his willingness to use the power of the US Government against us citizens here to make us live as he deems proper, would sooner sell his wife and daughters in the Sudanese slave markets than risk making the world muslim community angrier at him personally.  And that last bit is important. Obama doesn't care if the world hates America as a nation; he has gone on record plenty of times hating it, too. Obama doesn't want the world hating him personally. It's always been all about him in his mind and that's how American foreign policy has been conducted since he took office. That's how we got to this point today and why it's only going to get worse for America until he's gone.

That's the heart of the matter, isn't it?  We're living with an Obama-centric foreign policy. 

I fear Israel will get tired of waiting around for the International Atomic Energy Agency to deal with Iran -- especially after being snubbed yet again by the White House -- and take drastic, irremediable action. 

In that case we may as well roll out Dr. Strangelove.

See you in the mineshafts.

White House Debt Summit/Showdown

I missed the news coverage of today's Debt Ceiling Summit at the White House as it happened.  Pepper provides this description: the Young President wore a grim expression and had his nostrils pointed toward the sky while chomping on gum.  (I'm guessing Nicorette.  And I seriously doubt whether he has actually kicked the habit.)  He doesn't look very happy in this picture.

You'll be pleased to know that Speaker Boehner is sipping hot tea.  Not coffee, hot TEA.

Heh.

Played for effect nicely, Mr. Speaker.

Saturday Speculation

Man, Little Rock got spanked by the Thursday night/early Friday morning storms. Trees down, trees down on houses.

The weather seems to have it in for people these days.

I blame it on the EPA. And the White House.

The White House's Symbolic Fashion and Weight Loss Agenda -- Success!

There's been a lot of internet traffic analyzing Michelle O's fashion selection for last night's State Dinner honoring Chinese President Hu Jintao, who opted to wear a simple dark suit to a black-tie affair.  (Those Chinese.  So . . . thrifty -- and fashion, um, negligent.  Not as bad as the NorKs, mind you, but . . . geez!) 

Many of the fashionistas have criticized the dress, for one reason or another.

Ordinarily, I'm not a big fan of Michelle's wardrobe selections, but this time I have to give it to her.  The color and style were both very flattering to her figure, plus the color red is said to symbolize prosperity and happiness in China, or good luck. 

And we all know how much into symbolism this White House is!

Even though the dress passes Moogie's muster, I'm a little disappointed about her accessory choices.  Michelle just couldn't leave well enough alone -- she had to go and pull something out of the back of her closet to wear as a wrap.  Or perhaps from her spinster great aunt's Palestinian headscarf closet.



The shawl didn't really even function as a wrap.  One might be wise to wear something a little warmer outdoors in D.C. in the middle of January, for crying out loud!  Or, maybe this is part of her "healthy weight" initiative -- eat all the steak, lobster, apple pie, and ice cream you'd like and shiver off that excess poundage.

(The dress also helped her come off as "powerful American woman who towers above puny Chinese leader.  I can squish you with one hand, little underdressed man."  Ah, so!!!  Symbolism, or symbolism?)

Michelle and her handlers really seem to like a black and red combination.  The State Dinner dress was reminiscent of, but not too terribly like, her choice for the 2008 election night victory appearance --

And, fortunately, not nearly as scary!  That "black widow" dress and pose still creep me out.

National Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Week

Sometimes the president's handlers in the White House staff get it right.

As proclaimed by the Commander in Chief, this is National Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Week. 

Please thank those who employ those who serve (more and more often these days). 

Racism as Defined by 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

News Flash! To ease the recent confusion, the White House announces a new, comprehensive definition of "racism."



That probably covers it. See you at Gitmo. Or "The Camps."

(Shamelessly Stolen from Facebook.)

USDA: New Mission Accomplished

I'm home after an unexpectedly extended trip to Arkansas. One of the things that really sucks about attaining one's fifties is that the parents of one's friends start to die in earnest. It really sucks and makes me sad.

Then, there's this -- it sucks and makes me mad.

I think there's a grossly larger number and variety of weeds in the yard this year than ever before. I spend waaaaay too much time in the heat pulling weeds that weren't there last year or the year before. They just sprout overnight, then they taunt and mock me when I take the dogs out in the morning. I spent way too much time pulling weeds at Younger Daughter's house over the weekend, too, so it seems to be an epidemic problem.

I blame excessive weedage on the United States Department of Agriculture and its new mission to distract us from whatever it is that the Young President and his minions want us distracted from. They've sown a massive amount of weed seeds to keep us occupied. That has to be the reason for so many weeds, doesn't it?

The plot is rolling out, but strikes familiar notes. We've moved past the "wise Latina" with a "richness of . . . experiences" (who now adorns the Supreme Court bench and casts votes counter to what she intimated to Congress during confirmation hearings) and moved on to the woman with roots in poverty and a "unique set of experiences" (although she has one of the most boring, unmodulated voices I've ever heard, bless her heart).

We've moved from the "teachable moment" of Professor Gates and the Cops to the "teachable moment" description by Press Secretary Bobby Gibbs of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack's Forced-Resignation-Gate.

As many have noted, there appears to be a lot of teaching going on out there and not a whole heckuva lot of learning. Except for this: I've learned that the government takes rather elaborate steps to distract the voters, and now we can't trust anything they do for fear we're being distracted from something big.

Paranoia: sometimes they really are out to get you. The weeds are proof.

NASA's Gettin' Into this Outreach Stuff

Could Dearborn, Michigan be the next stop on NASA's Tour de Islam? "Sharia! We just met a law called Sharia. And suddenly a name will never be the same to me . . . ."

Muslim Outreach -- the Final Frontier (no matter how testy Bobby Gibbs may get when denying what we all know to be likely the truth.)

H/T and thanks for the pic to Andy.

Musings and Injunctions

I've got a good post in me somewhere, but this isn't gonna be it.

So, I'll indulge myself in a bit of indulgence.

The spider web is really there, I promise -- you just can't see it very well. There's been a new one every morning for a week and I finally remembered to take my camera out with the dogs. Ya gotta admire the creepy little eight-legged skudders that build them, but ya don't have to like 'em. And I don't. (You can actually see the web if you click on the pic to enlarge it)

This morning, a full day before a ruling was expected, U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman enjoined enforcement of the White House's half-year long moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, finding the Executive Order to be arbitrary and capricious -- one of those good ol' legalese fall-backs. And bless him for it! There are tens of thousands of folks out of work in the Gulf region, and only a fraction of them actively work on the rigs -- transport operators, vendors, motels, restaurants have been affected, and on and on and on. And several rigs have already packed up and headed for Brazil, but that's another stinky story. The White House promises to appeal the ruling. But I don't find the White House appealing in the least.

And, finally -- that cake! That was the birthday cake for my friend Barb on this day in 2004. It was the most decadent thing I've ever wrapped my tongue around! Today is still Barb's birthday -- although she celebrates in Chicago now -- but the fabulous french bakery that produced that beauty didn't survive Katrina. I miss you both, Barb and Maurice's!

Can't you just taste it!!!

Starring Joe Sestak as "the John"

Yep. This is a better depiction of this odd couple than Heckle and Jeckle.

Heh.

Maybe Not Illegal and Likely Unethical, but Stinky Beyond Measure

The White House used former President Bill Clinton to offer an unpaid advisory position to Rep. Joe Sestak in hopes of persuading him to drop his Pennsylvania Senate primary challenge to President Barack Obama's favored candidate, according to an internal report issued Friday.

. . . .

White House Counsel Robert Bauer's two-page report said there was no improper conduct. No one in the administration discussed the offer with Sestak, he said.

. . . .

Bauer, in the report [issued today by the White House], argued that previous Democratic and Republican administration "motivated by the same goals — discussed alternative paths to service for qualified individuals also considering campaigns for public office." The report said such actions aren't illegal nor unethical.

Bill Clinton and Rahm Emanuel.

So, we have Heckle and Jeckle trying to fill an unpaid advisory position in an attempt to take some heat off of a doomed, turncoat, Obama-bum-bussing, sitting senator's race for re-election.

Without the Young President's knowledge or complicity.

Those inclined to believe this little song-and-dance should inquire of Moogie about the excellent beachfront property she has for sale in New Mexico.

The White House Throws Arizona a Bone -- a Very Small Bone, Like a Quail Wing or Something

Some things speak for themselves.

I understand that the 1,200 National Guard troops called up by the White House to help patrol the border can't get into the most critical patrol areas due to environmental restrictions and will be limited to administrative duties. I may be making this up, but it would just about fit the situation.

Nero's fiddling.

We Need the Rest of the Story on The BP Thing

This BP oil rig disaster smells to high heaven on so many levels. I'm not inclined to conspiracy theories, but . . . .

I've already read several, "But, Buuuussshhh and Katrina" excuses. Yeah -- right. One of the loopiest conspiracy theories concerning Katrina was the "George Bush hates black people so he had the levees blown up after Katrina passed because it was a good opportunity to get rid of a lot of them." Watch Spike Lee's documentary to get a taste of it. Pretty nutso.

But, the thing about this BP event that really puzzles me is -- NEVER has there been this kind of explosion on a gulf oil rig. Even when a Taylor Energy rig collapsed during one or other of the recent hurricanes, there was no fire and no spill.

And the BP Thing (as the government is already spinning it -- just like we never really got around to calling the "Federal Levee Failure After Katrina" just that; it has evermore been simply, "Katrina.") -- the BP Thing happened just after the current administration had committed to additional off-shore drilling and exploration.

I'm not suggesting that orders came from the White House to sabotage the rig or anything; that smacks too much of the Nixon White House. I'm just sayin' . . . there are some flaky fringe groups out there with pretty impressive resources. And looky, looky -- all new exploration and drilling is suspended pending whatever the hell is pending! Surprise, surprise!

Thank God for the Coast Guard -- I pray for wisdom and strength for our friend RADM Mary Landry.

And I pray for those fragile coastal ecosystems and barrier islands that now appear doomed.

And for the souls of the lost -- and peace for their loved ones.

Wanted at the White House: Southern Mothers

The accounts of the Obama-Netanyahu Close Encounter are downright embarrassing.

I can just hear my mother's voice, scolding the Young President for his wretchedly poor display of how NOT to host a world leader at the White House. Leaving a guest unattended while the host goes to have a meal with the family?!?! I think not. I would've been grounded for weeks had I treated a guest in that fashion.

Maybe that's the solution to the Obama bad-manners department -- we need a corps of strong Southern Mothers to move into the White House to "shake a knot" onto the Young President's head and to teach him some rudimentary etiquette. I envision many hours of chores assigned as punishment along with the admonition, "Now, you just go and think about what you did!"

And I can just hear the motherly counter-arguments: "I don't care if you thought that making him stew for awhile would 'soften him up' for negotiations. You will not treat a guest that way under this roof!"

I hope Mr. Netanyahu was at least offered some cheese straws and iced tea.

Nah -- I don't think Michelle has that recipe.