Our Friends Abroad

From today's Inbox (. . . as slightly edited to correct some grammar and punctuation issues.  Sorry.  I couldn't help myself.):


As you know America is the first country to send aid when others are in trouble.  Neighbors helping neighbors, right?  So, just look at the list below of all those who have offered to help us in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

I think it is highly appropriate that we send THANKS to all of the countries that have reciprocated for our help with their disasters, misgivings, social turmoil, & poverty, by returning the favor and sending monetary and physical help to the United States of America after Sandy ravaged our East Coast leaving deaths, homelessness, and utter chaos in its wake. Listed below is a roster of the Countries and World Wide Organizations that are giving us gracious assistance. Please assist me in Thanking these entities by passing on this email so people from all over America can join in and THANK our neighbors ... in whom we have invested BILLIONS!!!! 1. Yeah. I hope this is exaggerated. A lot of countries helped New Orleans after Katrina -- even the Vatican.  I guess the global economic crisis affects benevolence. Perhaps our smug president hasn't gotten the idea across that we're slipping into third-world-nation-status.  He'd better work on that during his current romp through Asia if we're to be the beneficiary of foreign aid anytime soon. Meanwhile, indulge me in a little bird-walking here.  There's been another mishap in the Gulf -- an oil rig was consumed by fire; at least one man is dead and another remains missing.  My deepest and most sincere sympathy goes out to the families.  And I expect oil production to be curtailed any minute now. Solyn-dra!  Solyn-dra!

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.

It's Veterans' Day

The day that we formerly celebrated the termination of WWI on the western front -- Armistice Day.  Many still recognize the Armistice with two minutes of silence at the Eleventh hour of the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh month.  I did, turning my thoughts to those who served, those who lost their lives, and the families left to keep the home fires burning.

And I am grateful to each and every soul who dons the uniform, voluntarily, with pride, to serve and protect American interests both at home and abroad.  I am grateful to those who serve today as well as those who have hung up the camo of whatever hue.

Thank you!  Wholeheartedly, thank you.

My father (USNR, 20+ years), my father-in-law (Army Air Corps), my son (ARNG), my great-uncle (WWII).

And that fella I live with:

Army and Army Guard (34+ years).

My children have a pretty good gene pool!

Is this guy saluting with his left hand?  I just noticed that.  Hmmm.  But, you get the idea, right?

REALLY Important

                Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen G. Breyer, Samuel A. Alito, and Elena Kagan.  Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, Chief Justice John G. Roberts,  Anthony Kennedy, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg



In light of the White House tragedy that befell our country yesterday, the most important mission will be to urge the Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court to eat their Wheaties and take their vitamins so that His Eminence won't have the opportunity to appoint another one.

Or, at least urge about five of them.

A Day for Mourning

When last I checked this morning, the stock market is down over 300 points.

I haven't smiled all morning. 

But, I answered the phone a few minutes ago -- and it seems that some organization in DC is already preparing to crank up the impeachment machine (albeit, in a little too conspiracy-theoryish fashion).  Perhaps there will be justice for 4 dead Americans after all.  The one word that today can make me hopeful again is:

Benghazi.

I know that could lead to a President Biden, but at least he's relatively harmless.

Relatively.

Is it 2016 yet?

Seen During Today's Sojourn to the Westbank

I was going to re-post an old piece about Moogie's idea for a new election system, but then I thought we might all get a kick out of a sign I saw in Marrero, Louisiana, this afternoon while picking up my new contacts.

I first saw my Optometrist on the Saturday before Katrina in 2005 -- I was the last patient she saw before evacuating to Houston with her young son.  She ordered new contacts for me, telling me that they should be available in a few weeks.  Well, we know how that turned out.

Two of her offices flooded, and the one Uptown that I used jacked the rent up so high that she couldn't really afford it.  She ran her practice from the second floor of her home (also flooded) for several months. 

The month following Katrina, she started calling to check on her patients.  She reached me by cell phone and we had a nice chat.  (You might recall that Pepper and I remained evacuated for nine months after The Storm, awaiting Entergy's decision whether to return to its New Orleans headquarters.)  During that conversation she offered to mail my new contacts to me at her own expense!  Wow.  So, after we returned, and she established her new office in Marrero to be close to her son's school, I decided that she had more than earned my loyalty; I kept her as my Optometrist even though she was on the other side of the river in a part of the Westbank that is -- um-- less than "desirable."

So, that's why I was in Marrero this afternoon.

On one side of her office is a Buffalo Wild Wings.  On the other side is "The Epic Lounge." This is the sign hanging above the door to the Epic Lounge:

Did I mention that my Optometrist has a very good sense of humor?

And a concealed carry permit.

As do I.  ;-)

But, I doubt I'll be patronizing The Epic Lounge anytime soon.  Especially after dark, discretion being the better part of valor and all.  Even if one is carrying.

Ah -- life in interesting times!

A Message From the Obama Campaign in Today's Inbox

A little too true-ish to be too funny:

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM THE OBAMA RE-ELECTION COMMITTEE



نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه. ر رفت سايه پيدا نيست نقش ديوار و
نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه پيدا نيست ننور اگر رفت سايه پيدا نيستنقش ديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه. ر رفت سايهپيدا نيست نقش ديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه پيدانيست ننور اگر رفت سايه پيدا نيست نقش ديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايه دگر نميدان نور اگر رفت سايه. ر رفت سايه پيدا نيست نقش ديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايهدگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه پيدا نيست ننور اگر رفت سايه پيدا نيست نقش

ديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه. ر رفت سايه پيدانيست نقش ديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه پيدانيست ننور اگر رفت سايه پيدا نيستنور اگر رفت سايه پيدا نيست نقش ديوار و چشمخير ه م نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه. ر رفت سايه پيدا نيست نقش ديوارو چشم خيره ما نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه پيدا نيست ننور اگر رفتسايه پيدا نيست نقش ديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفتسايه. ر رفت سايه پيدا نيست نقش ديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نوراگر رفت سايه پيدا

نيست ننور اگر رفت سايه پيدا نيست نقش ديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايه دگر نميدان نور اگر رفت سايه. ر رفت سايه پيدا نيست نقش ديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايهدگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه پيدا نيست ننور اگر رفت سايه پيدا نيست نقش ديوار وچشم خيره ما نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه. ر رفت سايه پيدا نيست نقشديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه پيدا نيست ننور اگررفت سايه پيدا نيست نقش ديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفتسايه. ر رفت سايه پيدا نيست نقش ديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نوراگر رفت

سايه پيدا نيست ننور اگر رفت سايه پيدا نيست نقش ديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايهدگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه. ر رفت سايه پيدا نيس نقش ديوار و چشم خيره مانقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه پيدا نيست ننور اگر رفت سايه پيدا نيستنقش ديوار و چشم خ يره ما نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه. ر رفت سايهپيدا نيست نقش ديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه پيدانيست ننور اگر رفت سايه پيدا نيست نقش ديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايه دگر نميدان نور اگر رفت سايه. ر رفت سايه پيدا نيست نقش ديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايهدگر نمي دان نور

اگر رفت سايه پيدا نيست ننور اگر رفت سايه پيدا نيست نقش ديوار و چشم خيره مانقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه. ر رفت سايه پيدا نيست نقش ديوار و چشمخيره ما نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه پيدا نيست ننور اگر رفت سايه پيدانيست نقش ديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه. ر رفتسايه پيدا نيست نقش ديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفتسايه پيدا نيست ننور اگر رفت سايه پيدا نيست نقش ديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايهدگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه. ر رفت سايه پيدا نيست نقش ديوار و چشم خيره مانقش سايه دگر نمي

دان نور اگر رفت ساي پيدا نيست ن نور اگر رفت سايه پيدا نيست نقش ديوار و چشمخيره ما نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه. ر رفت سايه پيدا نيست نقش ديوارو چشم خيره ما نقش سايه دگر

If I hear more, I'll let you know.