Weekend Frenzy

Wonderful house guests in town, and Zurich Classic PGA tournament plus Weekend 1 of Jazzfest are going on this weekend, so there's little blog time. But, be prepared and forewarned -- a food porn post is coming that will knock your socks off!

Bouncing Baby Obama

So the Young President released a copy of the long form (or whatever it's called that he couldn't get his hands on for 2 1/2 years) certificate attesting to his birth in Hawaii in 1961 to Stanley Dunham Obama, Caucasion, and Barack Hussein Obama, African.  The birther/birthers-are-idiots melee has escalated to dramatic heights today while the Young President scoffs at the "silliness" of the whole issue.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette published an online "breaking news" piece on today's momentous event, and the comments are all over the place.  Referring to another comment challenging the massive gaps in what we know about BHO, one comment reads:

What rest of the records? Harvard says he went to law school there. Articles in the New York Times contemporaneous with him being in law school indicate that he was the first black editor in chief of the Law Review. Just what trash is the dirty tricks department of the RNC cooking up now? There seems to be no real dirt on this guy. Oh yeah, I forgot. His minister used to say controversial things! (I've been in many a church when controversial things have been said.) If you must, criticize that Obama has had two years to turn a cratering economy into a problem free one, just quit making up dirt on the guy.

We had information overload about Bill Clinton, even down to the facts that he donated his used underwear to charity and wrote it off on his income taxes, and was a chubby kid in the Hot Springs High band.

So, the commenter's accusation that someone is "making up dirt " on the Young President brings my nagging question about the guy to the surface: where are Obama's childhood friends?  Where are his college chums?  Did he and Michelle have any attendants in their wedding?  No one really seems to know anything about him. 

If nothing else, that's just sad.  Was he one of those unpleasant, or know-it-all, kids (my money's on the latter) whose mother (excuse me, his grandmother) had to tie a pork chop around his neck to get even the dog to play with him? 

I just don't know what to think about him, as a person, or how to find out enough information to make a decision. 

I do know, however, that "African" is not a "race;" it's a descriptive that identifies the continent from which someone hails, as in, "Ernie Els is an African."  I guess the folks in the Hawaiian Health Department in the early 60s foresaw the furor to come in trying to decide what to call someone with skin darker than a Polynesian, and just punted.

Then again, maybe IMAO has it all figured out.  This Birth Certificate was published over there:

And Panetta's going to the Pentagon?!?!

My head hurts.

Lemonade Day 2011: Entrepreneurship Training or Cookie Cutter Thinking?

I've been seeing cryptic, mass-produced signs around town announcing "Lemonade Day," but I didn't really know what that meant and had little incentive to investigate.  Today I received an email from Citizens For 1 Greater New Orleans, and it seems that New Orleans will emulate Houston and hold its first "Lemonade Day" on May 7th.  It's an exercise in organized entrepreneurship for children.  Here's the website banner:

The "How it Works" page says:

Lemonade Day is Saturday, May 7, 2011. In March and April kids all over South Louisiana will learn how to start, own and operate their own business – a lemonade stand. Each kid who registers will receive a bright yellow backpack -inside is everything you need to prepare for Lemonade Day. Get a backpack, make a plan and get started making some money! Here’s how:

1. Pair Up: You must have a “caring adult” with you when you register - that could be a parent, grandparent, older sibling, teacher, scout leader or other responsible adult. You must have an adult say that it is OK for you to do Lemonade Day and operate a lemonade stand.

2. Register

Sign Up at http://southlouisiana.lemonadeday.org (After completing the online registration, you will receive an email instructing you to print out the reply and bring it with you to any Pick-Up Location to verify registration. Don’t forget this part!)

The children will pick up a "backpack" at a participating sponsor's place of business (Raising Cane's Chicken, among others, in southeast Louisiana -- and that's some mighty fine chicken and sauce and lemonade, I'm here to tell you!).  Each backpack will contain business plan materials, including an Entrepreneur Workbook and Caring Adult Guide.  There are also online "games"  the kids can play that teach them basic econ, logistics, marketing, and management.  The kids are even give pre-produced "posters."  This short video describes the program in a nutshell:



This sounds like something I would have done with my children had the program been around when they were little.  Whose children didn't have at least one lemonade (or Kool-Ade) card-table-set-up-at-the-curb-stand, mixing up concoctions that were always, "interesting?"  And I'm certainly a fan of encouraging entrepreneurship, but, I must be getting geezerish and cranky and . . . jaded. 

The big thing that stuck out for me in that video?  How very involved the "caring adults" were.  They seemed to be turning the operation into an organized-little-league-baseball operation instead of a Hey!-let's-do-a lemonade-stand-after-the-sandlot-baseball-game operation.

If done properly, this could indeed be a wonderful family opportunity that teaches kids something while they're having fun.  But, I have my doubts that most of the "caring adults" will be willing to kick back and let the kids do it (picture "perfect" Science Fair projects or Soapbox Derbies).  Or let them have much fun. 

I see competition among the "caring adults," not among the budding entrepreneurs -- and not necessarily healthy competition.

And, I wish they'd waited to do the project until the kids were out of school and bored.

I hope I'm wrong, though, and I wish all of Lemonade Day's participants a wonderful experience in commerce -- and lots of fun!

What do you think?  Am I onto something, or just growling at someone to get off my lawn?

Home Depot Turns Its Back on Our Military, Without Warning

A friend, both literal and virtual via Facebook, who is married to a retired Army veteran and is a recently-retired Army vet herself, announced her own personal vendetta against Home Depot over the weekend on Facebook.  You don't really want to mess with Cissy.

It seems that, without warning, Home Depot will offer its military discount to all military and vets only on the four big patriotic holidays instead of year-round.  It has adopted this policy even though its website still heralds its "year-long military discount."  You should go to the link and read the comments -- Home Depot will lose a ton of business over this change in policy, and probably should.  It's one wonderful thing to honor those who serve, and their families, with a small discount; but it's just downright tacky to announce to the world that you offer such an honor when, in fact, you don't, and then to embarass military shoppers at the checkout counter.

Lowe's, on the other hand, still proudly offers a year-round discount.  I verified this yesterday when Pepper and I purposefully went to Lowe's instead of Home Depot to do a good-sized bit of garden-ish shopping.  Nice people, nice perquisite for this family's 35 years of service.

When we start building our retirement place in Arkansas, you can bet that we'll hightail it away from Home Depot as fast as we can, directly to Lowe's.  And, I imagine we won't be alone.

Are you listening, "Big Orange Box!"  And thanks, "Big Blue!"

Easter at Moogie's Mansion

This is what a spontaneous Easter Egg hunt looks like when Pepper gets bored.

The egg was hard-boiled, but not dyed.

Once he got accustomed to the way the egg felt in his mouth, Bouie began to like the game --

"My egg," he said, kinda all muffledy-like because he had an egg in his mouth.  Until he dropped it on the bricks.  Then they went to the kitchen, peeled the egg, and shared it.  Yep, they ate the egg.  Both of them.

Easter is such a joyous occasion, filled with promise and hope.  And the certainty of God's love.

Happy Easter, from Bouie Cottontail.

(You have no idea how long it took to get this picture!)

Fool Them Once . . .

Judging by the enraptured expressions at the Young President's latest campaign tour speeches, this should be the new logo employed by the *CREEP folk --

Has no one told him that the election's not for another 18 months and we're already tired of the rhetoric?!?!  Would it make any difference?

(* with apologies to Nixon's Committee to RE-Elect the President.)

The Helpful Department of Transportation, Part II, . . .

. . . along with their compadres at the TSA. 

We'll have new international regs about baggage and stuff come August.

Dang!  I'm glad I'm not flying anytime soon.  It's just no fun anymore.