It's a Meeting of the Minds, Madness, and Mayhem Thing, refreshments served

Dear America,

okay Panetta, how about we just say, "come and get us" -- maybe even throw out the white flag and cry "'uncle", too?  Due to the sequester...military readiness is in double time jeopardy.

Responding to all the dust stirring up, Bob Woodward made these remarks on MSNBC:

"Can you imagine Ronald Reagan sitting there and saying, 'Oh, by the way, I can't do this because of some budget document?'" Woodward said on MSNBC. 

"Or George W. Bush saying, 'You know, I'm not going to invade Iraq because I can't get the aircraft carriers I need?'" Or even Bill Clinton saying, 'You know, I'm not going to attack Saddam Hussein's intelligence headquarters,' ... because of some budget document?"

...and to continue reading full story, go to the Business Insider,  here.

G note:  We are marching double time today, so hydrate and try to keep up...

Day after day -- the perception that the world is going to come to an end with the sequester is a totally manufactured, heavy artillery, draconian and dramatic drone dropping of propaganda, only propped up by virtue of a sleazy, ignorant, sheepish, gutless, liberal- biased media base that seems dead set on supporting this "progressive" radical in office no matter what; especially considering that the truth is, this President has the explicit authority to decide where the cuts come from.

But that's just getting ahead of ourselves.

Here are the facts -- via Bob Woodward -- from his column in The Washington Post. [you have to read it, for I have no time to bring you up to speed]

But just in case you are still concerned, here's Obama, from November 2011:

"Already, some in Congress

are trying to undo these automatic spending cuts.

My message to them is simple:

No.

I will veto

 any effort

to get rid

of those automatic spending cuts

 – domestic and defense spending.

There will be no easy off-ramps on this one."

...and to continue reading this full story,  go to The National Review, here.

That's pretty clear, isn't it. "There will be no easy off-ramps on this one."

"NO."

"I will veto

any effort

to get rid

of those automatic spending cuts

-- domestic and defense spending."

Ah hem, Mr. President...careful there....you just might regret saying that...

But let's get back to Bob.

Um,  you're gonna regret that...the nerve of you...saying something not-so-flattering of this White House and giving the impression that Obama is displaying " a kind of madness I haven't seen in a long time."   Seriously?  The real question is, are you daft, buddy boy bob?  You do know who you're dealing with, right?

And right on cue, let's get back to the scoop on CNN -- with Woodward and Blitzer.  Here's the full story and the video...can't say I never do anything for you.

And then -- with some digging -- look what I found...

It's all about the background conversation between Bob and Gene Sperling, economic advisor to the president, and this quote is courtesy of Fox Nation and Politico's Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei...

From Gene to Bob, in an email:

"But I do truly believe you should rethink your comment about saying saying that Potus asking for revenues is moving the goal post. I know you may not believe this, but as a friend, I think you will regret staking out that claim. The idea that the sequester was to force both sides to go back to try at a big or grand barain with a mix of entitlements and revenues (even if there were serious disagreements on composition) was part of the DNA of the thing from the start. It was an accepted part of the understanding — from the start."

BUT --

"...My apologies again for raising my voice on the call with you. Feel bad about that and truly apologize."

For more, go here.  [by the way, typos not mine]

But Oh-oh say can  G  see  -- for once again this administration is caught in the middle of making disingenuous agreements with the opposition....as part of the genuine and cooperative efforts of both sides to strike a deal in order to move forward --  when in fact, this congress was dealing with a guy who has no intention of keeping his word.  As the seasons turn, turn, turn -- this president would manipulate the system over time and eventually get back to re-mitigating tax hikes all over again, and all while demagoging the republicans.   Which looks an awful lot like "moving the goal post."  But thank you, Gene, for putting the DNA of the agreement that was never really an agreement in writing for us.  But I digress.

FOR MORE on the "republican sequester setup" -- read Alexander's post from The Patriot Post, here (don't hate; I told you to hydrate).

How can this president continue to get away with this stuff?

Last I heard, "NO" means no.

So make no mistake -- this president lied to himself, congress, and more importantly, to the American people when he said, "I will veto any effort to get rid of the automatic spending cuts [aka the sequester]  --- domestic and defense spending."

But to top it all off, what is on the agenda today for this president?

Courtesy of Lynn Sweet, one of the president's favorite home town criers --

10:00AM In-Town Pool Call Time

11:15AM THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT

receive the Presidential Daily Briefing

Oval Office

Closed Press

12:40PM THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT

 meet for lunch

Private Dining Room

Closed Press

Briefing Schedule

12:30PM Press Briefing

by Press Secretary Jay Carney

wow.

considering everything will be coming to a screeching halt as of zero dark hundred tomorrow, something doesn't seem quite right....am I missing something?

By the way, today's lunch: crow, with cake following.  yum.

Make it a Good Day, G

Celebrating 600 blogs today!

But you know, if the sequester happens,

if famine takes over,

if the stars begin to fall from the sky,

if bombs start bursting in air,

this just may be my last.

Oh well.

good times...good times.

 

It's a Show Business Thing

Dear America,

There's no business like show business...

 

and thank you Congressman Keith 'fill-a-bust-a-move' Ellison...

with a dishonorable mention going to President Obama, for where would he be without a teleprompter and props?

But seriously -- a really big thank you goes out to The Daily Caller, and Sean Hannity, for making the beautiful reality show come to life.

And what is up with a few of our "GOP" Governors, caving in to expanding the Medicaid rolls under Obamacare, when one day every single state that signs on with the devil in the details will have it come back to haunt them?   Unbelievable, Chris Christie...Rick Scott...

There is just no way the federal budget will be able to maintain this kind of benevolence from here to kingdom come.  No way. 

What else...

oh Janet Napolitano decided to let illegal immigrants facing deportation -- having been already caught in a crime, no less -- go free; yes, and three days BEFORE the end of the world via sequestration.  She apparently runs with the likes of Nostradamus and fancies herself on reading the tea leaves in her spare time,  for she can see the end is near, the money running out, and there's just no way she can keep these derelicts under lock and key no more, no more. 

What else...

we have "covert auctions" of heavy artillery going on in a not-so-secret desert, somewhere in the sands of the Sinai.  Translation: we are heavily arming our enemies.  And all while our brand spankin' new Secretary of State, John Kerry, was there; all this was going on even while Kerry made speeches and bowed and gaffed his way through the region. no kidding.

What else...

how about the White House selling out to the high rollers, lobbyists, and typical, political folly?  Something THIS president said he would NEVER do.  So this is what 500k gets you...

What else...

oh never mind.  what's the point?

The facts are so muddled at this point -- it's like watching a reality show lost in fantasyland.  We are the Truman Show...only thing is, the residual income has run out on the contract and the "low information" audience (as Rush calls it) has tuned out; although, on the bright side, the media is still sucked into sorry cast of characters, and the star -- Barack -- is so into himself, his mirror, mirror on the wall was made mobile, waterproof, foolproof, fireproof, and unbreakable...oh and fully operational by the power of the sun. 

And it only costs the taxpayer a trillion dollars a year -- what a deal, right?
(Of course, this is based upon future CBO projections yet to come and to be decided at a later date to be announced some time before the end of the week; unfortunately, due to future limitations foreseeable, all actions or investments are no longer FDIC insured, please be advised of the risks, see your broker for full details).

What else...

this thing -- this business of bringing you the lowdown all around town in America -- is deteriorating rapidly.   but, you know how it goes, sometimes the show takes on a life of it's own...you know what I mean?

It's like this obsessive concentration on sequestration.  If we break it down to the bare necessities, this president wants it; he wants it in order to use it for political gain.    If the "first responders" are the first to go, it is because this president wants to create chaos; for this president has the power to choose what goes and what stays.  And it's as easy as looking into a mirror (but of course, not literally, Mr. President).  But chaos begets mind-blowing control, feeding off of the hysteria, confusion, desperation, and weakness. The end will justify the means.

[For another great take, go here, to The Patriot Post for "Apocalypse Now".]

He's making a point, turning it into a big show of force, working the tools of propaganda like a machine.  Remember now -- a year ago, this president said he would veto any bill getting in the way of this sequestration decision from going through no matter what.   And now this.  Take two, or is it more like two thousand and thirteen?

We might as well be people, dressed in sheep's clothing, stuck behind the lights, camera and action, grazing on a mountain of green grass totally oblivious to the bubble that's about to burst.

No need for substance, virtue, truth or integrity - - It's show business, baby, all the way.


Make it a Good Day, G

It's a God Save the Bean Counters Thing

Dear America,

 the thing is -- if you are one of the lucky ones who has a job, you are being paid under the parameters of this year's budget.

The Sequester shaves off future funds -- over a decade -- cutting into the future increases built into the budget, based upon the current trajectory of revenue and expenditures.   And as we have discussed ad infinitum, it's not much at that.  It's like cutting one penny from every dollar.

WE ARE STILL GROWING GOVERNMENT.

Based upon what we know now, government is still set to expand, not contract; government is still set to grow our debt by trillions of dollars over the next ten years even with the implementation of this sequester.

WE ARE STILL GROWING GOVERNMENT.

Based upon what we know now, government is still ignoring the unfunded liabilities totaling over 80 trillion dollars. 

WE ARE STILL GROWING GOVERNMENT.

Based upon what we know now, the brand new health care entitlement program -- generally referred to as Obamacare -- is set to not only turn our stellar health care system on it's ear, it will out-maneuver and bankrupt an entire industry...health insurance (and anything remotely related to it)...and one day in the not too distant future, it will be recognized as the straw that broke the camel's back [and that would be America's].

WE ARE STILL GROWING GOVERNMENT.

Based upon what we know now, the government should cut spending, indeed, and reverting back to the last budget before the stimulus took into effect.  And to do that we would have to go back like, what, four years  or something?   The stimulus funds -- intended for a one-time expenditure -- were counted in and never taken out of the baseline budgets.  

WE ARE STILL GROWING GOVERNMENT.

Based upon what we know now, the government grows every department anywhere from 3 to 10 percent each and every year!    Does your family spending increase every year like that, even without an increase in revenue?  And how long could you really keep that up (presumably, on credit) if you did?

WE ARE STILL GROWING GOVERNMENT.

Based upon what we know now, remember where some of those stimulus funds went to?  Let me remind you -- to crazy stupid grants and studies and crapshoot business propositions...by the billions.

WE ARE STILL GROWING GOVERNMENT.

Based upon what we know now, we are growing -- exponentially -- in dependency upon government; for this is the end result this government wants to create.   Self-reliance is dwindling, exponentially; the fundamentals of independence, free enterprise, duty, responsibility, accountability, hard work, virtue, morality, self-discipline, self-control, checks and balances is evolving into a twisted foreign policy, of sorts.

WE ARE STILL GROWING GOVERNMENT.

Based upon what we know now, we are growing victims, instead of stalwart citizens.

From Benjamin Franklin, plucked from the pages of The 5000 Year Leap:

"There is scarce a king in a hundred who would not, if he could, follow the example of Pharaoh -- get first all the people's money, then all their lands, and then make them and their children servants forever.  It will be said that we do not propose to establish kings.  I know it.  But there is a natural inclination in mankind to kingly government.   It sometimes relieves them from aristocratic domination.  They had rather have one tyrant than 500.  It gives more of the appearance of equality among citizens; and that they like.  I am apprehensive, therefore -- perhaps too apprehensive -- that the government of these states may in future times end in a monarchy.  But this catastrophe, I think, may be long delayed, if in our proposed system we do not sow the seeds of contention, faction, and tumult, by making our posts of honor places of profit.  If we do, I fear that, though we employ at first a number and not a single person, the number will in time be set aside; it will only nourish the fetus of a king (as the honorable gentleman from Virginia very aptly expressed it), and a king will the sooner be set over us."

WE ARE STILL GROWING GOVERNMENT.

We may not have a "king" exactly; what we have is a political power, the power elite -- and this power encompasses the political persuasions and ideologies of both sides of the aisle, seemingly transferable as if through osmosis, or something; overnight, opinions and platforms change, flip, turned totally upside down, opposites somehow attract, as parties meld into one, e pluribus Unum. Hence, the massive government we have today.   It's so big that we, the people, have no idea what's in it (sound familiar?).   It's all part of the control of the people, the money, the property, the pursuit of happiness from one generation to the next.

Oh Benny -- this future unimaginable -- the contention, these factions, tumult, turning our "posts of honor" into "places of profit" -- is here.

God save the bean counters.

Make it a Good Day, G

speaking of the lucky ones with jobs...here's a good story.  This is how America works in real life.  It's about having less reliance on government, and more reliance on ourselves and the kindness of strangers...until they're our boss.  Read all about it here.  Simply beautiful...happy Tuesday.

It's a Day After to Celebrate Fantine Thing

Dear America,

and the Oscar goes to....

President Obama.

...for a stunning performance once again -- and expecting nothing less always and forever -- building up Sequester Hysteria; as this link steers you to a powerfully convincing argument bringing this disastrous drama to life.   Kudos to Arnold Ahlert for this:

"Such threats are completely unsurprising. Behind the facade of hope and change this administration and its media cheerleaders promote lives the extortionist "never let a crisis go to waste" mentality that truly animates those for whom such thuggish, "Chicago-style" tactics are considered business as usual. After four years and two victorious elections, Barack Obama remains, at heart, not a president, but a community organizer completely comfortable with the politics of demonization, division and fear.

Again, as Americans contemplate the "devastation" that will supposedly befall us, the Wall Street Journal reminds us that perspective is everything. 'Fear not,' they write. 'As always in Washington when there is talk of cutting spending, most of the hysteria is baseless....In Mr. Obama's first two years, while private businesses and households were spending less and deleveraging, federal domestic discretionary spending soared by 84% with some agencies doubling and tripling their budgets' (italic mine).

One last thing. More Americans need to become familiar with the concept of baseline budgeting. In simple terms, if an agency's budget is $100, and they are expecting an increase of $10.00 next year, but they only get $8.00, politicians characterize that as a $2.00 cut in spending. Concerning the entire $1.2 trillion in "cuts" engendered by the sequester, it must be understood that they are not really cuts at all. They are really a lowering of the projected increase in federal spending going forward. The CBO cuts through the fog. 'For the 2014-2023 period, deficits in CBO's baseline projections total $7.0 trillion. With such deficits, federal debt would remain above 73 percent of GDP -- far higher than the 39 percent average seen over the past four decades,' it reports."

Read Ahlert's entire piece, if you will; it's really good.

Isn't it interesting in the Oscar commentary, we always get the guys and dolls who make some kind of humanitarian statement against violence in one form or another.  I can't really recall who it was this time (forgotten on purpose, I'm sure), but it was a line that extended his one true wish, that 'our battles' would one day be resolved through more peaceful means...says the honorary spokesman of the hour for the industry making entertainment out of it.

Sure, we get it Hollywood.

However, Mr. I-don't-remember-your-name, do you not see the hypocrisy? Hollywood makes billions off of violence.

Either literally, with the cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, and the bevy of films on every battle from here to eternity and kingdom come --  to the more 'subtle' messages  (if we can even call them that) depicting 120 minutes of non-stop violence against women, children, traditional family, family values,  even religion. 

Considering the Oscar's were dedicated to musicals this time around, let's find some perspective, long gone is the era of Gene Kelly and Bing Crosby and Judy Garland and Julie Andrews.

Hollywood makes bank off of unimaginable brutality and sordid story, brought expressly to the silver screen, in every possible context and rendition.

While even little miss princess diary had to chime in,  as Anne Hathaway had to take two seconds at the end of her acceptance speech to say something like, ooh maybe one day,  "Here's hoping that in the not-to-distant future the misfortunes of Fantine will only be found in stories."  ooh, but wait...[long melodramatic pause]without the story of Fantine, I would still be a lady-in-waiting off the spoils of a princess meets Prada...Who's really using Fantine now, huh, Anne?  hmmm me thinks thou protest in jest, oui?

AND SERIOUSLY?

Michelle Obama?

I would bet my life everybody was thinking Lincoln would take home best picture; there is just no other way to think about that strange programming interruption.  She's like, "ARGO." yay.

But speaking of which, just love love love how Daniel Day-Lewis accepted his Oscar; a Brit playing one of the most admired and respected presidents ever in American history and being just as much in awe of the man as any American... Something kinda funny about that, but maybe it's just me.

Let me also do a shout out to Ang Lee, getting the Oscar for directing Life of Pi.  How adorable is he?   Very happy it wasn't just automatically handed over to the icon in the room (Spielberg).

I am honestly surprised I made it all the way through the night.  The first fifteen minutes were awkward, weird, stupid and sophomoric...little old g was so close to turning it all off.  But like a frequently heard community service announcement in between sit-coms, "it gets better" -- it got better.  Happy to say I made it through the spectacle -- the brutal attack upon human intelligence that it was -- if only to have the opportunity to talk about it this morning, right?  Without last night's extravagances of ego, Hollywood wealth, and designer gowns and baubles...just what slant, narrative, opinion, would this day's diary, soon to be a documentary, hold?   [just kidding, people.  relax.  I recognize the small fish that I am.   And I am what I am.  No docu-drama is forthcoming.]

It's just a day like any other; G is just taking cues from the president.

But be sure to read the post from The Patriot Post, by Arnold Ahlert, Sequester Hysteria, and linked just for you, above.  That pretty much says it all.  Too bad there isn't an award for it.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's Time to Kick the Tires Not the Can Thing

Dear America,

good day.
So this girl is in the midst of reading a book I normally wouldn't give a second glance; it's called, The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien.  It's a genuine, heart-wrenchingly raw, look back at a time that seemingly stood still for him, the time of the Vietnam War when he was a soldier. 

Early on, he makes the following realization:

"But the thing about remembering is that you don't forget.  You take your material where you find it, which is in your life, at the intersection of past and present.  The memory-traffic feeds into a rotary up on your head, where it goes in circles for a while, then pretty soon imagination flows in and the traffic merges and shoots off down a thousand different streets.  As a writer, all you can do is pick a street and go for a ride, putting things down as they come to you.  That's the real obsession.  All the stories."

As 'just a girl' who just so happens to relate to this process -- to "pick a street and go for a ride" each and every day (give or take a day or two) -- O'Brien puts into simple words the level of congestion, everyday traffic, we all bring into the mix of living in community with one another.  We all have life experiences, a memory -- or too many to count; we all walk in reflection of this stuff, these things, all our lives.  Sometimes it all becomes a weight so great, it spills out.  Constructively, creatively, violently, spontaneously, cognitively  -- we let the rubber meet the road and it all comes raging up from deep inside us.

For "the thing about remembering is that you don't forget."

 Me thinks that the remembering isn't so bad at all, really, especially when placed into the context of the things we deliberately, or unintentionally, choose to forget.   What comes to mind are things like the Great Depression -- or -- the corruption and destruction of a whole society under the power of tyranny --  or -- how about the slow, nudging process of utter evil -- masterminded by crazy, narcissistic, sadistic madmen.   How could we ever forget what has happened around the world under Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, Castro, Mao, Ayatollah Khomeini, Gaddafi, Idi Amin Dada,  Kim Jung IL...Ho Chi Minh?

How is it possible that any of these bad seeds of humanity had any followers, comrades, developing armies of men, bowing in allegiance to their cause?

And then I quickly come to attention of this day -- this country -- these things past and present weaving in and out of my mind, violently careening through the curves of the hills and valleys....atten-hut!

What are we doing to ourselves?  Is anyone asking intelligent questions anymore? Or is this game of kicking the can down the road until the day we all die together in puff of smoke, mirrors, lies and propaganda fun for you?

As I remember a winning tactic of Saul Alinsky --  certainly one that has been ingrained into the consciousness of a young Barack Obama at an age when he was merely an up and coming community organizer, awaiting his time of power to come -- "pick a target, freeze it, personalize it, polarize it."  [and sure, this girl has been down this road with you before, shoot me]

But the thing is, conservatives in America keep getting riddled with tactics dating back hundreds of years -- the polarizing of the opposition, the compromising of our values, the methodical shape shifting of our communities -- even entire nations -- just by the use of words, making impressions upon us, respective of the laws of perception and totally aware of our natural human response.  This is how it begins; this is how we get to an intersection of Nazis killing Jews by the millions.

This president of ours is using dangerous, highly flammable, tactics at his every turn and whim; while this lame-brain media of ours just sits back and regurgitates his brilliance and intelligence and courage as if they have forgotten everything history has taught us.

We cannot afford to play economic roulette.

We cannot justify burying every value and principle that has made this country truly remarkable into the ground, without a memory living on and haunting us from this generation on into the next, and the next, and so on, begging us to ask a simple question: just where did we go wrong?

This president was given his tax hikes in late December, per his power to persuade and with congress under the gun for an end of the year deal -- now it's time for the spending cuts  (just as the compromise between political parties dictated).  All is fair in love and war, and not only that -- fair is fair.

If anything, these "cuts" are not nearly enough  (considering also, it's merely a "cut" in future government growth...thank you Rand Paul, CNN, and RealClearPolitics.  These cuts just slow the growth of government down from going 100 miles an hour to maybe 80; but in a school zone, that is about 55/mph too fast).

This 85 B's is called a starting place; the finish line is miles and miles and miles down the road.  And it's gonna be a rough ride from here on out, considering we have already totaled the brand spanking new hybrid car that wasn't even paid for yet.

You want some real time history, some instant message perspective -- while driving,  no less -- added to the scenery today?  How about this comparison to how this government SPENDS 85 BILLION DOLLARS a MONTH...and the kicker, it's created out of thin air, too.   [which isn't so funny when we borrow forty six cents on every dollar, details, schmeetails, nothing to see here, no sir ree bob]  ...........

......Oh no...DO NOT STOP now, we're just getting started.   This is not a drill!   GO HERE NOW.

Who is living a lie now?   And everybody is all excited about the market hitting five year highs...yeah, okay...

Do you get it now -- or no, not really?  Or, do you happen to like being a drone for this idiotic administration and the totally harmless madman behind the wheel?

I am done.  Getting off at the nearest exit for a rest.

Make it a Good Day, G

 

It's a Look, Seek, Find It Yourself Kind of Day Thing

Dear America,

so we have to talk about a few too many things today...what else is new?

But first, let's pause for a commercial from my fine state of California -- who came up with this?

California...

find yourself here.

really?
Do we really have to be a magnet for the lost, forlorn, the unemployed and insecure?

Here's another thought -- if the truth sets us free, what do flat out lies do to us?

And another -- how can this Propagandist-in-Chief sleep at night?

And another -- will G be able to keep this up and end every sentence with a question?

Yesterday was simply amazing, wasn't it?

The full text can be reviewed here; however, allow me to hit some of the highlights:

"Now, if Congress allows this meat-cleaver approach to take place, it will jeopardize our military readiness; it will eviscerate job-creating investments in education and energy and medical research. It won't consider whether we're cutting some bloated program that has outlived its usefulness, or a vital service that Americans depend on every single day. It doesn't make those distinctions."

"Emergency responders like the ones who are here today -- their ability to help communities respond to and recover from disasters will be degraded. Border Patrol agents will see their hours reduced. FBI agents will be furloughed. Federal prosecutors will have to close cases and let criminals go. Air traffic controllers and airport security will see cutbacks, which means more delays at airports across the country. Thousands of teachers and educators will be laid off. Tens of thousands of parents will have to scramble to find childcare for their kids. Hundreds of thousands of Americans will lose access to primary care and preventive care like flu vaccinations and cancer screenings."

LIES.  LIES.  LIES. LIES.  But keep on keepin' on chicken little.  Perhaps when all these people have lost their purpose in life they can all flock to California and smoke pot, liberally dispersed from our medical marijuana outlets,  and find themselves all over again.

Leadership decides what gets cut; but nice touch with throwing everything you can think of into the mix, including that last thought there about "[losing] access to primary care and preventive care like flu vaccinations and cancer screenings."   Didn't your 2.7 trillion dollar Obamacare law just fix all that?

And what about what you said in November of 2011?  Didn't you "vow" to veto any bill that would undo the sequester spending cuts?   Now that's a good question.    And a big shout out goes out to "sweetness and light" for a little help with supplying a honey of a video backup.

 But there he is -- standing with a backdrop of "first responders" -- backtracking on a pledge...

"So these cuts are not smart. They are not fair. They will hurt our economy. They will add hundreds of thousands of Americans to the unemployment rolls. This is not an abstraction -- people will lose their jobs. The unemployment rate might tick up again."

Now, we have talked about this 85 billion dollars in cuts already; we poked a little fun with the idea that if they are so draconian, why are we committed to doing them at all? 

But seriously -- 85 billion?    That is like a drop in the bucket when we are running over a trillion dollars in deficits each year, no?   The pencil pushers have already  figured out, it's less than two percent of the budget.   And really now, wouldn't leadership -- department heads, czars, the president -- make the final call?   Who's really in charge here?  DO we really have to start with the emergency responders, or do you think we might be able to cut other people, places, and things first?

Clearly, yesterday's performance was all about the Radical-in-Chief being the first responder of  demagoguery.  His plan is to use this sequester battle to bury the GOP into the ground, even while he has no intention of making cuts to anything; he wants America to go down, in flames, if possible.    This is what he has dreamed of all his life.  [Of course, most Americans see him as the outsider and savior in chief, not the destroyer; fool me once, shame on you -- fool me twice, shame on me...but I digress]

In other words, make way for ducklings which leads to fundamental transformation.  that was easy.

The thing is people --  We, the people, are no longer free people.

WE have already lost our liberty.  Our freedom and liberty died when we began to accrue serious debt, debt we will be unable to pay back in our lifetime, in our children's lifetime, in many lifetimes to come.   Freedom goes right out of the equation when we are chained to a debt so great, it is inconceivable and unimaginable to see the way back.

As a people we have reached our limits -- emotionally and intellectually.   We are seeing, witnessing in the everyday, the unintended consequences of our lack of attention to keeping our word, keeping our faith, keeping our solvency, keeping our hearts and minds healthy and vibrant and good (without the use of questionable prescription or recreational drugs).  

WE are a mess. 

WE are lost.

WE need to be found (not sure California is the place to start...just sayin'.  and I live here, so I should know, right).

I have to end with something funny or else I may go mad before the clock strikes ten...

Remember that moment in Legally Blonde, when Elle goes off on her argument something like this:

'exercise gives you endorphins, 

endorphins make you happy,

and happy people

just don't shoot their husbands.'

just give me a courtesy laugh and we can all go on with our day...but no lie, there's a pretty good message in there somewhere.  look, seek, find it yourself.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's About That Light at the End of the Tunnel Thing

Dear America,

happy tuesday.

So, I was taking my girl to school this morning when I was suddenly broadsided.  Oh I'll be fine.  No biggie.  But the other guy -- the one doing the broadsiding, hot-wheeling on the tax payer dime -- should be thrown into the clink, the key tossed into the drink off the Bay Bridge, slated to open by Labor Day 2013.

The Mike Slater Show, on KFMB in San Diego, was all over this this morning.

As the story goes ripping through the headlines, this stellar road and bridge combination has been knee deep in controversy nearly from the get-go.  Between the steel being manufactured in China, to the actual cost being not even remotely close to the original estimation (what else is new?), to scores of potential California Union jobs being turned over to outsourcing simply because it would cost too much -- somehow or other we are celebrating a recent decision to throw a party upon its completion that will cost taxpayers an additional 5.6 million dollars.

Oh yeah, you heard me correctly.

That would be a 5.6 MILLION dollar price tag ceremonially observing the utter brilliance of a bureaucratic monstrosity.  Per Huffington Post, "toll dollars will be used for the public access related costs such as the timed ticketing system, barriers and access control, security, portable toilets, managing volunteers and buses."

And about that original estimate -- the 6.3 Billion taxpayer dollars:  current calculations doubles that number (and again, we're like six months away from being done).

For the full expanse on costs outweighing benefits, go here...a place called San Francisco Public Press. Supposedly, it will be somewhere around the year 2049 before it is paid for (yeah, right...that's a good one).

Only in California can we be 5 BILLION dollars over budget and celebrate it with a 5.6 million dollar party.

Via the SF Public Press --

"Why the price has skyrocketed is a tale of politics, bureaucratic bumbling, and unforeseen construction problems—all classic ingredients of California public works projects. It is a tale of obscure but powerful agencies, legislative bickering, and four successive governors grappling with a project so massive and complex that one consultant suggested the human mind might be unable to grasp, or accept, “the magnitude of the undertaking and the time and resources required to complete it.”

exactly.

California is like a microcosm of America.  The "human mind might be unable to grasp, or accept, 'the magnitude of the undertaking and the time and resources required to complete it."

Let's just substitute ANY government program -- Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, ObamaCare...

Our founders designed AMERICA to be a FREE market, celebrating individual liberty to pursue and create our world, large and small.  We were originally retrofitted with a foundation built upon self-reliance, counting upon the individual to be of sound mind, diligent, productive, hard workers reliant upon their own personal attributes and talents and strength and determination and ambition to grow wealth and acquire property and be fully, inherently, harmoniously, intelligently independent of the government in every way possible.  As citizens, THIS was our duty to one another and ourselves.

But no -- here's news you can use --  the price of the good, self-righteous government has skyrocketed...it's just "a tale of politics, bureaucratic bumbling, and unforeseen construction problems...it is a tale of obscure but powerful agencies, legislative bickering," and quite possibly, four score and seven years of leadership "grappling with a project [building big government from sea to shining sea] so massive and complex that one consultant suggested the human mind might be unable to grasp, or accept, 'the magnitude of the undertaking and the time and resources required to complete it.'"

Which reminds me of something funny my mama sent me many moons ago. It's been used before; but only because this blog is repeating things at every turn, we're gonna give it another go round here, too:

Public Notice:

Due to recent

budget cuts,

the rising cost of electricity,

gas, oil, plus

the current state of the economy,

the light at the end

of the tunnel

has been turned off.

Have a nice day.

it's pretty good, huh.

Will the 5.6 million dollars in festivities begin Labor Day 2013 --- albeit years late and five billion dollars over budget?  Time, resources, bureaucrats and tax assessments will tell us soon enough.

Make it a Good Day, G

 

It's How Can This Government Sleep at Night Thing

Dear America,

I feel soooooooooo good today.  And I haven't had this feeling for sooooooooooo long, either.  This has been such a looooooooooooooong week [on top of my own crazy absence from normal life extending to an horrific three weeks]  -- but for this week I can turn to my little darling as the culprit, for my girl has been a flying monkey for days.  In part because she has had a vicious schedule of deadlines on top of her, in part because she is still in recovery from the flu that I gave to her, and in part because she's lacking a really good night's sleep.  Not sure how far back we have to go on the calendar to see when she had one of those...

Little old G on the other hand -- I got one of those really good night's sleep just last night.  Happy Valentine's Day to me. 

Oh sure, celebrated mid-day with my baby with cards, candy, flowers and balloons -- it was all good....every thirty minutes of it.  But seriously, I am being totally for real here, totally appreciative and totally serious.  Getting that much on a day when I least expected it, considering what my baby is in the middle of right now, is like getting everything you ever wanted in one fell swoop.  To say this guy isn't a wee bit overwhelmed, would be an understatement, but I digress.  He STOPPED his day for me (but who are we kidding -- as any good guy should do if he knows what's best --  you know, considering the way lovey dovey stuff is supposed to work).

Anywho -- he did it.  He stopped and played cupid.  At the end of the day, with my girl being at her dad's,  I was able to fall to sleep like a baby.  I was sound asleep by 8:30 and slept until 7 without a care in the world (yeah, right, that's a good one).

But the thing is -- let me be perfectly clear -- I  FEEL SOOOOOOOOOO GOOD today.   I haven't coughed for twenty four hours, I had a wonderful dinner of filet mignon with béarnaise sauce and a luscious side of heaping mashed potatoes, with probably more butter than potato.  No veggies on the plate whatsoever.  For dessert, a slim slice of chocolate marble cheesecake with a half dozen Reese's Minis on the side of that, too, and finished off with a big, cold glass of milk, with ice, of course.    Let's not forget, all of that was preceded with a two-finger shot of Maker's Mark over ice just to get the party started.

And right after all that, I put myself into the tub for a relaxing half hour of bubbles and bath salts.  IT had been the culmination of a long work day all the way around, and a bath was not only calling my name, it was screaming at me "just stop G, give in and let go....you deserve it."

Oh you get it now....  
I went to bed fat and happy.

What a treat.
Wouldn't it be lovely if every day was like that?

Don't answer that.
Let me help you out...if every day was like that, just how special would it be?  How would that really serve us, mainly me, in the long run anyway?  How would that teach us, mostly me,  to respect, honor, even feel a sense of gratitude for what we have and see the real value in the things large and small?  But there again, talking to self.

But if we really give it some earnest thought -- most of our time is spent dealing with life wrapped up in a world of obligations and responsibilities.  It is only when we can steal away a few minutes, an hour, a day, to gain a deeper perspective of what all those obligations and responsibilities really do for us -- from a character building, life affirming, open heart and God's grace centered in our thoughts kind of way -- that we understand the immensity of what it means to be human.  And that goes double for being a good human.  It's days when we can truly feel how good we've got it, of how hard we work for it, that the day becomes really, really, super good.

It's like Saturdays after a morning of chores and we take that first sip of a cold, icy coke [I do believe G has a secret fetish for ice...I mean, just how many times can I bring it up in one blog?]

But it is our government these days, who would like to have us believe we have nothing to worry about, nothing to concern ourselves with, that we have no problem with spending whatsoever, even in the most conservative stretch of the imagination.   They tell us, we don't have a spending problem, we have a revenue problem; we don't have a spending problem, we have a "paying for problem" of the obligations that we have set in motion [ironic, considering who in fact is doing the obligating].

We borrow forty-six cents on every dollar we spend.

Hello?

How can this government sleep at night?

We are 16, almost 17, TRILLION dollars in debt.

How can this government sleep at night?

We are in the midst of out-lawing one of our most precious rights - the right to bear arms.

How can this government sleep at night?

We bear witness to this government taking personal responsibility, self-reliance, individual duty unconscionably out of the daily to-do list.

How can this government sleep at night?

We take prayer -- or just five minutes of personal reflection -- out of school.

How can this government sleep at night?

We have watched this government usurp the medical industry, undermine real reform, in the implementation of a brand new entitlement program that has turned the 85% of the American people happy with their insurance to 100% of all Americans totally unglued by the corruption responsible for diabolically upending everything good about the health care system in America.  All this without even trying to open up the state borders so that insurance companies could finally compete with one another for the health care dollar -- unbelievable. [and all costing us -- not roughly 900 billion as initially thought, but three times as much; and all by stealing 500 billion from Medicare!  Oh who hates old people now?]

How can this government sleep at night?

We watch our hard-earned, tax-payer paid for, ammunition, airplanes, and tanks just be handed over to the enemy, the Muslim Brotherhood, in Egypt.

How can this government sleep at night?

We witness the cost of electricity, gas, "necessarily rise"  according to the long term vision of the Socialist-in-Chief.

How can this government sleep at night?

And I feel really bad for all the blood, sweat and tears, of  every single immigrant who has earned, fought, studied  -- for days, weeks, months -- to become a citizen of these magnificent United States, only to watch the illegal immigrant cross our borders every single day, outside the boundaries of the law, be deemed no longer "illegal" per se, but now, by virtue of their lack of respect for this country and the proper channels set in place of becoming American citizens, essentially come out getting everything for doing absolutely nothing but break the law.

How can this government sleep at night?

We have eleven thousand new recipients of food stamps every single day.

How can this government sleep at night?

We have the lock box of social security broken and it's contents gone.

How can this government sleep at night?

We have this government spending a trillion dollars more than it takes in year in and year out.

How can this government sleep at night?

Okay, think I will stop now; would really hate to ruin the chances of getting two really good night's  sleep in a row.   And certainly -- somewhere between taking prayer out of school and the number of Americans facing the challenge of feeding their families on food stamps -- I would imagine I was beating a dead horse [and how about that story on horse meat...but no time to find it now].

Out here in California, the mad-man, Chris Dorner, was confirmed dead -- unbelievable the amount of attention he got, considering.     Our whole entire world is crumbling around us -- economically, spiritually, culturally -- only fitting the politically correct fascination of a murderer gone rogue, in a power to the people kind of way, gets our full, walking dead, hypnotic response.   Are we all idiots now?

All I know is we -- mostly me -- have some kind of work to do before we get another evening of thinking, contemplating, worrying, of all things centering around absolutely nothing. 

Oh well, it was really good while it lasted...there is that.

Make it a Good Day, G
 

It's Just the State of the Union Unplugged Thing

Dear America,

I sat there thinking...is this really the way it's gonna go?  He's just so predictable, you know.  Right out of the gate he gave us this:

"Tonight, thanks to the grit and determination of the American people, there is much progress to report. After a decade of grinding war, our brave men and women in uniform are coming home. After years of grueling recession, our businesses have created over six million new jobs. We buy more American cars than we have in five years, and less foreign oil than we have in twenty. Our housing market is healing, our stock market is rebounding, and consumers, patients, and homeowners enjoy stronger protections than ever before.

Together, we have cleared away the rubble of crisis, and can say with renewed confidence that the state of our union is stronger."

And just in case you haven't caught on yet, "together" is the new "I" -- it's his go-to phrase to capitalize on the collective consciousness.  It's not about HIM anymore (yeah, right) -- it's about all of us, together.

"It is our unfinished task to restore the basic bargain that built this country – the idea that if you work hard and meet your responsibilities, you can get ahead, no matter where you come from, what you look like, or who you love.

It is our unfinished task to make sure that this government works on behalf of the many, and not just the few; that it encourages free enterprise, rewards individual initiative, and opens the doors of opportunity to every child across this great nation.

The American people don't expect government to solve every problem. They don't expect those of us in this chamber to agree on every issue. But they do expect us to put the nation's interests before party. They do expect us to forge reasonable compromise where we can. For they know that America moves forward only when we do so together; and that the responsibility of improving this union remains the task of us all."

But again, he says the "basic bargain" includes working hard and meeting responsibilities -- however, how does that explain all the emphasis on "redistribution," the blatant, unconscionable transfer of wealth, hard work and responsibility to  people who have done nothing to deserve it?  Does he really understand, even respect, what true free enterprise is and how it works?  Don't answer; these are simply rhetorical and asinine questions I ask myself here in my happy place...

"In 2011, Congress passed a law saying that if both parties couldn't agree on a plan to reach our deficit goal, about a trillion dollars' worth of budget cuts would automatically go into effect this year. These sudden, harsh, arbitrary cuts would jeopardize our military readiness. They'd devastate priorities like education, energy, and medical research. They would certainly slow our recovery, and cost us hundreds of thousands of jobs. That's why Democrats, Republicans, business leaders, and economists have already said that these cuts, known here in Washington as "the sequester," are a really bad idea."

So if it's such a bad idea and so harmful to the economy, why would we even be considering it any kind of viable option?  Who says we have to do it then?  We don't do other things we are "supposed to do..." like function from an annual, fully operational budget...by law, congress is supposed to do that, too.

This part was really wonderful --

"...So let's set party interests aside, and work to pass a budget that replaces reckless cuts with smart savings and wise investments in our future. And let's do it without the brinksmanship that stresses consumers and scares off investors. The greatest nation on Earth cannot keep conducting its business by drifting from one manufactured crisis to the next. Let's agree, right here, right now, to keep the people's government open, pay our bills on time, and always uphold the full faith and credit of the United States of America. The American people have worked too hard, for too long, rebuilding from one crisis to see their elected officials cause another."

From the party of "never let a crisis go to waste" taken to an art form.  Hard to believe he could spit this out keeping a straight face..."cannot keep conducting its business by drifting from one manufactured crisis to the next."  Unbelievable nerve.

And then we get this --

"Let me repeat – nothing I'm proposing tonight should increase our deficit by a single dime. It's not a bigger government we need, but a smarter government that sets priorities and invests in broad-based growth."

All this president has done is grow a bigger government!   This is just total deception.

How does trying to enforce a new minimum wage hike to $9/hour favor investment, business growth, hiring more people instead of less?   YOU ARE AN IDIOT.

Here we go:

"Tonight, I propose a "Fix-It-First" program to put people to work as soon as possible on our most urgent repairs, like the nearly 70,000 structurally deficient bridges across the country. And to make sure taxpayers don't shoulder the whole burden, I'm also proposing a Partnership to Rebuild America that attracts private capital to upgrade what our businesses need most: modern ports to move our goods; modern pipelines to withstand a storm; modern schools worthy of our children. Let's prove that there is no better place to do business than the United States of America. And let's start right away."

Because we always get back to the roads and bridges.... says the Agitator-in-Chief in a twisted sort of way, like, "you didn't build that."  He seems to only respect private money and investment only when it's handed over by the boot to the neck for his administration to use and abuse.   And maybe just because adding 6 Trillion dollars to our national debt (over just four years mind you!) is not nearly enough.

AND on a totally different subject -- so what, we wear green ribbons now for victims of gun violence?  Does Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, just wear them 24/7 now, or was that just for show for the night?

This is fascinating --

"Study after study shows that the sooner a child begins learning, the better he or she does down the road. But today, fewer than 3 in 10 four year-olds are enrolled in a high-quality preschool program. Most middle-class parents can't afford a few hundred bucks a week for private preschool. And for poor kids who need help the most, this lack of access to preschool education can shadow them for the rest of their lives. "

Never mind that the nation's Head Start program has just recently been discovered to have added no value whatsoever for the nation's poorest children.  [We talked about this just week's ago, why would the president include something like this, its so fresh, but we digress]

And here's an interesting agenda sounding more like something out of an era gone by:

"But defending our freedom is not the job of our military alone. We must all do our part to make sure our God-given rights are protected here at home. That includes our most fundamental right as citizens: the right to vote. When any Americans – no matter where they live or what their party – are denied that right simply because they can't wait for five, six, seven hours just to cast their ballot, we are betraying our ideals."

Never mind that in this day and age ANYONE can get an absentee ballot mailed to their home weeks in advance; and never you mind about the number of military personnel each election struggling to vote from combat, or having their ballots "lost in the mail" or simply not given to them in a timely fashion.  While this may be just being nit-picky, but is our right to vote really our MOST Fundamental Right?

But Oh! how he brought it all to a ruckus close, no?  How many times did he point out that somebody, anybody, everybody, deserves your vote?  Gun control gone wild finished the night off with a bang.

And now let us raise our glass TOGETHER:

"We are citizens. It's a word that doesn't just describe our nationality or legal status. It describes the way we're made. It describes what we believe. It captures the enduring idea that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations; that our rights are wrapped up in the rights of others; and that well into our third century as a nation, it remains the task of us all, as citizens of these United States, to be the authors of the next great chapter in our American story.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America."

WOW.  What he really wants us to take away here, is that it no longer matters if you are even legal -- if you live within our borders, we are all citizens and we are in this together; we need to "fix this" together.  It would be a beautiful thing if it weren't so Chavez-esque, disrobing  the naked socialist beneath.  Surely a little TMI for the lot of us who are still capable of seeing right through him, but for the walking dead who adore him, they just eat this stuff up.

Makes me cringe the line, "that our rights are wrapped up in the rights of others."  NO, they aren't.  Read the Declaration of Independence, Mr. President!   Our rights (from the MOST fundamental to the least...if there is such a thing)  are certain TRUTHS, self-evident and righteous, and endowed by our Creator.  Individually speaking for all of us, these rights are unalienable and independent from one to another.   And you, acting on behalf of the governed, dear sir, get the magnificent opportunity to lead this nation, lest we forget TEMPORARILY, directly from the consent of the governed.   And never you mind that these rights come complete with duties and obligations and great responsibility to be the best citizen we can be, for the sake of the State of the Union.  Government has very little, and nearly nothing, to do with our success.

Make it a Good Day, G

For a great review, go to National Review, here.

And thank you to ABC News for the use of the transcript, here.

It's an Anti-Depressant Kind of Day Thing

Dear America,

*** sideshow alert *** 
*** sideshow alert ***

that takes us back a few blogs...

but here we are again, preparing our hearts and minds for another fun-filled evening getting our heads stuffed with propaganda.  it's gonna be great.

As I was rolling along this morning, trying to catch up on news and commentary, I came across a beautiful example of the way this man works it --  “I do worry sometimes that as soon as we leave the prayer breakfast, everything we've been talking about the whole time at the prayer breakfast seems to be forgotten—on the same day of the prayer breakfast...I mean, you'd like to think that the shelf life wasn't so short,” he added. “But I go back to the Oval Office and I start watching the cable news networks and it's like we didn’t pray.”  [for more, just go here.]

And just maybe, oh brilliant one, we pray for different things.

Oh but do go on...

"It's important not to read too much into any particular political victory—because this country is big, it is diverse, it is contentious, and we don’t have a monopoly on wisdom, and we need to remember that."

Sometimes, I really don't think he pays much attention to what he is saying.  It's as if his circles never meet up at all.  He just spins his wheels.

If nobody carries the monopoly on wisdom, then all of us have something to contribute to the cause.  IF we are diverse, then we may not agree...on anything.   If we are sooo big -- this country -- then why do you think, Mr. President, with such a small mind?   Instead of listening to the opposition, you ridicule it; instead of working with both sides of the aisle, you cut them off at the knees.  Like you said,  YOU don't have a monopoly on the wisdom...so act like it.

But I can see it all now -- you are going to be arrogant and smug, standing there at the podium with the perfect cock of the head, pausing at just the right moment, elongating that hand-picked syllable for emphasis and extra consideration.    As if you think harder, better, brighter than the rest of us.   At least the GW dripped with humility when he spoke; at least he addressed the American people as one body instead of cut up by demographics and agenda and color, flocking to your side like zombies.

I keep having to remind myself another four years of this has only just begun.

I was already worn out...and the reality is, we have just so much more of this to come! Maybe Obamacare should be passing out free anti-depressant drugs to all of us needing a little extra TLC -- I mean, honestly, what's going on is just so unfair for those of us aligned with the principles of common sense conservative solutions.   Perhaps we need to open a case with the ACLU.

So as we can all predict by now, he will be addressing gun control, reforming immigration, upending the war in Afghanistan, and if he has time, mention how much the economy is on track for a total turn around.    Oh as the seasons turn, turn, turn.

If you really think about it -- how come he didn't make all these changes that were always in his heart when he had all of Congress sitting in his favor?   He could have done it all bada bing bada boom.

I believe it would be because true fundamental transformation of an entire way of life and limited government takes time to grow on us; this president recognizes the wisdom of playing his cards right, taking into account the winds of political and emotional change, while taking all the time necessary to sway the minds of the collective to alter everything they have come to know and love.

welcome to the new world; welcome to the new wave of dictatorship; it's so much cooler now.

well, word of advice:  put on your Fat Tuesday pants, make a really yummy cocktail, and maybe go with the mac and cheese for dinner...then pop Reeses Minis as the evening dictates.

Make it a Good Day, G

 hey, and considering what we were discussing yesterday....how about that lightening strike upon St. Peter's...good stuff.

It's a Walk Back into a Day in the Life Thing

Dear America,

not even sure what to say right now.

good morning?

happy Monday?

top of the morning to you?

.....So would you believe I turned into a 'walk-er' for the last three weeks? 

Oh, do you happen to be one of those not entirely sure what that means? 
Am I talking in tongues, or something? 
Don't suppose you caught up with the weekend's AMC marathon, preparing for the arrival of a brand new episode of "The Walking Dead," which we all got to witness just last night?

Let me just say -- I feel like I was living the night of the living dead for days, weeks, nearly a month.  I have nearly no recollection of anything but a night that began in a life-threatening panic -- the dearest one in the family (aka the Angel In Chief) was struck with pneumonia --  and was on life support in ICU for nearly a week.

It all happened so fast, too.

He's the angel-in-chief because he was born an angel; and he's the only one in the family to be so lucky.  Some people might think being born with Down's Syndrome is a life resigned to hardship, unable to live life fully, if of the belief it's a disability.  But surely, anyone who has come across 'kissy face' would emphatically disagree.  He created a life magnificent not only for himself, but for all of us who have had the good grace to know him, to live with him, to enjoy his spirit of perpetual, childlike innocence and wonder (with a good dose of loving brutal honesty coming just when we least expect it, to be in close second).  Deep down -- he's brilliant, I tell you.

But let me not hold you in suspense even a moment longer -- the lad is still with us, thank our lucky stars.

It was then -- once he was in the clear -- I fell miserably ill with the flu.   I guess I let my guard down, for I never get sick.  And now, looking back, I realize I have never been that sick, ever.  And then -- my girl got sick! 

It was as if I was being surrounded all at once; the world was closing in on me -- threatening my very existence and life as we know it, having easily slipped into a twilight zone of sorts.  The safe harbor of the day to day humming right along, having clearly learned to take my health for granted, brings my life to a screeching halt.  I never really saw it coming.

But here I am.

I missed the opportunity to vent about women in combat -- think that's where things were left off...

Of course, we also missed having a deep discussion on the Super Bowl, or was it the Har-bowl?  Kind of funny how the NFL wanted to claim ownership of that tag line, no?  As if the league doesn't have enough to deal with pending the ongoing controversy of liability over brain injuries and personal accountability.   Even my Hall's cough drops lays it out pretty straightforward -- giving a pep talk in every drop -- saying things like "Go for it!"  "Get back in there champ!"  "Put your game face on!"  "Seize the day!"  Can we talk mixed messages?

Well, one thing is for sure -- we awoke to the world turning upside down all over again.  Can you even  believe the Pope would up and quit in the middle of Lent?  Lent!  Arrivederci my little flock.

I mean, seriously?  He is leaving his post on February 28th?

The Pope is going to throw in the towel?  Now?

Goodness gracious -- this is like The Season of all Seasons written into the ecumenical church year, for St. Pete's sake...Lent is all about renewal, reuniting in the spirit of being alive and being a child of God!  And the Pope wants to call it quits, right in the middle of it?  Has he been bitten? (That's just an inappropriate connection to the     walking       dead...father forgive me, I know not what I say).

When I was smack dab in the middle of mourning the condition of my brother, I happened to have caught Joel Osteen one Sunday morning.   As expected, we always hear what we most need to hear, and this morning was no different.  If my recollection serves me, Osteen told us the story of Moses being at a complete loss -- in spirit, as well as in provisions.  He couldn't feed his people.  Long story short, all of a sudden, the winds shifted and the skies opened up and falling at the feet of Moses were enough Quail to feed everyone, and probably for days.

Osteen's message was one of hope and renewal, but his point was simply this:  when we are open to receive...God breathes in our direction.  And the truth is --- we may very well have done nothing to deserve it.  It just happens.

This vision of God breathing in our direction carried me -- through the anguish of waiting things out while the angel-in-chief's wings were being poked and tweaked,  and even while I was down but not quite out.    This Life Force, this Breath, this abundant and everlasting Source for renewal and grace, unexpectedly gave me everything I needed.  I just had to remain open to receiving it.

I don't know how the Pope comes to a decision to stop.  All I can imagine is God has something, someone, better for the world waiting in the wings.  This Pope seems to have lost the fight inside himself.

And now, switching gears altogether -- is it just me, or is the president speaking on behalf of the State of the Union on Fat Tuesday chockfull of hidden messages and double entendre?  I worry that I may fall ill all over again with the event, but have promised myself to prepare myself for anything.  I will be popping Airborne, drinking my eight glasses of water, getting plenty of rest tonight, just to guard against any kind of crazy talk he plans on dishing out.    He's a walk-er, and a bite-er, in my mind...armed and dangerous; but given the vulnerability and susceptibility of at least half of the American people these days, all he needs to do is speak and people bite.  It's strange really -- people just accept whatever he says as the truth, as if he's the leader of the pack without questioning anything.   [For the non-walking dead, that's just another storyline]

We just had some sort of boat show run through town.  In their advertising they said something like, "come see how affordable owning  a boat can be!"  And I just had to laugh.   They could probably sell a few sail boats without any sails, too. [Can hardly wait til tomorrow night.]

Oh the winds, they are a changing...

I keep wondering why do I care?  Why is it important for me to come back and spill it day in and day out -- or three weeks in and three weeks out, as the case may be?  [Bite me]  Why even show up at all -- it's not like anybody would really miss me, right? 

Well, I would miss me.

I am going to keep coming back whenever I can, saying whatever it is I need to say, for as long as I live.   It's MY diary of a day in the life of an American girl and I promise not to take any of it for granted.  I suggest you all do the same.

At the risk of being uber cheesy --   Be awake!  Don't be a walk-er.  Accept today as maybe your last and commit to the renewal of making your life better than the day before...for the sake of all of mankind, if nothing else.

Make it a Good Day, G