Now we know .........

Comes the dawn ................

There is  a great need for optimism in the world, especially right here in the good old USA. If you are a follower of Obama, you  are happy and optimistic, feeling that he has the answers and will lead us down the right path to prosperity. If you oppose his platform, they you are full of doom and gloom, and see a rather destructive course for the country, like being on a "run away" roller coaster, out of control.

These are the first words of a song, "There's Got to be a Morning After"

There's got to be a morning after

If we can hold on through the night

We have a chance to find the sunshine

Let's keep on looking for the light

The Song

Doom and gloom

Well, it is Friday, the last day of November, 2012, evening, and I just watched the evening news. My blood  pressure, I am sure, is up, pulse rate is quickening, and I think I am suffering, somewhat, from a state of shock. I just have to quite watching the news, and just pretend like everything is alright in the world.

The East coast is almost on the brink of riots over the response they are receiving to help them get back to normal after Sandy. The West coast is having way too much rain, and much more expected this weekend.

There are riots in a number of places around the world, our country is possibly on the brink of disaster, fiscally, and an agreement between the two parties seems sketchy, at least.

But, probably only in America, along with all that disaster, we have lottery winners of millions of dollars, and only in America, many of those who have won huge amounts in the past, are now broke.

One good story about a New York policeman who gave a homeless man a pair of socks and winter boots, caught on camera and posted for the world to see.

All of this happening a few days after a "record setting" shopping weekend. Are we a great country, or what?

What a great woman she is ..............

HURRICANE SANDY

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

Some sound advice ...............

When you are going shopping ..........................

Do not ..................

Wear a Red Shirt ......

...... if you are going shopping at TARGET

Only in America

1) Only in America, could a certain politician talk about the greed of the rich at a $35,000.00 a plate campaign fund-raising event.

2) Only in America, could people claim that the government still discriminates against black Americans when they have a black President, a black Attorney General, and an 18% black federal workforce, but a black population of only 12%. .

3) Only in America, could they have had the two people most responsible for our tax code, Timothy Geithner, the head of the Treasury Department, and Charles Rangel, who once ran the Ways and Means Committee, BOTH turn out to be tax cheats who are in favor of higher taxes.

4) Only in America, could they have terrorists kill people in the name of Allah and have the media primarily react by fretting that Muslims might be harmed by the backlash.

5) Only in America, could they make people who want to legally become American citizens wait for years in their home countries and pay tens of thousands of dollars for the privilege while they discuss letting people who sneak into the country illegally just 'magically' become American citizens.

6) Only in America, could the people who believe in balancing the budget and sticking by the country's Constitution be thought of as "extremists."

7) Only in America, could they need to present a driver's license to cash a check or buy alcohol, but not to vote.

8) Only in America, could they demand the government investigate whether oil companies are gouging the public because the price of gas went up, when the return on equity invested in a major U.S. oil company (Marathon Oil) is less than half of the return of a company making tennis shoes (Nike).

9) Only in America, could the government collect more tax dollars from the people than any nation in recorded history, still spend a Trillion dollars more than it has per year - for total spending of $7-Million PER MINUTE, and complain that it doesn't have nearly enough money.

10) Only in America, could the rich people - who pay 86% of all federal income taxes - be accused of not paying their "fair share" by people who don't pay any federal income taxes at all.

MASS exodus of Florida

I-95 and I-75 will be jammed for the next month or so with druggies and deadbeats heading North out of Florida, because this is the first state in the union to require drug testing to receive welfare!

Hooray for Florida! In signing the new law, Republican Gov. Rick Scott said, "If Floridians want welfare, they better make sure they are drug-free."

Applicants must pay for the drug test, but are reimbursed if they test drug-free. Applicants who test positive for illicit substances, won't be eligible for the funds for a year, or until they undergo treatment.  Those who fail a second time will be banned from receiving funds for three years!

Naturally, a few people are crying this is unconstitutional.

How is this unconstitutional? It's a legal requirement that every person applying for a job has to pass drug tests in order to get the job, why not those who receive welfare?

MEMO: To the staff

MEMO

"AFTER TEA BREAK, STAFF SHOULD EMPTY THE TEAPOT 

AND STAND UPSIDE DOWN ON THE DRAINING BOARD"

There are still "good guys" left ......

A photo of a New York City police officer kneeling down to give a barefoot homeless man in Times Square a pair of boots on a cold November night is melting even the iciest New Yorkers' hearts online.

On Nov. 14, NYPD officer Lawrence DePrimo, who was on counterterrorism duty in Times Square, saw the older homeless man without shoes sitting on 42nd Street. DePrimo, 25, left and then returned with a pair of $100 boots he bought at a nearby Skechers store.

"It was freezing out, and you could see the blisters on the man's feet," DePrimo, a three-year veteran of the department who lives with his parents on Long Island, told the New York Times. "I had two pairs of socks, and I was still cold."

The random act of kindness was captured by Jennifer Foster, a tourist from Florence, Ariz., who was visiting the city. Foster, communications director for the Pinal County Sheriff's Office in Arizona, emailed the photo to the NYPD with a note commending DePrimo.

"The officer said, 'I have these size 12 boots for you, they are all-weather. Let's put them on and take care of you,'" Foster wrote. "The officer squatted down on the ground and proceeded to put socks and the new boots on this man.

Splish splash ... I was takin a bath

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — An area of Arctic sea ice bigger than the United States melted this year, according the U.N. weather agency, which said the dramatic decline illustrates that climate change is happening "before our eyes."

In a report released at U.N. climate talks in the Qatari capital of Doha, the World Meteorological Organization said the Arctic ice melt was one of a myriad of extreme and record-breaking weather events to hit the planet in 2012. Droughts devastated nearly two-thirds of the United States as well western Russia and southern Europe. Floods swamped west Africa and heat waves left much of the Northern Hemisphere sweltering.

But it was the ice melt that seemed to dominate the annual climate report, with the U.N. concluding ice cover had reached "a new record low" in the area around the North Pole and that the loss from March to September was a staggering 11.83 million square kilometers (4.57 million square miles) — an area bigger than the United States.

"The alarming rate of its melt this year highlighted the far-reaching changes taking place on Earth's oceans and biosphere," WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said. "Climate change is taking place before our eyes and will continue to do so as a result of the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which have risen constantly and again reached new records."

First Amendment to the United States Constitution

I got embroiled in a conversation today about "Amendments" to the Constitution. We probably know little about them, or have forgotten them, so in the next few days I am going to go over them.

The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights.

The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances.

Originally, the First Amendment applied only to laws enacted by the Congress.

However, starting with Gitlow v. New York, the Supreme Court has applied the First Amendment to each state.

This was done through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

The Court has also recognized a series of exceptions to provisions protecting the freedom of speech.

Homeland Security graduates first Corps of Obama’s Brown Shirts – Homeland Youth

It Makes Sense Blog
October 18, 2012

The federal government calls them FEMA Corps. But they conjure up memories of the Hitler Youth of 1930’s Germany. Regardless of their name, the Dept of Homeland Security has just graduated its first class of 231 Homeland Youth. Kids, aged 18-24 and recruited from the President’s AmeriCorp volunteers, they represent the first wave of DHS’s youth corps, designed specifically to create a full time, paid, standing army of FEMA Youth across the country.
On September 13, 2012, the Department of Homeland Security graduated its first class of FEMA Corps first-responders. While the idea of having a volunteer force of tens of thousands of volunteers scattered across the country to aid in times of natural disasters sounds great, the details and timing of this new government army is somewhat curious, if not disturbing.

DHS raising an armed army

The first problem one finds with this ‘new army’ is the fact that they are mere children. Yes, 18 is generally the legal age a person can sign a contract, join the military or be tried as an adult. But ask any parent – an 18, 20 or even a 24 year-old is still a naive, readily-influenced kid.

The second problem with this announcement and program is its timing. Over the past two years, President Obama has signed a number of Executive Orders suspending all civil and Constitutional rights and turning over management of an America under Martial Law to FEMA. Also in that time, domestic federal agencies under DHS, including FEMA, have ordered billions of rounds of ammunition as well as the corresponding firearms. Admittedly, these new weapons and ammunition aren’t to be used in some far-off war or to fight forest fires in California, but right here on the streets of America.

Reprinted for information only

Powerball jackpot raised to $500 million

Wednesday's Powerball jackpot was raised to $500 million from $425 million as ticket sales surged. Lottery officials based the increase on growing ticket sales in 42 states and District of Columbia.

Cattle Guards Again

For those of you who have never traveled to the West or Southwest, cattle guards are horizontal steel rails placed at fence openings, in dug-out places in the roads adjacent to highways (sometimes across highways), to prevent cattle from crossing over that area. For some reason the cattle will not step on the "guards," probably because they fear getting their feet caught between the rails. 

A few months ago, President Obama received a report that there were over 100,000 cattle guards in Colorado . Because Colorado ranchers had protested his proposed changes in grazing policies, he ordered the Secretary of the Interior to fire half of the cattle guards immediately. 

Before the Interior Secretary could respond and presumably straighten him out, Vice-President Joe Biden intervened with a request that before any guards were fired, they be given six months of retraining. 

McDonalds ...............

Says a lot about OSU .............

The cause of a totally wasted successful season is honored at the stadium, how powerful is football on a college campus?

In what may be the perfect summation of college football today, former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel was celebrated Saturday during the Buckeyes' 26-21 victory over Michigan even though it was his breaking of NCAA rules that led to the program's current postseason ban. That sanction cost 12-0 Ohio State a spot in the Big Ten title game and perhaps a shot at a national championship.

If you'd think being responsible for such a mess would keep a person from the stadium, let alone being lifted in the air to the roaring delight of over 100,000 fans in attendance, well, you don't understand college football.

Ex-OSU coach Jim Tressel gathers with members of his '02 national championship team on Saturday . (AP)
Nothing makes sense except this: losing is about the only thing that creates boos and pretty much nothing you can do will make you less popular than the NCAA rulebook.

Tressel was fired in May 2011, the fallout of a scandal in which the chief violation was his failure to report to his own bosses and the NCAA a reliable tip that some of his players were trading memorabilia for tattoos at a local parlor. The NCAA determined that eight players, including star quarterback Terrelle Pryor, were involved, receiving some $14,000 in cash and tattoos. PS - The Walmart foto is a fake.

That's odd, I didn't win - well, I did win $4

DES MOINES, Iowa - Lottery officials say nobody has won the Powerball jackpot and the top prize will now increase to about $425 million for the next drawing, the largest jackpot ever for the game.

Iowa Lottery spokeswoman Mary Neubauer said sales were strong over the holiday week for Saturday's drawing, which was estimated at $325 million before the numbers were picked. That was the fourth-largest jackpot in the game's history.

Neubauer says the jackpot for Wednesday's drawing could go even higher than the estimated $425 million because sales pick up in the days before record drawings.

The previous top Powerball prize was $365 million, won in 2006 by a ConAgra Foods Workers in Lincoln, Neb.

The Powerball numbers for Saturday were 22-32-37-44-50, and the Powerball was 34.

Sad story ...........

He always seemed like a great guy, I remember his guest appearances on "Cheers." 

Just one week and a half into the NBA's 2012-13 season, Rockets coach Kevin McHale took leave of his crew on Nov. 10 to attend to what the team at the time called a personal family matter. 

A few weeks later, we've learned the sad truth of what forced the Basketball Hall of Famer to step away from the group he's coached since 2011.

McHale's daughter, Alexandra ''Sasha'' McHale, passed away at age 22 on Saturday. 

The team did not announce the reason behind her untimely passing, but longtime Houston Chronicle beat writer Jonathan Feigen is reporting that Sasha McHale had long been suffering from lupus, and was hospitalized recently with a condition unfortunately spurred on by the autoimmune disease.

CHINA - letting the world know

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China has carried out its first successful landing of a fighter jet on its first aircraft carrier, state media said on Sunday, a symbolically significant development as Asian neighbors fret about the world's most populous country's military ambitions.

The home-built J-15 fighter jet took off from and landed on the Liaoning, a reconditioned Soviet-era vessel from Ukraine which only came into service in September this year.

China ushered in a new generation of leaders this month at the 18th Communist Party Congress in Beijing, with outgoing President Hu Jintao making a pointed reference to strengthening China's naval forces, protecting maritime interests and the need to "win local war".

China is embroiled in disputes with the Philippines and Vietnam over South China Sea islandsbelieved to be surrounded by waters rich in natural gas. It has a similar dispute with Japan over islands in the East China Sea.

It has also warned the United States, with President Barack Obama's "pivot" to Asia, not to get involved.

Sky City One

A Chinese company thinks they've simplified the construction process so much that they can build the world's tallest skyscraper in 90 days.

Broad Sustainable Building Corporation will lay the foundation for their "Sky City" project this month. The company, famous for building tall buildings in ridiculously short time spans, plans to construct a 220-story skyscraper in 90 days, with construction starting in January and finishing in March. Sky City, if successful, will be 10 meters higher than the current tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

How do they plan on doing it? BSB eschews architectural beauty for simplicity. Their building are tall and block-y. They essentially make buildings out of lego blocks, but in real life. The National Post has a nice graph explaining how they plan on achieving their 90 day goal. "Traditional construction is chaotic," BSB chairman Zhang Yue recently told Wired magazine. "We took construction and moved it into the factory." BSB prepares the pieces offsite and then brings everything together so it slides in easily when construction begins, exactly like Lego blocks. By breaking everything down into simple blocks piled on top of one another, it allows them to build at an amazing pace -- their goal for Sky City is 5 stories a day.

Don't think they're coming out of the woodwork to try this, either. BSB already constructed a 30 story building in 15 days:

Once completed, Sky City will be contain low-income housing, luxury condos, a hospital, a school,  and retail space. And, BSB claims, it'll be strong enough to resist a 9.0 magnitude earthquake. In theory, if a grocery store moves into one of the retail spaces, you could be born in Sky City and never have to leave.

GIVE IT AWAY NOW ..... before

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST: Does your family ask you for money when you go back home?

TIM ALLEN: Yes!

KIMMEL: Do they? Yeah, yeah.

ALLEN: Does that ever work, you know? This folds into the government, doesn't it?

KIMMEL: I think it does work.

ALLEN: You can't give people money and help them. It doesn't work.

KIMMEL: Yeah, but they're willing to try.

ALLEN: Yeah, they are definitely willing to. Oh, God, did you bring up a sore one.

KIMMEL: Well, why don't you make an announcement right now that you’re headed home and you won't be giving any money to anyone?

ALLEN: Well, you know what I look at sometimes, I say, “Rather them than the government.”

KIMMEL: I see.

ALLEN: You know, you better give your money away before it gets taken from you.

KIMMEL: You don't really get a choice, though, and I don’t think it counts. You can't tax credit "Gave money to my Aunt Martha."

ALLEN: Actually, you can gift stuff.

KIMMEL: Is that right?

ALLEN: You can. You can give away gifts to your family and friends.

KIMMEL: This to me means you've been giving a lot of money to your family.

ALLEN: Rather them than the government. That's how I look at it.

Teddy

“Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children's children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance.”

-- Theodore Roosevelt

the only thing we have to fear is fear itself

Franklin D. Roosevelt had campaigned against Herbert Hoover in the 1932 presidential election by saying as little as possible about what he might do if elected. Through even the closest working relationships, none of the president-elect’s most intimate associates felt they knew him well, with the exception perhaps of his wife, Eleanor. The affable, witty Roosevelt used his great personal charm to keep most people at a distance. In campaign speeches, he favored a buoyant, optimistic, gently paternal tone spiced with humor. But his first inaugural address took on an unusually solemn, religious quality. And for good reason—by 1933 the depression had reached its depth. Roosevelt’s first inaugural address outlined in broad terms how he hoped to govern and reminded Americans that the nation’s “common difficulties” concerned “only material things.”

I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our people impel. 

This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. 

Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. 

This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. 

So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.

What I did over Thanksgiving ......

While camping in the Grand Canyon with her boyfriend earlier this month, Samantha Busch, 22, decided to pull a prank on her overprotective mom, Rebecca.

Busch texted a photo of herself looking like she was falling off a cliff, when in reality, she was perfectly safe standing on a ledge below.

"For five days up to when we left, my mom had warned me about falling off the cliff or being blown off," Busch told ABCNews.com. "So when we were hiking around the corner, I found a good spot where I could stand on the ledge. He angled the camera just right and he took a great picture."

Her mom and all her co-workers, however, were not amused.

"I messaged it to her first and she works for a medical auditing company and there are women who have known me since day one, and they freaked out over it also. I emailed it to them, too, and they were all freaking out over it saying I gave them a heart attack," Busch said.

To take the prank one step further, Busch, of Westmont, Ill., turned off the GPS locator on her phone so her mom could not track her.

"I work for her, so constantly every single day we communicate over work stuff," Busch explained. "So for the whole week I decided not to let her know where I'm at. I had to give her some practice to not know where I am every day."

She posted the photo to Reddit with the caption, "Mom was worried about my trip to the Grand Canyon, I sent her this picture," and it instantly went viral.

Luckily, Busch's mom has forgiven her.

"She's fine. She wasn't even angry. She was just relieved upset," Busch said.

Powerball jackpot builds to $325M for Saturday

What a life changing experience this will be when I win this ......................I hope I don't have to share it with anyone ............. I want it ALL

Black Friday shoppers in many cities briefly detoured into lottery retailers, drawn off task by the prospects of winning a $325 million Powerball jackpot — the fourth-largest in the game's history.

Larry Hagman dead at 81, portrayed notorious TV villain J.R. Ewing

Larry Hagman, who created one of American television's most supreme villains in the conniving, amoral oilman J.R. Ewing of "Dallas," died on Friday, the Dallas Morning News reported. He was 81.

Hagman died at a Dallas hospital of complications from his battle with throat cancer, the newspaper said, quoting a statement from his family. He had suffered from liver cancer and cirrhosis of the liver in the 1990s after decades of drinking.

Hagman's mother was stage and movie star Mary Martin and he became a star himself in 1965 on "I Dream of Jeannie," a popular television sitcom in which he played Major Anthony Nelson, an astronaut who discovers a beautiful genie in a bottle.

"Dallas," which made its premiere on the CBS network in 1978, made Hagman a superstar. The show quickly became one of the network's top-rated programs, built an international following and inspired a spin-off, imitators and a revival in 2012.

Obama Thanksgiving address: doesn’t thank God

During his fourth Thanksgiving presidential address, President Barack Obama referenced the recent, long and bruising campaign season, urged the country to unite behind his administration and, for the fourth year running,

neglected to offer verbal thanks to God.

Vegas Party Train .....

LAS VEGAS (AP) — As if a weekend in Las Vegas isn't wild enough for Southern Californians, a Nevada entrepreneur is about to add five more hours of party to either end.

After striking an agreement with Union Pacific Railroad last week, the Las Vegas Railway Express is one step closer to bringing to life the X Train, a luxurious "party train" complete with big screen TVs, recliners and two ultra lounges.

"The whole idea is when you get on a train, you feel like you're in Las Vegas," said Michael Barron, president and CEO of the $100 million venture that hopes to launch its maiden voyage on New Year's Eve 2013. "It's essentially a nightclub on wheels."

Tourists can't get from Southern California to Las Vegas by rail alone, and Barron's company isn't the first to try and fix that. The much-talked-about XpressWest project proposes a high-speed train connecting Sin City to the region from which it draws 25 percent of its tourists.

But it's a multi-billion-dollar proposal that would require setting new tracks, and it's often panned as a "train to nowhere" because the first phase would start in relatively obscure Victorville, about 100 miles outside of Los Angeles.

The X Train proposal calls for an Amtrak crew aboard a 576-passenger train that runs at standard speeds on traditional tracks.

It would start in Fullerton, Calif. — already home to an Amtrak station and part of Southern California's Metrolink commuter train network — and end in downtown Las Vegas.

Memories, memories ......

9:00, 11/22/2012, Thanksgiving Morning, the tears are flowing, the parade is starting, a flood of memories  overwhelmed me. This has always been a special day, it is the start of "the" season. I used to make Melissa and Brad get up, whether they wanted to or not, and watch the parade with me.

Generally the smell of turkey was permeating the air, mixed with many other sumptuous odors. I generally  make the statement, "Next year will be in New York to see the parade." A couple of years I have been in New York, but never saw the parade. The memories are enough.

Regardless of how "blaze e" I have become, "the parade" brings back many wonderful memories, followed by a flood of tears.

Happy Thanksgiving to All !!!!!!!!

Bevo Francis

All the news is about s Jack Taylor winding up with 138 points in a game? Well, he did miss 56 shots, but him.more than he made. And he didn't play for four minutes. Otherwise he would have scored even more.

But no one has mentioned the guy who set the record he beat. I have seen Bevo play basketball, he was a national sensation. Here is an article about Bevo Francis.

Bevo Francis (born Clarence Francis on 4 September 1932 on his family's farm outside of Wellsville, Ohio) is a former American basketball player. He became one of the most prolific scorers in college basketball history during his career at Rio Grande College (now known as the University of Rio Grande), topping over 100 points on two occasions. Standing 6' 9" and known for his shooting touch, Francis held the NCAA record for points scored in a game up until November 20, 2012, when his mark was eclipsed by Grinnell's Jack Taylor Jr. who scored 138 points against Faith Baptist Bible.

In 1951, during his senior year in high school in Wellsville, Ohio, Clarence "Bevo" Francis scored 776 points in 25 games for an average of nearly 32 points per game. In the process, he led his team to a 19-1 regular season record and a berth in the state playoffs. He was a unanimous all-state performer.

In 1953, Francis averaged 48.3 points a game, which is an NCAA record, including a record 113 in a single game.[1] He actually averaged 50.1 points per game over the season, but the NCAA excluded some of his best games because they were against lesser competition, such as junior colleges. One of the games that did not count in the official totals was an 116 point game against Ashland Junior College.

In 1954, Francis averaged 48.0 points a game. He still holds the top two scoring averages in NAIA history, along with many NCAA records.

Bevo Francis, teammate Al Schreiber, and his coach Newt Oliver later signed with Boston Whirlwinds, a barnstorming team that played against the Harlem Globetrotters. He was later drafted by Philadelphia of the NBA, but opted to return home to his wife and family.

Bevo Francis has never been nominated to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

Thank You Hillary

Thank God for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, between the two of them, they have ended the conflict in the Middle East. How great are they? I have heard rumors that the deal was already done, but they delayed it 24 hours so she could announce it. Now, that is a little disturbing.

A number of people were injured or killed during that time. Would someone have held that announcement up intentionally just so she could do it?

I find that hard to believe.

Now what about the other "hotspots" in the world. Maybe she will run for president in four years. Well, maybe not, I am also concerned that Obama will find some way to serve a third term, or more. It is rumored he wants to serve longer than FDR.

Petraeus

Ex-CIA Director David Petraeus testified to Congress behind closed doors.

But of course, nothing he says is confidential anymore. Petraeus’ testimony has already hit the media, and it raises as many questions as it answered.

He confirmed that he knew almost immediately that the deadly raid on our consulate in Libya was a terrorist attack.

He even drafted talking points on it for the White House. 

He was surprised when UN Ambassador Susan Rice was sent out to call it a spontaneous mob uprising, and he said he doesn't know which federal agency deleted the terrorist references from his notes.

But he’s certain it was done to avoid tipping off the terrorists and there was no political reason behind it.

One question that immediately comes to mind: if he doesn't even know who edited his notes, how does he know why they did it? 

Things ain't lookin good ...........

It didn't take long. 

The layoffs and closings are piling up.

The saddest thing about compiling this list is that by the time today is over, the list will probably have grown dramatically. 

The next saddest part is that at least some of these laid off employees voted for Barack Obama because they didn't believe this would happen.

These are more than just headlines. 

Every number represents  real people who have lost their livelihood.

Boeing Announces Big Layoffs in Defense Division cut 30% of workforce

Anonymous employer in Las Vegas: “I have 114 employees. I’m firing 22”

Momentive Inc. plans 150 “temporary” layoffs” – Tyler County West Virginia

Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania “voluntary furloughs” for 300 town workers.

 Joe Biden’s gift to his old neighborhood

Berks County Pennsylvania Exide Technologies to lay off 150 workers

Groupon is starting with 80 employee layoffs. But more will certainly follow as the stock price has dropped from $20.00 to $3.85 in the past year

TE Connectivity to close Guilford North Carolina plant to lay off 620

50 Layoffs at Anniston Alabama weapons incinerator plant

Murray Energy of Steubenville Ohio to layoff 150

Associated Milk Producers of Worthington Minnesota has laid off 130 workers

Stanford Brake plant of Lincoln County Kentucky to lay off 75 by Christmas

TurboCare, Oce Manchester and East Hartford Connecticut laying off more than 220 workers

ATI of North Richland Hills Texas to layoff 172

SpaceX –  Rocketdyne Hawthorne California lays off 100

Providence Journal lays off 23 full time employees

CVPH of Plattsburgh New York to lay off 17

New Energy of Indiana lays off final 40 workers and closes up

102 East Carbon Utah miners lose jobs – war on coal KIAs

U.S. Cellular in Chicago cuts 640 workers and Obama fans get what they voted for

Career Education cutting 900 jobs across Illinois

Vesta Wind Systems cutting 3,000 Oregon getting what THEY voted for!

FirstEnergy Akron Ohio cuts 200

Energizer of St. Louis to cut about 1,500 in Vermont and Missouri

West Ridge Mine a Utah coal company has laid off 102 miners

Strap yourself in, America and prepare for this to get much worse before it gets better.

THE FIRST Thanksgiving

I feel a special "kindred" about this holiday. My middle name is Bradford, and I have been traced back to Governor Bradford.

All through the first summer and the early part of autumn the Pilgrims were busy and happy. They had planted and cared for their first fields of corn. They had found wild strawberries in the meadows, raspberries on the hillsides, and wild grapes in the woods.

In the forest just back of the village wild turkeys and deer were easily shot. In the shallow waters of the bay there was plenty of fish, clams, and lobsters.

The summer had been warm, with a good deal of rain and much sunshine; and so, when autumn came, there was a fine crop of corn.

"Let us gather the fruits of our first harvest and rejoice together," said Governor Bradford.

"Yes," said Elder Brewster, "let us take a day upon which we may thank God for all our blessings and invite to it our Indian friends who have been so kind to us."

The Pilgrims said that one day was not enough; so they planned to have a celebration for a whole week.

The great Indian chief, Massasoit, came with ninety of his bravest warriors, all gaily dressed in deerskins, feathers, and fox tails, with their faces smeared with red, white, and yellow paint. As a sign of rank, Massasoit wore a string of bones and a bag of tobacco around his neck. In his belt he carried a long knife. His face was painted red, and his hair was daubed with oil.

There were only eleven buildings in the whole of Plymouth village, four log storehouses, and seven little log dwelling-houses, so the Indian guests ate and slept out of doors. This did not matter for it was one of those warm weeks in the season that we call Indian summer.

To supply meat for the occasion four men had already been sent out to hunt wild turkeys. They killed enough in one day to last the company almost a week.

Massasoit helped the feast along by sending some of his best hunters into the woods. They brought back five deer which they gave to their pale face friends, that all might have enough to eat.

Under the trees were built long, rude tables on which were piled baked clams, broiled fish, roasted turkey, and venison. The young Pilgrim women helped serve the food to the hungry redskins. We shall always remember two of the fair young girls who waited on the first Thanksgiving table. One was Mary Chilton, who leaped first from the boat at Plymouth Rock. The other was Mary Allerton. She lived for seventy-eight years after this first Thanksgiving; of those who came over in the Mayflower she was the last to die.

What a merry time everybody had during that week! How the mothers must have laughed as they told about the first Monday morning on Cape Cod, when they all went ashore to wash their clothes! It must have been a big washing, for there had been no chance to do it at sea, so stormy had been the long voyage of sixty-three days. They little thought that Monday would always after be kept as washing day. One proud Pilgrim mother, we may be sure, showed her baby boy, Peregrine White.

And so the fun went on. In the daytime the young men ran races, played games, and had a shooting match. Every night the Indians sang and danced for their friends; and to make the party still more lively they gave every now and then a shrill war whoop that made the woods echo in the still night air.

The third day came. Massasoit had been well treated, and would have liked to stay longer, but he said that he could not be away from his camp for more than three days. So the pipe of peace was silently passed around. Then, taking their gifts of glass beads and trinkets, the Indian King and his warriors said farewell to their English friends and began their long march through the woods to their wigwams on Mount Hope Bay.

On the last day of this Thanksgiving party, Elder Brewster preached the first Thanksgiving sermon and all the Pilgrims united in thanking God for His goodness to them.

The first Thanksgiving was nearly four hundred years ago. Since that time, Thanksgiving has been kept by the people of our nation as the great family festival of the year. At this time children and grandchildren return to the old home, the long table is spread, and brothers and sisters, who had been separated, again seat themselves side by side.

Thanksgiving is our season of sweet and blessed memories.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Best Wishes to All

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie - Gluten Free

Need a yummy gluten-free dessert?

 Layer creamy pumpkin and sweet cream cheese to create a super-easy pie.

Crust

1 cup Bisquick® Gluten Free mix

5 tablespoons cold butter

3 tablespoons water

Filling

4 oz cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg yolk

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Dash salt

1 cup canned (from 15-oz can) or smoothly mashed cooked pumpkin

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1 egg, slightly beaten

Whipped cream, if desired

1    Heat oven to 425°F. Grease 9-inch glass pie plate with shortening or cooking spray. In medium bowl, place Bisquick mix. Cut in butter with pastry blender or fork (or pulling 2 table knives through mixture in opposite directions), until mixture looks like fine crumbs. Stir in water; shape into ball with hands. Press dough in bottom and up side of pie plate.

2  Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned; remove from oven. Cool while preparing cream cheese and pumpkin fillings. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.

3  In small bowl, beat cream cheese, 2 tablespoons sugar and the vanilla with electric mixer on low speed until well blended. Add egg yolk; beat well. Spread cream cheese mixture in bottom of partially baked pie crust.

4  In large bowl, mix 1/2 cup sugar, the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, pumpkin, evaporated milk and egg. Carefully pour pumpkin mixture over cream cheese mixture. Bake at 350°F. 15 minutes. Cover crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning; bake 30 to 40 minutes longer or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely; about 1 1/2 hours. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until serving time. Garnish each serving with dollop of whipped cream. Cover and refrigerate any remaining pie.

JESUS AND THE DEMOCRAT

A Republican, in a wheelchair, entered a restaurant one afternoon and asked the waitress for a cup of coffee. The Republican looked across the restaurant and asked, "Is that Jesus sitting over there?"

The waitress nodded "yes," so the Republican requested that she give Jesus a cup of coffee, on him.

The next patron to come in was a Libertarian, with a hunched back. He shuffled over to a booth, painfully sat down, and asked the waitress for a cup of hot tea. He also glanced across the restaurant and asked, "Is that Jesus, over there?"

The waitress nodded, so the Libertarian asked her to give Jesus a cup of hot tea, "My treat."

The third patron to come into the restaurant was a Democrat on crutches. He hobbled over to a booth, sat down and hollered, "Hey there honey! How's about gettin' me a cold mug of Miller Light?" He too looked across the restaurant and asked, "Isn't that God's boy over there?

The waitress nodded, so the Democrat directed her to give Jesus a cold beer. "On my bill," he said loudly.

As Jesus got up to leave, he passed by the Republican, touched him and said, "For your kindness, you are healed." The Republican felt the strength come back into his legs, got up, and danced a jig out the door.

Jesus passed by the Libertarian, touched him and said, "For your kindness, you are healed." The Libertarian felt his back straightening up and he raised his hands, praised the Lord, and did a series of back flips out the door.

Then, Jesus walked towards the Democrat, just smiling.

The Democrat jumped up and yelled, "Don't touch me ... I'm collecting disability."

Trick or Treet?

A British man is facing criminal charges after accidentally handing out bags of cocaine to a police officer's children on Halloween night.

The Guardian reports that 23-year-old Donald Junior Green faces sentencing on Monday after confessing to the charge of possessing a Class A drug. He is expected to be released from custody on probation.

"This was an accidental act. It was grossly foolhardy," Green's public defender, Steven Sullivan, told a court in Oldham. "He has been embarrassed by the publicity but does not seek to feel sorry for himself."

Green says he was reaching into his pocket to hand out some Haribo candies that his girlfriend had purchased for Halloween. But instead, he gave the children a pack containing eight "snap bags" of cocaine that he had purchased earlier that same day.

Amazingly, the illegal drug was not noticed at the time by the children's father, off-duty police constable (PC) Simon Fowell.

The First Drive-In Theater 1933

The date is May 19, 1933 Richard H. along with 3 other investors, Willie Warren Smith, Edward Ellis and Oliver Willets, start construction.

After three weeks and $30,000 the first Drive-In Theater opens on Tuesday June 6, 1933 On Crescent Boulevard, Camden New Jersey. By the name of "Drive-In Theatre" with admission price of 25 cents for the car, 25 cents per person and no car to pay more that $1.00 total.


List of Drive-In Theaters Started 1933-1939

Drive-In Theatre: Camden, New Jersey. June 6, 1933
Shankweiler's Auto Park: Orefield, Pennsylvania. April 15, 1934
Drive-In Short Reel Theater: Galveston, Texas. July 5, 1934
Pico: Los Angeles, California. September 9, 1934
Weymouth Drive-In Theatre: Weymouth, Massachusetts. May 6 1936
Starlight Auto Theatre: Akron, Ohio. Summer, 1937
Lynn Open Air Theater: Lynn, Massachusetts. July, 1937
Providence: Providence, Rhode Island. July 21, 1937
Miami Drive-In: Miami, Florida. February 25, 1938
Detroit Drive-In: Detroit, Michigan. June 2, 1938
Cleveland: Cleveland, Ohio. June, 1938
Shrewsbury Drive-In: Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. June, 1938
San-Val: Burbandk, California. June 10, 1938
Merrimack Auto Theatre: Methuen, Massachusetts. Summer, 1938
Valley Stream: Long Island, New York. August 10, 1938
Corpus Christi: Corpus Christi, Texas. March, 1939
Saco Drive-In: Portland, Maine. July 15, 1939
Atlantic Drive-In: Jacksonville, Florida. December 6, 1939

Hey Prez ... when you are not busy ...

I used to be an OSU fan, have all my life. The program has never been the same since Woody left. I am not a backer of the program anymore. This, to me, shows their arrogance. They are already assuming they are going to win their last game, Ohio State arrogance. Are they that good, I honestly do not know, their schedule is not that tough, their first games were givens, and the quality of the conference this year has been nothing to brag about. But, TV would love to see an OSU-NotreDame championship bowl, BIG BUCKS would be generated. So, don't hole your breath.

Pardon The Ohio State Buckeyes from unjust NCAA sanctions preventing their rightful access to a BCS bowl game.
The Ohio State University football team is one win away from an undefeated season.

However, due to imposed sanctions, they are not allowed to participate in their conference's championship game or the following bowl season.

While a punishment for past indiscretions is to be expected, a bowl season ban is too harsh for a few young men trading memorabilia for tattoos and some change.

The offending players and coach who covered it up are no longer part of the program. Please exercise your executive power to pardon the NCAA's excessive sanctions placed on The Ohio State Buckeyes to enable a rightful, satisfying culmination to the college football season for the American people.

Now they know WHY he came back.... $$$$$$$$

Ohio State University president E. Gordon Gee has reportedly charged millions of dollars in expenses on lavish parties and trips during his tenure.

According to Laura A. Bischoff of the Dayton Daily News, Gee has racked up $7.7 million in expenses—in addition to his $8.6 million in salary—since becoming president in 2007 in order “to travel the globe, throw parties, wine and dine donors, woo prospective faculty, hang out with students and staff and maintain a 9,600-square-foot mansion on 1.3 acres.” 

And apparently, the university believes that this is not only permissible, but advisable. In a statement regarding its president’s spending, Ohio State said, "A significant proportion of President Gee’s time, travel and use of the university residence is devoted to resource-generation to support the work of our students and faculty,” via Bischoff’s report.

This rationale for the exorbitant spending is unacceptable from an institution that forced Jim Tressel to resign his post as head football coach and allowed five athletes to be suspended by the NCAA for trading memorabilia for tattoos.

MORE ON THIS

A Request, If I May

Why is it necessary, for news persons, when talking about the deceased, to mention their age?

Last night, somewhere, a tribute to Dick Clark, "he died at 82." I am 80, well, at least I have two years left.

It doesn't matter when they are younger, it's those 80 plus that I seem to notice. He died, that's enough, there is no reason at all to give his or her, age. He or she is gone, that is all we need to know.

There is no prize for living the longest. We are born, we live, and eventually we all die, the age is immaterial.

If you are young, it doesn't matter and you don't think about it, if you are old, like me, it does.

Please pass this around so all the news media becomes aware of this sensitive issue.

The Bare Facts

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco may be getting ready to shed its image as a city where anything goes, including clothing.

City lawmakers are scheduled to vote Tuesday on an ordinance that would prohibit nudity in most public places, a blanket ban that represents an escalation of a two-year tiff between a devoted group of men who strut their stuff through the city's famously gay Castro District and the supervisor who represents the area.

Supervisor Scott Wiener's (that is his real name, hard to believe)  proposal would make it illegal for a person over the age of 5 to "expose his or her genitals, perineum or anal region on any public street, sidewalk, street median, parklet or plaza" or while using public transit.

A first offense would carry a maximum penalty of a $100 fine, but prosecutors would have authority to charge a third violation as a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $500 fine and a year in jail.

Exemptions would be made for participants at permitted street fairs and parades, such as the city's annual gay pride event and the Folsom Street Fair, which celebrates sadomasochism and other sexual subcultures.

Military Absentee Ballots Delivered One Day Late, Would Have Swung Election For Romney

This is copied from another blog, you have to evaluate the truth of the content. For information only.

WASHINGTON, DC – Sources confirmed today that hundreds of thousands of military absentee ballots were delivered hours after the deadline for them to be counted, with preliminary counts showing that they would have overturned the vote in several states and brought a victory for Governor Romney.

Officials say the ballots were delivered late due to problems within the military mail system. Tracking invoices show the ballots sat in a warehouse for a month, then they were accidentally labeled as ammunition and shipped to Afghanistan. At Camp Dwyer, Marine Sergeant John Davis signed for them and was surprised at the contents.

“I told Gunny we got a bunch of ballots instead of ammo,” Davis told investigators earlier today. “He told me to file a report of improper delivery and that the chain of command would take care of it. We didn’t hear anything for three weeks. While we were waiting we came under fire so we dumped a bunch of them in the Hescoes. We didn’t dig those ones back senteeout.”

After military officials realized the initial error, the ballots were then sent back to the U.S. but suffered a series of setbacks.

Twelve boxes of ballots were dropped overboard during delivery to the USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) in the Persian Gulf, then while the ship sailed to Bahrain, postal clerks allegedly pocketed whatever ballots they wanted.

The remaining absentee ballots were loaded onto a C-130, but the flight was delayed until November 1st so the crew could get tax free pay for the month. Once the ballots arrived stateside they were promptly mailed to each state’s counting facility, reaching their final destination on November 7th.

“It’s a shame,” Rear Admiral John Dawes said when asked for comment. “I expected a delay so I ordered that everyone cast their votes eight months ago. It’s really unfortunate that our mail system failed us and directly affected the course of history.”

Upon hearing the news, angry Republicans? (yeah?? who??) have begun a demand for a recount, but most military absentee voters have shrugged off the news, with many wondering whether the care packages their families sent six months ago were ever going to show up.

The family that ______ together _____ together

A father, son and daughter may be responsible for robbing as many as seven banks in two states, according to authorities.

Ronald Scott Catt, 50, and his two children, 20-year-old Hayden and 18-year-old Abby were arrested last week on charges they robbed a credit union in Katy, Texas.

Deputies with the Fort Bend Sheriff's Office in Texas say the family, which recently moved to the area, could also be responsible for several other robberies in Texas and their native Oregon.

During the Oct. 1 robbery in Texas, two figures, who appear to be Ronald and Hayden Catt, entered the bank in disguises and toting guns before leaving with money and jumping into a getaway car driven by Abby Catt.

The break in the case came when authorities were able to track down the distinctive orange vests the men wore to a local Home Depot. A review of the surveillance tape showed the family purchasing the disguises at the store.

Eric Lundeen told ABC News he knows the Catt family and said they seemed like "really solid community members".

"He was a single dad. I think he lost his wife and he had the responsibility to take care of his kids and I got to tell you, he was there for them," Lundeen said.

The father and son duo are being held in the Fort Bend County Jail on $140,000 bonds after being charged with robbery.

Abby Catt's bond has been set at $100,000.

Does ANYONE tell the truth in Washington?????

(Reuters) - The head of the House Intelligence Committee suggested on Sunday that President Barack Obama might have known about former CIA Director David Petraeus' extra-marital affair before the November election, and said Attorney General Eric Holder should address this question soon before Congress.

U.S. Representative Mike Rogers, a Republican, said Holder's statement that the Justice Department had not informed the president before the election implied that Holder might have told Obama privately.

He noted that the FBI investigation of the communications between Petraeus and his biographerPaula Broadwell arose due to concern over a counter-intelligence threat. Both Petraeus and Broadwell have said they did not share any security secrets, and investigators have said they have found no security breach.

"It probably should have been brought forward earlier as a national security threat," Rogers said.

"I'm not sure that the president was not told before Election Day. The attorney general said that the Department of Justice did not notify the president, but we don't know if the attorney general...(notified him)," Rogers said.