Unprecedented - Obama closes Walmart

In an unprecedented, drastic move, today, president obama, using a newly conceived Presidential Emergency Closing Order, informed Walmart that he would be closing all of their stores as of midnight, 10/13/13. This move spurred a debate within his cabinet as to the exact time and date, as they were concerned about the midnight issue.

"This is drastic, but necessary, a"shot to the kneecap," so to speak. This "shutdown" has to end, they are actually considering withholding my pay, and that is taking it all one step too far," the president quipped.

We now have the most powerful organization on their knees, I think, there was some doubt that they would comply with my order.

When the corporate office of Walmart was reached by telephone, their response was raucous laughter.

Obama closes all Senior Citizens facilities

An unidentified woman tries to enter the Golden Years Senior Citizens facility in NYC  to have lunch, which is her only meal of the day, and is shown being escorted to a waiting GYSC Courtesy Van after access to the facility was denied by the 47 armed guards order there by president obama.

NYCA News, learned today, from an undisclosed source, that president Obama had issued a Presidential Memo, to ALL State Police, Sheriffs and City Police, that starting immediately, upon receipt, ALL Senior Citizens facilities, throughout the country, were to be "Nationalized," and that they would summarily be CLOSED to all Senior Citizens.

"If necessary, and if any resistance if encountered, the use of "excessive force" is approved.

"It was brought to my attention that in general, the senior citizens were spending non productive time in these facilities, and I find that unacceptable at this time. Therefore, after thorough discussion and investigation, all facilities will be closed, with no exceptions. If they were engaged in productive discussions and actively discussing timely issues, this drastic action would not have to be taken. I realize that many of them depend upon these facilities for things like food and companionship and medical advice, but as we weighed these issues it was determined that they are comparatively unimportant when compared with the larger issues at hand," the president added.

North Korea puts army on alert, warns U.S. of 'horrible disaster'

(Reuters) - North Korea said on Tuesday its military would be put on high alert and be ready to launch operations, stepping up tension after weeks of rhetoric against the United States and South Korea, whom it accuses of instigating hostility.

Reclusive North Korea has often issued threats to attack the South and the United States but has rarely turned them into action. Such hostile rhetoric is widely seen as a way to push its domestic and international political agenda.

A spokesman for the North's military warned the United States of "disastrous consequences" for moving a group of ships, including an aircraft carrier, into a South Korean port.

"In this connection, the units of all services and army corps level of the KPA received an emergency order from its supreme command to re-examine the operation plans already ratified by it and keep themselves fully ready to promptly launch operations anytime," the spokesman said, referring to the Korean People's Army (KPA).

"The U.S. will be wholly accountable for the unexpected horrible disaster to be met by its imperialist aggression forces' nuclear strike means," the spokesman said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.

South Korea's Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin said later on Tuesday there was no indication of unusual activity by the North's military.

Washington brushed off the North's warning.

on Stewart accuses Kathleen Sebelius of lying to him about Obamacare

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius likely thought her interview with Jon Stewart on “The Daily Show” Monday night would be an easy setting to pitch the Obamacare exchanges to young people. Instead, she ended up getting accused of being a liar by the popular comedy host.

During his interview with Sebelius, Stewart repeatedly sought an answer from the secretary on why big businesses got a delay in their Obamacare mandate to provide affordable health insurance to their employees, while individuals did not get a delay in their Obamacare mandate making them purchase health care or face a penalty.

In a rare monologue at the end of the show, Stewart said he remained confused and that he suspected that the secretary may have been lying to him.

NO WAY ..... Joe, you are way off here ...... NO WAY?

I am sure I am paranoid. It goes along with my "Impulsive-Spendthrift" Syndrome, combined with my ADD, but I have some slight concerns that ALL that is happening in this country, actually is the initial phase of a diabolical scheme that would enable Obama to take over the country, on some pretense or other. We could be living during a time period when a beautifully orchestrated plot is unfolding, that will change our lives forever. Please, tell me how wrong I am.

Obama could not beat Hillary. Obama could not win over McCain. Obama could not get Obamacare passed. Obama could not win over Romney. There is no way he could do any of those things, but he did.

There is no way that Obamacare could be a decoy to garner all of the attention, of both parties, and the attention of the entire population of the country, and to basically, shut the country down, and weaken it. Why would anyone want the country weakened? Maybe to slip in while no one is looking. We are all looking at the left hand, and not looking to see what the right hand is doing. Who is watching the country?

We are concerned about our parks, our healthcare, our cities, that is where are attention is. How are magicians able to pull off all the spectacular tricks they do ..... divert attention.

Is our "attention" being diverted NOW? Look at all that is happening. We know our country and our rights are gradually eroding away. Are we "ripe" for an overthrow of some kind? Has it started, while we are worrying about a highway in a state park. Look at all the "idiotic" things that are going on around the country, and we are focusing on them.

I have predicted for many years ..... I predicted that Obama would become president and that we would never see another election in this country. There is NO WAY I could be right ............ is there?

Louis Prima

Louis Prima (December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and trumpeter. Prima rode the musical trends of his time, starting with his seven-piece New Orleans style jazz band in the 1920s, then leading a swing combo in the 1930s, a big band in the 1940s, a Vegas lounge act in the 1950s, and a pop-rock band in the 1960s.

I have seen him in Vegas over the years when on occasional visits to the city. A visit to Vegas always included seeing Prima doing his lounge ace. Sam Butera was also a bit part of his act, as was Keely Smith.

In the late 50's, maybe even the early 60's, the story we got was that he and Keely split up, he had a new singer, and he asked Bill Harrah if they could do the lounge at Harrah's in Reno, and work on their new act. He did, and for a while, almost every morning we would stop by Harrah's and see Prima, Sam and the new girl doing their thing on the small stage there. There were great shows, pretty much "impromptu", a lot of ad libbing, and a whole lot of laughter. They were as "entertaining" as any shows I saw while out there.

Prima was Las Vegas. To me, in those days, Vegas was the DI, the Desert Inn, we are talking in the 50's, remember. As I recall there was an :intimate" lounge, and we spent a lot of time there. I forget the entertainers, but they were little known "up and comers," and were giving 100% to entertain and get ahead. Really entertaining acts. I think we saw Prima here a time or two.

Everyone played the DI, then, it was Vegas. None any better though than seeing them in Rano.

Time will tell .....

MAPLE VALLEY, Wash. -- A suspected car thief who was in the middle of breaking into a pickup truck was shot and killed by the truck's owner in Maple Valley early Tuesday morning, King County Sheriff's deputies said.

The 27-year-old thief, who family identified as Blake Moore, and his girlfriend were already driving a stolen Honda with stolen plates when they pulled up to a home in the 21800 block of SE 236th Place just after midnight, deputies said.

As the man then began breaking into a pickup truck, the truck's owner came out to walk his dog and confronted the thief, according to investigators. Guns were drawn, and several shots were fired.

The thief ducked behind the truck he was trying to steal, but was still struck several times and died at the scene, deputies said.

The truck owner's aunt hailed her nephew, who is a former Marine, as a hero for saving her life as the bullets began flying.

"He shoved me out of the way when the guy was going to shoot at us," said Kristen Hague. "Looked like (the thief) had a gun and pushed me out of the way and yelled 'gun!' and I don't think if he would have done that, I would be alive... I think he was defending me -- I totally see it."

She said her nephew was definitely justified in fatally wounding the thief.

"My life was in danger; my nephew's life was in danger, and he did the right thing even though it ended really bad and really sad," Hague said.

She said despite the thief's attempt to shoot them, she went to his side and did CPR until medics could arrive.

"There was a guy on the ground dying and it was instinct and...I just went in and started doing compression on his chests...until help got there," Hague said. "It was all I could do."

Detectives say they recovered at least two weapons from the scene -- a .45 caliber apparently used by the thief and a 9 millimeter from the man who shot the suspect.

His alleged accomplice was arrested and police say she had a felony warrant for burglary.

Meanwhile, police questioned the man who shot the thief, then released him.

Hague said she's not surprised he would come to her defense.

Anybody know how to send a fax? Shutdown mixes things up at White House

President Barack Obama wasn't furloughed when the government shut down, but that doesn't mean he and everyone else in the White House weren't affected. The New York Times explains, with humorous detail, just how the partial shutdown has changed things at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Hundreds of people work on all sorts of things, but with the shutdown sending all "nonessential" workers on an unpaid vacation, those deemed essential enough to stay are having to figure out some new job responsibilities.

The New York Times writes that junior staff members who were furloughed had to explain to the more senior staff members how to do relatively basic tasks, including writing news releases, scheduling meetings and navigating visitors through security gates outside the Oval Office. Trash in the West Wing is now being picked up once per day instead of twice.

Other areas of the White House to see a sudden change include the cafeteria, which is now operating on a "limited menu" (say goodbye to the soup of the day, according to the Times).

Politico wrote its own feature on how the shutdown is altering things at the White House. For example, place a call to White House press secretary Jay Carney and guess who might actually pick up the phone? Jay Carney.

U.S. says captures al Qaeda leader in Libya, also raids Somalia

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. forces launched raids in Libya and Somalia on Saturday following the deadly attack on a Nairobi shopping mall last month, capturing a top al Qaeda figure wanted for the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, a U.S. official said.

Senior al Qaeda figure Anas al Liby was seized in the raid in Libya, but no militant was captured in the raid on the Somali town of Barawe, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Liby, believed to be 49, had been indicted in the United States for his alleged role in the East Africa embassy bombings that killed 224 people.

The U.S. government had offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture, under the State Department's Rewards for Justice program.

The New York Times quoted a senior U.S. official as saying that a U.S. Navy SEAL team was believed to have killed a senior leader of al Shabaab in a raid on his seaside villa in Somalia but was forced to withdraw before that could be confirmed.

The paper said U.S. officials initially reported that the commandos had seized the Shabaab leader, but later backed off that account.

"The Barawe raid was planned a week and a half ago," the paper quoted an unnamed U.S. security official as saying.

"It was prompted by the Westgate attack," he added, referring to a militant assault on a Nairobi shopping mall two weeks ago in which at least 67 people were killed.

The Times quoted witnesses as saying that the firefight lasted more than an hour, with helicopters called in for air support.

Fox News mistakenly airs parody of Obama offering to personally fund Muslim museum

The federal government shutdown has caused a headache for tourists wanting to visit national parks and museums. And one of the more high-profile stories this week concerned a group of World War II veterans who had to literally pass government tape to gain access to the World War II Memorial on the National Mall.

In a story about the monument closure, Fox News host Anna Kooiman fell prey to a false report from a parody site, which claimed that President Obama had offered to keep the International Museum of Muslim Cultures open with cash from his own pocket.

“The Republican National Committee is offering to pay for it to keep it open so that the veterans from Honor Flight are going to be able to go and see this because who did it honor? It honored them,” Kooiman said during a report on Friday. “It really doesn't seem fair, especially — and we're going to talk a little bit later in the show too about some things that are continuing to be funded. And President Obama has offered to pay out of his own pocket for the museum of Muslim culture out of his own pocket, yet it's the Republican National Committee who's paying for this.”

Kooiman was referencing a quote from the National Report, a parody news site that ran the fake story on Obama. The key quote from the story reads:

“The International Museum of Muslim Cultures is sacred. That is why I have taken it upon myself to use my own personal funds to re-open this historic piece of American culture.”

Back off Smokey ...... bear with it ......

Our government (if you can call it that) is running amock .... more collective chaos 

Park rangers on Friday were turning away people who want to visit the Pisgah Inn on the Blue Ridge Parkway in an effort to enforce the National Park Service’s decision to shut down the private establishment during the government shutdown.

Inn owner Bruce O'Connell confirmed to The Washington Times that rangers were parked at the entrance to his inn and denying people entry — a move which Mr. O'Connell said makes it much tougher if the rangers had to respond to an accident or another safety call elsewhere on the parkway.

The Pisgah Inn, a private hotel that holds a concession on the Blue Ridge Parkway, has become a national sensation as it defies “intimidation” and a National Park Service order to close its doors.
Park rangers on Friday were turning away people who want to visit the Pisgah Inn on the Blue Ridge Parkway in an effort to enforce the National Park Service's decision to shut down the private establishment during the government shutdown.

After a tumultuous few days, inn owner Bruce O'Connell told The Washington Times on Friday morning that he had just reopened his doors for customers, despite the park service telling him he had to shut down. He says he’s essentially private property, on a road that’s still open, and uses no government personnel, so he sees no reason to quit operating.

“I’m questioning their authority to shut me,” Mr. O'Connell said.

The National Park Service is involved in several high-profile battles during the shutdown, including having barricaded open-air monuments and memorials in Washington. Veterans busted through barricades at the National World War II Memorial earlier this week, gaining national attention.
But the Park Service closures extend throughout the country, shuttering parks — and many of the private businesses that run concessions in them, such as City Tavern in Philadelphia, and Nauset Knoll Motor Lodge on Cape Cod.

Pisgah Inn, which Mr. O'Connell described as one of the last mom-and-pop places along the Blue Ridge, is just southwest of Asheville, N.C. And while most national parks are closed, the Park Service has deemed the Blue Ridge Parkway a thoroughfare and has left it open.

Mr. O'Connell said since the road is open, and he uses no federal personnel — even his fire and police services would come from town — he isn’t drawing on federal resources and sees no reason he should have to shut down.

Michael Litterst, the Park Service’s chief spokesman, said they have no choice but to shut down concessions. “It’s a matter that we consider the National Park System to be a single entity, and without an appropriation, the entire system is closed and cannot reopen until funding is restored,” he said. “We do not believe it is appropriate or feasible to have some parts of the system open while others are closed to the public.”
Mr. O'Connell said he made the decision to keep open early in the week, posting a Facebook message saying he was doing so for the safety and health of those traveling the parkway. But on Thursday, he reversed his decision and said he would close. By Friday morning, he said he had reversed course again and was reopening.

“The level of intimidation and coercion became such that we backed down. Then after sleeping on it, our own convictions took front and center and we decided to reopen,” he said.

Police keep coyote away from students during recess

HEATH — A coyote roaming around a neighborhood and an elementary school continues to elude traps and hunters, but police hope to remove the animal this weekend.

Students at Stevenson Elementary School were allowed out for recess Friday, but only with Heath Police Lt. John Mason patrolling nearby in an all-terrain vehicle.

Mason spotted the coyote and followed him into the adjacent woods but did not want to fire his weapon.

“Definitely, I did not want to shoot while children were there or have them see the coyote put down,” Mason said. “My goal was to make sure he didn’t interfere with recess time.”

Trappers will go out today to re-set some traps, and two police officers volunteered to go out to hunt the coyote Sunday, Mason said.

Heath Schools Superintendent Trevor Thomas said students only will go out for recess next week when a police officer is present, although experts tell him a coyote will not attack people.

“When they see a human, they take off,” Thomas said. “When (the Ohio Department of Natural Resources) says they’re harmless, that’s probably what they mean.

New York road-rage suspect identified in beating of SUV driver

(CBS News) New York City police have identified the man who they believe beat a SUV driver in last weekend's road-rage incident. Even though everyone involved in the attack was captured on high-resolution helmet cam video, police have had a hard time tracking them down.

Law enforcement officials tell CBS News that Reginald Chance is the helmet-wielding man who bashed in the front-side window of an SUV Sunday before allegedly yanking out the driver and beating him in front of his wife and young child.

Chance could turn himself in to authorities as early as Friday.

Also, new video surfaced Thursday of what is believed to be the hours leading up to the chase. Bikers can be seen running red lights, popping wheelies and weaving in and out of traffic on the wrong side of the road.

The confrontation unfolded when one of the bikers appeared to deliberately slow down in front of Alexian Lien's Range Rover. Within seconds, a swarm of motorcyclists surrounded the vehicle, and Lien hit the gas, seriously injuring 32-year-old Jay Mieses.

In a statement Thursday, Lien's wife extended her condolences to the Mieses family but defended her husband's actions.

"Our fear for our lives was confirmed when the incident ended with the ruthless and brutal attack on my husband, me, and most importantly, our two-year-old child. We know in our hearts that we could not have done anything differently," she said.

During the chase, the couple called 911 four times. As for the family of the injured biker, they've hired celebrity attorney Gloria Allred and will hold a news conference in New York City on Friday.

Awesome Fact

Within 50 miles of our place, there are 20 Walmart Stores. That is incredible.

SMI -10/5/13

Still, for some reason, when it dawns on me that it is, in fact, Saturday morning, my thoughts go back to Alice Tuttle and her "Saturday House Cleaning." For those who don't know it, Alice is a name from my past, knew her in Reno, she was a friend, a friend of a friend, and she was a 21 dealer at Harolds Club.

Saturday was a day off and a day to visit, so we often ended up at her apartment for coffee in the morning. Saturday was her cleaning day. So, I have come to associate Saturday, with Alice, and a cleaning day. Funny the things we remember.

Speaking of Harolds Club, where is it. Torn down, nothing there,  how about the Nevada Club, torn down, now a plaza of some kind. I would cry, if I visited Reno. The Harolds, Lincoln Fitzgerald, Bill Harrah, built the state of Nevada, and Reno, later on Vegas, and they little to know credit for their contribution. Harolds "Reno or Bust" was seen on billboards around the world.

What recognizes their contribution in Nevada. Nothing.

Little to nothing of their history exists. Dwayne Kling has written books on the subject, but little else remains.

What people, have done so much, and gotten so little recognition? There are even more individuals who are "notorious" in Nevada history, whose names are not even known, but contributed much to the history of the industry and the state.

Thanks Tonto, you saved my life .......... maybe ..

Every afternoon I watch the Lone Ranger and Tonto, takes me way back.

I find it amusing, on a few occasions, Tonto is sending up "smoke signals."

After he sends up those smoke signals, they go to a commercial, generally, I think the company is "Life Alert."

"Help, I've fallen, and I can't get up," that one.

They show a guy on the phone from the company, calling up a woman, saying, "We received a smoke signal from your kitchen, get out of the house."

I always had to wonder if it was one that Tonto had sent.

OMG already - Heavy snow strands motorists in Black Hills of Dakota

(Reuters) - A rare and fierce October snowstorm rolled out over the central Rocky Mountains on Friday, stranding motorists, downing trees and forcing closures of hundreds of miles of Interstate 90 across parts of Wyoming and South Dakota, officials said.

The storm dropped more than three feet of snow in parts of the Black Hills region of western South Dakota, according to a Rapid City National Weather Service report.

An unknown number of motorists were stranded in Pennington County in South Dakota, Alexa White, spokeswoman for Rapid City-Pennington County Emergency Management, said.

Some called emergency services to say they were out of gas and feared they might not stay warm through the night, and rescuers in snowcats were trying to reach them, she said.

Four-wheel-drive vehicles and even rescuers in firetrucks were stuck in the snow, White said. Fire stations have opened as emergency shelters.

Thousands of people in Pennington County homes were without power, White said.

Illegal Drugs Are Cheaper, Stronger than Ever

At least something is coming down in price ...........

Cocaine, heroin and marijuana have become cheaper and stronger over the past two decades, despite increases in drug seizures by authorities fighting the global illegal drug market, a new study found.
The researchers looked at seven international drug surveillance databases to examine how the purity and price of illegal drugs changed between 1990 and 2009.

In the United States, the average purity of heroin, cocaine and marijuana increased by 60, 11, and 160 percent respectively, between 1990 and 2007, while the prices of these drugs, adjusted for inflation and purity, fell about 80 percent.

Data from Europe and Australia showed similar trends, with decreasing prices and increasing potency of drugs, according to the study published Monday (Sept. 30) in the journal BMJ.

The lower prices and higher purity of these drugs suggest that the illegal drug supply has increased during the past two decades. At the same time, patterns of drug seizures either increased or remained stable.

The findings suggest that "expanding efforts at controlling the global illegal drug market through law enforcement are failing," the researchers said.

Congress likely to give shutdown workers back pay - COLLECTIVE CHAOS

WASHINGTON (AP) — A partial government shutdown enters its fifth day, with Congress convening for a session that promises no progress in breaking the impasse but will at least offer back pay to furloughed federal workers.

The GOP House is scheduled Saturday to vote on legislation backed by the White House and congressional Democrats that would make sure the 800,000 sidelined government employees would get their pay when the shutdown ends. The Senate is expected to clear it later, even as early as Saturday, for President Barack Obama's signature.

Lawmakers keep replaying the same script on Capitol Hill: House Republicans pass piecemeal bills to reopen popular and politically sensitive programs — on Friday, disaster relief and food aid for the poor — while Democrats insist that the House vote on a straightforward Senate-passed measure to reopen all of government.

"But the far right of the Republican Party won't let Speaker John Boehner give that bill a yes-or-no vote," Obama said in his Saturday radio and Internet address. "Take that vote. Stop this farce. End this shutdown now."

There seemed little chance of that. For one thing, flinching by either side on the shutdown might be seen as weakening one's hand in an even more important fight looming just over the horizon as the combatants in Washington increasingly shifted their focus to a mid month deadline for averting a first-ever default.

"This isn't some damn game," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said as the White House and Democrats held to their position of agreeing to negotiate only after the government is reopened and the $16.7 trillion debt limit raised. Republicans pointed to a quote in The Wall Street Journal from an anonymous White House official that "we are winning ... It doesn't really matter to us" how long the shutdown lasts.