Former Democratic Rep. Artur Davis to speak at Republican convention

By Lucy Madison

The Republican National Committee (RNC) on Thursday announced six new convention speakers, including a handful of people thought to have been considered potential running mates for Mitt Romney as well as former Democratic Rep. Artur Davis, a co-chairman of President Obama's 2008 presidential campaign and current Romney supporter.

According to an email from the RNC, New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, and Ohio Senator Rob Portman will all speak this August at the convention in Tampa.

Connie Mack, who is running for Senate in Florida, was also added to the lineup.

"This exciting group of headliners includes two successful governors, two outstanding senators, the next senator from our convention state, and a former Co-Chairman of the 2008 Obama campaign," said Reince Priebus, RNC chair, in a statement. "The perspectives and ideas they bring to the convention stage will show all Americans that Romney and Ryan are the ticket to a better future."

Republican good news ...........Biden still aboard

(CBS News) In the wake of controversy surrounding recent comments by Vice President Joe Biden, a couple of prominent Republicans have offered the Obama campaign some unsolicited advice:

"The strategists there in the Obama campaign have got to look at a diplomatic way of replacing Joe Biden on the ticket with Hillary," said Sarah Palin, the 2008 vice presidential candidate, in a Wednesday interview with Fox News. "Joe Biden really drags down that ticket."

John McCain, who was at the top of the ticket with Palin, agreed that Clinton would be a good addition to the ticket - though he acknowledged there was little chance the Obama team would go for the idea.

"I think it might be wise to" replace Biden with Clinton on the ticket, he said on Fox, before adding that "it's not going to happen obviously, for a whole variety of reasons."

Asked in the daily press briefing if Biden is still President Obama's running mate, White House press secretary Jay Carney on Thursday confirmed McCain's suspicions, telling reporters that Biden remains on the presidential ticket - and taking a swipe at the Arizona senator in the process.

"Yes. And that was settled a long, long time ago," said Carney, when asked if the 2012 ticket was still Obama-Biden.

Beautiful country, what a shame .........

 Laura Zuckerman

(Reuters) - A wildfire roaring through mountainous terrain in Idaho's Boise National Forest headed toward a resort town on Thursday, as voluntary evacuations began and firefighters scrambled to make a last stand against the advancing flames.

The Idaho blaze, sparked by a utility vehicle that caught fire, has charred nearly 70,000 acres of sagebrush and woodlands east of Boise over the past six days, burning a rental cabin and six non-residential structures, authorities said.

The fire is one of dozens burning out of control across 10 drought-parched western states, including a blaze that destroyed more than 70 homes this week in Washington state and another that was threatening a town in Southern California.

So far this season, wildfires have consumed about 6.3 million acres (2 million hectares) across the country, over 1 million acres more than the 10-year average for this time of year, according to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise.

No Thanks Joe Biden ...............

Chris McMurray, who just opened a ‘mom and pop’s’ bakery with his wife in May, was offered the opportunity of a lifetime. What opportunity was that, you ask? The opportunity was to host the vice president and his entourage as they came to town during the 2012 campaign. Apparently vice president Joe Biden’s advance team entered McMurray’s establishment “Crumb and Get It” to see if it would be OK for Biden and his entourage to come there to eat when he was in town. McMurray responded, “This is an opportunity of a lifetime but essentially I said ‘No offense to you or the campaign but I just decline you guys coming in here.”

At that time she said “Are you sure? There’s going to be a lot of press, a lot of activity.” Others would be asking the same thing, why would you turn down an opportunity like this? “Very simply, you didn't build that’” McMurray said. “Speaking of small businesses and entrepreneurs all across this country and actually last night my wife was up all night. No sleep, she’s worked a full 24 hours.”
 
Whoa! You gotta like this guy. He has class and backbone. He stood up for what he believed in and didn’t just talk about it, even though it probably cost him a great opportunity. Though from people covering his story, I’m sure he’ll do just fine in his business. The Biden campaign was able to secure “River City Grill,” which is just around the corner. What’s most telling about this is not Biden, the bakery or the McMurrays.

The Secret Service entered McMurray’s establishment after the advance team left and told McMurray “Thanks for standing up and saying no.” Then they bought a bunch of cookies and cupcakes!

McMurray said he’s hoping folks will understand he just didn’t want to be part of a photo op for an administration whose policies he doesn’t agree with. In an update to the story, WDBJ7 writes: After declining Biden stop yesterday, Radford bakery ran out of food today

Charisma

Why did Obama become  president of the United States? Notice that neither I nor others, now capitalize the word president. I have been in the printing business for much of my working life, and as I recall, always capitalized that word, out of respect. I now use all lower case letters for the word. The word president has lost my respect. 

It was always President Ronald Reagan, President Ford, President Bush, now it is president Obama. The office has lost the respect of the world. We now have a lower case president, that says something.

He was elected on charisma, and contrary to some optimistic thinking, I think he will do it again, and we, as a country, will never be the same.

Glenn Turner had charisma, and he founded a number of financial empires. L. Ron Hubbard had charisma, and he is responsible for the Church of Scientology. Many leaders had charisma, and in the long run, their ideologies failed. 

Remember, we don't always get what we want.

Deep sinkhole in Louisiana

A nearly 400-foot deep sinkhole in Louisiana has swallowed all of the trees in its area and enacted a mandatory evacuation order for about 150 residences for fear of potential radiation and explosions.

The 400-square-foot gaping hole is in Assumption Parish, La., about 50 miles south of Baton Rouge.
The sinkhole sits in the middle of a heavily wooded space where it has consumed all of the soaring cypress trees that had been there.

Flyover photos show some of the treetops still visible through the mud.

Authorities enacted a mandatory evacuation for between 100 and150 homes in the area, but most people have chosen to stay, according to the Mayor's Office of Emergency Preparedness. If any of the dangers seem to become more imminent, the order will be escalated to a forced evacuation.

While officials are not certain what caused the massive sinkhole, they believe it may be have ben caused by a nearby salt cavern owned by the Texas Brine Company.

After being used for nearly 30 years, the cavern was plugged in 2011 and officials believe the integrity of the cavern may have somehow been compromised, leading to the sinkhole.

Big bad Winter predicted

Last winter, big cities like New York and Philadelphia saved a lot of money because the Northeast had a snow drought. Not so this winter.

Yes, even while air conditioners are still running, meteorologists are beginning to focus on the long-term winter weather forecast. 

And, it looks as if the I-95-corridor cities from Washington to Boston will need to make sure the plows are gassed up and rock salt plentiful.

“I think the East Coast is going to have some battles with some big storms,” says Paul Pastelok, Accu-Weather’s lead long-term forecaster in State College, Pa.

However, Mr. Pastelok predicts the battles won’t start until January and then will extend into February. “November in the Northeast could be above-normal temperatures and below-normal precipitation, and December could be a transition month,” he says. “By January and February it’s going to get pretty cold.”

To Yolk or not to Yolk, that is the question

LONDON, Ont. – Yolk or smoke — the first is almost as bad for you as the second, London researchers have found. But the egg lobby very much disagrees.

When it comes to raising your risk of heart attacks and strokes, eating egg yolks is nearly as bad as smoking, the Western University researchers found.

"If you are at risk of heart attack and stroke, you shouldn't eat egg yolks," said Dr. David Spence, a Robarts Research Institute scientist.

"The problem is, if you expect to live a long time, you are going to be at risk of heart attacks and strokes," said Spence. "Why would you want to be eating something that makes the plaque in your arteries build up faster and make your heart attack and stroke come on sooner?"

The Western researchers studied 1,231 patients, using ultrasound to measure the plaque build-up on the inside walls of their arteries. Most heart attacks and strokes are caused when the built-up plaque ruptures.

Power

I can't recall anyone who has "enjoyed" being president more than Barack Obama. I think  more than being president he likes the "power" and the spotlight. Running the country be damned, "this is great." I wonder how many hours of actual running the country type work he has actually put in. I suppose being president is like being the football coach of a major university. The assistants do all the work.

There probably is no more powerful a job in the world as president of the United States, and that would be hard to give up. After that, nowhere to go but down, so of course, he wants to get re-elected, he is desperate to get elected.

But, why did he get elected in the first place? He was not qualified in any respect, to hold the office. What great force was behind him that enabled him to win the election? We don't know. Who pulled all the strings? We don't know. Is there more going on than we know about? We don't know.

I do know, however, if there is some deep dark plot afoot that we are not aware of, he will win again. Just think of all the things he could not do. He could not beat Hillary, he could not win, he could not get his health care bill passed, so many things he could not do, that he did.

So don't assume he can not win this election. He is desperate to hold on to the power of the office.

PHENOMENAL 2 LETTER WORD

I'm sure you will enjoy this. I never knew one word in the English language that could be a noun, verb, adj, adv, prep.    UP

This two-letter word in English has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that word is 'UP.' It is listed in the dictionary as an [adv], [prep], [adj], [n] or [v].

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?

At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP, and why are the officers UP for election (if there is a tie, it is a toss UP) and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report? We call UP our friends, brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen.  We lock UP the house and fix UP the old car.

At other times, this little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.

To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.

And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is blocked UP.

We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.  We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP!

To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look UP the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions.

If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with (UP to) a hundred or more.

When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out, we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it soaks UP the earth. When it does not rain for awhile, things dry UP. One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now . . . my time is UP!

Don't screw UP.. Send this blog on to everyone you look UP in your address book . . . or not . . . it's UP to you.

Now I'll shut UP

How Republicans start their day

     
         

          1. Open a new file in your computer.
          2. Name it 'Barack Obama'.
          3. Send it to the Recycle Bin.
          4. Empty the Recycle Bin.
          5. Your PC will ask you: 'Do you really want to get rid of 'Barack Obama?'
          6. Firmly Click 'YES.'
          7. Feel better?

An old Adage from the South

"Y'all can't get the water to clear up, Until you get the mud out of the creek."

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Right idea, wrong guy ......... King Obama

We all need role models—people we can look up to, people who will show us the way as we develop and learn. Presidents are no different. When he took office, Barack Obama had available to him some excellent role models he could have chosen to emulate. Ronald Reagan comes immediately to mind. Unfortunately for America, the president he chose to emulate is a bad example: Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ).

As president, LBJ just wanted to be loved. Assuming the presidency in the aftermath of a highly-popular president’s assassination, LBJ was driven by feelings of inferiority. He wanted, some might say needed, to be loved by the American people and he wasn’t above dipping into the federal treasury in an attempt to buy that love—a strategy that failed miserably. Although he enacted more government entitlement programs than any other president in our nation’s history except FDR, LBJ left office reviled by those whose love he craved.

Barack Obama is following LBJ’s bad example of using the federal treasury to buy what he craves as president—not the love of the American people in his case, but power and perquisites. President Obama has no vision for America beyond his own personal vision of remaining in office so he can continue to exercise presidential power and enjoy the luxurious perquisites of being president. LBJ wanted to be loved by the American people. Barack Obama wants to rule them, not as their elected president but as their king.

So It Begins: Obama Lies, Claims Romney-Ryan Will Raise Your Taxes

When it comes to general elections, Democrats understand that they must campaign as Republicans on fiscal issues in order to be taken seriously. So suddenly the greatest tax-hiker in American presidential history, Barack Obama, is posing as a tax-cutter, and trying to position tax-cutters Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan as tax-hikers.

To what, exactly, is Obama referring when he says that Romney and Ryan want to raise taxes for 95% of the American public? He’s talking about run-downs of the Romney tax plan by outside sites, not the Romney tax plan itself. Romney and Ryan are not interested in raising taxes on anyone – they’re interested in cutting taxes. Eliminating giveaways to those who do not pay taxes does not count as raising taxes.

In any case, the idea of Barack Obama and Joe Biden as middle class warriors is laughable (as is their Batman-and-Robin pose, complete with up-angled hero shot). The middle class has suffered under this administration as it has under no administration since FDR. Meanwhile, buddies of the Obama-Biden club receive large checks from the administration on the taxpayer dime.

Out of the mouths of babes ...................

Billy Graham

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A spokesman for Billy Graham says the 93-year-old evangelist has been admitted to a North Carolina hospital for an infection in his lungs.

A joint statement Sunday from Graham's spokesman and Mission Hospital says Graham was admitted overnight for evaluation and treatment of an infection thought to be bronchitis. The hospital is in Asheville, near his home in Montreat. Pulmonologist David Pucci says Graham is resting comfortably and his condition is stable. He is receiving antibiotics.

Graham spokesman Larry Ross says the evangelist was able to watch a television feed of his grandson, Will Graham, preaching on Sunday morning.

Graham was hospitalized for pneumonia last November. His staff says the evangelist's health has been good since his release, though he remains at home due to age-related conditions. He is working on a manuscript for an upcoming book.

He has prayed for and with so many, perhaps take a moment and pray for his speedy recovery. He would do it for you...................

Ryan or Biden

"Paul Ryan or Joe Biden?"

Twelve August in Ohio

Just took our dog Caleb outside for his morning stroll. I enjoy walking in the morning grass, barefooted, good way to start the day. August 12 and the grass was damp and cool with morning dew, mid August. Moisture on the windshield of our car, the state fair is over, football games are starting, Fall is not far away. Where did the Summer go?

How is it that Obama is able to fly all over the country in AF One, and campaign, at our expense. Must cost us a fortune. I would think his campaigning should be paid for by his campaign.

Paul Ryan, know nothing about him except that he is a fly fisherman. Fly fisherman are unique. They are focused, very focused. Not everyone can use a fly rod, takes practice and a special sort of person. I never met a fly fisherman I didn't like. Is that a great recommendation, or not?

The Olympics is drawing to a close. Another four years has come and gone. Another great event ruined, for me, be television. One Olympian promised a little five year old girl, who is ill, with I think Cystic Fibrosis, that if she won a medal she would sell her medal, and give the money to the little girl to help with her medical bills. She won Gold, and she is. Now that, to me, is a great story. I hope someone steps forward and gives that child some money so the Olympian can keep her medal.

Nice heart warming story. A Mother and her Son shoplifted over a million dollars from CVS stores by filling boxes with high priced items, and then paying the small price on the box. They hoped to steal money in all fifty states, and he was saving money, from the thefts, to take his Mother to Hawaii. Goal oriented folks. Wonder what she wanted him to steal and gave her for Mother's Day?

Still on our Low Salt, Low Sugar diet. Learning to love pasta and fresh veggies. The good news, still losing weight. Did have a few setbacks this week, bought a loaf of "white bread" and had some cheese sandwiches, a few with peanut butter also.

Learned this. When you go to a "fast food" place, order french fries with NO SALT. They put some in the basket, deep fry them, take them out and put them in your container. They are fresh and hot, and, I must admit, I don't miss the salt that much. But, fresh, hot fries.

OMNEY RYAN

I am not a graphic genius. I have been in the printing business for over fifty years. I have designed many logos, brochures and a great deal of political advertising.

I received this in an email tonight. What does it say to you?

To me, it says .................OMNEY
                                         RYAN

And, I personally think it is stupid and ineffective. Who the hell is OMNEY RYAN?

I may be the only one who sees it that way, but my guess is they spent thousands of dollars and did tons of research, and that is the best they could come up with.   OMNEY RYAN, and as it says, THE OFFICIAL ROMNEY RAY BUMPER STICKER, and, they wanted me to send money to get some.

To me, it is a pathetic start to their campaign together. What do you think?