What's in a word?

I don't know about you, but I still wonder, question, think about, why, the president of the United States in his preliminary press conference, pertaining to a cowardly bombing, which killed and maimed, could not bring it upon himself to use the word ,,,, terrorist or terrorism or terror. I am genuinely concerned about that and have to question, why?

It was "Patriots Day," how significant was that, was that the reason it was chosen? Income tax? There was some reason the day was chosen, it was not just random. I am becoming of the opinion that it was not just a random act, the day was carefully picked, the occasion was given thought, the location was considered, I think a great deal of thought was expended on deciding the day, like a group decision, calculated.

Was the explosion in Texas just a coincidence? They were storing 1,350 times the amount of ammonium nitrate that should have triggered suspicion. "This facility was known to have chemicals well above the threshold amount to be regulated under the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Act (CFATS), yet  DHS did not even know the plant existed until it blew up."

What next, that is one of the diabolic aspects of terrorism, the "anticipation of what is next."

What or who prompted the president to finally use the word? Did it stick in his "craw" when he said it?

Remember Fort Hood? The Department of Defense and federal law enforcement agencies classified the shootings as an act of "workplace violence." They have declined requests from survivors and family members of the slain to categorize it as act of terrorism, or motivated by militant Islamic religious convictions. In November 2011 a group of survivors and family members filed a lawsuit against the government for negligence in preventing the attack, and to force the government to classify the shootings as terrorism."

NO "Purple Hearts" awarded because of that.

There are some words that I try not to use, even though some of them are becoming commonplace, and I don't like to use words that might offend someone .... I think it was the way I was brought up. Honestly, I have not ever heard my Mom use profanity, and I can almost say the same thing about my Dad. In telling a story on one occasion, my Mom told a story ..... when my Dad worked for Blue Shield for a period of time after he retired, he had an assistant, Calvin,  who occasionally drove him around to meetings. My Mom went to a meeting with them on one occasion. She commented that when Calvin drove, there were less "bastards" on the highway.................

White House Hires PR Firm to Push Obamacare

The Obama administration has hired public-relations giant Weber Shandwick to help sell Obamacare to the uninsured and persuade them to enroll in a healthcare plan.

Obamacare aims to cover uninsured Americans by expanding Medicaid and by imposing an “individual mandate” requiring everyone to have insurance or pay a tax. There is obvious concern in the White House, however, that many of the nation’s 37 million uninsured Americans will pay the tax rather than buy health insurance.

“Weber Shandwick won a $3.1 million contract to assist the Department of Health and Human Services with rolling out a campaign to convince skeptical — or simply confused — Americans that the act is good for them and persuade them to enroll in a health plan,” Advertising Age reported.

The PR firm will seek to implement “rollout communication” based on “old-fashioned marketing principles,” the magazine disclosed.

The HHS agency in charge of the campaign is the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Weber Shandwick is a global public relations firm with offices in 81 countries.

YOU WILL................................

Sorry about that

I was going to post this article on my blog, "Inside The Brains Of People Over 80 With Exceptional Memory" ........................ but I forgot!

Sunday Morning 4/21

Good Americans come through at the right time, there may be some hope after all.

I am thinking of those who immediately responded in Boston, those at the Boston Bruin's game who, all joined in and sang The National Anthem, and inspired me, and many others. I have not seen it, but the response at the Boston Red Sox game, and those who stood and cheered the authorities as they left the scene, the New York Yankee fans who sang an arch rivals song, "Sweet Caroline." And all those who came through and said their piece.

Tragedy seems to bring out the best in us .... "we can't let something like this stop us."

I can look back over many such events. It struck me too, that much of the equipment we saw being used in Boston, was the result of the event on 9/11.

If you think that all in the world is OK, here, in Central Ohio it is 21 April 2013, Spring, the sun is out, bright, clear sky ................. but ................. it is 31 degrees outside, and a closer look reveals the windshield on the car is covered in frost.

On TV now, Joe Berti, ran Boston, heard the explosion. Went home to Texas, photographed the explosion. To Joe ..... Please keep me posted on where you are, at all times.

My Gramma used to say, "I wish I knew where I was gonna die, cause then I wouldn't go there."

Another tough one for the day to get the brain cells working, "What was the Presidents name in 1975?"

A fitting tribute .......RIP

\

Officer Sean Collier

Another parking lot revelation

Spent some more time in a parking lot today, sitting in the car, waiting for my wife. Quiet time, just sitting there, but if you look, there is so much going on around you ..

A young lady, 20's or 30's, attractive, came out of the store with a full cart. The top full of plastic bags, the bottom with 3 cases of pop, 2 were Mountain Dew.

She had her cell phone on her shoulder, held there by her cheek and/or neck, talking. The moment out the door, pushing the cart, holding the phone, she was able to light a cigarette and start puffing away.

I watched her move on to her car, a nice Cherokee, opened the back, and started carefully checking each bag before she placed them in her car,  The two Mountain Dew went in first, then some plastic bags, all the time smoking and talking. She had seventeen bags, a few were put in the back seat. She was very careful to check each bag, and seemed to have a plan to where each one was placed.

She finally found a bag which went on the front seat. All of this was done holding the phone and talking, smoking and sorting. She finally had it all loaded, closed the back and got in the drivers seat, closed the door, still talking on the phone and smoking. The first thing she did was put on her seat belt. I must admit I laughed to myself.

She was meticulous, a multitasker if there ever was one, she could smoke, talk, sort, load, and buckle up, all at the same time. I wondered, why smokers, who don't really care about themselves, or, they would not smoke, are concerned enough to put their seat belt on, to hopefully, save them in the event of a car wreck.

They apparently want to live long enough to experience, emphysema or lung cancer, maybe heart problems, but not get hurt in a car wreck. Curious ........................... My wife had the answer, "It's the law."

What is he thinking ..........................

"I know them as angels"

An aunt of Boston bombing suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev said she doesn't believe her nephews could be behind the attacks.

“I know them as angels,” Maret Tsarnaev told the National Post in Toronto. “I’m suspicious that this was staged.”

In a press conference later aired by CNN, she reiterated her suspicions and said she has doubts about the photos released by the FBI that show her nephews at the scene of the Boston Marathon bombings on Monday.

She also said she has doubts about the story behind the 9 -11 attacks. The suspects' father told CNN Friday that he believed they were "framed."

The message was starkly different from that delivered by one of the brothers' uncles, who said in a press conference on Friday afternoon that the two men had brought shame upon their family. Ruslan Tsarni speculated that his nephews were "losers" who were angry that they didn't fit in, though he said he had not been in touch with the family for years.

No comment.......................

Tough question ....

Need some help with this one ...................


3. Before Mt. Everest was discovered, ...what was the highest mountain in the world?

I made this all up .... I find humor in most anything .

I know, taint funny, I seem to find a little humor in anything .... here is a conversation that transpired at Mass General ............

Hi, T s a r n a e v..... whew, how du yu pronownce that .... t  s  a  r  n  a  e  v .... sarnev .... theets close eenuf. Weelcom to Mass Gen, I am dawctor singe from Inja an I weel be your doctor .... you weel hav to excuse me I haaave been on call for manee hours beecausf of awll of thee excitement goeeng on an I had a haard time geeting through all of those poleece. Now what ees wrong weethe you?

Oh, I see, you seeem to habe some boolet whools en you. Deed yu no thet?

Oh, thee poleece shawt at u ....  oh ... yu roobed a store and yur brudder was keeled an u stole a car ... n .... yu deed what?

Yu wer where .... een a bot ... how deed yu geet een a bot ...

Uh .... Tsanav ... deed u hab anything to do weeth the bawmbings de udder day ... oh ..... i see ... aw here ... put yur finger on thees and puush down ..... thet weel stop the bleeding ... oh      aw ....duz eet hert .... ah I tink I need a nurs een here .... eets bery hot in here .... why ru wearing thet vest .......

OOOOhhhh ... well ..... excuse me for one moment pleeze .... I got to get sumting ..............

4/19/2013

This is a unique scene that I hope I never forget. The problem is over, the citizens are lined up, applauding ALL of those law enforcement officers as they leave the scene. Awesome. They even applauded a helicopter that was flying over.

April 19, 2013 ... I will never forget this day ..... she just said it .. "A feeling of unity"

Mass General has now become a fortified hospital, police cars are everywhere, it is an armed camp.

Been wondering too, the president in town one day, the city on lockdown the next, wonder if a part of their plan didn't work out or if someone in the SS screwed up. Maybe he was lucky.

Brings back sights of WWII when we liberated towns in Europe and the welcome the troops received.

Been a long day, I admit just watching it wore me out. Another one of THOSE days ..........

Enter a marathon and receive battlefield injuries ................

I was concerned

As you know, I watched a lot of TV today, almost all day.

Was it just me, I watched the uncles and other relatives, and was concerned. They are all from abroad  related to the "guys," who did the bombing. We don't seem to know anything about the terrorists other than one apparently spent some time abroad, perhaps "training" for the event he participated in. The uncles seemed to be living "comfortably," which is fine, but they were adamant that they knew "nothing" and had association with the "boys."

I doubted their stories and wondered that if somehow, they might not have been a part of it all. At lease, I know I did not believe them, and certainly, from their demeanor, would not trust them. To me, they were too well "trained" and too well versed, their stories were contrived and rehearsed. They had rehearsed their stories.

I hope the FBI does some checking on their backgrounds and activities, even the aunt. All felt comfortable when they were talking, trained and rehearsed.

They ALL seem to have done well since they arrived in this country .............

A Legend has passed on ...

George Beverly Shea, who escaped a life of toil in an insurance office to become a Grammy-winning gospel singer and a longtime associate of the Rev. Billy Graham, appearing before an estimated 200 million people at Graham revival meetings worldwide, died on Tuesday in Asheville, N.C. He was 104.

Mr. Shea and Mr. Graham in the early years of their many decades as partners in evangelism.
His death was announced by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, in Charlotte, N.C., of which Mr. Shea was the official singing voice for more than half a century. Canadian-born, he lived in Montreat, N.C. — for decades just a mile from the home of Mr. Graham, a close friend.

Through the Billy Graham crusades, as the stadium-size revival meetings begun by Mr. Graham are known, Mr. Shea was perhaps the most widely heard gospel artist in the world, singing before worshipers throughout the United States and around the globe.

He also appeared regularly on “The Hour of Decision,” Mr. Graham’s weekly radio broadcast, which began in 1950 and continues to this day.

I just watched this, my eyes are filled with tears, another one of the good ones ...... is gone..

LISTEN HERE

Ramblings while watching TV ........ today

It is now 3 pm, and I have sat here most of the day watching television, listening to "breaking news" and really seeing nothing. I have seen interviews with people who had little to nothing to say. I have heard relatives, all of who spoke broken English, one uncle said a lot, but I don't know what he was talking about. He gave decisive information, but really had not seen them for many years. Many school chums of his and I suspect some, who really knew nothing of what was going on and wanted their time on TV.

I have seen vehicles of all shapes and sizes, an army of police, FBI, state police, and there just went a pizza delivery car. One poignant question just asked of a student, "Did he date anyone in school?"

I have seen thee guy in the purple tie a number of times. His answers are articulate and his comments are intelligent. The questions and inane and he does his best, and his answers are lengthy, so they love to get him on camera, a brief respite for the newsman.

They have filled over eight hours with short breaks, breaking news, one press conference that said absolutely nothing, held by a governor, mayor, chief of police and state police. I listened intently, like sitting down at a dinner table, hungry, knife and fork in hand, waiting to be fed .... and there is no food....

Just had a split screen interview, with the same guy on both screens, then it was interrupted by a commercial.

Policemen are very good at standing around, some with arms folded, some, hands on hips, 14 in this group, only 1 wearing a hat. They are all looking in the same direction. Apparently they are going from house to house, searching ... for a guy who might be wearing a bomb and well armed, and may be the one who shot a policeman sitting in his car, last night. I can understand their being deliberate.

How was this handled before, OH, right, something like this has never happened here. I have spent too many days in my lifetime, glued to a TV, watching news unfold, and they keep getting worse ....19 years old, good student, college scholarship, well liked ... how, why? ..... There are a lot of law enforcement officers ,,,,, wonder where they all ate lunch? Many cases of water were just handed out ......... in Watertown ....

If they are, in fact on a lockdown, who are all these people wandering around?

We are now hearing from their father .... he seems mad that they shot his son .... they were framed...

Bombs, floods ..... what's next?

London Mills, Illinois is being evacuated after flooding turned from bad to worse on Thursday.

No, we're not talking about a few blocks of the town. Police are ordering the entire town out their homes.

London Mills is not a big town — it's actually more of a village with a population of 390 — but the prospect of the entire community being swept away by floodwaters is just another extraordinary disaster in an extraordinarily disastrous week.

Ok, ok, ok .... we're moving back .....

I don't understand why, but we are way down the hall, sitting in the bathroom, with binoculars, watching the TV.

We were sitting in the living room, watching the Boston situation, and the policemen, all of a sudden, started motioning us to move back, we moved back to the back of the living room, they kept motioning us back, we went into the hall, they kept motioning, we went all the way back, to the bathroom, got the binoculars out and that's where we are.

Looks like some guy in a blue shirt is talking, can't make him out. He seems upset, talking about his brother .... cramped in here .... I don't see the police gesturing anymore, maybe it is safe to go back out into the living room ..

????????????????????///

Hey man,  what's happenen ...........?

Well, one of the bombers has been shot, one policeman  is dead, and we are watching, live, a war scene in Boston, live. It looks like they have suspect two located, thousands of policemen, spectators, TV crews, everyone of any importance .... has been interviewed, whether they had any knowledge of what was happening or not. I have not seen Obama in attendance, yet. I imagine the White House is delving into the situation to see how they can use the situation, and blame guns.

The suspect has guns, assault rifles, bombs and is wearing a "suicide" vest.

"I will kill you all, you killed my brother."

A picture of "the day" ..... the eight year old boy, the bomber, and the bomb, the bomber knew the boy would be killed ....

He is posting on line ... never seen anything like this, in eighty years, it just keeps getting worse.

Floods next week along the Mississippi, and let's not forget the explosion in Texas.

"He was just a normal, average American boy."

Now we are seeing how much of the world lives, everyday. I think of all the  similar interviews that I have seen, in other countries, but this is happening, in our country.

May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us now and always!

Whooooooops, not today ....

Well, I made it through the night. Have gotten up, on my first cup of coffee, turning on the TV, now watching the morning news...........

Going back to bed, will try again tomorrow, but before I go ...

How can this girl who went to school with the suspect, answer 126 questions without taking a breath?

I think a new record has been set for "Commercials Shown" between breaks.

Hip Hip Hooray for Lord Wolfson ........

"Good Lord!" says the headline in a British newspaper, praising Lord Wolfson, business leader and peer of the realm, for having been uncommonly generous.

Wolfson, CEO of Next, the U.K.'s biggest department store chain, gave his entire annual bonus--$3.6 million—to his employees.

But in the U.S. no CEO of a public company, so far as we could find, has recently given his bonus back to his employees. That's not to say some CEOs haven't foregone what's due them. Just last week a judge nixed a $20 million severance deal for Tom Horton, CEO of American Airlines.

Nor has any CEO in the U.K, other than Wolfson, according to Alistair Mackinnon-Munson, a spokesperson for Next. "It's the first time that any chief executive has ever done anything like this," he confirms. "All our staff of 19,400 will share in it as a cash bonus. It works out to about 1 percent of their basic salary."

The Most WANTED Men in America - Sorry, Not men, MALES