Today  marks the 12th Anniversary of a day, much like December 7th 1941 that will live in infamy forever. None of us who bore silent witness to the horrors of that day should ever let it pass from our memories.

Todays issue partly consists of photos and some materials suitable for remembering that day. 

Having lost several friends that day as members of NYC’s Finest, ESU, Fire, and EMS as you can well imagine I have no stomach this morning for witty banter or clever commentary. Any that you do see in the issue was written very early last week in anticipation of this mood settling on me as it does every year.

[For those of you who don’t know or are new readers, I open every issue of Leprechaun Laughs with this phrase as a tribute to the courage of Todd Beamer and several others of Flight 93 who’s heroic actions save the Capitol on September 11th 2001. Allegedly those are the last words heard by Todd’s wife when he called to tell her what was happening and what they were going to attempt.]

[This picture of a piece of United Airlines Flight 93 lying in a Pennsylvania field on September 14 was introduced as evidence during the trial that linked Zacarias Moussaoui to al Qaeda and the 9/11 attacks.]

I found this next one to be particularly on point today

Yeah, the scar means you survived it and you’re probably stronger for  it. However,  it don’t mean it still doesn’t hurt you or make you mad every time you see the scar!

Make no mistake, that’s exactly what the World Trade Center Memorial is, plastic surgery in an attempt to make a horrible scar appear publically acceptable.

 

A survey conducted by our newly formed DL/LL Enterprises Research Group has found that 9 out of 10 Men, Leprechauns & Dragons agree that their wives and girlfriends are always right.

Co-incidentally Impish has not been seen since Mrs. Dragon found out he was the sole dissenting vote in the survey. Should anyone find his body or locate him in a Trauma Center please let us know!

After everyone on earth was dead and waiting to enter Heaven, God  appeared and said, “I want the men to make two lines.   

One line  for the men who were true heads of their household, and the other line for  those who were dominated by their women.  I want all  the women to report to St. Peter.”

Soon, the women were gone, and there were two lines of men. 
The line of the men who were dominated by their wives was 100 miles  long, and in the line of men who truly were heads of their household, there  was only one man.

God said to the long line,  “You men should be ashamed of yourselves; I created you to be the head of  your household. You have  been disobedient and have not fulfilled your purpose.   Of all of  you, only one obeyed.  Learn from him.”

God turned to the one man,  “How did you manage to be the only one in this line?”

Impish Dragon meekly replied, “My wife told me to stand  here.”

 

 

Time for a mood lifting intermission. These guys are a favorite recent discovery of Impish’s.

So I figured instead of throwing him under a bus this week (quitcherbitchin Impish it was only two measly short little jokes), I’ll mess with his head by throwing him a bone. Then I can watch him freak trying to figure out what I’m up to!

Mean time you folks enjoy the video!

 

7 Tips to Protect Yourself from Carjackers

Linda Rosencrance, TechNewsDaily Contributor September 04 2013 06:00 AM ET

Carjacking is an extremely serious, frightening and potentially life-threatening form of auto theft.

That’s because in carjackings, brazen thieves confront their victims and use force to steal the vehicles. Sometimes these criminals even kidnap their victims — or worse.

“The point of carjacking, for the bad guys, begins with them desperately needing transportation for whatever reason,” said Robert Siciliano, a Boston-based personal-security expert and spokesman for BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com.

“Or they are doing it for fun, or they want your car to chop it” up for parts, he added.

To get your car, carjackers could accost you in a parking lot while you’re walking to your car — and take the car with or without you in it, Siciliano said.

“You could be driving and get in a minor fender-bender,” he said. “You could get hit from the rear, but it’s not a hard enough hit that it necessitate fire engines, law enforcement [and] ambulances.”

“It’s just enough to get your attention to get you to pull over on the side of the road,” Siciliano said. “At that time, they carjack you and they either just take the car, or they take you as well.”

Here are seven tips to help you protect yourself from carjackers.

Give up the car — most of the time

“If someone is crazy enough to want your keys and want your car, just give it to them,” Siciliano said.

Throw the car keys as far away as possible, he added, then start yelling and running away.

“But if you have a kid in the car, that’s a different story,” Siciliano said. “So in those situations, you can say to the carjacker, ‘I have a baby in the car. You can have the car, but I want my baby.’ But he may or may not comply. He may be so desperate, it might not make a difference.”

Be aware — and beware

If you’re walking through a parking lot to get to your car, be aware of your surroundings.

“We call it situational awareness — you are aware of every situation going on around you,” Siliciano said.

Be totally conscious of what’s going on around you, and beware of any suspicious characters.

“That awareness may thwart a bad guy,” Siliciano said. “If he sees you’re fully paying attention, he may want to go after somebody else who’s not paying any attention.”

Foil the ruse

If someone “bumps” into your car, don’t pull over on the side of the highway, or in a dimly lit, isolated location, to exchange information.

Either of those locations could give a carjacker the opportunity to steal your car and possibly kidnap or harm you.

Instead, drive to a well-lit, heavily populated area and call the police, or drive to the nearest police station, Siciliano said.

Do not get out of your car, he added. Lock your doors, roll up the windows and put your license and registration up to the window and tell the person to take a photo of it or write the information down.

“Keep your foot on the brake, [make sure] the car’s running, it’s in gear, maybe, or in park and you’re ready to get out of Dodge,” Siciliano said. “If anything happens, you can put the car in drive, put your foot on the gas and go.”

Leave at the first sign of suspicion

If someone is approaching your car, such as in a parking lot or on the side of the road, step on the gas and get out of there — even if the person appears to have a gun.

“Don’t get out of the car and do what he says,” Siciliano said. “Some people think, ‘But he has a gun, though.’ And they think they have to do what he says. That’s all the more reason to go. You don’t stick around and find out what he’s going to do. You go.”

Don’t get in the trunk

If you do get out of your car, the carjacker might want you to go with him.

“Or something even scarier — he might want you to go in the trunk,” Siciliano said. “But you never go in the trunk of the car under any circumstances.”

“You fight to get away,” Siciliano said. “You try to escape. Remember, if they want your car, throw the keys at them and run in the opposite direction.”

Red doesn’t always mean stop

Carjackings often happen at red lights and at stop signs. So if you’re stopped at a red light, be sure to keep your doors locked.

If someone is coming at you in a threatening manner, step on the gas even if you have to run the red light or the stop sign. Just exercise caution.

Be a good Samaritan without stopping

If you see a car broken down on the side of the road, do not stop to offer assistance, Siciliano said. Instead, call 911 to report the breakdown and keep moving.

Umm… Impish didn’t you say you liked the easy open bag packaging of the Weight Watcher Diet Pills and how you could buy them a pound at a time??!!

The following is dedicated to those who went (home) to their final rest that morning, especially my dear friends in NYC’s Emergency Services.

I still miss you guys every day.

 

Dvorak’s New World Symphony. “Going Home” is an old Negro song, its said, based on an old man in his final days who sees his own death.

Lyrics:
1. Going home. Going home. I’m a-going home.
Quiet-like some still day, I’m just going home.
It’s not far, just close by, through an open door.
Work all done, cares laid by, Going to fear no more;
Mother’s there expecting me, Father’s waiting, too.
Lot’s of folks gathered there. All the friends I knew.

2. Morning star lights the way, restless dream all done.
Shadows gone, break of day, real life just begun.
There’s no break, there’s no end, just a-living on;
Wide awake, with a smile, going on and on.
Going home. Going home, I’m just going home.
It’s not far, just close by, through an open door.

Normally I would never ever consider putting the following sort of thing in the same issue with something as dignified and serious as the 9-11 Remembrance is. However because these jackasses have repeatedly seen fit to use the 9-11 tragedy as justification and opportunity to spew their vitriolic bat shit crazy religious view point I feel that it’s only fair that on this day I get something back for the victims who’s memories these people are shitting all over in the name of justifying their warped religious views!

Drag Queen Show Being Held Outside Westboro Baptist Church Compound

http://www.newnownext.com/drag-queen-show-being-held-outside-westboro-baptist-church-compound/09/2013/

We love everything about Equality House, the LGBT resource center erected outside the Westboro Baptist Church house of hatred: We love that it’s painted with rainbows. We love that they’ve held same-sex weddings there. We love the little girl created a lemonade stand for peace.

And now we love them even more because they’ll be hosting a drag queen show in plain view of Fred Phelps congregation of evil.

The Equality House Facebook page spells it out:

On October 26th Planting Peace will be hosting the first annual Equality House drag themed walk-a-thon! We are inviting you, your family, and your friends to all come out and parade around the Westboro Baptist Church with us whether in costume or not but either way raising money for the charity and looking fabulous during the whole event!!

If you or a team would like to sign up or receive more information please send us a Facebook message!

Dorothy, girl, if ever there was a time we wanted to go to Kansas, this is it! We’ve even got some great WBC-inspired drag names ready: Rhoda Ruin, Eva Destruction, Helena Handbasket…

We love everything about Equality House, the LGBT resource center erected outside the Westboro Baptist Church house of hatred: We love that it’s painted with rainbows. We love that they’ve held same-sex weddings there. We love the little girl created a lemonade stand for peace. [I covered this brave little girl in the past]

And now we love them even more because they’ll be hosting a drag queen show in plain view of Fred Phelps congregation of evil.

Planting Peace, the group that operates Equality House, want RuPaul to host the drag queen walk-a-thon.

 

As I said in my opening, today marks the 12th Anniversary of a day, much like December 7th 1941 that will live in infamy forever. None of us who bore silent witness to the horrors of that day should ever let it pass from our memories.

I would ask everyone to take a moment to bow your head and pray to the god of your choice to watch over those who died & their loved ones, those who survived but have to relive it each day and well as those who are dying because they responded to the attacks.

For my part I’ll help you focus on this with an iconic Sept 11th photo for gazing at and appropriate mood music for the moment of prayer. You might want a tissue or two handy If you don’t already have one out.

Eternal rest, grant unto them O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them.

May they rest in peace. Amen.

May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Visit thy terrible wrath and divine retribution upon those responsible in their names so that such acts might perish from the thoughts of all men evermore we humbly beseech thee. Amen.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to contemplate my unused BDL – HOU Southwest ticket for that day, thank God for sparing my sorry ass, call the widows of several friends and talk with their ghosts.

 Good Morning Campers!
Welcome to this weekend’s camp services.
Let’s start today with a pledge that we can all agree with…those of you from other countries can remain silent or feel free to recite their own pledge.

I pledge allegiance
To the Flag
Of the United States of America
And to the Republic
For which it stands
One Nation, under God,
Indivisible, with Liberty
and Justice
For ALL!

This week is a very special week in our history.  And I urge you to pay VERY close attention to the Lethal Leprechaun’s deliberate and motivational issue on Wednesday.
It is that important.

And for the “Nothin’ Ever Happens In The Cornfields of the Midwest” department, here’s a message that I got from the state police about an incident that happened last night, on the old part of the base, just about half a mile or so from where I live.

Community: Kokomo Man Taken Into Custody after Stand-Off

Peru – Last night, at approximately 7:54 pm., officers from Miami County Sheriff’s Department responded to a 911 call reporting a suspicious man carrying a briefcase and kneeling in prayer on Hoosier Blvd.  Hoosier Blvd. is located at the Grissom Aeroplex, which is adjacent to the Grissom Air Force Reserve Base.

When officers arrived they located George J. Doss, 47, Kokomo, IN, in the middle of Hoosier Blvd., near Flyer Street, standing next to a small suitcase.  Doss would not identify himself nor follow verbal commands.  He made rambling statements including telling officers they were in a code red zone.  Sheriff’s deputies, utilizing an over abundance of caution, created a perimeter and attempted to communicate with Doss.  Doss continued to ignore the officers.  Members of the Indiana State Policed Explosive Ordinance Team, hostage crisis negotiators, and officers from the Indiana State Police Emergency Response Team were called in to assist the Miami County Sheriff’s Department.

Hostage crisis negotiators from both the Miami County Sheriff’s Department and the Indiana State Police continued to communicate with Doss, with negative results.  Eventually a robotic device was utilized to move the suitcase to a safe location, away from Doss.  On Friday morning, at approximately 2:20 a.m. officers from the Indiana State Police Emergency Response Team utilized a distraction device and non-lethal force to close in and take Doss into custody.

Doss was transported by ambulance…etc, etc. 

The article goes on to say that he is under medical observation, of course, and that he is liable to be charged with resisting law enforcement and disorderly conduct.  Oh, by the way, the suitcase did not hold any explosives and he had no weapons on him.  The distraction device was almost surely a flash-bang because my poor wife was having a crappy night and was awake at 0220 hrs and heard it go off.  That ought to tell you how close we were.
The really strange part was that NOBODY called me out!!!
Dang it!

Okay, with that story out of the way, if we’re ready, then ….

Okay, so this is one person’s version of the future of….

FUTURE OF CHURCH SERVICES

PASTOR: “Praise the Lord!”
CONGREGATION: “Hallelujah!”

PASTOR: “Will everyone please turn on their tablet, PC, iPad, smart phone, and Kindle Bibles to 1 Cor 13:13. And please switch on your Bluetooth to download the sermon.”

P-a-u-s-e……
“Now, Let us pray committing this week into God’s hands. Open your Apps, BBM, Twitter and Facebook, and chat with God”
S-i-l-e-n-c-e

“As we take our Sunday tithes and offerings, please have your credit and debit cards ready. You can log on to the church wi-fi using the password ‘Lord909887’.”

The ushers will circulate mobile card swipe machines among the worshipers:

·     Those who prefer to make electronic fund transfers are directed to computers and laptops at the rear of the church.

·     Those who prefer to use iPads can open them.

·     Those who prefer telephone banking, take out your cell-phones to transfer your contributions to the church account.

The holy atmosphere of the Church becomes truly electrified as ALL the smart phones, iPads, PCs and laptops beep and flicker!

Final Blessing and Closing Announcements…
This week’s ministry cell meetings will be held on the various Facebook group pages where the usual group chatting takes place. Please log in and don’t miss out.
Thursday’s Bible study will be held live on Skype at 1900hrs GMT. Please don’t miss out.
You can follow your Pastor on Twitter this weekend for counseling and prayers.

God bless you and have nice day.

I’ve got to get me a pair of these glasses!

A Cat named Lucky…
If you were expecting a heart-wrenching story about a cat that got fun over by a truck, lost a leg, and dragged itself 17 miles after being bitten by a rattlesnake and attacked by a rabid moose, then you’re

WRONG!!!

And what’s worse, you’re not even close!

So go grab some tissues, get prepared and scroll down…this one tops them ALL!!

Meet Lucky:

Washington said, “Be honest with the people like I was.”
Obama went back to sleep and awoke again this time to Thomas Jefferson and asked, “Tom, how can I make this country better?”

Jefferson said, “Love the Constitution like I did.”

Again Obama fell asleep and awoke this time to Lincoln and asked, “Abe, how can I make this country better?”

Lincoln replied, “Go see a play.”

Male Blond Jokes

A friend told the blond man: “Christmas is on a Friday this year.” The
blond man then said, “Let’s hope it’s not the 13th.”
————————————

Two blond men find three grenades, and they decide to take
them to a police station. One asked: “What if one explodes before we
get there?” The other says: “We’ll lie and say we only found two.”
————————————

A blonde man is in the bathroom and his wife shouts: “Did you find the
shampoo?” He answers, “Yes, but I’m not sure what to do… it’s for dry
hair, and mine’s already wet.”
——————————

A blonde man goes to the vet with his goldfish. “I think it’s got
epilepsy,” he tells the vet. The vet takes a look and says, “It seems
calm enough to me.” The blonde man says, “Wait, I haven’t taken it out
of the bowl yet.”
————————————

A blond man spies a letter lying on his doormat. It says on the
envelope “DO NOT BEND “. He spends the next 2 hours trying to figure
out how to pick it up.
————————————

A blonde man’s dog goes missing and he is frantic. His wife says “Why
don’t you put an ad in the paper?” He does, but two weeks later the dog
is still missing. “What did you put in the paper?” his wife asks. “Here
boy!” he replies.
————————————

A blond man is in jail. Guard looks in his cell and sees him
hanging by his feet. “Just WHAT are you doing?” he asks.
“Hanging myself,” the blond replies. “It should be around your neck”
says the guard. “I tried that,” he replies, “but then I couldn’t
breathe.”

Impish Dragon walks into a bar with a little spider on his shoulder and as soon as one of the guys in there spots it, he tells his friends and they all laugh.

Impish says: “Laugh while you can, ‘cos this spider is stronger than any of you?!”

The man making fun replies “I’d like to see that?”

“Fine, my spider will pick up this bar stool.” So he sets the spider on the floor and the spider easily picks it up.

“That’s nothing!” says the scoffer.

“But there’s more, now the spider will pick up a table!” And Impish’s spider easily picks up the table.

The inebriated men, not letting the spider impress them, only boo it

“Now, gentlemen, this tiny spider will pick up the bar.” and the spider spits on his hands, rubs them together and makes a great effort, but it picks up the bar!

The men, a little impressed ask “what else can it do?”

So Impish says “Now, it will pick up the bar with everyone of us on it?”

Thinking it couldn’t be done, the men start to get on the bar until there’s like 40 guys on it. The spider looks worried but starts walking towards the bar with an air of determination.

Suddenly, Lethal Leprechaun walks into the bar sees the spider on the floor walking towards
the bar, and steps on it “Ach! Ya bloody bunch of fecking pooffters, scared of a little spider?!!”

This guy has got to be some sort of ninja or something!

There was a man who couldn’t stand his wife’s cat. So, one day, he decided to get rid of him by dumping him a long way away from the house. He put the cat in the car and drove about 20 blocks away, then he left him at the park. But when he got home, the cat was there as if nothing had happened.

The next day he decided to take the cat somewhere further away, about 50 blocks. He put him out of the car and drove home. And again, the cat was there waiting for him.

‘This is impossible,’ said the man to himself. ‘tomorrow I’ll make sure he can’t come back!’

The next day he puts the cat in the car and he drives around, taking turn after turn – right, left, right, right and so on. Eventually, after about an hour of driving, he finally lets the cat out and drives home.

A few hours later, the phone rings at his house and his wife answers it. It’s the husband, and he asks: “Is the cat there?”

“Why, yes.” says the wife, “he’s been here quite a while, where are you?”

“Put that bastard on the phone, I’m lost and I need directions.”

Because an increasing number of people are having heart attacks while gambling, the big, high-class casinos are now equipped with sophisticated defibrillators. They are computer-controlled to deliver the exact electric shock needed to revive a heart attack victim. That is, if you’re at a big, high-class casino.

At the cheaper casinos downtown, they just drag you across the carpet and touch your finger to the doorknob.

Gather ye round my dear campers and hear the tail of our dear friend, Lethal Leprechaun, back when he was just a wee lad and was living with the humans and fitting in with their society. 

Back then he lived in a tiny village on the Irish coast.  The village was so small that most everyone in town had one job, and Lethal, actually held two.  That’s right, our hard working Leprechaun was both the local undertaker and postal clerk.

In a tiny village on the Irish coast lived an old lady, a virgin, and very proud of it. Sensing that her final days were rapidly approaching, and desiring to make sure everything was in proper order when she dies, she went to the town’s undertaker who also happened to be the local postal clerk to make the proper “final” arrangements. As a last wish, she informed the undertaker that she wanted the following inscription engraved on her tombstone: “BORN A VIRGIN, LIVED AS A VIRGIN, DIED A VIRGIN” Not long after, the old maid died peacefully. A few days after the funeral, as the undertaker–postal clerk went to prepare the tombstone that the lady had requested, it became quite apparent that the tombstone she had selected was much too small for the wording she had chosen. He thought long and hard about how he could fulfill the old maid’s final request, considering the very limited space available on the small piece of stone. For days, he agonized over the dilemma. Finally his experience as a postal worker allowed him to come up with what he thought was the appropriate solution to the problem. The virgin’s tombstone was finally completed and duly engraved and it read as follows: “RETURNED UNOPENED”.

A teacher said to her student, “William, if both of your parents were born in 1976, how old are they now?” After a few moments, William answered, “It depends.” “It depends on what?” she asked. “It depends on whether you ask my father or my mother.”

 

– I just found a nickel that’s almost as old as I am. I looked on the back and Monticello was only half-finished.

– I’m paranoid about everything. On my stationary bike I have a rear-view mirror.

– I was visiting a friend who could not find her cordless phone. After several minutes of searching, her young daughter said, “You know what they should invent? A phone that stays connected to its base so it never gets lost.”

– Woman to friend: “If I make it through the day without eating ice cream, I reward myself with chocolate-chip cookies.”

– I figured out why they call our language the “Mother Tongue.” Fathers never get a chance to use much of it.

– I was fired from my job selling amplifiers. I didn’t achieve the sufficient volume of sales.

– Hanging is too good for a man who makes puns…he should be drawn and quoted.

– I wish there was a knob on the TV so you could turn up the intelligence. They got one marked ‘brightness’ but it doesn’t work.

 

 

The above book was Ghost written by Lethal Leprechaun

Today’s Last Word is a great essay written by M. Catharine Evans and printed in ….

It was originally scheduled for last Saturday’s issue until the discovery of the Greatest Holiday Of all Stinkin’ Time! (G.H.O.S.T.)  International Bacon Day!!!  Okay, I think my stomach just growled at me at the start of this and is currently fighting for control of my body.  So, while I fight this battle, why don’t you go ahead and read this essay…

August 20, 2013

Starry-eyed Liberal Meets the Reality of Medicaid Patients

ByM. Catharine Evans

Honestly, I can’t think of a single additional thing to add at this point, except, wouldn’t it be the perfect cure to rotate all the bleeding heart, entitlement minded, leftist socialist liberals through this job for several months to show them exactly what it was they were voting for! 

WOW! a full 48 hours after the holiday ended and you guys still look like hell!  I’M SO PROUD!

Well I was off for 4 days so I’ve a lot of catching up to play here. I took work with me intent on sitting on the fringe of things and enjoying the company and fresh air while getting something accomplished. However you’d be surprised how anti-conducive pretty women in a swimming pool, a cold beer and the sounds of a bunch of pigeons playing Texas Hold ‘Em and waiting to be fleeced are!

 

A guy traveling through Mexico on vacation lost his wallet and all of his identification.

Cutting his trip short, he attempted to make his way home but was stopped by the U.S. Customs Agent at the border.

“May I see your identification, please?” asked the agent.

“I’m sorry, but I lost my wallet,” replied the guy..

“Sure buddy, I hear that every day. No ID, no entry,” said the agent.

“But I can prove I’m an American!” he exclaimed. “I have a picture of Ronald

Reagan tattooed on one side of my butt and George Bush on the other.”

“This I gotta see,” replied the agent.

With that, the guy dropped his pants and showed the agent his behind.

“By golly, you’re right!” exclaimed the agent. “Have a safe trip back to Chicago .”

“Thanks!” he said. “But how did you know I was from Chicago ?”

The agent replied, “I recognized Obama in the middle.

Football Eats!

Yup its football season again. Wither its Friday night under the lights high school games or Tail Gating  at your favorite College Team’s Stadium (Notre Dame!) Saturday or Sunday or just watching on the tube at home, the one thing you can be sure of beside there’s going to be a winner and a loser is there will be a lot of hungry people!

Blue Cheese Corn Bread Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 3 hours
Total time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Yields: 24 sandwiches

This recipe makes extra pulled pork to be enjoyed on its own or as leftovers.

(or you know you could make a double batch of corn muffins or use slider bun and give those to people you don’t care about impressing or wouldn’t know the difference!)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 – 2 pounds Half Pork Loin, cut in half lengthwise
• Salt, to taste
• Ground Black Pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
• 32 ounces Beef Broth
• 2 cups water
• 3 1/2 cups your favorite Barbecue Sauce, divided
• 1/2 onion
• 1 teaspoon Paprika

Muffins:

• Cooking Spray
• 8.5 ounces Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
• 1 cup Blue Cheese Crumbles
• 3 Large Eggs
• 1/2 cup Sweet Corn
• 1/3 cup Sour Cream
• 1 teaspoon Granulated Sugar

Directions:

1. Season the pork loin with salt and pepper.
2. In a medium pot, heat the oil over medium high heat; sear the pork on each side until golden. Discard excess oil, add beef broth, water, 2 cups barbecue sauce, onion and paprika. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and braise, covered for 2 1/2 – 3 hours until fork tender. If necessary, add water halfway through the cooking process to keep the pork submerged.
3. Preheat oven to 400°. Coat 2 12-cup muffin pans with cooking spray.
4. Prepare muffins: In a medium bowl, combine the muffin mix, blue cheese, eggs, corn, sour cream and sugar, stir until incorporated. Evenly distribute among muffin cups. Bake for 15 minutes.
5. Allow to cool. 
6. Preheat oven to broil.
7. Reduce any remaining liquid from the pork by stirring over high heat until 1 – 1 1/2 cups liquid remains. Shred the pork and press into an 8-inch metal baking pan.
8. Stir in the remaining barbecue sauce, broil for 10-15 minutes. Stir and broil another 10-15 minutes to create a char on the pork.
9. Slice the muffins in half and fill with pulled pork.

NOW personally we her at the DL/LL Test Kitchen don’t care for Jiffy Brand Corn Bread mix. We find it to have a bitter chemical after taste which I think comes from the lye they use in processing the dried corn into corn meal. We much prefer Martha White’s Corn Bread mix and I use that w/o any appreciable difference in the end product. It’s all about what you like.

Since the original recipe called for Jiffy brand that what I’m listing here but as always feel free to make your own substitutions based on personal preference &/or experiment to make the recipe your own. For example I add a little liquid smoke to my braising liquid & use beer instead of water.

Either way were I you, I’d hold a couple back for yourself when you put these out there if you expect to actually get any

Blue Cheese Dip with Almonds

Fresh and roasted vegetables, apple slices and pear slices go well with this versatile dip, which makes a delicious centerpiece for a crudité plate.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: N/A

Serves: 3 cups

Ingredients:

8-oz. package cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups refrigerated blue cheese dressing
1 1/3 cups almonds, chopped and toasted (smokehouse almonds really make it killer!)
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 Tbsp. cranberries

Assorted cut-up fresh vegetables and fruits (such as carrots, bell peppers, celery, broccoli, apples and small clusters of grapes)

Preparation:

    Beat cream cheese in medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth and soft.
    Gently incorporate blue cheese dressing by hand, maintaining the texture of blue cheese chunks as much as possible.
    Stir in 1 cup of nuts, cranberries and crumbled blue cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
    Transfer dip to decorative bowl and keep refrigerated until serving. Sprinkle remaining almonds around edges of dip.

Tip: This dip also makes a delicious topping for baked potatoes and adds delicious flavor to a roast beef sandwich.

Note: This recipe can be made 1 day ahead.

I have to admit that with a crusty toasted garlic roll piled high with rare roast beef and this spread in one hand and a cold beer in the other you just might not care so much that your team loss because you’ve come out a winner regardless.

There was a young lady of Dover
Whose passion was such that it drove her.
To cry, when you came,
“Oh dear! What a shame!
Well, now we shall have to start over.”

        *********

The Lament of an Aging (badly) Dragon

My nookie days are over;
My pilot light is out.
What used to be my sex appeal;
Is now my water spout.

Time was when of its own accord;
From my trousers it would spring.
But now I have a full time job;
To find the blasted thing.

It used to be embarrassing;
The way it would behave.
For every single morning;
It would stand and watch me shave.

As old age approaches;
It sure gives me the blues.
To see it hang its withered head;
And watch me tie my shoes.
        *********

50 Shades of Grey

The Missus Dragon bought a book, from the local bookstore today,
I had a look inside her bag, t’was ‘Fifty Shades Of  Grey’.
Well I just left her to it, and at 10 I went to bed.

An hour later she appeared, the sight filled me with dread.
In her left she held a rope; and in her right a whip!
She threw them down upon the floor, and then began to strip.

Well fifty years or so ago, I might have had a peek.
But Missus Dragon hasn’t weathered well. She’s eighty four next week!
Watching her bump and grind could not have been much grimmer.

And things then went from bad to worse, she toppled off her Zimmer!
She struggled back upon her feet, a couple minutes later.
She put her teeth back in and said, “I am a dominater!”

Now if you knew Missus Dragon, you’d see just why I spluttered.
I’d spent two months in traction, for the last complaint I’d uttered.
She stood there nude and naked, bent forward just a bit.

I went to hold her, sensual like, and stood on her left tit.
Missus Dragon screamed, her  teeth shot out. My god what had I done?
She moaned and groaned then shouted out, “Step on the other one!”

Well readers, I can’t tell no more, about what occurred that day.
Suffice to say my jet black hair, turned fifty shades of grey.

        *********

Impish was nimble,
But Impish was quick.
So his virgins preferred
The candlestick!

        *********

A carpenter living in Crewe,
Who had nothing whatever to do,
Once assisted a whore
With the hinge of her door,
But he made her pay for the screw.

 

Caller ID…. how people save you in their contacts

More of Less

We are seeing a great deal more of less these days;

WELCOME TO THE 21st CENTURY!

*Our Phones ~ Wireless

*Cooking ~ Fireless

*Cars ~ Keyless

*Food ~ Fatless

*Tires ~ Tubeless

*Dress ~ Sleeveless

*Youth ~ Jobless

*Leaders ~ Shameless

*Relationships ~ Meaningless

*Attitude ~ Careless

*Wives ~ Fearless

*Babies ~ Fatherless

*Feelings ~ Heartless

*Education ~ Valueless

*Children ~ Mannerless

Everything is becoming LESS but still…

Our hopes are  ~ Endless.

In fact we are ~ Speechless

And Congress is – CLUELESS!

And our President is – WORTHLESS!

 

My local morning breakfast hang out recently redid its restrooms including the labeling of the facilities

IF he’s a Dragon, then I’d have to say yes definitely without a doubt.

 

Cinderella is now 95 years old.

After a fulfilling life with the now dead prince, she happily sits upon her rocking chair, watching the world go by from her front porch, with a cat named Bob for companionship.

One sunny afternoon out of nowhere, appeared the fairy godmother.

Cinderella said, “Fairy Godmother, what are you doing here after all these years”?

The fairy godmother replied, “Cinderella, you have lived an exemplary life since I last saw you. Is there anything for which your heart still yearns?”

Cinderella was taken aback, overjoyed, and after some thoughtful consideration, she uttered her first wish:

“The prince was wonderful, but not much of an investor. I’m living hand to mouth on my disability checks, and I wish I were wealthy beyond comprehension.”

Instantly her rocking chair turned into solid gold.

Cinderella said, “Ooh, thank you, Fairy Godmother”

The fairy godmother replied, “It is the least that I can do. What do you want for your second wish?”

Cinderella looked down at her frail body, and said, “I wish I were young and full of the beauty and youth I once had.”

At once, her wish became reality, and her beautiful young visage returned. Cinderella felt stirrings inside of her that had been dormant for years.

And then the fairy godmother spoke once more: “You have one more wish; what shall it be?”

Cinderella looks over to the frightened cat in the corner and says, “I wish for you to transform Bob, my old cat, into a kind and handsome young man.”

Magically, Bob suddenly underwent so fundamental a change in his biological make-up that, when he stood before her, he was a man so beautiful the likes of him neither she nor the world had ever seen.

The fairy godmother said, “Congratulations, Cinderella, enjoy your new life.”

With a blazing shock of bright blue electricity, the fairy godmother was gone as suddenly as she appeared.

For a few eerie moments, Bob and Cinderella looked into each other’s eyes.

Cinderella sat, breathless, gazing at the most beautiful, stunningly perfect man she had ever seen.

Then Bob walked over to Cinderella, who sat transfixed in her rocking chair, & swept her up in his young muscular arms.

He leaned in close, blowing her golden hair with his warm breath as he whispered…

“Bet you’re sorry now  you neutered me.”

Highlighting bold and/or red colored font are my editorial emphasis in lieu of post article commentary.

LIFE WITH BIG BROTHER

NSA ‘goes after man who mocked agency’

The NSA has claimed copyright infringement after a businessman created a parody version of the agency’s logo.

The National Security Agency, the secretive federal department under fire for spying on U.S. citizens, is now accused of crushing the free-speech rights of a businessman clowning around about the NSA.

LibertyManiacs.com, a company that markets “freedom products for liberty lovers,” says the NSA is using a claim of copyright infringement to stop it from selling T-shirts and other products making fun of the Big Brother agency.

“Two months ago the NSA’s lawyers came after our parodies of the rogue agency and forced our host to take them down,” the company said Friday on its Facebook page.

At issue is use of the NSA logo, which was partially altered by LibertyManiacs owner Dan McCall. He kept the name of the agency and most of the artwork intact, but changed the bottom portion from “United States of America” to the laugh-inspiring “Peeping while you’re sleeping.”

Underneath the doctored logo is the phrase “The NSA, the only part of government that actually listens.”

In an interview with online journalist Ben Swann, McCall said, “I tried to visually take the most obvious direction at pointing at them that I could. It was their logo. I just tried to adulterate it a little bit and put a few jabs in there and that will be it. So it wasn’t a huge design coup and it did the job basically.”

After the shirt went on sale, the NSA sent a series of “cease and desist” orders in June, seeking to halt further sales of the items.

McCall commented at the time: “Well, on the positive side I could get the unenviable honorific of being ‘the 1st man to receive a cease and desist from the National Security Agency for telling a joke.’”

The NSA’s real logo

The online retailer Zazzle.com subsequently yanked the shirt from its site, giving this explanation:

“Unfortunately, it appears that your product, The NSA, contains content that is in conflict with one or more of our acceptable content guidelines. We will be removing this product from the Zazzle Marketplace shortly.

“Policy Notes: Design contains an image or text that may infringe on intellectual property rights. We have been contacted by the intellectual property right holder and we will be removing your product from Zazzle’s Marketplace due to infringement claims.”

Zazzle’s Diana Adair told WND her company couldn’t comment on the specifics of this incident, but issued a prepared statement saying: “While Zazzle does not manually review all designs that are uploaded, when a product is brought to our attention that violates our terms of service, we take swift action to remove it.  We encourage the Zazzle community to use our platform to share their creativity, and we ask that they continue to maintain an open dialogue with us to ensure Zazzle features only the highest quality merchandise for our customers.”

McCall told Swann it wasn’t just one NSA T-shirt that got the hook from Zazzle.

“In terms of shirts, two, and then maybe four or five bumper stickers,” he noted. “Basically anything remotely relating to the NSA was taken down. So I’m not sure if that was subsequently a blanket policy that Zazzle themselves put up because they don’t want to deal with the hassle and they didn’t want to spend time interpreting each thing knowing they would run into problems or if they were plugged into NSA legal and they were watching things as they go.”

He added the NSA’s action is clearly a violation of his First Amendment right to free speech.

“First Amendment issues affect everybody and it specifically affects everybody who is expressing themselves – any artist, whether on the right or on the left or in the middle or whatever side,” McCall told Swann. “If you are not allowed to express yourself artistically or in many other ways, we have taken a turn for the worse.”

In a video news report about the case, Swann admitted, “This is a story I had a hard time believing until I looked into it for myself.”

“What you need to know is that because the work put out by LibertyManiacs is clearly a parody, it is not copyright infringement,” he stressed. “According to both the Electronic Freedom Foundation and the American Bar Association, ‘parody is recognized as a type of fair use, like other commentary and criticism, and courts recognize that a parody must often take recognizable elements from the work it comments upon.’”

The case has also caught the attention of Mark Gibbs of Computerworld, who calls the NSA’s actions “monstrously wrong.”

“First of all I’m amazed that any U.S. government agency can get away with claiming violation of ‘their’ intellectual property rights when they are, in reality, part of us, and we the people, paid for said intellectual property. Sure, go after those ripoff artists in England or France should they dare to illegally use the hallowed logos of U.S. government agencies, but going after U.S. citizens for parody?” Gibbs noted.

“Second, I’m even more amazed that the NSA doesn’t recognize the inherent PR problem they have created by a bureaucratic response to something that, given the negative publicity they’re already receiving, can only make them look even more devious and manipulative than we now think they are, which is a brand new realization for most Americans.”

“Of course, even if in reality the NSA has no legal leg to stand on, it is the 800-pound gorilla and can flex its muscles for what is, with respect to its budget, a trivial cost,” he added.

At LibertyManiacs, McCall has referred to executives at the NSA as “jerks,” and he’s not backing down in his battle to sell his merchandise.

He is now marketing the censored shirts and related parody items through another online platform at Cafepress.

In an ironic twist, while the NSA is claiming copyright infringement, the agency itself is allegedly using without permission an image for its top-secret data-mining program known as PRISM.

The NSA’s PRISM logo, shown here upside down for comparison to the image below.

As WND reported in June, PRISM, which stands for “protect, respond, inform, secure and monitor,” is the NSA’s massive spy program scouring email and phone records.

Its official logo has reportedly been purloined from Adam Hart-Davis, formerly of the BBC program “Tomorrow’s World.”

Adam’s son, Damon Hart-Davis, has said in the Register newspaper that the image is free for use, as long as there’s acknowledgment of the source and a link to the material online, neither of which have been provided by the NSA.

The original prism image by Adam Hart-Davis, formerly of the BBC.

Some Americans are taking to the Internet to say that federal and state government programs paid for by tax dollars are not subject to copyright.

“The U.S. government CANNOT claim copyright. Period,” said Steve Moody. “Anything created by the U.S. government is automatically in the public domain.”

And Ron Lahti noted: “We all need to the raise the bullsh-t flag on this! The NSA is a ‘publicly funded’ government agency. How can they claim ‘copyright infringement?’ It’s like saying everyone who publishes or manufactures anything with any of our other federal ‘public’ government agency symbols is violating copyright laws. Are we going to have every manufacturer and retailer that makes or sells any of our T-shirts, hats, coffee mugs, bumper/window stickers, etc. that contains, for example, ‘U.S. Army’ or any other military-service logo, from making these products available just because they have an ‘official’ emblem that is also now ‘copyrighted’ with their design? This is beyond fringe lunacy and seems as the NSA is just grasping at straws, for whatever reason. This action by our government is obnoxiously outrageous, and is nothing more than an arrogantly suppressive strong-arm tactic to infringe on the rights and liberties of the American taxpaying people!”

 “To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to  criticize.” ― Voltaire

 

 

How comforting that the NSA/Federal Government has lawyers on staff that can so easily be suborned into willingly lying about Federal laws in a blatant attempt at  censorcism ( a First Amendment Violation) of  satiric criticism of what are at BEST questionable actions with regard to our civil liberties granted rights to privacy and protection against unreasonable and unwarranted search!

WHY isn’t the Justice Department crying foul! WHY is Obama silent on this travesty by his own government?

I’LL TELL YOU WHY! Because this is EXACTLY what Obama meant by ‘Hope & Change’, not hope and change for everyone, only for liberals who seek to control your life your actions and your thoughts via Big Brother.

Welcome to your Orwellian Nightmare. Don’t bother trying to wake up its too late your resistance has been rendered futile.

ZIP CODES…..THIS IS NEAT!

http://zipskinny.com/

Check out your zip code.  You will not believe the information you will find there!

Also check out other zip codes where you might be traveling or thinking of moving to.

We here at DL/LL Electronic Media LTD.recently conducted a poll as to whether men prefer women with large thighs or women with thin thighs.  The results were pretty surprising.

10 percent of those men surveyed preferred women with large thighs.  10 percent of the men preferred women with thin thighs.  And the other 80 percent preferred what’s in-between.

 

At MTV’s Video Music Awards on Sunday night, Miley Cyrus brought the concept of twerking into living rooms the world over. What is it?
According to UrbanDictionary.com, “twerk” means: “The rhythmic gyrating of the lower fleshy extremities in a lascivious manner with the intent to elicit sexual arousal or
laughter in ones intended audience.”

 

The Top 5 Signs You’re Bad at Twerking

1. The first time you tried it, the neighbor’s dog took advantage of you.
2. “Mrs. Obama, maybe a playground dedication isn’t quite the place for that.”
3. They’re not comparing you with Young Skinny Elvis, or even with Fat Vegas Elvis; they’re comparing you with Dead Elvis.
4. One of your ovaries just “crowned.”

And the Number One Sign You’re Bad at Twerking…

1. “That’s very impressive, sir, but if you keep moving like that, I won’t be able to complete your prostate exam.”

I’m just sayin’!….

They got the sequence all wrong though!

It goes (Searing) Heat (with optional humidity) – (High) Winds – (Torrential but short lived) Rain (which still allows for drought conditions despite flooding) – (Record) Cold (with optional wind &/or rain).

Then we have our seasonal weather option from mid-August until late September –  Hurricane, which should be depicted similar to wind with the addition of the rain background. The person should be mid-illustration and perpendicular to the ground hanging onto something for dear life as a cow flies by.

SPEAKING of the weather..this just in from reader K-Squared about what we can expect for the upcoming winter:

HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD –

+ “Farmers’ Almanac” predicts a “bitterly cold” U.S. winter – The Farmers’ Almanac is using words like “piercing cold,” “bitterly cold” and “biting cold” to describe the upcoming winter.

The 197-year-old publication that hit newsstands Monday predicts a winter storm will hit the Northeast around the time the Super Bowl is played in New Jersey. It also predicts a colder-than-normal winter for two-thirds of the country and heavy snowfall in the Midwest, Great Lakes and New England. “We’re using a very strong four-letter word to describe this winter, which is C-O-L-D. It’s going to be very cold.”

Based on planetary positions, sunspots and lunar cycles, the almanac’s secret formula is largely unchanged since the first almanac in 1818. Modern scientists don’t put much stock in sunspots or tidal action, but the almanac says its forecasts used by readers to plan weddings and plant gardens are correct about 80 percent of the time.

Last year, the forecast called for cold weather for the eastern and central U.S. with milder temperatures west of the Great Lakes. It started just the opposite, but ended up that way.

The publication’s elusive prognosticator said he was off by only a couple of days on two of the season’s biggest storms: a February blizzard that paralyzed the Northeast with 3 feet of snow in some places and a sloppy storm the day before spring’s arrival that buried parts of New England. 

Note to self buy additional fleece pants, hoodies, brown gold ingredients, Bailey’s and Bushmills seems like we’re going to need them!

 

13 Things the Government Is Trying to Hide from You

Our government is intentionally keeping massive amounts of information secret from voters.  http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/13-things-government-trying-hide-you?paging=off

“We believe most Americans would be stunned to learn the details of how these secret court opinions have interpreted…the Patriot Act.  As we see it, there is now a significant gap between what most Americans think the law allows and what the government secretly claims the law allows.  This is a problem, because it is impossible to have an informed public debate about what the law should say when the public doesn’t know what its government thinks the law says.” —U.S. senators Ron Wyden and Mark Udall

The President, the Head of the National Security Agency, the Department of Justice, the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, and the Judiciary, are intentionally keeping massive amounts of information about surveillance of US and other people secret from voters.

Additionally, some are, to say it politely, not being factually accurate in what they are telling the public. These inaccurate statements are either intentional lies meant to mislead the public or they are evidence that the people who are supposed to be in charge of oversight do not know what they are supposed to be overseeing. The most recent revelations from the Washington Post, by way of Edward Snowden, indicate the NSA breaks privacy rules or overstep its legal authority thousands of times each year. Whether people are lying or do not know what they are doing, either way, this is a significant crisis. Here are 13 examples.

1. The government seizes and searches all Internet and text communications which enter or leave the US.

On August 8, 2013, the New York Times reported that the NSA secretly collects virtually all international email and text communications which cross the US borders in or out. As the ACLU says, “the NSA thinks it’s okay to intercept and then read Americans’ emails, so long as it does so really quickly.  But that is not how the Fourth Amendment works…the invasion of Americans’ privacy is real and immediate.”

2. The government created and maintains secret backdoor access into all databases in order to search for information on US citizens.

On August 9, 2013, the Guardian revealed yet another Edward Snowden leaked document which points out “the National Security Agency has a secret backdoor into its vast databases under a legal authority enabling it to search for US citizens’ email and phone calls without a warrant.” This is a new set of secrets about surveillance of people in the US. This new policy of 2011 allows searching by US person names and identifiers when the NSA is collecting data. The document declares that analysts should not implement these queries until an oversight process has been developed. No word on whether such a process was developed or not.

3. The government operates a vast database which allows it to sift through millions of records on the Internet to show nearly everything a person does.

Recent disclosures by Snowden and Glenn Greenwald of the Guardian demonstrate the NSA operates a massive surveillance program called XKeyscore. The surveillance program has since been confirmed by other CIA officials. It allows the government to enter a person’s name or other question into the program and sift through oceans of data to produce everything there is on the Internet by or about that person or other search term.

4. The government has a special court which meets in secret to authorize access for the FBI and other investigators to millions and millions of US phone, text, email and business records.

There is a special court of federal judges which meets in secret to authorize the government to gather and review millions and millions of phone and Internet records.  This court, called the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA court), allows government lawyers to come before them in secret, with no representatives of the public or press or defense counsel allowed, to argue unopposed for more and more surveillance. This is the court which, in just one of its thousands of rulings, authorized the handing over of all call data created by Verizon within the US and between the US and abroad to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The public would never have known about the massive surveillance without the leaked documents from Snowden.

5. The government keeps top secret nearly all the decisions of the FISA court.

Nearly all of the thousands of decisions of the FISA court are themselves classified as top secret. Though the public is not allowed to know what the decisions are, public records do show how many times the government asked for surveillance authorization and how many times they were denied. These show that in the last three years, the government asked for authorization nearly 5,000 times and they were never denied. In its entire history, the FISA court has denied just 11 of 34,000 requests for surveillance.

6. The government is fighting to keep top secret a key 2011 decision of the FISA court even after the court said it could be made public.

There is an 86-page 2011 top-secret opinion of the FISA court which declared some of the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs unconstitutional. The administration, through the Department of Justice, refused to hand this over to the Electronic Frontier Foundation which filed a public records request and a lawsuit to make this public. First the government said it would hurt the FISA court to allow this to be made public. Then the FISA court itself said it can be made public. Despite this, the government is still fighting to keep it secret.

7. The government uses secret National Security Letters (NSL) issued by the FBI to seize tens of thousands of records.

With an NSL letter the FBI can demand financial records from any institution from banks to casinos, all telephone records, subscriber information, credit reports, employment information, and all email records of the target as well as the email addresses and screen names for anyone who has contacted that account. Those who received the NSLs from the FBI are supposed to keep them secret.  The reason is supposed to be for foreign counterintelligence. There is no requirement for court approval at all.  So no requests have been denied. The Patriot Act has made this much easier for the FBI.

According to congressional records, there have been over 50,000 of these FBI NSL requests in the last three years. This does not count the numerous times where the FBI persuades the disclosure of information without getting a NSL. Nor does it count FBI requests made just to find out who an email account belongs to. These reported NSL numbers also do not include the very high numbers of administrative subpoenas issued by the FBI which only require approval of a member of the local US Attorney’s office.

8. The National Security head was caught not telling the truth to Congress about the surveillance of millions of US citizens.

The director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, told the US Senate on March 12, 2013 that the NSA did not wittingly collect information on millions of Americans. After the Snowden Guardian disclosures, Clapper admitted to NBC that what he said to Congress was the “least untruthful” reply he could think of. The agency no longer denies that it collects the emails of American citizens. In a recent white paper, the NSA now admits it does “collect telephony metadata in bulk,” but does not unconstitutionally “target” American citizens.

9. The government falsely assured the US public in writing that privacy protections are significantly stronger than they actually are and senators who knew better were not allowed to disclose the truth.

Two US senators wrote the NSA a letter objecting to one “inaccurate statement” and another “somewhat misleading statement” made by the NSA in their June 2013 public fact sheet about surveillance. What are the inaccurate or misleading statements?  The public is not allowed to know because the senators had to point out the details in a secret classified section of their letter.

In the public part of their letter they did say “In our judgment this inaccuracy is significant, as it portrays protections for Americans’ privacy as being significantly stronger than they actually are…”  The senators point out that the NSA public statement assures people that communications of US citizens which are accidently acquired are promptly destroyed unless it is evidence of a crime.  However, the senators wrote that the NSA does in fact deliberately search the records of American citizens and that the NSA has said repeatedly that it is not reasonably possible to identify the number of people located in the US whose communications have been reviewed under the authority of the FISA laws. The NSA responded to these claims in an odd way.  It did not say publicly what the misleading or inaccurate statements were nor did it correct the record, instead it just deleted the fact sheet from the NSA website.

10. The chief defender of spying in the House of Representatives, the chair of the oversight intelligence subcommittee, did not tell the truth or maybe did not know the truth about surveillance.

Mike Rogers, chair of the House Permanent Intelligence Subcommittee, repeatedly told Congress and the public on TV talk shows in July that there was no government surveillance of phone calls or emails. “They do not record your e-mails…None of that was happening, none of it – I mean, zero.” Later, Snowden and Glenn Greenwald of the Guardian disclosed the NSA program called X-keyscore, which intercepts 1.7 billion emails, phone calls and other types of communications each day. Now the questions swirl about Rogers, whether he lied, or was lied to by those who engaged in surveillance, or did not understand the programs to which he was supposed to be providing oversight.

11. The House intelligence oversight committee repeatedly refused to provide basic surveillance information to elected members of the House of Representatives, Republican and Democrat.

The House intelligence oversight committee refused to allow any members of Congress outside the committee to see a 2011 document that described the NSA mass phone record surveillance. This has infuriated Republicans and Democrats who have tried to get basic information to carry out their mandated oversight obligations.

Republican Representative Morgan Griffith of Virginia wrote the House Committee on Intelligence on June 25, 2013, July 12, 2013, July 22, 2013, and July 23 2013 asking for basic information on the authorization “allowing the NSA to continue collecting data about Americans’ telephone calls.” He received no response to those requests.

After asking for basic information from the House Committee about the surveillance programs, Democrat Congressman Alan Grayson was told the committee voted to deny his request on a voice vote.  When he followed up and asked for a copy of the recorded vote he was told he could not get the information because the transcript of the committee hearing was classified.

12. The paranoia about secrecy of surveillance is so bad in the House of Representatives that an elected member of Congress was threatened for passing around copies of the Snowden disclosures which had been already printed in newspapers worldwide.

Representative Alan Grayson was threatened with sanctions for passing around copies of the Snowden information on the House floor, the same information published by the Guardian and many other newspapers around the world.

13. The Senate oversight committee refused to allow a dissenting senator to publicly discuss his objections to surveillance.

When Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) tried to amend the surveillance laws to require court orders before the government could gather communications of American citizens and to disclose how many Americans have had their communications gathered, he lost in a secret 2012 hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He was also prohibited from publicly registering or explaining his opposition for weeks.

These attempts to keep massive surveillance secrets from the public are aggravated by the constant efforts to minimize the secrets and maximize untruths. Most notably, despite all this documented surveillance, on August 6, 2013, the President said on the Jay Leno show “We don’t have a domestic spying program.”  Some commentators think the government is twisting the real meaning of words with flimsy legal arguments and irrational word games. Others say the President is engaged in “Orwellian newspeak.” More than a few say the President was not telling the truth.

Others who are defending the surveillance may not actually know what is going on but think they do because the government, like the President, is telling them there is nothing to worry about. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Chair of Senate Intelligence Committee, the congressional oversight committee which is to protect people from unlawful spying, and another chief defender of surveillance, publicly responded to Edward Snowden’s claims to have the ability to wiretap anyone if he had their personal email by saying, “I am not a high-tech techie, but I have been told that is not possible.” How that squares with revelations about the Xkeyscore program is not known. She also stated her committee’s position about protecting the privacy of people against government surveillance, “We’re always open to change, but that does not mean there will be any.”

Conclusion

President Obama just promised the nation that he would set up an independent group of outside experts to “step back and review our capabilities – particularly our surveillance technologies.” Days later Obama appointed the director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, the same person who has admitted he did not tell Congress the truth about the program, to establish a review group to assess whether surveillance is being done in a manner that maintains the public trust. After an uproar about the fox guarding the henhouse, the White House reversed itself and said Clapper will not choose the members of the group after all. The names of the members have not been made public as of the time of this writing.

Bill Quigley is a human rights lawyer and professor at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. He is also a member of the legal collective of School of Americas Watch.

I said it before (above) and I’ll say it again:

Welcome to your Orwellian Nightmare.

Don’t bother trying to wake up- its too late your resistance has been rendered futile by the Obama, the NSA & the Libatards. Worst of all everyone of you who has read what Impish and I have been saying the last 5 years and ignored our warnings and predictions are at fault! You did nothing and they won because of it.

Good Morning Campers! (Good Morning Diaman)
Guess what day it is!
Come on, guess what day it is!
No, I’m not a camel, it’s not hump day and this is not a Geico commercial.

Today is International Bacon Day!!!!
Probably tied with the Super Bowl as the most manly of holidays!
A day specifically designed for the enjoyment of BACON in all it’s marvelous forms!

International Bacon Day or Bacon Day is an official observance held on the Saturday before Labor Day in the United States. (Labor Day is traditionally the first Monday of September). Bacon day celebrations typically include social gatherings during which participants create and consume dishes containing bacon, including bacon-themed breakfasts, lunches, dinners, desserts, and drinks.^[1][2]

Bacon Day was conceived in Bedford, Massachusetts in 2000 by the residents of the Crag.^[3]

Okay, so that’s Wikipedia’s official explanation.  .so, it’s not real heavy on details, so let’s take a look at bacon.wiki.com

International Bacon Day or Bacon Day is an unofficial observance, often celebrated on the Saturday before US Labor Day (the first Monday of September). Some cultures, however, celebrate on 19th of February, while others celebrate the day on the first Saturday in January after the new year.

Bacon day celebrations typically include social gatherings during which participants create and consume dishes containing bacon, including bacon-themed breakfasts, lunches, dinners, desserts, and drinks. Bacon Day gatherings may also include the consumption of soy bacon or turkey bacon.

Bacon Day was conceived in 2004 by a group of CU Boulder (Colorado) graduate students. Bacon Day in Manchester UK is celebrated by several students on the 14th January, prior to January examinations as a distraction from revision. Bucknell students are also known for their bacon day celebrations, calling themselves “Meatheads”, and gorging on as much bacon as possible.

Hmm, not the same back story at all.
Well, not to worry, we aren’t really concerned with the history or the background, we are overly concerned with the complete and total celebration of this greatest of foods.

Okay, so there isn’t really that many bacon “jokes”.  There are a lot of bacon cartoons, videos, foods, etc.   but jokes…not so much.  The only one I can think of is the Mexicans trapped in the desert, crawling forward, they spot a special tree at an oasis, a tree made of bacon.  The one Mexican leaps over the hill and runs to the bacon tree, when shots ring out.  The first Mexican shouts back to the second one, “Amigo, stay away!! Is not a bacon tree!  Is a Ham-Bush!”

Yeah, I know… pretty lame.
Let’s laugh at some other stuff…

Yup….even bacon flavored dragon pix!
Haven’t you ever wondered how bacon is made?  I have.  This one is fun!

The best of pancakes and bacon!  This is a brilliant idea!

I know.  I pray for bacon every day!

Can you imagine, the way world politics would work if all the world leaders first of all received this bouquet every morning before they went to work and then had to share bacon with any other world leader that they met with before they began negations.  World peace.

It there is anything more important than a bacon celebration, which I can only think of one thing and one thing only.  And that is the celebration and announcing of a national hero…

I was going to print the Official Narrative here, but it’s pretty long.  But, if you want to read an exciting story, written like the script of one of the best war movies you’ve ever seen.  I highly, HIGHLY recommend clicking on the above link…. or if that’s too far away then here it is:
http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/carter/narrative.html

This man, as well as his mates, are true and total heroes.  Lethal wants to make him an honorary Marine.  I want to name him an honorary Emergency Manager.  Okay, so that’s not near as special as being an honorary Marine, but that’s the best I got. 

I hope you enjoyed the special issue today, let me know what you thought.

Wow the last August issue of Leprechaun Laughs! This summer has really flown by! I’ve been semi phoning it in all summer and I still have yet to make a serious dent in all the junk on my hard drive. I may have to think about extending the clean out until at least Thanksgiving. Especially since Labor Day denotes the start of fall classes for Molly and this time around for me too. Have to keep up with the certifications and education since hackers, sneak,s thieves and Libatard Big Brother keep coming up with new ways to breach out computers and plunder our private info

Speaking of Labor Day, this time next week we’ll all be hard back at our labors post Labor Day 3 day weekend. Our last long weekend for this year will be behind us, unless you have a very generous boss who is feeling extra thankful come Thanksgiving.

The post Labor Day time of year brings so many signs of the impending Fall Season, no more sightings of Impish parading around in tennis whites, the most active time for Hurricane Season for those of us on the Gulf Coast. The noisy inconsiderate brats I MEAN eager to learn children returning to the bus stops for school and bus drivers who take perverse pleasure in seeing just how long a traffic back up they can create every morning on their routes. The Ice Cream truck with their teeth grindingly irritating electronic calliope music of mind liquefying doom will also cease operations shortly for the winter while their marketing departments work feverously on a new midi jingle to replace the one you have almost succeeded in tuning out.

A near miraculous & continuous transformation starts happening in stores too from now until St. Patrick’s Day. By Tuesday the 2nd the seasonal aisles of the stores will be totally devoid of any signs of summer for which you will now have to search the clearance & mark down lanes. Seasonal will now be dominated with bric-a-brac denoting fall only to be replaced shortly the month long temptation of candy and assorted garish paper decoration products  for Halloween which will also see an momentary upsweep in toilet paper, bar soap and egg sales to the under legal age crowd.

As soon as Halloween arrives the transformation to Thanksgiving items will sweep the stores as if done by exiting for the year witches on their way out. The Puritans & Indians upon their exit will thoughtfully have stocked the shelves with Christmas Holiday seasonal items and filled the stores to bursting with material possessions to purchase. You will be unavoidably caught up ‘in the spirit of giving & the season’ thereby proving not only the depth of your love for those on your gift list but the depth of your ignorance for the true meaning of the season yet again while store owners weep with relief at finally turning a profit for the year.

Santa on his way back to the North Pole will have his elves scurrying to restock the seasonal aisle for New Year’s . The New Years Babe and Father time seemingly get a pass on stocking the seasonal aisle while we all engage in the Post Holiday Depression of maxed out credit cards and seek solace for ourselves in the January Whites Sale.

Who does the stocking for Valentine’s Day is still somewhat of a mystery. Best theorists hold that the Candy & Greeting Card industry employ all the worlds Ninjas and unemployed cherubs to get the deed done and the Cherubs are responsible for stocking the shelves for St Patrick’s Day once they quivers are empty.

Fortunately St Patrick, us Leprechauns, the Fairies and all the Irish folk are followed by a Holiday void of sorts as by the end of the day we’re all too far in our cups to actually do much of anything and the following day about all we can do is moan, hiss at sunlight and swear to take the Tippler’s Oath never to drink again.

Global Facts About Sex

At any given moment:

FACT: 79,000,000 people are having sex – right now.
FACT: 58,000,000 are kissing.
FACT: 37,000,000 are relaxing after having sex.
FACT: 1 old person is reading e-mails.

You hang in there, Sunshine! You too Impish!

Labor Day: How it Came About; What it Means

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

Founder of Labor Day

More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers.

Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those “who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold.”

But Peter McGuire’s place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.

The First Labor Day

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.

In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a “workingmen’s holiday” on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.

Labor Day Legislation

Through the years the nation gave increasing emphasis to Labor Day. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. From them developed the movement to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During the year four more states — Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York — created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 other states had adopted the holiday in honor of workers, and on June 28 of that year, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.

A Nationwide Holiday

The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public “the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations” of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.

The character of the Labor Day celebration has undergone a change in recent years, especially in large industrial centers where mass displays and huge parades have proved a problem. This change, however, is more a shift in emphasis and medium of expression. Labor Day addresses by leading union officials, industrialists, educators, clerics and government officials are given wide coverage in newspapers, radio, and television.

The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation’s strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker.

SPEAKING OF OBSERVING HOLIDAYS- Here is a free bit of medical advice for all our good readers:

You might want to consider doubling up on your Lipitor, Oatmeal, Cheerios and/or other assorted cholesterol lowering related regimens for the remainder of the week.

Impish claims there is a little known holiday of extreme importance to us that will take place on Saturday and feature prominently in his issue. Apparently this holiday is reputed to scare Al Qaida and Cardiologist nearly to death every year so I think I’d follow his advice.

He won’t tell me what it is but he claims its bigger and more important that National Pie Day and considering how much of a store Impish sets by pie that’s a pretty significant statement!

Obama was asleep in the white house and awoke to see Washington’s ghost. He asked, “George, how can I make this country better?”

Washington said, “Be honest with the people like I was.”

Obama went back to sleep and awoke again this time to Thomas Jefferson and asked, “Tom, how can I make this country better?”

Jefferson said, “Love the Constitution like I did.”

Again Obama fell asleep and awoke this time to Lincoln and asked, “Abe, how can I make this country better?”

Lincoln replied, “Go see a play.”

 

Brilliant!  Updated to this century and the “information age.”

You  have to be old enough to remember Abbott and Costello and too old  to REALLY understand computers, to fully appreciate this. For  those of us who sometimes get flustered by our computers, please  read on…

If Bud  Abbott and Lou Costello were alive today, their infamous sketch,  ‘Who’s on First?’ might have turned out something like this: 
COSTELLO  CALLS TO BUY A COMPUTER FROM  ABBOTT

ABBOTT:  Super  Duper computer store. Can I help you?

COSTELLO:  Thanks  I’m setting up an office in my den and I’m thinking about buying a  computer.

ABBOTT:  Mac?

COSTELLO:  No, the  name’s Lou.

ABBOTT:  Your  computer?

COSTELLO: I  don’t own a computer. I want to buy one.

ABBOTT:  Mac?

COSTELLO:  I told  you, my name’s Lou.

ABBOTT:  What  about Windows?

COSTELLO:  Why?  Will it get stuffy in here?

ABBOTT:  Do you  want a computer with Windows?

COSTELLO:  I don’t  know. What will I see when I look at the windows?

ABBOTT:  Wallpaper.

COSTELLO:  Never  mind the windows. I need a computer and  software.

ABBOTT:  Software  for Windows?

COSTELLO:  No. On  the computer! I need something I can use to write  proposals, track  expenses and run my business. What do you have?

ABBOTT:  Office.

COSTELLO:  Yeah,  for my office. Can you recommend  anything?

ABBOTT:  I just  did.

COSTELLO:  You  just did what?

ABBOTT:  Recommend  something.

COSTELLO:  You  recommended something?

ABBOTT:  Yes.

COSTELLO:  For my  office?

ABBOTT:  Yes.

COSTELLO:  OK,  what did you recommend for my office?

ABBOTT:  Office.

COSTELLO:  Yes,  for my office!

ABBOTT:  I  recommend Office with Windows.

COSTELLO:  I  already have an office with windows! OK, let’s just say I’m  sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal. What do I  need?

ABBOTT:  Word.

COSTELLO:  What  word?

ABBOTT:  Word in  Office.

COSTELLO:  The  only word in office is office.

ABBOTT:  The  Word in Office for Windows.

COSTELLO:  Which  word in office for windows?

ABBOTT:  The  Word you get when you click the blue ‘W’.

COSTELLO:  I’m  going to click your blue ‘W’ if you don’t start with some straight  answers. What  about financial bookkeeping? Do you have anything I can track my  money with?

ABBOTT:  Money.

COSTELLO:  That’s  right. What do you have?

ABBOTT:  Money.

COSTELLO:  I need  money to track my money?

ABBOTT:  It  comes bundled with your computer.

COSTELLO:  What’s  bundled with my computer?

ABBOTT:  Money.

COSTELLO:  Money  comes with my computer?

ABBOTT:  Yes. At  no extra charge.

COSTELLO:  I get a  bundle of money with my computer? How much?

ABBOTT:  One  copy.

COSTELLO:  Isn’t  it illegal to copy money?

ABBOTT:  Microsoft  gave us a license to copy Money.

COSTELLO:  They  can give you a license to copy money?

ABBOTT:  Why  not? THEY OWN IT!

(A few  days later)
ABBOTT:  Super  Duper computer store. Can I help you?
COSTELLO:  How do  I turn my computer off?
ABBOTT: Click on  ‘START.’

Two blondes living in Oklahoma  were sitting on a bench talking, and one blonde says to the other, “Which do you think is farther away…. Florida or the moon?”  

The other blonde turns and says “Helloooooooooo, can you see Florida ?????”  

CAR TROUBLE

A blonde pushes her BMW into a gas station. She tells the mechanic it died.  

After he works on it for a few minutes, it is idling smoothly.  

She says, “What’s the story?”  

He replies, “Just crap in the carburetor.”  

She asks, “How often do I have to do that?”

SPEEDING TICKET

A police officer stops a blonde for speeding and asks her very nicely if he could see her license. 

She replied in a huff, “I wish you guys would get your act together. Just yesterday you take away my license and then today you expect me to show it to you!”  

RIVER WALK

There’s this blonde out for a walk. She comes to a river and sees another blonde on the opposite bank. “Yoo-hoo!” she shouts, “How can I get to the other side?”  

The second blonde looks up the river then down the river and shouts back, “You ARE on the other side.”  

AT THE DOCTOR’S OFFICE

A gorgeous young redhead goes into the doctor’s office and said that her body hurt wherever she touched it.  

“Impossible!” says the doctor. “Show me.”  

The redhead took her finger, pushed on her left shoulder and screamed, then she pushed her elbow and screamed even more. She pushed her knee and screamed; likewise she pushed her ankle and screamed. Everywhere she touched made her scream.  

The doctor said, “You’re not really a redhead, are you?  

“Well, no” she said, “I’m actually a blonde.”  

“I thought so,” the doctor said. “Your finger is broken.”  

KNITTING

A highway patrolman pulled alongside a speeding car on the freeway. Glancing at the car, he was astounded to see that the blonde behind the wheel was knitting!  

Realizing that she was oblivious to his flashing lights and siren, the trooper cranked down his window, turned on his bullhorn and yelled, “PULL OVER!”  

“NO!” the blonde yelled back, “IT’S A SCARF!”  

BLONDE ON THE SUN

A Russian, an American, and a Blonde were talking one day. The Russian said, “We were the first in space!”  

The American said, “We were the first on the moon!”   

The Blonde said, “So what? We’re going to be the first on the sun!”  

The Russian and the American looked at each other and shook their heads.  “You can’t land on the sun, you idiot! You’ll burn up!” said the Russian. 

To which the Blonde replied, “We’re not stupid, you know. We’re going at night!”  

IN A VACUUM

A blonde was playing Trivial Pursuit one night. It was her turn. She rolled the dice and she landed on Science & Nature. Her question was, “If you are in a vacuum and someone calls your name, can you hear it?”  

She thought for a time and then asked, “Is it on or off?”  

FINALLY, THE BLONDE JOKE TO END ALL BLONDE JOKES!

A girl was visiting her blonde friend, who had acquired two new dogs, and asked her what their names were. The blonde responded by saying that one was named Rolex and one was named Timex.  Her friend said, “Whoever heard of someone naming dogs like that?”  

“HELLLOOOOOOO….,” answered the blond…  “They’re watch dogs!”

OK! OK! I’ll stop the blonde jokes! I’ll switch to ones about mythical blue scaled giant lizards- there about on par with Blondes  IQ wise and they’re harder to find so they whine about the jokes less!

Another sure sign of fall is pumpkins, a favorite produce of mine. Here is an early jump on a new twist for the use of pumpkin.

Pumpkin Pie Fall Smoothie

• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 teaspoon agave syrup
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 apple, cored
• Dried cranberries (or craisins)

Combine all ingredients except cranberries in blender and blend until smooth. Top with cranberries.

Makes 3 cups

Seems to me with a little thought/effort this could be turned into a mousse desert or with a little Dark or Spiced Rum (macerate the dried cranberries in it first) a fine adult chilly fall evening beverage.

DETROIT – The Canary In The Coal Mine Private Enterprise Built It, Government Destroyed It.

CAUSE – 60 Years of Democrats + Public Sector Unions

SOLUTION – Privatize Government Services Shrink All Government – City, County, State and Federal Smaller Government = Better Government

The Work versus Welfare Trade-Off: 2013 | Cato Institute

http://www.cato.org/publications/white-paper/work-versus-welfare-trade

A real eye-opener!

Considering that welfare benefits aren’t taxed, many are better off quitting their jobs and going on welfare….i.e. living off the taxes paid by people who work.

“not only did the value of such benefits greatly exceed the poverty level but, because welfare benefits are tax-free, their dollar value was greater than the amount of take-home income a worker would receive from an entry-level job.”

“The current welfare system provides such a high level of benefits that it acts as a disincentive for work. Welfare currently pays more than a minimum-wage job in 35 states, even after accounting for the Earned Income Tax Credit, and in 13 states it pays more than $15 per hour.”

Read the Full White Paper

• .pdf (4.16 MB)
• .epub (466.27 KB)
• .mobi (2.16 MB)

 

See by spreading the blue scaled giant lizard jokes out their attention span and short term memory is so bad they think each new one is the first one!

Continuing our coverage of your rapidly eroding right to privacy and personal security when it comes to your computer and cell phone.

Here are the latest twists you should be aware of.

Is Google following you? Internet giant’s latest mobile operating system tracks user’s location even when Wi-Fi is switched OFF

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2386112/Is-Google-following-Latest-mobile-operating-tracks-users-location.html

FBI can remotely activate microphones in Android smartphones, source says

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/08/02/fbi-can-remotely-activate-microphones-in-android-smartphones-source-says/

Gmail users or people who email them should NOT expect privacy, Google claims in a stunning admission

• The statement was made in response to a lawsuit accusing Google of violating privacy laws when its reads emails
• It follows a string of accusations against Google for it privacy policies
• Last week, the group’s Android phone operating system revealed a feature that will track user’s locations even when Wi-Fi is turned off

By Ellie Zolfagharifard

PUBLISHED: 06:29 EST, 14 August 2013 | UPDATED: 06:50 EST, 14 August 2013

Google has stated that people should not expect privacy when they send messages to a Gmail account. 

This is according to a brief that was filed last month in a U.S. federal court and recently picked up by Consumer Watchdog.

The company claims ‘all users of email must necessarily expect that their emails will be subject to automated processing.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2392773/Gmail-email-users-NOT-expect-privacy-Google-claims-stunning-admission.html

There, there now Impish! I’ve seen some of those photos and the word you are looking for is not ‘kinky’ its ‘HINKY’!

 

DAMN IMPISH! It’s like you’re wearing a bight orange vest with a target painted on the back of it the way that bus keeps finding you!

 

#1: It doesn’t taste any better

In a 2010 study published in the Journal of Sensory Studies, researchers asked people to rate the taste of six bottled mineral waters and six types of tap water. They found that, overall, bottled water didn’t perform any better than the stuff from the tap. The reason: It’s mineral concentration, not “water purity,” that influences flavor. The study’s participants preferred water with medium mineralization, which they described as “tasteless” and “cooler,” but whether it came from a bottle or the tap made little difference.

#2: It’s not necessarily pure

The Natural Resources Defense Council recently tested 1,000 bottles of water and discovered that about 22 percent of the brands in the study contained chemical contaminants at levels above state health limits. And in 2011, California State University researchers tested six brands of bottled water and found that while none contained more than the legal level of contaminates, all six exceeded California public health goals for arsenic. There’s also substantial research showing that when certain plastic bottles are heated at high temperatures, chemicals from the plastic can leach into a container’s contents (a good reason not to store cases of water in the garage this summer). The takeaway: Don’t let label jargon like “pure” and “natural” fool you. Unlike bottled water, tap water is subject to strict federal, state, and local guidelines, making it a safer beverage choice.

#3: It may be glorified tap water

Exotic names and labels conjure up images of tropical waterfalls and mountaintop springs, but in reality, roughly 25 percent of all bottled water comes from municipal water sources. Coca-Cola’s Dasani, for example, is nothing but purified tap water with added minerals. And Pepsi’s Aquafina? Another bottle of city water. I don’t know about you, but if I’m going to be drinking tap water anyway, I’d rather save some cash and drink the free version.

Personally I bought one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/PLUMB-Counter-Top-Filtration-System-CTF/dp/B0014ZLJ4G/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1376936816&sr=8-13&keywords=Counter+top+water+filter

(actually I bought 3 one for each sink in the apartment) which attaches directly to the faucet and takes a cartridge like this:

http://www.amazon.com/KX-Reduction-Replacement-Cartridge-06-250-125-975/dp/B000246SMS/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1376936910&sr=8-5&keywords=Counter+top+water+filter+cartridges#productDetails

which is good for 6 months/2500 gallon of water. Since our water is so high in Iron and calcium we only get about 4 months/1750 gallons to a cartridge. Still including the initial investment in the counter top filter housing that comes out to $0.03/gallon of water for those 1750 gallons. Standard water bottles are just over 1 pint and come 24 to a case. We generally buy the Kroger brand because its cheapest and on sale often at 2/$5.

24 pints is  equal to 3 gallons for the $2.50 per case price or $0.83/gal or 27.66 times the cost of filtering it yourself. I have to point out that hot beverages made with filtered water no  ONLY taste better they make coffee makers and their like last far longer too because you do not get the same levels of mineral build up in them

#4: It’s hurting our planet

Most water bottles are made of a plastic called polyethylene terepthalate, or PET. There are two problems with PET bottles. Problem 1: They take a boatload of crude oil to produce. University of Louisville researchers estimate that around 17 million barrels of oil are used each year to produce PET water bottles—a major reason why bottled water costs roughly four times as much as gasoline. Problem 2: We’re chucking our water bottles in the trash, instead of the recycling bin. According to the Container Recycling Institute, nearly 90 percent of the 30 billion PET water bottles we buy annually end up in landfills—a huge problem when you consider that PET bottles take from 400 to 1,000 years to decompose. The bottom line: We should all take a cue from environmentally conscious activists like the folks at the University of Vermont—which recently banned bottled-water sales on campus—and opt for the tap whenever possible.

We use our insulated travel mugs or reusable water bottles which are very simple to clean and/or sterilize.

http://www.amazon.com/bubba-travel-mug-classic-navy/dp/B00881MPHY/ref=sr_1_sc_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1377017300&sr=8-3-spell&keywords=Bubabkeg

http://www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-Refill-Reuse-20-ounce-Bottle/dp/B00BR1G7GC/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1377017224&sr=8-15&keywords=reusable+water+bottles

 

It rare that I can post a Parting Shot and get my point across about what I have posted w/o a several paragraphs long diatribe on the issue. However so much great graphic material on the issue was finding its way into my Inbox that I find myself in the position of not having to utter a word on this particular subject. Heck there was even one that was too good to pass up as Header material! It just doesn’t get any better than that! You maker take all the interspersed graphics both as a way of keeping your attention and as my mumbled comments/thoughts as I read the article.

Fixing what’s wrong with Stop and Frisk

Published: Friday, August 16, 2013 Editorial from the Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com.

In an emphatic defense of civil liberties, federal judge Shira A. Scheindlin on Monday declared that significant portions of New York City’s controversial “stop and frisk” policing tactic — at least as it’s been employed throughout the Bloomberg administration — were unconstitutional.

While the policy accompanied a steep decline in the homicide rate in recent years, the unfortunate reality is that the city’s use of stop and frisk has come to represent the largest racial profiling operation in the United States, with African Americans and Hispanics accounting for more than 80 percent of the 4.4 million stops conducted over eight years. That has undermined the trust residents place in law enforcement, especially in minority communities.

Both reasonable and practical, Judge Scheindlin’s 195-page ruling ultimately afforded civil rights the primacy they deserve. “The goals of liberty and safety may be in tension,” she wrote, “but they can coexist — indeed the Constitution mandates it.”

 

Despite the firestorm the ruling in Floyd v. City of New York has already ignited in City Hall — where, within hours of the decision, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, true to form, vowed to appeal_ the judge didn’t outlaw New York’s use of stop and frisk, a tool the Supreme Court has supported. She merely found that the New York Police Department, in its particular application of the practice, had violated both the plaintiffs’ Fourth and 14th Amendment rights — the first guarantees freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, and the second guarantees equal protection under the law to every person, regardless of race.

As a corrective measure, the judge ordered an “immediate” change to the policy and the appointment of an outside lawyer, Peter L. Zimroth, to monitor the NYPD’s use of stop and frisk. These requirements are similar to measures the New York City Council passed this summer that were met with a veto from Mr. Bloomberg. If the judge’s ruling holds, oversight and accountability for stop and frisk finally would become the law.

 

Perhaps the most valuable piece of the opinion, however, was its condemnation of what the judge called City’s Hall’s “deliberate indifference” to the racial disparity in law enforcement techniques. “In their zeal to defend a policy that they believe to be effective,” the judge wrote of New York’s leaders, presumably Mr. Bloomberg and Raymond W. Kelly, his police chief, “they have willfully ignored overwhelming proof that the policy of targeting ‘the right people’ is racially discriminatory.”

Less than a month after George Zimmerman was acquitted on charges of manslaughter and second-degree murder for killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, and after President Obama’s moving response in the days that followed, those words have a special resonance.