Well in case you hadn’t heard, the Army/Navy game was last Saturday and for the eleventh straight year, Navy has beaten Army.

Now normally this might be considered a big deal in a grudge match rivalry game, but Army was 2/9 on the season and Navy barely got the job done. In fact until just about the 4 minute mark in the fourth quarter Army was in serious contention to win. I’ll even, as a loyal Navy man, say that Navy didn’t win the game as much as Army lost it with that ill timed fumble.

Personally, for me the biggest disgrace of the game was not Navy’s poor play or Army’s fumble, it was CBS.

Army quarterback Trent Steelman fumbled the ball late in the fourth quarter effectively killing the very real hopes Army had at breaking their losing streak against Navy. Steelman the ONLY Army player in the game to have started all 4 years against Navy was devastated. Once on his sidelines he was inconsolable. I can only imagine how he felt, given that military tradition had him dismissing any thoughts of lost personal glory for breaking the losing streak after so long instead focusing on how he had let his team mates down and how he was going to face them shortly in the locker room.

Understandably the kid simply melted down. From that point on every second there was not play on the field the soulless emotionless bastards on the CBS control booth went out of their way to make sure there was a camera broadcasting this poor kid’s misery. Apparently the fact that this quarterback of a 2/9 team made Navy work their butts off and obtain a win more by luck than and gridiron skill shown during the game became irrelevant taking a backseat to the opportunity to gleefully broadcast his personal misery and incessantly comment on it.

IS THIS what we have become? A nation of empathy-less rubberneckers reveling in the televised misery of others, who have done their best and fallen short of the extremely high bar they have set for themselves? What’s next ? The All Horrendous Accidents Live Channel? Roman Gladiatorial Games? Maybe this time around we can feed the Terrorist and Muslim fanatics to the Lions.

Whatever happen to compassion, professionalism, objectivity and CLASS in Television journalism? Did it die with the changing of the guard at 60 Minutes? WAS it slowly poisoned by people like Geraldo Rivera, Jerry Springer, Dr. Phil and finally die a screaming death with the advent of REALITY TELEVISION??!!

SHAME on CBS for focusing their broadcasting on Steelman at that point in the name of ratings and shame even more on those of us who watched.

Maybe it really IS time for the world to end if that is what we have become.

P. S.: The Patriots rode the Texans all up down the field and tunnels of Gillette Field Monday night like a bronco rider digging his spurs into a mean ride for the full 8 seconds and a final score of  14 to 42. While this makes me very happy it also makes me much despised in Molly’s family. Christmas dinner just got more …complicated since both factions, the Pro Texan Football teams and the Anti Notre Dame haters will be present and greatly riled up over both situations.

 

The bar room was crowded.

All of a sudden, the cute little thing on the stool began to cry.

The barkeep asked, “What’s the trouble, Sweetie?”

She sobbed, “I’m a virgin, and my boyfriend won’t have anything to do with me because I’m inexperienced. What should I do?”

Three men and a lesbian were killed along with Impish and Lethal in the rush.

How To Read Your Losing Powerball Ticket

Recently the Powerball Jackpot reached in excess of 500 million dollars (that’s half a billion put another way folks). Obviously since Impish and I are still here posting regularly and not off picking out new cars and Christmas Cruises ‘round the world for our wives whilst making secret plans to work our way through the wait staff of an entire Hooters while they are gone, neither of us won any of that half billion dollar bounty. We thought since the rest of you appeared to be might like this helpful tip in interpreting your losing Powerball ticket’s hidden meaning:

Just Another Christmas Song – Stephen Colbert

  ^^ Yo! It’s a clickable link so help me out and click it already!^^

Why aren’t you morons panicking yet? What does Mayan Calendar
have to do, take out full-page newspaper ads?!?

Haiku:
Inevitable
Destruction, foretold long ago;
Mayan Calendar!

In about two weeks, you will no longer be playing Six Degrees of
Kevin Bacon. It’ll be more like *600* Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

Mayan Calendar worries that even IT won’t be able to kill
Keith Richards.

Nostalgic for the ’60s? I’ve got good news: Soon, EVERY lamp
will be a lava lamp!

 

The Secrets Behind Ireland’s Ancient Celtic Christmas Customs

 

Holiday traditions dating back to when Gaelic culture and religion in Ireland were suppressed

Ireland, like most countries, has a number of Christmas traditions that are all of its own.

Many of these customs have their roots in the time when the Gaelic culture and religion of the country were being suppressed, and it is perhaps because of that that they have survived into modern times.

The candle in the window

The placing of a lighted candle in the window of a house on Christmas eve is still practiced today. It has a number of purposes, but primarily it was an symbol of welcome to Mary and Joseph as they traveled looking for shelter.

The candle also indicated a safe place for priests to perform mass as, during Penal Times, this was not allowed.

A further element of the tradition is that the candle should be lit by the youngest member of the household and only be extinguished by a girl bearing the name “Mary.”

The laden table

After the evening meal on Christmas Eve, the kitchen table was again set and on it were placed a loaf of bread filled with caraway seeds and raisins, a pitcher of milk, and a large lit candle. The door to the house was left unlatched so that Mary and Joseph, or any wandering traveler, could avail of the welcome.

The wren boy procession

During Penal Times, there was once a plot against the local soldiers in a village. They were surrounded and were about to be ambushed when a group of wrens pecked on their drums and awakened the soldiers. The plot failed and the wren became known as “The Devil’s bird.”

On St. Stephens day, a procession takes place where a pole with a holly bush is carried from house to house and families dress up in old clothes and with blackened faces. In olden times, an actual wren would be killed and placed on top of the pole.

This custom has to a large degree disappeared, but the tradition of visiting from house to house on St. Stephens Day has survived and is very much part of Christmas.

Decorations

The placing of a ring of holly on doors originated in Ireland as Holly was one of the main plants that flourished at Christmas time and which gave the poor ample means with which to decorate their dwellings.

All decorations are traditionally taken down on Little Christmas (January 6th). and it is considered to be bad luck to take them down beforehand.

Traditional Gaelic salutation

The Gaelic greeting for “Merry Christmas” is “Nollaig Shona Duit,” which is pronounced as “null-ig hun-a dit.”

Why Men Wear Earrings  

Did you ever wonder why earrings became so popular with men?

A man is at work one day when he notices that his co-worker is wearing an earring. The man knows his co-worker to be a normally conservative fellow, and is curious about his sudden change in “fashion sense.”

The man walks up to him and says, “I didn’t know you were into earrings.”

“Don’t make such a big deal, it’s only an earring,” he replies sheepishly.

His friend falls silent for a few minutes, but then his curiosity prods him to ask, “So, how long have you been wearing one?”

And he explains, “Ever since my wife found it in my truck.”

Speaking of ‘The Laden Table’, lets do a few more holiday recipes for you to get you cheer and goodwill on with. Since Hanukkah also known as the Festival of Lights is currently under way I thought a few traditional non Christmas dishes that can be enjoyed by all would be a good idea  as well as more  goodies for the baked goods buffet. Better loosen those belts another notch and grab your forks!

Holiday Brisket with Savory Onion Jus

At a glance

Prep 15 min.

Total 3 hr. 40 min.

Serves 8

Cook: 3 hr. 15 min.

Stand: 10 min.

Flavorful brisket, butternut squash and onions slowly simmer in a sweet and savory sauce until the meat is fork-tender and delicious.

What You’ll Need

2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
6 medium onions, cut into quarters
1 medium butternut squash (about 3 pounds), peeled, seeded and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes (about 6 cups)
1 boneless beef brisket (about 3 pounds)
1 3/4 cups Swanson® Beef Broth or Swanson® Beef Stock
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 can (about 28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes

How to Make It

• 1

  Heat the oil in an 8-quart saucepot over medium-high heat. Add onions and squash and cook over medium heat until they’re tender-crisp. Remove the vegetables from the saucepot.

• 2

  Season the beef as desired. Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the beef to the saucepot and cook until it’s well browned on all sides. Remove the beef from the saucepot. Pour off any fat.

• 3

  Add the broth, orange juice, wine, brown sugar and tomatoes to the saucepot and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Return the beef to the saucepot. Cover and cook for 2 hours.

• 4

  Return the vegetables to the saucepot. Cover and cook for 1 hour or until the beef is fork-tender.

• 5

  Remove the beef to a cutting board. Let stand for 10 minutes. Serve the beef with the vegetables and sauce.

Head scratch yourself for a minute or two and I’m sure you can see as I do that this recipe will translate well for cooking in a Crockpot while you do other holiday things.

Latkes with Sour Cream-Mushroom Sauce

At a glance

Prep 20 min.

Total 40 min.

Serves 16 (I call BULL! Feeds 4 if you’re lucky!)

Cook: 20 min.

Traditional potato pancakes are tastier when they’re served with this creamy mushroom-onion sauce.

What You’ll Need

2 large russet potatoes, shredded (about 3 cups)
5 green onions, chopped (about 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell’s® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)
Vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream

How to Make It

• 1

  Place the potatoes into a colander. Rinse with cold water. Blot dry with paper towels.

• 2

  Stir the potatoes, 1/2 cup onions, flour and 1/2 cup soup in a medium bowl.

• 3

  Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. For each latke, drop 2 tablespoons potato mixture in the skillet, flattening into a 3-inch round with the back of a spoon. Cook the latkes, 5 or 6 at a time, until well browned on both sides. Drain the latkes on paper towels.

• 4

  Stir the sour cream, remaining soup and onions in a small bowl. Serve the sour cream mixture with the latkes.

Fudge-Filled Irresistible Peanut Butter Cookies

Prep Time: 30 min

Cook Time: 10 min

Yield: 48 sandwich cookies

INGREDIENTS:

• COOKIES
• No-Stick Cooking Spray
• 1 1/2 cups Creamy Peanut Butter
• 1 cup All-Vegetable Shortening
  
• 2 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 3 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• FILLING
• 1 (14 oz.) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. HEAT oven to 375°F. Coat baking sheets with no-stick cooking spray.
2. For Cookies: BEAT peanut butter, shortening, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs. Beat just until blended.
3. COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Add to creamed mixture on low speed, mixing just until blended. Drop by level tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets.
4. BAKE 6 to 7 minutes or until set and just beginning to brown. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove to wire rack to cool completely.
5. For Filling: MICROWAVE sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips in medium microwave-safe bowl on HIGH for 1 1/2 minutes or until melted and smooth when stirred. Stir in vanilla. Let cool 15 minutes. Spread generously on flat side of half the cookies. Top with remaining cookies, flat side down, to form sandwich cookies.

Rich, Decadent Cappuccino Fudge Cheesecake

Coffee, rich, dark fudge, and luscious cheesecake converge here for a decadent dream of a dessert. It’s going to take some time and effort — but it’s worth it! This is definitely a special occasion dessert. Did I mention Kahlúa is one of the ingredients? The recipe calls for chocolate wafer cookies, which are probably worth looking for if you’re a stickler for perfection. But between us, I think your crust will come out fine if you use Oreos with the filling scooped out. (One of those old school cheese cutters with the wire between the arms of the ‘Y’ works really good for the filling removal)

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 (9-ounce) box chocolate wafer cookies
• 6 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 7 tablespoons hot melted unsalted butter

Ganache

• 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
• 20 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/4 cup Kahlúa or other coffee-flavored liqueur

Filling

• 4 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons dark rum
• 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder or coffee crystals
• 2 tablespoons ground whole espresso coffee beans (medium-coarse grind)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons mild-flavored (light) molasses
• 4 large eggs

Topping

• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Espresso coffee beans (optional)

Directions

For crust: Finely grind cookies, chopped chocolate, brown sugar, and nutmeg in processor. Add butter and process until crumbs begin to stick together, scraping down bowl occasionally, about 1 minute. Transfer crumbs to 10-inch-diameter springform pan with 3-inch-high sides. Wrap plastic wrap around fingers and press crumb mixture firmly up sides to within 1/2 inch of top edge, then over bottom of pan.

For ganache: Bring whipping cream to simmer in large saucepan. Remove from heat; add chocolate and Kahlúa. Whisk until chocolate is melted and ganache is smooth. Pour 2 cups ganache over bottom of crust. Freeze until ganache layer is firm, about 30 minutes. Reserve remaining ganache; cover and let stand at room temperature to use later for creating lattice pattern.

For filling: Position rack in middle of oven and preheat to 350°F. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until blended. Beat in flour. Stir rum, espresso powder, ground coffee, vanilla, and molasses in small bowl until instant coffee dissolves; beat into cream cheese mixture. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl.

Pour filling over cold ganache in crust. Place cheesecake on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until top is brown, puffed and cracked at edges, and center 2 inches moves only slightly when pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour 5 minutes. Transfer cheesecake to rack. Cool 15 minutes while preparing topping (top of cheesecake will fall slightly). Maintain oven temperature.

For topping: Whisk sour cream, sugar, and vanilla in medium bowl to blend. Pour topping over hot cheesecake, spreading to cover filling completely. Bake until topping is set, about 10 minutes. Transfer cheesecake to rack. Refrigerate hot cheesecake on rack until cool, about 3 hours.

Run small sharp knife between crust and pan sides to loosen cake; release pan sides. Transfer cheesecake to platter. Spoon reserved ganache into pastry bag fitted with small star tip. Pipe 6 diagonal lines atop cheesecake, spacing 1 inch apart. Repeat in opposite direction, making lattice. Pipe rosettes of ganache around top edge of cake. Garnish with coffee beans, if desired. Chill until lattice is firm, at least 6 hours. (Can be made 4 days ahead. Wrap loosely in foil, forming dome over lattice; keep chilled.)

Great Britain’s Princess Kate and Prince William are expecting a baby. The bad news: Prince Harry is already planning a huge baby shower in Vegas.

Prince William and Kate Middleton are expecting. They don’t know whether it’s going to be a boy or a girl, but they do know one day that child could grow up to be one of the most powerful unemployed people in the world.

Prince William and his lovely bride are pregnant. Buckingham Palace announced Kate is pregnant. They’ve been married for a year and a half. That’s like five marriages for a Kardashian.

Kate is said to be very nervous about giving birth. Giving birth to a baby wearing a crown is very hard. You can tell the baby’s a member of the royal family, because Kate said she can already feel it waving.

 

 

Piers Morgan Owned on Twitter Over Gun Control

 

Reader Graciemj offers this next piece on Liberals and gun control

I watched this last night. This is how the left operates, when you don’t have a leg to stand on – SCREAM and interrupt. Watch this – Erik Rush Ties Gun Violence to Liberal Policy and Gets Shouted Down By Nervous Prog Mouthpiece…

Hannity Panel Erupts Into Shouting Match During Gun Control Debate: ‘You Shut Your Mouth!’

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/hannity-panel-erupts-into-shouting-match-during-gun-control-debate-you-shut-your-mouth/

 

 

 

 

A guy goes into the confessional box.

He finds on one wall a fully-equipped bar with Guinness on tap.

On the other wall is a dazzling array of the finest Cuban cigars.

The upholstered chair reclines has massage and heat.

Then the priest comes in.

“Father, forgive me, for it’s been a long time since I’ve been
to confession, but I must first say that the confessional box
is much more inviting these days.”

The priest replied, “Get out! You’re on my side!!!”

Story posted 2012.11.29 at 10:45 PM CST

Talk about a bad day. A man in Massachusetts was ticketed after being run over by his own pickup truck.

Salem police responding to reports of a car accident found Brian Reynolds, 40, lying injured and face down in the road on Monday afternoon, the Boston Herald reported.

He told police the brakes in his pickup truck had failed.

According to the Salem Patch, Reynolds said he tried to slow the truck by sticking out his foot and driving up a hill.

Instead, he fell out of the truck, which rolled over his left leg, according to the Herald.

Reynolds suffered only minor injuries, and the truck eventually stopped after hitting a fire hydrant.

He was issued a $35 ticket for driving with defective equipment!

Ladies, shopping for the  guy in your life can be stressful during the holiday season. You have to figure out what the right gift is and then actually manage to find one in all those crowded an unfamiliar guy territory stores. We here at DL/LL Electronic Media Enterprises feel your pain. So in the holiday spirit were going to let you in on the perfect guy’s gift and the easiest place in the world to obtain one with the least hassle possible. TOOLS! It doesn’t matter if it fills a current need or is going to be used with any frequency, guys love getting tools just like women love buying shoes.

 

 

 

 Hose ‘em Santa! They want to kill us and Christmas!

 

A Soldiers Silent Night

The original version was written by Lance Corporal James M. Schmidt in 1987 under the title “Merry Christmas, My Friend.”

The audio recording of this adapted version was recorded by Father Ted Berndt and his daughter Ellen Stout. Father Berndt was a priest at Bread of Life Charismatic Episcopal Church in Dousman, Wisconsin, a proud Marine, and a WWII Purple Heart recipient.

The poem was recorded in one take. The recording received a national A.I.R. (Achievement in Radio) award from the March of Dimes and continues to be played in radio stations across the country.

It is my very great privilege and extreme honor to share “A Soldier’s Silent Night” again with you this Christmas.

A Soldier’s Silent Night

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, HE LIVED ALL ALONE,

IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF PLASTER AND STONE.

I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,

AND TO SEE JUST WHO IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT, A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,

NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS, NOT EVEN A TREE.

NO STOCKING BY MANTLE, JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,

ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.

WITH MEDALS AND BADGES, AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,

A SOBER THOUGHT CAME THROUGH MY MIND.

FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT, IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,

I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER, ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.

THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING, SILENT, ALONE,

CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.

THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE, THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,

NOT HOW I PICTURED A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.

WAS THIS THE HERO OF WHOM I’D JUST READ?

CURLED UP ON A PONCHO, THE FLOOR FOR A BED?

I REALIZED THE FAMILIES THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,

OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.

SOON ROUND THE WORLD, THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,

AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,

BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS, LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

I COULDN’T HELP WONDER HOW MANY LAY ALONE,

ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.

THE VERY THOUGHT BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,

I DROPPED TO MY KNEES AND STARTED TO CRY;

THE SOLDIER AWAKENED AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,

“SANTA DON’T CRY, THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;

I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM, I DON’T ASK FOR MORE,

MY LIFE IS MY GOD, MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS.”

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,

I COULDN’T CONTROL IT, I CONTINUED TO WEEP.

I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS, SO SILENT AND STILL

AND WE BOTH SHIVERED FROM THE COLD NIGHT’S CHILL.

I DIDN’T WANT TO LEAVE ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,

THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR SO WILLING TO FIGHT.

THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER, WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,

WHISPERED, “CARRY ON SANTA, IT’S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE.”

ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH, AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.

“MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT.”

May “A Soldier’s Silent Night” transcend any opinion about this war or any war, and go deeper to foster an appreciation for the selfless sacrifice and courage of The United States soldier and their families.

Finally it is my most sorrowfully duty to report than I was informed Monday morning through Military Association channels of  the death of a true American hero, a member of the elite SEAL Team 6, those who stormed Osama bin Laden’s compound and served him up a healthy dose of decidedly non Halal American payback and justice for his acts of terror.

Petty Officer First Class Nicolas Checque of Monroeville, Pa the 28-year-old SEAL Team 6 member who was in the helicopter assault to free an American doctor from the Taliban, was killed on Dec. 10.

On Saturday night, SEAL Team 6 conducted a helicopter assault on a mountain hideout 50 miles from the Pakistani border to rescue Dr. Dilip Joseph, who was captured outside Kabul five days ago.

In the resulting firefight, Checque was killed by a single gunshot to the head. Seven of the Taliban, who were armed with machine guns, rocket propelled grenade launchers and AK-47s, were also killed.

President Obama praised the special forces on Sunday, saying the mission was characteristic of U.S. troops’ “extraordinary courage, skill and patriotism.”

“He gave his life for his fellow Americans, and he and his teammates remind us once more of the selfless service that allows our nation to stay strong, safe and free,” Mr. Obama said of the fallen American service member in a statement.

In a separate statement Sunday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said, “In this fallen hero, and all of our special operators, Americans see the highest ideals of citizenship, sacrifice and service upheld.”

A spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan said Dr. Joseph, of Colorado Springs, Colo., was rescued early Sunday, local time, in eastern Afghanistan. Joseph, a medical adviser for Colorado Springs-based Morning Star Development, was rescued after intelligence showed he was in imminent danger of injury or possible death, according to the U.S. military.

U.S. officials told Martin the Taliban demanded a ransom of $100,000, money Morning Star Development didn’t have. The Taliban released the two Afghans captured along with the doctor, but kept Joseph and were heading south toward Pakistan.

According to a CNN report on Dec. 10, “Checque joined the Navy in 2002, according to a brief service record provided by the Defense Department. After attending recruit training in Illinois and advanced training in Virginia, he entered the seal program in April 2003. He was assigned to his first SEAL unit in August 2004, and transferred to a second unit, presumably SEAL Team Six, in September 2008. He received the Bronze Star and several other awards during his 10-year Naval career.”

Even though SEAL team members do not talk very much about their dedicated training and work, observing their actions on San Diego’s bay speaks louder than any words. “We prepare our life to save another man’s life.”

The draped casket of 28-year-old SEAL Team 6 member Nicolas Checque is supposed to arrive in the United States tonight. He will be welcomed home with the highest honors.

 

 

Good morning campers!  Today is 8 December 2012.  Lets do some math…
There are only 16 shopping days left until Christmas.
There are only 13 days left until the end of the Mayan Calendar and thus, the end of the world.  As you can see to the left, my artist rendition of the end of the world by being eaten by a(n) (Impish) Dragon.  It does resemble a big blueberry doughnut hole or a round cake.  Santa, from what I understand, is quite happy that the calendar runs out a couple of days before Christmas.  You can verify the truth of what’s going to happen by how often Santa has been sighted getting ready for the big day.  From everything we’ve seen here at DL&LL Electronic Media Enterprises, LLC, Santa has been behaving very strangely.  I can’t really go into it much here, but let’s just say that he is behaving quite alien to his normal actions.

I have a bit of late breaking stuff: I just received a package in the mail today, from my dad, the world famous wood carver.  I say world famous because he has one at least one WORLD wood carving championship!!!  I’ll show you pictures of that later on, but for now, this is what he sent me and my beautiful wife, (whose online moniker is mae-rabbit) (that will make sense in a moment).

yes, indeed.  That is our little blue Impish Dragon, complete with beer can and cigarette (although I now smoke a cigar).  And for my Mae-Rabbit’s side, Bugs Bunny with boobs.  You can’t see the boobs so well in this picture, but here’s some more…
A nice little close-up on me…

And one with a slightly better shot of the boobs…lolAnd I’d like to publicly thank my dad for this wonderful gift.  Dad, you made me cry this morning.  Thank you, sir.  I love you with all  my heart.

Now, I think it’s time to get our laff on.  Heaven knows that there ain’t much time to NOT laff.

LOL. I’ve had a similar thing happen to me.  Except it was dinner that was on the roof of the car and it wasn’t dead yet.

This one is called “Redneck Sky-Diving”

I can’t help but think how much fun it looks like.  But folks, please don’t try this at home.

Boy did they get this one wrong…

Liberal Compares Obama’s Push for Tax Hikes to Lincoln Wanting to End Slavery
posted on December 3, 2012 by Gary DeMar

On an NPR broadcast, E. J. Dionne and David Brooks were discussing the “fiscal cliff” that we may or may not go over. Dionne, an op-ed writer for the uber-liberalWashington Post, compared President Obama’s resolve in pushing for more taxes to Abraham Lincoln who “stood his ground on the fundamental principle that we needed the 13th Amendment and needed to ban slavery.”

In the Lincoln-Douglas debates, Lincoln stated that every person has the natural right “to eat the bread which he has earned by the sweat of his brow.”

While this phrase was not unique to Lincoln[1], nevertheless, he was right.

Income is the result of people working or investing. Taxation takes some of that hard-earned money.

Some taxes are necessary and equitable; most are not. For example, the gasoline tax is equitable and does not violate the 13th Amendment since the money (supposedly) goes to build roads and bridges that we travel on. If we don’t drive, we don’t pay the tax that’s levied on every gallon of gasoline sold. Of course, the tax is paid by people who don’t drive but in an indirect way. Goods and services that travel over roads have the cost of fuel built into the price of those goods or services (e.g., repairmen, UPS and FedEx deliveries, etc.). No involuntary servitude is in view.

But in terms of taxation as a form of wealth redistribution, taxation is a form slavery. Money is taken from people who work and then given to people who don’t work. More than 6000,000 Americans died to end that form of wealth distribution, so it’s rather remarkable that Mr. Dioone would make such an outrageous comparison.

Slavery comes in a number of forms. Our most immediate familiarity with slavery is chattel slavery which was visible. But there are other forms of slavery that are more subtle, as Steven Yates and Ray E. Bornert II point out in their article “Is the Income Tax a Form of Slavery?”:

[S]lavery is non-ownership of one’s Person and Labor. It is involuntary servitude. A slave must work under a whip, real or figurative, wielded by other persons, his owners, with no say in how (or even if) his labors are compensated. His is a one-way contract he cannot opt out of. A slave is tied to his master (and to the land where he labors). He cannot simply quit if he doesn’t like it. Moreover, a slave can be bought and sold like any other commodity.

When Congress passes laws to tax our labor, is this not a form of slavery when what’s collected goes to other people? We can’t choose to labor somewhere else to avoid a federal income tax. It might help to understand the relationship between taxation and slavery if we described taxation on income as a tax on labor. We could then apply the 13th Amendment:

“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

If the government can take a percentage of money I get for my labor that is then passed on to other people, then this is a clear violation of the constitutional prohibition against “involuntary servitude.”  So, in essence, rather than comparing Obama’s tax hike to trying to end slavery, it should be more compared to the South’s desire to continue slavery for their own purposes.  My hard work and money going to someone else.

“If we work 40 hours a week, and another entity forcibly conscripts 25% of our compensation, then we argue that we have been forced into involuntary servitude – slavery – for 10 of those 40 hours. . . .”  So, we’re basically being told that 25% slavery is okay?  Well, I’m not okay with that!

It’s that simple.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here’s another golf joke for Dad…

Harry teed up, addressed his golf ball, and took a magnificent swing, but something went wrong and he hit a wicked slice. The ball left the fairway he was playing, and it went onto the adjoining one where it hit a man full in the face.

He dropped like a rock!

Rushing over to the man, Harry and his partner found him unconscious and with the ball lying between his feet.

“Oh no!” exclaimed Harry. “What should we do?”

“I’m not sure,” said his partner. “But don’t move him! If we just leave him here, he’s an immovable obstruction and you can either play the ball from where it lies or drop it two club lengths away without penalty.”

The professor was making a point about the pervasiveness of marketing. He asked his students, “Which company has the slogan, ‘come fly the friendly skies’?”

“United.”

“Correct. Can you tell me which company has the slogan, “Don’t leave home without it?”

“American Express.”

“Right. Now tell me who uses the slogan, ‘Just do it’?”

“My Mom.”

A new report suggests that being overweight is not as harmful as is commonly believed, and actually confers some surprising benefits.

Being five to ten pounds overweight could protect people from ailments ranging from tuberculosis to Alzheimer’s disease, research indicates. Those carrying 15 to 25 extra pounds are better able to recover from adverse conditions such as emphysema, pneumonia, and various injuries and infections, states the report.

Thirty to forty pounds of flab could help fend off breast, kidney, pancreatic, prostate, and colon cancer. And an extra fifty pounds on the scale may improve eyesight, reverse baldness, cure the common cold, and reduce global warming.

In general, the report concludes, overweight people are happier, more successful in business, smarter, and friendlier.

The study was funded by a research grant from McDonald’s, Burger King, Jack in the Box, Taco Bell, Domino’s Pizza, Star- bucks, Haagen Dazs, Sara Lee, and Krispy Kreme.

The hit-and-run victim was just getting to his feet when a policeman ran up to help.

“My mother-in-law just tried to run me over!” the shaken man

“The car hit you from behind,” the officer said. “How could you tell it was your mother-in-law?”

“I recognized the laugh!”

Let’s wrap up today’s issue with a look back at the 72nd anniversary of Pearl Harbor, which actually happened yesterday…

Taken from wikipedia…

The attack on Pearl Harbor (called Hawaii Operation or Operation AI^[9][10] by the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters (Operation Z in planning)^[11] and the Battle of Pearl Harbor^[12]) was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941 (December 8 in Japan). The attack was intended as a preventive action in order to keep the U.S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with military actions the Empire of Japan was planning in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States.

The base was attacked by 353^[13] Japanese fighters, bombers and torpedo planes in two waves, launched from six aircraft carriers.^[13] All eight U.S. Navy battleships were damaged, with four being sunk. Of these eight damaged, two were raised, and with four repaired, six battleships returned to service later in the war. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship,^{[nb 4]} and one minelayer. 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed; 2,402 Americans were killed^[15] and 1,282 wounded. Important base installations such as the power station, shipyard, maintenance, and fuel and torpedo storage facilities, as well as the submarine piers and headquarters building (also home of the intelligence section) were not attacked. Japanese losses were light: 29 aircraft and five midget submarines lost, and 65 servicemen killed or wounded. One Japanese sailor was captured.

The attack came as a profound shock to the American people and led directly to the American entry into World War II in both the Pacific and European theaters. The following day (December 8), the United States declared war on Japan. Domestic support for non-interventionism, which had been strong,^[16] disappeared. Clandestine support of Britain (for example the Neutrality Patrol) was replaced by active alliance. Subsequent operations by the U.S. prompted Germany and Italy to declare war on the U.S. on December 11, which was reciprocated by the U.S. the same day.

There were numerous historical precedents for unannounced military action by Japan. However, the lack of any formal warning, particularly while negotiations were still apparently ongoing, led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to proclaim December 7, 1941, “a date which will live in infamy”.

Photograph from a Japanese plane of Battleship Row at the beginning of the attack. The explosion in the center is a torpedo strike on the USS Oklahoma. Two attacking Japanese planes can be seen: one over the USS Neosho and one over the Naval Yard.

Pearl Harbor on October 30, 1941

Route followed by the Japanese fleet to Pearl Harbor and back

An Imperial Japanese Navy Mitsubishi A6M2 “Zero” fighter on the aircraft carrier Akagi.

A destroyed Vindicator at Ewa field, the victim of one of the smaller attacks on the approach to Pearl Harbor.

Lethal here folks-

Our header this week was to have been last week’s before Notre Dame won versus USC and became the only undefeated team in the BCS requiring me to make a new one to get my brag on. Alabama narrowly won Saturday so I have only until Jan 7th to live now…especially if the Irish beat them.  On top of that, The Texans are playing the Patriots next Monday for the AFC Division Title and a birth in the Super Bowl. This means my loyalties will place me at odds with Molly’s entire family. While many of them are Cowboys fans even that faction would rather see the Texans win than the Patriots. So you’ll to excuse me if I’m pulling for the Mayan End of Days to beat Molly and her family to killing me over football.

Having the header hanging around for a week got me to thinking however about something that we might be overlooking this year what with the possibly probable end of days vying for attention with Christmas and all.

So, with an apology for interrupting your contemplation of your perfect last day on Earth or that perfect Christmas gift for crazy Uncle Biff from California, I have to point out there just MIGHT be something you are overlooking this holiday season-

Revenge.

Now we all know all the popular axioms regarding this:

Mafia: If you must hurt a man, do it so brutally that you need not fear his revenge.

Chinese: Before starting out for revenge first dig two graves.

Klingon: Revenge is a dish best served cold (and it’s very cold in space).

English: Women do most delight in revenge.

Irish: Men are more prone to revenge injuries than to requite kindnesses.

and we all know, thanks to several insider staff leaks in Obama’s  Press/Communications Department, that his second term will be very Nixon-esque in his revenge seeking upon those gracing his enemies list, but what about you’re revenge list?

You say that revenge just perpetuates things? Practicing ‘an eye for an eye” leads to a world of the blind? Bugger that line of reasoning! The world may well be coming to an end in 16 days folks! That means any window of opportunity for revenge is fast closing! If you don’t get on the stick (or beat that guy from Accounting who takes his frustrations from his last IRS audit out on your expense account WITH the stick) revenge is going to be the dish you never even checked to see if you had the ingredients for!

As the best body hiding pal to many of you I expect to become geometrically busier everyday with the hiding bodies thing. Not only that but there is a finite limit to how many bodies Impish can be expected to eat I mean places I can stash bodies, even doubling or tripling up! Then you got those long friends people expecting that seniority has its privileges, my contractual body hiding obligations, Impish revenge list MY revenge list- Hell I may be hiding bodies right up until they start becoming Zombies!

My point is plan early and soon because you just might be stuck hiding your bodies yourself if you don’t!

Four guys have been going on the same fishing trip for many years.

Two days before the group is to leave, Greg’s wife puts her foot down and tells him he isn’t going. Greg’s friends are very upset that he can’t go, but what can they do.

Two days later the three arrive at the camping site only to find Greg sitting there with a tent set up, firewood gathered, and dinner cooking on the fire. “Shit, Greg, how long you been here, and how did you talk your missus into letting you go?”

“Well, I’ve been here since yesterday evening. I was sitting in my chair and my wife came up behind me and put her hands over my eyes and said, “Guess who?” I pulled her hands off, and she was wearing a brand new see through nightie. She took my hand and pulled me to our bedroom. The room had candles and rose petals all over. On the bed she had handcuffs, and ropes! She told me to tie and cuff her to the bed, and I did.

And then she said, “Do whatever you want.”

So, Here I am. You guys want a beer?”

 

Bogus Browser Updates Put PCs, Phones at Risk

by Ben Weitzenkorn, Staff Writer, Security, TechNewsDaily November 28 2012 03:45 PM ET

http://www.technewsdaily.com/15702-browser-update-malware.html

Hackers are using malicious ads to dupe victims into downloading bogus Web-browser updates, just a few days after real security updates from Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.

The scam begins with a typical scareware tactic. Victims land on a malicious Web page and are (wrongly) informed that their browsers are outdated, researchers at StopMalvertising reported. The victims are then offered a link to download a patch for the browser being used.

Users who click the link will download a malicious JavaScript code containing a Trojan. Once inside, the Trojan points the browser to a new homepage, also full of malware, Trend Micro discovered.

Visitors to the malicious sites on mobile devices risk infection from malware that secretly sends premium text messages, essentially robbing victims through their service providers.

For years, scammers have been taking advantage of new product launches, updates and the hype and fear that surround them. Recently, scammers took advantage of interest around the iPhone 5 and even Hurricane Sandy.

Users can stop themselves from becoming victims by keeping abreast of their browser’s updating protocols and only downloading files from trusted sources.

Scammers rely on victims who overlook details and behave irrationally, motivated by fear or a bargain. Always make sure the URL is familiar, and that the domain name in the address bar is the legitimate one.

Firefox prompts users for an update via an alert, not a popup browser window, and Chrome updates itself automatically.

Although other browsers are not affected in this particular hack, Safari users should know that Apple updates its native browser as a part of its bigger OS updates.

Internet Explorer updates through the onboard Windows Update, never through the browser.

  

 

The Top 5 Songs About Holiday Shopping

5> I’ll Be Broke by Christmas
4> Thirty Wreaths Sold Dirt Cheap
3> I Saw Mommy Shopping Amazon
2> Another Dick in the Mall

and the Number 1 Song About Holiday Shopping…

1> Papa’s Got a Brand Name Bag

[ Copyright 2012 by Chris White/HumorLabs.com ]

Q. What do snowmen wear on their heads?
A. Ice caps.

Q. What do you get if you cross a snowman and a shark?
A. Frost bite.

Q. Where do snowmen go to dance?
A. A snow ball.

Q. What do you call an unreliable snowman?
A. A snow flake.

 

Senate panel approves bill requiring police to get a warrant to read emails

By Perry Chiaramonte Published November 29, 2012 FoxNews.com

While it’s too early for huzzahs, handsprings, and the hatching of criminal plots via your e-mails. This recent development gives some minor cause for hope in the battle to keep Big Brothers nose out your electronic business. Of particular concern is the mention of the possibility of a ‘delay of 90 days for notice’ for non law enforcement federal agencies

A key Senate panel approved legislation Thursday  that would require police to obtain a search warrant from a judge before they can read a private citizen’s emails, Facebook messages or other electronic communications.

The revised Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee will now move on to the full Senate for a vote. Passage would be a victory for privacy advocates, who say current privacy rules have been left in the dust by technological progress.

‘After decades of the erosion of Americans’ privacy rights, we finally have a rare opportunity for progress on privacy protection.’ – Sen. Pat Leahy, (D-Vt.)

Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who played a key role in drafting the original bill, has called the existing law, written 26 years ago, “anachronistic.”

Leahy said that Americans “face even greater threats to their digital privacy, as we witness the explosion of new technologies and the expansion of the government’s surveillance powers.”

The revised law will make it more difficult for the government to access the content of a consumer’s emails and private files from Google, Yahoo and other Internet providers.

Under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986, police only need a subpoena, issued without a judge’s approval, to read emails that have been opened or that are more than 180 days old.

The updated law would require a judge to sign off on a warrant to obtain any email from any time period from a third-party provider. It also eliminates the “180-day rule” that in the past has established different legal standards for law-enforcement to obtain older emails.

“[When the current law was drafted,] no one could have imagined that emails would be stored electronically for years or envisioned the many new threats to privacy in cyberspace,” Leahy said. “That is why I am working to update this law to reflect the realities of our time and to better protect privacy in the digital age.”

The Justice Department and other law enforcement agencies have resisted the changes over concerns that investigations could take longer due to the new requirement in response to these issues. An amendment from Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), which was passed by voice vote, will modify the provision to allow a delay of notice for up to 90 days for governmental agencies that are not law enforcement.

This is not the first time that the topic of email privacy has been raised in the Judiciary Committee, where Leahy introduced the bill nearly two years ago.

“After decades of the erosion of Americans’ privacy rights on many fronts, we finally have a rare opportunity for progress on privacy protection.” Leahy said Thursday.

The Associated Press contributed to the above portion of this story.

Marc Rotenberg, head of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said that in light of the revelations about how former CIA director David Petraeus’ e-mail was perused by the FBI, “even the Department of Justice should concede that there’s a need for more judicial oversight,” not less.
Markham Erickson, a lawyer in Washington, D.C. who has followed the topic closely and said he was speaking for himself and not his corporate clients, expressed concerns about the alphabet soup of federal agencies that would be granted more power:

❝ There is no good legal reason why federal regulatory agencies such as the NLRB, OSHA, SEC or FTC need to access customer information service providers with a mere subpoena. If those agencies feel they do not have the tools to do their jobs adequately, they should work with the appropriate authorizing committees to explore solutions. The Senate Judiciary committee is really not in a position to adequately make those determinations. ❞

 

Christopher Calabrese, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said requiring warrantless access to Americans’ data “undercuts” the purpose of Leahy’s original proposal. “We believe a warrant is the appropriate standard for any contents,” he said.
An aide to the Senate Judiciary committee told CNET that because discussions with interested parties are ongoing, it would be premature to comment on the legislation.

http://news.yahoo.com/senate-bill-rewrite-lets-feds-read-your-e-mail-without-warrants-191930756.html

The full text of Leahy’s bill, as introduced in September, is here.  Sen. Leahy explains what his bill would do here.

As I said last week, as it currently stands, you enjoy more privacy rights if your stored data on your hard drives or under your mattresses. a legally unprotected aspect of your privacy that unless the law is changed to be more privacy-protective will slow the shift to cloud-based services by both people and companies because of the total current lack of electronic privacy protection. Those who would pshaw and scoff at this assertion need only ask David Petraeus if I am right or not.

 

Impish Dragon is stopped by the police around 2 a.m. and is asked where he is going at this time of night.

The Impish replies, “I am on my way to attend a lecture on the ill effects that gambling, hookers, alcohol abuse, smoking, and staying out late has on the human body.”

The officer then asks, “Really? Who is giving a lecture like that at this time of night?”

The Impish replies, “My wife.”

“Rapture”? Don’t make Mayan Calendar laugh. Get ready for
the RUPTURE!

No, there will NOT be zombies or vampires. You silly people
watch WAY too many dumb movies.

Mayan Calendar might take out Trump first, just so the rest
of you can watch. Hey, I’m a giver.

Acid on roses and singed-whiskered kittens,
Flash-boiling kettles and melting wool mittens,
Starving half-humans in fiery rings…
these are a few of Mayan Calendar’s favorite things

Mayan Calendar predicts that lots of scavengers will soon be on
the Atkins diet.

So Beano stops gas? You might want to get a 40-trillion gallon
tank of the stuff for 12/21/12.

Mayan Calendar doesn’t think there’s any rush on starting that
NHL season.

Fred Astaire – Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town

 

Every year The Food Network does a 12 Days of Cookies thing. Some are good, I’ve even saved a few recipes for Molly who is the designated baker in our home. We’ve used a couple as is and tweaked a few. IMCO [In My Culinary Opinion]…well lets just say that while they may suit other peoples tastes for us they are best left on the page unmolested &/or tested.

This year however appears as though it might be a banner cookie recipe year as they’re leading off with a favorite of both of ours:

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Recipe courtesy Trisha Yearwood

Prep Time:  20 min   Inactive Prep Time: 1 hr 0 min

Cook Time: 30 min    Level: Easy

Serves: 2 dozen

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 cup dried cranberries, chopped
• 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup macadamia nuts, chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheet with parchment paper.

With an electric mixer, cream the butter and both sugars together until smooth. Add the vanilla and egg, mixing well. Sift together the flour and baking soda. Spoon the flour mixture gradually into the creamed sugar mixture. Stir in the cranberries, white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. Drop by heaping spoonfuls, about 2 tablespoons, onto the prepared baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time until lightly golden on top and the edges are set, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on the sheet about 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Sunny’s Chocolate Chip Candy Cane Cookies

Recipe courtesy Sunny Anderson

Prep Time: 20 min   Inactive Prep Time: —

Cook Time: 45 min  Level: Easy

Serves: about 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips, gently chopped
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) coarsely crushed red or green candy canes (4 to 5 candy canes)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To a stand mixer, add the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Blend on high with the paddle attachment until the sugar granules are less visible and the mixture is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.

Scrape the sides with a rubber spatula, then add the egg and blend on low until combined, stopping to scrape the sides more to incorporate.

Prepare the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, add the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and baking soda. Stir and toss with a spoon or fork.

Scrape the sides of the mixer bowl and, while off, add half of the flour mixture. Turn on low and mix until combined; this should only take 5 to 6 rotations of the paddle. Stop and scrape the sides again, then add the other half of the flour and mix on low the same way. Turn off the mixer.

Add the chopped chocolate chips and crushed candy canes. Turn the mixer back on low and blend until just combined; this should only take 3 to 4 rotations of the paddle.

Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop dough balls the size of golf balls, 1 tablespoon each, and place 3 inches apart on the baking sheet, about 8 cookies per sheet. Bake until the edges are set and the center is cooked through, but still soft, 13 to 15 minutes.

Cool the cookies for 2 to 3 minutes on the sheets. Then, holding the baking sheet over a wire cooling rack, remove the cookies from the sheet by gripping the baking sheet with one hand and the parchment paper on the opposite side with your other hand. Gently slide the parchment paper off the sheet with the cookies still on top, resting the parchment and cookies on the wire rack beneath until cool. This cookie removal/cooling trick takes coordination, so think about it before you do it and easy on the egg nog.

PB and J Blondie

Recipe courtesy Jeff Mauro

Prep Time: 20 min  | Inactive Prep Time: 1 hr 35 min

Cook Time: 35 min  | Level: Easy

Serves: 24 blondies

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) salted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for greasing
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup peanut butter chips
• 3/4 cup crushed roasted peanuts
• 1/2 cup raspberry, strawberry or grape preserves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and set the rack to the middle position. Place two overlapping sheets of greased parchment or foil in a 9- by 13-inch baking dish, so they form a cross and hang over the ends by at least 1 inch.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. In another bowl, mix the melted butter and brown sugar until combined. Add in the eggs and vanilla, and mix until combined. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and gently fold with a spatula until uniform. Fold in the peanut butter chips and peanuts.

Pour the batter into the baking dish and spoon on the preserves. Using a skewer or knife, make swirly patterns into the batter with the preserves. Bake until the top is shiny and a cake tester comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in the dish on a wire rack. Using the ends of the foil or parchment, lift the blondies out the dish. Cut into 24 squares and serve!

Now admittedly at my advanced age I am seen by many as a wee on the old fashioned side. I’m not totally to blame for that- I mean what can you expect from a poor Leprechaun who has the motto on his Family Crest “Trod the Ancient Paths- Honor Always the Uld Ways”? I happen to like both Mincemeat Pie and a good fruitcake, something that is harder and harder to find now a days, which is why mine is made by Trappist Monks who have been making it from a very old recipe and supporting themselves with it for about as long as I’ve been around. Part of the reason there are so many bad  fruit cakes is that its so time consuming to make a good one. These fruitcake cookies take all the time out of it, all the nastiness associated with bad fruitcake and can me mixed once rolled and stored then sliced and baked as required.

Fruitcake Cookies

Recipe courtesy Ina Garten

Prep Time: 30 min  Inactive Prep Time: 14 hr 0 min relax it’s all refrigeration time!

Cook Time: 20 min  Level:  Intermediate

Serves: 5 dozen small cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound dried figs
• 1/4 pound raisins
• 2 ounces candied cherries, coarsely chopped
• 2 ounces dried apricots, coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 6 ounces chopped pecans
• Kosher salt
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 cup superfine sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 extra-large egg
• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

Snip off the hard stems of the figs with scissors or a small knife and coarsely chop the figs. In a medium bowl, combine the figs, raisins, cherries, apricots, honey, sherry, lemon juice, pecans, and a pinch of salt. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit overnight at room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, cloves, superfine sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the egg and mix until incorporated. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt just until combined. Don’t over mix! Add the fruits and nuts, including any liquid in the bowl.

Divide the dough in half and place each half on the long edge of a 12 by 18-inch piece of parchment or waxed paper. Roll each half into a log, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4-inch thick, making an 18-inch-long roll. Refrigerate the dough for several hours, or until firm.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

With a small, sharp knife, cut the logs into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place the slices 1/2-inch apart on ungreased sheet pans and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly golden.

Per cookie (60); Calories: 101; Total Fat: 5 grams; Saturated Fat: 2 grams; Protein: 1 gram; Total carbohydrates: 13 grams; Sugar: 7 grams; Fiber: 1 gram; Cholesterol: 12 milligrams; Sodium: 7 milligrams

I don’t think there is much to say about this next one except chocolate & cheesecake in one mouthful…how could this not be a perfect Christmas bite?

Chocolate Cheesecake Candy Cane Bars

From Food Network Kitchens

Prep Time:

20 min

Inactive Prep Time:

12 hr 0 min

Cook Time:

1 hr 0 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

about sixteen 2-inch squares

Ingredients

Crust:

• 20 chocolate wafer cookies
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon finely ground coffee beans
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt

Filling:

• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature

Glaze:

• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon light or dark corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons sour cream, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup crushed candy canes

Directions

For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8-inch-square baking dish with foil.

Process the chocolate wafers in a food processor with the butter, sugar, coffee and salt until fine. Evenly press the crust into the prepared dish, covering the bottom completely. Bake until the crust sets, about 15 minutes.

For the filling: Meanwhile, heat the chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl at 75-percent power until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir, and continue to heat until completely melted, up to 2 minutes more. (Alternatively, put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with an inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl over, but not touching, the water, and stir occasionally until melted and smooth.)

Blend the cream cheese, sugar and sour cream together in the food processor until smooth. Scrape down the sides as needed. Add the eggs and pulse until just incorporated. With the food processor running, pour the chocolate into the wet ingredients and mix until smooth.

Pour the filling evenly over the crust. Bake until the filling puffs slightly around the edges but is still a bit wobbly in the center, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on a rack.

For the glaze: Put the chocolate, butter and corn syrup in a microwave-safe bowl and heat at 75-percent power until melted, about 2 minutes. Stir the ingredients together until smooth; add the sour cream. Spread the glaze evenly over the warm cake and scatter the crushed candy canes over top. Cool completely, and then refrigerate overnight.

Cut into small bars or squares. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Store the bars covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Cook’s Note: To crush the candy canes, remove the wrappers and place in a resealable plastic bag. Use a rolling pin to roll over and break up the candy into small pieces, about 1/4 inch or so.

Of this last one I’ll just say that when it comes to cookies often times there is no school of cookie making like the old school. These take me back to my first memories of Christmas the smell of a peat fire in the stove and the scent of hot cookies baking. When you bake these cookies your house will smell like Christmas! Now that I’m older on a cold winter’s night so deep I find these ideal with a nice cup of tea for that pre long winter’s nap snack.

Jamie’s Old-Fashioned Ginger Crinkle Cookies

Recipe courtesy Jamie Deen

Prep Time: 10 min   Inactive Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 25 min   Level: Easy

Serves: about 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon turbinando sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, salt, allspice and cloves.

Add the shortening, butter and the brown and granulated sugars to the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Slip in the molasses and egg and beat until well incorporated. Add the flour mixture by scoopfuls and beat until combined.

Add the turbinado sugar to a small plate or bowl. Roll the dough into balls that are 1 inch in diameter (1/2 ounce in weight), then roll in the sugar. Place 12 balls on a baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies 9 to 11 minutes, rotating halfway through the baking time. Cool on the baking sheets for 4 minutes, then continue cooling on wire racks. Repeat with the second batch.

Notes: These cookies are nice and chewy on the inside with a nice crunch on the outside. They have a wonderfully soft texture from using both shortening and butter.

How are you planning to eat your Christmas Dinner this year?
33% I will eat at home and cook myself
0% I will eat at home and have it catered
17% I will eat at a friend’s house
33% I will eat at a family member’s house
0% I will eat at a restaurant
0% I will not eat a Christmas Dinner
17% Other

How much do you expect to spend on clothing/accessories this holiday season compared to last holiday season?
0% A lot more
23% A little more
23% About the same
0% A little less
54% A lot less

How likely are you to purchase the new Nintendo Wii U?
6% Very likely
0% Somewhat likely
94% Not at all likely
0% I already purchased it

Have you started your holiday shopping yet?
39% Yes
43% No
18% I won’t be doing any holiday shopping

Are you excited about shopping this holiday season?
6% Very excited
12% Somewhat excited
82% Not at all excited

Are you planning to use your smart phone or tablet to do any research while shopping in stores this holiday season?
6% Yes, I will use my smartphone
0% Yes, I will use my tablet
6% Yes, I will use both my smartphone and tablet
38% No, I will not be doing any in-store research
50% No, I won’t be shopping in stores this holiday season

Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron (Christmas Song) Part 3

WHAT?! It happens to be one of my favorite less serious Christmas songs! It ALMOST makes me believe that for one single night and a day that ‘tidings of comfort & joy’ can be found even between the best of enemies. NO! I have NOT lost my bloody mind– I said ALMOST.

 

 

 

A modern recounting of the Clement Clarke Moore Classic

‘Twas the month before Christmas

When all through our land,

Not a Christian was praying

Nor taking a stand.

Why the PC Police had taken away

The reason for Christmas – no one could say.

The children were told by their schools not to sing

About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.

It might hurt people’s feelings, the teachers would say

December 25th is just a ‘ Holiday’.

Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit

Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!

CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-Pod

Something was changing, something quite odd!

Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa

In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.

As Targets were hanging their trees upside down

At Lowe’s the word Christmas – was nowhere to be found.

At K-Mart and Staples and Penney’s and Sears

You won’t hear the word Christmas; it won’t touch your ears.

Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty

Are words that were used to intimidate me.

Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen

On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!

At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter

To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.

And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith

Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace

The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded

The reason for the season, stopped before it started.

So as you celebrate ‘Winter Break’ under your ‘Dream Tree’

Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.

Choose your words carefully, choose what you say

Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS,

not Happy Holiday!

Please, all Christians join together and

wish everyone you meet

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christ is The Reason’ for the Christ-mas Season!

Good Morning Campers!  Let’s start with a  bit o’ poetry from our Hillbilly friend Ross who is self-described as the “PROUD father of an American Soldier”.  A description many of us would be PROUD to mimic ourselves.  This one is called:
After Thanksgiving Poem

I ate too much turkey, I ate too much corn,
I ate too much pudding and pie.
I’m stuffed up with muffins and too much stuffin’,
I’m probably going to die.

I piled up my plate and I ate and I ate,
But I wish I had known when to stop.
For I’m so crammed with yams, sauces, gravies and jams,
That my buttons are starting to pop!

I’m full of tomatoes and french fried potatoes,
My stomach is swollen and sore.
But there’s still some dessert, so I guess it won’t hurt,
If I eat just a little bit more!

Well, I wish I had that for Last Week’s Issue…well, to be perfectly honest, I probably DID have that for last week’s issue, so I suppose the more accurate wish should be that I wish I had found this in time for last week’s issue.  If you guys had any idea at ALL how far behind I am in some of my emails….
Although, it’s fun to open Independence Day emails in time for Christmas, it really doesn’t do well to keep a blog timely.  Well, let’s get on with some more laughter.

Today is the first of December and Christmas is coming.  Counting today there are 24 more shopping days till Christmas and I still don’t have my Christmas decorations up yet…. you could very easily replace me on the easy chair: 
But, I digress.  We still have enough time left before Christmas that we shan’t devote the entire issue to Christmas stuff.  What do you say that we go on to another topic…a monetary one…

George Washington, our nation’s first president  and leader of the American  Revolution! Very fitting that this man is pictured on our most common, most often used monetary bill.

Abe Lincoln,  honorable leader who pulled our nation through its darkest  time! And no one would argue that this is, indeed, another very appropriate choice:

Next, we have Alexander Hamilton,  founding father, first Secretary of the Treasury and  leader of the constitutional  convention!

Andrew Jackson, “Old Hickory ” fought the British in New Orleans !

Ulysses  Grant, Union army general, led the North through the Civil  War!  Favorite drunk in the Whitehouse.  I truly wonder if he was as much of a drunk as his reputation presents?

Ben  Franklin, genius inventor, political theorist and leading  author of the Constitution.   The perfect man to be on the highest bill still in circulation.

 

And what of our 44th president?  What bill would be fitting for the man whose policies have affected more Americans in such a huge and monetary way?
I think this is the perfect fit! Finally, we have  someone to put on the food  stamp!!!  Obama’s policies  have put more people on welfare than any president before  him, so this placement is most  appropriate.
Unlike the Nobel  Peace Prize, for which he did nothing, this is an “honor”  he richly  deserves.

So yeah.  I went there.  Did you think I wouldn’t?  I still believe that giving this man another term is going to end up being the WORST decision that the American people have ever made.  And I’m not going to be the person who, like when a call goes against the home team blames the refs, but it would not surprise me to find out that the election was bought and paid for in whole cloth.  Wouldn’t surprise me at all.

Me and my good buddy Odin.  A nice candid photo during his recent election run.

Bill Clinton flew to Ireland on Monday where he gave a paid speech at the University of Limerick. They have a statue of him swinging a golf club in the Limerick town square. It’s only right that President Clinton be honored in the town that’s named for dirty poetry.

---

President Obama gave a big hug and kisses to Burma’s democracy leader and Nobel prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. He repeatedly mispronounced her name. Burma was once a province of India so if the Teleprompter was broken, tech support is a local call.

—————————————————————–

Wal-Mart workers threatened to walk off the job on Black Friday. It’s very tense. The cashiers want more pay, the stockers want more benefits and greeters don’t want to have to fly to Spain every year to train on the streets of Pamplona for Black Friday.

The home office of DL&LL Electronic Media Productions, LLP wish to take this opportunity to not only say thank you, but encourage all of you to send out your heartfelt thanks as well:

As you know, America is the first country  to send aid when other countries are in trouble.

It is highly appropriate, therefore that we now send THANKS to all of the countries that reciprocated for our help with their disasters, misgivings, social turmoil, & poverty by sending to the United States of   America monetary and physical help when Sandy ravaged our East Coast  leaving dead, homelessness, and pure disaster.

Listed  below are all the Countries and World Organizations that are giving us gracious assistance.  Please assist in thanking these entities by passing on this notice so people all over America can join in and THANK our neighbors, whom we have assisted with BILLIONS!!!!

First country on the list to donate or help us:

1 .

2.

Maybe now Americans will realize that charity begins at home.  With millions of our people in need and in poverty, let’s save our money and spend it at home instead of sending it to Egypt, Libya, Pakistan, etc……..

Staten Island, Queens, New Jersey and parts of New York and Connecticut would gladly thank America if we spent the billions there…..

Well, as for truth in advertising, I’d like to offer this website that shows who has donated what, in the corporate world, to Hurricane Sandy Relief.  Now, I know that some of these corporations may be foreign, although they all have American connections, but, I looked through the listing and could find no real foreign aid.
So, I thought, gee, Impish, Shouldn’t there have been SOME country SOMEWHERE who offered to come and help? Well, I did find this article that says that supposedly Iran offered, but I’m not sure that I want their “help” anyway.  They might take the opportunity to plant a suitcase nuke somewhere or something.  Anyway, there you have it.
What do you think?

You may have heard that Hostess Bakery plants shut down due to a workers’
strike. But you may not have heard how It was split up.
The State Department hired all the Twinkies, the Secret Service hired all
the HoHos, the generals are sleeping with the Cupcakes and the voters sent
all the Ding Dongs to Congress.

A union boss walks into a bar next to the factory and is about to order a drink to celebrate Obama’s victory when he sees a guy close by wearing a Romney for President button and a beer in front of him.

He doesn’t have to be an Einstein to know that this guy is a Republican. So, he shouts over to the bartender so loudly that everyone can hear, “Drinks for everyone in here, bartender, but not for the Republican.”

Soon after the drinks have been handed out, the Republican gives him a big smile, waves at him, then says, “Thank you!” in an equally loud voice.This infuriates the union boss.

The union boss once again loudly orders drinks for everyone except the Republican. As before, this does not seem to bother the Republican. He continues to smile, and again yells, “Thank you!”

The union boss asks the bartender, “What the hell is the matter with that Republican? I’ve ordered two rounds of drinks for everyone in the bar but him, and all the silly ass does is smile and thanks me. Is he nuts?”

“Nope,” replies the bartender. “He owns the place.”

I decided to have a little fun this weekend…

Shot my first turkey!

Scared the shit outta everyone in the frozen food section.

It was awesome!

Gettin’ old is so much fun! Don ‘t make old People mad.

We don’t like being old in the first place, so it doesn’t take much to piss us off.

Several churches are making up for lost revenue by renting out their steeples as cell phone towers. Churchgoers seem to like it because they can now get a good enough connection to text with their friends during the sermon.

A poll says that six in ten Americans are in favor of a tax hike for any income over $250,000. The other four didn’t respond because they have forgotten the actual meaning of the word “income.”

Anyone interested in seeing pictures of the devastation wrought by Sandy should go here.  Some new pictures to see for yourself.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2225112/Superstorm-Sandy-Death-toll-hits-FIFTY-damage-set-50BILLION.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

So…another side of the Hostess debacle comes out.  We were all pretty quick to castigate the greedy union over the closing of the plants.  Well, here’s an article from snopes.com that sheds a different light on the subject.

Dear Snopes: How much of this is true?  “I wonder when the media will start reporting that while Hostess was trying to cut Bakers pay by 8% and benefits by 32% the CEO gave himself a 300% raise ($750,000 to $2,550,000). Nine executives received 60% to over 100% raises WHILE filing their 2nd bankruptcy.  But yeah, let’s blame the 18,000 workers making less than $20 an hour for Hostess closing.”

Well, snopes comes back and says that this is true.  But that at least some of it has been (partially) changed back.  Interested in reading more?  Well, I sure was…so read here: http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/hostess.asp
So, by all intents…it seems that there were MANY reasons for the closure, but it ALL comes back to greed!  Now, there’s a huge surprise, right?  We have the highest level of “entitlement – mindedness” in our nation’s history, being propagated by a president who wants the government to be responsible for giving you everything you need/want/could possibly desire, and we wonder why corporations are showing greed like never before. 

 

Well all that 4 leaf clover acquiring, rabbit’s foot rubbing, hydroponic shamrocks of unusual size growing and bribery anonymous cash donations finally paid off! Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish has a prefect 12-0 season this year!  In addition their defense’s Fist & Goal on the 2 yard line goal line protection and denial in the fourth quarter Saturday night led and directed by Manti Te’o is the thing epic legends are made of. Notre Dame now gets to rest and relax until Jan 7th and the BCS Championship.

You’d think I’d be thrilled and happy, doing huzzahs and handsprings around here. Not so much. See actually I’m holding my breath until after the outcome of next Saturday’s SEC Championship game. See Molly is a rabid zealous Alabama Crimson Tide fan. 9 years ago when we set our wedding date for the weekend after Thanksgiving because it logistically made the most sense for family that had to travel Molly only agrees to the date after consulting the Alabama football schedule and determining that Alabama was not playing that particular Saturday.

If Georgia fails to beat Alabama for the SEC Championship on December 1st then on January 7th that means The Crimson Tide will face of against The Fighting Irish and life as I know it now will hang in the balance of who wins or who loses.

Fortunately for me I am consoled by the fact that the fast approaching Mayan End of Days will render the entire affair a moot point. Mean time lets enjoy the few chances we have to laugh together before either apocalypse arrives shall we?

 

Taking Turns

Scene: My checkout line at the supermarket.

Me: Paper or plastic?

Customer: I’d like double-bagged paper, and I’d like you to make each bag as heavy as possible.

Me: Okay.

Customer: In case you’re wondering, I had a fight with my wife, and it’s my turn to pick up the groceries.

Me: Uh-huh.

Customer: It’s also her turn to unload the car

What You Email Address Says About You

Here’s what your e-mail address says about your computer skills:

Own domain (e.g., @joesmith.com): You’re skilled and capable.

@gmail.com:When the Internet stops working, you actually try rebooting the router before calling a family member for help.

@hotmail.com:You still think that Myspace is hip.

@yahoo.com:You send e-mail chain letters saying that Bill Gates will eat your hard drive unless you forward this message to everyone you know.

@aol.com: You phone friends to tell them about a neat website, then say into the receiver, “OK, go to … h … t … t … p … colon … slash … w … w … w … dot …”

 

The Center for Copyright Information has stated that it will be rolling out its infringement warning platform, dubbed the Copyright Alert System (CAS), “in the coming weeks.” Originally announced last year, the Copyright Alert System will be used to deliver infringement notices from content owners to ISP users that illegally download copyrighted material. While the initial notices will be purely informational, internet service providers will take extra action on repeat offenders. The punishment for those who refuse to change their ways will vary based on the individual ISP — ranging from requiring the subscriber to review “educational material” to throttling data speeds — although service cancellations are not built into CAS. The internet service providers, however, can make the decision to terminate subscriptions on their own terms. As previously stated, customers requesting an independent review of their network behavior can do so by paying a $35 billing fee.

Read more here:

http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/18/3521714/isp-copyright-alert-system-launch

here:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/22/us_piracy_crackdown_cci/

and here:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57550782-38/cable-companies-say-they-wont-disconnect-accused-pirates/

then watch:

http://www.ted.com/talks/rob_reid_the_8_billion_ipod.html

Then you’ll understand why its uncomfortable when you sit down and why the 4th amendment needs to be updated to cover your electronic communications and Internet access so desperately. We’ll come back to the part about the 4th Amendment later on in the issue.

It was the first night for the newly wed couple. The bride was still a virgin and as a result she is afraid of dicks, Especially large ones and she’s heard all about Leprechauns and how well hung they are. To make his mortal bride feel at ease, Lethal said to the her, “OK, I am going to go outside and slowly show you my dick through the door. Stay calm, there is nothing to be afraid.”

So he walked out, leaving the door slightly ajar and then stuck a Little bit of his dick through the gap and asked, “Does that scare You?” She chuckled a little and said, “Nope!” He then pushed a little more through the gap and again he asked, “Does that scare you?” “Nope,” she replied. He pushed some more through the gap and asked, “Does that scare you?” “Nope,” she said laughing. He then said, “All right, you seem to be okay with it. I am coming up The stairs now!”

Mayan Calendar says it’s okay to start smoking now. So light up,
people — you’ve got bigger things to worry about coming soon.

For 2013, the big news will be Insect magazine selecting its
“Sexiest Cockroach Alive.”

Does this mushroom cloud make Mayan Calendar’s butt look big?

Mayan Mayan, Bo Bayan, Banana Fana Fo Fayan, Mi My Mo BOOM!!!!!

 

The REAL Story Behind PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON!!!

October 2nd 2010 00:10

There are many myths out there surrounding the meaning and lyrics of many a song, but as possible or plausible as some of these myths may sound, the plain truth is that sometimes the meanings are just as plain as the nose on your face.

Take for example the infamous myth regarding the 1965 hit “Puff, The Magic Dragon”. The myth claims that the song is about smoking marijuana simply because it was sung by a hippie folk trio , contains the word “puff” in the song and title, involves ‘Little Jackie Paper’ supposedly a reference to cigarette rolling papers, and the “Land of Honah Lee” – a part of Hawaii with a reputation for the fertile growing of certain ‘crops’.

As to the actual story, the lyrics were composed by college student Lenny Lipton, who after reading Ogden Nash’s “The Tale Of Custard The Dragon”, became melancholy about the days of his childhood and typed out the lyrics on fellow student and friend, Lenny Edelstein’s typewriter. Edelstein’s room-mate, Peter Yarrow came across the poem and composed accompanying music. Paul Yarrow is better known as the Paul from ‘Peter, Paul & Mary’, the trio who eventually brought “Puff The Magic Dragon” to fame.

Since the myth eventuated, Peter Yarrow, claims that no college student smoked pot in 1959, and the climate of the time seems to agree.In later years during a concert, the group further tried to debunk the myth by playing the US national anthem and humorously attempting to locate drug references within it.

 

 

Rough Draft of Jan. 20, 2013 Inauguration Speech

Obviously we non Obama rational folk are waiting in dread anticipation of his inauguration speech where it is expect we’ll learn just exactly what Obama’s more leeway is going to entail for his 2nd term. We here at DL/LL Electronic Media have been able through our contacts in Washington to acquire a discarded rough draft of that speech:

If we hear more, we’ll let you know.

 

 

It’s getting towards the tail end of Fall and near to Winter time. Time for some slow cooker recipe ideas and a casserole sure to warmer your insides and put a smile on your face.

To Die for Crock Pot Roast

• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Total Time: 9 hrs 5 mins
• Servings: 8

About This Recipe

“Amazing flavor, and so simple! No salt needed here. In fact, you may wish to use half the ranch dressing mix to cut back on the saltiness. Found this Crock-Pot pot roast recipe on of a website called http://www.recipegoldmine.com. It’s all the rage there, so I thought I’d try it.”

Ingredients

• 1 (4 -5 lb) beef roast, any kind
• 1 (1 1/4 ounce) packages brown gravy mix, dry
• 1 (1 1/4 ounce) packages dried Italian salad dressing mix
• 1 (1 1/4 ounce) packages ranch dressing mix, dry
• 1/2 cup water

Directions

1. Place beef roast in crock pot.
2. Mix the dried mixes together in a bowl and sprinkle over the roast.
3. Pour the water around the roast.
4. Cook on low for 7-9 hours.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 (245 g)

Servings Per Recipe: 8

Amount Per Serving

% Daily Value

Calories 295.2

Calories from Fat 87

29%

Amount Per Serving

% Daily Value

Total Fat 9.7g

14%

Saturated Fat 3.9g

19%

Cholesterol 149.8mg

49%

Sugars 0.0 g

Sodium 380.5mg

15%

Total Carbohydrate 2.6g

0%

Dietary Fiber 0.0g

0%

Sugars 0.0 g

0%

Protein 49.5g

99%

Slow Cooker Bourbon Chicken

 

Prep Time

15 Minutes

Total Time 6:15 Hrs: Mins

Makes 4 servings

1/2 cup bourbon

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 teaspoon grated gingerroot

2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 cup uncooked instant white rice

1 cup water

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1. Spray 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In slow cooker, mix bourbon, soy sauce, honey, vinegar, ketchup, onion, garlic and gingerroot. Add chicken.
2. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 6 to 8 hours. Remove chicken from slow cooker to plate; shred with 2 forks or break into bite-size pieces with spoon. Return chicken to slow cooker.
3. Cook rice in water as directed on package.
4. Serve chicken over rice; sprinkle with green onions.

Makes 4 serving

Slow Cooker Cheesy Potato Soup

A hot, hearty soup is waiting for you when you get home if you rely on your slow cooker!

Prep Time 15 Minutes

Total Time 6:45 Hrs: Mins

Makes 6 servings

Reynolds™ Slow Cooker Liners

1 bag (32 oz) frozen southern-style diced hash brown potatoes, thawed

1/2 cup frozen chopped onion (from 12-oz bag), thawed

1 medium stalk celery, diced (1/2 cup)

1 carton (32-oz) Progresso® chicken broth

1 cup water

3 tablespoons Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

1 cup milk

1 bag (8 oz) shredded American-Cheddar cheese blend (2 cups)

1/4 cup real bacon pieces (from 2.8-oz package)

4 medium green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)

1. Place Reynolds™ Slow Cooker Liners inside a 5- to 6 1/2 -qt slow cooker bowl. Make sure that liner fits snugly against the bottom and sides of bowl and pull the top of the liner over rim of bowl.
2. In lined slow cooker, mix potatoes, onion, celery, broth and water.
3. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 6 to 8 hours.
4. In small bowl, mix flour into milk; stir into potato mixture. Increase heat setting to High. Cover; cook 20 to 30 minutes or until mixture thickens. Stir in cheese until melted. Garnish individual servings with bacon and green onions. Sprinkle with pepper if desired.

Makes 6 servings (1 1/2 cups each)

Make the Most of This Recipe With Tips From The Betty Crocker^® Kitchens

Serve food directly from the lined slow cooker. Once your slow cooker cools, remove the liner and throw away for easy clean up.

Substitution

Instead of using purchased bacon pieces, cook 2 strips of bacon until crisp, then drain and crumble.

Or just buy the real bacon bits in the reseal able bag. Use the leftover bacon bits (not too sure what those are) in your eggs tomorrow for breakfast

Success

Southern-style hash brown potatoes are diced instead of shredded. These work best in this recipe.

Nutrition Information:

1 Serving (1 Serving)

• Calories 410
  • (Calories from Fat 140),

• Total Fat 15g
  • (Saturated Fat 9g,
  • Trans Fat 0g),
• Cholesterol 45mg;
• Sodium 1210mg;
• Total Carbohydrate 50g
  • (Dietary Fiber 5g,
  • Sugars 5g),
• Protein 19g;

Percent Daily Value*:

Exchanges:

• 3 1/2 Starch;
• 0 Fruit;
• 0 Other Carbohydrate;
• 0 Skim Milk;
• 0 Low-Fat Milk;
• 0 Milk;
• 0 Vegetable;
• 0 Very Lean Meat;
• 0 Lean Meat;
• 1 High-Fat Meat;
• 1 Fat;

Carbohydrate Choices:

• 3;

Buffalo Chicken and Potatoes

Ranch dressing and cream of mushroom soup offsets the spice from buffalo wing sauce in a satisfying, meat-and-potatoes casserole.

Prep Time 10 Minutes

Total Time 1:05 Hr: Mins

Makes 6 servings

1 1/4 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch strips

1/3 cup buffalo wing sauce

6 cups frozen (thawed) southern-style hash brown potatoes

1 cup ranch or blue cheese dressing

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 oz)

1 can (10 oz) condensed cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup corn flake crumbs (crumbled tortilla chips or Doritos work well too)

2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

1/4 cup chopped green onions (3 to 4 medium)

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13×9-inch (3-quart) baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In medium bowl, stir together chicken strips and wing sauce.
3. In large bowl, stir together potatoes, dressing, cheese and soup. Spoon into baking dish. Place chicken strips in single layer over potato mixture.
4. In small bowl, stir together crumbs and butter. Sprinkle in baking dish.
5. Cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes; uncover and bake 20 to 25 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender and juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut. Sprinkle with green onions.

Makes 6 servings (1 3/4 cups each)

Tips

For authentic flavor, go with red hot buffalo wing sauce. Other flavors to try include teriyaki, sweet and sour or barbecue.

For a cheesy hash brown side dish, omit the chicken and wing sauce. Serve casserole with barbecued chicken or baked ham.

Try using precut chicken tenders to make prep time shorter.

Serve with additional blue cheese dressing.

Nutrition Information:

1 Serving (1 Serving)

• Calories 620
  • (Calories from Fat 300),

• Total Fat 33g
  • (Saturated Fat 9g,
  • Trans Fat 0g),
• Cholesterol 90mg;
• Sodium 1240mg;
• Total Carbohydrate 51g
  • (Dietary Fiber 5g,
  • Sugars 5g),
• Protein 28g;

Percent Daily Value*:

Exchanges:

• 2 1/2 Starch;
• 0 Fruit;
• 1 Other Carbohydrate;
• 0 Skim Milk;
• 0 Low-Fat Milk;
• 0 Milk;
• 0 Vegetable;
• 0 Very Lean Meat;
• 3 Lean Meat;
• 0 High-Fat Meat;
• 4 1/2 Fat;

Carbohydrate Choices: 3 1/2;

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

 

 

A woman was unhappy with the way her laundry was done at the local Chinese Laundry, so she wrote a note and put it in the bag with the next collection of soiled clothes :
“USE MORE SOAP ON PANTIES!”
She got the clean laundry back, and was still dissatisfied with the results, so the following week she enclosed another note:
“USE MORE SOAP ON PANTIES!”
The Chinese laundryman became very annoyed, and when her clean laundry was delivered, it contained a note from HIM:
“I USE PLENTY SOAP ON PANTIES!!! USE MORE PAPER ON ASS!!”

 

GAY MARRIAGE and MARIJUANA

It all makes sense now. Gay marriage and marijuana being legalized on the same day.

Leviticus 20:13 – “If a man lieth with another man as one lieth with a woman, he should be stoned.”

We’ve just been interpreting it wrong all these years!

T-Mobile’s Home For The Holidays Surprise

Say what you will about they’re choice of phone models, calling plans, billing and customer service problems or their speed/coverage and unsubstantiated claims regarding them they DO make a heck of a commercial!

 

Lethal Leprechaun walks into a pub and takes a seat next to a very attractive woman.
He gives her a quick glance then casually looks at his watch for a moment.
The woman notices this and asks, ‘Is your date running late?’
‘No’, he replies, I just got this state-of the-art watch, and I was just testing it..’
The intrigued woman says, ‘a state-of-the-art watch?
”What’s so special about it?’
Lethal explains, ‘It uses alpha waves to talk to me telepathically.’
The lady says, ‘What’s it telling you now?’
Well, it says you’re not wearing any panties.’
The woman giggles and replies
‘Well it must be broken because I am wearing panties!’
Our Leprechaun smiles, taps his watch and says,
‘ Bloody thing’s an hour fast!’

 

Email Protection is not Part of the Fourth Amendment

Posted:  11/25/2012 5:09 PM Houston Chronicle http://mobile.chron.com/chron/db_271414/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=VfaE6Gs6&detailindex=0&pn=0&ps=2&full=true#display

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Outdated digital privacy regulations are increasingly allowing law enforcement agencies to use Internet companies and popular social networks to do their spying.

The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable search and seizure of private citizens and their “persons, houses, papers, and effects” – but obviously makes no mention of email in a remote server. In 1986, Congress passed a law regulating how law enforcement can access information stored and communicated electronically. That was years before the Internet became a household term and before email was commonplace.

The law, known as the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, updated the 1968 Federal Wiretap Act. [ Which came about because of the frequent and grievous abuse of wiretaps by lazy and unscrupulous law enforcement personnel] Now, as the Senate considers amending the privacy act to make law enforcement more accountable to the courts, Internet providers and service companies find themselves as awkward middlemen between the government and Web users.

“Rather than ‘Big Brother,’ we have lots of ‘Little Brothers,’ ” said Christopher Calabrese, a privacy lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union. [Bask in the novelty of the ACLU actually doing what it was  founded to do, protect our basic civil liberties instead of stomping on things like prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance! The Apocalypse has to be near!]

While Internet users may think of personal information and photos on services like Gmail, Dropbox, Facebook and Twitter as their own, that information resides within easily accessible computers. In addition, Internet service providers such as AT&T and Verizon hold reams of data pertaining to customers’ Internet Provider addresses, Web histories, locations and personal information.

Critics point out that because of the outdated language in the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, personal information can be accessed with a subpoena from a prosecutor – not through a warrant, which requires the review and blessing of a judge.

The ACLU, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, law professors and judges, and the Digital Due Process organization – a group that spans more than 65 technology companies and political organizations from both sides of the aisle – all agree that the privacy act needs to be updated as soon as possible. Susan Freiwald, a professor of law at the University of San Francisco, points out that one of its biggest failings is not providing legal recourse for citizens.

In cases of eavesdropping, such as a wiretap, the subject has a right to know eventually about the surveillance. But if an investigation digs into people’s email and isn’t brought to trial, she says, the subjects rarely find out that their online activities were being monitored. When law enforcement has an unbridled ability to rifle through private correspondence, “we’re a police state,” Freiwald says.

Leahy proposal

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who has proposed an amendment to the act, said the Senate Judiciary Committee will consider the changes Thursday. The crux of the amendment would require investigators to serve either a warrant to the service provider or a subpoena directly to the user when seeking personal digital information.

The upcoming debate has put some companies in uncomfortable positions as to when they want to respect online privacy and when they don’t. The Association of National Advertisers sent a letter to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer professing “profound disappointment” that the default setting for the upcoming version of Internet Explorer would be “do not track.” Tracking users on a Web browser makes targeted advertising for new products easier.

Signers of the letter included representatives of publicly traded giants including IBM, AT&T, Adobe Systems and Intel. Yet all four of those companies, and Microsoft, also are members of the Digital Due Process organization pushing for reform of the privacy act.

Authorities’ concern

[Big surprise there! They had ‘concerns’ over the Miranda Warning too. Concerns over encryption programs people were using because of the stories of abuse of this loophole that were coming out of the  server farms and ISPs as far back as 2000. Shit they have concerns over anything that does the use of bright lights and rubber hoses of days gone by, requiring instead actual police works evidence and respect thereby reducing coffee and donut time.]

Law enforcement groups express concerns about the Leahy measure. The FBI Agents Association and the National Law Enforcement Officers Association wrote separate letters arguing that it would add time and paperwork, and potentially alert suspects to investigations.

“When lives are on the line, when seconds count, law enforcement needs lawful access to electronic communications records without undue delay,” read a letter from an assortment of national and state-level law enforcement groups. [My advice? When lives are on the line and seconds count DO NOT depend on Eric Holder and/or the US Government! Look at Bengasi! Look at FEMA responses, Fast & Furious to name a few recent examples. Do you REALLY want to trust these guys?]

In the first half of 2012, Google says, governments in the United States made 7,969 requests for information on users; With its search engine, email client Gmail, office suite Docs and video-sharing YouTube – to name just a handful of services – the company has a huge window into how people use the Web.

Google, Twitter and others disclose statistics on government information requests voluntarily. Notably, the world’s largest social network, Facebook, says it has no plans to publish data on government requests for information on its users. More than 200 million American and Canadian residents use the social network.

“If the CIA had built Facebook, we’d all be terrified,” points out Wired senior writer Bob McMillan.

In some cases, companies push back on the government. Google did not comply with 10 percent of its information requests in the first half of this year. In September, Twitter asked a New York court to quash a subpoena for personal information on a protester in the Occupy movement.

These fights exist because the law is unclear, says Kurt Opsahl, senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Online boundaries

But online boundaries are not quite as clear as someone’s home. Digital information is usually backed up across servers, or sliced up and distributed across many servers that can reside in different districts or even countries. Also, electronic data is typically intertwined with additional personal information about the subject and other users. Presenting the digital “boundaries” of an investigation would require careful, if not incredibly difficult, explanation – and a judge who understood the technical ramifications.

[Ok wait just a bloody second now. If I understand that last paragraph correctly, they are arguing the ‘concern’ that because they don’t understand exactly how my personal information is stored or how to configure filters that obtain for them ONLY what the scope of a warrant would allow for and because there are an insufficient number of Internet Tech savvy Judges they will be inconvenienced.

Due to that inconveniencing by the lack of understanding and training by both Investigators and Judges I should forgo the logical extension of my 4th Amendment rights and expectations of privacy to make their lives easier and just TRUST them to limit themselves in reason for scope of and how they handle my personal information?

Am I the ONLY one that sees a recipe for abuse of power here?! What about the Movie and Recording Industries being able to get away with monitoring where you go and what you do on line sans benefit over judicial oversight simply because no laws exist to stop them?!]

The Supreme Court has ruled that people have an “expectation of privacy” over the phone and in written letters, requiring a warrant. But the high court has not heard a case regarding the question of e-mail privacy.

Seems to me that the High Court needs to revisit this issue, perhaps best right after they are subject to a warrantless review of their personal e-mails and we see how much dirty falls from THAT tree. NO WONDER everyone wants you to store your dirty laundry on the cloud, it makes giving it to Big & Little Brother so much easier and legally expedient for everyone BUT you and your rights! Time to write your Congressman & Senators folks! Best use snail mail though unless you want it falling into Obama’s hands!