Thursday, June 23, 2011

US Open Omits GOD: No Balls in this Golf Tournament

No God, No Glory

American Flag carried during The National Anthem 
I've personally never engaged in a sport that "includes" balls only in RODEO with requires "balls."  Rodeo also requires GOD as it is a sport where praying is part of playing.  It opens with a PRAYER, the NATIONAL ANTHEM is SUNG and it ends in a thank you GOD by the individuals who risk their lives doing what they love.  The motto is "Know God.  No Fear."
On Sunday (of ALL days), during the opening of the U.S. Open Tournament (of ALL tournaments) hosted by NBC, GOD was omitted from the Pledge of Allegiance.  It was blatant.  Even more appalling, the pledge was conducted by a blindly lead group of children.  Come on NBC--hiding behind America's children?  Does it get any lower?  But...what else would you expect from a morally corrupt group of people who add absolutely no value grasping for some type or semblance of an identity in a meaningless, atheistic, world-view?  I seem to recall the Taliban in Palestine used the locals as shields.  Hmmmm...Do you see the parallel?  NBC=Moral bankruptcy=Atheism=Socialism=Corruption=Terrorism.  This type of behaviour is exactly what President Osama promotes.  Didn't Obama do the same with his wives--use them as human shields?


A Jingle (sung to "Tomato, Tomahto")

You say Obama...I say Osama
You say Joe Biden...I say Bin Laden
Obama...Osama
Joe Biden...Bin Laden
Let's vote the whole thing off!!!

Apology--Insult to Injury
It was necessary and it was given but what's the point?  NBC did what it did, conveyed their message of Godlessness and then apologized.  If I smack someone in the face and then apologize, does it then correct the action?  No.  I just did what I wanted to do and then said, "Sorry about your face."  It doesn't repair the DAMAGE because it was for a calculated purpose.

NBC apologizes for omitting 'under God' from Pledge before U.S. Open (19 June 2011) 
"Later in the telecast, host Dan Hicks read the following statement during coverage: 'It was our intent to begin our coverage of this U.S. Open championship with a feature that captured the patriotism of our national championship being here in our nation's capital for the third time. Regrettably, a portion of the Pledge of Allegiance that was in that feature was edited out. It was not done to upset anyone and we'd like to apologize to those of you who were offended by it.'
"Of note: 'under God' was not in the original Pledge from 1892, which read, 'I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.'  The words 'under God' were not added to the Pledge until 1954, when President Eisenhower signed Congressional legislation to that effect into law."

What a lame apology--which by the way, came with a disclaimer that well, it WAS written without God originally so we went with that version.  And "we'd like to apologize to those of you who were offended by it..."???  Uh.  Last time I checked this IS still AMERICA and God hasn't checked out but Obama and his socialist agenda is giving it his all to check him out.  So...does this mean that all Conservatives, Republicans and members of the Tea Party should NOT pay their taxes?  After all, there is nothing in the Constitution requiring us to do so. 


At least one of the most notable Presidents in recent history had enough honesty, character and integrity to openly express his beliefs.  Well, I guess ours does too.  He recently stated that he now has a bigger plane and, while our country was staggering out of the rubble from the catastrophe in Joplin, our fearless leader decided to circumvent Ancestry.com and fly to Ireland to find a tree and plant his roots.  Er, uh, plant a tree and find his roots.  O'..O'..O'...O'bamaaaa!  I knew there was something about him that looked familiar to my husband.  They're both Irish!

Who the heck ARE you?!

I thank God every day I wake up and it is still America. We can still own land, grow our own food, have a family doctor, enjoy the religion of our choice and start/own whatever business we want (for the most part. The business of "Government" is already taken.). Over the last few weeks, I have talked with folks form the UK, Poland, Germany, Australia, Israel and Palestine about what they think is going on in America. They are confused and concerned.

America is the country the world loves to hate. We represent the conscience of those who have chosen to hate God or convinced themselves that He doesn't exist. We are the moral barometer (believe it or not) that has helped to change the outlandish, disgusting liberties afforded other countries in the EU (bestiality, pedophilia, legal substance abuse, human trafficking) to see where they have erred in their ways. We have positively impacted the Communist and dictatorship nations by showing them how Capitalism can enrich a nation with opportunities never before believed possible. Russia and China have recently admitted that once they got their government out of the way, their businesses flourished.

I'm sooo confused?
Can someone tell me why, if the rest of the world sees the immense benefit to having a capitalistic republic, would be want to delve into the bowels of fascism and Marxism? Can someone tell me, once "God" is added to one of the other seven bad words you can't say on television, how long before we have no beliefs or opinions other than the dogma spewed out by social democratic movement? What happens to all of the things families have held so dear for generations, like Christmas? Oh, yeah. Happy e-commerce holidays! What about the covenant of marriage? Oh, yeah. That's right. It's only a contract between two animate or inanimate objects.

Who OWNS NBC?
Interesting question.  NBC is owned by GE (General Electric).  Does GE condone NBC's omission of GOD in the Pledge of Allegiance during the US Open?  Who knows.  But I have their products (appliances, light bulbs and other "treasures") on my boycott list.  BRIGHT IDEA!

One final note...The People's Country called the US Open Office for a comment.  They declined.


Disclaimer:  Opinions expressed here are solely those of the author unless otherwise stated.



Sunday, June 19, 2011

Media Meltdown: Nuclear Disaster

Run Away.  I Run So Far Away...
On April 12, 2011, "The People's Country" released it's first blog, CNN:  The Tale of the Half-Life and The Half Wit This article was written in response to the lack of scientific knowledge in the press as no one effectively defined WHAT, precisely, is a "half-life" and how it pertained to Japan's nuclear disaster.  The prompt exodus of Sanjay Gupta and Anderson Cooper (CNN reporters) also indicated a lack of media integrity.  They claimed that the public had nothing to fear and in 6 days (the half-life of just one of the radioactive materials--iodine) everything would be just fine. On March 11 of this year, an earthquake and tsunami left left nearly 24,000 dead or missing.  As the reporting of this story began, so did the speculation.  Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant consists of 6 nuclear reactors.  The disaster was compared to Three Mile Island (1979 in Dawphine County, Pennsylvania) and  Chernobyl (1986 in the Ukraine/Russia).  Fukushima was quickly rated equal to Three Mile Island--a 5 on the International Nuclear Event Scale but then later upgraded to a 7 and "equal" to Chernobyl.

Fukushima's six reactors continue to emit radiation and the nuclear disaster is still no where close to being under control.  It is still rated at "7" and time allowing, the International Nuclear Event Scale committee is going to busy making a new scale to accommodate this EVENT. 

Who's Telling the Truth? 
In David McNeill's article, Who's telling the truth on the Fukushima meltdown?  he writes,  "A string of autopsies -- political, regulatory and technological -- loom over the corpse of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The media, however, has already begun its self-examination and it’s not a pretty picture.  Newsweek Japan is one of many publications that have criticized 'sensationalist' foreign reporters, who 'failed to accomplish their mission' during the disaster.  Newsweek says some journalists ran away [Anderson and Sanjay] and many of those who stayed massively overreacted to the threat from the crippled reactors." 

During the whole debacle, both the Japanese government and the energy company responsible for the plants (Tepco), were found to be withholding pertinent information about the seriousness of the fall-out. So much so that the US pulled back ships from the Japanese coastline due to the radiation levels found on their decks.

In the Reuters article, UPDATE 3-Radiation spike halts work at Japan nuclear plant, it was stated that if Tepco doesn't restart operations at the power plant in the next week, a volume of radio-actively contaminated water, equivalent to 40 Olympic-sized swimming pools (110,000 tons), has to be removed.

"According to ABC News, Dr Price said: 'As the water leaks out, you keep on pouring water in, so this leak will go on forever.  'There has to be some way of dealing with it. The water is connecting in tunnels and concrete-lined pits at the moment and the question is whether they can pump it back." 

QUESTION:  How on earth would you remove that amount of water? 

Some Ideas from a Non-Professional 
(1)  Start the plant again to get the water recirculating.  Nice idea, however, the radiation levels in the plants are so high that no one is allowed inside the facilities.  Also, there is so much damage from the melt-down (yes, melt down), the reliability of the equipment is in question.  (2)  Remove the water via a tanker to another location.  Once complete, you now have a contaminated tanker.  What do you do with a contaminated tanker?  (3)  Remove the water in small containers and relocate to some uninhabitable place like...Afghanistan, Pakistan, or Iran.  This would serve two purposes.  You can figure them out for yourself.  (4)  Dump it into the ocean.  If the ocean can handle the dumping of Osama bin Laden, it could handle some radio-active water.  Right? 

As you can see, with the possible exception of number 3 above, none of the alternatives are very pleasant.  Me?  I'm going with number 4 as it WAS the solution for Three Mile Island but since Pennsylvania isn't located near the Pacific Ocean, the nuclear contaminated waste water was pumped into the Susquehanna River.

In Japan, Nuke Plant Was Unprepared For Tsunami Disaster, Report Finds (19 June 2011) Associated "Government reports released this month said the damage and leakage at the plant were worse than previously thought, with some of the nuclear fuel in three reactors likely having melted through the main cores and inner containment vessels. They said the radiation that leaked into the air amounted to about one-sixth of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 -- double previous estimates."

It is estimated that no residents from the surrounding area (within 12 miles) will be allowed to return to their homes for quite a while.  It is also estimated that the damaged fuel rods won't be cool enough to remove for another 50 to 100 YEARS!  On a very tragic note, those who worked so diligently to stop the meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi are expected to die in the next few weeks from radiation poisoning.

Disclaimer:  Opinions expressed here are solely those of the author unless otherwise stated.
.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Weiner Problems? Try Term Limitations

Front and Center Senator
Giggity Giggity Goo!
This front and center Senator, Anthony Weiner, got me to thinking about how tired I am of career politicians.  Seeing Weiner in the news, I knew he reminded me of someone…QUAGMIRE from The Family Guy!  After all, they are both “perverts” of sorts.  When politicians start to resemble cartoon characters, it’s past time for term limits. 
I realize that many Americans believe that VOTING is EQUAL to TERM LIMITATIONS.  It is not. 
“Giggity, Giggity Goo”
Glenn Quagmire, often referred to as just Quagmire, is a fictional character on the animated series Family Guy, best known for his hypersexuality…Aside from these excesses, Quagmire finds sexual arousal in seemingly banal situations, and sexual innuendo in much of the show's dialogue. During such periods of sexual arousal, he invokes several catchphrases, including "giggity giggity goo" (sometimes shortened to simply "giggity", or slowed down, replacing "goo" with "gig-gi-ty").


At least the fictional character, Quagmire, is a single pilot, unlike Weiner who is married and is a representative (New York Congressman) of our nation.  In ctpost.com’s article, US  congressman admits lying about lewd photo, NEW YORK (AP) ,June 7, 2011, “ Weiner also acknowledged that he had engaged in inappropriate contact with six women over the course of three years through social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook and occasionally over the phone. He said he had never met or had a physical relationship with any of the women and was not even sure of their ages. He also said he had never had sex outside of his marriage.” 

From Denial to Admission to Rehab--"Poli-Wood" at it's Worst
Maybe you have already heard me use this word--POLI-WOOD.  Politics has turned into a Hollywood sort of scene when in fact, politicians are supposed to be PUBLIC SERVANTS.  But Weiner appears to have attended the Lindsay Lohan school of accountability--boohoo...if you get caught trying to get away with something despicable do the following:
I think I need rehab...in the Bahamas.
  1. Vehiamately deny any and all involvement;
  2. Cry;
  3. Admit that it isn't what it seems;
  4. Cry again;
  5. Reaffirm how great you are; and
  6. Run away to some secluded spot and call it "rehab" or "treatment."
Come on Weiner.  If you are that proud of yourself to show it off on the web, the least you could do is stand up and be a man about it.  You have disgraced your position and do nothing but reinforce the stereotype of the greasy politician.

Career Politicians
In CATO INTITUTE’S, Individual Liberty, Free Markets, and Peace, (Cato Policy Analysis No. 141) October 30, 1990, Policy Analysis—Term Limitation:  An Idea Whose time Has Come the question is raised regarding “term limitations” for members of the House of Representatives.  “Term limits were a part of the nation's first governing document, the Articles of Confederation, and were left out of the Constitution largely because they were thought of as "entering too much into detail" for a short document. Nonetheless, self-imposed limits on officeholders were long a part of America's public-service ethic; members of Congress returned to private life after a couple of terms. With the rise of the modern superstate, term limitation, once the accepted American tradition, has been replaced by congressional careerism. That is why the voluntary service limitations of the past must now be made part of the nation's laws.”

Table 2
Retention of
U.S. House Incumbents, 1832-1988
Period
Percentage of Incumbents Seeking Reelection
Percentage of Incumbents Defeated
Percentage of Incumbents Retained
1832-40
56.0
18.3
45.8
1842-50
44.5
19.4
35.9
1852-60
55.4
24.5
41.8
1862-70
54.7
16.4
45.7
1872-80
58.5
20.1
46.7
1882-90
63.3
18.5
51.6
1892-1900
69.3
15.8
58.4
1902-10
78.6
9.8
70.9
1912-20
78.7
12.9
68.5
1922-30
85.9
10.0
77.3
1932-40
82.7
14.2
71.0
1942-50
85.3
12.5
74.6
1952-60
88.9
6.3
82.3
1962-70
88.8
6.4
83.1
1972-80
86.7
5.6
81.8
1982-88
90.9
3.5
87.7
1984-88
91.3
2.4
89.1
1988
93.8
1.5
92.4

Source: Walter Dean Burnham, letter to author.

"Over the past 180 years, the percent of incumbents seeking and obtaining their position in the House has risen from 56% to 94% (in 1988) thus producing the 'career politician.'  The President of the United States is elected for a total of two 4-year terms House of Representatives has UNLIMITED 6-year terms, the U.S Senate UNLIMITED 2-year terms and the Supreme Court has NO term limits (providing 'good behavior') as they are appointed by the United States President and effectively a life-time appointment."

Those who came to America wanted to get away from dictators, kings, and rulers of every kind.  The elitist mentality of the social democtrats are trying to kick us back hundreds of years into a time of a ruling class and a working class. If the founding fathers deemed it important that the President had a term limit and that it was understood that representatives only served a term or two, why do we have so many career politicians?  

Think about it.  If YOU spent your entire life in a room with others like you who had never done anything else other than make judgements about what "the people" need, do you think that you would know what they want?  After all, for most of your life, you didn't even live in the real world?  How could you know?!  This isn't a criticism of their desire to spend their life in politics.  It is an observation of just how out-of-touch career politicians really are with you and me.  It's clear that they are in it for themselves.  They have no intentions of being in touch.

Members of The House and Senate are paid with Taxpayers money receiving approximately $200,000 per year.  “Members of Congress receive retirement and health benefits under the same plans available to other federal employees. They become vested after five years of full participation” per Salaries and Benefits of US Congress Members by Robert Longley, About.com Guide. Sure, WE elect them but the Constitutional intent was a Democracy FOR and BY the PEOPLE.

“The myth that professional legislators are needed to deal with the complexity of government today is exposed by the $14.3 trillion national debt hole that has been created by the very professional politicians who make this argument.  We can no longer afford career politicians who defer tough decisions to commissions and other non-elected bodies.  Limiting terms will allow citizen legislators to come to Washington, DC, fix the problems and then go home to resume their lives, instead of becoming encamped in the cloistered world inside the DC Beltway,” Blumel concluded in U.S. Term Limits citizen Legislators, Not Career Politicians.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

E. coli Outbreak: Inspector Poopiedoop's Perspective

We are faced with an E. coli outbreak that is believed to have started in Germany, but is becoming a potentially world-wide concern.  The crisis is the deadliest E. coli outbreak in modern history.

I was referred to as "Inspector Poopiedoop" when I worked as a microbiologist.  In a factory, I "cultured" work surfaces, floors, restrooms and even people's hands hunting for dangerous bacterium.  These samples were then incubated for growth and run through a series of tests for identification.  E. coli can be tricky as there are at least 3,500 different strains which generally "look" the same until further identified.  When grown on Eosin Methylene Blue Agar (a petri dish of a gelatin type substance), E. coli produces a brilliant fluorescent "sheen."

What is E. coli?
E. coli is a Gram-negative rod-shaped bacterium of which most are harmless and found everywhere in the environment but serotype 0157:H7 is the most common strain that causes food poisoning--at least until recently.  The new strain of E. coli does not appear to be 0157:H7 but a more resilient survival of the fittest mutating species.  It is an anaerobic bacterium meaning that it does not need oxygen for survival so it thrives in places such as the warm moist walls of the intestine.  Good E. coli is the most prevalent Gram-negative flora (naturally occurring) in the gut.  Good and bad E. coli colonize and survive for periods of time outside the body like on surfaces, in the ground or in vegetables for example.

Domain: Bacteria
Phylum: Proteobacteria
Class: Gammaproteobacteria
Order: Enterobacteriales
Family: Enterobacteriaceae
Genus: Escherichia  (named after Theordor Escherich who discovered E. coli)
Species: E. coli  (motile via a peritrichous flagella or "tail")

The "In the News" Strain
What makes this "in the news" strain so potential deadly?  It's new and can be antibiotic resistant.  It also releases toxins into the blood stream.  "This is a unique strain that has never been isolated from patients before," Hilde Kruse, a food safety expert at the World Health Organization, told The Associated Press. The new strain has "various characteristics that make it more virulent and toxin-producing" than the many E. coli strains people naturally carry in their intestines.

"Health officials said Thursday three people in the United States are suspected to have fallen ill from E. coli bacteria after traveling to Germany where the mystery outbreak has led to the deaths of 18 people and sickened at least 1,600"  (New Strain of E. Coli Reaches US by Fox News).

Here's the problem.  E. coli lives in the gut, it is expelled through the feces.  If a person is carrying a harmful strain, it becomes "contagious" to others after the infected person uses the restroom does not thoroughly wash their hands and by touch contaminates paper towel, toilet paper, surfaces and so on.  It then spreads in that environment and multiplies.  This is just one of many case scenarios. 

Why is E. coli potentially more deadly in women that men?  It's a simple problem of anatomy.  When women use the restroom and "wipe," often the bacteria is dragged to the opening of the urethra when wiping from back to front.  I'm sorry--as disgusting as it is--women should wipe from FRONT to BACK.  When this bacteria or toxin travels to to the kidneys, it can cause kidney failure.  Regardless of E. coli, this is a exercise in cleanliness.

The Grain Blame
To dispute Dr. Mark Seigel's article, "E. coli outbreak in America.  Why now? (Fox News Medical A Team), cows have been eating grain for A LONG TIME.  Don't blame it on the grain!  Dry grain is not likely to harbour E. coli.  Grass fed cows do not grow like grain fed cows not to mention, they taste "gamey."  It's blood and bone meal that presented a problem when fed to cows as they are "herbivores" and this method defies the laws of nature.

When I personally cultured a variety of animal species feces, grain-fed cows and horses had no or minimal E. coli present in comparison to humans, dogs, cats, rats and birds.  Dr. Mark Seigel has probably never been around cows but likely knows a good steak.  As I see it, he is just trying to reduce the use of corn for cattle consumption.  If you haven't been keeping up, we are facing a corn shortage in America.

He goes on to say, "Another problem is our overuse of antibiotics, both in animals and in humans, which creates an environment where it is very easy for resistant strains of bacteria to thrive. This is something we need to become more conscious of, especially when you consider that newer antibiotics are not being made to replace the ones that are no longer effective. Drug companies long ago discovered that making antibiotics is not a profitable business."

Dr. Seigal is not taking into consideration that he does NOT know if all the contaminated vegetables were fertilized with cow manure.  Not to mention, manure is generally "composted" for a period of time and then spread prior to planting so that any bacteria dies upon exposure to light and oxygen.  Remember, E. coli is "anaerobic."  Many anaerobes die upon exposure to oxygen.

He goes on to say, "As the new bacteria spreads throughout Europe via vegetables, a second pathogen is spreading along with it. That pathogen is fear. Since bacteria are invisible, we all personalize the risk and imagine we could be the next victim."

Don't Panic
Fear comes from the UNKNOWN.  Get the facts.  Use caution.  If you are afraid, eat at home for the next several weeks and avoid vegetables.  Buy from a local grower, providing you don't live in Germany, or check stickers at the grocery so you know where the product was grown.  Chose a grocery store you trust and stick with it--one that will personally call you or you can call if there is a recall. 

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Catching Wild Pigs: The Corn is FREE. Are YOU?

I was inspired by Jim Sorfranko's quote to post this story.  
Jim wrote, "I believe in analytical analysis of events that take into consideration economic, cultural, historical and social motivations and implications of all the parties involved. Otherwise we're just a myopic, self serving arrogant bunch of bastar...ds often blindly led by those in power with hidden agendas. With that said I will say I firmly do believe most people in the world want peace and prosperity for  themselves and their loved ones."

I can not accept credit for the contents of "Catching Wild Pigs" but only pass it along as it was to me.  I would like to acknowledge the author but he/she is unknown.  This is a BRILLIANT analogy and FOOD for THOUGHT!

Social Motivations
There was a chemistry professor in a large college that had some exchange students in the class.   One day while the class was in the lab, the professor noticed one young man, an exchange student, who kept rubbing his back and stretching as if his back hurt. The professor asked the young man what was the matter.

The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country's government and install a new communist regime.

In the midst of his story, he looked at the professor and asked a strange question. He asked: "Do you know how to catch wild pigs?"  The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line.  The young man said that it was no joke. "You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground.  The pigs find it and begin to come every day to eat the free corn.

Hidden Agendas

"When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming.   When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence.  "They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side.  "The pigs, which are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat that free corn again.  You then slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd. Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom.  They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity."

The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening in America.  The government keeps pushing us toward Communism/Socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tax exemptions, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, etc. While we continually lose our freedoms, just a little at a time.
 
TWO TRUTHS
One should always remember two truths:
1.  There is no such thing as a free lunch
2.  You can never hire someone to provide a service for you cheaper than you can do it yourself.

If you see that all of this wonderful government 'help' is a problem confronting the future of democracy in America, you might want to send this on to your friends.  If you think the free ride is essential to your way of life, then you will probably be angered.  But G-D help you when the gate slams shut!

My comment:  This is yet another reason WHY the Debt Ceiling is HIGH ENOUGH!