I love how NASA tries to put on a happy face on this,,,,,,,,,
Fewer giant asteroids are out in space than once thought and most of the biggest near-Earth asteroids have been found, leaving little threat of one smashing into the planet, NASA said Thursday. (So just because they have found some means they can guaruntee they will not hit us? Um, how well did NASA do with caculating just where THEIR satellite would crash?)
The latest data from the US space agency's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE telescope, shows that 93 percent of asteroids 3,300 feet (one kilometer) and larger (Or, 11 football stadiums combined and larger) have been found.(Leaving 7% of GIANT asteroids NOT FOUND)
Scientists used to think there were about 1,000 of them, but they have revised that number down to 981, of which 911 have been located and are being tracked. (WOW! Only 19 less and 70 yet to be found if, and thats a big IF, the numbers are to be trusted.)
"The risk of a really large asteroid impacting the Earth before we could find and warn of it has been substantially reduced," said Tim Spahr,(Substantially? Really?) the director of the Minor Planet Center at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Where thechallenge remains is with mid-sized near-Earth asteroids 330 feet (100 meters) and larger (Or, a football stadium and larger). The WISE data shows there are about 19,500 -- not 35,000 as previous data suggested -- and that only 5,200 of these are being tracked.
That leaves nearly 15,000 yet to be found, NASA said. (Actually 14,300 but who's counting?)
A near-Earth asteroid is defined as a space rock that orbits within 120 million miles (195 million kilometers) of the sun into Earth's orbital vicinity. (Or, in less astronomical terms - DAMN CLOSE)
Amy Mainzer, lead author of the latest research which appears in the Astrophysical Journal, said WISE has given astronomers a better sense of what is out there, and what is not.
"It's like a population census, where you poll a small group of people to draw conclusions about the entire country," she said. (Yea and we all know how well that works?)
Oh well, have a pleasant night sleep knowing that NASA has it all under control.
Some readers may be aware of the CP family canine matriarch Bailey as I have written here and elsewhere about this one particular family member.
Bailey had reached the end of her rope today after nearly 17 years of pure and unrelenting mutual love, fun and loyalty. Without a doubt it is a very sad day in our household as she will be missed greatly.
In short my Wife (then Girlfriend) and I happened upon a scene where we ended-up rescuing this puppy to be later named Bailey and it was with very heavy hearts that we came to the decision to have her euthanized today. Bailey basically 'told' us it was her time; walking, eating and drinking one day then enough was enough for her, she was ready to go.
Apparently Pres. Obama seeks to shore-up his base and particlarily the black portion of it as it has been slipping greatly as of late along with all other "groups" as well and this is for obvious reasons.
The third paragraph in the AP's story is what caught my attention;
"It gets folks discouraged. I know. I listen to some of y'all," Obama told an audience of some 3,000 in a darkened Washington convention center.
Did you catch it?
That is what to me is the very obvious racial and offensive overtone in that AP accounting and I am not talking about Obamas quote in that. Obvious to myself that is and purposely veiled by the AP for those who would just 'skim-over' such an article.
I have stated before that words are very important as is the knowledge to read them. But that does not do anyone any good if they do not understand the words or the context of them when strung together be the context obvious or veiled.
The context of the example given above is veiled racism from none other than a left-wing MSM outlet and they should be called-out on it, everytime.
A woman is recovering today after she walked into a moving train at Needham Center Station while trying to light her cigarette, according to an MBTA Transit Police report.
At about 8:45 p.m. Thursday, Sandra Gawlik, 44, of South Natick, was walking across the platform attempting to light the cigarette, police said. She did not notice the incoming train and walked into its side.
The force of the speeding train knocked her to the ground, police said.
She was transported to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where she is being treated for a broken clavicle and an injury to the left side of her head, the police report added.
Gawlik works at the Center Cafe, which is connected to the Needham Center Station platform.
The passengers on the train were bused to Needham Heights. Service resumed at about 11:14 p.m.
OK, I am not necessarily calling this woman "stupid" as suggested in my title but rather myself as I am a cigarette smoker. (Although it is a direct swipe at "light rail")
Now as a long-time smoker I do not excuse this woman from not knowing her surroundings (nor anybody), I do however understand the urge to smoke. For those who do smoke or who have know of this habit all too well.
I do not use the term 'stupid' in general terms but rather in individual scenarios and in this one, smoking cigarettes, fits me just perfectly. I have had my fill and then some of this particular, insidious habit.
HI, MY NAME IS CHRISTOPHER AND I AM A SMOKER (Some may know that drill?)
It is my wish to rid myself of this habit for many a reason most notably health and money and not my worry of hitting a moving train.
The only reason I announce this is that I wish your encouragement in this endeavor of mine, as all of you have given me much promise we can together save our futures both here in the U.S. and abroad.
[Note to Smokers: No, I will not become a rabid anti-smoker. This is a personal choice of my own volition]
This outreach of mine may sound selfish,,,because it is. When one knows their friends support them it makes it all the easier a task to accomplish.
I of course wish the woman in the article above a speedy recovery and thank all reading this for even the smallest of good will and yes a prayer, it's a tough habit to break.
I am 46 years of age going quickly on 47 and am, for lack of stronger word's, dismayed at the lack of voter angst?
I do not know how many reading this lived during the Carter years but know damn sure I did and cannot believe we as a people, a collective, wish to punish ourselves again?
Just what will be the catalyst to kick off a return to reality?
Peter, a 67-year-old retired chartered surveyor, who lives near Newark, has broken ten world records in his 30 years of gardening.
He has been trying for the honour of cultivating the world’s heaviest onion for 25 years but always missed out until yesterday’s victory at Harrogate Flower Show.
I have a few ideas just what to do with that monster onion but also know my Dad, God rest him, would be pleased with this baby being he ate an onion sandwich at least twice a week, really.
I love onions myself but thought my Dad was nuts in this regard? He was not, as he explained that growing up during the Great Depression people ate and got used to the very staples we today take for granted.
I am very happy my Dad explained that to me at a young age as it is very important information right now.
While vegging out on my short hiatus from work I stumbled across YouTube and found myself via that site catching from the beginning a live performance from a band I had never heard of before 'Foster The People'.
I must say it was well worth the visit at least for me as I enjoyed their sound and energy and it seems the audience down in Austin, Texas did so as well. If this sound is what is deemed "indie music" count me as a fan, of at least this band anyhow.
Here are just two of their songs that were performed yesterday down in Austin and I hope you enjoy,,,,
It is rare these days for me to find time to actually be at a venue for live music so I wish to say thank you to YouTube for their service in this regard. If interested in more click on the image below.
It would seem that the Governor of MI, Rick Synder (R) has to pay back the Obama administration for throwing money his way for a pet project of his and this is my response directly to his office,,,,
Subject: Tracking weight
TO:Rick.Snyder@michigan.gov Thursday, September 15, 2011 5:12 AM
Governor Snyder,
I will state first off that I supported your candidacy and voted for you. Second, I have supported nearly everything you have proposed and the legislature has passed up until this point, except for one which I believe is connected (continue reading),,,,
Now, I as a conservative have to respectively ask - Have you lost your mind? Or is this 'tracking children's weight' a pay-back to the Obama administration for throwing money at you for your bridge project? By the by, I do not support that bridge idea either as the private sector can do it better, faster and cheaper and you of all people should know this.
Back to this liberal, socialist nanny-state idea of tracking anything that is of a private and personal nature by any type or size of government is un-American at it's core and you should rescind any and all actions toward this end.
This, your 'policy', is exactly why nearly 88% across the Nation are AGAINST the current POTUS and his Marxist policies (Obamacare) and will see him unemployed in 2012.
What you have put into motion with this action is the deepest intrusion into the privacy held between a doctor and his or her patient no matter the age and furthermore disrupting what would normally be a private matter between parents and their offspring.
This action is deplorable on your part and will face fierce and bitter rejection on the part of Michigan residents of all stripes and they will be justified in doing so.
Should you not rescind this socialist decision and continue with it, by God's Good Graces I will be front and center in the effort to UN ELECT YOU!
Pastor Joe Morecraft gave a rousing and moving speech and poetry reading at the "Stand Up America" Rally,,,,,,,
[CP Note below the fold]
The Rising
by Thomas Buchanan Read
Out of the North the wild news came,
Far flashing on its wings of flame,
Swift as the boreal light which flies
At midnight through the startled skies.
And there was tumult in the air,
The fife's shrill note, the drum's loud beat,
And through the land everywhere
The answering tread of hurrying feet;
While the first oath of Freedom's gun
Came on the blast from Lexington;
And Concord, roused, no longer tame,
Forgot her old baptismal name,
Made bare her patriot arm of power,
And swelled the discord of the hour.
Within its shade of elm and oak
The church of Berkely Manor stood;
There Sunday found the rural folk,
And some esteemed of gentle blood.
In vain their feet with loitering tread
Passed 'mid the graves where rank is naught;
All could not read the lesson taught
In that republic of the dead.
How sweet the hour of Sabbath talk,
The vale with peace and sunshine full
Where all the happy people walk,
Decked in their homespun flax and wool!
Where youth's gay hats with blossoms bloom;
And every maid with simple art,
Wears on her breast, like her own heart,
A bud whose depths are all perfume;
While every garment's gentle stir
Is breathing rose and lavender.
The pastor came; his snowy locks
Hallowed his brow of thought and care;
And calmly, as shepherds lead their flocks,
He led into the house of prayer.
The pastor rose; the prayer was strong;
The psalm was warrior David's song;
The text, a few short words of might,-
"The Lord of hosts shall arm the Right!"
He spoke of wrongs too long endured,
Of sacred rights to be secured;
Then from his patriot tongue of flame
The startling words for Freedom came.
The stirring sentences he spake
Compelled the heart to glow or quake,
And, rising on his theme's broad wing,
And grasping in his nervous hand
The imaginary battle brand,
In face of death he dared to fling
Defiance to a tyrant king.
Even as he spoke, his frame, renewed
In eloquence of attitude,
Rose, as it seemed, a shoulder higher;
Then swept his kindling glance of fire
From startled pew to breathless choir;
When suddenly his mantle wide
His hands impatient flung aside,
And, Lo! he met their wondering eyes
Complete in all a warrior's guise.
A moment there was awful pause,---
When Berkeley cried, "Cease, traitor! cease!
God's temple is the house of peace!"
The other shouted, "Nay, not so,
When God is with our righteous cause;
His holiest places then are ours,
His temples are our forts and towers,
That frown upon the tyrant foe;
In this, the dawn of Freedom's say,
There is a time to fight and pray!"
And now before the open door-
The warrior priest had ordered so-
The enlisting trumpet's sudden roar
Rang through the chapel, o'er and o'er,
Its long reverberating blow
So loud and clear, it seemed the ear
Of dusty death must wake and hear.
And there the startling drum and fife
Fired the living with fiercer life;
While overhead, with wild increase,
Forgetting its ancient toll of peace,
The great bell swung as ne'er before;
It seemed as it would never cease;
And every word its ardor flung
From off its jubilant iron tongue
Was, "War! War! War!"
"Who dares?" - this was the patriot's cry,
As striding from the desk he came,-
"Come out with me, in Freedom's name,
For her to live, for her to die?"
A hundred hands flung up reply,
A hundred voices answered, "I!"
Note to the wannabe thug Hoffa;
You and your barbarian ilk are but 12% of the working population and we Patriots - the Tea Party and alike are the 88% working and unemployed portion of that same population who you wish to make war with.
If you, Hoffa, are actually capable I ask that you do the math on this equation. Remember as you calculate that those counted in the overall union 12% may not adhere to your un-American and socialist calls such as myself.
Oh yes Jimmy, I am UAW not by choice mind you which is just part of the point being there are millions of people such as myself forced into union membership and we fight from within. Then there are those who may like unions but at the same time are disgusted with you (Teamsters), Bob King (UAW), Mary Kay Henry (SEIU), Richard Trumka (AFL-CIO) and last but not least Obama.
Considering the aforementioned you may want to cut that 12% down to maybe 9% or 6% in actual support of your Marxist ways.
Your 'army' if not small to begin with is in reality a thing of fiction but if you insist on war so be it as there are millions of Patriots that say "Come out with me, in Freedom's name, For her to live, for her to die?" A MILLION hands flung up reply, A MILLION voices answered, "I!"
No, Football is not my forte nor should it be the focus on this 10th Anniversary of 9-11-01 but I have to admit I was totally shocked, shocked I say to hear the Detroit Lions won against Tampa Bay 27-20.
This news set me back $10!
Oh well, I am sure I can make that $10 back next week.
The Americans that perished on that fateful day 10 years ago
still stand tall in my heart to this very day and forever will.
Rest in Peace as those of us left behind continue to fight against those who slaughtered you as well as fight those who wish to diminish our memories of you, neither will succeed.
To be completely honest I have obviously heard about this story but never really followed any of the details.
Sure I heard the blurbs on news programs but the story was picked up so fast by the tabloids that I lost interest in any of it fast. In addition it was not really political and I was not yet a blogger in 2007.
In the blurbs I did hear, mentioned above, I gained no real information so as to form an opinion on Knox's' innocence or guilt in the crime she was and is in retrial charged with, murder of a British Subject in Italy.
This brings me to those of you that have paid attention to this crime and subsequent trial(s). I bring this story up due to a recent article by Ann Coulter pertaining directly to this subject and if all true (I have never been given reason to doubt Coulter) it is pretty damning.
So what say you that are more in-the-know on this than obviously myself? Do you support what Coulter has to say on the matter and Knox's original conviction or do you say Knox was framed or otherwise innocent of the crime she was convicted of?
I have no dog in this fight, just seeking information and opinion.
First up, the AP's take and background. You know they are in Obamas camp using the wording about the unemployment rate "stubbornly stuck above 9%" as though it is unemployments fault itself, thereby elevating Obama of any blame for it.
I am sure you can find other lines similar in this but for what it is worth here is your MSM
We all heard Hoffa Jr. call Real Americans "son of a bitches" and advocate violence, in Detroit no less and then comes Joe "Stand-up Chuck" Biden at yet another socialist rally call Real Americans "barbarian's".
The former is somewhat expected from a Teamster thug (may he end up like his father) but the latter is from the sitting Vice president of the United States.
Let us visit what these two union whores and their son of a bitch barbarians are advocating, defending and more than willing to fight for shall we,,,,,
DETROIT
(Yes, just where Hoffa and Obamas "army" camps)
By Frosty Wooldridge
For 15 years, from the mid 1970's to 1990, I worked in Detroit , Michigan . I watched it descend into the abyss of crime, debauchery, gun play, drugs, school truancy, car-jacking, gangs and human depravity. I watched entire city blocks burned out. I watched graffiti explode on buildings, cars, trucks, buses and school yards. Trash everywhere!
Detroiters walked through it, tossed more into it, and ignored it. Tens of thousands, and then hundreds of thousands today exist on federal welfare, free housing, and food stamps!
With Aid to Dependent Children, minority women birthed eight to 10, and in one case, one woman birthed 24 children as reported by the Detroit Free Press, all on American taxpayer dollars.
A new child meant a new car payment, new TV, and whatever mom wanted.. I saw Lyndon Baines Johnson's 'Great Society' flourish in Detroit . If you give money for doing nothing, you will get more hands out taking money for doing nothing.
Mayor Coleman Young, perhaps the most corrupt mayor in America, outside of Richard Daley in Chicago, rode Detroit down to its knees... He set the benchmark for cronyism, incompetence, and arrogance. As a black man, he said, "I am the MFIC." The IC meant "in charge".
You can figure out the rest Detroit became a majority black city with 67 percent African-Americans.
As a United Van Lines truck driver for my summer job from teaching math and science, I loaded hundreds of American families into my van for a new life in another city or state.
Detroit plummeted from 1.8 million citizens to 912,000 today. At the same time, legal and illegal immigrants converged on the city, so much so, that Muslims number over 300,000. Mexicans number 400,000 throughout Michigan , but most work in Detroit . As the whites moved out, the Muslims moved in.
As the crimes became more violent, the whites fled. Finally, unlawful Mexicans moved in at a torrid pace. Detroit suffers so much shoplifting that grocery stores no longer operate in many inner city locations. You could cut the racial tension in the air with a knife! Detroit may be one of our best examples of multiculturalism: pure dislike, and total separation from America .
Today, you hear Muslim calls to worship over the city like a new American Baghdad with hundreds of Islamic mosques in Michigan , paid for by Saudi Arabia oil money. High school flunk out rates reached 76 percent last June, according to NBC's Brian Williams. Classrooms resemble more foreign countries than America .. English? Few speak it! The city features a 50 percent illiteracy rate and growing.
Unemployment hit 28.9 percent in 2009 as the auto industry vacated the city. In Time Magazine's October 4, 2009, "The Tragedy of Detroit: How a great city fell, and how it can rise again," I choked on the writer's description of what happened. "If Detroit had been ravaged by a hurricane, and submerged by a ravenous flood, we'd know a lot more about it," said Daniel Okrent. "If drought and carelessness had spread brush fires across the city, we'd see it on the evening news every night." Earthquake, tornadoes, you name it, if natural disaster had devastated the city that was once the living proof of American prosperity, the rest of the country might take notice.
But Detroit , once our fourth largest city, now 11th and slipping rapidly, has had no such luck. Its disaster has long been a slow unwinding that seemed to remove it from the rest of the country.
Even the death rattle that in the past year emanated from its signature industry brought more attention to the auto executives than to the people of the city, who had for so long been victimized by their dreadful decision making."
As Coleman Young's corruption brought the city to its knees, no amount of federal dollars could save the incredible payoffs, kickbacks and illegality permeating his administration. I witnessed the city's death from the seat of my 18-wheeler tractor trailer because I moved people out of every sector of decaying Detroit .
"By any quantifiable standard, the city is on life support. Detroit 's treasury is $300 million short of the funds needed to provide the barest municipal services," Okrent said. "The school system, which six years ago was compelled by the teachers' union to reject a philanthropist's offer of $200 million to build 15 small, independent charter high schools, is in receivership. The murder rate is soaring, and 7 out of 10 remain unsolved. Three years after Katrina devastated New Orleans , unemployment in that city hit a peak of 11%. In Detroit today, the unemployment rate is 28.9%. That's worth spelling out: twenty-eight point nine percent.
At the end of Okrent's report, and he will write a dozen more about Detroit, he said, "That's because the story of Detroit is not simply one of a great city's collapse, it's also about the erosion of the industries that helped build the country we know today. The ultimate fate of Detroit will reveal much about the character of America in the 21st century.
If what was once the most prosperous manufacturing city in the nation has been brought to its knees, what does that say about our recent past? And if it can't find a way to get up, what does that say about America’s future?"
As you read in my book review of Chris Steiner's book,"$20 Per Gallon", the auto industry won't come back. Immigration will keep pouring more and more uneducated third world immigrants from the Middle East into Detroit , thus creating a beachhead for Islamic hegemony in America . If 50 percent illiteracy continues, we will see more homegrown terrorists spawned out of the Muslim ghettos of Detroit . Illiteracy plus Islam equals walking human bombs.
You have already seen it in Madrid, Spain, London, England, and Paris, France with train bombings, subway bombings and riots. As their numbers grow, so will their power to enact their barbaric Sharia Law that negates republican forms of government, first amendment rights, and subjugates women to the lowest rungs on the human ladder. We will see more honor killings by upset husbands, fathers and brothers that demand subjugation by their daughters, sisters and wives. Muslims prefer beheadings of women to scare the hell out of any other members of their sect from straying. Multiculturalism: what a perfect method to kill our language, culture, country and way of life.
"Look, there’s a guy in office right now who is smarter than almost anyone you know, who’s nicer and who has more compassion than almost anyone you know. And he’s having an almost impossible time governing." - George Clooney
This is typical from a Hollywood socialist and of course there is absolutely nothing of substance to back up any one of those adjectives that he attributes to Obama nor does Clooney attempt to offer any.
Smart
The president may be in fact smarter than anyone Clooney knows but that is a far cry from those you or I may know personally or admire for their intellect from afar such as Thomas Sowell for instance. If one were to compare Obama to Sowell, Obama comes out dumber then the dimmest bulb of anyone you know.
I suppose if one wants to see unemployment remain at 9.1% or higher, the economy stagnant and shrinking and millions of more homes going into foreclosure they would see the president as being smart. Of course this line of thinking, if it can be called that, would include how the world sees us under Obama with even more countries hating the U.S. to and including our supposed allies. G.W. Bush was chastised (and also called dumb) by the left for the image of the U.S. around the globe, but as I remember our allies were still in our corner at that time.
Taking the above into account, smart is not an adjective I myself would attribute to Obama.
Nice
One has to wonder if Clooney is speaking again on a personal basis here in that he has met with Obama one would guess numerous times. On a personal level I would guess this to be an honest appraisal of Obama by Clooney.
I myself would not mind sitting down with Obama sharing a beer or two and 'shootin the shit' so-to-speak just as I would welcome the opportunity to do so with GW, although Bush would prefer a substitute beverage.
But honestly, I know plenty of nice people personally, all are of different backgrounds; White and Blue collar, Black and White, Male and Female, G.E.D. to College educated,,,etc. and there is not one I would recommend for the highest office in our Nation.
The point here is of course is that Clooney mentioning this is basically a ploy on "feelings" as in we can't make Obama a one-term president, he is too nice. Feelings do not translate into good policy, as a matter of fact, when "feelings" do make it into policy it turns out they are not very nice at all as we have all seen time and again in "unintended consequences".
Being nice is all fine and dandy but lets get back to sound policy based in reality and standing law rather than the ever murky realm of feelings.
Compassion
This word is bandied about so often that most do not understand the definition of it any longer, so let's revisit it shall we:
com·pas·sion [kuhm-pash-uhn] noun
1. a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.
Here again we see the word "feeling" with the addition of the wording "strong desire" which the latter is a product of the former.
This is not to say having compassion is wrong but I would argue that there are many existing private institution's such as Church's, Synagogues and Temples (1) that not only have the "strong desire to alleviate the suffering" but actually do just that based on Faith and from the charity given of free will by others.
Now government can help in this regard and that is by getting the hell out of the way, stop attacking God and return to welcoming His presence - quickly I might add - and lowering taxes so as to allow individuals to help even more so than they do now.
We the people of the United States are in fact the government so stated in the Constitution. We the people of the United States are collectively smart, nice and very compassionate so we do not need nor ever have needed elected representatives, no matter the office bestowed upon them, creating and signing laws to bend these qualities in any one direction other than what we as individuals choose to apply them.
As to the American people being collectively smart, this is not always evident as in 2006 and 2008 but we are known to make an honest effort to correct our mistakes.
In 2010 we corrected to a certain extent the 2006 mistake. Now we must continue on this honest pattern of reform and correct the 2008 blunder in 2012, we simply cannot afford to do otherwise.
There are those who are very keenly aware of what Kevin Jackson has written and reiterates in the video interview below but there are those, many in fact that are in need of some real education,,,,,,
