Government Shutdown, 2013 - Day 14

Round-up:

Not long ago, the conventional wisdom in official Washington held that the so-called sequester spending cuts would be a disaster for the Republican Party. They were expected to rise up in vehement protest once the “cuts” went into effect.

Instead, nobody outside of Washington noticed.

And

Reid and other Democratic leaders Saturday rebuffed Collins’ proposal to fund the government through March and lift the debt ceiling through January. In return, Collins’ plan would have delayed for two years a tax on medical devices implemented through Obamacare and created income-verification measures for those receiving subsidies under the new health law.

And don't miss...

On Sunday, protesting the barricades placed at memorials around Washington D.C. by the vindictive Obama administration, veterans removed the barricades and proceeded to take them to the White House.

Obamacare - tick, tick, tick

The American public is being hooked on a plan being implemented without planning which has a timebomb set to expode in 2015.

This goes far beyond RI. It will affect every state that has setup an exchange. Come 2015 the infrastructure funds from Washington end and each state will have to come up with another way to fund it. Won't that be fun!

Aren't you glad we had to pass it in order to find out what was in it?

Government waste - "You can't make this stuff up" department

USPS to Destroy ‘Just Move’ Stamp Series Over Safety Concerns

"the USPS will be destroying the entire press run after receiving concerns from the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition over alleged “unsafe” acts depicted on three of the stamps (cannonball dive, skateboarding without kneepads and a headstand without a helmet)."

Headstand without a helmet? Who the heck wears a helmet to do a headstand? What the heck are these people doing to this country? If that is an issue, why no complaints about skipping rope without a safety harness?

Obamacare web site news...

Taxpayers Shelled Out $634,320,919 To Build Obamacare Website…

Government Shutdown, 2013 - Day 10

Really? Has it really come to this?

National park goons remove handles from trail water fountains...

and

Shutdown-busting gardener tells how he was ordered off Lincoln Memorial by 'bully robocops'

How much money is the government spending, trying to make everyone understand what happens when they don't have money? Only in a truly partisan liberal mind does any of this make any kind of sense.

That everyone can not just agree (regardless of how you feel about the shutdown) that these kinds of antics are just plain wrong, stupid and petty is an example of just how far this country's politics has fallen. No one in the Obama administration has pointed out how ridiculous these kinds of theatrics are?

Government Shutdown, 2013 - Day 9

Well here we are at day 9 and the pettiness of the current administration continues...

• You can't recreate here.
• Maybe people are beginning to wake up and remember that this is THEIR country, it does not belong to the government...
• Obama’s goons trucked in barricades to keep out World War II vets and other visitors. By one estimate, the barricades and workers cost $100,000.

At least many people understand where the issue really is...

• #PresidentStompyFoot: Obama’s shutdown snit fits inspire another ‘nails it’ hashtag
• The Spite House
• OBVIOUSLY, THE PRESS HASN’T BEEN DOING ITS JOB

As has been noted elsewhere, this may have started over Obamacare (which has been a disaster so far to businesses and the shiny new exchanges don't work) but it now appears to be growing into a general government spending movement!

If the republicans were smart (which they usually are not) they would [daily] send department specific spending bills to the Senate and report far and wide which ones they submitted and that Reid is not moving on them. They should also take the time to review each department budget and adjust the appropriations bill according to NEED verses desire. These auto-budget increases NEED to stop. Most should be slashed, The longer this "shutdown" continues, the more people will realize just how little they need the government at its current size and scope.

ColdFusion (Railo) and RSA Public Key Encryption

I was working on a project that involved having to encrypt some data with a public RSA key that is retrieved from a web service, used to encrypt some data and submit that data as part of a larger XML document back to the service. The data is for performing a web based credit card authorization. The card number and security code need to be individually encrypted using a public key. As this is for a web project, my web language of choice is ColdFusion. I have used it since version 4 and think that you can not beat it for power and speed of development. I just expected that this would be no problem. I was wrong...

I am fond of ColdFusion but not so fond of the most recent releases (since MX). Just did not like where it was going and was not fond of the cost. I like the earlier releases though I thought the move to a true Java core was spot-on. I kept a lookout at the various open source efforts but was not committed.

I had reason to look back into this a couple of months ago (not for this project but close) and came across the Railo project. I am impressed. The quick start version is just fantastic. Download, unzip, and launch. There you go. A local CF development environment at no cost. So far it is really compatible (with the CF versions that I like) and I have not run into any issues to speak of. What is not to love?

Back to my current project.

So, I have to retrieve a public RSA key from a remote web service (any one of many keys will be returned and so when I submit my encrypted data I have to include the ID of the key used), rebuild the public key, use the public key to encrypt sensitive card data and then submit that data to a web service for processing. I had everything done but the encryption part. I searched the web for CF examples/samples of doing RSA and most of the examples I came across assumed you are issuing the key and so show you how to make both the public and private keys and how to encode using the private key. Not a lot on rebuilding a public key. Also, a good bit of "Bouncy Castle" but I wanted to stick with the basic Java (and I had some issues with the BC solution).

To make it function, I wound up using a number of Java classes from within CF. I have stripped out most/all of the error checking and the non-encryption related code. I also slimmed down the comments to fit within the formatting limitations. Even with that, this should still be plenty to get you going and I hope it saves someone the effort I had to go through. If you already have the key parts and just need to build a public key, lines 50 through 83 are the meat and 96 to 99 do the actual data encryption.

Have fun!

1:  <!--- create a web service object --->  
2:  <cfset webService =   
3:     createobject("webservice", "https://URL/RequestHandler.svc?wsdl")>  
4:    
5:  <!--- build request for public RSA encryption key --->  
6:  <cfxml variable="xmldoc" caseSensitive="yes">  
7:     <requestHeader>  
8:        <stuff />  
9:     </requestHeader>  
10:  </cfxml>  
11:    
12:  <!--- make xml document internet safe --->  
13:  <cfset xmldoc64 = toBase64( #xmldoc# )>  
14:    
15:  <!--- make the request (via web services) --->  
16:  <cfset resultsRaw =   
17:     webService.ProcessRequest( "#xmldoc64#" )>  
18:    
19:  <!--- convert/format results into an xml object --->  
20:  <cfxml variable="resultsXmlDoc" caseSensitive="yes">  
21:     <cfoutput>#ToString( ToBinary( resultsRaw ) )#</cfoutput>  
22:  </cfxml>  
23:    
24:  <!--- check the results code to see if it worked --->  
25:  <cfif resultsXmlDoc.EncryptionKey.ResponseCode.XmlText eq "0">  
26:     <!--- now convert the encryption key information  
27:     into an xml object so it is easier to use (the  
28:     initial XML doc actually contains another XML doc  
29:     with the key info) --->  
30:     <cfxml variable="xmlResultsPublicKey" caseSensitive="yes">  
31:        <cfoutput>#resultsXmlDoc.EncryptionKey.responseMessage.PublicKey.XmlText#</cfoutput>  
32:     </cfxml>  
33:    
34:     <!--- save the parts of the RSA key data --->  
35:     <!--- service can return many keys, save ID --->  
36:     <cfset publicKeyID =   
37:        resultsXmlDoc.EncryptionKey.responseMessage.ID.XmlText>  
38:     <!--- main part of the public key (to be) --->  
39:     <cfset epublicKeyModulus =   
40:        xmlResultsPublicKey.RSAKeyValue.Modulus.XmlText>  
41:     <!--- minor part of the public key (to be) --->  
42:     <cfset epublicKeyExponent =   
43:        xmlResultsPublicKey.RSAKeyValue.Exponent.XmlText>  
44:  </cfif>  
45:    
46:    
47:  <!--- now that we have all of the parts, we need to  
48:   make a valid java RSA key object from the parts --->  
49:    
50:  <!--- create java string object for key modulus --->  
51:  <cfset encodedKeyModulus =   
52:     createObject( "java", "java.lang.String" ).init( epublicKeyModulus )>  
53:  <!--- create java string object for key exponent --->  
54:  <cfset encodedKeyExponent =   
55:     createObject( "java", "java.lang.String" ).init( epublicKeyExponent )>  
56:    
57:  <!--- need a java BigInt AND decoding on the fly --->  
58:  <cfset modulusKey =   
59:     createObject( "java", "java.math.BigInteger" ).init( 1, BinaryDecode( encodedKeyModulus.getBytes( "UTF-8" ), "base64" ) )>  
60:  <cfset exponentKey =   
61:     createObject( "java", "java.math.BigInteger" ).init( 1, BinaryDecode( encodedKeyExponent.getBytes( "UTF-8" ), "base64" ) )>  
62:    
63:  <!--- build the KeySpec and load it with key parts --->  
64:  <cfset javaKeySpec =   
65:     createObject( "java", "java.security.spec.RSAPublicKeySpec" ).init( modulusKey, exponentKey )>  
66:    
67:  <!--- build RSA key factory for rebuilt public key --->  
68:  <cfset javaKeyObject =   
69:     createObject( "java", "java.security.KeyFactory" ).getInstance( "RSA" )>  
70:    
71:  <!--- use the keyspec to initialize the key factory,  
72:   instantiating a RSA public key from its encoding and  
73:   recreating a valid public key --->  
74:  <cfset javaKey = javaKeyObject.generatePublic( javaKeySpec )>  
75:    
76:    
77:  <!--- create a new java cipher object and load it with  
78:   our new (rebuilt) RSA public key --->  
79:    
80:  <!--- mode tells the Cipher we will be encrypting --->  
81:  <cfset cipher =   
82:     createObject( "java", "javax.crypto.Cipher" ).getInstance( "RSA" )>  
83:  <cfset i = cipher.init( cipher.ENCRYPT_MODE, javaKey )>  
84:    
85:  <!--- convert strings into java strings --->  
86:  <cfset stringCardData =   
87:     createObject( "java", "java.lang.String" ).init( Session.data.card )>  
88:  <cfset stringCvvData =   
89:     createObject( "java", "java.lang.String" ).init( Session.data.cvv )>  
90:    
91:  <!--- ensure strings are the proper character set --->  
92:  <cfset stringCardDataBytes = stringCardData.getBytes( "UTF8" )>  
93:  <cfset stringCvvDataBytes = stringCvvData.getBytes( "UTF8" )>  
94:    
95:  <!--- now to perform the encryption on each string --->  
96:  <cfset encryptedCardData =   
97:     cipher.doFinal( stringCardDataBytes, 0, len( StringCardData ) )>  
98:  <cfset encryptedCvvData =   
99:     cipher.doFinal( stringCvvDataBytes, 0, len( StringCvvData ) )>  
100:    
101:  <!--- base64 them so they are internet safe --->  
102:  <cfset base64CardData =   
103:     BinaryEncode( encryptedCardData, "base64" )>  
104:  <cfset base64CvvData =   
105:     BinaryEncode( encryptedCvvData, "base64" )>  
106:    
107:  <!--- DONE, we should now have proper, public key  
108:   encrypted data! Congratulations! --->  

I then include the web safe, encrypted strings in my larger XML document, BineryEncode the entire thing and submit.

Good luck and hope this helps!

Update: 5/12/2016

OK, looks like Railo is dead and a replacement is available called Lucee. I am just starting to use it so can not say much about it at this time. If I get a chance [and think about it], I will update with additional information.

Government Shutdown, 2013 - Day 8

In other government shutdown news:

• ‘Catch us if you can’: Gettysburg visitors defy #SpiteHouse cones and Barrycades

and in related Obamacare news, three strikes and you are out!

Obamacare realities

And yet more rubes self identify...

"I was laughing at Boehner -- until the mail came today," Waschura said, referring to House Speaker John Boehner, who is leading the Republican charge to defund Obamacare.

"I really don't like the Republican tactics, but at least now I can understand why they are so pissed about this. When you take $10,000 out of my family's pocket each year, that's otherwise disposable income or retirement savings that will not be going into our local economy."

"Of course, I want people to have health care," Vinson said. "I just didn't realize I would be the one who was going to pay for it personally."

The law's intent is to cover people who are now uninsured by making insurance accessible to everybody. But that means rates will rise for many because sick and healthy people will now be charged the same premium.

I love that line: I just didn't realize I would be the one who was going to pay for it personally. Like the money fairy was going to fart out the billions this mess of a program is going to cost. Well welcome to the real world.

They try to end this article on a high note but the reality is a lot of people that were taking care of themselves responsibly by having insurance will be punished to help others pay for insurance. Also, young people that need insurance the least are now force to have more expensive insurance than what they could have gotten before. The minimum mandates don't help either.

If this beast is so good, why is the government exempt?

Government Shutdown, 2013 - Day 7

The pettiness of tyrants:

• “We’ve been told to make life as difficult for people as we can. It’s disgusting.”
• “It takes more manpower and costs the government more money to close down an outdoor wall than to let people walk past it and pay their respects.”
• Police prevent drivers from pulling over and viewing Mt. Rushmore...
• Amber Alert vs. ‘Let’s Move’: Two screenshots say it all about the vindictive Obama admin [pics]
• “Just 17 percent of the government is shut down, and Friday the Obama administration allowed union representatives to return to work. So, union members could return to work, but the website to alert Americans to missing children had to be taken down?”
• National Park Service officials cited the government shutdown as the reason for ordering an elderly Nevada couple out of their home, which sits on federal land. Similarly, the NPS forced privately-operated inns on the Blue Ridge Parkway to close during the shut down.
• John Ondrasik (of Five For Fighting) shoved out of Jefferson memorial
• On the other hand, congress and Obama plan to give those furloughed government workers back pay, so they are all just on a free vacation!

I could go along with the back pay if a) it doesn't last too long (i.e. not months) and b) for 80% of the furloughed workers, this was severance pay.

We were told sequester would be a disaster and it was not. We were told the government shutdown would be a disaster and so far other than the President being spiteful about it, it is not too bad. We clearly do not as a country NEED all of these government workers. As part of any funding bill, all departments should undergo a 10% budget cut, year over year until the budget is balanced. I suspect since Harry Reid has not even submitted a budget in over 5 years, we should be able to trim the budget by a good 40% to 50%. Now THAT would be progress.

Obamacare Poster Boy NOT!

Obamacare Poster Boy Chad Henderson and His Dad Didn't Really Buy Insurance

Government Shutdown, 2013 - Day 3

Well we are into "Day 3" of the 2013 government shutdown. The government has furloughed non-critical employees due to the lack of money. Since they are out of money (have NONE to spend), what have they done to adjust to this new austerity based reality? Here is a small list:

• So why is the White House closing private operations that require no government money to keep open and actually pay a percentage of their gate revenues back to the Treasury?
• Democrats Pay Union Members to Protest World War II Vets
• Park Service intends to block access to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, even though it literally costs them nothing to leave them open
• While yesterday many of the major trailhead pull-outs were not yet blocked, this evening they all were.
• The park service ordered state officials to close the northern unit of the Kettle Moraine, Devils Lake, and Interstate state parks and the state-owned portion of the Horicon Marsh, but state authorities rebuffed the request because the lion’s share of the funding came from state, not federal coffers.
• WWII veterans storm DC memorial closed by government who put barricades around an open-air park that’s normally open 24/7/365
• National Park Officials closed down the educational Claude Moore Colonial Farm near the CIA in McLean, Va., even though the federal government doesn't fund or staff the park
•  “What utter crap. We have operated the Farm successfully for 32 years after the NPS cut the Farm from its budget in 1980 and are fully staffed and prepared to open today. But there are barricades at the Pavilions and entrance to the Farm. And if you were to park on the grass and visit on your own, you run the risk of being arrested. Of course, that will cost the NPS staff salaries to police the Farm against intruders while leaving it open will cost them nothing.”
• Obama to veto NIH funding – will liberals who screamed about kids with cancer call him out?
• Bus turnaround shut down at Mount Vernon

I could go on...

Government Shutdown, 2013 - Day 2

The big "shutdown" news is that a group of rabble-rousers WWII veterans stormed a government facility the WWII memorial and illegally occupied it for most of the day toured the facility. This appears to be the first of a number of anarchist like moves by this group and they report that not only do they expect to continue but to expand their occupation efforts to other facilities citizen owned memorials and parks.

"Wheelchair-bound elderly veterans pushed aside barricades to tour the World War II Memorial Tuesday morning, in defiance of the government shutdown which closed all of the memorials in the nation’s capital."

The government put barricades around the WWII memorial, really! A venue that is typically open 24/7 though it is staffed during normal business hours. This is "shutdown theater" and you can expect more of this in the future. I have read other accounts of citizens taking back their parks and other national areas from the government and occupying them. Good for you! These national treasures are entrusted to the government, not owned by them. They are owned by all of us.

Government Shutdown, 2013 - Day 1

Well the Government shutdown is in affect and the internet still works, the sun still shines, and Cthulhu has not yet returned from the far darkness...

There has been scattered reports of looting and rioting by Congressmen but it is expected that they will tire themselves out fairly quickly and go back to napping shortly.

The mail will still be delivered (at current levels of competence), SSN checks will continue to get printed and congress will continue to appear on TV so for most of us, nothing should change.

“This is an unnecessary blow to America,” Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said. We are not sure if he meant the shutdown, ObamaCare or Congress. Our local reporter was not able to get in a follow on question for clarification.

Improving intersection safety without using red light cameras

If DOT and governments were really serious about improving intersection safety, instead of installing some red light cameras (that actually make intersections less safe), they would instead reconfigure the traffic lights to follow the stop light sequence used in many European countries. Instead of the common "Red, Green, Yellow, back to Red" cycle that is so common in the states, a lot of countries use "Red, Red-Yellow flashing, Green, Yellow, and back to Red". This extra notification (flashing Red and Yellow at the same time) alerts drivers in the red (stopped) cross road that the light is getting ready to change to Green and they will be able to proceed "very soon".

Many times people run the Yellow/Red lights in an intersections because the cross traffic (generally) does not know when their light will go from Red to Green, so the red light runner gains some extra seconds to "scoot the light". If instead, everyone knew in advance that the light was getting ready to change and that the currently stopped traffic was getting set to go "at the light change", people would be less likely to take the risk and run the red.

Instead of "inform everyone of the up-coming light change", governments install red light cameras. It is claimed for safety but studies have shown this actually makes intersections less safe as lead cars stop abruptly causing rear-end collisions with subsequent cars that expected the lead car to not stop. Despite the evidence that these cameras cause more problems than they solve, local governments continue to install them due to their promotion as a revenue source. Put safety first, change the stop light pattern instead of installing red light cameras.

Circle Flies...

From Anonymous...

A cowboy from Texas attends a social function where Barack Obama is trying to gather more support for his Health Plan. Once he discovers the cowboy is from President Bush's home area, he starts to belittle him by talking in a southern drawl and single syllable words.

As he was doing that, he kept swatting at some flies that were buzzing around his head. The cowboy says, "Y'all havin' some problem with them circle flies?"

Obama stopped talking and said, "Well, yes, if that's what they're called, but I've never heard of circle flies."

"Well Sir," the cowboy replies, "circle flies hang around ranches. They're called circle flies because they're almost always found circling around the back end of a horse."

"Oh," Obama replies as he goes back to rambling. But, a moment later he stops and bluntly asks, "Wait a minute, are you calling me a horse's ass?"

"No, Sir," the cowboy replies, "I have too much respect for the citizens of this country to call their President a horse's ass."

"That's a good thing," Obama responds and begins rambling on once more. After a long pause, the cowboy, in his best Texas drawl says, "Hard to fool them flies, though."

Police gone wild

Here is yet another incident of police accidentally shooting unarms, uninvolved civilians. This case is even worst than usual because:

1. The police were within a dozen feet of the person they were wanting to shoot.
2. They did not actually see a gun (the man was unarmed), they "thought" he was going for a gun.
3. They fired three shots and missed the intended target with all three shots.
4. They managed to hit two uninvolved innocent bystanders.
5. They then decide to Taser the suspect.

We are constantly told by gun-control proponents that citizens should not be allowed to carry guns because they are not trained "like police are". Well, if you review the statistics on un-intended shootings, you will see that concealed weapons holders are far less likely to accidentally shoot innocent civilians than the police are.

If you or I had done this, intended to shoot someone who was unarmed, in the middle of a crowded intersection, missed and hit others with stray bullets, we would be arrested and brought up on charges. Why are these two not?

Also, whenever a citizen uses a gun in self-defense, the news is more than happy to print their full name and if possible, show a picture. Where are the names of these two officers? Doesn't the public have a right to know the names of these two shooters of innocent people? Why are the names of police officers that make on the job mistakes like this shielded? If I were to do something at work that got into the paper, you can bet they would include my name.

Video Montage of Obama Administration Statements on Syria

Colion Noir on Hollywood Hypocrites

But voter fraud is just a myth!

Double voting in a federal election is a federal crime. So far, the U.S. Justice Department has been slack in enforcing this federal law which protects federal (as opposed to state) interests. Meloweese Richardson in Ohio still has not been charged with double voting. Neither has Wendy Rosen in Maryland. There are more.

NSA broke privacy rules thousands of times per year, audit finds

The National Security Agency has broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority thousands of times each year since Congress granted the agency broad new powers in 2008, according to an internal audit and other top-secret documents.

The documents, provided earlier this summer to The Washington Post by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, include a level of detail and analysis that is not routinely shared with Congress or the special court that oversees surveillance.

So, Snowden is a traitor and should not be trusted but he exposed government corruption that we "the people" would not have known about any other way as the people that were supposed to be watching the people with this power, were lied to. What a shock! I wonder how soon those that broke the law will be brought to justice. I won't hold my breath.

P.S. I wonder if this still counts as one of those "phony scandals".

Priorities USA

via...

The Dick Durbin Debit Card Fiasco

A honest look at the damage caused by the Durbin Amendment by Richard A. Epstein.

Yet another example of politicians making decisions in areas in which they know nothing, doing more damage than the "problem" they are trying to fix...

VirtualBox by Oracle

If you have not heard of VirtualBox by Oracle you are missing out on a "very good" thing. VirtualBox is an Oracle product that allows you to create multiple virtual PCs within your existing system. These can be Windows, Linux, Mac or others. Using this software you can run Windows XP on an Intel Mac. You can run OSX on a Win8 system. You can even run Win95 or 2000 Server on a Win7 system.

I have one Win XP Pro, 2 Win 2000 Server, a OS X 10.8.2 and an Ubuntu all as virtual environments on my Win8 laptop.

The best part is, the software is free. Yep, free!

So, if you like to play with different operating systems but don't want a bunch of hardware or you want to be able to play your old PC games but they won't install on Win8, why not give VirtualBox a try?

Post Turtle...

While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75 year old Texas rancher, whose hand was caught in a gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to Obama and his bid to be president.

The old rancher said, "Well, ya know, Obama is a "post turtle".

Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a "post turtle" was. The old rancher said, "When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a "post turtle".

The old rancher saw a puzzled look on the doctor's face, so he continued to explain. You know he didn't get up there by himself, he doesn't belong up there, he doesn't know what to do while he is up there, and you just wonder what kind of a dumb ass put him up there in the first place.

iPhone call blocker

At this time, there do not appear to be any affective call blockers for the iPhone. I have heard various explanations for this situation, most of which revolve around iPhone carriers pressuring Apple into not making them available so that the carriers can charge subscription fees for inadequate alternate services.

I can't say that I do not give these theories some merit.

Until such time as cheap or free iPhone call blockers are available (without jail-breaking your phone), here is an option that though not ideal, does offer some protection.

Step 1) Download one of the many "silent" ring tones that are available on the net (or you could purchase one from the iTunes store).

Step 2) Get your ring tone into iTunes (if you purchase it from iTunes, skip this step) by just dragging the ringtone into iTunes. If it does not appear under your Tones folder, check the file information to see if its "kind" is ringtone, it should be. I had to get out of iTunes and back in once or twice before it appeared for me.

Step 3) Sync your ringtone with your iPhone.

Step 4) Setup a new contact on your iPhone titled "Spam Caller" or any other name you wish.

Step 5) Edit the contact so that the ringtone is your silent tone, vibrate is none, text alert is none and text vibrate is none.

Step 6) Enjoy less spam calls. They will still appear in your call list but at least you will not be bothered by them in real time.

NBC at it again...

NBC just can't seem to play fair. Is it even remotely possible to call them a news organization at all? Recently they aired their deceptively edited Zimmerman 911 tape to make it look like Zimmerman was a raciest. Well their editors are back! This time they are editing tape from the Sandy Hook hearings to make it look like 2nd amendment supporters are heckling a witness. Follow the link and view NBC's version and then the actual tape.

Unbelievable!

OK, fine, you do not believe in the individual right to bear arms and you would like stronger, stricter gun laws. OK. I get that. I do not believe you are right but I get it. If you feel that your position is so strong and that you have logic on your side, why lie? Why fabricate "proof" that the other side is not legitimate? Why can't you just present the "facts" and let people make up their own minds? Is it because the majority of the country does not have the same options as you do and if you give them the actual facts, you will never get your way? Is it because your position is not legally or morally justifiable and so you have to resort to emotional dirty tricks to try and sway low information voters to your side? You certainly act that way...

Mayor Bloomberg uses bodyguards to bully journalist in DC

Follow the link, read the article and watch the video! Mayor Bloomberg, at the DC US Conference of Mayors on January 18. A reporter dares asks the mayor about his security detail (he has at least 5 armed guards, some of them NYPD) being armed and not only gets rebuffed but followed and questioned by one of the guards who also happens to be NYPD.

Is the "stop" even legal or would that be considered unlawful restraint by the guard? Is the guard working as a police officer or a guard? Is he out of his jurisdiction either way?

So it is OK for Mayor "Big Gulp" to have armed guards (which I have no problem with) but not OK (in his mind) for you or I, the lowly masses to be able to protect ourselves. Nice...

We the People, petition site

There is a petition site for people to petition the government to recognize and/or do things. The site is here. There are a lot if silly things there that will never see the light of day but there are some real gems in that mine if you dig deep enough. Here are one or two that you might consider signing...


Place all members of the government under the same healthcare legislation that ordinary citizens are, with no exceptions


require the U. S. Senate to pass a budget for the upcoming fiscal year as required by law


Shorten excessive copyright terms


We Demand Obama Issue Executive Order Making White House, Federal Buildings and Events Gun Free Zones


Press charges against David Gregory for possession of a 30-round, high capacity assault rifle magazine in Washington D.C

Obama takes his first step in "doing something" about gun violence

And his first step is to sign a whole pile of executive orders that have been summarized here for you.

Of course he did forget to do one or two things that would actually help with gun violence but hey, his commission did not have very much time to pull all of this together.

What could he have done that would actually make a difference?

1) Come clean on Fast and Furious and issue an executive order ending any similar programs the government currently has in progress and forbid any more from getting started.

2) Make it clear that "gun free" zones don't work. If armed guards are good enough and safe enough for his kids, how about yours and mine?

3) Push the states for national reciprocity for concealed carry. Having normal law abiding citizens suddenly become criminals because they drove into the wrong state is just plain wrong.

4) Actually enforce our boarders.

5) Violent illegals should be deported as quickly as possible.

6) Push to end "no knock" warrants. Too many innocent people are shot and/or killed when the warrant is served on the wrong address.

I am sure that there are other things that are just as simple that should have been included on the list but these (though they would have a positive affect) don't push his agenda and so are beyond consideration. Too bad.

Paul Krugman and the trillion dollar coin

In this column Paul is asking what all the fuss is over the trillion dollar coin idea. For those not familiar with this, it is basically to get the treasury to mint a coin with a face value of 1 trillion dollars. Once minted, the coin would be deposited with the fed and presto, an extra trillion to spend!

I am no nobel prize winner like Paul so I do not have his keen credentials to lend my opinion the same weight as his but I will present mine anyway.

Paul, you should immediately give back your Nobel prize. The fact that you are even entertaining this idea as an option should disqualify you from your current prize and cause the loss of all of your degrees as well.

A 12 year old knows this is nothing but a gimmick yet you treat it as a serious option.

I understand that this plan (to have an instant trillion dollars created out of nothing but about an ounce of metal) is simply a much shorter and quicker version of what the fed is currently doing (running the printing presses 24/7 and cranking out the green backs) as well as the decades long government raid on the SS fund (where the majority of the money is simply IOUs) . So please explain to me how doing this would that not have inflationary affects, further debasing our currency? Either inflation will rise or this "coin" is really a loan and the money will need to be paid back. You have to pick one or the other. It is not like treasury will, as part of minting this coin crap out 1 trillion in gold to back it up. It is backed by air and nothing more, just like most of our existing currency.

If this is such a great idea, why not go all in? Mint 20 or 30 of them. Bingo, you have not only paid off the current national debt but also given the country a surplus so Obama and congress can carry on with their spending ways!

While you are at it, might as well set the income tax rate to 0. You have just as much of a chance of paying off all of this current and future government debt (which is zero in case you are having trouble keeping up) with income tax rates at current levels, zero or even 100%. So you might as well let the sheep feel grateful before the whole place comes crashing down.

It is amazing that those that hold themselves up as "our" intellectual betters would rather champion ideas such as this instead of being the adults in the room and push for the real spending and entitlement reforms that are needed in order to get our fiscal house in order. We are bankrupting our kids, grandkids and great grandkids and instead of trying to get things under control Paul and others want to just keep the party going for a little longer.

The truth about Ethanol

Ethanol as a fuel source is a bad answer. It takes food out of consumption and turns it into bad fuel. By bad fuel, I mean it takes more energy to produce ethanol from corn than you get from the resulting ethanol. Most recent information on the process states that it takes 1.5 gallons of fuel energy to produce one gallon of ethanol fuel energy.

So, producing ethanol results in:

- higher food prices due to the loss of food corn

- higher energy prices due to the process loss from producing ethanol

- higher vehicle maintenance costs due to the corrosive affects of ethanol on nonmetallic engine parts

All so the ethanol lobby can make lots of money for a product that makes no economic sense and so "greens" can feel better about "doing something" for the planet that actually makes things worse for the planet.

Things will only be getting worse as the ethanol additive rates are set to increase from up to 10% ethanol to the newer up to 15% ethanol standard.

Bob Munden, you will be missed

Bob Munden, listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as “The Fastest Man with a Gun Who Ever Lived” has died at the age of 70. You have to watch the videos of this man in action to appreciate exactly how fast he was. He could shoot two targets so fast that it sounded like a single shot.

Here is a YouTube video of the man in action. He demonstrates his speed about 2:40 in.

Fiscal Cliff Reality

As a commenter on another blog posted:

16 months ago, government promised that if we bought them one more bottle of booze they would take a good, hard look at themselves, get some counseling, go into rehab, quit drinking. As a show of their sincerity, they even put out a contract on themselves - if they weren't clean and sober by January 1, 2013, some goons would come around to rough them up and drag them off to dry out. Well, they didn't quit drinking, they didn't sober up, they didn't seriously take a long, hard look at themelves, the counselors threw up their hands and walked away saying it was hopeless - all we had left was the knowledge that come January 1, 2013, the goons were going to show up and force them to quit drinking. But the bastards managed to get the hit called off. And there was much rejoicing.

There is nothing to rejoice about. This was no "good deal". This was no "save". This was breaking a promise and kicking the can down the road again. As Glenn Reynolds is fond of saying "What can't go on forever, won't" and this spending won't and when it does finally stop, it will be all kinds of messy.

Typical sane, freedom loving, tolerant Democrats...

Actress Marg Helgenberger: ‘One can only hope’ NRA members get shot

Texas Democrat John Cobarruvias, called for NRA members to be shot

Joyce Carol Oates (author): If a sizable number of NRA members become gun-victims themselves, maybe hope for legislation of firearms?

University of Rhode Island professor Erik Loomis retweets: Murder anyone who thinks teachers should be armed and thinks that all NRA members should be considered as supporting terrorists

Additional death threats targeting the NRA and NRA members.

Mötley Crüe vocalist Vince Neil is more conserned about the threats posed by guns than drunk drivers (he was convicted of vehicular manslaughter and DUI and though these are clearly not the same thing it does highlight his hypocrisy (he has murdered more people with his car than I have with my gun).

Funny how these oh so tolerant people want to hurt and kill those that they have a difference of opinion with.

These are but a few examples of how the "enlighten left" view those that dare think that the 2nd amendment is just as vital and worthy of protection as the first.

Progressive Democrats continue racist tradition...

Over at Gateway Pundit they have a sampling of tweets from Democrats denouncing the selection of Tim Scott to replace DeMint. As one of the commenters notes, "Truly, the Progressive comments say a great deal about the hate in many a Progressive heart that stems back to the segregation in the deep South perpetrated by Southern Democrats." Democrats have worked hard to promote the idea that it is conservatives and Republicans that are racist but it has and appears to continue to be Democrats that truly are racists. They attack Democrat minorities with the weapons of low expectations and dependency and they openly attack Republican minorities as inauthentic, race traitors and uncle Toms.

Veterans Day

History of Veterans Day

World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”

In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…"

The original concept for the celebration was for a day observed with parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11:00 a.m.

The United States Congress officially recognized the end of World War I when it passed a concurrent resolution on June 4, 1926, with these words:

Whereas the 11th of November 1918, marked the cessation of the most destructive, sanguinary, and far reaching war in human annals and the resumption by the people of the United States of peaceful relations with other nations, which we hope may never again be severed, and

Whereas it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations; and

Whereas the legislatures of twenty-seven of our States have already declared November 11 to be a legal holiday: Therefore be it Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), that the President of the United States is requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on November 11 and inviting the people of the United States to observe the day in schools and churches, or other suitable places, with appropriate ceremonies of friendly relations with all other peoples.

An Act (52 Stat. 351; 5 U. S. Code, Sec. 87a) approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday—a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as "Armistice Day." Armistice Day was primarily a day set aside to honor veterans of World War I, but in 1954, after World War II had required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in the Nation’s history; after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress, at the urging of the veterans service organizations, amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting in its place the word "Veterans." With the approval of this legislation (Public Law 380) on June 1, 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

Later that same year, on October 8th, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first "Veterans Day Proclamation" which stated: "In order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all veterans, all veterans' organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose. Toward this end, I am designating the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs as Chairman of a Veterans Day National Committee, which shall include such other persons as the Chairman may select, and which will coordinate at the national level necessary planning for the observance. I am also requesting the heads of all departments and agencies of the Executive branch of the Government to assist the National Committee in every way possible."

On that same day, President Eisenhower sent a letter to the Honorable Harvey V. Higley, Administrator of Veterans' Affairs (VA), designating him as Chairman of the Veterans Day National Committee.

In 1958, the White House advised VA's General Counsel that the 1954 designation of the VA Administrator as Chairman of the Veterans Day National Committee applied to all subsequent VA Administrators. Since March 1989 when VA was elevated to a cabinet level department, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs has served as the committee's chairman.

The Uniform Holiday Bill (Public Law 90-363 (82 Stat. 250)) was signed on June 28, 1968, and was intended to ensure three-day weekends for Federal employees by celebrating four national holidays on Mondays: Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Columbus Day. It was thought that these extended weekends would encourage travel, recreational and cultural activities and stimulate greater industrial and commercial production. Many states did not agree with this decision and continued to celebrate the holidays on their original dates.

The first Veterans Day under the new law was observed with much confusion on October 25, 1971. It was quite apparent that the commemoration of this day was a matter of historic and patriotic significance to a great number of our citizens, and so on September 20th, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed Public Law 94-97 (89 Stat. 479), which returned the annual observance of Veterans Day to its original date of November 11, beginning in 1978. This action supported the desires of the overwhelming majority of state legislatures, all major veterans service organizations and the American people.

Veterans Day continues to be observed on November 11, regardless of what day of the week on which it falls. The restoration of the observance of Veterans Day to November 11 not only preserves the historical significance of the date, but helps focus attention on the important purpose of Veterans Day: A celebration to honor America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

Marine Corps celebrates 237th birthday today!

Happy Birthday Marine Corps!

Pretty much says it all...

In remembrance, September 11...

Thought of the day...

Those who are not compelled to take responsibility for their failures are ultimately prevented from taking responsibility for their achievements as well.

Dancing with the stars...

Boy Debbie Wasserman Schultz sure can dance! Watch these video clips. The first of the vote and the second of Debbie's follow up with the MSM after the DNC chair forced the acceptance of the "God and Israel" amendment to the DNC platform.

"It was a technical oversight", right...

"There wasn't any discord ", right...

"It was absolutely two thirds", right...

The vote was taken 3 (THREE) different times and the booing was at least as prevalent as the support. You can see that Villaraigosa is not getting the outcome he wants and does not know how to proceed. Eventually he gets help and is told to just do it. There was no way it was 2/3s in favor. The chair pushed it through in order to try and avoid further embarrassment. They can't even do a honest vote in their own convention.

Even after this was seen with everyone's own eyes, not everyone on the MSM panel can call it like it is and one member tried to cover for the delegates. What a big steaming pile of horse ****! This is the current, inclusive DNC. No room for God, no room for Israel, no room for voters.

The party of inclusion

Some examples of the Democratic party's big-tent inclusiveness...

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
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Feels like Déjà vu

Voter Fraud

In Minnesota’s 2008 disputed US Senate election, won by Al Franken — who proceeded to cast the deciding vote in favor of ObamaCare — the margin of victory was 312, but it turned out that 1,099 votes were cast by felons who were ineligible to vote. Many of them have gone to jail, but Franken has remained in the Senate.

Read more

When I grow up...

Voter fraud in Minnesota

Comparing criminal records with voting rolls, the group identified 1,099 felons -- all ineligible to vote -- who had voted in the Franken-Coleman race.

243 people either convicted of voter fraud or awaiting trial in an election that was decided by 312 votes...

Don't tell me that voter fraud is inconsequential or is too small to matter or does not exist. It is PAST time for voter ID laws for all.

Exec Bullies Chick-fil-A Worker, Then Promptly Gets Fired For It

As a CFO, Mr. Smith should most definitely have known better than to berate an employee of a company he has issues with. What was he thinking? Well I hope he is satisfied with the results of his smug attitude and behavior.

Don't forget to watch the video. He can't seem to contain his glee while hoping that a near by group of collage(?) kids is planning to hold a sit in. Maybe now he has more time to attend sit ins himself...

Pres. Obama, the gift that keeps on giving...

"Solyndra LLC officially released it bankruptcy plan this week. The official word from it is that taxpayers will recover only $24 million of the about $527 million that the failed solar panel company drew from its $535 million federal loan guarantee"


On top of that, the loan was structured so that private equity would have a higher standing during bankruptcy than the tax payers in direct violation of standard Energy Department policy. Do you think it had anything to do with the fact that one of them has close ties to the WH?


The Obama WH is setting a new standard in sleaze and back office deals. So much for all of that transparency we were promised...


http://washingtonexaminer.com/taxpayers-to-recover-only-24-million-from-solyndra/article/2503861

Have they no shame?

Obama campaign sues to restrict military voting

The article hypes the military voting angle (which has some merit) but I think the bigger issue is the suits to get the law reversed on the control and verification angle. Specifically the ACLU is part of the suite due to the restrictions placed on poll workers, restrictions placed on vote counters and the stronger voter ID requirements. The ACLU suite opposes the law's limits on poll worker assistance to voters.

They oppose the restriction of "assistance" (i.e. helping a voter complete their ballot). Sorry but if you can not figure out how to complete the ballot maybe you should not be there. I want your vote to be your vote, not that of the poll worker who "helped" you complete it.

I also don't want vote counters trying to determine voter "intent". Sorry, if you could not take the time and care to only fill in one circle or punch (completely) one chad, your vote is invalid and should be set aside. I would like to see some statistics of how many "unclear" ballots wind up breaking Democrat.

Lastly, if you do not have a valid photo ID, no vote for you! It is that simple. You have to have valid ID to get cigarettes, buy beer, travel by plane, drive a car, cash a check, and about 100 other things. Most states offer free or reduced cost photo IDs for people that don't drive.

Any improper vote is one vote too many. In some cases, a few hundred votes in a swing state can make all the difference. Each vote is precious and should be protected. Too many good people died to make sure we could.