In Their Own Words

the full quote just showed up on FNC ...

"The only way we can avoid a shutdown is for Boehner to come up with a reasonable compromise and not just listen to what the Tea Party wants because the Tea Party wants to stick to HR1 with its draconian extreme - I always use the word extreme, that's what the causcus instructed me to do the other week -  extreme cuts and all these riders."

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

March 29, 2011

"Today I think we did find out that Chuck Schumer is intent on playing political games.  You know when he decides to tell his caucus to depict Republicans in the House as not serious, and that some how to depict every spending cut as being non-sensible, that is the thing that's not serious"

Rep. Eric Cantor (House Majority Leader, R-VA)

Lets hope the public is smart enough to blame both sides for whatever outcome there is.

There are reports that Howard Dean hoped for a shutdown -- you remember him? He was the person they had up for President not that long ago ... his chances went south when he did that scream thing at a rally because he didn't know what else to do? he ran out of political retoric in the middle of his speech time ... at least thats the way it seemed to me.

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FACTS

• Federal Government operating under 6 coninuing resolutions
• $1.3Trillion Deficit in each of last 3 fiscal years (Federal Government operations)
• 10% of GDP = Federal Gov't budget deficit
• current budget proposal, adds more than $30Billion to deficit for 2011 alone

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There is still too much time between now and the elections - so expect there to be a 'band-aid' solution to keep the government open for another year.

They will allow it to shut down for a breif period next year once the candidates are set for the 2012 Presidential race ...
Just like they did the bank meltdown and the stock market crash ...

and just like that political trick --

this will all go horribly wrong!

They, the political parties, are so busy playing their political games that they are ignoring the real world around them.

I think they should all have to give up their DC homes/apartments for a month and have to live in one of their middle-class neighborhoods in their districts ... let them see what is really going on with the 'average' American.They have 9 days to get their acts together here ....So what were some of the reactions to this statement?

FOLLOW UP: Caylee

Whooo!! The detective is on the stand and he just blew another hole in the story by reporting that someone called the house on June 21st and heard the grandmother tell Caylee to get off the table!!

(interesting all this info is coming out now, since its only a bail hearing)

That cuts another week off the timeline.

Now the grandmother admitted that she is having troubles paying a 'couple' of her bills, that's she's lapsed in some payments, but she had arranged with the bank so get some sort of loan (almost sounded like an advance on a trust fund) for a 'heartship' case.

Could all this be some ploy to get extra funds and it got out of control??

The officer also said that the grandmother kept making it a point that the grandfather was not involved in any way and there was no reason to question him.

What kind of family is this?????

BREAKING NEWS: Plane crashes in Jordon UPDATE

Okay the plane came FROM Jordan and was headed to a different airport than it was scheduled for.

They say there are more than 100 survivors -- but even if they lived thru the wreck, I doubt they will survive their injuries.

The flames are SOOOOO bad.

FOLLOW UP: Denise Richards ... the saga continues and continues.

okay so I'm watching E! this morning (its a rare thing for this time of the morning but 'Its Me or the Dog' is nothing but repeats of repeats) and they had previews of the next ep. of Denise Richards show.

Now I'm not watching this show -- just my form of protest -- but the lip did NOT put her in a good light at all.

You know for someone who was accussing her ex-husband of character assassination I would think she would make sure that:
(a) she would clean up the truck driver mouth of hers -- no wait ... I used to know some truck drivers (thru the CB scene .... not that I hung out with them) and I think they would even be embarrassed by her
(b) you would want to keep yourself out of Playboy magazine!!! Yes in the next episode the million-dollar c*** (from the clips I've seen of her last show, it appears to be her favorite word for females so, hey, I'll apply it to her as freely as she applied it to others) .... anyways ... she is bragging how she is going to do a two page layout for Playboy.

I believe her quote went something like 'hey if Playboy wants to photograph my {bleep} after two kids ... I say let them do it'

Yes Denise -- that will get you Mother Of The Year --- at the Bunny Ranch!

I'm sorry but the more I see of this gal the less sympathy I have for her.

Do I think Charlie Sheen is a better parent?? No.

I just feel really sorry for those kids! Can you imagine how screwed up they are going to be? They have daddy who can't stay out of the headlines because of his addictions .... then they have mom who will do just about anything for money, including putting her own kids on television (and you know if it weren't for the kid issue there is no way this thing would have seen the light of day).

What chance do these little ones have with two such igocentric parents?

Say hello to the next Lindsey Lohan & Brittany Spears of Hollywood.

FOLLOW UP: China's Earthquake Lake

Okay so this is a follow up to the post/story on the lake that was formed by the earthquake in China.

I should have realized that the media was going to give half the information .... I should have checked National Geographic online first.

They had these before/after photos (of course now I cant find it on there, but I did find new secondary source):

I had hoped to only upload just the first two, since they show what happened better.

So .... it is not really a 'lake' that was made .... it is a swelling of the river -- this is a tad different.

Yes they need to clear the BLOCKAGE that is swelling the river .... which they accomplished on Tuesday according to Nat.Geo.news .... I was going to upload the video, but wasn't sure if that was allowed or not --- so its better for you to jump to their site to watch it.

FOLLOW UP: Denise Richards ... the saga continues

Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards feud over 'sperm donation' e-mail - 23 May 2008 - Blogger Bites Back - NZ Herald Blog:

"Sheen claims Richards, 37, sent his fiancee Brooke Mueller an email after their divorce begging for his sperm so she could have another child."

And as if that isn't enough for you...

"The hilarious email supposedly said:

"Charlie and I have very beautiful healthy children together. I was strictly looking for a sperm donor if it's any of your business."
Sheen's camp maintains that Richards was not in a relationship with Sambora at the time, and has issued this statement:

"Claims that her e-mail has been fabricated or altered in any way to create this story are absurd. The mere fact the she continues to publicly discuss and harass both Brooke and me three years after our separation which, for the record is longer than the actual length of the marriage, is beyond desperate and speaks volumes."

AND this page also had an embedded link to a YouTube clip of the actual interview with Lauer. In it she nonchalantly mentions all the things that she has accused Charlie of doing (drug use, alcoholic, being promiscuous), she also slyly called Charlies current fiancee, Brooke, his 'ex-girlfriend' --- hmm, bit of Freudian-slip there?? Yeah I think so.

I also think it is a bit of jealousy on her part -- Charlie is part of a very successful (perhaps the most successful at the moment) sitcom on the airwaves. He is getting married. Everything seems to be springing up roses for him ... so she is throwing some shit on it.



She seems to have a good time painting herself as the total victim here. It always seems to come down to "I'm a single mom" -- so are lots of other women, with more kids than you and a hell of a lot less money. "I just lost my mom" -- so did I as well as millions of others, you don't go nuts!

"I have no control of what is sealed and what is public" .... actually you can request that the court sequester information for security/privacy sake.

Sorry -- don't believe it for one bit.

FOLLOW UP: Denise Richards

Just a follow up to the earlier post about her appearance on The Veiw, although these are remarks/stories stemming from other interviews she has given.

Denise Doin' It for the Money? Yeah, Right - TMZ.com:

"Denise Richards is crying poor, claiming that she has to pimp her kids on a reality show for the cash –- but Charlie Sheen's camp says that's a bunch of hooey.

They're telling the New York Post that Denise is getting a whopping $52,000 per month in child support – and tax-free at that – in addition to the $60K per month she got for two years in alimony. "Most people in America can figure out how to live on that, but Denise can't," says a pal.

And then there's the $25 million some say she could end up making from Sheen's show "Two and a Half Men."

Okay so this is a totally different story than she was saying the other day on 'The View".
So where is all her money going? It is supposed to be going for the kids (I believe there are two) ... my understanding is it can cover such things as a vehicle (because it is necessary to get them to the drs, dentist, school) and housing (the kids need a place to live)...definately food, clothes, etc.

But how the f-bomb do you go thru $52,ooo a month?

Not even I could do that ... not if I bought every skein of yarn I ever wanted!
Not even if I bought ever crochet hook or knitting needle I could ever concieve of needing ... not even with doubles!

What do you spend $52,000/month on for KIDS??? You could buy them a new car EVERY month!!! She however does drive a Mercedes-Benz (so she can't be too broke!)

That's ridiculous!

I soooooo want him to go on The View and give his side of the story ... I know she had her own battles with chemical abuse at one point and time; and didn't she just appear not that long ago in 'Playboy'?? Oh yeah ... she's a role model for her kids.

She also never mentions the movie that was just released or the other two in post-production ... all of which I doubt she did pro-bono. What happened to the money from those???

Where is this woman putting the money?

Maybe she should try a smaller mansion, cut down on the take out, buy a more fuel efficient car, or even put her kids into public schools (I have no idea what her life is like -- I don't watch her new show).

FOLLOW UP: New York Governor

Well, he finally took the plunge and resigned. The gossip is that it was his wife that wanted him to stick it out and see what would become of the accussations.
Now accroding to FoxNews there will be a lot of other information to come out including threats made to other officials to keep the story under their hats over the years.

Oh this is going to get bad.
And he isn't the only official being grilled over sex .... wait until I post about Detroits mayor.

Yowzers!

FOLLOW UP: When Knitters Go Wild

JafaGirlArt - KnitKnot Tree: "

For those concerned about what we will do with the yarn after the tree sweater is removed.
More than likely we will do what we normally do with our art materials, recycle and re-use in another piece of art. However for those who would like to see some of the knitted peices[sic] donated please contact us so you can collect the pieces and donate to a charity of your choice."

I was so excited when JafaBrit wrote a comment to my blog (I was beginning to think I was the only one reading it), I need to thank her for sending me the link to the page which answered by concern about the material being used for art instead of charity (see previous post, "When Knitters Go Wild" ).

I of course jumped right over to her site .... WOW, impressive photos! Much better than the ones in the news article .... you can see the tree progression.

AND they recycle the yarn -- that is so cool. Now I'm not sure if that means they take apart the bits they won't use as is, to re-knit the yarn into something else .... or if it simply means that they hang onto it until its needed again. Either way it makes for great conservation of resources.

But that is one thing I've always loved about the 'needle arts' is that the materials seem to lend themselves to recycling.

Most charities want you to use new, clean, unused yarn so the recycled yarn from their projects wouldn't be able to be used in many charitable projects for the general user. Unless it is a project that lends itself to sterilizing. {she says as she looks at the three cones of cotton worsted waiting for their turn to be changed into bandages}

This makes it much less frivolous. I really like that.

FOLLOW UP: Missing Boy

Whew, just heard on the radio that they were able to find the boy that I mentioned in an earlier post today --- or rather he found them.

According to the radio news report (KTLK-FM)...a relative dropped the boy off at a lawyer's office this morning....and that the boy had been in foster care since November....

I wonder what was going on there.

I wonder if we will ever find out.

This of course does not release the school from any liability--and if my kid was still going there you can bet I'd have a lot of questions--after all they were supposed to make sure that kid got on his bus.

FOLLOW UP: Iowa follow-up

okay I'm sure everyone has been updated but here we go anyways:

Dems:
1. Obama (two years senate experience)
2. Edwards (career senator, former vice-president candidate)
3. Clinton (2 term senator, former First Lady)

Reps:
1. Huckabee (fmr. governor of Arkansas-ranked #49 in schools)
2. Romney (fmr. governor of Colorado)
3. Thompson (fmr. Representative & actor/radio personality)
4. McCain (Career senator, fmr.POW)
5. Ron Paul (pediatrician, senator-I think)
6. Guilliani (fmr. mayor of NY)

I have heard that as far as speech style goes Obama will be the next Ronald Reagan. Kind of ironic.
they have also been talking a lot about McCain, totally leap frogging over the great show that Thompson made....I have to say I am very happy with the fact that Thompson showed in the top three. I think he appeals to the "common sense" factor to a lot of people--and he looks very Presidential to me.

So who's face would you like to see on the US $? Who would make the best coin or bill face?

FOLLOW UP: Pitt Story

Okay...now that I have seen the video of the incident in question (http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid285859616/bclid294430730/bctid1364183256) I can tell you it is not as bad as they make it out to be.

Geez, they say ATV you think of those three wheeler things, or even one of the four-wheelers which look like a monster truck with out the body frame...

This thing is a golf cart with a hummer shaped body. a GOLF CART. they will not go very fast. they operate on a deadman's switch type of foot peddle...you can put the gas all the way to the floor and you will be lucky to go 15 mph.

To go faster the regulator needs to be removed (then they can get up around 50 mph according to the salesman my in-laws spoke to).

The kid was safer on that cart with dad then he would be in a car with the papparazzi standing around.

FOLLOW UP: Buffet Story

Okay our local station had an interview with the man in this story.
He corrected the story as follows:

he only went once a week.
It was an asian based restraunt
He had been eating there for 8 months
It was his first time thru the buffet line for the day
On his plate he had 3 shrimp balls and 5 frog legs
the regular buffet price was $9.45
he pointed out the "all you can eat" on the receipt and the owner tried to pull the receipt away from him
the owner of the restraunt did try to say the waitress made a mistake, but he was already insulted.
He is the one who called the police, and showed them the receipt who wrote everything down.
he offered to pay the bill.
the owner stole the receipt before he left the restruant and destroyed it. She did this in front of the cops.
He's a cajun from New Orleans...and the wife's cousin (the one who was accused of having the baby in his tummy) is a displaced resident from Katrina.

He will be showing up on Letterman & Kinear...he says he is waiting to hear from Jerry Springer.

You should be able to download the mp3 of the interview later today (it will be up for a week) at am15oo Podcasts, just look for Willie&Jay, Friday, hour 4...it may take a couple of days for them to upload it in but they never are up for more than a week so you will have to grab it fast!

Resurrection of the old recipe--followup

First for those interested the original post/recipe can be found here:

Three Kings Bread

Well I baked it up using Sunkist "Almond Accents:sliced almonds", dried pineapple chunks (there are ones I get in the $1 section of the store for snacking), and Amport Foods "Cranberries & Goldens" from Sam's club...and omitted the dark raisins...well more out of need, my kids love them and ate them all gone.

The bread looked like this when it was done:

Its not as dense as a fruit cake but it is delicious! I wished it had come out a tad sweeter (notice I didn't put the frosting on top), actually that kind of shocked me because of the sweetened condensed milk--I thought it would have been almost too sweet but it wasn't.

I found it did taste better the second day--in fact it was gone the second day when my teenager saw it had fruit in it.

What I do like about this recipe is:
1. it could easily be made into rolls/buns because the batter isn't quite as thin as the original recipe
2. it had lots of flavor so it didn't need butter on it...the old recipe needed the butter for the bready part, this one had a really nice flavor...not sure if it was because I used butter instead of shortening or if it was the s/c milk.

I will probably use the recipe again...but I will have to tweak it some more to try to get even closer to the original....will keep you posted!

maybe some lemon peel would help....wonder what some all-spice would do to the flavor....

Sorry, thinking out loud again.