Hi, Ed. I hope you and Wendy are getting through a difficult time.

Ed with his beautiful wife Wendy.


It is difficult facing cancer, but, it can be done. Very recently, my sister completed her therapy that will more than likely insure a normal longevity.


My sister was suppose to die twenty-five years ago at the age of 28. She has good quality of life, too.


The fight is difficult, but, it is possible with good doctors and state of the art treatment regimes.


We are keeping you both in our thoughts and prayers. I hope this is somewhat of a comfort to you and Wendy. She's a pretty one, Ed. The two of you look as you love each other a great deal. That matters, Ed. It really matters. A winning team is helpful.

Whoever let Michelle Bachman infiltrate the USA government?

Michelle can't be this stupid. I refuse to believe she is actually this stupid, but, I do believe she is playing a part in the GOP agenda to drive the base. I think Romney is going to have his surrogates for the base while he attempts to turn left to be elected. I think that is what this is about. The problem is it is irresponsible, inflammatory and dangerous.


The USA State Department put their lives on the line everyday in foreign nations; they don't need help from their Homeland in making the job more challenging.


Michelle Bachmann is playing the Muslim card and attempting to make the statement the USA State Department under our Islamic President is planning on turning the USA over to the Muslim Brotherhood.


I don't think so. I wish someone would run against Bachmann and relieve her misery. I don't know how this woman ever gets elected. She assaults the American culture and women's rights at every turn without exception. 


Bachmann needs to apologize. Will she? Never. She said exactly what she wanted to for the reasons above. Bachmann takes her freedom of speech to the level of screaming fire in a crowded meeting hall. She is responsible. She is an extreme embarrassment. Somebody help get her out of office, please.

Mayor Bloomberg has a point. But, a national strike might not be the answer. However.

I understand his frustration. New York has many police that work to protect the city. He also has a city with a large theater district. I imagine he is concerned about emergencies like Aurora, Colorado.


I have a suggestion. The police unions across the country should organize a lobbying effort in each state and in Washington, DC to reduce the amount of violence in the nation and the number of dangerous guns on the street.


Absolutely.


Mayor Bloomberg is concerned for his police officers as should all other mayors. He can help them be safe by encouraging a lobbying effort that would safeguard them. I think that was really decent of him to come forward to attempt to make a difference. A strike might not be the best venue, but, lobbying state and federal legislatures will. 


Mayor, like Michael Bloomberg, can make sure the lobbying effort by police nationwide gets proper attention because the police unions cannot afford the monies in DC and elsewhere as does the NRA. I hope the and other mayors continue to seek resolve to these issues. I applaud him for being willing to make his concerns real to the people.

By Alexander Heffner

Mayor Bloomberg appeared to distance himself Tuesday from comments he made on a talk show  suggesting that the nation’s police officers should “go on strike” to demand tougher gun laws.

Bloomberg, who has been pushing for stronger gun legislation in the wake of last week’s movie theater shooting in Colorado, told CNN’s Piers Morgan on Monday that he doesn’t understand why officers “don’t stand up collectively and say, we’re going to go on strike.”

While Bloomberg, co-founder of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, has been an outspoken critic of gun violence, the comment supporting the idea of a strike seemed unusual for the mayor of a large city – and by Tuesday, he was walking back the statement....


While Mayor Bloomberg is the co-founder of "Mayors Against Illegal Guns" it isn't illegal guns or ammunition that killed 12 people in Aurora. In the wake of this heinous killing there are also those with life long injuries and destroyed families. There were so many people in the theater that knew each other, loved each other and went as a family, it was a particularly horrid event. I sincerely hope Mayor Bloomberg 'finds a way' to support police organizations and unions to end these assaults against our culture. Sincerely.

Chick-fil-A has to abide by federal laws granting non-discrimination.

Company policy cannot apply hideous personal values to their companies policies. Chick-fil-A is not a church. It has no non-profit status. Noted below is a very healthy profit margin for the fast food chain.


...Chick-fil-A, (click title to entry - thank you) whose founder distinguished the fast-food chain by closing on Sunday out of religious piety, continues to mix theology with business and finds itself on the front lines of the nation’s culture wars after its president, Dan Cathy, confirmed his opposition to gay marriage in June 2012. (AP Photo/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Elissa Eubanks)


The company cannot abuse customers either. If there is a story to tell about abusive practices of customers by the stores, then "Submit Your Story Today" (click here)


If every corporation in the nation decided the only people worthy of employment were purple people eaters, then the rest of us would be out of luck. That principle applies here. If Corporate America can be dominated in their practices as dictated by some CEO or demented Board Member or owner, the country would suffer for absolutely no reason except discrimination, bias and/or hatred. They can't do it.


I do believe the owner of Chick-fil-A has a sincere public relations crisis and needs to work on how she gets along with people. If she can't move past her own discriminatory priorities to promote her company than she needs to sell her shares and move on. If not she is in for one of the worst PR nightmares a corporation ever faced. Americans aren't putting up with hatred these days. She has problem, but, it is her problem, no one else's. If she wants to be a political figure she can run for office, otherwise, move out of the market place. There are plenty of small business owners across the USA that would be more than happy if Chick-fil-A closed up shop and left their neighborhoods. Chick-fil-A does not have the corner on fast food chicken. A loss of a Wall Street icon is the profit of the local economy and its small businesses.


Bye, bye Chick-fil-A. People have the right not to purchase food from kitchens run by those that hate others as a corporate symbol demanding the government to adhere to some faux agenda. It's nonsense. The President of Chick-fil-A has to make at least an apology. I am sure there are lawsuits on the way from those working within the company wondering why they were passed over for promotions. I wish her a lot of luck.

Oh yes, mistakes made in management of the Olympics are difficult indeed.

Doesn't exactly look like war and peace to me. Hay, what do I know.

By Alessandra Prentice

LONDON, July 26 | Thu Jul 26, 2012 12:38pm EDT

(Reuters) - Athletes en route to the Olympics may end up sharing their special Games Lanes with funeral carriages drawn by plumed horses draped in black velvet.

Funeral directors exasperated by Olympic traffic rules that threaten to delay burial processions suggested they could commandeer the lanes reserved for athletes and officials.

Some have had to draw up contracts with grieving families to make clear the possibility of severe delays.

"If we went down the Olympic lanes in a horse-drawn, what are they going to do - photograph a horse? Fingerprinting?" said John Cribb, director of T. Cribb and Sons, a funeral director partnership run by the same family in east London since 1881....

Now he is insulting allies. He can't run for President of the USA at the Olympic Games.

I don't think there has ever been a candidate for President that visited Olympic Games in preparation for this race. 

"W" visited the 2008 Olympic Games while touring China, South Korea and Thialand, but, he was concluding his term and not seeking to begin it.

Odd.

Thursday 26 July 2012 13.05 EDT

...In a move that astonished Downing Street, ( click title to entry - thank you) hours before it laid on a special reception for Romney at No 10 he told NBC there were "disconcerting" signs about the preparations for the Games.

One senior Whitehall source said: "What a total shocker. We are speechless."

David Cameron wasted no time in slapping down Romney hours after his remarks were broadcast. On a visit to the Olympic Park, the prime minister said: "We are holding an Olympic Games in one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities anywhere in the world. Of course it's easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere."...

Can you trust your mayor? Then listen to them.

The USA infrastructure has been failing for far too long. These are difficult times and we need the investment President Obama asked for with his American Jobs Bill.


Updated 6d 22h ago
PHILADELPHIA – The economies of the nation's cities (click title toe entry - thank you) are starting to bounce back from recession and grow again, but state and federal governments need to increase their spending on infrastructure to help that growth continue, according to the U.S. Conference of Mayors....


...Public spending on infrastructure in the United States has fallen to 2.4% of gross domestic product, the group said, something that needs to be increased in order for growth to continue....

The interconnecting rail services across the country will be completed in 2050. That is a long time and a big infrastructure project. It is important for many reasons for this to go through, but, it will also reduce the demand for fossil fuels in the USA. Why can't we have jobs that improve the lives of our people while be responsible.


Who best to speak to local economies and local growth than the people closest to it.


The infrastructure improvements take many forms. Rain gardens have proven to be a way to store storm water for later use in water home grown vegetables. Rain gardens can reduce the amount of watering a homeowner has to provide for their laws. 


There are 'rain barrels' that can be installed to catch all the rainwater from the roof of homes to store it for outside use. They are simple ideas for home dwellers that can give them ownership of their own contribution to conserving water and natural resources. 

EPA Funding will bolster green infrastructure for communities. (click here)

July 26, 2012 - As announced EPA's Nancy Stoner, U.S. EPA will provide $950,000 to help 17 communities expand green infrastructure. Use of vegetation and soil to manage rainwater where it falls keeps polluted stormwater from entering sewer systems and waterways in local communities. Funding is intended to increase incorporation of green infrastructure into stormwater management programs, protect water quality, and provide community benefits such as job creation and neighborhood revitalization....

The infrastructure of cities to collect rain and use it prudently to uphold their foliage is a valid form of conservation. 

Press release date: July 19, 2012

Green infrastructure uses vegetation and soil (click here) to manage rainwater where it falls, keeping polluted stormwater from entering sewer systems and waterways in local communities. The EPA funding is intended to increase incorporation of green infrastructure into stormwater management programs, protect water quality, and provide community benefits including job creation and neighborhood revitalization....