Go get 'em, Gabby. She is pretty, isn't she? We are lucky to have her represent our country.

She is one in a million! Making history is no minor accomplishment.

...As the 16-year-old (click title to entry - thank you) Douglas bounded from one rotation to another Thursday on what would become one of the most historic days in women's gymnastics, her sheer love of competition, combined with an extraordinary level of self-confidence, carried her to the women's individual all-around title, often considered the most potentially lucrative gold medal of the Summer Olympics.

The first African-American gymnast to win her sport's most revered title, Douglas became the first U.S. gymnast to win both the individual all-around gold medal and a team gold at an Olympics. She also became the fourth American to win the title, and the third in a row....

Mr. Annan, the Syrians don't want us there. I don't blame them, actually.

The dynamics of Syria are disturbing. The people are dedicated to their democracy. Some of the cities/neighborhoods have already formed their own democracies. They are not going to give it up. They don't care the cost.


The Russians wanted the rebels to come to the table to achieve a bilateral solution. That isn't going to happen. They have been too oppressed for too long to provide a reasonable venue for negotiations.


The rebels/citizens/terrorists (depending if one is viewed by Assad or not)  Syrians are not going to stop their fighting. They love life, but, they are refusing to allow any Western force to be involved. The Syrians do not want to be occupied while they set up a new paradigm. The citizen militia is receiving recognition within their own communities. The dead are buried with conviction and honor, including children.


The UN needs to continue to seek humanitarian support and refugee camps. The Assad regime is committing genocide in slow motion, especially considering his minority ethnic status as a leader. He needs to stop, but, won't. He is no longer admired by the Syrian people, but, will do nothing to remove himself from his thrown.


Thank you, Mr. Annan. Your sincere attempts are noted. We need to support the Syrian people enough for their survival. I believe they need a model similar to Libya, but, they are not on the Mediterranean Sea with a large desert as a neighbor. 


BEIRUT/ALEPPO: Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (click title to entry - thank you) has quit his post as international peace envoy to Syria, shooting down hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the increasingly bloody conflict.
Annan denied this resignation meant the Syrian people would be left to fend for themselves as battles raged in Aleppo, killing at least 60 people.
Annan, who’s mission, centered on an April cease-fire that never took hold, blamed “finger-pointing and name-calling” at the U.N. Security Council for his decision to quit, but suggested his successor may have better luck.
“I did not receive all the support that the cause deserved,” Annan told a hastily scheduled news conference in Geneva. He said “continuous finger-pointing and name-calling” in the Security Council had hindered his attempts to implement the so-called six-point peace plan....

To Be Announced AFTER the November Elections. Really? There is a credibility issue there.

If legislators want the confidence of the electorate, the nation's problems need to be solved BEFORE the November elections. Seriously. Do elected federal representatives actually think the electorate should 'get on board' so this can all happen after the elections are over.


I don't think so. The legislation should be a show of, not just good faith, but, a show of the best faith the country can place in their elected representatives.


I really wish those elected would stop insulting the intelligence of the entire nation. 

...In announcing his retirement, LaTourette said (click title to entry - thank you) he was fed up with the increasingly uncompromising environment on Capitol Hill. In his remarks today, he alluded to the fact that such failure to compromise has created a massive deficit that lawmakers can’t seem to figure out.

LaTourette shared a story about an old collie of his that continually ran into a door in an attempt to go outside, and after many repeated gaffes, finally learned to get the door open before attempting to go through it. Similarly Congress, according to LaTourette, would have to hit a wall many times before learning they need to compromise to get anywhere.

“Congress is like an alcoholic, said the long-time Ohio Republican. “Before anything is going to get done, they have to hit rock bottom.”

The idea of the original Bowles-Simpson Plan was to reduce the debt by $4 trillion over ten years through an uneven combination of spending cuts and tax increases.

According to LaTourette, his group’s plan would aim to simplify the nation’s tax system, and would place more focus on reforming Medicare. A to-be-determined combination of individual and cooperate taxes would add up to a specific tax rate that could be as high as 29%....

The Republicans actually expect Americans to be this stupid. Their latest ploy to prevent military cuts is the 'idea' the National Debt would reach 100% of GDP ONLY to be avoided by two years with the scheduled cuts.


So, in other words, all the cuts that is now LAW, scheduled for New Years Eve when the coach turns to a pumpkin, is supposed to be nullified because the cuts would slow down the increase in National Debt.


Huh? Where does that make sense? Where is that moral? And why are Republicans so willing to be Flip-Floppers? Following their leadership?

Hey, Speaker Boner, still lying to yourself? Everyone else knows you are lying, but, the truth hasn't caught up with you yet, huh?

When Boehner loses his cool (he attacks the President for standing up for the middle class) (click title to entry - thank you)

Thu Aug 2, 2012, 04:16 PM

By Steve Benen

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) appeared on Fox News Radio this afternoon, and apparently had a little trouble keeping his composure.

The Republican leader was asked about President Obama's recent comments that he believes in an economy the works "from the middle class out," not "from the top down." This apparently sent Boehner over the edge. 

"Sometimes I have to catch my breath and slow down because the rhetoric in this campaign is just so over the top. And that's because the president's policies have failed. Listen -- 93% of Americans believe they're a part of the middle class. That's why you hear the president talk about the middle class every day, because he's talking to 93% of the American people. But the president has never created a job. He's never even had a real job for Christ's sake."

I can't help but love the contrast between the first sentence in that paragraph and the last....

Temper, temper.


House Approves Bush Tax Cuts (click here)
Aug. 2, 2012
By Andrew Taylor and Donna Cassata


WASHINGTON - With the government heading toward a year-end "fiscal cliff," House Republicans approved a full plate of Bush-era tax cuts Wednesday that they said could help shore up a still-frail national economy. At the same time, the Obama administration warned that threatened budget cuts could send some of America's troops into battle with less training....


So let me get this right. Completely right. 


There is a National Debt the Republicans state has to be solved by cutting domestic budgets to the bone and beyond.


Or, dismantle Medicare. Maybe both!


According to the Republicans other than Senator Coburn, believe the military spending has to increase.


Yet, it is necessary to maintain all Bush Tax Cuts that will continue to increase the National Debt.


You know, Boner, I really believe you are Anti-American.


Seriously.

Senator Coburn states the country is hungry for budget cuts. I think he is correct.

Senator Coburn states he knows of $1 trillion US that can be made to the military budget today. I believe that is his contribution. I would like to see specifics from him. 


Unnecessary war has increased the national debt from 2002 to 2011. It is time the military rein in their spending and I suggest Senator Coburn make that $1 trillion US his mission.


I look forward to it.

Aurora, Colorado isn't about psychiatrists and behavior, it is about weapons. There has been a sincere increase in mass shootings in the USA since the end of the Assault Weapons Ban.

Colorado shooting victims remembered: Funeral services were held for a number of victims killed at a midnight movie screening in Aurora, Colo.

By Donald Wuerl, Cardinal Donald Wuerl is archbishop of Washington and a contributor to The Washington Post's local faith leader network.,

As an archbishop who has celebrated Masses in Washington, D.C., to pray for an end to violence in our community, I grieve for the 12 people killed in the recent movie theater shootings in Aurora, Colorado. I join people of all faiths across our country in praying for them, for the 58 people wounded in the attack, and for their family members and friends.

Such senseless acts of violence can leave us in despair. Our faith offers us hope in such times of sorrow....

Olympics: Mourning Colorado town welcomes medal glory (click here)

4:48 PM Wednesday Aug 1, 2012

After days of mourning the mass shooting at an Aurora movie theater, Coloradans are celebrating hometown native Missy Franklin's triumphs at the London Olympic Games.

The 17-year-old swimmer attends Aurora's Regis Jesuit High School and lives in the nearby Denver suburb of Centennial. Following the July 20 shootings, she dedicated her Olympic races to her home state.

"It's such a terrible thing, and I'm so shaken by it," Franklin said last week. "They're in my thoughts this entire process."

Franklin won a gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke this week after having opened her games with a relay bronze....

What is "W"rong with this picture?


Availability.


That is what is "W"rong with this picture.

Fighting for free speech? When did they lose it?

Chic-fil-A has the most expensive fast food chicken sandwiches in the business. They are doing this for sympathy and profits. End of that discussion. Who else is going to buy their elections for them?


The way they yell about their freedom of speech you would think they were in Iraq under Bush when they shut down newspapers.

Chick-fil-A supporters say they are fighting for free speech (click title to entry - thank you)

August 1, 2012

8:16 PM

...Mark Almlie, 39, said he's never had Chick-fil-A food, but drove from Simi Valley to the restaurant Wednesday to support "people that will stand up for what they believe in."...

It is good to know freedom of speech in the USA still allows hatred and bigotry in Simi Valley.