FamGuyToday by Aunty Fox

The annual Beer and Bluegrass Festival at Keystone Village, up in the high country. Meeting the kids, who are spending a couple of nights at Nate's condo. Always a good time, but it seems like the year, between festivals, is getting shorter all the time. Didn't we just do this a couple of months ago???? Went looking for a pic, to illustrate my blog, and googled the festival. Look at what came up on the first page of Google. Carol and Kari, from 2 years ago. Not a good pic of Kari, but it is kinda interesting. The pic was lifted, from Laura's blog, I see.

but the Rockies just scored 12 runs in the 8th, after they had 2 outs. Poor Cubbies had a bunch of records scored on 'em tonight. The Rocks batted around, TWICE, and left the bases loaded, as Barmes was coming up to bat for the third time in the inning. The ALL time major league record, from the 20's, was 12 consecutive hits, and the Rocks had 11, before the 12th batter was walked. Game went from 5-2, to 17-2, and it was all done with 2 outs. 12 extra-base hits. Amazing...

The Repubs keep saying, "How come you can't fix the huge, stinking mess, we made, and, by the way, we want it RIGHT NOW?" AND, (whine, whine) quit blaming us just cuz the economy was totally wrecked after 8 years of Bush and the Repubs. We don't want to hear that, any more. (Wah, wah...) It's time you Dems took some responsibility for the problems we Repubs caused. (Whine, cry, bitch and moan...)

"As I said below, I quit being a Christian. I'm out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of ...Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen." She was finally able to say, what a lot of us feel, but are afraid to say in public. Christianity has been hi-jacked by the hard-core right wing and is no longer recognizable, as a loving religion, but is now a political business. Sad, but true....

that Kari is using the tix, that she bought w/the money she won, in the schools' biggest loser' contest. Yup, she's near the front for Lady Gaga. Hope she's having a great time. She worked hard to win it, so now it's time to celebrate. Enjoy, honey. Just wonder how she dressed? If I know Kari, it's something that'll jump out at ya.

We started watching the 'Lost' series, downstairs. It's a nice finished basement, but when I was cleaning up down there, this morning, I saw a spider near my recliner, SO, I turned the chair upside down, and sprayed the inside with bug killer spray, just in case there were any more. I noticd later, that every time I shifted position, I got a whiff of the spray. After a while, I was SICK. Nauseated and dizzy. Didn't put it together at first, but noticed after I left, I got better, then when I went back was sick again. I poisoned myself w/bugspray. Flipped the chair over and put a fan on it. Bailey walked into the room and freaked out, sniffing the air, w/the chair upside down, slinking all over and bouncing off the ceiling when there was a noise. Hopefully it's over now, but I was SICK.

about how I was SO sick of hearing how bad the oil leak in the gulf was/is. In this article, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38439191/ns/us_news-the_new_york_times/ , you can read how most of the oil has dissipated, and they are having a hard time trying to find something to clean up. I am NOT saying we are out of the woods or that this wasn't a terrible spill/ecological mess. BUT, the main damage has been from the gov't overreacting and shutting down WAY too much fishing and drilling in the area, throwing a whole lotta people out of work. Sure, the oil is a mess, and will continue to be, but it's not the HUGE disaster that the media fed us for months. Our REAL problem is the economy that Bush and the Repubs thoroughly trashed. If we could only skim and clean our way out of that.....

why I rail against FOXNews, Rush and their ilk?. Wed Jul 7, 12:21 pm ET Rush Limbaugh said on his July 2 radio show that he believes Obama tanked the economy on purpose, both as "payback" for 230 years of racial oppression and because Obama simply doesn't like America. He railed: "Who is Obama? Why is he doing this? Why? Why is he doing it? Is he stupid? Is it an accident? Is he doing it on purpose or what have you? ... I think we face something we've never faced before in the country -- and that is, we're now governed by people who do not like the country, who do not have the same reverence for it that we do. Our greatest threat (and this is saying something) is internal." At the same time, Glenn Beck says Obama has a 'deepseated hatred of whites'. This, after Bush tanked our economy and Obama and the Dems are just trying to keep us afloat. Just when I think the rightwing can't get any more stupid, they come up with something like this. An...

on Discovery Channel, tonight, about Pompei, where we have visited. History shows how an earthquake hit first, before the volcano, and the inhabitants spent all their time and energy restoring the temples, cuz they thought the 'gods' were upset with them, instead of preparing for the 'real' damage to come. Sorta like today, as the economic collapse washes over us. Lots of people are totally unprepared....

Netflix, through Wii, which is pretty cool. Through our wireless router, for $8.99/month, we can download unlimited movies and TV series, in addition to sending a disc (new movie, etc.) back and forth in the mail. Watched 'Julie and Julia', a cute movie last night, and started the 'Lost' series today, w/the downloads. Had heard a lot about Lost, but had never gotten into it. Watched the first 2 episodes today and it looks like it's gonna be pretty good. Very highly rated and the kids recommend it, SO, here we go. Also, the Wii is downstairs, where it is much cooler during the day. Don't even need the AC. Bailey can't get used to us being there, as she thinks it is HER domain. Will let you know how it goes....

A graduate student in Georgia is suing her university after she was told she must undergo a remediation program due to her beliefs on homosexuality and transgendered persons. The student, Jennifer Keeton, 24, has been pursuing a master's degree in school counseling at Augusta State University since 2009. The ACA Code of Ethics prohibits counselors from discriminating based on a number of factors, including gender identity and sexual orientation. "Counselors do not discriminate against clients, students, employees, supervisees, or research participants in a manner that has a negative impact on these persons," the code says. SOO, the problem here is.... She wants to be an accredited, licensed counselor, dealing with kids in public schools, but she professes that homosexuality is a 'disease' that can be cured, or 'demon posssession', that can be exorcised. You see any problem there? I sure do. If she wants to be a counselor in a Christian school, with her be...

about the military-industrial complex, which guides US foreign policy, this article appeared. DHB, which specialized in making body armor used by the military in Iraq and Afghanistan , paid for more than $6 million in personal expenses on behalf of Mr. Brooks, covering items as expensive as luxury cars and as prosaic as party invitations, pornographic videos for his son, plastic surgery for his wife, a burial plot for his mother, prostitutes for his employees, and, for him, a $100,000 American-flag belt buckle encrusted with rubies, sapphires and diamonds. The expense-account abuse, the prosecution has said, represented a pittance compared with the $190 million that Mr. Brooks and another top employee are accused of making through a stock fraud scheme in which he falsified information about his company’s performance — including significantly overstating the inventory of bulletproof vests — to inflate the price of the stock before selling his shares in 2004. Body armor, just one of tho...

about the war in Afghanistan, make it hard to realize how anyone with a functioning brain, (which excludes the FOX crowd) can support this waste of lives, money and time, fighting a war that CANNOT be won. There is no winnable end in sight, BUT, the right wing jerks just love the thought of us fighting someone, somewhere, so they can feel 'tough'. Something they aren't able to do in real life, is doable, through the gov't and the military. Sickening, but typical of the military-industrial complex and the sheep who support them. The same people in "Charley Wilson's War', with the same missles we bought for them, are fighting us, tooth and nail, in their own country, as they have fought foreigners for generations, and never lost. Am SO disappointed in Obama, cuz he won't stand up to the jerks that support this waste. Makes him as bad as them, cuz he knows better. Just sickening, when you think of the cost, in lives and suffering, just cuz some people can...

are in a race to see who can self-destruct first. The latest salvo comes from Ken Buck, who had gotten the support of the Tea Party. Not knowing he was being taped, he said, "Will you tell those dumbasses at the Tea Party to stop asking questions about birth certificates while I'm on camera?" Buck said at a June event. "What am I supposed to do?" Gota love them Repubs and the Tea Partiers....

as my partner and I finished 'in the money', in the member/membe golf tourney at Coal Creek. Split $225, and my Calcutta team did pretty good, too. THEN, I came home to Kari's birthday party, 'in progress', on the deck. Piper was in her blow up pool and everyone was sitting around it, with their feet in the water (poor kid!). I kinda blew it though, cuz it took me too long to notice Kari had gotten her hair cut (8 1/2 "). I was DISTRACTED, by the cute kid in the pool who was teasing me with kisses. Anyway, Kari looks good with her new cut and we had a great party.

about a month after the last time I posted that Bailey was out cruising, during the full moon. Guess what? A full moon, again, and she's been gone for about 5 hours. The bad news? There's a large 'great horned owl' sitting on our, and our neighbor's, roofs. Scares the heck outta me. Carol is out with the kids, and Bailey is out 'who knows where', with a huge owl hunting our neighborhood. Pretty scary as I keep walking around calling her. Little BRAT!, you need to get inside.

I put on the DVR, then watch at my convenience, my favorite is 'Deadliest Catch', the true story of the guys that fish the Bering Sea for crab. I used to think that $18/lb was REALLY expensive. Now, I think it is a bargain, after seeing what these guys go through, to fill the tanks. This season was even more REAL, as one of my favorite guys, Capt Phil, died. Lots of hard work, suffering and injuries, but Phil was the first of the TV crew to actually die. Pretty tough way to make a living. Lotta widows and orphans up there....

the right-wing, redneck 'jeniuses', who have disputed the 'over 95%' of scientists who say the earth is warming, in favor of the Rush/O'Reilly crowd who disputes it, are enjoying getting their asses cooked during this latest hot spell. They love to quote the 'lunatic fringe' who doubts that warming is real. I gotta love it, as I watch from Broomfield, where it is 68 right now.

of the two day member/member golf tourney at Coal Creek. It's the biggest tournament of the year, for the men's club, with a Calcutta, which raised $10,990 for the payout, on TOP of the the regular prize money. My partner, Phil Clarkson, and I are right in the middle of the pack with absolutely NO breaks the first day. If it could bounce wrong, or catch the edge of the cup, it did. Feel good about tomorrow, but gotta get home early cuz it's Kari's birthday party at our house. If we get any breaks at all, tomorrow, we'll be in the money. At least that's how I see it, at this point. Oh yeah, and it's free beer. Will let you know how it goes.

my blog service, BUT, they are gonna start charging me to see who visits my blog. Not much, and I am gonna pay, but I never had to, before. Yup, I see you 'lurkers' who check in, but NEVER comment. Must mean you agree with me. right? Anyway, go ahead and comment. It just makes you look creepy when you lurk, but never say anything. Never mind, I wouldn't wanna advertise my views, either, if they were way'out there', like most of my lurkers.

was compiled by Money Magazine this month, with Colorado placing 3 towns in the top 20, including Broomfield. After traveling and living throughout the United States, as a disaster insurance adjuster, I gotta say Colorado is right at the top as a place to live, in SO many ways. Mostly weather and recreation, but also business and being around educated, fit people. Just don't want the word to get out, there's enough people here already. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2010/snapshots/PL0809280.html

Bailey is at the rear (full glass) door, and can't wait to get outside. This morning was no different, until the door was opened and she took a step outside. She stopped, her hair stuck out and she slowly and cautiously backed into the house and hid behind the couch. Since then, over an hour ago, she has sat in the garden window in the kitchen and stared outside, getting spooked each time we make a move or sound near her. I walked around the house looking for anything abnormal, but saw nothing. Not sure what is going on, but she sure doesn't like it. Has never happened before....

BELL, Calif. (July 23) -- Three administrators whose huge salaries sparked outrage in this small blue-collar suburb of Los Angeles have agreed to resign, the City Council said Friday.Council members emerged from an hours-long closed session at midnight Friday and announced that they'd accepted the resignations of Chief Administrative Officer Robert Rizzo, Assistant City Manager Angela Spaccia and Police Chief Randy Adams. Rizzo was the highest paid at $787,637 a year - nearly twice the pay of President Barack Obama - for overseeing one of the poorest towns in Los Angeles County. Spaccia makes $376,288 a year and Adams earns $457,000, 50 percent more than Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck. Sort of a microcosm how public officials milk the system for HUGE amounts of money. Usually they are not so blatant and it goes out in contracts to their buddies, like Bush and Cheney, with their oil and defense industry pals.

but it's even sweeter at a time like this. I began reading 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' a couple of days ago, (thanks, Laura), and have gotten totally wrapped up in it. It starts out kinda slow, cuz it takes place in Sweden, and has lots of references to the country and culture. Took a while to get into it, even though I am Swedish (duh, Olson). I have watched the best-seller lists for months and watched it move up to #1, so, naturally I was looking forward to reading it. Am about 2/3 finished, and am at the point where it is very hard to put it down, Hence, I am glad to be able to have the time to do what I want. Seems like I am on vacation, except for the ocean view. Will let you know how it goes, but at this point I am really enjoying how the author, Stieg Larsson, spins a tale. Good authors are hard to find, and it's good to know he has at least 2 more books out there. Bye for now, gotta finish preparing dinner (marinated chicken shish kebob and veggies) then g...

"Something Is Definitely Wrong Here," says Glenn Beck on Fox News : "This woman deserves her job back. ... How and why would you force someone's resignation if they were relating a story of a 24-year-old incident to make a point?" The answer is VERY obvious. People actually believed what YOUR network, FOXNews, put out there in it's edited form. It should help people to NOT make the same mistake in the future. Never mind, the sheep who get their news there couldn't care less about the truth.

for the legitimate news outlets, but FOXNews just ignores story of the black USDA employee who got fired, then rehired when the truth came out, after a typical 'hit-piece' of slimy journalism by the puppets of right-wing sleazemaster, Rupert Murdoch, on 'Faux' News. Sure, you can read dozens of anti-Obama stories, but not a word about the racially biased, carefully edited clip, played repeatedly by their "journalists", that caused the fracas. Fair and Balanced, my ass....

how the gulf oil leak is SO bad. The main damage has been how the gov't has shut down the area. The best example I have heard. as to the size of the event, 85 mil gallons, is that it is the size of an Olympic swimming pool, that is 8 miles long. Seems bad, BUT, when compared to the whole Gulf of Mexico, wouldn't even be a small pencil mark on the map. Get real. people. Look at the REAL problems we have. Wars and economic damage from the last administration. THAT'S what's gonna kill us, not some oil leak

FOXNews picked up on a right-wing blog story, and ran a severely edited version of a speech, where a black USDA official used an example, from 24 years ago, how she had wrongly, at first, denied a white farmer the full benefits he could have gotten, if he had been nicer to her. She then said, in the part edited out, that she saw this was wrong, contacted him and made it right. The farmer now credits her with saving his farm. BUT, this 'hit-piece' bullshit journalism that FOX is so famous for, scared her boss and he fired her, cuz the right-wing scaremongers were running with the (edited) story. Now, the jerks at FOX are blaming Obama, that's right, for firing her without grounds. Typically, Bill O'Reilly is leading the charge. Unbelievable that people actually get their news from this bunch of clowns, but they do.

like me, would you appreciate how FOXNews twisted the facts, edited the video, and 'did their thing', to get a black USDA employee fired, by putting their special 'slant' on the news. This WILL come out, BUT, in the meantime, it is SO typical of how FOX manipulates the news and their viewers. Shameful, but SO typical of FOX.

Ben Stein, who kept repeating "Ferris Beuhler?, Ferris Beuhler?", has lately become the darling of the right-wing Repubs, cuz he is consistently Pro-Repub and Anti-Dem. But recently, he has taken stupidity to a new level. Here's what Stein wrote: "The people who have been laid off and cannot find work are generally people with poor work habits and poor personalities." This elitist snob, with houses in Beverly Hills and Malibu, obviously doesn't have a clue, which means he fits in very well with his Repub crowd. C'mon Ben, you can be clueless, but don't be SO proud of it.

with Piper. Oh yeah, Carol and Laura were there, too. Piper and I walked around, with me holding her hands, then we'd go swing and sometimes we'd just lay and read books. We also played in the sandbox. An amazing lightning/thunder rainstorm moved through, while we sat on the deck at about 9000 feet, in the fragrant pine trees. The new 2nd floor deck is done, but no hot tub yet. Nate was with Casey and Chad, in Vegas, for a new dad 'getaway'. Hope he doesn't notice I got into his home brew. Oh well, that's what it's there, for. Anyway, I had a great day, and I hope Piper did too. Seemed like she was having fun, but, it's hard to tell for sure, cuz she's always smiling and laughing.

when I talk about my cousins, Vaughn and Elliott. Mary was (is?) probably the most beautiful (sorry, Carol) woman I have ever actually met, in my life. AND, she is my cousin. It was so much fun to go out in public, with her, and watch guys just stop and stare. She had the biggest green eyes, long blonde hair and the most amazing..... (never mind). I flew over to Hawaii and stayed with her, and her (not) husband, but father of her two boys, David Lema. David is the son of Champagne Tony Lema, former Ryder Cup Golf Team Captain, who was killed in a plane crash, at the top of his career. David lived on Mauna Kea, ( or was it Mauna Loa?), on the Big Island of Hawaii. He made his living hustling golf with the locals and tourists who thought they were good. ( Iwas inspired, to try something new). We played free golf (he was a local celeb) for 2 days and had a great time. My main memories are of a near hole-in-one I had, over the ocean, with a 6 iron, and a Spam/pineapple pizza we had one nig...

on my cousin Vaughn (earlier post), so I thought I'd do one for his brother Elliott, who is one of the main (international) litigators for Caterpillar Corp, and my cousin, who lives in Santa Monica. Last time I saw him, Kari, who was little at the time, fell into his hot tub, and he had to jump in to save her. Pretty cool guy, who has sure gotten old lookin'.

on the Blue Angels, cuz I thought my cousin was one of their pilots. He wasn't with the Angels, but flew a lot of tight formation jets, in air shows. I found this pic of him http://www.airportjournals.com/Photos/0806/X/0806020_10.jpg , and this info bite. Vaughn B. Olson is the Pilatus Demonstration Pilot and Chief Pilot for Western Aircraft Inc. based in Boise Idaho. Vaughn has been a pilot for 36 years. • Airline Transport Pilot • FAR Part 135 Check Airman • Naval Aviator • Former U.S.M.C. F-4 Fighter Pilot and Naval Air Advanced Training Command Instructor Pilot/Fighter Standardization Officer • International Council of Airshows, Airshow Certification Evaluator • Level 1 Statement of Aerobatic Competency: Solo Aerobatics, Air Combat Maneuvering, Formation Aerobatics, All High Performance Piston-Powered Aircraft • Letter of Authorization, All Types and Makes of High Performance Piston-Powered Aircraft, with Endorsing Authority • Former Confederate Air Force Fighter Check Pilot an...

it's pretty obvous what Matthew, the apostle who wrote that Jesus was born of a virgin, was doing. In all four gospels, Jesus provocatively rides into Jerusalem on a young donkey in fulfilment of the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” In three of the four accounts of the triumphal entry, Jesus rides a single donkey. Matthew, though, apparently misunderstands the prophecy and, rather absurdly, has Jesus ride two donkeys, at once, in another attempt to fulfill prophecy, (which he misread), with little regard for facts. (Matthew 21, 1-7, They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them , and set Him[ d ] on them .). Just as he put a very pregnant Mary on a 120 mile roundtrip on a donkey, and added the 'virgin birth' to the story, nothing was off-limits or too far-fetched. I D...

so I don't know if it's tue, but I read that Paul, the 'founder' of Christianity, author of the Gospel of John, and the most prolific writer of the New Testament, never referred to a virgin birth, in ANY of his writings. Neither did Mark, the first of the apostles to write a Gospel. Matthew was the first to add it to the story. Furthermore, they referred to Jesus as being of the lineage of David, to fulfill an Old Testament prophecy, BUT, the lineage is from Joseph, his father(?). Pretty interesting, I think, and doesn't make sense to me, but I'm just a logical, rational person, not a Bible scholar. Am I just 'misinformed'?

and their ilk, we all know that global warming is a lie and a liberal plot, cuz them damn Libs hate business and America, BUT-- "June Hottest Month Ever – Last month was the hottest June ever recorded on Earth, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday, amid global climate warming worries. The combined global land and ocean surface temperature data also found the January-June and April-June periods were the warmest on record, according to NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center, which based its findings on measurements that go back as far as 1880." This data has obviously been faked by those damn tree-huggers, BUT, Rush and O'Reilly will keep us from being duped. Keep up the good work, guys. There's a bunch of 'jeniuses' out there who depend on your wisdom.

you enjoy living inside a sauna. Just returned from visiting the folks, in Kearney. They are doing very well considering they are in their late 80's. I AM gonna insist they get a wheelchair lift installed next to the front porch. It is just too scary to watch mom try to navigate the steps with her walker. Dad wouldn't be much help, but I'm sure he'd try, if she started to fall. Set up the phone answering machine with a real msg, instead of, 'what do I do next', that has been on it for about a year. Also explained how to operate the DVD player, and wrote it all down, so they can actually watch the DVD's they have. Sat through the TV volume set on 'earsplitting', which is how they watch their FOXNews, and held on, white-knuckled, (Carol got car-sick), as my father drove his Buick, All in all a pretty good trip, but I don't realize how I survived that oppressive heat/humidity in my youth. Didn't know any better then, I guess, and am now spoiled ...

are much different, and much worse, than the the offical gov't numbers. And this doesn't even count the 'underemployed' who have had hours and salaries cut back and those who are working at a job that pays much less than the one they used to have "Our numbers are always very accurate, so I was surprised at the discrepancy with the government's numbers," says Mayur, whose firm owns the TIPP polling unit, a polling partner for Investors' Business Daily and Christian Science Monitor. After all, the headline number shows the U.S. unemployment rate today is 9.5% , with a total of 14.6 million jobless people. However, Mayur's polls continued to find much worse figures. The June poll turned up 27.8% of households with at least one member who's unemployed and looking for a job, while the latest poll conducted in the second week of July showed 28.6% in that situation. That translates to an unemployment rate of over 22%, says Mayur, who has started quest...

this pic of a hard core Repub, who has decided that now is the time to become fiscally responsible. After years of budget busting, starting wars without funding them, and causing the worst unemploment, and financial crisis in memory, they decide that they are now gonna fight against anything that the Obama admin might do to fix the mess they made. Their view of the world, as pictured here, explains how they can look at 8 years of Repub rule, and blame the mess on the Dems. Absolutely unbelievable, but that's who they are, and what they do....

see how this gulf oil spill is taking over the national media, when the BIG news, is that our economy is crashing. Easy to see, BUT, let's look at the big picture. Our economy is DYING, in so many ways, BUT, the news is about some tar balls on a beach most of us will never visit. The REAL news? We're in BIG trouble. Sorry to be the messenger, in case you ain't paying attention. Let's look back on this, a year from now, and see how much we care about the 'tar balls'. Not even close, in my opinion. The Bush/Repub disaster is the BIG news, that will impact us for a LONG time...

why I continually try to educate the public about GW Bush. It's because I am reminded of his 'reign of error' EVERY DAY, as I see the unemployment #'s, people losing their homes, $50 for a tank of gas and the US gradually losing it's position as the unprecedented leader of the world. I see the Repubs try to blame the deficit on the Dems, after they trashed the economy and hear the 'drill baby drill' party say the oil leak in the gulf is Obama's Katrina, after they changed the rules so Big Oil profits could be even more obscene. After the Bush re-election in 2004 I will never again underestimate the gullibility/ignorance of the American people, although he did finally come down to a 22% approval rating, and that 1 in 5 would support life in prison for jaywalking if it were an official Repub position. The only question that remains, is 'has this clueless clown from Texas taken down a large enough part of the world economic system to plunge us into a re...

within the 'let's ALWAYS have at least one war going' Repub party and those who want to blame the Afghan war, which cannot be won, on Obama. No logical way to have it both ways, but they ARE trying, by saying it is his war of choice, after they started and supported it. A tough choice for the war mongers who are against EVERYTHING Obama does, when he supports the war they started. What a dilemma for the obstructionist party. Pretty funny, I think...

but Paul Goydos, quite a character, birdied every hole but one, on the back 9 of the John Deere Classic, after 4 birdies on the front 9, (with NO bogies), to become the 4th player in PGA history to shoot a score in the 50's. Only a dedicated golfer, like myself, could truly appreciate what an amazing feat this is. Wow!

some claims and cost some serious $$$? Not to say they don't deserve it, but now any veteran that was sent to W's 'oops, bad info' war, can claim post traumatic stress syndrome, and start receiving regular checks, which we all need after W wrecked the economy. Under the new rule, which applies to veterans of all wars, the department will grant compensation to those with P.T.S.D. if they can simply show that they served in a war zone and in a job consistent with the events that they say caused their conditions. They would not have to prove, for instance, that they came under fire, served in a front-line unit or saw a friend killed. George W Bush. The gift that keeps on giving.

as we had the kids and neighbors, Dave and Rhonda, over. I spent hours, literally, making marinades, cutting meat and sticking it onto skewers to BBQ. Was really good, but next time we have that many people will probably do something simpler. Nate provided 'Piper Ale', some fantastic home brew, and a wonderful time was had by all, esp me as I got more playtime with Piper. What a doll. The most excitement was when Zee, the neighbor's springer, was exploring our bedroom and Bailey caught him, on HER turf. From what I could tell, he tried to hightail it outta there, but confused the mirrored sliding closet doors with the doorway, and tried to go through, at full speed. Sounded like a gunshot, followed by hissing and yelping. Coulda been worse as neither of them left a blood trail. About the time the local fireworks were s'posed to start, the temps fell into the low 50's and it started to pour. All in all, a good, memorable 4th o' July.

economist Paul Krugman, had an article, this morning, about the Repubs, all of a sudden developing fiscal austerity, after years of budget busting, with their clueless cowboy in charge. The answer is that we’re facing a coalition of the heartless, the clueless and the confused. Nothing can be done about the first group, and probably not much about the second. But maybe it’s possible to clear up some of the confusion. By the heartless, I mean Republicans who have made the cynical calculation that blocking anything President Obama tries to do — including, or perhaps especially, anything that might alleviate the nation’s economic pain — improves their chances in the midterm elections. Don’t pretend to be shocked: you know they’re out there, and make up a large share of the G.O.P. caucus. They have their plan and they're sticking to it. Wreck the economy. even more, and they can maybe oust the Dems and get back in charge, where they totally screwed up last time. They think no one has a...

had a good one, last night. He said the 4th of July is the time when Americans can engage in two of their favorites. Alcohol and explosives. Be careful out there....

and a hard place, is where Obama finds himself, when speaking of the crashing economy, he inherited from Bush. If he says it is doing better, he hurts his credibility, BUT, if he admits it is getting worse, he helps to push it further over the edge, as he needs to keep people spending, at all costs. Can't imagine why he wanted the job in the first place. No way he coulda known, though, what a mess the Repubs would make of things. He's trying, but I'm afraid it's too late to fix W's mess, that we're gonna live with, for a LONG time.

Not surprising that Obama handily beat Bush, who ranked near the bottom, when rated by this prestigious, non-partisan group, BUT, the amazing thing is that this article came from FOXNews. Somebody screwed up and is gonna get in BIG trouble. Better read it fast, things like this have a way of disappearing. My favorite part was; Former President George W. Bush entered the survey as number 23 back in 2002. But one year after leaving office, he’s in the bottom five at number 39. He fared poorly in communication, intelligence, handling the economy and foreign policy accomplishments. "He just had a terrible time,” says Lonnstrom. “When he left office, the economy was in shambles, and he had two wars going on.” http://whitehouse.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/07/02/survey-obama-ranked-15th-best-president-bush-39th/?test=latestnews Somebody's head is gonna roll, at FOX. They don't admit stuff like this.

even for the Repubs. At a Republican Party fundraiser in Connecticut on Thursday, Michael Steele declared that the war in Afghanistan "was a war of Obama's choosing" that America had not "actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in," What? Bush's War, in response to an attack by 15 Arabs, followed by an attack on Iraq, who had NOTHING to do with 9-11, is now being blamed on Obama, by the Chairman of the Republican National Committee. These clowns just never cease to amaze me. How can anyone take them seriously?

we (Ted and Kari and Carol and I) were waiting, at Carraba's, near Vista Hospital, to hear when my granddaughter would officially come into this world. I think we were on our 2nd bottle of Chianti, after an excellent dinner, when we finally got the news. She's here and everyone's doing well, (as could be expected after a C-section). Great news, that I will never forget. Here we are, one year later, that has gone SO fast, but I wasn't the one changing diapers and losing sleep. We celebrate her b-day on Saturday, then they all come here on Sunday, for the 4th. Since she probably doesn't read my blog, I can say, without ruining the surprise, that I got her a sandbox (plastic turtle) with sand and a bucket w/scoop. Am looking forward to my next smile and hug from her. What a beautiful little sweetheart, and Nate and Laura are such great parents. I gotta say I sure like being a grampa. Yup, life is good...

that has gotten a lot of national attention, Tim Masters was recently released from prison, after serving nearly 10 years, when DNA evidence proved he was wrongly convicted. His conviction was based, primarily, upon 'evidence' produced by Lt. Jim Broderick, which was later shown to be falsified. Not only did he make stuff up, but he withheld evidence that would have shown Masters to be not guilty. Not all that surprising in itself, but, what is different, this time, is that the cop has been indicted on 8 counts of perjury. Broderick, when speaking about the case earlier, cried when describing his deep religious faith and said, 'God has had a role in helping me crack cases'. As Masters' attorney said, "That a cop lied isn't unusual. What's unique is that they finally charged a cop for doing it." Some things are changing in Colorado, as just this week 3 Denver cops were fired for beating the crap out of a 17 year-old then lying about it, and another ...