Twilight – The Movie

Have you noticed that every teenager (or almost every teenager) is reading the novel "Twilight?" by Stephanie Meyer. My niece was reading it, and she got my daughter hooked on it. My daughter is not an avid reader, but she loved this book, and she wanted to finish it by the time the movie came out.

I thought I would go with my daughter to see the movie. I went with my wife and my daughter, and to tell the truth I wasn't expecting much. My daughter told me that the book was about a girl who falls in love with a vampire. Now, that sounds interesting - Not! But I decided it would be a good time to spend with my daughter since she is getting older, and I want to spend as much time as I can with her. I am not really into vampire movies although I do like the Showtime series True Blood. So – what did I think of the movie….

Awsome! This is a great family movie. It centers on an attractive teenage girl, (Kristen Stewart), Bella Swan who moves to Phoenix high School to live with her father in Forks, Washington. Phoenix high School is set in a mountainous region in the woods where days of rain and overcast are common. This is the perfect setting for an eerie story of romance and vampires. Meyers writes about the setting on her webpage,

"For my setting, I knew I needed someplace ridiculously rainy. I turned to Google, as I do for all my research needs, and looked for the place with the most rainfall in the U.S. This turned out to be the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. I pulled up maps of the area and studied them, looking for something small, out of the way, surrounded by forest... And there, right where I wanted it to be, was a tiny town called "Forks. It couldn't have been more perfect if I had named it myself. I did a Google image search on the area, and if the name hadn't sold me, the gorgeous photographs would have done the trick."

There is a vulnerability to Bella's character, and the moviegoer instantly is drawn to her. Edward Caller, (Robert Pattison), the vampire is mysterious and keeps to himself, but Bella is immediately attracted to him. What makes the love story so enticing is that the chemistry between the two is so believable. It doesn't matter that Edward has been a teenager for 100 years and several graduation tassels hang on his wall (since he never grows older.) It doesn't matter that Edward has put Bella's life in jeopardy by introducing her to the vampire world. It doesn't matter that Edward is not really alive and he thirsts for Bella's blood, the love between Edward and Bella is so intense that at one point Bella is willing to have Edward suck her blood so Bella could be a vampire too. Edward resists the temptation.

This is a must see movie, and I would give it at least three stars.

 

The Bush Pardons – who is missing?

The following are the Bush Pardons?

• —Leslie Owen Collier of Charleston, Mo., who pleaded guilty in 1995 to unlawfully killing three bald eagles in southeast Missouri. He improperly used pesticide in hamburger meat to kill coyotes, but ended up killing many other animals, including the bald eagles. Collier, who was convicted for unauthorized use of a pesticide and violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, was sentenced Feb. 2, 1996, in the Eastern District of Missouri.
  
• —Milton Kirk Cordes of Rapid City, S.D. Cordes was convicted of conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act, which prohibits importation into the country of wildlife taken in violation of conservation laws.
  
• —Richard Culpepper of Mahomet, Ill., who was convicted of making false statements to the federal government.
  
• —Brenda Jean Dolenz-Helmer of Fort Worth, Texas, convicted of concealing knowledge of a crime. Dolenz-Helmer, the daughter of a Dallas doctor accused of medical insurance fraud, was convicted in connection with the doctor's case. She was sentenced Dec. 31, 1998, in the Northern District of Texas to four year's probation with the special condition of 600 hours of community service and a $10,000 fine.
  
• —Andrew Foster Harley of Falls Church, Va. Harley was convicted of wrongful use and distribution of marijuana and cocaine during a general court martial at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.
  
• —Obie Gene Helton of Rossville, Ga., whose offense was unauthorized acquisition of food stamps.
  
• —Carey C. Hice Sr. of Travelers Rest, S.C., who was convicted of income tax evasion.
  
• —Geneva Yvonne Hogg of Jacksonville, Fla., convicted of bank embezzlement.
  
• —William Hoyle McCright Jr. of Midland, Texas, who was convicted of bank fraud.
  
• —Paul Julian McCurdy of Sulphur, Okla., who was sentenced for misapplication of bank funds.
  

—Robert Earl Mohon Jr. of Grant, Ala., who was convicted of conspiracy to distribute marijuana.

Daniel Figh Pue III of Conroe, Texas, convicted of illegal treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous waste without a permit. Ronald Alan Mohrhoff of Los Angeles, who was convicted for unlawful use of a telephone in a narcotics felony. —Orion Lynn Vick of White Hall, Ark., who was convicted of aiding and abetting the theft of government property

What about Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean? Jailed for trying to protect our borders and now used as political pawns in the immigration debate.

Stock bounce because of Treasury Secretary

For days I have been saying there are two things Obama can do right away to give some stability to the market. Of course any bounce in the market would most likely be ephemeral, but if Obama named a treasury secretary the market liked, you would see a bounce, and if he said he was not going to raise taxes, you would see even a bigger bounce. Well, he hasn't done number two yet, but he has done number one and the market seemed to like it.

Today the stock market went up 494 points because of the nomination of Timothy Geithner as treasury secretary. This is a good pick - read bloggingstocks.com Memo to Obama

Obama is planning the cap and trade scheme for the Global Warming fraud, (you know that scheme they are doing in Europe, and it has not worked) which is a tax on energy, but he can still decide not to tax capital gains and dividends or his so-called wealthy.

Now, Obama, come out and say "No New taxes."

AOL goes into cyber oblivion

I have to admit, I am one of the holdouts of AOL, one of the last Mohicans – there can't be many of us left. I have stayed with AOL mainly because it's free, and it was where I had my websites. But as of the end of October, the blogs and websites became no more. If you click on a website you get this message members.aol.com. People were leaving AOL in droves. AOL was not keeping up with the times; there was no traffic. AOL once an Internet powerhouse is now a former shell of itself.

December 31^st, they will no longer host pictures. It is only a matter of time before the company stops email, and stops updating their browser.

A worthwhile charity

A worthwhile charity to help the wounded coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan

The following is from their website:

News Facts
Within the United States there are over one and a half million service members that have served in military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Over thirty thousand have been physically wounded, but many more have experienced less visible, psychological wounds. Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder have emerged as signature injuries of these conflicts, with recent reports suggesting an increase in rates of suicide, alcohol and drug abuse, homelessness, and domestic violence among returning service members and veterans.

These traumatic affects of conflict, left unaddressed, could have far-reaching negative consequences for the individuals affected, their families, and our country. Survivor Corps’ work in some of the most conflict affected countries in the world has shown community reintegration to be the key factor in those that overcome their traumatic experiences, and those that are consumed by them.

YOU CAN HELP! visit the site http://survivorcorps.org/NetCommunity/returningtroops/

Wikipedia and Spanish 101

Okay you students of Spanish. Your first assignment is to translate the title "Wikipedia – the free dictionary". No cheating!

You are given two choices

1. Wikipedia – el diccionario libre
   
2. Wikipedia – el diccionario gratis
   

You choose #2 – "BING BING ZAP" You are right, but that is not what the translators of Wikipedia did. They chose #1 They are calling it Wikipedia – el diccionario libre

So what is the difference between Libre and Gratis. They both mean free. When we say Wikipedia – the free dictionary, we are referring to something with no monetary value, free of charge. In other words, it doesn't cost anything to use Wikipedia That is the definition for gratis. El libro no cuesta nada, es gratis. The book doesn't cost anything, it is free.

Libre, on the other hand, is the opposite of being a slave, or a free people. Or, you are free to do what you want – the act of not being constrained. This is certainly not the meaning of "free" in Wikipedia – the free dictionary

So – How much would you trust a dictionary when they can't even translate the title correctly?

60 Minutes – The Obama Interview

Well, leave it to Steve Kroft of 60 minutes to give the most uninteresting and uninspiring interview of President Elect Barack Obama since the election campaign. Not much new was said. We know Barack is going to withdraw the troops from Iraq – Is Iran salivating? We know by executive order he will be closing Guantanamo –will the prisoners be returned to the battlefield to kill more Americans? Will Barack continue his plans to raise taxes in this economy to kill an already faltering economy? He says he wants to reset the confidence in the financial markets – not raising taxes would help. And what about the secret meetings his campaign team was having with Hamas before he was elected? We didn't learn much except about his stupid dog, and who cares? And then there was a question about Barack and a college playoff, and again who cares? If the Interview were any mushier, I think Barack and Steve would have kissed each other.

Although President Elect Obama didn't mention it, he will most likely reinstate the executive order to prohibit offshore oil drilling, the one thing that could really give this economy a boost. He did say now is the time to break our addiction from foreign oil even when the price at the pump is down. He is right, but if he signs the executive order about drilling offshore, he is not serious about it.

President Elect Obama was cognizant of the fact that a time of transition was a time of peril, because our enemies look as this time as the easiest time for an attack. Of course, I think any time during the Obama presidency will be an easy time for attack.

He wants to bailout the auto industry (unions), but at least he said he doesn't want to give them a blank check. He wants to make sure the money will sustain them and make them a viable company. How about the Volt? We shall see if his plan works.

President Elect Obama said he liked the way FDR tinkered and experimented with the economy. It was because of this experimentation of FDR that made the depression so long and so deep (ten years) eventually causing a second depression within a depression in 1937. FDR's policies made the depression last long, and not until we removed the entire male labor force and put them in World War 2 did we come out of the depression. Europe came out of the depression years before we did. FDR's fireside chats were a way to communicate to the American people, and it helped put them at ease, Obama can do the same.

President Elect Barack Obama did say he was going to explain what he was doing and why. This was President Bush's greatest fault – a lack of communication. Barack Obama has communication skills, so that will be his greatest asset.

I hope President Elect Obama is successful, but the interview did not instill hope. It only made me more nervous. I am sure the investor class is feeling the same.

 

 

 

Fraud in Nicaragua – Continuing Jimmy Carter’s legacy

Daniel Ortega came to power as a direct result of the Carter administration's funding of the Sandinistas during the Sandinista Revolution that ended 1979 against the dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle. Somoza was an ally of the United States, but fragmented coalitions gained strength against the regime. President Carter thought it was a good idea to pull the U.S. government's aid from Somoza and help the Marxists-Leninists led by Daniel Ortega. Money from the U.S. coffers flowed in to supply the Sandinistas with the needed arms. As a result, in 1979, the Sandinistas entered Managua, and Somoza fled the country. Nicaragua quickly aligned itself with Castro's Cuba and Communist Russia. A former friend of the United States was now a bitter enemy. The stanza in the Sandinista hymn, says it all, "luchamos contra el yanqui el enemigo de la humanidad", "We fight against the Yankee the enemy of humanity".

In 1990, Ortega from pressure by the outside community held free elections for the presidency which he lost to Violeta Barrios de Chamorro. Ortega ran again twice to regain the presidency but lost both times. He then devised a scheme with former president Arnoldo Aleman (who had been indicted on corruption charges) to split the liberal party (the opposition party). He granted Aleman immunity from further prosecution. In 1996 and 2001, Ortega lost by about a two-thirds of the vote to Arnoldo Aleman and Enrique Bolanos respectively. With backroom deals, he was able to split the vote and win by almost the same percentage he lost the prior elections, 37%. Ortega was able to regain the presidency in 2006.

Ortega began to mollify his rhetoric on his Marxist-Leninist ideology in favor of a more moderate form of socialism. Ortega, however, never changed his radical Marxist ideology. Two congressmen Ron Klein and Connie Mack, both from Florida declared that Iran, Nicaragua and Venezuela are, "a Trio of Tyrants." This latest display of the FSLN's tactics in trying to steal the election is just more of the same for Daniel Ortega.

With municipal elections in the balance, Ortega is trying to hold on to power as he allies himself with Hugo Chavez. He effectively eliminated two opposition parties before the Municipal elections, and he did not allow outside observers to monitor the elections. Of course, there is a reason for this – Ortega is trying to steal the election.

The prize of course is Managua where the majority of Nicaraguans live. The Sandinistas have won Managua for the past eight years, but the opposition party's candidate Eduardo Montealegre was ahead of the Sandinista candidate and former boxer Alexis Arguello.

The following has been reported in the Municipal elections of November 9^th

1. Late openings of voting centers
   
2. Harassment of PLC, (opposition party) poll watchers
   
3. Utilization of concocted methods to eliminate votes of the PLC
   
4. Mobilization of mobs to intimidate voters
   
5. Intimidation and physical aggressions on PLC voters
   
6. Taking of voting centers by the CPC (Ortega's People's Power Council - Highest authority in Nicaragua)
   
7. Blocking of poll watchers of the PLC
   
8. Premature closings of voting centers
   
9. Acts of violence in various polling centers.
   

Fraud reigns supreme in Nicaragua

Karel Fired from KGO

The annoying far-left gay activist loon Karel, (Charles Karel Bouley) was finally fired from KGO when he said the following on Nov 1 in reference to Joe the Plumber, "KAREL: F--- G-- damn Joe the G-- damn m-----f---ing Plumber. I want m-----f---ing Joe the Plumber dead" Of course, he didn't know the mic was on, but that was no excuse.

And of course, in typical far-left fashion, Karel refuses to take the blame when he writes on his blog

audio

And with a two minute phone call and one paragraph letter I have been fired from KGO. I’m told the engineer that made the mistake has been as well. So, we’ll need to start doing podcasting and such until a new station is found. So check back for details. Yes, this is wrong. It is my responsibility but not my fault. I do my show remotely and have no on/off for my microphone. The engineer had two ways of stopping this, and had he not been in the bathroom he may have. Should I have gone off like this in my home studio? No, in a perfect world we realize all microphones are live, even if for 15 years they haven’t been. But as Joe Scarborough drops the Fbomb (sic) and lives, as many other KGO host have and survived on air...one wonders if there’s more. Who can say. But whatever the case, the final word is in and I’m out.

When Tony Snow was dying of cancer, Karel made the following comments:

"I hear about Tony Snow and say to myself, well, stand up every day, lie to the American people at the behest of your dictator-esque boss and well, how could a cancer not grow in you

.

He was about as far left as the fired Bernie Ward . His anedotes about his lover Andrew who died of AIDS became quite tiresome too.

Karel would rant and rant about all the stuff far-left loons love to rant about.

Calling for the death of Joe the Plumber? Can't expect less from the far-left.

But KGO at least had the foresight to get rid of him. He will not be missed.

Fascists, Brownshirts and Gay Activists or the Aftermath of Proposition 8

Once upon a time there was a proposition to define marriage as between a man and a woman in the beautiful coastal state of California. California overwhelming voted to keep marriage between a man and a woman. But Fascism took hold in California, and the California Supreme Court decided to circumvent the will of the people, and the ruling to keep marriage between a man and a woman was torn asunder in favor of gay marriage. All seemed to be well in fairyland, San Francisco. Gay couples kissed in the jubilant euphoria they now felt, and they basked in their new found freedom.

Meanwhile, back in reality land, the evil trolls were planning the demise of gay marriage, and concocting a plot with the African-American community to vote once again to make marriage between a man and a woman the law of the land. They put on the November ballot proposition 8 to once again let the people decide. Gay activists before the election trolled the streets in search of "Yes on Proposition 8" signs so they could tear them down and intimidate the people who were openly for the proposition. But the people rose up against these strong arm tactics. Power to the people!

The people decide. November the 4^th- Proposition 8 passes. Once again, marriage is saved and it is defined as between a man and a woman. 70% of the African-American community voted in favor of this proposition. The wicked witch of the West Nancy Pelosi derides the people who voted for proposition 8 when she concludes that the people are just too dumb to understand the proposition, "I think people did not fully understand the initiative….Unfortunately, I think people thought they were making a statement about what their view of same-sex marriage was."
I wonder if she thought this when the African-American community overwhelmingly voted for Barack Obama.

In a macabre turn of events, gay activists decided once again the people's vote was not good enough. In a manner reminiscent of Hitler's brownshirts, Gay activists begin to picket in front of churches like Rick Warren's Saddleback church, Mormon churches and others. Not sure what these Gay brownshirts expected. Do they expect the churches to all of sudden start preaching against their faith and the teachings of Christ? It is quite astounding when you think of it.

As Gay gremlins in the nefarious ACLU and other evil organizations work feverishly to overturn proposition 8, Gay activists resort to their tried-and-true fascist tactics like stomping on a cross held by an elderly lady (in the video above), and by posting a blacklist to announce who donated to pass proposition 8 (think McCarthyism). Individuals who donated 83 dollars or more are now subject to these tactics of these fascist brownshirts. One individual proponent was forced to resign his job. Will supporters of proposition 8 be intimidated? One has to wonder why these gay activists have not picketed the African-American community. Would it be politically incorrect to do so?

So, the question remains. Will fascism once again reign in California, and the proposition be willy-nilly overturned by activist judges in the state supreme court? Let's hope the will of the people win out.