Month: November 2014

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Our Daily Thread 11-5-14

Good Morning!

A threefer. 🙂

Here’s a closer view of a couple of them.

disney 2014 581disney 2014 583

On this day in 1895 George B. Selden received the first U.S. patent for an automobile. He sold the rights for $200,000 four years later. 

In 1946 John F. Kennedy was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives at the age of 29. 

In 1963 archaeologists found the remains of a Viking settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland. 

And in 1990 Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the Kach movement, was shot to death after a speech at a New York Hotel. His assassin, Egyptian El Sayyid, was later convicted of the murder and was sentenced to life in prison for his part in the World Trade Center bombing. 

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Quote of the Day

“Until we meet again, may the good Lord take a liking to you.”

Roy Rogers

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 Today is Roy Rogers’ birthday.

Today is also Art Garfunkel’s.

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Anyone have a QoD?

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Prayer Requests 11-5-14

Today is Wednesday, so please remember to pray for the Gambia.

Anyone else have something to share?

Psalm 123

¹Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.

2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us.

3 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt.

4 Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.

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News/Politics 11-5-14

What’s interesting in the news today?

1. Ride the Wave.

From TheAP  ” Riding a powerful wave of voter discontent, resurgent Republicans captured control of the Senate and tightened their grip on the House Tuesday night in elections certain to complicate President Barack Obama’s final two years in office.

Republican Mitch McConnell led the way to a new Senate majority, dispatching Democratic challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky after a $78 million campaign of unrelieved negativity. Voters are “hungry for new leadership. They want a reason to be hopeful,” said the man now in line to become majority leader and set the Senate agenda.

Two-term incumbent Mark Pryor of Arkansas was the first Democrat to fall, defeated by freshman Rep. Tom Cotton. Sen. Mark Udall of Colorado was next, defeated by Rep. Cory Gardner. Sen. Kay Hagan also lost, in North Carolina, to Thom Tillis, the speaker of the state House.

Republicans also picked up seats in Iowa, West Virginia, South Dakota and Montana, all states where Democrats retired. They had needed a net gain of six seats to end a Democratic majority in place since 2006.

In the House, with dozens of races uncalled, Republicans had picked up 11 seats that had been in Democratic hands, and given up only one.”

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2. I’m kind of glad she won because she has some explaining to do.

From FoxNews  “Democratic New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen was looped in on a plan with Lois Lerner and President Barack Obama’s political appointee at the IRS to lead a program of harassment against conservative nonprofit groups during the 2012 election, according to letters exclusively obtained by The Daily Caller.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) did not want to publicly release 2012 correspondences exchanged between the IRS and Jeanne Shaheen at her personal Washington office: the agency delayed releasing the information to a major conservative super PAC multiple times, even threatening to see the super PAC in court, according to emails.

But the letter in question comes out now, on the eve of Jeanne Shaheen’s bid for re-election to the United States Senate.

“The IRS is aware of the current public interest in this issue,” IRS chief counsel William J. Wilkins, a White House visitor described by insiders as “The President’s Man at the IRS,” personally wrote in a hand-stamped memo to “Senator Shaheen” on official Department of the Treasury letterhead on April 25, 2012.”

This proves that it was a lie that this was just rogue agents in Cincinnati. Democrats and the White House orchestrated it.

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3. And in other election eve/night news dumps….

From NationalReview  “Justice Department officials provided House investigators with thousands of documents related to Operation Fast and Furious that President Obama had previously claimed were exempt from congressional review.

In an “election eve dump,” as House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman Darrell Issa (R., Calif.) put it, DOJ handed over 64,280 pages of documents, a release that is still only a partial fulfillment of the committee’s request.

“This production is nonetheless a victory for the legislative branch, a victory for transparency, and a victory for efforts to check Executive Branch power,” Issa said of the release.”

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4. Now maybe some of those House passed bills will see the light of day in the Senate. Harry being bounced is an extra bonus.

From Politico  “Chuck Todd seems to believe that Harry Reid’s days as the top Senate Democrat are through.

“I don’t think — I will be surprised if Democrats keep Harry Reid,” Todd, the moderator of NBC’s “Meet The Press,” said late Tuesday night. “I think this is going to be an open question inside the Senate Democratic Caucus.”

Todd’s remark, made during a late night NBC News livestream, was among the boldest calls made by a member of the media on Tuesday, and certainly the most dire for the current Majority Leader. It’s not an unfair projection, either. As Nevada’s Jon Ralson recently reported, Reid’s “vaunted political machine” failed to drive Democrats to the polls this year, and Reid’s poor Senate stewardship has “induced senators and candidates he has helped to muse openly about not voting for him as leader.”

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Our Daily Thread 11-4-14

Good Morning!

It’s Election Day! 🙂

Now go vote.

The header photo is the bald eagle I saw in Florida. I got another shot as he flew over, but it was from behind and you can’t see his head at all. I saw the general area of where he’d landed on an island, but couldn’t find him. Then he came up off the ground and into the tree. I wasn’t quick enough to get him. He was way off, so I just guessed where I thought he went, zoomed all the way, and shot. I didn’t even know I had him until we got home. I love surprises. 🙂

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On this day in 1842 Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd in Springfield, IL. 

In 1952 the National Security Agency (NSA) was established. 

In 1970 former King Peter II of Yugoslavia died in Denver, CO. He was the first European king or queen to die and to be buried in the U.S.

And in 1979 Iranian militants seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took 63 Americans hostage (90 total hostages).

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Quote of the Day

“Our job is only to hold up the mirror – to tell and show the public what has happened.”

Walter Cronkite

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 Today is Carl Tausig’s birthday.

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Anyone have a QoD?

Did ya’ vote yet?

 

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Prayer Requests 11-4-14

Anyone have a request or a praise to share?

Psalm 122

¹I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.

2 Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.

3 Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together:

4 Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord.

5 For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David.

6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.

7 Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces.

8 For my brethren and companions’ sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.

9 Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good.

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News/Politics 11-4-14

What’s interesting in the news today?

The obvious choice is election related news. Since it’s election day, let’s try an Election Day Open Thread. As the day goes on, feel free to post stories of races in your area, as well as update us on potential shenanigans like those seen in early voting. Have fun. 🙂

Here’s 2 from me to start things off.

1. I think both sides have some valid points, but it doesn’t feel right to me personally. The potential for abuses is great, and it’s not what they should be focusing on.

But on the other hand why shouldn’t they have the same free speech rights as everyone else? And let’s face it, this has been going on in certain churches since the 60’s anyway, and the IRS leaves them alone. But still…

From Politico  “A record number of rogue Christian pastors are endorsing candidates from the pulpit this election cycle, using Sunday sermons to defiantly flout tax rules.

Their message to the IRS: Sue me.

But the tax agency is doing anything but. Although the IRS was sued itself for not enforcing the law and admitted about 100 churches may be breaking the rules, the pastors and their critics alike say the agency is looking the other way. The agency refuses to say if it is acting.

At the same time, the number of pastors endorsing candidates in what they call Pulpit Freedom Sunday jumped from 33 people in 2008 to more than 1,600 this year, according to organizers, Alliance Defending Freedom. And this year, they’ve stepped up their drive, telling pastors to back candidates any Sunday up until the election, not just one Sunday as in past years.”

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2. Nope. No need for ID here….. 🙄

From Project Veritas Action

It’s that easy.

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Our Daily Thread 11+3=14

Good Morning!

Today’s photos are from Cheryl.

Turkey Run Cherylcheryl turkey run 3

On this day in 1507 Leonardo DaVinci was commissioned by the husband of Lisa Gherardini to paint her. The work is known as the Mona Lisa. 

In 1796 John Adams was elected the 2nd U.S. President. 

In 1900 the first automobile show in the United States opened at New York’s Madison Square Garden. 

And in 1941 U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Grew warned that the Japanese may be planning a sudden attack on the U.S. 

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Quote of the Day

“Loveliest of lovely things are they on earth that soonest pass away. The rose that lives its little hour is prized beyond the sculptured flower.”

William C. Bryant

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 Today is Vincenzo Bellini’s birthday.

And this song was released today in 1957.

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Anyone have a QoD?

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Prayer Requests 11-3-14

Anyone have a request or praise they’d like to share?

Psalm 121

¹I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.

6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

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News/Politics 11-3-14

What’s interesting in the news today?

1. Let’s hope they’re accurate.

From FoxNews  “Republican Senate candidates are pulling away in the final days of key races, according to polls released this weekend.

Republicans are either leading in Georgia, Kentucky and Louisiana or will likely win runoff elections, according to a NBC/Marist poll released Sunday.

In addition, the Republican nominee in Iowa, Joni Ernst, now has a 7-point lead over Democratic challenger Rep. Bruce Braley, according to a Des Moines Register poll released Saturday.

Most polls have shown until now that the four races have essentially been deadlocked in the closing weeks.”

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2. The govt. made 20 billion in purchases this year that it’s allowed to keep secret from taxpayers.

From NBC/Washington  “The federal government has spent at least $20 billion in taxpayer money this year on items and services that it is permitted to keep secret from the public, according to an investigation by the News4 I-Team.

The purchases, known among federal employees as “micropurchases,” are made by some of the thousands of agency employees who are issued taxpayer-funded purchase cards. The purchases, in most cases, remain confidential and are not publicly disclosed by the agencies. A sampling of those purchases, obtained by the I-Team via the Freedom of Information Act, reveals at least one agency used those cards to buy $30,000 in Starbucks Coffee drinks and products in one year without having to disclose or detail the purchases to the public.

A series of other recent purchases, reviewed by internal government auditors, include wasteful and inappropriate purchases by government employees — including a gym membership and JC Penney clothing — that were not detected or stopped until after the purchase was completed.

The I-Team’s findings have been the subject of a Congressional hearing and created scrutiny from taxpayer watchdogs for the Department of Homeland Security, which made the Starbucks purchases and declines to publicly detail them.”

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3. Here’s more waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer money.

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4. Not shocking to anyone who’s been connecting the dots.

From TheDailyCaller  “The deadly EV-D68 enterovirus epidemic, which struck thousands of kids this fall, was likely propelled through America by President Barack Obama’s decision to allow tens of thousands of Central Americans across the Texas border, according to a growing body of genetic and statistical evidence.

The evidence includes admissions from top health officials that the epidemic included multiple strains of the virus, and that it appeared simultaneously in multiple independent locations.

The question can be settled if federal researchers study the genetic fingerprint of the EV-D68 viruses that first hit kids in Colorado, Missouri and Illinois to see if they are close relatives to the EV-D68 viruses found in Central America.”

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5. This is how not to do it. Let people with no military experience micromanage military decisions.

From TheDailyBeast  “Top military leaders in the Pentagon and in the field are growing increasingly frustrated by the tight constraints the White House has placed on the plans to fight ISIS and train a new Syrian rebel army.

As the American-led battle against ISIS stretches into its fourth month, the generals and Pentagon officials leading the air campaign and preparing to train Syrian rebels are working under strict White House orders to keep the war contained within policy limits. The National Security Council has given precise instructions on which rebels can be engaged, who can be trained, and what exactly those fighters will do when they return to Syria. Most of the rebels to be trained by the U.S. will never be sent to fight against ISIS.

Making matters worse, military officers and civilian Pentagon leaders tell The Daily Beast, is the ISIS war’s decision-making process, run by National Security Adviser Susan Rice. It’s been manic and obsessed with the tiniest of details. Officials talk of sudden and frequent meetings of the National Security Council and the so-called Principals Committee of top defense, intelligence, and foreign policy officials (an NSC and three PCs in one week this month); a barrage of questions from the NSC to the agencies that create mountains of paperwork for overworked staffers; and NSC insistence on deciding minor issues even at the operational level.

“We are getting a lot of micromanagement from the White House. Basic decisions that should take hours are taking days sometimes,” one senior defense official told The Daily Beast.”

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Our Daily Thread 11-1-14

Good Morning!

It’s Saturday!!!

I found this one lurking/hunting in the weeds. 🙂

disney 2014 079disney 2014 152

Click for a larger view.

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On this day in 1611 “The Tempest,” Shakespeare’s romantic comedy, was first presented at Whitehall Palace in London. 

In 1870 the U.S. Weather Bureau made its first meteorological observations using 24 locations that provided reports via telegraph. 

In 1904 The Army War College in Washington, DC, enrolled the first class. 

And in 1979 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini urged all Iranians to demonstrate on November 4 and to expand their attacks against the U.S. and Israel. On November 4, Iranian militants seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took 63 Americans hostage. 

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Quote of the Day

“However big the fool, there is always a bigger fool to admire him.”

Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux

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 Today is Dan Peek’s birthday, so hippie music it is….

And it’s Michelle Tumes’ too.

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Anyone have a QoD?