Quote of the Day
Man has no nobler function than to defend the truth.Ruth McKenney
Fathers
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| Via Patriot Post |
Casey Kasem: RIP
Wow. Of course, Casey retired about 5 years back, but one of my weekly rituals as a teen and young adult was listening to Top 40 and rooting for my favorite artists to reach the top of the pop charts. Casey had a voice instantly recognizable. I used to love the little anecdotes he would use to segue into the next tune. I know that there was a bitter custody battle between Casey Kasem's wife (Jean, best known for her dumb blond character Loretta Tortelli in Cheers and relevant spinoff) and his daughter from an earlier marriage (recently awarded to his daughter), that he was suffering from a rare form of dementia and died in hospice care. What I don't understand is why Jean had issues with her stepchildren visiting their father in declining health, especially on the occasion of today being Father's Day; I would hope that it doesn't involve his estate. I will note, in fairness, Jean has made public statements defending her care of Casey.
Songs About Fathers
According to the book 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh, at his father's funeral, a friend took David Gates aside and said, "Your dad was so proud of what you were doing." David agreed by replying, "My success would have been so special to him as he was my greatest influence. So I decided to write and record Everything I Own about him. If you listen to the words, 'You sheltered me from harm, kept me warm, gave my life to me, set me free,' it says it all."
Image of the Day
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| Via Libertarian Republic |
Are Food Trucks/Carts' Products Safe? Vive La Différence
Overnight at Las Vegas Airport
I've been in Las Vegas Airport more times than I care to remember (on connecting flights, a couple of academic conferences in the 1980's, and perhaps most notably when I moved back to Illinois from California in 2001: because of my work schedule, I had to use a car relocation service and fly back to Milwaukee (near my project site); in this case, I was scheduled on a red-eye and had a layover of several hours, although not in the early hours as this guy. (But I've often arrived on late or delayed flights in the early hours, walking through darkened, abandoned corridors to baggage claim.)) If I was going to do "All By Myself", I would probably lip sync with the Eric Carmen original--although Dunn has fun with Dion's signature vocal runs.
Facebook Corner
(Drudge Report). OBAMA OPENS BORDERS TO MEXICAN GANG MEMBERS
The news story clearly stated that it's talking about minors of families residing in the US. Let's not be hypocritical here if we're talking family values.
(National Review). Senator Lindsey Graham argues that the Obama administration could have left a residual U.S. force in Iraq, but they insisted on a withdrawal. Read NR’s coverage of the Sunday talk shows: natl.re/1p5dt6z
Both Bush and Obama found the terms for an extension unacceptable. Iraq is responsible for its own policies. Enough American blood and treasure spilled in a country we should never have invaded in the first place; we are not the world's policeman.
(Independent Institute). Senior Fellow Alvaro Vargas Llosa: "It’s hard to know just how long it will take for Venezuelans to rid themselves of this fifteen-year tyranny. But the process has begun. The government is desperately on the defensive and the opposition has finally reached critical mass."
The government's credibility went down the toilet, without toilet paper.
(LFC). Dear Mr. Obama, As you spend today with your two daughters, maybe you should take a moment to think about the 122 families whose children were killed by drones at your express command. 122 families for whom today--and every day--is a day for sorrow, not love, because your surgical strikes that "only kill terrorists" slaughtered their children. Happy Father's Day. http://www.policymic.com/articles/24164/a-list-of-children-killed-by-drone-strikes-in-pakistan-and-yemen
Where did all these neocons in this thread come from? War destroys wealth; it doesn't create it. International meddling hurts win-win trade; the State plunders the markets to fund its adventures. No. And certainly Obama has no Constitutional mandate to attack Pakistan or Yemen, countries with which we have not declared war. Obama is directly responsible for destroying the lives and property of innocent civilians, and LFC is right to make the case...
(Libertarian Republican). As you can see, libertarians are dangerous people. /sarcasm
Move to make it permanent?
I think you mean "Constitutional Republic." The U.S. was not designed or ever intended to be a Democracy.
Actually, most of this thread is wrong. Democracies can be direct or indirect (i.e., representatives). As per Google dictionary: "a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives."
Notice not ONE of them said build roads. Darn libertarians.
That's because tomorrow Barry or Lizzie would say "you didn't build those"...
(Ron Paul). What do you think are the questions current and future generations should be asking to learn more about U.S. foreign policy right now? Subscribe to watch Ron's interview with Butler Shaffer: http://bit.ly/1sfsTZy
Democracy has been around longer than you've been alive...
Forst and foremost, we are not a Democracy. Democracy was a dirty word to the founders of this nation. We are a Constitutional republic..
Wrong. Did anyone take high school civics? We live in a Constitutionally limited democratic republic. In fact, Jefferson named his party Democratic Republican. The term 'Republican' got dropped around the 1830's. de Tocqueville described 'Democracy in America' and alternatively described it as a democratic republic. The concept of republic included some definition of citizen and a relevant concept of due process equivalence under recognized representative law (vs. non-representative fiat). However, not every citizen necessarily has a say in government. (For example, women and/or plebeians (say, the concept of lower class citizens without land property) in Rome had little say in government.) In early America, voting was not universal, often tied to non-slave, gender, a certain period of residence, land ownership, age and/or even religion; however, we do have an indirect form of majority rule within Constitutional constraints through elected representatives. (Eventually suffrage became universal as of a certain age, with certain published criteria for office qualification, typically age, residency-based, and applicable term limits.)
(Independent Institute). Senior Fellow Ivan Eland: "Although few in the United States dare say it, the U.S. military lost the war in Afghanistan a long time ago. As in Vietnam, if the weaker insurgents don’t lose, they win by just keeping an army in the field and hoping the stronger foreign occupier will tire of the conflict and go home."
This is incorrect. We succeeded in removing the Taliban from power, and Afghanistan is now a republic. Mission accomplished.
Actually, no. The Taliban withdrew as the Northern Alliance swept through the area in 2001-2002. And the Taliban did not attack the US on 9/11. The pretext for war was the Taliban was harboring bin Laden, and Bush rejected a Taliban offer to turn him over to a third party for trial.
Barry's Lies: Volume 1
Political Cartoon
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| Courtesy of Gary Varvel via IPI |
The BeeGees, "Run to Me". This week I'll be transitioning to a new series of solo artists, starting with Dan Fogelberg.
