A visual

Want a visual of what the politicians think of  citizens taking control ?

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They think it is just a game and we are but babies all while our country crumbles.



This and That

The glory of sunshine

Clog socks off the needles for me.................

A handful of rose pedals

Happy after Thanksgiving and hoping you survived BlackFriday

                    On this day let us each count our blessings......................

and not forget those who protect.

I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving!

I am one of those people that  eat lunch alone everyday and it is hard to have fresh items on hand but I have found a way to make things a little better......
There is a web site called minimus and they have all sorts of food, toiletry's and etc. in small packages.  I buy salad dressings  and small bags of croutons and  keep them on hand. Then when I want to make myself a salad all I need is the lettuce and tomato and what ever else I would like.Cowpals cheese is just the right amount to shred on top of chili or salads and green onions and bell pepper can be frozen and sprinkled on top.

Owl

Just a little hoo hoo in the night and a head that swivels all the way around?

Check out the wing control and concentration shown on this amazing video....Get ready, you are the target!
http://www.dogwork.com/owfo8/

Government Expenses (tax payers money)

In the United States, the informal political term "czar" or "tsar" is employed in media and popular usage to refer to high-level officials who oversee a particular policy.

Here is a interesting summary table -------

Number of czars per administration

Franklin Roosevelt 1933–1945...... 11
Harry Truman 1945–1953.............. 6
Dwight Eisenhower 1953–1961...... 1
Lyndon Johnson 1963–1969.......... 3
Richard Nixon 1969–1974............ 3
Gerald Ford 1974–1977................ 2
Jimmy Carter 1977–1981.............. 2
Ronald Reagan 1981–1989............ 1
George H. W. Bush 1989–1993..... 2
Bill Clinton 1993–2001.................. 8
George W. Bush 2001–2009....... 33
Barack Obama 2009–................. 38

The listing of Czars for President Obama that includes salary (most do not) range from.....
 
Faith-Based Czar * – Joshua DuBois
Title: Director of the Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
Salary: $98,000
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: February 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services

To...
Intelligence Czar * – Dennis Blair
Title: Director of National Intelligence
Salary: $197,700
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: January 2009
Confirmed by Senate: January 28, 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: CIA

I wonder what the job description is for a Czar?
Why did we start out with 11 and end up with 38 when several Presidents in between had only 1 or 2?
Most are appointed and not confirmed by congress. How are the funds for these salaries appropriated? If the government had a budget (ha ha ha) how in the world would they be able to know how much money to set aside for this expense if it seems to vary like this?
 
 

Presidential travel
 
President Bush was the most travelled president in history, beating the record set by President Clinton, who in turn beat the record set by President George H. W. Bush.
 
Here is a report from the government of travel for out of country travel for President Clinton.

United States General Accounting Office
Washington, D.C. 20548
Results in Brief Presidential travel to foreign destinations requires planning, coordination,
and logistical and personnel support.

The estimated incremental costs of  President Clinton’s trips to Africa, Chile, and China were at least
$42.8 million, $10.5 million, and $18.8 million, respectively. The largest of
these costs consisted of (1) operating expenses of the President’s aircraft
and other military passenger and cargo aircraft; (2) travel expenses,
including lodging for the travelers; and (3) telecommunications, vehicle,
and other equipment rentals and procurement in the countries visited.
These estimates exclude (1) Secret Service expenses, which are classified;
(2) regular salaries and benefits of U.S. government civil and military
travelers; and (3) agency planning expenses that may have been incurred in
preparing to travel.
The executive branch does not have a single system to account for the cost
of presidential travel overseas, and the agencies involved use a variety of
means to account for expenses. The Department of State routinely
accounts for travel, equipment rental, and other costs to support
presidential travel. Other agencies that incurred costs in support of the
Africa, Chile, and China trips had records available on their costs as well.


These were costs in 2001 market, not today's. This is a list of visits President Obama has made so far to other countries and how many times.....He is definitely the new record winner.
 
1 visit....... Brazil, Chile, China, Egypt, El Salvador, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Vatican City

2 visits....... Afghanistan, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, United Kingdom

3 visits....... France

This does not reflect how much travel has been done within the U.S.  
Here is the travel that was done by Presicent Obama from Aug. to Dec. 2010

Aug 2 Atlanta, Disabled Veterans Convention
Aug 4, 5 Chicago
Aug 14 Obama Family to Panama City, Gulf Coast
Aug 16 ZBB Energy, Menomonee Falls, WI; Los Angeles CA DCCC
Aug 17 Seattle WA Nat Assoc Insurance Commissioners
Aug 18 Columbus OH, Miami FL
Aug 19 - 29 Obama Family Marthas Vineyard MA
Aug 29 New Orleans, Xavier University of Louisiana
Aug 31 Fort Bliss Texas
Sep 3-5 Camp David
Sep 6 Laborfest Milwaukee Wisconsin;
Sep 8 Cleveland Ohio
Sep 14 Masterson School, Philadelphia PA
Sep 16 New York City, Connecticut
Sep 24 New York City ASEAN
Sep 27 Albuquerque
Sep 28 Madison, Des Moines
Sep 29 Richmond VA
Oct 7 Chicago
Oct 10 Philadelphia
Oct 15 Delaware
Oct 22 Los Angeles, Las Vegas
Oct 20 Portland, OR
Oct 21 Seattle
Oct 25 Rhode Island
Oct 29 Maryland
Oct 30 Chicago
Nov 4 - 9 Mumbai, Amritsar, and New Delhi, India
Nov 9-14 Indonesia, Japan, Korea
Nov 19, 20 Lisbon, Portugal EU Summit
Dec 3 Bagram Afghanistan
Dec 6 Forsyth Technical, Winston-Salem NC
Dec 18 Hawaii (vacation)

Seems impossible right? Well remember that there is no airport parking needed, no ticket counter lines, no metal detectors and a whole lot more than peanuts!

Air Force1 is the most magnificent plane ever.........
Capable of refueling midair, Air Force One has unlimited range and can carry the President wherever he needs to travel. The onboard electronics are hardened to protect against an electromagnetic pulse, and Air Force One is equipped with advanced secure communications equipment, allowing the aircraft to function as a mobile command center in the event of an attack on the United States.

Inside, the President and his travel companions enjoy 4,000 square feet of floor space on three levels, including an extensive suite for the President that features a large office, lavatory, and conference room. Air Force One includes a medical suite that can function as an operating room, and a doctor is permanently on board. The plane’s two food preparation galleys can feed 100 people at a time.

Air Force One also has quarters for those who accompany the President, including senior advisors, Secret Service officers, traveling press, and other guests. Several cargo planes typically fly ahead of Air Force One to provide the President with services needed in remote locations.

The problem is....it costs a lot of money to fly Air Force 1. How much money is allotted for Presidential travel?  Oh that's right....we don't have a balanced budget....just a blank check.

Well, if you hadn't already figured it out I am a little hot under the collar and let me tell you, I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I think I could find something to cut other than our military!

A happy plant

A little over a month ago I bought a little plant at the drug store. It was one of those little potted things that looked kind of sad with broken stems but It was a plant I have wanted for a while and it was cheap soooooooooo I bought it.
Well, I planted it in pot and found a spot to put it and look at it now!

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Well, so okay, it is one of the easiest plants to grow and it is very aggressive but you have to admit this Wandering Jew is pretty with it purple under leaves...

and what a little gift, this bloom....

I call this a happy plant.

Amazing

Daily Photo Stream posted a picture similar to this a while back and of course I had to research it......

St. George's Monastery - Wadi Qelt

St.George's Monastery is an ancient retreat hollowed out of the sheer rock wall in the deep and narrow Wadi Qelt gorge. The monastery was founded in 480CE around a cluster of caves where, according to tradition, St. Joachim learned from an angel that Anne, his sterile wife and mother-to-be of the Virgin Mary, had conceived.

In 614CE invading Persians massacred the monks and destroyed the monastery. It was partially reoccupied by the Crusaders in the Middle Ages but only fully restored at the end of the 19th century. Some attractive 6th-century mosaics remain, and there is a Crusader-era church with a shrine containing the skulls of the martyred monks.

The sixth-century cliff-hanging complex, with its ancient chapel and gardens, is active and inhabited by Greek Orthodox monks.

 It is reached by a pedestrian bridge across the Wadi Qelt, which many imagine to be Psalm 23's Valley of the Shadow, and where shepherds still watch over their flocks, just as Ezekiel 34 and John 10:1-16 describe. The valley parallels the old Roman road to Jericho, the backdrop for the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37).

The ringing of the bells at the monastery.....

The monastery is open to pilgrims and visitors.

If I had a bucket list.......this would be on it.