Hat in hand, the Unity Government of Zimbabwe is flat busted, broke and is seeking a $2 billion bailout from anywhere.  Their malevolent dictator Robert Mugabe has just celebrated his 85th birthday.  Over 2,000 guests at his soiree were feted with champagne (Moët & Chandon and ’61 Bollinger );  lobsters; prawns;  caviar;   Ferrero Rocher chocolates and weighing in at just under-200 pounds,  a birthday cake.  The price tag for the bash was said to be the modest sum of $350,000 US.

However, since last August, over 4,000 Zibabweans have died from an epidemic of cholera.  Many of the children there do not live to see their fifth birthdays.  The life expectancy for adults is under 50 years old.  People are starving, subsisting on a ground corn substance called "mealy meal" and over 90 percent are out of work.  Inflation is the highest in the world at over 231,000,000 percent annually!  Land grabs from white farmers continue and even though the courts ruled against Mugabe in favor of the white farmers, he ignored the decision and stated that "whites have no place in Zimbabwe and must leave."  Mugabe had parsed that the seizures of property would go to the poor, but instead they have been bestowed on his parasitic, sycophantic minions and cronies.

And in America, still known as the land of the free and home of the brave, an hysteric, new present-cy and too-clever-by-half, frenzied administration have been ensconced into the White House and have brought financial havoc and fear to the hallowed halls of power.  The entire world is experiencing the greatest financial meltdown since the Great Depression.  The market is now at record lows and the Dow has lost over 2,000 points since the coronation of Barack Hussein O to the office he bought by raising close to One Billion Dollars, getting by with a little help from his friends and millions of anonymous internet donors.   

Because of the "inherited" recession and no extra money in the treasury until he gives the order (if he hasn`t already) to start printing Benjies at ramming speed, pbho sent Secretary of State Pantsuit off to China to supplicate, ingratiate, threaten, flatter and cajole the Chinese to buy even more US bonds.  Of course, they will comply, won`t they?  After all, we`re all in the same boat and rowing in the same direction!  But pbho has no worries.  He`s cool.  He`s living large in the White House, with the heat on high, a resident chef on call, a limo, a helicopter, an airplane, the Secret Service and all the other perks that go along with being present.  And he has developed a taste for that tender, succulent wagyu beef.  Signed, sealed, delivered, he won! 

Barack Hussein O is a Community Organizer who lies with ease to assure the masses of his forthcoming largesse.  He also has extremely selfish motives and a jutting chin along with a prominent glass jaw that displays the unabashed arrogance of his being.  Robert Mugabe is a vicious thug who is oblivious and uncaring of the extreme hunger and strife of his own people.  He is selfish and power mad. Two different men of very different ages, but with one common similarity:  Their tyranny!

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    Whee!  Taking the country out for a spin after that hard left turn ....


My very special thanks go out to Bobbie of Speak Up America!, who has the responsibility for our Townhall Blogger`s List,  for sending me this great cartoon and to Garnet of Pesky Truth, for sharing his photobucket experience on his blog and guiding me through the process! 

Wow.  Everyone is so sensitive these days, even the newly minted Attorney General Eric Holder who called Americans cowards because of some assumed racial slight.  "We, as average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race,”  he said.  He went on to call America "a nation of cowards which has never been at ease with frank conversations about racial matters that continue to divide us."

And then we come to Travis, the recently deceased Florida chimp,.  Loaded on Xanax that he could not have possibly prescribed for himself, he brutally attacked and maimed a woman who was called to reachout to help get him back in the house.  The terrified owner called the police to come with their guns blazing.   Travis, who had starred in commericals in his younger days, had dined on lobster and filet mignon, could dress himself, use the toilet and the computer and often shared a glass of wine while cuddling with his "mistress" before sleepy bye-bye time.  Travis was shot dead by the police after his last rampage.  He, too, has been lamented as Victim.

And so journalistic creativity reared its "ugly" head!  A cartoon was published in the New York Post depicting two police officers blowing the smoke off the barrels of their blazing pistols while remarking sardonically, "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill."  Somehow, someway, this cartoon has now been labeled as a racist slur against present B. Hussein amabO.  The Reverend Al Sharpton is justifiably angry for all those who voted for "hopenchange", and is offended by the comparison of pbho to Travis and doesn`t care who knows it.  Will the day ever come when Sharpton will be ignored and shunned by everyone who has even a smidgen of free thought?  No one can make this stuff up, a cliche, forgive me.  Meanwhile, the last eight years have subjected the populace to literally thousands of images of George W. Bush being portrayed as a chimp, with the low hairline and monkey like gait, always reaching for bananas, grunting and rooting around, scratching his armpits as primates naturally do.

One thing must be said.  George W. Bush always announced troop deployments publicly and with great solemness and humility.  He never signed an order for our soldiers to go off to war without the dignity and respect they deserve.  present B. Hussein O has recently signed an order to send 12,000 soldiers into Afghanistan to fight the "good war on terror" with the stroke of his little pen, but with none of his soaring rhetoric or the transparency that he promised with "hopenchange".  The press is silent and unquestionning.  Who is the chump now?

There are far too many stories being reported about children being abused and there are thousands more that never come to light.  A 43 year old mother from West Virginia, Tammy Smith, was jailed  for burning the word "wimp" into the neck of her six-year old daughter.   The little girl had gone to school and the injuries were noticed by a teacher and the police were called.  The child told the officers her mother burned her because she was clumsy and had tripped.  She is now "safe" in foster care.

Last fall, in Maryland, a seven year old girl jumped from a second floor window to escape unrelenting abuse and savage beatings.  The terror and despair she must have felt fueled her strong survival instincts and gave her the fortitude and courage to make that brave leap.   She ran to a neighbor`s house to get help.  She was wearing a bloodied nightie, had swollen lips and  her entire body was bruised.  She could not remember the last time she had eaten.   Police were called and the girl`s adoptive mother, Renee Bowman, 43,  was arrested for felony child abuse.  She confessed to the police she had beaten the child with a hard-heeled shoe.  Soon after, a gruesome discovery was made in the freezer in the basement of her home.  The bodies of two little girls, between the ages of 5 and 7, were found in the freezer.  It is assumed they are the remains of two of Bowman`s other adopted daughters who had not been seen for over two years and no doubt, were beaten to death at the hands of their adoptive, sadistic mother.

In Texas, an 18 year old "mother" and her  "boyfriend" were arrested for the murder of her 13 month old baby girl.  The little child had been beaten with a hammer and had over 20 bite marks on her body.  The couple lied to authorities by saying the toddler inflicted the grave injuries to herself.  They later admitted they had been attempting an exorcism to remove demons from the child.

In Florida, a utility worker stumbled upon a plastic garbage bag, tied in duct tape, which contained the remains of a very small child.  They were positively identified as those of Caylee Anthony.  She had been found with duct tape over her little mouth with a red heart sticker grotesquely displayed on the tape.  Her mother, Casey Anthony, led authorities on a wild goose chase for over six months to the stunned amazement of us all.  The toddler had been missing for six weeks before her disappearance was finally reported to authorities by her grandmother.  Photos emerged of the "mother" dancing and partying in nightclubs without a care in the world.  After her computer was seized, searches for words such a chloroform and "how to break a neck" were prominent.   We can only assume what she did with her newly found knowledge.

There are so many unanswered questions and the one that comes most readily to mind is "Why"?  It is an anathema for all of us who love children and life to wrap our minds around how others could inflict such grevious injuries, bodily harm and extreme psychological damage onto the smallest and most innocent among us.  All life is precious and should be embraced.  Those who assault, brutally harm or murder children should pay the ultimate cost in sterilization or death.

This Valentine`s Day weekend, please take a moment to reflect and pray for these children and for the countless other children who live a nightmare every day and are in jeopardy.

The party of hope-n-change is finished! It`s all gloom and doom now!  Many of us are still trying to shake this raging brute of a hangover we are suffering from exposure to amabOmania overload.  And it has only been three weeks!  It seems to get more painful each day and the cure for this malady could take at least two to four years.

pbho`s new office has an ambient temperature where orchids would thrive, and no one has to wear a jacket .  (For a fleeting moment, I pondered pbho`s casual attire in the oval, but then remembered Billy Jeff didn`t even bother to wear his trousers when he was the occupant!)   During the recent, historic ice storms in Kentucky, those hardy folk looked out their windows and said, "Hell has frozen over!"  Truer words could have never been spoken. 

And horrors!  pbho and flmo are already bored in their new home!  Last week, two of his high profile nominees had to withdraw their names from consideration due to Income Tax Evasion.  It was so stressful the first couple suddenly jumped into their limo in the middle of the afternoon to read to some children at a DC charter school (not a DC public school) for a photo op.  "We escaped!" they cried.  But not for too long, as the rigours of the office of being present quickly put an end to their outing.  pbho was scheduled to return to the WH to give five  network interviews to sell the "stimulous plan".  Questions regarding his nominees` income tax troubles and subsequent withdrawls took over the interviews.  pbho had to eat his mush and confess, five times, "I screwed up!"   No follow ups were asked regarding the sham of a vetting process the nominees went through, or the pesky 63 page applications they filled out to become part of the most ethically challenged administration in history.  Chris Wallace of Fox asked pbho if he is "just a little thin-skinned!"  Nice one, Chris, "hope" you enjoyed it.  Doubtful you will get any other opportunities to engage and challenge pbho!

pbho`s voice, his words, his tone and his carefully parsed phrases speak to the world .   He has already taken major lumps from Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, India, Russia, Iraq and Marine One.  His first press conference in prime time was a thumping borefest!   He looked uncomfortable and shifty.  He pontificated about the stimulous and how he "won".  He reminded everyone he inherited this mess and the GOP is uncooperative and standing in the way.  The few questions he fielded were mostly softballs and his answers rambled and fumbled on for at least 10 minutes each.  As usual, there were no follow up questions about anything!!  It did become interesting when Major Garrett of Fox asked about Joe the Veep`s comments re the 30% probability of getting the stimulous wrong.  pbho scoffed at the question and made a joke at Joe the Veep`s expense.  Hey, pbho!  You chose him!  pbho also recognized a blogger from the Huffington Post who asked about Patrick Leahy`s Truth Squad which is about to embark on an attempt to prosecute George W. Bush for war crimes!  pbho responded that he hasn`t seen the paperwork and "no one is above the law!"   Don`t go there, pbho!

Also this week, pbho took his show on the road to the real people in the Town Hall format.  He was greeted with wild cheers and exhaltations.  He is at his best when he is campaigning and giving away his hope-n-change koolaid provided at the government trough.   In Elkhart, Indiana, one brave woman, who was booed, asked him about his tax cheat nominees and pbho said dishonestly, "These were just honest mistakes!"  She followed up with the grabber, met with more boos, "Would you have a beer with Sean Hannity?"  pbho so glibly replied, "I`m always good for a beer ...."  

In Fort Meyers, Florida,  there were a lot of hands out. amabO promised to help a tearful homeless woman  find a house, with a kitchen, her own bathroom and a car.  (On his website, Rush Limbaugh remarked the woman will no doubt find her way to Oprah in the next few weeks to have all her wishes fulfilled.)  One man asked for an RV and another wanted more benefits after working for Mickey D`s for almost five years.  One man lost a good paying job ($3600 per month) and his unemployment bennies only pay $1100.  He asked pebo if the government would pay the difference.  pbho said, "Maybe $100 more a month, not the whole amount."  Still, something is better than nothing.  As the cover of "Newsweek" so bluntly puts it, "We Are All Socialists Now"!

Thank you, Davecat,  A Conservative in Cincinnati, for your interest in asking why I  live in Mexico ....

In 1996, I took a two year leave of absence from an excellent job to sail from Seattle to Mazatlan, on a 47 ft. yacht.  I had no sailing experience on the high seas, having only been out on day sails, aka "rail meat", as in, "You hoist the jib, I`ll mix the Margaritas!"  Always adventurous, I did not want to continue working only to look back in ten years and wonder what could have been if I had taken the voyage.  I have lived in Mexico for over 13 years and have never regretted my decision to stay. 

(After four years of living on the sailboat and many nightmarish experiences all in the harbor -- can you say surge and we were always tied to the dock --  I bought a small house in the central area and became a landlubber again.  Talk about bureaucracy!  Permits!  Fees!  Finding good workers who will show up and won`t rip you off!   A whole other blog!   During this time, I met my husband who was my neighbor -- Love Thy Neighbor! -- and who lived only steps away from my front door.  We sold our homes and moved to the mountains in 2006.)
 
One of the first things I did was to go to Spanish class five days a week for two hours a day.  Yes, I have always believed it is important to assimilate and learn the culture, wherever you may live!  With my secretarial background, my goal was to speak fluent Spanish with excellent grammar.  It still took me over a year to have the confidence to speak!  When I did make my feeble attempts, I found the people to be very kind, patient and to want to communicate.  I can hold my own now.

Living at the coast full time, I believed that a person could not spend every day beachcombing, sunbathing, eating peel-and-eat shrimp and slamming shots though it might be a tempting lifestyle.  I searched for a worthwhile activity, joined a local charity group and began teaching English to children living in a poor colonia/neighborhood.  It was a great outlet and a very rewarding experience for me.  My cousin came to visit and bought a huge cake to take to the class.  The children thought we were selling the cake.  (Many public school teachers sell candy and gum to the children to supplement their incomes!)  We told them it was a treat for them!  We cut the cake into very large pieces and handed them out.  Not one child took a bite of the cake!  We could not understand why they would not eat it.  Class dismissed!  Everyone took his cake and left.  We went out to the car and as we drove away, we could see them sharing their cake with others.  We both started to cry.  Over a piece of cake!  (I continue to teach English to the children at the primary school in the village across the highway from where we now live.)
 
There are so many wonderful facets to the Mexican culture.  Love of family comes first.  Mother`s Day is a more important holiday than Christmas (Navidad) and children are especially revered.  All life is sacred, abortion is practically non-existent and abhorrent here.  The elderly are embraced, respected and tenderly cared for until the end.  Everyone shares what they have.  The Mexican people are very resourceful.  Don`t have a baseball?  Wad up newspapers into a ball and bat it around.  Only one set of skates?  One child wears the left skate and the other wears the right.  Nothing goes to waste.  They continually repair items that many of us would have discarded ages ago.  Patience is their virtue.  They will wait in long lines for hours with no complaints.  On the road though, the famous Mexican Standoff is a common occurrence.  The food, the music, the unwaivering love of life, the live-and-let live mentality are all reasons I have come to love Mexico.

As expats, we are required to appear before La Migra (Immigration) every year to renew our permission to reside in Mexico and we must show proof of income.  We most definitely share the frustration with those north of the border regarding the issue of open borders and firmly believe there can be no special allowances made for those who cross the border illegally.  None!  Our yearly trek to La Migra is not without its own stress and we dutifully jump through the hoops.  Fear not, La Migra will track down anyone whose visa has expired or is non-existent, put him on the bus and dump him unceremoniously at the appropriate border, north or south.  Homeland Security and ICE could learn a lot from these guys.  Seriously!

Because we are retired, our money goes much farther and that is a definite plus.  Military hospitals and medical clinics are open to everyone and the care is excellent and affordable.  Most of the doctors speak English, as well.  We are very fortunate to rent a small house on a quiet estate in the country, about 10 minutes from town.  There are no landlines where we live so we have a cell.  We have a satellite for television and our internet service is provided by an antenna.  

The problems of day-to-day living here can cause a lot of frustration.  Litter and garbage along the roads and in town.  Graffiti on historic buildings.  The concept of time or the "mañana" mentality.  Political activism is forbidden to non-nationals under threat of immediate deportation.  Do not show up at the plaza with the multitudes to protest anything!   There is rampant nepotisim, play to pay and extortion, all done as normal business practices.  Many small businesses, such as restaurants and small shops, are "required" to pay a few pesos each week to "veladores", people who "watch" their establishments.  Petty theft is rampant.  If it is not locked up or nailed down, it will be gone in the blink of an eye.   To be fair, much of the street crime is of the same ilk that can be found in any city, anywhere.

The current drug wars at the borders and throughout Mexico is a battle being waged for its soul.  Billions of dollars are in play and the narco trafficantes are as generous as they are ruthless.  The cartels go into small villages and buy food, clothing, shoes for the children, and put in infrastructure, electricity and plumbing, so the people will look the other way.  Though the villagers know it is wrong, they are cowed into silence out of fear for their lives.  The most heinous of murders are committed on a daily basis against anyone who betrays them.  Grotesque messages are left along with the scattered corpses, often found near schools,  to frighten the people into silence.

El Presidente Felipe Calderon has been forthright and steadfast in taking the fight to the cartels.   Not long ago, a close associate to him was found to have been receiving  $100,000 US each month to report his whereabouts and activities to the cartels. The Mexican Army is deployed throughout the country.  Military roadblocks and checkpoints are abundant and thorough.  Most of the soldiers are barely out of their teens.  In November, near Acapulco, eight soldiers were kidnapped and later found decapitated. 

The trafficantes offer huge bribes for those in any authority to look the other way.  If the bribe is not accepted, the person will be killed.  Huge caches of weapons and drugs are seized on a daily basis only to be immediately replaced by the vast, world-wide network.  Last summer, a Chinese man in Mexico City, active in the very lucrative trade of cocaine and methamphetamine, was arrested and over $200 million US was found in a room in his house!  It is a hard slog to fight against so much money and corruption.  The temptation is great and if death is the alternative, a city policeman will accept anywhere from $100 US or more per month to ignore the crime only to feed and clothe his family, his salary being only $250 US a month. 

On and on it goes.  For expats, it is mostly a matter of not driving at night!  For the Mexican people, security and trust are always in question.  There have been countless protests by the people against the violence throughout Mexico.  So often, the blame is laid at the market for illegal drugs and ultimately, at the doorstep of the United States.  This scourge is worldwide.  The generous endowments the US has bestowed on Mexico to fight the cartels is but a drop in the bucket to the billions of dollars the drug trade has to counter.  There are no simple answers.  To legalize drugs, tax the revenues?  The harder course is to change the culture and to "Just Say No To Drugs!" 




    







 

The 44th present of the United States, Barack Hussein amabO, has been most reverently called the Messiah by his followers and his always objective, ever fawning MSM.  Not to be excluded are the always over-the-top comparisons of amabO to Abraham Lincoln, FDR, JFK, MLK, the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus.  PBHO`s ramblings have been heralded as masterful, elegant and always given with flawless delivery.   His rhetorical flourishes are purported to have been nothing less than grandiloquent and awe inspiring.  

For many of us in the real world and all the great bloggers here at TH, we see something far different in this media creation that gave us this apparition of No. 44.  We see his election as the harbinger of our society and culture as we have known it to be rapidly slipping away from us.  We search in vain for leaders with principles and spine to stand up and make our presence known.   A blatant example was the  recent vote for Pantsuit to take over at Foggy Bottom and which was overwhelmingly in her favor.   Even with all her baggage, let alone her husband, she was confirmed!  We will never forget she was the first First Lady to be subpoenaed to appear before Congress regarding the Whitewater debacle.  Her glib responses while under oath, "I don`t remember."  Senator Cornyn tried valiently to put up token opposition but ultimately, he "folded like an empty suit".  Senators DeMint and Vitter from the GOP were the only ones to vote against the newly appointed, always power hungry, extremely conniving and will forever be cunning SoS, Madame Pantsuit. 

As another flickering light in the deep dark tunnel of whatever has happened to GOP leadership, Rep. Eric Cantor should be recognized for daring to take PBHO at his word.  Recall that while giving his sales pitch for the "stimulous", PBHO said he would accept  and welcome any and all ideas, from both sides of the aisle.  In a bipartisan meeting regarding said stimulous, Rep. Cantor, thinking of his constituents, gamely suggested including tax cuts in the  package.   He was roundly and soundly castigated by the condescending remarks from the present himself:  "I won!"  So much for the new Unity. 

In less than three full days in office, by Executive Order, present amabO slammed not only the door on the Bush Administration and all its former policies but also the big prize, Guantanamo Bay, with no plan of where to put the detainees, present or future.  The decision is now in perpetual presential limbo.  These slimy, sleezy scumbag, jihadist, raghead terrorist, feces and urine throwing pieces of living pond scum, who would kill any of us in less than a heartbeat, will now have access to our court system.  And they are assured of absolutely no sleep deprivation or of being subjected to loud rap music either!  Forget three hots and a cot!!  They may be ultimately set free to roam at will in the land of  what used to be called the free.  PBHO also opened the door to universal eugenics by reversing the Mexico City Policy,  which, in effect, provides US taxpayer funding to pay for unlimited abortions worldwide.  (Thankfully, the Vatican wasted no time in expressing extreme disappointment.)  amabO did it all by himself with the stroke of his little pen .... and his remarkable penmanship.

Tonight, January 26, Drudge reports that our new 44th present, Barack Hussein amabO, has granted his first, formal, presential television interview with none other than Al Arabyia.  Unfortunately, there are just not enough adjectives ....

"I love the drums, I love the band, I love a parade!"

Especially today, January 20, 2009, when PBHO had to stay and watch His Own Inaugural parade until the very end!  This may well be the first real work day he has ever done in his lifetime!  Small pleasures!  (No, not you, Billy Jeff!)  We were not going to watch the amabOguration at all but it is an historic event as are all the inaugerals.  Masses of freezing people started lining up last night to find a spot on the Mall to get a look at 44.  However, some people with tickets were denied entrance to their pre-paid-for venue and were forced to turn back.  All the way back.  Will they get refunds or a stimulus or both?  By all accounts the mood of the crowd was celebratory and genial.  There were a few unfortunate incidents:  One woman had a heart attack and another was hit by a train which caused the closure of one Metro station.  We wish only the best to them and for their speedy recovery.  Make Change!  Yes, We Can!

The Obamas were warmly greeted by President Bush and the lovely, gracious Laura for the traditional coffee.  Mrs. Bush was, as always,  very elegant in a soft gray suit.  FLMO was attired in a coat dress ensemble, gold brocade type, more suited for a cocktail party with some "Bling" at the neckline.  The Obama daughters were darling!  Some were questioning the pairing of pink and orange on Sasha.  It worked!  In  the dawning of the era of Hope and Change, both Laura Bush and Lynn Cheney were booooooed upon their arrival at the festivities!!!!  "People Get Ready, There`s a Change A Coming!"  We were unaware of any of this on the FNC or even of the singing, chanting, moaning and groaning when President Bush appeared on the dais.  (Nah, nah, nah, nah, hey, hey, hey, good bye!)  I also observed over the weekend a large effigy of  W where people were invited to throw shoes at him and many did.  So, Change has come or was it turned back? 

In my opinion, Aretha Franklin can belt it out and still reigns as the Queen of Soul.  She received some criticism for her choice of hats, but she has the persona to carry it off and she looked good.  She sang "America" with all the soul she could muster.  The most maligned and scourned by some, Pastor Rick Warren gave the invocation and used the name Jesus more than once and in many languages, opening a door for all who may want to enter.  He held his own.  The oaths of office were administered to Joe the VP and then to PBHO.  The burning debate will forever be, "Who botched the oath, PBHO or Chief Justice John Roberts?"   PBHO went on to speak that, "the US is ready to lead once more."   The burning question will forever be, "Did he really say that and what does it mean?"  (Reparations are comin, reparations are comin`, reparations are comin`)

Hold the Mustard!  The poet.  The poet.  The poet, Elizabeth Alexander.  Renowned and no doubt chosen for her previous and most celebrated lyrical verse entitled, "Mustard Colored Poop"!  Today she spoke of boom boxes and lifting pencils and picking lettuce and cotton  She should have stayed in her rubber room and eaten her pencils.   Or have tried to make a salad.  Her poem was more of a gruel than a goulash.  Slop, actually.  Is this the new poetry?  No, thanks!  Why not enlist Denzel Washington or Morgan Freeman to read the words of Shakespeare, Byron, Blake, or Yeats?  Their words have been inspiring and timely throughout the centuries.  But, maybe this is not that kind of Change?

The benediction!  The aged, Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowery pontificated and prayed, gave thanks and then proceeded to end his blessing with the most racial of overtones:  "... and White will embrace what`s right!"   Thanks, Rev.  Now, we know Change has really come!  "Don`t need no ticket, just get on board!"  Thanks again for the welcome, Rev!  (Reparations are comin`, reparations are comin`)  Is it okay for me to feel offended?  He`s just a typical black reverend! 

The "Star Spangled Banner" never fails to bring me to my feet, catch my breath and make me tear up.  It was sung exquisitely by the Navy Sea Chanters Chorus. 

The Presidential luncheon was not without drama.  Senator Ted Kennedy suffered a seizure and was taken to hospital.  It has been reported he is doing well.  Something also happened to Senator Byrd.  He may have just fallen asleep.  Still watching some coverage .... PBHO and FLMO have just arrived at the Neighborhood Ball.  They were greeted by loud cheers and salutes.  The burning question is and forever will be, "Who put that dog of a cottonwad dress on Michelle?"  Meow.

The staff of Cheeky Monkey will be off line until the weekend but comments are always welcomed and will be replied to.  God bless America!  And God, help us all!

A prologue,  an ending and a toast.  Read on, only if you dare ....

Not to be redundant, but we are all aware that our society and culture are on a downward spiral.  Who would think that not so many years ago, Senator Trent Lott would be forced to resign his position as Senate Majority Leader because of so called "racist" remarks he made while toasting the Honorable Strom Thurmond  (RIP) at his 100th birthday party.   So, isn`t Robert "Sheets" Byrd, the could-be, never-has-been-proven(?) Grand Kleagle of the USAofKKK, I mean, KKK, still a sitting Senator in that so very august body of 100 elite members?  (Half of which never show up for roll call because they are running for higher office on the taxpayers dime?)  Is Senator Byrd awake?  Who walks him to his desk everyday?  And does the esteemed Sheets know where he is?  But this treatise has nothing to do with Sheets.  Though in my very humble opinion,  he should retire on his very generous, taxpayer-paid-for senatorial pension with unlimited health care bennies, go on to enjoy his grandchildren, great grandchildren and  sleep through his memoirs. Some stories should never be told.

Now we are upon the eve of inaugerating a man to the office of  present who has no clue what he is doing and  will forever wonder how he got where he is.  Present-elect amabO can rest at night for almost the rest of his natural life that the press/MSM will make it all good for him. Warm fuzzies, warm blankies and unending platitudes from those "nattering nimbobs" who have no life away from him.  From community organizer to the leader of the free world.  Never underestimate the power of The Fourth Estate:  A fawning press and PEBO`s (soon to be P-BO) gleaming, hairless chest.  But!  This is not about PEBO amabO!

Who does harry reid think he is?  What a scrawny, little, small-minded schizopatic excuse of a human being.  I write that with gusto!!!  He has earned the title of Senator but it pains me to call him that.  senator reid who remarked with measurable scorn, "This war is lost!"  His evil, disparaging words against our Military seem to be forgotten for some reason.  Why did no one call out this fraud for Treason?  What is even sadder is the people of Nevada continue to pay him ... Hmphf!    When senator reid was at the opening of the Capitol Hill Visitors Center, he remarked that tourists, aka the taxpayers who funded the over-priced hall of whatever it is they are selling, "STINK"!  He blurted out that his own staff warned him not to say those words but he relished saying them anyway.  He said it, he thinks it and he continues to make an absolute mockery of himself and all of us on a daily basis.  Somehow, there is a connection with harry reid as Majority Leader of the Senate, and the not so illustrious, just been impeached Illinois Governor Hot Rod Blago of Illinois.  Blago took "harry" to the mat, and like Cool Hand Luke, I think Blago will continue to get up and up and up until they all walk away. 

And so it goes .... Now we have Prince Harry.  He has been photographed and photoshopped.  But, he has purportedly stepped into it big time!  He is on tape to have called, paraphrasing here, a raghead a raghead and other nefarious comments, names and expressions that are not so politically correct.  Yes, not too long ago, he did wear a Halloween costume dressed as an SS official.  He took a lot of heat for that and maybe he learned a lesson.  Bad Prince Harry!.  Very, very bad taste, Prince!  No argument there!  He messed up!  Yet, somehow, there is something true and deep in him.   Prince Harry has volunteered to go the Afghanistan to fight the terrorists and to take the fight to the enemy.  He was discovered by the MSM, forced to return home only to volunteer again to stay and fight with his unit.  Don`t think he is not aware of the subversion and efforts of Islamic radicals, along with Sharia law, that are threatening his homeland, England!  The eye of the camera and the relentlessness of the press have hounded him since his birth and also killed his mother.  So what if Prince Harry  made a slip of the tongue and called a "spade a spade"? 

In the best of times or the worst of times, I know whom I would have a drink with. Between those two Harrys, there is no contest for me! Prince Harry, to your health!  

Willful blindness and open hearts most always give way to despair.  One would think the liberals would be ecstatic and over the moon that their choice, present-elect Barack Hussein amabO, is about to be crowned present on January 20.  No doubt, many would like to bid on the ever-present sign hanging on the chosen one`s podium, Office of the Present Elect, when it ultimately appears on Ebay.  What a collector`s item (what a joke)!  Perhaps amabO will want to save it for posterity to place in his already designed, soon to be constructed, Presential Library, once his staff sends out the 10 million emails to all his friends on his Face Book page requesting contributions for its groundbreaking. 

However, many libs are also finding themselves in another, more urgent, more distressing quandry.  What to do with all the Bush hate and Bush rage they are still harboring?  It must be spent!  Booooosh must pay!  He must suffer!  Unbelievably, some even voice they want him to die.  What has this man done to incite such hatred?   These people are civilized?

Lottsa lefties are planning their own Inaugeral Balls to be held in their homes to celebrate amabO`s triumph.  Not content to simply celebrate the moment when the earth will heal, the seas will calm and the Detroit Lions will be a wild card, they are planning "Bush Bashes" to go along with their festivities.   Instead of pin the tail on the donkey, parlor games such as throw your shoes at Bush or a game of darts with President Bush as the bullseye will be offered and relished.  The cocktail banter will be all about Bush being the "worst president in history", "absolutely the worst",  and "he is the worst".  Sounds like some real fun wingdings.  Count me out ....

President George W. Bush is by no means perfect.  But he does not deserve the vilification and derision those on the left have gleefully tarred him with these past eight years.  I like him for the man he is.  I wish only the best for our 43rd president and his most gracious wife in the years to come.

January 9, 2009

Update:  http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/01/obama-site-link.html

Has it come to this?
 

Whenever the name Cynthia McKinney appears in print, you can bet she has done something "noteworthy".  The former Georgia 4th District Congresswoman and recent Green Party candidate for POTUS, with her freeze dried hair and perpetual scowling face, makes Medussa seem attractive.  She continues to insist the terrorism of  9/11 was an inside job and George Bush had prior knowledge of those horrific attacks.  Because in her view he did nothing to stop them, she introduced articles of impeachment against Bush and Cheney and that resulted in her acceptance and celebration among the leftist fringe.  Many of Miz McKinney`s statements and actions are beyond reason and call into question her sanity. 

Most of us remember and recall with delight her fateful day of  March 29, 2006.   Let us relive the moment:  While serving as an "steamed" Congresswoman, she attempted to bypass a security checkpoint on Capitol Hill by waddling around the metal detector on her way to wherever it was she was going.  Because she was not wearing her legislative pin, de rigeur for all those who serve in Congress, a Capitol Hill policeman, doing his due diligence, called on her to, "Stop"!  Highly insulted and in a state of uncontrollable rage, she proceeded to assault  him by slugging him in the chest with her cell phone!  Screaming in not-so-very dulcet tones, she cried,  "How dare you not recognize me by my  frizzfro and gorilla glide?"   Alas, she was not arrested.   When the officer filed his report two days later, the incident came to light.  Under pressure, Miz McKinney was forced to apologize, but she really didn`t.  She basked in her glorious infamy and continued to be under the MSM kleig lights for weeks to come.  Long story short, she was summarily defeated in November 2006 and eventually joined the Greens.  Not even Madame Speaker mourned her departure.

And now!  Wonder of wonders, Cynthia McKinney has channelled Rhett Butler and attempted to run blockades to provide humanitarian aid/medical supplies to Hamas!   Aboard the good ship "Dignity", in international waters, 90 miles from the coast of Gaza, the Israeli Navy rammed three times and came close to keel hauling this vessel of mercy.  Asked for comments by CNN, the Miz McKinney was only too gracious to reply, "Our mission was a peaceful mission.  Our mission was thwarted by the agressiveness of the Israeli military."  Who woulda thunk Cythnia McKinney could speak in words of over two syllables?

In defense of the Israeli Navy, a spokesman said there had been no response to radio warnings and that "Dignity" tried to out-manuever the Israeli patrol boat which led to the collison.  No shots were fired and no injuries reported. 

True to form, Miz McKinney called on PEBO to denounce the conflict but he was on the golf course.  Clad in his golf shorts and wearing his baseball cap backwards, amabO only called for silence.  He was about to putt ... or was it, about to punt ...

Shalom to the people of Israel!  God speed!


.

A very special thank you to my dear friend, Milly, who emailed me this clever story and also to Darvin Dowdy at Street Level for providing the inspiration for the Cheeky Monkey Toy Factory!   Hope it brings a smile to your face!
 

There is a factory which makes the Tickle Me Elmo toys. The toy laughs when you tickle it under the arms. Tee hee hee!  The lovely Lena is hired at The Tickle Me Elmo factory and she reports for her first day promptly at 8:00 am.

The next morning, there is a knock at the Personnel Manager's door. The Foreman throws open the door and begins to rant about the new employee. He complains that the lovely Lena is incredibly slow and the whole production line is backing up, putting the schedule in jeopardy.

The Personnel Manager decides he should see this for himself. The two men march down to the factory floor. When they get there, the line is so backed up that there are Tickle Me Elmo's all over the place! At the end of the line stands the lovely Lena surrounded by mountains of Tickle Me Elmo toys.

The lovely Lena has a roll of plush red fabric and a huge bag of small marbles. The two men watch in amazement as she cuts a little piece of fabric, wraps it around two marbles and begins to carefully sew the little package between Tickle Me Elmo's legs!

The Personnel Manager bursts into laughter. After several minutes of hysterics he pulls himself  together and approaches the lovely Lena. "I'm sorry," he says to her, barely able to keep a straight face, "but I think you misunderstood the instructions you were given! Your job is to give Tickle Me Elmo two test tickles."  Tee hee hee!


We here at the Cheeky Monkey Toy Factory wish all of you on the Town Hall blog trail a peaceful and very Merry Christmas!  Best wishes to you, your families and friends.

My precious grandmother has now been gone for just over 50 years this last September.   Thinking about her always makes me smile and sometimes to tear up just a little. Memories of Thanksgivings past spent at my grandparents` house always revolve around the food. 

Our family was very large at that time.  We are all spread out now.  There were my grandparents, their six children with accompanying spouses and the various offspring, of which I was one!  Other relatives and friends would come, too, if not for dinner, for dessert.  Childhood memories fade over time but I would make a guess she cooked for 50 people!

Grandma, my mother and my aunt spent several days preparing for the meal.  Baking the bread and making the pies.  Peeling the potatoes!  Massive amounts for those very hungry men!   Now that I am older, I wonder how they could work for three days to prepare a dinner that would be devoured, but much appreciated, in an hour! Thanksgiving Day would start very early in order to get the  dressing made, the turkey stuffed and in the oven.  Grandma had a wood stove with electric burners on the side.  I think she only used those burners on holidays!

We always had a turkey with pork sausage dressing, giblet gravy and mashed potatoes.  There was also a ham and I remember wondering why!  Fruit salad with real whipped cream, green salads, canned green beans from her garden, cranberries, relish trays and black olives that fit on your fingers.  (Confess!  You still do that, too!)  Homemade bread and rolls.  Apple and pumpkin pies with more real whipped cream.  My uncles always liked to eat their pie with warmed milk and still do.  The adults drank the  homebrew and wine made by my grandpa.  We kids drank rootbeer and koolaid!

Oil tankers are huge vessels and it is difficult for a lay person to comprehend how they can be captured with only the crude rope ladders used by a band of filthy, drugged up, AK-47 wielding terrorist thugs.  However, if the ship`s crew consists of only 12 unarmed seamen,  relinquishing the ship is their only recourse to stay alive.  Two nations have recently taken aggressive actions against the pirates.  The Indian Navy took the fight to the enemy and sunk one of their mother ships.  The British Royal Navy recently killed twoYemeni pirates after the British ship had been fired upon in a blatant show of stupidity on the part of the pirates.  These actions of military might and prowess  by the Indian and British Navys should be heralded and continued. 

Somali Islamic terrorist pirates are now on board a Saudi oil tanker which is loaded with over two million barrels of oil which was purportedly on the way to the US.  Negotiations with the terrorists and Saudis are in process and a ransom of $10 million has been demanded.  No one is willing to fire on or raid the ship at this time.  One burning question everyone should be asking is:  What if the terrorists were hell bent on suicide and just blew up the ship?  Two million barrels of oil would make one big explosion, a giant, gaping hole in the sea and bring a whole new meaning to the phrase, global warming.   Some other questions are:  Would the United States ever negotiate with Somalian Islamic terrorist pirates?  Is Hillary Rodham Clinton really qualified to be Secretary of State and to represent and conduct our country`s foreign policy in these dangerous times?   A new administration of hope and change is waiting in the wings.  A whole new world of piracy and Islamic terrorism is on the stage waiting for the curtain to rise.

Per Breitbart, another teacher has been suspended following a post election dustup in the classroom.  Will they never learn?  This time the faux pas was comparing the ascension of the first black "present elect" to the TV show, "The Jeffersons" as in "Moving on Up"!  Remember that snappy little tune!  "Moving on up, to the eastside ..."   Why would that offend anyone?  Back in the waxing days of Affirmative Action, "The Jeffersons" was a very popular sitcom which awarded achievement, as in, "You can make it if you try".  Good old, money hungry, capitalistic George Jefferson.   He made his own fortune by working hard as a small businessman who owned a chain of dry cleaning establishments and he liked hanging on to his money, too. 

Everyone is so overly sensitive now, especially when it concerns B Hussein O!  Allowances should be made for him?  After all, he is about to embark on his first real job ever!  How did this happen?  Well, he is an expert at smooth talking while being tethered to a teleprompter and spending other people`s money, lavishly, and by using only a few words, "Yes, we can", Hope and Change.  As he has made so painfully obvious, he just loves the trappings that come with the attainment of higher office and the fawning masses accept these spectacles as his due and as normal.  Large outdoor  speaking venues, thousands of wailing, screaming, crying and adoring followers, Greek columns, faux presidential seals and a real "office of the present elect" sign for his very own "present elect" podium.   After Inaugeration Day, that sign will  Change to read "office of the present".  Lots of Change coming in a HOpe* administration..

Cut him some slack?  No way!  Soon his mother-in-law will be moving into the White House to help with the kids.  Anyone who owns a great big house, lives in a great location, has an on-call chef and a swimming pool plus Air Force One** has experienced more than a few family visits.  Extended family visits.  Come for the weekend?  When will these weeks end?  Makes you wonder just how large an extended family, Barry HOpe does have and will be obliged to extend unlimited hospitality to!   Can`t really turn any of them away, can he?  Particularly since he is such a proponent of "spread the wealth" and "sharing" for all the rest of us.  Maybe he will invite his Auntie for a long weekend, before turning her over to the Immigration authorities.  Welcome to the White House!  Don`t forget to wipe your feet!

Barry HOpe will soon be in charge of real Change!  He`s been acting like he`s been present for oh so long now!  He has been running his own shadow Change administration, with assistance from the MSM.  Soon Barry HOpe won`t be playing at being present.  He will be.present.  The world has been awaiting him.  A mountain may be named for him.  Babies are being named after him.  Songs are being sung about him.  Clothing has been designed reflecting the style and cool of him.   It must be just great being him!  Everything will be all right with the world once Barry HOpe is present and accounted for.    All right with the world, indeed, and in spades.

  * present elect
** soon to be known as, The One

Not so affectionately known by Capitol Hill insiders as the attack dog of the House of Representatives, Rahm Emanuel has been tapped to be "present-elect B Hussein O`s"  Chief of Staff.  Congratulations to Rahm!  He would be well served to take note of the First Dog and how he handles the press.

Barney was caught on camera biting a Reuters reporter, who had alledgedly asked permission to pet the spunky Scottish Terrier.  John Decker, the reporter, was bit on the index finger and received  free emergency care from the White House medical staff.  Asked if he would sue the First Family and demand Barney be put down, Decker replied he would not.  He also said he would always be friends with Barney (the dog, not Fwank). 

Dogs are tremendous judges of character and their loyalty knows no bounds.  Since a Chicago thugocracy is about to invade the White House, the musical "Chicago" comes to mind and that ditty, "He Had It Comin`"!   If it wasn`t so serious, it would be hysterical.  But for now, Barney, you good boy!

Oh, Barney!  Hope the President and First Lady fed you Steak Tartare tonight!  Gooood boy!