What's Your Excuse, Now?: May 2013

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Lee Greenwood- God Bless the USA!!!

Meditating on Memorial Day! God Bless America!


I did not get a chance to post on Memorial Day!  No, I was not busy.  It was a day to meditate on how many people in the military, law enforcement, and civil servants sacrificed their lives for a causes many of us might not support.  Whatever those differences might be, these heroes are not here to share their moments with their families.  Consider yourselves blessed that you still can.  If you can but will not share these times with your family or friends, it is your choice.

RIP, Ms. Louise Bailey! (1925 - May 27, 2013)

Anderson, SC - Mary Louise Moore Bailey, age 88, of Anderson, died peacefully with her loving family by her side on Monday, May 27, 2013,  at Rainey Hospice House.

RIP, Ms. Sadie Ellison! (February 27, 1938 - May 26, 2013)

COLUMBIA — Sadie Mae Kinder Ellison, widow of the late Rev. John Henry Ellison, heard her master’s call at Providence Hospital in Columbia. Born on Feb. 27, 1938, in Manning, she was a daughter of the late Willie and Maggie Pearson Kinder. 

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Proud To Be the Party of No (Dissension)

This is an opinion written by DeWayne Wickham of USATODAY.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, (R-Kentucky),  revealed the legislative game plan of congressional Republicans when he told the National Journal on the eve of the 2010 midterm election: "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president." When asked about blocking the Democrats' legislative agenda during a New York Times interview that same year, McConnell replied: "I wish I had been able to obstruct more."

Mr. Wickham went on to write, “Somewhere in McConnell's office there must to a shrine to Eddie Vrdolyak, the onetime Chicago Democratic boss who used the art of political obstruction to keep Harold Washington, that city's first black mayor, from governing the Windy City.  Like Vydolyak, McConnell has used the legislative voting bloc he controls to block the passage of bills and the confirmation of appointees. His goal is not just to assert the authority of the legislature, but also to render useless the powers of the chief executive."

Seems pretty much the facts to me.  People with attitudes like this would rather divide and destroy this country than see progress for the good of all.  It seems that our elected officials have their own agenda instead of helping the people that voted for them.  I guess gerrymanding the districts can make you overconfident.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Pat Toomey: Background Checks Died Because The GOP Didn't Want To Help Obama

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) revealed that some members of his party opposed expanding background checks for gun sales recently because they didn't want to "be seen helping the president."  Two weeks ago, only three Republican senators voted for the bipartisan background checks amendment sponsored by Toomey and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), despite overwhelming popular support for such a measure.  "In the end it didn’t pass because we're so politicized. There were some on my side who did not want to be seen helping the president do something he wanted to get done, just because the president wanted to do it,” Toomey admitted on Tuesday in an interview with Digital First Media editors in the offices of the Times Herald newspaper in Norristown, Pa.  The Times Herald noted that in "subsequent comments," Toomey "tried to walk that remark part-way back by noting he meant to say Republicans across the nation in general, not just those in the Senate." Amanda Terkel - Huffington Post

All of our politicians should man up and tell the truth!  Maybe they can't because they have already sold their souls.

Death Valley Dreamlapse 2



The footage, shot and edited by Gavin Heffernan, is sure to leave viewers spellbound. It includes sensational star trails, astonishing landscapes and wild photographic techniques like "moonpainting." Plus, you'll see the sliding stones of Racetrack Playa, which appear to move across the desert.

Always Valuable!

            My wife and I visited Mother Bennett this past weekend.  At 102, she’s still feisty and quick-witted.  Her granddaughters have a...