Afterburner with Bill Whittle: Boiling Frogs

The always brilliant Bill Whittle, with one of his better videos.

And coming from Bill, that’s saying something…

T.B Rickert's Call

Bill Whittle masterfully addresses how we, as a people, have tolerated being slowly stripped of our freedoms:

This reminded me of a cartoon I posted back in 2012, after the G 20 bailout of Greece.

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Terrifying #Obamacare Video: Local TV News’ report on the (un)Affordable Care Act

Some excellent work here by the news team at WTAE Pittsburgh.

Quote of the year:
“I don’t know how President Obama thinks that he’s helping us. Because, …because we can’t afford this”.

The #IRS “doesn’t have time” to answer your calls. Wanna guess why?

Two different news items came out today about the IRS, and as yet they haven’t been tied together. But if you think about it, they mesh perfectly.

The first one is the same disturbing-yet-true story we hear every year: “IRS Customer Service is horrible/pathetic/non-existent“. Yes, we know. And water is wet. Got it.

Actually, I wrote about this last year:

(from February, 2013) – “…more than 115 million people called the IRS for help; only 68 percent of those who wanted to speak with tax experts actually got through — and only after holding for an average of 17 minutes on phone lines. One million of the 10 million written inquiries mailed to the IRS last year also did not get a response…”

And apparently the story hasn’t changed much since then:

Obama’s cheerleaders give their impartial opinion of the #SOTU Address:

If you’ve read my full rundown of this year’s State Of The Union address, then you already know my opinion of it, and why. But according to the following video clip (below), I must have been watching a different guy, giving a different speech, on a different channel.

‘Cause if we are talking about the same speech, I forced myself through that snooze-fest twice, and have NO idea what they’re talking about…

The 2014 State of the Union: Two bright spots in an otherwise grueling evening

This was what I wrote around this time last year:

“…If you skipped the State Of The Union speech (and I couldn’t blame you if you did…), then you missed roughly an hour of our president insulting our intelligence and lying about objective facts and figures.

So, basically, no real surprises…” 

And how was THIS year’s speech? The same. Actually, almost exactly the same. To the point that it will be easier to focus on this year’s differences, because the similarities would take much, much longer.

If the President COULDN’T Lie, …What Would You Ask Him?

Today we’re honored to have another offering from our friend, the Deja Reviewer! And given the upcoming State Of The Union Speech, this post is particularly timely. 

-JTR

—

In the 1997 comedy Liar Liar, Jim Carrey plays a dishonest lawyer named Fletcher who is dismayed when he finds himself unable to lie about even the smallest thing one day. This setup results in numerous memorable gags and funny jokes.

One of my favorites is when he drives like a maniac and gets pulled over by a police officer. He’s forced to relate every little misdeed he had just done, such as speeding, changing lanes without signaling, nearly hitting pedestrians, and more. But that’s not all.

The cop then asks if there’s “anything else?”, and Fletcher grudgingly admits that he’s accumulated dozens of unpaid parking tickets, and they’re hidden in the glove compartment.

After this deluge of painful confessions, he sinks into his seat and quietly says, “Be gentle.”

Can our #WoundedWarriors be transformed into …”The Six Million Dollar Man”?

This is just flat-out cool, and I can think of no one more deserving of having access to this technology first than our magnificent Wounded Warriors:

(via Fox News) – “…A tragic cost of war is that many service members are missing limbs when they come home from combat. The U.S. military is working harder than ever to replace them with prosthetics that work just like the real thing. 

The high-tech whizzes at DARPA, the military research arm of the Defense Department, displayed some breakthrough technology for space, ocean, robotics and ground war at a Congressional Tech Showcase in Washington earlier this month…”

Stories for Cold, Dark Days

The view out my front door…

It’s been a long month. Bitter cold and snow on snow have cancelled classes and events, leaving us huddled in our houses for days on end. And what better way to pass the time than with story?

Our granddaughter has just fallen in love with one of my favorite fairy tales, Beauty and the Beast, and has been let’s-pretending it all day long, for days now. I am startled to find she knows snatches of dialogue by heart, and is singing along on key…just past her third birthday, she seems to have made a quantum leap forward.

I’m pleased that she has taken to a story which involves a loving father, a beautiful act of sacrificial love, and a relationship which isn’t based on good looks. Add to that a heroine who loves to read–it’s perfect! I know Lucy is probably not reacting to all these positive character qualities for their own sake…she loves the story. Presenting her with stories worth loving is my most important job at the moment. Later there will be time to show her why they’re worthy.