Howard Dean - The only Democratic Patriot for Americans

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Howard Dean, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and architect of the Democratic takeover of the White House and Congress, is the only Democrat to stand up and say the Obama health care bill will hurt America for generations to come.

What caused this leading Democrat to throw himself in front of the train in order to avoid a more devastating train wreck of epic proportions is a concern for people and principles.

While Obama used the most ominous words possible to scare the public when he said failing to pass the bill would bankrupt the USA, a wild and reckless claim using the scare tactics of a petulant and immature wannabe leader, Howard Dean stood on a foundation of knowledge, experience and principle.



When Dean uttered the fateful words, "kill the bill" a withering attack was launched by the White House against him, an attack that continued this morning when White House political advisor David Axelrod called MSNBC right after Dean was on TV and again attacked him. Dean is standing his ground on principle saying the bill would be a disaster for the American people.



How can the White House pillory one of their own for speaking the truth? It is the strategy of Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel to aggressively annihilate opposition, a strategy that has backfired around the world as Obama has developed a reputation as a paper tiger while collapsing in the polls and credibility.



Howard Dean is a physician, a physician who puts America first even if the Democrats have to suffer as a result. Unlike the partisan hacks who dominate Washington Dean stands alone in defending the people over politics. For that the Obama gang smears him? What is wrong with the people from Chicago?

I have written over and over that Congress and the White House have sold their souls to the Devil in the form of insurance companies (AIG), Wall Street, pharmaceutical conglomerates ,special interests, lobbyists and partisan politics. Thank God someone is trying to protect the people.



Perhaps it has more to do with the fact Dean was a governor, not a member of the elite Washington establishment. Something happens when one gets elected to Washington. Suddenly they get caught up in the lure of money flowing from the way business is done in our nation's capitol. Enough is enough!

Merry Christmas 2009 from the Grinch that Stole America - The Obama Gang

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There are five gifts President Obama promised his special interests under their Christmas trees when their money got him elected president. Thanks to nearly $1 billion they investment in him, he did become president riding a wave of disapproval of his predecessor George Bush. But one person's gift may be another's yoke and any tax paying citizen of the USA faces a future full of yuletide yokes courtesy of the new administration.

The gifts promised:

Wall Street Bailouts
Card Check
Cap and Trade
Health Care Reform
Global Warming Funding



Wall Street Bailouts

The first legitimized the greatest robbery in history, the pillaging of the American treasury. Between the actions of the Treasury Department through the bank, insurance and auto bailouts and the action of the Federal Reserve in waiving all procedures and saving Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley by changing their banking status, this is a gift that just keeps on giving, at least to the Goldman executive bonus pool.

On September 21, 2008 the Federal Reserve stunned the financial world by announcing that Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, the last two independent banks in America, will become bank holding companies. The Wall Street titans would be allowed to transition into holding companies following a mandatory five-day waiting period, and would be able to take advantage of credit from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in order to complete the transition.

The Fed's move was described at the time as the latest milestone in a jaw-dropping couple of weeks for Wall Street and American business. Goldman and Morgan were the last two independent investment banks, following the filing for bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, the acquiring of Bear Stearns by JP Morgan this spring, and the sale of Merrill Lynch to the Bank of America.



Goldman now had access to incredibly cheap money. Exploiting its new status, Goldman became the first financial institution to sell $5 billion in government-backed bonds through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which allowed Goldman to start doing deals when the markets were at a near standstill. The president of the New York Federal Reserve at the time was Timothy Geithner, now Obama's Secretary of Treasury.

All activity by Bush Treasury Secretary and former Goldman executive Henry Paulson was approved by candidate Obama before he was elected, and legitimized by him after being elected. The cost to the taxpayer, untold trillions in short term debt and a nearly $2 trillion increase in the national debt.



Card Check

Legislation long sought by unions to force open voting for union membership which many view as a means to expose voter intentions and open the floodgates to union pressure on non-union employees was endorsed by Obama. It was blocked in the Senate but union advocates believe they can get it approved with a few modifications that will still give unions control of the workers and elections for union representatives. In Congress nothing is ever really dead. If approved labor costs for much of the manufacturing, retail, health care and other industries will significantly increase as union control spreads under Obama and the multiple executive orders he has already signed expanding union influence.

Cap and Trade

Designed by Goldman Sachs and Al Gore and associates like Gore's financial partner, also from Goldman Sachs, the Cap and Trade bill, touted as a tool for carbon management, is nothing more than an investment ruse to allow barrels of money to be made on trading emissions instead of oil futures which are also controlled by Goldman and others. It has already made Gore $100 million developing the concept and he stands to make hundreds of more millions if approved. It will directly lead to a significantly higher cost for oil products.



Health Care Reform

The Democratic bill endorsed by Obama will open the door to the most powerful union backer of Obama, the SEIU, to organize the health care industry. This will increase the cost of health care no matter what else the bill does. Other provisions of the bill will help maintain high costs for drugs because of deals between the White House and major pharmaceutical corporations, will increase taxes on businesses and taxpayers for expanding coverage to all uninsured, could cost over $2 billion after the first ten years, and does nothing to limit excessive legal fees being generated under the present malpractice rules. All costs will be passed on to the taxpayer in the end.



Global Warming Funding

Back when Obama and Congress thought the people would give them carte blank power to sign away federal money there were thoughts of a massive increase in carbon reduction at the World Global Warming conference currently underway in Copenhagen. Now after the Chicago Olympic bid disaster in Copenhagen Obama should know better than to expect good things over there but some people never learn.

Thanks to a hard line by China the newest goals may not become mandatory but the hope of the social activists at the conference is still to get the industrial countries to finance all third world efforts to control global warming to the tune of ten billion or more dollars a year. Now most third world countries are so caught up in corruption you could give them 100 billion and it might disappear but the Obama gang was expected to be the leading financier of the third world efforts. That means the taxpayers, deficit spending and increased national debt and it does not even impact directly on America.



There you have it, your Christmas present from our new president and Nancy Pelosi and Congress. Four major reforms all leading to increased costs, increased taxes and reduced availability of services in they are implemented. Congress has one last chance to stop the nonsense. However, Congress may also believe it has one last chance to pass the nonsense so citizens beware, these expansions of government may be hidden in other actions by our pork barrel addicted legislators in Washington.

We can give them a present, give them a permanent vacation from doing harm to our country by voting them out of office, but vigilance is needed until then to make sure the actions are not buried in other mundane actions by Congress, a trick they have used often.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year...

Obama Pelosi Reid Health Care - Reform or Intellectual Constipation?

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Give America a Christmas Present - Kill the Bill and Give Us a Reason to Live!!!

If there is any sanity left in our nation's capitol, which is a lot to ask for after the last year of intellectual constipation, then the powers that be should listen to the people and simply kill the mutating health care bill. Even the former Chairman of the Democratic party Howard Dean, the person who brought us Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama and the Democratic takeover of America, says stop it.

Up to 2/3 of the public does not believe the bill will help and based on the track record of our new president and his congress, the people are right and the left are wrong. This mishmash of partisan pieces and political manipulation, which the adoring national media call the most important bill of Obama's presidency, is hogwash.



Obama's legacy will not be defined by this bill any more than it will be defined by the trillion dollar pork barrel bills, bank and auto bailouts, Afghanistan war or a host of other issues. Fact is there is looming darkness on the horizon that make health care seem trivial at best.

This hodgepodge of political gobbly gook should be deep sixed and Congress should fix the health care system a piece at a time. Why there is a propensity on the part of politicians and media to demand a massive change in the name of reform without testing the various components being advanced makes no sense.

This ill-fated bill is destined to fail and take all the politicians with it that made it possible. It has been compromised and modified so much that little remains of the altruistic goals of the original proposal and any time a bill is formed out of weakness rather than compromise it has no business in national debate.



While congress twiddles with health care reform Rome burns, and congress conveniently has an excuse for inaction. Perhaps no one will notice the radical bills like cap and trade or card check sneaking through the process with all eyes focused on the prize of health care. Perhaps no one will notice that our political leaders have totally ignored the most important issues facing America, the economy, jobs and economic independence.

Perhaps the public will finally realize that politicians are politicians, no matter whether they are disguised as Democrats or Republicans. Both parties had many opportunities to stop the economic collapse but both blame each other. Both had opportunities to stop deficit spending and the radical expansion of government and both failed. Both could have stopped the bank, insurance and auto bailouts,

They didn't. They continue to shake down the lobbyists for campaign donations. The lobbyists continue to throw money at the politicians to protect their turf. Banks give record bonuses. The only stimulus we feel is the surge of money through the federal spigot paying off all those who pledged support to the president and Democrats.

As for health care, how can there be reform when we probably will ignore tort reform, interstate competition, and promoting the use of many long proven alternative health care treatments like herbal medicine, acupuncture and other forms of holistic healing?



How can we fix a broken health care system that protects the huge pharmaceutical conglomerates who own the Food & Drug Administration and who prevent, directly and indirectly, new cures and treatment developed by small businesses from getting federal approval?

Is a system worth saving that has no incentive to heal but rewards excessive treatment, encourages unnecessary diagnoses and pours millions of dollars into political campaigns? Most important, how can a health care system designed to help us die ever help us heal? I, for one, have no intention of waiting to die when I can start living.

Kill the bill and give us a reason to live!!!

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Gone With the Wind 70th Anniversary

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The first and biggest blockbuster film from Hollywood, Gone with the Wind, opened in Hollywood 70 years ago tonight, December 15, 1939.



The Margaret Mitchell novel starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh was one of many of the top films of all time released in 1939 and we have never experienced such excellence since.



Gone with the Wind won 10 Academy Awards, the most Oscars at the time and a record that stood for a decade.



To this day it has sold more tickets than any film in history and ranks as one of the top five films of all time.



It was memorable for spectacular scenes, glamorous production, exceptional casting and breaking barriers with major Black roles.



If you are like me you long for the era of movies when plots were meaningful, acting was professional and there was no need for sex and skin to draw an audience to the theater.



Oh yeah, ticket, popcorn and soda prices didn't hurt either. Well, at least my grandfather used to tell me that.

My Life with an Irish Wolfhound - CuChulainn Deo Irie

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You know, some things just happen in life when the stars align and the Gods decide that maybe it is time to make things interesting for some lonely human. Little did I know it might be me. After years of fruitless searching for an Irish Wolfhound wherever I was traveling from coast to coast, I was about to give up.



Now I admit my standards might be a little excessive. But I had studied everything I could find about these dogs over the years although I was surprised to discover just how little was available. I mean this is one of the oldest breeds of dog in existence and can be traced back at least 3,500 years to ancient Ireland. This dog was the stuff of Irish legends.



"I will give thee a dog which I got in Ireland.
He is huge of limb, and for a follower equal to an able man.
Moreover, he hath a man’s wit and will bark at thine enemies but never at thy friends.
And he will see by each man’s face whether he be ill or well disposed to thee.
And he will lay down his life for thee.”
(from "The Icelandic Saga of Nial”)



According to Irish Wolfhound websites, The dog of kings and the king of dogs, the Irish wolfhound is a living symbol of the Celtic people. A dog from the time of heroes, it is entwined in Irish lore and legend. The tallest of dogs, the noble Wolfhound is an enormous, rough-coated shaggy-browed hound, built on galloping lines and is a member of the Greyhound family and combines their great speed with enormous power. Even as he lies by a modern hearth or romps about an enclosed yard, gallops in a meadow or along a beach, it is easy to imagine him as the prominent figure he once was in the feudal life of the Middle Ages. He was coveted for his hunting prowess, particularly in the pursuit of wolf. With the disappearance from Ireland of these animals, and the excessive exportation of the dwindling ranks of Wolfhound, the breed was allowed to become almost extinct.



Wolfhounds were, indeed, so highly thought of that only kings, warriors, nobles and bards were legally allowed to own them. They were the companions of the regal, and housed themselves alongside them. But their function was far from ornate - they were considered the guardians of their noble masters, and they were indeed bred to hunt wolves and capture wolves, and to go in for the kill. It is not surprising to note that there are no known wolves in Ireland today.



A dog of nobility, an Irish wolfhound was so valued in the 1700s that a condemned man could buy his life with one. Once upon a time the Irish Wolfhounds were used to fight wild animals in the arenas of imperial Rome. They were known to have defeated lions in battle.

Queen Elizabeth was given a pair of Wolfhounds in the middle of her reign and Lord Cromwell, in 1652, was so concerned about the exportation of Wolfhounds from Ireland and the rapidly vanishing breed that he banned any further exporting. By the later part of the 19th Century, Irish wolfhounds very nearly became extinct. An Irish wolfhound was the first pure-bred dog in the New World; one traveled with Columbus on his fourth voyage.



In spite of its size, the Irish wolfhound is absolutely trustworthy with children. All this information plus the fact my mother's side of the family was from Ireland was enough to convince me that I needed one to complete my portfolio of canine sidekicks which by this time was pretty extensive.

I determined that I must find one whose parents were natives of Ireland in order to make certain I was getting close to the original breed since cross breeding and limited numbers of wolfhounds tended to weaken the breed after too many generations away from Ireland.



Now I studied the breed standards and fully expected to find what is known as the "super breed" which refers to a throwback to the ancient lineage. These are standards that come closer to the ancient breed than modern dogs. I was not disappointed.

AKC MEET THE BREEDS®: Irish Wolfhound
An Irish Wolfhound must be "of great size and commanding appearance." He has a large, muscular greyhound-like shape, and he is the tallest of dogs, but not the heaviest. A superb athlete and an endurance runner, an old Irish proverb describes him perfectly: "Gentle when stroked, fierce when provoked." The breed’s recognized colors are gray, brindle, red, black, pure white, fawn and others.

Irish Wolfhound Breed Standard
General Appearance
Of great size and commanding appearance, the Irish Wolfhound is remarkable in combining power and swiftness with keen sight. The largest and tallest of the galloping hounds, in general type he is a rough-coated, Greyhound-like breed; very muscular, strong though gracefully built; movements easy and active; head and neck carried high, the tail carried with an upward sweep with a slight curve towards the extremity. The minimum height and weight of dogs should be 32 inches and 120 pounds; of bitches, 30 inches and 105 pounds; these to apply only to hounds over 18 months of age. Anything below this should be debarred from competition. Great size, including height at shoulder and proportionate length of body, is the desideratum to be aimed at, and it is desired to firmly establish a race that shall average from 32 to 34 inches in dogs, showing the requisite power, activity, courage and symmetry.

How could you not want to experience sharing a home with an ancient member of Irish royalty? These gentle giants were the stuff of legends and at long last my search for the perfect Irish Wolfhound with genetic ties directly to Ireland came to a conclusion in northern Maryland.



When I moved to Maryland a few years back I discovered a breeder in Northern Maryland with puppies meeting the exact qualities I required. A male, first generation removed from Ireland and with all the classic standards the American Kennel Club expected in a show quality dog though I had no expectation of ever showing him.

Unfortunately the breeder said all pups were taken and she would call me when the next litter came along. I was disappointed having come so close for the first time in several years. But a week later she called me back and said the buyer of one from Georgia had been diagnosed with cancer and could no longer devote the attention to the dog necessary so she cancelled her order. He was mine if I wanted him.



When I got to the breeder two pups were left to pick up, a male and female. They were the cutest, most innocent looking little wolfhounds resting in their cage. About 7 weeks old, there was absolutely nothing about this little guy that foretold of what was to come. So I sat down and waited to see if he would come to me. The male made the first move then along came the female. But the male crawled up on me and parked himself. I was surprised at how small and delicate it seemed at seven weeks old compared to the vision I had of the full sized warrior.



So I walked away with the little critter and on the journey home he started whimpering, maybe he wasn't quite ready for adventures. By the second night away from mamma he was sleeping with me curled in my arms or sprawled across the pillow above my head. It was quite cute. Six years later he is still sleeping with me although now I am the smaller one, but that gets a little ahead of the story.



His first week he inhaled some strong flea and tick spray and literally died, seizing up and suddenly stopped breathing with no heartbeat. I grabbed the little guy and ran into the bathtub and shoved him under freezing cold water and somehow the shock jolted him back to life.



It was then I decided he was a fighter, having already faced death and come back so I named him CuChulainn Deo Irie, Gaelic for CuChulainn, warrior spirit of Ireland. Since no one in Coltons Point spoke Gaelic I just called him Coolin, or Cu for short.



I had no idea what I was getting into with this unusual little creature. He grew in spurts, in about six week intervals. He would eat like a horse during that time, grow a couple of inches and a lot of pounds, then stop growing for six weeks. Every time his color seemed to change.



I waited a year to start exercising him as I knew large breed dogs face their most dangerous period the first year when most people over-exercise them when their bones and joints are still in fluid. Then we took two walks a day of approximately 2 miles total. I knew he was allergic to flea treatment because of his near death experience so I had to find some natural way to fight fleas and ticks since he did like to romp through the woods and along the shore.



After two trips he refused to go to the vet and I had to find a most unusual vet in Southern Maryland who would make house calls. Dr. Guyther and her Vet-A-Pet traveling show became one of Coolin's great friends and admirers. The doc treated horses so I knew she could handle Coolin.



As he continued to stretch out at an alarming pace a few things became obvious. First, he could never be left in a kennel because he simply would not fit in a cage. His idea of a cage based on my raising him was the living room. Second, he did not like dog food as he did not consider himself a dog but a far superior being.



From day one he insisted on sleeping with me and for the first year it was on the bed. It was the genetic breeding, I could tell. Slowly but surely a host of mysterious habits came from Coolin as he grew into his royalty genetics. Once he got too big for the bed he would only lie down on his own bed. Since he liked to hang out with people some of the time and stay out on a porch there had to be two beds, one inside and one out, with about five comforters each.



This was a most peculiar dog. He like having a light cover on him even though he had a fur coat. Then there were the pillows. He insisted on a pile of pillows. These I moved from bed to bed. When he moved to the bed he would arrange them under his head or push them to the side so he could lie on them.



As he grew and surpassed the breed standards I began to wonder. You see, AKC said the Wolfhound male should get about 32-34 inches high and weigh an average of 125 pounds. Occasionally a genetic throwback would come along more like the ancient breed and could weigh up to 175 pounds. They also said he should stop growing at 4 years old.

Coolin shattered the breed standards. He now stands nearly 39 inches at the shoulder, and measures over 7 feet 3 inches from nose to tail. As for the weight, with no fat whatsoever he still weighs in at about 250 pounds. That makes him much more like the ancient super breed.



Concerning the things no one told me about Wolfhounds, where do I start? No one mentioned the two beds, or that he liked them clean. If the top blankets and pillow cases were not regularly cleaned he refused to lie down on the bed. And my little Lord demanded he get baths, toweled and brushed weekly. What in the hell was that all about? I never owned a dog that demanded baths.



Then there was the eating. As for the diet, forget it. What I ate he ate unless he ate better. Hands down peanut butter sandwiches are his favorite, along with sushi, salads, hamburgers, hot dogs and on and on. He prefers variety, as in a different meat each day. Some days he refuses to eat what I serve and will not touch the food until he gets what he wants. He just won't have a bad chicken day.



For breakfast his Irish breeding makes him love crescent rolls. After breads or rolls he expects a small bowl of milk to wash down the food. He may be the slowest eater I've ever seen. One small bite at a time and chew it 25 times, then swallow. Then wash the legs and feet and eventually he will get back to the food. Half hour meals are the norm.

When he eats, which he does lying down, the food must be no closer than 3 inches from him. Too close and he moves away. Too far away and he waits for you to move it closer. When he eats half the plate he expects it to be rotated so the food is close to him. Don't rotate and he don't eat. If he is getting several different things for his meal don't dare mix them. I may give him meat, wet dog food, dry dog food and bread for a meal. He gets up and changes position before he will eat the next course of his meal.

Are you beginning to get the idea that Coolin thought he was moving in with the Rockefellers or Rothschilds, not me?

A people person, Coolin wanted to hang out with the humans but did not like being touched unless he gave you permission. If people approached him and didn't follow directions a low growl would rumble across the room. It would stop anyone.

Acutely aware of his size and the hazards of being huge, Coolin was very careful. He would not walk on wood floors. Of course my whole house has wood floors so he only went where I put rugs. His long, gangly legs kept him from attempting to walk up flights of steps. He knew better. He would never enter a room he could not safely back out of.

Most astonishing of all, in spite of the fact he looked down on most tabletops, he never knocked anything off a table or knocked over any furniture. And we never caught him stealing food off the table. We had been warned the Wolfhound was entirely capable of snatching a steak or roast but only when you were not looking. He didn't.

Coolin has a variety of voices he uses to communicate with you. There are different tones and sounds when he wants food, wants out, wants you to come play with him, and wants to be left alone. If you study them you develop a whole new way of communicating with animals. His mysterious eyes are also used to communicate. If I ask him what he wants his head continues facing you but he shifts his eyes to what he wants, like the water bowl if it is empty, or dirty. He might want his towels put down over his bed when coming in from the rain. If he is hurt he will show me where so I can fix him.



Other dogs are inferior creatures to Master Cu but he did make friends with an abandoned Irish Setter named Holly and shared his home, food, bed and masters with Holly. He is the most unselfish animal you will meet. He also saved birds that were hurt and brought them to me to fix. When lying on the front porch little birds would fearlessly hop around him as his eyes followed them picking up crumbs of his food.



He really does not like being around small dogs as he is afraid of hurting them accidently, they move too fast. Nor does he like being around small children for the same reason. If a Wolfhound is raised with the children they are exceptional guardians and playmates.



The Irish Wolfhound is a sensitive, meaning they have a mystical sense of the character of a person. It was why they were favorites of the ancient Druids and were often used as Demon chasers to protect Celtic villages from evil. If he senses evil or something wrong with someone he will not let the person near you.



Mostly they are gentle giants, incredible companions, lovable bears and amazing athletes. Loyalty is inherent, protecting you is a given, nursing you when you are sick or hurt is automatic and knowing how to read your every emotion is commonplace. You could not find a better friend. But you better be ready to provide your Little Lord with royal service. They do not stay little for long.

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