HEY, MR. TRANSPARENCY, YOU MAKE A BETTER DOOR THAN A WINDOW

Since the Lamestream Media act as censors rather than reporters, it's up to cranky old farts on the Blogosphere to do the job American journalists can't or won't do. When Barack screws up, they cover up, and they will continue to do so. Playing hard ball means gently tossing him puffballs underhand. For example, how many Americans remember the press reporting these Obama gems:

"I've campaigned in all 57 states."

"Eau Claire is a big important state."

"Countries like Europe."

"Iran is a tiny country that doesn't pose a threat top us."

"Navy Corpseman."

The Stimulus Bill, "Has no earmarks."

The Constitution , "was put to paper nearly 20 centuries ago."

"The Healthcare Package will pay for itself."

"$3.50 per gallon gas."

"Unemployment will never rise above 8%."

Need we go on? We could, for pages and days, filling in the gaps the media left. But the issue at hand today is calling out Mr. Transparency on a few other discrepancies between what he says and what he does.

“Obama and Biden will nullify the Bush attempts to make the timely release of presidential records more difficult.”.....Obama’s Ethics Plan, 2008

His second day in office, Obama nullifies that nasty ol' Bush by signing Executive Order #13489, sealing all of his own records.

The MSM quickly responds.

The day after President Obama was sworn into office, he also released the Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel, Executive Order #12490.

"These are the strictest ethics rules ever applied."

At least 41 (and counting) Obama White House aides owe the IRS $831,000 (and counting) in back taxes. Thirty four (and counting) "ethics waivers" have been granted to circumvent the President's own rules.

The MSM quickly responds.

"My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency."... Obongo 2008

“Based on my experience in trying to pry information out of the Executive branch, I'm disappointed to report that agencies under the control of President Obama's political appointees have been more aggressive than ever in withholding information from the public and from Congress. There's a complete disconnect between the President's grand pronouncements about transparency and the actions of his political appointees.”...Senator Chuck Grassley, 2012

The MSM quickly responds.

And now, this week: "In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, Justice Department Director of the Office of Information Policy, Melanie Ann Pustay (pictured above), called on Congress to weaken the Freedom of Information of Act [FOIA] and strengthen the ability of the federal government to prevent the disclosure of documents deemed critical to the safety of the nation's cybersecurity and infrastructure."

And the MSM quickly...oh never mind, you get the idea.

TOMAHAWK...HE REALLY HAS BEEN EVERYWHERE, MAN

So I "met" this feller online over the weekend. I wrote to him just because I was seeking permission to use one of his photographs in a book. Well, we got to talking, and I got to looking over his blog and I wound up spending a couple of hours doing so Saturday and Sunday.

Tomahawk really has been everywhere, man, with the possible exception of Mars. He's a real deal survival expert (more Ron Hood and Les Stroud than Bear Grylls and Dave Canterbury), Army veteran, world traveler, military contractor...you name it. If he says, "Been there, done that" he probably actually has.

His is the kind of life so many of us wish we could lead, a life of adventure and freedom, no ties that bind, just "Go Walkabout" when the desire arises. Something I danced around the edges of and might have actually tried 25 years ago. But, if we had the chance, none of us, including myself these days, would actually leave our comfort zone to do so. As Gerry Spence once said, "Faced with the pain of freedom, man begs for his shackles."

So I'm linking to Tomahawks site HERE for ya'll. You'll find great survival/bushcraft tips, some of that obscure military history I'm so fond of, travel to exotic places, and rants much more coherent than my own. His writing reminds me of Edward Abbey and I can't help but like a man who quoted my favorite poem, one of the few I have actually memorized, by Robert Service, the "Bard of the North".

The Men Who Don't Fit In

Robert W. Service

There's a race of men that don't fit in,
A race that can't stay still;
So they break the hearts of kith and kin,
And they roam the world at will.
They range the field and they rove the flood,
And they climb the mountain's crest;
Theirs is the curse of the gypsy blood,
And they don't know how to rest.

If they just went straight they might go far;
They are strong and brave and true;
But they're always tired of the things that are,
And they want the strange and new.
They say: "Could I find my proper groove,
What a deep mark I would make!"
So they chop and change, and each fresh move
Is only a fresh mistake.

And each forgets, as he strips and runs
With a brilliant, fitful pace,
It's the steady, quiet, plodding ones
Who win in the lifelong race.
And each forgets that his youth has fled,
Forgets that his prime is past,
Till he stands one day, with a hope that's dead,
In the glare of the truth at last.

He has failed, he has failed; he has missed his chance;
He has just done things by half.
Life's been a jolly good joke on him,
And now is the time to laugh.
Ha, ha! He is one of the Legion Lost;
He was never meant to win;
He's a rolling stone, and it's bred in the bone;
He's a man who won't fit in.

Scouts Out, Tom.

Fade out whistling "Garry Owen".

THE DISUNITED STATES OF MODERN ROME?

I tend to make a lot of references to the fall of Rome, especially the old saying, “Nero fiddled while Rome burned” and “Bread and Circuses”. To me, a history buff, the parallels between these United States and Rome during her decline are so obvious as to need no explanation. However, I forget about our younger readers, victims of decades of public education. This was brought home to me in a most dramatic fashion when we received the following text from Timmy, a youngster in his seventh year of pursuing an Associate’s Degree in Community Organizing at Occidental College.

"SUP GANGSTAS. MY PROF SEZ U R STUPID. I H8 U. BTW, WHUTS A FIDDLE?"

Obviously, one of my little history lessons/harangues would seem to be in order once again.

First, an answer to little Timmy’s question: fid-dle, n. 1. a. A violin. B. A member of the violin family.

Second, to answer to little Timmy’s next question before he asks it. Vi-o-lin n. A stringed instrument played with a bow.

Ancient Rome, first as a kingdom, then a republic and finally an empire (Google them, Timmy), was the Super Power of Antiquity. Its empire eventually covered all of the Mediterranean and stretched from the Rhine River to North Africa, and from the Atlantic Ocean to Eastern Europe. (Google, Timmy). Rome enjoyed a surprisingly modern and comfortable civilization which included things still found lacking in many Muslim countries, such as indoor plumbing, personal hygiene and garbage collection.

Mighty Rome was the World’s Policeman of its time, which lasted a couple of thousand years. Yet even this mighty civilization, which many deemed immortal, crumbled to dust. The reasons were many, but internal rot and decadence were very high on the list. A great many of the causes of Rome’s decline and implosion exist right here in the good old USA even as we speak. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

1. Decline in Morals, Ethics and Values: Check. Watch prime-time television, a movie or the so-called news then compare with Rome’s lifestyle, amusements and literature (they didn’t have Cable or Satellite at the time and had to write books and plays, Timmy).

2. Political Corruption: Check, check, check and check.

3. Constant Wars and a Huge Military Budget: Big Check.

4. Unemployment of the Working Classes: Check. Fed.gov’s official unemployment rate=9%. Real-world numbers more like 20%+. (Also see number 2.)

5. Decline in Work Ethic and Employment, Huge Expansion of Dependence on Foreign Products and Trade Deficit: Check. Ask any Chicom about this.

5. Class Warfare Between Rich and Poor: Check. See OWS, Community Organizing and DNC reelection platform.

6. Decline and Decay of Infrastructure: Check. See Detroit.

Which picture is Detroit and which picture is Rome?

7. Cost of Welfare: Check. This is where we get the phrase “Bread & Circuses”. The government gave the poor food, wine and entertainment spectacles to keep them from getting rambunctious. They built the Coliseum and had Gladiator fights to the death, Timmy, because they lacked the technology for food stamps and reality TV shows.

8. Taxed the Shit Out of Some, Others not Taxed at all: Check. Nearly Half of Americans Pay No Income Tax.

9. Takeover of New Religion (Christianity): Check. Today, Islam.

10. Invasion by Barbarians Who Did Not Assimilate. Check. See any southern border state.

So, there we have just a wee tiny sampling of the parallels between Ancient Rome and the present-day United States. I hope you can stop playing Swords & Sandals on-line long enough to read this article, Timmy. If not, just remember mmmm bread good, ahhhh circus fun.

FULL FAITH AND CREDIT

Maybe someone in Wyoming read the last column. I dunno. At any rate, the Wyoming State Legislature is showing a huge vote of confidence for the ability of fed.gov and the Zero Regime to run (or is that spelled ruin?) the country.

CHEYENNE — State representatives on Friday advanced legislation to launch a study into what Wyoming should do in the event of a complete economic or political collapse in the United States.

House Bill 85 passed on first reading by a voice vote. It would create a state-run government continuity task force, which would study and prepare Wyoming for potential catastrophes, from disruptions in food and energy supplies to a complete meltdown of the federal government.

Read more: http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/wyoming-house-advances-doomsday-bill/article_af6e1b2b-0ca4-553f-85e9-92c0f58c00bd.html#ixzz1nV0bVKZk

Even Wyoming media still the media, so the article mentions something about acquiring an aircraft carrier. Here's the actual text of HB0085, and I don't actually see anything about aircraft carriers mentioned.

Not that I would be against it, mind you. Yellowstone Lake is within the state boundaries of Wyoming. Wouldn't it be cool to see the USS Ronald Reagan bobbing around out there? They could dominate the air space of the entire northern Rockies while getting in some good fishing.

I would just settle for a bill from the Montana Legislature questioning what to do when, er, I mean, if fed.gov implodes through their own greed, ineptitude and stupidity. There would need to be a caveat in there that we would accept no refugees from the District of Criminals, New York, Massachusetts, or California.

If they didn't like that, they could talk to boys on the carrier about it.

YOU GET DOWN THE FIDDLE AND YOU GET DOWN THE BOW

WASHINGTON D.C., 2017: The sky is black with smoke and people go about outside with respirators on. Flames lick the skyline in all direction. Vandals and Visogoths plunder the streets. The smoke cloud can be seen as far away as China. The "leaders" of these United States heroically gather for another historic bi-partisan conference to discuss whether maybe something should be done.

Zero Nero puts down his fiddle. “That’s uh uh uh a little ditty Bill Ayers wrote um under the pen name Barack Obama. The song is uh called Brother, Can You Spare 800 Hillion Bajillion Dollars.”

“That’s not funny. Eight hundred hillion bajillion bucks is almost 40 Yuan. With our credit rating, I don’t think even George Soros will give us that much,” worries the token GOP left-leaning RINO Moderate, reaching across the aisle. Zero Nero slaps his hand.

“Always with the negative waves, Mitt.” Zero takes a big drag on his joint and shakes his head. “Always with the negative waves.”

“Next he’ll be wanting to cut the School Lunch, Breakfast, Supper, Midnight Snack and Free Abortion Program and starve the children!” Nancy shrieks shrilly. “That is out of the question!”

“People, please,” Says little Timmy the Tax Cheat, formerly the only man smart enough to fix the economy. “We’re here to discuss the raging inferno out there that the media is becoming unable to suppress. We need to pretend we’re doing something about it, or least give the impression that we have a clue. So shut up, Mitt.”

“The proper way to say it,” Rahm huffs. “Is shut the [expletive deleted] up, Mitt, you [expletive deleted] [expletive deleted].

“Rahm, what in Allah's name are you doing back here?” asks spiritual advisor former Reverend now Imam Al. “I thought you were in Chicago with my colleague Jeremiah.”

“Chicago is a smoldering [expletive deleted] ash heap. I thought I would be of more use back here in Sodom on Potomac.”

“Pwease,” says Bawney. “We’we hewe to discuss that waging infewno outside. Why just yestewday, the peasants made it acwoss my moat and Igor almost wan out of buwning pitch! My fweind Bwuce was having a sweep-over, and he was tewwibly fwightened.”

“Bawney’s Wight.” Rham says. “[Expletive deleted]! Now you’ve got me talking like that you [expletive deleted] fop!”

“Stop uh it! We have to stop this um um ah bickering and find an answer to this economic downturn uh ah er which is not rebounding as quickly as uh uh expected.” Nero pulls back the curtain. “Just look at that.”

Outside, Chinese Repo men topple the Washington Monument and begin to haul away the granite blocks. A small crowd of ragged Americans tries to block their way, but a squadron of DHS Apache attack helicopters “disperses” them with cannon fire and rockets.

Even Zero winces. “Do we always have to use the um ah helicopters? What if some ah some ah some ah peasant films it on his cell phone and puts it on Youtube?”

Eric chuckles evilly, “What Youtube?”

“The one on the um Internet.”

Janet chuckles evilly, “What Internet?”

Eric chimes back in. “Yeah. Besides, those thirty millimeter cannons are using rubber ‘less lethal’ shells.”

“Less lethal than what?”

“B-52 carpet bombing, for one.”

“Back to the business at hand. What lies should we tell the people to give the illusion that we are doing something about this economic set-back which can be easily corrected with just one more stimulus plan?” Dingy Harry asks.

“Tee-hee,” titters Bawney. “You souwd wike Kewmit the Fwog with asthma.”

“Oh, you’re one to talk!”

“Hey! I know!” Zero Nero stands up. “We could ask TOTUS (Teleprompter of the United States). He’s um ah smarter than the rest of us here put together. I uh uh for one never did understand all this economic claptrap. Never have, never will.”

“Is that because you never had a real [expletive deleted] job or worked a day in your life?”

“That’s ridiculous. I worked hard as a community organizer.”

“I said a real [expletive deleted] job."

“But the economy!” Nancy shrieks shrilly, slabs of makeup the size of corn flakes cracking and falling off her face.

“Let’s blame Bush,” Zero says brightly.

“I don’t know. Not even Chris Matthews can say that with a straight face any more.” This from the Regime’s 48^th Press Secretary.

“[Expletive deleted]!”

“We can no longer just issue meaningless platitude press releases saying that green shoots are showing again or that Nero is focused like a laser on jobs. The Propaganda Ministry, er, I mean the objective mainstream media, only has 27 viewers left and a credibility rating of minus two percent.”

“Hey you [expletive deleted]. How would you like to be the [expletive deleted] forty-ninth ex press secretary? I’m sure Eric can [expletive deleted] get you to the head of the line on the gulag waiting list.”

“Yeah, Mister Smarty Pants.” Zero Nero adds. “Just ah um er how do you suggest we go through the ah ah ah er motions of pretending to put out the fire?”

“We could pour more gasoline on it.” Nancy shrieks shrilly.

“The public quit believing that after Stimulus XVII.”

“Uh, OK, how about napalm then?”

“Moron.”

“Why don’t we stage a terrorist attack? The sheeple always come bleating to us and grovel in fear, begging us to take away any remaining freedoms which might have slipped through the cracks thus far.” Janet looks around smugly after this suggestion.

“I uh um er ah like it!”

“The problem is finding a credible target. All our population centers and infrastructure already lie in ruins. We could drop an H-Bomb and no one would notice.”

“I warned you once about those um um ah negative waves, Mitt. Don’t make me have Eric uh ah take you to the er Special Room.”

“How about our friends in Hollywood?” Dianne chirps. “They could make some more movies about a military take-over of the government or the terror of the McCarthy years to distract people.”

“Ah, circuses.” Nods Zero Nero. “We could um uh give them free popcorn in lieu of bread.”

“[Expletive deleted]! California was the first to [expletive deleted] go; they went under months ago. There’s nothing left in that [expletive deleted] place.”

“What about our uh er undocumented voter friends?”

“They went back to [expletive deleted] Mexico for more jobs and a higher standard of living.”

“We could tell the masses not to worry, that unemployment is still under ten percent by our figures.” Dingy Harry warbles.

Everyone in the room collapses onto the floor in fits of hysterical laughter.

Wiping tears of mirth from the corner of his eyes, Zero says, “Thanks for lightening the mood, Dingy. I needed a good laugh.” A thoughtful look comes over his face. “Uh, um you think it might actually still work?”

“But the real number is ninety three percent. Nobody but the media believes our ‘official’ numbers anymore.”

“[Expletive deleted]!”

“Two words, Mitt,” growls Eric. “Special Room.”

Rifle fire rattles against the bulletproof windows.

“I thought we confiscated all uh er oh those damn things, Eric!”

“We did. Unfortunately, people are buying back all those guns we gave to Mexican drug cartels. They’re worth more per ounce than cocaine now.”

“We couldn’t have given them that many guns.”

“I know nutting!”

A flight of DHS fighter-bombers makes a low sweep over Pennsylvania Avenue dropping cluster bombs. The gunfire ceases for the moment.

“But, once more, what about our economic recovery program which has been un un unexpectedly slowed by the policies of Bush and Cheney?”

RP stands up in the back of the room. “We could follow the rule of law in the Constitution, stop spending like drunken sailors, cease funding ninety four percent of the UN and get the hell out of policing every other nation on earth.”

“[Expletive deleted]! How did that [expletive deleted] get in here? Guards!”

A platoon of DHS agents come stomping into the room in their jackboots, gleefully bludgeon RP repeatedly with night sticks, taser him four or five time, mace him, and then whomp on him some more with the nightsticks just for good measure. His limp form is dragged from the room.

“That was ridic ridic ah um silly! We’re here to offer the illusion of real solutions, not that terrorist outlawed hate speech ‘constitution’ [expletive deleted].”

“Need I remind you all that the Supreme Court, a wise Latina woman making it a 5-4 decision, has ruled that mentioning the constitution, especially the first amendment, is considered hate speech and thus unconstitutional. You can be shot for it.”

“But what are we going to do?” Nancy shrieks shrilly.

“I just happen to [expletive deleted] have a nice little ten thousand acre ‘ranch’ in Venezula, with a dozen elaborate villas and a small thousand-man detail of ‘private security consultants’ with aircraft and [expletive deleted] tanks.”

Zero Nero brightens visibly. “My good friend uh ah er um Hugo tells me the climate is wonderful!”

“Pack your bags, everybody!” Michelle commands. “No need for you to pack any pants, dear. Call Air Force One. We’re outta here!”

A swarm of rats rushes through the room, fleeing the sinking ship. The entire assemblage jumps to their feet and pelt after them screaming, “We’re first! We’re first!”

Outside, the smoke grows thicker.