Ketchup Chips

Year 1 Recap of the Trump Presidency - The Greatest Ever

noreply@blogger.com (Ketchup Chips) — Fri, 29 Dec 2017 09:29:00 -0700

What did Trump get done this first year on the road to being the greatest President ever?

Let’s review shall we?

Jobs and the economy

· Passage of the tax reform bill providing $5.5 billion in cuts and repealing the Obamacare mandate.

· Increase of the GDP above 3 percent.

· Creation of 1.7 million new jobs, cutting unemployment to 4.1 percent.

· Saw the Dow Jones reach record highs.

· A rebound in economic confidence to a 17-year high.

· A new executive order to boost apprenticeships.

· A move to boost computer sciences in Education Department programs.

· Prioritizing women-owned businesses for some $500 million in SBA loans.

Killing job-stifling regulations

Signed an Executive Order demanding that two regulations be killed for every new one creates. He beat that big and cut 16 rules and regulations for every one created, saving $8.1 billion.
Signed 15 congressional regulatory cuts.
Withdrew from the Obama-era Paris Climate Agreement, ending the threat of environmental regulations.
Signed an Executive Order cutting the time for infrastructure permit approvals.
Eliminated an Obama rule on streams that Trump felt unfairly targeted the coal industry.

Fair trade

Made good on his campaign promise to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Opened up the North American Free Trade Agreement for talks to better the deal for the U.S.
Worked to bring companies back to the U.S., and companies like Toyota, Mazda, Broadcom Limited, and Foxconn announced plans to open U.S. plants.
Worked to promote the sale of U.S products abroad.
Made enforcement of U.S. trade laws, especially those that involve national security, a priority.
Ended Obama’s deal with Cuba.

Protecting communities

· Justice announced grants of $98 million to fund 802 new cops.

· Justice worked with Central American nations to arrest and charge 4,000 MS-13 members.

· Homeland rounded up nearly 800 MS-13 members, an 83 percent one-year increase.

· Signed three executive orders aimed at cracking down on international criminal organizations.

· Attorney General Jeff Sessions created new National Public Safety Partnership, a cooperative initiative with cities to reduce violent crimes.

Accountability

· Trump has nominated 73 federal judges and won his nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.

· Ordered ethical standards including a lobbying ban.

· Called for a comprehensive plan to reorganize the executive branch.

· Ordered an overhaul to modernize the digital government.

· Called for a full audit of the Pentagon and its spending.

Combatting opioids

· First, the president declared a Nationwide Public Health Emergency on opioids.

· His Council of Economic Advisors played a role in determining that overdoses are underreported by as much as 24 percent.

· The Department of Health and Human Services laid out a new five-point strategy to fight the crisis.

· Justice announced it was scheduling fentanyl substances as a drug class under the Controlled Substances Act.

· Justice started a fraud crackdown, arresting more than 400.

· The administration added $500 million to fight the crisis.

· On National Drug Take Back Day, the Drug Enforcement Agency collected 456 tons.

Protecting life

· In his first week, Trump reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy that blocks some $9 billion in foreign aid being used for abortions.

· Worked with Congress on a bill overturning an Obama regulation that blocked states from defunding abortion providers.

· Published guidance to block Obamacare money from supporting abortion.

Helping veterans

· Signed the Veterans Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act to allow senior officials in the Department of Veterans Affairs to fire failing employees and establish safeguards to protect whistleblowers.

· Signed the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act.

· Signed the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, to provide support.

· Signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act of 2017 to authorize $2.1 billion in additional funds for the Veterans Choice Program.

· Created a VA hotline.

· Had the VA launch an online “Access and Quality Tool,” providing veterans with a way to access wait time and quality of care data.

· With VA Secretary Dr. David Shulkin, announced three initiatives to expand access to healthcare for veterans using telehealth technology.

Promoting peace through strength

· Directed the rebuilding of the military and ordered a new national strategy and nuclear posture review.

· Worked to increase defense spending.

· Empowered military leaders to “seize the initiative and win,” reducing the need for a White House sign off on every mission.

· Directed the revival of the National Space Council to develop space war strategies.

· Elevated U.S. Cyber Command into a major warfighting command.

· Withdrew from the U.N. Global Compact on Migration, which Trump saw as a threat to borders.

· Imposed a travel ban on nations that lack border and anti-terrorism security.

· Saw ISIS lose virtually all of its territory.

· Pushed for strong action against global outlaw North Korea and its development of nuclear weapons.

· Announced a new Afghanistan strategy that strengthens support for U.S. forces at war with terrorism.

· NATO increased support for the war in Afghanistan.

· Approved a new Iran strategy plan focused on neutralizing the country’s influence in the region.

· Ordered missile strikes against a Syrian airbase used in a chemical weapons attack.

· Prevented subsequent chemical attacks by announcing a plan to detect them better and warned of future strikes if they were used.

· Ordered new sanctions on the dictatorship in Venezuela.

Restoring confidence in and respect for America

· Trump won the release of Americans held abroad, often using his personal relationships with world leaders.

· Made good on a campaign promise to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

· Conducted a historic 12-day trip through Asia, winning new cooperative deals. On the trip, he attended three regional summits to promote American interests.

· He traveled to the Middle East and Europe to build new relationships with leaders.

· Traveled to Poland and on to Germany for the G-20 meeting where he pushed again for funding of women entrepreneurs.

Not bad for a slow first year of getting their legistlative feet under rthem. If I were I liberal, I’d sure hope he plays more golf.

It’s gonna be a loooooooooooong 15 years.

Public Sector Union Workers Lavished with Furs and Jewels

noreply@blogger.com (Ketchup Chips) — Tue, 13 Dec 2016 09:24:00 -0700

It used to be public servants earned 15% or so less than their private-sector counterparts. In return, they had greater job security, better benefits, richer pensions and lighter work loads. They still have superior benefits and pensions, work fewer hours and are only one-sixth as likely to be laid off.

But now they are better paid, too.

According to a new study released this week by the Fraser Institute, the pay gap between public and private sector workers is an average of nearly 11% in favour of those employed directly by governments (civil servants) and indirectly (teachers, professors, health care workers, nurses, police and others).

The one-fifth of Canadian workers in the public sector – municipal, provincial and federal – also enjoy longer vacations, take more non-vacation days off each year for personal reasons (13 versus eight) and retire on average 2.3 years earlier.

What Fraser’s researchers found in examining multiple studies on the public-private wage gap conducted by academics, union economists and business analysts is that in study after study “wage differences between the two sectors over the past three decades consistently indicate a premium for government sector workers. The specific wage premiums vary depending on the data source and time period.

What is clear, however, is that a premium exists.

Fraser’s own study even corrected for such factors as gender, age, marital status, education, length of service, size of firm, industry and occupation. Still, it found that Canadians employed in the public sector make noticeably more money than people in comparable jobs in the private sector.

Take pensions as an example. Just 24% of private-sector employees have employer-provided pension plans compared to 90% of public-sector workers. Moreover, 94% of public-sector pensions are “defined benefit,” meaning retirees get paid a set amount after they leave their jobs (typically 70 or 75% of their working salary) – whether or not there is enough money in the pension fund.

Any shortfall is made up by taxpayers for years and years and years after civil servants retire.
The gap is not universal among all job categories. Middle managers in the public sector actually make 12% more. Office supervisors and teachers make 15% more; arts and culture workers, 8%; child care workers, 24%; social workers, 18%, and police and firefighters nearly 40%.

Similar work done by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business determined that when all compensation is taken into account and divided by hours worked, federal workers made more than 40% what their private counterparts made, provincial workers made 35% and municipal employees nearly 30%.

This has come about because governments are gambling with someone else’s money – namely taxpayers’ money. As employers, governments can keep giving rich raises to public employees because they know they can tax you to pay for it. The result is that as taxes rise, private-sector workers are working harder and taking home less so they can pay for better pay and more perks for their neighbours who work in the public sector.

Middle-class taxes have been rising and wages stagnating not because the “rich” are getting away with income murder. The middle class is stuck in a rut because governments are huge and getting bigger, and their No. 1 expense is public workers’ compensation – about 50% of total government expenditures.

It’s not the One-Percenters we should be resenting. It’s the politicians who cannot restrain growth in the size of government and who lavish pay and benefits on Canada’s 3.7 million public sector workers.

In all they son's command. Indeed.

Red Blast blasts Blue Balls

noreply@blogger.com (Ketchup Chips) — Sat, 3 Dec 2016 11:49:00 -0700

There are 3,141 counties in the United States.

Trump won 3,084 of them. Clinton won 57.

There are 62 counties in New York State. Trump won 46 of them. Clinton won 16.

Clinton won the popular vote by approx. 1.5 million votes.

In the 5 counties that encompass NYC, (Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Richmond & Queens) Clinton received well over 2 million more votes than Trump. (Clinton only won 4 of these counties; Trump won Richmond)

Therefore these 5 counties alone, more than accounted for Clinton winning the popular vote of the entire country.

These 5 counties comprise 319 square miles.

The United States is comprised of 3, 797,000 square miles.

When you have a country that encompasses almost 4 million square miles of territory, it would be
ludicrous to even suggest that the vote of those who inhabit a mere 319 square miles should dictate the outcome of a national election.

Large, densely populated Democrat cities (NYC, Chicago, LA, etc) don’t and shouldn’t speak for the rest of our country.

Semi- felonious, gravity challenged, gin soaked grandmas shouldn't either.

The rules have been the same for the past 45 elections. Only the left fails to understand them.

Make America Great Again.

Oh Canada - Things to Consider

noreply@blogger.com (Ketchup Chips) — Fri, 11 Nov 2016 10:44:00 -0700

If you were one of the registered living or deceased Democratic voters who made a pledge that if Trump won, you would be heading north of the border to escape the horrendous possibility of lower taxes, less government intervention, and fewer handouts, this guide’s for you.

A few tips before you head north. First, if you do keep your promise, bundle up; 32 below zero isn’t uncommon in some cities, but the frostbite scars and missing appendages will make you a living testament to your integrity and show all those people in the lower 57 states you are a person of conviction. Summer isn’t that hot, although highs of 113 degrees have been recorded, but the intense humidity helps you sweat and keeps you more comfortable.

Also, watch out for the provincial bird: it is actually a mosquito.

Once you have crossed the highly secure border -- if your paperwork is in order -- great things await you. If you are polygamous, each one of your wives can get welfare, too.

Because there is “gun control” you can rest easy, as government statistics show that only roughly a third of murders are firearm related. The same as the US. On the down side, another third are stabbings, so you might get carved up like a turkey (but remember – Canadian thanksgiving is in October), but that’s a small price to pay for not having dangerous guns around for self-defense.

If you do find yourself with a steak knife sticking out of your torso, “free” healthcare will be something you can look forward to. An MRI takes 6 months, and in many cities there are just no doctors. With a 50% personal tax take, you can take solace however that the care you can’ t get is “free”….

If you have a job, you know just how large of a chunk of your paycheck (sorry - pay "cheque") is taken to providing this free service, but hey, depending upon which hospital you visit, they may get around to removing your steak knife in a week or two. However, if complications arise, the government “death benefit” will pay you a lump sum of $2,295.85 to be planted, if you can find a really good deal on a casket. Unfortunately, you have to contribute for ten years before you are eligible. Don’t die too early now….

Housing: no problem. Assuming you were totally committed to honoring your promise, you went ahead and sold your Prius (after removing the Hillary bumper stickers) or, if you’re a “big Hollywood star,” your eco-friendly Hummer and your other worldly possessions, and are heading north. Keep in mind that the average price of a house in Vancouver runs $1,513,800.00, but if that’s out of your price range, you can pick up a deal in Toronto for around $850,000.00. If you want to save big and rent, and test the whole “Canadian” thing, rent is around $1,668.00 for a two-bedroom apartment in Vancouver, and in Toronto it costs around $1,488.00

Here’s something you’re sure to like: progressive laws forbid defaming homosexuals and other “special” people, so you could end up in jail for a non-government approved joke or opinion. However, as a dyed-in-the-wool lib, you should be right at home with the restrictions on speech and thought. Just like you want for the US, you’re entitled to your own opinion, as long as it's government approved. The Canadian news media is in fact controlled by the government – just the way you like it!

Good news for animal lovers. If you cherish kitty cats and cuddly puppy dogs, but feel that slaughtering the most helpless creatures on earth is okay, Canada has more laws protecting animals than it has for innocent baby Canadian humans.You won't be able to afford kids anyways.

By now you’re wondering about food, and if you can maintain your bourgeoisie, capitalistic, semi-vegan diet of humus, cheese, yogurt, wine, and other delights, the answer is a resounding “YES”! There is just one little problem: a gallon of good ol’ USA milk runs about $3.00 (just bought a gallon at wally world for $1.50) while it is upward of $7.00 in the great white north. You can still enjoy eating out, but expect to pay higher prices as the competition in the capitalist U.S. keeps the prices down here much lower. If you prefer to eat healthier, it’s only about $1.50 more a day, which works out to only about $550.00 a year per person. You can’t even drink your frozen sorrows away – alcohol is 4 times the price of the US. But the beer is stronger. You’re gonna need it.

While gas in the states is around $2.25 per gallon, in Canada it’s only $1.19 per liter. Wait, my bad -- there are 3.78 liters in a gallon so gas is around $4.50 per gallon. You’ll probably wish you hadn’t sold your Prius before heading north.

So there you have it – dress warmly and take your millions north – you’re gonna need both!

Oh Canada!

Clintonium

noreply@blogger.com (Ketchup Chips) — Mon, 17 Oct 2016 13:03:00 -0700

"A major research institution has just announced the discovery of the densest element yet known to science. The new element has been named Clintonium. Clintonium has one neutron, 12 assistant neutrons, 75 deputy neutrons, and 224 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312. These particles are held together by light and dark particles called radical mor_ons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons."

Clintonium's mass actually increases over time, as radical mor_ons randomly interact with various elements in the atmosphere and become assistant deputy neutrons within the Clintonium molecule, leading to the formation of iso-dopes. This characteristic of iso-dope promotion leads some scientists to believe that Clintonium is formed whenever radical mor_ons reach a certain quantity in concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as Critical Moredumbass.

When catalyzed with tax money, Clintonium activates CNNadnauseum, an element that radiates orders of magnitude of more energy, albeit as incoherent noise, since it has half as many peons but twice as many iso-dope forming radical mor_ons as Clintonium."

Hillary - plans to build on Obama successes.

noreply@blogger.com (Ketchup Chips) — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 10:20:00 -0700

Barack: Only “president” to preside over seven straight years of GDP growth of less than 3%.
Longest previous streak was four years during the depths of Great Depression. Obama’s average: A MISERABLE 1.2%

Hillary promises to continue the failed agenda.

* First time in American history that more businesses are being destroyed than being created.
Barack built that, Hillary vows to continue the failed agenda.

* More Americans now receive entitlements than work full time.
Barack built that, Hillary promises to continue the destruction.

* 40% of American workers now earn less, adjusted for inflation, than a full time minimum wage worker in 1968.

Barack built those part time, low paying jobs. Hillary vows to continue the failures.

* 20% of U.S. families now don’t have a single member employed.

Barack built that, Hillary says she’ll continue with the failed agenda.

* A record number of Americans are not in the workforce – over 94 million, WORKING AGE people.

Barack built that, Hillary promises to continue with the damage.
* More young Americans now live with their parents than at any time since the Great Depression.

Barack built that, Hillary vows to continue with the failed agenda.

* 43% of 22 million student loans aren’t being repaid.

* 2/3rds of Americans don’t have $500 for an emergency.

Barack built that Hillary vows to continue the Nanny State agenda
.
* Food stamp use is up by 43% and number of food stamp recipients is three times higher than number of new job recipients.

Barack built that. Hillary vows to add to it.

* First time America’s credit rating has been lowered.

Barack built that, Hillary vows to continue the damage.

* Welfare & poverty have SKYROCKETED.

Barack built that, Hillary promises to continue the failed agenda

Liberal Tears Flood Canada

noreply@blogger.com (Ketchup Chips) — Sun, 27 Mar 2016 10:59:00 -0700

The flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration. The Republican Presidential primary campaign is prompting an exodus among left leaning citizens who fear they'll soon be required to hunt, pray, and live according to the Constitution.

Canadian border farmers say it's not uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors, global warming activists, and "green" energy proponents crossing their fields at night.

"I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there was a Hollywood producer huddled in the barn," said Southern Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield, whose acreage borders North Dakota . “The producer was cold, exhausted and hungry. He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range chicken. When I said I didn't have any, he left before I even got a chance to show him my screenplay, eh?"

In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher fences, but the liberals scaled them. He then installed loudspeakers that blared Rush Limbaugh across the fields, but they just keep coming.

Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers called "Ubers" who meet liberals near the Canadian border, pack them into electric cars and drive them across the border where they are simply left to fend for themselves after the battery dies.

"A lot of these people are not prepared for our rugged conditions," an Ontario border patrolman said. "I found one carload without a single bottle of Voss drinking water. They did have a nice little Napa Valley Cabernet, though, and some kale chips."

When liberals are caught, they're sent back across the border, often wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumors have been circulating about plans being made to build re-education camps where liberals will be forced to drink domestic beer, study the Constitution and work for a living.

In recent days, liberals have turned to ingenious ways of crossing the border. Some have been disguised as senior citizens taking a bus trip to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a half- dozen young vegans in blue-hair wig disguises, Canadian immigration authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior citizens about Perry Como and Rosemary Clooney to prove that they were alive in the '50s. "If they can't identify the accordion player on The Lawrence Welk Show, we become very suspicious about their age," an official said.

Canadian citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are creating an organic-broccoli shortage, buying up all the Barbara Streisand c.d.'s, and renting all the Michael Moore movies. "I really feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian economy just can't support them," an Ottawa resident said. "How many art-history majors does one country need?"

Forward Grubers!

noreply@blogger.com (Ketchup Chips) — Thu, 24 Mar 2016 12:10:00 -0700

As we celebrate (ahem) the 6th anniversary of Obamacare to the celebratory cheers of the Grubers who inflicted this abomination (Obamination?) on the American people we have to take a look at all the good that Obamacare has done:

· Twelve of the 23 Consumer Operated and Oriented Plans (co-ops) in the U.S., which were intended to spur competition and lower prices, folded in 2015, costing American taxpayers more than $1.23 billion.

• Risk corridors, which enable the government to compensate insurers that underestimated costs and undercharged their subscribers, paid out much less than the insurers expected because the funds dried up. What’s more, the program is due to expire after this year.

• As a result, insurance premiums and deductibles have gone up dramatically, while the number of doctors patients can see has gone down.

• The losses incurred by the major insurers in the past year have been staggering, and the likes of UnitedHealth, Aetna and others have signaled that participating in health insurance exchanges may no longer be sustainable.

• The number of young, comparatively healthy people who were expected to sign up and balance out the insurers’ payments to older, sicker people fell drastically short of expectations, which in turn compounded the problem of rising costs. Penalties finally are kicking in for people who don’t buy plans, but young adults may be willing to pay the penalty, which is considerably lower than the cost of a policy, and gamble that they will remain healthy. And if they make that choice, it remains to be seen how successful the government will be in its collection efforts.

• It’s getting increasingly harder to “keep your doctor.” In order to keep costs down, insurance companies have drastically narrowed their networks to include a slate of physicians they consider “more efficient.” And access to doctors has become even more challenging in states that have expanded Medicaid, since many physicians are opting out of the program due to declining reimbursements.

As the DNC says - let's not take a step backward and repeal it. Forward Grubers!

Fictional Job Report Stats - The Obama Way!

noreply@blogger.com (Ketchup Chips) — Sat, 5 Mar 2016 14:18:00 -0700

The reports echo what Thomas Perez in the Labor Department and the President want reported, on behalf of a failed administration. That is way the seasonally adjusted data soft-pedals the 94,298,000 Americans relegated to Not in Labor Force standing by the BLS. Since it fell from the record high 95,051,000 in January, at least some might argue Obama's largest increase of any individual BLS count showed a modestly positive trajectory for one month, at least. Slow clap.

A few more figures are worth considering in light of claims of an impressive February Employment Situation Report from the President's team at the Labor Department. Of the 242,000 jobs reported to have been added according to CES data gathered from around 165,000 businesses, it's important to note roughly 200,000 of those supposed gains materialize monthly based upon the birth and death cycle invention the BLS implemented from 2003 onward during months not considered recessionary for an assumed "dynamic economy". Americans find this treatment of the facts less compelling than the President's appointees.

The not seasonally adjusted counts are hardest to compare and least accurate in January and February, since major changes to BLS estimates conceived in 2000 were gradually implemented through 2003 for the expressed purpose of adjusting for population controls. Unfortunately, the reality since the change was introduced has seen not seasonally adjusted figures progressively separate from actual survey data to more nearly approximate what BLS statisticians' insist they were seeing or anticipated in ensuing months to bring actual collected data more in line with their predictions.

As a result of the adjustment process begun early this millennium, January's not seasonally adjusted count from about 165,000 businesses showed a loss of 2,961,000 employed Americans, falling from 144,116,000 to 141,155,000 on January figures. With February the second least accurate month of the year, as statisticians work to bring real data more in line with their vision of the workforce, a counterbalancing 850,000 jobs were added after successive months of job losses on Household Survey counts showed a repeat of late 2008 to 2009 results. Ahead of February's modest gains partially offsetting January's 3 million jobs lost by Not Seasonally Adjusted counts, job losses across four of the last six months on CPS counts showed workforce results skewing negative precisely the same number of months as the six-month period through January, 2009.

On Household Survey numbers, January's 666,000 loss of jobs (adjusted for population controls) was followed by 932,000 supposed jobs added, while statisticians' worked to bring figures more in line with their seasonally adjusted estimates. Without further comment about the creative and potentially misleading figures early each new year since 2003, February's Employment Situation Report unquestionably appeared to be the best report on the past four months. Of course, that's in light of 1,107,000 part time jobs added in November, while just 50,000 jobs were added overall, according to nsa survey responses.

In January, the reported 666,000 jobs lost, paired with 384,000 part time jobs added, turned into the second month out of the last three during which Labor Department figures recorded upwards of 1,050,000 full time breadwinner jobs lost. So the bar for February looking like an improvement wasn't altogether high. It just needed to improve from devastatingly bad numbers late in 2015 through January's first ESR for 2016.

Since a range of measures all supported jobs added to the economy in February, let's look at a breakdown of who gained jobs and what kind of jobs those actually were, according to the Household Survey results. 18 yo 19 year olds gained 103,000 jobs in February, while 16 to 17 year olds added 15,000 more for teens increasing jobs numbers by 118,000 for the month. The age group having gained the most jobs is shown as 55 years and older at 393,000 jobs on Household Data Table A-9, but incredibly, 227,000 of those went to super-seniors 65 years and over who reentered the workforce to supplement retirement income, according to HD Table A-6.

Hispanics turned in another banner month with 362,000 jobs added, which was softened somewhat by statisticians' more modest 300,000 seasonally adjusted estimate for the month. Since January 2009, Hispanics have gained 5,514,000 jobs, showing 24,967,000 employed after starting Obama's Presidency holding 19,453,000 jobs. The foreign born gained another 63,000 jobs and are second only to Hispanics with 4,301,000 jobs gained since they first appeared as a newly counted demographic on HD Table A-7 in January 2010. In February, the foreign born held 25,391,000 jobs, while their first official appearance on BLS counts showed 21,090,000 in January, 2010. Asians continued relentless workforce gains with an impressive 294,000 jobs added, which meant nearly three-quarters-of-a-million jobs went to Hispanics, the foreign born, and Asians combined, turning into 719,000 more jobs for mostly foreign demographics in February alone.

A remarkable 676,000 part time jobs were added in February, again, nearly doubling the 346,000 full time jobs based partly on the first months of the year's adjustments for "population controls" which make January, and to a lesser extent, February figures suspect, to say the least. The BLS acknowledged the anomalies by showing just 75,000 full time jobs added, while estimating 489,000 part time jobs added on seasonally adjusted figures from HD Table A-9. Since teens and super-seniors combined for 345,000 of the jobs added in February on top of the 719,000 gained by the three predominant foreign bloodline (non-native or recent newcomer) demographics, it seems natural to wonder how America's majority white demographic has fared under Obama.

Thanks to 784,000 jobs added in February, which more than offset the 357,000 losses estimated in adjustments for population controls in January on HD Table A-1, white Americans have for the first time across Obama's 86 months in Office topped a million jobs gained. At 118,584,000 in February, the nation's majority demographic making up 75.1% of the latest estimated 323,113,125 count from the U.S, Census Bureau has finally reached seven figures with 1,175,000 jobs gained from the 117,409,000 in place more than seven years after Obama was inaugurated January 20, 2009. Blacks or African Americans who make up 13.05% of the populace, according to USCB counts, have shown more than double the majority demographic's job gains at 2,391,000, counting 17,665,000 in February, after recording 15,274,000 in January, 2009.

I'm fully willing to acknowledge February's jobs report is the best of the past four, and arguably the best of the last seven months, a period during which four showed losses on the Household Survey. Nevertheless, in breaking down who's actually benefitting from modest gains, and dissecting some of the internal mechanisms used by the Labor Department for its estimates, most Americans would be horrified to learn what the real data shows. The only actual nationwide count from employers' payroll records is kept by the ETA, where Report r539cy uses state and U.S. territory employment office UI tax records to show a miserable 2,383,292 jobs gained through February 2016. One would think the nearly ten million jobs gained by Hispanics and the foreign born, combined, and 2.4 million more by blacks or African Americans would show clearly enough why the disenfranchised 94,298,000 Not in Labor Force Americans and America's majority demographic employment woes would suggest reason for change.

Record numbers casting ballots in Republican caucuses and primaries, including for the seemingly most aggressive outsider candidate, could be seen as a predictable response to Obama's seven-plus years of painful fundamental change.

Summation - most of the job figures have been skewed to report progress and while foreign workers have benefitted the most from Obama, more people than ever can find gainful employment that isn't part-time. Did Obama create this?

Yup.

Obama's Failures - I passed out after 61

noreply@blogger.com (Ketchup Chips) — Wed, 2 Mar 2016 14:31:00 -0700

1/ Fast & Furious
2/ SEAL Team 6
3/ Aid and comfort to the enemy
4/ Stole our 401K Auto Stock and gave it to the Auto unions
5/ Obamacare would save the avg family $2500 per year
6/ Forcing businesses to violate their religious beliefs
7/ Violating the rights and sanctity of our Churches
8/ Obamacare web site-cronyism
9/ NSA acting as Obama Gestapo
10/ 17 Trillion in debt
11/ Lies about Benghazi
12/ Voter fraud
13/ Intentionally trying to hurt Americans during the sequester
14/ Intentionally trying to hurt Americans during govt shutdown
15/ Blocking veterans from seeing their own memorials
16/ Allowing illegals on mall during govt shutdown
17/ Shutting down ‘The Peoples House’ tours
18/ We can keep our insurance if we like it
19/ We can keep our doctors if we like them
20/ Military not getting their votes counted
21/ Supporting the Muslims
22/ Brotherhood with arms and money
23/ DOJ spying on the free press
24/ Not securing our borders
25/ Spying on Americans on American soil with drones
26/ Solyndra Scandal
27/ Picking winners and losers
28/ IRS targeting conservatives
29/ IRS targeting the Tea Party
30/ Millions losing health care coverage
31/ Increasing welfare rolls
32/ Increasing disability rolls
33/ Countless party’s
34/ Countless exorbitant vacations
35/ Releasing illegal’s from prison that were convicted criminals
36/ Unconstitutional recess appointment
37/ NO budget for 5 years
38/ Destroying the coal industry
39/ Clapper lying to congress
40/ Holder lying to congress
41/ Failing to prosecute the New Black Panther
42/ Reading our e-mail
43/ War on women
44/ Promoting race war
45/ War between makers and takers
46/ A123 Systems Scandal
47/ Cash for clunkers failure
48/ Debasing the U.S. Currency through inflationary "Quantitave Easing"
49/ Common Core
50/ Trayvon Martin
51/ Infanticide supporter
52/ Abortion supporter
53/ Bowe Bergdahl debacle
54/ Five KNOWN terrorists released for one US soldier Without congressional approval
55/ Raising the debt limit doesn't rise our debt
56/ Signing the Monsanto Protection Act
57/ Using false identities such as Barry Soetoro
58/ Not providing a proper birth certificate when asked for by the people
59/ The VA Scandle
60/ Opened Mexican Border
61/ Using Air Force one to fund raise

Ketchup Chips Substitutes for Kreskin

noreply@blogger.com (Ketchup Chips) — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 15:34:00 -0700

Now, Therefore, I, Barack Hussein Obama, President of the United States, pursuant to the pardon power conferred upon me by Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution, have granted and by these presents do grant a full, free, and absolute pardon unto Hillary Rodam Clinton for all offenses against the United States which she, Hillary Rodam Clinton, has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 20, 2009 through February 1, 2013.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 31st day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand sixteen and of the Independence of the United States of America two hundred forty.

Signed; Barack Hussein Obama

Up the River - Without a Pantsuit...

noreply@blogger.com (Ketchup Chips) — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 15:09:00 -0700

Is Hillary going to be indicted? Well that depends on a couple of things. The Obama gymnasium has a Hobbesian choice in front of it:

1. Do they toss the leading Dumocrat presidential candidate under the bus and press charges...

or

2. Do they "banana republic" the FBI and tell it to stand down from the investigation.

Fox News has confirmed that at least one email contained intelligence from human spying, known as "HCS-0," which is code for highly sensitive human intelligence operations. The FBI investigation is centered around Clinton and members of her staff to determine if they deliberately trafficked and shared information from highly classified sources onto an unsecure private email system.

Read that again - DELIBERATELY TRAFFICKED AND SHARED INFORMATION FROM HIGLY CLASSIFIED SOURCE......

Generally speaking, when SAP or HCS-0 data is compromised people will die. Maybe not in the middle of the night in a foreign embassy way (that doesn't seem to scare Hillary), but more of a tortured and cut up into little pieces kind of way.

Is the FBI serious about this? Well - here's what they have said about standing down:

"The bureau does not waive its primacy in espionage cases," the intelligence source said, referring to USC 18 793 and 794. "The security investigation is now part and parcel with the criminal public corruption investigation." The source said both tracks are being pursued "vigorously" and there is a sense of "incredulity" as to what is being discovered."

Violations of US 18 Section 793 fall under "gross mishandling" of national defense information. Potential violations under Section 794, "gathering or delivering defense information to aid" a foreign government, are more serious but also more challenging to prove.

When the agents are incredulous at what they are finding that isn't like finding a $20 bill in the old jacket you haven't worn in years - in this case incredulous means that the sheer scope, audacity and idiocy of the criminal enterprise floors some of the most experienced law enforcement officials in the world. 150 agents are working this case.

She should start paddling....

Ask a stoopid question, get a stoopid answer...

noreply@blogger.com (Ketchup Chips) — Wed, 30 Dec 2015 14:00:00 -0700

Question:

Is California one of the few States that do not have on their books a law that states ;

"Anyone whom is a known danger to their self or others due to mental illness or defect , can be placed in and confined in a mental hospital till they are no longer such a danger ."

It makes more sense to me to protect the public from gun danger by removing the PERSON instead of the guns . Can't the person can find other ways to inflict harm by getting guns illegally or using "safe" objects like knives, axes, vehicles or fire?

A person confined to a mental hospital has a much harder time getting a gun and killing someone. Or getting anything else to kill or maim someone.

Is this yet another case of knee jerk liberals creating a program that they feel good about as opposed to a program that fixes the problem?

Answer:

Yes.

Hey Look! There Goes the Unbiased News Media!

noreply@blogger.com (Ketchup Chips) — Thu, 26 Nov 2015 12:12:00 -0700

ABC News executive producer Ian Cameron is married to Susan Rice, National Security Adviser.

CBS President David Rhodes is the brother of Ben Rhodes, Obamas Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications.

ABC News correspondent Claire Shipman is married to former Whitehouse Press Secretary Jay Carney

ABC News and Univision reporter Matthew Jaffe is married to Katie Hogan, Obamas Deputy Press Secretary

ABC President Ben Sherwood is the brother of Obamas Special Adviser Elizabeth Sherwood

CNN President Virginia Moseley is married to former Hillary Clintons Deputy Secretary Tom Nides.

And now you know why it is no surprise the media is in Obama’s pocket? In Hillary's pocket? that there might be a little bias in the news ???

Isn’t it interesting that every place you look in Obama’s administration people fill positions because of who they know, not what they know or how competent they are ---- and you wonder why our country has so many problems.

But then again, maybe not. I want to avoid being labelled a racist...

The Democrat Gun Control Creed

noreply@blogger.com (Ketchup Chips) — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 22:36:00 -0700

For those of you that think Liberalism is a mental disorder - I present to you "The Idiot Democrat /gun-control/ anti-survival Creed:

1) The best defense is no defense at all.

2) You're safer when you're easy to kill.

3) Death is better than survival if survival involves weapons or preparedness.

4) I rely on signs that say " I know you're going to kill me, but please wait till the police show up to stop you."

5) My murderer's life is worth more than mine. Or my kids.

6) The lives of my family and friends are not important enough to defend in any meaningful way.

7) I pledge to be a useless dumb@$$ my whole life, even if it turns out to be regrettably short...

This is just a rough draft.

Feel free to add your own observations.

Chuck Todd - Ministry of Truth and Deception

noreply@blogger.com (Ketchup Chips) — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 14:55:00 -0700

On Sunday’s Meet The Press, Chuck Todd made a declaration about the connection between illegal immigration and criminality that would surprise most Americans:

“We couldn’t find a single study that links violent crime and immigration.”

It instantly reminded me of another quote:

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State."
The second quote was made by Joseph Goebbels...

Democrats Burn Cities Down

noreply@blogger.com (Ketchup Chips) — Wed, 6 May 2015 20:00:00 -0700

It's Pretty Simple.

Decades of Democratic victim-based politics and policies is why so many American cities are in imploding.

Why?

Because they think they are better and smarter than us and they are going to prove it.

Having no trust in the average citizen, liberal politicians feel it is their duty to micromanage people's lives. From the size of your drinks to what, literally, you are allowed to say and think.

Cities such as Baltimore, Detroit, Los Angeles and New York didn't just suddenly get invaded by the poverty aliens and mysteriously decline into 3rd world status. Did I mention Detroit?

In New York, once again under the boot of the liberal menace, the Democratic city council is proposing decriminalizing "minor" offenses, like pissing in public, drinking in public, littering, riding a bike on the sidewalk, being in a park after dark and making excessive noise.

All these activities make a neighborhood unsafe and unlivable. They may seem minor, but they speak directly to the quality of life. The truth is pandering to the creeps and losers in society condemns the law-abiding in those neighborhoods to a disgustingly lower quality of life. All in the name of improving the quality of life for "people of color".

No matter what your color or religion, NOBODY wants to step over a puddle of piss while avoiding a biker on the sidewalk after you've had no sleep because the police won't come for the drunk asshole beating his wife and screaming all night long, only to be hit in the face by another douche throwing his to-go coffee cup outside his car.

This is the madness - and pain - created by liberals.

Crime goes up, good people move away, buildings become derelict, tax revenues decrease, crime increases, cities devolve. Combine that with the usual liberal economic double ball punch of regulations and taxes that run-off entrepreneurs, destroy small businesses and jobs, and you have the typical American city run into the ground by your friendly neighborhood I-feel-your-pain, hope-and-change, can I offer you a free phone Democrat.

So the next time you see a city on fire ask your yourself why. Ask yourself who was in charge of the city. The police force. The unions. The teachers. The media. I think the answer is always the same.

And you know it.

Hillary Clinton's Magnificent, Magical List of Accomplishments

noreply@blogger.com (Ketchup Chips) — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 12:26:00 -0700

I have captured Hillary Clinton's talking points in a sample conversation with any competent journalists who ask the very toughest of questions facing Clinton on the campaign trail:

Q.“What has Hilary done?”

A. “She has done a lot.”

The reporter rephrases:

Q. “Name one thing she has done?”

A. “She has done so many things you can’t quantify them.”

The reporter tries one more time:

Q. "Please, just name just one thing, anything that Hillary has accomplished?”

A. “I think I already answered that for you, next please.”

A. " Wait a sec - I do remember something! She has a uterus...."

<a href="http://feedshark.brainbliss.com">Feed Shark</a>

Let's All Work Together to Ensure Gun Free Zones Work!

noreply@blogger.com (Ketchup Chips) — Mon, 9 Mar 2015 15:15:00 -0700

To clarify for the citizenry why Gun Free Zones Work please remember that those with criminal intent showing up at a venue that is a Gun Free Zone will be stopped from committing any gun crime because GFZ signs are conspicuously posted.

If by chance the would be criminal enters the area, they notice the GFZ sign (shooting a bullet through the sign would be an indicator of this) or even if they don't see it, the first citizen he comes into contact with will be responsible for reminding them their actions would be criminal act, that he is in a GFZ, and that it is illegal to bring a weapon onto the premise. If the Criminal fails to heed the friendly reminder, the law-abiding Citizens should then simply follow the well established and tested safety protocol of Hide, Cover, Bleed and Die. (HCBD)

It takes the cooperation of all involved, both the criminals and the potential victims, for GFZs to work. Cooperation and Good Jobs are key. Please do your part to ensure Gun Free Zones continue to thwart armed criminals.

You cooperation is appreciated.

Marie Harf - Too Smart for the Rest of Us...

noreply@blogger.com (Ketchup Chips) — Wed, 18 Feb 2015 10:55:00 -0700

Marie Harf, noted genius in the Obama administration who has a job as a "spokesperson" for the State Department recently said that we "can't win the war on terrorism by killing them" and that "we need to find them jobs". Now, we already know that the Obama administration's tactics for protecting us from terrorists involves guitars around campfires, and when the shit really hits the fan they roll out James Taylor - but I digress.

She is a spokesman. That means she speaks. What she has been told to speak. By the administration.

It isn't Marie Harf that is "saying" that only good jobs can defeat ISIS - IT IS THE ADMINISTRATION. The same one that can't get jobs for Americans now says that their strategy to defeat ISIS is to give them good jobs.

In essence - what they are saying is that if Osama Bin Laden had been given the opportunity to build a fruit stand, he would have avoided being a terrorist altogether.

The first goal of the US government is to protect us the people. In order to do that they have to create tactics that ensure that current threats are eliminated, and that new threats are anticipated. They have a variety of methods at their disposal to perform such tasks - BUT - the primary driver is to meet the current threat profile and defeat it.

I've seen the videos. You've seen the videos. These cavemen are not going to be dissuaded from their activities with the promise of a job as assistant floor manager in the shoe department at Macy's. To think otherwise - AS THE ADMINISTRATION DOES - puts all of our lives in immediate danger.

That's probably a "nuance" that Marie Harf doesn't understand. Unless of course she personally wants to go over there to offer them a position as intern in the State Department....

Welcome to the Ineptocracy

noreply@blogger.com (Ketchup Chips) — Wed, 7 Jan 2015 22:53:00 -0700

Ineptocracy [in-ep-toc'-ra-cy] - a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.

Success! Fire all the Climate Change Scientists!

noreply@blogger.com (Ketchup Chips) — Thu, 26 Jun 2014 10:56:00 -0700

Since the 'science is settled' we can now immediately halt all funding, subsidies and grants for climate scientists, anthropagenic global warming fear-mongers and climate change alarmists.

The science is settled, therefore we need not study or research the topic any longer.

But - I have a feeling we'd soon be hearing, "Wait!!! We just realized the science isn't settled after all. We were just kidding. It's not settled, really. And we must continue to receive more money so that we can study this suddenly not-so-settled science. But - it is settled".

Sheep.

All of us.

Don't Ever Ring the Bell!

noreply@blogger.com (Ketchup Chips) — Mon, 26 May 2014 17:19:00 -0700

William H. McRaven is a Navy admiral, former commander of SEAL Team 3 and current commander of the US Special Operations Command — the man who led the mission to get Osama bin Laden. On May 17, he gave the commencement address for his alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin, which touched graduates with its earnest, simple advice about living a better life. This Memorial Day, an excerpt:

If you will humor this old sailor for just a moment, I have a few suggestions that may help you on your way to a better world.

And while these lessons were learned during my time in the military, I can assure you that it matters not whether you ever served a day in uniform.

It matters not your gender, your ethnic or religious background, your orientation, or your social status.

Our struggles in this world are similar and the lessons to overcome those struggles and to move forward — changing ourselves and the world around us — will apply equally to all.

I have been a Navy SEAL for 36 years. But it all began when I left UT for Basic SEAL training in Coronado, California.

Basic SEAL training is six months of long torturous runs in the soft sand, midnight swims in the cold water off San Diego, obstacles courses, unending calisthenics, days without sleep and always being cold, wet and miserable.

It is six months of being constantly harassed by professionally trained warriors who seek to find the weak of mind and body and eliminate them from ever becoming a Navy SEAL.

But, the training also seeks to find those students who can lead in an environment of constant stress, chaos, failure and hardships.

To me basic SEAL training was a lifetime of challenges crammed into six months.

So, here are the 10 lessons I learned from basic SEAL training that hopefully will be of value to you as you move forward in life:

Every morning in basic SEAL training, my instructors, who at the time were all Vietnam veterans, would show up in my barracks room, and the first thing they would inspect was your bed.

If you did it right, the corners would be square, the covers pulled tight, the pillow centered just under the headboard and the extra blanket folded neatly at the foot of the rack — rack, that’s Navy talk for bed.

It was a simple task — mundane at best. But every morning we were required to make our bed to perfection. It seemed a little ridiculous at the time, particularly in light of the fact that were aspiring to be real warriors, tough battle-hardened SEALs — but the wisdom of this simple act has been proven to me many times over.

If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another.

By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter.

If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.

And, if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made — that you made — and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.

If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.

During SEAL training the students are broken down into boat crews. Each crew is seven students — three on each side of a small rubber boat and one coxswain to help guide the dingy.

Every day your boat crew forms up on the beach and is instructed to get through the surf zone and paddle several miles down the coast.

In the winter, the surf off San Diego can get to be 8 to 10 feet high and it is exceedingly difficult to paddle through the plunging surf unless everyone digs in.

Every paddle must be synchronized to the stroke count of the coxswain. Everyone must exert equal effort or the boat will turn against the wave and be unceremoniously tossed back on the beach.

For the boat to make it to its destination, everyone must paddle.

You can’t change the world alone — you will need some help — and to truly get from your starting point to your destination takes friends, colleagues, the good will of strangers and a strong coxswain to guide them.

If you want to change the world, find someone to help you paddle.

Over a few weeks of difficult training my SEAL class, which started with 150 men, was down to just 42. There were now six boat crews of seven men each.

I was in the boat with the tall guys, but the best boat crew we had was made up of the the little guys — the munchkin crew we called them — no one was over about 5-foot-5.

The munchkin boat crew had one American Indian, one African-American, one Polish-American, one Greek-American, one Italian-American, and two tough kids from the Midwest. They outpaddled, outran and outswam all the other boat crews.

The big men in the other boat crews would always make good-natured fun of the tiny little flippers the munchkins put on their tiny little feet prior to every swim.

But somehow these little guys, from every corner of the nation and the world, always had the last laugh — swimming faster than everyone and reaching the shore long before the rest of us.

SEAL training was a great equalizer. Nothing mattered but your will to succeed. Not your color, not your ethnic background, not your education and not your social status.

If you want to change the world, measure a person by the size of their heart, not the size of their flippers.

Several times a week, the instructors would line up the class and do a uniform inspection. It was exceptionally thorough.

Your hat had to be perfectly starched, your uniform immaculately pressed and your belt buckle shiny and void of any smudges.

But it seemed that no matter how much effort you put into starching your hat, or pressing your uniform or polishing your belt buckle — it just wasn’t good enough.

The instructors would find “something” wrong.

For failing the uniform inspection, the student had to run, fully clothed into the surf zone and then, wet from head to toe, roll around on the beach until every part of your body was covered with sand.

The effect was known as a “sugar cookie.” You stayed in that uniform the rest of the day — cold, wet and sandy.

There were many a student who just couldn’t accept the fact that all their effort was in vain. That no matter how hard they tried to get the uniform right — it was unappreciated.

Those students didn’t make it through training.

Those students didn’t understand the purpose of the drill. You were never going to succeed. You were never going to have a perfect uniform.

Sometimes no matter how well you prepare or how well you perform, you still end up as a sugar cookie.

It’s just the way life is sometimes.

If you want to change the world, get over being a sugar cookie and keep moving forward.

Every day during training you were challenged with multiple physical events—long runs, long swims, obstacle courses, hours of calisthenics—something designed to test your mettle.

Every event had standards — times you had to meet. If you failed to meet those standards your name was posted on a list and at the end of the day those on the list were invited to — a “circus.”

A circus was two hours of additional calisthenics — designed to wear you down, to break your spirit, to force you to quit.

No one wanted a circus.

A circus meant that for that day you didn’t measure up. A circus meant more fatigue—and more fatigue meant that the following day would be more difficult—and more circuses were likely.

But at some time during SEAL training, everyone — everyone — made the circus list.

But an interesting thing happened to those who were constantly on the list. Overtime those students — who did two hours of extra calisthenics — got stronger and stronger.

The pain of the circuses built inner strength-built physical resiliency.

Life is filled with circuses.

You will fail. You will likely fail often. It will be painful. It will be discouraging. At times it will test you to your very core.

But if you want to change the world, don’t be afraid of the circuses.

At least twice a week, the trainees were required to run the obstacle course. The obstacle course contained 25 obstacles including a 10-foot-high wall, a 30-foot cargo net and a barbed-wire crawl to name a few.

But the most challenging obstacle was the slide for life. It had a three-level, 30-foot tower at one end and a one-level tower at the other. In between was a 200-foot-long rope.

You had to climb the three-tiered tower and once at the top, you grabbed the rope, swung underneath the rope and pulled yourself hand over hand until you got to the other end.

The record for the obstacle course had stood for years when my class began training in 1977.

The record seemed unbeatable until one day a student decided to go down the slide for life — head-first.

Instead of swinging his body underneath the rope and inching his way down, he bravely mounted the TOP of the rope and thrust himself forward.

It was a dangerous move — seemingly foolish and fraught with risk. Failure could mean injury and being dropped from the training.

Without hesitation — the student slid down the rope — perilously fast, instead of several minutes, it only took him half that time and by the end of the course he had broken the record.

If you want to change the world, sometimes you have to slide down the obstacle head-first.

During the land-warfare phase of training, the students are flown out to San Clemente Island, which lies off the coast of San Diego.

The waters off San Clemente are a breeding ground for the great white sharks.

To pass SEAL training there are a series of long swims that must be completed. One is the night swim.

Before the swim, the instructors joyfully brief the trainees on all the species of sharks that inhabit the waters off San Clemente.

They assure you, however, that no student has ever been eaten by a shark — at least not recently.

But, you are also taught that if a shark begins to circle your position — stand your ground. Do not swim away. Do not act afraid.

And if the shark, hungry for a midnight snack, darts towards you — then summons up all your strength and punch him in the snout and he will turn and swim away.

There are a lot of sharks in the world. If you hope to complete the swim, you will have to deal with them.

So, if you want to change the world, don’t back down from the sharks.

As Navy SEALs, one of our jobs is to conduct underwater attacks against enemy shipping. We practiced this technique extensively during basic training.

The ship-attack mission is where a pair of SEAL divers is dropped off outside an enemy harbor and then swims well over two miles — underwater — using nothing but a depth gauge and a compass to get to their target.

During the entire swim, even well below the surface there is some light that comes through. It is comforting to know that there is open water above you.

But as you approach the ship, which is tied to a pier, the light begins to fade. The steel structure of the ship blocks the moonlight — it blocks the surrounding street lamps — it blocks all ambient light.

To be successful in your mission, you have to swim under the ship and find the keel — the centerline and the deepest part of the ship.

This is your objective. But the keel is also the darkest part of the ship — where you cannot see your hand in front of your face, where the noise from the ship’s machinery is deafening and where it is easy to get disoriented and fail.

Every SEAL knows that under the keel, at the darkest moment of the mission — is the time when you must be calm, composed — when all your tactical skills, your physical power and all your inner strength must be brought to bear.

If you want to change the world, you must be your very best in the darkest moment.

The ninth week of training is referred to as “Hell Week.” It is six days of no sleep, constant physical and mental harassment and — one special day at the Mud Flats. The Mud Flats are an area between San Diego and Tijuana where the water runs off and creates the Tijuana slue’s — a swampy patch of terrain where the mud will engulf you.

It is on Wednesday of Hell Week that you paddle down to the mud flats and spend the next 15 hours trying to survive the freezing-cold mud, the howling wind and the incessant pressure to quit from the instructors.

As the sun began to set that Wednesday evening, my training class, having committed some “egregious infraction of the rules” was ordered into the mud.

The mud consumed each man till there was nothing visible but our heads. The instructors told us we could leave the mud if only five men would quit — just five men and we could get out of the oppressive cold.

Looking around the mud flat, it was apparent that some students were about to give up. It was still over eight hours till the sun came up — eight more hours of bone-chilling cold.

The chattering teeth and shivering moans of the trainees were so loud it was hard to hear anything and then, one voice began to echo through the night — one voice raised in song.

The song was terribly out of tune, but sung with great enthusiasm.

One voice became two, and two became three, and before long everyone in the class was singing.

We knew that if one man could rise above the misery then others could as well.

The instructors threatened us with more time in the mud if we kept up the singing — but the singing persisted.

And somehow — the mud seemed a little warmer, the wind a little tamer and the dawn not so far away.

If I have learned anything in my time traveling the world, it is the power of hope. The power of one person — Washington, Lincoln, King, Mandela and even a young girl from Pakistan, Malala — one person can change the world by giving people hope.

So, if you want to change the world, start singing when you’re up to your neck in mud.

Finally, in SEAL training there is a bell. A brass bell that hangs in the center of the compound for all the students to see. All you have to do to quit — is ring the bell. Ring the bell and you no longer have to wake up at 5 o’clock. Ring the bell and you no longer have to do the freezing-cold swims.

Ring the bell and you no longer have to do the runs, the obstacle course, the PT — and you no longer have to endure the hardships of training.

Just ring the bell.

If you want to change the world don’t ever, ever ring the bell.

Irena Sendler - Why You Have Never Heard of Her, and Have Heard of Al Gore

noreply@blogger.com (Ketchup Chips) — Wed, 5 Mar 2014 11:39:00 -0700

A Lady Named Irena Sendler Died May 13th ,2008

During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a
plumbing/sewer specialist. She had an ulterior motive...

She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews, (being German), so

Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried, and
she also carried, in the back of her truck, a burlap sack, (for larger
kids).   She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi
soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto.

The soldiers, of course, wanted nothing to do with the dog, and the barking
covered the kids/infants noises.   During her time and course of doing this, she

managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants.

One day, she was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs and arms and beat her
severely.

Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept
them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard.

After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it,
and reunite the family.

Most, of course, had been gassed.

Those kids she helped were placed into foster family homes or adopted.

Irena was nominated for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize....

She LOST.

Al Gore won for doing a bullshit, inaccurate slide show on global warming.

Shame on the media. Shame on all of us...

Smoke and Mirrors Obama Style

noreply@blogger.com (Ketchup Chips) — Wed, 5 Mar 2014 11:31:00 -0700

For the life of me I fail to understand in what universe a country of 320 million that signs up 7 million ( 0.0218% ) of its citizenry into a program is called a "Success" Even if each one enrolled represents a family of 4 that's still only 28 million or 0.0875% of the population.

It seems as if the 99% argument has done a 180. Where does the $$ to provide 'subsidies' come from?

If they're getting it from premiums then that means less money goes to actual care, if they're getting it from general taxation then it means that not only those that receive subsidies are offsetting their subsidies, but those who are fortunate to have their own coverage get to pay even more!

Even Ponzi couldn't outdo this scheme?

Smoke and Mirrors Obama Style