A wonderland here at Penn State;
my camera and I lay in wait.
I am feeding the birds,
but I can’t find the words.
Praise God! Soon they’ll sing, find a mate.
Category: limerick
SOTU 2014 speech reaction. A Limerick
The SOTU Obama just said
might send us to therapy pad.
I am but a peasant
but it was as pleasant
as if I endoscopy had.
The Fiscal condition of all 50 States.
The Mercatus Center of George Mason University has come out with a study of which states are most fiscally solvent. These are their rankings of all 50 states. The best fiscal status in enjoyed by states ruled by a Republican governor, Republican legislature. There are 24 of these with an average score of 1.02
1. Alaska 8.80
2. South Dakota 2.79
3. North Dakota 2.75
4. Nebraska 2.53
5. Wyoming 2.23
6. Florida 1.99
7. Ohio 1.71
8. Tennessee 1.71
10. Alabama 1.25
11. Utah 1.03
12. Oklahoma 0.93
13. Idaho 0.70
15. Indiana 0.53
17. Wisconsin 0.12
19. Mississippi −0.14
20. Texas −0.18
21. South Carolina −0.19
27. Kansas −0.40
28. Georgia −0.45
30. Michigan −0.51
31. Arizona −0.51
33. North Carolina −0.57
34. Louisiana −0.60
42. Pennsylvania −1.31
Next in line for fiscal responsibility is to have a Democrat Governor, Republican Legislature (4) Avg 0.38
9. Montana 1.66
14. Missouri 0.60
25. Virginia −0.28
29. Arkansas −0.47
Then comes a Republican Governor, Split Legislature. There is only one of those:
18. Iowa 0.09
Now we are getting into negative territory for fiscal solvency. That is to have a Republican Governor, Democrat Legislature. There are four of those with an average of -0.92
16. Nevada 0.49
26. New Mexico −0.34
36. Maine −1.00
50. New Jersey −2.81
Only slightly worse is to have a Democrat Governor, split Legislature. There are three of them with an average 0f -0.98
22. New Hampshire −0.21
40. Kentucky −1.26
43. Hawaii −1.46
And finally, worst of all is to have a Democrat Governor, Democrat Legislature. The fourteen of them have an average score of -1.31
23. Washington −0.23
24. Colorado −0.24
32. Oregon −0.57
35. Minnesota −0.87
37. Delaware −1.14
38. Vermont −1.17
39. Rhode Island −1.18
41. West Virginia −1.30
44. Maryland −1.59
45. New York −1.78
46. California −2.01
47. Massachusetts −2.23
48. Illinois −2.42
49. Connecticut −2.48
This helps to explain why Democrats want the Federal Government to handle everything for them since their states are hopelessly irresponsible with their states affairs, while Republicans as a rule tend to want to have every state handle their own affairs as they see best fit.
One further startling observation is that New Jersey under Governor Chris Christie came in dead last. This helps to explain the reluctance of the more conservative (or fiscally responsible states) to endorse him for President.
On the other hand, Alaska came in first, not in small part due to the heroic efforts of Sarah Palin during her 31.7 month reign as Governor, where she managed to get the Credit Rating for her state to go from AA to AA+ and then raised again to AAA shortly after her resignation. She accomplished more in this short time than most governors do in two terms.
This also helps in part to explain the irrational hatred for Sarah Palin. She did clean up the graft and corruption in Alaska, and they are afraid she would do the same on a national level should she become President.
IRS harassment. A Limerick.
The IRS targets Chuck Neath
And dogs as they are show their teeth.
But they did come up dry,
Though six times they did try.
Harassment the cause underneath.
Chuck Heath, Jr. wrote on Facebook that his father had never heard from the IRS before 2008. Since then, he said, the IRS has tried to “dig up something on him but he’s always operated above board.”
“Coincidence? You decide,” he wrote.
My father, who worked multiple jobs and faithfully and honestly paid his taxes for fifty years, had never heard a word from the IRS. In 2008, his daughter was tapped to run for vice president of the United States. Since that time, he has been, in his words “horribly harassed” six times by the agency. They’ve tried to dig up something on him but he’s always operated above board. Government and politics are ugly. Kudos to the few that are trying to clean it up.
Hmm. Let me see. There is less than one chance in 100 that you are “randomly” targeted for an audit. To be targeted six years in a row and still finding nothing the odds are less than 1 divided by 100x100x100x100x100x100 or less than 1 in a trillion that is was not on purpose.
My guess is that it was the people that used to sue Sarah Palin 20 times while she was Governor, losing every time, acting as informants, thereby triggering the audits. Or, it could have been IRS itself acting on order from the political wing of the government. (I don’t have the faintest idea who that may refer to, the corruption is endemic)
To add insult to injury, it was reported this week that the government has decided to sweep Obama’s IRS scandal under the rug. Move along, peasants, nothing to see here.
The Obama administration chose an Obama campaign donor to head the targeting investigation.
Hillary’s enemies list. A Limerick
She’s making a list, and is checking it twice
Of who has been naughty, and who has been nice
It’s an enemies list,
vintage Hillary’s twist.
’tis evil personified, – that will suffice.
In the 2008 campaign the Hillary Clinton campaign staff kept a spreadsheet, an 
enemies list if you will, where people were given points, from 1 to 7 where 7 were the most hated ones.
The list read like a who’s who among democrats. These ate the ten sevens:
Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.), Ted Kennedy (D-Mass), Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and Claire McCaskill(D –Mo.), as well as Reps. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Baron Hill (D-Ind.) and Rob Andrews (D-N.J.).
A sign of God’s hand in the sky. A Limerick.
The heavens declare from on high
a sign of God’s hand in the sky.
When we ask for a sign
of His favor divine.
A wonder, I can’t explain why.
1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.
Isaiah 49:14-16
But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,
And my Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child,
And not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Surely they may forget,
Yet I will not forget you.
16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your walls are continually before Me.
Calamity in Antarctica. Global Warming alarmists get stuck in ice. A Limerick.
The passage to Commonwealth Bay:
A ship and its crew went that way;
But they ran out of luck,
In the ice they got stuck.
It’s still global warming, they say.
The environmental fear-mongers never cease to amaze me. In an effort to publicize the impending global catastrophe of rapidly melting ice caps a Russian “research vessel” AKADEMIK SHOKALSKIY
set out to recreate the British explorer Douglas Mawson’s travel to Commonwealth Bay in 1912. A film (now a U-tube video) has been found showing Mawson landing in ice free Commonwealth Bay where he landed Jan 8, 1912.
That was then, the movie showing an ice free Commonwealth Bay around New Year. Everybody knows the Ice-caps are melting, so BBC and Australian ABC, financed by tax-payers money set out to report the re-enactment of his journey to highlight the impending incredible melting of the ice caps. There were tourists on the ship also, paying their own way wanting to see a glimpse of the rapidly melting ice before it was all gone.
Things did not turn out exactly as planned. With the ship moving ahead at full speed the crew ignored all warning signals and plowed ahead through ice that seemed to be thicker than expected. “But this is mid-summer, so the ice must be rotten” they thought and continued full speed ahead anyway. Then the wind picked up, not unexpectedly, since Commonwealth Bay holds the distinction of being the windiest place on earth, even windier than the Aleutian Islands or Mount Washington, and soon the ice closed in on the ship and got it stuck in more than 6 feet of ice.
Three ice breaking vessels, a Chinese, a French and an Australian tried to come to the rescue, but their crews had the good judgment of turning back before they got stuck too. A helicopter from the Chinese ice breaker is now near the ship, but cannot evacuate the 52 passengers until the winds calm down.
Maybe they should have looked at the statistical data on ice in the Antarctic before risking their lives and the lives of others before taking on such a fools errand.
The Ice in the Antarctic is now 1.529 million square kilometer larger than the 30 year average for this time of the year, a 30% increase over the 30 year average, and obviously more than in 1912..
By comparison the North Atlantic ice cap is now only 4 % below average for this time of the year. We hear of the melting ice caps all the time. Why is not the fact that the Antarctic ice cap has set new absolute records since measurements started two years in a row reported? Are journalists afraid of the truth, being scared to be called a skeptic, even a denier, if they mention statistically relevant data? Until people face up to the truth calamities like this are bound to occur. Look at the data before you set sail!
So what are the “Scientists” reporting back to their sponsors? Here is a sample of what they are reporting:
ICE-STRANDED EXPLORERS’ MESSAGE:
A statement from the Australasian Antarctic Expedition:
We’re stuck in our own experiment. We came to Antarctica to study how one of the biggest icebergs in the world has altered the system by trapping ice. We followed Sir Douglas Mawson’s footsteps into Commonwealth Bay, and are now ourselves trapped by ice surrounding our ship.
Sea ice is disappearing due to climate change, but here ice is building up. We have found this has changed the system on many levels. The increase in sea ice has freshened the seawater below, so much so that you can almost drink it. This change will have impacts on the deep ocean circulation.
Underwater, forests of algae are dying as sea-ice blocks the light. Who can say what effects the regional circulation changes may have on the ice sheet of the Antarctic plateau, or whether the low number of seals suggests changes to their population.
Still not acknowledging the rise in the total amount of sea ice. A sad state for a scientist. He still believes in the failing models rather than observing and drawing conclusions from how nature really behaves.
Update:
An Icy Blast Of Scepticism Greets Climate Expedition
Rescuers in Antarctica have safely transferred all 52 passengers stranded on the ice-bound research vessel Akademik Shokalskiy. The Shokalskiy has been trapped since Christmas Eve. Its 22 crew are expected to remain on board to wait until the vessel becomes free. The ice-bound research vessel has been trapped since Christmas Eve. One of the aims is to track how quickly the Antarctic’s sea ice is disappearing. –BBC News, 2 January 2014
Update 2:
The Chinese icebreaker that supplied the helicopter for the rescue mission is now stuck in the ice too. How inconvenient.
Update 3, Jan 7 2014: Antarctic rescue operations complete.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority can confirm that the Akademik Shokalskiy and the Xue Long have broken free from the ice in Antarctica and are no longer in need of assistance.
Funeral selfie. Obama, Cameron and Helle Thorning-Schmidt are having a good time during the sermon part of the memorial service. A Limerick.
Obama, the pre-adolescent
shows spite for the cross, not the crescent.
But a ‘selfie’ is fine
“I look good, it is mine.”
His most nascent descent is indecent.
For some reason President Obama was seated next to the Danish Social Democratic Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and British Prime Minister David Cameron. They seem to enjoy themselves immensely during the ceremony. It was probably taken during the sermon part of the eulogy, after the world leaders Obama and Raoul Castro had made their remarks. It took the U.S. news services over two hours to figure out who the lady in the middle was. Anyhow, she took a selfie of herself with Obama and Cameron. Is this any way for leaders of the free world to behave during a solemn ceremony?
Look, the rest of the people and Michelle Obama look bored listening to the sermon.
This looks interesting. You look pretty good too.
This is hilarious. Where were we?
It is getting funnier all the time. Prince Charming himself succeeds again.
Look there! A fellow socialist!
Forget Michelle. You are my type of girl.
We better behave. She is catching on to us.
Oh, hi there. We are having a good time.
(Foto: Roberto Schmidt © Scanpix)
Martin Bashir, A slave to his warped world-view resigns over his hate for Sarah Palin. A Limerick.
The Martin Bashir we once knew;
A slave to his own warped world-view.
Back to England he flew.
No more part of the crew
where hate is spewed out the wazoo.
(From Howard Kurtz, FoxNews.com) Martin Bashir has resigned from MSNBC, nearly three weeks after delivering a scathing personal attack on Sarah Palin that brought him widespread condemnation.
The afternoon talk show host, a former co-anchor of “Nightline,” says he decided to leave the network after meeting with MSNBC President Phil Griffin.
Bashir had already apologized for what he called “offensive” comments about the former Alaska governor, whom he also called an “idiot” and “dunce.” He told viewers in a scripted commentary last month that someone should defecate in Palin’s mouth. He was invoking an old slave punishment in response to a speech by Palin, a Fox News contributor, comparing the national debt to slavery.
Bashir took off two weeks for what was billed as a vacation, and criticism mounted as MSNBC took no disciplinary action against him, even as it booted Alec Baldwin over an alleged anti-gay slur hurled at a photographer. In retrospect, it’s clear that by failing to suspend Bashir, MSNBC allowed public pressure to build to the point where the only way to control the damage was to sever its relationship with the British journalist.
In a statement, first reported by Mediaite, Bashir said:
“After making an on-air apology, I asked for permission to take some additional time out around the Thanksgiving holiday.
“Upon further reflection, and after meeting with the president of MSNBC, I have tendered my resignation. It is my sincere hope that all of my colleagues, at this special network, will be allowed to focus on the issues that matter without the distraction of myself or my ill-judged comments.
“I deeply regret what was said, will endeavor to work hard at making constructive contributions in the future and will always have a deep appreciation for our viewers — who are the smartest, most compassionate and discerning of all television audiences.”
In his own statement, Griffin said: “Martin Bashir resigned today, effective immediately. I understand his decision and I thank him for three great years with MSNBC. Martin is a good man and respected colleague — we wish him only the best.”
Only one question remains: Who else at MSNBC got fired over this?
Obama like Chamberlain in seeking peace with Iran. “Peace for our time.” A Limerick.
Like Chamberlain: Peace for our time.
Obama and partners in crime
gave it up to appease.
It’s Iran’s biggest tease.
The peace deal is not worth a dime.
(But it is going to cost us at least 4 billion dollars in cash, maybe 8 billion total in aid for starters. I am glad we have that much money laying around with no better use).
I agree with Charles Krauthammer, this deal is much worse than the Munich agreement of 1938.
Breitbart.com published this picture of the negotiations.
Len Bilén's blog, a blog about faith, politics and the environment. 