Sack LunchesI put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. 'I'm glad I have a good book to read perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought.Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation. 'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me.'Petawawa. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed to Afghanistan.After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours before we reached the east, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time.As I reached for my wallet, I overheard soldier ask his buddy if he planned...
Kitten on the Keyboard 2009-07-04 05:01:10"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."--Declaration of Independence Read More →
Kitten on the Keyboard 2009-07-04 05:01:09"Silent gratitude isn't very much use to anyone." - Gertrude Stein Read More →
Kitten on the Keyboard 2009-07-04 05:01:09"Posterity -- you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it." --John Quincy Adams Read More →
Kitten on the Keyboard 2009-07-04 05:01:08EXTEND OUR AMERICAN HERITAGE"Let the American youth never forget, that they possess a noble inheritance, bought by the toils, and sufferings, and blood of their ancestors; and capacity, if wisely improved, and faithfully guarded, of transmitting to their latest posterity all the substantial blessings of life, the peaceful enjoyment of liberty, property, religion, and independence." --Justice Joseph Story Read More →
Kitten on the Keyboard 2009-07-04 05:01:07The Flames of Liberty"[T]he flames kindled on the 4th of July 1776, have spread over too much of the globe to be extinguished by the feeble engines of despotism; on the contrary, they will consume these engines and all who work them." --Thomas Jefferson Read More →
Kitten on the Keyboard 2009-07-04 05:01:05Fireworks Display Read More →
Christmas In July 2009-Day The FourthHappy Fourth Of July to all of you out there, especially those of you in the good old U. S. Of A. I'm sure the farthest things from most of your minds is Christmas, so today's selections all focus on ways for you to cool off. I've got songs that talk about snow or winter, and I think that will help to get you in the Christmas spirit. It might also help if you wait to download these until after the fireworks. Then you'll really appreciate the chill these tunes put in the air. Oh, and as a special tribute to the Fourth of July, I've got a bonus track for you.First up, two songs, both called Lonely Winter, but not the same song. Version one is by Ralph Marterie And His Marlboro Men from the LP Marvelous Marterie (Mercury Wing SRW 12511, 1958). Did I share this with you before? Yes, looks like I did, but in...
Here Comes The SunI mentioned in my last post that the grasshopper was munching on some sunflowers at Mom and Dad's house. Well, in case you were curious, here's one of the actual blooms on one of those sunflowers. Pretty cool, eh? Read More →
Out Of The GrassI shot this grasshopper the other day at Mom and Dad's house. He was making a meal out of a sunflower leaf, so after I got his picture, I made sure he wasn't able to do that anymore. Read More →
The Day BeforeAs is usual around here, we get two fireworks shows for the Fourth of July, one the day before, and one on the real Fourth. That always gives me a chance to practice, and here are some of my practice shots for you to peruse. I had to send back my fancy rented lens today, so these shots are going back to the old kit lens that came with my camera. I don't know if the fancy lens would have helped me much in this situation, but maybe. Some of these look a bit blurry to me, and I think maybe I should have stopped the lens down a bit more. I'll get it right someday. Tomorrow, perhaps. Read More →
Downtown First Friday Stroll, 7/3/2009, 5:00 pmReminder from: SarasotaVoices Yahoo! Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SarasotaVoices/cal Downtown First Friday Stroll Friday July 3, 2009 5:00 pm - 11:00 pm Read More →
SH-T “The illusion of coverage”"There is something wrong with a system that gives consumers the illusion of health coverage rather than the real thing." Read More →
Kitten on the Keyboard 2009-07-03 05:01:16FairTax in A Minute – How does the income tax affect our economy?How does dragging an anchor affect the speed of a ship? Our entire economy is not dependent on the income tax. Instead, our economy is held back by the income tax. There was no income tax for the first 124 years of our history -- that’s more than half the time we have existed as a nation. A study by the Government Accountability Office estimated that the federal tax system imposed efficiency costs on the U.S. economy of two to five percent of GDP. Under the FairTax, within ten years average Americans will be at least 10 percent and probably 15 percent better off than they would be under the current system. That translates to an increase of $3,000 to $4,500 per household, per year.FairTax.org Read More →
FairTax in A Minute – How does the FairTax affect income tax preparers, accountants, and many government employees? There are, of course, still some people who are involved in sales tax return preparation and sales tax administration under the FairTax, but many fewer than those involved with the income tax today. Those tax preparers, tax lawyers, and Internal Revenue Service employees, who are typically well educated and well equipped with transferable skills, will have to find other, more productive work. The projected 10.5 percent growth in the economy during the first year of the FairTax will provide plenty of new jobs. But the heavy compliance costs of the income tax are like an anchor holding back economic growth. We have nothing to show for the $265 billion (greater than the current federal deficit --...
Kitten on the Keyboard 2009-07-03 05:01:07Just How Fake Can These 'Townhall' Meetings Get?Posted By Bobby Eberle On July 2, 2009 at 6:54 amYou may have missed it, but on Wednesday, Barack Obama held yet another so-called townhall meeting. This one was to discuss his health care plans and use the new tools of "social media" to do it. Although surrounded by a live audience, the main focus of the event was to reach people using the White House web site, Facebook, and Twitter.The problem is that there should be some kind of standards when it comes to a townhall meeting. By labeling it as such, Americans get the impression that this is a meeting of average Joes (and Janes) -- people from all walks of life and all parts of the political spectrum -- who can throw out questions to the president. Well... not quite...As we have seen in many Obama events already,...
Kitten on the Keyboard 2009-07-03 05:01:03Maxine SaysEveryone concentrates on the problems we're having in this country lately: illegal immigration, hurricane recovery, alligators attacking people in Florida ...Not me. I concentrate on solutions for the problems. It's a win-win situation. + Dig a moat the length of the Mexican border. + Send the dirt to New Orleans to raise the level of the levies. + Put the Florida alligators in the moat along the Mexican border. Any other problems you would like for me to solve today? Yes! Think about these: 1. Cows 2. The Constitution 3. The Ten Commandments COWS Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that during the mad cow epidemic our government could track a single cow, born in Canada almost three years ago, right to the stall where she slept in the state of Washington? And, they tracked her calves...
Surrender, Hell no. Let’s Look this Gift Horse in the Mouth - closelPresentation Re: Donation of Unconditional Surrender to the City Presenter(s): Brenda Terris, Chair, Sarasota Season of Sculpture Board and Rich Swier, Read More →
Maybe Mr Bartalotta should consider using the Sheriff’s DeptThe tail is wagging the horse, no? "SARASOTA + Police union demands more officers Police Benevolent Association leaders say if City Manager Bob Bartolotta does Read More →
Birthday ReminderReminder from: SarasotaVoices Yahoo! Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SarasotaVoices/cal 4th of July Saturday July 4, 2009 All Day (This event repeats every Read More →
