Bits and pieces today...
At a meeting last night, a new water park was approved for Chincoteague Island. KOA bought the Maddox Campgrounds last year - off the traffic circle on the way to Assateague. Now they will turn a marsh area into a water park. I'm sorry - but Chincoteague and Assateague are islands. You can swim in the Atlantic Ocean on the east side of Assateague, at the National Seashore; you can swim in Tom's Cove on the west side of Assateague if you don't want to worry about waves. There are a couple of spots on the Assateague Channel, between Chincoteague and Assateague, where you can beach your small craft (or drop anchor) and have a picnic on the shore and swim in the Channel. There are places you can enter the water and swim on Chincoteague, and out-lying islets. Most motels, hotels, and condominiums have their own fresh water pools. Why the heck do we need to have a crazy water park?
At the moment, there are twenty-two horses that have 10 or more qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby. They are (in no particular order) (1) McCracken, (2) Gunnevera, (3) Mastery, (4) American Anthem, (5) Gormley, (6) Classic Empire, (7) One Liner, (8) Girvin, (9) Tapwrit, (10) J Boys Echo, (11) Practical Joke, (12) Untrapped, (13) El Areeb, (14) Guest Suite, (15) Lookin At Lee, (16) Uncontested, (17) Mo Town, (18) Irish War Cry, (19) Royal Mo, (20) Zakeroff, (21) Local Hero, and (22) Three Rules.
How do Presidential vacations compare in number of days and costs? A couple of my Republican cousins scoff at the numbers recently reported, so I checked with snopes.com, Politico, and the Nationalist, a paper that keeps tabs on Presidential spending.... The President who took the most "vacation days" in history so far is George W. Bush; Frankiln Delano Roosevelt came in second with 958 days of "vacation." Of course, a President is never really on vacation... they are always "on call" in case of a crisis. Here's how the past two Presidents, and the current one, stand in number of days "off" and in the cost to the tax-payer.
George W Bush: The 43rd President was in office for 2,922 days; during that time, he made 77 trips to his ranch in Texas, and 11 trips to the Bush family compound in Kennebunk, Maine. Each of the 77 trips to Texas cost the tax-payers of America more than $20 million. Seventy-seven trips at $20 million even adds up to $1.54 billion. That doesn't count his trips to Maine, or every-day security details for his family (3 people). Bush logged in 1,020 days being "on vacation" - that is 34.91% of his entire time in office.
Barack Obama: The 44th President was also in office for 2,922 days. During his tenure, the President took 29 vacations, mostly visiting Hawaii, where he grew up. The cost of all of Obama's vacations was $97 million. That, too, does not count the cost of every-day security details for his family (4 people). Obama took, or used, 228 days of "vacation" - or 7.8% of his entire time in office.
President # 45: Today is this man's 47th day in office. Each time he visits "the Winter White House", the Mar-a-Largo (Big Beach) Golf Resort which he owns, the cost of a Friday noon through Sunday afternoon trip is more than $3 million. So far, in 47 days, his "vacation" have cost American tax-payers over $12 million. This, too, does not include the every-day costs for his family's security details (12 people). "45" has spent 14 of his 47 days in office "on vacation," which is 29.79%. And this is the man who said that President 44 spent too much time on the golf course, and that (August 2015) if he were President, he wouldn't be taking very many vacations because he'd be too busy running the country. - What happened there? Total disconnect?
Showing posts with label Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Obama. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Sunday, March 5, 2017
Forty-fifth Day of "45"
I apologize for continuing to write about the circus peanut... but he and his associates just continue to make stupid headlines in the news. Yesterday cheeto cheeks decided that President Obama had placed wire taps in Trump Tower in New York City to spy on him and his Presidential campaign, and he sent out three bellicose Tweets about it. This morning, in the forty-fifth day of his Presidency, he again had a Tweet fit, stating that the Obama administration abused its authority during the 2016 campaign, having wiretaps placed on the telephones in Trump Tower. He also threw out a quote from a meeting that Obama had with then-Russian President Medvedev (referring to a proposed missile defense system) - before the 2012 election - "Tell Vladimir that after the election I'll have more flexibility." (If you know your Russian history, then you know that Dmitri Medvedev was Putin's hand-picked successor to the Russian Presidency.)
The White House has now asked the US Congress to examine the Obama administration as a part of it's ongoing probe into Russia's influence of the 2016 Presidential election. White House spokesman Sean Sphincter stated today that neither the President nor administration officials would speak about this allegation until Congress has completed its investigation - which means no one in the White House will have to explain 45's accusations. Sphincter said in a statement, "Reports concerning potentially politically motivated investigations immediately ahead of the 2016 election are very troubling."
An Obama spokesman denied the charge, saying it was "a cardinal rule" that no White House official interfered with independent Justice Department investigations. Under US law, a federal court would have to have found that the target of the surveillance is an "agent of a foreign power" in order to approve a warrant authorizing any electronic surveillance of Trump Tower. Today, on NBC's Meet the Press, former Director of Intelligence James Clapper, who left the office at the end of Obama's term, said, "There was no such wiretap activity mounted against the president-elect at the time as a candidate or against his campaign."
This ridiculous plot was first mentioned by radio and TV host Mark Levin, who broadcast that Obama used "police state" tactics to monitor 45's campaign. Then Steve Bannon's Breitbart news jumped on the bandwagon. Now 45 has convinced himself that it's a huge conspiracy....
Author Stephen King had a great Tweet back, in response to the tiny-handed tangerine tyrant: "Obama tapped Trump's phones IN PERSON! Went in wearing a ConEd coverall. Michelle stood guard while O spliced the lines. SAD!" Then he sent out: "Not only did Obama tap Trump's phones, he stole the strawberry ice cream from the mess locker." And, later: "Trump should know OBAMA NEVER LEFT THE WHITE HOUSE! He's in the closet! HE HAS SCISSORS!"
Most people watching this play out agree that 45 is just trying to deflect attention from, and interest in, the investigation into his ties (and his associates connections to, and meetings with) to the Russians - before and during the campaign, and after the election before the inauguration. It's a huge ball of worms that must be carefully untangled!
The White House has now asked the US Congress to examine the Obama administration as a part of it's ongoing probe into Russia's influence of the 2016 Presidential election. White House spokesman Sean Sphincter stated today that neither the President nor administration officials would speak about this allegation until Congress has completed its investigation - which means no one in the White House will have to explain 45's accusations. Sphincter said in a statement, "Reports concerning potentially politically motivated investigations immediately ahead of the 2016 election are very troubling."
An Obama spokesman denied the charge, saying it was "a cardinal rule" that no White House official interfered with independent Justice Department investigations. Under US law, a federal court would have to have found that the target of the surveillance is an "agent of a foreign power" in order to approve a warrant authorizing any electronic surveillance of Trump Tower. Today, on NBC's Meet the Press, former Director of Intelligence James Clapper, who left the office at the end of Obama's term, said, "There was no such wiretap activity mounted against the president-elect at the time as a candidate or against his campaign."
This ridiculous plot was first mentioned by radio and TV host Mark Levin, who broadcast that Obama used "police state" tactics to monitor 45's campaign. Then Steve Bannon's Breitbart news jumped on the bandwagon. Now 45 has convinced himself that it's a huge conspiracy....
Author Stephen King had a great Tweet back, in response to the tiny-handed tangerine tyrant: "Obama tapped Trump's phones IN PERSON! Went in wearing a ConEd coverall. Michelle stood guard while O spliced the lines. SAD!" Then he sent out: "Not only did Obama tap Trump's phones, he stole the strawberry ice cream from the mess locker." And, later: "Trump should know OBAMA NEVER LEFT THE WHITE HOUSE! He's in the closet! HE HAS SCISSORS!"
Most people watching this play out agree that 45 is just trying to deflect attention from, and interest in, the investigation into his ties (and his associates connections to, and meetings with) to the Russians - before and during the campaign, and after the election before the inauguration. It's a huge ball of worms that must be carefully untangled!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Inaugural Memories
It was a chilly, blustery morning in Washington, DC on the 4th of March 1861. Luckily the winds died as the morning progressed, and a 40-year-old tailor was about to mount a rented livery-stable horse to participate in a parade. As an Assistant Marshall for the Inaugural Parade, he was designated to wear pink accessories; I honestly don't know how he felt about that, but he was probably very excited in participating in the Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln. Hugh was a dedicated Republican, even though it was a new political party; Abe Lincoln was the first Republican to ever be elected to the Presidency of the United States, and he had campaigned for the tall man from Illinois. This appearance in the parade was probably the most recognition he would receive.
Depending on what position one held in the parade, one's accessories were red, white, blue, yellow, green, purple, pink, etc. Hugh's rented horse was wearing a pink browband to hold it's forelock in place,and a pink saddle blanket. He, himself, wore a pink cockade stuck jauntily into his hat, a pink sash diagonally across his chest, then tied about his waist, and pink leather gauntlets that reached to his elbows. He was also wearing his best blue serge suit - and as a tailor, he knew he cut a fine figure, even if he wasn't the best horseman in the world. He thought about the man who was about to become President, and wished him well. He thought about his family and he sighed.
His father, Aaron, was a luke-warm supporter of Lincoln. His two brothers were very adamant in their regard of States' Rights. One brother, James, had already told him that once the President was sworn in, he would be one of the first people to resign their post; he would return to Loudoun County and hope that the nation and the President would come to their senses. His other brother, William, was already in residence in Loudoun County, and was known as a rabble-rouser for Southern rights. Hugh heaved a larger sigh, and prepared to mount the rangy bay gelding that he had rented....
The Hugh in the above tale was my husband's great-great-grandfather, Hugh G. Divine. The War Between the States caused great ruptures in a great many families. My husbands' family was one of them. Half of the young men fought for the Union Army and the other half fought for Virginia's Rights. A lot of them lost their lives, on both sides. It was a tragic event in the history of our country.
I am happy to report that I am a supporter of Barack Obama; and my son, Kevin Devine, and his wife Etoye, are also supporters of Barack Obama. I am sure that if Jeff were still with us , he too would be an Obama supporter. So here we are, the day before a new Presidential Inauguration, almost 148 years after Abraham Lincoln's first Inauguration - and where do we stand in this, "one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all"? We face so many problems: the economy, the Iraq War, health care, insurance coverage, the homeless, the mentally ill,... the list seems endless.
But we have elected a new President with a "Yes we can" slogan. We cannot expect immediate miracles in our economy or with any of our other current problems. But we can all do all that we, individually, can do to help support this new President and his Cabinet in their quest to truly make the United States once again the leader of nations. I AM proud to be an American; and, "Yes We Can" prevail.
Depending on what position one held in the parade, one's accessories were red, white, blue, yellow, green, purple, pink, etc. Hugh's rented horse was wearing a pink browband to hold it's forelock in place,and a pink saddle blanket. He, himself, wore a pink cockade stuck jauntily into his hat, a pink sash diagonally across his chest, then tied about his waist, and pink leather gauntlets that reached to his elbows. He was also wearing his best blue serge suit - and as a tailor, he knew he cut a fine figure, even if he wasn't the best horseman in the world. He thought about the man who was about to become President, and wished him well. He thought about his family and he sighed.
His father, Aaron, was a luke-warm supporter of Lincoln. His two brothers were very adamant in their regard of States' Rights. One brother, James, had already told him that once the President was sworn in, he would be one of the first people to resign their post; he would return to Loudoun County and hope that the nation and the President would come to their senses. His other brother, William, was already in residence in Loudoun County, and was known as a rabble-rouser for Southern rights. Hugh heaved a larger sigh, and prepared to mount the rangy bay gelding that he had rented....
The Hugh in the above tale was my husband's great-great-grandfather, Hugh G. Divine. The War Between the States caused great ruptures in a great many families. My husbands' family was one of them. Half of the young men fought for the Union Army and the other half fought for Virginia's Rights. A lot of them lost their lives, on both sides. It was a tragic event in the history of our country.
I am happy to report that I am a supporter of Barack Obama; and my son, Kevin Devine, and his wife Etoye, are also supporters of Barack Obama. I am sure that if Jeff were still with us , he too would be an Obama supporter. So here we are, the day before a new Presidential Inauguration, almost 148 years after Abraham Lincoln's first Inauguration - and where do we stand in this, "one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all"? We face so many problems: the economy, the Iraq War, health care, insurance coverage, the homeless, the mentally ill,... the list seems endless.
But we have elected a new President with a "Yes we can" slogan. We cannot expect immediate miracles in our economy or with any of our other current problems. But we can all do all that we, individually, can do to help support this new President and his Cabinet in their quest to truly make the United States once again the leader of nations. I AM proud to be an American; and, "Yes We Can" prevail.
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