Apple has more cash than the U.S. Treasury?

Los Angeles Times (July 29, 2011):
"One of the reasons U.S. companies have amassed so much cash is that it provides them financial flexibility in times of heightened uncertainty," said Laurie Simon Hodrick, a professor of business economics at Columbia University's business school. "It might seem ironic, but as the risk of a government default grows, bringing with it the specter of higher interest rates, the incentives for firms to finance with internally generated cash grows as well."
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Apple Magic Mouse

Michele Bachmann for President? Why?

IF you want to sell books, land a job on FauX News, go Dancing with the Stars, earn six figures on the talk show circuit, use PAC money to finance a family BUS vacation & STAR in your own Reality TV show, RUN for President. For the record, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is NO flake. It's a real pain in the butt to file for Federal Aid every darn year. READ MORE...

‎...after a night of partying with John Quincy Adams, the other Founding Fathers (George, Paul, John & Ringo) helped Margaret Manny sew the Grand Union Flag...
‎John Quincy Adams, after helping George Washington chop down the cherry tree, sat down & wrote the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe".

A tax loophole is an entitlement? Who knew?

‎...the early bird gets the worm, so he can sell it to the guy who catches a fish, who then sells it back to the early bird for a higher profit...

Captain America Movie Adult Shield
Derivative photograph of a large, cardboard, 2d, advertising display for the movie Captain America taken at the River Cinema 15 Theater, East Grand Forks, Minnesota. Click on image to open in a new window.

A tax subsidy is an entitlement? Who knew?

Lord Rupert "Voldemort" Murdoch's"Minister for Magic " arrested? Scotland Yard posts bobbies outside 221B Baker Street? President Obama considers pardoning Hugh Grant? Faux News denies the existence of England? Rosebud?

...debt ceiling debate...

Some members of Congress negotiate like the North Koreans. IF they don't get want they want, they threatened the nuclear option.


Obstructionism is not leadership. 
FACT: The Federal debt ceiling was raised 18 times during President Ronald Reagan's 8 years in office. The last time Congress didn't need to raise the debt ceiling was under President Harry Truman.

“The debt’s coming due, and they say it isn’t coming due. Who do we get? Bring God down?”
~ Former U.S. Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM)
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The American people elected our representatives to act in the best interest of the country as a whole and NOT on behalf of some mythical ideological brew supported by two billionaire brothers with enough SOFT money to influence national elections.
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How Congress Works and Why You Should Care (Paperback)

"All colors are the friends of their neighbors and the lovers of their opposites." ~ Marc Chagall

Kool-Aid still comes in more than one flavor?

"It would be nice if the Food and Drug Administration stopped issuing warnings about toxic substances and just gave me the names of one or two things still safe to eat."
~ Robert Fuoss
FDA: A History (DVD)

Ruby Giuliani?

During an interview on CNN on July 17th, 2011, Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R), when asked about the debt ceiling crisis said "Too big an issue to play chicken with." Later in the interview, he stated that "the Republican Party needs to get out of people's bedrooms".



Born this Way?

When I Grow Up (Hardcover)

In Case You Missed It...

Australia to SHOOT Farting Camels to Combat Global Warming? 

Are 1,000,000 camels damaging the Outback's environment? YES. With that said, using Global Warming to justify culling thousands of camels is a bit of a political stretch. What next? A worldwide BAN on microwave BEAN Burritos? READ MORE...

The idiotology of ideology?

[id·i·ot·all·o·gee]

Compare:
Between 2003-2010, the U.S. spent $21.3 billion on rebuilding Iraqi security forces.
Contrast: Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, better known as the Stimulus Bill, 
$1.3 billion went for the construction of military hospitals, $6 billion for the cleanup of radioactive waste (mostly nuclear weapons production sites) & $600 million for hazardous waste cleanup at Superfund sites (EPA). 

When this blogger read that $6 billion was allocated for the cleanup of radioactive waste, my first thought was "where is it & how long has it been there?" 

Why did it take a so-called stimulus package to address the issue of nuclear waste in this country?
Nuclear Waste Stalemate:
Political and Scientific Controversies (Paperback)

...perspective...

Iraqi Soldiers in Baghdad, Iraq (April 2005).

I'm still addicted to fossil fuels...

"You must be the change you want to see in the world."
~ Mahatma Gandhi
The Words of Gandhi (Hardcover)

“Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something.”
~ Plato
Plato Complete Works (Hardcover)

I just realized I could teach the world to sing...

since everything's already a bit off key!

‎"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." ~ Albert Einstein
The World As I See It (Paperback)
Roadside photo by Peter Rimar taken along U.S. Route 81, 
40 miles north of Norfolk, Nebraska (March 2010)

Another Endangered Species?

How to Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck:
Advice to Make Any Amateur Look Like a Pro (Paperback)

This blogger is NOT smarter than a 5th grader!

7 things NEVER to say to your boss:


That's not my job. 
It's not my problem. 
It's not my fault.
I can only do one thing at a time.
I am way overqualified for this job.
This job is easy.
Anyone could do it.
It can't be done.

Calender on a Wall, Changsha, P.R.C. (July 2009).

Click on image to open in a new window.

Americans Most Confident in Military?

U.S. Congress comes in LAST Place?

According to the latest Gallup Poll, 78% of Americans expressed a high degree of confidence in the military as an institution. While Congress, which scored lower than banks (23%) & big business (19%), only received a vote of confidence from 12% of the American people. READ MORE...


The Pulse of Democracy:
The Public-Opinion Poll and How It Works (Hardcover)

"You want a friend in Washington? Get a dog." ~ Harry S. Truman

Sports Rule #1?

Never BLAME the FANS for your professional shortcomings?


"All the people that were rooting on me to fail, at the end of the day they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life that they had before they woke up today. They have the same personal problems they had today." ~ LeBron James



Lebron James: The Making of an MVP (Paperback)

...perspective...

Observation: No matter where a person travels in China, it seems that people smoke just about anyplace and everywhere. However, for some strange reason, ALL the major American brand eating establishments are completely smoke free AND the Chinese actually OBSERVE the NO SMOKING signs. The capitalistic icons of McDonald's, Subway, Papa Johns, Pizza Hut, KFC, Starbucks and Daylight Donuts are all SMOKE FREE.


‎"Study the past if you would define the future." ~ Confucius
Mao's Last Revolution (Paperback)

[pseu·do·nym]

A fictitious name used by an author to conceal his or her identity.

"Anonymity is a shield from the tyranny of the majority. It thus exemplifies the purpose behind the Bill of Rights, and of the First Amendment in particular: to protect unpopular individuals from retaliation—and their ideas from suppression—at the hand of an intolerant society. The right to remain anonymous may be abused when it shields fraudulent conduct. But political speech by its nature will sometimes have unpalatable consequences, and, in general, our society accords greater weight to the value of free speech than to the dangers of its misuse."
~ Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens
McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Comm’n 514 U.S. 334, 357 (1995)

Subliminal Message?

Dear Abby ~ I have this silly second cousin who drinks WAY too much TEA. He wears a FLAG, paints angry signs and screams at everyone in the family. What should I do? Signed ~ Mr. Coffee

Craziest Michele Bachmann Quote of All Time?
"Well what I want them to know is just like, John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa. That's the kind of spirit that I have, too."
~ June 27, 2011


Actually, the legendary movie actor John Wayne was born three hours away in Winterset, Iowa. John Wayne Gacy, the notorious serial killer, once called Waterloo, Iowa home.
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The lifestyles of the 'not-so-rich' and will never be famous?

Speaking of baggage, with all the political gridlock facing the 112th Congress, should I put off buying that Corporate Jet?


Does anybody have any worthwhile suggestions for the rolls of pennies, nickles and dimes I've saved?

Stressed spelled backwards is desserts. Coincidence?

Mark Zuckerberg may finally get access to the Chinese market. But at what cost?

"Democracy is like a rice cooker. When too much pressure builds up inside, excess steam is released so the cooker (i.e. society) doesn't EXPLODE."
~ Peter Rimar

Why is Facebook, Blogger and YouTube blocked in China?

Connect the Dots:
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‎4 out of the last 7 governors of Illinois have been convicted of a felony?

Sign w/ Shadow on Brick Wall
(NOT Amsterdam)
June 2011
Grand Forks, North Dakota

Lonely Planet Amsterdam (City Travel Guide)

"Psychic Wins Lottery"?

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." ~ President George W. Bush
— Washington, D.C., August 5th, 2004
George W. Bush Politically Incorrect Adult Mask

Newt Gingrich SUCKS?

It's sad that in 2011, candidates still use racism to score cheap political points. 

During the first GOP Presidential Debate in New Hampshire, Newt Gingrich used the HATE and FEAR card to describe America's GOD and the tradition of separation of church and state. To illustrate his point, he described Faisal Shahzad's (the 30-year-old Pakistan-born, U.S. citizen who attempted to bomb Time Square on May 1st, 2010) response to the judge for his reasons behind his attempted terrorist attack. 

What Gingrich FAILED to mention was that Aliou Niasse, the street vendor who ALERTED the authorities and saved countless lives is a MUSLIM immigrant. Prior to 9-11, Timothy McVeigh (angry about Waco) carried out the single, largest terrorist attack on American soil. No wonder Newt's staff quit. He got way too much sun on his Greek cruise.

This country's founding fathers DID NOT create a NATIONAL religion. They created the BILL of RIGHTS to PROTECT Freedom of Religion. 
Why?
Can you say Church of England and the Vatican? Can you say "religious tolerance"? AND, oh by the way, state rights DO NOT and CAN NOT supersede the BILL of RIGHTS. PERIOD. This country fought a bloody civil war to sort out the original sin of "state rights" created by our Founding Fathers.

It's OK for a person to be black, white, red, green, blue, pink or GAY!
REALLY!
It's OK for a person to be a Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist or Atheist!
REALLY!

Small note to readers: Politically, I'm an Independent. When I feel myself getting sucked into simplistic PARTY rhetoric, I force myself to READ & LISTEN to ALL sides of an issue. With that said, no matter what side of the political fence someone sits, I will NEVER accept the politics of HATE & FEAR. Period.