What is an American?

A Hardheaded, Opinionated, Compassionate, Collective Minded, Flexible Individualist who HATES to be told what to do, but will always do what needs to be done.




“The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.” 
~ Tom Bodett





As Far As You Can Go Without A Passport:
The View From The End Of The Road (Paperback)

I Survived the Mayan Apocalypse

Possible Definition of "Politically Incorrect"?

The Culinary Cliff?

Obama: So, what do you want to eat? 
Boehner: You're going to have to lead, Mr. President. 
Obama: Okay, great. Let's order pizza. 
Boehner: We just had pizza. 
Obama: You said you wanted me to lead. I'm saying pizza. 
Boehner: I'm not in the mood for pizza. Don't you understand compromise? 
Obama: Apparently not. How about Chinese? 
Boehner: Don't ask me -- you're the "leader". 
Obama: Okay, Chinese. 
Boehner: I'm trying to cut back on sodium. Do you really want me to have a heart attack? 
Obama: Let me get back to you on that. So, no pizza, no Chinese. 
Boehner: Correct. 
Obama: KFC?
Boehner: Too African-American. 
Obama: Outback? 
Boehner: Too atheist. Too female. 
Obama: Taco Bell? 
Boehner: Don't even go there. 
Obama: Oooh, yeah, forgot. You'd only get 27% of a meal. 
Boehner: [inaudible] 
Obama: Listen, man, you're saying you want me to lead... 
Boehner: Yes. 
Obama: But you hate all my suggestions. 
Boehner: Correct. You need to lead with something I like. 
Obama: Can I get any hint whatsoever of what you might like? 
Boehner: I can tell you two things. 
Obama: Yes? Boehner: It has "Chick" in it, and it has "Fil-A" in it. 
Obama: There is no way I'm eating there.
Boehner: See you at the bottom of the cliff.

Blue States verses Red States?

Statistics for [infographic] via Fox Business Report.

Mitt Romney goes fishing in the Cayman Islands?

When Karl Rove argued against calling Ohio for Obama on Election Night, Fox’s Megyn Kelly asked Mr. Propaganda,  “Is this just math that you do as a Republican to make yourself feel better?”

"Get a haircut and get a new job"?

Possible definition of "hypocrisy"?

"A syndicated conservative talk radio host raging against the so-called mainstream media is like a convicted arsonist filing a class action lawsuit on behalf of the victims of defective smoke detectors." ~ Self

...Americana...

Food for thought?

"Politics has become so expensive that it takes a lot of money even to be defeated." ~ Will Rogers

"Who would have thought after years and years and years, even decades in which the Republican right attacked old Europe, that they would embrace the economic policies of the Eurozone. Austerity and unemployment now at all costs. I mean after all, their unemployment rate's 11% and our unemployment rate is 8%. We can get right up there if we adopt there policies." 
~ President Bill Clinton

[infographic]

"I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape - the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show." ~ Andrew Wyeth

40 miles north of Norfolk, Nebraska on U.S. Route 81 (January 2010).

Political Joke of the Week?

A Bain executive, a union shop steward and a worker met in the conference room. Two dozen "Mitt 2012" cupcakes are on the table. The Bain executive takes 23 cupcakes and then turns to the worker and says, "You'd better watch out for that union guy. He's gonna try to take your cupcake."

"The purpose of life is a life of purpose."
~ Robert Byrne

Venezia, Italy (Spring 2002)

...inspiration...

"Ultimately, America's answer to the intolerant man is diversity, the very diversity which our heritage of religious freedom has inspired."
~ Robert F. Kennedy

Mitt Romney ~ Serial Flip Flopper?

YouTube has changed forever how a campaign manages the theme and messages of a candidate. Love it or hate it, in 2012, every recorded word a politician utters in front of voters becomes part of the digital public record. In an exclusive news release to Reuters in January, Google reported roughly '60 hours of video is now uploaded to YouTube every minute'. The theory that a candidate can use an 'etch-a-sketch' to change political direction in the middle of a campaign is dead. Campaigns are no longer a debate over ideas but about the actual use of words. And yes, this blogger believes a politician's use of words reveals something about the person. Read More...

Betty White endorses Obama for re-election?
Read More...

[infographic]

"I love a dog. He does nothing for political reasons." ~ Will Rogers

JoJo Rimar

Down With Everything?
Read More...

798 Art Zone, Beijing, P.R.C. (May 2008)

It's all about selling SOAP?

In July 2011, Sarah Palin's documentary The Undefeated opened to an empty theater in Orange County (READ MORE). While on the surface, the movie's box office failure was rather humorous, unfortunately, a majority of journalists missed the point on why the film was released in the first place. It's the same reason why Newt Gingrich, despite getting destroyed at the ballot box, stayed in the race. 

When this blogger lived and worked in the People's Republic of China, I discovered that cigarettes and alcohol were used to bribe government officials. Indeed, the central government actually monitors the sell of expensive cigarettes to gauge the level of corruption in different cities. While the average price per pack was LESS than a dollar, several brands from Yunnan Province cost more than $110s a cartoon. 

Why? Well, cigarettes are a form of hard currency which cannot be individually traced by the government. Thus, local officials accept cartoons of cigarettes, as bribes, without drawing the attention of the central government. 

Economic crimes, such as tax fraud and corruption, routinely appear among the criminal dockets of those given the death penalty READ MORE...

Intead of cigarettes, in the United States, 527 special interest groups purchase books and DVDs (in bulk) to support politicians and so-called journalists who support their specific agenda. For example, the reason Sarah Palin toured Iowa during the primary season was to SELL books and DVDs. She earns more than six figures a year giving speeches. As long as she remains a political celebrity, she'll continue selling SOAP. While this blogger respects Senator John McCain, somebody spiked his political Kool-Aid in 2008.

Suggested Reading:
Money Unlimited ~ How Chief Justice John Roberts orchestrated the Citizens United decision.
Read More...
Covert Operations ~ The billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama.
Read More...

Due to technical difficulties...

The original status update about Hugh Hefner's latest attempt at love & marriage has been cancelled.

"Life attracts life." ~ Paulo Coelho 
The Alchemist (Paperback)
Photo of Lobster Dinner by Peter Rimar in Jakarta, Indonesian (July 2009).

New York Stock Exchange opening new Casino in Las Vegas?

"Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls Royce to get advice from those who take the subway." ~ Warren Buffett

Is JPMorgan's Loss a Canary in a Coal Mine?
Read More...

How soon we forget?

"Is there decency left in American politics?" ~ Senator Byron Dorgan

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Watching Faux News Lowers Student Math Scores?

59% + 35% + 26% = 100%

Faux Forgets Its Role Downplaying Magnitude Of Recession?
Read More...

Economics 101?

"A bank is a place where they lend you an umbrella in fair weather and ask for it back when it begins to rain." ~ Robert Frost

Hong Kong S.A.R. (May 2008)

Photo by Peter Rimar

It is what it is?

"If there were only one truth, you couldn't paint a hundred canvases on the same theme." 
~ Pablo Picasso

Possible Definition of the word 'Globalization'?

North Korea access to outside media up, says US study?
Read More...

Considering this blogger's previous apartment landlord in Beijing was North Korean (Spring 2008), the above story by the BBC comes as no big surprise. Once again, as I've already stated on numerous posts, the CCP and the PLA hold the keys to a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula and beyond.
Read More...

Mitt Romney saved GM and Chrysler?

Can you say [dih-loo-zhuh-nl]?

"Only in politics do people root for bad news."

~ President Obama

Who do you love?

"We’ve arrived at a point where the President of the United States is going to lead a war on traditional marriage." 
~ Rush Limbaugh


Limbaugh's first, second, third, and fourth wives could not be reached for comment.

Rick Santorum changes his Facebook Status to 'Endorsing'?

Does Santorum believe his political future hinges on a Romney defeat?
Read More...