CHAMPIONS!!

Saturday night, November 22, 2008. The championship game for the 11-year old division of AYFA fall football season came to a wonderful conclusion for the White Eagle team.

Jordan Parisian, playing running back and middle linebacker played a stellar game in front of friends and family, among them his 85 year-old grandfather, Douglas Parisian from Spicer, MN.

The mighty White Eagles came up on the winning end of a hard fought battle against a well-coached Roswell, GA team on a very cool fall evening.

As one of the assistant coaches, it was a great victory.

I love the truth from a politician

I love this cowboy congressman from California who asked the 3 honcho's from the auto industry if they took a commercial flights or flew on the corporate jets to the congressional hearings.

Let the record show they all flew on the corporate jets and aren't selling them.

145 Years Ago Today........

Gettysburg, PennsylvaniaNovember 19, 1863

On June 1, 1865, Senator Charles Sumner commented on what is now considered the most famous speech by President Abraham Lincoln. In his eulogy on the slain president, he called it a "monumental act." He said Lincoln was mistaken that "the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here." Rather, the Bostonian remarked, "The world noted at once what he said, and will never cease to remember it. The battle itself was less important than the speech."

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Chris Dodd, a true American travesty

The Congressional "grilling" of the Big Three "chiefs" is truly historic and will make for great business school chatter years down the road. And the political science profs will have a field day.

This UAW chief, Mr. Gettelfinger is a real piece of work.

Is it any wonder the stock market can't find a bottom? The Obama "bail-out" nation looks like it is here to stay.

Please PRAY for Jeff Rollert's Scoutmaster.....

Our neighbors son was lethargic during the scout camping trip this weekend, and since we had two doctors there, he got a quick exam. The whole family is tired, as they have a new daughter.
I got to watch the father, as the E/R doctor found a lump in the abdomen, and the cancer doctor called Childrens Hospital and had him admitted stat. He is currently on the operating table to have a grapefruit size tumor removed from his liver. He's 11 years old.

This is a Dad's worst nightmare. He is also our scoutmaster. For the next four hours, please rub the rabbits foot, pray, or do whatever works for you. He's been on the table for an hour, and has about five hours of surgery left.

Many thanks in advance…

Jeff

Soros talks, Parisian listens..........

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - George Soros, chairman of Soros Fund Management, testified at a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on Thursday. Highlights:
* Said "a deep recession is now inevitable and the possibility of a depression cannot be ruled out."
* Said hedge funds were an integral part of the financial market bubble which now has burst.
* Said hedge funds will be "decimated" by the current financial crisis and forced to shrink their portfolios by 50-75 percent.
* Said Fed, Treasury Department and the SEC must accept responsibility to prevent market bubbles from growing too big in future.
Said impossible to prevent market bubbles from forming, but they can be kept within "tolerable bounds."
* Said financial engineering should be regulated and new products approved by regulators, and that such regulation should be a high priority of the new Obama administration.
* Said a recent IMF credit facility not large enough to stabilize markets.

Worlds best recipe............

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. Itis the ultimate anti-depressant. 2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Talk to God aboutwhat is going on in your life. Buy a lock if you have to. 3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'Mypurpose is to__________ today. I am thankful for______________' 4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food thatis manufactured in plants. 5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskansalmon, broccoli , almonds & walnuts. 6. Try to make at least three people smile each day. 7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issuesof the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Insteadinvest your energy in the positive present moment. 8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like acollege kid with a maxed out charge card. 9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good. 10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. 11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does. 12. You are not so important that you have to win every argument.Agree to disagree. 13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present. 14. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. 15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you. 16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years,will this ma tter?' 17. Forgive everyone for everything. 18. What other people think of you is none of your business. 19. GOD heals everything - but you have to ask Him. 20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change. 21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch!!! 22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need. 23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: Iam thankful for__________. Today I accomplished_________. 24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed. 25. When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings. You'll be smiling before you know it.

GM and the labor unions.........

If one dime of taxpayer money goes to save GM the union agreements should be nullified, voided and they start negotiation from square one. Management and the unions are killing GM to say nothing of a poor product line and engineering.

Paulson, the bailout and OUR money.........

The betrayal of the regulators is appalling. Paulson will have zero legacy when this is said and done. Bailing out every Tom, Dick and Harry with taxpayer money (OUR money by the way) is like putting a band-aid on a cancer.

There is no rationale for this auto industry bailout. Maybe 10 trillion of wealth has been lost on paper in the US financial markets. We don't need any more GM cars. If they built a competitive car with the Japs they wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. Trillions more are at risk with this move and the American taxpayer is losing confidence in these morons. It was all about election politics to begin with.

American disgust

This government booddoggle called the bailout is getting comical.

It is like a welfare line for corporate America. And until they shut it off the line will only get longer.

I hope when the time comes to re-elect all these pitiful politicians that they will play the soundbites of them asking America for bailout money.

Pine Ridge, Oglala Community High School

I went to high school at OCHS back in the late 1960's. This is the take from Russell Means on Pine Ridge and the Pine Ridge Reservation today. Though it was a beautiful place to grow up for a kid who enjoyed his horse and hunting, then, as now, the minus's outweighed the positives.

Genocidal Results of the Failed American Indian Policies of the United States Government:
MORTALITY:
Lakotah men have a life expectancy of less than 44 years, lowest of any country in the World (excluding AIDS) including Haiti.
Lakotah death rate is the highest in the United States.
The Lakotah infant mortality rate is 300% more than the U.S. Average.
One out of every four Lakotah children born are fostered or adopted out to non-Indian homes.
Diseases such as tuberculosis, polio, etc. are present. Cancer is now at epidemic proportions!
Teenage suicide rate is 150% higher than the U.S national average for this group.
POVERTY:Median income is approximately $2,600 to $3,500 per year. 97% of our Lakotah people live below the poverty line. Many families cannot afford heating oil, wood or propane and many residents use ovens to heat their homes. UNEMPLOYMENT: Unemployment rates on our reservations are 80% or higher. Government funding for job creation is lost through cronyism and corruption. HOUSING: Elderly die each winter from hypothermia (freezing). 1/3 of the homes lack basic clean water and sewage while 40% lack electricity. 60% of Reservation families have no telephone. 60% of housing is infected with potentially fatal black molds. There is an estimated average of 17 people living in each family home (may only have two to three rooms). Some homes, built for 6 to 8 people, have up to 30 people living in them. DRUGS AND ALCOHOL: More than half the Reservation’s adults battle addiction and disease. Alcoholism affects 9 in 10 families. Two known meth-amphetamine labs allowed to continue operation. Why? DISEASE: The Tuberculosis rate on Lakotah reservations is approx. 800% higher than the U.S national average. Cervical cancer is 500% higher than the U.S national average. The rate of diabetes is 800% higher than the U.S national average. Federal Commodity Food Program provides high sugar foods that kill Native people through diabetes and heart disease. INCARCERATION: Indian children incarceration rate 40% higher than whites. In South Dakota, 21 percent of state prisoners are American Indians, yet they only make up 2% of the population. Indians have the second largest state prison incarceration rate in the nation. Most Indians live on federal reservations. Less than 2% of Indians live where the state has jurisdiction! THREATENED CULTURE: Only 14% of the Lakotah population can speak the Lakotah language. The language is not being shared inter-generationally. Today, the average age of a fluent Lakotah speaker is 65 years. Our Lakotah language is an Endangered Language, on the verge of extinction. Our Lakotah language is not allowed to be taught in the U.S. Government schools. Please contact: info@republicoflakotah.com, 605-867-1025

Wyoming casting call..............

Due to the popularity of the Survivor's shows, Wyoming is planning to do its own, titled "Survivor-Wyoming Style." The contestants will start in Cheyenne , travel over to Casper , Lander, and Rawlins. Then, they will head west to Rock Springs , north to Pinedale and Big Piney. From there they will proceed east to Gillette. The final leg will be back to Cheyenne . Each will be driving a pink Volvo with California license plates and a HUGE bumper sticker that reads: "I'm gay. I'm a vegetarian. Beer is harmful to your health. Republicans suck. Obama in 2008. Deer hunting is murder, and I'm here to confiscate your guns."

The first one that makes it back to Cheyenne alive wins.

Death penalty needed here.........

By RHONDA COOK
The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionSunday, September 21, 2008

The destruction caused by the Brian Nichols case has gone beyond the four people he killed, beyond the five he carjacked. It’s also gone beyond the people he assaulted in the hours between his unprecedented escaped from the Fulton County Courthouse on a windy Friday morning and his surrender 26 hours later at a Duluth apartment complex.The cost has been more than any other in the state and some estimates are that it will ultimately cost taxpayers at least $5 million to prosecute and defend Brian Nichols.Those 26 hours three-and-half years ago may have been the death-knell of Georgia’s then-new system that had been created to eliminate the inequities of a hodge-podge of indigent defense systems.“This is a tragic case that comes along once every 50 years,” said Stephen Bright, who teaches law at Georgetown and Yale Universities.“It’s too bad it couldn’t be handled in a way that didn’t result in consequences for the judiciary and the representation of poor people,” said Bright, a veteran death penalty defense attorney.The financial — and political — drain of the case has crippled, and maybe destroyed the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council, Mears and Bright said.When he was head of the council, Mears recalls, he had “several heated discussions” over state funding with legislators who “want to use the Nichols case to destroy the indigent defense system because of how much it’s costing and how much we should have not been paying for this defense.“This case may result in the end of the indigent defense system,” Mears. “There has been a lot of collateral damage as a result of this case, starting with the [judicial] system itself.”The Nichols case has become the example both sides point to when arguing the shortcomings of the death penalty system.The staggering expense of the Nichols case has gone beyond $13 million, including two $5 million settlements paid to the families of those killed at the courthouse.Georgia’s taxpayers are paying to defend Nichols, to prosecute him, to protect him and to house him.At the same time, the case has consumed the attention of the public, a courthouse, the judiciary and a prosecutor’s office. Because of the multiple on-and-off trial start dates and the media attention, some outside the system believe the case has taken too long to come to trial even though there have been death penalty cases that have taken longer.Trial finally begins MondayThree years, six months, and 10 days after accused rapist Brian Nichols, 36, escaped from the Fulton County Courthouse on March 11, 2005 — leaving blood in his path and briefly terrorizing a city — he is going on trial before a jury dominated by women.Is Nichols not guilty by reason of insanity — as he claims — for the series of crimes referred to as “the courthouse shootings?” Or is he guilty of multiple murders and should he die for killing Judge Rowland Barnes, court stenographer Julie Ann Brandau, Fulton deputy Hoyt Keith Teasley and agent David Wilhelm of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.Hopefully, by Christmas, there will be a verdict.But many agree the effects will linger long after the verdict.“It’s an extraordinary case because of the number of twists and turns it has in it,” said law professor Michael Mears, who previously headed the Public Defender Standards Council, the state agency charged with representing capital defendants like Nichols.The cost has been more than any other in the state and some estimates are that it will ultimately cost taxpayers at least $5 million to prosecute and defend Nichols.Already Fulton County has spent almost $954,000. The county also cancelled a $376,000 debt the city of Atlanta owed for court services in exchange for use of the entire sixth floor of the Municipal Court.Barnes’ widow recently won a $5.1 million lawsuit against Fulton County for her husband’s death in his courtroom that fateful day. Brandau’s daughter was awarded a $5.2 million settlement a few days ago.Other lawsuits are pending.And by the time the trial is over, Fulton County will have spent at least another $118,534 just for juror expenses and more than $151,000 for overtime for deputies assigned to the trial. Fulton is expecting spend even more because the county is now picking up the expense of one of Nichols’ four attorneys and there are several months of billable hours not yet worked.At one County Commission meeting in July, the county manager warned another $1.8 million may be needed.Meanwhile, taxpayers also are spending millions to both to prosecute and defend Nichols — costs that are harder to tally.The prosecution costs are spread out in the budgets of several local, state and federal agencies, including the expense of lawyers and law enforcement officers, who are also handling other cases.The Georgia Public Defender Standards Council had paid six Nichols’ lawyers — four at first and now only two — at least $1.5 million by the first of this year.How much it has cost since the first of this year is not known because both judges in the case — the previous judge, Hilton Fuller ,and now-presiding Judge James Bodiford — have ordered the council not to discuss the case.“It’s cost much more than I could ever imagine,” Mears said.Indigent defense system damagedThe statewide indigent defense system had been in place little more than two months when Nichols escaped the courthouse where he was on trial on charges of raping a former girlfriend.“Nichols was the first major capital case coming out of the chute,” said Gary Parker, who was the previous lead defense attorney until he resigned more than a year ago for health reasons. “The level of resources … hasn’t been spent anywhere.”Bright said the damage to the state’s indigent defense system will be lasting.“The legal system does not work at its best when caught up in the passions of the moment,” Bright said. “Once you accentuate those passions, the more people’s careers get caught up, the worse it gets. A lot of times when we look back on it several years later, those are not the legal system’s finest hours. The independence of the judiciary may be one of the greatest casualties of the case, Bright said.“It has been a tremendous blow to the independence of the judiciary in Georgia,” Bright said. “The rule of law is based on the notion that cases are tried in accordance with the law and not the passions of the moment and the legislature.”Bright said some elected officials blamed Fuller, the first judge on the case who resigned. Bright said it was “shear demagoguery and that hurt the legal system. The idea that a judge is supposed to play to the crowd is totally antithetical to our notions of justice.”

Ann Coulter said..............

THE REIGN OF LAME FALLS MAINLY ON MCCAIN November 5, 2008

Last night was truly a historic occasion: For only the second time in her adult life, Michelle Obama was proud of her country! The big loser of this election is Colin Powell, whose last-minute endorsement of Obama put the Illinois senator over the top. Powell was probably at home last night, yelling at his TV, "Are you KIDDING me? That endorsement was sarcastic!"

The winner, of course, is Obama, who must be excited because now he can start hanging out in public with Bill Ayers and Rev. Jeremiah Wright again. John McCain is a winner because he can resume buying more houses. And we're all winners because we will never again have to hear McCain say, "my friends." After Bill Clinton won the 1992 presidential election, Hillary Clinton immediately announced that, henceforth, she would be known as "Hillary Rodham Clinton." So maybe Obama can now become B. Hussein Obama, his rightful name.

This was such an enormous Democratic year that even John Murtha won his congressional seat in Pennsylvania after calling his constituents racists. It turns out they're not racists -- they're retards. Question: What exactly would one have to say to alienate Pennsylvanians? That Joe Paterno should retire?

Apparently Florida voters didn't mind Obama's palling around with Palestinian activist Rashid Khalidi and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, either. There must be a whole bunch of retired Pennsylvania Jews down there. Have you ever noticed that whenever Democrats lose presidential elections, they always blame it on the personal qualities of their candidate? Kerry was a dork, Gore was a stiff, Dukakis was a bloodless android, Mondale was a sad sack. This blame-the-messenger thesis allows Democrats to conclude that their message was fine -- nothing should be changed! The American people are clamoring for higher taxes, big government, a defeatist foreign policy, gay marriage, the whole magilla. It was just this particular candidate's personality.

Republicans lost this presidential election, and I don't blame the messenger; I blame the message. How could Republicans go after B. Hussein Obama (as he is now known) on planning to bankrupt the coal companies when McCain supports the exact same cap and trade policies and earnestly believes in global warming? How could we go after Obama for his illegal alien aunt and for supporting driver's licenses for illegal aliens when McCain fanatically pushed amnesty along with his good friend Teddy Kennedy? How could we go after Obama for Jeremiah Wright when McCain denounced any Republicans who did so? How could we go after Obama for planning to hike taxes on the "rich," when McCain was the only Republican to vote against both of Bush's tax cuts on the grounds that they were tax cuts for the rich? And why should Republican activists slave away working for McCain when he has personally, viciously attacked: John O'Neill and the Swift Boat Veterans, National Right to Life director Doug Johnson, evangelical pastors Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and John Hagee, various conservative talk radio hosts, the Tennessee Republican Party and on and on and on? As liberal Democrat E.J. Dionne Jr. exuded about McCain in The Washington Post during the Republican primaries, "John McCain is feared by Democrats and liked by independents." Dionne proclaimed that McCain "may be the one Republican who can rescue his party from the undertow of the Bush years." Similarly, after unelectable, ultraconservative Reagan won two landslide victories, James Reston of The New York Times gave the same advice to Vice President George H.W. Bush: Stop being conservative! Bush was "a good man," Reston said in 1988, "and might run a strong campaign if liberated from Mr. Reagan's coattails." Roll that phrase around a bit -- "liberated from Mr. Reagan's coattails." This is why it takes so long to read the Times -- you have to keep reading the same paragraph over again to see if you missed a word. Bush, of course, rode Reagan's ultraconservative coattails to victory, then snipped those coattails by raising taxes and was soundly defeated four years later. I keep trying to get Democrats to take my advice (stop being so crazy), but they never listen to me.

Why do Republicans take the advice of their enemies? How many times do we have to run this experiment before Republican primary voters learn that "moderate," "independent," "maverick" Republicans never win, and right-wing Republicans never lose? Indeed, the only good thing about McCain is that he gave us a genuine conservative, Sarah Palin. He's like one of those insects that lives just long enough to reproduce so that the species can survive. That's why a lot of us are referring to Sarah as "The One" these days. Like Sarah Connor in "The Terminator," Sarah Palin is destined to give birth to a new movement. That's why the Democrats are trying to kill her. And Arnold Schwarzenegger is involved somehow, too. Good Lord, I'm tired. After showing nearly superhuman restraint throughout this campaign, which was lost the night McCain won the California primary, I am now liberated to announce that all I care about is hunting down and punishing every Republican who voted for McCain in the primaries.

I have a list and am prepared to produce the names of every person who told me he was voting for McCain to the proper authorities. We'll start with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist. Then we shall march through the states of New Hampshire and South Carolina -- states that must never, ever be allowed to hold early Republican primaries again. For now, we have a new president-elect. In the spirit of reaching across the aisle, we owe it to the Democrats to show their president the exact same kind of respect and loyalty that they have shown our recent Republican president.

Starting tomorrow, if not sooner.

It is all about the ice cream

The most eye-opening civics lesson I ever had was while talking recently to a third grade teacher. The presidential election was heating up and some of the children showed an interest. They had decided they would have an election for class president. They would choose the nominees. They would make a campaign speech and the class would vote. To simplify the process, candidates were nominated by other class members. They discussed what kinds of characteristics these students should have. They got many nominations and from those, Jamie and Olivia were picked to run for the top spot. The class had done a great job in their selections. Both candidates were good kids. The teacher thought that Jamie might have an advantage because he got lots of parental support. The teacher had never seen Olivia's mother. The day arrived when they were to make their speeches Jamie went first. He had specific ideas about how to make the class a better place. He ended by promising to do his very best. Every one applauded. He sat down and Olivia came to the podium. Her speech was concise. She said, "If you will vote for me, I will give you ice cream." She sat down. The class went wild. "Yes! Yes! We want ice cream." She surely would say more. She did not have to. A discussion followed. How did she plan to pay for the ice cream? She wasn't sure. Would her parents buy it or would the class pay for it. She didn't know. The class really didn't care. All they were thinking about was ice cream. Jamie was forgotten. Olivia won by a land slide. Every time Barack Obama opens his mouth he offers ice cream, and fifty percent of America reacts like nine year olds. They want ice cream. The other fifty percent know they're going to have to feed the cow.

Native Oversight .......what a portrait

The founding director of the National Museum of the American Indian has agreed to repay the Smithsonian Institution more than $9,700 for improper travel and entertainment reimbursements, according to an audit released Wednesday.

The report from Smithsonian Inspector General A. Sprightley Ryan was issued to members of Congress and Smithsonian leaders following scrutiny last year of W. Richard West Jr.'s extensive travel expenses. He spent more than $217,000 on transportation and luxury hotels in 2006 and 2007, according to calculations in the audit.

The audit found the appearance of "lavish entertainment expenses and premium travel" but asked West to repay less than $10,000 and faulted lax oversight by past Smithsonian executives for most of the problems.

Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough, who took office in July, issued a statement saying the museum complex has strengthened its policies to ensure such excesses "never occur again."
Attorney apologizes for excesses West's attorney, Michael Bromwich, said the report largely cleared West of any wrongdoing. Still, he apologized for any excesses. "I accept the (inspector general's) conclusion that I should have exercised better judgment," West wrote in a statement. "I have without hesitation agreed to reimburse the funds."

West, a member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, retired in 2007. The report noted that during 17 years at the Smithsonian he raised more than $155 million to establish the American Indian museum and was a "beloved and accomplished leader."

The museum, which opened on the National Mall in 2004, drew 1.8 million visitors in 2007.

Ryan's report said West traveled more than any other Smithsonian executive because of his job but sometimes mixed business with personal vacations. Some of the improper reimbursements were attributed to administrative mistakes, while in other cases West asked to be reimbursed for more than receipts showed he paid. West also charged the Smithsonian for some expenses relating to his work with universities or museum associations.

West agreed to repay about $1,400 for breaking two travel rules, one limiting first-class train travel and another on charging for laundry service while traveling abroad.

On trips to Europe, West stayed in four- and five-star hotels, spending more than $1,000 a night for a hotel and expenses in Venice, Italy, though he wasn't asked to pay back most of that money.

"We see no justification for this level of accommodation," Ryan wrote in the report.

The audit confirmed the museum, with some help from donors, spent $48,500 for a portrait of West and more than $30,000 for an eight-minute video extolling his leadership.