Daily Rant for Tuesday, August 21

Heard on the morning talk shows this morning--from the ridiculous to the sublime to the political:

1.  Today is the 25th anniversasry of the release of DIRTY DANCING--great music, interesting story about class and acceptance, filmed in NC.  What's not to like!

2.  Shopping tips  when to shop for what:  Monday--electronics and cars (stores and lots are empty because most people shop for these things on weekends, might see some sales.  Tuesday--Airline tickets, especially after 3 PM--airlines trying to fill seats, good bargains, and gas,  Wednesday--entertainment--theme parks--parks are empty, might find some discounts,  Thursday--Clothes, shops are restocking in preparation for weekend: you get first choice.  Friday--Accessories, see Thursday, Saturday--Books,  Sunday--groceries: Sunday papers carry scads of coupons, and appliances.

3.  The Republican congressman from Kansas skinny dipping in the Sea of Galilee.  It  happened last year--why is this a 3 day (or more) story in the press?  Oh yeah, I forgot, he's a Republican and he's running (unapposed) for reelction, and it makes Romney look bad.  I went skinny dipping in the Grand Canyon on my high school trip--does that make me ineligible for the Presidency or even for Congressman from NC? Just as they say the Sea of Galilee is a 'sacred place (really?), isn't the Grand Canyon a sacred place to the Gaea people--the environmentalists who love the earth more than man.

4  Poll:  56% to 40% of respondents say they are NOT better off now than they were 4 years ago.  That includes me--4 years ago I didn't have leukemia--can I blame Obama for my condition, like Obama's people blame Romney for the cancer death of Mrs. Soptic.  It's logical--and I've finally found someone to blame (something else Obama is good at  when it comes to bad news or problems he hasn't been able to fix.)

5.  Study by Liberty Institute ( part of Liberty University) and Family Research Coucil (object of last week's assault) shows that religion (all religion, not just Chritianity) is under assault in THIS COUNTRY.  The news reports tell of two incidents--a cross in the Mojave desert that honors WWI dead (WWI was fought in the 19teens, almost 100 years ago, and the cross has been there forever (this is being attacked by an alliance of Atheists and the ACLU)  Obamacare's Birth Control mandate, in contradiction to the 1st amendment to the Constitution.  I'll add a third:  in clearing the ruins of the World Trade Center, they pulled up two beams in the form of a cross.  They decided to put it in the museum--Atheists object--separation of Church and State, which is NOT in the Constitution.  At the least, they want some acknowledgement that some atheists died in the attacks--but what is their symbol?  The last time they tried this (at a town's Chritmas display when there was also a menorah and some Muslim display, and I think even a Druid display.  What did the atheists put up when allowed? A huge placard attacking all belief in God as dangerous myth, destructive to intelligence and society--great Chritmas spirit (no other display attacked any other religion--just honored their own)

6.  In doing the Twain quotes, the book lists the subjects in alphabetical order.  Immorality and immortality are next to each other:  the only difference in the two words is the "T", the shape of a cross.  Is someone trying to tell us that the cross is the way to escape immorality and come to immortality?  Think about it!

Romney's Income Tax Return

Got up early--preparing for my Barium swallow test and couldn't sleep. no food since last night and the steroids are making me hungry--Wendy's at 10 on the way home.

Okay, lets get this out of the way so that we can talk about the state of the economy, the deficit, the rising debt, and the effects of raising the tax rate from 35-39%

Before 1913--no Presidential candidate had to diclose his income taxes, nor a financial disclosure statement.  The IncomeTax didn't become part of the Constitution until the 16th amendment adopted in 1913.
The first president to disclose his income tax forms was FDR--he, rather his family did, disclosed 25 years worth AFTER FDR had died (that helps a lot!).
Truman did not, Ike did not, JFK did not, LBJ did not, Humphrey did not, Nixon did not.  LBJ, Nixon and McGovern issued detail-less financial disclosure forms.  Then came Watergate--and Congress passed (1978) the Ethics in Government Act, which called for Financial disclosure, but not Income Tax forms (considered a violation of privacy).  However, George Romney, Mitt's father, had in 1968 released 12 years of tax forms with no legal requirement that he do so
The rest that I could find:  Bob Dole--30 years.
Jimmy Carter  1 year
Michael Dukakis  5 years
Gerald Ford, summary, but no details of the previous 10 years.
Ronald Reagan 1 year.
John Kerry 20 years--but no details on his wife Teresa Heinz's wealth--she is the heiress to the Heinz Ketchup fortune, making Kerry one of the wealthiest Senators.
John McCain  2 years--but no details on his wife, Cindy, who, like Theresa Kerry, is the real weathy one in the family.
Obama 12 years (although Media Matters--a left-wing blog--says only 7).
I have no info on the Bushes, father or son.
ONCE AGAIN, THERE IS NO FEDERAL REQUIREMENT TO DISCLOSE ANY TAX FORMS--although Senator Levin of Michigan has a bill before the Senate that would require 10 years worth of not only Presidential candidates (can hardly wait to see Roseanne Barr's--yes, she is running for President) but also members of Congress
Members of Congress are requiredto show only Financial Disclosure forms.  Of the 535 members of Congress only17 have disclosed their tax forms--but not Harry Reid nor Nancy Pelosi.  As far as I know, in the Executive Branch, only the President and vice-President have disclosed theirs (I don't know how many for Joe Biden).  No Cabinet member,or Czar or senior member of staff has.
Romney has issued one, will  release last year's when his accountant is finished with it-he got an extension--and he published his Fiancial Disclosure as required by law

Mark Twain on Watermelon

Hospital visit went well--Barium wasn't pink,and it didn't tasste like strawberry, but it was quite palataable.  Test itself took less than 15 minutes--Drink some Barium, driunk some more (one swallow each time while the tech look at a scope--they decided to do only a partial, so only say the esophagus--not the entry into the stomach.  Aafter the 2 Barium swallows, ate 2 teaspoons of applesauce with barium mixed in, followed by more barium, then a graham cracker with barium on it. Done.  However it took them almost an hour to get the barium from the lab, and get the rest ready--so it wasn't tht short a day.The tech saw no problems, except that seems to be a slight nodule facing away from the esop. that seems to slow the speed of the food heading toward the stomach--but it was at the bottom of the scope, so she didn't know what was actually happening after the food passed the nodule.  She's going to recommend a full Barium swallow (which is what I thought I was supposed to be getting today) for some time in the future--they were primarily interested in seeing if some of the food was going into the lungs instead of the stomach, and she saw none of that--will know more on Wed

WATERMELON

The true Southern watermelon is a boon apart, and not to be mentioned with the commoner things.  It is chief of this world's luxuries.  king by the grace of God over all the fruits of the earth.  When one has tasted it, he knows what the angels eat.  It was not a Southern watermelon that Eve took; we know this because she repented.  (from Pudd'nhead Wilson, 1894)    

One last thing--Obama's College transcripts (Occidental College, Harvard and Columbia).  Most Presidents DO NOT REVEAL their transcripts--not required.  Those we find out about are displayed in their museums (JFK for one)  JFK, his freshman year, got 3 C's and 1 B.  His sophomore year he got a B in government, 4 C's, and a D in history (this from the man who won the Pulitzer Prize for Profiles in Courage--which was actually written by Ted Sorensen, not JFK)   Al Gore, the leading Guru of Climate change, got a D and a C+ in the two Natural Science courses he took.  George Bush (son) had a 77 average at Harvard (D in Astronomy), Bush's Harvard classmate, John Kerry, who many considered to be so much smarter than Bush, had a 76 average  (In North Carolina that would be a D, but at Harvard it's a C average)  These grades include 68's in 2 history courses, 69 in Political Science.  So our presidents haven't been the brightest lightbulbs in the package.  I guess it doesn't matter if President Obama is or isn't the smartest man to ever be President (JFK thought that Thomas Jefferson was the smartest one--but of course he died before he could behold the brilliance of our current President--who thinks that there are at least 57 states, and pronounces Corpsman ( pronounced 'coreman' a navy rank) as if it were a dead body (corpseman) , including the 's'--three times in one speech.  (can any one spell potatoe (sic)?)