Grandma's House

After missing a week or so, Phriday Phideaux is back! Due to outside forces, this will be a shortened Phideaux, but there will be more tomorrow.







Thus we present this collection of phideaux phor your amusement. Tomorrow, a very special phideaux phor a very special lady.

Well, it's Phriday again. Time phor more Phriday Phideaux. Phirst, let's have a quick snack of peanut butter.



Yum, that was good. Now we have to deal with some neighborhood birds.





And here is the solution when you just can't take the birds any longer.



We'll be back with more Phriday Phideaux next week.

And now for some serious news items:

A new study has found that preborn children AKA fetuses have memories. And why wouldn't they? They have a brain, after all.

It's not enough that Bambi's health plan is going to force people to buy insurance, whether they want it or not. Now there's evidence the plan will outlaw private health insurance, pushing those people into the government insurance plan as well. This is seriously wrong, people. I'm telling you rationing will take place. When that happens, if you are beyond a certain age or have a chronic disease you might as well just die because help will not be forthcoming. Treatments will be saved for those who are considered productive members of society. In other words, people who pay taxes.

How pitiful can you get? A girl was so busy texting somebody she didn't see the big open manhole and fell in. The really pathetic part is her parents are considering suing the city because their daughter is stupid. Seriously. She didn't even get hurt.

A little 2 year old in Canada had the ride of his life when he rode his toy truck 7.8 miles down the river where his family was camping. Woo hoo!!

To me, this story sounds like a desperate kid who knows he's losing an argument, and says something stupid. Hamas is claiming Israel is hitting Gaza with aphrodisiacs.

Here is proof positive you should never use any type of fix-a-flat product to repair an air mattress. Not that I need to tell my readers that, but somebody should have told this guy before he blew up his apartment.

Somebody actually did a study as to whether swearing increases pain tolerance, and surprise! It does. (I wonder if it works if you only think the words.) I guess that explains why you hear a lot of salty language in the labor and delivery rooms of a hospital.

In other news, midway through Bambi's speech on urban and metropolitan policy (yawn) today, one of his teleprompters crashed to the floor. It was pronounced dead at the scene. Personally, I think it committed suicide. Can you blame it? Maybe if it had tried swearing...

YES!! I am in love with Louisiana Rep. John Flemming! Sir Mugley says it's okay with him (shocker)!

Seriously, finally a Congresscritter with a brain! Rep. Flemming has authored a bill, H.R. 615, that would require any critter who votes in favor of the health bill to sign up for it. That's just so special I can't find the words. Yeah, I know it will never pass, but the fact that somebody actually tried is the point here.

If he's your Congresscritter, send him some love, people. Let him know you appreciate the effort.

This made me laugh when I read it. Remember T. Boone Pickens, the man who's been running the commercials on the viability of wind power? Didn't work so well for him. Bwahahahaha!!

A soldier has filed suit, demanding proof of Obama's citizenship, claiming that if Bambi isn't a citizen, if he were captured in a battle he could be declared a war criminal for taking orders from a civilian.

Here's a criminal in the UK who needs to get his priorities straight. You're supposed to burn the getaway car after you've used it, not before.

Knowing how nasty they can be, I wouldn't want to tangle with a badger in a good mood, so I can't imagine how one would deal with a badger that was drunk as a skunk, so to speak. Not only was it drunk, but it also had the runs from all the cherries it had eaten. No thank you, I'll pass.

Here's a good example of a liberal voter: Someone who believes crunchberries are real. Snerk.

Good news on the retail front: First Peeps Store Opens. Yes, the little marshmallow peeps are getting their own stores. Yummy!

Did you think I was kidding with that last post? Nay, I say. The Mayor of Shreveport is confiscating guns from people without cause.

It's not just the South, though. In New York, the state Senate has fired 200 (!) employees because they are the wrong color. Why hasn't the press been screaming about this story? Because they were white folk, that's why. It doesn't count, right?

Meanwhile, Bambi is still appointing czars. He's up to 34 now. That's 34 people who don't have to answer to anyone but Bambi. No congressional oversight, people. But this one is special. Check out Bambi's science czar.

For the record, Bambi is still paying thousands upon thousands of dollars to block anyone from seeing his real birth certificate. Why? What is he hiding?

I'll post some lighter news tomorrow, but I had to get this off my mind.

Read this. Now. It's long, but it's worth it. Then get ready. It could get rough around here very soon.

Mugley and I went outside and put our little popguns through their paces yesterday morning. We haven't got our target area set up yet, so we used the mound in front of the root cellar, just to make sure nothing got out of the yard. Turns out, Zoe and I make a great team. Mugley put up a large plastic Planter's Peanuts jar (you know, the squarish ones) full of water about 30 feet away, and my first shot cut that bemonacled, top-hatted fop in half! I was so proud of me! I'm looking forward to trying out regular targets next.

Well, I did it. There are a bunch of new peeps on the blogroll now. Allow me to point them out to you, alphabetically of course. We have Big Hollywood, a great place to get acquainted with the conservatives in Lalaland (yes, there are a few). Next is Cmblake6's Weblog, which is excellent in the art of skewering liberals. For some reason, when I read the title, I see Clambake. I don't know why. Anyway, if adult language bothers you, as some of the blogs I link to employ, be forewarned. Then we have DUmmie FUnnies, where the blogger has oodles of fun mocking the idiotic ramblings of the Democratic Underground. Frizzen Sparks is another adult site with excellent writing. For you conservatives and patriots here in Missouri, check out Gateway Pundit. This is probably the best Missouri blog around, telling you what the mainstream media won't. JB On The Rocks brings humor to the world of the internet, but not often enough in my opinion. If you enjoy videos, check out Right Wing Video. Quite a wide variety of videos for your enjoyment. And what can I say about Skunkfeathers? Anybody who can toy with spammers the way a cat plays with a mouse is aces in my book, and Skunk is an expert. Plus, he likes to chase tornadoes, always a fun sport. For beautiful photography, check out Some Cranky Guy. I wouldn't mind having some of his photos framed and on my wall. Last but certainly not least, we have View From The Porch, Tam's blog. I do enjoy linking to other women who like to shoot.

That's all for this round of linkups. Check 'em out and feel free to let them know I sent you. Not that it will win you any prizes, but do it anyway.

I'll be adding new blogs to the old blogroll this week, so stay tuned. If you want to join our little party here at Grandma's House, just let me know.

This week's Phriday Phideaux is dedicated to music. Even phideaux can enjoy a good song here and there, right?





Ebony and ivory, get it? (tee hee)



So elegant. Ahhh.



Thanks as usual to ihasahotdog.com for the pics and to my loyal reader for looking at them! See ya next week.

I haven't posted anything on Sarah Palin's resignation as Alaskan Governor until now, because I wanted to really think it over. See, despite the rantings, bile and venom being spit in her direction by the liberals, I mean Progressives (snerk - a rose by any other name), I believe she has made the right decision, and here's why.

1. She had already accomplished everything she had planned to do in her first term. By resigning now, she gives her Lt. Governor plenty of time to acclimate to the job, and now he'll be able to run as an incumbent with some experience. They were of like minds as far as how to govern the state, so nothing will change there.

2. She had been hampered in her duties by the constant ethics charges being thrown at her. While none of them, I repeat NONE OF THEM!, were valid, they still bogged down the staff who were having to respond to the nonsense, plus they were costing the state millions of dollars in salaries for said staff. She was unable, as Governor, to fight back; as a civilian, she now has the court behind her in filing suit against those who attack her and her family.

3. She is also free to start the next phase of her political career. Though some people are saying her career is over because she quit, I say just the opposite. The way Alaskan law was set up, she was hindered as to how much time she could spend away from the office. Now she can travel freely, and more people will get to know her on a national basis.

This is what I would like to see. Mrs. Palin has got the drive and the intelligence to be a successful President. She also has the charisma to bring groups together to fight for a cause. How would it be if she were the one to unite all these TEA party groups into one fighting coalition? There has been a desperate need in this country for a viable third party, and this may be our chance. We could even call it the TEA Party. The Taxed Enough Already Party. As long as it were established to follow the actual Constitution of the United States, and do away with all the crap that has been forced on the people of this nation, it would be a beautiful thing. Drawing in the conservatives from all parties, Republican, Democrat (there are a few), Libertarian, whatever, under one umbrella and show the supposed powers that be in Washington they have gone too far.

What do you think?

My father died twenty years ago today. I still remember what I was doing when the telephone rang. I remember the ride to Mom and Dad's house, wondering if the kids were all right. See, the kids were spending a week with the folks that started on the fourth of July, so they were there when Dad had his heart attack.

I remember Mom, clear as day, sitting in her chair, looking for all the world like she was lost. We were all around her, probably smothering her a bit, trying to comfort her. I remember getting into an argument with my sister over nothing. But I couldn't cry.

I remember the funeral. Bro. Vandergraph said some beautiful things about Dad, but he was as much one of us kids as we were. I can't remember how many times he'd come over for dinner or just to visit. He told us all how much Dad loved us. I still couldn't cry.

Now I can cry, and frequently do. When I see a child playing ball with her dad, or see someone fishing, or just think about him and his gentle nature, I cry. Yet I'm so glad he's not here today. To see what has become of the country for which he fought, commanding a tank during the Battle of the Bulge, working himself half to death for a company that closed in his 40th year of service, then moving to the country to finish his life in peace and solitude. He would not want anyone to see how much things bothered him, but I do think he would be hard pressed to hide it now. This nation has changed so much just in the last 20 years. I can only hope it reverses the trend in the next 20. My kids and grandkids deserve better.

Dad's been gone twenty years now, Mom's been gone for ten. I miss them so much.

I tell ya, Bambi's bus must be huge, because he's just thrown Congress underneath it. Sure, he'll use them when he wants and they'll do pretty much anything he says, especially now that they have 60 Dems up there. But now he's in Russia, working on a new treaty. But treaties have to be ratified, and that takes 2/3 of the Senate, not 60%. For those lacking in math skills, that's at least 67 to pass. He can't count on the traitors from before this time. So he'll just bypass the Senate and sign an executive order agreeing to a treaty. Who cares if it's Constitutional or not, right? C'mon, you guys. You are supposed to be representing this nation, not that idiot who was elected by a slim majority of voters. Enough is enough. It's time for impeachment. He is taking way too many liberties with our liberties.

The news over the past day has been unbelievable, yet we are forced to deal with it. First, let's look at the ridiculously over-the-top memorial service in Los Angeles. Has anyone asked themselves, "Who is paying for this?" It's not an easy question to answer, but I'll give it a shot: Everybody is. Seriously. California is tapped out, right? Handing out IOUs instead of money. So of course they're gonna have a multi-million dollar memorial and let the taxpayers pay for it. Some people are asking the questions now. Los Angeles is asking fans to make donations to cover it. Apparently AEG, the people who were pushing him to do those 50 concerts, aren't planning to make any payments toward the expenses of the funeral. Even the City Attorney is trying to figure out how the $1mil overtime for the police and SWAT units was approved. Who arranged this whole mess?

But, I can hear you say, what does that have to do with us? We don't live in the land of fruits and nuts. That's true. But where do you think they're gonna get the money? The state is already strapped, as I said before. So they'll go to the feds and get some bailout money, which is coming out of everybody's pocket. There ya go.

Did a Republican really steal Obama's "O"? Judge for yourself.

This is totally out of hand and as tacky as it comes. The former black person who died last week is still dead. And he will stay that way, despite the idiots who are waiting for his second coming. The family, looking to squeeze the last drop of gold out of his legacy, is having a memorial service at the L.A. Staples Center (!), and they're charging $25 admission. If that weren't bad enough, outside the venue they're selling T-shirts that say "This Is It" on them. How pathetic can you get? Note this: if you comment on this, do not use his name. I don't need his drooling fanatics here, no matter how low my readership is. Any person (or network, as of now at least 4 are providing live coverage) who would pay to attend this thing or participate in a lottery for admission tickets has severe brain damage and needs medical attention.

TO ALL MISSOURI VOTERS:

In the July 2009 issue of Rural Missouri, the publication sent to clients of Ozark Electric Cooperative, there was an interesting article titled "California Dreaming on Climate Change". Here are a couple of items from this article on the cap-and-trade legislation in Congress as of now:

As passed, the climate change bill heavily favors states on the coasts while penalizing Midwest states - including Missouri - that are heavily dependent on coal to generate electricity. At issue is the allocation of credits to meet a cap-and-trade program at the heart of the bill.

Cap and trade would work by slowly lowering the number of permits for emitting carbon dioxide available to utilities, manufacturers and other companies. Under the plan passed by (California Representative Henry) Waxman's committee, the chairman's home state would receive 200 percent of the credits it needs to meet new emission standards.

By contrast, Missouri would only receive 60 percent of the credits it needs. Missouri would have to buy additional credits on the open market at a price set by auction.

Gee, I wonder where what state will have the extra credits??

And then there's this little ditty:

And Rep. Ike Skelton wrote in a letter to Gasconage Electric Cooperative Manager John Greenlee that the devil is in the details of the proposed bill. (No kidding) "As H.R. 2454 is considered, my colleagues and I will carefully review it. For those of us from rural America, it will be critical that we look after the interests of farmers and others living in small towns. It will also be important to ensure parts of the country, like Missouri, that rely heavily on coal-fired power plants are not given the short shrift."

Somebody please explain to me how he can say this out of one side of his face, while voting in favor of the cap-and-trade ripoff with the other side? This doddering old fool has got to go. We have to replace him with someone who will actually do what is best for our state.

Well, they're droppin like flies now, boys and girls.

Karl Malden passed away at age 97. For me, his two biggest achievements were "The Streets of San Francisco" and managing to stay married for 70 years.

Another great actor, Harve Presnell, also passed away. He played William H. Macy's father-in-law in "Fargo" among other roles. He was 75.

Anna Karen Morrow, who I remember from "Peyton Place" as Mrs. Chernak, the housekeeper, but some may remember her as "Woman" from Star Trek's "All My Yesterdays" episode.

And lastly, from across the pond, the wonderful Mollie Sugden has passed away. She played the outlandish Mrs. Slocombe on the British comedy "Have You Been Served?" I love British comedies like this one. She will be missed.

That's all the dead folk for today. The way it's going I'll have a bunch more tomorrow.

Have you taken your blood pressure medicine yet today? Ok, then, here's the latest from the sewers running through the nation's capitol:

If that health care bill gets through Congress and gets signed, this is what you can expect:

Americans who refuse to buy affordable medical coverage could be hit with fines of more than $1,000 under a health care overhaul bill unveiled Thursday by key Senate Democrats looking to fulfill President Barack Obama's top domestic priority.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated the fines will raise around $36 billion over 10 years. Senate aides said the penalties would be modeled on the approach taken by Massachusetts, which now imposes a fine of about $1,000 a year on individuals who refuse to get coverage. Under the federal legislation, families would pay higher penalties than individuals.

Isn't that glorious? If you have kids, it's gonna cost you even more. And don't think for one minute that you can just get the insurance through your job. How long do you think they will still offer coverage if the government competes with them? About as long as you can hold your breath, I'll bet.

Then there's this little gem that nobody in Congress read about before they voted in favor of the cap and trade monstrosity:

The 1,400-page cap-and-trade legislation pushed through by House Democrats contains a new federal policy that residential, commercial, and government buildings be retrofitted to increase energy efficiency, leaving it up to the states to figure out exactly how to do that.

This means that homeowners, for example, could be required to retrofit their homes to meet federal “green” guidelines in order to sell their homes, if the cap-and-trade bill becomes law.

I owe about $7,000 on my house right now. My daughter wants to buy it and remodel it. If this thing passes, and I want to sell her the house, I'd have to put at least another $7,000, maybe more, into it to pass whatever the EPA decides will be the green standards. I can't do that. It's not worth that much. I'd be better off to take the 7 grand, then burn the place down and start over.

Those are the two big stories, but there are some smaller ones that you should know about. In New Jersey, a Superior Court judge has decided that bloggers can be sued for defamation. Nice to know, not that they'd get anything from me. Blood, turnips...you know the routine. Our pathetic excuses for lawmakers spent $13 million dollars on trips to other countries last year. Nice thing to do in a recession. And on a regional note, the Republican congresscritter from St. Charles County, Missouri, Cynthia Davis, has got to go. When asked about the summer lunch program, which really does help a lot of kids who wouldn't otherwise have lunch when they're not in school, she replied that they should get a job, because "hunger is a positive motivator". What a nut. Her district averages about 70 grand a year in income, being a suburban area of St. Louis. I daresay the kids living in St. Louis aren't doing that well.

The capper happened after Bambi's latest "townhall" meeting, where everyone who asked a question was connected to his campaign in some way. Helen Thomas, the White House press corps. member with the most hours in the room (and the most wrinkles), jumped on Robert Gibbs (not literally) because of the "transparency" of the Bambi White House. It's gotta be bad if it woke her out of her stupor and made her angry. Chip Reid joined in on the Gibbs pummelling. It was a joy to see the press actually sometimes do their job.

Now let's get back to the strange, because, like, you know, that's just what I do.

Watch out for the wallabies down Aussie way. They're getting into the poppy fields and getting stoned. They'll be after your snack food next.

A couple in Tennessee have been charged with domestic assault after getting into an altercation and hitting each other with Cheetos. Doesn't that just make you go all orange in the face with embarrassment?

Okay, this is like the absolute coolest cell phone ever created! I would buy one, but then I'd have to carry a purse or tote and that's not how I roll. Haven't carried a purse since I was a teen and Mom made me do it.

Here's a woman in Alabama who decided she needed to clear her head, so she laid down on the railroad tracks. The train broke her leg, so it sounds to me like she was doing it wrong. Unless her brain was in her kneecap.

The NIH is funding a study to determine why men don't like to use condoms. They're spending $423,500 on the study. If I tell them the answer, can I at least have half?

Now for a couple of strange crime stories: A woman claims her dog ate all of her checks, so she had to use her ex-husband's checking account to pay her bills. Sure, I'll believe that, uh huh. Then you have the gang who robbed six McDonald's by going to the drive-thru window. Why? Why were they allowed to climb through the window? If they had stopped the first person in, they would not have been in any danger. There were no guns, only baseball bats and such, which are not easily swung through those little windows. Seems like they could have clocked the first guy on the head with something to stop him from getting in. Or locked the window.

That's it for tonight gang. I'm caught up on the weird. I know there's a lot going on in the news right now, but I get too angry if I dwell on it too much. I'll see y'all later. Gotta clean Zoe.

I'm sure you've heard by now that Al Franken has been declared a winner in the debacle that was the Minnesota senate seat. That gives the Democrats a 60-40 imbalance in the Senate, and they are filibuster proof, provided they can keep all 60 in line. The Republicans can do nothing now. Everything that happens from this point they have to accept as their fault. Let's see how well they do. Grab the popcorn, folks. It may be all we're left with.

Read this only after you've had your blood pressure medicine. Make sure nothing breakable is nearby. Remember that Homeland Security paper establishing who would be considered a domestic terrorist? This should give you an idea why it was written. According to that paper, I, a 52 year old disabled grandmother, am a domestic terrorist. I don't care. I'd rather be classified as a terrorist by those people than a friend.

So, John McCain loses the presidential campaign, and his former staffers are unhappy about it. Heaven forbid they blame him for running a messed up campaign. They have to blame Sarah Palin and trash her instead. She was the only thing he did right! If they had left her alone to do her thing instead of trying to mold her into their idea of what she should be, he might have stood a chance. But every time she made progress for the team, he screwed up. I don't completely blame him, though. His staffers were supposedly taking care of him, right? It's bad enough the DNC is so afraid of her they are trashing her, late night hacks are involving her children in humor of extremely poor taste, and some bloggers are photoshopping her baby in horrendous pictures. Naturally, the story has no names attached to it; the staffers didn't have the guts to identify themselves. They should break both legs in the desert while they're alone. Perhaps they could learn some humility that way, but I doubt it.

Before I get to the serious news, I'd like to say this to Bambi: keep your freakin' nose out of Honduras' business. THEY are following their Constitutional mandate, something YOU couldn't do if the lives of your daughters depended on it. Have you even read the Constitution? It's only 20 pages long, and that's counting the amendments. You are SUPPOSED to be governing (not ruling) this country, not theirs. You didn't have the intestinal fortitude to stand up to Iran and support the thousands upon thousands of people who are thirsting for a freedom you take for granted. You said it wasn't your place to meddle in their affairs. Well, don't start now, buddy (and I use the term buddly very loosely here). They don't want your help nor do they need it. You stay out and tell your "friends" in Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia, as well as those freaks at the U.N. to stay out as well. If you can't help, don't hinder. Keep your Islamic butt in your chair and DO YOUR FREAKIN' JOB!!

Wow, it is so relaxing not having a deadline. I can blog what I want, when I want. Well, for a week anyway. So, I'm not going to say anything about Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, Billy Mays, Gale Storm or John J. Houghtaling, except to say Semper Fi, Captain; your pain is over, Farrah; I'm surprised you lasted this long, Michael; we'll miss your yelling, Billy; you were great on TV and will be missed, Gale; and you will not be forgotten, John. Millions have benefited from Mr. Houghtaling's greatest invention, the Magic Fingers Vibrating Bed. Most of you will be missed. For the other one: How can we miss you if you won't go away?