I WONDER HOW MANY KIDS ARE BEGGING THEIR PARENTS TO VOTE FOR ROMNEY

Be very scared of Michelle Obama if you are a parent of kids in school.  Never mind that while her kids eat pizza and cream of mushroom soup for lunch at their private school and her husband smokes and eats junk food, your kids are supposed to survive on celery and carrot sticks among other kid loving treats like brown rice and low fat milk.  It’s bad enough the kids are starving on this stuff but the cost is 20 to 25 cents higher than what lunch used to cost.

Maybe the scariest thing about this woman other than her Walmart wardrobe and the giant sums of tax payer money she uses for her trips with friends around the world are the following statements by her in relation to her school lunch diet: “The federal government has a responsibility for what children eat at school.” After that she says:  “We can’t just leave it up to the parents.” Big Brother couldn’t have said it better.  Does anyone sniff a socialist?

The Act that allows this new control also gives the federal government the authority to regulate the food sold at local schools in vending machines plus it regulates what children eat before school, at lunch, after school, and during summer vacations in federally funded school-based feeding programs.

Mark Levin..."She's the new

Eva Peron."

School cafeterias are now required to serve twice as many fruits and vegetables while limiting proteins and carbohydrates. For an average high school student, that means two baked fish nuggets, a cup of vegetables, half a cup of mashed potatoes, one whole grain roll and 8 ounces of fat free milk is the fuel that is served to get them through their last four hours of classes.  That is about 800 calories; pretty unreasonable for growing kids.  When I was in high school in the 50s, I knew guys who could eat that much for an appetizer!

"We hear them complaining around 1:30 or 2:00 that they are already hungry," said Linda O'Connor, a high school English teacher at Wallace County High School in Sharon Springs, Kansas. "It's all the students, literally all the students... you can set your watch to it."

In New Bedford, Massachusetts, students have created a black market  for chocolate syrup. The kiddie capitalists are smuggling in bottles of it and selling it by the squeeze, according to one source.  It’s a good example of the ingenuity and cunning of kids.  They will not put up with this nonsense; they still know where the Circle K’s and Dairy Queens are. 

Michelle is clueless.  Eating junk food is a rite of youth.  We had plenty of candy bars and soda pop growing up and no edict by her will stop kids doing it now.  When kids get older, they normally move on to a better diet and cool it on the junk stuff.  It has to be their choice and not some killjoy president’s wife looking for undeserved recognition.

Radio host Mark Levin described the Department of Agriculture and Michelle Obama's new school lunch regulations as "tyranny."  “I think Michelle Obama is the new Eva Peron with her lunch standards," Levin said. "Like she knows something about this?  Where does the Constitution empower her or that department to reach all the way down to every school- public school - in this country and set the menu?”

Hey, parents.  I’ll bet you thought that you had the responsibility for what your kids ate for meals; not the mighty out of control federal government in Washington.  But, as Michelle says above, it’s not up to you anymore.  She wants to raise your kids her way and if you don’t like it, maybe she can send some of Big Sis’s government police to your house and force compliance.

References:  CNS News (David James, Elizabeth Harrington),  TownHall:  (Kyle Olson)

HOLD ON TIGHT! ONE HUNDRED DAYS TO BIG TAX INCREASES

If you want to test yourself on the “Barf-O-Meter” to check your tolerance for tossing your cookies, click here and take a look at what your taxes are going to be beginning on January 1, 2013.  That is 100 short days from tomorrow (September 23).  Click here to watch Dick Morris explain it better in a 4 minute YouTube.

I hope all the Obama voters are proud of themselves for allowing this to happen.  I know, I know…… Obama seemed so nice at the time in 2008 with all his baloney about hope and change. 

Vote Romney on November 6. 

Now, he wants to go “forward” along with the likes of Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Eric Holder, and all his Hollywood phony friends in spite of his inability to get anything noteworthy accomplished other than taking credit for killing bin Laden; something that was disputed by the SEALS. However, in spite of his “me, me, me” attitude about getting Osama, he may have had little to do with it.  The SEALS know the truth.

 Sure, you now feel bad about mistakenly voting for the guy in 2008 but in a way, I don’t blame you. McCain was not exactly a thriller and Obama talked a good line; especially when he had his trusty TelePrompTer.  Ok, so it was disappointing to hear him say “You didn’t build that” since you may have worked hard to build a small business and didn’t enjoy hearing that it was more because of government that you succeeded instead of your own hard work.  Unfortunately for him, no TelePrompTer that day!   

Then there is his recent statement to a shocked Univision audience that he “can’t change Washington from the inside.”  “It was an unfortunate thing for an incumbent to say, especially when the nation is so unhappy with the way Washington operates. The federal government has gotten more dysfunctional in the era of Obama, despite his promises to unite and lead” writes columnist Chris Stirewalt.

So you say, “What about his great support from Bill Clinton at the convention?”  Clinton is anything but dumb and he is a good party man so he gave it his all in supporting Obama in Charlotte.  It was quite a change from his statement to Ted Kennedy in 2008 when he was pushing hard for Hillary to get the nomination.  At that time while referring to Obama, he told Kennedy that "A few years ago, this guy would have been carrying our bags."  A little racism?  You be the judge.

There is still time to turn this around and on November 6, you will have your opportunity to do it via a vote for Romney.  Swallow your pride and realize that as Edward Klein wrote in his book, Obama is truly “The Amateur”.

I saw a bumper sticker this morning that read “Obama makes me want to throw up in my mouth.”  In layman’s terms, that pretty much covers it.

THE ROLLING STONES STILL PERFORMING AFTER 50 YEARS!

I have always loved pop music.  As a kid in the 50s we had the standards from Eddie Fisher, Vic Damone, Joni James, Teresa Brewer, and a lot of other artists you never heard of.

In the mid 50s Elvis came along and achieved a popularity that no one in the genre had ever known.  His emergence lifted to fame a lot of rock stars like Bill Haley and His Comets, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard.

The Rolling Stones, c.1962.  (L-R)  Mick Jagger,

Charlie Watts, Brian Jones, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman 

As big as these acts were, most of them slipped in the 1960s, including Elvis.  After he started making those terrible movies, his role as a top rock and roller was diminished.  It didn’t matter because with the arrival of The Beatles in late 1963, everyone took a back seat to them.

I was in my early 20s by then and still a big fan of rock tunes.  The Hit Parade was a big deal for popular music and many watched for the weekly Billboard list of top songs; especially the top ten.

In January of 1964, I was home on leave in Cincinnati and I remember driving through downtown when the DJ on WSAI radio said he had a tune from a new British group called The Beatles.  The song was “I Want to Hold Your Hand”.  Those of you old enough to remember 1964 know how that tune started The Beatles onslaught on American pop music.  It was a time when Elvis had to slide over a seat and make room for the British invasion.

Before that time, if someone made the Billboard Top Ten, they considered to be a true star.  When The Beatles arrived, it didn’t take long for them to take over the entire Top Ten!

The Stones today:  (L-R)  Watts, 
Richards, Jagger, Ron Wood 

Other British stars saw the opportunities in America as groups like The Dave Clark Five, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Herman and His Hermits, and Freddy and the Dreamers moved across the water to take advantage of the new American market.  Individual British artists like Petula Clark, Dusty Springfield, and Sandi Shaw came over also as all their songs became hits via radio play and popular TV shows like “Shindig” and “Hullabaloo”.  Ed Sullivan showcased them also as he did Elvis when he arrived in the mid 1950s.

Most of those groups and individuals are long forgotten by now as their music didn’t hold up for future generations.  As big as The Beatles were, they disbanded in 1970 and since then, John Lennon and George Harrison have died. 

By the late 60s, Americans got the hint had made headway in pop music with artists like Tommy James and the Shondells and others.

Any discussion of pop music would be incomplete without mentioning The Rolling Stones.  2012 marks their 50^th year of performing.  Someone might say, “Yeah, but how many of them are from the original group?”  It’s a legitimate question as we have seen many popular groups lose their most important members through either retirement, death, or career changes.  With The Stones, three of the five original members (Charlie Watts, Keith Richards, and Mick Jagger ) are still with the group that started in 1962.  Founder Brian Jones died in 1969 at 27 and Bill Wyman retired at 57 in 1993.

Think about it:  Where were you in 1962?  I was 21 with three years left in the Air Force.  When I first heard the Stones they were more of a rhythm and blues band rather than rock.  I bought their album “12 x 5” in 1964 and loved their cover versions of some blues favorites like “Around and Around” and an all time fave, “Susie Q”.  (1:54)

Guitarist Keith Richards will be 69 in December.  A few years ago he was interviewed and one of the questions was, “How much longer do you want to play?”  His answer? “Until the chicks stop diggin’ me.”

Now, there is a stud!

ELEVATORS CAN BE STRESSFUL EVEN WITH SHIRLEY MACLAINE

I rarely ride elevators anymore, especially in an employment situation where I would be working in a job that requires going up and down several floors a couple times a day.

CareerBuilder has done a study which showed that elevator riding can be a source of stress for a lot of people who are regular riders of them.

More than 3,800 workers spoke up during the study and described some unusual incidents and odd stories about things they have observed happening on elevators.   It seems unbelievable but they reported items like someone changing a baby’s diaper, the flossing of teeth, clipping fingernails, dancing throughout the ride and someone showing another passenger a rash and asking for a diagnosis.

Granted, those are unusual examples of weird elevator behavior and have to be scarce at best.  However, we all have been annoyed by some more typical breeches of elevator manners.  Some have been happening since elevators were invented while others are more recent because of changes in technology.

For example, one of the biggest annoyances was the cell phone.  During the study, 35% of those interviewed mentioned cell phones were very inappropriate on an elevator.  I agree 100%, but for me cell phones are inappropriate anywhere in public.  It’s bad enough that people still talk too loud on them but the new ones have about one hundred other ways to be annoying.  Stow them until you are alone.  We don’t care to hear your conversation.

33% said that not holding the door for those running to the elevator was inappropriate. (16% admitted that they purposely close the elevator door when someone is rushing to it!)  For me it depends on the situation.  If someone is a reasonable distance, wait for them, otherwise, hit the close button.  They can catch the next elevator.

Standing too close when there is plenty of room in the elevator:  32% didn’t like that.  I don’t blame them.  That reminds me of the “close talker” on Seinfeld who had to be within a couple inches of someone’s face when speaking.  Besides, do you really want to smell used deodorant?

Squeezing into an already crowded elevator, 32%.  Once again, it’s a common sense decision and a possible deodorant situation.

Shirley MacLaine as elevator 

operator Fran Kubelik with Jack 

Lemmon and other passengers in 

The  Apartment (1960)

27% thought it was inappropriate to not step off the elevator to let other people out.  It depends on how crowded it is.  If it’s packed, sure, step off for a moment.  It’s simply a courtesy. (This would not be a problem many years ago when elevators in busy buildings had human operators and “starters” with their clickers controlling the traffic flow!  Can you imagine Shirley MacLaine in “The Apartment” allowing such confusion in her car!)

Cutting in line to get on the elevator even when other people have been waiting in line.  Surprisingly, only 23% thought that was inappropriate.  Excuse me, but nobody jumps in line ahead of me at an elevator or anywhere else.  Well, maybe if it’s Muhammad Ali in his prime or Marilyn Monroe, circa 1953.  Anyone else better can expect a black eye.

As far as Shirley MacLaine, does anyone remember elevator operators?  You had to be skillful to run the early ones.  When the operator stopped them at a floor, they had to line up the floor of the elevator manually with the floor of the building.  It took a bit of skill unlike modern elevators where they are automatically lined up.

As far as the guy wanting a diagnosis on his rash, I know a good dermatologist who can help him!

THE STATE OF THE NATION ACCORDING TO THE AP

You have to love the Associated Press (known by some as the “Administration’s Press”) and their never ending attempts to create a ray of sunshine from the cloudiness of our national government.

I just read one of their columns from 8-31 titled Gloomy national message misrepresents consumer spending, home prices, jobs.

Long may it wave.....

Gosh, it sounds like things are looking up according to writer Tom Raum.  He says things aren’t as gloomy as the Republican National Convention would want us to believe.  Tom has been around a while so he knows something about trying to turn a lemon into lemonade.

He mentions that spending was up in July and personal income also rose.  No numbers though which makes one feel that they were miniscule or they would have been trumpeted.  The same goes for the slight rise in home sales and prices.

He did mention the addition of 163,000 jobs but failed to mention it was counterbalanced by lost jobs and that the unemployment rate, which is a sham in itself, ticked up to 8.3% from 8.2%.  How about the real rate of 16%, Tom?

Other positives mentioned were an increase in exports, retail spending, and factory production.  No mention of numbers on any of those items.

Alas, no matter how much lipstick you put on a pig; it’s still a pig.  Raum knows that so he has to admit that when the unemployment numbers are released for August on the morning of September 7, no one should expect much encouragement.

Did you notice I said the unemployment numbers will be released on the morning of September 7?  How convenient!   That is the day AFTER Obama accepts his nomination.   I guess they figure there is no sense in throwing rain on his parade with more bad news after what will certainly be called an upbeat convention.  No word yet whether the theme will be “Hope and Change.”  So far, the mood indicates a definite NO!

Raum has been at it with the AP for 39 years so he knows how to make full use of the inverse pyramid style of writing where one top loads a column with what they think are the more important and desirable aspects of the story.   As you can see from the above paragraphs, it looks like things are looking up and that voters should probably give Obama another four years to keep the ball rolling.

Unfortunately, reality has a way of rearing its ugly head as happened to the Wicked Witch of the East when she and her flying monkeys were splashed with water in The Wizard of Oz.

Raum ends his piece stating the reality that the U. S. economy is “the weakest of any since the Great Depression” and that “Economic growth has never been feebler in a post war recovery, consumer spending has never been so slack, and only once before has job growth been slower.”  Debt problems in Europe are still a concern and consumer confidence is at its lowest since November, 2011.

Finally, an AP poll taken a week before the Republican Convention showed that 60% of those surveyed thought the country is headed in the wrong direction while 35% said it was going in the right direction.

Needless to say, the Dems have their work cut out for them in Charlotte.   Maybe Michelle can unveil her new “Supermarket Shopping 101” course to the 99 percenters who are gathering by the thousands for the big shindig.  The fact that the course was not written by Michelle but by someone named Lisa Cericola and includes such tidbits as “steer clear of the cookie, snack and soda aisles” should be of great interest to them as they set up camp.