Category Archives: Kids

America, Flowers, Kids, Photography

Ewww….

40 Comments

As my little 11 year old Cake Boss would say when I would light up a cigar, “Ewwww, Papa!  That’s gross!”

Well, you have no idea of “ewww” or “gross” until now.

Unfortunately, I used the last of the soap yesterday…  It was too late when I stepped into the shower that I had forgotten to buy soap.

I was confronted with not washing at all…or…

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…use my little Cake Boss’ soap…  Excuuuuse me.  Shower gel.

I now smell of Cranberry Twinkle.

No, I reek.

It stinks.

Ewww.

Gross.

And the smell won’t go away.

Gotta light up a stogie to mask this wretched girlie odor.

Wait a minute.

I can’t.  It’s 1:30 AM.

Damn.

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Not that anyone should notice but my attention had been diverted away from WordPress the past month or so.  I decided to try and build a small (potential) income stream by (possibly) selling my photographs on websites.  You know.  Like for prints, greeting cards, cell phone cases and the like.  Frankly, I don’t know why anyone would want to buy a photograph versus a painting but what the heck.

So my days outside of dealing with the ex-wife – who thrives on interfering during my supposed time with my kids – has been focused on setting up a (cheap) studio and shooting macros of flowers and the like.  Plus having been an amateur FILM photographer in my youth, all this “photo editing” stuff has been a huge challenge.  I’m up against young(er) pros who all they know is digital photography.  You know.  Fred Flintstone meets Captain Kirk.  Oh well.

I also don’t know why I focused on macro photography for a niche market since I never had attempted it before… and the only thing I know about flowers is how to kill them.  Certainly, other niche markets like patriotism, sports and pets would be broader but macros would be doable and without much expense.  Besides, nothing would have to die.

Anyways, here’s a few of my recent snapshots:

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And for a finale…  Isn’t this a face only a mother could love?  It is an actual flower called a Cuphea, or a “purpurea Firecracker”.  Aren’t you impressed with this old former mechanic?

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One of my websites is here: Fine Art America.

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Time to light up a stogie.

I know.  Ewww.

But it’s better than smelling reeking like Cranberry Twinkle.

America, Baking, Cooking, Family, Food, Friends, Kids, Uncategorized

Pixies!

14 Comments

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It’s Ojai Pixie Tangerine season, folks!

Chef Cathy Thomas (from whom some of my recipes come from) turned me onto these delightfully yummy tangerines.  They are grown in Ojai, California; we are right after the start of the season which may run into late May or early June.

These savory Pixies are:

•  Easy to peel

•  Sweet

•  Juicy – did I say JUICY?

•  Seedless

•  And my kids love them

Chefs use them in their salads when it calls for tangerines.  They are that good.

I obtain mine from Melissa’s Produce, four pounds for about $18.  They can be shipped anywhere and will arrive fresh.

Ojai Pixie Tangerines

They are highly recommended!

 

 

Baking, Cooking, Food, Kids

Triple-Chocolate Espresso Brownies

31 Comments

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Decadent Triple-Chocolate Espresso Brownies

Long name, huh, for brownies?  O_o

Well, my little Cake Boss asked for me, her servant, to make her some brownies. And since I had all the ingredients at the house, I decided to do it from scratch…again.

Wasn’t someone supposed to tell me to stop this non-sense?

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Sugar, salt and unbleached flour are not shown. As a side note, I much prefer Hershey’s unsweetened chocolate.  It’s a lousy photo but that’s a foil-lined baking pan in the background.

Per my yes-yes beacon, Cook’s Illustrated, the classic brownie should be moist, not “goopy” or dry.  The chocolate flavor should most of all be decadent – especially for my little Cake Boss.  Gotta raise her right, you know.

Like avoiding the supermarket pre-mixed who-the-heck-knows-what’s-in-it stuff.

Well… it’s really ‘cuz I wanted to avoid the uncomfortable situation experienced after baking the little Cake Boss a classic white double-layer birthday cake.  The little Cake Boss almost fired me because I didn’t do as she told me to.

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Some of the easy steps:

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Melting the chocolates and butter over barely simmering water. Gotta keep stirring!  Just like my homemade chocolate truffles.
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After it all melts, whisk in the cocoa and espresso powder. Set aside.
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Whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. You then whisk while pouring in the still warm chocolate yumminess. Fold in the flour and pour into a foil-lined baking pan. Smooth over as best possible then bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes.
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Don’t overbake! I’ve learned my oven runs on the hot side and items need to be rotated. It’s perfectly done if it domes slightly and some sticky brownie crumbs stick to a toothpick. Very logical (unlike the illogical “Common Core Mathematics” now being taught in elementary schools).

After cooling for two hours, lift out the brownies with the foil liner and pig out!

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Actually, this first batch of homemade “triple-chocolate espresso brownies” came out REAL good as the little Cake Boss came back for a second piece.

She must’ve been pleased.

I guess I’m still employed at the house.

America, Army, Children, Family, History, Kids, Money, Rights, Uncategorized

Our America Divided

24 Comments

America Divided
My feeble attempt to express my opinion…

Our United States has become less of a nation.

It is more than just split in half.  A nation cannot survive split in two.

Think of our country being not much more than local drug gangs fighting for their drug turf.

Their own street corner in their perceived territories.

Each gang with their own beliefs, their own mini-economies, their own cultures and in-fighting for control.

And killing those who invade their boundaries.

One gang is right.  The other gangs are wrong.

And they choose to ignore their neighborhood if not hold them hostage.

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To me, our nation no longer has collective major goals.

Heck, we Americans now may actually have less commonage with other Americans than ever before.

In my opinion, segregation by race fueled the beginning of disunion.

No.  I don’t condone segregation.  Of course not.  However, since the intense focus on racial segregation began – heightened by media beliefs and TV – in the 1950’s, a new mutated “segregation” has been kindled…and it is a roaring wildfire.

It’s no longer just the color of our skin.

We’re segregated by how we think and see things – in totality.

It’s about how we live and how we look upon how others live.  That’s segregation.

Religion.  Culture.  Even what language should be spoken.  Or is it languageS?  All segregation.

Look at our children’s textbooks.  Our views of their content and what is taught in the classroom varies drastically by how you think – or were raised.  Segregation.

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We can’t even talk about certain subjects with people you meet.  You have fear of setting them off.

Health insurance.  Welfare.  Guns.  Executive Orders.  Terrorism.  Foreign policy.  Even approving driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants.

You name it.  I think it is absurd.

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This mutated concept of segregation is inflamed by our own political leaders and on a daily basis.  And the media, unfortunately, incite the segregation amongst peoples here, American citizen or not.  There is no reason to explain why here.

Every key event is made more severe, more infinitely dismembered by the politicians and media to suit THEIR agendas.  As government grows, we everyday people strongly contract to share our own beliefs only amongst small groups.  Not as a collective community of Americans.  A type of ugly segregation actually encouraged by those who lead us and by those “reporters” who elect to report an incomplete story to benefit their revenues or popularity.

And as national and state governments grow uncontrolled, our leaders go further blind and deaf, mired in their own re-elections, partisanship and haughty view of themselves.  So much so that never since the Civil War has there been so much movement towards secession.  And if not by state, by breaking up within a state.

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The union being attacked by deadly snakes.

Is there a civil war in store?  In 1861, it is written these were likely the major causes for the Civil War:

  1. Income and social disparity between the “North” and the “South”
  2. State versus federal rights
  3. Strong disagreement between pro- and anti-slavery states
  4. The election of Abraham Lincoln as President.

Sound familiar?  Look at my illustration at the top.  I’m no artist but I hope the message is clear.

I believe we will have another Gettysburg.  No, not with cannon and Gatling guns… Besides by that time, only the criminals will have guns.  But our union will become irreparably weak in all significant aspects if something doesn’t heal our wounds.  The upcoming elections will be key, in one way or another, no matter what your beliefs are.

I think we are in deep shit.

What about you?

Art, Children, Family, Kids, Nisei, Photography

Passing the Baton

42 Comments

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My twelve year old son Jack at the Seal Beach Pier.  He just began taking pictures at this time and I wanted to capture that moment.  I guess that’s the photographer in me.

With all the researching, translating and documenting I’ve done on our family history during the past several years, I’ve come to the realization I was living in the past.  And as time marched by, I wanted more time…but now, that time has gone.

I reflected on the near future; in the past month, things have changed.  Things that cannot be undone.  And I realized, too, that in addition to passing on what I’ve learned about our family history through these blogs, I need to pass the baton on as well for tomorrow.  Small things.

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For as long as I can remember, I’ve held a camera in my hand… from the time I was perhaps eight years old.  I vividly recall looking down on the ground glass of my dad’s Rolleiflex TLR.  And I know it was my grandmother or aunt who sent me a “Fujipet” 120 film camera from Japan as a gift.  It had a plastic lens.  There were two levers, one on either side of the lens; you pressed one down with your left finger to cock the shutter.  Then with your right finger, you pressed the other lever “to take the shot”.  I took a bazillion shots during our 1964 road trip to Chicago and burned through a lot of 120 film.  I don’t think mom was too happy.

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I’m in the center; dangling from my neck is the Fujipet 120 film camera. The “model” on the left is my cousin Jane.  Chicago, circa 1964.

When I was twelve, I spent a summer in Tokyo; I was born there.  My Aunt Eiko got me my first “real” camera: a Canon Demi-S.  It shot 35mm film but in “half-frame”.  In other words, if you had a 36-shot roll of film, you would get 72 shots – plus about four or five more at the end.  I loved it.  It even had a built in light meter, a soft case and a wrist strap.  It went everywhere I went.  I even bought yellow and red filters.  I used it to take photos of the TV set when Armstrong landed walked on the moon…but none of the images came out because I wanted to use my new fancy-schmancy electric strobe with a DC cord.  I got great pictures of our RCA color TV, though.  LOTS of great pictures of our TV set.  But on one – just one – you can BARELY make out Armstrong as he stepped of the Lunar Module.

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The Canon Demi-S, complete with the soft case. Under the lens, there is even a filter that enhances skin tones when shooting color.

While I did take one class in photography, everything else was self-taught through the years.  Trial and error.  That means lots of moolah down the drain…literally.  I had a full darkroom in my parent’s house at one time.  I must have developed and processed over a thousand rolls and printed thousands of pictures.  While I did win a few contests in sports photography, I never learned the critical things that define a pro…like my bud Alan Miyatake (but I did best him in ONE contest. LOL).

Since becoming a young adult, I’ve always been the “photographer”…  taking pictures at events, parties, of this and that…  I don’t know if I was any good at it but people always seemed to ask me to take photos.  Perhaps because I took them for free.  But finally, I took snapshots at my own daughter’s wedding…and not someone else’s daughter for a change.

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As I was taking my kids back to their mother’s two weeks ago, my twelve year old son surprised me by asking if he can have a “real” camera.  Totally out of the blue but I was happy.  He wanted to take pictures like his old man.

So yesterday, we headed towards the nearby beach; he wanted to take pictures of the sunset!  I handed him my (getting old) Canon DSLR and monopod and while in the car, I gave him a crash course on shutter speed, f/stops,  and ISO.

But he asked, “But don’t you just push the button, Papa?”

So with temps in the high 50’s (cold for us here) and a chilling wind, I gave him some basic instructions and I left him pretty much alone.

He took on his own challenge.

Here are a few of his photos; sure, I edited them a bit but he did darn well for his first time.

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Must be in his genes.

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As I watched Jack from a distance in that chilling wind, feelings of being alone and lament swirled.  Sadness that time has surged by with tomorrows dwindling.  It felt as if I was looking at myself…  fifty years ago… with that Fujipet camera with a plastic lens dangling from my neck.

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My son Jack must be thinking of his next shot…

I hope he continues.  The family needs a photographer.

Baking, Cooking, Family, Food, Kids

Classic Pound Cake From Scratch

24 Comments

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Classic pound cake from scratch. A secret is the temperature of the unsalted butter.

So my little Cake Boss wanted to bake something with me…but what?

The funny thing was she told me the only dessert she really liked from my repertoire was the Strawberry and Almond Frangipane Tart.

Really.

Hmmph.

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Just a smartphone photo…and before the little Cake Boss started to fold in the cake flour.  It looked as if Mt. Vesuvius erupted in our house.

So we decided on Classic Pound Cake…sans the lemon glaze.  She didn’t want it.

…Darn.

Per the Cook’s Illustrated recipe I decided upon, the secret apparently lies in the temperature of the butter and eggs as well as using cake flour.  Do I dare say it sounded easy..?

It did…until I remembered I wasn’t baking it…alone.

I forgot I worked for the household Cake Boss.  Silly me.

Well, she plowed through it… at a eleven year old’s pace, that is.

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Before she added the egg mixture…

The ingredients used were:

  • 16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), cold, plus extra for greasing pan
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 3/4 cups cake flour (7 ounces), plus extra for dusting pan
  • 1/2 teaspoon table salt
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar (8 3/4 ounces)

We followed the Cook’s Illustrated bible as best we could… And you know what? It domed wonderfully!

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It domed wonderfully…! And I had to guess on the doneness as I had no wooden skewers. Afraid to have a soggy under-baked creation, I overbaked it by about five minutes… Boo-boo.

After it cooled and nearing midnight, we got to sample her creation.

Oink oink! It was really good!

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So now, I have another addition to my man-kitchen dessert repertoire… and the little Cake Boss didn’t fire me. She nearly did after I put together her Classic White Double-Layer birthday cake. She had demanded I even off the domed tops…which I did not… and I should have listened to the very experienced little Cake Boss. 😦

But I survived to bake another day.

Cooking, Family, Food, Kids, Uncategorized

Spaghetti al Limone

16 Comments

IMG_7741Pasta al dente.

Man, who wouldn’t be salivating just reading those three little words.

Well, my kids did…not.

“Pasta?  Again, Papa?  Can we have something different…please?”

Kinda tough to hear when you’re a single dad pretending to be a miracle chef…

I’m sorry.  Cook, not chef.

And to find something that they both like?  Ha!

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To please my mollycoddled rug rats, I scoured my bible: “Cook’s Illustrated”.  In addition to the tried and true recipes of my bud and chef Cathy Thomas, Cook’s Illustrated is my go-to play book.  I think the Denver Broncos could have used one last weekend…a playbook, that is.

By sheer fortune, Cook’s Illustrated had what sounded to be a delectable pasta dish…  Spaghetti al limone.  And it sounded pretty light and (relatively) healthy to boot and it was a huge change from my man-kitchen pasta repertoire.  As an example, my from-scratch Alfredo sauce would make Fat Albert REAL happy.  It is laden with luscious butter, cream and Parmigiano-Reggiano.  The only healthy thing in it is the garlic and a dash of nutmeg.  But man, its to die for!  Oops.

So I gave Spaghetti al limone a shot…and the kids loved it!  Both of them.  Ye-haw!  Of course, garlic bread was a required accompaniment, making their smiles even bigger.

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In my attempt here, I should have used a bit more of the basil leaves; it surely would have added a bit more color and brightness.

For those interested, the ingredients are:

  • Salt
  • 1 pound spaghetti
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
  • 1 medium shallot, minced (about 3 tablespoons)
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1-1/2 cups reserved pasta cooking water
  • 2 teaspoons finely grated zest and 1/4 cup juice from 3 lemons
  • 1 ounce finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup), plus more for serving
  • Ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons shredded fresh basil leaves

(Note: For the lemon zest, I like the zester made by Microplane.  And be sure to use ONLY the yellow part of the peel and avoid the pith.)

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So whether or not you have kids to appease, engorge yourself on this pasta dish.  It’s a great cure if you’re feeling down.  Your palate will love it.

Yes.  It was that good.

And a US Marine blogger intimated that my food pictures he saw were “dated”…  meaning “Do I still cook”?

Well, he don’t get any.

That’ll teach him. 🙂

Baking, Children, Cooking, Family, Food, Kids, Uncategorized

Egg Yolks the Man-Way

21 Comments

I am deathly afraid of being fired by the 11 year old household Cake Boss.

She was not completely pleased by my latest attempt to bake a cake from scratch.

I will adopt this manly method of separating egg yolks to speed up household production.

Baking, Children, Cooking, Family, Food, Friends, Kids, Photography

Homemade Double-Layer BD Cake (Kinda-Sorta)

26 Comments

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In case you haven’t figured it out, my daughter is on the left.

My just-turned eleven old daughter had her third 11th birthday party.

That’s right.  Third one.  LOL

And, with the stuff that’s been going on our family life, I decided to try and make a “classic white double-layer birthday cake with raspberry filling and butter cream frosting” for her – from scratch.

Key word: “try”.

And dang, that’s long name for a cake, isn’t it?  Mary Poppins would be pleased.

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My two oldest celebrated Brooke’s 11th birthday a week earlier during her real birthday.
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That’s my beloved Green Bay Packers t-shirt… Oh, and my four great kids.

This ol’ mechanic thought he could throw this cake together easily…  You know, like if I was Major Nelson with Jeannie at his side.

And I wish I did have Jeannie.  Only for her blinks, of course.

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Most of the key ingredients. By the way, I use old medicine cups that came with children’s medicines to pour in extracts.  They even have markings on the side.

I followed the recipe from Cook’s Illustrated.  Its recipes are proven battle plans for old mechanics that are easy to follow with predictable results.

But they forgot to consider my age and my (poorly) man-equipped kitchen this time.  Unthinkable.

This time, two (and a half) things went wrong while making the cake:

1.  As I didn’t have a flat beater for my KitchenAid stand mixer, the cake flour/butter mixture couldn’t get “crumbly” enough.  I believe this kept the cake from properly rising while baking.  (Well, there were three things that went wrong: it was overbaked by a couple of minutes.)

2.  I over-whipped the frosting, making it REAL tough to spread…  It was worse than cold peanut butter.  But it tasted just fine.

And while no fault of the recipe, I ran out of frosting; because the cakes had domed too much, there was a gap around the circumference my belly could have sneaked through.  I ended up shoving a LOT of frosting in to fill the gap.

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Smuckers raspberry preserves over the almond-buttercream frosting. Spread from the inside to just short of the edge. It’ll squish out.

Since Brooke has gotten hooked on “Cake Boss” (darn fake reality shows), she has become an eleven year old expert on how to frost and decorate cakes.  She was “lovingly critical” on how the frosting was being put on…a little after midnight.  “Pa-paaah! I told you.  You should have cut off the domes.  It’s too high now so you’ve got a HUGE gap!”  (My oldest, Robyn, is probably snickering to herself, “Haha.  Now you know what its like!)

You have no idea how close I was to being fired by the household Cake Boss, let me tell you.  But since it was after midnight (yes, she was still up), I would have received double-time.

For a cake stand, I had to improvise.  The cake was first placed onto the bottom of a 9″ springform pan.  Then that bottom was placed on top of a 9” Pyrex pie dish which was atop a mixing bowl.  Complicated.  Pain to use.  But I did it.  Frustratingly.  With the Cake Boss still cracking orders to boot.

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Anyways, the girls ate it.  They said it was good.  I made sure they said that.

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Brooke’s four closest friends.

Below, you can see the HUGE gap between the layers I was nearly fired over.  Admittedly, the gap (all the way around the cake) measured about an inch:

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So now I know better next time.  And I did order the right flat beater and a revolving cake stand.

But the 11 year old Cake Boss is still here.

I have a great idea.

I should join the baker’s union.

They would keep me from being fired.

America, Children, Family, Food, Kids, Medicine, Money, Rights, Uncategorized

CNN: Is There Something Missing Here?

7 Comments

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Soap box time.

Not that I have the time.

But I am upset.

CNN.  When will you TRULY report facts to us citizens as a nation?

Here is your website right now.  The morning of October 22, 2013.  Please look at it.

Where is your factual coverage of the Obamacare fiasco?  Please tell us Americans as a nation who is signing UP for Obamacare…and who is NOT… and how MANY… and tell us Americans what the deductibles are for the most basic “affordable” insurance plans.  I heard it was TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS.  That’s just for starters.  Oh.  By the way…  my military buddy (with a wife and baby) just got his pay docked for another $200 for an increase in health insurance premiums…and this is after his pay was CUT during the Sequester.  Report on that, please.

Where is your factual coverage of the Benghazi coverup?  Have you forgotten about it?  While I feel terrible about the teacher that was slain and reported on your webpage above, what about the unpursued murders of FOUR other Americans?  Actually, I feel there are three distinct venues of coverup here that you fail to report on: (1) the failure to protect our four Benghazi friends who are now dead; (2) a concerted, planned release of information to blame the attack on a then recently released anti-Muslim MOVIE, and (3) the White House’s blatant refusal to inform the American public where their President was during the terrorist attack.  (Whew.  A bit long-winded here.  Sorry.  Getting upset does that to me.)  Let’s remember to report on the intimidation of the officials and whistleblowers who know of the Benghazi facts under Hillary, OK?

Where is your coverage on the IRS targeting of conservative or pro-Israel groups prior to Obama’s re-election?  Odd, isn’t it?  Why aren’t you raising a stink about why it occurred, who ordered it, whether there was any White House involvement or coverup and whether there was an initial effort to hide who knew about the targeting and when?  And to have the big IRS lady boss plead the FIFTH?  My gawd.  Why, CNN?

And… please don’t forget the IRS mailed $4.2 billion in child-credit checks to “undocumented immigrants” during the same period!

Where is your coverage of (you-dropped-it-off-the-radar screen) President Obama “exercising” Executive Privilege to protect Holder and the “Operation Fast and Furious” gun-running fiasco?  Are you afraid of harming President Obama or his supporters?  Please remember you made a BIG thing out of the unfortunate death of a kid “who could have been (his) son” – but don’t seem to care about the Federal agent who was killed by one of those Fast and Furious guns?  Wow.

Lastly…

Where is your story on Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security being “out of funds”…  but NEVER welfare?  I feel that is important.  Just how can these issues NOT receive proper coverage, CNN?  They are IMMENSELY important to MANY Americans.  Please report on this… objectively.  But I’m sure you don’t hear me.

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But succinctly, Obamacare has been funded.  Big businesses and those with influence have been exempted from it.  America’s debt ceiling has been raised again.  (Please remember, welfare never runs out of money but Medicare and Social Security does.)  And most of all, the actions of EVERYONE in Washington has served to decrease our faith in our elected leaders.  We all suffered to some extent…but did they stop paying themselves?  And consider that even if they put themselves under Obamacare, it is superficial; they will always pass laws to exempt themselves eventually.  Their insurance plan is the greatest…and we pay for it with the (now increased) national debt.

That sucks.

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My purpose was but to express my views on the state of affairs affecting our great country… and the growing divide fueled by one-sided media.    I am one of those but luckily turn to our blogs for facts or viewpoints.  Are we heading into an internet-based civil war?  As certainly as America has a gadzillion more issues unmentioned here, there are those whose views are surely very unlike mine…

Please express your views, too, and kindly.

But perhaps, one “growing” unifying view is…  our elected officials are not well liked.

🙂

Thanks for reading.