Thursday, November 11, 2010

Veterans Day

Armistice Day Becomes Veterans Day

World War I officially ended on June 28, 1919, with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. The actual fighting between the Allies and Germany, however, had ended seven months earlier with the armistice, which went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. Armistice Day, as November 11 became known, officially became a holiday in the United States in 1926, and a national holiday 12 years later. On June 1, 1954, the name was changed to Veterans Day to honor all U.S. veterans.

In 1968, new legislation changed the national commemoration of Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October. It soon became apparent, however, that November 11 was a date of historic significance to many Americans. Therefore, in 1978 Congress returned the observance to its traditional date.

Tomb of the Unknowns

Official, national ceremonies for Veterans Day center around the Tomb of the Unknowns.

To honor these men, symbolic of all Americans who gave their lives in all wars, an Army honor guard, the 3d U.S. Infantry (The Old Guard), keeps day and night vigil.

At 11 a.m. on November 11, a combined color guard representing all military services executes "Present Arms" at the tomb. The nation's tribute to its war dead is symbolized by the laying of a presidential wreath and the playing of "Taps."

Unknown Soldier Identified

On Memorial Day (which honors U.S. service people who died in action) in 1958, two more unidentified American war dead, one from World War II and the other from the Korean War, were buried next the unknown soldier of World War I.

A law was passed in 1973 providing interment of an unknown American from the Vietnam War, but because of the improved technology to identify the dead, it was not until 1984 that an unidentified soldier was buried in the tomb.

In 1998, however, the Vietnam soldier was identified through DNA tests as Michael Blassie, a 24-year-old Air Force pilot who was shot down in May of 1972 near the Cambodian border. His body was disinterred and reburied by his family in St. Louis, Missouri.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Reach out to Muslims??

I don't know about how you feel on this continuous call to reach out to Muslims, try to get along with Muslims, try understanding the Muslim faith, and on and on and on! But I as a average hard working American is tired of hearing all that crap. Its' time for all of the bleeding heart politicians to realize that understanding and getting along with each other is not just a ONE WAY STREET! When is the last time you heard one of them say, " the Muslims need to try and understand and get along with all of the Christians"? I'm not going to kiss any ones ass just to get them to like or respect me. I believe that understanding and respect has to be a two way street and I haven't heard to many Muslims trying to reach out to us, unless it's just to do bad things.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Feds Shell Out $1 Billion to Dead People

The federal government has paid out well over $1 billion to 250,000 deceased individuals over the past decade — and can’t figure out how to fix the problem, according to a new report from Sen. Tom Coburn.

“Washington paid for dead people’s prescriptions and wheelchairs, subsidized their farms, helped pay their rent, and even chipped in for their heating and air conditioning bills,” the Oklahoma Republican’s report says.

Among the disclosures, based on a review of government audits and reports by the Government Accountability Office, inspectors general, and Congress:

● The Social Security Administration sent $18 million in stimulus funds to 71,688 dead people, and $40.3 million in questionable benefit payments to 1,760 deceased individuals.
● The Department of Agriculture sent $1.1 billion in farming subsidies to dead farmers.
● The Department of Health and Human Services sent $3.9 million to 11,000 dead people to help pay heating and cooling costs.
● Medicare paid up to $92 million in claims for medical supplies prescribed by dead doctors and $8.2 million for medical supplies prescribed for dead patients.

In some cases, the payments went to dormant bank accounts, while in others they landed in the pockets of living people who are “defrauding the system by collecting benefits meant for a now-deceased relative,” according to Coburn’s report.

The detected waste “is likely only a small picture of a much larger problem,” the report notes.

In June, the Obama administration announced new steps to avert payments to the deceased. Federal agencies are now required to check their payees against the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File.

“But SSA admits its records are fraught with errors,” the report states. “It is extremely expensive and may even be impossible to determine if a person is alive or dead, particularly if the person died many years ago.”

Coburn concludes: “At this point in our nation’s history, it is of the utmost importance that every tax dollar spent by the government be put to good use. This means spending within our means on the living, not outside our means on the dead.”

Saturday, November 6, 2010

What do you have to do to make Nancy Pelosi go away? Voting her out did not seem to work.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Pelosi: 'I Am Running for Democratic Leader'

Published November 05, 2010

| FoxNews.com

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Bucking speculation that she would step down after her Democratic Party suffered a "shellacking" in Tuesday'selection, outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Friday that she will run for minority leader in the next Congress.

In a letter sent to Democratic House members Friday, Pelosi, the first female speaker of the House, said she made the decision to run based on recommendations from her colleagues and her desire to continue the legislative work started during her tenure.

"Driven by the urgency of protecting health care reform, Wall Street reform, and Social Security and Medicare, I have decided to run," the letter reads.

Despite her party's loss of more than 60 congressional seats to Republicans, Pelosi was adamant that the legislative accomplishments of the House under her leadership would remain intact.

"We have no intention of allowing our great achievements to be rolled back. It is my hope that we can work in a bipartisan way to create jobs and strengthen the middle class," her letter continued.

Many on Capitol Hill have speculated that Pelosi, 70, who has held the No. 1 job in Congress since January 2007, would resign from the leadership, paving the way for the current No. 2, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer to take the top job.

Hoyer announced he is still weighing whether to run for the minority whip post.

"Mr. Hoyer has a lot of support from the caucus. He'll spend the next few days talking to members and seeing if he can stay in leadership as whip," said Hoyer spokesman Dan Reilly.

But in what could be a squeeze play, the Maryland Democratcould find himself running against House Majority Whip James Clyburn. The minority party has one fewer leadership post than the majority in the House.

Rep. John Larson, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, announced he will run to keep his post.

Earlier Friday, Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said he is stepping down as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, a common move after one or two terms in the grueling position of getting members elected.

Rep. Dan Boren, D-Okla., one of the most conservative Democrats in the House and a member of the Blue Dog caucus, told Fox News on Friday he could not "in good conscience support Pelosi" if she were to run.

But the National Republican Campaign Committee welcomed Pelosi's announcement "based on her proven ability to create jobs for Republican lawmakers."

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result," NRCC spokesman Ken Spain said in a statement. "Of course, if House Democrats are willing to sacrifice more of their members in 2012 for the glory of Nancy Pelosi, we are happy to oblige them."

Fox News' Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Obama's Pricey Asia Trip

Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann has blasted the White House for what she calls “over-the-top” spending on President Obama’s upcoming trip to Asia.

Obama leaves Friday on a trip that begins in India and will also take him to Indonesia, South Korea and Japan. Reports are circulating that the president and his entourage of about 3,000 officials, business people, journalists, and security personnel will spend some $200 million a day during his 4-day visit to India, which would put the tab for the entire trip well over $1 billion.

“We have never seen this sort of an entourage going with the president before,” Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann told CNN’s Anderson Cooper in an interview that aired on Wednesday.

“And I think this is an example of the massive overspending that we’ve seen, not only just in the last two years, really in the last four.”

bachman, obama, asia, trip, expense

Britain’s Daily Mail reported that the trip will involve 40 aircraft and six armored cars, including a black Cadillac with its own communications center that will transport Obama during his visit to India, with planned stops in Mumbai and New Delhi.

Some 500 American security personnel have reportedly been in India for weeks preparing for the presidential visit.

There is even a report in India that the United States will move a fleet of 34 warships, including an aircraft carrier, into position to patrol the sea lanes off the coast of Mumbai during Obama’s stay.

Commenting on the reported costs of the trip, White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage said: “Due to security concerns, we are unable to outline details associated with security procedures and costs, but it’s safe to say these numbers are wildly inflated.”

But several sources including The Telegraph in Britain are reporting that security measures in India are so extensive that all coconuts on trees near Mumbai’s Gandhi museum, one of the sites Obama will visit, are being removed.
Falling coconuts injure or even kill people in India every year. “We told the authorities to remove the dry coconuts from trees near the building,” an official at the museum told the BBC. “Why take a chance?”

Bailey Comment:
Why would you be surprised at the above story? My new name for Obama is, President Obama Spendaholic. This man and his wife has been spending our tax dollars like a kid in a candy store since he's been in office!