Two-Fer: EMail to Obumer & An Award:

ACCORDING TO A REPORT ON THE ONE NEWS NOW WEBSITE, BARACK OBAMA MADE THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT AT A WHITE HOUSE CELEBRATION OF 'GAY PRIDE' MONTH:

"There are good and decent people in this country who don't yet fully embrace their gay brothers and sisters - - not yet, that's why I've spoken about these issues - - not just in front of you -- but in front of audiences, in front of African-American church members."

Obama went on to say that too many Americans hold onto "worn and old attitudes toward homosexuality."

Among those in attendance at the White House bash, was "bishop" Gene Robinson of the Episcopalian Church and several gay clergy.

After reading this article, I was moved to write the following email to Obama. So if you don't hear from me or if my blog gets pulled, you will know why:

Mr. Obama;

First let me say that I make no apologies for not referring to you as "president". That is because you do not represent me or my moral values and I did not vote for you, therefore I do not recognize your presidency.

Having said that, just encase there is nothing between your dumbo ears to grasp and hold onto a moral concept, then let me try and explain the obvious to you. Did it ever dawn on you that the very reason why many Americans have not and will not embrace gays IS because they ARE good and decent people?

For a man who claims to be a devout Christian, you sir have much to learn about the teachings of Holy Scripture. A TRUE Christian does NOT pick and choose what parts of the Bible they will or will not accept. Also, there is absolutely nothing worn or old about the attitudes held by the majority of Americans towards homosexuality. It is about time that you realize that truth IS eternal.

Even leaving religion out of it, the majority of people find the "homosexual life-style" to be totally repugnant due to the fact that it is totally unnatural and morally repulsive. We DO NOT have to "embrace our gay brothers and sisters" as you put it, and no amount of legislation that you or other morally bankrupt individuals pass, will ever make such repulsive acts acceptable or moral, no matter how many morally corrupt homosexual "bishops" like Gene Robinson or queer clergy you parade around the White House.

I'm sorry, but you will never bring the majority of Americans to come around to your way of thinking, so what are you going to do, push for legislation to have all straight thinking and moral Americans arrested and sent to re-education camps or worse? You can kid yourself into believing that what you are doing is a wonderful thing, just as you have done with abortion and other immoral legislation that you liberals have enacted, that have only ended up destroying the moral fabric of America as well as corrupting the morals of our children and grandchildren, but mark my words, you WILL have to answer to a higher POWER, and I can guarantee that you will NOT like the final verdict.

You are no Christian and you certainly are no Messiah. There is nothing great about you, nor honorable; instead, you are a stench arising to offend God. I and many other Americans like me, will be very glad when your term is over and you can go and crawl back under whatever rock you crawled out from under. And to paraphrase your former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, "God DAMN you sir, for the damage you have done, are doing and will do to MY AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL.

Respectfully (or NOT)

Most Rev. Archbishop Gregori

SOMETHING GOOD MY WAY CAME:
AN AWARD BESTOWED UPON ME AND MY BLOG BY MY BLOGGER
BUDDY SUBVET OVER AT "BLOWING SAN #1"

I am to pass this award along, so here are the RULES:

1.) Thank the one who presented the award to you and provide a link to their blog.
So, thank you Subvet, I truly appreciate the honor. The link is provided above.

2.) Share ten honest things about yourself, well lets see:
A.) I totally love my four sons and eight grandchildren;
B.) I do not abide morons easily;
C.) I enjoy a good glass of Merlot with my evening meal;
D.) I become infuriated with people who abuse kids or animals;
E.) I feel closest to God when I am on my early morning walks with a cup of coffee in my hand
and Munchkin by my side;
F.) To me, there are no better sights or sounds then those of children at play;
G.) My absolutely favorite salad dressing is creamy blue cheese;
H.) I have a bad habit of talking back to the television;
I.) I have been a dyed in the wool Conservative ever since I was in the eighth grade,
that was back when dinosaurs walked the earth;
J.) I love food, especially Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern. Most people eat to live,
I live to eat.

3.) Present this award to at least Seven others whose blogs you find to be brilliant and
inspiring in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged you. So I shall pass
it on to the following:

(Rita Vernoy) at the "JUNGLE HUT"

(Kevin Jackson) at "THE BLACK SPHERE"

(Ron) at "THE LOCALMALCONTENT"

(Fidothedog) at "THE LONE VOICE"

(Leticia) at "MY DAILY TREK"

(Pam) at "MIDNIGHT MUSINGS"

(Karen) at "KAREN HOWES"

(RaDena) at "BLASTING CAPS AND DYNAMITE"

(Chicago Ray) at "CHICAGO RAY REPORT"

(Dr. Dave) at "FEED YOUR ADHD"

(Mark) at "CASTING PEARLS BEFORE SWINE"

My best to all.

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Good-Bye to a Familiar Friend & New EPA TP Conservation Regulations:

Famed television pitch man, Billy Mays, was found dead this morning, by his wife Deborah, at 7:45 a.m., at their home in Tampa, Florida at the age of 50:

Mays, made his living promoting household products and gadgets. He was best known for his Oxi-Clean commercials. Police do not suspect foul play, however an autopsy is expected to be complete tomorrow (Monday) afternoon.

Mays was on board a US Airways flight that blew out its front tires as it landed at a Tampa airport on Saturday. A US Airways spokesman, Jim Olson, said that none of the 138 passengers and five crew members were injured in the incident, but several passengers reported having bumps and bruises. Mays himself had stated that he bumped his head during the incident, but at this time, it is unknown if that is related to his death.

He is probably selling new halos to the angels.

The following was inspired by a posting on the Localmalcontent's blog, titled:
"Don't Squeeze the Charmin - You May Cut Yourself", which he posted after being inspired by a posting by Jeffro on his site. My Thanks to both.

NEW UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY TP REGULATIONS:

New United States Environmental Protection Agency Toilet Paper Conservation regulation, known as The TP Conservation Act of 2009, has been signed into law by Barack Obama. This new regulation goes into effect on July 6, 2009.

Please read and familiarize yourselves with this new regulation. Those who fail to comply will face a mandatory $5,000.00 fine and/or a minimum of 5 years in a federal penitentiary.

Due to a waste of toilet paper by the general public, which has led to clogged drainage pipes and over loaded septic tanks, not to mention the vast number of trees that are required to manufacture the above mentioned product, the Environmental Protection Agency, in conjunction with the Obama administration's "GREEN POLICY", has drawn up the following method of reducing the amount of paper needed to do the job.

Fig. A

Pulling off a long amount of toilet paper is not only wasteful, but also totally uncalled for when in reality,

Fig. B

A single square will suffice just as well. Please follow the simple instructions below.

1.) Remove ONLY ONE square of TP from your roll. Any brand will do, (See Fig. B).

2.) Carefully fold POINT A to POINT B (Fig. C). This will form a basic triangle (See Fig. D).

3.) Next, fold POINT C to POINT D (Fig. D), which will form a smaller triangle.

4.) Place this triangle so that the closed fold side is to your right, and the side where POINTS C & D meet is to the bottom left. Then gently tear off POINT E at the dotted line (See Fig. E). DO NOT DISCARD this piece as it will be extremely important later.

5.) Carefully place the POINT E piece either on the sink or on the top of the toilet bowl tank for later use. Now, carefully unfold the toilet paper back to its original square form. This will reveal a circular hole in the center of the square (See Fig. F). All of the above can be done while you are sitting there answering the 'call of nature'.

Fig. G

6.) Upon completion of your business, insert your middle finger through the hole, reach back and wipe (See Fig. G.).

7.) Upon completion of the wiping process, carefully bring up the sides of the toilet paper square and wrap them around your finger. Grip it with your free hand pulling the now soiled finger down and out of the toilet paper square. This action will remove most of the offending matter from your finger and trap it within the toilet paper

8.) Deposit the soiled TP square into the toilet bowl and thoroughly was your hands with plenty of soap and hot water.

9.) After thoroughly drying your hands, take that piece (POINT E) that you had set aside earlier, and use it to clean underneath your fingernail and deposit it into the toilet bowl.

10.) Flush the toilet and your job is done.

If we all do our part and comply with this new regulation, we can go a long way to conserve and protect our environment.

Thank you for your cooperation,

United States Environmental Protection Agency & the Obama administration.

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Letita Tyler First Spouse Gold Coins

The release of the 2009 Letitia Tyler First Spouse Gold Coin will mark the end of the month-long dry spell for US Mint products. The coins will go on sale July 2, 2009 at 12:00 Noon ET. This will be the second of five releases for the First Spouse coin series during 2009.

The obverse of the coin features a portrait of Letitia Tyler, designed and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill. The reverse features a scene of Letitia Tyler and two of her children on Cedar Grove Plantation. She had supervised the operation of the 1,200 acre plantation, allowing her husband to focus on his political career. The reverse was designed by Susan Gamble and sculpted by Norman E. Nemeth.

The Letitia Tyler First Spouse Coin will contain one-half ounce of 24-karat gold. Coins will be available in uncirculated or proof, with both versions produced at the West Point Mint. The maximum authorized mintage will be 40,000 coins across both options. The US Mint has not announced any ordering limits, however the last release carried an initial household limit of 10 coins per option.

Pricing for the coins will be determined under the US Mint's pricing policy for gold and platinum numismatic products. If the average London Fix price of gold from last Thursday to this coming Wednesday falls within the $900-$949.99 range, then the proof coins would be priced at $629.00 and the uncirculated coins would be priced at $616.00. If the average price of gold falls within a higher or lower $50 tier, the prices of the coins would be adjusted by $25 for each increment.

A bronze medal featuring the same design, less some inscriptions, will be released at the same time. The medals are priced at $3.50, with no household ordering limit.

When the Letitia Tyler coins go on sale, it is expected that sales of the Louisa Adams coins will end. The Louisa Adams First Spouse Coins originally went on sale May 29, 2008. The US Mint has stated that First Spouse coins will remain on sale for approximately one year or until the maximum authorized mintage has been sold. In this case, "approximately one year" will be stretched beyond 13 months, trying the patience of some collectors.

After sales of the Louisa Adams coin officially end, collectors will be able to determine if this coin represents the new mintage low for the series. The most recent sales figures for the Louisa Adams coins show 4,214 uncirculated coins and 6,931 proof coins sold. These levels are still below the low mintage leader for coins that are no longer available. This is the Elizabeth Monroe coin with 4,519 uncirculated coins and 7,933 proof coins sold.

As the popularity of the First Spouse series has declined, some have been watching for the low point of the series. Low mintage gold coins have often attracted attention after the fact, creating new demand for the coins and driving secondary market prices higher. On the other hand, some have argued that the First Spouse series is different than other gold series, and will never attract this additional demand. This topic has been debated frequently in the comments of other posts on the First Spouse Gold Coin series.

On a separate note, I will be leaving on a three week vacation this afternoon. While I am away, I plan to continue posting to Mint News Blog, although there may be some gaps and some posts may be less timely than usual. Please stay on board during this period, and feel free to post any breaking news over on Coin Network to keep the discussion going!

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The Oracle:

Yesterday, the members of the of the House of Representatives caved into the pressures placed upon them by their Messiah, Obama, and with their lips planted firmly to his dark and rank posterior, they passed the "Cap and Trade" Bill, another one of the would -be-Caesar's "MUST get passed this year or we will face dire consequences," pet projects.

Woe to thee, O ignorant mortals, creatures of dubious worth. Those who sit ensconced upon your thrones of power, ye who seek after vain glory. Have ye no knowledge of the sufferings which your misguided actions will unleash upon your fellow citizens, or do you care not?

Is a fleeting moment of perceived power worth the destruction of your country and the agony and despair that will befall those who, in trust, placed you upon your pedestals, that you would blindly follow your Dark Prince to the very precipice of damnation and then gleefully jump off at the snap of his fingers?

Pray thee, with all of your being that your folly gets defeated in the Senate, for then at least, though you may not get re-elected, you will at least escape with your miserable lives intact. For if the Senate chooses to follow in your treacherous footsteps, MY......

Sees the following woes befalling the down-trodden masses of the once great and mighty United States of America:

2 1/2 million jobs lost for good;

Taxes doubled, tripled or perhaps quadrupled, thus enslaving generations to come to a lifetime of indentured servitude to a corrupt government;

Doubling or tripling of utility rates, gasoline for automobiles, the cost of goods including food, along with a steep increase in rental rates for homes and apartments.

Woe to thee, O men and women who deem yourselves to be as gods, for when you have finally provoked the wrath of the people and they rise up in righteous anger against thee, there will be blood in the streets, perhaps even in your hallowed halls of government, in the very chambers where you have committed your treachery against your people and country.

Where then wilt thou flee, O workers of evil? Where wilt thou hide? For with your passage of unjust and unlawful legislation, thou hast signed thy own death warrant, and your days are numbered.

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John Tyler Presidential Dollar Coin Cover

The US Mint will begin selling the John Tyler Presidential Dollar Coin Cover on Thursday, July 2, 2009 at 12:00 Noon ET. This will be the tenth release in the ongoing American Presidency $1 Coin Cover Series.

Each coin cover will feature two John Tyler Presidential Dollars, one from the Philadelphia Mint and one from the Denver Mint. Each coin was produced on the first day of mintage from each facility. The coins are mounted on a custom display card with a 44 cent stamp, post marked May 21, 2009, Charles City, VA. This day marked the official release of the coins into circulation.

The covers are priced at $14.95 each and will be limited to 40,000 units. The US Mint's product page can already be viewed here.

The previously released coin cover for William Henry Harrison has sold 24,270 units since it went on sale March 17, 2009. All of the American Presidency Coin Covers released during 2008 are currently listed in the US Mint's Last Opportunity Sale and will only be available until June 30, 2009.

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Last Opportunity Sale Ends June 30

The US Mint's "Last Opportunity Sale" will end next week on Tuesday, June 30, 2009. The sale began one month ago to offer customers a final opportunity to purchase some remaining 2008 products.

The sale has not caused too much excitement. The products offered include 2008 State Quarter Coin Covers, 2008 Presidential Dollar Coin Covers, 2008 Coin and Die Sets, and Greetings from America coin and stamp cards.

All products are offered at their original prices. Any products ordered through the sale are subject to a limited return policy. Products can only be returned during a 7-day return period if they are delivered damaged.

The only product to sell out so far has been the 2008 Alaska Coin and Die Set from Denver.

For those interested, Numismaster's Mint Stats provides sales figures for the First Day Coin Covers that are available through the sale. The Presidential Dollar covers had a production limit of 50,000 and the State Quarters covers had a limit of 35,000 units. In earlier years, some of the coin covers had reached their respective limits.

First Day Coin Cover Sales
James Monroe Dollar	35,930
JQ Adams Dollar	31,244
Andrew Jackson Dollar	28,993
Martin Van Buren Dollar	25,476
Oklahoma Quarter	29,575
New Mexico Quarter	25,893
Arizona Quarter	26,107
Alaska Quarter	26,821
Hawaii Quarter	28,984

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America Under Attack - A Dire Warning:

AMERICA UNDER ATTACK - A DIRE WARNING

September 11, 2000 was the least of our worries. The greatest threat to our nation, to our freedoms, to our very Constitution is not coming from foreign enemies, it is coming from our own government.

Following the September 11, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, American citizens came under attack from our own government through the passage of the "Patriot Act", which became law on October 26, 2000 after being rushed through Congress with lightening speed. the 342 page bill was shoved through Congress with absolutely no debate in committee, no public hearings and little if any floor debate, and in the House, a special procedure was invoked to ban any amendments to the bill (are you seeing a pattern here?). Folks, the fix was in. To put it bluntly, this Act sacrificed our rights and freedoms all in the name of national security, and very few members of Congress even read the contents of the bill.

The Patriot Act went far beyond any common sense provisions of protecting the country from terrorist attacks. While posing a threat to our civil liberties, the Patriot Act had no obvious effect on those who helped perpetrate the 9/11 attacks. The so-called measures that were supposedly aimed to prevent terrorist attacks struck only at our Constitution, and before any one starts blaming G.W. Bush, let me remind you that ALL of the elements that make up the Patriot Act, had already been developed by the Clinton administration and were just waiting for the right moment, the right set of circumstances to be implemented, and that moment came on the morning of September 11, 2000. If you really want to be honest, if you really want to face the truth, the whole Patriot Act and Department of Homeland Security has far less to do with keeping America safe as it does with controlling the American people.

How often in my blog posts have I tried to educate the public that it made no difference what-so-ever which political party controlled the White House or the Congress, because both parties have been complicit in the slow shredding of the Constitution and trampling on our rights and freedoms, and it has been going on since 1913 under the administration of Woodrow Wilson, and it has continued under each succeeding administration, but it really started to escalate under the Clinton administration, and it snowballed under the G.W. Bush administration (has anyone ever wondered why it is that George H. Bush and Bill Clinton are so chummy?). Now with Obama in the White House, it is going lightening fast. The Patriot Act unconstitutionally consolidated vast amounts of power in the executive branch of the government, in essence making the president a supreme leader, and we let it happen. We slept as our Constitutional Republic was stolen from us, right under our noses.

People, think long and hard about what I am saying. Everything that you see happening today was planned years ago, and that makes every president, every member of Congress and every Supreme Court Justice complicit in acts of TREASON.

The Patriot Act is a direct infringement on our First Amendment Rights of freedom of speech, freedom of religion. It infringes on our Second Amendment Right to keep and bear arms, and as I am writing this, the Obama administration is in the process of drawing up even more draconian and unconstitutional gun control legislation that will prevent millions of law abiding Americans from ever owning a fire arm. And this Act also infringes on our Fourth Amendment Right to privacy.

The Patriot Act has created a whole new federal crime, called "domestic terrorism" which gives law enforcement broad discretion as to what constitutes "acts dangerous to human life." Such vagueness could and has led many federal officials to feel justified in treating citizens engaged in legitimate political dissent as criminals. Don't think for one minute that what is taking place in Iran, the beatings and killings of peaceful protesters, can't or won't happen here (Remember Kent State?). Don't forget that memo that came out of the Department of Homeland Security that advised law enforcement as to who to watch out for as possible terrorists. That memo was no mistake.

Also, the 2010 census will be coming up real soon and there are questions on it that are none of the governments business and have nothing to do with the census, but the federal government says that if we don't answer them we will face a $5,000.00 fine. Remember also that Obama ordered the census be taken over by the White House, and encase you may not know it, in the 1940's, the federal government illegally used census information to "round up" innocent Japaneses/American citizens and inter them in concentration camps.

There are too many brain dead Americans who have absolutely no concern about the government's illegal and unconstitutional expansion of power to curtail our liberties, saying, "As long as I am not a terrorist, I have nothing to worry about." How wrong they are because the Patriot Act is a threat to every law-abiding American citizen, and I believe that we are being set up to undergo the full horrors of this Act, which is why I believe Obama is in a mad rush to push through every single one of his programs by the end of his first year in office. The Obama administration's blatant powers grab is in it self frightening enough, but couple it with the vast amount of anti-terrorism tools that the Patriot Act puts at his disposal, is an omen of wholesale suspension of our civil liberties and Constitutional rights that will go far beyond those who are truly terrorists.

People, please, for God's sake, WAKE UP! OPEN YOUR EYES! We are being set up for a real horror show, and we had better do something NOW before it is too late!

CONSIDER YOURSELVES WARNED!

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Pres. Anthony's Marijuana Q&A #002

Intro

Well folks, here I am back with a few more good questions from you budding marijuana growers.

But, before I continue, I want to make sure people understand that there are hundreds of thousands of marijuana growers right here in the United States. Many of them are on forums like ICMag, ready and willing to help teach folks, like yourself, exactly how to grow marijuana safely and securely from criminals and cops alike. You can also purchase books like Ed Rosenthal's Marijuana Grower's Handbook: The Indoor High Yield Guide or Jorge Cervantes's Marijuana Horticulture: The Indoor/Outdoor Medical Growers Guide.

So, join the forums and get the books. I can answer questions some of your questions but I am not the best authority and I am only one guy.

On to the Questions & Answers

Anthony,

I found your blog while looking up some growing tips and ideas for "grass". Please see the attached pictures and tell me what you think.

In summary, the first pic is about 4 weeks into growing. I germinated the seeds and planted them (2 plants) in 1/2 liter pots. I've got two growing now. The second and third pics are after trimming the roots a quarter-inch and repacking in miracle grow potting soil (basic $5 bag). The age at these pics are about 6 weeks +/-. As for growing conditions, these are growing in South Texas, average daily temperature is 90-101 degrees, humidity anywhere from 20-40%, UV indexes of 7-9 daily, and light winds. I've been giving the plants 1 1/4 cups of water per pot each day except until recently. I had to move the pots to a secret location because of neighbors. The pots are still out in the open but now receive about 10 hours of sunlight due to their location; they're behind a large rock that blocks their sunlight from about 4pm-7am.

It's my first time growing - now that I'm out of school I can focus real time on doing this. I'm tired of buying and want to grow a SMALL amount for personal use. I'm extremely intrigued by your micro-scale plants (the soil grown 1-ounce plant is amazing! that's what i'm shooting for). If you could give me some advice on what i've got growing now i'd really appreciate it as well as where to begin growing those 1-oz. plants. As I said I'm in about the 7th week of growing and i need to know what to do now. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot.

Your plants look very healthy.

The issue with the light isn't so bad. It's more important that the plant receive at least 12 hours of darkness or sleep. 10 hours of light affects the plant by making it mature faster but the yield will be lower. Essentially you're on a sort of 22 hour day. Although, it's not ideal, it's ok. On the other side of the coin, if you were indoors, you could extend the hours of light and increase yield as long as the plant gets the minimum of 12 hours of sleep. But, of course, it would take longer because you would be on a 26-hour day, for example.

Since they are outdoors, you don't need to feed them so often. Just make sure the soil is damp, even allow it to dry out a bit at the top. They sell soil testers at garden shops for pretty cheap. I got one for $5 about 2 yrs ago. Or just shove your finger deep in the soil to make sure the soil is moist.

Marijuana is a very strong and hardy plant. The best growers will tell you to simply leave it alone and let nature handle it. The worst growers are the ones who interfere too much. The best advice I can give you is to just let them grow and learn what you can for next time.

As far as the 1oz grow, it's more of a hobby of some growers who just like to show off their ability and have a little fun. I use it as an extreme example of how we can grow at home without worrying about 9 foot tall plants. Those pics don't belong to me.

Hi. I started growing weed and didn't think it would acually work. Now I have 4 little small plants and one big one but the problem is 3 of the small plants are in the same pot and close together. Can I do anythingy about it? The big one is also in the same pot of the 4th one and now the big one has outgrow the little one by alot and i need help. I was considering growing again and doing it the right way. Can you give me any tips. I did the first ones outdoors. Should I grow my new ones indoors?

Well depending on how big the flower pot is, they might be able to hang out there if you're keeping them small. But, I'd advise transplanting them to separate pots with fresh soil immediately. The roots most likely will get tangled as it grows so try to separate without doing to much damage.

Let them grow out and see what happens. You can only learn from this point on anyway. As far as tips, get a book on marijuana growing by either Jorge Cervantes or Ed Rosenthal and there are other authors as well. And, sign up at icmag.com. You'll get help from hundreds of other growers as well. While you're reading and getting a better idea of what's involved, you can continue with what you have now, scrap and start over, or start another bunch of seeds.

As far as the next grow, I'd do it inside because the grow season has already begun outdoors. It may be a bit more work but there's nothing better than having a higher level of control over your grow. Also, you don't want to get spotted by nosey neighbors, someone passing by, or cops in helicopters. If you're gonna take that chance you better know what you're doing.

Good luck. Stay safe.

I was wondering if there is any type of heating lamp that is the best to get?

No problem. You're not looking for heating lamp but the lights you would want do get hot. The "big boy" growers use HID lights which include HPS (orangish) and MH (bluish). Since you're just starting out, go for CFL lights because they stay pretty cool and are cheaper. The drawback is the light isn't as strong so your final amount will suffer. Check out BGHydro for grow supplies. They've got it all.

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Do It Now!

When Obama was campaigning for President, he promised not only an open government, but also that the people will be able to view the various bills before they are voted on, but now that he has won, both of those campaign promises have fallen by the wayside.

Since he has been in office, everything with him has been a dire emergency. Everything has to be passed in Congress NOW! The 'bailouts', 'the stimulus package', 'getting Sotomayor confirmed', everything. Now Obama claims that it is s dire emergency that Congress passes the government-run health care program, one of the most intricate and wide-ranging government takeover of the health care industry in the history of the United States, and it MUST be accomplished by the end of this year or we will face a real economic crisis.

I get the sense that every time Obama opens his mouth, he is threatening the American people. He has used the same fear-based vocabulary for every one of his indefensible policies, and I personally am sick of it. Remember when he threatened the American people when he stated that his stimulus package had to be passed without delay or we would see 8.7 percent unemployment? So it was rushed through Congress without even one single member of Congress even reading it, and we end up with nearly 10 percent unemployment.

Every time Obama wants to ram one of his programs through Congress or down our throats, he says, "The cost of inaction is unacceptable." To him, ACTION means getting his way and enacting whatever policy or program he happens to want to shove down our throats at the time.

Just what is this man's hurry, is there some hidden agenda that makes it imperative that he destroy America completely before the end of his first year in office? Why the rush, what exactly does he have in mind for us next year?

Obama talks a good game, but his words are lies on top of lies. How many times has he told us that if we are happy with our current health care coverage and our doctor, we will be able to keep them under his plan? But when you scrape off crappy veneer and take the time to really look at his plan, you will discover the truth. Obama's health care reform contains the very real possibility to not only destroy the health care industry, but also OUR freedom to choose our own doctors, our treatment and our health care insurance provider, by driving out all private health insurance providers, which will lead to an escalation of costs which will have to be sucked up by the taxpayers. It will also lead to a diminished quality of care while the government ends up with a health care monopoly.

I believe that a radical takeover of one-sixth of our entire economy is entitled to a careful study, and it deserves a lot more than, "It MUST be done NOW." Besides, Obama's first concern right now should be on reviving the economy, not on adding trillions of dollars to our national debt every day.

I cannot figure out if Obama just doesn't know that as long as our economy shows no sign of recovery, his popularity keeps declining, or is it that he just doesn't care? There is a good possibility that the Democrats will lose a number of seats in both the House and the Senate (which will be a good thing) in 2010.

Obama is forcing extremely radical liberal policies on an electorate that sees itself --78 percent in this past Election Day exit poll -- as either conservative or moderate. The Liberals argue the public has been radicalized by the economic crisis, a crisis that Obama had a hand in creating while he was a U.S. Senator. So, could it be that Obama desperately needs to force his agenda through Congress before We the People discover what he is up to? If that is the case, then time is NOT on his side.

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Subscriptions Added for 2009 Lincoln Cent Roll Sets

Today, the US Mint announced that they will extend their subscription program to include the remaining 2009 Lincoln Cent Two Roll Set offerings. The subscription would cover the two remaining roll sets for the "Professional Life" and "Presidency" designs. It would not cover the first two releases for the "Birthplace" and "Formative Years" designs.

Under the subscription program, customers enroll in the program for a specified number of sets and the US Mint charges the credit card on file and ships the coins when they become available. The US Mint has offered subscriptions for certain annual or recurring products like Proof Sets, Mint Sets, Coin Covers, Presidential Dollar rolls, and the collectible Silver Eagles.

The main benefit of the subscription program is that products are ordered automatically, and you don't have to worry about fighting through potential bottlenecks on the US Mint's website on product release days.

There has always been discussion about whether products ordered under the subscription program ship earlier than orders placed on the first day. This was recently the subject of an experiment conducted by a member of Coin Network. Orders for the 2009 Proof Set were placed via subscription, within the first few minutes of sales, and later in the day. The result of the experiment was that the set ordered through the subscription was shipped and received more or less within the same time frame as orders placed on the first day.

Shipping for the 2009 Proof Sets in general seems to have been handled much more smoothly than prior 2009 products. For other products, I have seen reports of orders placed through subscriptions being shipped weeks after orders placed on the first day. Whether the results of the experiment are the exception or the rule is unknown.

The US Mint's subscriptions page can be found here. The option for 2009 Lincoln Cent Two Roll Sets does not appear yet. The option for the 2009 Lincoln Cent Two Roll Sets now appears in the subscription section.

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Alaska Denali National Park

Alaska is the northernmost and largest (by area) state of the United States of America. It is separated from mainland US by Canada. It is also the least densely populated state of the United States of America with half of its 700,000 residents concentrated within the Anchorage metropolitan area, Alaska largest city. Because of its isolation and harsh weather, Alaska is about the most pristine state of USA. If you want to experience nature at its best, visit Alaska.

Photo of Denali courtesy of Nic McPhee

The highest point of Alaska and of Northern America is Mount McKinley, better known as just Denali which means "the great one" in the Athabaskan language. Denali (Mount McKinley) is located within the famous six million acres Denali Park. The nature you can enjoy in the Denali National Park includes deciduous tiaga (cold conifer forests) at the lower elevations, tundra at the middle elevations, and glaciers and snow at the higher elevations. Activities you can enjoy includes wildlife viewing, backpacking and mountain climbing. During winter, you can go dog-sledding, skiing and in certain designated area, snowmobiling.

If you intend to travel Alaskayou may be interested to know that Alaska Travel (Alaska Denali Tours), says that they have their own lodges and tour buses plus have operates their own motorcoach between Alsaka's largest city Anchorage and Denali National Park.

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Missing Swimmers Near Great Falls Park

Two swimmers are missing after a late afternoon swim in the Potomac River near Great Falls Park in Cabin John, Maryland.

On June 21, 2009, a group of six swimmers illegally entered the Potomac River south of the main falls near Purple Horse Beach. This group attempted to swim across the river. Four swimmers self rescued and came ashore noticing that two were unaccounted for.

The Montgomery County Department of Fire and Rescue Services deployed a swift water rescue team from the Cabin John Park Fire Department. United States Park Police Aviation also responded to attempt to locate and rescue these missing people.

After a search of over two hours, the search was scaled back to await morning light.

The next day, the river rescue teams and United States Park Police units including Eagle One returned to continue looking.

As of June 23, 2009, the missing swimmers have not been found. For the past several weeks, a significant amount of rain has fallen in the area bringing high water levels to the Potomac River.

The United States Park Police stresses the importance of staying out of the Potomac River in the Gorge area from Great Falls towards Key Bridge as this area has treacherous currents that may be fatal to even strong swimmers.

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Metro Disaster In Washington, DC

At least seven people have died in a train accident in Northeast Washington, DC. During the evening rush hour on June 22, 2009, two Metro trains collided on the Red Line between the Fort Totten and Takoma Park Stations.

With over seventy people injured and some in critical condition, the on scene commanders utilized United States Park Police Aviation assets to medevac multiple patients to area trauma centers.

Eagle One was an integral link in the disaster mitigation efforts providing needed advanced critical care and transport for this incident.

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Mon Dieu! The Cost of Gas in France:

MON DIEU! THE COST OF GAS IN FRANCE:

A poor and desperate, out-of-work gentleman, living in Paris, decided to steal some paintings from the Louvre Art Museum, where they were on display.

The man planned and plotted the heist, right down to the smallest detail, going over it again and again in his mind to make sure that nothing could go wrong.

On the day of the heist, he arrived at the Louvre according to the schedule he had planned out. He then entered the building and made it past security with no problems, and proceeded to steal just those paintings he had on his list.

He carefully removed the masterpieces from their frames, gently rolling them and sliding them into cardboard tubes, placing the tubes into a duffel bag that he had hidden under is coat.

After procuring and stashing away the last painting, the thief slowly proceeded to leave the building, once again making it safely past the security guards.

Once out of the building, he walked swiftly to his vehicle, placing the duffel bag, containing the works of art, onto the back seat. He then climbed in behind the steering wheel, started the vehicle and pulled away into traffic, smug in the knowledge that he had just pulled off the greatest heist in the history of the Louvre.

But as luck would have it, or as they say, "the best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray,"
the poor man was captured, by two of Paris' finest, just two blocks away from the scene of the crime, when his get-away van ran out of gas.

They arrested him, placed him in handcuffs, and took him to the nearest police station where he was questioned by the local Chief of Inspectors, who asked the thief, "How could you mastermind such a heist, but then make such an obvious mistake of not putting enough gas in your get-away vehicle?"

The now disheartened thief replied saying: "Monsieur Inspector, that is the reason why I stole the paintings;







I had no Monet















To buy Degas












To make the Van Gogh!"













NOW, LET US SEE IF YOU HAVE De GAULLE TO TELL THIS STORY TO SOMEONE ELSE.








I TOLD IT TO YOU BECAUSE I FIGURED I HAD NOTHING TOULOUSE.

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US Mint Product Schedule Update

The US Mint recently updated their product schedule with release dates for several products to be released in the month of July. Here are the products and release dates along with some preliminary information. Closer to the release dates, I will provide a full post with additional details on the products.

Letitia Tyler First Spouse Gold Coin
July 2, 2009

This will be the second release for the First Spouse Coin series during 2009. The half ounce 24 karat gold coins will be available in uncirculated or proof versions. The release date had previously been scheduled for June 4, 2009, but was changed without explanation a few days beforehand.

The price for the Letitia Tyler coin will be based on the average price of gold for the preceding one week pricing period. If the average price of gold remains within its current price tier of $900 - $949.99, then the proof coins would be priced at $629 and the uncirculated coins would be priced at $616.

On the same date, the Letitia Tyler Bronze Medals will also go on sale. The medals carry the same design as the gold coins, without some of the inscriptions. They should be priced at $3.50 each.

Presidential $1 Coin & First Spouse Medal Set (Letitia Tyler)
July 14, 2009

These sets include the Presidential Dollar and First Spouse Bronze Medal for each Presidency. Since John Tyler had a first and second wife, it appears that the US Mint will be issuing two separate sets. The first will contain with the bronze medal for Letitia Tyler and the second will contain the bronze medal for Julia Tyler.

Prior releases for this product line have proven to be popular sellers. The only previous release still available is the coin and medal set for William Henry and Anna Harrison. This set had an issue price of $8.95, which will likely be the price level for the Tyler Set.

2009 Silver Proof Set
July 17, 2009

The annual proof set, which contains 90% silver coins. Like the regular proof set, it will contain a total of 18 coins. This includes 4 cents, 1 nickel, 1 dime, 6 quarters, 1 half dollar, and 5 dollar coins. The 2009-S Lincoln Cents will be struck in a composition of 95% copper (or bronze). The 2009-S DC & US Territories Quarters, Kennedy Half Dollar, and Roosevelt Dime will be struck in a composition of 90% silver.

The expected price for the 2009 Proof Set is $52.95, which is $8 higher than the price for last year's set. This extra cost is likely due to the additional 90% silver quarter and additional three proof cents. This year's silver proof set has an earlier release date than prior years. Last year, the 2008 Silver Proof Set was not released until August 26, 2008.

American Samoa Quarter Bags and Rolls
July 27, 2009

The fourth release for the District of Columbia & US Territories Quarters Program. The offering should include 1,000-coin bags from each mint priced at $309.95, 100-coin bags from each mint priced at $32.95, and a two roll set priced at $32.95. This year's bags and rolls have been popular due to the low mintages for this year's circulating coins and the (sometimes) low production runs for bags and rolls that have (sometimes) led to quick sell outs.

So far, each quarter released this year has had a lower overall mintage than the prior release. Will the American Samoa Quarter have a lower mintage than the Guam Quarter? The US Mint bags and rolls will go on sale a few days before the US Mint posts new production figures, which should reveal the answer.

Guam First Day Coin Cover
July 28, 2009

This year's first day covers for quarters have been priced at $14.95 and have been limited to 25,000 units. The covers are generally considered to be better designed than the State Quarter covers, but none of this year's releases has reached sell out levels. So far the District of Columbia cover has sold 11,695 units, and the Puerto Rico cover has sold 6,517 units.

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Guam Quarter 1,000-Coin Bags Back on Sale

Over the weekend, the US Mint put the Guam Quarter 1,000-Coin Bags back on sale. These options had been unavailable for nearly a month, causing some to wonder whether they would ever return.

The US Mint's Guam Quarter bags and rolls initially went on sale May 26, 2009. Just two days later, the Philadelphia and Denver Mint 1,000-coin bags both went off sale with the message "This product is temporarily unavailable."

The Guam 1,000-coin bags were particularly strong sellers right out of the gate. In the few days of availability, the US Mint had sold 1,431 Philadelphia bags and 1,247 Denver bags. This already exceeded the total number of 1,000-coin bags that the US Mint had sold for the District of Columbia (653 Philadelphia bags and 704 Denver bags) or Puerto Rico (1,047 Philadelphia bags and 953 Denver bags).

The Guam Quarter has the lowest mintage of the DC & US Territories Quarters series to date with only 45,000,000 coins minted at Philadelphia and 42,600,000 coins minted at Denver. This also represents the lowest mintage for a quarter since 1962. The US Mint's 1,000-coin bags represent the lowest premium method for buying the Guam Quarters directly from the US Mint. The US Mint also offers 100-coin bags from each mint and two roll sets, which contain one 40-coin roll from each mint.

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Are We Really That Brain Dead?

Americans must be totally stupid or we are in some sort of trance. So many of you are astonishingly easy to deceive, because you find it difficult to see the forest for the trees. Your visceral hatred of George W. Bush (often unfounded) has caused you to focus your attention completely on the presidential race while ignoring the Congress which is the real core at the heart of the majority of problems affecting the morale and morals of America today. Oh yes, Obama must go, but first we must eradicate the virus that is causing the disease that is consuming our nation. The only real "Change we can believe in" will NEVER come about until we clean out the scum, thieves, perverts, liars, cheats, and other flotsam and jetsam that make up our Congress.

Contrary to what many members of Congress would have you believe, Congress holds vastly more power then the Executive Branch. Do you realize what that means? Congress has given the green light to EVERY unconstitutional ACT that has come out of the Oval Office!

I am sorry for having to burst your bubble, but the truth of the matter is that NO President has the constitutional authority or power to do most of things that they are doing, have done or claim that they can do. The President can only ASK Congress to go along with their plans and wishes. That means that Congress could have PREVENTED everything that has taken place since Obama has been in office, and every unconstitutional act that has taken place under every presidential administration in the past. That means that Congress is directly responsible for the government takeover of Wall Street, banks, mortgage companies, GM, and they will also be responsible for the government takeover of our health care system. It is mostly Congress that has sold out America time and again. People like Ted Kennedy, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer, Chuck Schumer, Chris Dodd, Barney Frank,etc., who are far more interested in getting their sorry butts re-elected over and over again so that they can keep their cushy jobs and pad their bank accounts, then they are in the good of the American people and in protecting American sovereignty.

Our founding fathers NEVER intended our Congress to be a "lifetime" job. There are corrupt members of Congress that have sat on their fat butts, living off of the taxpayers' largess and padding their pockets with special interest money for 10, 20, 30, 40, and even 50 years, which means that our Congress has been deceiving us, lying to us, betraying our trust and selling us out for generations, without fear of reprisal. And not only have they NOT been held accountable for what they have done and are doing, but they have also been handsomely rewarded both financially and in prestige for their multitude of crimes.

There is no way that we are going to clean up and sanitize our government and save our country unless we get some smarts, grow a set and learn to realize that the true power lies with us, the PEOPLE, and we start acting like the true owners of this country. Remember people, those whom we elect to public office work for us, we do NOT work for them, and that holds true not only for the federal level, but all the way down to the State and local levels of government as well. We are the employers, therefore we set the rules. Congress works for WE THE PEOPLE, they do NOT work for big money corporations, bankers, insurance companies or other special interest groups. They work for US! We hired them through the voting booth and we damn well sure can fire them the same way.

I am pretty sure that if you owned a company, even a small one, you wouldn't keep employees and give them raises if you found out that they were lying to you over and over again, weren't doing the job you hired them to do, and to make matters worse, were actually working for your competitors, selling your butt down the river. Well that is exactly what you are doing when you keep re-electing the same crooks to Congress over and and over again, because the Federal Government IS your company, your corporation and ALL 535 members of Congress ARE your employees. By them taking bribes, campaign donations, etc., from big money corporations, banks and special interest groups, has allowed them to sell us out and permitting the special interest groups to accomplish a hostile takeover of our corporation (government) all the way from the top to the bottom.

Why the hell are we allowing this to continue? You FIRE employees who shaft you, you don't REWARD them. Get rid of the scum that are stinking up the Halls of Congress and selling out our country, destroying our Constitution and taking away our rights and freedoms. As long as you remain vigilant, you don't have to worry about their replacements turning out to be just as bad, because if the replacements know that you have your eye on them, they will be far less likely to do the things their predecessors did. And once we have cleaned out the Congress, the president will fall into line or he will either be voted out of office or removed through impeachment, but only if we show them that we will no longer put up with their crap any more.

Republicans, Democrats, Independents, etc., from the lowest levels to the highest echelons of elected office take the exact same oath of office, but very damn few of them even take it seriously, and they make a mockery of it and the Constitution of the United States. The oath reads as follows;

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter; so help me God."

Do you realize what this means? Very simply, it means that every time any member of Congress passes an unconstitutional law, statute, regulation; and every time a President signs such legislation into law, or anytime a Supreme Court Justice upholds such laws, they are in direct violation of their oath of office which is grounds for immediate impeachment and removal from office. The same holds true for any President or member of Congress who usurps powers NOT granted them under the Constitution of the United States.

Of the several reasons we have our elected officials take this oath, the main reason is to make it abundantly clear that the job for which we have hired them fulfill is to make sure that NOTHING unconstitutional takes place and that the Constitution, the Supreme Law of the Land, remains intact. If obeyed and upheld as intended, the Federal Government's ability to tax us, to regulate and assume total control over our lives, is vastly limited as the founding fathers intended. Also, strict adherence to their oath of office and the Constitution helps to prevent wealthy individuals from seizing control over the powers of government to use it and abuse it for their own personal gain. But over the years, Congress has abdicated their constitutional responsibilities, ceding the power of government over to nongovernmental, private corporate interests who have no allegiance to the Constitution, the nation, and certainly not to WE THE PEOPLE. Both of the major political parties are guilty and they have shredded the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. And when they have handed us over to a One World Global government, the will have "sealed the deal."

The only way to stop this treason, the only way to save the Union, the Constitutional Republic that our founding fathers put into place and our forefathers fought and died for, is for the American people, you and me, to STOP voting strictly for a particular political party and start voting for AMERICA! It is time that we stop re-electing crooks, liars, thieves, drunkards, sexual deviants and traitors; it is time that we start holding them accountable. Instead of allowing the scum to hijack our country and our political system, let us be the ones to reclaim our political system and our country and our Constitution by hijacking the upcoming election by exercising our power through our votes to make real and sweeping "Changes We Can Believe In."

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Take a second look at these US Mint Products

The summer doldrums seem to be setting in early. The frenzy for Ultra High Relief Double Eagles came and went. The mania for 2009 Lincoln Cents has subsided. The 2009 Proof Set went on sale and has already been received by many collectors. The wait for collectible Gold, Silver, and Platinum Eagles continues. Without any new US Mint products scheduled to be released until July, I wanted to write a post about some previously released US Mint products, which are worthy of a second look.

2008 Annual Uncirculated Dollar Coin Set

This set was originally released on August 7, 2008. It contains an uncirculated version of each dollar coin released by the US Mint during 2008. This includes the four 2008-P Presidential Dollars, the 2008-D Sacagawea Dollar, and the 2008-W American Silver Eagle.

The Presidential Dollars and Sacagawea Dollars are the satin finish versions, which are also included in the annual 2008 Mint Set (now sold out). The Silver Eagle is the collectible uncirculated version with the "W" mint mark (sold out as an individual option).

There are a few interesting aspects to this set. First, this set contains the only collectible American Eagle coin available from the United States Mint in any form. All other 2008 dated American Eagles have sold out long ago, and the 2009 dated coins remain in limbo. The 2008-W Silver Eagle currently has a combined total mintage around 500,000 (444,558 individual coin sales plus 66,521 and counting via the Uncircualted Dollar Coin Set). This is a fraction of the number of regular bullion coins minted for 2008 at 20,583,000, and also lower than the number of proof coins minted at 713,353.

As an added bonus, this set might be the source of potential errors. A Coin Network member reported finding a James Monroe Presidential Dollar with missing edge lettering. While missing edge lettering was common for early Presidential Dollar releases, by 2008 it became much less common and downright scarce for most issues. Are these sets a potential source for errors? I have not seen any other reports, but I would guess that people aren't taking a close look at the edges of the dollars.

The set is priced at $37.95 and the US Mint's product page can be found here.

2008 Silver Proof Set

This set was originally released on August 26, 2008. It contains a total of 14 proof coins, including 90% silver versions of the half dollar, quarters, and dime. This set was somewhat overshadowed by the unexpected sell out of the regular (clad) 2008 Proof Set, and the subsequent release of the 2009 Proof Sets.

Ever since the US Mint start issuing multiple variations of the proof set, such as the State Quarters Proof Set, Silver State Quarters Proof Set, and Presidential Dollars Proof Set, mintages for the full versions have showed declines. The 2008 Silver Proof Set currently shows sales of 765,076. Unless the sales rise significantly, this will be on the low end historically and below the levels for 2007 Silver Proof Set which sold about 875,000 units.

The sets are priced at $44.95 and the US Mint product page can be found here. Most likely these sets will go off sale when the 2009 Silver Proof Set is released this summer.

2009 Kennedy Half Bags and Rolls

These were released on January 22, 2009. The offerings include a 200 coin bag, which contains 100 coins from the Philadelphia Mint and 100 coins from the Denver Mint, and a two roll set, which contains one 20-coin roll from each mint.

Since 2002, the United States Mint has not released Kennedy Half Dollars for circulation. They have only been issued in proof sets, mint sets, and within US Mint packaged bags and rolls. On one hand this has resulted in extremely low mintages. On the other hand, nearly the entire mintage is held by coin collectors and dealers. This balance has kept prices mostly in check.

None of the US Mint issued bags and rolls of Kennedy Halves have ever really taken off in price, which seems to have contributed to waning interest in the products over the years. This year, most people have been focusing on the bags and rolls of Presidential Dollars and DC & US Territories Quarters, perhaps overlooking the Kennedy Halves even more so. Overlooked products have a way of emerging as winners later on. Could the 2009 Kennedy Halves become a sleeper hit?

The 200 coin bags are priced at $130.95 and can be found here. The Two Roll Sets are priced at $32.95 and can be found here. These will likely remain on sale until next year's bags and rolls are released.

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