Presidential Campaign Costs Since President Abraham Lincoln

Barack Obama spent $730 million getting to the White House in 2008—twice as much as George W. Bush spent 4 years earlier and more than 260 times what Abraham Lincoln spent in his first election (as measured in 2011 dollars). Looking at the total costs of presidential elections over the past 150 years, it would seem that the White House is the ultimate recession-proof commodity. Full Story here

The Melting Spoon

How many of you mess around with your friends from time to time?  No, I'm not talking that kind of mess. Get your mind out of the gutter!  I'm talking with your friend's minds by playing a trick on them.  Geez, this is not coming out the way I want. ugh. LOL.

Okay, let's start over.  Have you ever played a mind-trick on someone by using a deck of cards, money, or other type of object?  Well, I have, but I've never tried this one.  Watch as this spoon (pictured) disintegrates as it is stirred in water.  How does it work?  The metal is made of pure 99.99% Gallium which melts at 86°F.  Pretty interesting, heh?  Well, you can actually do it yourself by going to DisappearingSpoons.com and buying a DIY kit.  Check it out.

I Quote That - Being Single

Back In The Day - Yoko Ono, Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minnelli, Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston

Wow, truly a blast from the past.  Here's a shot of Yoko Ono, Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minnelli, Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston from back in the day.

two of these stars are not like the other - R.I.P. Elizabeth, Michael, and Whitney

Cyanide and Happiness: Results

Oh No They Didn't!

No, that is not Madonna in that video below.  That's a Brazilian drag queen about to perform a recreation of Madonna's entire Superbowl performance complete with Nicki Minaj, LMFAO, and M.I.A. stunt doubles.  Everything was fine and dandy until they got to the Cee Lo Green part, because we all know Cee Lo is definitely not this hot, muscle-y Brazilian stud, pictured here.  LOL.

In either case, if you have 13 minutes of your day to spend watching some drag show that isn't RuPaul's Drag Race, go right ahead.  I just skipped through the parts I thought were okay.

Isn't This The Truth? Truths For Mature Humans

WTF Has Obama Done? - Issue No. 017 - Natural Disasters & Emergencies

You don't need me to remind you of the costliest natural disaster on American soil and the blunder surrounding the Bush presidency when it came to the handling of Hurricane Katrina,  I think everyone remembers that.  This is why President Obama made it a priority when he got into office to order an extensive review of hurricane and natural disaster preparedness.  He enforced this policy and has made national disasters and emergencies one of his top priorities, along with everything else under his belt.

The president has also provided an additional policy in restoring our gulf coast, three sources of funding and three targeted actions.  Some of which include rebuilding our fire stations, the incomes that were lost during the BP oil spill and those hurt by drilling. I will share those in future issues of WTF Has Obama Done?.

WTF-50

Ordered an extensive review of hurricane and natural disaster preparedness.

With the still-fresh memory of Hurricane Katrina lingering over it all, Obama joined with two other men in Bloomberg and Christie who knew what was at stake when it became clear that Hurricane Irene was going to work its way up the East Coast in August 2011.

Dealing with disasters from a political perspective is never easy, because there will always be problems and no response is going to make everyone happy. But there are some things that can be done.

For Obama, the name of the game was avoiding surprises and making sure everyone knew just how serious he was taking things.

To that end, Obama allowed cameras into his meeting with FEMA director Craig Fugate and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano before the storm hit and cut his vacation a day short to get back to Washington, D.C. Making sure people know that you’re working is part of the battle, and the White House made sure people saw Obama with his sleeves rolled up even before things got rough. [Reference-1]

***

The Obama administration Monday delivered to Congress the nation's first Quadrennial Homeland Security Review, defining homeland security for the first time as including hazards beyond terrorism, in a strategic document intended to drive long-term budget decisions. 

Congress mandated the high-level strategic review in 2007, two years after Hurricane Katrina exposed failings in the government's response and four years after the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. The initiative was modeled after the Quadrennial Defense Review, another congressionally mandated effort that directed the Defense Department to reset its strategies and budgets against evolving threats every four years.  [Reference-2, Reference-3]

WTF-51

Provided $210 Million for building and upgrading fire stations.

You can never be too prepared . . . and that's why firefighters and other first responders should take notice of the millions of dollars the government has made available to emergency management and homeland security agencies. According to Jamie Thompson, editor for FireRescue1.com, "the [stimulus] package includes $210 million for modifying, upgrading, or constructing fire stations." [Reference-1, Reference-2]

The “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009” will create opportunities for public safety agencies across the country to ramp up hiring, obtain equipment and upgrade technologies. Forward-thinking public safety agencies should be planning now for how best to position their programs to take advantage of these opportunities.  This includes $210 million for modifying, upgrading or building new fire stations; $1 billion allocated to the Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) for grant distribution to state and local law enforcement; and $2 billion for the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Program.  [Reference-3]

WTF-52

Haiti Economic Lift Program Act of 2010.

Senators passed the Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP) Act (H.R. 5160) on May 6, 2010 by Voice Vote.  It was introduced by Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-IA).

Since the bill has already been passed by the House and was not amended in the Senate, it now goes to President Obama for his signature.

According to a joint press release, it would “help create sustainable support for Haiti’s economy by expanding tariff benefits for certain Haitian textile and apparel exports to the United States.”  

More specifically, it would “expand duty-free access to the U.S. market for Haitian textile and apparel exports and extend existing trade preference programs for Haiti through 2020.”

Additional details here.  [Reference-1, Reference-2]

I promise to come back to this topic in another issue, until then, please feel free to read my previous issues by clicking here.

Make sure to read the next issue
Issue No. 018 - National Service

WTF Has Obama Done is an ongoing series posted daily or weekly on BLADE 7184 until Election Day, 2012!

Must Watch: Rick and Steve

If you have never seen Rick and Steve, you should. Ryan and I watched it every week on Logo back in 2007.  It only ran for two seasons; Season one had 6 episodes and season two had 8.  You can rent them on Amazon or buy the DVDs, either way you'll have a laugh at our silly little gay world. :-)

The show follows the lives of three gay couples, the couple on show's title, Rick and Steve, Chuck and Evan, and Dana and Kirsten- as they live in the fictional gay ghetto of West Lahunga Beach and interact with their friends and family. 

The title is ironic, as all three of the main couples have typical "couple issues" — including Steve actively seeking a three-way with Rick and another man, Kirsten and Dana deciding to have a baby with Rick's sperm, and Chuck and Evan simply trying to be together despite a 31 year age difference between them.

The show is noted particularly for its use of an adult-oriented and "politically incorrect" style of humor, similar in some respects to that of South Park and Family Guy. [Wikipedia]

Here's a clip from the show and another after the jump:

The Biblical Truth About Marriage...

How many of you know that if I was to rape a virgin, she would be obligated to marry me, and in turn, I'd have to pay her father because she isn't worth anything to him anymore. Yeah, you can read that in Deuteronomy.  Or how about if your husband died and you had yet to bear a child?  Did you know you are required to marry his brother, and submit yourself to his sexual advances? Yep, yep - you can read that in Genesis.  

But you know what they're telling you?  The same thing I was told when I was raised in the church, that the Old Testament doesn't mean a damn thing today, it was replaced with the New Testament when Jesus came to be.  We are only to use the Old Testament as an example.  Oh really?  An example?  And what an exemplary example it is.

Keep in mind, that Jesus never said a single word about gays, but Jesus actually condemns those who condemn others and told us NOT TO JUDGE OTHERS (Matt 7:1-5).

What My Wife Means When She Says "The Thing"

Temporal Distortion

If you're a lover of the stars, the galaxy, or science fiction, you will love this video by Randy Halverson. What you're about to see is real, and cannot be seen with the naked eye.
The video contains hours and hours of edited footage spliced together which allows you to see The Milky Way, Aurora and other phenomena you would otherwise witness in your lifetime.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

What About Jelly Fish?

Hey, those were my thoughts exactly. LOL.

For About $20, You Could Buy...

So which foods are you choosing?  For the past couple of months, Ryan and I have stopped eating at Fast Food restaurants.  And during this time we've managed to save more and buy more.  I'm glad we're doing this, it makes our time together far greater than it already was.

Professional Finger Skateboarder

I never really was a skateboarding fan.  I had friends that enjoyed it, but I just couldn't get the hang of it.  Some people were born to Cook, some to Skateboard. LOL.

But this video takes skateboarding to a whole new level - fingerboarding.  Yep, you read that correctly - "Finger" boarding.

I'd have to say, Taylor Rosenbauer really intrigued me with this video.  The thought of replicating what a person can do on a board in a miniature sized skate park by using his finger, is darn impressive.  Check it out, it's pretty cool, and he did a super job of taping and editing the video as well.

Politics 101: The Dark Side of the U.S. Presidency

Yes, as hard as it is to admit, this chart reveals some pretty interesting facts you might have never known about some of our previous Presidents.  Oh, and yes, George Washington and 7 other presidents owned slaves by the hundreds.

Cyanide and Happiness: Adopted

I Found A Wrong Way To Eat A Reese's!!!

LOL, I couldn't keep from laughing when I saw this, it is absolutely hilarious.  If you have never seen the movie, Human Centipede, you will not get it.  But if you have, I'm sure you're ROFL.

What a Hot Mess: Bicyclists Take Matters Into Their Own Hands

I don't know if you've noticed, but bicyclists have had some really bad days recently. First the following note was left to a bike thief on Valentine's day; only to get an even more embarrassing one in return.

Then there's this poor bicyclist in the video below.  He was literally pushed out of the way by a driver in a small, gray car.  The bicyclist wasn't haven't any of it, so he ripped of the driver's side view mirror and rode off.  What a hot mess. Lol.  For those who don't know, bicyclists have the right of way on our city streets.  They take a place of a car if they are in front of you.  What would you have done?

Things We Can Do To Save The Environment - Issue No. 05: Pay the Carbon Tax

The Global Warming Survival Guide

Reducing carbon emissions around the world is one of the many "Things We Can Do To Save The Environment".  Giving credit to TIME,  I'd like to thank them for showing us the many ways we can meet these goals of saving our environment.  And yes, even one person can make a difference, and it starts with YOU! - Peter aka Blade7184
 

5. Pay the Carbon Tax

Everyone agrees that it's necessary to reduce carbon emissions around the world. There is less agreement over exactly how nations should go about achieving a more carbon-free planet. Hence, the environmental equivalent of Elvis vs. the Beatles: cap-and-trade carbon emissions, or impose a carbon tax on all users? With cap-and-trade programs, governments limit the level of carbon that can be emitted by an industry. Companies that hold their emissions below the cap can sell their remaining allowance on a carbon market, while companies that exceed their limit must purchase credits on that market. Carbon taxes are more straightforward: a set tax rate is placed on the consumption of carbon in any form—fossil-fuel electricity, gasoline—with the idea that raising the price will encourage industries and individuals to consume less. 

At the moment, cap-and-trade has the upper hand, since it serves as the backbone of the current Kyoto Protocol, and helped the U.S. reduce acid rain in the 1990s—but don't write off the tax just yet.  Supporters of the tax argue that a cap-and-trade system, especially one that would be global enough to mitigate the 8 billion tons of carbon the world now emits, would be too difficult to administer—and too easily gamed by industries looking to sidestep emissions caps. Cap-and-trade advocates counter that like all other flat taxes, a carbon levy would disproportionately burden lower-income families, who spend a greater percentage of their income on energy than rich households.

So which system will have the largest impact on carbon consumption? A 10% flat carbon tax might reduce the demand for carbon about 5% or less, according to an analysis by the Carbon Tax Center, an environmental advocacy group. That may not be enough. Businesses and governments haven't figured out how the two competing regimes can work together, but in the end, the world may need both.

Make sure to follow Blade 7184 every Tuesday for a new issue of Things We Can Do To Save The Environment.  Each issue is thought-provoking, informative and may hold the key to saving your children and grandchildren's future