General Discussion, Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Posted on January 18, 2016 by Stella

StJoeLighthouse

 

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106 Responses to General Discussion, Tuesday, January 19, 2016

  1. MaryfromMarin's avatar MaryfromMarin says:
    January 19, 2016 at 12:56 am

    I’ve seen that ice picture before, stella, but it always amazes me.

    Good morning, everyone. “This is the day that the LORD has made–let us rejoice and be glad in it”. [Psalm 118:24]

    (With thanks to Plain Jane over at Monday’s CTH O/T, who reminded me of this quote.)

    Liked by 5 people

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  2. Monroe's avatar Monroe says:
    January 19, 2016 at 12:56 am

    first?

    Liked by 3 people

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  3. MaryfromMarin's avatar MaryfromMarin says:
    January 19, 2016 at 1:00 am

    An excellent cautionary tale (long, but definitely worth the read):

    The Alienork Way

    https://westernrifleshooters.wordpress.com/2016/01/18/bracken-the-alienork-way/

    Liked by 2 people

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  4. MaryfromMarin's avatar MaryfromMarin says:
    January 19, 2016 at 1:55 am

    Okay, totally mundane question: any recommendations on dehydrators?

    Money is a bit of an issue, but will pay what’s necessary for a decent one.

    Liked by 2 people

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  5. lovely's avatar lovely says:
    January 19, 2016 at 7:29 am

    Good morning, beautiful day to everyone 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

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  6. WeeWeed's avatar WeeWeed says:
    January 19, 2016 at 8:07 am

    Mornin’ kids! Some days I just wonder if we’re doomed….. 🙄

    Liked by 5 people

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  7. nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
    January 19, 2016 at 8:28 am

    “Warning: Just move on if you have an aversion to posts about killing mice.”

    Wake up plebians! Breakfast! Shower and shave of back is optional!

    Liked by 5 people

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  8. Stella's avatar stella says:
    January 19, 2016 at 8:40 am

    Good morning! Stay warm and snuggly!

    Liked by 2 people

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  9. Stella's avatar stella says:
    January 19, 2016 at 8:45 am

    I have one of these, and a couple of similar ones that they sell which have fleece on one size. They are huge for throws, very warm, machine washable, and I highly recommend them. Have also given as gifts.

    http://www.eddiebauer.com/product/down-throw—solid/H2174151/_/A-ebSku_0211967632__H2174151_catalog10002_en__US?showProducts=&backToCat=Blankets%20_%20Throws&previousPage=GNAV&tab=home&color=632

    http://eddiebauer.scene7.com/is/image/EddieBauer/0211967_933C1?$xlarge$

    Liked by 2 people

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  10. WeeWeed's avatar WeeWeed says:
    January 19, 2016 at 8:48 am

    Dale Griffin, drummer for Mott The Hoople, has died (who knew Bowie wrote and sang back up on “All The Young Dudes?”) Your bit of trivia for today – you’re welcome.

    Liked by 3 people

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  11. Stella's avatar stella says:
    January 19, 2016 at 9:02 am

    Has anybody else seen this? (It showed up in my news feed on my email account).

    http://www.buzzfeed.com/mckaycoppins/the-trials-and-triumphs-of-heidi-cruz#.rl5vN21OG

    The Trials And Triumphs Of Heidi Cruz

    Around 10 p.m. on the night of Aug. 22, 2005, the Austin Police Department dispatched Officer Joel Davidson to an intersection a couple miles west of the Texas city’s downtown. A passerby had called to report that a woman in a pink shirt was sitting on the ground near the MoPac Expressway with her head in her hands, and no sign of a vehicle nearby. When the officer arrived, he found the woman on a swath of grass between an onramp and the freeway. She said her name was Heidi Cruz.

    According to a police report recently obtained by BuzzFeed News, Officer Davidson proceeded to question Cruz, whose husband, Ted, was then serving as Texas solicitor general. He asked what she was doing by the expressway; she replied that she lived on nearby Hartford Street, and “had been walking around the area.” She went on to tell Davidson that she was not on any medication and that she hadn’t been drinking, aside from “two sips of a margarita an hour earlier with dinner.” He wrote that he “did not detect any signs of intoxication.”

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    • WeeWeed's avatar WeeWeed says:
      January 19, 2016 at 9:05 am

      😯 Is she a loon?

      Liked by 1 person

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      • Stella's avatar stella says:
        January 19, 2016 at 9:16 am

        I don’t think so. It’s actually a very good, fair, article. She was apparently the rising star in their marriage until she quit her high power job in Washington (working directly for Condoleeza Rice), to return to Austin to support Ted’s career. Austin was much more old-fashioned – not much of a place for a career woman.

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      • michellc's avatar michellc says:
        January 19, 2016 at 9:41 am

        That’s why I love you Wee, you don’t split hairs. 🙂

        Aside from her crazy, this article if true, highlights what is wrong with our political system. Political ambitions benefiting you. I for one am sick of people benefiting from their political office. I saw a commercial last night from our congressman, rarely saw commercials before he became a congressman when he just owned and ran a plumbing business. Not long though after he became a congressman his business expanded to being a plumbing and HVAC company. Now I learn from his latest commercial, the one that played half a dozen times while I watched a 30 minute show, that his business is now a plumbing, HVAC and electrical company. I looked up last night the requirements to become an electrical contractor in Oklahoma and found it interesting that he could have accomplished all this while splitting his time between D.C. and running his business and making commercials(there are a lot of them, you can’t turn on the tv without seeing his face telling you to call him for all your plumbing, HVAC and now electrical needs) and parading all over with his wife in her new fancy vehicle and him in his new truck acting like they’re celebrities. I don’t think I’m really that far out there to think that just maybe his position is giving him a pass on what regular folks must do to become a contractor.
        12,000 Verifiable Hours on the job experience in electrical construction work
        Proof of 4,000 hours experience as licensed Unlimited electrical journeyman
        6,000 hours must be in commercial industrial work obtained while employed by a licensed electrical contractor
        2,000 hours maximum may be satisfied by formal electrical education
        Passed the residential or unlimited journeyman electrical examination

        Liked by 4 people

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        • WeeWeed's avatar WeeWeed says:
          January 19, 2016 at 9:45 am

          You’re exactly right, Michelle. I think politics should be exactly like jury duty. WITH the same age limitations, English requirements and fines if you don’t show up.

          Liked by 3 people

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          • michellc's avatar michellc says:
            January 19, 2016 at 9:59 am

            And their retirement should be based on their assets. If they come in broke and leave millionaires we shouldn’t have to pay them for the rest of their sorry lives.

            Liked by 4 people

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          • michellc's avatar michellc says:
            January 19, 2016 at 10:05 am

            I’ve had some who can’t see he’s not who he sold himself as try to tell me I’m jealous of his success.
            I applaud success, and I’ve never been one who cared what others have. Where I have the problem is when I send you to Washington to work for us and you go to Washington and work for yourself. I didn’t help to get him elected the first time(I refused to vote for him the second time not only because of his personal gain but him aligning with establishment) in order for him to expand his bank account.

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        • nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
          January 19, 2016 at 10:14 am

          Not knowing anything about his business structure, but perhaps he got a business partner with the required hours?

          Liked by 1 person

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          • michellc's avatar michellc says:
            January 19, 2016 at 10:49 am

            Not according to the records.
            In addition when he was first running he would harp on regulations and then say how the plumbing business wasn’t as highly regulated as other fields like the HVAC that he would never want to be part of because of how highly regulated they are. Yet within his first two years his business expanded to HVAC.

            He did lose the support of some of us that worked closely with him. Probably because unlike others we sat and had one on one conversations with him. Being lied to across your dining room table makes it a little harder to swallow.

            It’s not even just about his sudden business expansion or how obvious it is that his entire family is suddenly a lot better off. That ticks me off, but what ticks me off more is his voting record and his coziness with the establishment that he was going to go to D.C. and fight.

            Liked by 2 people

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        • nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
          January 19, 2016 at 10:27 am

          There are roughly 2040 billable hours per year if you calculate 40 hours per week (not counting holidays). So that translates to:
          6 Verifiable years on the job experience in electrical construction work
          Proof of 2 years experience as licensed Unlimited electrical journeyman
          3 years must be in commercial industrial work obtained while employed by a licensed electrical contractor
          1 year maximum may be satisfied by formal electrical education

          The HVAC work might have given him the electrical requirements (I have no idea if you can do that in your state).

          I’ve known a few small business owners that play games with the rules like that to expand sales, but they don’t have much success in the long run since they don’t understand it the “service” part that drives sales in the first place.

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          • lovely's avatar lovely says:
            January 19, 2016 at 10:40 am

            There are roughly 2040 billable hours per year if you calculate 40 hours per week (not counting holidays). So that translates to:

            One year in congress. I believe it is the congressional clause

            😉

            Liked by 2 people

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          • michellc's avatar michellc says:
            January 19, 2016 at 11:07 am

            I do know there is a way in the HVAC part to get a plumbing contractor’s license. It comes from being able to use the gas piping as part of your plumbing experience. I’ve known HVAC companies who have done it.

            I’m not sure on the other way around.
            It is something I think he should explain, but I doubt anyone will ask the question. Not many seem that curious about it.
            To be honest I probably wouldn’t be either except I remember how adamant he was about having no desire to be part of any of the other trades and due to his overload on commercials. No other business runs as many different commercials as him. It’s impossible to watch television at anytime of the day or night and not see half dozen of his commercials always with him doing the talking. Heck, even if I still liked him I would be sick of seeing his face.
            Just the comparison of plumbing commercials before he became a congressman to now would make most people just a little curious I would think. Plus, the way his commercials changed to only showing him. They almost sound like a campaign commercial, I’m MarkWayne Mullin, then goes into plumbing tips, HVAC tips, electrical tips and call Mullin Plumbing for all your plumbing, HVAC and electrical needs.

            As for the service end I do know he has hired mechanical journeymen and electrical journeymen so I’m sure they’re the brains behind the service end. So on the bright side he’s creating jobs. lol

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          • michellc's avatar michellc says:
            January 19, 2016 at 11:13 am

            Oh and I’m sure part of his wanting to expand is because he does a lot of work for the Indians, much of it federal money and it’s more money for him if when they’re redoing a house or adding onto a building or building a new building and instead of just getting the plumbing contract he can now get the HVAC and electrical as well.

            That was an issue for him during his first campaign because he did a lot of work that he was paid for through the stimulus money.
            I kind of thought once he became a congressman that he would quit doing the federal work, but he did face an ethics review and it was determined it was ethical because it was his personal business bidding on contracts and he wasn’t given contracts because he was a congressman.

            Liked by 1 person

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            • nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
              January 19, 2016 at 11:48 am

              While I’d like more money coming in myself, I see more pitfalls having government clients than I would want to deal with. Dealing with government regulated industries is bad enough.

              Liked by 1 person

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              • Stella's avatar stella says:
                January 19, 2016 at 11:55 am

                Doing business with government procurement or government contractors is an eye opener.

                Liked by 1 person

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              • michellc's avatar michellc says:
                January 19, 2016 at 12:26 pm

                A lot of contractors around here love the Indians. They have deep pockets even if some if not much of it comes from the taxpayers and there are several tribes to choose from.

                From the way I understand how it works is anything over $5000 requires bids and if you get on their list as a contractor anything under $5000 they can send out to who they choose.
                So if they have a house they are redoing for an Indian and that house needs a hot water tank and the plumbing repaired and the tribe estimates that at $4000, they can send the paperwork to a plumbing company on their list and see if they will do the job for that amount. Then that same house needs new HVAC equipment for $4500 they can choose which company to send that to. Then it needs a new panel and new electrical ran to the HVAC equipment for $4900 then again they don’t have to send it out for bids and can choose the company. So if you’re on that list you can get all of the money instead of just part of the money.
                Now if you’re a U.S. congressman who happens to own a business that does it all and you can scratch their back in Congress by pushing for more money to go to the Indians then those same Indians just might send you more of those no-bid jobs.

                Now I’m not saying that is going on because I have no evidence it is, but imho it doesn’t look good for a U.S. congressman to continue doing work for them.
                I do know he still does because I saw his vans sitting in the parking lot of an Indian clinic and I saw his employees unloading a new A/C off of one of those vans.

                I also realize we’re talking thousands and not millions of dollars, but the Indians do a lot of things from residential, clinics, office buildings, casinos, hospitals, etc. They’re always building something or remodeling something.

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                • nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
                  January 19, 2016 at 12:56 pm

                  The 2040 billable hours per year is for a one man small business. If he has employees and vans then he could very well meet all requirements for his licenses. I do understand that you’re not liking that in the past he said negative things about some industry before he started making money in it. There is still a stigma out there in the business world that if you have public sector clients that you sell to, then you are an unsavory character.

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                  • michellc's avatar michellc says:
                    January 19, 2016 at 2:48 pm

                    I talked to a friend of mine who owns a plumbing business and asked him about Oklahoma’s law. He told me that about 5 years ago he hired a guy who had a journeyman’s license in plumbing and HVAC. So he got to thinking about expanding so he checked into it and the employee had enough hours to test out for his contractor’s license but in order for his business to use that license he would have to make him an equal partner. That he then asked about him getting the HVAC license and was told by the CIB that he would have to first get a journeyman’s license by having a licensed contractor sign off on he had the hours working in the HVAC field then would have to have the journeyman’s license for amount of time sufficient to apply for the test to get his contractor’s license.
                    He said he wasn’t comfortable with giving away half his company and didn’t have the time to work for someone else and run his business so he soon gave up on the idea.

                    I had no problem with him getting stimulus money before he became a congressman. I agreed with him he was running a business and he had to make payroll, so you get the work you can get.
                    My problem is the appearance of a congressman getting money from someone that they could assist in D.C.
                    In addition to the fact that although you weren’t destitute before you became a congressman that in less than 4 years as a congressman your business has tripled in size and your assets have more than doubled.
                    Why were you content with just a plumbing business until you became a congressman when you were doing well enough that you could have attempted to do that? What suddenly changed your mind and how did you do it so quickly while spending much of your time in D.C.?
                    Why did you and your wife drive used vehicles until you became a congressman and now both of you buy a new expensive vehicle every year?
                    Not many businesses grow that fast especially in those trades that usually take years to build a client base after years of working for someone else.

                    Liked by 1 person

                  • nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
                    January 19, 2016 at 3:06 pm

                    Yeah, sounds like access to public resources is what has been more profitable than hard work.

                    Like

                  • michellc's avatar michellc says:
                    January 19, 2016 at 3:47 pm

                    If he had been a congressman for years I wouldn’t think anything of it. However, he was elected in 2012, he hasn’t even finished two terms yet.

                    Nobody pays attention to who he sides with in D.C., which honestly ticks me off more than anything. Heck if he benefited our country while benefiting himself it would be a little more forgivable. lol

                    Honestly though I’m more mad at myself. I trusted him and believed he was going to be different. I don’t like to be lied to but I hate it when I let myself get fooled. Now we’re stuck with him until he decides to hang up his hat. I just hope he didn’t lie about that too and will leave after his third term.

                    Liked by 1 person

        • lovely's avatar lovely says:
          January 19, 2016 at 10:35 am

          I just finished reading the article and it I found two things interesting.

          The highly redacted “General Occurrence” document is interesting. I think the un-redacted portion which states Officer Davidson found Heidi to be a danger to herself was left in by mistake. That in most states can only mean that she was actively suicidal. It looks like he asked her if she was thinking of killing herself by walking into traffic. That said this could have been a one time depressive episode for Heidi and she may now be as the article states on solid footing.

          The second thing that came cross was the Cruzes’ ambitions and manipulations of their lives in order to achieve power.

          “She really knew where she wanted to go, and was all about getting there,” said Ed Haley, a Claremont professor who became Cruz’s mentor. They would meet often to discuss her career goals, and to talk through and tweak her various ladder-climbing strategies. “If you look over the past 50 or 75 years of the U.S. foreign policy establishment, most of those who are appointed into high positions are lawyers. Heidi and I discussed this a great deal,” he said. “That’s the mold.” But she had little interest in being a lawyer; she wanted her private-sector training to be in business. So, they discussed which corporate skill sets might best position her for a job in a future administration, and she settled on finance.

          The way the article is written it appear that the entire road to the quest for the White House has been a calculated journey or “measured risk” to use Heidi’s words.

          Again Cruz is very off putting to me personally but that is slightly subjective, reading this article makes me feel like my personal view of him is a little more objective and supported by more facts. I think when your dad believes you are anointed in some way, and when you are as gifted in the brain as Cruz (Ted claims that he has an audio graphic memory) you have to be very careful with the reality of who you are.

          Liked by 2 people

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          • michellc's avatar michellc says:
            January 19, 2016 at 11:20 am

            I kind of focused in on how having her husband there helped her to get business.

            The anointed king stuff has been creepy to me since I first learned of it.

            I’m starting to think they both have skeletons in the closet that haven’t been found yet.

            Liked by 2 people

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      • texan59's avatar texan59 says:
        January 19, 2016 at 10:42 pm

        Most people have forgotten the story of Dewhurst’s last wife. They lived outside of Fredeicksburg and she got snot-slingin’ drunk one night got t-boned and rolled the Benz. He sent her packin’ within a month or two. He was just climbing the ladder then. Before he got his *ss knocked off it. 😆

        http://amarillo.com/stories/1999/07/14/tex_LD0663.001.shtml

        Liked by 1 person

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    • nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
      January 19, 2016 at 9:09 am

      It’s obviously the pink shirt.

      Liked by 3 people

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    • Monroe's avatar Monroe says:
      January 19, 2016 at 2:22 pm

      The redacted Heidi police report was posted in the comments on a CTH thread several days ago.

      Liked by 1 person

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  12. Stella's avatar stella says:
    January 19, 2016 at 9:50 am

    Ted Cruz’s shifting opinions on birth right citizenship in the 14th amendment (tweeted by Trump):

    Liked by 3 people

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    • lovely's avatar lovely says:
      January 19, 2016 at 12:05 pm

      This is exactly what I don’t like about Cruz. Cruz gave a speech where he said “Trump is feeling rattled. He goes down in the polls and he gets rattled and goes on the attack.” “Look I’m not going to go on the attack”

      Wait what?

      Cruz is an arrogant self serving man who just insulted Trump by saying Trump’s temperament is so tenuous that he becomes rattled by a slight dip in the polls and then Cruz says almost in the same breath that he is not going to go after Trump personally.

      I personally find this kind of arrogance, trying to be sly, getting an insult in and then proclaiming himself above the fray very telling of Cruz’s character.

      Liked by 2 people

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  13. WeeWeed's avatar WeeWeed says:
    January 19, 2016 at 9:53 am

    Guess whose birthday is today?? 😉

    Liked by 4 people

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  14. Stella's avatar stella says:
    January 19, 2016 at 10:22 am

    //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

    Liked by 2 people

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  15. auscitizenmom's avatar auscitizenmom says:
    January 19, 2016 at 10:45 am

    This is a link some of you might want to save. It is a link to articles on Benghazi. I believe this along with Sundance’s articles on CTH probably cover every detail of the Benghazi story.
    https://sharylattkisson.com/benghazi-links/

    Like

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  16. lovely's avatar lovely says:
    January 19, 2016 at 11:08 am

    The Levinson family found out that their dad/husband was left behind in Iran by watching television. The Obama administration didn’t even have the tinniest sliver of compassion and let the Levison family know that their loved one wasn’t included in the exchange.

    Bastage Iranians are now saying that they don’t have him.

    http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/18/opinions/moriarty-levinson-family/

    Liked by 2 people

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    • Stella's avatar stella says:
      January 19, 2016 at 11:23 am

      Interesting. He has two big announcement rallies today in Iowa. The first one is about to begin.

      Liked by 3 people

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      • lovely's avatar lovely says:
        January 19, 2016 at 11:26 am

        Man imagine the collective implosion if Palin endorses Trump and Sessions endorses Trump, also there is speculation that Jerry Falwell Jr. will endorse him today.

        I imagine there would be so many stumpy feet that there would be a cosmic shift if all three of them endorsed Trump in one day.

        Liked by 2 people

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  19. nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
    January 19, 2016 at 1:30 pm

    Black Tot Last Consignment – Royal Naval Rum $791.33

    The name ‘Black Tot’ stems from July 31st 1970 when a 300-year-old Royal Naval tradition ended at precisely 6 bells in the forenoon watch (11am) when the last rum ration was issued aboard ships of the British Royal Navy – a day to be forever remembered as Black Tot Day.

    https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/p/12109/black-tot-last-consignment-royal-naval-rum

    Liked by 4 people

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    • auscitizenmom's avatar auscitizenmom says:
      January 19, 2016 at 6:42 pm

      Rum! Yum!

      Liked by 2 people

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    • Col.(R) Ken's avatar Col.(R) Ken says:
      January 19, 2016 at 8:58 pm

      Nye, A sad day!!! Always had great times serving with the Brits’. Especially the lads who hike the Highlands!
      On another issue, I want too Thankyou for sending a sizable snow storm across the country. This storm should touch us all. Locally looking at a couple of inches (-3), or the big dump (10+).
      Your IT fingerprints are all over this. NOAA using the European or American model, hey who cares what model just get it right!!

      Liked by 4 people

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  20. texan59's avatar texan59 says:
    January 19, 2016 at 9:28 pm

    Sometimes the stoopid is just too much. This idjit pays $336k/year in child support. And I thought my ex was rough with just one. 🙄

    http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/whoa-baby-antonio-cromartie-pays-dollar336000-a-year-in-child-support/ar-BBorogh?li=BBnba9I

    Liked by 3 people

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    • nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
      January 19, 2016 at 9:36 pm

      8 children with 7 mothers? Does he just get so drunk he forgets which house is his or what?

      Liked by 3 people

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      • texan59's avatar texan59 says:
        January 19, 2016 at 9:51 pm

        I’d sober up writing $28K/ month in support. 😉

        Liked by 3 people

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        • Stella's avatar stella says:
          January 19, 2016 at 9:56 pm

          You would think he’d learn after the first couple of times ….

          Liked by 1 person

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        • nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
          January 19, 2016 at 9:58 pm

          But that the beauty of the electronic age. Automatic garnishment. He never sees it, just like Fed payroll taxes. He just has to play football for the next 25 years and then he’ll be a free man.

          Like

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          • texan59's avatar texan59 says:
            January 19, 2016 at 10:10 pm

            According to one of the comment I read, his checks go to a CPA firm and he lives off an allowance. Drives a Prius and has no posse that he has to support…..other than the kids.

            Liked by 1 person

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            • Col.(R) Ken's avatar Col.(R) Ken says:
              January 20, 2016 at 12:30 am

              How about Ray Ray Lewis? And the running back in Wisconsin? There is quite a few of these model citizens around.
              Though my X is a professional (Medical Doctor), and I paid for her Medical school, I did contributed to some expenses, in addition to college. She left, deserted. Now I need to pour a cup of coffee with a whiskey topping………

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