Assorted quips and pics

President Obama...before you sign anything the new Congress passes consider that 63 percent of eligible voters didn't vote for these new representatives. 

The conservatives are hoping President Obama will do what Clinton did during his final years. Here is a list of things the Republican Congress gave to Clinton to sign that contributed to the mess we are in now. Please Obama don’t follow in Clinton's footsteps.

Balanced Budget Act of 1997
Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997
Iraq Liberation Act
Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act
Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act
Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000

The Koch’s plan to spend almost $900 million on the 2016 elections. If you still don’t think our Representatives are bought and paid for maybe this salient fact will change your mind.

"Approximately 41 million Americans now carry student debt, a figure which rose 40 percent between 2004 and 2012."  National Center for Education Statistics

51% of our nations children come from low income homes according to a study done by the Southern Education Foundation. 

University of Washington economist Dan Goldhaber has shown that nonschool factors such as family income account for 60% of achievement in school. 

Ken Bernstein highlights the point that poverty is the real issue, noting that, “US schools with less than 25% of their children in poverty perform as well as any nation [on international comparisons], and those with 10% or less of their children in poverty outperform Finland.”

Poverty is the real foe of an educated population and privatizing schools is not a cure for poverty.

There are no studies that confirm that charter schools are better than public schools. Private and charter schools can pick and choose their students...public schools are mandated to accept everyone.

Poverty is the real foe of an educated population.

"In 2012 there were 11,000 people killed in terrorist attacks, and 437,000 people killed in homicides." Vision of Humanity

See ya next week

Its a hotty

You probably already know that 2014 was the hottest year on record for the world. Scientists began taking note of the temperature in the 1880’s and since then 2014 gets the prize for the toastiest year. Thirteen of the hottest years have occurred since 2000.

Did you know that the median net worth of members of Congress in 2013 was $1,029,505?

Or that the Average American’s net worth is $56,355…these statistics were compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.

According to director Sheila Krumholz “Struggling Americans should not assume that their elected officials understand their circumstances.”

 The Center for Public Integrity says the American Petroleum Institute is spending more money lobbying the public than lobbying federal officials. In 2012 they paid $85.5 million to four public relations and advertising firms and only $7 million to lobby federal officials. According to the Center “public relations” work is not subject to federal disclosure rules. So when you see articles talking up expanding our Petroleum assets at least wonder for a moment who is behind the info.

Did you know that “at least 50 U.S. law enforcement agencies have secretly equipped their officers with radar devices that allow them to effectively peer through the walls of houses to see whether anyone is inside?” This is according to USA Today read the rest at this link http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/01/19/police-radar-see-through-walls/22007615/

Another bridge collapsed in Boehner’s backyard.

Did you know that closing your eyes when trying to remember something may help your recall?

Grey Kingbird eating Turpentine berries
Based on the latest evidence and theories our galaxy could be a huge wormhole and, if that were true, it could be "stable and navigable." Astrophysicists combined the equations of general relativity with an extremely detailed map of the distribution of dark matter in the Milky Way when proposing this possibility.

According to the Association for Psychological Science “Experiences of awe help to adjust our perception of time, influence our decisions and makes life feel more satisfying than it would otherwise.”  Don’t you all think that living on St. Croix with our green mountains and exquisite blue seas is a great way to start the day?What eye candy.

Think Progress learned that the official website for House Republicans has posted on Youtube a doctored version of President Obama’s State of the Union address which cuts out comments where the President was critical of Republican rhetoric on climate change. 

“I’ve heard some folks try to dodge the evidence by saying they’re not scientists; that we don’t have enough information to act. Well, I’m not a scientist, either. But you know what  — I know a lot of really good scientists at NASA, and NOAA, and at our major universities. The best scientists in the world are all telling us that our activities are changing the climate, and if we do not act forcefully, we’ll continue to see rising oceans, longer, hotter heat waves, dangerous droughts and floods, and massive disruptions that can trigger greater migration, conflict, and hunger around the globe. The Pentagon says that climate change poses immediate risks to our national security. We should act like it.” 

“That’s why, over the past six years, we’ve done more than ever before to combat climate change, from the way we produce energy, to the way we use it. That’s why we’ve set aside more public lands and waters than any administration in history. And that’s why I will not let this Congress endanger the health of our children by turning back the clock on our efforts. I am determined to make sure American leadership drives international action. In Beijing, we made an historic announcement  — the United States will double the pace at which we cut carbon pollution, and China committed, for the first time, to limiting their emissions. And because the world’s two largest economies came together, other nations are now stepping up, and offering hope that, this year, the world will finally reach an agreement to protect the one planet we’ve got.” President Obama Jan. 20,2015

i just thought that needed repeating.

See ya next week

St. Croix Pictures

Today is a busy day and i really don't have enough time to do justice to a blog about anything of significance.

Royal Terns

i decided to put in some of my pics from around the island that normally wouldn't find a place here.

Great Egret

                            The holidays presented lots of opportunity to snap away and i did.

                 So hope you enjoy the line up today and maybe next week i'll be more verbose.

                                                A friend... knitting... in the tropics...in her swim suit.

                                                        A Green Turtle skull.

                        An Immature Ovenbird we caught in mist nets at Sandy Point this month.

                                      This is that little shortcut road down to Gallows Bay.

                                                        The Frederiksted Library.

                                           The Roseway at anchor in Christiansted.

                                      An old rock wall along the shore in Frederiksted.

                                 A Great Blue Heron hanging out on the shore in Frederiksted.

Full waiting room at the Department of Motor Vehicles...the most frustrating place to spend time on St. Croix.

                                           A lovely double rainbow reflected in a Sandy Point pond.

                                                          Hiking to Jacks and Isaac's

                                         That gorgeous Buck Island clear water

                                                  End of the walk at Buck Island

                                                            Limin' at Buck Island

                                                             A little West End fun

                                                                   Where am i?
See ya next week

St. Croix 2015 Christmas Parade

The parade is always so colorful  i'll just let the pictures do the talking.

And that's just a few.

The rest of the ones that made it through the edit are on Flicker although backwards from the way the parade went...so if you are in the beginning of the parade pics will be at the end on Flicker.

If you see yourself on Flicker or here you should be able to double click and download it.

Enjoy.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/7584904@N07/
See ya next week.