RANDOM SHOTS - Pet Ducks And Getting %$#@&*!

FIRST SHOT!

The Ducks come later, first let's talk about a Christian being picked on because of her faith!

Student ordered to remove cross necklace at California college

An official at Sonoma State University ordered a student working at a freshman orientation fair to remove or hide a cross necklace on two separate occasions.

The unnamed official feared that other students could be offended by the two-inch-long symbol of Christianity.

The first of the two incidents occurred at the public school in Northern California’s wine country on June 27, reports Fox News.

The official, an orientation supervisor, warned Sonoma State student Audrey Jarvis that “the chancellor” enforced a policy against wearing religious items.

“The chancellor” is presumably Timothy P. White, the chancellor of the entire 23-school California State University system.

According to Hiram Sasser, an attorney representing Jarvis, the supervisor advised the practicing Catholic “that she could not wear her cross necklace because it might offend others, it might make incoming students feel unwelcome.”

Jarvis, 19, said she was floored by the explanation.

“I was offended because I believe as a Christian woman it is my prerogative to display my faith any way I like so long as it is not harming anyone else,” she told Fox News.

“I was very hurt and felt as if the university’s mission statement — which includes tolerance and inclusivity to all — was violated.”

On a second occasion, the supervisor ordered Jarvis to conceal the cross under her shirt or get rid of it. That’s when the liberal arts major decided to bail early on the orientation job.

Sasser, the director of litigation at the conservative- and Christian-oriented Liberty Institute, calls the supervisor’s actions “obvious religious discrimination” and is seeking an apology.

The attorney added that the law is pretty settled in this area.

“State employees may wear crosses while they are performing their duties as long as the wearing does not interfere with the employees’ duties or harm the employer’s business interests,” Sasser counseled.

Management at Sonoma State, a school known mostly as a laidback hippie haven with a nice library, is apologizing repeatedly and without reservation.

“Someone who works here was concerned that the cross might be off-putting to students who are coming to campus for the first time,” confirmed university spokeswoman Susan Kashack.

She added that the supervisor’s behavior was “completely wrong.”

“It was absolutely an inappropriate action for him to make that request of her,” Kashack added, according to Fox News.

“It’s possible that political correctness got out of hand.”

Sonoma State President Ruben Arminana is in on the groveling as well.

“The president was very upset about it and asked me to contact Miss Jarvis and give a profuse apology,” Kashack said.

Kashack noted that school officials have communicated with the unidentified employee who ordered Jarvis to remove the cross necklace.

However, she refused to disclose what was said or if he faces any sort of consequences.

Democrat Missouri Governor vetoes bill that nullified federal gun laws

Democrat Missouri Governor Jay Nixon vetoed legislation that would have made it a Missouri crime for federal agents to attempt to enforce federal gun laws in the state and could have landed journalists in jail for publishing the names of gun owners.

The Democrat Governor said the bill passed by the Republican-led Legislature violated the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, which generally gives preference to federal laws over conflicting state ones.

He said it also infringed in the First Amendment rights of free speech and press.

Some supporters of the legislation had proclaimed it one of the most gun-friendly bills ever passed by a state legislature.

Nixon, however, said it could have had extreme consequences.

"Under this bill, newspaper editors around the state that annually publish photos of proud young Missourians who harvest their first turkey or deer could be charged with a crime," the governor said in a written statement announcing the veto.

Legislators would need a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate to override Nixon's veto when they return to session in September.

The legislation would have made it a misdemeanor crime for federal agents to attempt to enforce any federal gun regulations that "infringe on the people's right to keep and bear arms."

It also sought to invalidate some specific federal laws, including a 1934 law that imposed on tax on transferring machine guns or silencers.

The measure would have made it a misdemeanor to publish the names of gun owners.

Other provisions in the bill would have allowed school teachers and administrators with concealed-gun permits and special training to be designated as a "school protection officer" capable of carrying hidden guns into schools.

Missouri's age to obtain a conceal-carry permit would have been lowered to 19 instead of the current 21, and the bill would have allowed people with concealed gun permits to openly carry firearms up to 16 inches long -- even in jurisdictions that have ordinances against the open display of guns.

Only 47% of Adults Have Full-Time Job

The release of the June Jobs' Report Friday was something of a relief for the markets.

The Labor Department reported that the economy gained 195,000 jobs in June, which beat economists' expectations.

The Department also reported that the economy gained 70,000 more jobs in April and May than it originally estimated.

The report, however, also provides clear evidence that the the nation is splitting into two; only 47% of Americans have a full-time job and those who don't are finding it increasingly out of reach.

Of the 144 million Americans employed last month, only 116 million were working full-time.

Friday's report showed that 58.7% of the civilian adult population of 245 million was working last month. Only 47% of Americans, however, had a full-time job.

The market's positive reaction to Friday's report is another sign of how far our economic expectations have fallen.

If today the same proportion of Americans worked as just a decade ago, there would by almost nine million more people working.

Just in the last year, almost two million Americans have left the labor force. With a majority of the population not holding a full-time job, it isn't surprising that economic growth has been so weak.

In June, the number of Americans who wanted to work full-time, but were forced into part-time jobs because of the economy, jumped 352,000 to over eight million.

The Jobs' Report is increasingly measuring only a part of the American economy.

While Friday's report was better than expected, it only measures those who are working or actively looking for work.

There is a growing number of Americans slipping through the cracks of the job market.

And while this is going on ...

Foreclosures surge in 32 states

New foreclosures are up, and that could prove to be a drag on the U.S. housing market.

RealtyTrac.com reports that home foreclosures are up 2.26 percent from January to February, and the average price to buy a foreclosed home rose 3.84 percent, to $179,000.

Still, some states are seeing even more significant upticks in foreclosure activity.

Take Oregon for example, where new rules on judicial foreclosures have taken effect, including measures that mandate mediation between homeowners and lenders.

According to "The Oregonian," statewide foreclosures are up by 65 percent from January to February:

"Oregon's seven largest counties collectively reported legal action on 996 properties, according to Gorilla Capital, a Eugene company that buys, redevelops and sells foreclosed homes. Those numbers mostly represent foreclosure cases.

That's 65 percent more cases than seen a month earlier. And it rivals the 1,036 out-of-court foreclosure starts recorded in those counties a year earlier, before legal complications sent most foreclosures into the court system."

RealtyTrac points out that while U.S. foreclosures were up in February, home repossessions are actually down 25 percent year to year.

Officials at the Irvine Calif., real estate services provider say the foreclosure bonfire is largely extinguished after five years of historically high activity.

Not completely, though.

"At a high level, the U.S. foreclosure inferno has been effectively contained and should be reduced to a slow burn in the next two years," says Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac.

"But dangerous foreclosure flare-ups are still popping up in states where foreclosures have been delayed by a lengthy court process or by new legislation making it more difficult to foreclose outside of the court system. Foreclosure starts have been steadily building in those states over the last several months and likely will end up as bank repossessions or short sales later this year.”

Blomquist points to Oregon’s neighbor, Washington, along with other states as examples of heightened foreclosure activity.

"These new foreclosure hotspots include states like Washington, where seven straight months of rising foreclosure activity pushed the state's foreclosure rate to fifth-highest nationwide — the highest it's ever been in our report — and Maryland, where eight straight months of rising foreclosure activity placed the state's foreclosure rate among the top 10 nationwide for the first time since July 2010," Blomquist adds.

All told, U.S. foreclosure starts were up in 32 states in February, with some states showing alarmingly high rates. Look at these states’ foreclosure rate growth in February:

• Nevada +334 percent
• Maryland +319 percent
• Washington +172 percent
• New York +139 percent
• New Jersey +70 percent

On the plus side, the more foreclosures sold off, the more surrounding homes are worth.

Foreclosed homes usually drag down the prices of nearby homes.

But an increase in foreclosures also signals that the U.S. housing market is not out of the woods yet. Until the inventory of foreclosed homes is largely sold off, there can’t be significant recovery in the nation’s residential housing market.

From what RealtyTrac is reporting, the so-called recovery isn’t as strong as the Obama administration wants us to think and are just liars.

Than again, what's new with that!

LAST SHOT!

Now for the Ducks!

Pennsylvania town of Delmont fines man for pet ducks

Yes, it is absolutely true! The officials in Delmont, PA, have nothing else to do with their time except go after a man and his pet ducks!

A Pennsylvania man is facing a fine of $500 a day for having four pet ducks.

Delmont resident Jim Kistler was notified that having his web-footed pals, Larry, Moe, Curly and Fred, is a violation of a borough ordinance, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

And even though the ducks are kept in an enclosure and not exactly dangerous, there doesn't appear to be much he can do.

“It’s not easy to deal with,” Kistler told FoxNews.com. It is absolutely ridiculous. I am very upset about it.”

“It is a David and Goliath story, they really don’t want me to have the ducks. But most of the borough is rallying behind me, so we will see what happens.” - Jim Kistler

The ducks won’t hurt anybody, according to Jim Bonner, executive director of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania.

Blue Swedish ducks are fairly common pets and are known for being docile and quiet, he said.

“They are a domesticated species,” he said. “These guys have been bred for centuries. It's really no different from a dog or cat. If my neighbor had one, I wouldn't mind.”

But the borough ordinance doesn’t just ban ducks.

Swine, goats, sheep, insects, reptiles having a venomous or constrictor nature, bovines and quadrupeds — such as elephants, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, moose and deer are all forbidden as household pets.

The municipal law also bans “poultry,” a classification which apparently takes in ducks, but which Kistler believes is aimed at residential chicken farming.

“I am not going to eat my pets,” he said.

Neither borough zoning officer William Heaps nor zoning board attorney Jon Sweeney could be reached for comment.

Kistler keeps the ducks in a pen in his yard with a disposable pool and a small wood house.

The pen is secured with a lock and is topped with a predator screen for protection from redtail hawks.

A hearing is scheduled with the borough on July 22 to decide the fate of the ducks. Until then, Kistler hopes to garner as much support as he can to help his cause.

“It is a David and Goliath story, they really don’t want me to have the ducks.” he told FoxNews.com. “But most of the borough is rallying behind me, so we will see what happens.”

Whoever it is in the city that has the time to run this into the ground should be looked at for wasting city funds.

This is one of those stories where you just can't help but shake your head and ask, with everything that cities should be worried about these days why duck with a guys pet ducks?

He's not raising food, they are his pets!

This whole story makes the Delmont officials look like a bunch of fools!

Arizona Schools being funded by Radical Islam?

Have you ever asked yourself why Liberals are so quick to prostitute themselves?

Well, I post this last Friday because it just angers me that a group with ties to TERRORIST can use their wealth to interject their radical Islamic beliefs into our culture through our schools!

This is outrageous and should be stopped!

These school district administrators should be fired for allowing this sort of influence peddling, then criminally investigated to find out if they took any sort of bribes to implement any sort of radical agenda!

What am I talking about?

Tucson Arizona schools are now ready to take $465,000 from an Arab organization with ties to Radical Terrorists Groups including the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.

Last week, the governing board of the Tucson Unified School District asked the school board to accept a $465,000 curriculum grant from the Qatar Foundation International, a global philanthropic organization with strong ties to the Muslim Brotherhood - the parent organization of the terrorist group Hamas.

The grant money is intended to implement “innovative curricula and teaching materials to be used in any Arabic language classroom,” reports the Arizona Daily Independent.

Two Tucson schools, Safford K-8 Magnet School and Cholla High Magnet School, will be the recipients of the terror-infested cash, according to Tucson News Now.

About 100 students at Cholla High Magnet School are learning Arabic.

At Safford K-8 Magnet School, 125 students are learning Arabic also.

Now, is that a language that will help these kids living in America? No it isn't, but the school doesn't care. 

The old joke about a prostitute goes, "We have determined what you are, now it's just a matter of price?"

Well, last year’s school grant for Arabic language from the Qatar Foundation was $55,000.

That's not bad for even the best high-class hookers!

Of course, Tucson Arizona schools aren't the only schools prostituting thmeselves. A handful of similar programs funded by the Qatar charity exist in other American cities.

In 2012, for example, the nonprofit provided $250,000 for a three-year pilot project for Arabic language at P.S. 368 in Harlem, reports DNAinfo New York.

Maybe its the Black-Islam thing, but for some reason, Harlem and Muslim terrorist groups don't seem to surprise me as much as Tucson Arizona schools do.

The Qatar Foundation International is the U.S.-based branch of the Qatar Foundation, a generous global philanthropic organization founded in 1995 by Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani.

Al Thani is also an influential architect of Middle East media mammoth Al Jazeera.

In 2012, the Qatar Foundation launched the Research Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics in Qatar.

The Center’s director is Tariq Ramadan, a prominent Sunni Muslim and the grandson of Hassan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Ramadan had been banned from the United States for several years because he contributed money to a terror-connected charity, reports The New York Times.

However, in 2010 the Obama administration allowed him to apply for a visa so that he could speak on a panel at Cooper Union in Manhattan.

No surprise there!

The Qatar Foundation is also closely associated with Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a strong and candid advocate of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Egyptian cleric has a popular program on Al-Jazeera television and supervises Islam Online, a popular Internet site for all things Muslim.

The Anti-Defamation League has called al-Qaradawi a “theologian of terror.”

In his book Flight of the Intellectuals, liberal scholar Paul Berman notes that al-Qaradawi issued a fatwa sanctioning Palestinian suicide attacks two years after Sept. 11

... and another fatwa allowing female suicide bombers to reveal their hair especially for certain suicide missions.

“I support Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah,” al-Qaradawi said in 2007. “I oppose the peace that Israel and America wish to dictate. This peace is an illusion. I support martyrdom operations.”

In 2008, al-Qaradawi gave a speech in Doha, the capital of petroleum-rich Qatar, heralding “the collapse of the capitalist system, which is based on usury and securities rather than commodities in markets,” according to Islamweb.

“Our integrated Islamic philosophy, if properly understood and applied, can replace the Western capitalism,” he argued.

The fervently anti-Israel cleric has also proclaimed himself a “Mufti of martyrdom operations.”

Mark Stegeman, a member of the Tucson Unified School District board, and an economics professor at the University of Arizona, supports the district’s acceptance of the grant.

“As far as I can tell, the money comes with no strings attached,” Stegeman told The Daily Caller.

“There are people we wouldn’t want to take money from. That would be case by case. The main issue is what we can do with the money,” Stegeman said.

“We get money from lots of different foundations including American foundations that fund all kinds of things. I don’t know what they are funding. If we turn down money from foundations because we don’t agree with what they do, we would turn down a lot of money we could use.”

In 2011, notes the Arizona Daily Independent, there was some controversy in Tucson over the Muslim Brotherhood’s association with the radical Mexican-American political group MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán).

Lupita Cavazos-Garcia, assistant superintendent in the Tucson school district, expressed her concerns regarding MEChA’s efforts to recruit students taking Mexican-American studies courses for an occupied peoples’ conference.

At the conference, Palestinian students and Tucson students would share their experiences living in occupied territories.

Occupied territories? Occupied lands?

Is that what America is, do these liberal teachers see America as an occupied land?

Garcia reportedly noted that the Muslim Brotherhood’s “anti-Semitic tone and tenor could create problems because our Raza students are ripe for this kind of influence.”

The occupied territories in which the students in Mexican-American studies courses lived are not named.

In March, a federal judge ruled against teachers and students at four Tucson schools in a lawsuit concerning a 2010 Arizona state law that prohibits school districts from offering course work that endorses the overthrow of the United States government or stokes resentment toward a race or class of people.

The ruling stemmed from a case concerning the Tucson school district’s intervention to forcibly alter coursework in a controversial Mexican-American studies program.

The highly race-conscious program taught history, civics and literature from a pointedly Mexican-American vantage point - all to encourage hate.

Why liberals hate America so much is truly beyond me. And yes, you just have to hand it to liberalism for how it has totally screwed up American schools.

But to take money from organizations with ties to terrorists groups, then teach Arabic, Sharia Law and hate for America?

Liberal school administrators just keep giving people more and more reasons to see them as incompetent, ignorant, and openly anti-American.

American schools are filled with administrators who seem to have a problem understanding exactly what positive societal role models are.

Liberal ignorance, or simply bought?

When Hamas decided to leave Syria, no Arab country, including Arab Spring countries such as Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, would agree to have them.

Hamas contacted Jordan and Sudan to see if either would open up its borders to it.

They both refused, although they did welcome dozens of Hamas members who left Syria.

After Hamas leaders mostly shuttled between Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and Sudan, making contacts to establish new terrorist bases for their terrorist movement, Hamas found new a geographic option that it had never considered - Qatar.

So how did Hamas move to Qatar?

They bought their way in. The same way they are buying their way into American schools in Tucson Arizona and elsewhere.

Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood might have a lot of money to buy off liberal teachers and administrators who are real quick to prostitute themselves, but radical Islam is not a positive role model for any student in any American school.

We do not need to foster Islamic hate in our schools. The Muslims do that in their schools very well, we don't have to follow their example.

If liberals in our schools think Muslim terrorists have redeeming qualities, they are wrong. But all in all, I don't think that matters to them.

Like hookers, liberals only see the color of their money and don't care what they're asked to do for it.

It is very apparent to everyone that the liberal school administrators in Tucson don't matter if spreading hate for America is part of the strings attached to those Muslim dollars.

And yes, this baffles most of America who remembers 9/11.

Story by Tom Correa

So What Is Americana?

I heard the term "Americana" used when I was a kid.

For me, I always thought of Americana as patriotic jewelry, antique knickknacks, and the such.

First known use of the word "Americana" was in 1841. So yes, the term's been around almost as long as our nation has.

Americana has to do with characteristics of American culture, American patriotism, our civilization, things typically American.

Americana celebrates our unique American culture.

And yes, today Americana is a genre of American music having roots in early folk and country music.

Americana refers to artifacts, or a collection of artifacts, mostly related to the history, geography, folklore, and cultural heritage of the United States. The term may be used to describe the theme of a museum or collection, design, or of goods for sale.

There are lots and lots of "stuff" out there that fall within the definition of Americana.

From fashion style to home decor and design, Americana is flags painted on barns, flag print stars, patriotic paintings and prints and drawings, license plates or entire vehicles, household objects, tools and weapons, plaques and statues, and so on.

There are all sorts of examples of Americana, and patriotism and nostalgia play a huge defining role in the subject of something being Americana.

The things involved need not be old, but need to have the appropriate associations.

The term Americana can also be used to describe studies of American culture.

Americana Music

When I was a kid, brass band marching music of say John Philip Sousa was the only "Americana" music that I would have thought of.

Now things are different.



Take for example The Americana Music Festival in Virginia City, Nevada.

It runs from July 19th to 21th, 2013, when nationally known artists in bluegrass, old time, blues and folk music gather in Virginia City for a weekend full of Americana music and good times.

This is not the only festival of its kind, there are Americana Music Festivals going on across the country. Americana music is becoming bigger and more widespread.

Yes, believe it or not, today Americana music is considered contemporary music that incorporates elements of various American roots music styles, including country, something called "roots-rock", folk, bluegrass, blues, which results in a distinctive roots-oriented sound.

And no, it's not the crap that being passed off as "Country Music". Country Music has been hi-jacked by Heavy Metal and Hard Rock wannabes.

Because of that, it's not a surprise that another genre of American music that people can relate to steps up to the plate.

Americana Fashion

As for aspects of Americana, as I said before, there are many aspects to Americana. Take for example, dress and apparel.

When it comes to home decorating or fashion sense, today, both have Americana styles. 

Today "Americana fashion" describes what normal blue-collar Americans have been wearing for years.

For others, it is seen as a "revival" of casual clothing combining everything American from suits, to dressing in flannel shirts and going cowboy - or cowgirl.

And yes, Americana also means "retro" for us folks who still look like we never left the 1950s.

Imagine, we are now fashionable.

For gals out there, as you probably already knew, whether casual or dressy, "Americana Fashion" stresses comfort with an American feel.


For urban folks who want to follow the "trend" and don't know what dressing like an American is all about, my advice is to find yourself a denim and flannel shirt, a pair of Wrangler Jeans that don't hang down below your underwear, find a comfortable pair of work boots or cowboy boots.

It's just that easy, and yes, before you know it, you just might find yourself whistling the Star Spangled Banner!

Believe it or not, I read where the James Dean look has revived old-fashioned barber shops.

I gather this is evidence by the numbers of barber poles cropping up in New York and Los Angeles.

For a different look, fashion type folks are advising men in the city to sport a "Sean Connery" James Bond look if they need to really dress for success at the office.

According to what I've read, Americana style means that Black and Caucasian Americans  might try crew-cuts. And yes, a wavy, longer "Buddy Holly" look can be added to the list for Americana fashion hair styles for men.

Of course, I can't help but wonder if they even know who Buddy Holly is?

After all, his music was understandable and not just loud blaring noise - the guy could sing and had a great voice unlike most of today's so-called singers who depend on loud music to mask the fact that they can't sing.

While the hooker and the punk ass college bum look, or even the European anarchist look, might still be in fashion in a lot of cities, even younger urban folks are starting to pull up there pants from below their ass to dress without looking stupid. 

Am I glad urban Americans youngsters are finding out how to dress American? Yes!  

Just as most everyday Americans already know, that whole ghetto poor ass drug user look, and that whole filthy college student European fashion wannabe look, they are really suck!

And that's not just my opinion, fact is that from leather jackets and jeans to comfortable boots and denim shirts, Americana trends have not only grown in popularity within the cities in the United States but in places like Tokyo, France, London and many other fashion hubs of the world believe it or not.

The concept of dressing in an American style with a combination of comfort and looking good became popular overseas before it hit fashion conscious Americans in our cities here. Imagine that!  

It's been speculated that recognizing heritage, long -term value and quality has created a need for the nostalgia of an era where it once existed while facing uncertain times worldwide.

While I might not call casual American dress Americana, that's what it's called in the Fashion World!

So where's the Stars & Stripes?

Well, there you have it, while some city folks see Americana as a "fashion," most folks in our country know that Americana has everything to do with Patriotism and the Red, White, & Blue!

And yes, Americana clothing and accessories are endless! 

Besides nicknack's and such for the home, there are rings, bracelets, ear-rings, hats, shirts, shorts, jackets, you name it in Americana these days.

No, its not just your grandma's picture of the flag on a cushion on the sofa - there are a lot more things out there celebrating being American.

I know full well that there are those folks out there who don't like the idea of someone wearing what looks like Old Glory.

And I agree if it's in bad taste, Americana or not, they should not wear it.

But I also know that I'll take someone displaying love and pride of America over some of those Communist Occupy Wall Street protester jerks any day!

What they did to our flag using the excuse of "Free Speech" should be criminal.

Fact is, most Americans are proud to be Americans and love to show their patriotism by wearing the red, white and blue stars and stripes of the American flag.

Inspired by American patriotism, Americana clothing features patriotic styles to help you express your American love and pride.

 

       

      

Is there Americana home design? You bet there is!

Americana home decorating describes a style that is both appealing and casual using a "Patriotic Theme."

From "full steam ahead" to a little more subtle, there are all sorts of Americana ideas going on these days both inside and out.

 

       

Americana home design is full of easy to care for materials that make it perfect for families with children.

From everything that I've read about this, this style can be patriotic, primitive, rustic, or country farmhouse, but most often it is a combination of all four.

So yes, it probably looks like most of our homes.

Americana decorating includes many different motifs, including geography, folk art, and history, which can be adapted in a number of ways.

Some folks do a great deal of searching for handmade home decor quality Americana accessories and furniture pieces, while other furnish simply using an American theme.

 

 

Here are some examples of pure Americana the beautiful!

 

  

 

 

 

 

So what is Americana?

Yes, it's love!

Story by Tom Correa