Moment of truth

Dear friends, Republicans in Congress are pushing to continue Bush's tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans, at the same time that they're opposing extending unemployment insurance for people struggling to find work. Democrats have started to talk tough, but have also given signals they might cave without a real fight. We need to make sure that doesn't happen. Will you join me in calling on our representatives in Congress and the President to stand strong and oppose these tax breaks for the rich? Click here: http://www.colorofchange.org/taxcuts/?id=2083-1401727 Many in Congress are working to extend tax cuts for the middle class, but Republicans have said that they'll try to block tax cuts for the middle class unless Democrats agree to pass tax cuts for the very rich as well.1 Of course, Republicans don't want to look like they're looking out for the richest Americans, so they want to vote on both tax cuts at the same time. Democrats shouldn't fall for it. Hundreds of thousands of people have stood up and called on Democrats in Congress to stand strong. Democratic leadership in the House appears ready to fight,2 but the White House and leaders in the Senate are wavering. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has floated the idea of multiple votes (with one of them still attaching middle and upper-income tax cuts together),3 and the White House has said it might be open to "compromise"4 -- in other words, giving in to the Republicans' demands without forcing them to defend their position to the American public. This discussion about extending tax cuts to the rich is happening amidst talk of making cuts to all kinds of programs that help the economy and protect the most vulnerable people in our society -- because "we can't afford" those programs. The fact that the same politicians making that argument would support massive tax breaks for the wealthy shows that they're not really concerned about cutting spending or reducing the deficit -- they're really just interested in protecting the wealthy at the expense of everyone else. Democrats who oppose these tax cuts for the rich need to know that we'll have their back if they fight. And the conservative Democrats and Republicans who want to keep handing more and more of our country over to the rich -- while the rest of us are struggling -- need to know that they'll be called out and face actual consequences come election time. Please join me in calling on Congress and the White House to reject tax cuts for the rich: http://www.colorofchange.org/taxcuts/?id=2083-1401727 Thanks. References 1. http://bit.ly/dkwEyg 2. http://wapo.st/9uMbhk 3. http://politi.co/gEB1z8 4. http://politi.co/bhIPhU

Pass the DISCLOSE Act Now!

Please concider signing this petition. Our country shouldn't be allowed to be purchased by the highest bidder.
http://pol.moveon.org/discloseact/?id=25142-13517132-IkJOZWx&t=3

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Here is a letter I sent to my Representatives of Nebraska.

[edited: For a couple typographical errors and one major change to the original context in the one sentence following John Adams words in the original draft of the Declaration of Independence.]
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This is at its very core un-American and please let me explain before you pass judgement on my rhetoric and as simple misguided words of grievance.

First of all, in the Preamble it says: "We the People", not "We the Secret Organizations" or "We the Corporations".

In the original draft of the Declaration of Independence, which can be found here:
http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/compare.htm


John Adams writes:

"He [the Christian King of Great Britain] has prostituted his Negative for Suppressing every legislative Attempt to prohibit or to restrain an execrable Commerce, determined to keep open a Market where Men should be bought and sold, and that this assemblage of Horrors might want no Fact of distinguished Die."

Keep that in mind whilst you sell our souls country to the highest bidder; that these are just some of the very things we made ourselves independent from in that fateful era of Americas past.

"We the People" just might be an apathetic lot; but we can only take so much and eventually we shall set right the wrongs of our government and bring back to it's origins, the real meaning of what it is to be an American. To be free of others beliefs and liberated from your social agendas; misguided and reckless as they are; to put in place the laws and regulations that are necessary to prohibit the execrable commerce that is being prostituted by your ilk. Make this right or the people of this country will; most certainly without you!

- Cecil

Rides & Midway games at this years Harvest Festival

Every year this carnival seems to get smaller and smaller. This year is by far the worst I've seen it yet.

This year the midway section is adorned with a whopping 4 games. Skeeball, Dart/Ballon booth, kid fishing and bbgun shoot where you shoot out the star in the center of the paper (almost won that once!)

Appears we're missing the old fashioned Merry-Go-Round, the Strawberry-go-round, The Giant Slide and many of the kids favorite ride The Octopus and thats just the ones we've noticed thus far.

For thrill rides we have 4 of those. Scrambler, Tilt-a-Whirl, Tornado and Zipper all made a return.

They added 2 more funhouse *rides* if you can call them that. One is a traditional fun house with all sorts of oddities inside, like a moving tunnel you have to go through. Other is one of those giant jungle gyms things with punching bags, nets and bridges, etc. You know the type :) Last but not least the House of Mirrors made a return.

For other kiddy rides we have a somewhat cool monster-truck ride (looks neat anyways), a kiddy coaster and a kiddy train. Thats it.

Last but not least Eli the 100+ year old ferris wheel is back, always a family favorite I suppose :)

I talked to one of the workers because I was curious if it's a money thing or if they were spread thin and according to her, they schedule everything all at once early on in the year and at that time they decide what goes where and make sure certain items make it back each year (like Eli) so I can only assume that they are just spread too thin and so everyone gets screwed on rides since nobody hardly has anything.

IMHO, its time to get someone else or whoever is in charge of the festival should at least threaten to, so maybe they'll kiss our butts and give us more stuff next year. We might be a small town but we still deserve better than this. Its my experience that whoever cries the loudest, gets the most attention. Seen it a hundred times or more.

For your enjoyment, some plattsmouth photos from the 1930's - Ran across them looking for karnival photos :) All courtesy of: http://www.knchautauqua.org/

American Legion Junior Drum Corps performs at 1936 Kass Kounty King Korn Karnival.

Burlington Railroad Shops

Dedication of Highway 34 bridge over the Missouri River, May 16, 1930.

A snowy Main Street in the 1930s.

Nebraska Masonic Home in the 1930s.

Main Street in Plattsmouth, 1940s.

Riley Hotel, Sixth and Main streets, in 1910.

Flood at the end of Main Street, 1930.

Water fowl enjoying the Main Street flood waters, 1930.

Fourth and Main Street, looking west,  1930.

Sixth and Main streets, looking east, 1930.

Cass County Courthouse, 1930s. Structure was built in 1892.

Floods were common in the 1930s.

Saved the best for last.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Plattsmouth on October 10, 1936.

Coming from Iowa, he was greeted by some 5,000 people on his way

to Lincoln to see the State Capitol, then on to Omaha for a Democratic rally.

Source: http://www.knchautauqua.org/Community/iconic_images_plattsmouth.html