Today’s link is The Framing of Hitler’s Pope by Susan L.M. Goldberg at PJMedia.com
Omnibit Of The Day 12-3-13
December 3, 2013 Omnibit Trivia by William W. Lawrence Sr.
The heart pumps blood through a network of 70,000 miles of blood vessels once every minute
Paul Steiger Rips Obama Regarding Free Speech
Maybe there is an awakening. Journalism, a profession vital to freedom, has been under attack for the last few decades but not for the reasons offered by the pretenders who claim to practice it. 
Since the Clinton years it has become apparent that big media players don’t follow truth to wherever it leads but rather take the path of least resistance to praise from their masters, security and government jobs. They have bent over backwards to comfort the comfortable and afflict the afflicted.
But now it seems that there is an inkling that those who had been given the seal of approval by the self-proclaimed smart set are not what they appeared to be. Maybe not all journalistic souls have not been sold.
ProPublica founder and executive chairman Paul Steiger received the Burton Benjamin Memorial award from the Committee to Protect Journalists. Nov. 26. In his remarks he said:
And now, more recently, we are facing new barriers to our ability to do our jobs – denial of access and silencing of sources.
For the starkest comparison, I urge any of you who haven’t already done so to read last month’s report, commissioned by CPJ and written by Len Downie, former editor of the Washington Post. It lays out in chilling detail how an administration that took office promising to be the most transparent in history instead has carried out the most intrusive surveillance of reporters ever attempted.
It also has made the most concerted effort at least since the plumbers and the enemies lists of the Nixon Administration to intimidate officials in Washington from ever talking to a reporter.
Consider this: As we now know from the Snowden documents, investigators seeking to trace the source of a leak can go back and discover anyone in government who has talked by phone or email with the reporter who broke the story. Match that against the list of all who had access to the leaked info and voila!
In my days editing the Wall Street Journal, I used to joke that no one in the Washington Bureau ever had an on-the-record conversation. Now I would have to wonder whether anyone was having any kind of conversation at all that wasn’t a White House-sanctioned briefing.
It isn’t just words. The White House has been barring news photographers from all sorts of opportunities to ply their craft. Routine meetings and activities of the president, of which they used to be able to shoot still and video images under certain constraints, now are often – not always, but often — off limits, according to the American Society of News Editors, which is protesting the action, along with other groups.
The administration has invited news organizations to pick up images handed out by the press office or from the White House website. Sort of like saying, “just print the press release,” as some corporate PR people used to say to me years ago when I asked for an interview with the CEO.
To read his statement in its entirety go here.
Paul Steiger Rips Obama Regarding Free Speech
December 2 Omnibit Trivia
December 2, 2013 Omnibit Trivia by William W. Lawrence Sr.
Yes, Robert James, there are more pizza parlors than hamburger stands in the United States today.
Old Woman Prospector — Humor Break
This Off The Internet bit of humor is courtesy of Cathy Martin
Old Woman and her Mule
She walked up and tied her old mule to the hitchin’ rail.
As she stood there, brushing some of the dust from her face and clothes,
a young gunslinger stepped out of the saloon with a gun in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other.
The young gunslinger looked at the old woman and laughed, saying, “hey old woman, have you ever danced?”
The old woman looked up at the gunslinger and said, “No, i never did dance… Never really wanted to.”
A crowd had gathered as the gunslinger grinned and said, “well, you old bag, you’re gonna dance now,” and started shooting at the old woman’s feet.
The old woman prospector – not wanting to get her toe blown off – started hopping around. Everybody was laughing.
When his last bullet had been fired, the young gunslinger, still laughing, holstered his gun and turned around to go back into the saloon.
The old woman turned to her pack mule, pulled out a double-barreled shotgun, and cocked both hammers.
The loud clicks carried clearly through the desert air. The crowd stopped laughing immediately.
The young gunslinger heard the sounds too, and he turned around very slowly. The silence was almost deafening.
The crowd watched as the young gunman stared at the old woman and the large gaping holes of those twin barrels.
The barrels of the shotgun never wavered in the old woman’s hands, as she quietly said, “son, have you ever licked a mule’s butt?”
the gunslinger swallowed hard and said, “no ma’am…But… I’ve always wanted to.”
There are a few lessons for us all here:
1 – Never be Arrogant.
2 – Don’t waste ammunition.
3 – Whiskey makes you think you’re smarter than you are.
4 – Always, always make sure you know who has the power.
5 – Don’t mess with old women; they didn’t get old by being stupid…
I JUST LOVE A STORY WITH A HAPPY ENDING, DON’T YOU?
For the Legend of Abd-el-Kader and a recipe for baba ghanoush, which goes great with Cryptowit Quote Puzzles, visit here.
Auto Raise Means Pa Legislator Salary $84G
The automatic pay raise for Pennsylvania lawmakers made law in 1995 kicked in Dec.1 which means that the average Pennsylvania legislator salary is now at $84.012. It’s basically a $17 a month raise or about $200 per year. It certainly will help ease the burden of the eventual 28 cents per gallon gas tax they just passed.
Note this does not include their pension or health plans or their per diem which could be as high as $242.
Kielbasi Sale 2
Saints Peter and Paul Church, 100 S. Penn St., Clifton Heights, Pa., 19018 is having a second Christmas kielbasi sale, with homemade babka bread also being offered.
The high quality kielbasa is $11 per ring or four links for $8. The bread is $5 a loaf.
To place an order, please email us at SSPeterandPaul@verizon.net or call Kathy at 610-328-4731 by Monday, Dec. 16. Pickup will be at noon Sunday, Dec. 22 at the church.
Kielbasi Sale 2
Sister Lúcia Prayer For Those Who Do Not Love God
This prayer was given to Sister Lúcia of Fátima and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto by an angel in 1916: “My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love you. I ask pardon for
those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love
you.”
Sister Lucia, it should be noted, was a registered voter at the time of her death in 2005.
Sister Lúcia Prayer For Those Who Do Not Love God
Insurance Websites
Insurance is a relatively complex product for potential buyers to
understand, reports eMarketer.com
Digital channels are now an integral part of how consumers research and get insurance quotes, but the process remains a multifaceted journey, where traditional sources like agents and call centers are valuable.
Golly, we wonder if anybody entrusted with nuclear weaponry managed to figure this out.
Insurance Websites
Sheep Herder Rabbit
Here is a link to a rather bizarre video of a rabbit herding a flock of sheep. It can almost be a metaphor for hipsters and other Democrat Party supporters.