Let’s play another Caption Contest game!

This is the 47th world-famous FOTM Caption Contest!

Here’s the pic (h/t FOTM’s DCG):

Photo taken at the George W. Bush Presidential Library dedication, Dallas, Texas, April 25, 2013. 

You know the drill:

• The winner of the Caption Contest will get a gorgeous Award Certificate of Excellence and a year’s free subscription to FOTM!
• FOTM writers will vote for the winner.
• Any captions proffered by FOTM writers, no matter how brilliant (ha ha), will not be considered.

This contest will be closed in a week, at the end of next Friday, May 24, 2013.

To get the contest going, here’s my caption:

Sigmund Freud: “See that woman skulking in the back? Classic case of penis envy!”

For the winner of our last Caption Contest, go here.

~Eowyn

Your Sunday Morning Funny Papers.

 

~Steve~                                H/T My Bud I-Man

U.S. women spent $61 million on plastic surgery for arms like Michele Obama

We really are living in the end times.

Eryn Brown reports for the Los Angeles Times, April 29, 2013, that there was something unexpected in the latest cosmetic and resconstructive surgery statistics released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

There were the usual perennial favorites: 286,000 “breast augmentation” or boob implants, and 6.1 million Botox injections. Altogether, in 2012 Americans spent a total of $11 billion on 1.6 million cosmetic (i.e., medically unnecessary) surgeries, including face-lifts, liposuction and rhinoplasty; 13 million minimally invasive procedures such as Botox injections; and 5.6 million reconstructive procedures (including tumor removal and scar revision).  For the 7th year in a row, middle-aged Americans (ages 40-54) accounted for the largest portion of the cosmetic procedures: 6.8 million or 48%. And although there’s been an increase in the number of men who got face-lifts, women accounted for a staggering 91% of all cosmetic procedures.

But the ASPS was struck by a less familiar plastic surgery: brachioplasty, a liposuction surgery that involves making an incision from the armpit to the elbow, usually along the back of the arm, to remove excess fat and skin. In 2012, 15,457 patients, 98% of them women (or 15,148 women), spent a total of $61 million to have brachioplasty or arm lift surgery– a 4,378% increase since 2000, when only about 300 women opted for it.

You read it correctly: There’s been a four thousand three hundred and seventy-eight percent increase in arm lift surgery since 2000.

In a statement, the ASPS said that doctors didn’t point to a single reason for the increase, but took note of poll data indicating that women “are paying closer attention to the arms of female celebrities.” And the most-admired arms of all are those of FLPOS Michelle Obama.

Let that piece of information sink into your brain:

Last year, instead of using diet and exercise to tone their arms, as many as 15,148 women underwent a vanity, that is, a medically unnecessary, surgical procedure to get arms like FLPOS. The procedure involves anesthesia and leaves a visible scar on the inside of the upper arms.

Here’s a description of brachioplasty on PlasticSurgery.org:

What happens during arm lift surgery?

Step 1 – Anesthesia

Medications are administered for your comfort during the surgical procedures. The choices include intravenous sedation and general anesthesia. Your doctor will recommend the best choice for you.

Step 2 – The incision

Incision length and pattern depend on the amount and location of excess skin to be removed, as well as the best judgment of your plastic surgeon.

Incisions are generally placed on the inside of the arm or on the back of the arm, depending on the surgeon’s preference, and may extend from the underarm (axilla) to just above the elbow. If fat is to be reduced during your arm lift, it will be excised or treated with liposuction.

inner arm incision

Depending on your specific conditions, incisions may be more limited. Then, underlying supportive tissue is tightened and reshaped with internal sutures. Finally, the skin is smoothed over the new contour of your arm.

back of arm incision

minimal incision

Step 3 – Closing the incisions

Your incisions will be closed with absorbable sutures, or stitches that will be removed within 1-2 weeks following your arm lift.

∞

As I grow older, I am ever more aware of the fragility of life.

My husband has had two heart surgeries in three years. My best friend, FOTM’s joandarc, has had countless surgeries due to her severe hereditary osteoarthritis, including two total knee replacements.

Any surgery that involves general anesthesia carries inherent risks. That there were more than 15 thousand U.S. women last year who, instead of  diet-and-exercise, underwent a medically unnecessary surgery so as to have arms like FLPOS speaks to the narcissism and utter superficiality of our culture.

God help us.

H/t Natural News

~Eowyn

Liberal Logic 101

 

~Steve~                                            H/T   I_Man

We have a contest winner!

This was the pic for FOTM’s latest (45th) Caption Contest:

FOTM writers voted, each for his/her #1 and #2 captions. Each #1 vote is worth 3 points; each #2 vote is worth 2 points.

And our winner, with three #1 votes, totaling 9 points is ….

Locke Enlode!!!!

Here’s his winning caption:

“You want us to serve DOG and call it WHAT?!?!?!?!? Commander-in-Chef’s Choice?!?!?”

japao is in 2nd place, with two #1 votes, totaling 6 points. Here’s his caption:

Soldier on right says :” You mean to tell me she’s pushing nutritious food and SHE’S the one w / an ass end like an M-1 Abrams tank !”

Or he could be saying : ” Gee , who’s next ; Jane Fonda ?”

hrmfc is in 3rd place, with one #1 vote and one #2 votes, totaling 5 points. Here’s her caption:

mrs. Soetero, ” I have a great plan for reducing excess weight in our Armed Forces! We won’t serve breakfast! It saves money and calories!”

rjwanderer is in 4th place, with two #2 votes, totaling 4 points. Here’s the caption:

Yo, Miss…Can I get some more coffee over here!

Ken, T, and WildBillAlaska are all in 5th place, each with one #2 vote, totaling 2 points each. Here are their respective captions:

Lets do it then. Cut the flavor, cut the price, cut the service. Let em eat cake.

“Hips Don’t Lie”

Hey,no dogs allowed in the mess hall!,well there goes my appetite.

Congratulations, Locke Enlode! Here’s your super-duper Award Certificate of Great Excellence, all ready for framing!

For all the other captions, go here.

Be here tomorrow for our next Caption Contest!

~Eowyn

Boston bombings’ mysterious “Saudi national” visited Obama White House?

Remember that “Saudi national” whom the media called “a suspect” right after the two bombs went off at the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013?

The media at the time said that police had detained and questioned this “suspect.” Quickly after, the media switched to calling him a mere “person of interest” and told us that he had been taken to a hospital to treat his shrapnel wounds and severe burn. After that, the media dropped any reference to the “Saudi national” entirely, seemingly having lost all interest in him.

In an April 20 post, “What about that other Boston bombings suspect, the Saudi national?,” I tried to follow up on the mysterious “Saudi national” — that his name is said to be Abdul Rahman Al-harbi (or variants thereof); that he was admitted into the United States on a student visa even though he shouldn’t have been allowed into our country; that he seems to have powerful connections in Saudi Arabia; that FLPOS Michelle had visited him in the Boston hospital; and that the federal government first had said he would be deported (on April 23) as a threat to U.S. national security, then DHS chief Janet Napolitano denied it.

Much of this was repeated by Glenn Beck in his supposedly earth-shattering exposé of Al-harbi. (See “What Beck revealed about Boston bombings’ mysterious Saudi national,” April 22, 2013.).

Thanks to Jim Holt of Gateway Pundit, April 24, 2013, we now have pictures of FLPOS visiting Al-harbi at the hospital, which were posted on Alharbi’s Facebook page!

Holt also alerts us to the evidence below of Alharbi, who is on a terrorist watchlist, having visited the White House several times since 2009.

Here are the dates:

Of course, the White House will say it was another “Abdul Rahman Al-Harbi.”

H/t my bud Mark S. McGrew.

~Eowyn

Gag: Emulate the dress sense of Michelle Obama

A “role model” for America?

Want to dress like First Lady of Fashion Michelle Obama? There’s an app for that

Daily Mail: There is a blog dedicated to her immaculate style and a Twitter account keeping you informed of her sartorial  selections.

But if that’s still not enough information about Michelle Obama’s clothes and you want even more immediate access to her wardrobe, you’ll thrill at the arrival of a new smartphone fashion app.

The First Lady of “fashion”

Following in the wake of her successful Duchess of Cambridge app Kate’s Style List, Birmingham-based developer and clothes-lover Helen Barclay has created Michelle’s Style List, a 99 cents program enabling you to emulate the dress sense of America’s First Lady of Fashion.

President Obama’s wife recently topped the first Sunday Times Best Dressed list, and she is universally regarded as one of the most elegant women in the world.

Some of the mother-of-two’s favorite  designers and brands include Jason Woo, Isabel Toledo, Roksanda Ilincic, Michael Kors, Narciso and J-Crew. And now you can be the first to know which she has chosen to step out in whenever she leaves the White House.

Elegance?

Helen, a former actress, said: ‘Michelle Obama has a huge following in the US. She sells out clothes in the same way Kate Middleton does, and like the Duchess of Cambridge she recycles lots of her clothes. ‘It is mainly aimed at the American market but I hope it will work here too.’

The app was launched last week and features spring, summer, autumn and winter collections of all of the First Lady’s outfits.

The app describes what she is wearing, and  each item is hyper-linked to take you directly to a page where you can buy or  learn where to buy it. ‘Michelle dresses very appropriately, and whenever  she appears at various events the app will tell you exactly what clothes she is  wearing’.

You too can wear this outfit!

Helen, 28, said: ‘She is a role model in  America – the whole family is. They are massive. They are the most important and  powerful family in the world. She does lots of good things for people.

‘Michelle dresses very appropriately, in that her outfit always reflects the occasion. She was seen recently at a sports day at a school wearing a track suit. Equally, at an event over Easter she was dressed in a very elegant dress. ‘Whenever she appears at various events the app will tell you exactly what clothes she is wearing.

Just like the Kate app, Helen developed her own program to track and locate Michelle’s fashion finds, and she keeps her users updated 24 hours a day.

Users can browse Michelle’s favorite designers, compile lists of their favorite outfits, search by accessories and then find out where to purchase her most popular high street items.

I’ll pass on the app and save my 99 cents, thank you very much!

DCG

Hey, check out our new Caption Contest!

This is the 45th world famous FOTM Caption Contest!

Here’s the pic (click to enlarge):

FLPOS Mooch visits Little Rock Air Force Base, AR, Feb. 9, 2012, to  announce efforts to improve the nutrition of food served in all U.S. military bases. (Photo by White House photog Sonya N. Hebert)

You know the drill:

• The winner of the Caption Contest will get a gorgeous Award Certificate of Excellence and a year’s free subscription to FOTM!
• FOTM writers will vote for the winner.
• Any captions proffered by FOTM writers, no matter how brilliant (ha ha), will not be considered.

This contest will be closed in a week, at the end of next Monday, April 29, 2013.

To get the contest going, here’s my caption:

Soldier on right: “You can shove your nutritious food, along with the thousands of “lost” 2012 military votes, where the sun don’t shine.”

For the winner of our last Caption Contest, go here!

~Eowyn

What about that other Boston bombings suspect, the Saudi national?

Now that Suspect #2, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was captured last night in Watertown, after his older brother Suspect #1 Tamerlan earlier had been killed in a shootout with police, the Marxist State Media are behaving as if the Boston Marathon terrorism is over.

But there is a third individual — the “Saudi national” whom the media first called a “suspect” immediately after the bombings on Monday, April 15, 2013. We were told that he was detained and questioned by police, taken to a Boston hospital to treat “shrapnel” wounds and “severe burns,” and his apartment was searched. Then we were told his status was revised from being a “suspect” to being a “person of interest”.

Then Reuters reported that on Tuesday, April 16, Obama had met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal at the White House ostensibly to discuss the conflict in Syria. The meeting was not on the POS’s public schedule.

Next, news came via Breitbart.com’s Kerry Picket that on Wednesday, April 17, terrorism expert Steven Emerson of the Investigative Project revealed on Sean Hannity’s cable show that an official at ICE had told him (Emerson) the mysterious Saudi national is Abdul Rahman Ali Alharbi, and he is set to be deported. Emerson said, “It was determined that he had no involvement [...] Well, I just learned from my own sources he’s now going to be deported on national security grounds Tuesday. This is the way things are done with Saudi Arabia. You don’t arrest their citizens. You deport them, because they don’t want them to be embarrassed.”

Act for America identified the Facebook page of Abdulrahman Al-harbi. Here’s Alharbi’s profile pic:

On Thursday, April 18, Walid Shoebat (a former member of the Muslim Brotherhood who’s now a “peace activist”) posted this photo (from Okaz, a very prominent Saudi newspaper) of Alharbi during his stay in a Boston hospital:

Shoebat followed that with another photo of Alharbi at the hospital, smiling while standing next to what appears to be a Saudi diplomat:

On Thursday, April 18, Glenn Beck revealed on radio that TheBlaze was informed by sources that the Saudi national’s visa had been revoked and he was, in fact, going to be deported on “security and related grounds.” The sources also said the Saudi national had ties to a well-connected Saudi family and that his deportation was set to be framed as a “voluntary” departure to be with his family.

While discussing the issue on radio, TheBlaze’s Chief Content Officer Joel Cheatwood revealed that the government has had second thoughts on deporting Ali Alharbi. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano refused to answer questions on the subject when confronted on this by Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) on Capitol Hill. An ICE official outright refuted TheBlaze’s report, calling it “categorically false.”

A congressional source told TheBlazethat a file, called an “event,” had been created on “Abdul Rahman Ali Al Harby” at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 16, by an official with the National Targeting Center, a counterterrorism sub-agency of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security. The file stated that Ali Al Harby is “linked to the Boston bombing” and was to be processed for revocation of his visa based on national security grounds. Documents showing all this have been sent to Congress.

Yesterday, Friday April 19, Bob Unruh of WND writes that the Saudi Arabian newspaper Okaz is reporting that FLPOS Michelle Obama had visited Alharbi in the hospital.

The newspaper accompanied its report with an image of FLPOS (below), although the background was generic and it couldn’t be confirmed immediately that she was at the hospital where Alharbi was being treated at the time. (Update: It’s confirmed. Go to “Boston bombings’ mysterious “Saudi national” visited Obama White House?” for pictures of Michelle visiting Alharbi at the hospital.)

Walid Shoebat says the newspaper Okaz also stated that Michelle had visited another injured Saudi at the hospital, a female doctor named Nura Khalid Saleh al-Ajaji. Shoebat said tweets from members of the Alharbi family give “credibility” to the report.

Glenn Beck has thrown down the gauntlet to the Obama regime, declaring that:

“we know he [the Saudi national] is a very bad, bad, bad man. I know that doesn’t make any sense to you right now. But on Monday [April 22] it will. It makes sense to somebody in Washington. I don’t bluff. I make promises. The truth matters. I’ve had enough of what you’ve done to our country. I thought I had heard and seen it all. I thought I didn’t trust my government. Oh no, no, no, no. There is no depth that these people will not stoop to. They have until Monday and then TheBlaze will expose it.”

And let’s not forget this:

Obama bows to king of Saudi Arabia, April 1, 2009.

Something stinks!!!

H/t FOTM’s CSM

See also my follow-up post, “What Beck revealed about Boston bombings’ mysterious Saudi national,” April 22, 2013.

~Eowyn

Where did your tax dollar go?

Yesterday was T-Day – Tax Day.

If you hadn’t already sent in your tax returns, yesterday was the deadline to turn them in to the IRS (except for residents of Boston who’ve been given an extension for filing their taxes because of the horrible bombings at the marathon).

For the 49% of Americans who actually pay income taxes, you should know where and how your taxes are spent.

Romina Boccia and Curtis Dubay write for The Heritage Foundation, April 15, 2013:

Click image to enlarge

As the above infographic shows, 45% or almost half of all spending went toward paying for Social Security and health care entitlements. Without reforming these massive and growing programs, Washington will have to borrow increasing amounts of money, piling debt onto younger generations and putting the nation on a dangerous economic course.

Some other things to know about taxes:

• Not only must we pay confiscatory taxes, we also pay to prepare our tax returns! According to the federal Taxpayer Advocate in its 2012 report, Americans’ cost of complying with today’s complex tax code totaled $168 billion in 2010. That’s almost as large as the impact of the Obama tax hikes in fiscal year 2013, and twice the size of sequestration this year [see chart].

• It takes taxpayers 6.1 billion hours—or 51 hours per household—to complete all the required filings. That’s more than 6 full 8-hour working days per household!

• Federal govt spends way more than it takes in. In 2012, Washington collected $20,000 in taxes for every household in America. But Washington spent nearly $30,000 per household.

• Government overspending, in turn, means an ever-increasing national debt, now $16.629 TRILLION and increasing with every ticking second. That, in turn, means 6% of every tax dollar goes to pay just the interest on our national debt.

• Americans pay high taxes as it is, and with the 13 tax increases that hit this year, tax revenue is growing beyond its historical average as a share of the economy. But Washington’s deficits continue, because spending keeps going up.

• It will get worse because of the tax increases from the fiscal cliff deal and from the Unaffordable ObamaCare. Taxpayers will start seeing these costs when they do their tax returns next April and in future years.

Growing government spending threatens current and future taxpayers with higher taxes. Congress should reduce spending and prevent any more tax increases. Congress also needs to reform the tax code so it is less of a burden on the American people.

Learn more at savingthedream.org.

See also “US taxpayers spent 2422% more on Obama than Brits on the royal family,” Sept. 28, 2012.

~Eowyn