Month: February 2015

America’s best Italian restaurant chains

Like Irish pubs and Chinese takeouts, you’d be hard-pressed to find a moderately-populated town without an Italian restaurant. And for much of the country, that Italian restaurant is a chain. We canvassed the country, and from corporate behemoths like Olive Garden to family-run chains like The Old Spaghetti Factory, we’ve tracked down the best casual, non-pizza Italian chains. Needless to say, Italian cuisine is one of the most popular types of food in America. Because seriously, what’s not to like? Heaping bowls of pasta, comforting and hearty sauces… it’s comfort food at its finest and it also allows for lots of creativity. Just like Chinese food has adapted to suit American palates, Italian food has also changed since it was first brought over by immigrants more than 100 years ago. For example, spaghetti and meatballs are a completely American invention; in Italy, the meatballs (called polpette) are eaten on the side as a separate dish. But while the massive portion sizes and creative interpretations of Italian cuisine served at these restaurants might make native Italians wince, there’s certainly a home for chain Italian restaurants in the American culinary landscape, and there’s one fact you can’t deny: the majority of their offerings are hearty and delicious. While they all offer traditional red-sauce fare like lasagna and ravioli, the chefs have the freedom to create entirely new menu items, and many have become classic standbys at their home restaurants.

I love The Old Spaghetti Factory!  I grew up going to the one in downtown St. Louis.  But, now enjoy frequenting the one in downtown Denver.  It’s a little more eclectic than some of the other chains mentioned here in this list.  Take a look and see if you agree!     🙂

Zimbabwe President Mugabe turns 91, celebrates with anti-white tirade at $1.2M party

Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe celebrated his 91st birthday on Saturday with an $1.2 million extravagant party at a Victoria Falls gold resort — and an anti-white speech. Mr. Mugabe pledged to extend the land grabs which saw thousands of white farmers driven off their farms since 2000 to the country’s game reserves, the Telegraph reported Saturday. “Zimbabwe has lots of safaris but very few are African,” Mr. Mugabe said. “Most are white-owned. In our region, we have the most safaris and animals. But we are now going to invade those forests. Our people cannot keep suffering.” Mr. Mugabe told his guests that he would only allow white game reserve owners to stay in the country if the U.S. lifted economic sanctions that have been imposed since 2002. “We can do things for ourselves. We don’t need the white man to continue to guide us,” he said, the Telegraph reported. Both the U.S. and the European Union imposed sanctions on Mr. Mugabe, his wife and members of his inner circle after reports of his human rights abuses spread, detailing forced evictions being carried about by the despot.

Robert Mugabe is a disgusting, socialist, racist, piece of garbage; nothing short of an animal.  America and the European Union, among others, have imposed these economic sanctions against his regime for the de facto white genocide that has been happening the last 15-20 years.  White farmers have been “evicted” from their land.  But, oftentimes the government forces do it forcibly, and it is VERY common for these white farmers to turn up dead.   And why isn’t the dominantly liberal mainstream media covering this story?  Oh yeah..that’s right.  It doesn’t fit their racial narrative.  Typical brazen hypocrisy..

Private South Carolina Christian college scrutinized for ‘biblical’ stance on homosexuality

A small, Christian college in South Carolina said on Friday it had not banned gay students or homosexuality from its campus under its controversial new “Statement on Human Sexuality,” which calls the practice sinful. Erskine College has received scrutiny for its board of trustees’ decision last week, characterized by some media outlets as a ban on homosexuality. It comes as many religious organizations seek to respond to the national debate over gay rights and same-sex marriage. The college, affiliated with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, held that sexual intimacy is only appropriate between a man and woman who are married.

So??  How on Earth is that controversial?!?  This is a PRIVATE CHRISTIAN college; NOT a public state university.  Oh, and after you delve into the story a couple paragraphs, you learn that nobody is discriminated there base on orientation.  The only reason we’re reporting this story, is to expose the source of this story; Reuters.  Reuters is like the Associated Press (AP); all part of the dominantly liberal mainstream media.  This type of story is only news to the liberal media….creating a story that fits their agenda.  In this case, the story they’re creating is that Erskine College is homophobic.  That’s the narrative they’re pushing here.  Its entirely ridiculous, and there is “no there, there.”  But, to Reuters this is apparently newsworthy.  Unreal..

Big Media Blacks Out the Clinton Foundation Foreign-Money Story

Among the many, many reasons why Americans hate and distrust the mainstream media, we’ve got the amazing spectacle of a major story directly impacting a likely presidential candidate — Hillary Clinton — completely blacked out in favor of obsessive coverage for llamas on the loose. To mix animal metaphors, many liberal-media critics smell a rat every time the airwaves are filled with obsession over a frivolous story. NewsBusters clocked six minutes on the story of llamas running loose in Arizona, but only 32 seconds of coverage on one of the major networks (CBS) for the incredible tale of Hillary Clinton’s foundation raking in foreign and corporate cash both during and after her tenure as Secretary of State. This is the same media that squeezed a solid week of shrieking, hysterical news coverage out of Rudy Giuliani, who isn’t even running for anything, expressing doubts about the depth of Barack Obama’s love for America. Even the casual news consumer realized the intensity of this coverage had little to do with its news-worthiness. It was, in part, a cynical attempt to use Giuliani’s remarks as a hydraulic piston to hammer the Republicans who probably are running for president, beginning with — but by no means limited to — Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin, but mostly it was a sustained wail of anguish and outrage from media elites, who identify so strongly with their beloved Barack Obama that they took Giuliani’s s remarks as a personal slight against them. There’s no question about the depth of Hillary Clinton’s love for money. As the Clinton Foundation story gets deeper, it’s increasingly difficult for the mainstream press to justify ignoring it. They’ll be even more reluctant to ask her about it, the way hordes of them followed Walker around and interrogated him about what he thinks Barack Obama is thinking. Hillary Clinton doesn’t get asked about anything. The media allows her to remain invisible for as long as she likes, and since her public appearances tend to become gaffe avalanches, she stays invisible quite a bit. It would be a certain sign that the media favoritism her nascent candidacy depends on was evaporating if they actually asked her about the Clinton Foundation stories.

Leonard Nimoy, who died at 83, gets Vulcan hand salute from Space Station

A NASA astronaut on board the International Space Station tweeted a picture Saturday from orbit of a ‘Vulcan’ hand salute as a tribute to actor Leonard Nimoy, known best for his ‘Star Trek’ role as ‘Mr. Spock.’ Nimoy, who died Friday at 83, of end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at his Los Angeles home, with family at his side, said his son, Adam Nimoy. His final public statement, last Sunday on Twitter, was thoughtful and bittersweet. “A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory,” he wrote, followed by his customary “LLAP” signoff – shorthand for “Live long and prosper,” Spock’s catch phrase. The reaction to his death was swift, on Earth and in space. Astronaut Terry W. Virts tweeted out the Vulcan hand salute from the space station with Earth’s blue seen through the window. He was joined by Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti who tweeted, “Live Long and Prosper, Mr. Spock!” tweeted Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, aboard the International Space Station.

How great is that?!?  The reaction to Leonard’s passing has indeed been universal..

Rising Dem star committed ‘mortal sin’ by ripping Obama on Islamic State

Hawaii Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a twice-deployed Army veteran, is taking heat from liberals in the media for criticizing President Obama’s strategy to defeat Islamic State militants and the administration’s refusal to identify radical Islam as the enemy. “Every soldier knows this simple fact: If you don’t know your enemy, you will not be able to defeat him,” Ms. Gabbard said, Fox News reported Saturday. “Our leaders must clearly identify the enemy as Islamist extremists, understand the ideology that is motivating them and attracting new recruits, and focus on defeating that enemy both militarily and ideologically.” Ms. Gabbard, who is a member of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees, told Fox that the administration’s fear of associating radical terrorist groups with the Islamic faith were “unfounded.”

Kudos to Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)!  She’s too new to understand she peed in Obama’s Cheerios.  But, being an Army vet who has been “down range,” she’s also probably too honest to care about being politically correct, or towing the party line with respect to this issue.  Good on her!  She’s someone to keep an eye on…

Young Female CPAC Speaker Zings Hillary’s Mannish Pantsuits

Saturday at the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference, 22-year-old South Dakota conservative Tomi Lahren zinged the old, rich, white “maleness,” of potential Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Vice President Joe Biden. Lahren said,”According to those on the outside, we are the party of old, rich, white males. But I have a little bit of a problem with that, because I don’t really fit into that narrow box. Let’s see, one: Old. Well, I’m 22 years old. And rich, which almost makes me laugh out loud. I grew up in South Dakota, so that’s smack dab in the middle class in middle America. And white? OK, you got me there. But unlike my friends on the left, I’m not going to stand up here and apologize for being white, because I am what I am, and I’m sorry, you can keep your white guilt.

HAHAHA!!!  Yes!!  Outstanding!!  Finally someone is saying what we’re ALL thinking!!   I’m thinking Ms. Lahren is an up and coming, rising star in the GOP.  I very much look forward to following her rise.   🙂

AR-15 Bullet Sales Surge After ATF Ban Announcement

Customers are purchasing AR-15 ammo in volumes up to 20 times the normal rate in some gun stores across the country in reaction to the ATF’s plan to ban 5.56 mm steel-tipped bullets. Earlier this week, the ATF announced its intention to ban sales of the ammunition, typically used by sports shooters, in the name of protecting law enforcement officers from “the threat posed by ammunition capable of penetrating a protective vest.” The news prompted panic buying, with numerous gun stores reporting a rush of demand for the ammunition. According to Travis Brunson, owner of Guns on 41 in Ft. Myers, Florida, he is getting calls from customers asking, “whether this ammunition is gonna be banned, how much can I get and what’s happening to the price.”

The more I hear about this, the more furious I get.  As the proud owner of an AR-15, it drives me crazy to know that Obama’s little ATF Nazis are pulling this fascist crap.  Regardless of whether or not you’re a gun enthusiast, like yours truly, this big government fascism should bother you.  So, in the interest of personal freedom, I strongly encourage you to email your member of Congress and, both of your U.S. Senators, and tell them you want the ATF reigned in and that you want the freedom to purchase perfectly legal and legitimate firearms; you demand the right to exercise your 2nd Amendment freedoms.  With each day, Obama and his big government, liberal, DEMOCRAT, Nazis from AG Eric Holder on down are systematically taking one freedom away from us each and every day.  One day its an AR-15 and the bullets for it, the next day…its the flipping INTERNET!  Unreal..

British Christian School Where Ofsted Branded Pupils ‘Bigots’ Will Close, Brit Education Official Confirms

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has confirmed that Durham Free School will be forced to close after inspectors accused the children there of being bigots for not knowing what a Muslim is. Other children at the Christian faith school, the majority of whom are under 12, were asked whether they were lesbians, whether they knew how babies were made, and what they would do if a Muslim came to the school. The Department of Education has confirmed that funding will be withdrawn at the end of March. Durham Free School made headlines in January after pupils at the school were branded bigots after one child made a throwaway remark regarding terrorism when asked whether he knew what a Muslim was. In their report, the inspectors concluded: “Leaders are failing to prepare students for life in modern Britain. Some students hold discriminatory views of other people who have different faiths, values or beliefs from themselves.” But teachers at the school argued that it was being unfairly targeted as a Christian faith school. Petrina Douglas, a parent governor, said “It feels like the school has been made a scapegoat. Durham is primarily white British so knowledge of other cultures is not as prevalent. But I don’t think the children are bigoted.”

This is political correctness and multiculturalism gone insane!  Because of this insanity, Great Britain has an out-of-control problem with home-grown Islamo-wackos.  Instead of addressing that national security concern, they look the other way in the interest of “inclusiveness, diversity” and the rest of that nonsense.  So, instead of focusing on THAT, their version of our Dept of Education has decided to go after little private Christian elementary schools that they feel aren’t “diverse” enough, and ask little girls if they’re lesbian, for crying out loud!  I’m sure the parents of these poor kids are furious!  I know I sure would be!  Its important that we learn from this and NOT make the same mistakes that the UK is clearly making.

New Docs Reveal Osama bin Laden’s Secret Ties With Iran

This week, prosecutors in New York introduced eight documents recovered in Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan as evidence in the trial of a terrorism suspect. The U.S. government accuses Abid Naseer of taking part in al Qaeda’s scheme to attack targets in Europe and New York City. And prosecutors say the documents are essential for understanding the scope of al Qaeda’s plotting. More than 1 million documents and files were captured by the Navy Seals who raided bin Laden’s safe house in Abbottabad, Pakistan in May 2011. One year later, in May 2012, the Obama administration released just 17 of them. While there is some overlap between the files introduced as evidence in Brooklyn and those that were previously made public in 2012, much of what is in the trial exhibits had never been made public before. The files do not support the view, promoted by some in the Obama administration, that bin Laden was in “comfortable retirement,” “sidelined,” or “a lion in winter” in the months leading up to his death. On the contrary, bin Laden is asked to give his order on a host of issues, ranging from the handling of money to the movement of terrorist operatives. Some of the key revelations in the newly-released bin Laden files relate to al Qaeda’s dealings with Iran and presence in Afghanistan. A top al Qaeda operative asked bin Laden for permission to relocate to Iran in June 2010 as he plotted attacks around the world. That operative, Yunis al Mauritani, was a senior member of al Qaeda’s so-called “external operations” team, and plotted to launch Mumbai-style attacks in Europe.

An interesting development..which undermines comments made by Obama and his worthless national security advisor, Susan Rice.  No wonder only 17 documents, out of over a MILLION, were released by the Administration.  This is definitely something to keep an eye on..