Vintage photo: Pļaviņas, Latvia

Mrs. Marathon Pundit isn't sure, but she believes that a woman on the right is a friend of her mother's name Elza. If so, based on my guess of her age--that would mean that this photo was taken sometime in the 1950s.

The sign reads, Pļaviņas, which is a small town in the Vidzeme region of Latvia.

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Lonely Planet Estonia Latvia & Lithuania By Presser, B. (Google Affiliate Ad)

December 15: Wreaths Across America

Do you want to perform a good deed? On  December 15, Wreath Across America will be laying wreaths at the graves of our veterans. Click here to learn more--and hopefully volunteer.

There are hundreds of sites where your assistance is needed.



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Proud Army Wife Christmas Tree ornament (Google Affiliate Ad)

(Video) The Cost of Obama's Economy

What's the cost of President Obama's economy? Layoffs...lots of them.

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An American Tragedy-"The Great Recession": Poetic Times from Wall Street to Main Street (Google Affiliate Ad)

Detroit city council member to Obama: We voted for you--now bail us out

There is so much wrong with what Detroit City Council member JoAnn Watson said yesterday.

"Our people in an overwhelming way supported the re-election of this president and there ought to be a quid pro quo and you ought to exercise leadership on that," she declared on the floor of the City Council. "Of course, not just that, but why not?"

"After the election of Jimmy Carter, the honorable Coleman Alexander Young, he went to Washington, D.C. and came home with some bacon," said Watson. "That's what you do."

Coleman Young, who was mayor of Detroit in the 1970s and 1980s, assisted in the destruction of Detroit. A former union boss--his confrontational style accelerated the flight of businesses and jobs from Detroit.

Fox 2 News Headlines

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NLRB recess appointments battle heads to court

About a year ago President Obama made three recess appointments to the radicalized NLRB.

But was that legal?

From the Wall Street Journal--paid subscription required:

One hallmark of the Obama Presidency is its habit of running roughshod over Congressional prerogatives. A test of that arrogation of power comes Wednesday when the Administration has to defend its imperial treatment of recess appointments in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

We have long supported such appointments as long as they are made when Congress is genuinely in recess. Yet in January Mr. Obama named three new members of the National Labor Relations Board along with Richard Cordray as the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau when the Senate wasn't in recess. While Congress was conducting pro forma sessions, Mr. Obama pulled this end run around the Senate's advice and consent power.

In Noel Canning v. NLRB, a Washington state Pepsi bottler claims that the NLRB lacked a three-member quorum when it decided a labor case because the recess appointments were illegitimate. In order for the President to make a recess appointment, the Senate must adjourn, and under Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution neither house of Congress can adjourn for more than three days without the other's permission.

On January 4, the day Mr. Obama packed the NLRB, Congress considered itself to be in session. But the White House claimed the pro forma session didn't count because the Senate wasn't really available to do confirmations except by unanimous consent.

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The Devil at My Doorstep: How I Survived a Three-Year War with Big Labor and Protected My Employees and Business (Google Affiliate Ad)

Obama's press sec'y dismisses GOP fiscal cliff proposal as "magic beans and fairy dust"

White House press secretary Jay Carney not only looks like at a 12 year-old...he acts like one. Earlier today he dismissed the Republican proposal to avoid the fiscal cliff as "magic beans and fairy dust."

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America, Under New Management: A Minority's Guide to Understanding the Angry Tea Party/Republicans (Google Affiliate Ad)

Vintage photo: Latvian farm scene

Yesterday I posted several Army photos--including some greeting cards--of Mrs. Marathon Pundit's cousin, Gunnars Masulis. He's on the right in this picture.

I don't know who took this photograph. But what a scene! Haystacks and a genuine post and rail livestock pen--as if this was an Old Masters painting.

Related post:

Soviet Army Christmas and New Year cards and photos

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All My Walls POL00167 Farm Fence Metal Wall Art (Google Affiliate Ad)