9-11 Service Day

9/11 to be a national service day. Click on the image on that page to enlarge.

No, damn it, No !!

We have 364 other days to be service days. This day, this one day out of the year, has been and will continue to be set aside for one purpose only, and that one purpose is to stop and remember the firefighters, police and EMS workers who gave their lives in the attacks on this day, and all the innocent victims of those attacks in New York City, Washington DC, and Shanksville Pa.

I have no argument with a service day, I guess, but I have to admit that if someone gives service on only one day, then they might want to reconsider the rest of the year and what might be done on all those other days. But aside from that snarky thought, this one day, 9/11, is NOT the day for this. This day is sacred to many of us, a day of deep sorrow and mourning over all of those who gave so very much for others, who lived up to the pledge that they made when they signed on as firefighters or police or EMS. "Others before self", "The Finest" or "The Bravest"....whichever one you want to recall, they all did what they felt had to be done to save others. And Mr Beemer and the other passengers in the plane over Pa, who knew what was happening, decided what had to be done to prevent another disaster, and did it, giving up their own lives in their actions. All of these men and women deserve at least this one day, this one 24 hour period that is theirs and theirs alone. It must not be diluted into a feel-good day of service, but kept as a solemn day of remembrance in their honor and a day to recall what heroism really is.

GREAT SUMMARY

How Do We Thank Them?

To all those in uniform, past, present and future, THANK YOU!!

I stand in awe of the courage of these men.

BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING

From the official White House website:

There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.

I cannot believe that this is happening in and to my country. The president is asking us to "turn in" others who dare to disagree with him and his socialist/marxist policies. What about the Constitutional right of freedom of speech? What about our right AND our obligation to stand up and disagree with policies that we see as harmful to our country? Dear lord, this man and his actions become more repressive by the minute. I am beginning to become really concerned where this is going to lead. Our useless Congressmen follow him like bleating sheep, not even realizing that his actions are usurping their power as it destroys our rights. The government claims that those of us who disagree are being organized, sponsored and funded by the Republican party and are only the radical fringe, and the press simply closes their eyes and prints whatever dribble is fed to them. I HAVE protested, and no one organized me, paid me or sponsored me or anyone else that I know. Our only stimulus was our love of country and fear for its destruction. (Of course when ACORN is bussed to some site to protest, or SEIU busses people to Conn. to protest businessmen being paid bonuses legally owed them by contract, that is the "real" people talking!!!) I don't know where this is leading, but my gut says it is not going to be a pretty or pleasant place.

Dollars for Clunkers

UPDATE BELOW

On the TV this evening, Mr Beck was discussing the Fed's $$ for clunkers program.

He noted that on the website associated with this program, there is listed there a "contract" that in effect says that if you use that site, the Government takes ownership of your computer and all data on it, and has the right to access and "listen-in" on all of your communications, e-mails etc. A lawyer guest on the program concurred with him and said that the contract is legal, binding, and irreversible.

DO NOT, repeat NOT, use that webpage auto.gov . For obvious reasons, I have not looked at the site and have absolutely no intention of doing so.

Updated info here. I find it fascinating that once again it takes private enterprise to try and correct what the government program screwed up, and in the process makes a profit AND helps the consumer!!

Just Another Day in DC

Let's see:
The economy is in the toilet
The government is taking over big business
Health Care may soon be socialized
Our allies are dumped on while our enemies are apologized to
The President shows off his true feelings re race relations
and now I find out how much I am spending on staff for Mrs Obama, who has no official status, and who sees nothing to be proud of in this country.
Theo Spark: MICHELE OBAMA'S ATTENDANTS
Oh happy day

Health Care Bill Part 3

There is a gent who is reading the healthcare bill and posting some of his findings here.

Just a few examples:
Pg 22 of the HC Bill MANDATES the Govt will audit books of ALL EMPLOYERS that self insure!!

Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC bill - THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benes u getPG 50 Section 152 in HC bill - HC will be provided 2 ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise

Pg 58HC Bill - Govt will have real-time access 2 individs finances & a National ID Healthcard will b issued!

Pg 59 HC Bill lines 21-24 Govt will have direct access 2 ur banks accts 4 elect. funds transfer


pg 124 lines 24-25 HC No company can sue GOVT on price fixing. No "judicial review" against Govt Monop

pg 127 Lines 1-16 HC Bill - Doctors/ #AMA - The Govt will tell YOU what u can make.

Pg 145 Line 15-17 An Employer MUST auto enroll employees into pub opt plan. NO CHOICE

Pg 126 Lines 22-25 Employers MUST pay 4 HC 4 part time employees AND their families.

Read more at the link, the WRITE, CALL, SCREAM, YELL (not really.....be polite but forceful.) Let those who work for us in Washington know that you don't want, need or desire them telling you what kind of healthcare you need for yourself or your family.

9-11SURCHARGE

So once again, Albany is stealing our money. They have been using the "9-11" telephone surcharge to buy uniforms, for a statewide wireless network (which is NOT working and has failed its testing), and for the infamous "general fund". And when they are discovered, their solution is to change the name of the tax so we cannot complain that the money is being misused.

What a bunch of thieves!

Math Education then, now, and in the Future

With my thanks, from Nicki at the liberty zone:

Subject: A History of teaching maths

1. Teaching maths in 1970

A logger sells a truckload of timber for £100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?

2. Teaching Maths In 1980

A logger sells a truckload of timber for £100. His cost of production is 80% of the price. What is his profit?

3. Teaching Maths In 1990

A logger sells a truckload of timber for £100. His cost of production is £80. How much was his profit?

4. Teaching Maths In 2000

A logger sells a truckload of timber for £100. His cost of production is £80 and his profit is £20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.

5. Teaching Maths In 2005

A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habit of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. Your assignment: Discuss how the birds and squirrels might fee l as the logger cut down their homes just for a measly profit of £20.

6. Teaching Maths In 2009

A logger is arrested for trying to cut down a tree in case it may be offensive to Muslims or other religious groups not consulted in the felling license. He is also fined a £100 as his chainsaw is in breach of Health and Safety legislation as it deemed too dangerous and could cut something. He has used the chainsaw for over 20 years without incident however he does not have the correct certificate of competence and is therefore considered to be a recidivist and habitual criminal. His DNA is sampled and his details circulated throughout all government agencies. He protests and is taken to court and fined another £100 because he is such an easy target. When he is released he returns to find Gypsies have cut down half his wood to build a camp on his land. He tries to throw them off but is arrested, prosecuted for harassing an ethnic minority, imprisoned and fined a further £100. While he is in jail the Gypsies cut down the rest of his wood and sell it on the black market for £100 cash. They also have a leaving BBQ of squirrel and pheasant and depart leaving behind several tonnes of rubbish and asbestos sheeting. The forester on release is warned that failure to clear the fly tipped rubbish immediately at his own cost is an offence. He complains and is arrested for environmental pollution, breach of the peace and invoiced £12,000 plus VAT for safe disposal costs by a regulated government contractor.

Your assignment: How many times is the logger going to have to be arrested and fined before he realises that he is never going to make £20 profit by hard work, give up, sign onto the dole and live off the state for the rest of his life?

7. Teaching Maths In 2010

A logger doesn’t sell a lorry load of timber because he can’t get a loan to buy a new lorry because his bank has spent all his and their money on a derivative of securitised debt related to sub- prime mortgages in Alabama and lost the lot with only some government money left to pay a few million pound bonuses to their senior directors and the traders who made the biggest losses. The logger struggles to pay the £1,200 road tax on his old lorry however, as it was built in the 1970s it no longer meets the emissions regulations and he is forced to scrap it. Some Bulgarian loggers buy the lorry from the scrap merchant and put it back on the roa d. They undercut everyone on price for haulage and send their cash back home, while claiming unemployment for themselves and their relatives. If questioned they speak no English and it is easier to deport them at the governments expense. Following their holiday back home they return to the UK with different names and fresh girls and start again. The logger protests, is accused of being a bigoted racist and as his name is on the side of his old lorry he is forced to pay £1,500 registration fees as a gang master. The Government borrows more money to pay more to the bankers as bonus's are not cheap. The parliamentarians feel they are missing out and claim the difference on expenses and allowances. You do the maths.

8. Teaching Maths 2017

أ المسجل تبيع حموله شاحنة من

الخشب من اجل 100 دولار. صاحب تكلفة

الانت=D

8

Musical Break and a BBQ story

Just a song that I find hard to get out of my head once I play it.

As to the BBQ........
Since it was a nice afternoon/evening, what better way to end the weekend than with some meat on the grill. The love of my life had marinaded the meat and it was my job to fire up the grill and cook the meat. So out I go to the backyard. I take the cover off the grill, turn on the gas tank, open the grill and remove the cooking trays, and am about to put some wood chips into the iron tray. This is a small cast-iron dish about 3 by 6 inches that sits over the gas burners so the wood chips smolder and smoke. But when I look, there is an accumulation of twigs, grass clippings and other "yard waste" in the dish, which was NOT there when I last used it less than a week ago. Realizing what it was, I called to my wife and she came out to see as well. As she looked in, I explained what I had found and that I thought it was a nest being built. She looked in and said that it certainly was a nest, and in fact there was the "homeowner" looking back at us. I peeked under the gas burners and was looking at a very indignant mouse whose lovely sheltered home was being destroyed by my activities! Well, it was a really good thing that he/she made his/her presence known before I had lighted the burners, so after a short game of catch-me-if-you-can, the squatter took off for other points, I cleaned out the nest and refilled the dish with hickory chips, and supper got underway as originally planned.

No moral, just an enjoyable diversion before supper.

Health Care Part 2

Now that we have lost the auto industry, much of the banking and finance market, and are in imminent danger of losing the energy market, all to government control, the next area to fall appears to be the health care industry. We are being told, over and over again, of the health care crisis that is befalling us, and how something must be done now, right now!!!!!! But wait...the stimulus bill had to be passed right now, the energy bill (cap and trade) had to be passed right now, the mortgage bailout had to be right now, etc, etc. What exactly is the big rush here? If you accept that there even is a crisis (more later) in health care, how exactly are things going to be so much worse if we take the time to read the friggin' bill and argue it? This bill has the power to change completely and possibly irreversibly how all of us get medical care in the future. Isn't that a good reason to rush into this a whole lot slower that we seem to be doing? We argue the survival of some stupid minnow in some small stream somewhere in Montana much more than we seem to spend discussing this huge bill!

But let's back up a little bit here if we may. What exactly is this "crisis" that we are supposed to be fixing? We are told that there are 47 million without health care, but virtually every study shows that this number includes illegals, as well as those who have sufficient income to purchase insurance but freely choose not to. So the number who are involuntarily uncovered is much, much less than this, well below 50% of this number. And studies show that this proposed bill will leave over 20 million uncovered. So we have gained exactly nothing.
We are also told that health insurance is too expensive, and that the insurance companies are ripping us off. Well, yes it is expensive, but at least part of that expense is driven by government regulations. I don't want a policy that covers "alternative medicine" , massage therapy, chiropractic and a scad of things that cost a lot and are of no use to me at all. But because of gov't regulations, these have to be included, driving up my costs. And likewise I can't shop for a better or less expensive policy anywhere else except in my home state, because of gov't rules. And though I sure don't like spending money, when I needed the policy for a heart attack and stenting, or when I severely damaged my knee and needed surgery to rebuild it, it was sure nice to see almost all the costs covered by the policy. And when I look at the way government plans work in Canada and England, I'm pretty sure that had we the government system in place here at those times, I would not have received the same care at the same speed, and indeed might not have had the treatment at all because of my "advanced age". Heck, why should we care if an old, over-the-hill guy of 60 + years has a knee that works or not anyway. The plan can save $$$ if we deny his treatment. And the old man, me, has NO recourse. Sorry, I'd rather have a private company who has at least some interest in my well-being than a bureaucrat in an office somewhere who has absolutely no interest in me or my health.
Additionally, much of that cost is driven by things that could be changed or controlled without tossing the whole system. Want to lower medical costs? Find ways to eliminate frivolous lawsuits. Protect drug manufacturers from ridiculous class action suits that make lawyers millions, and alleged victims almost nothing. Minimize government involvement in health care. Force everyone, everyone, to pay something toward their care. If it is going to cost you nothing to use the system, you will overuse and abuse that system. Even a nominal charge every time you visit the ER or clinic will make you a bit more selective in when you do use it.
As to the argument that there are "many" who are denied health care because of lack of finances, please look up the EMTALA laws (Emergency Medical Treatment And Labor Act). It mandates that all who present to the hospital campus must be seen, with no regard to ability to pay.

But even more basic than all this.....what do we mean when we say that everyone has a right to health care? Why do we have this right? Where did it come from? And if we have such a right, do we not also have the same right to food, shelter, an automobile to get us to the store or Dr's office, gas to run the car, a telephone, TV etc etc. Where do we stop? If the basis of this right is necessity (We must have this right or else we might die!), then what is more basic to life than food? And if I have a basic right to food, then how dare the grocery store and the farmer charge me for their products? I have a RIGHT to it!!!

More to follow

Health Care

Mr. Brady at New Majority plots the organizational chart of the Dem plan


Questions for all of our reps in Washington:

Are you going to at least read the bill?
If it is so good, will YOU be signing up for it, or once again exempting yourselves from what is so good for the rest of us?

Abortion....Finally a liberal gives an honest answer

From WND:

In an astonishing admission, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she was under the impression that legalizing abortion with the 1973 Roe. v. Wade case would eliminate undesirable members of the populace, or as she put it "populations that we don't want to have too many of."

Her remarks, set to be published in the New York Times Magazine this Sunday but viewable online now, came in an in-depth interview with Emily Bazelon titled, "The Place of Women on the Court."

The 16-year veteran of the high court was asked if she were a lawyer again, what would she "want to accomplish as a future feminist legal agenda."

Ginsburg responded:

Reproductive choice has to be straightened out. There will never be a woman of means without choice anymore. That just seems to me so obvious. The states that had changed their abortion laws before Roe [to make abortion legal] are not going to change back. So we have a policy that affects only poor women, and it can never be otherwise, and I don't know why this hasn't been said more often.

Question: Are you talking about the distances women have to travel because in parts of the country, abortion is essentially unavailable, because there are so few doctors and clinics that do the procedure? And also, the lack of Medicaid for abortions for poor women?

Ginsburg: Yes, the ruling about that surprised me. [Harris v. McRae – in 1980 the court upheld the Hyde Amendment, which forbids the use of Medicaid for abortions.] Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don't want to have too many of.

Think about that statement. Go ahead and try to figure out what she could have meant by it.

Anyway you slice it it is still among the most ugly, anti-human statements ever uttered by a major figure on the American political scene.

Albany Rascism

In the midst of all the unbelievably childish behavior in Albany by those who think that they are so much smarter and better than us poor commoners, comes this little gem.

People being fired on the basis of race? Here in NY?? By the legislators?? Tell me it ain't so, Joe!!!
Those people, all of them, should pack it up, go home, and stop embarrassing us.

Men

A short piece, and worth a read. I'll wait until you're back.

I sure hope that we still have people like this guy around.
Problem seen, take action, fix problem, get on with life.

I mean to cast no aspersions on anyone, but I honestly feel that we need more men as opposed to males. Maleness is simply the presence or absence of a particular gene. Men and what makes them men is something that is made, made through training and by choices throughout life. In this time of great trial and stress, our country needs men who can face up to the tasks at hand, who have the courage and strength to do the right thing, not the easy thing. The man hanging on the hook in the linked photo did the right thing; he didn't wring his hands, call for an investigation into the cause of the problem, and sincerely hope that someone did something. He saw a problem, he took action and fixed the problem and then went back to work.

As an afterthought, 5 will get you 10 that this man or his employer will get a visit and/or fine from OSHA for doing what had to be done!!

KINGSTON TEAPARTY

Kingston Independence Day Tea Party Kingston, New York Saturday, July 4, 2009 11 am to 3 pm Kingston Point Beach, City of Kingston Delaware Ave Tom & Judy Santopietro (organizer) 845-399-6943 (organizer phone)
Contact Organizer | Website | Facebook kingstonteaparty.com For other areas, check here

The Upcoming Census

A list of the groups being paid federal $$ (YOUR money) to assist in the census of 2010:

ACORN
100 Black Men of America
African American Women’s House of Imagene (sic) Shelter
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
Arab American Institute
Asian American Federation
Asian American Justice Center
Asian and Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS
Association of Professors and Scholars of Iranian Heritage
Boat People SOS
Hispanic Alliance for Prosperity Institute
Hispanic Federation
Fundacion Azteca
Latino Justice PDLDEF
Mas New Mexico
Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Minority Access
National Alliance for Hispanic Health
National Alliance of Black School Educators
National American Indian Housing Council
NAACP National Voter Fund
NAACP (National Association of Colored People)
National Association for Black Social Workers
National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs
National association of Hispanic Federal Executives
National Association of Hispanic Publications
National Association of Latino Elected Officials
National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs
National Black Chamber of Commerce
National Black Child Development Institute
National Black Justice Coalition
National Black Leadership Forum
National Coalition on Black Civic Participation
National Congress of Black Women
National Federation of Filipino American Associations
National Hispanic Leadership Institute
National Hispanic Business Information Clearinghouse
National Latino Research Center
National Minority AIDS Council
National Puerto Rican Coalition
National Puerto Rican Day Parade
Rainbow Push Coalition
U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Voto Latino

More to come re the census

HUGE TAX INCREASE

The House, in a close vote, has passed the "cap-and-trade" bill, in spite of the fact that:
1) There is no good evidence for global warming
2) There is NO evidence that carbon dioxide has anything to do with global warming
3) Even Greenpeace was against the bill as being useless for conservation
4) None of the useless idiots in DC even read the bill that they were voting on (again)
5) the bill is going to put huge burdens (read dollars) on all of us and do a great job of preventing any kind of business recovery

The following Repuplicans voted FOR the bill's passage Reps. Mary Bono Mack (CA), Mike Castle (DE), Steven Kirk (IL), John McHugh (NY), Leonard Lance (NJ), Frank LoBiondo (NJ), Dave Reichert (WA), and Chris Smith (NJ). Maybe we should drop them a note to "thank" them for looking out for us, the dumb slobs who will have to pay for this.

Our Mr Hinchey.....he seems to see no problem with nailing us with yet another huge chunk of our money being taken from us.

IRAN

Link to what is happened today in Iran.

WARNING Very graphic photos.

How could anyone do this to another countryman?
And how could we be so stupid to think that talking to them is going to magically change them? These leaders are still in the Middle Ages, or worse. I'm no genius (duh, no kidding Capt Obvious!!) but I don't see a diplomatic solution here.

For all who believe in it, and I do, please pray for all the victims.

Father's Day

Tomorrow is Father's Day.
Sadly, my dad died almost 40 years ago, and to this very day, I miss him. We had the usual fights, arguments, and disagreements, as is inevitable when 2 stubborn people butt heads, but his concern for and love of his family was never, ever in doubt.
He was of the old school......his word was absolute law as we grew up, and to step beyond a certain line brought a smack on the butt that drove home the point that the line was crossed only at grave risk. And signs of affection did not come easily to him, not because he didn't feel the emotion, but it was not the thing that men did in that era.
But his love for his kids was shown in so many ways...teaching us the right way, the ONLY way, to fish for trout was with a dry fly and a bamboo rod that was probably older than we were, taking walks through the mud as Spring set in, learning the sight and sound of the birds of the area, spending endless hours in his Studebaker station wagon learning all his shortcuts (all of which added miles and hours to any trip, and limitless fun and excitement to the trip as well), exploring things in the area that most people never knew existed (lead mines, iron ore pits and such), listening to the radio in his car with him as we drove through the night, trying to pick up WWVA or KDKA (look them up, they are still there), and the quiet words of encouragement when they were most needed.
Where I am, what I am, what I have done, so much of that is because of the strength, the sense of right and wrong, the courage that he passed on to me. Thanks, dad.

The Letter

If you haven't yet seen and read it, there is a letter written to Glenn Beck, which letter he read on his TV show earlier this week. It was written by a woman who is a grandmother, just another "lady-next-door" who said a great deal of what I think has to be said. Some excerpts follow:

The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now.......

Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them.

Please, go here, read the whole letter and think seriously about what she is saying. We are seeing our country rapidly changing from what it used to be, what it was created to be, what it should be, into just another centrally run, big-government, socialistic state.

What to do

There is a book out there, whose title I have unfortunately forgotten, which book tries to explain the fundamental differences between the way the men and women see, react to, and understand the world. It is not a superficial, "touchy-feely" book, but an honest attempt to understand and explain the differences.

One of the basic premises of the author is that men are, by nature, fighters. He feels that men are actually in need of something to fight for, a belief or a cause, something that they can stand up for. As I get older and perhaps a bit wiser (though that is up for questioning!!) I think that he is correct. We need something to believe in, something that we can take hold of, around which we can "circle the wagons". Add to this the desire that many feel for freedom, and I begin to see why some of us are becoming more and more active in standing up against the constant expansion of the federal government and its ever more burdensome laws, rules, and demands.

Though it hurts me deeply to have to admit it, I also see that there are way more who are not only willing, but eager, to sacrifice their freedom and give everything up to the central government in return for the "security" offered them there, losing not only their freedom, but everyone else's as well. They point to us, snicker, and call us disillusioned wackos, throwbacks to a different era, right-wing dingbats, and a host of other unflattering names. They cannot know what is being lost because they have never experienced it, having been raised in a society that sees pleasure and gratification as the only worthwhile goals, and sacrifice and struggles and hardship are things to be avoided.

How do we show them what they are missing and what they are losing? We can't tell them, because words like freedom, work, sacrifice, challenge, patriotism, and liberty either mean nothing to them, or even worse, have been corrupted into something that is bad, evil and to be shunned. If we aren't speaking the same language, if words don't mean the same thing to the listener as they do to the speaker, then understanding is impossible. We have three choices that I see:
We can continue to talk to them, to try and get them to see what the words really mean rather that the corrupted meaning that has been taught them through the years. This is time consuming, and can be frustrating beyond belief when the words that we use are either innocently or maliciously misconstrued and spat back at us. It can be like trying to order from a menu in a foreign restaurant when you haven't a clue what anything on the menu means. You are talking but not conversing. An example that we all have heard...if you criticize the president, you are a racist.
We can try, instead of talking, try to educate by example. We can show by doing rather than talking. Unfortunately, what we do is all to often then presented as something completely different from what we actually did. Think about the recent spate of tea-parties around the country. Here was a group of people exercising their freedom of expression, most of it spontaneous and non-partisan, and much of it aimed at ALL of Washington who were going completely nuts with spending. But it was then presented to the general public as a "bunch of republicans" who were "out to get Obama". Again, this is a tough way to go.
The third choice is to ignore them completely. I don't mean to sound cruel or heartless, but if they can't / won't join, then there is little that we can do about it. Those of us who have tasted freedom, who know that liberty IS worth fighting for, must do what we must do to protect and expand that freedom throughout this country. The complacent hangers-on hopefully will see the errors of their way and join us, but if not, we have done what we could and must move on. There are many who don't join simply because they are ignorant of what they are missing, and these are the ones that I fervently hope will learn and join. Others, those who see themselves as the elite, who "know so much more than we do and are so much smarter than the rest of us", these must be shown as the demagogues that they really are. Those who sit in power and pass law after law, spend billions after billions, and completely ignore the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence, and the God-given rights that those documents uphold, these people must be shown as the power-hungry tyrants that they have become.

I will hasten to add that I am NOT pushing for an armed rebellion. God help us if it ever comes to that. The thought of Americans shooting other Americans, of our country laid waste by another civil war, is too horrible to contemplate. I hope for, I pray for, I dream of another type of revolution, a revolution of ideals, of the principals upon which this country was founded and under which it grew from 13 little colonies into the greatest and free-est country ever seen. That is what I yearn for.


There stands a man who has had enough.

He just needed about a million others to stand with him.

So do we.

(with thanks to The Smallest Majority)

REMEMBER

On the blog, let's put aside for this weekend everything except remembrance of all those who gave so very much that we might have the freedoms that we so carelessly take for granted. May God bless each and every one of them.
link here

And from the blog of AMBULANCE DRIVER,

Because I Can't Say It Any Better Than Last Year

When you partake in your Memorial Day barbecue today, try to remember a few things.

When the smoke from the grill blows into your eyes, try to imagine the terror of the young pilot as the smoke fills the cockpit of his F4 Wildcat, spiraling into the sea off Guadalcanal.

When you sample those pork ribs, remember the Iowa farm boy whose life blood stained the surf at Normandy.

When you eat a bite of potato salad, think of an Idaho preacher's kid who died with a prayer on his lips, asking God to forgive him for the enemy soldiers' lives he had taken.

When you welcome your niece's new boyfriend to the table, remember the black kid from Mississippi who died right beside his white buddies in Vietnam, though he wasn't even allowed to eat in the same restaurants back home.

When you scold your misbehaving grandchild, think of the little boy whose only knowledge of his father will come from stories told by family, because Daddy died on a dusty street in Fallujah while he was still in the womb.

When you fetch your wife another glass of tea, think of a young wife living in base housing at Fort Benning, as she hears the news that her husband died at Ia Drang.

When you invite Grandpa to say grace before the meal, think of young men cut down by a hail of fire from a Maxim at Belleau Wood.

When you reflect with pride on your daughter's recent graduation, think of a young woman cartwheeling into the sea in her F14 Tomcat after a failed carrier landing.

When you look with distaste at the tattoos on her new boyfriend, think instead of the former gang kid from Detroit who found a way up and out of poverty in the Army, only to die from an IED blast in Baghdad. And remind yourself that what matters is how he treats your daughter, not the ink on his arms.

When you sit at the table, think of a Navy Captain, a husband and father, who died at his Pentagon desk on September 11. His death was no less honorable.

If you're traveling today, think of the passengers of United Flight 93, for in a field outside Shanksville they became the first soldiers in our war on terror.

When your boys fight, as boys will do, remember the boys on both sides who died at Gettysburg.

If a loved one can't make it to the gathering today, think of Mrs. Bixby and her five sons.

While your kids play in the pool this afternoon, think of other kids not much older, trapped below decks as the Arizona went under at Pearl Harbor.

When you take a shower tonight, think of young men reeking of machine oil and sweat, desperately trying, and failing, to surface their wounded submarine somewhere in the Pacific in 1943.

I tell you of these things not to spoil your appetite or your day, but to remind you that the things we enjoy in our lives are made all the sweeter when you consider what made them possible.

Remind yourself also that your sacrifice is infinitely easier. All you need do is sacrifice a moment of your time every few years to pull a lever. The way to honor a dead soldier is not simply to fly a flag on Memorial Day. Vote to preserve the freedoms they died defending.

And stop by your local Veteran's Cemetery and put out some flowers on the grave of your choice. It need not even be the grave of someone you know.

Bring your children along, and explain to them why. It's important.

Sometimes Life Can Be a Pain and random thoughts

Saturday, a great day to get some outdoor work done. Let's see....I've been meaning to dig up an area for a small addition to the garden space. So down to the shed to get out the tiller. Oh, rats, the tiller has a flat tire... a REALLY flat tire. No problem, I'll just start it up, run it to the garage and attach it to the compressor.
But before I start it, I remember from past experience that the mice seem to like nesting inside the engine cowling, so I'll pull the starter rope very slowly to chase them out first. And as I pull it, sure enough there are mice running everywhere. Then a real pull to start it and the engine simply stops turning. It just stops, no matter how hard I pull the cord. Crimminy, now what? I can't push the tiller to the garage (it's all uphill and the flat tire now has unseated from the rim), so I go to the garage and get the necessary tools, then back to the tiller to start disassembling the cowling and starter cord assembly. Of course, the machine is built in such a way that to remove the cowling, I have to remove the gas tank, the bracket that holds the tank, and about every other part of the motor. Finally, I lift off the cowling and another swarm of mice run out, and leave behind a mouse house that would make the Trump Towers look small. Clean out the nest, reassemble the cowling but leave it loose so I can run the tiller up to the garage and blow the remaining debris out of the cooling fins. Now this motor ALWAYS starts on the second or third pull. So about a dozen pulls later, I decide that there is a problem. I still can't push it up to the garage, so maybe I can pull it there.
Get out the tractor and hitch it to the tiller. Start pulling and the flat tire immediately rolls off the rim and the tiller tips and veers off course. Reattach and try again....same result. My long-suffering wife, bless her heart, comes out and while I drive, she horses the tiller back in line until we get it to the garage. Disassemble the cowling, blow out the cooling fins, reasssemble the cowling, gas tank bracket and tank, tighten everything back up. One pull on the cord and glory be, it starts!!!. Then try blowing up the tire.....it won't seat on the bead to hold any air. Find a piece of rope, wrap the tire and cinch it down, then try inflating.....no go. Where is my bottle of SLIME.....slime the bead and rim, retighten the rope and reinflate, and IT HOLDS. Seat the bead, remove the rope, and we are ready to go. So, a job of about 20 minutes, tilling the garden, ends up being a 11/2 hour job of virtually rebuilding the tiller.
There is a law, whose name I cannot remember, which law is surprisingly accurate when it comes to home repair jobs. It states that one makes the best estimate of the time needed for a job. That time is then doubled, and the time scale moved up by one unit, and the result is the actual time needed. Thus if the best time estimate is 2 hours, then double it to 4 hours and go up one unit to 4 days, and that will be the actual time needed.

And random thoughts:

How can Pres Obama stand in front of us with a straight face and talk about how deficit spending cannot go on, while he has singlehandedly increased deficit spending more than any other president in history?

As a Catholic, I hang my head in shame over what Notre Dame University did this past weekend. Against the beliefs of the Catholic faith, against the rules put out by the bishops, against the voices of thousands who called and wrote their opposition, the president of the university gave an honorary degree to a man who has consistently voted in favor of abortions on demand, and consistently voted to allow the killing of infants who survived an attempted abortion.

And a very cool visual illusion here.

If I can clear my head and try to make some sense of all that is being done to our country, I'll try to pick up where I was. Right now, I'm whelmed by all that has happened

Wallace, Stirling Bridge, and Us.

The search that found the music linked yesterday (see below) led me to scan other music pieces, and in looking for them, I came across some clips from the movie "Braveheart"

Let me say right up front that I know it is "just a movie". And I will also admit (with boundless pride!) my Scottish heritage, and that I still find piping music to be unmatched in making me think beyond myself, and making me look at the real heros in our history.

Having said that, listen to William Wallace as he speaks to his countrymen, who are looking at the English army, an army that outnumbers them, outclasses them in weaponry, and is far more experienced in the art of war. And those countrymen, just "guys next door", don't want to fight and possibly die; they want to go home to their wives and families, back to their farms and hearths. But Wallace has seen something that they are missing. He has seen freedom from a ruler who cares not about them, who sees them as servants and slaves to his every want and need. And Wallace has seen that freedom as a goal worth fighting for, and even worth dying for. His talk to them rings out.....yes, you can choose to go home and live. But somewhere, sometime before you die, you will wish that you chose differently, that you saw freedom and decided to fight for that freedom, to put it all on the line for a greater good.

It isn't medieval Scotland; it is the 21st century in the United States of America. We are not standing on the battle field of Stirling Bridge; we are sitting in front of our computers. We aren't carrying broadswords, shields and dirks; we are more likely carrying cell phones and I-pods. But we ARE looking at an assault on our country and our freedom, just as real as was Edward's assault into Scotland. We have suits in Washington having taken over corporations and banks, now aiming at health care control. We have "leaders" in Washington spending our money, money we will never see or have any control of because they take it before we even have it, both current money and money going generations into the future. We have "experts" predicting a warming globe and blaming it on us, and seeing as a solution yet more money taken from us, all in spite of absolutely no evidence showing human-cause warming, if there is any warming at all! We have a government that now acts as a nanny for almost 50% of the population, and wants more and ever more power over those it is supposed to be serving. And this government is never satisfied; it constantly grows and grows, spends and spends, and takes and takes. Our defense against this oppression were 3 of the most powerful pieces of paper ever written and signed, the Deceleration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. But after over 200 years, they are swept aside or simply ignored as the government continues to roll on, growing and taxing, taxing and crushing all before it. We are marching inexorably down a road that can only lead to ruin, a road traveled many times in the past by many countries and societies, all of whom failed and collapsed. The road we used to be on, the road laid out and built by the founders of this great country, the road paid for with the suffering and the blood of all those who fought for its survival, the road that we have to find again and set out upon, the road that leads from the Stirling Bridge of our time, is there for us, if we have to courage to look for it and take it as our own. The choice is ours as it was for Wallace and his army: go home and be satisfied with our servitude or stand up like men and say "FREEDOM".

Change of Pace

Just some music to soothe the anger and frustration
here

The Spending Cut

Being as how I do better with pictures (everyone knows that the words are there for those who don't understand the pictures, right??), I liked this graphic.

Kingston Tea Party

The Kingston contingent held their rally along Ulster Ave this afternoon. Estimates were that there were 250 to 350 present at any one time, although people came and went through the afternoon. I was struck by the huge number of passer-bys who honked, waved, and gave thumbs-up as they drove past.





A real cross section was there, older, younger, all varieties of people who shared a concern with where this country is going.

Just Truly Fantastic, and Touching

Truly beautiful and hauntingly sad.

If you can listen to this and NOT think of all the soldiers who have died protecting us and our liberty, then your mind works differently than mine.

He Is Risen

"On the first day 0f the week, at dawn, the women came to the tomb bringing the spices they had prepared. They found the stone rolled back from the tomb; but when they entered the tomb, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were still at a loss over what to think of this, two men in dazzling garments stood beside them. Terrified, the women bowed to the ground. The men said to them, "Why do you search for the Living One among the dead? He is not here, He has been raised up. Remember what He said to you while he was still in Galilee-that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again."
Luke 24, 1-8

On this blessed day that proclaims to the whole world, "HE IS RISEN", may the joy of that most sacred event fill all of you, not only today, but every day. He died for us and now is risen, so that we all may live.

A happy and blessed Easter to everyone.

As Liberty Is Slowly Crushed

Even as recently as a few years ago, most of us pointed fingers at places like Chavez's Venezuela, or Castro's Cuba, and remarked about how sad it was to see a people locked under a tyranny of a government that seized private property, oversaw all means of news reporting, and kept the common man completely under control.

We are now that country. Starting with the TARP program, the government sought to take control of the financial markets, and now we have a president who feels it is within his power to fire a CEO of General Motors, a Secretary of the Treasury who has no problem setting salary limits in the private sector, and a set of congressional members who blithely sign away our most basic rights.

Some of the banks who took those TARP funds, sometimes under duress, are now trying to repay them and get out from under the government thumb. Lo and behold, the government won't let them!!! This is NOT about saving the economy, this is about power, seizing and holding power. See here.

Now there has been presented a series of bills that would set up a new "czar" of information, and which bills would give the president absolute control of the internet. See here and here. Think about this for a moment. In order to protest what is happening in Washington, we have to first know what is happening. We have already learned that the mainstream media is of no use at all in this regard, and the restriction of "talk radio" is simply a matter of time. What is left to us is the free and unfettered exchange of ideas and information on the internet, just as you are doing right now. And these bills would grant the government absolute control over this medium.

The government controls the finances, is about to control health care, and now is taking control of communications. What, pray tell, is the difference between us and those countries that we used to pity? Our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, our Declaration of Independence, all of them are swept aside, ignored and forgotten, simply relics of past times. Instead we have a government that grows and grows, literally devouring the country in its never ending quest for power, power and more power, and we, the citizens of that country, are told to shut up, accept our place as servants of the government, and pay more and more to that fiendish machine of power-hungry politicians.

The real unsung heros of the economy

While it is easy, and tempting in a lazy sort of way, to point fingers at other groups and scream that they are the "bad guys"who are responsible for the crisis de jour, it is much more honest to realize that most of these "villans" are really straw-men put up as targets for our justified wrath. And is equally easy to overlook the fact that there are a much greater number of average people (and I do NOT mean that as an insult, but rather as a heartfelt compliment to them) out there doing what they need and want to do to make themselves better, and by that self improvement, make our country better. This gentleman says it so very well.

Ours is not a zero-sum economy. I don't have to lose in order for you to gain. We both can work hard and try to prosper, and both of us can make money. That is the beauty of our economy. It can be a win-win economy, and only when gov't steps in to redistribute in the name of "fairness" does it become a win-lose proposition. Our economy, our country as it was set up, does not require, expect, or even allow this redistribution, because our founding fathers knew that once government takes on that role, several things necessarily follow.
1) Those who earn and see their earnings taken from them either become angry and hostile or else simply stop working to produce profits that will simply be taken from them.
2) Those who receive the redistributions quickly learn to expect them, and have no motivation to become earners, since they are already being "taken care of". Why work when all will be supplied to you as your entitlement?
3) The government becomes larger and larger, more and more powerful as one group learns to depend upon it for more and more, and supports those who will continue to coddle and support them in their life of dependence. And the other group, the group of producers, sees more and more of their hard earned rewards being taken from them by the government; their voice in the whole process become smaller and smaller, while that same government that is taking from them, at the same time points to them as evil "profiteers" who are somehow responsible for the downtrodden and dependent group, WHOM THEY ARE SUPPORTING.

How We Need Someone in Washington Like This Man

By now, many of us have heard the speech by this gentleman about his country's slide into economic ruin via socialistic take-overs. For those who have not, and for those who need to once again hear someone say what has to be said, listen here.

Oh for someone to have the courage to say this to Pelosi and Reid, Geithner and Frank and Dodd and all the others who are trying so very hard to tear down this country from what it was into just another socialistic and second rate country.

Follow Up to the AIG Note Below

As noted previously, the Washington talking heads are doing their best to make up a class-envy battle, painting all the AIG workers as the villins because they took their promised bonuses.
Read this letter from someone who worked at AIG and see it from a different viewpoint.

Who do I believe??? Let's just say that there is virtually nothing that anyone from Washington says that I have any reason to believe. Their record of lies and deceit speaks volumes.

A Scary Promise that He Is Keeping

Back in the campaign, candidate Obama was quoted as seeking a "civilian army", and when we of the right raised our voices, we were brushed aside as simply over-reacting paranoids

Some promises that he should have kept, he didn't. Those that align with his "big-government", socialistic mindset are kept and enlarged upon. This is scary stuff and we better start paying attention to what is going on, besides the financial crap.

Gateway Pundit: House Passes Hitler Youth Bill

AIG Bonuses

Congress and the White House are up in arms, enraged, absolutely beside themselves in anger about the bonuses that some in AIG received.

Umm, just a brief burst of reality here, they APPROVED those same bonuses. And they are the ones who are responsible for the credit disaster. It was Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, etc who made it mandatory that banks offer mortgage loans to borrowers who could never repay, and thus the credit system began to weaken until it had to collapse. And it was Dodd, Frank, Obama et al who told us the stimulus bill had to be rushed through....no time to read it, let alone discuss it (where it then sat unsigned for 4 days while the POTUS went on a vacation). And what was in that bill? There was an amendment, the DODD amendment, which specifically allowed those same bonuses about which he now feigns rage. Face it folks, we are being played once again for suckers. Those people who got bonuses were being paid as they were contracted to be paid. Because we are angry that the gov't is throwing money at AIG doesn't invalidate those contracts.
A brief clip, with Shepard Smith giving a clear and concise explanation.

It seems that one of the tactics so often called upon is to try and convince us to aim our anger at some other non-government group, while washington and its insiders go on their merry way. Washington government, the senators, congressmen, presidents, and all the camp followers that surround them, spend our money with absolutely no regard for our wishes, spend money that we don't have and will never have, while they junket to the Netherlands to talk with the queen, maintain million dollar houses in Maryland or elsewhere, don't pay their own freaking taxes, run their offices at 78 degrees, and jet across the country in government jets while they tell us to suck it up and suffer for the greater good of the country. Stop and think, my friends. These people, these people who pose in front of the cameras and microphones and point fingers at AIG and other groups, they are the ones we should be angry at; they are the ones who are driving this country to ruin, not AIG, not the banks, not the workers of these companies, but those who are in a position of power and see nothing wrong with using that position and power to advance themselves and their well-being, while handing us the bills and demanding more and more of our money.

Here's another "clip-and-save" to hang on the 'fridge

We will ALL see our taxes and our expenses rise; not those who make over $???,??? whatever amount is being trumpeted this week, but ALL of us. Between energy taxes and penalties, fewer deductions, higher tax rates, we all are going to pay more.

ATTENTION ALL FISHERMEN

If you have any interest in fishing, particularly fly fishing, check this link. This is a gent who is seeing his time running out and is looking for some help...not charity, but help through his talent and trade. Please check it out.

Is this reprisal?

A while back, I wrote about the gent who was starting a new "stamp act", using a TAX CHEAT stamp on the currency carrying the signature of Treasury Sec'y Geithner.

Well what a coincidence......he just got notified that he is being audited. Coincidence......maybe, or maybe not. Let's watch and see what happens here.

Will the Insults Never End?

I'm struggling; I bet you are struggling; the US economy is going down the toilet; everyones' retirement plans are gone in a puff of smoke.
EXCEPT OUR CONGRESSMEN AND SENATORS

They just got a pay raise. Did you know that?

In addition to the $97,000 "petty cash" increase of a few weeks ago, they just got a
FRIGGIN' PAY RAISE!!!!!!

Remind me how I should treat our illustrious congressman and senator the next time I see their sorry faces! I think I may be sick!! How can they do this, and look at themselves in the mirror each morning? In my worst days, I simply couldn't be this two-faced. "We all have to give some, to suffer a bit for the common good, etc, etc, etc" Except for those who are so much better and more important than us peons. They get a raise taken from MY pocket.

Maybe it's time for a Tea Party in Kingston??

A Little Comic Relief

As I slog through the seemingly endless bad news, every once in a while I stumble across something that just tickles me until I sit here laughing out loud.
Enjoy a few chuckles.

how tv works

what REALLY happens to your icons when you aren't looking

and a different concert

Enjoy

A Very Good Read

There is a gentleman whose site I often read. He presents articles that are considerably "deeper" than the average blog, but often are cause for deep thinking and meditation.

He has just come out with another, and I strongly suggest you pop over there and read it. He presents some views that are cause for concern, but perhaps in the knowledge that he gives us, we have a way to work against it.

Thoughts on the Porkulus bill

It's a given that we tend to see the world with a view skewed by our surroundings. Thus the person from a liberal outlook will see the world through the eyes of a liberal bias and feel that “everyone” sees it the same way because he/she sees it that way as do his/her friends. Likewise a conservative will talk with other conservatives and soon feel that “everyone” feels the same way he does.
Even with this built-in bias, I am sensing a mood change here. I am hearing more people wondering why they are working so hard to stay afloat when the government is taking more and more of their earnings and handing it out to other people and groups who are quite happy to live off the government dole and let others pay their way. “Why shouldn't I just quit and go on public assistance? It would be a whole lot easier and I probably would come out ahead financially as well”, I hear other saying with greater frequency than ever before. And when one looks around, it is easy to see why this feeling is becoming so widespread. We watch as Congress passes a bill that THEY NEVER READ, a bill that will take thousands of dollars from each and every one of us as well as our children and grandchildren, and then hands that money out to people and to groups whose only claim to that money is that they were friends of some congressman. And then as a slap in the face, we're told that we all will get a tax break and that should keep us all happy. Let's see, they take an average of about $13,000 from each of us, give us back $13 a week and tell us to shut up and smile......maybe, just maybe, that is why people are getting fed up. And in my area, we are blessed with a senator who stands up at a press conference and says that the people aren't bothered by the pork in this bill, and a congressman who BRAGS that he didn't read the bill and would vote for it no matter what it said. Lord help me, but I stand almost in awe of the arrogance and stupidity of these people. Hey Mr. Hinchey, that is my money that you just stole. You just took money from my children and spent it on the biggest load of manure ever to come from Washington, and you have the audacity to brag that you didn't even read the frigging bill!!!! Aside from the rather obvious conflict with all that was promised to us about governmental transparency and openness by Mr Obama and the democratic leadership ( 5 days for people to read and comment on all bills), it rubs salt in the wound when it is rushed through as a crisis, an emergency that can't wait even one more day, but then the President leaves it on his desk over a long weekend while he goes on a vacation. Where, or why, or when did we give this bunch of thieves such control over us? Is Mr Shumer or Mr Hinchey or your congressmen and senators, really that much smarter than us, that they can take our hard earned money and our hard earned freedom and squander it on a trillion dollar bill they don't even read? I am old enough and cynical enough to say with complete certainty, NO. They are not smarter. They are not better. They certainly are less interested in your or my well-being than we are, and know a whole lot less about what is good for us than we do. But because they live in DC, somehow they suddenly become experts in economics, in all that passes their desks, even those bills not yet written and never read when they discuss them and vote on them. And the fact that most economists disagree with them, the fact that simple common sense tells us that you can't get out of debt by borrowing more money than you can afford, doesn't bother them in the least. And the Constitution, that piece of paper written years ago, is simply ignored whenever it interferes with their desires and plans. The Constitution has no provision for government take-over of banks; it doesn't allow Washington to set mortgage rates or conditions; it certainly doesn't allow salary caps (in fact it specifically PROTECTS private contracts such as those fixing salaries between employer and employee); it doesn't allow the sec'y of the Treasury (remember him, the tax cheat?) to decide what type and price cars Detroit can manufacture. But no matter, it is just a piece of paper, and our representatives know so much more that our founding fathers ever knew.

"Til Death Do....."

I have no stocks or bonds, so what the market does has little direct effect on me. The credit crunch affects me as it affects us all, but only in a rather indirect way. Unfortunately, I am getting to the point in life that I am more and more aware of my own mortality, and recognize my increased likelihood to need medical intervention to keep me among the living. So when I saw this article about the "little package" buried in the porkulus bill, I cringed.

Now even if you aren't yet at the age of gray hair and creaking bones, please pay attention to what this lady is saying. This package is nothing short of the government taking over medical care, not in a round about "sort-of, kind-of " way, but the direct takeover and control of how YOU and your family will or will not receive care. There will be someone sitting behind a desk in the wilds of Washington, looking at the cost of your care and your age, comparing your case and your prognosis with the costs involved, and deciding absolutely and irrevocably, whether you live or die. You have no say in it, your doctor has no say in it. You can' even opt out and get private care out of your own pocket. You are at the mercy of a nameless, faceless bureaucrat who gives not a rat's posterior about you, your family,your hopes or dreams. He/she is simply following government guideline number something-or-other, and on the basis of that formula, controlling your destiny, your life.

Look east to England to see how wonderfully this system works; watch people being refused chemotherapy because it would "only" improve their quality of life, and would be expensive to use; watch people sent home to die because they are too old to be considered for organ transplant or cardiac surgery, or too fat or too thin or whatever cockamamie reason some bureaucrat comes up with. And as their doctor fights an unwindable battle for their patient, the government accountant looks at the books and nods in approval of the cost savings.

Think really hard about this question......can you think of any project, ANY project that the government doesn't completely screw up? And do you want that same government to take responsibility for the medical care of you and your loved ones?

To make it even uglier, much of this plan is straight from the book of Mr Tom Daschel, the tax evading cheat who was going to run the Dept of Health and Human Services in a fair and honest way, controlling the same companies from whom he was collecting huge fees right up to his appointment. And in that book, he even suggests that this sort of control be snuck in some sort of funding bill, so the poor suckers who will be most affected (that would be you and me) will not even know that it was there until it was too late to stop it.

This is getting really scary, really spooky. Our country is disappearing right before our eyes, replaced by the megalith of a larger and larger Washington bureaucracy that is swallowing us up. As one pundit put it, our country is changing from what we came here to become back to what we tried to escape from 250 years ago in our declaration of Independence. We are ceding our Independence, our country, our future to the likes of Nancy Pelosi, Sen Reid, B Obama, J Kerry, and the hordes of socialistic bureaucrats who think that they are so much smarter and better than we are. Stop! Stop and think where this is taking us. It is a dark and dangerous road that leads to indenture, to slavery, not to another man but to a government of faceless, nameless, uncaring automatons who answer only to a malformed idea of what they think the world should be.

A Helping Hand

A little brightness in an otherwise grim time. We've not heard a whole lot about the fires in Australia...they have been devastating with death toll over 200.

I Wish I Thought of This

We now have a tax cheat as Treasury Secretary. If you feel as frustrated and helpless as many others do, perhaps this will be a way for us to have our voices heard. Consider it a "stamp act" of 2009.

Why are We Putting Up With This ??

Over the weekend, when most people are not paying attention, the slimeballs in Congress voted them selves a $93,000 raise. When you and I are getting clobbered with recession and financial hardship, they are going home with an additional $93,000 in petty cash!!! And they have the nerve to say that it is for their constituents.

This country is in a serious hurt, and it isn't the financial crisis. We are being ruled by a group of corrupt, selfish, amoral or immoral pieces of crap, and we put up with it!

Am I getting REALLY pissed off??

From Instapundid website:

"It seems Tom Daschle recently paid a little over $100,000 in back taxes and interest after failing to tell the IRS that he was receiving a free car and driver from a Wall Street friend for three years. If you’re keeping track, that’s a little over twice the amount Tim Geithner paid in back taxes and interest."

This is starting to get to me, especially when I spent a fair part of the day calculating and paying my 941 and 940 taxes (quarterly income and Federal Unemployment ), my quarterly State taxes, and my state unemployment taxes. While I'm giving away, no, while I'm FORCED to turn over a very large chunk of my earnings, and on the same day that I get my home taxes and see a 21% increase, I see that yet another member of our new cabinet seems to have "forgotten" $100,000 in taxes, and once again he pays it back and there is NO PENALTY. We truly are fools to put up with this blatant double standard. These people in Washington, people who are supposed to be our leaders and better than us, are a bunch of thieves, not paying the taxes that they impose on us, and getting away with it simply because of who they are. Truly disgusting.

the Rangle Bill

Yes, YES YES. This is a bill that I support wholeheartedly. If it is good enough for Rangle and Geithner, it's good enough for the rest of us.

The Speaker of the House Speaks

By now I guess most of us have heard about Nancy Pelosi's "brilliant" response that birth control and abortion is a necessary part of a stimulus bill because if these measures are taken, there will be less drain on the economy.
Aside from the fact that such statements make words like "stupid" and "un-befreaking-lievably idiotic" sound waaaaaaay too tame, it is also enlightening to see how this mouthpiece of the Democratic party and its policies sees her constituents and her country. People, real, live people, are seen, not as an asset to the country, but as a potential drain on the economy. Who does she think makes the economy work? Who does she think is earning the money that she and her friends blow through in Washington? Why are people a drain, and not an asset? How dare she look down her Patrician, upper crust nose at us, the riff-raff that are here only to be controlled and used by those who REALLY KNOW what is best? Wake up people, while you still can. This brood of vipers in Washington want to control you, to own you. And what better way than to create a panic about the economy, then use that panic to justify the largest seizure of our country's private ownership ever in our history. Is the economy in trouble....sure is! It's in a recession, one of many that we have gone through and have survived. Is the cure for that recerssion to have the Government spend gazillions of dollars, most of which is going to glorified pork-barrel projects, while printing more and more worthless money? Is it logical to give OUR money to companies who made such bad decisions that they are now failing? Does this woman and her cronies in Washington have a clue what they are doing? Is she some sort of economic genius, or is she a power hungry politician who sees "us" simply as a drain on the economy? Even the Congressional Budget Office, reveiwing the bail out bills, comes to the conclusion that these "Rush them through..we need relief NOW" bills will feed barely 10 % of the money into the economy this year. Most of it will not have any effect until the next election year (Gee what a coincidence THAT is!!!).

Once again, we are being set up as the fall guys for the government and our so-called representatives to rob us blind and steal away some more of our liberties.

He Can Do No Wrong

When was the last time that you can remember any president, in the middle of a news conference, turning and asking for help with an answer???
Well, I'm afraid that it is happening. He can't even tell us what the executive order that HE JUST SIGNED is supposed to say or do! It promises to be a long and scary 4 years under this man. I've said it before and will repeat it yet again......his only claim to fame is being able to read a good speech and to write books about himself.

A Scary Graph

As my 3 readers know, I've been a'moanin and a'groanin about the growth of government.


Well, I'm afraid it can now be shown.
graph courtesy of Fabius Maximus.
Government payroll now exceeds manufacturing AND construction payroll. The difference.....they produce something, government produces nothing.

He says it well

This columnist says well what some of us have been trying to say.

Thank you, SIR

Power once again has been transferred in Washington. As opposed to most countries in world history, it is done smoothly, quietly, non-violently. And as G.W. Bush goes home after his eight years of service, I add my voice to many others with a sincere "Thank you, Mr President".

He wasn't perfect (what president has been?) and I strongly disagree with much of what he did or tried to do. But I have no doubt about his unfailing goal of the betterment of this country and the world, and of his patriotism. He worked tirelessly toward what he thought was right, and his opinion was not simply a windsock of the current politically correct idea. What he saw as right he fought for.

He guided our country through the worst attack against it ever in its history. He protected us from an unknown number of other attacks. He carried on his shoulders a burden that I cannot even imagine. And he still found time to get away from the press and cameras to go to visit wounded soldier and their families; he found time to write to every family who lost a loved one in the war. I may disagree with some of his policies, but never with his motives, his faithfulness to those motives, or his patriotism, and I wish him a long, happy retirement. God bless you, Sir. You have earned it!

Our next president

In a couple of days, Mr Obama will be sworn in as the next president of the United States.

I wish him a successful presidency, not because I like him or like his ideas, but because I want this country to continue to thrive, and he will be the leader of this country; his failure can injure the entire country. As to my feelings toward him, I cannot shake the feeling that this country is entering a new era as he so often claims, but it is an era that will be diametrically opposed to much of what I believe in and what I think that this country has always believed in. I'm told that he is a great leader with so many accomplishments and so much to bring to the office. What has he done? What has he done in his life except to write, not one, but two books about himself. He was a state senator and as far as I can tell, did little to distinguish himself in that office except to find ways to win elections through the systematic removal of his opponents. And then he came to Washington as a Senator, where he did nothing except to run for the presidency. I'm told that he is a great orator.....I see he can deliver a great speech but does quite poorly when speaking extemporaniously. He is supposed to be full of great ideas, but I hear platitudes of giving something to everybody at no cost to anyone. I look at his associates and find an unrepentant terrorist or two, a preacher who condemns our country, and other upstanding supporters.

But not liking the man is poor reason to fear his presidency. A more reasonable cause for concern is what he is saying regarding the course he and his party want to take our country.

The USA has become the greatest country in the world, and its greatness did NOT come from people who turned to an all-powerful government for all of their needs. It came from a people who were strong, self-reliant, independent, hard-working and free. Now we have a leader who wants the government to do more and more, a government to take more and more, a government that wants to take care of us in every thing we do, a government that already tells us how much water we can use to flush our potty, what we can and can't do with our own land, what we can and can't do with our own earnings and soon will tell us what medicines we can take, who we can see for our illnesses, what tests we can have to diagnose our illnesses, and when we must “pull the plug” in the interest of national economy.

Well thank you but no thank you. I don't want or need a senator or a congressman helping me. I don't want a government clerk deciding things for me based on a set of rules written by the Select Committee on What Is Good For You. I want the government as seen by the founding fathers of this great country, a government based on the proposition that men are far more capable of taking care of themselves than a professional politician is, that the common man is oftentimes a whole lot smarter in regards to his own wants and needs than some political committee 600 miles away. And sadly, the common man is a darn sight more honest than too many of our supposed leaders.

Mr Obama says that there is a financial crisis, and indeed there is. But what triggered that crisis? Please don't insult my limited intelligence by telling me that the free market is to blame. The trigger was GOVERNMENT RULES that demanded that banks give out mortgages to customers that everyone knew would never be able to repay the mortgage given to them. If we have a free market, why is the Federal Register, the official list of rules and laws passed by the government, up to something like 70,000 pages of NEW rules with 4,167 new rules listed (both are 2002 numbers, newest I could find)?? We have no free market.

Mr Obama says there is a health crisis. Are there problems here...sure are! Is it a crisis? I'm not so sure. Will the government make it better? Absolutely, just like it makes Social Security and Medicare better (both are basically Ponzi schemes and are not financially viable). I don't know about anyone else, but I do NOT want Sen Anybody or Congressman Somebody to be in a position to determine MY health care. I trust Washington to completely screw the system up and make it worse and more expensive.

(more to come...it's late)

Change We Can Believe In

Our president elect promised us a new Washington, free from the "insiders" and pure as the driven snow. Let's take a quick review, shall we?

J. Podesta co-chair of transition team
White House chief of staff Clinton Admin.
B Currie secretary to Mr Podesta
Clinton personal secretary
R Emanuel Chief of Staff
senior advisor to Clinton's
E Kagan Solicitor General
Deputy Director Domestic Policy Council Clinton Admin.
T Perrelli Assistant Attorney General
Counsel to Attorney General Clinton Admin.
D Johnsen Head of Legal Counsel Dept of Justice
Office of Legal Counsel Clinton Admin
R Klain Biden Chief of Staff
Gore Chief of Staff
S Donovan Sec'y of HUD
Deputy Assistant Secretary Multifamily Hiusing HUD Clinton Admin
G Craig White House Counsel
White House Special Counsel Clinton Admin
M Sutphen Deputy Chief of Staff
Deputy Assistant to Sandy Burger Clinton Admin
S Rice Ambassador to the UN
Ass't Sec'y of State for African Affairs Clinton Admin
T Daschle Sec'y Health and Human Services
Former Senate majority leader
L Summers Director White House National Economic Counsel
Secretary of Treasury Clinton Admin
E Holder Attorney General
US Deputy Attorney General Clinton Admin
L Panetta Director of CIA
White House Chief of Staff Clinton Admin
T Geithner Secretary of Treasury
Under Secretary of Treasury for International Affairs Clinton Admin
H Clinton Secretary of State
former First Lady Clinton Admin.


In addition, we have someone nominated for Secretary of the Treasury, and who is thus the head of the IRS, who "forgets" to pay certain taxes for multiple years, in spite of the fact that the IMF for whom he works, specifically advises all employees that the taxes are the workers responsibility, and even sends out quarterly reports to assist them in those payments. Additionally, he then gets AND ACCEPTS reimbursement for those taxes that he never paid. Hey, it's a sweet deal if you can get it. A word of advice here...don't try this at home. It only works if you are one of those special people for whom the rules don't apply.

We also get an "energy czar" who is a member of a Socialist group whose goals are to reduce our economy to protect the world, who is also a board member of a "carbon credit" company, while her husband lobbies for major oil companies!

Let us not overlook the nominee for Attorney General, a man who pushed for and got presidential pardons for FALN terrorists and for a fugitive thief, who was involved in that noble adventure to pull Elian Gonzales at gunpoint from a family member's arms to send him back to Cuba.

All I can say as I look at the incoming officers is "Please, God, watch over us and protect us".

An American Hero

In the midst of all of the anger and strife, here is a woman who shows us how it should be. She is a true hero, and does honor to her uniform.

Worth a Look

Perhaps one of the best explanations I have ever seen.
Runs about 10 minutes but well worth it.