Political Poverty?

In doing some research on poverty in America, I ran across these statistics:

8 of the 10 states with the highest poverty level have NEVER had any Republican mayors in over 50 years. And the other two? They only had Republican leadership an average of 28% of the time, well below the national average.

One might try to rack this up to coincidence - but when you understand that Democrats tend toward entitlements that make poverty easier and Republicans tend toward programs that force folks to actually work and produce, you begin to see a pattern.

Now couple that pattern with this fact: 84% of poor people vote Democrat. When asked why, it boiled down to not wanting to bite the hand that feeds them. And this is why the poorest cities, like Detroit, keep electing the same party that put them in poverty in the first place.

It appears that the entitlement strategy of Democrats is DESIGNED to keep people poor, and make those people dependent upon the Democrats, resulting in votes.

Now, what ugly trend have we been seeing in Maine over the last two decades...

If I want something to lick me because I feed them, I'll get a dog, thank you.

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A Capitalists' Response Socialism

There is much ado these days about the "need" for America to become more socialistic in nature, "for the betterment of the world." As "world citizens", some believe we have an obligation to lower our own standard of living in order to share with others, and raise them up. Level the field. Redistribute the wealth.

The theory almost sounds logical - until you actually THINK about it.

The first law of nature is "survival of the fittest." Survival of the strongest, to perpetuate the race. When we strive to weaken ourselves in an effort to strengthen others, we only serve to weaken the entire race.

Think about this for a moment: In what counties have almost all innovations and progress in technology, medicine, food and every other area of life come from?

They have all come from CAPITALIST countries. No socialist country has ever been able to contribute substantially to the greater good because their resources are so thinly spread out (wealth redistribution), and incentive is non-existent. After all, why try harder, work harder or think harder if you are only going to end up with the same as the lazy oafs who contribute little or nothing? In a socialist state the incentive is gone.

And there are no "rich" people to invest in research and development of products and services. In capitalist nations, there is great incentive and competition because there is the promise of wealth and prosperity for those who achieve. And it is that competition and incentive that begets innovation. Had it not been for Capitalist America, the world would be far worse off. Even the poorer people and nations would be worse off. Our capitalism gave birth to the innovations that raise us all.

Yes, the poor are still with us, but they are not AS poor, thanks to our capitalistic nature. Capitalism has given rise to great and powerful medicines and technology, and even the poor tend to own cellphones and computers.

No, America does not need to lower itself with socialism in order to make the world better.
Instead, we need to strengthen our capitalist free markets that encourage entrepreneurship and innovation, because it is only through those that we can raise up the standards for all people.

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Amateurs

OK, so here is the series of events:

Goof #1: A father tells the FBI that his son has been radicalized for jihad, and needs to be watched. He is put on a "watch list", but NOT on the "no fly" list.

Goof #2: This radical jihadist is granted a visa to come to America by Hilary Clinton's State Department.

Goof #3: This radical jihadist, on a watch list, is not searched, while Grandma Jones must go through a strip search.

Goof #4: When this jihadist tries to blow up the plain over Detroit (which would have likely improved Detroit), it was the passengers, not air marshals, who stopped and held him.

Goof #5: Director of Homeland Security Napolitano immediately issues a statement that "the system worked."

Goof #6: Napolitano then flips the next day and says "the system obviously failed."

Goof #7: Staff awoke Obama to tell him he won the Nobel Prize, but waited three hours to tell him of this incident.

Goof #8: Obama took three days to make a statement, giving the impression this terrorist attack was not important.

Goof #9: Obama blamed Bush security policies for this, even though the policies did not fail - the PEOPLE who are now entrusted to follow through on them (Obama's team) are the ones who failed.

Goof #10: Obama's administration decided to treat this as a crime, not terrorism, and the radical jihadist will be arraigned in District Court. Who knows - he may even get bail.

No matter how the liberals try to put some pretty ribbons on their spin, there is absolutely no doubt that this country is now in the hands of rank amateurs.

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Prostitutes

Well, it appears I called it accurately when I posted that the good folks of Nebraska would be insulted by their senator Ben Nelson's sell-out on the health care bill. It seems a vast number of Nebraskans called and emailed him saying "NO", that they do not appreciate being seen as leeches on society, or charity cases. Even the Governor asked Nelson to vote no.

Nelson said if the Governor were to declare he did not want the billions in bribe money, to just say so and Nelson would give it up. Well, the governor went on air yesterday and stated flatly that Nebraska does NOT want that graft money. But did Nelson give it back? Nope! So, apparently Nelson, already proven to be a corrupt, weak person and a political prostitute is also an abject liar. That does not come as any surprise - so far, roughly 51 "Blue Dog" Democrats have prostituted themselves by accepting payments for their votes. One Blue Dog Democrat, rather than descend to that level, chose to dump the Democrat party and became a Republican. Refreshing to find a man (of either party) with the conviction to stand by his principles. Now if we could find about 450 more like that...

I don't think Nebraskans are proud of him Nelson, or the position he put them in. Looks like it's "Bye, Bye, Nelson" come election time. And about 40 others can kiss their collective butts good-bye next November. And that is how it should be.

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Code of Ethics - lol

The following is the Code of Ethics for U.S. Government Service, Resolved by the House of Representatives with the Senate concurring, That it is the sense of the Congress that the following Code of Ethics should be adhered to by all Government employees, including officeholders. Pay particular attention to #5 and #6, while recalling the sweetheart bribes Harry Reid has promised in return for votes:

CODE OF ETHICS FOR GOVERNMENT SERVICE

Any person in Government service should:

1. Put loyalty to the highest moral principals and to country above loyalty to Government persons, party, or department.

2. Uphold the Constitution, laws, and legal regulations of the United States and of all governments therein and never be a party to their evasion.

3. Give a full day's labor for a full day's pay; giving to the performance of his duties his earnest effort and best thought.

4. Seek to find and employ more efficient and economical ways of getting tasks accomplished.

5. Never discriminate unfairly by the dispensing of special favors or privileges to anyone, whether for remuneration or not; and never accept for himself or his family, favors or benefits under circumstances which might be construed by reasonable persons as influencing the performance of his governmental duties.

6. Make no private promises of any kind binding upon the duties of office, since a Government employee has no private word which can be binding on public duty.

7. Engage in no business with the Government, either directly or indirectly which is inconsistent with the conscientious performance of his governmental duties.

8. Never use any information coming to him confidentially in the performance of governmental duties as a means for making private profit.

9. Expose corruption wherever discovered.

10. Uphold these principles, ever conscious that public office is a public trust.

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Br-r-r

As we roll up to Christmas, it is interesting to note the following:

1) The worst winter storm in decades has battered 1/3 of the country, with another on the way

2) The Eurotrain from Britain to Europe has been shut down indefinitely, due to severe winter weather

3) Almost all of Europe is being battered by the worst winter weather in over 30 years

4) Several volcanic areas throughout the Pacific "Ring Of Fire" are showing activity, most notably the one in the Phillipines. The last "little ice age" of the 1500-1850 era was triggered by such volcanic activity. Now imagine how much worse that ice age would have been if the people had reduced the natural warming of the Earth, as the global warming nuts want to do.

When I couple these news items with the fact that the last 11 years have actually been cooler than "normal", I find it amazing that so many people can keep a straight face as they declare that global warming is going to end life as we know it.

And it astonishes me that amid all of this, the President of the United States of America goes traipsing off to a climate change conference, espousing global warming trends that are not evident, and begging to give our wealth away to corrupt third-world nations to appease them, and to redistribute America's wealth to those who would use it against us.

But even more amazing is the fact that so much of the world is so fanatical about a perceived warming that writing this article is even necessary. Frankly, if given a choice between having to suffer 60 degree weather in winter, or 40 degree weather in summer, I'll take the heat, thank you very much. Throughout history, human activity progressed and prospered much faster during the warming periods, and human populations were decimated during cooling periods. We should put our efforts into insuring the Earth does not cool because if history and geology tell us anything, they tell us that there will always be another ice age in our future.

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For Our Nebraskan Friends

Some folks are saying Nebraskans will overlook Senator Ben Nelson's willingness to be corrupted because his corruption brought a lot of benefits to Nebraska.

Maybe. But I like to think that Nebraskans are more grounded in morality than that. I think they are apt to say, "Thanks for the perks, Nelson, but we're voting you out because you are corrupt, and you can be bought. And we are opposed to the crooked politics in Washington - next time, we could be the victims instead of the beneficiaries. And we do not appreciate looking like a state full of charity cases, in need of such special exemptions from having to pay our share, and forcing other hard-working families to pay our way."

I hope my take on Nebraskans is closer to the truth than what Nelson obviously thinks of them.

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Sedition

The definition of "sedition" is the act of attempting to overthrow, or incite to overthrow the government.

Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution of the United States, which is the ultimate law of the land reads, "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government." Therefore, any person who acts to overthrow the Republican form of government is guilty of sedition, a crime against the United States.

What this means is that any person who acts to change our Republic into a socialist, Marxist, Communist or other form of government is guilty of sedition, as they are acting to overthrow the Republican government guaranteed under the Constitution. Almost all of President Obama's advisors are self-proclaimed Marxists or socialists - one (Van Johnson) was even a communist (his own words). All are actively inciting or acting to overthrow the Republican government and instituting a socialist government.

And many of the liberal Democrats in the House and Senate are guilty of sedition, as they are actively working to turn America into a socialist state by passing unconstitutional bills designed to move us into socialism.

And other so-called Americans who stand on the far left, are also guilty of sedition, including Michael Moore, Ariana Huffington, George Soros and many, many others. You know who they are - the ones who praise Chavez and Castro. The ones who always find it necessary to insult, then apologize for America.

Do not misunderstand - dissent is a good thing. But what the far left liberals are doing goes well beyond dissent. It is sedition, plain and simple. If you actively incite or work to change our form of government, you are guilty of sedition.

One of the earliest and most successful seditionists was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It was he who removed the word "Republic" from the description of America, and replaced it with "Democracy." No one noticed. To this day, almost no one has noticed that in one simple stroke, he caused the entire nation to forget we are a Republic, and are, instead, a Democracy, which is entirely different. He even had it changed in the textbooks. Roosevelt changed the Republic to a Democracy in 1932, in the midst of the Great Depression. The people were so preoccupied with the depression that they took no notice - and really did not care. By the time things got back to normal, Democracy had already entrenched itself for 15 years, so it still went unnoticed. Even back then the socialists lived by the decree not to let a good crisis go to waste. (Hilary Clinton still uses that phrase). And they are doing it again, with TARP, Stiumulus Bills, bank and automaker takeovers, cap & trade, and now health care. Next it will be amnesty for illegal immigrants.

AMERICA IS A REPUBLIC, NOT A DEMOCRACY. IT IS SO DEVREED IN THE CONSTITUTION. ANY PUBLIC OFFICIAL WHO PROMOTES ANYTHING OTHER THAN A REPUBLIC IS GUILTY OF SEDITION.

The Founding Fathers had considered a Democracy, and rejected that in favor of a Republic. They did so because they (like Roosevelt) knew that a Democracy always leads to socialism - and Roosevelt was an admitted socialist, whose chief advisor was a card-carrying communist.

Here is the major difference: in a Republic, every person, and his/her rights, are equal, and cannot be over-ridden by anyone else. But in a Democracy, it is "majority rules", which means if the majority want to deprive you of a right, they may do so. (This is how the Supreme Court was able to change eminient domain in the constitution from "public use" to "public benefit". Now, your land can be taken even if the public cannot get use of it, but if a private party can make better use of it and pay higher taxes, which is a public benefit).

The Supreme Court committed an unconstitutional act - only the legislative body, with three-fourths of states ratifying it, can change a single word of the Constitution. So, their ruling is unconstitutional, and any Justice who voted for the change should be recalled and replaced as incompetent and grossly negligent.

When the majority rules (Democracy), they soon learn that they can vote themselves in certain perks and entitlements. And they do - the temptation is too strong. And that is the road to socialism, as those entitlements must come from the government. This gives the government more power over our lives, and power corrupts. More entitlements equals more government, until the people become completely subservient to the government.

What patriotic Americans must do is first reinstate the Republican form of government the Constitution guarantees - throw out any official who resists, or who pursues a more "democratic, socialist" view. Take the word DEMOCRACY out of the description of America and replace it with REPUBLIC. And learn the differences.

Then insist that ALL elected AND non-elected officials follow the Constitution, as written. It does not require "interpretation". Interpretation is whatever a reader wants. The Constitution is clear and simple - do not interpret it - just follow it or get out. Do not vote for anyone who will not pledge to do the above, and if they reneg, throw them out of office. It matters not what party they belong to - either they are FOR America, a Republic, or they are not.

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Pardon Me

According to my education in basic civics, the government cannot spend money without it first being appropriated and allocated by the legislative body.

So it strikes me as more than just strange that no one seems to have picked up on, or questioned, Hilary Clinton's promise in Copenhagen that the "United States is willing to commit 100 billion dollars a year" to third-world nations.

I guess I must have been napping when Congress, with a three-fourths majority of all states, passed a Constitutional Amendment giving Mrs Clinton the sole authority to commit even so much as a dime without Congressional action and approval.

This only goes to further prove (as if it were necessary) that the socialist-minded politicians currently in control of the government seem to think they can do whatever they want, without having to answer to anyone. Well, that certainly is the socialist mindset!

Such arrogance - and ignorance. Mrs. Clinton, if you want to commit your own money, go right ahead. But you have absolutely zero authority to commit mine, or anyone elses's. Keep your grimy mitts outta my wallet.

I understand that Webster's Dictionary plans on adding "pickpocket" as a synonym for "liberal".

Also not to be ignored: according to a university study, twice as much stimulus money is going to democrat districts than to republican districts, apparently in an attempt to keep buying the democrats their seats. What is worse: it doesn't even matter what the unemployment rate is. Areas with the highest rates of unemployment are not getting the money unless they are in democrat districts. Hey Congress - this is America, and it's America's money. It is not to be used for partisan purposes.

Meanwhile, according to the Washington Examiner, Florida congressman Grayson (D) has asked to have a woman tossed in prison because her website criticizes him for his uncouth remarks against Republicans. And once again the liberal tendancy to shut down dissent is clear to all. What a loser that clown is - how on Earth did he or Franken get elected? Are the people in their districts comatose? In the Senate hearing yesterday, Franken shut down Lieberman because franken did not like what he was saying. So, he refused to let him finish.

Time to take your country back, America!

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Would Be Funny If Not Pathetic

White House Advisor David Axelrod was asked if the $450 billion in cuts to Medicare that is proposed in the health care bill would hurt the elderly on Medicare. His answer was "No", and he went on to say those cuts were to the doctors and hospitals, not the patients.

Guess Mr Axelrod forgot - as Medicare pays doctors less and less, more and more doctors and hospitals refuse to take on medicare patients. How, exactly, does that NOT harm the elderly if they have medicare coverage, but there are no doctors or hospitals that will accept it?

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Unspinning The Spin

According to Obama and the liberals that are pushing the health care bill:

CLAIM: "It will cut the cost curve."

FACT: It will add 2.4 trillion dollars to the deficit and increase premiums. It will increase cost of medical devices and tests because of the tax being included on those things. For example (one of many) there is an $80 billion dollar tax to be imposed on drug companies. Since drug companies cannot print their own money, there is only one way for them to raise that kind of money - higher prices on drugs. YOU pay. And when they cut the $450 billion from medicare, guess who pays for that?

CLAIM: "It will cover 35 million people currently uninsured."

FACT: It would cover illegal immigrants. Also, only 14 million people do not have health care by default. The rest are either rich and pay their own way, or others who CHOOSE not to carry insurance. If a person has enough money to pay his own way (self-insure), why should he be penalized for that with a fine? Since when did personal responsibility and independence become a BAD thing in America? (Of course, it is actually a crime in socialist countries where you are not permitted to step outside "the collective" - remember the Borg in the Star Trek Next Generation series?)

CLAIM: "We need to prevent Medicare from going bankrupt."

FACT: Medicare was the LAST attempt by liberals to provide medical services on the taxpayer dime, and is already 36 trillion dollars in the hole. Now they want to expand it, to prevent it from going broke. That is not even logical. It is the basis of a Ponzi scheme - and Ponzi schemes are illegal (Google "Bernie Madoff")

CLAIM: "This bill does not provide for use of taxpayer funds for abortion."

FACT: Actually, the current bill does not PREVENT the use of taxpayer funding for abortion, and therefore permits it.

CLAIM: "This bill will reduce insurance premiums."

FACT: According to the group that monitors Medicare, and the CBO, premiums are likely to rise as much as 10%-25% if this bill passes.

CLAIM: "We can make this work, and save all Americans money. The government can do this better than private enterprise."

FACT: The government has never succeeded in any commercial venture, including the Postal Service (broke), Medicare (broke), Social Security (broke), Amtrak (broke) etc. The list goes on.

CLAIM: "The CBO says this bill is deficit neutral."

FACT: Only because the tax increases, fees and penalties get paid, up front, for 5-7 years before services become available for the remaining three years. So, the only reason it is deficit neutral is because we are going to pay 10 years for only 3 years of services. That is fuzzy math, to say the least. In reality, it is simply dishonest.

CLAIM: "This is what America needs."

FACT: Americans do not need, nor want the government to FORCE them to buy health insurance, or pay fines for failing to do so. That is fascism. Nowhere does the Constitution grant the government the power or authority to require its citizens purchase things they neither want nor need. They try to equate this with car insurance, but that is not the same - if you don't want to pay car insurance, you can simply choose to use public transportation. Driving is a privilege, not a God-given right. But with health insurance, you have no such choice - you either buy it, or pay fines, or even go to jail. Your health, and right to life ARE God-given, and therefore cannot be regulated by force of government.

85% of Americans have health care. So we do not "need" to change the entire structure. We simply need to make health care accessible to the remaining 15%. And that is easily accomplished, without costing the taxpayer a dime, with tort reform, allowing folks to shop anywhere (across state lines) for the coverage they need, and by other, similarly simple steps, all of which have long been advocated by Republicans and conservatives.

It is unnecessary to toss out the baby with the bath water. We already have the best health care in the world. The problem is the EXPENSE. Deal with the problem, and don't throw out everything that is already the best in the world. Don't fix what ain't broke.

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Unintended Consequences

Unintended consequences. No matter what we do, there will be unintended consequences. But there is a way to reduce the damage - simply think things out to the logical conclusions BEFORE you make changes. Look past your nose, and think past today.

The government wants to make really huge changes in how we live, with "green" technologies which for the most part do not even exist yet. And the "smart grid" that will regulate the amount of power that can get to your home has already been started. And with such massive changes, there will be huge unintended consequences because the people putting these things in place cannot see past their noses.

Here are some lesser examples:

1) Ethanol. Now required to be 10% of gasoline, soon to be expanded to 20% or more. However, the unintended consequences are higher food prices (we are burning our food supply), higher cost (it costs 1.7 times more to make ethanol than to make gasoline) and more, not less, pollution (it takes 1.4 gallons of fossil fuels to produce 1 gallon of ethanol, with plowing, irrigating, weeding, fertilizing, harvesting, transporting and processing).

2) "Green" fluorescent lights - the goivernment is mandating in the future that no more incandescents be made. However, fluorescents have been shown to trigger seizures in epileptics. And the "green" bulbs cost 4 times as much to make. Since they also use twice as much glass, it requires twice as much fossil fuels in the manufacturing process. And because they use mercury, a dangerous toxin, they must be disposed of at hazardous waste sites. Most folks live an average of 20 miles from such a site, which means we all burn an extra two gallons of gas to dispose of a stupid bulb. Most folks won't bother, so our water supply will eventually be tainted with mercury.

3) The new, "green" LED street lights. They burn 80% less energy, which is good. But because they do not burn hot enough to melt ice and snow, they get covered and drivers cannot see them under some winter situations. So far, they have caused dozens of accidents and at least one death that has been substantiated. The cost to try and keep the lights clear are out-weighing the savings. It costs a bundle to pay the person who uses a high-pressure compressed air unit to clear them. The air compressor uses a lot of fossil fuel. The truck needed to transport the compressor around the city uses a lot of fossil fuel. So, just how "green" is green?

4) By law, all communications are being relegated to satellites - TV, radio, computers and phones. What is not considered is the result if a major solar flare smacks us - it would fry the satellites, and all communications necessary for survival will be gone, perhaps for a year or more. Such a solar flare just glanced us in 1998 and knocked out all power throughout eastern Canada. And don't forget that China and Russia - neither of them allies - have the technology to knock out our satellites anytime they choose.

And now the government wants to start sweeping changes, none of which have been thought out any better than the above examples. And since the plans are so massive, the unintended consequences will also be massive.

We, the People, need to tell our leaders to stop rushing us to extinction, and take the time to think things out into the foreseeable future. If they don't, we are all in big, big trouble.

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Betrayal - Behind Closed Doors

The other day, in secret and behind closed doors, the Democrat Congress killed a program that allowed poor inner-city DC kids to go to better schools. As everyone knows, the public schools in DC are among the worst in the nation, and the only hope those kids had for a decent future lay in being able to attend better schools. And it was WORKING.

And that is precisely why the powerful unions, which traditionally support liberal agenda and socialism, told Congress to either end the program or forfeit their considerable financial help in the next elections.

You see, the teacher's union does not want poor schools to die out, because that means the lousy teachers responsible for those lousy schools will lose their jobs. And they simply want to protect their own, even if they are worthless, and even if the children have to forfeit their futures.

So, we can again thank the Democrats for destroying another little piece of America by sucking up to self-serving unions, just so they can keep buying their congressional seats.

The question is: Do we really want politicians who cannot get re-elected on their merits, and must, instead, buy their seats by kowtowing to those who want to destroy America?

Another question: Should we permit our elected officials to act in secret, behind closed doors, as if WE were working for THEM?

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Did You Know?

As President Obama was in Oslo, Norway preparing for his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize, a Russian Inter-Continental Ballistic Missle fizzled in the night sky above Oslo.

It has come to light that Russia is modernizing and upgrading its missle and military arsenal, even while they are engaged in "arms reduction" talks with the U.S.

But did you know that every nuclear nation is doing the same - modernizing and upgrading, except for one? That's right - the United States is the only nuclear power that has decided to put all its chips on the arms reduction talks while letting its arsenal corrode and fall into disrepair. In fact, many of the missile silos have been sold to developers and private enterprise to be put to new uses.

It will not be long before the United States finds itself at the bottom of the heap, and unable to protect itself or maintain its power in the world.

The liberals hail that as a victory, believing an unarmed America is not a threat to anyone, so we would be left alone. But the sane people see it for what it is - an open invitation to destroy our way of life, and succumb to socialism and fascism. Unarmed, we become what is known as "prey".

This administration needs to get a dose of reality - you simply cannot put the genie back in the bottle. Those with nuclear arms will keep them, improve them and use them to threaten the rest of the world. That will result in the rest of the world having a need to follow suit, in self-defense. And if America is not going to stay strong and stand by and protect the rest of the unarmed portions of the world, then we lose our relevance, our strength, our credibility, and eventually, our freedom.

Kahlil Gibran once wrote that only the strong can afford to be kind. America is kind, almost to a fault. But to be able to be kind, we must remain strong. And like it or not, strength lies in ones military capability.

That is not to say we have to USE that capability. But HAVE it we must.

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Maine's RiNO's

Most of the RiNO's (Republican in Name Only) were voted out in '06 and '08. The three exceptions were Specter (who turn-coated and became a Democrat in mid-stream), and both Snowe and Collins, both of Maine (who should have followed suit).

Snowe and Collins have a long history of siding with the Democrats more often than with Republicans, and really should consider registering as Democrats if they want to be honest and do the honorable thing, and stop lying to the voters.

Today, both of them voted with the Democrats (the only Republicans to do so) in shooting down an amendment in the health care bill that would have prohibited the use of taxpayer money to fund abortions.

This article is not about the pros and cons of abortion. It is about whether or not all Americans, even those morally opposed to abortion, should be forced to pay for abortions.

Apparently, Snowe and Collins are fine with using tax dollars to fund something that half the people find immoral.

They need to get something straight - you do NOT have any right to force citizens to participate in what their religion deems to be a sin. For those of you who claim to be Christian, bear in mind that the Bible states if you participate, even by silence, in a sin, or if you allow it to happen without fighting against it, then you are just as guilty of the sin as the person committing it. So, if tax dollars are allowed to be used to fund abortions, every single Christian in America becomes complicit, and is guilty of every abortion that tax dollars fund.

It would seem that neither Snowe nor Collins is a Christian, because they find no problem with forcing Christians into sin.

So, Maine has two Republican Senators, neither of which is Republican nor Christian. That means they are 1) dishonest, and 2) willing to compromise our right of religious freedom in their quest to kill babies.

By forcing abortion opponents to help pay for abortions is like forcing honest people to pay for the training of pick-pockets, or asking Jews to help pay to build a Roman Catholic Cathedral. It is unconscienable. I wonder how "fair" the abortion crowd would think it would be if taxpayer money were used to promote pro-life causes. I'm sure they would scream bloody murder - and they do not even have moral grounds to stand upon!

Snowe and Collins should be ashamed of themselves - as Senators, as Republicans, as Christians and as human beings! They disgust me.

For those who would ask where I stand on abortion...

As a Christian, I believe it to be a sin, but that is only my belief, and I do not impose that on others. If a person wants an abortion, that should be their choice, and they, alone, should have to face any consequences if they later discover there really is a God. But do not ask me to condone it, or pay for it. Whether it is abortion or anything else, I do NOT appreciate being forced to pay for other people's mistakes. Can't pay the mortgage because you bought a home you could not afford? Let the taxpayer take care of that for you. Didn't use a condom? Slept around? Got pregnant? No problem - get others to pay for your abortion.

Since when did America become so weak in character that no one is required to accept responsibility for their own mistakes and failures? We NEED to be able to fail, as that is how we learn, and grow. Thomas Edison gave us electricity to use only because he tried, and failed, over 400 other times to produce electric light. He learned what WOULD work by discovering what would NOT work. He failed his way to success - as we all must. You fall down a lot before you are finally able to walk.

But the liberals among us want to take all that away. They do not want to allow for failure, or have folks be responsible for their own actions and choices. And that is a very sick mentality to have.

Snowe and Collins -get your heads out of your butts and get acquainted with the real world if you want to represent the good folks of Maine.

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BEEZID Warning

I saw a commercial for a new "online auction" website called BEEEZID. It aroused my curiosity, so i checked it out.

On the surface (and to those who are always looking to get something for nothing), it seemed promising: every item, even cars, begin at $0.00, and each bid only ups it by a penny. You could end up getting an item for pennies on the dollar, as they advertise cars being sold for just a few hundred dollars - or so it seems.

Yes, you can possibly get a $20,000 vehicle for a few hundred bucks. But there is a catch - a very expensive one. You see, you must buy "bids". You get (15) one cent bids for $15, so each bid costs $1.00. In order to get a car for, say, $500, would require that bidders, collectively, buy and use 50,000 one cent bids - for which BEEZID collected up to $50,000. So, while the winning bidder may get the car for $500, he must be the LAST person to bid.

Therein lay other problems. First, it is unlikely that other bidders will let it go to you for $500 - not when they could buy another bid for a buck - and the price keeps going up until all bidders have bought all the bids they can afford.

Second, every time someone bids, it resets the timer - which can be set for 24 hours or more. There is no limit to how many times the timer can be reset because there is no limit on the number of bids that can be placed. IF you happen to be the last bidder and the timer times out, you win.

It's a lot like musical chairs that could take weeks to play out - but even more like a Ponzi scheme.

In short, if BEEZID sells a $20,000 car for $500, they actually make about $30,500 profit on that $20,000 car because they solf 50,000 bids and got the $500 winning price to boot.

If you decide to get involved in the hopes of "winning" something great, at least now you have been warned. But do yourself a favor - place only one or two bids on an item over the course of the auction. If you get lucky and win, you come out ahead. If not, you only lost a couple bucks.

Make no mistake - BEEZID is not so much an auction site as it is a lottery - and your chances of winning are no better than in any other lottery.

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Remember This Date

On December 7, 1941 the Japanese led a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. As Roosevelt said, it was a day that would live in infamy.

Today, December 7, 2009 is another day of infamy, with its own sneak attack against America - it is the day that the liberals have forced the United States of America to formally drop the "of the people, by the people, for the people" guarantee. We are no longer a country where the people govern, through elected representatives. Instead, we are now a country governed by the will of unelected agencies, "czars", unions and special interests.

Today, the Environmental Protection Agency, an unelected body, has determined that global warming IS a real threat (and not the theory that it actually is) and IS caused by carbon dioxide (though numerous studies show no correlation). Therefore, President Obama may now circumvent Congress and pass his "cap and tax" agenda without any input from Congress, or we, the people. In fact, he can begin signing liberal executive orders restricting carbon dioxide, and may do so without consent of the people.

That rumbling you hear is the sound of our Founding Fathers collectively rolling over in their graves.

That the EPA has any authority whatever is in direct opposition to the Constitution - all powers, by law, are vested in the people, except for the limited powers vested in the government, BY the people.

So, the people officially no longer have any say in how the government does things. The government rules the people, rather than vice versa.

When Obama was running for office, he did state, clearly, that he would "FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE" America.

Well, he has done that. It is no longer a Republic, even though the Constitution specifically dictates in Article IV, Section 4, "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government." In a Republic, the power lies with each individual person and their elected officials, and not with the government, its agencies or any unelected officials.

For those of you who are not familiar with being subservient, I suggest you stock up on knee pads.

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Imagine...

If someone were to say that our finest military academies were "the enemy camp", you would logically figure the person speaking was an enemy of the United States, such as Ahmadinejad, or bin Laden.

Unfortunately, it is the far left loony liberals who view our military as the enemy. In fact, Chris Mattews of MSNBC used just those words last evening when he said Obama "went to the enemy camp (West Point)".

And after Obama's speech, some of you may have noticed that it is the far left liberals who are calling for Obama's head, for his decision to actually try to win in Afghanistan. They would rather we pull out, which, as everyone knows, will mean the Taliban take control again, giving safe harbor for Al Queda to grow once again - and might even threaten the nation of Pakistan - which, as you recall, has nuclear weapons.

But the liberls do not seem to care about any of that - as evidenced by the far left folks on the left coast, they want our military to be disbanded altogether. Like blind fools, they think if you are defenseless, bad guys will leave you alone because you are not a threat. But the fact is, bad guys prefer to pick on people who are not a threat - that is the very premise behind being a bully.

Well, as far as this writer is concerned, MSNBC and Chris Matthews long ago gave up any right to be considered good Americans, and if this were pre-1950, they, Jane Fonda and many other liberal loons would have been tried for treason. They should consider themselves fortunate to be living in a country that has been strong enough to provide them the freedoms they have. Instead, they hate Americ and almost everything it stands for.

But while they adore Castro and Chavez, I notice they are not rushing to move to Cuba, or Venezuela...

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Who Is Larry Summers?

This is about Larry Summers - who he was, and who he is.

He was the Dean of Harvard University. He decided to invest the university's endowment fund into high-risk investments. His advisors warned him against doing that, but he fancied himself a financial whiz, so much smarter than they. He lost $1.8 BILLION of the university's funds. In other words, what he knows about money, finance and investing can fit into a thimble.

Now for who Larry Summers is today.

He is President Obama's Chief Financial Advisor. I guess the president was impressed with Mr. Summers' financial acumen. No one else is.

Oh, and a couple years ago he got into hot water when, in a public speech, he stated that women were not as capable as men in the subjects of science and math. Apparently he knows as much about women as he does about finance.

'Nuff said.

Open Your Eyes, America

Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, after weeks in closed office crafting his so-called health care reform bill, came out and told us that we, the people, are stupid.

Actually, he said his bill would come in at $849 billion and would cut the deficit. And he thinks we are stupid enough not to see the truth.

What Mr Reid did was to cut $210 billion from the bill and putt it into a SEPARATE bill called the "doctor fix", which increases medicare payments to doctors. So, the actual health care reform bill, when you add it ALL up, comes to over a trillion dollars, and does, indeed, add to the deficit.

More important is the White House comment today that the president supports the passage of the separate "doctor fix" by Congress. What makes this questionable is that just 14 hours previously, he did an interview with Major Garrett where Obama said, "If we keep adding to the deficit and don't get spending under control...it will cause a double dip recession." And then he immediately calls for Congress to SPEND MORE.

Reid and Pelosi are pathological liars and con artists, and think we, the people, are mindless lemmings. And Obama is not much better, as he is single-handedly destroying the greatest society the world has ever known., and is doing so with INTENT. He KNOWS more spending will cause a double-dip recession, then calls for more spending!

Yes, it could simply be gross incompetence. But those who elected him keep telling us how smart he is, so I doubt if incompetence is the problem. No, this must be intentional. But why?

Simple. Obama, who studied under Saul Alinsky (Marxist) wants a socialist country. The fastest and easiest way to do that is to make the people want it. And the easiest way to make the people want it is to give them cause to abandon capitalism and free markets as a failure.

Ergo, it is the Obama administration's goal to cause the massive failure of capitalism. Create recessions and depressions. Create massive deficits we cannot possibly repay, forcing America into bankruptcy. Do that, and the people will rush to socialism, trying to salvage their lives, crying "Please save us, Federal Government!"

It is the only explanation for the actions of this administration and the liberal Congress, acting together to bring down capitalism and the role of free markets. The Stimulus bills. The bail-outs. Taking over banks, insurance companies and car companies. Passing massive, incredibly expensive bills like health care, cap and trade and even "cash for clunkers", which we now know was a terrible failure, as it "borrowed" sales from later and got them all to occur in September, to give the APPEARANCE of an uptick in GDP.

Look out, folks! While you were sleeping, these clowns have dragged America perilously close to Marxism. And you REALLY don't want to go there. Every nation that ever has, has failed.

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For Those Interested...

Don't forget - tomorrow at 1pm is the "brunch" for car folks at Two Trails Diner in Standish.

Weather has been rather nice for a change - too bad it won't last. I was even able to clean out my workshop, postponed over 5 years. It was SO bad it took 4 days to do it (workshop is 500 square feet).

Resulted in a few hundred pounds of metals and 9 batteries to take to the scrap yard...

Someone asked how I could afford to put up outside Christmas lights this year, since the economy is so bad. My response: that is exactly why I MUST put them up. Whatever little I can do to brighten things a wee bit for others. I suspect there will be as lot fewer lights this year - and if Cap & Trade gets passed next year, that will put an end to Christmas lighting almost everywhere. Too bad...

For Bill G - gold is at $1115. Up 12% since we talked about it over the late summer. I love it! Now I can afford to run those Christmas lights :o)

From my family to yours, we wish you a very happy and fulfilling Thanksgiving.

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How Much Do You Notice?

We are always being taken advantage of by those who strive to separate us from our money. And they use trickery and deceit to accomplish that. And they get away with it because most people do not catch them at it and complain. In other words, we actually permit them to screw us over by not being observant.

Here is just one example - please think about it:

Not long ago, ice cream had always been sold by the Half-Gallon. But if you look closely at the package today, you will see that, while the price has not changed, you now get only 3/4 of a gallon - for the same price.

This means the big ice cream companies have effectively increased the cost of ice cream by a whopping 33% in one fell swoop! And 99% of the folks never even noticed - we take too much for granted.

Remember when the large candy bars were a nickle, then suddenly got smaller and smaller as the price increased? Watch closely as the cost of a package of ice cream increases, now that they have successfully decreased the size without being noticed.

Nabisco Honey Grahams used to be 2.5 inches wide. Now they suddenly went down to 2", though the price did not change. This represents a 25% price increase, literally overnight! (a half inch represents 25% of the new 2" size).

We are being bled by dishonest businesses. Certainly they deserve a fair profit. But not an UNFAIR profit.

If the folks - and that includes you - become more attuned to what is going on, and how you are being scammed, they might not be able to get away with it. So, be vigilant. And when someone takes advantage, speak up.

Thank You For Your Concern

Jim & Connie Peacock have received many calls and emails to check up on their son, Christopher, who is stationed in Texas. As you know, Ft Hood suffered a serious and deadly attack.

However, Christopher is stationed at Ft Bliss, and is fine. The Peacocks would like to than all those who have expressed their concern.

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Now We Have An Opportunity To Lead

Maine residents have spoken - they do not want the state to push social agendas not approved by the voters. That is one of the main reasons gay marriage was struck down. The other reason is because of the value religious people place on the sanctity of marriage.

And now that the folks have closed this door, they have opened another - the door to legal equality, without having to compromise their religious beliefs.

To that end, it may be worthwhile for the state to start over - REALLY start over - and set an example for the rest of the nation to follow. Maine can LEAD.

The state of Maine, with the consent of its people, should consider implementing the following two steps, which, while they may be bold and somewhat radical, would put an end to the gay marriage debate and controversy forever, in a way that is fair to all.

Step #1 - Marriage will no longer be sanctioned or licensed by the state of Maine. Any couple of which both parties have reached the age of majority and choosing to be united under the law, and to be entitled to all such benefits and rights as are now attributed to marriage may enter into a Civil Union, which shall be sanctioned and licensed by the state. Any two consenting adults may enter into a civil union. Civil Unions can be performed by any religious leader or Justice of the Peace.

Step #2 - Any consenting adult couple that ALSO desires to be united in the eyes of their church and with the blessing of their Creator may apply to their church for the privilege of being united in Marriage. To be married, the couple a) must already have entered into a legal Civil Union, b) must obtain the consent of the church and c) must have been an active member of their church for at least the previous 12 consecutive months. Marriage shall provide no legal standing or protection under the law - that is the purpose of the Civil Union. Marriage shall be an optional religious ceremony only, not a legal one, and offered at the discretion of any church, synogogue or other religious organization acknowledged by state officials.

All existing marriages and those licensed in other states shall be grandfathered and still be recognized by the state of Maine, and given the same legal weight as civil unions.

In this way, the state is removed from the issue of allowing or disallowing gay marriage - it would become what it should have been all along - up to the individual churches as a religious rite. The state also, with the same stroke of the pen, provides complete legal equality for all residents of the state, regardless of the sexual preference of the citizen.

Religious people will not be "forced" to compromise their values - if you do not believe your Creator accepts gay marriage, but your church chooses to perform the ceremony, you are obviously in the wrong church. Simply find another - one that is in sync with your beliefs.

This solution will not please everyone, as there will always be fanatics on either side. But this solution is a fair solution, providing every adult resident with legal equality, without interfering in the religious beliefs of any citizen. In the end, the state would be saying that all citizens shall be equal, while at the same time leaving the moral issues to the churches - and to God.

And if you do not believe gays should marry, and you run into a married gay couple, do not pass judgement, because a) no one is forcing you to give your blessing, and b) judgment is up to God. Live and let live, and let God decide.

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The Lawmakers Should Take Note

Yesterday, the people of Maine torpedoed the new state law that allows gay marriage.

To the legislators and the governor - take notice! While the people may have elected you to run our state, they did not elect you to push your own personal agendas and drive Maine into the world of liberal mores and values. It is time you realize the difference, and stop screwing with us, or you will find that the same people who tossed out gay marriage may toss you out, as well.

The people have spoken. And the people are the BOSS! And that message is now beginning to ring clear throughout most of America. Gay marriage has been thumped in all 31 states that tried to approve it. Liberals lost their governors in their own states of Virginia and even the Democrat stronghold of NJ.

All those Tea Parties that you politicians and media tried so hard to minimalize were REAL. And your attempts to ignore them only riled up the folks further.

Politicians of all stripes and parties, take note: you work for US, not vice versa. Ignore that at your own peril.

Especially you, Senators Snowe and Collins. Start listening to the folks in MAINE instead of those clowns in Washington, or you, too, will find yourselves standing in the unemployment line.

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Voting Tuesday

On Tuesday voters will be asked if they want gay marriage to be the law of the land - if yes, vote "NO". If you do not want gay marriage, vote "Yes" to REJECT the current law that allows it.

One fellow, who writes for the very leftist Huffington Post writes, "But in Maine, the proponents of same-sex marriage seem to have been listening to the message mavens. Their advertising is neurologically canny. To start with, the commercials are sponsored by an organization called "ProtectMaineEquality.org." Those are three coruscating words that trigger a wave of positive emotions. Absent entirely: "gay" or "same sex."

In other words, the out-of-state crowd pushing gay marriage are using trickery and deceit to play on our emotions. I find that belittling. It's like they don't think Maine folks can actually think, or that they believe Mainers can easily be swayed into tossing out their beliefs.

Here is my personal opinion - the argument is phony right out of the gate. Gay marriage has absolutely nothing to do with equality, or being fair. I know this because of a few points:

1) Gays in civil unions have all the same legal RIGHTS under the law, regardless of whether or not they are "married".

2) Marriage is not, and never has been, a "right" for anyone. Rights cannot be licensed nor regulated, yet marriage is both. It is a PRIVILEGE, not a right - like driving. Proponents of gay marriage know this, but try to deceive us into thinking it is a right.

3) Marriage is, by its origin, a religious rite. The states took it over (in violation of the separation of church and state) in order to regulate it, and license it for legal reasons. But it is, in essence, a rite that unites two persons in the eyes of God, with His blessing.

Since in most religions God finds homosexuality to be an abomination (Leviticus 18:22), gays cannot unite with God's blessings, so marriage is not appropriate.

HOWEVER...

Gays still have every right to expect to be TREATED the same way as everyone else, and be allowed to legally unite as a couple and enjoy all the same rights as married persons. And Civil Unions do just that. The two types of union are equal under the law.

But the proponents of gay marriage are not interested in equality - they want more! They want to invade marriage in order to LEGITIMIZE homosexuality, and make it more acceptable. It is a blatant attack on religion.

Looking at it another way, let us take another "sin" from the Bible, such as "Thou shalt not steal." And thieves, wanting to live as they please, make a concerted effort for equality - to be allowed to pursue their own happiness by making thievery acceptable in the eyes of society. First they minimize the evil of theft. Then they batter us incessantly, through the media, with messages about equality, until we become numb and desensitized. Then when they have desensitized us to stealing, they push to make it legal.

Same thing, exactly. And what's next - legalize adultery? Murder? Drug dealing? Legalizing gay marriage is only the "foot in the door". Make no mistake about it. Those on the left have made no secret of the fact that they want to live by one rule - "if it feels good, do it." Start with pushing religion out of schools and public places. Then push gay marriage. Then amnesty for illegals. Legalize drugs (already being done) and prostitution. And, through Nambla and the ACLU they are beginning to fight for the "right" to molest children over the age of 12.

So, what is the answer? That's really quite simple, but the proponents of gay marriage don't like it because it limits them, and opponents of gay marriage don't like it because they are selfish. But it is the only solution that makes perfect sense, and is fair to all.

First, defeat the law that allows wholesale gay marriage, sanctioned by the state by VOTING on Tuesday and voting "YES" on 1. Then, pass a law that leaves it up to the individual churches. Allow gays to marry, but only if their church - the church they attend - is OK with performing the ceremony.

In this way, gay marriage is ALLOWED, but is not a RIGHT. In addition, if a church allows it for members of its congregation, then that is between them and their God, and they (and only they) will have to answer to God for it. It does not affect anyone else's relationship with their Creator. It does not affect me, or you, in any way - unless we also belong to that church. If you belong to such a church, and you feel homosexuality is an abomination, then you are obviously in the wrong church - find another.

Simple.

The question on the ballot is bogus. The question is not whether gays should be allowed to marry. It should be whether or not we should leave it up to the individual churches, because marriage is a religious rite, not a State's Right. As such, each church should make its own choice whether or not they will allow their gay members to wed.

It is not a state issue. It is not the state's business. It is not your business, nor mine. It is God's business. Everyone - including the state - should bugger out of it.

But we cannot do that unless and until we vote "YES on 1" come Tuesday. Then we can begin to address this in a sane manner, and tell the state that it's not for them to decide this. It's for the churches to decide, each according to their own beliefs.

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Strength

I don't know about you, but I am getting sick and tired of listening to whiners (yes, some of whom are on Pennsylvania Avenue) cry about how bad America is, and how it needs to be "fundamentally changed." America, the capitalist, competition-based country has, in just 223 short years become the richest, most powerful nation the world has ever seen. We have given birth to more innovation in 100 years than the rest of the world did throughout all its history. And because of the tenets our country was based upon - capitalism, freedom from government oppression and the Christian-Judeo ethic, you now live in the best country on Earth, with more opportunity and personal wealth than you can find anywhere else on Earth. Even our "poor" are wealthy compared to many people elsewhere.

For those who think otherwise, look at the other nations. Many are "third-world" nations, ruled in poverty and ruled by oppressive governments. The rest are so socialistic that the citizens are nothing more than the unnamed masses whose only function is to support and serve the government. In the "old days", they were called the Bourgeois. And in those instances, the people eventually rebelled and beheaded everyone in the bourgeois class.

Liberals think it is far better to be "sharing" and they think we should spread our wealth so other nations need not live in poverty. While that sounds nice on the surface, they are overlooking three important points:

1) If you give away your wealth, it will be YOU who are the poor, or at least poorer

2) There is a REASON those nations are not wealthy, and it is their own fault. As Thomas Jefferson said, "Every person gets the government they deserve." Those nations are poor because they do not strive to be any better, and they permit crooked despots to rule them. If you give your wealth to them, the despots will take it, and the nation will be no better off. But WE will be WORSE off. It's called "pouring money down a rat-hole."

3) Regardless of, and in spite of, any moral platitudes or beliefs, life is still ruled by "Survival of the fittest." You either play to win, or you lose. Period. Liberals want to play so OTHERS win, which will make losers of us all. Make up your mind to either fight to win, or be a loser. But they will not drag me down with them into Loserville.

If a person is inclined to believe that America is evil because we have so much wealth and power, and if they have a problem with that, then there are over 100 third world nations they can move to anytime they wish. Then they can take the "moral high ground" they think is real, and be happy that they are living up to their principles. But if they choose not to do that, then they should SHUT UP and start fighting for our country, and those things that made us great in the first place. And that is NOT the erasing of religion from the public arena, and it is NOT "democracy", but a REPUBLIC, and it is NOT entitlements. It's competition, with some winning, others losing. It's strength, not weakness. It's entrepreneurial efforts. It's small, unobtrusive government that gets the Hell out of the way of those who want to make us stronger and better.

Sure, some will suffer. Some will be losers. No one can win unless someone else loses - thats the law of survival. You cannot live unless something else dies (unless you can live without eating). But again, that is what is meant by survival of the fittest. You are either PREDATOR or PREY. The weak NEED to be weeded out, to strengthen the rest. If we keep using entitlements and restrictions to weaken the strong, just so the weak can prevail, then our entire society will be weakened. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

As Jesus said, "The poor will always be with us." And they will. So ACCEPT it. Go forth and prosper, and don't worry about whether or not your prosperity is at the expense of others (as long as your prosperity comes from legal and moral methods). Then, use a portion of your wealth to help the less fortunate to at least survive. But do not put government in that role, because government is too far removed and cannot be efficient, effective nor fair. Help your neighbor, but not to the point that it hurts you. Because if YOU go down, who will then be there to help that neighbor tomorrow?

Fight for your COUNTRY, but not for your GOVERNMENT. You need to RULE your government, not vice versa. Government is only the servant of the people when the people fight to control it, keep it weaker than the people, and question its every move. After all, the government that is big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you have.

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Government Health Care?

It's all you hear in the news these days - the Health Care bills.

One the one side, conservatives who want to fix ONLY what is wrong - the expense of health care. On the other side, the liberals who want to completely gut the entire health care industry and rebuild it to government specs, to give the government the ultimate power over its citizens.

So, where do you stand? That should be an easy question, being from Maine, where we already have a "government option" health care system. It's called DIRIGO. When first introduced, we were told it would insure 150,000 (it only insures 10,000); we were told it would reduce costs (costs have increased 73%); and we were told it would be paid for by savings (there were no savings).

These are the exact same claims Congress is making for their health care bill, which is basically DIRIGO SENIOR. It has not worked in Maine, and it will not work nationally.

Massachusetts also instituted a state-subsidized health care system. It, too, has bankrupted the state. The same with two other states that initiated such plans - in no case do they provide what the sponsors promised.

So, now we have a chance to stand up and say "Enough!" If we do not, then we will be forever stuck with a substandard, increasingly expensive health care system we will come to hate.

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The "News"

I am not advocating for or against any political party in this particular post, it is important to every citizen of America.

Our rights, and our futures, depend upon whether or not we get the "straight" news about what is going on. If we get our news from a media lies to us, or omits critical information, then we are not informed. And if we are not informed, our freedoms, rights and the future of our children dissipate.

So it is critical we get our news from a source that provides ALL the news.

To that end, ask yourself if your media reported on the news that Van Johnson, one of the administration's "czars", was a criminal and self-proclaimed communist. And did they report on it BEFORE or AFTER he was forced to resign? And ask yourself if your source reported on the ACORN videos long before, or after, they became public and Congress acted to defund them. Or have they bothered to tell you that over 30 ACORN employees have been convicted of voter fraud and voter registration fraud, among other things? Or that one of the ACORN founders embezzled over a million taxpayer dollars from ACORN, and ACORN never pressed charges? And did your source tell you about the part of the Baucus health care bill that says you will go to jail if you do not buy insurance? Or that all health care proposals include language that will cut Medicare funding by 500 billion dollars? And did your source point out the fraud in the Stimulus Bill? Or all the pork that was in it?

All of those important stories turned out to be 100% factual. But only one news source reported them. Why? Because they know that it is easier to lead, and take advantage of people who are ill-informed and ignorant of what is going on.

As you can see, getting ALL the facts is important if we are to make informed choices in our own lives. And most of the media are not giving us those facts until they are forced to by public uproar. But where is that uproar coming from if most media are hiding the truth from you?

I watch the news from many sources, to make sure I have all the facts, and not just the cherry-picked parts that an agenda-driven media presents. And in every case - EVERY case - the only media that gave me all the news was Fox. Think what you like about Fox, but the fact remains that they were on the ACORN, Van Johnson, Stimulus Fraud and the Baucus health care jail long before any other media. And the fact remains that, to this day, many in the media STILL have not reported on these things, or have sharply minimalized the stories. And viewership of FOX now exceeds the viewership of ALL other news media combined. Why? Maybe it is BECAUSE more and more folks from both sides are discovering that only Fox gives you all the news.

Two separate polls (Zogby was one) last election day asked voters certain questions about politics - simple questions that everyone should have known the answers to. As it turned out, the best informed voters were those who claimed to get their news from either FOX, or talk radio, or both. Those individuals got over 80% of the answers correct, on average, while those who got their news from the New York Times, MSNBC, NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN only got an average of 22% correct.

I hate pain. But it is pain that tells me when something is wrong, and makes me seek medical attention so I can fix what is wrong. Hate Fox News if you wish. But if you want to be INFORMED, you should be watching it, regardless of your party affiliation, and in spite of your personal feelings. Because being informed is not just a luxury - in today's world, it is essential.

And well-informed people are better armed to win debates, and make good choices. Choose to be well-informed, even if it hurts!

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Health Care Jail

Did you know that the Health Care plan proposed by Sen. Baucus has a section that states if you do not buy health insurance you will be guilty of a misdemeanor and punished with either a $25,000 fine OR A YEAR IN JAIL?

Can you believe these people? Not only do they want to violate your Constitutional Rights by FORCING you to spend your money on something you may not want or need, but they want to put you in prison if you do not comply with their Gestapo tactics.

Think about this - if for some reason you lose your insurance, you would be forced to spend $3800 to enter the "government" option, or go to jail. Hell, for most folks, if they do not have insurance it is because they cannot afford it. So the Democrats want to put you behind bars for being broke.

Don't think so? Think again. Baucus has already admitted that it exists in the bill. Now think about this - let's say the government says if you earn more than $48,000 a year, you can "afford" the $3800/year for their insurance. Yet, for all they know, your bills and expenses come to $48,000 a year. So how will you pay $3800 for insurance without going bankrupt and losing everything? In other words, it will not matter how much debt you already have - if you EARN a certain amount, the government says you can afford it - even if you cannot. So, you go to JAIL!

In America! With each passing day, the Obama Administration is changing America from the land of the free to the land of the enslaved.

Of course, the liberal media refuses to tell folks about this part of the Baucus bill, because they know the folks would revolt, big time. As far as I can tell, the only news source to show this is Fox News. No wonder it beats ALL other news stations combined.

Folks - if you have an ounce of common sense and a modicum of interest in what kind of future our children will have, get on the horn and call your senators and congressmen TODAY. Tell them if they vote for the health care bill, you will vote for their opponent in the next election. This is far too important for anyone to sit on their hands and hope someone else will fight the fight for them.

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Should Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO)Be Banned?

Read on, then vote in the poll on the left margin:

Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO) is a colorless and odorless chemical compound, also referred to by some as Dihydrogen Oxide, Hydrogen Hydroxide, Hydronium Hydroxide, or simply Hydric acid. Its basis is the highly reactive hydroxyl radical, a species shown to mutate DNA, denature proteins, disrupt cell membranes, and chemically alter critical neurotransmitters. The atomic components of DHMO are found in a number of caustic, explosive and poisonous compounds such as Sulfuric Acid, Nitroglycerine and Ethyl Alcohol.

Unfortunately, the dangers of DHMO have increased as world population has increased, a fact that the raw numbers and careful research both bear out. Now more than ever, it is important to be aware of just what the dangers of Dihydrogen Monoxide are and how we can all reduce the risks faced by ourselves and our families.

What are some of the dangers associated with DHMO?

Each year, Dihydrogen Monoxide is a known causative component in many thousands of deaths and is a major contributor to millions upon millions of dollars in damage to property and the environment. Some of the known perils of Dihydrogen Monoxide are:

• Death due to accidental inhalation of DHMO, even in small quantities.
  
• Prolonged exposure to solid DHMO causes severe tissue damage.
  
• Excessive ingestion produces a number of unpleasant though not typically life-threatening side-effects.
  
• DHMO is a major component of acid rain.
  
• Gaseous DHMO can cause severe burns.
  
• Leads to corrosion and oxidation of many metals.
  
• Contamination of electrical systems often causes short-circuits.
  
• Exposure decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes.
  
• Found in biopsies of pre-cancerous tumors and lesions.
  
• Given to vicious dogs involved in recent deadly attacks.
  
• Often associated with killer cyclones in the U.S. Midwest and elsewhere, and in hurricanes
• including deadly storms in Florida, New Orleans and other areas of the southeastern U.S.
  
• Thermal variations in DHMO are a suspected contributor to the El Nino weather effect
  

Despite the known dangers of DHMO, it continues to be used daily by industry, government, and even in private homes across the U.S. and worldwide. Some of the well-known uses of

Dihydrogen Monoxide are:

• as an industrial solvent and coolant,
  in nuclear power plants,
  
• by the U.S. Navy in the propulsion systems of some older vessels,
  
• by elite athletes to improve performance,
  
• in the production of Styrofoam,
  
• in biological and chemical weapons manufacture,
  
• in the development of genetically engineered crops and animals,
  
• as a spray-on fire suppressant and retardant,
  
• in so-called "family planning" or "reproductive health" clinics,
  
• as a major ingredient in many home-brewed bombs,
  in cult rituals,
  
• by the Church of Scientology on their members and their members' families (although surprisingly, many members recently have contacted DHMO.org to vehemently deny such use),
  
• by both the KKK and the NAACP during rallies and marches,
  
• historically, in Hitler's death camps in Nazi Germany, and in prisons in Turkey, Serbia, Croatia, Libya, Iraq and Iran,
  
• in World War II prison camps in Japan, and in prisons in China, for various forms of torture,
  
• during many recent religious and ethnic wars in the Middle East,
  
• by many terrorist organizations including al Quaeda,
  in day care centers, purportedly for sanitary purposes,
  
• in animal research laboratories, and
  
• in pesticide production and distribution.
  

What you may find surprising are some of the products and places where DHMO is used, but which for one reason or another, are not normally made part of public presentations on the dangers to the lives of our family members and friends. Among these startling uses are:

• as an additive to food products, including jarred baby food and baby formula, and even in many soups, carbonated beverages and supposedly "all-natural" fruit juices
  
• in cough medicines and other liquid pharmaceuticals,
  
• in spray-on oven cleaners,
  
• in shampoos, shaving creams, deodorants and numerous other bathroom products,
  
• in bathtub bubble products marketed to children,
  
• as a preservative in grocery store fresh produce sections,
  
• in the production of beer by all the major beer distributors,
  
• in the coffee available at major coffee houses in the US and abroad
  

One of the most surprising facts recently revealed about Dihydrogen Monoxide contamination is in its use as a food and vegetable "decontaminant." Studies have shown that even after careful washing, food and produce that has been contaminated by DHMO remains tainted by DHMO.

A recent stunning revelation is that in every single instance of violence in our country's schools, including infamous shootings in high schools in Denver and Arkansas, Dihydrogen Monoxide was involved.

Knowing these statistics and facts, do you think DHMO should be banned? Please cast your vote.

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Is Health Care System "Broken"

Democrats keep repeating that the health care system in America is "broken". But nothing is further from the truth.

Let us begin with a couple of simple, undeniable facts:

1) America has the best, highest quality health care in the world, and

2) America has the most expensive health care in the world

What this tells us is that the health care in America is not broken - it is just expensive.

The Democrats want to tear down the entire system, radically change it, and hopefully make it affordable in the process while putting it under government control.

Republicans on the other hand, have offered a plan that deals with the expense, while leaving our great health care untouched.

Historically, the government has never - I repeat, NEVER - successfuilly run anything except wars. So it is unlikely that the Democrat plan would succeed, and would only serve to reduce the quality of our health care to that of Canada or the UK.

But although the Republican plan makes more sense, and would likely have the desired result, the Democrat-controlled Congress will not even allow it to be presented for a vote.

So much for bipartisanship.

In the Democrat plan, there is much more than meets the eye. You have all heard about the sections that say a bureaucrat will determine who gets what care, based on life expectancy and usefulness versus cost. But there is a tremendous amount of other poison in that 1000 page bill. For example, in section 440 the government would be permitted to have their social engineers enter your home and "teach" you how to raise your children, and teach them the "right" values.

That is but one small part of this bill. But what it all boils down to is this: the liberals now controlling this nation want to create a nanny state, dictating our lives from cradle to grave. This would give them everlasting power and control. And health care is the only method of achieving that. Under a health care bill, they can dictate what is best for us. Teach our children their own values. Choose who will live, who will die. Who suffers, and who gets treatment.

Think about it - any government that controls the health of its citizens CONTROLS THOSE CITIZENS!

Do you recall that science fiction show where one alien race got another alien race addicted to a drug, then used that to control the race to fight their wars for them? If they fought, they got their fix. If they did not, they would die from the withdrawal. That is the power of government health care.

The republicans, on the other hand, want the folks to be able to better control their own health. This would be done with legislation designed to bring down costs. How?

As an example, it would include tort reform. One of the reasons health care is so expensive is because fear of lawsuits force doctors and hospital to order many tests and treatments that are not necessary, so they can say they tried everything. In addition, the excessive cost of malpractice INSURANCE adds to your health bill. And that cost is so high because the current laws have no cap on judgements.

Ergo, tort reform could reduce medical costs by up to 20% without affecting the quality of care.

Another cost-cutter is health savings accounts, particularly if they are coupled with a co-op. If you have ever joined a grocery co-op, you understand. By pooling resouces, you can get the care you need for less. And with health savings accounts, you reduce your taxes accordingly while building up cash to pay for future medical costs.

Most folks need catastrophic insurance, to cover major issues like cancer, or surgery. And because coverage is limited only to catastrophic care, which only a small percentage of folks need, it is much cheaper than full coverage. Therefore, the average person could have catastrophic insurance provided by employers (or a credit given to self-employed people), while their health savings account covers everything else other than catastrophic care. And YOU control it.

All in all, the result would be to reduce medical costs by at least 40 percent while leaving the quality and availability of healh care untouched.

Some folks, however, think health care should just be free, paid for by the government. But that is not realistic - there is a price for everything, and nothing is free. We would still have to pay for it one way or another, through taxes, and it would result in government control which, as pointed out earlier, would reduce the quality and availability of care.

And there are those, among the Democrats, that believe insurance for all is the answer. It is not, and here is why: insurance is the problem, not the solution. Think about it - if you have 100% coverage, you will be more apt to run to the emergency room for every little discomfort, since you are not paying for it. If uninsured, you would think twice before incurring ER costs to deal with a minor cut on your 5 year old's knee.

And all that abuse and demand on the health care system drives up costs. But with health savings accounts, you would be more prone to conserving that money and not waste it.

Do you need proof that insurance is the problem? Test it. Call your local hospital and tell them your doctor is prescribing a colonoscopy, and you want to know how much it will cost. They will ask if you have insurance, because they charge differently if you do. If insured, the charge can be as much as 300% higher. So, tell them you have Blue Cross/Blue Shield - what would be the charge. It will likely be around $1500.

A few days later, using a different name, make the same call. This time, however, tell them you have no insurance and this will be self-pay, in cash, and you need to know how much. Chances are they will quote a cost around $500-$800.

And that is why insurance is the problem - the health providers screw insurers, resulting in much higher-than-necessary insurance premiums.

Are you getting the picture?

The health care system is not broken. It is simply expensive. And that can be dealt with easily, without jeopardizing the quality or availability of the care, and without entrusting it to a government that could not even run the "Cash For Clunkers" program efficiently.

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Not In The News

Not likely to be seen in the "mainstream" (liberal) media:

Senior citizens (AKA "The People") descended upon Senator Diane Feinstein's (D-CA) office today with questions and concerns about the health care bill she is supporting. Apparently unaware that she is supposed to be representing the people, the Feinstein Office called police to have those pesky American Voters removed.

Talk about elitism and an inability to connect with the folks...

Section 440 of that health bill allows government social(ist) workers to enter your home and "teach" you how to raise your children properly, and "teach" you how to instill the "right" values in your children

Can you say "1984 Big Brother Nazi-ism"?

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Talk About Obscene

The Democratic Stimulus Bill that was passed a couple months ago handed out 80 million dollars to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

So what, you say?

Well, as it turns out, the NEA has handed out much of that money in grants to companies like CounterPulse and Frameline to produce porn. Yep, you heard right - YOUR money is being used to create more hard-core pornography.

Now some folks - particularly liberals - will say that people who are bothered by this are simply trying to censor free speech. Not so! If a company wants to create porn, fine. If a person wants to see it, fine. The problem that SANE people have with this is that they are using TAXPAYER MONEY to do it. And most taxpayers find that objectionable.

The government should never force Americans to become a party to anything that may violate their religious beliefs, or offend their conscience. In most religions, if you participate in any way, or stand by while a sin is being committed, you are considered to be as much a sinner as the person sinning. By using tax money for porn, every religious American is being forced to participate in creating pornography, and is violating their beliefs and offending their God.

That may be OK for atheists or liberals, but not for the remaining 82% of Americans. If atheists or anyone else wants to fund porn, no one is stopping them. But they have no right to force the rest of us into their leaky, Godless boat.

And that is exactly what happens when the government acts rashly and hastily, and our elected officials do not read the bills they pass (not a single Congress person read the stimulus bill - not one)! And that is what happens when we, the People, don't stand up and be counted.

And I thought the 3 million dollars to build a tunnel for turtles was absurd.

If anyone wants to see into the future, to see what America would be like with the government taking care of everyone, and national health care and other entitlements, take heart - there is already one group of Americans that have been "cared for" by the government for over 100 years. You can look at them and see the future of government care.

Who are these people? Native American Indians that live on reservations. No group of Americans has ever received more "care" from the government, and no other group has ever been in worse shape.

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Missing The Point On Health Care

There is a lot of hype surrounding the so-called "health care debate." That's because "health care" is not the real issue. The REAL issue is HEALTH. There is a big difference. To find the (simple) solution, one must first understand the issue.

The natural order of things is good health, and ill health, throughout history, has been the exception. Until 60 years ago, most Americans rarely needed to see a doctor or visit a hospital. The reverse is currently true - GOOD health is becoming the exception.

With the advent of health insurance, folks suddenly ran to the emergency room for every little thing, simply because it was now "free". We have become a nation of needy, sick people. This overtaxes the healthcare system and drives up the cost. And here is HOW we got that way...

Food processing companies have been filling store shelves with non-food for over a half century. It's all chemicals, preservatives, various sugars, too much salt, hormoes, pesticides and just about any other non-food, all for the sake of greater profits. The most profitable "additive" is high fructose corn syrup, which is 100 times sweeter than sugar, at a fraction of the cost to produce. And it is the #1 cause of obesity and diabetes in America. Moreover, if you check labels, it is in almost everything on the grocery store shelves.

Our bodies are being abused in this way, and are not getting the proper nutrition. So, our society is getting sicker and sicker.

SOLUTION: Keep people healthy in the first place, and provide for catastrophic care

1) Tax junk food and non-natural foods, and apply those funds to reduce the cost of good, organic, healthy foods so people can afford to eat REAL food

2) Teach students in school, from the 3rd grade on, about PROPER nutrition and healthy foods, and what the body requires

3) Reinstate mandatory Phys Ed in every grade and every school, and make it FUN

4) Every person should have coverage for catastrophic care - such insurance is much cheaper that complete insurance. This could be funded by employers, by mandate. During periods of unemployment, individuals would be temporarily covered by a government-paid option, but ONLY while unemployed

5) A healthier society from 1 thru 3 will result in a much reduced need for lesser health care issues, which would reduce the load, and reduce the cost of insurance to cover the minor issues, making it more affordable for all

6) Tort reform - in cases where there was no gross negligence or intentional harm, doctor's liability would be limited only to actual financial damages. In cases of gross neglect or intentional harm, lower limits for awards should be set, with a maximum based on the actual potential earning power lost, plus actual costs and costs for ongoing medical needs. An additional award of up to 25% more if the neglect resulted in serious long-term pain.

If we keep ourselves healthy, health care costs will take care of themselves. If we reduce the cost of malpractice insurance, doctor costs could be cut substantially.

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By The Sweat Of His Brow

In a discussion on AOL that brought up the existence of God, one person made the following statement:

"I do not believe in God because He has done NOTHING for me. Everything I have I got from the sweat of my brow. If He ever decides to do something for me, then I will believe."

I could not believe this person's arrogance and complete inability to think the world does not revolve around him. So, I wrote back:

"You say you will believe in God when He does something for you. Well then, prepare to believe. He, not you, gave you the BRAIN and the MUSCLE to do the things you have done. He, not you, gave you a planet to call home, air to breathe, water to drink and food to eat. He gave you eyes to see, yet you are blind to Him. He gave you ears to hear, yet you are deaf to Him.

"Compared to all that He has done for you, my friend, YOU have done almost nothing except use that which He gave you. And that is what we are supposed to do.

"If you are the kind of person who will believe only when someone does something FOR you, rather than doing it for yourself, then you must feel right at home with a government that intends to do everything for you. But even then, the government can do nothing compared to what God has already done for you. He gave you LIFE."

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Laughing At The Pundits

Governor Sarah Palin resigns. And all of the overpaid pundits cannot understand it. They all put forth their dumb theories, but they ultimately say, "I don't understand this - why would she do this?"

But for those of us with some living brain cells, it is so obvious that it is almost obscene.

Palin's family is not wealthy. All other possible presidential candidates are millionaires, but Palin is simply middle-class. She really cannot run, and effectively compete in 2012. Bear in mind that Hillary Clinton had to fund over 20 million on her own. Romney has $100 million. Palin does not have even one million.

As governor, Palin cannot charge $100,000 for speaking engagements, or do a lot of other money-making things, or she would violate ethics rules.

So, here is EXACTLY why Palin resigned:

1) She can book 50 speaking engagements per year, at $100,000 each, over the next two years, and bankroll $10 million.

2) She can publish a book, and collected another $5-10 million

3) She can travel the lower 48, and build a stronger base. Stuck in Alaska, she cannot do that.

4) As governor, she pretty much has to put up with the mindless, crude attacks on her family by the media. As a private citizen, she can hit back - hard!

5) She is now free to study, and become much better informed in matters of state, and foreign affairs.

6) She has enough integrity to not hold onto the governor's seat while giving her time to a bigger campaign - Alaska deserves a full-time governor. This is far different from the "politics as usual" we are accustomed to - Obama spent two years AWAY from his senate seat to run for president. During that time he was getting paid to represent the folks in Illinois, but failed to do so. Palin is better than that.

But first and foremost, she cannot vie for the nomination unless she has strong personal finances - and she cannot do that as governor. She is smart enough to realize that, in her current middle-class status, she cannot compete financially with multi-millionaires like Romney.

So, to all those overpaid pundits I would suggest they stop analyzing her as you would analyze the crooked politicians in Washington, and begin looking at her for the real person of character and integrity she is. Then you will easily understand her.

And, no, I do not think she would be the best candidate for president in 2012. But she most certainly is viable, and a helluva lot smarter than the pundits, media and liberals think she is.

And I gotta tell ya, it is a huge mistake to understimate Sarah Palin.

Side note: It is July 9th - summertime. I just stepped onto my deck for a breath of fresh air, and could see my breath! I have never seen such cold summers as these last two, and I have seen 61 summers.

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Giving Dollars For Pennies

Most sane people would never trade dollars for pennies. But then, no one ever accused politicians of being sane.

Yesterday, President Obama agreed with Russia's Medvedev that we would both "cut back" on our nuclear weaponru and delivery systems.

Sounds good, on the surface. But a thinking person would first question whether the Russians would live up to their end - they have not, in the past. But even if they were to follow through, a thinking person would come to realize that while we would be giving up modern, functional weapons and delivery systems, Russia would be giving up antiquated weapons and systems that no longer have any use, because the systems have not been maintained since the U.S.S.R. broke up in the 80's.

In essence, we would give up serious power and strength, while Russia would only be throwing out the trash.

NOT a good trade, by any standard.

And now Mr. Obama is in Italy at the G-8 Summit. And I can only wonder what he plans to give away now...

• He would give up our defensive weapons
• He would give up our industries to India and China by taxing them out of the country
• He would give up our grandchildren's future with crippling debt
• He would give up 2.3 jobs to create 1 "green" job
• He would give up ownership of large portions of America to China, who holds our debt - how would they foreclose?
• He would give up our inheritance of quality health care in favor of a government system that has been tried elsewhere and did not work
• He continually gives away our self-respect and honor by apologizing for America and its values
• And he has given away our history, telling Russia that we were NOT the driving force that ended the Cold War

I can only speak for myself, but I do not think America should be giving up ANYTHING to countries who do not even like us, and never support us. A bunch of rag-tag socialists who need to bring America down to their level in order to feel secure, and share our wealth.

To quote Mr. Obama, yes, we DO need change. But not the kind he is trying to shove down our throats.

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Follow The Money

(As I write this, it is July 2, and our furnace has had to come on 32 of the last 41 days. It has been on throughout today. We have used 70 gallons of heating oil since mid-May. Average outside temperature over the last few weeks has not been above 60 degrees.)

Many of you, particularly liberals who do not wish to be confused by the facts, will not want to visit a page I have constructed with a few facts about "global warming" that the hoaxsters will not tell you.

For those of you with inquiring minds, and a yearning for ALL the facts, feel free to take a look. There is no hype - just absolute, proven facts.

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Stupid Is As Stupid Does

47 states are set to raise taxes on their citizens. So, let me see if I understand this...

Joe Blow is hurting because of the recession, so he is spending less. This means the state gets less in sales taxes. So, to offset this, the state, in its utter stupidity and arrogance, increases the taxes, thinking that will somehow increase revenue.

But the increased taxes, on an already hurting Joe Blow, only means Joe can afford even less than before. He is forced by higher prices to buy LESS, resulting in even LESS tax revenue for the state.

Throughout American history, EVERY time taxes have been raised, the economy suffered. And EVERY time taxes were cut, the economy boomed. Our elected leaders, however, out of sheer arrogance and ignorance choose to ignore history.

Look, it isn't rocket science. The more money the PEOPLE have, the more they can SPEND. The more they spend, the more tax revenue the state gets without raising the tax rate. In fact, if the CUT the tax rate, this gives the people even MORE money to spend, resulting in even GREATER tax revenues.

In a nutshell: what makes more sense - collecting 5% of $100 or collecting 100% of $5? While it may appear to be the same result, it is not. In the former instance, $95 is still in the economy, being passed along. In the latter case, the entire amount is taken as tax, and nothing is left to keep the economy afloat or to be passed along.

I'll say this just once - the People (and particularly businesses) are the Golden Goose that lays the Golden Eggs. It is their effort and investment that creates the income from which the government gets its tax revenue.

Now, the government has a choice - take CARE of the Golden Goose, and keep getting those eggs, or STRANGLE the goose with higher taxes and regulation, thereby reducing the egg output - and maybe even stopping it altogether if they kill the goose - or it runs away, the way businesses leave the US for more favorable tax treatment in India and China, taking the jobs with them. We keep griping how businesses keep taking jobs out of America by out-sourcing, but we adamantly refuse to force our elected officials to stop running those businesses out by their insistence to punish them with ever increasing taxes. Businesses are no different from you and I. They will go where they are welcomed, and treated fairly. They will move away from any place that punishes them, or treats them unfairly. Get it? Your Senators and representatives certainly do NOT get it.

It is time we told our senators and representatives that they need to start adhering to simple common sense when it comes to finances and taxation, and to keep taxes low, for the benefit of all. Because as sure as God made little green apples, higher taxes will lower our standard of living, and strangle the very thing that creates the wealth in the first place.

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