Carol: Clear & Cloudy

Congressional Reform

2009-12-30T15:34:00.001-08:00

Call To Action!

It will never be accomplished unless "WE" do something about it now, not later!! The only way that congress would ever vote for such a bill is for Americans to demand it to the point that our elected officials feel they have no choice. That means many Americans, which includes you, must push to get a bill written and persuade a majority to vote for it. Therefore, this must be distributed to every American who has a PC or mailbox….every American! Will you help, or are you just blowing smoke when you get upset with congress as they play partisan politics? Lets help bring about a "Change in Washington" that is more than just spoken words, a "Change" that Americans will be proud of, a "Change” that will benefit future generations. If something is not done, our children and grandchildren may not have a country like we had to grow up in. It doesn't matter what political party you like. This is what's best for EVERY AMERICAN!

Can Americans depend on you to distribute this and support it or will you make excuses as to why it will not work? I'm in what about you????

Congressional Reform Act of 2010

1. Term Limits: 12 years only, one of these possible options: A. Two 6 year Senate terms, B. Six 2 year House terms, or C. One 6 year Senate term and three 2 year House terms.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators. Serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

2. No Tenure / No Pension: A congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators. Serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund moves to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system. Congress participates with the American people.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators. Serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan just as all Americans.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators. Serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators. Serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators. Serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

7. Congress must equally abide in all laws they impose on the American people. Law-makers proven to be law-breakers will immediately lose their positions.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators. Serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

8. All contracts with past and present congressmen are void effective 1/1/11. The American people did not make this contract with congressmen, congressmen made all these contracts for themselves.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators. Serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

If you agree with the above, pass it on to all in your address list, all your FB Friends, all your tweets, and mail to those who are technologically impaired!

Letter from the DCCC: Democratic Corrupt Cronies and Crooks?

2009-10-16T10:03:00.001-07:00

Cloudy

I’m not sure why the DCCC decided that their best way to raise campaign money was through attacking Glenn Beck, but that is what they did. I received the following letter (in green) from the DCCC.

Clear

I am well aware of my convictions and beliefs, and sent this reply to the DCCC.

Carol --

Glenn Beck.

Just writing those two words side by side sends a cold chill up my spine. He's the guy that's been riling up all those tea partying, town hall hollering, Obama birth certificate denying fools on the right-wing.

I happen to be a tea-partying, town-hall-attending, Obama-past-records of all kinds questioning citizen who exercises my First Amendment rights. I also happen to watch Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly. And I listen to Mark Levin, Neal Boortz and Rush Limbaugh. As much as I know the liberals would like for all American citizens to become their docile, obedient sheep, I am not. I do as Neal Boortz cautions us to do. I check out the stories I hear and see and find other points of view. I do as Glenn Beck advocates. I ask bold questions on Twitter and Facebook and my blog. I follow the White House, Obama, and most of the official democratic organizations on Twitter. I get official notices from such groups on Facebook. I am an intelligent, well-educated and wise American citizen who cared deeply for my liberties and the Constitution and who does not follow conservatives or liberals without great deliberation and consideration.

Last week I called him 'nuts' on television but I'm afraid all I did was give nuts a bad name.

Let’s take a close look at this man you call a “nut.” We don’t shout that Obama isn’t an American citizen, We just have to wonder why he doesn’t put up either a birth certificate or Passport or school scholarship records to shut this controversy down. If Van Jones wasn’t a Communist or a “truther,” why didn’t the President back his appointee and keep him on? If the “snitch” email to the White House hadn’t been unconstitutional and unethical, why was it removed? If the lesson plans from the US Department of Education wasn’t meant to indoctrinate, why were they changed? If Yosi Sergant wasn’t acting unethically to use NEA funds to solicit propaganda and/or campaign artwork, why was he removed from his position? If Mark Lloyd isn’t a radical, why does he praise Chavez? If Anita Dunn isn’t a radical, why does she praise Mao? If Kevin Jennings isn’t immoral, vile, and perverted why would he support pedophilia? If ACORN wasn’t a corrupt organization with questionable fiscal activity, why did the IRS, the Census Bureau and Congress disassociate from them so quickly? Glenn Beck isn’t nuts. Our president is CRAZY for thinking that we wouldn’t notice that the appointees to his shadow government that writes policy and circumvents the Constitution is trying to “nudge” us (ala Sunstein) towards socialism.

I wish I could repeat some of the other names that our great DCCC supporters had for Beck in those petitions you signed, but we have to keep these e-mails G-rated.

First, I didn’t sign your petitions. I merely subscribe to your services so that I can “know my enemy.” And, were the names your great DCCC supporters had for Beck anything like: “un-American,” “anti-American,” “swastika-wearing,” “racists,” “Astroturf,” “thugs,” or, to quote you, “tea partying, town hall hollering, Obama birth certificate denying fools on the right-wing?”

Obama himself was the first person during the time of his administration to play the “race card” when he wrongly accused Cambridge police for racial profiling. Nancy Pelosi was the first person during this administration to refer to Nazis when she falsely accused Americans who were exercising their rights by questioning their elected representatives of wearing swastikas. Not a single picture could be produced that day of a single attendee wearing a swastika or carrying a Hitler or Joker sign. After her comment, however, (and perhaps thanks to her suggestion) the signs and symbols were evident the next day. The SEIU were the “thugs” at these meetings that beat up un-armed, well-meaning, peacefully assembling citizens. Perhaps our President and Speaker of the House doesn’t believe that a truly grass-roots movement is possible, since they are so used to funding and orchestrating SEIU , ACORN, children in the crowd, and fake doctors in distributed lab coats to rally for their causes. Some people rally because they believe in right. Some people march because they believe in justice. Some people question with boldness because it is their DUTY as a citizen in a Republic where the government is “of the people.”

Thank God we have committed supporters like you who defend President Obama from the attacks by Glenn Beck and his crazy ilk. And since you have the President's back, I wanted to make sure you don't miss out on your chance to join President Obama for dinner later this month.

Thank God you have informed citizens in America, who read and listen and pay attention to what is going on in DC. We wish it was an easier task. We wish the President would actually keep at least ONE of his promises and give us a transparent government. Nancy Pelosi also vowed to conduct House business in an unprecedented, transparent way. But, not only is debate not on CSPAN, it is behind closed doors. Not only are bills not online for our perusal, but they are voted on before our Congressmen read them, before they are put into legislative language and before they can be adequately scored in their final form by the Congressional Budget Office. Not only did Pelosi push for a pre-mature vote on Cap and Trade, but she offered “pork” to those few she needed to change their votes, and they caved (we hope with a sense of severe shame). Not only have Congressmen admitted that they don’t have time to read the bills, but they voted against a recommendation to wait 72 hours for a vote so that they would have time!

Contribute $5, $10 or more today and you and a guest will be automatically entered for a chance to win dinner with President Obama in Miami, Florida on October 26. Your hotel, airfare, and tickets are all included.

I’ll pass on your generous offer to send you money and “gamble” on a chance to have dinner with the President. I need that $5 to help feed my family. Vegetables are increasing in price since you favor the environment over the people that live in it. Tax increases, the failed economy and supporting your ever-growing federal government with my money are making it more difficult to put food on my own table. I doubt that you are going to work very hard to fix that, even though a vast majority of our citizens believe that the economy, NOT healthcare, should be “job one” for the government. We know that you all hope to completely wreck the economy so that you can then take over and provide for us as a truly socialist society. We’ll fight that. We’ll “holler” louder than you can imagine.

With media cheerleaders like Glenn Beck egging on the Sarah Palin-Michele Bachmann crowd of wing-nuts in the GOP spreading bizarre conspiracy theories about government death panels, FEMA concentration camps and the like, we need your support more than ever.

Once again, you’re hypocrisy is showing. NEVER let us see another criticism of a Tea Party sign after all of the names you have hurled at us in this one letter. “Wing-nuts?” It was our President himself that told Jane Sturm that her aging mother wouldn’t deserve expensive medical treatment when she could be given a pill to keep her comfortable until she died. And, it is a well-known fact that with a simple executive order, martial law can be forced upon us and FEMA can be given the power to incarcerate citizens. Is that as abusive as sending poor people miles away from the University of Chicago Hospital’s emergency room to receive care in a small neighborhood clinic just because you don’t have insurance? Michelle Obama got rich doing this. (The President never mentions Dontae Adams when he gives personal stories about poor health care in America. Dontae had his lip bitten off by a pit bull and was given Tylenol, a Band-Aid, and instructions to go to another clinic ala Michelle Obama’s Health Care Initiative.)

President Obama and the Democratic Party are fighting for our future and the commitment of Democrats like you is the key ingredient to our success.

So, make a contribution of $5, $10 or more today. And, when you do, you and a guest will be automatically entered for a chance to win dinner with President Obama in Miami, Florida on October 26. Your hotel, airfare, and tickets are all included.

Your contribution will be put to work fighting for the change you and I voted for last November. Thank you for your generous support.

I didn’t vote for him then. I won’t vote for him in the future.

Sincerely,

James Carville

Helping Out, Bailing Out or Buying Off the Seniors?

2009-10-15T21:22:00.001-07:00

Cloudy

Since the cost of living hasn’t gone up, there will be no increase in Social Security amounts for the nation’s senior citizens and disabled. The Obama administration is considering sending each of them a “stimulus” check for $250, at a cost to the nation of $13 billion.

I’m wondering if that $13 billion price tag to the nation is worth the benefits that $250 will glean. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not objecting to helping out people who have seen the benefits of a long life of work and contribution to the Social Security system disappear to past thieves in Congress. I’m just wondering if that little bit of money will really make a difference in the quality of their lives!

A quick search for goods and services showed me that $250 will buy or do ONE of the following:

2 suits at JC Penney

1 skirt, 1 pants, 1 shirt, and a boss belt at JCrew

1 month of groceries, IF you live alone without pets and don’t need laundry supplies

1 swivel bar stool

1 pound puppy and crate, but no vet care or Puppy Chow

1 well check up at the doctor. (Get this while we still have a good supply of them!)

1 one-way drive from Atlanta to Salt Lake City (w/o food or hotel)

50 trips across town if you live in Birmingham or a city of that size

Dinner for two at Per Se in NYC (cab fare and tip not included)

½ of a mortgage or rent payment

2 cartons of cigarettes

5 weeks of nightly toddies at home for 2

4 trips to the hairdresser

2 new tires for the car

1 airline ticket across country IF you don’t bring luggage or a coat

5 decent Christmas/birthday gifts (2 if you are buying for a teenager)

$13 interest if you put the money in a savings account

Clear

What it REALLY buys, or at least what the Democrats are hoping for, is votes in the upcoming election. They are hoping our seniors will remember the check and not be aware, yet, of the drastic cuts that will be coming in their Medicare.

Anita Dunn: Communist Witch Leading the Witch Hunt?

2009-10-15T17:04:00.000-07:00

Clear

Anita Dunn and the White House have pledged to push back and stop news stories that are either inaccurate or unflattering. She has said that, “Fox News often operates almost as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican Party. And it is not ideological.” Furthermore, she said, “let's not pretend they're a news organization like CNN is."

Obviously, her stance ruffled some feathers. It is one thing to fight inaccuracies in the news, it is something altogether different to fight unflattering references. (The WASHINGTON POST ran a very flattering fluff piece on Ms. Dunn today, by the way, in the Style Section.)

She was also exposed by Glenn Beck today for a speech she made to high school students in which she praised her “two favorite political philosophers,” Mao Zedong (Tse-tung) and Mother Teresa. This statement raises serious questions!

Cloudy

First of all, why is she calling Mother Teresa a “political philosopher,” and why would she, a liberal, favor her? Mother Teresa was a humble servant of God who spoke against abortion, even for the poverty-stricken women to whom she dedicated her life in Calcutta.

Mao, on the other hand, was a political philosopher of the vilest nature. He founded the People’s Republic of China, but his process for doing so included genocide and starvation, the result of which was at least 48 million dead at his hand or because of his “philosophies.”

So, again, we have to ask, “Why?” Why does Obama constantly surround himself with people who admire the very people who would be our enemies? Why does he surround himself with Communist-loving and Marxist-thinking advisors that bring a radical Socialist agenda to the table for America?

Hopefully, with these revelations, we will soon sing, “Ding dong, the Witch is Dead!"

Volunteers "Forced" into Service?

2009-10-15T15:26:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

Most of the major networks are planning a barrage of advertising and show content during the third full week in October to push for one of President Obama’s community organizing schemes, public service. I know there is nothing inherently wrong with public service and volunteerism. However, I know the protests over this will be about the same, if not worse, than Obama’s plan to speak to the nation’s school children. You will either hear about or be a part of yet another national outcry. Why would there be any objection to volunteer work to help others? Why would anyone object to television commercials that encourage that?

Clear

There is a myriad of “reasons,” most of which liberals will just scream are “excuses,” and most of them have nothing to do with public service.

First, it’s the idea of control. This White House is getting too intrusive into the daily lives of Americans. The Czars and advisors, especially those environmentalists who seem to hate the fact that the earth is populated with humans, want to force us into electric cars (that need burning coal to recharge), give up farmland in favor of bait fish (farmland that could support wind or solar farms instead of people and vegetables), and even take away our plush toilet paper and force more expensive, more energy-consumptive, rough and non-absorptive paper to chap our buns to save the old growth trees (in a country with more trees than we had 100 years ago).

Second, there is the idea of indoctrination. On the heels of hearing school children singing the praises of Barrack Hussein Obama instead of America (a trend that surfaces in almost every speech that the President himself gives, particularly before foreign audiences), people will be further enraged. On the heels of watching Aston Kutcher and Demi Moore “pledge allegiance” to Obama and the tatted thug-looking Chili Pepper kiss himself in praise of Obama, people will resist. The “school house stand” of conservatives was not about a speech, it was about the message that their children would be asked to praise the MAN in the same way that the National Endowments of the Arts, using tax money, has been recruiting artists to glorify the MAN. Not the office. Not the country. The MAN.

Third, there is the idea of unholy betrayal. There was the disappointment that the President did not honor the National Day of Prayer, but did honor the Red Chinese anniversary and hosted Muslim prayer in our nation’s capital. There was the dismay that the President painted a house on 9-11, a day when the names of the dead were being called out and honored in prayer, while he has embraced the sworn enemies that were supportive of that very holocaust. There is the criticism that he sat for years to listen to a minister preach, “God Damn America,” and then appointed a pedophilic School Safety Czar who said, “F—K God!”

Fourth, there is the idea that our administration does not honor the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. The White House acts to stomp out the First Amendment. They tried to stop e-mailers and bloggers with their “snitch” and “flag” mail. They tried to commandeer the computers of people logging onto “clunker” sites. They are collecting data on everyone who taps into any social network connected to the White House, including those that exercise their right to write to the President of the United States. They have threatened to eliminate conservative talk radio and are now beginning a witch hunt to quiet and denigrate Fox News because that station calls them out on almost every issue that has been listed on this page.

And last, there is the idea that Obama’s “fundamental change for America” equates to producing a socialist nation that will adopt a declaration of “dependence.” We know now that he ran for office with the intent and purpose of destroying our liberties to provide us with the security of a “nanny nation” that can “better” make decisions for us. We know now of how corrupt several of the community organizing groups with which he worked were, which is why very few trusted that the Olympics in Chicago wouldn’t become but another slush fund for the elite. We know now that they want to redistribute the wealth by letting the powerful make every decision over what resources we will have any access to as they control all of the purse strings. We know now how all too many of the people around our President, put there at his request, are Communists, Marxists, Socialists and radicals with beliefs that border on zoophilia, eugenics, euthanasia, and social engineering.

Yes, there will be an outcry over network programming next week. There will be a boycott. But, it won’t be about volunteer service. These people are already involved in Boys and Girl Scouts. They are already teaching Sunday School classes and helping with Vacation Bible School. They are already pitching in at senior centers, driving for Meals on Wheels or serving mission meals , contributing to charities, and lending a hand to neighbors. They are already building habitats for humanity, planting and maintaining inner-city gardens and green spaces, and guiding tours in museums, parks and public landmarks. They are already collecting in their neighborhoods for The March of Dimes, opening their homes to people and animals in need of care, cleaning their adopted mile of highway or waterway and contributing their time and talents to enrich the lives of others. These are the people who don’t need to be, or want to be, indoctrinated into doing or believing anything other than goodness and mercy, freedom and liberty. And they will unite when they think their beliefs are in jeopardy.

If you don’t see this next week, you’ll see it next November.

Politics and The Media

2009-10-13T22:43:00.001-07:00

Click on graphs to enlarge.
Graphs by Jenny Darrah on GraphJam

Clear

This should speak for itself!

Stop the Presses! Stop Fox News!

2009-10-12T22:17:00.001-07:00

Clear

I know what the First Amendment says, and I support it as one of the most precious, most reverent and most important dictate of our liberties and rights:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Cloudy

What I don’t understand is why our current administration thumbs its nose at our First Amendment rights. The latest incident was the announcement by Anita Dunn, the interim White House Communications Director, who stated to CNN, to TIME magazine and to the NEW YORK TIMES, that Fox News is war-mongering against the President. Dunn denounced Fox News as "opinion journalism masquerading as news." Furthermore, she said that Fox, “often operates almost as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican Party." "We’re going to treat them the way we would treat an opponent.” “As they are undertaking a war against Barack Obama and the White House, we don’t need to pretend that this is the way that legitimate news organizations behave," she said.

This comes on the heels of three significant current events.

First, Saturday Night Live finally presented a skit that dared to criticize President Obama for doing “nothing!” Bear in mind that NBC is owned by GE who stands to make millions off of the Cap and Trade bill should it pass. GE was also a major contributor to Obama’s presidential campaign. This network has supported everything from the campaign to the White House dog choice to Michelle’s buff arms. The mainstream news, or “fringe news” as they have now become, have slobbered over, genuflected before and worshipped at the altar of THE ONE.

Second, Fox News has surpassed every other news station and news show in the national ratings. It is watched by liberals and conservatives, by people of all races and creeds, and is growing daily in popularity. During the day, the programs adhere to the slogan, “We report. You decide.” In the evening, however, Fox airs opinion shows that, like Sean Hannity, usually have a conservative slant. However, recently we witnessed Shepard Smith in a semi-rant supporting ObamaCare and Bill O’Reilly tends to stay somewhere near the middle as he loves to play the devil’s advocate. Glenn Beck brings us the “fusion of entertainment and enlightenment.” And, sprinkled throughout the day are guests and panels from every walk of life and every political leaning as on Hannity’s Great Star Team, Bret’s All American Panel, and intelligent people like Star Parker, Juan Williams, Michelle Malkin, Rev. Stephen Broden, credible judges and lawyers, a variety of Democrat and Republican Representatives and Senators, and former White House staff members from the past several administrations. They seem to gather everyone to share opinions except the President himself. He refuses. And, when the Fox anchors have exposed corruption in the administration, the President has remained silent and not even come to the defense of those that he selected and then allowed to go.

Now, if you want to discuss slanted news, please remember that ABC allowed the President to air an expensive and polished propaganda-like hour of an “infomercial” for ObamaCare, while denying the Republican Party the right to even air contradictory commercials. So, Ms. Dunn, no more accusations about another network being PRO-Republican, please!

The third event that lead up to this tirade against Fox news was that the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to President Obama. This left Democrats and Republicans; liberal and conservatives; independents and Libertarians; Christians and atheists; adults and children; pet owners and pets; in other words, EVERYONE in America; asking the same question: “For WHAT?” He has not supported troops in Afghanistan, he has not closed Gitmo, and he has not done anything on the international scene except deface America’s greatness in the same way that thugs deface monuments with their spray paint cans. Even the president admitted that he has done nothing to deserve this recognition. Since Obama had no answer, it would behoove the White House staff to do something to show his worth.

My father once taught me a great lesson. He told me that basically all people want to feel good about themselves and want to feel more important in some way than others. It is part of human nature to want to be special. He explained that there are two ways to achieve that goal. The difficult way is to work hard, get a good education, improve ourselves, and constantly try to achieve the high goals that we set. The other way is easy. You merely sit back, call other people names and slap them down so that you can pretend to tread on them and make believe that you tower above them.

The White House may be taking that second, low road. Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said the White House may be lashing out at Fox "because the Democratic base is starting to be more critical of Obama.”

I’m reporting. You decide.

Differences Between Conservatives and Liberals

2009-10-11T22:47:00.000-07:00

Click on cartoon to enlarge.
Clear

Anyone out there still unsure about what conservatives and liberals believe? Neal Boortz shared some very clear and humorous guidelines last week:

If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn`t buy one.
If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.

If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn`t eat meat.
If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.

If a conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how to defeat his enemy.
A liberal wonders how to surrender gracefully and still look good.

If a conservative is homosexual, he quietly leads his life.
If a liberal is homosexual, he demands legislated respect.

If a black or Hispanic is conservative, he sees himself as independently successful.
Their liberal counterparts see themselves as victims in need of government protection.

If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
A liberal wonders how his governement is going to take care of him.

If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels.
Liberals demand that those they don't like be shut down.

If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church.
A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced, unless it's a foreign religion, of course!

If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.
A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his.

If a conservative slips and falls in a store, he gets up, laughs and is embarrassed.
If a liberal slips and falls, he grabs his neck, moans like he's in labor and then sues.

If a conservative reads this, he'll copy it to his friends so they can have a
good laugh. A liberal will delete it because he's "offended".

I hope you are smiling!

Late Night Fodder: Obama's Nobel Peace Prize

2009-10-11T21:19:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

Amid the gasps and head-scratching, the last few days have been a barrage of Obama jokes about the Nobel Peace Prize that, amazingly, even Obama himself admitted was undeserved.

Clear

It's been great fun for people and terrific fodder for the late night hosts! Here's a sampling to enjoy.

Tweet: Humor Czar condemns Nobel Prize jokes.

Rush Limbaugh: I don’t believe this! He’s not only the first post-racial president; he’s also the first post-accomplishment.

Tweet: Just wait until Obama wins American Idol before the new season even starts!

Jay Leno: Ironically, his biggest accomplishment as president so far: winning the Nobel Peace Prize!

Tweet: Obama stripped of Nobel Prize for using Performance Enhancing Teleprompter.

Bill Maher: Conservatives say the award represents everything they stand against: black people, foreigners, and peace.

Tweet: I've read about the other nominees. So it looks like actually doing something knocks you out of the top spot.

Jay Leno: The Nobel committee said they wanted to recognize the president's fine work in bringing peace to a black professor and a white cop through the strategic use of beer.

Tweet: Why didn't Obama win the Nobel Prize for Literature? Answer: He actually wrote 2 books.

Conan O'Brien: The committee said they gave it to Obama partly for his idealism and commitment to global cooperation, but mostly for calling Kanye West a jackass.

Tweet: If you hear rumors of an Obama accomplishment, report it to flag@whitehouse.gov.

Seth Meyers: In a surprise decision, President Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Friday. In other premature awards this week: high school football player Billy Reynolds has been named this year's Heisman Trophy winner; fifth grader Amber Collins has been named Miss America; and nine-year-old Dylan Holt has been named People's 'Sexiest Man Alive.

Conan O'Brien presented a list of the other awards Obama received on Friday:
Oscar for Best Cinematography 2009
Cy Young Award
International Air Guitar Championship
Winner, Ernest Hemingway Look-a-Like Contest
Best in Show, Westminster Dog Show
Blue Ribbon at the Texas State Fair for Best Corn Relish
World's Best Grandma

Tweet: Obama’s lesson to children: Success is 99 percent aspiration and 1 percent perspiration.

X-Rated Public Schools

2009-10-11T18:03:00.000-07:00

ALERT: This blog will not be pleasant to read, but the truth must be told.
Clear

President Obama has appointed yet another radical Czar to help in his attempt to circumvent the powers of Congress. The Safe School Czar, Kevin Jennings, is a homosexual, the founder of GLSEN (the Gay-Lesbian-Straight Education Network) and an advocate for NAMBLA (the North American Man/Boy Love Association). Both of these organizations claim to exist to combat intolerance and ignorance about alternate lifestyles, including cross-dressing as shown in the above video being played in California public schools.

Cloudy

What I don’t understand is why someone did not “google” this man before he was nominated for a position that will influence our young school children! As it turns out, NAMBLA is involved in attempts to legalizing pedophilia and serves as a forum for men to share information about finding young boys upon which to prey. They want the statutory rape offense dropped for sex between men and minor boys. Jennings has championed NAMBLA’S causes for many years, and, in the forward that he wrote for the book, QUEERING ELEMENTARY EDUCATION, he advocates an aggressive homosexual agenda.

How aggressive? When his organization GLSEN sponsored a conference for preteens and teens, adult gay men (Massachusetts state employees) led group discussions with the young boys to describe various techniques used by homosexual partners. These discussions included a sadomasochistic practice called fisting, which is inserting one’s entire fist in the rectum of a sex partner. One state worker explained fisting to the youngsters as the “satisfying experience of letting someone into your body that you want to be that close and intimate with...[and] to put you into an exploratory mode." The “TeachOUT” conference, co-sponsored by the state education department, led to a great deal of criticism from the Christian community. When subjected to their outrage over the “fistgate” scandal, Jennings response was, “F—k god!”

Teachers have expressed concern over the curriculum, too. Many object to the fact that they are expected to teach that these alternate lifestyles are “normal” and “moral, “ knowing that many parents do not believe this. Others have questioned the new policy because it contradicts the “safe sex and abstinence” curricula that have helped reduce HIV and STDs.

How did such a disgustingly immoral man find his way into the White House? He has admitted to counseling one of his minor students to “use a condom” when having sex with older men, instead of reporting the child abuse and pedophilia to the proper authorities as required by law. He has also stated, "Killing someone who calls you a faggot is not aberrant behavior but merely the most extreme expression of a belief that is beaten (sometimes literally) into boys at an early age in this country: Be a man – don’t be a faggot."

A simple web search reveals all of this, as a simple web search would have exposed Van Jones as a self-avowed Communist and “truther.” Does Obama have no shame? Would he invite Kelly Trueman for a sleep-over with his daughters?

Mendacity, Audacity and Disdain

2009-10-06T11:57:00.001-07:00

Clear

“The truest characters of ignorance are vanity, and pride and arrogance.” Samuel Butler

Arrogance is a double pity, because the talents of the arrogant serve primarily themselves when others could benefit. The arrogant will see no weakness in themselves and may secretly rejoice in the flaws they see in others. But imperfections are a part of being human, so the arrogant, like everyone else, always have feet of clay, however well hidden they may be. Fearing exposure, the arrogant don masks and adopt accusing rhetoric to hide their own insecurities, ignorance and emptiness. Rather than offering respect to all, arrogance demands respect from all.

Arrogance also angers others, who become the targets of the haughty. Instead of working hard to feel good about themselves and to rise above the crowd, the arrogant usually slam others down with lies, false accusations or by minimizing their worth. Then the arrogant have the audacity to bask in the glory of being “over” the ones upon which they tread.

Cloudy

What makes a person arrogant? Why do people who could, and do, make contributions to society take this low road? Who are the arrogant people around us that selfishly promote themselves?

Democrats for years glorified the murderer, Ted Kennedy.

Charlie Rangel and Tim Geithner, both in positions to make tax policy and law, have cheated on their own income tax returns.

Bill Clinton actually had the nerve to try to make America believe that oral sex wasn’t a “real” sex act. (Unfortunately, now the majority of teens in America have bought into that idea.)

Robert Gibbs lied to the press about the President attending a Bilderberg Meeting. (This is the super wealthy group that seeks a New World Order of redistributive wealth…except for theirs.)

Dan Rather knowingly used forged documents to bash George W. Bush’s National Guard record, then sued to get his job back.

ACORN, caught red-handed in fraud, blames the investigative reporters for entrapment. Of course, that didn’t keep them from firing the workers that had been “entrapped.” ACORN and the SEIU both forced banks into providing loans to people who could not afford to repay them, thus collapsing the housing market.

Congress, knowing Americans need jobs and a way to keep their homes, give money to those who contribute, increase debt and try to force expensive health care renovation instead of just making Medicare efficient.

And, even more outrageous and disrespectful to us and the Constitution, Max Baucus and his committee have sent the health care bill to the budget office in “conceptual language” instead of finishing the bill and including the “fine print.” Their transparency mirrors their leader’s.

Nancy Pelosi was the first to sling mud over town hall meetings and Tea Parties, and then cried over the anger that she created. The Bible verse that she always quotes for every occasion is one that she just made up! And with that, she ranks herself with the truly holy ones!

Barney Frank thumbed his nose at his constituent’s “ignorance” and “stupidity” by saying he was arguing with a dining room table!

Our lawmakers, wanting to have complete control OVER us instead of SERVING us, have refused to put bills online for our scrutiny and feel they are so intelligent and astute that they can vote without reading bills.

Katie Couric slammed Sarah Palin into the pavement with unbridled glee and satisfaction.

Kevin Jennings, after a lifetime of pushing for homosexual education in schools, has now changed his story about giving inappropriate sexual advice to a minor.

Mark Lloyd dared to look America in the face and announce that the First Amendment is overrated and he wants to shut down talk radio.

Van Jones smugly referred to Republicans as “assholes” and accused whites of purposefully contaminating blacks with toxic pollution and then explains that toxins in the air and water and go into every nook and cranny of the environment.

John Holdren believes he should have the right, as a superior being, to determine who should reproduce! His ideas include forcing single women to abort their babies, implanting sterilizing capsules in people when they reach puberty, and spiking water reserves and foods with contraceptives.

Cass Sunstein thinks that the masses are so ignorant that you can just nudge and nudge them into whatever life style you want them to have or into compliance with any policy that you want to pass. In order to “force” us to become vegetarians, he’ll just slowing increase the taxes on ranchers and the price of meat, until no one can afford to buy it.

David Letterman expects the world to accept his lecherous behavior; and many in his industry will support it just as Whoopie Goldberg supported Roman Polanski’s rape, but not rape-rape, of a minor child.

Susan Sarandon, in comparing Obama to Palin said in an overtly condescending manner, "Jesus Christ was a community organizer and Pontius Pilate was a governor."

Michelle Obama praised local farmers’ markets while supporting legislation that is turning thousands of acres of California’s San Joaquin Valley farmland into desert and forcing hundreds of farmers onto welfare rolls. Her disdain for the poor and her arrogance drove her to promote the Chicago Health Initiative that allowed the University of Chicago Hospital to treat only those with insurance, while forcing the poor to other clinics. Just recently, she lied before an international committee about “sitting in her father’s lap” while she watched Carl Lewis in the Olympics.

But, there is no one in the land who is more arrogant or more of an accomplished liar than Barrack Obama. He promised transparency while refusing to produce documents from his past and misleading us on every front. He lied to the international group of G20 leaders, claiming that his administration has done more for the environment than any other period in our history. He believes in his own superiority so much that he feels he must share his words and face with us almost every single day as he hogs TV time. He is disgusted with the racial comments about him and his administration, but HE was the one that first played the race card over racial profiling by the Cambridge police. His agenda included an attempt to have both school children and NEA artists praise him, not his office, through their work.

And, all the while, he blames every negative comment, every failure and every shortcoming on the conditions he “inherited.”

According to Obama, "The biggest problems that we're facing right now have to do with George Bush trying to bring more and more power into the executive branch and not go through Congress at all. And that's what I intend to reverse when I'm president of the United States." Yes, with your Czars and transparency, by bailing out your friends, and marching us towards socialism.

Sex Education Field Trip...for Children?

2009-10-04T16:31:00.000-07:00

Clear

That our young people need to know the "facts of life," I am in complete agreement. As a 30 year veteran high school biology teacher, sex education was a part of my curriculum every year. I was always grateful that it was the last thing on my agenda, for, while other teachers were dealing with student "burn out" during the last 2 weeks of school, I always had very attentive classes!

My curriculum consisted of anatomy, physiology and pathology. What are the organs for reproduction? What do these organs do and how? How does pregnancy occur? What are the events of fetal development? What diseases are associated with these organs. Again, like Sgt. Joe Friday, "Just the facts, ma'am."

I taught how the organs worked, but NEVER suggested how they should be used or with whom or how often or by what techniques. Sexuality was an issue I left for parents to discuss. I knew that I had gay and lesbian students in my classes, but by age 15 to 18, they knew it, too.

Cloudy

What I'm not sure of is how I would teach sex education to middle school or elementary kids. I must admit that I don't know, because I have no training for dealing with that age group and I haven't seen the curriculum. My own children told me about the separate sex HIV classes (they were system wide in the 80s), but they never told me if they had to demonstrate putting a condom on a cucumber.

I offer you this video, only to let you know what some others are doing to educate young people. This is a legitimate museum set up to teach youth about sex and sexual behaviors. Look at how young they are! I also think it is very obvious that this is a group, not individual kids with their parents.

I took my children to see the circus and the Impressionists.

Move Off Uncle Sam's Plantation: Star Parker

2009-10-04T11:05:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

I have been extremely impressed with the work and words of Star Parker, yet I reviewed a video of the “ladies” on The View grilling her as though she was the lowest form of life. They questioned her, without allowing adequate time for her responses, on homosexuality, same sex marriage, abortion, birth control, and even evolution! Their disdain for her was vile. How could anyone with any sense not see how amazing Ms. Parker is? (Perhaps I just answered that question.)

Clear

Star Parker is a shining example of an American who fully understands the difference between liberty and security. She was a “secure” single mother on the welfare rolls of Los Angeles for years; working the system so that she didn’t have to work, feeding on liberal propaganda and food stamps, and letting a progressive “nanny” state provide for her family’s needs.

After accepting Christ, she not only found dignity for herself as she left what she called “Uncle Sam’s Plantation,” but she’s helped others do the same through CURE, the Coalition on Urban Renewal & Education, a 501c3 non-profit think tank she founded. CURE provides a national voice of reason on issues of race and poverty in the media, inner city neighborhoods, and public policy.

Star Parker's personal transformation from welfare fraud to conservative crusader has been chronicled by every major newspaper and news network, and she has written three books, "Pimps, Whores, and Welfare Brats" (1996), "Uncle Sam's Plantation" (2003), and "White Ghetto" (2006).

In reference to “Uncle Sam’s Plantation,” Parker said:
There are two Americas — a poor America on socialism and a wealthy America on capitalism.

I talked about government programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS), Emergency Assistance to Needy Families with Children (EANF), Section 8 Housing, and Food Stamps: a vast sea of perhaps well-intentioned government programs, all initially set into motion in the 1960s by Democrats, that were going to lift the nation’s poor out of poverty.

A benevolent Uncle Sam welcomed mostly poor black Americans onto the government plantation. Those who accepted the invitation switched mindsets from “How do I take care of myself?” to “What do I have to do to stay on the plantation?”

Instead of solving economic problems, government welfare socialism created monstrous moral and spiritual problems — the kind of problems that are inevitable when individuals turn responsibility for their lives over to others.

The legacy of American socialism is our blighted inner cities, dysfunctional inner city schools, and broken black families.

Instead of poor America on socialism becoming more like rich American on capitalism, rich America on capitalism is becoming like poor America on socialism.

Uncle Sam has welcomed our banks onto the plantation and they have said, “Thank you, Suh.”

Now, instead of thinking about what creative things need to be done to serve customers, they are thinking about what they have to tell Massah in order to get their cash. Our corporate executives seem happy to move onto the plantation.

There is some kind of irony that this is all happening under our first black president on the 200th anniversary of the birthday of Abraham Lincoln.

She is not only critical of Obama’s strategy for America’s long-term growth and opportunity in areas such as renewable energy, healthcare, and education, but is amazed that he treats his own views as new. The idea that massive growth in government can take place “with unprecedented transparency and accountability” was offered by Presidents Johnson, Carter and Clinton as the education system was hijacked and a “war on poverty” was launched. Yet, trillions of dollars later, black poverty is the same. However, black families are not, as the number of single-parent homes and illegitimate births has tripled.

It’s not complicated. Americans can accept Barack Obama’s invitation to move onto the plantation. Or they can choose personal responsibility and freedom. This is not the freedom to be happy. It is the freedom to pursue happiness. This is not the freedom to realize the “great American dream.” It is the freedom to succeed, or perhaps fail, in attempts to realize it. It is the freedom to control our own destinies, to be an integral part of a democratic republic, to have a viable voice in government, and to demand that our elected officials work in accordance with our wishes as public servants. Our government is financially and morally bankrupt as a result of decades of Washington’s belief that they are our masters.

Take back your government. Become one of “We the People.” Let's end this plantation system.

God OUT. Deviant Sex IN. Education for Our Children

2009-10-03T16:32:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

Can anyone tell me just what is going on? Have we all lost our minds? Has everyone in a decision-making position lost their moral compasses?

A judge sets a child molester free. Coaches face trial for saying grace. Peter Singer writes that sex with animals is fine as long as you don’t harm the animal, and his two disciples, Cass Sunstein and John Holdren are now making policy as part of Obama’s “out-sourced” government. Our school safety Czar is a sexual deviant who wrote, “Screw you, God!” and gave very inappropriate advice to his own minor gay student. The Pledge of Allegiance isn’t required in public schools. The ever-despicable David Letterman calls a child a slut, confesses to sexual misconduct at work, and keeps his job. A beauty queen is asked for her opinion, gives it as requested to her gay interrogator, and has to give up her position after the sissy-fit that followed. Christmas carols are outlawed in public schools. Whoopie, a heretofore beloved actress, stands up for Polanski who raped, but didn't "rape rape", a thirteen year old. Children are taught how to put condoms on vegetables in the classroom. And now we find out that our young people are not only being asked to be tolerant of different life styles, they are seeing movies that illustrate deviant sexual techniques and glorify cross-dressing.

Clear

The US Department of Education has ruined our schools. The entire department is unconstitutional, as education was meant to be, and should still be, the business of the states. But, I digress.

I agree with SEX education in schools. I believe that young people need to understand changes that occur in their bodies as they mature. I agree that young people need to know how pregnancy occurs. I am in total agreement with teaching about contraceptives, STDs and safe behaviors. There are many FACTS that everyone in a modern society should know. But, in the famous words of Joe Friday: “Just the facts, ma’am.”

I still have a term paper I did in the 7th grade on the Endocrine System. My teacher removed the two pages with descriptions and drawings of the testes and ovaries before he exhibited it for family night, but I learned a lot about the FACTS of life when I did the research.

SEXUALITY, however, is a whole other issue. Frank and candid discussions about deviant lifestyles may be fine for college classes, but not for public secondary schools, and certainly not for public elementary schools. There are about 40 books for children covering those topics in my small, local public library. I encourage parents who want their children to know about sexuality to seek out some of these sources to use as guidelines, as many have been authored by child physicians and child psychologists. If you think your child should be exposed, if you think your child is ready to learn, then it is certainly good for you to teach them at home. However, I don’t want teachers with gay, transgendered, or pedophilic agendas teaching my children about their sexual preferences any more than I want a Catholic, Muslim or Baptist pushing their religious preferences.

Yes. We need to raise children who are accepting of differences. Yes. We need to teach our children not only to tolerate, but to embrace differences, so that another generation of hate-mongers will not be roaming our streets. It has always confused me why we innately see differences as bad or evil, when no two humans are ever alike! Our diversity and variety is a wonderful thing. Each person has some unique gift to offer to others. These kinds of lessons, without any reference to sex, sexuality, creed, race, or religion, are perfectly acceptable lessons for any child to hear from any adult.

But I want to select the zucchini for my child’s show and tell.

Obamalympics: Fun 'n' Games!

2009-10-03T12:46:00.000-07:00

(Image from Big D and Bubba)

Clear

To me, it was a no-brainer. Rio had the most compelling argument for hosting the games and had quite a contigency in Copenhagen. I was happy for them.

Cloudy

Is there anyway that we can still make the games, like everything else they speak of, all about the Obamas? Can we still have Obamalympics in Rio? Perhaps, if the IOC will adopt a few new games:

"Lie"crosse: Who can catch the most lies in Obama's speeches?

Field Hockey: How many CIA agents can be tanked in the field?

Gym"nasties": Who can insult more people than Nancy Pelosi?

Fencing: Can we all get "epee-epeed up"?

Diving: You're all wet, Obama!

Water Polo: Let's kick Poland's ass around the pool!

Triathlon: Lose the Olympics, the public option and allies! BUSTED!

Rugby: Wallow on the rug and pitch a hissy like Pelosi and Barney.

Feel free to add more!

AS A MOM Bumper Sticker

2009-10-03T12:05:00.001-07:00

Click on the image and it will appear larger. Then right click to save it to your comnputer.

Michelle Obama: PORK

2009-10-03T00:25:00.001-07:00

(Image from Vogue)

Cloudy

MICHELLE OBAMA, the First Lady of the United States, has picked over tomatoes at a farmer’s market while miles and miles of the San Joaquin Valley in California dries up, blows away, and leaves families penniless.

The First Lady of the United States made a million dollar flight to fail at gaining Chicago an Olympic bid, but got rich and served that same city by forcing the poor and uninsured out of the emergency rooms of the University of Chicago hospital.

Just what is the function of the First Lady of the United States? Her staff is by far the biggest and most expensive ever (http://tinyurl.com/kkrytt) for any First Lady, and you can add in the expenses of the office space, the utilities, office supplies, and non-positioned staffers. What do they do?

Clear

Other First Ladies, love them or leave them, had causes. They didn’t give speeches to tell America or the world about themselves and their “sacrifices.” They didn’t make speeches to tell America or the world that they never valued being American until they were in their 40s. They showed America real hope and change. The money allotted for their offices was spent in a visible (dare we say, “TRANSPARENT”) way to help the masses.

JACQUELINE KENNEDY worked to restore the White House and preserve its heritage. She introduced all of America to the valuable artifacts that were there and the need to keep it for future generations.

ROSALYNN CARTER focused national attention on the performing arts and took a strong interest in programs to aid mental health, the community, and the elderly. From 1977 to 1978, she served as the Honorary Chairperson of the President's Commission on Mental Health.

NANCY REAGAN gave her support to the Foster Grandparent Program, the subject of her 1982 book, To Love A Child. Increasingly, she concentrated on the fight against drug and alcohol abuse among young people and started the “JUST SAY NO” campaign.

BARBARA BUSH worked for a more literate America. Involved with many organizations devoted to this cause, she became Honorary Chairman of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. We all remember her reading to children. She also supported programs to help the homeless, AIDS, the elderly, and school volunteer programs.

HILLIARY CLINTON served as a leading advocate for expanding health insurance coverage, ensuring children are properly immunized, and raising public awareness of health issues. She wrote a weekly newspaper column entitled "Talking It Over," which focused on her experiences as First Lady and her observations of women, children, and families she has met around the world. Her 1996 book It Takes a Village and Other Lessons Children Teach Us was a best seller, and she received a Grammy Award for her recording of it

LAURA BUSH was a key advocate of the President's historic education reform – the “No Child Left Behind” act – and a staunch supporter of NCLB's Reading First program, which is the largest early reading initiative in American history. Early in the President's first term, she launched "Ready to Read, Ready to Learn," an education initiative that promoted best practices in early childhood education and raised awareness of innovative teacher training programs. Inspired by her success with the Texas Book Festival, Mrs. Bush founded the National Book Festival to introduce tens of thousands of Americans to their favorite authors each year.

MICHELLE OBAMA shops at J Crew, has buff arms, picks good tomatoes, wears a yellow satin pillow case, is proud of America for the first time ever in her forties, and speaks of herself in Copenhagen. AWESOME!

The Constitutionality of Public Health Care

2009-10-01T11:27:00.001-07:00

Cloudy

The debate over health care constantly takes on some new twists, as it is difficult to debate a bill that hasn’t yet reached its final form. But, because there are amendments being proposed daily, each new idea is scrutinized for its constitutionality. Questions arise such as:
• Does Federal Government have the power to make any decisions about health care?
• Is health care a constitutional right?
• Can a “Health Choices Commissioner” have any constitutional powers?
• Can illegal immigrants be denied any service offered to “everyone”?
• Can our government require anyone to purchase anything?

Clear

It seems clearer by the day that the Supreme Court will have to make some tough decisions about whatever plan is finally settled upon, if that day ever comes.

We’ll examine just one, the individual purchase mandate which would require every American to have health insurance, if not through an employer then by individual purchase. This requirement has not come up so much because of a desire to provide for the health and welfare of the young who opt out or the old who have limited income, but out of the need to help pay for the any final program. If it is not deficit neutral, President Obama has promised not to sign it. (And, of course, he always keeps his promises.)

But can Congress require every American to buy health insurance? NO. The Constitution assigns only limited, enumerated powers to Congress and none, including the power to regulate interstate commerce or to impose taxes, would support a federal mandate requiring anyone who is otherwise without health insurance to buy it.

The specific powers of Congress are:
• To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises to pay debt and to provide for the common defense and general Welfare (all taxes to be uniform throughout the United States)
• To borrow money
• To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, among the States, and with Indian Tribes
• To establish uniform rules of Naturalization and Bankruptcies
• To coin and regulate the value of money, and fix the standard of Weights and Measures
• To punish counterfeiting of securities and money
• To establish post offices and post roads
• To protect science and arts with limited copyrights and patents,
• To establish courts inferior to the Supreme Court
• To define and punish piracy and offenses against the Law of Nations
• To declare War, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules about captures on land and water
• To raise and support armies, but no appropriation for that shall be for a term longer than two years
• To provide, train and maintain an army, navy, and militia, and the appointment of officers
• To establish a district to serve as the seat of the federal government (Washington, D.C.)
• To make all laws needed to execute these powers
• To admit new states into the Union if the states agree
• To rule and regulate Territories of the United States
• To tax incomes

Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Progressives of his time tried to establish “human rights” as “constitutional rights,” but they have failed to do so because they are clearly not part of the intentions of the founding fathers. It is not that the founding fathers didn’t believe in health and education, it is that they believed that ALL POWERS NOT LISTED BELONGED TO THE STATES.

Eleanor Roosevelt was successful in getting the UN to adopt a document of “human rights.” But, until the hearts of people are accepting of differences and greed and/or bigotry die, to provide human rights will always be a struggle on a national or international scale. It must start at home with our own charitable actions. We cannot legislate “humanness” or “righteousness.”

Beck, Boortz, Limbaugh, Bunker and Bigotry

2009-09-30T19:31:00.000-07:00

Clear

Joe Conason blogged about how racist Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh are. Keith Olbermann has accused Neal Boortz of the same. The trend is that conservative talk radio and television news shows are soaring in ratings while the liberal media outlets sulk under the table waiting for a scrap to hit the floor, and they don’t like it. The truth is everyone is vying for ratings.

I was a senior in college when I first saw a bigot on television. It was on January 12, 1971. It was a Tuesday night and I had gone to the empty family room on my floor to use the oven. The TV there was on, although there was no one watching. More and more students had TVs in their rooms, so we were losing the camaraderie of watching and discussing current programs, news, and events. Two screeching voices came on singing the most horrible song I had ever heard, and I had to check it out. I sat down with my “dinner” to watch the premiere of All in the Family, and I was shocked! I was watching a young black man making fun of an old white bigot and hearing that white bigot talking about "spicks and gooks and pollocks"! During the first commercial, I ran up and down the hall and we filled the room for the rest of the show.

Archie Bunker’s show held the top slot in ratings for over 5 years (The Cosby Show and American Idol are the only other two to ever do so), as America gathered to watch Archie, the Dingbat, the Meathead and Mr. Jefferson debate race, homosexuality, women’s lib, rape, divorce and impotence. No subject was off limits for Norman Lear and the excellent cast that he had brought together.

Cloudy

My father and I often discussed the show. We weren’t sure why it was happening, but we knew the whole nation either loved Archie or loved to hate him. Bigoted Americans evidently never realized the irony and satire of the show, so they championed behind his stance on issues. Liberated Americans did understand the satire, and championed the stance of those around Archie. Those clueless Americans with no agenda just loved the humor and were amazed by the topics that were exposed. Regardless of the category, everyone entered the discussion at the coffee pot or water cooler every Wednesday at work.

So why don’t we love bigoted show hosts or a bigoted president?

Conason said:

The behavior of those media provocateurs over the past few months is almost beyond parody. They call the president a racist, even though there is no evidence of prejudice on his part and much evidence to the contrary.

I beg to differ. In these last few months, the FIRST person to “play the race card” was the President when he, after admitting that he was uninformed about the details of the arrest of Professor Gates, said the Cambridge police acted “stupidly” because of racial profiling. President Obama, with a few inappropriate and unsolicited sentences, ushered in the Gates-gate, put “beer summit” in the dictionary and killed any chance of his administration being post-racial.

Conason and Olbermann will point to the past of Beck, Limbaugh and Boortz and accuse them of mimicking black dialect or expounding on black stereotypes or playing the music from The Jeffersons, also a top rated show. These guys are selling books, playing the ratings game and entertaining while they enlighten us. (They are not, Bette, inciting genocide!) But the liberal pundits never mention Obama’s past when he was steeped in socialist and communist communities. And, since he has thumbed his nose at his own promise of transparency and buried the records of his past, no one can completely follow a paper trail on the president. But we can follow public records and testimonies of those that worked with him, follow the teachings of Rev. Wright, read the works of Holdren and Sunstein, and read about the corrupt Chicago Health Initiative that made Michelle Obama wealthy at the behest of Valarie Jarrett… and on … and on… and on… They never point out his lies. They never point out his ineffectiveness, weakness, or inexperience that has destroyed our economy and weakened our position on the international stage.

So, we don’t laugh at his antics or love him like we did the dear, bigoted Archie Bunker.

What Is A Trillion?

2009-09-30T15:30:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

We keep hearing about “trillions of dollars” these days. The National Debt is $11 trillion and growing. Heath Care may cost $3 trillion. It’s just too much to fathom! So, just how much is a trillion?

Clear

One trillion has 12 zeros: 1,000,000,000,000.

One trillion seconds ago there was no recorded history. It was 31,546 years ago and Homo sapiens had just migrated across the Bering Straits to North America for the first time. No one can count to 1 trillion even at one number per second. First, they won’t live long enough and, second, some numbers can’t be said in one second. Ex: Nine hundred and ninety nine billion, nine hundred and ninety nine million, nine hundred and ninety nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine.

Texas is roughly 270,000 square miles. One trillion square miles would equal 3.7 million Texas-sized states or about 20 Earths, since we have 50 billion square miles of land above sea level.

If you travel around the world at the equator 40 million times, you would travel one trillion miles.

The national debt is over $11 trillion. Just how much money is that?

A packet of one hundred $100 bills = $10,000

One hundred packets of $10,000 = $ 1 million

10 standard-sized pallets full = $ 1 billion

A thousand billion = a million million = ONE TRILLION dollars.

THE NATIONAL DEBT = $ 11 TRILLION !

It should be clear to everyone why this is not acceptable.

Michelle Obama and Greta Van Susteren: Sisters?

2009-09-27T22:22:00.000-07:00

NOTE TO CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: THIS IS NOT TRUE!

I just found it interesting that the bust of Michelle Obama done in white clay looks so much like Greta Van Susteren!

Double click image to enlarge it for a bigger hoot!

I report. You decide.

The ACORN 8: Watchdogs

2009-09-27T21:02:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

There are so many supposedly corrupt organizations, tax cheats, crooks and shady characters around President Obama that it is difficult to disseminate it all, especially when there are so few in the media who will cover the stories. However, recently, Andrew Breitbart and Glenn Beck provided two courageous young journalists, James O'Keefe and Hanna Giles, web and television platforms to showcase their work and thus expose the corruption they found at various ACORN offices across the United States. The taped “advice” was so deplorable that members of ACORN have been fired, more investigations started, and funding withheld pending further investigation. But, O’Keefe and Giles were not the first to look into the corruption of this community organizing /social engineering group that had many ties to President Obama.

Clear

That the organization was either in trouble or corrupt was first noticed by members last year. In May of 2008, it was first revealed to the board of ACORN that nearly a decade earlier Dale Rathke had embezzled about one million dollars and that his brother, Wade Rathke, the long time CEO of ACORN had covered it up. Both Rathkes were removed from their positions as a result. Some members immediately decided to form an investigative committee: Karen Inman, who would investigate issues related to the embezzlement; Marcel Reid, who would scrutinize the organizational structure; and Carol Hemingway, who would focus on other financial issues.

What they found was more criminality than initially suspected. It appears the group has been in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, mismanagement of pension funds, other incidences of embezzlement, and money laundering between the many other “ghost” organizations that ACORN has established in violation of its tax status. Citizen’s Consulting, Inc was the arm of ACORN that played the shell game with all funding. In one case, millions of government dollars meant to fund health care projects in poor neighborhoods was used to fund a media campaign.

As the board was discovering that ACORN was millions behind in taxes, and as the investigators were refused their requests to see the financial records of the organizations, these brave women and a handful of others, became bold whistleblowers, and the ACORN 8 was founded. Inman and Reid both appeared on The Glenn Beck Show to tell their stories.

Their message is that:
• ACORN is not living up to its original mission; and that is to give meaningful voice and empower low and moderate income members of society.
• ACORN has been corrupted from its original purpose by senior management and an organizational structure that exploits the low and moderate income membership ACORN was founded to serve.
• ACORN’s leadership has been corrupted and lacks any accountability.

The committee states:

Like you, we’re activists. We’re dedicated to helping people like ourselves — people of limited means — get a better shake. That’s why we joined ACORN in the first place. That’s why we’re fighting now to make it an open organization with clean books, honest leadership and a willingness to grow through scrutiny and criticism. ACORN has suffered through the turmoil of embezzlement of huge amounts of money by key figures in the organization. To move forward it needs to openly confront the past and eliminate the possibility of such abuse in the future. That’s what the ACORN 8 are about.

Glenn Beck: Murderer of Frogs and Corruption

2009-09-26T19:47:00.001-07:00

Clear

Everyone in the United States must know who Glenn Beck is now. He’s been crucified and vilified for the 9-12 Project to get people back to believing in American values and principles, for saying that he thought Obama may be a racist, and, last week, for the murder of a rubber frog. Yes, it was rubber. Yes, it was a prank. Yes, they showed it was a prank on the show.

Cloudy

What I don’t understand is why all the hoopla over Glenn Beck to begin with? Unlike The One, Beck has never been glorified or worshipped or idolized. He does, however, unify. Maybe this is why he is hated. To unify was the one trait that Obama exhibited above all others when he was campaigning, but as promise after promise after promise has been broken, voters’ remorse is taking its toll on his congregation or worshippers. They are leaving the temple of “mmm mmm mmm mmm Barrack Hussein Obama” and turning to Fox News and Glenn Beck.

But, people who only watch Glenn Beck on television have no idea just how brilliant this man is. If you listen to his radio program and read his books, you will realize that, first, he is a brilliant entertainer, and, second, he and his staff are master researchers. For a few minutes a day, the GB audience watches video clips that take hours and hours to find and edit and transcribe. He runs through the past relationships of radicals in 10-20 minutes of his air time a day, but he and his staff have had to dig for hours and days and weeks through old and new, but always obscure, records.

He put out a call for “watchdogs” to stay aware and vigilant, and as a result of the callers, tweeters, researchers, staff, and his own diligence, he has been able to publically expose more corruption and have a bigger impact on US politics than Upton Sinclair when he penned, “The Jungle” or Rachel Carson with her “Silent Spring.”

He’s caused the public and Congress to question the shady manipulations and power grab of Obama’s shadow government of Czars. He has helped the courageous “watchdogs” Hannah Giles, James O’Keefe and Andrew Breitbart expose the illegal activities of ACORN to the point that all other governmental agencies are running from this group that Obama worked so closely with for years, but “just hasn’t paid attention to” lately. He’s exposed attempts at organized propaganda by the National Endowment of the Arts and the White House’s attempts to collect names, form enemy lists and hijack our personal computers. And he is currently exposing Obama for the network of socialists, communists and progressives are attempting to hijack our government. With all the lies that Obama tells and the ease of catching him in them, Beck’s staff is finding it easier and easier to pinpoint examples of corruption that we need to see.

He could never do this, however if he were not also a master teacher. I've said for years (since I'm a teacher, too) that all a good teacher needs is chalk and a blackboard and the ability to share with words and graphics what is inside his or her mind. That's the hard part. As a science teacher who understood ionic bonding, I had to find a way to transfer my understanding to 32 other brains per hour. He has to do it to millions of brains a day! But he does, even if he must murder a rubber frog along the way.

Beck also has a wonderful sense of humor. I think I witness it more by listening to his radio show where he interacts more with staff than on his Fox News show, but you can see it loud and clear on his latest book cover and in some of the crazy skits he's done in the past. The radio show admits up front that he is a blend of "entertainment and enlightenment." Although I know he infuriates those that he calls out, he is totally entertaining.

And, because I don't know if he is merely entertaining or being frank and candid, I don't really know how sincere his tears are or how real his fears are. I do believe, however, that he is UN-partisan and hell-bent on fighting corruption in government wherever it exists. And I thank him for that.

I fear he will lose his humility, though. It's hard to be famous and humble. President Obama is a prime example of that. Just this week, on an international stage, our President constantly touted his own accomplishments with lies and exaggerations as the world’s worst evil-doers praised him. If Beck doesn’t maintain his humility, I think it will be his personal downfall. Some newsman’s comment about great athletes who go bad has stuck with me for years. The anchor stated that "obscene salaries create obscene people." I don’t want Glenn Beck to become obscene. I want him to stay fresh, stay dedicated, stay humble, and stay in need of his watchdogs. We want to be his watchdogs. We want to be needed. We love helping to put our Republic back on a noble course.

At least, I do.

The Bloom is Off the Rose

2009-09-25T20:31:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

I know I am not alone in my bitter disappointment and disgust over our president's weakness. I heard him referred to today as an "eternal adolescent" and I had to nod in agreement. Did we make him that way? Did the millions of dollars spent to glorify him during the campaign and the fringe media's idol worship make him believe that he could do no wrong?

Clear

Well, the bloom is off the rose. The petals have all hit the ground. Only the thorns remain.

But the thorns are dangerous. They can hurt us. Our defenses are weakened as our president and his radical appointees seek to take the CIA down. After being snubbed and denigrated publicly, our allies will think twice before coming to our aid. And the true evil-doers of the world praised his holy name in the same manner as our little indoctrinated school children. (Now, America, do you understand the hoopla over the first day of school speech?) Our own military, with their boots on the ground and their lives in peril every day, cannot rely on support. Their Commander-in-Chief has no experience in military affairs, and turns a deaf ear to those heroes who do.

I lived through the "Gates-gate" when he played the race card. I've put up with trying to find a channel on tv without his speech being aired. I've been angered, but just keep trying to rid our capitol of his shadow government that seeks to circumvent the Constitution. But, I will not sit still while he puts our nation and our armed services in jeopardy as he seeks to sell us out in favor of a socialist New World Order.

This must all stop!

The New World Order

2009-09-24T11:35:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

In his speech to the United Nations, President Obama advanced the Global Warming/Climate Change myth/lie as the New York Times ran an article by Andrew Revkin stating that “global temperatures have been stable for a decade and may even drop in the next few years.” In addition, there are many scientists, meteorologists and weather experts who have completely discredited the notion of man’s influence on global climate change. Why would our leaders lie to us about this?

Clear

The answer is: to strip away our country’s sovereignty.

In speeches to the UN about Climate Change in 2000, the rhetoric was about “global governance”, “world organization”, and “a new world order;” all terms that we hear too often from President Obama. Al Gore and President GH Bush also tossed these terms around. Under the tutelage and financial support of George Soros, many noted national and international leaders have been advocates for a strong central international government that would correct the excesses of self-interest. We’ve just seen the proposal for international currency. This Tri-Lateral Commission has had the issue of global governance, perhaps lead by a reformation of the United Nations, on its agenda for 40 years.

In keeping with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel’s rule to “never let a good crisis go to waste,” proponents of the new world order need an global crisis. And, what could fill the bill better than “global warming,” recently spun to “climate change?” This is the vehicle of choice to create the world wide emergency of specie decline, deforestation, pandemic disease, famine and economic failure. The devastation picture being painted by leaders is meant to alarm us, make us believers, and make us turn to them to be our saviors. However, the actual plan is for the elite “super rich” to have a way to prevent chaos, take all sovereignty away, and, finally, establish a worldwide socialistic governance that will establish a two class system, with the upper elite class having the power of the purse to controlling the masses.

These were once academic discussions that would take place in the coffee shops of the Ivy League campuses or in the basements of tenements. The intellectuals and the revolutionaries have been playing together since the time of FDR to nudge us towards their goals. The ‘nudge’ idea came from the Socialist Party during the years of FDR. The party once actively ran presidential candidates against him until they realized that he and his desired ‘Second Bill of Rights’ were already socialistic! Norman Thomas, the socialist leader and presidential candidate said:

“The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of 'liberalism' they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.”

It was FDR who introduced the idea that we should have a Constitutional ‘right’ to things such as good health care, a good education, a home, and a decent job, all provided by the government. In effect, he wanted the government to control every aspect of American life, and many American’s have been in line for entitlements so long that they, to, believe they have a constitutional right to such.

Now the Ivy League radicals are in the White House and the revolutionary thugs are in red and purple shirts, ready to do the bidding of our president and his shadow government that has begun to “shove” and “steamroll” us instead of merely nudging us towards a global takeover in the name of preserving our planet. There are even a growing number of experts who believe that these social engineers purposefully created the world’s economic crisis as another step towards this end. We hear the talk about “redistribution” of wealth, when the goal is to “control” the wealth. We, the ordinary citizens of the world, would exist only to provide the elite with their desires. But they would provide us with all the promises of FDR’s “second” bill of rights. This includes a job, enough money for adequate food, clothing and recreation, decent farms and businesses with all competition and prices controlled, a decent home, adequate medical care, good health, protection from economic fears of old age, sickness, accident and unemployment, and a government education.

And we will be happy.
But, not really.

The elite didn’t count on the masses having intelligence, strength, power and a passion for liberty. We can read and understand that there is no conclusive science the backs the need for our own Cap and Trade bill, or any global cooperation for environmental protection. We can read the radical books and ideas of the Holdren’s, Sunstein’s and Van Jones’ of the world. We can unite and stop the steamroller. We can speak as one grassroots and nutroots movement. And we’re doing so because we firmly believe that the “second” bill of rights is the responsibility of the states, that the federal government has become disgracefully over-sized, that the total lack of fiscal responsibility is a sin, that corruption in government abounds, and the Constitution has been shelved.

In 1831, Alexis De Tocqueville visited the United States and was so impressed by the free enterprise and burgeoning democratic order that balanced liberty and equality. He was convinced that the only way America would fall would be by it’s own hand. We, according to Benjamin Franklin, have been given a Republic. It is our duty to keep it.

Not One Red Cent, Mr. President

2009-09-23T11:07:00.001-07:00

Cloudy

What do we do when we are out of money? We stop spending. We get a second job. We do without. So, why doesn't our government show such fiscal responsibility?

Clear

Join me in asking the President to do the following:

1) Give us a balanced budget.

2) "Squeeze" that waste from Medicare TODAY! Don't wait on a new bill.

3) Do your "line by line" search for pork and special interests, and eliminate it all.

4) Get rid of all posts in your administration that are not elected, vetted and/or confirmed OR do not allow a penny to spent on them. You may still ask for input, just not with my pennies!

5) Reduce the First Lady's staff by at least half. There are too many people being paid too much for doing too little.

6) Ditch the Cap and Trade bill, as it will break our backs and there is NO CONCLUSIVE SCIENCE to justify it.

7) Establish a moratorium on all new offices, agencies, and position in the federal government until the deficit is reduced.

8) Leave health care where it is (except for correcting the part of it that the federal government has screwed up - Medicare) until we can afford it.

9) Stop rescuing large corporations and stimulate small businesses to generate jobs.

10) Turn the water in the San Joaquin valley. We need the food. They need the jobs.

NOT ONE RED CENT, MR. PRESIDENT! No spending until you keep your promises to us and get this horrendous burden off of our children and grandchildren.

(I'll cut you some slack. If the CBO says that some health care plan will only cost a dime, you may have 10 red cents and sign it. It was your promise, after all!)

Obama's Fall From Grace

2009-09-22T13:41:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

There has been a lot of conjecture about why President Obama’s approval ratings continue to fall. Some say the public is simply super-saturated from his media blitzes and has quit listening to the “same old same old” daily campaign sound bites. Some, like Jimmy Carter and Maureen Dowd, attribute it to innate racism. Chris Wallace even said that it’s because the administration is made up of a bunch of “cry babies.”

Clear

Obama’s fall from grace is actually quite easy to understand. Proverbs gives us a list of things that the Lord hates, but the public hates them, too. It is not my intention to preach, but the list is a good guide for going through Obama’s mistakes.

Haughty eyes
Obama covers his feelings of superiority, or tries to, with twinkling eyes and hollow humor. He plays the cute and funny, cuddly and clever guy to avoid giving a straight answer. When asked if he would subscribe to the public option for his own health care, he answered with, “I’m the President,” and then regaled all with remarks about how his personal doctor follows him around. When asked if he had apologized to Office Crowley, he laughed about inviting him for a beer. He’s insulted doctors with stories of malpractice for money, dismissed Republicans who questioned the size of the stimulus package with his arrogant, “I won,” statement, said he didn’t want to listen to his opposition and even insulted George Stephanopoulos over the definition of a “tax.”

A lying tongue
How do we know when Obama is lying?
When his lips are moving.

It’s an old joke, but it seems to be true. He lies and purposefully misleads and intentionally misrepresents something every day. In the single speech before the joint sessions of Congress (made famous by Rep. Wilson’s “You lie” outburst), he lied about illegal immigrants having coverage, about the Republicans’ efforts to have input, about his commitment to “choice and competition,” and about public funding for abortions. He even stood before the UN to claim that more has been done to reduce carbons during his administration than ever before! The one statement that we all pray will not turn out to be a lie was his promise not to sign any bill if it costs us over a dime.

Hands that shed innocent blood
This one can be “hung” on the President as a known supporter of abortions and as our Commander-in-Chief. He has weakened our national security in too many ways to enumerate. He’s allowing a political witch hunt against the CIA, has traveled the world to cow-tow to evil leaders and apologize for the strength and dominance of the greatest country in the world (the one Michelle Obama spent the first 44 years of her life being ashamed of), and betrayed Poland and the Czech Republic. While he has been busy out-sourcing his duties to Congress and his Czars, he has actively put us all in harm’s way.

A heart that devises wicked plots
Our president favors abortion and purposefully will not allow a statement to prevent it in health care legislation. He assigned a known Communist to his fleet of socialist Czars. He used a corrupt organization to help him get elected and accepted illegal donations from them. He refuses still to allow access to the documents and records from his past. He claims “transparency” while he completely circumvents the checks and balances on the executive branch of our government. He seeks to control every aspect of our lives through socialized medicine, rather than addressing the most important issue of all, unemployment. He should be working to help small businesses put American’s back to work.

Feet that are swift to run into mischief
Did his feet even hit the floor before he signed us up for the largest national debt in the world? Did he hesitate at all to bail out company after company? Did he have any plan in mind before he signed away Gitmo? Did he think that we were too stupid or lazy to care that he had flag.gov set up without any discussion? Did anyone take time to think about the backlash from the clunkers idea, such as waste and further unemployment of used car salesmen and scrap metal yards? We’ve stood at town halls and on the mall before his steamroller, and now his spiteful, selfish nature is beginning to show.

Him that soweth discord among brethren
And what is the source of the discord? Is it because of “right-winged terrorists” or “anti-American” “swastika-wearing” “astroturfs?” No, it’s because of the rising debt, rising unemployment, huge governmental power grabs, despicable appointees, playing the race card himself with the Gates-gate incident, and the incessant word “spinning” to cover his lies. No more “war on terror.” Let’s hope there’s no more terror! When health care reform hit a brick wall, he suddenly vilified insurers and began speaking of health care “insurance” reform. Because he is being “called out” on the Internet by thousands and thousands of blogs, he wants to take that freedom away. And, he still continues to blame it all on Bush. HE is the source of the anger. HE is the reason for the discord.

So, how does Obama get back in the good graces of the public? If it’s possible at all, he will have to address the following:
• Reduce the size of the federal government.
• Balance the federal budget.
• Rid budgets and policies of earmarks and special interests.
• Honor the Constitution.

Nice Boys that Kill

2009-09-20T15:26:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

In one of the many videos that surfaced of Van Jones, he points out that school killings are done by white boys. Black kids will kill each other, but won’t shoot up a school. While many consider Jones' idea to be a racist overstatement, it is a trend that many of my colleagues have discussed through the years. What is it that makes a child shoot up a school or a postal worker randomly kill at work? Is there a way to prevent these things from happening?

Clear

One of the most notorious killers of our times was Ted Bundy. He was intelligent, clean cut, handsome and well-liked. Recently, we’ve been astonished by similarly intelligent and clean cut alleged killers: Phillip Markoff, the “Craig’s list killer” enrolled in a Boston medical school and Raymond Clark, an “ivy league” animal research technician who may have killed a graduate student over her treatment of laboratory mice. The list of known sociopathic killers could fill notebooks, some dating back into ancient records, some female, and many children.

Experts say that even in a loving environment, a sociopath can kill his entire family, then sit and play video games with friends as if nothing happened. Are these all “bad seeds” born with no conscience or empathy for others? If so, how do parents detect the pathology and, more important, how can it be averted?

Though studies suggest that most sociopathic killers were abused as children, not all abused children grow up to kill. Sociopaths may be intelligent, charming and show no outward appearance of their inner turmoil. They generally exhibit superficial charm, are manipulative and domineering, and feel entitled to more than others. Their lying and abberant behavior is never perceived as wrong, as they lack remorse, shame or guilt. They are incapable of love or trust in or empathy for others and of normal self-control. They generally need a lot of stimulation in areas that may be social “taboos.” Therefore, they may exhibit rage and abuse, delinquency, irresponsibility and promiscuity. They often hide their pasts as they move from town to town or job to job exploiting others.

Doctors agree that by the time the sociopathic child reaches school age, he is already on his way to developing into a psychopath. When the crimes eventually come to light, it is typical for neighbors, friends and teachers to show shock and disbelief that such a “normal, smart and likeable” child could have turned into such a monster.

So, what are the things that we should look for as signs of trouble in children?
• An interest in fires or starting fires (a firestarter)
• Cruelty to animals
• Bed wetting that lasts longer than normal
• Total lack of conscience, empathy or compassion for others
• Truancy
• Lying, manipulative and deceptive behavior
• Lack of remorse or indifference
• Avoiding intimacy such as hugs
• Vandalism to property
• Bizarre writings or drawings which depicts scenes of violence against women
• Preoccupied with violence
• Acting out in a sexually inappropriate manner
• Seeks immediate gratification of needs
• Fearlessness

The trouble may be genetic or even physical, as in the case of fetal alcohol syndrome. The traits may develop as a result of traumatic events. Some doctors believe that our society is to blame because mothers are encouraged to NOT bond with their children. We are told to bottle feed, find nurseries so we can go back to work, never to let a child sleep in the parent’s bed, let the child cry itself to sleep and to punish bad behavior in some way. These socially accepted parenting options are not necessarily good for a child that needs and deserves nurturing, closeness, security and love.

But, don’t feel guilty. Just be vigilant. Because once the sociopath reaches adulthood, treatments are more difficult, as they never perceive that they have a problem or they manipulate and/or threaten the therapists. If your child exhibits anti-social or unacceptable behaviors such as those listed above, seek professional help, as the most promising treatment appears to be in prevention. Therapeutic intervention at a young age can help children to channel anger and other emotions in a healthy manner and build better behaviors that experts believe might avert problems later in life.

Please note that the list provided by therapists is but a suggestion for further investigation. Children from horrible circumstances become wonder, loving adults and parents. Children from wonderful families can become monsters. We don't have a perfect parenting manual. If you can develop one, you will be the next billionaire!

Obama's CHANGE: No HOPE for Farmers

2009-09-17T19:52:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

How did Cass Sunstein ever get approved for any position in this country? He is the most radical intellectual that has ever wielded any power over policy or monies in the United States. He believes that a smart dog is more valuable than an infant or elderly human. He is against the 2nd Amendment and wants rigid gun control. He wants to force people into becoming vegetarians by establishing policies that will make a pound of ground round unaffordable. This is his “nudge” policy. Slowly pass unnoticed legislation that can be expanded, until the people have no power, and no money, left. Our Senators were warned. Why didn’t they listen?

Clear

Now farmers in the Sacramento area and the San Joaquin valley in California are facing a dust bowl equivalent to that of the 1930s Great Plains. Water has been turned off to farmers to supposedly protect an endangered minnow-like fish called the Delta Smelt. The loss of the smelt has affected the fishing industry in the northern Pacific waters, but it is also suspected that the land of the San Joaquin Valley is wanted by the government for solar and wind farms. Meanwhile, thousands and thousands of acres of prime farm land is blowing in the wind and thousands of farmers and agricultural workers are lining up for food at food banks. Food from China. Foods marketed without the oversight of the FDA. We will all pay for the food shortage. We have already seen recall after recall of Chinese products for our infants and children. Do you really want to eat Chinese food? Are you willing to pay double for food, when you may already be asked to pay triple for energy if the Cap and Trade bill passes?

The boot is on our throats.

And, suppose the Delta Smelt does go extinct. That would be a natural occurrence for the earth. Let’s look at this time-line of extinctions and man:

Ordovician-Silurian extinction - 439 million years ago - 25 percent of marine families and 60 percent of marine genera.

Late Devonian extinction - 364 million years ago - 22 percent of marine families and 57 percent of marine genera.

Permian-Triassic extinction - 251 million years ago - 95 percent of all species.

End Triassic extinction - 199 million to 214 million years ago - 22 percent of marine families, 52 percent of marine genera.

Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction - 65 million years ago - 16 percent of marine families, 47 percent of marine genera, 18 percent of land vertebrate families, including the dinosaurs.

Homo sapiens arrival – 90,000 years ago.

The founding of the United States of America – 230+ years ago.

Scientists have documented the disappearance of only 1,100 species over the past 500 years. New species have constantly arisen over these millions of years to fill niches left unoccupied. Clearly, the action of man is nowhere near as detrimental to species as the forces of nature, forces that we cannot control. If we could, there would have been no eruption of Mt. St. Helens, no hurricane Katrina, no wildfires in California and no earthquakes in San Francisco or the New Madrid area in Kentucky.

Extinctions are natural; therefore a true environmentalist would not interfere with these extinctions. What we have, however, are environmentalists who think that they DO have power over nature. In times of wealth (prior to our bankruptcy by all manner of intrusive federal programs), we could afford to let a bird live and pick an insecticide other than DDT. We had capitalism and free enterprise and our chemical companies have given us 1000s of choices of approved chemicals TO HELP US GROW FOOD. (The United States continued to produce DDT after its use was banned here, as the poor nations that favored healthy children over dead birds relied on the DDT that we exported for profits.)

Now, we are facing those same decisions. Although our nation spends a lot of money, we are no longer a wealthy nation. Do we favor healthy children or a thriving population of fish? Do we favor healthy people or a thriving population of insects? Are we going to support starvation and poverty or endangered mollusks? Can our government look at families in line at food banks and not feel extreme shame?

Congress, turn off your lights when you leave a room, drive the speed limit, get a push mower for your lawn and TURN ON THE WATER for our farmers!!

I Beg to Differ, Mr. Cosby!

2009-09-17T12:44:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

We have already seen a “knee jerk” reaction that went viral over the US Department of Education’s lesson for our children to “help the president” and Demi Moore’s video telling them to “pledge allegiance to Obama.” No one expected such a fire storm. Now, a beloved celebrity and admired educator has weighed in on "racist" Americans. I surely hope and pray that the comments from Bill Cosby will not stir up a similar overboard reaction on the other side. He is well-respected, loved and admired, but I respectfully disagree with him on several fronts.

Clear

These are his words as printed in his Facebook notes, followed by my reply to Professor Cosby:

I agree with President Carter that racism is playing a role in recent outbursts against President Obama. During President Obama’s speech on the status of health care reform, some members of congress engaged in a public display of disrespect. While one Representative hurled the now infamous “you lie” insult at the President, others made their lack of interest known by exhibiting rude behavior such as deliberately yawning and sending text messages.

Health care reform is the most important domestic issue facing America today. Disease does not discriminate. African American, White, Asian, Latino, Republican, Democrat, no one in America is immune. So it seems obvious that a debate on health care reform should not include views born solely of partisanship or bigotry.

Various polls prior to the election indicated that between five and ten percent of Americans would never vote for an African American president. That number, of course, only includes those who actually admitted to their prejudice. How many others harbored such feelings but did not respond honestly when asked the question? And how many people oppose Obama’s plan because the President is African American?

In "Birth of a Nation," D.W. Griffith used white actors in black face to portray black legislators as having low intelligence and acting like fools. Today, we have a band of real life congressional fools seemingly bent on blocking any meaningful reform of the health care system. But if we allow even one American to die simply because he or she cannot afford treatment, we are creating a shameful scenario that could aptly be called “Death of a Nation.”

I’ve watched legislative bodies in person and on TV for years. There are always people reading, sleeping, and, as we saw recently, playing solitaire on laptops while someone was speaking. They said it was because what they were hearing was the “same old same old,” and Obama has certainly done that! Those yawns may not have been deliberate at all! Bottom line: it’s not racial. It’s poor judgment, poor decorum and what we would call a lack of “home-training.” Some that you saw “sending text messages” may have just been taking notes, or may have been keeping their office or constituents informed. I rely on unbiased tweets to my phone from Mark Knoller, Jake Tapper and Chuck Todd to keep me informed of Presidential statements when I cannot watch or listen to broadcasts. I’m sure there are some Congressmen who provide similar information. It’s not necessarily rude. It’s just indicative of a new day.

If you think that the opposition to health care reform is born solely of partisanship and/or bigotry, try working this word into your thoughts: DEBT! Right now, my part of the national debt is $38,444. (It will probably be higher before I finish my rebuttal to your remarks.) The only way I could pay that would be to sell my house and move into a bus. Yes, we could us health care reform. But the health care system is no so terribly broken that it can’t wait for the most important job that faces Congress, and that is balancing the budget and giving us some kind of fiscal security. Even Obama said that it was not critical in his address to Congress. By far, the majority of Americans consider the economy to be their most important concern. IF someone comes up with a bill that will not add “one dime” to the national debt, we’re all for it! If Obama breaks yet another promise and signs a bill that deepens the debt for our children and grandchildren, you will hear the outcry! THAT would be immoral.

You said that 5% to 10% of Americans would never vote for a black president. In polls, those numbers are considered insignificant. We could all find survey numbers that would prove different sides. We could find much higher numbers somewhere for how many blacks are prejudiced against whites, Jews and Hispanics. You are an intelligent man who knows that data can prove anything. I think before you pontificate, you should find the answers to your own questions about numbers!

And, do you think you could go any further back in history to make your point than you did? There are at least 3 generations of Americans who have never seen or heard of “Birth of a Nation!” (There are 2 who don't know or care about Martin Luther King.) You know as well as I do that the majority of people will always fall into social norms and mores. When it was acceptable to have slaves, it was acceptable to have slaves. Only a very small minority had them, but it was “the way it was.” When Al Jolson sang in black face, it was acceptable, as minstrel shows traveled all over the USA to entertain with the wonderful music of Stephen Foster and patriotic music (the kind that Nancy Pelosi tried to ban from the Congressional “land of hold”). Each generation of free Americans have pushed us closer and closer to the founding fathers’ ideal of “equality.” How? By speaking their minds. By going against norms. By standing firm for their beliefs. By disagreeing with the “powers that be.” THAT, Professor Cosby, is the way our Republic works.

And last, for all the criticism of Sarah Palin’s characterization of end of life counseling as “death panels,” you have the audacity to say that we “allow” Americans to die? There is no hospital in this great country that will not treat ANYONE that comes in for treatment (unless it is the University of Chicago Hospital following the “health initiative” of Michelle Obama). We don’t “allow” people to die! We freely contribute to charities and hospitals that provide short term and long term treatment, or local banks that establish accounts to help a specific victim. We can’t stop cars from hitting people, or pebbles in a mountain path from rolling under a foot, or mechanical problems in trains and planes. We can and do try to prevent drunk driving, build guard rails and require documented maintenance for public transportation. But we are dealing with people who have free choice. We can’t force a person not to drive drunk any more than we can force a pregnant woman to seek prenatal care or a twenty-two year old to accept his mortality and buy health care insurance. And, I, for one, am not willing to spend trillions of dollars to try.

A "Love Letter" to Peter, Paul and Our Dear, Sweet Mary Travers

2009-09-16T18:36:00.000-07:00

I waited a very long time to be able to see Peter, Paul and Mary in concert. In June of 2006, I saw them at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. Mary died today. I'm terribly sad, but thrilled that I was able to see them in concert. This is the letter I sent to them after the performance:

Deat Peter, Paul and Mary,

In 1967, my friends in high school chorus and I started a Hootenanny Band. We performed around Birmingham, Alabama. Most of the music that we performed was yours. It was the most glorious music I'd ever heard because of the tight harmonies, pristine voices and magnificent instrumentation.

I was not a great soloist, nor was I a great guitarist. But I blended well with the group. We were lucky enough to have numerous opportunities to play at the Green Springs Armory in Birmingham, and I was brave enough to sing solo every week at assemblies at Ramsay High School. I sang the school news! I would take your melodies and put my own words to them. For example:

(to the tune of Puff the Magic Dragon)
Miss Shook announced the Bagpipe
Tomorrow would be sold
It costs you only 15 cents
In silver not in gold.
etc.

Tacky... I know. But as a result of that, I was invited to sing for George Wallace at the Birmingham Civic Center. He was not pleased with my song. Bull Conner was outraged! My song was about Wallace's "school house stand" at the University of Alabama and the fact that Martin Luther King had "one-upped him" when he won the Nobel Peace Prize.

I would never have had the courage to sing such a song without your inspiration. I had watched the fire hoses and police dogs in downtown Birmingham from my father's office window. We both wept as we watched what was going on in the streets below. My father believed that the greatest commandment of all was "to love thy neighbor as you love yourself." He told me on that occasion that the key to that was to "love yourself." Although I've struggled with that part of it a bit, loving my neighbor became my life quest. I've tried all my life to make people "put down their stones."

After your participation in the Selma march, you were "cussed and discussed" in Alabama....but I followed your lead and my father's. I've tried always to make my mark by simply being kind to everyone that I've met and by trying to do something good for someone every day.

I lost faith in most everything when the Kennedys and Martin Luther King were assassinated. It was horrible. I turned away from politics and decided to keep my circle of influence small...but to keep the fire burning in a simple way....with kindness and love for everyone that crossed my path. It has given me great satisfaction that I've been able to do that for many, many years as a high school teacher in Montgomery, Alabama. Montgomery is a city that may only fully see the candle that I and others light when the generation that was here for the bus boycott dies out... IF they didn't teach their children to hate. I fear too many have... so the challenge will continue. I pray that my children will follow my lead. They have so far.

Throughout the years since the late 60s, I've listened to your music for further inspiration to "keep the faith" and stay true to my quest. Your performances on PBS would have me in goose-bumps and tears... and would solicit a "happy butt dance" of joy!! (Of course, I would have to watch them in a back room while my husband watched NASCAR!!) Unfortunately, I can't sing your music anymore. My vocal cords had been damaged. It is the truly the most heartbreaking thing that has ever happened to me. But, I can still love and smile and give others hope when they desperately need it.

When my mother died in my arms, I got a huge dose of mortality. It hit me like a Mac truck! It was then that I began to list all the things I wanted to do before I die. Seeing you in concert was first on my list. I tried to see you the year that your tour was canceled because of Mary's illness. I finally got to see you at the Kimmell Theater in Philadelphia last Saturday. I laughed. I sang (very quietly, as I sound like I'm under water now!). I wept for joy. Saturday was the most glorious day I've ever had!! THE most glorious!!!

Mary, I must tell you that the story of your illness, your hospital tips and your fear of your Republican donor was one of the highlights of the show for me. I have been reading the notes and prayers on your website... looking for news of your progress... for some time. To see you Saturday night.... looking soooooooooo cute with your short hair..... was a dream come true!!

I want to thank you all for the life-time of pleasure, joy and inspiration that you have given me. I hope that you all will continue to do so for others. It must give you great satisfaction to know that the younger generations are embracing your music and your message. It is always wonderful to see you perform with children, and it was nice to see the kids in the Kimmell on Saturday night. I also want to wish you every possible happiness in your lives.

Your message is not only "blowing in the wind," it is living in the hearts of thousands like me. I thank you from the bottom of my heart and the center of my soul.

Bless you all,
Carol Kelly
Montgomery, AL

Rest in Peace, Mary Travers.

Czars Will No Longer Cast a Giant Shadow

2009-09-16T13:23:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

Citizens have been asking for clarification about President Obama's huge team of "Czars" for some time. Many congressmen heard questions at town hall meetings, and had to admit, that they simply didn't know either! The flood of questions and concerns after the release of self-avowed communist Van Jones has finally caused at least 100 of our lawmakers to clear up the issue.

Clear

Several Congressmen held a press conference today to announce proposed bills that will curb the growing number of Czars and will call for vetting and confirmation. Marsha Blackburn (TN-R) and Jack Kingston (GA-R) have both introduced bills and have garnered near 100 co-sponsors for the proposed legislation. If these appointees are writing laws and policies, it is an unconstitutional act. Article 1, Section 8 clearly gives Congress the exclusive power to legislate. If they are not writing laws and policies, then they are being paid exorbitant salaries for doing nothing, some estimated to be $175K/year. This doesn’t even account for the costs of their office space, staff, supplies, utilities, etc. It was further pointed out today that Congress really doesn’t know exactly how many appointees there are, but they know that there are legitimate officers and elected officials who already have the responsibilities given to what Michelle Malkin refers to as a “shadow government.”

Congressman Blackburn introduced HR 185, a Sense of Congress Resolution that will call for full disclosure from our “transparent” president of all Czars, their responsibilities, and their vetting status.

"Where I have concerns is when a President shifts duties away from officials who are subject to Congressional oversight to those on his personal staff who are not. These aides wield extraordinary influence and the American people have a right to know who they are, why they are qualified for their jobs, what their conflicts of interest might be, and what their job descriptions are. The President has an obligation to disclose this information."

Congressman Kingston has proposed H.R. 3226, the Czar Accountability and Reform Act, which would withhold funding from any czar until they have been confirmed by the Senate. Czars who do not go through the vetting and confirmation process will be “sun-downed” out.

”Who are these people and why are they necessary? Why do we need an Energy Czar and a Secretary of Energy? Why do we need a TARP Czar and a Secretary of Treasury? Why was a 31 year old with no background in the auto industry and who drives a foreign car appointed as the Auto Recovery Czar? What qualifies a college professor to set executive salaries? We don’t know the answers to these questions because unlike cabinet secretaries, judges, and hundreds of other presidential appointments, these czars have bypassed Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution which mandates the advice and consent of the Senate when the President appoints principle officers.”

The following is a list of those appointees who fall into the “Czar” category, some confirmed and some not:
1. TARP Czar: Herb Allison
2. Cyber Czar: Rod Beckstrom
3. Border Czar: Alan Bersin
4. Intelligence Czar: Dennis Blair
5. Terrorism Czar: John Brennan
6. Energy Czar Carol Browner
7. Urban Affairs Czar: Adolfo Carrion, Jr.
8. Weapons Czar: Ashton Carter
9. Technology Czar: Aneesh Chopra
10. AIDS Czar: Jeffrey Crowley
11. Great Lakes Czar: Cameron Davis
12. Health Czar: Nancy-Ann DeParle
13. Stimulus Accountability Czar: Earl Devaney
14. Faith-based Czar: Joshua DuBois
15. Pay Czar: Kenneth Feinberg
16. Guantanamo Closure Czar: Danny Fried
17. Sudan Czar: J. Scott Gration
18. Afghanistan Czar: Richard Holbrooke
19. Science Czar: John Holdren
20. Green Jobs Czar: Van Jones (resigned Sept. 6, 2009)
21. Bank Bailout Czar: Neel Kashkari
22. Drug Czar: Gil Kerlikowske
23. Performance Czar: Nancy Killefer
24. Information Czar: Vivek Kundra
25. Mideast Peace Czar: George Mitchell
26. Car Czar: Ed Montgomery
27. Domestic Violence Czar: Lynn Rosenthal
28. Mideast Policy (Iran) Czar: Dennis Ross
29. Weapons of Mass Destruction Czar: Gary Samore
30. Weatherization Czar: Gil Sperling
31. Climate Czar: Todd Stern
32. Regulatory Czar: Cass Sunstein
33. Economic Czar: Paul Volcker

Attention Deficit America

2009-09-15T19:03:00.001-07:00

Cloudy

I wonder if we are so used to multi-tasking and being able to completely change our visual and mental environment with a click of a remote or a mouse that we can’t concentrate or stay focused on one task anymore. Before I retired from the classroom, I was somewhat appalled by the textbooks that were offered for our perusal. My texts as a student may have had one illustration per double-page spread. Current texts not only have several images per page, but also drop quote boxes, inserts, multiple columns and/or graphic depictions of information. None of it is connected except by topic. It allows the student to jump from page area to page area in the same manner that they might surf for channels or Face book friends. Can this be good?

Clear

It has become apparent that when it comes to important problems that cannot be resolved in 50 minutes as a Law and Order issue, we either do not want to stay focused or cannot stay focused. I’ll leave the final analysis to psychologists. But, if we “could’a, should’a, would’a” stayed on task, distractions would not have become such an issue of national focus, even by the main stream media (in a few instances). Now, former President Jimmy Carter has jumped into the “racial” issue. This will probably be the focus for the rest of the week, if not the rest of Obama’s term in office!

The most recent examples have been because of well-publicized actions. One has been the utterance of the two words heard around the world: YOU LIE! Congress has had a full plate. Healthcare. Economic recovery. Corruption exposures. All of the debate and work on these important issues came to a screeching halt for 2 days as everyone clamored to find a microphone, camcorder, social network or blog to weigh in on Representative Joe Wilson (SC-R). The other was Kanye West’s intrusion on and insult to Taylor Swift. The majority of the political social networking traffic shifted from healthcare, the economy, and the hate or love for Obama to a ten second televised event and the President’s off-the-record “jackass” remark.

Other major distractions in the last year have included:
• Saturday Night Live’s negative portrayals of Sarah Palin.
• The President’s accusation that police at Professor Gates’ resident acted “stupidly.”
• Nancy Pelosi’s accusation that concerned, mainstream citizens who attended town hall meetings were “swastika bearing” “mobs” and that the movement was contrived, organized “Astroturf.”
• The President’s insult to Special Olympians on the Tonight Show. (And, still, he was invited to Shriver/Kennedy funerals?)
• The infidelity of conservative lawmakers.
• Michael Jackson’s death.
• The knee jerk reaction of parents to the “lesson plan” for Obama’s speech to their children.
• The refusal of ABC to allow conservative responses to the “infomercial” for ObamaCare.

More than ever in our lifetimes, we need to stay focused. We need to stay vocal. We need to stay committed. We need to continue to fax, email, call and write to our servants. And it only has to be on three things.
• Decrease the federal deficit/balance the budget.
• Decrease the size of the government/remove Czars, unnecessary agencies
• Rid the government of pork/corruption/special interests.

We need to stay the course and insist that the people who SERVE US pass no legislation that does not fit within these three criteria. And, if Paula Deen’s pants fall down again, twit and IM and have a good laugh for a minute or two, and get back to the business of preserving the Republic.

You Lie!

2009-09-15T17:04:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

I've been torn like everyone else over the behavior on the House floor when Rep. Wilson (SC-R) blurted out an accusation against the President of the United States. I wondered why is is acceptable to stand and applaud and cheer in overt demonstrations, but not acceptable to show disagreement. Perhaps Rep. Wilson should have stood with thumbs down and his mouth shut. Or perhaps he should have joined his colleagues with bills and or signs in his hand or lap. Regardless, he did not lie.

Clear

The liar that evening was the President, not Rep. Wilson. Neal Boortz shared a very well put together summary of an answer to the predominant lie of the evening by Obama, that the Republicans have not offered substantive suggestions or solutions to the health care debate. According to Markay on Newsbusters.com, the Republicans have done precisely what the president has asked them to do, echoing his own ideas, and, in some cases, his own words. Yet in his last speech delivered to the House and the Senate, he repeatedly claimed that Republicans have refused to or have yet to offer input. The lies were so prevalent, that Republican Representative Joe Wilson from South Carolina could not contain his disgust as he audibly uttered words heard around the world, “You Lie.” So, let’s look at the “truths.”

• The President told the Joint Session of Congress that his "guiding principle is, and always has been, that consumers do better when there is choice and competition." In full agreement with this Rep. Shaddeg (AZ-R) introduced a bill last summer to allow us to shop for health insurance in any and all states. The Energy and Commerce Committee is still sitting on that bill (HR 3217).

• The President claimed that, “Under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions." But when four republican Representatives; Deal (GA), Johnson (TX), Cantor (VA), and Souder (IN); offered amendments to specify that this would not be the case, the amendments were killed by votes along party lines.

• Obama claimed that he “will not sign” a health care bill that “adds one dime to the deficit." Again, Rep. McClintock (CA-R) offered an amendment to explicitly prohibit any legislation that is not “deficit neutral” from going into effect. The result? Another “squash” by democrats.

• The President asserted that "I will make sure that no government bureaucrat or insurance company bureaucrat gets between you and the care that you need." Again, in agreement, Rep. Gingrey (GA-R) penned an amendment that would state in no uncertain terms that no federal official could make a decision about an individual’s health care. Henry Waxman (CA-D) and his crew killed the amendment.

• Besides misrepresenting Sarah Palin, again, Obama also denigrated those who make claims about “death panels” and rationed care for the elderly. However, when Rep. Herger (CA-R) submitted an amendment to forbid the government from conducting “comparative effectiveness research (and thus nullify the need for yet another expensive and expansive agency, office, staff, etc.), the lawbreaker Charlie Rangel and his committee killed that idea.

• Another “promise” from our leader was that taxes would not be raised on those making under $200K/year. But amendments by both Rep. Ryan (WI-R) and Rep. Rodgers (WA-R) offered to “insure” this promise both suffered an unnoticed but purposeful death. And the “promise” not to cut Medicare benefits for seniors that was put into motion by Rep. Brown-Waite (FL-R) in an attempt to totally remove any language in the bill that would even suggest such for Medicare Advantage suffered the same fate, as did several amendments to protect small businesses charged with offering health insurance for their workers.

• In proposed HR 3200, the employer mandate would result in 1.6 million fewer jobs, a $200 billion contraction in GDP, 1.2 million fewer work hours per week, and an annual decline in wages of $71 billion, within five years of its enactment. Reps. Hoekstra (MI-R), Herger (CA-R), Reichert (WA-R), Hunter (CA-R), and McKeon (CA-R) offered a variety of amendments to protect employers in the event of high unemployment or proven financial hardships from the mandate itself. Democrats had no use for them.

When Rep. Joe Wilson uttered his infamous, “You Lie,” statement, it was in response to the President’s assurance that illegal immigrants would not be covered in his health care bill. Numerous attempts to specifically block this had been thwarted prior to this breech of decorum. However, it is now being proposed that some form of ID system be used for anyone seeking health insurance in the United States.
So, Mr. President and Democratic officials, stop lying and claiming that the Republicans are inactive, inert, incapable, uncooperative, or disengaged. They are speaking. Listen!

Afterthought: As this was being posted, the House officially condemned Representative Wilson’s conduct, the first such action in the history of the United States. “If you don’t agree with the President, you are a racist.” Shame on the House.

Project 9-12

2009-09-13T13:39:00.000-07:00

Very, Very Clear

The 912 Project was started by Conservative icon Glenn Beck as a way to mobilize regular folks to stand up against big government and all the problems that it creates as it destroys our individual rights and liberties. He wanted America to try to renew the spirit of September 12, 2001, the day following the Islamic terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and the thwarted attack on Washington. After these events, party affiliation, race, socio-economic standing, educational degrees and yearly income did not matter. Americans bonded as patriots to clean up, care for each other and honor those heroes who lost their lives.

Tea Parties and coalitions of all kinds have branched from that initial call for neighbor to meet with neighbor to share concerns. The August town hall meetings brought the perfect opportunity for local action on a small scale, and the Tea Party express and march on the capitol on September 12, 2009 was the beginning, not the end, of a concerted effort to take back the control of our governmental servants. Patriots of all ages have banned together in protest, but also in a show of strength (estimated to be 1 million strong) and commitment to the 9 principles and 12 values listed below. A large percentage of these people have never done a political thing in their lives! But events of the last 200 days have been such an outrage that action has been viewed as a necessary and obligatory recourse.

If the Republic is going to be "re-found," we need to remember what our founding fathers had in mind. You may want to view The American Form of Government, for an excellent civics lesson!

The 9 Principles
1. America is good.
2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.
3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.
4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.
5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.
6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.
7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.
8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.
9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

The 12 Values
•Honesty
•Reverence
•Hope
•Thrift
•Humility
•Charity
•Sincerity
•Moderation
•Hard Work
•Courage
•Personal Responsibility
•Gratitude

Please note that there is no CHANGE in either list. Our government is perfect and does not need to be "fundamentally changed." It needs to be preserved with vigor and courage.

Broken Promises

2009-09-07T14:01:00.000-07:00

Clear

"The biggest problems that we're facing right now have to do with George Bush trying to bring more and more power into the executive branch and not go through Congress at all. And that's what I intend to reverse when I'm president of the United States."
-Sen. Barack Obama, March 31, 2008

Despite Obama's campaign promise, his ever growing list of self-appointed "Czars" speaks volumes about his chosen path to "fundamentally change" America. The list had hit 40, but the resignation of Van Jones over the Labor Day weekend has reduced the "shadow government" of this administration to a mere 39. Meanwhile, Cabinet positions go unfilled as he circumvents system of "checks and balances" created by our founding fathers.

Cloudy

I wonder how many other promises have already been broken in the nine months that he has been in office. I can name more than I have fingers for, but I invite my readers to rant a little, too. In the comment section, document a campaign promise. I doubt that you'll need to tell us how the promise was broken, but you are welcome to do so!

Communist Van Jones Resigns

2009-09-06T21:09:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

I can’t even imagine why anyone in America would be upset to see a communist leave the shadow government of President Obama. The majority of Americans grew up with the communist threat. We remember when JFK issued the ultimatum to the ships carrying missiles to Cuba to turn back. We remember Khrushchev banging his shoe on the podium. We remember the Cold War. Do the generations behind us have no understanding of a philosophy of government that wants total control over every aspect of society? Charles Krauthammer suggested that being a communist today was outmoded. But is communist China slowly buying up our country? Is communism still a threat?

Clear

I am very glad that at least one communist was ousted from the shadow government that President Obama seems to favor over any Senate-confirmed Cabinet. Pundits and critics are claiming that it was the result of a witch hunt. Van Jones declared it was the fault of a smear campaign. It was neither. It was the fault of Van Jones.

Glenn Beck led the way. Of that, there is no dispute. Being a patriot is a difficult task. This is a strategy that requires tremendous courage, self-control, as well as a willingness to endure personal threats and verbal or written attacks on one’s character. It is a path that could put one’s family in jeopardy. It is the higher path that is least travelled. It is an honorable endeavor to stand tall for your rights and liberties.

But, Mr. Beck did not accuse Van Jones of any wrong doing. He did not call Van Jones any names. He did not label Van Jones with any disparaging tags. He simply showed Van Jones doing it all to himself.

Van Jones signed the charge against Bush for the 9-11 attacks. Van Jones called conservatives a-holes. Van Jones called himself a communist. Van Jones tied the knot and slipped the noose around his own neck, all on videotape.

Obama knew the background of this man, as he knew the extremist, criminal background of Ayers and bought into the racist teachings of Rev. Wright. Jones was recruited and supported by Pelosi and Jarrett and others because they all shared the same idea about how America should be “fundamentally changed.”

The administration, however, hit an unexpected wall. It was a wall longer than the Great Wall of China. It was a wall thicker than the Berlin Wall. It was a wall of “un-American”, “mobster”, “swastika wearing”, and “right wing terrorist” patriots.

One Czar down. Thirty plus to go.

The American Form of Government

2009-09-05T07:17:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

What is the difference between a democracy and a republic? What type of government did our founding fathers secure for us?

Clear

Tea Party Signs

2009-09-04T18:25:00.000-07:00

Click on the images to enlarge them. Right click to save. Share with others! (Thanks to Sorry I Voted for sharing. Share your reason for voter's remorse at http://www.iamsorryivotedforobama.com/)

Back to School Blues for Obama

2009-09-04T12:11:00.000-07:00

Clear

When the announcement was released that President Obama would make a one-hour speech to all children in public schools, a fire storm was started that makes the hills around L.A. pale by comparison. All of the social networking sites were instantly filled with rants as heated souls and keyboards spewed forth disbelief and anger. Some don’t understand the anger. Some want to just say that the parents are all “racists” and “right-wing nuts” bogged in a “silly season.”

But, this comes on the heels of being called “anti-American” and “right-wing terrorists” by ranking Democratic leaders and a post on Obama’s website. It comes on the heels of parents everywhere seeing that their Social Security has been stolen and that promised Medicare is almost beyond bankrupt. It comes on the heels of the unconstitutional interference in American businesses and a skyrocketing national debt that even these children scheduled to watch the President will be required to pay. It comes on the heels of a summer of purposeful misdirection and subterfuge by a party that was trying to defend and explain a plan that they didn’t even have!

Is there any wonder that the American mainstream would have doubts about all things Obama?

What was wrong with the plan to encourage children to work hard and stay in school?

First, we are told it was a problem of semantics. In the middle of another brouhaha about a commercial where celebrities, aka “heroes” to children, (see http://tinyurl.com/kwyycp) are seen vowing to stop a 200 year reign of slavery, giving up plastics and pledging allegiance to Obama, the lesson plan from the US Department of Education asked for our children to write letters about “helping” Obama. Not America. Not Americans. Obama. We had already been exposed to some young military-type group marching and chanting Obama praise, and had seen how our president used the child of a contributor to try to garner favor during a town hall meeting on health care. I personally don’t think this was a case of something being poorly stated, as Obama’s logo is still plastered all over the public domain. I’m surprised it hasn’t replaced the presidential seal on the podium at press conferences. We are constantly exposed to the man, not the office. And the US DOE was doing the same: putting the man above or in place of the office.

Also, the first indications from news reports were that the target would be pre-K through middle school. This seemed to reek of indoctrination attempts, as the older children who could already think for themselves were not included. I didn’t see a lesson plan for junior high and high school students on the first day that the news broke. I didn’t hear these ages included until the fire started.

Another consideration on the part of parents was the idea that this would not be an optional activity. One spokesperson on a news program said that children just don’t have, need or want “a relationship” with a president. That’s not necessarily true. As a child just learning to write, my father allowed me to add postscripts to the letters that he regularly wrote to his representative in government or to the editorial pages in local newspapers. I liked doing it. I liked pleasing my father, emulating my father, and receiving autographed photographs in the mail! But, I wasn’t forced to do this in school. We did have photographs and paintings of various presidents displayed at school, but every morning we said the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag that also hung on the wall in every room, and “to the Republic” for which it stood.

Even the timing was not well thought out. I taught for 30 years and I can attest to the fact that on the first day of school, there is not a single minute to spare, and we often wish we had a longer day. Teachers are charged with explaining school rules and classroom rules, distributing important documents to be signed and filed, checking schedules and records to make sure each student is actually where he or she needs to be, while being constantly interrupted by announcements about fees, workbooks, textbooks, and lunch rules. To stop for an hour on that day would either mean one class would be a full day behind, or all classes would be shortened, which makes them all the more hectic.

And, last but not least, showcasing Obama as a good example of doing well in school is also a questionable plan, as we have no idea what type of student he was, other than that he graduated. He has refused to offer any proof of any of his early years. He’s been asked. Requests have been rampant not only for a birth certificate, but also for the passport he used when young, school records, his scholarship information, etc. The more he hides, the more questions we naturally ask. Did he get into college on scholarship money reserved for foreign students? How involved was he in radical socialist, Marxist or communist groups? We already know some of the links, but only because someone else investigated it, not because of his “transparency” with us.

So, doubt and distrust had grown to a sparking point, and this little innocuous announcement lit the fire.

The heat reached the White House and the US Department of Ed and parents everywhere discovered anew the power of their freedom of speech when the DOE edited the lesson plans and the White House announced that the speech would be online a day before it would air in classrooms so that parents could appraise it, discuss it with their children and make informed decisions about Tuesday.

Cloudy

While sorting through blogs and tweets and Facebook posts and watching hours of news from MSNBC to Fox, I’ve only run across one comment that gave me great pause. Someone said, “They won’t let kids read Huck Finn, either.” Ouch. I don’t believe in censorship. I don’t believe in propaganda. Do I now have to determine which of these is the greater evil? We need to prepare our children to face both.

Variety is the Spice of Earth

2009-09-02T23:47:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

Why are so many people teaching and preaching a “way” for us to go to preserve the planet? They are missing one of the most important principles of nature: variety is the key to survival of a population.

Clear

There are two types of variety that we should not only accept, but embrace.

All organisms need an environment rich in diversity of plant, animal and microbial life. The stability of the ecosystem depends on plants that take carbon dioxide from the air to produce food, and, in so doing, release oxygen into the atmosphere. Animals use the oxygen to “burn” their food fuel to stay alive, and in so doing release carbon dioxide back to the plants. Microbes can do either, and will also cause dead organisms to decay, reducing all materials to a form that can be used again. The greater the variety, the more stable the ecosystem will be. Competition for the resources in an area controls the size of the populations present. If there are ample resources, life will thrive.

Enter man. What is our worse environmental practice? It is simplifying the environment.

Our highways and cities with skyscrapers may look extremely complex, but the number of species in a city is much lower than the number that originally lived in the area. And, on our farms, we plant acre after acre of a single crop, which practically wipes out competition within that area. The only animals that remain are those that can feed off of the crop. Because there is so much food, that population grows exponentially and becomes a pest population. They weren’t pests in small numbers. We make them pests by changing the environment. Then, we have to spend money, time, and energy to keep the pests from feasting at the banquet that we laid out for them in the first place! We may even have to resort to the use of poisons to keep them from eating our food. (Organic farms escape this scenario by rotating crops or planting a variety of crops in the same fields, keeping a variety of animals that compete and maintain small populations.)

What happens to the animals that can’t feed on our crop? They migrate to find food or they die. (Please note: Extinctions are a natural part of our planet's history, with the majority of extinction events occuring prior to the arrival of humans! Are we going against nature when we try to prevent extinctions?)

Therefore, the WORST thing that the government could ask us to do would be to do the same thing! If we ALL drive the same kind of car, use the same kind of light bulb, have the same kind of effect on the environment, we will simplify it even more and weaken the natural forces of survival.

Another kind of variety that is essential for life to continue on Earth is genetic diversity. Differences in individuals are necessary for the survival of the population.

Here’s a scenario. Little furry animals live in an area. An ice age is coming. What can they do to survive it? Invariably, someone will answer saying, “They will grow thicker hair.” Do me a favor. Stand up right now and grow thicker hair. You can’t. No animal can unless it has the genes to do so like dogs or Arctic hares that grow thicker hair during the winter and shed it during the spring.

But, in every population, there is variety. Some little animals naturally have thicker hair and some have thinner hair. If the ice age hits, the thin-haired animals die or move away leaving only the thick-haired animals behind. Since dead animals can’t make babies, only the thick-haired animals contribute genes to the next generation. Most of the babies will be like their parents, so, over time, the population (not an individual) changes. It no longer has thin-haired members. It will, however, have some that are thicker than others!

If your teacher told you that some fish flopped out of a pond and grew legs, forget it! That teacher was wrong. No scientist ever said that. No one with any sense believes that. Populations, not individuals, change as they adjust to environmental change.

So, again, the worst thing that we could be advised to do would be to strive to be alike. Humans would be much more likely to become extinct if we were selected by government mandate for certain characteristics. The use of abortions, eugenics, euthanasia, sex/gene selection, cloning and other processes would greatly weaken our genetic strength.

If we want to keep Earth healthy, we need to stop going against nature and let the human species compete in a variety of ways, using a variety of resources. Period.

Carol Kelly (B.S.-University of Montevallo; M.Ed.- Auburn University) taught environmental biology for 20 years at Auburn University and with Montgomery Public Schools (Alabama).

Fax Your American Voice!

2009-09-02T21:05:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

I’ve been asking for some time now, why members of Congress won’t just give out an email address along with their snail mail address and phone numbers to local and DC offices. For those of you who communicate with your elected officials, you already know that it is either going to be expensive or time consuming. There are 535 members of Congress, nine Supreme Court justices, cabinet members, the Vice President, and the President. To write to all of them requires a great deal of postage or long distance charges, membership in a blast fax or blast email program, or hours and hours to visit the web site of each where you must fill in your personal information and enter security symbols before the message can be sent. Even if you use the auto-fill function of your computer or browser, it takes a long time. Some members will not let you send email unless your zip code shows that you are their constituent. It can be maddening! But it must be done.

Clear

I’m thrilled! There is an easy, cheap way to do it now! In less than 30 minutes, you can send a fax to all 500+ elected or appointed officials!

The service is from American Voice (http://www.americanvoice.com). This service also provides:
• Templates for one click faxes on the top legislative concerns.
• Information about each person in the executive, legislative and judicial branch, including photographs.
• An excellent tutorial on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
• A forum to discuss topics with other members.
• A list of currently proposed legislation including the name of the bill and a brief description.
• The voting record of Congress.
• A history of all faxes that you send on your free membership page.
• An opportunity to contribute. (I recommend that, if you use this service a lot, you help keep it running!)

Try it! I know you’ll like it! And, now that it’s easy, what will be your excuse for not taking an active role in the fate of your country?

Under Watchful Eyes

2009-08-31T11:33:00.001-07:00

Clear

I was a good kid growing up in the 1950s. Most of the kids in the neighborhood were good. We pranked and got mad and broke a rule or two; but, for the most part, we were a Wally-Beaver-Jem-Scout-Little Rascals-breed of kid. Why were we so well behaved? One reason was that we had been taught what was acceptable, and were soundly punished for breaking those rules of conduct. But, a huge factor in our decision-making and proper deportment was the knowledge that we were being watched! We grew up in a time when someone’s mother was always outside hanging the laundry. Someone’s grandmother was always on the front porch shelling peas. Some neighbor was always in the yard tending a garden. We knew their names and they knew ours. Or, at least, they knew our last names and where we lived. Even though we lived in a big city, the neighborhood was like a small town. Everyone shopped and worshiped and rode the buses together. Word of any improprieties on our part would get home faster than Superman, and another slender, stinging switch would come off of the bush!

Then, the preponderance of air-conditioning, laundry and kitchen appliances, televisions, TV dinners and automobiles changed the neighborhood. Once every family had these, the front porches and lawns were deserted. Families moved frequently to neighborhoods of closed doors, drawn blinds, and multiple schools, stores, and churches, all reached by private car instead of bus. The only time kids would see adults outside was Saturday morning when fathers mowed the lawn. Fathers didn’t pay much attention to kids. And fathers were disappearing from more and more homes.

So, hordes of unsupervised, undisciplined kids brought about changes in society. From dubious trends in fashion to radical fads for social acceptance, girls gone wild and horrendous acts for gang admission, the American youth were no longer innocent, but a source to be feared by some adults. Why were these adults surprised? Why didn’t they do more? They had changed, too. They had their own distractions and entertainments that took them from the home and took time away from the job of “parenting” the neighborhood.

Now, parents can “watch” kids again. GPS systems on automobiles, pagers, cell phones, spy cams, corner traffic cams, ATM cams, phone cams, YouTube, MySpace, Face Book, Twitter; the list gets longer every day. Kids are staying out of trouble because they are too busy using their electronics and living in cyberspace. Bad behavior ends up on the Internet, usually posted by a friend from a cell phone. Being “watched” reduces bad behavior.

Cloudy

Why hasn’t the same thing happened with government?

We watch them. We have our cameras and phones handy. We instantly text, tweet and record poor behavior or asinine statements directly to the Internet. One would assume that this would make our elected officials behave. So, why doesn’t it?

One reason is that they are either convinced that their rules are the only rules or that they are above the rules. Another is that they can afford to buy coverage that will put their spin on the incidences. The most glaring example I’ve ever seen was MSNBC’s video to show a racist attitude towards President Obama. Their aired video clip showed an automatic weapon overtly carried at a rally. The entire footage showed the legal barer of arms was a black man. When the media will not meet their ethical and/or moral obligation to report truth, the government is shrouded and allowed to continue in secret subterfuge. When the media does report truth, the government tries to exert power to silence it.

That means we need to be the mothers and the grandmothers and the neighbors watching these “children”. We know their names. We know how to record what they do. We know where to report it. We must be ever vigilant to seek and share truth. We must be watchdogs. We must hold their feet to the fire. They are watching us. We must watch back!

Party Etiquette

2009-08-29T21:07:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

I personally don’t like conflict. I would much rather use diplomacy to solve the problems that arise in my life. So, I’ve been a bit disturbed by the disorder and anger shown at town hall meetings. I don’t understand why the representatives couldn’t answer the simplest of questions, or why Nancy Pelosi and others were labeling citizens who were exercising a constitutional right with negative names. I don’t understand why SEIU members were outside these meetings intimidating and shoving people acting within their rights. I wonder if, now that the Obama’s vacation is over and the Tea Party Express is on the way to the 9-12 celebration in Washington, the confrontations are going to become riots or rhetoric.

I’ve been thinking about guidelines for such confrontations, and have looked at the non-violent protest policies of Gandhi that were later adopted by Martin Luther King, the advice of Glenn Beck to “question with boldness,” and even my grandmother’s admonition of poor behavior. “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” I’ve reflected on our nation’s beginnings, filled with protests and action: the Boston Tea Party, protests and disagreements with King George and Britain’s taxation of the colonies, and, finally, armed conflict.

Clear

I read a statement from The Freedom Works today, and had an “ah-hah” moment.

Policy goes to those who show up. It is a law of political decision-making as dependable as gravity, and as old as the American experiment in republican democracy.

Policy goes to those who show up. The vocal group wins. Samuel Adams said, “It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds.” Women marched and won the right to vote. Americans who were horrified with Sinclair’s, “The Jungle,” brought about safer foods and drugs. Protests from followers of Rachael Carson banned DDT. A simple bus boycott brought about Civil Rights laws. College students marched and brought about the end of war in Viet Nam. And, the united voices of laborers brought forth safer working conditions. Adams was right when he said that the very last “interest group” that most politicians want to hear from is “The People.”

As Freedom Works pointed out, violent confrontations can escalate to the point where the parties' only concerns are victory, vengeance, and/or self-defense. Winning becomes the principal, and the original reason for protest is forgotten. Non-violent resistance avoids this trap.

Far from being cowardly, this is a strategy that requires tremendous courage, self-control, as well as a willingness to endure pain.

Glenn Beck has been asking for “boldness” and standing for our beliefs in the face of fear. It’s a page right out of our country’s birth story.

Now, we must act. It is time. “Teddy Care” is going to be thrown at us with a renewed vigor. But act with intelligence and purpose. Whether you are at a Tea Party, a 9-12 event in D.C., or in a discussion around the water cooler at work, consider a few points of common sense and etiquette.

THE LOCATION: Know the local rules and ordinances of any place that you gather.
Are signs permitted? Do you need an ID? Where can you park? Are you allowed on grassy areas? Can you have bullhorns? Are pets allowed? Is there a dress code? Can you distribute flyers or brochures? Can you sell items?

THE MESSAGE: Do your homework and know details of the issue.
Know what is in the Constitution. Study it. Study the issue that you are protesting. We seen example after example of citizens being better informed than their representatives who had not read a bill. However, we have also seen tirades by the ignorant and uninformed. Do not give the opposition ammunition! Neal Boortz warns everyone to look for other sources to confirm what you hear. Fox News tells us every day to decide for ourselves. Then, like Limbaugh, be unapologetic for what you believe.

THE DELIVERY: Be correct.
Do not take the microphone without a planned, intelligent statement. Do not carry a sign with poor grammar or misspelled words. Do not misquote others. Do not misrepresent the legislation. If you are saying something for a dramatic effect, preface it and explain it. Regardless of what you do, you will be called a “red neck,” but don’t be one. Begin each question with, “I believe in……” Then ask if they agree.

THE DEMEANOR: Look and act the part of an informed, intelligent person.
It shouldn’t have to be said, but look clean. Wear nice clothes. Make a logical point instead of an emotional rant. Take a permanent marker and write in your hand, “Stay calm.” Avoid name-calling. Remain positive and polite. If someone affronts you, calmly say, “I’m sorry you feel that way.” Do as Beck says, speak without fear. However, if shoving starts, consider just sitting down. If violence breaks out, leave. Let THEM start the violence, though.

THE REACTION: Listen to what the opposition has to say.
In the town hall meetings covered on the news, there has been very little listening. We cannot have a conversation without it. Listen politely. Listen intently. Take notes. Record it so that you can digest and analyze it later. If you disagree, stay quiet and let them finish. Then say, “I disagree with you because…” or write a blog, email, or editorial about how wrong they were later. Others will watch and hear and decide.

THE QUESTIONS: Be specific and clear, whether asking in person or in writing.
Glenn Beck has offered a week’s worth of questions (http://tinyurl.com/n5goey), and I offer other examples below. Pick and choose what suits you, or, better yet, ask yourself the hard question of what you believe, then decide what answers YOU want.

I believe that fiscal responsibility is necessary for a sustainable future.
• Did you vote for raises for yourself?
• Did you vote to spend our children’s future and increase taxes on us?
• Are you capable of creating a balanced budget?
• Have you accepted money for your special interests in return for a vote?
• Do you know why the president did not purge the budget ‘line by line’ of pork?
• Will you agree to vote against anymore stimulus spending and put unspent money towards the deficit?
• How much do all of the president’s trips cost?
• Why does the first lady have such a huge, expensive staff?
• Would you give your pay until we have a balanced budget?

I believe that industry, business and manufacturing made this country great. • Would you pass environmental regulation when you have no proof of global warming theories?
• Would you place the protection of any plant or animal above the needs and security of people?
• What business experience have you had?

I believe in a representative government and the senate’s power to approve presidential cabinet appointees.
• Do you favor the number of Czars, or advisors, that have filled Washington?
• Are you aware that many of these are enemies of the Constitution?
• Can you tell us who pays for the salaries, office space and staffs for these non-elected, non-approved advisors?
• Have you read any of their published works? Will you tell us what they believe?
• Why are they, and other non-elected officials, drafting legislation?
• Why does the president out-source his job?

I believe in American citizenship. • Do you think illegal aliens and foreign terrorists should have the rights of an American citizen?
• Do you have proof that our president is a citizen?

I believe that every American has the right to pursue happiness, but does not have the right to THINGS that they do not work for, including government medical care. I do not believe that our nation is entitled to handouts.
• Do you? Why?
• Why don’t you favor capitalism and free enterprise that would naturally create jobs so that people could provide their families with the THINGS that they need?
• Do you agree that small businesses should be taxed excessively?
• Can you tell me what you have done for the American farmer?

I do not believe that the federal government is a good steward of our funds or a competent business entity. • Do you favor a single-payer, government run public option for health care?
• Will you allow the American people to see the final bill that the Congress will consider?
• Will you vote for any healthcare plan that will increase the deficit or increase costs for your constituents?
• Can you just fix Medicare first, to prove to us that you can run something efficiently?

I believe in the first amendment guarantees for our freedom of speech.
• Do you believe in free speech?
• Do you believe in freedom of the press?
• Will you support legislation that seeks to control the internet, talk radio or conservative TV?
• Did you hide from your constituents who were trying to practice free speech at town hall meetings?
• Did you support the White House efforts to collect “fishy” emails and blogs?

I believe in the 2nd amendment guarantee for our right to bear arms. • Will you support legislation that attempts to limit gun laws?
• Do you own a gun?

I believe that the constitution has given the federal government explicit and limited powers.
• Will you vote for any bill that increases the size or powers of the federal government?
• Can you explain to me how the takeover of GM or the bailout of banks is constitutional?
• Why don’t you think that the states have jurisdiction over health care?

I believe that the government has the right to know how many people live in the USA, and where they live.
• Do you favor the intrusive questions that are in the current census survey?
• Do you think that an organization proven to be involved in voter fraud should be involved in the census program?
• Are you in favor of the federal government targeting school children to gather census information?
• Can you tell me what parts of our lives you do not have the right to control?

I believe in the power of the vote.
Do you agree that you MUST be replaced if you do not do what your constituents ask of you?

An Open Letter to Washington

2009-08-23T08:16:00.000-07:00

Clear
I am not the least bit CLOUDY on any of the concerns in the following letter.

To ALL elected officials in Washington:

WE THE PEOPLE are very upset. We are voicing very strong opinions every day, and need to be heard instead of being called "un-American" or "mobs" or "astroturfers!" So, please, listen!

REDUCE THE DEFICIT! REDUCE THE DEFICIT! REDUCE THE DEFICIT! REDUCE THE DEFICIT! This should be the number one job of the federal government! It should be the ONLY job until we are debt free. DO NOT ACCEPT A SALARY UNTIL IT IS DONE!

NO BENEFITS FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS! NONE!! They can apply to work here, pay taxes, learn English, take the test and the oath, and become CITIZENS! This applies to ALL nationalities of people who are here illegally and benefiting from my tax dollar.

NO MORE STIMULUS SPENDING! Do not spend ONE MORE PENNY until something is done about the deficit or a balanced budget is passed. Do not spend money you don't have. All TARP money not spent up to this point should be put towards lowering this immoral deficit.

NO CZARS! The President is, unfortunately, free to associate with any and all of his radical, socialist and communist friends who DO believe in euthenasia, sex with animals, governmental ownership of businesses and redistribution of the wealth "for the common good." BUT NOT ON MY DIME! NO federal money should be spent on their salaries, their office space, their staffs, their power bills, their office supplies, or their existance. Outlaw the use of public funds for any position that is not ELECTED or APPROVED by the Senate.

REDUCE THE FIRST LADY'S STAFF! What arrogance and waste! How many people does it take for her to do so little? IMPOSE LIMITS on who can slop at the public trough!

NO CAP AND TRADE. Every plant, every animal, every microbe affects the climate, but NO ONE is absolutely sure that disaster is impending. Most extinctions and severe climate changes happened long before man every arrived!

NO UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE. Just fix what is wrong, don't hijack it! Pass torte reform to keep doctors in the profession. Lift mandates for unnecessary tests and procedures. Allow insurance companies to engage in interstate commerce. FIX MEDICARE and MEDICAIDE first, then come back and ask us to trust that you can run more of it!

NO VALUE ADDED TAX! How about no more tax increases, period! If government handouts and entitlements can't be funded, so be it. Most of them are pork and have generated a population of people dependent on others, capable of working for themselves, but with no incentive to do so.

REDUCE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT! How many new agencies, with office space and staff are going to be created by the new healthcare bill alone? It's been estimated that EIGHT new buildings would have to be erected! The STATE should be regulating more and more of what the federal government is arrogantly assuming.

STOP ACORN! I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated, and stopped. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. And, while you're at it, look into illegal activities of SEIU and other unions that get their way by force and intimidation.

CHANGE THE CENSUS FORM! You are allowed to know HOW MANY PEOPLE LIVE IN MY HOUSE. It is not the business of the federal government to know the number of hours that I work, when I leave my house, or my phone number. We've already seen too much illegal, unethical and immoral information gathering by this White House! I proudly flagged myself because of my "fishy" blog. It is my right to think as I do and to speak as I will.

BALANCE THE BUDGET! It is simple. Millions of Americans do it. Spend no more than you take in. Print no more worthless money! DO NOT ACCEPT A SALARY UNTIL IT IS DONE!

LIVE LIKE US! Elected officials should have to live by the same standards, under the same programs, that they impose on us. If a public option for socialized medicine does pass for this country, every elected official should be forced to have it and no other supplements!

NO REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH! I work for my money. Others can work for theirs. I've worked three jobs simultaneously most of my life because I wanted to provide well for my children.

LEAVE US TO BE CHARITABLE. Churches, civic groups, and individuals have always taken care of those who cannot take care of themselves. If we aren't taxed to death, we'll continue to do so without help or interference from the federal government.

NO CORPORATE BAILOUTS! You have no business being so overtly communistic!! If a business can't make it, another will step up! Let it happen because of free enterprise, supply and demand...not COMMAND.

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY! The President has harped and harped about "transparency," yet he will NOT disclose documents about his past; birth certificate, passport, school records, early employment records, etc. Mr. Obama, put up and we will shut up! We still don't know how all this TARP money has been spent, because there is NO accountability, NO transparency, NO truth from our president and democratic leaders.

SLOW DOWN! Do not EVER AGAIN try to ram legislation through Congress. If people need time to read bills and debate, so be it. Post bills on the Internet and give the public time to weigh in with their elected officials. The last time I looked, WE THE PEOPLE were the true governing voice!

UPHOLD THE CONSTITUTION! What we fear the most is what is happening. When candidate Obama said he would fundamentally transform this nation, he meant it! Congress is helping him lead us away from democracy. Don't participate! Fight it! Question the constitutionalily of all that you do, or we will be questioning your ability to be our representatives in government. Save the Republic from this Socialistic takeover by radical community organizers.

I'm proud to be an American. I want future generations to be able to say that, too. Never in my 60 years have I been so ashamed of my government. Never have I seen so much spin doctoring of rhetoric to justify such unethical behavior. Never have I heard so many lies and contridictions. This is the worse administration I've ever witnessed, and the public by far agrees with me.

Thank you.

Has Big Brother Arrived?

2009-08-20T22:26:00.000-07:00

Clear

I know that Rep. Michele Bachmann has created a few waves by stating that she would not return her census information and by questioning what was in the data to be collected. In light of the “flag@whitehouse.gov” website that was set up for us to rat out our “fishy” friends, the ACORN and SEIU bullying we’ve seen at town hall meetings, and the millions of unsolicited emails sent out from David Axelrod, I think this issue deserves a little bit of investigation. Others, like Rep. Ron Paul and Rep. Lynn A. Westmoreland, agree.

I also know that Article I of the Constitution allows the government to conduct a count of the American people once every ten years to determine voting districts. The census is simply supposed to count heads.

Cloudy

What I don’t understand, however, is why this administration is assuming the power to continuously spy on us or probe into the intimate details of our lives. The Obama machine has slipped in a new, invasive form called "The American Community Survey." Up to 1 million households a year will receive this 24-page-long meddling, intrusive and insidious document (http://tinyurl.com/krzzxx) that REQUIRES you to tell “Big Brother” private details of your life such as: phone number, what time you leave your house for work, your health status, income and sources, etc. It asks for almost everything except your BMI and your citizenship.

How this information could be used, once the fodder of science fiction writers, is now a very real threat to our liberties.

You can be fined for not returning census information, although that has rarely if ever happened. But, I doubt that you can get away with a refusal like Representative Bachmann since ACORN will be knocking (kicking?) on your door. Yes, you heard me, ACORN!

With both a history of voter fraud and association with Obama’s “community organizing”, ACORN is participating in next year's count. The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now claims to be a non-partisan grassroots community organization of low and moderate income people, but it came under fire in 2007 when Washington State filed felony charges against employees and supervisors for more than 1,700 fraudulent voter registrations. In March 2008, an ACORN worker in Pennsylvania was sentenced for making 29 phony voter registration forms. The group's activities were frequently questioned in the 2008 presidential election. Obama has been called, “ACORN’s Senator.”

If you refuse to send in your survey for your house, ACORN will come knocking. If you refuse to answer your door, they will ask neighbors. In the same way that this administration tried to get people to “turn in neighbors” who were questioning ObamaCare, they will try to extort any information that they want in any way that they wish.

We stopped the flagging. We caught on to the fishy. We need to stop this.

Take your head count, and then go away.

Social Engineering: An Obamination

2009-08-20T20:10:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

It looks like the “social engineers” are at it again. (Or should we just come out and say, the “socialist engineers”?)

Westchester County, an up-scale suburb of New York City, has been pressured to settle a lawsuit brought by liberal activists over "affordable" housing, a plan that the Obama administration feels should be a "template" for the rest of the nation.

The lawsuit alleged that Westchester had accepted federal housing funds but failed to reduce segregation in some of its wealthier communities, such as Scarsdale and Chappaqua, home to Bill and Hillary Clinton. In February a U.S. District Court judge ruled that Westchester's integration efforts were insufficient, and, after striking a deal with HUD, the county will construct or acquire 750 homes or apartments, 630 of which must be located in areas that are less than 3% black and 7% Hispanic.

This isn’t new. “Block-busting” has been tried in some form or another since the 1940s. It peaked in the 1960s and 1970s at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. The blocks in a neighborhood were “busted” by convincing one white owner to sell to an African American family. Property values would fall, “white flight” would follow, and more minorities would move in.

Integrated neighborhoods were supposedly the intended goal. These neighborhoods should have included integrated schools and churches and should have spelled the end of bias, bigotry and discrimination. The actual results were usually the opposite; divided communities, racial tension, the deterioration of property, and a loss in the economic viability of the area. The “reality” of the Bunkers and the Jeffersons rarely occurred, as “block-busting” was seen primarily as a means to increase Democratic votes in an area.

Clear

The problems were never in the idea. The problems were always in the methods. Community organizers, social engineers, courts, and other governmental entities forced integration. It didn’t come about because of choice. (Even Wallace's famed stand in the "school house door" at the University of Alabama was carefully orchestrated by Bobby Kennedy.)

Most people believe in integrated neighborhoods provided they're a consequence of genuine choice. History shows that racial and ethnic minorities have incurred far less resistance when they move into neighborhoods where they can all afford to live. Natural integration by people with similar incomes, mores, ethics and values is the best way to build community solidarity and forge friendships. When forced, integration takes from some to give to others, just like every policy the Obama administration favors. It is called socialism.

My neighborhood is upper middle class and integrated. Everyone here shares the same values. We all worked hard, saved money, made wise decisions about our money, and did our best to put our families in a safe neighborhood with good schools. When our children were young and “running” the neighborhood, we often visited in each other’s homes, served on committees at church or school together, and worked on projects at school or in scouts together. Every yard is cut and clutter free. Every garage has a nice car. Every house has great “curb” appeal, as everyone has pride in their homes, their families and their neighborhood.

Socialists with hidden agendas to “engineer our choices” need to recognize that most people will do the right thing IF ALLOWED TO CHOOSE IT.

People are good. Leave us alone to find each other.

When Push Comes to Shove

2009-08-18T13:01:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

I spent 30 years at the same job. When I took that job, right out of college, it was at the fastest growing and largest 3 year high school in the state, a school that had just opened the year before. To staff this new school, about half of the faculty was veteran teachers from within the system, and the other half was young, idealistic, fresh-out-of-college fledglings. Needless to say, we were also a bit rebellious, being children of the 60s! But we weren't bad. We were just 21 year olds! We just wanted to wear blue jeans. (Many of us didn't own much else!)

After two wonderful years of finding my wings, enjoying my students, knowing that I had found the perfect job for me, I was called into the principal's office and told to resign.

I was flabbergasted! I was speechless! And, of course I was too young and naive to know what my rights were. He rattled off a list as long as my arm of things I had done wrong; a list that included having a man over for dinner, not going to Sunday School, and taking a trip to San Antonio with a man. I only spoke once during this whole time. It was in response to the San Antonio trip when I meekly whined, "But, my mother said that I could!" When he was finished, he told me to turn in a letter of resignation the next day. I very quietly said, "I don't know if I will because I don't think I have done anything wrong."

If that had been it, I would have gone home and written that tear-stained letter. But his reaction shocked me! After my response, he shoved his chair back, stood and leaned over his desk, and pounded on it with each syllable of putrid, fiery anger that spewed from his mouth, "If you don't, young lady, I will ride you until you wish you had! I will ride you until I put you in the hospital with a nervous breakdown! And don't think I can't! I've done it before!!"

Clear

It clicked. It hit. I got it.

He was wrong. What he was doing was wrong and I would never have questioned it if I hadn't been pushed by that outburst.

To make a long story short, I worked there for 28 more years, and he was gone at the end of that one.

As I wrote in an earlier blog, socialists came to believe years and years ago that Americans could be "nudged" into becoming governmental "sheep."

The ‘nudge’ idea came from the Socialist Party during the years of FDR. The party once ran candidates against FDR until they realized that he and his desired ‘Second Bill of Rights’ were already socialistic! Norman Thomas, the socialist leader and presidential candidate said: The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of 'liberalism' they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.

And it could easily have happened this year. The main stream media and young people had canonized Obama. We needed some action, and he was willing to make some bold decisions to get us out of this economic debaucle. I thought he was going in the wrong direction, but we were at a point where no one else had ever been in our history! I would have sat quietly and let him take more and more and more if...IF... he and Pelosi hadn't begun to push.

They wanted to push this health care down our throats so hard before the August break, that it made us all sit up and take notice. Then we found out the ACORN criminal thugs and the SEIU goons had turned push into shove.

I'm glad.

Without the push and the shove, the nudge would have worked.

We were right on the brink of socialism. Those in power and these socialist "community organizers" had been setting the stage for years and years.

We've got a long way to go to keep it from happening, but at least we know that the threat is real and we must stay the course and fight it with our voices, our signatures, our emails, our letters, our faxes and our phone calls.

Spread the word, America! Democracy is our only option!

(Image from www.healthcare4me)

Will "Green" Cars Be Clean?

2009-08-18T12:51:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

I understand the need to become independent of fossil fuels, as we do not have an unlimited supply. However, if there is a rush to drastically move to electrical cars and electrical alternatives before we are ready, aren't we going to pay some consequences?

Clear

I see three potentially serious problems:

1. Batteries have to be recharged often, and will pull a lot of power to do so. More often than not, that power will be generated by a coal burning plant. Coal is a much more polluting fuel than petroleum. As more and more petroleum cars are replaced by battery cars, or EVs, or hybrids, the worse the air quality will be, especially the sulfur pollutants and acid rain.

2. If Cap and Trade passes and our power bills double or triple as expected, will we be able to afford to charge these cars up 2 times a week, or 2-4 times a day on a long trip? Will we still need petroleum cars for those long trips?

3. The power grid in the USA is one of the most vulnerable parts of our national infrastructure; subject to destruction and attack. Even if outside forces leave it alone, it can't take overload. There's going to have to be some SERIOUS work done on the grid before we can physically support the onslaught of EVs. It will be like the overload on Twitter. Result? No service. But when Twitter goes down, I can find a lot of things to do. When I'm stranded somewhere trying to charge up my car, I won't be a happy camper!

Seems to me that we are so anxious to CHANGE, that no one thinks about the consequences of CHANGE anymore. I think we're all learning a HUGE lesson in CHANGE right now. Hope that lesson sticks!

The Boom Lowered on Boomers!

2009-08-16T14:09:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

What turned a professed “Generation-Xer” into a “Baby Boomer” expert? Laura Lorson’s blog, “Welcome to the Summer of Hate,” is supposed to be a humorous look at the older American’s that make up part of the “sleeping giant” that’s been flocking to town hall meetings; but, instead, it’s insulting and demeaning.

Forty years ago, long-haired, incense-burning baby boomers were subjecting us to "The Summer of Love," and they got all worked up and piled into VW micro-buses and drove out to upstate New York, rolling around in the mud and taking drugs, and generally alarming their parents with the threat of — I don't know — communes. Now, it's 40 years later, and gray-haired, incensed boomers are subjecting us to what I guess you might want to call "The Summer of Hate," to judge from the pictures of people's faces contorted with rage, calling each other names that they used to reserve for "The Man." Now, instead of the peace and harmony, make-love-not-war thing, they're getting all worked up and piling into tricked-out minivans and driving out to their congressional representatives' offices, rolling around in their Medicare-provided scooters, yelling about the cost of drugs and generally alarming their parents with the threat of — I don't know — health care.….From Woodstock to apoplectic rage, in 40 short years… I keep expecting some fella to go up to a podium and announce, "Hey, everyone, the brown Maalox that is circulating around is not too good."

Someday this arrogant, ignorant little cuss may be in a walker with someone calling her life worthless, and, if I’m still around, I’d like to hear from her then.

We, the Baby Boomers, have spent most of our lives working, paying taxes, raising families, going to church, paying into Social Security, saving towards our retirements, voting and being productive members of a free society. We’ve been frugal and wise. We paid for our houses and burned the mortgages. We paid, or helped pay for your college educations. Now we are helping our elderly parents who can’t feed or dress themselves, because we know that is the right thing to do, even though we know your generation will change very few Depends.

We are at the town hall meetings, writing blogs, corresponding with members of Congress and the White House, because we want you to have the same chance to the pursuit of happiness that we have had. We want you to live in a democracy. We want the Constitution to protect you, as it has us.

We don’t want the government to coddle us like your generation does. We want to work and earn respect. We don’t want handouts and entitlements. We value liberty over government mandated “security.”

And, for you Boomers out there, “Stay the course, old timers!” We’re seeing a victory over single-payer, socialized medicine for the USA, but we still have to defeat Cap and Trade, rid the capital of ridiculous Czars and get a balanced budget! Keep your voices strong!

Summer of Hate

Transparency? Where?

2009-08-16T13:30:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

There are many articles and much Internet discussion about the distain for Fox News and conservative talk radio by the governing liberals. Why do the liberals cry, “foul,” and try to shut up the conservatives, when there are far more liberal television stations and news organization that will not give conservatives or Republicans the time of day?

Clear

ABC aired one entire hour of ‘ObamaCare’ propaganda. Lauer of THE TODAY SHOW was kind and jovial with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and rude to Michelle Malkin, as he cut the noted conservative author off and didn’t even thank her for appearing! Couric was beyond rude to Governor Palin during the campaign. Yes, Palin could have answered better, but she was brand spanking new and no more qualified at that point than was some community organizer who had helped his wife make money by raping the poor with the Chicago Health Initiative and associating with lunatic, radical, socialists and communists!

These kinds of attacks and shunning only come when you have no defense for what your side is doing. And, if meant to garner points, they lost mine!

Al can make puns, Ann can get mushy, Meredith can get over-competitive, and Kathy Lee and Hoda can review all the fart-filters they want while sipping alcohol in the early hours of the morning without me.

Oh, what's that?

Conservative media has fewer outlets but higher ratings? Mainstream media is falling behind? You mean, we trust the conservative media more?

Do tell.

When the President lies, and the media lie about the lies; well, there you go!

And, do the liberals think that conservatives can't hear, can't read, and/or can't think? We've read the bills!! We KNOW what they say! We've read what the Czars have written. We've read Michelle Obama's thesis! We would love to read the presidents IF there was anything besides his two books available for us to read! He will not let us learn about his college years, his early work, his qualifications (which are truly looking as those they don’t exist now), his birth, his passports, and other documents, which, if produced, would shut up 51% of America and put him back in favor with the majority of Americans!

So much for transparency!

For me, it means I can see right through him and his administration.

Astroturf, Swastika-Wearing Mobsters

2009-08-11T17:37:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

I don’t necessarily agree with the shouting that has been going on at town hall meetings lately. It seems it didn’t get physical until the unions moved in on behalf of the democrats, but I’m not sure. I’m also unsure about the name calling. Oh, I understand slang and slurs in the middle of a heated argument. I just don’t understand why, in the quiet of an office with nothing louder than fingers on a keyboard, leaders would purposefully call dissidents “un-American!” Have Pelosi or Hoyer read the 1st Amendment? Are they students of American History?

Clear

It is very clear that they do not want these dissenting voices, which would never have been raised had their questions been answered! The Democrats and liberals were wise to encourage the “mob” atmospheres, since that took the attention away from the ignorant politicians. I don’t mean “stupid.” Stupidity can’t be helped. Ignorance can be. These folks don’t know how to answer the “mob” because they hadn’t educated themselves by READING the bills! Today the crowds were ready. They had read the bill. They did their homework.

Tonight, I know that I am proud to be one of these “un-Americans.” I’m in great company. Radio talk show hosts, right-wing newspersons, average citizens at the microphone and the thousands of bloggers and tweeters are doing the most American thing that we can do!

It was dissenting voices that rang out as tea was dumped into the Boston Harbor. It was dissenting voices that articulated distrust, dislike and disloyalty to King George. Land-owners, farmers, scholars, businessmen, doctors, lawyers, merchants, shippers, naturalists, scientists and laborers joined forces and voices to give birth to the greatest nation on earth.

These were not ignorant people. They studied the classics and read the work of others on liberty and democracy. They made hard but wise decisions based on the wisdom of others and their desires for freedom. They took their time to get it right. They didn’t hurry to force this republic on America. They didn’t hide what they were doing. They communicated their ideas and desires, and supported public discourse. They not only supported it, they demanded it for us forever by protecting it as a guaranteed right in the 1st Amendment.

Throughout our history, this right to dissent has brought about social justice and preserved our government. Women banded together to shout, wave signs and parade in the streets until they finally won the right to vote. Black and white patriots ran the Underground Railroad and suffered through segregation and lynchings to insure equal rights for all and end the reign of Jim Crow. A war that our government would not or could not win was ended as young people banned together with peace signs and shouts of outrage. Agent Orange and DDT were banned and the nation has increasingly become greener and greener without a Green Czar or an Energy Czar, but because of the voices crying out in unison in the absence of song birds.

We not only have the right, but we have the obligation to resist unjust and unwise legislation. We must speak out against unbridled spending and disastrous fiscal policies. We should be brave and bold and united against anything that smacks of socialism. Unlike health care, the freedom to speak our minds IS a Constitutional Right.

Hear Nancy Pelosi for yourself!

Network News or Views?

2009-08-09T13:35:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

One thing I had a hard time getting my head around during the election was why the Today Show canonized Obama. There was never a hint of objection or a question about his plans or policies. I used to love Katie Couric on that show, but after her wicked and inexcusable attack on Sarah Palin, I’ve never watched her again. Pure evil! Why? And who paid for Obama’s hour-long infomercial on healthcare on ABC? Bill O’Reilly and others on Fox News seemed to be impartial. I truly felt like most of them reported facts to let us decide what they meant.

Clear

Well, after doing a little digging on my own (which I hope you are all doing, too), I learned some very interesting facts.

NBC and the Today Show are owned and operated by General Electric. GE made massive contributions to Obama’s campaign, and, in turn, stands to multiply their money if Cap and Trade passes. They are not neutral. They are so in bed with the current administration that it is impossible to tell where GE ends and Obama begins.

This administration keeps telling us that they have our personal interest in mind. Don’t buy it. They have deep pockets and long-range control in mind.

Don’t give up network TV, just make sure all of your information comes from a variety of sources. They report. You decide.

A Clunker of an Idea

2009-08-06T17:48:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

I taught environmental biology for over 20 years, and I’m just not sure how this program stacks up to be good for the environment. I’m also not sure why anyone is surprised that it was highly successful in getting people to participate. “Hey, you guys! Come line up and get a free $4,500!” Okay. Where’s the mystery?

Clear

What I do know is, while those who participated got a booster shot in the pocketbook, and some dealers saw in increase in sales, the long term effect will prove to be a mere drop in the bucket, if not an overall failure.

1. Just for your information, hybrids and battery technology is NOT a break from fossil fuels. These cars must be plugged in and recharged with existing power supplies, which means burning coal in most instances! They are great for tooling around, but not for highway usage. Yes, new models may reach desirable highway speeds, but they don’t have a range that would last me a week in town, much less a trip to visit any of my relatives! I can’t stop every 100 miles and hope to find a plug!

2. Scrap metal dealers in America are getting the short end of the stick! The scrap is being shipped to China, where they will burn fossil fuels to convert our wastes into products that they will sell back to us.

3. Charities will already hurt under Obama’s proposals, but this will be a blow to many who have depended on the donation of old cars for either income or a way to transport the poor or infirmed that they serve.

4. Used car dealers have a legitimate business serving those Americans who, especially now, can’t afford new cars. There is a market! There should be free enterprise to pursue products and to carry out business, without a government (with vested interest in the automotive industry) strapping them down.

5. Most of the cars that have been purchased have been foreign cars. So Japan and China are the big winners!

6. It is being reported that many of these clunkers are being sold 'through a legal loophole,' and the opportunity for corruption, black market deals, etc. is rampant. (Raise your hand if you are surprised.)

In the 1970s, Volvo introduced a car that would get almost 100 mpg. A few prototypes were produced, but they never reached the public. Oil companies bought the patents and shelved them. For our cars to be getting 30 mpg forty years later is disgraceful.

My thanks to my Senators, Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby, for voting against extending the program!

(Photo credit: AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Lessons on Race from my Father

2009-08-03T17:15:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

I’m not sure why the race card got pulled at Obama’s press conference on health care. My guess is that it was planned, as it seems that every move our president makes is extremely orchestrated. It also appears that, if you don’t like his liberal policies, you are considered to be a racist.

Clear

I know that is not true. I know what racism is. I was in a restaurant in Memphis as a little girl when a lovely black family came in and there was a huge gasp from all the patrons at other tables. My parents smiled at them, as they also had a large “brood” of children. I saw the caravans of teens that left school the first day of integration in Birmingham as a protest. (Or, perhaps, just so they could go to Burger in a Hurry instead of school!) I had long time family “friends” leave my wedding in a tiff because my black friends came to my church to celebrate an important event in my life.

My father taught us all a lesson long ago without a single lecture. We, a family of nine, came home from church one Sunday evening to find a black man rummaging through our kitchen. DoDad chased him out the back door, down the rickety wooden steps, through the yard full of bamboo, to the back ally. We watched from the back windows as they disappeared from sight. Then my “hero,” my daddy, came back with the man in tow. But, instead of wrestling with him, they were talking and smiling. Instead of calling the police, he called to mother to fix some dinner for the man. He was hungry. He was looking for food. We were poor, too, but we always had food. This poor guy’s punishment that day was to have 7 curious little kids crawling all over him and asking him a thousand questions!

My son is currently teaching in Korea, and he said his little ones stroke his hairy arms out of curiosity in much the way that we stroked that man’s hair. It’s not racist. You have to feel comfortable about yourself and someone else to touch them in that way. I remember an evening of laughter and fun.

Later, DoDad explained a bit about relationships to me. We were in his office building on a weekend, watching some protestors down on the sidewalk. Birmingham had a bad reputation for the way that the police and fire department and dogs treated protestors, and we were witnessing some of that. He told me that basically everyone wants to feel good about themselves and wants to feel more important than someone else. It is part of human nature to want to be special, and that there are two ways to achieve that goal. One way is difficult. We must work hard, get a good education, improve ourselves, and constantly try to achieve the high goals that we set for ourselves. The other way is easy. You merely sit back, call other people names and slap them down so that you can believe that you tower above them. “Which way are you going to choose?” he asked me.

I think I made the right choice.

Which choice will you make?

National Healthcare Will Kill Us!

2009-07-27T20:18:00.000-07:00

Obama laughed and joked, and completely dodged the question about whether or not he and his family and congress would utilize the health care plan that was being drafted for us.

The burning questions are:
1. WHO is drafting this bill?
2. WHO will oversee its implementation?
3. WHO will be in charge of national health care?

These are the people who will be making medical decisions about our health and health care! I’m not making this up! Search the people and topics yourself!

Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel-appointed health-policy adviser at the Office of Management and Budget – says:
1. Doctors take the Hippocratic Oath too seriously.
2. Doctors shouldn’t do everything for an individual patient without considering the cost or effects on others.
3. Seniors are “too enamored” with technology (angioplasty, hip/lens replacement, bypass surgery, etc) and do not need it.
4. Americans are spoiled by private hospital rooms, attractive doctor offices, and short wait times and we should do without.

He will be a major player in determining who gets what treatment from which doctor.

Dr. David Blumenthal-appointed national coordinator of health-information technology- agrees.
He will:
1. oversee the delivery of electronic instructions and guidelines about the above (and more) to doctors,
2. make sure they are obeyed, and
3. oversee the digitalization and distribution of personal, private medical records (at a $19.5 billion pricetag!).

Cass Sunstein- the new Regulatory Czar-believes that:
1. if animals can communicate, they have the right to sue humans,
2. we do not have the right to kill animals for our use or pleasure,
3. Internet communications should be monitored and removed if they oppose elected officials, and
4. Americans should be nudged towards making socialistic decisions for the common good.

The ‘nudge’ idea came from the Socialist Party during the years of FDR. The party once ran candidates against FDR until they realized that he and his desired ‘Second Bill of Rights’ were already socialistic! Norman Thomas, the socialist leader and presidential candidate said:
The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of 'liberalism' they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.

(It was FDR who introduced the idea that we should have a Constitutional ‘right’ to things such as good health care, a good education, a home, and a decent job. But our government simply allows us to ‘pursue’ these things through innovation, hard work, and free enterprise. We have the right to work and to decide how to spend our money. We can buy an education or a home or a gun!)

John Holdren – Science and Technology Czar- has advocated:
1. compulsory population control, including compulsory abortion and euthanasia of the elderly,
2. a ‘Planetary Regime’ that will control the development and distribution of all natural resources,
and his work focuses on:
1. causes and consequences of global environmental change,
2. analysis of energy technologies and policies,
3. ways to reduce the dangers from nuclear weapons and materials, and
4. the interaction of content and process in science and technology policy.

Still not convinced? Watch and listen to Obama for yourself!

Obama's response to Jane Strum's question.

Attention, Congress - Health Care Proposal

2009-07-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

I am not sure what kind of reform is being proposed, as I've not read the 1000+ page document for health care. I'm not sure that there is a single version yet, or even a close runner! I'm not sure that the 500+ "pork pages" aren't going to be added just before the final vote, pork that could "persuade" some members to vote a certain way as the Democrats did in the House for Cap and Trade. I'm not sure how many times Pelosi will postpone a vote before she gets the results she wants.

Clear

However, I am clear on a few things.

1. SLOW DOWN! Every member of Congress, the Vice-President and the President should be required to read the entire bill. If the final bill is extremely long, the vote should be postponed until all have done so. Perhaps a signature on each page should be required. Perhaps 1 day of reading per every 5 pages of text should be required before any vote could be called. America should vote out of office all elected officials that do not do their job, which includes being better informed than news reporters and talk show hosts!

2. FIX WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE! The President said...and I quote..."the BIGGEST driving force behind our federal deficit is the SKYROCKETING cost of Medicare and Medicaid." If that is true, then the government has mismanaged its part of the health care system, and has no basis for asking us to trust them with more! So, after Medicare and Medicaid are running in the black, providing good services and requiring fewer mandates that shackle the health care providers and require untold numbers of employees just to handle the paper work, then move on to proposals for new policies.

3. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE! The 'graying of America' is upon you! The largest portion of your constituency is the baby boomer generation, and we are all about ready to take from the system that we have been paying into. We're about ready for you to keep the promises made to us. And, we were the ones leading the massive protests of the 70s! We still believe in the 'power of the people!' Respect your audience. Be our servants instead of our masters.

Apology?

2009-07-24T13:07:00.000-07:00

Very, Very Clear

In an anger management class, we were taught to defuse a situation by saying, “I’m sorry you feel that way.” It sounds like an apology, so the one in our face backs off. It's easy to say because the one saying knows it is really not an apology for any action or words for which he/she was responsible. That is what we heard today from our president.

But, I’m more concerned about the comedic (but not so amusing) side of Obama that is emerging. He plays the cute and funny, cuddly and clever guy to avoid giving a straight answer. He NEVER answered the question the other night asking if his family and congress would utilize the same health insurance they were planning to force on us. Instead, he joked about how his doctor followed him everywhere. It got a chuckle. He tried to be cute by when he described and acted out how a doctor ponders a rates chart to decide on treatment for ‘your’ child, only to insult the entire medical profession. Then he made all the jokes about what would happen to him if he got locked out of the White House, only to jump into a tirade about bigotry in police departments across the USA. The laughter died rather quickly when he toted out that bag of crap and stepped right into it!

Then, again, today, he tried humor to cover the fact that he had not apologized, or at least, was not going to tell the press that he had. Instead he joked about the size of his lawn and having a beer with the good ole boys at the White House. For the first time, I think that he left poor Robert Gibbs in a very uncomfortable position, as everyone in the room knew he had only expressed regret over the RESULT of his comments, not over his own comments, true feelings and unveiled bigotry.

I’m sorry that hundreds of thousands of people bought into that glib, clever, cute oratory and never bothered to think about what the words meant. I am truly sorry about that.

Smart Enough, Mr. President!

2009-07-22T19:41:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

I also don't understand why Senator Obama voted against health care reforms in the past, but is wanting to push this plan through before it is even finalized, before he has even read what has been proposed! And, who are these people our President sited that had health insurance and couldn't get health care? I've never known of a soul with health insurance that didn't get treated.

Clear

He forgot to mention the letters he gets every day like this:

Dear Mr. President,

I’m not very intelligent. Hell, I’m too dumb for words. Too dumb to keep alive! Geeze! My neighbor’s German shepherd is smarter than me, and you think he deserves the space I take up. Your Tsars would rather keep the dog and kill my retarded baby!! I take up a lot of space, too. That’s ‘cause I love junk food. I want my transfats and sweet colas. I want to pick my own food, and my own truck and run my a/c as much as I want to keep my fat ass cool. I work at the gas station, so I pay my own bills. I get some exercise makin love to my wife and hiking while totin’ a gun to kill animals for steak and stew. And I drink a few cold beers while I cook that stew with my dumb buddies. For all you rich, educated, socialist, progressive folks out there who think I’m going to cost you too much money by getting fat and old and sick, let’s play tit for tat!

You want to tell me what doctor to see and what pills I can or can’t have and what temperature my thermostat can be set on and how new my truck has to be. What if I just came in your house every day and took your food and money like the Mexicans do to us? What if I moved 2 families in to live with you in your big house? What if I told your kids what school they could go to and how long they would have to volunteer in the slums before they could earn a salary? What if I were to tell you what kind of underwear you could have? What you want to do is just as personal!

Don’t worry. I won’t cost you too much money because I think I also have the right to ride my hog without a helmet and drive my truck without my seat belt. I may just contribute to the organ bank instead of becoming senile like most of you. Maybe I’ll even keep one of your kids alive! You never know. I do know, a few things, tho. I know you can’t tell folks how to live or what to buy or what to eat or how much exercise to get. Hell, do you think there’s anyone out here that doesn’t know if they are making unhealthy choices?? Do think we don’t know that smoking is bad? Do you think we don’t know hotdogs are made out of chicken butts and pig snouts? But, these are OUR CHOICES. You can’t legislate desires or values or morality or preferences.

You think I’m dumb and worthless …but I’m not that dumb. I know what liberty means. I know what the Constitution says. I know I love my pack of rug rats and I’m gonna work to become unnecessary to them. Oh, they’ll love me like I love my folks. But they won’t depend on me or on you for a life. That is, they won’t if you won’t treat them like babies and give them a government sugar-tit every time they turn around. So, I’ll just keep working to pay for the things that I want to choose for myself. If I get to the point that it’s too expensive, then I’ll either work more or choose less. Can’t get much better entertainment than rocking a baby in a cool evening breeze.

Thank you,
Mr. Common Man
Your Town, USA

No..No...No....No.....No.....NO!!!

2009-07-20T20:24:00.000-07:00

NO!! NO!! NO!! NO!!

NO more stimulus spending!

NO Cap and Trade!

NO National Health Care!

NO Value Added Tax!

NO benefits for illegal aliens!

NO more Federal agencies!

NO more Federal departments or Czars!

NO more Federal spending!

NO ACORN in federal programs!

NO more Taxes!

NO salary for you unless you balance our budget!

Leave me and my children some kind of a future!
Thanks to many of you who still believe in and govern by the constitution of the United States!

Proud to be an American

2009-07-20T18:44:00.000-07:00

Clear

I know what my constitutional rights are, and I know that the federal government is taking far more power and control over me right now than I want them to take. It’s nothing new. That’s why we have different political parties. Democrats favor an intrusive government that will regulate as much of our lives as possible to produce a ‘nanny nation’ that is dependent on them; and Republicans favor the individual’s pursuit of life, liberty and happiness through free, capitalistic endeavors to produce new products and a greater possible standard of living. Such a great standard of living is not a constitutional right. It is something for which we are free to strive and achieve.

The debate is not new. It’s been going on as long as the USA has been dreamed about. However, our founding fathers managed to find the perfect formula for a free nation that could grow and prosper, and lead the world. It’s called the Constitution. All of our congressional members and presidents swear to uphold it. They swear to keep us strong. They should be working to keep us as a world leader, a superpower, and an example for all other nations to follow.

Now greed has overtaken the oath to uphold the Constitution. Power begets greed. Greed begets corruption. Corruption negates our importance as individuals. The only way we have to take back our constitutional rights is to speak up! Speak with a fax. Speak with a phone call. Speak with an email. Speak with a blog. Speak with a tweet. Speak with a vote. Speak as you choose, but choose to be heard. Do not let our elected official become our masters instead of our servants!

Almost from the onset, discerning minds saw that the only flaw in this new government was complacency. In 1813, Alexis DeTocqueville said that the only threat to democracy in the USA was from within. The Communists during Eisenhower’s term said that we would lie down and take little doses of socialism, until we woke to find ourselves in the USSA (United Socialist States of America) instead of the USA.

Cloudy

So why are we here? Why are we allowing this administration to turn us into a socialist government? Is it because the generation that was seduced by Obama’s charisma is also the generation that failed to learn, or failed to be taught, just what our Constitutional rights are? I never really taught my children, because I never dreamed of a time when our government would try to go so far awry of democracy. I never dreamed that our government would bankrupt the next few generations of Americans. I never dreamed that a president would apologize for the grandeur and the power that the USA had accumulated through hard work, ingenuity, freedom and capitalism.

Are we here because the majority of Americans think we should be a welfare state? It looks that way.

Are we here because the majority of Americans think the government owes them a good job? There is NO Constitutional right to a good job, but you have the right to educate yourself and apply yourself to find one.

Are we here because the majority of Americans think the government owes them a good medical plan and good health? If you read the Constitution, you will find that is NOT the case! You have the freedom, however, to make decisions about how you will spend your money, how you will eat, how you will exercise, how you will educate yourselves to make good decisions about your overall health.

Are we here because the majority of Americans think the government owes them a good home? You have to right to protect your home, but you must EARN a home. You must contract for a home. You must work to pay for a home.

The federal government does not OWE us a home, food, clothing, education or recreation. It only owes us the right to achieve and gain these things through our own efforts. It’s what makes us Americans. It’s what makes our country rise above the rest. It’s what has made us a world leader, before our elected officials forgot what they had been elected to do. It’s what made us great before our President decided to apologize for our greatness.

Are you not proud to be an American?

NO, OBAMA! NO!!

2009-07-18T12:43:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

What in the world is this administration, Czars and our democratic congress doing??? It appears they are going to not only bankrupt me, but generations to come! And, why are they in such a hurry to do it? Why does it seem as though they are in the business of ‘ramma jamma dingdong’ governing? How can they make wise decisions when they don’t even take time to read bills? Do they really want to transform the USA into the USSA or the United SOCIALIST States of America overnight? (I think they should be required to spend one day per every 5 pages of a bill before they can vote on it. Maybe that would cut out the ridiculous pork and the NASCAR approach to duping the nation!)

Clear

I want to vomit. But, instead, I must work tirelessly to bring us back to being a free country, a capitalistic nation, a government of “we the people.”

I am very clear that I oppose big government, and I opposed the exponential growth of the federal government that we have seen over the last few months. I am very clear that I believe that the Constitution established the best possible government for people who desire to be free, desire to earn a living, and desire to think and invent and discover and improve the standard of living for themselves and others.

I am very clear that I can provide for myself. I have provided for my children. I have worked. I have paid my taxes. It has not been easy. I worked three jobs for many years after a divorce that left me with two very young children and very little child support.

I am clear that I do not want a National Health Care Plan. I have travelled abroad and have seen the yellow teeth. I have talked to people who cannot get appointments for themselves or their animals! They are willing to pay for good health care, but there is no one to pay.

Our health care system could use some reformation. Doctors should not have to pay exorbitant rates for malpractice insurance. They should not have to pay to protect themselves from people who neglect their own health, smoke, do drugs, live violent lives and come into emergency rooms for help, only to sue if any little thing is not to their satisfaction. I know that in my home town, most obstetricians quit their practice because of lawsuits over difficult births or birth defects in the children of indigent mothers who had spent the 166 days of their pregnancies drinking and/or using drugs without ever seeking prenatal care. That’s a fault of the law that allows these lawsuits, and those laws can be changed.

I also know that I have been spoiled by my medical insurance plan. I never realized it until I began to read about the “nanny nation” that our administration wants to create and began to look with new eyes at our constitutional rights.

I have the right to life (I can defend myself to preserve it, Judge Sotomayor!), liberty (I can choose to succeed and I can choose to fail), and the pursuit (may not get it, though) of happiness. The progressives of old chose for us. They made alcohol illegal and created a much greater evil in the violence of bootleggers and organized crime. Now these progressive want to extend our rights to good health and housing and adequate food and clothing and jobs. The constitution does not guarantee these things. It only guarantees our right to pursue them, as they are things that would bring about our happiness.

I do see, however, a difference in health insurance and health care.

I carry car insurance in case of a costly accident and/or injury. My auto insurance doesn't pay for oil changes or periodic tune-ups. It won't pay for a car wash or STP. I carry homeowners insurance in case of burglary or catastrophe, such as storm damage or fire. My homeowners insurance doesn't pay for normal roof maintenance, new paint or carpet cleaning. So why does my health insurance provide me with more than coverage in the case of catastrophic injury or illness? It just does. Maybe it shouldn't. Maybe this is where the system is "broken." Maybe I need to pay for my twice yearly dental visits and my eye exams and my well-checkups.

Someone suggested that we need to educate Americans about how to pursue good health. They KNOW!! You can’t watch television, listen to the news, read anything in print or online or look in the mirror without knowing you should exercise, eat more fruits and vegetables and give up smoking to be healthier. We KNOW that America is obese and that the number of cases of diabetes is rising as a result. We know! We CHOOSE however to live sickly lives. And we HAVE THE RIGHT to do so. If that costs us more, we should bear the cost. If I smoke, I pay more for my insurance. If I am obese, I pay more for my insurance.

I've never worked a day without a health insurance policy that allowed for periodic dental and vision exams, corrective lenses, yearly checkups and tests such as colonoscopies, mammograms, and pap smears. I've had to pay towards that policy and have had co-payments with each doctor's visit or treatment. It's something to which I’ve become accustomed. It’s something that has been offered.
I can live with paying for well-checkups. I am willing to take the responsibility for more of my own health issues. What I am NOT willing to abide, however, is for the federal government to tell me what I should eat, how I should live, what doctor I can see, what procedure can have, at what age I qualify for it, and/or how long I have to wait to be seen or treated. If people CHOOSE not to work, then they obviously choose to give up the benefits of a good income.
Instead of going to a national subsidized health care program, I would like to see the government back out of nationally subsidized ANYTHING!!

Don’t bail out a wino. Don’t bail out a bank.

Let those who want to succeed, and WORK to succeed, succeed. Government should do ONLY what we want it to do.

That means, citizens of the USA, that you must speak up! Don’t stay silent, wake up, and find out that your address has changed to the USSA.

You can speak out right now at: http://surveys.polldaddy.com/s/362D79E8E7A8B703/

Contact your congressional representatives: http://www.conservativeusa.org/mega-cong.htm

Prank This!

2009-07-12T00:09:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

I just got a tweet from a talk radio celebrity that I follow that suggested a good prank: Tweet to everyone that you are going to be gone for a week, then sit home with a shotgun!

This made me remember some really funny incidences!

I don’t know why pranks are fun, but they are. They’re just inherently funny like a public fart. Who doesn’t laugh? I never even tried not to laugh when a fart would cause an eruption in my classroom. Kids around the guilty party would jump up and start frantically waving the fart away with notebooks while some poor soul sat in his own stink with a red face. I just laughed along with everyone else, and got over it to continue.

I think it must be genetic, as my children are the same. We laugh at others’ misery. We don’t try to be cruel. We just can’t help ourselves. When our upstairs was being finished and their stepdad slipped off a ceiling joist and his foot came through to the room underneath, no one asked, “Are you ok?” He had crushed his manhood on that joist and we were laughing and scrambling to find cameras! Does that make us monsters? If so, I guess we’ve always been happy little monsters!

Clear

I love a good prank. I don’t mind being the patsy or the instigator. The first prank I can remember was when I was a very little girl. My mother had probably given her last ounce of energy for the day getting her 6 (at that time) children clean, quiet and in bed. We were all sleeping in the same room. It was summertime in the South before air conditioning, so the windows were open. DoDad pulled one of mother’s stockings on to his head and began scratching on the screen with low growls! We screamed and scared each other far worse than he scared us! He laughed until he cried. Or maybe he laughed until he saw mother’s face! She knew it was another hour before she would have us all quiet again!

Years later, my children were spending the night in a friend’s tree house. This was an awesome tree house with several rooms and real windows! They were up there with their host, a few cousins, and a few neighborhood kids. A couple of the fathers put on camo and face paint and got their deer grunts out. They sneaked up under the tree and started making horrible noises. My daughter, trying to be brave, grabbed a flashlight to look out of the window, instantly saw her own reflection the glass of the window, screamed bloody murder at the shock, and children came out of that house and tree as though a bomb had propelled them into space! I laughed until I cried as my father had done so many years ago!

Sometimes such laughable events happened by accident. My baby sister and I were drinking hot chocolate with mini-marshmallows in it once, and I did something stupid that made her laugh so hard that she spewed her hot chocolate through her nose! The big problem was that the marshmallows didn’t escape! While she continued to laugh, the marshmallows moved back and forth in her nose! We both almost wet our pants from laughing so hard. (And still do at the memory of it!)

Sometimes well-planned pranks can backfire. At age 26+ I had a very ugly but realistic, rubber Halloween mask. (I think I probably confiscated it off of a student, because I have no memory of shopping for it). But, we were having a Halloween party with our adult friends, so I put the mask in the toilet and lowered the lid. Now, we were serving drinks at this party, but for some reason, either no one used the bathroom or no one screamed, and I forgot about it. After the party, I got ready for bed, brushed my teeth and went to use the toilet, and wet the floor with a bloody scream when I opened the lid and saw the face staring up at me!!

Here are some other pranks that I’ve enjoyed through the years.

Of course, we have all tried the sleepover pranks. Get the warm water to a sleeping friend’s hand so he will wet the bed. Freeze your friends’ underwear overnight. Draw on someone’s face while they sleep. (Now, kids document the event with their cell phone cameras! Ouch! Those pictures end up in email and on the web!)

You’ve probably been a part of or witnessed the classroom pranks. Someone would move a chair back so a kid would fall on the floor. After Channel One hit the classrooms, every other kid had a universal remote in his pocket to change the channels. (I liked that prank, as I got a drawer full of these remotes from my students!) And of course, God help the teacher who had a pet peeve and let her students know about it! Complain about clicking ball point pens, and every single kid in the class would have one the next day, clicking away! We had a substitute teacher, Ms. Ruby, at Avondale Elementary. She would neglect her “chil’ren,” fall asleep, and we would all hit the playground!

DoDad loved for us to invite someone to supper. The guest always had to sit next to him at the end of the table, as that was the only place we could pull up an extra chair. He would spread butter as thickly as he could on a piece of bread, sniff it, and look confused. He’d then ask the unsuspecting kid if the butter smelled funny to him. It was all we could do to contain ourselves, knowing that, once the kid leaned over to smell it, DoDad would shove it into his face and leave two plugs of butter in his nostrils. Hilarity reigned!

My brother and I rode the escalator at Loveman’s all day one Saturday after leaving a dead cat in a shopping bag at the makeup counter. Finally, someone took the bag. We followed her out of the store just in time to see her grab the cat, scream and faint dead away on the sidewalk. We RAN to the bus stop and went home! Once we were safe on the bus, we laughed the entire 30 minute trip!

There are two pranks that I heard about that I think are the best cruel thing you could do to another person. One is to go into a bank and write, “This is a stick up. Give me all your money or you die!” on the back of a counter check. Put the check back in the middle of the stack and leave. Some poor slob is going to hand that to a clerk! The other takes a lot of preparation. Get a lot of helium balloons and a bottle of champagne. Hire a limo. But first, make a HUGE Publisher’s Clearing House check out to someone for $10 million. Go deliver it to a stranger, or have a stranger deliver it to a friend. Have that party! Drink the champagne! Take pictures of them with the check! Then just leave. OUCH!!

When I was the activities director at a Jeff Davis, the technology coordinator and I pulled pranks on several non-tech-savvy teachers. We would go into Word on their computers and enter an autocorrect command. We would tell Word that if they typed the word “this” or "that" to fill in with: “Fatal Error 239847. Contact technical services immediately. Do not close this program. Do not continue.” It was a hoot! And the funniest part was how impressed they were that we knew how to fix their problem!

I heard of a prank that I want to do when I’m shopping some day. I’ll collect spermicides, contraceptives, hemorrhoid creams, douches and other personal items and drop them into the carts of very prim and proper old people who could be embarrassed at the checkout counter. Hey! What am I saying? I AM AN OLD PERSON! Someone may do this to me!

If so, I hope I laugh until I cry.

Life is short! Have fun!

Speak Up, America!

2009-07-09T12:20:00.000-07:00

Clear

I know that the Constitution is clear on my role in our government. I am one of the “people” who not only has the right but also the obligation to participate in our government. It is my duty to make my wishes and opinions known to our elected representatives in the House and the Senate. They are there, after all, to do what we want them to do.

I also know that, in reality, the majority does not always win. In many cases, it is the vocal minority. That is fair. If citizens grumble at the water cooler or cusse at the television news, but never informs their elected officials of their opinions, then they have no right to do much but suffer in their silence.

I have been writing letters to our presidents and representatives since I first learned to write. My father wrote at least once a month. He had an old upright Underwood typewriter (some of you have never seen one of these!) and used the “hunt and peck” method of typing on thin typing paper, often making carbon copies. It was tedious. Mistakes meant strikeovers or “do-overs.” But he persisted because he was dedicated to being a part of the system and exercising his rights. He also frequently typed out letters to the editors of our local newspapers. He would allow me to add hand-written postscripts to his letters, and thus I learned a valuable lesson and developed a life-long habit. While my friends were collecting autographed photographs of Tab Hunter and Sandra Dee, I was collecting photographs of our presidents, with personal greetings inscribed on them.

Cloudy

What I don’t understand, though, is why it is still just as hard to communicate with Congress and the White House as it was 50 years ago! It is tedious. Word processing cuts down on the time needed to compose a letter, and makes strikeovers and strikeouts obsolete. But it still takes hours to print off enough copies to mail and to stuff the envelopes. If you want to fax copies, you have to run the same paper through the machine time and time again and pay long distance charges for each transmission. If you want to email, you must fill out a form on each individuals website, some more extensive than others, then copy and paste your message in, with some limitations on length. It can take hours and hours to reach all of Congress and the White House.

I would like for our elected officials to have published, direct email addresses. I would like to be able to create lists in my email for republicans, democrats, representatives and senators. I would also create a group for my home state, and selected committees. I would also like for Congress to have toll-free phone and fax numbers. It would increase the feedback, but that should be desired by those officials IF they truly wish to serve us.

Tips for Writing to Congress

Congress does pay attention to us. Concise, well-thought out letters should be sent rather than long-winded rants. There are many places on the Internet that welcome rants, and Congress does pay attention to social networking sites. So, write. Make it a periodic family activity.

Write to your local representatives the most often. You vote for them, so they are most likely to care.

Use proper grammar, check spelling, and use proper forms for the type of communication you choose. For example, a mailed letter should be dated, should open with “Dear Senator Smith” and should end with “Sincerely,” and your hand-written signature. Emails and faxes will have automatic time stamps. Some emails will include fields for your contact information.

Show that you are an informed citizen. Although Gilda Radner made a name for herself with her SNL mis-informed editorials, you don't want your letter to be dismissed because of any error in it. We've all heard people who call into talk shows that sound like idiots because they didn't do their homework!

Keep your communications short, concise, pointed and on one page. A good “template” to follow would be the following three paragraphs:

Identify yourself. Introduce yourself and give your credentials and your contact information. You don’t have to be anything other than “a concerned citizen from the 8th Congressional District.” That should be credential enough. However, if you are writing about a financial issue and have a degree in finances or are a banker, that is worth mentioning.
State your concerns. Give the reasons for the letter as facts, rather than as emotions. You can say that you are concerned because your elderly parents need special care, or because you have a child with special needs, but don’t get bogged down in the details of what they suffer and how it stresses you and/or your family.
Make your request. Give the name of the bill and ask for a “yea” or “nay” vote. Make sure you give the date of your visit if you are requesting an audience. Be specific on the action you want your representatives to take on your behalf.

Email addresses:

http://www.conservativeusa.org/mega-cong.htm

Email and snail-mail addresses (follow links):

http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

Living Green

2009-07-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

Cloudy

No one really knows if the affect we have on carbon dioxide or methane production will spell our doom. In the 1950’s, there were climate irregularities that were blamed on the communists and bombs! We’ve only been keeping weather data for 150 years or less, and we’ve only begun to interpret it. Computer models for the Greenhouse Effect are built on computer models for nuclear winter and dinosaur extinction. We’ve not experience nuclear winter and we were not on the earth to record dinosaur extinction. Scientists are doing the best they can, but they disagree.

Clear

I taught environmental biology and ecology for over 25 years on both the high school and college level, and have been the keynote speaker for Earth Day and Arbor Day events in central Alabama. I’ve also worked with community organizations interested in ‘greening’ their activities. We know human activities affect our environment, and we know how to live green, live wisely. I don’t advocate that anyone try everything, but pick a few and make a difference!

In the yard:

Use a mulching mower so that nutrients aren’t bagged and sent to the landfill.
A good stand of grass will choke out weeds, so go easy on the chemical weed killers.
Old newspapers can be used under pine straw to prevent weeds in shrubs and garden areas.
Put movement sensors on outdoor lights, or use solar lighting.
Start a compost heap for yard wastes, kitchen wastes and newspaper strips.
Plant deciduous trees near the house and coniferous away from the house, to let sunlight warm you in the winter.
Let shrubs grow large against the house if you have high summer cooling bills. Trim them back if your power bills are highest during cold winters.

In the laundry room:

Use half the recommended amounts of detergents and additives.
Try non-chemical laundry balls instead of more detergents.
Use liquids so you won’t inhale powders in the air.
Buy low phosphate detergents.
Wash in cold water.
Hang clothes to dry.
Buy clothing that doesn’t need ironing.

In the kitchen:

Purchase energy efficient appliances.
If you use but a few dishes/utensils a day, hand wash and air dry them.
Buy foods with little packaging, like fresh produce or bulk sizes.
Take bags with you to the grocery store (or any store).
Keep organic wastes separate for a compost heap to fertilize gardens and beds.
Purchase reusable plastic containers for leftovers instead of disposable plastic bags.
Buy ‘pick a size’ paper towels.

In the bathroom:

Purchase a low-flow shower head.
Purchase a toilet with a small tank, or put a plastic bottle full of water in the tank.
Use pump sprays instead of aerosol cans. Recycle the containers.
Turn off the water while brushing your teeth.
Re-use towels (at least once).
Wet, lather, rinse…and do not repeat. Instructions for most products are to make you run out fast and buy more.
Reduce your shower time or lower the level of water in the tub. If you must, savor the time and water once a week.
Use more ‘elbow grease’ to clean and scour, and less bleach-type products.
Rinse disposable diapers. Read the directions for their use and follow them.

In the garage/car:

Buy fuel-efficient cars.
Travel the speed limit to conserve gasoline.
Be faithful to the recommended maintenance schedule.
Sweep carports, patios and pool aprons instead of cleaning them with the power nozzle on the hose.

In the bedroom:

Use contraception/birth control. Plan your family.
Turn the television off when you are sleeping or out of the room.
Remove plastic from dry-cleaned clothes immediately.

In the home:

Install ceiling fans.
Use devices that will automatically turn equipment off if no one is in the room.
Install solar screens or storm windows, especially on east and west facing windows.
Set thermostats to allow you to be comfortable in sweaters during the winter and tanks during the summer.
Participate in your community’s recycling programs.
Put entertainment equipment and chargers on power strips that can be turned off at night.
Purchase energy efficient light bulbs. Turn lights off if not in use.
Increase insulation in outside walls and attics.

If you want to know why these practices are recommended, post a comment and I’ll be glad to elaborate. By adopting such practices, you will not only ‘save the planet,’ but you will save your pocketbook as well! Right now, most Americans need every penny that they can squeeze!

Cap and Trade

2009-07-06T14:34:00.000-07:00

Clear

I’m extremely clear on many things. I love my children. I know Mary Martin was the best “Peter Pan.” I return my carts at the grocery store. Turn signals are not optional. And, I am extremely clear that I do NOT want our elected officials dictating:

how often I can bathe, or how many towels I can use after my bath;
how I set my thermostats, or how many thermostats I can have in my home;
how many miles I can drive in a month;
how much money I can give to my grown children each year for birthdays and Christmas;
how many appliances I can run at any one time;
how many hours I can run my pool pump or how many treatments a month I can do for pristine, healthy, safe water;
how often I can burn a fire in my fireplace;
how much beef or corn I can eat in a year;
how many long-distance calls I can make or how many phones I can have;
how many lights I can have on at night or what kind of bulb can burn in them;
how much I can spend on clothing, groceries and/or entertainment in a year; and
how often I can have my nails or my hair done.

CLOUDY

What I don’t understand is why so many Americans are letting all of this happen by staying silent!

No. There is no bill before Congress that states how many baths you can have in a week, but, if you have energy bills that quadruple, or triple or even double, you are going to have to cut corners somewhere!

No. There is no bill that limits how often you can go to a spa or a salon, but if you have no job these luxuries will go by the wayside!

No. There is no bill that will dictate the temperature of my home, but if I can’t afford to run the heater, I’ll have to bundle up in the dark and the cold of winter.

Except for a desperate surge on the last day of the House debate and vote, not many called or emailed or faxed or signed online petitions or exercised their right to BE the government of the United States of America (or their pleas were ignored in favor of favors.) The phone lines and fax lines jammed on the final day, and the democrats kept putting off the vote on the Cap and Trade bill until they could add enough pork for those opposing it that they could “buy” the votes that they did not have at the time of the initial vote. (Why do our elected officials get to put off a vote, or call for a re-vote? If I don’t get to the polls on time, my vote/opinions/wishes/voice are not heard!)

So, I’m cloudy on why citizens are not involved with what their elected officials are doing and why the White House and Congress lie and cheat and make up their own rules to make things happen. I guess these two things go hand in hand. Children are always on their best behavior when they know someone is watching! (And, Michael Jackson died the day of the vote, so the networks, hell-bent on backing Obama, had the perfect excuse not to cover it.)

Basically the Cap and Trade bill is a 1,200+ page, complex and convoluted bill unread by most of Congress that is based on unproven, shaky science. (I taught Environmental Biology and Ecology for 25 years, and I never saw a period where the experts agreed on the results of the Greenhouse Effect or carbon dioxide or methane production. Now we have evidence that the EPA tried to hide information from us! Who meets their payroll?) The government intends to determine how much carbon pollution will be allowed, who can produce it and who can exceed it with the government’s blessing if they trade for their excess by buying rain forest acreage or some such local or… watch out…global action. Then, the government will hire people with our dollars to monitor the emissions, and will create an enforcement bureau that will be paid for with our dollars to do something that we have been steadily improving on for the last 30 years voluntarily without the tax cost or the government size growing by leaps and bounds!

Thirty years ago, my daughter would get excited as we would travel to Birmingham to see her grandmother and she could see the smog. “Oh, yea!!! We’re almost to grandma’s house!! I can see her dirty sky!” As the result of information, grass roots movements, some governmental regulations, free enterprise and capitalism enjoyed by large and small businesses alike, we got more energy efficient cars and appliances, clean water, clean air, and a greener environment.

We need to be good stewards of the Earth’s resources, but we do not have to sacrifice for other species. WE are a competing species on this planet! Species have come and gone long before man ever arrived, and they will continue to come and go. We just need GOOD science to let us make intelligent decisions about how to keep Homo sapiens here for as long as possible! When science tells us the truth, we will make good decisions. We will mulch grass and carpool and recycle cans and reduce packaging before we jump into our clean, cool swimming pools! I already installed storm windows, solar screens, and siding voluntarily to reduce my energy bills. It was my CHOICE.

This bill opens the door for the government to make your choice. It allows them to pick and choose who they want to favor and who they want to crush. And the Congressional leadership that we have now wants the power to do both. They have changed the terminology that they use to cover what they are doing, all while calling for “transparency.” (Does that mean some of us can see straight through what they are doing?) And they are trying to do it at a speed that would shame Superman! They want to shove it all through before citizens have the chance to catch on to what they are doing! Their models for environmental controls and socialized medicine have already been tried elsewhere and have already failed. It is an attempt to redistribute the wealth from average, hard-working citizens to Congress and their pocket-lining pets. It IS a tax. They just don’t call it a tax. They have dropped that word in the same trash can where they dumped “terrorism” and “war.” They spend our money to pay for air time to show infomercials that they have produced to brain wash us into going along for the ride with their charismatic figure head. (Can someone say “propaganda?”)

It hasn’t passed the Senate, yet, so get on the phone, the computer and the fax machine to let your voices be heard! You can find contact lists all over the Internet. They make it hard on us, as you must fill out an online form to email most of them, but give it an hour a day. Take an hour a day to be part of the government that is “of the people.” (An excellent site for ALL congressional contact information is: http://www.conservativeusa.org/mega-cong.htm) Do this long before the vote is due. Do it every day if you have the time. You can email 40 people while watching “America’s Got Talent.”)

If this Cap and Trade bill passes, hang on to your hats! Between it and the proposed national health care, we will freeze in the dark for the rest of our lives! Not because of lack of fuel, but the inability to pay for it. It will be the legacy we leave to generations to come.

If you want to 'green' America, read tomorrow's blog. It's a lesson I've been teaching since the '70s!

Heroes

2009-07-03T22:27:00.000-07:00

CLEAR

Independence Day! A time to celebrate and show gratitude to those who made America great: our founding fathers and heroes.

CLOUDY

I’m not cloudy on this, but I think too many Americans are. I don’t think many people understand or recognize the difference between a hero, a celebrity and an idol. I don’t really fault anyone. We simply don’t see as much heroism as we see celebrity.

During these past few days, we’ve lost several celebrities and one idol. To be a celebrity or an idol required that OTHERS see you in a special way. It doesn’t require heroics. It merely requires that you do something that appeals to someone else. Today, the news has been exclusively about Sarah Palin and Michael Jackson, a celebrity and an idol. A celebrity is a well-known person who is celebrated by others. An idol is a well known person to whom passionate devotion is shown. These people may or may not be role models. They may or may not be persons noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, or persons who have risked or sacrificed his or her life or serenity. They may or may not be heroes.

Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde, Ted Bundy, Jim Baker, Frank and Jesse, Elvis. All celebrities. None heroes.

Most celebrities and idols don’t last very long (unless they are captured on film), and the strangest of circumstances can produce them. I remember “the NEW girl” at Jefferson Davis High School. She was as pretty as 100 other girls in that school of 2400. But she arrived on a “slow news day.” We had nothing to talk about that day, so everyone began buzzing about “the NEW girl!” Students and teachers alike were finding excuses to get out of class to walk by the door of her current classroom to look at her. When she walked into the lunchroom, kids climbed up on tables to get a good look at her. It was insane! She withdrew from school after only a few days with us. I’m hoping she got to her new school on a day when there was a huge fight or a fire in the restroom and she could get in under their radar.

I went to a website that listed American heroes, and I had to disagree with most of the choices. All of the choices were excellent role models, but few had sacrificed anything for liberties or rights or justice or freedom or others. I believe a child that says “NO” to drugs or sex or gangs or other peer pressures is more of a hero than Bill Gates or Oprah Winfrey. I know my father is more of a hero than Paul Newman or Michael Jordan. I do not mean that these people are not good role models, are not influential, or have no following of fans. I’m just not sure that they sacrificed at the altar of courage and nobility.

Our young people should want to emulate Pat Tillman instead of Dennis Rodman. They should admire Ronald Reagan more than Justin Timberlake. They should appreciate Patrick Henry’s words more than Michael Jackson’s moves.

Yes. I loved to watch Michael move. Yes. I’ve been fascinated by Sarah Palin’s charisma and moxey. But charisma and the ability to be a good public speaker or to buy prime time on television does not make a hero.

On this Independence Day, teach your children about the people who gave us our independence. Teach them about the courage of George Washington, the sacrifice of Davy Crockett, the turmoil of brother against brother, the lives lost on battlefields and the hard decisions that informed leaders must make. Teach them about the Constitution. Teach them that THEY rule this country. The Congress should merely do what we want them to do. Teach them to speak up with their votes and their involvement in America, so that we can remain a democracy.

You may want to introduce them to Yankee Doodle Dandy, my 4th of July annual treat, or take them to a Tea Party! Have a good, safe holiday!

Automated Madness

2009-07-02T11:06:00.000-07:00

CLEAR

I hate getting lost in the land of automated answering systems!

CLOUDY

Why do you have to punch in your account number, only to have to repeat it again IF you ever get connected to a human being? “Please enter your account number so that we can access your records to make this call more efficient.” NOT!

Why doesn’t every company connect you to a living, sometimes-thinking, perhaps-able-to-help-you, human being if you punch ‘0’? Remember when ‘O’ was for ‘operator’?

Why, when you finally get a human being, is it always the wrong one! “I’m sorry. I’m in tech support. I think you need someone in billing.” Then, they transfer you to yet another automated answering service! Don’t they know how to call co-workers directly?

Why is the option I need NEVER one on the menu? Yesterday I needed, “To report charges to your account for which you are not responsible because some identity theft needs to go to jail, please press 7.”

Where do these calls go? I must have talked to about 16 different people yesterday trying to get a Verizon Internet situation cleared up, and only about 5 of them spoke without heavy, heavy accents. I had to ask 2 to transfer me to someone that I could understand. I’m sorry. But I just don’t hear Indian or Asian accents enough to be able to understand the words that they are saying in English. Are these answering services overseas where taxes and salaries are low?

Our system at work is problematic, too. Every call I get from anyone in any building shows the same return name and number on my phone! It’s a school system, so if a parent misses a call from a teacher at one school, the only number shown on caller ID is the central office. And, of course, the receptionist has no idea who called that parent anymore than I know who has called me. (Leave voice mails, for crying out loud!)

I was on the phone so long yesterday that my battery ran down and the phone ran hot. I feared damage to my ear, but feared having to start the whole process over from scratch worse! I don’t know that my blood pressure rose, but I do know that I got angry. If my call was “monitored for quality control purposes,” I know no one heard any cursing. THAT took a lot of self-control!

If, by using these systems, our bills stay smaller, then I’ll shut up and put up with it. It sure is wonderful, however, to be able to explain from the get-go what you need and be directed to the one and only person in the building who can solve your problem. Today I had to call the Retirement Systems of Alabama, a huge bureaucracy with great potential to make my blood boil. Not only did a human being answer the phone, but we had a very pleasant exchange and she connected me to an equally pleasant lady who answered my questions. If I hadn’t chit-chatted a little with these pleasant ladies, my call would have taken two minutes. If it's possible there, it should be possible anywhere.

I have become a Communicator!

2009-07-01T15:39:00.000-07:00

I have always been a communicator. I've been accused of being a 'yapper.' I've been a teacher and have 'yapped' at thousands of young people for 30 years. But, now I'm a 'typer.' I twitter and FB and chat and IM and email and now I will try to blog. Of course, I think I have something of value to share, but then I also have to question this new era of global influence that I've already entered! Who cares what I have to say? Why do I peep into the lives of folks that I don't know?

I guess a good bit of this is ego. I can go to the World Wide Web and have the largest 'class' that I've ever taught! I always liked 'struting my stuff' in front of a class full of kids. I knew I was a good teacher. I loved seeing the light bulbs go on in the faces of my students. I loved to laugh with them. I loved to lead them. I loved to learn from them.

So, now I will try to teach again. I learn something new every day by being connected to the world. Maybe a post here will touch someone or teach someone.

I'll include lessons my parents taught me.

I'll include my thoughts on current events.

I'll include some fond memories.

I'll include some hopes and desires.

I'll go beyond the safe subjects of 'news, sports and weather,' but I'll hit some trivial fun topics, too.

Put me on your list. Check it out as I get this blog-thing going!!