Then Again...That's Just Me

"You're Fat"......."Well, You're Stupid"

2011-12-01T10:47:00.001-05:00

The following is an excerpt from an article written by Rachel Dissell, for “The Cleveland Plain Dealer”……..

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“CLEVELAND, Ohio -- An 8-year-old Cleveland Heights boy was taken from his family and placed in foster care last month after county case workers said his mother wasn't doing enough to control his weight.

At more than 200 pounds, the third-grader is considered severely obese and at risk for developing such diseases as diabetes and hypertension”

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The article goes on to quote Mary Louise Madigan, a spokeswoman for the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services who said that the mother's inability to get her son's weight down was a form of "medical neglect”…..Keep in mind that this statement was made, in spite of the fact that records show the child's only current medical problem is sleep apnea….. and that condition is being treated successfully.

Right about now, someone is saying to themself…..”David, you haven’t written anything for some time now…...why did you choose this subject to start back up with your brilliant commentary?”…….Well, since you asked, let me first say…”thank you for the ‘brilliant commentary’ comment”….and secondly, let me say that ”this kind of crap, is the foundation for almost everything that is wrong in this country”

First of all, I agree that an 8-year-old should not weigh 200 pounds…..but then again neither should the 5 foot tall, 65-year-old woman, wearing spandex pants and a tube top….who was standing in front of me at WalMart yesterday. As much as I was hoping that the “fashion police” would swoop in and take her away….alas, it didn’t happen. And as hard as it is to admit this….it really shouldn’t happen. For one reason it would take a lot of the fun out of going to WalMart….but that’s another story. Back to the fat kid…….

So basically what we have here is a group of people (who are obviously smarter than everyone else)….who step in and take this kid away from his family….and put him in foster care. We all know what a good idea that is. After all, no kid was ever mistreated, molested, or malnourished (that’s all the “m” words I could come up with) in foster care…..right? And ALL kids from the foster care system end up mentally, physically and socially superior to kids who were not in the system….right? Leave the kid alone.

While you're pondering that......ponder this. Do you think that any of this kid’s teachers....case workers at the Cuyahoga County DCFS....or any of the other people who were so concerned about him…..smoke cigarettes? I only ask that since according to a 1997 California EPA Report on Secondhand Smoke… “53,800 people die every year from secondhand smoke exposure”….and “children are at significant risk”. While I’m certainly not an expert on the subject….I’m guessing that the number of kids who die from exposure to second-hand smoke every year….far exceeds the number of 8-year-olds who die from being fat. So the question is this: Should we take away the kids of all people who smoke in order to save them from a seemingly certain death from second-hand smoke? If we use the same logic as the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services….and the statistics from the California EPA Report….the answer is a resounding "YES"....and smoker's kids should not only be taken away from them…the smoker's should also go to prison for child endangerment. (A 3^rd degree felony in Ohio, if you're taking notes....Actually it's a 3rd degree felony in Ohio even if you aren't taking notes)

Do I really believe that? Of course not....but where does it end? What the government should do, is stay out of these type of situations entirely. If the kid was in immediate danger….then sure…someone should step in and protect him. But that wasn’t the case here. Everyone involved admitted that he wasn’t in any immediate danger. This action was done entirely based on the possibility of danger. What’s next? The government doesn’t like your religion, and feels that it could possibly have a negative impact on your children…so they come in and take away your kids? The government doesn’t like your political leanings…and they feel that it might cause some type of mental stress on your children….so they come in and take them away?

Before you say….”Oh that would never happen”…..think about this….Did you ever think the government would come in and take away a mother’s 8-year-old kid because he was fat? Of course not. This is just one more example of government over-stepping their boundaries…..just like outlawing “Happy Meals” in San Francisco. It is also the same type of governmental action that strives to completely take away a person’s personal responsibility. Even an 8-year-old should have a certain amount of personal responsibility for what they eat. After all, there were NO reports of the mother force-feeding the kid.

To all of you boneheads in government……listen up; For the most part, you can’t even do the jobs that you were elected or appointed to do….so until you get that under control…..stay out of everyone’s personal lives…and go back to whatever it is you’re supposed to be doing. If you continue to insist on being the self-appointed “fat monitors” for the country…..then I guess I will be forced to become the self-appointed “stupid monitor”. Then when we meet on the street, you can say to me “You’re fat” (which isn’t true)…....and in response I will be forced to say “Well, you’re stupid” (which, of course WOULD be true). Then Again….That’s Just Me

Keep Your Hands Off Of My Jet

2011-06-30T12:50:00.001-04:00

On Wednesday June 29th, while speaking on the evils of being what he considers “rich”….President Obama said the following…..“I think it’s only fair to ask an oil company or a corporate jet owner that’s doing so well to give up that tax break….I don’t think that’s real radical.” I can only think of one reason for a president to say such a thing (other than to get re-elected) and that would be that you are trying to stir up some type of class warfare between the proverbial “haves” and “have-nots”. One of the many problems with a statement like that, is that he included those who make $250,000 per year, in that group of “rich folks” (as he likes to refer to them)…..What’s wrong with that you say?….Well hold a minute and I’ll explain………

In order to make sense of all of this…..allow me to explain the reasons for me having my own private jet…..

It all started when I bought a private island in the South Pacific, and I needed a way to get back and forth to said island from my various vacation homes. Believe me when I tell you that even if you are making $250,000 per year, you cannot buy a private island these days, that is big enough to have its own airstrip. Not having my own airstrip makes things very difficult for me, because it forces me to land at the nearest island that does have its own airstrip. This, in and of itself (I really love saying “in and of itself”….) presents another problem. How do I get to MY private island from the one with the airstrip? Most wealthy people who make $250,000 per year would say…”Why don’t you dock your 55’ yacht at the island that has the airstrip….and then use the yacht to get to your private island?”…..To which I would snort “Duh….my yacht is not in the South Pacific…it’s at my beach house in the Caribbean….Mr. or Ms. Smartypants”. So what was I forced to do? The only sensible solution was to buy a helicopter. One that I could leave on the island that is big enough to have its own airstrip….then after my private jet lands there.....I use my helicopter to fly to my pathetic little private island.(pathetic in the sense that it doesn't even have an airstrip) You see Mr President, $250,000 just doesn’t go as far as it used to.

Since our president is so good with numbers….here are some numbers to consider. A used Gulfstream IV jet can be purchased in the $14 million dollar range. While that is a pretty nice jet….its wasn’t good enough for Nancy Pelosi when she was Speaker of the House. It seems that Ms. Pelosi made it clear that she wouldn’t fly on anything less than a Gulfstream V (G-5) A Pelosi aide wrote a scathing e-mail regarding the lack of availability of a G-5 during a particular Memorial Day break…..“It is my understanding there are no G-5′s available for the House during the Memorial Day recess. This is totally unacceptable......The speaker will want to know where the planes are”. I guess when the taxpayers are footing the bill, an elected official SHOULD demand a G-5, that sells for between $45 and $70 million dollars. Why would someone of Ms. Pelosi's importance settle for a trashy $14 million dollar jet? On another note....if you are going to run out this afternoon and buy yourself a Gulfstream V (and you know who you are)....keep in mind that even if you pay cash for your Gulfstream V (which should be no problem since you’re making $250,000 per year)…the average annual upkeep on a jet like that is in the $600,000 range. (again....paying $600,000 per year in upkeep on an obscenely high $250,000 per year income should be no problem)

Here is another problem with this whole discussion. Obama said that if he were elected president, he would be a “uniter not a divider”. Since he was elected however, he has proven over and over that he was lying through his teeth. He has attempted to divide people by race; black versus white…..latino versus black or white, by class; rich versus poor, by political party affiliation; Democrats versus Republicans…..Tea Party supporters versus Republican or Democrats, by religion; Christians versus pretty much everyone, and by political ideals; those who love America the way it was founded versus those who want America to be nothing more than another Socialist-style member of a one-world-government. Now it seems that he is even trying to divide the rich people who make $250,000 and the rich people who make $250,000,000. Yeah, I would say that he’s doing quite well at that whole “uniter” thing.

As far as I’m concerned, his statement on who is rich….follows right along with his thought process on other things as well. Remember that he (and fellow liberals) believe that a government can survive while continuing to spend far more money, year after year, than it takes in. With that “spending money that you don’t have” mind-set, it really shouldn’t be a problem for someone making $250,000 per year to have all of those things (private jet, private island, helicopter, etc.). It’s just money….if you run out, just print some more. (Oh wait…that’s illegal for you and me to do….Only the federal government can do that) Here’s another great idea using liberal thinking…..Why not take $150,000 of rich guy’s $250,000 per year income….leaving him with $100,000 to buy his island, jet, etc……Then give that $150,000 to someone else and let them be rich too? After all, we know that everyone is guaranteed those things in the Constitution.....right?

One last thought…..If a person making $250,000 per year can afford a “private jet” (obviously just a cheap one in the $14 million dollar range)….then wouldn’t it stand to reason that a person making $25,000 per year could afford a $1.4 million total piece of crap jet? Of course that would eventually lead the government to create a whole new “private jet class” for those who make an obscene income of $25,000 per year. In short….be careful who you pick on….you could be next. Then Again….That’s Just Me

I Need A New Credit Card.......

2011-06-01T11:08:00.001-04:00

A small group has gathered in a meeting room that smells of bad coffee and stale cigarette smoke. Half of the fluorescent bulbs are burned out…..and a number of the remaining bulbs flicker in that annoying way that makes you feel somewhere between dizzy and nauseous. I step to the podium….clear my throat and gather my nerve to speak. Then, before I can stop myself.....my mouth opens and the words “Hello, my name is David…and I’m a used car dealer” come rolling out. The group offers a friendly, but monotone response of…...”Hi David”. The hardest part is over…..and thus begins another typical meeting of “Used Car Dealers Anonymous” (UCDA) .

Actually, I made that up, mainly because I just wanted to start off with something different. (Although….I really am a used car dealer) While the main thrust of my business is that of selling pre-owned cars (or "pre-enjoyed" as we like to say)…..we also do some of the financing of those cars. For example; A customer comes in, finds a car that they like....then for whatever reason they don’t want to pay cash….or go get a loan on their own…..we will sometimes finance the car “in-house”. That means that I am loaning them my money to buy my car. Since it’s my car…..and my money….I want to make sure that they are credit worthy, and have the ability to make the payments. If they don't make the payments….then I could lose my car (unless I can hunt them down in order to retrieve it) It seems that no matter how hard I try to qualify the buyer/borrower…..there are times when it all goes bad. That usually means a loss for me….even if I repossess the car. With that said…..when I loan money…..I try to make sure if I am going to put my money and my car out “on the street” that the risk is as small as possible.

Believe it or not, I have had people who I have had to chase down in an attempt to get either my money or my car……who (when I finally catch up to them) have asked me the following question…..”Can I trade my car for something else that's a little newer or nicer?”. Unless you are a liberal Democrat, you can probably imagine my response.

Let me put it another way………

Let’s pretend that you own a bank and you have given a person a credit card. Over the course of time, they have managed to max that credit card out to its limit….and most of the time they are only paying the interest on the balance and the principle is continuing to grow. Then one day you get the following letter……..

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Dear President of “Then Again That’s Just Me Readers” Bank,

I am writing this letter to ask you to raise the credit limit on the credit card that I have with your bank. I assure you that I wouldn’t do this if it weren’t for the fact that all of my other credit cards are maxed out as well, and I am past due on the one from your bank…..so you can see that I really need it. Here is an update of my current status, so that you can make a more informed decision. I currently have no source of income other than what I can steal from other people…..and its obvious that my bills exceed that by quite a bit. I don’t plan on making any changes in my spending habits….although I do plan on trying to take more from the people that I am currently stealing from in order to be able to spend a little more. I see absolutely no way that I can pay you back in the near future (and possible ever), but I am insisting that you raise my credit limit so that I can continue to spend in the in the way that I am accustomed. I would appreciate you doing this as quickly as possible since I have bills that are overdue that need to be paid with this credit limit increase.

Sincerely,

Your Customer

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Does that sound stupid to you? If you are a fiscal conservative….then it probably does. If you are a fiscal idiot/liberal then it probably sounds perfectly fine. Unless you have been living in a cave for the last year or so….then you would know that it sounds exactly like what the Democrats in Congress are trying to do. They want to raise the nation’s debt ceiling so that that they can continue to spend money that we don’t have (and that isn’t theirs) on even more entitlement programs. Their solution isn’t to stop spending more money than they take in (like you and I would be forced to do)…..Rather their idea of fixing it, is to get a bigger credit card (raise the debt ceiling) and then take more from those who are already paying the most in taxes, in an attempt to pay for it. I think its time to not only refuse to raise the Country’s debt limit……I believe that it’s time to tell all of those in Congress who have access to the Country’s credit card….that we are not raising the debt ceiling…..in fact, we just lowered your credit limit……So live within your means without raising taxes….or we will find some fiscally responsible people who will do it the right way…..Then Again….That’s Just Me

From The Son Of A Sharecropper…..To A Success…….

2011-04-15T11:43:00.000-04:00

This piece is not necessarily intended to be a history lesson…..rather I would like to look at it as a prediction of future events, based on previous events. (what a concept...huh?) However if you read it and learn something……then I guess that’s ok too.

After the Civil War, many farmers in the south faced a conundrum of sorts. It seems that they had land…..but they didn’t have money to pay for labor. On the other hand, the former slaves and poor whites had labor…..but didn’t have land. The solution for many, was an agreement between the parties that was referred to as sharecropping.

The way that sharecropping worked was that the land owner would allot a piece of land to the sharecropper…..and in exchange when the crop came in, the sharecropper would have to give the land owner a percentage of the profit from the sale of the crop. This might sound good to some people….but the problem was that the sharecropper often had to purchase their seed for planting from the land owner at an inflated price. In addition, during the time between planting time and harvest time….the sharecroppers often had to purchase their farm tools…..their food….their clothing…..their lodging….and other necessities from a store owned by the land owner. These items were mostly purchased on credit....and had to be deducted from the sale of the crop before there were any profits to be split. (Please stay with me…..I promise I’m going somewhere)

While this might sound like a wonderful arrangement…..often when the crop came in and the amount owed to the land owner’s “company store” was paid off…..there was no profit to be split. In fact…often the amount owed to the “company store” was more than what the crop had sold for. This meant that in order for the sharecropper to be able to try again next year….they had to borrow even more from the “company store”. Year after year this happened…..until in the end…..someone who was freed from slavery by a horrific, bloody Civil War…..once again became nothing more than a slave to the land owner and his "company store". The only difference this time was that the land owner wasn’t buying his slaves at a slave auction…..rather this time it was due to the sharecropper owing everything (and more) to the land owner. The end result was someone who was once a “free man”......was again a slave because of a complete dependence on the land owner under the title of sharecropper. While the title was different…..a slave is a slave.

Fortunately there were some sharecroppers who rose up and through hard work and perseverance were able to make a profit. While this enabled some of them to free themselves from the situation……it allowed others to at least offer a different life for the next generation.

The book “Sharecropper’s Son” (written by Susan D. Brandenburg) …….chronicles the life of Doc Garland Granger who at the age of 6 was working in the tobacco fields of North Carolina. Mr Granger, now 94 years old, has become an icon of the steel industry, a successful hotelier, restaurateur and real estate developer. He is also a yachtsman, philanthropist and philosopher.

Then there is Ruth Simmons Stubblefield….the daughter of a sharecropper who worked from sunup to sundown in the cotton fields of Grapeland, Texas. Since she was too young to pick cotton…..while her 11 brothers and sister worked in the fields alongside their father……Ruth read books and studied. Later in life….because of the sacrifice of her family and her own determination to succeed…..she graduated from Harvard with a Ph.D…..and then later went on to become the President of Brown University.

These are only two stories of how a person went from a total dependence on someone else……to being successful and self-sufficient. While there are many others……I assure you that there are far more who worked in the sharecropping system until they died……even to the point of creating a multi-generational system of failure for their children and grandchildren as well. This was because the concept of sharecropping was one that created a total dependence on the land owner. A dependence that was so great that it often led a person who was once free…..back into slavery.

So where am I headed with this?

Any person who thinks that they can take from the federal government and eventually not owe them…..is either stupid or sadly mistaken. The federal government is nothing more than a modern-day adaptation of the land owner and his “company store”. Taking from them might sound good……and it might even seem to be a necessity…..but be assured that eventually you will pay. It might not be in dollars…..but you will pay. In the same way that we saw that there were multi-generational sharecroppers……today we are seeing a culture of multi-generational recipients of government entitlement programs. When this happens at that level…..it often becomes acceptable to those involved. Maybe not to everyone….because sometimes there are those who rise above it......although I will assure you that they are a small fraction that group. According to the United Press International (UPI)….one in every six Americans is receiving some type of help from the government. (And we wonder why this country is broke) This can’t continue. If we get to the place where the majority of people in this country are receiving government assistance……a couple things will happen. Those in power, will remain in power…..and although you may call yourself free……the government will own you.

My fear is that that stories from the past……”From The Son Of A Sharecropper….To A Success”……will someday be written for my son as…..”From The Son Of A Success…..To A Sharecropper”. Then Again….That’s Just Me.

Eleven Things That Should Be Against The Law……..

2011-01-27T11:14:00.002-05:00

In an effort to make our society safer, I have compiled a list of eleven things that should immediately be written into law. I feel that these things should not be mere suggestions….NO !!! These should be hard, fast laws that require the offender to spend a specific amount of time in prison.

They are as follows……..

1) The killing of another person

2) Robbing a convenience store, liquor store, or any other type of store with a gun, knife, baseball bat (or the kind of bat that flies and lives in a cave….as well as any other flying mammal in the order Chiroptera…including, but not limited to flying squirrels, gliding possums and colugos)…..or any type of sharp or blunt instrument that could cause bodily harm.

3) The use and/or selling of cocaine (powdered), methamphetamine, crack cocaine, LSD, Heroin, or any other drug that can lead to addiction and death

4) Driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol

5) Child pornography

6) Child abuse

7) Taking advantage of handicapped or elderly persons

8) Rape, sexual abuse

9) Identity theft

10) Harming a helpless animal

11) Wearing white after Labor Day

Some people right about now are saying to themselves…..”I think those are darn good ideas….let’s do that”. Others are saying…..”Uhhhh….all of those things are already against the law you moron”….and they would be correct. (well except for wearing white after Labor Day…and that one should be).

So what’s my point? Please read on………

In the light of 4 police officers being shot and killed in Florida within the last month…..some lawmakers are starting to talk about passing what they refer to as “stronger gun control laws”. My response to that is…..”Really?....do you think that will help?” I laugh every time I see a sign on the outside of a building that says “No Firearms Or Weapons Of Any Kind Allowed In This Building”. Here’s why……Let’s say a disgruntled former employee or angry husband is going there to exact revenge on former fellow workers or a cheating wife…..He goes and gets a gun….drives to the office with the idea of killing his wife or as many others as possible. He pulls into the parking lot….gets out….walks to the door and sees that sign and says to himself….”Oh crap….my plans are thwarted, because guns are not allowed in the building…I guess I’ll just go home and forget about my sinister plan of killing massive quantities of people”. That’s how it would end right? (After all….there’s a rule against taking a weapon into the building). NO….he would walk in and start shooting just as he planned….and the only people who wouldn’t have guns would be those who pay attention to the rules….so in this case they would be helpless to defend themselves against someone who doesn’t follow the rules.

I said all of that to say this…….Laws and rules only apply to those who are willing to follow them. If a person is strongly motivated to kill someone…..is there any chance that even though owning a gun might be illegal….that the law alone would stop them? Of course not…..Why, you ask? (lean in really close to your screen)…..BECAUSE THERE IS ALREADY A LAW AGAINST KILLING PEOPLE AND YOU’RE WILLING TO IGNORE THAT ONE….SO WHY WOULD A LAW AGAINST HAVING A GUN MATTER ????!!!!! All of the things listed in the beginning of this piece, are already against the law….(except the Labor Day thing and you know how I feel about that one)….and it hasn’t…doesn’t….and won’t stop people from doing them. Some people would argue….”Well then why have laws?” Well, because without laws, we would live in total anarchy. Someone once told me that locks on doors were for the honest people…..That same logic is why we have laws……so that “law-abiding” people can live in some type of order. There will always be those who ignore the law and do whatever they want to do….My argument is that you don’t take away my car (and everyone else’s car) in order to stop people from driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. You don’t castrate all men, in order to assure that there will not be any more rape, sexual abuse, or child pornography. You don’t outlaw playing baseball….so that there will be no need to make baseball bats….with the logic that it will stop someone from robbing a 7-11 with one of those evil bats.

Here’s what I think………….if a person walked into a business, or broke into a home with the idea of robbing or hurting someone….I believe they are more likely to have second thoughts about their actions, if they knew that there was someone in that business or home who had a gun….than they would simply because there was a law saying that you can’t do that…..or a sign that says “Please Don’t Kill Anyone Here”. As for me.....I think I'll just keep carrying my gun. Then Again….That’s Just Me

What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

2011-01-21T11:32:00.000-05:00

Last night (through a series of unfortunate events) I endured a great deal of pain. In case you’re wondering if I know what pain really is…..here’s a picture of what happens when you “play” with fireworks that you are not familiar with…..This is a picture of my hand on the evening of July 4^th, 2008…..

With that picture in mind, let me assure you that what I endured last night was nearly as painful. What could possibly that painful you ask? The answer in two words is……”Jersey Shore”. Someone is probably a bit offended right about now…..saying “but it’s JUST a TV show”. Yes it is a TV show…..but not just any TV show. It is also a very popular TV show. According to an article written by Bill Gorman, and published on the website “TV by the numbers”……..The January 6^th, 2011 “season premiere of MTV’s 'Jersey Shore'……drew 8.45 million viewers”. Mr Gorman went on to say that it ranked as “MTV’s highest rated series telecast ever”. Yeah, but who’s watching it, you might ask? According to “The New York Times”…… “In the 10 p.m. hour, “Jersey Shore” crushed everything else on television in the audience most desired by advertisers ….viewers between the ages of 18 and 49……'Jersey Shore' totaled 5.461 million viewers in that age group at 10 p.m....dwarfing the two network dramas at the hour”. The article goes on to say that “ ‘Jersey Shore’ has one of the youngest median ages of any show on television, at just over 22.4 years old.” So at least Grandma and Grandpa aren’t up watching this stuff…..so that’s good isn’t it?

So what’s the show about…you ask? For those of you who have never watched the show, you might be shocked at the content…..and for those of you who love “Jersey Shore”, you might be shocked that I find it so offensive. The basic premise of the show is that you have a group of 9 “twenty-something” adults (using that term "adult" VERY loosely here) who live in the same house….and whose lives revolve around the 4 basic needs of every 12-25 year-old. Those 4 basic needs are of course drinking….dancing…..spray-on tans…..and having sex. Work is a very minor part of each of their lives. They work in a t-shirt store for a few hours a week…..but only when it doesn’t interfere with the important things in life (you know, the drinking, dancing, spray-on tans, and having sex). And there you have it……

The good thing is that at least the actors are intelligent.....and those 12-25 year-olds who watch the show can garner tidbits of wisdom that are spoken throughout any given episode. Such as this gem by “Snooki”……."Every time I get really excited, like if we go to a club, I have to poop my pants. If we go to a party, I have to poop my pants, if I go on a date, I have to poop my pants." Isn’t that just precious? Or here’s another one by that little cutie “Snooki”…. "This is the things I think I’m addicted to: Bronzer, boys and alcohol. I’m f**ked up." Now those are certainly words that a Dad could be proud to hear coming from his daughter’s mouth. How about this one (by Snooki as well)….. “I don't want to drink anymore, but I feel like if I was sober, I'd be bored” Wow…..isnt that the truth? Being sober for a while REALLY sucks.

If your saying to yourself….(or to a loved one sitting next to you)…”Oh he’s such a prude….he must be like 40-years-old or something”…..then you are probably bored by now….and you can stop reading. For the adults in the room….please continue…...It certainly seems that MTV has a real winner on their hands with “Jersey Shore”. Just look at the advertisements during the one episode that I watched…..There was of course one ad for an early pregnancy test. That is vital to those whose lives revolve around drinking massive amounts of alcohol and then having sex with whomever you “hook-up” with before you go home. And then there was the other commercial for the “Plan B One-Step” pill. The commercial offers a next-morning solution for someone whose birth control failed….or if they had unprotected sex. And the good part is that it is available without a prescription (as long as you’re at least 17-years-old). Of course the advertiser makes it clear that this is NOT the “abortion pill”. Well I feel better….because that would be just down right trashy.

It seems that in the post Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan era….that we needed some role models to step up and show our kids how to get ahead in life. These 3 were among a group of “role-models” who taught kids that the most important thing in life is being famous. It doesn’t matter what made you famous, just become famous....(i.e. being falling down drunk in public, repeated DUI’s, not wearing underwear….even though you know when you arrive at your destination there will be a thousand photographers there to take your picture as you exit the car, etc…..you know all the important things in life). If you still don't believe that shows like "Jersey Shore" heavily influence the minds of young people...and that they're just "entertainment"....how about this fun fact.... It has been reported recently, that many young girls are now getting pregnant just so they could have a chance to tryout for...and possibly be on another MTV hit series “16 And Pregnant”, and its successful spin-off “Teen Mom” (I'm not kidding). It seems that for some young girls, these shows are nothing more than the teen-age promiscuity version of "American Idol". My question is.....what ever happened to going to college and finding a career? In my opinion…..for far too many young people today….the answer to the question asked in the title of this piece, would be “A drunken, slut dancer with a nice tan”. Then Again….That’s Just Me

“Capitalism Is Nothing More Than Stealing”……………

2011-01-04T12:35:00.000-05:00

As some of you may have noticed…I have not been writing much in recent days. (and for those of you who didn’t notice…I can only ask…”Why not?”) It’s not so much that I didn’t have anything to say, as it was that I had so much to say….that every time I sat down to write, all of my thoughts crashed onto the keyboard in a flood of anger and frustration…..causing me to think….”Why bother?”…along with “When I do write, people get all pissy….and it probably isn’t going to make a difference anyway…so why put up with the aggravation?”. So after much consideration….I have decided to write anyway. If what I say makes no difference….so be it. At least I tried. If what I say pisses you off….then so be it. While I wasn’t trying to do that (ok…maybe just a little)….if that happens to be the outcome….all I can say is “Oh well”.

With that said….let me tell you a little story……Please read this story all the way to the end….even if you get mad at me in the middle….

Recently I was having a political conversation with a man who is around the same age as me. (For those of you who don’t know me…that’s around 37 years old….for those of you who DO know me…that would be 51 years old). This man was very clear in his stance against capitalism. He said that capitalism (or making a profit) was nothing more than stealing from the consumer. Of course being the evil, profit-making capitalist that I am….I disagreed. I did however ask him to explain. Here is the jest of his explanation. He used me for an example. (I was flattered) He said that people should only be paid when they actually do physical work….He explained to me that what I do....isn't really work. This is because all I do is buy an item (in my case those items would be cars)….mark it up…and sell it to someone else for a profit. In his opinion….that isn’t work….it is stealing. He went on to say that I shouldn’t be allowed to make a profit on those cars……because it isn’t fair to those people who must work a manual labor job in order to pay for that car. He believes that “work” is only performed when you are producing an item….not when you are selling that item. (Hold on….I’ll get to my side of it in just a minute). He also believes that the government should provide shelter, food, education and transportation for everyone who works….and that no one should be allowed to become “rich” at the expense of others.

My rebuttal…….

First of all….let me tell you that I have worked very hard for almost 30 years in the “car business” in order to be able to do what I do today. (and that would be continuing to work hard) During that time, it required that I work a lot of 70-80 hour weeks…that I worked when I didn’t feel like it….and that I worked when I didn’t even like my job. But I did all of that so that I could succeed....and eventually that hard work paid off. I went from selling cars…to being in management within the first 5 years that I was in the business….and then finally to a place of owning my own company. I assure you that none of that came about by NOT working. (all of the people in the ‘car business’ say ‘Amen’ ”) I might also add that over the course of those 30 years of “stealing” (as my friend so aptly put it)…..I have paid a LOT of income taxes…..I have spent a LOT of money in my community….and most importantly….I have given a LOT of that money away to charitable organizations….and to people who have not been as blessed as I have been. All in all….I can say that much of the money that I made by “stealing”, has benefited those around me almost as much as it has benefited my family and me. So if that makes me evil……so be it. For all my liberal friends……let me throw this in as well; “When the percentage of your income that you give to others, meets or exceeds mine…..then I might listen to you whine about the evils of capitalism…until then….shut your pie hole”. What many liberals….and hardly any politicians realize….is that making a “profit” is necessary. Call it evil if you like….but unlike the federal government, businesses cannot operate on deficit spending. When a business ceases to make a profit…..they cease to exist. That means that the evil capitalist business owner…..who is (or was) making a profit (or “stealing”…by some people’s account)…..will no longer be able to hire people to do manual labor….skilled labor…or any other kind of labor. But I guess that would be best….right? At least no one is being taken advantage of….and we can all stand in line together at the unemployment office.

Here’s the best part of the story……..(Some of you will find this harsh, but it is important to the story….so please read on…..especially if you agree with my friend’s side of the argument)…….

The person with whom I had this conversation…..isn’t even a citizen of the United States. Oh, he’s lived here for over 20 years….but he’s not a citizen. He's from a small European country that is (of course) a socialist country. Did I also mention that until recently….he was homeless? I say “until recently”…. because now he lives in a tent on a piece of my property….He has electricity and cable TV (that I provide)….and if it gets too cold or wet...I provide him a place indoors…..All of this at NO charge to him. He also receives food stamps….(not directly from me….those actually come from the government...probably via some evil capitalist person's tax dollars)….which is very handy for him….because it frees up what little money he makes, so that he can buy large quantities of alcohol. I don’t say those things to degrade this man….I say these things to make a harsh, but valid point….If I wasn’t “stealing” from people by making a profit (i.e. capitalism)…..this guy wouldn’t have a place to live….If I wasn’t “stealing” from people...so that I could pay taxes….he wouldn’t have food stamps.

If you happen to be among those who agree with this man...(which means you disagree with me)....then you will probably get your knickers in a swivet over what I am going to say next. If you are living in the United States...in a situation that is similar to this man's....the next time you feel compelled to complain about the evils of capitalism, here are a few suggestions: First of all, maybe you should consider returning to your home country, where socialism is the preferred form of government (because it sounds like it was a pretty sweet place to live....although that wouldn't explain why you left there in the first place)...Secondly, before you complain about our system of commerce here in the United States...maybe you should wait until you have gotten out of earshot of that evil guy who believes in capitalism…(you know….that same one who is helping you survive)….and lastly...at the very least, as you are bashing capitalism and the evil capitalists....try not to talk with your mouth full of food that you bought with food stamps, that were provided to you by the tax dollars of those of us who work. Then Again….That’s Just Me

Body Scanners....Terrorists....Blind Hogs.....And Rocks

2010-11-12T11:28:00.001-05:00

Recently I made a statement (mostly as a joke) about the “body scanners” that are being used by the TSA, at some airports. The point of my “joke” was that I really didn’t care if someone wanted to see a somewhat distorted image of what was under my clothing. While I had people on both sides of the issue offering their opinions (which I ALWAYS welcome)….there was one person's comments that at first intrigued me….but alas, in the end....just kinda' pissed me off…….

Here’s an overview of the conversation…….

ME:.......“My thinking is that a security mistake on an airplane is not very likely to end well.....You cant say to some idiot with a bomb down his pants...’Hey you...sit down....Don't make me have to land this plane and come back there’....Its not a frickin' bus...While I feel that many of the TSA people are probably not the brightest french fry in the tool shed (see malapropisms).... even a blind hog can find an acorn every now and then....and if that "acorn" happens to be on the plane that my family is on....and that "blind hog" happens to be the screener of the day....then I guess I wont complain. YES....I have been delayed...and YES I pissed and moaned about it....but I got over it. This whole thread started as more of a joke about what the screeners might, or might not see...and has turned into this. Thankfully we can still debate these issues....and agree or disagree with one another. (of course if you disagree with me...you are wrong...but that's ok. It probably wont be the last time for either.....lol)”

That was polite enough….right? I guess not….here’s a response from someone who disagreed (and was obviously not only wrong, but somewhat delusional)…….

SOMEONE WHO DISAGREED (and was obviously not only wrong, but somewhat delusional):.........“I will not subject myself to any kind of nano-radiation, nor will I let them pat me down, nor feel me up. Don't worry about getting blown up, you don't live with that fear, but the people in the Middle East do. Who is blowing who up. I don't believe this is about OUR security. Those alleged bomb threats were plants by people within our own agencies. Doing extensive research will show enough evidence of that fact. Don't be fooled. I just believe, that if ever there was a bomb explosion within the US, then more than likely it was one of our own, a dual agent, who dunnit.”

And finally….my response…….

ME:......“Wow...I'm not sure how to respond to that. I have never been ‘felt-up’ while going through a line at the airport. I'm guessing that you are not planning on doing much flying in the future....if you are not going to allow any kind of screening.

You said ‘don't worry about getting blown up......the people in the Middle East do’....Can whoever (or is it whomever) is blowing up the people in the Middle East not make it over to here and get on one of our planes....or are you insinuating that the U.S. is blowing up the people in the Middle East?

The events if 9/11 were not ‘alleged bomb threats’....although my son is in NYC right now somewhere near where the World Trade Center was.....and I can have him look and see if all of that stuff we saw on TV was made up...and those two massive towers are still standing......(just a heads up...a couple hours ago...he told me that they were gone)

Here are some facts......as much as you might want to believe that the US government is blowing things up and causing all of these "alleged bomb threats"....there are a couple things that you should consider

1) There is VERY little that can be done by the government, that 50,000 people dont know about (so its hard to keep secrets)

2) There is a LARGE number of people within the Muslim religion who want to kill anyone who isn't a Muslim (i.e. Americans, etc) How do I know that?.....Stay with me for a minute. There are approximately 1.4 billion (with a "B") Muslims in the world. The estimates on how many of those are extremists range from 1% to as high as 14%. Let’s go with the 1%. That means that there are approximately 14 million people in the world who feel that it is their duty to kill Americans and any others who are not Muslims. Now I know that the number of employees in our US government has grown to a ridiculous size.....but it doesn’t even come close to 14 million....in fact it’s under 3 million.

My point is this....I'll take my chances against 3 million federal employees (many of whom are dumber than a rock) as opposed to 14 million radical nut-jobs who feel as if their religion is requiring them to kill me. Keep in mind that the Islamic extremists are willing to die for their beliefs...and a lot of Federal employees aren’t even willing to WORK to get a paycheck....much less spend any time off the clock plotting to kill me.

WOW....I guess I DID know how to respond to that after all”

So there you have it…..After that little “back and forth”….this person un-friended (or de-friended, I’m not really sure what the official term is) me and blocked me as a “Facebook Friend” (and I am currently in therapy as a result of that trauma)….Seriously? Can we not have an honest debate over issues without someone getting their “knickers in a swivel”? (thank you Jack Harris for that phrase) After reading back over this “conversation”….I came to three possible conclusions…..The first was that this person was a "radical nut-job" terrorist, who was planning to sneak an underwear bomb onto a plane….and didn’t want me to expose her evil plot. Secondly....she was a "blind hog" and was offended by my "blind hog/acorn" reference. And lastly (and probably MUCH more believable)…..was that this person worked for the federal government and again didn’t want me to expose her evil plot. Of course THAT evil plot would NOT be that she was a “double agent”…..rather just an overpaid rock. Then Again….That’s Just Me

The Election Is Over…..And My Neck Still Hurts

2010-11-03T10:59:00.003-04:00

For several weeks prior to yesterday's election...I read…listened...and watched the statements of those who were running for office...as well as the comments of many others regarding those statements. I have to honestly say that many times my only reaction was to shake my head back and forth and say….”We are without a doubt headed to hell in a hand-basket”. I heard candidates make blatant statements proclaiming their socialist leanings or in some cases totally embracing socialism…..and then see that there were actually those who would (and did) vote for them anyway. And I would just shake my head. I watched people in Congress who not only completely supported the out of control federal spending of the past several years….they insisted that the best way to get out of debt was to spend even more money….and then see that there were people would actually say…”yeah that sounds good to me”. And I would just shake my head.

Now the election is over….the Republicans have won the House of Representatives, they have closed the gap in the Senate, and have made tremendous strides in many state and local races...and as happy as I am….I still find myself shaking my head…(and honestly…my neck still hurts). The fact is that I still see an awful lot of head shaking in my future. Why, you ask? Well since you asked….I’ll tell you

356,969 people in South Carolina voted for Alvin Greene. This is the guy who instead of making a concession speech after losing his run for a South Carolina Senate seat….told reporters that one of his ideas for stimulating the economy was to create an “action figure” of himself. The character would be known as the “Ultimate Warrior”….and Greene described his action figure in the following way…. "This superhero is greater than……um Batman, Superman, Spiderman, the Incredible Hulk…..and all those other characters…..He can see into the future. He is faster than Maurice Green and he can outleap (Michael) Jordan" Then Greene went on to say…."I see projects like this…..what is DeMint offering y'all -- just more gridlock….. Politics". 356,969 huh?....And I just shake my head.

The people of Nevada (or at least the unions of Nevada) have re-elected Harry Reid. Of course, this IS the Harry Reid who single-handedly saved the entire world economy. A few weeks ago Harry said this….”So people have been hurting and I understand that. And it doesn't give them comfort or solace for me to tell them, you know, but for me, we would be in a worldwide depression”…..Wow…sounds to me like Alvin Greene’s “Ultimate Warrior” is going to have a run for his money in the super-hero world. In spite of that…..Harry Reid won over 50% of the vote in Nevada…..And I just shake my head.

In race after race….especially in California….I look at how people voted and I shake my head and say to myself….”How did these people even find their way to the polling place”…(Actually in a lot of cases the Democrats sent buses out to pick them up….so that explains some of that)

But here’s the really big one that almost makes my head fall off…from the violent back and forth shaking………

In spite of the Democrats getting slaughtered in elections all across the country…..because of the economy….out of control spending….unemployment at almost 10% (or much higher in some areas)…..and a complete disconnect from what most Americans are facing in their lives…..President Obama is getting ready for yet another trip.

Oh….but not just any trip. This trip will include the president and around 3000 other people....including (but not limited to) Secret Service agents….other US government officials…..and of course journalists. So that’s ok…right? Well, before you answer….let me tell you that it is going to cost the US taxpayers $200 million dollars per DAY. Let me say it again…(this time a little bit slower)...$200 million dollars per DAY. Let me do the math for you. If the trip lasts for 5 days….that’s a BILLION dollars of tax money that is being spent on a 5-day presidential trip to India. Still having trouble with those numbers?..... Let’s break it down a little more…..

If you make              It would take you this long to pay for this trip

$50,000 per year           20,000 years

$100,000 per year         10,000 years

$250,000 per year         only 4,000 years

All I can say is that if you plan on going on a trip like this some day……NOW is the time for you to start saving……OR the alternative would be to befriend Alvin Greene’s “Ultimate Warrior”….or Harry Reid (the man who saved the economy of the entire world by himself)….and see if they can help you out…..If you paused to think about the validity of that suggestion….I would guess that you actually voted for one of them….and if so….I blame you for my neck hurting….because AGAIN I’m sitting here shaking my head. Then Again….That’s Just Me

Call Them Whatever You Want…..They’re Still Muslim Terrorist

2010-10-22T11:43:00.000-04:00

I have about had with those who get their panties in a wad every time someone says that Muslims attacked us on 09/11/01. It is a fact that on that day, all of those who hijacked planes and crashed them into either buildings or into the ground....with innocent people aboard….were Muslims. I don’t have to add “extremists” to the description to get the story right….They were Muslims first…and THEN extremists. Let’s look at some facts before you chop my head off…….

The phrase “Allāhu Akbar”….is known as the Takbīr….and is translated as "God is Great". Right about now, you might be saying to yourself…”Hmmmm, I don’t ever remember hearing anyone say “Allah Akbar” in my church”. That’s because it is an Islamic expression, referring specifically to Allah….and NOT your God. (You know the God I’m talking about…the God of “infidels”….Christians, Jews and anyone else who is not a Muslim)

So why do I bring that whole “Allah Akbar” thing up?......Primarily because it is specific to those who are a part of Islam. It is not a Christian saying…..It is not a Jewish saying….It is not a Buddhist saying….NO, it is a phrase that is used ONLY by Muslims. Why does that matter? It seems that political correctness has tried to sugar-coat the terrorist attacks of the last 10 years by saying that these acts of terrorism were not carried out by Muslims....rather that they were carried out by Muslim extremists. In spite of how they might try to spin it...the fact remains that ALL of those involved were Muslim….and in almost EVERY attack….the terrorists shouted “Allah Akbar” as they started killing people.

In papers recovered after 9/11….there were handwritten instructions left behind by those who were involved in the attacks...describing how best to carry out their plans. Here’s just one example…."When the confrontation begins, strike like champions who do not want to go back to this world. Shout, 'Allahu Akbar,' because this strikes fear in the hearts of the non-believers". (emphasis added)….So who exactly were these “non-believers"? That would be those who did not believe in Allah or follow his teachings….(i.e. Christians, Jews, etc.) That seems an awful lot like a like a “Muslim thing” to me

Look at Nidal Hasan (who is obviously of Irish origin, based on his name alone) He is the Army psychologist who killed 13 people and wounded 30 more at Ft Hood. This was obviously a premeditated Muslim terrorist attack, since on the morning of the attack, neighbors say that he gave away his furniture along with guess what else?....You’re right….copies of the Qur’an. According to witnesses who survived the attack…..before Hasan started shooting he yelled “Allah Akbar”…..once more, that sounds a LOT like a “Muslim thing” to me. In addition…..one of Hasan’s colleagues recalled that he had often stated that “Muslims must rise up against the U.S. military”. (Note that even Hasan himself did not specify Muslim extremists….just plain old Muslims) Witnesses also stated that Nidal Hasan had spoken highly of Sgt. Hasan Akbar (who is also obviously Irish)….If you recall Sgt. Hasan Akbar was the Muslim soldier in the U.S. military, who a couple years ago killed two American soldiers by intentionally lobbing a grenade at his fellow troops……

Here’s another one for you……According to an MSNBC.com article…..On October 19, in Grozny, Russia….”Islamic insurgents including a suicide bomber stormed Chechnya's Parliament…..leaving at least four people dead and 17 injured in one of the most brazen attacks on the provincial capital in months, officials said………One (of the terrorist) blew himself up and two others went on the rampage inside, spraying bullets around as they screamed "Allahu Akbar" ("God is Greatest"), a Reuters source who spoke to a witness at the parliament building said"……Again, sounds a LOT like a “Muslim/Islamic thing” to me….and I guess to MSNBC.com as well….since the word “extremist” was not to be found in the article.

There are so many more examples…..Think back to the beheadings that were broadcast on the internet several years ago. One of the things that each of them had in common, was that all of the murderers and those around them shouted “Allah Akbar” as they cut off an innocent person’s head with a sword…..NOT “Thank you Jesus”…or “Praise and honor to Buddha”….just “Allah Akbar”.

Of course there are those who say…”Yeah but every Muslim doesn’t feel that way”….And I would have to say…..maybe not, but look what their “Holy Book” has to say………..Here are some quotes from the Qur’an;

Quran (2:191-193) - "And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter...and fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is for Allah."

Quran (8:12) - "I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them"

Quran (8:39) - "And fight with them until there is no more persecution and religion should be only for Allah"

Quran (25:52) - "Therefore listen not to the Unbelievers, but strive against them with the utmost strenuousness..."

There is another book called the Hadith….The Hadith is a collection of narrations concerning the words and deeds of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. These writings would be equivalent to the words of Jesus Christ in Christianity…and are still used to this day as a reference in matters of Islamic law and history.

Bukhari (52:177) - Allah's Apostle said, "The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. 'O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him'."

Bukhari (8:387) - Allah's Apostle said, "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah

Muslim (1:149) - "Abu Dharr reported: I said: Messenger of Allah, which of the deeds is the best? He replied: Belief in Allah and Jihad in His cause..."

Muslim (20:4645) - "...He did that and said: There is another act which elevates the position of a man in Paradise to a grade one hundred (higher), and the elevation between one grade and the other is equal to the height of the heaven from the earth. He said: 'What is that act?' He replied: 'Jihad in the way of Allah! Jihad in the way of Allah!'"

Tabari 9:69 "Killing Unbelievers is a small matter to us"

Ibn Ishaq: 327 - “Allah said, ‘A prophet must slaughter before collecting captives. A slaughtered enemy is driven from the land. Muhammad, you craved the desires of this world, its goods and the ransom captives would bring. But Allah desires killing them to manifest the religion.’”

When you put all of that together…..all I can say is…”Wow that sure sounds like a religion of peace to me”. Maybe all Muslims aren’t terrorist…..but we do know that in recent times…..all terrorists have been Muslims. Consider this…..Why has every American born terrorist who has turned against his own country in recent years, without exception, converted to Islam before they set out on their attempted terror plot? Why is it that after the events of 9/11, we saw thousands of Muslims (of all ages) celebrating in the streets….rejoicing over the fact that thousands of innocent people had just been slaughtered? Why is it that we don’t hear a word from the “moderate” Muslims….decrying the acts of violence perpetrated by these so-called "extremists"? As far as I’m concerned……until I see something different than what I have seen over the last ten years….I’ll stick with calling a Muslim terrorist….a Muslim terrorist. Then Again….That’s Just Me

How Much Is Enough?….And How Sick Is Too Sick?

2010-10-05T12:26:00.007-04:00

I have often spoken out about the dangers of giving any government entity too much power. I have been scoffed at, and even ridiculed for saying that I think that a government can go too far in controlling people’s lives. Many who lean heavily to the left, look at governmental control (or regulation as it is often referred to) as a way to make everyone more equal…(i.e. Social Justice) They look at it not only as being fair to everyone….but also as giving equal opportunities to each individual. I believe very strongly that we live in a country that does offer equal opportunity to everyone who is willing to work. The key here is “work”. I do not believe that any country should take away from those who work hard and succeed….and give it to those who don’t. And yes, I understand that the end result of that belief, is that you will have a society of “Haves” and “Have Nots”.

I have been asked the question….”Why do you feel so strongly against a government having the power to regulate things?” First of all let me say that I don’t think that ALL regulation is wrong. I do however feel that there are a several instances where governmental control over people’s lives just doesn’t work…..

First of all, I believe that it is wrong (as well as unconstitutional) for the government to have the power to to reward those who don’t actually get up off of their butt and “pursue happiness”….(you know that whole “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” thing that is guaranteed in the Constitution)….Since the government has no money of their own....this can only be done by taking it away from those who have worked hard...and giving it to the first group. There is no guarantee of happiness or success in the Constitution….Instead it is just a guarantee that you will have the opportunity to try. In fact...let me go one step further....there isn’t even a guarantee that if you work really hard, that you will succeed….because in real life...sometimes people just fail. But I do know that those who really want to succeed, will get back up and “pursue” success until they attain it or die trying. You don’t find very many successful people who will ever sit down and say “Why don’t you just take some from that guy and give it to me….and then I’ll be ok?”.

The second…and probably MOST important reason that I am against more government regulation in people’s lives….is the question of “Who gets to decide?”…..Here’s an example……

Who gets to decide how much money is enough….and then you can’t make any more? The common answer is “well if someone is making ten million dollars a year….they are rich, so that is enough”….Not to sound like a 5 year-old…but really, says who? Doesn’t it stand to reason that once you start giving the government the option to decide how much is enough….that it then can be set at any level? Before you say “yeah but I only make $35,000 a year”….let me say this. There are a lot of progressives, Marxists and socialists who believe that this concept of "spreading the wealth around" (an Obama quote) should be a global concept…That means that in countries where the average income is $300 per year…YOU are RICH. So at some point, someone is going to come after your money as well…..(but of course its just to even things out to those who aren’t “rich” like you)

Then you have the health care debate…….

The government is trying its best to completely take over the control of your health care. I don’t care what Andy Griffith says….It isn’t “gonna be good for everyone”. How do I know?......Because it doesn’t work. Look at the countries that currently have “socialized medicine”…..it’s not working for them…so why would we think that it would work for us? There are those who say…”yeah but you have health care….so you don’t have to worry about it”…..Yes I do….but in spite of what CNN reports, there aren’t millions of people dying every year in the U.S. because of not having health care. In fact go to an emergency room in any town…..and you will find it FULL of people who don’t have health care…..(in fact you will find people there who aren’t even U.S. citizens….and they still get treated like everyone else). In the end….NO government can afford to give everyone free health care....so at some point there has to be decisions made as to who is more deserving.....Is it your 75 year-old retired Grandpa, who needs a pacemaker….or the 35 year old person who is still working and paying taxes? Is it the 21 year-old person who is almost out of college and headed into a career, who needs major surgery….or is it your 6 month-old baby. I would say that in a system that has to choose….your Grandpa and your baby are going to die. Impossible you say? There are people who think even less than that of the life of a baby…..Of course these people generally come from societies where health care is rationed…so eventually it tends to cloud their thinking…..

Watch this…..

Many people would say that I’m just an alarmist…..and you would be correct….I am. At what point are we going to wake up and see that the liberties that we have enjoyed for so long…..are slowly being taken away from us? Most of the time, these things happen in such a way that by the time it is actually happening…..the people are actually ok with it. Do you really think that in 1941...that the German people as a whole…hated Jews and those who were mentally and physically handicapped…so badly that they wanted them killed by the millions in concentration camps? Of course not….but they were conditioned into thinking that it was necessary….in order for they themselves to survive. Right now there are people in power in this country with ideas that are so radical….that if you heard them today…you would probably say…”That will NEVER happen”. I strongly believe that in every country….(Germany, Russia, China, etc)….where these types of things eventually DID happen….there were millions of people who said the same thing. Then when they saw it with their own eyes….it was too late. I also believe that in most cases, it all started when they let someone decide for them….How Much Was Enough?….and How Sick Was Too Sick? Then Again….That’s Just Me

The Only Thing That We Need To "Fundamentally Change" Is What Has Been Screwed Up In The Last 20 Months........

2010-09-14T14:42:00.000-04:00

On January 20, 2009…..I sat in my office and watched the inaugural address of the newly sworn-in President of the United States. As I watched and listened, I wrote down a comment in reference to something that Barack Obama said in his speech…. (I’m pretty sure that was right before I yelled what I had written at the television….and then turned it off). Here is the quote that troubled me the most…..”Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America”. Being true to his word, during the last 20 months….he and the Democrat controlled Congress, are well on their way to “remaking America”. While the words of Obama’s inaugural address in 2009 greatly troubled me….I should not have been surprised…..After all, here’s what he said during a campaign speech just a few days prior to the election in 2008……

My response to this video clip…(and the response that I wrote down and then yelled at the television....while watching his inaugural address)…was ”We don’t need to re-make America….we need to return it to what it was originally meant to be”. That was then…and now after 20 months of Obama being in office, I am beginning to realize a couple things. First of all…..that he obviously didn’t hear me when I yelled at the television during his inaugural speech. And secondly, that neither of us has changed at all….I only say that because he is still trying to “fundamentally transform…..and remake America”….and I am still writing and yelling at my television…..The good news is that I know that I am not alone. I believe that the majority of Americans don’t want to see their country “fundamentally transformed” or “re-made”. The problem is that when we speak up, too often we are labeled as hate-mongering bigots, racists, and ignorant Christian hillbillies….who are still clinging to our guns and our religion….(and I’m starting to think that when those things are said….they’re not meant as compliments). However, if I understand this “fundamental transformation of America” correctly….if you are a practicing Muslim, it is ok to hate Christians and Jews….it is ok to build a mosque in a location that will obviously cause great pain to those who lost friends and loved ones on 9/11…..and of course it is ok to cling to your car bomb and your religion…..To quote Barack Obama…”That is change you can believe in”. I believe it...because I have seen it. Yes we are seeing change…..but as I, and many others, have said all along….”All change is not good”.

I will admit that we live in a country that has flaws….but we don’t have to tear our country down and start over in order to fix a few flaws. If you have something of value, you don’t set out to “re-make” or "fundamentally change" it……No, instead you painstakingly attempt to return it to its original splendor. I don’t know anyone who “re-makes” classic cars….but I do know people who restore them. Yes we need to fix some things…..so let’s get to work fixing, not tearing our country down and then trying to re-build it. The way to fix the things that are flawed or broken in our country...is to continue to speak up for what we believe....and continue to speak out for what is right. Then we have to commit to some diligent research of those who are running for office, and then get out and vote for those people who will seek to fix....and not tear down this great country.

Violence is NOT the answer….Speaking hateful words to someone with whom you disagree...whether in person or on the internet....is not helpful (and for goodness sake…when you write something on the internet, use spell check so you don’t look like an ignorant hillbilly)…Burning a Qu’ran is not helpful (in fact it’s just stupid)…And calling Obama names, and using racial slurs when talking about him, does nothing to further a just cause. The only thing that is accomplished by doing any or all of those things, is to make the negative portrayal of conservatives, by the media, appear to be true....

Here's what I think......

Obama was wrong when he was running for office...He was wrong when he made his inaugural address...I only say that because I believe that after 233 years of being the greatest country in the history of the world....America doesn't need to be “fundamentally transformed” OR “re-made”. However after 20 months of Obama as president, with the help of a Congress that is controlled by Democrats, there are a few changes that now need to be made…..Not changes to the Constitution, or changes to the principles of the founding fathers….rather some personnel changes in November….followed by a few changes to fix the things that Obama and Congress have screwed up in the past 20 months…..Can we do it?.....To borrow another quote of Obama's....”Yes We Can”….Then Again….That’s Just Me

Having The Right……Doesn’t Make It Right……

2010-09-08T16:53:00.009-04:00

What are we becoming as a nation? In the past several years…we have attempted to force-feed political correctness into our society to the point of absurdity…..We have heard the word tolerance shouted from the housetops since the events of 9/11…..only to later find out that tolerance came with a few caveats….It seems that in reality, tolerance is NOT to be shown to everyone.....especially not toward those on the right...or to those who happen to be Christians. In fact...many times, when a Christian, or someone on the right….speaks out against something that they feel very strongly about….there is suddenly NO tolerance shown toward them. Instead they are quickly labeled as “Hate-mongers”…… ”Racists”…..”Islamophobes”…..or often as just plain “Ignorant”.

Of course, on the other hand….if a group of ILLEGAL immigrants decide to stage a protest, to point out how they are being treated unfairly in the workplace…..or if a group of Muslims stage a protest against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan….and in doing so, these groups decide to make a statement by publicly burning an American flag…..that’s perfectly fine…..and as “Good Americans” and Christians…..we are supposed to say “Well it’s their Constitutional right to burn that flag”…..and let it go. (As a side note….If you believe the ILLEGAL immigrant part….then let me say this…..”If they are here ILLEGALLY….they don’t have that right….because those rights belong to citizens….If they are here ILLEGALLY, they are not citizens….they are criminals”) Often....those who are first in line to "fight" for these people's right to burn that flag....are also the first in line to criticize anyone who offers a different opinion...Where's their tolerance?.....They are often the same left-wing, nut-jobs who....when someone decides to urinate or defecate on a painting of Jesus and call it “art”……they say…”Well, It’s freedom of expression…and they have that right”…….and all the while, as they are beaming with pride over their public showing of tolerance....they telling the Christians to shut up or be labeled as "intolerant" of others......

So it seems that here in America, “freedom of speech and expression” are virtually unlimited…..as long as you are not a Christian…..do not lean to the right politically….are not protesting against an abortion clinic....or you are not against the building of a Muslim mosque within 3 blocks of the site where Muslim terrorists attacked The World Trade Center…..(The word that comes to mind here is “duplicitous”)

Of course….then you have some idiotic, moron of a “pastor”…in Gainesville, Florida….who wants to burn a Qur’an. While I am completely and unequivocally against what he and his church are planning on doing……let me ask this question….”Do they not have the same rights and the same ’freedom of speech and expression’ as everyone else?” I only ask that since, to the best of my knowledge, the State Department hasn’t spoken out recently against ILLEGAL immigrants burning American flags….or even against Muslims building a mosque near the site of the Muslim terrorist attacks on The World Trade Center…..However....Hillary Clinton praised those who have spoken out against this idiot pastor saying….."Our commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation. Many of you know that in 1790, George Washington wrote to a synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, that this country will give 'to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance'"……Hillary, are you actually going to talk about “religious tolerance”….and in the same breath condemn this moronic pastor? As ignorant and wrong as he might be, does he not deserve the same religious tolerance as the Muslims that he is obviously offending? Let me see if I understand this….we as good American Christians…..have to tolerate anything that Muslims demand…For example....in certain U.S. cities, Muslims who take a job as a cashier in a supermarket, can refuse to scan pork products…..In Minneapolis, Muslim cab drivers can refuse to pick someone up, if they are carrying a bottle of alcohol (not open and drinking it….just carrying it home after they have bought it)….These same cab drivers can refuse to allow anyone in their cab who is traveling with a dog….even IF it is a seeing-eye or service dog…..The list goes on and on….but I think you see where I’m going with this. It seems that Christians are called upon to tolerate anyone and everything…..BUT….they cannot have an opinion....or speak out against anything....for fear of being labeled intolerant. Some time back...I wrote about a despicable, hate-filled man named Fred Phelps (I refuse to give him the title of pastor)….and the members of his Westboro Baptist Church. If you recall....they are the ones who show up at the funerals of soldiers, carrying signs that say things like....“Thank God for I.E.D.’s” and “Your Son Is Burning In Hell”. I believe that they are wrong....and that there is no excuse for that type of behavior….I also believe God looks at that and is grieved…..but even as wrong as it is…..they DO have that right.

As far as I’m concerned…..here’s what it comes down to……..

Yes….Muslims have a right to build a mosque anywhere they want….. including in the crater where the World Trade Center once stood (if they could buy the land)

Yes….American citizens have the right to burn an American flag….(Americans NOT ILLEGAL immigrants)

Yes….Fred Phelps and his group of hate-filled heathens from Westboro Baptist Church….have the right to show up at the funerals of soldiers and carry signs that say all manner of offensive things

AND……Yes....the idiot pastor from Gainesville, Florida and his congregation…..have the right to burn a Qu’ran

However, let me add this…….Someday we will all stand before our Creator…..and at that point He will have the right to judge each of us for what we have done to one another while here on this earth…..So keeping that in mind….remember that while we all might have the right to do a lot of things….it doesn’t necessarily make it right....and someday we will have to answer to the One who knows the difference. Feel free to disagree with me....after all, you have the right to be wrong. Then Again….That’s Just Me

Just For The Record……I Am NOT A “Birther”……

2010-09-01T11:16:00.002-04:00

Recently I posted something on Facebook that was initially intended to be funny. (Of course acknowledging that in most jokes there is often a certain amount of truth) It was a statement about the legitimacy of Barack Obama’s citizenship. Since then, I have been inundated with comments regarding my statement. So to start with, please take a look at my original “posting”……………….

“I hope when Obama's first (and hopefully only) term is up...that he will move to Florida......

Why you ask?.....Ok I'll answer...

Because....while it seems that being the President of the United States doesn't require one to show a valid birth certificate....getting a driver's license in the State of Florida does....

Sooooo......welcome to sunny Florida”

As you can see it was intended to be funny (whether or not I accomplished that is not the point). As I have talked to different people, I have noticed that the conversation too many times comes back around to a “race thing”. I have said this before, but let me say it again………”Barack Obama is half black and half white….and I dislike both halves….Not because of the black/white part, but because of his views on running the country”. Why is it that we seem to have to turn everything into a racial thing in order to take the focus off of the real problem? In my opinion, the man is not qualified to run the United States…and it’s not because he’s black….it’s not because he’s white….and it’s not because he is half black and half white. It’s because he is WRONG.

I really dislike conspiracy theories…and, most of the time, the nut-jobs who spend their time defending some ridiculous idea that they cannot possible prove or disprove. BUT….the issue of Obama’s citizenship is easily proven. Show a copy of your real birth certificate….and move on. Don’t make snide remarks on national television (when asked about your religion, not about the authenticity of your citizenship)……such as “I can’t spend all of my time with my birth certificate plastered on my forehead…..”

I told someone recently that I look at it a couple different ways……How many times on a “cop show” do the cops pull up to a crime scene and someone is running away….A chase ensues and eventually the cops chase the guy down (usually through a dramatic tackle). The guy says that he didn’t do anything wrong (and it is later proven that he didn’t)….but the cops always ask the same question….”If you didn’t do anything wrong, then why are you running?” (A very valid question I might add) If Obama didn’t do anything wrong, then what is he running away from? Next scenario……You are pulled over for speeding…..and in the course of the stop, the cop asks if you have been drinking….If you haven’t been drinking, you simply answer “no”. If he disagrees with you, he might then ask you to step out of the car and perform a “field sobriety” test. If you have not been drinking, why would you refuse to step out of the car and prove that you're right and he's wrong? First of all....the cop who wants you to get out of your car and walk a straight line, touch your nose, etc….is not a conspiracy theorist….He is simply looking at the obvious facts ( the fact that you can't put more than three coherent words together, it smells like a brewery in your car, etc) and at some point the facts lead him to have “reasonable suspicion” that you have been drinking...(in spite of what you might say). The only thing I am saying is that if Obama has nothing to hide….stop all the running and refusing to prove everyone wrong…..produce a valid birth certificate…..shut all of the conspiracy theorists up….and then act like an adult…..stick out your tongue and say “Told you so….nany, nany, boo boo”

One of the things I don’t understand is the statement that even if he is not a legal citizen....we need to stop questioning it……because if it turned out that he's not, it would make us the laughing stock of the world…and it would create chaos in the country…..For example, here is a quote from an article dated Monday August 30, 2010, that was written by Wesley Pruden of The Washington Times,

“Most curious of all is why any Obama critic, with so much legitimate ammunition at hand, would indulge fairyland fantasies of impeachment, or arguments over his birth or his religious faith. Even if he was born in Kenya, he's the president now, and it's beyond imagining that the U.S. Supreme Court would unseat a sitting president and invite unimaginable legal chaos. Every White House order, presidential decision or executive order executed since Jan. 20, 2009, could be rendered "inoperative."

Seriously?......"Even if he was born in Kenya"….leave it alone?.....How stupid is that? Are we now saying that if someone does something illegal, that we shouldn’t pursue them, because it might cause too many problems?.....Or how about this one…..We shouldn’t prosecute them because after all, they do have a job right now and are supporting their family. Well….yeah….I guess that is what we are saying..... kind of how we are handling ILLEGAL immigration….so never mind. Maybe that’s why Obama is so soft on ILLEGAL immigration…..hmmmmm, sounds like another good conspiracy theory cooking up. SO….for the record, I am not a “birther”….just anti-ILLEGAL immigration. Then Again….That’s Just Me.

Avatar......(yeah, that's it....just Avatar).....

2010-08-25T13:15:00.000-04:00

I realize that while I am very likely the last human being...on the entire planet to do so...this past weekend I watched the movie Avatar. It’s not that I didn’t want to see it…..it’s more that I never got around to it, and now I know why. I’m pretty sure that it was my “inner-conservative voice” speaking to me….saying “Don’t watch this movie….because it will only piss you off”…..And, as usual, my “inner-conservative voice” was correct.

Now before you take off your shoe and come after me for speaking against the highest grossing movie in the history of the world….allow me to explain. But before I explain....I have to admit that the CGI was spectacular (that would be the Computer Generated Imagery…not the Clinton Global Initiative).....but honestly, that’s where any good stuff kind of ended for me. I am not usually one to “read” hidden agendas into movies. I can usually watch a movie…and take it for what it is supposed to be…..entertainment. But with Avatar…I couldn’t do it. The liberal agenda in this movie was about as subtle as a Jeremiah Wright speech at a Louis Farrakhan rally…..Allow me to elaborate…

First of all, let’s look at the main characters……

You have the Greedy Evil Corporate Guy…...This is the guy who wanted to take a natural resource…called “unobtainium” (no kidding….that was the name of the valuable natural resource) away from the inhabitants of Pandora (called “Na’vi”)...at ANY cost. His evil capitalistic agenda was obviously ONLY about the money....and if that meant killing everyone who lived on Pandora, in order to get it.....then so be it. It was that mindset of...if they won’t give it to us willingly...then we will send in the military to take it. (The only thing missing at this point in the movie, was the mention of Haliburton)

Then there was the Heartless Military Leader…..He of course, was conspiring with the Greedy Evil Corporate Guy….to steal the “unobtainium” from the Na’vi. Heartless Military Leader even made the statement “We will fight terror with terror”…..AND....“Our only security lies in preemptive attack” (The only thing missing during his statement was possibly a “Mission Accomplished” banner hanging behind him). Although I have never served in the military…..I was extremely insulted at this movie's portrayal those in the military….as nothing more than mindless killing machines.

Of course no good liberal movie would complete without a wide array of blatant “tree huggers”. This movie….being a good liberal movie….had more than its share….so we will just refer to this group of characters as the Blatant Tree Huggers. The Blatant Tree Huggers were primarily scientists, who although they were hired by the Greedy Evil Corporate Guy, to “win the hearts and minds of the natives” (again, I did NOT make that up)….they were more concerned about the forest and the sprits that lived in the trees…..than the evil intentions of their employer. (and I say “good for them…who needs those evil capitalists anyway?”)….Here are some lovely quotes from the Blatant Tree Huggers…..”You need to wake up, Parker…..The wealth of this world isn't in the ground….it's all around us….The Na'vi know that, and they're fighting to defend it….If you want to share this world with them, YOU need to understand THEM.” While that certainly brought tears to my eyes….this next one caused me to weep uncontrollably. This is a human speaking to a Na’vi……”See the world we come from….there's no green there. They've killed their mother, and they're going to do the same thing here.” (As that was being said, I was waiting for the guy to pull a picture out of his wallet of Al Gore standing on a melting iceberg….with a baby polar bear in one hand…..and his “second chakra” in the other)

If you are thinking to yourself…..”Well that certainly seems to have all of the elements of a good movie”…..then let me say…..”You really need to get out more often”…..But let me also say….”Wait....There’s more !!!"

While a really good liberal movie would unashamedly bash Christianity…..this one did not. However as a saving grace (no pun intended….ok maybe a little pun intended)….it did lean heavily toward Pantheistic Theology. (A belief system where there is not an actual “God”….rather a system where God and nature are “one”) While Pantheistic Theology is not quite as distanced from Christianity as Paganism….it suffices for Avatar. After all, does it get any better than people holding hands, chanting and praying in the forest…..to the sprits of their ancestors who now live in the “tree of souls”?....I think not.

As I watched this movie….I kept thinking “Why was this movie, the highest grossing movie of all time?”. Then it hit me that the same people who absolutely loved and adored this movie….were probably the same people who loved and adored....and voted for and elected...Barack Obama, as the President of the United States…..And why not?…..After all, the movie Avatar……and Barack Obama’s qualifications to be President….are both based on the same thing….pure fantasy. Then Again….That’s Just Me

Of Amphibians And Anchor Babies……………….

2010-08-17T11:39:00.002-04:00

An “Anchor Baby” is defined as a child who is born in the United States to a parent/parents who is/are here illegally…..thereby making that child a “legal citizen” based solely on the geographic location of the birth.

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was adopted July 9th, 1868…….Section 1 of that amendment reads as follows:

“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”

While many people today have twisted the meaning of this amendment in order to apply it to immigration issues…..nothing could be farther from the truth (well, except that Barack Obama really cares about the people of the United States….but that’s another day’s topic). This amendment was originally adopted as a post-Civil War Reconstruction Amendment. One of the major clauses of this amendment provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)……which held that blacks could not be citizens of the United States. THAT was the purpose of this amendment…..it was NOT to be used as justification for ILLEGAL immigration. In fact, when this amendment was ratified in 1868……the United States did not limit immigration. With that in mind….how can we paint with such a WIDE brush as to use it today to include people who are here ILLEGALLY? Doesn’t “intent” of a law mean anything today?

On more than one occasion….the SCOTUS has ruled that the geographic location (within the United States) of the birth of a child…….does not determine the child’s citizenship…..rather, that it is the status of the parents, that is crucial in determining the citizenship of the child. The court has stated that in order for a child to qualify for citizenship….the parents must owe “direct and immediate allegiance” to the United States….and be “completely subject” to it’s jurisdiction. (which is kind of hard to do if you broke several laws to get here and THUS….you’re here ILLEGALLY) In other words….for a child to be a citizen…..the parents must be citizens. (See the 1884 “Elk v.Wilkins” case….. the 1889 “Wong Kim Ark” Supreme Court ruling…..and “The Citizens Act of 1924” [codified in 8USCSß1401])

Right about now someone is saying (in a VERY high-pitched and annoying voice)….”Yeah, but you’re not an attorney”……..To which I would say….”Yeah you’re right….I sell used cars…and that puts me several categories above attorneys in the ‘dirt-ball’ rankings”……So let’s set aside all of the legal “mumbo-jumbo” and use common sense……..

In spite of the fact that the 14th amendment was NOT put in place with regard to ILLEGAL immigration OR "Anchor Babies" (or amphibians either, for that matter)......there still are a lot of people who support ILLEGAL immigration and the “Anchor Baby” concept……Of course these are usually the same people who chain themselves to a tree in order to protest a construction project….out of concern that the “16-toed-Argentinian-wartless-tree-frog” might become extinct. They want people to look at them admiringly….sigh….and say….”oh...look at them….they really care about helpless animals and babies….aren’t they great?” Many of them make the argument that the baby ...in this ILLEGAL immigration scenario....cant help what the parent has done….so why should the baby be penalized…..after all….it's just a baby. Of course a LOT of these same people are pro-abortion…..so that kind of destroys the whole “loving the babies thing” argument. (Maybe they just love ILLEGAL babies) Either way, it’s extremely two-faced (maybe even three-faced) to support people breaking our laws in order to get into the country, make a stand to save amphibians…….and then support the killing of babies through abortion….all because you say abortion is the “mother’s choice”……(and I guess THAT baby deserved to be penalized….right?)

This next paragraph is for anyone who still supports the concept of “Anchor Babies”…….Let me make sure I have the details correct….You are saying that it’s ok for a woman to break the laws of the U.S. by sneaking into the country ILLEGALLY……then once she’s here, all she has to do is plop out a baby…..and THAT in and of itself makes the baby a citizen of the United States….and now she and the baby are entitled to hospital care and a lifetime of welfare and health care at the expense of the taxpayers of the United States…..did I get that right? If you said yes….then consider this…..If that same woman broke into your house….(you know knocked out a window and crawled into your living room)….and had that SAME baby…..would you be ok with personally supporting she and her baby for the next 20 years or so?.....If not…..then my opinion is that you should just shut up….and stop volunteering MY tax dollars to do just that. Then Again….That’s Just Me

Innocent Until Proven Guilty…..Stupid Until Proven Otherwise……..

2010-08-12T13:05:00.001-04:00

Charlie Rangel……......Just the mention of his name is probably enough for me to have lost 8 or 9 readers……so to the other 3 of you who are still reading, let me say "Thank you". Charlie’s been making a lot of news recently….particularly since multiple charges of ethics violations have been brought against him by his fellow congress-people. (Which could possibly be the ultimate example of “pots calling a kettle black”) Most of the charges against Charlie, primarily deal with personal finance disclosures and paying taxes.....and if Charlie was just another run-of-the-mill crooked Congressman, that in and of itself, would be bad enough......but that's not the case....because he is the former chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. (Just in case you were wondering what this committee does, I looked it up, so you wouldn't have to) The following paragraph is from their web site http://waysandmeans.house.gov/ ....and it details one of the specific responsibilities of that committee……

“(1) Federal revenue measures generally.--The Committee on Ways and Means has the responsibility for raising the revenue required to finance the Federal Government. This includes individual and corporate income taxes, excise taxes, estate taxes, gift taxes, and other miscellaneous taxes.”

That means that Charlie Rangel was the chairman of a committee, whose primary responsibility was that of writing tax laws.…….Specifically laws applicable to “individual and corporate income taxes”. Now…one would think that if you are on the committee that is in charge of tax issues….that you would probably want to make sure that YOUR taxes were done in a correct manner…..right? Well, not if you’re Charlie Rangel. The “ethics violations” that have been brought against him are related, in part, to taxes that he didn’t pay, and assets that he didn't disclose. Of course in his defense, Charlie has said that he “made some mistakes”. Ok Charlie….I’ll bite….what were the "mistakes"?

Well first of all, there was that villa in the Dominican Republic…..you know the one that’s just like the one YOU own there……well, except on his….he “forgot” to report $75,000 in rental income. (that's easy enough to do….). It also seems that the interest charges on the loan, that was used to purchase the villa…..were waived. (which again, I have creditors calling me ALL the time, asking if they can waive interest charges on loans that I have….so that’s no big deal either). In addition to those minor details, it seems that Charlie also “forgot” to disclose somewhere between $500,000 and $1,000,000 in assets….much of which was in his checking account. (AGAIN….before you cast any stones….you ALL know that you have mis-figured your checkbook…..maybe not to the tune of a million dollars…..but certain 7 or 8 hundred thousand dollars.) It seems that in addition to those teensie little mistakes.....Charlie had previously stated that his net worth was only around a million dollars…..and then after these new details were discovered…..it’s STILL only around 2 million dollars…..so my question is "what’s the big deal?" Of course some of those nasty Republicans are also complaining because of a few letters that Charlie sent out on his official Congressional letter head. All he was trying to do was to raise 30 million dollars in contributions to build the Charles B. Rangel School of Public Service at C.C.N.Y……(it was for the children....and again….we’ve ALL been there, done that whole "mailing letters out on our Congressional letter head" thing)

These are not the only ethics violations that Charlie has been charged with…..the list goes on and on. In fact….back in September of 2008, Roll Call newspaper said the following…..“The inconsistent reports are among myriad errors, discrepancies and unexplained entries on Rangel’s personal disclosure forms over the past eight years that make it almost impossible to get a clear picture of the Ways and Means chairman’s financial dealings.”

My question is this: Is Charlie Rangel that stupid….or does he just think that the American people are that stupid?.....After all, he helped to write some of those laws that he "allegedly" broke. How can you help write specific laws....and then claim ignorance of those laws? (simple answer…you can’t) There is no excuse for this type of behavior. Plain and simple….he should go to prison. One thing for sure, if it were you or me….we would already have our toothbrush packed and be headed off to a 5 to 10 year vacation as a guest of the federal government.....and he should be no different. Actually, let me rephrase that….since he helped to write the laws…..he should get at least double the punishment. STILL....with all that said…….based on the laws of our great country....Charlie Rangel is innocent until proven guilty.

Right about now someone is saying……”Well David, you have certainly enlightened me on the role of the House Ways and Means Committee……and I certainly understand the charges against Mr Rangel….and the whole “innocent until proven guilty” part of your title……but what about the rest of it?”......Oh yeah…I almost forgot….there was that whole “Stupid Until Proven Otherwise” thing.

Last night…August 12th, 2010….there was a birthday party/campaign fundraiser held for Charlie in the Grand Ballroom of the Plaza Hotel…..Now this was not just any birthday party/campaign fundraiser (like the ones you and I have)….NO......this was a sold out event to which those in attendance paid between $250 - $2500, just for the opportunity to wish Charlie a happy birthday.....And then there are those loyal constituents in Charlie’s district, who will probably vote for him in the next election……because they all know (just like you and me) that these charges against Charlie have only been brought up….because he is black. (I actually heard a woman say that in an interview).....

So...to ALL of the people at the birthday party last night…..and to all of those who will probably vote for this idiot, in spite of the evidence that he is a crook (sorry....alleged crook)…….let me read you YOUR rights….”You are hereby notified that you are Stupid Until Proven Otherwise”….Then Again….That’s Just Me

Your Intolerance Will No Longer Be Tolerated………….

2010-08-05T12:33:00.000-04:00

Dictionary.com defines tolerance as “a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc., differ from one's own; freedom from bigotry”.

We seem to be living in a world where the popular “buzz word” is tolerance. We as Americans (more specifically Americans of the LEGAL variety) are instructed by everyone from Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi to Felipe Calderon….that we should be more tolerant of people coming into America illegally….because after all, they are just trying to make a better life for themselves and their families. We shouldn’t care that this “better life”….(for people who broke the law in order to get here…and who are continuing to break our laws by staying here)…..is costing the people of the United States…..according to a study conducted by the Federation for American Immigration Reform….as much as $113 billion dollars a year…..

These liberal “champions of tolerance” are basically saying to anyone who opposes ILLEGAL immigration….…”Why don’t you stop being such a hater, and just be more tolerant”….and….“Where are your Christian principles….after all, what would Jesus do?” Keep in mind that while it’s perfectly fine for them to bring up Christianity and the name of Jesus while defending their stand on being pro-ILLEGAL immigration…..don’t YOU bring up the fact that you are a Christian….and don’t you mention the name of Jesus under ANY circumstance….because that of course will not be tolerated. For some reason…they seem to think that because they have proclaimed themselves as the tolerance police….that it’s perfectly fine for them to label those of us who speak out against ILLEGAL immigration as being intolerant racists. More and more it seems that in an ultra-tolerant, politically-correct society…where we don’t put labels on people who are just “different”…..the average citizen has no right to their own opinion….and a person who has an opinion that differs from the liberal point of view……can automatically be labeled as an intolerant racist, hate-monger.….and of course….they will no longer be tolerated. Don’t believe me? Look at the way that the LEGAL citizens of Arizona are being portrayed in the media…….You would think that everyone who drives their Grizwald-mobile into Arizona on vacation….is greeted at the state line by thousands of hillbillies in white hoods….holding nooses and burning crosses. The LEGAL citizens of Arizona are being portrayed as a bunch of racists, who are intolerant of those who are just “different”….And the whiney-baby liberals (led by the Obama administration) have made it clear….by filing a lawsuit against the State of Arizona….that the type of intolerance as laid out in Arizona’s SB1069 will simply not be tolerated. To recap…..if you are living in the United States legally…..and you disagree with ILLEGAL immigration on the grounds that it is ILLEGAL….your intolerance will no longer be tolerated.

If you’re still with me….then you’re probably a completely intolerant, right-wing, conservative, Christian racist……so why not continue with me to New York City. Here we see that a group of Muslims want to build a mosque just a few blocks away from the site of the World Trade Center attacks. Of course we know that the men who hijacked those planes and then intentionally crashed them into the World Trade Center on 9/11, killing over 2600 people……were all Irish-Catholics…..So what’s the problem with building a mosque? Those who support this reprehensible project would say….”Since Islam is a ‘religion of peace’…..why can’t you Christians find some peace and civility as well?” Those same people will argue that America is a nation of tolerance and that we have freedom of religion….and they would be correct. Well they would be correct…..unless it’s a Christian standing up for what THEY believe. Then you are just an ignorant, intolerant Muslim-hating Christian….. and we all know that will not be tolerated. Supporters of this mosque would have you believe that the location is just a coincidence…..that it just HAPPENED to be 3 blocks away from the attacks of 9/11 by a bunch of radical Islamic terrorists…..and that the scheduled dedication of that mosque….on the 10th anniversary of 9/11…..is merely a coincidence as well. (I actually heard a representative from the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) make that statement in an interview on WFLA radio in Tampa, Florida). In other words….its ok to kill thousands of innocent people and then rub the citizens of New York City’s nose in it by building this mosque…..but it’s NOT ok for them to not be ok with it. (yeah....read that last sentence a few times.....it will make sense) The people of New York have to be tolerant of this shameful behavior by Muslims…..but their opposition will not be tolerated. Did I get that right?

Right about now some is saying (in a very annoying, high-pitched, whiney voice)….”Can’t we all just get along?”……and normally I would say "Sure". This time, I’m just not sure if we can. If you’re wondering if I am angry….(then obviously you aren’t paying attention)…..but to answer your query…”YES I AM”. I am tired of the media and the liberals of this country assuming that they have the market cornered on tolerance. (If you are in that group….first of all, you probably aren’t reading this….but just in case there are some stragglers….please lean forward and read these next few sentences very carefully)….You do NOT own rights to tolerance. You do NOT get to choose who has to be tolerant and who does not. You do NOT get to decide that my disapproval with things that are obviously wrong…makes me intolerant. You do NOT get to be intolerant of Christianity and the moral values that go along with it….while at the same time labeling me as intolerant of those whose way of life goes against my Christian principles. In short…..to quote 4-year-olds everywhere….”You’re not the boss of me”....with those wise words having been spoken.....let me make something perfectly clear…..As of right now....I will no longer tolerate your intolerance. Then Again….That’s Just Me

Un-Repentant Rouge Representative Rangel Refuses to Resign.........

2010-07-29T10:01:00.002-04:00

With Charlie Rangel (D-NY) being in the news so much in the last few days…..I decided to re-run a piece (seriously did I just call what I write a piece?)....I honestly don’t know what the proper term should be….article?...posting?....work of art?......For now I will use “piece” since I’m pretty sure that the word “piece” has been used in conjunction with a couple other words, by some, when describing what I do here…..Anyway, where was I?....Oh yeah Charlie Rangel. This is from October of 2009….and was written while the debate over the “Public Option” for Obamacare was being tossed around. Enjoy………..(again)

(From October 14th, 2009)

Yes…it’s true. After listening carefully to the latest events in Washington….I have decided to support the “Public Option”. I believe it’s time that all of us bind together in support of this idea. If you’re not a proponent of this “Public Option”…hopefully by the time you finish reading this, you too will agree that it is time for CHANGE....and the "Public Option" is the ONLY way to go. Please try to keep an open mind as you read…….

Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) is the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. This is the committee that is charged with writing tax legislation and bills affecting Social Security, Medicare, and other entitlement programs. (pay particular attention to the “tax legislation” part…since as it would appear by the title…they write the laws regarding taxes) Recently Chuck had to file an amended financial disclosure report….showing a net worth of almost double what he had previously filed. Seriously?....I don’t know about you but I think I can guess my net worth…off of the top of my head…a little closer than half of what it actually is…..much less if I were having to fill out a required “disclosure report”, and had the time to do a little research. (Especially knowing that I was the Chairman of the committee put in place to write laws that pertained to those types of disclosures)…..But in Chuckles' defense I will offer a reasonable explanation….it seems that he simply forgot to list a couple of bank accounts….One was a checking account with over $250,000 in it. (Actually that is SO easy to do…I myself have done it many times, and if you’re honest you have too….)….The other was a mutual fund worth somewhere in that $250,000 range as well. That didn’t include another bank account and other mutual funds…..and other assets such as stock holdings and land that totaled somewhere in the neighborhood of another $300,000….(that’s not the neighborhood I live in)…..So the overview is this….He said he was worth somewhere around $1,000,000….when actually it was closer to twice that….If that was all there was, I would be…..well….nope…I still wouldn’t be ok with it….but happily, that’s not all that Chuckbert did……He also “forgot” to report more than $75,000 worth of rental income from a villa that he owns in the Dominican Republic….(again those kinds of things are SOOOO easy to forget)…In 2008, it was found out that Chucky was renting 4 “rent-stabilized” apartments in Upper Manhattan…..Now the fact that these places were “rent-stabilized”….and that meant that he was paying probably HALF of the fair market value....seems fair….right? I mean after all, why shouldn’t he get a little help since he’s only worth $2,000,000?

If the Chuckster were the only person in Washington that was pulling these types of shenanigans, antics, capers, dirty tricks, funny business, hanky-panky, high jinks, horseplay, mischievousness and last, but certainly not least monkey business……then I STILL wouldn’t be ok with it. And the truth is….he’s not. Washington is full of corruption……(yes Virginia….there are corrupt Republicans as well) and it’s time to vote them out of office. It’s time for term limits. It’s time that this bunch of losers, liars and tax cheats were forced to go out and get REAL jobs. There’s the clincher….if they were forced to get “real jobs” many of them would probably end up back on the government payroll…(only this time on unemployment or welfare)….since far too many of them have NEVER held a “real job”. By the way….I personally don’t count “community organizing” a real job, but that's another whole topic to be discussed at another time……It’s bad enough that you have someone who can’t keep up with their own personal finances…while serving as the CHAIRMAN of a committee that writes laws regarding taxes……..but then when it is proven that he broke those very laws….nothing is done?.....That is NOT acceptable….That also means that it is a really good chance that the Chuckmeister’s buddies in Washington are just as corrupt as he is. Maybe they don’t want anyone looking too closely at those types of things either…..possibly out of fear of what they might be hiding as well...(Enter Sen. Maxine Waters (D-CA)who said this in defense of who....by this statement...would seem to be her fellow tax cheat..."I want to tell you, there are many members who, if you go back over all of their records, over all of the years, you're going to find that there were disclosures that were not made")...Let me see if I understand what she is saying....You can't pick on him, because the rest of us do the same thing....hmmm, did I get that right?....Try that defense the next time YOU happen to be in court

Ok…..right about now you are probably saying to yourself….”hmmm…as interesting and informative as this has been….and although it could possible be one of the most intriguing and revealing articles that I have EVER read regarding the corruption that takes place in Washington D.C…….and although I agree with every word of it…..what does this have to do with the public option?” (tell the truth…..that IS what you were saying, isn’t it?....come on…..admit it, you were saying those exact words…)

Well since you asked…..and since I brought it up….I will answer your inquiry…..The “Public Option” that I am in favor of is just a little, tiny bit different than the one that is being swatted around Washington right now…..Here’s my idea…when someone like The Lone Rangel is found to be breaking the law….he should be punished. If it is found to be a law that he helped to “craft”, then his punishment should be twice the regular punishment. Anyone who is found to have known about the guilty party’s indiscretion and still did nothing…or stood in the way of said person’s punishment….would receive the same punishment as the original guilty party. Here’s the simple version…..Everyone knows that Chuck the Magic Dragon is guilty…..obviously there are many more who have know for some time….and still did nothing….those that only recently found out about his crimes and STILL stood up for him should be found as guilty as him and receive the same punishment.

Right about now there are literally millions of people screaming (ok that number is a little off)…..actually there are 3 people asking quietly….”but what about the public option?”

Here it is…..Chuckorama and all of those who have covered up for him and made excuses for his behavior……should be stripped of their places on committees (especially chairmanships)….their seats in Congress….and then they should ALL be led out in front of the Capitol and be publicly punished. In all fairness…..I feel that they should be “placed in stocks”…so the American people can stop by and finally get a meeting with them….or do lunch…(without them hiding behind their aides)…in order to be able to tell them in person, how they feel about the job that they and the rest of our “elected officials” are doing in Washington…..I personally think that Mr. Rangel’s (didn’t see that one coming….did you?) punishment should be MUCH more severe…since he has probably helped to write laws that have, more than likely, sent some of the “little people” to prison for doing things nowhere nearly as reprehensible as his actions. I’m not sure exactly what that additional punishment should be…(I’m open to suggestions…).….but regardless what it is…..it should be the people’s OPTION for these elected criminals to be punished in PUBLIC......Yup….I’m all for that there PUBLIC OPTION……..Then Again……That’s Just Me.

From LiLo to Lockerbie........

2010-07-27T12:02:00.004-04:00

As much as it pains me…..I am actually going to mention Lindsay Lohan today. It seems that Ms. Lohan is doing some very hard time in a Los Angeles County jail for violation of her probation. While Ms. Lohan is only 24 years-old....her criminal history dates back over a period of several years. In May of 2007 she was arrested for DUI…..and during the arrest, police found cocaine in her possession. While she did serve 84 whole minutes of hard time for that conviction…..since that time, things have kind of gone downhill for Ms Lohan. After her 84 minutes in the hoosegow….Ms Lohan spent 45 days in an substance abuse clinic. Which by the way….seems to have been very effective….since just 10 days after being released from the treatment center……she was arrested again for DUI and driving on a suspended license. And if that wasn’t bad enough……she was found with cocaine in her pockets. Of course her defense against the drugs in her pocket was that the pants that she was wearing....weren't hers. (seriously…I didn’t make that up) Since then….she has been accused of stealing an $11,000 fur coat…..$200,000 worth of jewelry…..and being a total slut. (ok…I threw the “slut” thing in there….mainly because of the wearing someone elses pants defense). Her recent charge of violation of probation got her a 90 day sentence….of which she is expected to possibly spend up to 13 days of that sentence in jail. It has also been reported that Ms. Lohan had a very difficult weekend during her 13-day stint in the big house…..this was because she had already used up her two visits per week that were allowed……and therefore was not allowed to see her family. This story would be a tragedy…..if there were not still some hope that President Obama would provide a Presidential pardon for Ms Lohan. (We can only hope and pray…right?) Of course a pardon of that nature would probably be condemned by many right-wing radicals…..as political posturing in order for Obama to gain the 18-25 year-old skanky-slut vote.

Note to readers: Hang in there….I promise that I’m going somewhere with this……..

On Wednesday December 21, 1988……Pan Am Flight 103 took off from London’s Heathrow Airport on its way to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. Aboard this flight were 243 passengers (189 of them Americans) and 16 crew members. Once the flight was clear of Heathrow Airport……the crew steered the plane due north toward Scotland…..and a short time later it reached its cruising altitude of 31,000 feet. Less than 5 minutes later the pilot made contact with the Scottish Area Control Centre at Prestwick, Scotland…..and that was the last transmission ever heard from Pan Am Flight 103.

As the plane approached Lockerbie, Scotland….an explosion in the cargo hold punched a 20-inch-wide hole in the left side of the fuselage. According to experts….the disintegration of the aircraft was rapid. Not to get into gory detail...but for the sake of the story, allow me to continue……The explosion knocked out all of the power on the plane…..plunging the passenger cabin into darkness. Experts have determined that once the cockpit broke off…. the fuselage became nothing more than an open cylinder. Because of that……tornado-force winds tore up the aisles with such great force that it not only became difficult to breathe……it also literally stripped the clothes off the passengers. Some passengers were thrown to the rear the rear of the plane……. other people and objects that were not bolted down were blown out of the aircraft into the night at temperatures of −51° F. Being at an altitude of 31,000 feet…..meant that the fall of these passengers, lasted as long as two minutes. Not all passengers were blown out of the plane…..some remained attached to the fuselage by their seat belts……crashing to the earth while still strapped to their seats. Forensic scientists believe that although the passengers would have lost consciousness through lack of oxygen because of the altitude……..some of them might have regained consciousness as they fell toward lower altitudes. Some experts believe that some of the passengers and crew survived the bomb blast, extreme cold and lack of oxygen……and were still alive upon impact. The total number of fatalities from Pan Am Flight 103 was 270. This included 243 passengers (189 Americans)….16 crew members….and 11 people on the ground….who were killed as large sections of the plane fell onto the town of Lockerbie, Scotland.

After a 3-year investigation……murder charges were brought against Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi (hereafter known as just Megrahi for obvious reasons)…..a Libyan intelligence officer and the head of security for Libyan Arab Airlines, for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. Then on January 31, 2001, Megrahi was convicted of murder by a panel of three Scottish judges…..and sentenced to life in prison. Megrahi served just over 8½ years of his sentence…..and during that time maintained that he was innocent of the charges against him. Then on August 20, 2009……he was released from prison on compassionate grounds. It seems that at the time, he was suffering from terminal prostate cancer (which we can only hope was discovered during one of his many prostate examinations while in prison). While doctors said in August of 2009 that Megrahi only had 3 months to live…..here we are almost a year later and he is still alive. Better yet….doctors are now saying that he might live another 10 years.

Is it just me…..(then again….of course it’s just me)…..or is something wrong here? Why didn’t the Obama administration do something? After all we know that the plan of this administration was to kiss every butt in the entire world so that we would find favor with them once again. (favor with the people...not their butts) So what happened? I know that Scotland is quite the “superpower”…but couldn’t we have put a little pressure on them NOT to release a man who was convicted of killing 270 people….189 of who were Americans. Why did we not find that act reprehensible…and speak out as the leader of the free-world that we are? (or at least used to be) Why didn’t we say….”Look….that ain’t gonna happen?”.

This administration has had plenty of time to speak out against…..and file a lawsuit against Arizona’s law against ILLEGAL immigration.......so why not do something similar against a country who is perpetuating such a heinous act such as releasing a convicted murderer of 189 of it’s citizens from prison? Note to Obama administration: You have failed again to uphold the job that you were elected to perform. And one more time….Americans have come out on the “short-side” of the equation.

So why did I mention Linsay Lohan? Here’s the part that many of you have endured this entire article to get to……..As much as I think that Ms. Lohan is a complete waste of space on the planet…..she WILL end up serving around 14 days in jail for ALL of the horrible acts that she has committed. Megrahi…..the useless piece of crap that he is…..served less than 8½ years for killing 270 people. Let’s do the math…8½ years is 3102 days……that’s 11.49 days in prison for each of the people that he murdered…..That is less time per person murdered…….than Lindsay Lohan served for what she did…..(and there were people outraged that she would get THAT much time) With that said…..NO…I’m not sticking up for Ms. Lohan…..but I am wondering “where’s the outrage about Megrahi?”. Why hasn’t this story been on the front page of every newspaper in the country? Why aren’t people marching on Washington over the prison release of a man who killed 189 Americans….in the same way that they protested Ms. Lohan having to go to jail for 13 days….and in the same way that so many nut-jobs are protesting against Arizona’s law against ILLEGAL immigration? Have we gone completely nuts? I can assure you that Lindsay Lohan’s court case was on the front page of more newspapers than Megrahi’s release was……and that there are a lot more people in that 18-25 year-old age group who know her story much better than that of Meghahi. Isn’t it about time for us to get our priorities in line? Not that Obama will pardon Ms Lohan……but there is one thing that is for sure…..if he did….he would be even MORE popular among those who support her release…..and of course we all know that demographic represents a huge part of those who helped him get elected as President of the United States. (pretty scary stuff huh?) After all….anyone who cares about the prison release of an Islamic wacko terrorist who killed 189 Americans…..probably isn’t going to vote for Obama anyway. Then Again ….That’s Just Me

It's Time For Everyone To Go Back To The Playground…….

2010-07-20T11:55:00.001-04:00

Some of my favorite childhood memories are from the times that I spent on various playgrounds. Think back with me for a moment……There were swings…monkey bars…and of course, the merry-go-round...as well as tons of other fun stuff. Right about now…I know that some of you are wondering where I’m headed with this…and others of you are wondering if I have completely lost my mind. Which ever category you might fall into…...please indulge me for a moment and read on……

As I reflected on those times as a child that were spent at the playground….I started to see that not only did we get a great deal of exercise (unlike a lot of kids today)…..I also realized that there were also a lot of life lessons learned through those activities as well. For example:

In our society today there are far too many people who want the government to take care of every little detail of their lives…with very little...if any effort on their part. I can assure you that this attitude of entitlement that is running rampant in our society today was NOT learned on the playground. As a kid, if you wanted to swing on the swing set, you had to put some effort into it. You had to lean back and pull on those chains…shift your weight…and as you did that….you realized that the more effort that you put into it…the higher you would go in the swing. Among those of us who put a lot of pride and effort into our swing set activities…there was also a certain amount of competition to see who could go the highest. That competition would often allow you to excel beyond what you could do on your own…(that is, if you really wanted to win).

Now I do remember that there were a few kids who were fine with letting others push them in the swing…..but I cannot remember a time when one of the “pushed people” ever won a competition for being able to swing the highest. Why? Because they were content with whatever came without effort on their part. Sadly, as many of those people became adults…their ideals didn’t change much since their days on the playground…..Well with the exception that now they are content to let the government “push them in their swing” (i.e. take what the government will dole out to them for little or no effort on their part)….If that wasn’t bad enough....many of them also seem to have a great deal of contempt for those who have put in the extra effort to “swing” at a level that is a lot higher than average. Even worse that all of that....is the fact that among liberal politicians, there even seems to be this idea that rather than telling the “low swingers” to work harder so that they too can swing high…we should restrict the “high swingers”…so that everyone is equally low. (In Barack Obama's own words that would be "spread(ing) the wealth around")

While most all of the playground activities had implications that have carried over into adulthood…….there is one other activity in particular that I want to mention…..and that is the merry-go-round. I’m not talking about some fancy, mechanical ride with wooden horses and music…..NO…I’m talking about the little one that 5 or 6 people could get on. Now the key to making this type of merry-go-round work was pushing. Everyone would stand on the ground….circle the merry-go-round….grab one of the curved metal bars and start pushing it in a circle. Once the merry-go-round was turning at what seemed like somewhere around seven gazillion miles per hour….THEN you could jump on and ride. One thing that every kid knew was this……you could only ride for so long, before it would stop. Then you had to get back off and push again….(that is, if you wanted to keep riding) Another interesting thing about the merry-go-round was that anyone who didn’t want to push the merry-go-round….didn’t get to ride. Oh they might get away with it for a little while, but eventually….even as kids…we knew that “there ain’t no free ride”. Picture this scenario (and I can honestly say that I NEVER saw this happen on a playground)……All the kids get on the merry-go-round and sit down. No one pushes….they just sit and wait for it to start moving….Then when it doesn’t move, they can’t figure out why….so they just cry that no one wants to push them. (Sounds kind of dumb when you say it that way, doesn’t it?) Well it’s no different than what’s going on in the government as we speak. Private sector jobs are being lost by the tens of thousands…..and yet the government is hiring by the tens of thousands.....….
And here’s the problem with that....If we keep going in that direction… eventually there wont be anyone left to push the merry-go-round. If the government chases all of the businesses out of the country because of over-regulation and higher corporate taxes….where is the money going to come from to pay for all of those millions of government workers?...(that includes politicians)...Remember, someone has to push the merry-go-round. At some point…if you aren’t pushing….you need to get off of the ride. Even as kids we knew that eventually the merry-go-round stopped if no one pushed it. That of course is a nice way of saying that we have to cut taxes....not raise them...and limit government spending. This includes (but is not limited to) cutting back on social programs….stopping illegal immigration…..and limiting un-employment benefits to a reasonable length of time (yes I did say that)….It also means limiting the number of people that it takes to do a government job, to what would be acceptable in a "like-job", in the private sector. In short….if you want to swing then put the effort into it….If you want to ride the merry-go-round, you have to do some pushing. We don't need to hire three people to do the job of one...just so we can make the employment numbers look good. There are a lot of people like me who are really tired of pushing the swing and the merry-go-round for everyone else. As far as I’m concerned….it’s time to go back to some of the wisdom of the playground. Then Again….That’s Just Me.

"Free Speech" or "Hate Speech"?..................

2010-07-09T12:56:00.003-04:00

First of all let me say that I support freedom of speech….even though I personally believe that it is possible for a person to cross that thin line between “free speech” and “hate speech”. Here’s the problem; If we did have a line drawn that would differentiate between the two….who would get to draw it? Remember that once you start down that “slippery slope” of regulating “hate speech”….you can easily slide into the regulation of “free speech”.

Right about now, some of you are asking yourself…”Where is he headed with this?” (OR you could be asking yourself……”How come wrong numbers are never busy?”)…..At this point….I choose to answer the first of those questions.

While everyone has the right to say pretty much whatever they want….other than doing something like yelling “fire” in a crowded theater…..(By the way….what about yelling “fire” in an almost empty theater, is that ok?)….it seems that the media…and the liberal left….have taken it upon themselves to draw that line that doesn’t exist constitutionally between “free speech” and “hate speech”. I have given MUCH thought to what I am going to say next……and although I know some people will be offended…let me assure you of these two things: (1) I do not say it to be simply to offensive or controversial….and (2) Regardless of the fallout….I will stand by what I am going to say…..So here we go…..

I have noticed over the last couple of years….that when folks from the Tea Party Movement gather at rallies…..they are often criticized as racists by the mainstream media….even when they don’t make any kind of racist statements. It seems that just the fact that they are against ILLEGAL immigration….that in and of itself constitutes being a racist…and of course, most major media outlets find that newsworthy. Forget that there are Federal laws against ILLEGAL immigration…and that the Tea Partiers are most often just showing support for candidates who feel that those laws should be upheld…. (How racist can you get?....Isn’t that disgusting?)

Then you have a couple people like Maurice Heath and Paris Lewis….probably better known as King Samir Shabazz and Malik Zulu Shabazz. These two fine upstanding young men are leaders in the New Black Panther Party. National Geographic has described the New Black Panther Party as "a militant hate group headquartered in Washington, D.C., that seeks to redefine the black struggle for equality and demand liberation from what it sees as white supremacy." Malik has been quoted for years (of course...NOT by the mainstream media) saying some of the most outrageously racist things that have ever been uttered in the history of mankind. Things that would have probably made Hitler cringe. But not to be outdone…..it seems that King (or is it Samir?) has been saying some pretty outrageous things himself…….In case you missed it, here is a transcript of parts of one of his speeches. Before you criticize me for taking these statements “out of context”….please tell me in WHAT context these things are acceptable……

“I hate white people, all of them……every last iota of a cracker, I hate him……
We didn't come out here to play this game…..There's too much serious business going on in the black community to be out here sliding through South Street with white dirty cracker whore (expletive) on our arms……And we call ourselves black men with African garb on…..What the hell is wrong with you, black man? ……You had a (unintelligible) with a white girl on your damn arm……You want freedom? You are going to have to kill some crackers….You might have to kill some of they (sic) babies.”

As incendiary as these remarks are…..you WON’T see this on network news….or CNN or CNBC…My question is “Why Not?” They have no problem showing a peaceful Tea Party Movement rally and adding their own commentary of how racist those people are….so why not the Shabazz twins? It doesn’t take a journalist to translate the message of King Samir Shabazz’s statements…..this is one time that it truly does “go without saying”. Let's compare the Tea Party Movement's stand against ILLEGAL immigration....and Shabazz's stand FOR killing "white people".....While I know that there are Federal laws that SUPPORT being against ILLEGAL immigration...I'm pretty sure that there are laws AGAINST killing "white people".

Here’s an idea….and here is also where I will probably be criticized by many people. Every time I hear that racist rant of Samir Shabazz….I think to myself…”Hmmm…what would happen if it were a white Tea Party person saying these kinds of things?” Does anyone think that it wouldn’t be the lead story on EVERY network? In the words of that racist Sarah Palin……”You betcha”. Just in case you’re not with me so far….I took the liberty to change a few key words to see if it is any more offensive. Lets take a look…….picture a Tea Party person standing in front of a crowd saying this…….

“I hate black people, all of them……every last iota of a nigger, I hate him……
We didn't come out here to play this game…..There's too much serious business going on in the white community to be out here sliding through South Street with black dirty nigger whore (expletive) on our arms……And we call ourselves white men with American garb on…..What the hell is wrong with you, white man? ……You had a (unintelligible) with a black girl on your damn arm……You want freedom? You are going to have to kill some niggers….You might have to kill some of they (sic) babies.”

Are you offended yet? If it took the second version to offend you…..then I would say that it is a VERY good chance that you might be a racist…and you need to take a good look at your personal and moral values. Why? Because BOTH versions are as offensive as it gets. Because BOTH versions are reprehensible. Because BOTH versions are racist and unacceptable in any civil society. While we established earlier that there are no laws against EITHER of those versions…..I doubt seriously that you will find anyone from NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN or CNBC reporting on the words of Mr. Shabazz…..and you certainly wont hear a peep about it from the ranking mainstream “race pimps” Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton…….just don’t let that second version get out…..because THAT (of course) would be racist and unacceptable....Right? Then Again….That’s Just Me

Cop Killers And Government Spending……..

2010-06-30T11:07:00.000-04:00

My sincere condolences go out to the families of the 2 Tampa Police officers who were killed in the line of duty early Tuesday morning, June 29th. Officers David Curtis and Jeffrey Kocab were shot and killed during what is being described as a routine traffic stop. The shooter, who is still at large, has been identified as 24-year old Dontae Rashawn Morris.

This tragedy comes on the heels of a Supreme Court decision that upholds the constitutional right of U.S. citizens to own guns. The ruling was in response to attempts from certain cities to ban gun ownership. This SCOTUS decision makes it clear that gun ownership is a right that is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution….and cannot be overridden by state laws or local ordinances. Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the Second Amendment right "applies equally to the federal government and the states”.....But while the 2nd Amendment clearly states “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed”….there are some who will point to the tragic shooting of these two Tampa police officers and say “If there were no guns, this wouldn’t have happened”. That ignorant statement is what I would like to address in this commentary.

First of all….records show that Dontae Morris served as a guest of the Florida State Prison System on cocaine charges, on two separate occasions…..a two year sentence, which ended in April of 2010...and a nine month stint from 2004 to 2005. This fact alone would make him ineligible to legally purchase a gun. That means the gun used in this shooting was either stolen….or purchased illegally.

Some of the most ridiculous logic for banning guns comes from people like Richard M. Daley, the Mayor of Chicago who recently made the following statment..."We are a country of laws not a nation of guns." My responses to that statement are pretty simple…”First of all....you're an idiot....Then...Are you serious?....because the last time I checked, there was a law against shooting and killing two police officers during a routine traffic stop……but that didn’t stop this piece of crap, Dontae Morris from doing just that”. Just because you make it illegal to own a gun, doesn’t mean all of the guns go away…..NO, it just means that all of the guns go away from people who abide by the law. My guess is that someone who has no compunction in killing 2 police officers during a routine traffic stop, probably doesn’t have much of a problem with illegally obtaining a gun to commit the crime…..

Here’s some more ignorance from Mayor Daley….He said he's considering creating a registry of the names and addresses of everyone in the city who legally owns a handgun, which would be made available to police officers, firefighters and other "first responders" before they arrive at the scene of emergencies……AGAIN my response to that idea seems pretty simplistic…..Mayor Daley, please lean forward and listen very closely…”THE GUY THAT KILLED THE TWO TAMPA POLICE OFFICERS DIDN’T OWN THE GUN LEGALLY, YOU IDIOT...SO WHAT GOOD WOULD THAT LAW HAVE DONE?!!!!!!”. Anyone who has such a lack of conscience that they could kill two police officers for no reason……will find a gun no matter how many laws are passed. If your idea was sound….then there would be no illegal drugs on the streets….after all the key word in “illegal drugs” is ILLEGAL. It is NOT law-abiding gun owners that are causing the problem…..in most cases, it’s those who are already breaking the law in other ways, that are the problem.

There’s more from Mayor Daley…..on Monday after the SCOTUS ruled against laws like Chicago and some other cities have on their books....he said the following…."Look at all the guns that shot people this weekend. Where did they come from? That is the issue…..ten people have been killed and more than 60 others wounded by gunfire since Friday”. WOW…..this is just TOO easy….Again listen closely…..”YOU HAD THE GUN BAN LAWS ON THE BOOKS OVER THAT SAME WEEKEND….HOW’S THAT WORKING FOR THE CITY OF CHICAGO?” Sources say that a majority of the shootings were “gang-related”….and of course we all know that gang members ALWAYS go to legitimate gun shops and buy and register their guns legally….Right? Of course not….AGAIN, if guns are outlawed….criminals will be the only ones with guns.

I am not trying to politicize the tragic deaths of these two fallen police officers…..However, when something like this happens….I know that the gun-control freaks will be coming out of the woodwork trying to take away my guns and the guns of other law-abiding citizens. Let me say with great conviction…”that aint gonna happen”…..Why...you might ask? The key concept here....in my less than grammatically correct statement is just that....“I am a gun owner”.

In a day when most government budgets are being stretched to their very limit….let me offer up a money-saving idea. When this human-piece-of-garbage, Dontae Morris, is captured….rather than spending millions of dollars on trials…court-appointed attorneys….prison….appeals and more court-appointed attorneys…and on and on…….let me make a suggestion. I carry a gun every day. In that gun I specifically use “Hornady® Critical Defense .38 Special+p” ammunition. While they are somewhat expensive (a little over a dollar each)….one or two well placed shots with one of these babies....would offer a swift alternative to the millions of dollars that could potentially be spent to bring about the same result…..and as you know….I’m all about cutting government spending. Then Again….That’s Just Me

…..Of Oil And Immigrants……….

2010-06-22T12:02:00.002-04:00

Recently at a town hall meeting, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz) was asked about a one-on-one meeting that he had with President Obama regarding illegal immigration. Sen. Kyl’s response seems to have ruffled some feathers in and around the White House……Here’s is the Senator’s version of what was said…."The president said the problem is if we secure the border, then you all won't have any reason to support comprehensive immigration reform…In other words, they're holding it hostage". Let me insert here that “comprehensive immigration reform”….is Democrat for amnesty…He went on to say that the President made it clear that “They won't secure the border unless and until is it combined with comprehensive immigration reform." Of course the White House has denied that Obama ever said that, and why shouldn’t we believe them, since they have been so honest and transparent thus far into the president's reign.

Let me see if I understand this……Obama was basically saying “I know that there is a problem with illegals spilling across the U.S. border….and in some cases destroying the lives of many U.S. citizens…..BUT…I’m not going to do anything about it until the Republicans play MY game…MY way”. Or in other words…”Screw the citizens of the United States….my agenda of amnesty for illegal immigrants is far more important than you…or your rights”. Does that sound about right as to the proper interpretation? If you said “yes”…then you obviously are very intelligent….If you said “no”…then I would say that it is very likely that if Obama walked up to you and hit you in the head with a hammer…..you would blink and say “why did George Bush just hit me with a hammer?”

As I was thinking about the illegal immigration crisis….my tiny little mind wondered over to another crisis….and that is the one we are seeing in the Gulf of Mexico. While I’m not a tree-hugging nut-case…(ok….I’m not a tree-hugger…the nut-case part is still up for debate)….I HAVE spent my entire life on the Gulf Coast of Florida. I grew up fishing with my Dad, offshore in the Gulf of Mexico….and when I see what is happening…it makes me sick. With that said….I see a LOT of similarities (or simularities if you are from Indiana) between the illegal immigration problem along our border....and the oil problem in the Gulf. I know that I will probably offend some people here…..so let me say up front….Im NOT going to apologize. Here’s the way I see it……………….

You can spend gazillions of dollars on cleaning up the beaches of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida (and I am pro-clean-up if anyone asks)……but until you stop the oil from gushing out of the broken well….isn’t it kind of pointless? It seems to me that our number one priority….and our main focus should be to stop the steady flow of oil…..and THEN focus on what to do with all the oil that is already there. Or maybe President Obama could tell Senator Kyl and the other Republicans that if they will support a law that says that the oil that has already spilled into the Gulf isn’t harmful (basically amnesty for the oil)…..THEN he and the Democrats would do something about the tens of thousand of gallons of oil that are spilling into the Gulf every day.

Before someone blows an o-ring……let me clarify that I’m not saying that the administration blew up the oil well…..or that they are intentionally stalling on getting the oil leak stopped….just to get their way. (After all….everyone knows that George W. Bush blew up that oil rig) BUT….In the words of Obama’s Chief of Staff Rham Emanuel "Never let a serious crisis go to waste….What I mean by that is it's an opportunity to do things you couldn't do before."

What I am saying, is this….we are taking the 2 most serious crises in the nation….and politicizing the dog crap out of them. Obama and the Democrats are saying.....Let’s use the crisis of illegals flooding across our borders in order to get amnesty for the 12 -15 million illegals who are already here…..and lets use the crisis of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico to get cap and trade passed…..BOTH of which will undoubtedly bring harm to the tax-paying citizens of the United States. Of course…..all the while, the solution to both problems is the same……Stop the flow….then clean up the mess. Then Again….That’s Just Me

Stop Breaking Our Laws……….

2010-05-21T12:53:00.005-04:00

That sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? If someone breaks into other people's houses and steals other people’s things…..if and when that person is arrested, eventually (we would hope ) they go to jail. The reason for being put in jail is to send a message to them that if you break the law, there is a penalty. It should also serve as a deterrent to other “potential” thieves, that if they do the same thing, they will end up in jail as well. Of course the same thing goes for other crimes....like murder, rape, tax fraud (strike that last one because Charlie Rangle and Timothy Geithner not only did NOT go to jail for it….they have very good government jobs…and BOTH of them have committed tax fraud)….so then….at least you have murder and rape. (Well again…on the whole rape thing….it’s of course, unless you are in Cleveland, Ohio…..your name is Norman Craig….you are charged with raping a 9-year-old girl…..the judge in your case is Judge Eileen Gallagher……and then of course, the prosecutor is late for court……THEN it seems, that you don’t have to go to prison for that either)

With that said….we DO for the most part, have a good legal system in our country. It is not perfect, but it is by far the most fair of any legal system in the world. So if we have laws, is it wrong to enforce them? What good does it do to have rules or laws that go un-enforced? It’s like parents who tell their kids not to do something and the kid goes and does it again. The parent AGAIN tells them not to do something, and AGAIN the kid does it again. At some point, unless the parent institutes some type of consequence for disobeying them….the child won’t do anything that the parent tells them to do. Why? The better question is “why should they?”…obviously nothing is going to happen.

Recently the state of Arizona passed a law that basically makes it illegal to do something that is already illegal, and in the short time since the law has passed, liberals have been coming out of the woodwork chastising Arizonans for being racists. The Arizona law falls WELL within the guidelines of the federal laws that are already in place. So why did they have to pass their own law if there was a federal law in place?…..Funny you should ask….Lean forward just a little bit….there, hold it right there. "ITS BECAUSE WE DON’T ENFORCE THE FEDERAL LAWS !!!"

Then you have people like Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner who apologizes in China, to Chinese officials, for the egregious behavior of the United States with regard to the Arizona law. Keep in mind that China is a country that has killed, what some estimates put as high as 78 million people through genocide, since 1958. Yeah, I can certainly understand apologizing to them. In addition, China ranks near the top of all the countries in the world when it comes to human rights violations. Although if they continue on the path that they have followed for decades….and then put in just a little more work….I’m sure that they can get to that coveted number one spot.

Then of course you have those two guys from Obama’s administration….Eric Holder and Janet Napolitano (awkward name for a guy, don’t you think?)…..who made public statements about how the Arizona law is unconstitutional…..how it will lead to racial profiling…..how it will be struck down by the federal government and on and on…..Only to find out that….(oopsie)…they never read the law. Seriously? You are really that stupid? You would speak out publicly against something that you don’t even know the facts on? (in their defense, their boss did the same thing regarding the arrest of his friend, Henry Gates. Obama’s statement regarding the arrest was….”I don’t know all the facts….but I think its fair to say….the Cambridge Police acted stupidly”). So based on that……I guess it is ok to make sweeping derogatory statements about things that you know NOTHING about.

But here is my biggest problem of all…..Mexican President Calderon. He came to the United States as a guest…..he was treated respectfully…..he was allowed to address the United States Congress….and of all the things he could have said (like "Thank you")…..he got up and trashed Arizona’s recent illegal immigration law.

Memo to President Calderon:

Before you came to the U.S. as a guest, and trashed Arizona's (Constitutional) ILLEGAL immigration law...First of all….did you bother to read it? (if not…I can tell you that there were at least two idiots...who were in the front row clapping for you....who didn't read it either). If you DID read it, you would have seen that it is specific in addressing a couple of your biggest concerns…..which leads me to believe that you did NOT read it. Secondly…..Why don’t you go back to Mexico and fix your own country, before you start trying to fix ours. If your country didn’t suck so bad (badly?), then we wouldn’t have YOUR people fleeing YOUR country by the millions trying to get to OUR country…..That in and of itself would be a HUGE step in fixing OUR problem. So shut up with the race-baiting. It is NOT racist for us to enforce our illegal immigration laws. A couple more things…..Why don’t you go read your country's laws regarding ILLEGAL immigration, and when our laws are as tough on offenders as yours are (and they should be)....then you can come back here and run your yapper. Until then...SHUT UP, GO HOME and fix your own country before you criticize the country that all your citizens are breaking laws to get into.

Lastly….to President Obama: please get some balls and tell that little twit Calderon to shut up. You have said nothing about his remarks…(Just a little side-note...when you refuse to respond to that kind of hateful, race-baiting rhetoric, it tends to indicate that you probably agree with what was said). I know that you go to foreign countries and apologize for the United States…..but could you at least not allow the President of a country, that is causing so much trouble in OUR country, say these type things to Congress and to people of the United States. That was shameful. Don’t you see that Calderon is part of the problem? Send him home….I also think it would be a great idea if maybe he could stop on his way out, and pick up 12-15 million of his fellow countrymen to take home with him. I don't believe that the people of the United States are a bunch of hillbilly racists.....I DO believe that what most Americans want....is for all of these people from other countries to simply stop breaking our laws. Then Again….That’s Just Me