Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Down on the Farm

A young boy comes down for breakfast. Since they live on a farm, his mother asks if he has done his chores.

"Not yet," said the little boy.

His mother tells him no breakfast until he does his chores.

Well, he's a little ticked off so when he feeds the chickens, he kicks a chicken.

When he feeds the cows, he kicks a cow.

When he feeds the pigs, he kicks a pig.

He goes back in for breakfast and his mother gives him a bowl of dry cereal.

"How come I don't get any eggs and bacon, and why don't I have any milk in my cereal?" he asks.

"Well," his mother says, "I saw you kick a chicken, so you don't get any eggs for a week. I saw you kick the pig, so you don't get any bacon for a week either. I saw you kick the cow so for a week you aren't getting any milk."

Just then, his father comes down for breakfast and kicks the cat halfway across the kitchen.

The little boy looks up at his mother with a smile,

and says,

"You gonna tell him or should I?"
What About The South?

Tennessee


The owner of a golf course was confused about paying an invoice, so he decided to ask his secretary for some mathematical help. He called her into his office and said, "You graduated from the University of Tennessee and I need some help. If I were to give you $20,000, minus 14%, how much would you take off?"

The secretary thought a moment, and then replied, "Everything but my earrings."

Alabama

A group of Alabama friends went deer hunting and paired off in twos for the day. That night, one of the hunters returned alone, staggering under the weight of an eight-point buck. "Where's Henry?" the others asked.

"Henry had a stroke of some kind. He's a couple of miles back up the trail," the successful hunter replied.

"You left Henry laying out there and carried the deer back?" they inquired.

"A tough call," nodded the hunter. "But I figured no one is going to steal Henry!"

Louisiana

A senior at LSU was overheard saying... "When the end of the world comes, I hope to be in Louisiana." When asked why, he replied he'd rather be in Louisiana because everything happens in Louisiana 20 years later than in the rest of the civilized world.

Mississippi

The young man from Mississippi came running into the store and said to his buddy, "Bubba, somebody just stole your pickup truck from the parking lot!"

Bubba replied, "Did you see who it was?"

The young man answered, "I couldn't tell, but I got his license number."

Georgia

A Georgia State trooper pulled over a pickup on I-75. The trooper asked, "Got any I. D.?"

The driver replied, "Bout whut?"

North Carolina

A man in North Carolina had a flat tire, pulled off on the side of the road, and proceeded to put a bouquet of flowers in front of the car and one behind it.

Then he got back in the car to wait. A passerby studied the scene as he drove by and was so curious he turned around and went back. He asked the fellow what the problem was.

The man replied, "I have a flat tire."

The passerby asked, "But what's with the flowers?"

The man responded, "When you break down they tell you to put flares in the front and flares in the back. Hey, it don't make sense to me neither."

And this from South Carolina

"You can say what you want about the South, but I ain't never heard of anyone retiring to the North!
YES, I'M A BAD AMERICAN

I am the Liberal-Progressives Worst Nightmare. I am an American.

I believe the money I make belongs to me and my family, not some Liberal governmental functionary be it Democratic or Republican!

I'm in touch with my feelings and I like it that way!

I think owning a gun doesn't make you a killer, it makes you a smart American.

I think being a minority does not make you noble or victimized,
and does not entitle you to anything.
I believe that if you are selling me a Big Mac, do it in English.

I believe everyone has a right to pray to his or her God when
and where they want to.

My heroes are John Wayne, Babe Ruth, Randolph Scott, Roy Rogers, Mickey Mantle, and whoever canceled Jerry Springer.

I know wrestling is fake and I don't waste my time
watching or arguing about it.

I've never owned a slave, or was a slave; I haven't burned any witches or been persecuted by the Turks and neither have you! So, shut up already.

I believe if you don't like the way things are here, go back to where you came from and change your own country! This is AMERICA!

If you were born here and don't like it you are free to move to any Socialist country that will have you.

I think the cops have every right to shoot your sorry rear if
you're running from them.

I also think they have the right to pull you over if you're breaking the law,
regardless of what color you are.

And, no, I don't mind having my face shown on my drivers license.
I think it's good.....
And I'm proud that 'God' is written on my money.

I think if you are too stupid to know how a ballot works,
I don't want you deciding who should be running the most powerful nation in the world for the next four years.

I dislike those people standing in the intersections trying to sell me stuff or trying to guilt me into making 'donations' to their cause.

I believe that it doesn't take a village to raise a child, it takes two parents.

I believe 'illegal' is illegal no matter what the lawyers think.

I believe the American flag should be the only one allowed in AMERICA!

If this makes me a BAD American, then yes, I'm a BAD American.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

545 People
Charlie Reese

(Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel)

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them. Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits? Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does. You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does. You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does. You and I don't control monetary policy, The Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court justices - 545 human beings out of the 300 million - are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered but private central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits.

The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it. The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes.

Who is the speaker of the House? She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts - of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.

When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.

If the Marines are in IRAQ, it's because they want them in IRAQ.

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power.

Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like 'the economy,' 'inflation' or 'politics' that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible. They, and they alone, have the power. They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses - provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!


~~~~~~~

I have to admit this is a "duh!" moment for me. Of course the problems we face can be corrected by Congress...if they wanted to. But if they fix the problems caused by Congress, the President, and the Supreme Court, they'd all be out of jobs, wouldn't get their deals from special interest groups, wouldn't get their Federal pensions, and couldn't have their foot on the throats of people they need votes from.

Actually, I'd wager that if they fixed all the problems we now faced, they might be elected to office permanently. We like people who are proven fixers. In the private sector, people who prove their worth get make big money, get big bonuses, and make a name for themselves. Unfortunately, the only name most of our Congresscritters have made for themselves is something I won't repeat here.

I've been guilty of blaming the "economy" for a lot of the problems we're facing, but thinking about it, who is ultimately responsible for the economy? If Congress can afford to send out millions in rebate checks to "stimulate" the economy, what else can they do? Where did that money come from?

Perhaps it's time I started thinking more about this. And you should too.

A MODERN PARABLE

A Japanese company (Toyota) and an American company (Ford) decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River. Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race. On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.

The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action. Their conclusion was the Japanese had eight people rowing and one person steering, while the American team had eight people steering and one person rowing.

Feeling a deeper study was in order, American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion. They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.

Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team's management structure was totally reorganized to four steering supervisors, three area steering superintendents, and one assistant superintendent steering manager. They also implemented a new performance system that would give the one person rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the 'Rowing Team Quality First Program,' with meetings, dinners, and free pens for the rower. There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes, and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices and bonuses.

The next year the Japanese won by two miles.

Humiliated, the American management laid off the rower for poor performance, halted development of a new canoe, sold the paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives as bonuses and the next year's racing team was outsourced to India.

Sadly, The End.

Here's something else to think about: Ford has spent the last thirty years moving its factories out of the US, claiming they can't make money paying American wages.

TOYOTA has spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen plants inside the US. The last quarter's results: TOYOTA makes 4 billion in profits while Ford racked up 9 billion in losses. Ford folks are still scratching their heads.

If this wasn't true, it might actually be funny.
Joe American

He says what we're all thinking - I hope

Fair Tax - Part 2

This is the second YouTube video on the FairTax by this particular videographer. Once again, neither are my work; the info was sent to me by another FairTaxer. Both videos are well worth watching and my explain something you haven't understood about the FairTax.

Kitten At the Keyboard

If you've read this blog before, you might notice that the name has changed. It might change back to My Little Corner of the World at some point.

The reason? Well, I used the phrase in a previous post and it just struck a chord with me. I've been through a lot of changes in my life over the last 18 months, some deliberate, some not wanted at all. I'm in the process of making more changes, so I when I used the phrase, I thought, hmmm...this might be a good time for a change here, too. I might even find a cute picture of a kitten on a keyboard to use as a logo.

I'm a firm believer in the old adage that says, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I don't like change just for the sake of change. I believe in change when it's necessary, and I hope I'll never be a person who is afraid of change or can't adjust to change. I just prefer that when changes are made, it's done because it's needed, not just to "stir things up" or "because it's time". That's not necessarily a good reason for change. Don't you hate walking into a store and finding that everything has been moved around since the last time you were there? Now you have to spend time looking for what you want. That's the idea. When you are looking for that one item, you'll see dozens of things you haven't seen before and maybe will spend more money. Change in a store layout is done for a reason: to make more money.

My friend Alicia told me about a change that happened to her many years ago. She was newly married and the in-laws came to visit. While she and her husband were out, her sister-in-law rearranged her kitchen cabinets. The SIL thought she was doing a good thing by better organizing the cabinets. Well, it wasn't a change Alicia wanted made and was changed back to her arrangement about five minutes after the in-laws left. Moral of this story: don't make changes in someone else's house unless they have at least expressed the opinion that they wanted to make a change.

One thing I won't change is my reason for this blog: to express my opinion. Opinions are an interesting things. Everyone has one about everything. Some people freely express theirs, others are more reticent about expressing theirs. I retain the right to express my opinion here about anything and everything I choose to. I further retain the right to change my opinion, maybe in the middle of a sentence, if I choose to. That means that I've received further information, or while discussing a topic, realize that I now understand facts/information differently than I had previously. Sometimes change can be beneficial.

And sometimes not so much. One time I got a raise. Isn't getting a raise a good thing? It put me into a higher tax bracket and I ended up taking home five cents less than I had the week before. When I saw my boss the next day, I told him I couldn't afford to get many raises like that. He went to the company accountant and had my raise changed so that I stayed in the previous tax bracket and actually took home more money. That was a change I could live with. I couldn't do that today, as I work in the public sector, not the private and don't have any say in how much of a raise I get - or if I get one at all.

One thing you must remember about change: Be careful what you wish for. It might not be all that it's cracked up to be.
The Fair Tax

I hope I've done this right. This is my first YouTube post. No, it's not one I did. The link was sent to me by another FairTaxer. I didn't get the idea of YouTube. Frankly, I thought it was a waste of time, used mostly by kids to post videos of themselves doing, well, stupid kid stuff. I've learned something about myself (I was a bit of a snob) and I stand corrected. I finally realized YouTube is a valuable device that can be used to give the younger (and older, if the truth be told) generation important information such as the FairTax (and other stuff) in a way they would be receptive to and understand.

I'm all for technology and using new teaching methods as they evolve. So, I enter a new generation of knowledge gathering. I might be a a little late in coming to YouTube, but I got there and I get it now. Don't expect to see anything of me on YouTube anytime soon. Leo's are supposed to be spotlight loving people, but that's not me. I'm a Leo who prefers being the Kitten on the Keyboard.