What the Heck Happened??

Sadly, this is too true to be funny,

The next time you hear a politician use the word 'billion' in a casual manner, think about whether you want the 'politicians' spending YOUR tax money.

A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of it's releases.

A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.

B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.

C. A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.

D. A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.

E. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.

While this thought is still fresh in our brain...let's take a look at New Orleans...

It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division.

Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D) is presently askingCongress for 250 BILLION DOLLARS to rebuild New Orleans. Interesting number. What does it mean?

A. Well...if you are one of the 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman, and child) you each get $516,528.

B. Or...if you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans, your home gets $1,329,787.

C. Or...if you are a family of four...your family gets $2,066,012.

Washington, D.C.: <> Are all your calculators broken??

Accounts Receivable Tax

Building Permit Tax

CDL License Tax

Cigarette Tax

Corporate Income Tax

Dog License Tax

Federal Income Tax

Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)

Fishing License Tax

Food License Tax

Fuel Permit Tax

Gasoline Tax

Hunting License Tax

Inheritance Tax

Inventory Tax

IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)

IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)

Liquor Tax

Luxury Tax

Marriage License Tax

Medicare Tax

Property Tax

Real Estate Tax

Service charge taxes

Social Security Tax

Road Usage Tax (Truckers)

Sales Taxes

Recreational Vehicle Tax

School Tax

State Income Tax

State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)

Telephone Federal Excise Tax

Telephone Federal Universal

Service Fee Tax

Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax

Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax

Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax

Telephone State and Local Tax

Telephone Usage Charge Tax

Utility Tax

Vehicle License Registration Tax

Vehicle Sales Tax

Watercraft Registration Tax

Well Permit Tax

Workers Compensation Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago... and our nation was the most prosperous in the world.

We had absolutely no national debt...We had the largest middle class in the world...and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What happened?

Can you spell "politicians"?

And I still have to press '1' for English!

~~~~~

No, I didn't do the math to figure out if a billion seconds ago it really was 1959. I'm assuming someone else did. And even if the year had changed, assuming the math is correct, it would probably be somewhere in the 1960's - forty years ago! Same goes for the billion minutes, hours, etc, mentioned above. If you're really curious as to whether the math is correct, be my guest. But don't come back and tell me the above is wrong. I don't really care.

You see, even if the math is off, it's the imagery that's important. Politicians are looking at Billions like it's nothing. It's a billion dollars for Pete's sake! More money than most people, including politicians, will see in their lifetimes.

It's really easy to spend someone else's money. It's not coming out of Washington pockets. It's coming out of yours and mine.

Look at what Landrieu is asking for New Orleans. Before I go any further, I have to remind my readers that I do feel for the citizens of NO. I really do. But why should you and I pay billions to people who chose to live in a city that is situated in a basin with the Gulf of Mexico held back by levees? Why should you and I buy homes for people whose previous homes were uninsured? If my home is uninsured and destroyed, is someone going to pay me to rebuild my home? My life?

Doutbtful. My friends and family may help me out until I get on my feet, but I probably won't be getting government handouts. I've done the research. I don't fit the social demographics of people who get handouts.

Did you get a handout from the "stimulus" package that started earlier this year? I doubt it. You didn't fit the demographics. You weren't a multi-million dollar company that made exceedingly bad choices.

No, apparently in the United States of today, you have to make bad choices to get help from our government. Be greedy and do things that cause the economy to plummet, live in a city that was reclaimed from the Gulf of Mexico, and live hand-to-mouth beyond your means, to get any help.

I don't expect the government to help me out, despite what you might have taken from the above. I just want to be able to make a decent living, put food on the table, clothes on my back, a roof over my head and have what I consider to be the niceities of life and look forward to a comfortable retirement.

I think that should be what the American ideal should be. If necessary, I'd like a hand-up when needed, not a hand-out.

Is that really too much to ask? To expect? To want?

Superstar CBS Reporter Blows the Lid Off the Swine Flu Media Hype and Hysteria

Posted by: Dr. Mercola November 24 2009 | 78,006 views

Sharyl Attkisson is a CBS News correspondent and investigative reporter. She’s covered Capitol Hill since February 2006 and has been a Washington-based correspondent there since January 1995. She was also part of the CBS news team that received the Edward Murrow Award in 2005 for overall excellence. Additionally, she received an Outstanding Investigative Journalism Emmy in 2002 for a series on the Red Cross.

In case you didn't realize it, Sharyl Attkisson is the investigative reporter behind the groundbreaking CBS News study that found H1N1 flu cases are NOT as prevalent as feared.

In fact, they’re barely on the radar screen.

How did this startling information come about, and why is the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) painting a different picture entirely? I spoke directly with Sharyl Attkisson to find out.

Read the rest of the story and view the videos here.....

Jasper and the Unbaked Yeast Rolls

We have a fox terrier by the name of Jasper. He came to us in the summer of 2001 from the fox terrier rescue program. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this type of adoption, imagine taking in a 10-year-old child you know nothing about and committing to doing your best to be a good parent.

Five weeks ago we began remodeling our house. Although the cost of the project was downright obnoxious, it was 20 years overdue AND it got me out of cooking Thanksgiving dinner for family, extended family, and a lot of friends that I like more than family most of the time.

I was assigned the task of preparing 124 of my famous yeast dinner rolls for the two Thanksgiving feasts we did attend.

I am still mad at the electrician for getting the new oven hooked up so quickly. It was the only appliance in the whole house that worked, thus the assignment.

I made the decision to cook the rolls on Wednesday evening and to reheat Thursday morning. Since the kitchen was freshly painted, you can imagine the odor. Not wanting the rolls to smell like Sherwin Williams latex paint #586, I put the rolls on baking sheets and set them in the living room to rise for five hours.

After three hours, Perry and I decided to go out to eat, returning about an hour later. An hour after that, the rolls were ready to go into the oven.

It was 8:30 p.m. When I went to the living room to retrieve the pans, much to my shock, one whole pan of 12 rolls was empty. I called out to Jasper, and my worst nightmare became a reality. He literally wobbled over to me. He looked like a combination of the Pillsbury dough boy and the Michelin Tire man wrapped up in fur. He groaned when he walked. Even his cheeks were bloated.

I ran to the phone and called our vet. After a few seconds of uproarious laughter, he told me the dog would probably be OK; however, I needed to give him Pepto Bismol every two hours for the rest of the night.

Who knows why I thought a dog would like Pepto Bismol any more than my kids did when they were sick. Suffice it to say that by the time we went to bed, the dog was black, white, and pink. He was so bloated we had to lift him onto the bed for the night.

Naively thinking the dog would be all better by morning was very stupid on my part.

We arose at 7:30 and as we always do first thing, we put the dog out to take care of his business. Well, the dog was as drunk as a sailor on his first leave. He was running into walls, falling flat on his rear. Most of the time when he was walking, his front half was going one direction and the other half was either dragging the grass or headed 90 degrees in another direction. When he ran down the small incline in our back yard, he couldn't stop himself and nearly ended up running into the fence.

His pupils were dilated and he was as dizzy as a loon. I endured another few seconds of laughter from the vet (second call within 12 hours) before he explained that the yeast had fermented in his belly and that he was indeed drunk.

He assured me that, not unlike most binges we humans go through, it would wear off after about four or five hours. He then told me to keep giving the dog Pepto Bismol.

Afraid to leave Jasper by himself in the house, Perry and I loaded him up and took him with us to my sister's house for the first Thanksgiving meal of the day.

My sister lives outside of Muskogee on a ranch (a 10- to 15-minute drive). Rolls firmly secured in the trunk (124 less 12) and drunk dog leaning from the back seat onto the console of the car between Perry and me, we took off.

Now I know you probably don't believe that dogs burp, but believe me when I say that after eating a tray of risen unbaked yeast rolls, DOGS WILL BURP. These burps were pure Old Charter. They would have matched or beat any smell in a drunk tank at the police station. But that's not the worst of it.

Now he was beginning to pass gas and it smelled like baked rolls. We endured this for the entire trip to Karen's. We were thankful she didn't live any farther away than she did.

Once Jasper was firmly placed in my sister's garage with the door locked, we finally sat down to enjoy our first Thanksgiving meal of the day. The dog was the topic of conversation all morning long and everyone made trips to the garage to witness my drunken dog, each returning with a tale of Jasper's latest endeavor to walk without running into something. Of course, as the old adage goes, "What goes in must come out," and Jasper was no exception.

Granted if it had been me that had eaten 12 risen, unbaked yeast rolls, you might as well have put a concrete block up my behind, but alas a dog's digestive system is quite different from yours or mine. I discovered this was a mixed blessing when we prepared to leave Karen's house.

Having discovered his "packages" on the garage floor, we loaded him up in the car so we could hose down the floor.

This was another naive decision on our part. The blast of water from the hose hit the poop on the floor, and the poop on the floor withstood the blast from the hose. It was like Portland cement beginning to set up and cure.

We finally tried to remove it with a shovel. I (obviously no one else was going to offer their services) had to get on my hands and knees with a coarse brush to get the remnants off of the floor. And as if this wasn't degrading enough, the dog in his drunken state had walked through the poop and left paw prints all over the garage floor that had to be brushed too.

Well, by this time the dog was sobering up nicely, so we took him home and dropped him off before we left for our second Thanksgiving dinner at Perry's sister's house.

I am happy to report that as of today (Monday) the dog is back to normal, both in size and temperament. He has had a bath and is no longer tricolor. None the worse for wear, I presume. I am also happy to report that just this evening I found two risen unbaked yeast rolls hidden inside my closet door.

It appears he must have come to his senses after eating ten of them but decided hiding two of them for later would not be a bad idea. Now, I'm doing research on the computer: "How to clean unbaked dough from the carpet."

And how was your day?

Just in time for Thanksgiving a blockbuster movie about sweet potatoes, 'The Silence of the Yams'

THE NEXT GRASSROOTS REVOLUTION
From Rep. John Linder, The sponsor of HR 25, the FairTax legislation.

The most enjoyable parts about generating support for tax reform and my FairTax bill have been meeting energetic Americans, seeing the bill bring together hundreds of thousands of supporters, and pressing forward with more co-sponsors in the House of Representatives than ever. The most disappointing aspect of the process is hearing someone say that it’s a great idea, but it’s really too bad because it will never pass.

I believe we can pass fundamental tax reform because that is what we, as Americans, have always done. We have always been able to achieve great things and provide more opportunities for ourselves.

Ronald Reagan is my political hero, not only because he knew what he believed in, but also because he knew that the American people could achieve anything. From the day he took the oath, he knew our problems could be solved because the American people have always had the capacity “to do whatever needs to be done to preserve this greatest bastion of freedom.”

The can-do attitude is an American trait. Read the following, and consider the first reaction to the proposal: “We shall send to the moon, 240,000 miles away from the control station in Houston, a giant rocket more than 300 feet tall, the length of this football field, made of new metal alloys, some of which have not yet been invented, capable of standing heat and stresses several times more than have ever been experienced, fitted together with a precision better than the finest watch, carrying all the equipment needed for propulsion, guidance, control, communications, food and survival, on an untried mission, to an unknown celestial body, and then return it safely to earth, re-entering the atmosphere at speeds of over 25,000 miles per hour, causing heat about half that of the temperature of the sun.”

After outlining the challenge, John Kennedy set a self-imposed deadline to achieve this goal. He said we would do it and we wo uld do it in that decade. And he said if we were going to do it we had to be bold.

A comparison between the exhilaration of a victorious space race to our planet’s moon and changing the tax code is admittedly a stretch. But the point is that this is too great a nation to simply accept the fact that every aspect of our personal and business lives forever must be accompanied by the burden of a corrosive, bureaucratic and unfair system of taxation.

The FairTax fulfills our nation’s principles of less government, personal responsibility, and individual freedom by offering true long-needed tax relief in the form of lower prices, nearly nonexistent compliance costs, and the ability to choose how much to spend in taxes to all Americans, while eliminating the IRS and allowing Americans to keep their paycheck.

If you don’t think that Congress listens when the people express themselves, ask Dan Rostenkowski who, as Chairman of the Ways & Means Committee in 1989, had senior citizens chase him through the streets of Chicago and attack his car in reaction to a health care bill he had shepherded through Congress. Not surprisingly, Congress quickly voted to repeal the law.

I am not advocating hammering on the hood of someone else’s automobile, but I have seen the people move Congress. The American people can move Congress on fundamental tax reform as well. The FairTax generates excitement about what it can achieve for our nation and for future generations of Americans. At a Wednesday evening FairTax rally in Atlanta, 4,500 people packed a convention center and 3,000 more were turned away. The next rally in Orlando attracted 10,000 supporters on a Saturday morning. The Orlando Sentinel told the story of Bruce Sofge and David Rady, who left home at 1:30 AM for a seven-hour drive to the Orlando rally, and Kim Nichols, a flight attendant who took off work and put 400 miles on her 12-year-old Toyota Camry to join the rally.

I believe that this is the next grassroots revolution. And I know that we can make it a reality.

Big ideas take time and this is a big idea. Nonetheless, when a book I co-wrote about tax reform spends weeks at the top of the New York Times bestseller list, and can compete, albeit briefly, with Harry Potter, anything is possible.

Did You Know?

According to extensive studies by Dr. David Tuerck of the Beacon Hill Institute:

After enactment of the FairTax:

GDP is estimated to be 7.9 percent higher in the first year, 10.9% higher in year 10 and 10.3% higher in year 25 after enactment of the FairTax than what would otherwise be the case if the current system remained in place.

Domestic investment is 74.5% higher, 75.9% higher, and 65.2% higher in years 1, 10, and 25, respectively.

The capital stock is 9.3% higher in year 5, 14.1% higher in year 10, and 17.3% higher in year 25.

Real wages are 10.3%, 9.5%, and 9.2% higher in years 1, 10, and 25, respectively than would otherwise be the case.

Consumption drops slightly in the first two years (0.6% and 0.8%), and then be 1.8% higher in year 5, 4.3% higher in year 10, and 6.0% higher in year 25.

BHI is the research arm of the Department of Economics at Suffolk University in Boston. It specializes in the development of state-of-the-art economic and statistical models for the analysis of federal, state, and local economic policies and how they affect citizens and businesses. Dr. David G. Tuerck, director of the research team, serves as the Director of Beacon Hill Institute and as professor and chairman of the Suffolk University Department of Economics.

FairTax on Twitter

It's FairTax Friday - look at your paystub!

FairTax dramatically reduces tax bias against work, encourages people to work more= Higher Productivity!

Fairtax.org

From the minister:

We were in slow-moving traffic the other day and the car in front of us had an Obama bumper sticker on it. It read: "Pray for Obama. Psalm 109:8".

My husband's Bible was lying on the dashboard; he got it and opened it up to the scripture and read it. He started laughing and laughing. Then he read it to me. I couldn't believe what it said. I had a good laugh, too.

Psalm 109:8: "Let his days be few; and let another take office."

Hallelujah and Amen !

Proposed 28th Amendment

I just signed this petition. How about you?

Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United

States that does not apply equally to the Senators or Representatives,

and Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators or

Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the

United States.

Does Congress believe that they are somehow better, or different than you and me? I think they do, which is why I signed this petition.

This petition for the 28th Amendment ensures that neither the Senate nor the House of Representative can make a law that give preference to one or the other, and at the same time, neither can make a law that isn't applied equally to the Senate, the House, and the American public.

For instance, under this amendment, neither the Senate or House can make a health care bill that gives Congress preferential treatment that the American citizen can't get. Unfortunately, a Constitutional Amendment takes a long time to pass. It has to get through the House and Senate and then ratified by 75% of the states. I believe it would be ratified by the states, but getting it through the House and Senate might take some work. Our Congressional critters likes their perks.

When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, he penned the words "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal...", he didn't continue on to say, except for our elected officials. It's not there; I looked.

If our elected officials truly believe those words "that all men are created equal", then Congress would create laws that treated Federal employees (which is what Congress is) the same way that the American citizen is treated.

Senior Health Care Solution

So you're a senior citizen and the government says no health care for you, what do you do?

Our plan gives anyone 65 years or older a gun and 4 bullets. You are allowed to shoot 2 senators and 2 representatives. Of Course, this means you will be sent to prison.

There you will get 3 meals a day, a roof over your head, and all the health care you need! New teeth, no problem. Need glasses, great. New hip, knees, kidney, lungs, heart? All covered.

And who will be paying for all of this? The same government that just told you that you are too old for health care. Plus, because you are a prisoner, you don't have to pay any income taxes anymore. And you’ve done us all a favor by disposing of 4 worthless politicians.

IS THIS A GREAT COUNTRY OR WHAT?!

Mr. Boortz's Opus: Why Talk Radio Really Matters

By Matt Towery (11/5/09) Back in the '90s, an admittedly sappy movie was made for less than $7 million, but it reaped over $80 million at the box office. "Mr. Holland's Opus" starred Richard Dreyfuss as a high school music teacher who tenaciously plodded along the daily grind of teaching music. All the while, he was privately composing his own "An American Symphony," apparently never to be performed.

In what follows below, I'd like to honor another man's life's work. His career has been in a much different field than teaching music, but his ultimate triumph reminds us of the inspiring Dreyfuss film.

For the last year or so, it's been open season on America's conservative-leaning radio talk-show hosts. During the 2008 presidential campaign, it often seemed that Barack Obama was running against TV star and radio host Sean Hannity, instead of against Republican John McCain.

Months later, we witnessed another high-ratings radio host, Michael Savage, get literally banned from Great Britain. Next, the Democrats decided to treat the godfather of talk radio, Rush Limbaugh, as if he were the elected leader of Republicans nationwide. They attacked him at every turn. Limbaugh was even forced out of a potential ownership position with an NFL team because of that league's fear of controversy. Freedom of speech was nothing more than a cumbersome inconvenience to Limbaugh's detractors.

But there's good news for this industry, too. This first weekend in in November, the great luminaries of the talk radio world gathered in Chicago to honor another one of their colleagues, the unique Neal Boortz.

The nationally-syndicated talk show host was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame. Boortz is Libertarian conservative whose ideas and fast-paced interaction with listeners have earned him millions of listeners nationwide.

Boortz came to national prominence a little differently than some of his colleagues who followed him into the field. After college, he moved to Atlanta. The city was growing, but its media market was nothing as big as it is today. He worked as a speechwriter to the governor and as a department store's buyer of fine jewelry, among other jobs.

He was also a frequent listener and caller to the city's only talk radio station at the time. Eventually, he became a host there himself.

Of course, talk radio offered modest pay back then. So in the '70s, Boortz earned a law degree. His legal work continued into the '90s, even while he was becoming the town's "top talker." Among his clients were luminaries such as heavyweight boxing champ Evander Holyfield. Finally, in the late '90s, Boortz moved his act to the South's radio giant, WSB. That brought him national syndication.

So why is Neal Boortz's story important to you and me? And what has this story to do with "Mr. Holland's Opus?" Read on.

Unlike many entertainers and celebrities, the off-the-air Boortz is in fact shy and unassuming. He seems an unlikely candidate to become the handpicked protege of any powerful media mogul. Instead, he personifies the dreams of many Americans. They may know what they want, but they face what look like impossible obstacles to reach them.

When Boortz went from talk-show listener to talk-show talker, it was in a modest media market -- and a Southern culture -- that wasn't used to "bluntspeak" like his. Even today, some radio station managers ignorantly pigeonhole him as a "Southern talk show host" and deprive their listeners of hearing one of the best minds and mouths on the air.

Unlike many conservative stars of talk, Boortz toes no party's line. He challenges listeners with facts, figures and the ruthless logic he learned as a lawyer. He loves to verbally joust with those who call in to disagree. He also lets his executive producer and his engineer-sidekick help to keep him in check by challenging him in a sort of freestyle banter. This formula has allowed Boortz to irritate some of the biggest names from both the left and the right. He calls it "stirring the pudding."

The high school teacher in "Opus" finally got to see his musical score performed live. This weekend, some of the biggest names in the talk radio business are gathering to celebrate the "music" created by Neal Boortz. I could argue that his 2005 New York Times-bestselling book about the "Fair Tax" was his magnum opus. But in reality, it may be the award he's to receive itself that culminates his career.

For those who cherish liberty and free speech; the right and the ability to say what's really on their minds; and the scrappy persistence to skillfully do one's job, the celebration of "Mr. Boortz's Opus" means more than honoring this one man.

Did You Know?

Did you know that the term “lobbyist” was coined during the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant (between 1869 and 1877)?

According to Gary Ater, writing for the American Chronicle, President Grant's wife, Julia, would not allow the President to smoke his cigars while inside the White House. For this reason, the President could many times be found by those looking for some political favors when he was smoking his cigars while relaxing in the lobby of the nearby Willard Hotel. Ergo, those American "favor seekers" back then became known as "Washington D.C. Lobbyists." According to the Washington Post there are more than 35,000 lobbyists working in Washington, D.C. today and more than 40% of past members of Congress register as lobbyists.

from The Fair Tax Newsletter

The FairTax Game is Almost Ready for Delivery

FairTaxer Terry Powell had a dream to create a fun board game built around FairTax concepts and the pitfalls of the income tax system--that could teach people about the advantages of the FairTax while they were having fun. Like millions of other American entrepreneurs, Terry risked his own money, used his own creativity and drive, and created the FairTax game.

FairTax.org is proud to help get the word out for Terry and Terry has agreed to share a small portion of his profits with the national campaign working to win passage of the FairTax in Congress. Terry tells us that the manufacturing process is almost finished and that he is now accepting advance orders for the game. Go to www.thefairtaxgame.org to advance-order the FairTax Game in time for Christmas giving.

Fattening up Take Home Pay

One of the most attractive elements of the FairTax idea is the fact that after enactment, Americans will take home their whole paycheck, free of federal withholding of income taxes and Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes. This increase in “take home” pay will act as a permanent economic stimulus.

Some perennial critics who seem to live only to pick at the FairTax proposal have suggested that it is misleading to use the shorthand, “take home your whole paycheck” because health insurance co-payments, retirement fund deductions and state and local taxes are often also withheld from paychecks and won’t be affected by passage of HR 25, the FairTax legislation now pending in Congress.

In an effort to be crystal clear that paychecks will get much larger after enactment of the FairTax, recent communications have almost always appended the statement “…free of federal withholding and payroll taxes.” Naysayers aside, the largest deductions from most people’s paychecks are Social Security taxes (7.65%) and income tax withholding. The elimination of these two federal taxes withheld from your take home pay will dramatically increase most Americans' paychecks. Even for those whose income is so low that no income tax payments are withheld from paychecks, the additional almost eight percent in take home pay can be a lifesaver.

For the self employed, the effect of elimination of federal payroll taxes and withholding can be far more dramatic. The self-employed pay a full 15.3% of wages up to about $100,000 of annual earnings toward FICA (Social Security and Medicare) taxes. Income tax payments are made not out of every paycheck but are estimated and paid quarterly. Both erasing the “self-employment” tax, as the FICA payments are commonly called for this group, and the elimination of quarterly and annual income tax payments can mean a very dramatic increase in funds available to the self-employed.

Most American workers live somewhere between the two extremes and will also see dramatic increases in available income for savings, spending, investment and peace of mind. In essence, the FairTax allows each American to decide, through personal consumption choices, the timing and amounts of federal taxes paid. To see what your paycheck will look like after enactment of the FairTax, just take a hard look at your own pay check “stub” and add back into your future take home pay the amounts now withheld for FICA payments and income taxes.

FairTax on Twitter

It's FairTax Friday - look at your paystub!

FairTax encourages repatriation of the U.S. $$ held in foreign countries bcause of tax consequences. Companies will return to USA.

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Liberal Lies About National Health Care, Part 5

by Ann Coulter (more by this author)

Posted 09/23/2009 ET

Updated 09/23/2009 ET

(15) Democrats lost Congress in 1994 because President Clinton failed to pass national health care.

I'm not sure if this is another example of the left's wishful-thinking method of analysis or if they're seriously trying to trick the Blue Dog Democrats into believing it. But I gather liberals consider the 1994 argument an important point because it was on the front page of The New York Times a few weeks ago in place of a story about Van Jones or ACORN.

According to a news story by Jackie Calmes: "In 1994, Democrats' dysfunction over fulfilling a new president's campaign promise contributed to the party's loss of its 40-year dominance of Congress."

That's not the way I remember it. The way I remember it, Republicans swept Congress in 1994 not because Clinton failed to nationalize health care, but because he tried to nationalize health care. HillaryCare failed because most Americans didn't want it. (For more on this, see "ObamaCare.")

Bill Clinton had run as an old-school, moderate Democrat and then, as soon as he got elected, immediately became Che Guevara. (What is it with all our black presidents and these bait-and-switch tactics?)

Instead of pursuing "mend it, don't end it" on welfare and no "middle-class tax hike" -- as Clinton promised during the campaign -- he raised taxes, signed ridiculous gun restrictions into law, enacted "midnight basketball" as the solution to urban crime, announced that he was putting gays in the military and let Hillary run riot over health care.

But just to check my recollection, I looked up the Times' own coverage of the 1994 congressional races.

Republicans won a landslide election in 1994 based largely on the "Contract With America," which, according to the Times, promised "tax cuts, more military spending and a balanced-budget amendment." Far from complaining about Clinton incompetently failing to pass health care, the Times reported that Republicans were "unabashedly claiming credit for tying Congress up in knots."

These claims were immediately followed by ... oh, what was that word again? Now I remember ...

LANDSLIDE!

It was almost as if the voters agreed with the Republicans in opposing Clinton's risky health care scheme, then voted accordingly.

The Times' own polling showed that two-thirds of voters believed that "government should be less involved in solving national problems" -- which doesn't sound to me like voters being huffy with Clinton for failing to stage a government takeover of one-sixth of the economy.

In a Hail Mary pass just before the election, President Clinton pulled Hillary off the health care beat. CNN's repository of liberal cliches, Bill Schneider, reported that Clinton was trying to calm voters by "removing the most visible symbol of the liberal tilt of the last two years, which is the first lady."

And what a morale boost for the Democrats that must have been! Kind of like firing the manager of a losing baseball team in the last week of the season.

Too late. Shouldn't have tried to socialize health care.

(16) America's relatively low life expectancy compared to countries with socialist health care proves welfare-state health care is better.

The life expectancy argument is so stupid even The New York Times hasn't made it -- except in news stories quoting others or in the ramblings of the Times' more gullible op-ed columnists. You mostly hear the life expectancy argument from Hollywood actresses and profoundly dumb Democrats, such as Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland.

Trying to evaluate the quality of a nation's health care by looking at life expectancy is like trying to estimate the birthrate by counting the number of flowers bought on Valentine's Day. (Or estimating future pregnancies of women with low self-esteem by adding up the total number of U.S. cities on a Bobby Brown tour and then multiplying by 2.)

There are lots of ways to get pregnant that don't require flowers or a backstage pass to a Bobby Brown concert, just as there are lots of ways to die that don't require setting foot inside a doctor's office.

For example, more Americans are murdered with guns than in any other industrialized country. (And it would be even more without concealed-carry laws! See John Lott, "More Guns, Less Crime.") According to a 1997 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the homicide rate with firearms alone was 16 times higher in the U.S. than in 25 other industrialized countries combined.

That will tend to reduce the U.S.'s "life expectancy" numbers, while telling us absolutely nothing about the country's medical care. (I promise that if you make it to a hospital alive, you are more likely to survive a gunshot wound in the U.S. than any place else in the world.)

It's comparing apples and oranges to talk about life expectancy as if it tracks with a country's health care system. What matters is the survival rate from the same starting line, to wit, the same medical condition. Not surprisingly, in the apples-to-apples comparisons, the U.S. medical system crushes the welfare-state countries.

For the glorious details, see next week's column.

Sack Lunches

I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. 'I'm glad I have a good book to read perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought.

Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation. 'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me.

'Petawawa. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed to Afghanistan.

After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours before we reached the east, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time.

As I reached for my wallet, I overheard soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to base.

His friend agreed.

I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill. 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. 'My son was a soldier in Iraq; it's almost like you are doing
it for him.'

Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, 'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?'

'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class. 'This is your thanks.'

After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room. A man stopped me. 'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars.

Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand, and said, 'I want to shake your hand.'

Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.' I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers.

Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.

When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars!

Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich. God Bless You.'

Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers. As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals.

It seemed so little...

A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America " for an amount of up to and including my life.'

That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.

True Friends

When you are sad, I will jump on the person who made you sad like a spider monkey jacked up on Mountain Dew!!!

When you are blue, I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.

When you smile, I will know you are plotting something that I must be involved in.

When you're scared, we will high tail it out of here.

When you are worried, I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining, ya big baby!!!!

When you are confused, I will use little words.

When you are sick, stay away from me until you are well again. I don't want whatever you have....

When you fall, I'll pick you up and dust you off-- after I laugh my ass off!!

This is my oath to you....I pledge it to the end.

“Why?” you may ask; -- because you are my FRIEND!

Gotta Admit it's Inventive.....

REDNECK BABY CHAIR AND TEETHING RING

I was so depressed last night...

thinking about the economy, the wars, lost jobs, savings, Social Security, retirement funds, etc., so I called Lifeline...

Got a Call Center in Pakistan...

I told them I was suicidal...

They got all excited and asked if I could drive a truck.

A new supermarket opened in Parrish.

It has an automatic water mister to keep the produce fresh. Just before it goes on, you hear the sound of distant thunder and the smell of fresh rain.

When you pass the milk cases, you hear cows mooing and you experience the scent of fresh mown hay.

In the meat department there is the aroma of charcoal grilled steaks with onions.

When you approach the egg case, you hear hens cluck and cackle, and the air is filled with the pleasing aroma of bacon and eggs frying.

The bread department features the tantalizing smell of fresh baked bread & cookies.

We don't buy toilet paper there anymore.

Sometimes we wonder...

“What did I do to deserve this?” or “Why did God have to do this to me?”

Here is a wonderful explanation!

A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong; she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her, and her best friend is moving away.

Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, “Absolutely Mom, I love your cake.”

“Here, have some cooking oil,” her Mother offers.

“Yuck” says her daughter.

“How about a couple raw eggs?”

“Gross, Mom!”

“Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?”

“Mom, those are all yucky!”

To which the mother replies. “Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake!”

God works the same way.

Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good!

We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!

God is crazy about you.

He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning.

Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart.

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but, while we are here, we might as well dance!

I think we know who's the Alpha dog in this relationship....