Thursday, March 31, 2011

Going Broke

 Imagine that you had an average monthly income of about $170 balanced against average monthly expenses of about $940 -- and that you were more than $14,000 in debt. Then imagine that as of today, you had only $58.60 in cash left in your bank account and $130.50 left on your line of credit. Now multiply these numbers by 1 billion and you will have the up-to-date financial situation of the U.S. government.
 . . . CNSNews.com

Prescription for Congress - A Good Place to Start

Rx for Congress:

Cut Their Pay

Cut Their Perks

Cut Their Personnel

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Big Budget Debate Actually A Picayune Political Charade

Meaningless theatrical performances are being staged in Washington as our gutless rulers posture over almost nothing for their respective political supporters. As this astute analysis makes clear our pathetic politicians are pissing and moaning over 1.875% of the budget. We need leaders who are ready, willing, and able to take chainsaws rather than tiny whittling knives to the swollen parasitic governmental structure that is choking the nation.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Don't Cry For Or About The New York Times

The once great New York Times still leads but the media that it leads no longer is mainstream, although that misleading appellation often continues to be mistakenly used. The once mighty institutions have transformed themselves into the left trickle media lacking credibility for all but the most obtuse among us.

The decline and fall of the Times, which led the old media's meandering off into the insignificant rill that they are today, is traced in a recent book that is reviewed here.

However, the author of the book errs in implicitly suggesting, as the reviewer explicitly states, that the Times continues to matter. Only fools still consider it to be a reliable source of information as it has sacrificed its virtue to promote a questionable agenda and led much of the rest of the fourth estate down into the same gully.

The fact of the matter is that the once good gray lady has become a cheap painted tart. It now leads only the other propagandizing journalistic harlots lining the muddy gutter.

Insight Into Hatred of Sarah Palin and Clarence Thomas

Star Parker pegs it with precision in this insightful analysis.

Prosperity As Prey

If, from the more wretched parts of the old world, we look at those which are in an advanced stage of improvement, we still find the greedy hand of government thrusting itself into every corner and crevice of industry, and grasping the spoil of the multitude. Invention is continually exercised, to furnish new pretenses for revenues and taxation. It watches prosperity as its prey and permits none to escape without tribute.
. . . Thomas Paine
Rights of Man
1791

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Quote of the Week

Frankly, I don't know what it is about California, but we seem to have a strange urge to elect really obnoxious women to high office. I'm not bragging, you understand, but no other state, including  Maine, even comes close. When it comes to sending left-wing dingbats to  Washington, we're number one. There's no getting around the fact that the last time anyone saw the likes of Barbara Boxer, Dianne Feinstein, Maxine Waters, and Nancy Pelosi, they were stirring a cauldron when the curtain went up on 'Macbeth' . . . . The four of them are like jackasses who happen to possess the gift of blab. You don't know if you should condemn them for their stupidity or simply marvel at their ability to form words.
   . . . Burt Prelutsky 
Columnist  
Los Angeles Times

Thursday, March 24, 2011

U.S. Overreacted To Pearl Harbor

Given how the current White House defines things, what occurred there on December 7, 1941, was a "kinetic military action" by the Japanese.

This has given rise to a whole new generation of bumper stickers:
  
Make Love - - Not
Kinetic Military Activities

Kinetic Military Activities
Are Not Good for
Children and Other Living Things

and, for the hawkish among us:

Give Kinetic Military Activities a Chance

Forgotten Wisdom

[D]emocracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security, or the rights of property; and have, in general, been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths. 
. . . James Madison, 
Federalist No. 10 
1787

Why California Is Broke

 Hard to believe the politicians who claim that if they don't get tax increases, the only place we can cut will be schools, fire and police.

These are all California State Agencies:
 
California Academic Performance Index (API) * California Access for Infants and Mothers * California Acupuncture Board * California Administrative Office of the Courts * California Adoptions Branch * California African American Museum * California Agricultural Export Program * California Agricultural Labor Relations Board * California Agricultural Statistics Service * California Air Resources Board (CARB) * California Allocation Board * California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority * California Animal Health and Food Safety Services * California Anti-Terrorism Information Center * California Apprenticeship Council * California Arbitration Certification Program * California Architects Board * California Area VI Developmental Disabilities Board * California Arts Council * California          Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus * California Assembly Democratic Caucus * California Assembly Republican Caucus * California Athletic Commission * California Attorney General * California Bay Conservation and Development Commission * California Bay-Delta Authority * California Bay-Delta Office * California Biodiversity Council * California Board for Geologists and Geophysicists * California Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors * California Board of Accountancy * California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology * California Board of Behavioral Sciences * California Board of Chiropractic Examiners * California Board of Equalization (BOE) * California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection * California Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind * California Board of Occupational Therapy * California Board of Optometry * California Board of Pharmacy * California Board of Podiatric Medicine * California Board of Prison Terms * California Board of Psychology * California Board of Registered Nursing * California Board of Trustees * California Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians * California Braille and Talking Book Library * California Building Standards Commission * California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education * California Bureau of Automotive Repair * California Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair * California Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation * California Bureau of Naturopathic Medicine * California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services * California Bureau of State Audits * California Business Agency * California Business Investment Services (CalBIS) * California Business Permit Information (CalGOLD) * California Business Portal * California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency * California Cal Grants * California CalJOBS * California Cal-Learn Program * California CalVet Home Loan Program * California Career Resource Network * California Cemetery and Funeral Bureau * California Center for Analytical Chemistry * California Center for Distributed Learning * California Center for Teaching Careers (Teach California) * California Chancellors Office * California Charter Schools * California Children and Families Commission * California Children and Family Services Division * California Citizens Compensation Commission * California Civil Rights Bureau * California Coastal Commission * California Coastal Conservancy * California Code of Regulations * California Collaborative Projects with UC Davis * California Commission for Jobs and Economic Growth * California Commission on Aging * California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers Compensation * California Commission on Judicial Performance * California Commission on State Mandates * California Commission on Status of Women * California Commission on Teacher Credentialing * California Commission on the Status of Women * California Committee on Dental Auxiliaries * California Community Colleges Chancellors Office, Junior Colleges * California Community Colleges Chancellors Office * California Complaint Mediation Program * California Conservation Corps * California Constitution Revision Commission * California Consumer Hotline * California Consumer Information Center * California Consumer Information * California Consumer Services Division * California Consumers and Families Agency * California Contractors State License Board * California Corrections Standards Authority * California Council for the Humanities * California Council on Criminal Justice * California Council on Developmental Disabilities * California Court Reporters Board * California Courts of Appeal * California Crime and Violence Prevention Center * California Criminal Justice Statistics Center * California Criminalist Institute Forensic Library * California CSGnet Network Management * California Cultural and Historical Endowment * California Cultural Resources Division * California Curriculum and Instructional Leadership Branch * California Data Exchange Center * California Data Management Division * California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission * California Delta Protection Commission * California Democratic Caucus * California Demographic Research Unit * California Dental Auxiliaries * California Department of Aging * California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs * California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board * California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control * California Department of Boating and Waterways (Cal Boating) * California Department of Child Support Services (CDCSS) * California Department of Community Services and Development * California Department of Conservation * California Department of Consumer Affairs * California Department of Corporations * California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation * California Department of Developmental Services * California Department of Education * California Department of Fair Employment and Housing * California Department of Finance * California Department of Financial Institutions * California Department of Fish and Game * California Department of Food and Agriculture * California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) * California Department of General Services * California Department of General Services, Office of State Publishing * California Department of Health Care Services * California Department of Housing and Community Development * California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) * California Department of          Insurance * California Department of Justice Firearms Division * California Department of Justice Opinion Unit * California Department of Justice, Consumer Information, Public Inquiry Unit * California Department of Justice * California Department of Managed Health Care * California Department of Mental Health * California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) * California Department of Personnel Administration * California Department of Pesticide Regulation * California Department of Public Health * California Department of Real Estate * California Department of Rehabilitation * California Department of Social Services Adoptions Branch * California Department of Social Services * California Department of Technology Services Training Center (DTSTC) * California Department of Technology Services (DTS) * California Department of Toxic Substances Control * California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) * California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVets) * California Department of Water Resources * California Departmento de Vehiculos Motorizados * California Digital Library * California Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Certification Program * California Division of Apprenticeship Standards * California Division of Codes and Standards * California Division of Communicable Disease Control * California Division of Engineering * California Division of Environmental and Occupational Disease Control * California Division of Gambling Control * California Division of Housing Policy Development * California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement * California Division of Labor Statistics and Research * California Division of Land and Right of Way * California Division of Land Resource Protection * California Division of Law Enforcement General Library * California Division of Measurement Standards * California Division of Mines and Geology * California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) * California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources * California Division of Planning and Local Assistance * California Division of Recycling * California Division of Safety of Dams * California Division of the State Architect * California Division of Tourism * California Division of Workers Compensation Medical Unit * California Division of Workers Compensation * California Economic Assistance, Business and Community Resources * California Economic Strategy Panel * California Education and Training Agency * California Education Audit Appeals Panel * California Educational Facilities Authority * California Elections Division * California Electricity Oversight Board * California Emergency Management Agency * California Emergency Medical Services Authority * California Employment Development Department (EDD) * California Employment Information State Jobs * California Employment Training Panel * California Energy Commission * California Environment and Natural Resources Agency * California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) * California Environmental Resources Evaluation System (CERES) * California Executive Office * California Export Laboratory Services * California Exposition and State Fair (Cal Expo) * California Fair Political Practices Commission * California Fairs and Expositions Division * California Film Commission * California Fire and Resource Assessment Program * California Firearms Division * California Fiscal Services * California Fish and Game Commission * California Fisheries Program Branch * California Floodplain Management * California Foster Youth Help * California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) * California Fraud          Division * California Gambling Control Commission * California Geographic Information Systems Council (GIS) * California Geological Survey * California Government Claims and Victim Compensation Board * California Governors Committee for Employment of Disabled Persons * California Governors Mentoring Partnership * California Governors Office of Emergency Services * California Governors Office of Homeland Security * California Governors Office of Planning and Research * California Governors Office * California Grant and Enterprise Zone Programs HCD Loan * California Health and Human Services Agency * California Health and Safety Agency * California Healthy Families Program * California Hearing Aid Dispensers Bureau * California High-Speed Rail Authority * California Highway Patrol (CHP) * California History and Culture Agency * California Horse Racing Board * California Housing Finance Agency * California Indoor Air Quality Program * California Industrial Development Financing Advisory Commission * California Industrial Welfare Commission * California InFoPeople * California Information Center for the Environment * California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (I-Bank) * California Inspection Services * California Institute for County Government * California Institute for Education Reform * California Integrated Waste Management Board * California Interagency Ecological Program * California Job Service * California Junta Estatal de Personal * California Labor and Employment Agency * California Labor and Workforce Development Agency * California Labor Market Information Division * California Land Use Planning Information Network (LUPIN) * California Lands Commission * California Landscape Architects Technical Committee * California Latino Legislative Caucus * California Law Enforcement Branch * California Law Enforcement General Library * California Law Revision Commission * California Legislative Analyst's Office * California Legislative Black Caucus * California Legislative Counsel * California Legislative Division * California Legislative Information * California Legislative Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Caucus * California Legislature Internet Caucus * California Library De velopment Services * California License and Revenue Branch * California Major Risk Medical Insurance Program * California Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board * California Maritime Academy * California Marketing Services * California Measurement Standards * California Medical Assistance Commission * California Medical Care Services * California Military Department * California Mining and Geology Board * California Museum for History, Women, and the Arts * California Museum Resource Center * California National Guard *          California Native American Heritage Commission * California Natural Community Conservation Planning Program * California New Motor Vehicle          Board * California Nursing Home Administrator Program * California Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board * California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board * California Ocean Resources Management Program * California Office of Administrative Hearings * California Office of Administrative Law * California Office of AIDS * California Office of Binational Border Health * California Office of Child Abuse Prevention * California Office of Deaf Access * California Office of Emergency Services (OES) * California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment * California Office of Fiscal Services * California Office of Fleet Administration * California Office of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Implementation (CalOHI) * California Office of Historic Preservation * California Office of Homeland Security * California Office of Human Resources * California Office of Legal Services * California Office of Legislation * California Office of Lieutenant Governor * California Office of Military and Aerospace Support * California Office of Mine Reclamation * California Office of Natural Resource Education * California Office of Privacy Protection * California Office of Public School Construction * California Office of Real Estate Appraisers * California Office of Risk and Insurance Management * California Office of Services to the Blind * California Office of Spill Prevention and Response * California Office of State Publishing (OSP) * California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development * California Office of Systems Integration * California Office of the Inspector General * California Office of the Ombudsman * California Office of the Patient Advocate * California Office of the President * California Office of the Secretary for Education * California Office of the State Fire Marshal * California Office of the State Public Defender * California Office of Traffic Safety * California Office of Vital Records * California Online Directory * California Operations Control Office * California Opinion Unit * California Outreach and Technical Assistance Network (OTAN) * California Park and Recreation Commission * California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) * California Performance Review (CPR) * California Permit Information for Business (CalGOLD) * California Physical Therapy Board * California Physician Assistant Committee * California Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services * California Policy and Evaluation Division * California Political Reform Division * California Pollution Control Financing Authority * California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo * California Postsecondary Education Commission * California Prevention Services * California Primary Care and Family Health * California Prison Industry Authority * California Procurement Division * California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) * California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) * California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) * California Real Estate Services Division * California Refugee Programs Branch * California Regional Water Quality Control Boards * California Registered Veterinary Technician Committee * California Registrar of Charitable Trusts * California Republican Caucus * California Research and Development Division * California Research Bureau * California Resources Agency * California Respiratory Care Board * California Rivers Assessment * California Rural Health Policy Council * California Safe Schools * California San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission * California San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy * California San Joaquin River Conservancy * California School to Career * California Science Center * California Scripps Institution of Oceanography * California Secretary of State Business Portal * California Secretary of State * California Seismic Safety Commission * California Self Insurance Plans (SIP) * California Senate Office of Research * California Small Business and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Certification Program * California Small Business Development Center Program * California Smart Growth Caucus * California Smog Check Information Center * California Spatial Information Library * California Special Education Division * California Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Board * California Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) * California Standards and Assessment Division * California State Administrative Manual (SAM) * California State Allocation Board * California State and Consumer Services Agency * California State Architect * California State Archives * California State Assembly * California State Association of Counties (CSAC) * California State Board of Education * California State Board of Food and Agriculture *California Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) * California State Children's Trust Fund * California State Compensation Insurance Fund * California State Contracts Register Program * California State Contracts Register * California State Controller * California State Council on Developmental Disabilities (SCDD) * California State Disability Insurance (SDI) * California State Fair (Cal Expo) * California State Jobs Employment Information * California State Lands Commission * California State Legislative Portal * California State Legislature * California State Library Catalog * California State Library Services Bureau * California State Library * California State Lottery * California State Mediation and Conciliation Service * California State Mining and Geology Board * California State Park and Recreation Commission * California State Parks * California State Personnel Board * California State Polytechnic University, Pomona * California State Railroad Museum * California State Science Fair * California State Senate * California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science (COSMOS) * California State Summer School for the Arts * California State Superintendent of Public Instruction * California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) * California State Treasurer * California State University Center for Distributed Learning * California State University, Bakersfield * California State University, Channel Islands * California State University, Chico * California State University, Dominguez Hills * California State University, East Bay * California State University, Fresno * California State University, Fullerton * California State University, Long Beach * California State University, Los Angeles * California State University, Monterey Bay * California State University, Northridge * California State University, Sacramento * California State University, San Bernardino * California State University, San Marcos * California State University, Stanislaus * California State University (CSU) * California State Water Project Analysis Office * California State Water Project * California State Water Resources Control Board * California Structural Pest Control Board * California Student Aid Commission * California Superintendent of Public Instruction * California Superior Courts * California Tahoe Conservancy * California Task Force on Culturally and Linguistically Competent Physicians and Dentists * California Tax Information Center * California Technology and Administration Branch Finance * California Telecommunications Division * California Telephone Medical Advice Services (TAMS) * California Transportation Commission * California Travel and Transportation Agency * California Unclaimed Property Program * California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board * California Unemployment Insurance Program * California Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Commission * California Veterans Board * California Veterans Memorial * California Veterinary Medical Board and Registered Veterinary Technician Examining Committee * California Veterinary Medical Board * California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board * California Volunteers * California Voter Registration * California Water Commission * California Water Environment Association (COWPEA) * California Water Resources Control Board * California Welfare to Work Division * California Wetlands Information System * California Wildlife and Habitat Data Analysis Branch * California Wildlife Conservation Board * California Wildlife Programs Branch * California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) * California Workers Compensation Appeals Board * California Workforce and Labor Development Agency * California Workforce Investment Board * California Youth Authority (CYA) * Central Valley Flood Protection Board * Center for California Studies * Colorado River Board of California * Counting California * Dental Board of California * Health Insurance Plan of California (PacAdvantage) * Humboldt State University * Jobs with the State of California * Judicial Council of California * Learn California * Library of California * Lieutenant Governors Commission for One California * Little Hoover Commission (on California State Government Organization and Economy) * Medical Board of California * Medi-Cal * Osteopathic Medical Board of California * Physical Therapy Board of California * Regents of the University of California * San Diego State University * San Francisco State University * San Jose State University * Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy * State Bar of California * Supreme Court of California * Teach California * University of California * University of California, Berkeley * University of California, Davis * University of California, Hastings College of the Law * University of California, Irvine * University of California, Los Angeles * University of California, Merced * University of California, Riverside * University of California, San Diego * University of California, San Francisco * University of California, Santa Barbara * University of California, Santa Cruz * Veterans Home of California.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

A True American Hero

Charles Erskine Scott Wood (C.E.S. Wood) was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point who went on to serve with distinction as a U.S. Army officer.  However, the mistreatment of Native Americans and the broken treaties caused him to resign his commission  and give up his military career. 

He moved to Portland, Oregon, and became a lawyer, always championing the underdog. He started writing articles for an anarchist magazine and defended freedom of speech, and the rights of women, gays, and all free people to be left the hell alone by meddling bureaucrats long before such positions became politically correct. He wrote from his experiences in dealing with U.S. federal government officials and their greed. lies, and wars.
 
WWI was billed by the government as "the war to end all wars". Mr. Wood lived long enough to see America enter WWII. He died in 1944 after noting that nothing had changed -- the federal government was (as it is to this day) still lying to the people, still breaking its word, and still getting America into wars.

Were I serving as a U.S. military officer today, I like to think that I would respond to orders to attack a country like Libya -- which poses no threat to the security or any vital interest of the United States -- by resigning my commission as Mr. Wood did when he saw how our country was dealing with our continent's native people. In most cases, however, I think personal integrity and honor is in short supply these days and the gumption to act thereon as Mr. Wood did is even more rare. In all likelihood few members of our current officer corps have any qualms at all about what they are doing; those who do are for the most part careerists who probably are taking and and will continue to take refuge in the Nazis' Nuremberg defense, telling themselves -- as they will tell others in the future if it becomes necessary or advisable to do so -- that they are (or were) "just following orders."

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

A Question for Our Chief

In defending his offensive war, our leader today spoke about the "capabilities and valor" of the warriors he has ordered to initiate an unprovoked attack against Libya.

Fair enough insofar as the capabilities of our forces are concerned.

But what, pray tell, is valorous about flying or floating out of reach of one's victims and lobbing death and destruction upon such hapless targets?

As the truism has it, an armed man will kill an unarmed one with monotonous regularity.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Thoughts About Our Latest (Undeclared) War

If our missile strikes and bombing attacks on Libyan military targets in their homeland aren't acts of war, then it would be fair to say that the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor also were not acts of war.

The difference between the two attacks is that the U.S. claims it has been acting with a pure heart for noble purposes whereas the similar claims in 1941 were made by the Japanese.

Also, it appears that the U.S. Congress again is accepting the usurpation of its war making responsibility, apparently having outsourced that task to the United Nations.

As a combat veteran, I am astonished and appalled by the casual ease with which our current administration as well as our recent past ones, staffed almost entirely by individuals with no combat and little military experience, send our troops into harms way. Raining death and destruction down onto Libya from thousands of feet in the air and from far offshore may seem simple, akin to shooting fish in a barrel, but in war there always are complications and consequences that are unintended and unanticipated.

Libya certainly is not a military threat to the U.S. so we cannot claim to have attacked it to further our national security, and it is difficult to see how any vital national interest is being served by our having done so. We would be well advised to avoid going out of our way to make more enemies in the world and to keep in mind that engaging in, fostering, and promoting terrorism is an increasingly feasible and effective weapon of those who are militarily weak.

Finally, it now is being said by our military leaders that the leading role in the Libyan adventure soon will be turned over to the French -- our allies who are so very adept, after the fighting is over, at venturing out onto the battlefield to bayonet the wounded.

Questions About Our Libyan Adventure

What ever happened to the idea that Congress, and not the president, acting unilaterally, was responsible for declaring war?

What ever happened to the ideas that John Adams voiced so well when he said that America would be a friend to freedom everywhere but would fight only for our own, and that we would not go abroad looking for monsters to destroy?

Shades of FDR

Yesterday, March 18, 2011 - a date which will live in infamy - Libya was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of the United States of America.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

First Death Panel Begins Clandestine Operation

It of course is not called a death panel and it operates in obscurity -- it's the agency that establishes the order in which organ transplants are doled out.

Formerly, those with the greatest need -- those likely to die soon if they don't first get the needed organ transplant -- were at the top of the list.

That now is changing. Under the new regime top priority is given to those who, with the transplants, will enjoy the most years of what the panel deems to be a high quality life.

Accordingly, the old folks will not get the transplants they need . . . which -- supposedly incidentally -- will cut off their Social Security and Medicare payments along with their lives.

Make no mistake about it: This is first small step toward establishing as public policy that the elderly have a "duty to die" and, ultimately, mandatory euthanasia. The intervening steps will encourage voluntary deaths through counseling . . . campaigns for "death with dignity," for "ending suffering," for "unburdening loved ones and family members." 

The first small steps toward cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid expenses are being taken. They are being taken and will proceed imperceptibly. 

Obamacare will solve everything.

From Montana With Love

Alan Simpson, former U.S. Senator from Wyoming and co-chairman of Obama's "deficit commission, last August called senior citizens the "Greediest Generation" as he compared "Social Security" to a Milk Cow with 310 million teats.

Here's a responsive letter from an unknown fellow in Montana who appears to be a little ticked off and who tells it like it is:
 

Hey Alan, let's get a few things straight . . . .

1. As a career politician, you have been on the public dole for FIFTY YEARS.

2. I have been paying Social Security taxes for 48 YEARS (since I was 15 years old. I am now 63).

3. My Social Security payments, and those of millions of other Americans, were safely tucked away in an interest bearing account for decades until you political pukes decided to raid the account and give OUR money to a bunch of zero ambition losers in return for votes, thus bankrupting the system and turning Social Security into a Ponzi scheme that would have made Bernie Madoff proud.

4. Recently, just like Lucy & Charlie Brown, you and your ilk pulled the proverbial football away from millions of American seniors nearing retirement and moved the goalposts for full retirement from age 65 to age 67. NOW, you and your shill commission is proposing to move the goalposts YET AGAIN.

5. I, and millions of other Americans, have been paying into Medicare from Day One, and now you morons propose to change the rules of the game. Why? Because you idiots mismanaged other parts of the economy to such an extent that you need to steal money from Medicare to pay the bills.

6. I, and millions of other Americans, have been paying income taxes our entire lives, and now you propose to increase our taxes yet again. Why? Because you incompetent bastards spent our money so profligately that you just kept on spending even after you ran out of money. Now, you come to the American taxpayers and say you need more to pay off YOUR debt.


To add insult to injury, you label us "greedy" for calling "bullshit" on your incompetence. Well, Captain Bullshit, I have a few questions for YOU.

1. How much money have you earned from the American taxpayers during your pathetic 50-year political career?

2. At what age did you retire from your pathetic political career, and how much are you receiving in annual retirement benefits from the American taxpayers?

3. How much do you pay for YOUR government provided health insurance?

4. What cuts in YOUR retirement and healthcare benefits are you proposing in your disgusting deficit reduction proposal, or, as usual, have you exempted yourself and your political cronies?

It is you, Captain Bullshit, and your political co-conspirators who are "greedy". It is you and they who have bankrupted America and stolen the American dream from millions of loyal, patriotic taxpayers. And for what? Votes. That's right, sir. You and yours have bankrupted America for the sole purpose of advancing your pathetic political careers. You know it, we know it, and you know that we know it.

And you can take that to the bank, you miserable son of a bitch.

Friday, March 18, 2011

It All Depends On Where You Sit

Social  Security:
 
Congress is not allowing any increases in the Social Security COLA (cost of living  adjustment). 


However, the per person monthly Medicare insurance premium increased from $96.40 in 2009 to $104.20 in 2010 and $120.20 in 2011, and will increase annually to a wonderful $247.00 in 2014.  

Congress:


At the same time, the disgusting dishonorables in the House of Reprehensibles and the United States Sty have given themselves $3,000 a month each in Cost of Living Adjustments.

Nothing Needs To Be Added To This

From The New York Times:

The public radio organization gets a trivial amount of money from the federal government, about $5.4 million a year.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

The Big Budget Lie

With uniformly somber visages, members of our fortitude deficient ruling class stroke their respective chins, look straight into the television camera lenses and solemnly proclaim that it will take 10 -- or 15, or 20 -- years to balance the federal budget.

They lie . . . .  They lie because they lack the will to do the job that can be done quickly and simply right now.

All that is necessary is to stop spending on anything and everything that is not absolutely essential.  Just go cold turkey and do so right now.

Don't get bogged down in fruitless debates about whether public broadcasting, the various national endowments (such as for the arts, the humanities, etc), or other similarly parasitic organizations  are worthwhile. Whether they are is unimportant as they are, at best, nice to have luxuries and not essentials. And, while we're at it, we should scrap in their entirely all contributions and payments to the UN, all foreign aid, and the full range of the multiple corporate welfare payment programs that keep bloated outfits like General Electric afloat and looking prosperous.  So long as the government is in financial difficulties it should simply stop spending on discretionary items, just as the nation's families do in similar financial situations.

That this is both true and possible is demonstrated with absolute clarity by news reports that only essential government operations would continue in the case of a government shutdown necessitated by the Congress not passing a budget or other continued funding legislation.

Well, duhh ! ! ! !

Why do we have the government paying for any nonessential operations while it is broke? 

Let the shutdown come and welcome it ! ! ! !

And if and when a budget is passed, it ought not to provide for any ethanol or agricultural subsidies, or for such unessential -- and often counterproductive -- operations as the Department of Education, the Department of Energy, the Department of Agriculture, and on and on and on . . . .

We need to abandon baseline budgeting (which means adding to the prior year's appropriation), to begin anew with zero base budgeting (requiring justification for every single dollar appropriated, beginning with the first one), and fund only truly essential (and constitutionally mandated) government operations.  This will necessitate a halt to tinkering at the fringes with a few whittling knives and taking multiple chain saws to the entire overgrown governmental structure.

If we have the will to do this, we can just stop spending and thus balance the budget right now. So let's get started!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

The Choice Is Clear . . . and Ours to Make

I am not among those who fear the people. They, and not the rich, are our dependence for continued freedom. And to preserve their independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our election between economy and liberty, or profusion and servitude.
. . . Thomas Jefferson

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

A Real Woman

A real woman is a man's best friend. 

She will never stand him up and never let him down. 

She will reassure him when he feels insecure and comfort him after a bad day.

She will inspire him to do things he never thought he could do;
to live without fear and forget regret.

She will enable him to express his deepest emotions and
give in to his most intimate desires. 

She will make sure he always feels as though he's
the most handsome man in the room and will enable him to be confident, sexy, seductive, and invincible . . . . 


*      *     *     *     *
No wait... sorry.  I'm thinking of booze.  It’s booze that does all that stuff.  Never mind.

One (Tea-Party Backed) Senator Has It Exactly Right

Sunday, March 13, 2011

The Way It Is

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Eternal Truths

It is far easier to get into, than it is to get out of litigation, war, or any other conflict.

Dollars Flowing Out from Our Absurdly Wide Open Spigots

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Apt (and Scary) Observations

A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy. While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their virtue then will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader
. . . Samuel Adams
Letter to James Warren
1779

Republics are created by the virtue, public spirit, and intelligence of the citizens. They fall, when the wise are banished from the public councils, because they dare to be honest, and the profligate are rewarded, because they flatter the people, in order to betray them. 
. . . Joseph Story
Commentaries on the Constitution
1833

Monday, March 7, 2011

Sunday, March 6, Request from a Friend

We are asking everyone to say a prayer for "Darkhorse" 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines and their families.   They are fighting it out in Afghanistan and have lost 9 marines in 4 days.   IT WOULD BE NICE TO SEE the message spread if more could pass it on.   Nothing in the media about these guys because no one seems to care:

      Justin Allen, 23,

      Brett Linley, 29,

      Matthew Weikert, 29,

      Justus Bartett, 27,

      Dave Santos, 21,

      Chase Stanley, 21

      Jesse Reed, 26,

      Matthew Johnson, 21,

       Zachary Fisher, 24,

      Brandon King, 23,

      Christopher Goeke, 23,

       Sheldon Tate, 27.

All Marines who gave their lives for us last week.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

The Arrogance of Authority

A DEA officer stopped at a ranch in Texas , and talked with an old rancher.

He told the rancher I need to inspect your ranch for illegally grown drugs.


The rancher said Okay , but don't go in that field over there . . . , pointing out the location.

The DEA officer verbally exploded saying, Mister, I have the authority of the Federal Government with me!


Reaching into his rear pants pocket, he removed his badge and proudly displayed it to the rancher.
 

See this badge?!  This badge means I am allowed to go wherever I wish . . . .  On any land ! No questions asked or answers given!  Have I made myself clear? do you understand?

The rancher nodded politely, apologized, and went about his chores.

A short time later, the old rancher heard loud screams, looked up, and saw the DEA officer running for his life, being chased by the rancher's big Santa Gertrudis bull . . . .

With every step the bull was gaining ground on the officer, and it seemed likely that he'd sure enough get gored before he reached safety.  The officer was clearly terrified.

The rancher threw down his tools, ran to the fence and yelled at the top of his lungs . . . :              

(I just love this part . . . .)


Your badge, show him your BADGE . . . . !

A Christian Nation ? ? ? ?

 In 
1952
President  Truman
established  one  day  a  year  as  a
"National Day of Prayer."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In
1988

President Reagan
designated the
First Thursday in May of each year as
the National Day of Prayer.  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In June
2007

(then)
Presidential
Candidate Barack Obama
declared that the USA
"Was no longer  a
Christian nation."
---------------------------------------------------------------  
After taking office
President Obama
canceled the
21st annual National Day
of Prayer ceremony

at the White
House under the ruse
Of "not wanting to offend anyone"  

------------------------------------------------------------------------  

BUT... on September 25, 2009
from 4 AM until 7 PM,
a National Day of Prayer
FOR THE MUSLIM RELIGION
was Held on Capitol Hill,
Near the White House.

There were over 50,000 Muslims
in  D.C. that day.  
    HE PRAYS WITH THE MUSLIMS!

I guess it Doesn't matter
if "Christians"
Are  offended  by  this  event -
Christians obviously
Don't count  as
"anyone"  Anymore.

The direction  this country is headed
should strike fear in the heart of every Christian,
especially knowing that the
Muslim religion believes that if Christians cannot be
converted, they should be annihilated.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Doing Them Proud

It is indicative of the sewage being poured into young brains by some "educators" that a Purple Heart veteran of Iraq, shot eleven times, was booed by the  nincompoop students at Columbia University. Their professors must be very proud.

. . . from Lee Rodgers' superb blog
at http://www.radiorodgers.com/ 

Behind the Push for High Speed Trains

Generations hence, when the river of time has worn this presidency's importance to a small, smooth pebble in the stream of history, people will still marvel that its defining trait was a mania for high-speed rail projects. This disorder illuminates the progressive mind. . . .
 
Forever seeking Archimedean levers for prying the world in directions they prefer, progressives say they embrace high-speed rail for many reasons—to improve the climate, increase competitiveness, enhance national security, reduce congestion, and rationalize land use. The length of the list of reasons, and the flimsiness of each, points to this conclusion: the real reason for progressives' passion for trains is their goal of diminishing Americans' individualism in order to make them more amenable to collectivism.

To progressives, the best thing about railroads is that people riding them are not in automobiles, which are subversive of the deference on which progressivism depends. Automobiles go hither and yon, wherever and whenever the driver desires, without timetables. Automobiles encourage people to think they -- unsupervised, untutored, and unscripted -- are masters of their fates. The automobile encourages people in delusions of adequacy, which make them resistant to government by experts who know what choices people should make.

Time was, the progressive cry was "Workers of the world unite!" or "Power to the people!" Now it is less resonant: "All aboard!"

George Will in Newsweek, Feb. 27


. . . and the Govmnt Said "Let There Be (CFL) Light"