Nemo me impune lacessit

No one provokes me with impunity

____________________________________

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

Article 1, Section 9, Constitution of the United States

If this is the law of the land...why in a republic (little r) and as republicans, do we allow mere POLITICIANS to the right to use a "title of office" for the rest of their lives as if it were de facto a patent of nobility. Because, as republicans, this should NOT be the case...just saying...

The Vail Spot's Amazon Store

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Over the Memorial Day weekend… the long hot summer began…

By JP Bender

Miami Beach, Florida, became a war zone during urban weekend. People claimed to the press they were scared for their lives. Poet “Da Real One” was gunned down in front of Miami Poetry CafĂ©.

Violent crime exploded in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, when police received reports of five armed robberies, a stabbing, a shooting and an incident involving a shotgun being pointed at a security guard during a nearly eight-hour period in the city early Sunday and Monday.

Unruly crowds shut down a Nashville, Tennessee Water Park. Police had to shut down Wave Country Monday during its opening weekend as a large crowd became unruly at long lines in the intense heat.

Questions continue to swirl as police investigators search for whoever fired shots during one of many fights in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina, early Sunday morning.

At a rib fest in Charlotte, New York, fights involving about 50 youths broke out late Monday night and police had to clear the area after arresting many people.

The Long Island, New York police department says it had to call for backup to quell a beach melee involving hundreds of people that spilled out onto the streets and a nearby bus depot. Long Beach police say they are investigating the incident. There was no immediate word on arrests.

But I guess we should forget about these incidents, because the mainstream media wants to continue to cover and report on the unrests in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Iran. Everything in America is OK. Lets focus on foreign problems. The incidents at home seem only to be a form of diversity in America and after all, we have a democrat in the White House.

Well to me, this diversity is yet another expression of disrespect for the laws of this country and a complete contempt for the constitution. The current administration wants foreign countries to form a democracy, while it tolerates chaos in our own country. This is a violation of our basic human rights in America. When you analyze this, and add it to the list of other government violations, you can easily become depressed and angry.

Our government is taking our rights away at an alarming pace. They violate the 1st Amendment by placing protesters in cages, banning books like “America Deceived II” and censoring the Internet. They violate the 2nd Amendment by confiscating guns. They violate the 4th and 5th Amendment by molesting airline passengers. They violate the entire Constitution by starting undeclared wars for foreign countries.

Where can the American electorate turn? The democrats are not the solution, as they are the problem. The current leadership of the Republicans does not offer any solutions, just public displays of crying before the cameras. The current crop of GOP candidates is a joke. As a harbinger, this could be the beginning of a long – hot – summer.

Florida Minimum Wage to Go Up June 1:

For immediate release...
Wage Theft Concerns on the Horizon
Florida, May 31st - As a result of a lawsuit, Florida’s minimum wage will increase from $7.25 to $7.31 per hour effective June 1st. The successful Constitutional challenge, filed by the National Employment Law Project and Florida Legal Services, sought to correct an error in the method used by the Agency for Workforce Innovation in calculating how the minimum wage rate would be adjusted for inflation. For tipped workers the resulting increase will be from $4.23 to $4.29 per hour.

The lawsuit came about because the State of Florida refused to increase the minimum wage on January 1st to reflect an increase in the cost-of-living, as required by law. “This will result in over $28 million more earned and spent in the local economy this year by the lowest-paid of Florida’s workforce,” said Jose Rodriguez, an attorney with Florida Legal Services who worked on the lawsuit. Rodriguez added, “This is an opportunity for Florida to make an overdue commitment on behalf of working Floridians to ensure that the minimum wage is complied with.” Florida’s Attorney General has had the statutory authority to enforce the minimum wage since 2004 but to the present has yet to use that authority. Moreover very little of Florida’s workforce is even aware that they can complain to the Florida AG if they've been underpaid.

Advocates like Francesca Menes of the Florida Immigrant Coalition who work to address wage theft want to make sure that businesses and employees know about the June 1 change. “Wage theft is the non-payment or under-payment of workers; failing to comply with the minimumwage is one type of wage theft,” said Menes.

In February 2010, the Florida Wage Theft Taskforce was successful in passing a wage-theft ordinance in Miami-Dade County. As a result of the ordinance, over $110,000 in unpaid wages has already been recovered. Unfortunately, Miami-Dade is the only county in the state with an anti-wage theft instrument on the books. “Some Florida legislators claim that the State already has mechanisms in place to address wage theft, but have yet to show us instances where its regulatory agencies have addressed these types of cases,” said Jeanette Smith of South Florida’s branch of the national Interfaith Worker Justice network. While Miami-Dade’s over-burdened Department of Small Business Development (SBD) handles wage theft cases locally, workers in the other sixty-six counties in Florida are left with little to no recourse. “We expect to see a significant rise in the number of wage theft cases locally as a result of businesses in the area not being properly notified regarding the wage increase requirement,” said Cynthia Hernandez, a researcher for the Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy.

Employees not paid the mandated minimum wage can contact the Attorney General’s hotline at 866-966-7226.
Increasing the Minimu Wage does nothing more than eliminating-reduce jobs.

Monday, May 30, 2011

Mark Allan Hughes

Mark Hughes...we graduated together many moons ago from A Crawford Mosley High School, in Panama City, Florida...in the ancient year of 1980!  I've been trying to find you for a couple of decades.  Last that I heard you were living in Jackson, Mississippi.  Please, if anyone has any idea of how to contact Mark, please do so!

Pomplamoose!

I was really happy to see last Christmas, Pomplamoose get some well deserved commercial attention.  It's not often that I actually get ahead of the curve!



Please, take the time to see what this genuinely talented couple can do.  Take a look at their YouTube station and, if you can afford to buy something from them.  THanks!

Friday, May 27, 2011

Krauthammer on Obama

Here is a summary of a lecture given by Charles Krauthammer on Barack Obama and what he sees as Mr. Obama's goals...and how to beat him in 2012 
 
Fast Facts About Dr. Charles Krauthammer , MD
  • Born: March 13, 1950
  • Birthplace: New York City, New York
  • Raised in Montreal, Canada
  • Attended Mc Gill University and Harvard Medical School
  • 1972 diving accident left him paralyzed from the neck on down.
  • Directed psychiatric research for the Carter administration
  • Began writing career in 1981 with The New Republic
  • Helped develop the "Reagan Doctrine" in the 80's
  • Appointed to Presidential Council on Bioethics in 2002

 

 
Summary of his comments:

 
  1. Mr. Obama is a very intellectual, charming individual. He is not to be underestimated. He is a cool customer who doesn't show his emotions. It's very hard to know what's behind the mask. The taking down of the Clinton dynasty was an amazing accomplishment. The Clintons still do not understand what hit them. Obama was in the perfect place at the perfect time.
  2. Obama has political skills comparable to Reagan and Clinton . He has a way of making you think he's on your side, agreeing with your position, while doing the opposite. Pay no attention to what he SAYS; rather,watch what he DOES!
  3. Obama has a ruthless quest for power. He did not come to Washington to make something out of himself, but rather to change everything, including dismantling capitalism. He can't be straightforward on his ambitions, as the public would not go along. He has a heavy hand, and wants to level the playing field with income redistribution and punishment to the achievers of society. He would like to model the USA to Great Britain orCanada .
  4. His three main goals are to control ENERGY, PUBLIC EDUCATION, and NATIONAL HEALTHCARE by the Federal government. He doesn't care about the auto or financial services industries, but got them as an early bonus. The cap and trade will add costs to everything and stifle growth. Paying for FREE college education is his goal. Most scary is his healthcare program, because if you make it FREE and add 46,000,000 people to a Medicare-type single-payer system, the costs will go through the roof. The only way to control costs is with massive RATIONING of services, like in Canada .. God forbid!
  5. He has surrounded himself with mostly far-left academic types. No one around him has ever even run a candy store. But they are going to try and run the auto, financial, banking and other industries. This obviously can't work in the long run. Obama is not a socialist; rather he's a far-left secular progressive bent on nothing short of revolution. He ran as a moderate, but will govern from the hard left. Again, watch what he DOES, not what he says.
  6. Obama doesn't really see himself as President of the United States , but more as a ruler over the world. He sees himself above it all, trying to orchestrate & coordinate various countries and their agendas. He sees moral equivalency in all cultures. His apology tour in Germany and England was a prime example of how he sees America , as an imperialist nation that has been arrogant, rather than a great noble nation that has at times made errors. This is the first President ever who has chastised our allies and appeased our enemies!
  7. He is now handing out goodies. He hopes that the bill (and pain) will not come due until after he is reelected in 2012. He would like to blame all problems on Bush from the past, and hopefully his successor in the future. He has a huge ego, and Dr. Krauthammer believes he is a narcissist.
  8. Republicans are in the wilderness for a while, but will emerge strong. Republicans are pining for another Reagan , but there will never be another like him. Krauthammer believes Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty & Bobby Jindahl (except for his terrible speech in February) are the future of the party. Newt Gingrich is brilliant, but has baggage. Sarah Palin is sincere and intelligent, but needs to really be seriously boning up on facts and info if she is to be a serious candidate in the future. We need to return to the party of lower taxes, smaller government, personal responsibility, strong national defense, and state's rights.
  9. The current level of spending is irresponsible and outrageous We are spending trillions that we don't have. This could lead to hyperinflation, depression or worse. No country has ever spent themselves into prosperity. The Media is giving Obama, Reid and Pelosi a Pass because they love their agenda. But eventually the bill will come due and people will realize the huge bailouts didn't work, nor will the stimulus package. These were trillion-dollar payoffs to Obama's allies, unions and the Congress to placate the left, so he can get support for #4 above.
  10. The election was over in mid-September when Lehman brothers failed, fear and panic swept in, we had an unpopular President, and the war was grinding on indefinitely without a clear outcome The people are in pain, and the mantra of change caused people to act emotionally. Any Dem would have won this election; it was surprising it was as close as it was.
  11. In 2012, if the unemployment rate is over 10%, Republicans will be swept back into power. If it's under 8%, the Dems continue to roll. If it's between 8-10%, it will be a dogfight. It will all be about the economy. I hope this gets you really thinking about what's happening in Washington and Congress. There is a left-wing revolution going on, according to Krauthammer, and he encourages us to keep the faith and join the loyal resistance. The work will be hard, but we're right on most issues and can reclaim our country, before it's far too late.

Congress' Exempt Itself from Laws...

The following was submitted by Linda D. for posting:

No one has been able to explain to me why young men and women serve in the U.S. Military for 20 years, risking their lives protecting freedom, and only get 50% of their pay. While Politicians hold their political positions in the safe confines of the capital, protected by these same men and women, and receive full pay retirement after servingone term.
It just does not make any sense.

Monday on Fox news they learned that the staffers of Congress family members are exempt from having to pay back student loans. This will get national attention if other news networks will broadcast it. When you add this to the below, just where will all of it stop?


35 States file lawsuit against the Federal Government

Governors of 35 states have filed suit against the Federal Government for imposing unlawful burdens upon them. It only takes 38 (of the 50) States to convene aConstitutional Convention.

This is an idea that we should address.

For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress. Many citizens had no idea that members of Congress could retire with the same pay after only one term, that they specifically exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed (such as being exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment) while ordinary citizens must live under those laws. The latest is to exempt themselves from the Healthcare Reform... in all of its forms. Somehow, that doesn't seem logical. We do not have an elite that is above the law. I truly don't care if they are Democrat, Republican, Independent or whatever. The self-serving must stop.

Proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution: "Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States."

Here's my own take on a possible 28th amendment: I hereby propose the following as the 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
  1. No citizen of the United States shall be elected to the House of Representatives to more than four (4) consecutive, two (2) year terms to office.
  2. No citizen of the United States shall be elected to the United States Senate for more than two (2) consecutive, six (6) year terms of office.
  3. No citizen of the United States shall receive any retirement benefits from serving in either the United States House of Representatives or the United States Senate.
  4. Congress shall not exempt itself from any laws of the United States of America, in whole or in part.
  5. Congress shall be in session for a period of not less than 90 60 consecutive days in the Spring, and 90 60 consecutive days in the Summer Fall of each year. Each sitting of Congress may be extended by the President for a period not to exceed 30 15 days. The Spring session shall start on the first Monday of March. The Summer Fall session shall begin on the first Monday in August. An additional 15 day session to begin on the 2nd Monday of November shall may be called by the President if so deemed necessary by declaration of a national emergency and voted so by a 2/3rds majority of the sitting Congress and may not be extended. session may not be extended unless a period of National Emergency is formally declared by the President. {This section I think is necessary to basically force Congress to actually work...in the past decade they generally only spend 2 1/2 days per week actually working in Washington, DC. Most often only from Tues afternoon to Thurs afternoon!}
What do you think?

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Netanyahu: USA IS a Great Country...

Here's video of Netanyahu's address to a joint session of Congress:



Via Legal Insurrection

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Rudy To Run?

I got home from work this afternoon and checked my email.   I received the following from a friend who is a retired journalist and now does speechwriting. 
I talked with 3 very serious political operatives on a conference call early this afternoon. These people are usually in the know and never say anything - which is the norm for those in the know.


They tell me that Rudy is really depressed about the field of candidates - and potential candidates.

He feels now is the time to announce and he can beat the Republican pack and ultimately the president.
Generally, if XXXXX says something, it's pretty much written in stone.  While perusing Instapundit...I ran across this: 
WHAT TIME IS IT, KIDS? IT’S RUDY TIME! “Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, whose presidential campaign fizzled in 2008, is leaning toward another race for the White House, according to a close associate.”


Posted at 8:44 am by Glenn Reynolds
 Glenn's report has a link to a piece by Byron York in the Washington Examiner.  The most telling part of the article is this (ALL emphasis is mine, ed.): 
There is an ongoing conversation among Republican political insiders about supposed voter unhappiness with the GOP field, and after Indiana governor Mitch Daniels' decision not to run, pundits and strategists have focused on hopes that New Jersey governor Chris Christie or House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan might be coaxed into running. Others have mentioned the name of former Florida governor Jeb Bush. Few observers have looked to Giuliani as a possible savior of the Republican Party.


I talk to a lot of people from all across the country and from what I can see, there isn't "supposed voter unhappiness" with the GOP field...we're down-right pissed at the real suckiness of the declared candidates.  Mitt Romney is unelectable (can you say RomneyCare anyone?).  Newt, hung himself last week when he criticized Congressman Paul Ryan's  plan (also, 3 divorces due to adultry, couch sitting with Nancy Pelosi, and much much more)...of the rest, the only viable candidates are Tim Pawlenty....and Herman Cain, who isn't at all well known nationally. 

My take from the comments in the Byron York peice are: 
His major problem at this point, is the incompetent race he ran in 2008. He has yet to show that he can put together a national team...that can deliver at the polls on election day.

The Electoral College was put into place to force candidates to actually put together a national organization, not just in those cities with large populations. I'm not convinced that Mr. Guilianni can do this, as he failed miserably last time around...and I was a big supporter of his in 2008. This time around, I'll take a wait and see...and wait and see just what he does.

Personally, I'd love to see a Palin/Cain, Perry/West or Christie/Cain ticket myself.
So, I'll watch Rudy, but honestly, I think his chance has passed.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Tim Pawlenty: A Time For Truth

Here's a rather different message from a politcians...he's going to  Iowa to call for and end to farm subsidies, Florida to introduce his plan to reform both Social Security and Medicare and later New York, to turn off the money spigot to banks and investment houses...



All emphasis in the below quote is mine...not Mr. Pawlenty's.
I’m going to try something a little unusual in politics. I’m just going to tell the truth. Washington is broken, our country is going broke, and our long-term financial outlook will make the pain of the recent recession pale in comparison.


It’s long past time for America’s president — and anyone who wants to be president — to be straight with the American people.

So here it is: Government money isn’t “free.” Either you and I pay for it in taxes, or our children pay for it in debt. The reforms we need are not in the billions, but in the trillions of dollars. And the cuts we must make cannot just be in other people’s favorite programs.

That’s why later this week I’m going to New York City to tell Wall Street that if I’m elected, the era of bailouts and handouts for big banks is over. I’m going to Florida to tell both young people and seniors that our entitlement programs are on an unsustainable path and have to be changed. And, today, I’m in Iowa to speak truthfully about farm subsidies.
"They" have been saying for decades that you don't go to Iowa to call for an end to farm subsidies, to Florida to call for Medicare/Social Security reform, or New York...to tell Wall Street there is no company "too big to fail."  Mr. Pawlenty is talking the talk...let's see if you has the political legs to walk the walk.

Take A Look

David Friedman, the son of Thomas Milton Friedman has a very  under-rated blog.  He has some very intersting observations on a commencement address by a judge. 
This morning I listened to a commencement address by a former judge. It struck me as an interesting example of the failure to modify beliefs on the basis of evidence.


The speaker began by saying that every American had a legal right to health care, education, financial aid. He took for granted, and obviously approved of, one of the major changes in America over the course of the past century, the shift from a system where almost all goods and services were provided by voluntary transactions on the marketplace to one where many are provided by government, paid for by taxes, allocated by government bureaucracy.

Much of his talk dealt with his own experience with the latter system, the result of his and his wife taking responsibility for, eventually adopting, a young relative with severe autism and related developmental disabilities. Under existing law, she was entitled to a wide range of medical and educational services. When he tried to obtain those services for her, however, he found himself involved in a tangled web of bureaucracy, detailed and inconsistent rules, phone conversations with a computer on the other end. He suspected that insofar as he finally succeeded in working his way through that tangle to a successful outcome, it was at least in part because a federal judge was better able to get attention and favorable treatment from government bureaucrats than most other people would have been. He concluded that the young law graduates to whom he was speaking should devote their lives, at least in part, to seeing that poor Americans got from the government the things to which they were legally entitled.
Read the whole thing
Hat Tip Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion

UPDATE:  Sorry!  I misread your father's 1st name on Prof Jacobson's blog.  My mistake, and I stand corrected.

Eric Cantor @ AIPAC 2011

Here's a highlight video of Congressman Eric Cantor (R-VA) at the AIPAC conference.  He received a far louder and longer ovation, than did the Democrat, Barack Obama...even though 70% of the attendees VOTED for Mr. Obama...




Here''s the text of his speech:
 It's great to be here. I'm really honored to be able to address you at the afternoon plenary of AIPAC's policy conference, the biggest ever.


As I look out, I see 10,000 people, young and old, who have come to Washington from around the country - not for personal enrichment or gain, not out of concern for your industries or businesses, but out of deep affection for a fellow democracy, Israel. We are all here because we know that America is at its best when it stands with allies that share our values.

Like many of you, I am the descendant of immigrants to America.  My grandparents came to this country nearly a century ago from Russia. They passed through New York harbor and the statue of liberty on the way to a better, freer life.  My grandmother was widowed at a young age. And she eventually made her home in a predominately African American section of Richmond, Virginia. She raised my father and my uncle in a tiny apartment above a grocery store that she owned. 

Through hard work, perseverance and faith - the very values on which America is built - she lifted herself up into the middle class, and even sent her two children to college.  But never did she dare to dream that her grandson would someday be a Member of Congress, much less the Majority Leader of the U.S. House.  When I grew up, my parents were among the few Jews actively involved in local politics. From them, I learned the value of community involvement in shaping our future.

One of my most vivid memories as a child came on that fateful Yom Kippur Day in 1973. I was just 10 years old. I remember standing on the steps in front of the synagogue after services let out. I heard grown-ups around me talking about Israel being attacked on the holiest day of the calendar. I heard them recall what it was like to live as a Jew before Israel came into being. They feared that those days might return.

That experience was etched into my memory. It was only years later that I truly understood the critical role America can play in coming to the aid of a fellow democracy. Visitors to our country often ask, “Why is it that America and Israel are so close?”  There are many answers to this question. 

Yes, Israel is a critical pillar of U.S. national security. Yes, Israel fights on the front line against radical Islam.  And yes, a strong Israel provides a more stable and hospitable Middle East for U.S. interests.

Our strategic ties to Israel are important. But there's something much deeper that binds our two nations. There's something that Americans identify with on a gut level - something I see every time Steny Hoyer and I take Members to Israel.

When Members of Congress stand on the shores of the Sea of Galilee; when we listen to the words of the Sermon on the Mount; and when we walk the Stations of the Cross, the names and places that people read about in their Sunday school studies come alive right before their eyes.

It is emotional. It is profound. And to our Christian brethren among us, we salute you and appreciate your solidarity and support. Israel cherishes the values we do. Israel represents the triumph of the human spirit over impossible odds. Israel represents a fierce dedication to saving and improving life for all.  Israel's spirit lives through its people.

In 1942, a boy was slipped by his parents off a train bound for the gas chambers of Auschwitz. By a stroke of luck, a Catholic woman in a nearby Polish village took him in and hid him in her cupboard. After the war was finally over, that boy immigrated to Israel to begin a new life.

Today, his son, Dr. Ofer Merin, heads up the now-famous medical field hospital that travels the world in the wake of natural disasters.  Just three days after the earthquake in Haiti last year, Dr. Merin was there helping save lives. And this year, his unit treated the wounded in remote areas hardest hit by Japan's deadly tsunami.  No question, Israel joins America in leading the way to save lives and help feed the world. 

Yet today the two-thousand-year-old dream of the state of Israel is in jeopardy. There is no other nation on earth so routinely denied its right to exist and threatened with destruction.

Recent developments in the region have moved Iran out of the headlines, but it is undeniable: the specter of a nuclear Iran looms larger than ever.  We must never take our eye off Iran. And that's why Congress will soon pass the bipartisan Iran Threat Reduction Act, making it official U.S. policy to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons capability.  Plain and simple, if you do business with Iran, you cannot do business with America. 

Meanwhile, during this Arab Spring, we all hope that freedom will take a leap forward in the Middle East. And we will do everything we can to support institutions of democracy and civil society. Yet the truth is, there is much uncertainty.

However, there is one thing for certain: America must do everything in its power to keep Israel strong and secure.  The longstanding anti-Israel, anti-Semitic vitriol persists. But the world must no longer turn a deaf ear. It's time for America to lead.

To the emerging governments of the Middle East, America must clearly state:

It is not okay to vilify Israel. It is not okay to demonize Jews. And it's time to stop scapegoating Israel. Nearly 7,000 miles away, Israel fights the same war we do. We share a common enemy in Iran and its terrorist proxies who seek nuclear weapons. 

So, my message to you this afternoon is this: If Israel goes, we all go.  In order for us to win this great struggle, we must have the courage to see the world not as we wish it to be, but as it truly is. It is not morally equivalent when the offenses of terrorists are equated with the defenses of Israel.
The following story illustrates Israel's dilemma.

A Palestinian woman from Gaza arrives at Soroka Hospital in Beersheba for lifesaving skin treatment for burns over half her body. After the conclusion of her extensive treatment, the woman is invited back for follow-up visits to the outpatient clinic. One day she is caught at the border crossing wearing a suicide belt. Her intention? To blow herself up at the same clinic that saved her life.

What kind of culture leads one to do that?  Sadly, it is a culture infused with resentment and hatred.  It is this culture that underlies the Palestinians' and the broader Arab world's refusal to accept Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state. This is the root of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. It is not about the '67 lines.

And until Israel's enemies come to terms with this reality, a true peace will be impossible. And the reality, as we say in Hebrew, is “Ahm Yisrael Chai: The people of Israel live. And what they want is to live in peace. If the Palestinians want to live in peace in a state of their own, they must demonstrate that they are worthy of a state.

To Mr. Abbas, I say:
Stop the incitement in your media and your schools.  Stop naming public squares and athletic teams after suicide bombers.  And come to the negotiating table when you have prepared your people to forego hatred and renounce terrorism - and Israel will embrace you.  Until that day, there can be no peace with Hamas. Peace at any price isn't peace; it's surrender.
All of us here today are heirs to a rich tradition of Zionism that has its roots in America's founding.  The colonists, including Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, saw themselves as a New Israel crossing to the Promised Land. I have the great privilege of holding James Madison's seat in the Congress. He spent a year at Princeton learning to speak Hebrew.  Like many others, John Adams marveled at the prospect of “a hundred thousand Israelites” returning to the Land of Israel and creating an “independent nation” in their ancestral and religious homeland.

One hundred ninety years later, Adams's vision has been realized. Never before in the history of mankind have a people, forcibly removed from their land for thousands of years, returned - just as the Bible promised.
In this time of extraordinary challenge for Israel and for America, we simply cannot afford to become complacent. We must rise to the challenge before us and shape history.

Israel deserves America's friendship in reality - not just in rhetoric. Words and promises come and go.  Only deeds count.

There is a time for talk; but now is the time for action. There is a time for dreaming; but now is the time for doing. There is a time for following; but now is the time to lead--from the front.

For the survival of Israel, for the security of America and peace of the world, now is that time and right here is the place to begin.

Quotes For 2012 GOP Field

From JP...his thoughts on the very undistinguished GOP field.
As I watch the 2012 political season unfold, I swear I am at a loss for appropriate insults for both the candidates and the cable/network "news interviewers." So I did some basic research and I now have some ready to use in the next 18 months... JP


"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." Winston Churchill
"A modest little person, with much to be modest about."  Winston Churchill
"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure."  Clarence Darrow
"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway)
"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?"  Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner)
"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it."  Moses Hadas
"He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know." Abraham Lincoln
"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it." Groucho Marx
"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." Mark Twain
"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends."  Oscar Wilde
"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play, bring a friend... if you have one."  George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill
"Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second...if there is one."  Winston Churchill, in response
"I feel so miserable without you, it's almost like having you here."  Stephen Bishop
"He is a self-made man and worships his creator."   John Bright
"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial."  Irvin S. Cobb
"He is not only dull himself, he is the cause of dullness in others."  Samuel Johnson
"He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up." Paul Keating
"He had delusions of adequacy."  Walter Kerr
"There's nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won't cure."  Jack E. Leonard
"He has the attention span of a lightning bolt."  Robert Redford
"They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge."  Thomas Brackett Reed
"He inherited some good instincts from his Quaker forebears, but by diligent hard work, he overcame them." James Reston (about Richard Nixon)
"In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily." Charles, Count Talleyrand
"He loves nature in spite of what it did to him." Forrest Tucker
"Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?"  Mark Twain
"His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork." Mae West
"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go." Oscar Wilde
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts...for support rather than illumination."Andrew Lang (1844-1912)
"He has Van Gogh's ear for music." Billy Wilder
JP, that just about says it all...the people I'd rather see running for president aren't...and those that are, are undistinguished.

FEDERALIST No. 21 Other Defects of the Present Confederation

For the Independent Journal
Alexander Hamilton


To the People of the State of New York:

HAVING in the three last numbers taken a summary review of the principal circumstances and events which have depicted the genius and fate of other confederate governments, I shall now proceed in the enumeration of the most important of those defects which have hitherto disappointed our hopes from the system established among ourselves. To form a safe and satisfactory judgment of the proper remedy, it is absolutely necessary that we should be well acquainted with the extent and malignity of the disease.

The next most palpable defect of the subsisting Confederation, is the total want of a SANCTION to its laws. The United States, as now composed, have no powers to exact obedience, or punish disobedience to their resolutions, either by pecuniary mulcts, by a suspension or divestiture of privileges, or by any other constitutional mode. There is no express delegation of authority to them to use force against delinquent members; and if such a right should be ascribed to the federal head, as resulting from the nature of the social compact between the States, it must be by inference and construction, in the face of that part of the second article, by which it is declared, "that each State shall retain every power, jurisdiction, and right, not EXPRESSLY delegated to the United States in Congress assembled." There is, doubtless, a striking absurdity in supposing that a right of this kind does not exist, but we are reduced to the dilemma either of embracing that supposition, preposterous as it may seem, or of contravening or explaining away a provision, which has been of late a repeated theme of the eulogies of those who oppose the new Constitution; and the want of which, in that plan, has been the subject of much plausible animadversion, and severe criticism. If we are unwilling to impair the force of this applauded provision, we shall be obliged to conclude, that the United States afford the extraordinary spectacle of a government destitute even of the shadow of constitutional power to enforce the execution of its own laws. It will appear, from the specimens which have been cited, that the American Confederacy, in this particular, stands discriminated from every other institution of a similar kind, and exhibits a new and unexampled phenomenon in the political world.

The want of a mutual guaranty of the State governments is another capital imperfection in the federal plan. There is nothing of this kind declared in the articles that compose it; and to imply a tacit guaranty from considerations of utility, would be a still more flagrant departure from the clause which has been mentioned, than to imply a tacit power of coercion from the like considerations. The want of a guaranty, though it might in its consequences endanger the Union, does not so immediately attack its existence as the want of a constitutional sanction to its laws.

Without a guaranty the assistance to be derived from the Union in repelling those domestic dangers which may sometimes threaten the existence of the State constitutions, must be renounced. Usurpation may rear its crest in each State, and trample upon the liberties of the people, while the national government could legally do nothing more than behold its encroachments with indignation and regret. A successful faction may erect a tyranny on the ruins of order and law, while no succor could constitutionally be afforded by the Union to the friends and supporters of the government. The tempestuous situation from which Massachusetts has scarcely emerged, evinces that dangers of this kind are not merely speculative. Who can determine what might have been the issue of her late convulsions, if the malcontents had been headed by a Caesar or by a Cromwell? Who can predict what effect a despotism, established in Massachusetts, would have upon the liberties of New Hampshire or Rhode Island, of Connecticut or New York?

The inordinate pride of State importance has suggested to some minds an objection to the principle of a guaranty in the federal government, as involving an officious interference in the domestic concerns of the members. A scruple of this kind would deprive us of one of the principal advantages to be expected from union, and can only flow from a misapprehension of the nature of the provision itself. It could be no impediment to reforms of the State constitution by a majority of the people in a legal and peaceable mode. This right would remain undiminished. The guaranty could only operate against changes to be effected by violence. Towards the preventions of calamities of this kind, too many checks cannot be provided. The peace of society and the stability of government depend absolutely on the efficacy of the precautions adopted on this head. Where the whole power of the government is in the hands of the people, there is the less pretense for the use of violent remedies in partial or occasional distempers of the State. The natural cure for an ill-administration, in a popular or representative constitution, is a change of men. A guaranty by the national authority would be as much levelled against the usurpations of rulers as against the ferments and outrages of faction and sedition in the community.

The principle of regulating the contributions of the States to the common treasury by QUOTAS is another fundamental error in the Confederation. Its repugnancy to an adequate supply of the national exigencies has been already pointed out, and has sufficiently appeared from the trial which has been made of it. I speak of it now solely with a view to equality among the States. Those who have been accustomed to contemplate the circumstances which produce and constitute national wealth, must be satisfied that there is no common standard or barometer by which the degrees of it can be ascertained. Neither the value of lands, nor the numbers of the people, which have been successively proposed as the rule of State contributions, has any pretension to being a just representative. If we compare the wealth of the United Netherlands with that of Russia or Germany, or even of France, and if we at the same time compare the total value of the lands and the aggregate population of that contracted district with the total value of the lands and the aggregate population of the immense regions of either of the three last-mentioned countries, we shall at once discover that there is no comparison between the proportion of either of these two objects and that of the relative wealth of those nations. If the like parallel were to be run between several of the American States, it would furnish a like result. Let Virginia be contrasted with North Carolina, Pennsylvania with Connecticut, or Maryland with New Jersey, and we shall be convinced that the respective abilities of those States, in relation to revenue, bear little or no analogy to their comparative stock in lands or to their comparative population. The position may be equally illustrated by a similar process between the counties of the same State. No man who is acquainted with the State of New York will doubt that the active wealth of King's County bears a much greater proportion to that of Montgomery than it would appear to be if we should take either the total value of the lands or the total number of the people as a criterion!

The wealth of nations depends upon an infinite variety of causes. Situation, soil, climate, the nature of the productions, the nature of the government, the genius of the citizens, the degree of information they possess, the state of commerce, of arts, of industry, these circumstances and many more, too complex, minute, or adventitious to admit of a particular specification, occasion differences hardly conceivable in the relative opulence and riches of different countries. The consequence clearly is that there can be no common measure of national wealth, and, of course, no general or stationary rule by which the ability of a state to pay taxes can be determined. The attempt, therefore, to regulate the contributions of the members of a confederacy by any such rule, cannot fail to be productive of glaring inequality and extreme oppression.

This inequality would of itself be sufficient in America to work the eventual destruction of the Union, if any mode of enforcing a compliance with its requisitions could be devised. The suffering States would not long consent to remain associated upon a principle which distributes the public burdens with so unequal a hand, and which was calculated to impoverish and oppress the citizens of some States, while those of others would scarcely be conscious of the small proportion of the weight they were required to sustain. This, however, is an evil inseparable from the principle of quotas and requisitions.

There is no method of steering clear of this inconvenience, but by authorizing the national government to raise its own revenues in its own way. Imposts, excises, and, in general, all duties upon articles of consumption, may be compared to a fluid, which will, in time, find its level with the means of paying them. The amount to be contributed by each citizen will in a degree be at his own option, and can be regulated by an attention to his resources. The rich may be extravagant, the poor can be frugal; and private oppression may always be avoided by a judicious selection of objects proper for such impositions. If inequalities should arise in some States from duties on particular objects, these will, in all probability, be counterbalanced by proportional inequalities in other States, from the duties on other objects. In the course of time and things, an equilibrium, as far as it is attainable in so complicated a subject, will be established everywhere. Or, if inequalities should still exist, they would neither be so great in their degree, so uniform in their operation, nor so odious in their appearance, as those which would necessarily spring from quotas, upon any scale that can possibly be devised.

It is a signal advantage of taxes on articles of consumption, that they contain in their own nature a security against excess. They prescribe their own limit; which cannot be exceeded without defeating the end proposed, that is, an extension of the revenue. When applied to this object, the saying is as just as it is witty, that, "in political arithmetic, two and two do not always make four ." If duties are too high, they lessen the consumption; the collection is eluded; and the product to the treasury is not so great as when they are confined within proper and moderate bounds. This forms a complete barrier against any material oppression of the citizens by taxes of this class, and is itself a natural limitation of the power of imposing them.

Impositions of this kind usually fall under the denomination of indirect taxes, and must for a long time constitute the chief part of the revenue raised in this country. Those of the direct kind, which principally relate to land and buildings, may admit of a rule of apportionment. Either the value of land, or the number of the people, may serve as a standard. The state of agriculture and the populousness of a country have been considered as nearly connected with each other. And, as a rule, for the purpose intended, numbers, in the view of simplicity and certainty, are entitled to a preference. In every country it is a herculean task to obtain a valuation of the land; in a country imperfectly settled and progressive in improvement, the difficulties are increased almost to impracticability. The expense of an accurate valuation is, in all situations, a formidable objection. In a branch of taxation where no limits to the discretion of the government are to be found in the nature of things, the establishment of a fixed rule, not incompatible with the end, may be attended with fewer inconveniences than to leave that discretion altogether at large.
PUBLIUS. 

Conservative Philosophy: The 10th Amendment

This came from the comments on another post, but I thought it was pertinent to many of the arguments that are being given against federalism/statism.  But mostly, it's why many conservatives are against federal bloat.
ALL of those wants and needs are to be provided by the [various] state and/or the individual. It is one of the reason we have states. It is to keep things dynamic, not static. As in not static by giving the federal government powers that are not enumerated in the Constitution.  The federal government is NOT supposed to be the countries "infrastructure". The states build their own infrastructure. The states build their own bridges and create their own curriculum for the education of the children.

Balancing Act

Here is a balancing act for the ages.



thanks Linda!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Gene Simmons Schools Obama

Here's video of Gene Simmons slapping down Mr. Obama...



HT JamieWearingFool

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Money Bags

This year, July has 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays. This happens once every 823 years. This is called money bags.  Kinda interesting - read on!!!
This year we're going to experience four unusual dates.  1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11, 11/11/11 and that's not all...

Take the last two digits of the year in which you were born - now add the age you will be this year,

The results will be 111 for everyone in whole world!

A British View: Pat Condell

Here's an amusing comentary on Osama bin Laden's demise...



I do like the bit about the pork chop and fireman's axe...Thanks for sending this to me JP

RomneyCare

I have fairly strong thoughts about "RomneyCare" and ObamaCare...but my views on this particular issue stems solely from the 10th Amendment of the US Constitution: 
Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
I firmly believe that the basis of ObamaCare or America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009 as it is officialy titled is that national health care isn't found within the constitution.  Thus..it's unlawful without specifically amending the Constitution.

However, I believe that the various states have constitutional authority to enact their own versions, as Massachusetts has.  RomneyCare has been a disaster for Massachusetts...as it's driven costs up until they are the highest in the nation. 
The report by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit health care foundation, showed that the average family premium for plans offered by employers in Massachusetts was $13,788 in 2008, 40 percent higher than in 2003. Over the same period, premiums nationwide rose an average of 33 percent.

This will happen all across the country...on January 1 of this year, the costs of my company's health insurance doubled...from $250 per month to over $500 per month...but I digress.

I don't oppose the concept of a state being able to enact "state" health insurance/care rules, though philosophically, I oppose it as a free market has much better controls on costs than any state mandate ever could.  Basically, I believe that the Federal government has no role in individual health care...none, that power is reserved to the states, or the people.

Tennessee: Hand Over Your Money!

If you travel through Tennessee, don't carry any cash...this was sent by a reader with this comment: 
The Gestapo now works on commission......wait till you see the last segment of the video. Drugs are the "pretense" but cash is the motive. And you can be sure not all of it makes it to the agency coffers. Coin dealers & jewelers returning from shows, tourists from casinos and all... prepare to defend your property




Police shaking criminals down is nothing new. Cash seizures based on "probable cause" are also not new.  What appears to be new here is the scale and brazenness of it. It's also amusing to see different forces fighting it out (with words only thus far) over the loot. We're not Mexico - yet. But we seem to be drifting in that direction.
I guess, that our government in addition to supporting the arrival of illegal workers from Central America, has decided that doing what their governments do...

Hat Tip:  JP

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Saving Medicare: Free Market Reforms Are Better

Here's a great video, via Instapundit, on who is right on Medicare reform.



It's narrated by Dan Mitchell.  the video has two sections.
The first part reviews Congressman Ryan’s proposal and notes that it is based on a plan put together with Alice Rivlin, who served as Director of the Office of Management and Budget under Bill Clinton. Among serious budget people (as opposed to the hacks on Capitol Hill), this is an important sign of bipartisan support.
The video also notes that the “voucher” proposal is actually very similar to the plan that is used by Members of Congress and their staff. This is a selling point that proponents should emphasize since most Americans realize that lawmakers would never subject themselves to something that didn’t work.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Why NOT Newt?

Well, that's actually pretty easy.  Here's the first reason,



Then there's the divorces, cheating on his wives, having resigned from Congress, and DeDe Scozafava...its a long list, but basically, he's far too flawed.  I'd like to see Paul Ryan run, failing that I'll support Herman Cain, because he has the sense NOT to flame out in a debate by answering stupidly. 
Ever since the South Carolina Republican presidential debate, reporters have continued to challenge me for not having a specific plan for our nation’s involvement in Afghanistan. They continue to think that if you are running for president then you must have an answer for everything. I don’t! A real leader has the right questions for everything.

When asked about what I would do about our involvement in the war in Afghanistan during the debate, I answered by asking the questions that should have been asked before we got involved many years ago. What is our mission? How does it serve our interest? Is there a path to victory? If not, then what is our exit strategy?

I ask these questions instead of “shooting from the lip” because there is obviously a lot of classified information to which I do not have access. There are dozens of experts and military leaders I would need advice from before I could make an informed decision about a real clear plan for the USA’s involvement in Afghanistan. Similarly, a real clear strategy for every country with which we have relationships would be developed, regardless of whether or not we are involved in a military conflict.
At least he has the sense to know what he doesn't know, and say so.  I don't expect my president to have all the answers to every question, problem.  But I do expect him to lead, and not from behind as our current one has taken to doing.  It's going to take a while for Mr. Cain's candidacy to take off...because the MSM is basically ignoring him.  After all, they can't call him a racist.  Jim Treacher has this to  say about him,
The more I listen to Herman Cain, the more I like him. Which I guess only counts if you think likability is a factor in electing a president. And, being of a mischievous mind, I can just imagine how he’d confound the race-obsessed left as an opponent. “Holy crap, what do we do? This guy is so black, he makes Obama look like Edgar Winter’s bloodless corpse half-buried in a snowbank. Begin Operation: Clarence Thomas!”

Because that’s all they can see. They can’t fathom that people could actually be drawn to Cain by who he is and what he says, not which box he checks under “Race.” It might actually be about… oh, what was that thing called? Oh yeah: the content of his character.
We'll see what happens.  But I won't support Newt, not for any reason.

UPDATE, the 1st:  Via Allahpundit  "If you thought the Foxies might go easy on one of their own (former) contributors, think again."  Here's Charles Krauthammer on Newt:



and Brit Hume:
I'd say, that unless Newt can come up with some serious reasons why We The People should take him seriously...he's finished.
HatTip:  The Blog Father, Instapundit

$1,000,000,000

I received this one from a reader too.  It's about perspective:

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 billion seconds ago it was 1959.
  • a billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
  • A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
  • A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.
  • 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 (Dem) is presently asking Congress for 250 BILLION DOLLARS to rebuild New Orleans . Interesting number... What does it mean? Well ..
  • If you are one of the 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman, and child) You each get $516,528.
  • If you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans , your home gets$1,329,787..
  • Or... If you are a family of four....Your family gets$2,066,012.

 Washington , D. C ...Are all your calculators broken??

 
Here's a list of taxes that didn't exist 100 years ago:
  • Building Permit Tax
  • CDL License Tax
  • Cigarette Tax
  • Corporate Income Tax
  • Dog License Tax
  • Federal Income Tax (Fed)
  • Federal Unemployment Tax (FU TA)
  • 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

 (And to think, we left British  Rule to avoid so many taxes)

 
Honestly, do you really 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.
Yet, the Democratic Party would have you believe that merely returning spending levels to pre-2007 (when they took control of Congress) would be the biggest spending reduction in history.  What they're not saying is that they set in motion the largest, non-war related, spending increase in history.  One that only excellerated when Mr. Obama was elected president in 2008.  They have managed to double our national debt in FIVE YEARS!!!!

It's time for a change, and the GOP leadership in Washington DC isn't listening.  We The People need to actually do something about this.  Find candidates who will give ALL the sitting GOP members a primary challenge.  Men and women who have never been contaminated by the "political process" who will actually DO something about the quagmire that has become Washington, DC.

Trump Will Not Run

On April 28th, I posted a  story on The Donald...not running for president.  Well, ABC is reporting today, that the Donald isn't running for president...more than two weeks after The Vail Spot's report...good sourcing sometimes gives us it's blessing.

Of course in the mean time,  he's given his show a huge ratings boost, and promoted his various commercial enterprises as well.  Way to go Donald, tweeking the MSM!

Boehner Sells Out (again...)

Speaker of the House, John Boehner (R-OH) has indicated that he will raise the debt ceiling.  In doing so, he will be flying in the face of what he promised last year, substantive, substantial cuts in the both the federal budget, but the huge deficit as well.  Bloomberg is reporting that,
House Speaker John Boehner said “it’s clear” the U.S. must raise its debt limit, responding to President Barack Obama’s efforts to secure backing to extend the government’s borrowing authority.


“At some point it’s clear to me that we have to increase the debt ceiling,” Boehner, an Ohio Republican, said yesterday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “And as we do, we’re going to do it in a way that addresses America’s long-term fiscal challenges.”
Yet again, proving that the GOP leadership in Congress are "going along to get along."  They, the GOP leadership are part of the problem and not part of the solution. This goes along with the betrayal when we were promised that there would $100 billion dollars cuts immediately...what we got was $38 billion, and that was hailed a a huge cut...until you consider that this years deficit tops $1,700,000,000,000.00...  That comes to less than .38% cut.  Nothing, not even a drop in the bucket.

Now, we're being told that we must permit this spendthrift president to continue taking the country down the road to financial ruin, and the GOP will just help him along. 

We've been told that if the Chinese, who hold huge amounts of US Treasury bonds were to reduce their holdings, that would be catastrophic to the US economy.  Guess what...the Chinese have, for the 5th straight month, reduced  their holdings of US Treasury bonds.
China, the biggest buyer of U.S. securities, trimmed its holdings for a fifth straight month.  The Treasury Department said Monday that China cut its holdings by $9.2 billion to $1.14 trillion.
Instead of cutting the deficit, we're gettinng Kabuki Theatre...just going along to get along.  Mr. Boehner, you were given a majority in the House of Representatives to substantially cut spending.  Paul Ryan (R-WI) has given you a plan to do so...so dammit, start working on real substantive cuts NOW!  We can't afford not to.

Mr. Boehner, if you don't follow up your words of last year, next year will so the GOP thrown out of office in records numbers.  Just as the Democrats were turned out wholesale.

Something to Ponder...

Here's something to think about...and how our government and congress picks their "investment" bailout choices. 

If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in Delta Airlines one year ago, you would have $49.00 today!

If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in AIG one year ago, you would have $33.00 today.  If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in Lehman Brothers one year ago, you would have $0.00 today.

But, if you had purchased $1,000 worth of beer one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the aluminum cans for the recycling refund, you would have received $214.00.

Based on the above, the best current investment plan is to drink heavily & recycle.  It is called the 401-Keg.

And as a bonus;
A recent study found that the average American walks about 900 miles a year.  Another study found that on average Americans drink 22 gallons of alcohol a year. That means that the average American gets about 41 miles to the gallon!

Makes you damned proud to be an American!!!
Doesn't it though?  

Submitted by Linda D.

Having A Bad Day?




it just go worse...


Five (5) lessons about the way to treat people

This was sent to me by a regular reader.  I think that it's rather pertinent today, especially with the way we've begun to treat one another...most particularly in light of the very rancourous political climatess today.
1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady.
During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one:

"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall,dark-haired and in her 50's, but how would I know her name?I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

"Absolutely, " said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello."

I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.


2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain
One night, at 11:30 P.M., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960's. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab.

She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached. It read:

"Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's' bedside just before he passed away... God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."

Sincerely,

Mrs. Nat King Cole.


3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve.
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.

"How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked. "Fifty cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it. "Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.

"Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied. The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left.

When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies. You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.


4 - Fourth Important Lesson. - The obstacle in Our Path. In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand.


Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition!


5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts
Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.

I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it if it will save her." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded.

He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?". Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

Paucity of Posts

Sorry about the lack of new postings over the past week.  This is the busy, "convention season," for the exhibit company I currently work for.  I few in from Minnesota late last night, and I"ll fly to San Francisco, Nancy P's home on Wednesday night. 

Pakistani Informant

It's been recently been leaked that the below informant desires to claim the $25 million dollar reward for the capture-killing of Osama bin Laden.

Sunday, May 08, 2011

The Real Cost Of Illegal Immigrants

This is submitted by a teacher in Southern California, who asked for anonymity...to protect her job.  Furthermore, more than 900 teachers were recently laid off from the Los Angeles Unified School District. They are $650,000,000 over budget. These figures should make everyone stop and think about how the money there is spend, be you Democrat, Republican or Independent

"As you listen to the news about the student protests over illegal immigration, there are some things that you should be aware of: I am in charge of the English-as-a-second-language department at a large southern California high school which is designated a Title 1 school, meaning that its students average lower socioeconomic and income levels

Most of the schools you are hearing about, South Gate High, Bell Gardens, Huntington Park , etc.. where these students are protesting, are also Title 1 schools.

Title 1 schools are on the free breakfast and free lunch program.When I say free breakfast, I'm not talking a glass of milk and roll -- but a full breakfast and cereal bar with fruits and juices that would make a Marriott proud. The waste of this food is monumental, with trays and trays of it being dumped in the trash uneaten.  (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)

I estimate that well over 50% of these students are obese or at least moderately overweight. About 75% or more DO have cell phones.The school also provides day care centers for the unwed teenage pregnant girls(some as young as 13) so they can attend class without the inconvenience of having to arrange for babysitters or having family watch their kids. (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)

I was ordered to spend $700,000 on my department or risk losing

funding for the upcoming year even though there was little need for anything; my budget was already substantial. I ended up buying new computers for the computer learning center, half of which, one month later, have been carved with graffiti by the appreciative students who obviously feel humbled and grateful to have a free education in America ...(OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)

I have had to intervene several times for young and substitute teachers whose classes consist of many illegal immigrant students here in the country less than 3 months who raised so much hell with the female teachers, calling them "Putas" (whores ) and throwing things, that the teachers were in tears.

Free medical, free education, free food, day care, etc, etc, etc. Is it any wonder they feel entitled not only to be in this country but to demand rights, privileges and entitlements?

To those who want to point out how much these illegal immigrants contribute to our society because they LIKE their gardener and housekeeper and they like to pay less for tomatoes: spend some time in the real world of illegal immigration and see the TRUE costs.

Higher insurance, medical facilities closing, higher medical costs, more crime, lower standards of education in our schools, overcrowding, new diseases etc., etc, etc. For me, I'll pay more for tomatoes.

Americans, We need to wake up. The guest worker program will be a disaster because we won't have the guts to enforce it. Does anyone in their right mind really think they will voluntarily leave and return?

It does, however, have everything to do with culture: A third-world culture that does not value education, that accepts children getting pregnant and dropping out of school by 15 and that refuses to assimilate, and anAmerican culture that has become so weak and worried about"political correctness " that we don't have the will to do anything about it.

If this makes your blood boil, as it did mine, forward this to everyone you know including your Congressmen and Senators.

CHEAP LABOR? Isn't that what the whole immigration issue is about? Business doesn't want to pay a decent wage.  Consumers don't want expensive produce. Government will tell you Americans don't want the jobs. But the bottom line is cheap labor. The phrase "cheap labor" is a myth , a farce, and a lie. There is no such thing as "cheap labor."

  • Take, for example, an illegal alien with a wife and five children,
  • He takes a job for $5.00 or 6.00/hour. At that wage, with six dependents, he pays no income tax, yet at the end of the year, if he files an Income Tax Return,  he gets an "earned income credit" of up to $3,200 free.
  • He qualifies for Section 8 housing and subsidized rent.
  • He qualifies for food stamps..
  • He qualifies for free (no deductible), no co-pay) health care.
  • His children get free breakfasts and lunches at school.
  • He requires bilingual teachers and books.
  • He qualifies for relief from high energy bills...
  • If they are or become, aged, blind or disabled, they qualify for SSI. Once qualified for SSI they can qualify for Medicare. All of this is at (our) taxpayer's expense .
  • He doesn't worry about car insurance, life insurance, or homeowners insurance.
Taxpayers provide Spanish language signs, bulletins and printed material. He and his family receive the equivalent of $20.00 to $30.00/hour in benefits.
Working Americans are lucky to have $5.00 or $6.00/hour left after paying their bills AND his.
The American taxpayers also pay for increased crime, graffiti and trash clean-up. Cheap labor? YEAH RIGHT! Wake up people!

THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS WE SHOULD BE ADDRESSING TO THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES FOR EITHER PARTY. 'AND WHEN THEY LIE TO US AND DON'T DO AS THEY SAY, WE SHOULD REPLACE THEM AT ONCE!'
This kind of this can be found at EVERY level of government.  The federal government has dozens of programs that overlap, and none of which operate at any level of efficiency.  I think that the time has come to force our governments to start thinking like business, instead of working on someone else's dime...the taxpayers are waking up and beginning to demand accountability. 

Saturday, May 07, 2011

GOP Debate Focus Group

Here's a short video of the Luntz focus group after the GOP South Carolina debate...interesting take on Herman Cain.

Hitler Reacts To The News Osama Is Dead

This is hysterical!!!!!


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How To Keep Jehovah's Witness' From Knocking

Bin Laden's Super Secret Funeral

From a contributor:

I just now received this from one of my inside special on-the-scene agents:
Osama bin Laden was given a religious funeral prior to his burial at sea, senior military officials relayed to me in super top secret, triple encrypted hand written sticky note.

Religous rites were conducted on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier at about 1:10 a.m. local time Monday in the Persian Gulf.

In accordance with Islamic practice, bin Laden was washed and wrapped in a white sheet before buried at sea at 2 a.m. local time, senior U.S. military and intelligence officials said.

Then, "In accordance with US Navy SEAL practice, the Team pissed all over him, stuck a pulled pork sandwich in his mouth and a kosher hot dog up his ass, and pushed him overboard with the rest of the garbage," a senior SEAL officer said.
Who said I don't get inside info?

Breitbart Hits Back On Maher

great video!



from Breitbart.tv
Here is Andrew Breitbart on CBS news...in a scathing review of the MSM









via Ed Driscoll and Instapundit

Friday, May 06, 2011

HOLY SHIT! Wrath of G-d Picture

The Wrath of G-d!



THIS IS A PICTURE THAT SOMEONE TOOK WHO WORKS ON AN OIL RIG. HE WAS GOING TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THE LIGHTNING AND WAS UNAWARE OF THE TORNADO UNTIL THE LIGHTNING ILLUMINATED IT.

This is a one-in-a-million photo...............

Taken Thursday night, April 2, 2009.

Lariat Sandridge Energy South of Ft Stockton , TX
Thanks for the pic Linda!

UNICEF...is a ripoff

Hey guys...here's some info:

As you open your pockets for the next natural disaster, please keep these facts in mind:

The American Red Cross President and CEO Marsha J. Evans salary for the year was $651,957 plus expenses

The United Way President Brian Gallagher receives a $375,000 base salary along with numerous expense benefits

UNICEF CEO Caryl M. Stern receives $1,200,000 per year (100k per month) plus all expenses including a ROLLS ROYCE Less than 5 cents of your donated dollar goes to the cause

The Salvation Army's Commissioner Todd Bassett  receives a salary of only $13,000 per year (plus housing) for managing this $2 billion dollar organization. 96 percent of donated dollars go to the cause.

No further comment is necessary. 
This is all publicly available information.