Get There Faster!!

Before I start my own personal funny story, what reminded me of it was the news article yesterday regarding Sandra Bullock and her husband Jesse James and the ongoing custody battle they are engaged in with Jesse's ex-girlfriend, hardcore porn actress Janine Lindemuld. (Did you know that if you click the link on Janine's name, and your "SafetyNet" is turned on, a warning will pop up about the explicitness of any information or images about her? WOW)

Anyways, the whole online porn thing reminded me of something that happened several years ago when I was working with a Dallas law firm.

There was a female secretary (mid-40s) named Leslie (her real name because, considering what she's put out on the internet, who really gives a shirt if I use her real name?). I did not know her all that well but on the few occasions that I interacted with her for work reasons, she seemed nice enough. One day she was discussing her new boyfriend with a few people in the breakroom.  It seems she had met this younger man online and he was moving from Houston to be with her and yada yada yada. Let me advise you now, good readers, that there was something about Leslie that everyone else knew but I did not.  Apparently, I caught enough of the conversation to hear "swing" and "dancing" and how much she and her new squeeze enjoyed going to the "club."

Fast forward a week or so.  I was thumbing through the weekly alternative "Dallas Observer" when I saw an advertisement for swing dancing and cocktails every Wednesday evening at a popular lounge on Greenville Avenue. Hmm.  Being the helpful and informative person that I am, I tore out the ad and the next time I was by Leslie's desk, I stopped and handed it to her.  "Hey, I don't know if you and John have been to this place but it sounds like it is right up your alley," I perkily suggested to her.  She looked at the ad and gave me a confused look, "Umm, yeah. Okay. Thanks."

Here's where it gets funny.  Through the firm grapevine I finally found out that Leslie and her new boyfriend very much enjoyed swing and dancing, but not swingdancing. Follow me?  They had also just started up their own little website, and for the low low membership price of $19.95 a month you could watch them do . . . interesting . . . acts with themselves and with others.  Leslie also apparently fancied herself a writer because she had quite the "energetic" blog that devoted website members could read to their little perverted hearts' content.

And THAT is when my upstairs lightbulb clicked on. a-HA!

Why the hell not? We GIVE them everything anyway!

So they're still tussling about whether illegal immigrants will be eligible to participate in Obamacare. From what I understand, some Democrats and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus want there to be language added to the proposed healthcare reform bill that will allow illegals to "purchase" insurance coverage. The White House currently does not want it to be allowed.

Why are elected officials pushing for illegals to benefit from our tax dollars?  Why were they elected if this is what they want to do with American money? Basically they want illegals to be given the same exact benefits as LEGAL Americans (who can pay for it) are given.  All the while the illegals are NOT contributing to our nation's income column.  They get to pay in a little and reap a lot.  All without paying one damn tax dollar to keep our government (including programs and infrastructures, etc.) operating.

Incredible.

If I knew they wouldn't hang up on me, I love to call these wrongfully elected illegal-loving politicians and tell them to put the illegals on the politician's own person health insurance policy. I bet they wouldn't be so quick to throw cash around when it comes out of THEIR pocket.  Being fiscally irresponsible with OUR tax dollars apparently is not a concern to them.

Asswipes.

So THAT'S Why!

". . . left-leaning committee whose members are appointed by the Norwegian Parliament . . ." (emphasis added)

And as an afterthought of the liberal media, here's a look at those who actually earned their Nobels.

Pissy Lil Bitches

So Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for . . . . um, yeah. He won it.

What I am finding the amost amusing about this little turn of events is that the same Democrats who insulted and belittled Bush are now pissing and moaning because Republicans have the AUDACITY to question why Obama got the prize for TWO WEEKS of non-accomplishment.  I'm not so crass as to mention anything about being 12 short weeks from the end of his first year with nothing to show for it. Oh wait.  I am.

This is not a post about how wonderful I think Bush was (because I didn't). This is a post about those Democrats who, instead of crowing with pride, choose to whine and nag about those of us who disagree with Obama being selected for the Nobel.

What? We're supposed to listen to their whining carpy crap when a Republican has something good happen for them AND listen to their whining carpy crap when a Democrat has something good happen for them, too? WTF?

And I just saw where a Democrat referred to disagreement about the Nobel by saying the commentor was being "negative" and "how sad it must be to live such a negative life."  That's pretty damn ironic seeing as how this particular Democrat is one of the most negative humans I've ever read.

Cuz We Can! nanna nanna

I know I'm a little slow on the draw with this one but I just now came across the news article about it.

Apparently the Democrat-heavy House passed a resolution of disapproval of Rep. Joe Wilson (S.C.). You remember him - the fella that shouted out "YOU LIE!" while Obama was jive talking his way around the "there will be no government healthcare for illegal aliens" issue during his socialized medicine commercial a few weeks back.

Hmmm.  The Democrats pass a resolution because someone spoke a truth that just happens to be in opposition to the Democrats' position?  Yeah, because THAT'S such a productive way for our elected officials to spend their time on our dime.

'Cuz I'm a Gambler and I Only Play the Game My Way

When it comes to wasting money, I've always thought I was pretty good at avoiding significant monetary losses. My first trip to the racetrack in Ruidoso, New Mexico, began and ended with me betting $6 on 3 different horses. Not a single horse placed.  $6 down the drain. When we go to Vegas, I give myself $80 to play the roulette wheel.  I either lose it all or come home a few hundred dollars heavier. But $80 is the max I allow myself.

But lately I've been putting a lot of effort in to being thrifty and stretching our family's dollars as far as they will possibly go. I clip coupons, buy the store specials, stick my list, and pretty much keep our expenses trim.

Two of the items that we all have to buy is trash bags and toilet paper.  I absolutely hate to pay $6 for 30 trash bags or $7 for 6 rolls of toilet paper.  Those two things always seem overpriced to me.  Okay, okay. I didn't wage war on the toilet paper because, let's face it, who really wants to? So I pay a higher price for a very good brand and be done with it.  But the trash bags?  Too expensive. If they guaranteed me that the bags held up well until they made it to the dump and then disintegrated quickly into healthy earth loving mulch, then the price wouldn't bother me so much. Yeah right. I've waged war on the trash bags.  I just bought my first package of store brand trash bags.

This is where the gamble comes in.  I'm either out the $3 for crappy bags or I just saved my family $3.  It's a crapshoot no matter what I do.

Guess what?  The store brand is durable and comes with the fancy drawstring tie/handle.

How smart am I?

Why?

This is a subject that, like no other, severely rattles my strong faith.

I just received an email urging me to forward it on to family and friends in the fight against child abuse. The email contained pictures of one 3-year-old little girl with terrible wounds from her multiple beatings at the hands of her father. The last picture was apparently a coroner's photo of this little girl's back, buttocks, and legs after her death.

She was 3.

Why? Why does this happen? Even if the email was fraudulent and the pictures were altered, even if this little girl does not really even exist, we know that this type of horrific abuse occurs every day. If not more frequently. I don't have the stomach to actually research the statistics. I'm married to a police officer who has seen this kind of abuse just by the nature of his chosen career. I know it happens. What I want to to know is why does it happen?

How can it be stopped? Child protective services and courts routinely return children to their abusers. Unfortunately some people in society still hold the archiac opinion that it's "none of my business" if they see a child who, at the most, is being physically/mentally abused and, at the least, is being neglected.

I saw a news article not too long ago about an 8 year old boy going in to the restroom of a fastfood restaurant while his mom ordered their food at the front counter. A pedophile walks in the door, goes into the restroom, pushes the boy into a stall, and brutally molests him. The whole time the boy's mother is completely unaware of what is going on less than 20 feet from her. She is completely unaware that the man who walked right past her on his way out the door just ripped her son's life to shreds and some how, some way she is going to have to find a way to put the tattered pieces back together. I think of that boy so often. I pray for him frequently that he is healing both physically and emotionally and that one day he will be whole again.

This topic makes me question my faith because I cannot understand why God lets it happen. I know that if I believe in good, then I must also believe in evil. Okay. Fine. But if the devil has control of the pedophiles and the abusers and the scumbags that hurt children, why doesn't God do a better job of protecting children? Why can't He do the superhero stuff where the bad guy gets a wrecking ball to the head when he tries to hurt someone? Why can't God cause the bad guy to trip over his own stupid feet and get stabbed in the jungular with a fork?

And why the hell isn't it legal for me to take my legitimately purchased gun and blow a pedophile to kingdom come? It should be.

This is the one thing that causes me to struggle with my spiritual beliefs. Because I know that in the end, God does not have a good enough answer to my question.

Looky! A Book Blog!

Me and some gurlfrens have set up a new book blog for our book club. Yay! for us! We don't have a name yet, just stacks of books that we all have loved or wanna love.

Making new friends and starting something new (at my advanced age) is so much FUN!

Huge Debt = Patriotism

Am I glad Chicago lost the bid for the 2016 Olympics? Yes I am.

Does that make me un-Patriotic? It damn sure does not.

I don't care what spin this dude puts on it, it was bad timing for our country and bad politics for Obama.

And don't even get me started on the "organizers" in Chicago politics who got Obama to make the wasted trip to Copenhagen.

Tip of the Iceberg, people. Tip. Of. The. Iceberg.

New Yorkers say, "Butt out."

The Elephant in the Room

Okay, I'll step off into it.

The MacKenzie Phillips/John Phillips 10-year incestous relationship announcement.

I'm of the feeling that it is true simply because a person does not share that type of information when it is not true. We all know that to make that type of announcement does not immediately make you a target for only sympathy. It also invites all manner of vicious attack allegations from those who don't believe it to be true. I think MacKenzie loved her Dad. I think she had a very messed up upbringing and a severe lack of parental guidance and acceptance. I think she has endured an extremely painful journey to get to this point. I think she is trying to heal. My best wishes go out to her.

And now for a few words from her brother (from CNN.com):

Mackenzie's half-brother, Tamerlane, the follower of an Indian guru, is having none of it.

"My family is and always will be a decrepit bowl of dog urine compared to Nityananda of Ganeshpuri. That is how great Nityananda is," he told the New York Post's Page Six. "Worship Nityananda, not the Phillips family."

Oh. My. Yord.

No Filter

As I was sitting with the Husband and SIL (Sister-in-Law) the other evening and discussing dealing with difficult people, they both informed me how I "have no filter."

By no filter they mean that I say what I think and feel without running it through the mental "should I say this out loud?" filter. Apparently their opinion is that I should utilize my filter more than I presently do - - which is never.

I can honestly say that I do not recall a time when I have regretted anything I have said and most especially if I said it during a highly emotional moment.

I think that it is part of what is wrong with our society today. That politically correct bullshirt that started during the Clinton years did nothing except create more friction and less common ground between people of differing views. Oooh, don't say what you really think because that will offend somebody somewhere.

How are we supposed to find common ground on important issues if people won't put their true thoughts out there and hear the other person's true thoughts THEN work towards the middle? How the hell are you supposed to know where the actual middle IS if nobody is honest about their actual position?

But back to the discussion with the Husband and the SIL. The question was posed to me, "Don't you sometimes think that you shouldn't say something because it will hurt the other person's feelings?"

My answer: "If they don't want my opinion, then they should not enter into the discussion with me in the first place. If someone's bad behavior is affecting me, damn right I'm going to call them on it. When I believe in something, I'm passionate about it. Apathy is one of those things that completely sets me off."

Another question to me: "Yeah, but do you have compassion?"

Me: "Very little of it."

My experience is that "the filter" only causes misunderstandings and frustration. And sometimes irreparable damage to the relationship. The misunderstanding is because the filter prevented an honest opinion from being heard. The frustration is caused by the misunderstanding which results in no resolution. No resolution means no improvement, no change, continued lack of honest communication. Damage that will never be repaired nor prevented.

Y'all can keep your filter.

Thou Shalt Not Oppose Thy Obama

Great article.

Heartwarming, my ass.

Apparently the guy who abducted Jaycee Dugard in 1991 is saying that "if you just take this a step at a time, you're going to fall over backward, and in the end you're going to find the most powerful, heartwarming story."

What kind of crack has that douchebag been smokin?

Shoot him.

Common Sense: The Lost Art

Since leaving the city, it has been my utmost pleasure to become knowledgeable about rural postal service.

There is none.

When we moved to the country, we were informed that our local post office did not deliver to people's homes. If you wanted to receive mail, you were required to get a post office box. Most of us did not have to pay for the boxes since having it delivered to our homes was not an option.

You can imagine the joys of trying to receive merchandise ordered online from companies whose customer information request clearly states NO PO BOXES in the shipping address line.

I recently ordered some shirts for the Bear and chose to have them shipped to my employer's physical address via UPS. You'd think since the UPS guy has been in the office delivering other stuff, choosing UPS was a safe choice and I wouldn't run the risk of having my purchases returned.

You'd also think, with their current financial woes, that postal workers would put a little extra effort in pleasing the customers that actually still use the post office for their delivery needs instead of using the internet to pay all their bills and correspond with loved ones.

You'd think.

Apparently, nobody is too concerned with customer service these days.

My UPS package (with the physical delivery address on it) was delivered to the post office (which requires a PO Box number on it) where I had to track it down myself before it was sent back (for not having a PO Box number on it) and where I was told to use a PO Box number for my shipping address (which requires a physical delivery address).

Gas is starting to sound cheaper than a migraine at this point.

Kindergarten Bear!

First day of kindergarten. And it just seems like the other day that we were bringing him home from the hospital. Time moves entirely too fast.

Battle of the Myths

You know, I was kind of shame-facedly reading the news last week and checking out information regarding Obama's town hall meetings. The Republican party and its members, for the most part, are accused of being weavers of tall tales and out-and-out liars when it comes to their synopses of the health care reform bill.

My shame came from being associated with anyone who would tell untruths to gain support. The support to defeat socialized medicine should come from the truth of its inadequacies and outrageous addition to our deficit. The support should come from the truth that we can find a better way than what is being proffered to us now by Obama and his crew.

I have no shame now. Apparently this health reform business is mired neck deep into which side can get more people to believe their lies. Sarah Palin and her "death panel" talk is no more heinous than the following "orchestrated" bullsh** town hall gathering produced wholly to project a false sense of ridicously strong support for Obama's socialized health care from the very conservative state of Montana.

I will never support Obama's proposed reform. He may be ready to hand over this nation to his fanatical leftist thugs, but I am not.


By now you have probably heard that President Obama came to Montana last Friday. However, there are many things that the major news has not covered. I feel that since Bill and I live here and we were at the airport on Friday I should share some facts with you. Whatever you decide to do with the information is up to you. If you chose to share this email with others I do ask that you DELETE my email address before you forward this on.

On Wednesday, August 5th it was announced locally that the President wouldbe coming here. There are many groups here that are against his healthcare and huge spending so those groups began talking and deciding on what they were going to do. The White House would not release ANY details other than the date.

On about Tuesday Bill found out that they would be holding the "Town Hall"at the airport. (This is only because Bill knows EVERYONE at the airport.) Our airport is actually located outside ofBelgrade (tiny town) in a veryremote location. Nothing is around there. They chose to use a hangar that is the most remotely located hangar. You could not pick a more remote location,and you can not get to it easily. It is totally secluded from the public. FYI: We have many areas in Belgrade and Bozeman which could have held alarge amount of folks with sufficient parking. (gymnasiums/auditoriums). All of which have chairs and tables, and would not have to be SHIPPED IN!! $$$$$

During the week, cargo by the TONS was being shipped in constantly. Airport employees could not believe how it just kept coming. Though it was our President coming several expressed how excessive it was, especially during a recession. $$$$$

Late Tuesday/early Wednesday the 12th, they said that tickets would be handed out on Thursday 9am at two locations and the president would be arriving around 12:30 Friday. Thursday morning about 600 tickets were passed out. However, 1500 were printed at a Local printing shop per White House request. Hmmmm......900 tickets just DISAPPEARED. This same morning someone called into the radio from the local UPS branch and said that THOUSANDS of Dollars of Lobster were shipped in for Obama. Montana has some of the best beef in the nation!!! And it would have been really wonderful to help out the local economy. Anyone heard of theRecession?? Just think...with all of the traveling the White House is doing. $$$$$ One can only imagine what else we are paying for.

On Friday Bill and I got out to the airport about 10:45am. The groups that wanted to protest Obama's spending and healthcare had gotten a permit to protest and that area was roped off. But that was not to be. A large bus carrying SEIU (Service Employees International Union) members drove up onto the area (illegal) and unloaded right there. It was quite a commotion and there were specifically 2 SEIU men trying to make trouble and start a fight. Police did get involved and arrested the one man but they said they did not have the manpower to remove the SEIU crowd. The SEIU crowd was very organized and young. About 99% were under the age of 30 and they were not locals! They had bullhorns and PROFESSIONALLY made signs. Some even wore preprinted T-shirts. Oh, and Planned Parenthood folks were with them.....professing abortion rights with their T-shirts and preprinted signs. (BTW, all these folks did have a permit to protest in ANOTHER area.)

Those against healthcare/spending moved away from the SEIU crowd to avoid confrontation. They were orderly and respectful. Even though SEIU kept coming over and walking through, continuing to be very intimidating and aggressive at the direction of the one SEIU man. So we had Montana folks from ALL OVER the state with their homemade signs and their DOGS with homemade signs. We had cowboys, nurses, doctors you name it. There was even a guy from Texas who had been driving through. He found out about the occasion, went to the store, made a sign, and came to protest.

If you are wondering about the press.....Well, all of the major networks were over by that remote hangar I mentioned. They were conveniently parked on the other side of the buildings FAR away. None of these crowds were even visible to them. I have my doubts that they knew anything about the crowds.We did have some local news media around us from this state and Idaho. Speaking of the local media...they were invited. However, all questions were to be turned into the White House in advance of the event. Wouldn't want anyone to have to think off the top of their head.

It was very obvious that it was meant to be totally controlled by the White House. Everything was orchestrated down to the last detail to make it appear that Montana is just crazy for Obama and government healthcare. Even those people that talked about their insurance woes........the White House called our local HRDC (Human Resource and Development Committee) and asked for names. Then the White House asked those folks to come. Smoke and mirrors . . . EVERYTHING was staged!!!!!!!!!!!

I am very dismayed about what I learned about our current White House. The amount of control and manipulation was unbelievable.

I felt I was not living in the United States of America, more like the USSR !! I was physically nauseous. Bill and I have been around when Presidents or Heads of State visit. It has NEVER been like this. I am truly very frightened for our country. America needs your prayers and your voices. If you care about our country please get involved. Know the issues. And let Congress hear your voices again and again!! If they are willing to put forth so much effort to BULLY a small town one can only imagine what is going on in Washington DC .

Kathy from Bozeman, Montana

Here's another attendee's experience.

EEE-gads!

I am no fan of Obama. No surprise there.

But really? The media is going to whip itself into a frenzy because Michelle Obama wore shorts to the Grand Canyon?

Remember in "Back to the Future II" where Marty goes forward to 2015? Doc tells him how the justice system works swiftly in the future now that they've abolished all lawyers.

Here's a thought: Let's abolish the media. Can't believe about 95% of the crap they're dealing us anyway.

Opportunity of a Lifetime???

"Don't let the fearmongers, don't let the dividers, don't let the people who disseminate false information frighten the United States Congress into walking away from the opportunity of a lifetime."

This lifetime opportunity presented itself during the Clinton administration some 15 years ago and now the Obama crew is trying to force down our throats again.

Opportunity of a lifetime? Part of the Democratic sales lingo.

We passed on it 15 years ago and we plan to pass on it now.

Something from my emailbox . . .

"You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence. You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves."
- -Abraham Lincoln

. . . . . . . . . . . and Mr. Obama, you are no Abe Lincoln

Do as I SAY, Not as I do . . .

The whole healthcare reform debate has me concerned. For a lot of reasons.

The first being that socialized medicine more than pops the lock of the safe of our freedoms and constitutional rights. What, then, will that mean for my son and his children?

That concern is closely followed by the quality of care that we will have access to. I know Obamacare tells me that the quality of healthcare is not going to decline but honestly. Can they GUARANTEE me that the future of medical advancements and quality of care in our country is not going to be sacrificed in order to provide "care" to everyone? Will there still be funds to support research? support timely renovations and upgrades in medical facilities?

My third concern is what is truly going to be the fate of private insurance coverage? Will it be cut off at the knees by a government plan in order that cheap cost and mediocre care obliterate the more expensive and best care?

Will everyone really have access to care or will everyone just have access to overcrowded, understaffed government health facilities that only have only themselves to answer to when it comes to safety, cleanliness, etc?

And if Obamacare is so great and is the right thing to do, why can't it just stand on its own? Why are thousands of Americans vocalizing their opposition to it? Why are they demanding that their representatives ACTUALLY READ the proposition and answer legitimate questions? Why are vocal (not physical) opponents to Obamacare being beaten by SEIU members who were called out to quash such opposition? Why can't Obamacare supporters conduct their town hall meetings without encouraging their fellow supporters to effectively instigate riot mentalities?

Just thinking out loud . . .

Page sixteen

By Peter Heck

As it's becoming increasingly clear this presidency thing isn't going to work out for him, Barack Obama should feel relieved that he has proven to have the skills necessary to forge a successful follow-up career as a snake oil salesman. His most recent Obamacare press conference demonstrated that when it comes to far-fetched guarantees of miracles at bargain-basement prices, President Obama is in a league of his own.

The editors of National Review magazine pointed out that during the course of this hour-long sales pitch, Obama "said essentially all of the uninsured would be covered, the insured could keep their existing coverage, the quality of care would rise, waste and fraud would be slashed, the deficit would decline, and no one would have to pay a price for all this except a few millionaires." One must wonder if while he spoke, Vice President Biden was out looking for Pete's Dragon to capture and compound into the remedies necessary to make all this come to pass.

But since these snake oil deals never seem to work out very well for the customers, perhaps we citizens should take a careful look at the fine print on Mr. Obama's bill. The current version of Obamacare working its way through the House of Representatives is a 1,018-page monstrosity that no lawmaker has actually read, and that they're assuming no citizen will take the time to read either. Fortunately, you only have to wade through to page 16 to find out things aren't exactly as advertised.

Under the section entitled, "Limitation on New Enrollment," it states in black and white: "Except as provided in this paragraph, the individual health insurance issuer offering such coverage does not enroll any individual in such coverage if the first effective date of coverage is on or after the first day" of Obamacare's enactment.

Plain English: those of you who have private coverage, you can keep it – but you can't change it. And if you decide to leave your current job to start your own business, you won't be able to purchase individual plans from private carriers. Page 16 forbids it.

Those of us who oppose socialism have been warning for some time that when a private company is forced to compete with the government, the private company will never survive. Unlike private companies who need to make profits in order to operate, government does not. Government can charge a ridiculously cheap amount for their insurance option and offset the difference with taxpayer money. Since private companies don't have that ability and must keep their prices elevated to the point where they will make profit, a government option will eventually destroy the entire private market. Why would employers pay more to a private company for coverage when they can take the government option and pay less?

As the nonpartisan Lewin Group study revealed and Investor's Business Daily reported, "120 million or more Americans could lose their group coverage at work and end up in such a program." This gutting of the customer base of private insurance carriers would cause the market to "fizzle out altogether."

So why is that a bad thing? People would be covered, right? Sure, but as the president has often acknowledged, in order to cut costs, the government will have to limit access to certain procedures, surgeries, and treatment (recall that macabre moment when the president told a woman that under his plan her 105-year-old mother would have received pain pills instead of a life-saving pacemaker). The government will determine whether you're young, healthy, and responsible enough to be worth the expense. And if you don't want a government bureaucrat making those determinations for you, can you opt out of the government plan and purchase your own private insurance? Nope. Page 16 forbids it.

Some have suggested that if things got too bad in a government-run healthcare system, private companies would start popping up again and offering an alternative. There's only one problem with that. Page 16 forbids "any new policies [from being] written after the public option becomes law."

When you consider that the Obamacare header over page 16 reads "Protecting the Choice to Keep Current Coverage," you start to get an idea about the amount of deception that is taking place.

The president has admitted to being unsure of the details of the House version of Obamacare, yet has urged members to rush its passage regardless. Why? Because snake oil salesmen are never really concerned with the well-being of their customers. They distort, manipulate, mislead, and make outlandish promises . . . right before they pack up their trailer with your money and head down the road.

Peter Heck (peter@peterheck.com) hosts a two-hour, daily call-in radio program on WIOU (1350 AM) in Kokomo, Indiana. "The Peter Heck Show" comments on social and political issues -- and doesn't shy away from recognizing how faith influences politics.

Be worried, people. Be VERY worried.

Where's the Democrats who were Yelling about "Wiretapping" of Suspected Terrorists?

Dear President Obama,

I write to express my concern about a new White House program to monitor American citizens' speech opposing your health care policies, and to seek your assurances that this program is being carried out in a manner consistent with the First Amendment and America's tradition of free speech and public discourse.

Yesterday, in an official White House release entitled "Facts are Stubborn Things," the White House Director of New Media, Macon Phillips, asserted that there was "a lot of disinformation out there," and encouraged citizens to report "fishy" speech opposing your health care policies to the White House. Phillips specifically targeted private, unpublished, even casual speech, writing that "rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation." Phillips wrote "If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov."

I am not aware of any precedent for a President asking American citizens to report their fellow citizens to the White House for pure political speech that is deemed "fishy" or otherwise inimical to the White House's political interests.

By requesting that citizens send "fishy" emails to the White House, it is inevitable that the names, email addresses, IP addresses, and private speech of U.S. citizens will be reported to the White House. You should not be surprised that these actions taken by your White House staff raise the specter of a data collection program. As Congress debates health care reform and other critical policy matters, citizen engagement must not be chilled by fear of government monitoring the exercise of free speech rights.

I can only imagine the level of justifiable outrage had your predecessor asked Americans to forward emails critical of his policies to the White House. I suspect that you would have been leading the charge in condemning such a program-and I would have been at your side denouncing such heavy-handed government action.

So I urge you to cease this program immediately. At the very least, I request that you detail to Congress and the public the protocols that your White House is following to purge the names, email addresses, IP addresses, and identities of citizens who are reported to have engaged in "fishy" speech. And I respectfully request an answer to the following:

How do you intend to use the names, email addresses, IP addresses, and identities of citizens who are reported to have engaged in "fishy" speech?

How do you intend to notify citizens who have been reported for "fishy" speech?

What action do you intend to take against citizens who have been reported for engaging in "fishy" speech?

Do your own past statements qualify as "disinformation"? For example, is it "disinformation" to note that in 2003 you said:"I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer universal health care plan"?

I look forward to your prompt response.

Sincerely,

JOHN CORNYN
United States Senator

One Question Quiz

From an email I received earlier today:

This is your chance to vote on Obama's performance on this Economy-AT&T/Yahoo Poll.

NOTE: this is a totally unbiased poll. The question is stated very simply... and, to the point. No tricks. No hidden messages. No nothing. JUST A SINGLE, SIMPLE QUESTION. There is no way that anyone can say that it was not a fair poll... or, that it was "phrased" in a way that it can be interpreted later... to fit someone else's desired answer. In other words... it is a spin-doctor's "nightmare."

http://js.polls.yahoo.com/quiz/quiziframe.php?poll_id=46067

NOTE: After you vote, you will see a second page that shows the running total and what the opinions are.



p.s. I don't think the liberal media expects the results - someone will pull it down soon.

Recent Sermon at Church in Virginia

Scriptures: Gen 47:13-27

Good morning, brothers and sisters; it's always a delight to see the pews crowded on Sunday morning, and people eager to get into God's Word... Turn with me please in your Bibles, if you will, to the 47th chapter of Genesis; we'll begin our reading at verse 13 and go through verse 27.
Brother Ray, would you stand and read this great passage for us? .... Thank you for that fine reading, Brother Ray.

So we see that economic hard times fell upon Egypt, and the people turned to the government of Pharaoh to deal with this for them. And Pharaoh nationalized the grain harvest, and placed the grain in great storehouses that he had built. So the people brought their money to Pharaoh, like a great tax increase, and willingly gave it all to him in return for grain. And, this went on until their money ran out. Once again, they were hungry.

So when they went to Pharaoh after that, they brought their livestock - their cattle, their horses, their sheep, and their donkey - to barter for grain. Verse 17 says this took them only through the end of that year.

But the famine wasn't over, was it?

So the next year, the people came before Pharaoh and admitted they had nothing left, except their land and their own lives. "There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh." So they surrendered their homes, their land, and their real estate to Pharaoh's government, and then sold themselves into slavery to him, in return for grain.

What can we learn from this, brothers and sisters?

That turning to the government instead of to God to be our Provider during hard times only leads to slavery? Yes..., this is the reason government wants to become our provider; it knows it can ultimately become our master. Yes! Yes! Yes!

But now look look here, how that passage ends, brothers and sisters! "Thus, Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly." God provided for His people, just as He always has! They didn't end up giving all their possessions to the government. No! It says they gained possessions!

But I also tell you a great truth today, and an ominous one. We see the same thing happening today. Once again, the government wants to "share the wealth," to take it from us, and to redistribute it back to us. It wants to take control of healthcare, just as it has taken control of education, and ration it back to us. And you know, brothers and sisters when government rations it out, then government decides who gets it, how much, and what kind.

And if we go along with it, and do it willingly, then we will wind up no differently than the people did in Egypt some four thousand years ago. We will become as slaves to the government --and as slaves to the government's leaders.

What Mr. Obama's government is doing now is no different from what Egypt's Pharaoh did then; and, my brothers and sisters, it will end in the same way...

A lot of people like to call Mr. Obama a "Messiah," don't they? I ask you, is he a Messiah? Is he truly a Savior?

After Pharaoh made the Israelites his slaves, did they ever say, "You have saved our lives, Pharaoh!" Did they ever say, "If it pleases our lord, we will be servants to you, Pharaoh"?

Well, I tell you this - I know the Messiah; the Messiah is a friend of mine; and Mr. Obama is no Messiah! No, my brothers and sisters, if Mr. Obama is a character from the Bible, then he is Pharaoh.

Bow with me in prayer, if you will.

Lord, You alone are worthy to be served, and we rely on You, and You alone. We confess that the government is not our deliverer, and never rightly will be. We20read in the eighth chapter of 1 Samuel when Samuel warned the people of what a ruler would do; where it says "And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day." And, Lord, we acknowledge that day has come. We cry out to You because of the ruler that we have chosen for ourselves as a nation... Lord, we pray for this nation. We pray for revival, and we pray for deliverance from those who would be our masters. Give us hearts to seek You and hands to serve You, and protect us, Your people, from the atrocities of Pharaoh's government.

In Jesus Holy Name we pray. AMEN.

Hypocrites (and you know who you are)

If George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved?

If George W.. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky?

If George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the non-existent "Austrian language," would you have brushed it off as a minor slip?

If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current on their income taxes, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to “Cinco de Cuatro” in front of the Mexican ambassador when it was the fourth of May (Cuatro de Mayo), and continued to flub it when he tried again, would you have winced in embarrassment?

If George W. Bush had mis-spelled the word advice would you have hammered him for it for years like Dan Quayle and potatoe as “proof” of what a dunce he is?

If George W. Bush had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on Earth Day, would you have concluded he’s a hypocrite?

If George W. Bush’s administration had okayed Air Force One flying low over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic, would you have wondered whether they actually “get” what happened on 9-11?

If George W. Bush had been the first President to need a teleprompter installed to be able to get through a press conference, would you have laughed and said this is more proof of how he inept he is on his own and is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes?

If George W. Bush had failed to send relief aid to flood victims throughout the Midwest with more people killed or made homeless than in New Orleans , would you want it made into a major ongoing political issue with claims of racism and incompetence?

If George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had proposed to double the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had then proposed to double the debt again within 10 years, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had reduced your retirement plan’s holdings of GM stock by 90% and given the unions a majority stake in GM, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to take Laura Bush to a play in NYC, would you have approved?

So, tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes him so brilliant and impressive? Can't think of anything?

Don't worry. He's done all this in 5 months -- so you'll have three years and seven months to come up with an answer.

and now for a laugh . . .

I was in the pub yesterday when I suddenly realized I desperately needed to fart.

The music was really, really loud, so I timed my farts with the beat. After a couple of songs, I started to feel better. I finished my pint and noticed that everybody was staring at me.

Then I suddenly remembered that I was listening to my iPod.

We Have GOT To Get HIM OUT!!!!!

I truly fear for my son's future and what kind of country we will be leaving to our children if we don't TAKE OUR NATION BACK!!!! Prayers to God that we Christians, who know how dangerous Obama will be to our country, will come together and ensure his removal from the White House in 4 years!!!! Amen.


The American Spectator
July 24, 2009
By Ben Stein

We've Figured Him Out

Why is President Barack Obama in such a hurry to get his socialized medicine bill passed?

Because he and his cunning circle realize some basic truths:

The American people in their unimaginable kindness and trust voted for a pig in a poke in 2008. They wanted so much to believe Barack Obama was somehow better and different from other ultra-leftists that they simply took him on faith.

They ignored his anti-white writings in his books. They ignored his quiet acceptance of hysterical anti-American diatribes by his minister, Jeremiah Wright.

They ignored his refusal to explain years at a time of his life as a student. They ignored his ultra-left record as a "community organizer," Illinois state legislator, and Senator.

The American people ignored his total zero of an academic record as a student and teacher, his complete lack of scholarship when he was being touted as a scholar.

Now, the American people are starting to wake up to the truth. Barack Obama is a super likeable super leftist, not a fan of this country, way, way too cozy with the terrorist leaders in the Middle East, way beyond naïveté, all the way into active destruction of our interests and our allies and our future.

The American people have already awakened to the truth that the stimulus bill -- a great idea in theory -- was really an immense bribe to Democrat interest groups, and in no way an effort to help all Americans.

Now, Americans are waking up to the truth that ObamaCare basically means that every time you are sick or injured, you will have a clerk from the Department of Motor Vehicles telling your doctor what he can and cannot do.

The American people already know that Mr. Obama's plan to lower health costs while expanding coverage and bureaucracy is a myth, a promise of something that never was and never will be -- a bureaucracy lowering costs in a free society. Either the costs go up or the free society goes away.

These are perilous times. Mrs. Hillary Clinton, our Secretary of State, has given Iran the go-ahead to have nuclear weapons, an unqualified betrayal of the nation. Now, we face a devastating loss of freedom at home in health care. It will be joined by controls on our lives to "protect us" from global warming, itself largely a fraud if believed to be caused by man.

Mr. Obama knows Americans are getting wise and will stop him if he delays at all in taking away our freedoms.

There is his urgency and our opportunity. Once freedom is lost, America is lost. Wake up, beloved America.

Ben Stein is a writer, actor, economist, and lawyer living in Beverly Hills and Malibu. He writes "Ben Stein's Diary" for every issue of The American Spectator.

American Citizens FIRST!!!!!!

Damnit!!

This is seriously pissing me off, people. I don't give a crap what anyone says but I completely agree with the hospital's decision to kick this guy back to his Guatemalan curb.

With our country in the midst of a healthcare shakedown, the last thing we need to be doing is footing a multi-million dollar medical bill for someone who is not even a legal citizen. I understand humantarian compassion but quite frankly, I'm all out.

And here's why:

Two years ago my toddler son required surgery on his right knee to remove a large cyst that threatened normal development of the knee joint. WE HAD HEALTH INSURANCE. The deductible was $1,000 for hospitalization. Okay. After insurance paid all but the deductible, we would be responsible for the remaining $1,000.

THE HOSPITAL WOULD NOT ADMIT MY SON UNTIL I PAID AT LEAST $500 CASH!!

WTF?!!??!!!??!!

I'd be interested to know how much the Guatemalan citizen paid towards his American healthcare. Not a damn dime, I'll betcha!

Gee, maybe supporting every illegal wasn't such a good idea AFTER ALL?!?!!??!!!

People can talk all the crap they want to about Texas but at least we are trying to serve American citizens FIRST with our government assistance programs. Tighten up your damn border, California. Then you might have a few extra dollars in the bank.

Complete Inability to Comprehend

I just read the news reports and viewed the raw video of a suicide bomber in this morning's attacks in Jakarta.

Why?

What on earth snaps in a person's brain to make them actually believe that strapping on 40 pounds of explosives around their bodies is a good or productive idea? The only thing I can tell myself to even begin to see these types of people as remotely intelligent is that they have been living a life of unimaginable misery and subhuman conditions that ANYTHING (even blowing themselves into 7 separate parts) is preferable to living another day. I just wish they would choose to do it away from innocent crowds.

Dr. P actually came out of my nose!!

I don't know why but this video has got me completely cracking up!!!

Joke of the Week

Firetruck

A firefighter was working on the engine outside the station, when he noticed a little girl nearby in a little red wagon with little ladders hung off the sides, and a garden hose tightly coiled in the middle. The girl was wearing a firefighter's helmet.

The wagon was being pulled by her dog and her cat. The firefighter walked over to take a closer look.

'That sure is a nice fire truck,' the firefighter said with admiration.

'Thanks,' the girl replied.

The firefighter looked a little closer and noticed that the girl had tied the wagon to her dog's collar and to the cat's testicles.

'Little partner,' the firefighter said, 'I don't want to tell you how to run your rig, but if you were to tie that rope around the cat's collar, I think you could go faster.'

The little girl replied thoughtfully, 'You're probably right, but then I wouldn't have a siren.'

Nancy, I thinks I loves you !

Given my standard right-sided positions on just about everything, this is a HUGE deal.

But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi manned up and shut down a resolution honoring Michael Jackson for being, as stated by Democrat Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, "an American legend, musical icon, and world humanitarian."

Personally, I'm thinking Jackson Lee been smokin' some crack.

Thank goodness clearer heads prevailed in Washington (this time).

The path of least resistance . . .

is the path to least reward.

There are some people in my life who for whatever reason do not address their beliefs in the same way I do. When I feel strongly about something, I don't hide my opinions. If anything I share my opinions with just about anybody that will listen. So when someone tells me they feel one way about something and then sits down and shuts up because someone else will disagree, I'm confused and not just a little aggravated.

Now I'm not saying make your opinion on something your life's mission to force on everyone else. That's a whole different thing.

Certain events have transpired in my life that have created some uncomfortable situations with family members. One person has taken a completely unreasonable stance on a particular subject that has the rest of us crossing our eyes because at the most she is being incredibly selfish and destructive and at the very least she is being completely STUPID.

Maybe I am the one who is unreasonable here. But I say she needs to be confronted with all the facts, whether she likes them or not because hey! there are lots of facts about life that I don't like but that doesn't change them. Grow up! And once she is forced to see the facts and acknowledge that we all know the facts to be true, then the cards can fall where they may. Her happiness or unhappiness with the rest of her life is completely up to her. She is the only one that can control that and regardless of what anyone else tries to do, she cannot be protected from herself.

I don't like living with lies and I don't like being covert about someone I love or something wonderful in my life that she has chosen to be a complete asshole about.

THIS Chick Seriously Needs to Get a Life!

I'm totally befuddled by someone who would put so much energy into one topic.

One? Really?!??

Why is it when you order the messiest thing on the menu (i.e., extra-long chili cheese coney), they only give you one napkin?

Honestly. Can anyone eat an extra-long chili cheese coney and require only one napkin?

I thought not.

HE WAS A FREAKING PEDOPHILE!

. . . and no amount of talent or entertainment value should EVER overshadow that fact!

Remembering Farrah

As we all know by now, Farrah Fawcett died earlier today from the cancer she has been fighting since 2006.

When I think of Farrah, it's not her unremarkable movies or even her guest spot on "Spin City" that I think of first. My first thoughts of Farrah go back some 30 years to her days as a "Charlie's Angel." If you were a girl, you wanted her beautiful fly-away blonde hair that always stayed perfectly tousled not matter how much bad-guy butt she kicked. If you were pre-pubescent boy, you had her famous red bikini poster tacked to your bedroom wall. Or, in the case of my older brother, on the ceiling directly above the bed. Ewwwww.

I remember playing "Charlie's Angels" with my friends on the playground and although I was always Sabrina (Kate Jackson's character) due to my short dark brown hair, it was always great fun to pretend that we would one day have the super cool white Mustang Cobra like Jill's. (Yeah, I know Sabrina drove the nerdy and putrid orange Ford Pinto but I was only willing to go so far to be true to character and I drew the line at the Pinto.)

If I remember right, Farrah's feathered hair started a serious hairstyle craze. Not unlike the one Jennifer Aniston started back in '96 or '97 with the "Rachel" haircut. Not only did I jump on the feathered bandwagon (that would last well into my high school years) but I did the Rachel, too. Apparently my hair knows not its own identity.

With Farrah's passing there is a whole generation of us who will be remembering times that we thought we had forgotten. Maybe "Charlie's Angels" was our first favorite show that we never missed. Maybe it was a first celebrity crush for the young guys. She was incredibly popular during a critical time in most of our young lives. She was who the girls wanted to grow up to be and she was who the boys wanted to grow up to date.

Rest in peace, Farrah.

Status Report: Yes, there IS a pulse . . .

Seems I'm not the only one out here having trouble staying current with the blogging. Good to know that it appears that I might actually have a life away from the keyboard.

And life does continue to happen - - - we recently relocated closer to Austin and the Hubby started his new job with a different (and might I add very professional) police department whilst I started my new job at an Austin law firm which happens to have a satellite office out here by the lake where we now reside.

Currently, life is very good.

WOW! Big Brass ONES!

I just read a very interesting article.

While I appreciate everyone else's culture and heritage, I completely agree with President Sarkozy's statements:

"In our country, we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity," Sarkozy said to extended applause at the Chateau of Versailles, southwest of Paris. "The burqa is not a religious sign, it's a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement — I want to say it solemnly," he said. "It will not be welcome on the territory of the French Republic."

That more governments would take a stand on their own soil against oppressors.

Apology Accepted

I know I may catch some flack about this from hardcore Letterman fans, which sometimes I understand his likability and other times I'm completely confounded by it, but I gotta put my two cents in. And I will pre-qualify my comments that yes, I am a Sarah Palin fan. I like her personality and her position on a lot of subjects. Plus I think she and Todd would be supercool to hang out with. She reminds me of some rowdy college girlfriends who have since aged and become wives and mothers but still know how to kick it.

Anyways, I was very happy to see a very humble Letterman offer up his apology to his millions of viewers. I'm very happy that he saw that the error was not in the very inappropriate joke about any young lady but the technicality that it was 14 year old Willow in NYC with her mother, not 18 year old Bristol. The joke was all around AWFUL but if he was determined to tell it, he should have made sure that his audience KNEW he was referring to an of-age young lady. Since he didn't, and everyone else was aware of Willow's presence in NYC, it was an all out perverted and sleazy thing for him to say. He appeared sincerely mortified at what he had done. And I appreciate his apology.

Now on to the issue that the joke speaks to: I am whole-heartedly behind Sarah Palin when she makes no secret that she is disgusted by the joke's content but also by the fact that that type of joke/comment/denigration seems to be so common an occurence in our society that we don't even flinch when we hear it. Have we become so de-sensitized that we cannot even be offended by the simple insinuation of child rape let alone a top rated television host making jokes about it?

Our country's moral compass has been swirling around in the crapper for more than a couple of decades, folks. It starts with us, as parents, as citizens, as voters, and as consumers. Let's put A LOT MORE effort into raising our children (and improving ourselves) to a better standard.

So how's that Obama stimulus working out for ya?

Check it out: Pay it BACK.

I don't make this stuff up, people. Just helping circulate what our "free" press is putting out there.

A Call to Prayer Warriors!

Please add my friend Tim's dad to your prayer lists this morning. He suffered a major stroke last night and, although the danger of dying is past, he is in an induced coma. They will be weaning him off medications tomorrow to see the extent of the damage so prayers for his strength and recovery are needed.

Blessings~