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.