tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46374158959631524472024-03-14T04:32:29.718-05:00...In A HandbasketRantings of an Evangelical Right Wing Extremist.Miss T.C. Shorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249243236643586983noreply@blogger.comBlogger844125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4637415895963152447.post-63892846380445223622010-05-12T08:56:00.002-05:002010-05-12T09:03:17.533-05:00A Letter to the Editor<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">From: </span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">"David LaBonte" </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful letter to the editor of the OC Register which, of course, was not printed. So, I decided to "print" it myself by sending it out on the Internet. Pass it along if you feel so inclined. Written in response to a series of letters to the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">editor in the </span></span><span class="ecxecxyshortcuts"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">Orange County Register</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">: </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">Dear Editor: </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the </span></span><span class="ecxecxyshortcuts"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">Statue of Liberty</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"> because the people now in question aren't being treated the same as those who passed through </span></span><span class="ecxecxyshortcuts"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">Ellis Island</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">and other </span></span><span class="ecxecxyshortcuts"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">ports of entry</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer. Back in 1900 when <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">there was a rush from all areas of </span></span><span class="ecxecxyshortcuts"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">Europe</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"> to come to the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture. Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">Most of their children came of age when </span></span><span class="ecxecxyshortcuts"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">World War II</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"> broke out. My father fought along side men whose parents had come <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">straight over from Germany , Italy , France and </span></span><span class="ecxecxyshortcuts"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">Japan</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"> . None <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">of these </span></span><span class="ecxecxyshortcuts"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">1st generation Americans</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"> ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from. They were <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the </span></span><span class="ecxecxyshortcuts"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">Emperor of <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; "><span class="ecxecxyshortcuts"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">Japan</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"> . They were defending the United States of America as one people. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">When we liberated </span></span><span class="ecxecxyshortcuts"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">France</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"> , no one in those villages were looking <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">for the French-American or the </span></span><span class="ecxecxyshortcuts"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">German American</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"> or the </span></span><span class="ecxecxyshortcuts"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">Irish <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; "><span class="ecxecxyshortcuts"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">American</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">. The people of France saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">And here we are with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; "><span class="ecxecxyshortcuts"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">mother country</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">. I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900's deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life. I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty , it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the United States just yet. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></div><i><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: 24pt; "><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">(signed) </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">Rosemary LaBonte </span></span></span></div></span></i></span>Miss T.C. Shorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249243236643586983noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4637415895963152447.post-34837158993290244272010-05-11T10:43:00.001-05:002010-05-11T10:44:47.018-05:00One Month to Act<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; "><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">Last week, Behzad Soltani — deputy head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization — announced that Iran will join the world nuclear club within a month. He further <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/iran-we-will-join-world-nuclear-club-within-a-month-1.284177" style="color: rgb(2, 68, 106); text-decoration: underline; ">claimed</a> that:</p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">No country would even think about attacking Iran after Iran’s membership in the club.</p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">Iran’s leaders continue to defy the international community’s demands to stop uranium enrichment activity, and are in fact enriching more aggressively than ever before. While heads of state around the globe debate even more sanctions against Iran — none of which have worked in the past — Iran’s clerics speed toward becoming one of the most dangerous regimes on the planet.</p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">They continue to enrich uranium at the Natanz facility (which currently has enough enriched uranium stockpiled for one nuclear bomb), while producing new centrifuges that can enrich uranium <a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/International/2010/04/09/Iran-New-centrifuges-six-times-faster/UPI-89031270844131/" style="color: rgb(2, 68, 106); text-decoration: underline; ">six times faster</a>. They are increasing yellowcake production at the <a href="http://preview.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive_en10&sid=aMtzNb9WS83I" style="color: rgb(2, 68, 106); text-decoration: underline; ">Gchine uranium mine</a>. The mine currently has a design capacity of 21 tons of yellowcake per year, about half as much as is needed to produce the 55 pounds of 93% enriched uranium for a nuclear bomb.</p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">They have a nuclear fuel facility in Isfahan capable of producing 10 tons of nuclear fuel annually, and sufficient plutonium for two nuclear weapons a year.</p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">The Arak heavy water plant — built in violation of the nonproliferation treaty — is near its completion, though the West assumed this would not happen until 2015. This facility will be capable of producing significant amounts of bomb-grade plutonium.</p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">As will the Bushehr nuclear power plant, which is set to go live with the help of Russia this coming summer.</p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">At the same time, the Revolutionary Guards are making significant progress with the country’s missile delivery system, concealing their efforts within the space project they have embarked upon with North Korea. The Shahab-3 missile is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, and can currently target Tel Aviv, Riyadh, U.S. bases in Iraq, and the Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain.</p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">The Guards’ goal is to be able to deliver a nuclear-tipped missile anywhere in Europe.</p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">Who is to blame for Iran’s growth into a nuclear power? Sadly, it is the West — whose politicians worked tirelessly for three decades to appease the mullahs. This had the effect of buying Iran the time it needed.</p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">Our time is now running out, and it is essential that we acknowledge our failures and take immediate action to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear state.</p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">We must understand that a nuclear-armed Iran will not only harm the Iranian people, but will create instability throughout the world. If the leaders of Iran can currently threaten to disrupt the flow of oil, launch missiles at all U.S. bases in the region, or wipe Israel off the map, they could take the whole world hostage with nuclear weapons.</p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">An Iran with nuclear bombs will make the leaders of Iran untouchable and empower its allies and proxies such as Syria, Hezbollah (already rearmed with thousands of Iranian rockets for a possible war with Israel), Islamic Jihad, and Hamas. Instability will rule the Middle East and have a huge impact on the world economy.</p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">Just recently, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates warned the White House about the lack of a plan to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions. If this is truly the case, our situation is dire indeed. One can only hope that President Obama is working to lead the world in confronting this grave and growing danger. What we do today could save millions of lives and affect how our children live for decades.</p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">If we fail to act, future generations will never forgive us.</p></span>Miss T.C. Shorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249243236643586983noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4637415895963152447.post-46910384766420439972010-05-03T12:41:00.002-05:002010-05-03T12:43:01.792-05:00Violence Erupts at Illegal Immigration Rally<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 19px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 1.2em; margin-right: 1.2em; margin-bottom: 1.2em; margin-left: 1.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.2em; text-align: justify; ">From Sister Toldjah....</p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 1.2em; margin-right: 1.2em; margin-bottom: 1.2em; margin-left: 1.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.2em; text-align: justify; "><br /></p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 1.2em; margin-right: 1.2em; margin-bottom: 1.2em; margin-left: 1.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.2em; text-align: justify; "><br /></p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 1.2em; margin-right: 1.2em; margin-bottom: 1.2em; margin-left: 1.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.2em; text-align: justify; "><br /></p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 1.2em; margin-right: 1.2em; margin-bottom: 1.2em; margin-left: 1.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.2em; text-align: justify; ">The so-called “May Day” <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g_-mxskC4zs4lIG544A664hzAa2Q" target="_blank" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(157, 131, 65); text-decoration: none; "><strong style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: bold; ">illegal immigration rallies</strong></a> were conducted and attended over the weekend by mainly “amnesty” proponents who believe that the GOP “hates illegal immigrants” because the color of their skin. These crowds marched in response to <a href="http://sistertoldjah.com/archives/2010/04/28/the-latest-on-the-arizona-immigration-bill-controversy/" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(157, 131, 65); text-decoration: none; "><strong style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: bold; ">the “controversial” immigration bill</strong></a> signed into law by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer.</p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 1.2em; margin-right: 1.2em; margin-bottom: 1.2em; margin-left: 1.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.2em; text-align: justify; "><br /></p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 1.2em; margin-right: 1.2em; margin-bottom: 1.2em; margin-left: 1.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.2em; text-align: justify; "><br /></p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 1.2em; margin-right: 1.2em; margin-bottom: 1.2em; margin-left: 1.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.2em; text-align: justify; ">One such protest, held Saturday in Santa Cruz, CA, <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14998618" target="_blank" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(157, 131, 65); text-decoration: none; "><strong style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: bold; ">got ugly and violent</strong></a> – but unlike the Tea Party rallies, at which this point there has been<em style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">no</em> violence other than the <a href="http://sistertoldjah.com/archives/2009/08/07/the-mob-rule-starts/" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(157, 131, 65); text-decoration: none; "><strong style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: bold; ">thuggery perpetrated</strong></a> by radical liberal union goons – the MSM is <a href="http://www.memeorandum.com/100502/p55#a100502p55" target="_blank" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(157, 131, 65); text-decoration: none; "><strong style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: bold; ">falling all over itself</strong></a> to explain the violence away as “maybe being by acted out by anarchists” who may have “infiltrated” the May Day rallies, etc. Dan Riehl <a href="http://www.riehlworldview.com/carnivorous_conservative/2010/05/may-day-protest-turns-violent-media-spins-coverage.html" target="_blank" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(157, 131, 65); text-decoration: none; "><strong style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: bold; ">has the details here</strong></a>. There is a notable contrast in how the MSM treated the May Day rallies versus how they have routinely characterized the Tea Party rallies which won’t surprise you a bit.</p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 1.2em; margin-right: 1.2em; margin-bottom: 1.2em; margin-left: 1.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.2em; text-align: justify; "><b><br /></b></p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 1.2em; margin-right: 1.2em; margin-bottom: 1.2em; margin-left: 1.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.2em; text-align: justify; "><b><br /></b></p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 1.2em; margin-right: 1.2em; margin-bottom: 1.2em; margin-left: 1.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.2em; text-align: justify; "><strong style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: bold; "><a href="http://michellemalkin.com/2010/05/03/the-may-day-angry-mob-you-wont-see/" target="_blank" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(157, 131, 65); text-decoration: none; ">Michelle Malkin</a></strong> has much more on the angry mobs who took to the streets Saturday in order to “take back their country.” And stay tuned for Rev. Al’s upcoming Cinco de Mayo “<a href="http://sistertoldjah.com/archives/2010/04/30/rev-al-readies-candelight-vigil-for-may-5-in-az-freedom-walkers-wanted/" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(157, 131, 65); text-decoration: none; "><strong style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: bold; ">candelight vigil</strong></a>” he’ll be holding while “marching” towards the Arizona state Capitol in Phoenix where he and his followers will look to sign up “freedom walkers” to “go to jail if the law goes into effect.” The photos and video from this “vigil” will be priceless ….</p></span>Miss T.C. Shorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249243236643586983noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4637415895963152447.post-23923948766820451922010-05-02T22:23:00.001-05:002010-05-02T22:24:08.753-05:00Everythings Amazing & Nobodys Happy<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8r1CZTLk-Gk&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8r1CZTLk-Gk&hl=en_US&fs=1" width="425" height="344" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I thought I'd post something a little light-heared today. This guy has a point.</div>Miss T.C. Shorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249243236643586983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4637415895963152447.post-41623254799256295712010-04-28T10:47:00.003-05:002010-04-28T10:50:20.472-05:00What Would You Do?<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(68, 68, 68); line-height: 20px; font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;"><p><strong>I heard this the other day and I think it a great simple example of a “What would you do?” scenario.<br /></strong></p><p><br /></p><p><a class="highslide " onclick="return vz.expand(this)" href="http://news-political.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/questionmark.jpg" style="color: rgb(31, 82, 123); text-decoration: underline; cursor: url(http://news-political.com/wp-content/plugins/Viva-ThumbZoom/lib/v-zoom/graphics/zoomin.cur), pointer; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "><br /></a></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">What would you do if you left the front door open to your house and one day you went into your living room and saw a family living in there? They don’t eat much from your fridge and they are quiet. Does this bother you? A few months later, there are a few more people and the one woman is giving birth to a child on your living room couch. Now you can’t get into your bathroom, your grocery bill has grown and there is a baby keeping you up all night, not to mention the pile of diapers in your front yard.</span></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">You’ve had enough, so you call the FBI, you call ICE, you call the Feds, but they never come. They ignore your plea’s for help. The frustration is building, after all, it is your house. So you call the local authorities but they tell you their hands are tied and there is nothing they can do because federal law says they can’t. You’re helpless.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">You contemplate moving, perhaps taking the law into your own hands, but wait…. There is a better solution! Create a state law that says you can do the same thing the federal law does. So you do.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The next thing you see is just unbelievable… buses are pulling up in front of your home, protests are forming, people are calling you racist and they are calling for your eviction. They want to boycott your sources of income. They want to starve you and make you pay.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">.... You're right. It could never happen.</span></span></p></span>Miss T.C. Shorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249243236643586983noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4637415895963152447.post-84269828750729035922010-04-26T22:05:00.003-05:002010-04-26T22:12:19.085-05:00Is Arizona's New Immigration Law Constitutional?<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">We have an interesting situation developing in Arizona. Last week, the Arizona legislature passed and the governor signed a law which says, in effect, that the state will work harder to enforce the existing federal immigration laws.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The left is having a cow, of course. They are concerned that enforcing the law is racist.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">"Racist." Where have we heard that before?</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So the left is now crying "Unconstitutional." It is unconstitutional, according to the left, to merely enforce federal law. The constitution, by the way, does give the government the authority to set and enforce immigration policies.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Now, remember back ... ALL THE WAY BACK .... to about three weeks ago when the Health Care System Destruction Act of 2010. Remember the congressmen who said that the constitution doesn't matter? The only thing that mattered, way back then, was to make sure that all those uninsured citizens who were just dropping dead in the streets from lack of health care, got covered. They AREN'T covered, but we did get health care destruction/reform shoved down our throats. Constitutional or not.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So, now that there is an issue in which the left wants to limit the power of government, the left is crying "foul." We CAN'T ignore the constitution.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Hypocrisy? Thy name is Democrat.</span></span></div>Miss T.C. Shorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249243236643586983noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4637415895963152447.post-65474939390224853502010-04-26T11:15:00.002-05:002010-04-26T11:23:45.385-05:00Health Care Reform Lawsuit...What's Your Opinion?<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">Before the ink was dry on the Health Care Destruction Act of 2010, several states began filing lawsuits challenging the Constitutionality of the act.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Now, there is no question that the act is unconstitutional. That's not the question. You CANNOT read the constitution (unless you are a lawyer/judge) and conclude after reading it that the federal government has ANY authority to fund health care. Of course, you would also be forced to conclude, if you REALLY thought about it, that Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, federal funding of education and a whole host of other things the federal government does are ALSO unconstitutional.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Of course, lawyers and judges can't read. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Or so it seems. When they read something, they obviously don't read or understand it the same way that you and I do.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Where I have a problem with the Supreme Court's rulings on the constitutionality of ANYTHING is that they don't really look at the constitution and what its original intent was. They look at everything else. Previous rulings, case law, their liberal agenda, etc. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I've always looked at the constitution as a contract. The American people voted on it (in the 1700's) and it's Amendments (in the years following). What were the writers thinking it meant when they wrote it? What were the voters thinking it meant when they voted on it? There is no way the framers of the constitution envisioned our current government. In fact, our current government, and in particular, our current administration, were precisely the thing they were trying to AVOID when they wrote the document.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So, then, the question, really is this: Does this lawsuit REALLY stand a chance of succeeding. Given the liberal nature of the court and the way they tend to rule on these kinds of issues, my feeling is the Health Care Destruction bill will stand as is. I don't think the Supremes will strike it down. But I'm not a lawyer, and, frankly, I don't follow these kinds of things that closely. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">What do you think?</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Miss T.C. Shorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249243236643586983noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4637415895963152447.post-78790395985166053502010-04-15T09:55:00.002-05:002010-04-15T10:08:48.587-05:00Jobless Rate Rises<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">For the second straight week, the jobless rate has risen, confounding liberals and the media. The recession was supposed to be over, but I guess the people who do the hiring didn't get the memo.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I "doubt" that the recent health care legislation, with its new and confusing regulations and taxes on businesses has had any impact on the business sector and their decisions to hire, not hire or even lay off employees. Of course, we know that health care reform is going to balance the budget and save everyone tons of money.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A year ago, Dick Morris (whom I respect, but don't always agree with) predicted that the jobless rate would rise in response to the Generational Theft Act (stimulus) to around 10% nationally. He also predicted that it would stay near that rate for 2010 and perhaps beyond. Furthermore, he predicted that as we move into 2010 and 2011, we would begin to see an increasing rate of inflation that would trigger a second recession before we've even recovered from the first one. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">While we've yet to see a significant amount of inflation, Morris' predictions usually tend to be pretty accurate. We've already seen gas prices rise, and the price of other goods and services usually trend upwards when gas prices go up because almost everything we buy is affected by the cost of fuel.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I'm not optimistic about our future. With the passage of health care reform, it appears the recession is going to extend into the foreseeable future, despite proclamations that it is over. We might as well get used to double digit unemployment. Unless we can reverse the damage O.B.A.M.,A. has done, it is likely to become the norm. Pollsters and other experts are backing off of predictions that the Republicans will take back the House and Senate. At best, they will neutralize the Democrats' majority, but it is highly unlikely they will get enough seats to pass their own agenda, let alone repeal any of what O.B.A.M.,A. has done (including health care). </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Even looking forward to 2012, prospects aren't much better. Assuming we can get a Republican back in the White House, many of the front runners (including Huckabee and Romney) are far from conservative. They are in favor of many of the same programs and spending polices of the left, just to a slightly lesser degree. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Sorry for the "negative" post, today, but given that it's April 15 (Tax Day), perhaps some honest evaluation of where we are at economically is in order.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Miss T.C. Shorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249243236643586983noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4637415895963152447.post-46113429312035747472010-04-14T10:47:00.001-05:002010-04-14T10:49:00.299-05:00Quote of the Day<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">"There is nothing wrong with the younger generation that becoming taxpayers won't cure."</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">-- Dan Bennett</span></span></div>Miss T.C. Shorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249243236643586983noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4637415895963152447.post-1723163081377695992010-04-14T09:23:00.002-05:002010-04-14T09:32:14.053-05:00Doctor Shortages On the Way<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:Tahoma, Verdana, 'Deja Vu Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Dr. Melissa Clothier shares:</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', Verdana, 'Deja Vu Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', Verdana, 'Deja Vu Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304506904575180331528424238.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsSecond" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 90, 255); border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Wall Street Journal shares this inevitable news</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">:</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', Verdana, 'Deja Vu Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The new federal health-care law has raised the stakes for hospitals and schools already scrambling to train more doctors.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', Verdana, 'Deja Vu Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Experts warn there won’t be enough doctors to treat the millions of people newly insured under the law. At current graduation and training rates, the nation could face a shortage of as many as 150,000 doctors in the next 15 years, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', Verdana, 'Deja Vu Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">That shortfall is predicted despite a push by teaching hospitals and medical schools to boost the number of U.S. doctors, which now totals about 954,000.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', Verdana, 'Deja Vu Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The greatest demand will be for primary-care physicians. These general practitioners, internists, family physicians and pediatricians will have a larger role under the new law, coordinating care for each patient.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', Verdana, 'Deja Vu Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The U.S. has 352,908 primary-care doctors now, and the college association estimates that 45,000 more will be needed by 2020. But the number of medical-school students entering family medicine fell more than a quarter between 2002 and 2007.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', Verdana, 'Deja Vu Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A shortage of primary-care and other physicians could mean more-limited access to health care and longer wait times for patients.</span></span></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', Verdana, 'Deja Vu Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The whole point of health care reform was too feel better–not you, or your health–but liberal politicians.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', Verdana, 'Deja Vu Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It wasn’t to improve health care treatment.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', Verdana, 'Deja Vu Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It wasn’t to reduce costs.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', Verdana, 'Deja Vu Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It wasn’t even to get more people under care.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', Verdana, 'Deja Vu Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Wait, what? That’s right. More people will be insured, but patients will receive less care at more cost. It’s just logical. The new health care system creates a gatekeeper system that will eliminate individual choice and drive up costs. So, a person thinks something is wrong with his prostate–he goes directly to a proctologist. That saves 1. wait time 2. cost (no double doctor fees) and 3. diagnosis time.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', Verdana, 'Deja Vu Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">But not now.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', Verdana, 'Deja Vu Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Oh no! Now, a patient must wait to get into an overburdened primary care physician, get a referral and then get into another physician. A patient will be dead by the time he gets diagnosed.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', Verdana, 'Deja Vu Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The inevitable response?</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', Verdana, 'Deja Vu Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Cash-only doctors. Some doctors won’t accept this new insurance and work outside the system. So, people will pay into the health service, hate the waits and then, go pay cash for good care.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', Verdana, 'Deja Vu Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The rich will have good care while subsidizing everyone else. The middle class will be caught in a jam because the taxes will be so egregious they can’t afford anything, never mind a quick diagnosis. So they will be caught in government-mandated substandard care.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', Verdana, 'Deja Vu Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">And the poor, who don’t pay into the system, will still misuse the system because they still won’t take care of themselves. And Medicare and Medicaid could have been expanded to help them as is.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', Verdana, 'Deja Vu Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">But noooo. An overhaul had to happen. The government had to control health care.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', Verdana, 'Deja Vu Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">If this diseased legislation doesn’t get revoked, America is going to go down the road of all disastrous socialized countries: chronic unemployment, disheartened and downwardly mobile middle class and an elite aristocracy for whom policy doesn’t matter.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', Verdana, 'Deja Vu Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In the liberal world that’s called utopia.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', Verdana, 'Deja Vu Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">And by the way, a small board will decide what does and does not get covered under Obamacare. So, yes, death sentences will be handed down by the government. That too, is inevitable.</span></span></p></span>Miss T.C. Shorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249243236643586983noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4637415895963152447.post-66455135728258939132010-04-13T11:31:00.003-05:002010-04-13T14:24:09.801-05:00Auto Bailouts: Where Did We Go Wrong?<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">This is likely to be a fairly long post, but I'll try to make it as readable as possible. The information here is condensed from a couple of research projects and a number of articles from the auto industry.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">At one time, the American auto industry was king. Nobody in the world produced the quality of cars, with the technology and engineering at the prices that the United States was producing before and after World War II. That ended around the 1970s and 1980s. (It's hard to pinpoint an exact year, but for the purposes of this article, within a decade or so is accurate enough).</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">After 1980, the Japanese auto industry, which already had a foothold in the U.S. began to take off by leaps and bounds. At the same time, Americans were discovering the quality and drivability of European makes like BMW, Saab, Volvo, Mercedes and others. Around this time, foreign makes were jumping ahead of American manufacturers with regard to quality, engineering, technology and, especially, design.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Many auto industry insiders view the "beginning of the end" of the dominance of American auto companies to be the book "Unsafe at any Speed" by Ralph Nadar.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The book was written about Chevrolet's unique car, the Corvair. The Corvair was designed in the late 1950's by very forward-thinking GM engineers and designers. These people inside GM were looking at Porsche and Volkswagen and they wanted to see what they could learn from the popularity of those German cars. In terms of handling, reliability and technology, these cars were simple designs with sporty performance (at least Porsche was) and were noted for reliability in extreme weather and road conditions.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Chevrolet wanted to see what it could do with a similar concept. They wanted to create a rear-engine, air-cooled, rear-wheel-drive car. Unlike Porsche and Volkswagen, they wanted to make the car a little larger so that it could be used as both a sporty car as well as a small family sedan.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Corvair was introduced in 1959 (as a 1960 model) and was Motor Trend's Car of the Year. It brought to market a number of firsts and innovations for an American car: A rear-engine air-cooled aluminum flat six cylinder engine with rear transaxle, four wheel independent suspension, with the front and rear suspension components each attached independently to the subframe. In terms of design, technology, innovation and concept, it was different in every way from every other car Detroit was producing and different than anything Detroit had ever produced.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A few years later, Ralph Nadar wrote his book in which he alleged that the Corvair was an unsafe vehicle. Nadar was an unknown "consumer advocate" looking for a cause, and he found it in the Corvair. He alleged that the vehicle was prone to turn over easier than other vehicles, that it was more prone to catch fire in a front end collision and that it was more likely to cause injury to passengers in a rear end collision than any other car.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">These allegations were proven false. The government held hearings and then conducted its own safety tests of the car. Their findings: The car was as safe, <b><i>or safer</i></b>, than any other vehicle on the road. (The government actually found that the car was less likely to catch fire in a collision than other cars.) </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The damage, however, had been done. Sales of the car dropped and it was phased out in 1969, to be replaced by the more conventional Chevrolet Vega, a car with all the disadvantages of a small car along with poor fuel economy and poor handling. The lesson the Big Three Automakers took from this episode of automotive history is this: Don't innovate. Just make your traditional vehicles like you've always done, and don't try anything new, exciting or innovative. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">When Subaru introduced front wheel drive to small asian imports, (Saab actually beat them to it in the American market), the other imports followed. By the mid 1980s, Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Mazda had front-drive on most of their car models. The U.S. manufacturers did not follow suit until it became apparent that they were losing sales because of this feature. The same can be said of smaller, four cylinder, more fuel efficient models. Most other innovations and engineering breakthroughs after the 1960s came from either European or Japanese manufacturers. The Japanese in the 1980s and 1990s and later on the European manufacturers even began leading the way in styling. Today, if you take the nameplate off of a car and show it to the average consumer, most people would pick a foreign car to most domestic models.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">All of this has led up to our current situation in which the government "had" to bail out two of the Big Three automakers. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I would be the last person to suggest that Ralph Nadar is single-handedly responsible for all of the ills of the auto industry. Over the past 40 years, there has been enough bad decisions, bad design and stupidity within the industry for a lot of folks to share the blame.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The question I have is, who is holding Nadar's feet to the fire? If industry insiders had lied and conspired in some way to bring an entire industry to its knees, no doubt those folks would be held accountable. Yet, Nadar is a darling of the left; a champion of the "little guy"; even a "green" presidential candidate. I doubt the American public is even aware of his role in the decline of the American auto industry (and by extension, American manufacturing).</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">While this post probably isn't as timely as it could have been (I recently ran across a series of articles that spurred this entry), I suppose the whole point is that I'm now doing my part to help people understand why we are where we are, today. Something as seemingly small and innocuous as a little book with a few little lies has had an effect that has spread to every American some 45 years later.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Now, use your imagination and look ahead to the next thirty or forty years. How do you think the lies currently being spread by O.B.A.M.,A., and Reid and Pelosi about health care and how much universal coverage will "save us" is going to affect America in the coming years?</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>Miss T.C. Shorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249243236643586983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4637415895963152447.post-74287562485418094282010-04-11T21:10:00.004-05:002010-04-11T22:56:38.806-05:00Laws and Freedoms<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I missed a corner, yesterday. I was driving down the street and I drove right by my turn. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I was too distracted. While I was driving, I was listening to Fox Radio on the Satellite. Neil Cavuto was interviewing a socialist who was marveling at how great it was to force everyone to buy health insurance, and he kept commenting over and over that we are "an nation of laws." He also asked the question four or five times, "Would you rather live in a banana republic" where the law is corrupt?</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;">I was screaming at the radio when I drove right by the street I was supposed to turn on.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Well, Mr Liberal-Spout-the-Democrat-Party-Line (I didn't catch who the guest was), it seems to me that we DO live in a banana republic where the law is corrupt. The new health care law was passed by a corrupt congress in a corrupt manner and it exempts those who created the law. How much more corrupt can you get?</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">But what really got me thinking was the idea of what makes America a great place to live. Or, maybe more accurately, what USED TO make America a great place to live, before Congress shredded the Constitution?</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It isn't the fact that we are a nation of laws that makes America a great place to live. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">What has made America great, what made America the place that people from other places in the world flock to the U.S., is not our laws, but rather our freedoms. People come here because we have, or rather HAD, a Constitution that protected us FROM the government and FROM the laws it wants to pass to deprive us of our freedoms.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Until this year, you could come to the U.S. and as long as you didn't do something to harm someone else, you could pretty much do what you wanted and the government was FORCED (by the Constitution) to leave you alone. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Now, for the first time in our nation's history, that is no longer the case. Simply by existing, simply by being here, you are now FORCED by the government to buy something, whether or not you want it.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Now, someone tell me .... how does that make us any better than those so-called "banana republics?"</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Miss T.C. Shorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249243236643586983noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4637415895963152447.post-44039907965664628492010-04-07T21:43:00.003-05:002010-04-07T21:48:11.905-05:00Diplomat Lights Shoes on Fire<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">Reports are still coming in as I write this, but the latest news reports are saying that a man who is a diplomat at the Qatar embassy in Washington, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">Mohammed al Modadi, attempted to light his shoes on fire on a flight from Washington, D.C. to Denver.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 19px;">Apparently, and air marshall on the flight subdued the man, and he was detained and question once the plane landed. Early reports are also suggesting that he did not have any kind of bomb or weapon, but think he may have tried to light his shoes on fire to cover up a smell. (Smoking?)</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 19px;">Two questions come to mind. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 19px;">First, with all the security at airports in the U.S., how does an Arab get through security with something to light his shoes with? And second, what are the odds this was some kind of test of airport security and airplane security? Maybe next time, we won't be so lucky.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span></div>Miss T.C. Shorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249243236643586983noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4637415895963152447.post-16319212757880459432010-04-07T17:56:00.004-05:002010-04-07T18:02:40.693-05:00Obama's First Asteroid?<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">During a speech in which he tried "selling" Health Care Reform after he already signed it into law, O.B.A.M.,A.* mocked Republicans, Independents, TEA Party activist and the rest of us who don't like high deficits and debt, saying that when he signed the disastrous Health Care act, he looked around and didn't see any asteroids.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Well, look again, O.B.A.M.,A., the first one may be on its way...</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', serif; font-size: small; color: rgb(102, 0, 0); line-height: 24px; "></span></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', serif; font-size: small; color: rgb(102, 0, 0); line-height: 24px; ">The United States should consider raising taxes to help bring deficits under control and may need to consider a European-style value-added tax, White House adviser Paul Volcker said on Tuesday.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;color:#660000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;color:#660000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); line-height: 24px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Volcker, answering a question from the audience at a New York Historical Society event, said the value-added tax "was not as toxic an idea" as it has been in the past and also said a carbon or other energy-related tax may become necessary.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;color:#660000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;color:#660000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); line-height: 24px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Though he acknowledged that both were still unpopular ideas, he said getting entitlement costs and the U.S. budget deficit under control may require such moves. "If at the end of the day we need to raise taxes, we should raise taxes," he said.</span></span></span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); line-height: 24px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;color:#660000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;color:#660000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;color:#660000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); line-height: 24px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">* O.B.A.M.,A. = One Big Ass Mistake, America</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 24px; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:15px;"><p style="margin-top: 0.75em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"></span></span></p></span></span></span></div>Miss T.C. Shorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249243236643586983noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4637415895963152447.post-2934197291084395572010-04-06T10:51:00.003-05:002010-04-06T10:54:50.522-05:00Christians and Jews = Dhimmis Under Obamacare<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size:13px;"><h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="margin-top: 0.25em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(204, 102, 0); font-size:18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;"><a href="http://mainfo.blogspot.com/2010/04/christians-and-jews-dhimmis-under.html" style="text-decoration: none; display: block; font-weight: normal; ">Opus (check out her blog at </a><a href="http://mainfo.blogspot.com/">MAInfo</a>) alerted us to the following:</span></span></span><a href="http://mainfo.blogspot.com/2010/04/christians-and-jews-dhimmis-under.html" style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0); text-decoration: none; display: block; font-weight: normal; "><br /></a><a href="http://mainfo.blogspot.com/2010/04/christians-and-jews-dhimmis-under.html" style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0); text-decoration: none; display: block; font-weight: normal; ">Christians And Jews = Dhimmis Under Obamacare?</a></h3><div class="post-header-line-1"></div><div class="post-body entry-content" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.6em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">A dhimmi is a non-muslim in a muslim country who is treated as a second-class citizen, with punishing taxes, abuse, and no legal recourse.</span><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(68, 68, 68); -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; font-family:Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><div><span style="line-height: normal; font-family:Verdana;"><u>Let’s Get this Straight:</u></span></div><table border="0" cellpadding="5" width="100%" style="border-collapse: separate; "><tbody><tr><td valign="top" width="50%"><div><span style="line-height: normal; font-family:Verdana;">President Obama<br />Vice President Biden<br />Speaker Nancy Pelosi<br />Harry Reid<br />White House Staff<br />Cabinet Secretaries<br />Congressional Staff*<br />Amish<br />American Indian Tribes<br />Criminals<br />Scientologists<br />Christian Scientists<br />Muslims<br /><span style="line-height: normal; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); "><strong style="font-weight: bold; ">Baptists<br />Catholics<br />Lutherans<br />Jews<br /><br /></strong></span></span></div></td><td valign="top"><div><span style="line-height: normal; font-family:Verdana;">Exempt from ObamaCare<br />Exempt from ObamaCare<br />Exempt from ObamaCare<br />Exempt from ObamaCare<br />Exempt from ObamaCare<br />Exempt from ObamaCare<br />Exempt from ObamaCare<br />Exempt from ObamaCare<br />Exempt from ObamaCare<br />Exempt from ObamaCare<br />Exempt from ObamaCare<br />Exempt from ObamaCare<br />Exempt from ObamaCare<br /><strong style="font-weight: bold; "><span style="line-height: normal; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); ">NO Exemption<br />NO Exemption<br />NO Exemption<br />NO Exemption</span></strong><br /></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="line-height: normal; font-family:Verdana;">*Congressional staffers who wrote ObamaCare, staffers working in a leadership office or for a Congressional committee all receive an exemption.</span></div></span></div></span>Miss T.C. Shorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249243236643586983noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4637415895963152447.post-7540507415400416912010-04-06T10:31:00.004-05:002010-04-06T10:37:12.150-05:00Duck and Cover<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">By JOHN MCCORMACK</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> (From the Weekly standard)</span></span></div><div class="body"><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">After signing the national health care bill, Barack Obama said he welcomed a campaign fight over the law. "Bring it on," he dared Republicans. He toured the country to boost the law's popularity. And on April 3, a </span></span><a href="http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/trust_on_issues" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Rasmussen poll</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> showed that voters trusted Republicans more than Democrats on health care by a 16-point margin (53% to 37%)--a significant shift from just one month earlier when that number was essentially tied.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It looks like </span></span><a href="http://weeklystandard.com/blogs/challenging-obama" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Obama's </span></span></a><a href="http://weeklystandard.com/blogs/challenging-obama" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">rambling </span></span></a><a href="http://weeklystandard.com/blogs/challenging-obama" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">17-minute answer</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> to a question about why we should be paying more taxes for Obamacare didn't do much to reassure voters about a bill they've consistently opposed for nearly a year. Other congressmen, like </span></span><a href="http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZTcyNmVhYzhmOTcyZjA1OTU1OGNhYmI5MzBlNWRmMjM=" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Paul Hodes of New Hampshire</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, have had a similarly difficult time directly selling the health care bill to their constituents. So, </span></span><a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/35406.html" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204); "><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Politico</span></span></em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> reports</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, some Democrats, like Congressman John Boccieri of Ohio, have taken a different approach: hiding from their constituents.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; border-left-width: 1px; border-left-style: solid; border-left-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); padding-left: 8px; "><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">Boccieri is not alone. He’s one of a number of House Democrats who’ve kept a low profile over the recess, a group largely defined by the level of political jeopardy they face this fall.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">Like Boccieri, they tend to represent highly competitive seats. One of them, Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.), has not held any events in Republican-oriented North Dakota to talk about health care, his staff acknowledged. This week, he’ll talk about Social Security.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">The offices of other endangered members, ranging from veterans such as Reps. Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.) and Allen Boyd (D-Fla.) to junior members such as Reps. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.) and John Salazar (D-Colo.), did not return messages asking about how they had promoted health care last week.</span></span></span></div><p></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">"Duck and cover" just might be a better motto for the Democrats than "bring it on."</span></span></p></div>Miss T.C. Shorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249243236643586983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4637415895963152447.post-33297518870895002562010-04-05T15:49:00.003-05:002010-04-05T15:57:24.797-05:00Federalism Gone<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; "><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">In an excellent article in </span></span><a href="http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/the-essence-anarchy?page=0,0" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(142, 53, 4); text-decoration: none; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(142, 53, 4); font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">The New Republic</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">, Sean Wilentz takes to task those who wish to resurrect the pernicious doctrine of “nullification” to thumb their nose at the federal government on health care reform. Unfortunately, Wilentz conflates nullification with the idea of “states’ rights” in general:</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></p><blockquote style="background-color: rgb(246, 237, 218); border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(142, 53, 4); border-right-color: rgb(142, 53, 4); border-bottom-color: rgb(142, 53, 4); border-left-color: rgb(142, 53, 4); padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 10px; margin-left: 25px; margin-right: 25px; "><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">Although not currently concerned with racial supremacy, the consequence of their doctrine would uphold an interpretation of the constitutional division of powers that would permit the majority of any state to reinstate racial segregation and inequality up to the point of enslavement, if it so chose.</span></span></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">Is opposition to health care reform at the state level leading to a resurrection of slavery? Really?</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">That much has been done in the last 100 years to undermine the 10th Amendment is not debatable. That the cause for this was considered just is equally true.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">At the same time, in our zeal to improve the lives of American citizens, we have allowed the very concept of federalism to atrophy. Even debating the idea that the 10th Amendment can be redefined so that it can be made relevant in a 21st century industrialized democracy is seen as an exercise in futility.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">There are few functions of government that are incompatible to the concept of federalism. While the idea of 50 nuclear regulatory commissions doesn't make sense, there is no doubt that the FDA (just to use one example) could be modified to be an agency that is overseen by a consortium of 50 States and that issued recommendations to the states instead of being an agency that wields the power it currently does. Nobody wants to see 50 OSHAs, but couldn't OSHA be another body that recommended standards to be adopted by states, instead of requiring them?</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">It is possible to take a hard look at federal agencies and discover a few responsibilities they currently enjoy that might be better performed by states? If it can be done without gutting them, why not try? Shouldn’t states have a lot more to say about how federal lands are used within their boundaries? Those lands are enormously valuable in many respects and yet the states have little say in the leasing and development schemes of the federal government. And it is long past time we take a very hard look at the Department of Education (with a $63 billion budget) and find a way to turn that department into an adjunct to local efforts at teaching our children rather than as a repository for bureaucrats to carve out their petty empires. With educational achievement at historic lows, it is evident that at least some of that money might be better given to states and local school districts to use as they see fit.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">The concept of federalism today is a far cry from what the Founders envisioned. They may have written the Constitution for a small coastal republic of 7 million citizens, but were prescient enough to give their creation the revolutionary ability to change with a changing country. Yet the basic concepts, separations and the freedoms granted by the Constitution must remain in place. By deciding that we can simply toss portions of the constitution aside because they are inconsistent with our political ideology puts us in the same company as the former Soviet Union, China, Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">Now that we are a continental nation of 300 million – as diverse and vibrant a society that has ever existed -it is time to re-examine and reinvigorate the founding notion that power shared and dispersed among many is the bulwark against which no force can threaten our liberties. Resurrecting the ghosts of the past to discredit this notion should be met with the contempt it deserves.</span></span></p></span>Miss T.C. Shorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249243236643586983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4637415895963152447.post-33991000684129009522010-04-05T14:02:00.001-05:002010-04-05T14:03:55.635-05:00A Trip Down Memory Lane<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/z6b1VOAATNk&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/z6b1VOAATNk&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></span>Miss T.C. Shorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249243236643586983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4637415895963152447.post-39121613108246249452010-04-04T21:11:00.000-05:002010-04-04T21:12:16.917-05:00Promises Kept<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JtxqtBq0uVw&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JtxqtBq0uVw&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>Miss T.C. Shorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249243236643586983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4637415895963152447.post-1986603556519068712010-04-04T21:01:00.000-05:002010-04-04T21:02:01.854-05:00Quote of the Day<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.”</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> — James Madison, 4 Annals of Congress 179, 1794</span></span></span></div>Miss T.C. Shorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249243236643586983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4637415895963152447.post-70838989929757139912010-04-02T21:38:00.002-05:002010-04-02T21:41:02.451-05:00Robert Hall is Tired<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 18px; "><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The following blog was posted on Robert A. Hall's blog on February 19, 2009. There are a couple of small points with which I disagree and a couple of things that could be updated. All in all, however, this is one of the best pieces I've read in a long time....</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">I’ll be 63 soon. Except for one semester in college when jobs were scarce, and a six-month period when I was between jobs, but job-hunting every day, I’ve worked, hard, since I was 18. Despite some health challenges, I still put in 50-hour weeks, and haven’t called in sick in seven or eight years. I make a good salary, but I didn’t inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, there’s no retirement in sight, and I’m tired. Very tired.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">I’m tired of being told that I have to “spread the wealth around” to people who don’t have my work ethic. I’m tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy or stupid to earn it.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">I’m tired of being told that I have to pay more taxes to “keep people in their homes.” Sure, if they lost their jobs or got sick, I’m willing to help. But if they bought McMansions at three times the price of our paid-off, $250,000 condo, on one-third of my salary, then let the leftwing Congresscritters who passed Fannie and Freddie and the Community Reinvestment Act that created the bubble help them—with their own money.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">I’m tired of being told how bad America is by leftwing millionaires like Michael Moore, George Soros and Hollywood entertainers who live in luxury because of the opportunities America offers. In thirty years, if they get their way, the United States will have the religious freedom and women’s rights of Saudi Arabia, the economy of Zimbabwe, the freedom of the press of China, the crime and violence of Mexico, the tolerance for Gay people of Iran, and the freedom of speech of Venezuela. Won’t multiculturalism be beautiful?</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">I’m tired of being told that Islam is a “Religion of Peace,” when every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and daughters for their family “honor;” of Muslims rioting over some slight offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren’t “believers;” of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning teenage rape victims to death for “adultery;” of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur’an and Shari’a law tells them to.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">I believe “a man should be judged by the content of his character, not by the color of his skin.” I’m tired of being told that “race doesn’t matter” in the post-racial world of President Obama, when it’s all that matters in affirmative action jobs, lower college admission and graduation standards for minorities (harming them the most), government contract set-asides, tolerance for the ghetto culture of violence and fatherless children that hurts minorities more than anyone, and in the appointment of US Senators from Illinois. I think it’s very cool that we have a black president and that a black child is doing her homework at the desk where Lincoln wrote the emancipation proclamation. I just wish the black president was Condi Rice, or someone who believes more in freedom and the individual and less in an all-knowing government.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">I’m tired of a news media that thinks Bush’s fundraising and inaugural expenses were obscene, but that think Obama’s, at triple the cost, were wonderful. That thinks Bush exercising daily was a waste of presidential time, but Obama exercising is a great example for the public to control weight and stress, that picked over every line of Bush’s military records, but never demanded that Kerry release his, that slammed Palin with two years as governor for being too inexperienced for VP, but touted Obama with three years as senator as potentially the best president ever.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">Wonder why people are dropping their subscriptions or switching to Fox News? Get a clue. I didn’t vote for Bush in 2000, but the media and Kerry drove me to his camp in 2004.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">I’m tired of being told that out of “tolerance for other cultures” we must let Saudi Arabia use our oil money to fund mosques and madrassa Islamic schools to preach hate in America, while no American group is allowed to fund a church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia to teach love and tolerance.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">I’m tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming, which no one is allowed to debate. My wife and I live in a two-bedroom apartment and carpool together five miles to our jobs. We also own a three-bedroom condo where our daughter and granddaughter live. Our carbon footprint is about 5% of Al Gore’s, and</span></span></span><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">if you’re greener than Gore, you’re green enough.</span></span></span></em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">I’m tired of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses while they tried to fight it off? I don’t think Gay people choose to be Gay, but I damn sure think druggies chose to take drugs. And I’m tired of harassment from cool people treating me like a freak when I tell them I never tried marijuana.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">I’m tired of illegal aliens being called “undocumented workers,” especially the ones who aren’t working, but are living on welfare or crime. What’s next? Calling drug dealers, “Undocumented Pharmacists”? And, no, I’m not against Hispanics. Most of them are Catholic and it’s been a few hundred years since Catholics wanted to kill me for my religion. I’m willing to fast track for citizenship any Hispanic person who can speak English, doesn’t have a criminal record and who is self-supporting without family on welfare, or who serves honorably for three years in our military. Those are the citizens we need.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">I’m tired of latte liberals and journalists, who would never wear the uniform of the Republic themselves, or let their entitlement-handicapped kids near a recruiting station, trashing our military. They and their kids can sit at home, never having to make split-second decisions under life and death circumstances, and bad mouth better people then themselves. Do bad things happen in war? You bet. Do our troops sometimes misbehave? Sure. Does this compare with the atrocities that were the policy of our enemies for the last fifty years—and still are? Not even close. So here’s the deal. I’ll let myself be subjected to all the humiliation and abuse that was heaped on terrorists at Abu Ghraib or Gitmo, and the critics can let themselves be subject to captivity by the Muslims who tortured and beheaded Daniel Pearl in Pakistan, or the Muslims who tortured and murdered Marine Lt. Col. William Higgins in Lebanon, or the Muslims who ran the blood-spattered Al Qaeda torture rooms our troops found in Iraq, or the Muslims who cut off the heads of schoolgirls in Indonesia, because the girls were Christian. Then we’ll compare notes. British and American soldiers are the </span></span></span><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">only troops in history</span></span></span></em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;"> that civilians came to for help and handouts, instead of hiding from in fear.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">I’m tired of people telling me that their party has a corner on virtue and the other party has a corner on corruption. Read the papers—bums are bi-partisan. And I’m tired of people telling me we need bi-partisanship. I live in Illinois, where the “Illinois Combine” of Democrats and Republicans has worked together harmoniously to loot the public for years. And I notice that the tax cheats in Obama’s cabinet are bi-partisan as well.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">I’m tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of both parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught. I’m tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">Speaking of poor, I’m tired of hearing people with air-conditioned homes, color TVs and two cars called poor. The majority of Americans didn’t have that in 1970, but we didn’t know we were “poor.” The poverty pimps have to keep changing the definition of poor to keep the dollars flowing.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">I’m real tired of people who don’t take responsibility for their lives and actions. I’m tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination, or big-whatever for their problems.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">Yes, I’m damn tired. But I’m also glad to be 63. Because, mostly, I’m not going to get to see the world these people are making. I’m just sorry for my granddaughter.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;"><br /></span></span></span></div><em><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam veteran who served five terms in the Massachusetts state senate. He blogs at</span></span></span></em><a href="http://www.tartanmarine.blogspot.com/"><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">www.tartanmarine.blogspot.com</span></span></span></em></a></span></div></em></span>Miss T.C. Shorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249243236643586983noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4637415895963152447.post-68016845496124198182010-04-02T17:05:00.002-05:002010-04-02T17:10:05.437-05:00"I Don't Care about the Constitution"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); line-height: 19px; "><p style="text-align: justify; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); line-height: 1.35em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">Confronted by an angry Tea Partier with a camera Thursday, an Illinois congressman said in front of several constituents at a town hall that he doesn't care whether the new health care law violates the Constitution, as some critics have claimed.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); line-height: 1.35em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); line-height: 1.35em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); line-height: 1.35em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">In a video posted on You Tube, Adam Sharp of the St. Louis Tea Party asked Rep. Phil Hare which part of the Constitution authorizes the government to mandate that all Americans buy a private product such as health insurance. The Illinois Democrat replied, "I don't worry about the Constitution on this."</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); line-height: 1.35em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); line-height: 1.35em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); line-height: 1.35em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">"Jackpot, brother," Sharp said.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); line-height: 1.35em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); line-height: 1.35em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); line-height: 1.35em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">Hare cringed in disgust and said, "Oh please. What I care more about, I care more about the people dying every day who don't have health care."</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); line-height: 1.35em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); line-height: 1.35em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); line-height: 1.35em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); line-height: 1.35em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It's a good thing that Rep. Hare (D-Village Missing an Idiot) cares so much more about all those people just falling over dying from lack of health care. It's getting so that you can hardly walk down the sidewalk in a typical American city without tripping over the people that are falling over, dead, from a lack of health care. Around here, we don't even push them over to the gutter any more like we did back in the Bush days. There's just too many of them.</span></span></p></span>Miss T.C. Shorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249243236643586983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4637415895963152447.post-82138824149225482572010-04-01T21:04:00.002-05:002010-04-01T21:08:32.747-05:00Quote of the Day<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">"My fear is that the whole island will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize."</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">-- Hank Johnson (D-Georgia), referring to Guam during a House Armed Services Committee Hearing.</span></span></div>Miss T.C. Shorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249243236643586983noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4637415895963152447.post-83330207732516059432010-04-01T11:32:00.006-05:002010-04-01T18:14:09.206-05:00Racism Accusation Reigns on O'Reilly<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">I usually find Bill O'Reilly entertaining, funny and sometimes thought provoking. However, as I've mentioned on this blog before, O'Reilly seldom has the wits to match his guests. He's no dummy, but he's also not as clever or as brilliant as the people he brings on. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">The left, of course, is in the "You're Racist" mode, trying to sell the already-passed Health Care System Demolition Program to the American people with the idea that Health Care reform is great because anyone who opposes it is racist.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">On Tuesday, O'Reilly had two guests on his program that played the race card effectively. Al Sharpton was invited by O'Reilly to respond to a Miami Herald opinion article which charged that the "Tea Party had an element of racism running through it." Sharpton defended the statement by playing semantic games with O'Reilly, and O'Reilly obviously never caught on.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Sharpton cleverly rephrased what the opinion writer said and told O'Reilly that there were, indeed, "elements of racism within the TEA Party movement," a phrase using similar language but which changed entirely the meaning of the author. He then argued that if even two or three people out of millions of TEA Party activists are even the least bit racist, then the TEA Party has "elements of racism" within it. After making this point, which O'Reilly had trouble arguing, he slipped back and forth between "elements of racism within" the movement and "an element of racism running through" the movement, which implies that the TEA Party has an inherent racist element in it's fabric and that every member must be, to some degree, racist to be associated with the party.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">While I think Sharpton is un-American, a Marxist, and uses the cloak of religion for credibility, (while he, himself has no problems with lying to achieve his own ends), he's certainly no idiot, and has a great command of the language. He knew what he was doing. O'Reilly was no match.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">In a later segment, Alan Combs appeared. Combs seems like a smart enough fellow, but seems to view his job as spouting whatever the democratic talking points for the week are. If Gibbs and Pelosi and Reed were to come out tomorrow and say that the sky is red, Combs would be telling us all exactly what shade of red the sky is and how racist it is to deny that the sky is red.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">This week, of course, the talking points are that ObamaKare is Great because the TEA Party is racist. It's a theme, apparently. And in the segment, which was not about race at all, Combs started his argument stating that (essentially) anyone who opposed ObamaKare does so because they don't like having a black man in the White House. Monica Crowley, his "co-guest' (if there is such a thing) started to argue with Combs, but O'Reilly was insistent that Combs have his say, even though he pointed out there is no evidence to the contrary.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I find these things very offensive. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">In fact, I'm going to make a statement that many will probably disagree with, but here goes: I think that making the accusation of "racist" to someone for whom there is no real evidence of racism, is as offensive as using the "n-" word. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">There, I said it. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Watch for more accusations of racism over the next few months (and probably years) as the left continues to try to peddle the idea that voting against democrats is a racist move. They will continue to tout the "fairness" of their programs against the "racism" of the Republican ideas.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Frankly, I think it takes a twisted sense of morality to define "fairness" as taking stuff away from the person who has worked hard to get it, in order to give it to the person who has not worked for it.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">... but then again, I'm racist.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Miss T.C. Shorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249243236643586983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4637415895963152447.post-90019634087090310222010-03-30T22:15:00.002-05:002010-03-30T22:42:16.210-05:00Is Violence on the Rise?<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">In the 1960's and early 1970's, America erupted in violence over the Vietnam war. Civil and political unrest led to riots in the streets and on campuses all across America.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Images of the '60's and '70's come to mind when I see the political polarization in America today. At a book signing yesterday, Karl Rove was personally attacked by someone shouting that he "ruined America." Ann Coulter was unable to speak on a college campus in Ottawa, Canada because of students protesting and shouting. In California, students at a number of college campuses are rioting and are in an uproar over cuts to student aid programs. TEA party protesters have clashed (although, generally in a more civil manner) with members of Congress as well as others on the left over massive increases in the size and scope of the federal government.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">There is no question that America is becoming increasingly polarized, politically. It also appears that the increased polarization is causing people to become increasingly frustrated, angry and that anger and frustration is, at times, coming out in the form of physical actions. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Is this getting worse? Is it getting out of hand?</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I think that the answer to the first question is a resounding "yes." Is it getting out of hand? I guess that depends on your perspective.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Many Americans, and especially Americans on the right, feel that their government no longer represents the American people. And rightly so. Congress and obama have passed and signed into law a bill that is, by many accounts, unconstitutional, contrary to the will of the American people, and will destroy America, economically. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In all fairness, however, while the TEA party and others on the right are becoming increasingly vocal, for the most part (and there are a few exceptions), they have remained mostly civil. In spite of accusations of racism and (apparently false) accusations of name calling, TEA Party members and others on the right pretty much stick to arguing their point in logical, though sometimes loud, and civil manner.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Interestingly, some on the left are becoming increasingly vocal and increasingly violent, in spite of the fact that their party is in complete control at the moment. While some Democrats have complained about threats, a Republican party headquarters office in Michigan had a brick go through its window yesterday and Republican Senator Cantor had a bullet go through a window of his office.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I'm not going to condone or condemn the violence, itself. I'm not a violent person, but I can understand the anger and frustration behind some of this violence. I have expressed over the past week my own anger and frustration and said things that some would consider pretty extreme. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Furthermore, the founding fathers, themselves, advocated a violent overthrow of government if and when government abandoned the constitution and got out of control. (Are we there, yet?) </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">What I will say, however, is that I think this is going to get worse. obama is the most polarizing, controversial President ever elected into office. And this Congress has made it clear that it is going to push an agenda that it thinks is good for America in spite of the fact that the American people disagree. The American people DO NOT like what is going on. They believe that Washington is not listening to them, and furthermore, they believe that ObamaKare, The Stimulus Act and some of the proposed policies that have yet to become reality will lead America down a road to destruction from which we may never recover. (By the way, I happen to agree with that assessment). </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Here is my question: If you believe that this government is out of control; if you believe that legislation being passed under this administration will permanently destroy America's economy; and if you believe that many of these laws and policies will be irreversible, what should your response be? Should you simply sit aside and watch this happen? Should you speak out, even if speaking out gets you labelled a racist and is ignored by the politicians in Washington? Should you work toward changing the government, even if that means a violent change may be the only way to fix things?</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Whatever the answer, I believe that obama, Pelosi and Reid (who are blaming Fox News and Conservative Radio) are to blame for some of the violence and anger in our country. By ignoring the American People, by using illegal tactics to pass Obamakare, by creating underhanded deals and selling votes in Congress, by taking away our rights and freedoms, they have created an environment where more and more Americans are feeling that government is out of control and unresponsive.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">And in spite of what I think and what you think, the American People are beginning to come to the conclusion that enough is enough.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Miss T.C. Shorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249243236643586983noreply@blogger.com4