Ragnarok Rants

Letter to My Children

2009-08-11T12:40:00.002-04:00

I had written this some time back, and forgot about it. Glenn Beck's request for "Letters for the Next Generation" reminded me that i had not left this legacy to my children. I was lucky enough to have grown up when I did and where I did. I experienced what it was to live without electricity and indoor plumbing. I experienced some of what it must have been like to have lived during the Great Depression in the rural Midwest. I also learned what self-reliance and family were really all about.

I grew up as an only child in a small Hoosier town in the 1950s. I never had much, but never knew it, but never really wanted for anything. I was the dutiful son, never doing anything to disappoint my parents, who were also my best friends. There were drive in movies with our own popcorn and sodas because the concession stand prices were too high. We would sit out on the hood or top of the car in the summer to escape the heat of the car, or bring along folding chairs. I did entertain myself a lot, watching people and their mannerisms. I also became very good at accents and imitation. Perhaps that is why I became so good at languages. I loved old movies and especially foreign films. From my earliest memories I was fascinated with WWII, the actual conflict and the home front. Everyone always said I was old for my tender years. I inhaled all information about it.
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I was the first generation off the farm, but kept in touch with the land through my mother's grandparents. They were just dirt farmers who farmed 40 acres with a plow horse until 1960. I distinctly remember planting corn with my granddad and that old horse. I even remember an all day trip to Louisville, KY to sell a wagon load of tobacco he had grown. We drove down there in the horse and wagon. They didn't get electricity until 1953 or 1954; never locked their doors, and at night it was so dark, I was not able to see my hand in front of my face, until the stars illuminated the landscape. I remember family gatherings which went into the night, faced lit in the light of oil lamps. I drove into town with my granddad in his 1932 Ford Model A V8 to buy tobacco plugs and dry goods from Humphry's Dry Goods Store. We had to leave the windows down, because the road dust would come up through the worn-through wood floor. Through them, I directly lived the 1930s and 40s although born in 1948. They grew their own food and subsisted thereon; a noble life to be much admired.

Ours was also a culture of the firearm. I shot my first rifle at three years old; by the time I was six, i was out in the woods plinking by myself, because I was taught how to use and to respect the weapon. It was a food gathering tool. For my twelfth birthday, I received a .22 LR semi-auto rifle. This was my Hoosier culture. The right to bear arms was a right, not a privilege, like driving. Too many people today see it as such. Gun violence simply was an aberration then..

As I was growing up, I remember the sounds of the factory sirens announcing the new day, and the end of the work day. I also remember the sound of the noon air raid sirens, which were tested daily, and I remember wishing my folks were rich enough to build a bomb shelter. There was fear of the Communists and the Warsaw Pact. but we just knew that if we ducked under our desks or rolled into a ditch, we could avoid vaporization. Years later, I noticed that those sirens no longer sounded. My children never had to hear them.

My first experience with television is one that I'll never forget. We had just installed that baby and the first show viewed was "Superman". I saw the first ten minutes or so, but we had to go to the grocery store, s we shut off the TV. When we got back, I turned on the TV to watch the rest of "Superman", but there was another show on! My experience with technological advances remains the same as then!

Well, just a little info that explains my warped view of the world.

Glenn Beck - Current Events & Politics - Letters for the Next Generation

2009-08-11T12:31:00.001-04:00

Glenn Beck - Current Events & Politics - Letters for the Next Generation

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We The People Health

2009-08-11T09:35:00.001-04:00

We The People Health

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Cap N' Tax: So....What Happened to the Transparency?

2009-07-01T09:54:00.001-04:00

I really love that transparency in government promised to the people, as well as the tax breaks (Hard to type with my tongue in my cheek). The only transparency that exists is in the board room among Obama, his staff/policy makers, Czars, and Progressive cabal. Once again, the masses are to be subjugated with more government control "for the good of all". Another bill unread, rubber-stamped, and forced on us by our "representative" government. An amendment added at 0300 hrs. that destroys the meaning of property ownership, essentially, in any form. We will now live under the illusion that we own property, can pursue happiness (if you can find any money to spend yourselves). Under the guise of representative government, we will now have the highest hidden tax going. It will pass the Senate now since Al Franken has been approved as Senator from Minnesota---filibuster-proof. We are on the verge of a VAT, and God knows what other sorts of hidden taxes. All of it will hit the lower and the middle-classes, and destroy them. Obama gets what he wants: a classless society, uniformly poor, totally dependent on the government for everything with all aspects of life regulated "for the common good". Interestingly, enough, though, the administration will keep alive the idea of class, race, ethnicity. It's the best way to rule the people by fragmenting them into little groups. No melting pot for us.

Are you sick of it yet, America? Will you come out of silence, out of mindless adulation or apathy, or fear and take back what is yours? Truly, as many have said here and elsewhere, America, the nation, will continue to exist, but only in name. The sacrifices of generations of men and women are now, as I write this, being tossed on the funeral pyre of the Republic. Will you stand idly by and simply watch the fire burn until the embers of what once was America extinguish themselves? We must stir the embers and reignite the fire of freedom, and turn that fire against those who would destroy us as the nation envisioned by the Founding Fathers.

Sic semper tyrannis!

UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE?? IT'S RIGHT IN YOUR FACE, STUPID!

2009-06-27T10:26:00.004-04:00

OK, There could be a simple solution--one that already exists. Put everyone under the existing federal health insurance program (FEHBP). It's still a co-pay system, you still have insurance plan providers (the ones with government contracts) and HMOs, and you pay a monthly premium. Various plans have deductibles for prescriptions, or set amounts, low and high options, etc. The more people in the system, the lower the monthly premiums become, and costs of drugs will come down, etc.

Here are a few hidden potential advantages to using this as the "universal" system: Currently the fed picks up 75% of government workers' health insurance premiums (current workers and retirees). The government does not get involved in the execution of any portion of the program. All paperwork and procedures are between the provider and the patient. With the entire population under this program the government co-pay could be reduced or eliminated and not result in a cost increase to those already on the program including Congress--yeah, the "gold standard" plan they have is simply a group plan for the entire government service. (They probably use the Postal Workers Health Insurance Program, one of the provider options.). What do you do with the savings realized? You put it into a fund to subsidize those making less than $50K/year (or the poverty level). Also, Medicare and Medicaid could be reduced or eliminated, based on experienced under this pilot plan. Then those annual savings are added to the program to further reduce premiums, etc. The costs of Medicare and Medicaid are annual budget items, so they would remain in the budget, but an individual's taxes would not go up to pay for a new universal program. Yes, the health care deductions on Schedule B might go away, but if you've saved that 7.5% percent or greater, you wouldn't need the deduction. Also, your premium would come out of your weekly or bi-weekly check in the place of Medicare/Medicaid deductions, that everyone pays anyway.

As far as the automated patient information system, that Obama sees as a cost saver and GE sees as a cash cow, most of the government plans, if not all, are already computerized---but the government wouldn't have access to the files, only the provider, the patient, and any out of area provider. would be able to access them. One would not NEED to be in a government database, and GE would not need to be involved in duplicating a system that already exists. Yeah, I know. They'll lobby against that. Under a new universal plan, the health care industry in the US would be destroyed. Under this plan, things pretty much stay the same, except for free market acquisitions and mergers of health care assets.

I'm under this plan as a government retiree, and use Kaiser Permanente as my provider. I pay $320 monthly for the high option. Kaiser ALREADY HAS the electronic patient information system. I'm not sick very often, but my wife would be dead or we'd be living in a trailer or tent if it were not for the program. We've received services out of state, with a phone call to member services, NEVER have been denied services or procedures. My wife even went to Johns Hopkins for an incontinence implant on a referral from Kaiser. A $25K procedure cost us $100.00. She's had four major surgeries since December 2008. Each one cost us $100.00. Why can't we use what we have? Even the Great All Knowing All Seeing Wizard said himself:

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Yeah, what happened to that plan? Oh, yeah! It's the one I've just been talking about!!!

If the entire nation were in this plan---which does not have huge start up costs, uses existing "bureaucracy" (instead of creating a new one), doesn't destroy private sector jobs, eliminates government oversight (and intrusion), and still offers free choice---we wouldn't be thinking of the trillions of dollars for startup, added bureaucracy, etc. We could have this system; it's there already in front of us. I could go on and on, but here's the main point: THE POTENTIAL SOLUTION FOR UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE IS RIGHT UNDER OUR NOSES, BUT THE ADMINISTRATION DOESN'T WANT TO SEE IT BECAUSE THEY WON'T OWN IT NOR CONTROL IT OR YOU. (less)

Bailout? Hey, Look Over Here!

2009-01-06T20:21:00.001-05:00

When news of the first bailout of the mismanaged banks, mortgage companies, and credit moguls was announced my daughter called me from Charlotte, NC. Gas was over $4.50/gal. and she was sitting in a line to get gas. Her tank was almost empty--she was running on the fumes of STP gas treatment, and my three year-old grandson was in the back seat. The gas station wouldn't take credit cards and everyone was limited to $10.00 worth of gas. She had to use the ATM at the filling station and charge it to her card. While this was going on, her husband, who is disabled, was pawning their jewelry so they could make their house payment. I might mention here that my daughter teaches in a preschool for over eight hours a day, and is finishing up her BA degree at night. She's no schluff. They live in a modest home that cost $185,000, not mansion. She asked me: "Where's my bailout, Dad? I work ten hours a day. I've got a husband who can't work and a three year old. I don't qualify for food stamps, but wouldn't take them if I did. I work my ass off to provide for my family and do do things the right way. I pay thirty percent of my income for health care and we eat two meals a day. Where's my bailout? I try to do the right thing and I get nothing for it. They screw up the economy and they get rescued. I do what I'm supposed to do and I get kicked in the face. I really hate this country." Needless to say, hearing her say this broke my heart.

My wife and I are retired. She cannot work again because of her health, and I am her full-time caretaker, so i can't go out to work to pay off the medical bills ( I have an excellent health care plan by the way), and godawful living expenses that started piling up when gas and food prices went through the roof ("Beef"---that word seems familiar, but it's been so long....). My vehicles are over ten years old, and, although I've maintained them meticulously over the years, I recently had to replace the water pump on one, while in North Carolina; that was over $500---had to use ol' Mr. Visa on that one. The truck needs lower ball joints; that's at least $800.00. Then the heat pump finally died----$7,500.00 for that one in late November. We tried to tell ourselves that 62 degrees was plenty warm in October and early November. I don't have any jewelry to hock. I begged for a credit increase so I could get some heat in the house. My wife's health only becomes worse in low temperatures. I got the credit, don't have to pay for a year, but then the hammer falls at 17.99%. I can only hope to find some sort of telecommuting work, which is ironic, as I participated in a test case of telecommuting while working for the government. So, I've got over $30K in debt, and now I find out Chrysler is about to repo my daughter's car---with only three payments left, and no late payments OK, last one was two weeks late). I end up releasing the steam valve for them, putting the rest of the balance on my credit card, so they can pay me back with no 19.99% interest. No Christmas presents this year, but everyone got together in North Carolina over Christmas. I haven't asked for a bailout, nor would I get one if I did. You make your own bed and you lie in it. you do what you have to do to get out of the hole. I probably did mismanage some of the finances, but other things were beyond my control. All these businesses mismanaged their businesses, made mistakes, and were greedy. An d for these virtues we should bail them out??? Let them get in the soup line with me!

AN OPEN LETTER TO BARACK H. OBAMA

2008-10-16T16:35:00.004-04:00

This is an open letter to Senator Barack H. Obama. Not long go, my oldest son almost had me convinced to vote for you. As a bit of background, I am an independent fiscal conservative and social moderate. I never heard any racial slurs as a child, and was told to judge by deeds not skin color. I did not dodge the draft during the Viet Nam War, but did not necessarily agree with the policies of the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations. I did serve in the Reserves and was almost activated in 1972. My unit was on the tarmac waiting to board aircraft when told to stand down. It was my duty as an American to serve, and I accepted that. I have voted for a democrat presidential candidate (Jimmy Carter 1978). I had grave reservations about the second Iraqi War, the rationale, behind it, and the administration of the peace. I worked for the US Government (Department of Defense) for almost twenty-five years under the Carter Administration through the first G.W. Bush Administration. I always worked for change, and took on corrupt special interests, often by myself. I was successful as a mid-level administrator, having worked up through the ranks, doing what was right, not necessarily the party line. And, yes, I am Life Member of the NRA, and I am a practicing Protestant. I must preface this letter to you with this informtion, so you will not dismiss me as a Right Wing (whatever that is) Kool-Aid drinker”.

As I began this letter to you, I told you that I was almost convinced to vote for you. I saw you as an alternative not for the “failed economic and foreign policies of the last eight years”, but as a 21st Century moderate voice who could bring some unity to the nation. Here, with less than three weeks to the election, there is one nagging area that you have never cleared up: Your apparent racial prejudice. And that was just the beginning of my hesitation to vote for you.

In March 2008, you spoke about your Grandmother being a “typical white person”. I heard that interview, and was taken aback by that comment. You did not even blink, or realize the blatant racial epitaph the comment represented. Oh, sure, your spokesperson tried damage control the following day: "Barack Obama said specifically that he didn't believe his grandmother harbored any racial animosity, but that her fears were understandable and typical of those often shared by her generation," This explanation only dug a deeper hole. It make the broad generalization that “whites” of my parents' generation were racists---these were, for the most part, lawmakers of “her” generation that passed the 1964 Civil Rights Bill. Most were, by the way,“ white”. My generation, which came to maturity in the 1960s and 1970s fought for equality. There were no Right Wing or Left Wing agendas. It was the right thing to do.

To date, you have never said what a “typical white person” is. You have intimated what your perceptions of white people are: "You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest,....And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." You have not explained away that one, either, but you got your pass on that gaff, also. Am I to assume that I and many of my less learned “white folk” are gun-totin', bible thumpin', xenophobics? We could also be those chardonnay sipping, “big oil” country club fat cats who kick small dogs, and small, starving Afro-Hispanic and/or gay children, drooling on their highly polished Florsheim golf shoes.

The point is, your comments along the campaign trail would indicate that you did, indeed, listen to the sermons of Reverend Wright, and subscribe to some of his revelations of, and reaction to “white-run” America. Oh, you have repudiated Rev. Wright, but many comments you've made in many different forums tend to echo his beliefs. To what other beliefs or attitudes could you have subliminally ascribed during your transformation from community organizer to state senator to presidential Candidate?

Now, regarding Dr. Ayres and Ms. Dohrn, you say they lived in the neighborhood. You did serve on the Annenberg challenge with Bill Ayers, and on other boards. You were introduced by then-State Senator Alice Palmer as her successor in Bill Ayer's and Bernadine Dohrn's Hyde Park home, which you categorically denied in the final presidential debate. Well, you did in her career anyway, so I guess it is water under the bridge. The point is: You lied about it, claiming it never happened. Ms. Palmer remembers it, as does Dr. Quentin Young, who was also at the gathering.

There are many questions that you have not answered fully, nor truthfully. I now see that you are the consummate politician. you could have chosen other mentors and contacts to become a politician, but “birds of a feather”, “the company you keep”, I suppose.....All the talk about “change and “hope” appear to be words, “just words”. Oh, what do I know? I am just a typical white person.

Why don't people keep their word anymore? Selling over the Internet.

2008-06-23T16:23:00.008-04:00

I was born when a person's word was his/her bond. This is an outmoded concept as I have discovered trying to sell an antique dining room set over the Internet, or from a reference off the Internet. I put the ad for the nine piece set complete with pictures on www.Bargaintrader.com which I used a few years back to sell my boat. Well, not much happened for a while, but I did get some of the obvious phishing and scam emails: "I wish to be buying this set; I am live in London, Engaland. I will arrainge for my shipper...." Those of us savvy enough know how those go.

I finally decided to go local and find an antique dealer. I found the Virginia Bazaar near Ladysmith, VA and took my pictures of the furniture there to see if anyone would be interested. Well, karma be with me, the owner of "Sweet Gum Antiques", Herb Herther, really wanted it, took my name, address, agreed to my ridiculously low price, and even wrote out on the back of his business card: "9 PIECE JACOBEAN DR SUITE--$450.00 SOLD" with his signature. He told me he would make arrangements to pick it up in May (of 2007), but if I need to get rid of it earlier just to give him a call and he'd come up to get it. In June I called him and he began to make excuses and such, that he'd have to see it first to see if he would even want it----condition was discussed originally when I met him in Ladysmith. He said he would call me back when he was free from the shop, but never did.

Here is a guy who was a US Marine Aviator, and a Marine Officer. Marines don't lie, and Marines take responsibility. He was a big disappointment, even with his war stories, and seemingly genuineness and honesty. If you go to the Virginia Bazaar, avoid his shop. He obviously does believe that his word is his bond----nor, essentially, a written contract. Hey Herb, Semper Fi!

I kept the ad on the Internet and continued to get a chuckle out of the attempts by "Englishmen" who could barely write in English. Early this past April, however, I had a message on my answering machine from a lady named Sue Arndt up in Viola, Wisconsin who really wanted to buy the set. I was obviously cautious and called her back. She was really nice, and, and a native speaker of "American English". I checked her out thoroughly via the Internet, and Sue Arndt was legit, or so I thought. She wanted the set, but in the meantime, the sideboard became spoken for, and I had revised the ad to reflect this. She really wanted the entire set, and asked me if our neighbor would consider giving it up for cash. I told her I would check. My neighbor told me to go ahead and sell the sideboard with the rest of the set. Fortunately this did not affect our friendship.

Sue Arndt also was trying to set up a shipper to pick it up (I should have known!) or was thinking of renting a U-Haul to take it back, because she and her husband were thinking of visiting relatives in Alexandria, VA. She called quite a few times so I figured, along with the life story she gave me, and her really down-home ways, everything was okay. She said she would get every detail together and call me back. She was shooting for the latter part of May 2008. Yes, of course I never heard back from her again! She also assured me that the sale was good to go. I wrote her a short note at the beginning of June, but never received a reply. If you've got an ad in any of the online classifieds and she gives you a call, don't let it go as far as I did. Obviously she has improved on the email scams. She almost got me. Or, maybe she just decided to leave me hanging out to dry.

The old saying, "A man's word is his bond." applies, as far as I'm concerned, to women, too. Besides lying to me, she also endangered a friendship of 20 years, and brought back memories of my dead parents, from whom I inherited the dining room set. I had finally reached the point in my bereavement that I was able to part with this part of my life. So, Sue Arndt, you really did more than amuse yourself with me by playing me along: You brought up memories and personal pain that I finally, after 17 years, was getting over. I'll put the ad for the dining room set back out there, because I need to get over the grieving process, and I have to restore my belief in honesty of people.

And Harry Reid: You're a Big Idiot, too!

2007-10-24T01:42:00.000-04:00

I wondered how Harry Reid would react in the light of his letter to Clear Channel execs to have Rush Limbaugh apologize for the "Phony Soldiers" flap being sold by Mr. Limbaugh on eBay for over $2M which resulted in a total of $4M being raised for the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Fund (Like funds were matched by Rush Limbaugh personally.). Harry acted like he had been part of it......right. In a way he had by writing the letter. It backfired a bit though, didn't it Harry? Reid tried miserably to climb aboard the bandwagon, but slipped in his own trail of slime, whilst also being blinded by Rush's thumb in his eye. During the last hour or so of the bid, Ol' Harry was trying to claim some of the limelight while on the Senate floor: "What could be a more worthwhile cause? This is more than $2 million, this is going to really help." Sorry, Harry. Everyone saw through you. You should have kept your mouth shut as did the other 40 of your cronies when the letter backfired on you and your collegues. Well, guess you could run your next political campaign on that inadvertent $4M contribution that you unwillingly and originally with full maliciousness created. Harry, you are such an idiot for actually trying to claim some of the credit for this misstep. Do you erally believe that no one saw through you? Bet your approval rating is way up because of this! The least you could have done was matched that $2M with like funds-----You could have attached it to the 2008 Defense Budget!

Barbara Boxer, You're an Idiot!

2007-10-24T01:18:00.000-04:00

When the news of the massive fires in California really took off, I gave my wife my best Angst-filled Progressive look and exclaimed: "Damn that George Bush! He's responsible for this!" We had a good laugh over it.......Then on Tuesday morning, I'm listening to the local ABC affiliate interviewing Senator Barbara Boxer about the fires and she did blame President Bush for the fire damage, because "If our National Guard units weren't in Iraq, we'd have twice as many people and twice as much equipment to deal with the fire." If I'm not mistaken, the National Forest Service and the local fire departments fight the fires, not the National Guard. The Guard does provide assistance to the populace, protects property, and helps maintain order during such natural disasters, but does not fight the fires as the Guard members don't have the specific training for such a mission----There is an MOS for firefighter, but it relates to aircraft, and buildings, not to forest fires. Also it isn't a very often practiced MOS. Most firefighting activities on military bases and stations in the states are performed by civilians. Once again, Ms. Boxer has politicized something that is simply is not attributable to the Administration. She stopped short of blaming "Dubya" for personally flying out to LA and striking the match that started the fires. Well, he did it to take everyone's mind off the debacle in Iraq, after all. Ms. Boxer, for such a comment, you are truly an idiot.

Senator Harry Reid and Glass Houses

2007-10-17T13:32:00.001-04:00

So Senator Reid is upset about the "Phony Soldier" comments, eh? The only reason he might be is because he and his cronies can't make any money or votes off of the phony soldiers. It doesn't matter that Senator Reid, et. al. take great umbrage at a comment taken out of context; it's a great way to show support for the troops but not the mission, as the Progressives are so fond of saying---sort of like having your cake and eating it too. Unfortunately, our troops don't even get the crumbs dropping from their greedy maws. Partisanship is Senator Reid's way of life. He never lets facts stand in his way of bullying people and organizations. And what a patriot.......yeah, not so much.

Too bad no one will ever read this blog, as I have had first hand experiences with Senator Reid, and he is a despicable person in every sense of the word. In my previous life (before retirement), I was a Program Manager for the US Marine Corps (Marine Corps Systems Command) at Quantico, Virginia. My area of expertise was Training Systems. In the summer of 1999, when the FY2000 Defense Budget was being formulated I received a phone call from a USMC Reserve MGySgt, asking me what a particular item in the Bill was. They had never asked for anything other than their annual needs. It seems that there was a $2 million special appropriation for a Non-Developmental Item (NDI) for training range instrumentation gear for USMC Reserve units. During the research I discovered that the wording of the appropriation named a company in Nevada as the source for this equipment. The USMC did not have a requirement at this time for the reserve component, and the Range Instrumentation Initiatives were Research and Development (RDTE) programs as the technology was not yet developed for full range instrumentation and, besides, the Reserves normally use active duty ranges for training exercises. The sponsor of the appropriation item was, you guessed it! Good ol' Harry Reid! The equipment he was trying to force on the USMC was an item that simply was not a training system; it was an operational piece of equipment and had no training capabilities at all. The US Army had 48 of them in storage, so they were not using them. In fact, they would have been more than happy to give them to the Marine Corps. I figured I could get those out of moth balls and just pay for the shipping and set up. That would be much cheaper for the USMC. The idea was an accommodation for Senator Reid in that we would still see if there was a use for the equipment. Simply put: The USMC did not have a requirement for the gear and it was not an NDI item. It would be a waste of the taxpayers' money. The wording was all wrong, and the gear was slated for units that could not use it. We even offered to help them reword the appropriation language so it would fit in somewhere properly within the marine Corps----This was free money from the sky, remember. That idea was not acceptable to Senator Reid. The USMC Reserves were going to get the gear and the USMC was going to pay the Nevada company to deliver it, period. There were no logistic "tails" to the appropriation, either. Essentially the gear would arrive at the unit and if it didn't work, we'd have to find the money somewhere to fix it through the vendor. Of course it probably would never be uncrated by the units once they got it.

I went back to my Commander and informed him of the situation, and he concurred with my decision to turn back the money for reappropriation to another line item. Within two days, I received a call from the Marine Congressional Liaison Officer. Mr. Reid wanted me in his office to explain why I was turning back the $2 million. We put together a briefing with alternatives so the money could be spent and proceeded to Senator Reid's office. Senator Reid did not attend; instead, he sent his staffers to meet with us. We explained our position, and gave them possible alternatives, but that was not received well. One of the staffers turned to me as said that Senator Reid was "gravely concerned" that if the US Marine Corps did not know how to spend $2 million given to them, then he would be forced to reconsider his support of the procurement of the USMC V-22. My folks and I just sort of looked at one another and repressed our wild laughter. This was straight out of a movie. I reaffirmed our stand on the issue, and told Senator Reid's staffers that I would relay that information to my General, and he would find Mr. Reid's stance "very interesting". My goal was to ensure that money was spent wisely; his was to line the pockets of a constituent and gain votes. I then went home and took a long shower to wipe off the slime from the meeting. My boss supported me and the money disappeared, only to return later after I was gone. I think it failed to make the grade again.

Rumor was that the owner of the aforementioned company was a college friend or roommate of Harry's and he was doing him a favor. I can't confirm that, but it sounds like something Reid would do. Senator Reid only cares about what profits Senator Reid. he doesn't care about the troops or their well-being. He is guilty of croniism and abusing his power as a member of the Senate. Every time I see him on television I cringe. His recent behavior with the Phony Soldier business and such only further the proof that he has no idea of what is going on, what truth is, nor what ethics are. If he knew his job, he would research issues before opening his mouth, instead of listening to sound bytes. How he gets reelected in Nevada is beyond me, but "What happens in Nevada, stays in Nevada." to paraphrase a commercial. If only Mr. reid would stay in Nevada and let a real Senator take over his duties. Oh, the US Marine Corps now have the V-22, so I guess Mr. Reid was "jus' funnin'" me, eh?

Al Wins Big!! What'll Billary Do Now??

2007-10-16T09:38:00.003-04:00

OK, so the Polish lady who saved the 2000+ Jewish children during WWII didn't win. Everyone knew Big Al would anyway, so why even have a competition? The point is, however, he now is in a position to win big what he conceded in 2000 (Yes, he called it, folks.), the White House. He's won an Emmy, an Oscar, and the Nobel Peace Prize. He is the darling of "Hollowwood", and the Progressive Movement. Really now, if you were a Progressive and really wanted to get someone in the White House with no baggage, who would be a better choice, than someone who was only a heartbeat away from the President for eight years, served in the Senate, was a professor, an internationally renown author, and has all these internationally recognized awards? Al is a shoe-in, period.

Hillary only rates about 44% in the polls, has served only as a Senator for two terms (and if her husband had not been in the White House would not have achieved that status) and has an entire train of baggage behind her. She is promising the 21st Century version of Herbert Hoover's "a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage". Of course, you and I are going to pay for the $5,000 stipend for every newborn, the "free choice" (yeah....) health care program (how many billion? annually), and so forth. MoveOn.org is angry with her, as are most of the other "Progressive" bloggers for her stance on the Iraqi War and statements regarding no immediate withdrawal after her inauguration. They like her socialization of American society, but that just isn't enough. We must completely become bleating sheep that clamor for that "free" health care, whine about the gross inequities of wealth and property distribution, and so on.

Mr. Gore, on the other hand, is more of an internationalist. He has all the international credentials that the Europeans so love; His Green views reflect theirs, and this is paramount to dealing on the international stage. He is hard to hate, as he has been out of the political spotlight for eight years, and has distanced himself from the Clintons. He seems a likable person, really. He has performed good works; it is hard to deny. He is really convinced of the global warming phenomenon, albeit he also has profited from it, whether it is man-caused or not. He co-founded Generation Investment Management (GIM), which allows persons who feel guilty about (or believe the propaganda) their carbon footprint to calculate what they should be consuming in energy and pay GIM for that excess which will then be invested in Green-friendly enterprises. Well, yes, but one might want to look at the URL below before opening one's wallet: http://www.riehlworldview.com/carnivorous_conservative/2007/03/al_gores_inconv.html

Admittedly, Dan Riehl does not believe in global warming, but there is sufficient evidence to back the hypothesis since the methodical measurement of climatic temperature in the 1850s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperature_record). We rely on information for past time from the sources listed in the above URL. Now, who is to say that the periodic cooling and warming of the earth are not natural phenomena? Is it perhaps possible that we are going to one of those phases? Remember, in the 1970s we were headed for a new Ice Age in about the year 2000. Cold enough for ya, yet?

Why is this important to remember with Mr. Gore's possible run for the Presidency? Well, expect accounting for each American's carbon footprint to become institutionalized. How? Why, through the IRS, of course. Prepare to pay for your carbon footprint when paying your annual tax return, when you fill up your gas tank, when you buy an electrical appliance, when you buy a certain type of automobile or truck.....well, you get the picture. Yes, it's been done before. Remember the tax credit for buying a hybrid car? Democrats love to tax "for the good and betterment of all Americans, not just a few". Cleaning the earth and stopping the warming has to be paid for. You mean you thought it was all for FREE???? Expect the Kyoto Treaty http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol#Details_of_the_agreement) to become part of our constitutional fabric (Read: International Treaties and Law supplanting our sovereign National Law). Do you feel your sovereignty disappearing yet? Also, if you like higher costs of living, read Article 2 of the Protocol that would essentially control US manufacturing processes if we were sign----the costs imposed on US manufacturing to adhere to the conditions of the Treaty would be passed onto the consumer. Well, yes there would be higher taxes too to pay for the added Green bureaucracy to monitor all the provisions of the Treaty and to watch your carbon output. All this for what is perceived to be a man-caused condition? Bear in mind that there were nine mistakes found in Mr. Gore's Inconvenient Truth in Great Britain (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7037671.stm) by a judge in the British High Court. Before becoming a Global Warming Lemming at least look to other sources before accepting a political film (http://www.citizenreviewonline.org/specialissues/junk_science.htm).

What do you want, America: Big Brotherism, or out and out socialism? You are going to get one or the other (definitely both with Billary). The "GOP" is fragmented and will never recover, so bury your guns, and wait for yer free guv'ment cheese down at the local Block Leader's Office.