If you can't beat 'em: Pretend you are one of them!!!

You gotta hand it to her, the lady has big brass ones.

In this story from ABC News, the speaker of the house said "she has much in common with the Tea Party. The speaker now says she shares views with movement she dismissed last summer as being “Astroturf” .

Oh, I hope you didn't spew coffee through your nose when you read that!

This gal is one cool chameleon, she changes colors when she has to and has no problem handling a lie.

Second Sunday in Lent

Readings from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, Lectionary C

Psalm 27

Gen. 15:1-12, 17-18

Phil. 3:17-4:1

Luke 13: 22-35

Collect: O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious
to all who have gone astry from your ways, and bring them
again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and
hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ
your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

WE THE PEOPLE.....................

GRAB A CUP OF COFFEE,,,,,,,,,,STRAP INTO YOUR SEAT......TURN UP THE SPEAKERS.....

AND WATCH THIS.............. We The People

Hat Tip: Susan R.

Time Travel: Look at Greece to see our Future

This insightful piece by Mark Steyn at national Review Online puts together some of the pieces of the puzzle to show how the current unrest in Greece is a future look at America if we don't quickly put our house in order.

The formula for suicide is a simple one: continuing to pile on entitlements while the means to pay for them dwindles. Anyone who manages a checkbook knows how that doesn't work, yet in Washington the seduction of borrowing, or worse, printing Monopoly Money makes it all sound mysterious and magical.

Tain't so. In America we have come closest to the Greek experience in California. Unions have staged some demonstrations, but "Stimulus Money" from Washington (borrowed and printed of course) have staved off the calamity seen in Greece....for now.

Hope and Change: Not much in Florida

This report from Florida Today says that 23,000 central and east coast Florida jobs are on the line as the Shuttle program comes to an end and the Obama administration has cancelled other longer range plans like manned missions to the moon.

That sum includes 9,000 "direct" space jobs and -- conservatively speaking -- 14,000 "indirect" jobs at hotels, restaurants, retail stores and others that depend on activity at the space center, said Lisa Rice, Brevard Workforce president.

Mark Nappi is vice president of launch and recovery systems for United Space Alliance, NASA's prime contractor for shuttle operations. As things stand today, he predicted that more than 4,500 of the company's 5,500 Florida workers will lose their jobs. Geographically speaking, Nappi said 4,850 USA workers live in Brevard, including 3,250 in the northern half of the county.

Alert! Common Sense and Spine sighting in Washington DC!!!

This story will send the LGBT Lobby and the feminazi social engineers into orbit.

The head of the US Marines said on Thursday he opposed ending the ban on gays serving openly in the military, the first top officer to break openly with President Barack Obama over the issue. General James Conway told the Senate Armed Services Committee that he disagreed with Obama's plan to repeal the ban.

The important thing about this story is not that the General had the .........er, spine......to disagree with the President. The important point of the story is WHY he disagreed. Here is what he said........

Conway said the current policy worked and any bid to lift the ban should answer the question: "do we somehow enhance the war fighting capabilities of the United States Marine Corps by allowing homosexuals to openly serve?"

In other words, all the blather in Washington DC about whether Gays should openly serve or not, whether women should serve in combat roles or not, whether women should register for selective service or not, ARE THE WRONG QUESTIONS TO BE ASKING!

The question that our elected officials should be asking the Pentagon is "how best do we structure and equip our armed forces to best defend the United States of America!"

All the other questions are political posturing and useless social engineering.

Toyota and the Price of Modernity

This thoughtful piece by Charles Krauthammer over on National Review Online really misses an important point about the Toyota failures.

Krauthammer talks about the difference between one car that might be a lemon versus a systemic defect that might be present in all of the cars produced at a certain period of time. He goes on to discuss the risk to society and how we have to deal with it.

But the other points he misses are these:

1. Toyota sells 3 million Camerys to people whom they have no control over. Do they know how to drive? Maintain the car?

2. Every one of the thousands of parts in the car have a tolerance for failure. Most failures are minor, but every once in a while a failure can be catastrophic.

3. Out of those 3 million cars maybe its one hundred or so that have really failed. But maybe several hundred accidents mimic the failures due to the drivers?

If Toyota has not been diligent about solving safety problems, shame on them and hopefully justice for the victims. But failures in and of themselves should not be an indictment of the company.

Stop the Presses! Dems to ram Obamacare down our throats

After the farce of a Healthcare Summit today, democrats decide they were going full speed ahead to try and ram the bloated socialist Obamacare package.

Trying to show the summit as Republican led gridlock, the democrats will likely try and use the "Nuclear Option" also called reconcilliation to pass the bill through the senate on a simple majority vote rather than the super majority needed for new business bills.

The summit as seen from the democrats “The president walked into a room filled with the entire House Republican Conference. There were no preconditions, his only request was that it be open to the press so that the American people could see the exchange,” the aide e-mailed. “He answered every question with a thoughtful, comprehensive response. He spoke for over an hour and discussed substantive policy issues.

The republican message: A House Republican aide said this would be the party’s post-summit message: "Americans want to scrap the Democrats' massive bill and start over with clean sheet of paper to work on step-by-step, common-sense reforms that lower health care costs."

Another "unexpected" AP Story: Jobless Claims Rise!

AP, or Associated Press, used to be a respected world-wide news organization. But like the rest of the government-run, mainstream media, they have become PR patrons for the Obama administration. Nowhere is this more evident than in their reporting of economic news. Every downturn in the economy is reported as "unexpected". See this for example.

Unexpected by whom? Who are they still trying to fool? Who thinks the economy is really growing? Nothing is growing, the economy is at a standstill. There are no new jobs being created and the contraction in jobs continues as businesses fight for survival! There is no growth anywhere!

Uh, hmmmmmmm...........I stand corrected..........there is an area growing.....

IT'S THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT UNDER OBAMA!!!!!

Here he is again! It's Kevin Jennings Time

Remember Kevin? The Safe School Czar? We haven't talked about Kevin much lately but he and his buddies have been busy. From here we find out that Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO)has introduced HR 4530, "The Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA).

What is this you ask? Well it seeks to put gay, lesbian, and transgenered students on the same level as heterosexual students. Still confused? Read this.....

Said Neal McCluskey, associate director of the Center for Educational Freedom at the Cato Institute: "The real danger is how this will be interpreted. The definition of harassment could be broadly interpreted that anybody who expressed a totally legitimate opinion about homosexual behavior could be made illegal.That's a violation of those kids who want to express opposition to LGBT opinions or behavior. People have a legitimate reason to be concerned about this -- not because they're 'haters' but because you're now trying to balance different rights."

Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where this is going. Ah, just another good reason to put your kids in public schools.

Wisdon from the Past

Listen to a 1961 speech by Ronald Reagan against Socialized Medicine. Over and over again, this man was so far ahead of his time. One wonders what he would have to say about things today.

Read the background story here.

Two New Record Lows!!!!!!

See those two guys above? They still don't get it! They have driven the country to two record lows!

Low #1: We have now recorded the lowest number of new home sales on record. Sales of new homes plunged to a record low in January, underscoring the formidable challenges facing the housing industry as it tries to recover from the worst slump in decades.

and now,

Low #2: Only 10% of voters think Congress is doing a good job. Fully 71% say they are doing a poor job!

Gosh, think those two lows might be related? You think?

Hey you two idiots up there? Can you hear us now?

Lighter Side: Cows, Constitution, Ten Commandments

COWS
Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that during the mad cow epidemic our government could track a single cow, born in Canada almost three years ago, right to the stall where she slept in the state of Washington? And, they tracked her calves to their stalls. But they are unable to locate 11 million illegal aliens wandering around our country. Maybe we should give each of them a cow.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE CONSTITUTION
They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq ... Why don't we just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, it has worked for over 200 years, and we're not using it anymore.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE 10 COMMANDMENTS


The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments posted in a government building is this --you cannot post 'Thou Shalt Not Steal' 'Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery' and 'Thou Shall Not Lie' in a building full of politicians .... it creates a hostile work environment.

Hat Tip: Bert F.

Timely review: what is socialism?

Good friend Dean Rick Lobs offers us this timely reminder of where we seem to be headed in a short piece called: what is socialism?

Read it all here.

Thanks Rick for the reminder!

Planned Parenthood: No fuss, no muss, EZ Abortions!!

There it is!! That is your baby at about 8 weeks in the womb!

But you say you want to have an abortion? Planned Parenthood says "No Problemo"!!

Don't want to go to an icky Abortion Clinic? PP says "No Problemo"!!

Planned Parenthood will start introducing its EZ Do It Yourself abortion kit that you can use in the privacy and comfort of your own home. No fuss, no muss! One day here, next day gone!

Be Patient: New, Green Jobs are coming!!!!

Politically speaking, I cannot in any way imagine what it must be like to be an Afro-American these days. You have the NAACP holding up Van Jones as a "National Treasure" at the same time that the unemployment rates for Black Americans are even worse than the national average of ~10%.

But Jones still has his share of outspoken supporters, and one of them is Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP.

"Van Jones is an American treasure," Jealous writes in an opinion piece posted at CNN.com. "He is quite simply one of the few Americans in recent years to have generated powerful new ideas that are creating new jobs."

Really? I invite even one Afro-American, one Black American to tell me about the "Green Job" they have and how that is putting food on the table. Caveat: if you do landscaping for a business that does not count (although it is a very noble and lucrative business in the South).

Point is: the NAACP is just another Progressive, socialist prop to hold up President Obama in the face of the crushing failure of his administration to do anything for this country and for the people of this country. The NAACP is just selling another potion, but this one is a potion of pure lies!

Joys of the Socialist Unions

Americans who have never gone to Europe on a business trip don't know what they have missed. Go to Europe for 4-5 weeks on business and you can't hardly miss a French air traffic controllers strike, an Italian train conductors strike, or a Spanish taxi driver strike. It makes travel so,,,,,,well,,,,,,unpredictable.

But that is socialist Europe where the public unions are just another branch of the government and when they go out on strike, only one thing brings them back to work: money..............taxpayer money. America....SEIU is your future!

Consumer Confidence worst since 1983

Take a look at those faces. These are the people running this country into the ground. While millions upon millions seek honest work to earn honest money (note to Obama administration: that is not holding your hand out for a check), these two idiots are holding a healthcare summit to "find bipartisan approaches to healthcare for Americans".

Hey you two political elites: the American people have already said they don't want what you're selling. They are saying "get government out of the way so we can work and take care of our families".

Folks don't forget you hold the power: it's called the VOTE!!!!!!

Read more here......

Mississippi's 4th Congressional District

Here is Mississippi's 4th Congressional District. It is a diverse and dynamic area. Contained within this district is Gulfport, the state's sea port to the world. On the west side we have the Stennis Space Center which tests NASA's rocket engines among other things. On the east we have Pascagoula and Northrup Grumman, the premier Navy shipbuilder in the US and a growing presence in drone aircraft manufacture. Next to Gulfport we have Biloxi (pronounced Buluxi), the home of Keesler Air Force Base.

On the other side of Gulfport we have Pass Christian, home to the richest oyster beds in North America.

It is a great place to live and work: a place I am proud to call home!

Things get warm for Al Gore??

Not only has Al Gore been missing in action as the hoax of man-made Global Warming unwinds, but others have taken an interest in what he said and what his facts were.

Now Congress, may want to ask Al a few questions about what he has told them in the past.

Just might give us another reason to take a look at C-Span.

For Congress: Mississippi 4th District

Meet Joe Tegerdine, candidate for the US House of Representatives from the 4th District of Mississippi. This is the southern district of Mississippi. Joe is a fresh, conservative candidate seeking to represent a conservative district that has been in liberal democratic hands for 20 years. Joe Tegerdine represents conservative values......learn more here.

Obamacare: Bigger and.........Bigger!!!!!

If you didn't much care for the version of Obama care that the election of Scott Brown ground to a halt, don't hold your breath. You ain't gonna like this any better.

Gee, the "public option" isn't there.....but it's replaced by federal regulation of insurance premiums, sure to put the private healthcare insurers down the toilet.

Lots and lots of taxes,,,,,but if all those new tax revenues come in they claim it is deficit neutral. Show of hands please for all who believe that?

Again folks: it ain't about healthcare........it's about control. Control of you and I.

Progressives and the growing dependency agenda

Sometimes George Will drives me nuts, but he has nailed the disease the Democrats suffer from in spades here.

Democrats are fighting to the death for a public option in healthcare but fight just as strong to block public options in education where 89% of children are locked into government run schools, many failing to provide any kind of decent education.

He also adds, "For congressional Democrats, however, expanding dependency on government is an end in itself. They began the Obama administration by expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program. It was created for children of the working poor, but the expansion made millions of middle-class children eligible -- some in households earning $125,000. The aim was to swell the number of people who grow up assuming that dependency on government health care is normal.

The Progressive agenda is killing America. Will we fight back?

Nanny State Alert: Pediatricians Urge Choke Warnings on Food

You can't make this stuff up: Some food makers including Oscar Mayer have warning labels about choking, but not nearly enough, says Joan Stavros Adler, Eric's mom.

The American Academy of Pediatrics agrees. The nation's largest pediatricians group is calling for sweeping changes in the way food is designed and labeled to minimize children's chances for choking.

Choking kills more than 100 U.S. children 14 years or younger each year and thousands more -- 15,000 in 2001 -- are treated in emergency rooms. Food, including candy and gum, is among the leading culprits, along with items like coins and balloons. Of the 141 choking deaths in kids in 2006, 61 were food-related. Read it all here.

How many children die each year falling out of trees? How many children die each year from bicycle accidents? How many children die each year on skateboards? From animal attacks?

Each and every death of a child, for whatever reason, is tragic and especially so for the family involved. But are we going to cover the world in big yellow warning signs?

Two comments: life is not fair & where are the parents? Anyone care to comment?

More hot air leaking from Global Warming Hoax

Remember all the dire predictions about islands going underwater and seacoast towns awash in rising seawater if we did not pass climate change legislation? Remember how Cap & Trade would stop all this destruction?

Whoops! Appears here that yet another set of claims about man-made doom may have been just a tad bit overblown. "Scientists have been forced to withdraw a study on projected sea level rise due to global warming after finding mistakes that undermined the findings".

This is worse than a shame. This is not just a faulty term paper someone is going to get an "F" on. These are supposedly scientists, people trained in the impartial pursuit of learning and knowledge who have been swept up in the euphoria of a political agenda. Seduced by the prospect of being the heros of a new generation of thinking an enlightenment. Now shown to be nothing more than frauds.

Homeland Security: Domestic Terrorists the Worst

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says terrorists who are U.S. citizens or live in the country legally and plot against the U.S. are just as big of a concern as international terrorists. See the article here.

And who did she say they were watching last year: people with Ron Paul bumper stickers, Iraq War veterns, people involved in single causes like Abortion, in other words, ordinary Americans. Hmmmm, can't wait to see the new list.

State Government Economies to Worsen

Glenn Beck has been derided for declaring on his radio and television shows "the worst is yet to come"

Yet, even a person with half a brain can see this coming. Everytime the Federal Government enacts a "stimulus" policy that props up state governments, props up failing portions of the economy, all it does is delay the day of reckoning.

From this article by Reuters,

"The situation is fairly poor for a lot of states around the country. In fact, most states," Vermont Governor Jim Douglas, who is chairman of the association, said at a press conference at its annual meeting.

"What we're finding out from a fiscal standpoint is that the worst is yet to come," Douglas said.

In a survey conducted last week of 45 of the 50 states, the group found that states have $18.8 billion of budget gaps yet to be closed in fiscal 2010. This comes after they have already imposed measures to eliminate budget imbalances totaling $87 billion in the fiscal year, which for most started last summer.

Either we stop with the stimulus payments which will cause a harsh reset in State government spending, or we continue printing money to prop up unsustainable spending in which case we will have a huge national reset when foreign countries quit buying our debt, or we monetize our debt and the value of our currency goes into the toilet.

Gee, which of these great options to choose from???????

First Sunday in Lent

Readings from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, Lectionary C,

Deuteronomy 26: 1-11

Romans 10: 5-13

Luke 4: 1-13

Psalm 91

Collect: Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be
tempted by Satan; Come quickly to help us who are assaulted
by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of
each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through
Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Another Illustration that Gay Marriage does not Exist

Leave it to the NY Times to put this positive spin on so-called Gay Marriage.

A study to be released next month is offering a rare glimpse inside gay relationships and reveals that monogamy is not a central feature for many. Some gay men and lesbians argue that, as a result, they have stronger, longer-lasting and more honest relationships. And while that may sound counterintuitive, some experts say boundary-challenging gay relationships represent an evolution in marriage — one that might point the way for the survival of the institution.

New research at San Francisco State University reveals just how common open relationships are among gay men and lesbians in the Bay Area. The Gay Couples Study has followed 556 male couples for three years — about 50 percent of those surveyed have sex outside their relationships, with the knowledge and approval of their partners.

So, leaving aside the Christian theological arguments that there is no such thing as Gay Marriage; it would appear the thing people are calling gay marriage leaves out one important aspect of Marriage: fidelity.

Even better is this tidbit from the article: None of this is news in the gay community, but few will speak publicly about it. Of the dozen people in open relationships contacted for this column, no one would agree to use his or her full name, citing privacy concerns. They also worried that discussing the subject could undermine the legal fight for same-sex marriage.

Oh my, we sure wouldn't want to argue our position based on something inconvenient like THE TRUTH!

Inside the FY2011 Federal Budget Proposal

If you find it hard to keep track of what President Obama is proposing to spend for FY2011 ( which starts in November 2010), then pop on over to this helpful website to get a lot of detail into where the money is going. There are some shockers in there for sure:

-payments to service US debt ~$250billion!

-21% of budget goes for federal pensions, 24% for defense!

A great exercise might be to go through the thing and determine what the budget would be if the Federal Government only did those things the Constitution empowered it to do.

In fact, if some political candidate is asking for your vote for national office, you might ask them to do it!

Place a wager: Are we Safe?

What's new in the world?

Oh, yeah. In Iran, the self-declared nuclear regime announced that it was now enriching uranium to 20 percent. When President Obama took office, the Islamic Republic had 400 centrifuges enriching up to 3.5 percent. A year later, it has 8,000 centrifuges enriching to 20 percent. The CIA director, Leon Panetta, now cautiously concedes that Iran’s nuclear ambitions may have a military purpose (you think?). Which is odd, because the lavishly funded geniuses behind America’s National Intelligence Estimate told us only two years ago that Tehran had ended its nuclear weapons program in 2003. Is that estimate no longer operative? And, if so, could we taxpayers get a refund?

Read more in this telling piece from Mark Steyn in National Review Online

Gridlock through Compassion

Want to bring the fragile housing market to a completely frozen standstill? Then you gotta read this article. In the name of Progressive, bleeding heart, close the gate after the cows escaped, Compassion, Barry and the boys want to FREEZE the residential foreclosure market!

Yep, that's right! Banks have to stop dead in their tracks on all foreclosure activity under this "left brain" thinking.

Now you might be thinking: well, people are being tossed out on the street! Maybe this is the right thing to do?

Recessions are wicked: good people and bad people have to deal with them, but here is why this is such bad economic thinking:

-by freezing foreclosures, banks holding on to bad debt will be further weakened. How can they lend to other folks?

-the process of working out bad decisions gets delayed, it doesn't go away. Folks who should have never bought a house, bought too much house, got a stupid stupid mortgage, continue to bog down the system.

-the process of resetting the housing market for an economy of reduced means gets delayed, PROLONGING THIS DAMNED RECESSION BARRY!

And on, and on, and on.

Hey Barry, instead of tinkering with the banking system, how about getting government out of the way so Jobs can be created?

"I'm Not Going to Take it Anymore!!!!"

There is a story about a fellow who was mad at the IRS. So mad, that he flew his airplane into the Austin, Texas IRS office.

There is a story about a man in Ohio who was having his house seized by the bank. He told the bank to go to hell and that he would demolish the house before he would let them have it. That is just what he did!

Kind of remains me of an old movie clip from the 1976 movie "Network": watch it here.

Let's be honest: Another failed Presidency

President Obama's "likability" quotient is still decent, and of course, there are the "ever faithful" who will worship him no matter what. But just like Woodrow Wilson, LBJ, Jimmy Carter, and to a lesser extent Richard Nixon, and George W Bush, Obama's is a failed Presidency.

What marks Obama's failure is the incredible velocity of failure. As noted here, there are many elements to the Obama failure, but perhaps the central causative factor is the unmistakable fact that Obama is not culturally an American (he did not grow up in America) and deep down doesn't seem to like America. From that position, there is a chasm between him and the country he seeks to govern (rule?).

Combine this with real lack of knowledge about how business works, how wealth and jobs are created, and what the average American longs for (white, black, yellow, brown) which is for government to get out of their lives, then you see how it is nearly impossible for him to govern effectively.

Like the spectacular leftist, socialist, marxist radicals of the 20th century, what Obama really wants to do is rule. But his bad luck was to win the Presidency of a country that was founded specifically so that leaders could only govern and would never ever have the chance to rule.

Hat Tip: Susan R

Campaign chatter: "We will be tested"

You probably remember that incredible campaign stop where VP-candiate Joe Biden confided that their new administration was going to be tested by the bad guy terrorists.

Well, army recruiters were killed by a terrorist, soldiers were killed at Ft. Hood by a terrorist, a terrorist tried to blow up an airplane in December.

And now we have reports that five muslims have been arrested at Ft. Jackson in Columbia, SC on charges of trying to poison the food supply. Their actual arrests occured around Christmas. Right about the same time the "underwear bomber" tried to blow up the airplane.

Are we safe now?

Clinton pushback against Tea Parties

Breitbart Big Government has reported that the Clintons are plotting strategy to undermine the Tea Party movement. Last year the Tea Parties were belittled by everyone in the media and in government. Then Scott Brown cleaned their clocks in Massachuesetts. So, what are they planning? Pure Clinton:

Big Government has learned that Clintonistas are plotting a “push/pull” strategy. They plan to identify 7-8 national figures active in the tea party movement and engage in deep opposition research on them. If possible, they will identify one or two they can perhaps ‘turn’, either with money or threats, to create a mole in the movement. The others will be subjected to a full-on smear campaign. (Has MSNBC already been notified?)

Big Government has also learned that James Carville will head up the effort.

James Carville? Well, we can predict the whole effort will be pretty nasty.

It's Back! Obamacare!

As the President has said, "I just have explained it enough", that's why those darn conservatives keep holding up my Obamacare in congress.

According to this story from Fos News, the President will take care of that by working on health care legislation intended to reconcile differences between House and Senate Democrats that could be attached to a budget bill and avoid a Republican filibuster, according to a published report.

The president's proposal, which is still being written, will be posted on the Internet by Monday morning, senior administration officials and Congressional aides told the New York Times.

By piggybacking the legislation onto a budget bill, Democrats would be able to advance the bill with a simple majority of just 51 votes, averting a Republican filibuster in the Senate.

The White House signaled Thursday that an aggressive, all-Democratic strategy for overhauling the nation's health system remains a serious option, even as Obama invites Republicans to next week's televised summit to seek possible compromises.

Any Republican who signs on to this will be sealing their own fate. No issue over the last year has so infuriated Americans as this Presidents maniacle push to shove his socialist healthcare agenda down our throats. If you can't do it through the front door, take it into the back door.

Capitulation of our Country: Illegal Amnesty

Every citizen needs to watch this video to see what the Progressive liberals in YOUR government want to do to you and to this country. If this doesn't motivate you to purge the government in November, nothing will!

Hat Tip: Wilma R

Free Market Medical Care is the Future!

Want to know how a family practice doc runs a cash-only practice, sees only 16 patients a day, goes home at 5, and takes home more than $250,000 a year?

Read all about it here.

After Brian Forrest, MD, finished his family medicine residency program at Wake Forest University in North Carolina in 2001, he received a lucrative salaried job offer from a major academic medical center in the Raleigh-Durham region. But in the fine print of the contract, Forrest spotted an unsavory requirement: see a patient every seven-and-a-half minutes or lose 30 percent of his annual bonus. Despite the prestige of the organization and the lure of job security, Forrest declined the offer.

"You don't have time to look at a patient in seven-and-a-half minutes, much less get to know them," the 37-year-old Forrest says. "It's all a blur." Instead, Forrest, in 2002, opened a solo practice in Apex, a suburb of Raleigh, and never looked back.

Forrest's practice, which he named Access Healthcare, is cash-only. He does not accept insurance or Medicare and won't file reimbursement paperwork for patients. He sees, at most, 16 patients a day and goes home by 5 p.m.

Global Warming Hoax claims Victim!

The man-made Global Warming Hoax is showing further signs of unwinding as a key figure in the bloated UN bureaucracy is heading for the exits before he is tossed off the top of the UN building by the loony left for not putting together a global agreement to ban carbon from the world and for everyone to eat tofu and control their personal emissions.

In this story from Fox News, Yvo de Boer, the top U.N. climate change official, told The Associated Press Thursday that he was resigning after nearly four years, a period when governments struggled without success to agree on a new global warming deal.

His departure takes effect July 1, five months before 193 nations are due to reconvene in Mexico for another attempt to reach a binding worldwide accord on controlling greenhouse gases.

Get that? The UN is still going to continue it's POLITICAL mission to regulate so-called "greenhouse gases". There is no pretense at science now. It is just raw knuckle "bend to our will" politics.

Wonderful!

Outragous Humor: Washington is Broken!

VP Biden has demonstrated that his next successful career could be in stand up comedy. The VP announced in this AP Story that "Washington right now is broken" and the country is in "deep trouble" unless it attacks ballooning federal deficits.

Asked about the political climate across the country, Biden said in a nationally broadcast interview that "we understand why they're angry. ... We get it."

Well gosh, Mr. Vice President! You control the White House, you have a big majority in the House of Representatives, and for over a year you had a Super Majority in the Senate! So why the hell haven't you fixed anything?

Oh yes, the punchline.............It's Bush's Fault!!!

Back to Legal Tender

A South Carolina lawmaker has introduced a bill that requires the use of legal tender in the State of South Carolina.

South Carolina Rep. Mike Pitts has introduced legislation that would mandate that gold and silver coins replace federal currency as legal tender in his state.

As the Palmetto Scoop first reported, Pitts, a Republican, introduced legislation this month banning "the unconstitutional substitution of Federal Reserve Notes for silver and gold coin" in South Carolina.

In an interview, Pitts told Hotsheet that he believes that "if the federal government continues to spend money at the rate it's spending money, and if it continues to print money at the rate it's printing money, our economic system is going to collapse."

"The Germans felt their system wouldn't collapse, but it took a wheelbarrow of money to buy a loaf of bread in the 1930s," he said. "The Soviet Union didn't think their system would collapse, but it did. Ours is capable of collapsing also."

The lawmaker believes that a shift to an economy based on gold and silver coins would give the state a "base of currency" should that collapse come. As one expert told the Scoop, however, his bill would likely be ruled unconstitutional because it "violates a perfectly legal and Constitutional federal law, enacted pursuant to the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, that federal reserve notes are legal tender for all debts public and private."

Off Topic: Post American Bandstand!

Dedicated to the President of the United States.

Hat Tip: Susan R

Generation "WE"

These are your kids. These are your neighbor's kids. They are in grade school, junior high, and high school. They are the products of your upbringing. But, they are also the products of the environment and culture we have surrounded ourselves with.

And they scare me. They are Generation "WE".

Don't know who they are? Watch this!

It's a complicated story how they grew up this way. It's not fruitful to point fingers and accept blame about how this happened. It has happened. Now we have to deal with it.

We need to teach them the true history of this country. We need to teach them about the Constitution and Christianity.

Because the people who have filled their heads with this nonsense are ready to use this as a weapon to tranform the whole Country, and the whole world.

Say hello to Generation "WE"

Ash Wednesday

Remember: from dust thou art, and to dust thou shalt return.

From the 1979 Book of Common Prayer,

Isaiah 58:1-12

Psalm 103

2 Cor 5: 20b-6:10

Mt. 6:1-6, 16-21

Collect: Almighty and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou
hast made and dost forgive the sins of all those who are
penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that
we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our
wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy,
perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Caution: Your head may explode if you read this!

Posted at Dean Rick Lob's blogsite.

Just think, Mary Lincoln was taken to task for purchasing china for the White House during the Civil War. Mamie Eisenhower had to shell out the salary for her personal secretary from her husband's salary.

Total Personal Staff members for other first ladies paid by taxpayers:

Mamie Eisenhower: One-- paid for personally out of President's salary.

Roseline Carter: One

Barbara Bush: One

Hilary Clinton: Three

Michele Obama: Twenty-two!!!

How things have changed! If you're one of the tens of millions of Americans facing certain destitution, earning less than subsistence wages stocking the shelves at Wal-Mart or serving up McDonald cheeseburgers, prepare to scream and then come to realize that the benefit package for these servants of Ms. Michelle are the same as members of the national security and defense departments and the bill for these assorted lackeys is paid by YOU, John Q. Public.

Michele Obama's personal staff:

1. $172,200 - Sher, Susan (Chief Of Staff)

2. $140,000 - Frye, Jocelyn C. (Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Policy and Projects for The First Lady)

3. $113,000 - Rogers, Desiree G. (Special Assistant to the President and White House Social Secretary for Mrs. Obama)

4. $102,000 - Johnston, Camille Y. (Special Assistant to the President and Director of Communications for the First Lady)

5. $100,000 - Winter, Melissa (Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief Of Staff to the First Lady)

6. $90,000 - Medina, David S. (Deputy Chief Of Staff to the First Lady)

7. $84,000 - Lilyveld, Catherine M. (Director and Press Secretary to the First Lady)

8. $75,000 - Starkey, Frances M. (Director of Scheduling and Advance for the First Lady)

9. $70,000 - Sanders, Trooper (Deputy Director of Policy and Project for the First Lady)

10. $65,000 - Burnough, Erinn (Deputy Director and Deputy Social Secretary)

11. $64,000 - Reinstein, Joseph B. (Deputy Director and Deputy Social Secretary)

12. $62,000 - Goodman, Jennifer R. (Deputy Director of Scheduling and Events Coordinator for the First Lady)

13. $60,000 - Fitz, Alan O. (Deputy Director of Advance and Trip Director for the First Lady)

14. $57,500 - Lewis, Dana M. (Special Assistant and Personal Aide to the First Lady)

15. $52,500 - Mustaphi, Semonti M. (Associate Director and Deputy Press Secretary to the First Lady)

16. $50,000 - Jarvis, Kristen E. (Special Assistant for Scheduling and Traveling Aide to the First Lady)

17. $45,000 - Lechtenberg, Tyler A. (Associate Director of Correspondence for the First Lady)

18. $43,000 - Tubman, Samanth A. (Deputy Associate Director, Social Office)

19. $40,000 - Boswell, Joseph J. (Executive Assistant to the Chief Of Staff to the First Lady)

20. $36,000 - Armbruster, Sally M. (Staff Assistant to the Social Secretary)

21. $35,000 - Bookey, Natalie (Staff Assistant)

22. $35,000 - Jackson, Deilia A. (Deputy Associate Director of Correspondence for the First Lady)

Total: $1,591,200 in annual salaries

There has NEVER been anyone in the White House at any time who has created such an army of staffers whose sole duties are the facilitation of the First Lady's social life.

One wonders why she needs so much help, at taxpayer expense.

Note: This does not include makeup artist Ingrid Grimes-Miles, 49, and "First Hairstylist" Johnny Wright, 31, both of whom traveled aboard Air Force One to Europe.

Something to Ponder

If you have never read the syndicated columnns of Walter Williams, professor at George Mason University, you have missed some good, conservative, reading. If this man were running Washington, this country would be far far better off.

In his most recent column he discusses why the earthquake in Haiti has been so devestating, As in all human endeavors, it gets down to economics.

Read and enjoy!

Political Stupidity Reaches New Low!

"Mirror mirror on the wall, show me who is stupidest of all"

What else can you say to the man who has run up the deficit as high as this guy in one year? And releases a budget with eye-popping tax increases for the next 10 years AND STILL forecasts trillion dollar deficits as far as the eye can see?

And he wants to appoint, over congress's objections, a Defict Panel to deal with the exploding deficit.

Take your pick. This is the height of political horse-play, making him look tough on spending. Or, this is the way a political coward shoves the responsibility for deficits off on some panel with no accountability.

Either way, it's a sham! This is like a bank robber calling for a a commission to investigate lax security at banks. Whatever you might call this, you sure won't call it Leadership!

Global Warming Hoax running out of Hot Air

As the Man-Made Global Warming Hoax was gaining political clout in the early 2000's and with the election of Obama who was to be the world champion of Cap & Tax and who knows what else, large corporations began to read the tea leaves and realized that resistance was futile.

That is a shame: corporate America would not stand up and fight for the what was good for their balance sheets nor for the good of the country. Even Exxon Mobil took a more conciliatory stance as the Bush administration left office.

Well, with the revelations over the last couple of months of what a hoax this has REALLY been, several corporate lap dogs are starting to pull out as reported here.

"ConocoPhillips, BP America and Caterpillar's announced Tuesday they will pull out of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, citing complaints that the bills now in Congress are unfair to American industry."

Indeed, run for the exits before the stampeed takes place!

Off Topic: To you KFC Fans

Any questions?

Hat Tip: Susan R

Once Stigmatized, Food Stamps Find Acceptance

What are we doing? Are we extending a helping hand to people when they reach a "rough patch" in the road? Or, are we making them dependent on government handouts for life? And if that is the case, is that the compassionate thing to do?

In this story from the NY Times, the caption to the picture above reads in part, "patrons line up for opening of food pantry". How often do they do this? Why don't they spend all that time working and earning the money to buy food?

The ethic in earlier times toward handouts and assistance was one of only taking it as a last resort. Now, as this story points out, we have advocacy groups pushing assistance programs on citizens in every language possible, pushing assistance programs on illegal immigrants, and even on prisoners about to be released from jail. Of course, it's big business for the advocacy groups who get grants for doing this sort of thing. In other words, it's Big Government keeping a growing segment of the population dependent on Government handouts. This destroys initiative and it destroys self-esteem, and it destroys lives.

How to Sort out Campaigns?

As we roll into the 2010 mid-term elections and cast an eye toward the 2012 Presidential race, how do we sort out where we want to go?

There is no denying the Democrats are in a world of hurt. They entered Washington with one of the strongest mandates any political party has had and they have not been able to accomplish anything with it other than to spend money.

The Republican party is in a similar fix: it does not control nor does it understand the conservative movement that is building up in middle America.

And then there are the candidates themselves: how do we sort through a whole mess of candidates and all their positions? Do we need to agree with them 100%? If you truly love America and want to return to Constitutional values how do you make choices?

Here is a path forward to end the gridlock that seems to grip our country because we conciously or unconciously expect everything to emmanate from Washington DC.

1. Support only those candidates who take a blood oath to limited Federal Government. Do not fall for spending freezes. We need candidates who will take a knife to Washington DC and who will use the Constitution as their guide on where to start cutting.

2. Support only those candidates who take a blood oath for States Rights.

3. Demand honesty and integrity. Walk away from anything less.

So okay, what does this get you?

If we return to being a country of limited central government and States Rights, then we don't all have to agree on all the social issues. Are you pro-Abortion? If each state decides whether to allow abortion or not, you can move to a state that serves your beliefs. Are you for Gay Marriage? Likewise, you can move to a state that allows that.

In the model of limited central government and states rights, the Federal Government does not impose "one size fits all" solutions on a country that is diverse by geography, economic potential, religion, and cultural norms. The so-called "gridlock" in Washington evaporates as the Federal Government returns to its few duties as outlined in the Constitution.

More on Man Made Global Warming Lies

The man-made climate change "end of the world as we know it if we don't do something" folks are in retreat in every direction. Good!

The field of Science has not been as politically corrupted as it is now since the days of Alchemy. But politically corrupted it is!

Now we learn that the key player in the formation of the famous "hockey stick" of global doom wasn't very careful with his fundamental data and also admits that there has been no statistically provable global warming since the mid 1990's.

Those on the enviro-wacko left have never understood why the rest of us didn't walk in lockstep to their "save the planet" liturgy. It is because the science of what they were trying to shove down our throats made no sense, and it still makes no sense.

The horror here is that these folks wanted (and still want) to fundamentally change how we provide for the energy needs of mankind based on a hoax. And this is not just a case of one economic system versus another. We are talking about creating a whole new system of haves and have-nots, established with a cruelty of arbitrary elitism that is nothing less than what Hitler would have welcomed.

Communion on the Moon

Did you know that the liturgical ceremony called Holy Communion has been celebrated on the moon? Well, neither did I.

But I found out about this fact, which is described in an article by Dric Metaxas.

This happened in 1969, here is part of the article:

“In the radio blackout, I opened the little plastic packages which contained the bread and the wine. I poured the wine into the chalice our church had given me. In the one-sixth gravity of the moon, the wine slowly curled and gracefully came up the side of the cup. Then I read the Scripture, ‘I am the vine, you are the branches. Whosoever abides in me will bring forth much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing.’ I had intended to read my communion passage back to earth, but at the last minute [they] had requested that I not do this. NASA was already embroiled in a legal battle with Madelyn Murray O’Hare, the celebrated opponent of religion, over the Apollo 8 crew reading from Genesis while orbiting the moon at Christmas. I agreed reluctantly. …I ate the tiny Host and swallowed the wine. I gave thanks for the intelligence and spirit that had brought two young pilots to the Sea of Tranquility. It was interesting for me to think: the very first liquid ever poured on the moon, and the very first food eaten there, were the communion elements.”

Hat Tip: Nan

Sunset at the North Pole

Picture of sunset at the North Pole with the moon at its closest point.

Hat Tip: Nan

545 people versus 300 Million

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper. His Column.

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does..

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason, they have no legal authority.. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party. What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red .

If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ.

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Hat Tip: John M

Last Sunday after the Epiphany

Readings from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer Lectionary, Year C

Psalm 99

Exodus 14:29-35

1 Cor 12:27-13:13

Luke 9:28-36

Collect: O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son
revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that
we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be
strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his
likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever. Amen.

Cap and Trade is not Dead!!!!!

If you have been under the impression that the looney left ideas for Cap & Trade died when Scott Brown was elected to the Senate, think again!

As we reported a couple of weeks ago, the President's mention of supporting new Nuclear Power Plants in the State of the Union address was a ploy. A ploy to get Republicans to support his broader energy agenda. See here.

Now, the President is making his promise official with the offering of loan guarantees to build two new reactors in Georgia. As the story reports, Obama next week will announce the loan guarantee to build the nuclear power plant, an administration official said Friday. The two new Southern Co. reactors to be built in the state of Georgia, are part of a White House energy plan that administration officials hope will draw Republican support.

Will build republican support for what? Why Cap & Tax of course. Why maybe every republican who signs on to Cap & Tax will get a nuke loan guarantee. That's good though isn't it?

Maybe not. Getting a loan guarantee in exchange for a vote does not mean a nuke plant will get built. The permitting time for a new nuke plant can be as much as 15 years. Lot's can happen during that time to kill the plant construction. So you see, this is just a political shell game that republicans better not fall for.

Debt: Part III...What if no one purchases our debt?

In the second part of this series on Debt, we talked about the National Debt versus the true level of unfunded liabilities of the United States.

We also asked the question: what if people no longer want to buy our debt because they look at the unfunded liabilities and decide we may get to the point where we can't buy back our debt (ie, pay it off) and so the paper creditors hold is worthless?

If no one buys our debt, does that mean we quit spending? Of course not! There is this little mechanism we can use called "monetizing our debt". What is that?

Let's say the government wants to spend $10,000 today on a program but it only has $9,000 in the Treasury to spend. It doesn't want to wait for new tax collections next week, we want to spend it today! What to do? Well the Treasury can print a bond for $1,000. Then the Federal Reserve Bank can print a new $1,000 bill and purchase the bond from the Treasury. The Treasury now has $10,0000 to spend on the program and the Fed is holding the bond (which theoretically has to be repurchased by Treasury some day).

See what happened? New money was created by going into debt. But the debt is not owned by some "person" who expects to get paid back. It is owned by the Fed who is a nice lender who never requires repayment.

No value, no assets, no wealth created this money, it just appeared out of thin air. This is called Monetizing the debt.

What if we do a lot of this? Well, lots a new money is floating around to buy goods and services. What happens if too much money chases too few goods and services? Inflation!

What if lots and lots and lots of money is floating around chasing way too few goods and services? Hyperinflation.

Can we say Zimbabwe? Remember post-WWII Germany?

Folks, history is not kind to people that do this.

Off Topic: Where the White Man Went Wrong

Indian Chief 'Two Eagles' was asked by a white U.S. government official,
'You have observed the white man for 90 years.
You've seen his wars and his technological advances.
You've seen his progress, and the damage he's done.'
The Chief nodded in agreement.
The official continued, 'Considering all these events, in your opinion, where did the white man go wrong?'

The Chief stared at the government official for over a minute and then calmly replied,
'When white man find land, Indians running it, no taxes, no debt, plenty buffalo, plenty beaver, clean water.
Women did all the work, Medicine man free.
Indian man spend all day hunting and fishing; all night having sex.'
Then the chief leaned back and smiled,
'Only white man dumb enough to think he could improve system like that.'

Hat Tip: John M

Debt: Part II.....is it meaningful?

Any number of pundits will tell you that debt does not matter. Tell that to the people in Greece. When a national economic system goes down the tubes, it is not a pretty sight.

Could that happen here?

Go back and look at the debt clock in the previous post: the national debt is listed as roughly $12 Trillion dollars.

But go to the bottom of the debt clock and look at something called US Unfunded Liabilities. That number is a whopping $107 Trillion dollars!

Now, we don't owe that $107 Trillion dollars today. But it represents the value of the promises we have made with our entitlement programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaed, Federal Pensions and other benefits.

Although we don't owe those unfunded liabilities today, people who purchase our debt can look at that and someday decide we can't pay that back. They will then demand a higher interest rate on the debt they buy from us and that will bite our budget.

Let's look at what it costs to service our debt: today with interest rates at around 1%, the interest on our debt is ~$120 Million dollars. Relative to Obama's $3.8 Trillion budget that does not seem so bad.

But what if creditors get nervous and all of sudden demand say 6% to buy our bonds?

Then our interest on the debt goes to $720 Million dollars. How do we pay that?

Either we refuse to make the interest payments, or we start cutting government spending to service the debt. If we cut spending that will likely lead to the types of riots we have seen in Greece.

How do we deal with the debt if no one will purchase it at reasonable rates? That will be in part III

Debt: Part I,,,,The Debt Clock

Wow! Pull up this thing and it will make your head spin and your eyes bug out.

THE DEBT CLOCK

More on the Diocese of South Carolina.......

More in-depth analysis of the situation in the Dio SC is available here.

Basically, the National Church Office may be laying a case against the Bishop that by not aggressively pursuing legal action against individual churches in his diocese leaving The Episcopal Church, the Bishop is guilty (in the eyes of TEC) of abandonment of communion. This then lays the groundwork for the National Church to get rid of the Bishop and install one of their cronies.

That strategy is awful enough, but read the linked article to get all the nuances of how this has apparently been done to appreciate how really dirty this business is. And all of this is possible only because the National Church is pouring incredible amounts of money into these legal thrusts. This is money spent to sue and brow beat Christians who don't agree with them. This is money that people give to the Church (in the name of God). This is money that people have left to the church in their estates, for good works. And this is where it is going.

I am betting that those in the National Church are going to have a lot to explain one day to the Big Guy upstairs. And I don't think it will be a very pleasant conversation to say the least.