Obamacare Storm Troopers Unleashed

In the first documented case of Obama's bureaucrats exercising control over an individual's health care, a man was recently 'encouraged' to have a prostate examination, even though he thought he didn't need it .....

Thank God We're Past This For Another Year

Girl Scout Cookies ...

A plague unleashed upon humanity each spring. A time that turns mothers and their young girls (actually pretty much the mothers) into combative, competitive, overbearing, cookie pushing hustlers.

During 'the season', it is impossible to walk into a grocery or box store without being besieged by little ones spouting 'would you like to buy some Girl Scout cookies?'. Every entrance has a table or two, with a pack of the little ones milling around, and their mothers behind the table scowling at anyone who answers 'no, thank you'. Cases and cases of cookies piled up ... competing packs at the doors, each trying to get you to buy their special cookies. Mothers line up the prime selling points months in advance - competition for the coveted front, grocery side door at Walmart is fierce.

Obstensibly, this is supposed to be about fund raising for the Girl Scouts. I have nothing against that at all. What I object to is that it always turns into what every other grade school fund raiser morphs into ... a competition amongst the parents to see whose kid rises to the top of the cookie mountain. I hate grade school fund raising ... just tell me what the actual amount of money the school/group is going to get, and I'll gladly hand that over in cash - much cheaper and easier for me. I hated it while my daughter was doing it ... 'you will sell this much, or else' was the message. Didn't matter how much time it took away from my daughter's actual learning, or how much time it took away from her parent's precious off time. The only thing that mattered was 'meet those quotas'.

Then you have the relatives who have girls selling them. You have to buy from all of them, to keep from hurting feelings. There is always the question of how many boxes is an appropriate order.

So, Girl Scouts ... how much money do you actually make off of each $3.50 box of a dozen cookies? A quarter, maybe? Make you a deal ... I'll give you a roll of quarters if you promise not to shove another box of cookies into my face - ever.

Ok, so I went off the deep end a bit with the sarcasm on this one ... no offense intended to anyone close to me who sells these things.

Health Insurance - A Basic Definition

The fight over Obamacare has brought a basic problem to the surface - many Americans have no idea what insurance, particularly health insurance, is.

The basic definition of insurance is a risk pool. A group of people band together, put money into a pool, then someone who needs the money pulls it out of the pool. A very simple example: A village of 100 people decide to put $100 each into a common pot. One person's barn burns down, he pulls the amount of money needed to rebuild the barn out of the pot. So, his replacement cost is not the full cost of building a new barn, but his $100 contribution to the pot. Now that the pot is depleted, everyone has to put up another $100 to build it back up for the next person who needs it. Nothing is free - it is simply spreading the risk over a number of contributors.

Now, add in the concept of an insurance company. This can be seen as the pot keeper, and the manager who decides who qualifies to get money out of the pot and how much. For his services, the pot keeper is paid a percentage of the $100 from each contributor. Again, nothing is free.

Translate that to modern times. Insurance companies are glorified pot keepers. They keep pots for all kinds of insurance, including health insurance. The money for the pot still comes from all of the individual contributors. The insurance company's overhead is pulled from the contributions - what is left is the pot from which all claims are paid. Again, nothing is free.

If what the insurance company is paid for their services is not enough for them to remain in business, the insurance company goes out of business. If the number of contributors, or the amount they contribute, does not meet the amount of money paid out for claims, either the contributions go up, the number of contributors go up, or the insurance company goes out of business.

It is clear to me that many Americans do not understand this. They believe that health care insurance is a benefit that should be given to each person by the government. It should be provided to them just like social security, welfare, medicare, food stamps ... etc. This is the definition of an entitlement - not insurance.

Health care is going to cost money - lots of money. No matter where the money comes from to pay for it comes from, the costs are still there. If a medical procedure costs $10,000, and the 'insuree' only has to pay $1000 of that, someone still has to pay the other $9000. Where does that come from? The government? The government has no money - it only has what is takes away from other individuals and companies in the form of taxes and fees. So, the other $9000 comes out of the pocket of other people - a risk pool, but with a big difference.

The difference - Obamacare increases dramatically the number of people who can pull from the pot, but doesn't give a corresponding increase to the number of people paying into the pot. Given our simplified example that we started with, this means that the people paying into the pot have to pay in more, or the insurance pot goes out of business.

I am by no means a fan of insurance companies. I have had my share of battles with them over the years, and it is no fun being stuck in a war with them. There are a lot of things that could be done to make them easier to deal with and more affordable - but Obamacare goes way off the deep end in punishing them, and in the end putting forth regulations that will force many of them out of business.

Once they are gone, who is going to provide that coverage? The government ... a single payer system ... oh, wait - that is what Obama is on record stating his overall goal is. The government providing and controlling all aspects of health care. If Obamacare is allowed to stand as is, this goal of Obama and the far left is on our horizon - after all, they've already told us time and time again that is what they are after.

Why Democrats Hate Tort Reform

In the healthcare debate, Republicans have touted tort reform as a key to bringing down the costs of healthcare. Democrats have steadfastly refused to even consider it, and quash any mention of it. There are no tort reform measures at all in Obamacare.

One of the largest causes of the high cost of healthcare over the past decades is the legal cost of medicine. Nuisance law suits, filed by ambulance chasing lawyers, cost doctors and their insurance companies billions of dollars a year. The suits are filed in the hopes of getting a doctor to settle out of court - and most insurance companies will do that rather than go to the expense and risk of going to court. Other suits, filed on behalf of folks who are legitimately harmed by a doctor or other health provider, can be brought for a limitless amount of money - there is no cap on financial awards for lawsuits won.

Tort reform is aimed at cutting down or eliminating nuisance suits, and setting caps on monetary awards.

Lawyers hate this, and fight it tooth and nail. Tort reform directly impacts the huge amount of money they make off of these lawsuits.

Now, what has this to do with Republicans and Democrats?

Lawyers are some of the biggest supporters and contributors to Democrat candidates. This is no secret. All you have to do is look at lists of contributors to Democrat lawmakers all across the country to see the evidence.

Tomorrow (March 26), Joe (This is a big F***ing Deal) Biden, Dick Durbin, and Mary Landrieu are scheduled to attend a Democrat fundraiser in Dallas. Many hot shot local Dems will also be in attendance. Hosted by lawyer Russell Budd, the private party will be closed to media coverage. All donations to Democrat causes will be accepted, with sponsorships available for $10,000, $15,000, and even $30,400, for someone who wants his name printed on the program along with Biden's.

Russell Budd is the principal partner in Baron and Budd, P.C., a Dallas area law firm that, according to its web site, is "Protecting Americans and their communities from corporate misconduct". I won't say anything else about the firm - they're lawyers, after all. If you are at all interested, you can check out their web site and see for yourself what their targeted clientele is. You can determine on your own if this firm would be for or against tort reform.

Russell Budd has been listed as one of Biden's largest contributors throughout Biden's senate career.

Tort reform sounds like something everyone would agree on. Who wouldn't want to get rid of frivilous, nuisance lawsuits? For the answer, follow the money. Once again, all you have to do is follow the money.

Update - As reported by the Dallas Morning News, Biden's message at the fundriser was that Obama's ability to sell his agenda to America has been hampered by the failures of the Bush Admininstration.

"I did not anticipate the degree of cynicism that had been reached by the American public. The greatest damage the Bush Administration did - more damaging than the recession, their foreign policy - was the loss of faith the American people had in their government to deliver on anything. We inherited a cynical republic, and I can't blame them. Eight years of collapse, eight years of being misled about wars." - Joe Biden, Dallas, Mar. 27

That message is guaranteed to generate frothing at the mouths of die hard liberals, and cause them to pull out their checkbooks in hope of buying more elections. No surprise there. What is a surprise is that these idiots actually believe this line of crap. If Obama wins a second term, he will blaming Bush for everything right up until the day he is kicked out of the White House.

Biden's trip to Dallas for the fundraisers (two of them actually) had absolutely no governmental purpose. He was here solely for partisan fund raising efforts. OK, that's expected. However, I would really like to see how much the Democrat party is reimbursing the Federal government for Biden's travel costs - the airplane, the security, the meals, the booze, the cigars, etc.

Lethal Weapons

Al Qaeda terrorists are gearing up to use breast implants as weapons to attack aircraft with. Doctors, educated in the colleges and hospitals of England, have returned to their homelands to practice and perfect the procedures. It's simple enough - replace the saline solution used in implants with PETN, a very powerful liquid explosive. A few ounces can cause an explosion large enough to bring down an airliner.

British Intelligence (yes, the folks who give us 007) uncovered the practice while investigating the underwear bomber. Their information indicated several terrorist women have already undergone the procedure. They also uncovered evidence that implants are being inserted into men's ass cheeks.

Unbelievable ... you might remember my post some months ago about the terrorist who killed Saudis with a bomb stuck up his ass. I put forth at that time we would see a tampon grenade before too long. These assholes are smart, inventive, and not constrained by rules.

Below, a spy camera capture of a cleverly disguised female terrorist. Note the blond wig, sunglasses, and 'American' look. She's equipped with enough PETN to sink an aircraft carrier! (Yes, OK, that's a joke ... but the story isn't. Boob bombs are a fact.)

Obama's Healthcare Storm Troopers - Coming Soon

There is something that a lot of folks don't know about Obamacare, now law, and would never have learned from the mainstream media. But, they'll find out about it soon enough.

If you do not purchase Federally approved health insurance, or you do not receive approved insurance from your employer, or you do not receive free insurance from the Federal Government (paid for with our tax dollars) the Federal Government will fine you $2000 per year for every year you are not covered.

The IRS is charged with enforcing this and collecting the fines. The IRS will hire over 16,000 new agents (paid for with our tax dollars) strictly for enforcement of the fines. In order for the IRS to do this enforcement, they will have access to your financial records and your health records (once health records are digitized and put in a nationwide database - a subject for another diatribe ....). The fines will be treated as any other debt owed to the IRS - if you don't pay, you will be hounded, your wages may be garnished, and the hell will continue until you pay up, and then you will have to keep paying up. I can only imagine how many audits are going to be triggered in the coming years over this.

Change ... wonderful change ...

The PGA Wants To Do What?

Radio ads that I've actually heard over the past few days, from the PGA Tour Superstore.

"Come to the Ball Fitting Event"

Come see our Tour experts, let them personally fit you to your balls.

I'm not joking ... even though it is pretty damned funny.

I imagine Tiger will be first in line for the service. He needs replacements for the ones Elin lopped off with a 7 iron ...

12/7 ... 9/11 ... 3/21

Three dates, representing the three biggest attacks on the United States of America.

Three dates that will live in infamy ...

Three dates that clearly defined our enemies ...

Three dates that called for clear, decisive action ...

12/7 - galvanized the American people to rise up and fight evil that threatened us on a worldwide stage ...

9/11 - galvanized our people for a very short period of time to fight another worldwide threat, only to see deep divisions develop between Americans who wanted to fight to defend our country, our way of life, versus those who wanted to turn a blind eye and appease our enemies in the hope that they would suddenly turn nice.

3/21 - split our people like no internal issue since slavery has. A date that saw the greatest internally generated threat to our country since the Civil War, forced upon us by a far left minority of the population.

America's recovery from December 7, 1941 was powerful.

America's recovery from September 11, 2001, is strong, and ongoing.

Let's hope that America's recovery from March 21, 2010 is just as robust.

Why Does NASCAR Hate This Guy?

Jimmy Johnson. Driver of the #48 Lowes Impala. Winner of the last four NASCAR Cup championships, a feat which has never been done before. He and his team are the most dominant force in NASCAR, perhaps the most dominant one in NASCAR history.

So, why does almost everyone hate him?

Jimmy is too good. His team is too good. They simply dominate in many races. Other times, their luck is so good as to not be believable. They've been caught cheating in the past, but not enough to explain their position.



Johnson won his 13th career start. Yesterday, he won his 50th race in only his 296th start. The math - he wins on average every 6th race he enters. He scores a top five in every 3rd race he enters.

Johnson has won 3 of 5 races this year. There is nothing to indicate he won't win his fifth consecutive championship.

This is bad for NASCAR:

It is boring.

It generates a lot of ill will towards him and his team because they are so good and so lucky.

Johnson is not a flamboyant driver. Although he is not a goodie-two-shoes, he's not a bad guy. He's just kind of plain. Johnson and his crew chief are polished, well spoken. I actually enjoy listening to Chad Knaus (crew chief) on his analysis - very smart guy. They don't do anything to make you mad, other than keep winning.

Every race and championship they win is one that is taken away form drivers that have passioiinate fan bases. Dale Jr's fans (Junior Nation) absolutely hate Johnson, even though they are teammates.

Pundits in the racing world have been openly questioning whether or not Johnson is good for the sport. NASCAR itself knows this is true, though they would never say that openly. NASCAR needs more drivers, different drivers, to win races. Ratings are down, interest is down, and Johnson is not helping the situation.

Here's what needs to happen. The other drivers need to draw lots before each race. The loser has to ram his car into Johnson's on the first lap - not to hurt him, but enough to disable the car and ensure a 43rd place finish for the #48 car. Seems to me that is the only way he isn't going to win his 5th Championship.

Here is a video clip from back when I thought Jimmie Johnson was a cool driver. The Busch race at Watkins Glen in 2000. Johnson is driving the #92 Alltel car, and his throttle sticks coming into turn 1. Way cool crash, when it happened live everyone was wondering if he was dead. Instead, he jumps out and raises his arms in triumph.

Algore - Climate Rescue Superhero

Algore - the greatest Globabl Warming Fighting Superhero the world has ever known. I'm super serial ...

His efforts are turning back the tide of warming, and we're seeing immediate results. He's amazing ... simply amazing.

There can be no other explanation ... we received 4 inches of snow today, the first day of Spring. This was our fifth snow event of this winter/spring, totalling 14-16 inches of the white stuff. Compare that with our normal single event per year of about half an inch, and it's clear that Algore is beating the crap out of the Global Warming Man-Bear-Pig.

And Obama thinks he is our saviour?

The Pacific - A Look Back at Part I

HBO's 'The Pacific' miniseries started last Sunday evening. This 10 part effort tells the story of WWII in the Pacific, the struggle against the Japanese. Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg produced the effort.

The first one hour installment (which was actually 50 minutes in length) aired last Sunday, and has been reshown every evening since.

This series was a followon to HBO's 'Band of Brothers'. The buildup has been extensive, and few outside 'the industry' knew what to expect. Some critics said it was groundbreaking, some said it was a redo of Band of Brothers. In any case, I wasn't going to miss it.

The first episode was a bit slow, expected due to the intro to what was going on, and the start of the war. The footage of the battle at Alligator Creek was gripping, and to someone who has never been in combat, it looked frightening. However, to spend the last 10 minutes of the hour watching highlights from upcoming episodes was a bit of a disappointment.

Due to the lack of mountains of WWII hardware laying around, CGI use is extensive. While it is good, it is by no means groundbreaking. You can pretty easily determine what is real and what is generated by a computer in the background. The ships, in particular, don't quite measure up to what was expected.

Being a military history buff, I have a knowledge background to understand what is going on. If I were a novice just watching and trying to absorb it, I would be confused - or at the very least miss the point of many of the scenes.

This indeed does seem to be another Band of Brothers, this time based in the Pacific theater - No more, no less. I will enjoy it no matter what, because it is a subject matter that has had far too little serious treatment on screen. However, I was hoping for a bit more ...

Part II Update - Well, Part II was a bit more action packed, but still... Another 50 minute episode, followed by 5 minutes of credits and 4 minutes of highlights from next week. What was shown was good, but not enough. How can you tell the story of Guadalcanal in about 60 minutes? If you didn't know the history of the campaign, you'd have no idea what was represented by those few minutes on screen.

Part III looks to be the obligatory 'what happens when the soldiers go home' episode.

These folks have bittten off way too large a story to play out in only 500 minutes (10 50 minute episodes). No matter how slick it looks on the screen, there is just no way to convey the subject matter in such a short time. They could have done a 10 part mini-series just on Guadalcanal, and it wouldn't have been comprehensive.

Democrat Congressman Tells The Truth (Finally?)

Rep. Tom Perriello(D-VA) was caught on video Tuesday addressing a tea party group that pinned him down at the US Capitol. His comments are so honest, it is unbelievable. Once Pelosi gets hold of the video, he is toast.

If you want to see the entire video, go to Real Clear Politics.

The line that is catching the most attention:

"if you don't tie our hands, we will keep stealing."

Truer words have never been spoken by a member of the US Congress.

Another Open Letter To The US Census Bureau

Dear Mr. Groves;

My house wishes to thank you for delivering the census form to it yesterday, as your initial letter last week promised.

My house wishes to thank you VERY MUCH for sending it the normal short 10 question form, instead of the thick book of questions that several hundred thousand of my house's friends will receive.

My house does have a couple of questions, and I am hoping you can answer them.

First, we are a nation which is supposed to treat everyone equally regardless of race, correct? While it is a sad fact that this has not been the case in the past, and indeed race remains too much a point of contention amongst our population, the government and law itself tells us that it is illegal and immoral to treat someone differently because of the color of their skin.

So, why is over half of the census short form devoted to questions about my house's inhabitants' race? It seems from the questions all you want to know are name, age, sex, and RACE of each occupant. Why does race matter? What purpose does it serve the government to have a racial profile of the house? What possible reason would the government need to know there are 4 white people living in the house on 1101 Maple Ave in Everytown, OK, instead of just knowing there are 4 people living in that house?

Second, according to the form, Hispanics are a category by themselves. Your form does not recognize them as a race, and asks further questions of anyone who says they are Hispanic. Why? This is confusing, as the term Hispanic is used to define race just as much as white, black, Asian, etc.

Thank you again for delivering the form as promised. We can all feel more secure this evening knowing that at least one person in the Obama Administration is not lying to us .....

Roller Derby ... Yeah, It's Still Around

I remember many moons ago when Saturday night was spent watching Channel 11, for Roller Derby followed by NWA Professional Wrestling from Will Rogers' Coliseum in Ft. Worth. Black & white TV programs, Fritz Von Erich ... jammers and slammers ...

Well, wrestling has transformed itself several times over. Now we have the WWE's cartoon version of 'Rasslin, the highest rated cable TV program on a consistent basis.

But what happened to Roller Derby?

It's still around, though nowhere near as popular, and not seen on TV unless it is a back channel reality show. Even though it has little coverage, there is a lot more of it around than you would think. There are many local leagues around the country (over 200) where women, primarily, go out and beat the hell out of each other for fun and a tiny check.

The DFW area has its own league, called the Dallas Derby Devils. They are home based in Bedford, at the NYTEX Sports Center. Standing room only crowds of about 1000 attend each match. There are over 90 registered players on 5 teams. The league's catch phrase - "Derby Does Dallas" ... cute ... An All-Star squad made up of the 5 team's best players travel to other southern based leagues to beat on their All-Star squads.

The teams: High Seas Hotties, Wrecking Crew, Slaughterers, Death Row Rumblers, Suicide Shifters

Some of the more 'colorful' players: Scary Cherry Bang Bang, Ann R Key, Flirt in a Skirt, Blue Eyed Banshee, Ingersol Rand, Dirt E Girl, Martha Focker, Cheatin Chong, Wicked Bitch of the West, Strawberry Deathcake, Tia Bagger, Helen De Stroy, Jackie Lation, Heike De Skirt, Filmore Pain, Professor Kaos, Anita Riot .....

Pretty funny. If you get a chance to see some of this on one of those back cable channels, do so. These ladies get the hell beat out of them for next to nothing.

Images courtesy Dallas Derby Devils

US Department of Education Wants Combat Arms

The US Department of Education has issued a request for bid, covering the purchase of 27 Remington 870 short barreled, combat model, 12 ga. shotguns. Yes ... the federal agency that oversees our schools wants weapons that are only used by riot squads, SWAT teams, and the military.

At first glance, isn't this a WTF? At second glance, it is even more of a WTF ...

A lot of Federal Agencies have their own law enforcement divisions. Dept. of Education, IRS, Dept. of Agriculture ... and others ... have their own country wide police forces, that investigate, chase down, and arrest pretty much whoever they feel they have jurisdiction over. As part of these police forces, they have tactical weapons (assault rifles, combat shotguns, teargas, etc.) and tactical assault teams. Who in the hell could the Department of Education be investigating that would require the use of a tactical team and weapons?

Why do all of these agencies have their own police forces? Why are all of them running around with weapons? Who knows how well they are trained, who knows how good their information is? Who oversees them? Isn't this what the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is for?

Besides these obvious questions, there has to be a whole lot of tax dollars being wasted in staffing and equipping these private police forces.

Heck, I don't know ... maybe the DoE is getting ready for all the protests they will be getting when Obama starts Obamacation (His overhaul of this country's education - No Child Left Behind).

Way To Go Cous - Part Trey

Cousin Alex stars in this YouTube video sensation "This Shirt Gives Me B O". Congrats on another masterpiece on the small screen (I think ....). Anyway, it's pretty funny, and you'll catch yourself with the tune stuck in your head all day.

This video is actually 'home based' on a web site named:

www.take180.com

There's some pretty funny stuff there, if you're in need of a chuckle ....

Congress Does Something Right (almost)

Democrat leaders in the House announced that they were banning earmarks targeted to 'for profit' companies. It's a start ...

All of you should know what an earmark is by now ... it certainly has been in the news a lot lately. If not, an earmark is:

An attachment to a piece of legislation that authorizes fund expenditures for a specific purpose not related to the legislation itself. Rules do not require that the attachment be explained, publicized, or voted on seperately. This has been used by members of the House and Senate for decades to take money for 'pork' projects in the districts and states that they represent.

Imagine a bill is going through the House, declaring that next week is National 'The Sky is Blue Week'. Nice, easy to pass bit of legislation - what member of the House would vote against that? However, Rep. Jack Ass has attached an earmark to the bill. The earmark authorizes $10,000,000 to be paid to the XXX Corporation in Ass' home district, to produce gold plated toilet seats for public bathrooms in the county jail. Many members of the House would vote against that, except that they don't know about it. That's what earmarks are for ...

The more seniority a member of Congress has, the easier it is for them to attach and pass through earmarks. Democrats and Republicans alike have abused this for many, many years - bring home the bacon to reward your supporters, and make the voters like you.

The Democrat leadership's move bans House members from attaching earmarks that will end up in money going directly to 'for profit' companies. A good first step, but not enough.

House Republicans immediately called upon Pelosi's bunch to ban all earmarks, including ones for 'non-profit' purposes. Many Republicans have been pushing this stance since Obama took office.

I'm not aware of any such ban effort going on in the Senate - but it needs to be.

The age of earmarks needs to end, period. The practice costs the taxpayers billions upon billions of dollars yearly, expenditures that aren't seen or voted on. Even though our congressmen and women have brought home billions of dollars to Texas over the years, it's wrong. If an expenditure can't stand on its own, can't pass a vote for passage, then it shouldn't be spent - especially these days.

C'mon folks in Congress - if you can do just one thing really bi-partisan, please get rid of the earmark practice ...

Chuck Norris Approved This Message

Carlos Ray Norris has turned 70 years old. The fellow we know as "Chuck" was born in Oklahoma on March 10, 1940, of Irish and Cherokee descent.

A devout Christian and staunch Conservative, Norris has become an internet sensation after his film and TV career wound down. Chuck Norris Facts are big business these days.

www.chucknorrisfacts.com

www.chucknorrisfactoids.com

And many others.

When Chuck Norris calls 1-900 numbers, he doesn't get charged. he holds up the phone and money falls out.

Everybody Loves Raymond ... except Chuck Norris.

There is no such thing as Global Warming ... Chuck Norris was cold and turned up the heat.

Chuck Norris is not hung like a horse ... horses are hung like Chuck Norris.

Some Food For Thought

I've a couple of suggestions for your TV viewing pleasure.

First, Gordon Ramsay. This Scottsman is a world renowned chef, and very successful restaurant owner. He owns 4 and 5 star dining facilities all around the world. He is also a very outspoken, foul mouthed, abusive blowhard, and must be complete hell to work for. However, he is very entertaining. The first show I saw him on "Hell's Kitchen". I didn't care for it, because I didn't understand what the point was. Then, I saw episodes of his "F Word" and "Kitchen Nightmares" on BBC America, and got hooked.


Besides the entertainment value of seeing him humiliate stupid people, I've found it both fascinating and horrific to see behind the scenes at what are supposed to be high class restaurants (Kitchen Nightmares). It is plain scary what can be going on behind the doors that seperate the dining room from the kitchen.

Kitchen Nightmares has crossed over the pond, and is now seen on various evenings on Fox.


Second, Food Tech, on the HIstory Channel. Chef Bobby Bognar takes us on a journey each week, exploring how food is brought to the table in restaurants. He takes a subject each week, and shows how it is produced. One week, it was 'The Hamburger'. The episode tracked each ingredient from inception to the table - beef, bun, pickle, lettuce, tomato, onion, ketchup, french fries. The segments on pickles and french fries were eye opening. The normal person has no idea what goes into making these things on a scale to feed America. A couple of other episodes, 'Southern Fried', and 'Breakfast Food' made me very hungry.

Cool shows. No politics, no violence, no gore, and still not boring.

An Outstanding American in Obama's America

Sean Penn, seen here with his good, close buddy Hugo Chavez, is my pick for Outstanding American of the day.

Penn, recently interviewed by Bill Maher (a previous winner of Outstanding American), spoke these eloquent words in defense of his buddy Hugo ...

"Every day, this elected leader is called a dictator here, and we just accept it, and accept it. And this is mainstream media, who should, truly, there should be a bar by which one goes to prison for these kind of lies."

Wow ... If you can actually understand that, he is upset at the mainstream media for calling a dictator a dictator, and says that anyone who does so should be thrown in prison. What a First Amendment Rights advocate he is ....

Later, on CBS's Sunday Morning program, he said this in reponse to his motives for helping Haiti in the quake aftermath being questioned ...

"Do I hope that these people die screaming of rectal cancer? Yeah. You know, but I'm not going to spend a lot of energy on it."

How magnanimous. How respectful of those who intellectually disagree with him. How 'reach across the aisle' bi-partisan of him. A wonderful example, held in such high esteem by the far left led Democrat Party.

Awesome. I am so glad this wonderful, amazing man is publicly representing our country. In Obama/Pelosi/Reid's America, he's a perfect international ambassador ...

An Open Letter to the US Census Bureau

After receiving a wonderful letter from the Director of the US Census Bureau, Mr. Robert Groves, in my mail box, I want to take this opportunity to reply to him in this open forum.

Dear. Mr. Groves;

Thank you for the kind letter, received by my house. I guess it is for my house, since it is addressed "To Resident At".

The letter is most instructive. My house appreciates being told that a census form will be arriving shortly, also addressed to my house. I appreciate you informing my house in six languages in addition to English. I am confused, though. Since being able to read and write English is a prerequisite to becoming a United States citizen, and you have to be a citizen to be legally counted by the census, why are the additional languages provided? Is this somehow addressing foreign manufactured parts in my house? Very considerate of you.

I am also confused as to why you felt the need to send my house a letter telling it that it will be receiving a letter. In these days of fiscal distress for our country, this does indeed seem to be a waste of taxpayer's money worthy of our current administration. While I am certain that the US Postal Service appreciates the business, I don't believe it is covered by the current stimulus package.

Again, my house appreciates your diligence, and will give your census form all due consideration when it shows up.

Burnt Cow, Burnt Chicken, Burnt Pig ... Yummm......

I understand vegetarians' aversion to eating meat. I don't really understand vegans' radical aversion to eating meat. In any case, I certainly don't subscribe to either of those ways of life.

God gave us cattle, chickens, pigs, and fish to eat. There is nothing so mouth watering as a chunk of beef roasting over an open flame. God Bless the national food of Texas ... BBQ!!!!!


Thanks to Outlaw13 for unearthing this gem.

NASCAR Meets America's Got Talent

NASCAR owner/driver Michael Waltrip is hosting a new program on the Speed Channel on Monday nights. The program is taped at select NASCAR races on the Speed Channel set. Is it a program about the race? Is it about the personalities in NASCAR? Is it about NASCAR's history? Is it about NASCAR's technology?

Not exactly....

It is a talent show, roughly based on 'America's Got Talent'. It has absolutly nothing to do with the race or anything at all with NASCAR. It is open to singing, dancing, comedy, variety, and novelty acts. The winner at each venue gets $5000.

I'm sorry, but I don't get it ....

I'm So Proud Of My Alma Mater

We all know how much football dominates major colleges. Football is the most important thing on campus at the majority of schools, because it brings in so much revenue to the universities. Football players are Gods (in their own minds), far above the common student. Rules don't apply to them. Girls should be lined up 6 deep to take care of their every whim. Class ... grades ... what are those? The Head Coach is often the most powerful man at the university - and certainly the highest paid ...

Well, that attitude extends down into the lower college ranks as well.

Here's the story ...

The Semi-Aggies of Texas A&M/Commerce. Actually their mascot is a lion, but I don't know what an Aggie lion is ... Two members of the football team were busted on drug possession charges earlier this year. They got caught with drugs and various other illegal stuff in their dorm rooms. The campus newspaper, The East Texan, ran a front page story detailing the charges and those involved.

The rocket scientists on the football team decided that no one should know about the drug bust, so they went around campus stealing all the copies of the paper they could find. After they were found out, the coach, Guy Morris, was quoted as saying that he was proud of his players for their 'best team building exercise yet'.

The next day, the university president attempted some damage control, stating that the coach was just joking. The coach has issued no clarifying statement, and certainly hasn't apologized.

The arrogance of football jocks and their keeper .... They think they are God's gift to the campus ... their poopie don't stink, in fact the pissant normal students should feel privileged if they get a whiff. Now I know that not every football player is a jerk, not every coach is an egotistical tirant, and not every program is crooked - but this episode certainly reinforces the stereotype, don't you think?

I attended East Texas State University, which later was absorbed into the A&M system and renamed. Even though that was in a different century, you would think I'd be shocked at this. No way ... no surprise at all.

Texas Comes to the Shuttle's Rescue (maybe...)

Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison today introduced a Senate bill that would delay the Shuttle fleet's retirement beyond 2010, until NASA is confident it has a workable replacement for the Shuttle's mission, or the mission is no longer needed. The primary purpose is support of the International Space Station, and the implied time frame is through 2020.

The bill also adds $1,300,000,000 to NASA's Obama approved budget of $19,000,000,000 for next year. This money would allow NASA to fund two additional shuttle flights per year after 2010, as well as funds for development of its replacement.

Prospects for the bill's passage are uncertain. While Obama's NASA plans have been met with a cold reception in Congress, chances of keeping the shuttle flying and additional money for NASA is by no means a given. However, this is a good first step.

Besides ... like my posting about the Post Office ... this much money means nothing to Obama and his minions. Hell, there's $500,000,000,000 just sitting around not being used, right?

Post Office Going Broke?

The United States Postal Service has been losing money for years. It lost a bit over $4,000,000,000 last year. It is projected to lose 8-10 billion this coming year. The head of the Post Office is sounding the alarm, talking about cutting service, closing locations, cutting people, etc., in order to try and cut their budget deficit.

What the hell is the big deal?

The USPS is a part of the Federal Government, isn't it? Is there any part of the Federal Government that doesn't run a deficit, especially these days? 8-10 billion is pocket change for the idiots in charge.

The USPS has been cutting service and personnel for years. The customer service provided at most locations is pathetic. I refuse to visit the local location, which is about 3 blocks from my house - I can count on a 30-45 minute wait at any time of day. Instead, I travel to a small post office 12 miles away, where the people are friendly, and the wait is never more than 5 minutes.

In these days of electronic communication, Fed-Ex, and UPS, the big money makers for the post office - junk mail and package freight - are on the decline. The leadership of the post office seems to realize this. I see signs that they are trying to turn their customer service focus back to where it should be - the customer. I hope it is not too late for them. However, they've got to realize that if they keep cutting services and staff, they're only driving more of their customers away.

However, my original question still remains - if it is part of the government, why is there a concern about money? It could run for years on a fraction of the money that was used to bail out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae ...

Voodoo Warrior's First Anniversary

Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of this blog. Not exactly an earth shattering event, I know, but there are a few words I'd like to lay down to mark the occasion.

This has been a tough year. My father passed away. We lost a sister-in-law. I lost an aunt. A very close friend is in Iraq (for the third time). A milestone birthday has come and gone, admittedly not as big an event as I was afraid it was going to be. My beloved Stars missed the playoffs. I lost one of the best buddies I've ever had. Yet, with all of this, I know my family and I are very blessed. I thank God for every day he allows me to be on this Earth.

Our nation has changed. A year ago we were just starting to see what Obama and his minions had planned for their regime. Indeed, his efforts to fundamentaly change my country were the primary motivation for me starting this blog. Few people had any idea he would be pushing us so far towards socialism, so far towards financial meltdown. Few thought that what was a financial problem would become a financial meltdown with no end in sight. Few foresaw the incredible groundswell of opposition to Obama and his efforts, giving us hope that we can save our country from His "Change".

I've averaged almost a post per day during this past year. There's been an awful lot to brain dump about ... an awful lot of electrons have been burned. Take that, Algore!

I'm going to continue writing here. What started off as a therapeutic outlet for my thoughts and frustrations will pretty much stay as it is. I have been surprised by the number of folks who have dropped by for a visit now and then. Those of you who do, to look, to curse, to laugh a bit, are very welcome to continue to do so.

Damn, These Cars Are Ugly

Every generation has its automotive dogs ... cars that are so ugly that some idiots think they are actually cute. These days, however, there seem to be many more of these rolling piles of dog excrement than usual. Its funny to see the advertising generated by the companies trying to sell them - how they are trying to portray them as the 'in' thing for young people. Barf ....

The Cube

The Fit

The Scion XB

Now, just to make clear ... my generation has had its share of these POSs ...

The AMC Pacer

and quite possible the ugliest consumer vehicle ever made ...

The VW 'The Thing"

Independence Day, March 2

March 2, 1836 changed history, and established the world as we know it today. On that day, The Republic of Texas declared its independence from Mexico. In a war fought by farmers, ranchers, shopkeepers, and other ordinary folks against the Santa Anna's powerful Mexican Army, the good guys won.

Here is a link to the text of the declaration. It is instructive reading for Texans. For non-Texans, take a look and see why we are so proud of our state and its heritage.

www.lsjunction.com/docs/tdoi.htm

I wish we could declare our independence from Obama ....

Obama's $500 Billion Slush Fund

Remember the $787,000,000,000 bank bailout bill that was passed back at the end of the Bush Administration? We were told it was an emergency infusion of money into our financial markets, to keep them from imminent collapse. Remember the 'summit' where Obama, McCain, and Bush sat around listening to the Fed Chief and the Secretary of the Treasury tell them (and us) that we had to IMMEDIATELY pass this money through Congress and get it out to the banks and lending institutions, so that they all didn't go belly up? All this money was appropriated by Congress, and control was given to a single man - the Secretary of the Treasury. There were no provisions for oversight.

This was a horrible mistake, and most everyone knew it at the time. Blame rests with both Republicans and Democrats for the creation of this mess.

Fast forward to today. Tim Geightner and his puppet-master Obama are in control. $500,000,000,000 of that original $787 billion have not been given out. That money, which was supposed to go out to avert an immediate disaster, has sat unused. It still has only one master - Geithner - who gets his orders from Obama.

The issue is this; the money doesn't actually exist. There is no bank vault stacked with bills from floor to ceiling just waiting to be given out. If the money is given out, it is just more deficit spending - the government will have to borrow from the Chinese to write checks against it.

Obama/Geithner can do anything they want to with the money - the bill authorizing it was written that way. It is their private slush fund - they could give it all to ACORN if they wish.

What should happen is this - Congress should repeal the legislation that established that fund, and basically renounce its existence. The $500,000,000,000 - which has never existed, and has never been needed for its original purpose - just goes away. It can't be used, and it can't become more deficit that the government can't pay. That's a bunch of money that wouldn't become a debt liability to our children.

Obama should lead the effort to get this to happen. He won't - that much money at his fingertips, with no control, no transparency, and no accountability is too much of a temptation for him to resist.

I don't know why this isn't a bigger issue in Washington. I would encourage Republicans to hammer on this, and use it as a campaign issue.