I heard a talk on Sharia law and how they could (the operative word is could) impact the USA. I know it was true, because I’ve read a couple of books on Islam and its history and heard and read some interesting news stories.

For instance did you know how many inroads Sharia law has made into the USA. Several of our banks do Muslim banking, including at least one national bank. I heard a Priest in my old parish say we had to learn to understand Muslim’s better. That would be fine if he didn’t mind his church being turned into a mosque and every woman in there (provided they could attend the services) wearing a Burqa. Several Muslim women have lost their lives to “honor” killings. A father in Arizona ran down his daughter because she was too westernized. Ditto a doting dad in Texas. In New York State a husband beheaded his wife because she asked for a divorce. In all instances the fathers/husbands were Muslim.

You see under Sharia law women are objects and everyone who isn’t a believer is an infidel and infidels are subject to taxes (or fines) and subjugation to their Islamic overlords (Yes, Mulla Omar would be your superior). 

How do I know this? Well, we have friends who lived in Saudia Arabia for several years. They couldn’t have Mass on Sundays, they had to have it on Fridays because that’s the Islamic Holy Day. She couldn’t drive a car outside of their compound, because women are forbidden to drive under Islamic Laws. I watch the news and read the papers all the time so nothing I was told surprised me.

In Saudi Arabia the other year a number of young women burned to death because religious police refused to let them leave their burning school because they were dressed immodestly. (probably in night clothes.) In Indonesia two Christian girls were beheaded. Why? They were Christian and they were women. I’m sure they gave them an opportunity to convert to Islam first, but when they refused, they lost their lives. After all they were only girls and worse they were Christian. 

The same Sharia Law (political correctness) permeates our country. Try to say anything that offends a Muslim and jail awaits you. Yet you can defecate on Christian items and places and it’s ok. We have to be tolerant after all. In Fort Hood, Texas a Muslim terrorist shot up a bunch of unarmed soldiers and their families. The Muslim shooter had exhibited odd behavior, but no one said or did anything, because they didn’t want to appear intolerant. It’s easier to go along than it is to be brow beaten by someone who is offended by what you say.

Political correctness will be the downfall of our society. My husband came home from work one day and told me he had just attended a political correctness class in which he was told that even if what you said didn’t offend anyone else, if it offends one person, you’re in trouble. I knew someone (not my husband) who lost his job because he told a woman he liked her dress. His comment was considered politically incorrect by her and she got him fired.

If you’re offended by anything that I’ve mentioned here, then maybe you should say something about it. Never mind that you’ll offend someone. Just say it or be a subject of whomever decides to subjugate you.   Or you are a part of the problem. .

Is the water hot enough for you yet.

Several things have happened over the last month or so that makes one wonder why our Constitution gave separate powers to the different branches of government. Apparently the current administration believes it can get what it wants done without Congress simply by having its hand picked bureaucracy pass regulations that stiff businesses and individuals.

Case #1 – Did you know that the feds are refusing to award contracts to certain businesses unless they fire company officers that the Feds don’t like? The argument is that under the current officers business practices were not kosher and so they can just order the company to “fire” the officers and hire whom the government likes. Wait. Isn’t that a federal takeover of a business? It’s wrong especially when they can’t prove that the officers in question had anything to do with any wrongdoing and at the direction of the officers the company paid whatever fines the government levied.

Case #2 – the Federal government is suing states that have right to work laws, even when the states laws were passed by a voter referendum. In short we don’t like what your voters said so we’ll penalize the state. Voters apparently don’t have rights to determine things for their state unless the Federal government likes what they did.

Case #3 – a friend called and he was really hot. He says that SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and rules are now threatening him if he gives money to candidates and doesn’t list them (He normally gives money to Republicans). The SEC wouldn’t assure our friend that he wouldn’t lose his license to practice if he joined in a class action lawsuit. So he told his Congressman and other candidates that he couldn’t go to their fundraisers without being in violation of SEC rules. The government is also telling our friend that if he does investment work on IRA’s, he can’t collect any commissions. The Wall Street Journal (Friday, May 6, Page A13.) calls this “gangster politics.” Like case #1 the feds also refuse to do business with anyone whose donations they don’t like. Isn’t that a little like controlling who you give money, too? (This friend has a share of our IRA’s.)

Interestingly he told his Congressman about this because she sits on the committee that has oversight in these matters, and she was not aware of the new SEC and DOL (Department of Labor) rules. Even democrats are appalled by the new rules. They call them “Orwellian” and a blatant attempt at controlling campaign contributions. As businesses and individuals are already limited in how much they can give so they don’t have undue influence, there seems no apparent reason.

Case #4 - South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley is hopping mad and who can blame her. The NLRB has passed a regulation that would force Boeing from using a plant it built in South Carolina to make parts for it’s 787 dream-liners. Why? South Carolina is a right to work state and therefore, according to the National Labor Relations Board, in violation of their new regulations about utilizing unions. Mind you Boeing had already hired a South Carolina work force of over a 1,000 and built its plant before the NLRB issued its edict. Also remember that Boeing can simply go overseas and build its dreamliner there without government interference. Again it’s right to work that seems to upset the Unions and the feds. Why? All it says is that workers have the right to belong to a union or not. Isn’t that what this country is founded on individual freedom to do or not do something. Nothing prevents Boeing from taking its whole operation overseas and becoming yet another American company (one of the few left) that outsourced all its jobs. That would take both Union jobs in Washington State and South Carolina away from American workers. How that benefits unions or workers is beyond me, but then I’m just a humble housewife.

Is the water hot enough for you yet?

When did I get old? I don’t remember doing it, but suddenly there it was. My kids were trying to help me out of cars and I had difficulty walking.

It really struck home when after riding in the back of a convertible for a parade a very nice young man and his friend had to help me out of the back seat of the car. (And, I do mean help. They had to physically help me stand up.) I suddenly felt old. I knew I couldn’t walk in the parade, but this was beyond what I expected. Being old(er) is a disadvantage, but it’s also an advantage.

I can remember political things from the past very well.

First, don’t accept what the polls say. They are often wrong. I remember them so well. I remember the famous headline “Dewey beats Truman.” You don’t remember a President Dewey do you? There’s a good reason for that. He didn’t beat Harry Truman.

Today’s polls are no different. To be sure they are more scientific, but they can also be skewed. Polling organizations can have an agenda. They can skew a poll by calling only into certain areas; or by how they phrase the question. But the pollsters should realize voters can also skew polls. They can do it by lying to pollsters, not answering the phone or by not having a landline. Why do polls seemingly tighten up near the end of an election. I don’t know. (Does anyone?)

Too many of us who are involved politically are up in years. We’ve seen a lot and know the ropes, and what we can’t do anymore is a hindrance to the system. I have multiple things wrong. I’ve had cancer and a broken leg and now my arthritis is getting so severe, I need physical help. This means I can’t do what I used to, but it also means I’m more likely to be victimized by the TSA. (Here I go on another subject.)

What it’s taught me is don’t go through security screening if you’re body has been altered by any physical problems. The TSA simply doesn’t understand. I heard one guy call a talk show and say he’s gone through thousands of times without a problem. His solution: don’t carry anything on you that will set off the metal detectors. I’d like to know what he would do if he had a knee replacement, which triggers the metal detectators every time. Should you break your leg and remove the replacement knee? If you go through the x-ray machine and your medical device(s) show up, you still have to go through the enhanced hand pat down (groping). Maybe it’s supposed to desensitize us (children included) to make us ready for teachers or other persons of authority “groping” us. After all they are official and you’re not allowed to complain if an “official” person does it. Can the official be a pedophile, sex offender, etc?

I’ve had to remove a prosthetic device several years ago and watch it put through an x-ray machine, because the TSA agent didn’t know what a prosthetic was and considered it a threatening word so she called her supervisor. My crime. I asked for a chair so I could remove my shoes. That’s apparently a sure sign that I’m a terrorist. Meanwhile a person with evil intent could be standing in the line before he gets through security, set himself off and blow up everyone (and everything) around him.

I am a grandmother and everyone knows that we are responsible for every bombing/ hijacking, etc. that has taken place around the world.

The terrorists have won.

Is the water hot enough for you yet?

Years ago I read an article that said that while the new regime had taken over in Haiti (yes, Haiti) only 6 months before, the people were wondering why the economic picture hadn’t improved. Well years later it still hasn’t improved and it won’t until people quit relying on government to be their mother while the big wigs line their pockets. The people in Haiti were stupid (yes, you read that right) and in this country many of us expect the same thing so I guess you can say that about us.

I heard an economist say that the people who wanted taxes cut didn’t want their programs cut, just other people’s programs. Huh. How about means tested. Nope, don’t want that either. So economically we’re all idiots regardless of geography. It doesn’t work that way. You have to be responsible not only for your own present, but future to; not only economically, but in all ways.

What made me think about this was a series of articles in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on internet privacy. Did you think that all those ads that appear on your home page appear on everyone else’s? Wrong. They are geared just to you and they come from the websites you visit on your internet searches. Yes, the internet giants have found a way to track you via your internet searches and to send you the ads that they think you’d be most interested in. There’s money in mining your personal data so why shouldn’t they do that. Think you’re outsmarting the system by not giving them your address or social security number. Wrong again. They know exactly where you live, your age range and other intimate data about you? The worst of the internet giants to mine personal data are MSN, Yahoo and AOL. Google has been resisting giving out your data, but that old lure money has finally drawn them in too and they are doing the same thing. The most offensive systems are things people go to frequently like dictionaries. Worse they mine your emails and read them on-line to get more data about you. Can you say g-mail. These things are free for a reason. They make their money other ways by selling your information.

Think it’s cookies? It is, but it’s more than that. You can remove a cookie and that site has a program that just replaces it on your system. Up-date your adobe, etc., that contains a tracking system that mines data. So do U-Tube and obviously Facebook. Nothing is safe. Your not even safe if you don’t give out your social or credit card numbers on the internet. Want to be safer (I never thought I’d say this) mail it or use UPS or Fedex. Faxes may be safe, too, because even though they are electronic I don’t think they’ve found a way to mine data from those yet. Phone. Not cell phones. They can even track your location with them. Use your land line (and that isn’t totally safe either).

Want to be safer on the internet. Make sure your settings don’t allow websites to do that and make sure the settings stay that way, because all the isp’s have different ways of doing things and some of them require you to check your settings every time you get on the computer.

Why are they doing this? As I said earlier, that old lure money. How come they can afford to offer a free service and still own companies that make billions of dollars (Yes, billions). They sell your data. You used to be safe from them knowing your name, but now even that’s changing. Part of it is that every computer has a number and that number goes along with any transaction you have on the internet, including just emails. If money and profit can do this to the “safety” of your computer, then think about taxing all those big businesses. Do you think the electric company won’t raise it’s rates to cover the increased taxes. You’ve lost your privacy and your money, what’s next? Your freedom.

Is the water hot enough for you yet?

Sometimes I wonder if our government doesn’t want more people and drugs smuggled over the border. Certainly the actions of the Federal Government make it seem that way.

For instance Barack Hussein Obama has appointed the former police chief of Houston and Phoenix as head of the border patrol. One of his first acts was to eliminate overtime for border patrol agents, an act which will make the border more accessible to drug and people smugglers (sometimes one in the same thing.)

We’ve closed off large sections of Arizona to American citizens, calling the area too dangerous. It’s so dangerous not even the Pinal County Sheriff’s Department will go there and the drug smugglers know it. We have in effect given carte blanche to them in parts of our (excuse me, their), Country. And, we blame Americans for this by saying if some of them didn’t want drugs so badly this wouldn’t be happening. True, but doesn’t a large part of the blame rest on the shoulders of the drug producers and the people who make money off the drug habits of people in this country and Canada.

There are various theories floating as to why we are doing this. Some of them are really interesting. One of the ones I hear most often is we are trying to prop up the Mexican government. The flaw in that is the Mexican drug cartels have so weakened the Mexican government already that nothing we do is going to help. The other theory is that American business like the cheaper labor they get from illegal immigration. More plausible, but it still has flaws. First of all given the choice of paying more for groceries and paying for the social security, hospital bills of illegals, I’d pay more for the groceries. Americans are getting short changed on medical and their social security may be stopped. Let the governments of those who are here illegally, take care of them. Why should we. It costs us more in the long run.

The current political leaders may be doing it because they need more votes. You don’t have to be a citizen to vote. I found that out about 17 years ago. Motor voter rules (instituted by the democrats) are so lax that non-citizens can easily be registered as can felons and anyone else not eligible and I’ve also been able to verify that you don’t have to speak English to vote. That reason doesn’t seem to have flaws, but I have another theory. That puts the power in the hands of a select few and power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.

I’ve never heard any of the talking heads say this. (And, I can give you several good reasons why.) Is someone very big in government in the back pockets of the Mexican drug cartels? It’s the only reason I can see for doing things which are so obviously benefiting the Mexican drug cartels. You leave your borders open and given unfettered access to drug and people smugglers. You benefit in two ways. You get votes and you get money. Power and money now, that’s the ultimate aphrodisiac.

Is the water hot enough for you yet?

I know it’s occurred to someone else besides me, but isn’t the timing of the gulf oil spill suspicious and the government’s response (or lack of it) even more suspicious? Did the government precipitate the leak to get Cap and Tax (trade) passed or was it just a fortuitous (for the current administration) accident?

I’m not saying there isn’t a gulf oil spill and the residents (both human and animal) of the gulf coast states aren’t suffering because of it. This whole thing is too bizarre.

First, BP probably skirted some rules, but it has been reported by some that BP was in the process of a shutdown safety check/overhaul when the “accident” occurred. BP’s response has been problematic for several reasons: A) the depth of the oil well B) the delays and C) the lack of communications skills. (Has anyone read Frank Luntz’s Words That Work?) Early on too many people were too busy blaming each other to do what really needed to be done to cap the well and prevent damage to the coasts. I’ve heard that Bush/Cheney, Halliburton, BP, the government, et. al. were to blame.

Let’s face it, accidents happen and in most cases there is a human factor involved. Someone somewhere along the line skipped a step, skimped on a process, made a faulty part. There should have been inspectors, but no one can dive to that depth and the taxpayers wouldn’t want to pay for the expense of a true inspection so the beat goes on and the oil spews and the fishermen, restaurant owners, residents of the shore all suffer and the government does nothing.

BP can be blamed for not acting in a timelier fashion and for not communicating better to the public. The government can be blamed for dragging its feet. I’ve heard various reasons from the Jones Act, which prevents non-American crews or ships from working in American waters, to ineptitude. I’ve also heard (after I began to suspect the same thing) that government ineptitude may only be because of appeasement to the Unions (The Jones Act), and a crisis sufficient to force passage of the Cap and Tax law. As if we aren’t taxed enough there is a proposal to increase the federal gas tax (relax folks it hasn’t even gotten to committee yet.), stop offshore drilling, etc., making driving so expensive that it would force us to mass transit and fewer cars means less gas used, etc. (The law of unintended consequences comes into play here—less gas used means less gas taxes so now they’re proposing taxing you on the mileage you drive. It never ends).

The only hero in this seems to be Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. He was ready to put up sand berms to protect his state’s coastline, but alas the EPA had to do an environmental impact study. Finally after waiting two weeks, Jindal threatened to do it without government help. It’s my understanding though that the feds threatened not to repay the state of Louisiana and Jindal, lacking the resources, had to hold off; and to date no one is even putting up sand berms to prevent an onshore oil disaster. As a result Louisiana’s deltas are awash with oil, sea birds and animals are dying and the people can’t fish or swim cutting off tourism income to Louisiana.

Now, I don’t know enough about how much the feds should give to Governor Jindal but I do know one thing, you can be penny wise and pound foolish (Didn’t Ben Franklin coin that phrase?) How much will it cost Louisiana to clean up the oil that has washed ashore? Would the sand berms be as expensive?

And, finally hasn’t there been enough damage done. Do EPA regulations have to increase the damage? Does the Jones Act have to increase the damage or should it be waived to prevent further damage?
The real question—don’t we have too many regulations that are causing damage to people and property? We can’t remove dead trees, twigs, leaves, etc from Federal lands and they fuel forest fires; we can’t give water to California ranchers because the water is too scarce and/or it may hurt endangered species; we can’t build a fence along the border because, among other things, it may inhibit migratory patterns of birds, etc. Enough. Isn’t one true environmental disaster enough? Let’s stop the oil gushing into the gulf and keep the coasts clean for the people and animals.

Is the water hot enough for you yet?

We are all going to have to give up something so that our country doesn’t go bankrupt.

Right now we are so in debt to Communist China they literally control us. If they decide to dump the US dollar on the open market, the economy will go into freefall. We are going to have to do something. We are all going to have to give up something so that we don’t bankrupt our country.

Where in the Constitution does it say that other people have to pay for our healthcare or that each school should be supported by everyone. Does a school need a swimming pool or tennis courts? When I told a local school board member I wasn’t voting for a new school because I graduated from a school without a pool, he said that was then. But guess what, both my kids graduated from a school without a pool. What they got was an education. An education so good that colleges were fighting over them. Isn’t that what school is for? Educating. I hate to say this, but education is reading, writing and arithmetic not swimming and art. This happened with both of our kids—different kindergarten teachers complaining that our kids couldn’t color between the lines. I told them that when they were 22 and someone looking to hire them asked if they could color between the lines then I’d be concerned.

You can argue that education should be well rounded, but then I’ll look at the pay scales for artists, etc and compare them to people who learned how to read, write, and calculate well. If the artist doesn’t make as much money well, “don’t cry for them Argentina.” They were given the opportunity to have an education and they squandered it by emphasizing coloring between the lines. On the other hand our kids who worked on the more mundane things like education are now making good money. One is a teacher/tutor, the other is a project manager. Both of their employers were looking for a good work ethic, not the ability to color between the lines.

There was a time when locals built schools and the teacher was hired and paid for by the parents who’s kids went there. That’s no longer practical, I know. Ditto roads repair. Although, I wonder why locals can’t maintain (at least fill the potholes) in local roads. Think how much you’d save in taxes alone.

I also don’t know why grandma (and I am one) is now the responsibility of everyone, not just her family. We pay her social security, healthcare, etc. There are some people who legitimately need help, but others don’t. Can’t these things be means tested? Years ago, I saw a little old lady on TV complaining when her healthcare costs went up because she couldn’t play golf three times a week anymore. Her golfing was limited to twice a week. That was a sacrifice she was unwilling to make.

We own not one, but two residences. We managed that not because we’re wealthy, but because we bought smaller places in both states. We still save (or try to) and we try to help our kids. Why do we try to help them? They are facing a huge tax burden because they are paying for everyone else’s perks like swimming pools, and a little old lady’s belief that she should be able to play golf three times a week. Lets face it folks, our money is only a finite pool and we all have to give up something so that other people can eat and have a roof over their heads. The time is now and the problem is right there in the mirror.

Is the water hot enough for you yet?

In the 2010 Illinois primary Democrat voters nominated Scott Cohen to be the Lieutenant Governor. Cohen has admitted to taking steroids, he has been sued by his ex wife for failure to pay child support, wrote threats in lipsticks on his wife’s mirror and allegedly wounded his ex-girlfriend who he said he didn’t know was a prostitute. He thought she was a masseuse.

So why didn’t the Democrats who elected him know about Cohen’s strange behavior or did they just think he was the best candidate for the job. If Cohen’s the best the Democrats have to offer then they are clearly sending the voters a message. Vote for our candidates and we’ll give you the best (with apologies to Henry Miller) turn of the screw you’ve ever had.

Logically, the Democrats and Republicans would nominate the replacement to be the person who came in second. But alas you’d be wrong. If that were the case then Jim Oberweis would have replaced Jack Ryan in 2006, but if the Republicans can’t put the second place person in why should the Democrats?

Let’s face it, in the race for dominance in February it was Richie Daley vs. Mike Madigan. That’s right it wasn’t between Republicans and Democrats, it was a race for dominance among Democrats and in the Republican’s case it was between the country club Republicans and the blue collar Republicans. Dominance, but by another name. All candidates have deficits so it was up to the voter. Right now (for those you who aren’t in Illinois) only about 240 votes separate State Senators Bill Brady and Kirk Dillard so we still don’t know who’ll be the Republican nominee for Governor. But you can bet that the country club and blue collar Republicans have favorites. I have my theories who’s on what side, but I can’t prove it so I won’t even go there.

There was a clear Republican winner for Lt. Governor, Jason Plummer; although they are looking through Plummer’s resume with a fine toothcomb so far he’s clean, because some small transgressions they claim to have found just aren’t important enough to get voters attention.

In meantime we still have the question, why did the media and/or the Democrats not discover the charges and admissions by Scott Cohen before he was elected. Probably because Lt. Governor was not a race that was on their radar. It’s happened before. In 1986 when Adlai Stevenson, III was running for Governor he ended up with the wrong running mate. It was supposed to be former Congressman George Sangmeister, but alas Sangmeister didn’t have a very electable name and he lost in the primary to a disciple of Lyndon LaRouche with a much more electable name, proving once again that the voters, media, etc., didn’t really care. I think Pat Quinn has proven that whoever is a heartbeat away from the governor’s seat is important. Apparently the Democrats haven’t learned that lesson or at least their voters haven’t so they keep electing people with problems.

Now, the Democrat’s response to their failure is to try to remove the office of Lt Governor entirely. Well, if you don’t want to explain to your voters who the preferred candidate(s) are then I guess you remove the right from them entirely, and that’s OK if you’re a Democrat. If you’re a Republican or independent you might want to vote that person in office. After all, as I’ve said before look what happened last year. If there was no Lieutenant Governor then who would have succeeded our indicted ex-governor.

Is the water hot enough for you yet?

It seems appropriate to say a word or two about the loss of a great Illinois Republican, Vern McCarthy. Vern mentored many of us and was a friend to many more. So many of us will remember him fondly, but none more than his kids, Kenton, Leslie and Brian. Jerry and I were privileged to help Vern put together his 80th birthday bash a few years ago. Vern will be sorely missed, but we know God has a special place for him in heaven. Many friends will be waiting for him including the late Barry Goldwater, but he leaves behind many friends, including Donald Rumsfeld and sitting Congressmen like Peter Roskam.

We’re sure whatever memorial service the kids have planned will be well attended. Rest in peace, Vern. You’ll be sorely missed, but you’ve earned the rest.

There is a special election in Massachusetts to fill Teddy Kennedy’s seat. My prediction is the vote will be really close between Martha Coakley (D) and Scott Brown (R.). It doesn’t take a genius to figure that out, but read John Funds, “Stealing Elections” to see what could happen and it will chill your blood. It’s also enough to wake the dead, but only on election day. I suddenly believe in vampires and zombies especially those who vote. If you want to argue with Fund’s stories then I have to tell you I believe him because our daughter called us about the events in Milwaukee in 2000. She was a personal witness and we were because we heard her reports. Yes, nefarious operatives in Wisconsin did encourage college students to vote twice and they did bribe residents of half-way houses to vote by giving them packs of cigarettes. Why not? Wisconsin has same day registration. You can vote absentee in your home state and then you can register on election day using your dorm as an address and vote again. Half-way house residents can use the half way house address.) With same day registration there’s no time to check if one is eligible to vote (convicted felons can’t vote.) nor is there time to notice that everyone is registered from the same address. As Fund points out everyone gets to vote, but the votes of legitimate voters are negated when these events take place so they lose their stake in democracy. The lesson learned is that elections should not be close. Just ask Norm Coleman. He lost his senate seat to Al Franken (who has not endeared himself to his fellow senators.) The race was close (what were Minnesotans thinking voting for Franken???) and election officials allegedly connected to Acorn gave the race to Franken. Even though Coleman won in the initial election night count subsequent recounts gave the vote to Franken. Some say the recounts were tainted, but I can’t testify to that so I’ll just pass the information on without comment.

We already have enough corruption with motor voter. Did you know that secretary of state employees don’t have to ask for the same ID’s as voter registrars? As a result people who are not citizens can be registered to vote. That combined with same day registration is a recipe for election fraud.

I’m concerned about Illinois because in addition to federally mandated motor voter, a local election official told me that they are trying to pass same day registration in Illinois. Boy, that’s a recipe for corruption and for raising the dead. I wish I could bottle it, I’d make a fortune. I think there will be enough elections in states that aren’t taken over by election corruption because of close margins that Congress will be changed in 2010. I think the Senate will be changed more than the house, but I could be wrong. I won’t make predictions about Illinois’ two major races, but I will say that whomever the parties nominate they should be far enough apart philosophically to give the voters a choice. Republicans have a tendency to nominate democrat lights and then wonder why they don’t win. The voters don’t really have a choice. Why do Republicans nominate candidates who are too much like the other parties candidates? Good question. I think the media has convinced them that voters want “moderates”. What the voter’s want is someone who listens and is right of center. Someone who voted against things like cap and trade and healthcare; someone who doesn’t become part of the beltway think; someone who reflects the thoughts of ordinary people not Washington insiders. We need to elect people who will give us rights not take them away.

Is the water hot enough for you yet?

I know so many of you are losing hope that the USA won’t be the same and are looking forward to 2010.

I can’t help but think that some of these things are happening during this administration are for the best. Let’s look at foreign policy and put aside Poland’s and the Slovakia’s commitment in the face of Russian aggression. No we won’t be able to rely on them as readily, but maybe other countries will stop relying on the US and will take the lead themselves. For instance, I heard that the French Navy has sent warships to the waters where the Somali Pirates operate and are protecting shipping traffic. They are learning to rely on themselves. I’ve also heard that NATO is considering upping its commitment in Afghanistan. Wow. Maybe that self-reliance will extend to the UN. Imagine the UN looking elsewhere for funding or perhaps for a place to stay—maybe Europe.

If we didn’t have to support self serving institutions like the UN our taxes might go down. Horrors. (After we pay off our debt to China that is.)

Did you know that we have (I didn’t) paid an energy tax for years to finance the building of Yucca Flats, a nuclear waste disposal site that cost billions to build. Well, it’s finished, but Obama decided not to use it and has closed it down before any nuclear waste could be put in there. I didn’t know about the tax, but I do know that nuclear power plants were built with the promise that there would be a place to store the waste. Now, there will be nothing. Hence no more nuclear power and more reliance on middle eastern Oil and the resulting higher prices. He’d much rather we pay higher prices and go with the real extreme environmentalists and not use nuclear. And, did you know that parts of the country have banned wood stoves, etc., because they pollute the atmosphere. Welcome to the chilly world.

The only ones he’s pleased are the people who live near Yucca Flats. I don’t know if Yucca Flats was a good place or the opposition was just a case of “not in my back yard.” I do know that we paid to build it there and now it’s just sitting unused. More people will be affected by nuclear waste disposal in more populated areas. Maybe they tried to sell the idea by saying it would bring jobs, sort of like moving Gitmo detainees to Illinois. That worked, but maybe only for democrats, but rural Nevada like rural Illinois is more Republican.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, when the electricity may not be readily available the AP (government Associated Press) might have a hard time working without electricity for its faxes and computers. (It’s just a thought.) I often wonder how people who propose things would like it if those same proposals applied to them. (Take that Al Gore.)

The Indians in the SW have learned this lesson the hard way. They allied themselves with radical environmentalists until a change to power generating plants needed for water distribution, required by standards the environmentalists insisted on, were too costly for the Indians to implement. Now, they are at odds with those same environmentalists. Go figure.

And, we have to live in this world.

Is the water hot enough for you yet?

After reading HB 3200, I decided it would be futile to go over all the problems and besides, as noted in last months blog, it's not the final version. Sen. Max Baucus (D. Montana) has already introduced a senate version. Baucus has listened and there are major differences, but there are not enough to satisfy key members of the senate who don't appear to be supporting even Baucus's bill.

While Baucus says it doesn't contain a public option or free insurance for illegal immigrants, it does contain co-ops, doesn't require ID's to be asked for (thus making it impossible to eliminate usage by illegal immigrants) and does not address things like rationing. Baucus's bill calls for reductions in Medicare payments (huh! See previous blog).

No matter what you think of what doctors and hospitals charge, if you reduce their income they will limit your care either by retiring or in the case of hospitals, closing. No one wants to work for nothing.

Also please note that we haven't seen the final version of the healthcare bill yet. The House will have it's version and the Senate will have a different one. Both versions will go to a conference committee consisting of House and Senate members which will "iron out differences" and a final version of the bill will emerge. What the final version of the bill will look like will depend on a number of factors, including how strong the individual conference committee members are, how strong the taxpayers are either for or against the final version, (i.e. tea parties). So if you don't like the House or Senate versions or you don't like the conference committee version, speak out. If you don't speak out you will get stuck with something you don't like and it won't be anyone's fault but yours. You get what you don't speak out about. If you are for it say so; if you are against it, say so. In this case silence isn't golden. Silence can be deadly or at the least costly.

As for cap and trade, if gas and heating or a/c bills go up, will you blame the oil and utility companies? Maybe you should blame the government. You should also blame yourself a little. No business absorbs a tax without passing at least part of it to the consumers. If the cost of doing business goes up, don't the prices of the goods or services go up too? If prices go up then don't you want a raise to absorb the increase? Why should the business that employees you be any different? And, cap and trade is a tax on carbon emissions. Pay attention to when prices go up. Is it because the merchant or supplier just raised them or because a tax was added? Cap and trade simply means that each company is allowed to emit a certain amount of carbon, and if they exceed their allotment they have to buy carbon credits from a company that sells them. (Someone is making lots of money on this and it won't be the oil companies, etc. Al Gore has made a lot of money selling carbon credits.)

A tax can be direct (Todd Stroger's Cook County sales tax is an example), or indirect (cap and trade), but in the end, like healthcare rationing, the consumer pays.

The taxpayer always gets it in the end.

Is the water Hot Enough for you Yet?

A recent discussion got me to thinking a lot about health care.  (Actually, I've been thinking about it a lot anyway.)

Jerry and I are on Medicare right now and we are not satisfied.  The old adage "You get what you pay for" comes to mind.  I have been denied coverage for prescriptions and for additional tests for cancer (even though I'm a cancer survivor and need to be monitored very closely). We paid for the prescriptions out of pocket and I've skipped the additional cancer tests.

So what's the solution?   We are unhappy with Medicare, but we have no choice.  Once we turned 65 our private insurance cut us off so we have to have Medicare or we have nothing.  We have also been unhappy with a supplement we had, but at least we were able to switch that.  Before Medicare we were unhappy with an HMO his company put us on, but again we were able to switch that. 

Recently I went to Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale to have a problem taken care of that doctors here couldn't seem to understand.  Here's what I discovered.  When dealing with Medicare/Medicaid patients volume is important.  So doctors don't listen.  They just want to get you in and out of their offices quickly.  The more people they see the more money they get.  Mayo has overcome that problem.  They don't take Medicare assignment and so therefore their doctors spend more time with you and listen.  Mayo doctors are paid a yearly salary not a per patient salary.  Mayo can run things the way it wants without government interference so instead of treating me for pain (not what I came in for, I'd learned to manage my pain.) They treated me for my complaint: a collapsing leg, which I couldn't manage.

After all this I'm reading the 1,000 page tome called the health bill.  (HR 3200) And, what I'm finding out is that the pundits are right.  We don't want our government in health care.  First, no one can understand it (and neither can I) unless they are a government bureaucrat.  Even the definitions are confusing, because to define a term it refers you to another statute (which you don't have) or section of the same bill and without a page number, it's time consuming to say the least.  I don't blame members of Congress for not having read the bill.  However, I do blame some of them for not knowing what will happen.  Be realistic.  When government started paying for prescription health care for seniors, my husband's prescription plan really went south.    They raised the deductible, started covering only those medications that Medicare would cover, etc.  In short we got screwed.  So we did what any sensible people should do, we stopped paying for it and went out on our own. Let's face it; the copay was higher than those at local chains.  We are both on maintenance drugs that are actually cheaper without the current copay. 

Since then we've had to pay for medication out of pocket periodically that might have been covered, but when we factor in the monthly charge, and co-pay that we are no longer paying, it hasn't cost us that much out of pocket and we might actually be saving money.  You just have to shop around.

So here's a thought (and this will probably get the government goons on my tail, but hey I want this country to return to the free country it once was.)  You can read the government health care plan just by going to http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/publications/AAHCA-BillText-071409.pdf
This is the entire up-to-date bill before Congress right now.  Remember, it can be changed if the house and the senate both pass the bill.  If the versions aren't identical, conference committee can change it so this is by no means the final version.  It is only the current House of Representatives proposal.  I suggest you read it.  (Yes, I know I haven't finish the whole 1,000 pages either) rather than take someone else's word for it.  (I've already found some holy cows that back up what I've heard the pundits saying.)  Or if you don't want to read it just send it as something "fishy" to flag@whitehouse.gov.  We've done this.  Just tell them you got this fishy email and you wanted to check it out.  We've already done this and so far we're still alive.

I actually heard someone who had the same idea on a radio show so we won't be the only ones sending a copy of the bill to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.  And, to think we had the same idea as someone whom we don't know in another state.  Must be a conspiracy!!!

Is the water hot enough for you yet?

That must be a question the media asks itself frequently.  Of course, they don't call it censorship, but they never print what doesn't fit their world view.

Take for instance the brutal murder of Dr. George Tiller.  Did you know that at the same time a soldier was murdered outside a military recruiting center in Arkansas?  Of course, you didn't--the man arrested for the murder was Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, who converted to Islam while in jail.  He confessed to murdering Private William Long and wounding Private Quinton Ezeagwula.  He said he was committing jihad for political and religious reasons.  It would have been politically incorrect for the media to cover this story.  After all only a soldier was killed by a Muslim man.  It's to be expected.  Whereas George Tiller was an abortionist, a rich man, who performed late term abortions.  He was practically a saint whereas the privates were poor yokels from fly over country.  You couldn't expect the media to cover their murders could you?

Jesse Dirkhising was also from Arkansas (fly over country).  Who is Jesse Dirkhising you ask?  Therein lies the problem.  Jesse was raped and murdered by two gay men in 1999.  His murder took place about the same time that Matthew Shepherd was brutally murdered by two men in Wyoming (more fly over country).  The difference is Shepherd was gay and Dirkhising was more than likely straight and murdered by two gay men.  Guess which crime was worse and was branded a hate crime.  What about a crime against a juvenile (Dirkhising was 13)? Shepherd was an adult.  Both were killed heinously.  God created both equally, except Shepherd was more equal because he was gay.  So Shepherd's murder made national headlines and none of you heard of Jesse Dirkhising. 

Then there was the Duke rape case.  No not the one where the Lacrosse team was accused of attacking a female exotic dancer.  (They were acquitted when the dancer's story was found to be untrue.)  Remember the non-stop coverage on this one?  No, I'm talking about the rape of a black 5 year old adopted boy by his white adoptive father.  You don't hear about that one.  The press isn't covering that one perhaps because the adoptive father was a gay instructor from Duke.  Yep, that Duke.

All these incidences tell me two things.  First, if you are gay you can do anything; and second,being gay trumps being black.  You can say something against a black man, but not against a gay man.  Where are Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton on this one?  Not in North Carolina.

So if you are not gay, but are killed or raped by a gay man, it's not a crime.  The same isn't true if you are conservative, Christian.  Especially if you are a woman. 

On June 8, 2009 David Letterman ridiculed not just Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, but her daughter too.  He said he thought he was ridiculing the oldest Palin daughter who is 18, but Palin had her 14 year old with her.  Did it matter?  I don't think so?  Letterman also called Palin a slutty flight attendant. During the same time frame (forgive me for not having an exact date), Playboy published a story on conservative women they'd like to have angry (rape?) sex with.   Governor Palin was one of those mentioned.  None of the conservative women mentioned could do anything about it.  (Freedom of the press, etc.)  Substitute gay man for conservative woman  and see what would happen.   

What caused her decision to step down as Governor of Alaska?  I don't think it was the attacks on her, but it could have been the attacks on her family.  I've heard from friends in Alaska that her husband Todd was particularly angry and who can blame him.  It's fair to attack Palin (but I question still attacking her months after the election), but her children and her family should be exempt.  I'll say it again.  She's young, attractive and doesn't believe in abortion.  Wow.  Everything a leftist hates.  You can say anything about Palin you want, but don't you dare say anything about gay men.  That's a hate crime.

Is the water hot enough for you yet?

Instead of freedom of religion, we now have people advocating freedom from religion.
Remember the people who founded America were fleeing religious oppression in Europe.  They weren't coming here to be free from religion, but to publicly practice the religion of their choice.

Fast forward about over 250 years and ask yourself the following question.  What would have happened if Miss California had called Perez Hilton a sexually explicit and insulting name? 

Hilton's diatribe against Miss California, Carrie Prejean, was ignored.  Would Carrie Prejean have gotten the same pass if she had made a similar diatribe against Hilton.  Not likely.  Why?  Because she's Christian.  Ask yourself another question.  Why do so many of us remain silent even if we agree with Prejean's response to Perez's question in the Miss USA Contest?  Are we afraid of risking the same type of ridicule?  Are we afraid of being marginalized the same way they are trying to marginalize Carrie Prejean and the same way they marginalized Sarah Palin? 

I don't know what the future holds for Governor Palin, but I think I know why the other side fears her and why they tried to rid the world of her political presence.  Let's face it she's a feminist's nightmare.  She's young, attractive, has a handsome husband and beautiful children and she's pro-life, pro-family conservative, Christian and Republican.   Like Carrie Prejean you can say or do anything you want about her or her family.  Just don't say anything about BO's skin color, ears, religion, name or family because that would be racist, not politically correct and disrespectful.  Why Obama's family is more important then Palin's is beyond me because these rules were in place before he was elected President and besides, if all men (and women) are created equal then his family should be held in no higher regard then Palin's.  (Watch an unbiased talk show and see the liberals dancing around that one.)

Worse if Palin or Prejean said or thought anything wrong about any politically correct protected group they could be charged with a crime.  If fact a bill was recently passed in the House (HR1913) making even politically incorrect thought a crime.

Clergymen have been arrested in Canada for preaching what's in the Bible.  This is coming soon to a Church near you.  So what do we all do?  Clam up?    After all who wants to be ridiculed by the attack dogs of the media.  So if you believe in God, flag, country and traditional marriage shut up.  You are just a right wing kook and don't deserve to be heard.  BO or one of his minions will tell you when to speak and what to say.

Remember the consternation when someone from the Bush Administration authorized wire taps on phones of terrorist suspects when they got or made overseas calls to other known terrorists.  They called it a violation of constitutional rights.  Well, what about Governor Palin's and Miss Prejean's constitutional rights?

Will Sonia Sotomayor vote to protect them or do they only have rights if they are minorities who lean left?  Being Hispanic doesn't automatically guarantee you a place on the courts.  Just ask Miguel Estrada.  He had a compelling personnel story too and he was Hispanic, but he was conservative.  Have you read Clarence Thomas's autobiography, My Grandfather's Son?  Now that's a compelling rags to riches story, but Clarence Thomas almost didn't make it onto the court.  He was raked over the coals by the left.

So what do Sarah Palin, Carrie Prejean. Miguel Estrada and Clarence Thomas have in common?  They are all oppressed minorities  (two women, a Hispanic and a black.)  But they are not protected by hate crime laws because they are conservatives.

In the words of Clarence Thomas that is a "high tech lynching."  (Thank heaven he had the nerve to stand up to Congress.  I wonder why more people don't do it.)   A crime the left can never be guilty of, but their attacks do  ield one thing.  They shut up a lot of people who disagree with them so the opposition isn't vocal and if there is no vocal opposition there can't be any disagreement.  Can there?

Is the water hot enough for you yet?

This is just another scatter, but I am mad about so many things that I can't settle on one to write about.  First, I missed the tea parties because I got sick and when I saw the coverage I was really sick.  I knew people who were there.  They aren't wild-eyed radicals, but men and women who don clothe coats and drive to work every morning.  They make money the old fashioned way they earn it by working long hard hours.  They pay their own bills and educate their own children and they don't live beyond their means.  The current government and its minions in the media would have you believe they are evil and worse than Osama Bin Laden.  Heaven knows they would probably be jailed quicker and/or go to jail for a longer time for a crime more heinous than murder.  They are dreaded Christians and they may even be (horrors) right wing NRA members or pro-family (read pro-life/or pro heterosexual marriage) or maybe all 3.  They'd be better off being Muslim, anti-gay, pro-life and pro gun people.  At least then it would be politically incorrect to jail them, but alas as Christians they have no rights at least in this world.

Remember years ago when they stopped logging in the Pacific NW to save the spotted owl habitat.  Hundreds of loggers were out of work, but no one said anything because most of us weren't Pacific NW loggers.  It didn't affect us so we didn't say anything.

It reminds me of what the Rev. Martin Niemoller, a Lutheran Minister whom the Gestapo arrested in 1938 said.  "In Germany the Nazis first came for the communists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist.  Then they came for the Jews and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.  Then they came for the trade unionists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.  Then they came for the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I was Protestant.  Then they came for me and by that time there was no one left to speak for me." 

So many things are happening and so many rights being abridged by government and presented to us in such a palatable way that we are just absorbing them.  They are either laws actually being passed by Congress or just government edicts on a federal or state level that most of us don't even know anything about.  They are passing under the radar.

FOCA means medical personal can't refuse to be involved in procedures that offend them religiously  (But don't take a seeing eye dog into a cab.  That would offend the Muslim cabbie.); don't say what you personally think about gay marriage in a public forum or a celebrity blogger (who happens to be gay) can publicly berate you (or worse).  Our biggest mistake lately has trying to be politely "Christian".  That's seen as a sign of weakness.

Following is a list of proposed federal and/or state laws that could be passed by Congress or state legislators.

In California (and now it is being proposed federally), they want to use "smart" technology to control your thermostat so that you don't use too much energy.    Your house may heat unevenly and be too warm in one place and too cold in another.  Or you may be older with poor circulation.  You've already tried sweaters, socks to keep you warm and nothing works so you keep your house warmer than the government wants.  The setting the government chooses may not be right for you.  (Too bad).

Health care will be rationed.  (This is already a given).  Right now they are rattling sabers about the people who are a drain on the health care system like diabetics, etc.  Now they are going after you if you're are obese.  It costs the government more so lose weight or die.   If you have diabetes, Parkinson's, MS, cancer or heart disease care for all these conditions are costly.  You could be denied medical care.

Have you noticed that they now ask if you want paper or plastic bags in the store.  One chain is now advertising that there is a fee if you use plastic bags.   Remember, when we were told we had to use plastic to save trees.  

The government is now mandating caf‚ standards for cars   What kind of car you get will be determined by the government.  After all you don't want to pollute the air, do you?  According to Forbes Magazine on-line  (April 25, 2009), Low polluting cars mandated by government are not as safe.  The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tested these smaller cars and they don't protect passengers as well.    Passengers in these cars are twice as likely to be killed or maimed in a head on or even off set collision.  Let's face it killing people means less money will be spent on health care in future.  In Europe (I asked about it when I saw all those Smartcars there), they admit they have higher mortality rates in auto collisions.   That's why I'm encouraging everyone we know and love to buy new cars now while they're still heavy enough to protect the passengers inside.  You don't have to buy a behemoth that uses a lot of gas, but at least good protection for the passenger compartment.  You can't breath pristine air if you're not alive. 

How far is this going to go?   Well, in California they are proposing banning all black automobiles because they absorb heat and use more a/c energy.  Higher taxes and draconian proposals pushed by environmentalists are driving people out of California in droves.  They are going to Arizona and New Mexico and demanding all the same rules and regulations that raised taxes and drove them out of California.  (Go figure.)

Another proposal from an environmental group (honest) is that all cows should be eliminated because they are flatulent and beef causes people to be flatulent, too and flatulence tears holes in the ozone layer.  Older people are gassier, too.  How long will it be before they propose doing away with all older people because they are tearing holes in the ozone layer, too.  While they are at it they should eliminate turkey, onions, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, my husband, and the spotted owls.  (I have heard they are tasty.  Spotted owls not my husband!!!!  ">)

Oh by the way you've all heard that planes striking birds are on an increase.  No reason is given.  However, one article I read in the Chicago Tribune specifically said that Canadian Geese are hit the most often.  Canadian Geese are a protected species.  And, all those Lake Michigan closings caused by pollution.  Here's a little known fact (honest), the Lake is being polluted by bird feces.  Coming from pigeons a protected species.  (We don't have enough of those do we?)

Do you see a pattern here?   The safety and wellbeing of people is always second to the rules (or proposed rules) put in place to protect the environment and/or the government.

Is the water hot enough for you yet?