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?

I was going to write about the fact that the City of Phoenix has the 2nd highest kidnapping rate in the world.  (First place is held by Mexico City.)  And I'll try to remember to do that in a future blog.  Unfortunately, the stimulus and the hidden parts of it have overtaken illegal immigration as a topic.

The part of the 1,000 plus page stimulus bill that is of the most interest is "Comparative Effectiveness Research" or "rationing" for short.  The last time I remember rationing being mentioned was when my mother said they had rationing during WW II and that was of things like rubber, metal, gasoline and food.  Now we will ration health care.  Yes, if you are old, infirm or have cancer it's your duty to die, rather than being a burden on society.  After all everyone wants lower taxes and if the government has to pay for your care then taxes will be higher.

Under comparative effectiveness research the UK told people with macular degeneration that they had to lose vision in one eye before thy could get treatment to prevent blindness. 

C. Evert Koop, MD., a former pediatrician and Surgeon General under Ronald Reagan, became a quadriplegic in 1988.  Now 92, Koop said that under the UK plan he was nine years too old for the surgery that restored his limbs and gave him 21 more years of useful life.  In 1979, Koop predicted in a book with his co-author, the late Dr. Frances Schaefer,  that the government would begin deciding who would get life saving treatment and who wouldn't.  They were 30 years ahead of their time.  What Koop and Schaeffer didn't predict was the advent of a government agency that will, under the force of law, (your stimulus at work for you), decide who is eligible for health care and what treatment they will receive.

The health care section of the stimulus bill says that the Department of Health and Human Services will "provide research to help guide medical decisions at the time and place of care."  It provides for penalties to be assessed to physicians who "spend too much time" with individual patients.  The wording in the stimulus bill borrows heavily from Tom Daschle"s book, "Critical:  What We Can Do About the Health Care Crisis."  Daschle"s book follows the rules of health care cost containment used in Western Europe. 

The term "deny health care to individuals" in Europe means the "duty to die."   The decision will be left in the hands of nameless, faceless bureaucrats who may think it is better for you to be blind or a quadriplegic than pay for your treatment.  What will happen to make it palatable will be the story of a 90 plus woman who is a burden to her family or a situation similar to Terry Schivo's.  Who wouldn't think Schvio was a burden, who wouldn't think the 90 plus women was a burden, who wouldn't applaud her decision to die or Schvio's death.  You can bet that someone on AIDS prevention cocktail won't be denied care and you can bet that the denials will fall disproportionately on middle class people who can pay part of their health care, but would be bankrupted by paying for all of it.

Be careful, it could be you next and it could be something as simple as pain relief or blindness prevention!

And you thought the stimulus bill was only about helping people who bought big houses and now can't pay the mortgage.

Is the water hot enough for you yet?

 

Oil prices are inching up again.

It would be easy (I know the dems like to do it) to blame the oil companies again, but alas they are creeping up for the same reason they skyrocketed before—market conditions.   If demand exceeds supply and/or there is uncertainty in oil producing countries or OPEC reduces production, conditions are ideal for increased prices and it doesn’t matter what BP, Shell, etc. do. Right now demand is exceeding supply, OPEC has reduced production and there is unrest in the Middle East (does IRAN mean anything to you.) and Russia’s supply to Europe is erratic because of pipeline disputes.

OK, if only we could blame it on evil companies like Halliburton (did you know that contrary to press rumblings and internet stories Halliburton isn’t an oil company. They do supply things to oil companies like parts and fire fighters, but they don’t explore for oil for or produce oil. I checked on goggle.)

If the gas prices go up even more check and see if the government has added another gas tax.   It fills government coffers and convinces you to buy a smaller car. I wouldn’t have discussed this until a young woman called a radio show and complained because she couldn’t fit her 3 car seats in the back of her smaller mini-van. The era of the 3 or more kids has passed. You can now have only 1-2 kids. The government, combined with environmentalists, has found a sneaky way to force you to reduce your family.

You must have a car seat even for an older child and you must drive a smaller car so you can’t have 3 car seats in the second row so you have to reduce your family size. Take that you Catholics and Mormons. 

There was a story in the Sunday, January 4, 2009 issue of the Chicago Tribune about a Russian town that loved an environmentalist who had convinced them to lobby the government for stricter standards so that a nearby lake was still pristine enough for rare species to survive. A picture accompanying the story showed the environmentalist standing by the lake wondering at its beauty. Meanwhile the town’s people who helped her lost their jobs when the town mill was forced to close. The environmentalist had little sympathy for those who were unemployed because of the mills closure. The lake was pristine and the people had never thought of the unfortunate by-product.   It’s a problem. You have to balance the rights of nature with the rights of men. In this case the snail darter and spotted owls win and we lose. That doesn’t mean I believe in pollution, but I believe that both nature and man can benefit with enough forethought, and men do not need to be destroyed by environmental concerns. 

We eliminated DDT because of its effects were bad for nature and in the process increased the death rate due to malaria for man. All we really had to do was reduce the amount of DDT we used and man was still saved from malaria and nature was protected.   But with our all or nothing at all philosophy we couldn’t see the forest for the trees.

We had the same problem with paper bags. Their production was bad for trees so we replaced them with plastic bags. Now, those are even worse for the environment and we’re being pushed to cloth bags. How long do you think it will be before someone figures out that the contamination from leaking meats is bad? The bags have to be washed and dried and we’re using more water, which is bad for the environment. The solution is to charge a tax for the bags (are you beginning to see a pattern here) thus benefiting government and soon, I’ll bet, the environmental groups.

If fuel efficient cars use less gas then how long will it be before we are told by governments that they need more revenue from gas taxes so they will put a gps in each car to determine how many miles it travels and tax us for the miles we drive and the gas we use. (This is already being proposed on the west coast.) It reminds me of the time that our natural gas company told us that we hadn’t used enough gas during a warm winter so they had to raise the price. 

So you see it’s a win/lose situation and the government will get its pound of flesh no matter what you do. Maybe we need to eliminate government. “>)

Is the water hot enough for you yet?

 

 

On the radio and in the Chicago Tribune there were interviews with people who are (horrors) having to budget for the first time. No longer able to buy their kids all the expensive electronic gadgets they have in the past, the Trib was offering ways to explain not having enough money to kids (horrors). Welcome to the world I have lived in my entire life. It’s the world my husband I were raised in (although both of our dads belonged to unions.). It’s the world our kids were raised in, because we weren’t made of money and because we were raised by parents who grew up with nothing we (and our children) got wrapped packages that had underwear, socks, gloves, in them. They did better for us then their parents did for them and we did better for our kids, but they certainly didn’t have everything. We were too busy saving for college and a rainy day so that we never had to make financial demands on our children when we reached our “golden” years.

I often wondered why so many of today’s parents had their adult children move back in. Now I know. The kids have never learned to live without all the fancy gadgets, autos, etc. Maybe an economic downturn is just what these parents and their kids need. It will teach them to live within their (horrors) means and not rely on plastic. Cash is king. Pay cash. Do what we did. Live without a dining room set for 10 years until you have the cash (horrors) to pay for one. Yes, one room of your house will be empty, but so what. When you do buy it, you won’t owe anyone anything. They can’t repossess what you’ve paid for.

Buy only what you can afford (horrors), which means you may have to do without some things that you consider necessities, but if you do without them maybe they aren’t necessities after all. What do you really need—food, clothing, shelter and just how fancy do those things have to be? Do you need designer shoes or jeans or will a $20.00 pair do just as well. Do you need a five bedroom house with matching bathrooms or will 3 bedrooms do just as well? And, here’s a thought. How about a house without a second or third mortgage? Cash is king. Pay it off as soon as you can and if you do hit hard times and have to sell it, all the money you get is yours. Not the banks. If you do hit a mark to mortgage situation like we have now, here is another thought. The safest and smartest way to make money out of a house is to hold on to it for years—five years at a minimum. 

What we need to do is live a life not of luxury, but of love. Live simply so that you can share what you have with those who truly don’t have anything.

And, don’t be afraid to say those magic, not politically correct words, (horrors)

Merry Christmas

Is the water hot enough for you yet.

 

Huge amounts of money are being withdrawn from the stock market at the end of the day causing the market to collapse or at the least vast fluctuations in the worlds stock markets. Who would benefit from the worlds economic collapse and in particular a collapse in the US economy—The Chinese, The Russians, someone in the middle east or an extremely wealth person or persons. Who knows? I can think of a lot of reasons why they wouldn’t benefit. Aren’t the Chinese and most Middle Eastern nations t tied to the US dollar and the Euro; don’t the Russians and the Middle Eastern countries need us to buy their oil?

Of course, if emotion is dictating action then logic goes out the window. For logic we need a poll. Or do we?

I don’t know what is going to happen on November 4, but I don’t believe polls. Polls drive the nightly news, but even the candidates know they aren’t worth much. That’s why the candidates have their own internal polls that tell them more than ABC/NBC/Gallup or Zogby et al can. Their polls tell them how they are really doing. 

Why are the major polls so divergent? In some cases it depends on how the questions are worded.  Although, in this case one wouldn’t think the questions would matter. 

Another variable is the size of the polling sample. Did they call 500 people or 1500? The larger the sample the better the poll is unless they skew it to get the result they want.

How do you do that? Simple. You can call into an area that has more likely voters for the candidate you want to win then you do for this opponent. Then you can say gosh Candidate X is winning by 20% (or 5%.) The polls can be skewed without any help from deliberate manipulation too. How many people have caller ID and won’t answer the phone; how many people don’t have land lines and never get polled; how many people lie to pollsters (I’d never do that. “>).

No one will know for sure until after the vote is counted. You can’t even rely on exit polls. I just saw a study that said Democrats are more likely to answer exit polls then Republicans and independents. Which explained why the pollsters called the 2004 race for John Kerry. You all remember President John Kerry don’t you?

And, then there are actual voting manipulations. For instance a lot of states aren’t accepting military absentee ballots for baseless reasons and Mickey Mouse will be allowed to vote absentee because ACORN registered him. 

Ask me if this country is going in the right direction and I’d say no, but not for the reasons the pollsters think. I think this country is going in the wrong direction because groups like ACORN (aided and abetted by a corrupt judiciary) are making a sham of our democratic processes. In fact, Zogby asked me that question and I said the country was headed in the right direction because the options they gave me were not ones I agreed with (in all of them I had to blame George Bush for everything) and there was no option for other. I have problems with him on a lot of issues, but in general he’s doing OK. 

At least he never told us we need sub-prime loans so that everyone can own a home and then forced me to pay for someone who bought a home they couldn’t afford. Meanwhile, the people responsible for pushing the sub-prime fiasco through Congress will probably get reelected because they’ve succeeded in convincing the masses that it’s all George Bush’s fault. Who’s to blame? The Congress (Republican and Democrat), the less than stellar people who bought a home they couldn’t afford, or us for voting in more people who are responsible for sub-prime loans. I don’t know the answer to that question. But I have one for you.

Is the water hot enough for you yet?

 

  

I couldn’t make up my mind how I felt about the bailout. Checking with friends who have strong backgrounds in economics and getting a copy of the bill from a local congressional office after it passed has helped a little.

It helped me understand better what was going on, but I got divergent views. The congressman who provided the bill voted against both bills. He told me that a majority of his constituents had chosen the smaller home or car so they didn’t have big payments. They didn’t want to do without while at the same time paying for someone who didn’t pay attention to finances. In short they didn’t want to pay for anyone who didn’t act responsibly. Two friends who are more into the market had opposite views.   One said he knew businessmen who were in danger of losing their companies because of the current banking problems. That brought to mind a game that was at the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago until recent remodeling. The marketing component (which I always won) made the point that the biggest reason for business failures was under capitalization. Hmmmm. Even companies that have been in business for a long time and seem to be doing fine can go under when they try to expand. The reasons are many but can include a market downturn or a misreading of the market. 

Still the more I studied the issue; the more I agreed with the Congressman.   Even those people who lost their homes or business for reasons beyond their control such as illness shouldn’t be forced to pay for those people who over extended themselves.   That’s not fair. They need time for a breather and to enjoy their newfound success.

Let’s take just one everyday “Joe”. Let’s call him Joe the Plumber. (Although in fairness to Joe Wurzelbacher he never said he was a plumber. He said he was hoping to buy a plumbing business, which he works for.)  He had a question, and the media has been after him ever since. They’ve invaded his personal life like ants on a sugar hill all the while ignoring the real point--Barack Obama’s response to Joe’s questions. (Yes, we’ll raise your taxes, but we just want to spread the wealth.) If Joe bought the business and it earned over $250,000 a year, it didn’t seem fair to pay higher taxes. After all he’d worked long, hard hours to achieve his dream. Joe as it turns out lived on welfare until his family could get back on its feet financially. So he was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He got his money the old-fashioned way. He earned it.   He lives humbly; not beyond his means and he saves his money. Gosh does that sound familiar.

If Barack Obama has his way and spreads the wealth around, we could end up in the poor house and drag our kids down with us. And, we’d all be on the government dole and live in the Socialist States of America. Wouldn’t that be fun?

Is the water hot enough for you yet?

 

Who Is Sarah Palin and Why Should You Care?

I feel so prophetic.

While the media is saying they’ve never heard of Sarah Palin and she wasn’t even on their radar. I’m proud to say I had heard of her and she was on my radar. I first heard about her approximately 2 months ago and she sounded too good to be true. I contacted a friend who lives in Alaska and she confirmed what I heard and said everyone there loved their Governor, Sarah Palin. 

I was so sure she was the perfect vice president pick for John McCain, I forwarded an email to everyone who might be interested in Sarah Palin.    When there was an on-line poll I voted for her and encouraged other people to do the same. I had some down moments when the media kept saying McCain would pick Tom Ridge, Governor Tim Pawlenty or Mitt Romney, but I kept voting on-line for Sarah Palin. And, then the rumors began to swirl late Thursday night and early Friday morning and Governor Sarah Palin’s name began to surface. Governor Sarah Palin is a pro-life, pro-gun, ethics reformer who turned Alaska on its ear when she ran for Governor and with little money and no party backing beat the incumbent.    And, she understands the politics of oil as only an Alaskan can. Her political base was the Anchorage suburb of Wasilla where she was on the city council and eventually mayor, and, of course, she had her degree in journalism which gave her an in as an ex- sports reporter for two Anchorage TV stations. 

She married her high school sweetheart, Todd Palin, right after graduating from college. He’s a union member (Steelworkers), and a commercial fisherman.   Five children, twenty years of marriage, a few PTA meetings, a few village council meetings, a few hockey/basketball meetings, a few recalcitrant elected officials and a governship later, Sarah Palin rose to the highest level any woman has ever achieved, a vice presidential nomination.   (She shares that rarified air with Geraldine Ferraro (D). 

My husband, a very astute man, pointed out that Sarah Palin, a past union member, is married to a current union member making it possible that the heavily unionized states of Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan might be in play now.   Christian Evangelicals will love her pro-life, anti gay marriage stance and NRA members will love her pro-gun position.   As a member of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, she exposed ethics violations by the state GOP Chairman also a fellow commissioner.   She’s made her mark as a reformer even refusing congressional earmark money for the bridge to nowhere.   She told Congress if we want to build a bridge we’ll pay for it ourselves. Everyone will love her.

Except for the media. One prominent member of the inside the beltway press worried that she’d never even been on Meet the Press; another said she hadn’t even run for president, as if that’s the criteria for a vice president.   Others claim she lacks foreign policy experience, but I question that. As a member of Alaska’s Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and as Governor she’s dealt with foreign governments on the oil issue and as Alaska’s governor she is currently dealing with Russia’s attempted grab of Alaska off shore oil reserves. (Did you know that the Russian Navy has even planted a Russian flag on the artic ocean bed to claim part of Alaska’s oil rich territory?) As Alaskan Governor she’s on the front lines dealing with the Russians and she dealt with Canada solving an oil pipeline problem that none of the state’s good old boys could.    Take that Barry and Joe.

The best part is she isn’t a lawyer. The Republican ticket consists of a retired military man and a journalist and the democrats have nominated two lawyers from exclusive east coast schools. Does it get any better than this? “>)

“The game is afoot,” as Shakespeare would say. And, the score will be available on November 4 (or maybe 5.)

PS: With all the left-wing blog efforts to destroy Palin via her family is it safe to say

Is the water hot enough for you yet?

 

Georgia on My Mind

 

I was going to write another blog about illegal immigration, but the Soviet invasion of Georgia is on my mind.   

 

Why did Russia invade Georgia now?  I heard one pundit blame Georgia’s president Mikhail Saakashvili because, according to the pundit, he “tweaked” Russia’s nose, but I have another theory.  Do the words “Eastern European Missile Defense Shield” mean anything to you?

 

If not, here’s the Cliff Notes version.  During the last year the US forged agreements with at least two Eastern European countries (former Soviet bloc satellites) to put missile defense systems in their countries.  (The first country that agreed backed out when the Soviets complained.) The missiles are not to be directed at the Soviets, but rather at the Iranians to prevent them from using their missiles loaded with nuclear warheads from attacking Europe.  Nevertheless Putin didn’t want them there.  It’s hard to know what Putin’s fears were, if any.  Did he really fear the missiles were directed at him, was he trying to protect Iranian interests, was he trying to reassert Soviet dominance in the region and eliminate any further surge toward democracy or was there another reason?  (This morning’s pundits are agreeing with my theory and advancing yet another one which I didn’t know.  The only oil pipeline to the Caspian Sea not under Russian control goes through Georgia.)

 

Whatever the reason Putin may have put the fear of the Soviet military might into Poland and any other country that may be contemplating letting the missile system be put on their territory.  He may also be trying to prevent them from entering either NATO or the EU.  Why?  Simple.  The more closely aligned they become to the west, the less likely he is to be able to resurrect the old USSR.  Putin’s an ex KGB guy.  Nuff said. 

 

Unlikely, you think, because Putin isn’t the Soviet premier anymore.  The only people who think he’s still not in charge are Barack Obama or some of Obama’s minions.  Putin is already supposed to have his sights trained on the Ukraine.    (The Ukrainian President is the only world leader who’s gone to Georgia’s aid.  Maybe that was because he was poisoned by the Russians in an effort to keep him from taking office, and he almost died. )  It was after all the Soviet breadbasket before the break up of the old Soviet Union.    If you think the Soviet Union hasn’t been rattling it’s sabers recently, then you haven’t been paying attention.  Soviet bombers have invaded the airspace of several countries including over flying the US in Alaska and the Soviet navy is threatening to take over US territorial waters in the Artic in a blatant attempt to get seabed oil located there.  Still think Russia is now an ally?

 

The only things that are going to make this invasion successful are a weak-kneed response from NATO, the EU and the US.  That’s already happening.  Should the US go into Georgia with guns blazing?  Ummmm maybe not, but how about a program similar to the lend lease program that FDR and Churchill used to keep the Nazis at bay.  Only if US interests are directly attacked (Pearl Harbor and September 11, 2001 come to mind.), should we respond with a direct military attack, but we shouldn’t leave Georgia hanging out to dry either.  By training their military, and providing them with equipment, we’re giving them the ability to protect their own land.  At the same time we’ll be protecting US vital interests abroad.  (Maybe we should aim some missiles at the Russians.  After all Ronald Reagan won the first cold war with star wars, which the media assured us would never work and dubbed star wars.) 

 

Might doesn’t make right, but it sure keeps your enemies on the straight and narrow.  We should keep that in mind.

 

Is the water hot enough for you yet?

 

Of Legislators and Orators

Years ago when a state representative that is a friend was up for reelection, he called me to pick my brain (or what there is of it.) In the course of the conversation he admitted he hated to campaign, but he loved to legislate. He was right, he was a great legislator, but he lacked the personal charisma of someone like JFK. Very few people knew about his accomplishments in the State House of Representatives (and later the State Senate.), because he didn’t speak in sound bites. 

It takes good “sound bites” (those 30 second or less lines that attract attention) to make the evening news, but the oratory necessary to convince people to vote for (or against) a bill is usually longer and is ignored by the media.

What brought this to mind is the quip a media type made about John McCain and Barack Obama. Obama is a “sound bite” politician; McCain is an orator. McCain gets things done; while Obama is talking about getting things done. Unfortunately, it will be Obama who hits the evening news not McCain. And, what McCain gets done will be ignored by the media unless it’s something like McCain/Feingold campaign finance reform. It’s hard to ignore something that has your name pasted all over it and the media does like campaign finance reform, because it plays right into their hands. How? If you limit what a PAC can spend, you take their influence away; and the media becomes even more influential by showing those 30 second “sound bites” that they love so well. All the rest gets censored.

Yes, censored. While the mainstream media rears it’s ugly head roaring against censorship, it’s the biggest practitioner. Ask yourself the following question, “Who decides what goes into a newspaper (or on the TV screen.)” It’s the media

How bad is the censorship? Did you know the Mexican Army has invaded the United States? No you didn’t read that wrong. There have been incursions over the border numerous times over the last 10 years, but recently a small contingent of the Mexican Army (they were in uniform, had army issued guns and id’d themselves to the Phoenix police) came into the Phoenix metro area. They shot at some residents of a private home and admitted they would have shot at Phoenix police, but they ran out of bullets. Now, it could be they lied, stole the uniforms and weapons, etc., and were really drug smugglers. (They were going after a drug smuggler who was in a private Phoenix residence.) They could also be both members of the Army and drug smugglers. Ah, I’ve got you there, but the drug and human smuggling that goes on the in the desert southwest, is often aided and abetted and joined by the Mexican Army. And, the only reason this came to light in the Phoenix area was because the police union is getting fed up with the antics of Phoenix’s mayor, Democrat Phil Gordon. Last winter a Phoenix police officer was killed by an illegal immigrant who had been let go a few weeks earlier with just a ticket.   It seems the police were not allowed (by edict of the Mayor) to ask if he was legal or illegal and had to let him go without asking his residency status. Less than a month later he killed the police officer. And, yes, that news was censored by all but the Arizona media.

Under ordinary circumstances, an incursion by another army onto sovereign soil is considered an act of war. Ask Israel.

And, so Senator “sound bite” Obama will get the press and Senator Orator McCain will be ignored. And, your friends will tell you about all the wonderful things Obama says and nothing about what McCain does. .

Is the water getting hot enough for you yet?

 

How To Save Gas, Money or Both in 2008

We were in California recently and heard some interviews on the radio that made me raise my eyebrows. 

“How,” asked the intrepid reporter of the person on the street “are you saving money now that gas and food prices are higher.”

“I’m clipping coupons,” said one. Another said, “I’m combining errands,” and a third said, “I’m driving a car that gets 30 mpg now.”

All good ideas, but I have one question. “Why did you just start doing that now?" We’ve been doing all of those things for the last 25 years or more.” When our son was little the money you saved in coupons was returned to you in cash.” So I saved it and did things like bought new shoes, etc. Now, it’s taken off the bottom line of your grocery bill, but still it’s a savings. Use the coupons.

Combine errands. This is new???? When our kids were little we always combined errands. We still do. Hey, we need to go to the bank, the grocery store, the dentist. Why not just drive in a loop and save time and gas. Gosh. This is a new concept? I used to get angry at businesses that opened at different times. If you went out at 9:00 AM and some stores didn’t open until 10:00 AM, you wasted gas making two trips to the same area. That wasn’t smart.

For years we always bought a car with the highest gas mileage possible for a family sedan. I avoided the SUV trap no matter how much the kids whined and stuck with a four-door sedan. Right now both of our cars get over 30 mpg. One gets 32. We never stomped on the gas pedal because reduced mileage and we tried to coast up to a stoplight when possible. 

We were raised by parents who struggled through the depression. We learned early that “waste not want not” was a way to save money even in good times.    We lived in the same house for 35 years and drove our cars for at least 10 years before trading them in. In each case we paid off our house/car(s) and had several years of no payments. We never charged more than we could afford to pay off each month and avoided interest payments. In case anyone thinks we were rolling in dough. Nope. Sometimes I had to save for months to buy new shoes because my favorite/daily shoes had holes in them. We paid cash for everything other than cars; seldom had new clothes and when we did we bought them on sale.   We even stooped to pick up pennies we found laying in the street. We didn’t live beyond our means and so the current high prices, while not fun, are not going to put us in the poor house either. 

So why are all these people suddenly finding ways to economize. Maybe they never learned the value of money. They never learned Ben Franklin’s adage, “A penny saved is a penny earned.” That could explain why so many people are in bankruptcy court or have homes in receivership. They never learned to live within their means. Whose fault is that? Why George Bush’s. It could never be their own. 

In fact George Bush is so powerful he’s responsible for the dark ages, 100 years war, American Civil War, WWI and II and God knows what else. The man is responsible for every evil that has befallen civilization since the beginning of time. Wow. He is omnipotent.

Well, that’s the way that liberals and their minions think. I believe those are the same minions who are so dependent on government doing everything for them that they don’t clip coupons, combine errands, drive high mpg cars, and live beyond their means and never take responsibility for themselves and what they do.

Sounds like democrats to me.

 

Is the water hot enough for you yet?

 

Can the Government Take your Liver without your Consent?

Before you say no think about this. There is a movement in the UK (Great Britain) to allow the government to take organs from dead people without any ones consent. The principle backer of this proposal is British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Brown’s reasoning is there are not enough voluntary organ donors so when you’re dead (or presumed dead) he would like them to be able to take whatever organs they need.

I know people who have had organ transplants and/or who were on organ transplant teams. I know there is a need and I know that in the hands of competent, ethical people transplants are a good thing, but I also know someone who was told her husband was brain dead and asked for permission to disconnect his respirator. She refused. Good thing too, because her new husband came out of his coma and lived for years afterwards. They had two children and grandchildren. If she had listened to the doctors, her family would have never existed and her husband would have been denied his right to life.

Next

According to the NY Times, (no comments, please), the California Energy Commission is considering taking control of residents thermostats so that they can control residential temperatures by overriding household controls in times of energy crisis. 

Their reasoning is during rolling black outs you wouldn’t want to contribute to flashing stoplights or crashed computers.    Of course, this would primarily apply to summer and wouldn’t help in our house where the a/c is kept at 80 degrees.   But it would really p.o. some of my neighbors who keep their house at a constant “cool” 70 degrees.

Outrageous. You bet, but don’t think things like this can’t happen, because once we let government control us in one way what’s to prevent other more intrusive ways.

For example, the ban on smoking began with a prohibition of smoking on airplanes about 20 years ago. When anyone complained about a slippery slope, I laughed. I didn’t smoke. After the ban on airplanes they just kept nibbling away. Now, you can’t smoke in any public place. Some places have actually banned smoking in private residences and there is a move afoot to ban smoking in cars. That’s intrusive.

Now, they are beginning the slow nibble on what foods we eat. First, it started in NYC with attempted bans and regulations on fast foods and it’s spreading across the country. The environmentalists are calling for a ban on beef because cattle, among others, put too much methane in the atmosphere contributing to a hole in the ozone layer. (It’s not beef, but turkey that has that effect on me. And, to prevent methane from my husband you would have to ban everything, including my husband. “>)

Another suggestion to reduce methane would be to eliminate everyone over 60, but no one would seriously suggest that (would they)?

If you think none of the above could happen, think again. 

Some of it is happening right now. As an example, we don’t want to give any more money to terrorists so we’re all willing to drive more fuel-efficient cars. (I’ve always driven a fuel-efficient car so I don’t know what all the hype is about. The cars I have right now get 30-32 mpg.) The government has mandated that we drive even more fuel-efficient cars so by 2020 manufacturers have to create cars that get 40 mpg. The easiest way to do this is by reducing the weight/size of the car, but when you do that you make everyone in those cars more vulnerable in combat with a heavier vehicle. 

There is a bright side though. If they can salvage enough of your remains they may be able to harvest some organs. “>)

Is the water hot enough for you yet?