Many folks in the higher circles of the GOP are giddy with the possibility of a major realignment in the American electorate. In these next two election cycles, the Republicans could make real gains in both houses of Congress, take back a few governorships and stop the Obama hope and change express cold. All of this is well and good for the Republican pundits and campaign managers, but I have a question. What then?
The Democrats were sure, once they rid the White House of George W. Bush, the world would be righted by the sheer power of Barack Obama's genius. Woops. Very large, very complex, and systemic problems require drastic action and bold, honest leadership to fix.
Bringing about a fundamental change of this magnitude will require something I believe the American people have lost their taste for; pain. We want someone to fix the problem without paying the price in discomfort. We want someone to make it better, without changing it. We want a dentist to fix 20 years worth of dental problems with no shots, no drilling and very little inconvenience. We want hope and change, not pain and change.
This is a trap I hope the GOP will not fall into. The trillions in new spending and the industrial sized debt the President is piling up for our children will not lead to prosperity, they will lead to ruin. The American people are finally awakening to the sticker shock of this and are standing up to say, enough. So what happens if we give the purse strings back to the Republicans? Are we so certain this short walk in the wilderness has been long enough to drive out the big-spending habits of the Hastert/DeLay Republicans? I have my doubts.
If there is to be real, meaningful solutions for our nation's fiscal outlook, it will take more than a repackaging of old ideas. It will take a revolution in the way Americans think about government; what it should do, and more to the point, what it cannot do. To lead that revolution, we will need leaders who tell the public what the real price of reform will mean; sacrifice.
They will have to tell American's, vote for me, and it will hurt for a little while. Vote for me and I will spend your money as if it were my money. Vote for me and together we will have to make some difficult choices. Vote for me and I will promise to help fix these very large, very complex, very expensive problems, once and for all. Vote for me and you may be sorry when I cut some money from a program you like or receive a benefit. Vote for me and we will make many people angry, but we can look our children in the face and know we did the right thing for them.
Would anyone run a campaign like that? Who would say government is too big, tries to do too much, and it costs entirely too much? It will certainly not be the Democratic Party. Not now, and unless they rein in the progressives and revert back to the party of JFK, not ever. So, that leaves us with the Republicans. Not the 2000-2006 Republicans, but the 1994 Republicans, if there are any left.
Does anyone have the conviction to run as a candidate saying the government is not Santa Claus? I do not know. I do not know if anyone has the courage to say, we are going to reduce the size of government, not slow the growth, but over the next four years we are going to reduce the size government by 4%. One percent a year and everyone will need to take a little less. Defense, Education, Interior, even Social Security and Medicare. Everyone needs to be smarter about how they spend the taxpayer’s money. Everyone talks about waste, fraud and abuse, and the only way to find it is to make the bureaucrats account for every dollar, every full time position, and every check they hand out. It works in the private sector; it should work for government as well.
My fear is the Republicans will be swept back into power without truly repenting their past fiscal sins. Right now we need fiscal conservatives, and lots of them. After the 1.5 to 1.7 Trillion dollar Obama deficits this year, it won't be hard to say we will cut the deficit in half. That will be easy. We need someone who will explain, and then reverse, this huge government expansion before we go over the cliff that is surely coming.
That cliff is demographic in nature, and numbers do not lie. The massive flood of baby-boomers who will be coming into the Social Security and Medicare systems in the next two decades will break this nation, plain and simple. When you hear any politician say that SSI and Medicare will cost X amount in the next ten years, ask this one question. What will it cost in twenty? The first decade will be no picnic, but when the main surge of boomers hit their 70s and 80s and begin fully utilizing the Medicare system, those two government entitlement programs will take up the majority of our national budget.
So what can we do? I wish I knew.
In one respect, the President is right about health care, doing nothing is not an option. With Medicare going broke in the coming decades, the answer is not putting everyone on it, or something similar to it. The answer is not promising even more 'free' things that we simply cannot afford. The answer should be personal responsibility. Part of the answer should be tort reform, so doctors do not give you a myriad of unnecessary scans and tests in the hopes they will not be sued. Part of the answer should be using medical savings accounts to put you in charge of your heath care dollars. Part of the answer should be means testing these programs. Part of the answer will be vigorous, and I do mean vigorous, enforcement of Medicare and Social Security fraud. There will have to more ways to save money, and they will have to be found, fast. These answers are not going to popular, but the alternative is much, much worse.
If we keep electing people who say they will not cut anything, we will get what we deserve, a complete shutdown of the system. No more checks, no more care, no more 'free' anything. One day all the hospitals who accept Medicare patients will have a padlock on the door and a sign on the door saying come back in four months when the new fiscal year starts, we are out of money. All the SSI checks will stop and everyone will cry bloody murder. We are facing that reality in a few decades, if not sooner.
If Republicans think they can fix this with a few minor tweaks, they are sadly mistaken. If Democrats think they can tax their way out of this demographic noose, they are mistaken as well. The solution will be two fold. Grow the economy, and that means growing small businesses as well as reducing one of the highest corporate taxes in the industrialized world. The other part of the solution is going to be a smaller government footprint. However, even those who want smaller government are going to be upset when their benefits are reduced. Trust me; they will want you to cut off those "other guys" not my benefits.
Whoever takes on this problem had better be prepared for town hall meetings that make this summer's look like a Girl Scout bake sale. It will be ugly.
So, who is willing to say, follow me and feel the pain? The better question is, would you vote for that person?
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
ACORN's "Cash for Chlamydia" program
Do you smell something? I believe it’s the dead horse I was beating a few weeks ago, but darn if it doesn't require another good whooping.
The main stream media has a giant blind-spot when it comes to scandals involving Democrats, so they can think of me as one of those curved mirrors on the passenger side of your car. My message is simply this; "Your demise is closer than it appears."
I know the MSM is going to give President Obama and Democrats a pass on almost every mistake, miscalculation and scandal, but the latest ACORN videos have made an end run around the MSM and people are asking where were CNN and the New York Times on this story. ACORN, at last count, has taken 53 $Million in tax dollars, and would have been eligible to receive much more through the billions in Community Development Block Grants found in the stimulus bill. The GOP tried to keep any stimulus money from going to ACORN earlier this year, but every Democrat in the Senate voted that amendment down.
Then a series of undercover videos were released. I guess the Democrats ultimately could not defend sending taxpayer dollars to people who would gladly give you advice on the best way to set up and tax shelter your underage prostitution ring.
(I do not condone graffiti, but this makes me laugh)
I can hear the liberals screaming that posing as a pimp and prostitute with a hidden camera is gotcha journalism, and should not be taken seriously. I guess you never heard of 60 Minutes, or Dateline. Undercover journalism is only acceptable when it steers clear of liberal groups and politicians, right?
ACORN, once untouchable and completely unaccountable, has finally been unmasked for the liberal boondoggle of corruption it is. I am sure that within any organization you will find some folks who are fine people, with a genuine desire to help their community. It is now plain as day that many others think ACORN is a place where you can be paid to stick it to “the man.”
Don't want to pay your taxes? No problem, ACORN can help you. Don't have a job and want a home loan? No problem, ACORN can help you. You want to be paid for turning in voter registration forms using names from the phone book? No problem, ACORN will pay you.
Oh, by the way, has anyone seen Attorney General, Eric Holder? He must be busy.
So here is my question. What do think would happen if this scandal had been with an organization supported by Republicans?
It would be wall-to-wall coverage. There would be a reporter behind every shrub and bougainvillea at GOP headquarters jumping out to ask Republican leaders what they knew, and when knew it. I don't see that happening here, in fact the MSM has tried its best to ignore this story. They finally had to report the story when the fifth undercover video was released showing ACORN employees actually offering advice to undercover journalist, posing a pimp and a prostitute, on the best way to smuggle underage girls into the country for the purpose of prostitution. He even offered to help them. Talk about customer service....
Those of us on the right have known about the corruption in ACORN for years. Maybe the
MSM is afraid to go after groups like this because they fear their reporting would be labeled as racist. This seems to be the standard operating procedure. If anyone questions your minority-based group, hit them with the R word. There is nothing like the charge of racist or bigot to scare even the largest news outlet into looking the other way. After years of doing it, the MSM does not even bother to look at groups like ACORN anymore. Too much trouble, too much downside possibility.
So what other scandals and stories are out there? A better question is who will break them? Will it be the MSM with a newsroom full of professional journalists, or will it be another couple of college student?
The main stream media has a giant blind-spot when it comes to scandals involving Democrats, so they can think of me as one of those curved mirrors on the passenger side of your car. My message is simply this; "Your demise is closer than it appears."
I know the MSM is going to give President Obama and Democrats a pass on almost every mistake, miscalculation and scandal, but the latest ACORN videos have made an end run around the MSM and people are asking where were CNN and the New York Times on this story. ACORN, at last count, has taken 53 $Million in tax dollars, and would have been eligible to receive much more through the billions in Community Development Block Grants found in the stimulus bill. The GOP tried to keep any stimulus money from going to ACORN earlier this year, but every Democrat in the Senate voted that amendment down.
Then a series of undercover videos were released. I guess the Democrats ultimately could not defend sending taxpayer dollars to people who would gladly give you advice on the best way to set up and tax shelter your underage prostitution ring.
ACORN, once untouchable and completely unaccountable, has finally been unmasked for the liberal boondoggle of corruption it is. I am sure that within any organization you will find some folks who are fine people, with a genuine desire to help their community. It is now plain as day that many others think ACORN is a place where you can be paid to stick it to “the man.”
Don't want to pay your taxes? No problem, ACORN can help you. Don't have a job and want a home loan? No problem, ACORN can help you. You want to be paid for turning in voter registration forms using names from the phone book? No problem, ACORN will pay you.
Oh, by the way, has anyone seen Attorney General, Eric Holder? He must be busy.
So here is my question. What do think would happen if this scandal had been with an organization supported by Republicans?
It would be wall-to-wall coverage. There would be a reporter behind every shrub and bougainvillea at GOP headquarters jumping out to ask Republican leaders what they knew, and when knew it. I don't see that happening here, in fact the MSM has tried its best to ignore this story. They finally had to report the story when the fifth undercover video was released showing ACORN employees actually offering advice to undercover journalist, posing a pimp and a prostitute, on the best way to smuggle underage girls into the country for the purpose of prostitution. He even offered to help them. Talk about customer service....
Those of us on the right have known about the corruption in ACORN for years. Maybe the
MSM is afraid to go after groups like this because they fear their reporting would be labeled as racist. This seems to be the standard operating procedure. If anyone questions your minority-based group, hit them with the R word. There is nothing like the charge of racist or bigot to scare even the largest news outlet into looking the other way. After years of doing it, the MSM does not even bother to look at groups like ACORN anymore. Too much trouble, too much downside possibility.
So what other scandals and stories are out there? A better question is who will break them? Will it be the MSM with a newsroom full of professional journalists, or will it be another couple of college student?
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Monday, September 07, 2009
Straight news
Is it just me, or have the major news outlets simply looked at the demographics and tried to carve out a market for their product, rather than just covering the news in a straightforward way? By any measure, this is not a new phenomenon. Before our nation was conceived, we can see how ideology was the driving factor in the newspaper business. Before the Declaration of Independence had been written, there were loyalist newspapers and pro revolution newspapers. Each paper would print stories 180 degrees apart from the other while covering the same story. As I am always fond of saying, you are entitled to your own opinion; you are not entitled to your own facts.
I am just old enough to remember when almost every local newspaper and local television station received most of their content from news wire services. The Associated Press, United Press International, Reuters, they had the reporters on the ground in every major city and when a story broke, the local reporter would write it up and send it over the wire to news outlets who paid for the service. You had to trust the wire story because there was no real way to fact check it in time to make your deadlines.
That is not the case today. With the interconnection of the news, there are multiple sources, multiple reporters, and the almost infinite information that can be researched, and sourced on the internet. Just as the centerpiece document of Dan Rather's report on George W. Bush in the Texas Air National Guard was proved a forgery within hours; it doesn't take much research to find the truth, or at least the other side of the story. Unless you are not looking to find it.
Never has the mainstream media put its blinders on as they have for President Obama. They just do not want look under the hood. The scene from Star wars comes to mind. "These are not the droids you are looking for", says the President. "These are not the droids we are looking for," says the New York Times.
We understand that President Obama is their guy, it is not a secret, but can we at least have someone in the Washington press corps do the job they are being paid for? That job is not going to cocktail parties and taking free tickets to the Kennedy Center, that job is to be the eyes and ears of their readers and viewers. Maybe they forgot this principle, or it simply is no longer being taught at Columbia’s journalism school. Less than a year ago, any statement coming from the White House or the President was treated as a lie that needed to be proven true. In this task, the mainstream media were tireless, and I say, good for them. Under President Obama, the administration’s message is indisputable and any attack on the President’s message is treated as a lie.
Take the recent resignation of green jobs czar Van Jones. While everyone else who was paying attention knew the facts surrounding Obama’s friend being a “9/11 Truther”- you may not want to actually sign those petitions if you want to hold higher office Van- and his radical Communist past. Most in the media were willing sit on the story to protect the President from any further damage, especially with the President taking the heath care debate into a full court press.
If you think I am just making this stuff up, I am not. Read the 2005 piece by Eliza Strickland titled “The new face of environmentalism.” Van Jones is a self-confessed Marxist, Socialist, whose participation in fringe left-wing groups reads like Fidel Castro’s resume, minus the political executions and oppression.
Which brings up the question, did anyone in the mainstream press bother to look at the mountains of information available on Jones? It certainly doesn’t seem like it. For those who think Fox News and Glenn Beck are the Devil, know this; if the media did their job, Glenn Beck would not have one. The reason conservative news outlets exist is the fact that people are tired of hearing only one side to the news. I know I am. When I see the byline of AP or Associated Press, I know the story I am about to read will be slanted to the left. Every once in a while I find an AP story that strikes me as straight down the middle, just presenting the facts without an agenda. Those stories are striking because they are the exception rather than the rule. What a shame.
If you read the white washing of the Van Jones’ resignation today, you will hear term like “Swift Boated.” How laughable. If by Swiftboating you mean telling the truth about a radical, Marxists, 9/11 Truther appointed by the President to the higher circles of government, then yes, Van Jones has been swiftboated. If you mean he was slandered by unfounded rumors and innuendo, then no, he was not.
Before you comment, please do a little research, and I don’t mean on the Daily Koz.
I am just old enough to remember when almost every local newspaper and local television station received most of their content from news wire services. The Associated Press, United Press International, Reuters, they had the reporters on the ground in every major city and when a story broke, the local reporter would write it up and send it over the wire to news outlets who paid for the service. You had to trust the wire story because there was no real way to fact check it in time to make your deadlines.
That is not the case today. With the interconnection of the news, there are multiple sources, multiple reporters, and the almost infinite information that can be researched, and sourced on the internet. Just as the centerpiece document of Dan Rather's report on George W. Bush in the Texas Air National Guard was proved a forgery within hours; it doesn't take much research to find the truth, or at least the other side of the story. Unless you are not looking to find it.
Never has the mainstream media put its blinders on as they have for President Obama. They just do not want look under the hood. The scene from Star wars comes to mind. "These are not the droids you are looking for", says the President. "These are not the droids we are looking for," says the New York Times.
We understand that President Obama is their guy, it is not a secret, but can we at least have someone in the Washington press corps do the job they are being paid for? That job is not going to cocktail parties and taking free tickets to the Kennedy Center, that job is to be the eyes and ears of their readers and viewers. Maybe they forgot this principle, or it simply is no longer being taught at Columbia’s journalism school. Less than a year ago, any statement coming from the White House or the President was treated as a lie that needed to be proven true. In this task, the mainstream media were tireless, and I say, good for them. Under President Obama, the administration’s message is indisputable and any attack on the President’s message is treated as a lie.
Take the recent resignation of green jobs czar Van Jones. While everyone else who was paying attention knew the facts surrounding Obama’s friend being a “9/11 Truther”- you may not want to actually sign those petitions if you want to hold higher office Van- and his radical Communist past. Most in the media were willing sit on the story to protect the President from any further damage, especially with the President taking the heath care debate into a full court press.
If you think I am just making this stuff up, I am not. Read the 2005 piece by Eliza Strickland titled “The new face of environmentalism.” Van Jones is a self-confessed Marxist, Socialist, whose participation in fringe left-wing groups reads like Fidel Castro’s resume, minus the political executions and oppression.
Which brings up the question, did anyone in the mainstream press bother to look at the mountains of information available on Jones? It certainly doesn’t seem like it. For those who think Fox News and Glenn Beck are the Devil, know this; if the media did their job, Glenn Beck would not have one. The reason conservative news outlets exist is the fact that people are tired of hearing only one side to the news. I know I am. When I see the byline of AP or Associated Press, I know the story I am about to read will be slanted to the left. Every once in a while I find an AP story that strikes me as straight down the middle, just presenting the facts without an agenda. Those stories are striking because they are the exception rather than the rule. What a shame.
If you read the white washing of the Van Jones’ resignation today, you will hear term like “Swift Boated.” How laughable. If by Swiftboating you mean telling the truth about a radical, Marxists, 9/11 Truther appointed by the President to the higher circles of government, then yes, Van Jones has been swiftboated. If you mean he was slandered by unfounded rumors and innuendo, then no, he was not.
Before you comment, please do a little research, and I don’t mean on the Daily Koz.
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Football in a small town
It has been a while since I had a rooting interest in a high school football game, twenty-six years to be exact, the game and the atmosphere has changed little. No matter the size of the school or the town, a Friday night game under the lights is a special thing.
The girlfriends of the players wearing the jersey numbers of their sweethearts, the grandparents cheering in the bleachers, the parents pushing strollers carrying the next generation of football players and cheerleaders, these sights are universal. I always thought if you wanted to teach a foreign visitor about America, take them to a Friday night football game in a small town.
High school football is a competitive, strenuous, disciplined, strategic game with controlled violence. It's no wonder the Birkenstock wearing, Prius driving people look down on it. It's no wonder the rest of us are drawn to it. I was reading a piece in the Wall Street Journal about football of all the things, and found this quote by former Notre Dame Coach, Lou Holtz;
Last night's game in Esparto was a study in the struggles and changing fortunes found in football. Last year was last year, and unlike politics, there are no incumbents. The Spartan junior varsity went undefeated in 2008; the varsity did pretty well also, 5-5 I believe. This year both the junior varsity and the varsity were man handled by their rivals from Winters High. In both games, it seemed the Spartans just didn't have the horses.
Many of the starters from last year's undefeated JV team are now juniors, leaving a depleted roster of experienced players. This year's juniors are getting their first taste of the speed and hard hitting of varsity football. Not to say this season is over, far from it. The coaching staff will get the best out of the players, and the players will grow into their new roles.
Even though both games were blow outs, it was still great night because the teams didn't quit. I know they felt terrible, and I remember that feeling from my playing days. Seeing the frustration and dejection on their faces, I wanted to jump over the ropes and tell them, it would be all right. I wanted to tell them, you gave it everything you had, and no one can ask anything more than that.
Sometimes your best in not enough, in football and in life. Either you can shrink from a loss like the one they suffered last night, or you can dig down deep and find something you did not know you had inside you. That is football, that is life. Here’s hoping the Spartans bounce back and a few young men step up to help their teammates become better.
As I walked along the sidelines, I ran into a bunch of my friends, even a person I played softball with 20 years ago. On Friday nights in the late summer and fall, all you have to do is follow the glow of the stadium lights and you will meet just about everyone. This was especially true last night if were in line at the snack bar. It seems this year the Esparto Boosters were told they must use a cash register, instead of doing what had been working for decades. This caused a single choke point in the concession process, and the line to buy a hot dog or hamburger looked like the lines to get toilet paper in Soviet-era Moscow. I am not sure how much money was lost last night because of people just giving up and heading back to their seats after waiting in a unmoving line for fifteen minutes, but I am sure more than a few folks did. I think this falls under the, it may not be perfect, but let’s not replace it with something worse, situation.
All in all, a wonderful evening. Both teams shook hands after the game and I saw players from both schools talking with each other as they left the stadium. Some of them are friends from 4-H and FFA. They have learned to play the game the right way, play hard, but leave it on the field. You did your best and you can hold your heads up, but don’t be surprised if Monday’s practice is a gut buster. Good luck Spartans, can’t wait for the next home game.
The girlfriends of the players wearing the jersey numbers of their sweethearts, the grandparents cheering in the bleachers, the parents pushing strollers carrying the next generation of football players and cheerleaders, these sights are universal. I always thought if you wanted to teach a foreign visitor about America, take them to a Friday night football game in a small town.
High school football is a competitive, strenuous, disciplined, strategic game with controlled violence. It's no wonder the Birkenstock wearing, Prius driving people look down on it. It's no wonder the rest of us are drawn to it. I was reading a piece in the Wall Street Journal about football of all the things, and found this quote by former Notre Dame Coach, Lou Holtz;
"You aren't entitled to anything. You don't inherit anything. You get what you earn—your position on the team," Mr. Holtz said. "You're treated like everybody else. You're held accountable for your actions. You understand that your decisions affect other people on that team…There's winners, there's losers, and there's competitiveness."
Last night's game in Esparto was a study in the struggles and changing fortunes found in football. Last year was last year, and unlike politics, there are no incumbents. The Spartan junior varsity went undefeated in 2008; the varsity did pretty well also, 5-5 I believe. This year both the junior varsity and the varsity were man handled by their rivals from Winters High. In both games, it seemed the Spartans just didn't have the horses.
Many of the starters from last year's undefeated JV team are now juniors, leaving a depleted roster of experienced players. This year's juniors are getting their first taste of the speed and hard hitting of varsity football. Not to say this season is over, far from it. The coaching staff will get the best out of the players, and the players will grow into their new roles.
Even though both games were blow outs, it was still great night because the teams didn't quit. I know they felt terrible, and I remember that feeling from my playing days. Seeing the frustration and dejection on their faces, I wanted to jump over the ropes and tell them, it would be all right. I wanted to tell them, you gave it everything you had, and no one can ask anything more than that.
Sometimes your best in not enough, in football and in life. Either you can shrink from a loss like the one they suffered last night, or you can dig down deep and find something you did not know you had inside you. That is football, that is life. Here’s hoping the Spartans bounce back and a few young men step up to help their teammates become better.
As I walked along the sidelines, I ran into a bunch of my friends, even a person I played softball with 20 years ago. On Friday nights in the late summer and fall, all you have to do is follow the glow of the stadium lights and you will meet just about everyone. This was especially true last night if were in line at the snack bar. It seems this year the Esparto Boosters were told they must use a cash register, instead of doing what had been working for decades. This caused a single choke point in the concession process, and the line to buy a hot dog or hamburger looked like the lines to get toilet paper in Soviet-era Moscow. I am not sure how much money was lost last night because of people just giving up and heading back to their seats after waiting in a unmoving line for fifteen minutes, but I am sure more than a few folks did. I think this falls under the, it may not be perfect, but let’s not replace it with something worse, situation.
All in all, a wonderful evening. Both teams shook hands after the game and I saw players from both schools talking with each other as they left the stadium. Some of them are friends from 4-H and FFA. They have learned to play the game the right way, play hard, but leave it on the field. You did your best and you can hold your heads up, but don’t be surprised if Monday’s practice is a gut buster. Good luck Spartans, can’t wait for the next home game.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
What I learned on the way to the ER
I like to call it an episode. It sounds much better than an Atrial Flutter type of tachyarrhythmia. Don't worry, I'm not going to die. Well, actually, I am, we all are, but I don't think this is going to do it. The repercussions of scaring the hell out of my wife on the other hand, that could prove to be my undoing.
I am a guy, and guess what, we don't want to face the fact that we are mortal. We lived this long ignoring all the little '"episodes" we have had in the past, this one will go away too. Except this one didn't.
As I woke this morning I could feel my heart playing what felt like the beat to a Metallica song, something around 135 beats per minute. I have had this feeling in the past and it usually sorted itself out by the time I hit the shower. Having taken a few days off preparing the funeral service for my friend Phil, I knew we would be behind at work. I didn't want to call in and leave the guys shorthanded again. I drove in and found myself at sitting at my desk, but feeling terrible. As we were heading out the door I started to sweat and get a little light headed.
Having the image of two grieving children from yesterday's funeral fresh in my mind, I decided that getting a new internet connection installed in Vorhies Hall was a little less important than my two kids, and went to my supervisor. I told him that I hated to be a whuus, but I really think I needed to see by a doctor. Steve drove me to Sutter Davis Hospital; after I found out that UC Davis' Employee Health only takes workers comp cases. As we drove along, Steve told me to call my wife, and another co-worker called me to remind me to call my wife, which I did. I checked in with the triage nurse, and she found my heart rate around 138, so was taken inside to the ER.
Have you ever been the only person on a car lot and had three salesmen giving you their undivided attention? That was me. I think they wheeled one guy out while I was there, so I was the main attraction. The IV went in, electrodes were attached, auto blood pressure cuff went on and everything started beeping, and whirring. The doctors and nurses huddled around the high-tech gadgetry to assess how my heart was doing. Like I said, it was a slow day, and I almost thought they were wishing for something exotic or cool to have befallen me. To my relief, it was only Atrial Flutter. As a consolation, a pretty young nurse said that it was a gorgeous flutter, so I had that going for me.
My supervisor Steve was the only person in the waiting room so they usher him back, and we talked about getting old, and how much it,,,, well, how much it sucks. My wife is usually pretty solid when it comes to dealing with illnesses and injuries. She has seen me run over and flipped upside down by a bull, kicked in the chest by a Clydesdale, and bucked off more horses than I can remember. She usually comes over and asks if I am all right, and then she tells me how funny I looked with my arms and legs flailing around as I flew through the air. As soon as she saw me hooked up to all the monitors, she started crying. I introduced my wife to Steve and Steve fled the scene as if he left something burning on the stove.
After an hour, and doctors and nurses coming by about three minutes to see if any really cool was going to happen, I was released with instructions to go see an electro cardiologist next week. Kind of sounds like a doctor who could also wire a new 220 electrical outlet for your clothes dryer.
I am home now with instructions from my doctor, my wife, my mother in law, my pharmacist, and about ten friends to REST! However, I am easily bored, like a four year old at fine china shop. I figured that I could do a little writing without exerting too much effort.
The last few weeks has shown me and my friends just how precious life is, and while I like to think I am smart enough to learn from watching, nothing quite focuses the mind like thinking your next breath could be taken in heaven. I guess I should pay heed to my own sermons and writings. So, I will.
I wanted to take the time to let you know how much fun I have had rolling through this thing called life for the last 43 years. Sure, there have been setbacks, tragedy, and loss. There has also been enough love, fun, laughter, and companionship to last three lifetimes.
To my friends, and you know who you are, thank you. I have enjoyed all the times we had together, even the trying times. You have helped me grow as a person and I hope I didn't get you into much trouble with you spouse, or parents.
To my family; I love you so much. Not just for things you have done for me, not just for the things you have said to me, but for simply being who you are, and allowing me to love you. If my next breath comes in heaven, know this. Have no regrets. Any problems that we ever had between us were most likely my fault. I know you love me, and that is more than enough. Know that I am at home, and at rest with my savior. I will be there, waiting, but don’t come too soon. God has plans for you, just as He did for me.
Here is hoping for another 43 years, but hey, life happens.
I am a guy, and guess what, we don't want to face the fact that we are mortal. We lived this long ignoring all the little '"episodes" we have had in the past, this one will go away too. Except this one didn't.
As I woke this morning I could feel my heart playing what felt like the beat to a Metallica song, something around 135 beats per minute. I have had this feeling in the past and it usually sorted itself out by the time I hit the shower. Having taken a few days off preparing the funeral service for my friend Phil, I knew we would be behind at work. I didn't want to call in and leave the guys shorthanded again. I drove in and found myself at sitting at my desk, but feeling terrible. As we were heading out the door I started to sweat and get a little light headed.
Having the image of two grieving children from yesterday's funeral fresh in my mind, I decided that getting a new internet connection installed in Vorhies Hall was a little less important than my two kids, and went to my supervisor. I told him that I hated to be a whuus, but I really think I needed to see by a doctor. Steve drove me to Sutter Davis Hospital; after I found out that UC Davis' Employee Health only takes workers comp cases. As we drove along, Steve told me to call my wife, and another co-worker called me to remind me to call my wife, which I did. I checked in with the triage nurse, and she found my heart rate around 138, so was taken inside to the ER.
Have you ever been the only person on a car lot and had three salesmen giving you their undivided attention? That was me. I think they wheeled one guy out while I was there, so I was the main attraction. The IV went in, electrodes were attached, auto blood pressure cuff went on and everything started beeping, and whirring. The doctors and nurses huddled around the high-tech gadgetry to assess how my heart was doing. Like I said, it was a slow day, and I almost thought they were wishing for something exotic or cool to have befallen me. To my relief, it was only Atrial Flutter. As a consolation, a pretty young nurse said that it was a gorgeous flutter, so I had that going for me.
My supervisor Steve was the only person in the waiting room so they usher him back, and we talked about getting old, and how much it,,,, well, how much it sucks. My wife is usually pretty solid when it comes to dealing with illnesses and injuries. She has seen me run over and flipped upside down by a bull, kicked in the chest by a Clydesdale, and bucked off more horses than I can remember. She usually comes over and asks if I am all right, and then she tells me how funny I looked with my arms and legs flailing around as I flew through the air. As soon as she saw me hooked up to all the monitors, she started crying. I introduced my wife to Steve and Steve fled the scene as if he left something burning on the stove.
After an hour, and doctors and nurses coming by about three minutes to see if any really cool was going to happen, I was released with instructions to go see an electro cardiologist next week. Kind of sounds like a doctor who could also wire a new 220 electrical outlet for your clothes dryer.
I am home now with instructions from my doctor, my wife, my mother in law, my pharmacist, and about ten friends to REST! However, I am easily bored, like a four year old at fine china shop. I figured that I could do a little writing without exerting too much effort.
The last few weeks has shown me and my friends just how precious life is, and while I like to think I am smart enough to learn from watching, nothing quite focuses the mind like thinking your next breath could be taken in heaven. I guess I should pay heed to my own sermons and writings. So, I will.
I wanted to take the time to let you know how much fun I have had rolling through this thing called life for the last 43 years. Sure, there have been setbacks, tragedy, and loss. There has also been enough love, fun, laughter, and companionship to last three lifetimes.
To my friends, and you know who you are, thank you. I have enjoyed all the times we had together, even the trying times. You have helped me grow as a person and I hope I didn't get you into much trouble with you spouse, or parents.
To my family; I love you so much. Not just for things you have done for me, not just for the things you have said to me, but for simply being who you are, and allowing me to love you. If my next breath comes in heaven, know this. Have no regrets. Any problems that we ever had between us were most likely my fault. I know you love me, and that is more than enough. Know that I am at home, and at rest with my savior. I will be there, waiting, but don’t come too soon. God has plans for you, just as He did for me.
Here is hoping for another 43 years, but hey, life happens.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Holes in the ground
Not many people know about it, but back in 1991, then owner of the Sacramento Kings, Gregg Lukenbill was building a 100 million dollar multi-purpose stadium primarily to lure major league baseball to Sacramento. When high priced 'personal seat licenses' failed to sell, and with another investor bringing the River Cats here from Vancouver, the baseball park at Arco died a quiet death. The hole where construction began is still there, just north of Arco Arena. The weed covered outline of a ball field with its cement foundations make the site look like a new age archaeological dig.
The ability to see what could be, when everyone says you're crazy, is an integral part of the American fabric. Some dreams are fulfilled, some just leave holes in the ground. So it is with our lives.
When I look back on all the ideas, relationships, business ventures and journeys of self improvement I have started in my life, I see quite a few holes in the ground. Some just rough outlines that were never fully started, some were almost completed and stand as monuments to my inadequacies or to this thing we call life.
We all have holes in our lives that we will never completely fill in, and smooth over. They are a part of what makes us human, what makes us who we are. As with anything in our life, too much emphasis directed at our past, especially our past failures and traumas, can suffocate our future.
When you live as though everything would have been great, if only this had happened, or conversely had this not happened, it can keep you looking backwards. It is hard to see your future when you are a imprisoned by your past.
Yesterday is past, tomorrow is just a promise, you only have today, so start digging. If you fail, so blinkin' what? Big deal. Better to find a hundred ways not to do something and finally achieve success, than sit there looking at your shovel never really living.
Time to make some new holes.
The ability to see what could be, when everyone says you're crazy, is an integral part of the American fabric. Some dreams are fulfilled, some just leave holes in the ground. So it is with our lives.
When I look back on all the ideas, relationships, business ventures and journeys of self improvement I have started in my life, I see quite a few holes in the ground. Some just rough outlines that were never fully started, some were almost completed and stand as monuments to my inadequacies or to this thing we call life.
We all have holes in our lives that we will never completely fill in, and smooth over. They are a part of what makes us human, what makes us who we are. As with anything in our life, too much emphasis directed at our past, especially our past failures and traumas, can suffocate our future.
When you live as though everything would have been great, if only this had happened, or conversely had this not happened, it can keep you looking backwards. It is hard to see your future when you are a imprisoned by your past.
Yesterday is past, tomorrow is just a promise, you only have today, so start digging. If you fail, so blinkin' what? Big deal. Better to find a hundred ways not to do something and finally achieve success, than sit there looking at your shovel never really living.
Time to make some new holes.
Monday, August 24, 2009
The Friday afternoon dump and a welcome vacation
If you follow politics at all, a phenomenon takes place on a regular basis in Washington D.C. It’s the Friday afternoon dump. When politicians have bad news to report, they break the story on Friday afternoon when everyone is heading out for the weekend. It's kind of like dropping off your report card on the kitchen table as you head out to stay at your friend's house for the night.
President Obama just dropped off his spending report card as he left for vacation. How were his grades?
"Needs improvement" does not seem to be strong enough.
"The Obama administration will raise its 10-year budget deficit projection to approximately $9 Trillion from $7.108 Trillion in a report next week, a senior administration official told Reuters on Friday."
This is future debt, not the $7.4 Trillion national debt we already owe. That is a total of $16.4 Trillion in ten years. It makes you yearn for the good old days, when deficits were measured in billions.
A great analysis from columnist to the world, Mark Steyn:
"Meanwhile, in Brazil, India, China, Japan and much of Continental Europe the recession has ended. In the second quarter this year, both the French and German economies grew by 0.3 percent, while the U.S. economy shrank by 1 percent. How can that be? Unlike America, France and Germany had no government stimulus worth speaking of, the Germans declining to go the Obama route on the quaint grounds that they couldn't afford it. They did not invest in the critical signage-in-front-of-holes-in-the-road sector. And yet their recession has gone away. Of the world's biggest economies, only the U.S., Britain and Italy are still contracting. All three are big stimulators, though Gordon Brown and Silvio Berlusconi can't compete with Obama's $800 billion porkapalooza. The president has borrowed more money to spend to less effect than anybody on the planet."
Now there is a call by US commanders for more troops to immediately be sent to Afghanistan. Isn't it strange that the anti-war crowd is so silent today? Last month in Afghanistan, the US lost forty soldiers. Forty brave, young Americans and their sacrifices hardly get any coverage in the mainstream media. Remember when the MSM were showing every smoldering bombing site in Iraq? Remember them giving a nightly update of every soldier killed? That was a different President and a different war. To Quote Cindy Sheehan, "The 'anti-war' 'left' was used by the Democratic Party. I like to call it the 'anti-Republican War' movement." Stop the presses, I actually agree with Cindy Sheehan on something.
For those who sent care packages and wrote letters to the troops before, it's time to double down. They need to know we support them and we stand behind them. Republican, Democrat, Independent, Peace and Freedom, or Decline to state, these men and women are our brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, neighbors and friends. There are many groups out there; Soldiers Angels.org, USO.org, or Anysoldier.com. Get in touch with these groups and make a difference.
When the President and Congress come back from their recess, there will be many things left on the Democrat's legislative agenda. They will try to force some form of health care reform bill through the Senate and onto the President's desk. They need a victory on this one, even a tiny victory. However, the road does not look any smother for Democrats even if they do get a watered down bill passed. They will then take up even more unpopular legislation. The massive energy tax, better known as Cap and Trade, will again swamp the D.C. switchboards with angry constituents, and if that were not enough, the President wants to take on comprehensive immigration reform.
Stay tuned folks; this is going to get messy.
President Obama just dropped off his spending report card as he left for vacation. How were his grades?
"Needs improvement" does not seem to be strong enough.
"The Obama administration will raise its 10-year budget deficit projection to approximately $9 Trillion from $7.108 Trillion in a report next week, a senior administration official told Reuters on Friday."
This is future debt, not the $7.4 Trillion national debt we already owe. That is a total of $16.4 Trillion in ten years. It makes you yearn for the good old days, when deficits were measured in billions.
A great analysis from columnist to the world, Mark Steyn:
"Meanwhile, in Brazil, India, China, Japan and much of Continental Europe the recession has ended. In the second quarter this year, both the French and German economies grew by 0.3 percent, while the U.S. economy shrank by 1 percent. How can that be? Unlike America, France and Germany had no government stimulus worth speaking of, the Germans declining to go the Obama route on the quaint grounds that they couldn't afford it. They did not invest in the critical signage-in-front-of-holes-in-the-road sector. And yet their recession has gone away. Of the world's biggest economies, only the U.S., Britain and Italy are still contracting. All three are big stimulators, though Gordon Brown and Silvio Berlusconi can't compete with Obama's $800 billion porkapalooza. The president has borrowed more money to spend to less effect than anybody on the planet."
Now there is a call by US commanders for more troops to immediately be sent to Afghanistan. Isn't it strange that the anti-war crowd is so silent today? Last month in Afghanistan, the US lost forty soldiers. Forty brave, young Americans and their sacrifices hardly get any coverage in the mainstream media. Remember when the MSM were showing every smoldering bombing site in Iraq? Remember them giving a nightly update of every soldier killed? That was a different President and a different war. To Quote Cindy Sheehan, "The 'anti-war' 'left' was used by the Democratic Party. I like to call it the 'anti-Republican War' movement." Stop the presses, I actually agree with Cindy Sheehan on something.
For those who sent care packages and wrote letters to the troops before, it's time to double down. They need to know we support them and we stand behind them. Republican, Democrat, Independent, Peace and Freedom, or Decline to state, these men and women are our brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, neighbors and friends. There are many groups out there; Soldiers Angels.org, USO.org, or Anysoldier.com. Get in touch with these groups and make a difference.
When the President and Congress come back from their recess, there will be many things left on the Democrat's legislative agenda. They will try to force some form of health care reform bill through the Senate and onto the President's desk. They need a victory on this one, even a tiny victory. However, the road does not look any smother for Democrats even if they do get a watered down bill passed. They will then take up even more unpopular legislation. The massive energy tax, better known as Cap and Trade, will again swamp the D.C. switchboards with angry constituents, and if that were not enough, the President wants to take on comprehensive immigration reform.
Stay tuned folks; this is going to get messy.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Take your daughter to work day.....
Makes me think of Matt Rexroad taking Abbie to a Board of Supervisor's meeting......But who would play Darth Vader?
Monday, August 17, 2009
Lines in time
We live each day in adrift in a sea of time. The hours, minutes and seconds pile up until they reach a full day. The days pass by to make up our work week, then our weekend and so on. Time is, by its very nature, linear. A point in time once past cannot be turned backwards or repeated. As humans, and certainly as Americans, we draw lines through time as we try to make the most of this precious commodity.
There is an entire industry devoted to "Time Management." We all have a calendar on our refrigerator or some other conspicuous place to mark down vacations, birthday parties, anniversaries, doctor's appointments and all the rest. However, calendars are for mere amateurs, to really carve up time you need a day planner or an application for your iPhone that electronically tracks every minute of your time and devotes it to some purpose.
This thing called time will run our lives if we let it. We can only try to divide it up and draw lines through it so we can know what happened, what is happening and what will be happening. Divide and conquer, so the theory goes.
No matter how full our kitchen calendar is, no matter how many important dates are written in the small squares, there are other lines in time that do not show up, but are more important to us. They are lines in time that changed everything.
While I actually do remember our wedding anniversary, and our children would never dream of letting us forget their birthdays, May 17 is not marked on my calendar, but it is a day that changed my life forever. I can divide my life at that point in time. Everything before that was before, and everything after that day was after. It was the day my father died. Along with meeting my wife and the birth of our children, I can't think of another event that fundamentally changed my world as much as that day. The hard part for me was, I never saw it coming.
Two days before my father was fine, two days later I was sitting in a car driving back home over the Yolo causeway trying to figure out what the hell I was going to do now. I had been working for my father since I was old enough to ride a horse. As I said, that day changed my life and while it was painful at the time, it made me who I am today, for better or worse.
Here is the catch; I have another unseen line in time coming, and so do you. A line in time that will again divide my life into what happened before and what happened after. A telephone call from the doctor telling me I have cancer or someone I love has some dreaded disease. A call from the CHP telling me a loved-one has been in accident, or someone calling my wife telling her I was hit by a casino bus. It could be a million things. Whatever happens, I will lean on my faith, my family and my friends. I just want to make sure I let everyone know exactly what they mean to me while I can.
I would give anything to have ten minutes with my father that week before he died. I would tell him how much I love him, and even give him a piece of my mind about some of his many faults. As much as I want to, I cannot. However, there is one thing I can do, talk to the people who are still in my life. I love my wife and my kids and I tell them that I love them all the time, but I don't recall the last time I grabbed them, held them tight, and told them how much they mean to me.
This has been a rough couple of months for some of my friends. One death, one deer versus Harley accident and a friend is fighting for his life right now with a failed heart. In a close community, we are all trying to reach out, as best we can, to make these difficult situations a little easier for our friends. We all have our busy lives and the pressures that come with it, and we can escape from these hard times into our daily routine. For those living through these challenging times, what has happened to their loved one is front and center every waking moment. All we can do is try to be there for them. I remember my tough times, and the people who reached out to me, it made a difference.
I guess my point is none of us is guaranteed tomorrow. Do not let another day pass before telling those around you how much they mean to you. Call your family, if you have something to forgive or something to be forgiven of, now is the time. An old friend who was a big part of your life, call them. Go hug your kids and tell them how much you love them. Right now, not tomorrow, not this weekend, now. There is nothing more expensive than regret.
There is an entire industry devoted to "Time Management." We all have a calendar on our refrigerator or some other conspicuous place to mark down vacations, birthday parties, anniversaries, doctor's appointments and all the rest. However, calendars are for mere amateurs, to really carve up time you need a day planner or an application for your iPhone that electronically tracks every minute of your time and devotes it to some purpose.
This thing called time will run our lives if we let it. We can only try to divide it up and draw lines through it so we can know what happened, what is happening and what will be happening. Divide and conquer, so the theory goes.
No matter how full our kitchen calendar is, no matter how many important dates are written in the small squares, there are other lines in time that do not show up, but are more important to us. They are lines in time that changed everything.
While I actually do remember our wedding anniversary, and our children would never dream of letting us forget their birthdays, May 17 is not marked on my calendar, but it is a day that changed my life forever. I can divide my life at that point in time. Everything before that was before, and everything after that day was after. It was the day my father died. Along with meeting my wife and the birth of our children, I can't think of another event that fundamentally changed my world as much as that day. The hard part for me was, I never saw it coming.
Two days before my father was fine, two days later I was sitting in a car driving back home over the Yolo causeway trying to figure out what the hell I was going to do now. I had been working for my father since I was old enough to ride a horse. As I said, that day changed my life and while it was painful at the time, it made me who I am today, for better or worse.
Here is the catch; I have another unseen line in time coming, and so do you. A line in time that will again divide my life into what happened before and what happened after. A telephone call from the doctor telling me I have cancer or someone I love has some dreaded disease. A call from the CHP telling me a loved-one has been in accident, or someone calling my wife telling her I was hit by a casino bus. It could be a million things. Whatever happens, I will lean on my faith, my family and my friends. I just want to make sure I let everyone know exactly what they mean to me while I can.
I would give anything to have ten minutes with my father that week before he died. I would tell him how much I love him, and even give him a piece of my mind about some of his many faults. As much as I want to, I cannot. However, there is one thing I can do, talk to the people who are still in my life. I love my wife and my kids and I tell them that I love them all the time, but I don't recall the last time I grabbed them, held them tight, and told them how much they mean to me.
This has been a rough couple of months for some of my friends. One death, one deer versus Harley accident and a friend is fighting for his life right now with a failed heart. In a close community, we are all trying to reach out, as best we can, to make these difficult situations a little easier for our friends. We all have our busy lives and the pressures that come with it, and we can escape from these hard times into our daily routine. For those living through these challenging times, what has happened to their loved one is front and center every waking moment. All we can do is try to be there for them. I remember my tough times, and the people who reached out to me, it made a difference.
I guess my point is none of us is guaranteed tomorrow. Do not let another day pass before telling those around you how much they mean to you. Call your family, if you have something to forgive or something to be forgiven of, now is the time. An old friend who was a big part of your life, call them. Go hug your kids and tell them how much you love them. Right now, not tomorrow, not this weekend, now. There is nothing more expensive than regret.
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Democrats go home to explain the government takeover of the health care system
Nancy, Did you see Rush Limbaugh out there?
Limbaugh? No.
Good, for a minute there I thought we were in trouble....... let's go
Saturday, August 08, 2009
So populism and community organizing are bad when they're against your programs?
You have to love the left. Really, you do. They are so much fun to watch when they are in charge. When liberals or 'progressives' were out of power, they organized union labor activists, environmental activists, pro-abortion, gay rights, and whatever 'cause of the day' forces they could muster to march, protest, write letters, and interrupt public meetings. It was just fine when liberals organized and protested. Protest is the highest form of patriotism! It's the power of the people! It's the will of the nation! It's a grassroots movement!
How the language changes when circumstances are reversed. Today, when regular citizens show up in huge numbers to oppose fundamental and ruinous changes to the medical care Americans receive, the progressives label it 'Astro-turf.' I mean, who could oppose such an effective, efficient, and fiscally responsible entity like the federal government running our medical system?
So why are Americans so upset with Obama-care? Bait and switch.
Sure, it's easy to tell everyone I am going to make sure the 40 million people who don't have health insurance receive coverage. Everyone says, yea, do something about those people. However, if you were listening closely to what candidate Obama was saying, and were not sucked into the hopey-changey rhetoric, you would have known this was coming.
Americans wanted health insurance coverage for folks who do not have it. Take care of them, but do not change my health care. I like my doctor, and my small co-pays, and my prescription drug coverage. Don't change my health care; just do something for those other people. That is what America thought when they elected President Obama, change the bad, keep the good.
The President, ladies and gentlemen, does not want to fix American health care, he wants fundamentally change how we receive health care. He and the liberal/progressive elements in Congress want to eliminate private health care insurance and ultimately replace it with a single-payer, government run health care system. No amount of elegant, legal, and technical talking points about "keeping what you have" can stand up to the what is written in black and white in the two House bills being debated right now.
When the president says you can keep you private insurance, you can keep your doctor; he is parsing his words so very carefully. If you have private insurance coverage through your employer, and you lose your job, presto, you are now permanently in the "qualified plan" or public option system of limited care. If your employer looks at the $1,000 per family he is paying for your private insurance, and the subsidized cost of the 'public option' is $500 per family, you going to get the limited care public option whether you want it or not. If your private insurance makes any changes to your policy, co-pays or deductibles, you will have to move into a qualified plan. So I guess if you never change jobs, never change coverage, never change doctors, never change providers, you can keep your private insurance. Good luck with that.
The public option of government run health care will not be anything close to what we have now. Please spare me the "we pay more for health care and our system is 37th in the world" speech. Why is it billionaires and regular folks from all over the world come to America for our 37th best health care? We pay more, because we earn more, and we also get more. You can make statistics say what ever you want, but when it comes to life-saving medicine, people leave their socialized-medical utopias to come to America.
Every government run health care system has to keep costs down by rationing health care. It's just a fact. If you are seventy one years old and need a hip replacement, sorry, you're not contributing to the system, so you get pain medication and mandatory end-of-life counseling. Long waits, for less care, fewer doctors and fewer choices isn't something Nancy Pelosi and President want you to know about. And we haven't even mentioned the trillions of dollars this will cost, or the 500 billion in cuts to the Medicare system.
Therefore, when congressional Democrats come home to angry constituents, it's not astro-turf, it is as real as it gets. The government screwed up the housing market by requiring lenders to give mortgages to folks who had no business owning homes, subsequently, our home prices plummeted, our home equity disappeared or we lost our homes to foreclosure. We are still reeling from that government induced calamity. If the government screws up our health care, I don't even want to think of the consequences.
How the language changes when circumstances are reversed. Today, when regular citizens show up in huge numbers to oppose fundamental and ruinous changes to the medical care Americans receive, the progressives label it 'Astro-turf.' I mean, who could oppose such an effective, efficient, and fiscally responsible entity like the federal government running our medical system?
So why are Americans so upset with Obama-care? Bait and switch.
Sure, it's easy to tell everyone I am going to make sure the 40 million people who don't have health insurance receive coverage. Everyone says, yea, do something about those people. However, if you were listening closely to what candidate Obama was saying, and were not sucked into the hopey-changey rhetoric, you would have known this was coming.
Americans wanted health insurance coverage for folks who do not have it. Take care of them, but do not change my health care. I like my doctor, and my small co-pays, and my prescription drug coverage. Don't change my health care; just do something for those other people. That is what America thought when they elected President Obama, change the bad, keep the good.
The President, ladies and gentlemen, does not want to fix American health care, he wants fundamentally change how we receive health care. He and the liberal/progressive elements in Congress want to eliminate private health care insurance and ultimately replace it with a single-payer, government run health care system. No amount of elegant, legal, and technical talking points about "keeping what you have" can stand up to the what is written in black and white in the two House bills being debated right now.
When the president says you can keep you private insurance, you can keep your doctor; he is parsing his words so very carefully. If you have private insurance coverage through your employer, and you lose your job, presto, you are now permanently in the "qualified plan" or public option system of limited care. If your employer looks at the $1,000 per family he is paying for your private insurance, and the subsidized cost of the 'public option' is $500 per family, you going to get the limited care public option whether you want it or not. If your private insurance makes any changes to your policy, co-pays or deductibles, you will have to move into a qualified plan. So I guess if you never change jobs, never change coverage, never change doctors, never change providers, you can keep your private insurance. Good luck with that.
The public option of government run health care will not be anything close to what we have now. Please spare me the "we pay more for health care and our system is 37th in the world" speech. Why is it billionaires and regular folks from all over the world come to America for our 37th best health care? We pay more, because we earn more, and we also get more. You can make statistics say what ever you want, but when it comes to life-saving medicine, people leave their socialized-medical utopias to come to America.
Every government run health care system has to keep costs down by rationing health care. It's just a fact. If you are seventy one years old and need a hip replacement, sorry, you're not contributing to the system, so you get pain medication and mandatory end-of-life counseling. Long waits, for less care, fewer doctors and fewer choices isn't something Nancy Pelosi and President want you to know about. And we haven't even mentioned the trillions of dollars this will cost, or the 500 billion in cuts to the Medicare system.
Therefore, when congressional Democrats come home to angry constituents, it's not astro-turf, it is as real as it gets. The government screwed up the housing market by requiring lenders to give mortgages to folks who had no business owning homes, subsequently, our home prices plummeted, our home equity disappeared or we lost our homes to foreclosure. We are still reeling from that government induced calamity. If the government screws up our health care, I don't even want to think of the consequences.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
What Obama and the media want you to believe.
Hello?
Hi, is this Walt Lucas?Yes it is, who is calling?This is Jay Gellert, I'm the CEO of Heathnet, your insurance provider.Um, yea, um, what can I do for you today Mr. Gellert?Mr. Lucas, I am calling everyone of our 6.7 million members to see if you would be willing to find out where your local member of Congress will be having town hall meeting in your area and to shop up and protest.You are calling 6.7 million people?Well, I have half the list, Rush Limbaugh has the other half.So what exactly do you want me to protest?The President's health care plan, do you need any posters or a bull horn? We found a great deal on Amazon for bullhorns, I ordered two truckloads.No,,,,,thanks for the offer, I am already opposed to to any plan that will limit private heath care coverage and force people onto a government program, but I'm probably not going to protest.Are you sure Mr. Lucas?Well, I would have gone to talk to Congressman Mike Thomson in Woodland today if I would have found out about it sooner. They ran an article in the paper yesterday saying the meeting was going to be this morning, but I had to work. I guess Mr. Thompson doesn't want to announce his public meetings in advance so he won't have to deal with his constituents.How did you find out about the heath care bill without a call from an insurance provider? Did one of the pharmaceutical companies call you, we are supposed to be working off different lists.Well, I just follow the news I guess. I mean, its not hard to find out what is inside the competing versions of the health care bill, you just have to do a little research.By yourself? Are you sure one of the talk-radio guys didn't call you first?No sir, I just figured that health care is about one seventh of our economy and I thought I better figure out what the Democrats really want to do before it's too late. If the government is in charge of health care it will have all the efficiency of the DMV combined with the compassion of the IRS.Well said, well said. Are you are sure don't want a bullhorn?No thanks, good luck with your protest promotion.Wednesday, July 29, 2009
What is attractive?
I am home today nursing a sore knee, nothing too serious, I just wanted to stay off it for a day and see if returns to normal. Not being home during the week, I am not up to speed on what daytime television has to offer, which upon reflection is nothing. Prime time television is a little better, but not much.
If you were an alien and wanted to study America and Americans, watching not only our television programs, but our commercials would give you a good sense of what Americans deems important.
In my humble opinion, it boils down to acceptance by your peers and desire by the opposite sex. I realize this is not an earth shattering insight, but it something to think about when you look at our nation, our friends and even our spouses, and how they view their world.
Watching the local news after 9:00AM things can get very light in the news department as they focus on fluff and human interest stories. These shows seem to be aimed at younger to middle aged women judging by the commercials that are placed in this time slot. I didn't pay much attention to the TV, I was working on the computer, but I did look up in time to see the third add for some type of miracle anti-wrinkle cream, followed by a diet plan.
So I guess what is really important to middle aged women is their weight and their wrinkles. Okay, fair enough.
At night, especially after 10PM, the ads on cable especially turn their focus toward men, at least on the sports, science, and history channels anyway. It seems that middle-aged men are very concerned about their thinning hair, their graying hair, and the size of their (cough) package.
Okay, fair enough.
I have a thought on both of these seemingly interconnected concerns. As Americans, and especially as responsible parents, we need to reassess our definition of attractiveness. We need to relearn a new way to define attractiveness and teach it to the next generation of young adults. Wouldn't it be great for your son or daughter to marry someone who the love, honor a respect for who they are, not just what they look like?
I will be speaking from the male point of view, since that is the one I am more familiar with. I would love to hear from the opposite sex on this one, please comment below or email me and will post you response.
What do men find attractive?
When we are young and influenced by a peer group, be it at school or just our friends, we place so much value on looks. We will overlook a great deal of character flaws, even putting up with behavior we know is wrong, if the girl in question is "hot" enough. It seems many men carry this attitude with them throughout their lives. This is the guy who is working on his fifth marriage with a woman twenty years his junior.
As we get older and presumably more mature and brighter, we leave the shiny-new-toy phase of attraction behind and start looking for substance. Sure, we still want to have a physically attractive partner and spouse, but we start to overlook physical characteristics if she is "loving" enough.
This takes me to my final point. Women, here is the secret to attracting and more importantly, keeping the interest of your spouse. Respect and passion.
Men crave respect from their spouse, I cannot stress this enough. If you want to cement your relationship, treat you husband with respect. Even when, especially when, he is going through a tough time. If a man loses his job, or the family is a financial crisis, that is when your support can make such a difference. Even if you make all the important decisions in the family, your husband really wants you to respect him. In fact, if you show more respect for him, he might be willing to take on more responsibilities. Respect breeds confidence, and confidence leads to respect, make the first move ladies.
The other part of this puzzle is passion. Do you know what men find sexy? Passion is sexy. Sure, the body of a swimsuit model is darn attractive, but if she is cold as a fish, the hot body will lose its luster quite quickly. A woman who is passionate about you is intoxicating. We could care less if you have a few more crow’s feet around your eyes, if we have a passionate spouse. All the miracle creams, all the "Buns of Steel" workouts will be for naught, without passion.
Now I know you women are thinking, yea, but most men are pigs, and I agree. I count myself in that group. Even as a happily married man, that swimsuit model, or the girl at work, looks very appealing, and I have to guard against my own piggish behavior. That being said, it is much easier to turn your attention back to a loving, passion filled relationship than it is a spouse who owns a $1,000 of wrinkle cream, has buns of steel and treats you like doormat.
So, am I full of beans?
If you were an alien and wanted to study America and Americans, watching not only our television programs, but our commercials would give you a good sense of what Americans deems important.
In my humble opinion, it boils down to acceptance by your peers and desire by the opposite sex. I realize this is not an earth shattering insight, but it something to think about when you look at our nation, our friends and even our spouses, and how they view their world.
Watching the local news after 9:00AM things can get very light in the news department as they focus on fluff and human interest stories. These shows seem to be aimed at younger to middle aged women judging by the commercials that are placed in this time slot. I didn't pay much attention to the TV, I was working on the computer, but I did look up in time to see the third add for some type of miracle anti-wrinkle cream, followed by a diet plan.
So I guess what is really important to middle aged women is their weight and their wrinkles. Okay, fair enough.
At night, especially after 10PM, the ads on cable especially turn their focus toward men, at least on the sports, science, and history channels anyway. It seems that middle-aged men are very concerned about their thinning hair, their graying hair, and the size of their (cough) package.
Okay, fair enough.
I have a thought on both of these seemingly interconnected concerns. As Americans, and especially as responsible parents, we need to reassess our definition of attractiveness. We need to relearn a new way to define attractiveness and teach it to the next generation of young adults. Wouldn't it be great for your son or daughter to marry someone who the love, honor a respect for who they are, not just what they look like?
I will be speaking from the male point of view, since that is the one I am more familiar with. I would love to hear from the opposite sex on this one, please comment below or email me and will post you response.
What do men find attractive?
When we are young and influenced by a peer group, be it at school or just our friends, we place so much value on looks. We will overlook a great deal of character flaws, even putting up with behavior we know is wrong, if the girl in question is "hot" enough. It seems many men carry this attitude with them throughout their lives. This is the guy who is working on his fifth marriage with a woman twenty years his junior.
As we get older and presumably more mature and brighter, we leave the shiny-new-toy phase of attraction behind and start looking for substance. Sure, we still want to have a physically attractive partner and spouse, but we start to overlook physical characteristics if she is "loving" enough.
This takes me to my final point. Women, here is the secret to attracting and more importantly, keeping the interest of your spouse. Respect and passion.
Men crave respect from their spouse, I cannot stress this enough. If you want to cement your relationship, treat you husband with respect. Even when, especially when, he is going through a tough time. If a man loses his job, or the family is a financial crisis, that is when your support can make such a difference. Even if you make all the important decisions in the family, your husband really wants you to respect him. In fact, if you show more respect for him, he might be willing to take on more responsibilities. Respect breeds confidence, and confidence leads to respect, make the first move ladies.
The other part of this puzzle is passion. Do you know what men find sexy? Passion is sexy. Sure, the body of a swimsuit model is darn attractive, but if she is cold as a fish, the hot body will lose its luster quite quickly. A woman who is passionate about you is intoxicating. We could care less if you have a few more crow’s feet around your eyes, if we have a passionate spouse. All the miracle creams, all the "Buns of Steel" workouts will be for naught, without passion.
Now I know you women are thinking, yea, but most men are pigs, and I agree. I count myself in that group. Even as a happily married man, that swimsuit model, or the girl at work, looks very appealing, and I have to guard against my own piggish behavior. That being said, it is much easier to turn your attention back to a loving, passion filled relationship than it is a spouse who owns a $1,000 of wrinkle cream, has buns of steel and treats you like doormat.
So, am I full of beans?
Monday, July 27, 2009
President Obama; Community Activist in Chief
It seems America has a long way to go in getting to this new "post racial" era people keep talking about. I am not sure what exactly defines a post racial era, but it seems to surround the idea that we should treat people equally without regard to skin color or ethnicity. Okay, that sounds great. I believe I am already there, even without an ethnic studies degree. I take each person as I find them, and let their words, but more importantly their deeds, define them for me.
For someone who claims to be leading us into this post racial era, Barack Obama constantly surrounds himself with people for whom everything can be boiled to its purest ingredient, the color of one's skin. I understand that we all fall short of achieving true colorblindness, but could someone please let President Obama know that he should be leading by example?
The President spent twenty years attending Reverend Jeremiah Wright's church listening to the race baiting sermons coming from Wright's pulpit. As much as he tried to distance himself from Wright during the campaign, one this is clear, all those years listening to Wright helped shape Obama’s views on race. The one constant narrative coming from Wright and most others in Obama's circle of influence is this; when there is conflict between a black man and white person in a position of authority, the black man must be the victim and some type of racism taints the white man.
This inner narrative was never more evident when the President admitted that although he didn't have all the facts, he went on to tell the citizens of the United states that the "Cambridge police acted stupidly" when they arrested his friend and Harvard Professor, Henry Gates. Without knowing the facts, President Obama took up his new role as Community Activist in Chief, and passed judgment on an innocent police officer and police department.
This week, the President has tried to "walk back" the stupidly comment with all the slickness of a professional Chicago politician. "I want to make clear that in my choice of words, I think I unfortunately gave an impression that I was maligning the Cambridge police department and Sgt. Crowley specifically. And I could’ve calibrated those words differently."
Calibrated those words differently? Mr. President, you did malign the Cambridge police department and Sgt. Crowley, in front of a nationwide audience. Mr. President, you let your mask slip, you showed your true colors, and you won't admit your mistake.
The more facts come out, the worse Gates and the President look. The 911 tapes, the radio transcript, the statements from the other officers as well neighbors, all corroborate Sgt. Crowley's version of events. Henry Gates is an ethnic studies professor who sees nothing but race and racism is every interaction; that is his job. He took this narrative to its full conclusion by immediately insisting the white police officer must be racist, and this was just another case of racial profiling. So much for the post racial era.
The controversy could have been diffused the next morning if President Obama had stepped up to the microphone and said, looking back on my statement about the arrest of my friend Professor Gates by the Cambridge police, that was a stupid thing for me to say.
Being judged not by the color of our skin, but the content of our character, works both ways.
For someone who claims to be leading us into this post racial era, Barack Obama constantly surrounds himself with people for whom everything can be boiled to its purest ingredient, the color of one's skin. I understand that we all fall short of achieving true colorblindness, but could someone please let President Obama know that he should be leading by example?
The President spent twenty years attending Reverend Jeremiah Wright's church listening to the race baiting sermons coming from Wright's pulpit. As much as he tried to distance himself from Wright during the campaign, one this is clear, all those years listening to Wright helped shape Obama’s views on race. The one constant narrative coming from Wright and most others in Obama's circle of influence is this; when there is conflict between a black man and white person in a position of authority, the black man must be the victim and some type of racism taints the white man.
This inner narrative was never more evident when the President admitted that although he didn't have all the facts, he went on to tell the citizens of the United states that the "Cambridge police acted stupidly" when they arrested his friend and Harvard Professor, Henry Gates. Without knowing the facts, President Obama took up his new role as Community Activist in Chief, and passed judgment on an innocent police officer and police department.
This week, the President has tried to "walk back" the stupidly comment with all the slickness of a professional Chicago politician. "I want to make clear that in my choice of words, I think I unfortunately gave an impression that I was maligning the Cambridge police department and Sgt. Crowley specifically. And I could’ve calibrated those words differently."
Calibrated those words differently? Mr. President, you did malign the Cambridge police department and Sgt. Crowley, in front of a nationwide audience. Mr. President, you let your mask slip, you showed your true colors, and you won't admit your mistake.
The more facts come out, the worse Gates and the President look. The 911 tapes, the radio transcript, the statements from the other officers as well neighbors, all corroborate Sgt. Crowley's version of events. Henry Gates is an ethnic studies professor who sees nothing but race and racism is every interaction; that is his job. He took this narrative to its full conclusion by immediately insisting the white police officer must be racist, and this was just another case of racial profiling. So much for the post racial era.
The controversy could have been diffused the next morning if President Obama had stepped up to the microphone and said, looking back on my statement about the arrest of my friend Professor Gates by the Cambridge police, that was a stupid thing for me to say.
Being judged not by the color of our skin, but the content of our character, works both ways.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Remiss in my duties
This summer has been of kind of crazy for me. It seems I have had a commitment on at least one, if not both, days of every weekend. Last weekend I was basking in the sweltering heat in my old hometown of Redding taking a pistol instructor's course. Trying to cram 16 hours of instruction into a 113 degree weekend, along with 5 hours of driving time, made this week an especially long one at work. Sunday I am going to church and then to the range to sight in my rifle for opening day in a few week.
I will try to write a piece for the newspaper this week, promise.
I will try to write a piece for the newspaper this week, promise.
Monday, July 13, 2009
From face to face to Facebook
When I was a kid, and yes they did have telephones and electricity back then, if I wanted to talk to my friend at night, I would have to wait until the next day rolled around to talk to him at school. The telephone was for grownups. My father did a lot of business in the evenings over the telephone and the idea of me talking on the phone for an hour with one my friends seems so absurd I can hardly imagine it.
That was the mid 1970s. Back when America made terrible cars, I give you the AMC Pacer, and the Ford Mustang II. We wore terrible clothes, polyester bell bottoms and tube tops sound familiar? We also listened to some pretty bad music- The Bee Gees- I rest my case. It's actually shocking to me that we made it through the seventies without doing irreparable harm to our culture. On second thought, maybe we didn't escape unharmed.
Today when I pick my nine year old daughter from school, I see several of her friends carrying cell phones. This is fourth grade people, I carried a Six Million Dollar Man lunch box to school and I am pretty sure I left it on the playground more than once. I know you get the phone free with your plan, but dang, I hope they buy the insurance for the phone.
Computers are much the same today. When I went to college I remember the computer lab having brand new IBM PC's. These were the new AT models and we were not allowed to do anything that would deviate from the class outline. Computers were for grownups, rich grownups. Today I have to keep reminding my kids not to install anything, or if a window pops up asking you to click OK, come find me.
Kids are not scared of technology. They have grown up with it. It is all around them. Most elementary school kids have reading or spelling programs on the computer to help them with school work. Every junior high and high school students knows Google and Wikipedia forward and backwards from doing research for reports or homework. It is amazing to me how tech savvy our children have become, maybe a little too savvy.
Take social media for example. Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, IM (that's Instant Messaging for you old folks) they all add up to more access, more interaction, in one day than we had in a week. There are a few things you need to be aware of; this bold new world comes with a silicon-based memory.
Remember the days of getting caught passing a note to someone? I don't because I am a guy and guys don't do that kind of thing.
Why write a note to girl asking if she likes you? Just pick her up carry her around the table at lunch; if she screams loudly, she's just not that into you. But I digress. If you were caught with a note, or someone intercepted the note, there was a pretty good chance you could retrieve your message to spare yourself further embarrassment. Those days are over.
With Myspace, Facebook and the interconnected world of today's youth, if you get mad at your boyfriend, or get dumped by your girlfriend, some kids will lash out electronically. Electrons have very long memories. Things said in confidence to a friend in an email or Facebook message can come back to haunt you when the winds of change come blowing in. Someone you are best buds with now may be your arch enemy in a month. So it is with teenagers. That confidential message you sent is now posted for the whole school to see. Ouch.
I tell my son and anyone else that will listen, treat electronic communications as if they were post cards. Don't put anything inside that you would not want the world to see outside. If you want to have a personal conversation with someone, wait until tomorrow at school, you can talk to them at lunch.
You will have to excuse me now; I have to go check my Facebook status.
That was the mid 1970s. Back when America made terrible cars, I give you the AMC Pacer, and the Ford Mustang II. We wore terrible clothes, polyester bell bottoms and tube tops sound familiar? We also listened to some pretty bad music- The Bee Gees- I rest my case. It's actually shocking to me that we made it through the seventies without doing irreparable harm to our culture. On second thought, maybe we didn't escape unharmed.
Today when I pick my nine year old daughter from school, I see several of her friends carrying cell phones. This is fourth grade people, I carried a Six Million Dollar Man lunch box to school and I am pretty sure I left it on the playground more than once. I know you get the phone free with your plan, but dang, I hope they buy the insurance for the phone.
Computers are much the same today. When I went to college I remember the computer lab having brand new IBM PC's. These were the new AT models and we were not allowed to do anything that would deviate from the class outline. Computers were for grownups, rich grownups. Today I have to keep reminding my kids not to install anything, or if a window pops up asking you to click OK, come find me.
Kids are not scared of technology. They have grown up with it. It is all around them. Most elementary school kids have reading or spelling programs on the computer to help them with school work. Every junior high and high school students knows Google and Wikipedia forward and backwards from doing research for reports or homework. It is amazing to me how tech savvy our children have become, maybe a little too savvy.
Take social media for example. Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, IM (that's Instant Messaging for you old folks) they all add up to more access, more interaction, in one day than we had in a week. There are a few things you need to be aware of; this bold new world comes with a silicon-based memory.
Remember the days of getting caught passing a note to someone? I don't because I am a guy and guys don't do that kind of thing.
Why write a note to girl asking if she likes you? Just pick her up carry her around the table at lunch; if she screams loudly, she's just not that into you. But I digress. If you were caught with a note, or someone intercepted the note, there was a pretty good chance you could retrieve your message to spare yourself further embarrassment. Those days are over.
With Myspace, Facebook and the interconnected world of today's youth, if you get mad at your boyfriend, or get dumped by your girlfriend, some kids will lash out electronically. Electrons have very long memories. Things said in confidence to a friend in an email or Facebook message can come back to haunt you when the winds of change come blowing in. Someone you are best buds with now may be your arch enemy in a month. So it is with teenagers. That confidential message you sent is now posted for the whole school to see. Ouch.
I tell my son and anyone else that will listen, treat electronic communications as if they were post cards. Don't put anything inside that you would not want the world to see outside. If you want to have a personal conversation with someone, wait until tomorrow at school, you can talk to them at lunch.
You will have to excuse me now; I have to go check my Facebook status.
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Writing is hard work, sometimes....
I have been running up against the dreaded, or semi-dreaded, writers block. It is not that I have had nothing to write about, it is just in the past week or so I have not been able to finish any of the pieces I have started.
Sure, I could write another piece on the latest attempt by the Democrats to push forward their plans for socialism-light, but that is low hanging fruit. Being a one-trick pony is not very hard work. Some folks on both sides of the political spectrum seem to revel in this us-good, them-bad type of banter. Being a pragmatist at heart, I regularly take those I support out to the woodshed when they do something or say something that goes over the line.
For everyone who thinks the solution to our current problems is electing people with an (R) after their name, they do not remember the spending spree and corruption that caused the implosion of the Republican party from 2000 - 2006. I know the current crop of Democrats make those Republican budgets seem austere by comparison, and but being just a little spend-happy is too much. The Democrats and Independent voters who voted for hope and change are learning a valuable lesson; when you are in charge, you are accountable. They thought the solution to all their problems would be to elect people with a (D) after their name. Woops.
Do you know what I am looking for in a candidate? I want someone smart enough to know they do not have all the answers, they cannot fix every problem, and they are not going take half my paycheck to try to right all the wrongs of the world.
I want someone who understands that yes, we will always have people who make bad decisions, and those decisions have real consequences. We will always have people who do not make as much money as other people. Taking money from those who make it, and giving it to those who take it, leaves neither group better. Quite the opposite.
I want someone who understands that making people less dependent on their own abilities and efforts and more dependent on the government is a terrible thing. I want someone who is down on their luck to have an opportunity to make their life better. If they do not take advantage of that opportunity, it will be another bad decision they will have to live with.
I have made some terrible personal and financial choices in my life, and they hurt, bad. I have also started over at the bottom three times in my life, and I worked my way up, it's called success. It should be rewarded, not punished. I guess the bottom line is this; If you want my vote, treat my tax money as if you earned it.
I don't care about party affiliation, these are not red state, blue state issues, these are American issues. These are basic conservative principles. If you share these principles, you can have my vote.
When you hear conservative you may think of stodgy executives in pinstriped suits or senior citizens with matching white belts and shoes complaining about the government, but you would be wrong. These principles are held by the tattooed 18-year-old who just received his first paycheck and is shocked to see the difference between gross and net. The 25-year-old husband and father who works at the local tire shop. The 31-year-old mother of two who just graduated from nursing school. The 45-year-old middle school teacher. The 5o-year-old guy who just bought a taco truck and can't believe how many permits, licenses and taxes he had to pay just to start a business in California. The 61-year-old small business owner who has figure out how to pay all the new tax increases without laying off any more employees. These people all know the value of hard work.
These people are looking for honest, real-world leadership. Will anyone answer the call?
(I guess the writers block is over)
Sure, I could write another piece on the latest attempt by the Democrats to push forward their plans for socialism-light, but that is low hanging fruit. Being a one-trick pony is not very hard work. Some folks on both sides of the political spectrum seem to revel in this us-good, them-bad type of banter. Being a pragmatist at heart, I regularly take those I support out to the woodshed when they do something or say something that goes over the line.
For everyone who thinks the solution to our current problems is electing people with an (R) after their name, they do not remember the spending spree and corruption that caused the implosion of the Republican party from 2000 - 2006. I know the current crop of Democrats make those Republican budgets seem austere by comparison, and but being just a little spend-happy is too much. The Democrats and Independent voters who voted for hope and change are learning a valuable lesson; when you are in charge, you are accountable. They thought the solution to all their problems would be to elect people with a (D) after their name. Woops.
Do you know what I am looking for in a candidate? I want someone smart enough to know they do not have all the answers, they cannot fix every problem, and they are not going take half my paycheck to try to right all the wrongs of the world.
I want someone who understands that yes, we will always have people who make bad decisions, and those decisions have real consequences. We will always have people who do not make as much money as other people. Taking money from those who make it, and giving it to those who take it, leaves neither group better. Quite the opposite.
I want someone who understands that making people less dependent on their own abilities and efforts and more dependent on the government is a terrible thing. I want someone who is down on their luck to have an opportunity to make their life better. If they do not take advantage of that opportunity, it will be another bad decision they will have to live with.
I have made some terrible personal and financial choices in my life, and they hurt, bad. I have also started over at the bottom three times in my life, and I worked my way up, it's called success. It should be rewarded, not punished. I guess the bottom line is this; If you want my vote, treat my tax money as if you earned it.
I don't care about party affiliation, these are not red state, blue state issues, these are American issues. These are basic conservative principles. If you share these principles, you can have my vote.
When you hear conservative you may think of stodgy executives in pinstriped suits or senior citizens with matching white belts and shoes complaining about the government, but you would be wrong. These principles are held by the tattooed 18-year-old who just received his first paycheck and is shocked to see the difference between gross and net. The 25-year-old husband and father who works at the local tire shop. The 31-year-old mother of two who just graduated from nursing school. The 45-year-old middle school teacher. The 5o-year-old guy who just bought a taco truck and can't believe how many permits, licenses and taxes he had to pay just to start a business in California. The 61-year-old small business owner who has figure out how to pay all the new tax increases without laying off any more employees. These people all know the value of hard work.
These people are looking for honest, real-world leadership. Will anyone answer the call?
(I guess the writers block is over)
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