Obama and Afghanistan

Remember when Democrats were trying to destroy Bush's credibility with our allies by showing the lack of a unified commitment in Iraq by claiming Afghanistan was the good war, the right war, the war of necessity, the central front in the war on terror? Yes, and Candidate Obama jumped on that train, until the surge worked, and the war became a non-issue during the 2008 election. He can go all over the country, from backyard barbeque to left wing campus, complaining about Republicans blocking his brilliant ideas, but can't deliver a decent address on the War in Afghanistan--his war of choice, a war where's he's told the enemy his plans for withdrawal. He's left it up to Rolling Stone and Bob Woodward to fight his battles for him. Is there any doubt about his plans for our country?

Charles Krauthammer - Why is Obama sending troops to Afghanistan?

For the common good--a progressive health plan

Our current Democratic administration has had to apologize for another Democratic administration (FDR, Truman)--the infecting of a brown race, Guatamalan Indians, with syphilis for research in the 1940s. And why was the researcher combing the archives surprised? Have you seen what the Woodrow Wilson administration ("I will keep us out of war") did to women who wanted to vote? Or what FDR did to loyal Americans of certain ethnicities (Italians, Germans, Japanese)--putting them into camps or spying on them? How the Democrat administrations beginning in 1932 continued to experiment on black men with syphilis until 1972 even after penicillin could have cured them?

And don't you believe it when Francis Collins, NIH, says there are strict prohibitions in place today to prevent this. Oh really? There is a lot of HIV testing going on in the U.S.A. on poor women, mostly black. They don't give them the retroviral drugs--they refer them for that--they use the data they gather (funded by fat gov't grants) from them to study poverty, parenting, relationships, etc. Vaccinations for HIV is being tested on African women--probably can't do that in the U.S.A.

And what about withdrawing DDT from the market before there was a viable alternative because a novelist, not a scientist, (Rachel Carson) testified before Congress? Environmentalists and their fellow travelers in the various progressive administrations have killed more African children and adults with malaria than the 18th century slave trade.

So why do progressive politicians, both Democrat and Republican, do this? It's for the "common good," which means, what do individual lives or individual freedom of choice matter as long as you (the government, the academic) have a better plan for the larger group. So what if a few hundred or thousand poor African women die or infect their children during experimentation--it will help Africans in the long run. So what if penicillin could have cured those black men. It would have interrupted the data set and researchers' published articles in peer-review journals, which surely would help the larger population. And what does the life of an unborn child, or 50 million unborn children, mean if you can bring more women into the board room and the university?

Economists: Extend Bush tax cuts for wealthy, middle class

Someone agrees with what I said 2.5 years ago. Keep the Bush tax cuts--don't let this man further destroy our economy through take-overs, bail-outs, and shut-downs. If you want to change things, Mr. Obama, how about having everyone pay at least some taxes? There are 70+ programs already to redistribute money from the middle and top to the bottom--and no one ever got out of the bottom quintile by depending on the government.

Economists: Extend Bush tax cuts for wealthy, middle class - Sep. 19, 2010

Obama's plan for the economy--written June 10, 2008

"We'll be hearing a lot about the economy from Obama. Being a Democrat, he'll of course propose new taxes while rescinding the Bush tax cuts. Being a Marxist, he'll aim high (or is that low?). Marxists as you'll recall if you were schooled before 1990 (when they disappeared from every country outside the Americas and from our school books), believe there are only exploiters (capitalists) and the exploited (workers). You can view a tape of Obama's pastor if you're fuzzy on the details--Black Liberation Theology is Marxism in black face. So in a country where most people aspire to be either rich capitalists after their college daze, or taken care of after their drug haze, and there is virtually no poverty, just a gap between the bottom quintile and the top quintile, the Marxists may be entering the golden age. An age when the government will finally succeed in destroying private property, marriage, unborn babies, religion, and national borders. (We've actually got a good head start on this, so it shouldn't take much.) It didn't work in poor, uneducated countries across the pond, so maybe it will in one of the most successful and richest. It could even be Obama's secret weapon to fight illegal immigration! Who would want to come here if it's more of what they left?

It's really going to help a lot to tax the oil companies' profits and take away their tax incentives instead of deregulating, which would allow for drilling or refineries. Money in alternatives? I'm sure of it, and so are they! They're smarter than our Congress so I'm guessing they're just waiting until Congress sweetens the deal after show and tell. I'm looking forward to that wind driven car going 5 mph between battery plug-ins. And all those products we use made of petroleum--I guess we'll cut down all the trees, or make them out of cotton, or wool or dirt. Those of you sweltering on the east coast right now, get used to it. AC will definitely be out. . . except for government officials, former veeps from TN and NC senators in giant houses."

I nailed it, didn't I?

Has Rahm Emanuel ever read American history?

For some reason he thinks Obama has had "the toughest times any President has ever faced." George Washington? Andrew Jackson? Abraham Lincoln? Franklin Roosevelt? Unbelieveable!!!!

The road to serfdom with Yuri N. Maltsev

From Marx to Obama. This speech by Yuri Maltsev was given at Kenosha College in Wisconsin, the land of Bob LaFollette who said, "I saw the future and it works," although to "work" millions would have to be shot, starved, tortured or frozen to death in Siberia. The speech is about 33 minutes and quite entertaining and well paced, although very sobering, because he's talking about Marxism--a philosophy that killed 160 million people in the 20th century. Obama has not kept his Marxist ideology a secret--he's written two books, but I guess Americans don't read, or they have become so blasé they think they are too sophisticated to be taken in.

Maltsev defected to the United States in 1989, and he says today it is not the same country it was 20 years ago. Even the church he attends isn't the same--now it is the Church of Doubt. He says that in the United States first civil society must be destroyed for Marxism to succeed. That wasn't necessary in Russia because the Czars had already destroyed it, so the people welcomed Bolshevism. Religion and family has to be destroyed for Communism to work here. He points out the book, "And not a shot is fired" as the "how-to" manual for totalitarian takeover of an elected parliamentary system.



Tyranny will not come as a black shirt. It will come with an apple pie.

Trans fat in New York

In Ohio, we were told we just must have gambling because all the gambling money was going to West Virginia or Michigan or someplace out of state. Therefore, it was essential that we too rob from the poor so that the rich can play.

Well, why doesn't this apply to donuts for New Yorkers? If a New Yorker wants to get a decent donut, he has to drive to New Jersey or some other state!

"On December 5, 2006, the Board of Health approved an amendment to the Health Code to phase out artificial trans fat in all NYC restaurants and other food service establishments. It is now in full effect. The phase out of artificial trans fat in restaurant foods took effect in two stages. First, as of July 1, 2007, NYC food service establishments have been prohibited from using oils, shortening and margarine containing artificial trans fat for frying or as a spread that have 0.5 grams or more of trans fat per serving. The second and final deadline was July 1, 2008. As of July 1, 2008, all foods must have less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving if they have any artificial trans fat. Packaged foods served in the manufacturer's original, sealed packaging are exempt."

It's been over two years now--are New Yorkers healthier, or are they making underground trips to neighboring states for trans fat items they can't buy in their own state?

New York City's War on Fat
New Jersey Bakers

Echoes of the Great Depression

Phil Gramm lays out the similarities and differences between the 1930s and today, and between the American people then and their willingness to try collectivism and their unwillingness today. He's put a pretty positive spin on November's election. I'm not so sure. My generation, although we heard about the Great Depression all our growing up years, has become very careless, and the Boomers? My, they've always expected more and better, and they are the parents of the Gen-Y and Gen-X who just a few years ago needed toys, trinkets and prizes just to show up to work (I assume that has changed since 2008).

Barack Obama is a Marxist--true, not a terribly successful one, but you can see the power of his supporters, now angered by his ineffectual programs, when they show up tomorrow in Washington as One Nation of Trouble Makers Asking for More and More and More. Every Communist, Socialist and crooked union leader will be there, paying the way for their lackey workers to assemble and protest a administration which promised to steal from the rich and give to the middle-class while ignoring the poor (who already have 70 or so programs to help them stay at the bottom).

Phil Gramm: Echoes of the Great Depression - WSJ.com

Melvin remembers Floyd too

Over at American Spectator there's an article on the pay of government workers--it's established that government workers earn twice that of the public sector, and even when all variables are crunched--skills, education--it's 10-20% more. (But they will be out in force October 2 demonstrating in Washington, DC.)

Here's a comment from Melvin at that story that I noticed because he mentioned a hurricane in North Carolina, which I also mentioned today.

"Shortly after a hurricane struck NC a number of years ago, a section of a secondary gravel road had corner washed out. I still being active duty Marine Corps and had a background in construction, was asked for a recommendation by Major Zimmerman in how we could repair the small section of road that was washed out relatively quickly because since the damage was on a blind corner a military vehicle could fall into the hole without seeing it. My recommendation was a tandem load of medium aggregate rock and a backhoe could have it repaired in about 4 hours.

"OK, Ssgt. how long would it take if we ask the civilian government employees to fix it?" I replied " About a year." Flabbergasted the Major said, "Marines could get killed or hurt if their vehicles drove into the hole."

The problem with government employees is, that the bureaucracy is so large and immovable that it will take 50 government bureaucrats in all their safety regalia of hardhats, safety vests, personal GPS locating devices, holographic government ID cards, and the ever present handled communicating device in where they can communicate with fellow bureaucrats all over the world, to come out to that small washed out section of gravel road to say, "Yep, yep, there's a hole their alright," get into the caravan of pickup trucks and leave.

It actually took 11 months and change for the government civilian employees, to come out with a dump truck and a backhoe to fill in the hole. The very same thing I told Major Zimmerman that I could have fixed with Marine Engineers in a matter of hours. And the part that really annoyed the hell out of me is that they had to send out a environmentalist that had a honest to goodness Doctorate degree to come out and inspect the hole to make sure there wasn't any endangered species that had taken up residence there. For crying out loud how much did the government waste by having a doctor come out and inspect a hole in the ground? I don't know about you, but asking a lowly E-6 in the Marine Corps to see if a bunch of critters are living in a hole is much, much cheaper than sending a doctor out to do the same thing.

Oh by the way, I had the displeasure of sneaking a peak at the civilian government payroll roster one day, let me tell you everything you hear about government employees living large is absolutely true, but if you saw what I saw on that roster in terms what they were pulling in, would cause an instant revolution.

Just drive by one day and see what type of vehicles that are parked in a government parking lot (local school board), you won't find any Yugo's parked there, thats for sure."

He said it, he lied, the media sighed

Barack Obama said it. He wasn’t ambiguous and there's no wiggle room. Obama definitely said, "If you like your insurance you can keep it. Nothing changes." Everyone knew that was nonsense, but he said it then, his disinformation staff on cable and broadcast news repeated it.

And now, every day when you open the newspaper you see a change. The end result will either be exorbitant high insurance costs that few can afford, or companies will be dropping coverage (see story on McDonald's) so their employees will go for the government carrot.

Remembering Floyd and our 1999 vacation

"In North Carolina, the nearly 21 inches collected in Wilmington since rain started falling Sunday topped Hurricane Floyd's five-day mark of 19 inches set in 1999, the National Weather Service said."

We had been planning a lovely NC fall vacation in 1999, and then Floyd happened and there was all sorts of flooding--especially those big pig farms and lots of yucky stuff. The photos of floating hogs sort of spooked us, so instead we went to visit people in Fairfax, VA, drove into Washington DC for sight seeing, ate at some lovely restaurants and also made some stops in Annapolis, St. Michael's and Oxford, Maryland. On the way home we visited Oglebay in WV. It wasn't our original plan, but a very nice trip.

Carl Paladino alleges Andrew Cuomo affair

Pot to Kettle. Paladino who has an out of wedlock child claims Cuomo was unfaithful to ex-wife. Really, children . . .

Carl Paladino alleges Andrew Cuomo affair - Maggie Haberman - POLITICO.com

Christine O'Donnell--I like her, but

finding a good mailing address is tricky.  Why do all these young folks working on the campaign not make it easier to use U.S. mail?  I'm still looking.  Meanwhile, here's an article to read about her opponent Chris Coons (lots of Chrises in this campaign).  Remember, the GOP wasn't thrilled that she beat out their candidate in the primary.

Her Facebook page says,

Mailing Address:
Friends of Christine O'Donnell
P.O. Box 3987
Wilmington, DE 19807
 
And the web page has no way to ask without signing in and all that, which I don't like to do.

Support Steve Stivers

Steve Stivers is running in my 15th district in Ohio.  Even if you're out of the district, you can support him. You can donate on line or the old fashioned way, which I find much more personal.  I don't really like the expensive GOP fund raisers (one campaign required me to go to the P.O. to pick up and sign for the item another sent me $1.00), so am sending support to the candidates I like.  Right now the big issues are the deficit and government spending.  If they turn out to be RINOs, turn them out.  If Steve can't do a better job than Mary Jo Kilroy and help stop Obama, then vote him out the next time.

Stivers for Congress
211 S. 5th Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Phone: 614-358-0800

Sean Bielat running against Barney Frank

Barney Frank is a danger to the whole country, so I'd support Sean Bielat if I could, and I can. Lots of little people who are tired of tyrant Barney can send money to support his campaign. Frank can spout off on everything, so I have no idea why he's afraid of a former Marine.



You can donate on-line, but there are 3 mailing addresses, too.
Sean Bielat for Congress
Brookline Post Office Box
PO Box 1143
Brookline, MA 02446

If everyone sent even $5 to the Republicans running against the entrenched Congress people who have taken our country to this terrible state, we could give them a much better chance. Then, if they don't remember why they are there or why they got support from people out of their district, boot 'em out next time.

Also, remember to vote. It's almost November!

Why does the President hate black children?

No, I'm not referring to his stance on abortion, which kills them before birth, in higher percentage than other groups and races.  It's the DC scholarship program that he has ruined for them.

In the fall of 2008, 216 new low-income students were notified by the Department of Education that they had been selected to receive scholarships to get out of violent DC public schools and attend alternatives, like the ones the Obama girls, Malia and Sasha, attend. But the NEA and the AFT teachers' unions helped elect Obama, and now Obama has torn up their winning “lottery tickets” to a good education and has taken back the scholarship money. Most of these kids are black.

This report by the Department of Education is not exactly a page turner, and it's stuffed tables and graphs, but it does say children in the Opportunity Scholarship program had statistically significant better reading scores than students who applied to the program but were not offered a scholarship. Also, read it now, because reports that go against Obamaplans have a tendency to disappear from the internet.

All the NBC channels and cable affiliates are promoting Obama's and Arne Duncan's education plans and theories this week. Why not discuss the alternatives? Because NBC is in Obama's hip pocket and he belongs to the unions who helped him get elected (and will be appearing in full force in DC on 10-2-10 along with the Communist Party USA and other radical groups).

Sigh--That Forsyte Woman

It was on Turner this afternoon--had to give up Glenn Beck.

Equality -- or Freedom?

"On average, Asians earn more than Hispanics; blacks less than whites. Mormons earn more than Muslims; Jews more than Jehovah's Witnesses. And Polish Americans earn more than Puerto Ricans.

Does that prove America is a racist and religiously bigoted country?"

One time I asked my boss, Jay Ladd, why a male librarian hired after me, younger, was earning more. His answer stunned me. "Because he asked for more." When I had children, I left the work force. When he had children, his wife left the work force. But there are lots of reasons women's salaries differ. They take fewer risks; move less; turn down more difficult assignments; don't want to do the out of town trips and work; and there are no "good old girl" networks that even come close to the "good old boys." We tend to stab each other in the back rather than let another woman get ahead.

This article is on the new Paycheck Fairness Act passed by the House 256 to 162.

Equality -- or Freedom? - Pat Buchanan - Townhall Conservative

Return on investment of a college education

There are lots of reasons to go to college, but a nice nest egg when you retire isn't one of them. If your parents had invested your first two years of college expenses in IRAs that you couldn't raid, by age 65 you'd be well set--much further ahead than attending an Ivy League school, or even any college at all. I have a scheme that just might get you the best of both worlds, because really, I'm quite a fan of education. I'm the third generation in my family to have a college education. It's also a good place to meet your future spouse, my grandparents, parents, and my husband and I all met in college.

When your child graduates from high school insist that he/she get a job and work for at least one year--fast food, retail, construction, agriculture worker, county flagman, groundskeeper--you get the idea. It would be nice if they can live away from home and support themselves, but that isn't essential. Then take the amount of money it would cost you for a year at a state university (I have no idea what that is these days, $12,000?) and invest it in the stock market (but not in their name, because otherwise they'll take it the first time they want a car, a nice wedding or new furniture).

After a year in the trenches or behind the counter, they'll probably be better able to take advantage of what college has to offer, and by investing for them, you'll insure they have a nice retirement in the distant future. This will really help if they want to go out and save the world in a low paying job like social work or library science, positions that have lots of simple pleasures but don't pay particularly well unless you want to claw your way to the top and become a manager/director.

I know this works, because I figured it out one day standing in line at the Tremont Goodie Shop in the 1980s while grieving that my children said no to college. Unfortunately, I already had their college money (for the first year) in accounts with their SS# and name and it later disappeared for consumer goods that will be gone long before they retire. But in case you don't believe an ordinary librarian, go read this article.

College: Big Investment, Paltry Return

"Over the past 30 years, the S&P 500 Index averaged about 11 percent a year. Only 88 schools out of the 554 in the study had a better return than the S&P. Everywhere else, students would have been better off—financially, at least—if they invested the money they spent on their college educations and never set foot in a classroom." -- And I would comment that the ROI predicted for any of these colleges is far higher than the 1%-4% I've read in other sources.

Ratty jeans

When loading some of my husband's jeans and cotton casual slacks into the washer today, it occurred to me that the jeans were well past their prime and I decided to look for some new ones when I went to Kohl's to buy a watch battery. The "new" jeans are so awful, so distressed, so ripped, so wrinkled and faded, I decided we'd stay with what we have.

Neither of these were brands at Kohl's, nor did I actually see any this awful (bottom one is $350), but you get the idea.