Great Sadness

Hi, I am Sally Peterson. One of Lola's daughter-in-laws. It is with great sadness that I must report that Lola passed away yesterday afternoon. Please her husband, Don, and our family in your thoughts and prayers.

Hey, Occupiers! You're in the Wrong Places! Congress Makes the Laws!

And look what they did when they passed the restrictions on your lives if you ever take out a student loan!!!

Two thirds of you are in debt to the tune of about a Trillion Dollars. You are now a part of our debtor status. And you can never escape! Unlike a mortgage, no one can repossess your degree or your debtor obligation status.

Get this: Student loans are not "dischargeable." If you file for bankruptcy, student loans cannot be included but will continue in perpetuity. Your debt will follow you for life, even to the point of having your wages garnisheed.

They will get first dibs on your tax refunds.

You will be ineligible for federal employment.

Professional licenses can be revoked AND

even your Social Security checks will be docked when you retire!

So, hang out and take free food and make a mess in as many cities as you can, but you can never escape your student loans.

Good luck and

God bless...

Obama: "Solyndra deal was Complicated"

How complicated can it be to give money to political friends or decide to borrow money from competitors?

What competitors, you ask? Well, since we borrow so much from China it's not a stretch to figure we are borrowing from them to prop up solar power companies to compete with the Chinese, right?

Another sleight of hand: 103,000 "new" jobs? When over 40,000 of them are just Verizon workers going back to work after their strike? Really.

And I wonder where all those union workers think their pension funds are invested. Couldn't be the stock market where they are protesting with the, some paid, some not, demonstrators around the country protesting capitalist greed...

And last, did you know that the average age of the homeless is Nine (9)? Yes, and as soon as one is identified in any school district the feds put up a quota which must be met to still get the Title I funds due them?

What is the definition of "homeless?" Say a family loses their home due to foreclosure and they go to live with Grandma. The kids are now considered homeless. What a scam.

No wonder no one is working on the jobs issue--they're too busy thinking up ways to con the public into knuckling in another direction. Such as, the new Labor Relations regulations saying 16 year olds on farms can't recognize the dangers of any machinery that isn't hand or foot powered and a whole lot more. Couple that with the EPA regulations against raising any dust in a field or a gravel road in the country.

Will it never end?

God bless...

What's All the Whining about Civil Rights for a Traitor?

Am I the only one to draw the correlation between the FBI's Most Wanted List and the legitimacy of information gathering by the Executive Branch? A relatively small agency has more power than one third of the branches of government? Too much time on their hands.

God bless...

HELP!! STOP THAT MAN!! YES, HERMAN CAIN!!

Can you afford 15% sales tax on your next car? Do you really think Michigan can survive another dip in the recession??

And when we've finished with the car companies, the next step will be the rest of us. Who in his right mind would call a 21% tax rate (which is his flat 9% plus his 9% sales tax which those of us in the middle would get hit with since we actually do pretty much spend our entire income--and half of the Michigan 6% that is used for hard goods) fair? And don't forget, there are many states with higher sales tax and income tax rates than we have.

Start counting the tax on every dollar spent. Doctors, lawyers, insurance policies, school tuitions, college tuitions and loans, barbers, beauticians, lawn and garden services--see where we're going?

Come on, Republicans. Get real.

Next on the list has to be Romney. He is way too much a gentleman than to get down and dirty and fight Obama who knows how to fight gangsta style Chicago politics. Not only that, how is a guy with his wealth and upbringing going to connect with folks who have had to struggle and work their way up out of the trenches to get a toe hold on the good life? He has no idea what it is to make a choice between which kid gets to get the new pair of tennis shoes this paycheck and which one, just as needy, has to wait.

If Newt had a sense of decency in his younger days he'd probably be a shoo in, but he just didn't plan ahead and the rest of those guys just have delusions of grandeur.

Just my opinion...

Don't mean to take too much of your time, but we need to talk about the guy from Solyndra who spent so much time at the White House talking to the President about his philanthropies. Really? And no, neither Eric Holder nor the President saw any kind of memo regarding the ATF's Fast and Furious. No joke. Holder said he'd only heard about it within the last few weeks even though memos have crossed his desk at least twice, April and October of 2010. Really? (When I earned a paycheck one of the prime responsibilities from any boss I ever had was "Don't ever let me be surprised." Do you suppose Obama and Holder have given instructions to "don't tell me anything?" Yeah, right.Don't worry, there will be more.

Transparency? What's that"

God bless...

What's Different from the Forties to Today?

(Sorry about the absence-had a bad reaction to a prescribed med.)

Folks have been talking about how the country worked together for the 4 years of WWII by rationing, tax increases, making sacrifices and how everyone was on the same page. And that now we, unless we have a family member engaged in the war(s) are mere spectators.

I believe there is something more than just the change in culture of the entire time frame. There is something more insidious going on. But first I'd like to share a theory I've had for some time.

The entire generation of the "greatest" encompassed the Depression and then the war. In my humble opinion I believe that when the men and some women came home from the service they had the mindset that their children "were never going to have to go through the hardships of life that they had to." Consequently, for lack of a better description, we spoiled our kids rotten. The boomers are the instant gratification generation.

Our children also benefited from parents who qualified for the GI bill which put them in line for being much better off financially than their parents and they made sure their kids also wanted for nothing. It has escalated through the years and our grandchildren also feel they are "entitled."

Along with all the extra money and no need to work for it plus the celebrity culture it's been a generation waiting for an accident to happen. Respect for authority and coupled with "don't trust anyone over 30" learned from their parents who were their buddies rather than authority figures were just not adding up to responsibility and accountability.

Maybe a bit simplistic and certainly not a 100% outcome, but shared sacrifice is a foreign concept to many. (My own kids are examples whose parents remember their parents' hard lives and easy come easy go doesn't happen at our address.)

The other part of this I've added since early development of this theory. Politics took on that difference as well. The flower children are the liberals of their generation and when George W, in their minds "stole the election" I can say that the lack of the respect for the Presidency in the Clinton years by Conservatives was transferred to the liberals' animosity of President Bush.

Which brings us to a point where lack of respect and anathema against the opposite party when asked to cooperate for the common good (not in the socialistic sense) it is also a foreign concept. Who really thinks they should sacrifice to anyone else?

Not really sure how to solve this, but I'm quite proud of Boehner and Cantor who don't think an olive branch is just a twig. Let's see where this takes us.''God bless...

Where Has All the Money Gone??

Did you happen to hear that Solyndra Inc which received a $535 million loan guarantee in 2009 to build a plant in northern California closed its doors and had to lay off all its workers a year ago. Yup! The same Solyndra that today declared bankruptcy after a more recent $500 million boost from the same Department of Energy.

And, I kid you not, they are defending themselves with remarks such as "While not every company will succeed in this competitive industry, we believe that solar generation and manufacturing play an important role in helping America win the clean energy race."

Then there's SoloPower, Inc which makes lightweight solar panels in San Jose. This month the White House finalized a $197 million guarantee for them with two other loans for solar power combined for $425 million to be awarded before the September 30 deadline.

Another business Evergreen Solar Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection after closing a Massachusetts plant which had been built with local and state subsidies.

I guess after looking at all these closings the least we can do is wish the new recipients good luck.

Not to be outdone, the battery business is looking rather bleak. With so many companies and so many countries getting into the development of said car batteries, the market expects a glut long before the 2020 deadline everyone is aiming at.

By everyone we mean: SB LiMotive, a joint venture between German automotive supplier Robert Bosch and Samsung SDI of South Korea; Renault and Nissan investing $5.76 billion (actually being revamped to move ahead without subsidies); LG Chem Ltd of South Korea; A123 Systems Inc and Enerl Inc from the U.S. who are smaller in scale. Actually there is much talk about too much capacity by 2015 so each of these companies are hedging their bets in various ways, but looking at a $300 billion market for electric vehicles and looking at $50billion of that amount for the batteries, no one wants to back out just yet.

However, we have pumped in $5 billion with $2.6 billion for batteries in the car business. Sounds like a lot? China is pumping $15 billion over 10 years into alternative vehicle technology and South Korea has committed $12.5 billion into the 2020 Battery Project.

Looks like a fight to the finish.

God bless...

WE THE PEOPLE.....promote the general Welfare--

This little phrase appears to be the backbone of the liberals who defend Obamacare as constitutional. Lo and behold, a quote from Thomas Jefferson, from Opinion on National Bank in 1791 wrote this:

"They are not to do anything they please to provide for the general welfare, but only to lay taxes for that purpose. To consider the latter phrase not as describing the purpose of the first, but as giving a distinct and independent power to do any act they please which may be good for the Union, would render all the preceding and subsequent enumerations of power completely useless. It would reduce the whole instrument to a single phrase, that of instituting a Congress with power to do whatever would be for the good of the United States; and as they would be the sole judges of the good or evil, it would be also a power to do whatever evil they please."

So when you hear or are confronted by someone using the "promote general welfare" argument, you can answer with what the thinking was then and is logical today.

God bless...

Immigration - Simple Solution

The Cit Pat limits issues letters to 300 words so much of what one would like to say simply "doesn't fit." The following will soon appear in the Jax Cit Pat.

"First, ignore all Southwest and border states clergy. Americans respect human dignity, feeding and sheltering the poor. It's our heritage. They who had the power and influence, however, chose to encourage rather than instigate mission programs early on before the rest of the country knew the depth of the problem. Their hands are not clean. They could have mitigated much of the damage done in the last 20 years.
Then, face facts. Logistically it is impossible to "send them all back."

Third, have them all registered within 6 months, use the Post Office which is cutting staff. How? Not registering will mean automatic deportation when they are identified. Registration leads to citizenship and probationary status. In justice to those who have entered the country legally, there must be some restitution for their crime of being illegal--not "undocumented." Illegal and undocumented are not synonyms.

Next, they pay a nominal fee, back taxes or any other monetary restitution. The probationary period is for learning the language, studying American history and passing the citizenship test to prove that they want to be Americans. No dual citizenship. If gainfully employed, the employer who benefited needs to be fined.

How to enforce? Friends and family can be monetarily rewarded for reporting others. $500 to $1000: enough to make it practical. Not a bounty. No warrants issued, no chasing down, just a businesslike decision for those who truly wish to become citizens and those wanting an end to this mess.

The probationary period should be long enough to make reporting every 6 months or yearly enough to remind them and others that they chose to enter the country by breaking a law, a serious infraction in a nation of laws. Five to ten years sounds reasonable.

Some, like little kids, will need case by case attention by Congress."

Like putting the tax code in a notebook and putting tax forms on a post care, this should be a pretty short, up front way of getting the job done. If adopted, ICE, ATF and other law enforcement agencies can concentrate on the crooks.

We really need to get this taken care of and if the hard nosed folks still want to finish the fences, this can be done simultaneously since it will be cost efficient. Do you think we could interest Tim Walberg?

God bless...

Poor President Obama--BooHoo-Jobs Plan? Really?

He keeps getting caught between that rock and that hard place. How is he going to do anything constructive about jobs and continue placating all his leftist supporters? Last I heard, there has been a net loss of 900,000 jobs since his inauguration. Maybe he'd like to work on those first.

Here's an idea: You've heard about the Trans Canada pipeline which would send oil from the Alberta tar sands and go down to the refineries in Oklahoma and Texas? Have you also heard that the only thing stopping them is the fact that the State Department has to approve the whole thing because it crosses the 49th parallel?

The building of that pipeline and peripheral jobs would net 131,000 jobs at one fell swoop along with the $20 billion investment. Oh, by the way, 13,000 of those jobs would be union jobs. Sorry, guys.

First we have to have all the environmental impact statements from 8 of our finest regulatory agencies plus State. How's that going? Well, the first request was made back in 2008 with a report finally being issued in April of last year. The big 5 were EPA, DOT, USDA, DOI, DOE plus a few smaller entities. The report actually said there appeared to be little risk to the environment.

Stop! EPA speaking and forcing another study which resulted in 8 volumes. That also resulted in "no significant impact" on the environment. So is it a done deal? No-o-o-o. Now we have to have a 90 day review to see if the project is in the national interest. Economics, energy, security, foreign policy--you name it--will all have something to say.

The State Dept. will have public comment, both in person and online and hold hearings in the six states which will be crossed plus Washington, D. C. And guess what, the Executive Order also says it should have comment from 8 of the involved agencies.

Does anyone want to bet how important 131,000 jobs and enough oil to equal the entire production equal to the 830,000 barrels a day produced by Oman in the Arabian Peninsula is to the President?

Doesn't he keep saying the Republicans should keep politics out of the job problem? Again leading from behind.

Please, God, bless us...

Where's Waldo? Who Cares-WHERE'S MARK SCHAUER??

MARK SCHAUER WAS SIGHTED IN LENAWEE COUNTY LAST WEEK TAKING COPIOUS NOTES AT A teeny
little Ogden Township meeting where a Supervisor and a Clerk had been recalled. He was accompanied by a couple of guys who might have been mistaken for body guards, but one of which turned out to be akin to a PR person or maybe an Advance Man.

Publicly he has been identified as still working for the Green Alliance--any correlation?

Also, he has apparently tapped into the kitty he left office with and is supporting the Democrats on the non-partisan ballot for the Jackson City Council election in the fall. (Headed, of course, by one of his best buds, Marty Griffin.)

Guess we'll have to wait and see unless someone wants to share the skinny.

It's been a beautiful day today. Thunderstorms earlier this week were awesome!

God bless...

A Tribute

http://xfinity.comcast.net/video/2105702905/mans_best_friend_stays_loyal_to_fallen_seal

I don't know if this will work, but as the
YOuTube instructions said: If clicking on the link
doesn't work, try copying and pasting it into your
browser and his "enter.")

And if that doesn't work, just type it in yourself.

God bless...

http://www.Mackinac.org/15605

Please access the Midland based Mackinac Center website to get the latest and best information on:

Ann Arbor is considering issuing fines for cars that idle too long. I kid you not! Check it out!

Evergreen Solar has gone bankrupt because there are just too many start up businesses in competition. Undoubtedly all with stimulus money from the government.

MEA members who may want to withdraw from the union may only do so during the month of August. Depending on your newspaper or radio talk show, this is the time to get a notice out. Let teachers know they can give themselves a raise in conjunction with making their own political contributions.

Also, many more communities are deciding to hire private firms to do some of the jobs that were union jobs and saving along the lines of $400,000 a year. Not bad.

These and other stories are to be found in detail at the above address. Take advantage of it--they publish this once a month plus many other items of interest.

God bless...

Clean Up Headlines

#1 - It seems those who have watched Wisconsin recalls are comfortable with the Republicans having maintained control. Just a word to the wise: Apparently one of the Republicans, Repr. Schultz, is very soft and may be leaning toward working with Democrats. Bears watching.

#2 - Japanese survivors are in the process of memorializing a WWII Internment Camp in Wyoming. There were several others on the West coast and in Alaska. Wonder if they are also being remembered. Plus it makes me wonder if there is any recognition of the many POW camps in China and Japan used to "house" Americans.

@3 - Our State Dept. and administration appear to be ignoring the quashing of the Honduran press by the newest dictator. No press, make no mistake, indicates the relationship with Venezuela and Hugo Chavez is pretty much a done deal. Shouldn't we be just a tad bit outraged?

#4 - EPA again jumped the gun and banned the use of BPA (can't possibly spell it.) After finding out there was no danger in its use, it was also found out that at least one company has gone bankrupt due to the regulations thrust upon them. Our government at work.

#5 - The Tea Party seems to be taking it on the chin by liberals led by Maxine Waters. Last week it was mentioned that the Tea Party is reminiscent of the old Silent Majority waking up. The only difference as I see it is that the Tea Party is extremely active and I fear only one thing. I am reminded of the "rather be right than President" groups through the years and if they decide to run Ron Paul or one of their favorites as a Third Party, they will split the vote guaranteeing another four years of Obama.

Warning: Regulations put forth by unelected agencies and Executive Orders may truly be our worst nightmare.

The people who have been sending suggestions to pray at 9:00 pm (or I'm thinking any other time) have it right. Like chicken soup, couldn't hurt, might help, right?

God bless...

More Fun Than A Picnic

I may be sorry about 1% of what I just accomplished, but I found the secret to making my computer much faster and it had nothing to do with viruses or any other sophisticated remedies that cost money to fix.

Everyone else in the whole world must know this already, but it took a friend to tell me that I had way too much information that was using space and slowing things down. I always thought that once you deleted something it was gone, forever. Not so.

I hadn't thought about the Recycle Bin for a long time, it usually had little in it. However, I accidentally clicked on it and lo and behold! There was so much junk on there I checked it all out and deleted it. Then I went to the place, also accidentally, where it had stuff like cookies, all the websites I'd ever visited, etc., etc. So I got rid of that also. Yes, I will have to replace the ones I really use, but that's not a big problem. Probably not more than 12 to 20 that I use more than once a week or so.

Just in case I have someone who is as slow on the uptake as I have been, this is a good tip and the rest of you can laugh and laugh at the old dog learning new tricks. How very cool.

Anyway, that's what took up my time last night so I'll post sometime today.

God bless...

Headlines for your Attention

#1 - Union target: FoMoCo - The union is leaving those of us who were stung by the GM failure to honor commitments due to government interference and enriched unions at GM while Chrysler was being sold down the river to Fiat.

I took delivery of a Ford May 31, but I can tell you this: if Ford caves to the union, it will be my last "American" car. Any foreign car made in the USA by non-union labor will be my next ride.

#2 - Millionaires are Disappearing - There are 13% fewer workers who earned more than $200,000 now than in 2007; 39% fewer than there were in 2007 earning $1 million and above; 55% fewer earning $10 million and above in the same time frame. The recession was the cause of the decline.

Wouldn't it seem that rather than have the remaining wealthy folks pay more taxes that the business climate be improved so more people would become millionaires and pay more taxes?

#3 - Exxon Works for Years on New Oil Field - After putting in huge amounts of money for over 10 years they are bumping up to the end of the contracted time. Now the government wants to deny them an extension so they can sell the same field again. So they have to go to court.

Government-what a way to run a business!

#4 - Farmer Attempts Conversation with President on His "Listening Tour"

Poor guy in Illinois asked the President to please not enforce the regulations being talked about which would have the government coming out into the countryside to measure how much dust is in the air, particularly that which might fall on some endangered flowers in Colorado. Farmers who live on dirt roads would be fined for raising dust on more than 21 days a year. The same for working in the fields with plows, discs. combines, etc., etc.

Obama's answer: "if something hasn't happened, don't always believe what you hear." Wouldn't that have been a great time to learn something?

Time to lean back and look forward to a lazy Sunday-
God bless...

Illegal is Illegal is Illegal- (as in Immigration)

We also must consider compassion for those who are not at fault--children below the age of reason. Just as with any other crime, however, there must be restitution or some kind of punishment. Parents of children are guilty not only of breaking the law, but of causing an innocent to break the law. This is a double whammy. It is simply un-American to cause someone else to go astray.

And practicality is practicality is practicality. It should be simple enough to set some ground rules. As long as the authorities have thousands upon thousands of records already in hand, they should have no problem adding to it. First, WE SHOULD JUST ASK THOSE WHO ARE HERE ILLEGALLY TO REPORT TO THE NEAREST IMMIGRATION OFFICE. This should not be a problem since they know they won't be deported.

Second, and I know opponents will call this a bounty, we can think of other words to describe the reward to be given to those who may be willing to report someone who is breaking the law.

Third, Everyone, including employers, should make the government whole by paying any back taxes or FICA for any of these individuals who have been gainfully employed. There might be no jail time or punitive fines, but if the agreement has been worked out "under the table" again, all taxes and FICA shall be paid.

Fourth, The registration might be likened to probation; they have, after all, broken a very basic law. A time period such as 10 years during which classes must be taken to earn Naturalized Citizenship. Even though a Citizenship test has been taken and an illegal immigrant has successfully passed all requirements for citizenship and is now considered a bona fide citizen, he or she must "report in" once a year for the remainder of the 10 year period.

Fifth, One of the education requirements shall be English classes until such time as they can pass the equivalent of 10th grade levels.

Sixth, There must be reporting requirements such as twice a year during the period of probation. We need to keep track of these people.

Seventh, For those who have served or are serving in the military, upon Honorable Discharge and the passing of a basic test, Citizenship will be bestowed immediately.

Eighth, certainly there will arise unique situations which deserve separate action. These very few may be acted upon by a voluntary recommendation of the individual's local Congressman or Senator to the full body of Congress for exception and action.

This should satisfy pretty much every level of liberal or conservative citizens. If some still call it amnesty, they must come up with a plan that is cost effective and detailed enough that others may make intelligent judgment. Two specific questions? How much will it cost - and this includes record keeping, feeding, housing, and guarding after arrest? And how long will it take?

Don't fofget the injustices suffered by those who have entered this country through legitimate means. And please don't consider those up to 35 years old as was the case in the Dream Act.

Good luck and God bless...

Syria's leader and military are guilty of killing Civilians---

That's right. President Obama had Secretary of State Clinton relay the message to Assad that he should step down. In effect, saying "it's not right to kill innocent civilians."

I must say, it's no contest. Between Clinton and Obama and their championing of abortion rights they are guilty of the deaths of thousands and thousands of innocents being murdered.

All the rest of the day's news is just more of same old, same old. The President has been telling the world that he wakes up every morning with what on his mind? Oh, yeah, jobs. Well, that's as far as it goes. He is thinking about it, has talked about it endlessly starting in 2009, and he is still thinking and talking about it.

Now he is accusing Republicans of putting politics ahead of the country. Just another example of thinking that everyone thinks as he does. He has taken quite a few plays from Bill Clinton's playbook but the most impressive is: Never leave campaign mode.

I'm quite sure that the main reason he is in Martha's Vineyard is to just let things cool down and to come back with a pile of speeches ready to blame the Tea Party for events that occurred before we even heard about them. Good grief!

It's getting difficult just trying to keep abreast of what's happening. And even a bit depressing.

God bless...

There Is Such A Thing As A Free Lunch!!!

I don't read the Detroit News, but have a friend who does. She sent me the following: I hope I don't get sued for copyright infringement. Some of you may have seen this, but it bears repeating.

DPS students to get free breakfast, lunch during school day - Santiago Esparza/Detroit News

Detroit -- All Detroit Public Schools students will receive free breakfast, lunch and a snack during the school day in the coming year as part of a federal pilot program aimed at making sure youngsters are receiving healthy meals.

Students are eligible for the program offered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Community Eligibility Option Program regardless of income. Michigan is one of the three states selected for the program.

Schools and districts in the state can participate in the program if at least 40 per cent of their students qualify for public assistance.

Another goal of the program is to eliminate the stigma some may feel about not paying for their lunches, said DPS Chief Operating Officer Mark Schrupp.

"Some students would skip important meals to avoid being identified as low-income," Schrupp said in a press release. "Now, all students will walk through a lunch line and not have to pay. Low-income students will not be easily identifiable and will be less likely to skip meals."

The Agriculture Department's option program is part of President Barack Obama's Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act. Illinois and Kentucky were the other states selected to be part of the program.

ALL STATES WILL BE PART OF THE PROGRAM BY THE 2014-15 SCHOOL YEAR. (my caps)

God bless us all...

OBAMA IS MAKING A CAMPAIGN TOUR! USE CAMPAIGN FUNDS!!

Even the AP is describing a campaign tour with headlines such as "Obama criticizes the GOP." We all need to not only call our own Congressmen and Senators, we should be sending the message to our friends and relatives across the country suggesting they do the same.

$2 million worth of buses, ie., a million apiece should not be billed to the taxpayers.

So now after talking about JOBS being his highest priority through the first 2 1/2 years of his presidency, he may be forced into doing something. But guess what? First he has to spend the money to generate a new bureaucracy to deal with it. More and more money being spent. Is spending other people's money a disease? If there isn't a name or label for it yet, there should be.

And now there are shortages of drugs that we talked about. So many generics the pharmaceutical companies don't have enough profits to do their usual amount of R & D, of all things, there are drugs that the FDA has approved for both human and animal use so the demand is up, because of limited supplies the purchasing departments are not giving themselves enough lead time and hospitals are running short of drug supplies, etc. Good grief!

Wonder what is coming next.

God bless...

Generic Drugs

If you will think back to the first time Debbie Stabenow ran for the Senate you will remember that she, along with any other Democrat candidate in a border state, really picked up votes by chartering buses to take senior citizens to Canada to buy cheap prescription drugs.

As the campaign went along the Democrats were touting the purchase of drugs from abroad plus being able to get generic drugs in quantity through government purchases. AT the time there was little proof/investigation but now we have evidence in abundance that drugs formulated in India and China in particular are far from safe.

I'll do my best to collect information for us to use in the campaign, but ask that if you run across anything that you submit it as well. Some of these copycats are extremely dangerous either through contamination or lack of potency.

The primary will take care of itself, it is time to start working on campaign issues.

God bless...

New Dream Team

I'm going to add Herman Cain to my Dream Team. Perry/Cain or Bachman.

And I'm being lazy by just giving you a website that has done our homework for us. Surely the Dems will come up with everything they can to toss at Rick Perry, but www.PeskyTruth.wordpress.com has done the grunt work.

I really want to just get it on the blog so I know where to find it when I want it. I read it all and think it will be helpful.

Consider this Sunday night and I'll post tonight.

God Bless...

A Conservative Teacher: Rick Perry, The Next President: Analysis and Proje...

I trust you'll find this interesting--just click on the first line

A Conservative Teacher: Rick Perry, The Next President: Analysis and Proje...: "Rick Perry may just be the next President of the United States. Last month I ran into Matt Keelen, who is the founder and President of the..."

U. S. Department of Injustice?

Eric Holder has a lot to be accountable for starting with the folks who were intimidated by Black Panthers on the steps of the building where they were supposed to vote in Philadelphia. And it went down hill from there.

We had the attempt to move the "residents" of the Country Club in Cuba aka Guantanamo to New York, Illinois or someplace in the contiguous United States where great numbers of American citizens would be manipulated, disrespected and made to dance around while their rights were being trampled on.

Every now and then we are treated to another of these attempts to change our system of justice by Mr. Holder and his minions.

This time, however, it is totally obvious that the so-called attorneys in the Justice Dept. have gone bonkers. We all know how serious the so-called gun running sting on the southern border resulted in guns landing in the hands of the drug cartels with many lives lost. Lives lost as a direct result of our government employees putting guns in the hands of violent thugs.

One of those casualties was a young man living in Arizona. His parents would like to be in the court room and make a statement to the judge as is usually a right that is recognized by the judicial branch and also usually, supported by the U. S. Prosecutors. Not so this time. Even though this particular Prosecutor had spoken earlier about the need to bring justice, it was learned today that he has quashed a motion to allow the parents to make a statement. Apparently he now believes the crime is "against society" and an individual cannot be identified. What???

There ca be no doubt that this is one of the most obvious examples of CYA ever. The Prosecutor in the case was a participant in the sting and now he is a participant in the cover up. Shame on him and the rest of those guys right up to the very top.

Governor Perry really has it right. Prayer is totally necessary at this time. We are on a sinking ship and the Almighty may be the only way to save our country.

God bless...

Something to Think About--

Heard a fellow from Britain today giving an opinion on why the riots in London which he followed by giving his opinion that the reason for much of the unrest in the world is due to the fact that world wide there are no great leaders.

We started to think about it and decided that he is right. After listing the leaders of various countries from Sarkozy to whom? We couldn't even come up with that many names and finally decided only Angela Merkel of Germany comes any place close to fitting that description.

Do we have anyone who fits that description who is even mildly interested in running for President? Don't leave out the Democrats, this is just an exercise in an attempt to find out where all the qualified leaders have gone. Can't think of any there either.

As for the military, Petraeus is thought to be a good General and we have heard of others also, but it just doesn't seem that one stands out above the others. Then look at the business world. Do we even know who heads some of the largest companies in our own country let alone someone internationally?

We do know a few who are good investors and have become wealthy in the process. Soros, Trump, Immelt, Ackerson, Buffet, Gates, Jobs and maybe a few more, but not one of them exhibits what might be called governmental leadership ability.

Houston, we have a problem. It's a worrisome thing when it's important to take a coin to flip when it's time to cast a vote. Maybe Perry has it right: turn over our problems to God.

God bless...

More on Soros-

Now that we know how Soros is circumventing the new rules on hedge funds by making it a family affair, my eyes perked up when I saw the following in "The Progressive Farmer." If I haven't mentioned it before, friend husband grew up on a farm and as they say, you can take the boy off the farm but you can't take the farm from the boy. He still eats it up and shared the following:

"Big Money has long played a hand in commodity markets, but a new breed of global investors have their eyes on ag. They hope to strike gold by not simply buying future contracts, but by investing directly in the world's frontier farmland....." (There has been a huge investment of billions of dollars in the last five years to develop South American farms. Increased production will only come from tilling more land. New technology alone cannot increase yields fast enough.) "...Wall Street analysts believe the real estate drives will relaunch once Brazilians clarify the law, perhaps within the next few months."

"In January, Adecoagro, a South American farming venture backed by billionaire George Soros, raised $42.3 million in its initial public offering. The Argentine based firm already owns 320,000 acres in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay and is carving out a niche as a sugar cane processor and real estate developer."

So add that to the $2 billion loan received from President Obama for his oil interests in Brazil plus making it easy for the Brazilians to market their oil and use the rigs that Americans can't because of the difficulty in getting permits for gulf drilling and we have another recipe for lower gdp and employment rates in our country.

God bless our out of work people...

Investigation???????

A tragedy such as the loss of 30 servicemen should be mourned, not investigated.

What is it about the air in Washington that makes the first reaction to just about any problem turn into a blame game?

Did you hear that there are some who are critical of the fact that there were so many troops on the helicopter which went down with 30 aboard and no survivors? It brings back the fact that we should not be waging the war from the White House or Halls of Congress; we should let the military make the decisions they are trained to do. They should be allowed to do their jobs without interference from amateurs whose only goal is to get their names and faces in the news.

It just seems that every time we turn around there is something else amiss in our nation's capitol. I'm as partisan as most and more than many, but "we have a problem, Houston." There is a mindset which will soon start pitting neighbor against neighbor. It appears to have already started with the class warfare thing, and if we're not careful it's going to be 1984.

Be wary.

God bless...

Deja Vu and It's No Joke-

Back when Bill Clinton was elected I was a lot less cynical and truly felt that he couldn't do too much damage in one term and that we could be rid of him after four years, but he was just smart enough to take advantage of the situation.

When we swept into control on the Contract for America and put into place the policies which were good for the country he stood back and let it happen and then took credit for the whole thing. And the rest is history. (His personal problems didn't do anything except cost those who supported him their own self respect and tons of money if they had to hire lawyers when subpoenaed by the grand jury. Water under the bridge.)

This time, however, it's a different story. Obamacare is in place (Hillary just couldn't make it with her socialized medicine plan even with the AARP backing her) until 2013 but that's not a done deal either. And the damage done to our economy including the job picture and the stock market is really heart breaking.

The kicker is that when I said a couple of days ago that this would cost us money, I really didn't anticipate S&P's action which makes for a real problem. From my 80 year old vantage point may I say that if you have any variable interest rate loans tomorrow is the time to try to get them fixed.

Gov. Rick Perry has it right. At this point in time, and he was thinking about this many months ago as was I, that prayer may be one of the best weapons we have. There is a message going around the internet asking that those who believe should take out a minute or so at 9:00 Eastern every night to offer prayer as Churchill convinced many to do during WWII. Please consider joining in.

Good luck on your financial situations and God bless...

Consumers Power Brags About Being Progressive

We finally have most people aware that the true definition of Liberal includes "Progressive/Liberal" and headlines in the local paper yesterday gave evidence that the monopoly aka Consumers Power, but which lost a little of their complete control due to letting a few people choose to purchase power from another source is now admittedly progressive in philosophy.

They were not even trying to camouflage their intent. Remember last year, can't pinpoint the exact date, but this blog demonstrated that Consumers was adding a surcharge for some green projects including giving people $25 to cart away old, outdated refrigerators, etc.

The headline yesterday indicated that they had run out of their allowance this early in the year due to so many businesses taking advantage of one of their programs being financed with the "surcharge" being paid by all Consumers' customers.

So instead of Robin Hood robbing the rich to give to the poor, Consumers has been robbing ALL their customers to give to businesses. As I recall this was a five year plan. Don't you feel good about being taxed by Consumers?

Progressives: redistribute the wealth--they know what's good for the rest of us. We aren't smart enough to know how to spend our own money. And don't forget, they are using other tax money collected by the government to put electric chargers in the city garage.

God bless us all because we certainly aren't getting any good vibes from the other entities which control our lives...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. PRESIDENT! You got just what you wanted: a $500 Drop in the Stock Market -- another way of saying there is nothing special about

our country. That we deserve what we get and you and your rich friends are laughing all the way to the bank buying gold and making investments that the little people in the country not only can't dream about, they don't even know they exist.

Who are your friends? Was it really the best you could do on your birthday to spend it asking people to pay money to spend "quality" time with you? We just never hear that that you and the girls and the First Lady are entertaining their best friends from school and meeting their parents. We've never heard of old friends from college days being invited to the White House or Camp David for a good old fashioned reunion. You'd be surprised how much fun that is and how human it might make you look to the voters.

They say it's lonely at the top, but this is really pushing the envelope. Even those of us who disagree with your politics and what you are doing and your plans for our futures do not wish you ill will. You, as a professed Christian even though you say our country is not religious, know that God loves everyone and that final judgment is His.

Picture this: If the Progressives end up with all the wealth and "rule the world" with all the rest of the people working in service jobs to do the work to keep you happy, comfortable and supplied with the "necessities" of life and all of the job suppliers have been taxed into non-existence, and you end up with everyone on welfare, unemployment etc., etc. who is going to prepare and cook the food in the restaurant, park your car, set the tables, wash the dishes, take your orders and serve your pleasure? Who will build your houses, cars, design your jewelry and sell anything at retail?

Someplace along the line it all breaks down and some of you might have to get your hands dirty. Just think twice, please, about taxing our children and grandchildren out of existence.

God bless...

Is the Whole World Anti Social?

It seems that Indiana has passed a law which gives schools a pass if they no longer want to teach cursive handwriting. Maybe kids would some day have to learn how to sign their names so they can be identified legally, but that would be about it. Am I the only person in the world that thinks that things are going just a bit too far in having the government interfere with schools being controlled by local school boards?

Society as a whole is already going toward a time when everyone will soon be able, if they so desire, to take a computer and hole up in a cave and have their meals delivered. I always thought it took a very special type of personality to be a computer programmer given that interruptions really could mess up their efforts and now it looks like anyone can do it.

I can remember wanting my kids to look at me when I was talking to them and I certainly gave them my rapt attention when they were talking to me. I cared and still do care about what they are saying and the facial expressions in many cases are as important as the words. It's called c-0-m-m-u-i-c-a-t-i-o-n, folks.

Look around the next time you go to a restaurant. A friend pointed out to me that she and her family went out to dinner and nearby there was a family of 5. Two of them were staring at different television sets (two different programs) while the other three were texting. There was no conversation. Now, please tell me why they even bothered to leave home together.

Kids of today aren't too great about writing thank you notes for birthday gifts and I'm afraid my generation is partially responsible. In fact, whenever the grandparents sent checks or special gifts to my kids, it seemed appropriate that we spend the money and time to give them a call and thank them in person or as close as we could get to it being a few hundred miles away. Calls were a great treat for all.

But the next generation will undoubtedly either email or text and if Grandma isn't proficient in either one, oh, well...

On those rare occasions when families get together, given that many of us don't live in the same states, I really value conversations with not only my grandchildren, but my children and their spouses as well. As far as I know evolution isn't moving fast enough yet to change the art of conversation in one generation.

I realize that I've lived through give or take four generations, but right now we are where we are and we've grown together so it shouldn't be too tough to be able to talk to each other without the aid of an i-pad. So call me crotchety, but please don't be in such a hurry to advance that you forget where you came from and don't leave those you love out of your lives if they require a little patience.

God bless...

Questions aboaut Michelle Bachman

I could probably spend a few hours researching these questions, but perhaps someone who supports her would like to answer them.

Does Ms. Bachman run as a Republican from her district? And in what part of Minnesota is her home?

Was she a part of the Tea Party Express or one of the factions that presumably make up what for lack of a better term would be the "National Tea Party?"

Was she ever opposed in a primary? If so, in what party primary?

Does she use her adult children as surrogate speakers?

Does she still have an interest in her business?

Is she the kind of person who can take constructive criticism and use suggestions? I ask this because up until yesterday I had only seen her on television with the usual sound bites and prepared remarks on the campaign trail. Yesterday I heard her reading a speech over the radio and she either needs to stop using that method of communication or get some speech advice.

As I have said earlier she is a part of my dream ticket, but I admit to not having done any homework and may have to re-visit that decision.

Thanks to anyone with information and

God bless.....

Time to go Back to Daily Postings

First, I'm sorry I forgot to warn you that I would be gone last week. Hopefully it won't happen again. I am compelled to say, however, that 6 days with less than a half hour of news alerts or newscasters droning on and on was a true blessing. Try it sometime.

When we started this blog it was about the same time frame before the last Presidential election and it seems that there truly are more topics to address so maybe shorter but more frequent posts will fit your schedule as well. August just seems like a good time to get going. I only wish the primaries were closer so we can draw the lines between candidates rather than looking at the "field."

First item: Everyone knows all they want or need to know about the debt ceiling, but no matter the outcome, you can be sure it will cost you money, big bucks, dollars and dollars--however you want to categorize it. Just days before the true negotiations started, the Prez announced his newest spending spree: the Consumers Financial Protection at a cost of a half a billion dollars just to set it up. The man just can't quit. Is spending other people's money considered a clinical addiction yet? If not, it should be and he should be treated for the malady.

EPA's fight against the ozone is said to be going to cost a dollar a gallon of gas when finished and all for a few tenths of a percent more. The highest cost, of course, will the in the number of jobs lost.

No more corporate jet allowable expense? Remember the last time we threw an excise tax on so-called luxury items? That cost in jobs of people who worked at plants which provided such items was astronomical!

Is it just me or are we all just plain scared of a double dip recession before the last one is over? And don't tell me the economists say the markers indicated it was over a few months ago. As far as I'm concerned, it isn't over until it's over and that will happen when everyone who wants a job has one.

Tomorrow let's talk about what's going on in Brazil with the help of money we had to borrow to help them and the oil platforms which were taken from our Gulf after the spill and that are chugging along off that country making them unavailable to us.

Our Christmas in July last week was fantastic! It sure beat traveling in the winter and everyone was there.

God bless.........

ROCK VS HARD PLACE

No matter what we think about Obama's abilities or motivation or "what does he want to accomplish while in office?" will the end result be the same? Dictatorship by Czars and Bureaucrats plus an occasional Executive Order tossed in may be the answer. Afraid so.

He can talk his way into being re-elected through sheer numbers. How many people do we need to educate? 300,000,000 million being our present population. (actually a little more, but this way the arithmetic is ease) With 13% of the population being Black we have a total population of we have 39 million and 90% who will vote Democratic we have 11.7% of the total. Hispanics are 16% which becomes 48 million and give them perhaps 60% due to the immigration situation and we have 28.8 million. Then we have to add the 1/3 of the Democrat base who would never vote for anything but a straight ticket and we have 99 million but we don't want to count the black and Hispanics already in that number so we subtract one fourth just to be safe and end up with 75 million. Now add them up. (And if you're a real pessimist and think that 70 or 80 per cent of Hispanics will automatically vote Democrat the picture becomes even more bleak.)

I've been rounding up so if I haven't really messed up we're sitting at right around 140 million guaranteed Democrat votes. This comes within 10 million plus one needed to take a victory lap. Given that Republicans come close to one third as well, that leaves the approximately 30 million in the middle called Independents. They only have to get one third of them and we need double that.

Now I realize we are not talking registered voters and all the sophisticated ways of counting Presidential year vote counts, etc., etc. All I want to do is demonstrate that we have a tougher job than they do and that is the Rock.

The Hard Place is going to be whether or not the Tea Party voters will put in the time and effort to really figure out the problems with giving new legislators only one chance before they kick them out. Will they be satisfied to have put them in office and if they don't perform as "ordered" out they go proving that cutting off one's nose to spite one's face is not a dying art.

Please look at the pros and cons of shutting down the government and letting a petty and vindictive President take it out on the Military, poor people and Seniors and successfully blaming it on the Republicans. Kick them out and what do you have? A hat trick for the Democrats and complete control by the very Progressives who are trying to destroy this country.

Maybe a little prayer time along with political study will help.

God bless.......

A Perfect Storm? Everything Goes Wrong at the Same Time.....

How can anyone make a priority list on the problems we have and which need to be addressed first? Debt ceiling? Cut Spending? Jobs, Jobs, Jobs? Social Security? Medicare? Medicaid? Immigration? States/Appeals Court Systems? Education and Teacher's Strikes? Class Warfare?

Everything is connected to everything else and each affects the next one in line. We're in campaign mode in Chicago and DC on the Dem side and the Republicans are dancing up a storm. (FYI-my dream team would be Rick Perry/Michelle Bachman which should guarantee 24 years of Republicans in the White House. (I carry it one step further: Michelle puts Rubio on her ticket and he finishes out the first 24 years. After that, you're on your own--since I'm 80 I really don't have a dog in that hunt any later.)

My apologies for skipping a week. Just not enough minutes in the day. We did have a successful program at the Under the Oaks event Wednesday evening and on a really serious side may I make the following observation?

I have been involved with that park since we built and dedicated it in 1987 and have spent much time either in the park or studying its history. However, since the event this year involved more research than any up until now, there came a few moments when I was alone and looked around the area. It occurred to me that the first State Convention comprised of over 3000 participants, delegates and nominees was a truly important piece of history. Many people left their parties for what was certainly a just cause and banded together to form a new political organization. There can be no doubt that some of the boys in Jackson in 1854 had become of age by 1861 and went on to fight for what they believed in and what their parents had instilled in them.

I believe that we can say that this cause was the first time that men and some women went to war to earn the freedom of complete strangers and men, women and children of a different race. We can now look back and weep as we count over 600,000 who never returned to their homes and families and realize that number as being larger than adding together all the fatalities of all wars this country has fought. Jackson, indeed, played a very large part in what has become a 50 state country. You can let your imagination run wild thinking of what may or may not have happened had there been no one to fight a war for individual and equal freedoms and to keep the states together.

A couple of points to ponder:

My brother-in-law in Wisconsin received a call from a union member asking him to support their cause and vote for the union sponsored judge a few weeks ago. During the conversation he learned that the beginning salary of a teacher in Wisconsin is $63,000 plus benefits. He has been retired for a number of years and after telling the caller that he had never made that much in his life, he used a few choice words and hung up. No wonder they did $340,000 worth of damage to the State Capitol. They certainly don't know the value of a dollar.

Did you hear about the Washington Post reporter who "came out of the illegal closet" and admitted that his parents came into this country illegally and brought him with them, of course, so he is one who is strongly in favor of the Dream Act? This guy benefited from all the American education facilities, and now wants not only forgiveness, but wants everyone else to get the same benefits. There are many sets of statistics on the costs of illegals, but I have not seen those that would tell us how many jobs have been taken by illegals and their children which could and should have gone to American citizens. More on this next week.

And another illegal influence. How many of the houses that are now being foreclosed on and are depreciating the value of real estate in their neighborhoods can be laid at their doorstep? In our local newspaper today they have finally come out with an exact number in the 8,000 range.

There is so much for those of us who are able to help others and are relatively secure, but so many problems to be concerned about. Not an easy time to live, is it? The Fourth of July is an upbeat time, but not for everyone.

God bless....

AT WHAT POINT TREASON?

When I think of treason I usually conjure up a visual of spies, espionage and the selling of state secrets by those who would destroy our way of life, our very country for either money or power. I think of the "high crimes and misdemeanors" stuff. So I looked in a dictionary (I don't do Blackberry) and found: to deliver up. Disloyalty or treachery to one's country.

Certainly it doesn't have to be one major incident or act as I see it because we have a history of the actions of President Obama that would certainly add up to an astronomical quantity that at some point becomes the very recognized object which cannot be denied.

Think about it.

Before he was elected he worked with ACORN and pushed the idea that everyone should have a home whether or not they could afford it and even gave them extra cash at the end of the deal. The end result? A totally depressed housing market that has double dipped and everyone in the country in varying degrees has lost net worth in the process. Shouldn't it be called theft?

The nation's debt was around $10 trillion when he took office (It had taken 8 years to go from $5 to $10 trillion) and since Obama was elected it has increased $4 trillion more.
The worst part of that whole story is that it does not include the unfunded liabilities of Social Security, but he keeps telling the country that Social Security is fine until 2036. NOT! If the IOUs are not paid off between now and then, there is no way that can happen.

Our freedoms are eroding faster than the earth being lost through the worst floods in history. Rather than having Congress pass laws that affect our lives, he has loaded up the Cabinet and Bureaus who pronounce by fiat regulations that hamstring business (so he can satisfy his people in the unions.) He had already stolen money from investors who held secured bonds and preferred stock in GM and Chrysler to benefit the union members and Fiat--I just don't know the details of that deal yet. Usually people who are guilty of theft are arrested and punished.

EPA and OSHA have been controlling our lives for so long it's almost taken for granted by now. Scandalous. Let's lump Transportation safety in that category also.

NLRB is the latest to infringe on a business' right to manage within the law by saying Boeing cannot use the building in North Carolina which had been built for expansion. No present union jobs would have been lost. That is dictatorship.

TARP and Stimulus money was spent to increase the size of public unions which would be helpful in his future election. The cost of each job ran into hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Energy costs have risen because the President is out to destroy the coal, oil and nuclear companies in this country while subsidizing foreign entities. A coal fired plant provides energy at 4 cents per kwh while solar and others are over 20 cents per hour. The American public whether employed or unemployed are forced to lower their standards of living to feed his quest of destruction of our country and frankly, I don't see or hear anyone stepping up.

Homeland Security is an oxymoron. American citizens being killed by guns that were provided by our government and approved by the ATF under the jurisdiction of Eric Holder is an abomination. Remember Harry Truman? He had a slogan that the buck stopped in the Oval Office. What's going on today is nowhere close.

Subsidies. How much buying power is taken from the average American taxpayer to pay out subsidies for things we don't need, didn't ask for and who themselves don't need? Think about ethanol, farmers, high speed rail, Brazilian oil drillers, climate change propaganda programs, on and on and on. Hindus in India don't lose as many freedoms at the altars of Sacred Cows as we do.

And let's not forget Obamacare! Why have so many thousands of people asked for and received waivers? Unbelievable! It's a great political exercise. Just ask Debbie Stabenow. She got elected by taking busloads of gullible seniors to Canada to get cheap drugs, but never told them one word about the down side of socialized medicine and its rationing. Her buses needed to stay out of the way of the exodus of Canadians coming across the border this way to get services not readily available in their one size fits all system.

I'm sure I've forgotten the pet peeve of many of you, but there is a limit to how long you can sit still. Try not to let it get you down, but also try not to let him get away with it. Anytime you hear someone spreading errors, it's up to us to correct them as best we can. It's our duty. Think about the future generations.

God bless....

Just realized I missed the Executive Order--such as implementing the Dream Act over the weekend that failed in every major way earlier. More on the numbers next week.

So Many Things to Raise the Blood Pressure---

1-There goes another subsidy!! Now they have something called "Nascar Ethanol" which cannot mean anything other than the guys who are driving for a profit are now receiving subsidies taken not only from fans, but from those who think a sport is more than sitting in a car and turning left.

2- We now have another name to hang on the President: First Enabler. How? He is enabling folks who have no business thinking they should own a home worth hundreds of thousands of dollars when their income is in the $30 to $50,000 range. This business of affordability programs is nothing more than feeding a gambling addition or any other addictive behavior.

3-Our local paper described 5 companies in the county who have received stimulus money. Four of the 5 put the funds, some refi for good reasons, but basically they either hired more people immediately or strengthened the companies for future hiring. The fifth, however, apparently just moved around things in their accounting procedures, etc. to make their bottom line look a whole lot better. This from the housing and rehab and nursing facility that is more expensive than any of the others in the area. Why would they need the "help?" So your taxes go to keep the upper class lifestyle "looking good." Their words, not mine. (Another enabling example?)

4- Last week we talked about getting rid of the excess prisoner levels in California by deporting all the illegals. Now we hear Eric Holder is implementing the law passed last August letting out the guys who had prison sentences which were "too long" when comparing crack vs powder cocaine.

This was in view of the recent Supreme Court ruling which showed that when Pennsylvania let out a similar group due to the ruling of overcrowding the city of Philadelphia subsequently arrested thousands of those prisoners as follows: 9,732 new crimes including 79 murders, 90 rapes, 1,113 assaults, 959 robberies, 701 burglaries and 2,748 thefts, not to mention thousands of drug offences. And, yes, they had been careful not to release anyone who had originally been arrested with a violent aspect to their crimes.

Added note: Last year the statistics showed a 40 year low in violent crime. Wonder why and wonder what will happen now.... (Another enabling example?)

5- And finally, a little difference of opinion, or at least another aspect of thinking. Stu Varney, one of the financial experts on Fox and a likeable guy from the UK now a naturalized citizen, opined yesterday that we were in trouble because the government's regulations, rules, etc. were keeping small businesses from venturing into the market. Also, as we all know, small business acounts for the majority of jobs. However, I think he forgot one thing in his formula.

From the high point in the 90s when we had huge numbers of new business until now, normal behavior takes us from the introduction of the goods or services, to the acceptance, want and need of that new product, to perhaps what we have now: saturation of the market. The numbers of businesses equal the numbers of customers. (I'm not saying that is the entire answer, just saying it should not be ignored. Of course in a slow market folks with an idea will be more prudent with an investment of time and money that could wipe them out as well as make them rich.)

We went from tropical temperatures last week to frigid temps and cold toes yesterday. At least we weren't flooded out or swept away on the winds.

God bless.........

I'm Just Askin'............

Why in the world would the Clintons feel bad about a couple where the husband was involved in sexual pecadillos, the wife finds out about it second or third hand, he lies in public and refuses to resign. DIDN'T THEY SET THE PRECEDENT?????


Other than that and the usual dismal economic news which will get worse when the new Commerce Secretary gets going, could we call this stability?

One announcement I would like to make however, is that the Jackson County Republicans are having a program as usual on July 6 at 6:30 PM to commemorate the founding/birthplace of the Republican Party. We always try to have a theme and this year we are going to do a re-enactment of the original events of 157 years ago. The casting has begun, we are asking members of the audience come prepared to interact with the speakers and officeholders and seekers, bring signs and enthusiasm. The event will be historically correct so folks can bring their kids and leave with a history lesson presented as fun filled entertainment. I will be putting the finishing touches on the script when I finish this and won't go to bed until I'm finished. Promise.

If you live close enough to Jackson, please mark your calendars and join us!

Blessings on your summer........

Let's Help out California--

Item-Not sure how many there are, but how about instead of letting the 40,000 felons who are responsible(?) for the overcrowding in the prisons go free, that they first take all the illegals out of the system and deport them? Some of them may not want to go, but too darn bad.

In fact, did you hear that there were over 500 in a semi truck parade standing and holding straps as politely as subway riders in New York? It would seem to be a good way to get rid of them- killing two birds with one stone as it were. I'll try to get the number and see how far it would go to solving the problem.

Item-How stupid do you have to be or, put another way, how stupid does this administration think we are, that we don't get the irony in concern about the national debt vs borrowing money to loan to foreign countries?

Item-"Our Sunday Visitor" is a Catholic weekly paper which each week features a column of Quotes. This week we read this:

"This vote is a serious disappointment and hopefully does not reflect the views of the faculty as a whole." from Holy Cross Father Bill Miscamble, president of Notre Dame's University Faculty for Life chapter, after the school's faculty senate failed to approve a motion commending the university president's commitment to life and dignity."

After the display of the Obama honors a couple of years ago and the subsequent arrests of truly pro life peaceful demonstrators, it would have been the height of hypocrisy to have commended the university president for commitment to life and dignity. In my opinion this is a breath of fresh air and a victory for honesty.

Now if they would only FREE THE 88! (This was written before I rec'd the news that the 88 have, indeed, been finally freed. Charges have been dropped. What a fiasco that was!

And finally, if you're in the Jackson area, please join us at the Under the Oaks Park for the commemoration of the founding of the Republican Party through the first State Convention and first actual use of the term "Republican." We will be giving an entertaining history lesson by a short reenactment replicating that day's events. We are encouraging the use of political signs and crowd participation. July 6 at Second and Franklin - 6:30 PM.

God bless and have a great Memorial Day and weekend.

Black President, White House, anti-Semite, pro-Semite????

Can't tell the player without a program. This has to be the epitome of trying to have it both ways. And who has ever played the game better.....

What was to be gained by the speech of Thursday when he told the Palestinians they had weeks or months to come up with a way to define a plausible or acceptable way to again tell the world that they do not believe Israel has a right to exist?

And how many times has he told the Jewish people that they are the ones who have to give up land or whatever else is necessary to achieve peace by his personal definition?

Since the entire exercise is predicated on how many votes he can get from both factions I'd like to see the actual population numbers and their voting patterns. I can tell you one thing. I am old enough to remember that in 1948 there wasn't an Arab in the world who was interested in Israel until the Jews went in and transformed it into a productive and profitable land. And then all hell broke loose. The first time it was brought to the world's attention in a violent way was the Arafat led atrocity at the Olympics and since then it seems everyone is taking sides.

All I can say is: With as few friends as we have remaining in the world, despite his Apology Tour early on, it would behoove him to stop. And if he won't, we need to stop him. He needs to be replaced.

Other things to think about:

Now that we are getting back the tail section of the helicopter, the next thing is to stop the check writing to our enemies. And call them that if the shoe fits.

Why is there another "Obama Affordable Housing" program starting? We can't even see the end of the first one.

Enough with the pretense of favoring drilling.

My back surgery patient is doing very well, thank you, and the cataract procedure of Wednesday is Okay as well. Thanks for asking.

God bless.....

The President Stands Alone!

As far as I know or have ever heard, we have never had a President who delights in ridiculing the very people he wants to vote for him. Or is it only those who disagree with him. No matter, what is demonstrated on nearly a daily basis, he has absolutely no respect for the citizens of a country and its forbears who have made it great.

Item: A few days ago he was heard to say that no matter whether our ancestors came over on a slave ship or through Ellis Island or swam the Rio Grande, we are all equal citizens of this country. Folks, I beg to differ. My dad and somewhere back in your lineage, I'm sure there was someone who worked hard to become a naturalized citizen so we could be American citizens by birth. HE IS WRONG! to equate swimming the Rio Grande with Ellis Island.

Item: Today instead of accepting the fact that border security has suffered under his administration he took the time to ridicule those who feel the importance of border defenses by saying they won't be satisfied even with a moat. Now really.

Item: A note about oil. It seems that the media is so wrapped up in blaming the oil companies whose names we know for high gas prices that they haven't done their homework. The big 8 used to include Exxon, Standard Oil, BP, Shell, Chevron, Mobil, Sunoco, Phillips, and others who merged and or bought out each other. Now things have settled down to the Big 4 which include Exxon, Chevron, Shell and BP. In reality, the biggest oil companies are the countries where the oil is produced such as Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and others in OPEC who have national ownership. It seems that about 6 cents is the profit margin of oil companies who have to make the huge investments but sometimes come up with dry holes, are mired in lawsuits, etc., etc. Just keep an open mind. Bill O'Reilly and other conspiracy theorists have not thought it completely through.

Item: A couple of examples of why the US Post Office keeps losing money and needs subsidies. I mailed a package and inadvertently used an old address where rural addresses had been given Road or Street names. Now we're talking really small town and country areas where everybody knows everybody else. I understand they don't have to forward mail after a specified time, but I'll bet it took more time to return the package to me than it would have to deliver it. Anyway, that was my first anecdote.

This week my daughter told me that one day she and her husband needed to mail a letter and stopped at Lowe's on the way to the Post Office. As they were leaving the store they met a postman in uniform entering. They took the opportunity to ask him if there were a nearby drop box and his response: "I'm off the clock." Can you imagine?

Item: How times have changed. When daughter graduated from college in 1975 we helped finance a 6 week trip to Europe with a friend. (Brother was career Air Force and stationed in Europe at the time which made us feel relatively safe as to both comfort zones.) They backpacked and used Eurorail and had a great time. We were reminiscing the other day and agreed that anyone letting two young women do that in this day and age would have to be looney.

Item: In a conversation with #2 son we wondered if it would help if we could insert ethics into the curriculum of every student starting really early in the elementary levels and then keep updating as they worked their way through all the grades. It just seems that so much bad behavior is becoming the norm that we need to call a halt. Teachers blame parents, parents blame teachers and everyone blames the unions for supporting the worst of their membership. How can we stop this and get back to the basic purpose of education?

We are still in the Easter season and should probably be taking advantage of it.

God bless...

Life Returns----in Bits and Pieces

My high maintenance husband is returning tomorrow; all the preparations are in place, we have what we used to call a child proof home. Actually, not a bad feeling and the perfect excuse for less concern for aesthetics for awhile. We're getting our lives back!!!

A few bits and pieces collected over the last few weeks:

Peter King, R NY, held some rather brief hearings that had been widely criticized in advance, but which were apparently no real or lasting problem, but all that publicity got me to thinking. Is it too late to have some hearings on the Hispanic illegal immigration issue? I'd certainly entertain any comments and try to research any question that might arise.

The Muslim worry for many people, and certainly understandably for those who lives have been touched by Muslim radicals or terrorists, seem to be focused on Sharia law and the shadow of home grown terrorists. There can be no doubt that light should be shone on the subject. Just sweeping anything as serious as that should not be swept under the rug to fester and grow.

The Hispanic problem is similar in many ways with the violence and way too many deaths but the American public has been frightened into being politically correct and so far there really hasn't been any true investigation. Homeland Security and particularly Janet Napolitano keep trying to soothe away by sheer words and brazenly made up statistics to make it into a non problem.

Neither of these issues should be ignored. In order to work to eradicate serious problems such as these we have to have open dialog and honest discussions. It's like taking a half dose of antibiotic and keep hoping the sickness will go away.

I have news for you, folks--not gonna happen. It will only get worse. It's time to drop an honesty chit in the ear of your Congressman or woman. Please?

Something else that has been bothering me. We get the monthly employment figures but we never get any breakdowns. If we can't get statistics as to age groups, types of jobs, private and public employment, gender distribution and the like, how can a truly effective plan for solving the problem ever be worked out in the critical areas? And if they already exist (I'm pretty sure they do) what makes them so secret? Some of the Progressives who think they are smarter than anyone else in the country might learn something. Common sense and logic belongs to all of us and all of us live life in a way that we can see what some who breathe only rarefied air don't think we have the ability to figure out. Put together pictures of types of jobs, careers, education levels and find out how to get them together. Outside the box, people!! Think!!

Time to storm the ramparts! And from the looks of comments and Letter to the editor around the country some of those ideas cannot be stopped. We really need to find our voices so that we know we are not standing alone. It's amazing how many folks there are who are on the same wave length.

If you think we should be getting spending concessions with every couple of months of ratcheting up the debt, start talking to your legislators. They like to get re-elected. Your voice will be heard.

Here we are in May--
Easter's Resurrection seemed long in coming this year, but finally--
God bless...

Sorry I Shortchanged You Last Week--

An attempt to make up for it by being early this week. Warning: this will take a while to read so you can either read half now or come back when you have more time. I'd guess it will take at least 10 minutes. (I will attempt to maintain anonymity for the individuals and the facility since I have learned a few lessons along the way. You must know, however, that the main characters are me and my husband, aka Pete.))

The whole darn saga started with a scheduled back surgery for a problem which has developed through the years. Three verterbrae were deteriorating and pressing on the nerves around them resulting in extreme pain. There comes a time when something must be done. And you go in knowing that you have probably not experienced comparable pain before.

The story of the hospitalization is a chapter in itself and can wait. This mostly concerns the Rehab facility which is like a nursing home but involves physical problems rather than medical problems. The first few days in the hospital were relatively routine so the move to Rehab was made on the 5th day. We soon found that there were no instructions for continuing pain management from the surgeon and we had to start from scratch. Our first decision became the opportunity to "stay with your primary care physician or go with the house doctor." No further description of the differences was forthcoming so we elected our own Doc who knows Pete very well as opposed to a complete stranger. First decision, first mistake.

After 2-3 days of limited pain control our doctor did prescribe drugs to make him more comfortable and the following day a drug to help control edema - probably the partial result from inactivity. Since I had to make the request from our doctor, we could see that there was little involvement from the facility and this would be an untenable situation so on advice from our doc we changed to the in house doctor.

We are now coming up on the weekend and another problem has developed. Some years previously Pete had surgery on his right knee due to damage from our 130# dog who gave him what you guys call a cross body block. And, about 2 years ago, he had spoken to the orthopedic surgeon about developing problems. Naturally? the perfect storm occurred at this time. The rehab for back is walking and more walking. The knee simply failed and that pain eclipsed the back pain for a couple of days. At that time I had to threaten to move him back to the hospital if they did not at least order an x-ray so we could eliminate the kind of thing that may have been evident through that first step. They finally did this and I'm not sure whether it was with or without a doctor's order. (The in house doc had rec'd notice Friday at noon that he had a new patient.) It wasn't until Tuesday that a Physicians' Asst. popped her head in his door, introduced herself and was gone.

I had learned by Saturday evening that the radiologist had diagnosed "degenerative joint disease." This told us what we already knew so we waited and waited on Monday for the doc to talk to us about what should be done next. Catch 22. No walking, no back healing. Resting the knee, no walking. I stalked the PA, stole 3 minutes of her time and determined that nothing was in the offing as far as medical care was concerned.

My next move on Wednesday was to ask the ortho surgeon for some advice and assistance as to what we should be doing next. On Tuesday I had written a description of our problems to the Administrator of the facility who was apparently surprised that we had not had the usual family conference with the Social Worker, Lead RN, Activities Director, Asst to and the Rehab Director. As it turns out, there is a government regulation requiring that to happen within 5 days of entrance to the facility. We were then 8 days in. On the 9th day we had what I can only call an adversarial conference.

The opening salvo was fired by the Rehab Dir who said that Pete was being non-compliant and twisting his body which caused the pain in his upper thigh and knee. Of course Pete was upset by this and I knew it wasn't true having spent the better part of each day at the facility. (I double checked my observations with 2 adult kids who had visited as well.) It was downhill from there. Later in the conversation the Rehab Dir indicated that she knew the history of the knee (previous surgery, etc.) but had not included it in any of her reports due to "lack of space" on her forms. No way. When we had tried to tell anyone at all, we were given the brush off. They simply were not interested.

I then had a problem with the Social worker about follow up on the ortho thing. On Wednesday I just went ahead and was able to get an appt for 1:50 that afternoon at which time he rec'd a cortisone shot so he could start moving around and after the back thing is finished he will have to go to work on the knee. Incidentally, FYI, Pete is 83 if you're curious. His improvement has been almost instantaneous.

The RN tried to stress their dedication to pain management which as you already know I had to institute with our family doc and the fact that the in house doctors were on call 24/7. You have got to be kidding. She also said we really didn't have a complaint since it is only required that a patient see a doctor within a week after admittance. One week of simply being in pain with no recourse? I stopped the recorder, the meeting was over and we returned to his room. A half hour investment in nothing more than confirmation that inept is the most kind word I can think of.

The whole thing was a nightmare. The last straw was when I had time to reflect on the x-ray. The ortho doc took an x-ray that even I could look at and see the problem. I'm now thinking, what in the world was going through the minds of the Rehab gal, the PA and the in house doc when they looked at that x-ray and didn't understand the consequences? When I asked, I was told that they had never seen it. They rely only on the radiologist's diagnosis. This is incredible and dangerous. Even if he could have stood and put weight on it, it would only have made a bad situation worse. The deterioration could have been anything between 5% and 95%--who could know?

I tried to get him transported to a nearby facility but there was no room at their inn so we backed off and he is still in the original facility.

During the 3 hours generally spent in church on Good Friday I took some down time for prayer and reflection which resulted in my writing an apology to the administrator (partly because I didn't want them taking out their frustrations on Pete.) However, the other reason for doing so was to try to give them an out by pointing to the fact that undoubtedly the government regulations which govern much of their behavior has only resulted in giving the lowest common denominator of service. Call it human nature, but if they don't have to see a family for 5 days, are they going to break their necks doing it earlier? If they are allowed not to see a patient for a week, will they really try to see them earlier unless the RNs are screaming because the patient is screaming?

End result is that the apology made me slow down, the Administrator moved Pete to the window bed that had been vacated the day before and they changed out the mattress that he had requested, and the Rehab has improved immeasurably. (The climate in the Rehab had been frosty for a couple of days but has now totally improved.)

We can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, Easter is tomorrow and I'm off to Bible Study with three of the kids expected for a visit by noon today. My Parish Commission committee is responsible for the Easter Egg hunt and we have a big pink bunny arriving at 11:30. I think the nightmare is over. (I'll come back later to proof this thing.)

God bless....

Caught in a Nightmare

So sorry there is nothing for you--

I feel as though I'm one of the characters in an episode of "the operation was a success but the patient died." The operation was a success, but the aftermath has been pure hell. I feel really sorry for elderly folks who have no one with them to battle the powers that be in hospitals and rehab centers. And all the while my husband has to bear the pain and frustration.

After this is all over I have a feeling I will be on a mission of trying to be a voice for those who have no voice.

Will get back to you as soon as I can.

In the meantime, have a Happy Easter!

God bless....

FULL FAITH AND CREDIT???????

That phrase and its true meaning has evaporated over the years with the activities of all the administrations since Lyndon Baines Johnson and their accompanying Congressional bodies.

It is one thing to call Social Security a Ponzi scheme. It is quite another to define the term: Everyone of those legislators who voted to use excess funds as though it were a piggy bank for their fun and games plus every President who signed on to their spending sprees is a CROOK! They have stolen, without any plan for pay back, funds that belong to the American citizens.

Today they are chasing their tails looking for ways to cover up their shenanigans and placing the blame any where it might stick. Disgraceful! I've always hated to hear a certain segment of the population who has opined "They are all crooks!" But they have been right all along, haven't they?

Does a debt of over $14 trillion bother you? It should, but what if the real numbers were included? It would be close to $23 trillion if the same level of unfunded liabilities would be included. (I just extrapolated the numbers from 2004 which were $9 trillion debt plus $6 trillion unfunded liabilities as proportionally as I could.) Anyway, you get the picture.

Double sets of books, NON-transparency at its best. If you don't like the looks of the bottom line, just take off a portion so the public can't see it.

Now we have a group of new "young Turks" who truly see the problem and want to get a start on fixing it. But what can they do with a President who not only won't try to decrease our spending but actually wants to increase it??? And along with that, wants to increase taxes on those who actually make jobs for others?

Until next week when I'll try to give you the highlights, one of my daughters-in-law shared with me a WSJ editorial by Stephen Moore from April 1 (which may still be in the stack I had saved when I was away for a few days) entitled "We've Become a Nation of Takers, Not Makers." If it's still in the archives it is a good read. Thanks, Jen. Remember Greece last year? When the nation's debt either comes close to or exceeds the GNP it spells disaster with a capital D. The next step toward our downfall is when the vote is 51% of those on government programs vs. the givers.

Sorry to sound so pessimistic.
God bless....

Added Thursday morning: Passing by a gas station this morning it occurred to me that it's either ironic or a major scam by the "green energy at any cost" folks (read Obama) to have to pay to subsidize the manufacture of ethanol and then to pay for the increased cost of the gasoline that is now 10% ethanol no matter whether or not you want or asked for it. How gullible are we?

When is a Vacation NOT a Vacation?

When the time available only gives you more time to think of the miserable state of what's going on in the world and in Washington or wherever Obama is at the moment.

Example: Had I been busy at home would I have considered that when the Prez said that he goes to bed at night and wakes up in the morning thinking about jobs--With the next thought being: Gee, that sounds like the equivalent of Clinton's euphemistic "I feel your pain."

And when the buzz-phrase of one day last week was "if the Republicans mess with the health care bill 70,000 children will die due to lack of medical care" it occurs that as far as we've heard, there is no place in that monstrous bill that says hospitals will no longer be obligated to serve anyone who appears in the ER. Not only that, but since when have Democrats been concerned about the health of children when they think it's perfectly OK to kill off 1.5 million per year through abortion?
Big whoop choice?

Since when did reading words from a teleprompter define "great communicator?"

Not sure if it had anything to do with being on the East coast, but the number of foreign cars actually built in foreign countries appeared to be far larger than those of the Midwest. It would certainly be interesting to check out the correlation between those numbers and economic demographics...

In fact, I've always wondered what the proportion of foreign cars in domestic auto manufacturing parking lots would show up on the bottom line of their employers...

Glad to be home--
God bless...

Warning About Pain Killers

Have you heard about Nsaids? I have no clue what that stands for, but apparently is an umbrella term for certain types of pain killers such as Motrin and Aleve. I learned of this first a couple of years ago after taking prescribed ibuprofin to help me through a bout of sciatica. Through ordinary tests done in connection with my yearly physical I was directed to stop using it immediately. It had done damage to my kidneys which are now getting back to a normal range.

Just last week my husband who had been taking Aleve for back pain also found that product had done kidney damage and we'll be working on that problem now.

So, I feel that our experience is enough for me to tell you to be absolutely sure you don't use more than the labels direct, but also be sure that even that isn't too much for you. Please be tested if you've been using those products for any length of time.

Next, I had in mind that we might have a problem in Jackson's Special Education area of the schools. I am relieved to tell you that it was a false alarm, but it needs to be publicly clarified.

I was concerned that when Jackson Public schools announced pink slips for a number of special ed administrators and staff for a savings in the $600,000 range and a couple of days later there was a piece in the paper about the upcoming ISD millage request for Special Ed that it seemed a bit fishy. After talking with the ISD Director I learned that this is the last year of the old way of funding the programs.

Apparently the schools in the program turn their expenses in to the ISD who then distribute according to a formula making the actual funds of about $200,000 available to Jackson Public and others are something like pro rated. This is the last year for that system. Next year and after the ISD will be paying all salaries making it more efficient and looking at the big picture. ISD will be able to hold down the costs for all.

Now, if I have made any mistake in this explanation I apologize, but the article in the paper made it sound like Jackson was going to lay off people and keep the $630,000 while ISD was going to pick up the expense for the future. Sounded like a shell game to me so I asked and am glad to report that I made a mistake and hopefully the paper will clarify.

Last, I'm back on Soros again. After learning that most of the rigs that were in the Gulf are now being used off the Brazil coast so that even if Obama really meant to give the go ahead to drilling again and Gee, maybe giving back some jobs in the United States, there won't be any rigs available. Hmmm. And then I hear that Mr. Soros has authority to put in one of the largest storage facilities ever in the Gulf. If that thing ever develops a leak it would make the BP accident look minuscule.

I'm just thinking: rather than be concerned about Obama's birth certificate, shouldn't we be wondering why (I'm assuming he is a naturalized citizen) we aren't looking into how some Hungarian with some smarts has come into our country, as have so many others to make his fortune, is at the same time making investments which are devastating our job market, not to mention the political scene. This is way past coincidence cause and effect. What is the real motive?

Going off for a few days for what I hope is well deserved R&R. See you next week.

God bless...

Psssst! I've Got a Secret!!

And it's in Victoria's Secret closet... A friend sent me a note about the raunchy commercials Victoria's Secret airs on television and told me she sent them an email suggesting that they were more than suggestive, they were motivational. She then gave me the website address since I hadn't seen them.

Well, the website is enough. In light of our conversation, I could not help thinking that it wouldn't take much for this to be the next popular court room defense: the Victoria's Secret Defense which would go something like "but Judge, it's not my fault, Victoria's Secret made me do it."

Have I really passed into the old age part of my life where I just don't relate to what is going on with anyone 20 years younger than I? Or could it possibly be that there really is no working moral compass giving direction to the future generations? I just don't know, but I find it more than a little bit scary. How about you?

Gut Check Time. #1-I just have a feeling that when we think about the entire world situation and how nations relate to each other we have just come to that fork in the road that Yogi Berra did when he said "Take it." We perhaps need to face up to the fact that the Mideast countries are looking around at themselves and each other and realize that they all would like to be free rather than to have dictators directing them in all things. They must have realized that all of their neighboring countries have somewhat the same problems and it just won't do to have them as they are now - some free, some enslaved. And they see that it also includes gender. Plus, we don't get to tell them what they should be doing. And, at this point, we know that this is not the time to sit back and watch while some dictator wipes out a good share of the population in any country.

#2-Our country's friends aka allies which would include most of Europe, parts of Latin and South America, Russia, India, Japan and maybe a couple of African nations have also come to a late realization. The U.S. may still be a major power, but we made the mistake of putting an immature kid in a position of leadership before he had mastered the skills necessary to do the job. So, it's not his fault, but they should, instead of waiting for him to display leadership just live with the facts and go ahead without him. They will be kind and bring him along the path of any mentor or parent and hope for the best while he learns his lessons. Hopefully none of those missed lessons will be disastrous life experiences for him or for us.

This evening brings Lincoln Day in Jackson with Gov. Snyder. If anything new breaks, I'll check in tomorrow---

God bless...

Teachers Unions explained

I am loving this!

MISSED OPPORTUNITY? (or Opportunities)

There are ways, I understand, to construct a no-fly zone without actually starting a shooting war - logistically and safely from ships comfortably away from the sites of interest. Especially in coastal areas which is where most of the population of Libya actually is. I realize there are no "leaders" as such in the rebel ranks, but if we allowed for them to keep the towns they have, it sounds like a good deal while they sort things out for themselves. Now that Gadhafi appears to have taken back most of towns does anyone believe that he will do other than clamp down in the most ways and all things torturous will be the order of the day?

It seems that the countries of freedom and civil rights sorta sat on their hands, did nothing and just Let things happen. Where was the leadership? Where is the outrage? So we're back at square one. It seems that we are practicing a "sit on your hands and wait to see what happens before moving forward" policy.

Next big worry--like the Jewish mother I'm not happy unless I'm worrying about something... With Japan having to build, rebuild and need all kinds of emergency funding, what if they call in all our loans? With China and Japan our two largest debt holders, where would we get the money to repay one or the other? These things have a ripple effect. If other debt holders of the U. S. want to loan funds to Japan in their current crisis they could call our debt as well to make that possible.

Last for today: So they found on the federal level 81 duplicative departments or tasks in similar departments. They found on the state level other areas where there are duplications and many wasted funds. Now I ask you,

Why in the world can't they have "key" numbers for jobs that do the same thing? And then why can't they write a program which indicates a particular job has already been done and in that event, why are those results not generating a report that will go up the chain high enough to make a determination to eliminate all but one of those departments and send the information back through the maze so everyone is operating under the same numbers?

Puh-leeze do not try to tell me this cannot be done. I only spent one semester on writing and programming and I KNOW it can be done. So let's demand that they do it!

Spring is coming! Do not despair--
God bless...