"Don't hurt people and don't take their stuff" - Matt Kibbe

10/27/10

A Halloween Hellthscare Story

What is scarier than Halloween? The correct answer is:  the information contained in the video below. I have been writing about the loss of freedoms and the usurpation of our rights found in the Obamacare legislation for so long that I thought I knew most of the horrible results which will beset us when this national disgrace finally kicks in. I was wrong.

As I have written in the past many times, the devil is in the details. And since none of the people who voted for the 2000+ page travesty read the details it's not surprising that more horror stories are emerging as the beast unfolds. What is surprising is what is revealed in the video below concerning the first massive and unread law, the so called "stimulus" law. That law contains major changes that affect how the health-care system will soon work. I had never heard of the things in the video before and I'm guessing you haven't either.

We have all heard about rationing in general, but having the actual devil details explained precisely sends chills down my spine.

It's like knowing war is very bad but not really understanding it until you see the severed body parts and  smell the cordite with your own senses. It tends to bring a certain reality to the intellectual understanding of armed conflict. And so it will be for you if/when you are sitting in a waiting room for hours on end with a sick child or parent so a doctor with eighty patients a day can consult by computer with some desk sitter in Washington about which treatment he/she will be allowed to give.

Many Democrats and liberals will dismiss that last prediction, but they are urged to watch it most of all. It's hard for any of us to admit it that we have made a mistake, but as we also know, nothing can get fixed until a problem is acknowledged to ourselves.

My wife (chief proofreader/consultant for this blog) came across the video and sent it to me knowing full well it would be published here. It will scare the hell out of everyone right before Halloween, and more importantly right before the most important election day in our lives. Timing is everything in coming across these parts of the puzzle.

So watch the video, decide for yourself if it is true and then go do what you must on election day. What happens on that day may make the literal difference in life or death for you or a loved one. Your kids and grand kids are depending on you.

Dr. David Janda, a physician, is the speaker on the video as he urges people to vote for Dr. Rob Steele over the long time king of arrogance John Dingell of Michigan.

10/26/10

Obamalot, A New Musical

My mind wanders a lot while doing mundane chores around the yard. Some of the crazy stuff that passes through the short tunnel of my mind ends up on this blog. I can't explain why certain musical scores and lyrics bounce around in there either, but I don't mind too much if it takes me somewhere other than the pile of leaves before me.

So I had a stroke of genius (or maybe just a stroke) yesterday while dancing with my rake on the lawn. A whole new set of lyrics to the main song of the stage play Camelot somehow emerged from the tunnel. And even though I'm no Alan J Lerner  when it comes writing, I'm pretty pleased with my satirical words to the song.

If you are much younger than I you might have a tough time remembering the play much less the song. But almost everyone knows about King Arthur and the story of the perfect kingdom which wasn't so perfect. It was adapted from T H White's novel "The Once and Future King." And the analogy to our current situation is pretty hard to miss.

If you forget the melody (or have it mixed up with a Pink Floyd hit) you can watch this short YouTube version to refresh your memory. It may seem corny to you, but a good can of corny might be just what we need in these times we are trying to forget even as they are occurring.

While doing a little background research on my creative urges I came across several others who had the same stroke symptoms as I had and even before mine. So it's not so original after all, but I like mine best. (which, I'm sure isn't much of a shocker) It seems a radio personality named Rusty Humphries did a different version a while back. You can check his out here. I also found a reference to the term "Obamalot" on the website of the Illinois Review by a writer named Mark Rhodes. Kudos to both of them.

In any case, here is my version. I hope you get a chuckle from it because you probably won't be chuckling if our "Once King" is also our "Future King."

Spoken:

Each evening, from December to December,
Before you drift to sleep upon your cot,
Think back on all the tales that you remember
Of Obamalot.

Ask every person if he's heard the story,
And tell it strong and clear if he has not,
That once there was a fleeting wisp of glory
Called Obamalot.

To the tune of "Camelot": Lyrics by Grant Davies

The budget must be postponed until next year!

A law was made a recent moon ago here:
The citizens shall not determine their own lot.
And there's a legal limit to their rights here
in Obamalot.

Next year's taxes are unknown until December
but payable "ape" fifteenth right on the dot.
By order, all over "250" pay more here,
And by a lot.

Obamalot! Obamalot!
I know it sounds a bit bizarre.
But in Obamalot, Obamalot
That's how conditions are.

 
Bad banks may never fail because of bailout.
The cars we build may never disappear.
In short, there's simply not
A more pathetic spot
For happily-self deluding than here
In Obam-a-lot.

Obamalot! Obamalot!
I know it gives a person pause,
But in Obamalot, Obamalot
Those are the legal laws.

The funds will always slush upon the chosen.
The jobs we had may never reappear.
In short there's simply not, a more delusional spot,
For happily-ever-aftering than here
in Obam-a-lot.

10/22/10

Do You Remember How It Felt?

Yesterday I walked four miles in order to vote in the most important election of my life. If I had to, I would have walked further, much further. No, I didn't have to walk, I have car with sufficient fuel, but I felt like walking and I'm glad I did. It wasn't until I arrived at our City Hall where I cast my "early voting ballot" that I felt the almost corny symbolism of the act, or until back home that I felt the satisfaction that accompanied it.

Since that "freedom march" didn't involve large crowds of the like minded or the carrying of a protest sign to proclaim "hooray for our side", it was totally different from any former impression I had imagined of what a protest march might be like. I've spent most of my life protesting, but not by marching.

As I walked through the park outside the City Hall complex after voting, I lingered by the granite monument upon which were chiseled the names of some of the people who died as heroes while serving their country and fighting for the relative freedoms I have enjoyed even as I mourn those we have lost along with those brave servicemen. Slowly over time, and recently with accelerated swiftness, our freedoms have been lost in spite of their sacrifice. Freedom and rights lost to the enemy within, not to outside invaders.

So now it's our turn to fight. And I make no comparison to those who gave so much in wars, it's not in the same league commitment wise, but it may be just as important in the end because if we win the first battle to save our country in this election it may mean they didn't die in vain.

So who are the people that deserve to be dismissed from public office in this initial battle? The answer is, those who disregarded us even though they swore to represent us. Those who did what they wanted, not what we wanted. Those who regarded themselves as wiser than us. Those who wanted to totally remake America into something it was never intended to be. Those who insulted us by calling us names like "astro turf" and proudly proclaimed us to be "despicable" (Jan Schakowsky)  for having the temerity to challenge their vision of our future. Those who think we are their subjects, not their employers. Those who, after being rebuked in town hall meetings on so called "heathcare reform" and bailouts for arrogant and incompetent bankers, mortgage lenders, car manufacturers, government regulators and insurance companies decided that WE needed to pay, not them. Those who called us racists for opposing their agenda. Those who have spent our state and federal governments into bankruptcy buying votes.

The question remains, how did you feel to be disregarded? How did you feel to be insulted and told that money would have to be created out of thin air and your taxes would have to be raised to bail out people who lived a dream existence of huge homes, the best vacations, cars and every imaginable new electronic toy on borrowed money they could never hope to repay while you saved, invested, lived within your means and watched your retirement savings and home value swirl the bowl?

So this is it folks. It's November. The election is upon us. For the time being, forget the signs and gatherings and marches. It has been said by some that this is our last chance to save our country, and it may be. But I would point out that we cannot save our way of life in this election, but we certainly can  lose it. The best we can actually hope for is to stop the madness long enough to get the ship turned around so we can purge the crew and elect some people in the next primary season to replace the people who said they were for smaller government and more freedom to live our lives as we see fit but who actually only care about one thing, getting re-elected and retaining the benefits of office. They merely have a need to be in charge. That "need" repulses me.

So I urge you to walk to the polls on election day, and if it's raining or cold, so much the better. Walk because it will make you feel better about having the resolve to tell these people how you felt about being disregarded and derided. Anything less than total repudiation of those responsible for how you felt will be a failure and we will truly deserve whatever fate awaits us in a moribund republic.

This time around, the children voters won't be there to reaffirm them so they have only those who embrace the nanny state and the usual cast of useful idiots to give them their .....Hope for No Change.

10/15/10

New Form of CPR

After checking on new posts at the excellent freedom blog The Humble Libertarian I came across this post titled "How to Save Someone's Life: The New CPR". So I "stole" the code from Wes knowing full well that he doesn't mind and hopes more people do the same. In this case being a copycat is a good thing.

I haven't done any research on the technique in the video yet so I encourage you to watch it and make up your own mind. But since so many of my readers are at an age where this information could be so critical at any moment I decided to post it in case you haven't seen it. I encourage you to pass a link to this post or the post at THL around to as many people as you think might benefit from it. You never know, the life of a loved one or someone else's loved one might be saved by this info.


10/11/10

I Can't Recall the Devilish Details

When you get to be in the last stage of middle age like I am, you begin to notice that recalling things (like what you had for breakfast or why you entered the room you occupy) is not as easy as it once was. It's a little worrisome at this age, but it does have its good points too. For instance, I wish I could forget what has happened since the last two Presidents and their minions decided that government wasn't big or active enough. Or the name of the last elected Governor of Illinois.

It's hard trying to remember some things while trying to forget others. But just as long as I don't forget to vote (and bring a rational friend with me) in a few weeks, I'll be less worried about it than usual. Which brings up the subject of  "Recall." The electoral type, not the memory type. The type which is on the ballot in Illinois in a few weeks.

Like many of you, I'm very much in favor of having the ability to recall incompetent and crooked politicians who were elected fair and square in an equally fair and square recall vote before they can do even more harm to the citizens who voted for them in the first place. I mean, everyone should have the ability to admit a mistake and correct it in a timely fashion. What I am most assuredly NOT in favor of, is the sham law which has been proposed as a remedy to Blagoitis.

Like a lot of things, it's good from far, but far from good. Who could be against the ability to recall elected officials when appropriate? Well, the elected officials who have shielded themselves from it with this proposal to name just one group. You see, the details are always the devil, particularly in Illinois.

As it turns out, the only one who could be recalled under this law is the Governor. What a shock! And the details make it so hard to get it on the ballot that if we had to rely on it to recall Blago, he would still be conducting his reality show as Governor instead of defendant. I can picture him now glad handing the political groupies on his way to get his hair dry cleaned.

Even in the most cynical state in the union, this sham gets the prize. But many otherwise well-informed people will vote for it because it sounds good. And even though rational folks were irate that none of their Representatives or Senators read the details of the Obamacare travesty before they voted for it, they are about to make the same mistake. I confess that under different circumstances with less time on my hands I might have been one of them.

Of course the stakes aren't very high on this one, but nevertheless, not letting the local politicians make fools of us once again is important too. And there is disagreement even among those who have done some research on the ballot measure. The Chicago Tribune for instance has spent time reading it and has endorsed it in today's paper even though they wrote a substantial op-ed about it spending all but twelve words telling you why it is a terrible law. The twelve words urge you to vote for it anyway. Go figure.

As for me, this site is dedicated to more freedom and less government and I fail to see how this law will give the citizens more freedom or make for a smaller government. It gives politicians more power and makes us ask their permission to recall the crooks and incompetents. I urge you to read the Tribune endorsement, consider the information found in it, and then reject the advice.

After all, they also endorsed Rod Blowdryavich.

10/4/10

A Clueless Metropolis is about to get Fairness

Having solved all the other problems of the city during his long tenure as king of Chicago, the retiring monarch Richard Daley II returned from a taxpayer sponsored vacation in China to unveil his latest "vision" for solving one last problem. This time it's one which doesn't exist. That terrible problem is that it takes too long on government transportation to travel from downtown Chicago to O'Hare airport.

And what vision the king has! From the control tower at one of the worlds busiest airports, it's the only thing which doesn't show up at all on the radar. But king Richie can see it as plain as day. Quite an accomplishment for a guy who couldn't see the corruption in his own cabinet even though it was sitting right next to him for decades.

So now that the city has all its finances in order, has sold all the assets it can, has a wonderful education system and a trouble free police department, Daley retires with only one unfulfilled dream, a seven minute commute to O'Hare on a Chinese high speed rail system. According to him, it's the answer to many problems besides the speed issue. The Chicago Tribune reported this morning that he told reporters last week that it would "rebuild our commercial market and our hospitality industry." (No word on what caused those markets and industries to need rebuilding.)

Most people know this thing will never get built, but changing the subject from actual problems to grand visions has become an art form for those who run Chicago and this nonsense is just one more example of how clueless newspapers and even more clueless citizens take the bait time after time and talk about this stuff instead of talking about what is actually happening. Seemingly, it never occurs to them that before building an un-needed high speed rail system, Daley might ponder why he needs citizens of Topeka or San Jose to pay $34.7 million (as reported in the paper this very day) to help maintain the current CTA buses via a federal grant. Or maybe he should try to imagine how he would have run the city all these years if the people who live there had to pay for what they needed instead of it being financed by a stream of federal money taken from people in cities who actually solve their own problems and live within their means.

One Chicago Tribune commentator who is a regular apologist for liberal politics opined in today's paper that "Chicago is going to miss Daley."  Essentially, he says we will pine for him after he is gone because he remembers how bad it was before Daley was king.

But look on the bright side, if you are a progressive in Chicago, you are about to get the fairness you crave  because the answer to all the problems Daley leaves behind apparently is..... Rahm Emmanuel. 

And if so, it will prove that in the end you get what you deserve in this town even if they don't in Topeka or San Jose.