Saturday, May 31, 2014
I'm very grateful to the mainstream media for drawing my attention to the fact that this is a newsworthy story. Otherwise, I'm ashamed to say, I might have overlooked it completely. It's because, unfortunately, I happen to be a throwback to the terrible era when young men would frequently assess women on the basis of their pulchritudinousness and when, amazingly, this was considered quite normal, healthy behaviour. Indeed, we even used to have these things called Beauty Contests in which - I kid you not - young women willingly participated in competitions where they were judged according to their looks, mostly by middle aged males, and didn't die of sexism or misogyny poisoning afterwards.You'll want to read the rest...
I said I was going to speak at West Point. That way it will look like I’m doing something. Because for me, to speak is to act. Let me say there’s a chance for the Ukrainian people to choose their future — without us firing a shot – because it is the Russians who will do all the shooting. The Iranian nuclear program steadily advanced for years. Never so fast as under me. We have a very big chance of achieving a breakthrough agreement with Tehran, “a fat chance” in fact. This is American leadership. This is American strength.Brilliant! Go read the whole thing...
NATO was the strongest alliance the world, made up mostly of us. Now that I’ve taken out the “us” we have more room for diplomacy. You see, we have to talk. We can’t fight any more. That’s why you owe me one. I’ve saved your life. Never again will you have to take to the battlefield. There’s no point. With any luck you’ll just have work as props from now on. To sit in front of me when I talk, to stand behind me when I talk. American influence is always stronger when we lead by example. Let’s show everyone that there’s no enemy, no danger, no peril we can’t run away from or try to buy off.
Friday, May 30, 2014
Guns are mostly for hunting down politicians who would actively seek to take your freedoms and liberty away from you.Varmint hunting...
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Snowden has provided the most valuable thing that democratic self-governing people can have, namely information about what is going on. If we are to exercise our rights as self-governing people, using the information he has given us, we should have clear in our minds the political ideas upon which we act. They are not parochial, or national, or found in the records of supreme court decisions alone.Do read the whole thing...
A nation conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal, enslaved millions of people. It washed away that sin in a terrible war. Americans should learn from that, and are called upon now to do so.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Monday, May 26, 2014
There were those along the route who waved and shouted, and we waved back and obliged them with the airhorn. But there were those, like Sgt. Chambers and his comrade who understand what Rolling Thunder is about. With their discipline and endurance, their dedication and love for their brothers and sisters in arms, these men give the rest of us hope. Their solemn and silent vigil speaks more eloquently of sacrifice and devotion than all the combined windy speeches of all the silver-tongued jackasses seated at either end of Pennsylvania Avenue.Amen, Dave. Amen...
Let me hear no more about the virtues of “public service” from people who enter office as meager citizens only to emerge years later rich as potentates. One doesn’t serve by enriching oneself while confiscating the citizen’s earnings and suffocating commerce in a regulatory chokehold. Those who didn’t come home and were abandoned by their nation, those who came home in flag-draped coffins, the hundreds of thousands who, each year “ride for those who can no longer speak for themselves,” they know more about real service than the pampered class of condescending elites will ever understand. As long as we have these vets, and like-minded men and women, we still have a fighting chance.
Daughter Steyn, I suspect you've made your papa very proud...The stars and stripes, red, white, and blue
Wave above our heroes true
It makes us cry, it makes us weep
But in our hearts we will keep
The sacrifice our soldiers gave, they shall not die in vain
For they have given us the freedom they have fought to gain
It's a fact that geezers are more likely to vote than any other age group, and it's also a fact that they are the most conservative age group. Let's hope the sentiment in this letter turns out to be for real!The typical U.S. household headed by a person age 65 or older has a net worth 47 times greater than a household headed by someone under 35, according to an analysis of census data released Monday. If all of us "old farts" have all of the money, then let us try to elect someone who might be near honest and not be after feathering their own nests.They like to refer to us as senior citizens, old fogies, geezers, and in some cases dinosaurs. Some of us are "Baby Boomers" getting ready to retire. Others have been retired for some time. We walk a little slower these days, and our eyes and hearing are not what they once were. We have worked hard, raised our children, worshipped our God and grown old together. Yes, we are the ones some refer to as being over the hill, and that is probably true. But before writing us off completely, there are a few things that need to be taken into consideration.In school we studied English, history, math, and science, which enabled us to lead America into the technological age.Most of us remember what outhouses were, many of us with firsthand experience.We remember the days of telephone party-lines, 25-cent gasoline, and milk and ice being delivered to our homes. For those of you who don't know what an icebox is, today they are electric and referred to as refrigerators.A few even remember when cars were started with a crank. Yes, we lived those days.We are probably considered old-fashioned and outdated by many. But there are a few things you need to remember before completely writing us off. We won World War II, fought in Korea and Vietnam. We can quote The Pledge of Allegiance, and know where to place our hand while doing so. We wore the uniform of our country with pride and lost many friends on the battlefield. We didn't fight for the Socialist States of America; we fought for the "Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave." We wore different uniforms but carried the same flag. We know the words to the Star Spangled Banner, America, and America the Beautiful by heart, and you may even see some tears running down our cheeks as we sing. We have lived what many of you have only read in history books and we feel no obligation to apologize to anyone for America.Yes, we are old and slow these days but rest assured, we have at least one good fight left in us. We have loved this country, fought for it, and died for it, and now we are going to save it. It is our country, and nobody is going to take it away from us. We took oaths to defend America against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and that is an oath we plan to keep. There are those who want to destroy this land we love, but, like our founders, there is no way we are going to remain silent.It was mostly the young people of this nation who elected Obama and the Democratic Congress. You fell for the "Hope and Change," which in reality was nothing but "Hype and Lies."You have tasted socialism and seen evil face to face and have found you don't like it after all. You make a lot of noise, but most are all too interested in their careers or "Climbing the Social Ladder" to be involved in such mundane things as patriotism and voting. Many of those who fell for the "Great Lie" in 2008 are now having buyer's remorse. With all the education we gave you, you didn't have sense enough to see through the lies and instead drank the "Kool-Aid." Now you're paying the price and complaining about it. No jobs, lost mortgages, higher taxes and less freedom.This is what you voted for and this is what you got. We entrusted you with the Torch of Liberty, and you traded it for a paycheck and a fancy house.Well, don't worry youngsters, the Gray-Haired Brigade is here, and in 2014 we are going to take back our nation. We may drive a little slower than you would like, but we get where we're going, and in 2014 we're going to the polls by the millions.This land does not belong to the man in the White House nor to the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. It belongs to "We the People," and "We the People" plan to reclaim our land and our freedom. We hope this time you will do a better job of preserving it and passing it along to our grandchildren. So the next time you have the chance to say the Pledge of Allegiance, stand up, put your hand over your heart, honor our country, and thank God for the old geezers of the "Gray-Haired Brigade."
First thing I noticed is that it's well written which makes a nice change. Second thing I noticed is that this is just the kind of thinking that, in part, caused me to move to the U.S.The article is a classic progressive vs. conservative (in U.S. terms) world-view, told from a progressive perspective. In this case, the progressive is complaining about the new (relatively) conservative tilt to the Australian government after the recent elections – though by American standards, it's got a long way to go before they could call it either conservative or small government. But it's a move in the right direction. :)
"Hockey and Abbott have made their choice. They want us to follow further down the US path. They believe that if you want something, you should pay for it yourself. If you can’t afford it then you don’t deserve to have it because you haven’t worked hard enough or tried hard enough."I don't give any points for trying hard but other than that I'm with Hockey and Abbott.
THE DEBT CEILINGThat last line is one that I use often with my apolitical friends. On this issue, as with so many others, the challenge for voters is that there is no realistic choice for a candidate who actually is committed to solving the problem. On this particular issue, the only real solution is to reduce government spending, as only when deficit spending is stopped can we hope to reduce the total debt. The Democrats and Republicans are both totally committed to bigger and bigger government – they know that government largesse is where the votes to elect (and re-elect) them actually come from. So real change is almost impossible to achieve.
Democrats don't understand THE DEBT CEILING.
Republicans don't understand THE DEBT CEILING.
Liberals don't understand THE DEBT CEILING.
NO ONE understands THE DEBT CEILING.
SO - Allow me to explain...
Let's say you come home from work and find there has been a sewer backup in your neighborhood. Your home has sewage all the way up to your ceilings. What do you think you should do? Raise the ceilings, or pump out the shit?
Your choice is coming in November. Don't miss the opportunity!
The patriot’s blood is the seed of Freedom’s tree. — Thomas Campbell
The dead soldier’s silence sings our national anthem. — Aaron Kilbourn
We come, not to mourn our dead soldiers, but to praise them. — Francis A. Walker
It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle. — Norman Schwarzkopf
Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. — John F. Kennedy
The greatest glory of a free-born people is to transmit that freedom to their children. — William Havard
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time – and your government when it deserves it. — Mark Twain
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Saturday, May 24, 2014
This design is incredible! You definitely know how to keep a reader entertained. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost...HaHa!) Wonderful job. I really loved what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it. Too cool!In the original spam comment, that link would send you to a site selling “male enhancement” products of the mechanical kind. I've changed it to point to my own blog, since I most certainly did not want to send my readers to that site! And of course I did not approve that comment!
My site Online Pharmacy
 |
| View to the NE, with sheep |
 |
| Our one and only lilac (there will be more!) |
 |
| It's a decorative onion of some kind |
 |
| From our front yard, looking NE |
 |
| New shower valves |
 |
| New shower drain |
 |
| New sewer lines |
 |
| New sink roughed-in |
Friday, May 23, 2014
Thursday, May 22, 2014
 |
| Lane and Josiah take out the old granite counter top |
 |
| Pasquale takes a break from his favorite activity: destroying tile |
 |
| Lane contemplates a challenge: capping the sink feeds |
 |
| Pasquale swings the sledge, with a grin on his face |
I recently operated on a child with strabismus (crossed eyes). This child was covered by Medicaid. I was required to obtain surgical pre-authorization using a Current Procedural Terminology, or CPT, code for medical identification and billing purposes. The CPT code identified the particular procedure to be performed. Medicaid approved my surgical plan, and the surgery was scheduled.This is what happens when government runs your healthcare. The recent Veteran's Administration scandal is another example.
During the surgery, I discovered the need to change my plan to accommodate findings resulting from a previous surgery by another physician. Armed with new information, I chose to operate on different muscles from the ones noted on the pre-approved plan. The revised surgery was successful, and the patient obtained straight eyes.
However, because I filed for payment using the different CPT code for the surgery I actually performed, Medicaid was not willing to adjust its protocol. The government denied all payment. Ironically, the code-listed payment for the procedure I ultimately performed was an amount 40% less than the amount approved for the initially authorized surgery. For over a year, I challenged Medicaid about its decision to deny payment. I wrote numerous letters and spoke to many Medicaid employees explaining the predicament. Eventually I gave up fighting what had obviously become a losing battle.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Q: What is Congress doing to help?“Making a huge profit” is her loaded language for the reality: the federal government charges interest at a rate substantially lower than the private lenders could ever do. How do we know this? Because every student has the choice of borrowing from private lenders, and almost all of them don't – because the interest rate is much higher!
A: This is the part that makes me grind my teeth. Right now, the United States government is making huge profits off the backs of our students. Our young people not only have to pay back the cost of the loans, they have to pay billions more in interest to the government — like an extra tax for trying to get an education. That's just wrong. We ought to be investing in young people who are trying to get an education — not making it harder for them.
Q: Student loans are treated differently than many other kinds of debt under bankruptcy law, so it's much harder for struggling borrowers to discharge their student loans. Do you think this should be changed?
A: Yes. I have co-sponsored a bill with Sen. Durbin, D-Ill., that called for making student loans dischargeable in bankruptcy. Keep in mind: Young people who have student loan debt — they didn't go to the mall and charge up a bunch of things they couldn't afford — but if they had gone to the mall, they could discharge those debts in bankruptcy. It's only the student loan debt they can't discharge.
Q: So whatshould the government be doing?
A: For both private loans and federal loans, the fixes are pretty similar. We need to restore bankruptcy protections, provide better oversight of the government contractors that work with borrowers and process loan payments, and ensure that struggling borrowers can get help to modify their loans.
