$80 Million for Porn, What's Next?

This week in review...

I know you have probably seen the story about the $80 million dollars that went to "pornographic art" by the National Endowment for the Arts. They released this money because they were afraid "those jobs would go away or had already gone away".... And the problem with that is?

Some of the Blue Dogs have folded, but not completely. I guess they were sidetracked by a new scent (money)?

Then comes the health care diatribe from the liberal Democrats. They want more coverage. They will not budge on abortion coverage. John Conyers wants to add an amendment to the Constitution that will mandate that health care is a right. They want, they want, they want....

The lust for power goes on.

The "Beer Summit" had a lot of regalia. One small beer per man. One giant leap into boring...All I want to know is how hard is it to carry more than one beer at a time? My waitresses and waiters can carry several drinks at once. Why all the pomp and circumstance? Maybe they were stressing "acting stupidly"?

Oh, and how about the call by our elite lawyers in the executive branch to stop their pursuit of justice by ignoring the Black Panthers who think they are man's self-proclaimed poll enforcement. What was their mantra - "White men can't vote"?

Education Debacle in Georgia

Georgia is hurting for money. I know because I live here, I mean there, in Georgia. Georgia has decided to save money by furloughing large numbers of state employees including teachers, and there are rumors that at least three to six more days are looming in the near future.

So what is the big deal? If you do not have the money, you don't have the money. The big deal is that money could have been saved in how money is spent in schools, but they would rather take it out on the employees instead. That just goes to show you how bad our government is needing real leaders.

My public school system has fired numerous employees including support personnel for kindergarten (you know the grade level with 5 year olds who barely can blow their nose and tie their shoes), and they expect teachers to manage them alone and teach at least 20 five year old kids, who care more about their personal space and why so-and-so gets to play with that. They have reduced teacher and class supplies. They have reduced and taken away benefits that were once used to entice good employees. And now they are furloughing them and still expecting them to show up to work.

That's like you going to work and your boss saying, "Oh yeah, you are not getting paid for today, now get to work." And they wondering why people do not want to teach?

The flip side of the story is in how the school system is spending money. In the past five years, they built a palatial school board building, three high schools, several elementary schools, and a couple of middle schools. Millions of dollars spent on buildings that were over priced, under constructed, and in some cases unnecessary.

But we can't afford to keep good employees, because the governor and lawmakers need to keep making too much for doing so little.

Ah, government...are you surprised?

It's time to move money out of the poorly run public schools! It is time for a voucher system that will allow parents to home school or place their kids in the private school of their choice. It is time for a privatized education system.

But will the government in Georgia listen? The government that presides over one of the top school systems in drop-out rates, one of the lowest school system ratings, and an ever changing teaching curriculum. No, they want one more chance to keep Georgia sub par and uneducated.

Smart Health Care Reform

Blue Dog Democrats, Kudos to the Rational

Blue tick hounds are the feature of one of my favorite childhood stories, Where the Red Fern Grows. These hounds were faithful, loyal, and down right great hunters in the book.

Today we are witnessing a Blue Dog rebellion that proves that all Democrats have not fallen for the lust for power. I do not know how many will remain this way but until then - KUDOS to the Blue Dogs.

• They have proven that they are faithful to the people that they represent and not the party sing-a-long.

• They have proven that they are loyal and committed to the American ideal, an ideal that began with our forefathers: a republic for the people and by the people (not the ruling party)

• They have also proven to be great hunters as they are actually reading through the 1000 page nightmare being called "health care reform".

These great hunters have unearthed a $100 billion dollar fiasco that was written into the bill. Someone thought that they would be clever with the budget by putting in a provision for general health care (which would cover shots, wellness visits and such). This sounds great until you hear the next part.

The $100 Billion dollars will NOT be included as a budgeted item. In other words, the Democrats who are pushing this mess are hiding spending on health care! How else could they change the numbers and make the costs look better?

Let me put it in a better picture. Say I have a $2000 a month budget for my household. All the money has a category, and I do not have any extra income. But I decide to make a provision for $1000 more a month spending, without any way of covering the cost (not on credit or any other means of payment).

I can't do that. But the "fuzzy" math of our legislature allows them to print money whenever the feel like it. SO they fake the numbers and lie to us about the real costs!

Oh no, you say. Read Jamie Dupree's blog. Here is a snippet:

How about the title of Section 1705 for some good government language, "Expanded Outstationing."

This basically makes it easier for people to apply for help from the government at "DSH" hospitals - Disproportionate Share Hospitals, which get money from the feds and states to treat indigent patients.

Section 1712 would drop the "Tobacco Cessation Exclusion From Covered Outpatient Drugs."

That would make tobacco cessation counseling a covered benefit for pregnant women, according to one review of this bill.

Medicare began covering some of these type services in 2005.

Finally, let's talk about the government exempting some of its operations from certain laws, in this case the Paperwork Reduction Act, which has a self-explanatory title.

This bill has one specific exemption from that law, in Section 1221 on "Ensuring Effective Communication in Medicare."

I will let you come up with some quick one-liners on how an excessive amount of paperwork might not ensure effective communication.

Remember, you can download the bill yourself at http://bit.ly/nSL2A

As we work through the details of these bills, I keep getting complaints about my effort to see what's in these, in other words an accusation of media bias against the Democrats and President Obama.

One person was especially aggravated at my blog about Section 2002, which had a special budgetary exemption, so that certain costs were not counted on budget.

Don't believe the compost coming out of Washington! read it for yourself and see the disaster awaiting for us as our politicians seek to sink our nation into the mire of a greater depression.

It's time for the hippie revolution on Capital Hill to end.

Have a Beer and a Smile

I think our president has a new motto, "Have a Beer and a Smile." That's his answer to everything.

"You disagree with my policies - come over on Wednesday and have a rum punch or two. I disrespect you and can't say I am sorry, then come over to the house and have a beer or two. You don't like how I am doing my job, come over let me get you drunk enough to see my side of things...."

Is that what he said to the Middle East, "Have a drink on me, I'm sorry for my country"? Is that how he approached Russia, "Vodka shots for everyone, and oh, by the way, my country didn't know what it was doing"?

Maybe that is the real answer to our "apparent" threats. "Hello, Pyongyang? Yes, the President of the United States wants to wipe the slate clean before your leader dies from stupidity. He would like to have you meet him at the local pub and discuss our differences...Yes, he will have an entourage with him, but he'll be paying his way...."

Or how about Osama bin Losing-lately, "Hello Osama, it's Hussein. Yeah, I would like to set up a drinking party so we can end this problem that has bloomed between us. No, no, it's not byob. I am buying."

Does he really get the point? Or is negotiating while drunk a more enamoured way of saying what you mean?

And why is he so huffy about how government is spending money anyway? Isn't he getting ready to "pay" his way on a $40,000 a week vacation? I was wondering if he also paid for the date to Broadway? I think the bill for that date alone should have cost America about $500,000.

Maybe he is angry that the Social Security Administration spent his vacation money. I mean, there can't be that much money left in the empty vault of the federal government.

At least he can still afford the beer.

Here's the point. Drinking it up is the best way to look interested but not have to be overly involved. Spending ridiculous amounts of taxpayer dollars is a great way to make oneself look unworried, especially if you have the destruction of our economy in mind.

So let me ask:

• Why doesn't Nancy Pelosi get criticized for her private jet to nowhere? Isn't she in charge of the House? Don't all money bills start in the House? Obviously, she hasn't done her job like the CEOs of the failed Wall Street banks and GM and Chrysler. They lost their jobs and benefits, so why does she still get the perks?
• When Congress bullies this death care package on us, will they also be forced to use it?
• If cap and trade does pass, who is going to put a cap on the pollution coming out of capital hill?
• When the Democrats finally break us, will Europe finally accept us? Will their opinion of us finally mean something?

Beer is on the President. But don't look to him for discussion, he has a vacation to pay for.

It's About Wisdom and Knowledge - Stupid

I think the most difficult thing to reconcile about the current positions of our federal government, is how little wisdom or understanding that they seem to have about anything. They are so sure of themselves that they do not even take time to read complicated and transforming legislation. They would rather pass the legislation and then weed through it later.

President Obama comes with an idea or a vision on what he would like to see for America. But how much time has he actually spent trying to understand the policies he is espousing? In my humble opinion, not much.

Why else would he leave the Congress to come up with the specifics for his ideas on health care reform? He doesn't have any. He absolutely does not have any idea about what he is trying to accomplish, he just wants to accomplish something. That is dangerous, and it is irresponsible!

I want someone who holds the position of president to speak with wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. In other words, why not study something first, come up with a plan, then try tackling it? But no, our government officials sing their Party's party tunes and hold their holy huddles and expect us to rally behind them.

How much would it harm them for us to expect them to actually spend time learning something?

For example, why did President Obama need to stick his nose in a local matter? And when he did, why does he say the police acted "stupidly" and then not explain his reasoning for it? Is he that daft that he thinks whatever he says is fine? Doesn't he realize that his words hold water because of the position he holds?

Wisdom and knowledge define responsibility, and our federal government is acting completely without any understanding of what living life is about. They have become so drunk on power that they care less about reality and more about their own press.

This health care plan being vetted by the Democrats shows how little wisdom our elected officials have.

I am beginning to respect people like Newt Gingrich more. He is not a perfect man or a super hero. He is, however, taking time to understand the issues that are plaguing our nation. We need more people like him who will take time to understand and seek solutions not Party rhetoric.

Maybe I am just ranting today. But someone has to start getting angry enough to see this fiasco for what it is becoming. Someone needs to stand up and start leading or we are in for dire consequences. I am not trying to be an alarmist, just a realist.

Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.Prov 4:7 (NIV)

Power is so tempting that it changes people. Our elected government officials have gained so much yet it has cost them in all the wrong areas of life. So many spend more time dabbling in areas that are unbecoming of a person granted authority by others: improper relationships, greed, pride, hatred, lies, and theft just to name a few.

America is not the greatest country in the world nor does it have the best governing philosophy. It is, by God's grace, the one nation where people are allowed to freely make choices about their lifestyles. It is the one place on earth where the government does not control us and our thought processes (though this is quickly changing). I believe this is by design.

We have a choice to follow God in this lifetime or follow our own worthless paths. America allows this freedom, but the Democrats and those like them want to destroy this basic right, some with intention and some without realizing what forces they are following.

Atheist, evolutionist, and secular humanist views are slowly destroying compassion, truth, and absolutes. Their goal is to create a society of perfection and letting the weak be cast aside and destroyed. For them, only the strong deserve a right to survive and to prosper. For them, natural selection is a better way of life. For them, the cost of keeping the weak around is too much.

Why? When they have to act with compassion, they have to act in a manner that is much like God created them to act. Yet they are so emphatically opposed to following or acknowledging God, they would rather destroy any healthy response towards people that would include grace and mercy because those attributes carry the very fiber of God's image within each of us.

Do we need a health care plan that will help others? Yes, but not at the expense of compassion and mercy. That is what will happen if the Democrats get their way. And the atheist, evolutionist, and the secular humanists will have the beginnings of their lifeless existence. They will continue to push God out of their picture until they get the anarchy they desire.

Wisdom and understanding are what we should seek. But who will take up that mantle and run with it?

Healthcare - The End of the Republic

I have changed my position on the AMA plan. They are headed to socialism just as fast as the democrats are. I have erased their link and replaced it with the Conservatives for Patients' Rights.

Our health care is only going to go down the tubes. Look at what happened and is still happening in Canada:



Is there a better less expensive way?

How about:

• Giving tax breaks to everyone who makes less than $100,000?
• Increasing funding for free clinics?
• Giving grants to people who would pursue a medical profession?
• As the CPRights.org says, standardizing paperwork for getting insurance?

There is a good list of better plans being offered, but the Democrats are cutting us out of the quotient. The debate is not about us any longer; it is about the power lust of our federal government.

I believe that the Congress should be forced to use whatever plan that they come up with. That's right. They should be forced to give up their posh health plans and have to use the mess they are creating.

Wake up folks! As President Obama is saying, "We are (days) away from fundamentally changing this country." You can remain silent or get into the debate. Find out better solutions, and see for yourself the mess the Democrats are concocting: Millions Will Lose Private Coverage

Don't trust the federal government to run something. They are not smart enough. Educate yourself more here: Policy Studies and Research

Here are a few of the better options that are being ignored by the Democrats: CPRights