OH, GREAT!

Another tax cheat has been elected to the Senate.

Glenn Reynolds on Al Franken: "Caligula sent a horse to the Senate. Minnesota is just sending part of the horse."

Seems right to me.

BE SCARED - LOU PRITCHETT IS

This letter is real. I'd seen it around the internet before, and not worried too much, figuring that the Congress would control Obama's worst instincts. But with the House passing cap-and-trade (with some Republican support!), I'm feeling Pritchett's pain.

AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA

Dear President Obama:

You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike any of the others, you truly scare me.

You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you.

You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no visible signs of support.

You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth growing up in America and culturally you are not an American.

You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll.

You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus don't understand it at its core.

You scare me because you lack humility and 'class', always blaming others.

You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail.

You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the 'blame America' crowd and deliver this message abroad.

You scare me because you want to change America to a European style country where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector.

You scare me because you want to replace our health care system with a government controlled one.

You scare me because you prefer 'wind mills' to responsibly capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves.

You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose that lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of living in the world.

You scare me because you have begun to use 'extortion' tactics against certain banks and corporations.

You scare me because your own political party shrinks from challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals.

You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider opposing points of view from intelligent people.

You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both omnipotent and omniscient.

You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything you do.

You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the Limbaughs, Hannitys, O'Relllys and Becks who offer opposing, conservative points of view.

You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing.

Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years.

Lou Pritchett

Here's a transcript of Pritchett's interview with Neil Cavuto.

OBAMA IS AN EXCEDRIN HEADACHE

From Don Surber: President Obama’s administration is weighing restrictions on buying Tylenol, Excedrin and other over-the-counter medications.

Surber commenter Sacred Trust: "Americans are obviously too dumb to understand how to take medicine by ourselves."

And that’s why we must have ObamaCare - we're too damn dumb to take care of ourselves.

FROM THE EMAIL

The Obama administration in a nutshell:

A woman in a hot-air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."

The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2,346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude.

"She rolled her eyes and said, "You must be a Republican." "I am," replied the man. "How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct. But I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help
to me."

The man smiled and responded, "You must be an Obama Democrat."

"I am," replied the balloonist. "How did you know?"

"Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or where you are going.. You've risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but somehow, now it's my fault."

AN INTRODUCTION TO OBAMACARE

This just came in the mail from my health insurance company.

Welcome to the ConditionCare program ...

I don’t recall asking to join ...

You have been identified as a possible participant for the Arthritis, Hyperlipidemia, Hip Replacement, Hypertension, Knee Replacement, Metabolic Syndrome, Obesity, Osteoporosis program(s).

And how was I identified? Perhaps through the electronic medical records submitted from my doctor(s), hmm?

The program(s) provide:

The enclosed educational booklet(s) with helpful self-care tips and resource listings.

Access to a professional help line providing consultation with registered nurses with special training 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any health concern related to your condition(s).

Your participation in the ConditionCare program is an important step in managing your condition(s).

And if I choose not to participate? When will participation become mandatory?

My response:

Please delete me immediately from your “ConditionCare” program .... All I ask [is that you] honor the insurance contract and pay the benefits authorized on time. Nothing more.

The next time you have a strong urge to provide unwanted advice, I suggest you immediately take a cold shower until the feeling passes.

Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to go out and have another cigarette (to help pay for SCHIP) and put extra salt on my french fries.

Anyone who believes the insurance company sent this out of concern for my health as opposed to concern for their bottom line is a fool or liar – or both.

And anyone who believes ObamaCare won’t be mandatory “ConditionCare” is the same.

A CASE FOR TORT REFORM

This is from Wednesday’s morning edition of the Washington Times.

Metro officials are bracing for tens of millions of dollars in lawsuits likely to be filed against the cash-strapped transit system by those injured in Monday's crash and the families of the deceased.

Nobody yet knows who - if anyone - is at fault in the train wreck. But injury lawyers and Metro officials say the lawsuits against the agency are a sure thing.

The Metro train wreck on Washington DC’s Red Line occurred Monday afternoon. The NTSB accident investigators are barely on-scene, there is no firm indication of a cause, and lawsuits are already being prepared. What really offends, however is this:

The litigation likely will come not only from the more than 70 injured and the families of the nine dead in the train pileup, but also from many of the other passengers on the subway cars who were frightened or otherwise traumatized."

Lawsuits from passengers who “were frightned or ... traumatized.” Trying to make a quick buck at my expense is more like the truth.

Andrew Bederman, a prominent local plaintiff's lawyer with offices in Silver Spring, said he anticipates many of his colleagues are out trying to round up clients among the crash victims .... He said he had already taken on two clients with less-severe injuries from the crash (emphasis added).

It is illegal in the District for lawyers to solicit clients by such means as tracking down accident victims or trolling emergency rooms. However, Mr. Bederman said lawyers can pay to have their firms prominently displayed on Google when keywords like "train" or "crash" are searched.

Two words: tort reform.

Oh, hell. Add one more word: disgusting.

UNION LOAFER

Via email, an Abbott and Costello skit reminiscent of their classic Who's on First? skit that leaves me rolling on the floor laughing to this day.



"You can't be a loafer unless you join the union." That strikes me as a perfect metaphor for the Obama administration.

FATHER'S DAY

Carmen's right. Thanks to Scott Stantis at Prickly City.

[Update] Here's the proof - the very best (Grand)Father's Day card ever. Well, until next year, when I'll get two.

A VIEW FROM THE WINDOW

June 17, 2009 in Houston, Texas.

A VIEW FROM THE WINDOW

Austin, Texas, June 15, 2009 at 9 am.


Breakfast time.

A BIT OF HIATUS

A family emergency has me away for a while. Back soon, I hope.

RESPONSIBILITY

Random thoughts from Thomas Sowell:

We seem to be moving steadily in the direction of a society where no one is responsible for what he himself did but we are all responsible for what somebody else did, either in the present or in the past.

I've been complaining of this ever since my son was in middle school - nearly 30 years ago. It's gotten steadily worse.

BIG-ASSED FAN

The only problem I can see with such a big (6-24 foot diameter) fan is the need for a really big room to fit around it.

Via Instapundit.

WHY TRUST THE MEDIA?

Edmund Andrews has a nice sob story in the New York Times about his "personal credit crisis" - buying a home he couldn't afford.

I know a lot about the curveballs that the economy can throw at us. But in 2004, I joined millions of otherwise-sane Americans in what we now know was a catastrophic binge on overpriced real estate and reckless mortgages.

Edmund Andrews is a Times financial reporter promoting a new book claiming to detail his personal journey through the dark underside of easy mortgages. The Times gave him space in the NY Times magazine to talk up his story and his book.

"But missing from the story is any mention of the fact that his wife has filed for personal bankruptcy not once, but twice."

So is this a story of greedy mortgage brokers or nearly fraudulent mortgage applications? The former may be newsworthy; I'm pretty sure the latter is not.

REMEMBERING ME ON MEMORIAL DAY

This video has received something over 27 million views on You Tube. Make it a few more.

With thanks to Gateway Pundit.

MEMORIAL DAY AT HOME

Buckhall Cemetary, Manassas, VA, 25 May 2009.



Our flag, 25 May 2009.

MEMORIAL DAY

The reminder is courtesy of Blackfive.

THOUGHTS ON SAFETY

Take a look at this photo.



The city safety nannies must have decided the construction fence was “unsafe” and required that a stair rail be installed for the concrete stairs (which have been there for years without a rail).

But take a careful look – in fact, two careful looks.

The rail is only in place where there are three or more steps in succession. Two or less steps don’t require a rail.

And on the other side of the fence, the construction workers’ “stairs” are simply dug out of the dirt. “Stairs” dug out of loose dirt are safe enough for them. I guess that’s because they have safety helmets and steel-toed shoes.

Another reason for limited government.

TAXES, TAXES, AND MORE TAXES

“No new taxes; not one thin dime.” So spoke presidential candidate Barack Obama in September 2008: “Barack Obama and Joe Biden will cut [federal] taxes for 95% of working families, and provide at least three times as much tax relief for middle class families as John McCain and Sarah Palin.”


Instead he left it to the states to increase taxes: “Facing mounting budget deficits and seeing few areas left to cut spending, states increasingly are turning to the only option they have left: raising taxes.”

And guess who the states are passing it to?

THE EMPEROR HAS CLOTHES

He just isn’t wearing them.