Cheesy Political Cowardice...

Backdoor politics as usual...our good Senator "Earmark" Ben Nelson is not only blind but stupid too.  I read in this mornings paper that HE is interested in the idea of giving states the choice to opt into "public option" Obamacare. Not only blind and stupid but a coward too...putting this monkey/albatross...POS legislation on the back of state government to decide.   This is starting to sound like a pyramid scheme.

This is government run health care Senator Nelson...it is terrible legislation across the board! Look at how you have managed Medicare and Medicaid. It is wrought with corruption and mismanagement Senator Nelson. Look at how state run health care is a failure in Massachusetts and around the rest of the freaking world. 

Get in the game Senator Nelson...a NO vote is the only way you will ever be considered for re-election in my world and the world of my family and friends.  I will work hard to guarantee that.

You are a coward and a disgrace to the Nebraskans you represent if you vote in favor of this piece of crap legislation that will bankrupt this nation only deeper while sending health care back into the dark ages.

It's time for Ben Nelson to go.

Ok...I have had my "Drinking with Bob" moment...I feel better now.  No...not really...America is dying and our liberal friends are calling the mortician instead of 911.

Fried Chihuahua Anyone?

Just when Congress was starting to work on a $3500.00 tax credit for pet care expenses...it turns out keeping Fido puts a bite on the ol' carbon footprint.   I will choose a Landcruiser over a German Shepard any day.  My neighbor has a house full of Chihuahua's.  Will he get a tax break if he dumps them for a Volvo XC?  Pets you can eat...explain that one to the kids.

Cash For Can Openers????

Not exactly...but it can't be too far behind.  I wonder if a 52-inch LCD qualifies as an energy saving appliance?  I would mount it on the wall in my kitchen and use it as a bun warming device.  Any guesses how soon the $300 million will run out?  I am also left wondering if I can lay away my appliances now on the pre-condition I qualify for this give-away?  This guarantees the appliances I want plus I beat the rush.  Who needs Christmas...we have Obama...every day's a Holiday...and every meal is a feast! 

The Honeymoon Is Over

Americans have given President Obama the benefit of the doubt for the past 10 months...it appears...according to the latest Harris polling...that the chickens are coming home to roost.  The folks over on the Hill fare much worse..."lower than whale dung" as we used to say in the Marine Corps...well something like that.  When will the light come on for these folks?    

Tell Me Something I Don't Already Know.

Sometimes it takes folks a little more time to realize the obvious.   

More Taxes or Budget Cuts Coming???

     The Grand Island Independent Saturday Poll regarding whether to increase taxes or cut spending to make up the shortfall in the state budget left me scratching my head...or it might just be a case of early winter dry scalp (around 2 inches of white stuff on the deck this morning).  With Governor Heineman opening the Stimulus floodgates and all the wondrous things it will do at "no cost" to Nebraskans...why not use a portion of the $331,945,863 sitting in the state's reserve to make up the state budget shortfall?  $100 million off the top would ease the pain.   

     Spending down the reserve is not my first choice...as I am a firm believer in cutting budget extravagances.  Like most...I find it hard to accept "spend and tax" when most Nebraskans have to cut back at home in order to pay more taxes and "fees"  to our government(s) every time we turn around.  State projections show that the State of Nebraska will maintain about 300 million in the reserve through 2013 after this year...of course these projections are moot if the economy continues to tank.  The reserve fund was created in 1983 specifically for balancing budget shortfalls...the money is there...use it.  No "what if's"...pet projects...or speculation of how much Kansas is going to sue us for because their rivers...like ours...went through a 7-year drought (they will have to settle for an easy payment plan).   Use the money and use it for the purpose it was intended...then we can be broke just like the rest of the nation. 

     In regard to the Governor's endorsement (re-election coming) to provide Nebraska teachers with a sizable pay raise using Stimulus funds...I say present it as two year "award"...then revert back to the "pre-Stimulus" pay scale rather than increase taxes to make up the difference after the Stimulus money pit runs dry after the second year.  The way I view it...something is better than nothing...and the teachers...if they are socially just (a term Catholic priests use to make the rest of us Catholics feel guilty) will see it that way too.  When times are tough we all have to "bite the bullet."  Many in Nebraska are not receiving a sizable pay raise and their pay is just as lousy in many cases.  In addition...many Nebraskans (over 16,000) have lost jobs...DeWitt and Cozad for example...with more likely on the near horizon.

     There are still experts projecting that our economic roller coaster ride is going to stretch out for another ten years...and we know that the recent stimulus boost is going to lead to increased taxation on the fed side that we and our grandchildren's grandchildren will be paying back for the rest of their lives.   Nebraska's population is too small to provide "everything for everybody" and we need to pay particularly close attention when spending our tax dollars.  Frugality is in order and our city..county...state and federal leaders need to get in the game...quickly.

     Oh...159 out of 175 respondents were in favor of cuts by noon Saturday

Return To Sender

I've received a few awards in my life...most humbled me...a couple I might have deserved.  I even received an award once for giving an award to someone else...that embarrassed me.  But Drudge headlined it best this morning..."For What?"...when reporting President Obama's winning of the Nobel Peace Prize.  As it turns out he was nominated after being sworn in as CIC 11 days earlier and the nomination was based on his peacemaking "potential/aspirations."

There were even some "ooh's" of surprise/shock when the "Dyno-mite" Nobel Prize crew announced the winner this morning.   I'm sorry...you can call me a "racist" (because I know you will)...but he should return/not accept the award.  It has to be an embarrassment for him (maybe his narcissistic personalty disorder overrides his basic common sense) and it is definitely an embarrassment to the global community.  Makes me wonder who his competition was.  As one blogger commented in a post this morning..."At least Hitler brought the Olympics to Germany."  Maybe even Hitler had some "potential" before he went south. 

Preparing for H1N1 in Cuba...

To maintain a degree of humility I often go to this site to read about day-to-day life in Cuba.  It will open your eyes.  In the early 70's I got to "see the world" and what I saw was eye-opening then and today it hasn't changed that much for some nations...some have even slipped backward.  

I heard once that scientists believed there could be about 20 planets with "intelligent life."  I am beginning to think Earth wasn't one of them.   

Gravity.

What goest up...must goest down in the world of gravity...as well as the American auto industry.  So much for C for C.  (Tip of the hat to American Thinker - Graph of the Day).