Mr. Trump, You’re Hired!

Hmmm, after waiting years to produce a birth certificate to prove he was a natural born U.S. citizen (a requirement for holding the highest office in the country!), only “the Donald” could stir up enough fear, controversy, or trouble to force Obama to come up with something that appears to show that he was indeed born here.  As always, this inquiring mind has many questions:

Why the wait? 

Is it that money does indeed really talk? 

Are we to believe that someone in Mr. Obama’s position had that much trouble getting his hands on such a crucial document to dispel these disruptive rumors?

If  it does actually take that long for the POTUS to wade through red tape, what hope do we ordinary peeps have to access things we need, say like government health care, etc?

Does it take longer to produce a real birth certificate if you are really a U.S. born citizen, or to forge a convincing replica if you were not actually born here?

Is it better to have people focusing on the question of your origin of birth or honing in on the real issues of government corruption and pandering to rogue foreign leaders?

Now it appears we may need the extreme influence of Mr. Trump to get to the bottom of a new batch of questions. Although most of us Americans feel some degree of satisfaction that good has triumphed over evil and Osama bin Laden has gone to meet his 72 virgins–oh, wait–that’s for the good guys–we wonder why Obama has set himself up for more controversial questions.  Here are a few:

After almost 10 years of relentless searching, how does it happen that our most anti-military, foreign-ass-kissing president gets to claim victory for this military coup?

Why, after such an unbelievable feat being accomplished on his watch, would he so hastily dump the evidence into the depths of the Arabian Sea?

Is following Islamic burial tradition really going to deter these terrorists, who have nothing else on their agenda besides hatred and killing?

Why must we respect the dead body of the biggest mass murderer since Hitler while our young soldiers’ bodies are dragged through the streets and many of the victims of this monster could not even be recovered for proper burial in accordance with our traditions?

As Obama’s ratings plummet, was bin Laden served up as a sacrificial lamb by even more evil elements who wish to keep Obama popular and in power in order to preserve the one-world government dream?

In the scheme of things, bin Laden’s death is mostly a symbolic victory.  It will not bring the thousands of victims back.  It will not prevent countless others who have no jobs, dreams, or freedom to pursue more productive lives from joining terrorist groups.  Unfortunately, it will probably not keep my son and the children of other Americans from having to deploy to an insane lawless region of the world.  But I love to see good triumph over evil, and a villain delivered into hell where he belongs.  And I’d love Mr. Trump to continue asking the questions the rest of us want to know.

On 9/11: Compassion Begins at Home

It is often said that a person can not truly love others unless they first learn to love their self.  They may go through the motions of love, and in fact will usually put themselves last in an effort to convince others of their love.  But this is not love.  And the object of this “affection” will not usually appreciate nor respect the desperate efforts to please, somehow sensing the emotion is not truly love.  This self-loathing placating kind of love and compassion has become an epidemic in America; and the issues surrounding the most senseless egregious act of terror against everyday American citizens proves it.

It is true that most Muslims are everyday citizens like the rest of us, worshiping quietly and living their lives productively.  It is also true that others of their faith have demonically hijacked the entire Muslim religion and interpreted it as a reason to demean and stone their women, judge and persecute others who were raised in different faiths or do things differently, and encourage their young ones to strap on bombs or board planes and kill as many innocent “infidels” as they can.

If it’s really true that Islam is a religion of compassion and peace, then why the desire to rub salt into the wounds of the families of the nearly 3000 American citizens who were murdered on September 11, 2001?  There are many other places to build a mosque or Muslim community center in New York so why the desire to build one on the ashes of the innocent Americans killed on that late summer day in the name of Allah?  No true Muslim of faith would find it in their heart to hurt and disrespect the memories of these victims.  No truly compassionate American citizen would think it is so important to not upset the architects of this building at the expense of the pain it will cause the friends and families of the people forever buried there.  I am not against anyone building a mosque in this country.  I am only questioning the motive as to why it must be built RIGHT THERE?!  Why do they refuse to back down?

Of course, anyone that questions the motives of imam Feisal Abdul Rauf or his adherents are immediately branded with the “intolerant” or perhaps even “racist” label that are the most common epithets of choice of the America-hating crowd.  Our country is one of the most tolerant diverse countries on the planet and most of us love it that way.  Christian churches, Jewish synagogues, and Muslim mosques stand together within walking distance in most cities.  Although there are some intolerant individuals in this country, the rule of law is that everyone is free to worship (or not worship) as they please without worrying that some government-sanctioned thought-police will force you to dress and pray like everyone else or suffer dire consequences.  Unlike many countries where people are imprisoned or even executed for practicing another religion or carrying the holy book of another faith, we work side by side and easily mingle with our fellow citizens of different religions and races.  Yet one sign of respect, one small concession asked of these “Muslim community center” proponents and the bleeding hearts are tossing insults.

Of course, Main Stream Media is mum on the possibility that this building could be a so-called victory mosque like the ones mentioned in this and other blog posts.  I personally have no way of knowing if this is why some people are so adamant about this “Muslim center” being built so close to Ground Zero.  But if I were truly a person of faith, I would not be fighting for something that is so disturbing to so many fellow American citizens that mourned the senseless loss of life of our Christian, Jewish, atheist, agnostic, Muslim, Hindu et al. countrymen nine years ago today.

What’s Fair For Some

Imagine trying to protect your home and family from outsiders who are intent on having what you have, and what is legally yours.  You can’t rely on the police to protect you; their hands are tied with mountains of red tape.  Entry into your home is illegal, but their are no teeth behind the law.  In fact, while trying to protect your home, you must not hurt the intruders or YOU will be prosecuted.  If you have a dog, you must muzzle it so it can not cause harm to these trespassers.  In fact, you better make sure you have a safe strong ladder nearby for them to climb into your windows if they are inclined to do so!

Does this sound ludicrous?  Not to many, including the faux reporters on CBS’s “60 Minutes.” This past Sunday night, this “news” show made no excuses for the people illegally crossing the border into California via California’s All-American Canal.  I share correspondent Scott Pelley’s sorrow at the lives lost and for the desperation of these people that would make them attempt to navigate across a 225 foot wide irrigation canal in the dark.  But certainly the blame can not be placed on the regional authority managing the canal.  In fact, they were chastised quite harshly by Pelley for not having climb-out ladders and safety devices every few feet in this canal that is not meant for swimmers.   The sole purpose of this waterway is for irrigating the fields that provide about two-thirds of the winter fruits and vegetables to our nation.   Pelley himself refers to it as a “lifeline for the nation.”

The state of Arizona is being vilified by many because they finally decided they could no longer wait for the federal government to enforce the existing laws against people entering our country illegally.  We are a welcoming nation, but there is a process and procedure to follow.  The politicans in Washington are too concerned about their political careers and the votes they might lose if they seem “unfair” to a large group of people that elicit sympathy from kind-hearted Americans.  While being “fair” toward one group of people, many of our own citizens are being treated unfairly.  What about fairness toward:

The countless immigrants who also looked to America for a better life and worked hard to legally establish citizenship.

The unemployed Americans who need jobs but can’t afford to live on what the illegals are paid under the table.  Paying taxes takes a big bite out of a paycheck.

The working families paying more and more in taxes to extend health care and education for a rapidly expanding population that does not share in the costs of these services.

As always, when facts confuse them, liberals will pull out the race card.  Even though every single day Americans are asked to show some form of ID (at traffic stops, on acceptance of employment, etc.), the fear-mongers are certain that this law will result in massive racial profiling.  Never mind that Americans are a hugely diverse group of people, which would make it extremely hard to tell an American citizen from an illegal alien just by looks alone.

Image courtesy of ClipartMountain.com.

Again: The Genius of Star Trek

If you don’t believe in the concept of time travel, you might want to start watching old reruns of Star Trek: The Next Generation.  I’ve already posted on other episodes that clearly showed someone from the nineties was eerily scripting science fiction that could be based on life in America as we now live.  Big Daddy was amazed at the prescient irony he was watching and called me in to listen to this conversation between Hugh, a former member of the Borg collective who shun all individualism, and some of the officers of the star ship Enterprise (including the Klingon security officer Worf):

Hugh:  You probably can’t imagine what it is like to be so lost and frightened that you will listen to any voice that promises change.

Worf: Even if that voice insists on controlling you?

Hugh further expounds upon how the mastermind of the Borg creation “had no idea how to keep his promises.  He began talking about the need for us to make sacrifices.”

Eerie.  Creepy.  Sounds like now.

Unfortunately, I’m tired as death due to my work schedule and God knows what else.  I haven’t even had time to go over the new “health care” manifesto, so I can’t pick it apart yet like I know I should.  I did hear somewhere that any family making over something like $88,000 per year would be paying a 10% tax to help pay for this.  If this is true, you might as well say goodbye to the middle class of America.  I can only hope this isn’t true.

Coffee Pots for Dummies

About a year and a half ago, our old cheap basic Mr. Coffee coffee maker fizzled out and died with no warning.  Being my typical thrifty self, and also in a hurry to replace the source of my caffeine intake, I headed out to the closest bargain outlet to find a new coffeemaker.  Ollies is nearby, and usually has a good supply of reasonably priced quality housewares.  Since it sells close-out items, you’re never quite sure what will be in stock, but I am pretty flexible.  If it works, and is cheap, I’ll be happy.

Apparently, Ollies does not get a good supply of coffee makers.  At just about any given time they have lovely Farberware pots and pans, chef grade ceramic casserole dishes, and soft 200 thread count sheets.  But the supply of  coffee makers is usually very limited.  I got the only brand they had, some Cafe Belmondo close-out that had been part of some coffee promotion at one time.  For $20, how bad could it be?  And I didn’t feel like going to the other side of town to deal with the Wal-Mart crowds.

At first, the coffee pot seemed decent, although Big Daddy rolled his eyes at the no-name brand.  “Look, it has a timer.  We can set it before we go to bed and have coffee waiting for us,”  I pathetically argued to get his endorsement.  This was not the best argument since Mr. Wizard already has much of our household running on timers, and the old coffee pot was one of those items.

Before long, the digital read-out on the clock disintegrated, making it impossible to set the timer.  The replaceable mesh filter still allowed coffee grounds to get into the finished product so we had to buy the weird cone-shaped paper filters.  I used to be able to place the Mr. Coffee pot in the dishwasher, but since the lid didn’t come off this new gadget, I had to wash it by hand.  The spout dribbled coffee onto the counter every time we poured.  But the most annoying thing of all was…the damn thing turned off after two hours.  Whether you’re done with your coffee drinking or not, the stupid machine stops warming your pot of brew.

More than any other flaw and feature, the two-hour shut-off is the one thing that annoyed us most.  We like to enjoy our coffee throughout the day, not gulp it down in an hour or two.  I have a thermos carafe, but that’s just one more pain-in-the butt thing to wash.  And Big Daddy actually likes the taste of coffee that has been cooking all day on the warmer.  I should have asked for a new coffee maker for Christmas.  In fact, I saw one for about $10 at Wal-Mart while I was Christmas shopping.  I could kick myself for not buying it.

Saturday I got a 10% off coupon from Ollies.  Today I used the last of my cone-shaped coffee filters.  This perfect storm convinced me to try my luck again at buying a coffee maker.  There was another no-name brand, and it had the stupid two-hour shut-off.  Then I spied a Black and Decker model.  It was factory serviced, but who cares?  The filter basket was round, and it was a brand name.  There was no mention of it shutting down after two hours.

I brought it home and set it up.  I ran water through it to clean out the dust before I use it.  And then I read the booklet that proudly mentioned that it automatically shuts off after two hours!!!

Is this a law now?  Do they think we’re all too stupid to turn off the coffee pot when we’re done?  I realize most of us Americans are too stupid to understand the health care issues without them being properly explained by our elected elite, and soon they’ll have to limit our access to junk food and such because we’re too dumb to realize it’s not good for us, but really!  Taking away our steamy midday cup of java?  This is really a low blow.

Some Beasts Belong In Cages

I don’t much like to pay them, but I agree that taxes are a necessary evil.  They should be used to pay for the things that are necessary to maintain a civilized society.  They are needed to build and maintain the infrastructure—roads and bridges to keep us mobile.  They should be used wisely to educate our children and provide for those citizens that are mentally or physically unable to take care of themselves.  One of the most important uses of our tax dollars should be to keep us safe.  We need to maintain an army to protect us from foreign invaders, and police officers and a justice system to keep us safe within our own borders.  Perhaps I wouldn’t complain so much if the “powers that be” spent my tax dollars wisely.

Almost every day a story airs that makes it clear that someone doesn’t understand what it takes to protect the innocent.  How many children have been killed or molested by some monster that was let out of jail before they’d even served the time they’d been sentenced?  How many drunks have killed and destroyed innocent families after being slapped on the wrist yet again after their fourth or fifth DUI?  The latest tragedy hit close to my home this week.  This trusting 30-year-old mentally challenged woman was found dead in the parking lot of a local middle school, after having been beaten, humiliated and tortured for 36 hours by some savage “friends,” then stuffed in a garbage can.  Neighbors heard a ruckus and screaming, but for some reason which has yet to be disclosed, didn’t see the need to call the police.  But that’s another story.  There are other reasons why this young woman should still be alive.

The ringleader of this group of monsters had a criminal history already at the age of 23.  He had PFA’s filed against him by a former wife or girlfriend and by his own mother.  The justice system failed us all when the same judge repeatedly sent him for “anger management counseling,” even after his parole officer suggested his parole be revoked.  Several of the other creeps also had a history of assaults.

Lady Justice

Instead, the police are expected to spend their valuable time rounding up “dangerous” pot-smokers.  Incredibly, there are people in our prison system behind bars for selling some weed to their friends while really scary beasts like these killers are released into the midst of an unsuspecting public.  It’s really kind of stupid, and also very scary.

Liberals Need To Watch More Star Trek

Big Daddy’s latest favorite show to use up all the recording space on our DVR is Star Trek–in its many spin-off forms.  I’m pretty sure we watched them all the first time around, but when you get to be our age, it doesn’t really matter.  We seem to forget a lot, so it’s “all new to you!”

Most of these shows were written in less scary and tumultuous times, yet they are ominously relevant today.  Perhaps these sci-fi writers were time-travelers in their day!

Last week, Big Daddy and I exchanged glances during an episode about the Borg, the soul-sucking, mind-usurping collective that does not allow for individual thought or freedom.  I shivered a little.  It reminded us of the direction the one-world advocates are trying to move us toward.  It is not a happy ending in Trekkie-land, and it won’t be a happy ending here on present-day Earth.

Even more prescient was the episode of Star Trek: Voyager that we watched this morning.  The name of the episode was “Critical Care,” and it exemplified all that worries me about universal health care.  It showed a “civilization” that allowed its health care to be run by a heartless bureaucrat.  Finite supplies of medical care and medications were strictly and ruthlessly rationed by a bigwig far removed from the suffering masses.  Of course, “important” people, or friends of “bigwigs” were given top priority in drug distribution because they were on a higher tier level, or in other words, were more “important” to society.  A drug which could save the lives of many citizens on the lowest tier were instead being used up by those lucky friends of bureaucrats on the “blue tier” to slow the aging process, which was another useful benefit to this particular drug.

Just science fiction, you say?

Late last year, when universal health-care advocates were trying to convince the doubting masses about the “fairness” and “efficiency” of this type of medical care system, a woman from Canada explained why she loved that system.  She had an operation under their government plan, didn’t have to pay a thing, and the health care was great!  She didn’t even have to endure a long waiting period because…get this…she knew somebody.  She actually admitted that she got preferential treatment because…she knew somebody.  And we all secretly know, deep down, that this is the way it’s going to be.

Between you and me, I’d rather take my chances and let money be the deciding factor in the quality and timing of my health care.  If I have to go back to school to better my chances of finding a job that provides decent health insurance, or if I have to get a second job to pay for health care on my own, I’d rather do that than depend on the soulless bureaucrats we have running this country.

Putting my nose to the grindstone is far more preferable to kissing the ass of some politician.

Bob Dylan Revisited

I know.  I used this quote before…”When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose.”  It’s so true, so I’ll say it again.

That’s why I’m so worried about this country.  We’ve got so much that people don’t even realize how good they have it.  They’re looking for hope and change when a good portion of the world would give anything to have what our most destitute citizens have.  There are a few things that could be tweaked, but for the most part, if change is coming, it’s not going to be for the better.

I feel this way in my own life.  I would be perfectly content for nothing to ever change.  I dread change.  I’m very blessed, and change will probably only bring heartache.

We’re not looking for new jobs, so if a job change comes, it’s not going to be a good one.  We love our home.  If that situation changes, that means something devastating has probably happened.  It’s scary to think that a change in our family life would most likely be due to something bad happening, although I guess the kids could find good partners and have kids someday.  That could be a good change.

Friday night, I had just finished making some chicken burritos and went into the family room to tell Big Daddy it was time to eat.  Oldest Son was in Pittsburgh for the weekend.  Middle Son J was on his way home from school, having stopped at the gym first to work out.  Youngest Son was going to bless us with his presence for the evening so he could get his hair cut.  So when I heard Big Daddy on the phone say something about a wreck in an oddly calm voice, I wondered what kind of change was going to interrupt our cozy little life.

I didn’t get the details before Big Daddy left.  I didn’t want to know.  All I knew was Middle Son J had been in an accident, was able to talk on the phone, and Big Daddy was on the way to help him out.  I was hoping maybe it was just a fender bender, and he just wanted his dad there to help him sort out the insurance details.  In my mind, I pictured them both driving home not much worse for the wear.

The reality was a little different.  J’s beautiful new truck, just purchased in late August or early September with his money earned from his deployment to Germany, is a glistening green pile of scrap metal.  According to J, he pulled onto the road seeing a car so far off in the distance that he was sure he had plenty of time.  As it turned out, the girl driving the car was going so fast, that her little Honda managed to tip his big truck over onto the car in the next lane.  She narrowly escaped going completely under his truck.  J was stunned but able to get out of his truck only because it was leaning up against the third car.  Despite the fact that Mr. Invincible never bothers to wear a seat belt, there were no serious injuries to anyone, although after a few days of pain in his ribs, we’re pretty sure J cracked one.

RIP

This weekend was supposed to be a happy one.  I had managed to get most of my Christmas shopping done, and so the pressure of the holidays was starting to give way to a more festive feeling.  My birthday was on Sunday and I was looking forward to being the pampered queen for the day.  But when I saw my J, and heard the details of the crash, I could only give him a big hug and be grateful that he was still here to celebrate the holidays with us.  If he hadn’t been in a big truck, the outcome would have been very different.  And then I went into a deep funk.

It wasn’t my truck.  It wasn’t even that important in the scheme of things.  But I knew how much J loved that truck.  I knew how hard he worked and saved to buy that truck.  He and his dad had scoured the entire area and amazed us all when they actually found a truck that passed J’s very stringent requirements.  It wasn’t black, but he could live with the green color.  The windows were tinted black.  It was in mint condition.  He had found the perfect stickers to put on the windows.  I just felt sick for him.  I didn’t want to think about it.

Time does heal wounds, especially superficial ones like the loss of material goods.  After a mopey Saturday, I was able to enjoy the pampering I got for my birthday.  J was even starting to feel better, especially when his girlfriend mentioned some of the things that used to irritate him about his truck.  I guess they’ll start the hunt for a new one over Christmas break.  After all the wrecks we’ve seen and had around here, I guess one change I would approve is better mass transit.  I worry every time my kids get behind the wheel of a car.

My wishes for the New Year are simple.  I don’t want to win the lottery.  I don’t need fame or approval.  I just want things to stay pretty much the same.  I don’t want to lose the blessings that I have.

If Only We Could Hope

I listened to the President’s speech on Tuesday concerning the plans for Afghanistan.  I wondered who had written this speech, and how President Obama could be reading it so convincingly.  His nose wasn’t even growing!

He is rightly listening to his military experts to send over more troops and resources.  He should send even more, and ASAP.  With two sons in the military, I don’t say this lightly.  But if we can’t support the troops we have over there right now, if we can’t go all out and finish the job we started instead of slowly chipping away and risking American and innocent Afghan lives, then pull out all of our troops immediately and try to find another way to defend our borders.  We can not play political games and worry about votes when our soldiers’ lives are at stake.

I wondered how he could mention how “Our prosperity provides a foundation for our power…It underwrites our diplomacy.  It taps the potential of our people, and allows investment in new industry.  And it will allow us to compete in this century as successfully as we did in the last…” while his policies are beliefs are so destructive to the free-market system that has allowed us to enjoy such freedom and prosperity.

I wish we could feel as safe as he seemed to want us to feel when he said “We have to invest in our homeland security…We have to improve and better coordinate our intelligence so that we stay one step ahead of shadowy networks” while remaining soft on illegal immigration, trying war criminals out to destroy our country in our federal courts and giving them the same rights as American citizens, and allowing political correctness and fear to hamper the work of intelligence investigators that should have foreseen acts of terrorism like the shootings at Fort Hood.

I felt proud when he mentioned that “…more than any other nation, the United States of America has underwritten global security for over six decades – a time that, for all its problems, has seen walls come down, markets open, billions lifted from poverty, unparalleled scientific progress, and advancing frontiers of human liberty.”  I truly feel this way.  We’ve made mistakes and we have some individuals that don’t live the “American way,” but the overall spirit of this country is freedom, tolerance, and generosity.

A lovely young woman I know still sees the world through idealistic eyes.  She believes these politicians really care about the “people” instead of the power they can garner through winning the votes of these people.  She calls President Obama “her president” with a dreamy look in her eyes.  If only I could believe some of the things he so eloquently reads from his teleprompter, he could be “my president” too.

Taxes Won’t Buy Passion

Every time you turn around, they think up a new tax for us to pay.  Sometimes, the tax is enacted to get us out of a jam–but then, when the crisis is over, the tax is never repealed.  Most of us know that once they’ve found a way to grab more of our money, they’re never gonna give it back.  They’ll just find new things to spend it on, think up new reasons to tax us for the next crisis, and never even try to become more efficient.

In the US, we’re taxed locally, federally, and by our states.  We’re taxed on our incomes, on the things we buy, the services we receive, and often on the real estate we own.  Money is withheld from our paychecks, tacked on to the prices of goods we buy, and subtly included in the totals on our utility bills.  It sucks.  And it doesn’t buy us a lot for what it costs us.  I know.  I’m a super bargain-hunting coupon-clipping shopper.  I know a good deal when I see one.  Believe me when I tell you…we’re getting the shaft.

FEMA handed out millions of dollars allocated to misplaced Hurrican Katrina victims to scammers, while many true victims were left to fend for themselves.  Jaycee Dugard, the young girl kidnapped by a known pedophile and abused for 18 years, was further victimized by the “Keystone Kops” who could have saved her from years of torture had they followed up on leads and done some simple police investigation.  Are these workers lazy?  Inept?  Are they just there for the paycheck, not really having any passion for the jobs they do?  Maybe they’re overextended–but Lord knows, it’s not because we’re not throwing enough cash out there!

Here in my neck of the woods, there is a man with a passion for reuniting stolen children with their custodial parent.  He performs a valuable public service that complements law enforcement and missing children agencies.  And, despite the fact that he does not have taxpayer dollars being thrown his way, he has been successful.  He doesn’t charge for his services, either.  He relies mostly on donations, and volunteers include some of the grateful parents of recovered children.

Although Mark Miller has spent many hours on a lean budget bringing home children from all over the country, and sometimes even outside the country, he is in a court battle to have his charitable organization, American Association for Lost Children, Inc., exempt from property taxes.  This past summer, Commonwealth Court upheld a county ruling that the association should pay property taxes because it did not establish that it “relieved the government of some of its burden.”

Hmmm.  It seems to me he’s performing a huge public service, freeing up time and resources that many law enforcement agencies would have to spend looking for these children.  Even the local District Attorney and Sheriff sent affidavits stating that an organization like this does reduce the government’s burden.  But when the taxman needs that fix, there is no logic involved.  Just keep on sending that money.  They’ll find a way to waste it.

*Article from 10/18/09 issue of Greensburg Tribune-Review provided facts and inspiration for this post.