Change I Believe In

I've been driving by this place for a few weeks with the intention of stopping to take a picture. Someone beat me to it and it's making it's way through cyber-space now. I love it. I really love that it's right around the corner from me too...I knew I was on good land!

It just so happens that I am in need of an oil change, so I guess I could be a Nobel Peace Prize winner by 2010.

Another favorite that I saw on Facebook today:

Photograph courtesy of CJL

See why I have faith in the American people?

Santa in Washington

In the usual fashion of Handout Politics, it looks like Obama and his Democrats are trying to play Santa Claus this week. Tomorrow morning they will go through the motions and vote in the Senate on what appears to be an already done deal. I've deliberated on posting about this for weeks: What to say? As I watched the news this morning it hit me that there may be no stopping the reckless, liberal agenda in Washington no matter what the people of America want. I'm still holding out that this is not what Americans want, even if they voted for the people in charge.

I'll give my top arguments:

#1. An automatic 20% cut in Medicare reimbursements is on the table. After Medicare cuts are in force, insurance reimbursements will follow suit. Our economy is struggling with unemployment over 10%. This is not the time to make sweeping motions that cut profits in 17% of the economy by 20%.

#2. #1 brings me to my second argument which is really of equal weight. This is completely and utterly unconstitutional. The mere fact that the government has the power to simply destroy profits in the private sector would make the founders of our country roll over in their graves.

#3. Coverage for abortions. It's there. Taxpayers will be paying for it. Again, it is unconstitutional for the government to take my money and use it in such a vile manner. Abortion is such a hot button issue. The country has always been divided on the legality of it - but I hold out that even those who feel like women should have the right to an abortion do not want to pay for others to get one.

#4. Coverage for illegal immigrants. What to say...they already get care and don't pay for it. I guess this just burns me because it would legitimize their law breaking lifestyle (and encourage their allegiance to the Democratic party!) Dems have been pushing for illegals to have voting rights for years. This is nothing but purchased votes.

#5. Office of Minority Health. Look it up. It's a provision in the health care Christmas package that establishes new federal bureaucracies within 6 already existing health care agencies. So what, you say? It funnels money, in the form of federal grants, into such organizations as ACORN (and there are plenty of others who don't make the news) specifically marked for communities of color. How is racial tension EVER suppose to go away when "communities of color" is part of our legislative language to send money to specific racial groups?

#6. Just because I think it's funny, and sad - A provision is in the Senate bill that insurance plans covering dependents will be mandated to offer that insurance to "children" up to the age of 26. 26??? Get out of your mother's basement already, get a JOB, get your own insurance. This is the perfect example of government involvement breeding laziness and lack of accountability in the lives of Americans.

Job Summit, Bah Humbug!

Wow, Thanksgiving came and went without me having the opportunity to blog that I was thankful Congress was also on vacation. I didn't feel a nagging sense of panic wondering what might be happening behind the curtain in Washington while America relaxed a bit and focused on family and traditions and the values that founded this great country.

Now we're back in full swing and there's no need to pinch yourself: Obama IS still the President. He has spoken/appeared/graced us with his presence twice this week. Today while I was working out to the news speculation of the Jobs Summit/campaign speech/photo opportunity, my mind was spinning.

Do any of the radical, intellectual, Ivy League graduates in the Obama "White House" Campaign realize that if they would just stop talking new jobs might actually appear? I mean, in that short Thanksgiving week some of us almost started thinking there was actual hope (I hate that he tainted that word!) on the horizon. We laughed about the past, enjoyed the presence, and looked forward to the future.

Then Obama and liberal Congress open their mouths and every productive person in the country gets nervous. Why should anyone expand their business right now and create jobs? A 10% tax increase is on the horizon in just 13 months. Health care costs that are already crippling small businesses are only going to increase while tax hikes and penalties for not enrolling employees in government health care will hurt on the other end. Cap and Trade is going to kill American businesses.

Everything the White House is saying they want to do will kill jobs. Why would any American out there do anything beyond try to hang on to the job they have? I've got a serious bee in my bonnet on this today. The fact that the words "community organizations" are a part of the job creation rhetoric makes me seriously crazy. Honey, if you're getting this you might not want to come home today! :)

Just for fun, if you've missed the latest polls here is some of the Rasmussen data this week:

• 30% of voters say the country is heading in the right direction.
• 71% of voters nationwide say they’re at least somewhat angry about the current policies of the federal government. That figure includes 46% who are Very Angry.
• 53% of voters are still opposed to the current health care legislation.
• 48% of voters are expecting their taxes to go up under Obama. Contrast with only 9% who think theirs will go down.

I'd like to propose a poll:

Do you think The Obama "White House" Campaign and Congress are trying to trying to ruin the country? Yes, No, or Maybe?

My answer is maybe. It looked like inexperience, naivety, and stupidity for a while. Now it starting to look like a calculated effort to destroy the fiber of our country. How could all of these people be so smart and really be that dumb?

ClimateGate

cli⋅mate gate [klahy-mit gayte]

–noun

1. disclosure of Climate Research Unit global warming files showing conspiracy, collusion in exaggerating warming data, possibly illegal destruction of embarrassing information, organized resistance to disclosure, manipulation of data, private admissions of flaws in their public claims and much more.

2. leaked files show that prominent scientists were so wedded to theories of man-made global warming that they ridiculed dissenters who asked for copies of their data, plotted how to keep researchers who reached different conclusions from publishing, and concealed apparently buggy computer code from being disclosed under the Freedom of Information law.

Synonyms:
3. fraud, crime, deceit, lies.

Why does this matter? Computer models have been erected upon this data, which have been incorporated into governmental and U.N. reports, which have become the basis for actual and proposed government policies.

So what? The Cap and Trade bill and the EPA's plans to regulate carbon dioxide are based on these computer models. In international politics: The Copenhagen summit is coming up where the sovereignty of the United States may hang by a thread in the name of "global warming."

So, unlike last year's buzz word "vetting" this one really matters!

•Details of this definition courtesy of CBSnews.com, realclearpolitics.com, and Telegraph.co.uk.