A 9 Trillion Dollar Horror Tale!

             The following was heard by yours truly on the Rush Limbaugh(?) show. You know, he has the “EIB” network; (Excellence In Broadcasting) for those of you who can’t find/stand his program.

            Now I’ll be the first to agree that Mr. Limbaugh is in the entertainment business and that hyperbole is oft a time-honored approach. As to the veracity of the following, I can neither confirm nor dispute; but it is so darned alarming I’m compelled to pass it on to you.

            Per Mr. Limbaugh, if the Congress of the U.S. of A. were to submit a “debt reduction plan” that was to merely to freeze spending at the 2011 budget levels for the next 10 years, the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) would score that as a 9 TRILLION REDUCTION over the next 10 years!

            Now I for one think that the 2011 budget is probably too high since it is almost 30% higher than the 2008 budget. Even with Obama’s Libyan War, the 30 % increase is just incomprehensible!

            The House and Senate are fighting over 1 to 3 trillion “savings” over 10 years when just freezing spending at the current bloated level for 10 years would produce a reduction of 9 TRILLION!

            If Mr. Limbaugh is correct and his figures, as I’ve quoted them, are accurate, we free citizens of this great nation are in greater trouble financially that I realized!

            I perceive that we may need an even bigger, broader broom to sweep the 2012 elections if we have any chance to keep this noble ship from crashing on the reefs of greedy, power hungry, …. Oh well, you get the idea.

The Purpose of Public Schools per Dennis Prager of Colorado

        I received the following as an email from a trusted friend of many decades. I have no knowledge if the event actually occurred other than Joe's statement that he watched the show on TV. From Joe, that's good enough for me.  Regardless of my personal knowledge, the message's content is just too good, too current, and too needed not to be shared. As I said, Joe stated that he watched this and the following is from his email.

“I watched high school principal Dennis Prager of Colorado, along with Sara Palin and Tom Brokaw on TV a couple of weeks ago; what a dynamic, down to earth speaker. Even though Palin and Brokaw were also guest speakers they did little but nod and agree with him. This is the guy that should be running for President in 2012!

A Speech Every American High School Principal Should Give.

By Dennis Prager.

To the students and faculty of our high school:

I am your new principal, and honored to be so. There is no greater calling than to teach young people.

I would like to apprise you of some important changes coming to our school. I am making these changes because I am convinced that most of the ideas that have dominated public education in America have worked against you, against your teachers and against our country.

First, this school will no longer honor race or ethnicity. I could not care less if your racial makeup is black, brown, red, yellow or white. I could not care less if your origins are African, Latin American, Asian or European, or if your ancestors arrived here on the Mayflower or on slave ships. The only identity I care about, the only one this school will recognize, is your individual identity; your character, your scholarship, your humanity. And the only national identity this school will care about is American.

This is an American public school, and American public schools were created to make better Americans. If you wish to affirm an ethnic, racial or religious identity through school, you will have to go elsewhere. We will end all ethnicity, race and non-American nationality-based celebrations. They undermine the motto of America, one of its three central values; e pluribus Unum, "from many, one."
And this school will be guided by America 's values. This includes all after-school clubs. I will not authorize clubs that divide students based on any identities. This includes race, language, religion, sexual orientation or whatever else may become in vogue in a society divided by political correctness.

Your clubs will be based on interests and passions, not blood, ethnic, racial or other physically defined ties. Those clubs just cultivate narcissism -- an unhealthy preoccupation with the self -- while the purpose of education is to get you to think beyond yourself. So we will have clubs that transport you to the wonders and glories of art, music, astronomy, languages you do not already speak, carpentry and more. If the only extracurricular activities you can imagine being interested in are those based on ethnic, racial or sexual identity, that means that little outside of yourself really interests you.

Second, I am uninterested in whether English is your native language. My only interest in terms of language is that you leave this school speaking and writing English as fluently as possible. The English language has united America 's citizens for over 200 years, and it will unite us at this school. It is one of the indispensable reasons this country of immigrants has always come to be one country. And if you leave this school without excellent English language skills, I would be remiss in my duty to ensure that you will be prepared to successfully compete in the American job market. We will learn other languages here -- it is deplorable that most Americans only speak English --but if you want classes taught in your native language rather than in English, this is not your school.

Third, because I regard learning as a sacred endeavor, everything in this school will reflect learning's elevated status. This means, among other things, that you and your teachers will dress accordingly. Many people in our society dress more formally for Hollywood events than for church or school. These people have their priorities backward. Therefore, there will be a formal dress code at this school.

Fourth, no obscene language will be tolerated anywhere on this school's property; whether in class, in the hallways or at athletic events. If you can't speak without using the f-word, you can't speak. By obscene language I mean the words banned by the Federal Communications Commission, plus epithets such as "Nigger," even when used by one black student to address another black, or "bitch," even when addressed by a girl to a girlfriend. It is my intent that by the time you leave this school, you will be among the few your age to instinctively distinguish between the elevated and the degraded, the holy and the obscene.

Fifth, we will end all self-esteem programs. In this school, self-esteem will be attained in only one way -- the way people attained it until decided otherwise a generation ago -- by earning it. One immediate consequence is that there will be one valedictorian, not eight.

Sixth, and last, I am reorienting the school toward academics and away from politics and propaganda. No more time will be devoted to scaring you about smoking and caffeine, or terrifying you about sexual harassment or global warming. No more semesters will be devoted to condom wearing and teaching you to regard sexual relations as only or primarily a health issue. There will be no more attempts to convince you that you are a victim because you are not white, or not male, or not heterosexual or not Christian. We will have failed if any one of you graduates this school and does not consider him or herself inordinately lucky; to be alive and to be an American.

Now, please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of our country. As many of you do not know the words, your teachers will hand them out to you.”

Shane “Shameless” Broadway Defines Details of Arkansas Law as “Just Semantics”

          Now Mr. “Shameless” Broadway may be a very nice fellow. You know all the criteria; attends church regularly, doesn't beat his wife, his dog likes him, and the Jehovah Witnesses think he's just grand. But I really have no knowledge of the man other than he has just joined the “Another Good Old Boy Politician's Club”. Actually he may have been a life long member but just this week he “came out of the closet” so to speak and made everyone aware of this.

          He's a long time politician; in a former life he was Speaker of the House and also a Senator. An up and coming political star who had the bad luck to be a Democrat running for Lt. Gov during the height of the “TEA Party” excitement last year. He had been a Senator in the state legislature and decided to run for Lt. Governor for some reason or other. [Maybe as a stepping stone to higher political office? But I'm a shameless cynic.)

          Well, having found himself unemployed and looking for some type of public payroll at which to feed, his old buddy Mike Beebe, some of you may recognize him as the Governor of the state of Arkansas, appoints Mr. “Shameless” Broadway to be a deputy commissioner in the state's Department of Higher Education. As luck would have it, the number one man resigns and moves onto another state and suddenly Mr. “Shameless” Broadway's star rises as he is selected by his old crony Gov. Beebe to be the INTERIM Director of the Department of Higher Education for the entire State of Arkansas.

          There are a couple of perks with this job beside getting a state car. He also is paid pretty handsomely out of the citizens' taxes plus he is in charge of distributing all that lottery money for education. Not that he would attempt to personally persuade the electorate that it's his personal generosity that's giving money to your kid to attend college. Not even Mr. “Shameless” Broadway would be that shameless, would he?

          But now a new wrinkle, thanks to his old crony Gov. Beebe. The Gov. has asked that his “good old friend” Mr. “Shameless” Broadway be made the PERMANENT Director of the Department of Higher Education. Nothing wrong here; of course it smells bad, looks bad, and makes some of us just a little irate. But still, worse things can happen in politics.

          Except that buried in the Arkansas law is some particularly specific criteria for the office. To wit, Arkansas Code Annotated 6-61-203 states some specific qualifications for the position. For example, “The director shall be an experienced educator in the field of higher education who must have relevant experience on a campus of higher education.” Now Mr. “Shameless” Broadway does have a bachelor's degree in [can you guess what discipline?] Political Science! The pesky law also states, “the director be chosen through a search and selection process.”

          And what is Mr. “Shameless” Broadway's response to these pesky laws? He opines that the words are “just semantics”. He explained it all away by the fact that in the legislature he had worked very closely with the heads of the colleges and universities in the state; thus he has the requisite experience.

          If working closely with a college or university head or group qualifies you for the above criteria, then a nurse is qualified to be a physician; a waitress qualified to be a chef; I'm qualified to be an auto mechanic because I have intimate relations with my automobile [you know what I mean].

          The Attorney General, Dustin McDaniel, is alleged to be OK with all of this. Where's Barney when you really need him? He may not have been anymore competent than McDaniel, but Barney at least sure loved enforcin' the law.

          Oh come on now Shirley, everybody understands who Barney is/was. You know Barney, the deputy in Andy's Mayberry. Gheez, give me a break!

On "Scarlet Ribbons" and Father's Day

          OK, it really wasn't Father's Day, that was a couple of weeks past, but it was on a Sunday and I trust that you will understand the connection as we proceed. The bride of my life had an errand to run and she told me to agreed to stop and get it accomplished on our way home from church.

          I pulled into Kelly's drive and as my wife gets out of the car I tell her that I won't come in unless Kelly is appropriately attired. (Kelly is a single Mom but her son was with the Dad this weekend and it occurred to me that she just might be sleeping in, or having a slow Sunday morning, or something. I'm sensitive to this kind of thing.)

          Well, the door opens a crack and my bride is whisked inside. Kelly has three dogs that just love to escape the confines of her house and run the neighborhood till recaptured by a wildly running posse of helpful friends. (One dog was actually lost for 6 months several years prior and it was a real miracle that she was ever retrieved, but that is another story.) I'm not certain if Kelly is still in her “nightie” or fully dressed having just come from church, but as the seconds become minutes and the minutes add up by fives and then tens I begin to get the inkling that just maybe her attire isn't such that my bride wants me to come inside.

          It's 98 plus degrees outside so as I give up on the possibility of being invited inside and shut the car door. I start the car and turn up the air conditioning. Next I look around for something to do. As I rummage through my bride's car's console I find some old cassette tapes. One is by The Kingston Trio, another The Student Prince with Mario Lanza, to give you an idea of my musical taste as well as the age of most of my find. I pop The Kingston Trio's into the tape player, after finally figuring out where it's hidden and how to engage it. Soon the car is filled with refrigerated air and nostalgia.

          One of their tunes is “Scarlet Ribbons”. Now that surprised me for I would have sworn that Harry Belafonte had a 'lock' on that song; but nope, here were the three white guys giving it a go. I listened to it with some enjoyment, then fumbled with the intricate controls to replay the song. The words really hit a soft spot with me.

“I peeked in to say goodnight,
And then I heard my child in prayer:
'And for me some scarlet ribbons,
Scarlet ribbons for my hair'.

All the stores were closed and shuttered,
All the streets were dark and bare.
In our town, no scarlet ribbons,
Not one ribbon for her hair

Through the night my heart was aching,
Just before the dawn was breaking,
I peeked in and on her bed,
In gay profusion lying there,
Lovely ribbons, scarlet ribbons,
Scarlet ribbons for her hair

If I live to be a hundred,
I will never know from where,
Came those lovely scarlet ribbons,
Scarlet ribbons, for her hair!”

Lyrics: Jack Segal

Music: Evelyn Danzig

         

          I know, it's probably just me, but those words really struck a cord in my heart. Of course the obvious was the miraculous appearance of ribbons on the child's bed; and from the entire song's lyrics even I could deduce that their appearance was the loving gift from an adoring Heavenly Father. But what struck me, probably an age thing, was the gift that the earthly father had given to his child. The gift of faith. Faith in a God. A God that was so loving and caring that a child could ask for, and yes even expect to receive that for which she prayed.

          No greater gift can a parent bestow; no greater Father's Day gift receive, than to have child who loves and lives for God the Heavenly Father.

          Thank you Jack Segal for those wonderful words.

Balanced Budget Amendments Really Do Work!

          Arkansas has a “Balanced Budget” Requirement Law. In theory it requires the state's politicians to not spend more than the state collects in revenue. The state just announced the end of fiscal year 2011 as of June 30 results.

          Arkansas ended its last fiscal year with a budget surplus of $94 million!

          Why? How did that happen, you ask? Well the law requires that each and every year the state spend no more than it receives. Since that requires 'crystal balling' the future revenue stream, seems the legislature and governor play it a little conservatively. What do they do? They under-forecast June revenue. This allows for upside surprises, like this year. And hopefully prohibits downside problems. Most of this last year's surplus of $93.9 million came in June.

          As Governor Beebe told the Downtown Rotary Club, “under-forecast every June because that's your last month, and if you mess up in the last month, there's no place, there's no leeway, there's no flexibility to get it back.”

          So the balanced budget law works; the politician try to meet its strict requirement. I bet that even in Washington it would work. Especially if in any year when it isn't met, all elected officials lose 100% of their pay through a 'claw-back' law.

          What's say, let's give it a try on the national level!

On Sheep, Shepherds, Wolves, and Sheepdogs

          You can find more interesting stuff on the Internet than just viruses and erotica articles for instant gratification. Actually neither of these wait for you to find them, they actually find you. They pour across the 'net' like water over a dam looking for some unsuspecting victim's computer to hijack, (think me). In any case, to get to my point, I stumbled across an internet site for gun lovers recently and found it enteretaining.

          Turns out that there are two types of folks out there (per this site); lover of guns and firearms, and the others. From some of the comments I reviewed, I formed opinions about this gun-lovin' crowd.

          My mental image is of a jean wearing, beer drinking, belly-scratching, no-nonsense type, maybe current or ex military or police. They scratch, spit, may utter 4 letter epithets, and think government is too large, too intrusive, too taxing, and after their right to bear arms. The kind of 'guy' you do not want your daughter to fall in love with and bring home. But he's the exact guy that you want on your side or to be nearby when some miscreant shows up to take your wallet, wife, or life. If you discover yourself in a 'foxhole with the bullets flying', this guy could be your 'knight in shinning armor'.

          The others group are wine drinkers, PBS viewers, think gays should play house, know that guns are horrible and if we could only ban them then Nirvana would instantly be on earth. They can't stand to be around gun-lovers and think they are all mentally challenged 'want-to-be' cowboys. They think that the rich need to pay higher taxes and that if we can just give the 'poor' enough money, then everyone will be happy. Plus illegals should be made citizens and provided for financially. They talk with big words and tell you all the important people they know. The kind of men that have more than one suit and wear them for occasions other than weddings and funerals.

          Not that these were the exact words that I read, but sort of the picture that developed in my mind. Most of the gun-lovers would end their 'chat' or opinion with some type of time honored quote, brief comment or slogan. I was quite entertained by some of them and will share a few that I admittedly stole right off their site, but to that later. One item that really intrigued me was the classification of folks into the four categories shown in the title above: Sheep, Shepherds, Wolves, and Sheepdogs.

          Per the article, most of us fall into the “Sheep” category. We are relatively innocent about crime, criminals, miscreants, and hateful/hurtful people in general. We rely on hired “Shepherds” to protect us, whether military or cops. They are the ones that we expect to do the 'heavy lifting' to protect us from the miscreants – “Wolves”- that prey on us “Sheep”. Got the picture? We are very resentful when we personally run afoul of one of the “Shepherds” but endure those episodes of 'justice miscarried'; (I'm remembering my last speeding ticket, a gross miscarriage of fact and justice), for the benefit of the “Shepherds” being the ones putting their lives at risk to protect us from the prowling, ravenous “Wolves” who are convinced that whatever we hold dear- money, property, body, life, wife, daughter- belongs to them without negotiation or any honest effort on their part to acquire same. Turns out that there just isn't a sufficient number of “Shepherds” to be everywhere at once to protect all the “Sheep” wandering innocently around the place.

          That's where the “Sheepdogs” come into the picture, according to my new unknown friend on the gun-lovers' site. Those gun-lovers that go to the trouble to become law-abiding citizens authorized to actually carry a concealed handgun act as the “Sheepdog” to help protect themselves, their families, and the rest of us from the “Wolves”. When there are no “Shepherds” around and a miscreant should have the misfortune to pursue his career of robbery and mayhem in the vicinity of one of these armed and ready defenders (“Sheepdogs”), the surprise will be for the miscreant (“Wolf”). The “Sheepdog” just might save your or my bacon on that fateful day.

          Well, I found the above concept of society interesting. And it is a little comforting to realize that there are some unknown number of fully checked out citizens legally empowered to carry a hidden weapon just in case. My hope is that should I personally run into a ravenous “Wolf”, there will be a “Shepherd” available; but then again, there aren't that many “Shepherds” out there.

          But as to some of the catchy quotes from the gun-lovin “Sheepdogs”, please read and hopefully enjoy.

• "To own a gun and assume that you are armed
  is like owning a piano and assuming that you are a musician."

• "There is no such thing as too much ammo. Unless you're swimming!"

• If guns cause crime, then forks made Rosie O'Donnell fat.

• I do everything the voices in my wife's head tell me to do!

• Impossible is not a word. It's just a reason for someone not to try!

• "He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one." – Luke 22:36

• "If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so." – Thomas Jefferson

• "In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." Thomas Jefferson [I really like this one].

• Fortune favors the bold.

• Freedom doesn't mean safe, it means free.

• The thing about "defense" is that it has practically nothing to do with guns.

• The difference between a Communist and a Socialist is that the Socialist doesn't have all the guns yet.

• “A smart man only believes half of what he hears, a wise man knows which half.”

• Freedom doesn't come free. It is bought and paid for by the lives and blood of our men and women in uniform.

• Don't do things you don't want to explain to the Paramedics! [one of my favorites]

• Stupidity should be painful [another one of my favorites].

• Prease Press #1 for Engrish

• Being ignorant may go unnoticed. till that is, you open your mouth and provide the proof. [Shirley says this one is the one I should like best. She didn't explain].

• After the game, the King and the Pawn both go back in the same box.

• One Nation, whose individual's rights have become invisible

• Your best weapon is your brain. Don't leave home without it. [Now you've got to like this one].

• Goal: Justice, not vengeance. Life, not death.

• Explain: How does disarming victims reduce the number of victims?

  
            I told my beautiful bride of some decades that I was now considering becoming a licensed “Sheepdog”. You know, to protect her and all that kind of macho stuff. She was quite understanding and agreeable, with only one caveat; she gets to hold the bullet.

TV Cable Boxes Driving U.S. into Energy Bankruptcy!

          OK, OK Shirley. The local paper's actual headline was “Cable Boxes waste billions in energy, study finds”.

          Well, I for one was 'shocked, shocked' to learn that those sneaky little black critters nestled so neatly next to my non-digital, non-HDTV were aiding and abetting in my race to insolvency! I had just recently been made aware that the local cable provider took advantage of the government's mandate to move to digital to send me a new cable box and to increase my monthly cable fee for both the basic channel option PLUS the bloody box that the government's mandate forced me to install if I cared to continue to watch TV. Now we learn that these sneaky little black box critters are eating our electricity 24/7; while we eat, while we play, while we sleep they are eating away at our wealth.

          According to a study by the 'Natural Resources Defense Council' “there are 160 million [of these little critters] set-top boxes in the U.S. of A. alone. One for every two people, [unsure if that count includes all the illegal aliens, but what the heck, it close enough for government regulation], and that number is rising. One high-definition DVR and one high-definition cable box use an average of 446 kilowatt-hours a year, about 10% more than a 21-cubic foot energy efficient refrigerator.”

          Turns out this is because the little critters run at full speed 24/7. They don't sleep, they don't go into a quiet mode, they never turn themselves off, except when you least expect them to. Like when that once in a life time football game comes on and the little black critter just right out dies on you.

          Two reasons are supplied by the industry as to why this is the way they are designed. First answer was “Nobody asked us to use less” [electricity]. The second was that folks, [you and me], expect instant response when we turn on the TV. “People are used to the idea that computers take some time to boot up, but they expect the TV to turn on instantly.”

          Well, I certainly hope that our federal government gets involved in this. We need additional regulation of these black boxes. Now that the government has caused their ubiquitous need, they need to dictate that they use some 84.7% less electricity. [I arrived at that figure using the same methodology as Obama used to come up with the 52.3 MPG for cars by 2030 or whenever. I just made it up.]

          Of course when the government is finished with their new regulations for the little black critters, they will be a neutral color so as to not offend some ethnic group, larger than the TV itself, cost as much as the TV, and have a life expectancy of less than 2 years so as to ensure full employment of this new industry that the government has created.

         Ain't large government intrusions into our lives just grand? Well it seems that every time they do it, it costs us a grand.

Some Random Ideas on the US Federal Debt Mess

            Most of us when driving a car along the Interstate at, say 70 mph, and observing a large oak tree stretched across the highway in front of us would slam on the brakes and change our direction to the maximum extent possible to avert the approaching disaster.

But “most of us” are not sitting in Washington. Sitting up there are a group of folks, apparently all well liked by their own constituents, who believe that you can just ignore the tree stretched across the road in front of you; don’t slow down; don’t slam on the brakes; don’t change directions dramatically; some how it will all be OK.

            If you look around the world today, you see half a dozen countries embroiled in some type of civil war, whether instigated by terrorist organizations or not, the world is now decidedly a very dangerous, unstable; and for Americans, a very unfriendly place. To ensure our protection, we need a fiscally sound and strong national government just in case we have to fight terrorism for many decades to come.

            Look further and you see three countries already bailed out financially in Europe, two more teetering, and all in danger of collapse. Our largest banks are knee deep in “Collateralized Default Swaps”, CDS, betting on the sovereign debt of these weak countries. One of these Euro babies fails and our largest banks will be back at the U.S. Treasury begging for your dollars to keep them afloat. We need laws to protect/restrict our banks in the ‘payments system’ and let the others do as they dare, but no bailouts. Why this problem? Because some sovereign states were run for too long on budgets that far exceeded their income. Just like we are today. To a politician there is no more powerful elixir than “spending other peoples money”. Meanwhile Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid have some long-term survivability issues.

For Social Security the Republicans want to raise retirement age, slow down COL increases, and maybe even do means testing. The Democrats at this point don’t want to do anything because it is turning into a great political campaign issue for 2012.

As for Medicare, Obamacare removes $500 million from it to fund health care for up to 30 million new folks, some few who might actually be citizens or here legally. There is no Democrat plan to save it as we know it today which means that their ultimate goal is for Medicare to crash and burn and thus force a universal health care, single payer system.

The Republicans want to send Medicaid back to the state with money and have the states manage it and when the money runs out, well manage it better. The Democrats have no plan.

Actually the Democrats do have a plan. Their plan is to keep running annual deficits and keep raising the debt limit until we hit the large oak tree. At that time only full-scale socialism can save us. Their thought, not mine.

Good citizens, common sense dictates that we must do something to reign in federal spending and start to reduce the federal debt. And do it now, not in some vague future when “the economy is healthier”. Now! The “ship of state” is heading for the reef, we must change course NOW!

The Republicans have a plan; many hold it distasteful. The Democrats have no plan, many constituents hold this appealing since they won’t have to sacrifice. Sort of like the ostrich putting its head into a hole in the ground so that it will not have to witness the coming carnage by the approaching lion.

So what to do? Some random ideas:

1. Move Social Security funding to a national sales tax. Everyone pays, not just workers.
2. Move Medicare funding to a national Sales Tax. Everyone pays, not just workers.
3. Go back to a more graduated income tax rate. But all members of Congress, Senate, and all elected officials to be taxed at the highest bracket. Also all those retired ex-elected elite to be taxed at that rate; after all they got us into this mess.
4. Cap all federal spending at 2008 level until budget balanced. If some social area seems to be especially good this year, take money from other programs. Don’t raise spending total.
5. Reduce Federal programs and jobs by 20% across the board.
6. Use all excess federal income to pay off the federal debt, not new spending.
7. Set salary caps on all Federal jobs below private sector pay for comparable work. Stop making millionaires in Freddie and Fannie.
8. Don’t increase the Federal Debt ceiling unless spending reverts back to 2008 cap.
9. Only increase the Debt cap by $500 billion at a time.
10. Pass a “Balance Budget Amendment” and until budget is in balance, all Congressional and elected officials salaries reduced by 10% annually until budget balanced.

Obviously each of these ideas needs to be ‘fleshed out’. I’m available, please call or write. (No Shirley these are not all of the problems nor all the solutions, but we have to start somewhere.)

Kudos to Governor Beebe, He Actually “Manned-up”!

I have on several past occasions accused Governor Beebe of Arkansas fame of needing to “man-up”. He has perfected, if not invented, the political philosophy of “not doing anything that offends anyone”. Well this last Wednesday June 29 it was reported that he “manned-up” the previous Tuesday. Since I’ve been so diligent to take The Beebe to task for being the ‘cowardly lion’, the need for fair and honest ‘blogging’ requires that I must recognize this wonderful, even if a “one-off”, manifestation of manhood on his part.

Seems that he was invited to speak to a group self-named Stonewall Democratic Caucus of Arkansas. Turns out that he was speaking to a homosexual-rights group. Actually he already knew that as he had turned down their contribution to his 2006 campaign for Governor. They subsequently withdrew their endorsement of The Beebe after he made a campaign statement against homosexual foster parents.

Exactly why they invited him to speak now wasn’t reported but one might surmise that with the recent New York state approval of homosexual marriages they were hoping to apply some pressure on him. Well children, I’m here to report that The Beebe ‘manned-up” and put it on the line to these folks.

Per the local paper, here are some of his comments to the above-mentioned group:

1. “Gov. Mike Beebe said Tuesday that ‘attitudes in Arkansas toward same-sex marriage aren’t likely to change in the foreseeable future.” [Arkansas’ constitutional amendment banning homosexual marriage passed in 2004 with a 75% voter majority.]
2. “’If you want tolerance, if you want understanding, you’ve got to give It, Beebe said.”
3. “Beebe said that his opinion that marriage is between a man and a woman has not changed.”
4. “He [Beebe} said after the meeting that he also does not support civil unions. ‘I don’t favor them. I don’t think we need to pass a state law’, Beebe said. ‘That’s not what the majority of the folks [at the event] really wanted to hear, but that’s how I feel’.”

(Shirley, I’m almost beginning to like this guy. Oh, I know that he’s a “Neo-Democrat”, but he went into the lion’s den and stuck a stick in their eye! He was willing to trade off 150 votes and stick to his guns!)

5. “Beebe said that’ public opinion isn’t going to change in the foreseeable future. That’s the law and that’s the constitution and that’s just the way it is’, Beebe told the crowd. ‘That is a fundamental disagreement that you and I have. I don’t think that it is discrimination because I think that’s an appropriate societal judgment’.”

Can you believe all of that? A “Neo-Democratic” telling a bunch of gay rights folks that he not only disagrees with them, but he thinks that that judgment is societally correct. No equivocation here. I bet his campaign committee chairman experienced a mild cardiac infarction, whatever that is.

KUDOS for The Beebe Manning-up!!! Hip, Hip, Hooray!!!

One last item on this agenda. Seems that one of the attendees was really upset that the Batesville Daily Guard had not listed him as a survivor in the ‘free’ obituary when his ‘significant other’ had passed away. The newspaper told the feller… (Now that’s interesting. When two guys are making out like man and woman, what do you call the ‘woman-man’? You can’t call him a ‘feller’, yet it sounds just as strange to call him a her, or dame, or woman, or something feminine. I know, for our purposes here we’ll just call him a ‘himher’.) Well the paper had told this ‘himher’ that their policy was that in the ‘free’ obit they only list legal spouses, relatives, and kin. But for $85.00 ‘himher’ could submit a more in-depth obit. Well the cheapskate wasn’t so distressed in feelings to fork-over $85.00 for ‘mentioning value’ but the ‘himher’ is now so offended that ‘himher’ brings it up to the governor on Tuesday last. “Governor, what do you think of the paper’s homophobic policy to not list ‘himhers’ for free in their obits?” (Or something like that was thrown into the Gov’s face.) Well our newly found manly Governor responded, “Beebe said the policy did not specifically exclude homosexuals partners and that the government shouldn’t get involved.” Can you believe that? A “Neo-Democrat” politician actually stating in public that there is something in which the government should not get involved! The Governor continued, “And I think that you’re wrong. The way I understand the facts, this was an unpaid obituary, and in an obituary they don’t list any partner whether its gay or straight – only actual legal married relatives are listed, Beebe said.” (emphasis mine).

Beebe may have been attempting to assist in resolving my dilemma on what to call the ‘her’ in a ‘him-him’ relationship. Did you notice that Beebe referred to the person in the last quote above as “it”? So takes your pick and makes your choice, the ‘her’ in a ‘him-him’ relationship can be called an ”it” or a ‘himher’. Of course pride of authorship, and also in pursuit of real clarity, I prefer ‘himher’.

One last thought. Why would this group use the sacred name of a noble Confederate General who, I’ll ‘betcha’ your last buck, wasn’t in favor of homosexual marriage? “Stonewall” Democratic Caucus of Arkansas? Oh, the group also claims that they are not an affiliate of the Democratic Party of Arkansas. I have grave doubts about the veracity of that statement, but after last Tuesday’s “manned-up” session with The Beebe, they just might be considering a name change. The “Stonewall ‘Himher’ Caucus of Arkansas just might be a possibility. Wish that they would change it to “The Custer Himher Caucus of Arkansas”.

What Do We Celebrate on July 4th?

          In my humble opinion, the most important thing that we should celebrate on the 4^th of July is that document that changed the world and began with:

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,"  (emphasis mine).

            This Great Nation was started by a document of one page, albeit a rather large page, still one page! We now have “elected elite” that take over 2,700 pages to allegedly screw up our health care system. Just think, this nation was created in one page! WOW, we could use some of those Founding Fathers Now!

            Please note that in the first two sentences “God” and “Creator” are mentioned. So much for the argument of Church and State separation. It would appear to a casual reader that the State is established by rights granted from “God, the Creator” and that it is His authority by which the United States was formed. Of course there are those who will argue that the state created God, at least so it seems today, and thus He should be relagated to a lesser position, if not ignored altogether.

            If we are “endowed by our Creator, we sure better continue to include Him in the debates and discourse of this great nation, or He just might take it all away from us.

            Happy Fourth from one of the many millions who served to keep us all in the ‘Land of the Free”. And PRAY that GOD may continue to Bless Us All and His special grace and protection on those brave men and women who today, as we celebrate, are serving us with their lives at risk around this troubled planet!

Senate Democrats DREAM up Idea to Attract More Illegal Aliens.

            Now before you get all ‘hot and bothered’, I’ll own up to the fact that most of us are here in the U.S. of A. because some brave ancestor took life and fortune in hand and immigrated to these fair shores. And those of us not of ‘Native American” background probably think that immigration in some form or another is a good thing. Not for ‘diversity’, whatever that means, but because someone who gets up, leaves all, and seeks a new life and possible fortune has more ‘get up and go’ than lots of us who are sitting here whining for another government handout. That said….

            My Democratic leaders in the U.S. Senate want to offer up some easy means to allow all of those “young” illegal aliens hiding in the country to become legal. The call it The DREAM Act. All that is required is a college graduation or short service in the military, plus meet other requirements, like not being the head of a gang or serving time for rape and mayhem. OK, mayhem was just something that I threw in there.

            This was tried once before. The Romans granted citizenship to ‘barbarians’ after they had served 20 years in the Roman Army. They were then settled on the Empire’s border and given some land and expected to protect it. Sort of a trade off, a ‘border civil defense force’ for citizenship and land. It worked to some extent for the Romans. Of course surviving 20 years in the Roman army was no small feat in itself. They used these ‘barbarian’ legions to do all the ‘heavy lifting’ fighting; in fact most of their soldiers were ‘barbarians’ after the 1^st century A.D.

            Now just think of the consequences of this DREAM Act. Every young person south of the our border not already wealthy from dealing drugs will swim across the Rio Grande late in the evening, apply for a lottery funded scholarship, obtain food stamps and low rent housing, get Medicaid and low income tax credit, an Obama phone and after four years attending a college that doesn't teach American
History truthfully, apply for citizenship. The Democrats could have a continuing stream of folks swimming the Rio Grande to become ‘legal’. With this type of draw, we would soon have all the young folks south of our border living in the house next door to us, sixteen to a room. We wouldn’t have solved any problem, but we would have bankrupted our nation.

            So here’s my amendment to the DREAM Act. Sign up illegal aliens ‘youths’ alreadt hiding here to serve in the newly created ‘U.S. Army Border Divisions’. After 20 years of defending our borders against illegal aliens, they can apply for permanent legal status. One other stipulation along with not being a gang member, or committing rape or mayhem, the border must have been deemed secure by the State government of the state in which the illegal served for the entire 20 years of service. Like each year each state makes a declaration as to whether their border was deemed secure that year. If the border isn’t secure, then these 'border guards' don’t meet the standards and don’t get legal status until having served for 20 years of secure border. Officers that are legal citizens would command this Division and the official language would be English. Sort of a domestic “French Foreign Legion” composed of ‘criminals’, (folks, if they are here illegally, they’ve broken the law and by definition they are criminals), seeking legal resident status by defending our borders against other folks like themselves.

            Don’t blow this off; it works. No more illegals could sneak in; these 'illegals' have a job without taking it from a current legal resident, and after 20 years of speaking English under real citizens they should be ready for being Americans of the red, white, and blue variety.
           Sometimes my creativity surprises even myself!