Did you know that Congress has gone insane, spending more money than ever before? They seem to forget that the money they are spending isn't even their money. It is OUR money. I keep praying that more people will educate themselves to the issues and the candidates in the very important elections of 2006. It is not too early to start thinking about it, and the mantra should probably be "Throw the bums out!"
How about a completely nonpartisan look at the jackasses who are throwing away our future? If this doesn't make you sick to your stomach, financially speaking, what will? Some statistics:
The average Senator voted for $471.0 billion in annual non-entitlement spending during the 108th Congress (2003-2004), an 83 percent increase over the 107th Congress (2001-2002). House Members supported, on average, a yearly expenditure boost of $386.9 billion - a 101 percent jump compared to the same period in the previous Congress.
Spending totals were nearly identical for Democrats ($397.0 billion) and Republicans ($378.1 billion) in the House, although party differences were somewhat greater in the Senate ($599.3 billion for Democrats versus $353.3 billion for Republicans).
The House and Senate considered a total of just 39 spending reductions in 2003-2004, worth a combined savings of $63.3 billion. Just five of the amendments were adopted, for a potential cut of $5.04 billion. Excluding the Senate's decision to convert part of Iraq's reconstruction aid to a loan would cause the savings to shrink to a barely-perceptible $41 million.
The phrases "fiscally responsible," "fiscal discipline," "fiscal responsibility," "fiscal irresponsibility," and "fiscally irresponsible" appeared 2,740 times in the 2003-2004 Congressional Record, an increase of nearly 53 percent compared to the 107th Congress. Yet, for the fourth year running, no one in Congress had a net voting record that would actually have cut overall federal discretionary spending - down from a high of 512 Members in 1996.
The House and Senate were in session for 1,893 hours and 2,485 hours, respectively, during the 108th Congress. Based on averages for their chambers, House Members voted for $204 million in spending hikes each hour they met, while Senators voted to spend at an equivalent rate of $190 million per hour.
Does that piss you off? If you are an American taxpayer, it should! The problem is that it isn't about Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative anymore. These morons are out of touch with reality and they don't care. Why? Because virtually no incumbent is ever defeated. Out of 430 members of the House of Representatives, how many were defeated in their last elections? Zero. Zilch. Nada. Zippo. NONE.
So... Coming soon to the last Superpower in the world soon... total economic ruin, courtesy of the guys who represent you.
Data source: The National Taxpayer's Union Study Report on Congressional Fiscal Discipline. September, 2005.
Friday, September 30, 2005
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Thoughts for today
Here you go: my usual comments and then a quote that I thought was perfect while the GOP-controlled Congress is spending money like a bunch of drunken sailors. Does it occur to these inexplicably elected but unaccountable fiscal malfeasants that, hey, somebody, someday, is going to have to pay for all of this government waste? Yes, the debtors will be our grandchildren, their grandchildren, and every generation for the rest of history. Our legislators are living with a de facto unaccountable status and the representative electoral system is completely out of control. Why? Two reasons: special interest groups are buying the elections, making it nearly impossible for anyone outside the political establishment to ever get elected, and secondly, because ignorant people who do not educate themselves to the issues before the elections are reelecting incompetent incumbents. That is where the blame lies for the common people: blissfully dim-witted ignorance and voting like mindless robots, incumbent, incumbent, incumbent. Think, people! The folks in Congress would be fired for their fiscal incompetence post haste in corporate America, on both sides of the aisle. The liberals are wackos who care only about their lust for power through socialist enabling of the welfare state, while the so-called conservatives do not represent conservativism whatsoever! With the exception of a few good people as yet untainted by greed and power-mad depravity, the members of Congress do not represent the mainstream interests of America. Period.
As for Judge Roberts, I hear many people saying he should not be confirmed because he hasn't elucidated his personal beliefs and how he would rule on various issues. Duh! The man is a philosophical conservative, but he also understands the law and he doesn't play games with constitutional duties. Judge Roberts may well be more qualified to be chief justice of the Supreme Court than any other person in the last hundred years, even his mentor, the late Justice Rehnquist. He is prohibited from stating how he would rule on issues, because he may have to rule on those same issues in the future. By answering the questions of these wackos like Ted "Hiccup" Kennedy, Diane Feinstein, and Chuck Schumer, he would be compromising the actions of the Supreme Court, and also his current judgeship in the circuit court system. He is not allowed to answer your questions about abortion and states rights. Get over it already!
The mainstream media, hypocrites, phonies, and brainwashing specialists that they are, make comments about Judge Roberts and women's rights, in an intellectually dishonest way of saying that he will overturn Roe vs. Wade. He has said plainly that it is settled legal precedent, for one. For two, a woman has the same reproductive rights as a man. She, or he, has a right to responsible sexual activity, and that is that. Any person, female OR male, who is out sleeping around, is playing Russian roulette with the odds. If a woman and a man are being reckless and negligent and a pregnancy results, well, there you go. That is the normal and expected biological result. The answer? Stop screwing around and start acting responsible. These big babies want to blame everyone else when their actions result in something they did not want. Your reproductive rights include regular medical examinations and the right to refuse to have sex. Period. Stop executing innocent children in the name of reproductive rights. By definition? Murder. Sue me if you don't like my honesty. It is the truth, and the truth can stand on its own, no matter who says it.
And finally, finally, a quote.... I love this. Decades of liberal buying votes through social experimentation, trumpeting nonexistent economic barriers, and systemic behavior modification, making people believe that they actually need government handouts (which is, money taken from one person and given to another person... unconstitutional by the way, but so is much of what Congress does. What's new?)
"Consider that black households that are headed by married couples have median incomes almost 90 percent that of white households headed by married couples. The problem in the black community is that far too few black households are headed by married couples. Black social reality in New Orleans at the moment when the floodwaters started pouring in was fairly typical of black inner-city social reality around the country. Upwards of 70 percent of the households were headed by single parents, mostly women. When I discuss social statistics with audiences around the country, I invariably hear gasps when I point out that the out-of-wedlock birthrate today among young white women (30 percent) is higher than it was among black women 50 years ago. There, of course, remain residuals of racism in America today, and it's news to a lot of whites that black families were relatively intact, headed by married couples, in the '40s and '50s. Today's out-of-wedlock black births and single-parent households are triple what they were then. The collapse of the black family took off when big government programs, particularly welfare, were launched, compliments of black and white liberals, after the civil-rights movement." --Star Parker
Not that it matters to the impact of that quote, but here is an ethnic qualifier for the 'Doubting Thomas' crowd: Star Parker is a mom and she is black. Here is some relevant information about her background.
Prior to her involvement in social activism, Star Parker was a single welfare mother in Los Angeles, California. After receiving Christ, Star returned to college, received a BS degree in marketing, and launched an urban Christian magazine. The 1992 Los Angeles riots destroyed her business, yet served as a springboard for her focus on faith-based and free market alternatives to empower the lives of the poor.
As for Judge Roberts, I hear many people saying he should not be confirmed because he hasn't elucidated his personal beliefs and how he would rule on various issues. Duh! The man is a philosophical conservative, but he also understands the law and he doesn't play games with constitutional duties. Judge Roberts may well be more qualified to be chief justice of the Supreme Court than any other person in the last hundred years, even his mentor, the late Justice Rehnquist. He is prohibited from stating how he would rule on issues, because he may have to rule on those same issues in the future. By answering the questions of these wackos like Ted "Hiccup" Kennedy, Diane Feinstein, and Chuck Schumer, he would be compromising the actions of the Supreme Court, and also his current judgeship in the circuit court system. He is not allowed to answer your questions about abortion and states rights. Get over it already!
The mainstream media, hypocrites, phonies, and brainwashing specialists that they are, make comments about Judge Roberts and women's rights, in an intellectually dishonest way of saying that he will overturn Roe vs. Wade. He has said plainly that it is settled legal precedent, for one. For two, a woman has the same reproductive rights as a man. She, or he, has a right to responsible sexual activity, and that is that. Any person, female OR male, who is out sleeping around, is playing Russian roulette with the odds. If a woman and a man are being reckless and negligent and a pregnancy results, well, there you go. That is the normal and expected biological result. The answer? Stop screwing around and start acting responsible. These big babies want to blame everyone else when their actions result in something they did not want. Your reproductive rights include regular medical examinations and the right to refuse to have sex. Period. Stop executing innocent children in the name of reproductive rights. By definition? Murder. Sue me if you don't like my honesty. It is the truth, and the truth can stand on its own, no matter who says it.
And finally, finally, a quote.... I love this. Decades of liberal buying votes through social experimentation, trumpeting nonexistent economic barriers, and systemic behavior modification, making people believe that they actually need government handouts (which is, money taken from one person and given to another person... unconstitutional by the way, but so is much of what Congress does. What's new?)
"Consider that black households that are headed by married couples have median incomes almost 90 percent that of white households headed by married couples. The problem in the black community is that far too few black households are headed by married couples. Black social reality in New Orleans at the moment when the floodwaters started pouring in was fairly typical of black inner-city social reality around the country. Upwards of 70 percent of the households were headed by single parents, mostly women. When I discuss social statistics with audiences around the country, I invariably hear gasps when I point out that the out-of-wedlock birthrate today among young white women (30 percent) is higher than it was among black women 50 years ago. There, of course, remain residuals of racism in America today, and it's news to a lot of whites that black families were relatively intact, headed by married couples, in the '40s and '50s. Today's out-of-wedlock black births and single-parent households are triple what they were then. The collapse of the black family took off when big government programs, particularly welfare, were launched, compliments of black and white liberals, after the civil-rights movement." --Star Parker
Not that it matters to the impact of that quote, but here is an ethnic qualifier for the 'Doubting Thomas' crowd: Star Parker is a mom and she is black. Here is some relevant information about her background.
Prior to her involvement in social activism, Star Parker was a single welfare mother in Los Angeles, California. After receiving Christ, Star returned to college, received a BS degree in marketing, and launched an urban Christian magazine. The 1992 Los Angeles riots destroyed her business, yet served as a springboard for her focus on faith-based and free market alternatives to empower the lives of the poor.
Star Parker went to college and worked herself out of welfare. She realized the government cannot guarantee you anything. Only hard work can change personal reality. The blame game does nothing but keep a pessimist stuck in their woes and unwilling to take responsibility for their own actions. She said it perfectly. The United States Congress is a mighty drug dealer, pushing their "what's in it for me?" entitlement mentality, a powerful drug. The result? A bunch of shiftless whiners who are only in it for what they can get for free, without work, or by looting their neighbors. This socialist mindset and agenda is a heartbreaking tragedy and one of the root causes of the disaster in New Orleans. If you disagree, congratulations. You have a right to dissent in America. It isn't perfect, but I love this place. A bad day in America is better than a good day elsewhere. If you hate America so bad, you have a choice. There is plenty of room in France, so hit the road, Jack.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Just too busy to blog, I guess...
After a long-term sabbatical from the Lake Country Zoo blog due to circumstances both within and without my control, I made the time to write on this Labor Day weekend. It is still morning, so there is a good chance the call center will dispatch me to some wayward location. If that doesn’t happen, I hope to work on the yard and catch up on the housekeeping. Since this is a 3-day weekend, I am hoping to have at least one uninterrupted day off. Oh crap, I just cursed myself… the telephone will ring anytime now.
Oh well… I can use the money.
There is so much that has happened that I don’t know where to start, and if I covered it all, anyone who took the time to read this would be bored to tears. Josh (the brother-in-law) is here for the weekend with his dog, Caleb. He is a good boy, just big and he is a drool machine. Uh, the dog, not the brother-in-law (who incidentally, is a good boy, too). We are probably going to fire up that beautiful Husqvarna to drop a jack pine or two to make room for the eventual relocation of the dog kennel. The woods are being developed and the dog kennel is too close to the new lots being created. I hate that, but such is life. They call it progress... I do not. But since I don’t own the land adjoining our property, it is out of my hands anyway.
Gabriel is 7-months old. He weighs 19 pounds and is building a regular vocabulary, if one can call babbling a conversation (the politicians do, after all). Gabriel is a happy baby most of the time. He began teething at 2-months, but remains a joyful kiddo. His first word was “Hi!” which he said for the first time when he was 3-months old. We thought it was pure coincidence at first, but Gabriel gave me the same greeting as I entered the room enough times that we concluded his little hello was his first word. He said “Daddy” at 5 months, which rocks, if you ask me. Heather was thrilled when Gabriel said “Momma” last weekend. He isn’t entirely sure when to stop though. Sometimes, he says “Mommamamamamama…” Heather loves hearing that. The funny thing? Gabriel said “Heather” a few weeks before he said “Momma.” I love the irony, but that is just because I am who I am, much like Popeye, but without the spinach and the suspiciously distended forearms. [Those hefty muscles could be due to illegal steroid use, you know].
We found out this week that my nephew, Marty, and his wife, Tara, are expecting a baby. Whoohoo! They will make excellent parents, no doubt about that. I am sure that their child will be wearing the Minnesota Twins colors frequently. Congratulations to Tara and Marty! I wonder how Karen feels about the idea of being a grandmother. This is very exciting for the family, and will be the first great-grandchild. I will soon be a great uncle, a new title I can wear proudly, since my last “new” title is becoming comfortable for me. I am no longer a rookie dad. The time really flies so fast, and Gabriel will soon be a year old. I think we should have another little one soon, but it isn’t entirely up to me. =)
Dave started his college "career" in August. I think that is fantastic. Everyone should get a higher education and have marketable skills. His college program is business-related, but I think he is focusing on business accounting. My program is business admin.
Speaking of which, in two weeks, I will complete the next series of college courses. I am still maintaining my GPA, somehow, but the last month has been challenging. I have put in a ridiculous number of hours at work, been away more nights than normal lately, and am so looking forward to these classes to be done. The next classes? Environmental science and Humanities/Religions of the world. That should be interesting. I am sure that I will hear about how Islam is a religion of peace, Christianity is being forced on vulnerable atheists and that the Roman Catholic Church is responsible for almost everything that has ever gone wrong. That reminds me of the Ethics class I am taking now. For six weeks, I have been reminded that every single thing that is now or has ever been wrong in the world is the fault of the white males in the United States (other than the tribulations that the Roman Catholic Church is responsible for, of course). By the way, that whole synergy gibberish (a.k.a. human resources junk science!) was apparently written by the pot-smoking protesters of the 60s. It is euphorian nonsense, prevaricated hypocrisy and out of touch with reality out here in fly-over country. To all the complainers, I say, “Build a bridge and get over it, you big whiners!”
Okay… so I didn’t learn anything in sensitivity training. That is life! In the words of Rod Tidwell, "These are the ABCs of me, baby"!
Oh well… I can use the money.
There is so much that has happened that I don’t know where to start, and if I covered it all, anyone who took the time to read this would be bored to tears. Josh (the brother-in-law) is here for the weekend with his dog, Caleb. He is a good boy, just big and he is a drool machine. Uh, the dog, not the brother-in-law (who incidentally, is a good boy, too). We are probably going to fire up that beautiful Husqvarna to drop a jack pine or two to make room for the eventual relocation of the dog kennel. The woods are being developed and the dog kennel is too close to the new lots being created. I hate that, but such is life. They call it progress... I do not. But since I don’t own the land adjoining our property, it is out of my hands anyway.
Gabriel is 7-months old. He weighs 19 pounds and is building a regular vocabulary, if one can call babbling a conversation (the politicians do, after all). Gabriel is a happy baby most of the time. He began teething at 2-months, but remains a joyful kiddo. His first word was “Hi!” which he said for the first time when he was 3-months old. We thought it was pure coincidence at first, but Gabriel gave me the same greeting as I entered the room enough times that we concluded his little hello was his first word. He said “Daddy” at 5 months, which rocks, if you ask me. Heather was thrilled when Gabriel said “Momma” last weekend. He isn’t entirely sure when to stop though. Sometimes, he says “Mommamamamamama…” Heather loves hearing that. The funny thing? Gabriel said “Heather” a few weeks before he said “Momma.” I love the irony, but that is just because I am who I am, much like Popeye, but without the spinach and the suspiciously distended forearms. [Those hefty muscles could be due to illegal steroid use, you know].
We found out this week that my nephew, Marty, and his wife, Tara, are expecting a baby. Whoohoo! They will make excellent parents, no doubt about that. I am sure that their child will be wearing the Minnesota Twins colors frequently. Congratulations to Tara and Marty! I wonder how Karen feels about the idea of being a grandmother. This is very exciting for the family, and will be the first great-grandchild. I will soon be a great uncle, a new title I can wear proudly, since my last “new” title is becoming comfortable for me. I am no longer a rookie dad. The time really flies so fast, and Gabriel will soon be a year old. I think we should have another little one soon, but it isn’t entirely up to me. =)
Dave started his college "career" in August. I think that is fantastic. Everyone should get a higher education and have marketable skills. His college program is business-related, but I think he is focusing on business accounting. My program is business admin.
Speaking of which, in two weeks, I will complete the next series of college courses. I am still maintaining my GPA, somehow, but the last month has been challenging. I have put in a ridiculous number of hours at work, been away more nights than normal lately, and am so looking forward to these classes to be done. The next classes? Environmental science and Humanities/Religions of the world. That should be interesting. I am sure that I will hear about how Islam is a religion of peace, Christianity is being forced on vulnerable atheists and that the Roman Catholic Church is responsible for almost everything that has ever gone wrong. That reminds me of the Ethics class I am taking now. For six weeks, I have been reminded that every single thing that is now or has ever been wrong in the world is the fault of the white males in the United States (other than the tribulations that the Roman Catholic Church is responsible for, of course). By the way, that whole synergy gibberish (a.k.a. human resources junk science!) was apparently written by the pot-smoking protesters of the 60s. It is euphorian nonsense, prevaricated hypocrisy and out of touch with reality out here in fly-over country. To all the complainers, I say, “Build a bridge and get over it, you big whiners!”
Okay… so I didn’t learn anything in sensitivity training. That is life! In the words of Rod Tidwell, "These are the ABCs of me, baby"!
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