Sunday, June 28, 2009

Climate Change Bill Narrowly Passes House

Well, read it and weep. As everyone who's paying even a little attention knows, the House narrowly passed the "Cap and Tax" bill Friday. Several Republicans actually voted FOR it: one representative from California, one from Delaware, several from New Jersey, Washington, Illinois and New York (does this surprise anyone?).

This bill is not really about the climate. It's simply an excuse to levy more taxes and enable the government to collect more money. If this monstrosity passes the Senate, the "climate crisis" crowd may wake up and smell the coffee when it hits them in the wallet, as it most certainly will. I'm not holding my breath though; the "true believers" have made up their minds and a little thing like factual information is not going to get in the way of their beliefs.

The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article about how a similar scenario went down in Australia. A politician from the Australian Senate contacted the Obama administration for reassurance about the science of global warming. When no such assurance was forthcoming, he voted against the Australian bill.

Apparently, there's growing skepticism about the reality of global warming, and this could account in part for the rush to push through a bill that no one has actually read. I believe that voters should throw every single one of the dolts who voted for this out of office! 2010 should be an interesting year!

Monday, June 22, 2009

A Little Monday Morning Humor

Good Monday morning! Well, I haven't gotten my wish yet; I want just one day on which I don't see Obama's face or hear his voice. I was looking forward to reading the Sunday paper yesterday with breakfast, but I pulled out Parade magazine and who do you think was on the cover? That's right - BO with his daughters (OK - they're cute). BO wouldn't be my choice for a Father's Day magazine cover; I can think of dozens of men who appear to be better fathers than Obama.

So, I just wanted to share some humor to hopefully start the week on the right foot. You may have seen this before, but it's still funny and surprisingly timely. Some things never change, do they?



Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Just Shut Up!

It seems as if every time I turn on the TV Obama is on it. I am sick of seeing and hearing him. I can't believe he's only been president for five months - it seems more like five years. Have we ever had a president who's as egomaniacal as this one? I thought Bill Clinton was an egomaniac, but Obama makes Clinton look humble.

Meanwhile, he's not really taking care of anything. He's busy looking busy, trying to take on too much, too quickly, and in the process he's hurting this country. I'd really like to know how much voter remorse there is; how many people are thinking "This isn't what I voted for"?

His stock lines are getting real old: he "inherited" this mess (no mention, of course, of the role Congress played in this fiasco), he "doesn't want to run the car companies", banks, etc. You get the picture: he says these things over and over and meanwhile proceeds to do just what he says he doesn't want to do. Well, you can get by on charm and good looks just so long; eventually people start noticing what you're doing.

Businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie got it right. He said, "As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I simply watch what they do." That would be a good practice for all of us.

Monday, June 15, 2009

What's Going On?

Is it just me, or does it seem that there is more craziness in this country than ever before? I don't know if it's because communication is so much better than it used to be and thus we hear about it more, or if it's real, but it seems to me that more and more people are becoming unhinged.

Men killing their wives and children, a nut case shooting an abortion doctor, an old extremist shooting people at the Holocaust Museum - these are just some of the cases in the news lately.

I think mental instability is more widespread than it used to be and, of course, I have a theory about why this is the case. It's a real irony that in this day and age of instant communications, more people are out of touch with each other. E-mail, texting, tweeting and Facebook are not good substitutions for real human interaction. It allows us to stay in touch, but on a much more superficial level than previously. As a consequence, I think more people feel isolated and alienated from their neighbors and fail to develop real bonds within their communities.

Another important factor that shouldn't be ignored is the increasing secularization of our society. I believe humans have an inherent need to develop their spirituality, and I know from experience that belief in God can be a source of great strength in hard times. If one doesn't have this support, what happens when hard times come, as they inevitably will? It seems many people don't have the inner resources to deal with adversity.

I can remember a time when there was such a thing as "community standards". The majority of people tried to behave appropriately, respected behavioral boundaries and shunned those who didn't. Now, liberals preach that we shouldn't be judgmental, but we all form judgements about people and their behavior. If we have a "don't judge" mentality about everything, we have chaos.

I hope and pray that we can find our way back to having standards of decency and good behavior. Some will think this is unrealistic, but I'm an optimist and above all, I have faith in God. With Him, all things are possible.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

OBAMA-CARE

As Obama pressures Congress to rush through yet another boondoggle before anyone can review it, I noticed that he wants to implement wellness programs as part of the package.

As someone who has worked in the health and fitness field for 16 years, mainly in corporate wellness programs, I feel qualified to comment on this. I anticipate that supporters of Obama's healthcare scheme will cite studies that show increased savings and lower absentee rates for companies that implement employee wellness programs.

In reality, it's difficult to quantify healthcare savings due to wellness programs. For many companies, most of their healthcare expenses are due to retirees who have chronic diseases such as type II diabetes and heart disease. The purpose of the wellness program is to identify individuals who are at increased risk of developing these disorders, intervene and attempt to effect a lifestyle change to lessen risk of developing chronic disease. Thus, the benefits may not be apparent for years to come.

I'm not saying that wellness programs don't have their benefits. But what I have come to realize is that you can educate people and help them develop strategies for adopting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, but you can't make them do it! It still boils down to personal responsibility and many people simply lack the motivation to make a healthy diet and regular exercise a priority, even when offered financial incentives.

This administration seems so power-hungry that I have to wonder: if government starts providing our healthcare, are they then going to start telling us what we have to eat, how much we have to exercise, and forbid us from eating certain foods? I don't think that's out of the realm of possibility.

For those who want national healthcare I can only say: be careful what you wish for. Think about the last time you dealt with a government bureaucracy - it probably wasn't one of the more pleasant experiences of your life. Do you really want this same government making healthcare choices for you? If so, bend over - you're about to get the shaft!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

John Voight Calls Obama a False Prophet

I am gaining more and more respect for John Voight. He hits the nail right on the head.


Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Eye Opener

I had lunch today with a friend whom I haven't seen in awhile. The subject of politics came up and she mentioned she had seen my blog. What she said next kind of surprised me; she told me that I "rant" on my blog.

I guess I do; I'm very passionate about this country and its future. I don't simply want to rant and rave - I want to offer solutions to problems. Trouble is, I really believe that too many people in this country are ignorant of the basic structure of our government and how it's supposed to work. They simply don't know current events and we thus end up with someone like Obama as president.

What's the answer? I admit that I don't know. When you have a poorly informed electorate and mainstream media who are determined to protect Obama, you have a toxic combination.

I really want to hear suggestions from those of you who feel as I do. Any ideas?

Monday, June 1, 2009

Obama Motors - What a Lemon!

General Motors is now owned by B. Hussein Obama, who proclaims he doesn't have any interest in running it. I have a suggestion for the president: if you really don't want to run GM, then QUIT DOING IT (yes, I'm shouting)!!

How does this man stand up in front of the country and say this with a straight face? I can only conclude that he's either delusional, a practiced liar or both. What occurs to me is that this may end up being a windfall for Ford Motor Company, as GM begins producing small "green" cars that very few people want. Ford could continue to produce regular cars, which pleases me, as I own a Ford and my husband has a Mercury and both have been terrific vehicles. I'm determined that the government is NOT going to force me to drive some puddlejumper that will get me killed.

When BO protests that he doesn't want to run the car companies, banks, etc., I'm reminded of what industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie said: "As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do."