Post Scripts

“The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed, lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.” Cisero 55 BC

Posted by Tina

Here’s yet another reason to throw trhe bums out!

“Class Warfare’s Next Target: 401(k) Savings,” by Newt Gingrich and Peter Ferrara – IBD Editorial

You did the responsible thing. You saved in your IRA or 401(k) to support your retirement, when you could have spent that money on another vacation, or an upscale car, or fancier clothes and jewelry. But now Washington is developing plans for your retirement savings. ** BusinessWeek reports that the Treasury and Labor departments are asking for public comment on “the conversion of 401(k) savings and Individual Retirement Accounts into annuities or other steady payment streams.” ** In plain English, the idea is for the government to take your retirement savings in return for a promise to pay you some monthly benefit in your retirement years. ** They will tell you that you are “investing” your money in U.S. Treasury bonds. But they will use your money immediately to pay for their unprecedented trillion-dollar budget deficits, leaving nothing to back up their political promises, just as they have raided the Social Security trust funds.

It appears that one issue does unite Americans across the political spectrum.

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds that the vast majority of Americans are vehemently opposed to a recent Supreme Court ruling that opens the door for corporations, labor unions, and other organizations to spend money directly from their general funds to influence campaigns.

As noted by the Post’s Dan Eggen, the poll’s findings show “remarkably strong agreement” across the board, with roughly 80% of Americans saying that they’re against the Court’s 5-4 decision. Even more remarkable may be that opposition by Republicans, Democrats, and Independents were all near the same 80% opposition range. Specifically, 85% of Democrats, 81% of Independents, and 76% of Republicans opposed it. In short, “everyone hates” the ruling.

The poll’s findings could enhance the possibility of getting a broad range of support behind a movement in Congress to pass legislation that would offset the Court’s decision. Of those polled, 72% said they supported congressional action to reverse its effects. Sen. Charles Schumer, who’s leading the reform effort in the Senate, told the Post that he hoped to get “strong and quick bi-partisan support” behind a bill that “passes constitutional muster but will still effectively limit the influence of special interests.”

The findings of the poll are a bit surprising considering the fact that the case split the Supreme Court, with the five conservative justices in favor and the four more liberal justices against it. The decision was almost universally hailed by Republicans in Washington, who saw it as a victory for the free speech provided for under the Constitution, while President Obama and prominent Democrats in Washington almost universally derided it as a dark day for American democracy.

(I have been saying this for years and I finally feel vindicated. The republicans that supported this and think this decision was a great victory for free speech are not in touch with the American people.)

by OneVike

Date rape has been in our lexicon for a few decades now. Fact is, the majority of people have become quite familiar with the lines that separate consensual and non consensual sex. However, our present attitude about rape was not always the same as it is today. There have always been warnings to girls that they should not allow themselves to be in certain situations that could lead to unwanted advances from boys. There have been women who claimed they were raped when the only defense the man had was the girl allowed things to progress past a point of no return for him.

I remember when I was but 12 years old, and I would accompany my older sister and her friend to the beach. My sisters always wore a one piece suit, but her friend wore this practically see-through white bikini just to lie down on a towel to sunbathe. I must admit that I paid close attention to her as she laid there on her towel. After all, I was but six months removed from being a full fledged teenager, and my hormones were already beginning to cause problems in my life. It was the late “60”s and I was well aware of the sentiment that we should love the one we were with if we could not be with the one we loved. Then again, I also remember the same girl telling my sister that a boy she was making out with on the beach raped her one day.

Continue reading ““Women Say Some Rape Victims Should Take Blame”” »

As David Auerbach once said,

In wine there is wisdom,

in beer there is freedom,

in water there is bacteria.”

So I guess you can have a beer or glass of wine tonight with your dinner and not feel too guilty over it. But, remember, do all good things in moderation! I think the Pope said that.

“We hear of the conversion of water into wine at the marriage in Cana as of a miracle. But this conversion is, through the goodness of God, made every day before our eyes. Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards, and which incorporates itself with the grapes, to be changed into wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.” Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

“Wine is the most healthful and most hygienic of beverages.”
Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)

“Wine is a precarious aphrodisiac, and its fumes have blighted many a mating.” Norman Douglas, English writer (1868-1952)

by Jack Lee

It’s the final battle royale’ and in one corner we have Mr. and Mrs. America. Their job has been to stop government from growing in both scope and power and in the opposing corner is big government and you know their job! They exist to grow and consuming vast quantities of our wealth.

This epic struggle has taken place in many countries around the world for centuries. It dates back before the invention of gerrymandered districts, to a time long ago when toga’s were worn instead of Armani suits, when a few drachmas donated to the right senator’s campaign chest could get you some great personalized legislation…thank goodness we don’t do that anymore!

Yes, the great unwashed masses have long struggled against this insidious enemy of freedom. And great totalitarian empires have waged many a war to dominate said masses, and yet there is still no clear victor! But, behold, that was all before the creation of two great allies, subtle socialism and overt populism. We all know about socialism and populism is just the realization that by a simple majority vote the people could shift wealth from the rich to themselves, just like the government does to all of us. Thanks to this breakthrough we may soon have a winner and it won’t be you, unless you work for the government or live on a guaranteed income.

by Jack Lee

Is it time for 73 year old John McCain to say good-bye to Washington where he has served for a combined 28 years in the House and Senate?

If you ask most conservatives they seem to think so and so does J.D. Hayworth McCain’s formidable challenger. McCain is a confirmed moderate and Hayworth is a true blue conservative. In November the two wered running neck and neck, but McCain seems to have leaned on old some of his old friends for support and now he has surged ahead of Hayworth by 22 points according to the latest Rasmussen poll.

Hayworth’s challenge has forced McCain to make a right and try to sound more conservative, a standard tactic of moderate politicians. Run to the right in the primary and then appeal the middle in the general., and the worst part is the run of the mill voters don’t seem to notice, they buy into it every time! They also have short memories, McCain was caught up in the Keating Five Scandal…but, that is apparently ancient history, as is McCain-Feingold.

Conservatives have never really trusted McCain, claiming he is too bipartisan and fault him for joining Democrat Russ Feingold for the campaign finance law and Democrat Ted Kennedy who co-authored the failed immigration reform bill with the Viet Nam war hero.

J.D. Hayworth is a former Congressman and a popular radio talk show host. He has resigned his radio job to donate his full efforts to running his campaign. Hayworth is counting on the changing tide toward more conservative candidates to win the day, McCain is relying on a collage of older conservatives who have long supported this Vietnam war hero and a large block of independent voters. McCain is also very popular among Hispanic voters for his support of amnesty programs.

Posted by Tina

DailyMail – (UK)

As the son of the world’s biggest bunny, it was always likely that Ralph the rabbit was going to be a big buck. ** But he has well and truly proved a chip off the old block after breaking the record set by his mother Amy – weighing in at more than three stone (45 LB). ** Ralph, a continental giant rabbit, is just 12 months old…

WOW!

Posted by Tina

When President Obama was asked last week about the $17 million bonus awarded to JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon and the $9 million bonus for Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein he responded by saying,

“I know both these guys; they are very savvy businessmen. I, like most of the American people, don’t begrudge people success or wealth.”

Hmmm…that doesn’t jibe with what he said last December on 60 Minutes:

“I did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of fat cat bankers on Wall Street.”

And it doesn’t jibe with the message delivered to banks by Barney Frank, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, in January of 2009:

“People really hate you, and they’re starting to hate us because we’re hanging out with you. And you have to help us deal with that. ** The chances of talking the American public out of this kind of attitude are zero. There is now a deeply rooted anger on the part of the average American at what he or she thinks is a very unfair set of arrangements.”

Oh brother…what exactly do the President and Chairman Frank mean? That banks need to provide an excuse for the excesses and manipulations of Frank and his cohorts in Congress? That after making deals and promises in exchange for huge campaign contributions business execs should take the blame and a pay cut to hide the failures of our representatives?

And what are we to think of the utter silence from these powerful Democrats on the bonuses being handed to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac CEO’s at a time when those two institutions are still bleeding red ink, as they love to say when discussing the harm done to the economy by their careless manipulations. These two institutions provided politicians cover for the stupid regulatory scheme they devised to force banks to lend to people that were not qualified and couldn’t pay for their mortgages…until that house of cards came tumbling down. Even after that fatal economic mess they haven’t learned a thing. According to the Wall Street Journal, “The Federal Housing Finance Agency approved compensation plans for Fannie Chief Executive Michael Williams and Freddie CEO Charles Haldeman Jr…in a range of $4 million to $6 million…” Fannie and Freddie have also lost billions of dollars over the past year even though they received $110 Billion in government (taxpayer) capital. It all sounds extremely fat to me.

The biggest fat cats in this trail of feline tomfoolery are the people in Washington who write the regulatory laws that Wall Street and banks, and you and I, must live by. They are the people in Washington who have compromised principles, honor, and common sense in order to manipulate outcomes of various types, both for their own personal benefit and within the fabric of our society (social engineering).

Americans want public servants that support individual freedom, a strong economy, and who will promote the general well-being of all Americans. We are a diverse nation of rich, poor, and middle class people. Most of us are capable if givenenough opportunity. What we need is for the fat cats in government to stop tinkering with our laws. We need them to make laws that are simple and easy to follow. We need them to get out of the way and quit gumming up the works. In fact it wouldn’t hurt to restructure how our federal lawmakers work so they spend less time in Washington.

Continued fat cat deal making in DC is something we definitely don’t need!

PS…many thanks to the unnamed model in the photo!

The Sunday Message

by One Vike

These past few weeks I have shared various stories about whales. There was the story about Orca, the killer whale, that decided to take a break from the performance at San Diego’s Sea World to eat a pelican than then dropped onto the water while the spectators looked on. I also shared the heartwarming tale of the penguin who did all he could to dodge the clutches of a killer whale until he decided to put his trust in mankind by jumping into a rubber raft of spectators for safety. Then just this past week I shared with everyone my opinion of the tactics used by the terrorist organization Sea Shepherds to save the whales from being hunted by Japanese whalers in the Antarctic. All this made me think about an incident that took place a few thousand years ago in Israel about 780 BC with a prophet named Jonah.

Jonah lived about 170 years after the division of Israel into two kingdoms, when Nineveh was coming to the end of its reign as the leading power in the region. Nineveh had spread so much fear among its enemies that most Israelites prayed for a judgment upon it the likes of which happened to Sodom and Gomorrah. So when God called upon Jonah to go and preach to the people of Nineveh, he had different plans. Now one needs to understand that it is a great honor to be chosen a leader, or in Jonah’s case a prophet, of God. However, with positions of authority comes the responsibility of carrying out tasks that we may not like. Jonah was confronted with such a dilemma.

Jonah was well aware that the people of Nineveh (the Assyrians) were prideful sinners who had wreaked havoc upon both Israel and Judah over the years. Therefore, when God called him to go and warn them of God’s impending wrath, he was very reluctant. In fact his desire was to see that city destroyed and the empire of Assyria completely lose its power. So instead of going to Nineveh Jonah headed into the opposite direction. He wanted to avoid carrying out that task, because he feared God would show them mercy, and the heathens would be free to plunder and pillage Israel again.

Continue reading “Man Regurgitated From Whale Lives to Tell About It” »