The summary of the story:
There is a 98 page EPA report, that questioned the science behind global warming. This EPA analyst Alan Carlin stated there is no reason to do all this Cap and Trade legislation, because there is no global warming problem. It appears that they are "reassigning" Mr. Carlin.
Maybe they had to start rushing their trillion dollar, Cap and Tax, through Congress so no one could actually tell them they are wrong, and all this global warming is just garbage.
I just don't understand why Obama hates America so much that he wants to send our American jobs to Communist China, because of a problem that doesn't even exist, according to his own EPA staff.
I'm getting real frustrated with all these politicians at the federal level. All the cons, lies, games, are getting real old. To the elected officials in Washington ---Do what we sent you there to do, in case you don't know what that is here's a clue ---REPRESENT US!
This is the article I found on Foxnews.com
Sen. Inhofe Calls for Inquiry Into 'Suppressed' Climate Change Report - Political News - FOXNews.com
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Liz Becton
I found this story from the Politico about a bureaucrat, we pay for, and it irritates me, so I thought I would share it so it could irritate you too....
POLITICO: No name-calling - Shenanigans - No name-calling
It seems that we pay good money for this self involved bureaucrat, and I wonder why her boss (Democrat Representative Jim McDermott) still has her on the payroll.
Speaking of payroll, I did a little checking and for the last 3 months of 2008 her salary was $27,366 or at an annual rate of $108,000 a year. Not to bad for an executive assistant or the non-politically correct title of Secretary.
So we paid a woman, $108,000 a year so she could write 19 e-mails about her name to a constituent. This is insanity. If I were to spend my time at work going back and forth, about my name, to a customer I would be fired. Rightfully so, constituents are her customers.
I've got another name for you Lizzy and it isn't nearly as nice as Liz.
POLITICO: No name-calling - Shenanigans - No name-calling
It seems that we pay good money for this self involved bureaucrat, and I wonder why her boss (Democrat Representative Jim McDermott) still has her on the payroll.
Speaking of payroll, I did a little checking and for the last 3 months of 2008 her salary was $27,366 or at an annual rate of $108,000 a year. Not to bad for an executive assistant or the non-politically correct title of Secretary.
So we paid a woman, $108,000 a year so she could write 19 e-mails about her name to a constituent. This is insanity. If I were to spend my time at work going back and forth, about my name, to a customer I would be fired. Rightfully so, constituents are her customers.
I've got another name for you Lizzy and it isn't nearly as nice as Liz.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Whatever You Like....
With all the bad things going on in our economy I think that we need a little video relief from one of my favorite artists, Weird Al.....
Cap and Trade Congressional vote
Well the terrible Cap and Trade legislation has passed the house, where we had our best chance of defeating the bill. If the silver lining on the passage of cap and tax was that our Representative Salazar actually voted against the measure. Our calls and e-mails to his office must have made a difference. Now we must start calling and writing Michael Bennet and Mark Udall. We must let them know we are in charge not them, and get this bill stopped once and for all.
Bill number HR2454
Michael Bennet local number 241-6631
Mark Udall local number 245-9553
Bill number HR2454
Michael Bennet local number 241-6631
Mark Udall local number 245-9553
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Ritter in D.C.
I read a story that stated that our Governor Ritter was met by protesters in Washington D.C. holding two separate fundraisers for his reelection campaign.
The main part of the story was that he was met by protesters of two different labor unions. That is important, but what I want to focus on is: Why is Gov. Ritter in Washington D.C. asking for money for his reelection?
This happens all the time and it is getting real frustrating. A politician goes somewhere else to collect money for his campaign. Not his constituents. This gives me a lot of grief because I think that our Governor should beholden to his own constituents not to D.C. lobbyists, Hollywood Elite, or any other "big money" group.
I wonder who is paying for the trip? I wonder who is donating the money to the Governor and what they expect in return for that money?
I think maybe it might be time to look at our campaign finance laws and see if we can make a few adjustments. For instance allow campaigns to only collect money from a Colorado resident or Colorado based business. These are groups of people that have an interest in what happens in Colorado, not some outside lobbyist or group.
The main part of the story was that he was met by protesters of two different labor unions. That is important, but what I want to focus on is: Why is Gov. Ritter in Washington D.C. asking for money for his reelection?
This happens all the time and it is getting real frustrating. A politician goes somewhere else to collect money for his campaign. Not his constituents. This gives me a lot of grief because I think that our Governor should beholden to his own constituents not to D.C. lobbyists, Hollywood Elite, or any other "big money" group.
I wonder who is paying for the trip? I wonder who is donating the money to the Governor and what they expect in return for that money?
I think maybe it might be time to look at our campaign finance laws and see if we can make a few adjustments. For instance allow campaigns to only collect money from a Colorado resident or Colorado based business. These are groups of people that have an interest in what happens in Colorado, not some outside lobbyist or group.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Grand Junction to Denver and back
Yesterday I made a quick trip to Denver and back. It is the annual opening event of the "Great Kid Relay". Every summer it is done in families all over the country, you go here drop off a kid then come home or shuffle the child off to another location. I had an important leg this time, the first leg of the year. I was to take my son to Denver, where he gets to go to his Uncle's house via Grandpa and Grandma's house. Because I was the first leg of the relay I got the usual warnings from all the female participants (Pam and my mom-in-law) in the race; make sure I check the oil, and don't fall asleep a the wheel, etc...
By 8 am, Mike and I were off to hit the road. We, of course, had to stop off at the Clifton McD's for a breakfast sandwich. I do not understand what happens when I drive that I have to stop and eat at about every place in route. When at home my first meal of the day is lunch. But for some reason I have to have junk food when I drive, maybe it is a link to pioneer times where they stock up on food for the journey.
On the trip to Denver, Mike and I talked about everything and about nothing. We discussed who was a bigger tramp Brittney or Paris. We talked about merits of what was better the McGriddle or the McMuffin. For the record; I favor the McMuffin, Mike the McGriddle. No trip is complete with the counting of licence plate locations. We got two good ones (New Brunswick and Maine). We try to see if we can see 1/2 of the states by Denver, we only made it to 21 different states. I also like to tell historic stories of different areas, some from my history some general history. I sure treasure these times, with Mike.
Upon arrival in Denver, we had a tasty lunch ad Denny's off Kipling (a family favorite). At lunch my brother-in-law had the waitress keep filling our sodas. Normally I wouldn't mind that, but I had a 4 hour trek back, and didn't want to stop every hour.
So after eating lunch and drinking about 4 gallons of soda, we prepared to part ways. The family back to Nebraska and me alone to Grand Junction. We shuffled stuff between cars. My Mom-in-law is always on the look-out for books for me, at the Salvation Army where she works, when she sees a good one and she buys it up and gives it to me the next time we meet. This time was one on the 24 hours around D-Day. It looks like a good one. After we transfer all the stuff around we part ways. I wish we could have visited longer but that always happens when I get with my in-laws they are good people.
On the journey back I saw something interesting. I have been driving (or riding) this trip to Denver my whole life. I have made the trip about 10,000 times. I have seen mountain goats before, but on this trip was the first time I saw them on the shoulder of the road eating. There were about 8-10 nannies and 2 or 3 kids eating something, I couldn't see. There was one ram. The ram was standing between the heard of goats eating and an 18 wheeler parked on the side of the road. I didn't notice any humans, but this ram thought that the truck was a major threat and didn't look to happy. I thought it was interesting that the ram was worried about the parked truck and not worried about hundreds of cars whizzing by at 50 miles an hour, just 10 feet from the heard. Kinda like humans they worry about something that is no threat and avoid the real threat 10 feet away.
After a couple of rest stops (I knew I shouldn't have had all that Diet Coke), I found myself outside of Glenwood passing a slower truck and I glanced in my mirror and see a Jeep with child barley old enough to drive, using both hands to text. She was "nice enough" to get her Jeep within 18 inches from my car so that I would realize how important she was, and how big of a rush she was in and let her pass. I have been in 3 fairly nasty car accidents and had 3 speeding tickets. So I don't speed. I go the posted speed limit on the spot. No more no less. I let her pass and "waved" politely, and for expedience sake (I know she was in a hurry) I only used 1 finger.
My favorite part of any trip where I come into town from the East is seeing the roller damn and the corner that goes over the river by the first Palisade exit. It is like Grand Junction is telling me "welcome home".
By 8 am, Mike and I were off to hit the road. We, of course, had to stop off at the Clifton McD's for a breakfast sandwich. I do not understand what happens when I drive that I have to stop and eat at about every place in route. When at home my first meal of the day is lunch. But for some reason I have to have junk food when I drive, maybe it is a link to pioneer times where they stock up on food for the journey.
On the trip to Denver, Mike and I talked about everything and about nothing. We discussed who was a bigger tramp Brittney or Paris. We talked about merits of what was better the McGriddle or the McMuffin. For the record; I favor the McMuffin, Mike the McGriddle. No trip is complete with the counting of licence plate locations. We got two good ones (New Brunswick and Maine). We try to see if we can see 1/2 of the states by Denver, we only made it to 21 different states. I also like to tell historic stories of different areas, some from my history some general history. I sure treasure these times, with Mike.
Upon arrival in Denver, we had a tasty lunch ad Denny's off Kipling (a family favorite). At lunch my brother-in-law had the waitress keep filling our sodas. Normally I wouldn't mind that, but I had a 4 hour trek back, and didn't want to stop every hour.
So after eating lunch and drinking about 4 gallons of soda, we prepared to part ways. The family back to Nebraska and me alone to Grand Junction. We shuffled stuff between cars. My Mom-in-law is always on the look-out for books for me, at the Salvation Army where she works, when she sees a good one and she buys it up and gives it to me the next time we meet. This time was one on the 24 hours around D-Day. It looks like a good one. After we transfer all the stuff around we part ways. I wish we could have visited longer but that always happens when I get with my in-laws they are good people.
On the journey back I saw something interesting. I have been driving (or riding) this trip to Denver my whole life. I have made the trip about 10,000 times. I have seen mountain goats before, but on this trip was the first time I saw them on the shoulder of the road eating. There were about 8-10 nannies and 2 or 3 kids eating something, I couldn't see. There was one ram. The ram was standing between the heard of goats eating and an 18 wheeler parked on the side of the road. I didn't notice any humans, but this ram thought that the truck was a major threat and didn't look to happy. I thought it was interesting that the ram was worried about the parked truck and not worried about hundreds of cars whizzing by at 50 miles an hour, just 10 feet from the heard. Kinda like humans they worry about something that is no threat and avoid the real threat 10 feet away.
After a couple of rest stops (I knew I shouldn't have had all that Diet Coke), I found myself outside of Glenwood passing a slower truck and I glanced in my mirror and see a Jeep with child barley old enough to drive, using both hands to text. She was "nice enough" to get her Jeep within 18 inches from my car so that I would realize how important she was, and how big of a rush she was in and let her pass. I have been in 3 fairly nasty car accidents and had 3 speeding tickets. So I don't speed. I go the posted speed limit on the spot. No more no less. I let her pass and "waved" politely, and for expedience sake (I know she was in a hurry) I only used 1 finger.
My favorite part of any trip where I come into town from the East is seeing the roller damn and the corner that goes over the river by the first Palisade exit. It is like Grand Junction is telling me "welcome home".
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Chubby people live longest!
That's right you heard it right, chubby people live longest. Here is the link to the story from Breitbart: Chubby people live longest: Japan study
I have been on a quasi-diet for a month or two now and I really don't hate the diet. I can eat pretty much what I want just, lower volumes. Much like: have the Wendy's single instead of the triple and don't "super size" everything. I've also taken to only eating french fries on Friday (that making perfect since to me Fries=Friday). What I hate about dieting is all the guilt that overcomes you when you screw it up. Like after mistakenly eating a bag of potato chips or a side of beef you feel like "Awe I shouldn't have done that, now I'll be chubby".
Well now, all that guilt is gone. Because when I slip up and "accidentally" ingest an ice cream truck I can think to myself; "it's OK cause chubby people live longer". Whew, glad that study finally came out, I've been waiting for this day for a long, long time.
I have been on a quasi-diet for a month or two now and I really don't hate the diet. I can eat pretty much what I want just, lower volumes. Much like: have the Wendy's single instead of the triple and don't "super size" everything. I've also taken to only eating french fries on Friday (that making perfect since to me Fries=Friday). What I hate about dieting is all the guilt that overcomes you when you screw it up. Like after mistakenly eating a bag of potato chips or a side of beef you feel like "Awe I shouldn't have done that, now I'll be chubby".
Well now, all that guilt is gone. Because when I slip up and "accidentally" ingest an ice cream truck I can think to myself; "it's OK cause chubby people live longer". Whew, glad that study finally came out, I've been waiting for this day for a long, long time.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Barbara Boxer plays Col. Nathan R. Jessep
Barbara Boxer must have been remembering the movie A Few Good Men when she chastised this Brigadier General. By the way what did she earn to get to be Senator? It must have been years of working hard to get promoted to the lofty position of Senator, nope....she won an election. Just maybe if the people of California can get it together by 2010 they can un-elect her and the General could call her what you know he really would like to call her.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Government Motors gets to stock it's used car lot...
So now that I sold my gas guzzling, 1976, 3/4 ton truck to Van Gundy's it looks like the government wants to buy it. I guess I missed that boat by about a year. I got it's fair market value for the truck at the time ...190 bucks. If I had just waited 1 year I could have sold it to Government Motors for $3500. Damn I screwed up again I guess. I just wonder how many non-running, junk cars are going to be bought up? I also wonder what the hell are they going to do with the old cars....resell them? Hell of a concept, pay people to sell their cars. What will they come up with next, maybe they will start charging us for invisible gases, oh wait....their already doing that.
Little sign says: "hydrocarbon powered Eco-vehicle"
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Dear Elected Official....
This is a letter that was sent by a listener to the Glen Beck Show. I felt it was very good and I wanted to repeat the whole thing here, for everyone to read. I think I might just send a similar letter to my Representative and Senators. Here it goes:
I'm a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?
Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:
One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I'm not a racist. This isn't to be confused with legal immigration.
Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.
Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.
Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say.
Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!
Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real obligations. Why don't you start there.
Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census over with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.
Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do you want me to hate my employers? Why ‑‑ what do you have against shareholders making a profit?
Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.
Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. Have you ever ripped off a Band‑Aid? We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.
Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please try ‑‑ please stop manipulating and trying to appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.
Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.
Take a breath. Listen to the people. Let's just slow down and get some input from some nonpoliticians on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.
I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all of the recent spending.
From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington. Our president often knows all the right buzzword is unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we're morons.
We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us when hewill rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.
Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you. If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming.
I'm a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?
Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:
One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I'm not a racist. This isn't to be confused with legal immigration.
Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.
Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.
Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say.
Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!
Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real obligations. Why don't you start there.
Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census over with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.
Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do you want me to hate my employers? Why ‑‑ what do you have against shareholders making a profit?
Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.
Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. Have you ever ripped off a Band‑Aid? We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.
Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please try ‑‑ please stop manipulating and trying to appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.
Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.
Take a breath. Listen to the people. Let's just slow down and get some input from some nonpoliticians on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.
I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all of the recent spending.
From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington. Our president often knows all the right buzzword is unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we're morons.
We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us when hewill rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.
Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you. If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming.
The Penny
As I was in the gas station the other day I noticed the little cup by many cash registers for pennies and it got me thinking about how much it costs to make a penny and here is what I found out....
The US Mint loses $40,000,000 a year to make pennies. It costs 1.67 cents to make a one cent coin. That makes a lot of since, spending 2 cents to make one cent that is about par for the US Government.
40 million is the manufacturing and distribution costs. What about all the costs to businesses and private individuals in counting and sorting all these pennies? I bet, just in change distribution, it adds 5 seconds to every transaction. Let's say there are a 100 million transactions a day in this country or 500 million seconds or about 138,888 hours of business time.
Then you have to add the time it takes for businesses to count the pennies at least twice a day, time to haul them to the bank, time for the bankers to count the pennies. The cost of penny errors in bookkeeping, maintenance of pennies (getting rid of the old ones), etc... is then added on there. Now it looks like that silly little penny is just crazy to keep in circulation.
If we got rid of the penny I am not sure that it would force a bunch of people out of work either. The US Mint is always making those specialty coins and I believe they mint coins for other countries as well.
The next coin we might want to question is the nickel, the nickel costs 9.49 cents to make and we lose 58.5 million on it every year.
So when Obama has another "Dog and Pony show" about how to cut 100 million out of a 2 trillion dollar budget, maybe someone could mention the nickel and penny and they could all go home early.
That's my two cents worth.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Dave Letterman is an idiot!
Who makes $32 million a year by telling jokes about raping 14 year old girls? You guessed it Dave Letterman. I am wondering exactly what Willow did to deserve that kind of humor? Sarah put herself in the spotlight, slam her she can handle it. A child did not put herself in the spotlight. This is a video of the comment and the response by Sarah Palin...
Here's his top 4 advertisers, I will be writing some letters...
Mar's Candy
Kellogg's
Olive Garden
Hellmann’s Mayonnaise
Here's his top 4 advertisers, I will be writing some letters...
Mar's Candy
Kellogg's
Olive Garden
Hellmann’s Mayonnaise
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Colorado Stimulus Czar
It looks as though that Governor Ritter has hired a "Stimulus Czar". This guy was hired for 150 grand a year just to figure out how to spend money. Why do we need this position? Couldn't we just give a credit card to a teenager for an afternoon? It would work about the same way.
The other stuff you don't hear about which is possibly happening; is the hiring of secretaries and other "staffers" to help Czar Elliman with his job. I could have swore we already hired someone to manage the fiscal responsibilities of the State, his name was Ritter, I think.
I think the smartest thing our new Stimulus Czar could do is type up a letter to the Congress and the President stating how we do not want the stimulus money in Colorado, then fire himself, the whole job could be done in an afternoon.
Side note: I thought that the Obama Stimulus Fund was already being spent and we were almost out of this recession, at least that's what I heard on the the evening news.
The other stuff you don't hear about which is possibly happening; is the hiring of secretaries and other "staffers" to help Czar Elliman with his job. I could have swore we already hired someone to manage the fiscal responsibilities of the State, his name was Ritter, I think.
I think the smartest thing our new Stimulus Czar could do is type up a letter to the Congress and the President stating how we do not want the stimulus money in Colorado, then fire himself, the whole job could be done in an afternoon.
Side note: I thought that the Obama Stimulus Fund was already being spent and we were almost out of this recession, at least that's what I heard on the the evening news.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Grand Junction Sales Taxes Down
The city came out with their sales tax figures and I just wanted to note a few things I read that bugged me:
First off I need to say I HATE IT when anybody gives statistics using percentages. It is doesn't tell you the whole story. For instance lets say you have 100 bucks and it loses 10% in April. That means you have 90 bucks now. The next month you have the same 90 bucks and in grows 10%, now you have $99. It was the same 10%. But you lost a buck.
With that said it was stated in the Daily Sentinel that the city is down 37% in sales tax collections for the year. They also said that the city has made 6 million dollars in cuts to the budget. That happens to be about 4% of the city budget. So common sense tells me the city might be a little over budget by the end of the year. Or the other possible thing that it could be is that the city was collecting too much taxes when things were good. Does the city have a "rainy day fund"? I do not know.
I also saw that Jodi Romero stated that “We’re hoping we’re bottoming out now”. She also stated that “We’re optimistic that some of the retail spending will begin to recover,” Romero said, adding that she hopes that by the end of the year it will equal 2008 levels.
So I guess the Presidents economic policy of hope has worked its way to the city governments now.
First off I need to say I HATE IT when anybody gives statistics using percentages. It is doesn't tell you the whole story. For instance lets say you have 100 bucks and it loses 10% in April. That means you have 90 bucks now. The next month you have the same 90 bucks and in grows 10%, now you have $99. It was the same 10%. But you lost a buck.
With that said it was stated in the Daily Sentinel that the city is down 37% in sales tax collections for the year. They also said that the city has made 6 million dollars in cuts to the budget. That happens to be about 4% of the city budget. So common sense tells me the city might be a little over budget by the end of the year. Or the other possible thing that it could be is that the city was collecting too much taxes when things were good. Does the city have a "rainy day fund"? I do not know.
I also saw that Jodi Romero stated that “We’re hoping we’re bottoming out now”. She also stated that “We’re optimistic that some of the retail spending will begin to recover,” Romero said, adding that she hopes that by the end of the year it will equal 2008 levels.
So I guess the Presidents economic policy of hope has worked its way to the city governments now.
Monday, June 8, 2009
White roof and roads
Energy Secretary Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize winning physicist stated that to protect us from global warming we need to paint the roofs or our houses and our roads white. What? Really?
I am no Nobel Prize (now doubting the validity of the award) winning physicist but lets just apply some common sense to the statement.
First off, we have roughly 300 million people living in the United States. In China and India they have roughly 2 trillion people. So why are we to blame for all the global warming? Are the people in China and India going to change the color of their roofs?
Next little question, What difference does it make when only 30% of the planet is even covered by land? I don't know how much of the land is covered by buildings and roads, but in the whole scope of the size of the planet, I bet not to many.
Where does all this reflective light go, once it reflects? My bet is it goes right into my eyes while I'm driving. Really though it has to reflect and then absorb into something. Last I checked the earth isn't a perfectly flat surface, so light will bounce in another direction and there is a good chance that it will hit something and absorb in the new object. Won't the heat generated warm the ambient air in the atmosphere as it goes to space?
OK, it is to help with air conditioning in warmer climates. Because of the heat generated by the sun it does keep your home cooler to have a lighter colored roof. I understand that. But what about all the people who don't live in a warm climate. I bet it might be a bit more economical for them to have a black roof so they do not have to heat their home as much.
Don't you think the people that live in warmer climates have already figured this out? Americans are not stupid, they are going to do things to help them save money when they built their house originally.
If I paint my roof white, when we get a good spring dust storm that turns my roof brown, do I have to go up and repaint it? What about all this paint that will eventually be added to all the landfills eventually, isn't it harmful to our environment?
I think this is just a strange statement from a scientist turned politician. My last question is for Secretary Chu; why the hell would you want to be working a political government job when you are a award winning scientist?
I am no Nobel Prize (now doubting the validity of the award) winning physicist but lets just apply some common sense to the statement.
First off, we have roughly 300 million people living in the United States. In China and India they have roughly 2 trillion people. So why are we to blame for all the global warming? Are the people in China and India going to change the color of their roofs?
Next little question, What difference does it make when only 30% of the planet is even covered by land? I don't know how much of the land is covered by buildings and roads, but in the whole scope of the size of the planet, I bet not to many.
Where does all this reflective light go, once it reflects? My bet is it goes right into my eyes while I'm driving. Really though it has to reflect and then absorb into something. Last I checked the earth isn't a perfectly flat surface, so light will bounce in another direction and there is a good chance that it will hit something and absorb in the new object. Won't the heat generated warm the ambient air in the atmosphere as it goes to space?
OK, it is to help with air conditioning in warmer climates. Because of the heat generated by the sun it does keep your home cooler to have a lighter colored roof. I understand that. But what about all the people who don't live in a warm climate. I bet it might be a bit more economical for them to have a black roof so they do not have to heat their home as much.
Don't you think the people that live in warmer climates have already figured this out? Americans are not stupid, they are going to do things to help them save money when they built their house originally.
If I paint my roof white, when we get a good spring dust storm that turns my roof brown, do I have to go up and repaint it? What about all this paint that will eventually be added to all the landfills eventually, isn't it harmful to our environment?
I think this is just a strange statement from a scientist turned politician. My last question is for Secretary Chu; why the hell would you want to be working a political government job when you are a award winning scientist?
Saturday, June 6, 2009
D+23,741
That is today; D-Day (June 6, 1944) +23,741 days. Sixty-five years ago the long planned invasion at the Normandy beaches, occurred. At Normandy where many thousands who died and were wounded. These men are heroes. They sacrificed their time, families, youth, and sometimes their lives, for freedom.
More than that, these men sacrificed for someone elses freedom. People they did not know. They could not speak their language. They knew nothing of their culture, but they saved them from oppressive fascist rule. True heros.
The men I think about...
The foot soldier
In our family it was a 19 year-old young man named Lupe Torres who landed there in the second wave. Grandpa told his granddaughter this story of his landing...
Because of the exhaustion and a loaded backpack, wading/swimming towards the beach he started to drown. He was struggling to try to keep his head above water and was giving up. The chore of staying alive becoming much to difficult. Then two Sargents grabbed him and helped him to the beach. When he came around to what was going on, Lupe asked some of his other friends where the two Sargents were that helped him out of the water? The soldiers replied that their were no other soldiers there, you helped yourself from the water. When grandpa told Pam the story he said "It was two angels that saved my life that day." I believe it was God's hand that helped him that day.
The leader
On a trip I took to England in the early 1990's what I noticed walking around London was statues of General Eisenhower on the corners. Not FDR, not Truman but statues of Eisenhower, the General who planned D-Day and had the courage to carry it out. Truly a difficult task to commit hundreds of thousands men to their possible demise.
The Western Union telegraph man
I know it is strange to put such a man in this place but what I think of is, the everyday people who had to inform a mother or wife that their son was gone. Everyday people, often not trained for such duty, witnessed and participated in, the hardest day in a families lives. They did this everyday.
To these and so many other people during one of the most difficult times in our history the only thing left that I can say is: Thank You
More than that, these men sacrificed for someone elses freedom. People they did not know. They could not speak their language. They knew nothing of their culture, but they saved them from oppressive fascist rule. True heros.
The men I think about...
The foot soldier
In our family it was a 19 year-old young man named Lupe Torres who landed there in the second wave. Grandpa told his granddaughter this story of his landing...
Because of the exhaustion and a loaded backpack, wading/swimming towards the beach he started to drown. He was struggling to try to keep his head above water and was giving up. The chore of staying alive becoming much to difficult. Then two Sargents grabbed him and helped him to the beach. When he came around to what was going on, Lupe asked some of his other friends where the two Sargents were that helped him out of the water? The soldiers replied that their were no other soldiers there, you helped yourself from the water. When grandpa told Pam the story he said "It was two angels that saved my life that day." I believe it was God's hand that helped him that day.
The leader
On a trip I took to England in the early 1990's what I noticed walking around London was statues of General Eisenhower on the corners. Not FDR, not Truman but statues of Eisenhower, the General who planned D-Day and had the courage to carry it out. Truly a difficult task to commit hundreds of thousands men to their possible demise.
The Western Union telegraph man
I know it is strange to put such a man in this place but what I think of is, the everyday people who had to inform a mother or wife that their son was gone. Everyday people, often not trained for such duty, witnessed and participated in, the hardest day in a families lives. They did this everyday.
To these and so many other people during one of the most difficult times in our history the only thing left that I can say is: Thank You
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
444 days
That is how many days the Iranians kept 52 Americans in 1979-1980. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (the current Iranian President) was the student leader in charge of organizing the attack which resulted in the kidnappings.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad believes that Israel should be "wiped off the map"
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad does not believe the Holocaust occurred.
In a speech given in April 2008, Ahmadinejad described the September 11, 2001 attacks as a "suspect event." He minimized the attacks by saying all that had happened was, "a building collapsed." He claimed that the death toll was never published, that the victims' names were never published, and that the attacks were used subsequently as pretext for the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
President Obama thinks giving this guy nuclear "power" technology is a good idea. Obama is so intrigued with the Iranian government, he also invited them to our Independence Day festivities.
To me this is a slap in the face of the American people by our own leader. Americans were captured and kept hostage for 444 days by this Iranian creep and our President has the gall to invited him over for tea? The Obama administration is looking a lot more like a bad Jimmy Carter administration. We can just hope that in 2012 there is another Ronald Reagan, like in 1980.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad believes that Israel should be "wiped off the map"
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad does not believe the Holocaust occurred.
In a speech given in April 2008, Ahmadinejad described the September 11, 2001 attacks as a "suspect event." He minimized the attacks by saying all that had happened was, "a building collapsed." He claimed that the death toll was never published, that the victims' names were never published, and that the attacks were used subsequently as pretext for the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
President Obama thinks giving this guy nuclear "power" technology is a good idea. Obama is so intrigued with the Iranian government, he also invited them to our Independence Day festivities.
To me this is a slap in the face of the American people by our own leader. Americans were captured and kept hostage for 444 days by this Iranian creep and our President has the gall to invited him over for tea? The Obama administration is looking a lot more like a bad Jimmy Carter administration. We can just hope that in 2012 there is another Ronald Reagan, like in 1980.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Recession Barometers
I get stuck in a rut every day digging through all the bad news of the day, so I think I need to write a bit of uplifting stuff so here it goes...
I know that some people use the Dow Jones Industrial Average, unemployment statistics, the latest GDP numbers and other such statistics to gauge the depths of a recession. I use some different methods to do the same thing.
The grocery store line
If you wait for an excess of 30 minutes in a grocery store line, the economy is doing real well.
Traffic
If you can drive down North Ave. and hit most of the traffic lights green, that means traffic is light, because no one has any money to be driving around.
Home "for sale" signs
If you see more than 4 realtor signs per block, the economy is on the decline.
More cars than pickups on the road
As more of the drillers pack up, the less pick-up trucks that are about town. Plus cars are less expensive than trucks.
So I look forward to...
standing in line for an hour at a grocery store...
or hitting every light red on North Ave...
or getting caught listening to my neighbor complaining about something...
or just getting stuck behind a big smokey diesel truck...
Not everything in a recession is bad either....
We are healthier because we can't afford eating out, alcohol, tobacco.
We spend more time at home with our families.
We break the "credit card" lifestyle.
Many entrepreneurs and inventors start up during bad economic times.
We relearn what is truly important in our lives.
I know it is not the season, but here's a little Christmas story...
About a decade ago, Pam (my wife) and I were working, and failing, at trying to stay ahead of all the bills and trying to get Christmas gifts for the kids. So that year we got some very small priced gifts (dollar store kinda stuff) for the kids, didn't really decorate anything, and Pam made a Christmas tree out of construction paper that we taped to the wall. The ornaments were all construction paper. To be quite honest we were really depressed we could not do better for the kids. But you know what, it is one Christmas that we all remember as being one of the happier Christmas' we have had.
I know that some people use the Dow Jones Industrial Average, unemployment statistics, the latest GDP numbers and other such statistics to gauge the depths of a recession. I use some different methods to do the same thing.
The grocery store line
If you wait for an excess of 30 minutes in a grocery store line, the economy is doing real well.
Traffic
If you can drive down North Ave. and hit most of the traffic lights green, that means traffic is light, because no one has any money to be driving around.
Home "for sale" signs
If you see more than 4 realtor signs per block, the economy is on the decline.
More cars than pickups on the road
As more of the drillers pack up, the less pick-up trucks that are about town. Plus cars are less expensive than trucks.
So I look forward to...
standing in line for an hour at a grocery store...
or hitting every light red on North Ave...
or getting caught listening to my neighbor complaining about something...
or just getting stuck behind a big smokey diesel truck...
Not everything in a recession is bad either....
We are healthier because we can't afford eating out, alcohol, tobacco.
We spend more time at home with our families.
We break the "credit card" lifestyle.
Many entrepreneurs and inventors start up during bad economic times.
We relearn what is truly important in our lives.
I know it is not the season, but here's a little Christmas story...
About a decade ago, Pam (my wife) and I were working, and failing, at trying to stay ahead of all the bills and trying to get Christmas gifts for the kids. So that year we got some very small priced gifts (dollar store kinda stuff) for the kids, didn't really decorate anything, and Pam made a Christmas tree out of construction paper that we taped to the wall. The ornaments were all construction paper. To be quite honest we were really depressed we could not do better for the kids. But you know what, it is one Christmas that we all remember as being one of the happier Christmas' we have had.
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