Temporarily averted

The members of the California Senate Health Committee, with a burst of common sense, finally acknowledged that when the State is operating under a deficit, we can't afford some pie-in-the-sky health care plan. As a bonus, freedom gained a temporary victory too, when the provision that would have unfairly punished smokers was averted.

Fred

The moment Fred Thompson withdrew from the presidential primary, speculation arose as to whom he might endorse. If I had been running for president, I would believe that I was the best person for the job. Why would I want to recommend someone less qualified?

Recalling my experience when I didn't vote for John Schmitz because I knew he couldn't win, and I got Nixon; I am going to vote for Fred Thompson in the primary, so I can't possibly help to choose the wrong candidate again.

EXTRA: Regarding the government stimulus package, giving every taxpayer a little bit of money is the best idea since the cheese wienie. It's just enough to make some people think the government cares. The politicians do care. . . about being elected.
The poorer you are, the less you get, and those who have too little income to pay taxes, will probably receive nothing. That's an idea as great as the 8-track.

Quiz

What do the following cities have in common: Aurora, Illinois; Bismarck, North Dakota; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Las Cruces, New Mexico; Rapid City, South Dakota, and West Valley City, Utah?

TV or not TV?

Here are a few of my latest submissions on the subjects of gasoline taxes, human cloning and abortion:


Attention Democrats! A panel wants to raise (gas) taxes. What a heavenly suggestion. Don't you just love raising taxes?


"Why are they chasing us, Dr. Frankenstein?"
"We cloned a human being, Igor."
"But you're a respected scientist."
"No, Igor, I'm a crackpot, and they just don't understand."
"Run faster, Doctor!"


No one wants to take away a woman's right to have unprotected recreational sex. In fact, it's easier for a woman to obtain an abortion than for a smoker to find a place to light up. Ain't freedom great?

Science

I'm hot to hypothesize. -- Beakman's World


The words of Beakman, from the children's TV science show, say it all. Who knows how much of science is natural law, and how much is hypothesis, theory and voodoo?

Take two prominent modern political issues: evolution and human-caused global warming. Scientists and religious pseudo-scientists are lined up on both sides. Large bodies take a vote and achieve "consensus." Dissenting individuals are deemed to be crackpots and shouted down. There is no room for an Einstein today.

We also have become the drug generation. Medical science has created a number of new ailments, and then provided medications for them. I take one particular pill, and the drug company warns me, in a monthly newsletter, that if I discontinue dosing, I will die. Their tone is conciliatory, but the threat is palpable. I know I'm cowed. (Wait a minute while I take my pill.)

I am tired of hearing of the latest scientific "discovery," which contradicts last week's theories. Obviously, Beakman knows something: It's not all fact, yet. As one California civil servant recently said, 'That's a detail level beyond my knowledge base."

The search goes on

It turns out that Leonard Adame, whose letter to the editor of the E-R on 1/17, is a "professor" at Butte College. This is the man who misinterpreted Wally Herger's words at his appearance at Orland High School, and erroneously accused him of propagandizing. Wally was invited there to explain his positions on the issues, and he did so.

Adame, as other inappropriate teachers do, misunderstands the difference between politicians and educators. He feels it is reasonable to make inflammatory statements such as, "The U.S. and its co-pilot God control the planet, no matter how many Muslim children must be slaughtered to guarantee supremacy," and to insult Wally Herger, our fine Representative in Congress, calling him "immoral," and "self-serving." He apparently feels it is appropriate to spout this kind of vitriol in his Butte College classrom. It isn't. Fortunately, a number of his students have observed and reported such reprehensible behavior to the Web site: Rate Your Professors.

Adame is just another educator who inappropriately inflicts his opinions about science, religion and politics upon his students, and now, he has repeated them for the readers of the E-R. He should apologize to us, Wally Herger, his students, the United States of America, and God.

Let's see. . .

In today's pamphlet, I was referred to, obliquely, as an ultra-rightist. How complimentary! Oh, wait, it came from an ultra-leftist, or liberal, so it turns out it was intended as an insult. Let us see what kind of person wrote that letter to the editor.

To be a liberal you must think you know more than everyone else. You must be more loving, caring and thoughtful, and be constantly available to bestow those gifts on the unfortunate. You must tell others how to live their lives, because they couldn't possibly know as much as you. You must find a way to take things away from people who have "too much," and give them to people who have "too little." You must be loved by all.

To be a liberal politician, you must be elected and re-elected, so that in the end, you will amass a great personal fortune. You must be prepared to raise taxes at every turn, even though it has been proven that lower taxes generate more money for government. You must fabricate outrageous lies about your political opponents. You must take great satisfaction when they are believed, and you must repeat them until they appear to be truth. You must be loved by all.

As a liberal, you must make other people feel guilty for all the evils of the world, from creation on. Slavery, environmental damage, the Holocaust, HIV, Islamic extremists -- must be blamed on others, whether they or their forebears were involved or not. You must be seen to be doing something to alleviate problems, to atone for those who created them. You must be loved by all.

You must pander to each diverse group in society to gain their votes. Nothing is more important than being elected and re-elected. You may use dialects and feign interest in their concerns, as long as you appear sincere and caring. You must play all the appropriate "cards," and take advantage of the prejudices of those whom you are addressing. You must be loved by all.

When you give every American family $80 to defray the cost of HDTV, you will be loved. Don't worry for a moment where the money will be coming from. You will be loved when you raise the minimum wage, notwithstanding the number of people who will lose their jobs. You will be loved by the cruel and unthinking when you punish smokers and the rich, and even though they are not as good as you, your constituents are better than those addicted to tobacco and money. You will be loved by the weak-willed when you tell them what to eat, what light bulbs to buy, what they can drive, what they can do in their own homes, what education their children must have, what kind of health care they can have, and generally absolve them of all thinking, planning and working. Yes, you will be loved, but not, thank God, by all.

Preliminary choices

With the presidential primary approaching, today, I am considering John McCain, Fred Thompson, Rudy Giuliani and Ron Paul, in that order. Ron Paul, you ask? This man is basically a Libertarian whose philosophy is appealing to me. The Libertarian Party cannot elect a president, so Paul is the only one who espouses limited government who might win. Unfortunately, he also expresses the childish cut-and-run approach to war, and I would have to hope either things in Iraq improve dramatically this year, or that he recognizes the folly of his surrender mentality. I'll keep my eye on him until the primary. Now would be the time for debates.

The only candidates I have eliminated are the Democrats, because. . . they're Democrats. Actually, I had been interested in Bill Richardson, but he recently withdrew. He said it was a financing issue, but, more likely, he was too honest for the Democrats. As for Republican John H. Cox, I could never vote for him, because I have no idea who he is, and was unaware he was on the ballot.

74

She's having my baby

Everything at our house runs on electricity. On Friday, at 8:15 am, the power went out, and was off until Sunday at 9:00 pm. It was cold; it was dark; it was depressing.

I don't watch many movies, certainly few made after the 1980s. In my depression, I kept remembering the one I had seen on Thursday night, and hoping it wasn't going to be the last I might ever see. It was "Knocked Up," and I purchased it "buy one, get one free." Tony Scott named it the 10th best movie of 2007, and he and others said it was very funny. It wasn't.

It was the story of five losers and their encounter with a young lady who had a responsible job and had just been promoted, and decided to get drunk to celebrate. Stupidly, she had sex with one particularly unattractive loser, and. . . thus the title.

At that point, the film was over as far as I could see, but because I had heard it was funny, I kept watching, hoping to be amused. It never happened. It would only be funny to someone who considers the constant use of the word "fuck" in all its forms -- noun, verb, adjective and the gerund "fucking" -- humorous. It might be funny to someone who values indolence, drug use and alcohol consumption, and watching a prolonged ignorant lecture on blow jobs, but it was not my idea of laughable. The birth sequence was nicely done, almost touching, but not funny. I chuckled twice, once near the very end when the Daddy whispered to the baby, "She said, 'Just do it.'"

Wait, I remember the one other laugh. The brief scene when the Mommy and her sister raced through the store, gathering up numerous home pregnancy tests, was cute. That's all.

Stubborn

I don't beg. I had excellent parents, and, in my youth, when I tried to employ that childish ploy, they refused to accede to my entreaties, and I soon discovered that I felt extreme shame and discomfort at my behavior, and I discontinued it permanently. Certainly, during my school years, I made a number of requests of others, but no begging occurred, because I assumed everyone had the same strength of character as my parents.

After seven years of marriage, my wife, in an act of unexpected hostility, presented me with divorce papers on my birthday. I asked her why, and she wouldn't respond, I didn't beg. I expressed my physical love one more time, and moved out the next morning. We never spoke of it again.

Last year, my son relocated outside the country without telling me, or saying goodbye. However, his brother and sister let me know, but added, "You'll have to ask him why." I don't know what he thinks I have done wrong, but I can't beg. He'll tell me when, or if, he wants to. I miss him.

Letter from Burgers R Us

Jerry Foonman, Employee of the Month,
November 2007
Hometown, California

Dear Jerry:

This is to inform you that the State of California has raised the minimum wage by $.50 per hour. You have been doing a fine job cleaning the grease traps and mucking out the toilets, but I don't feel the importance of these chores merits more than a $7.50 per hour investment on my part. Therefore, I will be asking Tom, Brenda and Consuela to work longer and harder without additional compensation to accomplish the tasks you will no longer be doing. You're fired.

Because one or more of the above named persons may quit, citing the poor treatment I have just described, you may want to leave me your current telephone number, and I might call on you, if I can't find an illegal alien to work under the radar. Don't hold your breath. Be assured, however, I will talk glowingly about your limited skills to anyone who asks.

Best of luck in the future. Don't have children; you'll never be able to afford them.

Manager

Une bonne annee

Apparently, the Paris riots were unrelated, but a new series of uprisings could occur, because, starting today, smoking in public places is officially forbidden in France. Atroce!

Aux armes, citoyens
Formez vos batallions
Marchons. . . .