Folks

Scott McClellan is a disloyal, back-stabbing opportunist. When he was press secretary, I marveled at how adroitly he could avoid answering embarrassing questions. Now I see how he did it; it appears he is, as Bob Dole just said, a weasel.

Fabian Nunez, ex-speaker of California State Assembly, when chided about his lavish spending, was heard to say, "Because of the fact I am Mexican, they think I have to sleep under a cactus and eat from taco stands." Don't members of the Assembly have to be Americans? Most of us, or our ancestors, came here from other countries, and when we became citizens, we called ourselves Americans. That's as it should be.

Attn: Holier-Than-Thou

I hear that Barack Obama is a smoker who has tried several times to quit, implying that he is still sneaking a puff in private. You anti-smoking wonks have to catch him at it, and inflict some of that punishment, for which you are so famous, upon him. Of course, this news will cost him your votes, because you are too holy to support such a politically incorrect person. How disappointing to learn your messiah has feet of clay.

Snarky

Christopher L. Crosby's sarcastic letter to the editor responding to the letter chronicled in my post "Another Rev" (5/13) ended, "I'm sure if [his city] has a problem on such a scale such as Katrina wrought, letter writer Don will be ready for it, not wanting any assistance. So, Uncle Sam, there's one less person you need to keep safe."

In my comeback I said, "An American should be self-reliant and turn to the government as infrequently as possible. [Crosby] pointed out that I was such a person, and I wear that reputation with pride.

"All I ask of my government is that it maintain an army to protect me from foreign enemies, police agencies to keep me safe from domestic criminals, firefighters, and people to maintain the infrastructure. I have always assumed the rest of my needs were my responsibility."

God Bless America

"I am humbled by those who have made the ultimate sacrifice that allow a free civilization to endure and flourish. It only remains for us, the heirs of their legacy, to have the courage and character to follow their lead and to preserve America as the greatest nation on Earth and the last, best hope for mankind." -- George W. Bush, President of the United States, Memorial Day 2008.

Jorge

Yesterday, on TV, Jorge Smirnoff asked me to join him in bad-mouthing the President, and today, my response appeared as follows:

I'm sorry, Jorge, but unlike you, I'm not a gratuitous name-caller, and I won't disrespect the Office of the President of the United States, the greatest country in the world.

No mention of Kopechne

"One should never speak ill of the dead" is a common bit of politically correct wisdom, so, in the wake of the revelation of Teddy Kennedy's brain tumor, I will have to be unkind to him before his passing. Please be assured that nothing I say is meant to diminish his humanity or that of his family. I will restrict my words to a description of some of the evil he has wrought as a U.S. Senator.

Teddy is the youngest son of the Kennedy Dynasty, and although he missed his chance to be President, he has always acted as though he were. Although he is extremely wealthy, he has always feigned concern for the poor, as long as the taxpayers can be made to alleviate their plight. His is virulently political, and is completely committed to the destruction of the Republican Party. It can be said that he has been the most influential proponent of the liberal/socialist philosophy that is the major contributing factor to the trouble in which our nation finds itself. We wish no one pain or unhappiness, so if Teddy does not return to the Senate, millions of Americans may be spared his ill-conceived idea of compassion.

Who's your partner?

Last week, by a 4-3 vote, the California Supreme Court overthrew the will of the people and negated our 62% yes vote on an initiative affirming that marriage is only between a man and a woman. The decision was applauded by gays and lesbians, and God knows who else.

Naturally, a movement is afoot to amend the state constitution in November, and my initial reaction was that the people will have the opportunity to assert their will once and for all. Suddenly, I remembered that the U.S. Constitution makes no reference to marriage, and neither should the state constitution. Marriage is a religious concept, and has no place being rewarded or punished by any government entity. If churches perform ceremonies uniting individuals, and if they call them marriage, so be it. Whether the state recognizes or rejects the unions is immaterial, because everyone should be treated equally under the law. Those who are married should have no rights superior to yours and mine, except those that may be conveyed to them by their church in their religious community.

Therefore, I will be unable to support a constitutional amendment, and I will have to live with, and disapprove of, any resultant laws which the Court has improperly permitted. I hope there will also be judicial recalls on the November ballot.

Negotiation

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- G. Orwell

I remember those productive talks we had with Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito. Oh, wait, we let our guns do the talking, because you can't negotiate with irrational people. You might ponder the fine relationship we've had with Germany, Italy and Japan since we won that war.


FYI: My post "Another Rev" (5/13 ) appeared in today's newspaper.

Conspiracy theory?

For centuries, the population of the world was regulated by war, famine and pestilence. Since World War II, especially, these forces have been rapidly decreasing in size and efficacy. The discovery of nuclear power has made all-out war unlikely, improved food production has mitigated starvation, and medical science has greatly extended life expectancy. Therefore, there are more people extant than the planet can support.

The creative entity and its alter-ego, Mother Nature, have now instituted an alternative method of population control. Two recent disasters -- the cyclone in Myanmar, and a gigantic earthquake in China -- have been the latest census adjustments. Earlier hurricanes in the Caribbean were a warning that the world did not heed, so the creative entity has taken stronger steps to help us preserve the quality of life for those of us who remain. Until we learn to control the weather, this will continue to be the primary means of adjustment. Even if we find a way to divert the wind, water is almost impossible to contain, and the creative entity might be obliged to order someone to build another ark. How many cubits was that, again?

Another Rev

It has been mentioned that the Reverend John Hagee blamed Katrina's victims for their suffering. I am not aware of the exact context in which the statement was said, but there is a lot of truth in it.

No, I do not refer to any silly allegation that the storm was a result of human-caused global warming. The reason that some of the victims are culpable is because they elected the liberal Democrats who created a welfare state in Louisiana, causing thousands of residents to embrace the culture of entitlement, which destroys initiative and eliminates the work ethic. The State of Louisiana embarked on a systematic program of disregarding the deteriorating levees in favor of funding indolence and irresponsibility. Families, particularly Black families, were destroyed when fathers were allowed to abandon their children to State support. Mothers were allowed to believe that such behavior was acceptable, that the State was their family, and that there was no need for them to work.

When the storm struck, we saw thousands of Louisianans on TV, looking like deer caught in the headlights, who had been robbed of their skills to fend for themselves by that government they had chosen for themselves, and to which they had foolishly given themselves over.

No free lunch

Today, I began to read an AP article entitled, "Hundreds of thousands of workers won't get tax rebates." That didn't sound fair, so I read on -- until I suddenly remembered that all this talk of "stimulus" is irrelevant, and then I lost interest.

Rebates are an awful idea, devised in this election year only to endear politicians to the voters. There are actually some voters who will believe that they are getting something for nothing, and will run out and vote for those magnanimous people who say they love them. The truth is that every penny of the "stimulus" is added to the national debt, most of which is in interest payments to China on the money the government has borrowed and will borrow. Therefore, not giving it away, for whatever reason, is a financial plus, and if the recipients would send it back to Washington to reduce the debt, that would produce the best outcome for the country.

Respiratory suspension

I am holding my breath that I have finished paying for my broken hip episode. After 17+ months of receiving the same bill for the full cost of my anesthesiology, I FINALLY convinced the idiot medical billing company that the majority of it was covered by Medicare. The check for the balance is in the mail. I don't think I owe it, but it's not large enough to merit fighting over with incompetents.

This brings me to one of my pet peeves. During this medical episode, as well as an earlier one, I received bills at various times, some over a year later. First born keeps telling me that I owe the money whenever I get the bill. How many months (or years) later is reasonable? I maintain there is (or should be) a law that places some kind of statute of limitations on billing. After all. creditors sometimes assess penalties on late payments. If they're anxious to get the money, shouldn't they bill in a timely manner? (By the way, the medical billers didn't have the temerity to add any penalties , because if they had. . . well. . . .)

The anesthetist doesn't seem to have an office, phone number or email address. I emailed the hospital, asking them to forward my message to him. I suggested he might want to check into his billing entity, but, in this regard, I won't be holding my breath.

Finally, for over a year, I returned the bills each month with copies of letters I had received from Blue Cross, chronicling their willingness to resolve the billing problem. If the doctor can be found, I might ask him to compensate me for postage, copying and aggravation.

Ruben promises more demonstrations

Enough with the compassion. Stinko de Mayo ("Cinco" in Mexico) came and went, and my local media didn't report any riots and/or violence. I doubt it didn't happen somewhere, and I hope that it wasn't reported only because it was an embarrassing incident.

It is, after all, a Mexican holiday, to be celebrated in Mexico, just like Guy Fawkes Day in England, Bastille Day in France, and the Running of the Bulls in Spain. We are a non-violent culture, and would prefer not being subjected to bottle and rock throwers. We help nations around the world with billions of dollars and copious technical assistance, so that their citizens will have a better standard of living. Now, if the government of Mexico would only help, their people could stay home with their families until they can migrate legally, and then come here only to enrich our American culture.

Published

I am very pleased to announce that my previous post ("Guilt") has appeared in the newspaper, especially since it is the most compassionate thing I have ever written. I hope Tom can take some solace in it.

For Jorge's information: George Bush had nothing to do with the cyclone in Myanmar.

Guilt

A letter to the editor on Tuesday ended with the words, "We are warmongers. I know, I'm in deep trouble." My encouraging response follows:

It has taken me a few days to think of how to respond to Tom Mulleague's sad letter. The news from his doctor was unfortunate, but being well along in years myself, I believe I might welcome the comfort of knowing how much time I have left.

The truly depressing part of Mulleague's letter, however, is the undeserved guilt he is suffering. First, he should remember his faith in God, and stop thinking He will be disappointed. He sent His son to die on the cross for our sins, and He has long since forgiven us.

What disturbs me the most is that Mulleague has been made to feel guilty by some of his fellow Americans, most of them politicians and their liberal media accomplices, who wish to absolve their own imagined culpability by trying to make us share it. Neither you, nor I, nor Mulleague have burned any villages, raped or killed anyone, or destroyed the environment, and if someone somewhere in the world is complicit by action or inaction, let's put the blame there, where it belongs, and lift it off the shoulders of the innocent. Mulleague must not go to his rest in fear of retribution, nor live the rest of his life in guilt.