Goodbye

I believe I have paid my last visit to the Portuguese-themed restaurant in our pleasant little one-hundred-year-old (this year) town. At first, I ordered the pistachio-encrusted chicken, and was told some story about how pistachios were out of season, or recalled, or something. The explanation was not worth pursuing, and I switched my order to rib eye steak.

Three pieces of warm sourdough arrived before the Portuguese leek soup, which I had had before and enjoyed again. We devoured the bread, and later received two refills of three and four more pieces each. I guess that makes the waitress look more attentive and helpful.

The steak was something I wouldn't serve in my own home. . . to the dogs. To reiterate my favorite line from "A Fish Called Wanda," -- "Disappointed!" Accompanying it was a baked potato which is something you can't really ruin, and some fresh green beans slathered in garlic, a combination I don't savor. The highlight of the evening was a bottle of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, an alcoholic beverage, one of which I haven't had for several years.

I may just return to my habit of having one beer with my dinner. What the hell.

Three for TV

President Obama threw Poland and the Czech Republic under the bus, and where we could have loaded some missiles on a truck and driven them in, he opted to send them into space at the inflated cost of $1.5 billion. But then, he mobilizes the secret service and a fleet of armored cars just to go down the street to buy a hamburger.

I can see no reason why anyone would need bottled water. If the city wants to attract new business, the Council should seek out companies that provide products that are actually essential. (USED)

It's an old saw, but if we stay away from public venues, the terrorists win. Besides, President Bush will keep you safe. . . oops, you replaced him. Well, we still have the CIA. . . or do we?

Obama-speak

President Obama has repeatedly claimed that requiring people to purchase health insurance is the same thing as the obligation to have auto insurance. That's just plain double-talk.

No one is required to have auto insurance. You do not have to purchase a vehicle, and you can choose not to drive. Both of these circumstances will absolve you of the insurance obligation. No penalty will accrue. You may also take advantage of the financial responsibility provision in the law. In California, it states you may post a $25,000 cash deposit or surety bond in lieu of insurance. It's reasonable to assume that such an option is available in most states.

Conversely, the health insurance in the Obama-speak version must be purchased or a fine will be assessed. That is an unconscionable intrusion on personal freedom. Say something to your lawmakers now.

The Hydra

Today's topic is a two-headed dilemma. Should someone be told when they are lying, and does it violate the rules of civil behavior when the person being informed is a government official?

The most frequent lies are the repetition of something we have been told, the verity of which we have not confirmed, or the deliberate omission of those portions of a narrative which alter the meaning. People who are adept at doing this are often called "slick." Bill Clinton is a recent successful proponent of the technique, and this morning, on FoxNews Sunday, the CEO of ACORN, Bertha Lewis, demonstrated her considerable skills of obfuscation. Of course, President Obama, earnest as he may appear, has been touting a health care plan which contains many provisions of which he is either unaware, or chooses to ignore. When Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC) rightly called that lying, he was chastised by the House. Wilson did not scream obscenities nor call for violent action. It appears his only real crimes are that he is a Republican, and that he was correct.

Never again

To steal a phrase from an oblivious, accidental President, "Our long national nightmare is over." The misnamed talent show has ended. I was disappointed, because it seems the outcome was assured before the contest began. Whoever suggested it to the "chicken catcher," -- whether it was he himself, his entourage, or the producers of the show -- the "Boyle effect" carried him to inevitable victory. So, all that watching and voting was an exercise in futility. I should have followed my natural instinct to avoid reality. . . reality TV, that is.

Custodians around the world cringed, when, at the end of the glitzy finale, a veritable blizzard of white confetti descended on the stage, obscuring our view of all assembled. What an annoying cleanup job. And why white?

I am stll pondering what "talent" is. Is it something with which one is born, or does it emerge with use? Where do training and practice fit in? I remember that when I was told I had a nice voice (for my age), I immediately sought out a voice teacher. I suspect my "talent" was a result of work and experience.

EXTRA: It has been determined that 40% of Twitter is pointless babble.
(Don't you dare say what you're thinking.)

For today's TV

In my youth I listened to the radio, and later I watched TV. The only cost of each was the price of the receiver and the power to run it. I object to the increased expense of cable or satellite imposed on us by scientific "progress."

I don't smoke, or drink sugary soft drinks, but I am mightily offended by the government's efforts to punish those who do. When will you speak out against this and other growing intrusions in our lives?

Rebuke (As published on 9/21)

The Congressional Black Caucus, spurred on by Jimmy Carter, the worst President of the twentieth century, has played the race card in rebuking Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC), an earnest lawmaker who spoke out against a misstatement by President Obama. What he did was a breech of courtesy, but what the President wants to do is an affront to common sense, and what the House did is an act of liberal petulance.

Yesterday

Yesterday, I saw my cardiologist, and he confirmed I was still alive. I did not take with me my list of medications about which the TV keeps telling me, "Ask your doctor if it's right for you," because the man has no discernible sense of humor. Besides, my yeast infection has cleared up, and my Attention Deficit Syndrome has been in remission since the third grade.

Actually, Dr. Mumbles (as my physical therapist used to call him) was relatively lucid and pleasant, and he only admonished me for my excessive weight in passing. I can't decide if he was only in a good mood, or he had adopted the Obamacare philosophy, "He's practically dead anyway." When he used to lecture me sternly, it was easier to imagine he cared.

Then, last night, I watched the final performances of those folks on the misnamed talent show as they put their futures in the hands of their friends and relatives and millions of strangers who will bring their own biases to the voting. For instance, I would never vote for a man with a wart on his nose. The winner will be that person or persons who did that thing.

Finally, I watched the new Jay Leno Show. I thoroughly enjoyed the car wash skit, and Seinfeld was cute. (He seems to enjoy being perceived as "cute.") Then Kanye West came on. After his earlier insult to President Bush, and his recent behavior that ruined the evening for Taylor Swift, I am reminded that the premiere prime time variety show host, Ed Sullivan, wouldn't have allowed him in the building. Why did Leno?

I don't pretend to understand what rappers say or what that means, but West's liberal use of the word "black" makes me suspect he was saying something intended to offend me. He's really good at that.

9/11/09 and still safe at home;

and thank you, President Bush.

Suddenly, the Democrats are concerned about Congressional civility, but where were they when Harry Reid (D-NV) and others of his ilk called President Bush a liar?

Congressman Wilson (R-SC) is an employee of the people of his state, and the petulant Democrats can grouse all they want, but he will answer to his constituents who support him. I only regret that his words to President Obama were not my favorite non-apology, "I said you were lying, and it was impolite of me to point that out."

The new American triage

Triage (TREE-AHZH) is a French word created on the battlefields of World War I to describe a procedure for the sorting and allocating of medical treatment on the basis of where funds and resources can best be used, and whose life should receive precedence.

Isn't that exactly what the President proposed for Obamacare, when he said that perhaps some terminal, mostly old, patients might be best treated solely with pain killers instead of expensive surgery, because they're practically dead anyway? I know he didn't say those last three words, but that was the implication.

My question to this new socialist government and its eugenicists is, when did I give you the power of life and death over me? I'll bet you've forgotten my inalienable rights, the first one being Life. Actually you seem to be a little fuzzy on the concept of Liberty, too, and your idea of Happiness involves my sitting on my ass and letting you give me what you want me to have. Oh, and then, I'm supposed to be grateful and re-elect you to your cushy jobs.

Ain't gonna happen.

Fun for today's TV (Pre-empted by the NFL)

1. C'mon, admit it, this health care smoke screen has made you almost completely forget the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. If they start the whole discussion over again, they'll be able to divert our attention even longer.

2. Liberals are the ultimate hypocrites. They saw nothing wrong with a book of fiction advocating the killing of President Bush, but they are all wee-weed up about a satiric look at Hillary Clinton.

Wally

For the first time in my life, I am encouraged to contribute financially to a political campaign. Our fine local Member of the House of Representatives, Wally Herger, has been ignorantly attacked by two particularly virulent liberal members of the media, and I can think of no better way to show my love for the American way of life than to support Wally's re-election.

Labor Day

"A truly American sentiment recognizes the dignity of labor and the fact that honor lies in honest toil." -- Grover Cleveland

BRAGGING: I am pleased to announce that, today, the District Attorney of our county spoke highly of my article "Bequest." In the unlikely event that I am arrested and charged in this county, at least the DA will know I am a literate criminal.

The awakening

In a mere eight months, President Obama has gone from hope and change to desperation and a deep concern about how his expensive projects will impoverish our children and grandchildren. We have listened to him talk ad nauseun, and now we are very skeptical of how he will proselytize the young ones when he electronically invades their schools. It is encouraging to see the growing outcry against his attempts to restructure our society in a deleterious manner.

The Amertican spirit lives.

Warning to parents (as seen on TV)

On Tuesday, September 8, President Obama is planning to propagandize your children by telecasting directly into their classrooms. If you don't want them to come home and lecture you about health care, global warming, or other of the President's expensive projects, I suggest you keep them at home on Tuesday, or phone the school and ask how this intrusion in your life can be otherwise averted.

Bequest (as published 9/7)

Lately, at health care demonstrations, signs reading, "Health care is a civil right," have been appearing. The sentiment expressed is just that -- a mawkish hope with no basis in fact.

What all American citizens and documented aliens actually do have is the right to get a job to earn the money to purchase health care services and/or health insurance for themselves and their families. A form of insurance called Medicare is available to retirees who, during their working years, paid into the fund. Part A of Medicare pays 80% of a retiree's doctor bills. Part B covers most of the cost of hospitalization, if the retiree pays a monthly premium of almost $100. Part B is optional, but it seems worth the cost.

Meanwhile, there is a threat that Medicare will run out of funding in the near future. Yet, the Democrat administration wants to institute something similar to it for everyone. . . except themselves, of course, whose coverage is even better. Where will that money be coming from? Perhaps the late Teddy Kennedy, who had been busy for years sponsoring legislation which took money away from those who worked, and gave it to those who didn't, might have left his sizeable personal fortune to the U.S. treasury in one final act of conspicuous altruism.

Another pet peeve, as published on 8/30

Syndicated columnist Cynthia Tucker is frequently wrong about things, and in her Aug. 22 column, "Same-sex marriages just a matter of time," she misspeaks again, saying, "The culture has changed considerably since 1996," and offering as proof, poll results, specifically one done by the Pew Forum for Religion and Public Life.

The concept of polls is deeply flawed. They do not determine the culture, nor do they accurately measure our heritage. Most polls involve about 1,500 carefully selected people who are asked loaded questions that favor the biased response which the poll-takers wish to elicit. In addition, I, and the vast majority of you have never been asked our opinion.

On the specific subject, same-sex marriage, under discussion here, how would you feel about the question, "How guilty do you feel that married gays and lesbians don't get the same special tax advantages as other married Americans? 1. Very guilty, 2. Somewhat guilty, or 3. Mean and prejudiced?"

What do you say, if you believe as I, that no married people of any persuasion should be treated any differently by government than any other Americans? In the words of a biased poll, would you, 1. Agree completely, 2. Agree, with some exceptions, or 3. Feel mean and prejudiced?