Odds N Ends...
With all the fallout from so many things that have been happening around us, I'm taking a pause from my "rites of Springtime" series to bring everyone out there (including myself) up to speed on a few things. Trouble is...I don't mind THINKING, and that's always a dangerous proposition whenever I become involved.
If you read the Thomas Paine quote along the header of this blog, you'll see why I believe that.
So, without any further ado...let's open up some recently "declassified" files from the cardboard box that sits next to my comic book collection in the basement, and get cracking, shall we?
*** From the "Did ANYONE REALLY think this out?" file:
The whole Health care bill is flawed...YOU know it, I know it, so who the hell are we kidding, hmm?
When I heard those NUNS saying "This is what Jesus would do"...I went "really?....REALLY?"
Gimme a damn break here.
Jesus taught to "render unto CAESAR (government) that which is CAESAR'S" (taxes).
He NEVER said anything about handing over control of your personal life to CAESAR (the government)...that was solely the realm of SLAVES, wasn't it? FREE MEN just didn't do that, but then again, we ARE talking about a EMPIRE...run by an EMPEROR (read dictator), and not anything close to a DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC.
Next, with America rapidly going broke, thanks to these "cost-saving" plans Obamessiah (and his cabal) have wrought upon the populace, what WOULD happen if the price of...say....OIL were to suddenly spike?
We sure can't pay for it all that much, not when we can't even pay the INTEREST of our OWN LOANS with other nations (like CHINA), who is deciding to not only chastise us for attempting to levy taxes on imported goods FROM them, but also seeking to keep technological advances in THEIR nation, by dumping more money INTO those technologies than we would need to pay off our debt TO China (3.3 TRILLION bucks).
But, we DO owe other nations as well...guess they're gonna have to "take a number and get in line".
I can see LONG lines at the fuel pumps, if we have to tap this nation's reserves, which is a distinct possibility, given the manner in which this global economy remains in a state of constant flux.
The short-term outlook for this health care bill appears promising (at first), but that's where it ENDS, people. The bloom will go from THIS rose soon enough, and all you'll have is another wilted rose to toss the hell out.
Right now, TWELVE states AG (attorneys general) are prepped to file LAWSUITS against the government regarding the constitutionality of this bill. The government has NO power to "force" any citizen to BUY any product...not in a republic.
If you REFUSE to buy car insurance, don't be surprised if you're not allowed to exercise your PRIVILEGE TO DRIVE...it's that simple.
If you REFUSE to get house insurance, don't get your undies in a bunch if the place accidentally burns down and you LOSE everything, and receive nothing as compensation, including another place to live. Also, you really can't get a mortgage unless you get SOME kind of insurance either.
You have NO right to drive, OR to own a home. It's a privilege, and we spoke about this last week.
You want that privilege, you have to follow certain, specified "rules".
All of these insurance "items" are there to be bought from ANY company offering them...at YOUR discretion, NOT the government's.
You play...you pay. Simple, huh?
*** From the "Cause and Effect" files:
Our local school board (FWCS) has voted to CLOSE Elmhurst H.S., an elementary school, lay off 91 teachers (that's 61 from high schools alone, in addition to those lost by other schools), NINE administrators (only) and are looking to outsource the custodial staffing (more unemployed).
Now that certainly is bound to RAISE all those test scores (especially with the kids from Elmhurst who face the stress of not being in their school for their senior year). Don't be surprised if these adolescent minds just shut the hell down to avoid dealing the the reality of this. That's the way teenage hormones work, folks.
Not to mention that some kids just might not like attending a "rival" school, and might become victims of bullying by those from the school these kids wind up in. Oh, yeah...a real "win-win" all around.
That covers the $15 million shortfall for FWCS...THIS year...
Now, about that EIGHT MILLION shortfall for NEXT year...
Guess in about 10 more years, ALL the schools will be closed here, at the rate they're going, hmm?
It's not about the children, but it's ALWAYS about the MONEY...remember that, friends.
*** From the "If You Build It, They'll Have to Drive It" files:
Carbon Motors (an Indiana company) is looking to produce the "next generation" of police cruisers.
These will be state-of-the-art vehicles, designed PURELY for police work (and will not be sold to the public after they're "retired from service"). They have bulletproof door panels, are designed to get up to 35 MPG on a straight-six cylinder DIESEL engine (built by BMW, and NOT by any American companies), and will (eventually) take the place of the aging fleets of police vehicles now on our streets, should they be adopted nationwide.
We all know the marvelous Ford CROWN VIC will no longer be produced after this year (the police entry will be an offshoot of the TAURUS model), and Chrysler already has the (Dodge) CHARGER on our streets. General (read Government) Motors will begin (again) producing a CAPRICE model to take the place of the venerable Impala (in service since 1997).
This Carbon Motors model (The E-7) might not be for EVERY police or sheriff's department, but in some cities where police are being targeted by such thugs as the VAGO motorcycle gang (Hemet. CA), it might just provide another layer of protection from the booby traps being set for LEOs out there.
*** Finally...I don't honestly know WHAT the future will hold for us. If we use a cinematic analogy, we could have a future like MAD MAX (gas worth more than gold and every person for themselves)...or BLADE RUNNER (odd combination of languages and ethnicities and a strictly defined class structure)...or MAX HEADROOM (corporate wars and government intrusion of everything in people's lives), or even ROBOCOP (cities turned into mega-ghettos and police at risk thanks to crime running those cities).
Those are not ANY of the scenarios I choose to embrace with the type of "change" we're seeing in this nation.
Nor, do I wish a total Utopian venue, that would have the government give everything to everyone.
That stifles creativity, abrogates freedom, and quashes liberty.
I like the system whereby individuals rise to the occasion. Where the individual makes the discovery, cures the disease, invents the next life-improving item.
If I wanted to be part of a "collective", I'm sure there are enough nations that practice socialism or communism to choose from (and that would probably be my LAST choice if I went there).
I like where people are FREE to CHOOSE...to make mistakes, then get the hell back up and try it again, without the government at our side, carrying us along in life.
Allow me the right to succeed OR fail, based on MY merits, and not some governmental dictate.
Allow me the right to MY life, devoid of government intervention in "my best interest".
Allow me to be an AMERICAN.
Now, get yourselves outside, enjoy that which surrounds you, and gird yourselves with a new resolve to keep our nation as she was always meant to be by doing what needs to be done.
Here's something to get you started on the right foot:
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.
- Author unknown
I believe this poem was written regarding a prizefighter a long time ago...
And I think that many of us suffer much the same AS that fighter. We fight every day for something, whether it's for a parking space, some peace and quiet, our freedoms, or even our sanity. We fight demons both real and imagined, yet we can find solace from a little known poem such as this.
We can rise above the pain, the fatigue, and the tedium to win, no matter how small the victory.
So, make a difference today to someone, even if it's yourself, and...
Stay safe out there, America