Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Disparity in Reporting

My kids jumped me for only watching Fox News and only listening to it on XM. They said "Broaden your Horizons. Listen to both sides." So I did. The quality of reporting is astounding. While tuned to fox news I heard about the FAA Bird Strike scandal, Clinton saying that "War of Terror" is now an off limits term (much like terrorist strike is now a man caused disaster), and some of the ridiculous new legislation that has been introduced.

When I flipped to CNN I heard a bio of the vice president of Venuzuela (I think. It was some socialistic country.) talking about what a wonderful person he was. This gave way to a story about how the animals of the Red River are being hurt by the flooding, which of course is George Bush's fault due to Global Warming. (Give it up already guys, he's out of office.)

Then I flipped to Headline News and heard a couple of human interest stories about wonderful animals. Then some Democratic Senator was on talking about how evil anyone earning over $75,000 per year was and how all the poor people of America were going to be helped by Obama buying their houses with his housing rescue bill.

The quality of reporting between the three stations was astounding. I'm starting to think CNN should be the PETA network with all the animal stories they do. I have yet to hear any of the shocking bills that have been put before the congress. Granted, I can only stomach listening to their drivel for about five minutes at a time, so maybe I just keep missing it. Somehow I have my doubts.

This is what scares me about the Fairness Doctorine, or whatever form of it that they attempt to implement. If they succeed all we will be stuck with is the drivel. Congress will have successfully pulled the wool over the eyes of the nation as a whole. Anyone who reads this, I urge you to write to your Senators and tell them that you don't want any part of the Fairness Doctorine or the Equality in Radio Ownership programs that will force radio station ownership to set racial percentages. Tell them to let the market play out and to let people have the freedom of the press and the airwaves. And if they don't listen, vote their butts out in the next election.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Wouldn't our forefathers be proud?

I suspect that right now George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson are whirling in their graves so fast we could use them in place of electric fans. Perhaps that is the green parties next move to save our energy costs.

What is this malarky about a "Smart Energy Grid"? They have added a PC friendly sounding name to a dark purpose yet again. After all, who wants a dumb enery grid? Me, for one, when a smart one means that the government gets to decide how hot or cold my home should be! That is what your "Smart Energy Grid" is going to do. If this passes, the utility companies will come to your house and install a "Smart Thermostat". This smart thermostat can be remotely controlled by the energy companies, under government regulation, to reset the temperature of your home. If you remove the smart thermostat you will be fined or have your power shut off. Does ANY of this REEK of 1984???!!!!! Wake up America!

What about our illustrious president passing a punitive tax on the folks at AIG? As a consultant and a small business owner, I know that you work long and hard to negotiate salary deals. If these people negotiated a deal prior to receiving the bail out funds then by gosh they should receive them. (Bail out funds they never should have gotten in the first place. But then Mr. Frank and his buddies would have lost their retirement funds and we can't have congress without a retirement fund. How will they ever survive on their pawltry fortunes.) The supreme court says it cannot do anything about this bill that was passed, which clearly violates the constitution, unless someone challenges it. Where the heck are the Republicans! Challenge this thing already! Quit worrying about your frigging poll numbers and DO WHAT IS RIGHT! The sixteenth amenment states that all taxes must be uniformly placed by geographic region. You cannot single out one group of people to punitively tax! That is why we left England in the first place you twit! (Not you, the twits in congress.)

There is a story my ethics professor told me in college. If you drop a frog into hot water he will jump right out. If you put him in cold water and slowly heat it up, he will sit there and boil to death. My question for you is this. How much are you going to take before you get fed up with Big Brother removing your rights one by one? We are moving toward Socialism, not at a radical pace, but slowly, stealthily. Will you jump or boil?

What direction are we going in?

When did it become a crime to be successful? Who decides which companies get to be saved and which ones are on their own? I have been greatly disturbed by our government’s federal bailout of favorite companies this past week. The talk of socialism and the direction our country is heading in has made me do some serious thinking. I have never been one to be accused of keeping my opinions to myself, and I guess I’m too old to start now.

In my work for the State of Missouri I have to keep my political opinions to myself, but I am getting very tired of the Gestapo like atmosphere in the state offices. If you voice any opposition to the Democratic Party you are in serious danger of becoming a target and losing your job. So am I committing career suicide by writing this? Maybe, but I was brought up in a country where you were allowed to express your ideas and you had a right to your opinions, even if they did not match the opinion of your current boss. Anyway, I digress.

The question at hand, has there ever been a case of successful socialism? What did my grandfather and the men of his era fight and die for in WWII if our country turns to socialism. I cannot think of one successful case of socialism in history. The very concept of socialism punishes those who have a drive to succeed and rewards those who don’t. Eventually, the drive for success is beaten (metaphorically and spiritually, not literally) out of those who have the desire and they resort to just doing the minimum. My son has a term for these people that I think is VERY accurate. Socialism creates Sheeple. Sheeple are people who can be herded by our politicians to maintain their power and status.

I have a new puppy. This hypothesis can be proven very simply with him. When I give him a command to sit and then reward him when he does, he learns very quickly to sit. If I give him the command to sit and then take his toys away, he unlearns the command even faster. Now people are smarter than dogs (Sorry PETA, but I haven’t seen a dog build a rocket ship or do Brain Surgery yet), so I would expect this to happen much faster with them. My husband and I both have a strong desire to succeed. We are by no means wealthy. We manage our money and try to make smart business decisions so that we can do the things we love with our children. Hunting, fishing, and travels are all opportunities that I want to give my kids.

We took the money that could have been spent on sending them to camp to learn to be good little conformers, and instead went on a weeklong cruise that allowed our children to visit five countries. They got to see how other parts of the world live, and they came back with a greater appreciation for the privileges and conditions we have here in America. Did we go because we are rich… no. Did we go because we saved and paid for it outright…yes. So why is it that with our middle class income, our responsible money management, and our hard work, that we somehow fall into the Wealthy category and are taxed at 55% for our business and 45% for your personal? We make much less than the theoretical $250,000 per year that the Democrats talk about. I’m sorry, but Obama’s information about the tax brackets just doesn’t stand up to close examination.

It just doesn’t seem right to work until May (ALMOST HALF A YEAR PEOPLE), to pay the government for our taxes. I used to be a democrat, but in the past ten years, it seems like that party has been taken over by extremists. People who want to take away my hunting and rural heritage and want me to help support those who do not have the drive to do anything other than sit on welfare and suck the government tit. Don’t get me wrong, welfare can be a good thing. But not when you sit on it for decades! Helping a single mom out while she is between jobs and trying to provide for her family is one thing. Paying for a lazy welfare mom to pop out kid after kid so she can keep collecting a check is another.

Socialized medicine does not make sense to me either. The government can tear up a dirt road. (if you know that saying you know what I really wanted to say.) What the heck makes them think they can do a GOOD job with my healthcare?! The socialist direction our Democratic party is taking scares me.

The polarization of the people in our country scares me. The threats of civil war from extremist groups if we don’t elect the Democratic candidate scare me even more. The sense of entitlement that the Democratic Party has come to exhibit disturbs me even more. Nobody promised us happiness, just the pursuit of it!!!! Nobody OWES you a job! You have to go get it!!! Who lied to these people and told them that everything in America comes on a silver platter as you lounge on your pillows watching reality TV? I’m just so tired of it. There has to be a solution. These are my thoughts and fears. Nobody will read this probably, but I wonder, what are your thoughts?

Responsibility and Entitlement

Why is it that in today's society we feel "entitled" to things. We are entitled to a job, a house, a car. Nobody wants to accept responsibility for anything. This is really hacking me off! People are suing gun manufacturers because they used the gun in the commission of a crime! WTF!?? "Oh, if you hadn't manufactured that gun I never would have shot my boyfriend. It's not my fault!" People have got to learn to stand up and take responsibility for the things that they do, or DON'T do.

If you want a house, WORK FOR IT! If you want a good job, SHOW UP FOR WORK! If you don't like your car, GET A JOB! Nobody handed me anything when I was growing up. I purchased my first car. It wasn't a Ferrari but a 72 Dodge Dart. Sure, I would have loved a Ferrari, but that wasn't what I could afford. I didn't expect anyone to walk up and say "You deserve a Ferrari because you are a lovely human being." I saved my money from my job for six months, got $500.00 together, and found a vehicle in that price range.

People get irritated with me for not having the free time to do things, but that is because I work and spend time with my family. My boys are getting older and I know that they will be gone soon. This is my last chance to instill the values in them that I think they should have. One of those values is this "Nobody is going to hand you what you want on a silver platter. If you want to go to college, do it like I did. Work for it. Get scholarships and jobs to work your way through. If you want a car, start saving that money and get a job. If you mess up, own up! You will get in three times as much trouble for covering it up, lying about it, or trying to blame it on someone else." I will have done my job if I can get these things through to my kids.

Inappropriate Questions During the Sports Physical

"THE DOCTOR ASKED YOU WHAT?!!!"

I heard the callers last week on the radio talking about the doctor quizzing their kids and I said "They must be exaggerating just a bit." I am an educated woman with a Masters Degree in Computer Information Systems. I am a leader in Cub Scouts for my community and active with the school and local FFA. Not someone you would consider a hazard to be around my own children. What happened this week took me by complete surprise.

I took my children to the Green Meadows clinic in Columbia, MO (A college town where they like to rip the American flag stickers off of my SUV and leave me nasty notes about driving a big truck). The boys were getting their sports physicals, but there wasn't very much physical about it. While I was in the room she quizzed them about how much time they spend on line, did we have guns in the house, did we exercise. I was so proud of my children when they answered the guns question. We are avid hunters and my oldest boy (14) just got his Hunter Certification. He was the first one in the class to score 100% on the test that night and he won a nice digital game camera. Both of the boys explained the rules of safe gun handling and that all the guns are kept in a designated safe room with the ammo locked up.

What really bothers me is what happened after she took my oldest boy to another room to complete his physical. I figured this would be the part where he stripped and got checked and she asked him all the sex questions she thought he would be embarrassed to talk about in front of me. What I found out later was that she asked him questions like this: How much do you drink with mom and dad? How often do they buy you alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs? Do you smoke? Does mom and dad smoke? Do they use drugs? Do you know anyone who does? What are their names? Does mom or dad talk on the cell phone while they are driving? Do they eat while driving? Do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend. (Please note the order that was asked in. My son noticed and mentioned the tone of it to me.) Have you had sex with a boyfriend or girlfriend? Do you plan on having sex soon?

I feel betrayed. I have trusted this woman with my health care and that of my children for the last three years. I am a diabetic and I can't just switch doctors because most of them in this area won't take me as a patient. When I switched three years ago I had to pick Columbia, a one hour drive, just to find one that would see me. I am livid, but I don't know if I can raise a fuss. If I make a racket about the questions, she will turn me in the DFS because I obviously must be hiding something that I don't want the kids to tell. Are they going to come investigate me and take my children away because I answered a phone call from a client while I was on the way to her office? If I don't say anything the doctors in that clinic will continue this invasion of privacy.

After talking to some of my friends here in town and doing some research on the internet, I have found that the doctors are following the prescribed AAP (American Association of Pediatricians) set of questions. The AMA (American Medical Association) has instructed all of their doctors to ask the questions about the guns and then to file reports with the police on gun owners who admit to having guns. I am outraged! These are my personal affairs and doctors should not be bringing political agendas into the examination room! How dare they judge me and my lifestyle! I am at once ashamed that I am being profiled as an alcoholic, drug addicted, and careless mother with an arsenal of weapons at my disposal, but then I am infuriated that someone who knows nothing about my life has decided to convict me before bothering to find out anything.

The AMA and the AAP seem to have decided that at some point we moved to Russia and our children are now informants for big brother. This is ridiculous. We need to speak up and put an end to this right now!!!!!!! If your doctor asks your kids these questions, raise a stink…a loud one, preferably in the waiting room so that all the other patients can hear what they are about to face and decide if they want to endure this invasion of privacy. Then find a new doctor. Let all of your friends know about this treatment. We have to stand up for ourselves before they label us all as alcoholic drug addicts who are not able to take care of our kids and take them away to be raised by the state and whatever left wing whacko they decide can provide the best environment for them.