Texan of the Year?

The Dallas Morning News, a BELO publication, has decided to select the Illegal Immigrant as the Texan of the Year. Now maybe I am just naive, but it seems that someone who is here illegally isn't really a part of the fabric of the society. I am tired of the naivete that fuels this politically correct rhetoric and I think we should all DEMAND that the candidates address this issue. If you think this doesn't impact you, let me clue you into a few facts.
-Illegal immigrants use public health facilities, often giving bogus names for services. This means that if they use false ID, the people with the real identity end up having to deal with the mess. In a 20/20 episode last year, people who crossed the border were bombarded with offers for fraudulent documentation before they had even left sight of the border.
-The average live birth costs $7K. Dallas' Parkland Hospital has the highest live birth rate in the country with upwards of 70% being to women who are undocumented. How many of those bills do you think get paid? And if the users don't pay, who do you think gets stuck with the bill? (Hint: Taxpayers)
-City and county taxes pay for infrastructure, education and services based on the total number of residents in existing housing. When you have older properties managed by absentee landlords, you end up with multiple families living in single family homes. So the rate for supporting things like police, streets, water and schools are divvied up where they actually pay less per person than the other residents. Add to that the fact that having multiple families in single family homes drives down home values making taxes rise just to cover current expenditures. Now add to that the fact that these are often in older communities where retirees count on their home as their main asset. Can you imagine the double heartbreak of seeing sinking values and rising taxes?
-Security is perhaps the most serious issue. In state public schools every teacher, every volunteer is required to have a criminal background check. Yet school districts seek to save money by contracting services for food, tranportation and maintenance. The service companies allegedly do checks, but who is monitoring this? And even if they do checks, I have heard many of the hired staff at my school discussing how they avoid being caught by ICE. This isn't secure or safe.

In short, this is an issue that the candidates want to go away. Tancredo is out, but I still have hopes for Thompson, who seems to be the only guy interested in holding people to some standards. Mark my words, there are going to be activists pushing for illegals to vote simply because they are here.

Primary Season: Strange Days Indeed

Part of the primary process is the winnowing of many candidates down to a few. This is becoming a truly odd primary for several reasons. First of all, Iowa and New Hampshire, for all their small town charm, no longer represent the vast middle American political spectrum. Back in the day when we were largely a rural economy with manufacturing centers, the combination of having largely rural Iowa and New Hampshire primaries calling the shots made sense. In a period when most of us live in or around large cities, the views of these small and most homogenous states don't reflect the concerns that hound most of us. What does an Iowa farmer know about the influx of illegal immigration on the economy of border states? What does a New Hampshire resident understand about the increasing need for improved infrastructure throughout regions that would swallow their small state in size? We are a federation of states, each supposedly with our own needs but with fair representation, allegedly, in Congress. So why then do we continue to put such blind faith in the caucus process in states that have so very little to do with the larger problems of urban centers that are remote to them? A better case could be made for having California or Florida as the first primary because at least there the mix of voters would better represent the nation as a whole. Instead what will happen is that candidates will gather and attempt to appease the voters in these two small states. In doing so, they will address things like education, healthcare and social justice-all areas in which these two states express a great deal of interest. Very little will be said regarding the war, taxation, spending or the other bugaboos that haunt states later in the primary season. After these first primaries, it is expected that candidate will drop out. I have my own ideas about that. As I see it, Obama wins Iowa and Clinton wins New Hampshire. The Republicans are a toss-up, with Giuliani being the compormise candidate. I am kind of curious if someone like Thompson might make it a floor fight OR possibly break from the party and run as an independent. Wouldn't it be interesting to see Thompson/Leiberman ticket? Now that would tick off both major parties, but at the same time could throw the election to Congress. I don't think that's a hot potato they want to handle because the ensuing political fallout will make Gore's hissy fit look like a hiccup. Strange days indeed.

New Democrat Legislation Proposed

Sorry-I couldn't pass up the opportunity. This clears up so many questions about a great deal that is going on in our society. I got it from an email, I don't know the original source, sorry.

New Democratic Legislation Proposed

"The Americans With No Abilities Act (AWNAA)

WASHINGTON, DC - Congress is considering sweeping legislation which will provide new benefits for many Americans. The Americans with No Abilities Act (AWNAA) is being hailed as a major legislative goal by advocates of the millions of Americans who lack any real skills or ambition.

"Roughly 50 percent of Americans do not possess the competence and drive necessary to carve out a meaningful role for themselves in society," said California Senator Barbara Boxer. "We can no longer stand by and allow People of Inability to be ridiculed and passed over. With this legislation, employers will no longer be able to grant special favors to a small group of workers, simply because they have some idea of what they are doing."

In a Capitol Hill press conference, House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pointed to the success of the U.S. Postal Service, which has a long-standing policy of providing opportunity without regard to performance. Approximately 74 percent of postal employees lack any job skills, making this agency the single largest U.S. employer of Persons of Inability.

Private-sector industries with good records of nondiscrimination against the inept include retail sales (72%), the airline industry(68%), and home improvement"warehouse" stores (65%). At the state government level, the Department of Motor Vehicles also has agreat record of hiring Persons of Inability (63%).

Under the Americans With No Abilities Act, more than 25 million "middle man" positions will be created, with important-sounding titles but little real responsibility, thus providing an illusory sense of purpose and performance.

Mandatory non-performance-based raises and promotions will be given,to guarantee upward mobility for even the most unremarkable employees. The legislation provides substantial tax breaks to corporations that promote a significant number of Persons of Inability into middle-management positions, and gives a tax credit to small and medium-sized businesses that agree to hire one clueless worker for every two talented hires.

Finally, the AWNA Act contains tough new measures to make it more difficult to discriminate against the Non-abled-banning, for example,discriminatory interview questions such as "Do you have any skills or experience which relate to this job?"

"As a Non-abled person , I can't be expected to keep up with people who have something going for them," said Mary Lou Gertz, who lost her position as a lug-nut twister at the GM plant in Flint, Michigan, due to her lack of any discernible job skills. "This new law should really help people like me." With the passage of this bill, Gertz and millions of other untalented citizens will finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Said Senator Ted Kennedy: "As a Senator With No Abilities, I believe the same privileges that elected officials enjoy ought to be extended to every American with no abilities. It is our duty as lawmakers to provide each and every American citizen, regardless of his or her adequacy, with some sort of space to take up in this great nation."

The Twelve Days of Christmas, Explained

While we celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukah, Eid, Solstice and other winter holidays, I think it would be good to remember that religious tolerance-the freedom to worship publicly as one chose without persecution-is a fairly revolutionary concept and one of the cornerstones of our Constitution. Our nation, by and large, was founded by and for people who sought exactly this type of freedom.

While on the surface, "Twelve Days of Christmas" appears to be a child's counting rhyme, its meaning is far more serious. Starting with Henry VIII's separation of the Church of England from the Catholic Church in Rome, Catholics faced increasing scrutiny and persecution in England. Many were arrested, tried, and some even executed under laws that forbade Catholics from writing, teaching or practicing their faith. "Priest Holes" can still be found in older estates where ancestor hid clerics and the faithful from arrest. Children and adults could be taken and it was a dark time for many. The hardest problem was teaching children their religious lessons without endangering the adults or children involved. Codes were employed set in rhymes and set to a popular tunes of the day-so popular that the seemingly nonsensical lyrics were heard in pubs, the palace and in public without any knowledge of the real meanings!

Here are some of the "codes" as explained-
-Twelve is the number of days between Christmas and Epiphany.
At that time every Christian child was taught that pure love only came from God-so this "true love" was the ultimate Gift.
-A mother partridge lures enemies away from her next at her own peril-sacrificing her own life as did Christ for us.
-Two turtle doves stood for the Old and New Testaments.
-Three French hens were something that would be found in a rich or royal household-a meal fit for a king and represented the Three Gifts of the Magi-gold, frankincense and myrrh.
-Four calling birds represented the Four authors of the Gospels that "call out" the story of Christ. So Matthew, Mark, Luke and John became the "calling birds" of the song.
-Five gold rings tell of the first five books of the Bible-known as the Pentateuch or Torah-also known as the Law of Moses.
-Six geese a-laying might sound funny, but eggs were the symbols of new life and creation, six being the number of "days" in creation and so the laying of the geese was representative of God moving his hand in creation from the void.
-Seven swans a swimming speak directly of the seven spiritual gifts or gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in St. Paul's writings. Prophesy, service, teaching, encouraging, giving, leadership and mercy were qualities that Catholic children were taught would move easily through their lives if they walked with God.
-Eight maids a milking represented the common man and the number was significant in that it stood for the Beatitudes.
-Nine ladies dancing were the graceful embodiments of the gifts of the Spirit-love, joy,peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
-Ten lords a leaping were the Ten Commandments. Lords were supposed to be just and honorable-servants of the law.
-Eleven pipers piping were representative of the eleven faithful apostles-remember, Judas betrayed Christ.
-Twelve drummers drumming was a reminder of the "Apostles' Creed" which contained a dozen different elements that were meant to be part of a Catholic's daily walk with God.

PS. I guess I should explain a few of the linked illustrations. Some are serious, some are funny. The Nine Ladies is a rock formation that evidently has a large number of supporters, but I had never heard of it before I googled it for the photo. And the one for Four Calling Birds, was just funny, admit it.

Have a Merry Christmas and leave a prayer on your pillow for those who are hurting, lonely or in pain. And if you use the "free giftwrap" at bookstores, donate something. I went to Borders at two and the ladies for the Lewisville Animal Rescue had been there for awhile wrapping and hardly anyone donated. C'mon, it's Christmas. Or as my mom always says "it's jewels on your crown in heaven...."

Remember What It's All About

I just wanted to take a minute to remind people that life is so very fragile. That fact is being brought home to some kids in our area on a daily basis. It's a lesson that is hard to learn because teenagers think they are invincible. Believe me, they are not. Watch the news and see how many YOUNG kids are dying far too early. We aren't supposed to outlive our own children. That's not the way life is meant to work. Yet it seems that today life is cheap on so many levels. It has to end.

With that in mind-it's time for adults to step in and BE ADULTS.
Stop using your kids to fight with your exes, stop putting kids in the middle and stop the relentless self-indulgence and put your kids first. I am tired of hearing stories of mommy's new BMW paired with the stories of how sick kids aren't permitted to get sick because adults make the decision to buy gadgets rather than health insurance. (And yes, this is a true story....and sadly there are many more....) Stop being so self-centered, your kids are suffering.

For all of our arguing and dissension, the words we write or speak to someone today, may be the last words we speak to them at all. Try listening rather than planning the next words that come out of your mouth. Give up the witty repartee and the sarcastic riposte for meaningful conversation. Say things with conviction and follow through with your promises. And pay attention to other people. As my mother told me "you are not the bellybutton of the universe." With that in mind, be kinder, be gentler. Be cognizant that during this time of year, there are people who suffer in silence. A kind word, a giving gesture, a phone call for no reason, could make a difference. While we should consider these things every day, I think our lives have become so frantic with connectivity and gadgets, we sometimes forget what is truly important. Take a moment, reach out and make your little corner of the world just a little bit sweeter.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Oh Christmas Tree!

It's been my job, and my pleasure, to decorate the Christmas tree since I was six or seven. There's something comforting about selecting an ornament, recalling its history and putting it in a place of honor. There have been years that it was painful, such as the year after my Dad's death, and years when it was joyous, such as my childrens' first Christmases. When I was small, during the holiday season, I would lie under the Christmas tree looking up through the branches at the lights and dreaming of the things all children hold dear. I remember the smells of fresh pine and bayberry candles, fudge-the real deal beaten with a wooden spoon, cooling on a plate and beating fondant unto a white mass of gooey sweetness. There have been years of sadness as well, but it's the sadness that carves out space for more joy.

We've made concessions over the years. We used to go to East Texas and cut down trees with the kids, but they have moved away to school and none of us really have time to spare for an entire weekend trip, although I wish we did. We also have a fake tree because frankly, the scenes I have seen of tree fires have scared me to death! One concession I haven't made is on ornaments. Ours is not a designer tree, which chichi matching ornaments and just so garland and white lights. Sorry. Ours is a hodge podge of handmade and collected ornaments-most of which that I can't bear to give away. There are the collected ornaments that my kids have gotten every year. We have alot of cars and puppies and angels on our tree. There are also handmade ornaments from when our kids were small. I just can't give away or toss out the lovingly made wooden clothespin reindeer or the trees trimmed with glitter. And then there's the star. The first Christmas we were married, there just wasn't money for a tree. So we found one on Christmas Eve that a company threw out at the end of the day. We bought cheap ornaments at Pier One and I illustrated a star for the top. We still use the star. It's ragged and torn, but like every other ornament it holds our memories, good, bad and all the areas in between.

So how do you decorate your tree? It's really a very individual task. I use tiny ribbons to tie on the ornaments because I hate those nasty wire hooks. Here are some more questions-
-Star or Angel on top of the tree?
-White lights or multicolored?
-Constantly glowing lights or blinking?
-Different color ornaments or the same?
-Garland or icicles?
-Lights going around the tree or up and down?

Tag, You're Out....The Sad Lives of Kids, Recess and Obsessive Adults

What is wrong with people? Earlier this year, I wrote a blog on whether we were a motherland or a fatherland? I repeat the question. What is going on here? It seems as if today's parents want guarantees that their child will be healthy, strong, smart, talented and rich. Life simply doesn't work like that. In earlier generations, people learned to worked BEYOND their capacities. They overcame shortfalls and learned to work around obstacles. Today we have a generation of parent who want their children hermetically sealed. Every surface is supposed to be germfree and every show is supposed to be educational. Is it any wonder that the phenomenon of childhood obesity and depression is growing? It appears that there is a virulent segment of the population that despises competition at any level. These are the same folks who wanted to get rid of juried art shows and simply give the scholarships based on a drawing. C'mon. At some point we have to be willing to say that there are some people that are basically better at some skills than others.

Perhaps the problems lie in our education system. Right now, I can walk down to a Bridging class where the majority of the students read one a third grade level or lower, and ask them what they will do upon graduation, and ALL of them will say they are going to college. I am not saying having aspirations beyond your skills is a bad thing, but we have to get over the idea that every kid who walks across the stage in May is entitled to go to college. Likewise, we need to get over the idea that a college degree qualifies someone for a job. Believe me, there are many people with degrees in my circle of acquaintances that are unfit for many jobs. And at what point did it get to be shameful to work with one's hands? I admire the man who can fix my air conditioner or car. We rely on the expertise of electricians, plumbers and carpenters. Yet seldom will you hear these jobs in the same breath with the aspirations of a high school student.

Something needs to change. We need to get away from elitist specialization and back to the basics of learning, living and loving. Perhaps it's our attachment to the internet, perhaps it's our shallow worship of all things celebrity, but whatever the cause, we must change direction soon. If not for our sake, or our kids sake, then for the kids down the road that will have to deal with the mess these approaches leave behind.

As Ye Sow, So Shall Ye Reap???

Here's just a smattering of today's dismal financial news. It sent the stock market plummeting. But what caused these shortfalls? In most cases it was a situation in which banks, trying to outdo their competitors for future profit on balloon mortgages, qualified people for huge amounts of money. In many cases, these were people that really should not have been lent money due to poor credit history, unstable income and other factors. But banks are notoriously blind when it comes to seeing huge profits down the road. They speculated that the realty market would continue it's ridiculous upward spiral, without thinking about the tenuous financial bridges they were building. While you are pondering this situation, take a look HERE. This is a link for banks that accept matricula consulare for issuing accounts and loans. While such things as domestic drivers' licenses and social security numbers are verifiable, matricula consulare is issued to those who do not have "green cards" and the conventional documentation that would permit such banking transactions. Now, I am not saying this is the only problem with our banking system, but playing fast and loose with money is what caused a little problem locally known in Dallas as the Savings And Loan Fiasco. Read and consider that many of the proponents of less restrictions on illegal immigrants have come largely from the construction industry and their kissing cousins in real estate and banking. And then, ask yourself if this is a "real" drop, or one that was largely caused by a singular lack of clarity and legality on the part of certain greedy bank groups. Do you like having to pay higher interest to fund loans that are given out like cheap candy on Halloween? Speak up-the banks can't hear you.....

• Citigroup, the biggest bank in the US, reported a 57% drop in third-quarter earnings from a year earlier, due in no small part to bad mortgages;
  
• Bank of America, the second-largest US bank, just reported a 32% drop in earnings, led by a loss of $527 million in revenues at its structured products division;
  
• J.P.Morgan, the third biggest bank in the US, has marked down $186 million in bad mortgages plus $339 million in debt-derivatives for June-Sept.;
  
• National City Corp. of Cleveland – the ninth-largest bank in the US according to Reuters – now projects mortgage-book losses of $160 million for Q3, "the high end of its previous forecast";
  
• The leading US savings and loan, Wamu, says it expects a 75% drop in profits, with a new set-aside of almost $1 billion to cover bad debts and a hit of $410 million to its current lending portfolio;

An Inconvenient Stock Portfolio

Just another example of "Do as I say, not do as I do" from the Democrat Darlings of the Infotainment Industry. I don't know about you, but I am tired of forking over money, time and effort to do my part, when it seems the Democrat political elite are far more concerned about making sure airspace is safe for their private jets and that their Cape Cod views are disrupted by energy generating wind turbines. They've taken away nuclear, they have hobbled the oil industry, it's as if they want us "little people" to return to tents and cave to that the most important people, the politically correct and important people, can live in comfort. I think it's time to remind them who is Boss. Vote them out, every single incumbent. I mentioned this at the midterm elections, but now more than ever, these people Pelosi, Kennedy, Reid, Hutchison, all of them, need to go home and GET REAL JOBS!!!!!!!!!!

SEC Filing Raises Questions About the "Sustainability" of Generation Investment Management's $438 Million Investment Fund, says JunkScience.com

Media Bias: CNN Plants a Story

I sent the following message to the Dallas Fox affiliate, but I feel like this message needs to go beyond our immediate area. People who have political gains tied to the use of the votes of those here illegally are pushing the Reconquista ideology via such outlets as CNN and the New York Times. I happen to live near this town. I have seen its demographics change from a nice middle income community to one that has become a logistical nightmare of gang activity. And I am sorry if this offends, but much of it is due to criminal behavior that is in part due to the unwillingness of those here illegally to report crime and the overwhelming amount of people here illegally who commit crime becuase they are virtually invisible to the agencies that track crime. So when you see this story and other like on CNN, remember that the Reconquista movement has some very adept and powerful media people in their corner. And it thie political stars should happen to come into alignment, then theyse same folks are more than willing to look the other way and to let the American middle class bear the brunt of the higher taxation, higher crime and lower return in receipts for their trouble. And I am sorry if this offends, because we have had people from 37 nations arrested in the ICE details that are related to this story. But strangely enough, it just seems to be the people from Mexico that protest. I just seems to be the people from Mexico that demand favors that other nationalities don't request. What makes them so special? I love the Mexican culture, the food and their people, but just as I cannot cross into their country and live illegally, neither should they do that here. There are such things as limits.

The Video is Here

"That is the link for a video about an Irving illegal immigrant "self deporting." I don't usually watch CNN, but happened on this story while I was grading at school. I find it to be so well placed, that I am pretty sure this is a set up. He's married to someone here legally, but can't fill out the paperwork because it's "too hard." Didn't Mattel pull a shipload of Barbies because they said "math is hard?" Isn't that like saying if something is too hard, that you just should give up? Do you think he gives up when he fills out employment forms, or forms for assistance through the schools for his kids? I bet he gets those in. But something as minor as legal residency? Bueno por nada. In addition, it goes on about how shabby Mexico is and how he can't figure out the money. Excuse me, he speaks Spanish and can't ask how much something costs and then look at the currency and turn that over??? I think this is an obvious placement for political gain and it's no surprise that this story is on CNN. I thought you would be interested."

About Wolves and the Environment

I think it is important to get news from many sources. One that I use locally is the Morning News editorial blog. I felt that this excerpt from Mike Hashimoto's blog was important enough to post here. There is no question that much of the factual evidence presented in Al Gore's film was distorted or exaggerated for effect. There are those within the Church of Global Warming that believe the ends justify the means. But wait a minute, this is the same group pushing us to agree to the Kyoto Accord, an agreement that would seriously limit growth and innovation in developed nations. All major studies show that some of the worst case scenarios for pollution and serious ecological problems are Third World nations. And yet this agreement would allow regions such as China, India, Eastern Europe, South America and Africa to use or misuse their resources with little oversight. How, exactly does this help the environment, which is the cause that allegedly is pushed? I do think that people need to be prudent with resources. Recycling, conservation and developing new technology absolutely makes sense. But where are those new methods going to come from if we hamper advancements in the name of political efforts based on spurious science? This isn't about the earth, this is about moving wealth out of the Western nations and into Third World nations.

And please, spare me the whole episode about ethanol. Ethanol was and is a bust. The energy used to make it from corn and the decrease in fuel efficiency with its addition makes ethanol's use a wash at best. And if you follow the money, you will see that what it has become is a farm subsidy bill. Grains for feed have gone up and the meat and dairy products have risen as well. Just another brilliant plan from the same folks that want to bring you national health care. Be afraid. Be VERY afraid.

"Daniel B. Botkin is president of the Center for the Study of the Environment and professor emeritus in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has written Discordant Harmonies: A New Ecology for the Twenty-First Century, among other works....

He wrote a piece in today's Wall Street Journal that I wish we'd read before we rush out and crown Al Gore emperor of the environment.

'You might think I must be one of those know-nothing naysayers who believes global warming is a liberal plot. On the contrary, I am a biologist and ecologist who has worked on global warming, and been concerned about its effects, since 1968. I've developed the computer model of forest growth that has been used widely to forecast possible effects of global warming on life -- I've used the model for that purpose myself, and to forecast likely effects on specific endangered species.

I'm not a naysayer. I'm a scientist who believes in the scientific method and in what facts tell us. I have worked for 40 years to try to improve our environment and improve human life as well. I believe we can do this only from a basis in reality, and that is not what I see happening now. Instead, like fashions that took hold in the past and are eloquently analyzed in the classic 19th century book "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds," the popular imagination today appears to have been captured by beliefs that have little scientific basis.

Some colleagues who share some of my doubts argue that the only way to get our society to change is to frighten people with the possibility of a catastrophe, and that therefore it is all right and even necessary for scientists to exaggerate. They tell me that my belief in open and honest assessment is naïve. "Wolves deceive their prey, don't they?" one said to me recently. Therefore, biologically, he said, we are justified in exaggerating to get society to change."

At this point I think it's important to remember what happened to the Boy Who Cried Wolf in the original unDisneyfied version....

St. Al and the Environmental Dragon

OMG, I laughed, I cried, this is probably the most amusing takedown of a sitting non-candidate that I have ever read. Kudos!!!!

Global Incident Map

This is a terrifying reality. Check it an see.

What Democrats Believe.

The main problem that I have with the Democrat party is that they aren't so much a single view as a precarious coalition of different views. I do not see that as a political directive but more of a cynical compromise of values. I truly could not vote for Hillary Clinton, I think she is damaged goods. And I think the Democrats do themselves a great deal of harm by discounting Obama despite his negatives. Edwards is nothing but another "class president" clone trying to cut another notch in his resume. His presidency would be a failure comparable to that of Carter's. In short, while the pundits like to crown Hillary, and the Republicans aren't doing themselves many favors by using litmus tests to select candidates, the vast middle 80% of the electorate doesn't see much that addresses their needs. These include:

Illegal Immigration-it affects taxes, education, welfare, employement and resources. Dems are pussyfooting around the issue hoping it will go away. It won't. And if they don't address it there are many people in the Silent Middle who are very upset and will vote against whoever refuses to enforce our borders. This one issue alone has alienated staunch Republicans from the president. Be warned.

Health Care Reform-National health care will be an economic rathole. If you love the way the bureaucracy handles every day matters, imagine how much you will adore them when you have a medical emergency. The solution is SIMPLE. Make ALL insurance and medical payments tax deductible. This used to be the case, until in pushing HMO's the limits were set at only those amounts over 7.5% of income. Let it ALL be deductible and see what happens.

Education-We have to create a national test. We also need to get the public schools out of the business of providing free meals, remedial assistance and education for the severely handicapped. If the government wants to do these things, set up some other institution to provide such services. Public schools were meant to provide an educated and capable population. They were never meant to be used as facilities to provide rehab, training or other services.

Defense-We need a unifed world view on defense. France is willing to come back into the mix, we need their help. We also need to renew our NATO alliances because frankly the way Putin is acting, I would rather he know that the EU and the US are talking again so he wouldn't get any grand and glorious ideas about reuniting the USSR.

More to come....

Find Ernesto Reyes

The linked blog above discusses the random and cruel murder of a University of North Texas coed by a known felon. The suspect's name is Ernesto Reyes. He was caught on video in the Denton convenience store where the victim met him, and disposing of her body via burning it in Carrollton, TX. While the linked blog gives much more information, and I encourage you to go and read, I would also like you to consider a couple of things.

First, this man was a resident alien. That means he was someone from another country who was allowed to live here. As such, he wasn't here illegally. The travesty comes where you realize that as an adult he had four counts on his rap sheet. He is just twenty. I am betting that means that somewhere in Denton County there is a juvenile offender sheet that has more offenses on there. As a resident alien with a felony on his head, he could have been deported. He probably should have been deported. But, the more common practice has been to ignore conventional wisdom, and permit these allegedly "nonviolent" offenders to remain in the country. In fact, I am willing to bet good money that some sobbing public defender, probably paid with tax dollars, wept on the court's mercy to keep him from being returned to Mexico. The irony comes in that now, as a suspect in a capital murder case, he is headed or currently in Mexico. We know he's still out there, because previously violent images of women on his MySpace page have mysteriously disappeared.

What is more disturbing is that there is a pattern of allowing felons to continue to live here. This is something the Mexican consulate is spending bunches of pesos in keeping in place. Mexico LIKES the status quo wherein their poor, uneducated, needy and sick come to El Norte for free services. In return, the Mexican economy is floated on a continuous supply of American dollars sent weekly to families back home. Nobody is saying that being poor and living in Mexico is easy. But Mexico refuses to take the steps necessary to bring her own people a higher standard of living. This virtual oligarchy has been in place for many many years. And they resist change. It's no secret that not everyone is happy with the way the money in Mexico filters through the different economic levels, but this fact is happily swept away and given a happy face. And we, the poor dumb American taxpayers, have to cut our own families from tax funded programs for education, health and welfare to address the needs of people who come here perhaps just to live, or just as likely, to take advantage of our systems and to make us victims of their crimes. It is no coincidence that the cities with the highest identity theft rates are those with the highest influx of illegal aliens.

Like it or not, we have some tough days ahead. I don't want anyone who is here legally to not feel welcome, but there comes a time when everyone has to account for themselves. If I run a stop sign and get pulled over and have a traffic warrant, I will go to jail. But if you read about Irving TX, you will find large groups that think they are above this kind of law. This negligence to control our borders is a blister that is about to pop. Someone had better be paying attention.

If you want even more information on this sick phenomenon on a more national scale, go here:
Immigration's Human Cost

The Power of Gut Instincts

I think that we have gut instincts for a reason. It is probably the last subliminal vestiges of our animal ancestors and it has to do with senses that we no longer cognitively control or acknowledge. I have always regretted going against my better judgement or instincts. I think that reticence on the part of children with strangers is a normal protective system. But it's not popular. The shy kids are always the ones picked on at school, seldom recognized by teachers or parents. So programs exist to actively lure kids out of their normal hesitation. While extreme shyness can be crippling, I think we have gone so far the other way that our kids, especially our daughters, are becoming targeted by people who exploit ethnicity, poverty or status to manipulate young girls into actions that place them in danger. What is one of the first things a college freshman hears at orientation? It's a cycle of "accept everyone, learn new things, experience life." Back that up with a healthy dose of celebrity behavior on TV and in movies and you have a young student, on their own for the first time, deliberately avoiding the warning signals that should be going off in her brain to say no, to seek protection or to run away. This isn't an attempt to blame the victim, please don't get me wrong-that blame lies completely on the dirtbag that chose to take an innocent life for no good reason whatsoever.

But as parents and as educators, we need to ask ourselves if in our quest to raise young women and men who survive to adulthood, we aren't being just a little too naive with the concept of blanket acceptance for everyone. I know it isn't a word filled with positive vibes, but sometimes, being "discriminating" is a good thing. You don't pick a car that you know has a history of blowing up-that's being discriminating. You don't eat day old smelly fish-that's being discriminating. Yet when it comes to people, if you refuse to take an action a manipulative scam artist can trot out the race card, or the poverty card, or the "I'm a stranger here myself" card and the unwitting or unwise young person may just go along with what could be a very bad situation. This poor girl isn't the first one even in Denton to suffer such a fate. It happens more often than we really want to know. It used to be that at 18 you were considered an adult, treated like and adult and expected to make decisions like an adult-and the schools and society worked to make that happen in the years preceding graduation. Now we have high school seniors who have had 12 plus years of a social safety net. They get to college and assume all their contacts and activities have been checked out as safe. Life isn't like that. We need to make sure our kids know that before they walk out the door.

Who Reads Newspapers?

I freely admit to lifting this from a post at FoxDFW and I am pretty sure they found it on some other blog, but this list bears repeating.

"1. The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.

2. The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the country.

3. The New York Times is read by people who think they should run the country and who are very good at crossword puzzles.

4. USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country but don't really understand The New York Times. They do, however, like their statistics shown in pie charts.

5. The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn't mind running the country -- if they could find the time -- and if they didn't have to leave Southern California to do it.

6. The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the country and did a poor job of it, thank you very much.

7. The New York Daily News is read by people who aren't too sure who’s running the country and don't really care as long as they can get a seat on the train.

8. The New York Post is read by people who don't care who’s running the country as long as they do something really scandalous, preferably while intoxicated.

9. The Miami Herald is read by people who are running another country but need the baseball scores.

10. The San Francisco Chronicle is read by people who aren’t sure there is a country, or that anyone is running it; but if so, they oppose all that they stand for. There are occasional exceptions if the leaders are handicapped minority feminist atheist dwarfs who also happen to be illegal aliens from any other country or galaxy, provided of course, that they are not Republicans.

11. The National Enquirer is read by people trapped in line at the grocery store."

My add-ins at #12. The Chicago Tribune is read by people who vote for Democrats but think, speak and act Republican.

#13. The Dallas Morning News is read by people who vote Republican but act Democrat.

ILLEGAL Immigration is the Key Issue

Too many Democrats are actively running away from the issue of Illegal Immigration. They refuse to address it in a meaningful manner and in fact collectively resemble bratty five year olds with their fingers stuck in their ears yelling "nahnahnah" to block out the drumbeats that are the increasing frustration that most voters, not just Republicans, but Democrats and Independents as well, with the inability of Congress and the Feds to get a grasp on what this deluge of illegal immigrants is doing to our nation. I have included a couple of current quotes, but I also have a four year old blog post from a Democrat who even back then was frustrated with the way her party and her candidates were ignoring the issue of ILLEGAL immigration. Once again, it's not the legel immigration most people mind. This isn't Jim Crow retroactively kicking in. Instead it is a steady, measured and what appears to be a coordinated effort by the Mexican government to rid themselves of their unwanted lower classes and palm off the responsibility for education, health and welfare on the United States.
Here's the Blog
And while you are waiting, here's a quote from another source.

"Regarding the Ongoing, Nationwide, Immigration Debate:

"Localities that fail to cooperate with DHS in identifying criminal aliens in their custody may end up paying a steep price. They ensure that criminal aliens who could otherwise be deported, are released back into the community to commit further crimes, which they do at an astonishing rate. A Government Accountability Office study found that 55,322 criminal aliens were arrested a total of at least 459,614 times, averaging over eight arrests per alien. The Department of Justice expressed its surprise at the 'extremely high' rate of re-arrests for criminal aliens when it found that that 73 criminal aliens in a study group were arrested a total of 429 times. Localities that adopt 'sanctuary' policies, in an effort to be welcoming to both legal and illegal immigrants, need to consider whether such policies have the effect of attracting and incubating crime."

-- Senator John Kyl (R-AZ), Finance Committee
Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight
and Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on
Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security

The Tyranny of Techies

I would be the first to admit that much of what our culture has become is because of our advanced technology. But I am beginning to think that the love of technology just for the sake of technology is supplanting the love of money as the root of all evil. There are many of us who have computers, do email, surf the web, and that is all we do. There are others who are far more invested in not only using technology but in pressing its use, even when unnecessary, on other applications. Many school districts are actively requiring that teachers learn an entire slate of computer applications. Some of these such as email and gradebooks are necessary. Others are not. There are some applications that a classroom teacher will never use. And yet because it is required, proficiency is also expected. This is also going on in our businesses and communities. Many seniors are getting shut out of community access because they don't know how to use computers and let's face it, after a certain age, many just don't want to learn. This is also going on in industry. When you have a boss who demands reports that are so lengthy, so complex that they get in the way of doing the job, is that use of technology really improving the bottom line? People who don't actually have to do those tedious reports, but just command that they be done, have no idea the amount of work involved because when they have such reports, they hand it over to their subordinates or secretaries. I can see knowing certain programs if you are an engineer or an accountant, but if you are in customer service or sales, the constant quest to create technological easter eggs for an increasingly unnecessary function eats up time that would be more efficiently done on the job. I think this comes from the college grads of the 1980's who majored in computer science and thought computers would solve all our problems. Well its twenty five years down the road and we really don't have a paperless society because we still have to print everything out-even the powerpoints we present at meetings. Technology is a wonderful servant but a cruel master. Ask anyone who has an insufferable IT manager or a hinky connection to their server. And we have become so reliant on it that we cannot function without it. We know more about network interface than we know how to discuss problems face to face with our co-workers. Sorry, but this smacks more of Brave New World than of the Bright Future we were promised. So back off the cell phone, power down the PC, light an old school fire in the fireplace and have a conversation for a change.

Democrats and Moveon.org Are At It Again.

The story linked to the title above covers a situation where the more radical fringes of the Democrat party is trying to stampede the entirety of the party into blind allegiance. They want the most radical platform supported by the likes of George Soros and his organization to be The Platform of the Democrat candidates in 2008.

This may be the sheer hubristic folly that brings them down. Most pundits and even some conservatives consider this election the Democrats to lose. But when you go out of your want to alienate those who serve, you must recall that there are large numbers of people of color, middle class kids and urban kids who use their military perq's to pay for college. When you insult a uniformed leader of the forces of the United States, by association you are also insulting all those who have and who still do serve in the armed forces. While on the surface, this appears to be just another silly stunt to attract publicity, it's just as offensive as virtually using the names of dead soldiers to create a mock cemetery across from the President's home. Oh wait, that was them too. I think what is most galling about this issue is that many of these folks who would NEVER allow their own kids to fight, are having their right to protest and make fools of themselves by the sacrifices of these men and women.

Where Were You On 9.11.2001?

Where were you on 9/11? Where were you when the towers fell? I think too many people have forgotten. Many of today's high school students were sheltered from the images. And now we have a generation that has been insulated from what is going on in the real world. We owe it to them, and to ourselves, to allow them to see what really happened on that horrible day. If you haven't written down where you were and shared it with your kids, you should do that. This is their Pearl Harbor. This is their Valley Forge.

From the Pestilance of Consultants, Deliver Us

There are no more dreaded words in any school district than "the consultants are coming." They come, some openly, some covertly, spying and observing, taking snippets of the average day and compiling them into some blurry snapshot of the "normal" work day. Then they pronounce from on high how deficient, creeping and low the schools are, how immobile their staffs have become, how unmotivated their students appear. And then a frenzy of quick fixes and largely touted gestures are put in place that do absolutely not one whit more than was being done before. This is in an educational setting. Education is one of the most fad-driven industries in our nation. Remember New Math? How about Phonics First? Whole Language? Open Classrooms? Self-contained classrooms? Mainstreaming? Pull-outs? Inclusion, exclusion and on and on and on? Is it any wonder that our school are in a constant scramble to change and adapt when all parents and the education hierarchy want to do is throw good thoughts and meaningless cosmetic changes into the mix?

And it's not just education. Ask any company that has been bought, downsized, moved, renamed or suborned and you will find the nasty memos of consultants making their rulings from on high. Just what qualifies these folks to judge others? If they were so good at what they do, wouldn't they be DOING IT THEMSELVES?

Well I have a solution. I will put on my own consultant hat and I am going to give every single superintendent, CEO, boss a bit of my own infinite wisdom for free.

1. Hire good people and let them work without constantly interfering.

2. Stop asking for reports you don't need. Busy work does nothing for the bottom line. If you want to look good, buy a new suit.

3. Remove the entire layer of VP, assistant superintendents, advisors to..., department head bureaucracy that does nothing buy supervise people and either make them work at actual projects or get rid of them.

Note: Someone whose sole function is to demand meaningless spreadsheets from a worker is NOT benefiting your business. Spreadsheets have never made a product, sold a product, taught a child, put our a fire or saved a life. If your business is run solely on the glossy lines of glitzy Excel productions, you are already in deeper trouble than you know.

4. Never ever let an engineer or an accountant be the head of any firm or school district in which actual human contact is involved. Sorry, but the skill set for those professions often don't include dealing with actual human emotions. These are the types of people who can't conceive of a situation which can't be solved by throwing a report in the works. Anyone who thinks that all life's problems can be boiled down to numbers and statistics has no business telling anyone else how to handle people, and especially children, in new and sometimes stressful situations. (These people should be locked in small rooms with slow computers and a dial up modem-possibly with a slide rule in place of a calculator.)

5. Finally, when you have removed the necessary flotsam and jetsam from your business or school, you will find you have more money to do the things that will actually improve workers' situations, like hiring enough people to do the work. Or maybe even small things like having more buses so that irate suburban moms don't descend on the parking lot blocking teachers' exits. Or maybe just having small enough working groups and classes to begin to know people on a personal level, rather than the superficial numerical level that seems to be the current rage.

Bottom Line-because I know you love it...stop stop stop micromanaging our schools, our homes, our businesses and our lives. Life has always and ever been messy. Trying to straighten it up with the vise grip of totalitarian, utilitarian, monarchical control is killing our workers, our kids, our productivity and our sanity. No freedom loving human ever thrived in an environment where their every move and action is measured and calculated. It is impossible to control every utterance, thought or conjecture. And I am pretty sure that it isn't normal, and is actually unhealthy to live under the constant threat of unspoken retribution if the whim of the week isn't followed to the letter. I am not condoning revolution, but I have to admit, there's a small part of me that wants to rally the troops on every campus, in every break room and at every coffee shop to wake people up to the ridiculous tyranny being imposed by people who have absolutely no stake in the success or failure of the enterprises involved. Think about it. 

Basic Budgeting for Political Candidates

With the bridge collapse in Minneapolis-St. Paul, the politicians have come out of the woodwork demanding new and bigger spending for infrastructure. The federal government sets standards which the states are supposed to monitor and maintain for a variety of public works from electrical grid, levees, water supply and roadways. While the bridge collapse is certainly a tragic and dramatic example of system failure, does pointing fingers and laying blame based on a political model help at all? There are those in our legislatures that want the federal government to basically seize control of every issue. Do we really want to have to petition Washington to have a street widened or turn lanes installed? I ask that because that is what many in Congress claim to want. In essence, this would take local bond issue improvement funding and revert it to federal control. If you want an example of what that is like, consider that the state of Texas, for all of its highways, bridges, dams and such only gets back around 70% of the money sent to Washington in the form of fuel taxes. With larger populations and related larger numbers of Congressional members, more populous states would get the lion's share of funding under a federally controlled system,leaving states like Kansas, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Arizona with minimal attention. That is virtually the system now in place for federally funded programs, the results being things like "The Bridge to Nowhere" and "The Big Dig" both programs earmarked by well connected Congressmen.

The problem is WHERE do we spend our money? If your family income is say, $2000 a month-your first needs are shelter,food, utilities, transportation,clothing. Beer, cigarettes and lottery tickets are in that frill area of "want" over "need". If your family has problems making determinations about what is necessary over what is a frill, then you probably have serious cash flow problems. Ramp that up to a federal level, and unless the government creates new and bigger taxes, there is only so much money to go around. Yet we have Congresspersons and lobbyists that place pet projects in the way of real and necessary improvements. And that can come from a whole plethora of sources. Dams and levees can be almost permanently delayed by lobbying from environmental groups. Educational funding can be diverted for free lunches and ESL programs over books and computers. Highway funding can be delayed years, even decades, over silly internal squabbling such as we are seeing on the Trinity River parkway fiasco. And the list goes on and on and one.

With finite resources, the federal government CANNOT pay for everything. Right now, voters are being hit with a number of campaign proposals such as National Health Care, Infrastructure Improvements to highways, dams, power plants and water resources, Educational reform that would cost billions to implement and programs that we can't even begin to detail here. I know different people have different needs,but when you look at these promises, please stop and ask yourself from which pocket of income the funding for such programs will come. It has to come from somewhere. And the last big wave of corporate taxation is what led to massive offshoring of critical industries. Perhaps, like many families out here, the federal government needs to live within its means and allow a free citizenry to define their own priorities and pay for their own needs rather than taxing everyone and giving us back only a fraction of services in kind.

Read this first:

" The following editorial appeared in Saturday’s Washington Post:

There was a time when many people in Oakland, Calif., admired Your Black Muslim Bakery, a neighborhood enterprise founded in 1968 by a charismatic African American known as Yusuf Bey. Community members, politicians and the local media hailed the bakery as an example of black self-help in an otherwise dispiriting environment of urban poverty.

For years, they tended to ignore or play down reports about the more violent side of Bey’s operation, or about such disturbing events as a political rally at which Bey remarked that Jews “are not worthy of being hated.”

Among the many who were a bit soft on the bakery was a reporter for the Oakland Tribune, Chauncey Bailey, who doubled as news director for a television channel that Bey paid to broadcast his sermons.

But in 2002, the East Bay Express, a local alternative newspaper that had praised the bakery, ran a penetrating series of articles on the activities of Bey’s minions, including the alleged torture of a Nigerian immigrant. That series earned reporter Chris Thompson threats from Bey’s group.

Bey’s arrest in 2003 on 27 counts of raping four girls further damaged both Bey’s image and that of his organization, though most of the charges were dropped and he died before his trial.

Bailey began to take a second journalistic look at Your Black Muslim Bakery. Having become editor of the Oakland Post, a small weekly newspaper focused on the African American community, Bailey probed the bakery’s murky finances — until the morning of Aug. 2, when a masked man approached and fired a shotgun at his head.

According to police, a 19-year-old employee of the bakery has confessed to the murder, saying he carried it out because of Bailey’s reporting. The suspect denies he confessed and claims he is innocent.

Job-related murders of journalists are extremely rare in the United States: The last one took place in 1993, and there have been only 13 since 1976 (including Bailey’s), according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Yet this murder is a reminder of the need for reporting by professional journalists, even in an era when amateur video of war zones can be had at the click of a mouse. Aggressive journalism is still a vital part of every community’s defenses against corruption and crime. It can save lives.

Chauncey Bailey died doing his duty as a reporter. That duty is not only indispensable in a democratic society; it’s also risky. Now that the police have raided the bakery, confiscating weapons and arresting six people in addition to Bailey’s alleged assassin, there is some hope for a safer Oakland. That would be the most fitting memorial for Chauncey Bailey."

Now-We live in a nation where we are blessed with freedom to say and write what we want. Not all nations have that privilege. In fact many nations subject those who dare to question authority, demonstrate a lack of religious conformity such as carrying a Bible, or refusing to bow to social limitations such a wearing a hajib or purdah to jail, to beatings, to whippings or worse. As a free nation, writers are able to express their opinions in what used to be news. But I question the wisdom of adhering to politically correct imagery on certain ethnic groups while overlooking more sinister and serious issues. In this case, the writer did a fluff piece on the main character showing his positive side. But when the same writer found out about major criminal activity associate with this same person, the writer was killed. That's not supposed to happen in the United States. But it does happen in many of the nations whose egregious behavior is being whitewashed by a media that seeks to control the vote through only the most politically correct presentation of groups that seek to do us harm. You can see it with certain radical elements within domestic Islamic beliefs, you can see it with the refusal to site the resident status of known offenders, you can see it in the way they show people involved in a crime based more upon their perceived minority or ethnic status rather than on the heinousness of the offense. This cannot stand. We can't allow people to corrupt us from within. Somewhere there must be judges and juries who are not blinded by the polling of an issue. I think the location of this event also is telling since that area of California is one of the most willing to accept people precisely because they oppose the concepts that make the United States what is it today. Please consider this issue and discuss it with your kids. They need to know what they are up against.

It's Illegal Immigration, Stupid.

To paraphrase a quote from past elections, most of the problems we are currently dealing with on the domestic front have at least some small part of the immigration issue within them. Follow my thinking:

-Environment-Water and resources are finite in number. Add more users without comparable building of water treatment, reservoirs and sewage and you end up with a serious health issue. Clean water is one of the things our population has come to expect as a given. If you think Collin county suffered during the last drought, imagine how much worse it will be if illegal immigration continues unchecked.

-Education-Schools by law cannot ask a student's legal status. We have students who are living with distant relatives. They are getting an education at our expense and quite often their parents are not paying commeasurate taxes via rent or mortgage since many homes have been subdivided by absentee landlords or sublet by legitimate residents who rent to multiple families in single family units. This is to the detriment of other residents. By having multiple families living in one residence they are not paying their share of school taxes. Many of these children have special needs, and those are federally mandated to be provided by the district.

-Insurance-With 25% uninsured and unlicensed drivers, the rates of insured drivers goes up. Instead of tolerating this skirting of the law, drivers without licenses should be arrested then turned over to Immigration for deportation if they aren't here legally. Cars involved in moving violations, drunk driving, or not having insurance should be impounded. And this goes for EVERYONE. It's just more serious with someone who has a false identity because you can't ever find them to make them pay for the damage they do.

-Health and Welfare-Public hospitals by and large will not ask status. A person having no insurance can get care that a normal person isn't able to afford simply by waiting. Parkland is funded by taxes. Wages must be paid, supplies must be purchased, and bills reconciled. If someone uses a false identity, or has one courtesy of the matricula consulare-which cannot be verified-and skips on their payment, who do you think ends up paying?

-Security-We already know that drug cartels have placed personnel in this country through the sieve that acts as a border. West Texans have known two-legged coyotes to abandon their cargo of people, drugs or other smuggled goods in the middle of ranches. There are not enough law personnel to monitor or cover the vast area between Del Rio and El Paso. As a consequence, there is the possibility that some very serious contraband has already entered our nation. Is this not a serious issue? And don't those who deny the problem in fact exacerbate it by their ostrich attitudes?

-Wages-Because of workers willing to work for lower wages off the books, we have wage erosion. And raising the minimum wage will only result in inflation as a result. The myth that these are jobs that "Americans won't do" is simply that, a myth. Instead what we have is companies large and small getting away with pocketing taxes as profit. And in return, we have young people who cannot get important first jobs because they are taken.

-Identity Theft-This is the most serious issue. The news shows something on this at least twice a week. But what is using someone else's social security number, but identity theft? It is simply wrong that people are screwing around with a program that some people have paid into for fifty years only to find it misused and abused by those who forge documents and by the employers who look the other way.

-Crime-Look at any city on the receiving end of the immigration train and you will find neighborhoods that accept crime and violence as a way of life. Trying to avoid getting caught in Immigration's net, they allow gang violence, drug distribution (Cheese, anyone?), and a slew of other criminal activities to continue. Areas that used to be middle class are now criminal and gang war zones. And those residents who own homes there are stuck because they often can't afford to move, but they also cannot sell. This is why towns such as Farmers Branch and Hazelton and now University Park are seeking to find ways to keep single family homes for single families and to require criminal background checks on potential tenants. We have had several instance of people being attacked by offenders with criminal histories. How many drunk drivers,domestic abusers, pedophiles or rapists do we have to accept? Dont' we have enough of our own criminals here already? How can police keep up with the flow other than arrest and release programs that make situations worse?

-Health Care-This is the issue the Democrats are trying to cloud the voting population's brain with. But even for health care, there are huge issues regarding illegal immigrants. Most Democrats will blindly say to give them aid. But at what point do we cut that off? Do we only give aid to Canadians and Mexicans? Or to the hemisphere? Or how about the whole world? As I have already stated, some countries take taxes as much as 68% to pay for comprehensive programs. And their success rate on anything over basic care is not as good. Plus there are delays. If we do not have some sort of permanent biometric identification system, then it is very possible that Aunt Tillie in Milwaukee will have cataract surgery while her doppelganger in San Diego has her third child. We simply cannot run into this issue without some safeguards. But the Democrats are offering none.

Solutions:

-Fines for employers the first time they knowingly hire. Jail time the second time and denial of access to local, state and federal bid lists.

-Deportation for the illegal. NO return allowed for any purpose for ten years.

-Identity Theft-County jail time then deportation.

-Enhanced border security-more personnel. No catch and release of anyone, especially OTM's
.

Nationalized Health Care: Disaster in the Making

In their misguided attempts to steer the American Publics view away from the truly serious impact of Illegal Immigration, the Democrats are trying to dazzle their political base with talk of nationalized health care. Whoever wins their nomination can expect this to be the centerpiece of their platform. Let me outline some of the reasons that this is a BAD IDEA.

1. Americans are naive. They look at loosely organized documentaries and rather than questioning the validity of this idea or that, they accept it even at its most outrageous. "Sicko" glossed over many of the more egregious problems with Canadian national health. Those problems have led their court system to allow private insurance because of the failure of citizens to receive adequate care in a timely manner. In one example a Canadian was denied services over 40 times for a hernia operation. In the end he came to....you guessed it...The United States and got surgery. Likewise many Canadians find themselves without doctors due to the many doctors who feel compelled to leave Canadian health care systems due to lack of income as well as lack of truely adequate care. Nobody in the healthcare field likes to see people suffering needlessly. But that is what happens when you ration care.
Americans, being the idiots we often are, will demand the same type of care that they recieve now, which is impossible when you are giving care to anyone that walks in the door. We don't have the capacity, we don't have the staffing, we simply do not have the money. Democrats like to veil this as a deficiency of action, but you cannot force people to become doctors or nurses, nor should you. If the income for these rigorous careers goes down due to federal limitations and ever higher malpractice insurance rates, do you think you will see a spike in applicants? Didn't think so.

2. The cost of nationalized health care is staggering. If you enjoy paying more for less care, then it probably won't bother you. But some of the tax rates for the role model nations are truly more than I think the American public realizes. The Democrats are doing their best to make this seem like something which can be cheaply and easily funded. One of the nations they love to trot out is Denmark. Denmark has cradle to grave service. And for that they pay 68% of their income in taxes. That is more than double what the top wage earners pay right now. So look at your pay stub, look at the withdrawals for Social Security and taxes and DOUBLE IT. Can you live on that income? Most people cannot. While other nations like to trot our their comparative "bang for the buck" with nationalized care, they don't have any way of accounting for what amounts to health care rationing. Likewise, treatments that are pretty much an on demand issue, such as hernia surgery or gall bladder surgery is sometimes postponed, causing those who can afford it to go somewhere else, or to acquire private insurance, which according the Democrats, we can't afford anyway.

3. There is NO SECURITY IN OUR SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM. And by that I mean that we MUST have rock solid individual identification in order to get service. If American taxpayers are footing the bill, they aren't going to be too happy if the 12 to 20 million illegal immigrants jump in line. Likewise, as identity theft is causing economic havoc for individuals, how can HIPPA laws be adequately addressed on a national level if you have NO IDEA WHO THE PATIENT REALLY IS? If we have the vaunted national system, that would include a databank that would have everyone's medical history. If you are a retired secretary in Michagan going in for reconstructive bladder surgery, it's going to be difficult to reconcile that you just left the maternity ward in San Diego. And that, is part and partial of why this is an amazingly draconian task.

4. Americans live in a very mobile and open society. If we don't like our doctors, dentists or PA's we find others that suffice. That may not be the case with a nationalize plan. In fact, to be truly effective the plan would have to resemble the Kaiser program rather than the conventional HMO or PPO programs we have now. In fact to be truly efficient, they would create regional centers at hospitals and assign people to specific gateway physicians. I am not sure that that will work for many people who are used to going to the doctor they like the best.

5. I am not sure that the medical stats in terms of personal expenditure are all that accurate. I know people who take plastic surgery, the meds associated as well as other loosely attached medical procedures off taxes as medical expenditure. If that is the amount people are using to demonstrate our expenditure per citizen, then I am not sure how accurate that truly is.

6. The cost of drugs has risen along with the rise in lawsuit payouts. While I understand that when people get harmed or die as the result of bad medicine, it's a tragedy and they deserve compensation, our legal system has gone too far addressing this making trial lawyers into millionaires while the true victims get a mere pittance. You have seen the ads and so have I for trial lawyers looking for cases to force a class action suit. That's wrong, but it's happening. In the end what this has done is force malpractice insurance rates through the roof, forcing some specialties virtually out of business. Likewise the factories that make drugs are forced to downsize, close their doors and move to Europe or China or somewhere where their existence isn't under attack. Do you really want medications made in China or some other nation where their is little or no oversight? Yet during the last Great Flu Pandemic Scare, flu vaccine had to be imported because our remaining factories could not generate vaccine quickly enough. People seem schizophrenic in this regard-they want total safety in everything all the time BUT they want the newest medication off the line. You can't have it both ways. But Americans have become critically dumb on this topic.

7. The media has to shoulder a good deal of the blame for the way Americans panic in reaction to every medical whim or fancy. Every day on the news there's some other food that will make you healthy, make you die, make you fat, make you thin, counteract Alzheimers or raise your IQ and there is absolutely NO AGREEMENT ON ANY OF THESE "FACTS". I think reporters on slow newsdays cruise the latest medical journals for obscure trivia they can milk for air time. Think back to Bird Flu, or Legionnaires Disease, or Lyme Disease or any of countless number of syndromes, diseases or problems that the media in its curiosity likes to flaunt as "common and could be coming to your home." Oh please. I know people have these diseases, but the hype is overdone and the result is an American public that doesn't think it can eat anything safely, and so eats EVERYTHING because when you are faced with certain death, What the Hell does it matter that you had a cheeseburger WITH FRIES.

What I find especially worrisome is that attitude that our health is just in our hands. And by that I mean the attitude that whatever your flaws-asthmatic, smoker, overweight-you are to be punished for it. I am one of those people who has struggled through various diets, programs and drills for years in order to lose weight. Now I hear that there's a company in Indiana that will fine people such as me, further condemning and confiring society's opinion of how those of us that are overweight are simply stupid and lazy. If I were of a minority race or religion I would have legal support to sue the pants off such obvious bigotry. But with a rampantly liberal nationalized system, I could see that happening on a national basis. Fat taxes, smoker taxes, drinker taxes....frankly it is far more scary than anything I read in "1984." And the zeal with which the Democrats are approaching this issue should cause all kinds of warning bells to go off in your head. Unless you are just another one of the drones that would prefer to have the government control your life cradle to grave.

America You've Got Problems

America has a problem. We are bunch of garage saling, bargain chasing cheapskates. And while frugality in itself isn't bad, when you do so and end up with merchandise that is poor quality, dangerous or simply inoperative, it sort of defeats the purpose. So we have China. China likes to bill itself as a poor little third world country. They undercut pricing of domestic producers of food, clothing and other products. American wholesalers always liked to think it was simply a matter of lower pay-so many companies moved manufacturing to China. Well guess what, when you don't have a factory in the United States, you also don't have inspectors that can assure high quality of the products. So we end up with killer pet food, possibly dangerous toiletries and now, toys made with outlawed lead based paint. There's a message here for manufacturers AND for consumers- First of all-Cheaper is not always better. In fact many times it is far worse. Secondly-People who aren't paid very much, don't really give a darn about quality. Thirdly-You really do get what you pay for.

We've become a nation of consumers. And a nation that largely doesn't know basic maintenance on any of its own products. My sons and husband did most of the work on all of our cars, but there are kids out there gifted with a better car than I have ever owned, who barely know how to put gas in. I had a student show up late one day because she didn't understand the oil idiot light was important. She burned up an engine on a brand new Honda-a Sweet Sixteen gift. I know kids who have super computers, but don't know how to change their type fonts. C'mon folks, there's more to life than just buying things and throwing them away. That is TRUE environmentalism-and true conservatism as well.