Some Points on Sequestration

 

1. We are not talking about actual cuts. The government will still be on track to spend more this year than it did last year. We are talking about cuts in the rate of growth. For example, if you expect to get a $10,000 raise next year, but you get $7,500 instead, your pay has not been cut. You are still getting $7,500 more next year than you did this year.
2. If sequestration does occur, we are talking less than 3%. I heard someone on one of the talk shows put a good perspective on this. He said that if you make $1000 a week, and your pay is cut 2%, you're talking about $20 a paycheck. You will not lose your house and car over $20, and if you do, then you were over-extended to begin with. Instead, you might do without a Starbucks three times a week, or cut out one restaurant meal. Incidentally, Obama effectively gave the working citizens a 2% pay cut January 1 this year. If we're paying our "fair share," shouldn't the government be expected to do the same?
3. Why is Obama tooling around the country on Air Force One (wasting more taxpayer money) talking to people who can't solve the problem? Those people elected Senators and Representatives to speak for them on tax and economy issues, and they are the only ones with the votes to accomplish anything. Why isn't Obama in Washington talking to them?
4. Is our government operating so lean and mean that 2% in unnecessary spending can't be found? Is Obama saying that there's not at least 2% of our budget that is wasted? Let's start there with cuts. For example, we overpay scam operations like the Scooter Store while cutting the reimbursement rates for legitimate medical providers. The Scooter Store has been overpaid between $46.8 million and $87.7 million in the last couple of years, yet they were already under a 5-year agreement to return $19.5 million in overpayments. What's wrong with this picture?
5. Perhaps we could cut some of Obama's stimulus. Do you realize how much money has gone down the tubes in government subsidies for green energy? So far, 34 companies that were offered federal support from taxpayers have gone down the tubes or are about to do so. The 2009 stimulus included $80 billion to subsidize the president's pet energy projects. Since that time, more than 1,000 investigations have been opened  to look into stimulus waste, fraud, and abuse, and nearly 600 convictions have been made. So not only are we out the $80 billion we gave these companies, we're also out the cost of the investigations.
6. Bottom line: Sequestration is not the end of the U.S.A. as we know it. That happened a little over four years ago.
 

 



Insure Them Away

 

Have you heard about the latest tactic being floated to deprive law-abiding citizens of their Second Amendment rights? Legislation is being introduced in at least six states to require gun owners to buy insurance. They say it's the same as requiring car insurance, but it's not. What it amounts to is a tax on gun ownership. If you never drive your car on a public street, you don't have to buy insurance. But with guns, even if the firearm stays in a locked box in your closet, you'd still have to buy insurance. Add to that the fact that car ownership is not a right specifically protected by the Bill of Rights.

 

The argument is that having insurance will decrease the number of "gun tragedies." Is that right? Can you tell me how that happens? Am I less likely to have a car accident because I'm insured? Is my home less likely to burn down if I'm insured? I don't get the connection here. They might just as well be honest about it. It has nothing to do with reducing "gun tragedies" and everything to do with depriving citizens of their Constitutional rights.

 

"Sides at odds over role insurance should play." The Dallas Morning News; February 22, 2013; p. 9A.

Does Tim Tebow have the courage of his convictions?

 

I was disappointed to hear that Tim Tebow is bowing to the politically correct crowd by cancelling his speaking engagement at First Baptist Church, Dallas. The liberal media keeps spreading malicious lies about the "controversial" pastor there and how he spreads hate. I've not heard one thing Robert Jeffress has said that indicates to me he is a hate-filled man, but I have heard enough to know that he has the courage of his convictions. Unfortunately, it appears the same cannot be said of Tim Tebow.

Tim Tebow evidently told Jeffress that he "needs to stay away from controversy." There is nothing controversial about what Robert Jeffress preaches -- everything he says is straight (no pun intended) from the Scripture. I don't know about Tim Tebow, but I'm awfully glad that Jesus didn't shun "controversy."

 

"First Baptist loses Tebow." The Dallas Morning News; February 22, 2013; p. 1b.

Dangerous Terrorist At Large!

 

Be on the lookout for Madison Guarna, a dangerous terrorist at large in Pennsylvania. This 5-year-old suspect, pictured above, is armed with a Hello Kitty bubble gun like this one:

She was suspended by the Mount Carmel Area School District for making a terroristic threat when she told her classmates who were waiting for the school bus with her that she was going to "shoot" them with the soap bubbles.

The whole world has gone bonkers!

"Tolerance is low for gun play." The Dallas Morning News; February 19, 2012; p. 1A.



Conspiracy Theory?

 

I'm not one to jump on all the conspiracy theory bandwagons. But it seems to me that this is just a little too much of a coincidence. We know how Obama is using the Sandy Hook parents and others who've lost family members by putting them into the anti-gun spotlight.

 

Much was made of the murder of the Chicago teenager who performed at Obama's inauguration and was gunned down days later in a Chicago park. Michelle attended Hadiya Pendleton's funeral and met with her friends and family, and Hadiya's mother was Michelle's guest at the State of the Union address. Obama also used Hadiya's death for his anti-gun speech when he spoke at Hyde Park Academy in Chicago on February 15. Janay McFarlane's sister sat behind Obama on the platform there. At 11:30 that night, Janay was shot and killed while walking through an alley. Lucky for the Obama's, they get another arrow in their anti-gun quiver. Or is it luck? On a side note, Janay has a 3-month-old baby. What was she doing out walking in an alley at 11:30 at night? Shouldn't she have been home with that child?

 

We might also want to note that both of these murders took place in Chicago where it's next to impossible to legally own a gun. Either Obama chooses to ignore that fact, or he is too stupid to make the connection.   

 

"Sister of Obama stage guest is shot to death." The Dallas Morning News; February 18, 2013; p. 6A.

 



New study shows ropes cause hanging.

 

A new study by the anti-gun people says that nearly 2/3 of the deaths from guns in 2010 were suicides. They are, of course, using this statistic to bolster their argument against 2nd Amendment rights. But as I see it, it's an argument that most of the deaths from guns are not a result of homicidal maniacs; therefore, the general public need not go into a panic because people exercise their rights to firearm ownership.

 

According to this study, "most researchers say . . . guns in the home increase the risk of suicide." Really? Isn't that a bit like saying, "Pepto-Bismol in the house increases the risk of an upset stomach"? I can't think of any situation where someone who is not inclined to commit suicide in the first place would say, "Oh! Look! We have a gun in the house. Think I'll shoot myself."

 

The bottom line is that guns don't cause suicidal shootings anymore than ropes cause suicidal hangings.

 

"Most shooting deaths' common thread: suicide." The Dallas Morning News; February 17, 2013; p. 8A.

 



 



I wish I were the judge!

 

I wish I were the judge in this frivolous lawsuit. I'd throw the case out and charge the plaintiff all sorts of court costs. We need to start making examples of these idiots.

 

Clint Bench has no hands and does not use prosthetics. He is suing Six Flags because they won't let him get on the Aquaman Splashdown ride. The Aquaman Splashdown is one of those boat rides similar to the log flume, only the boats are larger. The splashdown drop is more than 119 feet.

 

I've ridden this ride before, and even with hands and holding on, I came out with some rather large bruises on my legs. I can just see the lawsuit if this man were injured because he couldn't grab hold of the safety restraint.

 

Even in his suit, he admits that it's stupid to ride with no hands. "There are many people who, . . . in a silly display of bravado, keep their hands in the air for the duration of the ride." But if one were to stand on the bridge spanning the splashdown point and watch, I'll just bet that every one of those silly people grasp the restraint at or slightly before the point of impact.

 

Anyway, this man is married and has two kids. Doesn't he have anything better to do than grouse because he can't get on an amusement park ride? He claims mental anguish -- I think he's just mental.

 

"Handless man sues Six Flags." The Dallas Morning News; February 14, 2013; p. 5B.