YOUR REPS ARE BAD, MINE ARE GOOD

Congressman Connie Mack (seen here with his wife, Mary Bono), represents the Florida 14th District, the District in which I live.

In my last post, I castigated all of our representatives for the so-called "stimulus" package, which cannot possibly stimulate anything because, among other reasons, the bulk of it won't even be used for this year or the next.

I blamed all of our representatives, including Congressman Connie Mack, even though he opposes the bill and will not (did not - depending upon when this gets published) vote for it.

See, I agree with him.

Nevertheless, I still think he is responsible (as are they all), because, although he is known in congress as somewhat of a pistol, his public persona is very mild and you would never know the vigor with which he opposes this stuff.

That's the point.

If Congress, in theory, works for us, we have to know what goes on in their minds to cause them to vote the way they vote.

When Congressman Connie Mack tells us he "...voiced concern..." over certain things, that seems like gross understatement and does not seem forceful, energetic or earnest.

"Voiced concern" is what you do when something gets your attention and you get ready to find out more about it.

"Vigorously and loudly object, giving cause and reason" is more what I want to hear publicly from my representatives.

Conservatives are in a minority right now, and we don't have the votes to defeat these un-American, unproductive and unworkable, useless pieces of legislation.

It is certainly no help that men and women who pretend to be Republicans are falling in lock-step with the liberals as though they will then be liked by the liberals and therefore not be treated so badly.

Poppycock!

The liberal representatives we have now are deceitful, hateful, lying, manipulative, word-parsing wolves who will eat conservatives for dinner every chance they get.

Republicans, in the mean time, are looking like Barack Obama when he tries to "reason" with terrorists...that is, they want to sweet-talk liberals so as not to hurt their feelings, make them mad or make waves.

Most people think that other people's representatives are bad, while their own are pretty good men or women.

At this point, I totally disagree with that and think they are all bad to the core, not because individually they are not nice people (I think Connie Mack is a really good man with good intentions), but because they behave spinelessly and without the image of firm, "stand for something or fall for anything" convictions.

So in the end, your representatives are bad and mine are bad, too.

Isn't there some way we can just start all over?

FOOLS...EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM

The stimulus bill, given last week's analysis by the Congressional Budget Office, is a time bomb waiting to go off.

Only $26 billion of the House stimulus bill's $355 billion in new spending would actually be spent this year, and no more than a third of it will be spent by 2010.

So, how does that help stimulate our economy today or tomorrow?

I thought Nancy Pelosi said we have to work fast and get it done now.

Truth is, the bill, as it is written, will not stimulate the economy, all of the members of Congress know it will not stimulate the economy, but they are deliberately bent on making you believe it will stimulate the economy.

And they are positive that you are stupid enough to fall for it.

They really, really think that about you.

Personally, I think you are smarter than that...aren't you?

And Personally, I think Congress is made up of fools...every last one of them.

I WANT AN ELECTRIC CAR!

That's it!

I give up!

They've won me over.

I have decided that I want an electric car!

Yep!

As soon as I can have one big enough to carry me (no mean task), my wife, my two kids and my two grandchildren, my two dogs and all of the luggage we will need for a trip from Florida to California.

My present gasoline powered Honda will do that.

As soon as I can have one that will do all that and still go 0 - 60 mph in under 12 seconds.

My present gasoline powered Honda will do that.

As soon as I can have one that will maintain 70 mph for 300 - 400 miles per day.

My present gasoline powered Honda will do that.

As soon as I can have one that will recharge overnight, and will work if I have a middle-of-the-night emergency.

My present gasoline powered Honda will do that - without the recharging part.

As soon as I can have one that can play my CDs, run my GPS, play the radio, and run the air conditioner and/or heater (I live in Southwest Florida...not a big demand for that heater thing).

My present gasoline powered Honda will do that.

As soon as I can have one that has plush, comfortable seats and ample storage space for spare tires, jacks, a lug wrench and assorted tools.

My present gasoline powered Honda will do that.

As soon as I can have one that can do all that and costs under $30,000.00.

My present gasoline powered Honda will do that.

Wait!

I think I just talked (wrote) myself out of it.

With all due respect to the planet, I think I'll just keep my gasoline powered Honda...if you don't mind.

Even if you do.

APPROVED OF MEN

Barack Obama has moved quickly to enact several measures by Executive Order.

One public opinion poll has BO's approval rating at 64%, very high (but not the best ever) rating for a newly inaugurated president.

So what does this mean?

For one thing, it means that most people don't have the slightest idea what he has done, nor do they care.

People react to BO based on his "charisma," not on his actions or words, except for the words, "hope," "change," and "Yes we can," nebulous terms at best.

Define "hope."

It may be defined as: the general feeling that some desire will be fulfilled; expect and wish; someone (or something) on which expectations are centered; to be optimistic; and intend with some possibility of fulfilment.

That's pretty indefinite.

What are Americans hoping for?

Better economic times? No doubt.

Lower gasoline prices? Obviously.

But what is the hope held out by BO.

Nobody knows...he hasn't said.

What about "change?"

Change can be good or bad.

Status quo is boring and routine.

Change is exciting and dynamic.

But what if change means: "Congress may make any law it wants to regarding the Establishment of religion, restricting freedom of the press and denying the right of the people to assemble and express their grievances to the government?"

Would that be good change?

BO has talked about that kind of change.

What if change means: "We can invade the privacy of your home if we deem it necessary to do so to accomplish the end necessary to governmental progress."

Would that be good change?

BO has talked about that kind of change.

What if change means: "The government can take from you the right to bear arms?"

Would that be good change?

BO has talked about that kind of change.

What if change means: "Confiscate a person's property for reasons other than the necessity of providing for the commonly agreed to good?"

Would that be good change?

BO has talked about that kind of change (and the Supreme Court has moved in that direction as well).

Well, what about, "Yes we can!"

Can what?

During the run for the nomination, BO used that phrase many times.

The question about that question is, "Can what?"

So far, all we know about what we can do is to blindly follow his lead as we can hope to change all of the things this country has been historically."

Do you consider that a worthy direction?

Of the three types of people: those who make things happen; those who let things happen and those who say, "What happened?," most people seem to fall into the category of "What happened?"

In which category do you find yourself?

Are you part of the 64% that approve of BO's nebulosity?

WALL STREET UNDER BARACK OBAMA

NEW STOCK MARKET TERMS

CEO --Chief Embezzlement Officer.

CFO-- Corporate Fraud Officer.

BULL MARKET -- A random market movement causing an investor to mistake himself for a financial genius.

BEAR MARKET -- A 6 to 18 month period when the kids get no allowance, andthe wife gets no jewelry.

VALUE INVESTING -- The art of buying low and selling lower.

P/E RATIO -- The percentage of investors wetting their pants as the market keeps crashing.

BROKER -- What my broker has made me.

STANDARD & POOR -- Your life in a nutshell.

STOCK ANALYST -- Idiot who just downgraded your stock.

STOCK SPLIT -- When your ex-wife and her lawyer split your assets equally between themselves.

FINANCIAL PLANNER -- A guy whose phone has been disconnected.

MARKET CORRECTION -- The day after you buy stocks.

CASH FLOW-- The movement your money makes as it disappears down the toilet.

YAHOO -- What you yell after selling it to some poor sucker for $240 per share.

WINDOWS -- What you jump out of when you're the sucker who bought Yahoo @ $240 per share.

INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR -- Past year investor who's now locked up in a nuthouse.

PROFIT -- An archaic word no longer in use.

A CLASSLESS SOCIETY

In India they have the "caste" system.

There are five different levels of the system: Brahman (priests), Kshatriya (rulers, warriors, and landowners), Vaishya (merchants), Shudra (artisans, agriculturalists), and Harijans ("outside" the caste system [once known as "untouchables"]).

Within each of these categories are the actual "castes" or jatis within which people are born, marry, and die.

In The United States (as in many Western cultures), we use the "class" system.

We have the Upper Class (rich, often considered "snobby" people, but not necessarily so), The Middle Class (So-called "Average Income" people), and the Lower Class (those below middle class).

The boundaries are not clear and the governments occasionally comes out with "adjustments" to the system, depending on who they want to tax at the time.

It is fashionable for the government (the leaders of which are mostly rich fat cats who in the main are Democrats, but who want you to think that mostly Republicans fall into that category), to castigate the rich and make the argument that because they have been dealt an unfair hand in life (that is: they have worked hard, taken chances and succeeded), they should pay a higher percentage of taxes.

Then, they (the government) enact IRS laws that give tax breaks to the corporations in direct proportion to their contributions to re-election campaigns, especially their own.

After that, they jump up and down proclaiming how unfair it is for poorer (but not poor) people to be burdened with high taxes, so they raise them less than they said they were going to and proclaim that a tax reduction.

Poor people, as defined by the fat cat government leaders, then are promised a refund (euphemistically called a "rebate") of what they did not pay.

I tried that at a local "big box" store.

I went in, asked for management and demanded a refund on a wide screen TV which I had not bought.

I didn't get it.

Now, as in India, within each class there are divisions and sub-divisions.

I live in a sub-division...but that's another matter.

You have Upper Upper Class, Middle Upper Class, and Lower Upper Class, Upper Middle Class, Middle Middle Class and Lower Middle Class, Moderately Poor, Poor and Poverty stricken, followed by Homeless, Indigent and Vagrant.

What's different about America, besides the gauge of our railroad tracks, is that one can be in almost any profession and almost any class at the same time.

A plumber who is not very good or dependable might find him/herself in the ranks of the poor (thought not usually the Homeless, Indigent or Vagrant), or, if he/she has been very successful, might own many plumbing companies and be in the Upper Upper Class, particularly if he/she plumbs as a government contractor (in which case he/she really doesn't have to be that good, and doesn't really have to do any real plumbing at all).

Now most of you reading this post think I am writing about some sort of economics or the like.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Well, I guess there could be SOME things further from the truth, but for purposes of this post, we'll let sleeping dogs lie (??).

When it comes to class, our country has decided that there is a base. More accurately, it has decided to become base.

Everyday language has taken the route of the lowest common denominator.

Vulgarities, vileness and other such "V" words have taken over language in the form of "S" words, "F" words, "H" words, "W" words and "AEIOU" words, straight from the Vowels of Ell.

Some people cannot utter a coherent thought without swearing, cursing or taking the Lord's name in vain, in every-other word.

Linguistically we have become a nation of Dumbdowns, who don't even have the intelligence to know why such a thing is a drag on society.

"Freedom of Speech," "They're Only Words," and other such phrases voice their excuses.

Nonsense.

The Constitution does not guarantee you "freedom of speech," no matter what you were taught in Public School.

It clearly states that we cannot have any federal law restricting speech or infringing on one's right to self-expression, especially as it relates to criticizing the government.

Citizens have taken that to mean that they can say what they want, when they want, however they want, to whomever they want, and wherever they want.

Very foolish!

What it really boils down to is that we have lost the art of self-control in our language.

A person who is not man or woman enough to control his/her language, is not likely to be able to control him/herself with regard to other issues.

Foul language is really a sign of civil class, having nothing to do with economics.

As a country, we are becoming a classless society.

A MEANINGFUL DEATH

I am an old white guy.

I have not always been old, but I have always been both white and a guy.

In 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. came to the town in which I lived to continue his battle for universal human rights through peaceful civil disobedience.

I admired Dr. King and what he stood for, and so I marched with him when he marched in my town, St. Augustine, Florida.

Since his death, the black (or African-American, if you wish...in those days they were "colored," or some less polite term), community has struggled to find a leader who could live up to the ideals laid out in Dr. King's, "I Have A Dream" speech.

The problem continually centered around the phrase, "...the content of their character."

The content of the character of those who sought to replace him in leadership was shoddy, at best, and corrupt at worst.

But today, we can officially declare the death of corporate racism in America (corporate in the universal sense, not the business sense).

America has elected and installed "the first black president," Barack Obama.

President Barack Obama was not elected by black people, or brown people, or yellow people or red people (as if those were the actual colors of each of those "racial" groups), but by the American people.

I did not vote for him, and I do not look forward to the implementation of the policies and programs he promised during the run for election.

Nevertheless, elected he was, and elected he will most probably stay.

If the inauguration was any indication, we are in for a strange four years.

Take the "Inaugural Poem," for instance, by Elizabeth Alexander. It was almost incoherent...void of relevance and impossible to embrace.

President Obama sought to assign blame for our present economic woes with, "Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some...," not recognizing any blame on government for requiring loans to folks who could not possibly pay them back.

He also said, "Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights..."

And, "Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America."

(That "remaking America" is one of the scariest thoughts that he could possibly have thunk.)

He said, "The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward."

(Government...diverting from its purpose as outlined in The Constitution.)

On his stand on the defense of our nation: "As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations." and "Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions."

(Maybe...but I guarantee you that the missiles and tanks, and bombs and rifles and machine guns made it possible to have sturdy alliances and to enhance our convictions).

How about the benediction, led by Rev. Joseph E. Lowrey, which included the inflammatory rhetoric: "We ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around (people started to laugh at this point), when yellow will be mellow (more laughter), when the red man can get ahead, man (more laughter) and when white will embrace what is right...Let all who do justice and love mercy say amen,"

Maybe I was wrong. Maybe racism is not dead. Maybe it is being perpetuated by those who were supposed to have been killing it.

Addendum: If the manners of a large portion of the crowd with respect to outgoing President Bush are an indication of where we are in terms of civility, then I seceed from any involvement with trying to side with civil rights. People who are not civil do not deserve civil rights. We did not boo Clinton when he left office, although we detested his presidency, and we don't expect these ungrateful, piggish, lazy, entitlement oriented boobs to openly and unapologetically boo ANY president at such an occasion. Their behavior was inexcusable, unnecessary, unhelpful, un-patriotic, and revealed who they really are.

WHAT'S GOOD FOR THE GOOSE?

Thanks to the heroic efforts of the cockpit crew, the now famous water landing (crash) of a US Airways Airbus was a huge success!

The plane stayed together and the passengers and crew were safely extracated and taken to a drier environment.
For this, they can all be grateful to God.

Lest you think, however that all was peaches and cream, let us not forget that there was significan loss of life in this unfortunate event.

On takeoff, the plane seems to have intersected the flight path of a flock of geese.

Now these geese have been around since whenever the imagined evolutionary forces brought them into being.

Geese have rights, you know.

They have the right to be hatched, the right to learn to fly, the right to waddle, the right to be used as watch-geese by farmers, and the right to be where they want to be when they want to be there.

Whether or not they have the right to be the featured attraction on a Christmas feast, as outlined in "A Christmas Carol," by Charles Dickens, is still up for discussion. I would be the last one to deny them that right.

In fact, I might be the first one to help them fulfill that right.

These geese were innocently flying in air space they had occupied long before LaGuardia Airport was ever built.

Just flying along...flap, flap, flap.

Suddenly, like the roar of lightening and a bolt of thunder here comes this huge, silver monstrosity of an object, coming at them at break-neck speed.

The lead goose tried to direct the flock out of the way! But, alas, there was no time.

In less time than it takes to read the next word, or the next one, or...well, you get the idea.

Two of the hapless geese had been turned into gooseburgers and fast fried into forever.

This is a story you won't read in the Mainstream Media, unless they can figure a way to connect it to the last days of the Bush Presidency. You will only read it here...in the blog that keeps you aware of the things that really matter.

Expect to hear from PETA soon, though.

A VISIT FROM JEEMAN

It was a regular Saturday evening, only a few years from now.

I was sitting on my fauxvinyl sofa, about to endure another UFL "game," wishing they would go back to awarding points for touchdowns so we could tell who wins.

Wins. That's a faux-pas if there ever was one.

A faux-pas to match my fauxvinyl sofa on my fauxwool carpet over my fauxconcrete subfloor.

But I'm not complaining. No, not me.

Why, I feel so loved, so cared for, so fulfilled.

It's Big Jee, you know.

They have such compassion for my every need.

After the economy collapsed back in December of 2011, and the country went bankrupt, it was Big Jee that came along and bailed me out of my despair.

They really do take care of me.

Nobody's working, but it doesn't matter.

Big Jee has just installed ultra high-speed presses to keep up with the demand for money.

The knock at the door broke my focus on the "game."

"Hello," said the staccato voice. "My name is Jeeman, Yewess Jeeman.

"I'm here to conduct the annual Big Jee home audit. Step aside, while I come in."

"Uh, but I was busy watching the 'game,'" I objected. "Can't this wait until tomorrow?"

"No sir!" His tone was fervent. "We don't work on Lardsday. Since the closing of the last church, we have discovered the value of having one day off per week for renewal and re commitment to Big Jee.

"Now sit quietly while I have a look around."

He examined everything, going over each item with a fine toothed comb.

"Your fauxmarble counter top is getting pretty scratched up. It's time for a replacement."

"Wait a minute," I broke in. "I just put a new one in about eleven months ago."

"Well, you got it from Big Jee," retorted Mr. Jeeman. "You can't expect miracles, you know.

"Besides, not to worry, Big Jee will put you in line straight away for a new fauxtop. It shouldn't take more than six or eight months."

"Humph!" I humphed, "I'll probably have to wait that long for my pace maker implant, anyway. I sure am glad Big Jee will take care of that one...I sure couldn't afford it."

"Ah...the implant!" said Mr. Jeeman. "There's been a little delay on that. It will probably be twelve or fourteen months before we have one for you."

"Twelve months! I'll be dead by then."

"Don't be so upset," he said, "Big Jee will cover all of the expenses for the funeral."

"But I don't want a funeral...at least not so soon..."

"Mr. Joe," said Mr. Jeeman, "You can't rush the process. With Big Jee covering health care, you have to learn to run on their schedule."

"What's this?"

His tone was more like "Eureka," than a question.

"You have an incandescent bulb in this lamp!" It was the one back behind the corner stool. No one ever went in that closet.

"Do you know the penalty for having an Edison-style bulb?"

I didn't like the way his eyes lit up as he was talking.

"Look," I started to say, "I don't even use that lamp. Why I had forgotten it was even there."

"Tut-tut, my dear Mr. Joe." He was so very condescending. "We can't have these bulbs around. Global climate change and all that, you know."

Never mind that the oceans are so frozen one can walk half way to Europa.

"The penalty will be deducted from your next Jee-check.

"And by the way, you'll be sent to the back of the line for that pace maker."

"Well, that about does it for today.

"Here's my card. If I can be of any service to you, call my voice mail."

"After all, I'm from the Big Jee, and I'm here to help."

IS SPREAD THE WEALTH IN OUR FUTURE??

The following is from Noel Sheppard :

When president-elect Barack Obama appointed Carol Browner to be his "energy czar" back in December, the conservative blogosphere was buzzing about her being a member of Socialist International, "the worldwide organisation of social democratic, socialist and labour parties."

At the time, she was fourth on the website's list of members in the "Commission for a Sustainable World Society."

Not any longer, although it still is cached by Google (h/t Steven Milloy).

ROUND AND ROUND AND ROUND 02

OK, look.

That last post turned out to be trouble, so I will now re-write it.

The following was sent to me in an email.

Here is a story that illustrates a fine political tradition.

A professional genealogy researcher was doing some personal work on her own family tree.

She discovered that an un-named politician had a great-great uncle named Rasmussin who was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889.



The genealogist and the politician share this common ancestor.

The only known photograph of Rasmussin shows him standing on the gallows in Montana territory.



On the back of the picture, the genealogist obtained during her research is this inscription:

'Rasmussin, horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison 1885, escaped 1887, robbed the Montana Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and hanged in 1889.'

So the genealogist recently e-mailed the politician for information about their great-great uncle.

The politician's staff is reported to have sent back the following biographical sketch for her genealogy research:

'Rasmussin was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory . His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana railroad.

Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to government service, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad.

In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed.'

Can you say the word, "Spin?"

(If you want to see the post that caused all the flack, just look below).

ROUND AND ROUND AND ROUND

The following was sent to me in an email.

I do not know whether it is true, for I just got it and have not checked it out. (Now I have and it is not) But true or not, it does illustrate a fine political tradition, so keep on reading.

Judy Wallman, a professional genealogy researcher in southern California, was doing some personal work on her own family tree. She discovered that Harry Reid's great-great uncle, Remus Reid, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889. Both Judy and Harry Reid share this common ancestor. (Not really true after all)

Harry Reid

The only known photograph of Remus shows him standing on the gallows in Montana territory.



On the back of the picture Judy obtained during her research is this inscription:

'Remus Reid, horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison 1885, escaped 1887, robbed the Montana Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and hanged in 1889.'

So Judy recently e-mailed Congressman Harry Reid for information about their great-great uncle. (No, she didn't - but keep reading)

Harry Reid's staff is reported to have sent back the following biographical sketch for her genealogy research (His staff didn't really do that):

'Remus Reid was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory . His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to government service, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed.'

Can you say the word, "Spin?"

BTW: If it turns out not to be true (it didn't), my deepest sympathy goes out to Remus and his family.

ADDENDUM: Lone Ranger has directed me to a site that verifies (or not) things purported to be true (see the comment section and/or the blog roll).

It turns out that this is not really true.

However, it is an example of how words could be parced, twisted and spun.

I stand by my apology and condolences to Remus' family.

(I should have known. Think about it...Uncle Remus?-give me a break!)

Financial SERVICES? Committee

Do you know what Congress' Financial Services Committee is?

Technically is is called The House Committee on Financial Services.

From its own web page (http://financialservices.house.gov/jurisdiction.html):

Financial Services Committee

The Committee oversees all components of the nation’s housing and financial services sectors including banking, insurance, real estate, public and assisted housing, and securities. The Committee continually reviews the laws and programs relating to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Reserve Bank, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and international development and finance agencies such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The Committee also ensures enforcement of housing and consumer protection laws such as the U.S. Housing Act, the Truth In Lending Act, the Housing and Community Development Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Community Reinvestment Act, and financial privacy laws.

So their job is to make sure that the nation’s housing and financial services sectors including banking, insurance, real estate, public and assisted housing, and securities are working right.

That's their job.

It's their responsibility.

It says so right there in their own document.

So if something goes wrong with the nation’s housing and financial services sectors including banking, insurance, real estate, public and assisted housing, and securities, who's responsibility is it?

Do you have a guess?

Well, do you also have a guess as to who is the "Honorable" Chairperson of that committee.

Did you guess, Barney Frank?

Give yourself a gold star.

Yes, it's the same Barney Frank who assured us, when questioned about the viability of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by the Bush Administration, that they were in good shape and needed no additional federal regulation.

The same Barney Frank who is now whining that there was not enough government regulation over those two entities.

Are there any of you "libs" out there who are stupid enough to believe that you can explain that contradiction away?

Did you even know (or care) that the financial health of such a large portion of our nation's economy was in the hands of the House Committee on Financial Services?

Is it your opinion that by parcing words, using side-stepping language, ignoring the committee's commission and what ever other means you might try, you can absolve the committee of its responsibility and lay the current economic woes at the feet of President Bush?

But absolved it has been, because not one person on the committee has been, is being or ever will be held responsible for having failed to do his/her job, let alone for any criminal behavior that might (or might not) have taken place.

THE END OF THE WORLD IS NEAR?

Let's get the word out!

According to some (Harry Reid, for example) we are doomed to enter another Great Depression.

Gloom about the economy is everywhere.

Hopelessness reigns...hence the election of the Great Purveyor of Hope, Barack Obama.

Soup lines are in our future and people will be jumping out in front of parked cars.

Let's put an ice pack on our heads so that cooler heads can prevail (If ice is still available).

The Great Depression took place from 1930 to 1939.

So what took place during The Great Depression?

Here are some facts (I have not made these up...they are from primary sources such as government archives [totally trustworthy, after all], http://www.pbs.org/nbr/site/onair/transcripts/081231f/, http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/gdpnewsrelease.htm and others.

Stock prices fell over 40%.

Are stock prices down 40% down today?

On October 29 "Black Tuesday," stock market losses for the month totalled $16 billion, an astronomical sum in those days.

On December 31, 2008, the Dow jumped 108 points with the blue chip average closing at 8,776 (that's UP...by the way).

About 60% of banks failed by 1933.

Have 60% of banks failed today?

Around 86,000 businesses failed during The Great Depression.

Have 86,000 businesses failed today?

Wages fell by 60%.

Didn't we just have a minimum wage increase?

By 1933, unemployment stood at 24.9%.

Do we have 24.9% unemployment today (or is it closer to 7.4%)?

The Gross National Product shrank by 13.4% in 1932.

Has the GNP today shrunk by 13.4% (or is it a fact that the second quarter of 2008 saw an increase of 2.1% and decreased from that amount only .2% in the third quarter of 2008)?

And did the Gross DOMESTIC Product rise 3.4% in the third quarter of 2008 or not? (Hint: It did)

OK...that's enough.

What I'm getting at is this: we are in tough economic times. But only those whose mind-set is "gimmie what I want, and I want it all right now," would cry, whine and offer doom-and-gloom predictions about another "Great Depression" just around the corner.

Can we afford to lose General Motors?

Well, we lost Studebaker. We lost Kaiser/Fraser. We lost Edsel (oh, yeah...that was a Ford Motor Company thing).

But those who think that The United States of America cannot afford to lose ANY badly operated company are the essence of idiocy (and that includes. but is not limited to: Barney Frank, Harry Reid, Maxine Waters, and now, perhaps, Al Frankin AND the messiah, once he is in office).

We will get through this housing slump, this stock market jiggle, this banking scare, this auto industry struggle and emerge on the other side with flying colors, iff (for those of you whose education did not get you past the 1864 third grade level of knowledge, "iff" is a term used in the social sciences to mean, "if and only if), the government gets out of the way and lets the markets do their very powerful thing.

Hmmm. Now that I think about that last qualifying premise, maybe it is time to P A N I C!!!!

A CHANGE IS IN THE AIR

Science editor, Steve Connor, writing for the British paper, Independent, in June of 2008, had this to say:

It seems unthinkable, but for the first time in human history, ice is on course to disappear entirely from the North Pole this year.

The disappearance of the Arctic sea ice, making it possible to reach the Pole sailing in a boat through open water, would be one of the most dramatic – and worrying – examples of the impact of global warming on the planet. Scientists say the ice at 90 degrees north may well have melted away by the summer.

In January of 2009, this is his story:

Thanks to a rapid rebound in recent months, global sea ice levels now equal those seen 29 years ago, when the year 1979 also drew to a close.

Ice levels had been tracking lower throughout much of 2008, but rapidly recovered in the last quarter. In fact, the rate of increase from September onward is the fastest rate of change on record, either upwards or downwards.

See, here's the basic issue: There is a group of people who want there to be an emergency, formerly called "global warming," now called "climate change," and they desperately want it to be caused by man.

Evidence of their urgent desire is the name-change.

Trouble is, for centuries the word "climate" has been defined by science as the way weather patterns change.

So the phrase, "Climate change," is both redundant and repetitive.

Climate changes by definition.

Change is...well, change.

There always has been, is now and always will be climate change.

That's because climate changes.

That's what it does for a living.

The atmosphere is about 51,006,560,000,000 cubic meters in volume.

That's big...really big!

The volume weight of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere from all sources, including man, is about 1,906 million metric tons.

The atmosphere weighs about 1.01 E5 newtons per square meter of Earth's surface.

Multiplying it out and taking the derivative reveals that the total amount of CO2 in the atmosphere from all sources is a very, very, very small ratio...not enough to account for climate change or global warming either one.

A much more observable effect on Earth's atmosphere is the sun, an entity over which we have relatively little control...most of us any way.

There is a direct correlation between sunspot activity and the temperature of the earth's atmosphere over time.

As a matter of fact, the chart at the beginning of Al Gore's book, "An Inconvenient Truth," which he said showed a cause and effect relationship between man made carbon build up and so-called global warming, actually showed exactly the opposite. HIS OWN CHART!

But he stated his "truth" with such confidence that many of you bought into it.

Didn't you?

Just magnify the chart and look at the figures.

A high school drop-out could figure it out...why can't you?

Carbon Dioxide followed periods of warming. It did NOT precede them.

Therefore, an increase in CO2 levels was caused by global warming, which actually correlated to an increase in sun-spot activity in those time frames.

Ahhhh. The times they are a changin'.