Message to Obama and Other Liberals

Regarding yesterday’s elections:

You ignored the Tea Parties. You ignored our voices, emails and letters. Have we got your attention yet?

We don’t want what you are pushing!

-Popgun

Different Viewpoints

Everyone has their own way of looking at things. Currently, there seem to be two opposing viewpoints of how to manage our country.

Liberals want more government, more government control of individuals, less individual rights, and has the view that the government will take care of all your needs. This is called the ‘nanny state’.

They also tend to believe that you are a victim of your upbringing and are not responsible for bad choices you may make. This is why liberal judges tend to let child molesters off the hook.

Liberals tend to be pro-abortion. They call this ‘pro-choice’, although the baby involved doesn’t get a choice.

Liberals believe in involuntary redistribution of wealth, possibly for humanitarian reasons.

Liberals believe the Constitution of the United States should be ‘interpreted’ according to their viewpoint.

Liberals tend to be anti-second amendment because they do not believe any individual can be trusted with a gun, and the idea that people are walking around in Walmart carrying a concealed hand gun scares the crap out of them. Even if those people are not felons.

Conservatives (real ones, that is) believe in maximum personal freedom, the smallest government that can do the proper roll of government. This is very cost-effective.

Conservatives believe in personal responsibility for individual choices. This is why conservative judges think child molesters should be shot.

Conservatives tend to be anti-abortion. Most of them see this as the murder of babies, purely for the convenience of immature and selfish parents who don’t take responsibility for their actions.

Conservatives are generally against involuntary redistribution of wealth, which they correctly view as robbery at gunpoint. (Think that’s an exaggeration? Try not paying your taxes. Eventually, somebody with a gun will show up to collect or to put you in jail. They will have guns.)

Conservatives believe the Constitution of the United States should be strictly interpreted according to the intent of the authors.

Conservatives generally are pro-second amendment because they believe honest citizens can be trusted with guns – both to use them when needed, and not to use them inappropriately. Law abiding citizens walking around in Walmart with guns don’t bother me. I know that they are not a risk to me or mine; only a felon (or wannabe felon) is a risk with a gun. And the best defense against the felon with a gun is to myself be armed, since the felon will not obey the law that says he can’t have a gun.

How do you know which philosophy is the right one?

That’s a deep question. There are many frameworks of belief that may help you decide, such as the Holy Bible. There is also how you were brought up, what you learned from your parents (or whoever raised you, these days).

As for me, I know that, as a child, I was taught a sense of honor. I was also taught a work ethic that to this day makes me get up every day and go to my job to earn my own way and provide for my family. I believe that I am worth my wages, and I believe that they are mine, not yours. I believe in personal responsibility. I believe that I can be trusted with a gun, because I know my own mind, and furthermore I believe I have the responsibility to protect my family if necessary. I have seen more than one couple grieve as they buried a miscarried child, and I know that abortion is murder. I believe in my personal freedom – and yours, too.

And I resent every dime I pay in taxes that is given to somebody who doesn’t deserve it, or is otherwise wasted. I do believe in charity – but it should be voluntary. And I don’t believe that people who are unwilling to work should receive a single dime of charity. Charity should be reserved for those who want to provide for themselves, but cannot because of circumstances such as health or age.

I have self respect because I have worked hard to do the best I could with my life. Others have done better, and some have done worse. But the key is to do your best. I paid my rent on my chunk of the planet today, and I feel pretty good about that.

I can’t say why you should choose one philosophy or the other – but I know which one I’ve chosen.

-Popgun

Tires – What a Pain

Saturday before last, I loaded up my trailer with some light trash and went to the local dump. On the way back, about a mile from the dump, the trailer’s right tire shredded. So there I was, in misting rain, with no tools and no spare, a few miles from home. I parked the trailer in the most convenient ditch, went home, got tools, went back, and jacked up the trailer and removed the wheel.

Those Hi-Lift jacks are wonderful things to have. Money well spent.

So then I took the tire into the nearest large town to the company I usually do my tire business with. They mounted a new tire for me in about ten minutes, and I went all the way back out to the trailer, mounted the tire in the misting rain, hooked it back up and took it home.

Because the remaining tire was in about the same shape, I dismounted it as well. During the week I took it in and got it replaced, matching the other new tire. So tires on the trailer cost about $150 total.

Then, last Saturday, I took Texas Grandma’s Dodge Grand Caravan in to the same tire dealer to have two new tires mounted. During this work, the tire mechanic destroyed the air pressure monitor inside the tire. So the shop went to the Dodge dealership and bought a replacement, and installed it.

Of course, then the sensor wouldn’t synchronize with the van’s computer. So I took it back to the tire place; after a couple of phone calls, they told me to take it to the Dodge dealer and they’ll take care of it. I did so. It turns out that when you replace one of these sensors, you have to have the dealer program the van’s computer to know about that sensor. This costs around $50, which will be paid by the tire company.

After I sat there for about an hour and a half, the dealer coordinator told me that they couldn’t get it to synch, that it must be damaged. Either the tire dealer damaged it when they installed it, or it was defective. In the first case, the tire dealer pays for it; in the second, it is warranted. But they didn’t have time Saturday to do this work, so Texas Grandma gets to take the van back to the dealer tomorrow to resolve this.

This is a perfect example of nanny state laws going wrong. Because some people can’t be bothered to check the air in their tires, our illustrious government passed a law that every vehicle starting in 2008 has to have tire pressure sensors. This is wasted on me – I ride motorcycles, and I BELIEVE in keeping up with my tires. So I have to pay for these things in the first place; and I have a new point of failure. If I was paying for all this, it would have cost me over $100 to replace this sensor, which I don’t want or need.

And it wasted half of last Saturday, and it’s going to waste another couple of hours of Texas Grandma’s time tomorrow. Between us, we’ve spent way to much money, and especially time, on tires in the last couple of weeks.

All because an incompetent mechanic made a mistake with some new technology.

-Popgun

Let’s Buy Some Opinion

It comes as no surprise that Obama is calling for a gift of $250 “stimulus” checks to go to 57 million elderly people, at the same time that he is trying to get his horrific health reform bill through congress. After all, seniors are the group most likely to lose benefits because of it.

I hate being manipulated.

What is the price of YOUR opinion? $250.00?

-Popgun

Insanity is Rampant in the World Today

Amazing.

Obama won a Nobel Peace Prize – without doing anything.

Our government actually thinks it can spend its way to prosperity – with money it doesn’t have. To the tune of trillions of dollars. This administration has spent huge amounts of money, many times faster than any previous administration – ever. And wants to spend more. Anybody that’s ever managed a check book knows the problem with this approach.

The President of the United States has bowed down to the king of Saudi Arabia, and has made friendly overtures to every dictator he has come in contact with. In the same breath, he has insulted Britain, Israel, the Dalai Lama and every other friendly power he could.

The President of the United States has made it clear that he thinks the U.S. is just another nation – nothing special.

The President of the United States thinks he needs to apologize for us to other countries. He doesn’t seem to have any pride in our country.

The House of Representatives has passed a cap and trade bill that will represent the largest tax increase this country has ever seen – in a time of economic crisis – which is based on politically pushed pseudo-science about which serious doubts exist in the scientific community. A huge tax to promote an ineffective cure for a problem that may or may not exist.

The Democrats are actually implementing socialism. In America.

Nationalization of major businesses and banks has taken place – in America.

About 800,000 unborn children are murdered in the U.S. every year. For the sake of convenience. This is called ‘health care’.

Iran is about to get nukes, and our troops on the ground in Afghanistan need a bit of help – and we’re waiting on our President to make up his mind. And waiting. And waiting.

Yet the President doesn’t have time to discuss this with the commander of those troops. Instead, the President has spent enormous amounts of time and energy promoting health care reform – a health care reform that a majority of Americans don’t want. A health care reform that is structured to destroy the insurance industry and much of our freedom.

Our government is about to fool around and let the dollar lose it’s position as the basis for international trade.

Unemployment rate at 9.9% and climbing. The ’stimulus’ hasn’t worked, so the Democrats are thinking about doing it again. What moron repeats something that didn’t work the first time?

The Democrats think (or want you to think) that they can tax a business and that tax is not passed on to we the consumers. (Check out the proposed funding for the ‘health care’).

I’m sorry, folks, but none of these things look good to me.

Upper management is insane. Or something.

UPDATE: Ha – I’m not the only one who’s noticed. Day by Day!

-Popgun

An Old Story

A long time ago, someone told me this story. I’d attribute it, but I don’t remember where it came from.

A pastor was preaching to his congregation:

“Strong drink is of the Devil! Christians should not drink Strong Drink!”

“Amen, brother!” said the old widow in the front row.

“And smoking is sinful! Lovers of the Lord should not Smoke!!”, sayeth the Pastor.

“Amen, Pastor!”, said the old widow.

“And Snuff! Snuff is Evil!!”, cried the Pastor.

“Now you’re MEDDLING!”, muttered the old Widow.

The moral of the story is obvious. Everybody is in favor of reform, as long as it is somebody else that is being reformed.

This is the fundamental problem with the current push for health care reform. Everybody agrees it’s a great idea – just don’t mess with ME. And that’s exactly how I feel, too.

I want the current push for reform to fail, because frankly I do not trust the current administration to stick to the specific subject. They have tried to hide so much left-wing progressive policy in this bill (or set of bills) that the whole thing has gone sour. I no longer trust them to come up with ANY bill that is honest.

Obama, Pelosi and Reed, and others, have poisoned this bill with their left-wing agenda. They have made so many patently false statements about it that it turns the stomach.

It’s kind of like getting screwed over by a dishonest salesman. The next time he tries to sell you something, you aren’t going to trust him much. That’s how this feels to me. I don’t have any faith at all that what is being done is for my family’s benefit.

So, Mr. Congressperson, if you happen to read this – vote NO on the health care bill, whatever is in the final version. You haven’t read it, you don’t know what’s in it. Vote NO. Maybe we can tackle it again in a few years with a more rational approach.

-Popgun

For Your Own Good!

Typical Progressive / Democrat thinking.

I’ll tell you what you can eat! You’ll be healthy, or else! It’s for your own good! Because I said so!

I especially enjoyed that first comment at the linked article. To quote:

Harry Schell said…

“Ve haff ways of dealing vith people who vant zer sugar.” said the local gauleiter of schools.

“Und you just vait until ve haff all the doctors vorking for us. Zen you vill be healthy und like it! Or go to ze Russian front as a sandbag.

This is what happens when arrogant people get power. Pretty soon we’ll have to raise our hands and ask permission to go to the bathroom.

-Popgun

Justice – Slow, but Sure

As they say in my line of business, “One ‘Oh Crap!’ cancels out 10,000 ‘Attaboy!’s.”

More than 100 Hollywood people have signed a petition in defense of their colleague Polanski.

Polanski did the crime; a particularly heinous crime. He drugged and raped a 13 year old girl repeatedly. He needs to do the time. No matter what achievements he has in the film industry.

The idea that somebody should get off scott free for ANY kind of crime, much less rape, just because he has a following in Hollywood, is itself obscene.

There’s a reason that the statue of justice has a blindfold.

-Popgun

A Couple of Issues

First issue:

Some school officials are being sued because they prayed in the presence of students in Florida. This is just plain wrong, on many levels. Next thing you know, you’ll get arrested for praying in the waiting room at the airport. What is America coming to when you can’t even pray without worrying about getting sued?

So I’ve got an idea. Those of us who pray, let us do so every chance we get – but do it silently. So we can be praying and those who hate us for doing so won’t know for sure if we are or not. Just a silent prayer every once in a while, with your eyes closed.

That’ll piss them off. They can’t sue you for closing your eyes for a few seconds.

Second issue:

Maxine Waters, Democratic congresswoman (and nut case, IMHO) from California, wants demonstrators and opponents of ObamaCare to be probed for racism. I wonder what happened to freedom of speech? It is not illegal to be racist – it’s just illegal to act on it (as it should be).

I would like to point out something very fundamental at this point.

There is no law in the U.S. that governs how you are allowed to think.

What matters is what you DO. You can go to jail for what you DO. So far, at least, you cannot go to jail for what you THINK. This is a really big deal, and we need to pay close attention to anyone in the government that starts wanting to censor how we think.

The advent of different penalties for ‘hate crimes’ is a step in the direction of mind control. A crime is a crime whether you do it for fun or because you hate someone, and the penalties should not be different. If the standard penalty is not enough to deter criminals from committing a crime, they need to raise the penalty. Why the crime was committed should not be a factor in assessing the penalty.

Hate crime legislation puts a jury in the position of determining what a person was thinking when they committed a crime. This is absurd on the face of it, and certainly will assess unjust penalties.

The mind is the last bastion of freedom. Let’s keep it free.

-Popgun

Our Electric Bill

I just opened our electric bill. Interestingly enough, it has a new line item on it, which currently has a zero balance:

CAP / TRADE TAX …………….. 0.00

The bill hasn’t passed the Senate, yet. If it does, well, we’ve already got a spot for it on our electric bill. Bend over.

So much for “No new taxes on anyone making less than $250,000 a year – not one dime!” Obama.

In the immortal words of Joe Wilson - “You lie!”

Mr. Wilson had the gumption to say it – but we were all thinking it…

How’s all that Hope and Change working out for you?

-Popgun