End of the Year Blog Comedy Closeout Courtesy of Tim Slagle

Tim Slagle was a featured comedian on Chicago's WLSAM Jerry Agar's conservative talk show. Let's end this year with some smiles, instead of wondering why the government is so careless with our tax dollars. Happy New Year and thanks so much for giving a few minutes of your time each day to read my opinions and my fight for America!

Why is it the IRS has No Problem Tracking My Money, But the Government Can't Track the Bailout Money?

The Internal Revenue Service appears to have a solid system in place for tracking the revenue of most Americans. Sure, you can make the argument that loopholes in the system allow Americans to protect what is rightfully theirs. Eventually, if you protect too much they have a way of finding every dime. No American wants to go through the bullying process which is an IRS audit. Owing the IRS back taxes is just as bad as owing a credit card company. Sure they have payment plans, but they are modeled after the credit card companies' models. Bottom line is, there isn't much you can hide that they won't find out about.

So why is it the Associated Press is reporting once again that tracking the bailout money is challenging for the government? Jeannine Aversa tries to explain in her article why it's difficult. Really, she just wasted the ink in her pen.

When has the government ever cared about the money going out the door Jeannine? That's the answer to your question. Sure, it's rhetorical, but it doesn't take a genius to know that the United States government bullies its citizens into paying taxes on nearly anything. They sit in committees wondering what else they can tax to increase the revenue, but they don't give a damn about giving us a break by actually monitoring and limiting what they spend.

So Jeannine, do you really believe that American people are surprised that once again our money has been foolishly handed out by the band of fools in Congress? They passed this bailout so quickly that you'd have been a fool not to foresee this. Congress was too busy adding earmarks to ever consider where the money was really headed. Once again, they will pass the cost off to us, because THEY CAN.

It's too bad these morons don't actually have to produce a product to fund their mad spending sprees. Then maybe, and I do mean maybe, they might be responsible on occasion.

Governor Blunt Maintains Ties With Mitt Romney: Joins Solamere Capital Investment Group

Governor Matt Blunt's term soon ends as governor of Missouri. Much speculation has occurred to what Blunt will do once his term is over. Governor Blunt officially announced he has accepted a position in the investment sector with Mitt Romney's oldest son.

Blunt begins at Solamere Capital the day after he leaves office. It's unsure what his role will be. The investment group is located in Boston, but Governor Blunt will maintain his residence in Springfield, Missouri.

Here's wishing the Governor the best of luck with his new position.

Economy Tough For NASCAR: Richard Petty Closing Petty Enterprises

The winningest number in NASCAR will no longer belong to Richard Petty and Petty Enterprises. Petty Enterprises will shut their doors today after 60 glorious years in stock car racing.

Many smaller NASCAR teams are struggling to put advertisers on the hoods of their cars, and Petty's cars have struggled on the track and with advertisers. The #43 will move to Gillett Evernham Racing. Petty agreed to a deal with the other Dodge team.

I am sad to see the 'King' close his doors. I think NASCAR faces some tough challenges in the next few years. I think Petty realizes this. Not only does a tough economy challenge the smaller teams, but Obama's war on CO2 will impact stock car racing.

Fans found it harder to attend races this past summer with fuel prices reaching record prices mixed with the cost of tickets. 2008 was the first year I didn't attend a race in quite a while.

Bungalow Bill's Conservative Wisdom Year in Review: Top Ten Most Popular Posts of 2008

During this time of reflection, I thought I would share with you the ten most popular posts of conservative wisdom for 2008. As I look at these stories, they aren't necessarily the stories that I felt would generate hits, so it's been a surprise to me watching the analytic reports as my blog continues to grow in readership.

Shortly after I started this blog, I was approached by Western Front America to contribute to their site. That was an exciting development this year.

I am very appreciative of my new conservative readers who exchange ideas with their comments and their blogs. I look forward to working with all of you in 2009 to continue to fight the Reagan revolution of conservatism.

Here are the top ten Bungalow Bill blogs for 2008:

10. The Dangers of the Veterans Disarmament Act: Thousands of US war veterans are being denied their Second Amendment rights, and it doesn't stop there. Keep your children off Ritalin, Concerta, and other mind numbing behavior drugs, or they may lose their right too.

9. Dixie Chick Natalie Maines Doesn't Know How to Keep Her Mouth Shut: First Maines goes to Europe and tells audiences how embarrassed she is of our President, and a few years later she accuses without a doubt a man of murder, who she is currently being sued by.

8. Utah Environmentalist Commits Auction Fraud for Oil Rights: Tim DeChristopher believed he could walk into an auction for oil rights, bid up the auctions, and walk away for environmentalism. He now faces charges. This was my first blog in which a person claiming to be a friend of the subject of the blog commented.

7. Reagan's Vision of Preparedness: Obama's Target: I remember watching Ronald Reagan as a young kid discuss the Strategic Defense Initiative. Reagan's vision is a military reality, and Obama may make drastic cuts to the program in a very dangerous time.

6. The Peace of Mind Letter Campaign: The Obama Birth Certificate: The Obama birth certificate, Constitutional requirements, and the issue of natural born citizenship spread across the Internet like a wildfire, but in the end, it never plagued the Obama campaign.

5. One Clinton Advisor Will be Missed for Not Making the Obama Recycled Variety Show: The single bright light of the Clinton administration was Dick Morris. Morris pulled Clinton to the right, which saved the Clinton Presidency, but the Clinton liberal agenda would have been in full play had Morris not had the President's ear. As we watch Obama recycle the Clinton administration through his cabinet choices, it's obvious one person is missing--Dick Morris.

4. Animal Rights Activists Upset with IKEA Over Rudolph Salami: If there is one clear way to attract libs to your site, post a single issue environmental story. I believe this was the first story I experimented with to attract libs to my site. The PETA crowd decided to protest European IKEA stores for selling caribou salami. Yes, the libs showed up. This was a number one blog for quite some time, which I never expected.

3. 60 More Minutes of Obama: Another story which gained the attention of a friend of the subject and a lib. The friend claims to be the son of Frank Marshall Davis, who was reported to have communist ties in Hawaii and was thoughtfully written of in Obama's Book, Dreams of My Father. Mark Kaleokualoha Davis is disputing those stories which appear on many blogs. The blog was to point out that 60 Minutes had produced a 60 minute fluff piece on the President elect, which includes the Obama's talking about dish washing. The blog never accused FM Davis of being a communist. I personally am not familiar enough with FM Davis to accuse him of anything but being a controversial associate of Obama's, a fact that Mark Kaleokualoha Davis can't dispute.

2. Eugenics: What Even Barack Obama Should Know About Planned Parenthood: There is very little doubt that abortion will be crammed down the throats of taxpayers after Obama swears into office. No doubt, Planned Parenthood lobbyist will lead the charge for tax payer funded abortions. There is a darker history to Planned Parenthood that Obama should be aware of. Planned Parenthood practiced Eugenics, the Darwinian belief of removing the weak, sick, black, and homosexuals out of the gene pool. Margaret Sanger founded Planned Parenthood and its 'Negro Project' that attempted to slow down and control the black population.

1. Lack of Sunspots May Provide Solid Proof the Earth is Not Warming: Want to upset the global warming fruitcakes? Post a story on sunspots! There is little doubt to anyone with common sense that 2008 was a mild year; yet the global warming crowd insists it was one of the hottest ever (which is what they said about 2007 and 2006 and 2005...). I started studying the lack of sunspots in 2008 and found some interesting details about prior periods which had little solar activity. This brought out the alarmist in droves. They never tried to discredit the sunspot theory, rather they tried to discredit a simple quote I placed in the blog to discredit the piece. Even after a few weeks in circulation, I still receive comments on the quote. I don't feel I used the quote out of context, but I will let you decide.

Bungalow Bill's Wacky Liberal of the Year Award, Robert Byrd

And the Wacky Liberal of the Year Award goes to...

...Robert Byrd. No other liberal silliness shines above this moment on the Senate floor after Ted Kennedy was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Would someone please tell the Senator that Ted is still alive? You would think Byrd and Kennedy may have been lovers based on what you are about to see. This love fest is embarrassing for the good people of West Virginia. The rest of the country now knows the truth that they elected a senile old man to represent them.

Why West Virginia, why?

Finally, who could forget Peggy Joseph as we wrap up the year. She may not have won Bungalow Bill's Waky Liberal of the Year, but she gave Senator Robert Byrd a good run for his money. One more time for 2008, here's the spokeswoman for the entitlement generation, a woman who will be disappointed this time next year, and an example of what's wrong with America today, Peggy Joseph.

We don't see great things for Peggy Jospeph's future if she continues down the road of government dependence and entitlement. The greatest help anyone could give Peggy is this... Go out and make it happen on your own. You will be far happier.

Happy 2009 Everyone! Let's make it the year of the conservative voice.

Tales From a Meth House

I never knew what crystal meth was until I moved back to Springfield, Missouri, after years of living in Chicago. The drug scene in Chicago from what I knew revolved around pot and more expensive drugs like cocaine and heroin. Although, it was never my scene, I met doctors, co-workers, and other people who were users.

When I would drive home for Christmas, I would see the signs along Interstate 44. They always advertised ways for help or reporting your neighbors if you suspected they were making it. Other than the signs, I was ignorant of how people used the drug, the ingredients, or how they went about making it. All of that was about to change.

I left Southwest Missouri State University between my junior and senior of college. I was offered a great sales job for a dental supply company out of Canton, Michigan. The offer was for more money than my friends with degrees were making (a dirty little secret about a college education), so it was off to the big city of Chicago. After years on the road and especially post 9/11 airport security, I got tired of taking off my shoes at metal detectors and looking through a windshield driving up and down I-65. I knew the time was coming to finish my degree, and I saved money and planned for the day.

After looking at all my possibilities, I knew it was best to come back to southwest Missouri. Southwest Missouri State had just been renamed Missouri State thanks to my childhood friend and governor, Matt Blunt. I reapplied, and I began looking for an apartment that would accept my dog Kayleigh. After a day of searching, I found a little studio apartment off National and Division. I knew it was a rough part of town, but I had seen worse selling to doctors in some of the south side neighborhoods of Chicago. It would only be a year anyway.

My Dad came up to Chicago and drove the U-Haul back to Springfield. The next day, we went and got the keys to the little studio apartment, which was an old house turned into three apartments. It was going to be cramped. I felt bad for my lab. She was use to stretching her legs and getting out in Chicago, and now we were going to be on top of each other.

I quickly got a taste of my neighbors. A gangsta looking man, almost Snoop Dog in appearance walked into my apartment while we were moving stuff in. I got a little worried, but he claimed he worked for the owner and he had to get some things out of the closet that he stored for his girlfriend. We moved in.

I watched my use of my electricity closely. I hardly ever ran the heat, after all, I was now Chicago tough. I had been through the worst of winters I would probably ever see, I could handle the mild winters here. I had a little space heater that worked just fine. The first two months were great. My bills were small.

The third month, they finally rented out the largest of the three units. I caught them moving in while I was off to school on my Scooter one morning—more gang bangers. Lucky me! I will just keep to myself. Keep my doors locked, and hope that Kayleigh would be a deterrent. Shortly after they moved in, I got a nearly $300 electric bill. I freaked. I was a student now. How could this be?

I called Springfield City Utilities. I explained that I live in a very small apartment and I never run my heat. I was use to paying Commonwealth Edison for my power, and they are among the highest in the country. Never did I have a bill that was even close to this much. I demanded that they check my meter. They came out and reread it. It was correct according to them. I wrote the check knowing that I would not be able to survive if this kept up. I became a miser—more blankets at night and I turned off the space heater. The next month, the bill came again. It was even higher. I dialed CU.

I demanded that they come out to check the meter again. I met the guy outside, and asked him to make sure the meters weren’t crossed. When he flipped the switch, my lights stayed on. You could hear the fan from the heat pump next door shut off. He flipped it on again. When he flipped the other switch that he thought was my neighbors, my lights went off. I had been paying the neighbors high electric bills.

I thanked him for coming out, and I knocked on the door of my gang banger neighbors. A man dressed in North Carolina powder blue sweat suit and gold incisors groggily answered the door. “Wus up?” His head moved upward diagonally to the right.

I kept it short. “Our power lines were crossed, so I have been paying your electric bill and you have been paying my electric bill. City Utilities will make the adjustments on the next bill.” I knew I probably wasn’t going to have an electric bill for the rest of my lease in the little apartment.

A few days later I came home from classes on my scooter. I parked it under the stairs up to the upstairs apartment, and walked to the front porch. A trail of blood ran up the wooden stairs to Snoop Dog’s apartment. I followed it back to the mailboxes on the front porch. I didn’t want to know.

I sat in my apartment wondering if someone was stabbed. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to stir things up. This wasn’t a situation I wanted to be in. I slept on it.

The next day, I took my dog outside and walked. After she did her business, I walked back into my apartment and carelessly left the door unlocked. As I was shaving in the bathroom, Snoop Dog’s girlfriend comes rushing through my front door and quickly locks it.

“My old man is going to beat me,” she frantically screamed as I come out of the bathroom. “May I leave this stuff here?” There was a green duffel back and a framed lithograph. I said sure, without thinking. She then quickly left and ran down the road.

The cops soon came. Snoop Dog said he cut himself. He had medical bandages. I doubt he was telling them the truth.

I never saw her again, and the bag sat by the front door, and it had an odor. After a few days, I set it outside.

A few days later the landlord showed up, and Snoop Dog was gone. Somewhere during all this, the gold toothed guy and his friends moved out. They stiffed the landlord a bunch of money. He didn’t tell me this.

It took a few months to fill the vacancy. I heard the moving truck pull up, and a single mom and her baby began moving in. We would talk passing by, but it wasn’t until the roof started leaking and warping into her apartment that I would find out what was going on next door. She came over and asked if I had some buckets. I gave her my map bucket, and she discouragingly said she had enough of the apartment. It had been nothing but problems.

Her heater had gone out, so she and her baby were living off space heaters. I turned my heater on and invited them over to watch movies. Springfield, Missouri was suffering the worst early winter in years, and I was just a few short weeks from graduation. Classes were called that day, so we watched movies.

She told me that she couldn’t immediately move into the apartment. The landlord had to have it specially cleaned because they suspected they were cooking methamphetamine. He had to replace all the screens on the windows. They had used them to filter the crystals.

I asked her about her electric bill, and she said it ran just under $100, less than half of what I was charged when the lines were crossed.

She was surprised I never smelled anything, but sense of smell is my worse sense. I was gone so much for school and other things that I was rarely at the apartment when they were there anyway. Since then, I have learned this frequently goes on in smaller apartments and hotel rooms in Missouri. I was shocked that it was going under my nose.

The Reagan Quote of the Day (12/31/2008)

Some may try and tell us that this is the end of an era. But what they overlook is that in America, every day is a new beginning, and every sunset is merely the latest milestone on a voyage that never ends. For this is the land that has never become, but it is the act of becoming. Emerson was right: America is the Land of Tomorrow. January 13, 1993

While Everyone is Looking at Race: Here's Something Else to Consider About Roland Burris

Roland Burris will be the next Senator from Illinois regardless what Harry Reid says. Even though Illinois Secretary of State Jessie White claims he will not sign off on the Blagojevich appointment, Bobby Rush will continue his lynching and hanging rhetoric creating increased racial tensions in the final weeks leading to the inauguration of Barack Obama. This isn't the atmosphere the Democrats want before Obama' big celebration. They will back down.

There is something that is overlooked--age. During the 2008 election, age was an issue. John McCain is less than a year older than Burris. Yet, race is the primary discussion. I thought the election of Barack Obama was going end the racial divide in this country, but as we can see, black leaders have become more active with their racial rhetoric. Shouldn't we discuss age as well? After all, age was a primary concern for John McCain, and unlike Ronald Reagan, McCain never showed the quick wit to get around the issue. Given the fact that Blago isn't stepping down, may not be impeached, and hasn't been found guilty, he might be given the chance based on Burris's age to sell another Senate Seat--that is if Burris kicks the bucket or becomes ill during the next two years.

I may be one of the few conservatives discussing this aspect of the pick. Democrats love to show what they see in people (like color and sex). If you are a Democrat, it's never about qualifications. If it's a Republican, the mainstream media and Democrats would be yelling that he is too old to serve. It's always a double standard, and the Burris pick not only exemplifies it with skin color but with age as well.

Fortunately, the pick won't immediately cost taxpayers beyond the normal salary. Burris must serve five years to receive a Congressional pension.

PETA: Does This Fur Make My Butt Look Big?

Did you receive a beautiful fur coat this year for Christmas? (By the way don't forget to insure it in case a PETA member decides to infringe on your right to wear fur with a can of Krylon.) I received a coat this year with real raccoon trim, but I might reconsider wearing it now. According to a PETA official, it may make my butt look big.

According to PETA Senior Vice President Dan Mathews, "Fur adds 20 years and 20 pounds." He recently commented on the Olsen Twins, as 'fur toting trolls' after seeing Mary Kate wearing fur in Obamazine, US. Obviously just another loving comment from a tolerant liberal, right?

It amazes me that these animals eventually rot and the beautiful fur winds up in the belly of an ugly vulture, and the wasted fur gets coughed up as a hairball. Don't they understand this?

Nope, PETA is following the political obesity war to advance it's message. You look fat is not enough to change my mind about putting a steak on my table, a warm coat lined with goose feathers on my back, or my new raccoon trim on my hood.

Blago Picks Roland Burris

The arrogance of Rod Blagojevich reached new heights today. In the middle of a scandal and possible impeachment, Blago scheduled a press conference to name Roland Burris as Obama's replacement. The news conference is scheduled for 1:00 CST.

Burris lost the democratic nomination for the US Senate in 1984 against Paul Simon.

The Boy Scouts, Victim of Bully Laws: Why Laws Similar to Sara Lampe’s Bill Go Too Far

I was elected to Order of the Arrow in 1984. My fellow Scouts from Troop 1, Springfield, Missouri, voted for my induction into the national scouting honor society. It would be a couple more months before I know the outcome of the vote. Order of the Arrow uses traditional American Indian symbolism and ceremonies throughout its hierarchy.

Order of the Arrow (OA) ceremony night was Wednesday at Camp Arrowhead, found in Marshfield, Missouri. We met behind the mess hall after dark. Troop by troop marched single file into the dark Camp Arrowhead woods to the sound of an Indian drumbeat. As we got closer to the OA ring, the drum became louder. We continued to march until we arrived at the ring. The large campfire gave our first light since we left the mess hall.

All the troops at camp that week formed a large circle around the campfire. Behind the circle marched three scouts, dressed as Indians, suddenly pulled a scout by both arms out of the circle and then forced him to run with the three scouts to the chief of the ceremony. Two of the scouts released the arms of the chosen scout and the chief instructed the scout and gave an OA sash to wear on his uniform. One of the instructions was not to talk. I completed the ordeal that year.

I loved the OA ceremony. It has a sense of mystery to it, mainly, how did they know which scout to pull out of the circle to begin their ‘ordeal’ into full membership into OA.

I returned to Camp Arrowhead this year. I asked about the ceremony in hopes that someone would tell me how they know which scout to pull. The answer saddened me. They no longer pull the Scouts out like that. It’s considered hazing (bullying).

Yesterday, I blogged about Missouri State Representative Sara Lampe’s bill to discourage bullying, which focuses on gay teenagers. While I am sure Lampe’s intentions are good, legislators often fail to realize the full effect of their good intentions. Political correctness kills great traditions, just like the OA tradition to begin a chosen Scout’s ordeal. The more I think about Lampe’s bill and other bills similar to it, the angrier I get thinking about the consequences of this legislation. Lampe’s bill is a freedom killer, and I doubt she considers this as she obviously believes her bill brings about positive change.

The OA still performs the tapout ceremony, but the part of the mystique of the ceremony has been removed.

Obama's Transparency Issue: Openess or Scandal Filled?

Barack Obama promised during the Democratic primary that his administration would be transparent and open. Now, during the transition, we have been given a taste of Chicago style politics, and Obama's transparency was quickly painted black. We may never know how much Obama had to do with Blagojevich's decision to sell the Illinois Senate seat, but we do know to keep an eye on Obama.

I predict the Obama administration will be the most corrupt in U.S. history. You don't advance through Chicago politics without your stains, and politicians are Skinner rats, given multiple paths full of self-serving rewards. Obama's transparency statement will plague the administration from its earliest days. I can't help wonder how the press will behave with they are not provided privileged information they feel should be transparent.

The media provided Americans plenty of examples during Bush's war on terror. They felt entitled to war strategy before the attacks. They used the withheld information to continue their war on the President.

Political favors and approval comes at a huge cost to Chicago residents. Each city contract comes with a huge cost to the bidder. Chicago politicians play like their more likable Chicago mafia counterparts--anything for a price. Blagojevich hasn't done anything that Mayor Richard Daley hasn't been guilty of. Blagojevich just got caught. Blagojevich introduced all Americans to Chicago politics whether they know it or not. These are the rules of Daley, and they are what Obama was conditioned to as he worked his way up the Illinois power ladder.

Obama brings the corrupt Chicago politics to the national stage. Someone close to Obama will always financially benefit from Obama's decision. Every few weeks in Chicago, there a story of how someone around Mayor Daley benefits from Daley's doings. This is how it works in Chicago. I find it hard that anyone from Chicago would be surprised of the Senate seat for sell in Illinois. I wasn't.

The word transparent will haunt Obama for the next four years; after all, you can't teach an old dog new tricks. We know Obama has looked deeply into Chicago for aids and cabinet appointees. These positions will only play out Chicago corruption on the national stage. It will be interesting to watch how Mayor Daley uses the new President to build more power in Chicago. I do expect Daley to be a player, just like I expect William Ayers will advocate education policy through Arne Duncan. Had Obama not been so inclusive of Chicago politicians in his administration, there might be hope for transparency. Nothing is clean in Chicago, nothing.

Add all of this with Obama's inexperience. Obama repelled the 'i' word and allowed the media to look at Sarah Palin's inexperience over his. Now the spotlights shine on him, and I guarantee you mistakes will be made because of inexperience that will need to be covered up. Obama won't allow himself to be seen as inexperienced, although, once all of this gets going, it will be hard to hide. In their attempts to hide, they will become used to sweeping things under the rug. It will come back on them. There will be nothing transparent about the Obama adminsitration, and an attempt to portray Obama as the transparent President will lead to scandals. We have seen the preview; although, Obama has studied Clinton history and so far has done a good job of keeping his nose clean. If I were a betting man, I'd bet the Blagojevich scandal involves many more than just Rod and Rahm.

Bungalow Bill's Wacky Liberal of the Year Runner Up, Father Michael Phleger

This was a tough contest, but Father Michael Phleger of Chicago falls just short in this excellent attempt to be the wacky liberal of the year. This cracks me up every time I hear it. Here's the good padre:

Did you ever think the day would come that you would see this kind of animosity against the Clintons?

The Reagan Quote of the Day (12/30/08)

The Founding Fathers believed that faith in God was the key to our being a good people and America's becoming a great nation. George Washington kissed the Bible at his inauguration. And to those who would have government separate from religion, he had these words: "Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle." And Ben Franklin, at the time when they were struggling with what was to be the American Constitution, finally one day said to those who were working with him that, "Without God's help, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel." October 13, 1983

An Interesting Development on My Blog: The Son of Frank Marshall Davis?

Yesterday, I posted a story about the upcoming 60 Minutes episode that featured 60 minutes of the Obama family. It quickly took the interest of a man named Mark Kaleokualoha Davis, who has left several comments on my posting. I accused him of being an Obama Troll since the post only mentioned F.M. Davis, and was about how softly the news media is covering Obama. Am I being duped or is this really the son of F.M. Davis?

He claims he is the son, and is correcting what has been said about his father. My blog is still relatively small, even though I am shooting for the stars, so why he has spent so much time on my blog, which accuses his father of only having a relationship that was questionable with Obama?

http://bungalowbillscw.blogspot.com/2008/12/60-more-minutes-of-obama.html

Breastfeeding Protest in Front of Facebook Headquarters

A group of twenty protesters marched in front of Facebook's Palo Alto, California, headquarters yesterday. Angered about the removal of a woman's pictures of her breastfeeding her baby, the group is claiming discrimination of nursing mothers and wants the pictures placed back online.

Earlier this year, homosexual groups took E-Harmony to court for their policies banning gay matches. E-Harmony agreed to place homosexual options on the site after the case.

There is clearly a problem established with these protests and the eventual court cases? The courts now rule over private business practices which leads to a court's influence of a company's product. Company's are losing their rights to run their businesses in ways that reflect the ownership's beliefs. I find the judicial road we are on disturbing.

If Facebook's policy includes no nudity on their Web site, then they should be allowed to enforce their policy. I am sure the courts will soon be involved.

What happens when NAMBLA feels discriminated against on the internet? The courts are opening a huge can of worms.

MO State Rep. Sara Lampe Wants to Protect Children from Bullies: More Feel Good, Pathos Legislation

Missouri State Representative Sara Lampe (Democrat) wants to protect children from bullies. She has proposed Missouri House Bill 1751 in hopes of stopping bullies in their tracks. Now it’s the job of government to stop bullies? And how does Representative Lampe plan to do that?

After reading the Springfield News-Leader’s article in today’s paper, it appears this legislation is geared to protect homosexual teenagers. It’s another piece of legislation that will cost Missouri taxpayers while resulting in little success. Bullies are going to exist as long as humanity exists. They may eventually drug bullies like they drug any other child that shows the slightest bit of energy they consider out of control, but other than that, what are they going do?

Notice they make a drug for nearly every childhood condition now from hyperactivity to depression, but I don’t know of one yet to help teenagers deal with sexuality issues. I never advocate destroying a child’s personality with psychological drugs like Ritalin or Concerta. Please note that some childhood issues are dealt with drugs and others with legislation. Why is that? Why do lawmakers and psychologist discriminate behaviors?

A walk on today’s college and high school campuses displays all the failed efforts to stop bullying. There are safe zones for gay students, they have clubs to help kids deal with their sexual identities, and various faculty members are available to put out the fires and discuss bully/victim issues. All the money, training, and awareness programs provided, and bullying still occurs. Now Representative Lampe wants to throw more Missourians’ money at the problem.

Bullying is such a broad topic, that it’s nearly impossible to define all the behavior that is considered bullying. Heck, if you don’t wear the right clothes in school, you get bullied. If you don’t take part in sports, you get bullied. With Representative Lampe’s bill, we have another example of how government keeps us divided. In this case, it’s the rainbow divide. We always define students in groups, which is what Lampe’s bill continues to do. It’s them vs. us. Once you create the line, kids often see how far over the line they can go.

There were times in my life where I was bullied for different reasons. I feel bullying is a chance for a child to build some character. Of course, society doesn’t like for children to feel pain these days, so we get useless emotional legislation from government officials like Lampe. A child can learn to do two things with the bully. They can fuel the bully by running, showing fear, commenting in a manner the bully wants, or tattle telling, or they can learn not to fuel the bully. Learning not to fuel the bully is the key, not more government.

If we don’t start teaching children how to deal with pain, you can count on more senseless violence from the same overprotected children. It’s time we seriously evaluate how we raise children, and we don’t’ need a government program created to do it. It starts with learning you are going to get your feelings hurt many times in life. Deal with it!

Lampe’s legislation should already be common sense. It includes no name calling, no bullying on school busses, required reporting and response mechanisms, and more faculty training. Nothing revolutionary! Representative Lampe isn’t a genius here, and why they celebrate hers today on the front page of the Springfield News-Leader is beyond me. Clearly, the news in the Middle East wasn’t as important at Gregory Trotter’s front page headlines.

Here’s an idea for Lampe that would gain my respect. Why not introduce a bill protecting hard-working Americans from the bully known as the IRS? Oh, that’s right, she’s a Democrat—the party of nickel and diming Americans.

Wacky Liberal Celebrities Can't Win

I found this comic on The Daily Green Web site. It appears that a few in green community tire of crazy liberal celebrities as well. Of course, they are too self-important to catch on.

Oregon Governor Moves Forward with Satellite Driving Tax

While there is talk for a $1.50 per gallon tax on gasoline (a global warming tax in disguise), Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski says he’s ready for the Oregon legislature to move to a tax per mile using satellite technology. The Oregon plan would place a tracking GPS in your car and tax you based on your use.

“As Oregonians drive less and demand more fuel-efficient vehicles, it is increasingly important that the state find a new way, other than the gas tax, to finance our transportation system.”

Everywhere I look, I see cameras--cameras that watch our movements. Now they want to attach GPS to our chief mode of transportation? Do you see the violation of your liberty and freedom caused by all these governmental uses of technology? Not only that, notice all the new ways they want to take your money. Every time you turn around, there is talk of a new tax.

Of course the government would never implant GPS devices to track the movements of illegal aliens. They are going to attach them to law abiding American citizens.

The more we accept that these cameras and GPS devices as necessary evils of government, the more freedoms we lose and the more government picks from our pocket.

Last year many state governments looked at placing a sensor in your tire valves that would monitor your speed. Sensors along the road would record the tire valve sensor, and you would be sent a ticket if you were speeding. They can easily do the same with a mandated GPS in your car. States with tollways use automatic toll paying transponders to track your speeds as well, which is why I returned my iPass to the Illinois Department of Transportation.

I love technology, but not when it's in a taxing government's hand.

Bungalow Bill's Wacky Liberal of the Year Award: Third Place, Jeremiah Wright

Wacky liberals showed their true colors in 2008, and many of them found Barack Obama attached to them. Jeremiah Wright is far too hateful to be wacky, so he made the podium winning the bronze medal for Bungalow Bill's Wacky Liberal of the year.

The Democrat's Immigration Jig Saw Puzzle

The historians will be justified when they write the Democratic party was the most selfish bunch of people ever to exist. They sold out their own country for votes. It was always about votes, not what was good for the country.

I remind you how many trillions of dollars taxpayers owe for bailouts of U.S. banks, the UAW, General Motors, Chrysler, and whatever else poorly ran company sticks its hand out looking for the largest corporate welfare check written by the US government. Over the next four years Barack Obama and his band of Congressional nitwits will continue to steal money from the taxpayers to fund programs designed to keep Democrats in power.

The largest recipients of these new big government welfare programs won't be U.S. citizens. The Democrats designed these programs for the millions of illegal aliens who should be deported, but will soon be on the fast track to citizenship and voting. The Democrats will continue to bankrupt our country to secure the Latino vote.

Democratic issues are like puzzle pieces. That fact gets past most Americans, and you must dive beyond the surface to start to see how they snap into place with one another. The Immigration puzzle pieces include: a comprehensive immigration bill, nationalized health care and other social programs, and increasing the numbers coming across the border.

Comprehensive Immigration Bill

The Democrats will allow illegal aliens to stay in the country. Let's not forget, they are breaking the law.

Let's put this in perspective, try not paying your income taxes. You go to jail. Come over to this country illegally and milk the system: the Democrats embrace you, regardless of the costs to the taxpayers.

Democrats don't care if they are educated, speak English, have serious health issues, or criminal records. They don't want to offend a block of voters knowing they can secure 90% of them by embracing them with social welfare programs.

The Democrats played this card with blacks. Would someone please tell me how the Democrats have improved the black condition in America? I lived in Chicago. I saw the government housing that keeps many of them fat and stupid and voting Democrat. Jesse Jackson saw it too, but he took a payoff in the form of a beer distributorship to keep his mouth shut. Now the brothers in the hood stay drunk on 40s from Jackson's racket. Jackson pretends to care, but like Al Gore, he profits from stupidity.

The result, the Democrats continue to hand out welfare to poor black communities in exchange for votes. Blacks should be offended at how the Democrats look down on them, and it's not going to change with electing Barack Obama. Keep them down and threaten the Republicans will take it away, and they continue to vote for the party that offers no hope. Obama is just for show. The Democrats will provide the same leadership to the Latino community.

Nationalized Health Care

The Democrats like to throw around numbers to create pathos. The numbers usually create an emotional response from you in hopes that you never question or wonder about the breakup of those numbers. Uninsured Americans is one of their favorite numbers they throw out.

The Democrats raise health insurance concerns by citing there are 45 million uninsured in this country. Have you stopped to consider who those uninsured are? Many times they use uninsured as a noun, not an adjective. Think about that. They leave off Americans on purpose.

The breakdown shows they include their voting target in these numbers. According to Dick Morris, the numbers break down as follows:

• 10 million are illegal immigrants-They are driving up health care costs because they can't be denied in the nation's emergency rooms. Their lack of green card translates to lack of responsibility for their bills.


• 15 million are eligible for Medicare but don't apply (Let's hope this includes the hundred of thousands of UAW members that retire with sweet health care benefits, which are getting bailed out.)


• 15 million adults whose children are eligible for free health insurance


• 10 million childless adults

Redefining the Democrat's rhetoric weakens their argument. In the United States, not one of these 45 million people would be denied in an emergency room, even the people breaking the law (illegal aliens).

The argument was always weak. It's pathos designed for you to feel sympathetic for those Americans whose employers aren't generous enough to provide health insurance. I know, with the exception of keeping score at a local softball complex, every job I have had, has health benefits. This includes McDonald's providing you work enough hours.

The Democrats lie about it. They want to create health care envy like they created class envy. It's all designed to gain votes. Put the pieces together. Ten million illegal aliens without health care will be insured if the Democrats successfully pass nationalized health care. From Spanish to English, that translates to votes.

Latino Populations

I watched the increase of Latinos in Cook County, Illinois, where I called home for over ten years. In the coming years, the Latino community will be the majority in Cook County, and this trend is occurring in other key states--California, New York, Texas, and Florida. If Republicans lose Texas and Florida, it will make winning national elections tough.

This is obviously the final piece of our puzzle. Democrats know that if they allow illegals to come into the country, give them amnesty to become citizens, and then shower them with social welfare, states like Texas will turn from red, to purple, to blue. Honestly, purple is wishful thinking.

The Hill Magazine published an alarming trend for Republicans. By the year 2020, The Hill predicts 20 percent of the total voters will be Latino. No wonder the Democrats are pushing so hard, while selling their country out for immigration legislation that legalizes the millions of illegals in this country.

The Costs

The current law-abiding citizens of the United States will pay the most for the Democrat's greed. Not only will the costs of nationalizing health care drive up taxes, like it has everywhere it's been tried, it will also force rationing of health care. In other words, the government decides how important your life is compared to the treatment you need. Could party identification come into play one day when it's your life? You never know, but you may soon find out.

The promise of amnesty will drive even more people across the border. Education and housing costs will rise. Our infrastructure will be furthered taxed by the increase use. It will have a domino effect justifying higher taxes as well. At the same time, the more people who are in the job market, the lower the wages paid. It's a simple supply and demand principle that not only applies to products but to people as well.

I am not even going to mention the threat of terrorism. These democratic sponsored programs open the doors for increased terrorism as well.

The national debt has skyrocketed since FDR's New Deal. Don't kid yourself, the New Deal carried this same thinking of securing democratic power. This extension of New Deal thinking comes with a huge price--a price America might not be able to pay, especially after the bailouts.

The Reagan Quote of the Day (12/29/2008)

There was a time when empires were defined by land mass, subjugated peoples, and military might. But the United States is unique because we are an empire of ideals. For two hundred years, we have been set apart by our faith in the ideals of democracy, of free men and free markets, and of the extraordinary possibilities that lie within seemingly ordinary men and women. We believe that no power of government is as formidable a force for good as the creativity and entrepreneurial drive of the American people. Republican National Convention, Houston, TX, August 17, 1992

60 More Minutes of Obama

As if we haven't gotten enough Barack Obama Christmas vacation news, 60 Minutes is presenting the entire hour on the Obama family. The preview shows the joking family laughing about Barry's dish washing contributions. I can't help but think back to how 60 Minutes made the Clinton's look like the Ward and June Cleaver.

60 Minutes had plenty of opportunities to show you inside the real world of the Obama's. The world containing Sal Alinsky, William Ayers, Tony Rezko, Jeremiah Wright, the mysterious Frank (Marshall Davis) and the latest scandal, Rod Blagojevich. They would rather discuss dish washing. It's in the commercial they use to entice you to watch. Journalism stinks in 2008. This is the Obama America still needs to discover.

If you want to see the main stream media's bias on display in it's full glory, tonight's the night to tune in. Watch as 60 Minutes presents radicals Barry and Michelle as Dr. and Mrs. Cliff Huxtable (The Cosby Show).

Think about how much coverage he has received for the Hawaiian vacation, and then think what the week of January 20th is going to be like. I think I will turn my TV off for the month. Thank God the Superbowl is February 1.

PETA: Adding Insult to the Janesville GM Plant Layoff Injury

PETA is offering free TOFUrkys to GM workers who lost their jobs when the Janesville, Wisconsin, GM plant closed last week. Although the gesture appears noble, I doubt the the individuals who work all day on the assembly line and then go out drinking beers with the guys after work are the fufu tofu types. I am sure they would rather come home to a big juicy steak.

If you are going to do a good deed that really matters, don't push your political vegetarian agenda off on families who could use the help right now. Canned vegetables is one thing, but tofu is pushing an agenda disguised as charity if you want my opinion. These people just lost their jobs. Offer them real help.

Just looking at that picture, I doubt I could even swallow that stuff without gagging. Of course, I have tried tofu at BD's Mongolian, and that was the last time it touched my mouth. If someone from BD's reads this, I would love to see a location in Springfield, MO. I lived close to the one in Naperville, Illinois, and I miss it filling my bowl with lamb, beef, salmon, and on occasion crayfish. YUM!

School Fundraising Disgust: A Follow Up to the Ozark High School's Taxpayers' Abuse

Property taxes are rising across the United States, as the nation's schools claim they aren't receiving enough money to provide quality education. All my life, money has been the answer for improving schools; yet, year after year, education quality falls regardless of increased spending. Politicians promise to improve the failing schools each election cycle. (It's funny how issues in government never get fixed, but remain to give candidates issues for the next election.)

Ozark High School, like many of the nation's schools, teach salesmanship through fundraising for a number of causes, including buying test computers for the classrooms. Fifth graders carried around order forms selling cookie dough and other foods to help make up the deficit needed for additional computers. These forms constantly sit our break room at work. Schools should focus on the 'three Rs' not fundraising, which is obviously left up to the parents in many cases. What an insult considering the parents are paying property taxes to help fund the schools!

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, Ozark High School funded a beautiful new sports facility complete with a section of stadium seating, live video scoreboard, a luxury field house, weight facilities that rival college and NFL teams, artificial turf, and I could go on and on. Ozark High School, like many schools, has its priorities in the wrong direction.

My cousin's children attend Ozark schools. I asked her about the constant fundraising. She rolled her eyes and told me her kids are no longer allowed to fund raise. I think this should be the attitude of all parents who already pay the rising cost property taxes. Parents should send a message to their school by sending empty forms back to the teachers in protest. Demand your children are educated beyond the sports arena. Don't get me wrong, physical education is important, but it's not the priority. Make academics a priority and quit this endless spending on high school athletic programs. It's out of control.

Ozark Tiger Football Stadium with the high school a few yards behind the
stadium.

The Ozark Tiger scoreboard with live video play back.

The press box and the section of stadium seating.

Apparently the walk to the high school was too much for the kids, so they
spent more of Christian County tax payers' money to build a field house.

Of course, you can't go anywhere without Big Brother watching these days.
Ozark residents aren't allowed to use the facility they paid for. They can't
walk on the track for exercise or use the field for a pick up game. The gates
are locked and there are security cameras everywhere you look. Keep in mind,
Ozark and Christian County residents and business owners pay the stadium's bill, while the
students raise funds for classroom computers.

The concession area

Even the baseball field was built beyond the basic needs.

Bungalow Bill's Wacky Liberal of the Year Award: Fourth Place, Barney Frank

Barney Frank likes to play the gay policeman, outing gay republicans in Congress. Congressman Frank doesn't like it when people like Bill O'Reilly polices him.

Frank finished fourth in Bungalow Bill's Wacky Liberal of the Year.

Politicians Actually Read Blogs: Well, They Hire People to Read Them

I recently received an e-mail from an unfamiliar name. Normally, I set them aside and look at them when I get time. I would have set this one aside too, but it was a slow e-mail day. The subject line read, "If I May Introduce Myself..." I thought sure figuring it was from a Kenyan who needed a donation to fight the evil regime; perhaps, he was going to tell me of a way to stuff envelopes and make some money. I was wrong.

The e-mail complimented me on my blogs. It then went on to ask what I think of a certain politician. (I am purposely withholding names.) He asked me not to sugarcoat it.

I answered the e-mail back and stated my policy on discussing certain politicians. I still had no clue who I was talking to though. I didn't even know if I would get a reply.

After a few exchanges, I find out that he works for this politician, and part of his job is to read blogs of constituents and report how the public feels about the issues of the day, how favorably the politician is doing their job, and surprisingly enough, shape political discussions. In his e-mail, he says he is regular contact with many of the bloggers, and at times he invites bloggers to conference calls to discuss topics with this politician.

It's good to know that some politicians are paying attention to the blogosphere, and ideas coming out of the blogosphere that are shaping policy. That shouldn't scare you. The mainstream media has shaped policy for years, and I bet they don't do half the homework of many of the talented bloggers writing opinions.

The Reagan Quote of the Day (12/28/2008)

The last thing George said to me, ‘Rock,’ he said, ‘Sometime when the team is up against it and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go out there with all they’ve got and win just one for the Gipper.’ Knute Rockne, All American 1940

An Amazing Video about the Star of Bethlehem

I sat in church on Christmas Eve wondering what was the Star of Bethlehem. I came across the video on this Internet. Computers are used to trace what the sky looked like during the birth of Christ. What they discovered is amazing. Please take a few more minutes to celebrate Christmas.

Ann Coulter: Kwanzaa is Right About Where We Want It -- Gone

I don't often repost articles on my blog, but I found this piece by Ann Coulter brilliant as usual. Plus, I love the term 'first Halfrican President.' Liberals are often offended when you point out a truth like Obama is half white and half black.

From Coulter:

Is it just me, or does Kwanzaa seem to come earlier and earlier each year?

This year, I believe my triumph over this synthetic holiday is nearly complete. The only mentions of Kwanzaa I’ve seen are humorous ones. Most important, for the first time in eight years, President George W. Bush appears not to have issued “Kwanzaa greetings” to honor this phony non-Christian holiday that is younger than I am.

It is a fact that Kwanzaa was invented in 1966 by a black radical FBI stooge, Ron Karenga, aka Dr. Maulana Karenga. Karenga was a founder of United Slaves, a violent nationalist rival to the Black Panthers and a dupe of the FBI.

In what was probably ultimately a foolish gamble, during the madness of the ’60s the FBI encouraged the most extreme black nationalist organizations in order to discredit and split the left. The more preposterous the organization, the better. Using that criterion, Karenga’s United Slaves was perfect. In the annals of the American ’60s, Karenga was the Father Gapon, stooge of the czarist police.

Despite modern perceptions that blend all the black activists of the ’60s, the Black Panthers did not hate whites. They did not seek armed revolution. Those were the precepts of Karenga’s United Slaves. United Slaves were proto-fascists, walking around in dashikis, gunning down Black Panthers and adopting invented “African” names. (That was a big help to the black community: How many boys named “Jamal” currently sit on death row?)

Whether Karenga was a willing dupe, or just a dupe, remains unclear. Curiously, in a 1995 interview with Ethnic NewsWatch, Karenga matter of factly explained that the forces out to get O.J. Simpson for the “framed” murder of two whites included: “the FBI, the CIA, the State Department, Interpol, the Chicago Police Department” and so on. Karenga should know about FBI infiltration. (He further noted that the evidence against O.J. “was not strong enough to prohibit or eliminate unreasonable doubt” — an interesting standard of proof.)

In the category of the-gentleman-doth-protest-too-much, back in the ’70s, Karenga was quick to criticize rumors that black radicals were government-supported. When Nigerian newspapers claimed that some American black radicals were CIA operatives, Karenga publicly denounced the idea, saying, “Africans must stop generalizing about the loyalties and motives of Afro-Americans, including the widespread suspicion of black Americans being CIA agents.”

Now we know that the FBI fueled the bloody rivalry between the Panthers and United Slaves. In one barbarous outburst, Karenga’s United Slaves shot to death Black Panthers Al “Bunchy” Carter and deputy minister John Huggins on the UCLA campus. Karenga himself served time, a useful steppingstone for his current position as a black studies professor at California State University at Long Beach.

(Sing to “Jingle Bells”)Kwanzaa bells, dashikis sellWhitey has to pay;Burning, shooting, oh what funOn this made-up holiday!

Kwanzaa itself is a nutty blend of schmaltzy ’60s rhetoric, black racism and Marxism. Indeed, the seven “principles” of Kwanzaa praise collectivism in every possible arena of life — economics, work, personality, even litter removal. (“Kuumba: Everyone should strive to improve the community and make it more beautiful.”) It takes a village to raise a police snitch.

When Karenga was asked to distinguish Kawaida, the philosophy underlying Kwanzaa, from “classical Marxism,” he essentially explained that under Kawaida, we also hate whites. While taking the “best of early Chinese and Cuban socialism” — which one assumes would exclude the forced abortions, imprisonment of homosexuals and forced labor — Kawaida practitioners believe one’s racial identity “determines life conditions, life chances and self-understanding.” There’s an inclusive philosophy for you.

Coincidentally, the seven principles of Kwanzaa are the very same seven principles of the Symbionese Liberation Army, another charming invention of the Worst Generation. In 1974, Patricia Hearst, kidnap victim-cum-SLA revolutionary, posed next to the banner of her alleged captors, a seven-headed cobra. Each snake head stood for one of the SLA’s revolutionary principles: Umoja, Kujichagulia, Ujima, Ujamaa, Nia, Kuumba and Imani — the exact same seven “principles” of Kwanzaa.

Kwanzaa was the result of a ’60s psychosis grafted onto the black community. Liberals have become so mesmerized by multicultural nonsense that they have forgotten the real history of Kwanzaa and Karenga’s United Slaves — the violence, the Marxism, the insanity. Most absurdly, for leftists anyway, is that they have forgotten the FBI’s tacit encouragement of this murderous black nationalist cult founded by the father of Kwanzaa.

This is a holiday for white liberals — the kind of holiday Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn probably celebrate. Meanwhile, most blacks celebrate Christmas.

Kwanzaa liberates no one; Christianity liberates everyone, proclaiming that we are all equal before God. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Not surprisingly, it was practitioners of that faith who were at the forefront of the abolitionist and civil rights movements.

Next year this time, we’ll find out if our new “Halfrican” president is really black or just another white liberal. If he’s black enough to say the “brothers should pull up their pants,” surely Barack Obama can just say no to Kwanzaa.

The Earth's Medicine is More Powerful than Man's

When the Tsunami tore through Indonesia four years ago, devastated environmental scientists predicted it would take ten years for the coral to heal itself. Four years later, the coral has bounced back providing an environmental boom to the life it supports and an economic boom for the region. I am often reminded of man's lack of knowledge of our planet as we hear scientists, politicians, and the occasional actor predict doom and gloom.

In 1988, actor Ted Danson (Sam Malone, Cheers) predicted the oceans would die in ten years and man would soon follow. Twenty years later, we are shown how healthy our oceans are. The coral reef has restored itself in less than half the time that scientists said it would.

Doom and gloom science fills the airwaves and creates the greatest economic impact, but once again we are shown that the Earth's medicine is stronger than the greed (green) medicine--the dollar. I for once would love to read a finding where man made it worse by interfering with the natural cycles of the earth.

Bungalow Bill's Wacky Liberal of the Year: Fifth Place, Keith Olbermann

Number five is a lib that disgusts me with his hateful rhetoric blended in huge words that I don't even believe he understands. I couldn't stand him on ESPN. Now he is helping sink MSNBC, which isn't a bad thing.

Would someone tell Keith Olbermann that if Bill Clinton had taken terrorism seriously, George W. Bush may not have had to clean up Iraq. Of course, Olbermann will never admit that truth. He has made a name for himself screaming at W. Well, he doesn't have W. to scream at in a few short days, so we will surely watch Olbermann ride off in the failed Franken sunset. By the way Keith, Saddam used plenty of weapons of mass destruction during his tenure as a hateful tyrant, and he is responsible for more deaths than any other middle eastern Islamic terrorist. I hope this statistic remains true, Mr. Olbermann, for if it doesn't, you might be a shadowy remain on a New York sidewalk wishing for the leadership that Bush provided just before your demise. You are a disgrace to journalism Mr. Olbermann, and you are Bungalow Bill's fifth place Wacky Liberal of the Year.

By the way, Chris Matthews deserves dishonorable mention for his Obagasms on national TV. "I have to tell you, you know, it's part of reporting this case, this election, the feeling most people get when they hear Barack Obama's speech. My, I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don't have that too often."

The Reagan Quote of the Day (12/27/08)

When challenged, look for positive outcomes. When knocked down, get up. When wrong, accept responsibility. When others are in need, help.

Global Warming Debate Friends at CNN?

A second CNN meteorologist has come out against man-mad global warming calling it arrogant. Chad Meyers expressed his views on the Lou Dobb's show last week.

“You know, to think that we could affect weather all that much is pretty arrogant.”

"But this is like, you know you said – in your career – my career has been 22 years long,” Myers said. “That’s a good career in TV, but talking about climate – it’s like having a car for three days and saying, ‘This is a great car.’ Well, yeah – it was for three days, but maybe in days five, six and seven it won’t be so good. And that’s what we’re doing here. We have 100 years worth of data, not millions of years that the world’s been around."

Dr. Jay Lehr, and expert on environmental policy supported Meyers view during the show.

“If we go back really, in recorded human history, in the 13th Century, we were probably 7 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than we are now and it was a very prosperous time for mankind,” Lehr said. “If go back to the Revolutionary War 300 years ago, it was very, very cold. We’ve been warming out of that cold spell from the Revolutionary War period and now we’re back into a cooling cycle.”

Lehr suggested the earth is presently entering a cooling cycle – a result of nature, not man.

“The last 10 years have been quite cool, and right now, I think we’re going into cooling rather than warming and that should be a much greater concern for humankind. But, all we can do is adapt. It is the sun that does it, not man.” (Did you hear that Dan Shapley?)

The first CNN meteorologist, Rob Marciano, spoke out on the inconvenient lies of Al Gore and his doom and gloom movie. Marciano claimed the An Inconvenient Lie (Truth) had a number of inaccuracies. “The biggest thing I have a problem with is this implication that Katrina was caused by global warming.”

Unfortunately, the global warming advocates stormed the lines at CNN (a technique we saw happen at WGN Chicago from the Obama campaign), and obviously CNN's view won out. The next day Marciano supported that status quo. “The globe is getting warmer and humans are the likely the main cause of it.” Sad how many people sell their souls for a paycheck, huh Rob?

I am sure in the days to come that Meyers will present a different view--one more in line with the views of CNN. I am probably celebrating too soon in thinking we have a real friend on the global warming debate in Meyers. I bet he has a wife and kids to feed, and CNN is the first to remind us how rotten the economy is.

Some End of the Week Humor at Al Gore's Expense from Tim Slagle

WLS AM Chicago featured comedian Tim Slagle on Jerry Agar's pre-Rush Limbaugh 9-11 slot. Jerry's Kidders were a group of political comedians that complimented Agar's conservative views. Since it's the end of a slow news week, and you may have been standing in the return lines all day long, I figured it's time to laugh a little bit at the expense of Al Gore and the IRS.

Jerry Agar and the Kidders are no longer featured on WLS. WLS recently hired Erich 'Mancow' Muller for the 9-11 spot. (Rush Limbaugh, a Missourian like Mancow, congratulated Mancow on his first day at WLS. Mancow wrote a few spoofs for Limbaugh.) Agar has filled in for Mark Levin, and I am sure we haven't heard the last of from Agar. Here's a couple of Slagle's routines:

Tim Slagle on Taxes

Tim Slagle on Al Gore and Global Warming

Viagra: The Latest Weapon for the War on Terror

Proving the power of a woman over a man, the CIA Viagra fights the war on terror with Viagra. US officials in Afghanistan exchange the little blue pill in exchange for valuable information about the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

The CIA recently offered four pills to a 60 plus year-old tribal leader and husband of four young wives. Four days later, he returned to the tribe and received a smile and all sorts of information about Taliban movements and supply routes.

It's not uncommon for American conveniences to be used for information, but Viagra is performing miracles in more ways than one. Not only that, but you have to love how America uses its ingenuity.

Is There Such a Thing as a Liberal Backbone?

Over the past few weeks, I have listened to many libs say something, and then not have the backbone to maintain their statement once the pressure built. Gay folk singer Rufus Wainwright is the latest lib to prove he is spineless.

"Oddly enough, I'm actually not a huge gay-marriage supporter," said Wainwright. After he upset a few of his 'Soooooper' friends, he retracted his statement. "I am not nor have I ever been opposed to anyone's right to marry -- straight or gay."

Geez! Stand for something or shut up!

Marley & Me Tops at Box Office: Economy Not so Good for Other Dogs

Earlier this year, I finally read Marley & Me. I had bought the book a year earlier, and placed it in the long queue of books to read. I wished I moved the book up the queue faster, but sometimes life gets so busy that you are just lucky if you get the time to read. Now the movie is number one at the box office.

My best friend is a five-year-old, energetic chocolate and yellow mix Labrador Retriever named Kayleigh. Often, I feel like she is the ghost of Marley. She has an amazing sense of smell, which often gets the better of her. Her curiosity creates mess after mess. Last year she dragged my mom across her driveway as she took off after a stray cat, but I still love her. One day, I will have to say goodbye to her, just like John Grogan had to say goodbye to Marley. I'm not looking foward to that day.

Our times with our dogs go by quickly, and the soon become chapters in our lives. My life is full of wonderful dogs like Kayleigh to the occasional dog that never fit it, but we loved them anyway. I have had a fascination with dog stories since I read Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. Through these stories, we easily attach to Dan and Little Ann, to Marley, Marley, and most recently to Mark Levin's rescued dog, Sprite. We know the outcome we read to, and we know the pain the end of the book brings. I always cry, and I have since Billy laid those hound dogs into the ground after a vicious cougar attack in the Ozarks.

Dog stories always teach us how to deal with a loss. Few people affect us in books the way that dogs do. Maybe that's I believe dogs give unconditional love and loyalty through thick and thin, while many friends fail us along the way. I am guilty, so this isn't pointing fingers. I am pointing fingers today at many dog owners throughout the United States.

Too many dogs are being dumped off at Walmart parking lots and other locations because people cannot afford to feed and take care of them. It saddens me every time I see a dog looking for its way along a city street. During the depression, parents often dumped their children off to orphanages for the same reasons. Please give your dog the same chance by taking it to a shelter. This winter has been cold. Your dog and many other dogs deserve better.

Knowing how much joy Kayleigh gives me, I don't even see how it's humanly possible to dump a dog off. Shame on those who do.

Bungalow Bill's Wacky Liberal of the Year: Sixth Place, Louis Farrakhan

During 2008, I was really bothered at the amount of sheeple that decided to put their faith in the messiah, no not that messiah--Obama the messiah. Louie Farrakhan kicks off the wacky liberal list. Here's Louie Farrakhan on the subject of Obama the messiah.






This year, the Windy City is well represented in wacky libs.

Being the Best: Reinforcing America's Position in the World

A sadness comes over me when I look at where America is at today. The war on terrorism turned political, and the mainstream media and prominent Democrats are afraid to say radical Islamic terrorists. Congress padded their pockets for years producing favorable legislation from banks and credit card companies, and now they are using our tax dollars to cover their tracks. This of course produced bailouts and ruined the economy. There is a question in the world today. Is America still the greatest superpower of all or have we fallen. I don't like the question.

There are many liberal Americans who don't agree with United States position as a world leader. They believe the United States should step aside because they see the position as the force of evil in the world. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In the short history of the United States, we have offered the world the greatest advancements, provided hope for people living under oppression, and freed nations from tyranny.

My sister, who lives in the Grover/Wildwood area of St. Louis county, told me about how the principal of her children's elementary school has created a policy that all holiday parties must be equal. Simply put, if the 6th graders have chocolate cupcakes, then it's wrong for the kindergarten class to have white cupcakes. Each class must play the exact games at their class parties, the exact food, the exact flavor of Kool-Aid. That's basically what this is. It's Kool-Aid. It's poisonous Kool-Aid.

Equality doesn't exist in the world. If it did, we wouldn't have the exact amount of oil as Saudi Arabia does. In all levels, from classroom parties to world politics, there are winners and there are losers. It's all based on resources, desire, leadership, and fundamentals. I am tired of watching parents, school officials, and village idiots teach our children that it's wrong to win. If I play a board game like Monopoly, I play to gain as many properties as I can, create Monopolies, build large hotels, and put my mother out of business if that's what it takes to win the game. (That's with no disrespect to my mom. We have a wonderful relationship, and I know she is going to read this. She is a proud Reagan conservative with a whole room dedicated to President Reagan.)

America needs to start thinking this way. We need to play to win again in everything we do from t-ball to winning world opinion to spreading free-market capitalism and democracy around the world. When Americans think this way, we provide the world the greatest of good. Our charitable nature is felt around the world.

To those who play to win the crowning game against us, the Islamic terrorist, who wish nothing more than the death of the United States, we need to play harder to win. The stakes are the highest in this game, yet, many politicians like Harry Reid don't want to go down with an effortless three swings. Many like Reid, see America as a miserable place that's greedy. Mr. Reid, American have more because we have the best minds and ingenuity on the planet. Our freedoms and free-market economy provides rewards that encourage each and everyone of us to put our best foot down and work hard. We the people redistribute our wealth for good causes, and we don't need the government redistributing it for us.

It's political greed that's destroying this country and moving us out of the number one position in the world. The forefathers saw the House of Representatives as a place where common men would go serve a short term or two and then return to the farm. The money in Washington has become to addictive, and the House showcases professional politicians who refuse to leave Washington until they have taken every kickback possible. This is the greed that destroys. We don't need cheaters to win.

I wake up now and fear there may be a new world leader someday soon. I fear they won't provide the leadership necessary to establish peace around the world. Americans need to wake up to what's going on around them. We must start teaching that winning is good. It's a fact in this world that you are going to lose, and if you don't learn that at an early age, you may not handle it when it occurs as an adult. Ocassionally, that reality occurred sooner. The price paid was often too high.

I once coached Babe Ruth baseball. What was important to me to convey to this fine bunch of kids was I wanted them to want to win. I also taught them how to lose, so it taught them how to pick themselves up and work harder to get what they wanted. At the end of every game, my assistant coach, a former Army Ranger, and I gave them the how bad do you want it talk. It wasn't this dumbed down everyone played good talk. We talked about what lost the game for us, and what the team and what each member needed to do to improve. We won one game that season (a sudden death game). We celebrated that win. At the end of the season, most of the parents came up and thanked me for the lessons their boy learned that summer.

Everyone of us out there can make a difference if you teach winning over equality. There is a right way to do it. There isn't a person alive that should be taught that they only have to be as good as the people around them. When they are, they are holding themselves and the people around them back. For too long, I have watched people hold my country back on these very principles. I have had enough! I am not ready for second place on the world stage. America has a duty to provide leadership in this world. Make a resolution this coming year to be the best to help make America the best!

The Reagan Quote of the Day (12/26/2008)

The calls for cutting back the defense budget come in nice, simple arithmetic. They're the same kind of talk that led the democracies to neglect their defenses in the 1930's and invited the tragedy of World War II. We must not let that grim chapter of history repeat itself through apathy or neglect. March 23, 1983

The Magic of Christmas

Spending time with my nephews, Tyler and Zac, during this time of year makes me realize what a magical time of the year it is. It also makes me wish I was young again. The innocence of a child is precious, and often a child is robbed of that innocence by people in which it shouldn't be. (I have made references to that in many blogs.)

Just think how beautiful a child's mind is. To believe once again, that one man dressed on a Coca-Cola red and white outfit, travels all of the world in a sleigh with flying reindeer in 24 hours time. The world is such a better place through the eyes of a child. It's so unfortunate that selfishness in this world removes a child quickly from this world.

Kids grow up fast enough. Let's be careful not to let agendas force our children to grow up faster. This is a precious day to watch the eyes of the child, the excitement in their hearts, and the energy to play. I know I wish I could go back, so don't let anyone rob them of what is theirs.

It's a Reagan Christmas

We gathered around the tree early this morning. I was handed my first present to open. I slowly broke the tape. I try to show appreciation when I unwrap these days. I don't know why. Do people think your childish if you rip the wrapping paper off like you did when you were a kid? Maybe I think too much into it.

I was thrilled to see my first present. It was William F. Buckley Jr.'s The Reagan I Knew. The book was released after Buckley's death in February, so it's a new read. It's going to pass some other books that are in line to read.

Bungalow Bill's Wacky Liberal of the Year: Dishonorable Mention, Joe Biden

Would someone please give Joe Biden a dose of American history. England's unfair taxation of the colonies led to the American Revolution and other patriotic events like the Boston Tea Party. American independence has as much to do with Patriots protest a tax on rum, than anything else. Joe, our forefathers didn't think it was patriotic at all, and there was no federal income tax until Woodrow Wilson made one of the biggest blunders in American history.

Because of your love of taxation and lack of knowledge concerning the original patriots, you deserve dishonorable mention for wacky liberal of the year.

The Reagan Quote of the Day: Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas. As you listen to this beautiful message from our greatest President, think about how political correctness now robs Americans of memories like this. Thank you Mr. Reagan. You continue to touch my life in ways words can never describe.

FAITH: A Prayer for a Star

I was baptised on my eighth birthday. I studied the Bible and had a wonderful knowledge of the stories within. There's something special about a child's faith, and mine was no exception.

About a year and half later, I prayed to God that place start as bright as the star of Bethlehem during Christmas. I soon forgot about the prayer as a couple months passed. On Christmas Eve, we went to my the Bowler's Christmas to celebrate with my grandmother, uncles, aunts, and cousins.

Christmas Eve was always fun. We always had a visit from Santa Claus and we got to open an early gift that he delivered. We always had a big meal, and I got to play with my cousins that I didn't get to see much throughout the year.

As we left that night, I remembered my prayer. I looked up to the sky and found the brightest star. I knew it was the one I prayed for. I was so excited. I told my parents that's the star I prayed for. When we got out of the car, we stood and stared at it for a few minutes.

I wanted a picture of the star so I could tell everyone God had answered my prayer. My mom didn't have any film, so I called my Aunt Linda. She took a Polaroid of the star. The Polaroid turned out black with a couple of white dots on it.

The faith of a young child is beautiful, isn't it. Merry Christmas!

Bungalow Bill's Wacky Liberal of the Year Award: Dishonorable Mention, Al Gore

Welcome to Bungalow Bill's Wacky Liberal of the Year Award. For the final few days of 2008, we will showcase the wackiest, most hateful, most off their rocker liberals.

Had Bungalow Bill's Conservative Wisdom, been around a few years longer, Al Gore would have a whole trophy case of Wacky Liberal of the Year Awards. Because his rhetoric gets crazier with each passing year, we have come to expect the insane from Gore. He probably wouldn't even have made the list this year, but he opened his mouth and showed us five fingers in recent days. Just like Ted Danson in the late 1980s predicted the demise of the oceans in ten years, Al Gore has upped the ante by predicting there will be no summer ice at the North Pole in five years. This is good enough to give him a dishonorable mention. (There is no honor in being a liberal. When was there ever any honor in taking the easy, feel good road?) I wish Al Gore was a betting man, because I would take him up on that.

Here's Mr. Global Warming himself:

Someone Please Stop George Lucas: Star Wars the Musical

I am a strong supporter of capitalism and making as much money as you can, but there comes to a point where you can embarrass yourself and your legacy by displaying greed. George Lucas is at that point with the Star Wars franchise.

Lucas has approved plans for Star Wars the Musical. Sorry Rosie O'Donnell, there won't be tryouts for the part of Jabba the Hutt. Fortunately, Lucas says the production will be set to the classical music that accompanies the movies. The music, composed by John Williams, will feature scenes from the movies during the musical experience.

I believe this is just taking a tiring franchise down another road that it shouldn't be on. Lucas is already guilty of embarrassing the franchise with a cartoon version that even 20th Century Fox passed on, not to mention the three prequels and the horrible revival Indiana Jones this past spring. No doubt, Lucas will soon hit the studios to improve the remastered movies for Blue Ray, which I will probably end up buying as millions of fans will too. Whether or not I can sit through all of them again remains a question.

I might be one of the few who is attacking Lucas. When the oil companies raise their prices, it's said that they are taking advantage of consumers. Something must be done. When Coca-Cola adds nutrients to their drinks, the government steps in and the FDA says they are misleading consumers. I don't see the same occurring when Lucas continues to mislead consumers and take advantage of them financially as he produces far from stellar Star Wars products. Not that I am encouraging the government to step in. I just wonder why Barney Frank and company don't feel the need to regulate the entertainment business and protect us from Lucas' lack of vision.

I don't see much difference between the three products. It's all based on supply and demand. Think about it.

Christmas Eve, a Season of Happiness and Some Sadness: The 29th Anniversary of My Grandfather's Death

My grandfather, Harley William Bowler, is one of those people in my life that helped open my eyes. He was a proud World War II veteran that was one of the first American boys to see battle against Germany. A deep scar ran across his forehead. A bullet skimmed his brow during battle. I never discovered this side of my grandfather until after his death.

Three nights before Christmas I spent the night at my grandparents house. I didn't know it would be the last time I would see him there. I was only eight, so I was there to play in their basement, which they kept full of toys.

That next morning, he asked me to go with him to spot a well. I always liked going to work with my dad and my grandfather. He owned B & R Drilling, which drilled water wells all over southwest Missouri. We stopped a few miles from home at a gas station on the corner of Kearney Street and US 65. I went inside with him knowing I would get a soda and candy bar.

He spent a few minutes talking to the cashier, and suddenly he looked down at me. He told the man he didn't see much of a future for me with the direction the country was headed. During that winter, he saw challenges in his own business as the Carter administration watched over what was the worst economy since the Great Depression. Interest rates were rising, slowing down the housing market. Inflation was reaching record levels. The month before, Iran took 66 Americans hostage at the embassy in Tehran. These days looked bleak for the United States.

We left the convenience store a few minutes later, but those words never left me. That's the first moment in my life which I started to look around and be concerned. I have often looked at those words throughout my life. I wish my grandfather had seen Ronald Reagan restore the national pride. It's those words today, followed by the leadership of Ronald Reagan that offers me hope that Barack Obama can't touch.

We drove south of Springfield and spotted the well. My grandfather found a wooden stake, wrote the word 'well' on it with a pencil, and placed it in the ground so my dad would know where to drill.

We drove back to Strafford, Missouri. My parents picked me up, and my grandfather took my grandmother to the AMVETS Christmas party, where he got sick. They took him to the hospital. The next day after church, we went to visit him. I didn't want to go up. A series of New York blackouts had created a fear of elevators. I stayed in the lobby. My dad came down a few minutes later and convinced me to come up. I visited with him for a few minutes and we left.

The next day, my sisters and I were excited knowing Santa Claus was coming. We played in the formal living room, when the phone ring. Something drew my oldest sister me to the phone, and we knew something was wrong. My mom hung up the phone and told us my grandfather had died. We broke down in tears.

It's a Global Warming Christmas

We are less than a week from Christmas and still a couple days away from winter. Global warming stories dominate blogs and new stories. Global warming advocates scramble to explain the extreme cold and snow in parts of the country that normally don't receive snow. It's climate change, running from the verbiage Margaret Thatcher politically introduced nearly three decades ago to justify nuclear development in England.

While there is evidence that 2008's lack of sunspots is directing us to cooler temperatures, the Al Gore crowd pushes their rhetoric harder. North Carolina Christmas trees are endangered. Christmas will never be the same because of global warming. It's comical. I am glad I was born with common sense to see through the craziness that will be compared to the Haley's Comet rhetoric in the early 1900s. Al Gore's historical importance will dwindle to the major contributor to the greatest hoax in human history.

Personally, I am not fooled by North Carolina Representative Heath Shuler worry for the Christmas trees. Does it make sense that a global warming activist is worried about a practice that actually cuts down trees that remove CO2? These global warming advocates are so confused by their own science that they don't even know what they are arguing anymore. I think the argument that supports global warming would be to do away with the tree all together, this includes plastic trees that obviously are made from petroleum.

I know it will only be a matter of time until the government regulates how many Christmas lights we can decorate our houses with. They will require LED lights to decorate with. The process will become so crazy, that most people will just accept it. Another freedom lost.

Recently in his blog, Jacob Gordon argued we should pay more for gasoline, and these cheap gas prices are dangrous. Dangerous to what Mr. Gordon? Do you understand how stressful the gift giving season would be if gas was currently $4 to $5 a gallon? Even the big Christmas meal would be harder to come by if Greeny Gordon had his way.

I am glad to know that the conservative movement is alert to the dangers of the Barack Obama Environmental Protection Agency. It's good to see so many packages in the blogosphere wrapped up with the intention on fighting the global warming hoax.

The Reagan Quote of the Day (12/24/2008)

I hope that when you're my age you'll be able to say, as I have been able to say: we lived in freedom, we lived lives that were a statement, not an apology.

Tough Political Month for Coca-Cola: Fortifying Carbonated Beverages is a Violation of FDA Regulations

December continues to deliver Coca-Cola a series of blows. First, Governor David Peterson announced the New York state obesity tax. That tax adds 15 cents to the cost of a pop, or is that soda in New York. Now the Food and Drug Administration decided Coke is violating their regulations by fortifying cola.

Diet Coke Plus, an artificially sweetened soft drink containing vitamins and minerals, is mislabeled according to the FDA. The FDA letter to Coca-Cola instructed the company that its inappropriate to add vitamins and minerals to carbonated beverages. Coca-Cola plans to fight the FDA.

I have a question for the FDA. How is the FDA or Department of Agriculture insuring that our nutrient depleted soils are delivering nutrition to the fruits and vegetables? I have been studying Dr. Joel Wallach, author of Dead Doctors Don't Lie and Dead Athletes Don't Lie, and he claims our soils aren't replenished harvest after harvest with required minerals for nutrition. Yet, your tax dollars are being used to fight a Coke product that adds some nutrients.

The FDA started to crack down on companies that overstate the benefits of their products. Coca-Cola only states that they add up to 10% of the daily recommended value. I don't see miracles in that statement. After listening to Dr. Wallach, I don't claim that Diet Coke Plus is the best delivery vehicle for nutrients, but it delivers none the less. Our bodies need minerals to fight diseases. I would much rather see the FDA spending time to insure fruits, vegetables, meats, and dairy are measuring up. That's not going to happen.

Our government has an interest in keeping the average age of death close to the age Social Security begins. The longer you live the more they pay out. This will become clearer once the Obama socialized medicine program begins. If Dr. Wallach is correct, and I believe he makes valid points, minerals are the last thing the government wants added to food.

Coca-Cola is obviously the target of the month. In the coming years, big soda will be the new evil in the world. It's already started.

Obama Embarrassed by Drudge Sexy Leader Poll

In a poll conducted by the Drudge Report, President elect Obama is losing the sexiest leader title to Vladimir Putin. Visit the Drudge Report to vote. LOL. Our little man President elect is getting his butt kicked. I can only hope the Obama mind is more appealing than the Obama pecs on the world stage.

Thank You Governor Matt Blunt: Missouri is a Better Place

Governor Matt Blunt's four years in office swept by too quickly, and I saw improvements in Missouri throughout his term. Although I lived in Chicago for half the term, I quickly learned that Governor Blunt's efforts often went unnoticed thanks to the mainstream media and the pettiness of incoming governor Jay Nixon.

From the outside looking in, I noticed how poorly Missouri's infrastructure was maintained prior to Blunt taking office. Within two years, I saw major improvements of Missouri's roads, especially Interstate 44, which I drove on to come to visit our shared childhood home, Strafford.

After I moved to Chicago, I loved the convenience of Illinois' contracted state service offices. Getting my drivers license and car tags was so much easier than it was in the state of Missouri. Governor Blunt oversaw the creation of these offices in Missouri, and Missouri residents will long benefit from these offices.

Governor Blunt's legacy will also include changing the name of Southwest Missouri State University to Missouri State University. The long-term economic impact of the name change will prove the critics of the name change wrong. The university will gain national exposure that is often overlooked do to the directional moniker.

As a child, I rode many miles miles throughout the Ozarks on my bicycle with the future governor. I feel like I may have planted a seed when I encouraged Blunt and my other Strafford friends to ride bikes with me.

I recall when we were 13, I talked him into riding Springbike's Dogwood Century, a ride from Sparta, Missouri, to Bradleyville, Missouri. It's a very hilly ride. The Sunday morning of the ride, Roy Blunt drove Matt to my house and walked up to the door with him. My dad answered, and he began discussing the terrain with Mr. Blunt. A few minutes later it was decided that we shouldn't ride that year. I rode the century the next year without Matt.

I was thrilled when I discovered the governor's role in the development of the Tour of Missouri bicycle race. Both Blunt and Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder have created an international event that Missourians should be proud of. The numbers speak for themselves, as Missouri enjoys the economic impact of the event.

Blunt doesn't get enough credit when it comes to the economic policies of the state. Governor Bob Holden left Blunt with a billion dollar budget deficit. Through Blunt's leadership, Missouri has a surplus and isn't looking for a bailout like California.

It won't take long with Jay Nixon's new direction for Missourians to realize the impact Blunt had on the state.

Radical Social Security Changes May Happen Under Obama

It's only fitting the new 'FDR' will make the most radical changes ever to the government's failing retirement plan. Social Security is a slow bleeding wound to taxpayers and employers, and Obama's big government knife will open the wound wider forcing the deaths of more jobs and employers.

Some Democrats salivate at the thought of nationalizing your 401K and turning it into funds for social security. The see two sources of income in doing so. Your tax break that you receive when you contribute your 401K will end, which will add billions more for the Pelosi led Congress to spend. Obviously, it will rob you out of the freedom for you to control your money, as the government plans to fund the failing Social Security program with your 401 K retirement wealth.

Many don't understand how the Social Security program works. There are usually two funds that are affected by the 401K: your paycheck (FICA) and your employer's payroll budget. When you go to work for someone, you pay 6.2% of your income on your first $97,500. Your employer also matches that 6.2% on your first $97,5000. If you employ yourself, you pay the entire 12.4%. Obama wants to lift the cap on Social Security, which means you and your employer will pay 6.2% on everything.

Currently, your employer pays Social Security up to $5850 on each person they employ. Do the math. It doesn't take long to realize a small business of 50 people are costing an employer nearly $300,000 extra a year. That number will significantly increase if Obama removes the cap. The government penalizes your employer for creating jobs, and Obama recently bragged his administration will create or save three million jobs. How will he lift the cap and be successful at creating jobs?

I know I don't need to remind you that these extra costs imposed by the government to employers are tacked on to their products and services making life more expensive for you. Not only are you paying your taxes, but you are paying hidden business taxes in the costs of the products you buy. The government's taxes stall they economy. A removal of the Social Security cap will destroy new job creation.

I Pledge Allegiance to Hollister, Abercrombie, Aeropostale, and Vanity: Millennial Metrosexuals are Worthless

I completed my Christmas shopping Friday night. Not bad for a man, huh? I am usually done before December comes. I have become an Internet shopper; after all, part of my job is Web design. I support my industry. Every once in a while I head to the Mall, and like most men who are part of Generation X and before (I am leaving out the soft, confused millennial metrosexuals on purpose) we hate most of the mall experience. (The Craftsman tool section at Sears is the exception.)

It dawned on me Friday night why I hate the whole mall experience of 2008. It's what the mall has become, and the Battlefield Mall in Springfield, Missouri is the typical model I speak of. To say I hate all malls wouldn't be true. I like outlet malls like Gurnee Mills. I like Oak Brook, Illinois' outdoor Oakbrook Center. I did like the Sharper Image and the Discovery Stores, but I don't think they are around anymore.

What I see that bother me the most and impacts society, is sexualizing children in stores like Hollister and Abercrombie. It's the constant pushing children to fear rejection unless they advertise Aeropostale on every inch of a sweatshirt. It's this pseudo belief that you are what you wear instead of what's inside. It's the need to look older (focused towards sexuality) than what they really are. (Trust me, after you hit 21, the time flies by too fast.)

Have you walked in a Hollister store? I don't want to believe I am getting old, but I feel old when I am in Hollister. I want to shake that customer service rep with the attitude that he is too good to help me because I am in my thirties and give him the butt kickin' he needs. You know what I am talking about. The kid with the highlighted, pomade do--each hair perfectly in place. I wanna bet he's the future environmental type afraid to go out in the sun because he believes the hole in the ozone will age his skin if spends more than five minutes a day outside. He sprays his tan on once a week and smells like a French whore with Hollister's signature smell. The smell reeks into the mall when you walk by noticing the half dressed mannequins along the storefront. Does he know he supposed be a man one day soon? (As I type, I hear Paula Cole singing Where Have All the Cowboys Gone.)

These kids are all about feeling good. They don't pledge allegiance to the flag, they pledge to the mirror--to vanity, to Hollister, to Abercrombie. This is the result of not keeping score at their Saturday morning soccer game. Pain wasn't a choice for little Timmy as far as mommy and daddy were concerned, and now I have to put up with this I am too good to get my hands dirty sense of entitlement as I shop.

Go get a job at Shoney's as a busboy. What happened to the busboy jobs? You hardly see busboys anymore. If I see a busboy these days, I want to pull out my wallet, show my FOID card (Illinois Firearms Owner Identification), ask for a green card, and ship the illegal south of Texas. Many teenagers feel they are too good to work jobs like these. Based on what I ask? Because mommy and daddy told you that you were?

The word is out. Ask a manager or a CEO about future hiring, and many will tell you that this might be the first generation that loses in the interview chase to 40 and 50 somethings based of work ethic. I know. I have sat in meetings about this subject.

These are the kids that flocked to Obama because they feel like they are owed something. My friends who teach college classes deal with them every day. The second a C is assigned they complain, "but in high school..." They whine for an undeserved A. Lord knows how they will handle real leadership when it's their turn. Everyone's a winner and government programs for all, right?

I would hope that harder economic times would teach the lessons I learned living in Jimmy Carter's America. I watched credit card sized interest rates enter the housing market. My grandpa's water well business, passed on to my dad, died as the construction business stood still. Parents are too afraid to inconvenience their kids with a tightening of a belt.

I shopped for my stepsister, a 16-year-old prototype of the above definition--too much glitter makeup, clothes too tight, and looks that could nearly get her into a bar. Hoodies marked down to $16 caught my eye at Aeropostale. I fought through the mass of kids and a few parents, while listening to a poorly done cover of Led Zeppelin's Good Times Bad Times piped loudly from the ceiling. I am guilty too, but I justify it. I preached to her about wearing her iPod at the dinner table the last time we went to Applebees. It would satisfy me to watch her butt hit the ground of the tough pavement of life, but I fear Obama and the Democrats will soften that blow with more entitlements. What a future to look forward to! I shake my head left to right every time I think about it.

I haven't even mentioned the piercing stores, the goth shops, and the rest of the riffraff that pushes responsibility to another day, another year, another decade for many. That's another day, another blog...

The Reagan Quote of the Day (12/23/2008)

The Democrats say that the United States has had its days in the sun, that our nation has passed its zenith. They expect you to tell your children that the American people no longer have the will to cope with their problems, that the future will be one of sacrifice and few opportunities. My fellow citizens, I utterly reject that view.

What a Chicago Cub Fan Gives His St. Louis Cardinal Fan Nephew: Reindeer Poop

Christmas is a slow news week, so please forgive me for posting a nonpolitical blog on a political blog site. This one is a fun story of Christmas giving.

All summer long, my eight-year-old nephew had to deal with me reminding him how many games in front of the St. Louis Cardinals the Chicago Cubs were. I used to be a Cardinal fan. I was born in north St. Louis country, which automatically makes you a Cardinal fan. After my first trip to Wrigley Field baseball meant something different for me. I saw the beauty of the game. There was nothing better than skipping work for an afternoon game at Wrigley. It's as good as it was for Ferris Beuller. I soon found myself wearing Cub blue.

My buddy Mike and I sang with Harry Caray during his last game at Wrigley Field. It was one of those moments when you just knew it was special. He died five months later. I have touched the ivy in right field, been through both locker rooms, and been a bleacher bum. I was at the 2006 home opener against the Cardinals, freezing as the wind blew football weather off the lake and into Wrigley Field.

There is a fun rivalry between my nephew and me. This year, he was ornery about it. When he would come in from St. Louis, he would litter my car with labels he made on the computer. 'CUBS STINK.' I would find them for days after he was back in St. Louis. In my Wayfarer case, 'CUBS STINK' stuck to the flap. I laughed each time.

I knew Christmas was a time to get even; although, I knew he might not be so nice about the early demise of the Cubs in the playoffs. I planned my attack.

We celebrate Christmas early with my sister Robyn. She always comes down to Springfield the week before Christmas. I went over to my mom's house while they were away, and I placed one very special present under the tree for my nephew. I hid the rest of them.

As we gathered around the Christmas tree, I gave my nephew the first gift of the night. He anxiously opened it, looked at it, and threw it across the floor. He was mad. The see through box showed a plastic reindeer with a bunch of brown jelly beans below his back side. "What's the matter, you don't like your reindeer poop?" I laughed as he gave me this mean look.

I then told him to hang on, and I went to the back bedroom. I brought out his main gift. He opened it without enthusiasm thinking it might be another prank. He looked at it, and slid the 11X16 black frame with the Cardinal red matting across the floor. He crossed his arms with another look of disgust.

The frame contained an autographed picture of Cardinal pitching ace and hall of famer Bob Gibson. He didn't want to give me any satisfaction towards the gift, so he sat mad at me the rest of the night and into the next day at church.

My sister just called. She wanted to let me know the first thing my nephew showed his dad was the Bob Gibson autographed picture. He wanted to hang it immediately. For an eight-year-old, he knows how to keep the upper hand. I am just glad he liked it.

Conservatives are Far More Charitable than Liberals

This is an interesting interview featuring Arthur Brooks on charitable giving. I heard Rush Limbaugh talk about this from my car this afternoon while I was at lunch.

From National Review Online:

Conservatives aren’t mean? That’s what the numbers reveal, according to Arthur C. Brooks, a professor of public administration at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He recently took questions from National Review Online Editor Kathryn Lopez about his new book, Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth about Compassionate Conservatism.

Kathryn Jean Lopez: So, conservatives really are compassionate?

Arthur Brooks: Yes, especially when it comes to private charitable giving. This, for much of America, is the "surprising truth" in my book’s title. For a lot of folks, this contradicts an entrenched stereotype that conservatives are stingy and venal because they tend to be against a lot of government income redistribution. According to one ham-handed (but amazingly popular) campaign sign in upstate New York before the 2004 presidential election, "Bush Must Go! Human Need, Not Corporate Greed." When we look at actual private charity, however, we see conservatives do just fine. For example, conservative-headed families in 2000 gave about 30 percent more money per year than liberal-headed families on average, while (in these data, at least), earning 6 percent less income. This is not to commit the opposite sin and say that liberals are all selfish (we often find that liberals give more than moderates, for example). It’s just that they are conspicuously not more privately generous than conservatives, in spite of the rhetoric.

Lopez: And conservatives are more generous than liberals — is it really that simple?

Brooks: No, it’s really not a question of politics per se — it goes much deeper, to the values that lie beneath political views. My book explores four areas of our culture that lead people to give, or not: religious faith, attitudes about the government’s role in our lives, the source of one’s income, and family. These are the big drivers of giving in America today, and the biggest is religion. Religious folks give far more than secularists in every way I’ve been able to measure. For example, people who attend a house of worship every week are 25 percentage points more likely to give to charity each year than people who never go to church, and give away about four times as much money. And this is not just a question of religious people giving to their churches, as meritorious as that might be: They also give and volunteer significantly more to explicitly nonreligious causes and charities.Obviously, religion also correlates pretty strongly with politics, which is one reason why conservatives appear to give so much.

Lopez: Are there any surprising caveats?

Brooks: Yes. Most surprising is that the least privately charitable group out there tends to be secular conservatives, who give and volunteer even less than secular liberals, and far less than religious conservatives. For example, secular conservatives are only about half as likely as religious conservatives to volunteer. The reason secularists don’t drag down the conservative charity numbers overall is that there are three times as many religious conservatives as there are secular conservatives.

Lopez: Surely that religious people are generous isn’t that surprising, right? The collection basket is just a normal part of their lives, right?

Brooks: It’s probably not surprising to NRO readers, but it is surprising to a lot of folks out there, who see religion as superstition leading people to be less accepting of others, and religious contributions as little more than glorified country club dues. Many people I know find it almost unbelievable that religious people are 21 percentage points more likely than secularists to volunteer for totally nonreligious causes; or that they are about twice as likely to donate blood.

Lopez: Why does all of this matter?

Brooks: One of the most exciting areas of social science research involves the benefits of charitable behavior to givers, their communities, and our nation. There is a growing body of evidence that giving stimulates personal prosperity, strong communities, good citizenship, and a healthier nation. In other words, charity is not just about cash for services (which theoretically, the government could provide with tax revenues). Rather, it enhances quality of life for givers and those around them.

Lopez: How will being charitable make me happy, healthy and rich?

Brooks: Charitable giving and volunteering are tremendously pleasurable. They also empower givers, making them feel less like victims, and give people a lot of meaning in their lives. I have talked to clinical psychologists who actually prescribe volunteer work to their patients, with amazing results. Studies also show that givers are admired and elevated to positions of influence and authority. It is hardly surprising, given all the evidence, that givers enjoy (on average) higher happiness and prosperity than non-givers do. In fact, my research leads me to the belief that the single best self-help strategy is to serve others.

Lopez: What does your data mean for the term "bleeding heart"?

Brooks: According to the popular lexicon, "bleeding hearts" are those who most want to raise taxes and redistribute income from the rich to the poor. Yet the data show that these folks are actually less likely to give away their own money than are those whose hearts apparently don’t bleed quite so much. For example, people who disagree that "the government has a responsibility to reduce income inequality," privately give away, on average, four times more money than people who agree. And speaking of bleeding, one survey in 2002 asked people about their views on government welfare and how often they gave blood. It showed that, if everyone gave blood like "hard-hearted" opponents of government welfare spending, the nation’s blood supply would rise by about 30 percent. I won’t say which side is right about welfare spending (that’s a different question), but I will note that some may find irony in the link with private giving.

Lopez: Have you gotten grief in academia for your book?

Brooks: Not too much — at least not yet. Of course, there will be disagreement, and other scholars will probably look into my results, asking different questions and using new data. But that’s how research is supposed to take knowledge forward. In fact, one measure of the success of this book will be how it stimulates new work and discussion on charity, whether that work agrees with my findings or not.I’ve had more pushback from some in the media, who occasionally suggest that the book is just part of a political agenda (for the record, I am a registered Independent). This often involves noting my affiliation with the American Enterprise Institute or some appearances on conservative talk radio. Nobody ever seems to point out that I am a professor at Syracuse University — hardly a hotbed of right-wingers — or that I’ve done public radio as well as Rush Limbaugh.

Lopez: Does your research pretty much guarantee that I will be getting more Christmas gifts than Arianna Huffington?

Brooks: Well, that depends on your friends! And even more, it depends on how much you give. I suspect Santa will be pretty good to Arianna Huffington this year, though.

Lopez: You’ve written too about the "fertility gap"? Are all the stingy liberal atheists going to die out?

Brooks: You mean, like Europe?

Lopez: If you could drill one fact from your research into congressional appropriators, what would it be?

Brooks: Government actions have unintended consequences for private charity. When the government subsidizes activities or regulates private behavior, it can and often does dramatically reduce charitable giving. And this has real consequences for individuals and communities. This is not an anti-government philosophy; it is an appeal to policymakers to remember that charity is an exceptional American value, and to respect it as such.

Lopez: What’s the single weirdest fact in your book?

Brooks: There are lots of strange facts about American charity. Here’s one that involves the differences between giving by the rich and poor: Americans with high incomes are more likely than poor folks to give directions to strangers on the street. In contrast, the poor are more likely to give a homeless person food or money. The practical implication of this is that, if you find yourself in a strange city and need directions, ask a rich person. If you need a sandwich, ask a poor person.

Barney's Basement Man Whores: Barney Frank is Offended

Rick Warren's invitation to the inauguration has offended Barney Frank, and why shouldn't he be? A man with such an impeccable record of public service and home life surely doesn't want a man around who serves as a constant reminder of Congressman Frank's darker life and sins. After all, we should just forget about Frank's past because of his service to the Democratic party, his love of welfare, and his drive to socialize the country.

I can't let Frank skate. I am so offended by this Congressional nitwit, who I dub the Peter Puffer, that it's time to recall who Barney Frank is.

Congressman Frank is a typical Democrat, and that's why everything gets swept under the rug. He is a career politician who should be a career inmate serving time like Heidi Fleiss. The political moral compass points in the other direction if you are a Democrat. If you are a Republican the political moral compass points true north.

Franks' former gay lover, Steve Gobie, a male prostitute (escort for the PC), ran a male whore service out of Barney Frank's home. I never bought into Frank not knowing this was going on in his own home. In fact, I feel he only reported it because it was about to come out in the media. Gobie was a patsy to save Frank's political career.

In the past couple years, Americans have discovered many gay techniques are used to pick up men and are widely known in the gay community. Senator Larry Craig was arrested in a Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport for looking for gay sex. My point is in bringing up Craig, is the gay world is highly organized for sexual encounters, so I have doubts Frank was ever telling the truth.

Now 18 years later, Americans are paying the price of Barney Frank's limp, southward pointing moral compass. Franks lack of over site and love of welfare has Americans paying the price of a weak economy and a housing mess that easily should have been prevented. Frank's on record agreeing the state of housing loans is healthy, and then a few months later after it falls, he quickly blames Bush and the Republicans for the mess.

If Americans used the same moral compass for Democrats as they do the Republicans, perhaps a true leader would have provided over site to fix the problems of the housing market before the bubble popped. Frank fails to provides sensible visions for how the financial system works, and now Americans pay the price.

Every American should be offended by Barney Frank. He is a disgraceful man, who I have no trust in when he opens his mouth. Still the question remains, why is he offended by Rick Warren?

Simple Rick Warren has values, morals, and isn't afraid to tell Barney Frank the life he lives is wrong. I'll celebrate the day Barney Frank leaves Congress. Unfortunately, we can't count on the people of Massachusetts's 4th Congressional District to do it.

All Gay High Schools Coming to a Community Near You

I recently arrived at a Log Cabin Republican blog titled The Gay Patriot. The feature blog of the day discussed how homosexuals were upset because Obama failed to nominate a gay or lesbian for a cabinet position. (Don't get me started... Why is it always about color and sexual orientation over best qualified?) Apparently the gay community is still upset with Clinton's broken promises which led to 'don't ask, don't tell.'

I was shocked by the gay community's ignorance of Obama's nomination of Arne Duncan. Apparently, Duncan is not gay, but he's walked the path of social experimentation in Chicago Public Schools. Wasn't the nomination of Duncan for education secretary a move in the right (extreme left) direction for the gay community?

Under Duncan's tenure as CEO of Chicago Public Schools, Chicago will soon offer the first all gay high school. Doesn't that excite the gay community? Frankly, I think this experimentation has gone way too far, and the tax payers keep paying the bill for more social experimentation. Besides, how can the world see 'rainbows' if the Chicago school district is going to promote a dividing heterosexual students with homosexual students.

Duncan obviously has no respect for Chicago taxpayers, whom are being gouged every time they turn around by Mayor Richard Daley. The logistics of 'North Halsted High' (not the official name) located in the heart of Boys Town will add to the expense to live in Chicago. Now this same mind is going national as the new education secretary. Can you say more indoctrination?

Public education needs to be fixed, but building high schools for specific groups of kids will not solve the problems of lagging academics. I blogged last week about how Ozark High School in Missouri spends lots of money on sporting programs and then sends fund raisers home with the kids to buy testing computers for the classrooms. Watch for Duncan to immediately ask for an increase in funding for the nation's schools. (Even though the Federal government wasn't set up to fund education--that's the responsibility of the states.) Why is it the answer to better schools is always more money, yet they never improve with each additonal dime spent? Watch Duncan closely as he unveils a need for more money and a radical agenda which will eventually include plans for gay schools.

Duncan associates with radical Bill Ayers. They served on the Annenberg Project together with Barack Obama. Bill Ayers has been a fundamental player in the direction of Chicago Public Schools for years, and no doubt Ayers has Duncan's ear.

Lest we not forget what Mayor Daley said in April concerning Bill Ayers role in the Chicago Public Schools, "I don’t condone what he did 40 years ago but I remember that period well. It was a difficult time, but those days are long over. I believe we have too many challenges in Chicago and our country to keep re-fighting 40 year old battles."

Keep an eye on the Arney Duncan. Keep a constant eye on him if you have children enrolled in public education.

The Reagan Quote of the Day (12/22/2008)

I have seen the rise and fall of Nazi tyranny, the subsequent cold war and the nuclear nightmare that for fifty years haunted the dreams of children everywhere. During that time my generation defeated totalitarianism. As a result, your world is poised for better tomorrows. What will you do on your journey?

Barack Obama Superhero: The Climate Crusader

During the past month and a half, I have heard the media ramble on about whom Barack Obama is--something they failed miserably at defining during the 2008 election. The media has compared him fittingly to big government socialist and failure Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The media loves to believe that Camelot is back, but Obama is more like a blunt smokin', coked up pimp than Kennedy royalty. Of course they have made the Illinois connection to Lincoln, which we knew they would connect dot number 16 to dot number 44. The worst comparison came at the expense of Ronald Reagan. Don't even get me started. They have even tried to claim he is Jesus Christ--here to save.

Our green friends at MSN have a new moniker for the messiah. They call him the 'Climate Crusader.' I'm not sure I am ready to see the scrawny little man in green tights and a cape yet, in fact, the mental image scares me. (By the way, I just realized the word environmentalist contains the word mental as in mental case.)

The Climate Crusader will compete for green superiority to 'Super Boob,' Al Gore. Doesn't this make you wonder if there will be sexual tension in the Gore's mega energy consuming home as Tipper realizes Al has become a flabby embarrassment in his C02 emissions fighting cape and Spandex tights? (Probably another vision you didn't want to imagine, Al Gore in Spandex or with Tipper--OOOOO.)

The evil villain, according to MSNBC's Miguel Llanos, remains George W. Bush. Just like gays will always say he didn't do enough for AIDS (his administration has contributed to more funding of global AIDS research than any other administration), the environmentalist will never give him credit. He fell for the global warming hype and worked with G-8 leaders for solutions. You would think they would cheer Bush for gas prices reaching record highs under his watch which led to Americans to driving a billion less miles this past summer. Nope, he's the enemy. Even the survival of the polar bears rested in Bush's hands. Yes Bush did 180 degree turn on global warming, but he's still the enemy.

I have no doubts the notorious Pachyderm Gang will produce more criminals for the Climate Crusader and the Global Warming Boy Blunder to fight. The Pachyderm Gang isn't the real enemy of the climate change fighting duo. The real enemy are the lack of sunspots which threaten to place Al Gore in the poorhouse by discrediting his carbon credit scam, which he profits heavily from.

This environmental comic book hero from the mind of Llanos threatens our ailing economy and industries. I hope the 'good guys' lose, but the Injustice League is full of quacks like 'Alternative Woman' (Nancy Pelosi), 'White Flag' (Harry Reid), the pompous 'Swifty' (John Kerry), and 'Super P Puffer' (Barney Frank). Where's the 'R' (Reagan) Team when you need them?

The Reagan Quote of the Day (12/21/2008)

They say the world has become too complex for simple answers. They are wrong. There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right. Winston Churchill said that "the destiny of man is not measured by material computation. When great forces are on the move in the world, we learn we are spirits -- not animals." And he said, "There is something going on in time and space, and beyond time and space, which, whether we like it or not, spells duty.

Walmart Loses No Matter What: Adolf Hitler's Birthday Cake

Little Adolf Hitler Campbell got his birthday cake, and Walmart is taking the heat. In case you haven't kept up with this story, Campbell's parents named their child Adolf Hitler. They should be taking the heat. Little Adolf wanted a birthday cake for his third birthday, and many bakeries refused to put 'Happy Birthday Adolf Hitler' on the cake. (I wish I was making this up.)

Walmart finally agreed to do it. Walmart is in a no win situation with this one. It's an ugly situation, but it's not the child's fault. The parents created this mess, and the kid will be emotionally scarred once his schoolmates figure it out.

Walmart is a target for many left wing groups. If they denied this kid his cake, they are more likely to face a lawsuit than any of the bakeries that rejected the business. No doubt an ACLU attorney was salivating over the possibility of getting his name in the paper for the legal case, Adolf Hiter v. Walmart.

Although shoppers and the community may be offended they wrote the kid's legal name on the cake, it was the right thing to do. Let's remember, the kid had nothing to do with the moniker.

"I hate it! I hate it, but how can you say they aren't allowed. If you are going to allow these freedoms that are in our constitution, sometimes it goes against what we believe," said shopper Denise Ackley from Easton.

If the community wants to frown on anyone, it should be the sick of parents of little Adolf Hitler Campbell. Let's hope little Adolf doesn't follow in big Adolf's footsteps.

Utah Environmentalist Commits Auction Fraud for Oil Rights

Tim DeChristopher of Salt Lake City, Utah, decided to disrupt an auction for oil rights. DeChristopher's plan was to bid as often as possible to drive up the bid until he was the winning bidder for the parcels of land. DeChristopher never planned to pay for the land rights. He felt like he could stop the 'evil oil companies' from receiving exploration and mineral and oil rights to the land.

DeChristopher won 13 bids totaling $1.7 million, and drove the cost up for other parcels. DeChristopher should be arrested for auction fraud, since auction bids are considered a legal and binding contractual agreement, but a loophole might free him from any time. Winning bidders have ten days to reconsider and withdrawal their bids.

"He's tainted the entire auction," said Kent Hoffman, deputy state director for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in Utah.

The FBI is questioning DeChristopher, a 27-year-old economics major at the University of Utah. (I wonder what they are teaching in economics at that school? Do you think its how the 'evil oil companies' are destroying the economy?) DeChristopher expects to be charged, and the case was presented to the U.S. attorney's office.

It's idiots like DeChristopher that are helping to rob Americans of their rights. Let's hope he serves time. Oil companies have a right to business and a right to provide Americans with energy. Environmentalist do not have a right to create havoc on a legal auction because they disagree. They do have a right to hold signs up in front of the building where the auction is taking place. It's time they learn their place and are forced to follow the laws.

Disrupting oil companies, hunters, and fur wearers is violating the rights of law abiding Americans. I am tired of hearing about weenies like Tim DeChristopher. This a dangerous world, and these people compromise our security through their selfishness.

Schwarzenegger Follows Chrysler's Path

The state of California looks for its bailout, and since it worked for Chrysler, Arnold is sending state employees home two days each month without pay. Beginning in February, the program runs through 2010.

Earlier this week, Chrysler announced it was closing all of its plants down for thirty days. Bush flew to the rescue offering Chrysler and GM loans to save them. Now Arnold is playing bailout poker.

Hey, 'Ahrnold,' I like this plan. I figure most government employees take two days worth of coffee breaks in a week, so it's a good start. When you see how much the state saves, maybe then you can enforce it to two days a week without pay. I do hope this includes the governor and the state legislators.

I hope this becomes popular in all forms of government. Think how many tax dollars would be saved! When was the last time you had a positive experience with someone who worked for the government? That's what I thought.

The Reagan Quote of the Day (12/20/08)

We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we may always be free.

Liberals Would be Outraged if They Knew the Truth About Santa Claus

Have you caught the obesity news lately? The government looks to add revenue to the treasury by pretending they care about the health of Americans. The obesity tax is the latest gimmick from the political minds that brought you Fannie Mae, dependence on foreign oil, and no new energy policy in over thirty years. The barrel of the government tax gun is now pointed at Coca-Cola for their candy water responsible for widespread obesity across the United States.

Politicians will never blame personal behavior on an epidemic because there is no money in blaming individuals for their own personal behavior. Politicians blame the companies that provide the products said to lead to destructive personal behavior. The companies have the money, and Coca-Cola is amongst the giants of the corporate world. When they uncover the connection between Coca-Cola and Santa Clause, there is little doubt that Santa Claus will soon be a target for left-wingers nationwide.

In the United States, Santa Clause appeared in a variety of styles of dress. Some Santas looked like they stepped out of the Vatican, while other Santas looked more mountain rugged. Sometimes tall, others short and fat, Santa had no universal look until 1931.

From the Coca-Cola Web site:

In 1930, artist Fred Mizen painted a department store Santa in a crowd drinking a bottle of Coke. The ad featured the world's largest soda fountain, which was located in the department store of Famous Barr Co. in St. Louis, Mo. Mizen's painting was used in print ads that Christmas season, appearing in The Saturday Evening Post in December 1930.

Archie Lee, the D'Arcy Advertising Agency executive working with The Coca-Cola Company, wanted the next campaign to show a wholesome Santa as both realistic and symbolic. In 1931, The Coca-Cola Company commissioned Michigan-born illustrator Haddon Sundblom to develop advertising images using Santa Claus -- showing Santa himself, not a man dressed as Santa, as Mizen’s work had portrayed him.

For inspiration, Sundblom turned to Clement Clark Moore's 1822 poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" (commonly called "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"). Moore's description of St. Nick led to an image of Santa that was warm, friendly, pleasantly plump and human. For the next 33 years, Sundblom painted portraits of Santa that helped to create the modern image of Santa -- an interpretation that today lives on in the minds of people of all ages, all over the world.

From 1931 to 1964, Coca-Cola advertising showed Santa delivering (and playing!) with toys, pausing to read a letter and enjoy a Coke, playing with children who stayed up to greet him and raiding the refrigerators at a number of homes. The original oil paintings Sundblom created were adapted for Coca-Cola advertising in magazines, store displays, billboards, posters, calendars and even plush dolls. Many of those items today are popular collectibles.

The Coca-Cola Santa made its debut in 1931 in The Saturday Evening Post and appeared regularly in that magazine, as well as Ladies Home Journal, National Geographic, The New Yorker and others. The instantly popular ad campaign appeared each season, reflecting the times. One ad even featured Santa in a rocket!

Sundblom continued to create new visions of Santa Claus through 1964. For decades after, Coca-Cola advertising has featured Santa’s image based on Sundblom’s original works.

It's only a matter of time until Santa in criminalized. Perhaps, he will blamed for obesity (Coke and cookies). Maybe it will be how unfair the concept of Santa is to less fortunate children. Trust me, the day is coming. Santa will soon be under attack.

Low Oil Prices Hurting Putin: Keeping Oil Prices Low May Prevent a New Cold War

There's another reason why the United States government must drill. Not only to provide cheap gasoline and heating oil in the United States, but it might be what it takes to bring Vladimir Putin to his knees. Russian power has increased with it's oil production.

Putin has been flexing his military might in the Western Hemisphere fueled by Russian petro rubles. As long as oil stays at lower levels, Putin faces tough economic times in Russia. Putin has nationalized Russian oil wells using the tyrant model of the old KGB, and it's clear that Putin's Russia wants nothing more than to establish itself as a world power both economically and militarily.

"If oil prices in 2009 and 2010 average $30 a barrel, that would be a nightmare scenario for a global economy," Zeljko Bogetic, the World Bank's chief economist in Russia told investors on Friday. "The pressures on the current account and public finances in Russia would quickly rise to a point where the financing constraint would become so sharp that it's possible even to envisage Russia's return from a creditor to international organisations to (that of) a borrower."

The United States can't afford another Cold War with Russia, but with Putin flexing Russia's military muscle, it seem inevitable. Putin has vowed to work with sworn enemies of the United States, like Iran. This is another reason that supports drilling for domestic oil. Something tells me Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi aren't going to budge, and allow OPEC to get away with cutting production at our expense. Wouldn't it be nice for someone in Washington to actually wake up and realize the world is a dangerous place, and we make it more dangerous by relying on foreign oil. We should be drilling.

The Blagojevich Post Senate Seat for Sale Press Conference

I listened to WLS-AM today as Governor Rod gave his press conference this afternoon. I started laughing as he said, "I will fight. I will fight. I will fight until I take my last breath. I have done nothing wrong." He sounded desperate, arrogant, angry, and most importantly guilty. He went on to say he has the most powerful ally on his side, 'the truth.'

Basically Governor Rod said a whole lot of nothing. His portion of the press conference lasted for a few short minutes, and then he handed it over to his slimy attorneys with deep south side of Chicago accents.

His attorney took over shortly after to answer questions, and justified Blago's decision not to resign based on the Governor's work on Illinois health care. Sam Adam Jr., on of the attorneys, began to sound angry towards the end of the question section.

Response to the Peace of Mind Campaign from Congressman Roy Blunt

On November 24, I wrote the following letter (Peace of Mind Campaign) to Congressman Roy Blunt:

Dear Mr. Blunt,

I tend not to follow conspiracies, but there is an issue that concerns the sanctity of our Constitution, a document I once took an oath to protect. I am sure you are aware of the Obama birth certificate discussions taking place around our country. We owe it to ourselves to be certain that Mr. Obama holds the qualifications the Constitution lists to be President. Our Constitution has taken a few blows in recent years, and I feel it’s time to speak up before it suffers a blow it may not recover from. If Mr. Obama produces a legal birth certificate that proves he is a natural born citizen of the United States, then he is owed the oath of office. If a birth certificate doesn’t exist or is a forgery, the leaders of both parties swore on the Bible to protect the Constitution, and Obama must not be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. Members of Congress owe the people the United States this peace of mind. Our country can’t afford the regret of not upholding the United States Constitution.

Sincerely,

Clayton Bowler

Now that the Electoral College has certified the election of Barack Obama, I finally received a response from Congressman Blunt. I found it in my junk mail folder.

December 19, 2008

Mr. Clayton Bowler

XXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXX, MO XXXXX

Dear Clayton:

Thank you for your letter regarding President-elect Barack Obama. I appreciate the time taken to let me know of your concerns. Communication is a critical part of my job, and your involvement helps make the system run effectively. As a representative of the people of Missouri it is important to hear the thoughts and concerns of all citizens so I am better able to serve the 7th Congressional district.

Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution states that “No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.” On December 8, 2008, the Supreme Court turned down an appeal asking the court to consider the citizenship status of President-elect Obama.

As you may know, Mr. Obama’s campaign released a copy his birth certificate in June of 2008. Both the director of Hawaii’s Department of Health and the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center have verified the authenticity of his birth certificate.

Again, thank you for contacting me. I look forward to hearing from you in the future.

Sincere regards,

Roy Blunt

Member of Congress

RDB:eg

In the Worst Economy Ever, I Received my First Christmas Bonus

In my over twenty years of working, I have never received a Christmas bonus--until today. In an economy the media calls the worst ever, I have been blessed with a great job, a CEO that cares about his people, and a Christmas bonus.

We achieved significant growth this year, as many companies did. You aren't going to hear this on the news. They want you to focus on how rotten the world is, and they want to blame it on one man knowing their rhetoric will steer public opinion in 2009.

The man who runs the company I work for believes that positive energy motivates and provides successes. He is right. Negative energy promotes failures, and he is right again. Think about what he believes and how the media works. It's no wonder people don't believe that America works anymore. Look what we are sold day after day, and most Americans are too lazy to go looking for the truth themselves.

By the way, I think you know what I think about the rhetoric of this being the worst economy ever, but in case you forgot...

The 2008 Great Automobile Industry Poker Bluff

After weeks of playing hands to win the ultimate cash pot, it looks like Chrysler made the winning bluff fooling George W. Bush at the bailout poker table. Chrysler closed their plants for 30 days, and the Bush administration folded to an empty hand.

Where in the Constitution does the President have the power he exhibited today? Dennis Kucinich may now just have the issue he has been looking for to impeach the President, but it was given to him a Christmas too late.

You should be ashamed of yourself Mr. President. You just slapped the Republican in the Senate that defeated the bailout. I think I can speak for many Americans who are tired of paying taxes to bailout these poorly ran corporations. I know I have bought my last UAW American car.

Frank Alford, I Salute You: Fed Up With Property Taxes

Frank Alford of New Albany, Indiana, is fed up with paying taxes, especially personal property taxes on his seven rental properties. His tax bill for this year totaled more than $21,000.

Alford went to the bank and filled a trash can with 21,000 Susan B. Anthony dollars and then rolled the the trashcan to the Floyd County treasurer's office. He taped a note to the trash can reading "Property Taxes Gone Wild."

"I'm letting them know I'm a very unhappy taxpayer," he said.

Floyd County property taxes have risen nearly 50% since 2006, which Alford claims is killing the housing rental business. Not a good time for that, is it?

Alford's trashcan weighed approximately 400 pounds. He threatened that if the county continues down this path, next year it will be dimes or pennies.

I salute you Mr. Alford! I have often thought doing the same thing. I have often intentionally used pennies on the Illinois tollways. They weigh down the money bags and fill the baskets up quicker. Tollway workers hate pennies.

Unfortunately, the story missed one important point. If Mr. Alford refused to pay the county, his property will be used to pay the debt. This obviously raises the question, is there really such a thing as property ownership in this country? As long as you required to pay a tax on your property, you never really own it do you?

Beer is Causing Global Warming: Prohibition Act of 2009

As a homebrewer of quality beers, I have become increasingly concerned by the dangers posed to our fragile environment from beer. I can no longer continue to brew knowing that I am helping cause global warming. Americans cannot continue to indulge themselves with beer whether it be on Super Bowl Sunday, New Years Eve, the Kappa Alpha toga party, the Tri Delts kegger, Mardi Gras, among friends at the local pub where everybody knows your name, or in the entire state of Wisconsin. Beer is a dangerous pollutant. The government must move towards prohibition to save the earth.

The final stage of the brewing poses the greatest threat to the environment. Obviously, boiling the wort uses fossil fuels which produce CO2, but the worst damage happens during the secondary fermentation stage. Brewers feed the yeast sugars. The yeast produce CO2 which carbonates the beer adding more CO2 into the atmosphere when you open a bottle of beer. The additional CO2 increases during sporting events like the Super Bowl. The big game may be responsible for adding as much as 1/16th of a degree to the earth's average temperature over a 10-year period. Considering there have been four decades of Super Sundays, and the damage becomes increasingly alarming. This doesn't even account for the bitter clinging NASCAR fans who not only drink beer, but cheer polluting cars around a track.

I am calling on Congress to write the Prohibition Act of 2009. We cannot continue to let construction workers, UAW members at lunch, armchair quarterbacks, and Matt Groening characters like Barney to continue drinking and destroying our earth. The fight to stop beer CO2 emissions starts today. While we are at it, we must consider the damages that Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, Perrier, and PimpJuice energy drink, which all release dangerous CO2 into the atmosphere. Perrier is responsible for climate change.

Why the sudden 180 degree John McCain turnabout 'my friends?' Surely you have learned in the short history of Bungalow Bill's Conservative Wisdom that I have long believed that America's enemies use global warming to economically destroy the country. I have awakened.

Americans are letting their freedoms expire because of unproven sciences. They tolerate higher fuel costs, higher taxes, emission taxes on their larger cars and trucks, higher corn costs, and soon higher beef costs. Nothing wakes up Joe Six Pack to say enough. I designed my campaign to alert people of the stupidity of most arguments in the global warming debate. I hope to sober people up to the truth that we are losing our freedoms to scientific rhetoric--not scientific fact. I figure even the brainwashed college students may look the other way if they can't put on a toga, buy some Beast (Milwaukee's Best), and binge drink weekend after weekend. When Joe Six Pack can't leave work and drink a beer with his buddies, I hope more people will realize our government is destroying our country by labeling essential gasses for life as dangerous pollutants. Reverse psychology can be beautiful thing.

Who's to say the global warming climate change fanatics won't come after beer anyway? I never thought I would see the day where animals were the target, but it's happening. How far will they go? I can only wonder if a Hitleresque holocaust to control the CO2 exhaling masses is far away. The Al Gores of the world say crazier words with each passing day, and it's all designed to deceive and keep the rhetoric alive.

For those of you Joe Six Packs that are already understand Al Gore's dangerous rhetoric, I leave you with the words of Benjamin Franklin.

Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

The Reagan Quote of the Day (12/19/2008)

We are especially not going to tolerate these attacks from outlaw states run by the strangest collection of misfits, Looney Tunes, and squalid criminals since the advent of the Third Reich.

2008 Temperatures (Hottest on Record): Dan Shapely's Clouded Dilusion

I came across a blog (dated December 17, 2008) written by Dan Shapely today claiming 2008 was one of the hottest years recorded on earth. As snow fell on Las Vegas and Arizona in the closing days of fall, Shapely sat at his computer hoping take your mind off the colder than normal weather. Panic set in, and he found every MSNBC, BBC, Reuters, and other doom and gloom article he could cite in 400 words in hopes of stopping the brain thaw of frozen common sense occurring within those who are bordering on accepting global warming as a fact.

For the masses that fall into Shapely's trap, notice he doesn't post a chart containing 2008 average temperatures, not to mention the year still isn't over. He attaches a chart (a cloud) showing Arctic sea ice. What's that have to do with average temperatures as the title of his blog suggests? Absolutely nothing. You've been duped. I wanted to see the data which he was basing his blog on, and I got a chart about ice.

I never believed he might have grounds for a factual article. The winter dragged into a cold spring. Summer was short, and fall temperatures quickly dropped in southwest Missouri. I know this isn't scientific, but I honestly thought I was still living in Chicago this year. I was actually 350-400 miles south.

Guess what, Shapely's article was far from scientific as well. It is a worded labyrinth, designed to cloud the readers comprehension into believing 2008 was hot without ever proving it. Mix up a bunch of things that allude to the point without ever proving the point. Global warming proponents constantly use this technique.

I don't think Shapely is to blame. He has fallen into the Al Gore trap. Post charts regardless that they don't support your argument. The doom and gloom pathos is more important than taking the time to build a puzzle that's missing too many pieces. Some people call it smoke and mirrors, but I am hopeful Americans are starting to see it's bad science. It may be too late, considering Obama's legal degree is now influencing scientific policy of the United States.

North Carolina Representative Fears Global Warming is Destroying Christmas Trees

North Carolina Rep. Heath Shuler fears that global warming threatens North Carolina's Christmas tree industry, which is one of the largest in the country. Shuler has planned a press conference today to discuss saving the industry from global warming and discussing climate change. The Christmas tree industry generates over $100 million in annual sales for North Carolina.

Hey Representative Shuler, did you notice all the snow in Arizona today? How about the three inches in Las Vegas? Winter is still three days away. Has anyone else noticed how the global warming crowd has turned up the heat recently?

More End of Term Honesty From President Bush

I didn't compromise my soul to be a popular guy. President George W. Bush, December 17, 2008

In many ways, I applaud. Good leaders aren't necessarily popular leaders. Bush transformed America's foreign policy to prevent future attacks by going after terrorist. The old policy waited for the attack and hoped it wasn't costly. Bush realized the dangers of today's world, and America should thank him for the wisdom to prevent attacks from radical Islamic terrorist during his remaining tenure.

It stops there. In an interview the day before, I believe Bush did compromise his soul in hopes of being the popular guy, with the nation and with Pelosi and company. Bush admitted to sacrificing free-market principles in hopes to save the economy, and he did it in the least conservative philosophical way as the Democrats included him in their group economy healing hug.

Bush performed 180 degree turn on global warming policies and environmental policies based on unproven science. Even as the earth and the ocean temperatures were cooling, Bush further jeopardized our economy speaking on global warming. Do you think he felt personally responsible for the bogus reports on blaming him for the dying polar bears?

Bush's main problem during the last eight years was his inability to defend himself. One of Ronald Reagan's brilliant qualities was he used humor to turn it around on those who attacked him with false rhetoric. Bush hid, and the media had a field day. Perhaps this is what the President spoke of when he said he didn't compromise his soul? He did maintain an element of class, but he could have done both like Reagan did.

The Power of the Unions: A Study of Too Much Power

I learned the hard way about the power of unions shortly after I moved to Chicago. I accepted a position as a high tech sales representative for a dental supply company out of Michigan. Before it was sold, the company was Michigan's number one UPS customer. Considering Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors were all located a few miles east, I was always impressed we shipped more than the any of the Big Three.

February kicked of the trade show season. The Chicago Dental Society (CDS) holds their annual Midwinter Dental Meeting during the last weekend of February. The Chicago Auto Show fills McCormick Place the prior weeks of February, and the CDS learned the hard way not compete against the auto show.

The first day the exhibit hall opens to exhibitors only. You quickly learn the ins and outs of Chicago unions. If you don't play by the rules, the union will quickly make life hell for you and your company. They have power beyond your imagination.

You hope that when you arrive at McCormick Place the crates carrying your display have been delivered to your spot on the floor. If not, you sit and wait. If they are there, a union official overlooks the setup of your exhibit. My job was always setting up the high tech dental equipment. I was responsible for taking the computers out of their boxes, plugging the monitors into them, connecting the keyboards and mice to each computer, and then adding hardware like intraoral dental cameras to the computers.

My first year, I didn't know the rules. With a union official looking on, I plug the computer in to the power source, which is a long, thick electrical cable with outlets. All hell broke loose! The union official came over and threatened to remove our booth from the trade show if I continued to plug in the computers. Only union electricians could complete the connections. I had to fill out a union electrician request and then wait for a union electrician to take the three prong male plug and place it into a female outlet.

I sat and waited, and eventually the union electrician showed up and plugged in my row of computers. He then signed a work order, and my company was billed for this service. (I am sure Mayor Daley gets a little cut from each plug placed into an outlet.)

Over the past few weeks, we have heard many horror stories of the UAW workers. Reports of drinking on their shifts, mischief on the line, and employees clocking in for their buddies who decided not to come into work, mixed with the inefficiency of how unions work, it's no surprise to me why the Big Three are hurting. Unions carry too much power.

The Reagan Quote of the Day (12/18/2008)

Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong.

Elvis Presley Would Not be Singing Blue Christmas in Vegas Tonight

There's snow on the ground in Las Vegas tonight. If Elvis was still alive, he would have switch his set to include White Christmas. Of course, if the lack of sunspots continues, it will be Al Gore (cover your ears) singing Blue Christmas.

The winter of 2008-09 is still a few days away, and temperatures are frigid across the country. Southern cities like Houston and New Orleans have already seen snow.We already know that liberals have changed their verbiage and are claiming that humans are now causing (say it slow like Al Gore, ready...) 'climate change' while running from the words global warming.

Earlier this month, 650 scientists challenged the global warming rhetoric. Of course they received very little notice from the mainstream media. This group of scientists has grown by over 50% this year from the previous year. And here's what a few of them had to say in the upcoming report that takes on the United Nations climate change dopes, I mean experts.

“I am a skeptic…Global warming has become a new religion.” - Nobel Prize Winner for Physics, Ivar Giaever.

“Since I am no longer affiliated with any organization nor receiving any funding, I can speak quite frankly….As a scientist I remain skeptical.” - Atmospheric Scientist Dr. Joanne Simpson, the first woman in the world to receive a PhD in meteorology and formerly of NASA who has authored more than 190 studies and has been called “among the most preeminent scientists of the last 100 years.”

Warming fears are the “worst scientific scandal in the history…When people come to know what the truth is, they will feel deceived by science and scientists.” - UN IPCC Japanese Scientist Dr. Kiminori Itoh, an award-winning PhD environmental physical chemist.

“The IPCC has actually become a closed circuit; it doesn’t listen to others. It doesn’t have open minds… I am really amazed that the Nobel Peace Prize has been given on scientifically incorrect conclusions by people who are not geologists,” - Indian geologist Dr. Arun D. Ahluwalia at Punjab University and a board member of the UN-supported International Year of the Planet.

“The models and forecasts of the UN IPCC "are incorrect because they only are based on mathematical models and presented results at scenarios that do not include, for example, solar activity.” - Victor Manuel Velasco Herrera, a researcher at the Institute of Geophysics of the National Autonomous University of Mexico

“It is a blatant lie put forth in the media that makes it seem there is only a fringe of scientists who don’t buy into anthropogenic global warming.” - U.S Government Atmospheric Scientist Stanley B. Goldenberg of the Hurricane Research Division of NOAA.

“Even doubling or tripling the amount of carbon dioxide will virtually have little impact, as water vapour and water condensed on particles as clouds dominate the worldwide scene and always will.” – . Geoffrey G. Duffy, a professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering of the University of Auckland, NZ.

“After reading [UN IPCC chairman] Pachauri's asinine comment [comparing skeptics to] Flat Earthers, it's hard to remain quiet.” - Climate statistician Dr. William M. Briggs, who specializes in the statistics of forecast evaluation, serves on the American Meteorological Society's Probability and Statistics Committee and is an Associate Editor of Monthly Weather Review.

“For how many years must the planet cool before we begin to understand that the planet is not warming? For how many years must cooling go on?" - Geologist Dr. David Gee the chairman of the science committee of the 2008 International Geological Congress who has authored 130 plus peer reviewed papers, and is currently at Uppsala University in Sweden.

“Gore prompted me to start delving into the science again and I quickly found myself solidly in the skeptic camp…Climate models can at best be useful for explaining climate changes after the fact.” - Meteorologist Hajo Smit of Holland, who reversed his belief in man-made warming to become a skeptic, is a former member of the Dutch UN IPCC committee.

“Many [scientists] are now searching for a way to back out quietly (from promoting warming fears), without having their professional careers ruined.” - Atmospheric physicist James A. Peden, formerly of the Space Research and Coordination Center in Pittsburgh.

“Creating an ideology pegged to carbon dioxide is a dangerous nonsense…The present alarm on climate change is an instrument of social control, a pretext for major businesses and political battle. It became an ideology, which is concerning.” - Environmental Scientist Professor Delgado Domingos of Portugal, the founder of the Numerical Weather Forecast group, has more than 150 published articles.

“CO2 emissions make absolutely no difference one way or another….Every scientist knows this, but it doesn’t pay to say so…Global warming, as a political vehicle, keeps Europeans in the driver’s seat and developing nations walking barefoot.” - Dr. Takeda Kunihiko, vice-chancellor of the Institute of Science and Technology Research at Chubu University in Japan.

“The [global warming] scaremongering has its justification in the fact that it is something that generates funds.” - Award-winning Paleontologist Dr. Eduardo Tonni, of the Committee for Scientific Research in Buenos Aires and head of the Paleontology Department at the University of La Plata.

Chrysler Shutting Down All 30 of its Plants for One Month

Chrysler workers will receive a longer Christmas vacation this year. Facing economic challenges, the company is closing down its operating manufacturing plants for 30 days. By adding an additional two weeks to the traditional holiday downtime, Chrysler plans to conserve cash.

Earlier this summer, high gas prices slowed down sales. Chrysler now deals with tighter credit policies from the banks.

According to the AP, Chrysler's reserve cash will reach $2.5 billion dollars by December 31--enough to make payroll, pay suppliers, and run the company.

I wonder if this is just pathos designed to move our government a little faster in approving a bailout.

Dick Morris' 2009 Prediction (And It's Not Positive for the Messiah)

From Dick Morris' daily e-mail (to subscibe vist DickMorris.com):

The politics of 2009 will be dominated by a continuation and deepening of the global Depression. Under the guise of stimulating the economy, look for Obama to pursue a radical, socialist agenda that will bring America into conformity with the government domination of health care and the economy that prevails in the European Union. When the dust clears, the economy will still be in the tank. The new president's stimulation packages will do little or nothing to abate the depression, but they will transform American life and politics. For his part, Obama will take advantage of his built-in majorities in Congress to pass his agenda, but will suffer rapidly dropping ratings. By the end of the year, he will be as radioactive as Bush is today.

Like I said yesterday, we can thank President Bush for paving the socialist road for Obama. America is changing before our very eyes, and I wish I was blind.

Why Not an Arena Football League Bailout?: Learning to Survive in a Tough Economy

I was disappointed to discover earlier this week that the Arena Football League, which Kurt Warner, my favorite National Football League player developed in, voted to suspend its 2009 season. I am a former season ticket holder for the Chicago Rush, who won the Arena Bowl in 2006. For the money and entertainment value, give me Arena Football over the NFL any day. I have been to two NFL games, and I have never seen the excitement that the AFL produces.

Apparently the economy has played the greatest factor for team owners choosing to cancel the 2009 season. I am surprised they didn’t ask for a bailout. After all, that’s the path for American business these days.

I haven’t seen evidence yet that season tickets sales, ad revenue, and other factors were lower than expected, but I am assuming this might be the driving force behind their decision. Americans are making cuts because of the insecurity the current economy presents. The AFL isn't the first league to discuss its issues in this economy. NASCAR has seen empty seats and a lack of advertisers over the last few months.

I think failing American companies could learn a lot from the AFL. They are not closing the league. They have chosen to create a new business model to survive in a bleak economy. What a novel idea! In other words, they see the challenges the economy presents and they are taking it upon themselves to develop a way to keep fans coming to the games, buying refreshments, and buying team merchandise. Instead of presenting a product in 2009, they are reinventing themselves for 2010. Are you listening Detroit? (Yes I know, Detroit can’t miss a model year, but they need to develop a new business model.)

The AFL is the most successful professional football league with the exception to the NFL. The AFL has survived over 20 years and has gained broadcasting agreements with major networks. While they feel their business model might not be strong enough to get through a tough economy, I feel they are underestimating their product.

The AFL prides itself on being a fan-friendly league. The games are exciting and full of offense, there are plenty of giveaways and on field fan contests between halves, and the players and the cheerleaders meet fans for up to 45 minutes after the game. Unlike the NFL, where you might pay $60 to $100 to sit in the nosebleed seats, you can purchase season tickets for a little over the price of an NFL ticket. Season tickets for the Chicago Rush range from $90 to $300. That means you can take a family of five to eight games for under $500.

The Kansas City Brigade moved into the new Sprint Center last season. With a 3-13 record, they still averaged nearly 13,000 fans a game. Now the beautiful Sprint Center will be empty of a professional team this season. This is a blow not just to the fans but to the local economies which host the games, sell hotel rooms to fans and the opposing teams, beer sales, food sales, etc. It’s a wonder they aren’t asking for a bailout too!

In case you aren't familiar with the AFL, there are 16 teams that play on a field half the size of a regular football field. Team owners include Mike Ditka, John Elway, Jon Bon Jovi, Neil Smith, and Jerry Jones of Dallas Cowboy fame.

$10 Million for Missed the Target Shoes

A Saudi man offered Muntazer al-Zaidi for the shoes he threw at George W. Bush. Saudi businessman Muhmad Hassan Mahafa said he would rather give the reporter the money than leave the money to his six kids. “I am not doing this for business, but for the honor of the Arab world," he told reporters.

Does anyone get the feeling that when Bush is gone, there is going to be a huge celebration in the Middle East? I fear that.

OPEC to Make Record Cuts

News for the coming Obama administration was not good today. OPEC plans a record 2 million barrels per day cut in oil production. They fear oil will stay around $40 a barrel if they don't act.

So do you really believe the economy is going to get better now that America has allowed the liberal environmental extreme Democrats into power? Enjoy your under $2 a gallon gasoline while you can. You know these same Democrats aren't going to pass one piece of legislation to prevent costs from rising again, and who is going to feel it the most? Post bailout Detroit--their cars will sit again next summer.

Atheist Christmas Cards and Gifts

I know atheist Christmas cards and gifts are an oxymoron. Apparently, some atheist celebrate Christmas, which is the stupidest thing I have ever heard of; yet, might offer a glimpse of hope.

Many of these cards feature Darwin, whose evolution theory has produced so many holes, that I don't even know why he is celebrated. Oh, that's right, scholars love to applaud bad science! A great movie I saw recently, Ben Stein's Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, exposes the craziness of Darwin's theory.

As you know, many atheists have once again reared their ugly heads in protest of Christian symbols during the holiday season. They have their own symbols and gods that they push on us, like Darwin, and yet can't prove Darwin's beliefs.



I find it funny, but sad, that obviously a few atheist don't want to be left out during the holiday season. Once again, you come to the realization that many of these left-wing radical groups fall under the capitalist traps they scream out against. (Remember the PETA Coffins?) Don't flame me yet. I do realize you can be a capitalist and a Darwinian.

Atheist Christmas gifts (I am trying to offend them, not those who believe like me.) include Cicero teddy bears with his quote, "As a philosopher, I have a right to ask for a rational explanation of religious faith." They also have a full line of t-shirts, gym shorts, cooking aprons, hats, calendars, and buttons. The Darwin fish with feet is a popular item among atheists for Christmas. I hope you get my point now. Atheists like to raise hell during the Christmas season, but they are guilty of celebrating too, just not correctly.

The Reagan Quote of the Day (12/17/2008)

America is too great for small dreams.

The Big Mac Carbon Tax: AKA THE COW FART TAX

There is a new enemy in the war on global warming. The days of the sport utility vehicle are numbered now that Congress will soon have over site over those evil American car manufacturers. American families will be reduced to leaving half their children at home because the average car is no longer big enough to take the entire family to church or on vacation. Another freedom bitten into by the jaws of the unproven science of climate change. (Since the earth has been getting cooler in recent years, they had to change the name of global warming to climate change. They are clever at fooling the village idiots including two named Obama and McCain.)

There next target is a target that PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) might not even protect, considering the doom and gloom of the coming rising of the oceans. (Which I never figured out. If many of these climate freaks that live in places like Berkeley, California, believe the oceans are going to rise, flood cities, and cause a global crisis, why don't they move?) The next target is one of God's creatures. It's the cow.

The environmentalists' argument is that of all the farm animals, the cow produce more greenhouse gasses than the rest of the farm animals. It's going to start with the cows, and when they get their way with the cows, the pigs will surely be next. They will force our protein intake to soy, which raises estrogen in men. (Do I need to tell you what that will do to men? By the way, it's already started.)

Cows are now causing global warming. Just like the SUV, the LCD screen you are reading this from, the lightbulb lighting up the room you are in, and you sitting breathing. (Please don't go out and exercise because that soon too will be another cause of global warming, since you breathe more when your heart rate is up.) Just like they attacked the SUV for its evilness, the cow has no chance against the green mafia that now has infiltrated itself even into the depths of the Republican party.

The environmental movement has already raised the cost of food. (I am sure their hidden agenda is that higher food costs, the more people starve to death, the less CO2 after their bodies decay.) Ethanol and biodiesels have successfully raised the cost of your grocery bill while providing inefficient fuel that minimally reduces car emissions. Environmentalist will continue down this road of making food costs higher by forcing government to pass a carbon tax on cows.

You laugh now, but it's coming. Many of you laughed when Rush Limbaugh warned of the coming war on the SUV, and in the end, he was right. Now are energy costs have skyrocketed, and our auto industry is begging some 15 years later.

Cows provide affordable nutrition throughout many outlets in this country. The government wants to tax air-polluting animals. Cows, whose bodies function properly as the higher power created them to, are threatened to be taxed as high as $175 per cow. You think corn went up this past summer? It will be nothing compared to the cost of beef once the Obama administration destroys the beef farmers in this nation. (I wonder when the government will start taxing me for my farts or worse, my dog Kaleigh?)

The 99 cent value meal at Wendy's will be officially dead on passage of this insane legislation. People will have to ration food because they can no longer afford a simple trip to the grocery store, and yet scientists still can't provide 100% proof that global warming exists. They run from the fact the earth has been cooling over the past few years. The environmentalist treat those who challenge their beliefs as scum. (I know this from experience after posting a few blogs, and I will probably rediscover this once again after I publish this essay.) These people are willing to put our food supplies at risk for something they can't prove. We should be scared. We should be very scared, because they now have the full attention of many of our leaders and the majority party. (As for Wendy's and Big Mac, this doesn't even consider the coming obesity tax that assured under the Obama health car plan.)

When gas prices soar again, beef prices rise, and corn continues to be used for inefficient fuel over food, will you finally speak up? Or will you stand up now and discover the truth today before our leaders steer us into a real crisis?

Hmm, I wonder why Farm Aid Democrats like Willie Nelson and John Cougar Mellencamp aren't speaking up for the farmers?

Note: If your mind fails in science, Christopher Horner provides solid evidence on the fallacies of global warming. He writes in layman's terms. I recommend his books to get you on your way to help stop this madness.

The Magic Number of Obama's First Controversy is 21

Twenty one--that's how many times the Feds have Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel on tape reportedly discussing plans for the vacant Illinois Senate seat. In the fall Obama was sealed with Teflon, but that may be about to change. So much for the transparency promise!

New Yorkers Face iPod Tax

Will New Yorkers return to downloading illegal copies of music to avoid paying another tax? Under Governor David Paterson's new budget, New Yorkers will pay a tax on downloaded music from stores like Apple's iTunes. Earlier this week, we featured a story on the governor taxing sugared colas. Governor Paterson continues to take taxation to the extreme with his new budget.

His new budget also calls for taxes on movie tickets, taxi rides, beer, wine, and massages. The new budget also lifts the city tax ban on clothes under $110 and increases taxes on cable TV and satellite TV.

Hey governor, you don't sound like the brightest cookie in jar. Let me explain something to you. If I lived in New York, I would head to Jersey, Connecticut, or another one of the bordering states to avoid this nickel and dimeing of the good people of New York. For years in Chicago, Mayor Daley has fought Chicagoans from going out into the suburbs to prevent paying the higer city taxes. You are going to face the same thing.

Getting every nickel you can from New Yorkers isn't going to save your economy or the state. It's going to slow it down and cost people their jobs as they have to make cuts in order to maintain a lifestyle. Small business owners will face tougher challenges under your crazy plans.

Your iPod tax is beatable. Anyone from New York can use a variety of methods over the Internet to download music without claiming to be from New York. You obviously haven't thought this out. For the rest of us in the other 49, you are going to drive music download costs up by forcing companies to hire additional people for accounting purposes for your silly taxes. Everyone loses, including you!

To top it off, you are pushing an obesity tax in the state. Do you understand that many New Yorkers fight obesity using their iPods? They jog with them, they take them to the gym, and they ride around Central Park on their bicycles listening to them. The iPod has become a workout tool; therefore, it's like you are attacking people for something that helps keep them healthy as well. Unbelievable!

Do me a favor Governor Paterson. Read the Boston Tea Party story. I think it's time the people of this country start throwing the politicians overboard and save the tea, know what I mean governor?

The Bush Legacy Takes a Wide Left Turn in its Final Months

In a CNN Interview today, President Bush admits to sacrificing our free markets which has furthered the United States down the path of socialism. "I've abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system, to make sure the economy doesn't collapse."

Sadly, I wonder what is he thinking? His legacy took a left turn with a $700 billion dollar bank bailout, which is now, according to Mark Levin, an $8.5 trillion dollar bailout. The government is printing dollars to cover these bailouts, which is devaluing your non-investment savings that wasn't hurt when the stock market tumbled. What have you fixed Mr. President? You have made a bigger mess out of the economy by not trusting the free market. I thought you were a compassionate conservative, but I guess that's a guise for moderately liberal.

Bush apologized later in the interview, but I can't accept his apology. I am left wondering if the most robust era of the economy during my lifetime has passed; after all, we are going to be paying for the government's mess for many years after my death. Politicians will justify the only way it's going to get paid is through increased taxes.

There is a simple truth to learn from the animal kingdom when it comes to America. The weakest get eaten, and that's what needed to happen in for our economy to heal itself. In the coming days, Bush will reach out to the automakers and hand them the money they need to get through the next few months. Where was Bush when gas prices hit $4 a gallon and the car industry stalled? He wasn't fighting hard enough for drill here/drill now.

Besides, Chrysler sent out an apology for building cars that don't hold up. Why should we bail them out when they did this to themselves? Granted the quality has gone up. They have fixed their transmission problems, but when someone spits on you, do you give them money?

Later in the interview, President Bush said, "I feel a sense of obligation to my successor to make sure there is not a, you know, a huge economic crisis. Look, we're in a crisis now. I mean, this is -- we're in a huge recession, but I don't want to make it even worse."

So Mr. Bush, you handled the attacks on 9/11 correctly. Poor choices in cabinet members, like Colin Powell, cost you credibility and sound strategy. You picked yourself and managed to find a winning strategy while facing harsh criticism. It doesn't matter. Your legacy no longer revolves around seven years without another attack. Your legacy is advancing socialism for an eager Obama administration looking to nationalize everything from the automobile industry to health car. You laid the pavement Mr. Bush. Your failure to trust in the free markets is what I will remember most.

Woman Now Wears the Face of a Dead Woman

Doctors in Milwaukee successfully performed the country's first face transplant. Dr. Maria Siemionow led the team of doctors in removing the face of a cadaver and placing it onto the face of a woman whose face was disfigured. The woman who underwent surgery would rather face the high risks than continue to live with her scarred face. She wishes to remain anonymous.

Obviously, this procedure carries many ethical questions that need to be answered. My concern is, if you were related to the person who made the decision in life to donate organs or allow their body to be used for medical research, are you ready to see that person's face on another person? It does open a few cans of worms, and I am sure they will be investigated in the coming months.

The first successful procedure was performed in France in 2005. The woman who underwent the surgery was mauled by a dog.

Do you think this procedure would be performed under the Obama health care plan?

Ozark High School, MO: Sports Before Academics--Recent Fundraisers Show Money is Mismanaged in Public Schools

I have become increasingly concerned how school children's homework no longer appears in the form of math, science, history, and English. Homework now appears as fundraising raising folders for out of control school boards. The Ozark school district in Ozark, Missouri, has become the perfect case study. Students sell various products to help raise funds because of the school board's twisted priorities that focus on athletics over academics.

Ozark's rapid growth forced the school district to build a campus the community should be proud of. A dark cloud hangs over the school though. Ozark residents should be ashamed that school officials sent fifth graders (and possibly other grades) home with a fund raiser to buy testing computers for the classrooms. Teachers need to send students home with homework that prepares them for the world, not fundraisers to make up for school board members who act like members of Congress. Unfortunately, the lack of homework won't be what wakes residents up to what's going on with the Ozark school board, but the increase in personal property taxes will.

While fifth graders sold coupon books to raise money for testing computers, the board approved building a new high school football stadium. The stadium includes stadium seating, scoreboard with video play back (like a small jumbotron), artificial turf, a field house (justified so the players wouldn't have to walk as far to get to the locker rooms), a luxury press box, and more amenities than fans and players need to enjoy a Friday night game against rival Nixa. There are many colleges (NAIA and non Division 1 schools) that play on lesser fields than the high school Ozark Tigers football team. Take a look.

Inside the school are multiple gyms, weight rooms that rival a college or NFL team's, and a sports medicine center with whirlpools and massage tables. It's a beautiful campus, but the cost to promote sports in exchange for testing computers seems irresponsible. Sending fifth graders home to raise money for computers is a slap in the face to the residents of Ozark.

Ozark parents have seen too many fund raising efforts since they built the school. Children constantly bombard their parents (the tax payers) for money through fundraising while seeing less homework brought home. It doesn't stop there. Fund raising has spread into other avenues. Teachers at Ozark have adopted families for Christmas and ask students to take part in and provide gifts for the families. While this goodwill represents the good of the Christmas season, it doesn't represent why these children are in school. Teacher's should not be asking students for Christmas gifts, but they should give homework during the Christmas break. In other words prepare them for the future through education so they have less of a chance of being needy themselves one day.

Data provided by City Data and Trulia shows the education quality at Ozark could improve. Although, Ozark scores slightly above state averages, it could excel far beyond those scores if they focus on academics over fundraising and athletics. Preparing children for the future is vital for the success of our country. Begging for money to fund school programs and infrastructure is not preparing children.

Bailout for the Madoff Ponzi Scam Victims?

This morning, on the Erich 'Mancow' Muller show (Free Speech Radio Network), Congressman Ron Paul mentioned there is talk to bailout the victims of the Madoff Ponzi scheme. Since when does the government bail out individuals who risk their money through investments? Congressman Paul says it's about to happen. The government will print more money to save these people from their losses while continuing to devalue your investments and savings.

Developing....

Cheap Gas is a Curse According to Jacob Gordon of Treehugger.com

My homepage at work opens to MSN, which might as well code their site in the fallacy color (hex code #33FF00) of the environmental movement. With each passing day that my browser opens MSN, the rhetorical smell of caca travels through my monitor, spreading into my office decorated with my Bob Dylan and Beatles memorabilia. Yesterday was no different as MSN featured a story by treehugger Jacob Gordon (obviously no relation to high-octane burning Jeff Gordon) from the Treehugger.com company. (I wonder if this is one of those feel good entities, or a business set up for profit. I probably don't need to wonder too much. I have a good feeling I have it figured out.)

Mr. Gordon boldly states: If you're looking for a ray of hope during these dark economic days, plummeting prices at the gas pumps isn't it. In fact, this pump-side reprieve might just be a curse in disguise. Cheap gas is as much a sign of a sick economy as home foreclosures or the mess that's unfolding in Detroit with the Big Three American automakers. It also gives motorists an excuse to go back to their gas-guzzling ways, by fostering the perception that it is no longer a financial imperative to be efficient. Nothing could be further from the truth, according to the experts.

And who are these experts Mr. Gordon? Are they your cronies at Treehugger.com who are profiting through the doom and gloom of unproven and bad science? Mr. Gordon, you forget a reason why we are watching the current bailout take place is because gas hit over $4 a gallon this year, which led to a sharp decline in sales of profitable cars for the automobile industry.

Mr. Gordon understands this, but only from through thick green (#33FF00) colored glasses. He's scared that cheap gas prices might cause Americans to go 'from shock to trance' and perhaps buy cars that use gas. Mr. Gordon, take off the green glasses and realize that if Americans don't start buying cars, especially ones that are profitable for Detroit, we will be handed a bill for a failed bailout. That's a bitter pill to swallow.

Mr. Gordon comments briefly on green fuels, but he fails to mention how green fuels are slowing down the economy by driving food prices up. I just wish he had gone into the hybrid technology, you know the cars environmentalist are flocking to without considering how they are going to dispose of the true environmental nightmare known as the dead battery. I wonder how much battery acid will wind up in Gordon's drinking water someday soon? That concerns me more than Al Gore's hot air. (At least we know we don't have to worry about too many of Mr. Gordon's brain cells dying due to hybrid pollution. There's obviously not many left to kill.)

Cheap gas is one of the elements needed to save Detroit. Our politicians are throwing money at the Big Three without giving them a chance to survive as long as they aren't willing to drill to produce a solid supply of domestic oil from both offshore and continental locations. As long as the Democrats aren't willing to produce American energy, the auto bailout is doomed. OPEC will lower production to raise prices. Sales will fall again. That's really what treehuggers like Gordon pray to Mother Earth for.

The Microsoft Network should be ashamed that they would be willing to publish such a weak article filled with no substance. High-energy costs make it harder on families to survive, a continued reliance on foreign energy makes it hard for our country to survive. Wake up Mr. Gordon. Remove your arms from around that tree, and face the facts the computer you typed your crazy blog on is made from petroleum (oil). Our nation depends on oil, and obviously it plays a role in your life too Mr. Gordon, because I have wasted too much time on your essay. I know you still won't get it no matter how hard I try.

Note: Mr. Gordon's article may be read at, http://editorial.autos.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=763257&topart=pickups

The Reagan Quote of the Day (12/16/2008)

Regimes planted by bayonets do not take root.

Digital TV: The Government's Next Big Mess

At midnight, February 17, television stations around the country will drop their analog signal as required by the FCC. Congress passed legislation to require all stations to broadcast digitally to open up the analog frequencies for other purposes. The government has spent a considerable amount of money educating consumers of the coming changes and subsidizing digital converter boxes to those who wish to keep their analog televisions.

What the government has created is a television nightmare for local stations and for the consumers. Many stations haven't worked through the bugs associated with the new digital equipment required. A Springfield, Missouri station recently suffered a station blackout when their equipment suffered from colder temperatures.

For consumers, the reception of the digital signal is often plagued with pixelization from poor reception or interference. Many consumers manage to fine tune one station with their antennae only to lose the reception of another station. Of course, this is good news for cable companies and satellite providers.

What seems like a logical progression of technology will become a backlash among consumers once the analog signals fade in February. Recently Congress approved legislation allowing stations to voluntarily broadcast a digital TV message on the analog frequencies for a few days after February 17th. One has to wonder if this law is a disguise for a backup plan if the digital transition is less than smooth. Complaints the stations will receive will be delivered through the walls of Congress. Digital TV transmission hasn't been perfected, and Congress knows this could lead to a November spanking in 2010.

Still Have Your Job?: How Can You Handle Such Stress

According to the United States Department of Labor, unemployment rose to 6.7% in November. Since this happened under George W. Bush's watch, it's without a doubt the worst unemployment news ever. Of course, the media always forgets James (Jimmy) Earl Carter, the 39th and worst President of the United States in my lifetime. Unemployment hit 11.3% under the Carter administration. Journalist like JoNel Aleccia an MSNBC Health reporter likes to pile onto the media-constructed misery known as the Bush economy.

According to Aleccia, those who have lost their jobs recently don't even come close of dealing with the stress as those people who kept their jobs within the same company. She points out how Suzanne Beckstrom, who lives in southern California, has had to go the agony of watching cut after cut at her job. Each time, guilt builds for Beckstrom.

“You felt like you were lucky to be one of the people who remained, but so sad for the people who left,” said Beckstrom. “And it was extremely stressful wondering what was going to happen next.”

Psychologist are celebrating. Beckstrom and millions of other Americans now suffer layoff survivor syndrome (LSS). No doubt the pharmaceutical companies are working on a pill so these afflicted Americans can numb themselves to the stresses of keeping their jobs. LSS comprises of emotional, psychological and physical reactions for those workers left behind continuing to receive a paycheck in exchange for hours.

If I were an employer, anyone suffering LSS would be the next to go. I wouldn't have time for someone who wasn't giving me 100% and assist the company through these trying times. What happened to you go to work and work hard? While you are there, you reinvent yourself to insure the employer needs you. Employers don't have time for LSS nonsense. If the employer has a value for you, you keep your job. This shouldn't be stressful for a sixty year old to understand. She should know this from 40 years in the workplace, and she should be happy her employer has a use for her.

I know I have never stressed out because an employer chose me for work over someone else. When I lost a job, I went out fighting pointing out my accomplishments hoping they would consider my value. You must play to win in life. There is no room for LSS and psychobabble.

Americans need to toughen up. We are giving psychologist far too much to write about for the professional journals.

PETA is Upset With Gaffing Joe: Biden Gets a New Puppy

Joe Biden faces backlash from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Biden decided to add to his family through a breeder rather than go the direction that Barack Obama is heading--adoption.

PETA fears that Biden followers (Are there that many to even express a concern over?) will follow Biden's footsteps by purchasing a full breed dog. Biden adopted the 3-month-old German Shepherd from a suburban Philadelphia kennel. PETA is now digging to darken