A Flock Of Sheep ~ Baa!

This is not how I intended to return to blogging after our mini-vacation but I am so disgusted with our government I need to get it out of my system! Actually we don't have a government. We have elected a flock of sheep who follow the wolves in sheep's clothing.

Of all the sound bites I heard while gone, three stick with me. One from Nancy Pelosi sometime around Thursday when she said no more "deals" would be made. Of course she went right on making them up until the vote and we have absolutely no idea of what many of them are. Another from Ms. Pelosi I commented on in a previous post where she emphasizes, quite proudly, if we want to know what's in the bill they have to pass it. Well, they did but we have no idea what more has been given away of our money!

Then there was the most egregious bleat from the President as he urged votes "to save his Presidency". How great is that for a leader? Asking members of his own party to put their careers in even greater risk than they already are for him. For his legacy. For legislation the majority of the American people do not want. It's not about the people. It's about him.

There is much in this "bill" with which I disagree. That is nothing new to you who read me with any regularity. Forgetting the fine points for the moment, the most glaring is forcing Americans to buy a product many don't need nor want under threat of fines and imprisonment.

I didn't think anything could trump Bush taking us into an unprovoked war but Obama has succeeded. This is the most un-American action I've ever seen carried out by the government we've elected, against us.

Well, I'm back. Do I feel better? Not at all. Disillusionment is depressing.

The Blues Are Seeing Red!

As the blood bath rages on over the Health Care Bill - bills - I'm stepping away from the fray for a few days. I expect it will still be raging when I return.

Meanwhile, we'll be at the Charles Russel Art Show and Auction in Great Falls then poking our way home via the galleries in Cody.
We love circuitous routes!

Who knows, maybe I'll have something other than negative views about our government to talk about for at least a day. Why do I doubt that?

Okay, I'm off to computer withdrawal. I feel the shaky hands already as Hub is saying, "Cowgirl up! We're going!

Later.

The President's Math Versus Mine

I really love it when two stories on the same day butt up against one another. Today they are on Yahoo . Obama seeks to reassure seniors on health care and Social Security to start cashing Uncle Sam's IOUs.

It seems Obama is in Ohio today trying to assure us his bill would make preventive care cost free and close the Medicare prescription gap. He goes on to say his proposal will add nearly a decade of solvency. First of all, nothing the government does is cost free! Forget that idea. Then, a decade of solvency? What? Then we have to go through all of this again? Or is it that he thinks we seniors will all be dead by then. He obviously isn't keeping track of the number of Boomers coming onto the rolls! I know for myself, I expect to be around for at least a decade, hopefully more!

Moving on to the next story, it tells us how this year is the first since the 1980s that Social Security will pay out more than it takes in. $29 billion more! This does not bode well.

Making matters worse is the fact that there are $2.5 trillion worth of IOUs from the government to Social Security. Heck, the national debt is $12 trillion and counting as I write this. We're talking real money here that is supposed to belong to us!

This of, course, creates another problem. If the demand to collect on those IOUs becomes reality there is no money. The government will have to borrow it from foreign investors! Sound familiar? I wonder what retirement communities in China are like.

Robbing Peter to pay Paul is nothing new and both parties are guilty. What angers me is that there is no money! We can't pay for what we are owed what's more foreign governments. Yet this administration is going full tilt to pass more legislation, full of special deals in the billions, that the people don't want.

I may not make it through another decade, but Mr. President, if I do, my voice will not be silenced. Unless you choose to do that too.

The Devil Made Them Do It!

I was the child of a mixed marriage. My Father was a Catholic, my Mother not much of anything. Other than her support, I had a characteristic that precluded me following in my Dad's devout footsteps. I liked to ask questions. I was never willing to accept the "because I said so" rationale that seemed to be the weekly dictum in catechism classes. Replace I with God, the bible, or whatever else was appropriate.

I had been long gone from the church when the scandals of pedophile priests began hitting the front pages. I had too many run ins with Priests and Nuns who told me I'd never be a good Catholic if I kept questioning. I agreed and took my leave. Perhaps I did them a disservice. Maybe if more people who questioned had stuck around continuing to do so, the problem would not have escalated to the degree it has.

Now they are shocked that it has become a world wide problem, not just one with we maverick Americans. Nor is it as new a problem as once believed. The Pope himself is believed to have been involved in the transfer of a know pedophile when he was Archbishop of Munich.

Who is at fault? A church that is has as it's ministry men and women who live the most abnormal of life styles? A hierarchy that protects rather than prosecutes? None of the above. It's because of the Devil! So says the Vatican's chief exorcist!

How this happens, how they've been able to keep it so low key, confuses me. Those possessed by the Devil display some rather obvious and horrifying traits, like vomiting nails and glass and speaking in ancient tongues. Headaches, stomach cramps and aversion to holy symbols. I'd have stomach cramps too if I were about to regurgitate nails and glass! I might also have an aversion to holy symbols if I feared being caught for my sexual peccadilloes!

At least there is finally an explanation for why this has gone on for so long. It has nothing to do with the type of men who are attracted to a life basically without women. Having himself conducted over 70,000 exorcisms, the numbers begin to fall into place. I thought perhaps the men coming forward as victims included many looking for a fast buck or their 15 minutes of fame, but 70,000... Well, they weren't all priests!

The financial settlements are bankrupting many dioceses. For instance the church is the largest land owner in Ireland but has little cash in the bank.

The Vatican sits on vast mountains of wealth. Since the buck stops there, why doesn't the Pope loosen the purse strings to help out?

There I go again. Asking questions. I just can't seem to stop!

Et Tu Nancy?

Eric Massa resigned from the House because of allegations he made inappropriate comments to an aide. Perhaps he did. The House leadership seems to have known about it since October. As is typical, nothing was done. He was a Democrat and since they are the party in power their members get passes for a whole lot more than if a Republican was the offender. Unless said Democrat dares go against what the leadership wants.

If being confronted by a naked Rahm(bo) in the locker room isn't enough to shake you up then they sic the ethics committee on you. Sweet.

Now they are after John Stupak, the pro-life Democrat and leader of the band of 12 against federal funding for abortions. The language is not in the Senate bill so he and his supporters had vowed to vote no. No more. According to NPR they are all getting pounded.

There is no intention of changing the language under the rational that if the Stupak amendment is added "more children will be born and, therefore, it will cost us millions more." I'm not sure I buy that. Somehow I don't see an upsurge of women having irresponsible sex and ending up pregnant just because they can get a Federally funded abortion! Lust and carelessness don't work that way.

Whether you agree with Stupak's stance or not, the way he's being treated is reprehensible. He is a pro-life Democrat. The Democratic party apparently has no room for him or the like minded. Don't they all have the right to stand firm on their beliefs without being threatened? Are their careers on the line? Are they being promised jobs with lobbying firms or ambassadorships? Another visit from Rahm(bo)? Good cop, bad cop tactics? What does it take to make a man go back on his beliefs? For most politicians, not much. Mr. Stupak seems to be a different sort.

What has he been promised? An investigation by the ethics committee. On what basis? I have no idea. Maybe it's because he has some.