Patty Murray

I received an email from Patty Murray's office, asking for personal stories about why the need to move to socialist medicine is the path to a better future.

Here's how I obliged:

As a 33-year-old Type I diabetic who has had his condition for 22 years, the importance of health is plain. For that reason, I believe personal responsibility for one's own health is nothing short of absolute; each of us has a duty to take care of him or herself. If the choice is made not to, through obesity, smoking, lack of exercise, etc., the individual rightly earns the diseases nature provides. It is not incumbent upon his peers, however, to fund his poor choices; only to protect his freedom to make those choices.

America has always been a country of individual freedom. With that comes individual responsibility. If the freedom to select one's own medical plan is removed by a monopolistic, totalitarian, government-run system such as England's or Canada's, that responsibility then falls to the politicians to dictate.

Who will get care, at what stage of disease, and at what age, will all be dictated by a faceless committee of politicians who receive payment from the government: a perfect recipe for disaster. If my neighbor is paying for my bills, my neighbor has the right to demand that I maintain a low body fat, low cholesterol levels, to not smoke the occasional cigar, and to certainly stay away from sweets.

This represents a staggering loss of freedom which Americans will not tolerate.

I will continue to maintain a healthy life, continue to pay for my own care, and I will not ask my neighbor to provide for my requirements. As long as I am not further overtaxed, I will donate to causes which assist those unable to provide for their own care.

Russell Craber

Now we know that Obama believes that we just need to have a sit-down chat with maniacal dictators; he told us that during the election.

So far, how's it working with our ol' buddy, Kimmy Jong Il? They've said they're going to weaponize their nukes. Does that mean it isn't working, or we just need to talk longer? Or talk with a sterner tone?

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the new U.N. penalties provide the necessary tools to help check North Korea's continued pursuit of nuclear weapons.

The sanctions show that "North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons and the capacity to deliver those weapons through missiles is not going to be accepted by the neighbors as well as the greater international community," Clinton said Saturday at a news conference in Canada.

Let me ask something here, Hillary and Barry--North Korea's neighbors have so far accepted everything, including the threat of developing nuclear weapons. Why is it you think they won't keep rolling over until somebody's radioactive?

I'm sure in this case, more stern words WILL work. Not because there's anything to back up that belief, but just because hope is enough. Isn't that right, all you people who voted for change?

Let's give Barney Frank and his buddies MORE power!

I think we should give these guardians of truth and wisdom more control over the economy, don't you?

"Mama" Voted for a Lemon

Now this is funny! A new Democrat propaganda tool is a kids' book entitled, "Mama Voted for Obama." Here's how they sell it:

This colorful book of rhythm and rhyme is a fun and easy way to let your kids know you made the right choice in 2008!

The amusing thing is that Democrats feel the need to justify to themselves the choice they made in voting for socialism.

How about these potential titles, for a little truth in advertising:

"Mama Knew Obama was a Socialist but Voted for Him Anyway"
"My Business-Owning Neighbors pay for my Food and Housing because Mama Voted for Obama"
"Jenny has two Mamas--her biological one, and the nanny state created by Obama, for whom her real mama voted."
"Mama Voted for Obama, not because of his record, but because of a nebulous emotional connection he was able to make with easily-swayed personality types"

Of course, kids educated in many inner-city public education systems may have to bring along a dictionary to read these titles.

New Apology Tour Underway

The Heritage Foundation posted Obama's Top 10 Apologies, and I found it amusing and illuminating; definitely worthy of a repost:

10. Apology for Guantanamo in Washington: “There is also no question that Guantanamo set back the moral authority that is America’s strongest currency in the world. … Rather than keeping us safer, the prison at Guantanamo has weakened American national security. It is a rallying cry for our enemies.”

9. Apology for the Mistakes of the CIA: “So don’t be discouraged by what’s happened in the last few weeks. Don’t be discouraged that we have to acknowledge potentially we’ve made some mistakes.”

8. Apology for U.S. Policy toward the Americas: “Too often, the United States has not pursued and sustained engagement with our neighbors. We have been too easily distracted by other priorities, and have failed to see that our own progress is tied directly to progress throughout the Americas.”

7. Apology before the Turkish Parliament: “The United States is still working through some of our own darker periods in our history. … Our country still struggles with the legacies of slavery and segregation, the past treatment of Native Americans.”

6. Apology for Guantanamo in France: “I don’t believe that there is a contradiction between our security and our values. And when you start sacrificing your values, when you lose yourself, then over the long term that will make you less secure.”

5. Apology for the War on Terror: “Unfortunately, faced with an uncertain threat, our government made a series of hasty decisions. … In other words, we went off course.”

4. Apology at the G-20 Summit of World Leaders: “I would like to think that with my election and the early decisions that we’ve made, that you’re starting to see some restoration of America’s standing in the world.”

3. Apology to the Summit of the Americas: “While the United States has done much to promote peace and prosperity in the hemisphere, we have at times been disengaged, and at times we sought to dictate our terms. … So I’m here to launch a new chapter of engagement that will be sustained throughout my administration. The United States will be willing to acknowledge past errors where those errors have been made.”

2. Apology to the Muslim World: “We sometimes make mistakes. We have not been perfect.”

1. Apology to France and Europe: “Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.”

The Russias aren't coming...they're already here, and they already took over.

I wish they were wrong. I wish I could find a couple things in this Russian story that I could point to that would demonstrate that they're wrong.

See if you can.

We can't keep "deficit spending"? Says Obama?

Obama Says U.S. Long-Term Debt Load ‘Unsustainable’

You don't say! Wow. Obama said that? Of course, millions of economists and level-headed conservatives have said that for a long time, but when I saw the headline, I said, "Okay, what's the catch?"

Here's the catch:

1) He co-opted the idea that we're spending too much to take the wind out of the easily-confused House Republicans' sails
2) He's ignoring the fact that the spending was his idea in the first place.
3) He's pretending that it's MEDICAL SPENDING that's driving inflation and not the trillions of extra dollar bills the treasury department is printing.

Not a bad piece of politicking. Frustrating for those of us whose brains work and don't worship the ground he walks on, but for everyone else, how wonderful.