tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78934472024-03-06T23:59:58.105-05:00sub cultroWhen threatened by the razor edge of reason, the Left is "in extreme peril."Endymionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16769096844254657504noreply@blogger.comBlogger251125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893447.post-17706864855903074392009-10-07T07:39:00.003-04:002009-10-07T07:43:28.858-04:0040 Children Killed in Violent CrimesReported on CNN this morning: "Forty children have been killed in violent crimes across the city of Chicago so far this year."Late Bloomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12976751491013973225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893447.post-78051454777520754962009-08-26T15:52:00.008-04:002009-08-26T16:23:12.808-04:00Obama's Sleazy Sale of Health Care ReformWhen I was a very young woman, a slick salesman sold me a gym membership. Actually, he wasn't that slick, but he definitely had techniques, and I was very naive.<br /><br />The fabulous package was all detailed in the 2 page fine print contract he slid across the desk to me. No time to think about it, no time to read the contract, it was urgent, urgent, urgent that I sign right away! And he was cool, didn't I want to be cool? Tomorrow could be too late! I would be healthy, I would look fabulous! What could be wrong with that!<br /><br />I couldn't afford it. That's what was wrong with that.<br /><br />I was caught up in the excitement and urgency. I signed.<br /><br />The next day, of course, reality set in. Buyer's remorse prompted me cancel the contract. It wasn't easy, and I had to have help, but I got out.<br /><br />Now I can see Obama and his allies using the same slick sales techniques.<br /><br />The miraculous package is all detailed in a 1000 page, fine print bill. No time to read it, just sign the bill, hurry, trust us, we'll take care of you, we care about you, don't you trust us, aren't you cool, don't you care about the uninsured, we'll be healthier, we'll be fabulous, like Europeans! <br /><br />But when America wakes up, there'll be no way out of this contract. And this contact can be changed almost at will by them, but not by you. Trust them. Go ahead, . . .Late Bloomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12976751491013973225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893447.post-68728234255389600422009-08-13T17:27:00.004-04:002009-08-13T17:35:11.613-04:00Healthcare v Post OfficeI couldn't have said it better <a href="http://blog.heritage.org/2009/08/11/obamacare-the-post-office-of-health-care-plans/">than this</a>. I wanted to, but . . .nope.<br /><br />The only thing I would add is this: If you're not trying to make a profit, you're not running a business. If you're not running a business, you're not competing fairly. How can you lose? You're run by politicians. Political decisions will always trump efficiency and vision.Late Bloomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12976751491013973225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893447.post-17219643164416267102009-08-13T16:57:00.005-04:002009-08-13T17:06:29.126-04:00New Record Home ForeclosuresThank God we elected Obama to put out the <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090813/ap_on_bi_ge/us_foreclosure_rates">foreclosure </a>fires created by Bush.<br /><br />I recall his supporters saying Bush started the fire, and if Obama's rescue methods seemed extreme, it was only because the circumstances called for it.<br /><br />I recall thinking the fire was started decades ago by Democrats, fanned in Bush's administration, then Obama came and threw kerosene on it.<br /><br />Government dole-outs don't solve problems.Late Bloomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12976751491013973225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893447.post-11482820549384793982009-08-11T18:31:00.006-04:002009-08-11T19:07:18.621-04:00It Doesn't Matter What's in Obamacare NowIt doesn't matter because the legislation will change, in two years, four years, ten years, and on and on. Things will be added, things will be taken away.<br /><br />Sometimes there will be big changes, as No Child Left Behind was big in education.<br /><br />Sometimes there will be small changes that don't make the news.<br /><br />Sometimes the changes will be hidden in totally unrelated legislation.<br /><br />If any changes are unpopular, it'll be difficult to tell who's responsible as the two parties volley blame.<br /><br />No matter who you vote for, you'll no more power over your own health care than you have ever had over foreign policy, education, or the economy.Late Bloomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12976751491013973225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893447.post-28245044594511302262009-08-11T16:36:00.010-04:002009-08-11T19:09:07.977-04:00Did You Know William Jefferson Got Convicted?Hooray! I had given up ever receiving the good news of <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090805/ap_on_re_us/us_jefferson_trial">Jefferson's conviction</a>, and still, I almost missed it. Even still, this report makes no mention of his <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/HurricaneKatrina/story?id=1123495&page=1">fishy behavior in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.</a><br /><br />Eunice Kennedy Shriver is getting more press.<br /><br />Sarah Palin took more media heat for purchasing her campaign wardrobe on the RNC's dime.<br /><br />My favorite line from the article: "If <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1249513907_6">Marion Barry</span> can be convicted of smoking crack cocaine on video and come back, then I think Bill Jefferson can have a second chance," [the Rev. Aubrey Wallace, a Jefferson supporter] said.<br /><br />That's quite a message. What do these guys have to do to to be unelectable?<br /><br />His sentencing is in October. Perhaps then this story will get the attention it deserves.Late Bloomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12976751491013973225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893447.post-59559645973165087912009-08-10T09:59:00.008-04:002009-08-10T10:23:21.667-04:00What's Wrong with this Pyongyang PictureWhat a <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1205224/In-peril-Pyongyang-Those-girls-greater-danger-sharing-plane-Bill-Clinton.html">strange collection of coincidences.</a> <br /><br />The news station who sent the reporters is "fronted by Clinton's former vice president Al Gore"?<br /><br />One of the reporters is Laura Ling, desperate to duplicate the fame of her sister Lisa Ling?<br /><br />A "Left-wing cable television network" is involved in a story that gives Bill Clinton revived legitimacy?<br /><br />The reporters were suspected to be spies, but were well treated, allowed to receive correspondence and gifts from home? <br /><br />Euna's husband is a struggling actor.<br /><br />This "tragic" story seem loaded with prizes for every one involved except Obama. Don't you worry about him though. I'd bet he'll receive much praise for achieving a diplomatic solution, even humbling his status for the greater good. Please read the linked news report. Draw your own conclusions<br /><br /><br />Thanks Drudge Report and Mail OnlineLate Bloomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12976751491013973225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893447.post-60113409797636913852009-08-10T09:37:00.003-04:002009-08-10T09:58:52.137-04:00RobinHood and Progressivist Wealth RedistributionI really don't like when people compare wealth redistribution to the legend of Robin Hood.<br /><br />Robin Hood, according to legend, stole from the rich (the "haves") and gave to the ("have nots").<br /><br />That's where the similarity ends.<br /><br />Robin Hood stole back the money that was taken from the overtaxed citizens by the oppressive Prince John and his lackey-thug Sherrif of Nottingham.<br /><br />Also, I can't recall any part of the story in which he stole from people of average means to give to the poor.<br /><br />It would make more sense to compare the Democrats (and progressive Republicans) to Prince John. Sure, they take from the "haves" and give to the "have nots". But the "have not's" continue to languish in poverty while the so-called Robin Hoods live lavishly.<br /><br />Our modern Robin Hood (government) steals from all, gives a little to many, and keeps most for himself.Late Bloomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12976751491013973225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893447.post-47207718297162321492009-08-10T09:13:00.004-04:002009-08-10T09:37:12.539-04:00I Don't Understand the Express Jet Story<a href="http://wcco.com/travel/stuck.grounded.plane.2.1120897.html">This story</a>, which I saw on Drudge, is very puzzling. I sure hope to see more about this, because it just doesn't make any sense to me.<br /><br />Why would Express Jet claim the passengers had to be <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">screened</span> coming off the plane? That's obviously untrue to any one who's ever flown.<br /><br />On the other hand, what was the motive for keeping the passengers on the plane all night? That had to be a nightmare for the flight crew as well. Furthermore, it's terrible publicity for Express Jet and Continental. What was there to be gained?<br /><br />I hope there are private law suits by the passengers against the airline(s). I think a congressional hearing would be little more than publicity for politicians at tax-payer expense, resulting in legislation mixed in with other legislation and pork and no guaruntee of real solution, but you can address that is the next election cycle, but is that really going to be the issue that determines your vote . . .Late Bloomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12976751491013973225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893447.post-15561298675384183542009-08-09T07:51:00.002-04:002009-08-09T07:57:58.328-04:00Unions and Health CareWhat's with unionized workers and health care? I've read about incredible health care plans for members of some powerful unions. Surely nationalized health care would be a loss for them. Do believe their insurance company will be able to compete with the government, and therefore they will be able to keep their plan? At a time when the executive branch is turning legal contracts for "the greater good", how could they not be worried?Late Bloomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12976751491013973225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893447.post-70313449492556012962009-08-08T12:59:00.004-04:002009-08-08T13:10:42.818-04:00If Bush Were Still Prez, Would You Still Nationalize Health Care?To all supporters of nationalized health care:<br /><br />You must be pretty confident you'll be able to trust all the future politicians in D.C.<br /><br />Once the government has hold of your health care, you'll not get it back.<br /><br />Remember how much you loved G W Bush? <br /><br />What makes you think there won't be another like him?<br /><br />Why would you want to hand over your very lives to the police state, knowing that one you despise as much as Bush could be at the helm?<br /><br />If you don't care whomever gets elected, ever again, maybe nationalized health care is for you.Late Bloomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12976751491013973225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893447.post-11323691338406186382009-08-08T12:53:00.002-04:002009-08-08T12:59:25.052-04:00Moderacy is Highly OverratedModerate politicians are lauded by many for their talent of compromise.<br /><br />I say, the compromise between good and bad is bad.<br /><br />The compromise between perfection and imperfection is imperfection.<br /><br />The middle ground between friend and enemy is not friend.<br /><br />The middle ground between smart and stupid is not smart.<br /><br />You get the point.Late Bloomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12976751491013973225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893447.post-37106393384653750272009-08-08T12:47:00.003-04:002009-08-08T12:53:52.427-04:00Liberal Republicans UselessThere is no point in voting for a liberal republican. <br /><br />If you believe federal government intervention is where it's at, you're a leftist. Being to the right of Stalin or Marx is immaterial because you'll lead us to the same place, just maybe a little more slowly.<br /><br />The only opposition to leftism is conservatism.Late Bloomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12976751491013973225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893447.post-72824929470769857242009-08-08T12:33:00.004-04:002009-08-08T13:23:51.299-04:00Healthcare ElitsmOur representatives in D.C, the very people who desperately are working to pass nationalized health care will not submit themselves to the same system. That is how even the stupidest, most naive collectivist should know that this plan in not about providing quality health care. Obviously, it is about extending and securing their own power.<br />If the only way to pass a nationalized health care were to lump themselves in with the rest of us, I bet they'd drop it like a hot potato.<br />The same way they don't fly commercial or send their kids to public schools.Late Bloomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12976751491013973225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893447.post-9423666353612153422009-08-01T21:50:00.004-04:002009-08-01T22:00:12.975-04:00President Obama Sends Jets to Pick up Actor Guests for PartiesI'm watching "Get Shorty" on AMC. There's a host and hostess doing spots during the commercial breaks. They do a brief interview with Chris Messina. The hostess asks Chris about a super cool movie screening he recently attended. Chris tells the story of our super cool president who sent a private jet out for Chris and some other actors for a movie screening. I wonder how much of this goes on.Late Bloomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12976751491013973225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893447.post-51046799116263610452008-08-06T07:52:00.006-04:002008-08-06T09:43:30.245-04:00Moral Authority vs JusticeWhat is the importance of U.S. moral authority or reputation outside our boarders? Wouldn't it be the same for the country as for the individual? As humans, we rely on our relationships with others to ease the struggles of life. On the world stage, countries protect their existence similarly.<br /><br />What reputation do we want as individuals and nations? Of course, we want that which allows us to work cooperatively with others without being victimized. It's no better to be thought the doormat than the bully. We don't want others to ban against us because of our tyranny; neither do we want to invite attack because of perceived weakness.<br /><br />It is with this balance I approach <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D92CMU7O0&show_article=1&catnum=-1">this story</a> of a Mexican national who was executed in Texas this morning. Consider this excerpt from the story.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">"It's important to recall this is a case not just about one Mexican national on death row in Texas," one of his lawyers, Sandra Babcock, said after watching him die. "It's also about ordinary Americans who count on the protection of the consulate when they travel abroad to strange lands. It's about the reputation of the United States as a nation that adheres to the rule of law."<br /></div><br /><br />What reputation has the U.S. created in this case, and what reputation does Babcock have in mind? Were we the bully? Should we have been the doormat? I'd say we were neither.<br /><br />The defendant, <span class="lingo_region">Jose Medellin, moved to the U.S. when he was three, and was raised in Houston. One hardly can claim he was "[traveling]</span> abroad to [a] strange [land]". Furthermore, the criminality of gang-rape and murder, of minors no less, shouldn't strike any one as an unsuspected quirk of local law the hapless traveler could not have anticipated.<br /><br />Medellin lived his life in <span class="lingo_region">the U.S., and </span>was tried the same as<span class="lingo_region"> U.S.</span> citizens. Indeed, the intervention of the Mexican Consolate would have been an extra protection. Certainly, that protection is just in many cases. In Medellin's case, it seems like a technicality and a Hail Mary Pass.<br /><br />What effect has the Medellin case had on our reputation and therefore the treatment of <span class="lingo_region">U.S. citizens in the world? We neither railroaded a foreigner, nor abandoned justice. </span><span class="lingo_region">We were neither the bully, nor the doormat.<br /></span>Late Bloomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12976751491013973225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893447.post-45604985457567634682008-08-01T07:53:00.012-04:002008-08-01T08:59:27.556-04:00Congress Knows Best? Cell Phone BanNo surprise here, Congress is exercising its power over our personal behavior. Not any power granted them by our constitution, mind you, but that power which we allow them by not standing up for what's right. <br /><br />You may agree with them regarding the cell phone ban, but your crazy if you think banning cell phone use will prevent people from annoying you on planes. All the people who've annoyed me on planes were intent on conversing not on their phones, but with me. Gazing at an open, nearly finished novel has not deterred them. Listening to music on head phones has not deterred them. Closed eyes and my head on a pillow has not deterred them.<br /><br />Like many laws of this kind, the in-flight cell phone ban one will fail in its objective while punishing the innocent. In the close and terribly uncomfortable confines of airplanes, we will still be annoyed by annoying people, and polite cell phone use will still be banned.<br /><br />Of course, as always, people will excuse this blatant overreach of power with the tired old rationale: Well, we don't need to use our phones in flight. Think that's true? Imagine you're away from home, and a loved one has been rushed to the hospital. You'll not be able to send or receive calls in flight to check on them.<br /><br />Or better yet, remember 9-11-01 and the passengers of flight 93, who used their cell phones to speak their last words to their loved ones. Also, because of cell phones, they learned of the other attacks that morning. As we know, without this information they believed they simply were being hijacked. Because of what they learned on cell phone calls, those heroic Americans subverted their hijackers ultimate plan to crash them into hundreds more innocent people.Late Bloomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12976751491013973225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893447.post-75944399037854493702008-05-21T21:48:00.003-04:002008-05-21T21:56:42.046-04:00Are we in deep trouble?I know we all feel the same way about this election and probably we are all feeling blue about the future of conservatism. So, in order that we may commiserate, I share this from the Claremont Review: <br /><br />Alas, it all comes to an end. Buckley wrote on December 31, 2005, "I regretfully conclude that ‘Notes & Asides' can't continue as a regular feature of National Review. The reason is: We aren't getting enough letters that qualify as ‘N&A' material—inquisitive, zany, confused, annoyed, piquant." Maybe they all grew up. Maybe it was the end of the conservative movement. There is much grousing these days about its loss of direction. Without Communism and, some say, without pre-Reagan levels of taxation to outrage and galvanize the Right, it wanders, confused, in search of its mission, or a mission. Or a leader.<br /><br />Weird that I come across this at the end of the school year when I am naturally susceptible to its melancholy ... don't we all miss Buckley?Endymionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16769096844254657504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893447.post-12016304945927798082008-04-15T07:44:00.003-04:002008-04-15T08:40:15.884-04:00You Don't Need the OlympicsThe problem with the Left "helping" always is in the way they go about it.<br /><br />It's because their methods for problem-solving don't derive from a value system that includes respect for the individual. Instead, they consistently operate from a utilitarian, "end justify the means" sort of approach. <br /><br />There couldn't be a better example than the call for Olympic boycotts.<br /><br />It means well. One can pat oneself on the back for being so politically aware and compassionate. Sending a message to the Chinese government justifies robbing the athletes of their Olympic dreams.<br /><br />It takes from few to benefit many. Olympic athletes, like the wealthy "fat cats" are an elite few. The oppressed are many. It's a very simple utilitarian equation.<br /><br />It takes from those who have, and gives to those who have not. World class athletic competition is a luxury, just like guns, wealth, and home schooling. <br /><br />It's been done before; it didn't accomplish anything. The Left loves big end-justifies-the-means-projects, but the end results, if not glorious as intended, are beside the point. After all, doing <span style="font-style: italic;">something</span> is always better than doing <span style="font-style: italic;">nothing</span>, isn't it?.<br /><br />What about the athletes, one might ask? What about their years of hard work and sacrifice toward their Olympic goals? The Left doesn't care about them anymore than they care about people who worked hard to become rich. The Left doesn't care about you either except to the extent you either are the source or the loyal recipient of their enforced charity. You are the means to an end, an object. You're feelings are irrelevant. Your very identity, like like that on an Olympic athlete, belongs to the glorious and benevolent bureaucracy.Late Bloomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12976751491013973225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893447.post-64899381989991103752008-04-15T07:15:00.007-04:002008-04-15T08:48:30.668-04:00Obama's Bitter Mistake-- My Two CentsLest any think I failed to notice <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Obama</span> stepping in it big time, here's my two cents. I have a couple of points to add that I haven't heard elsewhere.<br /><br />First, let us review the quote: “So it's not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations,” he concluded.<br /><br />Besides the obvious, and very insulting implications of that statement consider these:<br />1. Turning to church is equated with turning to guns, and protectionism, and bigotry (when he says "antipathy", he means bigotry). It' s just one of a few ugly choices one could make when one has been cheated out of their entitlements.<br /><br />2. This is how <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Obama</span> sees the world, with government as the answer to our woes and the center of our world. If you're getting what you need from the government, there's no need for religion. Maybe that's why the Left has so much animosity towards Christianity. They see it as a competitor for the hearts and minds of the downtrodden.<br /><br />3. This is probably <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Obamas</span> relationship with religion. That would explain 20 years of attending a church where sermons are political rants. It's common for Leftists to accuse everybody else of doing what they do, thinking how they think.<br /><br />So, elect <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Obama</span>. He'll create a government that provides you with the happiness you seek. You won't want guns, you'll stop hating immigrants, and you'll get to sleep in on <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Sundays</span>.Late Bloomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12976751491013973225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893447.post-55295322425985223972008-04-13T16:07:00.000-04:002008-04-13T16:08:07.527-04:00Everybody's got Something Good to SayI love this line from one of my favorite PJ Harvey songs, "<a href="http://http//www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/pjharvey/goodfortune.html">Good Fortune</a>": "Everybody's got something good to say". Even Barack Obama, with whom I usually disagree, has <a href="http://http//apnews.myway.com/article/20080411/D8VVKG700.html">something good to say</a>.<br /><br />Obama is at least a socialist, if not worse. That doesn't mean I never agree with him. When he talks about parental responsibility, he is right on the money.<br /><br />He's also right when he says that words matter.<br /><br />However, actions speak louder than words, and there's a conflict between Obama's words and policies.<br /><br />You can talk to a lapcat all day about personal responsibility, and they'll agree with you. But all you've accomplished, then, is to lead the lapcat to water (please pardon the mixed metaphor).<br /><br />Next, you got to get it to actually drink. That will never happen, and here's why. Nobody will let them get thirsty, least of all the democrats with their entitlement policies.<br /><br />Obama's words say "put away the video games". His actions, his policies say, "Don't worry, be happy".Late Bloomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12976751491013973225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893447.post-29556897137901339782008-04-13T16:06:00.002-04:002008-04-13T16:06:58.466-04:00Dean on McCain--Who Cares?Why would anyone care what Howard Dean has to say about McCain? (<a href="http://http//abcnews.go.com/Politics/TheNote/story?id=3105455&page=1">Link here</a>)<br /><br />They are political opponents. Are news consumers so ignorant they would be surprised that a political agent would have something negative to say about their opponent?<br /><br />And hello, Howie, do you think this factor has escaped any one's attention? We can tune in still to SNL reruns lampooning Reagan's age.<br /><br />Furthermore, McCain's "old fashioned values" are appealing to conservatives. By mentioning them, you risk strengthening McCain's support among the base.<br /><br />The only people who should be concerned about his old fashioned ways are those disenfranchised Democrats who have decided to vote (out of spite?) in the general election against Hillary if she beats Barack, or Barack if he beats Hillary.<br /><br />One thing I know about Democrats is that they can overlook a lot of sins once they've made a choice. And their hatred for their opponent can be quite consuming.<br /><br />If a Democrat has decided that Hillary or Barack is their opponent, I don't think they'll be terribly concerned about McCain's views on birth control and sex-ed. After all, they already know he supports the war in Iraq, and surely they know he is pro-life. Wouldn't that bother them more? (By the way, condoms and birth control pills are cheap, and sex-ed is a matter for the states.)<br /><br />Also, who's buying Dean's claim that the Democrats are above identity politics, and therefore will not be mentioning McCain's age? First of all, isn't that what he just did? Second, isn't this historic race between the first woman and first Black presidential candidates largely about identity?<br /><br />The airing of Dean's comment reminds me of ads for Pro-wrestling matches. Trash talk between opponents is neither new nor newsworthy.Late Bloomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12976751491013973225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893447.post-58803796791835149492008-04-13T16:03:00.000-04:002008-04-13T16:05:09.481-04:00The kind of People We're Bailing OutBefore you read this post, read <a href="http://http//www.heraldextra.com/content/view/253226/18/">this article</a>.<br /><br />I have been calling the subprime borrowers "lapcats". I intended it as an insult.<br /><br />News of the aftermath of their stupidity informs me they are much worse. A lot of these folks are outright vermin. They're worse than vermin. They are at best <span style="font-weight: bold;">brainless</span>, at worst <span style="font-weight: bold;">evil</span>.<br /><br />I believe you can judge an individual by how they treat the most vulnerable in their care. Well, I think a dog tied to a tree is pretty vulnerable. How about pets left in a garage with no one to check on them?<br /><br />If a real estate agent ever walked into one of the foreclosed homes and found abandoned children tied to trees and locked in garages, then could America muster some communal outrage? These people should be facing criminal charges; are they?<br /><br />I know the difference between pets and human kids; nevertheless, there is no excuse for leaving a pet defenseless, with rescue uncertain at best.<br /><br />The article gives these human animals the undeserved kindness of describing their situations as sudden. Did it come as a big surprise to them that they weren't making their payments? How long did it take them to figure out they were living beyond their means?<br /><br />Personal responsibility, and maturity of intellect are not merely superlative character traits, they are <span style="font-weight: bold;">moral imperatives</span>. They are what prevent us from harming others. That kind of growth,the ability and will to be good, cannot be bought with tax payer dollars. In fact, perpetual immaturity will result.<br /><br />Neither will bail outs purchase purchase safety for any one. The ignorant and selfish will continue their destructive sprees until they're held accountable.<br /><br />You don't always get what you want, but you always get what you choose.Late Bloomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12976751491013973225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893447.post-80057091830901445492008-04-09T07:58:00.004-04:002008-04-09T09:00:55.664-04:00Higher Standard for Iraq Than American LapcatsNobody likes to be used.<br /><br />Especially to the tune of 4,000 lives and trillions of dollars.<br /><br />But is it fair to treat Iraq as if that's what's going on?<br /><br />Demoralized, divided, and disenfranchised as they have been in the aftermath of Saddam's rein, should Iraqis just get over it, and work it out?<br /><br />I'd say that's a far more rigorous standard than that to which we hold Americans.<br /><br />We can't even be expected to avoid buying things we can't afford. We can't be expected to study and behave at our <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">govnt</span> schools. We can't be expected to avoid unwanted pregnancy or addictive drugs.<br /><br />But Iraqis are expected to forget 24 years of complete demoralization and brutalization under Saddam Hussein's regime. They're expected to overcome their fears and distrust and just work together for a better tomorrow.<br /><br />I think this an interesting concept. Previously, the anti-war left stipulated the Iraqi loss of life as an excuse for withdrawal of US troops. Now that violence is decreased, that stability is a viable dream, America wants to send them a bill, or abandon them to the chaos that will ensue.<br /><br />Is it any wonder that Iraqi leaders have difficulty cooperating? How can they be fully invested in a united Iraq when at any time America may abandon them to the mercy of their opponents?<br /><br />Have you ever been in a committee meeting where every body agreed with you until it was time to pitch your ideas/<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">grievances</span> to administration? I have. People immediately fall into their own self interest when the safety net is withdrawn.<br /><br />Why would any one hold war-torn Iraq to a higher standard than privileged American lap cats? Because Iraqis can't vote for our next president.Late Bloomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12976751491013973225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893447.post-69421843840205477702008-04-06T10:46:00.002-04:002008-04-06T11:01:57.296-04:00Mortgage LapcatsThe potential mortgage bailout <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">lapcats</span> comprise six percent of mortgage holders. That means we're having a national come apart over a minute portion of Americans who probably don't deserve our sympathy.<br /><br />By the way, their lapse in judgment will be charged not only to the 94 percent who are making their mortgage payments, but also to the folks who didn't get a mortgage because they couldn't afford it.<br /><br />The federal govnt never asks you if you can afford to subsidize some one else's problems. Worse, it taxes you based on the money you have made, not the money you have. If you did well last year, but are in dire straights now, tough. <br /><br />Support the Fair Tax.Late Bloomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12976751491013973225noreply@blogger.com0